The old adage how time flies doesn’t really work for HR professionals. Because so much of HR requires detailed management and important seasonal paperwork, you’re probably well aware that it’s almost 2023!
But what you may not have done is think over how your HR strategy will be shifting in 2023. Although the fundamentals of HR will never disappear—caring for your employees, managing hiring well, ensuring your company is legally compliant—there are always new trends just around the corner. New technologies emerge, political climates shift, and the ground under your feet becomes just a little different than it was the year before.
HR isn’t a place to just kick back and assume you can just keep doing things as you’ve always done them. It’s an incredibly vital part of any business, and to do your job well, you need to keep up with industry news and trends. Even if things are going well and you’re hitting all of your goals, if you aren’t constantly evaluating how your team is operating, you may lose an opportunity to improve your workflows and processes for optimal success. There have also likely been changes in your company over the last year that may affect how you should do things going forward. The end of the year is as good a time as any to look forward and take a peek at what’s to come for the HR world in 2023.
Here are four major HR trends to keep an eye out for this coming year.
Understanding that Flexibility Is Here to Stay
When the coronavirus pandemic exploded in 2020, many workers began working from home. Two-and-a-half years on, that trend doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. As employees embraced a more flexible lifestyle and employers noticed it didn’t seem to undermine productivity, a flexible work-from-where-you-are arrangement became the norm. After all, if you’re trying to get employees in the door 5 days a week but your competitor is willing to be much more flexible, why would talent go with you? Flexible work arrangements have become a major bargaining chip for employers when trying to recruit new employees to their team. If your company is still focused on achieving a 100% in-person workforce, you may get left behind. Instead, think of how flexible work arrangements can benefit your company. Could you save money on renting office space? Could a more flexible workplace arrangement help you recruit more experienced talent? And if you can’t really utilize remote work because your industry requires an in-person team, how can you offer flexibility in other ways? Maybe employees need to be in person, but you could offer flex holidays or working hours. These types of offerings can go a long way when it comes to recruitment and attrition.
Investing in All-in-One Employee Management Tools
If you haven’t yet looked into implementing an all-in-one employee management tool, 2023 is going to be the time to do so. HR departments often have to deal with a massive amount of communication, paperwork, and employee interaction. By utilizing an all-in-one tool, you’ll save time and resources in the long run by creating a hub where employees can access everything from their schedule to their pay stubs to their healthcare policy information. All-in-one employee management tools can also help you create an efficient onboarding experience, ensure transparent communication with a central location for back-and-forth, and enhance the overall employee training experience. Think of all the things you need to do to help your employees thrive within your business—and imagine if you could do all of it in one place. That’s the beauty of an all-in-one tool.
Embracing the Metaverse
Let’s be honest: Many of us are still a bit confused about what the metaverse is. But Mark Zuckerberg’s futuristic virtual world is going to have a major role to play in business in 2023. In fact, there have been predictions that by 2026, 25% of people will spend an hour a day in the metaverse. It may behoove your HR department to think through how they can begin engaging with this virtual space. Career fairs, networking events, and office parties could all be held online, allowing you to have more quality time with your remote employees and giving you the advantage of being early utilizers of the space. While the metaverse may seem confusing, it actually opens up your company to a world of possibilities that weren’t necessarily possible before. Think innovative office spaces, more creative working conditions, and the ability to hire talent from all over the world. Spend 2023 learning about the possibilities of the metaverse so that when it becomes more common practice, you’ll be able to leverage the knowledge you’ve gained. HR can play an important role when it comes to introducing new technologies to businesses, and this is one area you won’t want to ignore.
Utilizing Algorithmic HR
It’s not like artificial intelligence (AI) in HR is anything new. In fact, within international companies, 40% of HR functions already incorporate AI. Algorithms can help HR managers understand and evaluate productivity, resource disbursement, and more. Data-driven HR frees up HR employees to get more done while delegating nitty-gritty numeric tasks to computers. But one trend that will continue to emerge in 2023 is a focus on ethical algorithmic HR. AI is obviously a helpful tool, but it isn’t everything. HR managers know better than anyone the importance of a human touch. In 2023, consider evaluating your algorithmic HR practices to ensure they’re working in a way that’s fair, equitable, and transparent. You don’t want to get in hot water for letting a machine make important employee decisions for you—the algorithm should be providing you with data you can then utilize, but it shouldn’t be the rubber stamp of employment practices. Don’t take the human out of human resources; it won’t end well for you, your employees, or your company at large.
Claire Swinarski is a Contributing Editor at HR Daily Advisor.