Stephanie Stanislawski: HR is Changing the Rules of Engagement

Stephanie Stanislawski, Senior Platform Product Manager at Personio and TEDx speaker, provides insights on the future of Human Resources (HR) and employee engagement, strategies for how HR teams can become key business advisors, and how to shift from reactive to proactive recruitment. 

 

The Future of HR is Content and Branding

 

I want to share with you a few things that I know are coming your way in terms of the future of HR. The first thing is that the old recruitment ways are dead. We cannot assume that job boards work the same way as they used to. We cannot assume that great talents are actively looking for jobs. The best talents are usually not looking, and they may not even want to be approached for a job.  

The new generation also does not want to stay in a company for 15 years. What used to work before in terms of benefits like having an amazing office with full pantries and a ping pong table are no longer alluring because people prefer to work from home.  

The other thing we’re seeing is that content is becoming more important than ever. One of the main things that new generations consume is content as we move towards a content-based society. So, companies need to change their focus quite a bit and become more proactive with recruitment efforts.  

Obviously, employer branding is directly linked to this. The content you create has to be connected to your overall employer branding.  

I think the role of recruiters and HR professionals will start to evolve to meet these new demands from being passive or reactive to proactive and strategic.  

   

Nurturing A Global Network of Talent

 

Companies also must move towards long-term nurturing of global networks of talent – which they can build via content creation. This includes building videos around company culture, blogging, and creating courses. They need to find ways to engage the global community and build a network of talent.  

There are already some systems in place, and new ones coming up, that allow HR professionals to assess these global networks to find the right talent. These companies, like Pymetrics, are already helping you sort out talent by skills, knowledge, and preferences. There is more focus on skills rather than academic performance.  

That then gives you a pool of passive and engaged talent that are ready to go when you need them. So as soon as you have a vacancy, you can tap into your talent pool and find the right person to fill the seat. This entire process of skills assessment is becoming automated, which helps tremendously in predicting future organizational needs and ensuring that companies are ready for it.  

There are also tools that track internal team structures and communications to measure engagement. With that, you will be able to quantitatively support recruitment efforts by identifying risks, learning opportunities, and skills that will perform best in specific roles.  A data-driven approach can help match the right skills to the right roles. 

 

HR as a Disrupter 

 

HR will stop being a liability or drain on resources. Instead, HR can start to build new sources of income. For example, by charging for courses or becoming part of a global network of talent. 

Beyond that, HR becomes a disrupter and changes the rules of engagement. This can look like allowing people to choose the kind of benefits they want, or even renting out talent to NGOs or other companies.  

With the rapidly changing landscape, HR professionals must upskill their own profiles. One thing they can do immediately is to learn as much as possible – about employer branding, content creation, and the evolving technology ecosystem. Keeping an eye on these changes and starting to build that talent network is crucial. Even if you’re not offering them a job, just initiating a connection first could pay off in the long run.  

 

Talent Mobilization Will Be Crucial

 

We know that Europe, Canada, Australia, and some other regions will very soon see a significant need for fresh talent coming from other geographies where there is plenty of young talent but a lack of opportunities.  

With this, I do see a need for mobilization. Global mobility will remain an important discussion, and hopefully governments will figure out an efficient process around taxes, migrations, and visas.  

Additionally, remote work will continue to be the norm. If companies want to engage talent from wherever they are in the world, they can. Because it may be difficult for people to move countries for various reasons. This will be a growing trend and we will see plenty of development in this area.  

 

Modernize Recruitment Strategies to Attract Younger Talent 

 

Gen Z will be approached through content. It’s extremely important for them. Even marketing is changing. They no longer care if celebrities like Britney Spears have the latest Adidas shoes. They just want to see influencers, people like them to whom they can relate.  

So, I think companies need to focus on engaging that talent in a more human way through content like videos and talking about the benefits of working in a company via reviews. Essentially, things that are working in e-commerce will probably also work for talent and engagement. HR teams must step it up in terms of employer branding, content creation, and even looking to influencer programs to engage the younger generation.  

*The transcript has been edited for length and clarity.