The traditional workforce is changing faster than our organizations can keep up and the way employees work is becoming more fluid, flexible, and dynamic. In 2017 Human Resource leaders need to rethink traditional policies to meet the needs of a more open, expressive, and changing workforce. With changing demographics and a more competitive job market, human resources are more challenged than ever before to hire, engage, maintain, and keep employees happy and motivated. Human Resource Professionals should strive to become more innovative, nimble, and observant, and to create agiler human-natured organizations.
Millennials are now the predominant group in the workplace and we have the most diverse, multi-generational workforce in history. HR professionals are challenged with understanding what drives each group and trying to keep everyone happy. Benefits and other programs may need to be redesigned to meet those needs.
Over the last couple of decades, technology has made it easier to work and to be expected to work beyond the 40-hour workweek. While some jobs truly require this, many don’t. More employees are now pushing back on this trend. Employers who limit intrusions into employees’ time off will have an edge in attracting and retaining good employees who want to be able to leave their jobs at the office. Help people take time off. Many employees don’t use all the vacation time that their benefits package offers. This may be because they don’t feel that their workload allows it or due to workplace culture. Studies show that well-rested, refreshed employees are more productive and less likely to burn out.
Workers want more choice and flexibility in how they approach tasks, for example, more opportunities to work collaboratively. They look for more opportunities to change duties, for exploration, to learn and to advance in their career in a less linear way. Put more into training and developing staff. As companies have tried to do more work for less money, their employees often bear the brunt of those sacrifices. Make this the year that you invest in your employees as a long-term investment in your organization.
While recent years have been tough on business, it has also been tough on employees. As business tightened its belt, employees were expected to take on more work, more hours, and more stress. Budgets may still be tight, but recognizing and rewarding your employees’ efforts is essential. Get creative with rewards. Find out what your employees need and want.
Make sure feedback is timely, appropriate, and genuine. This will go a long way with the employee and makes for a more positive workplace environment overall. Feedback is one of the strongest tools managers have for getting better results from their teams. Talking to your employees about the areas in which you’d like to see improve or describing what you’d like to see done differently can go a long way toward making that change happen. Positive feedback will generally keep people motivated and display the behaviors that drove the praise in the first place.
2017 will continue to see our workplaces evolve into more humane, people-centered spaces. Rather than reacting to pressure from business leaders and employees, HR leaders will need to rethink traditional policies to meet the needs of a more open and expressive workforce, taking a front seat in driving successful business outcomes.
WageWatch offers accurate, up-to-date benefit survey data, market compensation data and salary reports that will allow you to stay current with the times. This information is highly beneficial in creating the best salary, incentive and benefits packages that meet or rival the industry standards. The PeerMark™ Wage Survey is the only Web-based custom survey tool that allows individual survey participants to select their competitive set for comparison purposes. Our experienced compensation consultants can assist with your organization’s compensation needs. We can help you ensure internal equity and compliance with regulations as well as help you structure your compensation programs to support your company’s business strategy and objectives. For more information on our services, including consulting, salary survey data, benefit survey data, and market compensation reports, please call WageWatch at 888-330-9243 or contact us online.