The Great Reshuffle continues. A great segment of the talent market is on the move and exploring career opportunities, roles, and organisations to help them live with greater purpose. Startups and young companies have an opportunity to stitch together employee value propositions that attract talent and turn around attrition. 

But where do you start? What changes should be made in your HR policies and systems to attract and retain a talented workforce? 

As a startup leader or a decision-maker in a fast-evolving company, you must know the latest trends driving the era of the Great Reshuffle and be aware of the shifting demands of talent. 

Let’s take a quick look at some of these emerging trends impacting the talent strategy of small businesses, startups and unicorns.

Job vs Career: Why talent demands challenging, disruptive and meaningful work

There is no argument that money remains a priority for every employee. But in the past two years, the challenges that the world of work has gone through have nudged the majority of employees to think about their purpose. Additionally, younger employees such as Generation Z are more driven to create a meaningful impact in whichever function or space they work. 

“New-age talent needs are a lot more dynamic and diverse than what they used to be a few years ago,” said Ajay Sreedhara, CHRO of travel booking portal Cleartrip. He added that talented professionals call for challenging and disruptive work, more flexibility and freedom to function, and a high degree of ownership. They dare to experiment and take risks.

This demand for meaningful work and ownership makes rigid workflows and hierarchies of communication ineffective.

HR leaders, founders and business heads of young companies and SMEs have to move away from siloed job functions and redesign roles to enable non-linear career growth for employees. This shift will be helpful not only to attract and retain talent but also to develop roles according to evolving business needs. 

Flexibility and Empowerment vs Productivity and Performance 

"The present workforce is always looking forward to a people-centric, progressive, and inclusive culture," said Ashish Kumar Singh, CHRO, Meesho. You are either rethinking and transforming your culture or losing the war for talent. 

SMEs and startups had to reinvent themselves overnight to make work from anywhere a reality. Most talent didn’t only embrace the new model but fell in love with it: 82% of employees say the ability to work from anywhere has made them happier, according to a new report from Cisco. Another study from Microsoft highlighted employees’ willingness to work in a hybrid model. 

“People will tend to prefer employers who allow flexibility and empower them to choose the most convenient locations for work. This has gained further attention since, during the pandemic, we also realised the power of technology in enabling remote work without impacting productivity or the quality of work,” Ashish added. 

The Cisco report reiterates the need for organisations to restructure work, as 61% of employees believe that the quality of their work has improved with working from anywhere. 

Flexibility is not only restricted to the place of work but also the time and scope of work. 

It is time to move the focus beyond performance and create opportunities for employees that empower their growth. 

SMEs, startups, and unicorns are still on a journey of change with the potential to create a huge impact on the economy and employment sector. 

To benchmark the state of work in these high-growth companies and chart a roadmap for the future, People Matters and Keka present to you our groundbreaking research on the state of Indian MSMEs and startups. Take part in our study and get a chance to win exciting prizes!