Top HR Goals For 2024

It looks like 2024 will be a bumpy year for everyone, including businesses and organizations of all sizes. Anyone looking to expand and bring in new talent and employees (or nurture the ones they have) will have ample opportunities to do so, but they need to be smart about the steps they take. These things must be considered when building HR goals for 2024 and beyond.

Why?

The goals of the human resources department need to align with the organization’s greater goals, departmental goals, and best practices. HR leaders and people leaders of all scopes will need to set goals and objectives that focus on increasing employee engagement, keeping retention rates high, finding innovative ways to improve performance reviews and succession planning, and keeping the company agile.

So what are some of the top HR goals of 2024? Keep reading to find out – and be sure to check our 2023 Outlook survey, where 500+ people leaders answered some burning questions about their 2023 plans, concerns, hopes, and more.

Increase Employee Retention Rates

Retention will be one of the biggest focuses for 2024 after a huge hiring year for 2023. Keeping employees where they are is crucial because hiring someone in today’s market costs so much. The war for talent will only get more competitive as people look to expand their businesses. Some companies will lay off employees, creating a wealth of opportunities and candidates, but perhaps not ideal candidates.

To keep retention rates high, leaders must show room for forward momentum within an organization, provide opportunities for upskilling, and give employees what’s important to them. 

The key is really to listen to your employees. Listen when they are happy, listen when they have complaints, and listen to their concerns. We’re entering a volatile climate, and people will have concerns and fears about the future. Do your best to assuage them.

Top HR Goals for Digitalization: Automate More Of What You Do

Another crucial HR goal for 2024 is to automate more of your work to create efficiency within the department and with managers and leaders. Good talent development software (like Trakstar) can save you and your employees a ton of time.

Trakstar integrates all parts of talent development from hiring to retiring, including hiring, onboarding, engagement, performance reviews, surveys, upskilling, succession planning, and so much more. We integrate with some of your favorite HRIS and solutions to ensure leaders can focus on the people tasks that matter.

Make Managers More Effective

According to many of our discussions, increasing the impact of managers is one of the essential HR goals for 2024. Leadership development is difficult, and many organizations avoid doing it for that reason. However, in 2024, leaders cannot ignore it any longer.

Today’s work environment requires that leaders are better at what they do, emotionally intelligent, and quickly adapt to whatever they need to do. This is true in human resources, but it’s also true in anyone who manages other people.

To make managers more effective, teach them the skills they need to be true leaders. Address some of the soft skills they may lack, encourage them to take professional development to the next level, and create a culture of feedback from people who aren’t managers.

Create a Culture of Accountability with Performance Reviews

Are your workers held accountable for their performances? Many HR leaders feel that performance management has been put on the back burner over the last few years. In 2024, that can’t stand anymore.

Performance reviews are a great way to link performance and engagement rates – employees who feel they are seen will be more engaged, as will employees who know that they are expected to do a good job. Having no accountability may work for a short time, but a few bad eggs will spoil your entire workforce. Many see 2024 as the pivotal year to get back on track with accountability and make it a priority again.

Performance reviews help keep everyone aligned and give managers time to reflect on performance, talk to employees, and ensure everyone is on the same page. People who are against performance reviews haven’t been doing them in a way that’s productive. Improving the quality of performance reviews (and the conversations around them) is imperative.

While HR can’t sit in on every conversation, they can help guide those conversations and facilitate better interactions. Using HR software and performance management software can help create a bias-free environment and eliminate some of the traditional problems with performance reviews.

Top HR Goals: Adopt a People-First Approach in All You Do

If you are thinking about creating a new strategy for people operations, consider going with a People-First approach. This is going to be the culture people are looking for when they do go to make a big switch in jobs. Employees aren’t willing to stay in environments where they aren’t put first. The truth is that most companies don’t have a people strategy at all. 

Remember that culture is a massive part of why someone moves to your company, but it is one of the most important factors for retention. Everyone should be working towards a positive, inclusive culture. How can you become people-first in all that you do?

• Be sure that everyone is included – find “cliques” within the workplace and eliminate them. Everyone should be on the same page.
• Find anything (or anyone) that is disrespectful and work towards a solution.
• If possible, eliminate competition between employees. 

Shift Some Focus To Employee Well-Being

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), almost 3 out of 5 employees feel the negative impact of work-related stress. Much of that is because of inflation and the tendency to overwork and burn out to compensate for the rising cost of things like rent, food, and gas. 

Take time to talk to your employees and learn about what matters to them. If someone seems to be going through a tough time, figure out how to best help them. Don’t encourage people to work late into the night or on weekends.

Leaders need to remember to focus on their well-being too. HR leaders are among some of the first to burnout, and they carry a lot of emotional baggage home with them. HR needs to make it a goal to model the types of behavior they want to see.

Invest in Employee Training

Employee training is a big way to invest in your workforce and achieve some of your top HR goals. Employee training keeps your employees happy, motivated, and engaged. They are working towards their own goals and learning new things to help achieve department and organizational goals. You can build a succession pipeline by training promising young employees, building mentorship programs, and tracking progress through learning reports and performance reviews.

Increasingly, younger generations are more likely to respond to employee training programs because they want to learn more skills and become adept. Millennials, in particular, request opportunities to upskill, learn more, and climb the corporate ladder. Be sure to invest in hard skill training and soft skills that will help them be better leaders.

Why should this be one of HR’s top priorities for 2024? Upskilling and training can:

• Increase employee engagement rates.
• Create leaders and better employees to help the company reach its goals.
• Generate a culture of excellence where employees seek out opportunities and new knowledge.
• Reduce the amount of resources put towards recruiting and hiring.
• Increase employee loyalty and talent retention.

Invest in Talent Management Software

To achieve your goals in 2024, human resources, managers, and everyone leading a team or teams of people need help. Automating where you can is vital, using software to improve experiences, and getting data from everywhere. Investing in HR and talent management software is one of the best ways to achieve a goal and build a sturdy foundation to achieve all of your goals.

If you are looking for world-class talent management software, look no further than Trakstar. Our software offers seamless integrations with your favorite HRIS and other solutions, provides data analytics to help you make smarter decisions, and features-rich programs that make attracting, retaining, engaging, and understanding your employees that much easier.

What Are Your HR Goals for 2024?

If you want your company to be successful, it needs to start with human resources and setting achievable goals. HR needs to focus on goals and objectives that make the lives of your employees easier and better. It is critical, in particular, for companies that are facing uncertain futures as we move through the next few years.
Remember that great employees build resilient workforces. To invest in your HR department, your employees, and your organization, click here to schedule a demo of Trakstar.