The World of Work in 2022 – What’s Next?

Work as we know it has changed a great deal in the last few years. With varying levels of boldness, organisations are attempting to meet employee expectations, while balancing both business needs and long-term planning. 

In a recent Virtual Town Hall, Evanta CHROs discussed how HR leaders can build a future of work strategy that is realistic and sustainable, yet future-ready. Leading this discussion, Kirsi Nuotto of VTT, Elena Aylott of Oriflame Cosmetics, and Alex Jaffe of USTC Group considered evolving HR strategies, digital solutions for valuable employee insight, and best practices to meet the challenges of the future workspace.
 

The Shifting Workplace Culture

While a range of ideas were discussed, one point stood out among the rest: the discernible shift from a workplace culture which fundamentally values individual performance to one which increasingly considers collectiveness and ‘team mind.' This shift is underpinned by a greater emphasis on feelings of belonging and purpose among employees and leaders. As such, maintaining an environment of collectiveness and purposefulness has become a top agenda item for CHROs, alongside broader issues such as ESG and DE&I.

Nevertheless, this shift is not without its own trials. Difficulties arise when considering how employee and leadership sentiment might be measured, and how the transition from a culture of individual performance to one of team performance can be accounted for within an organisation’s incentive structure. 
 

Employing a Holistic People Strategy

Despite these concerns, CHROs must continue to employ a holistic approach to their people strategy, combining elements of personalisation with standardisation through every layer of the organisation: from employee experience up into the C-suite. CHROs discussed providing employees with the exposure to different roles and tools, ultimately facilitating a greater clarity around their position within the broader organisation, and how they might navigate this moving forward. 

Moreover, CHROs may consider giving greater attention to the emotional intelligence of leaders and managers. Leadership assessments might be characterised in terms of ‘how can you develop as a leader in order to develop your employees?’ rather than simply ‘how good are you at your job?’ In this context, reinvesting into leadership means enabling leaders to practice their interpersonal skills and develop their personal EQ.

As CHROs increasingly implement these initiatives within their respective organisations, the emphasis on feelings of purpose and belonging will be ingrained on all levels – up to and including the C-suite. Ultimately, this points towards a gradual move beyond KPIs as the sole metric when measuring an organisation’s success.
 

Key Takeaways from the Discussion

• Creating a sense of inclusion for employees, especially with hybrid working, is key to making them feel more valued.
• Communicating the reasons why certain systems are in place should be a top priority.
• Leadership is being influenced by agility and hybrid working. Therefore, leaders must evolve with this by being flexible and agile.

An Invaluable Network 

CHRO Virtual Town Halls are attended by regional and global CHROs from the world's leading organisations.

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