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HR in 2023: How ACAMS' Aleksandra Kucza and Bloom & Grow's Ruth King are navigating the new ways of working

HR in 2023: How ACAMS' Aleksandra Kucza and Bloom & Grow's Ruth King are navigating the new ways of working

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With intensive experiences across Europe and Asia respectively, the HR veterans remind us that balancing the needs of companies and employees is one of the biggest lessons for HR professionals.

Global inflation and hybrid working have posed different challenges to HR professionals. In this episode of the HR in 2023 series, we reach out to two veterans - Aleksandra Kucza, Human Resources Director - Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) & Global Head of Talent Development, ACAMS, based in the UK and having had extensive stints across Europe (pictured above, left); and Ruth King, Group Head of Human Resources, Bloom & Grow, who originated from the UK and has spent most of her career in Asia markets, especially Hong Kong (pictured above, right).

With intensive experiences across Europe and Asia respectively, the two HR veterans remind us that balancing both the needs of companies and employees is one of the biggest lessons for HR professionals.

Let's listen to their insights here.


Aleksandra Kucza, Human Resources Director - Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) & Global Head of Talent Development, ACAMS

From my perspective, the biggest challenges and trends in HR in 2023 will be the result of a combination of few events: the new way of working for office employees (remote or hybrid rather than physically in an office), the ongoing competition for talent, and the rising cost of living.

Work effectiveness and engagement

How to make sure that employees, individually and as teams, are effective in a remote/hybrid environment, and focused on the real goal of their role/team? Do we need to organise work differently? How do culture and purpose happen remotely? How do we ensure equality in the remote world?

Compensation & benefits

How to find the balance between meeting company’s financial goals and competing for talent (external and internal) with the current rise in cost of living? Are there creative ways of approaching benefits? How far should company’s care for employees go: is financial education, childcare support, or energy bills covered?


Ruth King, Group Head of Human Resources, Bloom & Grow

Compensation and benefits (C&B)

Under the COVID-19 era, employees still want a higher salary and seem to have lost loyalty to their employers. We will see flexible staff benefits become the biggest trend, and candidates demand higher pay, more leave, etc. Traditional HR professionals need to open their minds to understand individual staff/candidates' needs on different benefits rather than providing one-size-fits-all solutions.

Recruitment and staffing

Online interviews will be the biggest trend.

Meanwhile, it will be hard for recruiters as candidates have high salary expectations. Many job seekers will choose a larger company, because they are worried that a small company will easily go bankrupt under COVID-19. This also makes it difficult for small companies to recruit people.

On the other hand, many candidates who have signed a new employment contract may decide not to join the new employer a few days before they are due to be on board. This will cause a waste of time in preparing all for new staff and losing a month of recruiting time!

Learning and development (L&D) & mobility

We will see more virtual distance interventions and more work-from-home requests.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I)

HR professionals need to open hearts and minds in a traditional-thinking workforce across Asia.

ESG, CSR, sustainability and employee wellbeing

The biggest challenge is to find time to introduce, promote, and arrange such interventions. And HR needs to deal with the increased costs.


This article first appeared in the Q4 edition of Human Resources Online's Hong Kong e-magazine. View the e-magazine here, where you'll find power-packed features and interviews with leaders from Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, the UK, India, and more!

hk 2022 q4 e mag


Image / Provided (L-R: Aleksandra Kucza and Ruth King)

Follow us on Telegram and on Instagram @humanresourcesonline for all the latest HR and manpower news from around the region!

Follow us on Telegram and on Instagram @humanresourcesonline for all the latest HR and manpower news from around the region!

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