It is quickly becoming apparent that workplaces and employment have changed, perhaps permanently. In any case, new workplace trends and changes in behavior make it clear that employers need to develop a more dynamic approach to workforce management as well as hiring. From the average mortgage recruiter to a Chief Hiring Officer, identifying and responding to emerging workforce trends is critical.
The right response can impact both hiring success as well as business growth. In 2023, recruiters and workforce managers would do well to prepare for these important trends:
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Greater Focus on “Total” Wellbeing
Whether a business follows a centralized or decentralized recruitment format, has remote or hybrid workforces, or operates across multiple markets, it will always have one key responsibility: ensuring the well-being of its workers. Conventionally, employee well-being has been equated to physical safety in the workplace. Over the years, however, the definition has expanded to include mental well-being as well.
The myriad of mental and physical health risks during (and following) the pandemic adds yet another facet to an already complex situation; and now, with salaries lagging behind inflation spikes, economic well-being is another aspect that both recruiters and workforce managers need to consider.
All these complex and interconnected aspects are now referred to as “total well-being”. Employees expect their employers to deliver on this quickly growing need. In 2023, employers can reliably expect to be putting in more effort in maintaining higher levels of total well-being to ensure their workers are operating at optimal efficiency and productivity.
Increased Need to Upskill Workforces
Talent shortages, particularly in the IT sector, have already caused massive disruption and a sharp increase in competitive hiring. Employers are finding it harder to identify and entice new talent, as well as to retain their most valuable current employees. This competition can threaten a business’s ability to efficiently source and onboard talent to fill key talent gaps. This is especially true when hiring for leadership and management roles.
Fortunately, alternatives to external hiring, while not applicable to every instance, can help employers deal with this shortage. Upskilling existing workers is one such example. Instead of sourcing an entirely new employee to fill an open role, businesses can bolster capacity and skill sets among workers already in place.
When needed, these workers will already have the skills necessary for leadership or management roles. The only thing employers will have to do at that point is to promote the employee, offer some additional training, and thereby fill the role far quicker than an external hire.
Greater Dependence on Frontline Workers
Frontline or desk-less workers kept businesses running during the pandemic. At first glance, frontline workers like cashiers, loaders, delivery persons, and so forth may not seem as valuable to a business as decision-makers or managers, but, as life during the pandemic demonstrated, businesses cannot operate without them. In fact, in 2023, businesses may see an even greater reliance on the frontline or desk-less workers than ever before.
It is important to realize that competing businesses also need the same class of workers. A concerted focus on hiring and retaining this class of workers may require businesses to offer competitive compensation packages, improved workplace culture, and better working conditions overall. Preparing for these exigencies early on could better position employers to both attract and retain experienced front-line talent.
Redesigning Policies for Remote/Hybrid Workers
Remote and hybrid work emerged as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even with the pandemic slowly winding down, these workforce models are here to stay.
Contrary to conventional workplace philosophy, many businesses saw increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, and greater engagement among remote workers with such models in place. As a result, it would be prudent for businesses to assume that remote/hybrid work is here to stay.
Now may be the best time for businesses to revisit their workforce policies and comprehensively redesign them to cater to remote/hybrid workers. Many businesses already have a large number of remote or hybrid employees in the workplace, but that does not diminish the need for formalized policies and frameworks to govern remote/hybrid workforces.
Employers still need to handle these workforces trends and must, therefore, prepare in advance for issues like insubordination examples, performance management, and monitoring of employee productivity.
Stepping Up Diversity and Inclusivity Initiatives
Accelerating efforts to safeguard diversity and inclusivity is a reliable trend that businesses need to prepare for early on. Modern workforces trends are significantly more diverse than a few decades ago, but more is needed, especially with growing social activism and awareness. No business wants to be accused of biased or discriminatory hiring practices.
In the same vein, businesses also do not want to appear insensitive to the varied backgrounds, ethnicities, preferences, and opinions that come with a diverse workforce. Such recognition entails more than simply becoming a progressive workplace; it requires an effort to enhance enhancing hiring success, whether internally or through external third parties like staffing agencies in Austin Texas , Pennsylvania. Not doing so could impair an employer’s ability to acquire and retain talent, and therefore threaten business growth and continuity.
