{"id":12542,"date":"2022-06-20T10:12:38","date_gmt":"2022-06-20T14:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/?p=12542"},"modified":"2022-10-24T14:42:36","modified_gmt":"2022-10-24T18:42:36","slug":"hr-trends-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/hr-trends-right-now\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Important HR Trends Right Now for Employers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"hrThe annual Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Conference was held last week, and our human capital management partner – isolved<\/a> – was in attendance to learn about the latest HR trends impacting employers right now. isolved has shared some takeaways to help businesses better manage their workforce.<\/em><\/p>\n

5 Takeaways from SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2022<\/h2>\n

More than 15,000 HR professionals and business executives gathered from around the world, both in-person and virtually, for SHRM\u2019s annual conference<\/a>\u00a0to learn about the latest trends and products in the Human Resources (HR) industry.<\/p>\n

The conference stretched from June 13 to June 15, with more than 500 exhibitors and over 200 educational sessions. While there were many takeaways from the conference, one important topic was the impact of increased expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur employees are expecting more. Our executives are expecting more. Our customers are expecting more,\u201d Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP – President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM said during a keynote session.<\/p>\n

As employers work to meet these expectations, there are some key updates impacting the workforce that should be considered. Here are five that were discussed during the conference:<\/p>\n

HR Trend #1: Remote work is here to stay<\/h3>\n

At this point it seems obvious to state that remote work is here to stay, but what can employers do to ensure that their company culture continues to thrive in digital environments and how can they avoid excluding remote workforces?<\/p>\n

For starters, employees need to be equipped with the proper digital workspace. This includes providing remote employees with the software and tools needed to do their job as efficiently at home as they would be able to in the office. Collaboration tools, for example, can make it simple for employees to connect and ask questions regardless of where they are working.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen employees feel like they have the proper digital space, [employers have] seen 91 percent engagement rate,\u201d said Allie Kovalik, Senior Community & Culture Manager at Globalization Partners, in a session titled \u201cBuilding an Amazing Virtual Culture: Start Where You Are, Use What You Have.\u201d<\/p>\n

HR Trend #2: The employee experience still has much to be desired<\/h3>\n

\u201cWe need to dramatically improve the onboarding experience,\u201d said Arianna Huffington, keynote speaker, Founder & CEO of Thrive, and Co-founder of HuffPost.<\/p>\n

Huffington recommends starting off the onboarding experience with the question, \u201cWhat is important to you outside of work?\u201d The first impression is significant and by opening the conversation about what\u2019s important, employees begin to feel heard and are willing to be more open about what is happening behind closed doors. It also provides managers insight into an employee\u2019s priorities so that they can navigate the relationship properly.<\/p>\n

These recommendations make sense, as research shows that 51 percent of employees say<\/a>\u00a0they\u2019ve been tempted to leave a new job due to a negative onboarding experience. What\u2019s more, 85 percent rate the onboarding experience as important or extremely important.<\/p>\n

HR Trend #3: \u201cLack of well-being is a countdown to disaster.\u201d<\/h3>\n

Benjamin Granger, Head of Employee Experience Advisory Services at QualtricsXM, made this statement during a session titled \u201cThe Four Employee Experience Trends to Act on in 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n

Granger noted that over the past two years, job security, life, satisfaction, and even work satisfaction have continually improved, but employee mental health has been declining. Qualtrics conducted a survey for employee wellness and when asked about time off, 29 percent of respondents declared they would not take a sick day.<\/a> When asked why 61 percent expressed a heavy workload as the reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cFifty percent of the American workers we studied said they work at least 1 hour a day while on vacation,\u201d said Granger.<\/p>\n

While the audience let out a harmonious laugh at this statistic, Granger followed up by sharing that 25 percent work at least 3 hours a day while on vacation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not giving ourselves proper time to recoup, we\u2019re not giving ourselves proper time to get over all the stuff we\u2019ve been through, and it\u2019s no wonder we\u2019re seeing a lot of people going into this lay flat movement,\u201d said Granger.<\/p>\n

\u00a0HR Trend #4: HR professionals need to help themselves before helping others<\/h3>\n

In a world where companies depend on HR teams to keep them afloat, HR teams are drowning and struggling to take care of themselves.<\/p>\n

In a session titled \u201cPut Your Oxygen Mask First: Banishing Burnout in Human Resources,\u201d Lora Haines, Director of Learning and Development at JB Training Solutions, reminded attendees about the importance of helping themselves first before helping others. She noted that to banish burnout, it\u2019s essential to set boundaries and preserve energy.<\/p>\n

Haines encouraged HR professionals to practice their \u201cno\u201d muscles. She also shared tips for how to prioritize time while still aiding a colleague, as well as how to set boundaries before making a decision. For example, try saying \u201cThat might work, let me just check my schedule and get back to you.\u201d By doing this, there\u2019s more time to check workload and effectively respond.<\/p>\n

Here are some additional recommended responses that Haines suggested trying:<\/p>\n