You have been in the HR industry since 2008, how would you describe its evolution over the past few years?
At one of the first HROne events, we sat on a round table discussion where the topic of discussion was “What is the future of HR?” Fortunately, not everything has panned out as the discussion forecasted but we certainly alluded to many of the changes. Little did we know back then just how much HR would really evolve.
We’ve seen HR move from a functional to a more strategic function. We’ve seen the more administrative functions outsourced; activities centralised with a huge focus on technology. The use of technology has revolutionised the HR department by changing the nature of HR processes so that they are now more data driven than ever before.
What we didn’t predict back then was the importance social media would play in HR. Social media really has indeed been a force to be reckoned with, a key tool not only in recruitment but also employer branding. Employees have now become the brand ambassadors for the organisation, putting increased pressure on HR to ensure that their employees are happy.
The pandemic in more recent times has revolutionised the workplace, teleworking being in itself one of the most fundamental changes for HR, transforming the whole organisational design. The pandemic has also changed people’s attitude to work; work is no longer a priority for many, as employees put their own wellbeing over and above the company’s. Employees have become more demanding, wanting more flexibility, more interesting jobs and often an exhaustive list of demands. HR are now having to be thoughtful, creative and innovative in all aspects of HR from benefits to employee wellbeing.
Even the titles in HR have moved on, evolving from the Head of Human Resources to Chief People Officer, and we can see from this where the focus is today. HR is no longer an administrative hub. Working in HR involves being a marketeer, a communications expert, a strategist, a motivator, a data analyst, a leader, a technology expert, a project manager, a brand pioneer, and all of this in addition to the traditional HR requirements. We’ve seen massive changes in HR over the last 15 years as we witness the industry continually evolve.
As a leading recruitment agency, what sets you apart from the competition?
At DO Recruitment, we have strong corporate values and ethics and they have been our redeeming force throughout the years. We’ve a stable, friendly, professional, respectful and result orientated team. We work in recruitment because we enjoy it, we like people and people like us. It is our gentle approach to people and our commitment and love for what we do that makes us who we are today and sets us apart. We focus on quality, working in partnership with talented and skilled individuals, while delivering an excellent service to all parties.
Big Quit, Quiet Quitting, Conscious Quitting… Employee engagement has been strained lately… Which advice would you give to HR managers to (hopefully) turn the tide?
Listening to individual staff members and understanding their concerns and aspirations, and knowing their motivation and drivers is essential to re-engaging employees. It is accessing this information that is key. Enticing employees to re-engage can be painstaking but it is always worth the effort. How to entice them is a complex scenario that often involves deciphering the motivators, and those motivators can be as unique as the individuals are themselves. At DO Recruitment, we have seen a whole range of reasons why employees disengage from their jobs, and the reasons vary, from wanting to work less, wanting more flexibility / telework, having independence in the job, having a fair and good leadership team, a good team spirit, better communication or / and needing strong company values that are in line with the employee’s own. Also, reviewing the job itself, we are seeing that people are looking for variety, challenges, an interesting job where they can add value, they want evolution, improved financials as well as a fair and creative benefits system.
However, each person has their individual driver and they can change. Having engaged, motivated and happy employees is only achievable when you know your people and you know what makes them tick.
What are the main challenges ahead in terms of recruitment?
One of the biggest challenges we see today is finding people to do the mundane roles. In light of the pandemic, we are seeing that candidates are looking for it all; good salaries, flexibility and a job that they enjoy that brings value. Unfortunately, many of the roles that exist in Luxembourg are back office / regulatory / administrative roles – sexing these up will be quite the challenge!
