What the latest SHRM survey tells us about HR and remote work

The Society for Human Resource Management recently released its annual State of the Workplace Study, highlighting the current challenges faced by HR professionals and what they say they’re focused on for the rest of the year. Spoiler alert: Remote recruiters are winning.

Among other things, the survey underscored some ongoing concerns shared by HR professionals: Just 25% felt their organizations are effective at finding and recruiting talent, and nearly three-fourths of respondents (72%) felt their HR departments have been working beyond typical capacity.

The study also found:

• 46% of respondents hiring for remote organizations reported they were effective in finding and recruiting employees, compared to just 18% of HR professionals hiring for in-person positions.
• 32% of in-person organizations rated themselves as effective in retaining top talent, versus 47% of remote organizations.
• 80% of HR professionals reported that maintaining employee morale and engagement is a top priority in 2022.
• Only 26% of US workers felt that their organization did a good job at developing more effective leaders.
  

We checked in with Sam Hammock, EVP and chief human resources officer at Verizon, to see if the report aligns with what she’s experiencing in her role managing a staff of 140,000 worldwide. She said the survey responses on engagement and retention were particularly resonant.

Hammock believes that listening to employee feedback and providing work flexibility will be key in 2022, especially as more workers return to the office. After conducting its own employee survey, Hammock said Verizon decided that its hybrid workers will choose (in consultation with managers) how frequently they will be in the office.

Hammock said the goal is to “empower” employees to develop RTO plans and change them as needed. This approach officially starts in March, with a month-long test period, where Verizon hybrid employees are encouraged to tour the offices and participate in team events to create new office routines. “Change management around communication, in my opinion, is really critical,” Hammock said. “It’s going to be trial and error, and we’re all going to learn together.”—KP

Do you work in HR or have information about your HR department we should know? Email [email protected] or DM @Kris10Parisi on Twitter. For completely confidential conversations, ask Kristen for her number on Signal.