The High Stakes of Post-Pandemic HR Work
One of the best career decisions I ever made was accepting a cross-functional assignment in the wild and wacky world of corporate human resources. That decision helped me find my calling in the areas of coaching and talent development.
As a wonderful bonus, I met some of my closest and dearest friends. HR folks cannot divulge all the things they’re working on and struggling with to just anyone, so it’s nice to have each other as sounding boards. While our organizations may be different, the issues can be amazingly similar.
I recently invited my HR friends to share what they’re prioritizing in 2025 from a people and talent perspective. Let me tell you, things sure have changed since I left General Mills in 2019! Here’s some insight into what the HR world is grappling with today.
How and where we work. Post-pandemic, almost every company I advise has debated what their work arrangements should look like to support the business and meet employee needs. We all know the story: During the pandemic, many organizations supported remote or hybrid work in ways they hadn’t done before. Some organizations allowed employees to relocate far from “the mothership”; since no one was in the office, it didn’t really matter where people worked as long as they got the work done.
Now, many organizations want employees in the office every day, or at least some portion of the week, while many employees are vying to keep the flexibility and choice around how and where they work. Whatever the scenario, HR and business teams are working to define where they stand and what that means for company culture, relationship building, and performance evaluation. Although many companies are now requiring more time spent in the office, my HR friends say flexibility remains a key expectation for employees, with an emphasis on results over physical presence.
While the issue is consistent across companies, the solutions are varied. Companies must consider what they’re hearing from their employees, the culture they’re trying to create, and whether one size—even within one organization—fits all. Some companies are offering incentives to bring people back in. Others are embracing remote work and setting up their infrastructure (IT solutions, travel guidelines for meetings and conferences) to both support employee needs and reach business and culture goals.
Prospective employees are evaluating organizations based on their offerings in support of employee wellness.
Employee health and wellness. The pandemic’s impact on employees’ physical and mental health was unprecedented. Managing work, home, and family was already challenging; the higher levels of stress, insomnia, anxiety, and depression that accompanied the pandemic made that harder, and they have not subsided since. As such, organizations that increased their focus on mental health support, leave policies, and wellness programs continue to enhance these types of programs and services. The services are more specialized than the standard employee assistance program. Access to mental health professionals is now “on demand”—thanks to newer options like crisis text or telehealth, it’s often quicker to get help than it used to be. And these offerings now extend to family. Employees are using these services, and prospective employees are evaluating organizations based on their offerings in support of employee wellness. Mental health leaves and sabbaticals are also becoming more common as companies try to give employees more time to attend to non-physical needs without worrying about losing their job.
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Talent acquisition and employee development. The pandemic underscored the need for agile and flexible hiring and development practices and for companies to redefine their talent planning activities to be more competitive. To quote one of my friends who is a chief human resources officer, “The rise of remote work has expanded the talent pool geographically, while the competition for top talent has intensified.” With more employees working away from the office, professional development and promotion requirements are shifting to better meet the needs of organizations with those employees.
The pandemic was a defining moment for individuals, families, organizations—and HR leaders. Many are realizing they need to pay more attention to their own physical and mental health as well as their team’s. Some of the changes organizations had to make created new and exciting opportunities for both businesses and employees. In some cases, however, the changes were not intended to outlive the pandemic. Every company has to reconcile what matters most to them and what those decisions mean to their current and future employees.
