Managing Human Resources in Globalization 4.0

Published by LexLatin in Spanish and Portuguese

October 19, 2020

In his Stanford speech, Steve Jobs related his decision to take a calligraphy course right after dropping his regular college studies, and that such experience, while meaningless at the time, later became the reason today we have on our computers “multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts"

This came to my mind because almost ten years ago I became interested in learning about the “Aloha” management philosophy of the author Rosa Say, as a result of participating in one of the conferences of the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA). Today it is precisely those values and principles that characterize talent management in globalization 4.0: The value of communication or KĀKOU, the value of justice, integrity, and balance called PONO, the value of persistence and perseverance called HO'OMAU, the 'IMI OLA or searches for a better life and ALOHA, unconditional love.

The fourth industrial revolution " doesn't change what we are doing, but it changes us,” and in this same concept it makes us global citizens. And the incorporation of technology at the end creates a new concept of globalization 4.0. Complicated in itself, talent management in globalization 4.0 requires creativity and continuous innovation from leaders because mobility and technology have made us compete for the best talents in front of organizations around the globe.

To move from one city to another, the organizations offered attractive packages and incentives. It involved physical relocation, therefore, incentives included a contribution to transportation and/or housing expenses. Some businesses continue to be managed in the same way. Others, more creative, do the interviews through technological platforms, such as Teams, Zoom, or Skype, the contracts are formalized through “Sign now”, “Docusign” and the workplace ends up being not so far from home. The leaders at law firms in Latin America believe they are still far from this. But the hearings are virtual and the practice in the lockdown was possible without the physical presence of the talents. The good news is that it works in both directions, for a long time, in search of a better life, we receive the resumes of very well prepared candidates whose place of residence is in the US, Europe and even the most distant places, such as Asia. The great unknown would be whether the leaders in our countries are prepared for times of change.

A series of factors that contribute to excellent talent management begins with the recruitment and selection process. Top executives are evaluated for their soft skills, the other (techniques) are taught. For a lawyer, soft skills are essential because they are leaders of each matter. They have to know how to manage matters and communicate with clients. Through the tests, we seek to identify leadership skills, teamwork, time management, organization, communication, organizational intelligence, to name a few. In the interviews, we have to make sure that we know the expectations of the candidates so that they match with the culture within the firm. Once the candidate has been selected, it is essential to offer our confidence in their future success. The commitment and permanence with the organization will last longer.

Another component is synergy and communication with the supervisor. The functions of the mentor are not only limited to developing professional skills, their educational work is to promote the human development of their team. It is important to maintain trust and two-way communication channels, in which problems can be quickly recognized and appropriately intervened. For employees it is very important to know their role, a clear description of their responsibilities is just as important as feeling valued and respected for their work. Avoid taking too long to provide feedback or passing the work on to another lawyer because the final product did not meet expectations. If we communicate expectations at the beginning and correct them along the way, excellent results await us. A good practice is to set goals and promote your initiatives to achieve them through your own paths. Using the “Pygmalion” effect is a powerful technique for developing our teams.

The culture of the firm represents the fundamental factor to keep talents motivated and engaged. It is how we do things and that does not depend on the human resources management area, but on the leaders: they set the guidelines. Lead with justice and example. Turnover is lower if leaders are positive, empathetic, and flexible. Job and customer satisfaction are consequently higher. The interpersonal relationships of the team members and the bonds that are created are lasting

Human capital is one of the three components of the firm's intellectual capital. Regardless of compensation levels, employees expect their salaries and benefits to be a fair reflection of the positive value they symbolize for the firm. Compensation structures should be reviewed at least once a year to ensure that they are objective in highly competitive and changing markets. And keep in mind that high salaries are not a guarantee of commitment nor employee's loyalty, that is only one of the components. To measure satisfaction, with this, and other issues, work environment surveys are used. Even more important than the survey itself is the process of communicating the results and the work plan in response. Not giving feedback is like ignoring. Quickly address issues with disruptive, unproductive employees or those that negatively impact the firm or other committed collaborators. If it is possible to rotate them from a department or area but if the situation does not improve, consider leaving them as soon as possible. Not applying corrective policies and/or starting them at the wrong time, or even worse waiting for dissatisfied employees to resign due to an economic issue is not recommended. Although in the end, they leave a bad atmosphere and besides the possibility of a domino effect.

Continuing education of leaders in the fields of their expertise is important, but in addition to leadership and talent management issues, it is good practice. Techniques, models, resource management of different generations, change over time. The generation of millennials have already formed their families, their expectations are changing, it is time to meet generation Z.

Adapting to the changes within globalization 4.0 means adapting to the new style of resource and space management: providing employees with the tools and equipment to work in the environment that ensures their greatest creativity, be it this quiet and uninterrupted space within the office, home, or a new concept of "shared offices". If the concern of the leaders is the secure handling of client's data, there are software such as Active Track, Hub Staff, and others designed to ensure compliance. Leaders must unify their criteria and create or adapt the policy accordingly.

Another good practice would be to incorporate the so-called custom benefits. For some employees it is important to have memberships in recreational clubs, others perhaps value more work flexibility. Therefore, motivate according to the individual needs or expectations of each employee.

In short, create or adapt the ALOHA culture, value, trust your teams so that they respond. Protect and teach. Get your teams to do their best and celebrate their successes.

Angelina Angelov