Identifying gaps and empowering employees to learn new skills

With the recently concluded Taiwanese presidential elections the first of a number of key global elections in 2024 that could potentially reshape the way we live and work, organisations are beginning to consider the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the new year.

While many HR and business leaders will have an eager eye cast on global events and their potential impact, they are also not neglecting the key trends that will enable them to develop winning people strategies within their organisations.

What then, will be the key trends for leaders to pay attention to in 2024, HRM Asia asked Ruth Gellert-Neale, Chief People Officer, Technology, APAC and EMEA, JLL.

“In a recent Forbes article, Bernard Marr commented that there will be eight HR trends in 2024 namely, Generative AI, the next generation, HR tech, flexible working, strikes and industrial action, upskilling and reskilling the workforce, office experience and lastly, staff retention,” she said. “Moving into 2024, we will need to focus on each of these trends, recognising the importance of each depending on your organisational’s objectiives.”

However, for organisational success to be achieved, one of the eight trends identified by futurist Marr stands out for Gellert-Neale as she encouraged leaders to challenge employees to learn new things in 2024.

She elaborated, “I am passionate about the opportunity to grow our talent, giving employees the opportunity to learn new things and be able to apply them to the organisation. Learning doesn’t need to be just about work, it could be an interest or a passion outside of work that an employee could translate to the workplace.”

“As HR leaders, we need to support our business to identify skills gaps and work with them to actively engage individuals who have an appetite to learn new skills.” – Ruth Gellert-Neale, Chief People Officer, Technology, APAC and EMEA, JLL

“As HR leaders, we need to support our business to identify skills gaps and work with them to actively engage individuals who have an appetite to learn new skills. We need to embed a culture of sustainability not just of our teams but also of our environment- being conscious of this will help preserve our culture and engage with Generation Z who are eager to keep learning and upskilling.”

With talent retention being arguably one of the biggest challenges facing many organisations in 2024, one way to circumvent this challenge is potentially offer learning and development opportunities to employees.

READ MORE: More employees seek better opportunities in 2024  

After all, as Gellert-Neale predicted, 2024 is likely to see an increased emphasis on building career portfolios.

“Let’s encourage and support our employees to do this by offering them diverse and exciting development opportunities and encouraging them to do something different; I certainly intend to do so!”