The labour context has been marked by sharp changes in terms of Digital and the emergence of new functional needs and profiles. These aspects, combined with a world that is increasingly global, in which attractive jobs can emerge from all over the world, pose new challenges in terms of attracting and retaining talent.

This is exactly why retaining talent is becoming increasingly important. In fact, the concern should be to achieve both objectives at the same time, with policies that contribute to the retention also favour attraction new talent.

Could it be that the strategies used when human capital used to work now that we have less supply? According to an article in Harvard Business Review, The Performance Management Revolution by Peter Cappelli and Anna Tavis (2016), while previously the concern was about which people to let go and which ones to reward, in recent years the focus has been on the people development, This has led many organisations to question their appraisal and performance management processes.

In another publication from the same source from this year (Rethink Your Employee Value Proposition, by Mark Mortensen and Amy C. Edmonson, 2023), it is recommended that leaders, rather than asking people what they want, sticking only to material issues, should focus on what need to grow and evolve in the long term.

In fact, more and more studies and articles are reinforcing the importance of engagement It is of the utmost importance to identify the factors that contribute to this, knowing the employees and candidates you want to attract and knowing what they attach importance to.

So talking about attracting and retaining talent necessarily implies the construction of a EVP (Employer Value Proposition) increasingly strong, which must endeavour to meet the needs of the target audience we want to attract and retain, while respecting their needs and differences. generational. Increasingly, the focus should be on close monitoring and to guarantee well-being, This is a response to the new demands for a greater flexibility at work, the need to agility and rapid response, the possibility of constant learning and even thinking about the new economic climate, in support to cope with the rising cost of living.

A labour legislation is essentially intended to regulate relations between employers and workers, functioning in practice as a lowest common denominator of what each contractual party must provide to the other. Although, by its very nature, legislation always lags behind the reality it regulates, the Labour Code in addition to being an instrument for regulating labour relations, it can also serve as an inspiration for responding to new and varied employee needs. There is no better example of this understanding than the fact that the possibility of recourse to the teleworking has been provided for in the Labour Code since 2003, although it has only gained due notoriety during the most recent pandemic.

The labour contracts can - indeed, must - be adapted to individual reality which they regulate. Although employers tend to opt for a standardised contractual model per job position, the diversification of the labour force and their varied ambitions and needs, combined with the current war for talent, will require a greater contractual diversity.
 
Paula Calmeiro, Head of Recruitment, SHL Portugal
Rita Fraga Dornellas, Associate, VdA

Published in Human Magazine on 5/11/2023