3 of the Most Important Priorities for HR Leaders in 2024
Challenges like a severe talent shortage in many industries are going to make 2024 a big year for HR professionals. While employee engagement is high, many workers feel that career conversations often aren’t taking place often enough, in some instances leading to high turnover levels. In addition, the current cost of living crisis demands a more human touch. The onus is on HR teams to show empathy and make adjustments. Here’s an overview of key HR priorities in 2024.
1. Employee Engagement
Companies with rising employee engagement scores are being lulled into a false sense of security, a recent Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report reveals. The fact that 23 percent of participants reported feeling engaged at work, the highest percentage ever seen in a Gallup survey, seems like good news. However, delving deeper, the issue is very complex. While employee engagement may be at an all-time high, so is stress and a desire to quit.
The Gallup report results highlight that employee engagement doesn’t mean workers are happy. In the survey, 44 percent of employees reported feeling high levels of stress the previous day. These were the highest stress levels ever seen. Additionally, 59 percent of employees polled described themselves as “quiet quitting”; 18 percent as “loudly quitting.” Just 23 percent felt they were “thriving.” Indeed, a staggering 51 percent of employees polled in the Gallup survey expressed some level of interest in quitting. This means engagement isn’t enough to persuade employees to stay with a company.
Savvy HR leaders are therefore looking at the big picture. You need to identify and solve issues that could potentially alienate employees and persuade them to leave, such as a lack of stimulation, purpose, or opportunities. Enabling managers and providing them with the tools to address employee concerns is crucial. HR and leadership also need to listen to non-management employees, acknowledge their contributions, and offer them appropriate autonomy and flexibility.
2. Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
Constricted by a very tight, highly competitive labor market, recruitment and retention have become a priority for HR professionals, who are also coming under increasing pressure to prioritize DEI. In Vlerick Business School’s 2023 HR Barometer survey, 78 percent of HR professionals polled stated that while DEI was technically prioritized in their company’s mission statement, this was not reflected in the company’s plan of action. Indeed, just 36 percent of HR professionals surveyed said they had been allocated a separate budget devoted to DEI.
DEI has gone from a “nice to have” to a top priority for forward-looking organizations. Data from McLean & Company concur with the HR Barometer data, finding that just 38 percent of businesses have an official DEI strategy established. However, while virtually all companies have stated that DEI is a priority, most of them do not approach DEI initiatives strategically.
To address this, companies need to assess the types of diversity already present across their organization. Explore not only how DEI efforts support current employees, but where your company and industry is falling short. Leadership needs to identify ways to foster alignment and commitment across the organization, as well as deciding how they will train for DEI, sustain efforts and evolve over time, and ultimately include everyone, ensuring that the opinions of all employees are taken into account, and helping all workers to understand their role in company culture.
3. Productivity
HR is currently undergoing a period of significant transformation. Several different forces are driving this evolution, from legislation to climate change. Ever-increasing integration of technology into workplaces calls for continual reevaluation of how technology is leveraged to boost worker productivity, increasing HR’s potential impact.
In the wake of significant technological advancements combined with economic changes and other disruptions, increased emphasis is being placed on productivity. Despite employee engagement rising to record levels, productivity has increased accordingly. Instead, it has largely stagnated over the course of the last decade, according to the AIHR. Modest productivity increases in recent years are mainly due to increased efficiencies and manufacturing. White-collar productivity has largely ceased making gains since the 2008 financial crisis.
Impaired productivity is not a problem isolated to individual companies, industries, or even countries. Today, low productivity affects the economy around the world. Take for example Australia. Productivity there grew by just 1.1 percent from 2010 to 2020, dropping by an alarming 2.3 percent in the last quarter of 2022. This led to a national “Advancing Productivity” initiative. There are problems in many other regions, including Britain and Gulf Cooperation Council economies.
In the United States, however, workers are approximately 18 percent more productive than workers in the EU. Analysts attribute this to investments in information and communication technology that drive productivity. These findings highlight the role that HR can play in boosting productivity through the implementation of technology.
