ManpowerGroup Thailand offers path to optimising talent retention, tackling turnover challenges

Now more employees are opting for hybrid work environments, forcing companies to implement major changes with a focus on their staff’s mental well-being and goodwill.

Under the expert family of brands – Manpower, Experis®, and Talent Solutions - ManpowerGroup has always believed “People are our organization’s most valuable assets”.  Consequently, providing optimal quality of life, training and re-skilling, and more importantly, offering sustainability in work-life happiness and balance and understanding of the three generations – Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z - across the workforce who bring a novel way of thinking and values but at the same time expect stability and flexibility - are all crucial in the workplace.

According to Lilly Ngamtrakulpanit, Country Manager, ManpowerGroup Thailand, “Based on ManpowerGroup’s recent survey with regard to the labour market, results indicated that employee turnover rates have shot up significantly and at the same time skilled labour in IT and technology is in higher demand than previously.

With the rise in demand for hybrid working, employers and organizations need to rethink and reimagine their normal business practices and rules and provide, first and foremost, work-life balance and flexibility in their employees’ working lives in addition to providing skills or re-skilling – analytical skills in particular - to successfully cope in today’s digital era.  

The focus is on understanding and ensuring the three generations of employees work together in harmony and the best talents retained and provided with an optimal work-life balance and flexibility.”

Generation X (Gen-X), born 1965-1980, primarily represents seniors who have worked hard and experienced significant events such as “Tom Yam Kung” and “Hamburger” financial crisis in their lives as well as having witnessed their parent’s dedication to working, tend to place importance on work-life balance.  

However, they are still loyal, driven and efficient, are open to new ideas and work well as a team. 

Generation Y (Gen-Y or millennials), born 1981-1995, are predominantly occupying the middle management levels at the workplace.  This generation upholds clarity and authenticity, shares and dares to state their honest opinions. They don’t hesitate to ask for their rights as an employee. They are team players who are prepared to face any challenges upfront.

Employers and organizations thus need to constantly keep this generation of talents alert with innovations to prevent them from finding work monotonous, and opting for employment elsewhere.

Generation Z (Gen-Z), born 1996-2010 in the digital age, are creative multi-taskers and savvy with current technologies and are result-oriented and strong in quickly filtering relevant information. With their creative attitude, they expect freedom to do things their way and always with an eye to innovation.  

Therefore, in order to retain talents in this generation who prefer to opt for other than the traditional 9 to 5 work day, employers need to understand their nature and provide healthy challenges and entertainment in the work environment.

In the past three months, the pandemic has drastically changed working methods whether working from home 100% or alternating between working from home or going to the office or working in the office 100%, ManpowerGroup, as a global leader in providing innovative workforce solutions, had foreseen the importance of the latest hybrid working option in the digital age and amidst Covid disruption resulting in a win-win outcome in terms of investment in talents and additional employee benefits positively affecting their well-being and lifestyles as a whole – a perfect work-life balance.

 “I believe organizations in both Thailand and overseas are in unanimous agreement that an important outcome of the Covid-19 pandemic is the opportunity to reshape and maintain work-life balance for each and every one of us,” said Lilly.

“Employers are experiencing the benefits of a truly balanced, beneficial and efficient work-life routine where there are days for on-site meetings for brainstorming and setting goals as a team and also days when we have time to clear pending assignments which we may not otherwise be able to find the time to concentrate on producing new, creative works or reflect upon self-improvements without disruption in an office full of employees, and the luxury of not having to waste time in the traffic and spend more quality time with the family. Employees can produce efficient work off-site as well if not better than working on-site. The flexibility in the work schedule affords the employee to better manage his or her lifestyle, neither necessary to face traffic jams nor to clock in.  Everyone’s enhanced mental state of being will definitely be beneficial to work input.”

The latest “hybrid working” option that many organizations including ManpowerGroup Thailand are offering has received positive feedback from employers in general which is in line with ManpowerGroup’s culture and tradition of focusing on results.  Flexibility in working on-site or working from anywhere which depends on the pandemic situation is gauged on a monthly basis. 

“ManpowerGroup Thailand has recently introduced the new “Four-day” “Work from Anywhere” policy to our staff.  I believe we are the first country among the countries of regional ManpowerGroup to introduce such a policy, as we always believe that providing benefits and flexibility to the employees is crucial. If we look after them well, everyone will be happy which in turn will raise efficiency. Working from anywhere is equivalent to additional employee benefits and offers them a chance for work-life balance as well as better employee relationships and a degree of flexibility.  We believe our “People are our organization’s most valuable assets”, hence providing work-life balance and skills or re-skilling to our employees are of utmost importance,” added Lilly.