Midyear Market Update

People and Culture Trends from HR Consulting

With the constant state of change in the market, companies today must focus on the latest people and culture trends to remain current and meet the needs of both their people and the business.

The midyear point is an opportunity to pause, evaluate, and adapt. To help us understand the current landscape and what businesses might expect in the second half of the year, we asked our Executive Vice President and leader of our Consulting Division, Vicki Peek, to share the top trends the HR Consulting team is seeing and key takeaways to consider as we finish 2024.

Hybrid is Here to Stay

As employees and candidates seek workplace flexibility, many companies have settled on a workforce model that seems to be a “win/win” for all – hybrid. Fully remote can be a barrier to culture building, team collaboration, and alignment, and we are seeing more companies move away from this and fully adopt a hybrid model as the standard. As you implement, a best practice is to have the team “in office” on the same day to promote team collaboration and alignment.

Talent Readiness for Critical Roles

Companies are putting a strong emphasis on planning for the future and discovering it’s never too early to begin thinking about the development and growth of “next level” talent. We often hear from companies that “succession seems conceptual” and can be hard to formalize. But, with a well-defined succession process, readiness assessments, and intentionality around development, companies can successfully prepare for expected or unexpected transitions of talent.

Compliance—Keep an Eye on the Latest

Two compliance areas that companies have a close watch on are the new overtime rule & the non-compete contracts ruling. It is important in both of these areas of compliance to work with your HR leaders or consultants as well as your legal counsel to make determinations and plans based upon the regulations in place and your unique workforce.

Leveraging AI Within the HR Function

To many small to medium-sized companies, AI has been something they have been aware of, but either don’t have knowledge of how AI can be helpful or have concerns about the risks associated with the use of AI. We expect that AI will be more of a focus over the next 12 months. Our clients utilize AI in several core HR areas to include but not limited to Talent Acquisition, Performance Management, Correspondence, Basic Training, and Safety. If you haven’t already done so, being to explore ways that AI can be a benefit to you.

Mental Health and Employee Wellness

Regardless of company size or industry, overall health, specifically mental health, is a growing need, and companies are prioritizing responding to the needs of their employees. We encourage companies to get creative and talk to your insurance broker about options to expand mental health benefits. Be proactive to provide expanded resources (i.e. mental health days, offering EAP, increase number of free visits for EAP calls, webinars, books, yoga classes, etc.).

Optimization of Core Processes

Companies are prioritizing process optimization as they are seeking to be more efficient and leverage people and tools to solve business needs and serve internal and external customers. One area that we are seeing as a focus within HR is optimization of benefit & payroll processes. There is a desire to integrate benefit & payroll processes making these more streamlined and less cumbersome while also ensuring accuracy and timeliness.

Streamline Your Hiring Process

The battle for top talent remains fierce despite shifts in the hiring market. Companies who want to secure top talent for open positions need to evaluate and refine their processes to ensure they are agile and can move quickly and efficiently to secure top talent before competitors. And don’t forget – the candidate interview experience matters – you are selling your brand and job opportunity as much as candidates are selling their knowledge and expertise.

If you are a part of your company’s HR or leadership team and would like to learn more about talent trends in the current market and how adapting can help you grow your business successfully, reach out to our team today!