LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine): From virtual balancing act to focus on wellbeing and an ongoing war for talent. These trends will continue to emerge in the work, HR and recruitment landscape in 2022.
1. War for talent
According to a recent European study by HR advisor SD Worx, attracting new talent is one of the biggest HR challenges for 2022. The war for talent will continue to play out, especially in typical bottlenecks such as care and technical jobs. The demographic evolution also plays a role because more people are retiring in various sectors and companies .
2. Well-being first
Employers pay a lot of attention to well-being and health both physical and mental. Employees expect that too. The concept is broader than just physical health. It includes other aspects such as the relationship with the manager and within the team . Other initiatives, such as ergonomic desks and leasing bicycles also confirm the focus on well-being.
With attracting talent and well-being as top priorities, attention is once again shifting to the people themselves. “Companies care, more than ever, about their people. That is their biggest challenge for 2022,” says Cathy Geerts, chief HR officer at SD Worx. Last year, according to her, they were mainly busy with operational HR tasks, such as wage calculation. Or organising the work.
3. Balancing Virtual and Physical
Employees, applicants and employers will (have to) continue to look for a balance between the physical and the virtual next year. Think of telecommuting versus being in the office . “The smaller the company, the easier it is to keep an overview and respond flexibly to working from home,” comments Cathy Geerts of SD Worx.
But that balancing act also applies in the field of applying for jobs. For example, how important will online job interviews remain in 2022 ?
4. Change job, not employer
Freddy Van Malderen of VDAB refers to their so-called chimney approach to the internal upgrade changing jobs within the company). “In this way we try to keep the jobs, which usually require the least specific skills, the most vacant. We let those who did these jobs continue to grow, so that the bottom layers are released again.”
5. Recruit differently
More than traditional recruitment, elements such as employer branding are also important : what do I stand for as an employer? For example, companies present employees as ambassadors , in order to make a difference with applicants. An authentic story, in word and image, is certainly an asset.
Companies will also be forced to abandon their traditional criteria for ideal employees, suggests Freddy Van Malderen of VDAB. “HR departments, also when recruiting, look too much at themselves and in the mirror. They should be looking outward more and doing window recruiting. That also means inviting or embracing people who do not correspond 100 percent to their ideal image.”