2024人力资源趋势报告+HR+Trends+Report+2024

FORHRLEADERS

HRTrends

Report

2024

DResolvingtheproductivityparadox

DTappingintothehiddenworkforce

DThepointofnoreturnforDEIB

DHRdrivingclimatechangeadaptation

DFromsilostosolutions

DHRleansin

DHRmeetsPR

DAI-empoweredworkforce

DShiftingwork-lifebalancetowork-lifefit

DTheendofBSjobs

DFromtalentacquisitiontotalentaccess

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

11HRtrendsfor2024

1.Resolvingtheproductivityparadox

Whilewefeelbusierthanever,productivityhas

stagnated.HRcanusetrustedHRtoolsandnewtechtoempoweremployeesandgetproductivitybackon

track.

2.Tappingintothehiddenworkforce

Thecontinuedscarcityofcrucialskillsexertsextreme

pressureontalentacquisitiondepartments.HRcan

helporganizationstapintoamassivetalentpoolbydrivingchangestomakeworkmoreaccessibleand

accommodatingforthehiddenworkforce.

3.ThepointofnoreturnforDEIB

WithgrowingdiscontentaroundDEIB,in2024wewill

seeamovetowardssystemicDEIBfromcompanies

thatwanttoliveuptotheirpromise,andpublic

scrutinyforthosewhodon't.

4.HRdrivingclimatechangeadaptation

Climatechangeisbecomingathreattoemployeewellbeingandbusinesscontinuity.HRwillneedto

drivecomplianceandadaptationforthegoodof

employees,thebusiness,andsocietyatlarge.

5.Fromsilostosolutions

Asorganizationsevolvetobecomemoreadaptable,sowillHR.Thismeansshiftingtosolution-focused

multidisciplinaryteamsandrethinkingwhatwe

considerfundamentalHRskills.

6.HRleansin

TheHRfunctioncontinuestostrugglewith

misconceptionsaboutitsvalue.Byrecognizingits

ownstrategicvalueandgivingthefunctionthesame

supportitoffersotherdepartments,HRwillbeableto

changeperceptions,empoweritspractitioners,and

driveevenmorevalueforthebusiness.

7.HRmeetsPR

AsHR'sworkcomesunderincreasedpublicscrutiny,practitionerswillneedtotakeapagefromMarketingandPR'sbooktonotjustdrivevalue,butavoiddoing

damage.

8.AI-empoweredworkforce

GenerativeAIcanhelpboostworkerproductivityandoutputquality,butnotwithoutrisks.HRhasa

keyroletoplayinempoweringtheworkforceto

makesmart,innovative,andsafeuseofAI.

9.Shiftingwork-lifebalanceto

work-lifefit

Employeeneedsarechanginganddiversifying.HR

canhelporganizationsadaptsothattheycanoffer

thefreedom,flexibility,andfairnessemployeesneed

toflourishatwork.

10.TheendofBSjobs

Technologicaladvancementsmeanthatmillionsofjobswillbelost,andmillionsofnewonescreated.

ThisoffersHRtheopportunitytotackleflagging

productivityandthelackofmeaninginmanyjobs.

11.Fromtalentacquisitiontotalent

access

Intheneweraoftalentmanagement,it'slessabout

acquiringthetalenttofillgapsandmoreabout

creatingaccesstoexistingtalentbyidentifying,

unlocking,andnurturingthepotentialfromwithin.

2

INTRODUCTION

Elevatingwork

Intheworldofwork,changeisdesperately

needed.

Organizationsfacealaborshortagewhile

millionsofworkersareunnecessarily

sidelined.Productivitystagnatesdespitethe

democratizationofpowerfulnew

technology.Andasworkersreexaminetheir

relationshipwithwork,it'sclearthat

traditionalcareerstructureshavereached

theirlimit.

Workisatacrossroads.AndHRcanprovide

thebreakthroughneededtogetitbackon

track.

Wethinkthreemajorthemesaregoingto

dominateHRin2024.

HRwillrealignpriorities.Externalfactors

aredrivingamajortransformationinHR,

puttingtraditionalHRframeworksand

prioritiesunderscrutiny.

HRoperatingmodelswillchange.Tomeet

changingbusinessneeds,HRwillchange

notjustthewayitoperates,butthewayit

seesitself.

HRwillactasaforceforgood.In2024,HR

hasauniqueopportunitytodrivebusiness

resultsthroughbetteremployeepractices.

Changeisnevereasy.ButifHRhasthe

couragetostepupduringtheimpending

transformationofwork,everyonestandsto

benefit.

ErikvanVulpen

FounderofAIHR

DieterVeldsman

ChiefScientist,HR

&ODatAIHR

3

OVERVIEW

Tableofcontents

1

Resolvingtheproductivity

paradox

Page5

2

Tappingintothehidden

workforce

Page7

3

Thepointofnoreturnfor

DEIB

Page9

4

HRdrivingclimatechange

adaptation

Page11

Fromsilostosolutions

5Page13

HRleansin

6Page15

HRmeetsPR

7Page17

AI-empoweredworkforce

8Page19

9

Shiftingwork-lifebalancetowork-lifefit

Page21

TheendofBSjobs

10Page23

11

Fromtalentacquisitiontotalentaccess

Page24

4

Trend1

Resolvingtheproductivityparadox

Organizationscontinuetoinvestinemployeeengagement,experience,andwellbeing

interventions.Technologicaladvancementsletusautomatetasksandaugmentdecision-

making.Andwhilewefeelbusierthanever,productivityhasstagnated.It'stimeforHRtostepin.

Aglobalissue

2024findsusatacrossroads.Ontheonehandwehavehistoricallylowunemploymentandthehighestjobsatisfactionin36years.Butcompaniesarestillstrugglingwithasystemiclackoftechnicalskillsin

theworkforce,andstagnantproductivity.

Thisproblemishittingbothcompaniesand

countries.

Australia'sproductivitygrewbyjust1.1%

between2010and2020,andweareseeingsimilar

trendsaroundtheworld,suchasinthe

GCC

economies

and

Britain

.

Effectonworkers

Thisisn'tjustbadforbusiness.Poororganizationalperformancedirectlyaffectsemployeestoo,causing

insecureemploymentandlowerwages.

OECDdata

showsthatofficeworkerproductivityhas

flatlinedsince2008.ThisisaproblemthatHR

shouldownandovercomeinthenameofemployee

wellbeing.

WhatthismeansforHR

Holisticandanalyticapproach

Fifteenyearsofproductivitystagnationcannotbe

solvedwithasingleintervention.Instead,HRneeds

totakeaholisticviewofproductivityandfocuson

removingbottlenecks,developingstrategiesto

improveperformance,andincentivizingproductive

behaviors.

Dataanalysiswillbeessentialinidentifyingleversto

boostproductivity.Thiscanbedonewitha

large-scaleanalysisthatformsthebasisofa

restructuringoftheworkday,asMicrosoftdid.But

smallerprojectscanalsobeeffective,suchas

Shopify'sviral

MeetingCostCalculator

.

Microsoft'striplepeakday

Afterthesuddenshifttoremoteworkin2020,Microsoftsaw

anewtrendemergeamongitsemployees.

Data

showedMicrosoftthatinabout30%ofitsworkforce

productivitywentupthemostbetween6and8p.m.Tomakethemostofthispeak,theorganizationofferedmoresupportforafter-hoursworkforemployeeswhowantedit.

5

Whatthismeans

forHR

EfficiencythroughGAI

Itisimpossibletowriteaboutproductivityin2024

withoutmentioningGenerativeArtificialIntelligence,

orGAI.UsingChatGPTinbusinesswritingtasks

increasesproductivityby37%andqualityby20%.A

Fortune500companyslashedonboardingtimefor

customersupportagentsfrom10monthstojust2,

whilealsoincreasingworkqualityby30%.

WhileGAIisnotthesolutiontoeverybusiness

problem,thesecasesdemonstratetheproductivityincreasesitenableswhenusedcorrectly.Itisnotan

understatementtosayitcanrevolutionizetheway

wework.

Proactiveworkforceplanning

Thereisanotherpotentialsolutiontothe

productivityparadoxthatsitsclosertohome.

Someofthebiggestbottlenecksinproductivitystem

fromtalentsupplyissues.Skillsshortagesare

estimatedtocostemployersupto$8.5trillionby

2030.

HRcanhelptacklethiscostlyissuewithproactive

workforceplanningandtappingintonewtalent

poolstocreatedesperatelyneededtalentpipelines.

Keytakeaway

SolvingtheproductivityparadoxisoneofthemostimpactfulthingsHRcandofortheworkforce.Inordertoachievethis,theycanuseanarrayoftrustedHRtoolsandnew

technologiestoempoweremployeesandgetproductivitybackontrack.

6

Trend2

Tappingintothehiddenworkforce

Historicallylowunemploymentratesandthecontinuedscarcityofcrucialskillscontinuetoexertpressureontalentacquisitiondepartments,withnoendinsight.ThiswillpushHRtorethinktheirapproachtorecruitmentandtapintothepotentialofthehiddenworkforce.

Missingoutontalent

Thehiddenworkforce,alsoknownastheforgotten

workforce,includesretireeswhowanttowork,

caregivers,neurodiversepeople,peoplewith

long-termhealthproblems(includinglongCovid),

ex-inmates,andpeoplewithoutdegrees.

Intotal,thehiddenworkforceisestimatedtomakeupbetween

14-17%ofthetotalU.S.workforce

.

Whichbegsthequestion:whyissomuchtalent

beingignoredduringanongoinglaborshortage?

First-moveradvantage

Someofthehiddenworkforcealreadywork(oftenas

hourlyemployees)butwanttoworkmore,while

otherswanttoworkbuthavenotfoundtheright

conditionstodoso.

Theconditionscanbefixed.Andcompaniesthatdowillhaveafirst-moveradvantage:while

77%of

employersreportdifficultyinfillingroles

—a17-yearhigh—only

33%oforganizationsarelookingatnew

talentpools

.

Thekeytoovercomingthelaborshortage?

33%

oforganizations

arelookingat

newtalentpools

ofemployers

reportdifficulty

fillingroles

77%

7

Whatthismeans

forHR

Increasingaccess

Thefirststeptotappingintothehiddenworkforceas

atalentpoolisactivelyseekingouttheseforgotten

workersintalentacquisitionpractices.Thiscould

includewritingmoreinclusivejobdescriptions,using

skills-basedhiring,andofferingtrainingand

reskillingprograms.

Thekeyhereistocriticallyevaluateyourcurrent

talentacquisitionpracticestoidentifyandaddress

unnecessarilyexclusionarycriteria.

Offeringaccommodations

Organizationscankeepthehiddenworkforceon

board,engaged,andproductivewiththeright

employmentpractices.

Thiscouldtakemanyshapes,fromalessstringentretirementageforolderworkerswhoaren'treadyto

throwinthetowel,tomoreflexibleworking

arrangementsforcaregivers.Butonecrucialaspectwillapplytoallorganizationsseekingtotapintothis

overlookedtalentpool:HRneedstopromotea

culturethatunderstandsandappreciatesthevalue

ofadiverseworkforce.

Anecessaryevolution

Whilewehaveincludeditinthisreport,wewanttoreiteratethattherecognitionandintegrationofthehiddenworkforceisnotjustatrend:itisanecessary

evolutionintheworldofwork.Organizationsthat

removeobstaclestoworkforthisvasttalentpool

willbebetterabletoaddresscriticalstaffingneeds,

whilealsopavingthewayforamorediverse,

inclusive,andequitablecorporatelandscapeforthefuture.Thatmakesthisagreatexampleofsystemic

DEIB.

Keytakeaway

Despitetheongoinglaborshortage,organizationshavelongoverlookedthehidden

workforce.HRcanhelporganizationstapintothismassivetalentpoolbydriving

changestomakeworkmoreaccessibleandaccommodating.

8

Trend3

ThepointofnoreturnforDEIB

WiththeSupremeCourtrulingonaffirmativeaction,discontentaroundDEIB,anddiversity

leadersnotbeingsufficientlysupported,corporateDEIBhascometoaturningpoint.Thestakesandvisibilityhaveneverbeenhigher,andHRneedstoact.

PressureonDEIB

ThreemajorshiftshavebroughtDEIBtothebrink.

Firstthereisthe

SupremeCourtrulingstrikingdown

affirmativeactionincollegeadmissions

—and

attorneygeneralsthenreachingouttoFortune100CEOstoconfirmthat

thisrulingalsoappliesto

privatecompanies

.

ThenthereisthegrowingdiscontentwithDEIB

withinorganizations,whichmaywellbeafactorin

DEIBrolesbeinghitdisproportionatelyhardbythe

recentlayoffs

.

Thisbringsustothethirdpressurepoint:the

strugglesfacedbydiversityofficers.Weseethat

leadersinDEIBstruggletofindasenseofbelonging

themselves,orfailtoseetheimpactoftheirwork.

Organizationsunderscrutiny

Publicdebatesurroundingdiversityisalsoreshaping

thefield.

Companiesruntheriskofbeingcalledoutinthepublicdomainandboycottedbysectionsoftheir

audienceregardlessofwhethertheytakean

outspokenstanceorremainquietonthetopicof

DEIB.

Butithasbecomeclearthatwhenitcomesto

showingsupportforDEIB,speakingoutisnot

enoughfortoday'sconsumers,whoarenotsatisfied

withlipservice.

Tickingboxeswithinterventionsthatdon'tresonate

throughouttheorganizationwillnotserve

organizationsin2024onwards.That'swhywe

expectHRtotakeadifferentapproach.

Thesepathsareoftenlonely,uphillbattles.Leadersinthesepositions

needthesupport,loveand

“

advocacywhiletheyareintheroles,

notonlywhentheirdepartures

makeheadlines.

JeanellEnglish

formerVPofImpact&DiversityattheAcademy

ofMotionPictureArtsandSciences

9

Whatthismeans

forHR

SystemicDEIB

WeproposesystemicDEIBasaviablealternative.

Thisapproachleavesbehindhigh-visibilityactionsin

favorofbringingDEIBbacktoitsthreecoreelements:HRvoice,equitablepractices,and

targetedaction.

HRvoice

InsystemicDEIB,theHRvoicedescribestheorganizationalvisiononwhatanequitableand

inclusiveworkplacelookslike.

Crucially,italsoprovidesproofpointsthatthisvisionisorwillsoonbepartoftheorganizationalidentity.

Theseproofpointsshouldholdupunderscrutiny

fromemployees,customers,andthewiderpublic.

Inordertomakethishappen,mostHRdepartments

willneedtocollaboratecloselywithMarketingto

createanauthenticwaytospeakaboutDEIBwithinandbeyondtheorganization.Otherwise,companieswillstillruntheriskofbeingdismissedasdoingitfor

theoptics.

Keytakeaway

In2024,wewillseeastarkdividebetween

companieswholivetheirDEIBpromise,andthose

thatarejustgoingthroughthemotions.

Equitablepractices

Withaclearvisioninplace,HRwillbeableto

identifytheorganizationalsystemsneededtomake

thevisionareality.

Thegoalofthesepracticesistodemocratize

opportunitieswithintheworkforce—inotherwords,

eliminatingobstaclestogrowthanddevelopment

thatdisproportionatelyaffectdifferentemployee

segments.

Forexample,organizationscouldconductan

analysistoseewhichprerequisitesarevalidto

screenforduringthetalentacquisitionprocess.

Targetedaction

Finally,targetedactionisaboutbridgingthegap

betweentheorganization'scurrentsystemsandthe

equitablepracticesneededtorealizethevision.

Thiscouldlookliketakingaskills-basedapproachto

recruitmentinsteadoffocusingondegrees,and

exploringalternativetalentpools.Hereagain,data

cangrantinsightintowheretalentissourcedfrom

andhelpHRevaluatewhetherthesetalentpoolsare

unbiasedtowardsspecificsocioeconomic

backgrounds,industryexperiences,orschools.

WebelievethatDEIBwillremainanimportantdriveforbusinessgrowth.Butmovingforward,companiesneedtoensurethattheirDEIBeffortsalignwiththecompany'spurpose,values,andculturetoenactreal

changeandavoidbacklash.

10

Trend4

HRdrivingclimatechangeadaptation

WithJuly2023beingthehottestmonthonrecord,andElNiñoexpectedtomake2024the

world'shottestyear,climatechangeisrapidlybecomingathreattobusinesscontinuity.It'sup

toHRtoensureorganizationsandemployeesareprepared.

Frommitigationtoadaptation

“

InTexaslastyear,atleast

306peoplediedof

Formanyorganizations,sustainabilityhasprimarily

beenanissueof(employer)branding—ornotan

issueatall.Butinthefaceofchanginglegislation

andincreasinglydisruptiveweather,thatissetto

change.

heat-relatedcauses,

accordingtothestatehealthdepartment—thehighestannualtotalinmorethan

twodecades.

TheNewYorkTimes

Theincreasingimpactofclimatechangeondailylife

andpublicdiscourseisalreadychangingHR.For

instance,moreESGmetricsarebeingaddedtothe

HRscorecard,theChiefSustainabilityOfficerand

CHROrolesareincreasinglybeingintegrated.

Whilethisisagoodstart,itwillnotbeenough.

Sofar,HRhasfocusedprimarilyondrivinginitiatives

focusedonmitigatingclimatechange,suchasgreen

commutingandreducingtheorganizationalcarbon

footprint.Butinthefaceofgrowingurgency,HR

needstoacceptthatclimatechangeisareality,and

needstohelporganizationsadapt.

11

Whatthismeans

forHR

Auditingandplanning

Astrongfirststepindrivingadaptationisconducting

climateriskauditsthatreviewcurrentworksites,

practices,andprocessestoidentifyrisks.

HRcanthenusetheauditoutcomestocreatea

roadmapfororganizationalclimateadaptation.This

couldincludeformingacouncilonbusiness

continuityanddisasterrecovery.Butdependingon

yourbusiness,thismightnotbeenough.

Protectingtheworkforce

The

heatdeathsintheU.S.andEuropeinthe

summerof2023

showthatalackofclimate

adaptationcanhurtworkers—orworse.

Whencreatingyouradaptationroadmap,considerif

yourbusinessneedstoimplementlaborpractices

thataccommodateextremeweatherinordertokeep

yourworkforcesafeandmaintainbusiness

operations.

Changinglegislation

Theincreasingimpactofextremeclimateeventsis

alsodrivinglegislativechangearoundtheworld.

TheSECisworkingon

climatechangedisclosure

rules

.TheEUhasalreadyintroducedthe

Corporate

SustainabilityReportingDirective

,requiring

companies—includingEUsubsidiariesofnon-EU

parentcompanies—todiscloseinformationabouthowclimatechangeandothersustainability-related

factorsaffecttheiroperations.

Whetherit'soperationaloradministrative,HRneeds

totakeactiontodriveclimateadaptation—orthe

businesswillfeeltheconsequences.

Keytakeaway

Changingandextremeweatherisathreattoemployeewellbeingandbusiness

continuity.HRwillneedtostepupanddrivecomplianceandadaptationforthegood

ofemployees,thebusiness,andsocietyatlarge.

12

Trend5

Fromsilostosolutions

Adaptabilityisakeysuccessfactorfortoday'sorganizations.Thisshiftwilltriggerasimilarshift

inHR,whichwillmoveawayfromtraditionalsiloedoperatingmodelstobetterdelivercross-functionalandintegratedbusinesssolutions.

Alignedandimpactful

Thesenewsolutionareaswillstillworkcloselywiththein-businessHRteams.However,theyshouldbemoreactivelyinvolvedinimplementingsolutionsin

collaborationwithbusinessHR.

Designthinkingandcustomer-firstprincipleshave

growninfluentialinpeoplepracticesoverthepast

years.AsHRadoptstheseprinciples,wewillsee

siloedCentersofExcellencebrokendowninto

solutionareasfocusedondeliveringaspecific

outcomeforinternalcustomers.

Functionalareaswillconvergeintosolution-drivengroups

Today'sfunctionalareas

Strategy,AdvisoryandTransformation

Focusonbusinesstransformationandstrategicinitiativestorealizethepeoplestrategy.

AwarenessandAttraction

Focusonanintegratedawarenessandattractionexperiencebasedonemployerbrand,candidateexperience,andonboardingexperiences.

PeopleExperienceandCulture

Focusondesigningandimplementingpositivework

experiencesthatappealtoallemployeesandcreateaproductiveandinclusiveworkenvironment.

PeopleGrowthandEnablement

Focusonmotivating,developingandempowering

employeestoachievetheirpotentialandcapitalizeoninternalopportunities.

EmployeeExperience

TalentInsights

EmployeeComms&Marketing

WellbeingandHealthDEIB

EmployeeExperienceAnalytics

ChangeManagementOrganizationalDesignWorkforcePlanning

BusinessPartneringHRStrategy

Org.Development

BusinessPartneringPerformance

TotalRewards

EmployerBrandTalentAcquisitionOnboarding

TalentManagement

LeadershipDevelopment

Learning&DevelopmentCareerManagement

Newsolutionarea&focus

13

Whatthismeans

forHR

Puttingvaluefirst

TheevolutionfromsiloedCoEstonewsolutionareasreflectsHR'sincreasedfocusondeliveringbusiness

value.That'swhyitisessentialforallHR

practitionerstounderstandnotjusthowtoexcelintheirdomain,buthowtheirspecificroleaddsvalue

tothebusiness.

BusinesspartneringisnolongerreservedforHRBPs.

Instead,itisbecomingrelevanttoeveryoneinHR.

Fundamentaldataskills

Anothercompetencythatwillonlygrowin

importanceforallHRpractitionersisdataliteracy.

Developinghypotheses,settingKPIs,readingandinterpretingdata,andpersuasivestorytellingusing

data:theseskillswereoncelimitedtopeople

analyticsfunctions.However,theseskillsare

fundamentaltodrivingimpactfuldecisionsandstrategiccontributions,andsowillbecomemore

widespreadamongHRpractitioners.

ByadoptingthesecapabilitiesacrossallHRroles,

organizationstakeafirststeptowardanew,

multi-skilledHRprofessionalastheybreakthe

traditionalbarriersbetweengeneralistsand

specialists.

ExperimentalHR

ThesetwoshiftsarethefirststepstowardnewHR

OperatingModelsbuiltonneworganizationaldesign

principlesthatencourageagility,fluidity,and

adaptability.

Thisisn'ttheonlyshiftweexpecttoseeinthisarea.

AsHRteamsdrivemoreproject-baseddelivery

methods,HRteamswillcombinedifferentskillsandexperimenttofindbettersolutionstothebusiness'

ever-changingpeoplepriorities.

Keytakeaway

Asorganizationsevolvetobecomemoreadaptable,sowillHR.Thiswillmeanletting

goofthetraditionalsilosandinsteadshiftingtosolution-focusedmultidisciplinary

teams.ThisshiftwillalsomeanarethinkingofwhatweconsiderfundamentalHR

skills,withdataliteracybecomingakeyenablerforbusinessimpact.

14

PerceptionofHR

63%

ofC-suiteleadersstill

seeHR'sroleas

administrative

Source:Sage

Trend6

HRleansin

TheHRfunctioncontinuestostrugglewithmisconceptionsaboutitsvalueacrossalllayersoftheorganization.IfHRwantstogettherecognitionduein2024,itneedstoacceptthatthissituationisaresultofitsownchoices—andinitsownhandstoresolve.

ReframingHR

ThecoreoftheissueisthatHRhasnotgivenitself

thesamesupport,guidance,anddevelopment

opportunitiestheyoffertootherdepartments.This

hasleftHRwithlaggingskillsdevelopment,digital

adoption,and(perhapsmostcrucially)confidencein

itsabilitytocontributetotheorganization.

Thisisreflectedinorganizationalperceptionsof

HR

asafunctionfocusedonprocessesandpaperwork

.

Littlewonderthenthat

recentlayoffshavehitthe

peoplefunctiondisproportionatelyhard

.

ItisonlyHRwhocanchangethisperceptionofthe

function.Andinordertodothis,it'stimeforHRto

focusitsgazeinward.

WhatthismeansforHR

ConfidenceinHR'sstrategicvision

ThekeytoeffectivelyrepositioningHRinthe

businessisclarityonandconfidenceinitsstrategicvision.ThisencompassessHR'spurpose,role,and

contributiontocollectivesuccess.

Becauselet'sbeclear:HRhasbecomeaprofession

backedbydataandrobustscience,practicedby

knowledgeablespecialistswhowholeheartedly

choseacareerinHR,anddeservingofrespect.It

absolutelydoescontributetocollectivesuccess,

whichiswhythisistheyearthatHRwillclaimits

identityasaprofessionwithstandards,arobust

bodyofknowledge,andrecognizedimpact.

Andit'stimeforHRtoseeitselfastheprofessionit

hasbecome.

15

Whatthismeans

forHR

Strategy&boundaries

RepositioningHRhastostartwithHRprofessionals

seeingthemselvesasintegraltoorganizational

success.HRisnolongerjustasupportfunction,but

aprofessioninitsownright.

This,pairedwithawell-definedstrategy,willhelpHR

setboundariesbasedonitsownpriorities.

Today,weoftenseeHRattendingtothecareer

paths,learninginterventions,andwellbeingofits

stakeholders,andthenfailingtodothesamefor

itself.HRshouldn'thavetobeapologeticabout

focusingonitsownprioritiesandtakingtimeto

developtheprofessionwiththesamerigorand

investmentweapplyforothers.

RecognizingHR'svalue

ThenextstepforHRisrecognizingitsownvalueasa

strategicpillarwithintheorganizationinitsown

right,withthesameneedsasotherdepartments.

Wehaveseenthatfailingtoactaccordinglyresultsin

misconceptionsaboutthefunctionandanepidemic

ofHRburnout,alackofskillstocontributetothe

business,andlimitedHRtalentsuccessionpipelines.

ThisisamistakethattheHRdepartmentwillrectify

in2024.

Keytakeaway

HRhasanimageproblem,andthemeanstosolveit.Byrecognizingitsownstrategic

valueandgivingthefunctionthesamesupportitoffersotherdepartments,HRwill

beabletochangeperceptions,empoweritspractitioners,anddriveevenmorevalue

forthebusiness.

16

Trend7

HRmeetsPR

Amidstchangesinemployeeexpectationsandhowweengagewithourwork,HR'sworkis

underincreasedscrutiny.Inordertonavigatethiscomplexity,HRneedstotakeapagefromPRtoensuretheydon'thittheheadlinesforallthewrongreasons.

Internalbecomesexternal

Theemployeeexperienceisincreasinglypublic.

Thiscanbenefitcompanies,withnewhireshappilysharingtheironboardingpackagewiththeworldorpostingenviableday-in-the-lifevideos.Butitcan

alsobeaPRnightmare.

2023sawplentyofexamplesofthis,suchas

internal

communicationsbeingdiscussedinhigh-profile

mediaoutlets

and

viralTikTokvideosofpeople

gettinglaidoff

.Nowineverydifficultconversation,HRneedstonotjusttaketheemployeeintoaccount,

butapotentialworldwideaudiencelisteninginvia

socialmedia.

“

Googlepridesitselfonsolving

difficultproblems.Howto

notifypeoplegracefullyandwithrespectthatthey'regettinglaid

offisadifficultproblemandI

thinktheycouldhavedonea

betterjobsolvingit.

JeremyJoslin

Ex-Googleemployee

17

Whatthismeans

forHR

Marketing-proofmessaging

Inordertoavoidhavingsensitivesituations

becomingpublicdiscourse,HRwillneedtotakea

pagefromPRandMarketing'sbook.

Thismeansunderstandingthepublic'sperceptionof

internalpolicies,practicesanddecisions,andadjustingapproacheswherenecessary.Italso

meansactivelymonitoringemployerbrand

perceptionsonline,andpreparingresponsesfor

potentialPRissuestoavoidbeingcaughtoff-guard

bycontroversy.

Hereitis