It’s never too early for HR managers to start thinking about HR trends in 2023.
As there have been a few big changes in the last years:
- Remote working is on the rise, and that means employees work from anywhere.
17% of Americans worked from home before the pandemic but rose to 44% afterward.
- Technological advances lead to more and more HR functions being automated.
As of 2020, the HR applications market for core HR and personnel management is estimated to be worth 5.8 billion USD.
- Employee expectations are changing as they now desire jobs that go beyond paychecks.
A study found that 48% of employees quit their jobs because the work didn’t meet their expectations.
So, if you want to stay competitive, you’ll need to know what’s happening in the world of HR.
Here we compile some of the HR trends in 2023 that will have a big impact on your work. Read on to learn more.
Top HR trends for 2023: What to expect
HR will always be affected by evolving business trends. We can all agree — yesterday’s approach might not work today, and today’s might not work tomorrow.
So, here are 10 of the top HR trends that we think will continue to gain traction in 2023.
Remote working is becoming more prevalent
The trend toward remote work is here to stay, so it’s time for businesses to start preparing for a future with more employees working from home. In fact, a recent study found that nearly 60% of employees would like to continue working remotely even after the pandemic is over.
First, in the top HR trends in 2023, more and more companies with flexible work arrangements are going to become the norm. That’s the employees having more control over their schedules and working locations. Thus, the HR department must adapt company policies that’ll accommodate remote workers.
Increased focus on employee convenience
Gone are the days when employees were happy just to have a job. These days, workers expect a positive employee experience. 59.3% of employees say the work environment is a contributor to job satisfaction — and it’s true that happy employees work harder.
Another HR trend in 2023, there will be more focus on making life convenient for employees. From on-site amenities like gym memberships and childcare to flexible benefits programs that allow employees to customize their coverage (paid leaves and PTOs), we expect to see more businesses focus on making life easier for their workers.
More automatization to save time
The workforce has undergone a dramatic transformation thanks to advances in artificial intelligence and automation. Many of the traditional tasks of human resources have been taken over by AI machines.
Some of them are:
- Recruitment for open positions
- Applicant tracking
- Onboarding
- Payroll processing
- Document management
One HR trend we can see is the further use of HR software to help streamline various aspects of the department’s work. Automation is going to bring even more changes in the way HR functions, and 50% of employers plan to automate jobs in their companies.
Fighting against Quiet Quitting
Also known as “silent quitting” — this is actually about employees becoming more and more dissatisfied with their jobs. However, instead of quitting outright, they’re simply disengaging from their work and getting by doing the bare minimum.
Sadly, this can have a major effect on workplace morale and productivity. So it’s important for HR professionals to take steps to counter it. (Though, you’re best off preventing quiet quitting in the first place.) An HR trend in 2023 is to address quiet quitting.
Here are some suggested activities to keep your employees engaged:
- Encourage open communication between employees and management.
- Create opportunities for employees to give feedback about their job satisfaction.
- Boost employee morale by recognizing and rewarding them for going above and beyond what is expected of them.
Investing in employee retention
Fierce job market competition will make retaining top talent an HR trend in 2023. Did you know that replacing a trained employee can cost up to 213% of their annual salary? So businesses will need to find innovative ways to keep their employees satisfied if they want to keep them.
HR’s task is to create a conducive workplace. That’s about giving employees the training and development they need to succeed in their roles — 94% of workers stay with companies that offer learning and development.
The expanded and more strategic role of HR
While work continues to change, the role of HR must adapt as well. We’re seeing a trend toward HR becoming more strategic, focusing on long-term planning and organizational growth. This shift will require HR professionals to have a deep understanding of business strategy and the ability to imagine new possibilities.
This may even mean HR stepping into the metaverse — putting an online presence in an alternate reality.
Greater emphasis on mental health awareness
Mental health awareness is important. Sadly, they’re still a big problem in the US — 1 in 5 Americans suffers from mental illness every year.
As such, the HR trend in 2023 is to see more businesses focusing on mental health initiatives, such as offering employee assistance programs, implementing policies around mental health leave, and increasing awareness about mental health resources available to employees.
Intensified concern for data privacy
With data breaches making headlines on a regular basis, it’s no wonder that data privacy is top of mind for many organizations. Data privacy laws like GDPR punish non-compliance with steep fines of up to €20 million or 4% of annual revenue, whichever is higher.
In 2023, we expect to see a greater focus on data privacy from HR professionals as they look for ways to protect employee data from being compromised.
Prioritized culture of diversity and inclusion
Fact: Companies that embrace diversity and inclusion are proven to be more profitable than those that don’t. With the world getting more diverse, HR teams have to do more to build inclusive workplaces.
61% say diversity and inclusion strategies contribute to being productive. What HR can do is create an inclusive environment. An HR trend in 2023 is to create a workplace where everyone feels accepted, respected, and valued. One way to do this is by ensuring that all employees have access to the same resources and opportunities.
Understanding and embracing the gig economy
The gig economy is another current phenomenon that’s here to stay. This is where independent workers are hired for short-term projects, and temporary positions are common. That’s right, it’s the rise of the freelance workforce.
Another HR trend in 2023 is embracing the gig economy. It’s for a few reasons — millennials (who are a big part of the workforce) value flexibility and work/life balance. Moreover, in today’s economy, people are finding freelance work as a way to make ends meet.
Now, we’ll be honest.
Yes, automation is now a thing. However, there’s a slim chance that there’s a single tool that can cope with all the above HR trends alone.
You could start with efficient contract management — remote working equates to lots of digital documentation. In that case, a tool like Avokaado can be the perfect HR software for you.
How to use Avokaado as an HR tool?
Contract lifecycle management with Avokaado helps to simplify the contract management process. Here are its quick benefits for your HR department:
- Ensure that contracts are up to date and compliant with regulations
- Streamline key tasks using automated contract notifications
- Lets the legal team delegate all HR workflows to the human resources department.
As a note: When Avokaado was adopted as an HR tool, a scaling company easily managed increased volumes of HR documents and forms — in fact, they saved costs and time, although there’s been more to manage.
You can read their full story here: How an HR department automated employment workflows for scaling.
So,let’s now look at Avokaado as an HR tool:
For smart drafting of HR contracts
Time is of the essence to every company department — but especially to HR, which handles lots of documentation such as employment contracts, NDAs, and internship agreements. Drafting them manually can be a painstaking process.
With Avokaado, you can easily create HR contracts using templates. Simply download the automated template that you need, fill in the required information, and you’re done. You can even reuse previous contract data and insert it into your current draft. The result is a compliant and 100% complete contract in minutes.
For automating contract workflows
Let’s face it — there are so many moving parts in contract management. After drafting a document comes sharing with collaborators, negotiating contract terms, collecting approvals, and securing eSignatures. That’s a lot and can be overwhelming.
Avokaado comes in handy here. You can do all these tasks without switching to another platform. With Avokaado, you can easily add document collaborators (viewers, editors,s or approvers) and even share it externally. To finalize, you can collect signatures using Avokaado’s native integration with EIDAS-compliant digital contract signing solutions.
For complete contract management
Great document management means keeping track of all your contracts, including critical dates such as renewal or expiration.
With Avokaado, you can monitor HR contracts with the user-friendly dashboard which lets you see contract statuses and analytics while keeping track of deadlines and renewal dates. Not only that, Avokaado provides a central repository, so all contracts are in one place (and in the latest version), but it’s also even easily accessible to all authorized users anytime, anywhere.
On top HR trends for 2023
HR is changing fast, so you’ve got to be ready. We’ve compiled a list of the top HR trends for 2023 to help you keep up.
Should you decide to focus on HR documentation, Avokaado can help. With our platform, you can easily manage all your HR contracts. If you’re looking to streamline your HR process, be sure to check out Avokaado today — try it free for 7 days.