Employers implement various strategies today to prevent top talent from joining rival companies.
In a paradigm shift, modern talent management no longer solely relies on technical skills or rigid hierarchies. Instead, it focuses on cultivating empathetic leaders, promoting inclusive cultures, and encouraging continuous learning. This transformation became evident during the panel discussion entitled "Leadership, Talent, Flexibility, and Innovation," moderated by Carla Quiroga, prosecretary of our website, at chapter 10 of the Human Resources Summit organized by the newspaper.
Participants Esteban Sacchi (Ford Argentina), Melina Cao (Unilever), Erica Zamora (Cervecería y Maltería Quilmes), and Veronica Rodriguez Bargiela (Aeropuertos Argentina) shared their strategies for adapting HR practices to meet the challenges of today's dynamic workforce.
Esteban Sacchi touched upon the importance of servant leadership at Ford, where over 40,000 hours of training were invested to prepare personnel for a plant equipped with 300 new robots. Moreover, the company incorporated women in traditionally male roles and welcomed transgender and disabled individuals into the production line.
Melina Cao from Unilever emphasized the essential shift in the perception of flexibility, no longer viewing it as a mere benefit, but as a fundamental aspect of work. Leaders, she stressed, must believe in this flexibility wholeheartedly to effectively implement it. To foster a culture reflecting the company's values, Unilever focuses on internal language, workspace design, and facilitating conversations.
Emphasizing the role of inclusive leadership, Veronica Rodriguez Bargiela from Aeropuertos Argentina spoke about democratic knowledge sharing, launching a data academy, and implementing digital literacy programs. She argued that artificial intelligence did not aim to replace people, but to enhance talent—a feat achievable only in agile and open-to-change cultures that revolve around trust.
Erica Zamora, with nearly two decades of experience at Cervecería y Maltería Quilmes, highlighted the importance of empathetic leadership that constantly evolves and learns. She believed that the coexistence of generations within organizations was an opportunity, not a challenge, as the younger employees brought a strong connection to purpose and a direct way of expressing ideas.
The panel also discussed the role of companies in generating well-being, acknowledging the overlap between the professional and personal lives of employees. With this in mind, Aeropuertos Argentina implemented programs ranging from workplace nutritional care to on-site medical check-ups, aiming to balance work, life, and health responsibly within the work environment.
At Cervecería y Maltería Quilmes, HR digitalized the commercial operation, transitioning from paper-based order management to digitally serving over 250,000 sales points. This transformation generated a vast amount of data and required a flexible leadership approach that integrated technology and continuous learning.
Revealing their secrets to building a "talent factory," panelists agreed that fostering learning capacity, investing in constant training, encouraging internal mobility, and using data to understand talent were crucial.
These strategies demonstrate how companies are evolving their talent management approaches to embrace more comprehensive, flexible, and people-oriented models. In this transformative landscape, the Human Resources department emerges as a key player in articulating purpose, technology, and well-being within organizations.
- At Ford, the company not only emphasizes the use of technology but also prioritizes empathetic leadership by investing over 40,000 hours in training personnel, promoting diversity by incorporating women in male roles, welcoming transgender and disabled individuals, and fostering a culture of health and inclusion.
- Aeropuertos Argentina focuses on creating a data-driven, agile, and open-to-change culture that values trust, implementing digital literacy programs, launching a data academy, and offering initiatives such as workplace nutritional care and on-site medical check-ups to promote employee well-being and health.
- Businesses like Cervecería y Maltería Quilmes are realizing the importance of adopting people-oriented models, as demonstrated by their digitalization of HR processes and the transition from paper-based order management to digital serving of over 250,000 sales points, which has necessitated a flexible leadership approach centered around technology and continuous learning.
