Jess Podgajny, Co-founder and CEO of LLUNA, a platform that brings the human back into business, says that the key themes around talent engagement and retention are as follows: compensation, time, location, and development.

Compensation

Three predictions about compensation in the future of work are:

1. It will become increasingly transparent – on job postings and across organizations.
2. It will become more fluid – changing more frequently than our typical annual increases
3. People will command their value, but compensation will not be the #1 priority for employees

Some examples of how this is playing out are Microsoft nearly doubling it’s salary budget, some states adopting laws that require salary ranges to be available, and increasing salaries in IT companies when a peer is hired at a higher marker rate for the same role.

Time

Knowledge workers would like to refresh their schedule preferences at least quarterly. Choices and options also go a long way, even if employees to do not take advantage of them. In addition, the overview effect has resulted in lower tolerance for employer control.

Location

Location matters, and one example of where we can see that in the effects Elon Musk’s return to office policy has had on employees looking for jobs elsewhere.

Some innovative policies include:

• Publicis’ Work Your World gives employees to work anywhere there is a Publicis office globally for a period of time each year. They’ve even set up housing swap opportunities for employees.
• Phase backs for employees after parental leave.
• LLUNA customers offer location choices.

Development

Gen Z and Millennials are especially focused on growth opportunities, yes organizations are struggling with how to proceed. Podgajny says the key here is dialogue between managers and employees. For example, what are the goals? How will you get there? What support do you need to do it?

Investment in development and specifically upskilling is rapidly increasing. JP Morgan Chase has allocated $600 million, Amazon $700 million, and PwC a whopping $3 Billion to upskill existing employees.

In summary, Podgajny says, “Retaining talent today, is a multi-faceted challenge and opportunity for organizations. We all must embrace the human side of work, the fact that change is certain (and will persist), and that people’s priorities differ and will evolve.”