“HR focus will dwell upon operating at lower costs and raising productivity,” Ramesh Mitragotri

2022 was a volatile year for HR & workforce

The year for many businesses did not look bright as had been envisaged in the previous year while we were coming out of the Covid pandemic. Global developments impacted economies moving into a period of uncertainty. It was caution and pessimism that drove some businesses to take drastic calls.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

There are global issues like high inflation, low growth, recession, disrupted supply chain and geo-political issues that will continue to cloud the business environment through 2023. Businesses could face issues like lower demand, higher cost of input and distribution, and selective funding getting them to look at tough ways of operating to remain viable. For companies facing such headwinds, HR focus will dwell upon operating at lower costs and raising productivity. India, though not completely insulated from global events and trends, looks better on the economic front as compared to the developed countries, especially Europe, in terms of its growth. For companies in India the focus will be to build markets, improve quality and efficiency to world standards, and focus on ESG.

Employee loyalty, a thing of the distant past

We should stop measuring employee loyalty in the conventional sense. Employees do not look for stability and security any longer. Great Resignation has given us a glimpse that the sheen of conventional work design, workplace, hierarchical organisations, and reward systems no longer look attractive to employees. Now it is their well-being that has come to the fore.

Hybrid working is not just about working from the office or home but flexibility available to employees is the key

Redesign the workplace for hybrid workforce

Yes, workplaces and work will need to be reviewed in the current context and redesigned. Hybrid working is not just about working from the office or home but flexibility available to employees is the key. Focus needs to be on how we can get employees to design the working norms in small operating teams so that they perform to their best potential? This will mean that organisations and leaders will look at very different paradigms than they have been used to.

More specialists or generalists

Companies will always need a blend of both. With the emergence of more specialisations and expertise, the pool of specialists is growing. Organisations in a steady state of operation will continue to need generalists and the knowledge expertise of the pool of specialists. Businesses that are changing (growth, turnaround, acquisitions, new products, technology, new geography, digitalisation, etc.) will need specialists for the change journey. India is showing cautious growth and also newer businesses, so there could be an opportunity for both generalists and specialists.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.