After two pandemic years in a state of perpetual semi-emergency, companies are beginning to accept the idea that telework, the demand for flexible hours, the labour shortage and the widespread exhaustion of troops are essential in the working world. We asked HR professionals on LinkedIn to tell us what they have learned from 2021, and it seems that employers have finally switched to “solution” mode.
So, let’s do it all at once. According to HR professionals, 2021 is the year when…
“Where the status quo is no longer an option. The HR role is changing. Recruitment is becoming increasingly difficult. It is often necessary to go out of our comfort zone to be able to do what we must do these days”
– Rachel Mance, CRHA, Human Resources Manager
“Artificial Intelligence is officially part of HR arsenal.”
– Benoit Hardy-Vallée, Vice-President, Talent
“Finally (!) organizations invest time, energy and money to take care of their world.”
– Vincent Mazrou, Employer Brand Specialist
“Employees kept asking themselves about the workplace in their daily lives.”
Cindy Tessier, CRHA, Management Consultant
“Employers are more open to atypical profiles.”
– Ginette Laliberté, Manager and HR Partner at Go RH
“Many companies have understood that the productivity of their talent necessarily depends on their well-being. The year 2021 was revealing in this regard: many workers changed jobs to improve their well-being. Retaining them is therefore a new challenge for companies, especially in a context of labour shortage!”
Geneviève Provencher, founder of the human resources consulting company Flow
“In HR, 2021 was the year that inclusion was a hot topic, but unfortunately we will still have to do a lot to make it a reality… in many companies!”
– Julie Belanger, Recruitment Consultant
“The topic of mental health at work – hybrid management – the rise of remote working as a condition sought by candidates.”
Flavie Prevot, Sales Executive, Codir Member
“In HR, 2020 was the year that many HR professionals had burnouts…”
– Andrée Laforge, CRHA, Executive Vice-President and Enthusiastic Product Manager, HR Analytics
And for good reason! According to the Lattice State of People 2021 report, 67% of HR teams reported that their department was “overloaded”.
“Leaders and managers have experienced a tremendous amount of pressure to stay strong, despite adversity and the unknown. They deserve a lot of love! Recognition for holding on and the right to be imperfect.”
– Marianne Roberge, Employer Brand Practice and Work-Life Balance Manager and Associate of the Go RH consulting firm
“[2021 was] a year when the importance of creating a healthy culture and psychological security took on its full meaning. Taking care of humans (versus using humans) to create performance… And not a performance at all costs, but a sustainable one! The concepts of humanity and benevolence take their meaning when one is faced with so much human frailty, adversity, even suffering. We now know that these concepts must not just be buzzwords to be used to be trending or attracting candidates. We must live them to create sustainability.”
– Pascale Dufresne, Co-Chairperson Leadership Inspire & Lab Inc., Leadership and Organizational Culture Development
“Candidates want to find good managers. As we’ve seen, the job offers are no longer enough to attract. Job seekers want to work with a good boss and develop a healthy culture. If you knew how many are looking for better management, not just better conditions. The crisis changed job seekers’ behaviour or at least their criteria.”
– Jenny Ouellette, President of the site BonBoss – Le futur du travail.
Happy new year 2022!
