HR's Game Plan for 2023: Disruptions and new priorities

The disruption facing HR leaders is unprecedented, and as more imperatives become necessary, the time they have to plan before acting is getting shorter.

Gartner conducted an annual survey of more than 800 HR leaders and selected the top 5 objectives for HR in 2023 to assist HR leaders in managing and leading throughout these times. Leader and manager effectiveness is at the top of the list, but many HR leaders will also give change management, employee experience, recruiting, and the future of work top priority.

While increasing employee expectations influence retention and recruitment, HR leaders must manage investments in people and technology, foster a great culture and employee experience, and change HR to be more automated and digital.

The priorities of human resources leaders for 2023 are as follows:

1. Leader and manager effectiveness

60% of HR leaders prioritize this, and 24% claim that their approach to leadership development does not adequately prepare leaders for the workplace of the future.

The expectations placed on leaders change along with organizations and society, which makes their jobs more difficult. Today's workplace demands more sincere, sympathetic, and adaptable leaders. These three demands signify a new leadership style: Human leadership.

“Human leaders” are still hard to come by, despite HR’s best efforts to increase commitment, courage, and confidence in them to help them meet the call. To be good human leaders, leaders need commitment, courage, and confidence; yet HR's traditional tactics do not address the obstacles preventing leaders from realizing their full potential. These challenges include their own (very human) feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, and doubt.

Organizations must acknowledge the humanity of their leaders and confront these emotional barriers head-on to assist them in fulfilling the requirement for human leadership and preparing for the future of work.

2. Organizational design and change management

53% of HR leaders identify this as one of their top priorities, while 45% claim that all the upheaval wears out their staff members.

Political instability, economic unpredictability, and digital changes have contributed to significant disruption and change. Since companies are experiencing too much change and uncertainty, organizational design and change management remain top priorities for CHROs.

Employees are becoming less eager to adapt to organizational changes; in 2016, the Gartner Workforce Change Survey found that 74% of employees were willing to do so, but by 2022, that percentage had fallen to 38%.

The effects of change fatigue are obvious. HR managers must assist staff members in navigating change and minimizing its negative effects on their productivity and, more crucially, their well-being.

3. Employee experience

This is a top priority for 47% of HR leaders, and 44% say their organizations lack appealing career routes.

Many HR professionals need help pinpointing the changes employees need to make to advance their careers. Only one out of every four workers in a recent Gartner survey on employee career preferences expressed confidence in their career at their company, while three out of every four people are seeking a new position outside of their company.

Typically, there are three steps in career development:

Establish a course and explain the responsibilities and advantages of the role.

Look for in-role chances for prospective new positions.

Determine internal responsibilities to accomplish objectives.

4. Recruiting

46% of HR leaders consider this one of their top priorities, and 36% believe their sourcing plans need to be revised to find the needed talents.

Despite general socioeconomic conditions, 50% of organizations still anticipate a considerable increase in the competition for talent during the following six months.

This calls for recruiting leaders to realign their priorities with current business requirements, plan for various potential outcomes in this dynamic market, and make data-driven decisions with great confidence.

Concentrate on these three tactics to boost strong talent and company results in the current market:

Build a capability for intelligence-based sourcing.

Establish an equitable internal labor market.

Build onboarding for engagement.

5. Future of work

This is a top priority for 42% of HR leaders, and 43% think their organizations do not have a clear strategy for the future of work.

A remote and hybrid workforce continues to be associated with the future of work. While this transformation is seismic for many businesses, it is simply one component of the whole picture. The core of a future of work strategy is workforce planning, which includes predicting future talent demands and is a primary focus for HR directors. However, today's workforce planning is not grounded in reality, and the approaches used to deal with the disruptive landscape are unsuccessful. Consider changing skills, a talent shortage, high turnover, and a change in the interaction between employees and employers.

We need a new method that unlocks new tactics rather than believing we can foresee future skill needs, access sufficient personnel, fill future gaps by buying and building, and control when and where employees work.