Ogletree Deakins, one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management, today shares the findings from the firm’s second annual workplace benchmarking report, Strategies and Benchmarks for the Workplace: Ogletree’s Survey of Key Decision-Makers. The 2022 report comprises responses from nearly 1,000 in-house counsel and senior HR professionals at companies of many sizes. The top industries represented include manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, technology, and retail.
“As we conducted this year’s benchmarking survey, we found that employers continue to grapple with remarkable challenges, from hiring and retention to lingering pandemic issues, and much more,” said Matt Keen, managing shareholder of Ogletree Deakins. “We hope that the findings of this report will provide useful insights into today’s workplace and help employers to feel more equipped to handle these challenges.”
Ogletree Deakins’ 2022 report highlights important workplace issues ranging from hiring and retention challenges and solutions to remote work arrangements and COVID-19 policies. Notably, 71 percent of respondents found hiring and retention to be their most challenging issue with 62 percent identifying a lack of candidates as their biggest hurdle. More than 80 percent of respondents say their companies have increased their base pay and more than 60 percent have utilized hiring bonuses to aid with recruitment. 72 percent of respondents say their employees’ desire for remote work is much stronger than before the pandemic.
According to respondents, leaves of absence—including paid sick leave, Family and Medical Leave Act requirements, state leave laws—present the most difficult multi-jurisdictional compliance issues, with wage and hour laws and handbooks/other policies following close behind.
Regarding in-house legal departments, only 12 percent of companies plan to add more in-house attorneys in the next year, while nearly 30 percent plan to use outside counsel more over the next 12 months.
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