The New Year is well underway and I thought it would be interesting to share what HR folks are concerned about in 2024.

We know that any company’s Human Resources department impacts every aspect of that company. Or it should.

And if a company isn’t big enough to have its own HR department, then the role usually falls to the owner, who’d better know how to deal with any number of issues that arise.

Because the importance of employee relations is not to be ignored.

How many times have you heard that employees are the most important assets that companies have? Followed quickly by, when you take care of your employees, they’ll take great care of your company’s customers.

How best to do that is the big question. It’s different for every company but some things are consistent.

The national hiring firm CareerBuilder recently rolled out a survey of what is top of mind for HR professionals for 2024. The following trends are what employers and employees alike should keep in mind.

1) Prevent burnout

Burnout can be defined many ways and presents itself differently to all of us. At its core is the sense of tiredness and stress that employees feel during and after work, most common with repetitive tasks.

HR needs to continually review job descriptions with department managers to encourage ways to diversify employees’ work. Much like preventing workers’ comp injuries that overuse parts of the body, they need to look for ways to add variety to the job.

Honest conversations about employees’ jobs, expectations, and why they feel stress can bring some relief.

2) Foster career development

In recent years, jobs have become more sophisticated and necessitate very specific skills. A company is much better off taking good care of their current employees rather than losing them and absorbing the cost of replacing them.

HR should be supportive of employees who seek advice on the best ways to advance their short- and longer-term career goals. This process is known as “career pathing.”

In this way, HR should help devise a map of what training, education, and experience each employee should pursue as they plan their future, hopefully inside the company but maybe outside, too.

3) Assess employee benefits

Throughout the COVID crisis, employees’ concerns about their benefits, especially healthcare, were brought into sharper focus, bringing worrisome higher costs for everyone.

Rising costs aside, the most effective health care policies should now include telemedicine options for convenience, cost-sharing plans to reduce out-of-pocket expenses, and healthcare analytics to support results.

Other benefits such as life insurance, accident insurance, outside training costs, and even college debt repayment should also be considered.

4) Emphasize diversity and inclusion

More than ever, it’s important to nurture a work environment that is welcoming and comfortable for people of all identities.

This process starts with studies to identify possible bias in hiring processes, so HR can ensure that all candidates get a fair shot when applying for a job or new role.

Clearly the right thing to do, hiring for diversity also allows for a more dynamic workplace.

5) Maintain a flexible workforce

If we can be thankful for anything that resulted from the Covid era, it’s the introduction of workplace flexibility – when, where and for how long.

It’s here to stay.

During the worst of COVID, flexibility helped keep employees physically safer and prioritized mental health over physically being in the office.

It also shined a bright light on the basic truth that employees have other obligations besides their jobs, such as childcare, elder care, and participating in their children’s activities.

Along with these trends, I’d add one more:

Review appropriate pay rates

Recently, a friend mentioned to me that his wife’s employer had told her, “This would be a good time to talk to me about a raise.”

It means so much more when an employer acknowledges that compensation for certain positions has gone up and offers an increase without the employee having to ask.

If you want to keep your employees happier and more productive, following these trends can help make that happen. If it’s important to HR, you know it’s important to your employees.

Blair is co-founder of Manpower Staffing and can be reached at pblair@manpowersd.com