Five lessons from 2021 for HR leaders

It is fair to say that 2021 continued to pose many challenges for leaders across the globe. For HR leaders in particular, remote and hybrid working, Brexit, wellbeing, furlough and talent management have all been in flux over the course of the year. Through these challenges come vital learning and growth experiences.

There is much that proactive HR leaders can learn from 2021 and take with them into 2022. These lessons are going to be vital, especially as this coming year looks set to begin with some of the same uncertainty as the previous one. Below are five key lessons for you to guide your strategy in 2022.

1. Don’t take your talent for granted

Christy Kulasingam, management consultant and founder of In•Side•Edge notes that the pandemic-induced lockdowns and health concerns made people reassess their life and work priorities. Many have chosen to move on.

For Christy, 2021 has taught us that if you want to attract, motivate, and retain the best in your business, you have to create an inviting, safe, and engaging workplace.

However, this is not just adding in some token additional benefits that you think will make people stick around. “You have to show you care. You have to go beyond rote, performative signals. In other words, avoid banging pots and pans one evening a week. Make substantive improvements to your people’s lived experiences,” says Christy.

Christy advises that it’s time for businesses to think creatively in 2022. He suggests businesses could let that up-and-coming star get mentored by a star from the outside. Perhaps allow that first-time team leader to get coached on taking on leadership by a young captain from elite sport. He also suggests that leaders could allow — even encourage — that innovative high performer to explore their side hustle.

“Curating and crafting highly-personalized talent offerings will build loyalty, encourage ingenuity, show off your people offerings, and amplify your employer brand,” Christy explains.

2. The expectations of businesses have changed for good

For Matt Spry, strategy consultant and founder of Emergent, 2021 is a year when many of the paradigms of business have started to shift.

This is not surprising when you take into account the continuing threat of Covid-19, Brexit and COP26, among other important events. “Not only have companies realized that more agile and self-management practices are here to stay, but the conversation around sustainability has now changed forever,” says Matt.

He continues: “Employees and customers have different – and greater – expectations of businesses than pre-Covid, and those that succeed in the future will be those that embrace these changes and build around them.”

HR leaders would certainly do well to embed these changes into their strategies for 2022, particularly as we look to navigate the ‘Great Resignation’. Plans created in 2019 and 2020 just won’t cut it in 2022.

3. Purpose is fundamental to all

Michael Bernard, Author of Creating Strategy, highlights that everyone has been stretched in some way by the past year. Some organizations have been hit hard, such as the airline industry, retail, and hospitality. Others have had to respond rapidly to increases in demand, such as suppliers to the health sector.

But the one thing everyone has in common is a growing realization that a successful business depends on a well-grounded understanding of its purpose, vision, and mission, argues Michael.

“As Mark Carney says in his book Value(s), “Purpose is revealed and reinforced in times of disruption”. A business that does not understand its true purpose will not survive. However, leaders who have clarity about the organization’s purpose will ground their strategic decisions on strong foundations and give themselves the best chance of finding a way through the difficulties. When a rapid and agile response is needed, it is purpose that helps make the best possible choices,” says Michael.

Grounding in purpose will help HR leaders navigate uncertainty in 2022. 

4. Inclusion needs to be part of an organization’s DNA

Teresa Boughey, Founder of Inclusion 247, believes that 2021 could be considered the biggest year for diversity, equity and inclusion. She comments: “Whilst it’s certainly surfaced to the top of many board agendas as companies are starting to recognize the impact that diverse teams have, not just on business, innovation, and profitability, but also on team morale, there is also the stark realization that there’s still a lot to do”.

“Many organizations now need to translate what may be seen by some as a tick-box approach to inclusion to one which moves beyond the boundaries of HR and becomes part of an organization’s DNA, embedding inclusion into all the organizations activities so that it can really become culturally transformative,” she continues.

With the continuing dispersed workforce, proactive inclusion strategies will be fundamental in 2022 for creating unity and a supportive community.

5. Wellbeing is multi-factorial

Wellbeing has been high on the agenda in 2021 and rightfully so. “Leaders will have learnt and hopefully appreciated that most employees are able to consistently find a way to adapt to changing circumstances, in order to maintain presence and protect/maintain their performance – often at the expense of other aspects of their lives”, comments Lesley Cooper, management consultant and founder of WorkingWell.

“Leaders will have a keener awareness of just how multi-factorial employee wellbeing is, and that it should never be taken for granted,” Lesley continues.

Nonetheless, there continues to be concerning signs that many are suffering without the support they require and this needs to be a priority in 2022. “We have seen demand for emotional health support services continue to rise this year, and it is clear that many employees are suffering from a lack of recovery, as they struggle to meet work and life demands in a changing and often disorientating Covid world,” says Lesley.

“We, therefore, need to resolve to really listen to what people are saying about how they are coping, stay observant and curious about what is really going on for them, and more than ever remain mindful that our experience is not necessarily their experience”.

As we enter 2022, those leaders most poised for success will be the ones proactively protecting the wellbeing of their teams, enriching the employee experience, embedding inclusion, acknowledging that the way we ‘do’ business is changing, and acting with purpose in everything they do.