To set trends or tips for 2022 is quite a challenge. After the slightly positive feelings at the beginning of last year – this year we might seek caution in predictions. Mainly because COVID-19 is still here and the end of these odd times is uncertain.
So, what does it mean for HR? Can we do any predictions? Any preparation for our HR and executive search practice? I think we should and these are the themes we could focus on.
1. Flexibility and employee well–being are the key.
Employee well-being is no longer an employee benefit. Rather, well-being now is an employer’s opportunity to support employees in all aspects of their personal and work lives. It has expanded beyond physical well-being to include emotional, financial, social, and career wellness. And not only for an employee but with a focus on the whole family. Home-schooling, changes, and quarantines on a week basis, loss of grandparents. It has a huge impact on the employee. I suggest employers to have a deep understanding of these situations. And tolerate employees´ need to suddenly run to a home office. Maybe lend him a company car so he or she can be faster in a school for children to take care of them? I can guarantee you that it will affect his gratitude and organizational behavior. And if you do not?
Then it is an opportunity for us – headhunters to offer the candidates a better workplace, better employer with a different flexible approach.
2. Offer hybrid work.
The hybrid work model or productivity anywhere workforce model grows stronger and could be implemented in a wide range of companies and working roles. It is no longer domain of IT area.Defining successful work from anywhere is critical. It includes creating policies to ensure virtual collaboration, mentoring, and asynchronous brainstorming for those who work from anywhere. Management needs to clearly define how they will create a fair and equitable workplace for all employees regardless of location. And the location could not play a crucial part in the decision-making about a job offer. And it is an opportunity for headhunters to widen the candidate poll with indefinite location requirements in several projects.
3. Designing a candidate experience
We all know that the employee experience starts before you hire, so it’s essential that the candidate experience is a positive one. Did you know that 78% of candidates believe the candidate process is an indicator of how the company values its employees? So, if the client is not currently building a good candidate experience it is up to us – headhunters to guide him and offer convenient advice before and during the project starts to make a good candidate experience. It can begin with baby steps and result in company culture change.
I hope you find these tips interesting and applicable to your HR practice.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. Your feedback or opinion would be very welcome.
Article written by Karolína Gyenesová, CFR Consulting Group, Czech Republic.
Photo source: Pixabay