Another year ends, and that means it’s time to look ahead at what the new year has in store for the world of human resources. In 2017, the hottest HR trends will center more than ever on the employee experience and employee satisfaction. Technology will continue to stake its claim in the world of HR, with new and different platforms and a more holistic approach also shaking things up.
Let’s jump right in—here are the 2017 hottest HR trends:
Employers have always focused on improving their customers’ experience, but recently there’s been a shift to focusing more on employees’ experience too. This is in great part due to the skills-gap we’re facing. There simply aren’t enough skilled workers to meet the demands in certain fields, such as manufacturing and IT. That means employers have to work harder to keep employees happy, so they won’t leave for a competitor.
In 2016, the leading job satisfaction contributors included respectful treatment of all employees at all levels, compensation, benefits, and job security. These are a few of the factors companies will have to focus on next year. Everything from job perks to paid parental leave to career tracking—it’s all on the table next year, and companies will have to step up their game if they hope to keep skilled employees for the long run.
In order to know whether your efforts are in fact improving your employees’ experience, tracking employee engagement is going to become paramount. Lewis Garrad, a partner at the management consultant company Sirota, says that companies need to track engagement metrics in order to “find ways to boost employee retention, productivity and performance.”
Tracking engagement is no longer a bonus function of HR, but rather at the very foundation of a company’s success. According to Gallup research, 32% of U.S. workers are engaged (twice the number of worldwide employee engagement, at 13%). Yet this number has stayed the same during the last 15 years. Part of the problem stems from many companies’ quick, slap-on solution of the “employee survey” as a substitute for more meaningful employee engagement. The time has come to view engagement as part of the overall organizational strategy and consider how it aligns with company goals.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, only 12% of workers in the private sector can get paid family leave through their employer. In fact, the United States is one of only two countries in the world that does not guarantee paid leave for new mothers (the other is Papua New Guinea).
Over the last year, however, several companies made news for offering family leave benefits that were unprecedented in the country. Companies including Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, and Netflix (with its whopping unlimited leave within a year) have expanded paid leave for both mothers and fathers. This trend will continue to surge as more and more employees demand that their employers provide paid family leave.
Another growing trend is the use of applications and devices for encouraging and tracking employee wellness. According to Deloitte research, more than 40% of millennials select an employer based on its health and wellness benefits. Many programs to promote employee wellness have proven successful, but the next step will involve a more technological approach.
Recently, Aetna announced it would make the Apple Watch available to select large employers and individual customers during open enrollment, and that it would subsidize a portion of the Apple Watch cost through monthly payroll deductions. Aetna also provided free Apple Watches to its own 50,000 employees, to “encourage them to live more productive, healthy lives.” The marriage of wellness and technology will prove to be a strong trend in 2017.
A better work/life balance may not seem like a new trend, but it’s certainly a growing one. It has been pushing forward, full steam ahead for years now and it shows no signs of slowing down. Employees want workplace flexibility, from telework options to unlimited paid leave. The trend continues to move away from the rigid 9-to-5 mindset to a results-driven work environment.
Companies looking to acquire and retain top talent must continue to work on providing flexible work options for their employees, especially the younger ones. In a recent Deloitte study, millennials said that “flexible working conditions and work/life integration” is the No. 1 way organizations would have to change if they want to improve retention.
The once-a-year performance review simply doesn’t work anymore. Research shows that companies that give regular employee feedback have 15% lower turnover rates, and 80% of millennials (who are increasingly coming into the workforce) prefer on-the-spot recognition over formal reviews.
Deloitte studies show that only 8% of companies say their performance management process is highly effective in driving business value. That’s a shockingly low number for such a core HR function. Employers need to start rethinking their performance management in a way that actually works for today’s workforce.
What other hot human resources trends do you see coming in 2017?
4 Comments
I’m for paid maternity leave, and that the government should pick up the tab. As in most of the world, this is an expense that everyone should contribute to.
It’s difficult to track employee engagement, but most difficult is to engage employees. Usually this happens because management does not know where to focus. It’s rare to see a consistent pattern in engaging employees, as management prioritizes things differently and although this is understandable, it is never a good enough excuse.
My team keeps a variety of work schedules with start times ranging from 7am to 10am and even later, and people have the option to work from home if they need and so far I didn’t encountered any issues with this kind of flexibility. We do ask everyone to either be online or in the office on certain days for team meetings, but other than that, they are free to develop a schedule that works best for them.
In a separate Workplace Trends study, 83 percent of HR professionals agreed the experience of employees is key to organizational success. The workplace experienced a similar leap, particularly in human resources—in fact, Capterra caught a number of 2016 HR trends early , including gamification in recruiting, candidate experience, and real-time feedback systems.