What Every HR Leader Can Learn from Beyonce to Attract New Talent
Beyonce’s new hit gives voice to a generation of frustrated workers. Are HR leaders listening?
Queen Bey’s “Break My Soul” is a raw take on workplace dissatisfaction. Jess Elmquist, chief human resources officer of Phenom, says employers can stem the rush to the exits and attract new talent by improving experiences for job applicants as well as employees they already have. Here’s how.
Well, so much for The Great Resignation losing steam.
One in five workers around the world plans to voluntarily leave their jobs this year, according to a study by PwC. That’s on top of a record-setting number of quits in the U.S. alone last year.
Money was the top motivating factor, not surprisingly, but job fulfillment and the ability to be one’s true self at work were ranked second and third, respectively.
While interviewing candidates, when it’s time to turn it over to the applicant to see if there were questions for the employer, The employer would get asked about inclusion policies, sustainability, and even the makeup of the board of directors. These queries differ from the “play it safe” one’s employer usually gets.
This is a positive and needed change in the talent landscape. It means that employers need to connect with candidates at every point along the journey – from when they visit a career site to when they are hired and all the way through their employment.
Providing a lackluster experience could result in more employees doing what this person posted: a video of her resignation sung to the tune of Don McLean’s American Pie.
Name That Tune
But for my money, no song quite channels the zeitgeist of The Great Resignation than Beyonce’s Break My Soul. The lyrics put a vibe on why employees are switching jobs in such high numbers:
And I just quit my job / I’m gonna find the new drive
Damn they work me so damn hard / Work by nine / Then off past five
And they work my nerves / That’s why I cannot sleep at night.
Motivation/I’m looking for a new foundation
The exodus of talent is causing human resources leaders to ask, “How can I attract new people and keep the ones I already have?”
The secret sauce to talent is pretty straightforward: transparency.
Show people that your mission and values align with theirs and that you’re equipped to support their professional development.
How? By creating unforgettable experiences for candidates and the people already in your organizations.
Talent professionals in other industries shared similar concerns about the state of their technology systems. Hiring executives say that they’re struggling to get the right data and tell inspirational stories about their companies that will convince candidates to apply and employees to stay.
My advice: talent leaders should look at their organizations’ experiences and personalize them for job seekers and employees.
Because with more than 10 million jobs still unfilled two years after the pandemic, it’s clear that talent is no longer an “HR thing;” it’s a company-wide business imperative.
Artificial intelligence is a critical component of where the talent landscape is shifting. AI can expedite a candidate’s search on a career site by accurately finding the right role with the right company based on title, work experience, and profile using real-time candidate data and interaction to offer relevant content and job recommendations.
AI can also automate scheduling to streamline and improve the interview experience – all before the first recruiter interaction, saving time for recruiters and job seekers.
The benefits don’t stop there. AI and automation help employees chart their future within an organization by pointing out new internal job listings, learning and development opportunities, mentorships, and more.e.
Automation allows candidates to advance based solely on qualifications, and AI reduces unconscious bias for a more equitable and inclusive experience. These benefits, of course, are by no means comprehensive. These are just several ways that automation raises the level of play for humans on all sides — candidates, employees, recruiters, and managers.
AI Raises the Experience Level
Healthcare is one of the industries that is struggling the most to hire in this environment, to the extent that some talent acquisition professionals aren’t even sleeping.
Yet, health systems leaders say digital capabilities will fundamentally transform their relationships with patients and employees.One-third of health technology leaders surveyed by Deloitte said talent is their top investment priority in the next three years.
That’s important in light of the expected growth in healthcare occupations — 16% from 2020 to 2030, which is much faster than the average for all occupations and adding about 2.6 million new jobs, according to federal statistics.
The government expects the industry to add even more jobs than other occupational groups, mainly because of an aging population. That translates into greater demand for healthcare services.
The Way Forward
Given the sheer size of some healthcare organizations, they tend to under-invest in technology, according to a multi-industry audit of Fortune 500 companies’ candidate experiences conducted by Phenom, a global HR tech company. It found that some of the biggest names in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector fell well short of leveraging AI and automation in their ability to attract and engage with job candidates.
Some healthcare enterprises are looking for a one-point solution: “I just need someone to help me with a career site” or “I just need a technology platform that helps me with an automated interview or a video interview”.
They are on their way to building a technological Frankenstein monster with different parts bolted to one another. So to help hiring leaders avoid creating a disjointed system and become stronger advocates for themselves in the C suite, talent executives need to be aware of the following trends:
Think like a CEO. Make a strong case for your tech investment plan by monitoring business trends, not HR trends. Read what your CEOs are reading – Fortune magazine, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. You’ve missed the boat if all you’re reading is HR material. Mercer and Gartner do some phenomenal online content. Their quarterly research is verified and validated, and you can bring that research to bear inside your presentations.
Then and now. When we think about recruiters in the past, they were headhunters. But in today’s world, they have evolved into talent advisers – almost like consultants with the people, they’re trying to bring in. Hiring managers used to have the mindset of “It’s not my day job; it’s the recruiter’s responsibility.” But now people realize that they must evolve and retain their talent because finding someone new is hard. HR used to be a back office cost center; now, it’s a talent experience designer. So we’re seeing a big change in the ecosystem today.
The new talent economy is real. Gigs. Work from anywhere. Globalization. The workforce is evolving in ways none of us could have ever imagined. One of the biggest changes I’ve seen is the focus on culture. It’s everything these days. Candidates and employees want more than just a job; they want the whole experience. They want employers whose values align with theirs. This as a positive and needed change in the marketplace. Talent leaders should connect with candidates when they launch a job search and through onboarding. Continue those deep connection points through employees’ careers so they can say, “I see a place for me here.”
Pulling all these strategies together is crucial (and thanks again to Beyoncé for reminding us that The Great Resignation wasn’t solely about people leaving jobs; they left toxic cultures).
What do you think every HR leader should learn from Beyonce? How it can help improve employee experiences? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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