Business leaders looking to foster a healthy workplace culture, meet their employees' needs, and align their policies with their mission and values should pay close attention to HR trends.
Attracting, retaining, and elevating a company's talent pool have become top priorities for many businesses in 2023. More employers see the value of improving their employees' work-life balance and ensuring they can provide creative solutions to the evolving needs of today's modern workplace.
From new laws and regulations to the evolution of today's work environments, the past few years have had an outsized influence on many of the HR trends we're seeing this year. Companies and their HR teams must stay updated to avoid negative impacts like increased turnover, decreased company loyalty, and lack of employee engagement.
Terri Carter, Director of Human Resources at BBSI, joins the show to discuss current human resource trends. Terri also shares some new regulations that will have an impact on hiring and retaining employees. You’ll learn about these new laws, upcoming trends, and some best practices in HR management that can help you successfully manage your workforce in 2023 and beyond.
Before we dive into what’s new, let’s take a look at last year’s highlight reel:
2022 was a year of significant workforce changes for many business owners and their employees. Business owners started to see the benefits of listening and adapting to the needs of their staff and emphasized support for their employee's work-life balance.
Company leaders took this approach with both their new talent and their existing workforce. In 2022, support for work-life balance as a retention tactic rose to the forefront of human resources management.
This phenomenon appeared partially in response to the trend of “quiet quitting,” or employees doing what they perceived to be the bare minimum at work. In the face of economic turmoil and the looming “return to the office,” many employees began fulfilling their job descriptions to a T, choosing to spend more time optimizing their work-life balances instead of working overtime.
Employer responses to this were varied. Many businesses did some or all of the following to increase workplace satisfaction:
In terms of HR trends in 2022, taking stock and starting to craft employee-focused changes were some of the most notable.
Considering the emphasis on work-life balance in 2022, what are the latest HR trends emerging in 2023?
To prevent or address “quiet quitting,” increase employee engagement, and support company loyalty, many employers are doubling down on their work-life balance efforts in 2023. What might that look like for your company? Consider the following tactics:
For businesses facing cash flow challenges, focus on incremental, inexpensive changes that can improve employees’ experiences at work, decrease their stress levels, or support their professional and personal development. The best way to find out how you can best support your employees is by asking them what they need: empower your employees to contribute to positive policy changes.
Leveraging work-life balance support as a retention and engagement tactic appears to still be at the forefront of HR trends in 2023.
In industries that can accommodate remote work, that might look like:
But, not all businesses can work remotely. Terri has noticed that some businesses have incorporated other unique strategies to support work-life balance, like:
Choosing an attendance model that works for your employees is at the heart of work-life balance support in 2023.
Career development plans, or written strategies to help employees advance internally, can provide two key benefits to employers in 2023:
Making career development plans is slightly easier in 2023 with the continued evolution of virtual training. With professional development opportunities at their fingertips, employers can more easily facilitate the skill-building required to advance internal candidates over time.
Succession planning isn’t a new concept, but until recently, business owners haven’t had access to an industry-standard blueprint for these kinds of major transitions.
In her assessment of businesses in 2022 and 2023, Terri observed that multigenerational businesses are especially less likely to have a legacy transition plan. As more third-generation business owners’ children and grandchildren pursue opportunities outside of their family businesses, leadership changes can get murky.
If you’re looking for support ahead of a major transition, check out BBSI’s Succession Planning Pack: a resource for mapping out the next era of your business.
Whether they’re responding to changing regulations or shifting values in the workforce, many businesses are continuing to invest in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts this year.
In our guide to DEI initiatives for small businesses, here are some quick strategies you can consider if you’re looking to develop a more equitable workplace:
In 2023, employers are continuing to shift away from a degree-based hiring strategy to a skills-based one.
As the costs of higher education continue to climb in the United States, hiring employees based on their skills and experience can provide opportunities for a wider applicant pool. This could:
Shifting to a skills-based hiring approach can be challenging. One quick tip might be to develop detailed and robust job descriptions for each role and use these as the basis for job postings instead of or in addition to degree requirements.
HR professionals and business owners need to stay updated with the newest regulations, laws, and compliance requirements for their businesses. Regardless of company size or industry, these new rules and regulations will have impacts across the employment spectrum.
Many states across the country are adjusting and bulking up their leave laws: the regulations that define and enforce minimum leave times and compensation requirements for employees taking a legally protected leave of absence.
Businesses should take note of two major leave changes and trends in 2023:
Employers in some states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Washington) are now required to post details about both compensation and benefits in their hiring ads. These laws are intended to provide additional transparency for job seekers and empower them to choose positions that meet their financial needs.
Specific municipalities have enacted similar regulations. If your business is headquartered in any of the following areas, review local laws carefully to post compliant job ads:
Some states have enacted “ban the box” laws in the past, regulating how and when employers can ask potential hires about their criminal histories.
The federal government recently passed the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, which can impact companies nationwide. While there are some exceptions, the law prevents federal agencies and contractors from requesting criminal record information from employment candidates before a job offer is made.
As philosophies surrounding criminal records and hiring have changed over time, so have state and federal laws. To make sure your hiring questionnaire or standard interview procedures comply, review relevant regulations or consult with an HR professional.
Twenty-seven states have already increased the minimum wage this year or have plans for an increase sometime during 2023.
In some states, specific figures are based on:
Pay and benefits requirements are critical for HR departments, especially public sector businesses and government contractors. Both HR departments and business owners should pay close attention to regulation changes year-round to prevent compliance issues and ensure their employees receive fair compensation.
In the face of 2023 HR trends and changing regulations, business owners and management teams must prepare to meet new challenges to ensure continued prosperity. The following general tips can help you navigate employee relationships, brainstorm and introduce new changes, and improve your workplace for the better:
Overall, staying on top of HR trends requires a commitment to ongoing learning and professional development. By engaging with the HR community and remaining open to new ideas and technologies, businesses can adapt to changing trends and ensure they are meeting the needs of their workforce.
If you’re not sure how to shift your policies to accommodate the latest workforce expectations, it might be time to call in reinforcements.
BBSI offers a customized approach to HR and business strategy, helping you discover which approaches work best for your company. After all, business owners build cultures based on their beliefs, workplace families, and surrounding communities: what’s right for one brand may not be suitable for the next.
"That's the beauty of the BBSI team: we customize the approach. It's all about the business owner's plan. It's not our plan for them,” Terri says. “We don't have a cookie-cutter approach where we say, ‘Okay, business owner, you want to transition out of your business. Here's what you have to do. Here's the 10-step process.’ It's, ‘How do you want to do this? What are you working with? Who do you have in your business? Can you identify somebody internally?’”
Customizing that approach is what our team of professionals does best. Reaching out to BBSI in your local community and having a conversation with us can help you carve a path forward in a changing economy.
Contact your local BBSI Business Unit today to learn more about how BBSI can help you plan for the future and set you and your business on the path to prosperity.