Saurabh Ranage

Job openings remain near historic highs, and the pool of job seekers continues to shrink, so it is understandable that 90% of organizations
we surveyed report their greatest challenge is hiring skilled professionals for their organization, especially recruiting and identifying the right job applicant.

HR teams must be more adept than ever at locating talent beyond placing job ads. At the same time, they must excel at marketing their companies
potential employees so the most skilled applicants are eager to join their team.

Are finding candidate sourcing success through other channels like soliciting recommendations from their own team and working their personal and
professional networks, including social media. This is the time for recruiters to have boots on the ground, exploring their community for potential prospects.
Many will start working with an external talent solutions firm to broaden their search even wider.

For decades, employee engagement has been a concern for HR professionals. Engagement metrics were trending upward in the early part of the pandemic,
driven by an increase in transparency and communication. But those gains have receded as employees and employers differ on when, where, and how people
should work.

And Gallup research shows that employee engagement continues to decline, from 36% in 2020 to 34% in 2021 and 32% in 2022. Meanwhile, the ratio of
engaged to actively disengaged employees is flattening, dropping from 2.6:1 in 2020 to 1.8:1 in 2022

Re-engaging the workforce requires frequent performance conversations. These help team members see their role in driving the business forward and flexibly
adjust their work objectives to remain in sync with the strategic objectives of the organization. HR and managers are central to helping employees understand
how they contribute to the company’s mission, vision, and values. Connecting daily work to the ‌business strategy helps workers feel a sense of purpose.

Providing HR leadership in remote and hybrid workplaces requires some new competencies. Critically, HR professionals should consider developing people
managers into “coach-leaders” who can manage workforces equitably and effectively wherever they are. This means educating them on unconscious biases
that could favor onsite team members over those working remotely.

Additionally, HR professionals are leaning in on techniques for keeping remote employees engaged, motivated and on track through tailored development
plans and goals. They are also pursuing new approaches to building a successful organizational culture in a remote environment.

Many company is providing a great model for this. When it was safe after COVID, Robert Half adopted a voluntary remote and hybrid work policy that
really empowered employees to do what was best for them, allowing them to work with their teams and supervisors to decide what they wanted their
schedules to look like. As long as they're meeting performance standards, I believe our employees have earned some flexibility.

Attracting talent to the enterprise

Talent acquisition remains one of the highest-priority HR challenges in 2023 with nearly half (47%) of respondents in a recent HR Executive poll ranking
hiring and retention as their top challenge. U.S. unemployment is at historical lows, and many organizations struggle to fill open roles in a timely fashion.

Hiring and retention could be more difficult in 2023 than last year. While the U.S. economy added 4.5 million jobs just in 2022, according to the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, the workforce has shed nearly 3 million net participants because of the pandemic and the Great Resignation. Some people are sitting
out because they have high levels of savings, while early retirements and a lack of child care also sideline many people.

To win back workers, companies need to demonstrate that they’ve invested in the employee value propositions and experience. People are less willing to stay
in unfulfilling jobs, so businesses need to show how they foster strong values and a clear sense of purpose.

Flexible work arrangements remain a key attraction for talent, but taken alone, may not be substantive enough because flexibility is considered table stakes in
some industries. When combined with other cultural elements — a sense of fairness, autonomy, a supportive team in a healthy environment, diversity, a learning
focus, and a vision that inspires prospective employees — companies will be in a prime position to attract and retain the best talent.

Most recent Salary Guide shows 83% of HR managers have added new benefits in response to today’s hiring market, bringing a lot of new tasks to the HR desk.
Companies are adding remote work, mental health resources, wellness programs, stipends for home offices and flextime — all of which require HR is strategic
engagement.

Paid time off is todays most popular benefit behind health care, and it is clear people are looking for more flexibility when it comes to leave. In fact, it was the
No. 1 perk employees want more of. But leave is not a one-size-fits-all benefit, so HR leaders must be able to understand their employee population and the
individual needs represented within.

I also see organizations bringing the whole DEI conversation to total rewards packages. HR professionals are always challenged to ensure the benefits they select
for the workforce are appealing to employees of all ages and stages of their lives and careers.

Fostering relationships between managers and employees was a big focus in 2024 and remains so this year for HR. These relationships power the modern workplace.

With hybrid and remote work, the manager’s role has changed, with a greater emphasis on relationships. Yet most managers lack a frame of reference for what that should look like, as few managers and employees started their careers in hybrid and remote work environments. And many first-time managers enter their roles
without adequate training, leading to lower satisfaction among their direct reports.

Managers continue to struggle with hybrid and remote work. They need new skills, along with intentional support, training, and tools from HR teams. But according
to research from RedThread Research, managers in 2023 received less clarity around expectations and fewer data-based insights into team performance‌. Many
managers were left to figure things out by themselves

In 2024, HR must alleviate the pressure on managers. They must support and strengthen managers’ ability to coach employees for growth and career advancement.

HR plays a supporting role in encouraging and incentivizing managers to create these connections and advance their top performers rather than hoard talent.
Building a talent pipeline within the company through a focus on training and skill-building is one sure way to reduce hoarding while also promoting
a sustainable workforce with ever-broadening capabilities.

HR remains concerned about employee turnover. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of HR professionals in a recent HR Executive survey said they were somewhat or extremely concerned about losing talent this year.

There are a plethora of employee retention strategies out there, but expect HR to focus on improving the employee experience in 2023. One of the top ways to
improve employee experience is to offer flexibility. According to recent data, 50% of office workers in the biggest U.S. metro areas are back at their desks the
highest percentage since before the pandemic. But that’s not the end of remote and hybrid work. Employees still want these options and are willing to switch jobs.

In fact, 75% of employees expect more options for flexible work, not fewer, according to recent Gartner research. Leaning into that flexibility works in your favor: Allowing remote and hybrid work improves your retention odds in a tight labor market and helps you find the best talent without worrying about geographical limitations.

Another area where flexibility matters is employee development. Employees need to see their path forward; in other words, how they can learn and grow. That
clarity is found in a clear employee development plan. When HR and managers can help employees see their options for learning and development, they can
envision themselves with your company for the long term.

Instability and uncertainty are expected to be major themes in 2023. There’s already a lot of speculation and worry about the effect a potential recession will have
on business and employment. More than a third (37%) of respondents in a recent Randstad survey are concerned about layoffs, and 52% worry about the economy’s effect on their job status.

These fears, along with highly publicized layoffs in the tech sector, high inflation, and the increased use of automation and artificial intelligence contribute to a sense
of financial fragility among your employees. HR will need to manage employee morale, demonstrate transparency, and continually re-earn trust among employees
who feel insecure about their jobs. Make sure you’re communicating relevant business and financial information with employees without revealing privileged information. Encourage managers to help employees see their unique value and discover new ways they can contribute to the business.

Employee stress levels are at all-time highs, according to Gallup data, and that’s taking a toll on workforce well-being.10 In fact, nearly half (48%) of respondents in a recent Gympass survey reported a decline in well-being in 2023, with the same percentage unsatisfied with their workplace well-being.11 The Workforce Institute at UKG reports that 46% of middle managers plan to quit their jobs in the next 12 months due to work-related stress.

For managers, look for ways to provide clarity on what they need to do to succeed in the future and provide data-based insights into their team’s engagement. HR can also better support managers by giving them tools and resources to have regular 1:1 conversations — which build trust— and have more effective performance and development conversations with their direct reports. Before you make changes, survey employees and managers to find out where they need support. Be sure to communicate that their physical and emotional health is a business priority.

Human resource management is a very important function of management in an organization, in order to enable effective recruitment and retainment of the employees. Over the past couple of years, there has been a change in the perspective of the management approach followed by the organizations. Earlier, management functions such as planning, staffing, organizing and coordinating were given more attention. However, with the evolvement of the principles, the focus has moved to nurturing, empowering and managing the employees rather than supervising them.

Developing an effective leadership in organizations has become really important and crucial, as leadership is the main driving force in an organization. As the ultimate goal of the Human resource management in an organization is to help them achieve its target by getting the most appropriate and skilled people into the organization. And this cannot be achieved unless and until there is no leadership development. Thus, focussing on building the most effective and efficient leadership provides an opportunity to the HRs from not only being administrative but also being proactive business partners in various functional departments that make a huge difference to the organization.

Therefore, Human Resource Management for any organization stands indispensable, be it an organization of five people or 5000 people, it is vital to the success of the organization.