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HR leaders report waning optimism around retention, engagement

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Summary

HR leaders report declining optimism in employee retention and engagement. The Conference Board's CHRO Confidence Index dropped to 53 in the fourth quarter, down from 55 in the third quarter this year. Despite this, 75% of CHROs said their main human capital management priorities for 2024 are employee experience and organizational culture, and 74% said they plan to develop leadership and workforce capabilities. The survey found that 44% of CHROs expect to increase their hiring during the next six months, while 22% expect employee retention to decrease and 31% expect engagement levels to decrease. Companies are focusing on employee experience to help with retention, but employees have expressed concerns about return-to-work policies and desire more pay for in-person work.

Q&As

What are the key areas of decreased expectations among HR leaders?
The key areas of decreased expectations among HR leaders are retention and employee engagement.

What are the main human capital management priorities for CHROs in 2024?
The main human capital management priorities for CHROs in 2024 are employee experience and organizational culture, followed by developing leadership and workforce capabilities.

What is the hiring outlook for CHROs in the next six months?
The hiring outlook for CHROs in the next six months is that 44% expect to increase their hiring, while 19% expect to decrease hiring.

What is the focus of CHROs’ talent strategy for the next year?
The focus of CHROs’ talent strategy for the next year is to retain existing workers.

How can companies buck the trend of declining employee engagement?
Companies can buck the trend of declining employee engagement by focusing on human-centered experiences and evaluating their current efforts. They should also consider offering incentives to hybrid and remote workers, such as higher pay for in-person work.

AI Comments

👍 It is great to see HR leaders taking proactive steps to strengthen employee experience and organizational culture in 2024. It is also reassuring to see that the majority of CHROs plan to focus on retaining existing workers, rather than recruiting new ones.

👎 It is concerning to see that HR leaders' optimism is waning, and that confidence around retention and engagement is decreasing. It is also concerning that hybrid and remote workers are not interested in current incentives, and would rather be paid more for in-person work.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about the waning optimism of HR leaders regarding retention and engagement. The overall CHRO Confidence Index dropped to 53 for the fourth quarter, and 75% of CHROs said their main human capital management priorities are employee experience and organizational culture. They also plan to develop leadership and workforce capabilities, but they're expecting employee engagement and retention to decline.

Friend: Wow, that's a bit concerning. It sounds like companies are going to have to really step up their game when it comes to employee experience and organizational culture if they want to retain and engage their employees.

Me: Yeah, that's definitely true. One of the major concerns for employees is return-to-work policies, and they're expecting higher pay for in-person work. Companies need to start investing more in employee experience and evaluate their current efforts if they want to keep their employees engaged and retain them.

Action items

Evaluate current employee experience efforts and adjust as needed to ensure employee engagement and retention.
Develop a comprehensive return-to-work policy that takes into account the needs of hybrid and remote workers.
Offer incentives to hybrid and remote workers that are tailored to their needs, such as increased pay for in-person work.

Technical terms

CHROs: Chief Human Resources Officers
CHRO Confidence Index: A measure of the confidence of Chief Human Resources Officers in the labor market.
Employee Experience: The overall experience of an employee in the workplace, including their interactions with colleagues, their job satisfaction, and their work environment.
Organizational Culture: The shared values, beliefs, and behaviors of an organization's employees.
Recession: A period of economic decline, typically defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.
Internal Mobility: The ability of employees to move between different roles or departments within an organization.
Employee Engagement: The level of enthusiasm and commitment an employee has for their job and their employer.
Employee Experience Winter: A period of decreased investment in employee experience initiatives.