Professional Documents
Culture Documents
REPORT 2021
Find out how thought leaders and industry experts are
assessing the year that was and the year that will be
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HREXCHANGENETWORK.COM
Introduction 2
Human resources leaders have experienced a reckoning In addition, they want their employers to go beyond paying
since the start of the pandemic in 2020. To begin, HR lip service and start making inroads to issues that matter to
suddenly became a front-and-center player in just about them like sustainability and diversity, equity, and inclusion
every organization. The burdens upon their shoulders were (DEI). And C-suite executives are not always on the same
large. They were charged with helping to immediately wavelength, so HR leaders have to balance the needs of
transition people from in-office to remote work, figure out both groups.
the best tech for these new work structures, determine
how to do more with less, handle layoffs and furloughs and HR Exchange Network recently conducted a survey of 433
uncertainty, tend to the emotional needs of the workforce, senior HR leaders to assess the state of Human Resources
and keep employees engaged and productive under the at the end of 2021. At mid-year, HR leaders similarly had
worst of circumstances. taken stock of the state of affairs. At that time, employee
engagement was the biggest challenge. Quickly, recruitment
In 2021, those tall orders kept coming. In the last year, HR and retention became the number one priority.
leaders had to navigate vaccine mandates, COVID safety
protocols, and the rise of breakthrough cases. They had A record one in four workers quit their jobs in 2021 as of
to deal with a raging debate about returning to the office October, according to data from Visier, a people analytics
or staying remote. When many organizations opted for a firm. Visier pointed out that the number of quitters was
middle-of-the-road, hybrid solution, HR leaders were the still rising. In addition, young people, who are notorious for
ones to determine how to make that kind of workforce quitting often as they try to find the best fit, were not alone
function efficiently and productively. this year. Employers aged 30 to 50 have also increased their
resignation rates by more than 38%.
Most importantly, HR leaders are struggling to win the talent
wars as they face a historic labor shortage. Employees and Respondents to the HR Exchange Network State of HR 2021
recruits are demanding higher wages, better benefits, more Survey expressed great concern about the labor shortage,
respect, more meaningful work, and more empathy from and provided insight into the top priorities of leaders going
their employers. Unlike any other time, employees have the into 2022. What we learned is that most people agree the
power. They are also asking for their bosses to address their winners for talent and business will be those who embrace
mental health and wellness with both increased benefits change rather than fight it, listen to their employees rather
and programs. than talk over them, and lead with both their head and heart.
HR Exchange Network surveyed 433 experts and leaders from a wide range of organizations around the world. Consider the
breakdown by job title, job function, company size, industry, and region.
Job Title
9% 10%
8%
Assistant/Analyst/Student C-Level
18%
25%
Job Function
Analytics 2%
Compensation & Benefits 3%
Compliance 2%
Employee Engagement/Experience 4%
Diversity 1%
Human Resources 41%
Learning & Development 15%
Recruitment and Talent Acquisition 6%
Safety 1%
Shared Services 2%
Talent Management 3%
Technology/Other/Vendor/Solution Provider 19%
0% Respondents (%) 45%
Company Size
1-500 1,001-5,000 10,000+
501-1,000 5,001-10,000
Region
5% Middle East
Industry
Automotive 2%
Education 12%
Financial Services/Banking/Insurance 6%
Government 7%
Healthcare/Life Sciences 11%
Manufacturing 9%
Retail/CPG 4%
Technology/Software 14%
Telecom/Media 4%
Travel/Tourism/Hospitality 4%
Utilities/Oil/Gas/Energy 5%
Other 21%
In this third survey during the pandemic, HR leaders are focusing on finding solutions related to the labor shortage and
retaining talent. Mental health and wellbeing, remote work, and budget cuts are still top of mind, too.
Since the mid-year report, the labor shortage has grown. Still, HR leaders have to understand the difference between
Some thought unemployment benefits would run out and Baby Boomers, who are entering retirement, and younger
people would run back to work. But that was not the case. people from Generations Y and Z. They see their jobs as a
The pandemic gave people a chance to rethink their life, transaction to finance their lifestyle, says Pittman.
including their career. For many, it was time to move on and
look for more professional satisfaction and work-life balance. “The leaders will be 10 or 15 years younger,” he adds. “We’ve
been putting people in leadership who know less about the
“The shortage is the key issue,” says Paul Pittman, the job and more about empathy.”
Founder and President of the Human Well. “There are so
many more opportunities and new types of roles that interest In the short-term, employers will turn to untapped groups to
people. We’ve broadened their horizons.” fill in gaps. For example, those on the autism spectrum bring
diversity and often can be taught a myriad of skills. High
Pittman believes this shift in culture will have significant school graduates might also get jobs that previously were
ramifications on Human Resources but that employees will only for college graduates. Immigration and automation are
eventually lose their grip on the hiring process. After all, these other tools to get through the shortage, says Pittman. But
things tend to be cyclical and capitalism favors business over he warns that no matter how leaders choose to address the
the individual. problem, they have to retool themselves and embrace all the
changes afoot or they will find themselves redundant.
Seizing the moment is easier said than done, however. Change is tough for people, and HR leaders are facing another major
challenge, burnout. In fact, the majority of respondents said burnout was the greatest consequence of the pandemic.
19%
Burnout 18%
Changing culture
20% 17%
Loss of engagement
Changing business priorities 13%
Respondents (%)
Increased pressure on leadership
8% 8%
Market uncertainty 7%
Lost jobs 5%
Failure to address employee safety 3%
2%
Loss of trust
Other 0%
28% 28%
Blurring of work and personal life 30%
Burnout
Respondents (%)
Communication
Leadership not engaging employees directly
12%
Too many distractions
10% 9% 7%
Lack of career pathing
3% 3%
Roles shifting
Other 0%
Certain industries have experienced more burnout than employer mandates that threaten to impact both their lives
others. Think of healthcare workers at the height of the and livelihoods. And they don’t know what to expect next
pandemic and as spikes continue to come and go. As because, in truth, no one knows what to expect next.”
more Americans quit their jobs, those who stay in their roles
inevitably end up taking on more work. This can easily lead Employers are doing something about burnout and mental
to high levels of stress and the potential for burnout. health and wellness in general. Respondents said employee
assistant programs (66%), training in resiliency and stress
“Employees feel out of control because, to a large degree, management (46%), and health insurance that includes
they are,” writes Erika Lance, chief human resources officer mental health coverage (44%) are among the solutions
for KnowBe4, in an article for Entrepreneur.com. “They they are offering employees. Other efforts include access to
have no control over the virus, or over government and wellness apps, mental health days, and virtual therapy.
In some ways, HR leaders are providing a sense of structure is “ready for hybrid working” because 51% of employees
and security. They have developed some norms that will who responded called for an in-office model, whereas 49%
carry over into the post-pandemic workplace. Flexible work wanted remote work.
hours, hybrid workplaces, and online learning top the list of
pandemic policies that HR leaders say they will keep even The biggest priority for respondents to the HR Exchange
after the pandemic is a memory. Network survey, in fact, is employee engagement, followed
by flexible work culture and hybrid workplaces. And flexible
A little less than 80% of C-level executives believe work hours and hybrid workplaces are the big winners
businesses will benefit from increased flexibility, according when it comes to the pandemic policies that employers are
to Adecco. The report’s writers concluded that the world planning to keep well into the future.
Top Priorities
Remote work – whether on its own or as part of a hybrid And I think it’s going to take a lot of experimentation as to
workplace – is here to stay. HR leaders have to make it their what are the best communication methods.”
business to help connect teams that could be working from
home in their slippers, in different geographies, and time Some companies are leaving it up to individual departments
zones. This phenomenon was already happening before the to decide whether to return to the office or not and how to
pandemic, but now there is no turning back. What is changing schedule hybrid work. The New York Times cited LinkedIn,
is that there are more people returning to an office, too. which scrapped its plans to return to the office when the
Delta variant began wreaking havoc in the United States.
In October, the number of employed people working The company put the onus on individual managers to decide
remotely dropped to 11%, which was the lowest since from where their teams worked. LinkedIn was one of 60 major
the pandemic began, according to the Bureau of Labor companies allowing some form of flexibility to employees,
Statistics (BLS). With more people demanding flexibility, according to The Times.
however, hybrid work is becoming the likely model for
workplaces. It comes with its own set of challenges. But HR leaders are stressing about productivity monitoring
and employee engagement of their remote workers.
“I’m actually quite worried about how we’re going to
navigate to a hybrid environment. It’s going to get a lot more
complicated,” said GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan, according
to Time. “The situation where everyone has got one screen,
in a sense, it’s been a great leveler. Everyone’s got a screen,
everyone’s on the same playing field. Going to a world where
there are three people in the room, two people on a call. It’s
going to be pretty difficult trying to find the right balance.
Productivity monitoring
Respondents (%)
Employee engagement
Cybersecurity
13%
Sense of belonging for employees
10%
Time management 9% 9%
6%
Performance management 5%
Employee wellness
2%
Online training
Other 0%
Only 8% of respondents said they would be working remotely About 24% of respondents will have no vaccine mandate
full time. A whopping 42% said they plan to be back in the and no penalties for the unvaccinated, and about 19%
office a few days per week in 2022. Being in the office makes were undecided. About 6% said they will not require a
safety an issue and puts COVID-19 vaccinations front and vaccine but will penalize the unvaccinated without firing
center. The overwhelming majority of respondents or 47% them. In those instances, some employers require frequent
said they will enforce vaccine mandates at their offices. testing and may refuse to pay for sick leave should an
employee contract COVID-19.
1 2 3 4 5
Recognizing that some form of remote work is inevitable in this new world, employers are going to hang onto certain
technology in which they invested when transitioning from in-office to remote work.
Team chats
67%
Video chats
59%
VR/AR
4%
Social media
26%
Wellness apps
26%
Project management tools
27%
Virtual collaboration tools
46%
Virtual collaboration tools
7%
Changing employee expectations and shifts in the talent pool So, there is great pressure to improve company culture to
top the list of happenings that respondents believe will have keep people on the team. Helping them to collaborate,
the biggest impact on Human Resources in 2022. This new regardless of where they are, is an important task.
normal with the employees having more leverage is changing
the culture of workplaces. The majority of respondents, 37%,
expect their employees to be less engaged in 2022.
Respondents (%)
Unconscious bias training
Provide DEI metrics transparently
13%
Have a chief diversity officer
10%
Other 9% 9%
5%
0%
One of the ways companies have been improving culture is and others are addressing the positive effects of change
by increasing diversity. These concerted efforts are a must management beyond performance.
because prevailing research indicates that diversity on
your team translates to better business outcomes. Having “In 2022 I see HR professionals, not just at Contentsquare but
a team that represents society is also the right thing to do. across organizations, taking on very strategic approaches
However, many are still determining what DEI efforts have from a growth, transformation, and culture perspective...
the most impact. From a DEI standpoint, Contentsquare continues to cultivate
a workplace that is inclusive, where respect in the workplace
As the Black Lives Matter movement gained ground the and a sense of belonging are our core. As we evolve our
world over, employers focused on what they could do to DEI strategy, we are taking steps to continue bringing
support better understanding and influence societal change. awareness to inclusion, equity and diversity, and engaging our
Women are leaving the workforce in droves to the detriment employees in a scaleable and consistent way,” says Lynn.
of businesses, so there is an effort to win them back. Diversity
of thought is a priority across the board. Organizations are working to determine the best ways to find
harmony in their diverse teams and take advantage of all
Orly Lynn, Global Vice President, Head of Diversity, Equity, the associated benefits. Not surprisingly, creating a dialogue
and Inclusion at Contentsquare, says her organization is a preferred way to address DEI.
Clearly, HR leaders, along with everyone else, have to Eric Torigian, Vice President and Assistant General Manager
adapt to transformational change. It’s no easy task, but of Global Human Resources at Akebono Brake Corporation.
those who are up for it can win the talent war during this “Over the past 30 years that has transformed, and HR
unprecedented labor shortage. Hybrid workplaces are going is now seen as a true strategic partner. While HR took a
to be the norm, and getting used to them is going to take central role during the COVID pandemic, I believe that we
time and lots of communication. are at an inflection point. HR was thrust to the forefront
of leadership as we shutdown offices, established work-
Dealing with burnout is going to be a priority, and helping from-home practices, supported remote work, and now
employee’s maintain mental health and wellness will remain facilitating the orderly return. It will be critical for us to take
an important part of HR moving forward. Building a culture this newfound responsibility and do something meaningful.
of achievement, inclusion, and empathy with a dash of The real measure will be what HR is able to accomplish over
flexibility will be a must. Motivating employee development the next 18 months.”
and upskilling are top priorities for respondents of the survey.
It means that companies recognize they have to prepare Clearly, leaders in Human Resources have their work cut
their workforce for what’s coming, whatever that might be. out for them. HR leaders said that changing employee
expectations will have the biggest impact in 2022. Certainly,
“I remember my early roles in the personnel department. HR the end of 2021 points to that being true. Employees, not to
as we know it today was an administrative function. We were mention recruits, are in the driver’s seat. Employers who get
responsible for completing forms, hiring employees, and the on board will arrive at their destination.
most senior roles were held by operations executives,” says
Resources
Four Things We Learned About the Resignation Wave – and Remote Work Is Fine. The Real Thing Scaring CEOs? Hybrid
What to Do Next (Visier) Work (Time)
https://www.visier.com/blog/trends/four-things-we-learned- https://time.com/6117090/tim-cadogan-gofundme-ceo-
about-the-resignation-wave-and-what-to-do-next/ interview/
A record 4.4 million people quit in September as Great Bureau of Labor Statistics
Resignation shows no signs of stopping (CNBC) https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2020/article/ability-to-
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/12/a-record-4point4-million- work-from-home.htm
people-quit-jobs-in-september-great-resignation.html
The Worst of Both Worlds: Zooming from the Office (The New
How to Stamp Out Employee Burnout (Entrepreneur.com) York Times)
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/387358 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/16/business/return-to-
office-hybrid-work.html
Resetting Normal: Defining a New Era of Work (Adecco Group)
https://www.adeccogroup.com/future-of-work/latest-
research/reset-normal/
Cara Capretta
Vice President – HCM Transformation Practice for Oracle
Remote work isn’t going anywhere. Even if people end up Broadcast this as an aspect of your company culture. “We
heading into the office a few days per week, they will likely will invest in you”. This is a great recruiting tool that will
do some of their work exclusively online. Every organization resonate especially with anyone who has been downsized,
has to be ready to return to a remote workplace in case of left the workforce for a while or who has been in the same
emergency. What would you say is the biggest lesson about job/company for a long time and not current.
maintaining a remote or hybrid workplace? Why?
What do you see around the corner? What do you think will be
The biggest lesson has to be that productivity did not drop the biggest challenge and solution for employers in the next
during the pandemic. In fact, most studies indicate people year? In other words, what might we be talking about then?
are working more hours and are more productive because
drive time, get ready time, etc. decreased significantly. Many Recruiting efficiency. Recruiters are stressed and
workers in big cities gained four hours of their life back a day! overwhelmed trying to find talent. We have to keep finding
Despite the many challenges of the pandemic (stress, loss ways to make it as easy as possible for them to process
of work, anxiety, mental health), working from home allowed candidates before they lose them to another opportunity.
many people to be “present” with their family, whether I also think there will continue to be a lot of focus on culture.
sharing meals or attending activities they normally missed, The Great Resignation has all ages and all tenures of people
etc. In addition, many people took up new wellness routines - leaving their companies. Those cultures will change with
sales of Peloton and Mirror spiked. their departure. Longer tenured leadership is predictive of
slowness in change.
After more than 19 months since the pandemic turned
lives upside down, burnout has become a major problem On the flip side, the culture of companies with lots of new
for employees. HR leaders are looking for ways to take off hires will change.
the pressure and address the wellbeing of individuals and
the organization. What are some innovative solutions for Customer Support – Turnover has the potential to impact
affecting change and addressing burnout? customer satisfaction. New employees will have a learning
curve. Clients will be losing many of the account execs/reps
Many CHROs I’ve talked to have “pushed” employees to use they are used to working with. We will need to keep an eye
their PTO. Some even changed their PTO policies to make on customer temperature.
sure employees were getting the “down time” they needed.
Many benefits packages are increasing access to “tele-heath” Onboarding will need to be refined and easily accessible.
solutions that are focused on mental health resources because
access is not evenly distributed, especially in rural areas.
The skills gap is real. Businesses are having a hard time hiring
people with the skills fit for the future (even the near future).
Data analytics, cybersecurity, blockchain, AI, and more are
among the specialty skills that few possess and many will
need or already need. As a result, even before the pandemic,
businesses were looking for ways to reskill and upskill
employees. Now, job applicants are looking to get hired by
companies that are investing in them and their career growth.
What’s your advice for companies aiming to enhance learning
and development and use L&D programs as a recruiting tool?
Eric Torigian
Orly Lynn
Vice President and Assistant
Global Vice President, Head of Diversity,
General Manager of Global Human
Equity, and Inclusion at Contentsquare
Resources at Akebono Brake
Corporation
Paul Pittman
Founder and President of
the Human Well
Dorene Rettas
Director of Sales