In 2023, Work Friendly had a front row seat to several HR trends. Here’s what we think is here to stay in 2024…
Employee Well-Being
In 2023, we saw an upswing in companies offering subscription support to health-related apps. This trend is particularly helpful for employee well-being and can help decrease healthcare expenses. We predict that this trend will continue to grow and will include a focus on mental health
Refocusing on Soft Skills
We saw a greater focus on soft skills in 2023, particularly for those in leadership roles. Emphasis is shifting from just technical qualifications to interpersonal skills like communication, team building, and empathy. These skills are critical for successful leadership and a thriving company culture.
Relaxed Dress Codes
Out are stifling dress codes! Unless the business requires it – can we officially break up with suits, tights and extremely formal attire? Trends say yes 🙂
Pay Transparency
Work Friendly kept a pulse on the progress of pay transparency state-to-state. Instead of hiding information about salary, businesses are choosing to share with employees incrementally. We predict this trend will continue to increase in popularity as individuals’ access to information continues to grow.
Strong Talent Pipelines
The “Great Resignation” was indeed not just for attention in 2023. We saw a surge of employees leaving for various reasons, including better pay, healthy work-life balance, and inadequate management. This trend has put businesses in a position where they must rethink talent attraction, retention, and productivity to keep their employees. Building stronger talent pipelines is vital for HR teams to sustainably create strong company culture and appropriately allocate resources.
Proactive People Practices
HR teams that focus on strategically aligning people AND profit goals have fewer problems and happier employees. This is an area our company, Work Friendly, prides itself on. We help businesses align profitability, operational efficiency, and people management to ensure the organization is successful. In 2024, we predict a major shift where organizations will prioritize HR expertise and become more proactive with data, and strategically collaborate with management, shareholders, and employees to efficiently drive their organizations’ growth.
Creative Career Pathways
Work Friendly supports businesses of all sizes and we know that providing traditional career pathways isn’t always possible. Gone are the days of the career ladder, employees are trending toward wanting “experience” rather than “tenure”. We anticipate seeing more companies provide their employees with creative and agile ways to increase their skills and feel rewarded at the same time. The key? Leaders are tuning into individual employee motivations and matching that with something that will drive the company forward. A win-win for everyone!
While we can’t exactly predict the future, our team has over 100+ years of combined expertise supporting various industries. It’s crucial to actively track cultural trends within the Human Resources space and use those valuable insights to create a tailored people approach per organization. Work Friendly can help. Here’s to a new year!
