Talent Engagement: Trends for 2019

What makes a company have a heart? What really makes a company an irresistible place to go, and its offers hard to turn down? How can it become the choice for the most passionate professionals who wish to achieve great goals?

Years go by, and workforce engagement remains one of the main concerns for 78 % of companies worldwide. We know that we’re doing something wrong, but don’t know exactly what. It’s been proven that a committed workforce works harder, completes tasks effectively, generates extra profit and is more innovative. Additionally, it boosts companies’ value five times more on the stock market when compared to those with unhooked professionals.  So why is this still a pending issue?

This may be due to a difficulty in defining what talent engagement is and knowing exactly what we’re talking about when we refer to it. Usually, we confuse this idea with satisfaction (one can be satisfied but work at another company for a few more dollars) or happiness (something more internal that does not necessarily result in a benefit for companies). Engagement is much more than that: it is a sincere emotional bond between a professional and the company he works for (primarily, company purpose and objectives). Even if we were to talk about emotions, it’s more than a sentimental issue: it’s the key to the success for companies… Yet only 13% of the world’s workforce feels committed to their company.

Another added difficulty is the speed at which changes and innovations occur in factors that directly influence engagement management.

The following report includes the key factors we believe should be monitored closely in 2019. We hope that it serves as an inspiration to all professionals who, like us, wish to ensure the personal fulfilment of our employees through their professional activities.

“Engagement is a sincere emotional bond between a professional and the company he works for.”

1. People Analytics: the need for permanent feedback

On one hand, analytics could be framed within the context of big data: using it as a tool to obtain insights and applying those statistics to Human Resource issues that can affect productivity, and even professionals’ development. On the other hand, there’s the practice of obtaining continuous feedback from workers to know and influence the main indicators of employee engagement.

2. Gig Economy: the urgency of reinforcing culture in a promiscuous working environment

The Gig Economy can be defined as the economy of temporary work or economy of work for specific projects. It is a challenge for corporate culture because the relationship between professionals and companies will become more and more brief and subject to specific projects only. In this sense, getting these so-called “rootless” professionals to feel attached to a company and aligned to certain values when doing their job is a critical challenge.

3. Postdiversity: to promote and make diversity visible as a recruitment tool.

We are convinced that, not long from now, diversity will go from  being a differential factor to a given characteristic, just like transparency. Talent already assumes a company must be diverse, beyond ethical and moral reasons, for competitiveness and efficiency in the market. It is an increasingly pressing social demand to which companies, as well as social actors of maximum relevance, must respond. In addition, a diverse company is a more creative and solvent company. Showcasing the various positive effects of a diverse workforce creates a powerful magnet for talent. Difference is not something to avoid, but something to pursue: a competitive advantage.

4. Microlearning: the convenience of providing flexible training solutions to empower and guarantee personalized careers.

New methods of training are shifting towards a model of hyper specialized microcontent and moving away from traditional schemes. Professionals, faced with increasingly varied, challenging and changing projects, need access to a radically different training methodology: a system focused on pragmatism and personalization, allowing them to grow rapidly, improve their performance and increase their employability. Mircolearning seems to be the dominant trend in this field, as well as a catalyst for boosting engagement and retention.

5. Employee Advocacy: activating professionals to be the main builders of reputation and employer brand

Employee advocacy initiatives are those that make professionals act as ambassadors for their companies through social media and other means. Company employees are the most credible actors to talk to regarding what is going on internally. Because of the current scenario where social media offers platforms of unlimited reach, worrying about what employees feel, think and say, is a trend impossible to ignore.

6. Employee Experience: the need to polish all interactions of the company’s talent

Employee Experience means going one step further in the conception of engagement policies. It involves taking care of each of the interactions that a professional has with your company—from the moment they arrive, to the moment they leave; designing their experience with the same care with which Customer Experiences are designed.

7. Hypertransparency: “glass doors as” a main attraction and retention tool

We are convinced that it is not necessary to “have” transparency, nor to act in a transparent way. It is necessary to “be” transparent. One of the best ways of attracting and retaining talent in the company is through trust, an element generated through open communication (both internally and externally).

“It is not necessary to “have” transparency, nor to act in a transparent way. It is necessary to “be” transparent.”

8. Artificial intelligence: the implementation of solutions that allow us to focus on added value

Artificial intelligence, robotics and automation, which are already a reality, will be more important than anything else in the workplace. There are many reasons for this, but the one feeding public debate the most is the impact it will have on layoffs in the future.

These are just a few of the many issues that will influence the immediate future of talent engagement management and companies’ ability to attract talent.