It's common at this time of year to look ahead to see what the experts predict for the coming year.
I recently saw an HR Morning article written by Michele McGovern that highlighted some trends to look for in the workplace. I thought I would share some of them and offer my thoughts.
I don't think anyone will be surprised to learn that the problem of finding and retaining talent will continue in 2022. A MindEdge survey found that more than half of all respondents expected turnover to be high and half of the respondents to a National Federal of Independent Businesses survey said they have job openings they are unable to fill.
What this means is that businesses need to move beyond the traditional methods they use for recruiting and look for other ways to let job candidates know they have open positions. Consider working with community organizations, veteran’s groups, etc. to broaden your reach.
Focusing on nontraditional avenues also may help improve the diversity of your workforce. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) will continue to be a big issue and many of your potential customers may begin asking you questions about your efforts surrounding DEI.
The omicron variant of the coronavirus means businesses need to continue to address issues around employee health and safety. Make sure your policies in this area are clear and determine what your policy will be on mandating vaccines for in-office workers. Workers who are in the office want to feel that you are doing everything you can to limit their exposure to the virus.
It's likely that for many businesses the hybrid workforce—with some people working in the office and others working remotely—will prevail. Team building will be critical, but also more complicated. You need to make sure both in-person and remote workers feel connected to their teams and to the organization.
Make sure your employees who are working from home have the technology tools they need to complete their jobs, but also make sure they have the proper security measures in place to protect your data.
McGovern pointed out that employee engagement will continue to be an issue as workers who are not in the office may feel isolated. Make sure managers are in regular contact with remote workers and are giving them the feedback they need to stay connected. But don't forget to touch base with those employees who are in the office. They need to feel connected as well and may have some anxiety around being there. It is a good practice to check in with each employee regularly to surface issues before they become problems that result in the employee leaving your organization.
It looks like 2022 will continue to be a challenging one from an HR perspective. The best advice for the new year is to evaluate your hiring practices, look for new places to find employees, and once you have people on board continue to communicate with them often.
Jane Clark focuses on managing the member services operation at NationaLease as vice president of member services. She works to strengthen member relationships, reduce member costs, and improve collaboration within the NationaLease supporting groups.
