In 2015, six out of every 100 people joining Spain’s Social Security system voluntarily left their jobs. Today that figure has risen to 12.5 resignations for every 100 new registrations. According to Spain’s General Treasury of Social Security, almost 2.9 million people resigned last year, and the total could exceed three million for the first time this year.
To explore this shift, APPLE TREE hosted the webinar ‘Employee Engagement and Employer Branding: Connecting with the Employee of the Future’, featuring Isabel Banzo (HR Director for Spain and Portugal at Pikolín), Blanca Asuero (Digital & Marketing Director at Casa del Libro) and Fernando Calvo (Director of People & Culture for Southern Europe at Hays).
The discussion, moderated by Patricia Meso and Laura Antuñano, examined how organisations can attract and retain talent in an era shaped by AI, digital transformation and hybrid working. Patricia Meso presented APPLE TREE’s latest research, arguing that organisations no longer simply manage people—they design employee experiences that are coherent, measurable and aligned with their value proposition.
You can download the full study here.
Ten Key Insights
1. The End of “Surface-Level” Purpose
It is no longer enough to post a mission statement on a website. Companies whose purpose is genuinely lived every day have 30% higher retention rates. The challenge for communications directors is to turn corporate statements into authentic employee stories. Authenticity is what connects with younger generations.
2. Employees Are the Most Credible Spokespeople
According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, employees are more credible than CEOs when talking about workplace culture. Employee advocacy platforms are not simply a marketing trend; they are a way to professionalise employees’ organic voices and strengthen brand reputation.
3. Hyper-personalisation and AI: Less Noise, More Relevance
Employees are overloaded with information. Advanced segmentation and the use of AI to deliver targeted messages at the right point in the employee lifecycle can increase productivity by 20%. If a message is not relevant to someone’s role, it is simply noise.
4. Active Listening as a “Closing the Loop” Process
Listening is not just about running an annual engagement survey. True two-way listening requires structured systems and, above all, a leadership commitment to explaining which decisions have been taken as a result. Employees feel empowered when they know their voice has had a tangible impact.
5. Combating “Digital Fatigue” in Hybrid Environments
With the volume of meetings up by 150% since 2020, Internal Communications must lead the design of a better asynchronous employee experience. Organisations need information flows that do not depend on people being in the same place, or available at the same time, and that remove unnecessary friction from employees’ day-to-day work.
6. The Leader as Filter and Facilitator
Gallup is clear: line managers account for 70% of employee engagement. Internal Communications must move from being the sole source of information to acting as a coach for leaders, equipping them with communication kits and empathy tools so that strategy is delivered consistently on the ground.
7. AI in Recruitment: Efficiency with Purpose
AI enables recruitment teams to scale their processes without losing time to administrative tasks. The strategy is to use AI for CV screening and initial interviews.
8. AI in Recruitment: The Paradox of Dehumanisation
PwC studies indicate that 71% of employees prefer humans to make the final decisions about their careers. AI can shortlist candidates, but humans must communicate the outcome.
9. Measuring Real Impact: ROI vs. Vanity Metrics
According to the IoIC (Institute of Internal Communication), measuring the impact on behaviour is one of today’s biggest challenges. The key is to link communication metrics to business KPIs:
10. Human Leadership: Middle Management as Communicators
Train middle managers in empathetic communication and provide them with ready-to-use communication kits for their teams. Promote transparent formats such as AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions to build trust at every level of the organisation.
The ROI Challenge: From Vanity Metrics to Business KPIs
During the roundtable moderated by Laura Antuñano, Communications Director at APPLE TREE, it became clear that employee engagement has evolved from a workplace climate metric into a strategic lever for competitiveness. The key is consistency between what the company communicates externally and what employees experience day to day. Internal communications directors therefore need to connect communication outcomes — such as reach, sentiment and engagement — with business indicators including lower staff turnover, higher productivity and the ability to attract qualified talent through employer branding.
In his contribution, Fernando Calvo, Director of People & Culture for Southern Europe at Hays, stressed that the market has changed as temporary employment has declined and demand for STEM professionals has risen. He also noted that digital tools have blurred the boundary between personal and professional life, while expectations have shifted from job security to psychological security. “In the past, employees might have said that job security and stability were the most important things; today, many take that for granted and will tell you that what they want is psychological security.”
Blanca Asuero, Digital & Marketing Director at Casa del Libro, stressed that internal marketing is not about “selling”, but about consciously and actively conveying the company’s DNA and passion — in this case, for reading — through its employees, the booksellers. “What we do is share the reality and convey the company’s DNA… it’s not about selling; it’s about involving them, and doing so very consciously.”
During the webinar, Isabel Banzo, HR Director for Spain and Portugal at Pikolín, described the challenge of managing a brand with 75 years of history. Her focus is on adapting communication to different environments — from factories to offices — and to a multigenerational workforce, in order to create value that supports retention. For Pikolín, retention is not a static process, but an evolution of the people strategy launched in 2024. The central question is: why would someone want to stay here for another 20 years?
For Isabel, the answer lies in listening and continually adapting to the different lifestyles of both senior and junior staff. “At Pikolín, we ask ourselves how we can create value so that people want to come and work here, and also want to stay… as organisations, we have to be very aware of both the external and internal environment, and adapt accordingly.”
Internal communication in 2026 will be human, technological and, above all, two-way. The aim is not to “sell” the company to employees, but to convey its reality and DNA honestly.
