Our thoughts on 2023 Forrester Workplace Trends
As 2023 gets underway, think pieces and forecasts for Human Resources are everywhere. Organizations and their HR leaders are struggling to adapt to an employment landscape that has been forever changed by the pandemic. Everyone has an opinion on what lies ahead and at Springboard, as we continue to extend our platform, it’s critical for us to hear the latest challenges faced by employers, recruiters, candidates and alumni.
When Forrester put out their Digital Workplace Trends to Watch Out for in 2023, we took note. Forrester is spot-on in identifying themes and trends that we’re seeing, and has correctly pointed to some shifts that need to be made in 2023.
It is important to note that Forrester defines “Digital Employee Experience” or DEX, differently than we do. We think about the Employee Experience (EX) holistically - both analog and digital - DEX is a part of the Employee Experience. We think that the Forrester definition leans too far into IT and not far enough into traditional employee engagement. We are, though, in strong agreement that employers need to build a better digital workplace.
This is where the important work of 2023 is going to happen, and where Springboard will be a player.
Forrester breaks the digital workplace into six sections:
Core productivity platforms
Employee-facing HR tools
An orchestration layer
Experience touchpoints
Analytics
Application integration
There is a need for (lots of) improvement in every aspect of the digital workplace. According to Forrester, “Sixty percent of technology and business leaders indicate that improving EX is a top IT priority over the next 12 months.” While every aspect of the digital workplace is ready for innovation, the work has to start with a holistic vision - and this requires putting the employee or future employee at the center.
Forrester came out strong with this advice: Double down on experience investment. This caused our team to pound the table in agreement. While folks have been talking about employee engagement and candidate experience for years, it’s too often been lip service and has taken a backseat when it comes to prioritizing funding and resources.
In 2023, there is no more important focus for organizations. With current unemployment sitting at 3.4%, its lowest level in fifty years, the competition for top talent continues to be white hot. What’s new is what today’s workforce values and how far they will go to find work that aligns with those values. It gets even harder if your typical hire is someone 25 years or older with at least a bachelor's degree - this cohort has an unemployment rate of 1.9%!
The pandemic was a shake-up to core beliefs and values that many organizations are still struggling to address. What made one organization an employer of choice in 2018 is not the same as what will attract employees today. Legacy software platforms and long-held hiring processes, not to mention traditional HR practices and employee management processes just don’t work any longer. The new workforce is MORE motivated by positive experiences than before, and MORE dissatisfied by negative experiences than they were before. In short, employee expectations are simply higher. A lot higher.
Another gem from Forrester is particularly prescient: Proactive experience management will become mainstream. A few years ago, “proactive experience management” might have been a term more closely associated with a yoga studio’s mission, and not your employers. Now, it’s something that every HR professional needs to be looking at closely. We’re also proud to have been ahead of the pack in this belief -- we’ve built a platform to facilitate this. We believe it is harder to fix or adapt an outdated employee experience, you’re better off building a new one that’s better suited to today's challenges. The old ones were not built with the current obstacles (remote work, historically tight labor market, pandemic, etc) in mind.
There is more competition than ever among organizations for top talent. Those who will rise to the top in 2023 are those who can look holistically at the digital experience they are delivering and seek to improve it. Top-performing employees are the engine that drives innovation, growth and revenue. Without a great employee experience, (digital or otherwise!), those employees will look elsewhere. It’s time for employers to make an investment in their own future by investing in a better employee experience - both digital and analog.
Soon we’re going to look at this forecast in more depth, and will address how Springboard is addressing the challenges outlined. But now we’d like to hear from you: what do you think is the most important thing employers should do to improve the EX in 2023?
Drop us a note in the comments!