How to Attract, Engage and Retain Talent

Three megatrends employers should align with to attract, engage and retain talent

The world of work looks very different now, compared to how it looked in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic and social consequences that resulted from protective restrictions around it, have fundamentally changed what people want and expect from the world of work and their work environments.

From an employer’s perspective, this mainly means enabling hybrid work for employees that want it, so that those who came to enjoy working from home during the pandemic can continue to do so. However, this is only part of the story, as a wider theme of flexibility is bedding into the business world long-term, and the ramifications on the global job market are beginning to become apparent.

The recent Everest Group report on Earned Wage Access has highlighted three megatrends that businesses should be aware of, especially if they want to attract and retain talented employees, and improve their engagement with their work. This blog looks at each of them in turn, and explores what they mean from a payroll perspective.

The three megatrends for the future of work and why they’re important

These three trends may seem relatively simple, but digging into them in a bit more detail highlights just how wide-reaching they can be:

Flexibility in working hours

Firstly, it’s important to distinguish between hybrid working and flexible working: hybrid working means working from home or the office at different times, whereas flexible working is the broader approach of varying work locations, hours and working conditions. 

A recent Gallup survey found that 67% of workers value flexible working hours as a workplace benefit, and that flexibility in timings is actually more important to the employee experience than flexibility in location. This is because it gives them more opportunity to improve their work/life balance and well-being by being able to fit their job around all their personal commitments. 

How this incentive is applied can vary substantially. But in order to guarantee a level of consistency in operations, employers tend to set ‘core hours’ when employees are expected to be working (for example 10am to 12pm, and 2pm to 4pm). Outside of this, employees can set their own working hours, as long as they work their contracted weekly total. 

New forms of employment

The global job market has become much more fluid in recent years. No longer do many employees feel that they have to be tied down to full-time employment: instead, part-time work, contracting, freelancing and other less permanent work arrangements are becoming far more commonplace.

Employers are now responding to this trend and taking advantage of the benefits a more liberated workforce gives them, as well as the employees in question. It helps them quickly and effectively fill big skills gaps, speed up hiring processes and reduce their costs, and bring fresh perspectives into organizations for specific purposes.

Diverse and globally dispersed workforce

Both of the above points have opened up new opportunities for businesses to cast their net wider in their search for talented employees. In particular, moving towards flexible hours and remote working breaks down many of the geographical barriers around hiring: within reason, employers can now hire staff from anywhere in the world, giving them greater access to a wider talent pool.

By bringing new team members from further afield into an organization, the diversity of thought within the business can be increased, helping people think differently and acquire new skills through being introduced to different cultures, experiences, and backgrounds.

How these megatrends affect payroll

As employers gradually embrace these new trends, there will be significant knock-on effects for payroll operations. As a result, payroll teams - and the technology they use - will need to explore the following:

• Payroll flexibility: employees now expect flexibility in their working hours, location, and in other areas of their life, and will expect the same from how they’re paid. Innovations like Earned Wage Access, where employees can accrue wages and withdraw them whenever they want from a self-service platform, can deliver this without adding to payroll teams’ workload

• Globalized payroll: a more distributed workforce means that employers may need to run payroll across many different currencies, and in accordance with different countries’ regulations to accommodate new hires. An overarching global payroll solution can make this easier to manage, however internationally diverse a workforce becomes

• Handling new working models: with more employees working on a temporary basis, payroll may need to adapt to faster and more fluid means of payment, potentially moving away from a fixed bi-weekly or monthly payroll cycle
  
  

In summary

The trends above are vital for businesses to consider because they will unlock access to talented employees all over the world and give them a competitive advantage. Being able to attract the best talent to your organization and retain them long-term makes your workforce more capable, more motivated, and better-equipped to handle the business challenges of the future. But it’s also important to recognize that payroll has a critical part to play in making this possible, too.

Take a detailed look at Everest Group’s findings and learn more about Earned Wage Access by downloading the full report here.