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In the looming shadow of a massive labor reshuffle, employers are being careful about explicit demands, opting instead to develop incentives that will motivate employees to return to the office of their own volition. This is strategically necessary in a market that continues to be characterized by talent scarcity, an existential risk that threatens to curb innovation and growth. To circumvent these observed risks, companies have allocated funds to their Chief Human Resources Officers so they can oversee the digitization of their departments, the reconfiguration of their value propositions and the development of retention and recruitment initiatives.
At the center of these parallel objectives are employees, who will dictate the values that should ideally be reflected in the company’s culture and objectives. Leadership roles within the organization will play a pivotal role in identifying core values and transmitting them within the disaggregated work model that is hybrid work. Downstream priorities for companies include the reconfiguration of physical workspaces that have yet to adapt to transmit and accommodate the needs of a flexible, hybrid work model.
At Mexico Talent Forum 2022, industry leaders highlighted the development of human-driven business models by aligning the company’s value proposition with its market objectives. This move marks a definitive shift away from performance-driven company cultures and towards the development of healthy, purpose-driven and inclusive work propositions. As the premier event in the human resources and talent sector, Mexico Talent Forum 2022 provided an ideal space for key decision-makers to share their perspective and build a discussion around the latest trends affecting all industries and sectors of the Mexican economy.
134 companies
377 conference participants
59 speakers
3 sponsors
1,305 visitors to the conference website
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177 participants
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• 7-eleven
• Accenture
• Acclaim energy
• ACH Foods Mexico
• ADN Well-being
• Advisory Network for Wellbeing
• Alabooool
• Alphacredit
• AMB e engineering LCC
• AM eCH
• Assurant
• Axity
• BASF
• BAyeR
• Ben and Frank
• Bosch
• Brella Ltd
• Cafemor
• Casai
• Castor App
• Center for emerging Leadership
• Citi
• Clip
• Cognizant
• Collective Academy
• Conekta
• Coppel SA de CV
• Cox energy
• Danone
• Dell Technologies
• Deloitte
• Dimex Capital Sofom
• dmX
• DocuSign
• Draeger
• endeavor
• enel
• ePIC QU eeN
• e VeR eST
• evolutive Agency
• F5
• Femsa
• FORTe INNOVATION
CONSULTING/ M e TAPHORCe
• Fundación México- e stados Unidos para la Ciencia
• Genommalab
• Gentherm
• GLOBAL eDTeCH
IMPACT ALLIANCe
• Globant
• GPTW
• Graviti
• Great Place to Work
• Grupo MC
• grupo ruba
• Grupo Salinas
• H. ROS eN De M e XICO, S. De R.L. De C.V
• Hasbro de México
• H eNRy
• H eRMAN MILLeR
• HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP
• Honeywell Mexico
• Humand
• Humanologo Consulting
• Hunters Of Talent
• iMile Delivery Services
• INDRA - MINSAIT
• Inventa Financial
• ioio
• IOS OFFICeS
• ivoy
• JCP Consulting
• JOKR
• Kavak
• Kimberly Clark de Mexico
• Klinc
• KPMG
• Krino
• LABORATORIOS SILAN eS
• LafargeHolcim
• LaPieza.io
• LinkedIn Talent Solutions
• MAS
• Mentorship-PDA
• Mercado Libre
• Mercer
• M e TAPHORCe By FORTe
• Mexico Business
• MexicoView
• Millerknoll
• Modatelas
• Momlancers
• Nexteer
• NIC México
• Norman Krieger Inc.
• OCCMundial
• ONLIN e CAR eeR CeNTeR M e XICO SAPI De CV
• PAG eCOM
• Photon infotech
• Poliglota
• Prestone
• Quadrant Comunicación RRPP
• RM Pharma Specialists
• Samsung
• Sanofi
• Scania
• Schenker International, S.A. de C.V.
• Schlumberger
• Schneider electric
• Scotiabank
• Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social, STPS
• Shell
• Silabuz
• Slang
• Someone Somewhere
• Starkey
• Talentu
• Tallentup
• Tec de Monterrey
• Technip energies
• Telmex
• Thincrs
• TMF Group
• Tribal Credit
• TROX M e XICO
• Tul
• Tupperware
• Ualá
• Vera & Asociados
• Vinco
• Volkswagen de México
• Walmart
• Wartsila
• WillScot
• Workday
• Zenda.la
09:00 LEADERSHIP IN A CHANGING WORLD
Speaker: Felipe Sánchez, Assurant Mexico
09:30 LEADERSHIP IN THE NEW WORLD OF WORK
Moderator: Nicolas Benenzon, Humand.co
Panelists: Alma Puig, Great Place to Work
José Antonio Alonso, DIM e X Capital
Eduardo Medeiros, Welbe Care
10:15 THE RISE OF THE CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER
Moderator: Yamile Nacif, Accenture
Panelists: Nora Villafuerte, Nestlé
Hernan Valcarce, Danone
Juan Domínguez, Clara Diva Carrillo, Honeywell
11:00 NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY - AI-POWERED 1:1 MEETINGS
12:30 THRIVING COMPANY CULTURE, VALUES AND PURPOSE AS CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
Moderator: Paulina López, Dell Technologies
Panelists: Ricardo Combariza, Covalto
Carlos Andrés De Silva, DHL e xpress Mexico
Miguel Castuera, Conekta
Daniel Parra, Laboratorios Silanes
13:15 THE REPOSITIONING OF EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING
Moderator: Olivia Segura Ortiz, KPMG
Panelists: Victor Velázquez, Clip
Martha Barroso, ManpowerGroup
Hugo Salcedo Mejía, Unilever
14:00 NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY - AI-POWERED 1:1 MEETINGS
15:00 IMPACT OF MEXICO’S OUTSOURCING AND SUBCONTRACTING REFORM
Moderator: Regina Cabal, Momlancers
Panelists: Francisco Martínez Domene, The Adecco Group Mexico
Leonardo Lara, Mercer
Maya Dadoo, Worky
15:45 NOM-35 AND MENTAL HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE
Moderator: Diego Muradás, Zenda.la
Panelists: Edgar Rosas, Centro de Liderazgo emergente & APRHIFAC
Nidia Garza, OneAmerica
Jorge Mérida, ADN Wellbeing
Joaquín Apolonio Ávila, Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare
16:30 LABOR MARKET TRENDS THAT WILL SHAPE MEXICO’S ECONOMY
Speaker: Héctor Márquez Pitol, Coparmex and AM eCH
09:00 THE FUTURE OF RECRUITMENT
Moderator: Pato Bichara, Collective Academy
Panelists: Sergio Porragas, OCC Mundial
Hernán García, Tec de Monterrey
Justyna Kroplewska, Citi
09:45 HR TRENDS: HOW MANUAL PROCESSES LIMIT PRODUCTIVITY
Speaker: Jorge Valencia, DocuSign
10:15 THE RISE OF SKILLS-BASED RECRUITMENT
Moderator: Alejandro Ureña, evolutive Agency
Panelists: Ricardo Rodríguez, Scania
Vanessa Escudero, Palacio de Hierro
Alejandro Hernández, The Kraft Heinz Company
Fabiola Quiroz, BOSCH
11:00 NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY - AI-POWERED 1:1 MEETINGS
12:00 THE HYBRID WORKPLACE/ DESIGNING A WIN-WIN FOR PEOPLE AND EMPLOYERS
Moderator: Carolina González, ey Mexico
Panelists: Mario Espinosa, Herman Miller
Marcela Domenzain, BASF
Ena Torres, Mercado Libre
13:00 UP-SKILLING, CONTINUOUS LEARNING AND THE WORKFORCE TRANSFORMATION
Moderator: Jorge Ponga, Deloitte Consulting
Panelists: Gabriela Villavicencio, Hyundai
Fernando Valenzuela, Global Impact edTech Alliance
Mireya Rangel, Indra
Karlo Mondragón, Grupo Salinas
14:00 NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY - AI-POWERED 1:1 MEETINGS
15:00 THE ACCELERATED DIGITALIZATION OF THE HR FUNCTION
Moderator: Carla Soto, Casai
Panelists: José Ramón Fernández, Coppel
Ana Isabel Orihuela, Digital@FeMSA
Manuela Vélez, Tul
José Carlos Aguilar, Palenca
15:45 SALARY ON DEMAND: END OF THE PAYDAY CONCEPT?
Moderator: Belén Meza, iVoy
Panelists: Diego Villarreal, Castor
Nima Pourshasb, Minu
Courtney McColgan, Runa
David Roa, Klinc
16:30 CAPACITIPS. HOW TO BUILD CAPACITY IN 2022?
Speaker: Santiago San Martín, Globant
READJUSTMENTS EXPECTED FOR HYBRID WORK MODELS
Active listening efforts of C-suite executives and leadership was central to the continued functionality of business operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cyclical practice has become a standard that will influence the further development of work modalities, and ultimately improve companies’ ability to pivot as needed for when the next disrupti on arises.
“The COVID-19 pandemic remined us that the future is always uncertain,” said Felipe Sanchez, President and C e O, Assurant. The social and organizational challenges encountered over the past two years were the ultimate resiliency test to Assurant’s human resources initiatives and the strength of its company culture. While the company would go on to be awarded as a Great Place to Work for the tenth consecutive year, this did not materialize without significant effort from both its leadership and contributors. All the added initiatives and support that contributors received were rooted in constant communication such as weekly townhalls and one-on-one coffee breaks with Assurant’s CeO.
“These open lines of communication were central to providing clarity and maintaining company structure while safeguarding the emotional and mental wellbeing of our contributors,” said Sanchez. This allowed Assurant to foster its company culture even when confronted with the inherent challenges engendered by remote work, which is known to undermine
social cohesion and trigger isolation. The approach also helped the company pinpoint health risks and build free preventative programs around physical and mental wellness to circumvent issues such as burnouts.
These efforts helped Assurant secure first place as a Great Place to Work in Mexico’s financial sector and close the first year of the global pandemic with a trust index rate of 94, the highest in its company history. Furthermore, it was recognized as one of the best companies to work for by the women the company employed. This was an important fist-time recognition in Mexico, where women have traditionally been disproportionally pushed out of the labor market. These initiatives allowed the company to grow steadily even as the global economy suffered numerous setbacks.
Since opening its offices earlier this year, the company adopted a flexible hybrid model regarding office attendance. Assurant will continue to refine the model based on the needs of its contributors, said Sanchez. Although presential work is only required twice a week following the model’s implementation three weeks ago, this has already been met with some resistance, which is a problem that other companies will likely encounter as they call workers back to the office. The conundrum for companies will be to decide if this is something that they are willing to compromise on. Regardless, flexibility will remain an
overarching feature of future work models, so long as contributors can demonstrate equal or increased productivity compared to office work.
Throughout this process leadership will once again be tasked with demonstrating empathy and support as companies enter a new readjustment period.
COMMUNICATION KEY TO KEEP WORKPLACE MOTIVATION, ENCOURAGEMENT
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about many challenges, among them the adaptation to remote work, which generated a shift in labor trends. This new era of digital work necessitates a change in the desired characteristics and abilities of leaders need to ensure an efficient workforce, as well as to enable companies keeping their employees motivated and engaged, agree Human Resources experts.
“The pandemic’s main lesson was to break away from the leadership paradigms. This is how we changed toward a focus on the person, with empathy and flexibility. This must be preserved”
Alma Puig CEO | Great Place to Work
is working with clear objectives. A leader must know precisely what he expects from every job position. Generating trust in the working environment is the second factor,” Medeiros added. To motivate employees, the company’s purpose and mission statement should be clear. Furthermore, its bond of trust must extend to the digital environment. This confidence can be created through different channels such as the Metaverse or WhatsApp groups created to talk about topics unrelated related to work, he added.
“Leaders must teach their collaborators about the importance of planning their objectives and generate an environment of trust. This can help avoid burnouts and health problems,” said eduardo Medeiros, C e O and Co-founder, WelbeCare. New practices must focus on achieving faster and more efficient processes. Such processes eliminate tiresome practices that wear out employees, which will boost their productivity and wellbeing. Traditional companies normally fill out the schedules of employees with meetings just ensure they are busy when they could be focused on achieving their tasks instead, mentioned Medeiros. However, modern-day technology revolutionized the way meetings work and enhanced business operations.
“There are two key factors that foster an efficient and productive workforce. One
“Going to work” is one of the most common human activities and has been so for ages. This changed drastically during the pandemic and altered routines severely. As a result, problems such as burnouts and mental health issues appeared more frequently. To deal with these problems, leaders needed to adapt. “The pandemic’s main lesson was to break away from the leadership paradigms. This is how we changed toward a focus on the person, with empathy and flexibility. This must be preserved,” said Alma Puig, CeO, Great Place to Work, adding that this understanding was especially important in Mexico, where one out of four employees experience mental health issues.
Strategies to improve mental wellbeing have taken leaps forward thanks to the greater focus on people that companies developed, as they enhanced their communication skills and ensured work hours remained reasonable. “While we keep implementing the changes that new generations and global conditions demand, we can keep on moving forward,” said Puig.
Many companies focus solely on their clients. Nevertheless, to measure the real value of a company, it is similarly crucial to measure the experience of employees and adapt to
their needs. “To improve the organizational culture, everything that happens within the company must be measured. What is not measured cannot be improved,” said Nicolas Benenzon, CeO and Co-founder, Humand.
Part of this culture is an effective communication strategy. According to José Antonio Alonso Mendivil, Vice President, DIM e X Capital, the shift to a new era highlighted the importance of delegating and communicating with absolute clarity. Teamwork strategies like appointing an existing employee to help new newcomers to adapt and learn about the company were key to keep productivity steady, as
the approach generated clear benefits for DIM e X. Technology should be used to enhance communication and create space for more humane business practices. The challenge here is to create a hybrid environment by encouraging flexibility while ensuring people still feel trusted and remain motivated.
Nevertheless, every company works differently. “Therefore, every company needs to find its own recipe for success and apply it. A more generalized approach could be one where the focus is on the person, with the support of technology,” concluded Alonso.
HR EXECUTIVES MUST MAKE THE MOST OF SEAT AT THE BIG TABLE
Among the many changes to the workplace environment that the pandemic generated, the new role of Human Resources (HR) stands out. HR executives may have been occasionally taken for granted in the past, but industry experts agree that with the advent of the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), the department has taken on a reinvigorated relevance. CHROs should capitalize on this development.
yamile Nacif Rueda, Human Capital Leader, Accenture, underscored how the global pandemic has put HR workers under the spotlight. “ e ach day during the pandemic, our strategy was under scrutiny,” she said. This greatly increased the importance of the HR department. What is more, all evidence indicates that this elevated position is here to stay, so HR officers should utilize their sway to improve their company’s culture.
“We work out what is best for the business by finding out what is best for people, because it is people who move a business forward. That is how we earn our place at the table”
Nora Villafuerte Garza, Vice President of Human Resources, Nestlé, said that this change was already in the cards for some time: “This may be the best time to be a CHRO with all the changes happening around us. However, the rise in importance of the CHRO began at least 5 years ago. We are living through complicated, changing times. In this country, we have a series of new laws. Twenty-five years ago, HR was losing importance as trade unions were pushed aside and labor relations were undermined. But now, we are back at the forefront of business operations.”
Villafuerte highlighted how digitalization puts a lot of pressure on HR officers. It was up to them to supervise the implementation of new platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams and to ensure that employees were adapting well and not losing engagement. With such a crucial role, Villafuerte noted that HR officers are valued more than ever and no longer need to fight for a place at the top table. Due to a dearth of candidates with the required experience and qualifications, HR positions are among the most-sought and competitive jobs on the current market.
Juan Domínguez Chief People Officer
|
Clara
Hernán Valrcarce, Vice President HR, Danone, concurred. The importance paid to employees’ physical and mental health has been on the rise for years, while remote work
and flexible schedules were also already considered. Nevertheless, the pandemic underscored their importance further. Referencing inflation, Valcarce noted how HR is transforming how businesses approach the managing of finances to reduce costs and jump-start profits, too.
“For this reason, increased HR specialization is of immense value, said Juan Domínguez, Chief People Officer, Clara, particularly because the pandemic has created many new problems to solve. Diva Carrillo Ortega, Senior HR Director, Honeywell Mexico, noted that the brunt of these challenges fall on the HR department. Since it provides the communication links to exchange perspectives across all layers of the company, it was up the HR officers to ensure remote work went smoothly and that communication networks were kept alive outside of the office.
“Employees who enjoy a positive work experience and feel more motivated to work toward their goals are more valuable to any business”
Diva Carrillo Senior HR Director | Honeywell Mexico
Domínguez emphasized that the increased digitization of business processes should not be synonymous with depersonalizing the workplace. Instead, it should be a boon to mental and emotional health, enabling personal growth and development and considering the diversity of the employees involved. He also emphasized the need to personalize the digital experience, since “employees need to see the benefits themselves.” This transformation must be accessible and enjoyable to all generations , however.
Villafuerte similarly posited that HR must treat technology as part of a company’s new value proposition. Businesses that fail to do this will be left behind. Nevertheless, company culture must not be neglected. To be effective, CHROs must make use of their deep knowledge of people and relations to define and establish this culture, said Villafuerte, particularly for companies that are just getting started or seeking to grow rapidly. “Businesses do not create value, people do,” she said, adding that “How we treat people is what separates us from other businesses. Products can be copied, often more quickly than we would like. But the most difficult thing to copy is the human factor.” Villafuerte added that in the C-suite of a modern business, a new triumvirate can be observed with the CFO and CHRO on either side of the CeO.
To this end, technology was essential. “In HR, we have to be agile in how we adapt and respond to changes,” noted Carillo, adding that HR needed to supervise how the digital transformation affects the experience of employees. She argued that, going forward, people must lead the digital transformation. Businesses must embrace the flexibility offered by technology and implement new digital processes to improve working processes. Carillo added that a main responsibility of a CHRO is creating a collaborative workflow, as well as to allow employees to connect their experiences with management. “ employees who enjoy a positive work experience and feel more motivated to work toward their goals are more valuable to any business,” she concluded.
“We must link the goal of the company with the capabilities and interests of its workers. A business is only as good as its leadership. It is up to HR to work on human relationships and ensure teams have the leadership they need,” Valcarce subscribed.
Domínguez joked that in popular culture, HR officers were seen as the ones who disciplined employees when they did something wrong. However, this responsibility has been passed on to management. With the increased orientation towards digitization, HR remains focused on human capital. However, the second technical revolution must serve people and not replace them. “Digitalization is not done for HR but for people. This is
not about substituting one for the other or replacing the responsibility for managing human capital and talent. It allows us to focus our attention on employee wellbeing and the health of the company,” he said.
To foster this wellbeing, companies adopt different approaches. Villafuerte responded that Nestlé uses software aimed at improving the mental and physical health of employees. This initiative was made possible by the startup Cuéntame, which provides psychological and nutritional advice that extends to employees’ families to improve their home life too. “Businesses have been lagging somewhat in how they implement data and analytics to boost employee wellbeing,” she said. With Cuéntame, however, Nestlé measure employee happiness with up-to-date questionnaires with an added comparative element. “The key to monitoring employee wellbeing
is to keep asking questions and listen,” agreed Valcarce.
For a CHRO to be successful, they must be upfront and direct with leadership and not be timid lacqueys, agreed Villafuerte and Valcarce. It is up to the CHRO to tell leadership what works and what does not. To earn respect, a CHRO must show that they have no ulterior agenda and tackle the difficult questions head-on. Nevertheless, the power of actively empathic leaders who approach people to understand needs cannot be understated. Now that HR has a seat at the top table, it must make the most of it. The model of the HR officer who simply manages wage slips and decides who deserves a bonus or a paycut is long gone. “We work out what is best for the business by finding out what is best for people, because it is people who move a business forward. That is how we earn our place at the table,” decided Domínguez.
STRONG COMPANY CULTURE IMPERATIVE TO INCREASE PROFITABILITY
As global circumstances change and technology advances, companies face different challenges. Company culture as part of the value proposal is imperative to overcome these hurdles. Good culture can shepherd a business toward a competitive business model. Both company leaders and employees play a key role in building this environment, say Human Resources (HR) specialists.
“Because of the conditions created by the pandemic, new dynamics were generated, which has driven companies toward an
environment hectic competitiveness,” said Daniel Parra, HR Director, Silanes. Now, the challenge for companies is to figure out how can help to observe detrimental behaviors and break paradigms. Companies must generate culture shifts to assure better results and a good value proposal for the client, Parra added.
“A beneficial culture increases productivity and improves commercial performance,” said Paulina López, CD&I Leader Latin America, Dell Technologies. Furthermore, a growing amount of investors is starting to
look toward companies where the culture is robust, which has increased the pressure for companies to build such an environment.
“Today’s working culture has to do with the everyday conducts and habits of the people in the organization,” said Ricardo Combariza, Chief People Officer, Covalto. Culture and strategy are the same and therefore cannot be separated. “To operate profitably, you need to keep the people working toward key objectives, as well as motivated and happy,” he continued, adding that “If your value proposal is centered around the business culture’s success, companies are will have highly engaged employees that give their best. There is where innovation thrives and companies can attract the best talent of the market,” said Carlos Andrés De Silva De Silva, HR Vice President, DHL e xpress Mexico. Conversely, displeased workers rarely achieve their objectives.
“If a company focuses on improving its culture, it can have more engagement, less rotation and better results,” concurred De Silva. Moreover, if staff feels motivated, it will deliver a better performance and offer a great service, which will then lead to happy clients and enhance profitability.
“The goal is to hear the conversation inside the company and turn this knowledge into an internal superpower, which helps to accomplish targets and enables what the company wants to be in the future,” noted Miguel Castuera, VP of People, Conekta,
“If company leaders do not have the capacity to deeply understand what is happening internally, this is a consequence of their behavior. It will hinder their ability to change and develop culture they want to build. Only when you listen to the voice of employees, you can make a real change”
Miguel Castuera VP of People | Conekta
adding that collaboration is key and that company culture needs to be adaptable above all. “Companies should link their culture and identity to what the market is demanding, but this should also make a company more flexible,” agreed Combariza.
However, these efforts are about more than good marketing and PR. The goal is not just to appear to be a company with strong culture, it is about creating a connection what the company looks like and the company it actually is. This is a challenge many have been afraid to tackle, agree the experts.
“Listen to the voice of your culture if you really want to transform your company,” said Castuera. After all, the true culture of an organization strongly influences its behavior that ultimately determines the public perception of the company. Therefore, it is key to understand how this culture generates value and adapt business processes accordingly.
If company culture is to be strong and enduring, leaders must lead and direct it.
“They have to be able to see what others do not see, say what others do not say and do what they have to do. More importantly, leaders must stimulate everyone else to see, say and do, too” said Combariza, adding that “enterprises have to connect their purpose with the purpose of each person working there.”
“If company leaders do not have the capacity to deeply understand what is happening internally, this is a consequence of their behavior. It will hinder their ability to change and develop culture they want to build. Only when you listen to the voice of employees, you can make a real change,” concluded Castuera. Business culture is an added but fundamental value for companies. Staff needs to collaborate successfully and have a shared sense of purpose if the enterprise is to trul y succeed.
“We
CENTERING THE EMPLOYEE IN THE MODERN BUSINESS MODEL
Before, businesses were focused on generating performance-driven cultures, but this outdated approach is slowly disappearing and replaced with an environment that centers the mental and physical health of employees coming from diverse backgrounds. e mployment is no longer just a question of value and compensation but one of providing spaces for employees to be healthy, happy and grow professionally, agree Mexico’s Human Resources (HR) leaders.
do want employees to feel like they must work a 9 to 5 in person because they feel forced to or because it looks better. Studies show that at least half the population feel they work better from home now, so we want to keep this flexibility”
Martha Barroso People and Culture LATAM Director | ManpowerGroup
Indeed, employee mental health has influenced the reconceptualization of business models. Víctor Velázquez Patrón, VP of People and Organization Development, Clip, underscored his pride that his company has always been centered around people, which he identified to be a rarity in Fintech. Velázquez also remarked that this new emphasis has played in Clip’s favor. ompanies must no longer work solely toward economic goals but rather set targets that result in happy clients and employees as well,” he said.
Martha Barroso, People and Culture LATAM Director, ManpowerGroup, noted that while people focus on the pandemic’s negatives, they must also acknowledge some of the benefits that emerged for employees. For example, businesses are no longer zeroed in on product and profit margins, but now favor a more comprehensive approach that puts employees front and center. “We listen to and understand our employees, to see
how they feel on the outside and inside. This approach ensures we are all on the same page. Before, we thanked employees for their product but did not consider the efforts before and after,” sai d Barroso.
She also noted the importance of a business and its employees sharing common goals as a factor that allows them to connect closer. “Fifty percent of collaborators leave organizations when they find better benefits and connect more with another purpose,” said Barroso. There is no one-size-fits-all method; employers must instead listen attentively to the needs of each of their employees. As such, employers must understand the preferences of all the diverse demographics within th eir staff.
Hugo Salcedo Mejía, Human Resources Vice President for North LATAM, Unilever, remarked that employers must approach wellbeing from the perspective of what helps people work better. He highlighted the importance of programs focused on generating better work models with leadership strategies that put people first. A more personal approach is needed to manage relationships, and a good leader must always have an eye on the wellbeing of employees. While there is still a way to go, Salcedo was proud of the progress Unilever has made in promoting these work models. “Our slogan is work better, not longer,” sai d Salcedo.
“The notion that any idea of a standard solution to the issue of employee wellbeing is illusory, Companies must therefore be attentive to individual needs, considering generational differences,” emphasized Olivia Segura Ortiz, Partner People & Change and HR & Talent Management Consulting, KPMG.
Velázquez agreed, noting that Clip has designed a framework that considers these different preferences. For example, Gen X might be motivated by spending more
time at home while older generations, or those who live alone, may prefer the social aspect of an office. Clip has therefore put in place initiatives like bringing pets to work for one day. Velázquez underscored that companies must embrace flexibility and hybrid systems to provide employees with a better work-lif e balance.
Salcedo emphasized that a companies’ reputation for employee wellbeing is of prime importance in attracting talent. For this reason, Unilever has a framework focused on the company’s four pillars of wellbeing: physical, professional, mental and emotional wellbeing. This model nsures employees are equipped with the tools and support they need to overcome the challenges life throws at them. Unilever also offers more specific help to address individual needs, such as nutritional advice for dieting and advice to maintain a healthy sleep schedule. Salcedo noted that employees must possess the confidence and self-esteem to confront challenges, but that the company must play a role in unlocking drive and motivation that allows them to be more productive at work and manage pressure.
Velázquez said that Clip has put a similar framework in place. The company’s point of emphasis is communication, ensuring there are always channels for dialogue open where employees can express ideas and opinions. “We might have a forum for those who like to speak openly. We have another option for those who prefer to express themselves through writing or anonymously through surveys,” adding that “It is important to listen to collaborators, but it is more important to generate different conversational spaces,” a point that the other experts emphas ized, too.
Salcedo sees Unilever as pioneers in flexibility, having implemented such policies as early as 2009. “This is now common practice, but we bet on its success before while other companies were obliged to do it during the pandemic,” he said.
“After the pandemic, work became part of people’s private lives. Now, we must give our collaborators the tools to balance work with their own lives,” he added.
Velázquez distinguished that Clip does not use the term work-life balance, since such a binary implies one must oppose the other, “We do not want people to associate one with happiness and the other with drudgery. We want work and life to complement each other rather than compete.” Clip has kept the option of going to the office open for employees to decide what works best. “Our employees are adults and we must treat them as such. We therefore trust in our employees to make the decision. If an employee requires paternity leave, or is seeking to balance office work with childcare, we support them,” he continued.
The experts also agreed on the necessity of fostering a culture of greater employee autonomy and self-management. “We do want employees to feel like they must work a 9 to 5 in person because they feel forced to or because it looks better. Studies show that at least half the population feel they work better from home now, so we want to keep this flexibility,” said Barroso. She welcomed the fact that mental health is no longer such a taboo, but noted that companies must support networks to help employees with burnout. For example, having leisure spaces at work represents little extra cost for the employer, but allows employees to break up the day and escape routines that promote long working days. Segura referenced the Organization for economic Co-operation and Development (OCD e ) classification of Mexico as the country with the worst work-life balance, highlighting the work that remains to be done in the country. Regarding the question of retention, Barroso argued that salaries should not be a trigger for one’s mental wellbeing, whether positive or negative. Instead, a bigger emphasis should be put on laying out clearly how employees can progress in their ca reer path.
MEXICO’S OUTSOURCING LAW: INCOMPLETE, BUT OPPORTUNE
Mexico’s outsourcing law has met its prime objective: to increase formal employment. But its rigid language has left out new modalities of work that became commonplace in the post-pandemic reality. As such, the outsourcing law should be expanded to include temporary staffing opportunities to reflect this new reality. It should provide the flexibility that companies need, creating a timely opportunity that could help speed up the country’s economic reality, according to industr y experts.
“Over 85 percent of the firms that inadequately offered outsourcing disappeared and 3 million people have shifted from outsourcing to formal employment,” said Leonardo Lara, Wealth Leader, Mercer Mexico.
Mexico’s outsourcing law was drafted to circumvent the audacious abuse of subcontracting that left millions of workers financially vulnerable and without legal recourse to confront their employers. Its announcement and subsequent implementation were met with initial panic and a race to comply and avoid fines. For many, this transformative process involved the reinvention or reconfiguration of entire human resource departments, which often expressed the need for internal support. On the other hand, employment agencies saw themselves obligated to transform their entire business models to accommodate the needs that arose from this shift.
This inadvertently triggered a temporary hiring freeze that ultimately hindered the generation of formal employment as intended. However, quantifying the exact impact is hard to discern completely as its enforcement came about during the pandemic, said Maya Dadoo, Co-Founder and C e O, Worky. Prior to this regulatory change, it is estimated that more than 5.2 million people worked under the name of an outsourcing company, of which 4.3 million were rehired by the client company, according to data from ManpowerGroup Mexico. This left a discrepancy of 900,000 people that were not registered with the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), indicating that they either lost their job or were pushed into the informal labor market. Altogether, this led to the demise of Mexico’s once reigning subcontracting industry, shrinking by an estimated 80 percent, said Francisco Martínez, CeO, Adecco Group.
Companies coped by internalizing many of the positions that should theoretically continue to be outsourced to a third party.
“This is the first indication that the reform is based on an incomplete law,” said Martinez. One such task concerns payroll processing, which in many cases is being handed off to directors of human resource departments that have never had to curate one, but if done incorrectly could bring about hefty legal consequences coming from IMSS.
“This has generated an overnight demand for talent that does not yet exist, which needs to be developed and nurtured with urgency,” said Dadoo.
While this is only one aspect of the ongoing confusion regarding the outsourcing law, it highlights the desperation of companies and the need for consulting on this unfolding process. Demand for consultancy services is likely to increase further in the following months now that the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (STPS) and IMSS have proven to be willing to come after companies that do not comply. “Their recommendation is follow the law and use the regulation to innovate internal processes,” added Martinez.
Collectively, this transformation has incurred significant costs for companies. e ven though these players they may be inclined to reduce costs, they should
certainly not try to bypass compliance standards, warned the experts. For now, companies should focus on “meeting compliance measures and seek professional advice,” so that they are not found outside of the law, agreed Regina Cabal Urquiza, Co-founder, Momlancers. Nevertheless, it is clear that Mexico’s outsourcing law needs to be amended to include the function of temporary staffing companies to provide the flexibility that companies and some working people need. For this, legislators can look to similar outsourcing laws abroad and retrofit them to accommodate the sociopolitical reality of Mexico. This effort will encourage the creation of more formal employment, which will be the central challeng e of 2022.
NOM-35: A LEGAL FRAMEWORK TOWARD EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
The conversation about mental health problems, including the implementation of a regulating framework for businesses to tackle the issue, has become increasingly important. Therefore, the discussion has found its way to the legislative debates of many countries like Mexico, where NOM-35 has reached its sluggish implementation stage. Still, its creation is a win for both employees and employers, say industr y experts.
“Companies should consider the management of psychosocial factors as part of their business strategies. NOM-35 must become akin to a survival strategy for businesses”
Nevertheless, the norm’s implementation has not yet materialized fully, even though Mexico is one of the countries with highest recorded stress rates. “Many organizations have adopted the legislation out of fear for fines and out of real faith in the regulation to tackle the underlying problem,” noted Rosas, adding that Mexico is lagging compared to other countries when it comes to mental health provisions. “We should be asking if we have the adequate people and auditors in place to evaluate these psychosocial issues,” he said.
Jorge Mérida Partner | ADN
Wellbeing
NOM-35 is a legal framework aimed to reduce psychosocial risks in the workplace and to promote a positive organizational environment. It is also a first in the country: “Mexico is the last country in Latin America to implement a norm like NOM-35,” said edgar Rosas, Human Resources Business Partner, Centro de Liderazgo emergente.
Adding to the problem is that 70 percent of Mexican companies are Small and Medium enterprises (SM e s), which do not have the resources to apply strong mental health support frameworks. Therefore, collaboration to support the efforts of these SMes to reach their social objectives is key, noted Rosas.
As a new regulatory framework, NOM-35’s real importance is related to “the recognition, validation and protection of mental health for workers. It is a tool to use on the path toward achieving a decent and dignified workplace,” said Jorge Mérida, Partner, AND Wellbeing.
“NOM-35 benefits the health of the collaborators. Consequently, employers
perceive higher productivity and achieve success,” added Nidia Garza, Vice President of Talent Management, OneAmerica. It impacts a company’s bottom line for this reason: when colleagues are happy, the company benefits greatly, too.
“Organizational and mental health is imperative for a productive environment that strengthens personal and organizational values,” concurred Garza. “Companies should consider the management of psychosocial factors as part of their business strategies. NOM-35 must become akin to a survival strategy for businesses,” agreed Mérida.
“NOM-35 is of social interest because it benefits not only one’s coworkers, but also their families and therefore wider society,” said Joaquín Apolonio, Subdirector of Safety and Health Special Projects at the Workplace, Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare. For this reason, the challenge is to change the mindset of Mexican companies, urging them to comply not only because is law but also because it is the “right thing to do.”
“Good leadership is essential if NOM-35 is to be successful,” said Apolonio, adding that leadership must be developed topdown and be congruent in its approach.
A good leader should be an active listener and convinced of the norm’s benefit, because if leaders do not commit to NOM35, it becomes arduous to encourage everyone else. “ e liminating individualism and boosting social support can become a motivational driver for workers that require help. This should be a key part of the businesses strategy as well,” added Apolonio.
Garza considers that understanding the gap between what is being implemented and what the law states is key to create a plan that considers everyone in the organization, including those that have differing perceptions regarding how to solve the problem.
Recently, the Safe and Healthy Work environments (eLSSA) agency was created with the goal to help companies implement practices that support mental health and general wellbeing. Companies that may lack significant resources should seek out eLSSA’s support, though companies ought to also support each other by sharing best practices, agreed the experts.
“Above all, the fact that we are discussing mental health issues at important public forums is already a victory,” concluded Mérida.
INFORMAL ECONOMY REMAINS MEXICO’S KEY LABOR PROBLE M TO SOLVE
Off the back of the Federal Labor Law (LFT) reform, Mexico can forecast emerging trends that will influence Mexico’s wider economy, said Héctor Márquez Pitol, President, Human Capital Commission of the Mexican e mployers’ Association (COPARM e X) as well as President, the Mexican Association of Human Capital Companies (AMeCH). One of the biggest issues to address, however, remains Mexico’s disproportionately powerful informal economy.
Márquez offered an analysis on the progress made since the LFT reform. “As we all know, the reform had one main objective: to
generate more decent and formal jobs,” he said. With over two years now having passed and despite the pandemic and the challenges it posed to the labor market, enough data has emerged to offer a fair assessment of where the labor market is moving. “The reality is, the reform has had positive results for some but not for many others,” outlined Márquez. Indeed, the data shows that 900,000 people have lost job security in the past two years, often in the form of reduced salaries and shorter-term contracts. Meanwhile, 3.1 million workers moved from one company that provides personnel services to another for an array of reasons.
The number of workers registered in the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) grew from 20,613,536 to 21,011,342 between Feb. 2020 and April 2022, an increase of around 400,000. However, this does not account for the fact that Mexico’s labor force grows yearly, with hundreds and thousands of young people entering the workforce. Furthermore, in the same period, the number of people working in the informal economy remained around 10 million more than those in the formal economy, with figures rising by around 240,000 in the same period. In some states, especially the southeast, 80 percent of all workers continue to earn a living in the informal economy. The National Occupation and e mployment Survey (e NO e ) meanwhile indicates that the rate of informal employment has increased 0.4 percent, from 55.4 percent in 1Q21 to the current 55. 8 percent.
Salary is a major indicator of job security, and in the period between Feb. 2020 and April 2022, the average monthly salary has increased from MX$12,061 (US$605.37)
to MX$14,375 (US$721.51). However, as Marquez highlighted, the main driving factor pushing workers toward the informal economy is that they can simply earn more income than in formal work. Currently 21,011,342 workers are registered for Social Security, but informal jobs continue to outnumber formal ones. “Informality is a cancer to Mexico,” bemoaned Márquez.
“As much as we discuss other valid issues such as the duration of holiday leave, this remains the main problem we have to address.” Notably, the only industry to see the number of registered workers decrease post-pandemic is professional and technical services, with 342,843 having lost job security since Feb. 2020, representing a drop of almost 15 percent. On a positive note, the number of registered workers in financial services increased 25 percent in this same period, while the registration of agricultural and construction workers is showing signs of improvement this year. Furthermore, the situation in northern states has improved greatly, with informal work falling to around 30 percent.
THE FUTURE OF RECRUITMENT HARMONIZES
TECH AND H UMAN TOUCH
Although the digitalization of human resources (HR) processes is incredibly efficient, it should not be considered a replacement to a human touch, wellrounded value propositions and continuous learning. Companies should aim to harmonize technological applications with a human-driven recruitment approach in a process that considers ethical guidelines, diversity and inclusion to ensure they can
attract Mexico’s top talent, according to industr y experts.
“Technology automates different stages of the selection process. However, the final decision remains with recruitment managers. Human intervention is still essential,” said Justyna Kroplewska, Talent Acquisition Senior Director, Citi. Nevertheless, recruitment is a process defined by people
on both sides of the table. “The question is also how to get your job applicants to say yes to your proposal,” said Pato Bichara, CeO and Founder, Collective Academy.
Innovative applications allowed the recruitment process to advance by leaps and bounds, with room available to expand toward other processes such as onboarding. The latest transformation is defined by using artificial intelligence (AI), which takes over repetitive manual work such as candidate screening, scheduling interviews and knowledge direction. This is being complemented with social media outreach, data analysis and the strategic construction of employer branding, although these tools remain underdeveloped in the Mexican context. Furthermore, human resources experts still consider that there are crucial gaps in the recruitment process that stand to benefit from digitalization. This includes candidate-facing technologies like progress trackers, which could encourage applicants that have entered the process.
encouraging greater rates of engagement is a top priority for recruiters in a labor market defined by scarcity. Currently, digital platforms are the preferred tool to source talent, with around 87 percent of companies deferring to job sites such as LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Indeed to solicit and screen qualified talent, said Sergio Porragas Moreno, VP of Human Capital, OCC Mundial. “This is where strategic communication should begin, by posting the open position with its qualifying criteria, desired skills and renumeration clearly defined,” he added.
Committing to transparency throughout the recruitment process is essential to
generating trust and is much appreciated by candidates. A caveat to this approach is the dependency on equal transparency on behalf of the candidates themselves, which is an important consideration for positions that require hard, verifiable skills. Therefore, the recruitment approach stands to be fortified by the introduction of skill checks, either in the form of preliminary tests or through the use of AI, said Porragas.
As the urgency for talent surges, companies have also attempted to get closer to universities, the prime generators of highly qualified talent, said Hernán García, Vice President of Talent and e xperience, Tecnologico de Monterry. Companies are increasing their remunerative investments and shoring-up their presence on the campuses of leading academic institutions as a means of influencing curriculums and scouting talent. This assures that students are being prepared with the knowledge and skills they need to enter and succeed in their respective industries. This is perhaps best exemplified by Mexico’s technology and aerospace industries, which have participated in the curation of courses and have a pronounced interest in accelerating talent development.
Nevertheless, from the perspective of a private institution, these efforts should not be considered a substitution to a wellrounded value proposition and attractive company culture. “Technology helps us to attract talent, but having a good culture and engagement are our main promotors. Technology, good referrals and a great employee value proposition attract candidates,” concluded García.
DIGITALIZATION, A MUST-HAVE FOR EVERY ORGANIZATION
Digitalization has revolutionized the workplace. Among the many operations it changed is the recruitment process, which human resources (HR) experts argue should become more amicable and simpler for both parties involved. Outside of recruitment, digital tools ensure companies become more efficient as they save time and money, two factors that are essential to a company’s survival.
The dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the push for digitalization in HR procedures. According to Jorge Valencia, Account e xecutive, DocuSign, 39 percent of global companies were not prepared for the switch to remote work. When companies scrambled to transition, 93 percent wasted investments in technology because they lacked internal integration with other systems. Nevertheless, technology enabling remote work remains crucial since 72 percent of the workforce prefers to maintain a degree of home office. What is more, studies have shown that implementing a scheme of an average 2.5 days working from home, companies save US$11,000 a year for each employee. If companies fail to adapt to this new reality, they may also lose talent and face high staff turnover rates.
An employment relationship starts the moment that a company acknowledges its need for a job position, after which the
recruitment process starts. Today, these procedures are no longer only about the needs and purposes of a company, they also consider the candidate, who is making an educated choice of where to work and likely evaluating several employment options.
Hiring an employee usually implies initiating a complex process. Before, this process used to be carried out in person but technology has allowed companies to make the procedure more efficient, which cuts costs and time. As remote work is here to stay to stay, onboarding processes need to be adapted to these new circumstances.
“If issues like entry and exit registration, vacation controls and salary calculations are not based on cutting-edge technology, this could cause the collapse of a company because of a massive waste of time, increased costs, the deterioration the organizational climate and an increase of turnover rates,” said Valencia.
Therefore, digitalization is no longer an added value; it has become a necessity.
“The digitalization of onboarding and hiring processes is also here to stay,” added Valencia. Sixty-six percent of the companies that digitalized these processes in the past year say they will adopt more technology in the year to come. For many companies, the benefits to profitability and efficiency are already evident.
BETTER A JACK OF ALL TRADES THAN MASTER OF ONE FOR NEW RECRUITERS
For the recruiter of the past, the more specific someone’s skill set was, the better their job prospects would be. However, the rise of recruitment processes that value a broad range of skills is a trend that human resources industry insiders expect to develop further in the coming years.
With a wealth of information available for anyone to access, skills that used to be difficult to come by are becoming increasingly common. “Nowadays, people can develop new skills free of cost and easily acquire additional expertise for a range of jobs across all industries,” outlines Alejandro Ureña, Chief Innovation Officer, evolutive Agency. This begs the question, how has skills-based recruitment evolved from traditional models?
“If everyone is the same and shares the same values, aspirations and reasoning, we may risk closing the door to new ideas and innovative concepts”
Alejandro Ureña Chief Innovation Officer | Evolutive Agency
Ricardo Rodríguez, employee e xperience & Talent Attraction Manager, Scania, set out his company’s innovative approach to recruitment: “We recruit people rather than abstract skill sets. When we talk about machines, we may say that they are wellsuited for one task or another’, but that is not how we should treat people. Of course, Scania looks at kills and experience, but our recruitment model is also based on personality, assessing how an individual will fit within our organization and whether they share our values.” While it used to be a feather in your cap to have held down a job at one company for an extended period, Rodríguez notes that in today’s job market, employers value those candidates with diverse resumes and a wide range of experience in different industries and
positions. “A Linkedin profile displaying a tally of diverse skills and varied experience is very attractive to us,” he emphasized.
el Palacio de Hierro’s Organizational Talent Director, Vanessa escudero, concurred. She added that personality traits are becoming just as important as previous experience and qualifications. “We look for individuals with the required skills and knowledge but we also want someone who fits our company culture, which is not always an easy task. We want someone who not only possesses expertise but someone who is also engaging, shows a willingness to learn and adapt and displays the potential to flourish within our infrastructure,” summarized e scudero.
“The biggest challenge is finding the right cultural fit. It used to be companies recruited on technical skills and qualifications with attitudinal aspects an afterthought. However, we have turned this model on its head,” agreed Alejandro Hernández Dander, People and Performance Head, The Kraft Heinz Company. For Hernández, this approach goes even further. “Many employers are beginning to focus on what a candidate could become rather than what they have to offer currently. As the pandemic showed, people can adapt quickly and learn new skills with ease. Technical skills and competency can be taught, but one’s attitude, especially a willingness to learn and grow, is innate,” he said.
Fabiola Quiroz, Country HR Manager, Bosch, is of the same opinion. She argued this transformation has been decades in the making but gained more force in recent years. Quiroz promotes “robust” recruitment methods which favor quicker learning curves so less time and resources are invested in employee development and training. “We try to avoid having to fill a position right away and prefer a long-term vision to manage talent. Our hiring process is skills-based but with an emphasis on the future outcome rather than short-
term fixes,” she said, pointing toward a recruitment model that Kraft Heinz shares. “We want to understand who the candidates really are, where their talents lie and how they fit in our company’s present and future goals,” added e scudero.
Likewise, soft skills are held in higher regard than technical ones since these can be picked up and developed on the job while soft skills are more instinctive. “As more of the technical issues are carried out by AI, soft skills are proving to become more important, ‘’ emphasized Quiroz. Soft skills are often universally useful and enable an employee to adapt to new roles and migrate to new positions within an industry.
The question, then, is how to identify these desirable profiles. Quiroz underlined the additional value in-person interviews contribute to the hiring process. “We take advantage of the digital world. As a recruitment tool, software is a great leveler. We use it to narrow down our list of candidates. However, once we have this shortlist, we use the interview process to separate the top candidates,” she said.
However, after this list has been established, the approach changes: “We want to see how candidates demonstrate problem-solving skills and an ability to think quickly on the spot. We wish to find candidates who show traits such as leadership skills. And quite simply, some skills, such as fluency in a foreign language, can be discerned much more easily in an interview scenario.”
“The human factor simply cannot be substituted,” Hernández agreed. However, Rodríguez noted that the implementation of digital processes is imperative to speed up the application process, ensuring companies do not lose out on top candidates to their competitors. Quite simply, those who do not stay up to date with the latest software will fall behind.
Nevertheless, as Ureña pointed out, companies should not put too much emphasis on shared values, lest they lose out on much-needed diversity.. “If everyone is the same and shares the same values, aspirations and reasoning, we may risk closing the door to new ideas and innovative concepts,” said Ureña.
THE
OF
WORK MODELS DEPENDS ON INCENTIVES
even though post-pandemic era companies committed to flexible work models, contributors have demonstrably proven their unwillingness to return to office regardless. If companies are to successfully employ their hybrid work models, they will have to develop incentives that will motivate employees to come to the office on their own account, say industr y experts.
“The overarching question companies should be considering is: Why, as a contributor, should I be inclined to return to the office?” said Marcela Domenzain Carmona, Human Resources Director Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, BASF.
The initial transition to remote work was turbulent, requiring constant communication
between employers and employees to develop the optimal remote work model. This social experiment established that remote and hybrid work models could be equally productive, if not more so, than full-time presential work. The observed results and benefits from this exercise have consequently transformed the worker’s perception of flexible work models from nice-to-have to a firm expectation in the labor market. While these truths have not been negated by companies, remote work models are not free from risks such as loss of social capital, decreased collaboration and a loss of identification with company culture.
“The overarching question companies should be considering is: Why, as a contributor, should I be inclined to return to the office?”
Marcela Domenzain
Human Resources Director Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean | BASF
mightier than the stick. In turn, companies are in the middle of developing incentives centered around networking, facilitated collaboration and free-flowing creativity, which in turn helps “reinforce company culture and its value proposition,” said ena Torres, PBP Director, Mercado Libre. During this process, leadership will play key role in demonstrating that there is flexibility outside of remote work and that there are substantive benefits to reap from presential work, emphasized Domenzain. However, this is not to say that leaders should be expected to take on the full weight of this transformation, especially considering that that this work model has only just began to unfold.
To circumvent these risks, most companies have opted to implement flexible hybrid models that take the benefits of both remote and presential work and give contributors the autonomy to come into the office when they want to. The response of employees has been mixed, ranging from enthusiasm to resentment. Nevertheless, it is clear to employers that contributors require incentives to ensure their response is closer to the former. Furthermore, “rules and guidelines regarding presential work must reconceptualised, considering the inherent organizational function of the company and specific roles within it,” said Domenzain. This is the immediate challenge of companies during this initial phase of the transition back to the office, an adaptation process that will likely continue until the end of 2022.
With the looming threat of a massive labor reshuffle, where employees are more than ever willing to leave their current positions in search of other opportunities, employers are being careful about explicit demands. In a labor-led market, the carrot has never been
Furthermore, “physical office spaces have yet to be adapted to transmit and accommodate the needs of a flexible, hybrid work model,” according to Mario e spinosa Guzmán, Vice President of Latin America & Caribbean, MillerKnoll. Office spaces need to be curated around daily operational needs, as well as the comfort of a company’s contributors, the company’s values and ultimately the added value it they provide. This is work in progress, as many companies are still trying to gauge where they should start. So far it has manifested in a range of approaches that include the depersonalization of workspaces, the creation of specialized work spaces and dynamic spaces that can be constructed and deconstructed on demand. Overall, the reconfiguration of work spaces needs to provide functionality, support social cohesion and provide the added value to draw collaborators in.
Companies in expansion have the added concern of ensuring that their spaces can grow along with their enterprise. This is the case for Mercado Libre, which announced the creation of 14,000 additional jobs in Latin America. Current proposals consider the value in campus spaces similar to Google, which constructs specialized spaces according to functions like collaboration, learning and creativity. “The end goal is to create spaces that make people want to go to work,” said Torres.
LEADERSHIP SKILLS MUST EVOLVE AS THE WOR LD CHANGES
In a fast-changing world, attracting and maintaining talent has become increasingly difficult for companies. For leaders, a flexible mix of soft and hard skills have is of the essence to tackle company needs that have arisen during the pandemic if companies are to retain and develop their talent and thrive in the process.
“Before, it was more important to zone in on what we wanted to achieve. Now, we are focusing more on how we are going to reach those goals,” said Gabriela Villavicencio, Head of Human Resources and General Affairs, Hyundai. The wellbeing of the people working for the corporations is an important part of this journey.
The pandemic revealed the adjustments companies must make to adapt to a new reality. A key factor is operational flexibility, creating a balance between person and company to successfully confront the disruption of the workplace. Instead of at the office, companies now operated inside the houses of their employees. This phenomenon intensified the long-standing need for mental health support inside organizations. Leaders were put to the test: they had to empathize with colleagues and ensure collaboration remained efficient in spaces that were not geared toward teamwork.
“Currently, the issues that require the most innovative approach are not necessarily rooted in technology, but in the need to look toward new ways to cooperate,”
said Fernando Valenzuela, Founding Partner, Global Impact e dTech Alliance. Consequently, leaders had to transform and prioritize skills that they did not previously use to motivate workers and understand their daily tasks more deeply.
Adapting the skillset is crucial for those outside of the executive environment, too. “Companies must acknowledge that work dynamics change and that there is a need to look for different skills,” mentioned Mireya Rangel, HG Director Mexico and Central America, Indra. even though people are getting paid for the skills they already have, being agile and learning new skills is starting to be more relevant, she added.
For potential hires with an adequate skillset, the experts are seeing an international “war for talent” emerge. To win the war, companies must look toward the future, not just to retain talent but to be successful in their operations, too. “Organizations need to be aware of how the global economy is evolving to understand the types of skills that will be demanded in the future,” said Karlo Mondragón, Chief Human Resources Officer, Grupo Salinas.
There is often a large gap between the individual priorities of employees and those of the company, so the experts say that the challenge is to close that gap as much as possible by aligning the employees with the importance of competence enhancement and sustained learning. “Human beings learn what they want to learn. This must
come from an internal sense of purpose. Our brains do not care about our success but about the coherence of our actions. Learning is an action that helps us achieve something,” noted Mondragón.
For this learning to thrive, companies “need to create an environment where people feel free to take decisions with responsibility. This will lead to the generation of ideas that can support the company’s adaptation to changes and ensure it grows as an organization,” said Mondragón, adding that an environment of experimentation is
where innovation flourishes. Furthermore, companies must understand that a person will cannot learn if there is something bothering them. Therefore, compassion and empathy are some of the most important characteristics of a modern business leader. e xecutives must have a good balance in their hard and soft skills, as one is no longer more important than the other. “If you do not put the human being front and center in the company culture, then it will be difficult to break harmful traditional ways of thinking, leading and learning within the office environment,” Rangel concluded.
HR OFFICERS CAN BE VISIONARIES IN THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION
The increased implementation of automation and digitalization in the modern workplace has dramatically changed the role of human resources (HR) officers. Industry insiders agree that rather than rendering the HR department obsolete, this development represents an opportunity for HR to take on a more imaginative role.
As Carla Adriana Soto Tejeda, People and Culture Director, Casai, notes, new digital tools are fulfilling many of the traditional HR tasks, freeing up HR officers to contribute in other ways. José Ramón Fernández Domenech, CHRO, Coppel, concurs, arguing that HR’s role has moved beyond administration and talent management to comprise elements of strategic planning. With a wealth of technology now available to assess employee performance, HR can expand their offering by setting objectives to improve equipment and enable employees to maximize their talent.
Ana Isabel Orihuela Fuchs, Head of People Success, Digital@F e MSA, welcomes this
“Before committing to a digital tool or solution, companies must evaluate their current standing and readiness in relation to digitalization,”
José Ramón Fernández CHRO | Coppel
dynamic shift in the role of HR: “Technology is transforming everything in our daily lives, HR needs to move forward too. We need to make use of all these technologies to make life easier,” adding that while others assess the value proposition of new technologies, it is the role of HR to foster a tech-driven approach in the modern office. In doing so, HR officers can be visionaries. “It is also up to us to make employees feel that they can be a part of these changes that affect their everyday lives. We do not want them to fear change or think new technologies are too difficult to use. It is our responsibility to encourage them and explain how technology makes their jobs easier, so that they learn to embrace change,” said Orihuela. “HR executives are ambassadors for technology implementation in their organization,” agreed Manuela Vélez, Head of People, Tul.
Implementing new technology can yield a wealth of benefits. José Carlos Aguilar, Co-Founder and Co-C e O, Palenca, celebrated how the digital revolution is leveling the playing field for startups. New companies that lack infrastructure can rely on digitalization as a stand-in, like Palenca did during its early stages throughout the pandemic. With just 10 full-time employees and limited resources on hand, applications like Runa have been an invaluable asset helping Palenca get off the ground, fulfilling 95 percent of the traditional HR role. Runa
simplifies the tedious and time-consuming tasks of paying taxes and sorting out wages. As the Palenca C e O argues, the time of small and medium-sized companies is simply too valuable: “SM e s must digitalize their HR processes and take advantage of technology. Spending hours on excel sheets is no longer an option,” said Aguilar.
Orihuela agreed, explaining how despite its challenges, the pandemic allowed Fe MSA to see the potential of apps like Google Workspace. While working remotely, Orihuela also praised the value offered by apps such as Slack, which in many ways served as the virtual office that kept communication and collaboration alive. even after the return to the office, the software enables HR departments to monitor how long employees have been logged in for, with the aim of preventing burnout.
“HR executives are ambassadors for technology implementation in their organization”
Manuela Vélez Head of People | Tul
also kept the option open for employees to work remotely. Vélez, for example, oversees her responsibilities from Miami, making use of the management platform HiBob to create journey maps for each employee. “A journey map is a visualization of the process that people go through to accomplish their goals. At its most basic, journey mapping starts by compiling a series of user actions into a timeline. Next, the timeline is fleshed out with user thoughts and emotions to create a narrative for that process,” she explained. The maps also help employees connect individual goals with wider company objectives.
She also noted that HR must be attentive to any problems raised by employees surrounding new equipment. The demographics of an office can influence HR decisions, too. One generation of employees might be set in their ways and resistant to change, having been used to one set of software of operating systems their entire work lives. However, a new generation of employees might view this same equipment as cumbersome and obsolete. For this reason, Orihuela underscores the importance of gradual, fluid change over sudden overhauls: “Little tweaks every now and again are better than major, sudden changes.”
Vélez also celebrated the role of industryoriented social media networks in helping companies overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic. In Tul’s case, they have
Fernández, however, advises caution. In his view, a good HR officer must always ask if the implementation of new technology is worthwhile. “Before committing to a digital tool or solution, companies must evaluate their current standing and readiness in relation to digitalization,” he said. If technology is underused or considered a waste of time and money, HR will be held accountable if they were the ones that pushed for it. “There is no point being techsavvy just for the sake of it. We do not need to fix what is not broken,” Fernández added, pointing out that companies should not be resistant to change but remain pragmatic, as was the case for Coppel’s new technology which has allowed it to manage its vast portfolio of branches.
Fernández underscores the importance of assessing whether a company is ready to undergo such transformations. In his view, management tasks HR with creating a company culture and analyzing its maturation to provide useful insights. As such, the main role of HR is introspection.
Orihuela agreed, underlining the importance of free trials to sample the latest software solutions without fully committing to their implementation: “This makes employees participants in the decision-making process. They pick the solutions which help them work best. It is never a decision taken from above in which they have no say.”
ON-DEMAND PAY WORKS FOR EMPLOYEES
For decades, payday has come every two weeks for most Mexican employees. Although this remuneration method remains popular, millions of Mexicans are living paycheck to paycheck. An ondemand pay model is emerging to reduce the length of time between each payday. Its main benefits are solving liquidity problems while providing education toward financial wellness, emphasize financ e experts.
“Acess to liquidity is a deep-rooted problem in Mexico. With an average monthly salary of MX$11,000 (US$550) and 70 percent of the population living paycheck to paycheck without saving anything, salary on demand is logical. People can have access to their money whenever they need it. In a world where everything is to order, it makes no sense that the most important element of your financial life is not,” said Nima Pourshasb, C eO and Co-Foun der, Minu.
“The solution must not be limited to paying wages, it must be accompanied by financial education. You have to give employees the necessary tools to improve their financial lives”
David Roa CEO annd Co-Founder | Klinc
While most people continue to get paid every two weeks or even once a month, the technology to pay employees in real time, or as often as they prefer, already exists. “Thanks to the market penetration of specialized companies that provide ondemand pay, employees are increasingly showing interest in this payment model,” said Belén Meza Croskey, CHRO, iVoy, adding that the model benefits both employers and employees while offering additional advantages to the latter. “The solution must not be limited to paying wages, it must be accompanied by financial education. you have to give employees the necessary tools to improve their financial lives,” emphasized David Roa, C e O annd Co-Founder, Klinc. While there are both B2B and B2C solutions, some have no cost for employees, he added.
On-demand pay can be an important tool for companies to retain talent. In the US, the total nonfarm payroll quit rate rose to 3 percent in Nov. 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. More than 4 million US citizens have quit their jobs every month since July 2021. Moreover, 88 percent of employees would consider taking a lower-paying job with better benefits over one that paid more but had inferior benefits, a recent sur vey found.
The biweekly payment, known as the quincena in Mexico, has not always been popular. In the 1800s, people working in factories received daily payments. “It would have been unthinkable to finish working hours and go home emptyhanded,” Pourshasb said. With payroll payments moving through bank transfers, salary payments became a biweekly occurance. The salary earned by employees is calculated by the employer, which takes taxes and further deductions into account. This makes it difficult for companies to administrate their cash flows daily.
Market opportunities for on-demand pay represent a value of US$1 trillion across O e CD countries, according to ey. “This grants a prominent role to employers and financial services companies to provide employees access to this liquidity and, in so doing, create meaningful societal utility at a limited frictional cost,” says the firm. In addition, 70 percent of individuals in the UK and US regularly experience financial stress. Half of these individuals have faced a financial shortfall between pay periods and encounter this issue every four months approximately.
“On-demand payment boosts talent retention. It represents freedom for
employees. It is absurd to pay every other week; companies should pay interest for using their employees’ money. Regarding financial stress, it is a great, flexible tool to fix people’s financial problems,” said Courtney Devon McColgan, CeO and Founder, Runa.
The method has great potential in Mexico and it promotes financial knowhow, stated Diego Villarreal, C e O and Co-Founder, Castor. Unlike credit cards, “on-demand pay creates that knowledge and strengthens the relationship people have with money. People can better understand how much money they are able to spend each day,” he added.
In Mexico, an individual’s level of financial education is closely tied to personal factors, according to Deloitte: “A person with a higher academic degree and higher salary
is more likely to have more knowledge about the various financial products, while a person with lower education and income levels will have less knowledge on the subject.” According to the most recent National Survey of Financial Inclusion ( e NIF), Mexico’s population suffers a considerable lack of knowledge regarding the characteristics of financial products.
While the technology to make on-demand pay the most popular payment method is already viable, some companies remain reluctant to switch. What is more, most SM e s are usually not aware of the solution’s benefits, agreed industry experts. Nevertheless, in problematic times brought on by a global pandemic, the solution may catch on much quicker than it d id before.
TALENT ACQUISITION STRATEGIES ARE IMPERATIVE FOR COMPANY GROWTH
A company’s talent acquisition (TA) strategy should be linked to its growth, culture, management, direction and business focus. Whereas companies often measure growth in profits, experts believe there should be a shift in this mindset to ensure human capital is also recognized as a decisi ve factor.
“A good TA strategy is not only measured by the number of hirings. It must be accompanied by benchmarks coming from multiple areas of the organization in order to be successful,” said Santiago San Martín, Country Manager, Globant.
If companies are to generate an optimal TA approach, they need to focus on internal teamwork, mutual understanding, listening and cross-departmental collaboration, ensuring the company is unified toward the common goal of ensuring it attracts talent. TA strategies are therefore no longer the sole responsibility of the HR department, added San Martín.
Automation is a great tool for companies to make their recruitment processes more
efficient. The quantity of data generated by the hiring process can be overwhelming for one person, so technology can support human resources to identify needles in the haystack. Nevertheless, Martín underscores that companies should not be single-minded in their mission to find certain skills in the labor market. “If a person can learn new abilities, that is an added value,” he said.
Furthermore, a skill does not have to be technical. Companies need employees with strong soft skills, which can help enhance the working environment and motivate their coworkers. “Another important aspect to consider is the cultural fit. Corporations could be overlooking hidden talent within people that may not have gone to the best university but that possess tangible soft skills,” said Martín. “For real change to happen we must act agents of change. In order to have a happy and in-control company culture, with which growth will materialize automatically, we have to think about how we want our colleagues to experience their working day,” he concluded.