More than half (55%) of HR teams say their top priority for 2024 will be preparing their organisation for the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, according to research by digital services and payments platform Edenred.
Its annual People barometer 2023 also found that in 2024, 43% of respondents will prioritise support for employee wellbeing, followed by investment in employee engagement (36%).
Nearly two-thirds (64%) said they were struggling to retain staff, while 62% reported falling levels of employee engagement and 39% had more requests for additional financial support.
Around half (48%) said financial wellbeing is the biggest threat to performance going into 2024, with 51% citing it as the dominant people issue that they will deal with in 2024.
Providing one-off vouchers or payments for cost-of-living support (68%), increased pay (59%), access to an employee assistance programme (42%) and retail discount schemes (34%) were the main measures put in place to help employees. Just under half (47%) said they will increase pay before the end of the year and a further 20% will provide one-off support payments.
While 64% said organisations had a duty to help employees with challenges such as the cost-of-living crisis, 54% had to compromise between the support they wanted to provide and their ability to afford it.
Andy Philpott, sales and marketing director at Edenred, said: “While the cost-of-living crisis is likely ease in 2024, it is clear from our research that the top priority for every employer is to recognise the ongoing impact it will have on employee engagement, performance and retention. Whether [they] are planning a year to consolidate or change the business, high performance will be critical to success and supporting employees with financial concerns will be critical to achieve business goals.
“Start by reviewing the support you have in place to drive financial wellbeing, engagement and performance. Does it align with the way the business works or do you need to make changes? Use incentives to reinforce company values and encourage behaviour that underpins business success?”