In 2022, organisations were rocked by a wave of unexpected challenges: talent shortages, skills obsolescence, quiet quitting, and hybrid working. The challenges will be no less in 2023 as organisations must reinvent themselves at an unprecedented rate to successfully evolve and remain competitive.
However, they will not be able to meet these challenges without their truest success factor: people. Hence putting people back at the heart of organisations becomes the central area of challenge for 2023.
Let's take a look at some of the ways in which this can be achieved.
Employees and HR are human beings after all
First of all, when we speak about humans, we must recognise the qualities that are inherent in a person: their needs, their motivations, their personality, their emotions, their aspirations, their fears, and their doubts. All these nuances that lie behind our cognitive and behavioural capacities must be taken into account in human resources management.
Moreover, HRDs and HR are well convinced of their role, which is, above all, to take care of people. But often they are pushed behind all the administrative processes and need to make up for the lack of time, the rush to meet legal requirements and many other priorities. HR people also need to be supported, trained and upskilled in order to focus on their core business.
Therefore, consider taking care of your employees by implementing activities and processes that focus on their mental and emotional well-being. Start by understanding who your employees are by implementing psychometric assessments and regular feedback sessions.
You are probably familiar with Maslow's pyramid, which prioritises an individual's needs in a clear hierarchy: first, there are the vital needs, then the psychological needs, and finally, the need for fulfilment. Beyond yoga sessions, baby-foots or fruit baskets, human guidance fosters an organisational culture based on the employees’ empowerment and the recognition of their roles.
Humans are capable of lifelong learning
Neuroscience has clearly shown that the brain has a great capacity to adapt to the demands of its environment and continues to develop and learn throughout life. While learning, it is the very structure of the brain that changes, with the creation of new connections between neurons. This remarkable 'brain plasticity' is a significant breakthrough in our understanding of the human being. And yet, most companies do not know how to use it well!
Understanding how the brain works is the basis for all learning processes and the acquisition of soft skills.
If companies are ready to spend huge amounts of money on training, they are less interested in the way the training is delivered or the evaluation of the needs upstream. Most training courses are not adapted to the way our brain works. They often deliver too much information in a short time or are delivered in a way that is not adapted to the learner.
Did you know that assessing interests through the famous RIASEC model enables identifying six different learning styles?
Discovering the learning style allows organisations to invest better in a training programme that makes sense for the people in it. This helps to activate the right motivational drivers and ensure successful learning.
By investing in training programmes that are tailored to employees' interests, companies can not only improve their skills, but can also contribute to their well-being by offering them new opportunities for personal and professional development.
Mental health and well-being first
Being able to thrive at work has become a key concern. With the health challenges and uncertainties of the last few years, it has become more necessary than ever to look after the health and well-being of employees.
Feeling good at work involves several factors: the interest in work, the rhythm of the work, the relationships with colleagues, the work environment, the security, and the recognition. As mentioned earlier, one of the most important factors is interest in their work. Today's employees are looking for meaning in their work and fulfilment through challenging assignments. They need to feel useful and to be recognised and rewarded for their efforts.
Implementing a wellness policy can thus contribute to employee development, improving the working climate and implicitly increasing commitment.
To start the well-being approach, the first thing to do is to collect the opinions of employees on their expectations, their level of satisfaction, the work situations that are sources of tension, etc. This can be done through motivation assessments or satisfaction surveys. As interest and motivation are good predictors of how a person deals with stress, it is essential to know exactly what motivates your employees.
Then, it is a matter of building trust, talking to employees and finding solutions together. This can range from simple encouragement, such as taking regular breaks, to more elaborate actions such as stress management, psychological support programmes, and training in emotional management.
To conclude, human resource management must be people-centred by considering people's needs, emotions and aspirations. Maintaining commitment, ensuring that talent is in the right place, developing employees through effective training programmes in order to retain them, ensuring working conditions are favourable to their well-being, and encouraging their fulfilment are all challenges to be handled in 2023.
