BEING HUMAN: IMPROVING EMPLOYEEEXPERIENCE AND RETAINING TALENT INTHE 21ST CENTURY

22

Contents

CONCLUSION: CLOSER CONNECTION ON A HUMAN LEVEL

5

3

4

INTRODUCTION

SYLVAINE LE BARON

How upper managers pass down big ideas How middle managers implement big ideas How employees want to face the day

Democratic design where everyone’s an architect Work isn’t just a bunch of fun & games, is it?

Communication Flexible work options and remote management HR platforms & A.I. Measurement

Continuous learning Career & Talent Management assistance Social impact

CHAPTER 1: WORKFORCE DISRUPTION IN CONTEXT

CHAPTER 2: A TOP-DOWN TO ALL-AROUND MINDSET

CHAPTER 3: GREAT WORKPLACE PUZZLE PIECES

CHAPTER 4: TOOLS OF THE TRADE

CHAPTER 5: PERSONAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT

87

910

1312

14

16

21

15

20

17

22

18

23

19

24

22

33INTRODUCTION - Emergency on Planet Work

Introduction: Emergency on Planet WorkEven though large companies and corporations generate the vast majority of global GDP, it is no hyperbole to say that they face a major crisis. Consider the following figures:

• Only 13% of employees worldwide consider themselves engaged. • 86% of young workers -- the next generation of talent -- prefer startups to big companies.• From 2004 to 2013, the EU experienced a 45% growth in independent professionals with 93% in the Netherlands and

85% in France. • 50% of the American workforce will be freelancers by 2020.

Sources: Gallup, Forbes, EFIP

What exactly is happening to the world’s workforce? What is behind this disruption causing such concern for upper managers worldwide? How can a company be sure to retain the necessary talent in order to remain competitive for not only the next five years, but for the decades to come?

To find answers, it’s important to know that as unnerving as these global trends are, they are not universally shared. Here are other statistics:

• 70% of those who work for what are considered the world’s best organizations describe themselves as engaged. • These organizations experience 50% less voluntary turnover than their competitors.

Sources: Great Place To Work

So what do these companies understand that most other ones do not? How are they organized and what strategies do they implement to reach such positive results? What can other companies learn from their success?

44SYLVAINE LE BARON

Introduction: Emergency on Planet Work

This eBook was written for executives and HR directors questioning their surroundings -- the ones who are wandering their offices, reading online article after article, desperately looking for answers. How can they stop the bleeding and buck the trend? How can they engage their employees in order to retain talent -- without the massive budget Microsoft or Google has?

In other words, how can companies provide a workplace where employees are crawling over each other to get into?

Sylvaine Le BaronVP HR - Talentsoft

Sylvaine Le Baron has gained great experience throughout her career, mostly in fast-growing and internationally-spreading tech companies. Before joining Talentsoft last year, she was HRD at Sidetrade, one of the leading SaaS customer engagement tools. Upon arriving at Talentsoft, she succesfully moved 200 employees into a new building and helped merge the company with e-doceo, now known as Talentsoft Learning. Her

main challenges at Talentsoft are to develop company culture and engagement in a fast-growing environment, rethink experience at work, and develop CSR actions. 

55

CHAPTER 1

Workforce DisruptionIn Context

55

66

Workforce Disruption In Context

CHAPTER 1 - Workforce Disruption In Context

First of all, let’s take stock of the situation. Companies need to be clear-eyed about what exactly they’re up against. As usual, there are historical precedents.

Remember studying the Industrial Revolution in school? Even though it created squalid conditions for the poor, this revolution also produced better transport, cheaper goods, the middle class, and turned the conditions of the world’s workforce upside down. In short, it caused irreversible change for much of humanity.

Similar disruption is occurring in the current Digital Revolution. Who wouldn’t want to live in exciting times? Yet, as incredible as the modern era is and just like in the last revolution, there are winners and losers.

In the context of the current workforce and modern HR, who have already been experiencing major disruption for several years, a clear picture is emerging of which companies are coming out ahead. Many managers have searched online for “top companies to work for” in trying to learn their secrets. Even though huge companies like Google appear at the top of the list -- in their case quite literally -- there are hundreds of companies of various sizes around the globe attracting and maintaining top talent.

Today, many companies have realized not just how to adapt and survive, but how to thrive. The main principle businesses have internalized is that in order to remain competitive and be leaders in their industries, their employees’ dreams must be part of the bottom line.

66

77

CHAPTER 2

A Top-Down toAll-Around Mindset

There are a variety of factors that make a great workplace, but before hauling in a wrecking ball and tearing down the

walls, it is important to keep in mind that great workplaces sprout first and foremost from the workforce mindset. This

begins at the top with upper management and HR.

7

88

How Upper Managers Pass Down Big Ideas

CHAPTER 2 - A Top-Down To All-Around Mindset

In many ways, the hierarchical nature of a company’s management has not changed at all. There are still employees, there are still managers, and there is still a big boss. Titles are all still there, albeit with some clever reiterations (ex. customer service manager = customer happiness manager).

Organizations still have leaders who must clearly define and delegate responsibilities. The interesting phenomenon occurring in great workplaces today is not how these responsibilities are delegated and executed, but how they are not.

For example, instead of traditionally monopolizing power and decision-making, great upper management increasingly encourage middle managers to empower employees to make more decisions for themselves, as long as company policy is respected and objectives are achieved. Result-driven management, the polar opposite of micro-management, is a constant theme.

But equally important, if not more, is the fact that upper managers are there to make sure that the company is not just meeting its obligations to customers, but to all employees. They need to ensure that each day, employees feel that they are part of a team within a company that stands for something meaningful. More on this later.

88

99

Once the new mindset and philosophy is determined, middle managers are tasked with implementing practical change. This occurs in several areas, which we’ll explore in the following pages, but in essence it all comes down to developing Trust.

According to a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review, successful management in the 21st century means helping employees do their best work, developing their career aspirations, and nurturing their individuality. It also means employees with rewarding work, not suppressing information (?), and not enforcing “stupid rules”. Furthermore, the Trust Index Employee Survey, conducted by a joint Fortune Magazine/Great Place to Work project to identify the best companies to work for globally, defines ‘trust’ with the chart below:

CHAPTER 2 - A Top-Down To All-Around Mindset

How Middle Managers Implement Big Ideas

CREDIBILITY

RESPECT

FAIRNESS

PRIDE

CAMARADERIE

TRUST

Two-Way CommunicationManager’s CompetenceIntegrity - Reliability of Management

Professional SupportCollaborationDemonstrated Caring

EquityImpartialityJustice

For the JobAbout my TeamWith the Organization

Individuality is ValuedWelcoming AtmospherePride of Something Later

Source: http://www.greatplacetowork.in/storage/documents/Brochures/trustindex.pdf

1010

How Employees Want To Face The DayIt’s finally time to take a walk in employees’ shoes. Remember those seemingly apocalyptic figures at the beginning of this eBook? For example, only 13% of employees worldwide consider themselves engaged.

Well, here’s what they’re thinking. With the onset of the Digital Revolution and the omnipresence of the internet in daily life, people are connecting like never before and one of the most transformative effects of this connectability is the exposure to other lifestyles. In addition to cute cats and enviable tropical vacations, friends are proudly sharing super cool work experiences. This inevitably leads to the ‘Why can’t I have that?’ moment.

With the liberating effects new technology has had on our lives, employees are increasingly aware that they can have that. But what is that exactly?

CHAPTER 2 - A Top-Down To All-Around Mindset

Another major concern among the current workforce, especially for younger workers, is that they know how technology can make jobs obsolete just as fast as it can create new opportunities.

Therefore, they feel a real sense of urgency to continuously learn new skills and update their current ones -- much like how our smartphone apps operate. Technology has not eliminated the need for our survival instincts, but can actually make us keenly aware of it. It seems almost paradoxical: people are striving to remain competitive while demanding a higher purpose. But that’s the reality.

People are increasingly looking for a fulfilling experience as opposed to a mere salary.

They want to have a sense of purpose and work in ways that align with their values.

Alexandre Pachulskico-founder of Talentsoft

Skills need to grow everyday, because [workers] know 40% of jobs will disappear in the next two decades.

Julien FanonSenior Manager Accenture Strategy - Accenture

1111

How Employees Want To Face The DayAnother emerging, and arguably late, realization among upper management is the importance of workforce diversity and inclusion. Declic International, a corporate consultancy specializing in these issues, defines inclusion as “the culture where people feel their different perspectives, styles and needs are respected, valued and taken into account,” and diversity as “the mix of visible and invisible differences such as gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, different abilities, sexual orientation, religion, communication styles, education, etc.”

The progressive demand for this level of respect makes sense in the overall context of the employee mindset, for how can a worker feel part of the team and valued by a company if a fundamental aspect of who they are is not accepted?

Meanwhile, studies show that focusing on diversity and inclusion is not just good for the employee, but also great for the company. According to a 2015 McKinsey report, ethnically diverse companies are 35% more likely to outperform the national industry median and gender-diverse companies are 15% more likely to have better financial returns. In addition, the Fortune Magazine/Great Place To Work project found that “50 companies on the 2016 Best Workplaces for Diversity list an average of 24% higher year-over-year revenue growth than non-list winners.” It’s common sense, really. A more diverse workforce is better prepared to serve a more diverse customer base.

Sources: http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters

http://fortune.com/2016/12/05/diversity-inclusion-workplaces/

Overall, most of the current job market is not sufficiently meeting all these workforce demands, resulting in some massive organizational pain. If employees are unsatisfied with their current jobs, they have much more flexibility and power to either look for a new job, create a startup, or freelance. That’s not good news for big companies not in contention for Fortune’s 100 Best Companies To Work For.

CHAPTER 2 - A Top-Down To All-Around Mindset

1212

Great WorkplacePuzzle Pieces

CHAPTER 3

If this is all beginning to sound like marriage counseling, then once the air is cleared it’s time to start making some practical changes at home. Or in this case, the office.

Companies considered among great places to work challenge the familiar and the, not necessarily, opposite concepts of “home” and “office”. They are designing more inviting workspaces where employees can feel as comfortable at work as they do at home. We’ve all seen the images of lavish Silicon Valley office spaces, but companies of all sizes around the world are making big changes to increase the well-being of their employees, and therefore decrease voluntary turnover.

1212

1313

Democratic Design Where Everyone’s An Architect

CHAPTER 3 - Great Workplace Puzzle Pieces

Upper management might be looking around the office, asking themselves -- among the many possible changes and with a limited budget -- where to begin?

Fortunately, there’s no need to look far. The most valuable resource is literally right in front of executives: their employees. Many companies ask employees directly for input, or as in Talentsoft’s case, even form employee committees tasked with the project of improving workspace. The company has appointed 15 ambassadors from various departments to come up with ideas on how to reinvent their collaborative, private, and phone conference workspaces. Upper management merely acts as gatekeepers, in that their role is to approve proposals mainly based on practical and budget constraints.

Talentsoft seeks to put into practice an idea proposed by sociologist and co-founder of Eranos, Michaël V. Dandrieux. The ideas is that if “above all, people look to connect with others and share a common goal,” then the workplace becomes “a mutual space where individuals come to collaborate.”

Laurent Choain, Chief People and Communication Officer at Mazars, has put this philosophy into practice. In the past, Mazars had a traditional workplace, with upper management in private offices separated from the employees. Choain decided to move out of his private office and work side by side with his employees, effectively beginning a chain of events where other partners soon followed and the company revamped its entire office.

“The real change wasn’t just in our offices, but in the way we work,” says Choain*. “Whereas before, everyone would work alone, now our workplace fosters collaborative work and leaves little room for isolation.”

This democratic mindset to office design is efficient, cost-effective, and very smart. By making employees architects and collaborators, the workspace is improved while the workforce’s sense of trust, value, and camaraderie is reinforced.

*As quoted at the 2016 Club Talentsoft conference

1313

1414

Work Isn’t Just a Bunch of Fun & Games, Is It?

There are an infinite number of examples of what makes a comfortable, inviting, and inspiring workspace, including treadmill desks, rooms with outside views, on-site health centers, daycare centers, outdoor patios, comfortable café settings, natural lighting, murals and artwork, fun meeting rooms, campus-like settings with parks and trees, etc.

Basically, if you have seen the movie Office Space, it’s the opposite of that.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that merely turning your workspace into Club Med is not going to automatically make it great. The purpose of improving the physical workspace is to acknowledge the intangible factors employees are fundamentally seeking.

CHAPTER 3 - Great Workplace Puzzle Pieces

However, it’s important to keep in mind that merely turning your workspace into Club Med is not going to automatically make it great. The purpose of improving the physical workspace is to acknowledge the intangible factors employees are fundamentally seeking.

As psychologist, Ron Friedman writes for the HBR: “What differentiates great workplaces is not the number of extravagant perks. It’s the extent to which they satisfy their employees’ emotional needs and develop working conditions that help people produce their best work (by making them feel) competent, autonomous, and connected to others.”

Source: https://hbr.org/2015/03/5-myths-of-great-workplaces

Elements that give people a well-needed break, relieve stress, and inspire creativity will result in employees waking up excited to go to what they used to think of as work.

1414

1515

CHAPTER 4

Tools of the Trade Once decisions have been made on the changes

to make in your work setting, then it’s time to start thinking about how the workflow will occur there. Here

is where the spotlight shines on HR.

1515

1616

Communication

CHAPTER 4 - Tools Of The Trade

It cannot be overstated how important transparent communication is between middle management and employees. Information should not be suppressed. Employees want to be in on the company vision and feel like they are essential to its ultimate aims.

With management and HR increasingly free to interact with and inspire employees, their pride and sense of purpose will soar and voluntary turnover will decrease.

Practically speaking, one way companies facilitate communication is through an enterprise social network. Microsoft and Facebook have even built their own, Yammer and Workplace, respectively, but there are many third-party options. ESNs have numerous features, from day-to-day collaborative tools to the ability to connect various departments throughout the organization.

1616

1717

Flexible Work Options and Remote Management

CHAPTER 4 - Tools Of The Trade

As mentioned above, very interesting phenomena are occurring in the world’s current workforce. While the Internet and innovative platforms expose new opportunities and ways of working, employees are increasingly valuing time and flexibility over money. This isn’t just about eliminating a morning commute to work comfortably from home a few days a week.

Many companies offer flexible work options, including full-time, part-time, or hybrid telecommuting, short work weeks, and flexible, employee-managed schedules. Companies such as Deloitte have concluded that flexible work options can improve work quality and increase productivity and business growth.

In addition, the benefits of incorporating remote work options include acquiring talent without geographical restrictions, reducing utility costs and even distractions among employees. These employees also use less sick time, take less breaks, work longer hours and are generally happier with their jobs. All this, in turn, increases productivity while retaining talent.

Again, enterprise social networks can be indispensible in the effective execution of flexible work options and remote management.

Sources: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/270585 https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/the-benefits-of-working-from-home

1717

1818

The result of all this perceived disruption is actually the liberation of HR to focus on employee development, improving company culture, and overall performance. Or more simply put, HR can interact with employees as people and not merely as company capital. One tangible way HR can affect company culture is to deploy a platform to increase employees’ sense of working in a collaborative workplace with their managers.

Marianne Descamps, Director of Human Resources at Linkbynet, can attest to the fact. Tasked with finding an innovative way to further improve employee engagement and redefine the role of the company’s managers, Descamps settled on Talentsoft’s “Performance & Competencies” solution, which aims to “transform employees and managers into true HR partners.” The successful experience resulted in increased transparency, better integration of new talent, a reduction in turnover, and an overall more collaborative and agile business.

HR Platforms & A.I.

CHAPTER 4 - Tools Of The Trade

MYHR PLATFORM

New technology from the Digital Revolution is fundamentally changing the way HR interacts with the entire workforce to create an excellent workplace.

The most important factor to realize is that many of the traditional, time-consuming tasks that reduced the time HR actually spent with employees, have now been automated. Current platforms use the latest innovations in Artificial Intelligence to handle workforce planning, recruitment, performance reviews, compensation, digital learning, and training.

Some of the truly amazing features of A.I. can evaluate candidates without human bias, predict employee dissatisfaction and voluntary turnover, evaluate individual skills, recommend personal training methods, and much more. A.I. has become essential for companies with more than 200,000 employees.

Source: https://goo.gl/y4Ggqy

1919

MeasurementNew technology offers amazing ways to measure performance, but it’s now equally important to measure employee satisfaction. For example, the 2017 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends report found that “nearly 80 percent of executives rated employee experience very important (42 percent) or important (38 percent), but only 22 percent reported that their companies were excellent at building a differentiated employee experience.”

The best way to gauge employee satisfaction is really just to ask. TINYpulse, maker of employee engagement solutions, sends out weekly “pulse surveys” to employees asking questions ranging from workplace satisfaction (“Would you refer someone to work here?”) to organizational culture (“Does our executive team contribute to a positive work culture?”).

The company admits, feedback surveys won’t “magically fix morale in the workplace, but [they give managers the upper hand.”

Source: https://www.tinypulse.com/blog/sk-employee-engagement-survey-questions

CHAPTER 4 - Tools Of The Trade

Here’s where technology comes back in. HR platforms and mobile apps make tracking employee performance and satisfaction easier and more accurate than ever before, including intuitive dashboards, ready-to-use analysis templates, client feedback and statistics, talent departure risks, graphical quantitative macro and micro analysis, user-friendly interfaces without the need for expensive IT assistance, and much, much more.

By implementing such revolutionary changes, executives can feel secure that using such real-time measurement systems will achieve the desired results.

2020

CHAPTER 5

Personal & SocialImpactFinally, employees are increasingly focused on two other factors as they seek to strive in their current jobs: their future and their larger contribution to society.

It seems almost contradictory, but the current workforce is often both quite idealistic and highly realistic. Workers are at once keenly aware that technology and globalization can shift, or even eliminate, the jobs people have enjoyed for decades. Though this is often a source of intense anxiety in many parts of society, clearly with political repercussions, a significant percentage of the current workforce internalizes this reality and demands to constantly improve current skills and learn new ones in order to remain employable and competitive. But this is not just about ‘never getting too comfortable’. For those plugged into thriving industries, the thrill of experiencing innovation and new technology is highly motivational in itself.

Meanwhile, there is growing evidence showing that employees demand to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to work for companies that have a social impact, organizations that are not just aiming to increase revenue, but also making the world a better place.

Here are a few ways successful companies meet the above demands.

2020

2121

Continuous Learning

CHAPTER 5 - Personal And Social Impact

One of the first and easiest ways to allow employees to develop new skills is to encourage their involvement in decision-making. If there is an area to address within the company, inviting employees to propose ideas without the fear of criticism or reprisal will not only increase their sense of value and experience, but may lead managers to the best possible solutions. Another simple way is to delegate new tasks before employee growth begins to plateau.

Investing in training programs, seminars, and courses outside the workplace are traditional means and have all proven to benefit both employees and the company as a whole.

A unique, innovative form of investment in a company’s workforce can be found at the UK company, Waitrose. The company supports individual employees’ interests and hobbies, whether it’s for learning piano or taking cooking lessons, by paying half the costs of the activities. At first glance, this might not appear to benefit the company directly, but Waitrose has found that by nurturing individuality, employees feel comfortable being themselves in the workplace. This leads to a more creative and collaborative environment and ultimately to a better customer experience.

https://hbr.org/2013/05/creating-the-best-workplace-on-earth

Another tool in your tech toolkit is UGC (User-Generated Content) within your LMS and training courses. This occurs when, in response to quizzes or other fast micro-learning modules, users create content that is shared and consumed by their coworkers. Reviewing small bits of content has shown to improve competency-based learning and the resulting interaction -- in the form of “likes” or comments -- contributes to a collaborative training experience.

2121

2222

Career & Talent Management Assistance

CHAPTER 5 - Personal And Social Impact

In great workplaces around the world, HR and employees have such a positive and secure relationship that the latter can ask for career advice and the former will actively help them achieve their dreams. A nurturing workplace directly decreases voluntary turnover, thus reducing the amount of time and effort employees spend seeking solutions from outside sources. In addition, employees who are able to climb the company ladder often make even better managers as they are steeped in the company’s DNA.

Software as a Service (SaaS) talent management software provides businesses with a suite of online modules that deliver the right skills at the right place and time. Project cycles are quick as deployments can be conducted within a few months. Furthermore, companies save significant time and money because the software is purchased through a periodic fee and maintenance and upgrades are covered by the SaaS service provider, .

Further reading: Talentsoft’s “7 Successful Deployment Tips” (white paper)

For example, Shoeby, a family-owned fashion retailer in the Netherlands, cares about its employees’ well-being. The company’s top priority is to give each of their employees the opportunity to play a major role in their own career development. With 1,400 employees, it is extremely challenging to create conditions for everyone to feel good at work. To enable its employees to build their dream careers, the company decided to provide its teams with an innovative HR tool: the Talentsoft solution and its modules dedicated to training and appraisal.

2222

2323

Social Impact

CHAPTER 5 - Personal And Social Impact

Volunteerism and philanthropy are also growing centers of attention in the minds of upper managers as they realize that a company that actively serves the community also serves two internal purposes.

It responds to employees’ growing demands to not only feel that they are part of a team within a company, but in society as a whole. They want to feel that by waking up and going to work everyday, they are providing for their families, contributing to their companies, and also to society -- all at once!

Meanwhile, as companies give back to their communities, this philanthropic spirit becomes closely associated with their brand. One of the most high-profile examples, of course, being the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but any-sized company can make a big difference.

In addition, many companies host special social impact sections on their websites to showcase their philanthropic endeavors and employee involvement. This further reinforces the company’s value and meaning within its workforce while associating the brand with social responsibility.

PwC, specializing in audit, assurance, consulting, and tax services, encourages employees to volunteer through its PS18 program, which teaches financial literacy and mentors students in public schools. Employees have spoken highly of their social impact and professional growth the opportunity affords.

Source: Connecting People and Purpose: 7 Ways High-Trust Organizations Retain Talent

2323

2424

Conclusion:Closer Connection On A Human Level

CONCLUSION

If you haven’t noticed yet, and if crisis truly does bring opportunity, there is an exciting and fundamental change underway for Human Resources -- one that is so revolutionary that over the years more and more companies have defined HR as Human Relations.

Instead of being viewed as mere resources or capital, employees demand to be treated as real people, with hopes and dreams as important as those of the company. This demand is so strong, and the exposure to new opportunities and ways of thinking is so wide, that companies are forced to re-evaluate their understanding of the workforce if they want to survive the coming years.

Communication is the key to understanding people, and people will only feel comfortable communicating in a non-threatening environment where they feel valued and encouraged. Establishing this environment is forcing most companies around the globe to improve their employee relations. Meanwhile, innovations in technology and HR platforms are freeing these experts to spend more time getting to know the modern workforce.

In order to be successful, companies must now encourage individuals throughout the chain of command and across departments to more interact with each other on a much deeper level, in the hopes of developing a more positive and personal experience for all those involved. The 21st century leaves organizations with no other choice.

2424

About TalentsoftTalentsoft is the European leader in Cloud-based talent management. The Talentsoft solution allows users to efficiently manage employee recruitment, training, performance, competencies, careers, and compensation.

With over eight million users in 130 countries, the Talentsoft solution is perfectly adapted to European specificities and global HR challenges. Its functional depth and unique flexibility enable it to meet the requirements of all types of companies, whatever their activity sector or global presence.

Talentsoft is the fastest-growing software developer in France, and ranks 3rd in Europe in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 and Fast 500 EMEA 2013.

Originally designed for the Cloud, Talentsoft is fully optimised for the Microsoft Azure Cloud.

Talentsoft DanmarkIslands Brygge 432300 København Scontact.dk@talentsoft.comhttp://www.talentsoft.dk