Employee engagement has dropped and significant fluctuation has emerged due to the pandemic

According to the latest survey by Kincentric, the overall level of employee engagement dropped globally in the second quarter of 2021, after just the opposite process taking place over the first wave of the pandemic – most likely due to the high degree of uncertainty. The predominant need for stability has now been replaced by the need for the greatest possible degree of flexibility, both globally and in Hungary. The pandemic has accustomed employees to more flexible frameworks than usual in terms of location and work schedule, therefore employers who can provide sufficient level of flexibility are preferred – as it was highlighted at HR Fest conference in Budapest organized with WHC Group as the main sponsor.

At the event, Kincentric experts presented the results of their latest international survey. Based on their findings, the level of employee engagement fell significantly over the second quarter of 2021, reaching an average of 65%, the lowest rate since 2017. Another important finding is that 93% of employees would like to work on a flexible schedule and 56% would change jobs to be able to work in a more flexible way.

At the conference, the current role of HR within a company and how this may change in the future was also discussed.

 Kornél Németh, Managing Director of Rossmann Magyarország Kft. explained that in his opinion the role of HR within the company is essential and it is worth managing the area at a strategic level. The coronavirus pandemic has also shown that HR is of key importance in change management, and this also applies to the management, integration and communication of continuous change due to digitalisation. In the same panel discussion, András Sávos, Vice President, Head of Digitization and Process Optimization at Knorr-Bremse drew attention to the fact that companies currently face two key human resources challenges globally – one is the gigantic fluctuation that has started as a result of the pandemic, and the other one is the question of how a company finds and retains talents (talent management). 

According to the executive, HR has a key role to play in tackling both challenges. László Sabjányi, Managing Director of Wolt spoke about the fact that in their case the satisfaction of the company’s various interest groups- customers, catering partners, food couriers or employees – is the focal point. 

Regarding the latter, the support provided by the HR department is of great importance. According to the executive, many areas of HR can be digitalised and automated, while strategy and favourable corporate culture should be based on people.