Facing 2022 HR challenges head-on

Well, here we are again – the end of a second successive year in which the world of work has faced unforeseen challenges yet. But, with every fresh challenge comes an opportunity. This holds especially true for HR. So – as 2022 beckons, what new challenges can we expect, and how can we turn them into opportunities?
Things will be different again – that’s for certain. New trends will be shaped by changes the pandemic forced us all to make.
Here are the five workplace trends that you can anticipate for the next 12 months.

Continued employee hiring challenges
Are you finding employee turnover higher than ever before? Then you’re in the majority. Most employers are reporting that remote hiring and onboarding is proving much tougher than conventional methods (although interestingly, many are discovering that the actual interview part of the process is just as effectively carried out remotely than in-person).
For now, we’ll all have to accept that, at least in the short term, an element of recruiting, interviewing, hiring and onboarding will remain remote. So – it’s vital to avoid complacency and to continue to focus on making these processes as smooth and effective as they can possibly be.

An imaginative approach
Unfilled vacancies remain at a record high. If companies are going to attract the right people, many will need to apply innovative thinking. This may mean diversity – looking at sectors you’d never considered before – mature candidates, for example.
Of course, we should never exclude candidates on the basis of disability, but isn’t now the time to be opening up opportunities that previously have come with a stigma.

Team building and cohesion
A negative impact of the pandemic has been the potential erosion of team morale. Remote and hybrid working can endanger both employer-employee relations as well as those between colleagues. Working from home can drive a subtle wedge between individuals caused by perceived unfair treatment or lack of productivity.
As the pandemic approached year three, it’s vital that companies keep a closer eye than ever before on employee engagement and morale. Employees may continue to feel isolated. Collaboration is inevitably less effective than when they work together on-site. And without daily interaction with the boss, they might not get the feedback they need.
Managers need to shift permanently from thinking of employee appreciation as taking time out of their day. Instead, they should see it as an ongoing, necessary element of effective leadership.
In 2022 HR leaders and front-line managers will need to maintain their focus on softer skills – such as team building and conflict resolution – whether employees remain working from home or start returning to the workplace.

Keeping on top of IT
As IT evolves to cope with remote or hybrid working, it will be more crucial than ever to make sure your technology is properly aligned with your workforce.
With so many people now working remotely, it seems that IT issues are increasingly going unreported. Support teams are sometimes not made aware of the issues until they’ve escalated to full-blown crises. You will need to ensure that all devices, applications, networks, and security systems are properly optimised and up-to-date.

Keeping health, safety and wellbeing at the top of the agenda
Regardless of where employees work in 2022, health, safety and employee wellbeing need to remain a number one priority.
Employers will need to persist with their on-site pandemic protocols, prioritising employee education. As an employer, you have an obligation to accommodate employees who are uncomfortable about attending the workplace.
Mental wellness programs will continue to be especially important now and for the foreseeable future. The consequence of a mentally unhealthy workforce will be evident in the form of an underperforming culture, high turnover, and high absenteeism.

Proactivity plays a huge part. You need to consider for 2022 increasing access to mental wellbeing benefits. Offer your employees access to the means of keeping ahead of mental stress. This might entail offering subscriptions to meditation apps, membership to yoga centres or gyms.

Specialist HR advice
Although, at the time of writing, British companies are facing a rocky festive period with the spread of the Omicron variant of the virus, there are strong signs that 2022 will see the country getting on top of the pandemic. This will be partly as a consequence of a strong vaccination programme, but any recovery will be, in part, due to a proactive, employee centred approach to HR.
For straight-talking HR advice – 01604 763494
Or email – info@GravitasHR.co.uk