Attract, retain, protect: Supporting people in the new world of work

In the first episode of season two of the HR Trends podcast, Clare Morin speaks to Brian Kropp, Chief of Research and Distinguished Vice President at Gartner, and Polly Nicholas, Senior Vice President and Head of Solutions at Unum Group, about the fundamental shifts happening in HR and how business leaders who respond to the holistic needs of their employees will win the talent and retention game. Key takeawaysAs the line between work and home have become blurred, it’s caused a reconsideration of the place of work in an employee’s life.  (7:55)This requires a different approach and a new type of leader.  (9:35)This shift can also be seen in what employers and employees want in terms of benefits. (11:40)Supporting employees in this broader, more holistic way is also better for business. “When organizations are more effective at meeting the mental health needs, the family needs, the community needs of their employees,” says Kropp, “Those employees perform at a higher level, are less likely to quit, they are more engaged with their work, they sleep better at night, and the list goes on and on.  By improving the lives of our employees, we help the performance of our organizations.” (13:15)Employee leave programs are becoming focused around personas. “Even the leave and time off conversation used to be this big block of people who just needed to take time off. And tomorrow, it’s about a persona,” says Nicholas. “And it’s how we begin to shift thinking about leave policies and compliance, to what does a person need who’s planning a leave? What does a person need when they have a very unplanned event and there’s an emergent moment happening? How are those needs different? And how are we surrounding them, and back to Corie Barry’s sort of scaffolding, how are we surrounding them because there’s this opportunity to offer solutions that do just that.” (28:20) External shocks -- the pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and the war in Ukraine -- have turned ideas about good management on their head. “The focus up to now has been on efficiency, on stripping costs as much as possible,” explains Kropp. “When we have a management strategy that is maximizing efficiency, we also have a strategy that is unwittingly maximizing fragility. It’s like inflating a balloon with as much air as possible right up to the point where it breaks. That strategy is fine if there’s nothing in the environment that can cause a balloon to break. What we’ve realized is there’s lots of things in the environment that can cause the balloon to break.” (31:00)Featured speakers: Brian Kropp Chief of Research and Distinguished Vice President, GartnerBrian Kropp oversees the lines of business that support Chief Human Resources Officers and their leadership teams. He works with this cadre of leaders to develop strategic plans that will attract and retain top talent. Dr. Kropp has authored more than 40 research studies at Gartner, led more than 200 strategy sessions with executive teams at Fortune 100 companies and more than 300 Executive Education sessions across the globe.  Polly NicholasSenior Vice President and Head of Solutions, Unum GroupPolly Nicholas is the Senior Vice President and Head of Solutions at Unum Group. With more than 20 years of experience driving growth and operational improvement and a passion for connecting people, purpose and results, Nicholas leads Unum’s rapidly expanding solutions businesses, attracting new clients and expanding the support provided through a suite of technology-first solutions including Unum Total Leave™, Behavioral Health and Unum HR Connect solutions. Prior to Unum, Nicholas held leadership roles at global firms Alight Solutions and Aon Hewitt.