Welcome back for part two of our HR Priorities 2023, with more advice from the experts on what HR teams and organisations should be focusing on next year and the key priorities to achieve success for your people and your business.
In the first instalment we heard from employment law experts, people development professionals, wellbeing leaders, and our very own HR consultants, to guide you through the plans and priorities to keep you ahead of the challenges that 2023 may bring.
In this second instalment, we’ve got even more! This time we’ve got insights, guidance and advice from employment lawyers, organisational psychologists, HR Directors and thought leaders, all sharing their top tips and advice on top HR challenges!
If you’d like to discuss your HR and organisational challenges with one of the team, on a confidential, no commitment basis, then why not arrange a call here?
For now though, let’s read on!
Quiet quitting & employee engagement
One of the biggest HR trends and topics last year came from the unlikely source of TikTok, from which the phrase of “Quiet Quitting” gained some traction and notoriety across social media, with many discovering the phrase, which essentially means doing the minimum requirements of one’s job and putting in no more time, effort, or enthusiasm than absolutely necessary.
Why did this come about? In a year where terms like the ‘Great Resignation’ and others came to the fore, it’s arguably unsurprising that a new phrase pertaining to employee engagement appeared. In a study by Workvivo this time last year, one of the most startling findings they presented was that, of the people surveyed, a staggering 60% of employees were planning to leave their jobs in the subsequent twelve months.
However, leaving the role wasn’t the only option that appeared last year, with many falling foul of the “quiet quitting” approach, and choosing to give their bare minimum in their current role, instead of taking the risk of moving roles altogether.
So how serious is this? And what can HR teams and organisations do to combat it, or even prevent it from being something their employees even consider?
In our discussion with Melrona Kirrane, Associate Professor of Organisation Psychology at DCU, and one of Ireland’s leading voices on this topic, we learned that there are many relatively small and simple things that organisations can do, which can go a long way.
“Understanding what makes people tick, understanding how to build a job well, building a team team culture, and instilling a sense of gratitude at work, would be things that would have an enormous impact.”
Are you planning to drive engagement in 2023? Or tackle growing instances of quiet quitting in your organisation? The advice from Melrona? Start with those things first!
As you can imagine though, the topic of engagement runs quite deep, so why not take a full listen to this practical and insightful chat here!
Revaluating your Pay & Reward Strategy
As reported in the first instalment of this two-part series, financial concerns have jumped right to front of mind for many employees across Ireland. In Laya’s Workplace Wellbeing Index Research, they found that 5 of the top 6 causes of employee anxiety and stress relate to financial concerns. This is something which is also becoming apparent to HR leaders too, as 58% of HR leaders say the rising cost of living is their employees’ biggest concern. Coupling this with the candidate-centric market and the continuous effects of the Great Resignation (or whatever your term of choice is), it has become quite apparent that the whole area of Pay & Reward should be high on HR and organisation’s to-do list for 2023.
But is it all about money? While many employees are stressed with financial concerns, many businesses are also facing financial issues, with many even being forced to make cutbacks and redundancies (which we’ll talk about later.) The challenge for many businesses, is how do they spend more on their staff, without having the financial freedom to do just that?
Thankfully, Oliver Coakley, Reward Consultant and expert in the Pay & Reward world, believes its not just about money. For Oliver, the secret to success in pay & reward, and keeping your people and your organisation happy, comes from thinking differently.
“I think there’s a bit of a reset that’s needed in relation to the workplace across a number of areas, including how we reward people, in a way that can allow employers to stand out from the pack, to be different, to have that edge in talent attraction, but also to simplify this stuff for people, make it easy to understand, and allow them to design their reward in a way that works for them.”
The advice for 2023? Firstly, look at your Pay & Reward package holistically to get a sense of what’s available. But also make sure to listen to your people. Ask your people what they want, what they need, and what works for them.
This episode was packed with advice on a tricky topic, so make sure to listen back here!
Managing redundancies
As mentioned above, the prospect of redundancies was one that faced many organisations in 2022. We need only look at the headlines from November and December to see the sheer amount of people affected by lay-offs and redundancies this year, across many sectors. Big names such as Twitter, Meta and Stripe all faced tough decisions, with their employees also receiving some tough news in the countdown to Christmas.
For many of you, avoiding the prospect of redundancies as best you can in 2023 is a big priority. Or for those of you who know how hard it is to prevent this prospect, many of you will simply want to know what to do when this happens.
Thankfully, we had a fantastic, detailed, practical chat with one of Ireland’s leading experts in redundancy management, Breda O’ Malley, Partner at Hayes Solicitors, who guided us through the law, the process, and the skills needed to manage this effectively. While the full run-down of the legislation and the obligations for employers can be best understood from listening back to the podcast episode with Breda, one hugely valuable snippet of information to consider for 2023, was not just what to do when redundancies occur, but how you do it.
“This is not just a HR exercise. This has ramifications for the business in terms of reputation, in terms of whether your people will be attracted to it, and whether or not those people who are currently employed will want to stay if they see how their peers are being treated on the way out.”
Driving diversity and inclusion
As we all know, workplaces thrive when they are environments where all people can feel comfortable, accommodated, and free from prejudice and discrimination. However, is this the reality for people with disabilities?
Recently, we marked International Day of Persons with Disabilities by taking a closer look at the topic of disability inclusion in the workplace and digging deeper into what organisations can do to be truly inclusive for those with disabilities, with Christabelle Feeney, Director at Employers For Change.
Inclusion is by no means a new term or topic within HR. This is an area of HR that always features highly on the list of priorities for HR teams and organisations, but is also one that many find challenging to get right. And this year, unfortunately, may be no different.
Although we spoke to Christabelle solely about disability inclusion in the workplace, the facts, figures and advice are hugely valuable across all aspects of diversity and inclusion.
As mentioned by Christabelle, a recent study by Deloitte found that companies who have a truly inclusive culture are 8 times more likely to achieve better outcomes, they were 3 times more likely to be high performing, and twice as likely to meet or exceed targets.
“This isn’t just the right thing to do. If you’re an organisation or business, you should be doing this. If you want to be successful, if you want to ensure that you have the best possible talent working for you in your organisation, then you need to be including the voices of the disabled community.”
For full guidance and advice on driving diversity and inclusion in your workplace, listen back to episode 94 of The Room Podcast here!
Stay agile and future-ready!
And finally, as we’ve been looking ahead to 2023 in this two-part series, what better way to round-off our advice than with tips, tricks and guidance on how to be future-focused in HR.
In our recent conversation with Aisling Campbell, Head of HR at Accenture Ireland, we spoke about what HR professionals and teams can do to be ready for what’s coming next in HR, and how to equip you and your team with the skills to face your next HR and organisational challenge effectively.
But, wait a minute, haven’t we been talking about the future of work for a long time? Why now? Well let’s take a quick minute to discuss the current state of HR – what do we know?
As reported by Workvivo last year, 98% of HR professionals are feeling burned out. However, alongside this, as reported by the CIPD, HR is adding value to organisations in a range of ways, from championing diversity (86%) and enhancing the employee experience (83%), to leading change effectively (82%).
So what does this mean for you as a HR professional or HR leader? Essentially, it means that HR is now being seen as an influential and important part of the business, but the profession is being stretched. Our advice for 2023, focus on impact. What can you do to make the most impact to the business, without risking you or your team burning out while doing so?
Thankfully, Aisling shared two great pieces of advice in this regard.
“Have a problem-solving mentality. Really think about what it is you’re trying to solve for your organisation. Whether it’s a group of 50 people, 500 or 5,000, what are we trying to do?”
“And really be able to take data, and external trends, put them together and say, what does this mean for our organisation? What does this mean for the people in our organisation? What does this mean for how we do HR in our organisation? Be able to turn that data into insight.”
For tonnes of insights, tips and tricks on being future-ready, take the notepad out and listen back to our full conversation with Aisling Campbell here.
We’d love to hear what your priorities are for 2023, and we’d also love to help with any of the challenges you’re facing!
For further guidance and discussion about your HR challenges, and building success in 2023, speak to our team today at 0567701060 or send an email to info@insighthr.ie.