Tech shifts and employee demands – HR’s transformative year ahead

Joe Galvin, chief research officer at coaching and peer advisory group Vistage, emphasizes the importance of maintaining engagement despite market changes. “While January traditionally sees some turnover, the deeper question for HR leaders is how much progress did you make on engagement,” he said. “How deep has your culture been instilled into it?”

Meanwhile, Amanda Czepiel, head of content at HR management platform Brightmine, warns of compensation challenges ahead. “Salary budgets are expected to see slight reductions in 2025 as economic conditions and a more employer-friendly job market reduce the pressure to raise wages,” she said.

Well-being programs are another area of concentration for HR teams — with apparently much work to be done. More than 75% of 100 U.S. companies in a survey by workplace consultancy BSI have well-being programs and cultures that are merely basic or in the early stages of implementation, with vast opportunities for improvement. Significantly, just 10% of staffers BSI surveyed are completely satisfied with their company’s well-being program offerings.

“We’ve normalized a culture where working regularly on weekends is the only way to keep up, where ‘safety first’ is promoted but supervisors look the other way when deadlines are at risk, where showing signs of stress is viewed as a weakness,” said Xavier Alcaraz, BSI’s global practice director over HSW. “It doesn’t have to be this way. More importantly, it shouldn’t be this way”

The RTO debate will continue to shape workplace policies in the year to come, with many more companies forcing employees to be at the office. “While connecting with colleagues in person is vital for company culture, going back into the office for the majority of the week has adversely affected certain groups of employees,” said Kari Mayfield, director of DEI at digital safety platform Ping Identity.

Still, many employees continue to demand workplace flexibility — and despite the trend toward RTO, there’s no going back for many businesses. “Companies with a flexible work model will always have the competitive advantage,” said Ali McGhee, generalist, people & culture at marketing agency Barbarian. “Gone are the pre-Covid days of holding employees hostage with three free meals a day and calling your colleagues ‘family.’”

Adding yet another layer of complexity to an already action-packed year: managing a multigenerational workforce as Gen Z overtakes boomers as the largest segment of the workforce, necessitating that employers tailor employee benefits to reflect the shifting demographics.

As Amanda Czepiel, head of content at Brightmine, put it, “By offering a flexible, inclusive benefits package that addresses the needs of every employee, regardless of generation, companies can attract, retain and support a multigenerational workforce effectively.”  

Read the original article here.