CHANGING FACE OF HR FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS

Dilep Misra

In today’s world the economy is slowly getting tilt from north to south. This means the business is happening more now in the countries like China, India, Philippines, Vietnam etc. With the Competition catching up at business place there is also an increase in uncertainty in the business. 

In the competitive market environment to make the business successful People Strategy and practices needs to be reviewed and aligned with the business Goal.

We all know that the success of the Organization comes with the satisfaction of its stakeholders.

The main stake holders of an organization are Investors, Customers, Vendors, Employee, Government and Society.

Broadly the Organization focuses on the following needs of its stakeholders\

• Increase in market share
• Increase in PAT
• Producing quality product at a competitive price
• Best customer service
• Improve in Quality of work life
• Meeting all standards of Corporate Governance & Compliances
• Improved responsiveness & concern for the society

We need motivated passionate people at the organization to meet the above needs of the organization. We want people to bring their HAND…HEAD…and HEART to the work place. People should feel enthusiastic and happy to work at the Organization.

This can happen only if we improve the quality of work life and take care of their major concerns at work place.

Every Business is for making profit. If you want to improve the PAT of your business, continue to identify the performers and pat on their back.

The three major roles HR plays in any organization are transactional, transformational, and transitional. The challenges faced by human resource managers in India are naturally evolving with the ever-transforming scenario in corporate India. Following are some of the major areas where HR need to focus more in the coming future.

• Managing globalization: With more and more Indian Business houses are getting global by acquisition of Industries outside the country, It is important for  HR Manager to relook at their people management practices. The culture of the local place has to be kept in mind before devising/Implementing any new practice for the employee there. The HR need to think of policies more suitable for the people at respective locations.
• Business Alignment: Today it is important for every HR professional to understand the business. This helps HR professionals in developing a right strategy for the business. The people strategy and policy of the organization has to be aligned with the business goal and Employee oriented. HR needs to be concerned about their employee and at the same time business driven. If the HR initiatives and strategy are closely aligned with business Goal, the success of it will impact the business outcome. 
• Developing leadership skills: It is about developing people against the right Leadership competencies, to shoulder leadership role and steer the organization to achieve its strategic goal. Since the global economic and industrial scenario is very uncertain and challenging, what is required now is to develop a right skill to face the challenges and bring success to the organization.
• Innovation at work place: In today’s competitive world with growing uncertainty, to stay competitive the business needs to come out with innovative ideas in the business i.e new process, New Products etc. The HR can work on setting up an environment in the organization and help people to become more innovative in their approach.  It is a huge challenge before the HR to neutralise the resisting forces within the organization, manage internal conflicts, motivate people to embrace change and become innovative.
• Developing work ethics: With slumps in the global economy, India has also affected to an extent. Employee morals and loyalty at work place are being tested in day to day functioning of the business. It is becoming important to re- instil cultural values, loyalty, respect for the weak and elderly, and infuse qualities like empathy, charity, austerity, team spirits, ethics and bonding at the work place.
• Attracting & Retaining Talent: With the increase in industrial growth the Industries have already started feeling the pinch of the Talent scarcity at the market place. This has fuelled higher attrition of talent at the organization level. It is a growing Challenge before the HR not only to Attract but also to Retain Talent at work place. The aspiration level of the Talent keeps on changing with changing environment. While recruiting the talent many organizations are taking the help of assessment centre to ensure that right talent are getting inside the organization. Organizations are also coming out with many innovative ideas of retaining talent offering them both financial and non financial benefits. Many organization based on their business are also hiring housewives and retired experienced professionals to bridge the talent gap. In many service sector employees are encouraged to work from their houses. Choosing right model for the Industry is most important and HR plays an important role in deciding this. 
• Managing fast changing technological trends: In Larger Organization it is increasingly challenging to meet the needs of the employees. With fast technological advancement and its fast growing consumer base ( i.e. mobile phone technology, internet, Laptop, Tablet pc ) large and medium scale organizations today prefer automate their People Practices. This has made their HR professionals to spend more time and focus more on Strategic and important People issues. The use of Technology at HR areas also helps them to provide more fast & consistent Quality service to the employees. Organizations started imparting training to their employees with the use of interactive e-learning modules, now even available in the mobile phones. Technology has developed to find a trend and predict names of the employees who may think of leaving the organization in future
• Best Practices Vs Next Practices: With the changing business scenario and constantly change of customer perception the competition at market place has forced few businesses to be unviable. Organizations’ looking out for best Practices to be competitive at market place does not stay competitive for long. In real terms best practices talks how to take care of the present challenges and with this it is very difficult to surpass your competitor. Many Organizations keeping the future in mind started implementing the next Practices. This has helped them to be much ahead of the competitor. In many Organization while hiring the talent they keep it in mind not only the present position but also the suitability of the individual for the future need. In some of the Organization they started hiring people by interviewing them through Skype. This helped them to meet more talents at individuals’ convenience and be cost effective. 

Peter Drucker, credited with coining the phrase, “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it,” Hence measuring the outcome of the HR initiatives linking them to business Goal will help HR in becoming a key player in the business success.

I am hopeful with focus on the above areas HR can become a key influencer in taking their Business to next growth level, significantly ahead of their immediate competitor.

My Interview with Hindustan Times News Paper Published on 01.01.2013