The last 18 months have been quite a whirlwind for people across every industry and level. Those in human resources have dealt with new challenges, such as the need to take an entire workforce remote overnight or accommodate varying work schedules and needs as they arose. Now that we’re nearly halfway through 2021, we’re taking a look at some of the trends that have shaped the year so far and what the rest of the year might hold.
It’s All About the Employee Experience
Most human resources professionals can agree that the employee experience has skyrocketed in importance in the recent past. Providing a positive experience to the workforce is more important than ever before, especially when life felt uncertain and overwhelming at nearly every turn. But what does the employee experience really mean? For most in HR, it refers to wellness, productivity, and engagement.
Employee Wellness
Wellness refers to both the physical and mental well-being of your employees. Although physical health became a top priority in the last 18 months, mental health is just as important and can impact the way your employees handle their tasks. Investing in employee wellness is a must for companies of all sizes, and it’s become a major trend among HR departments recently.
Your business might consider offering a formal wellness program that rewards employees for taking steps to achieve good mental and physical health. You could also think about ways to accommodate employee needs. For example, offering flexible schedules or the opportunity to work from home a few days per week might help employees achieve a better work-life balance. Ask your teams what they want and need to improve their wellness to show that your company is actively investing in their needs. After all, wellness is a big part of the employee experience.
Employee Productivity
Employee Engagement
Whether your workforce is fully remote or working in person, engagement is essential to the overall success of the organization. Engagement refers to how actively involved an employee is with their work tasks and the organization overall. Companies that invest in the employee experience have twice the revenue and more than four times the profits of companies that do not. Engaged employees also outperform their peers by 147%.
Engagement is a key HR trend for 2021. Companies have to figure out how to engage their workforces and keep employees feeling satisfied in their roles and with the organization overall. You simply can’t afford to ignore this trend, or you may end up losing your best employees to companies that put their needs first.
With Payroll People by your side, you can tackle these HR trends head-on and move into the second half of 2021 feeling confident about your business success. We offer powerful engagement and data tools, all built into the single-source HCM platform, that will make it easier on your company while transforming the employee experience. Want to learn more? We’d love to show you a quick demo of the engagement features in action.
