By ENGAGE
As we settle into the new year, and despite the uncertainties we’re all still facing, we’re already seeing some key people trends that we expect to drive transformation in 2022 and beyond:
Organisations will consolidate their learnings to drive success
If 2020 was all about crisis management and 2021 about adjustment, 2022 will be the year for consolidation – embedding new best practices, instilling agility and adaptability, and making ‘new’ the ‘normal’.
Trust is the new business currency
The balance of trust has shifted hugely over the past 18 months. As the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer highlights, business leaders are expected to visible and proactively lead change. Equally, these leaders must trust their managers to engage and drive their teams; and managers must trust their teams to be productive while working and communicating differently. How many of us have experienced a sea-change in the culture of businesses where trust has become a cornerstone of their work, where historically it was lacking?
Hybrid working is here to stay (in those sectors where it’s possible)
Organisations must listen carefully to the needs of their employees and balance this with the needs of the business if they’re to get their long-term approach right. For many, offices will evolve into spaces for new, focused purposes: collaboration, innovation and team building, offering a new form of flexibility that is likely to drive productivity and engagement further.
Burnout prevention overtakes burnout cure
It will no longer be enough to provide help for employees who have burned out. Allowing people to get to this stage won’t be acceptable when there are solutions that allow organisations to recognise and address the risk of burnout rather than the result. Employee wellbeing becomes a top priority, thought about holistically and the root causes addressed.
Employee experience is a key differentiator in the war for talent
The employee experience must now cater for hybrid working and the changes that this brings to employee journeys and moments that matter. How well you design these experiences and listen to your employees will be a key differentiator in not only attracting talent, but also engaging, developing and retaining your people.
These trends are all centred on people-led change, requiring:
- Leaders and leadership teams equipped to drive change
- An employee experience that engages people to deliver change
- An embedded culture, brought to life by behaviours that allow change to happen.
To find out how you can embrace people-led change in 2022, discover our suite of approaches and solutions, including our Blueprint for Change, a simple, joined-up, insight-led methodology for building and implementing effective transformation.
