The HR trends to expect in 2022
Take a look at the top HR trends you need to know in 2022.
The global workplace has shifted on an unprecedented level over the past two years. Hybrid working is driving business transformation. Rising turnover is increasing the competition to find and retain talent. Pressure is mounting for organisations to set and make progress across diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Research and consulting company Gartner recently released a HR report which explored the top 5 priorities for HR leaders in 2022, having surveyed over 500 HR leaders across major sectors in 60 countries.
The report identified six business priorities as seen by these leaders:
Improve operational excellence
Execute business transformations
Grow the business
Innovate for success
Optimise costs
Manage risk and regulatory demands
These priorities have therefore shaped the HR agenda both in terms of priorities and challenges for 2022.
1. Building Critical Skills and Competencies: Top priority for 59% of HR leaders
A pressing challenge is that HR leaders are unable to meet the growing skills demand and find solutions to develop these skills. The evolving skills landscape has led to an increasing skills gap as employees need new skills to develop their role and support the growth of their organisation.
Gartner suggests that HR leaders should look to structure talent management around skills, not roles.
2. Organisational Design and Change Management: Top priority for 48% of HR leaders
Employee burnout is rising due to rapid workplace change and the demands on roles. This has a huge effect on productivity, performance, team collaboration, and employee retention.
Gartner suggests that HR need to build a ‘positive change experience’ by paying attention to everyday changes that are easily overlooked, building trust, and empowering teams to shape their own change experiences.
3. Current and Future Leadership Bench: Top priority for 45% of HR leaders
Almost a quarter of HR leaders surveyed felt that they do not effectively develop midlevel leaders. The primary barriers to lack of advancement and underrepresented talent were identified as unclear career paths and steps to advancement, too little exposure to senior leaders, lack of mentors or career support.
Gartner suggests that the new imperative is to equip midlevel managers to lead with empathy.
4. Future of Work: Top priority for 42% of HR leaders
Post-pandemic disruption has upended workforce planning, with almost half of HR leaders saying they do not have an explicit future of work strategy. HR leaders need to understand how the impact of the pandemic will alter the strategic goals and plans of their organisation.
Gartner suggests that HR leaders be able to identify the future of work trends most relevant to their business in order to effectively implement strategic workforce planning.
5. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Top priority for 35% of HR leaders
HR leaders say they struggle to hold business leaders accountable for DEI outcomes. Progression of underrepresented talent often stalls in the middle, as these groups experience slower rates of promotion and worse perception of leadership potential.
In order to address DEI outcomes, Gartner suggests that HR leaders adapt a consequential accountability DEI strategy and ensure that this is measurable.
[Source: 2022 Gartner HR Priorities Survey]
How HR teams can address these priorities
Following the release of the Gartner report, Mandy Matthews, Group HR Director at BPP, and Emma O’Dell, Director of Client Capability at BPP, gave their interpretation of the report and the ways in which HR leaders can address these priorities and challenges.
Building skills and retaining talent
“Gartner’s research really resonates with us at BPP, particularly in terms of building the right skills for the future and attracting and retaining talent, our people are our products, and we need to attract a wide range of talent,” explained Mandy. “In the current market, it’s crucial that HR leaders understand the skills to develop and that employees are experiencing the optimal technical and social environment in which to work, and that wellbeing and resilience are prioritised.”
The need for productivity and flexibility
“Over the last two years, the psychological contract and expectations of employees has changed,” noted Emma, “This new world should balance the need for productivity with flexibility, and the need to create and reinvent, whilst fighting the effects of stress and fatigue on mental health.”
Skills development solutions
40% of HR leaders surveyed for the Gartner report said they can’t build skill development solutions fast enough to meet evolving skills needs – and future skills are difficult to predict, which is where finding a one-stop training provider to identify and address those skills gaps can really help.
“Whether HR professionals need support with researching, identifying, describing or measuring role-specific or organisation-wide capabilities, we can help,” Emma continued. “We use online workshops and diagnostic tools to engage employees at foundation, core and strategic levels. We then create a heatmap of skills their talent needs and identify those high-priority skills that require training, both immediately and in the future.”
Your strategic talent partner
At BPP we pride ourselves on understanding the needs of your business and finding solutions that plug that all-important skills gap. Our courses are designed to be practically applied and have instant business impact from day one.
Speak to us today to find out more about how we can support your HR goals in 2022.
