What’s Your HR Action Plan in 2024?

As we come to the end of the first quarter of 2024 how have HR priorities changed in your organisation? And have you been able to make progress with initiatives around talent development and retention?

I recently had an interesting podcast chat with Kay Phelps (she/her) , Founder of PR in HR , who specialise in HR and workplace communication, often linking HR teams with the developing narratives and thinking in the vendor space and wider business community. We looked at the findings from their extensive research into HR strategies and priorities for 2024.

In terms of the key challenges, talent attraction and retention, DEI&B strategies and the need to support people in their development were major priorities, with budget constraints and a perceived lack of support providing internal barriers to progress.?

Overall they identified 5 key areas for action:

Prioritising Employee Experience: Employee retention is top of mind for most organisations and came through as a key priority in the research. It’s certainly been at the forefront of most conversations I’ve had recently with HR and Talent leaders. The key is to invest in initiatives that enhance employee experience, the main ones being career development programmes, providing support for wellbeing, and being open to flexible work arrangements that help employees manage their own time and commitments whilst being fully productive. Getting budget for employee experience initiatives isn’t always easy though, but investment in employee listening and recognition platforms is a good way to start assessing mood and enthusiasm. As well as regular catch up/check-ins with your people.

Strengthening DEI&B Initiatives: Doubling down on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging efforts are now critical components of organisational success - in the UK they came top in the list of HR priorities from the research. The results showed that overall a significant number of HR teams are considering investing in new products or services to support their DEIB strategies so it’s essential to collaborate with reputable suppliers who are able provide valuable insights, case studies and support in implementing strategies. And to know exactly why you are investing.

Embracing the Future of Work: Staying ahead of evolving work trends by developing adaptable strategies that consider the impact of technology and changing employee priorities and expectations. Future work models are likely to have a high degree of adaptability and flexibility, and so it’s important to fully understand and recognise the impact that AI and other evolving technologies may have on the organisation and it’s people.

Overcoming Internal Barriers: HR needs to address major internal challenges - which will primarily be a lack of budget and leadership buy-in - by being advocates for a data-driven approach to decision making on strategy and organisational design initiatives. Overcoming a lack of expertise by getting external support from trusted suppliers and consultants could be helpful, particularly when it comes to shaping (and getting) management and Board level buy-in.

Continuous Learning and Improvement: There needs to be a culture of continuous learning within the HR team itself, staying updated and informed on latest industry research and insights, best practices, and emerging technologies. Some of this can come from external sources - such as conferences, webinars, and networking events - as well as regular check ins with the vendors and consultants who can really offer educational content, unbiased guidance, and evidence of their success through case studies and testimonials.

You can listen to my podcast conversation with Kay Phelps (she/her) on the HR Means Business page (https://www.hrhappyhour.net/episodes/supporting-hr-strategies-and-priorities-for-2024/) and you can download their HR Strategies and Buying Decisions Report here

Our Futurecasting - 10 Years On

Around 10 years ago myself and Matt Alder decided to start collaborating on research and writing. Since then we have co-authored 2 books (a third will be started shortly) and also co-authored several research reports that document the changing and evolving HR and Talent landscape. One of our first projects was to look ahead and write a report predicting what we thought the future of work would look like in 10 years time - so round about now!

Recently I joined Matt at a studio in London to record the 600th episode of his The Recruiting Future Podcast - in which we looked back at our predictions to see how accurate we were!

In our chat we talk about:

• Tasks, not jobs, in a skills-based future
• ?How the pandemic accelerated trends that were already there
• ?Is "return to the office" HR's version of the culture wars
• Why we thought recruiting would be "Tinderized."
• The long-predicted demise of the resume
• Talent Marketplaces
• What the next ten might years look like
• Total Talent Thinking
• Where is the humanity in the AI-driven future of work?
• What is going to happen over the next 12 months

Hope you enjoy the conversation!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH5OiwLbjjU

Stats of the Week - Conscious Quitting

There was a bit of digital chat during the week about the expression 'Conscious Quitting' - but it made perfect sense to me.

Research from KPMG found that almost half of employees (46%) in the UK want to work for a company that aligns with their values (rising to 55% for Gen Z and Millennial workers) and that 20% have turned down a job offer because the company’s values didn’t align with their own (51% for Gen Z amd Millennial).

We wrote about this in our book Digital Talent - how leadership in the digital age required different thinking and priorities. And in my recent presentations I have asked the question - Are Your People Experiencing Moral Burnout