Futurecasting for 2023
I was recently asked by FrazerJones, a leading global HR executive search and recruitment consultancy: What does HR need to be preparing for?
It’a good question — below you’ll find my thoughts on improving the present while preparing for the future.
Before touching on specifics, it’s worth noting that these are extraordinary times for employees and the HR professionals who assist them. In a scant two years, employers have been required to concern themselves with employee well-being, give more than a nod to employee engagement, and think creatively about ways to make work more fulfilling and their workplaces more attractive. A tightening economy may stall these changes in 2023, but it won’t erase them entirely. These efforts hold the key to greater productivity for the US workforce. They will get us closer to the elusive yet attainable work-life balance we have been talking about for years. Employees and thoughtful HR pros shouldn't give up on striking that balance.
The last few years of constant workplace upheaval have left us with little time to stop and contemplate the big picture, let alone prepare for what’s next. Employees, employers and their HR teams have had to reprioritize. Forward-thinking policies and creative solutions are required for future planning. It’s now time for pilot programs, experiments and "we’ve-never-tried-this-before” thinking to hold the attention of job candidates and boost engagement of existing staff.
There are so many issues employers and their people teams could explore now to better position themselves for the future, I had trouble choosing just a few. Here are some that I’ll be looking at more closely (watch this space for more on that!).
• Compensation by geography. HR should explore setting compensation equitably based on geography. That is to ask, should someone in well-priced Milwaukee working from home make the same salary as someone who works in an office in the far more expensive San Francisco? I could argue this both ways — an hour of coding,brief writing, or fixing machinery should be worth the same no matter where it’s done. But in terms of practicality, $50 an hour might enable you to live very well in Cleveland, but could mean four roommates in New York. Commuting to NYC from Connecticut costs hundreds of dollars a month; working from home instead effectively gets you a raise. A well-thought-out proposal for pegging salaries to local costs could be an attractive move for employers to attract and retain talent. A good proposal will need to be comprehensive: identifying a principled method of establishing costs across the US; exploring whether a cost-of-living stipend would attract candidates to relocate and looking at whether real estate and similar savings from remote work can be passed on to workers. It could lower costs and allow employers to offer the flexibility that incentivizes the job to candidates.
• Customized benefit offerings. Personalized benefit packages can also aid recruitment and retention. Can your company create customizable benefit offerings? Can you permit employees to choose between a 401(k) contribution or student loan repayment? Can you offer employees a choice between additional PTO or flexible scheduling for family care needs, reimbursement for home office expenses, transportation subsidies, or a company donation match to an employee’s charity of choice? There are legal and administrative questions that have to be answered, but the result could be worth the effort.
• Flexible work arrangements — scheduling, job structure, engagement. A proactive approach to flexible work and scheduling arrangements is another feature that can differentiate your company as a best-in-class employer. Does a four-day work week make sense for all or some of your workers? What about the logistics for your company? How would compensation work? What about overlap, do you offer Mon - Thurs and Tues - Fri work weeks? How do ensure that those on abbreviated schedules have the same opportunities for advancement? As for job trajectories — Can you create less-than-full-time roles for senior executives and managers who would otherwise be leaving the workforce? Can you build a compliant program to hire former employees who have left to become freelancers and consultants? Can you implement practices to ensure that remote workers stay engaged? For example, are you collecting feedback on what’s working and what’s not? Are you training managers to be outcome focused, rather than using standard measures like hours worked and facetime. Are you coaching managers to replace micromanaging with microunderstanding, to make time to connect with remote employees, remove obstacles for them and keep their team goals in alignment?
• So much more. Then there is finetuning your DEI&B program to fit mixed models of working. This can include scheduling weekly personal development time, or offering additional options and resources to aid individual career development. I could go on and on (don’t worry, I won’t).
Good luck in finding your way to re-envision how working at your business looks this year!