EX and recruiting must be HR’s top priorities for 2023
According to McLean & Company.
Why You Should Care
The 'Great Resignation' is 18 months old, and it's going nowhere.
So HR teams need to continue to focus on not just recruitment, but also retention.
Here's how to dial up your employee experience in this challenging HR context.
The ‘Great Resignation’ is 18 months old, and it is showing no signs of letting up, despite a looming recession. Therefore, it is no surprise that attracting and retaining talent remains top of mind for employers.
As a result, recruitment and employee experience are the top two priorities for HR leaders, followed by learning and development, according to McLean & Company’s survey of 1,000 business leaders.
The study found that a positive employee experience is important not just for retention, but also because it leads to innovative, productive and agile workplaces.
Credit: McLean HR Trends Report 2023.
It also helps reduce burnout and stress among employees and HR teams.
Credit: McLean’s HR Trends Report 2023.
But, of course, actually figuring out hiring and employee experience is much easier said than done.
The first thing to do is to move from focusing on where people work, to how work gets done. With the advent of hybrid work, employees’ experience of work is no longer confined to the boundaries of the office – this is where HR tech comes in handy.
In addition, McLean & Company’s report is clear that putting lots of effort into driving a good experience at work will “yield limited results” if the changes are not communicated internally to existing employees and externally to candidates.
This is where a proper employee value proposition (EVP) policy, which is well communicated, can help solve HR problems in 2023.
Currently 55% of leaders said they have no EVP, and 24% are developing these processes. Those without an EVP are 23% more likely to report recruitment as their primary priority.
However, if employers can use EVP to solve recruitment, then HR can focus on other priorities like learning, development and talent mobility, which also play into retention.
Don’t drop the ball on D,E&I
Employees with the highest engagement (and the best experience) work at organizations that are diverse, equitable and inclusive (D,E&I), according to McLean & Company’s research.
Over the last year, D,E&I has dropped in HR leaders’ priority list – from 5th to 6th. This shows that the focus has been lost – only one in three has a formal strategy – which is concerning given the link between purpose, values and psychological safety and retention and employee experience.
McLean & Company found that those companies that are high performing on D,E&I are twice as likely to be good at recruitment – but only 38% of those surveyed said they were doing well on diversity.
The main barriers to successful policies are no dedicated teams or resources, a lack of a unified strategy, lack of data and leadership support. 57% said they had no dedicated D,E&I team, but when they do, they are 34% more likely to be high performing.
Talking about the results, McLean & Company’s vice-president of HR research, learning solutions & advisory services Karen Mann said: “Employees are expecting organizations to provide a safe, engaging, diverse, and progressive work experience, with increased opportunities for personal and professional growth.
“This will require an EVP that is intentional and actioned by the organization. It will be up to organizational leaders, and their HR teams, to deliver on these expectations.”
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