HR leaders discuss Gartner's predictions for next year
Looking ahead to 2024, what will be the top priorities for HR? Leader and manager development tops the list, according to a Gartner survey.
The survey found that 76% of HR leaders say their managers are overwhelmed by the growth of their job responsibilities, with 73% saying their leaders and managers aren’t equipped to lead change.
More than three-quarters of employees have placed increased importance on manager support while managers juggle 51% more responsibilities than they can handle, finds Gartner.
‘If you’re not asking for help, shame on you’
The report Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders in 2024 suggests that instead of investing in traditional manager development programs, the job itself needs to be evolved. This includes resetting expectations, rebuilding manager pipelines, rewiring manager habits and removing process hurdles.
According to Anne Marie Malleau, director of HR at Great Wolf Lodge, some leaders and managers may be overwhelmed because they don’t have enough support, and if this is the case, leaders must ask for help.
“If you are a person who feels overwhelmed in our industry and you're not asking for help, then I would say shame on you; but if you can sit down and write out a business plan with a solid return on investment as to why you need support to get where you need to get to so you aren't feeling as overwhelmed, then, congratulations you're exactly where you need to be in your career choice,” she said.
Organizational culture and leadership
Gartner’s list also included organizational culture, HR technology, change management and career management, and internal mobility, according to the survey which polled more than 500 HR leaders about their priorities and expected challenges in 2024.
While the importance of leader and management development cannot be understated, multiple factors can have an impact on whether a leader is finding a job manageable, including organizational culture and other top priorities on Gartner’s list, said Angela Champ, a human resources executive.
So, while the list of priorities may be accurate, the order could be amended to prioritise the factors that are contributing to overwhelming managers, she said.
“I think they've got them right on, but I wonder whether they have them in the right order,” she said. “When you look at things like organizational culture and how hybrid work has changed employees’ connection to culture or to the company or the introduction of technology and how hybrid/remote work is affecting career development and internal mobility, it puts additional pressures on managers. So, I think that the three of those at least put additional pressures, which is making the leaders struggle.”
Connecting to culture
Four in 10 (41%) of HR leaders say employees’ connection to culture is compromised by hybrid work, found the survey, while 47% of HR leaders don’t know how to drive change to achieve the desired culture.
Organizational culture is a fundamental priority for HR professionals, as growing leaders and managers comes out of taking care of employees, so culture and taking care of your team should be a number one priority said Malleau.
“Our culture is creating family traditions one family at a time, following our ‘REACT’ standards, which are respect, integrity, accountability, competence, and teamwork, and everything we do is driven by safety, quality, consistency and fun. That is our culture, and everything comes from that — our disciplines, our celebrations, our quarterly meetings.”
Prioritizing tech for HR
A third priority for HR is technology, according to the Gartner survey. Sixty per cent of leaders are uncertain about the impact of evolving technology trends, such as generative AI, on HR and talent.
A further 56% of HR leaders confirmed their HR technology solutions and strategy do not match their current and future business needs, such as digital transformation.
And 76% of HR leaders agree they will be lagging in organizational success if they don’t adopt and implement generative AI in the next 12 to 24 months.
As organizations look to drive productivity, the expansion and integration of AI is a top priority for HR professionals in 2024, said Andrea Richardson, director, business HR, Canada at Avanade. According to Avanade’s AI Readiness Report, nearly all Canadian employees (92%) surveyed believe their organization needs to shift to an AI-first operating model within the next 12 months to stay competitive.
While generative AI can be a bit overwhelming for some, there is a shift for HR to become more technical and aware of this technology, as it can help HR with productivity and give professionals more time to work on strategic initiatives and tasks that have more impact on the organization, she said.
“This is one of the top priorities for HR, especially as generative AI becomes more commonplace in organizations, and it’s a really exciting time in HR to be able to free up that time and work on the really strategic, impactful tasks.”