6 Human Resource Trends to embrace in 2023

Human Resources initiatives can often change as fast as you change your socks. Why? Because people, economy, products, and customers are always changing. And the impact all this change has on business can often be immediate and significant.

HR professionals need to have a pulse on what is happening not only in the world of business but also in the field of Human Resources. So – let’s take a look at what human resource trends you need to be aware of NOW to keep the human capital in your organization running effectively.

Employees have options

With unemployment nearing all-time lows, we know that employees have options.  They don’t have to stay in a role or with an organization that is not evolving with the times or meeting their needs.

Employees have come to expect organizations will meet their needs.  If not, there are plenty of options they have to find a position that will be somewhere else!  Employees are used to change as an expected and welcomed way of life and will move on to the next role if it makes the most sense for their lifestyle.

Be Team Focused

Being focused on the team is a critical human resource trend to embrace.

Today’s employees want connections. They want to be connected to their co-workers and engage together as a team.  They view cohorts as the norm and want to know where they “fit in”. If your operation is not team-focused, consider implementing cross-functional projects to engage your workforce. Nothing gets a team member more excited than learning about other areas of your business.

Provide Continual Employee Feedback

When it comes to providing employee feedback, an annual review just doesn’t cut it anymore. Employees want feedback, and they want it now. That doesn’t mean you have to create a long performance management form every month. One of my favorite suggestions is to give managers one question a month to talk to their team about.  Have a 10-minute conversation about productivity, new technology, tools they need to do their job, or a customer that has given them trouble. All it takes is one topic to show you care about their day-to-day progress and want to provide feedback on the job they’re doing is often all that is needed.

Provide Benefits Beyond the ‘Norm’

When it comes to the benefits you offer your employees; you need to start to think outside of the box. The employee of today has expectations far beyond health insurance. A human resource trend we see many follow is offering benefits outside of what we consider the ‘norm.’

Some options to consider include:

• programs to help employees repay student loans
• company discounts at the local gym
• providing time to volunteer at the non-profit of their choice.

These are benefits that will enhance employee loyalty to your organization, and they don’t have to be expensive.

Understand Unconscious Bias

Everyone has biases – there is no way around that. Instead of looking at that as a negative, learn to embrace and own the fact. Afterall, it’s how we address others and check our own behavior.  This is an opportunity to go beyond DEI and really think about inclusion. 

Understanding our unconscious biases is what makes the difference when it comes to how our, and others, behaviors affect the workplace. Provide training and ongoing communication on the topic to help educate employees and create a more cohesive work environment.

Go Global

Globalization is here.  Its not about embracing the idea – the goal of your business should be to consider how you can capitalize on globalization and use it to supplement your current team.   Utilize team members that may be all over the world to add expertise to the team beyond your local area.

I have had people on my team in India, Poland, and the Philippines.  They each bring specific skills to the team and we are able to tap into them as needed for special projects without ongoing overhead.

Finding top talent from around the world is easily done. My favorite site is Upwork – check it out!

To be successful human resource leaders, we must continuously evaluate our human resources processes and be aware of business trends. By doing so, we can more easily identify changes in business for initiatives and programs we can embrace for our unique workplace.

After all, employees want an organization that is forward thinking, innovative and creative. It’s not as hard to get there as you might think!