According to Lattice’s State of People Strategy Report 2023, which summarizes the perspectives, priorities, and challenges of HR professionals around the world, talent acquisition is no longer the top priority for HR professionals but retaining current workforce.

Previously, in 2021, about 40% of HR professionals polled by Lattice said that attracting skilled workers was the top priority, compared to only 17% of Lattice respondents in 2022.

According to the report, companies have toned down, or in some cases scaled back, their hiring ambitions in the face of a possible economic downturn. Recruiting talent is not only less important for human resources teams this year; it is also at the bottom of their priority list. HR departments, lacking the ability to recruit talent from outside, are investing in the people they already have.

It goes on to say that this year, almost two-thirds of HR leaders are putting retention before talent acquisition. Moreover, 83% of teams are investing slightly or significantly more in retention than in the past. Retention’s dominance is also reflected in the list of HR’s top KPIs: voluntary turnover comes first, followed by involuntary turnover. In other words, retention is not just important for HR professionals: it is the primary measure by which they measure their success.

23% of respondents said they would like to see significantly more investment to keep current staff, while 60% think slightly more investment should be made, 16% believe that no changes should be made and 1% would like to see less investment.

It goes on to say that HR teams are in favor of hybrid work, but are still defining what this entails, and that respondents predict a higher proportion of remote workers in 2023, with almost a quarter expecting to be at least 90% remote workers.

The sources for this piece include an article in CIODIVE.