What will your HR and compensation priorities be in 2021? Chances are they will look a lot different from where you started in 2020. CEOs have had to make tough choices to survive a recession not of their making. Change has been the norm.

Although flexibility and resilience will still be required heading into next year, CEOs and HR leaders surveyed about the critical issues they face are struggling with how to optimize talent and skills to deliver on their business strategies.

In its annual CEO benchmarking report, The Predictive Index surveyed 160 CEOs about their top talent concerns. They wanted to find out: How is your organization’s health? How is senior management holding up? Is the team prepared for the work ahead? What kind of guidance are they looking for?

Surveying more than 800 HR leaders, the Gartner 2021 HR Priorities study sought to identify their key priorities to achieve business goals – namely, growth and cost optimization – in a sea of constant change. While the pandemic disrupted traditional ways of working, it also uncovered widespread skills gaps in the talent areas needed most today.

Here are each survey’s findings and their implications for the world of work in 2021:

THE PREDICTIVE INDEX 2021 CEO BENCHMARKING REPORT

1. Many executives are leading all-new teams, as 69% of companies restructured during the pandemic. It is not surprising then that finding ways for employees to work well together is a priority. Also, new teams mean new people problems to solve. Sixty-six percent of CEOs say productivity is a major concern; this worry is an increase from 36% in 2019.
2. Remote work is here to stay as 97% of CEOs will allow some degree of remote work going forward. Still, CEOs cite a large challenge in getting remote teams to work well together. This leads to conflict and leaders spending time mediating people issues. More important, CEOs whose operations are mostly remote believe their teams struggle to deliver on short-term and long-term strategic goals.
3. CEOs have had to navigate entirely new business circumstances due to the pandemic. As a result, 96% overhauled their business strategy in 2020. Currently 53% of CEOS say strategy development continues as their number one priority. Moreover, 80% believe a lack of strategic clarity runs deep within their organizations. Making sure that employees understand the mission and strategy is essential to ensure teams are equipped for the work ahead.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Management of remote teams requires a people-first approach and great amounts of time coordinating and communicating to maintain company culture and to ensure teams are engaged and motivated to meet their goals. Communicate new strategic direction throughout the organization, making sure that each level thoroughly understands and can communicate the strategy to the next level.
• Do not neglect talent strategy. This means taking inventory of current skills, minimizing those that are becoming less important, and focusing on new competencies required. Help employees learn those new skills and rework the performance management system to reflect those changes.
• Ensure that each employee function in the organization is directly tied to company function which will anchor employees to the company’s strategic direction. Make sure incentive plan participants understand how program measures support company strategies.

GARTNER 2021 HR PRIORITIES STUDY

1. Building critical skills and competencies is the number one HR leader priority, cited by 68% of respondents. Gartner reports that the number of skills per job increases 10% each year and that fully a third of skills present in 2017 will not be needed in 2021. This rapid skills obsolescence cycle makes integrating effective learning into workflows challenging, especially when it may be difficult to determine future skill requirements.
2. The second highest priority is organizational design and change management, a priority of 46% of HR leaders. Leaders report managers are not equipped to lead change, and employees are fatigued from all the change. A past focus on improving workplace efficiency has left many organizations with rigid structures and current roles that lack flexibility to meet evolving needs.
3. A priority of 44% of HR leaders is developing current and future leadership bench strength. They comment that current leadership is not diverse, succession processes do not yield the right leaders at the right time, and leaders struggle to effectively develop midlevel leaders. Bottom line: the leadership management pipeline today is not working.
4. Planning for the future of work is seen as a priority by 32% of HR leaders. Many say their organizations do not have a future of work strategy. They are struggling to adapt to changes in the market, such as how AI and automation will displace workers. The question that HR leaders face most often is where to start.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Update performance management programs to emphasize responsiveness to customer needs and build organization resilience. Make sure employees are learning the right skills. This may require more frequent and tailored revisions to learning programs throughout the organization.

• Invest in technology and AI to improve corporate decision making and efficiencies.
• Ensure that the diversity, equality and inclusion journey is manifested in the organization’s hiring, development, promotion and compensation programs through inclusive hiring, promotion, and compensation processes.

SUMMARY

We recognize that CEO and HR priorities cited do not apply to all organizations. Rather, you should consider your own priorities, using CEO and HR comments as a starting point, and develop solutions to address your priorities.

ABOUT LAPPLEY & ASSOCIATES

Lappley & Associates is a management consulting firm that specializes in the development and implementation of compensation programs for clients. We primarily consult with manufacturing, service, utilities, and not-for-profit organizations for medium and small-sized businesses.

CONTACT US

If you would like to discuss how these 2021 predictions may impact your compensation strategies, contact Neil Lappley at (847) 921-2812 or nlappley@lappley.com.