After enduring years of uncertainty, recovery, and lockdowns, what can we expect in 2022?
After enduring years of uncertainty, recovery, and lockdowns, what can we expect in 2022?
Here are three workplace predictions for 2022.
Workplace predictions for 2022: Retention is key
With border closures continuing throughout much of 2021, skills shortages in many sectors were exacerbated. This was felt particularly hard in industries like agriculture, administration, support, food and accommodation. For employers, it was a difficult climate to hire, as many businesses were competing for the same small pool of candidates.
Even after lockdowns have ended and borders slowly reopen, employers still face hiring challenges.
According to Deloitte, there are still unmet labour demands in many markets. Put simply, the skills sought by employers are not those held by current job seekers. While the uptick in migration in early 2022 is expected to answer some of this labour demand, in the early months this is expected to focus on the industries that lost most of their employment during the lockdown. This includes sectors like art and recreation.
In response to this, we predict retention and ongoing investment in current employees will be a focus for businesses in 2022.
Employee engagement can occur in a few ways:
- Offering benefits but these must be competitive and are not always financial.
- A willingness to alleviate employee pain points.
- Making advancement and learning opportunities available.
When approaching your retention strategy, it’s important to remember that your employees will have new priorities than those they may have had in 2019. They may require more flexibility, and more security or have new passions they want to explore. Be open.
Workplace prediction: Unlock new talent pools
If you do lose key employees or are unable to make a hire, it’s time to unlock new talent pools. This second prediction leans very much on the new prioritisation of work-life balance and continued skills shortages.
New talent pools could include:
- Remote workers.
- Older workers or recent retirees including those who might be open to part-time work or training new employees.
- Workers with transferrable skills.
- Workers with experience in a different field.
- Workers who may require modifications to their setup so they can complete their responsibilities, such as those who identify as a person with a disability.
To draw from these talent pools, employers will have to be willing to meet their demands. This is not a climate where a simple monetary one-off bonus will draw these workers in. Instead, people are looking for long-term changes like increased wages.
Workplace prediction: Wage growth
Whether it is to attract candidates from new talent pools or a strategy to retain long-term employees, wage growth is on the table for 2022. This keeps very much to the theme of businesses investing in their people.
With the pandemic proving remote work viable for many industries, the normal differences in salary based on location will become less stark. Regional businesses are now competing with metropolitan markets. National markets are even competing with international salaries. Location-based salaries will slowly but surely be phased out.
According to a survey by Mercer, sales, marketing, IT and engineering are the industries expected to benefit most from higher salaries. On average, the 2022 pay rise prediction sits around 3 per cent.
On the whole, it’s positive news for the job market. Candidate needs are being heard clearly, and there are opportunities for employers to improve their offerings and attract talent from pools they may not have previously considered.