People are recreating their life as a result of the pandemic and the uncertain times that followed and, as a result, individualism is rising more than ever. The power dynamic has shifted, and employees are challenging their employment terms. For workers, especially those in the younger generation, a job no longer defines who they are. Employees today derive their identity through different pursuits and thus are questioning the exclusivity of their relationship with their employer. Employees are demanding greater participation in decisions about their jobs and working circumstances and are unwilling to be under constant pressure, stress and productivity scrutiny. When they felt they were not being heard, it resulted in reactions like the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting.

The epidemic also caused a shift in business models, with everyone shifting online, creating a huge demand for digital and technology workers. Companies realised they could be productive even in an online world, since consumer demand remained fairly stable after the initial hiccup, so companies actively acquired people in anticipation of the uptick in demand. The Russia-Ukraine war, inflation and other macroeconomic issues began to dampen demand, and investment in start-ups too gradually dried up, forcing enterprises to right-size their staff to remain competitive.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

The new year brings with it new opportunities, but it also comes with significant challenges for organisations, As automation disrupts elements of most jobs, HR will be busy revamping its skill in which the CPO will have to play a key role. The world has mutated beyond VUCA to become a BANI world (Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible). The constant dread of Covid variants, the Russia-Ukraine war, inflation, and climate change all create tension and anxiety, making it impossible for businesses to quantify the cause-effect of these issues, making them nearly incomprehensible.

• Recession fallout: With one-third of the world being in recession, regardless of where you are located this will have an impact in 2023. CHROs will have to walk a fine line between managing employee motivation in a brittle, stressed, burnout workforce and determining the optimum workforce size to control operating expenses.

• Managing performance and productivity in a hybrid environment with technology-enabled tools will be an emphasis, as will maintaining an active organisational culture that is also inclusive. According to the most current Microsoft Work Trend Index (WTI), 93% of Indian workers believe they are productive in a hybrid setting, yet 91% of bosses say it is hard to trust their teams are actually productive. HR will need to actively collaborate to shape the hybrid arrangements, listen to their employees and solve the productivity conundrum.

“The office will evolve from a location where people gather to perform work to a place where they may collaborate on ideas and create human connections”

More growth – oriented skills

It is anticipated that by 2025, 50% of all employees globally would need to reskill or upskill due to constant waves of new technology – World Economic Forum (WEF). Due to the lack of deep skills required by the business, proactive skill building and reskilling of the workforce will be the only option to move forward. As automation disrupts elements of most jobs, HR will be busy revamping its skill architectures, establishing skill data lakes, and rearchitecting roles. Investing in metaverse for workplace learning and training. The metaverse shows promise, but it is yet too early to declare success. This market’s offerings are quite new and expensive. Progressive HR organisations with the resources are embracing the Meta for employee onboarding, providing an immersive day-in-the-life experience for their prospective candidates, virtual collaboration, and relocating some of their training parts to the metaverse. More solutions will emerge in 2023, which bodes well for future traction in the following year.

Technology or new world of work reshaping people managers?

There has been much debate regarding the future of work and the role of people managers. While some experts believe that automation and artificial intelligence will eventually replace much of the work currently carried out by people managers, others think that human judgement and creativity will always be necessary. People managers will most certainly continue to play an important role in the workplace. People managers are in charge of supervising a team’s work, offering assistance and direction, and assisting staff members in strengthening their professional networks and developing their talents. People managers may need to adjust to new technology and ways of working in the future, but they will still play a vital role. The function of people managers could also alter as the nature of the workforce evolves. They may need to be more competent at managing remote teams or assisting employees in navigating the challenges of the gig economy, for example.

Overall, the future of work is unknown, but people managers are likely to continue to play an important part in any organisation’s success.

Redesign the workplace for hybrid workforce

Organisations will need to adapt their workplaces to support the hybrid nature of work. The office will evolve from a location where people gather to perform work to a place where they may collaborate on ideas and create human connections. Some of the elements listed below must be considered for an effective hybrid model.

• Determine which jobs and functions are suitable for hybrid arrangements, as not all roles can be effectively performed remotely. Some roles may also require active supervision, cooperation, and in-person interactions, which will necessitate working from the office.

• Policies, rules, and job aids for hybrid working are being developed. It will be necessary to define clearly what constitutes work hours, role expectations, overlap hours, and the responsible use of office resources and technology.

• The provision of technology that’s free from obstacles and enables smooth collaboration and productivity management.

The post “As automation disrupts elements of most jobs, HR will be busy revamping its skill,” Unmesh Pawar appeared first on HR Katha.

2022 was about a rebound after the pandemic with much confusion about the way forward for many organisations. Several tech companies had done exceedingly well during the pandemic and with the easing of lockdown and return to normalcy, these companies had the challenge of sustaining the momentum gathered till then. During the pandemic, companies spent a lot more on retention of people and hiring new talent at higher costs. With the changing circumstances post pandemic, the companies experienced pressure on margins and cash flows coupled with indications of an economic slowdown and high inflation. This led companies to take various actions to cut costs, and layoffs were resorted to by many to effect this. This, to me, seems an indication of bad management where the risk assessment mechanism of the organisation has failed.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

It appears 2023 will be a year with uncertainties, given the world events like the anticipatory economic slowdown in the US, ensuing war, European issues, the on and off pandemic effects and shortage of funds for start-ups. The talent pool will keep shrinking in the years to come as young people across the world will not be able to invest in studies and growth and would much rather work for subsistence leading to erosion of competitive talent. Most companies will focus on their costs and ensure they are kept in check. Talent will be a key focus area and smart companies will ensure they retain their talent and build their competencies further in uncertain times such that they increase productivity of its workforce. For India it will be a good year economically as the global slowdown may not impact us much.

Most companies will focus on their costs and make an all out effort to keep them in check

Balance between rising inflation and changing employee expectations

With rising inflation employees are bound to face challenges on their domestic front. While they would expect a big change in compensation, most times it doesn’t translate as such into action as companies can only pay against what they produce. In such times HR can play an important role in terms of ensuring a fair compensation review process especially with regard to cost of living index, concentrate more on total rewards and ensure that non-monetary benefits such as health and wellness and insurance benefits ease the burden of the employee. The DEIB agenda will lead to more innovation, better productivity and more engagement.

Debate on moonlighting to continue

‘Moonlighting’ is a concept that existed for a long time. What an employee does after the official working hours in an organisation should not concern anyone unless these are unlawful activities. Several people want to provide an outlet to their creative expression, a passion for a cause or explore ways to earn extra income and there should not be any problem with the same.

Organisations can put in some checks and balances to ensure the following:

• There are systems to ensure data privacy and consequences of data breach are well explained to employees
• A confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement is in place
• Productivity at the workplace has to be maintained and consequences of loss of productivity is well understood
• Finally, the most important one is that organisations must keep their employees well engaged with meaningful work and allow them the opportunity to grow such that they do not feel the need to look elsewhere for gratification of any sort.

I believe, with the advent of the gig economy and flexible work options, there will not be any law against moonlighting.

Importance of employee talent bringing HR closer to the top role

The pandemic has already put HR at the very top along with the CIO. This will get strengthened further and managing talent will be of prime importance to every organisation due to shortage of talent. HR will be on the radar of the CEO and promoters quite clearly.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

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The pandemic upended a lot of established norms. The terms ‘Great Resignation’ came to be used in 2021 and was a result of intense competition for workers, as reflected in a high number of job vacancies and a lower unemployment rate. Employees who had deferred the decision to quit early during the pandemic, chose to do so in 2021 and this trend continued in the early part of 2022. The pandemic has seen an increased use of technology and digital media, this led companies to rapidly hire and add to their workforce. More options available led to a ‘war for talent’ and more employees quitting their existing jobs. ‘Great Resignation’ is also attributed to other factors, like:

• Pandemic experiences that led some workers to reevaluate life priorities and reduce working hours or leave the labour force entirely.

• Employers demanded employees return to the office after allowing remote work in 2020-21.

While there was a surplus of job opportunities in the first half of 2022, the latter half saw the economy tightening. The factors leading to this were:

• Job cuts and hiring freezes are mainly concentrated in sectors with the most sensitivity to the U.S. Federal Reserve policy of raising interest rates to control inflationary costs. This is also reflected in the Indian market and the stance taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Rising inflation and interest rate hikes increase the cost of doing business, leading to a reduction in corporate profits.

• The Great Resignation forced tech firms to raise salaries to attract and retain employees, contributing more to inflationary pressures. Layoffs in the tech sector show how fast inflation and interest rates are negatively impacting the balance sheets of the once fast growing firms of the Covid years.

• Growing too fast, beyond the point of diminishing returns: In tech and consumer businesses, where growth depends on innovation, companies must prepare to build a new growth cycle when the old one ends. This may involve eliminating a business unit, shutting down an underperforming operation or reorganising to adjust to changes in the market. Companies that grew their employee base too fast anticipating further growth now find themselves laying off employees to optimise cost and improve productivity.

The shifts in 2022, from organisations struggling to retain employees to laying off employees represent the volatility in the market and how employers and employees need to quickly adapt to changing dynamics.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

The spectre of recession and the geopolitical situation in Europe has already affected and will continue to affect organisations, employees, and the HR function. For 2023 the key focus areas will be:

• Organisational design and change management Organisational design and change management remain a top priority, as organisations are seeing the fallout of too much change and uncertainty. According to Gartner Workforce Change Survey, employees are also growing more resistant to change — in the 2016 survey 74% of employees were willing to change work behaviours to support organisational changes, but that number dropped to 38% in 2022.

HR leaders must help employees to navigate change and mitigate the impact that change may have on their work and, more importantly, their well-being.

• Human and humane’ leadership effectiveness: As organisations and society evolve, so do the expectations for what leaders are responsible for, making their roles increasingly complex. Today’s work environment requires leaders to be more authentic, empathetic, and adaptive.

• Employee experience: Many HR leaders struggle to identify the internal moves that employees must make for their career growth. In a recent Gartner survey on employee career preferences, just 1 in 4 employees voiced confidence about their career at their organisation, and three out of four looking for a new role were interested in external positions. This presents new career imperatives for HR leaders to create best-fit careers for employees.

• Future of work: Anticipating future talent needs is at the epicentre of a future of work strategy and is a top priority for HR leaders. In 2023, HR will need to manage volatility and enable business leaders and employees to manage changing needs proactively.

Companies that grew their employee base too fast anticipating further growth now find themselves laying off employees to optimise cost and improve productivity

Countering employee burnout

Engaged employees are more productive and their contribution leads to better results for the organisation, on the other hand employees who are suffering from burnout will not be able to contribute to their full potential. Many organisations acknowledge the importance of emotional and mental well-being and have programmes in place for the same.

When well-being is a priority, managing burnout is an imperative. In contrast, when well-being is an HR-driven nice-to-have rather than the norm modelled across the organisation, the workplace culture can perpetuate burnout. If an organisation’s culture promotes working excessively long hours, working during personal time, and generally putting work ahead of family, those burnout-inducing habits are going to be difficult to break.

While most burnout is due to experiences in the workplace, external influences are also a contributing factor. External stressors employees commonly face are financial problems, family and relationship issues, pet concerns, addiction, social disadvantages, discrimination, abuse, trauma, bereavement, or personal health issues, to name a few.

Looking beyond work output & outcome

The connection between the employer and the employee is symbiotic with both needing each other. While organisations will strive to improve productivity and optimise cost in recessionary times, they will also try and engage with the employees to ensure they put in greater discretionary effort. During the pandemic, depending on how humanely employees were managed, their relationship with organisations became either more personal or impersonal. It is in the organisation’s interest to keep employee engagement high even during difficult times. They can do so by:

• Building Trust: Leaders need to develop and enforce an honest open-door policy that establishes a sense of belongingness and ensures collaboration towards a common goal, fostering a unified business culture.

• Communication when done in an honest, transparent, and inspiring manner, enables trust in employees who are comfortable approaching their leaders with queries, concerns, and new ideas and encourages a mutually respected relationship between the two.

• Recognition: Honest recognition and critical appreciation can highly motivate employees. Well-recognized employees have better work relationships stronger connections to their company, as well as increased work efficiency.

• Leaders should develop a positive and psychologically safe work culture.. They have to let go of the ‘the boss is always right’ notion and foster a learning mindset along with being humble and committed to making employees feel more at ease while expressing their opinions to create a sense of belonging in the workplace.

• Provide more employee autonomy: Leaders need to let go of micromanaging and regular monitoring Employees should be provided autonomy to enable them to take ownership and pride in their work.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Organisational design and change management remain a top priority,” Udbhav Ganjoo appeared first on HR Katha.

The volatility of 2022 was partly because the global economy was gradually slowing down. All the big players, such as Microsoft and Google were talking of slowdown and also layoffs. So, when people put all those things together, they realised something was seriously wrong, and that it is best for them to be careful. It dawned on them that the smartest thing to do is not rush into things. And that’s exactly what they did. And therefore, the volatility that happened in the beginning, gave way to a lot of circumspection, which is why we will see a little more stability in the second half of the year.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

In 2023, HR people are going to feel like they are on a seesaw. Just when they think everything is going well and they’re going up, they’ll suddenly start going down. The whole experience will be sinusoidal, like a wave, for HR.

In the beginning we are going to face the headwinds of the world economy. Does that have anything to do with India? Yes. Is India doing well? Yes. That’s why I say that it will be staccato. One time not so good and another time smooth and consistent, because we will follow the global queues.

Two things are surging in India — domestic consumption and manufacturing. The China Plus One strategy is working in India’s favour — a big positive indeed. So, clearly, on one hand there will be a high and on the other hand, there will be a low.

The technology companies that are so dependent on the global market will begin to feel the pinch. The Indian market will continue to do well, especially the services. So overall, it will be a plus / minus for people who are in HR.

Engagement is important for the simple reason that it has a very positive correlation with productivity

HR’s attention on deskless workers or in-office workers

It’ll be a mix of both. I don’t think we can give more or less attention to one than the other. There will have to be equal attention all around. To say that people working from home need more attention would be rather premature and wrong.

2022 was the year of ‘connect’, while 2023 will be the year of ‘engagement’.

‘Connect’ is when people want to make sure that they are connected with each other, either virtually or physically, in their offices. This urge to ‘connect’ was intense in 2022. It did not go beyond that, but we need to take it beyond that.

I strongly believe this is the year when people will focus on ways to engage. Engagement is important for the simple reason that it has a very positive correlation with productivity.

And productivity is definitely important because currently the margins are shrinking, while costs are rising. Although we keep saying inflation is low, in reality, inflation is not low. It is just lower than the rate of growth of inflation compared to the world. However, the truth is that inflation is a reality, and costs are still rising. And we have no option but to put up with this.

We are yet to reach a stage where we can say that we have passed the acid test. We have to look at costs, and realise that we cannot just keep sharing costs.

Also, we have to look at engaging the workforce. If the workforce is engaged, they are likely to stay longer with us. It is important that employees stay on because the cost of recruitment has now gone through the roof. In most cases, the people who leave are only just looking at the next company to fund the higher rate of interest that the banks are charging. So, we have to move forward with great care.

If we manage to do a good job of engaging the people, they will stay on. Not everything is about money. People will still stay with the same company for long periods of time if they feel engaged.

How can they feel engaged? One, they feel engaged when there is a purpose. Two, they will be engaged if there is a very clear correlation between what they do and what they believe their strengths are. Three, they will remain engaged if they get to learn and develop in their organisation. Finally, they’ll also stay if their work and efforts are recognised and rewarded. Therefore, these are the four things that we should be focusing on in 2023.

Balance between rising inflation and changing employee expectations

I think we need to pay attention to a simple thing called ‘communication’. If we do a good job of communicating, and taking our people along with us, we will be in a much better position.

Communication is important because people need to know that the world is not getting better; that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Of course, they know this intuitively, but somebody will have to tell them in clear terms. When this is communicated to them, the music changes completely. They realise and understand how serious things are.

By the way, all ships rise and go down with the tide. So, someone has to speak to the people. If things are not communicated in the right manner for people to understand, we may have a problem on our hands.

If employees get to learn and develop in their organisation, they’ll stay longer

Looking beyond work output & outcome

It is true that organisations wish to be closer to their people, but what do the employees want? Employees, currently, are agnostic to organisations. They seek a platform or a podium, which will help them with their own growth and development.

They don’t care very much whether they are given a good place, a good job, a good salary, and good role. They are just fine. What they really seek is self-growth and development.

Earlier, people thought Google was a great company. However, while it is still definitely so, and has a great culture, the truth is that its culture is a little bit about ‘hire and fire’ as well. Therefore, a high-paying job may also be fraught with risks.

I feel 2023 is a year when organisations need to focus on mass career individualisation. That means, if I have 20 people in my team today, then I should be able to say what motivates each one of them. Some people are motivated by work, others by praise. Employers need to look at what the employees really seek. I don’t think we have all the answers, because if we do then we will be doing a phenomenal job of engaging people.

By the way, the only year when employees and employers drifted apart was in 2021 and early 2022. Why? Because in the year of COVID, even though the companies were helping them as much as they could, the employees were disappointed that their employers were not giving them the compensation for the year. That hit them very badly. Therefore, in some sense, they lost their connection with their firms. With the entire headwind of the economy bang in their face, companies could not afford it. Many companies saw their senior officers taking a 25 per cent pay cut just to make sure that the people on the front lines got paid.

In 2023, while organisations will begin to look at what their employees really want or are looking for in their careers, employees themselves will look at what they can maximise from their firms. The year will also be marked by a significant drop in attrition.

The bargaining power of what I call the ‘mad’ 2022 will come down dramatically. Sanity will set in and the wind will change. Employers will need to be cautious, because this kind of music can change in an instant. The beats can change any moment, and we should be prepared to act accordingly.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Employees need a platform, which will help them with their own growth and development,” SV Nathan appeared first on HR Katha.

2022 was quite volatile as both employers and employees were still trying to get a hold of and adapt to the unending changes in the larger work ethos. Organisations have been on a journey of change, transformation, and growth resulting in a re-visit of business models, working styles and work behaviours which also added to the dynamics and resultant volatility.

People worked under constant pressure to either prove their worth or save themselves from getting laid off. Shortage of work due to large-scale shutdowns added to the pressures.

2022 was also a year that introduced new vocabulary to the workplace. From ‘moonlighting’ to ‘quiet quitting’ to ‘productivity paranoia’, 2022 witnessed it all.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

I see things evolving for the better and a much more substantive agenda emerging in 2023. While the year is likely to unfold unique experiences and insights, the focus area(s) will include change management, capability building, talent retention, leadership development, digitalisation, and employee experience & well-being.

2023 will be a rewarding year for all the stakeholders. I think we should emerge stronger, wiser, and more future-ready if we deliver on the people and business agenda down to the last mile. Being open, introspective, collaborative, trustworthy, and empathetic would create a very enabling ecosystem.

Themes of development, career, wellness, and mentoring also need to be woven into the conversations to make the employees feel appreciated and valued

Diversity to be linked to upskilling & reskilling

I feel that diversity of any kind comes with the inherent challenge of upskilling and reskilling, not just on the part of the newly-hired candidates but also on the part of the existing workforce. I am of the view that a diverse workforce will not only open up opportunities and introduce people from hinterland Bharat, but it will also foster inter-regional, interlinguistic, and intercultural ties. It would be a big driver of the ideals of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’!

ESG bringing CHRO closer to the CEO

As the people-representative of an organisation in a world where employees are the significant differentiators, a CHRO is already closely working with the CEO. The CHRO has a business enabling role and makes sure that the people’s agenda is completely in sync with the business priorities and outcomes. ESG is one of them that needs a sharper focus and a concerted alignment of all stakeholders.

Organisations have realised that for businesses to be profitable in the long run, they have to be purposeful, sustainable, and concerted efforts are a prerequisite to making sustainability the bedrock of future growth. Therefore, almost all companies today have a dedicated leader to look after sustainability.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Diversity will foster interregional, inter-linguistic, and intercultural ties,” Sushil Baveja appeared first on HR Katha.

People began making choices, more than anything. Due to the pandemic, all of us adapted to options that our work lives did not have room for earlier – choosing meaningful work, choosing to work closer to family, choosing our own pace of life, and so on. What had always been an employer’s market turned into an employee’s market.

The layoff pattern is a complex problem that has more than one cause. A significant tech boom led many organisations to start hiring more proactively, some of it due to poor planning. In some cases, organisations tried to chase unrealistic product ideas, and people were affected when they realised the lack of potential. It may even have been due to underperformance, but there, the focus should be directed toward building capability and competence.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

I don’t expect it to be entirely peaceful. Geopolitical and economic events have a bearing on the workplace. That is the reality. It is going to be a period of change, and organisations will need a deep understanding of the needs of the team members, and how to work with it all. It won’t be easy, but there need not be turmoil unless we refuse to transition. We have now moved from remote to hybrid to trying to force people to come to the office to other flexible formats of working.

It is going to be a period of change, and organisations will require a deep understanding of the needs of the team members, and how to work with it all

While overall improvement of employee experience is a given, capability building will go through a lot of shifts. In order to endure, organisations will need to intentionally build competence and leadership, and let go of old habits that are just ticks in check boxes. Organisations of the future will be communities of shared purpose, seeking to meet the aspirations of people. And leaders will be required to make this happen.

Countering employee burnout

While burnout is the result of an overload of work, the question is also about meaningful work. “Does the organisation I work for have a purpose beyond being profitable?” If there is context shared with team members, and they are in alignment with this collective purpose, and also willing to listen and make changes, then one will steer clear of burnout.

At an individual level, there has to be role clarity, clear prioritisation, conducive work environment, and recognition for the work done. These are very important to continually generate inspiration. Inherently, such organisations will not let employees head towards burnout. The focus should be on creating such organisations.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Organisations of the future will be communities of shared purpose,” Sunitha Lal appeared first on HR Katha.

Post-pandemic effects, political instability in Ukraine, recession fears, troubled start-up world, return-to-office debate, impulsive hiring, changing job profiles and short-term thinking by organisations, led to two extremes – the Great Resignation and then mass layoffs. The rush to reopen industries after many of the pandemic restrictions eased, led to an upsurge in demand for workers in multiple areas.

In the rapidly changing employment market, the balance of power is shifting. The tide has now turned from the employer to the candidate. Now, the negotiating power sits firmly with the employee.

Those with technology skills, in particular, are in hot demand, as companies scramble to transform their digital platforms. For tech companies, it’s the compound effect of the pandemic on the already growing skills gap, and of course, moonlighting.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

As the COVID wave subsides and economic growth returns, consumer confidence will be renewed. This, in turn, will stimulate recovery and expansion initiatives leading to businesses
increasing headcount.

Hiring havoc will continue however employee experience will be centre stage.

Along with the skills gap being bridged through upskilling, cross skilling will gain traction. ‘Back to office’ will be the mantra, provided COVID does not raise its ugly head again. The HR will continue to face an unprecedented amount of disruption.

While employees still want the freedom of WFH, they also want all the perks of a well-paid job, while companies want 100 per cent commitment. The race is on to find a balance

Balance between rising inflation and changing employee expectations

Inflation will not change the way companies hire and pay employees. Critical talent will, however, continue to get a premium.

Redesign the workplace for hybrid workforce

The office design needs to accommodate a variety of work environments, as well as act as a culture hub to draw the very best talent. Digital communication, especially video-conferencing necessitates transformation of workspace design.

The workplace needs to be COVID conscious, and a redesign intent will communicate to the employees that the business cares about the daily experience of its employees.

Productivity, profitability and engagement, all begin with employee well-being. To entice this competitive market, the office of the future will need to embrace the needs of this emerging workforce.

Debate on moonlighting to continue

Many great startups seen today are a result of their founder or founders moonlighting at their job.

The moonlighting debate is a reminder of the changing nature of work, especially the employer-employee relationship.

While employees still want the freedom of WFH, they also want all the perks of a well-paid job, while companies want 100 per cent commitment. The race is on to find a balance.

The truth is that the future of work has arrived, but in a completely different package than was expected!

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Inflation will not change the way companies hire and pay employees,” Sriharsha A Achar appeared first on HR Katha.

The IT industry is amidst massive transformation, at a scale not witnessed for decades. The macro-economic environment, as a direct result of the pandemic and socio-political factors have given rise to multiple points of inflection across the regions, thus creating a need for greater optimisation, and a need for digital transformation across industries. The restlessness created by new work models and expectations post the pandemic, also contributed to the Great Resignation. However, runaway inflation across most geographies/regions, supply chain constraints and high cost of capital have had a cooling effect on the markets with the possibility of a partial recession as predicted by many economists. Over the last three years, organisations across sectors have pivoted towards a tech-enabled business continuity plan. The Great Resignation, coupled with a wave of reductions in the workforce across the tech industry, has forced companies to adopt new-age strategies. Organisations are transforming and positioning themselves for the future in terms of key skills they require and the new paradigm shifts they are witnessing in the industry.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

The year 2023 will continue to be challenging yet it will bring in immense opportunities for HR. The pandemic is not past us; inflationary pressures continue to exist. We can expect macro economic factors to weigh heavily on business and people decisions throughout the year. The focus is now on managing a hybrid workforce with an emphasis on engagement, culture building, performance and productivity. The importance of building skills for the
future (data sciences, ML/AI, IOT, security, cloud computing etc.) is paramount to the existence of many industries and organisations.

“Runaway inflation across most regions, supply chain constraints and high cost of capital have had a cooling effect on the markets”

Redesign the workplace for hybrid workforce

Our experience in driving a high performance culture while working flexibly, combined with ongoing input we’ve sought from our team members, has enabled HPE to move quickly to implement the bold and permanent shifts to our workplace vision. As we look toward HPE’s – Edge to Office model – we designed our plans around prioritising flexibility, wellness and predictability.

The four focus areas are:

• Edge work is work outside of office spaces – this can be at home or other working spaces not at an HPE site. We have created a more comfortable and secure work environment for edge work while continuing to focus on the tools and resources needed for optimal collaboration. The edge workers will report twice a week in the office.

• For the office, we have transformed our physical sites into ‘collaboration and culture centres’ that allow for team members to come together, collaborate and be social. This means more meeting and collaboration space.

• For mindset, with a more distributed and flexible workspace, we are looking at this experience from top to bottom – from training and new practices that enhance diversity and inclusion, to the opportunities to continue advancing our team members’ career development, as well as supporting their personal well-being.We expect to hone HR’s leading role to enable better outcomes in 2023.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Macro-economic factors will impact business and people decisions throughout 2023,” Sailesh Menezes appeared first on HR Katha.

This is an interesting question which can throw up immense mega insights. Not only 2022 but 2020 and 21 were equally volatile given the onset and impact of an unprecedented event i.e. Covid -19. It was arguably the greatest black swan event the world would have seen. Incidentally, evolutionary biologists have termed this phase the era of ‘punctuated equilibrium’ which means that this was a period of immense change/activity following a steady path over the last several years. As Lenin said, “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” I assume this is the interesting period we are in. This volatility and uncertainty led to the Great Resignation followed by massive layoffs. The world to me honestly looks fairly incomprehensible at this juncture
and that perhaps is the beauty of it all. How can we continually adapt ourselves by being resilient, adaptable, agile and collaborative is the bigger question to ask nonetheless!

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

The new normal is turmoil. I guess peaceful, as we construed it, is something which is history. The new world order as they say is BANI- brittle, anxious, non linear and incomprehensible and given these characteristics, for HR to be peaceful is something which is incomprehensible to me. I believe ‘Turmoil’ is the ‘New Peaceful’ for us given that the macro environment is creating immense challenges and unprecedented disruption. Given all this

2023 is likely to be a period of ‘focusing on fundamentals’ or, as a recent report put it, companies will be smarter about maximizing their budgets and place greater focus on results and performance.

A few focus areas for HR would be:

• Focus on employee well-being and create a mentally and physically healthy workforce
• Develop people managers’ capabilities to manage the workforce of the future
• Build organisation effectiveness and manage change
• Recruit and manage the competitive landscape
• Push DEIB agenda forward amid growing pushback
• Build digital capabilities of the organisation in line with the future of work

As organisations and societies evolve so do the expectations for what leaders are responsible for, making their roles increasingly complex

Technology or new world of work reshaping people managers?

The role of the people manager has throughout been to develop and maintain the team’s productivity. The job role has been undergoing changes in recent times. As organisations and societies evolve, so do the expectations for what leaders are responsible for, making their roles increasingly complex. Certain paradigm shifts witnessed globally are virtual work environments given unprecedented digital advancements, the rising importance of employee overall well-being, diversity and equity advocacy, and extreme uncertainties, amidst others. All this requires managers to reshape themselves and acquire/upgrade their skills such as having the ability to effectively manage virtual teams, develop empathy (so that they can provide an environment of psychological safety), have the ability to manage a diverse workforce by developing his/her own emotional and social intelligence. Managers will thus essentially move away from managing people to orchestrating performance. Today’s work environment requires leaders to be authentic, empathetic and adaptive become a human leader, very human I must add.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

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The past year was an interesting year with business and people slowly returning to some semblance of normalcy. 2023 will be a period of consolidation as well as innovation on the talent front as companies look to establish a new balance.

The key focus areas will be on creating a value proposition around the future of work that is meaningful to both employees as well as companies. While remote and hybrid work will continue to evolve, companies will need to bring about more predictability in talent planning and deployment. So, a future of work strategy that will accommodate diverse kinds of employee situations (remote, full-time, hybrid, gig) and will meet the strategic needs of the company will be a priority for HR.

The next area of focus will be skilling. Every company will have to focus on skilling at scale to meet its talent needs. The learnings from the pandemic on remote training, high usage of technology and the eagerness of people to skill will mean that this will remain a priority in terms of people practice.

The third area will be about rebuilding human connections at work. We have depleted social capital built over years thanks to remote work, and this needs to be rapidly replenished if we are going to get the new world of work to be effective. This will mean more people interactions, redesigning work and above all rediscovering what makes teams and managers effective.

The metaverse enables a learning experience that is scalable, engaging and highly cost effective

Moving towards an algorithmic HR or reverse?

Over the last few years, the practice of HR has evolved to having much more data-driven analytics, digitising various transactions, using predictive tools for decision making, and calculating cost impact of HR decisions.

This has made the practice of HR more effective and useful. However, it does not mean we take away the focus from the human at work. If anything, we need to accelerate the people processes – coaching, performance feedback, counselling, manager training, health and wellness and so on. The fact that we have better algorithms for the people function will mean that we can do better on a people process through intelligent use cases. A combination of technology, data and people focus will make HR successful.

Investing in metaverse for workplace learning and training

The metaverse is still evolving, but there are signs that it will redefine how we work and communicate. Learning and skilling will benefit greatly by the technology and innovations spurred by the metaverse.

For example, the usage of digital twins will allow on the job training for a large number of people because they create a real site experience. Another example, having a ratio of one-teacher to a few students experience in a classroom can be rapidly scaled to cover your entire workforce. If you take onboarding, a virtual reality experience will mean that no matter where in the world you join, you will get a feel of the company on day 1 as the experience will be location agnostic.

The metaverse enables a learning experience that is scalable, engaging and highly cost effective. While there will be initial barriers in terms of investment, over a period of time, the return on this investment will be high. Investment in training is not an either or situation as companies will compete for talent even more in the coming year.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

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In many organisations employees did not enjoy reasonable growth, either in salary or career, for almost 2.5 years during the pandemic. Most employers are conservative when it comes to granting salary hikes during tough times and fail to be generous during good times. During the first half of 2022, the economy started opening up in a big way after the pandemic-imposed lull. Employees were presented with great opportunities to think beyond loyalty to their employers and focus on their personal lives, career growth and salary raise. This led to the Great Resignation, amidst a spike in demand for talent across sectors. The hospitality and financial sectors witnessed unprecedented demand with many companies having to start from scratch. The second half witnessed massive layoffs, but only a few businesses were affected, mostly in the information technology (IT) and related space. In India, many companies other than IT, such as manufacturing, chemicals, pharma and so on, exist in large numbers. Few of these have been impacted due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Stress has also increased due to trade ties between US and China souring. Few Asian countries, such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan, are collapsing economically and are almost close to bankruptcy. These are some of the factors triggering layoffs as business activities are related in one way or the other.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

It will be largely peaceful and move towards maturity in terms of its value proposition. Focus will be on the key factors of business sustainability and growth, unless there is another huge global crisis such as a World War or natural calamities having power to influence larger than COVID-19. Key focus areas will include employee engagement, organisation ecosystem, fairness and transparency in work processes and design, flexibility and hybrid work culture, digitisation and digitalisation and employee well-being.

Skills are going to be much in demand and can’t be evaluated in as simplistic a way as has been followed till now

More growth – oriented skills

Yes, we need to hire psychologists and neuro experts, apart from core HR process experts, in the HR function, to fairly understand the behaviour and minds of our people. We cannot expect employees to speak and register their complaints and issues for resolution. Instead, they should be able to take a call to move forward without wasting time. Skills are going to be much in demand and cannot be evaluated in the simplistic way of the past or the
present. Earlier, we used to look for skill sets while skill and upskilling were less valued. Growth lies in how
we create a future-proof system as the foundation of building blocks to focus on upskilling and selecting employees with similar mindsets. The era of reskilling is slowing at margin being redundant in fast pace of change in work process and technology.

Pay transparency or staying discreet?

Corporates feel that they are able to maintain pay confidentiality. However, unofficially, to a great extent, it is possible to find out pay-related information. This practice will continue. What is more important is to let the employees decide on their salary structure based on their personal needs, career stage, tax policies, and so on.
Employers should clearly convey the CTC and basket of benefits, based on
regulations & compliance.

Importance of employee talent bringing HR closer to the top role

Yes, of course. Businesses must rethink the definition of leadership, changing dimension in new age, role and impacts, where it is not the function, and cannot be bundled into qualification, or functional expertise but core values, authenticity and so on.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

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I think organisations were struggling post pandemic to meet the customer demand surge across various sectors. Once the pandemic sort of settled in, the expectations from the customers surged back and organisations struggled to meet demands, seeing waves of resignations and surge in hiring to meet those demands. Once that demand surge normalised, we saw layoffs in those industries where there was mass hiring to meet those demands. Layoffs from companies such as Meta and Amazon are getting a lot of attention not only because of how many customers use their services, but also because the announcements feel like they’re coming out of nowhere. Consumer demand and profits boomed for online services through the pandemic, and leaders were told to grow at all costs. Amazon doubled its workforce throughout the pandemic from 798,000 workers in 2019 to 1.6 million in 2021. And once the demand surge started normalising the organisations went on to rationalise their workforce to meet targets. These layoffs are primarily contained within the tech industry.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

Looking forward, McKinsey predicts that with voluntary quit rates 25 per cent higher than in pre-pandemic times, job openings won’t return to normal for some time as we continue to move through the Great Resignation and the mass layoffs. For instance, within the large tech industry, companies tie compensation to equity and restricted stock units (RSUs). As a result, when companies lose value – and sometimes significant value – employees’ compensation is negatively impacted. This can easily cause more employee upset, more attrition and more need to backfill and hire. I think we’ll see more consumer spending over the next year, necessitating more hires for new positions, not just attrition hires. And this is a positive for employers and employees alike.

Growth areas such as green technology, e-commerce and consumer service should be prioritised

The basic idea of hybrid work has really been normalised, but the implementation and execution are still in experimentation mode.

When one invests in the things employees care most about — like equity, growth, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) — it doesn’t just improve retention and engagement, but also achieves better business outcomes.

Diversity to be linked to upskilling & reskilling

Upskilling can support a company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion effort. Providing opportunities to build new skills can open new avenues for advancement and progression for employees, whether they’re new or in the middle of their careers. Every employee, regardless of their background, wants to feel valued at work. Various initiatives started by the government like Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, and the like will bring more people from the hinterland to the corporate workforce.

Government (central and states) agencies should strengthen and support accessible and cost-effective skill development programmes that can reach a wide section of the population. Investments in institutions such as NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation) must continue and accelerate. In partnership with industry/corporate houses and start-ups, non-profit organisation’s, skill development should focus on the MSME sector as it can generate employment and contribute to the growth of the economy significantly. Growth areas such as green technology, e-commerce and consumer service should be prioritised.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

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It was the impact that the pandemic and lockdowns had on the way we lived our lives as a whole – whether our personal lives and interactions or professional lives and workplace interactions, that led to the two events.

Hybrid working and managing digitallyled employees to focus on health and personal well-being and search for purpose led to the Great Resignation. On the other hand, the emergence of digital business models led to disruptive change and a re-set of the way we do business while renewed focus on availability of cash accruals instead of simple valuation led to massive layoffs.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

There will be turbulence along with explosive growth in certain sectors and hence a very exciting phase for HR. The key areas of focus for organisations to succeed in the marketplace of tomorrow shall be:

• Intensity of leadership communication which touches all parts of the organisation

• Ability to manage business risks, data security & digitalisation

• Focus on sustainability & long-term value creation which gives a sense of purpose to employees

Focus on sustainability & long-term value creation which gives a sense of purpose to employees

The swing of the pendulum – employer’s market to candidates, and back

With layoffs in certain sectors like startups and a recession looking imminent in the US, supply of talent will become easily available in those key sectors which get impacted by these two trends.

Redesign the workplace for hybrid workforce

Yes, that will become necessary. However, we shall have to wait and watch as to how the brick-and-mortar companies get impacted.

Importance of employee talent bringing HR closer to the top role

Yes, of course. The pandemic has already had a significant impact on HR’s role on the top-table. However, a lot depends on how HR professionals shape themselves up to deliver on the following:

• Shape organisation’s response to external trends

• Shape business planning with workforce planning

• Act as voice of employee in strategy setting

• Re-invent culture in a hybrid environment

• Create a new and improved culture in the leadership team

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “There will be turbulence along with explosive growth in certain sectors and hence a very exciting phase for HR,” Ranjan Banerjee appeared first on HR Katha.

The year for many businesses did not look bright as had been envisaged in the previous year while we were coming out of the Covid pandemic. Global developments impacted economies moving into a period of uncertainty. It was caution and pessimism that drove some businesses to take drastic calls.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

There are global issues like high inflation, low growth, recession, disrupted supply chain and geo-political issues that will continue to cloud the business environment through 2023. Businesses could face issues like lower demand, higher cost of input and distribution, and selective funding getting them to look at tough ways of operating to remain viable. For companies facing such headwinds, HR focus will dwell upon operating at lower costs and raising productivity. India, though not completely insulated from global events and trends, looks better on the economic front as compared to the developed countries, especially Europe, in terms of its growth. For companies in India the focus will be to build markets, improve quality and efficiency to world standards, and focus on ESG.

Employee loyalty, a thing of the distant past

We should stop measuring employee loyalty in the conventional sense. Employees do not look for stability and security any longer. Great Resignation has given us a glimpse that the sheen of conventional work design, workplace, hierarchical organisations, and reward systems no longer look attractive to employees. Now it is their well-being that has come to the fore.

Hybrid working is not just about working from the office or home but flexibility available to employees is the key

Redesign the workplace for hybrid workforce

Yes, workplaces and work will need to be reviewed in the current context and redesigned. Hybrid working is not just about working from the office or home but flexibility available to employees is the key. Focus needs to be on how we can get employees to design the working norms in small operating teams so that they perform to their best potential? This will mean that organisations and leaders will look at very different paradigms than they have been used to.

More specialists or generalists

Companies will always need a blend of both. With the emergence of more specialisations and expertise, the pool of specialists is growing. Organisations in a steady state of operation will continue to need generalists and the knowledge expertise of the pool of specialists. Businesses that are changing (growth, turnaround, acquisitions, new products, technology, new geography, digitalisation, etc.) will need specialists for the change journey. India is showing cautious growth and also newer businesses, so there could be an opportunity for both generalists and specialists.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “HR focus will dwell upon operating at lower costs and raising productivity,” Ramesh Mitragotri appeared first on HR Katha.

2023 will continue to be eventful and uncertain. At the same time, the opportunity will rise and those who can navigate through it will emerge stronger for the journey ahead. The next few years will continue to be quite challenging for HR professionals as organisations will face multiple challenges like competitive talent landscape, growth pressures and the necessity to control costs. Newer dynamics at the workplace will require multiple areas to focus on, some of them are known, some of them will be more pronounced than it was in the past and some will be uncharted. In my view, the following will be the focus areas for HR in 2023 and beyond:

• Sharpening the organisational purpose– It is time organisations revisit their purpose and brand positioning if they haven’t and communicate it fiercely. To engage and establish themselves in the future talent marketplace organisations need to have a compelling purpose beyond the day-to-day business to attract and retain talent. Future employees will look to associate themselves with companies who score strongly on this scale.

• Organisation and employee productivity – HR will need to play a critical role in improving organisation and employee productivity and thus improve cost structure. Cutting down on unnecessary barriers, layers, and inefficiencies and removing redundant roles will occupy more focus.

• Handling ‘Quiet Quitters’– Postpandemic there are many who are called quiet quitters. They are talented, they remain with organisations but are disengaged, they are not moving out because they are not getting alternate opportunities. Handling such a kind of workforce and converting them to engaged ones will be important.

• Reaching out to non-traditional talent pools – While on one hand economies will have unemployment on the other, we will have talent shortages. Employees may like to experiment and go for jobs outside their current area of expertise. Managers need to be less concerned with stereotyped industry experience and technical skills and become more comfortable assessing candidates on their ability to perform in the role, their learning ability and attitude, and not just routine educational background.

• Human-centred leadership – While jobs will be more demanding, performance metrics will be tougher, and demand for outcomes will be sharper yet what will be necessary will be to build a human-centred leadership approach. Managers need to show flexibility, empathy, concern for the well-being and a caring attitude while seeking high performance.

• Hybrid and flexible work environment – Employees would need more flexibility at work. Strict controls and a regimented approach to work schedules while desirable, may not be a successful approach going forward. What is necessary is to define the outcome expected from an employee, hold them accountable and provide an overall boundary within which flexibility will be provided at work to perform. Several policies around leave, work schedules, and how work is done will need to be addressed even in traditional shop floor and frontend jobs.

• Employee experience – Employees will continue to look for a great experience at the workplace right from the hiring stage. Onboarding practice, day-to-day managerial and peer interactions, workplace environment, resources available and processes at work, developmental and reward opportunities and all such employee touch points need to be designed and improved to create a lasting approach. Employees would need visibility and need to be constantly engaged. Employees need to see their careers grow. Growth need not be just for higher work titles but involving work which makes them feel more engaged and satisfied.

Compensation is critical but not the only driver of employee experience. The employee should have a real choice to customize the rewards and benefit basket as per individual needs

• Flawless technology interface for employees – A newer workforce and younger ones will continue to demand tech-enabled HR and organisational processes. It is not just about HR tools but any organisation processes that an employee encounters will need to be smart. Organisations will need to invest heavily in applications, mobile apps and other tech interfaces which make collaborations, workflow, reporting, access to data, learning and problem solving easier and enjoyable. Since mobile phones and the associated technology that it brings has opened a gateway to the world and are impacting everyone from the time we wake up, such technology will also be desirable at work and thus organisations need to ponder where they are on this scale and act fast.

• Comprehensive employee wellness – During the post-pandemic, the subject of well-being has assumed high importance for all and that includes current and incoming employees. Focus on comprehensive well-being for employees as opposed to just providing periodic relief and health checkups will be needed. In the coming year, good organisations will help employees maintain their emotional resilience and performance. Providing comprehensive well-being support will also yield better results in terms of retention, reducing underperformance, sudden quitting and managing conflict.

• Employer branding quotient – Creating the right employer brand will be important for the organisation in 2023 and beyond. The organisation’s reputation in the talent market, social media presence and how the organisation is seen to be an engaging place for talent will determine its ability to attract and hold the talent.

• Data privacy – Organisations are using several technologies like AI, wearables, etc. to collect data on employees’ health, family situations, living conditions, mental health and even sleep patterns to respond more effectively to their needs. Employers must prioritise transparency around how they collect, use and store these as well as allow employees to opt-out of practices they find objectionable. As more organisations begin using AI in the selection process one needs to consider the ethical implications of these practices.

Employee loyalty, a thing of the distant past

From an organisational standpoint, they would be concerned about navigating through the volatility and growing the business, thus work, productivity and outcomes can never be sidelined. Having said so, organisations need to also recognize that they need to carry the employees and meet their aspirations as talent will continue to be the differentiator. As mentioned earlier from an employee standpoint they would look for an aligned purpose, great experience and growth opportunity, flexibility, and focus on overall wellbeing. The relationship between the organisation and employees will emerge stronger if the organisation can appreciate and meet the employee’s priorities while continuing to be outcome focused. Only focusing on the latter will not bear any sustainable relationship as the talent marketplace will be more fragile in nature.

Evaluating a leader: Transparency, empathy, loyalty, mentoring vs business/functional excellence

While business-centred leadership and related competencies, such as strategic thinking, commercial acumen, execution ability will always be essential, human-centred leadership skills are becoming very important for a leader to succeed in today’s context. Human-centred leaders are the ones who put their people first. Leaders’ self awareness will be the key factor; leaders who score high on this aspect and demonstrate empathy, vulnerability and humility will be effective. Leaders must be authentic and humble. They must be able to develop trusting relationships, provide opportunities for team members to connect and create the conditions required for them to be engaged at work. Leaders must demonstrate that they are engaged, avoid blaming others and nurture positivity. They should include their team in the decision-making process and be open to feedback and championing their team.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Cut down on unnecessary barriers, inefficiencies & redundant roles,” Rajorshi Ganguli appeared first on HR Katha.

In the market, events ranging from the Great Resignation to massive layoffs are a matter of demand and supply of talent. Because of our actual growth rate, India has been in a phase of higher- than-usual voluntary resignations for some time, which we term ‘The Great Resignation’. COVID-19 was a game changer in some impacted industries, such as hospitality and education, where jobs dried up, people faced deep salary cuts, and even layoffs during FY 21. Such trends reversed as soon as the COVID restrictions were relaxed; the market sentiments’ swing was dramatic. Some companies started hoarding talent in the middle of 2022, and the demand surged so much that the ‘Great Resignation’ peaked again. The bubble of sentiments-based artificial talent demand burst soon when businesses failed to grow as expected, resulting in ‘massive layoffs’ in the latter part of 2022. During the Great Resignation, the most cited reasons for resigning included inflation, rising cost of living, lack of career growth, hostile work environments, lack of benefits, inflexible remote-work policies, and long-lasting job dissatisfaction. The mother of all reasons,
however, remains the swing between the ‘demand and supply of talent.’

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

Expecting peace in this age is like asking for the moon. We are witnessing businesses becoming more and more complex due to rising customer expectations. The required skill sets are changing faster than the seasons. Technology is advancing in leaps and bounds. Inflation is increasing in large parts of the world. Countries are
renewing their border disputes. Wars are happening in the age of ‘no wars’. Regional divide is rising. Humanity, in general, is becoming more impatient. Hence, business sustainability and risk profiles will change further causing more uncertainty and creating new opportunities at the same time. The key focus areas will remain securing
the right talent, the ability to scale upskill development to become ‘aatmanirbhar’, keeping ears to the ground to listen to and understand the vibes for faster corrective actions, innovative models for attracting talent, increased ease of hiring and working through flexible policies around gig workers, moon-lighting, and so on.

More specialists or generalists

Companies will hire generalists and avail the services of specialists as consultants. In the future, we will need fungible talent to manage the business, and the specialists will flirt with many companies.

To get to the leading role, an HR person has to become a business person, and the business person has to become an HR person

Technology or new world of work reshaping people managers?

The role of a people manager is to manage people. The part will never change. We may get additional management tools through technology, but the changes in the work environment will make us use our ‘situational leadership’ skills more skilfully. It is sad that as the HR processes and systems become more prominent, the managers leave their core job of people management to the tools and HRBPs. People-management skills and capabilities are any organisation’s most critical success factor.

Importance of employee talent bringing HR closer to the top role

Since humanity came into existence, talent and people have been and will remain the deciding factor. Nothing has changed. As long as one remains a specialist HR person or a specialist of any other function, there is no chance of achieving the top role. To get to the leading role, an HR person has to become a business person, and the business person has to become an HR person. Only a complete ‘whole’ will get to the top, not a piece of it.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “In the future, we will need fungible talent to manage businesses,” Rajesh Jain appeared first on HR Katha.

Of course the first-half of 2022 was a time of adjustment and coming to normalcy after aggressive burnout during peak pandemic time. It was a period where people were seeking growth and newness in career and life. The industry came forward with a growth mindset and investment. Yes, we had witnessed some unsteadiness due to a few critical factors such as geopolitical instability in the West, surge in inflation, and subsequent rise in repo rates, but I also feel India had positioned itself in a sweet spot. In terms of HR, strength in diversity has become increasingly visible. So yes, while volatility may have been present, I think the lens from which we view the industry also influences our perception.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

In my opinion HR will bring credible and important changes in the way we do business. It is a promising time where the key focus will shift towards, empowering talent to drive decision-making changes,driving digital transformation across all verticals, building expert-skills to tackle problems, harnessing young talent and giving them the right platform to ideate and execute critical projects with digital focus and focus on the fundamental DNA of the organisation. i.e. design a comprehensive EVP (Employee Value Proposition) for people of all levels, generations and genders. This creates real impact and value in the long run. So I feel 2023 should be seen as an opportunity that must be seized by all of us.

While volatility may have been present, I think the lens from which we view the industry also influences our perception

HR’s attention on deskless workers or in-office workers

I think we are at a very interesting time when it comes to hybrid work. We have discovered a ‘new way of operating’ where we are very comfortable with technology. We have seen first-hand how efficient work has become – be it processes like hiring and onboarding or interactions with internal and external stakeholders. But in my opinion, irrespective of the mode of working, our focus must be on setting the right priorities and deliverables for employees as clarity is the first step towards successful and fulfilling work. We must also ensure the right L&D opportunities for employees. This will generate a lot of value and create lasting impact. Finally, organisations must make it their top priority to focus and nurture the health and wellbeing of employees, including their family and kin – whether fully remote, hybrid, or in-office.

Pay transparency or staying discreet?

First of all, transparency is a spectrum. Whether or not any organisation publishes the exact pay, what it implies is do people understand the compensation philosophy. In that context, organisations are definitely moving towards greater transparency, and we have come a long way in the last few years. More companies today are standardizing rewards and recognition in all sectors. One example is the focus on ‘pay for performance’ and rewarding the right skill-sets. I also believe individuals know their intrinsic worth; this is truer in today’s connected world than ever before. So it makes a lot of sense for organisations to move towards transparency.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “HR will bring credible and important changes in the way we do business,” Praveen Purohit appeared first on HR Katha.

The two years preceding 2022 saw a tectonic shift in the way the world operates. The pandemic challenged many theories and broke stereotypes about life, work, and relationships. The Great Resignation was an outcome of a response to the adjustment made by people in their personal life. Similarly, companies had tried to sustain during the pandemic. Post pandemic, many had to shut shop. Several companies turned bankrupt. Many lost their viability and customers. To survive, cost cutting was imperative. As a result, layoffs followed. But, it’s important to note that the Great Resignation and massive layoffs were both western phenomena. Both are over-rated by the western media. They should be ignored since our economy was insulated from their impact.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

2023 has started on an excellent note for HR. Organisation-building, capability building, developing succession at leadership levels and in critical roles, talent retention, increase in productivity, stronger reward and incentive structure, engaging workforce by creating meaningful work, inclusion & diversity (not only on gender but thinking as well) are themes my fraternity is busy working on this year. Having learnt lessons from the pandemic, employee wellness will continue to be at the core of HR service delivery.

It’s an opportunity to test the creative ingenuity of HR professionals in fostering a culture of trust, respect, collaboration and high performance which can help retain top talent

Employee loyalty, a thing of the distant past

If attrition levels are a yardstick to measure employee loyalty, then with each passing year, loyalty is becoming disposable. It’s an opportunity to test the creative ingenuity of HR professionals in fostering a culture of trust, respect, collaboration and high performance which can help retain top talent. We must also acknowledge that opportunities and scope for jobs and entrepreneurships are expanding which are impacting retention. But, it’s time the world redefines the term ‘loyalty’ and not keep it synonymous with long tenure.

If a person is committed, trustworthy, productive and performs at high potential, delivering value to an organisation during his / her tenure, he / she has been loyal. It’s an organisation’s responsibility to retain such talent by suitably applying (monetary / nonmonetary) levers which are tailor-made for top talent. After all, we need to retain cutting-edge talent whose value-adding contributions can steer organisations onto the next level.

Pay transparency or staying discreet?

It’s incorrect to label Indian companies as discreet on matters of pay transparency. All professionally run organisations – Indian or MNC – are managed with similar philosophies. In fact, listed Indian companies are more transparent since they are mandated by law to publish compensation details of key management personnel and senior management. MNCs don’t have to do that. Besides, both types of organisations participate in salary surveys conducted by top consulting firms with whom they share data and get benchmarked. On an individual level, it’s always good to be discreet about one’s salary.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Employee wellness will continue to be at the core of HR service delivery,” Pramath Nath appeared first on HR Katha.

I would say 2022 was just a recoil period from the massive stress that Covid-19 had on every organisation’s business and processes. The pandemic situation had no precedence and hence every organisation experimented with lots of changes and ways of working. The Great Resignation was about people looking for more purpose and meaning driven outcome rather than routine and mundane office shift jobs which also triggered hiring on a large scale. But, towards the second half with the global slowdown on cards, driving efficiencies, lean structure and enhancing productivity were the only moat left with companies. Hence, the layoffs.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

For HR, the war for talent always existed and will continue to. In 2023, it looks like the organisations will have more of an inward focus. We will surely see lot of action in:

• Organisation restructuring

• Cost optimisation

• Productivity enhancement

• Driving efficiency

• Capability building

To me, 2023 seems to be a busy year and will keep support as well as line functions on their toes.

To me, 2023 seems to be a busy year and will keep support as well as line functions on their toes

Balance between rising inflation and changing employee expectations

The best employers are becoming sensitive to the fact that the market is changing faster than ever and adopting more flexible compensation practices. The commitment of a competitive pay can only be kept by regularly reviewing compensation. The annual increment budget can be segregated into:

• Inflationary Increase Budget – Mid-year flat salary increase purely based on Cost of Living Index hike

• Merit Increase Budget – Performance based salary increase

• Rewards Budget – Enhanced rewards to offset rising costs

The pandemic has transformed the way people prioritise their well-being. Compensation is critical but not the only driver of employee experience. The employee should have a real choice to customise the rewards and benefit basket as per individual need.

Debate on moonlighting to continue

In my view, acceptance of the ‘gig workforce’ gradually will take over this discussion. Moonlighting then will no longer be seen as an ethical or legal constraint, rather it will be seen as an opportunity to have knowledge and expertise sharing across organisations at the same point in time. For SMEs, this would mean an opportunity to earn more and be flexible with how, where and when they work.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Organisations will have more of inward focus in 2023,” Pradyumna Pandey appeared first on HR Katha.

Coming in the aftermath of the Covid crisis, 2022 was a year of recovery. Suddenly the sluice gates seemed to have opened as everyone, big and small, across sectors wanted to cash in on the new hope and possibility. Euphoria outstripped realism. And there was misplaced and aggressive talent hiring. And when the reality of a possible global recession and the unending Ukraine War was felt, the winter frost hit start-up funding and global supply chain. Then there was another knee-jerk reaction of mass layoffs. These ups and downs in business created an opportunity for job hunters who were hired randomly, irrespective of their suitability for the role.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

My view is 2023 will be a year of cautious optimism. I think there is room for growth, including a lot led by our own domestic consumption. Globally linked industries like technology will continue to see some headwinds. India as an alternate source of global manufacturing is likely to see a rise. Its leadership of G20 will give it enhanced visibility and many bilateral trade possibilities. So I think overall things will be positive but without premature exuberance. Technology shifts in HR will continue to hold promise and threat. Leadership and culture will be very important talent issues for companies to work on to prepare for the years ahead. The swing of the pendulum – employer’s market to candidates, and back These are all too seasonal patterns. It is always going to be a candidate’s market for the right talent. We continue to see heightened war for the ‘right’ talent. Yes, at a volume junior level there is going to be more choice for companies in the near term. Lowering of expectations and realism regarding talent at junior levels, given past experience will also steady the relative volatility in talent movements.

Lowering of expectations and realism regarding talent at junior levels, given past experience will also steady the relative volatility in talent movements

Balance between rising inflation and changing employee expectations

HR today must be seen as cost of business. For the right talent, one will need to still pay to get and keep it. Yet given overall cost economics, companies will need to decide for what jobs, roles and experience one will loosen the purse strings and where it will be possible to stay stringent. More than just salary, non financial aspects – culture, leadership, reputation, recognition, affiliation – will matter equally. I don’t think salary is the silver bullet to talent.

Technology or new world of work reshaping people managers?

Organisations are already changing. As more routine transactions are being automated or outsourced, it should enable people managers to do their core job – lead and inspire their teams to deliver breakthrough impact. The hybrid working reality has demonstrated the crisis that exists in many companies with managerial competence. Managers need help and coaching, both from their own managers and by experts outside, across levels. Companies must not shy away from focussing on this. Individuals experience corporations through the experience of their people managers. To me, enhancing managerial capability, improving trust, communication and collaboration, will be a non-negotiable for 2023.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “2023 will be a year of cautious optimism,” Prabir Jha appeared first on HR Katha.

It’s minimising to relegate 2022 to the year that was all about resignations and layoffs. The Indian media landscape shifted so much in 2022 that it’s unrecognisable from what it was even a year ago. As the industry players continued to adapt to post-pandemic behavioural trends, consolidation became more prominent than ever, customised viewing experiences took centre stage, and the consumption of live events saw a rampant revival to compensate for the pent-up demand of the past two years. Amidst all these transitions, as employers, we continued to build and seek out the capabilities needed to create and propagate content that can compete – all in pursuit of the ambitious goal of grabbing the eyeballs of a highly intelligent, sophisticated, and demanding end consumer.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

2023 represents a fascinating time for HR. The expectations from the HR function and HR leaders would be at an all-time high in 2023. Instead of seeing it as a year of turmoil or peace, we must see it as a year of opportunity to reshape processes to create purpose-driven organisations.

The acute shortage of critical skills is already changing how we hire, engage, develop, and retain talent. Moving to a skills-based approach for workforce planning will be a key focus area and will see companies hire for skills, not for education, with HR also revamping work design to increase internal talent mobility, agility, and productivity. This has taken centre stage in media because the skills are already incredibly niche, making it much harder to acquire, develop and retain talent. Innovative applications such as the Metaverse, will also gain traction as the demographics change with more digital natives entering the workforce than ever before.

Employers who can successfully adapt to changes are the ones who will retain their best talent and attract new ones

The swing of the pendulum – employer’s market to candidates, and back

Many recent high-profile announcements of layoffs from tech giants and the threat of a recession have made employers and employees cautious of how the job market will shape up this year. However, specific ‘trends’ have slowly started to become hygiene factors instead – such as the preference for a hybrid workplace, flexible schedules,customised benefits packages, and more, all of which are key drivers of employee satisfaction at the workplace. Employers who can successfully adapt to these changes are the ones who will not only retain but attract the best people, no matter what the condition of the talent market is.

While specific industries, such as media, might see an employer’s market emerging as consolidation surges and new players come in with cash to burn, industries like tech have had to cut down to compensate for their pandemic-driven over-hiring.

Pay transparency or staying discreet?

Several countries have had pay transparency mandated by law. While Indian laws certainly have much catching up to do, being transparent about pay can be a differentiator opportunity for companies. Posting about their competitive pay ranges can be a positive trigger for prospective talent wanting to join these organisations.

Upfront disclosures on the employers’s pay has unintended consequences– starting with workplace tensions and, more importantly, the possibility of organisations losing their competitive edge in the talent market. Until such elements can be eliminated, India Inc. will remain discreet.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Skill based hiring to increase in media,” Manu Wadhwa appeared first on HR Katha.

In these highly unpredictable times, organisations as well as employees are clearly taking a near-term view. The Great Resignation was a result of reprioritisation on the part of employees.

Many of them decided to take opportunities that were less demanding and / or allowed them to work remotely. We saw quiet quitting, moonlighting and massive layoffs as well. I believe the work-worker-workplace equation is pivoting to find a new balance. Employees are seeking balance between purpose, fulfilment and growth.

On the other hand, with renewed fear of COVID and global recession, organisations are being compelled to look at their cost structure.

Managerial ownership of talent has always been pivotal to anchoring talent in an organisation

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

The year will see increased emphasis on flexibility, gig opportunities, digital transformation, upskilling and mental well-being. Businesses will continue to rise to ESG-related challenges and work towards accomplishing greater results in that area. Hybrid working will continue to be in high demand as fresh fear of COVID sets in.

Employee loyalty, a thing of the distant past

Employee loyalty will continue to be directly proportional to purposedriven work, constant learning / growth opportunities and meaningful organisational engagement. Managerial ownership of talent has always been pivotal to anchoring talent in an organisation. Employees need to find purpose and feel a sense of belonging at their place of work. Employees shall continue to look for growth opportunities either within or outside the organisation.

Employees need to find purpose and feel a sense of belonging at their place of work

Pay transparency or staying discreet?

Organisations will continue to be discreet about salary ranges in front of the employees. However, there will be increased benchmarking of niche roles amongst competitor baskets. Roles that are fungible across industries will continue to be in high demand. Volatility in the external job market will also encourage employees to look at opportunities within the organisation. A larger impetus is likely to be given to the internal job market.

Importance of employee talent bringing HR closer to the top role

Mental, psychological and social wellbeing will continue to gather greater mindshare, and organisations will have to lay greater focus on ideas/ opportunities to help employees destress. Mental well-being will continue to be an area of intervention, and progressive organisations will step up efforts to drive action in that direction. There will be an element of inbuilt stretch in almost all roles and employees equally will have to identify their tipping point.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “There will be increased benchmarking of niche roles amongst competitor baskets,” Manish Sinha appeared first on HR Katha.

The pandemic changed the dynamics of several industries and economies alike. After months of being ravaged with Covid-19, the markets were on the path to recovery. Employees wanted to maximise the higher demand than supply of talent, especially for niche roles.

In the six to eight quarters building up to 2022, most companies had not witnessed increments, layoffs, or salary cuts (or all three together) owing to the pandemic and uncertainty that came along with it. This encouraged employees to explore opportunities where there is more value given to their talent. For the first time, offer drops became a critical data point while hiring for the HR industry.

As the economy bounced back, the startup ecosystem witnessed a boon. Funds were free-flowing, and so were the rewards and benefits. Established companies and big brands started to invest ahead of the curve to capitalise on growth prospects. The sense of optimism was high. However the Ukraine war and the impending energy crisis created a sense of pessimism for the world economy.

Companies struggled to meet targets, and investors became cautious while well-funded start-ups saw funds getting retrenched.

People had intense experiences during the pandemic and lockdown, and priorities and motivators had shifted. Employees wanted more balance in their lives and wanted to do a job more on their terms of flexibility and something that has more meaning for their careers. Many decided that they would move on from the ‘rat race’ and take control of their lives. This is where companies that showed compassion, provided stability, and gave hope did better than others.

2023 should end with clear-cut guidelines for companies to be more innovative and creative in how they want to employ talent

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

The turmoil may continue for the better part of 2023 due to the current financial and market conditions. Hiring may be limited to critical backfills during this period or very niche roles. HR needs to focus on retaining top talent by upskilling, career pathing, and tweaking employee benefits to make them more appealing and useful.

Leaders must focus on ways to enhance performance so that the team makes a measurable and meaningful impact to the organisation.

Evaluating a leader: Transparency, empathy, loyalty, mentoring vs business/functional excellence

Leaders are to serve their customers and their employees. It may sound clichéd, but that is what matters to the world now. The service orientation must be genuine, not mere lip service.

Open communication channels will pave the way for confidence and trust. People prefer transparency and clarity as that helps them make an informed decision on ‘what next’.

A leader plays a crucial role in making future leaders; hence, the ability to coach, guide, and mentor is critical. The biggest influence on a company’s culture is the leader. Hence, the premium should be on the right leadership traits that will enhance the culture positively.

Debate on moonlighting to continue

Gig employment has mushroomed in the last few years. Many people prefer such opportunities over the standard ones (let’s say the typical 9 to 5). At the same time, some companies prefer a liquid workforce. 2023 should end with clear cut guidelines and companies should be more innovative and creative in how they want to employ talent.

Companies, especially those with many IPs or sensitive information, will continue to have stricter guidelines forbidding moonlighting. In many cases of moonlighting, we saw an unethical trend where there was a clear conflict of interest. The integrity of the workforce should remain paramount for any professionally managed company.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Hiring may be limited to critical backfills,” Mahipal Nair appeared first on HR Katha.

It is difficult to predict with utmost certainty what the future of HR will be in 2023. The future of HR depends on a variety of factors such as technological advancements, changes in the workforce, and the overall economy. However, technology will likely continue to play a larger role in HR, with the use of artificial intelligence and automation increasing in areas such as recruitment, performance evaluation, and training. Additionally, there will be a greater emphasis on employee well-being, diversity and inclusion, hybrid and remote work.

HR professionals will continue to strive to attract and retain top talent. Companies will have to be more agile and adaptable and correspond accordingly to the evolving times and while they are at it, they also need to stay current with the latest laws and regulations, such as those related to data privacy, to ensure compliance.

HR’s attention on deskless workers or in-office workers

Remote workers may require more support and resources to ensure they have the necessary tools and equipment to work effectively from home, as well as communication and collaboration tools to stay connected with the rest of the team. They may also require more support in maintaining a work life balance and preventing feelings of isolation.

True diversity is about providing all individuals, even those outside your company walls, with equal opportunities to develop their skills

On the other hand, in-office workers may require more attention in terms of creating a safe and healthy work environment and ensuring compliance with safety protocols and regulations related to the global health crisis. They may also require support and resources to adapt to new ways of working and new office protocols. Hence, HR professionals will need to be more flexible and adaptable to the needs of remote and in-office workers and develop different strategies to support both groups.

Diversity to be linked to upskilling & reskilling

As a people-first organisation, we at DXC think that promoting diversity goes beyond simply ensuring the presence of women in the workforce. Fostering diversity entails employing workers from different backgrounds, ages, cultures, demography, and economic status. True diversity is about providing all individuals, even those outside your company walls, with equal opportunities to develop their skills. Therefore, we do think that diversity is linked to upskilling and reskilling people from disadvantaged backgrounds, so they are equipped to join the competitive corporate workforce.

Through our CSR initiatives, we are continually promoting digital literacy among Indian students from rural areas, giving them the opportunity to shape their careers and move up the social scale. We also provide IT training to underrepresented groups in the society, creating prospects for employment or further education in the IT industry

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “There will be greater emphasis on employee well-being, diversity and inclusion,” Lokendra Sethi appeared first on HR Katha.

We have seen a volatile global economy in 2022, with the impact differing from industry to industry. In my view, a couple of factors led to the ‘Great Resignation’, as we call it. First, we saw a huge growth in digital and ecommerce businesses, spurred by the pandemic. Then there was a resurgence of demand in many sectors as the economy opened up post pandemic. Easy availability of funding bankrolled many startups and businesses. Lastly, there was a talent supply – demand mismatch caused by a slowdown in hiring in the early months of the pandemic. Additionally, some people chose to withdraw from the talent market due to personal choices.

We are all so connected to the global economy that we have to plan for the crests and the troughs

During the middle of 2022, some businesses were somewhat impacted as the overall economy showed signs of high inflation, leading to increase in interest rates and some recessionary trends. The layoffs are not seen all across, but only in those businesses, which have witnessed a sharp change in demand. In a way, that is the reality of business today. We are all so connected to the global economy that we have to plan for the crests and the troughs.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

Over the last three years, we have all been through a rapid disruption cycle — pandemic, recovery, spike in growth, talent/skill shortage, and so on. Therefore, we should now be ready for any kind of change. Again, let’s not paint with a broad brush, as this may differ from one sector to the other. With that caveat, I would hope for some stability compared to the roller-coaster of the last two years — at least in the early part of 2023. How it changes in a few months is anybody’s guess, but by now I think we in HR should be used to adapting to any changes, which are Inevitable.

Easy availability of funding bankrolled many startups and businesses

Investing in metaverse for workplace learning and training

The metaverse is evolving and everyone is testing out use cases. Of course, it can be employed in certain kinds of training, but not all. Yes, I guess companies will be investing in it.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Companies will invest in Metaverse in 2023,” Krish Shankar appeared first on HR Katha.

The Great Resignation took place due to several factors arising after the experiences of the persistent pandemic. This included the changes in workplace expectations, increased remote work opportunities, changing mindset of all the generations in the organisation after their combat with the pandemic, and the consequential effects on health, wellness and well-being. There was an increased realisation that health and quality of life is more important than anything. With several sectors getting back to better normalcy after the peak of the pandemic, coupled with the job market becoming very competitive, there was prevalence of better pay and work flexibility available for talent leading to an exodus of talent in several organisations much more than before. Layoffs followed later. Global inflation is on the rise and also recession and economic slowdown. The Ukraine war, etc. instilled a sense of fear and caution and large corporates started laying off their employees as a matter of austerity. Leaders tend to believe that layoffs can help survival. When one large organisation does that, it immediately reduces confidence, enhances fear in other organisations and more start doing the same.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

It need not be a turmoil if one is well prepared. However, it will be wishful to think that it will be peaceful. So, it is better to see that the world of tomorrow is beyond VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) and it will be like a BANI world (Brittle, Anxious, Non Linear, Incomprehensible). It is critical not to see them as turmoil or as challenges rather be well prepared to overcome the challenges and see how to convert or pivot from these challenges to opportunities.

The world of HR professionals need to realise that there will always be some hindrance in work flow; either a pandemic, or climate change challenges, or inflation, recession or an armed conflict or some other crises. The world has transformed exponentially between 2020 to now. Business operations have entered the era of the new normal, where we think, act, and live a lot differently.

More importantly, all of us in HR had the onus to lead and support businesses in a significant manner than ever before. We have encountered new ways of working including that of hybrid or fusion working, changing expectations of people of different generations, the Great Resignation, quiet quitting, moon lighting and so on.

Given the context, HR has a phenomenal responsibility; to rub shoulders with business leaders, work along with them in steering business continuity, and driving growth through people.

The need of the hour is to design for building organisations fit for the future. Its success lies in our ability to foresee that, internalise, and make changes as required in an appropriate manner.

Some of the important focus areas will include building a culture of resilience and agility in organisations to face any of the challenges as and when they emerge. Beyond this, we have to continuously foster a culture that boosts higher levels of psychological engagement and productivity all the time.

Any enterprise desirous of thriving will have to constantly ensure that the relationship between the organisation and the employee is always close

Looking beyond work output and outcome

As the famous quote goes, ‘To win in the market place you have to first win in the workplace’. Any enterprise desirous of thriving will have to constantly ensure that the relationship between the organisation and the employee is always close. Those who err on that are destined to fall.

People who experience trust and belief from their leadership are far more engaged and productive and thereby that leads to better growth and performance of the organisation. After all, ‘culture’ is about how people feel and experience the organisation. Thus, one of the critical elements of culture building is to bring that ‘closeness’ and ‘connect’ between the employee and the organisation.

Organisations will be and should be concerned about work, output, outcome and ultimately profits and sustainability. However, these can’t be achieved without winning cooperation and engagement of employees in the organisation. Hence people connect will continue to be highly critical for organisations to thrive. It is the role of every manager to stay psychologically connected with each of his/her team members, building a culture of informality, appreciation, continuous feedback, collaboration, empowerment and so on. It is about connecting across.

Employee connect is to care more and control less. With the need to keep increasing digital enablement across systems and processes, care should be taken to ensure that we are providing a real human interface at all points in the employee journey where personal contact is critical. HR leaders need to build a more human employer-employee relationship consciously, make people listened to and valued.

Diversity to be linked to upskilling & reskilling

It may not be appropriate to say that diversity will be linked into upskilling and reskilling. It could be rephrased to say that while organisations consider a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) strategy, it is important for that organisation to examine how to cater to all the upskilling and reskilling needs of all its people. For a business with multiple generations, people from diverse backgrounds and with different preferences, it is important to examine what career growth aspirations and needs it will be, for each of those diverse employees. Thus, a DEIB programme clearly linked with upskilling and reskilling initiatives will provide the competitive edge.

Upskilling and Reskilling will end up strengthening the pipeline of diverse employees, building their growth alongside the organisation growth which in turn also has a positive impact on recruitment and retention. The World Economic Forum predicts that 50% of the employee population of today will need reskilling itself by 2025 in view of changing technologies and its fast adoption that’s happening. Investments in upskilling and reskilling employees will lead to substantial growth in productivity and DEIB.

Technical proficiency does not assure high performance whereas on the contrary leadership proficiency is likely to guarantee high performance and success with lesser technical expertise

It is the responsibility of corporates to plan and implement rural growth through skilling initiates and creating employability and employment. A more higher and mature step will be to locate the business operations to rural villages wherein skilling initiatives can happen and also provide the rural population non migratory employment opportunities. Amara Raja Group has always done this for all their business operations. All the manufacturing operations are predominantly located at rural villages wherein there are ‘state of the art skill development centres’ established and 80 to 90 per cent of the workforce are skilled and employed from those villages itself.

Given the enormous challenges of migration, concentrated growth and congestion of metropolitan cities, corporates and Government together have to play a more proactive role in developing new urban centres and promoting rapid industrialisation in hinterland Bharat.

Evaluating a leader: Transparency, empathy, loyalty, mentoring vs business/functional excellence

The primary focus will be more on leadership attitude and behaviour. Gone are the years that people get promoted into leadership roles because of only their technical skills and expertise in their technical domain. That will no more translate into effective leadership and organisation growth. The leaders’ attitude and leadership behaviour will be far more important than the technical capabilities. It is always better to bet on a leader with less technical capabilities and more people management and leadership skills. Technical capabilities can be acquired and developed faster in people than leadership traits.

Also, leadership proficiency is likely to guarantee high performance and success with lesser technical expertise.

Thus, leadership skills will be at the top of the list of competencies that an organisation should be concerned of while selecting a leader for a critical role and over time it has to ensure that there are high levels of leadership skills and the desired levels of technical proficiency as well.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Build a culture of resilience & agility for future challenges,” Jaikrishna B appeared first on HR Katha.

While 2022 was volatile, the environment today has also come to be so unpredictable that we can hardly plan to shock proof. Focus has shifted to sustainable growth. As the market changes its personality, so does the business. A semi post-COVID environment opened up opportunities sending markets into a spin. It was an employees’ market for a certain period post which there were strong headwinds in the e-commerce space that led to some difficult decisions being taken. The underlying message here is that the fundamentals need to be strong and that makes all the difference for the organisations when it comes to handling market pressures.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

2023 will be a cautious year with companies choosing talent carefully. Non-tech sectors will see a huge demand for senior talent. Experience will triumph over everything else. Key focus areas for most organisations will be to hold on to their talent and ensure that they stay connected. Most companies will ‘wait and watch’ for the first six months post which huge investments will be made in talent dynamics.

Key focus areas for most organisations will be to hold on to their talent and ensure that they stay connected

Balance between rising inflation and changing employee expectations

Companies will have to continue to spend on employees, which includes investments on training, digitisation and welfare. After all, the returns are long term and any short cuts or a myopic approach will only lead to demotivation and talent exodus over a period. HR will need to balance the same taking into account all factors.

More growth – oriented skills

There will be demand for talent capable of making a difference. Companies will expect value add from talent. Ways to make group synergies create a win-win situation for all will be the focus.

Diversity to be linked to upskilling and reskilling

Gender diversity, upskilling and even performance assessments of companies will come to the forefront. Competitive advantage will come from variety and not necessarily from talent competitiveness alone.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Non-tech sectors will see a huge demand for senior talent,” Jacob Jacob appeared first on HR Katha.

The Year 2022 was extremely volatile due to the after effects of the first two waves of Covid, the third wave of Covid in the beginning of the year, the war in Ukraine and the effects of these on the economy. An environment of uncertainty created a huge amount of stress on the entire ecosystem, i.e. country, corporates and individuals across the board, which led to the Great Resignation and layoffs later in the year.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

The year 2023 will be a challenging year for HR. Being a bridge between an ‘employee’ and ‘employer’, it will have to balance expectations of both the stakeholders, to facilitate a ‘Great Workplace’. The employer will expect higher productivity to offset margins hit to the bottom line due to the prevailing economic conditions whereas an employee would be looking at wellbeing and work life balance.

The key focus areas for HR would be:

• Employee health & wellbeing, which would include the mental health aspect

• Skill based hiring, experience having an edge over qualification

• Hybrid learning including metaverse and gamification in addition to the normal learning tools.

• ESG reporting to be a critical aspect of performance & potential evaluation of an employee

• HR/corporate to accept hybrid/ flexibility working (Future of Work) as the new normal

• Tackle burnouts among HR professionals, due to the complex nature of work and expectations from all stakeholders under a very stressful and uncertain environment.

• Refocus on
– Communication
– Customer service
– Leadership
– Collaboration
– Personal learning & mastery
– Achievement focus

Difference in pay due to performance & potential cannot be construed as pay disparity or dearth of transparency

Balance between rising inflation and changing employee expectations

Nudge the organisation to be driven based on principles and not be fixated with following policies and employees performance/potential being judged based on the outcomes with an emphasis on ‘how’ the outcomes have been achieved, so that an appropriate organisation culture is built.

Pay transparency or staying discreet?

This is ‘work in progress’, we have moved forward over the years and should be there sooner than later. Employees are aware of the compensation philosophy of the organisations, including benchmarked percentile to the market and competitor basket.

There is pay parity among gender for the same role/ job grade, etc. Difference in pay due to performance and potential cannot be construed as pay disparity or dearth of transparency. The actual issue lies in the transparency of the evaluation process and reducing the ‘halo effect’, (enhancing objectivity) and the lack of continuous communication with employees on performance standards/expectations including performance coaching and feedback, which results in salary increases/promotions/pay disparity

ESG bringing CHRO closer to the CEO

It is the role of HR to support the CEO to drive the culture of the organisation with the collaborative support of the leadership team. The ‘how’ part of the evaluation process, which drives the culture of the organisation will help to achieve the ESG goals. The ESG goals significantly contribute to enhancing the valuation of the company and become an ‘Employer of Choice’; hence HR will play a critical role in the achievement of the ESG goals.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “HR will support the CEO to drive the culture of the organisation,” Chandrasekhar Mukherjee appeared first on HR Katha.

Over the past two to three years, organisations have experienced a lot of uncertainty, due to the pandemic, with organisations across industries finding it difficult to manage employee-driven costs and profit margins.

Accustomed to a certain work-life balance during the pandemic, employees began to appreciate the flexibility of working from anywhere, which allowed them to attend to personal needs while fulfilling work obligations. About 65 per cent of employees said that the pandemic “made them rethink the role of work in their lives,” and 56 per cent felt that it “made them want to contribute more to society”, as per a report by Gartner. Post pandemic, a few companies decided to bring employees back to office, resulting in a spree of resignations.

While the job market remains strong, the second half of the year has been markedly different. Inflation, geopolitical situations, Fed rate hikes and a volatile stock market are all pointing to a recession. Consumer demand and profits for online services increased because of the pandemic. Leaders were told to expand the business at all costs. Funding for startups declined, resulting in mass layoffs, but this remains an exception rather than the norm.

As talks of a recession loom, employees who job-hopped during the pandemic are now questioning whether they made the right moves, leading to ‘The Great Regret’. Those who sought higher pay and more flexible working conditions are now concerned that they could be fired. As a result, the job market is now oscillating between the ‘Great Resignation’ and the ‘Great Regret’.

While the current market scenario remains volatile, the coming year will be a year of stabilisation, which will see more focus on talent retention and skilling of the workforce. Considering the multi-generational workforce, purpose and flexibility at work will be the differentiating factors for attracting talent.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

While 2022 was a defining year for many organisations, 2023 will see the job market changing in many ways. From hybrid work modes to the Metaverse, 2023 will see new HR trends adding value to the transformation that the HR industry has seen. The following are the key HR focus areas that will influence the workplace in 2023:

• Effective leadership – Agility and adaptability are going to be key competencies for leaders across industries. Effective ‘human leaders’ must be committed, courageous, and confident to overcome obstacles and manage the future of work.

• Hybrid work model – The ‘future of work’ is hybrid, and it will be one of the emerging trends in the coming year.

• Hiring & skilling – With the dynamic global scenario, leadership talent and mobilisation of a skilled workforce will continue to take centre stage for many organisations.

• Employee well-being – Organisations must focus on the holistic well-being of employees by creating a culture of acceptance and inclusivity at the workplace, and providing employee support to address both physical and mental health.

• Digitalisation – Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and other technologies will continue to disrupt, and thereby, play a vital role in transforming the workplace.

While the current market scenario remains volatile, the coming year will be a year of stabilisation, with more focus on talent retention and workforce skilling

Technology or new world of work reshaping people managers?

The role of the ‘people’s manager’ is evolving due to the changes in technology and the work environment over the last two years. The two most important competencies that a people manager must have in 2023 are a digital mindset and learning agility.

As fewer employees work in the same location, companies’ use of virtual and augmented reality is expected to grow dramatically. They will need to reskill employees to prepare them for new tasks and responsibilities that are more technologically integrated.

Post-pandemic, people managers need to focus on developing skills such as empathy and care to deal with changing business scenarios and stay connected with their teams. With respect to L&T, our learning and development programmes for people managers have quickly adapted to the changing needs and skills such as well-being, building resilience, and practising purposeful leadership.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, employees are taking their health and wellness very seriously, and want their employers to invest heavily in this area. Concerns go beyond the physical health of employees. The pandemic, the recession, and social unrest have all contributed to an increase in anxiety, depression and stress among the general public.

Growth-oriented skills

Organisations are focusing more on budgets, digital technologies and cost competitiveness. Skill development will be critical to strengthen the talent market. Skilling the workforce serves the objective of nurturing home-grown talent and retaining it, especially the young workforce seeking challenging opportunities at work.

Data visualisation and analytical skills are expanding and can complement human skills such as people management. Understanding and using data to communicate effectively is becoming a must-have skill as organisations seek to gain value from data-driven approaches.

More specialists or generalists

Companies hire specialists for entry-level jobs, and over time, career paths diverge into generalists based on the roles and paths that enthuse employees’ hearts and minds the most.

Some large organisations require generalists with broad experience because they benefit from their breadth, diverse experience, and interdisciplinary thinking while solving company problems. Others, on the other hand, believe in hyper-specialisation in one field.

Digital, being a specialised skill set will remain a key area for companies across industries. This is because the pandemic has reinforced the relevance of technology in many aspects of employee experience and engagement.

Another important investment that companies are likely to make is in grooming leaders. Here, a specialist with additional skills and competencies rises up the ladder quicker to assume leadership. Companies are hiring and reskilling more specialists based on their requirements.

The role of leaders also evolves as the business evolves with advanced technology. Leaders will focus more on employee well-being and the overall development of their team.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Leadership & mobilisation of skilled workforce will continue to take centre stage,” C Jayakumar appeared first on HR Katha.

Our contexts will continue to remain disruptive and businesses are going to pivot continuously. 2023 will continue to challenge us and also build us for the future.

Employee loyalty, a thing of the distant past

As more millennials and Gen Z join the workforce, retention will increasingly become a function of the employee experience, flexibility at workplace and meritocracy driven culture.

“If India has to become a manufacturing giant as an economy, skilling will play an important role to enable availability of workforce”

Technology or new world of work reshaping people managers?

Existence of aggregator roles will be challenged more in days ahead with increased digitisation and reduction of the complexity of monitoring, spans will
definitely increase and the expectations will be to add more value than mere aggregation.

Diversity to be linked to upskilling & reskilling

Irrespective of diversity, if India has to become a manufacturing giant as an economy, skilling will play an important role to enable availability of workforce to meet the demands of manpower for manufacturing.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “Aggregator roles will be challenged with increased digitisation,” Biswaroop Mukherjee appeared first on HR Katha.

2023 will make the role of HR more central. From a support function, HR has evolved into the role of an active business partner. Human resource plays a key role in the strategy formulation of an enterprise, and this role is becoming more prominent. Earlier, HR was concerned with a multi-generational workforce but now, in addition to that, there is hybrid working and the gig workforce. The HR policies and practices are getting transformed and this progression will continue in the coming years. The primary focus will continue to be on enhancing productivity and ensuring diversity in the workforce. Some key focus areas will be change management, managerial effectiveness, incubating agile teams and creating a future-ready workforce.

Evaluating a leader: Transparency, empathy, loyalty, mentoring vs business/functional excellence

All of these will be equally important. While functional and business excellence are essential for businesses to be successful, aspects such as emotional quotient (EQ), coaching and mentoring have already assumed significance. People give their best when they have a feeling of being involved and wanted. Leaders will be responsible to ensure that their team members (comprising regular, hybrid or gig workers) feel part of the team, own the team’s agenda and passionately work towards the defined goals. The capability development of the team will be a joint responsibility of the team members and their leaders, facilitated by the HR.

The key focus areas in 2023 will be change management, managerial effectiveness, incubating agile teams and creating a future-ready workforce

Transparency forms the bedrock of trust, and therefore, leaders will need to work in a transparent fashion and also act as role models for their teams. Therefore, starting with the hiring of people in leadership roles, to their development, it will be imperative to look at all these aspects. Leadership development, in particular — because there already are a lot of existing leaders who are only task focussed — will have to entail interventions focussed on people centricity in a sustained manner. Having said this, as mentioned earlier, leaders’ focus on business/functional aspects has to be razor sharp since markets are hyper competitive. Also, given the disruptions in business models, technology and so on, leaders require to be proactive and on top of the changes facing their function/company.

Technology or new world of work reshaping people managers?

Digital transformations and global uncertainties have led to disruption and change. For this reason, organisational design and change management will have to be focussed on. An interesting perspective is that in 2016, the Gartner Workforce Change Survey showed 74 per cent of employees were willing to change work behaviours to support organisational changes. However, that number dropped to 38 per cent in 2022. Therefore, people managers have the uphill task of channelising their teams to move beyond the challenges posed by widespread changes. The role and competencies of people managers, therefore, need to be redefined and recalibrated.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.

The post “2023 will make the role of HR more central,” Atul Mathur appeared first on HR Katha.

Everyone says the first half of the year 2022 was volatile, however I would term it as an opportunity and market correction. Great Resignation was an opportunity for many candidates who earlier were not able to clear interviews in spite of having all skills and who now got a chance to secure a job. Companies also got the opportunity to attract new talent who would bring new ideas and perspectives to the organisations. Secondly, the massive layoffs can be termed as market corrections. With the kind of tech hiring that happened haphazardly, without thinking about costs, P&L, and other factors, this was bound to happen. Also, many candidates negotiated pay hikes on offers, asking for 100% to 200% hike and even after getting that did not honour their commitment. They wanted to be rich overnight. They were living in a bubble which would burst anytime.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

I’m super positive about 2023 being more or less peaceful. The economy will grow in a positive direction – more FDIs, favourable policies, and more job opportunities with key focus areas being engagement, flexibility, employee experience, and change management.

Balance between rising inflation and changing employee expectations

An HR job is extremely critical. HRleaders have to play a well-balanced role in any organisation, from listening to employees and understanding their needs, to keeping a watch on inflation or any external condition which might impact the business.

For Gen Z, flexibility, freedom, and appreciation has more value than the brand

They have to carefully assess costs and management expectations and then take decisions which are beneficial to all.

Pay transparency or staying discreet?

Pay transparency has a long way to go, it will take more years to come to a maturity level.

Employee loyalty, a thing of the distant past

Generation Z lacks emotions as far as organisation is concerned, They are inclined towards the place where they get better treatment. For them flexibility, freedom, and appreciation has more value than the brand. They are super intelligent, and will give their best only if they are able to achieve what they desire.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here

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The Covid pandemic came as a watershed moment and created a scenario in which the business environment and ecosystem had to undergo changes at a much faster rate than before. This gave rise to a prime explanatory framework for the challenges we face-BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible). Brittle because in the new world of work, we are susceptible to catastrophe (disruptions) with severe mid and sometimes long term impact. In this context, jobs are no longer guaranteed, job descriptions are dynamic and career changes are normal. Anxious-because anxiety is one of the most present symptoms today, not just in people’s personal lives but in business as well. We need to make decisions quickly and often with limited data and certainty. Non- linear-is the result of disconnection between cause and effect in time, proportion and perception. What was just complex, has now become nonlinear; multidimensional problems (and context) without a single meaning, leading to multiple destinations. The systems of cause and effect have become disconnected or disproportional. It is also Incomprehensible-since everything happens so fast that it seems we understand less.

A non-linear, incomprehensible world, deepened the feeling of anxiety and brittleness felt by stakeholders and led to some chaotic and knee jerk decision making that seemed right at that moment. The pace at which disruptions and changes affecting organisations and employees accelerated during the pandemic led to a phase of short-term actions taken for mere existence, by all stakeholders. At the first opportunity some of these decisions had to be recalibrated to better reflect, and have a more suitable effect, on existing realities.

While the economy is recovering from the pandemic led crisis, one thing is certain that things won’t return to normal. However, we should reach a stage of new dynamic equilibrium in the future and that would result in having a better clarity of trends for the future, both from organisational as well as employee perspective.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

Change is a constant and the pace of disruptions, accelerated during the past couple of years, will continue. Going forward, with faster globalisation, distributed, interdependent, networked and flatter organisation structures, when we have to deal with a multigenerational workforce at our workplace, we need to have much more innovative, agile and authentic leadership. We need to build a culture that encourages co-creation and collaboration amongst employee communities, which will get formed based on shared areas of interest amongst the employees.

Going forward, with faster globalisation, distributed, inter-dependent, networked and flatter organisation structures, when we have to deal with a multi-generational workforce at our workplace, we need to have much more innovative, agile and authentic leadership

Some key focus areas for HR would be –

• Hyper personalisation of benefits and engagement programmes to cater to all segments of a distributed workforce working in a hybrid arrangement

• Provide for agile organisation structures that are modular and provide portfolio career opportunities that encourage intra-prenuers (employee entrepreneurs)

• Build and nurture the talent continuum where there are multiple paths of talent engagement. Engaging platform workers and making their GIGs more lucrative with innovative reward-capability-benefits infrastructure

• Upskilling/ re- skilling across functions to build capacity and capability

• Focus on psychological safety and well- being of employees

HR’s attention on deskless workers or in-office workers

The two sets of workers will require equal attention, but the methodology of engagement will need to be personalised and customised to a high extent. The expectation of personalised offering however is irrespective of the work arrangement and will require careful thought and understanding of needs from all sets of workers. We also need to have a deep understanding of the various channels of engagements possible (physical, digital or phygital) for all the initiatives that we envision and carefully consider the benefits of each mode before we roll out any initiative.

Redesign the workplace for hybrid workforce

The workplace will undergo some changes in order to better leverage technology disruptions accelerated by the pandemic. However, it is the working style which is and will continue to undergo a more profound change. We need to embrace disequilibrium, which will keep people in a state that creates enough discomfort to induce change, but not so much that they give up. We need to encourage creative disruption by allowing employees at all levels to experiment and develop the culture to celebrate failures if that provides learnings and insights.

Future leaders will be acknowledged for demonstrating tenacity during volatility, virtual empowerment, decisional agility, and emotional resilience. We need to have a high degree of adaptability to change while navigating uncharted waters and experiencing new learnings and challenges each day. We must communicate frequently and effectively. There is no such thing as overcommunication. Communication should be repeated and transparent. We should delegate judiciously and cannot shift our focus from strong execution. Leaders must be able to understand various options and identify the right solutions, often in a relatively short span of time.

Countering employee burnout

Employee well-being has gained prominence in recent times, as the pandemic and the disruptions brought about because of it, has re-focussed attention on personal well-being and the well-being of people around us. It is of critical importance that organisations are able to provide a psychological safetynet to its employees. By prioritising your team’s well-being, while maintaining high levels of openness and integrity, one can create a work culture that’s ready to take on whatever the future has in store.

I have always believed and actioned towards employee well-being and wellness at the workplace (the www formula). Burnout can lead to attrition, lack of productivity, performance issues and much more. Hence, employee burnout must be constantly dealt with by HR, functional managers, peers and leaders. At BCCL, we stay committed to the well-being of our employees. For us the balance of the Mind-Body-Soul forms the bedrock of our employee well-being initiatives. On one hand we have provided necessary preventive and curative support to our employees like the best in class medical cover, unlimited doctor consultation, and ‘RedButton’ services for health emergency support towards physical wellness. On the other hand we run constant yoga programmes, exercise schedules, and meditation sessions. We also focus on building financial wellness for our workforce that helps them bring their whole selves to work.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here

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