The workplace has been changing faster than anyone could have predicted. A nationwide labor shortage, skyrocketing inflation, technological advancements and social movements have all played a role. To make matters more complex, many of these shifts occurred suddenly, leaving HR professionals with little time to prepare.

In this article, we explore several workplace challenges that these rapid changes created — and in some cases, exposed. From attraction and retention to compliance, discover the key issues that HR professionals have had difficulty keeping up with.

Attraction & Retention

Amid widespread labor shortages, employers have been forced to schedule fewer staff members, overwork employees and resort to hiring less-skilled applicants — all of which have the potential to negatively impact more than just productivity. Exhausted and underqualified team members can increase the risk of workplace accidents, cause service delays and contribute to disgruntled customers, punctuating the importance of honing in on talent attraction and retention. Total rewards can help you out-recruit the competition and keep high performers happy.

Compensation

Companywide compensation should be reviewed on an annual basis. If you’re unaware of the market wage for positions in your organization, experiencing costly turnover or having difficulties hiring top talent, it may be time to conduct a compensation study. Don’t have the bandwidth to offer significant base pay increases? Consider adding value with other unique offerings, such as:

• Employee stock ownership programs (ESOPs)
• Paid training stipends
• Executive bonus plans
• Employer-paid individual term life insurance

Employee Benefits

When it comes to employee benefits, staying ahead of the curve is key. Competitive retirement plans, mental health resources, family-building benefits and various voluntary benefits are all trending offerings you should add to your program if you want to catch the eye of high-quality candidates and keep current employees satisfied.

Employee Experience

Don’t forget the third element of total rewards — the employee experience. The employee experience starts in the early stages of the recruiting process, and selecting the right technology can help you ensure that this experience is a positive one right off the bat. Streamline your screening process with a quality applicant tracking system that prevents applicants from having to input information on their application multiple times and asks qualifying questions to weed out unqualified individuals early on.

Continue to foster a positive employee experience long after the recruiting process by offering opportunities for personal and professional growth, creating flexible work arrangements and promoting internal advancement.

Employee Mental Health & Wellbeing

The stigma surrounding mental health is alive and well, but employers can help break that stigma by communicating the importance of self-care, offering the proper resources and promoting a positive work-life balance with a comprehensive wellbeing program.

Internal Fatigue & Burnout

Burnout is one of the biggest contributing factors to deteriorating employee mental health. In fact, 77% of employees say they’ve experienced burnout at their current job. Your organization must understand how to manage burnout in order to retain top talent and create a favorable workplace for all. Take the time to check in with your employees to determine how they’re feeling. Above all else, be proactive in your efforts to support your workforce.

Workplace Violence

In addition to reducing burnout, adequate workplace support can help employers mitigate the risk of workplace violence. The National Safety Council determined that on-the-job assaults resulted in more than 20,000 injuries in 2020, and OSHA found that one of the key factors that elevated the risk of workplace violence included working with unstable individuals.

By educating employees on the warning signs of workplace violence, creating a culture of open communication and implementing proper training, you can better safeguard your workforce and offer support to those who need it most.

Cybersecurity

In the digital era, cybersecurity cannot be ignored. To help prevent tech-based attacks, your business leaders should employ HR professionals to develop cyberattack response teams. These task forces can take the lead in developing basic cyber policy updates, training employees on cyber best practices and ensuring that cyberattack prevention is a companywide initiative.

A growing form of cyberattacks, payroll scams can take hold of any company at any time. To minimize your organization’s potential for becoming a payroll scam victim, ensure that all payroll change requests are legitimate by:

• Verbally confirming direct deposit changes with the employee requesting the change;
• Speaking to employees face to face or via phone call; and
• Utilizing phone numbers on file, not those provided in the direct deposit change request, to contact employees.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Discrimination has become a growing concern as awareness of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) continues to increase. ESG is important to the financial health of any company as stakeholders are increasingly invested in this measure of company risk and sustainability. Additionally, discriminatory missteps can have negative legal and reputational impacts on your organization.

To prevent the risk of discrimination, ensure your hiring practices are consistent across all candidates. Equally important, be sure to carefully document disciplinary or performance-related actions and share them with all affected employees and respond to claims immediately.

While it’s essential that employers avoid discriminatory practices to protect the financial health of the organization, employees also desire a highly ethical experience — for everyone. To remain competitive amid the talent crunch, employers must create and maintain a work environment where everyone’s thoughts, ideas and perspectives truly matter. Consider implementing the following strategies to strengthen your inclusion efforts:

• Establish a DE&I task force dedicated to spearheading inclusion initiatives and engage team members who self-identify as DE&I champions to participate in, shape and support the task force
• Introduce DE&I-centric trainings on essential topics, such as unconscious bias and microaggressions
• Expand your benefits program to include domestic partner benefits, paid parental leave for all, additional childcare resources and other inclusive offerings

While 2022 has presented endless challenges, it has also given employers the rare opportunity to promote much-needed change in the workplace. By embracing innovation, breaking down harmful stigmas and creating a culture that promotes a sense of belonging for every employee, your organization can fortify attraction and retention efforts, better protect your team and boost overall company performance.

Learn more about the human capital management services we provide at CBIZ.