Moving beyond traditional talent acquisition and retention strategies
Moving beyond traditional talent acquisition and retention strategies
By Dr. Martin Hofmann, Executive Vice President of Human Resource, Orga & ITP of Volkswagen and David Plink CEO of Top Employers Institute
Executive summary
In this dramatic time of change, Top Employers must move beyond traditional talent acquisition and retention strategies to focus on economic value-based talent management. Regular organisational reviews as a way of adaption to business challenges, market impact and new technologies are forcing Top Employers across industries to rethink their human resource strategy and practices. Suddenly, there is an implicit challenge and criticism from employees to their employer, as cost efficiency, stricter performance orientation, a permanent exchange of competencies and, as a result, the steady renewal of organisational structures calls for new methods, tools, and processes. Managing the selection and separation of talents is becoming key for employers. Driving performance in the company to develop a high talent density organisation, applying new technologies with artificial intelligence to abolish inefficiency in processes and tools are core success indicators to keep the company a top performer and Top Employer in their industry. In this time, where major transformation has arrived in all industries, it is of utmost importance to every company to take care of the impacted talents in a professional manner. This needs new ways to define Top Employer excellence and correct the narrative that Top Employers are immune to professional separation management to maintain a dynamic, successful, and adaptable workforce.
Introduction
In today’s rapidly changing business environment, often called the “new normality,” driven by technological advances, globalisation, and evolving economic dynamics, the demand for skilled workers has skyrocketed, resulting in a growing talent shortage. A Korn Ferry study from 2021 predicts that skills gaps could result in more than 85 million unfilled jobs worldwide. Meanwhile, according to a 2022 Glassdoor report, 75% of job seekers consider a company’s reputation before applying. Being seen as a Top Employer has had a significant impact on talents and within the relevant industrial community.
The Top Employers Certification is the way to prove that the conditions for employees to develop themselves are at an adequate, often best practice level. A key attribute was to be attractive to potential recruits in talent acquisition and during their life cycle on board. However, this is has changed significantly, in the last few years after the COVID crisis.. As the economic landscape evolves, the influence of new technologies has arrived in all industries. Moreover, geopolitical impact and the disruption of value chains due to a global separation of spheres push companies worldwide into a mode where new efficiency requirements impact human resource management. High talent density approaches to strengthen employee performance and quickly adjusting organisational structures to new market needs are now essential.
In these tumultuous times, company success through a more efficient and leaner workforce is at the forefront of employers’ agendas. This leads to debate and confusion. On one side, the question is whether the investment companies have made in becoming a Top Employer over the past decade can be retained to win more and more specialised talents with rare skills. On the other side, the question is how to drive workforce reduction and create professional separation management. This contrast of investing in talents on one side and separating from talents on the other side is part of the same coin. However, the compounded technological shift in labour markets and industries now poses significant challenges for employers to innovate and remain competitive in a globalised economy. The key question is: what is the definition of a Top Employer in today’s environment?
Key human resource professionals from a variety of industries were interviewed to answer this question and share the practices of market leaders. These interviews provide valuable insights into the strategies used by leading organisations and help to reflect on what is needed for an up-to-date Top Employer definition. Additional case studies and practical insights were analysed to prove and support some key findings. Using thematic analysis, it was possible to synthesise key trends and strategies, especially those of Top Employers who can maintain their position in these ambivalent times. Three key areas are shaping an impactful part of an updated narrative when it comes to a Top Employer definition: first, core economic value and talent management; second, a consequent review of organisational and individual performance; and third, professional separation management.
Core economic value and talent management
Talent management has emerged as a cornerstone of success. Insights from Smith in 2020 suggest that companies excelling in this area enjoy a boost in employee engagement, productivity, and overall performance. This is not just about human resources; “Talent management is a strategic imperative that drives organisational success.” It is about recognising that the right people, effectively developed and engaged, can be the difference between a company that thrives and one that merely survives.
Under these circumstances, strategic workforce planning becomes a helpful solution. In practice, strategic workforce planning along certain competencies mostly gives good insight into what is coming and needed in the next two to three years. However, in long-term planning, it often remains a theoretical and analytical exercise. This needs to be converted into organisational renewal and consequent management of measures related to workforce capability and size.
Strategic workforce planning requires organisations to consider both economic trends and business developments in a rational, forward-looking manner. By aligning workforce planning with business value, organisations can minimise workforce size while ensuring that the right skills are in place to drive growth and profitability. This rational approach, combined with cascading action plans into the last business unit and clear economic indicators for each planning cycle, helps to optimise the workforce. This ensures it is right-sized and strategically positioned to meet current and future business needs, supporting better financial performance.
The research above links talent management to improved financial performance, while Collings & Mellahi’s research in 2009 found that it enhances a company’s economic value by optimising its workforce. Brown, in 2019, echoes this, noting that such practices lead to higher employee satisfaction and retention. Moreover, Jones, in 2019, observes that effective talent management is key to an organisation’s agility and resilience, allowing it to bend but not break in the face of challenges. The research paints a clear picture: organisations that prioritise action-based talent management see the benefits in their cost structure and business value creation. But this is not just theory; real-world examples show the impact of these strategies. It is a testament to the idea that considering economic value in talent management is more than a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have for organisations aiming to stay actively ahead.
Looking into the practice of human resources management teams in China within leading companies, it is demonstrated that management teams who manage their workforce with the principle of “right sizing to expected forward-looking volume” have faced severe challenges from both internal and external perspectives. Like many other top global companies, they have realised their overcapacity problem in the Chinese market in the recent past. They must take proactive measures to manage workforce structure under a new paradigm. Creating workforce flexibility while ensuring a stable supply of new competencies and having human resource strategies in place to adapt more quickly to shifting volume and competence demands is essential.
While the workforce must be planned forward-looking and more strictly according to product volume and competence demand, efficiency KPIs often do not allow contingency planning anymore. Active apprentice strategies, an ideal workforce structure of experienced senior and junior profiles, and innovative cells of internal talents and external experts need to be included in the planning to increase flexibility and adaptability during transformation times. As a result, Top Employers need concrete plans to size, up-skill, and re-skill their workforce, including necessary rotation if the structural aspect or competence level does not serve the business appropriately.
Consequent review of organisational and individual performance
An organisational review is not new to the Top Employer definition, as it linked strategic goals to the organisation for decades. However, the dynamic of how organisations structure their workforce and way of working is becoming a core criterion for success. Reviewing the current workforce structure helps identify skill gaps, inefficiencies, and areas for improvement. The overall organisation of work, processes, and decision-making structure amplifies success when reviewing Top Employer impact in different industries. Especially in disruptive industries, modern workforce and process structures are key differentiators of success in speed and efficiency.
Regular reviews and benchmarks help Top Employers make informed decisions about staffing, restructuring, and training. Make sure the workforce is adaptable to future needs. While this may be uncomfortable for units wishing for stability, it fosters operational efficiency and long-term growth. As Brown & Jones highlighted in 2019, regular assessments help identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement, leading to better performance. These reviews allow companies to assess their structures and operations, ensuring they are on track to meet both short- and long-term goals. Williams, in 2021, adds that companies that conduct these reviews are better equipped to identify new opportunities and mitigate risks, positioning themselves for success.
Companies should use a systematic, data-driven approach to conduct effective organisational reviews, including evaluating structure, employee performance and gathering stakeholder feedback. Researchers emphasise the importance of identifying bottlenecks, redundant processes, and skill gaps that slow performance. Continuous reviews, rather than one-time events, ensure organisations can fit market changes, improve efficiency, and refine strategies.
In practice, the final value of organisational renewal and restructuring always comes with reviewing and matching individual performance. Since organisations are composed of units, teams, and individuals, the questions come down to the core: who is the right person for the challenges ahead? Each function needs to be analysed for occupation or deletion. If there is a need to occupy the function, the question is, who can do it? In terms of competencies, skills, and performance, human resource strategies need to answer these questions during restructuring. Therefore, periodic personnel changes are essential to maintain competitive strength. A basis for this is not only excellent training and skill management but also a performance-driven culture, including a clear approach to differentiate talents. This includes the creation of talent relativity to award top performers and address low performers with the same distinction and clarity. Leaders and managers are crucial in this process but are often the weakest part of this value chain. It is essential for a high-performing organisation to address the right level of expectation and provide honest feedback to those who do not meet the set level. Human resources strategies need to support and select the performance and internal employability level in a revolving process.
Especially in challenging market situations, internal and external employability is key for talent development, which is not limited to the current position. Future companies that want to be Top Employers need to consider and address this openly and frankly, not just rest on good, solid, or acceptable performance in their current function. Taking transformation seriously and believing in the strategic role of personnel changes, most employees will likely be affected by new assignments, pivoting functions, or efficiency measures. As the organisation’s long-term health lies in its ability to renew and change, human resource strategies in this field are crucial to support high talent density in all aspects. Experience shows that managing resistance to change, especially during job cuts, is a critical success factor. The agility to change processes, tools, and methods is a differentiating factor for future Top Employers when assessing forward-looking, successful HR practices.
Professional separation management
One of the most common feedbacks during job cuts at Top Employers is the phrase: “Top Employers don’t lay off people.” However, the time to leave an organisation, voluntarily or involuntarily, is part of the employee journey. This process is necessary for Top Employers to maintain competitiveness, as it allows for the continuous renewal of the organisation with new influences, skills, traits, and competencies. This does not contradict talent retention strategies; rather, it complements them. Both parts underpin the need for companies to orchestrate healthy competition among talents based on transparent organisational and individual performance criteria and honest feedback.
When it is time to leave the organisation, effective separation management is critical to minimise the impact of employee departures on organisational performance and maintain a positive workplace culture. As Williams in 2021 points out, having professional separation strategies in place can significantly enhance an employer’s brand and reduce turnover rates.8 When managed well, separations can lead to higher employee satisfaction and morale, which in turn supports organisational stability. For example, one multinational company that implemented a comprehensive separation management programme saw a 10% reduction in turnover and an improvement in its employer brand. This example may be the best endorsement of this point of view. In addition, Smith in 2020 suggests that companies that implement professional separation strategies often report improved employer branding, which can attract top talent and create a more resilient workforce.
To achieve these benefits, organisations should establish clear, well-structured separation management systems, including well-defined policies and procedures to ensure fairness and consistency. Offering support to departing employees, such as career counselling or job placement assistance, can help make a positive impression and maintain strong relationships after they leave. In examining best practices, data from the Top Employers Institute shows a slight decline in the consistent use of formal offboarding programmes—from 85% to 79%. While most Top Employers maintain structured exit processes, this decline signals a potential concern. However, the increase in recognition of departing employees, from 50% to 54%, reflects a growing appreciation for their contributions. Similarly, the increase in post-departure conversations, from 18% to 21%, and alumni networks, from 16% to 18%, suggest an increased focus on maintaining positive relationships with former employees. These efforts can lead to a stronger alumni network, potentially aiding in rehiring and promoting the organisation’s brand.
While there is still significant room for improvement in this field across all industries, the trends observed in these practices point to a shift toward better recognition of departing employees and a greater emphasis on post-departure relationship management. Companies that excel in these areas are likely to experience not only reduced turnover but also improved employer branding and a more resilient workforce. The rise of more fluid employment relationships and the decline of lifetime employment are driving a shift toward long-term talent relationship management. Employers are increasingly focused on nurturing these relationships after employees leave, providing opportunities for future rehiring. Alumni networks and referral programmes allow organisations to stay connected with former employees, attract them back, or leverage their networks to identify new talents. This evolving approach reflects a dynamic and interactive talent ecosystem that extends beyond an employee’s tenure and contributes to long-term organisational success.
Based on other best practices, the approach to managing separations demonstrates a strong commitment to fostering positive relationships with departing employees while maintaining the integrity of the organisation. For managing separations, processes are needed to accompany this phase, starting with defining the ways to identify positions or functions that need to be abolished and defining selection mechanisms on the people side. Along with this first approach of a professional separation identification mechanism, it is important to integrate strategies for different incumbents in affected functions and positions. Best practices include programmes to facilitate departure for employees close to retirement age, programmes for re- and up-skilling, as well as measures of downgrading, ordered position transfer, secondments, and other assignments within the internal and external labour market. A significant trend among Top Employers is to invest in strategies to bridge this period and invest in this part of the talent lifecycle. It becomes clear that in challenging times, the last part of the departure process is as important as the talent acquisition part. However, not enough strategies are observable in the market.
A benchmark is a professional, clear, and structured process for separations, where the company ensures that both the management team and employees are well prepared for the transition and the ultimate decision of no longer working together. This is especially crucial in companies that have never experienced or applied a professional separation process. A key best practice was the on-site transfer hub, which allowed employees to cool off and maintain a connection with the company, creating a smoother exit process. In addition, the company’s focus on offering a variety of support options, such as on-site career consultations for employees, highlighted their care for departing employees, enhanced their employer brand, and fostered a resilient workforce. Furthermore, the company’s recognition of the importance of long-term professional relationships with former employees through alumni networks and referral programmes exemplifies a forward-thinking approach that not only aids in talent reacquisition but also strengthens the company’s reputation as an employer of choice.
Conclusion
Human resource management is no longer just about filling roles or managing processes. Companies must adopt strategic workforce planning, regular performance reviews, and effective separation management to navigate these challenges. These practices ensure that organisations remain competitive, driving growth and profitability. By focusing on core economic value and talent management, consequent review of organisational and individual performance, and professional separation management, companies can maintain their status as Top Employers and thrive in the “new normality.”
Thriving in a Virtual Workplace: How TransUnion GCC Africa Supports and Engages Employees
Insights and best practices for successfully maintaining a fully remote workforce
TransUnion GCC Africa has transformed its recruitment and employee experience programmes to be hosted entirely online in their ongoing commitment to providing a fully remote work environment. Shivani Ramsaroop, HR Manager for the company, presented some of their best practices for training, providing upskilling opportunities, and financial benefits during the 2023 Top Employers Inspire event. As the moderator, I was encouraged to hear that these initiatives equip employees for remote work and prioritise their essential wellbeing. Some of the highlights from the presentation follow to serve as a guide for other companies aspiring to have a 100% fully remote workforce and the full presentation is available here.
Creating a Personalised Work Experience
Transitioning to a completely remote work environment was a logical step in catering to the diverse needs of their workforce. “With multi-generational talent in the workplace, we can no longer take a one size fits all approach. In the world of HR, talent holds the power. Therefore reinventing our employee experience will always be relevant and top of mind,” Shivani explained. Achieving a seamless transition required a comprehensive approach.
To evaluate their progress with creating a personalised work experience, listening and learning metrics are at the forefront of TransUnion GCC Africa’s talent attraction and management process. The organisation regularly conducts engagement surveys and convenes focus groups, complemented by impact and success measurements. Additionally, they have a dedicated business process re-engineering team that works collaboratively across various company functions. The team’s focus is twofold: first, to map out the customer journey, ensuring a seamless experience. Second, they fine-tune the sourcing experience, eliminating waste.
Talent Acquisition & Performance Management
Various virtual tools are used during the talent acquisition process, which helps prepare potential hires for their new, fully virtual environment. Some of the tools used by the HR team at Transunion include:
AI-enabled digital video screenings,
Online skills tests,
Assessment speed interviews, and
Online psychometric assessments to test candidate aptitude for a virtual environment.
Once someone is hired, a heavy emphasis is placed on the onboarding process. Shivani described why the company made that decision, “Our talent acquisition and HR teams invest a lot of time with our associates up front to help them understand what working in a virtual environment really means.” In addition to working with the HR team, new employees complete virtual onboarding sessions, which offer the considerable advantage of self-paced learning. A package of equipment is also delivered to the employee’s house including a laptop, accessories, and a secure router. The IT team then guides that individual through the setup process.
TransUnion GCC Africa prioritises personalisation in their performance management approach by fostering open one-on-one conversations. Associates are encouraged to voice what matters most to them, benefiting from a continuous feedback loop, one-on-one coaching sessions, and tailored training plans. Shivani mentioned one notable trend, “We’ve seen a rise in requests from our associates to move to another province either temporarily or permanently. We also approve requests to work internationally, on a temporary basis, to allow associates to spend time with their families. All of this is possible because we operate on a premise of trust and measure outputs.”
Learning & Development
Four pillars guide the company’s learning and development initiatives:
Sponsored education,
External training,
Internal training, and
Leadership programmes.
The organisation takes pride in covering 100% of the costs for degrees and diplomas that align with the needs and aspirations of their associates. To foster a culture of continuous learning and curiosity, Six Sigma training is a mandatory part of the development initiatives. This training program teaches quality management techniques and problem-solving skills. Having all employees complete the program ensures a consistent approach is applied to quality control issues and general day-to-day troubleshooting when employees encounter challenges while working remotely.
Because the company prioritises the wellbeing of its workforce, a dedicated career coach is available to any associates seeking individual coaching, career guidance, and mentoring. Furthermore, employees have access to financial education tools and the ability to access earned but unpaid income in an emergency before the payroll cycle.
Preventing burnout is critical in a fully remote workplace. To address this issue, all employees have access to a wellness guru, rejuvenating yoga sessions, relaxing guided meditation programmes and are granted two wellness days a year in addition to their annual leave allotment.
Employee Engagement
The last key area of the employee journey Shivani addressed was around how to maintain high levels of engagement among a fully remote workforce. Their philosophy, she explained, is to “create moments that matter both online and in-person for our associates.” An employee-led committee spearheads initiatives to ensure that activities are appealing and engaging. They create initiatives that are not work-related and resonate on a personal level, such as volunteering at soup kitchens or with youth development programmes.
The overarching aim is to provide a platform that fosters a sense of enjoyment, social connection, and collaboration. Through a personalised approach to the work environment and outreach activities, TransUnion GCC Africa is dedicated to helping their employees lead fulfilling lives, on and off the clock.
Artificial Intelligence and Talent Acquisition
How AI is Transforming the Recruitment Process in 2024
The talent market is more competitive than ever. Organisations are finding it more challenging to get the best candidates for the role, and prospective employees find the hiring process more arduous than it was years before. The difficulties in the talent acquisition process are due to several factors, including the lasting effects of the pandemic, younger generations entering the market, and more significant global shifts in recruitment from law changes, among others.
Despite these challenges, the recruitment industry has only recently moved away from established ways of working, as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are beginning to enter the game. While artificial intelligence and machine learning may still be new for many people, more and more organisations are investing in artificial intelligence systems and other digital tools to stay ahead of the market and leverage the tools to streamline their operations.
It is no wonder that AI is beginning to reshape the talent acquisition landscape. HR teams must be aware of many challenges when integrating AI into their recruitment strategy.
Some of the areas where AI is transforming the talent acquisition process or will soon be implemented in talent acquisition strategies include:
Candidate Sourcing: HR teams can utilise AI tools to search through online job boards, professional networking sites, and social media platforms to identify potential candidates based on specified criteria. These tools can assess candidates’ online profiles and professional backgrounds to identify potential candidates.
Resume Screening and Candidate Matching: AI-powered applicant tracking systems (ATS) and talent acquisition software (TAS) can analyse resumes and job descriptions to identify relevant skills, experiences, and qualifications. By leveraging natural language processing algorithms, ATS platforms match candidates to job requirements, enabling recruiters to focus on the most suitable applicants.
Candidate Assessment and Screening: AI assessment tools are starting to administer psychometric tests, cognitive assessments, and job simulations to evaluate candidates’ competencies, personality traits, and job fit. These assessments give the recruiter objective insights into candidates’ abilities and suitability for specific roles, helping them identify top performers more effectively.
Predictive Analytics: AI analytics can analyse historical recruitment data and performance metrics to identify patterns, trends, and predictors of successful hires. By leveraging predictive analytics, a hiring manager can potentially forecast talent needs, optimise sourcing strategies, and make data-driven decisions to improve hiring outcomes.
Reporting: AI tools can generate reports about candidates for internal senior leadership and legal teams. Those reports can analyse the success of recruiting campaigns to a broader team, streamlining the talent acquisition process.
Benefits of Implementing AI in the Talent Recruitment Process
The benefits that can come to an organisation that decides to implement AI in its talent acquisition process include the following:
Improvement in the Time Needed to Hire New Employees: Using AI tools for recruitment can expedite the recruitment process, shortening time-to-fill positions and ensuring that critical roles are filled promptly, minimising productivity losses and revenue impact.
Data-Driven Decision Making: AI analytics tools offer hiring managers valuable insights into recruitment trends, candidate behaviours, and performance metrics, enabling them to make informed decisions, optimise recruitment strategies, and forecast future talent needs.
Efficiency: AI can streamline time-consuming tasks for a talent acquisition team, such as resume screening, candidate sourcing, and initial assessments, significantly reducing the time and effort required to identify suitable candidates.
Competitive Advantage: By embracing AI in the recruiting process, organisations can gain a competitive edge in attracting and retaining top talent, stay ahead of competitors, and position themselves as innovative employers in the marketplace.
Enhanced Candidate Quality: AI-driven algorithms can identify candidates whose qualifications match job requirements, leading to higher-quality candidate pools and improved hiring outcomes.
The Challenges of Implementing AI Tools in the Recruitment Process
Implementing AI in talent acquisition is challenging, especially as the technology is still relatively new. Some of these challenges include:
Ethical Considerations: AI raises ethical dilemmas related to using candidate data, algorithmic decision-making, and the potential impact on employment opportunities and socio-economic disparities. Organisations must navigate ethical considerations, uphold principles of fairness and integrity, and prioritise ethical AI practices to build trust and credibility in their recruitment processes.
Overreliance on Technology: While AI streamlines recruitment processes and enhances efficiency, an overreliance on technology may need more attention to human judgment, intuition, and empathy in assessing candidate suitability and cultural fit. Hiring managers and recruitment teams must balance technological innovation and human-centred decision-making to achieve optimal recruitment outcomes.
Candidate Bias: Despite efforts to mitigate bias, AI algorithms may inadvertently perpetuate or even exacerbate biases in the data used for training the models. AI systems may inadvertently discriminate against certain demographic groups without careful monitoring and intervention, leading to fairness concerns and potential legal repercussions.
Data Privacy and Security: AI recruitment platforms rely on vast amounts of candidate data, raising concerns about privacy and security. Organisations must ensure compliance with data protection regulations, implement robust security measures, and establish transparent data handling practices to safeguard candidate information from unauthorised access or misuse.
The possibilities of utilising AI tools and leveraging them for the talent acquisition process can help hiring managers streamline recruitment processes, enhance candidate experiences, and make more informed decisions, ultimately driving organisational success and competitiveness in the talent marketplace. However, organisations need to balance the benefits of AI with ethical considerations, transparency, and human-centred principles to ensure fair, inclusive, and responsible recruitment practices.
“We strongly believe in the power of sharing and inspiring each other and others”
Benchmarking and sharing best practices are essential for all Top Employers to keep evolving and improving their HR strategies. At Luminus, we strongly believe in the power of sharing and inspiring each other and others — it’s a fundamental part of who we are as a company. It should therefore come as no surprise that “All together” is one of our corporate values.
How do you share successful practices and processes (with other Top Employers)?
At Luminus, we encourage our employees in sharing their knowledge and innovative solutions as well inside as outside the organisation.
In June, we had the opportunity to host a Top Employers sharing session in-house on the importance of SDG’s in employer branding.
Bringing together a group of HR specialists to reflect on the war for talent and how integrating SDG’s can help to attract the “right” employees, was a true enriching experience.
We inspired other top employes on our successful Generation Zero campaigns. Our employer brand for young professionals in which we focus on attracting those who want to contribute actively to our companies purpose : building a CO2-neutral energy future together.
An ambition which resonates to many young graduates in various disciplines, all determined to make a difference : young graduates, young IT talents and young tech talents.
How does the Top Employer seal help us in attracting young professionals?
The Top Employer seal plays a vital role in attracting young professionals to our company. It serves as confirmation and reassurance that we have processes and leadership in place to support their professional growth, while also prioritizing their work-life balance and health & safety.
Our HR strategy, vision, policies & processes keep evolving thanks to TE insights & benchmarking.
As an open-minded, positive and caring company, we foster a supportive and inclusive environment where everyone’s contributions are valued and respected. We want our employees to feel “at home” so they can be the best version of themselves. However, Top Employer results & benchmarking insights showed us that there was still room for improvement in the area of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I).
In response, we’ve made DE&I a dedicated HR focus for 2023, defining a DE&I vision, gaining insights from our employees and other companies and implementing processes to objectively evaluate and continuously optimize our DE&I strategy, initiatives and actions.
Our Luminus HR baseline is clear : we do what matters, we catch the moment & we challenge ourselves. TE has been a valuable partner over the past 11 years in supporting our team in achieving this continuous and challenging mission.
How to Manage and Succeed with a Multigenerational Workforce
By Sinakho Dhlamini, HR Content Specialist, Top Employers Institute
Across today’s modern workforce, many organisations are witnessing a unique blend of generations working side by side. From Baby Boomers and Gen Xers to Millennials and Gen Zs, the workplace has become a melting pot of diverse experiences, perspectives, and work styles.
As leaders and managers seek to create a productive, inclusive and welcoming environment for all these different groups, it is essential to understand and effectively manage this multigenerational dynamic to foster collaboration, innovation, and overall team success. Cultivating this understanding will help to better utilise everyone’s talents from an individual and a generational level.
In 2023, there are currently five generations working side-by-side. Those generations are:
The Silent Generation: This generation was born between 1928 and 1945, making them some of the oldest in the workplace. Many have already retired, but many still choose to participate in the labour force. It is estimated that they still make up 3% of the workforce in the USA. It can be easy to underestimate the number of older people still active in the workplace, especially when you consider that according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2030, 11.1% of those 75 and older will still be active participants in the workforce in 2030.
Baby Boomers: This generation was born between 1946 and 1964 and currently makes up around a quarter of the working population in the United States. The youngest members of this generation will start retiring in the upcoming years. Still, some of this generation have already begun retiring, this many because they are further along in their careers and often hold higher positions of power at work.
Gen X: Born between 1965 and 1980, this is one of the smaller generations compared to the ones that came before it and the ones that are coming after it and many in this generation.
Millennials (also known as Gen Y): Millennials are often quite technologically adept because they have lived through some of the most significant technological advancements. They were born between 1981 and 1996, and they make up the biggest group in the workforce in the USA, making them around 35% of the working population.
Gen Z: The youngest generation to enter the workforce were born between 1997 and 2012, and they are remarked to be the first actual tech generation as they have never known a world without the internet. While many are still in university, the first groups are becoming active participants in the workforce. As such, organisations need to learn how to support them.
What are the Benefits of a Multigenerational Workforce?
In many places, we hear about the difficulties of generational differences affecting people’s ability to relate to each other, but there are many benefits for organisations. Those include:
Skill Diversity: Different generations tend to have distinct skill sets. For example, older employees might excel in interpersonal skills and relationship-building, while younger employees might be adept at leveraging technology and digital tools. This mix of skills can enhance the team’s overall capabilities.
Knowledge Sharing: Older generations often possess valuable industry experience and institutional knowledge, which they can share with younger team members. This knowledge transfer helps bridge the generation gap and ensures that essential insights are passed down to the next generation. Equally, the younger generation can share knowledge that older generations may have previously ignored, making the sharked knowledge sharing a fruitful opportunity.
Diverse Perspectives and Ideas: Each generation brings unique life experiences, perspectives, and approaches to problem-solving. This diversity can lead to a broader range of ideas and solutions, fostering innovation and creativity within the team.
Adaptability: A multigenerational team is often more adaptable to changes in the business landscape. Younger members might embrace new technologies and trends, while older members can provide stability and a long-term perspective during times of transition.
Reduced Bias and Stereotyping: Working closely with colleagues of various generations challenges stereotypes and biases. Team members learn to appreciate each generation’s strengths and qualities, breaking down preconceived notions.
Effective Communication: Interacting with colleagues from different generations can improve communication skills. Team members learn to adapt their communication styles to accommodate diverse preferences, leading to more precise and effective information exchanges.
Enhanced Problem Solving: Multigenerational teams can bring diverse problem-solving approaches to the table. This diversity allows the team to tackle challenges from multiple angles, increasing the likelihood of finding effective solutions.
Market Insights: Different generations have varying consumer behaviours and preferences. A diverse team can help the organisation better understand and connect with a broader range of target demographics.
Mentorship Opportunities: Multigenerational teams provide natural mentorship opportunities. Older employees can mentor younger ones, offering guidance and wisdom, while younger employees can offer insights into new technologies and trends.
Increased Employee Engagement: Recognising and leveraging the strengths of each generation can boost employee engagement. When team members feel valued for their unique contributions, they are more likely to be motivated and committed to their work.
How Organisations Can Get the Best Out of Their Multigenerational Workforce
The benefits of having a multigenerational workforce show that having a work environment that is diverse in age range creates a positive impact on organisations and their employees; it is still important to figure out how organisations can foster that environment. Some of the ways that HR professionals can learn how to manage their workforce to foster collaboration and innovation effectively include:
Embracing Diversity and Inclusion: A multigenerational team offers diverse skills and perspectives. By fostering an inclusive environment, HR professionals and leaders can help team members feel valued and respected regardless of age. Encourage open dialogue that celebrates the unique strengths and experiences each generation brings to the table. They can organise cross-generational mentorship programs to facilitate knowledge sharing and skill development.
Flexibility in Work Arrangements: Different generations often have different expectations regarding work-life balance and remote work options. By offering flexible work arrangements, organisations can accommodate the diverse needs of their multigenerational team. Allowing for flexibility in where employees work, flexible hours, and job-sharing opportunities ensures everyone can maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Continuous Learning and Development: Promoting a culture of constant learning to keep all team members engaged and up to date. Provide opportunities for professional development, training, and upskilling. Encourage cross-generational learning by pairing experienced employees with newer ones to facilitate knowledge exchange.
Flexibility in Leadership Styles: Different generations may respond to different leadership styles. Some may appreciate a hands-on approach, while others prefer a more autonomous working environment. HR professionals should understand these preferences and adapt leadership strategies to manage and motivate their multigenerational teams effectively.
Conflict Resolution and Mediation: Generational differences can sometimes lead to misunderstandings and conflicts. HR professionals and leaders should be equipped with effective conflict resolution and mediation skills to address any issues that may arise. A proactive approach to resolving disputes can prevent them from escalating and disrupting the team’s harmony.
Managing a multigenerational team requires a thoughtful and inclusive approach. By embracing diversity, fostering open communication, offering flexibility, recognising individual contributions, promoting continuous learning, and adapting leadership styles, organisations wanting to get the best out of their people can work to create an environment where everyone thrives. Suppose they successfully create this environment by navigating the complexities of a multigenerational team. In that case, they will not only be able to enhance team performance, but they will also be able to cultivate a workplace where everyone feels valued.
How Saint-Gobain, Capgemini and bioMérieux are Engaging Employees from a Human-Centric Perspective
Engaging employees has always been a priority for organisations wanting to get the best out of their people. Over the years, there have been many strategies to engage employees, and more recently, organisations have begun to use a human-centric approach. An organisation does not necessarily need to be human-centric to engage its employees but organisations that are human-centric are seeing better engagement levels than those that aren’t.
That was the topic in mind in a recent roundtable we hosted with HR experts from bioMérieux, Capgemini and Saint-Gobain. These experts included: Regis Blugeon, Director of Social Affairs and HRD for France at Saint-Gobain; Franck Baillet, the EVP of Learning and Development at Capgemini; Pretheshini Moodley, Regional Head of Human Resources for Africa at BioMérieux, and Paola Bottaro, People Director at Top Employers Institute.
These certified Top Employers are embracing a human-centric approach and utilising it to engage their employees. Throughout the article, we will explore how these organisations are making a more holistic approach to employee engagement without ignoring the challenges faced by organisations making this change.
How Does an Organisation Become Human-Centric?
A human-centric organisation, also known as a people-centric or employee-centric organisation, strongly emphasises its employees’ wellbeing, development, and satisfaction. In this type of organisation, employees are considered the most valuable asset, and the entire organisational structure and culture are designed to prioritise their needs, growth, and overall experience.
Some characteristics of a human-centric organisation include:
Maintaining open communication across the organisation.
Ensuring that employees feel empowered and have a sense of autonomy.
Allowing employees to have flexible work arrangements.
Cultivating a collaborative environment at work.
Investing in professional development for every employee.
The concept of a human-centric organisation recognises that when employees are valued, supported, and engaged, they are more likely to be motivated, productive, and committed to the organisation’s success.
During Top Employers Inspire 2023, we got an insider’s view of how Top Employers Institute is becoming a human-centric organisation. Paola Bottaro, People Director at Top Employers Institute, talked to Wouter van Ewijk about how the business has adapted to support its employees better while learning to be mindful, empathetic, and purposeful. You can watch that session here.
Assumptions About a Human-Centric Organisation.
The concept of a human-centric organisation is still very new, and as such, many incorrect assumptions come with the term. Some of these assumptions are around how it is easier to implement a human-centric approach depending on some factors like:
The organisation’s industry: there are doubts that some sectors, like investment banking and manufacturing, can become human-centric.
The size of the organisation: there are assumptions that it is easier for smaller organisations to be human-centric than other larger organisations.
Geographical location: it is assumed that organisations that operate where there is a national legal framework find it easier to be human-centric.
Type of employee: there may be an assumption that having a human-centric approach for an organisation with white-collar workers is more effortless.
However, many of these assumptions are incorrect. Organisations that want to become human-centric differ in many ways, yet they can all engage with this approach.
How Top Employers like Saint-Gobain, Capgemini and BioMérieux Understand Human-Centric Organisations
Pretheshini Moodley, Regional Head of Human Resources for Africa at BioMérieux, started this discussion by sharing how BioMérieux sees a human-centric perspective as engaging their people by “considering the individual needs”. This fits into their way of working because, as an organisation, one of their values is centred around belonging – where people can be themselves while feeling like they belong at BioMérieux.
As an organisation, they have prioritised listening to their employees and allowing them to share their genuine feelings and thoughts. In many ways, they are highlighting the diversity of their employees. While BioMérieux engages with their employees in a human-centric approach, they prefer to call it employee-centric as they feel that it allows their employees to feel better represented by the approach that they are taking.
At Capgemini, Franck Baillet, the EVP of Learning and Development, shared how the organisation recognises that one of its significant assets is its people. As such, they see the topic of engagement and human-centric work as “absolutely key”. As a human-centric organisation, one of the things they try to do at all times is to “put the individual at the centre at all times.”
While they see a human-centric approach as the best, Franck notes how it can be challenging at all times, primarily due to their size, but it is still something they enact across their organisation. Similarly to BioMérieux, Capgemini prioritises regularly listening to their employees to understand what is best for them. It helps them test the “temperature” of their employees’ feelings.
As the conversation continued, Regis Blugeon, Director of Social Affairs and HRD for France at Saint-Gobain, shared how Saint-Gobain see themselves first as customer-centric and people-oriented. For them, everything starts with the customer. The engagement of their people is significant for them, and they engage them by prioritising what their customers and their people need.
One of the ways that they keep themselves accountable for their employees’ feelings around engagement is by measuring their engagement levels regularly. Their regular check-ins with their employees are why they see themselves as people-oriented because this approach to their employees impacts many other aspects of their day-to-day work environment; it is just balanced with the needs of their customers. For Saint-Gobain, this regular assessment is also essential because their organisation is not a monolith, but rather, they have a remarkably diverse set of workers – from blue-collar to white-collar.
How Top Employers Institute is Becoming a Human-Centric Organisation
As the discussion around Top Employers Institute’s shift into becoming a human-centric organisation, Paola Bottaro explained that the company did not decide to become human-centric overnight. Instead, their leadership board undertook the decision, understanding that this approach is complex, especially as there is no such thing as a “typical human experience”.
At first, when the organisation began to think around this issue, they considered calling it an action- or activity-driven approach. Still, they settled on the human-centric approach because it encapsulated their desire to give everyone a fair and equal experience while understanding the differences that make us human.
In a similar vein as the Top Employers in the conversation, Paola stressed the importance of listening to employees, especially as working in a human-centric way is explicitly not a one size fits all approach, and even she recognises that you can never know everything about working in a human-centric way. That is why listening is essential and embracing that you may not always understand, but you should always be open to listening.
What About Engagement?
Franck shifted the conversation to understanding what engagement means. In some ways, the word is quite generic as it can apply to many situations because an employee can be engaged in many different ways. And for each employee, their way of being engaged at work may be completely different.
He thinks organisations must consider “how they can create the best conditions for people to feel engaged?” He sees that engaging employees is in so many different people’s hands, which is part of why engaging employees is more of a complex task than it appears to be on the surface.
Franck sees that employees understanding the “why” of their job is playing a critical role in improving the engagement of employees as it helps to guide the organisation to develop the conditions to support employees – making them feel more engaged.
Adding to Franck’s, Pretheshini explained how at BioMérieux, they launched a project to gauge their employees’ sense of purpose before they even critically thought about engagement. They did this by investigating employee insights, and asking each person how they viewed purpose and “why they were here [at BioMérieux]”. They used this as the start of their engagement journey to create a sense of purpose and better understand each person’s motivations. It made it a lot easier for them to understand the voice of their employees because of this project.
Once they had done this part of the project, they ensured they created a safe environment for their employees to share their thoughts. The environment needed to be a place that empowered employees in a ‘space’ they could trust because, without these safe spaces, they would be unable to have satisfying and enlightening discussions.
Beyond having a survey or a measurement for their employee engagement, BioMérieux has created a game that leans into their desire for honest conversations. In the game, they encourage employees to be courageous and utilise the trust they’ve built with their colleagues. In the game, when an employee wants to be courageous, they show the car to their manager and then say how they would like to share something important. Pretheshini shared that they see “every failure as an opportunity to become better”, and that can only happen when you’re brave enough to try something that may lead to failure. It allows employees to feel engaged because they are given the space to truly try their best, even when it doesn’t work out.
How Does Leadership Fit In?
Leaders in an organisation are often the guides that make initiatives work, but that still needs to be completed in a boardroom. Instead, modern organisations require empathetic, emotionally intelligent leaders, good listeners and communicators. These are often considered soft skills and have been undervalued for many years. Still, when it comes to engagement, these skills are crucial to having an authentic connection between leadership and employees.
Effective communication: Leaders should foster open and transparent communication with employees.
Recognition and Appreciation: Leaders should recognise and appreciate employees’ contributions and achievements regularly.
Creating a Positive Work Environment: Leaders should foster a positive and inclusive workplace where employees feel safe, respected, and valued.
Aligning with Organisational Values: Leaders should ensure that their actions and decisions align with the organisation’s values and mission to help create a sense of purpose and shared direction.
Leading by Example: Engaged leaders model the behaviours they want to see in their employees.
Empowerment: Empowering employees by giving them autonomy and decision-making authority can increase their sense of ownership and engagement.
Professional Development: Leaders should support employees’ growth and development by providing training, skill-building, and career advancement opportunities.
Conflict Resolution: Addressing conflicts and issues promptly and fairly is essential for maintaining a positive work environment that engages employees.
Employee engagement is a critical factor to many organisations’ success, and a human-centric approach recognises that engaged employees are motivated not only by financial incentives but also by a holistic experience that fulfils their emotional, psychological, and professional needs.
Engagement is also not a topic that rests solely in the hands of HR professionals; instead, it is a companywide task, and when an organisation is human-centric, it can better allow everyone to achieve these engagement goals. When employees are engaged, they become more committed, innovative, and motivated to contribute their best efforts to the organisation’s success.
While this is only a snippet of their conversation, it highlights some of the challenges and successes Top Employers are making in creating the conditions to support employee engagement.
To find out more, get in touch today for free and find out how to engage employee by becoming an employers of choice!
Case Study | JTI’s Candidate Survey
Do your candidates value your status as a Top Employer?
By Top Employers Institute
JTI is a certified global Top Employer with 46 000 employees present in more than 130 countries. Since achieving their certification, they have consistently included their certification status in job adverts, career pages and other recruitment channels.
After nine years of implementing best practices, the company sought recruitment data to answer a question related to employer branding. Their question was: How important is it for our candidates that we’re a certified Top Employer?
In 2019 JTI selected Talenthub, a technology platform that integrates with existing HR systems, to collect real-time candidate feedback during the recruitment process. With their technical help, JTI captured accurate feedback from candidates while allowing them to reach out directly to follow up on provided feedback and improve the process where needed.
Download the Case Study to discover how:
They set up a digital survey on their career page and Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) system for candidates who applied at JTI.
JTI verified the impact of the candidate’s journey at all stages and found trends that enabled them to understand the behaviour of their applicants.
JTI implemented a new initiative to track and benchmark their candidate’s application process against other companies to optimise their process.
Nurturing Talent: Retention Strategy Insights from BAT
By Sandra Botha, Global HR Auditor, Top Employers Institute
As a certified Top Employer, BAT recognises that talent retention is critical in a rapidly changing and volatile labour market. Limited growth opportunities and a lack of skill development often motivate employees to seek new opportunities elsewhere. To help ensure top talent joins and remains at the company, BAT implemented a Career Conversation series.
Lucy Evara, Head of Human Resources (HR) for BAT East African Markets and I had the opportunity to discuss this new Career Conversation series and other talent retention strategies during the 2022 Top Employers Institute Best Practices Week. Any organisation seeking to improve its talent retention strategies continuously will find value in our engaging conversation.
Here are some of the highlights:
Building an Empowered Organization
During our discussion Lucy shared insightful perspectives on BAT’s mission to cultivate an empowered organisation. This mission, which serves as the foundation of HR programmes, is to create, “an engaged, agile and high performing organisation with winning capabilities & culture delivering an enterprise of the future.” BAT has identified four key levers to realise this mission:
Build talent with winning capabilities,
Culture and leadership behaviour,
Diversity and inclusion, and
Fit for purpose organisation design.
The company regularly seeks input from employees to shape its initiatives. BAT conducts the “Your Voice” employee survey every two years, which gathers valuable feedback on company culture and initiatives. In 2021, employee feedback played a pivotal role in shaping the Career Conversations series, which directly responded to the wants and needs expressed by participants.
Engaging in meaningful career conversations is essential for fostering professional development and growth within organisations. At BAT these discussions, between leaders and their employees, revolve around identifying strengths, areas for improvement, and interests, all within the framework of present and future career performance and aspirations. By empowering employees to take ownership of their career paths and explore the vast array of opportunities, leaders play a pivotal role in inspiring and maximising the potential of their team members.
There are two critical aspects of career conversations: that they are separate from a performance evaluation and that employees think of themselves as the driver of their careers. While a performance evaluation and career conversation may complement one another, the evaluation provides feedback on past performance and the career conversation aims to explore future potential. Although leaders assist employees with thinking about their futures, the employee is accountable for following through on identified action items.
BAT’s approach to their Career Conversations series is to give examples relevant to their workplace to make learning practical, transparent, and meaningful. “It’s key to note that these were conversations and not death by PowerPoint. The intent was to make them as engaging and impactful as possible,” Lucy explained. The conversations generally focus on the “four Ws and one H,” – what, why, when, where, and how – to give specificity and clarity during discussions.
Within BAT’s career conversations, there is a focus on helping people understand the company’s career principles:
Sustained high performance,
Strength of your functional and leadership capabilities,
Critical experiences that you have gained in the course of your working life, an
Ownership of your career development plan.
Most importantly, the conversations end with a call to action, which Lucy described as employees “knowing that their manager will speak to them about their readiness for specific roles and considering the questions: Do I understand my development actions? How ready am I for some of these roles? Really just creating a greater awareness so that people can take ownership of their development plan.”
Demystifying Talent Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
At BAT, biannual “talent checking” sessions are conducted to assess progress on the company’s people development and align on the next steps. “The key elements or outputs that come from these sessions,” Lucy explained, “are talent pooling, which we traditionally call succession planning in HR, and talent supply and demand.” A team’s functional leadership cluster is responsible for these sessions.
BAT utilises talent pools to identify individuals who are “ready now” for specific roles, aiming to facilitate their move within the next 12 months. Additionally, they identify individuals as “ready soon” if they are prepared to transition in 12-24 months and “emerging talent readiness” if they show potential to move in the next 3-5 years. Categorising employees based on their readiness guides career conversations and helps tailor development plans.
Talent demand refers to roles that need new people and talent supply refers to those who need new roles. By staying aware of these needs, leadership expedites the process of matching talent with internal opportunities. Lucy highlighted that BAT, with offices in multiple countries, takes a broad view and considers relocating individuals if a suitable match is found. This approach enables the company to leverage talent and maximise employee career opportunities.
Our discussion concluded with the important observation that, ultimately, for career conversations and other talent retention strategies to be successful, they must be supported at three different levels: the individual employee, the manager, and the organisation.
Prioritising Skilling and Upskilling Young People on World Youth Skills Day
By: Sinakho Dhlamini, HR Content Specialist, Top Employers Institute
Our current work landscape is changing more than ever with technological advancements, labour market shifts and more – the world of work has never been a more complex place to enter. A recent study by McKinsey showed that 90% of employers will require significantly different skill sets in 2030 than before. And while young people are more able to access information from across the internet and the world, the skills gap has never been wider.
World Youth Skills Day was initiated by the United Nations in 2014 when they saw a growing need to support young people to be prepared for a world of work as they grow into a changing employment landscape. By doing this work, enlightened organisations will be able to positively impact the youth of today and the youth that are still to come.
In this article, we will explore what organisations can do to support young people as they prepare to enter the world of work? And how can they show their commitment to skilling the youth of the future, and what are Top Employers doing?
World Youth Skills Day and Positive Impact
One of the trends we identified in the World of Work Trends Report 2023 was that organisations were finally making a clear commitment to ‘positive impact’ as it became the -new North Star for everything that enlightened businesses to do in 2023. In the report, which is available for download now, we broke down this trend into three parts:
A “a ‘lived” purpose works best when it comes straight from the heart of all those who work there – and remains a constant in their everyday decisions.
Secondly, the purpose of any organisation can only ever be as good as the views it allows itself to hear. So enlightened attitudes to diversity and inclusion are not only imperative for the positive impact and momentum they create in all organisations.
Finally, sustainability is critical in how an organisation ensures its continuity through a positive broader impact and in how it behaves as a good employer.
On World Youth Skills Day, we can see how this trend aligns with the importance of businesses in skilling today’s youth, especially as the barrier to entry for work only gets more difficult for young people.
The UN encourages us to unite in recognising the potential of young people as catalysts for change by committing to providing them with the skills needed to build a sustainable and prosperous future for all as we celebrate this World Youth Skills Day and for organisations, it is vital to understand the role that they can play in creating this future.
How Organisations Can Work to Skill Young People
While many organisations have begun committing themselves to creating a better world, many still need to learn precisely what they can do to have the positive impact they would like. Still, large and small businesses have the unique opportunity to contribute to improving the workspace for young people. Some of the ways that they can do that include:
Establishing training programmes, like boot camps or in-school programmes.
Partnering with charities and other organisations that are committed to educating young people.
Forming Coaching, training and mentor programmes aimed at young people who have yet to enter the workforce.
Establishing apprenticeship programmes.
Funding scholarships at universities and schools.
Create project-based learning opportunities and programmes for young people.
UST’s Partnership with Tech She Can
During Top Employers Inspire 2023, UST recently shared details of their partnership with Tech She Can. Tech She Can is a charity committed to changing the ratio of women in technology; they do this by providing free resources to help inspire young women to study technology subjects and inevitably choose a career in a technology field. While they focus on young women, they also work with all kinds of young people to feel inspired to choose a tech career. They do this by connecting them to relatable role models working in the jobs they may consider for themselves.
Certified Top Employer, UST, has partnered with Tech She Can as they want to play a role in having more representation for young women in tech. During UST’s session in Top Employers Inspire, Seena Mohan noted that ‘It is important to inspire women and girls to get into tech careers so they can become equals in creating and developing new technology businesses to shape our future.’
Final Thoughts
On this year’s World Youth Skills Day, we encourage businesses to commit proactively to skilling the youth of today and the young who will follow them. They need to do this by addressing their challenges and supporting or creating programmes and initiatives that seek to upskill young people for the changing world of work. Whether through their own initiative or if organisations need to leave a positive impact on the world beyond their offices’ walls.
Businesses prioritising improving the world will see wins for themselves and their community. We can shape a better future together and create a future that doesn’t leave anyone behind. Find out to day what it means to be an employer of choice!
Making an Impact: GroupM’s DEI Sponsorship Programme
By Androna Benadé, Senior Account Manager, Top Employers Institute
How GroupM’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) sponsorship programme creates a career support network for people from traditionally marginalised groups
During the 2022 Top Employers Institute’s Best Practices Week, I had the opportunity to speak with Amy Walker, Inclusion and Diversity Manager for GroupM, a UK-based media investment company and certified Top Employer, about the company’s new DEI sponsorship initiative.
GroupM’s desire to radically change the industry and facilitate a new generation of leadership was the catalyst for the programme. They chose to focus on sponsorship because it’s an effective way to disrupt systemic barriers that prevent underrepresented groups from accessing top leadership positions. The pilot programme lasted for 18 months, involved 35 sponsees, and saw half of the participants promoted, with all of them moving forward in their development.
Here are some of the highlights from our discussion. You can also find a link to our full discussion here.
How Sponsorship Is Different from Mentorship
To begin our discussion, Amy explained how sponsorship programmes impacted her personally. “I’m on the autistic spectrum and I also have other conditions – physical, mental health conditions. I can attest that the sponsorship I’ve received from leaders in our business and the inclusion and adjustments that I’ve had as a disabled person have allowed me to have a really accessible environment that works for my needs.” Amy recognises the opportunities she received as a result of the sponsorship programme have helped her get to where she is today and make her passionate about creating similar opportunities for others.
Understanding the differences between sponsorship and mentorship is essential when considering a programme like this for your organisation. A mentor can be anyone within or outside the organisation, who possesses a particular set of skills and experience. They generally offer guidance and support and take a broad view of their mentee’s career growth. The relationship can be formal or informal, and it is usually not measured with any kind of performance or impact metrics.
In a sponsorship programme, having a formal structure with support and guidance is key to achieving measurable results. Sponsors are senior members of a company invested in supporting talented junior staff. They promote the sponsee directly, actively open doors to new experiences, leverage their network, and build industry connections to help the sponsee gain access to opportunities. Really, it’s about taking a very active role in supporting the sponsee’s career advancement. Success is measured not only by promotions but also by lateral moves within the company or network, which provide valuable experience for future leadership positions.
In GroupM’s programme, the sponsee manages the administration of the relationship – making sure that they follow up on action items, reaching out to new contacts, and keeping their sponsor in the loop about their progress. Both parties must prioritise the relationship and meetings to achieve results.
Open and honest communication is a key element of a successful sponsorship relationship. To foster this dynamic, a sponsor needs to create a safe space so that their sponsee doesn’t feel defensive or criticised when discussing their experiences. They can work through the sponsee’s self-limiting beliefs from that foundation and develop a clear picture of the desired career path.
During the programme, GroupM identified several key responsibilities for sponsees:
Manage the relationship with their sponsor.
Be open and honest.
Identify barriers, including self-limiting beliefs.
Develop a career vision and goals.
Work hard on identified action items.
Key responsibilities for sponsors were also identified:
Create a space safe for conversations.
Leverage their network.
Provide guidance on navigating company politics.
Actively open doors to experiences and opportunities for advancement.
By the end of the pilot programme, half of the participants were promoted, and all of them made significant progress in their career development so that they are ready to advance when an opportunity arises.
One of the most exciting insights we discussed was that many sponsors noticed that their sponsees work incredibly hard – twice as hard as their peers. Helping them unlearn that behaviour and devote more energy to developing their personal brand and networking became part of the sponsor’s role. “I can think of specific people and see the journey they’ve been on and how they’ve changed and the kind of gravitas and confidence they have in themselves,” Amy shared, “And the way they can kind of promote themselves and make that influence felt through the company is really inspiring. It’s been brilliant to watch that happening.” Seeing individuals experience these kinds of changes after participating in the programme and subsequent positive ripple effects in the company is one of Amy’s favourite parts of her work.
GroupM will continue developing the sponsorship programme. Their next steps are to:
Make the programme permanent,
Include senior leaders in the pool of sponsors by default,
Have more targeted sponsor/sponsee pairings,
Build a training framework,
Partner with a wider agency group, and
Bring sponsors/sponsees together across the whole group regularly.
Advice for Companies Interested in Starting a DEI Sponsorship Program
To wrap up our conversation, I asked Amy what advice she would give to other companies interested in starting a sponsorship program. First, she said, it’s important to establish clear roles and responsibilities before the programme begins. Doing so will prevent confusion and ensure that everyone involved is on the same page. The programme needs to be actively managed, with ongoing feedback and regular check-ins to make sure that everything is progressing smoothly.
Next, it’s essential to consider how people are selected for the programme. Choosing participants solely for the sake of diversity will do more harm than good. Instead, Amy says, “It’s crucial to focus on high-potential talent. There’s no point running a programme like this with people who aren’t ready or don’t want to move up.” Search beyond traditional sources of talent and consider individuals who may have been overlooked in the past.
Training and support are vital to help participants confront their biases and step out of their comfort zones. Cultivating a safe and supportive environment is key. Managing expectations is also important. Make it clear that there are no guarantees of promotion or advancement.
Finally, there are numerous resources available to help companies get started. Amy described one that particularly stands out to her, “There’s this organisation called BRiM that’s made up of industry partners and they’ve just created the most brilliant guide. It’s got everything you need in there – so much rich, thought-provoking information about what might go wrong, how to make it a safe space, and how to be aware of cultural differences.” Part of the reason it caught Amy’s attention is that it was created by Black individuals who have participated in sponsorship programmes themselves. Guides like this one can help organisations ensure that their programmes are inclusive, effective, and impactful.
Update to Group M’s DEI Sponsorship Programme
Since my conversation with Amy during Best Practices Week 2023, several exciting updates have been made to Group M’s Sponsorship Programme. After seeing positive results from their first Sponsorship Programme with improvements in the representation of high-performing talent from minority ethnic groups, Group M began to see significant moves from these employees through promotions.
Amy noted, “Overcoming years of bias that have kept minorities from equal representation in top leadership positions requires intentional intervention. One tool that has proven to be highly effective when implemented well is sponsorship.
“A sponsor is a person who has power and influence, who can talk about you in the rooms you’re not in, put you forward for opportunities, introduce you to key decision-makers, and help you navigate your company.”
The first cohort of sponsees completed their 18-month programme in 2022. Of the 37 sponsees, half of whom were women, 57% of sponsees were promoted during the 18-month programme, with a further 10% moving into a new role or gaining greater responsibility – all the while building contacts, skills, confidence, and a career path towards promotion
GroupM’s second Sponsorship programme will launch later this year, targeting a wider group of underrepresented talent and explicitly targeting the areas of improvement identified from our Gender Pay Gap analysis.
Our HR priorities are all about accelerating the impact of our talent
What are your key HR priorities for 2023 and why?
Our HR priorities revolve around maximizing the potential of our talent and fostering a culture of high performance by focusing on:
Driving our cultural transformation through a leader development & culture program “Engage – Shape – Perform”
Empowering and supporting all our people to take ownership of their careers, enabling them to reach their full potential
Shaping a caring environment, in which wellbeing & employee experience at scale is key
Implementing future ways of working (digital – data analytics – virtual assistant & automation)
Embedding Diversity, Equity and inclusion further into everything we do
Which trends do you think will be central in the world of HR in 2023 and beyond?
Important trends in HR that we are taking into account in our strategies are the:
Move from intuition & bias to evidence based working through data analytics
Switch from job based to skill based working
Hybrid working and new office concepts
Focus on selfcare – more focus on preventive action over curative
How has being a Top Employer helped your employer brand?
The Top Employer certification helps to benchmark our company against other top employers and provides useful insights into areas we can still develop or innovate further. It is of course also an important employer branding tool, which can differentiate us from competitors. Many candidates are very well aware of it, and as the labour market is candidate driven, it is really supportive for our brand and for attracting the right candidates.
Winning the Battles for Talent
I think it’s time that we stop saying we’re in a war for talent. Not because the fight is cooling off, but rather, because it is intensifying. It is worth changing our perspective on the concept itself; its real form is not that of a war, but of continuous battles for talent. Organisation’s ability to attract, engage and stay committed to and excited about the talent they need is not something we win or lose at once. It is a process of continuous improvement – a thrilling one at that – in which the areas of people management play a decisive role.
Maximising the Employer Brand Strategy
88% of companies worldwide certified as Top Employers have an employer brand strategy that incorporates their employee value proposition as a core element. Naturally, all organisations offer some kind of value proposition to their employees.if they didn’t, it would be difficult to attract anyone, or keep them in the company for that matter – but here we are talking about effectively addressing the challenge of identifying, developing and communicating what you can offer to the talent you require, both during the hiring process and once they are in the company. A value propositon is something that makes the organisation unique, makes it a company that professionals want to belong to, where they want to work and thrive. That, undoubtedly, is a competitive advantage that sweeps away any competition.
Optimising the Candidate’s Journey
The best companies want to make sure they deliver on what they promise, and they achieve it by embarking on a process of listening and continuous improvement. That is why 89% of Top Employers design and review the key stages of their talent acquisition process so that they are aligned with the pillars or key characteristics of their employer brand. What’s more, 70% of Top Employers systematically measure their employer reputation among their potential candidates – their target market for talent – while 70% also map their candidate’s journey, allowing them to optimise it. They outline what the experience will be like, both from their perspective and that of the candidate, and work with the information they collect from surveys to implement a process of continuous improvement at each focal point. The aim of this is to improve the candidate’s experience so that the hiring process is agile and reflects the pillars of the employer’s brand, making the company more attractive.
Measuring the Experience of Newcomers
These steps are not limited to candidates; they are also aimed at employees, both existing and new. 79% of certified Top Employers measure the experience of new employees, but it is interesting to note that 40% also focus on discovering whether the perception of the employer brand the employee had before joining the organisation has matched their actual experience in their first few weeks of company life. This is very insightful information. It reflects the fact that they are companies with a daring attitude, that are very committed to people, and that thrive in the spirit of continuous improvement. The results they capture inevitably lead to action, and either they change the experience or they will have to change the employer brand.
The best companies will need to work to build trust in their employer brand with the aim of maintaining their commitment to their promise of value throughout the talent life cycle of the organisation. 85% of companies certified as Top Employers ensure that there is a clear alignment between the employer brand and the perception and experience that employees have. They are consistent and coherent brands that work to ensure that no disparity arises between how they consider themselves to be and how they really are in the day-to-day life of the company.
The EVP at the Core of the Employer Brand
An employer brand strategy should have the employee value proposition (EVP) at its core. This is, after all, what gives it consistency, because it brings together the tangible and intangible benefits offered to employees and is aligned with the pillars of the employer brand, related especially with the current and aspirational values of the company.
80% of Top Employers are clear on the fact that, for an employee, a good value proposition must include an effective listening process. For this reason, they actively involve representatives from different groups of employees in defining their value proposition, evaluating their needs, aspirations, and current work experiences. Best practices in this respect shows us the relevance of segmenting employee samples and analysing whether there is a gap between the company’s vision and that of the employee – something which is usually the joint work of management and human resources.
Mapping the Employee Experience
Of course, the EVP, the heart of the employer brand strategy, is certainly not the result of a one-off exercise; the best companies – 72% of Top Employers – increase their value by regularly assessing it, and they continue the systematic exercise of listening to employees. 46% of them use effective tools like employee experience mapping, which details the employee’s perception at every touch point of their journey in their relationship with the company.
Final Thoughts
Talent battles are continually being fought. Socrates, with very good judgment, left us with this reflection: “The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavour to be what you desire to appear”. Consistency between what we say we are and what we really are is what builds trust in the employer brand. The best companies invest time, resources, and enthusiasm, as they embark on a process of continuous improvement to achieve what they promise.
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