Leadership and Development Trends to Watch Out For in 2022

Current trends show that the idea of the traditional workplace is outdated and will continue to evolve in 2022. Many industries and HR leaders are looking at 2022 as the year of upskilling. Over 38 million workers quit their jobs during 2021, so 2022 is a year for employers to invest in their teams and to pay attention to the needs of their employees. We have researched and found the top 5 trends to take note on in 2022 for your business.

 

Building Critical Skills and Competencies

Gartner reported that nearly 60% of HR leaders reported that building critical skills and competencies is a number one priority in 2022. It's time for your company to increase the focus on professional development. Doing so will greatly improve your team and help to increase the agility of your business. Making professional development a fundamental part of your organization accelerates your search for management-level positions, strengthens your entire staff, and drastically increases employee loyalty. Honing your leaders critical and professional skills also adds to your company's resilience and growth potential for the future.

Embracing Hybrid Work

Often discussed, yet under-executed is the trend of hybrid workplaces. Since the massive transition began during the start of the COVID pandemic, 75% of hybrid or remote workers are reporting that their expectations for work flexibility have increased, and 4 out of 10 employees plan to leave if they are made to return to an in-person office environment. These numbers are growing, and the idea of employee flexibility is here to stay. The hybrid workspace is an important benefit for employees and a critical aspect of attracting and holding on to talent in 2022 and beyond.

Creating a Culture of Well-Being

A Glassdoor survey found that when searching for a new job, 77% of people surveyed said they’d evaluate a potential employer’s culture before applying for a position. The 2022 workplace is shaping up to emphasize the importance of great leaders. Empathy and employer support are two major topics linked to developing a culture of employee well-being. After going through a global pandemic, companies are being expected to create cultures of well-being. Some of the top companies in the world are working with fitness lifestyle brands to promote healthy living. For example, Samsung and Nasdaq have both created partnerships with Peloton to help employees improve their health, while Roku and LinkedIn have begun offering unlimited PTO to employees to encourage a healthy work-life balance.

Focus on Employee Retention

40% of employees stated that they are at least somewhat likely to leave their current job in 3-6 months. Earlier we mentioned that over 38 million workers left their jobs last year and this trend will likely continue. There are several reasons why people leave their jobs, however, controlling your policies and procedures in your company is a great way to help retain your employees. Providing employees the opportunity to voice their opinions on workplace improvements or additional benefits is a good place to start. When job roles remain unfilled companies lose money. Maintaining a strong team is critical to your bottom line; our recent blog regarding Learning and Professional Development goes into detail about employee retention and how investing in your team can help.

Investing in Employee Development

A study published in 2013 by researchers at Oxford University estimates that just under 50 percent of the U.S.’s total employment has a high risk of automation over the following two decades. Reskilling and upskilling need to become priorities and creating growth plans for employees is going to be key in 2022. Leadership is a vital resource at every level of an organization and investing in leadership development at all levels is a good, if not critical, investment. 60% of individuals said that their managers are not challenging them to learn a new skill. This massive group of professionals may end up adding to that 40% of people who are considering leaving their job.

Takeaways

Employee investment seems to be the underlying theme of 2022. Caring for your employees can really create great strides in your bottom line. Professional development creates higher productivity, increased employee loyalty, and higher employee retention, which all leads to an increase in revenue.

Let our industry experts help equip your team to tackle the new year.

Visit our Leadership and Professional Development page to see our available courses today.