Findings from Mercer Marsh Benefits People Risk 2022 survey have found that 87% of HR and risk professionals believe that health and safety is a serious threat to their business. The survey of over 2,500 HR professionals and risk managers from 25 markets covered 25 people risks under five pillars with research showing the greatest likelihood and impact of workforce-related threats facing employers worldwide.
The top ten risks globally under the five pillars — health & safety, governance & financial, accelerated digitalisation, talent practices and environmental & social, can be mitigated by employee benefits, support programmes and/or how they are delivered. Cybersecurity and data privacy was named as the top people risk for the second year in a row with administration and fiduciary, catastrophic personal life events, pandemics and the changing nature of work making up the remainder of the top five.
HR and risk professionals agree on the top five risks but are inclined to prioritise other risks differently. HR professionals were more inclined to worry about the impacts of automation and AI and HR technology obsolescence whilst risk professionals were more likely to prioritise talent attraction, retention and engagement as well as legal compliance and financial practices.
The biggest barrier to addressing people risk that was identified was the difficulty in changing personal behaviour. More than two-fifths (43%) reported difficulty in changing employee personal behaviour when it came to addressing health and safety whilst organisational complexity and lack of skilled resources to address risks were also noted as obstacles to overcome.
To mitigate the identified risks, the report suggests that HR and business leaders should implement policies and support systems to enable remote, hybrid or other flexible ways or working and should invest in training, communication and engagement strategies around the company’s purpose, culture, values and ethics. This should include tailored upskilling/reskilling for all employees. Finally, businesses should aim to create a competitive employee value proposition including competitive reward practices.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
