'BUSINESS AS ...UNUSUAL...!'

 HR TRENDS 2022

 HR GETS ΙΜΜΕRSIVE!

‘Know thyself´ at an organizational level is something that a wise HR department would seriously take into account to better understand what motivates the organisation and keep a high level of employee satisfaction.

• ‘Gnothi Seavton’ has been found at the Delphi Oracle. It is one of the important means that people have to recognise the impact of what the future can bring to them could be..., 
• A Korn Ferry survey revealed that 75% of candidates say it’s unlikely they would accept a job if they were treated poorly during the interview process. Source: Korn Ferry (*1)

During the Covid19 disruption, workers experienced new ways of being@work but also about the way employers behave in Crisis periods and treat people. Lots of people have had to leave their employer, others have been tempted to look for a new job or have found one. Others have rediscovered their families and the pleasure of doing things for them with them or doing more about themselves.

• McKinsey research finds working parents are more likely to have left their jobs during the past 2 years than their non-parent counterparts. Reasons include exhaustion from the pressures of working from home and juggling childcare responsibilities, struggles with returning to the office but not finding consistent childcare, and reevaluating their overall work-life balance.
  Source: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/married-to-the-job-no-more-craving-flexibility-parents-are-quitting-to-get-it

The level of expectations has been raising during this period – especially from the workers' side who are convinced about the value they could offer through their work to a good employer (even remotely). 

• 86% of executives asked said they believe workers will gain greater independence and influence relative to their employers in the future. Source: Deloitte Insights (*6)
• Microsoft 'The next great disruption is Hybrid work Jul2021 40% of the global workforce consider leaving their employers this year Source: Deloiitte (*5)
• Out of 700 professionals surveyed almost a third (31%) said they were thinking of leaving their job even though they didn’t have another one lined up.
  Source: Korn Ferry (*1)

Knowledge workers know better now how and by whom their knowledge is valued and some prepare for their next career step elsewhere.

Investment in skills counts more.

• Top ten powerskills for 2022
  1. Resilience & Adaptability
  2. Technology skills / digital fluency
  3. Communication across repote or distributed teams
  4. Emotional Intelligence
  5. Cross-functional collaboration
  6. Leading through change
  7. Change Management
  8. Dealing with stress / being more mindful
  9. Time Management
  10. Creativity
      Source Linkedin 2021 Workplace Learning Report

Enterprises have shown how fast they can be in responding to a crisis and take measures beyond ‘business as usual’ such as health management procedures, teleworking, business continuity, R&D or help the state.

Employee Wellbeing programs are taken seriously by employers that are convinced that they can increase productivity and reduce the health risks of their employees.

• While raising wages is one way to attract and retain employees, research conducted by Paychex and Future Workplace among 603 full-time workers found 62% of employees identified well-being benefits as key a key factor in deciding whether to apply for a new job. This was especially true for Gen Z, where 67% strongly agreed or agreed that well-being benefits will be a priority for them in evaluating new job offers.
  Source: Forbes (*4)

Those programs do not focus only on Mental or Physical wellbeing, but encompas healthy Nutrition, financial or Social Wellbeing as well as the 'healthy experience' at work. It is imposible to isolate Wellbeing and Health at work or during the free time -  Health is holistic and any problems are transfered from one field to another.

Health & Wellbeing are increasingly perceived as an 'asset' that has to be preserved by both workers and employers.

• The Global Wellness Institute believes workplace mental health benefits will grow 9.8% annually over the next five years. Source: Forbes (*4)
• "Sitting is the smoking of today"
  The shift to working remotely has impacted employees in various ways. 35% of the sample increasing physical activity and losing weight 40% became increasingly sedentary and gained weight, likely due to the lost physical movement associated with commuting and walking around from meeting to meeting in the workplace. Source: HBR (*3) and Gartner

Wellbeing programs involve the HR and facility team and cover all sorts of activities like inhouse sports training, relaxation programs, health specialists consultations, vaccination campaigns, weight loss campaigns, healthy nutrition, Employee assistance (psychological support, financial support), Quite Areas, Subsidised Gym, Insurance Programs, Tax expert advise paid by the company etc. 

• Gartner research shows that just 10% of HR leaders tracked well-being ROI with formal, quantitative metrics in 2020. Source: Gartner in  https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/5-key-trends-that-make-well-being-programs-effective
• Companies driven by purpose post compound annual growth rates of 9.85% compared to 2.4% for the S&P 500 overall) (Reference Korn Ferry (*1) Source McKinsey,2019)

Purpose and Values such as Fairness & Equity, Inclusion & diversity attract Talent, Consumers, Suppliers or investors.

• According to our analysis of S&P 500 earnings calls, the frequency with which CEOs talk about issues of equity, fairness and inclusion on these calls has increased by 658% since 2018. Source: HBR (*3)

Hybrid came to stay. Some employers doubt it, believing that office work is and will always be more productive that hybrid or working from Home full time. Employees are determined not to let this ‘benefit’ fall down.

• 49% of professionals say they would turn down a job offer if the company mandated that they go into the office full-time Source: Korn Ferry (*1)
• A vast majority of HR leaders (95%) expect that at least some of their employees will work remotely after the pandemic. This shift to hybrid work will be a massive driver of transformation and one HR leaders must be prepared to support. Source: Gartner - https://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources/trends/top-priorities-for-hr-leaders

The Employers are facing bigger dilemmas in fields likeSupply Chain. Is is very hard to find workers for low paid jobs when people can earn much more as courier or efood employees for the same hours of work - tips on top.

• More than 90% of employers are planning to adopt a hybrid working model for their knowledge workers in 2022. Source: HBR (*3) and https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/returning-employees-to-an-office-consider-the-talent-risks
• According to a recent Korn Ferry survey, nearly a third (32%) of professionals said they don’t think they’ll ever go back into the office full time, and 74% say they have more energy and focus working from home instead of the office. Source: Korn Ferry (*1)

HR has to consider a talent retention portfolio strategy to find the right method when “Buy” is not working: “Build”, “Borrow”, “Bind”, “Bounce”, “Bot” (as it was mentioned by Korn Ferrys' 2022 Future of Work trends *1).
Machines are ready to take the dangerous, hard, stressful, fastidious, unproductive or repetetive tasks off the shoulders of the workers, foreman or supervisons provided that the economy can pay the price. It is a challenge for Government regulators, Industry leaders, Economists and HR: ‘How to fill the Gaps and at the same time reskill and upskill the actual job holders’.

• Manpower Group June 2021: The demand for skilled workers is grown, 7/10 employers saying that they are struggling to find workers with the right mix of technical skills and human capabilities Source: Manpower Group
• Focus groups when asked about what's the most influencial with regards to the future of the worker-employer relationship said TALENT SUPPLY and GOVERNMENT IMPACT Source Deloitte (*6)
• Mckinzey estimates that 100 million global low-wage workers will need to find a different occupation by 2030 Source: Mckinzey the future of work after Covid19 - Feb18 2021

Today, every household has an idea or an opinion about sustainability, geopolitics and a lot better understanding than in the past about energy saving, raw material scarcity, CO2 imprint, ocean pollution, geothermy, glacial melt, bio products, water scarcity etc.

• 6 out of 10 consumers asked said that they are willing to change habits to reduce the impact on the environment. Source: Korn Ferry (*1)
• Research has swown that consumers are 7 times more likely to buy from a brand they trust
  Source: Korn Ferry (*1)

The public’s attention for those matters could instantly erase from the map all the firms that have not shown enough respect for the environment or the society.

• Regulators are also active in this https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en

The list of companies that use KPI’s to measure sustainability and take appropriate measures reporting them every year in a Sustainability Report is growing.

• Five ways ESG creates value, (Reference Korn Ferry (*1) Source McKinsey,2019)
  -Securing funds (Global sustainable investment now tops $30 trillion)
  -Attracting and retaining talent (71% of professionals say they would consider taking a pay cut to work at a company that aligns more with their values)
  - Building credibility (see above)
  -Broadening your customer base (see above)
  -Reducing costs

In many organizations, sustainability reporting is under the responsibility of cental HR and requires data collection processes, accuracy and a good sence of internal communication and marketing.

Data technology can enhance collaboration, creativity, sound decision making, and drive everything but at the same time becomes highly regulated (GDPR, metadata treatment etc).

An organization spends consiberable resources (time, systems) to stay compliant in this ever growing sophisticated digital environment .

• EU DATA ACT in discussion https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_1113
• https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age_en

The new generations of Consumers have new expectations requiring things ‘here and now’. Sales through platforms can see the light only if the product or service takes excellent comments.

• About the way of thinking of millenials see https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/14/millennial-life-how-young-adulthood-today-compares-with-prior-generations-2/

Making things simple for the stakeholders is important and can be achieved only with the use of technology and collaboration with firms that provide flexible systems.

• Αbout the digital future in EU https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/shaping-europe-digital-future_en

Digitalization 'Here and Now': Digitisation of Documents, Digitalization of business processes and transactions, Data Warehousing , enhanced IT skills and communication skills for the Managers and Employees… which are on HR Radar.

• HBR research has shown that 65% of the tasks tat a manager currently does has the potential to be automated by 2025.
  Source: HBR(*3)

Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR) are now accessible from a cost point of view and can add quality and efficiency to the business and HR processes.

• Facebook invests in metaverse