FEATURE
find community and personal value and satisfaction from their corporate role.” Remote and hybrid work “has signifi- cantly and forever changed the role of HR professionals,” she said, pushing them into “new and changing hiring practices, management practices, reward and recognition practices, salary and compensation models, and learning and devel- opment tools and techniques.” Location remains an important component in recruiting and retaining talent, although the question now is likely to be the location of the employee, not the employer. “Location can’t cease to be a consideration for all jobs, but for many jobs it has already become so,” Self said. “If a person is working from home full time, does it matter where home is? In some cases it does.” Companies need to establish guidelines on issues such as how often an employee is expected to be in the office and who pays for travel costs, he said. In addition to the challenges, remote and hybrid work also create opportunities for HR professionals in attracting and retaining workers. “For many, geographical constraints for hiring are lifted, as the skills required can now be sought and acquired on a global scale,” Taylor said. “This opens up new channels for talent acquisition that were not possible or practical in traditional HR practices.” The option to offer remote or hybrid work really isn’t an option for some employers looking for new talent. It’s an expectation. “Where this option did not exist, or was a perk, in traditional operations, it is now a primary requirement,” Taylor said. “Many individuals, especially in the technology field, will not change jobs if they are required to be on-site. This mindset, created as a result of the pandemic, is one of the biggest challenges facing HR.” In addition, the pool of potential workers has changed from its pre-pandemic state, in part because many retirees have decided not to remain retirees. Pandemic- prompted retirements had a decided impact, but that impact is easing. According to
an analysis of Labor Department data by the employment firm Indeed, by mid-2022 about 1.5 million retirees had re-entered the U.S. labor market. These workers often have a lot to offer an employer, notably experience, reliability and a willingness to consider part-time work. Of course, not all work can be done remotely. Cars aren’t built from your home office and medical procedures generally require the presence of a physician. “I have seen some data that suggests that almost 40% of jobs in the U.S. could be fully remote,” Self said. “That leaves more than 60% of the workforce reporting to the office, job site, warehouse, factory, hospital, etc. Location will always be a consideration for much of the workforce.” And what about compensation? Should there be some sort of pay differential based on the location of the employee or the employer or, once again, is productivity, not proximity, the more important issue? “Compensation is shifting toward value-based vs. geography-based for roles,” Taylor said. “We are seeing compensation demands increase for remote roles across the U.S., as well as global resources in non-U.S. countries that have been traditionally lower compensated staff.” It’s often about more than money in designing compen- sation packages — for both parties. Higher pay increases the cost of doing business and potentially the costs that are passed along to consumers or clients. As a result, Taylor said, “HR staff and executives across the globe are looking at creative packages to attract employees that keep compen- sation manageable, but offer other benefits such as 100% remote, health benefits, non-standard work hours, etc., to interest top talent.”
42 Harbert Business, Fall 2022
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