The Symplicity Recruit team was thrilled to join HR leaders at the HR Tech Conference in Las Vegas this past September. Not only was our team able to get together in person, but we were also able to connect with other professionals interested in learning more about recruiting and early career talent.
We learned a lot at HR Tech about the issues HR professionals face in the wake of “The Great Resignation,” and the challenges in developing and retaining the talent of tomorrow.
Here are three key takeaways from our time at HR Tech in Las Vegas.
Elevating the Employee Experience
Roughly ninety-two million Americans, about 58% of the population, work from home at least on a part-time basis. With a vast majority of Americans working from home in some capacity, companies have had to get creative about how to best elevate the employee experience and make sure everyone feels at home in their new roles.
Industry research shows that companies should aim to provide the work experience that their employees deserve. An employee’s experience should be:
- Personalized
- Consistent
- Seamless
- Empowering
Yet, with most interactions being online, the digital workplace has become chaotic for some, preventing them from enjoying the more positive aspects of their job. HR Tech industry leaders broke down the moments that matter into five categories: first contact, first day, first week/month, milestones, and offboarding.
Each interaction with an employee, from their interview experience to their transition out of the organization (should it ever get to that), matters in making or breaking their individual perspective towards their role in the company. Remember, it’s not about a journey, it’s about their journey.
It's More Than DEI, It's DEI&B
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is getting an upgrade. It now includes the letter “B,” standing for the word Belonging. DEI initiatives have been in place for a long time, seeing a renewed spotlight in 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic alongside the country’s focus on social justice causes such as #BlackLivesMatter.
Throughout the years, businesses have adopted DEI initiatives to promote an inclusive culture in which every employee feels accepted and is encouraged to be themselves. When organizations talk about DEI, they’re talking about all the practices and principles that are put into place to make sure every single employee feels safe and at home in their role within the company.
HR Tech industry leaders are placing a special emphasis on encouraging businesses to ramp up their efforts in creating a culture of belonging to make every individual at a company feel uniquely themselves and uniquely valued. In simple terms, creating a culture of belonging is the outcome of establishing a successful DEI initiative. Today, a culture of belonging encompasses the following tenets:
- Every employee should feel psychologically safe
- Every employee should have a voice that’s heard
- Every employee should have equal opportunity
To establish this, businesses need to have a DEI&B framework that promotes transparency, accountability, and governance by embracing employee engagement and foundational learning to support a great workplace. In this instance, “great” equals a credible, trustworthy, respectful, and fair workplace. A DEI&B framework enables inclusive leadership, which supports us all to become…great!
Employee Retention Improves with Learning Stipends
As employers prepare to enter the next phase of a semi-post pandemic world with “quiet quitting,” HR departments everywhere are scrambling to figure out the best ways to increase employee retention and workplace longevity.
At HR Tech, industry leaders talked a lot about how learning stipends can increase engagement and how upskilling can provide personalized learning and development tools that can boost morale among employees and add value to the organization overall. Some of the learning stipends that Fortune 500 companies are implementing include:
- Bootcamps
- Certification programs
- Degree programs
- Conferences
- Professional memberships
- Career Coaching
- Textbooks
The best time to bring up learning stipends with employees is at the beginning of their career journey with your company. Onboarding and orientation are critical times for discussing anything to do with career trajectory and development.
Experts advise employers to provide their employees with personalized developmental suggestions for each term and celebrate outcomes in team meetings, messaging channels, and social media outlets like LinkedIn. This has the power to not only improve retention rates but to provide employees with the opportunity to grow from the very beginning.
Final Takeaway
Navigating the post-pandemic workforce has its challenges. As we continue to move forward in new directions, the main takeaway that we learned about in HR Tech is that the employee matters. Belonging matters. Growth matters.More and more the workforce today is not willing to settle for less. By incorporating some of the tips above, businesses can ensure a better employee experience that’s long-lasting and fruitful for everyone.
