Can you believe we’re three quarters into 2022 already? We can’t either. Another year has come and gone and, despite what we all may have thought in 2020, the world has not come to an end. As our workspaces have evolved and grown in increasingly virtual and technological directions, HR has continued to develop and adapt to the 21st century.
So we took it upon ourselves to help you prepare for the year ahead. Here are our predictions for the 6 HR trends of 2023.
Expect a hybrid work environment
Alas, the fact that remote work is here to stay comes as no surprise. With 2020’s full-time WFH slowly giving way to 2022’s back-at-the-office-part-time, it comes as no revelation that a majority of us with office jobs will continue to have the option to work from home. Although neither employers nor employees expect laptop-heavy jobs to be conducted exclusively from the office anymore, most still agree on the fact that having the option to go into the office several days a week is a good addition to their work schedules.
This hybrid home/office work schedule, facilitated by the pandemic and kept in practice by increased productivity and improved mental health, isn’t going anywhere in 2023. So purchase that comfortable chair and prepare yourself for more virtual meetings.
This is also a good time to talk with the administrative departments in your company about how you will be facilitating working from home for your employees. Will they need to have access to certain technological devices, and how will these be allocated? Are there any anonymous surveys that need to be completed to assess how many days everyone should be in the office? And how will you continue to maintain team spirit? These are all good topics of discussion in preparation for 2023.
With an increase in cost of living comes an increase in expected salary
With all the turmoil happening in the world, our finances have taken a hit as well. Expect salary increases in 2023. Top talent always has options, and if one company’s salary level doesn’t meet their requirements, it is easy enough for them to seek other options.
It is a good idea for you to flag any salary inconsistencies with company managers. If you are unable to attract the talent that you want or are not getting enough applications in, consider comparing competition’s salaries for similar positions.
If you’re not tech-savvy, now’s the time to become tech-savvy
As covered by our many other blog posts, there is an increasing number of artificial intelligence software that assist with day-to-day HR operations like recruiting and onboarding. And the surge in AI technologies is expected to continue rising. With remote work very much expected to continue being a thing, we would recommend getting ready to incorporate more software into your daily HR operations.
Software, of course, are there to make our lives easier and to save us time. Despite this, you may be finding it difficult to familiarize yourself with new technologies if you’re already used to conducting your job a certain way. Our advice? Take it slow but get started asap. Still not using an ATS system, for example? Consider working with a company like Peoplise to help you integrate an ATS that fits within your business. After all, once you get started the rest will follow suit, and soon you will be ready to undertake all the new technologies that 2023 brings.
Cybersecurity: not just a word you hear in movies anymore
Have you ever thought about how many times a day you click ‘accept cookies’ on a website without even giving it a second thought? What about how many people are connected to the Wi-Fi you casually hop on in a café? With every new year we put more information on our technological devices, and every new year we hear more horror stories about how much data is truly collected in these virtual spaces. With this, it is becoming more important than ever to maintain company security.
Now, cybersecurity might sound like an IT problem and not an HR problem, but the need to pay attention to online data and security is no longer an exclusively IT responsibility. All departments and employees in a company should pay attention to what they share on technological devices, and how information is stored. So file cybersecurity under ‘things to ask your techy friends about in preparation for next year’.
More on the role of HR in Cybersecurity here..
It's not just about the numbers, but about the people
Companies like Google did it first, and startups soon followed suit: a great work environment attracts the best of the best. With a pandemic in our rearview mirrors and worldwide turmoil still very much in full swing, we have been placing unprecedented focus on our mental wellbeing. And our work environments have of course been expected to conform to this need.
Now, more than ever, it’s not just about sales but about employee happiness levels. By ensuring that employees have the best possible experience, a company can also warrant productivity increase and talent retention. This focus on mental wellbeing and employee experience is expected to be one of the driving forces of any office space in 2023 – after all, no one comes out of a worldwide pandemic without realizing just how important their health and happiness are.
If you thought diversity and inclusion were mere buzzwords, think again
Because who wants an office where everyone thinks the same way? Companies have spent the last decade realizing that the key to success is having a team made up of different backgrounds6 and thought processes – and we don’t expect this to change any time soon. So if your company’s hiring process does not already prioritize a diverse talent pool, we would suggest getting on this immediately. And if a diverse hiring pool is already one of your priorities, may we suggest bringing it further into the foreground?
These are our predictions for the top 6 HR trends of 2023. Keep your eyes peeled for more!