Future proofing for business success and the sanity of HR employees

HR departments are under immense pressure and businesses haven’t been able to support them effectively. With the demands and pressures of the last 2 years’ and the continued focus on time to hire stats, projects and increased admin, without investing in automation that can support the department, burnout is on the rise.

Here we cover ways you can future proof for not only business and recruitment success but above all for the sanity of your HR department too.

Know your EVP and communicate it

If your employee value proposition isn’t very clearly communicated to current employees, then it is unlikely that future ones will know what it is either. So take a look at what the full proposition is and identify what changes there have been in the market. The obvious one at the moment is the mismatch of employees’ desire to continue to work flexibly and shift to a remote working schedule, whilst micromanaging employers want bums back on seats in the office. Those businesses that prioritise flexible working will find it easier to recruit talent, than those who don’t.

Mental health and wellbeing matter

Second on the agenda is mental health and wellbeing. Employees are more interested in how their employer will look after their wellbeing and if they see an overstretched, stressed out HR team, they’ll be sceptical about the company health and wellbeing benefit that is purported to exist. This doesn’t mean an extra day off for your birthday either. The deeper you go with these policies the greater the return in commitment and talent retention. Have open conversations about diversity and inclusion and include neurodiversity. Have champions within your organisation that promote health and wellbeing.

However, as we point out here, you need to understand the pressures that your employees are under and identify if the business is supporting them as much as it could. Don’t just think burnout, think childcare challenges. Are you supportive of men wanting to take time out of the office to help with childcare arrangements or provide sick care? We cover this in more detail here but this is a huge challenge for parents at the moment, particularly as women still seem to be seen as the main caregiver in their partner’s firm. It’s not even causing them an issue where they work.

Salaries still count

Pay the market rate. Or better still, pay above and retain your talent. Don’t wait for resignations to counter-offer, your HR team (if not distracted by the constant work of recruitment) should be keeping on top of the market and be able to advise on what to offer to retain your talent. If you are paying a good salary and have flexible working together with proactively encouraging and supporting well being then you give little reason for your team to look elsewhere. Make it hard for your competition to poach your talent and with inflation burning holes in pockets alongside all of the other financial pressures, salaries matter too in 2022.

Personal development is attractive

Don’t forget personal development. Other than those candidates who are ‘lifers’ most employees usually stay in the role 2 -3 years, one to get an in-depth understanding and a year or two to develop it. After that they will be looking for progression. Your HR team need to be working with managers with an eye on succession planning and talent progression, as well as identifying talent gaps for your recruiter to fill.

Find talent by partnering with an expert recruiter

Finally, look at ways to build relationships with recruitment partners that can provide you with access to a regularly engaged talent pool. By picking an experienced recruitment agent, you can ensure you are selecting the best potential candidates that meet your cultural fit to take through to your interview stages and stem the talent drain. Find out more about working with Auxeris here.