Top HR Trends in 2023 and How They Affect Your Business
One way to keep up with trends in our industry is to research and understand trends in industries that share similarities. With new trends emerging almost daily, it’s essential to keep your HR department up to date with the latest innovations and best practices.
Curiosity increases your ability to spot those early signs or “weak signals” of the next big trend in business. Being curious, staying on the cutting edge, searching for new trends and sourcing the latest news is extremely important to discover fresh opportunities for your company. We at MASA are forward-thinking and look to these industry trends to guide our staffing solutions.
“Follow sound business trends, not fashion trends.” Janice Dickinson
By keeping up with what’s happening in your industry, you can keep up with the times and grow your business. Technological innovations are changing faster than any organisation can handle, and staying relevant in competitive business environments could come down to the slimmest of margins.
Let us explore the top human resources (HR) trends in 2023 and beyond! If you’re looking for a way to stay ahead of the competition, contact MASA today to leverage cutting-edge staffing solutions.
Industrial Relations are an integral part of the South African economy
Businesses and industries are undergoing massive infrastructure changes to keep pace with progress and constantly strive to provide their customers with the most advanced approaches. The following list highlights some of the top trends the human resource sector is currently seeing and how they may impact your staffing solutions and industrial relations.
1) AI and Machine Learning
As companies adapt to new norms, technology solutions across different departments within organisations will become more of a need. More and more employees are using artificial intelligence (AI) in their daily activities, a trend that will continue to grow in HR in 2022.
Technological advancements in HR will change the way departments run. As a business investment, this makes AI-driven HR solutions an attractive choice. The implementation of AI in HR can improve every aspect of today’s workforce, from hiring and training to increased employee engagement and retention. Some of the main ways AI will make HR decisions smarter in 2022 include the following:
- Improved employee-employer interactions
- More efficient recruitment strategies
- Greater information exchange
- Increased talent acquisition
- Facilitating learning and development programmes
2) Skills-based Recruitments
Skills-based recruitment is the practice of finding and selecting candidates based on the combination of specific and cross-cutting skills required to perform the job rather than focusing on experience and qualifications. The focus is on building teams of workers with different skills that drive business results with an outcome-based approach.
Skill-based hiring gives employees a chance to be seen and drive innovation within their teams and the company. With new technologies in the workplace and increased domestic needs, 2022 is a crucial year for skills development in South Africa. In 2021, LinkedIn recently launched Skills Path, a skills-based hiring framework that aims to connect employers and people in the job market by identifying critical competencies for vacant positions.
3) Calls for Hybrid Environments
Global research shows that 72% of business leaders plan to offer a hybrid model. Work still takes place around the physical office, allowing businesses to stay informed and initiated, but employees can work from home for a certain number of days per week.
Companies turning a blind eye to these in-demand working strategies will find that employee turnover will continue to rise as hybrid and remote work becomes the norm for knowledge workers as they seek employers who offer these arrangements.
Many executives are unfamiliar with managing a decentralised team of people working in various ways, such as office-based, hybrid, telecommuting, and remote sales. Finding a solution that caters for your specific business needs is essential.
To maintain a business, a hybrid office needs to keep the following in mind:
- Implement a ‘hot desk’ system
- Create spaces for face-to-face meetings
- Keeping hours open
4) Mental Health a Key Driver
In 2022, elements such as work-life balance, well-being, connection, and collaboration will be critical to employee satisfaction. A key focus will be ensuring the physical and mental health of the workforce. If the COVID pandemic has taught organisations anything, it is that people are resilient. However, they remain people susceptible to the external stresses of global pandemics and, more recently, the threats of World Wars caused by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The role of HR includes protecting the health of an organisation’s employees, which is why one of the enduring trends for HR managers is investing in mental health and wellness programs. With the ‘Great Resignation’ making headlines, companies may feel the need to invest and start supporting the mental health of their workers by introducing mental health awareness into the company culture.
5) Shorter Work Weeks
A few countries have recently been testing the implementation of shorter workweeks. The general theory behind the shorter week is that happier and more satisfied employees are more focused on their work. UK companies are also experimenting with a four-day week, hoping to get the same level of production in fewer hours.
Certain industries might not find it ideal to move towards a four-day working week, such as the manufacturing sector, where success is often measured by what they produce each day or for teachers. There have been noticeable benefits such as reducing companies’ carbon footprints as less travelling into the office is required.
South African companies have yet to explore a reduction in working hours. Still, with other countries testing the concept, it might not be long before larger corporates may jump onto the bandwagon.
6) Welcome the Chief Purpose Officer
C-Suite executives might be introducing a new position in the coming 12-months, with many global companies becoming more focused on creating purpose-driven cultures. Companies could implement this new position called the Chief Purpose Officer to demonstrate a company’s role in society and the environment. Companies typically spread these elements across HR, Legal and Communications and CSI managers.
53% of South African millennials say they have changed their relationship with a company because of a product or service’s environmental or social impact.
The Chief Purpose Officer will need to ensure that people, both internally and externally, are communicated with on a deeper level. Companies will assess their current impact to determine if the need exists to create a position of this nature.
Authentic purpose could drive future staffing solutions
As businesses move forward in new and exciting times, the pandemic has left companies with plenty to think about. What is certain is that established trends leave behind a trail of data that can be assessed and used to make informed future decisions; it will help you respond to new trends.
MASA strives to be an industry leader with all its human resource solutions.
We have identified these trends; you need to figure out the relative value of these trends to your business needs. Trends originating in one sector often migrate to other industries or between disciplines within the same industry. At MASA, we look at providing our clients with a competitive advantage by delivering specialised, industry-specific knowledge, expertise and tailored staffing solutions.
If you require professional assistance with hiring, onboarding, and training new employees in a range of industries, be sure to contact us so you can leverage the top staffing employment and labour outsourcing services in SA.
Check out our article on The ‘Great Resignation’: Why Staffing Solutions are the Future of Business to learn more about this topic.
