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Attracting & Retaining Digital Talent

In today’s market, technology is changing the way companies attract and retain talent, compelling HR leaders to shift from their traditional role as a support system to an enabler of digital transformation.

Positioning your business for a sustainable presence is the ultimate goal for Digital HR leaders and this cannot be achieved without hiring, nurturing and retaining the right talent. As part of our 10 year campaign, we sat down with Sam Amirikia, eWave’s Head of HR, and had a conversation to better understand the importance of attracting and retaining top digital talent and the strategies he uses to foster a positive company culture.

Can you give us a brief description of your role at eWave and what you love about being in HR?

As Head of HR, I am focused on the changing needs of the business. My core responsibility is attracting new talent and retaining the incredible team we currently have. In order for me to achieve this, I am constantly developing processes and culture strategies within the organisation that address the core business values and purpose.

In your opinion, do you believe that the kind of culture you create internally helps to attract the right talent? What are some of the company culture initiatives at eWave that contribute to the core values of the business?

Company culture plays a very important role in attracting the right talent and strengthening your core brand values. We want like minded employees who exemplify our brand and contribute to its success. Having a candidate attraction strategy that aligns with your company culture increases the likeliness of attracting and engaging talent who will thrive and stay with you longer.

We are very proud of the incredible culture we have developed at eWave and it is instrumental to our success. Our team benefits from some amazing perks such as remote work, flexible working hours and unlimited paid leave - the first for an Australian company!

According to a recent MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte survey, employers that don’t offer opportunities to develop skills were six times more likely to have employees leave the company within a year compared to those who worked for more digitally mature organisations. 

What is eWave’s stance on developing the skills of its employees?

Providing our employees with opportunities to learn and develop is at the core of our business culture. At eWave, we encourage all new employees to become certified in their chosen digital platform and we are big believers in the power of shared knowledge, regularly holding training sessions where internal teams can share new insights and learn from other team members.

Performance reviews are an integral part of the development process and we conduct bi-annual reviews to ensure our employees’ career goals are on track, providing them with any extra support to help them achieve these goals.

eWave is a global agency, with offices in various regions. How do you adapt your HR policies and procedures to different cultures and demographics?

We have HR team members on the ground in all of our global offices to ensure policies and procedures are carried out correctly and catered to each demographic.

Keeping the lines of communication open when you have a global team is imperative so you will often find me speaking to various team members throughout the day. This ensures that our teams are working together towards one common goal.

What systems and platforms do you have in place to ensure the unification of a global team?

For the HR department, we use a centralised HR and recruitment system across the company which gives us full transparency across the global HR team. We also have weekly catch-ups and informal chats daily to ensure everything is on track.

Due to the distribution of our team members, we must leverage project management software in order to collaborate on projects and stay aligned, effectively delivering solutions to our customers.

In terms of company engagement, we use a corporate social platform. It’s a great way for our global team to stay connected, they have a great time sharing wins and work-life moments, such as team building events, travel and awards.

In the world of digital, change is so rapid. How do you keep up with the pace and make sure you’re staying on top of the trends?

We ensure that the team are keeping up to date with new digital trends by attending events, providing training or recommending resource materials. We encourage employees' to share any new insights with the whole team so that we can all collaborate and learn from each other.

Every year we review our HR policies and procedures, modifying initiatives that may be redundant or implementing completely new concepts. This ensures we are evolving with the rapidly changing digital landscape, providing the best levels of support to our global team.

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Jul 10, 2019