Workforce planning, health and safety measures, employee leave and managing remote work round out the top five most challenging HR issues, according to the survey.
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Recruiting and hiring are the biggest concerns employers have for the coming year, according to a survey by XpertHr, as two-thirds of HR professionals expect it to be somewhat or very challenging in 2021. Almost half of employers said they plan to increase hiring next year — no great surprise considering the hit employment took this year.
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"After COVID-19 rocked the economy in 2020, employers won't want to miss out on any potential recovery in 2021, especially if a vaccine is successful in containing the virus," Andrew Hellwege, surveys editor for XpertHR, said in a statement, "and recruiting and hiring efforts will be key for attracting talent and ramping up operations."
XpertHR surveyed 563 employers between Sept. 15 and Oct. 2. Together, respondents employ nearly 950,700 workers.
Workforce planning, health and safety measures, employee leave and managing remote work round out the top five most challenging HR issues, according to the survey.
Almost half of employers cited diversity and inclusion as a top challenge, a concern that grew along with company size. Just 42% of firms with fewer than 250 workers called diversity and inclusion measures challenging, increasing to 51% of companies with between 250 and 999 workers and 69% of the largest companies.
The survey found 53% of companies feel eliminating unconscious bias will be challenging, and 50% are worried about hiring a diverse workforce.
Fifty-two percent of respondents will use workforce communications to educate employees about diversity and inclusion, and 45% will use employee surveys. Thirty-nine percent plan to implement unconscious bias training or an analysis of their recruiting and hiring practices.
"The message of this year's protests against systemic racism is clear — that the status quo is unacceptable," Hellwege said. "Employers should consider assessing their policies to ensure their workplace promotes diversity and inclusion."
Many of the benefits employers plan to offer next year help them address the challenges raised by COVID-19. Flexible work schedules topped employers' benefits list, with 54% saying they'll offer this benefit to help workers manage caregiving or homeschooling responsibilities. Four in 10 respondents will offer wellness programs and 30% are relaxing PTO rollover rules.
Employers are also offering benefits specifically to combat the virus. Twenty-nine percent will offer free or reduced-cost COVID-19 tests, and 24% say they will offer the vaccine for free or at a discount when it becomes available.
Few employers are ready to offer more paid leave (14%) than before the pandemic, but most of those (57%) were going to make the change permanent. Among those employers who were planning to offer more PTO, more than half were going to add more paid sick leave, while 37% were increasing their general PTO hours offered. A third were increasing paid family or parental leave, and 20% were adding paid personal days or bereavement leave. Fifteen percent were offering paid leave specifically for public health emergencies.
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