A forward-thinking strategy is surely mandatory to face the ever-tumultuous HR arena in 2024, with full-fledged planning capable enough to understand and respond to the intense collaboration between technology, demography, and employee well-being. In current days, the HR world is disrupted by technology and so is the workplace environment. In this scenario, HR experts are in grim requirement to adapt to new-age innovations that cater to day-to-day employee needs. Famous HR consultant Josh Bersin has stated that “the future of HR is about leveraging technology to elevate the human experience at work.”The difficulties are exacerbated by changing demographics, which means HR directors must foster cultures that value generational diversity and address the particular requirements of each group. Once the HR thought leader Meghan M. Biro beautifully put that “HR’s role in 2024 is to be the bridge between the traditional and the contemporary, ensuring that every employee feels valued and included, regardless of age or background.”
The 2020 pandemic has rightly pointed out the necessity of the health and well-being of company employees. This has further awakened the HR specialists to strategize and chart out the remote and hybrid work arrangements and maintain the corporate work ethics at the same time. “A company is only as strong as its culture, and HR plays a pivotal role in preserving and nurturing that culture in the face of adversity,” author Simon Sinek said it so beautifully. Concerns about diversity, equity, and inclusion are still very important, and HR is at the forefront of bringing about significant change. In order to guarantee that every voice is not only heard but also actively valued and woven into the very fabric of the company, HR must lead inclusion initiatives.
HR professionals need to be flexible and adaptable in the face of these difficulties, able to change course quickly in response to shifting market conditions and legislative frameworks. “The only constant is change,” notes organizational psychologist Adam Grant, “and HR’s ability to embrace change and lead with empathy will define its success in 2024 and beyond.”
Top 6 HR Challenges in 2024
Attracting Top Talent
Attracting top talent in this competitive job market is one of the most common HR problems faced by all HR professionals in 2024. As geographical borders are becoming less obvious and the number of remote work possibilities increasing rapidly, companies are facing intense competition for skilled people in today’s globalized job market.
According to reports, 72% of talent professionals believe in skill assessment of candidates rather than CV. However, sectors like technology suffer from a lack of skilled workers. Approximately 89% of employers worldwide report that it is difficult to fill open positions, which causes hiring procedures to take longer than expected and increases competition across businesses.
As demonstrated by SHRM research, 60% of job seekers quit filling up the application midway due to lengthy and complex procedures. Hence, offering a good candidate experience is essential yet difficult in the face of a flood of applications. Securing top personnel and staying competitive in today’s dynamic business scene essentially requires organizations to navigate the difficulties of globalized marketplaces, skill shortages, and candidate experience.
Skill Gaps Among Employees
Skill gaps are yet another challenge HR professionals face in 2024 to keep up the quality and productivity of organizational teams. Research has indicated that a significant number of organizations are in urgent need of obtaining the requisite skills to cope with new-age technology and trends.
Consequently, it has become mandatory to identify the skills gap that exists between the current workforce and the emerging trends of the digital era. To conduct thorough talent evaluations at the organizational level, HR professionals need to employ techniques and resources like competence frameworks.
After they have been identified, it is imperative to implement efficient training programs that cover both technical and soft skills, such as problem-solving and flexibility. A significant proportion of change attempts fail due to employee resistance, which HR may reduce by promoting transparency and including employees in the process. The failure rate of technological upskilling is huge, highlighting how challenging it is to seamlessly integrate new digital tools.
Diversity and Inclusion Within the Oganization
Diversity and inclusion within the workplace are crucial for employee productivity and job satisfaction and HR professionals are in a constant hunt for ways to make it possible. There is a rising global instigation on businesses to ensure that the DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) initiatives of every organization are sincere and firmly ingrained in their culture and workplace.
It is the responsibility of HR departments to genuinely address these problems and incorporate them into every facet of the employee experience. This entails identifying and assisting people with various race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability.
The extra difficulty faced by multinational corporations is localizing DEIB programs to various cultural contexts around the world. Starbucks, for example, offers customized training courses in China. Teams with diversity perform better, according to research, and businesses that support diversity are more likely to beat their competitors financially.
Therefore, in order for organizations to develop inclusive workplaces and achieve long-term success, it is important that they confront intersectionality, address cultural differences, and foster authenticity.
Employee Engagement
Employee engagement has been a constant HR issue since the beginning of time. A Gallup study conducted in 2023 found that just 32% of employees were deeply involved in their work, highlighting the enormous obstacles in maintaining strong employee engagement in remote and hybrid work environments. HR departments need to help remote workers feel connected and like they belong. This is demonstrated by the 200% rise in the use of Slack’s “Watercooler” function for online socializing.
However, using digital tools excessively might result in technological weariness as remote employees might use them frequently. To address this, HR should customize engagement tactics to each individual’s preferences. This is corroborated by a Deloitte poll that found 76% of participants wanted opportunities for individualized growth.
Given that sadness and anxiety cause an estimated $1 trillion in lost productivity to the global economy each year, it is imperative to prioritize mental health programs. Good recognition initiatives, like Google’s “GThanks,” can increase worker happiness. According to the Harvard Business Review, regular feedback channels, such as Zoom meetings, and suggestion boxes, encourage open communication and reduce attrition.
Talent Development and Retention
Talent development and retention have been the talk of every HR team recently. These days, organizations have to tackle two main challenges: keeping top talent in a highly competitive labor market and closing the skills gap caused by quickly advancing technology. The main cause of this discrepancy is that old institutional learning approaches frequently don’t meet the needs of modern businesses.
Businesses are constantly in the process of solving this issue by putting in efforts on flexible training, conducting skill tests, and using data to identify the necessary abilities. For instance, it’s saddening to witness a lack of qualified applicants for positions in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data science.
It can be stated that high demand for AI and machine learning specialists is on its way and surely will hit the industry by 2025 whereas the supply of candidates is expected to be still limited even then. Numerous businesses find it difficult to adapt to digital developments and tools.
Reports say that 70% of projects involved with digital tools fail due to a lack of expertise and change aversion. HR specialists at the organization are using a variety of approaches and methods to deal with these challenges.
They provide their staff with specialized training and regular skill evaluations. Furthermore, data is being used to project the skill needs for the future. Flexible training options, including webinars and on-the-job projects, facilitate employees’ quicker and more seamless acquisition of new skills. Skills assessments are used by many industry giants including IBM and Amazon to assess employees and provide necessary training.
Google estimates demand using data and then modifies hiring and training procedures accordingly. Paying competitively is not enough to keep outstanding workers on staff. Businesses must also provide opportunities for career advancement and clear routes to success.
Work-life balance is highly increased by flexible work schedules, including remote working. Positive work cultures that encourage employee feedback and transparent communication promote loyal and happy employee engagement within the organization.
Offering customized benefits like stock options and fitness programs is also beneficial. Organizations can pull in and keep top talent by putting employee happiness and skill development first, which helps them keep their competitive advantage in the highly competitive business market today.
Compensation and Benefits
The compensation and benefits of employees are like the pillars of maintaining the balance of every organizational team. Because of the high inflation rate and changing economic conditions, organizations need to quickly adjust their compensation packages in order to stay competitive and attract and retain personnel. For example, recent reports indicate that just in metropolitan regions, the cost of living index has increased by 5%.
Concurrently, increased consciousness regarding fairness and inclusivity highlights the significance of equitable remuneration policies. Research indicates that 67% of workers place a high priority on workplace diversity and inclusion, emphasizing how important it is for HR departments to guarantee demographic parity.
Additionally, as 73% of employees desire personalized benefits, HR managers are considering more adaptable options that can be tailored to each person’s needs. One way that employers are finding things more difficult is with the 10% yearly increase in insurance premiums. HR departments are responding by looking into creative cost-sharing plans and alternative healthcare options to lessen the burden on workers and businesses.
A Final Word
As we wrap up, we can clearly state that there are a wide range of complicated HR issues in 2024 that require creative solutions to solve the challenges of human resource management. These barriers can be heroically mitigated through enthusiastic strategy models, transparent communication and leadership, and an undeniable urge for employee well-being and organizational development.
However, all these HR issues can be put into one basket and solved without any hiccups by collaborating with an EOR partner. An EOR partner will take care of all the HR necessities on your behalf and make your remote team operate successfully, no matter which industry your organization belongs to.
Medtigo is one such organization from the healthcare industry that was lost on how to build remote teams in India. Remunance came to their aid just then and assisted them with hiring of talented professionals from India to build a quality remote team for Medtigo. Remunance also helped them with compliance management and IT and infrastructure other than recruitment.
