Despite this fact, very few are prepared for the future even now as we have moved into the endemic phase. Given that preparation and execution is absolutely essential to avoid ongoing disruption and poor performance, HR leaders and professionals need to understand the importance of moving forward with the “new norm” especially when employees have already had 2 to 3 years to adjust to new hybrid working styles.

So what have HR and business leaders be focusing on in 2023 and moving towards 2024? What areas are going to need the most attention as we prepare for business recovery? And how can we best support our people to get us there?

Here are 5 areas forward-thinking HR leaders have prioritized in 2023

1. Strengthen your digital foundation

HR’s reliance on new technologies and secure digital systems has been pushed to the extreme by the previous global lockdown; though it’s also created huge opportunities for companies to transform their day-to-day operations and culture.

The scale and speed of change is like nothing we’ve seen before. HR professionals across all industries are facing the ongoing challenge to maintain culture, communications, and resources across a predominantly remote workforce. Even though some departments already had a strong digital infrastructure in place and have been able to adapt far more effectively than those without, every business has been forced to accelerate their digital transformation in some way.

Any HR department that relied on outdated legacy systems or on-premise file storage will have struggled enormously to carry out their plans for business continuity. For these organizations, the pandemic will have been an alarming wake-up call to analyze their approach and start integrating the digital tools necessary to become more resilient, productive, and agile as an organization.

As businesses continue to navigate towards the future, HR will play a pivotal role in validating new systems and ways of working as standard practice. This is a chance for HR to rethink outdated solutions and transform the way that people services are both perceived and delivered.

2. Prioritize health and wellbeing

The last pandemic has put employee health and wellbeing directly in the spotlight, and more and more organizations are now realizing how HR software and online support portals can transform the way their internal services are delivered.

Having a centralized view of their entire organization is a crucial first step.

From there, managers can maintain open channels of communication, check-in on individuals and provide a clear route to report issues or absence. Cloud computing and self-service portals are streamlining key processes and revolutionizing the way employees access information and engage with HR. That leaves far more time for the bigger picture of people management.

Culture is everything in times like this and organizations have a real chance to build their brand as an employer, minimize churn, and retain their top performers for the long haul. This isn’t just about covering short-term challenges; it’s also about preparing the groundwork for wellbeing for years to come.

3. Rethink your talent strategy

For most in-house recruiters and hiring managers, it’s been impossible not to recognize the widespread disruption the pandemic has caused within the Asian jobs market.

According to the International Labor Organization, there was a loss of over 57million jobs in 2020 and we are now only starting to recover from it moderately making it one of the largest drops ever, as companies across all industries take stock of their situation and prioritize recovery. Many organizations have also struggled to adapt to new ways of working and simply did not have the right solutions in place to enable their hiring teams to continue working as normal from home.

Those that rely primarily on on-premise solutions and analogue onboarding processes have been hit the hardest. Some employers will have had to freeze their recruitment because they can no longer manage employee inductions and initial training on-site. Others have faced serious issues with tracking and assessing candidates remotely and maintaining confidence within their pipeline.

Where challenges have arisen, HR must now rethink the ways in which they support in-house recruiters to thrive in the modern landscape of hiring. Yes, digital tools and agile working are vital for business continuity, but these are ultimately long-term investments that can lead to substantial gains in productivity further down the line.

4. Embrace the rise of eLearning

As businesses and HR professionals continue to rethink their strategy for the remainder of the year and beyond, learning and development is a key area of transformation that’s being discussed.

Inevitably, in-person training sessions were one of the first initiatives to be cancelled following the government-mandated social distancing regulations. Every company now faces the ongoing challenge to migrate their training to an online platform so that employees can continue working – and learning – from home at any time.

Ongoing risk and compliance training has been crucial to share important updates and keep staff updated on new regulations since the COVID-19 outbreak first emerged. Top employers have also ensured their people have continual access to expert advice around remote working, data security and personal health and safety. Many more have been forced to find new ways to upskill staff quickly in order to support their businesses in a critical area of response.

eLearning has therefore become an essential solution for organizations during their recovery process, though it’s also clear the situation is prompting many businesses to broaden their thinking around the way that L&D is delivered going forwards.

5. Protect your company data 

The ongoing shift to remote working and cloud solutions presents a new set of challenges for HR, though none more potentially damaging than data security gaps and poor protection for remote systems.

As recovery from COVID-19 continues, it’s vital that organizations keep their personal and company data protected at all times. The Malaysia National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) and Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) have highlighted the need to be more vigilant regarding the rise of cybercrime, phishing attempts and other data security threats as they are ever increasing in this age of technological advancement post pandemic.

HR will need to transform its approach to meet the challenge head-on. Data security is no longer an option for modern businesses and the importance of carrying out regular risk assessments and only using software that has strong password and encryption measures cannot be avoided. These challenges are particularly relevant to HR when you consider the amount of confidential data that the average department typically handles.

More staff may continue working on a home device as they use their own laptop or mobile to access programs and confidential data whilst operating remotely. This fuels the need for HR to promote stronger cybersecurity measures, offer online training courses on personal compliance and ensure that the right level of antivirus and firewall protection is available for all employees.

Moving Forward

Now is the time for business leaders and HR to work closely together to review tactics and put a decisive strategy in place that not only facilitates their organization’s recovery, but that also lays a foundation for long-term success.