5 HR trends to prepare for in 2023

It’s never too early to prepare for upcoming hiring and retention trends. But you can certainly leave it too late, and end up playing catch up for the rest of the year.

Every year, we tell ourselves we’ll do better and achieve more. But without confident forward planning and a well rounded understanding of what’s to come, it’s difficult to do that. 

We’ve been scrolling through various industry insights to see how the future of Human Resources is looking, and what you’ll need to do to define your goals and priorities for the upcoming year. You've certainly got your work cut out – between how competitive the job market is, how important company culture is to prospective hires, and how challenging it is to perform at prior levels as the economy shifts. 

There are plenty of things worth considering to ensure the business you bring people into is one where they can thrive, and where everyone can see the rewards. 

Here are the 5 main talking points topping the list of HR and hiring professionals in 2023:

A greater willingness to act on feedback.

Some recent research from Tivian showed that employees didn’t think HR were taking their feedback on board. According to these findings, 85% of HR staff think they are using employee feedback to improve the experience they offer, but only 50% of staff agree. Worse still, just 14% think that their employer uses the feedback to drive change. 

If you’re confident that you’re doing all you can with the feedback you get from your teams, it might be time to see if they agree. Use it as a candid and constructive way to structure the first few months of 2023 and what it is people want that you’re not currently giving them or listening to. 

Be clear and communicate how that feedback will be used, and what steps you’re going to take in response to it. Show that you mean it when you say their opinions are going to drive change throughout the business. 

Everyone wants to know what’s in it for them. Why they should join (or stay). They want to know that their voices will be heard. But 70% of staff said that they had very little or no influence over how things were done at their company. Why is that? 

Because their opinions aren’t valued? Because there's no room for improvement? Or because changes were ineffectively communicated?

Whatever the reason, until it's addressed, it’s not going to make for a conducive working environment for the people on the ground. 

People development needs to pick up. 

65% of HR Directors told Clear Review that people development was at a 3 year low as a key focus. 

Businesses have shifted the focus from development to productivity over the last few years – attributed to a number of things, different for each business. The pandemic, the great resignation, how difficult it is to find and attract talent, etc. 

But in doing this, we lose sight of the bigger picture and how this impacts performance over the longer term. Getting your people to come in and get their jobs done is step one, but it's also surface level. If you want them to create new concepts, bring ideas to the table, get excited about where their role can take them – then we need to see that they can develop and grow, not simply hit productivity targets.

There's always a pay off for upskilling, even if you can't measure it in the short term. Not to mention that people are more engaged when progression is on the table.

The Clear Review report surmised that: “Performance and engagement are inextricably linked, and great performance management leads to engaged employees”. We couldn’t agree more!

Balancing company culture with hybrid work life.

More and more employees are working in hybrid settings, but we're seeing inconsistency in their working experiences and performance. This makes it hard for employers to know what’s right to do. 

Only 24% of hybrid and remote workers say that they feel connected to their company culture, according to Gartner. And since 73% of employees now work in either a hybrid or fully remote setting, with nearly half (43%) working remotely full-time, that’s not a good sign for the state of culture today. (Workplace Trends And Insights Report.)

Still, it’s not as simple as mandating for office returns. Employers who offer remote working attract seven times more applicants than those who don’t. If you want to make the most of the talent market, you don’t really have a choice. But that doesn’t mean you should overlook those who want to be in the office, either. 

Then there’s the compound effect of everything discussed so far. People don’t feel like they’re listened to, and they struggle to develop and make progress, both of which negatively impact engagement. Coupled with a struggle to build connections with those they work with, there isn't much holding anyone back from the decision to try working somewhere new. 

63% of employees who have an above-average team turnover think it’s not worthwhile for them to socialise and build relationships with their colleagues. If your company fits into that camp, you need honest conversations  about how to get to the next step. 

Onboarding different generations.

The younger generation were brought up differently to those who have been working for the last 50 years. And as those people will inevitably take over the workforce, it’s clear that many changes will be made over the coming years. 

Priorities have flipped and opinions surrounding professionalism have changed. The latest tech and support platforms become more important, and where people work from becomes less so. 

It means we’re going to need to find new ways to reach our future employees, updating an archaic onboarding process which sees prospective hires disengaged and questioning their decisions. If we’re going to continue down the route of remote working, this needs to change. 

You’ll have read all over the internet about the great resignation, 'quiet quitting', how difficult it is to find the ‘right person’, and it’s only going to get worse. By nailing your hiring processes and tightening up onboarding, you’ll be setting yourselves up for success in other areas of your business too. 

Remember, it’s the people on the ground who keep everything afloat. So it pays to learn what they want from an employer, so you can decide if it’s something you should offer. 

Take care of your team.

Is the talent pool shrinking, or are people just more aware of what makes a company great to work for?

Everyone has different motivations for working, and their own specific reasons for choosing to stay or leave a place of work. Some want flexibility, others are more concerned with salary, whilst someone else might want to simply leave their work at the door when they clock off. All of these reasons are valid. 

To accomodate for everyone in the business, you need to see them as individuals with varying needs and wants. No matter their intrinsic motivations, people always want to feel appreciated and listened to. 

This goes hand in hand with burnout, stress, and poor work-life balance. People no longer want to stick around in jobs that don’t work for them and their needs. If teams aren’t happy or healthy, how can you expect them to be engaged and productive?

Find the root of problems and put in actionable steps to fix them. The days of hiding behind a mental health webinar and subsidised gym membership are over.

New year, new plan.

To iron out these issues ahead of 2023, you need to start with your team in mind. Learn to balance their wants and needs with what you can practically offer. 

It’s easier said than done, of course. And the above points only scratch the surface for what is gearing up to be a change in the way businesses engage their staff, and the way people expect to be treated. 

One thing everyone has learned these past few years is the power of collaboration and community. No matter the size of your HR department, you don’t need to go it alone.

Our team at Concentric can help. We spend all day every day speaking to people and businesses about what the future looks like for them, and how they plan to get there. 

Connect with us on LinkedIn, and let’s chat about how to get you a step ahead of the curve.