HR on the Horizon: Our Top 6 Trends for 2023

For many folks, today is the first day we’re back in desk chairs since shutting down for the end of 2022. As we crack our computers at coffee shops, cubicles, and home offices - and try to remember what day it is - we at Agile Talent Consulting are looking ahead to what 2023 will mean for human resources and people operations. These considerations are for those of us who work in the industry, yes, but also those of us who are impacted by it, which (spoiler alert) is all of us.

Above all, 2023 will continue to be an enormous year of change for people operations. In its first year alone, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed digital transformation three years into the future, and during the past few years, the relationship between employees and employers has (in many industries) transformed from an employer-led and dictated one to a much more symbiotic and mutually-beneficial model.

The time is indeed ripe for human resources to redefine itself as an industry that truly supports the entire human experience, and for everyone who holds a leadership position to understand that “HR” is now part of their work, if not their title.

Let’s dive in to what we’re seeing for people operations in 2023.

1) Meet Me in the Metaverse

By the year 2026, Gartner predicts that 25% of people will spend at least one hour per day in the metaverse. If you, like many of us, are unsure about what the term metaverse even means, Wired has a pretty great article breaking it down. Broadly, Gartner refers to the metaverse as “a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality.” At its best, then, the metaverse makes it possible to reimagine a collaborative and creative organization without being restricted by physical conventions - an enormous plus for, example, people with disabilities.

The companies who are already engaged in creating metaverse spaces (Disney, Nike) are likely to be the ones that attract more and younger talent in the coming years. This is a space where hiring can - and eventually will - happen, and it pays to be in the know about the shifts.

In addition, the metaverse is like the wild west of the internet. As companies forage into alternate realities more and more frequently, they will require human resources experts to ensure “fair play.”

2) Reshape Workplace Learning

One of the top reasons that people left their jobs last year? Lack of career development and advancement potential. One of the top reasons that people accepted their current job? (You guessed it.) Career development and advancement potential.

It just doesn’t cut it to cease the employee experience at the signing of an offer letter anymore anymore. Now, people want more from their work than the same old 9 - 5 that they’ve always known, and they’re willing to leave to find those development and growth opportunities.

Image credit: McKinsey & Company, 2022

The takeaway? Keep your employees by investing in employee development programs, whether you create them internally or utilize a fractional or external support (like Agile Talent Consulting!)

3) Dig Deeper for Deskless Workers

So much of the conversations being had around “the new normal” with work assume that the workers in questions are sitting at desks. And while the pandemic highlighted how much of that work could, in fact, be done remotely, it also made it very clear that folks like grocery sales workers, drivers, teachers, doctors, nurses, and many others are vital to keeping our world running - and they can’t do so from home. While many of these deskless employees are leaving their industries, 97% of them could be convinced to stay with some tweaks to their compensation and benefits.

While pay raises are a great place to start, that’s not only what these employees are looking for. Instead, they hope for creative solutions to improve work/life balance - work shares, promotions, or even just changes of scenery and colleagues, can go a long way to support workers who can’t just “go remote.”

4) Make a Management Plan That’s Bigger Than Fulltime Staff

As work becomes more flexible, so too, do staffing models. It’s extremely common for organizations to have full-time and part-time employees on top of contractors, gig workers, and employees working for supply chain partners. In fact, ADP attests that at almost 40% of companies, 1 in 4 employees are not full-time and thus are (often) unmanaged.

In these cases, human resources has an opportunity to take on an active role in managing and supporting these folks to increase transparency and oversight in the work, as well as to ensure feelings of inclusion and community for all staff.

5) Insist on Salary Equity & Transparency

If 2022 was the Year of Pay Transparency, then 2023 is the Year of Pay Equity. What do we mean? With 17 states and NYC now having pay transparency laws on the books, we expect to see an increase in areas where naming a salary range for all jobs is the norm and not a shock. This creates a straight line to pay equity, whereby workers are paid fairly because they can easily find out what others doing similar work are making elsewhere.

While compensation benchmarking isn’t necessarily an easy task, pay equity is the number one factor in employee satisfaction going into 2023, so it’s definitely a vital one for every organization who is seeking top talent.

6) Diversity Initiatives that Lead to More Authentic Inclusion

Despite the growth that has come in DEIB at many organizations over the past five years or so, most diversity initiatives continue to focus on recruiting - which doesn’t realistically take orgs much farther than the “D” in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging.

Image Credit: Management by Richard L. Daft

Knowing this, many smart organizations are actively working with their HR teams to do a deeper dive, examining the DEIB work at ALL levels of employment, including onboarding, development, and promotion and actively addressing gaps. Thinking about diversity beyond just race and gender, too, are going to continue to be key factors in effective organizations in the coming year.

Feeling a little overwhelmed?

Make a New Year’s resolution you can keep and reach out to Agile Talent Consulting today to discuss what HR shifts you need to make to stay current in 2023 and beyond.