At Kilpatrick Americas, we held our first edition Kilpatrick Talks, a series of intimate conferences aimed to open conversations for industry leaders in the HR and transformation industry. With Kilaptricks CEO Jaap Hoeskstra in attendance to kick start this edition “Corporate Talent Retention” event on March 21st, 2024, we had two talks. The first talk was led by José Díez, where he presented the case study “Una historia de policías”. Our second talk was led by our Senior Consultant, Claudio Bardone, and Americas Director, Marco Tiozzo, on attracting and retaining Gen Z talent in the competitive job market.

During José’s talk, he began by asking attendees to use three words to describe what comes to mind when they hear the word “police”. Given the political and cultural implications of the police force in Mexico, common answers included “corruption,” “dishonesty,” and “fear”. He highlighted that the nature and tone of the words used were mostly negative, representing the common perception towards the matter. He followed up by explaining how one of Mexico city’s most unsafe and corrupt areas, “Nezahualcoyotl”, with the appropriate leadership by Jorge Amador, became one of the city’s most respected forces in a 13 years time span. José emphasized that proper leadership and guidance were key to this radical change and highlighted how this example can be applied in companies. Using a diagram, he outlined the three main steps taken to achieve this, which involved a proper training of employees, enriching their cultural backgrounds, and providing them with a sense of purpose. His talk underscored the need and importance for companies to emphasize their purpose and guide people towards a common goal that also includes individual gain, such as a proper salary.

Our second talk included Kilpatrick’s insights and study results based on a survey conducted by Gen Z on what they value most when it comes to a job. The results showed that they value salary, work-life balance, and the mission and vision of the company. The importance of understanding these factors in order to attract and retain talent was emphasized. One of the suggested ways to accomplish this is to approach interviews as a storytelling exercise, highlighting the company’s strengths as a benefit for potential candidates.

Kilpatrick Talks was created to lead the way to innovation in the industry, including influential and experienced professionals to share their insights into how to stay up to date with trends and changes. We are always looking for new ways to shatter the status quo, finding new solutions and perspectives to constantly grow. In our first edition we learned how leadership can transform lives and companies, how new generations are paving the way in terms of job satisfaction and attraction. If you are interested in participating in our next edition you can reach out to us at marketing@kpexs.com