The Art of Advancing HR Industry

Chris Major, Global Talent Acquisition Director, Siegwerk

What are some of the major challenges and trends that  have been impacting the HR industry lately?  Employers Are Now Dealing with The Fallout of The  Actions During The Pandemic 

The past six months in particular have seen a near-full  return to normal ways of working. Even China, the last  bastion of COVID restrictions, has removed all lockdowns  and restrictions, opening the borders and cranking up  manufacturing operations. Employees the world over are  now taking a deep breath and taking stock of how their  employer acted during the darkest times of the pandemic –  and potentially re-evaluating their commitment and loyalty as  a result. Often, that is adding to the already large numbers of  resignations around the world. I know at Siegwerk, employee  experience was key for us – wherever possible, working from  home was instituted and normalized; with all the necessary  enabling technology provided. ‘Employee pulse’ surveys were  taken on a regular basis, to monitor general sentiment and  engagement, and above all, empathy and flexibility around  time off, workloads, expectations in general. That’s paying off  for us now certainly. 

Continued Turbulence in The Labor Market

 Instability has been the theme for a lot of people lately. For  example, the past 12 to 18 months have been a roller coaster  for in-house Recruiters and Talent Sources. In 2021, we saw  larger companies drastically reducing their headcount. This in  turn meant they would be entering into a hiring freeze, which  ultimately meant they no longer needed their Recruitment  teams. Then in 2022, on the back of a global economy that  had started to normalize again, we saw those same companies  scramble to hire back the talent they needed – and as a result  they filled their recruitment teams again to help them achieve  that. Then the pendulum swung yet again with the recent  massive Tech layoffs, and we now see the market flooded  with very good Recruitment talent. The same goes for a  number of other functions, and that erodes confidence in  an employers’ stability, and attractiveness as a long-term  career option. I think those companies will find it even more  difficult to attract the people they need in the future. 

Hybrid Working and Employee Burnout

 It seems that companies everywhere are trying to find the  “goldilocks ratio” of time spent at home vs time spent in the  office. The research tells us that even if employees say they  want to work from home as much as possible, that situation  isn’t necessarily the best for them, or their mental health. The  quick breaks, or walks to colleague’s office, or chance meeting  at the office canteen disappear when you work from home,  and often get replaced by back to back meetings. It takes a  conscious effort to push back on that, and to protect your  time. If that doesn’t happen properly, the research tells us that  it leads to burnout, which in turn leads to disengagement and  ultimately turnover. Successful companies will be the ones  that get this ratio right.

 "Companies are focusing  more on retention, and the  development and education  of their existing employees.  This is producing a new wave  of asynchronous learning  tools to boost ‘just in time’  learning "

Balancing Act

 Important to get the balance right between the impact we have  on our employees, vs the impact they can have on us, at work.  The promise we make to current and future employees is that  they can join us in any role, and they will get the support and  flexibility they need to make a positive impact on the world.  Our goal is to give our employees the platform they need to  succeed, and that means continuing to build on a culture of  collaboration and support amongst employees, but also from  the company in the form of increased flexibility in all areas.  That increased flexibility allows our people to manage their  lives a little better, hopefully leading to less stress, more time  and overall, more empowered human beings. 

What keeps you up at night when it comes to some of  the major predicaments in the HR industry? 

The Worsening Talent Shortage 

We are about to face a perfect storm of talent availability. I  think we are still working through the hangover from the great  resignation (and even more so from the ‘great reshuffle’ where  candidates started to reevaluate their priorities; changing  careers or removing themselves from the labor market  entirely), and now we have wider demographic shifts on the  near horizon which will see our ageing population leave the  workforce in never-seen-before-numbers. Employers in all  industries will be caught between a reduction in immediately  available talent, a sharp increase in demand for that same  talent, and a looming series of retirements that will take much  of that (experienced) talent out of the talent market for good. 

Can you tell us about the latest project that you  have been working on and what are some of the  technological and process elements that you leveraged  to make the project successful? 

The project I am most proud of is the design, development and  rollout of our new EVP – “Do it. With Heart.” Our previous  EVP had been in place for almost five years, and our company  had evolved and grown in many important ways over that  time. We now had a clear purpose and aspirational value  proposition focused on the circular economy and making  a positive impact on the recyclability and sustainability of  the packaging industry. We followed a process of research,  then development, then launch; whereby we spoke to a  representative sample of the global business to understand  key drivers, needs, and wants; and then interviewed our key  leadership stakeholders to identify any gaps between where  we should be as an employer, and where we actually were. In  this instance, perception neatly aligned with reality, and the  messaging was developed out of the ‘sweet spot’ between what  employees/ candidates were looking for in an employer; and  what we as an employer could offer. Ultimately, it revolves  around the idea that we give our people the flexibility and  support they need to make a positive impact on the world. 

What are some of the technological trends which excite  you for the future of the HR industry? 

Learning & Development 

To combat increased turnover, companies seem to be focusing  more on retention, and the development and education of  their existing employees. This is producing a new wave of  asynchronous learning tools to boost “just in time” learning.  This will give employees greater access to the information  they need for a specific project or task – as a result increasing  satisfaction and engagement over time. 

AI For Recruitment 

AI can help streamline recruitment and remove unconscious  bias in the hiring process. One example we are currently  looking at is in the writing of Job Advertisements, an area that  has historically sometimes fallen flat in terms of content and  delivery. As well as ongoing internal training, AI or similar  technology can help lift the game for these advertisements;  standardizing some parts and suggesting content for others to  produce industry standard advertisements that are compelling  and effective in getting the attention of the best talent. It can  also remove any unintended gender-coded terminology, so  that every candidate with the right skills and experience feels  like they are able to apply. 

Hybrid Working Technology 

More and more tools will be available to help with working  out of the office. The quality and versatility of video calls will  continue to increase, so too the number of collaboration tools  for workshops, offsites and team meetings