Necessity or noise?

In recent years, disruptive forces have imposed changes on the working world, resulting in new ways of working blurring the traditional boundaries and challenging established practices. 

Since 2007, the HR survey has highlighted different aspects of the transformation that HR is undergoing. This year’s HR survey aimed to explore current reigning trends in the world of organizations and HR. 

The survey was conducted between December 2021 and January 2022, and was distributed to the HR associations’ networks in the different countries. 632 people across the Nordics responded.

The respondents across the countries were similar in organizational background and were asked questions related to HR and organizational trends, organizational and operating models, HR’s seat at the table, competencies and skills, green Human Resource Management, and technological solutions. Upon analyzing the results, the following themes and key questions emerged:

New ways of working

Flexible work is here to stay and will be an important part of the people agenda going forward. To remain relevant, HR should aim to be at the forefront of designing the new ways of working and meeting the new needs of employees.

Competency planning  

The public sector is planning for an aging workforce, while the private sector is planning for an increase of workers under 30. In the middle of a competency shortage, how come both sectors fail to look toward both sides of the age spectrum? Strategic workforce planning is already proving an important topic for organizations. But which competency areas will be important to plan for in the coming years? How should HR prioritize their resources?

Technology 

Technology is a major trend in most organizations, both in strategy and in competency. HR will need to mirror the organizations to keep their position and stay relevant and useful. With efficiency and optimization of workflows among the top goals for HR technology implementations, more strategic work should be enabled. Does HR have the necessary competency to seize this opportunity? 

Sustainability 

HR should accelerate their efforts related to sustainability. Without dedicating focus to this increasingly important trend, HR risks becoming irrelevant for the organization.

HR's position and priorities 

HR have consolidated their seat at the table in the organization. They have a window of opportunity and are looking to improve performance within all HR-related areas. It seems, however, that their priorities are scattered and unfocused.