New Report Reveals What is Important at Work for Latinos, the Nation’s Fastest Growing Demographic

Latino Worker Project Provides Insights into New Talent Strategies for a Changing Workforce

WASHINGTON, DC – Family, relationships and hard work are the key values that influence employment decisions by Latinos, America’s largest and fastest growing ethnic group, according to a new study by HR Policy Association. The Latino Worker Project spoke to over 150 Latino workers across 15 companies about their views on what is important at work and how Latino culture influences attitudes and behaviors in the workplace. Based on these insights, the Latino Worker Project offers recommendations for companies to consider as they develop talent strategies for a changing workforce. 

“Within the next two decades, America will become a “minority-majority” country – a change being driven largely by a growing Latino population. This transformation will also reshape the workforce,” said Mike Madrid, an authoritative voice on Latino voting behavior and partner at GrassrootsLab, and co-leader of the Latino Worker Project with HR Policy Association executive vice president Michele A. Carlin. “Our conversations with Latino workers yielded fascinating insights about how they see the employment value proposition. We asked a simple question: what is important to you at work? The response was complex, that the core elements of Latino culture influence Latino workers’ attitudes toward work and professional engagement,” said Ms. Carlin.

HR Policy Association (HRPA) is the leading organization representing chief human resource officers at nearly 400 of America’s largest employers. Collectively, the Association’s member companies employ more than 11 million employees in the United States— over nine percent of the private sector workforce—and 20 million employees worldwide. HRPA embarked on the Latino Worker Project because competing for talent is one of the top challenges facing HR teams.  

“A primary goal was to understand what attracts Latino workers to large companies, which are sometimes viewed as unrelatable or out of reach by this demographic. Now we can provide employers with insights to help them better engage the fastest-growing segment of the workforce, said Mr. Madrid.

Latinos are projected to account for 78% of all net new workers between 2020 and 2030, and it is estimated that 20% of all workers will be Latino by 2030. This demographic transformation has major implications for America’s workforce. Employers will need talent strategies that leverage the vast potential of this labor pool. To meet this challenge, it is essential to recognize the wide variation in backgrounds and experiences that make up the tapestry of the Latino workforce. 

The Latino Worker Project examined five specific characteristics around the Latino worker - country of origin, regional differences, age, education, and labor force participation - to better understand the complexity of the Latino workforce and its impact on employers.

The Latino Worker Project revealed that there are core elements of Latino culture that influence Latino workers’ attitudes toward work, the experience in the modern organization, and most importantly, how employers can create a workplace where this emerging workforce can thrive. The Latino Worker Project offers six specific recommendations for companies to consider:

1. To engage the growing Latino workforce, employers will need to adapt and expand traditional approaches to diversity and inclusion.
   
   
2. Employers will need to adapt to a workplace that is becoming society’s primary source of interaction between people from different racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural groups.
   
   
3. Large employers need to invest in strategies that will make them more relevant and relatable to many Latino workers.
   
   
4. Employers should design talent strategies based on an understanding of how the values of family, relationships, and hard work shape Latino attitudes and behavior in the workplace.
   
   
5. Employers need innovative approaches to bridge the Latino education gap.
   
   
6. Latinas are an untapped pool of future leadership talent.

In addition to offering recommendations, the Latino Worker Project aims to start a dialogue, one that is open to discovering a new way of addressing the challenge of creating equitable and inclusive workforces to fuel a new era of competitiveness for American companies. Latino workers are the future, and the Latino Worker Project found that large employers have what they want – good jobs, working with great people, that will help them create their own path to the American dream.  

“Employers need to invest in understanding in greater depth how the values, experiences and desires of each group impact their attitudes, behavior, and experiences at work. The Latino Worker Project comes at a time when companies face persistent talent shortages and challenges in attracting and retaining workers at all levels. Given the sheer numbers, companies who figure out how to win with Latino workers will win the new war for talent,” said Ms. Carlin.

Learn more about HR Policy Association’s Latino Worker Project and its findings here. 

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HR Policy Association is the lead organization representing chief human resource officers of major employers. The Association consists of nearly 400 of the largest corporations doing business in the United States and globally, and these employers are represented in the organization by their most senior human resource executive. Collectively, their companies employ more than 11 million employees in the United States, over nine percent of the private sector workforce, and 20 million employees worldwide.   They have a combined market capitalization of more than $8 trillion. These senior corporate officers participate in the Association because of their commitment to improving the direction of human resource policy. Their objective is to use the combined power of the membership to act as a positive influence 
 to better public policy, the HR marketplace, and the human resource profession. For more information visit www.hrpolicy.org.