.jpg)
The past four years have been the most turbulent in the corporate world since the 2008 financial crash. Businesses have had to grapple with significant shifts in employee demands prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic and its acceleration of hybrid working, as well as an environment that has presented continual economic challenges. Decision makers, already required to juggle costs and profits, now need to exert an increased focus on addressing employee demands — a balance which is leading to a squeeze on resource, time and effort.
Finding the equilibrium between cost and benefit in relation to employee spend is another fundamental component of leadership. Identifying strategies to enact reward and benefit propositions, and effectively manage these, will be at the forefront of planning in 2024 and beyond. Whether this means overhauling business practices, prioritising – or deprioritising – employee values and demands, or changing employee spend, there are a variety of factors which will be key to success over the next year.
Of course, each business is different, and will require innovative solutions to unique sets of challenges. For employers, understanding the ‘DNA’ of their business is the key to unlocking practical, sustainable ways to positively impact employee retention as well as maximising return on investment.
The 'new' new normal
The pandemic heralded ‘the new normal’, accelerating changes in employee demands and ways of working faster than anyone could have predicted. The working landscape has since changed permanently, and employees are more empowered to strive for increased flexibility, better benefits packages and more of a focus on values and purpose.
Research from the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development has found:
- 66 per cent of businesses believe including flexible working as an option in job advertisements is an important factor in attracting talent.
- 40 per cent of employers have seen an increase in requests for flexible working since the pandemic.
- 39 per cent of businesses say they will be more likely to grant flexible working requests compared to before the pandemic.
The appetite to grant flexible working could change once the impacts from the wake of the pandemic and economic uncertainty begin to subside. This, alongside the emergence of three stand-out trends, is putting more businesses under pressure to increase spend to address employee demands and improve, or at least maintain, loyalty and retention rates.
Read the rest of The Employee Equation, Barnett Waddingham’s new data-led article for further insights.