Small businesses didn’t have it easy in 2021. Inflationary pressures, new Covid variants and related restrictions, market uncertainty, supply and demand nightmares, and crippling labor shortages were enough to cause a business leader to shout a loud “good riddance” to the year. Even worse, many companies had no alternative but to shut their doors permanently if they couldn’t recover from the massive collateral damage of the global pandemic.

Businesses Faced Challenges and Change This Year – So How’d They Do?

Not a pretty picture. But the good news is: There is light at the end of the tunnel. Those businesses that have survived are bouncing back as 2022 takes hold.

• The positive outlook actually began in the summer of 2021 for many companies. Some business indicators showed that monthly revenues were up 27 percent during the summer season.

Be proactive as you prepare for what lies ahead.

What employment challenges and changes should you expect – and be ready to respond to – in this new year? Don’t wear blinders. Instead, be poised to overcome any further disruptions, stay ahead of your competition, and not only survive, but thrive, in 2022.

What’s on the business and employment horizon?

As you drive business growth in 2022, be sure your HR and overall business goals stay in alignment. Misalignment is more likely to happen during disruptive times, so it’s best to overprepare.

• Work hand-in-hand with your talent management team to create a strong leadership strategy. Enable HR to weigh in on plans that will help you achieve your desired business objectives. And if you lack the needed HR bandwidth, consider your outsourcing options.

Among the leading challenges that business continue to face are:

• Inflation: Not surprisingly, this is a top concern for nearly 100 percent of all U.S. small businesses.
• Supply chain backlogs: This problem began with the outbreak of the pandemic and continues to haunt the national and global economy.
• Continuing hiring and retention obstacles: To put it simply, 2021 was marked by massive employee turnover. Americans quit their jobs at record rates; 3 million people did so in August alone.

Be ready to respond to change.

Not much can be done to prevent business disruption, including those challenges that impact your staffing and employment plans. The secret lies in how you respond. While HR alone may not drive change to every disruption, its role does affect every member of your workforce.

• Sharpen your talent management edge. Your HR leaders need to be anticipators – proactively anticipating employment needs – and partners in collaborating towards overall business goals, versus simply being reactors. And when disruptions occur, HR must be able to flex and meet related talent needs.