Between transitioning to remote work overnight and supporting employees through the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was quite a hectic year for HR professionals. You were at the forefront of coordinating with employees from different departments and making all the necessary arrangements to keep your businesses going—all this on top of any personal struggles that may have arisen for you amidst it all.
As we step into the New Year, understanding what priorities are driving the HR industry will help you devise strategies to improve employee experience despite the hardships of 2020. With adequate planning and preparation, you'll be able to sail through 2021 by adapting quickly and easily to all the latest trends. Here are some of the top HR priorities that will shape the global workforce in 2021:
Employee wellness
The pandemic has emphasised the importance of reinforcing employee wellness strategies. To sustain and grow, organisations must continue to prioritise employee's physical, mental, and emotional well-being, even in the post-COVID world. Consider incorporating wellness programs that strengthen immunity, encourage physical activity, promote mental health, prevent burnout, and improve work-life balance. Start by understanding the current wellness needs of your employees. Define a few wellness goals for the whole year and track your progress continuously.
Remote work culture
Many organisations shifted to remote work suddenly without prior planning. However, long-term remote work will not succeed if the core organisational values like empathy, leadership, transparency, and flexibility are not consistent with remote work practices. That's why many organisations are starting to focus on fostering their remote work culture to keep employees engaged, improve productivity, enhance collaboration, and provide a smooth remote working experience. Otherwise, attracting and retaining talent will become challenging. Establishing a healthy remote work culture can be difficult in the beginning as employees are isolated in different locations. But with the proper virtual communication tools in place, you'll be able to succeed.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion
2020 saw some major movements in support of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). Customers and employees now expect their organisations to engage in DE&I initiatives. According to a survey by PwC, 76% of business leaders, HR professionals, employees, and diversity and inclusion drivers have stated that DE&I is a priority area for their organisation. Another survey by Manifest has also revealed that 70% of candidates value an organisation's commitment to DE&I. So in 2021, many organisations will take measures to increase diversity and develop an inclusive work environment.
Skill development
According to a recent Gartner survey, almost 68% of the HR leaders who responded rated building critical skills as their number one priority. Organisations will need to continue identifying skill gaps among their employees and building in them the skills and competencies needed to thrive. This will help organisations to perform better, survive through difficult times, and adapt to changing scenarios easily. Delivering continuous learning and development opportunities through the right learning platform will help you stay organised and offer training to more employees at once, no matter where they're working from. As remote work continues, online learning will become more prevalent than ever before. Adopting a step-by-step approach that involves identifying the skills you need, defining training goals, and measuring the impact of learning on performance will help.
Work flexibility
Employee experience
Wrapping up
2020 was all about change, resilience, anxiety, and ambiguity. To overcome the challenges brought about by the pandemic, it's necessary to refocus your people management strategies according to these new workplace realities. What do you think is the most important priority for HR this year? Let us know in the comments section below!