The following article appeared in the Manila Times on February 27, 2025.
We are re-publishing it here with the permission of the author.
In mid-February, I got invited to an event, co-sponsored by Viventis and LinkedIn, on how to “Future Proof Your Talent Strategy.” I exchanged views with my friends in the talent attraction industry, primarily Yu Ming Chin and his key people, Leah Cendaña, Zandro Garcia, Michelle Banogon, Macy Cruz, and Rhea Rodis.
I also met Shirlyn (Xuan Lin) Quah, Singapore LinkedIn’s account manager for the American chamber.
I learned that, despite the Philippine talent market having grown by 70 percent in 2024, human resources (HR) practitioners still find it difficult to hire and retain great talent. In a 2024 survey, HR practitioners in the Philippines identified talent attraction, engagement and retention as their consistent pain points over the years.
Elsewhere: “In its State of the Global Workplace Report 2023, Gallup concluded that globally 23 percent of employees are engaged at work — a record high. But despite the upward trend, Gallup warns there’s still work to be done. The majority of employees (59 percent) are ‘quiet quitting’ or doing the bare minimum.” (Finn Bartram, People Managing People, Jan. 15, 2025)
Three years ago, Prof. Anthony Klotz of Texas A&M University coined the term “great resignation” as the world witnessed massive quitting among employees, particularly in the United States and Europe.
Asia was the least affected, but the whole world witnessed a series of other seismic HR episodes that followed great resignation — great reshuffle (as quitters joined other organizations), great regret (as quitters realized they still need a job), quiet quitting, social loafing, loud quitting, and then quiet hiring.
The recent volatility of the talent market is fanned mostly by technological developments (particularly artificial intelligence) and demographic shift. Chief executive officers (CEOs) and chief HR officers (CHROs) should anticipate emerging labor market dynamics, even in the Philippines, which is a labor-surplus economy.
In Sprout’s 2023 State of HR report, it said that “62 percent of employers saw an uptick in resignations, mostly for workers aged 20 to 24 (Gen Zs).
Economic upheavals and geopolitical developments will continue to result in large-scale disruptions in the global and domestic economies. Periods of uncertainty usually lead employees to rethink their jobs, livelihoods and career priorities.
Changing priorities among Millennials and Gen Zs also affect the dynamics in the talent market. Health (including mental health issues), flexible or hybrid work, work-life integration, and career growth are now invariably as crucial as, if not more important than, pay and benefits among the younger generation.
What often throws a monkey wrench in recruiting the younger generation, according to many HR professionals, is that granting the demands from young jobseekers will not guarantee talent retention.
The Gallup survey found that the global employee engagement level is at 23 percent, but among best-practice organizations, it averages at 70 percent.
The same survey said: “South Asia seems to have the highest level of engagement at 33 percent compared with 31 percent in the US, Canada, and Latin America; 27 percent in Post-Soviet Eurasia; 26 percent in Southeast Asia; 23 percent in Australia and New Zealand; 20 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa; 17 percent in East Asia; 15 percent in the Middle East and North Africa; and 10 percent in Europe.”
Companies with engagement levels beyond 70 percent have been found to “increase productivity by an average of 14 percent, customer satisfaction by 10 percent, sales by 18 percent, and profitability by 23 percent. Conversely, Gallup estimates that employees who are ‘actively disengaged’ and ‘not engaged’ cost $8.8 trillion globally in lost productivity, roughly 9 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP).”
No silver bullet
There is no silver bullet for engaging employees. Personally, I believe it starts with authentic leadership among managers, who play a crucial role in motivating their people. Managers must purposively and deliberately communicate with their employees — not just accidentally when incidents occur. Feedback must be part of the employee experience — it is the “breakfast of champions.”
Motivation is not just about the pay. In fact, Frederick Herzberg theorizes that “pay is not a motivator — it is a hygiene factor.” It means an employee is truly motivated not by salary alone, but by recognition of a job well done, a sense of achievement, career growth, being trusted with responsibility, advancement, and the work itself.
The Gallup survey also reports that “69 percent of employees feel that they’d be motivated to work harder … if they feel that their efforts are recognized; over 85 percent feel that they’re more motivated to work when the management updates them on company news regularly.”
Learning and development opportunities also lead to higher engagement. Udemy found that “80 percent of people felt that learning new skills would make them more engaged at work.”
The survey confirms what we already know about flexible work arrangements. According to Gallup, “on-site workers are less engaged than hybrid and remote workers. However, there is a correlation between remote working and a decline in feeling connected to an organization’s mission and purpose.”
Perhaps a hybrid workplace that allows employees to work remotely and report to the office occasionally would be a better arrangement, as employees would experience the best of both worlds.
To attract and retain top talent, allow employees to fit their work into their lives, not make them squeeze their lives into their work.
