4 HR trends your business should know about in 2023

Businesses often contain a wide variety of people from all walks of life, mixing different cultures, personalities, and lifestyles. While this helps businesses to form dynamic teams with a range of strengths and expertise, this mixture also comes with a vital need for HR departments.

These HR professionals are responsible for a range of issues. They help to not only keep the peace between employees – addressing any concerns employees may have – but also to ensure that businesses are optimising their hiring efforts and appealing to potential employees.

Of course, the working landscape is constantly changing and evolving – presenting new challenges for those working in the HR department. With global economic events creating new problems for employees and employers alike, it can be difficult to keep track of the most prominent issues.

Here are 4 of the leading HR trends that have been seen throughout 2023, so far.

1. Financial wellbeing

With ongoing economic circumstances causing much of the UK population to struggle financially, salary has become one of the key concerns for most employees – particularly those on a lower income. Salary reviews, pay equity and benchmarking are all likely to be high priorities for HR managers to avoid losing existing talent. Similarly, employee benefits and communication are becoming increasingly important.

However, the economic climate has also had a significant impact on businesses, meaning not all can afford to increase their workers’ salaries. Flexible workforce management – such as utilising short-term staffing – can play a key role in ensuring that the core team is adequately paid while, at the same time, reacting flexibly to external circumstances.

2. Diversity and inclusion

By now, all businesses should be striving for a diverse and inclusive workforce. Not only does this lead to better employee satisfaction – knowing that everyone belongs – it can also increase productivity, by bringing in employees with unique experiences and skill sets that can benefit the workplace.

The digitalisation of the workplace has helped to make diversity and inclusion easier – providing an extended reach, and therefore a diverse pool of applicants within a very short time regardless of location. Diversity strategies can be implemented easily and in a targeted manner, by job offers being made accessible to all people – regardless of their background.

3. Older workers

Unfortunately, age discrimination in the workplace has been an obstacle for older workers for quite some time. However, we are now starting to see an improving trend in the number of 50-64 year olds employed by companies. In June 2022, the employment rate for 50–64-year-olds was 70.7% (Gov.uk) – up from 57.2 % in 1995.

This is great news, not only for the workers themselves but also for companies. The qualities and know-how of older workers are increasingly in demand, and the increase in elderly workers helps to actively counteract the shortage of skilled workers.

4. Employer branding

Employer branding is one of the key trends for 2023, allowing companies to improve their image and reputation to potential employees. It is essential, as a company, to communicate that the wellbeing and development of employees is important to them – in order to make themselves appealing.

This is especially important for younger workers. Statistics show that 92% of Gen Z and Millennials say that they would consider changing jobs to a company with an excellent corporate reputation. Every company loses potential talent and future leaders if this working climate cannot be communicated effectively.

Coople have made employer branding a priority – with the recent addition of public “About us” sections for companies using the platform, featuring the ability to link to social media profiles. This allows companies to directly appeal to potential employees and show off their best attributes.

Final thoughts

This year has seen a lot of changes in the HR landscape – with the ongoing cost of living crisis meaning that employees are more inclined to ask for higher wages in order to afford their daily essentials. Similarly, older workers are now returning to the workforce in response to strained finances, meaning that businesses are now seeing higher volumes of more experienced workers. This has helped to plug some of the gaps left as a result of high staff turnover.

Economic downturn has led to a lot of staff retention issues throughout the year, placing additional pressure on businesses to attract new employees in order to ensure that their businesses are adequately staffed. This is where we have seen the strength of employer branding, providing an opportunity for employers to showcase their priorities.

In these turbulent times, it is more important than ever for businesses to stay aware of the ways in which they can stand out from the crowd and attract employees, while also ensuring that the employees they already have feel comfortable and content.

Yves Schneuwly – Group Chief Commercial Officer at Coople

Currently, Yves serves as Group Chief Commercial Officer of Coople, Europe’s largest online platform for digital staffing, where he is responsible for accelerating Coople’s growth across all its markets. Previously, as Managing Director, he successfully navigated Coople's CH and UK business through the rough seas of the pandemic, delivering structural growth by expanding and scaling new business areas and sectors.