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Human skills are now key drivers of sustainable organizational performance. They play a strategic role in supporting major changes in the workplace and in ensuring the success of business transformation. With the increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation across many industries, agility and adaptability, critical thinking, stress management, and resilience are essential. Emotional management occupies a more than central place in today's professional environment: knowing how to understand, express and regulate one's emotions is becoming essential to stay on course, make informed decisions and preserve one's mental health.

What is emotional agility? 

Emotional agility is the ability to recognize, understand, express and regulate one's own emotions, as well as being able to adapt flexibly to varied emotional situations encountered in a professional or personal context. It involves:   

• Awareness of one's emotions: knowing how to identify what one feels and why. 
• Acceptance of one's emotions: welcoming one's feelings without judgment or repression. The ability to express emotions appropriately and constructively. 
• Adaptation: adjusting one's emotional reactions according to the context, the issues and the interlocutors. 
• Regulation: knowing how to channel your emotions to make informed decisions, preserve your mental health, and maintain harmonious relationships.

In the world of work, emotional agility helps to better manage stress, foster cooperation, improve decision-making, and build resilience in the face of change and uncertainty. It constitutes an essential foundation for individual and collective performance. 

We’ve shifted from a world of qualifications to a world of mobilization. The key today? Understanding what makes people want to engage, learn, and contribute meaningfully. As Stéphane Pradines, professional coach, points out in his book Developing Emotional and Relational Agility – Adaptability & Resilience (Pearson, Human Skills Collection) "The emotional quotient (EQ) is often more decisive than the intelligence quotient (IQ) for success in business. However, emotional agility is often misunderstood and undervalued in the professional world. Emotions are sometimes perceived as a hindrance to performance, whereas they are a lever for commitment, leadership, and team cohesion."  

Barriers to Emotional Expression in the Workplace

Despite their importance, the expression and recognition of emotions are often hampered by cultural norms and performance-driven management practices. Vulnerability remains largely unacceptable, especially among managers. Rapid technological change often also outpaces human adaptability, making it harder to integrate emotional aspects into everyday work. Training managers in emotional intelligence is improving but it is still insufficient. Encouraging emotional expression, fostering a culture where mistakes are accepted, and valuing listening and empathy are key to building emotional and relational agility within teams. Self-awareness is also essential for handling stress peaks, conflict, and uncertainty.  

Assessing and developing Human Skills: the contribution of psychometric tools 

To objectify and develop Human Skills, psychometric tools are valuable allies. Personality Inventories (such as the PfPI or the SOSIE, 2nd Generation), intellectual aptitude tests (DAT™ Next Generation) or critical thinking assessment tests (Watson-Glaser™ III) make it possible to scientifically assess dimensions such as emotion management, motivation, learning ability and adaptability.  

"These tools offer a rigorous framework for basing HR decisions on objective data, facilitating dialogue between managers, HR and employees, and supporting professional development," says Olivier Leroux, Occupational Psychologist and HR consultant at Pearson TalentLens. Used during recruitment, mobility, or individual or collective support, they help to create new synergies and strengthen team cohesion. The challenge is not only to measure, but to nurture a development approach, by identifying the comfort zones and adaptive efforts of each individual.  

Emotional management: the foundation of leadership and team cohesion 

Human skills are increasingly recognized as essential for future leadership. Managers need to develop emotional intelligence, create a climate of emotional security, and encourage emotional expression to effectively support their teams - especially in environments with growing generational diversity. Understanding individual profiles beyond stereotypes helps optimize team dynamics and foster collective intelligence. 

Psychometric assessments provide valuable insights for building cohesive, high-performing teams. They reveal emotional management styles, strengthen interpersonal relationships, and promote more conscious, effective leadership. 

In a changing world of work, investing in the assessment and development of Human Skills, and in particular emotional agility, has become essential for the sustainable performance of organizations. Psychometric tools, by bringing new objectivity, make it possible to identify, value, and grow these key skills.

In a constantly evolving work environment, understanding people's professional motivations and interests has become essential to ensure their fulfillment and performance. This article delves into the topic through an interview with Yves Duron and Zwi Segal, creators of the MOTIVA solutions (Which Career For Me – Professional and Student). These experts share their insights on the importance of exploring the deep drivers that energize individuals - whether young people seeking their first career direction or professionals in transition. Discover how MOTIVA solutions help align personal aspirations with labor market demands, integrating advanced technologies like artificial intelligence to offer tailored development paths and enhance support in this area.

How do you view the evolution of the world of work in recent years?

We are undergoing a profound, rapid, and irreversible transformation. The world of work has experienced an unprecedented structural shift, accelerated by three major forces: 

• Technological Revolution and AI: Automation, artificial intelligence, and digital platforms are redefining jobs, required skills, and even the concept of “work.” Hybrid technical profiles are increasingly sought after, and continuous learning has become a core skill. 
• Changing Individual Expectations: New generations - and even seasoned professionals - are no longer just looking for a job, but for meaning, flexibility, and recognition. This is the era of “motivation fit”: aligning deep individual aspirations with the professional environment is now a performance driver. 
• Erosion of Traditional Reference Points: Linear careers, lifelong permanent contracts, vertical hierarchies - all are fading. Work is becoming more fragmented, agile, and personalized. This calls for new, individualized support tools like Which Career For Me powered by MOTIVA, which go beyond assessing skills to explore each person’s deep drivers. 

We’ve shifted from a world of qualifications to a world of mobilization. The key today? Understanding what makes people want to engage, learn, and contribute meaningfully. 

Why is it important to consider people's professional motivations and interests? 

This is a crucial question, touching the very heart of sustainable performance, well-being, and professional fulfillment. For decades, individuals were mainly evaluated based on their skills or experience. But research and field observations now show that it’s not what people can do that makes them perform and engage - it’s what they want to do. 

Here’s why motivations and interests are so critical: 

1. Engagement Cannot Be Forced A person may be competent but disengaged. Conversely, someone who is motivated will strive to grow, invest, and contribute beyond the minimum. Motivation drives involvement. 
2. Professional Interests Guide Perseverance When tasks align with our true interests, effort becomes enjoyable, and obstacles are easier to overcome. Interest is a lever for resilience and longevity in a role. 
3. Key to Adapting to Change As careers become less linear, sustainable transitions require internal motivation. Self-awareness enables better rebound. 
4. Source of Workplace Well-being When people are aligned with their work, they are calmer, more focused, and more satisfied. Motivation supports psychological health.
5. Foundation of a Winning HR Strategy For companies, understanding individual drivers improves recruitment, retention, and talent development. Teams are no longer managed with job descriptions but with real knowledge of people. 

Considering motivations and interests is not a “soft” option - it’s a strategic necessity in a world where skills evolve, but meaning remains the individual’s compass.

Your MOTIVA solutions address motivations and interests for both adults and youth aged 16–25. Is there really no age limit to exploring one’s key motivational drivers? 

Absolutely. There’s no age limit to questioning what deeply motivates us. From thousands of coaching sessions using MOTIVA, we’ve seen that the quest for meaning, desire, and personal alignment spans all generations. Whether it’s a 16-year-old wondering about their academic future or a 45-year-old professional in transition, the question remains: What makes me want to get up in the morning and act with energy and conviction? 

Which Career For Me powered by MOTIVA serves all ages, for different reasons: 

• For youth (16–25): It lays the foundation. Understanding professional interests and discovering true motivations helps clarify choices in education, training, or first jobs. 
• For adults: Motivations evolve with time, responsibilities, and life changes. MOTIVA helps reassess and realign choices with internal drivers, sometimes reinventing career paths.

Motivation is a lifelong thread - not a fixed trait. It’s a living energy that must be listened to, nurtured, and adjusted throughout life. Which Career For Me powered by MOTIVA is a powerful self-awareness tool for making more informed, lasting, and satisfying decisions. 

You say “Motivation is a skill that can be developed,” which is also the title of your book published by Pearson France. How is it a skill, and how can it be developed? 

Yes, in our book Motivation is a Skill That Can Be Developed, we assert that motivation is not a passive state or fixed personality trait - it’s a skill. Like any skill, it can be learned, cultivated, and strengthened.

Why is motivation a skill? 

Because it meets three key criteria common to all human skills: 

1. It’s Based on Identifiable Mechanisms Motivation isn’t mysterious: It’s structured around clear factors: professional interests, values, psychological needs, and perceived enabling or blocking contexts. 
2. It Can Be Influenced and Developed: You can learn to motivate yourself, just like learning to communicate or manage time. 
3. It involves knowing your internal drivers, activating them, and implementing strategies to create engagement-friendly conditions. It Produces Measurable Effects Well-developed motivation leads to more energy, perseverance, resilience, and direct impact on performance and well-being. 

How can motivation be developed? 

The MOTIVA method supports this through three main steps: 

1. Identify Deep Motivations: Using rigorous psychometric tools, Which Career For Me powered by MOTIVA reveals professional interests, core values, sources of satisfaction, and demotivating situations. 
2. Understand the Gap Between Self and Current Context: Many disengagements stem from a mismatch between who we are and what we experience at work.The tool highlights these gaps, revealing frustrations and action paths. 
3. Build a Development or Adjustment Plan: This could involve job adjustments, career changes, skill development, environment shifts, or even posture evolution.

The goal is to make the person the active agent of their motivation. Motivation isn’t luck - it’s a dynamic that can be built. And like any skill, the more you work on it, the more natural, powerful, and lasting it becomes.

Your career development solutions also incorporate AI. At what level? 

AI is profoundly changing our relationship with work and naturally integrates into career guidance and development tools.  MOTIVA uses AI in a targeted way - not to replace humans, but to better serve them. 

How does MOTIVA use AI? 

To Enhance Matching Between Motivations and Jobs: MOTIVA’s AI is trained on psychological and motivational models. It doesn’t just match skills to jobs - it cross-references deep preferences (motivations, interests, values) with a database of over 2,870 coded professions. This enables: 

• Fine-tuned profile-job matches
• Personalized suggestions 
• Prioritization based on motivational alignment  

To Contextualize Career Choices with Market Reality: Connects in real time: 

• Compatible jobs
• Current job offers 
• Market trends 
• Required skill levels 

In short, the tool links desire with feasibility - crucial for realistic decisions. 

To Build Tailored Development Paths Once gaps are identified between a person’s profile and job requirements, the tool uses AI to recommend upskilling or reskilling (training, certifications, experiences), considering: 

• Current level 
• Target job value 
• Motivational drivers

AI Serving Humans, Not Replacing Them 

At MOTIVA, AI enhances human intelligence. It helps individuals and coaches gain relevance, personalization, and efficiency - while respecting what we consider central: motivation, self-awareness, and freedom of choice. 

What advice would you give someone to stay motivated and engaged at work?  

Motivation isn’t a permanent or magical state. It fluctuates, requires maintenance, and can be consciously cultivated. Here are 5 key tips for staying engaged long-term: 

Regularly Reconnect with What Deeply Motivates You: Ask yourself: What gives me energy? What tasks stimulate me? When do I feel useful, alive, aligned? Motivation comes from within. The better you know your personal drivers, the easier it is to activate or rediscover them. 

Align Your Tasks with Your Interests and Values: Even in constrained roles, there’s often room to evolve: Ask to contribute to a passion project, suggest new approaches, reorganize priorities around meaningful tasks, alignment between self and environment fuels daily engagement. 

Cultivate a Sense of Progress: Stagnation is a major demotivator. Progress - even small - gives momentum. Learn something new, seek feedback, start a micro-project. Motivation grows when you feel you're advancing. 

Surround Yourself with Positive, Stimulating Relationships: Motivation is also relational. Working with inspiring, kind, or simply motivated people is contagious. Nourish your human environment as much as your tasks. 

Take Control of Your Career Path: Sometimes, demotivation signals the end of a cycle. Don’t ignore or endure it. It may be time to reflect, consult a coach, or reconsider your aspirations. 

Motivation is reborn when you become the active agent of your journey. Being motivated isn’t luck- it’s clarity, meaning, autonomy, and direction. That’s exactly what we aim to restore for everyone through the MOTIVA method.   

According to the CIPD Good Work Index 2024, which surveyed over 5,000 UK workers, 70% of people were satisfied with their job whilst 29% of L&D professionals ranked addressing skills gaps as their top priority. No doubt - these individuals are motivated and find real interest in their work for the future! 

Taking into account a person’s professional motivations and interests allows for better career support by offering opportunities that align with their aspirations and needs. This is especially useful in a shifting labor market where expectations and requirements are constantly evolving. So why is it important to assess them? And is there a way to do it thoroughly?

What Do We Mean by Professional Motivations and Interests, and Why Are They Important?

Professional motivations are the internal drivers that push a person to act and invest in their work. They include the desire for success, the search for recognition, the urge to take on challenges, or the aspiration to contribute to a cause. 

Professional interests refer to the fields or activities that spark a person’s enthusiasm and curiosity. These may relate to specific tasks, work environments, or industry sectors. 

Motivations and interests are essential for generating the energy needed to develop new skills, explore new career paths, and achieve greater professional fulfillment.  They are key elements that influence job satisfaction and performance. Several studies show that aligning professional interests and individual motivational drivers with the role and company contributes to success- both professionally and in terms of learning new skills (Carol Dweck, 2006; Paul Murphy, 2012)

How Can You Establish a Person’s Motivational Profile? 

Everyone has unique professional motivations and interests. Helping individuals become aware of and articulate them is crucial. 

With What Tool? 

The online tool Which Career For Me, powered by Motiva is designed for psychologists and HR professionals working in career support contexts (coaching, skills assessment, career guidance, mobility, outplacement, career change, career management, and psychosocial risk prevention). It helps guide individuals in building career plans that reflect their key interests and motivations. Which Career For Me has been continuously evolved to help each person understand, clearly and structurally, what motivates or demotivates them at work. It helps them discover the jobs, activities, tasks, and professional environments that best suit them, increasing their chances of thriving and succeeding. 

What Is Assessed? 

Two complementary questionnaires, completed in 15 minutes, measure: 

• Professional interests (“what the person is interested in”) across 8 domains and 40 subdomains relevant to current jobs, regardless of current skills- useful for those considering a career change. 
• Concrete professional interests (“what the person feels capable of doing”). 
• Key motivations and the person’s satisfaction level regarding their job, work activities, company, and life values. 

Key Features of This Interactive Tool 

• Positioning the individual using a database of over 2,000 coded jobs across 60 motivational criteria, regularly updated to include emerging roles. 
• Each job is linked to an explanatory sheet and videos. Each job is defined and linked to websites presenting the role. Video descriptions include interviews or testimonials from professionals answering questions like: 
  • “Describe your job in a few words.” 
  • “Tell me about a typical day or week.” 
  • “Why did you choose this profession?” 
  • “What energizes you most during your workday?” 
  • “What skills are useful for this job?” 
  • “How do you see your professional future?” 
• An interactive job database with filter options (by industry, education level, interest domains, motivations) to help individuals choose jobs based on what they want to do, while considering their ideal work environment. 
• Career path simulation through an in-depth interactive study of the match between the person’s profile and target job profiles. 

Real-World Benefits 

Taking into account motivation, motivational satisfaction, and professional interests offers many advantages, as demonstrated by: Laurent Lopez, Head of Strategy and Mobility Programs, and Isabelle Lopez, Project Manager for Strategy and Mobility Programs at AXA France, who use Which Career For Me: Professional to support employee career development. Thierry Dupont, The Certified Coach and Management Consultant Professionalization and Partnership Ecosystems Manager at IAAC who uses Which Career For Me: Student to support talent orientation choices. Stéphanie Beldjilali, Manager of the ATOUT PLUS Groupe who use Which Career For Me: Professional to assess talent skills and support career mobility.

Career guidance is an important subject for more than 9 out of 10 young people but it causes stress for 69% of them - according to the study "Young people and guidance" conducted with Jexplore and Opinion Way  

While young people use a variety of resources to find out about their career path (websites on jobs and training, information brochures, social networks and streaming platforms dedicated to career guidance, internship search platforms, exchange platforms and immersive experiences in companies with virtual reality), 54% nevertheless regret their career choices. How can we provide better support for young people in their career choices?  

Career guidance for young people: a real challenge

Young people are now being asked to take responsibility for planning and controlling their own careers before they even start their studies or work. However, the accelerated digitalization of today's world and its environmental issues place them in front of three challenges: 

• Dealing with the obsolescence of skills: To counter the obsolescence of skills, it is necessary to help young people to value their soft skills, which are more durable over time, rather than their hard skills that can become obsolete after a few years (on average after 2.5 years) or even be replaced by technology, AI (Artificial Intelligence). 
• Preparing for today's uncertain world of work: Helping to guide young people in world of transformation and uncertainty. Some economic experts now see that we have moved from a VUCA framework (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) to BANI (Brittle, Anxiety-provoking, Non-linear and Incomprehensible) world.  
• Finding a job that interests and motivates them: Help young people identify the skills they need to do a job they are passionate about, in which they can fully develop and develop their skills. 

Which Career For Me: Student, an online career planning support method for young people aged 16 to 25 

The Which Career For Me: Student program, designed by Yves Duron and Zwi Segal, perfectly meets these challenges, and is fully in line with the needs of Generation Z who want to take charge of their own career and find meaning in the professional world. To achieve this, it requires a better knowledge of oneself and one's motivations.  

Aimed at guidance counsellors, coaches and career professionals (in school, college or university), Which Career For Me: Student allows them to help young people aged 16 to 25 to learn more about themselves and make the right career choices.

A valuable help in reflection 

Which Career For Me: Student helps young people with three areas of career planning: 

• Discover their professional interests, key motivations and strengths (soft skills). 
• Understand the job market and explore the types of trades and sectors of activity. 
• Validate their ideal job and find the right training.  

5 additional questionnaires measure:  

• Professional interests (among 8 fields and 40 professional sub-fields adapted to current professions) 
• The key drivers of motivation according to the job, work activities, colleagues, the direct manager, the company and in life in general 
• Strengths 
• Mindset 
• Skills of the future.   

They thus provide information on the sources of motivation and demotivation of the young people supported their professional interests, strengths and mindset. The result is a list of jobs and business styles that are in line with the motivational profile of the young person. Professions corresponding to their profile, based on a database of 2,000 professions codified on motivational criteria updated daily and including emerging professions as well, while accompanying videos explain each result. Young people also have access to online and collaborative exercises to help them in their thinking.

A useful programme for youth guidance professionals 

Many professionals who have already used Which Career For Me: Student to help young people build and validate their professional project, testify to its usefulness.  

Nathalie Cavagna - Occupational Psychologist, Consultant at APEC (French Association for the Employment of Executives) and founder of Nathalie Cavagna Conseil highlights an important point by stressing that "most of the young people I see do not know where to go and know more how to express 'what they don't want' than 'what they want'. Often, they only have a vague idea of direction, they may think of a training course rather than of a "profession". Which Career For Me: Student is particularly relevant in addressing this issue due to its approach based on interests, motivations and skills.”  

Thibaut Delacour - Independent Practitioner and Founder of facilitandi adds that "Which Career For Me: Student allows each young person supported to focus on what interests and what motivates them. It helps them to project themselves concretely, this is supported by a database of professions and resources that are directly accessible.”  

Marc Heim - Trainer, ESCCI (Ecole Supérieure de la CCI Portes de Normandie) adds by saying that "Which Career For Me: Student allows us to offer a support framework and offers answers and concrete steps with the help of the summary report, which is well presented and accessible to all."  

Finally, for Thierry Dupont - Certified Coach and Management Consultant, Professionalization and Partnership Ecosystems, IAAC, "Which Career For Me: Student has the advantage of being able to provide à la carte support, both on a collective and individual basis". 

The insurance sector is facing major HR challenges, compounded by an ageing workforce and a perceived outdated image. With 400,000 professionals nearing retirement, attracting and retaining new talent is essential. Yet only 4% of Millennials are considering a career in the sector, exacerbating the skills shortage. To remain competitive, companies need to modernise their image, promote innovation and offer attractive benefits, while using tools such as psychometric testing to optimise their recruitment process.

The banking and finance sector is facing significant HR challenges due to the rapid evolution of the industry and the increasing adoption of AI. By 2024, 87% of banking executives expect major change, but more than half don't feel prepared for it. Furthermore, 65% of financial services employees believe their business will not survive a decade on its current trajectory. An HR approach focused on skills such as critical thinking and an agile organisational structure are essential to attract, recruit and retain the talent needed to adapt and grow in this changing sector.

The insurance industry already faces a major challenge in attracting young talent, but retaining staff is also a crucial issue for this sector, where employee commitment and satisfaction are crucial to business success. In this article, we present five effective ways of strengthening talent retention within insurance companies.

The healthcare sector faces many challenges in recruiting and retaining staff, exacerbated by labour shortages and demanding working conditions that can lead to burn out. Attracting and retaining talent is crucial to ensuring the quality of patient care and the smooth running of healthcare organisations. Here are 10 key tips for attracting and retaining talent in this vital sector.

The insurance sector holds significant weight in the financial industry. Its revenues are projected to reach $7.5 trillion globally by the end of 2025. However, it faces a major HR challenge linked to the aging workforce and the looming threat of an unprecedented labor shortage. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 50% of the current workforce in the insurance sector will retire in the coming years, leaving over 400,000 vacancies. Therefore, insurance companies must rejuvenate their workforce to remain innovative and competitive in the market. However, the sector does not appeal to the younger generation, who show little interest in pursuing a career in insurance. What strategies can insurance companies employ to attract, recruit, and retain young talent?

Obstacles to the attractiveness of youth in the insurance sector

Image problem

The insurance sector suffers from an unattractive image and reputation among Millennials (born between 1980 and 2000) and Generation Z (born from 2000 onwards). It is often perceived as a conventional, conservative, and uninventive professional field.

Unfamiliar occupations

According to a survey conducted by The Institutes, 8 out of 10 Millennials have limited knowledge of career opportunities in the insurance industry. Young people may not have subscribed to insurance policies yet, and they have minimal awareness and understanding of these products.

Insufficiently competitive salaries and benefits

Young people are attracted to competitive salaries and benefits, but the banking and financial sectors as well as Tech & IT appear more attractive.

Lack of flexibility

Young people seek a work-life balance offered by remote and hybrid work arrangements, but insurance companies do not always guarantee this flexibility.

Lack of investment in skills development

Another factor affecting the attractiveness of insurance companies is a gap in the understanding of skills their employees will need in the future. Young people are eager to learn and acquire new skills to remain employable in an ever-changing job market.

Strategies for insurance companies to attract, recruit, and retain young talent

Developing an attractive corporate culture

Valuing corporate culture, mission, purpose, and emphasizing collaboration, career progression, flexibility, and other benefits are important. Additionally, promoting commitment to sustainable development, which young people are highly attuned to, is a plus.

Promoting career options in insurance

The insurance sector offers a wide range of careers (agent, broker, claims adjuster, risk manager, data analyst, cybersecurity expert, etc.). It is important to promote these career options to young people, so they are aware of all the opportunities available.

Emphasizing technology

Insurance companies now offer most of their services through mobile applications (claim submissions, video downloads for claims assessment, inspection planning, claims process tracking, etc.) and utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) to streamline their processes. Promoting the use of technology in the industry can attract tech-savvy young talent.

Recruiting via social networks

Social media is important and relevant for the younger generation. Insurance companies can benefit in promoting their job offers, internships, and compelling content about insurance careers on social networks (LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram).

Taking care of onboarding

Once recruited, it is crucial to support and mentor new hires. Having mentors who will help new recruits network and advise them on progressing in the sector is a real asset.

Investing in training and professional development

It is essential to emphasize job stability in the sector and enable young people to acquire the skills they need to perform and adapt to market changes, offering them career advancement opportunities.

Millennials and Gen Z have begun to dominate the job market. These dynamic new talents seek the energy and flexibility that many industries offer. It is important for insurance companies to consider their expectations and capitalize on this pool of talent to address their deficits in human resources and skills that threaten their business.

With their experience in the Tech & IT sector, working at a digital services company (ESN) and then as a partner at a digital sector-focused headhunting firm for Estelle Calestroupat, currently a Work Psychologist and Key Account Consultant at Pearson TalentLens, and 5 years at Cisco, a globally renowned IT company, for Anna Ballerand, current HR Manager of Pearson France, they have agreed to share strategies to better attract, recruit, and retain employees in this sector.

7 Strategies to Better Attract, Recruit, and Retain Employees in the Tech & IT Sector

• Strategy #1 - Highlighting Company Culture: Employer branding must align with the company's values and reality on the ground. "To attract Tech-IT talents, a company must assert its difference, its added value," asserts Estelle Calestroupat, supported by Anna Ballerand, for whom it is essential that the company clearly showcases its corporate culture, and its CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives. Estelle Calestroupat also emphasizes the importance of developing a managerial culture aligned with the company's values and ensuring it is deployed at all levels of management.
• Strategy #2 - Anticipating Future Needs: Being visionary and proactive. The tech and IT sector is continually evolving, HR leaders need to work alongside their business counterparts to proactively plan their talent needs in order help reduce skill shortages in the future and reduce the risk of increased pressures on current staff workloads while new roles wait to be filled.  Modelling future business models HR leaders can see in advance any need for training and development giving employees time and the valued investment to develop. 
• Strategy #3 - Building Internal and External Networks: Creating a community of former employees and a pool of candidates for potential future employees. The value of networking both internally and external to the business cannot be overestimated. Former employees who have felt valued and invested in can be brand ambassadors for your organization and provide a much-needed route for recommendations. Consider networking events from graduate fairs to community groups. 
• Strategy #4 - Improving Recruitment Processes: "Recruitment processes are often too lengthy and discourage many," laments Anna Ballerand. "Streamlining processes is necessary to increase efficiency and enhance the candidate experience," she recommends. The skills sought in candidates are also evolving. "It's no longer possible to recruit solely based on technical skills (hard skills)," explains Estelle Calestroupat. "Adaptability and learning ability, as well as the ability to analyze complex, multiple, or even contradictory data, having a broader perspective, as well as pedagogy, interpersonal skills, and teamwork, have become strong success criteria in Tech-IT professions. Values and commitment also play an essential role in the alignment between an employee and the company."
• Strategy #5 - Investing in Training: To address the challenge of skill development, which is even faster in this sector than in other fields, it is important for companies to invest in employee training. "It involves supporting employees both in constantly evolving technical skills to ensure a solid foundation of expertise within the company and to meet the strong technical appetite of some employees (e.g., investing in certifications), and in the development of certain behavioral skills (especially for career advancements in project management, management, or sales)," specifies Estelle Calestroupat. Anna Ballerand gives the example of Cisco, which offers several training initiatives, including renowned technical certifications in the sector. Their "Graduate Program" (recent graduate program) that she herself implemented at the European level is another example, offering several days of training abroad for new recruits.
• Strategy #6 - Offering Attractive Working Conditions: The Tech-IT sector is known for offering relatively high salaries to its employees. "There is a fierce battle among digital players to attract the best profiles," testifies Estelle Calestroupat. "This power struggle is reflected in salaries and benefits (company cars, bonuses, profit-sharing, installation bonuses for remote work, proposals for company stock options, etc.). "Competition is such that differentiation between various sector players involves offering additional benefits such as greater work flexibility or a recognition program," confirms Anna Ballerand. "In the technology sector, a culture of pure onsite work makes no sense," reminds Estelle Calestroupat. Flexibility in working hours and formats (remote work, hybrid, onsite) is essential.
• Strategy #7 - Encouraging Career Development: Managing professional advancement. For Estelle Calestroupat, it is important "to support mobility within the company without confining employees to predefined career paths, provide visibility on advancement opportunities, and support mechanisms in place."

An 8th Strategy - Using Psychometric Tests

To better recruit talents in this sector, support their skill development, and career progression, HR professionals can use psychometric tests: personality and values inventories, intellectual aptitude tests, critical thinking assessment tests, as well as motivation and professional interest questionnaires.

They allow them to:

• Identify individuals most suited to the position and the company's culture.
• Predict job performance.
• Reduce turnover rates by fostering better alignment between employees and their work environment.
• Implement personalized development plans encouraging talent retention.
• Improve engagement by creating a positive and productive work environment conducive to personal and professional growth.

Due to increased demand for care, healthcare staff face high workloads, irregular schedules, and stressful situations. This often leads to professional burnout and high staff turnover rates, compromising care quality and job satisfaction. What strategies can be implemented to preserve the mental health of medical personnel? 

Healthcare: A Stressed Sector

According to the WHO, professional burnout is "a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed." Several factors contribute to this:

Staff shortage: In the medical sector, all positions must be filled to care for patients. Staff shortages result in overtime and increased workloads to manage a higher number of patients, leading to physical and mental fatigue, decreased productivity, medical errors, absenteeism, and departures.

Innovation: Besides constant advancements in medications and treatments, the medical sector increasingly relies on technology to modernize equipment and surgical techniques. Staff must adapt to these innovations while maintaining transparent and connected patient relations, adding to stress.

Exposure to risks: Staff are continually exposed to health risks (infections) from contact with sick patients in overcrowded facilities where protective equipment, safe facilities, and prevention measures may be insufficient. Psychological risks also exist due to the emotional burden of the job. Patient deaths or verbal abuse can be stressful and traumatic, influencing staff well-being.

Professional Burnout: A Problem in Healthcare

Alarming Figures

According to surveys, nursing has the highest professional burnout rate at 70%. Nurses often feel they can do more than permitted or are unable to provide adequate care due to high patient loads. Overwork triples the risk of professional burnout, leading to intentions to leave the job. About one-third of nurses (32%) consider leaving the profession, while over half of physicians and other healthcare professionals feel exhausted, stressed, and ready to quit due to factors such as staffing shortages, low salaries, mental and emotional strain, job insecurity, inflexibility, and lack of support. 

Cause and Effect

Staff burnout results from both staffing deficiencies and high turnover rates, causing a cumulative effect. Burnout affects patients as medical staff struggle with emotional, mental, and physical fatigue, impairing patient relations and care.

Tips to Prevent Healthcare Staff Burnout

By actively listening to staff, considering their needs, and supporting their learning and career development, HR managers can prevent burnout:

• Encourage open dialogue to assess well-being, understand needs, and listen to improvement suggestions. Tools like 360-degree surveys or motivation and satisfaction questionnaires for employees or teams are useful for empathy. 
• Provide recognition and rewards (praise, bonuses, promotions) for highly engaged employees.
• Invest in training and professional development to keep staff up to date on industry trends, best practices, medical and technological advancements. Motivation and satisfaction measurement tools help tailor career development and training programs.
• Reduce workload: Use advanced analytics to anticipate care demand and align resources in real-time; rethink roles and processes with new technology (digitization, automation of administrative tasks) to reduce working hours; explore reliable and efficient recruitment methods. Psychometric assessment tests (personality inventories, cognitive ability tests) can assist in this.

"Every member of the healthcare team is crucial to patient outcomes and experiences," says Dr. Lisa Rotenstein, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. "It's vital to remember this as we strive to optimize both patient outcomes and our staff's experiences." Healthcare staff burnout is a significant issue facing healthcare facilities and HR professionals in this sector. It is imperative to address it to preserve employee mental health and ensure exemplary care quality.

Estelle Calestroupat, Work Psychologist and Key Account Consultant at Pearson TalentLens, and Anna Ballerand, HR Manager of Pearson France, share a common background: experience in the Tech & IT sector. They have agreed to share their experiences regarding the specific HR challenges in this field.

A Dynamic Sector in Full Expansion

Estelle Calestroupat and Anna Ballerand agree that the Tech & IT sector is highly dynamic and constantly evolving. While this trend isn't new, it has accelerated significantly in recent years. "Technological innovations are constant. New products, services, and solutions emerge continuously to meet the changing needs of users," notes Anna Ballerand. The attraction to this sector is undeniable. "It no longer appears reserved only for a few experts. The new generations are comfortable with technology and digital tools; it's part of their daily lives, which draws them to work in this field," adds Estelle Calestroupat.

HR Challenges in the Tech-IT Sector:

• Talent shortage and volatility: The Tech-IT sector is not immune, like many other sectors, to candidate shortages. "The demand for qualified IT professionals often exceeds the available supply, making talent acquisition and retention highly competitive," says Anna Ballerand. Estelle Calestroupat agrees, confirming that "although the number of candidates is growing, recruitment needs are increasing even faster." She warns that "companies in the sector must rethink their approach to recruitment, management, and employee training. Those who succeed will have a real competitive advantage."
• Skills obsolescence: The rapid evolution of new technologies requires continuous training. Anna Ballerand emphasizes that "keeping staff skills up-to-date can be a challenge for HR in terms of continuous training and professional development."
• Need for inclusion: The Tech-IT sector faces challenges regarding inclusion. "Companies need to implement strategies to encourage variety in their teams and address underrepresentation of women and minorities," suggests Anna Ballerand.
  

The Increasing Use of Psychometric Tests to Assess Skills

The skills sought in the Tech-IT sector are varied and necessarily depend on the context, the company, and the position. "All these elements require, as with every recruitment process, an analysis of expectations," recalls Estelle Calestroupat before specifying that "generally, there will be expectations in terms of technical skills/knowledge (or at least an inclination towards new technologies), adaptability/learning ability, analytical skills, and transversal skills (such as organization, rigor, teamwork, communication, etc.)."

To assess these skills, HR professionals can rely on personality and value inventories, tests of intellectual aptitudes, and tests of critical thinking. "Psychometric tests allow either the evaluation of a candidate's strengths and areas for development in relation to the expectations of a position, as in the case of an assessment during recruitment, or to accompany an employee in becoming aware of their comfort zones and areas for improvement (self-awareness, understanding of their functioning) in a developmental logic," says Estelle Calestroupat.

Their advantages are numerous, adds Anna Ballerand:

• Finer selection of candidates: Evaluating candidates' cognitive abilities, personality traits, and behavioral skills helps select individuals most suited to the position and the company's culture.
• Prediction of job performance: Identifying candidates' strengths and weaknesses enables recruiters to predict their performance and make more informed hiring decisions.
• Reduction in staff turnover: Matching employees' skills and personality with the job and company requirements reduces turnover rates.
• Professional development: Understanding employees' development needs leads to personalized development plans that promote talent retention.
• Improvement of employee engagement: Recruiting individuals whose values and personality are compatible strengthens team cohesion and fulfillment in a positive and productive work environment.

Estelle Calestroupat has worked in the IT and new technologies sector for over 10 years. Initially, she worked internally at a digital services company in project management (defining competency frameworks and building evaluation processes), training for recruiters and recruiter managers, and operational recruitment (recruitment and internal mobility) for manager, sales, and bid manager profiles. She then collaborated with a headhunting firm specializing in the digital sector, again focusing on sales, bid managers, project managers, and managers.

Anna Ballerand spent 5 years at Cisco, a globally renowned IT company, responsible for recruitment and employee and manager training support, implementing social benefits, conducting professional interviews, and promoting campaigns such as Great Place To Work®.