The new State of the Workplace Study from SHRM evaluates how organizations handled key workplace challenges over the last year and takes a look forward at the anticipated workplace trends of 2022.

The study surveyed HR professionals, as well as other workers in the U.S., asking questions on two key areas:

• How did U.S. organizations perform on key workplace issues during the past year?
• What are the key priorities and challenges in the workplace for 2022?

"Our research findings provide a deeper understanding of the issues affecting workplaces, HR departments, and employees collectively," said Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, SHRM president and chief executive officer. "The HR profession is at the forefront of real change, both societally and culturally. There is an opportunity for employers and employees to recognize the inherent power of HR and to reimagine the world of work in 2022."

Key Findings: Looking Back

• Both HR professionals and U.S. workers told SHRM that their organizations were most effective in navigating the impact of COVID-19 on their workforce and related safety practices, which had the highest rating out of 24 total actions
• Only 26% of U.S. workers felt that their organization developed more effective people managers, which was the lowest rated out of 24 areas.
• Just 25% of HR professionals rated their organization as effective in finding and recruiting talent, which had the lowest ratings from their perspective.
• 64% of HR professionals and 47% of U.S. workers rated their organizations as effective in providing affordable and comprehensive healthcare benefits, which was the second-highest rated area for both groups.

In response to another set of survey questions, HR professionals told SHRM about the changing reputation and roles of HR in their organizations:

• 83% of HR professionals reported that their senior leaders relied on HR to help navigate new situations or practices, and 73% of HR professionals reported that their senior leaders recognized HR functions as crucial to the business function.
• 72% of HR professionals reported their HR staffs were working beyond their typical capacity (too hard and too long).

On key talent issues, HR professionals from remote organizations reported higher effectiveness than those from in-person organizations:

• Just 18% from in-person organizations reported that they were effective in finding and recruiting talent with necessary skills versus 46% of remote organizations.
• Only 32% of in-person organizations were rated as effective in retaining top talent, but 47% of remote organizations were effective.

"These differences show that the twin talent challenges of recruiting and retaining talent are much bigger issues for traditional in-office organizations," said Mark Smith, Ph.D., SHRM's director of HR Thought Leadership.

Key Findings: Looking Ahead to 2022 

When considering the future of their workplace for the rest of this year, HR professionals reported that organizations are prioritizing efforts to focus on improving the talent challenges from the past year. This includes addressing employee morale, as well as retaining and recruiting talent:

• 80% reported that maintaining employee morale and engagement is a top priority.
• 78% said that retaining talent is an organizational priority.
• 68% agreed that finding and recruiting talent with the necessary skills is a priority.
• 62% said navigating COVID-19's continued impact on our workforce and safety practices is a priority.
• 61% reported developing more effective leaders/people managers is a priority.

To address these priorities, HR professionals reported on their organizations' plans for this year:

• 81% intend to train people managers on their roles in supporting their organization's talent management strategy.
• 78% plan to increase their employee headcount.
• 77% intend to improve the soft skills (e.g., empathy, compassion, communication) of their people managers.

The most common barriers to achieving success in the workplace were:

1. Limited time or dedicated personnel (42%)
2. Employee resistance to change (40%)
3. Organizational cultural norms (39%)
4. Limited budget (38%)
5. Senior leadership support/buy-in (37%)

Download the full SHRM report here. 

In addition, hear the results of ASE Partner McLean & Company’s HR Trends 2022 survey results in a webinar recorded on January 19^th. View webinar here or read a short synopsis here. The webinar features ASE member-specific results.

ASE Resources to Address 2022 Key Priorities Identified in the Survey:

Maintain Employee Morale and Engagement

ASE has several surveys and tools available that help you to effectively measure employee sentiment and engagement in various areas including the Pandemic Engagement Pulse Check and Employee Experience Monitor. Visit the ASE Employee Engagement web page to learn more and view report samples.

Employee Retention Pulse (NEW!)
Fight the Great Resignation

• Designed to help you gain insight on the areas of the organization that are at the highest risk of turnover.
• Save time & money - It’s more expensive to hire new employees than it is to keep the awesome talent you already have.
• The driver categories include: career development, company potential, culture, employee empowerment, executive leadership, work-life balance, total compensation, employee experience monitor, and engagement measure questions

Employee Experience Monitor
High-frequency, low-effort, one-question survey to help organizations move from engagement as a project to engagement as a culture.

• Regularly ask about the issues that are most important to the organization.
• Available question types include a customizable 6-point scale and open-ended questions for gathering feedback you can use to enact change.
• *NEW* You can add 5 additional questions and change them cycle-by-cycle.
• Standard question: “How likely would you be to recommend this organization to a qualified friend or family member as a great place to work?”
• Choose how often you want to send this survey out and use the McLean Connect dashboard to see real-time results.

Train Managers

Principles and Practices of Supervision I
This course provides the foundational skills for supervisors, either new or experienced.  This nuts-and-bolts class looks at popular managerial models and provides practical tools and knowledge to help supervisors conquer the ten most critical tasks of a supervisor. This is a multi-session course over several weeks.

Principles and Practices of Supervision II
This class is the sequel to Principles and Practices of Supervision I.  This class builds on the nuts and bolts learning in Principles I and takes a look at the strategic and leadership aspect of the supervisor role.  In this class, supervisors look at ways they can influence their teams for better performance and some things that might hinder their success.  This class provides supervisors an opportunity to gain insight into how they supervise. This is a multi-session course over several weeks.

View Upcoming Principles and Practices Courses

Supervise with Success
This course will define the role and responsibilities of a supervisor. Participants will practice techniques to develop relationships, deliver feedback, delegate, make decisions, and conduct effective meetings. This course is ideal for those new to the field of supervision.

View Upcoming Supervise with Success Courses

Leadership Essentials
Participants will learn about the principles of leadership and how they can be used in any organization to foster integrity and create positive change. This course provides insight on how to be an outstanding leader and achieve excellence in self and others.

View Upcoming Leadership Essentials Courses

Improve Soft Skills

ASE full course catalog has over 75 unique employee development courses such as Win Win Communications, Emotional Intelligence, Working Under Pressure, and much more.  View the full catalog here.

Develop Effective Leaders

Leadership Academy
ASE’s Leadership Academy, taught by MBC Training & Development LLC, helps organizations develop their current and future leadership strength. The Leadership Academy is designed to be offered over a period of months in order to build on skills taught and maximize reinforcement.  The program takes an integrated approach with real-world application. Assignments come with ROI components for the organization they represent.  Participants are requested to involve their employees in assignments and participate openly with current and relevant issues.

Developing Influential Leadership (for high potentials)
High potential team members know your business, they are ambitious, others respect them and they work well with others.  A “high-potential employee” is an employee who has been identified as having the potential, ability and aspiration for successive leadership positions within the company and/or the desire to move to more senior individual contributor roles. This course consists of 11 full-day training sessions scheduled 4-6 weeks apart.

For information on the Leadership Academy or Developing Influential Leadership, ASE custom training programs, please contact Tony Kaylin.

Source: SHRM