HR Market Update
February 2023

The macroeconomic environment continues to exert a significant influence on the HR space. A positive jobs report in the US and strong retail sales figures suggest that interest rates may rise in the future. Meanwhile, in Canada, the January jobs report surpassed the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey by tenfold, with the unemployment rate hovering near an all-time low of 5 percent. As we advance further into 2023, these are the trends we are seeing in the HR space:

The Leadership Opportunity

A key topic that has come up in our network is leadership, in terms of:

  1. Demand for talented leaders
  2. Movement in the talent market for leaders
  3. Training to grow effective leaders

On the Recruitment side, as bonuses are being paid out, we are seeing lots of movement of people at the executive level, and demand for executive search has increased markedly. Our Executives on the Move networking group is seeing strong attendance. For organizations looking to tap into our vast network of senior leadership talent, reach out to Joanna Kelly our VP of Recruitment Solutions. On the Career Transition side, we are seeing individuals doing confidential searches, and demand for our Outplacement services continues to rise.

From a Coaching and Talent Development standpoint, we are seeing strong demand for our programs including Hybrid Teams, Leader as Coach and Team Effectiveness. Most recently, Dr. Liane Davey hosted our first Top of Mind webinar of the year, The Leadership Opportunity, to address the challenges of leadership in organizations.

The Well-Being Imperative

Across our network of HR leaders, wellness is another key topic that has been consistently top of mind in discussions. Whether it’s in our Senior HR Peer to Peer networking group and in our polling of HR leaders, we are seeing and hearing HR leaders are prioritizing mental health and wellness within their organization.

In our Top of Mind webinar The Well-Being Imperative, we’ll be addressing this much-discussed topic from a practical standpoint, covering topics such as:

  • Why is focusing on well-being and “self-ware” important
  • The risk of not having a focus on well-being in your organization’s daily DNA
  • Measuring the ROI of well-being in quantitative terms
  • Increasing your peoples’ engagement through well-being

Watch the webinar.

Compensation: Preparing For All Scenarios

Responding effectively to the ongoing challenges of an uncertain economy remains a top prediction and priority for 2023. Many organizations are preparing for all scenarios. We’re seeing that clients are conducting market benchmarking and analysis earlier than usual and that a large number of organizations are redesigning compensation structures and processes to optimize their pay practices.  Want to hear more about what leading organizations are doing to optimize total rewards? Check out our latest blog post on establishing market competitiveness.

Is your organization making the most of The Leadership Opportunity? Are you focused on The Well-Being Imperative? Is your compensation plan ready for all scenarios? We’re here to help. I invite you to book a quick 15-minute chat and let’s have a sounding-board conversation.

Greg Vertelman, Chief Growth Officer and Career Transition Practice Leader

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