Seven most anticipated trends in HR 2022

What Are the HR Trends in 2022?

Are you preparing for the future HR trends in 2022? You should be if you want your company to retain its position in the industry — or, better yet, to move further up the ranks.

Over the past few years, there has been a transformative shift in the workplace, largely due to the threat of the COVID-19 virus. The remote work model has been a leading trend: many employees don't have to go to the office, and the internet has been the #1 method of communication between supervisors and employees. 

Along with this, there are other changes, including technological advancements and different forms of employee training. Some of these trends will continue in 2022, but there are also other changes on the horizon. Read on to learn what to expect in the HR world this year!

HR Trends You Should Be Paying Attention To

Since the Omicron variant has threatened many countries, cases of COVID-19 are expected to rise significantly in 2022. Because of this, many HR trends are still mainly influenced by the regulations implemented regarding workplace setups and transportation restrictions.

Here are some of the predicted HR trends in 2022:

1. Hybrid Work Model

Since the pandemic started in 2020, we are seeing far less of the “traditional” work setting in a corporate office — instead, companies of all shapes and sizes have moved to a remote setup. Even though vaccines were administered to control the COVID-19 virus, many variants continue to rise, such as Omicron. It’s the most contagious strain so far, and vaccines aren’t as effective against it, so we can anticipate a remote work environment for quite a while longer. 

However, as patience is wearing thin, some employers are incorporating office hours on an as-needed basis. With this hybrid work model, employees can expect to go back to the office when necessary, but not for a long time. Typically with this kind of model, staff works 1-2 days at the office and the rest of the workweek from home.

This model is expected to become prevalent after the pandemic ends — according to The Pulse of the American Worker Survey, 44% of respondents would like to work from home part of the week, and 48% would like to work fully remote. Not all jobs can offer fully remote work, which is why we expect the hybrid model to take a slight lead in the workforce. 

2. Technology Adoption

Technology advancements continue to rise, and many companies have adopted fascinating technology that has increased productivity and efficiency in the workplace. Here are some of the HR technological trends in 2022:

• Artificial intelligence — AI in the workplace is powered by the people's data that will be used in the HR office, giving supervisors an overview of the employees. It will help HR and managers to make an informed decision concerning their employees based on the data—productivity, engagement, skills, learning, performance, exit risk, and more. It will also be used to hyper-automate HR tasks such as payroll and data entry. The system is also trained to look for new employees through their resumes. Then, candidates are ranked according to their education and experience.
• Telehealth mental services — According to statistics gathered by a KFF Health Tracking Poll, about 41.1% of adults have anxiety disorder during the pandemic. So, more HR teams are assisting in taking care of their employees' wellbeing. In 2022, online resources to support mental health will increase by providing remote checkups with trained professionals. Some companies plan to offer customized and personal therapy sessions for their employees.
• Technology to monitor employees — Since many companies have adopted remote work, they have used online monitoring tools and surveys to gather feedback and information from their employees. Many organizations in 2022 will shift to advanced employee working tools to track the engagement of their employees when working from home. Some examples of these tools are time tracking, application and website usage, and productivity.

3. Employee Skills Development

With the increasing shift of companies to remote work, HR teams are looking for effective employee training programs to suit the work setup. Some of the challenges faced during the work from home setup are feelings of isolation and distractions at home. So, most employers adopt the latest employee training and development trends that they can use to boost the productivity of their employees in the new work environment.

Here are the latest trends for employee skills development for 2022:

• Microlearning aims to provide learning materials to employees in smaller pieces that they can manage to learn easily instead of big chunks of materials that can be overwhelming to grasp. According to neuroscience studies, the brain can forget 90% of the information presented within a week. So, it's best to use microlearning to increase retention for learning things.
• Soft skills are non-technical skills that allow a person to interact well with others. Companies are promoting the development of soft skills, with the aim of increasing employees’ emotional intelligence, collaboration, and communication skills. 
• Gamification’s objective is to increase engagement. Traditional training of sitting down and listening is becoming less effective and often bores participants. Conversely, using attractive games and other activities increases the motivation of employees to learn as they're having fun. The training involves a reward system using different incentives that employees can get as they finish the activities. Reward systems have been found to effectively boost the productivity of the organization, especially when employees are motivated.
• Cybersecurity became critical due to the increasing demand for technology in a remote setup. Many companies are having a hard time preventing cybercrime and looking for technicians who can fix issues concerning computers. Therefore, there will be an increase in cybersecurity training — especially in teaching employees the proper use of the internet and how to avoid hacking incidents. Training will also involve troubleshooting common problems encountered: slow computer performance, unresponsive internet browsing, the blue screen of death, a low-resolution screen display, and more.

4. Diversity and Inclusion

A positive work environment with an inclusive culture has been proven to reduce employee resignations and absenteeism and boost productivity in the workplace. An inclusive culture accepts differences between individuals and removes discrimination in terms of age, race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, and nationality. With this, employees show deeper trust and more commitment to work as they feel employers' respect towards them.

Every person is also represented in the workplace. For example, traditional companies have favored men over women as their employees. But now, HR teams provide equal opportunities to anyone regardless of gender. There are companies with 50% men and 50% women.

In 2022, with the proven benefits of diversity and inclusion, more companies will promote it. Here are some of the proven advantages:

• 67% of workers now consider diversity when looking for employers. So, more qualified candidates will be applying to companies that promote diversity and inclusion.
• Employees are more engaged with their work and do extra work for the company.
• Workers have better physical and mental health.
• Diverse teams provide 60% improvement in decision-making.
• Diverse companies are 70% more likely to get new markets.
• Harvard Business Review revealed that diverse companies reported 19% higher revenue.

5. Internal Mobility as a Talent Strategy

Internal mobility is the act of hiring employees for future leadership roles in the company. In previous years, many organizations would look for new supervisors and other department heads for open positions. As a result, existing employees would resign and join another company that could provide them with better opportunities.

Now, internal mobility programs are becoming popular; such programs allow employees to grow with the company by preparing them for bigger responsibilities. This is a great way to retain employees and develop high performance so workers can be given the promotions they are working for. 

6. Multi-Generation Workforce

Employers want to create a technological and experience-based workforce to get various market opinions. This will help companies create products and services for all and will be accepted by most generations; after all, challenges arose when traditional generations (such as baby boomers) showed limited tech-savviness and a reluctance to keep up with trends. Now, product and service developments focus on providing a simple interface of technological-based products that are inclusive for all generations.

7. Complex Compliance 

The past few years have been challenging for HR teams regarding compliance with hiring and tax regulations. But now, there’s another element to consider: vaccination regulations. Since the Omicron variant has continued to surge worldwide, testing and vaccine mandates will continue to change. There will also be challenges with the "work from home" and "work anywhere" policies. Since some employees work remotely in different countries, different tax and immigration policies may apply. HR professionals will continue to face these challenges if the pandemic isn't controlled yet, so we predict a rise in compliance consultancies. 

Stay Ahead of HR Trends With Lanteria

HR trends in 2022 are greatly affected by the rising cases of COVID-19. Remote and hybrid work models are expected to continue to be the trend, and employers will adapt to the changes by incorporating technology in the work environment. Do you want your company to stay ahead of the curve? Lanteria, the cutting-edge HR platform, can give you the boost you need. Reach out today to learn why we’re the #1 solution you need in your HR toolbox!