Emerging Trends For An Employer Of Choice

Employees spend most of their time fulfilling work in the context of an employee /employer relationship thus it is critical that the environment of work is one that enables employees to be productive and gratified.

The first thing that comes to mind when we talk “HR Trends” surely must be the “Great Resignation”. Globally, the last 2 years’ trendiest topic happened to be the big quit / great reshuffle. This was a result of the Covid 19 pandemic where high numbers of employees prioritized their wellbeing and chose themselves versus the pressure of work-life balance due to professional or personal discontent and therefore resigned.

Employees felt that there was more to life having survived Covid 19 and thus aimed to live a purposeful and more meaningful life. In response to the great resignation most companies started looking into sabbatical offerings, day-offs, weeks-off with some adjusting their workdays or work hours e.g., 4 out of 5 workdays as a benefit to employees. Fluxtrends is a great example of measuring efficiency differently whilst catering to employee wellness and productivity.

Naturally the HR sector had to quickly establish the meaning of employee value proposition in the modern day. One of the key things that led to the great resignations was that during the Covid 19 pandemic there were mass-layoffs with most companies shutting down. However, as soon as business started picking up post-covid most employees realized that there were endless opportunities to select from.

A quick reflection on what was and what is in the HR field

Some of the key factors employers valued in this current year of 2022 resulting from year 2020 and year 2021 was to address redefining employee happiness in the era of post-covid. Employees quickly learned that a more flexible, inclusive, health-conscious work culture as well as increased pay environment was an option for additional benefits.

According to Peoplekeep (2022) and Forbes (2022), employee wellness initiatives and flexible work became some of the top 5 employer benefits that candidates would look out for as a competitive advantage. Covid emphasized the reality of employees bringing their whole selves to the work environment and the need for employers to re-evaluate their retention and competitive strategies.

Fast forward to the present day, many countries are faced with a contagion of recession. Companies are once again faced with potential layoffs due to the global recession caused by political and economic instability.

What this means is that there is yet again a rise in demand versus supply in the labour market. Most countries are faced with rising inflation, high interest rates, uncertainty, supply constraints resulting in global shortages and volatility and scarce talent, specifically robotics or technological skillsets. We can expect to see a more stable churn rate compared to the last two years as employees stick with opportunities they currently have out of anxiety.

Some of the areas and trends that can set apart employers in the year 2023:

1. Effective management and leadership
2. Managing change and organisational design to manage disruptions
3. Establish a meaningful employee experience and engagement for the hybrid work model
4. Redefining the future of work and collaboration
5. Sourcing strategy on recruiting and onboarding
6. Implementing compelling retention strategies
7. Digital transformation and automation
8. Positive and healthy culture with a shared purpose and inclusivity
9. Mastering “ubuntu” person first experience
10. Realistic and clear performance goals

Whilst companies strive to be the employer of choice, this is impossible without ensuring employee contentment. For it is when employees are taken care of that they best take care of clients and potentially go the extra mile as expressed in the Harvard Business Review article.

In closing, an employer of choice values employee and customer satisfaction as two sides of the same coin. I believe that the future has a great opportunity for HR to strategically partner with business on humanising the work environment whilst equipping employees to be productive and realise overall organisational success.

By Ruth Shogoe, Head of people Maskew Miller Learning

Shogoe has 12 years’ experience in the HR field and has partnered with businesses in the following sectors:  e-commerce, fintech, digital banking, media and education. She holds a BCom Degree in Economics and Econometrics, Diploma in Strategic HR, an Executive Coaching certificate and has recently just completed her Master of Business Administration.