Starting the new year off with ambitious goals and resolutions can propel you to a year of success and achievement. Often in the world of HR, however, it can be tough to identify exactly where to focus in order to have the biggest impact. Use this list to inspire your new years resolutions and set yourself up for an impactful 2022!
It’s no secret that recruiting and retaining the best talent remains the biggest challenge for our profession as we deal with the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and “The Great Resignation.” Providing meaningful training and career development opportunities should be an integral piece of your recruiting and engagement efforts in 2022.
Did you know that 74% of employees feel they aren’t reaching their full potential professionally due to a lack of development opportunities on the job? Furthermore, 59% of millennials claim that development opportunities are extremely important when deciding whether or not to apply for a position. You cannot afford to overlook the impact that an ongoing training and career development program can have on attracting and retaining top performers for your organization.
While career path specific continuing education and training courses are incredibly valuable, don’t shy away from softer skills like leadership, emotional intelligence, and time management as you develop your career development offerings. After all, you never know when you’re going to find your next superstar manager! When 94% of employees claim they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development, you know this is a key priority for 2022.
Peter Drucker, the founder of modern management, famously quipped “what gets measured, gets managed.” (Or did he?) In any case, 2022 is the year to dive deep into the metrics and indicators you are using to make the best possible decisions for your organization. Commit now to conduct 1-2 employee opinion surveys throughout the course of the year. Get to know your HCM platform and all its reporting capabilities. Work with your management team to formalize performance metrics across your organization.
If you are just getting started integrating measurement tools into your HR practice, don’t feel like you have to get it all done at once. Remember, for data to make an impact, you need to collect it consistently and sustainable for a long period of time. Just pick a few key metrics and set the process in place to help you make more informed decisions for your organization. You can always add more of these tools as you get more comfortable with the benefits of detailed analytics.
Technology and automation have accelerated at a breakneck pace over the last decade, a trend that shows no sign of slowing. Use 2022 as an opportunity to review job descriptions and roles throughout your organization as these documents often need to be refreshed to reflect the current state of your company.
You may discover the need to reclassify and re-skill employees in your organization whose original role may no longer be as relevant as the day they were hired. Work with your IT and Operations teams to commit the resources necessary to ensure the continued success of existing employees in new or evolving roles. With an emphasis on empathy and flexibility through this process, you may discover that the labor force you need for the coming decade already works for you!
Routine check-ins with members of your team and employees at your company are essential to making sustained progress on organizational goals. Find time to celebrate wins and learn from challenges. Be willing to follow through on that which is working and change what doesn’t.
Bring all of your 2022 new year’s resolutions together and commit to a regular review of your progress on each of these goals. Don’t be afraid to put key commitments on the calendar now so that, unlike that gym membership you’re likely to forget by February, you are set up for success for the whole year.
Here’s to an impactful 2022! What new year’s resolutions are you committing to in 2022?
References
[1] “39 Statistics that Prove the Value of Employee Training.” Lorman Education Services, September 1, 2021, https://www.lorman.com/blog/post/39-statistics-that-prove-the-value-of-employee-training.
[1] “2020 Workplace Learning Report.” LinkedIn Learning, https://learning.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/learning/resources/pdfs/LinkedIn-Learning-2020-Workplace-Learning-Report.pdf.