Workplace dynamics are constantly shifting in today’s labor market, with HR at the forefront of these changes. Following the Great Resignation of 2021 and 2022, and the adjustments made during the Great Stay of 2023, today’s top people leaders are not just preparing for future changes—they are proactively shaping their responses and leading the way.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell recently told reporters that the July 2024 job numbers indicated the labor market was “broadly consistent with a normalization process.” Normal—meaning no catchphrase indicating a big movement—could give time for HR leaders to catch their breath.

However, signs of balance also challenge companies to create engaging, growth-oriented environments to keep their employees committed for the long term. To address this, many organizations are focused on retaining their existing workforce with a culture of learning and development.

Data suggests that this investment might prevent employees from seeking opportunities elsewhere. According to Deloitte’s 2022 Workforce Experience Research Study of over 4,000 US-based workers, those who don’t feel they are growing their careers with their current organization are 2.5 times more likely to leave for another opportunity within the year.

Conversely, the report shows that when employees learn the skills needed to transition to different roles, they are 2.7 times more likely to stick around. Deloitte researchers emphasize that staying competitive in the evolving job market requires increasingly essential technology and data-driven approaches.

Redesigning work to develop employee journey

Susan LaMonica, chief human resources officer at Rhode Island-based bank Citizens, leads and develops a workforce of over 17,000 employees. She says her company is committed to creating an environment that supports workers throughout their career journeys, emphasizing several factors that encourage them to stay.

The people strategy at Citizens, she notes, is tightly aligned with the business strategy through an ecosystem approach to culture, leadership and talent. To define these priorities, the company introduced five imperatives, or “pillars”:

• Bold leadership: Ensuring effective leadership at all organizational levels.
• Employee value proposition: Staying connected with employees’ needs through employee listening, akin to customer listening, and using technology for centralized data analysis.
• Redefining work: Evolving toward a skills-based model driven by technology, understanding skills pathways and developing tailored L&D resources.
• Healthy organization: Focusing on whole-person health with thriving programming and resources delivered through various tech platforms.
• Digitizing the colleague experience: Leveraging technology to enhance the flow of work and improve the colleague experience.

Skills position Citizens to ‘outlearn the competition’

“The pace of change isn’t slowing down,” says LaMonica. However, she has a plan to structure the workforce to keep up, regardless of change: Citizens is focusing on designing work to eliminate friction points that can “de-energize people.”

The goal is to embrace a mindset of “how can we outlearn the competition?” LaMonica believes this can happen when employees have the opportunity to develop skills and apply them in ways that reward the worker and strengthen the business.

By redesigning work and adopting a skills-based approach, Citizens creates new and agile opportunities for its workforce. Additionally, Citizens aims for colleague development, employee engagement and wellness, she says.

Developing an internal talent marketplace

Technology plays a hefty role in the Citizens ecosystem, and LaMonica and her team are judicious about utilizing tech solutions that support business goals.

One ambitious move is its recently launched internal talent marketplace (ITM), which has developed over time in phases. Leadership, including senior-level partnerships and three executive sponsors, was “engaged from the get-go,” LaMonica says. The initiative started with a vision seven or eight years ago when the technology for ITMs was still developing. The company learned the ropes as a beta partner for IBM, and now the technology aligns with the organization’s needs, she says.

Currently, the organization’s HR leadership uses the ITM to understand and develop the skills the company needs. It also helps employees find mentors and explore new opportunities, with plans to introduce gig work facilitation by year-end.

LaMonica believes internal communications are essential for cultural shifts, especially in adapting to a skills-based organization. For the ITM to be effective, it needs to be embedded into the flow of work and management processes to “make it come alive,” she says.

HR tech supports business goals

Importantly, LaMonica says, HR tech efforts at Citizens are not disconnected enterprise solutions but objectives that align with organizational goals. The HR team actively asks employees how they will use new technology in their lines of business to perform their jobs. “Tech can remove friction and improve employee experience and candidate experience if it’s managed properly,” says LaMonica, acknowledging that employees have varied feelings about the technology.

While developing existing employees is always a priority, LaMonica’s team also leverages new tools to attract new applicants. Technology has proven “hugely powerful” for reaching candidates with customized communication, using analytics to target opportunities based on job seekers’ interests.

The launch of a conversational ATS chatbot dubbed Jamie has been well-received by job seekers and the HR team. LaMonica says Jamie receives many thank-you letters from candidates who appreciate the improved experience and automated scheduling. Bonus: “The recruiters are delighted,” says LaMonica.

In addition, the bank is piloting generative AI to process employee feedback, such as understanding what drives intent to stay. The HR team’s roadmap includes analyzing productivity data alongside sentiment by group to learn more about performance dynamics.

As the pace of change accelerates, organizations like Citizens are structuring the workforce and tapping HR tech to meet evolving demands. “We can’t hire for everything,” LaMonica says. “We must be intellectually curious.”