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What does 2012 hold for HR and L&D?
10 key trends and legislation changes
1. Post-recession job insecurity to remain
A December 2011 CMI survey found that almost half of UK managers (43%) expect further redundancies in 2012 and over a third (38%) feel insecure in their jobs. Over half also felt that they would be unlikely to get another job if they were made redundant. Such insecurity is unsurprising given growing unemployment; Office for Budget Responsibility statistics predict that 2.8 million people - many aged between 16 and 24 - will be out of work in 2012, a figure 200,000 higher than 2011 forecasts.
2. Continued focus on staff retention and leadership development
Businesses bearing the brunt of post-recession cuts and redundancies will be looking to retain staff and develop leaders. Developing current staff will remain a priority, with more than 50 percent of business and HR executives expecting severe to moderate shortages in executive leadership within the next three to five years, as the 'baby boomer' generation begins to retire (Deloitte) A recent survey of 417 Learning and Development professionals found that leadership development is their top training priority, with 61% stating that they aimed to provide it over the next 12 months.
3. Coaching to remain a valuable development solution
Coaching is remaining important to organisations, with more than 9 in 10 professionals seeing the value of coaching as 'high' or 'very high' in a winter 2011 survey. More organisations are expected to consider training their managers to provide inhouse coaching. Furthermore, improving training impact and efficiency by building coaching into wider learning and development schemes will become increasingly important. A 2011 ILM report highlighted the importance of this changing role of coaching; a cost-effective tool for staff retention and development to create a high performance culture, rather than remedial tool.
4. Greater emphasis on employee wellbeing
Employee wellbeing will be an important consideration in 2012; in line with other trends, businesses are taking a more long-term view of staff development, with focus on staff retention, employee engagement and high performance. A HR Zone article also notes that wellbeing came into the 'mainstream' in 2011 and a continuing trend in 2012 will be for HR professionals to consider how wellbeing activity can be included in existing processes. In addition, the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer will provide an opportunity for employers to promote health and wellbeing, and their related psychological benefits.
5. Use of E-learning to continue to grow
Whilst an October 2011 survey found that classroom training remains the most popular form of delivery (used by 90% of organisations), video, e-learning and mobile learning were also growing methods, often used to reinforce learning from the classroom. Donald Taylor, chair of yesterday's Learning Technologies 2012 Conference stated that "The pace of new technology in learning shows no signs of flagging, and the pace of adoption seems phenomenally fast". In a Training Zone review of 2012's challenges, e-learning and mobile technology were frequently cited as key ways for organisations to both save money and innovatively maximise on training and coaching investments.
6. Digital technology to improve HR efficiency and effectiveness
Alongside e-learning, Social Media will see a greater take up across organisations and across departments, with social networking apps allowing information, knowledge and learning resources to be quickly shared - and with a more collaborative workplace culture being built. Organisations welcoming the use of social media will need to establish policies to ensure it is used safely and productively.
7. Growing demand for flexible working
With more flexible parental leave and the expansion to all employees of the right to request flexible working expected in 2015, the move towards more flexible working patterns will not be going away. In tandem with the greater use and lower cost of technology, more employees will be working remotely and with more flexible hours, with virtual offices saving money for organisations. See our past blog post for advice on how to implement flexible working.
8. Significant changes to tribunal procedures
February the 1st will see the Employment Rights Order 2011 come into force, increasing limits on employment tribunal awards and other amounts paid under employment law; there are a total of eight changes, read in full on legislation.gov.uk.
April the 6th also sees further changes: maximum deposit orders will increase from £500 to £1000 and maximum costs orders from £10,000 to £20,000 - view explanations in full in Resolving Workplace Disputes - Government Response to Consultation on the BIS website (PDF). In addition, the one year qualifying period to bring a claim of unfair dismissal will increase to two years - a move hoped to greatly reduce the number of unfair dismissal claims.
9. Auto-enrolment into pension schemes
From the 1st of October all employers with over 50 employees must automatically enrol workers into a qualifying pension scheme or the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) if they are not already in one, and if they earn over the personal allowance for income tax, have worked for 12 weeks or more, are aged over 22 and are under the State Pension Age. Employees' contributions will be supplemented by a minimum employer contribution as well as tax relief. Read the Employers' Duties (Registration and Compliance) Regulations 2010 on legislation.gov.uk.
10. Continuing importance of workplace diversity
The Equality Act 2010 became law last October, the default retirement age was abolished last year, ethnic minorities are to make up a fifth of Britain's population by 2051 (Guardian), and the European Commission is considering EU legislation if significant progress has not been made to gender equality by March 2012. Against such a background and an increasingly globalised economy, a more diverse workforce must be embraced and seen as a positive force for greater creativity and innovation. See this past LCP newsletter for advice on promoting diversity; this article also offers interesting discussion on the shift towards greater workplace diversity in a US context.
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