2023 HR Goals: What Your Employees Need from You
Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash
2023 is here! HR leaders have organised traditional new year celebratory events to start the year at a booming pace. In the midst of it all, we must find time to reflect on this year's themes, an essential step in preparing for what’s to come.
What do employees need in 2023?
1. Fundamentally, employees still want the same things
Even after a tumultuous few years, people are still people. We all want purpose, progress, and belonging. Employees want to work for organisations that align with their values, help them develop their careers, and recognise them for their work. These wishes may seem simple, but it is important to acknowledge them because it tempers the sweeping change, we saw in 2022. HR goals:
· Invest in a dedicated employee recognition program.
· Review and update your professional development and performance management best practices.
· Survey your team. Their feedback is invaluable when determining areas of opportunity.
· Empower your managers with tools to support their employees.
· Help employees find purpose at work and connect with your organisation’s mission, vision, and core values.
2. To be successful in business, you must treat employees as human beings
In the past, (and not even that long ago) most employers didn't put much thought into how they treated their employees, and employees rarely changed industries or jobs, let alone questioned processes or organisational practices. Employee engagement, culture, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) were seldom talked about. However, the pandemic tipped the scales in favour of workers and they left their jobs in droves. Now, leaders are starting to see the business case for prioritising the well-being of their employees. Ultimately, employee expectations have changed and organisations must adapt to remain competitive. HR goals:
· Show appreciation for your employees.
· Be proactive and transparent in acknowledging challenges.
· Be on the lookout for burnout and train managers on addressing it with their teams.
· Review your organisation’s perks and benefits and ensure there is adequate support for employee mental health and wellness.
3. Focus on employee connection
Employees feel a lack of connection. Research found that 65% of workers report significantly less connection to co-workers and 76% of hybrid employees reported they don't feel connected to the organisation's culture. HR goals:
· Prioritise meaningful virtual and in-person connection time.
· Take intentional steps to improve your company culture.
· Prioritise DEI initiatives that foster a sense of belonging.
4. Challenge the status quo and embrace flexibility
We can do better at further questioning the ways of the past. One must often think about the conventional practices of work and wonder. Remote work is a great example of that aspect. There is no perfect alternative to in-person collaboration, but does that mean employees need to be at the office five days a week?
We had the best work-life balance scenario handed to us when organisations went hybrid or remote. Have we learned nothing? We should be discovering new ways to work together. During the pandemic, labour productivity grew at an annualised rate of 11.2%. Going remote was new, and it worked.
Additionally, a recent study found that when offered, almost every single employee would take the opportunity to have a flexible work schedule. The results also revealed that flexibility is a top motivating factor for finding a new job. HR goals:
· Listen to what your employees need, whether in 1:1 meetings, through surveys, or during stay interviews.
· Create a 2023 hybrid work plan.
2022 was a year of consistent change, economic instability, employee inequity, and stressors at and outside of work. While fair compensation will always be significant to employees, it is not the sole reason people are engaged and fulfilled at work.
We have an opportunity to embrace the new year with a fresh approach. In order to get the best out of every teammate, we need to create workspaces that work for all of us, remembering that people working on teams are the number one driver of your organisation's success. Focus on giving your employees a sense of purpose, progress, and belonging in 2023.