TalentCulture #WorkTrends

As of March 2020, HR managers and company leaders have been laser-focused on COVID-19. As of January 2022, the federal vaccination mandate for all businesses with 100 or more employees brought COVID-19 back to the center of your business discussions. But the more time you waste arguing about the mandate, the less time you have to focus on staying competitive. To address this, you have to address misunderstandings about vaccine proof, tackle fears about the vaccine, get smart about storing employee data, and always stay focused on the employee experience. 

Americans are leaving their jobs (and not coming back) at historic rates. And that means the pressure is on talent acquisition to deliver much-needed manpower and help businesses stay competitive. For businesses with an eye toward the future, it’s time to learn from the mistakes of 2021 (like why employees aren’t in a hurry to come back to work) and use that knowledge to stay ahead. When you’re vying for the same talent in a seller’s market, reaching the right candidates and making the right offers once you find them are critical to your success. 

Managers want in-person work. Employees want hybrid work. And in the Great Resignation, when employees are more willing than ever to leave behind lackluster jobs, hybrid work is no longer a perk—it's a competitive advantage. And employers need to catch up to the curve. By focusing on tools that enable the same success factors in in-person environments (like communication, agility, and innovation) employers can reimagine the future of work and ensure their future success. 

As COVID-19 leads more employees to demand hybrid workplaces, the pressure is on employers to innovate and provide long-term hybrid solutions. The good news is that modern technology is ready to provide the answers. The key is to focus on elements that drive success in in-person environments: communication, collaboration, innovation, agility, and the democratization of technology access. And with the right tools, employers can innovate and reimagine their own workplaces—and stay competitive in the process.

Today’s employees don’t want to just collect a paycheck. They want to grow in their work. That’s great news for managers and HR departments, who can capitalize on the hunger to learn through self-driven skills development. That way, employees can learn skills that are valuable to them while also motivating themselves to pursue it—the better to make sure they’re genuinely interested.  That said, employers still play a big role. Today’s companies need to provide well-sourced, well-considered content and help drive motivation to ensure that employees gain truly valuable skills. Then, employees take over from there. 

Frontline workers are burned out and scared, and many are thinking of quitting their jobs. Yet their organizations still rely on them to do essential work. And if workplaces want to avoid a brain drain from the front lines, it’s time to invest in frontline employees.  Among other things, that means recognizing the unique struggle of frontline employees, providing support to push back against burnout, skills training to help adapt to the future of work, and a targeted effort to drive better performance. That way, you can continue to support the communities who rely on you. 

In today’s workplace, respect is not just a kind gesture or a tool of civility. It’s a necessity for a high-performing workplace. The problem is that many workplaces still struggle to find the right balance of respect and meeting employee expectations.  The key to respect is understanding what respect means in today’s work environment and the role leaders play in it. From there, leaders can craft their organizational standards of respect, accountability, and appropriate handling of disrespectful conduct. The net result is a happier, healthier, and culturally rich work environment.

Technology will change the way business is run—and with rapid adoption in the COVID-19 era, those changes are happening faster than ever before. Your workplace needs to be ready to evolve with the times. But first, you need to establish the right mindset for technology adoption.  Humans inherently resist change, and your employees are no different. However, there are ways to overcome change-resistant mindsets. By driving understanding and reframing the effort, you can change employees minds (and their mindsets) to the betterment of your business.

The future of work is hybrid, but many workplaces aren’t ready for it. In order to make the transition successfully, leadership, HR teams, and IT teams need to create a secure work environment that allows successful (and safe) communication online just as much as in-person. This only happens when networking, security, and collaboration tools come together to enhance health and well-being, safety, and efficiencies.  The key is to strike a balance—not just tools that get the job done, but tools that enable safe collaboration. That way, your team can confidently work (and innovate) whether they’re across the table or miles apart. 

Workforce expectations are changing — that we know, and that includes benefits. Employees are looking to their workplace to provide more guidance and real solutions on healthcare and wellness — and by the way, employers that step up to the plate aren’t just improving their own work culture. They’re also boosting their own brand as a forward-thinking employer. Today we’re going to one way a new approach to benefits is changing the game – bringing well-being to the workforce.  Pop-up dental clinics right in your workplace are a proven way to ensure your employees get the dental care they need — despite their busy lives. And this ingenious new way to bring benefits on-site can have an enormous positive impact on financial wellness as well. A Cigna study found that regular preventive dental care over a five-year period reduced annual dental costs by 31% for people aged 18-64.  Today Meghan M. Biro talks to Jordan Smith, the CEO of Jet Dental, about this groundbreaking model of employee healthcare. It’s a new way for employers to get ahead of employee expectations around benefits and care.