HR Priorities 2023

HR professionals Australia-wide have shared their challenges and priorities for 2023 through the HR Industry Benchmark Report (produced by ELMO Software and the Australian HR Institute). I would recommend downloading the full report (CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD). And not just because of the information, but also because of the relief you will feel knowing your challenges are quite normal!

The report begins with an overview of priority areas for organisations, with workplace health and safety, and employee data security topping the list at number 1 and 2. With the tightening of WHS laws and an increase in cyber-attacks, this is really no surprise.

It then moves on to overview current trends and challenges, which are highlighted below here.

General:

• A shift from reactive wellbeing measures to proactive initiatives.
• A balanced shift back to the office, with the most popular flexibility offer being to work from home 1-2 days a week.

Recruitment:

• Employers are finding it harder to retain new hires, with a new hire turnover rate of 13%.
• The biggest increase in HR budgets is in the area of recruitment.
• Difficulty finding and competing for talent in a tight labour market.
• An increased reliance on technology to create efficiencies in the recruitment process.
• The importance of a good candidate experience in the recruitment process.

Onboarding:

• The importance of setting new hires up for success through an efficient and well-designed onboarding process.

Performance Management:

• The desire for regular feedback overtaking the once or twice-a-year performance review.
• There is an opportunity for technology to create efficiencies and save managers around 22 hours per year on average.

Learning and Development:

• Organisations are navigating training in a blended environment.
• A recognition that there is still an important place for face-to-face learning.

Payroll:

• Maintaining awareness and compliance with legislative changes is a key challenge.
• An integrated payroll system is key to reducing payroll errors and maximizing efficiency.

One of the key themes that emerged was an increasing use of technology to drive HR metrics and processes. Not only does this create efficiencies for HR professionals, but it enables data-driven decision-making and the ability to measure outcomes.

Overall a very interesting and useful report, not just for HR professionals, but for any manager who wants to stay abreast of what business challenges are looming on the horizon.