What: Due to economic strain and uncertainty, companies must navigate properly by retaining employees, investing in emerging roles and building the skills of current leaders to ensure they have the talents to grow even in 2023.

Why it is important: As most companies are hiring or hoarding employees, the dialogue between companies and recruits is changing, leading to competitive employer branding campaigns and benefits packages.

Business of Fashion highlights Macy’s shift in communication to recruit new employees which has led to 97% of corporate jobs filed and “close to that number” for hourly positions. The crisis caused a huge labour shortage and record quitting rates which has created the challenge of developing new policies such as working from home to attract and keep employees. A potential recession in 2023, means that layoffs will be necessary even as the labour shortage keeps key roles unfilled. Instead of assuming employee loyalty instead, over-hiring or resorting to layoffs when the recession hits, experts stress the importance of grooming and leveraging current talent or creating cross-functional roles.

022 showed a C-suite turnover trend making it difficult to redefine who should lead a fashion company. Leadership is more about partnerships, creating transparency and developing community as new and evolving roles around diversity, sustainability and social governance continue to appear. Hourly employees may be concerned about the lack of or mismanagement of these roles, making them important from top to bottom.

Finally, companies need to be mindful of the impact new policies around flexibility and work-life balance affect the working culture. Leader bias toward certain employees who opt to work in the office instead of online could create dysfunctional dynamics. Thus, being intentional, agile and open to adapting to new work models can help with creating an efficient and desirable workplace environment.

Workplace trends of 2023 defined by BoF