One size does not fit all: Is Hyperpersonalization the answer to your talent woes?

The uphill battle of talent retention has become the modern-day equivalent of the struggle of Sisyphus. HR leaders keep pushing talent management strategies up a hill, and it rolls down with bigger talent woes.

This calendar year especially has been remarkably challenging for leaders to find and retain good talent. Talent Trends like Quiet quitting, Moonlighting, and The Great Resignation, have surfaced to virality, and are keeping C-suite up in the night. But new or old, fad or not, these talent trends are a symptom of a bigger disease festering in an organization’s talent management strategies.

This article will explore the Why and What of these talent trends that are adversely affecting organizations, and also How you can change this.

Let’s first discuss the Root Cause,

Why are HR leaders stuck in this loop of employee disengagement and attrition? We ran a few polls on LinkedIn and here is what you had to say,

While the polls clearly indicate that there is a need for strategic intervention to solve talent challenges, we believe that the problem statement that trumps everything else is -

When every employee is different with different strengths, needs, and problems, why do we create one-size-fits-all policies?

The answer to that is – Hyperpersonalization.

But what is Hyperpersonalization? Essentially it is a marketing concept, that utilizes customer data to customize experiences. This means understanding and identifying your employee’s needs with a similar approach as that of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and building the employee experience around these needs.

Let’s break this down further with an example, where employees A, B, and C have different needs and require unique employee benefits. So, the key is to understand what they need and offer them benefits they can actually benefit from.

Change is the only constant

Although this adage is as cliché as it gets, it sums up the current state of the workforce most aptly. The work, worker, and workplace paradigms are subject to continuous change and evolution. The worker now comes from different generations, with millennials making up a big portion of the workforce.  If the worker has changed, then the workplace must evolve as well.

As HR leaders strive to align their culture to new talent paradigms, it helps to imagine the culture as a wheel with the spokes representing the 'pillars of culture' and HR leaders at the hub. Through these spokes, the load on the hub is passed to the wheel, propelling it forward and future-proofing organizational culture. (Refer to the image below)

Hyperpersonalization is a key pillar of this ever-evolving organizational culture. Employees after all are individuals with their own history, interests, culture, beliefs, motives, and interests outside of work. The mere independence of thought process requires HR leaders to ensure that they personalize employee experience. Employees are at their happiest and most productive when their interests align with what they get out of their jobs.

How to Hyperpersonalize?

There are a plethora of ways to hyperpersonalize your employee value proposition, however here are 4 examples of how to tailor-stitch your talent strategy to meet the needs of employees:

1. Treat the symptoms of Long COVID

Problem:

Remote work in a post-pandemic world has employees feel disconnected from the workplace. With no human connection, digital burnout is leading employees to be demotivated and stressed.

Solution:

• Run events and hackathons that give employees an opportunity to showcase their talents, collaborate with teammates, and learn something new.
• Create personalized groups like book clubs or toastmasters, so there is something for every employee.
• Give employees a reason to come to work. For example, if an employee has opted for an L&D program, keep a learning chair session in the office on a particular day. While they can learn online, this one session gives them an opportunity to come to work and share their ideas.

2. Understand the generational dilemma

Problem:

With Boomers retiring, Gen Z and Millennials are the present and future of talent. This means that the values and expectations of the workforce have changed drastically. Workers today want more than just compensation from their job.

A study by Randstad research found that - 49% of Gen Z employees would not accept an offer from a company that does not align with their values.

Solution:

• Gain a deep understanding of what your employee wants and then customize your employee value proposition. For e.g. If sustainability is one of your company values, walk the talk. Ensure that sustainability is deeply ingrained in everything that you do.
• Focus on employee well-being. Offer programs like flexible leave policies, gym reimbursements, and healthcare plans so employees feel cared for by the organization.

3. Surveys don’t cut it, talk to your employees

Problem:

Despite open-door policies in place, employers never know what’s bothering an employee.

This could be because organizations limit themselves to quick and dirty surveys that give them very general information about what is happening but misses the unsaid. Personalize your approach.

Solution:

• Every employee is different and not all will speak up easily. Build trust with your employees to keep the communication channels open.
• Personalize your approach beyond surveys. Do a 10-minute pulse check with your employees at least once a month.

4. Good management = Healthy environment

Problem:

“Nearly 9 in 10 workers (87%) indicated that their manager contributes to setting their work team environment.” - The Global Culture Research Report 2022 by SHRM

Managers are an employee’s door to an organization. A manager who makes an employee feel heard or motivates them, and helps create a healthy work environment. But good managers are not born, they are made. And often organizations don’t invest enough in training new managers on how they can manage the workforce with empathy. In fact, the biggest downfall of the current system is that becoming a manager is not a choice but a mandate to grow in an organization.

Solution:

•  Identify employees who have managerial qualities and start their training early on.
• Give employees the choice to select their track to grow within the organization – whether they want to be managers or individual contributors.
• Value employees on individual contributor tracks as much as those on managerial tracks.
• Ensure each track gets the required training to excel in their field.

While these are just some of the few examples of Hyperpersonalization, the key lies in greasing your wheel of culture from time to time, by taking stock of changes happening in the workforce. Talent trends like Quiet quitting, The Great Resignation, or even Moonlighting do not exist in silos. It is a function of incessant shifts in the global talent landscape and macro trends. Hyperpersonalization can be a silver bullet for your talent-related challenges. It is key to creating a positive work culture.

Are you hyperpersonalizing your talent strategy? Let us know in the comments.

To know how to create a promising employee value proposition, write to us at info@zinnov.com.

Written by: Hani Mukhey, Director – People Success Practice, Zinnov; Sabah Batul, Associate - Marketing & Communications, Zinnov

Related Insights:

The Evolving Pillars Of Culture Supporting The New Talent Paradigm

How To Never Run Out Of Talent That Fits As An Organization