With businesses becoming more aware of employee needs, they are taking the time to re-evaluate what is important to the company. So now, not only are they trying to invest in better technology and catch up to what is trending, but they are also tackling objectives that better personal workplace experience.
Gartner conducted a survey where around 800 HR leaders across 60 countries were asked about their priorities in 2023. The study revealed that “leader and manager effectiveness” was the top priority among the majority, closely followed by “organisation design and change management”.
But first, let’s go over why these changes are necessary.
Organisational Changes – Why Are They Needed?
During the survey, it was found that HR executives and decision-makers in companies are under a lot of pressure. With an increase in inflation, competition among talent, and a variety of shortages, there are crucial decisions that need to be made. One such decision is weighing in on employee benefits and needs.
To begin with, one of the biggest issues companies are having these days is employee retention. Despite having a full-time job and a salary appropriate to the role, many employees choose to leave. Around 52% of employees, according to the survey, said they wanted more flexibility in their work policies. When talking about other reasons, 53% of employees said they would like their employer to act on issues important to them.
In addition to this, employees being viewed as a person first and respecting their time is also important to them.
HR Changes to Expect
- Employee-Focused Leadership
According to the report, leaders being unable to take a new approach seemed to be the biggest issue. While previous leaders and decision-makers were focused on addressing what the work is and getting that done, leaders of today are expected to also address the needs of employees.
Around 24% of HR executives think that leaders of today are not prepared for such a shift in the future. Instead of taking a business-first leadership technique, it is imperative for leaders to take a more human-centric approach.
In the coming years, it will be expected that employers are allowing employees to be authentic. They will also be expected to truly care about the mental well-being of their employees while incorporating flexibility in the workplace.
- Change in Management
In the last few years, Covid-19 led to many organisations making frequent changes which led to what is called Change Fatigue. It is basically a point where employees start resisting any and every change in the organisation. In addition, the inability to access necessary information or wait for co-workers to participate in the work also causes work friction.
According to the Gartner report, work friction and change fatigue are some of the main reasons employees choose to leave. Especially in a hybrid work model, where around 40% of employees are more likely to face work friction.
In order to combat this, and improve employees’ intent to stay, HR executives will need to implement a new way to create changes. Instead of just dictating changes, it would be useful to have an open-source change plan where employees contribute and engage in making the changes. This way employees will feel more included, and management can make changes that matter to everyone.
- Professional Development
Another issue that the Gartner report addressed was the lack of vision among the employees. According to the report, around one in four employees were not sure of their career trajectory. To add to that, around 44% of HR leaders did not believe their organisation offers compelling careers.
In an interesting turn of events, modern-day employees are not changing jobs for just better pay but more so because they find better opportunities to develop professionally. This calls for immediate attention towards offering professional opportunities. Ideally, HR leaders would educate employees on where their roles can take them and offer resources to develop into those roles.
There is a lot more the Gartner report focuses on, but these are just some of the key factors that need immediate attention. For more information, head over to Gartner’s website.