The employee experience will take centre stage in 2023 as employers act on employee feedback to further personalise the employee experience and respond to real-time support expectations, among other trends that will shape HR throughout the year.

What's in store for the next 12 months? It's a question on people's minds as they start wrapping up their year. HR and business leaders are no different. Many hope to understand the industry trends affecting their workdays and workforces, so they can prepare, respond and adapt accordingly. Here are four HR trends that will shape the evolution of the workplace in 2023. [But first: Register for the 2023 trends on-demand webinar and hear from the experts directly.]

1. Workers are forever changed and want work to be personal

The COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath changed how people experience work, working and the workplace. Traditions and conventions were questioned and challenged. Notions of job security were re-evaluated. Millions resigned, looking for something different. "How do I integrate home, life and work?" became a purposeful exercise in self-examination. Since 2020, many have merged their personal and professional priorities to create work-life integration, blending, not balancing, both sets of duties. In 2023, employers will continue to navigate this integration. They should be ready to talk to their employees about their personal goals, including those related to flexibility, purpose and career paths, to understand how they can satisfy their wants and needs.

2. Workers are providing real-time feedback, expecting a real-time response

Gathering and analysing employee feedback to understand and improve the employee experience has accelerated, becoming a top priority for HR practitioners by way of employee surveying. Additionally, digitalisation has intensified employee expectations regarding real-time support. In other words, when issues arise, many expect prompt assistance. Some organisations have deployed employee self-service technology, survey solutions and engagement platforms to address, detect and talk to employees about their challenges as they arise — instead of after engagement and morale have been jeopardised.

3. Workers are empowered by data and expect transparency

Concerns about data and how data are being used may compel some employers to re-evaluate their data management infrastructure and pay-related policies in 2023. Data privacy developments, specifically, will be essential to follow. Transparency-wise, awareness of pay, pay ranges and pay equity will continue to generate discussions and influence decision making amongst employers, employees and candidates. Pay data and benchmarking can serve as helpful guideposts for leaders, including when discussing pay transparency requirements, which have influenced how and when employers disclose salaries and wages. Research suggests that employees support both pay transparency and learning about fair pay. According to Glassdoor:

  • 63 percent of employees prefer to work at a company that discloses pay information over one that does not
  • 69 percent of employees wish they better understood what fair pay is for their position and skill set at their company and in their local job market
  • 70 percent of employees across seven countries believe pay transparency is good for employee satisfaction
  • 72 percent of employees believe pay transparency is good for business

4. Workers want to work differently, demanding employers find innovative solutions

The pandemic and its aftermath reminded people of their resourcefulness and adaptability. Changes over the past several years have reinforced that transformation, creative solutions and ingenuity can happen, do happen and must happen to support people-first approaches to work and leadership. Examples include providing flexible working arrangements and schedules, prioritising skills over credentials, making data-driven decisions to support underrepresented groups and resolving inequities with data over time. In 2023, employers will benefit from leaders who view forward-thinking perspectives not as enemies but as allies. Exploring ways to introduce, create and support innovation will prove helpful. Data-driven leader development, providing upskilling and reskilling options through learning management, mining internal talent for career development opportunities, personalising employee career paths and broadening talent pools to attract people from nontraditional backgrounds are tactics worth considering.

This story originally published on SPARK, a blog designed for you and your people by ADP®.