By now, employers are very aware of the concerns surrounding the economic climate, and whether the winds of change look like a soft breeze or a category five storm, this is a good time for every business to evaluate where their money does the most good.
A new study by JP Morgan Chase found that over two-thirds of small to midsize business owners are anticipating a recession, which could lead to budget cuts and layoffs. At the same time, 59% of American workers are feeling at least moderate levels of burnout, according to research from Aflac. So how can companies invest their money this year in a way that keeps budgets tight, but alleviates strain on their employees?
"This is so critical," says Casey Bailey, head of people at Deel, a global payroll and compliance provider. "HR practitioners being burdened with all of these other things, from performance to scalability to technology, layoffs, hiring — now the budget is sitting there on top and we need to do more with less."
A good way to start is by implementing technology solutions that could lift some of the mundane tasks off of HR's shoulders, giving them more opportunity to make employee well-being their top priority. At Deel, this philosophy has helped them create a strong company culture within their quickly growing workforce as they move into the new year. The solutions they're turning to need to be both easy to navigate and work well for the business's bottom line.
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"Coming from the HR practitioner standpoint, the requirements that we have looking at our HR tech stack are going to be around cost," Bailey says. "As we have more companies who want to see their full workforce analytics, it's become critical to have that global approach — do I need to hire a consultant, or is my team able to do it ourselves because it's so user friendly? Am I replacing three of my other vendors because now I can access everything in one consolidated place for my team?"
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When HR is enabled with solutions that save them time and money, they can allocate those resources toward the biggest benefit employees (including themselves) are seeking: a better
"It's important to make sure you're understanding your workforce — the culture that exists, what's important to people," she says. "I always recommend that people do an engagement survey or have some other information to be as intentional and as proactive as possible. Understanding what [employees] are asking for and where you might better be able to meet them is sometimes at a lower cost to you than you were carrying on the books in the past."
One of the areas companies are able to meet employees' needs and see a solid return on investment is education. Bailey sees this as an area where workers who are put off by the rising cost of
"Continuing education that is specific to someone's role, specific to keeping their licensing or accreditation or certifications, is important for what they do for you, but also important for them personally as they think about their career. How can we invest in the team and make sure that they're continuing to learn, continuing to advance, and when they leave, they have marketability?"
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Employees are also demanding flexibility in 2023 — a carry-over from 2022. Remote and hybrid work arrangements improve retention and recruitment, and are a low-cost way to signal that you trust employees to be productive from anywhere. Education and tech tools can also help empower both employees and managers to utilize the tools available to be successful.
"Flexibility is the theme over everything," Bailey says. "It goes back to the
