Resetting priorities to manage your people risks 

The pandemic pushed the health and safety of employees and society as a whole to the fore. As a result, nearly nine out of ten (87%) HR and Risk professionals rate health and safety people risks as  a  serious threat to the business.

Administering employee benefits, retirement plans, and compensation is becoming increasingly complex. Regulation ranging from new compensation disclosure requirements, ongoing anxiety over equipping individuals to make the right financial decisions and evolving employment and benefits legislation contribute to making this the second highest rated people risk.

Accelerated digitization is pushing digital risks, including cybersecurity and data privacy ahead of all risks. More than nine out of ten cybersecurity issues can be traced to human error.

The way sensitive employee data is used in benefit plans continues to be an area of data exposure as more people join new companies as part of “the great resignation”. At the same time, the accelerated pace of digital transformation is changing the relationship between people and machines. Automation and AI advances are anticipated to require half the workforce to reskill by 2025 and 75m jobs to be lost.

The war for talent, especially digital skills, means organizations across different industries are competing for the same high performers. Consequently, 43% of employers say their employee value proposition now needs improving.

There is an urgent need to recruit the new skills required to drive transformation, as well as retain and motivate existing talent. The changing nature of work, from the rise of hybrid working to globalization, is now the fourth-biggest people risk overall.

Environmental and social risks now make up a fifth of the top ten people risks but are perceived to matter more to employees than the c-suite.

Organizations are feeling pressure from customers, investors, employees and regulators to ensure profit does not come at the expense of society or the planet. Employees also want to work for socially responsible employers with good ESG credentials. However, only 3 in 4 organizations agree that they have enough budget to manage environmental and social risks today.