This virtual roundtable was held on Thursday, December 17th, where three HR professionals discussed the following topics:
Talent
Company culture
Training
Digitalization
Emotional salary
The professionals who offered their views had complementary profiles:
Josué García: CEO and Founder of Nivimu. Mallorca (Spain). Nivimu is a comprehensive human resources tool specialized in the tourism sector, designed for the generation of BIG DATA.
Ricardo Lagos: HR Shared Services Manager South America w/out Brazil at Siemens. Santiago (Chile)
Juan F. Rodríguez, Head of HR for Tenerife North at Meliá Hotels International (Spain)
Moderated by Pablo Torres (TSA Solutions / Torres Consulting), event organizer.
Regarding talent, the topic of internal and external talent was discussed. The speakers agreed that candidates are increasingly informed and better understand company culture thanks to company communication.
While it's true that nurturing internal talent and supporting its development is essential, sometimes it's necessary to seek talent from outside. With companies where up to 80% of roles are filled with internal talent (almost as much at Meliá, as Juan F. commented), it's logical that talent sometimes comes from outside. And that's where HR information policy is crucial. It's vital not to destroy the motivation of internal talent by overusing external recruitment.
The next topic discussed was company culture. The importance of not limiting it to a simple phrase (mission + vision) was discussed, but rather being consistent and integral at the company level with what is proposed. More and more candidates are willing to reject job offers if they don't feel comfortable with the employer's culture.
The issue of training is always a hot topic. In sectors like tourism, there are many overqualified profiles, who can end up demotivated due to the lack of advancement or the poor relationship between their education and their job.
That's why, as Ricardo emphasized, the introduction of technical training is important, where institutes and companies agree on the subjects and internships to be included in the programs. Given the rapid evolution of certain sectors, it seems anachronistic to create university courses over several years, with studies lasting several semesters, since by the time they complete certain knowledge, it will already be obsolete.
This is why ongoing and continuous training must be a key part of employee development plans. Employees, in turn, must be proactive in analyzing their training needs or shortcomings to develop themselves personally and professionally (and not delegate this function to the company's HR department).
Josué clarified the difference between digitalization and digital transformation. The former is the first step many companies must take to achieve the latter. If you start from the bottom up (investing in digital HR technology) but don't change your approach, culture, and processes, it's a failed process 100%.
That's why it's essential to be strategic when discussing the introduction of this digital transformation, which must be gradual, tailored to the company and its employees. In Spain, for example, 861 companies do not manage digital data in HR.
Finally, we discussed emotional salary, something that may sound new, but is actually already part of the priorities for many people: being able to balance work and family life, obtaining better conditions, personal recognition, staying informed, and having fluid two-way communication. All of this is part of non-monetary incentives, or emotional salary. And it's something that the new generations are increasingly demanding.
In a final summary, Josué noted that there is still a long way to go in terms of digital transformation, as it is just getting started in small and medium-sized businesses.
Regarding corporate culture, Ricardo noted that in many cases it is already well on its way, and CSR tends to be an important pillar.
Finally, Juan F. advocated for a balance between theoretical and practical training, to adapt it to the roles (especially operational).
