Navigating Turbulence: Insights from Mexico Talent Forum 2023

As the market continues to experience volatility and digitalization accelerates, Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) are facing mounting challenges in managing evolving workplace expectations, while balancing budgetary constraints and staying up-to-date with evolving laws and market expectations. At Mexico Talent Forum 2023, held on April 19-20, experts discussed how enhanced HR data analysis capabilities and technologies can help CHROs automate time-consuming and repetitive tasks, allowing them to fully exploit their technology investments for data-driven decision-making and increased cost savings. 

While HR data analytics has the potential to generate significant benefits for organizations, many companies are still in the early stages of developing their capabilities in HR analytics. According to Juliana Felix, Talent and Learning Consultant, LinkedIn, “this could be due to the perception that HR departments are not strategic destinations for investment.” However, HR departments have the tools and potential to reaffirm their real value, and KPIs can play a crucial role in demonstrating the value they bring to the organization.

HR data analytics capabilities vary in sophistication, from basic HR information systems (HRIS) to advanced departments offering world-class predictive modeling that incorporates social media, according to Korn Ferry. Historically, however, most organizations approach workforce planning as an annual exercise focused on cost, with little insight into whether employees can achieve their performance and revenue goals. While this is quickly shifting on the ground with CHROs opting to draft shorter budget plans, they still face significant challenges in accessing accurate and consolidated data across the enterprise. As a result of CHROs’ limited organizational viability, their capacity to make informed and strategic decisions remains significantly limited.

Never losing sight of the human element, CHROs are cognizant that for digital investments to be effective, they must carefully align technology integrations to both “talent development goals and the company’s business model,” underlines Sergio Arangua, HR Director, Solistica (FEMSA). Otherwise, companies risk incurring suboptimal expenses and may disrupt or undermine current processes, ultimately harming overall productivity.

This requires CHROs to keep an eye on workplace dynamics and on shifting and evolving labor market expectations. CHROs should also foster a culture of continuous learning to ensure that the workforce is prepared to meet the challenges of an emerging digital economy. Among the most troubling trends observed is quiet quitting, which refers to the lack of engagement and commitment to work, with employees showing no willingness to go the extra mile. A confounding phenomenon that appears to stem from the combination of burnout, isolation and dissatisfaction that, ultimately, pushes collaborators to view work as “merely transactional,” says Arturo Corominas, Director of Learning and Transformation, L’Oréal. To circumvent these risks, businesses could turn to work-life integration, which offers collaborators a model to organize their personal priorities without compromising their professional commitments. 

Altogether, CHROs face the challenge of balancing the digitalization of their departments in harmony with the evolving workplace expectations of employees. This requires that they accelerate their digital analysis capabilities, as well as their ability to effectively communicate with other C-suite executives for more comprehensive integration of technologies.