Almost two years into the pandemic, companies continue to adjust to a new normal that continues to change constantly and which, in turn, requires them to prioritize not only their productivity, but also the well-being and happiness of their employees, who now need have different technical and social skills that allow them to keep their jobs.
The challenges are getting bigger and bigger, but not for that reason impossible to solve and there are ways in which both companies and workers can benefit, as long as they understand that COVID is here to stay and that they implement new strategies in a Changing environment is paramount, if you want to stay current in the market.
Job challenges in 2022
According to the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO), in 2020 just over 12 million jobs were lost and the following year barely 10.5 million were recovered, which means that there is still a gap to address in 2022, since Although the situation seems to see the light, it is necessary to continue implementing measures to attract and retain talent with activities where everyone wins.
Well, it is not only about opening new vacancies, but also about adapting them to the new needs of people in terms of health and personal life, with topics such as teleworking, professional development, digital disconnection and of course, salaries.
In this sense, Manuel Gandarilla, Manager of culture, communication and Development at Universidad Tecmilenio, recognized in an interview with IDC, that “we live in an extremely volatile environment (therefore) it is essential that we talk about competences such as change management, flexibility and above all also not to lose the basics such as service and service attitude.
The expert explained that prioritizing well-being and happiness are characteristics that companies must implement, since they motivate that “the collaborator will work with you, will be able to adapt to the changes that come quickly, assertively and they will take better decisions when they are required ”.
Although the reform of the Labor Law (LFT) has shielded employees with greater rights, especially with the implementation of the home office or hybrid work model, this is still not enough and companies have to understand that in this Right now, talent needs more.
Manuel Gandarilla indicated that each organization must take different measures according to the work model it wants to adopt in 2022 and the place where it is located, however, in the case of those offices that wish to return in person, they have to align themselves to the health measures established by the local authorities and to be flexible with those collaborators who do not want to return.
And once employees choose which is the scheme under which they want to work, companies have to begin to assess the concerns and needs of their workers to offer them experiences that allow them to preserve their emotional and economic well-being with opportunities such as:
- schedule flexibility
- offering bonuses
- giving trainings
- conducting surveys to see the emotional state of employees
- a salary increase or offer benefits above the law
- by providing the work team to work from home
- with an emotional salary
- giving psychological attention
- establish assertive and empathetic communication
- provide physical wellness schemes
In view of the above, Gandarilla assured that putting the well-being and development of employees first, seeing them as people, listening to them through positive relationships, mindfulness and human capital management, make a company more attractive to attract talent and consequently retain it, although This means constant data analysis.
Conducting surveys, for example, allows collecting valuable information that shows the status of employees in order to propose and implement a strategy according to the company’s vision and solve the specific needs of employees, but for this, the best talent is needed.
The talent that companies will look for
Although, the profile that companies seek will depend on their turn, the transformation that the pandemic generated forced people to be trained in technology, so that among the requirements to attract talent will be knowledge of digital issues.
The Manager of culture, communication and development at Tecmilenio told IDC that the talent “has to be a digital professional” who takes advantage of digital resources and remote systems, in addition to being adaptable to “digital environments”, along with other skills such as :
- have sensitivity
- act honestly
- learning to learn: “understand that there are things that they are going to have to develop, that they are going to have to unlearn and things that they are going to have to learn”
- have an entrepreneurial mindset
- know where they want to go
- be trained in technology without losing the essence of dealing with others
- approach with experts
- detect their abilities to exploit them
- train and develop in the face of the opportunities they have
The role that Human Resources will play
With the digitization that accelerated as a result of the pandemic, the automation of different processes will allow Human Resources departments to use their time and work in the growth of organizations and collaborators, understanding what their needs, enablers and their pathways are. developing.
Gandarilla added that Human Resources departments must be prepared to understand empathically, that all data is used to generate new information that allows decision-making to support management teams, through “big data, change management, understanding and organizational behavior, understanding that we are in a changing digital environment ”.
Therefore, the HR team can decide, seek and interpret the best strategies that will impact the positive well-being of the employee-company relationship, rescuing the recognition practices to “identify what are the potential differentiators of productivity in the different departments” and highlight its productivity that allows to reactivate the economy of an organization, open new jobs and help in the economic reactivation of the country.