People & organisational performance

Paperjam: In the quest for performance, what role does an HR director play alongside management? Does the role involve executing a roadmap, or guiding the organisation’s strategy?

: The HR director has a critical role to play in an organisation, not only to execute the people strategy that supports the business aspirations and long-term goals, but also ensuring flawless and efficient running of HR operations.

With this in mind, the HR director will embrace several postures, from a strategic advisor where he/she collaborates with the top management to align HR initiatives with the company’s overall strategy, to driving organisational changes and fostering a culture of agility and innovation, building the talent architecture (attract, develop, retain), being a key employee advocate to promote a positive work environment, and operational conductor in overseeing the execution of all HR operations, ensuring compliance and efficiency in all HR processes and systems.

At PWC Luxembourg, our common vision is to be the most impactful, dynamic and trusted partnership for our clients and all our stakeholders, in Luxembourg and beyond its borders. To succeed, our strategy focuses on proximity with our people by fostering close interactions, talent management to unlock their potential, and ensuring their physical, emotional and mental well-being. We are also committed to taking practical steps to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in their lives.

How can we combine the quest for performance with ever-higher aspirations in terms of work-life balance?

Employees’ expectations have changed over the past years, and they increasingly value their work-life harmony as well as make their mental and physical well-being a priority. With employees’ engagement being key to their individual and collective results, companies must adapt. Several initiatives and measures can be deployed, including enhancing flexibility, developing psychological safety, well-being, and prevention programs to name a few.

Some examples at PWC:

—We promote flexibility, and for this, we propose innovative solutions to our employees just like our satellite offices, whose capacity continues to grow. Our firm has paved the way when it comes to the setup of working solution closed to the borders of Luxembourg.

—We propose a wide range of solutions, tools, and opportunities for the well-being of our people, for them to take at their own pace.

—Be well, work well is a programme that aims to make people’s well-being central to how we work. Over the past years, we established sports sessions onsite, special offers with personal trainers, kine@work and opened a nap room for our employees. They make great use of these services, confirming that our investment is aligned with their needs.

—The ‘Back and Happy programme’ promotes a supportive workplace culture, facilitating smooth reintegration for returning parents. It provides valuable resources, peer support and fosters work-life balance, while raising awareness of organisational rights and responsibilities.

Talent acquisition

The job market is dominated by the ‘war for talent.’ How does this play out in practice in your own recruitment processes? What difficulties do you face?

Recruitment remains a key challenge for many companies with real talent scarcity in Luxembourg and therefore there is the need to import them from other countries. We observe that more and more we are going further than the Greater Region, whose competitivity has increased over the last year, to the detriment of Luxembourg.

On the other hand, the candidate’s expectations remain at a high level, in terms of housing, mobility, quality of life, but also job opportunities, career growth and even the speed and way employers process their application.

Still, we were able to onboard more than 400 full-time equivalent (FTE) net over the past year, a strong sign of the attractiveness of our firm and brand.

What ‘weapons’ does your company use to fight this battle? And what additional ‘weapons’ would you like to have at your disposal, if you had the power to change regulations and laws?

We promote our culture, our ways of working, including flexibility initiatives as well as adding a flavour to life at PWC, adapting our language to our audience, even at times with a pinch of humour...

In this highly competitive environment, differentiating ourselves and promoting our people value proposition is key to attracting the right people to PWC. Being visible is key, namely through recruitment campaigns, social media (including Linkedin, Meta, Tiktok...), or targeted channels. In addition, we set up a dedicated employee branding and recruitment team that goes to universities, schools and employee fairs to directly meet with potential candidates.

Employer branding

Applied to your organisation, what is your definition of ‘employer branding’?

We, at PWC Luxembourg, define ourselves as a community of solvers, where our employees bring their true selves and deliver excellence. We value who our employees are as an individual and we allow them to grow as the best possible version of themselves. We work as a team, a community that gives our employees strength and confidence, a community that reaches its goals together. We strive to constantly improve the way we work and develop our employees to their utmost competences.

In addition, our cultural framework focuses on three priority cultural traits: ‘Walk the Talk,’ ‘Entrepreneurship’ and ‘Excellence.’ These traits clearly define the behaviours we aim to consistently exhibit to achieve our strategic objectives. By investing in this effort, we aim to enhance the employee experience, increase agility, and boost productivity and performance.

Reskilling & upskilling

In terms of upskilling, what are the priority needs you have identified within your organisation?

Our aim is to guide and empower our employees with the leading skills that will enable them to face today and tomorrow's challenges.

We believe that investing in--and upskilling--our people, we will enhance their satisfaction, as well as our firm’s performance. As the skills our people need to support our clients and ensure sustainable solutions continue to shift, so does our learning proposition. We offer a wealth of continuously updated and relevant learning opportunities, enabling our people to be the inclusive, quality-driven and expert leaders our clients require. Beyond monitoring the number of training hours we provide, we ensure that our people are given the right technical and behavioural learning experiences at the right time.

And what tools and systems have been put in place within your departments to support ongoing employee training?

Our development approach is centred around the 70:20:10 model, which is based on three key principles: learning by doing, where much of our learning and personal development takes place; learning from others and leveraging the collective expertise and experience of the people we work with; and other more formal approaches to learning like for example classroom-based courses, workshops, seminars or conferences.

In FY24, we have continued our efforts in proposing a large catalogue of learning journeys to our employees in numerous dimensions, including technical knowledge, soft skills, and leadership & management competencies to name a few. Specifically, we have significantly invested in developing internal executive development programmes for our leaders to prepare them for their future business and management opportunities.

Talent retention

Is the ‘war for talent’ also about retaining talent? And if so, what is your conclusion? That today it is just as complex to attract talent as it is to retain it?

According to the recent PWC 2024 Global Workforce Hopes & Fears Survey, more than one-quarter (28%) of employees surveyed (globally) say they are very or extremely likely to switch employer in the next 12 months--a higher proportion than during the ‘Great Resignation’ (19%) in 2022.

The study concludes that employees today are prioritising skills growth and embracing technologies like GenAI to boost their careers. Job satisfaction alone is insufficient; a stronger focus is given to skills development amid ongoing technological changes. Employers need to invest in their workforce and tech platforms to alleviate employee pressures and retain top talent.

At PWC Luxembourg this is exactly what we do, building a strong career journey for our people, offering them excellent training, allowing them empowerment to choose the direction of their career paths and ensuring close proximity with their team leaders at all stages of their journey from onboarding and throughout.

What have been the main changes, or what changes are underway, in your company’s ‘employee pathway’?

PwC conducts a global people survey every year to monitor its employees’ engagement and satisfaction and we act upon the results.

Over the last few years, we focused on several topics that constitute our employee journey. On the one hand, we prioritised creating an environment where our employees can benefit from individual follow-up, promoting development and learning opportunities for our employees to grow in their career.

We also value reinforcing the proximity management between our employees and their Team Leader, as this leads to people feeling seen, heard, and valued, which ultimately reinforces their feeling of belonging.

Lastly, we leveraged on the flexibility and the wellbeing initiatives we proposed to our people to facilitate their day-to-day life.

Digitalisation

How are you transforming digitalisation into an ally of the HR function?

Digital transformation is critical. Adopting innovative technologies will drive efficiency, security and global competitiveness. Supporting digital upskilling and fostering a culture of innovation will empower businesses to thrive.

From an HR perspective, equipping the organisation, employees, managers and HR teams with the appropriate digital and AI tools that will support not only the HR operations, but the full employees’ life cycle is key. There, all aspects of the HR world can benefit from this evolution. This will lead to increased efficiency and productivity with process automation but also refocus HR on strategic projects that have direct impact on business strategy while self-service options answer employees’ simple requests.

Benefits

How important is salary attractiveness today in recruiting and retaining talent?

Put simply, post-covid, people want a career that is personally and professionally fulfilling, rather than one that simply focuses on monetary remuneration. Nonetheless, remuneration needs to be addressed and marketed--even if not per se a clear motivator factor, it can be a strong demotivator when it does not meet the basic employees’ expectations.

Aside from remuneration, what are the elements that can be used to increase attractiveness?

Once remuneration is removed from the equation, there is an increasing number of factors that workers are bearing in mind aside from money when job-searching.  These include the work’s purpose, company culture, opportunities for career advancement, career-path options, flexibility and job location.

After monetary compensation, job fulfilment and the ability to be oneself at work were ranked the second and third most important factors among employees considering a job change in PWC’s 2022 Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey.

Mobility & fleet

A fleet of electric vehicles, incentives to use public transport... In your company, what measures have been, are being or will be taken to improve mobility?

Our mobility solutions are part of a mobility strategy aiming to reach PNM 2035 (Plan National de Mobilité) targets. We launch every year a mobility survey to measure the evolution of mobility habits.

Our main objectives for the coming years are to: reduce the number of cars on the road by increasing average occupancy rate of people per vehicle (incentivise carpooling, communication campaigns, offers); reduce car use for short distance journeys in urban areas and incentivise the use of the free public transport and active mobility; promote attractive intramodality to increase the number of passengers on public transport; and promote the use of bicycles.

PwC and Luxembourg solutions include: public transportation (trains, trams, bus); shared mobility (carpooling and car sharing); leasing options for car and bicycles (for cars, electric plus charging stations at our headquarters); active travel (Vel’oh, scooters, walking); remote working (home working); satellite offices (close to where people live, aiming to reduce commuting distances); and company cars.

More generally, what are the points of vigilance that you are keeping in mind in terms of the green transition?

It is clear that our HR strategy needs to align with the expectations of candidates and employees on ESG aspects. As they become increasingly informed and aware of environmental aspects, this translates into new needs and personal beliefs to consider. As illustration, answering expectations and questions from candidates during recruitment process on environmental commitments of the firm (net zero strategy, car policies, homeworking for environmental impact reasons, business travel, etc.) is a new norm.

In addition, we observe the emergence of new jobs in the environmental dimension/area, such as sustainability, ESG experts... to cover clients’ new requests in every business line (audit, tax and advisory).

Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

What are the biggest challenges for your organisation in terms of new CSR obligations?

One of the main challenges companies are facing in terms of CSR obligations concerns the compliance need with the new EU regulations: Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) mainly, including human rights and the incoming Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). This will of course trigger reporting and monitoring requirements, leading to the generating and monitoring of many key performance indicators, but it is also the opportunity to create value for us and then throughout our value chain (from suppliers to clients), leveraging on the CSRD external audit report to identify area of improvements on HR topics.

As we progress on our journey towards net zero, we recognise that the challenges are many and complex. We face real-world constraints, and the limitations imposed by people, technologies, and practices. However, we believe that with improved data collection, we can better measure our progress, adapt our strategies and comply with the EU’s CSRD.

How do these same obligations impact your internal upskilling or external recruitment processes?

Sustainability must remain at the forefront of our strategies. Integrating ESG principles into business and policy is not just a regulatory requirement but a competitive advantage in attracting talent, investments and global partnerships. We understand that we must balance sustainable growth models and economic success with environmental stewardship and social progress.

Gen Z

They’re said to be less committed, more demanding, and perhaps even difficult to grasp... Is Gen Z really changing the working environment?

Yes! Workplaces across industries are undergoing profound transformations, which are set to leave them changed to the core. All aspects of people management are facing unprecedented shifts, contributing to a state of uncertainty and doubt.

The driving force behind this shift is the evolving composition of talent, with many companies now bringing in millennials and Generation Z. However, a challenge arises as the higher management often belongs to previous generations.

This diversity in generations introduces complexity, as each group often possesses different interests, skills, and motivations. Younger generations, in particular, show less interest in traditional rewards like company cars or stock options, placing a higher value on corporate responsibility and the positive impact on society. This shift necessitates increased attention to aspects such as inclusion, fair compensation and cultural diversity to effectively manage and motivate the workforce. See our report on this and how HR teams can adapt .

What advice would you give to newly recruited 25-30 year olds?

Keep their energy, momentum and audacity, while valuing investing in their career. In a world where society has shifted to a full (fast) consumer mode (food, goods, leisure, etc.), the new generation may seem to also consume their jobs. They quickly learn, adapt and shift from one position to another, one company to another. While every position, every environment, brings its lot of lessons and growth, taking the time to invest in the experience and develop self can strengthen the foundations they will need to build their long-term career.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)

As HR director, how would you define your role and responsibilities with regard to DEI issues?

At PWC Luxembourg, we strive to have diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in everything we do, for our people, our clients and society. Our DEI strategy is centred on the full employee life cycle, from hiring, to onboarding, performance, evaluation and promotion stage. In all this, we take a data-driven coaching approach to build the right direction for our people. We have identified the following key drivers for change: gender, LGBTQI+, disability, cultural awareness and generational empathy.

We’ve set targets for ourselves and on our progress against them.