ATD Trend 2022

2022 Trends
Shaping the New Normal for

Employees and Organizations
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
Trend: Candidate Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Trend: Flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Trend: Career Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Trend: Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Trend: Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Trend: Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-27
Trend: Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Trend: Leadership Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Trend: Hybrid Workplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Trend: Digitization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Cited Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
©2022 ATD | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Introduction
Whether the Great Resignation (Great Reshuffle, Great Reckoning, or what have you)
continues throughout 2022 is to be determined. Korn Ferry reports in Future of Work Trends
2022: A New Era of Humanity, that 74 percent of professionals think that employee turnover
will continue to increase in the year ahead. What is certain is that the year will be employee
centric. That is, organizations that want to recruit and retain great talent will need to listen to
what their employees want and need for satisfaction in their work and life. Gartner’s research
found that nearly half (48 percent) of HR leaders were significantly concerned about employee
turnover in the coming months.
While each employee has their own unique “wants” on their list, there is a common
thread with what will entice individuals to join and employees to stay at an organization.
These desired conditions establish an organization’s commitment to providing a healthy
work-life balance:
• Give candidates a great experience from the start.
• Offer a flexible work environment and schedule.
• Provide access to career and employee development.
• Curate a well-rounded benefits package.
• Ensure that individuals understand where they fit into the organization (that is, their purpose).
• Deliver a mechanism for employees to be able to collaborate with others, a social connection.
The hybrid workforce has exposed the need for a strong workplace culture, the vital skills
development for leaders, and the necessity to embrace the hybrid workforce challenges that
come with the new workplace normal.
This e-book examines some workplace trends from the lens of employees and organizations.
Employees found their voice during the pandemic, so it is important for organizations to
acknowledge employee expectations and find ways to incorporate employee needs into the
overall company culture.
2 | 2022 TRENDS: SHAPING THE NEW NORMAL FOR EMPLOYEES AND ORGANIZATIONS ©2022 ATD | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Employees
Trend: Candidate Experience
Treat individuals well from the start.
In days of yore, a job was posted, and if they were called in for an interview, the would-be
employee had to impress the company. While that is still true, potential employees are now
doing their fair share of questioning at the same time. In fact, they will have begun their
research well before the interview, using word of mouth, sites such as Glassdoor, and lists like
“Best Companies to Work” to learn about the company they may be joining.
Job searchers may be interested in whether companies implement their espoused vision and
mission (for example, around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging) and live up to their
social and environmental values as outlined on their website and other parts of their social
presence. Does your company brand stack up?
In its 2022 HR Trends Report, Ontario, Canada-based human resource company McLean &
Company reports a 13 percent decrease in applications for job openings and a 10 percent
increase in rejected offers. And according to Korn Ferry, three-quarters of candidates would
likely not accept an offer if they were treated poorly during the interview process. To help
secure the talent their organizations need, HR is spending a greater amount of its time on
talent acquisition, states McLean & Company, with an expected uptick of 25 percent in the
amount of time spent, year over year, 2022 over 2021.
In its report, Cappfinity’s Candidate Experience Survey, Cappfinity suggests organizations consid-
er the candidate experience. The company recommends several aspects of the hiring process
that can be improved upon, such as communication and process’s length. “To
further assist recruiters and hiring managers, survey respondents weighed in on the top ways
to keep candidates engaged. These included providing the candidate with regular updates on
application/candidacy status, post-interview feedback, work simulation, networking
opportunities, and even virtual company tours,” writes John Corrigan, senior journalist with
HRD America, in his article “Struggling to Hire? Focus on Job Candidate Experience, Says
Cappfinity Co-founder.” Beyond obtaining the talent that a company is looking for, a great
candidate and employee experience can lead to better organizational performance and McLean &
increased workforce productivity, says McLean & Company.
It’s critical to continue to make individuals feel welcome once they’re on the road to becoming
Company reports
employees. Some companies, Korn Ferry reports, are “sending video tours of offices and
encouraging future colleagues to reach out and welcome employees, so that they can become
a 13% decrease
embedded in the company culture and feel part of the team.” in applications
Further, in this often-virtual world of work, Korn Ferry suggests that staff can feel disconnected,
so “HR and hiring will need to transform their onboarding processes, organizing formal virtual
for job openings
introductions and staying closer to the new hire during their first 90 days.” Whether virtual or
in person, companies can institute a buddy program where the employee-buddy helps explain
and a 10%
the written and unwritten norms of the team and organization to the new hire. Karna Stuchlik
and Christina Wood write in their ATD blog, “Onboarding Your Virtual Team Members, Part 1,”
increase in
that “a peer buddy can include your new team member in meetings with stakeholders, begin
to orient the new team member to department stakeholders, and engage them in department
rejected offers.
processes and projects.”
2022 HR Trends Report
Individuals want to feel valued as they consider joining an organization, not just after they
become employees. We will see feeling valued in other 2022 workforce trends as well.
Trend: Flexibility
Employees don’t want to go back.
While more and more companies were already beginning to shift to remote environments
prior to the pandemic, COVID-19 fast-tracked it. For many of us, we packed up our computer
and work files overnight and began to work from our home office (if we were lucky enough to
have one), kitchen, or living room couch, expecting to return to the office in a few weeks. And
while we may not have considered that manner of working ideal at the time, we’ve learned to
adapt to it and appreciate its benefits—we don’t want to give it up.
Weighing in from Korn Ferry’s research, one-third of professionals indicated they don’t expect
to go back to the office full time, and three-quarters indicated “they have more energy and
focus working from home instead of the office.” Some employees also say they save money
and time and have a better work-life balance when working from home—though this is not true
for everyone. They also may tout the benefits of the remote environment because it eliminates
the need for a commute.
In addition to allowing remote work, some organizations provide flexibility in work hours,
implementing core hours for employees to be available to fellow team members and leaders.
Other organizations are leaving it up to individual teams or between managers and direct
reports to determine.
Deloitte’s research confirmed that not only is work location important to many employees,
but so is schedule flexibility. In his Tech Republic article, Brian Stone writes that 78 percent of
those surveyed said they want location flexibility, while 95 percent said schedule flexibility is
important in their current roles and moving forward. He also notes that “according to a Slack
survey, 72 percent of those dissatisfied with their company’s work location rules will leave.”
Parents, especially women who are still bearing greater responsibility, can benefit from flexible
hours with respect to taking care of children.
Many employers, having either seen no measurable change or even increased productivity, are
embracing, or at least tolerating, remote or hybrid work. LinkedIn’s 2022 Global Talent Trends
2022 report states, “Flexibility also serves as a forcing function that drives companies away
from presenteeism and toward performance. ‘Organizations,’ says Nickle LaMoreaux, CHRO
at IBM, ‘must measure outcomes, not activity.’”
Though employers also may feel they need to accept flexible, remote work to keep top talent,
they also realize the benefits. A new pool of workers is open to employers whose workforce is
not restricted to one locality. And employers, too, may be seeing cost savings, such as through
office space and supplies.
Some companies have crafted back-to-work strategies, though the timing of such has been a
moving target, while others have opted for remote-first policies. To be sure, many employees
want to return to the office, yearning for the social elements and a reduction in Zoom and
other tech fatigue, and finding it easier to collaborate face to face. And some people simply
don’t work well remotely or are unable to do so given the work that they do or because of
their home environment. But with so many jobs remaining unfilled, for the short term anyway,
it seems that employees will be able to continue working where they choose to, or many will
simply walk.
Trend: Career Development
Upskilling is key for employee growth.
Technology. Automation. Unfilled roles. New products. And, perhaps as important as any
of these, employee demands. All these future-of-work trends point to upskilling and
reskilling being a focal point of employee satisfaction. Quantum Workplace’s 2021 study,
Employee Turnover Trends: Retaining Talent in a New World of Work, for example, found that only
38 percent of employees who left their organizations saw professional growth and career
development at their organizations. “Also, only 45 percent of exiting employees said their job
was in alignment with their career goals,” the report continues. “If employees don’t see growth
or don’t feel their work aligns with their talent or interests, they are likely to seek
other opportunities.”
The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) reports that 44 percent of high-performance
organizations provide opportunities for employees to obtain new skills and capabilities versus
27 percent of low-performing organizations. Lack of advancement opportunities was ranked
second highest in terms of reasons driving talent loss, according to i4cp, at 48 percent.
Organizations often find that providing these upskilling opportunities can be challenging.
Gartner reports that 40 percent of HR leaders say that “they can’t build skill development
solutions fast enough to meet evolving skill needs.” But companies don’t need to leave it up
to HR to support their employees.
To provide the development opportunities that employees are searching for, managers can
work with talent development professionals and then with their direct reports to determine a
plan going forward. In its Employee Engagement Trends and Forecasts for 2022, Inspirus suggests
that “HR should coordinate with the employee and their manager to develop a growth plan
and refresh it on a regular basis, perhaps through the annual review process. This plan should
include any type of education or training needed for the job, along with an employee
motivation and mentorship program that encourages growth throughout the entire
employment lifecycle.”
The Quantum study echoes the employee-manager connection. “Leverage consistent 1-on-1s
with employees to ensure your organization is meeting employees’ growth needs and goals to
reduce employee flight risk.” Other opportunities for employee growth include “coaching and
mentorship through online training sessions and webinars, stretch assignments, certifications,
and cross-training.”
“If employees
Employee skills development can’t be an afterthought for organizations—it’s a must. In her
Industry Week article, “In 2022, Employees Come First,” Amy Turner suggests that organi- don’t see growth
zations invest in their employees by paying for the certifications just mentioned: “Support the
upskilling of your workforce and pay for certifications or soft-skills classes, or find another way or don’t feel
to help them meet their educational goals.”
their work aligns
The skills employees are yearning to learn and develop cover an array of technical and
communication skills—or so-called soft skills. Udemy Business listed computer skills, time with their talent
management, Windows10, SharePoint, and PowerPoint as the top surging productivity and
collaboration skills in 2021, and this makes sense given the current remote work arrangement or interests,
for so many of us.
they are likely
Organizations seem to be getting the message when it comes to developing their talent, if not
for the employees’ sake, at least for the company’s. In her ATD blog post, Maria Ho, ATD’s to seek other
former associate director of research services, writes: “The good news is that organizations
appear to be working proactively to address the skills gaps. A majority said that they were opportunities.”
examining what skills the organization needed to be successful now and, in the future, (57
percent), while 55 percent indicated that they were assessing current gaps and creating a plan Employee Turnover Trends:
to address the most critical areas.” Retaining Talent in a New
World of Work
And the types of skills being developed? According to ATD’s 2021 State of the Industry report,
those include mandatory and compliance, managerial and supervisory, professional and
industry-specific, interpersonal skills, IT and systems, new employee orientation, executive
development, customer service, and sales.
Trend: Benefits
HR must consider a holistic package of benefits.
Mental well-being emerged as a critical health concern for employees and employers in 2021,
in large part due to the pandemic. The stressors of COVID-19 led to employee burnout and
decreased productivity and resignation. There was increased counseling to check in with
colleagues and direct reports about how they were doing emotionally and whether they were
overburdened with all that life was throwing at them. In response to this growing need,
organizations added mental health coverage to their employee benefits package.
The attention to mental health will most certainly continue in 2022. Indeed, i4cp says,
“Especially given the lingering health and economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic—
some of which remain to be fully understood—total rewards leaders are prioritizing
ensuring that healthcare benefits include sufficient coverage for mental and emotional health
and well-being.”
However, the restructuring and assemblage of employee benefits will go far beyond the usual
package of the physical healthcare plan, transportation stipend, and mental health coverage.
Some benefit offerings will likely have to be personalized. Quantum notes, “Consider reshaping
your employee value proposition and recognizing the importance of your employees’ [sic] by
providing benefits and rewards that meet their needs.”
Given the pandemic’s implications, another key player in terms of benefits and looking at
employees more holistically is their financial well-being, as i4cp signaled. For example, more
than three-quarters of employees think it’s important that their employer offer programs to
manage finances, says Logica in its Future of Money study. And Morgan Stanley at Work
stresses, “Nearly all HR executives are placing priority on re-evaluating financial benefit
packages for 2022.” The pandemic has brought challenges to household budgeting, debt
reduction, and emergency and short-term savings, continues the report.
As part of their financial offerings, organizations can consider hosting lunch & learns, which
are an easy way to help employees learn how to manage their money, explains Renee Cocchi
on HR Morning. Other ways organizations can help reduce financial stress include providing
student loan debt repayment programs and placing an emphasis on the importance of
retirement savings.
Organizations also may consider offering same-day or pay-on-demand. “Offering pay-on-

demand gives employers a competitive advantage in the race for talent by providing a 79% of HR
capability that supports what many employees want and need,” explains Eric Wade in his
BenefitsPRO article. “For example, in today’s digitally driven, 24/7 world of transactions, execs say that
consumers want to make purchases, pay bills, move money from one account to another, and
conduct similar financial activities online and at their convenience; pay-on-demand tracks with lack of financial
that experience and expectation.”
benefits will
Korn Ferry speculates that companies also may begin extending such perks as employee
stock options, sabbaticals, “on-site childcare, caregiver stipends, increased paid time-off, result in attrition.
education reimbursements, and top-tier health and dental insurance.” Another “benefit”
increasingly being discussed is that of a four-day workweek. Some companies plan to offer Morgan Stanley at Work
that in lieu of increased pay, others to help assuage burnout, and still others as a recruiting
advantage. The Forbes article, “The Four-Day Workweek Is Gaining Big Momentum, Signing
Up 50 Organizations,” mentions a pilot program of companies across sectors that are
experimenting with this work practice.
Trend: Purpose
Employees want to know that they fit—and how.
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) is a key factor in whether many employees
feel like they belong in an organization. Inspirus notes that DEIB is an ongoing process, not a
one-and-done event: “It starts at the top with senior leaders modeling the behaviors they wish
to see and ensuring an open, inclusive culture for all.” Still, that does not mean that a company
shouldn’t add diversity training to its L&D portfolio. Again, it should be an ongoing process
that includes recognizing unconscious bias, per the Inspirus report.
Neurodiversity should also be part of organizational diversity. “In myriad ways,

neurodivergent people—a term that represents people with neurological types like autism,
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), dyslexia and others—are often excluded
from, discriminated against or are forced to operate in workplaces that don’t cater to or
support their needs,” writes Paige Gross in her Technical.ly article, “Autism at Work: How You
Can Support Neurodivergent Employees Through DEI Practices.”
In addition to wanting to feel included for who they are, employees want to feel aligned with
their employer regarding its mission and brand. An organization may brand itself, for example,
as being committed to its local community, forward-thinking, and so forth. Jonathan Knowles
and co-authors write in their Harvard Business Review article, “Consider Mars, a family-owned
consumer packaged goods company, which in 2019 unveiled its first purpose statement in
more than 100 years of operation: ‘The world we want tomorrow starts with how we do
business today.’”
An employee’s purpose extends beyond the organization’s brand. Aaron Hurst and Kathrin
Belliveau write in their MITSloan Management Review article: “As McKinsey notes, people gain
a sense of fulfillment from finding purpose in their work. But that purpose is not all about the
company’s mission statement. Instead, it’s unique to each individual, according to McKinsey:
‘People who find their individual purpose congruent with their jobs tend to get more meaning
from their roles, making them more productive and more likely to outperform their peers.’”
To realize their purpose within the company, employees need to feel connected with their
team, manager, and the greater organization. “Helping younger employees see a future within
your organization, and showing them a clear path forward, can result in higher employee
motivation and better retention,” notes Inspirus.
Just as Simon Sinek advises people to determine their “why”—that is, why do we do what
we do, why is it important, why we find purpose in it—so, too, does Christian Grossmann in
his Beekeeper article, “12 Ways to Encourage a Sense of Purpose in the Workplace.” Further,
Grossmann recommends that organizations encourage employees to find a sense of purpose
outside of work, create room for growth and development, and make collaboration easy, which 70% of
helps teams feel a shared purpose.
That purpose outside of work may include volunteering. Organizations can help facilitate this
employees say
form of goodwill. Korn Ferry provides an example: “One professional services firm offers its
employees 6 days paid leave a year to volunteer for organizations that support the local
their sense
community, while learning skills that will help them grow professionally.”
of purpose is
While organizations can give employees time to volunteer on company time, they don’t have
complete control over their employees’ sense of purpose. So, they need to focus on what
defined by
they can control, write Naina Dhingra and co-authors in their McKinsey article, “Help Your
Employees Find Purpose—or Watch Them Leave.” This hearkens back to the organization’s
their work.
purpose. “One action you can take today is to start spending time with your team reflecting
McKinsey
on the impact the company has on the world. Again: this must be earned.” It is important to
give employees time to reflect on their own sense of purpose and how that connects with their
employer’s purpose.
Purpose is of such growing import that, in their Harvard Business Review article, “11 Trends That
Will Shape Work in 2022 and Beyond,” Brian Kropp and Emily Rose McRae opine that the chief
purpose officer will be the next major C-suite player: “The shifting nature of organizations—how
they relate to their employees, communities, and their role in society—is creating the next, new
major C-suite role that will emerge in 2022: the chief purpose officer.”
Trend: Collaboration
Keeping the team together helps engagement and connection.
A closely related trend to purpose is that of collaboration. It’s easy for remote employees to
feel isolated and not connected to their manager, team, and organization. Employees also may
feel they’re doing their work in a vacuum. This may be even more starkly felt when employees
have never met their colleagues.
One consideration is making sure that employees are familiar with the tools they have at their
disposal to connect with others. The Conference Board’s research report explains, “Teams
may not be able to function and collaborate as usual in a virtual environment. To prioritize
productivity, team leaders should check to see whether every team member is aware of the
organization’s available communication and collaboration tools, and consider individual or
team tech training to ensure that everyone is comfortable using them.”
And while using Zoom or Microsoft Teams or any of the other number of tools we have at our
fingertips is not the same as being in person, they can help us feel more connected to others.
Inspirus notes, “While employees need opportunities to connect in-person through face-to-
face contact—beyond the ubiquitous Zoom environment—technology will continue to play an
important role in helping to bring them together, especially when they are dispersed across a
wide range of locations.”
Employees can take it upon themselves to collaborate as needed with teammates and across
teams, but managers also need to encourage and facilitate this connection. Collaboration among
colleagues is a win-win-win. In his keynote address at the Association for Talent Development’s
2020 Virtual Conference, author Keith Ferrazzi spoke of the power of co-elevation, the ability of
a team to create something great together. But it requires psychological safety and people to feel
comfortable speaking up, he explained.
To help employees feel connected, Karna Stuchlik and Christina Wood recommend folding in
social aspects. In their ATD blog, “Engaging Your Virtual Team Members, Part 2,” they suggest
employees plan informal virtual weekly coffee or lunch chats and use collaborative software
for social or fun activities where “team members can share pictures, check in about their days,
and support and encourage each other.”
These social interactions don’t have to be limited to one’s own team. In fact, intentional
opportunities to connect may help further down the road when members of different teams
need to work together on a project. LinkedIn Learning’s 2021 Workplace Learning Report found
that L&D professionals believe cross-functional collaboration to be the fifth (out of 10) most
important skill and communication across remote or distributed teams as the third.
The benefits of cross-team collaboration, according to Dispatch author Iryna Bilyk, include:
• Innovation
• A change in momentum for the better
• An opportunity for everyone to learn
Digital tools help with such collaboration, and employees should strive for frequent cross-team
communication.
“Collaboration tools that foster inclusion and belonging in your organization help employees feel
connected—with one another and with the company’s mission and values,” sums up Inspirus.
That engagement can help stave off burnout. See the sidebar on the next page for more.
Burnout
Many people, especially those working from home, may find Be aware of Zoom overload. Being on camera can be exhausting.
themselves unable to turn work off. They’re logging on from the kitchen Some organizations have meeting-free days, or days where employees
table or from a corner they’ve managed to procure for their at-home can go camera-free for any meetings they have.
office and trying to fit work around taking care of children, often forcing
them to send emails late at night and on weekends. Employees also Ask employees. Survey staff to see where they’re at. Ask questions
may be filling in for peers who cannot work or former colleagues who such as “How are you feeling? What are your biggest challenges? How
have resigned. It’s unsustainable in the long run. can we help?” recommends Mayer.
In its 2022 Priorities & Predictions: C-Suite Perspectives from i4cp’s Boards, Additionally, make sure you’re offering the right benefits and encourage
the Institute for Corporate Productivity puts it starkly: the highest factor staff to take time off, advises Mayer.
of the top 10 factors driving talent loss was burnout, at 67 percent.
For employees who feel they lack organizational support, there are things
There are many ways organizations can help employees, and that that they can instigate. The Mayo Clinic recommends mindfulness,
employees can use themselves, to combat burnout: relaxing activities such as yoga and exercise, and initiating a conversation
with one’s manager about work projects or expectations.
Let it be OK to talk about mental health and stress. As Kathryn
Mayer mentions in her Human Resource Executive article, “Burnout Is Gallup explains it another way, as Andre Claudio writes in his Route
Soaring. Here Are 7 Ways Employers Can Help,” the conversation Fifty article, “3 Steps for Addressing Employee Burnout”: Employees
should run both ways, with employees being able to talk but with the who are engaged, who have a high level of well-being, and who are
CEO leading the way by vocalizing the need for everyone within an celebrated for what they bring to the team and organization are
organization to take care of themselves and for folks to share what virtually free of burnout.
they’re going through.
Organizations
Trend: Culture
2022 is the year of the company culture.
The hybrid work environment that has emerged since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has
moved company culture to the forefront of workplace discussion and action. In a year when
recruitment, retention, and engagement are forcing employers to create employee-centric work
environments with flexible work arrangements, employee recognition programs, employee
development initiatives, and workplace technology that improves the employee work experience,
strong company culture will be pivotal in 2022.
Building cohesive teams that feel appreciated, valued, and inspired is crucial for organizations
that want engaged and productive employees. Research has found that more than half of
employees who quit during the Great Resignation felt that their employers didn’t value them.
When defining workplace culture, a Human Resources Director magazine article describes it as
a mixture of the company and its employees’ characteristics and personalities, which it blends
leadership, values, behavior, interactions, and benefits. “Workplace culture significantly affects
an employee’s work satisfaction and productivity,” according to the HRD article. “A healthy
culture is based on what works for employees and individual organizations, not what works for
other companies.”
In 2022, organizations will need to facilitate collaboration, increase transparency, transform

training and development efforts, and invest in new DEIB initiatives.
Employee Development
Another reason why employees are leaving their jobs is for better growth opportunities. More
than 40 percent of employees surveyed in Gloat’s The Great Resignation Research Report are
looking for new career opportunities outside of their current job, and more than 25 percent say
they have encountered internal obstacles such as a lack of information about job opportunities
at their company. Nearly three-quarters of highly skilled employees also believe that there are
better growth opportunities outside their company.
Investing in employees’ growth and development by providing educational opportunities

and resources for upskilling and reskilling will keep employees challenged and give them
opportunities to apply this new expertise to their jobs.
Employee expectations for career growth are forcing organizations to create new learning and
development opportunities. L&D initiatives are not nice-to-haves anymore.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

According to an iSolved Voice of the Workplace report, 86 percent of employees think their
employer is inclusive, but there is still work to be done to ensure that everyone has the
accommodations to be successful in their job. A recent Glassdoor survey reports that
80 percent of Asians, 70 percent of Latinos, 89 percent of Blacks, 62 percent of men, and
72 percent of women prefer a diverse culture at work.
ATD Research finds that 78 percent of organizations provide some diversity, equity, inclusion,
and belonging (DEIB) education to their employees, and 39 percent began doing so within the
last two years. But it also finds that the industry has yet to reach a consensus on where the
function leading DEIB education should fall within the organizational chart. One-third of
organizations had a dedicated DEIB function or department, while 25 percent of organizations
gave the responsibility to the HR function. In 10 percent of the organizations, the talent
development department owned the initiatives.
With talk of the Great Resignation came discussions surrounding accommodating people with
disabilities. That’s a market that was underrepresented before the pandemic, but with remote and
hybrid work becoming the norm, it is becoming easier for organizations to support these employees.
“There are many challenges (knowledge, time, money, technology) to creating accessible
content for individuals with disabilities. But those challenges are not insurmountable,” said
Diane Elkins in the Learning Guild’s 2022 Predictions from L&D Practitioners.
As we look to 2022 and beyond, Elkins adds, “let’s strive for a world where:
• Accessibility isn’t considered a ‘fringe’ topic, only required by government agencies and
higher ed.
• Conference breakout sessions on accessibility need the biggest rooms; not the smallest.
(Stretch goal: main stage, general session. Stretch, stretch goal: no separate sessions at all—
every session, regardless of topic, incorporates the principles of equal access.)
• The words accessibility, universal design, and web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG)
are as commonplace as gamification, microlearning, and LMS.
• You have to trip over information on accessibility. If you are new to the field, it’s one of the
first things you learn about. (And you certainly can’t graduate with a degree in instructional
design/technology without it.)”
More than 50 percent of employees surveyed in the iSolve report said their company could
improve inclusiveness in their hiring processes, and 36 percent added that a more inclusive
leadership team would help in belonging.
Connectedness
Almost 80 percent of employees want to work at an organization where they feel connected to
the purpose and the people, according to research from Blueboard. And nearly 60 percent would
consider quitting if they didn’t feel connected at work, according to a HR Morning article.
Showing employees how their work impacts the larger purpose and unites the entire workforce
helps employees see value in their work and connect them to the organization’s mission,
community, and customers.
According to Gloat’s The Great Resignation Research Report, 62 percent of employees think it is
important or very important for work to align to their values. “Employees are increasingly
viewing where they work as part of their identity, and as a result, they’re seeking a more
authentic connection between corporate and personal values,” said the report.
Trend: Leadership Development
The next generation of leaders is here.
2022 demands a more human approach to managing employees and, as a result, a new
leadership strategy.
There are currently five generations (traditionalists, boomers, Gen X, millennials, Gen Z) in
the workforce, and each has its own world view and attitude toward work and life. Effective
leadership development must consider each of the five generation’s preferences and values.
According to “Generation Z vs. the Workplace,” a 2021 study by HR Future, “when asked about
the development opportunities they value, 71 percent of Generation Z survey respondents said
they value the ability to work with coaches and mentors, and 61 percent said they wanted access
to online courses. Less than a third said they wanted formal in-class training.”
According to Purdue University Global, traditionalists (born 1925–1945) are motivated by
respect, recognition, and providing long-term value to the company. Baby boomers (born
1946–1964) are motivated by company loyalty, teamwork, and duty. Gen X (born 1965–1980)
is motivated by diversity, work-life balance, and their personal-professional interests rather
than the company’s interests, and Millennials (born 1981–2000) are motivated by
responsibility, the quality of their manager, and unique work experiences.
“To be successful, talent leaders need to understand each generation’s needs and expectations,
but they must be careful not to buy into the stereotypes associated with employees in each
generation,” according to Sounding Board’s Leadership Development for a Multigenerational
Workforce whitepaper. “Instead, it’s more important to understand generational world views
and build leadership development programs and experiences based on what generations have
in common.”
A leader’s ability to navigate change, uncertainty, and disruption has never been more
important. Employees and customers are stressed, overworked, and worried about their jobs,
finances, and health. Leadership skills for the new workplace include how to generate an
inclusive culture, active listening, giving consistent and personalized feedback, EQ, business
skills, and coaching in cross-functional areas, specifically finance, marketing, and management.
“When you actively listen, not just hear, you’re able to practice empathy toward whomever it is
that you’re listening to. As a leader, it’s fundamental that you practice empathy in business to
promote reciprocity, otherwise your business simply won’t work,” according to a Forbes article
by an expert panel of Forbes Councils Members.
The past two years have been unpredictable, so leaders must be adaptable to the changing
workplace situations and must foster a safe environment (psychological safety) where employees
feel empowered to speak up. This can help develop a pipeline of engaged young leaders.
Leadership Coaching
Leadership coaching—linking managers with a senior executive mentor—can be a great tool to
grow tomorrow’s leaders. Future-Minded
The Leadership Coaching Report 2021 shows that 72 percent of organizations offer some type of
Leaders
leadership coaching for talent development. Nearly one quarter (22.5 percent) of respondents
said they do not offer leadership coaching but would like to. Only 5.7 percent of respondents
Strong mental health:
said they do not offer leadership coaching, and they are not interested in doing so. 34% less anxiety
35% less depression
Among the organizations offering leadership coaching, a little more than a quarter (28 percent)
of respondents said they offer formal, internal coaching to their employees, while 19 percent said More resiliency
they offer informal, internal coaching, and 24 percent offer coaching through an external partner. and productivity:
Nearly 80 percent of respondents said they use coaching to improve leadership skills for specific 21% more resiliency
individuals, followed closely with developing leadership bench strength (69 percent). and productivity
The survey also found that self-awareness and communication were consistently ranked
More hope about
among the most important capabilities for leaders at all levels. For emerging leaders,
interpersonal skills and execution were identified among the most important leadership
the future:
capabilities. For mid-level managers, execution and leading high-performing teams were 28% more hopeful about
reported among the most important capabilities. Senior and executive leaders listed strategic the future
thinking and setting vision and direction as the most important leadership capabilities.
Self-awareness and communication were reported as the most difficult capabilities to develop Higher intent to stay:
in organizations, followed by managing change and strategic thinking. 33% less intent to leave
Have higher
performing teams:
higher team performance in
agility, engagement, innovation,
performance, risk-taking, resiliency
Source: BetterUp (2022)
Trend: Hybrid Workplace
Navigating the ins and outs of a hybrid workforce.
Hybrid workplaces are one of the winners of the pandemic. Several studies show that more
than 70 percent of all employees want a hybrid workplace, but the demands of managing a
hybrid workforce will continue to challenge organizations.
The post-pandemic world of work is looking different. According to a McKinsey & Company
executive survey, 90 percent of executives expect employees who do not have to be on-site to
be in the office between one and four days a week. The future will be more hybrid, but most
organizations don’t have a detailed plan of how to carry out this hybrid work arrangement.
Flexibility around how, when, and where people work is no longer a nice to have—it is a must
have to retain employees. But with that benefit comes a lack of human connection between
employees. Employees that work hybrid or remotely will have fewer social and emotional
connections at work, which increases social isolation and decreases an employee’s connection
to their job.
“The long-term implications of virtual work are becoming clearer as time passes. Socially
speaking, people are becoming disengaged. There has been a breakdown of tacit or local
learning, especially for newcomers,” Michael Arena, vice president of Talent Development at
Amazon Web Services, wrote in CTDO magazine. “Furthermore, bold idea generation and
scaling of new insights have eroded. And we are seeing early signs of productivity dwindling.”
Talent development professionals will play a critical role in creating human connections from
now on. “Research suggests that as much as 80 percent of people’s ability to influence others
results from face-to-face exchanges,” Arena writes. “Those interactions may occur in formal
business reviews, live prototype demonstrations, or informal hallway interactions. Regardless
of the methods, face-to-face interactions can’t be left to chance. They need to be purposefully
facilitated. As talent development executives, we need to lead the way for our organizations.”
According to an article in Harvard Business Review, DEI will worsen in a hybrid world because
most managers perceive that employees who work in the office are high performing. Data
shows that women and people of color prefer to work from home, which could hinder their
opportunities for promotion or lead to gender wage gap disparity and loss of diversity in the
organization’s leadership.
Management Training
Hybrid workplaces are exposing the need for management training.
The McKinsey & Company executive survey finds that “organizations with the biggest
productivity increases during the pandemic have supported and encouraged small moments of
engagement among their employees, moments in which coaching, mentorship, idea sharing, and
coworking take place. These organizations are preparing for hybrid working by training managers
for remote leadership, reimagining processes, and rethinking how to help employees thrive in
their roles.”
According to an Oracle State of HR Report 2021, challenges of remote work include productivity
monitoring, employee engagement, cybersecurity, time management, a sense of belonging
for employees, performance management, employee wellness, and online training. Finding
solutions to these challenges will fall to the managers.
Global CEOs expect a hybrid workforce to require more effective internal communication and
managers and team leaders to acquire new skills, according to the Conference Board’s research
report C-Suite Outlook 2022: Reset and Reimagine. New ATD research, Developing Hybrid Teams, lists
the capabilities that are highly important for hybrid team managers as communicating tasks,
priorities, and expectations within the team (87 percent); team building (74 percent); and coaching
(74 percent). These capabilities also were highlighted as the most challenging for managers.
This ATD research found that slightly less than a quarter of organizations (23 percent)
provided training specifically for hybrid team managers. Organizations that provided specific
hybrid team manager training or a combination of general and virtual manager training were
more likely to be high-performing organizations.
Training in Specific Hybrid Team Management Areas
Most common
Conducting effective hybrid team meetings 16%
difficulties
Using specific communication and work
technologies in a hybrid setting
16% encountered in
Onboarding new employees on a hybrid team 11%
the hybrid-model
route:
Leading team building for a hybrid team 11%
• Possible added
Creating an inclusive environment for all infrastructure costs
11%
workers on a hybrid team • Maintaining a balance
between organizational agility
Hiring and interviewing for a hybrid team 8%
and tech innovation
• Communication might
On-the-job training for a hybrid team 8%
become messy
Evaluating performance for a hybrid team 8% • Onboarding needs to adapt

and enhance
Monitoring and awareness of information • If not implemented well,
8%
security in a hybrid work setting employees could struggle
with burnout
Managing a hybrid team in a fair manner 8%
• Not every worker will like the
idea of hybrid work
Tracking productivity across a hybrid team 7%
• Company culture will need
Monitoring employee schedules and work reinforcement
6%
locations on a hybrid team • It might be harder to track
None of the above; we don't provide
and measure employee
78% productiveness
specific hybrid manager training
Source: ATD (2022) Source: Keating (2022)
Trend: Digitization
The digital skills gap is widening.
New global research from Salesforce uncovers a fear among workers about being ill-prepared
for the digital workplace. Three quarters of workers surveyed do not feel prepared for working
in a digital-first world.
The research also examined digital skills readiness. Of the 14 workplace digital skills included
in the survey, only 17 percent of workers consider themselves advanced, while 49 percent
considered themselves beginners.
A recent article in MIT Sloan Management Review explored C-suite executives’ glaring lack of
“digital smarts.” The article highlighted a recent MIT Study finding that only 23 percent of
CEOs are considered digitally savvy. And just 7 percent of large companies currently employ
digitally savvy executive teams.
Workplace digitization leads to increased productivity and efficiency, more engaged employees,
a more talented workforce, increased innovation, and greater workforce agility. The need for digital
literacy—which refers to the ability of an individual to use information and communication
technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information—has never been greater.
According to eLearning Marketplace, the top 10 digital skills for the workplace are:
1. Cyber and data security
2. Software as a service (SAAS), often known as “cloud software”
3. Storage and management of data
4. Communication and collaborative digital tools
5. Presentation of data
6. Mobile devices
7. Social media for business
8. Digital problem solving
9. Creative content creation
10. Internet
Society must be able to effectively and ethically use digital tools to learn, create, and share
information and find innovative ways to bridge the gap between humans and technology,
according to an article in View From The Edge – Winter/Spring 2022. “Being digitally fluent
allows you to obtain content from a digital environment, understand the purpose behind that
content, and identify the systems that go into creating and delivering that information,” says
Josh Gaul, associate vice president & chief digital learning officer at Edge. “Digital fluency is an
awareness of how everything works together. We must recognize that every piece of content
in a digital environment has mechanisms, including human and automated decisions, that are
involved in presenting that information. Additionally, there are also ramifications for finding,
using, and sharing that content.”
A Moodle Workplace article by Abby Fry noted that the World Economic Forum expects
that 85 million jobs will be gone, and 97 million jobs will be created by 2025—many of them
requiring skills in artificial intelligence, blockchain, data security, emerging coding languages,
data analytics, and more. In addition to the increase in demand for technical roles, employees
across departments require digital fluency, and this is ever evolving to meet the developments
in and proliferation of software and technology tools. Whether it is business analytics, UX,
instructional design, algorithmic trading,
marketing analytics, or CRM management, the
new in-demand power skills must be underpinned
by digital transformation and the development of The Evolving Role of the Learning Leader
digital fluency across employees.
CLOs will be instrumental in defining how, when, and
ATD’s Learning Technology Ecosystems: Tools, where people work and learn; the alignment of learning to
Programs, and Strategies research report examined
the skills talent development professionals needed
workforce transformation; and the creation of new learning
to successfully leverage technology and found skills, capabilities, and job roles needed to take greater
that a lack of technology skills on the TD staff ownership of business success from the frontlines through
was a common barrier to creating a successful the C-suite. The role is evolving rapidly from being reactive
learning ecosystem.
and responsive to strategic, visionary, and transformative.
The report explored a talent development
team’s proficiency in four skills: learning and CLOs and learning teams must:
mastering new technologies, selecting the • Understand market • Have a more sophisticated
appropriate technology for objectives, solving
technology-related problems, and leveraging
dynamics and their ability to apply analytics to
data to improve operations and experiences. The competitive landscape. their role.
highest percentage of advanced proficiency was • Develop business acumen • Become performance
29 percent for learning and mastering new
technologies; the lowest advanced proficiency
and commercial acumen. consultants—identifying
level was leveraging data to improve operations • Take an experimental the optimal solutions to
and experiences at 13 percent. approach to creating a new solve business needs and
paradigm for working, prepare for the future.
A 2021 pulse survey created for Talent
Development Capability Model™ users found earning, and learning.
that talent application knowledge and skills for
TD professionals increased in importance during Source: GP Strategies and Future Workplace (2022)
the last year.
27 ©2021 ATD | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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2022 Trends

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Organizations also may consider offering same-day or pay-on-demand. “Offering pay-on-

Neurodiversity should also be part of organizational diversity. “In myriad ways,

In 2022, organizations will need to facilitate collaboration, increase transparency, transform

Investing in employees’ growth and development by providing educational opportunities

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Source: BetterUp (2022)

Evaluating performance for a hybrid team 8% • Onboarding needs to adapt

Source: ATD (2022) Source: Keating (2022)

27 ©2021 ATD | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Salesforce. 2022. 2022 Global Digital Skills

Weill, P., S.L. Woerner, and A.M. Shah. 2021.

Lewis, C. n.d. “Top 10 Digital Skills for the

Edge. 2022. “Building Digital Fluency to

Fry, A. 2021. “Workplace Learning Trends and

Association for Talent Development (ATD).

GP Strategies and Future Workplace. 2022.

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