HR Bulletin Volume 127

HR BULLETIN

Leaders Talk: Designing your EX strategy for the future of work

In a series of conversations at TechHR India by People Matters in collaboration with Oracle, key insights were shared on the emerging talent trends and the role of digital solutions in enhancing EX.

As organisations embrace innovative working formats led by a diversified workforce, employee expectations are expanding and changing The labour market is highly competitive, and we’ve learned in the past few months that the pay scale is no longer enough to make your talent stay Today’s workforce, especially the GenZs, seek purpose in their roles and a culture where they belong They want choice, and their well-being and growth at the organisation are accounted for But meeting these rising expectations is easier said than done, as we increasingly work with distributed teams. A key differentiator then becomes technology in sustaining connections and delivering a seamless and holistic employee experience. And so at TechHR India 2022, in partnership with Oracle, we led a series of conversations with pioneering HR leaders on the emerging talent and HR tech trends, the rising importance of EX, how HR tech can be leveraged skillfully to create a high-impact work culture and best practices that could be answers to our community as they

embrace the new-age workforce Here are some excerpts

What are those emerging talent trends that will redefine how leaders design their employee experience strategy? “There is no emergent talent strategy, what we need to do is stick to the basics and explain to the candidate what’s in it for them. That is the real game changer. Candidates always look forward to what they’re getting from their potential employer and that value proposition has to be very clearly explained to the manager as well as to the candidate. And obviously, we need to show growth paths backed by success stories. For instance, in our organisation, 95% of the senior leadership is internally appointed. We must also not forget the compensation aspect inclusive of total rewards. For total rewards, it has to be designed in such a way that there is a short-term as well as a long-term retention plan. Short term could be a joining bonus while long term could include ESOPs.”Puneet Khurana, Group Head- Human Resources at Policybazaar

and Paisabazaar

What is a word of advice or best practices you would like to share with our community on innovating EX strategies for the new-age workforce?

“One of the biggest priorities that I have is how do I really simplify things, how do I bring everything onto the same platform, and make everything that my employees need available at the touch of a button My people are not in the same vicinity anymore, so how do I take this multiplicity of choices to them? That is something I would like to understand. I’d also like to see how technology can be looked at more inclusively and not in intrusive terms. That’s important, and finally, we tend to tend about how every software gets updated, in that same line, I think we need to look into our systems as well. Changes are happening all around and we need to continue to update our software.”

-Supratik Bhattacharyya, Chief Talent Officer, RPG Group

What are those emerging talent trends that will redefine how leaders design their employee experience strategy? “The priorities of talent are changing; what they look for in a job or in an organisation has changed completely. Hybrid is becoming important, so the priorities of life have changed Earlier, money and big brands used to attract them but now, it’s more about the choices these organisations make As employees reclaim their lives, what is important for them are questions around: what kind of organisation are they joining? Is it only for business? Or does the organisation have a purpose? They want companies with a purpose larger than business objectives, more to do with communities, with nation-building So today, there is a big shift in how people look at their jobs Secondly, they have also realised the importance of being with family, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. And so we see the importance of Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities with talent mobility and talent accessibility changed.”

-Harshvendra Soin, Global Chief People Officer and Head of Marketing, Tech Mahindra

What guidance would you like to lay for CXOs while selecting HR technology for their respective organisation? “With the priorities of talent changing, the objective of technology transformation also has to change, and we need to look at how can bring efficiencies and productivity enhancement in the digital platform. Now is the time for CHROs to also look at how they can invoke the right kind of feelings among their employees through technology. In a hybrid environment, in a remote working scenario, in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, it’s important to have an all encompassing technology attuned to your people’s feelings Gone are those days where we could do the patchwork of stitching multiple products or applications together and give a kind of productive but ineffective experience to people Secondly, with technology evolving so fast, nobody can afford to be on an older version of technology The costs are prohibitive and there are timelines involved So, it’s important that if any organization today is looking at the technology, it has to be a cloud-first strategy. It has to be something that will always remain contemporary, always remain up to date.”

-Shaakun Khanna, Vice President & Head, SaaS Alliances & Channels, Asia Pacific at Oracle India

What are those emerging talent trends that will redefine how leaders design their employee experience strategy? “In 2012, the global economy was evaluated on how the jobs have transitioned with automated technologies. In just one country, France, over 500,000 jobs were eliminated because of the advent of automated technologies…

Half of US workers plan to seek new jobs in 2023

Study points to increased job optimism and more voluntary quits despite economic uncertainty

•According to a new survey from business consulting firm Robert Half, many workers will be looking for new job opportunities in the new year despite economic uncertainty The company's biannual Job Optimism Survey, which surveyed more than 2,500 professionals in the US, found that 46% of respondents are currently looking or plan to look for a new role in the first half of 2023, up from 41% six months ago. This indicates a growing optimism among workers about their job prospects. 18- to 25-year-olds (60%)

•Human resources professionals (58%)

•Employees who have been with their company for 2-4 years (55%)

•Working parents (53%)

"Noise around hiring freezes and layoffs at some companies hasn't seemed to faze workers many are just as confident in their job prospects as they were six months ago," said Paul McDonald, senior executive director of Robert Half "The labour market remains tight, and professionals are curious about exploring new and more fulfilling career paths "

Increased demand for contract talent may be why nearly 3 in 10 professionals (29%) are considering quitting their job to pursue a full-time contracting career Boomeranging back to a previous employer is also a consideration for 4 in 10 professionals, who said they would return to a former company if given a salary equal to or higher than their current pay.

Job search motivators…

Humanising Layoffs: Lessons from the tech sector in 2022

The headlines coming out of the tech sector at the end of this year say it all – companies need to handle layoffs more proactively than ever in today's digital era.

In 2022, the tech sector experienced a significant increase in layoffs, making it a challenging year for the global labor market However, recent announcements from companies such as Twitter, Meta, Stripe, HP, Cisco, and Coursera offer valuable lessons on how to handle layoffs in a sensitive and effective manner These case studies provide guidance for employers facing similar challenges in the future With financial pressures continuing to build, organisations across all sectors are evaluating what changes may be needed to secure against further economic uncertainty. Layoffs tend to be a pragmatic financial decision undertaken for the good of the business, used by startups to extend their financing runway and by Big Tech to balance the books when things don't go as forecasted. Yet what we’ve seen this year is that employers must also consider the needs of the impacted employees during the process or risk going viral for all the wrong reasons. Companies need to handle layoffs more proactively than ever in today's digital era. Workers have become increasingly comfortable posting about their job situations and actively seeking connections for new opportunities on social media networks like Twitter or LinkedIn. These social posts will become more frequent as layoffs continue, turning a once-taboo topic into an opportunity for positivity, growth, and even new job opportunities It’s up to employers to ensure that those tweets reflect as positively as possible on the layoff process Otherwise, their brand and their ability to hire workers in the future will be on the line Getting the layoff communications and wider process right for outgoing, remaining, and future employees are critical For outgoing employees, in a high-stress and high-emotion situation

How Gen Zs can change the workplace for the better

As a generation that has grown up with more exposure to different cultures, Gen Z focuses on diversity and inclusivity, as compared to their older colleagues.

The coming together of generations in offices is leading to flexibility, a greater degree of automation and digitalisation, and the growth of shared workspaces Even new emerging business cities are witnessing the change Multi-lateral organisations and consulting firms around the globe now focus on the evolving demographics of their workforce As companies across all industries continue to grow, they witness four generations of staff working together under the same roof from baby boomers (born 1947-1964) to Generation X (born 1965-1980) to Millennials (born 1981-2000) to Generation Z (2001-2020). And it is impacting the dynamics of work in metros and emerging cities. Hence, programmes focusing on youth under 30 or those above 45 years of age are being undertaken to support a diverse staff. What is happening across offices? Many businesses have already begun implementing changes in response to this shift in demographics, but there is still a lot we don’t know about how Gen Z will impact the future of work. 46% of Gen Zs feel burned out due to the intensity/demands of their working environments. While 44% of Gen Zs say many people have recently left their organization due to workload pressure Although, pay is the number one reason why Gen Zs left a role in the last two years However, good work/life balance and learning/development opportunities were the top priorities when choosing an employer Almost half of Gen Zs (46%) live paycheck to paycheck and worry they won’t be able to cover their expenses ince then, the workforce has experienced significant growth of Gen Zs across various industries

The Great Reconnection: Aparadigmatic moment for employers and employees

This year has not been a good one for employee retention The Great Resignation, originally thought to be a US phenomenon, has emerged in Asia now But is there a way to turn it into the Great Reconnection?

Stress, burnout, churn, disengagement: these are the widely recognised issues that continue to plague the world of work In our latest Cigna 360 Global Well-Being Survey, we found a major challenge for employers: high numbers of workers expressed dissatisfaction with their current job and/or are actively looking for a new one, with 30% of 4,000 Asia Pacific (APAC) respondents (in mainland China, Hong Kong, India, and Singapore) having moved to a new job in the last year and close to four in 10 (37%) looking to change in the next twelve months The region’s highest resignation rate was seen in India (43%).

However, the long-term picture is more hopeful than a first glance might suggest, as the survey findings also point the way to achievable approaches and solutions that can address employee needs and build harmonious work cultures in 2023 and beyond. Here are a few of the key insights for employers which emerged from our study. Recognise stress and exhaustion

Stress levels in APAC remain significantly higher than the (already high) global average, mainly due to the cost-ofliving crisis and uncertainty about the future. Close to nine in 10 (87%) APAC respondents are stressed, with 13% struggling to cope The younger generation are bearing the brunt, with an astonishing 94% of respondents from Gen Z (aged 18-24) saying they are stressed This age group is also the most emotionally impacted by stress – with half (50%) saying they could not concentrate, 47% feeling depressed, and 45% reporting that stress is making them