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December Economic Outlook: Looking Back, Looking Forward 

To try to understand 2021 and get a sense of the economic outlook for 2022, it’s helpful to talk about cardboard boxes. 

Accepting Our Global Connections Cardboard is manufactured all over the world, from China to the United States, Sweden, and Japan.1 Pre-pandemic, if a shoe manufacturer needed some boxes to ship out the season’s hot kicks, they simply placed an order. Any hiccups in the supply chain for cardboard were likely isolated. A winter storm shutters a German plant for a week? Plenty of cardboard boxes were sitting elsewhere on trucks and ships and in warehouses. Now imagine those hiccups occurring at every point along the economic chain, for months at a time: closed factories in Germany, China, and the U.S.; full ships and trucks, unloaded because of a dearth of dock workers and drivers; empty warehouses because cardboard is all gone for who knows how long. It’s a system-wide snarl that has trickled down over the year to you and to businesses like the shoe manufacturer that has finished shoes but no way to box them up and get them to stores (and on your feet). If everything is interconnected, then the challenges a country faces a half a globe away may find their way to our doorsteps and our economy— whether we like it or not. 

Living with uncertainty Part of what’s made the pandemic economy so difficult to navigate is illustrated by that cardboard box. Pre- pandemic, it seemed like there was just one thing to worry about—that specific factory in Germany closing for a single week, for example. Now it seems like you worry about everything, all at once. The economy is still reeling from the continuous shocks to the entire system, and companies and people everywhere aren’t sure how to plan. Will a restaurant be able to hire enough people to reopen not just for dinner, but lunch too? Can that shoe manufacturer complete and ship new designs in time for back-to-school shopping? Will you, as a consumer, find your comfort level in 2022 and take a delayed vacation? Living with uncertainty, from supply chains to restaurant staffing, may be the norm for 2022 … until suddenly it’s not anymore. Remember when toilet paper went from hot commodity to plentiful supply? 

Reexamining our priorities. Last year, holidays and rituals were upended. We missed out; we had to adapt. This year? Things probably look better for many, even if they don’t look the same quite yet.You may end this year filled with uncertainty, but surrounded, finally, by the people you love. You may not be able to get exactly what you want to buy when you want to buy it, but maybe you’ll find a substitute. We’re all wondering what’s around the corner.

–principal.com 

IT Workers Will Be Hard to Find and Keep in 2022

Three recently published reports suggest that while the demand for technology will remain high in 2022, skilled IT workers will be hard to find and difficult to keep. These trends will disrupt technology projects but will also close the gap between technology and HR leaders, according to a survey report titled The Impact of Technology in 2022 and Beyond: an IEEE Global Study. The report reveals that 97% of IT leaders agree that their team is working more closely than ever with human resource leaders to implement workplace technologies—though it may take longer than usual due to the staffing shortages.

The report, which was published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in November, relied on responses from 350 chief information officers, chief technology officers, IT directors and other technology leaders in the U.S., China, the U.K., India and Brazil who work at organizations with more than 1,000 employees across multiple sectors. The IT leaders shared their views on the state of HR technology as the impact of COVID-19 continues to change the workplace.

Respondents predict that in 2022 they’ll have a plethora of difficult IT problems to solve, including: 

• Maintaining strong cybersecurity for a hybrid workforce of remote and in-office workers (83 %). 
• Managing return-to-office health and safety protocols, software, apps, and data (73 %). 
• Deciding what technologies are necessary for their company in the post-pandemic future (68 %). 
• Recruiting technologists and filling open tech positions (73 %).

A survey published in October by TalentLMS, part of the Epignosis Group of Companies, and recruiting software company Workable suggests there’s more trouble ahead. The companies polled 1,200 IT workers for its report and found 72%of respondents in the U.S. said they are thinking of quitting their jobs in the next 12 months.

Respondents cited several reasons for wanting to quit, with 41% saying their jobs had limited career progression, 40% noting a lack of flexibility in working hours and 39% citing a toxic work environment.

“The percentage of IT workers [who] are thinking about quitting their jobs is higher than I would imagine,” said Periklis Venakis, chief technology officer at Epignosis. Venakis said employers will have to adapt to remote work, which will continue after the pandemic ends. He added that HR should see this as an opportunity because companies can find employees in markets that were closed to them prior to the pandemic. ”Not only is the competition stronger, but [also] the pool of candidates is larger,” he said. “HR executives should focus on reaching out to people working in geographically dispersed areas that were unreachable up until recently. By providing flexible working conditions, they can more easily hire and keep new IT staff.”

One company that is watching its IT staff turnover rates is Cloudflare Inc., an infrastructure and website security company based in San Francisco. According to Janet Van Huysse, Cloudflare’s senior vice president and chief people officer, the company’s employee turnover rate during the pandemic peaked in May 2021. Cloudflare has more than 2,200 employees and an IT organization of 964 workers globally. ”Since March 2020, the IT organization accounted for approximately 30 percent of all our terminations, most of which were voluntary,” she said. “Primarily, these were due to either career progression, opportunities elsewhere, or because of performance or capabilities fit,” Van Huysse said.

She agreed with the 2021-2023 Emerging Technology Roadmap for Large Enterprises report from Gartner Inc., published in September, in which 64% of IT executives cite talent shortages as the most significant barrier to the adoption of emerging technology, compared with only 4% in 2020. “The talent shortage as the primary adoption barrier to emerging tech is concerning, because it demonstrates the critical skills gap that exists in most industries today. Not enough people within an organization have the skills that are necessary for business growth in the modern age,” Van Huysse said. Gartner’s survey also showed that among the technology areas affected by IT talent shortages are computer infrastructure and platform services, network, security, digital workplace, IT automation, storage and database systems. IT executives cited talent availability as the main adoption risk factor for the majority of IT automation technologies (75%) and nearly half of digital workplace technologies (41%).

Yet across all technology domains, 58% of respondents reported either an increase or a plan to increase emerging technology investment in 2021, compared with 29% in 2020. As companies seek IT skills, Van Huysse said HR leaders need to be open-minded about where talent comes from and embrace unconventional paths to tech by using more inclusive hiring strategies.

She added that looking in unconventional areas for talent also means seeking applicants from more geographies. While a larger talent pool diversifies the candidate pipeline, it also creates more complexities for organizations. HR leaders must be flexible in their approach and be ready to support teams and leaders as they make this transition.

“In addition to adjusting their recruiting goals and plans, HR leaders now understand that technical skills are a business imperative that require companies to double down on training and upskilling programs across the entire organization. This also supports recruiting efforts, as internal mobility makes HR managers less dependent on outside hiring to fill open roles,” Van Huysse said

– shrm.org

How to Revamp Your Corporate Philanthropy 
Policies for 2022 

As organizations look back on their year, they need to make sure they’re giving back, too. Employees are placing greater importance on volunteering and corporate philanthropy when it comes to where they’ll work, and if they’ll stay. Seventy-one percent of employees say it’s “imperative” to work for a company that is supportive of giving back, according to a survey by America’s Charities. Younger generations in particular are foregoing job opportunities and salary boosts to work for companies that are more focused on social responsibility. 

But corporate philanthropy provides benefits for all, says Lynn Margherio, CEO and founder of Cradles to Crayons, a nonprofit that provides basic essentials to young children. Not only does the community and nonprofit sector benefit from corporate involvement, but organizations can get a leg up in the competition for talent. 

“People place such a high importance on how a company is perceived out in the community,” Margherio says. “It’s important for promoting its own products and services, for attracting and retaining the kinds of employees it’s hoping to have, and for being that caring corporate citizen in their community that employees can be really proud to say they work there.”While it’s tempting to tie in volunteering and give-back opportunities to the end of the year, Margherio says this practice needs to be a year-round commitment. One effective way to do this is to partner with one nonprofit organization that aligns with the corporate mission, and the personal values of employees. 

“Providing financial support through matching funds for a nonprofit is a great way to start,” she says. “Start with a nonprofit and ask them, what are your annual goals? And then tell them what you want to do and see if it’s helpful to them. Then you have a relationship that works for both sides.” Margherio also encourages employers to offer paid time off for employees to take part in volunteer programs, though just a quarter of employers offer this benefit, according to SHRM. Additionally, volunteering as a collective group can foster a sense of teamwork and happiness beyond the day of giving. Ninety-three percent of employees who volunteered with their company report being happy with their employer, and 54% say they feel more engaged. 

While many of these programs have been put on the back burner during the pandemic, the need for help has never been greater, and organizations are learning to adapt, Margherio says.“The nonprofit sector needs that financial support and there are new virtual engagement opportunities for people to make donations and connect donors directly to those people in need,” she says. “There’s also a need for skills-based support at nonprofits, so leveraging your talent for social media, for example, can be an asset so a nonprofit has that voice.” 

At Cradles to Crayons, Margherio works with corporations like Bank of America and Blue Cross Blue Shield. While these are large companies with the resources available to give back in big ways, smaller employers and individual employees should recognize that their contributions — whatever they are — are meaningful. 

As the holiday season approaches, employers can use this time to contemplate how to best use their resources, motivate their teams and make a difference in their communities. There’s no better time to start than right now, Margherio says. 

“Volunteer service is a critical training tool in building kindness and empathy,” she says. “The more that nonprofits and companies work together to exercise that skill, the better our communities, children and future generations will be.”

–benefitnews.com 

The Only Thing That Will Change is Your Bottom Line 

Worker’s Compensation is a critical business issue. If you haven’t thought much about it, chances are it’s costing you too much – and if an incident happens, it can cost you a lot more. 

KeyHR will work on your behalf in dealing with premiums, claims, regulators and injured workers to ensure the best possible outcomes for your business, your employees, and your bottom line. 

Let us help you eliminate surcharges, premium deposits, audits, modifiers and sometimes down payment & lower overall workers’ compensation cost in all facets of coverage. 

Our PEO Services offered include: 

• Payroll 
• Benefits 
• Workers’ Compensation 
• Human Resources 
• Risk Management 

To get more information on a PEO click here: http://keyhro.com/peo