Mari Kemp is the SVP of HR for Ease. Mari has 20 years of experience in HR in the tech industry, including her time at Google and Nokia.
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According to findings from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while a record 4.5 million workers quit their jobs in November 2021, these people aren’t dropping out of the workforce. They're looking for work elsewhere, signaling increased competition for employers. In 2022 and beyond, organizations will need to fully accept a new way of working that prioritizes technology, employee benefits, diversity and culture.
Overcoming Hiring Hurdles And Raising Retention
While remote work has opened the door for companies to hire across the globe, there is a greater need for companies to stand out. The change in power dynamics has made it such that employer branding will be essential in setting employers apart, and benefits and culture are front and center.
For SMBs especially, fine-tuning employee benefits will be key to competing. In fact, a recent study by Prudential (download required) revealed that 45% of Millennials are leaving their jobs to find better compensation and benefits. With U.S. workers still quitting their jobs in record numbers, business leaders are searching for the best ways to entice younger generations to apply to their companies. Aside from voluntary benefits, especially those focused on mental health and telehealth offerings, we can expect benefits that enhance remote working experiences to become increasingly important as employers work to connect distributed teams.
Further, employees are now more keen on where a company stands socially and politically, and they are weighing company values heavily in accepting jobs. Employers are being held accountable for DE&I commitments and are expected to drive career advancement. In 2022 and beyond, it’s essential that HR leaders and managers are involved in an employee's career from Day One, helping them gain skills and move up in the company, versus leaving for new opportunities.
AI, Automation And HR tech
The ability for HR leaders to engage with current and prospective employees efficiently has a direct impact on their ability to hire and retain talent. In turn, the explosion of remote work has quickly increased the need for software solutions that simplify workforce management functions. Crunchbase reported late last year that funding in the HR tech sector has more than doubled, and by November 2021, total venture dollars stood at nearly $7.5 billion for the year—more than the totals for 2019 and 2020 combined.
As more companies begin using AI and automation tools to make HR workflows more efficient, this could open the door for HR leaders to evolve beyond mundane tasks and paperwork. At my company, we use tools that aid us in tracking and assessing performance data, like Lattice. From benefits administration to employee reviews, I believe AI and automation could be drivers of digital transformation in HR. That said, it is imperative that as companies reevaluate their technology, HR leaders provide checks and balances during the process to ensure DE&I is reflected.
The Value Of DE&I
DE&I will continue to prove valuable for companies that put intention behind their hiring. According to industry research, highly inclusive organizations are more likely to outpace and outperform their less diverse competitors. Beyond bottom-line impact, diversity is key for employee engagement. While there has been an elevated level of consciousness among business and HR leaders around DE&I following the groundswell of social and political movements in 2020, there is still work to be done.
What’s important for companies to know is that they can’t “boil the ocean” with diversity. Instead, companies should set a focus after proactively analyzing demographic data and mapping it to hiring goals. Going forward, it is essential that HR has a seat at the table when it comes to strategic planning and goal setting with the leadership team. This will ensure that the company can be measured against its metrics in order to make action happen. Ultimately, companies that are diverse yield better financial performance and higher rates of innovation while making better and faster decisions.
As companies look to hire and retain employees in 2022, everything from a company’s values, DE&I initiatives, benefit offerings and technology will play a factor in employees choosing an organization. Companies that don’t prioritize these elements could fall behind in hiring as well as in their business performance.
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