More power to HR in 2019

In an era, where everything is changing, the only differentiator for organisations will be their ‘people’. Hence, it is critical for organisations to keep HR at the centre of business and organisation strategy. 2019 will see the maturity of Industry 4.0 and the emergence of Industry 5.0. The convergence of information /data sciences and manufacturing will see new dynamics at the workplace. If HR does not enable the organisation to create a future ready workforce, the organisation cannot be a winner in the marketplace.

“Multigenerational organisations are more of a reality than a fad today. They were existent in the past too but the differentiation in needs is predominant today and needs to be addressed”

The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

The biggest challenge for HR in our sector is attracting and retaining talent in the core sectors. While IT may look glamorous in the short run, manufacturing forms the structural foundation for any nation. India also wants 25 per cent of its GDP to come from manufacturing. Our ability to make the core manufacturing sector attractive enough to draw and retain talent will make us competitive in the markets.

“While IT may look glamorous in the short run, manufacturing forms the structural foundation for any nation”

HR technology will become a true ‘system of productivity’

Digitalisation is changing everything, including HR. It is going much beyond automation. We need to learn to embrace technology in such a way that all routine tasks are digitised, and people have time for more human touch and interactions.

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Technology will allow HR to be more human

It is not a dream but a reality today. However, technology will not enable human interactions. Human beings must realise the value of increased human interactions. Unlike humans, no technology or machines have emotions or the ability to make judgements. Hence, it is critical for us to ensure that we value and promote human interactions in organisations and society.

“We need to learn to embrace technology in such a way that all routine tasks are digitised, and people have time for more human touch and interactions”

Managing a diverse workforce

Flexible and adaptable policies and processes to cater to the needs of different generations will help us create synergies in the organisation. We have created an environment where all generations understand and empathise with the needs of other generations and create win-win situations. Multigenerational organisations are more of a reality than a fad today. They were existent in the past too but the differentiation in needs is predominant today and needs to be addressed.

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More Power to HR in 2019

Power to the HR department will not be bestowed upon by other departments. HR can only become more powerful by becoming strategic business partners and drivers of performance. HR departments are no longer the support functions that they once used to be. They are more of business and productivity partners in new-age organisations. They should be at the forefront of shaping organisations which are future ready. In this context, the HR professionals will have to shed the age-long role of process managers and become the custodians of organisational productivity and culture.

HR teams should lead the way in embracing agile work ways, wherein an organisation is structured as a network of teams working together for achieving common goals. The leadership of the organisations lies at the center of this network. In this age of information, the traditional hierarchical ways of working need to give way to modern agile ones. HR has to move forward and adopt technology to not only streamline and automate processes, but to enhance efficiency.

The power of HR in 2019 will depend on how well they partner with the business to drive efficiency and translate that into organisational success.

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The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

The biggest challenge facing HR today is talent acquisition and retention of several non-traditional jobs. Departments within organisations have become very specialised and this specialisation has led to search for very specific talent.

The problem is that all businesses are competing to hire talented professionals from the same talent pool. Agility in hiring, reducing the time to hire and getting the right candidate are the keys to ensuring that your organisation stays ahead in this war. Extensive talent mapping of the industry, with focus on adjacent industries to ensure that it has access to the right and broader talent pool will be key.

“The power of HR in 2019 will depend on how well they partner with the business to drive efficiency and translate that into organisational success”

Role of HR in the temp workforce

The temporary workforce in India may be small but is definitely here to stay. One of the factors that drives this phenomenon is the age of the workforce in India. About 65 per cent of our population is below 35 years of age. Millennials are not as driven by the concept of ‘job security’ as the previous generation. They are looking for opportunities, which are flexible. Temp staffing provides for exactly the flexibility that they are looking for. This is also beneficial for companies as they can easily fulfill their staffing requirements for short-term/ one-time projects.

We should, however, be cognizant that being temp is not completely acceptable in the social context, and at times becomes an impediment to acquiring a full-time job. It will take some time before being a temp comes to be accepted as a norm. Having said this, we should closely watch the workforce market to see where the temp staffing approach is heading. The key to accelerate it will be progressive reforms in labor laws. And it will definitely get more acceptance in the future.

“It will take some time before being a temp comes to be accepted as a norm. Having said this, we should closely watch the workforce market to see where the temp staffing approach is heading. The key to accelerate it will be progressive reforms in labour laws. And it will definitely get more acceptance in the future”

Unionisation of employees: a big challenge in 2019

With the increased awareness of the rights and responsibilities of employees, union formation will increase but in a much more refined and effective manner. It will not be restricted to traditional industry sectors but will expand to technology and other associated industries, where people assemble to work. India has one of the largest numbers of trade unions, but these have been unable to take up and resolve the issues effectively leading to dissatisfaction amongst the workers.

Typically, unions have been aligned to specific political ideologies and have been led by the leaders of the associated parties, who have not been able to protect the interest of employees leading to significant dissatisfaction. With access to information about their rights, the dependence on traditional approaches of resolving issues is undergoing a shift. Redressal mechanisms, such as right to information, provisions under the Trade Union Act, grievance committees and other statutory remedies will lead to increase in reporting of issues and concerns by the employees and enhanced expectation of solutions in a much more time bound and transparent manner.

In the age of social media, information travels very fast. Employees are able to form like-minded groups and represent their cases in a much more effective manner. This has also broken down barriers and as a result, the access to decision makers is not out of bounds for the aggrieved.

To manage employment-related issues HR must open barrier-less communication channels where there can be a direct two-way communication between the aggrieved employee and designated trouble shooter from the management. This will not only resolve issues right at the initial stage, but also prevent unions from taking advantage and unnecessarily magnifying a small issue into a larger cause.

“India has one of the largest numbers of trade unions, but these have been unable to take up and resolve the issues effectively leading to dissatisfaction amongst the workers”

Developing new skill sets for the future workforce

Learning and development interventions must focus on developing future leaders for the company. Some key skill sets for the future workforce are leadership, communication and problem solving. Another key area, which can give an edge to the organisation over the competition is the ability to draw meaningful insights and action items from the big data available. In this context, knowledge of new-age analytics techniques is a must for the future workforce.

We need to drive the culture of learning in the organisation and this has to be driven by informal learning methods. Learning has to be crisp and available on mobile. The millennial population has a relatively small attention span. AI tools will ensure customised/tailored learning for people. AI algorithms are becoming better at suggesting the right learning material for employees. The ‘one size fits all’ approach has to be shelved. In addition, gamification of learning and development programmes can be useful even for the most reluctant learner. Besides, we need to invest in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of employees. Once we have a clear understanding of the strong and weak areas of employees, we can effectively leverage their strengths and plug their weaknesses.

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More power to HR in 2019

We are living in an ever-changing world and given the rapid pace at which technology is changing, it has become important for all organisations to adapt and evolve. In such a digital-first ecosystem, where we have been riding on fifth-generation technologies, moving ahead with a diverse workforce has become a challenge for all leaders. Change is the need of the hour and in most cases, we are not willing to come out of our comfort zone. As leaders, first we must appreciate the need to change and walk the talk by embracing all the technological changes happening around us.

How we simplify the life of the employees, who are facing a volley of innovation, will determine success. And how we achieve this will determine whether the change was for the good. As leaders, we need to meet the expectations of the new-age workforce. Today, we have a very diverse workforce with varied expectations. How do we keep them excited? How do we give them a roadmap of their future? The answer is simple. Accept the pace of change and start by setting the ground rules. As leaders we need to walk that extra mile and evolve in our roles.

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The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

HR has evolved manifold in the last one decade. Today, HR has become a critical part of business and is seen as actively contributing towards driving revenues. To drive revenues, we will primarily need two things – the right mix of people and an ever-motivated workforce. Given the complex nature of our business, hiring has been our biggest challenge. We are in a sector that needs a reasonable understanding of the realestate industry and consumer internet. Since this is an evolving sector, finding this combination becomes a challenge for us.

“In such a digital-first ecosystem, where we have been riding on fifth-generation technologies, moving ahead with a diverse workforce has become a challenge for all leaders”

The second challenge that we face is that since we have been thriving on the consumer internet-oriented economy, opportunities are aplenty. So, the onus is on us to understand the expectation of this new-age workforce, the millennials.

They are aspiring, aware of their abilities and competencies and want to grow fast. We need to find newer ways to retain this talent through an ever-evolving ecosystem and by enhancing policies that allow them a work-life balance and a sustainable future.

Personalised people policy – one size doesn’t fit all

Keeping in mind the challenges that we have in our industry, we have created a workplace that is young, agile and vibrant. We also thrive on meritocracy so that the best ideas prevail. We believe in the fact that people processes should revolve around meritocracy and drive ownership among colleagues. Today, every successful business has embraced every possible business under the sun. This has certainly impacted businesses in a big way. In such a scenario, we need to ensure that all our policies are centred around humans with the help of the latest digital technologies that create personalised experiences, which are compelling and memorable.

“We need to ensure that all our policies are centred around humans with the help of the latest digital technologies that create personalised experiences, which are compelling and memorable”

This can only happen if we have a new mind-set and a set of innovative technological skills to innovate with new HR solutions. This will only come from leveraging the latest technologies in HR.

Role of HR in temp workforce

Strategic workforce planning remains a key challenge for HR. The role of HR should be equal for everyone at the workplace—be it on-roll or temporary. We engage with the temporary workforce only if there is a need but not in core areas, where we need a certain level of commitment.

“In a digital-first ecosystem, where we have been riding on fifth-generation technologies, moving ahead with a diverse workforce has become a challenge for all leaders”

AI-based recruitment – the differentiator

We must prepare for an intelligent future, and that is not possible until we start adopting a new mind-set. Thus, AI has become the need of the hour for HR. Thanks to AI we are moving from feel-based to fact-based hiring decisions. Artificial intelligence has considerably reduced the time taken in the overall hiring process. Mapping of candidates has also improved drastically. Hiring aside, AI also has a larger and more critical role to play in multi-diversity organisations—which comprise multi-generation workforces, full and part-time workers and contingent workers. Maintaining the optimal balance between all these internal stakeholders remains the key. In such an environment, how do we keep a check on the pulse of the diverse workforce? AI has to play a very important role here. We don’t need a perfect framework to embrace AI. Thoughtful integration of AI in an employee-centric model will unlock immense opportunities for HR and transform the way the workforce is managed.

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More power to HR in 2019

With the advancement in technology and with the help of AI and tools such as machine learning, HR will have more data in hand. While this will make HR more relevant and powerful, there is also another side. The challenge for HR in such a situation will be to have a personal connect with its people. For instance, when you interact with close friends on messenger you feel good about it, when you video chat with them you feel even better, but when you meet them in person, that is the best feeling. This is the kind of relation that employees seek from HR. They look forward to face-to-face interactions. The HR has to create a balance between the kind of interactions and the feedback system. While technology advancements are good, HR needs to believe in the instincts at the same time.

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The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

With costs rising and profits shrinking in the financial and banking sector, the biggest challenge for HR will be to not just attract relevant talent but to retain them in the organisation. The other big challenge will be to engage and motivate people. Yet another challenge will be to re-skill and up-skill people in the organisation. It is very important to identify the future competencies people will require. We are trying to re-skill and reposition our employees keeping in mind the kind of roles that will be automated and rendered redundant. We have put in place a ‘Five Year Plan’ focused on re-skilling and up-skilling our employees. We are identifying the areas and roles, which will be automated and setting up platforms, such as online learning and classroom learning for the staff based on the results. Calculating the strengths and weaknesses of the employees and making them realise the same is the first step in this direction.

“Technology advancements are good, HR needs to believe in the instincts”

Managing a diverse workforce

The new rule for a diverse workforce is that every employee should be given equal opportunity in the organisation. We will have to deal with people on the basis of merit and only merit. There should be no discrimination on the basis of gender, whatever the role or function may be. This also means giving equal opportunities to the third gender as well. My personal belief is not putting numbers in diversity. Everybody should be hired on merit, irrespective of their gender. No discrimination should take place on the basis of cast, gender or religion. There should be customised policies made for different people belonging to different stages in life— for instance, flexible working timings and leaves for single mothers, pregnant women and people belonging to various religions and generations, and so on. The basic mantra is to not be rigid and stick to same policies. We have to be flexible while considering the business parameters because there are some roles, where flexibility cannot be provided.

The real HR will stand up and come closer to people

The human resources department forms the bridge between the employees and the employer. Therefore, HR has to be among the team; it has to command respect and trust to be able to become the bridge between the employees and the employer. HR can only come closer to the people if it has the right kind of attitude, such as understanding the people and being firm at the same time. The HR needs to lead by example.

“Diversity is not about posing numbers, it means giving equal opportunities even to the third gender”

Investing in HR innovation labs – more data & insights

More data in hand will mean appropriate and accurate decision making and reduction in errors. While it can certainly not eliminate the element of making mistakes, it can definitely reduce it. There will be bias and human errors, but these can be minimised with the help of technology and innovation. The challenge in this case will be that with more transparency in the system, it will become more difficult for HR to perform the balancing act, for which it will need the right skillsets and knowledge.

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More power to HR in 2019

More power to HR will mean more responsibility. HR will continue to be a driving force of change in 2019 and beyond. Given the competitive landscape that organisations operate in today, HR teams have opportunities aplenty to make a sustainable difference to business growth, cost margins, driving competencies for the future and enabling a readily deployable workforce. Customers today have access to several competing organisations, and therefore, consider good HR practices an asset, while aligning with a business partner. Automation of processes and systems will still require highly-skilled manpower to enable business growth considering the marketplace is no longer limited to a geography.

“Technology majors strive to outdo each other with higher cost interventions to encourage stickiness of their employees”

The global landscape has ensured that sound HR systems will drive the growth plans of organisations across green field opportunities. HR will be the enabler for seamless integration, transition and strategic interventions.

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The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

Scanning the marketplace for talent is only one of the challenges that HR teams face. It is a perennial challenge that will not go away anytime soon. Considering the rapid changes in technology, attracting talent with the relevant skills and competence will be tough. Add to that the high expectations to deliver exceptional performance within short timelines! Our sector calls for domain-based subject matter expertise coupled with a technological outlook. Merging both to engage a top-notch workforce that can compete with global competition is an exciting challenge we love to solve. Technology majors strive to outdo each other with higher cost interventions to encourage stickiness of their employees.

“The involvement of various HR functions, be it regulatory, statutory, legal, talent acquisition and partner engagement can largely impact how an organisation can leverage the temporary workforce”

However, studies have indicated that employees want to grow with organisations that manifest qualities of fairness, equality, and respect while providing a challenging environment that enables them to explore professional and personal strengths. So organisations such as ours, that recognise and encourage a culture of inclusivity and diversity, and maintain a truly global workplace, will continue to possess the force to take on larger business opportunities.

Role of HR in the temp workforce

India is no stranger to the temporary workforce. It has always leveraged and utilised workforces for short-term skill engagements, where maximum benefit is derived by both the temporary workers and the business. This is across industries and skill sectors. The technology sector is also welcoming the gig workforce with open arms. Short-term assignments, varying skill expectations, rapidly changing niche technology spheres, all call for the engagement of the workforce that is not tied down for the long term and non-deployable at a later stage. Gen X and Z are also contributory factors, considering that long-term commitment is not an aspect that engages that age-bracket. The involvement of various HR functions, be it regulatory, statutory, legal, talent acquisition and partner engagement can largely impact how an organisation can leverage the temporary workforce.

“Gearing systems towards an invisible workforce that does not require to physically come together to work together”

Unionisation of employees: a big challenge in 2019

‘Unionisation’ is a monster that has lifted its head in the past without much success. As long as there is fair pay, treatment and practices above the minimum stipulated by law and opportunities available to keep insecurity at bay, people will not unionise. The workforce in the IT and technology sectors are educated, mature and will not require collective bargaining.

“Our sector calls for domain-based subject matter expertise coupled with a technological outlook. Merging both to engage a top-notch workforce that can compete with global competition is an exciting challenge we love to solve”

Developing new skill-sets for the future workforce

Having an employable workforce that is future ready is an exciting challenge that engages businesses and HR leaders. Can we predict and drive HR strategy directing what it will take to build a future-ready organisation?

Some parameters that we need to look for are:

 – How quickly the future workforce can assimilate the culture of the organisation

 – Gearing systems towards an invisible workforce that does not require to physically come together to work together

 – Building technology-enabled connected platforms for multicultural and lingual teams

 – Seamless roll-out of operational drivers leading to higher employee engagement

 – Leveraging technology to enable skill building and competency enhancement

 – Integrating with educational institutions at the grass-root level for a readily employable workforce.

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More power to HR in 2019

In 2019, power will mean exercising greater influence and creating higher impact, but with lesser authority. To become more powerful, HR must give up power. Increasing their credibility is an important and necessary condition for them to be able to influence and impact higher order business outcomes. Credibility is about competence. The business environment is changing rapidly, creating significant business and people challenges. HR must build a sound understanding of the business and industry backed by strong domain knowledge of human capital management concepts and practice.

This will give HR the brand permission to play a significant role in building an environment of trust, an opportunity to participate in setting the direction for the organisation, develop new capabilities and help raise the overall level of consciousness leading to higher contribution.

“While AI can improve hiring efficiency, accuracy and speed, it cannot replace the innate ability that a human being possesses to ascertain the right fit”

The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

HR’s biggest challenge in consulting is how they can help build a more customer-centric organisation. This will mean building a talent pool with the right skills and knowledge required to engage and retain customers. Today, there is a heightening of competition coupled with a mushrooming of independent freelancers in the market, resulting in many more choices being available to customers when it comes to partnering with a consultant. In 2019 and beyond, the ability to present and differentiate the value proposition, and meaningfully engage and retain the customer, will be an increasingly difficult task for every consulting company.

“HR’s biggest challenge in consulting is how they can help build a more customer-centric organisation”

Earlier, consulting was a very attractive career choice for people because it promised an accelerated learning curve along with a higher salary compared to other industries. This has changed over time, and there has been an equalisation of pay with other industries. While consulting still provides variety and speed in learning through exposure across industries and geographies, the toll on work–life balance has only worsened. Many individuals, especially the young workforce, are taking a more balanced and holistic view while making career choices. Today, the big challenge for HR professionals in consulting organisations is to attract the best talent and have them stay with the organisation.

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Personalised people policy – one size doesn’t fit all

In 2019, there will be greater efforts put in by organisations to build a deeper understanding of the needs and preferences of their workforce. The focus will shift from generic employee policies to tailor-made policies, though in general organisations will still frame their decisions keeping in mind the majority. However, the future will see these policies better aligned and with sharper focus. While there will be an attempt to take care of the needs of the minority with the objective of being more inclusive, decisions on introducing such new policies will be based on a cost vs benefit analysis.

“To become more powerful, HR must give up power”

Role of HR in the temp workforce

The temp workforce in India is on the rise and I see the trend continuing in 2019. The role of HR will entail developing an eco-system that allows for such a workforce to co-exist with full-time employees. This will mean developing ways and means to ensure that the temp workforce feels equally valued and is not treated any differently. Needless to say, sourcing such a workforce with the right capabilities at the right cost, onboarding them quickly and ensuring they are culturally integrated will remain key considerations.

AI-based recruitment – the differentiator

Well, the differentiator is really about being able to identify, assess and select the talent that is best suited to the requirement of an organisation. Artificial intelligence makes the recruitment process cheaper, faster and better. However, being a good judge of talent is a must for any talent acquisition specialist. While AI can improve hiring efficiency, accuracy and speed, it cannot replace the innate ability that a human being possesses to ascertain the right fit.

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More Power to HR in 2019

It is not ‘more power’ to HR but more responsibility to HR in 2019. The role of HR is on the upswing, and 2019 and beyond will see phenomenal growth in the HR function. While hardware (product and technology) is easy to procure, culture, talent and reputation cannot be bought nor replicated. The people quotient will become more important for organisations to achieve a competitive edge on a sustainable basis. With the advent of technology data analytics and artificial intelligence in the HR function, its importance has increased.

There will be a churn of people in terms of demography and sources. The role of HR will be to meaningfully engage this large contingent of heterogenous employees. There is a beautiful book called, Amalgamation of Man and Machine, which highlights the arrival of a new era where man and machine will collaborate to create intelligence. This is a big shift and HR will play a significant role in its smooth running.

“Technology driven small bites of interactive learning using multiple faculties are going to be the new trend”

The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

In my sector, the biggest challenge is to attract top-class talent and retain them. In the pharma sector, due to regulation in the business, there is a lot of churn of people. Continuity and talent retention will pose a challenge to our sector. The fight is for the top 10 per cent to 20 per cent people in each discipline — regulatory, quality, and research and development. These are the three major domains in our industry. Millennials form 70 per cent of our workforce and the majority of their managers are GenX. Our challenge is to ensure that the two work together in a cohesive manner. The third challenge is to change the mindset of our managers to assimilate technology and not consider it as a threat.

HR’s role in maintaining profit margins in an environment of price control and increasing employee cost

‘When the going gets tough the tough get going.’ Organisations will have to learn to work on the principle of ‘lean’. A lean and efficient organisation structure, which is flatter and less hierarchical should be the aim. In 2019 and beyond, HR will recognise the power of the future generation. HR will leverage GenZ’s creativity, innovation and energy. The younger lot is a power house of ideas and HR will tap into that resource.

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New technology will change learning in 2019

We are using a lot of technology in our learning. There is something called oneminute learning and one-hour learning. Small bites of videos, anecdotes, stories, advices and stories are put on the company website/app. This is a great learning for our people, considering that their attention span has reduced significantly. Youngsters are very quick to absorb a small input, but lengthy (two to three days) training programmes do not attract them. Therefore, technology driven small bites of interactive learning using multiple faculties are going to be the new trend.

“Organisations will have to learn to work on the principle of ‘lean’. A lean and efficient organisation structure, which is flatter and less hierarchical should be the aim in 2019”

Perennial issues — weakened productivity, high turnover rates, and a lack of team collaboration and innovation

This is a touchy issue managers are facing with GenZ. Poor attention to detail, low quality orientation, inability to think through, and casual approach are other common problems that managers will face in 2019 and beyond. On the positive side, these kids are easy going, out-of-the- box thinkers and quick to accept challenges.

The challenge for HR is to decode GenZ as well as the millennials. As their drives and interests are different, they have to maintain a productive balance between two sets of very different people in the organisation.

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New technology will change learning in 2019

Digital technology in the learning space has been on a growth path and will progress further in the coming year. In line with the philosophy of ‘Meet learners where they are’, the mobile will grow even bigger as the key platform to meet employees, be it for dispensing learning, or communication and interactions pertaining to learning. The voice of learning purists questioning the impact of mobile learning will grow even more feeble, with more and more scientific data getting established on the mobile’s role in learning effectiveness.

The significance of the need of learning to boost performance, learning nudges to combat the impact of the forgetting curve, and so on will come to the fore. Some other trends that will make good progress are :

Deeper utilisation of artificial intelligence in general, and machine learning in particular, leading to personalisation of learning, so that the learners are enabled to learn what they want to learn at just the right time and at any place.

Advent of bots in learning administration-related aspects (course enrolment, FAQs on curriculum, and so on) and within courses will lead to more personalised knowledge checks and clarification.

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Learning experience and aggregation platforms will grow bigger, leading to true democratisation of learning.

There are signs of AR and VR becoming affordable. Hence, bigger steps towards leveraging them in the learning agenda can be seen.

Developing new skillsets for the future workforce

As highlighted in multiple studies, with automation and change happening at a rapid pace, soft skills will assume even greater significance. It is seen as a means of softening the impact of automation and enabling the man–machine interface. Coupled with this is the need to think holistically about people, their health, their futures, their stresses, and ambitions. Building soft skills at different levels of hierarchy will be an important agenda for learning and development across sectors. Within the soft skills gamut, one of the important focus areas that will assume added significance in the current context is building an inclusive mindset.

Learning agility is one of the key determinants of success. For this, employees need to learn on a continuous basis and on their own. However, this is often found falling short, not due to lack of will or time, but ignorance about how to learn on one’s own. There needs to be a sharp focus on learning to learn. This will enable employees to understand the ‘why, what, how and where’ of learning.

Managers are a key link in their teams’ capability building. It is not just about transfer of learning post a formal intervention, but more importantly, about building learning moments at work. For learning in the flow of work, along with digital enablement, manager involvement is crucial. Building both the will and skill of managers is an urgent focus area.

While 70:20:10 is more than a three decade long framework, a structured approach towards making the 70 and 20 come alive is often found to be lacking. On-the-job learning does not happen automatically, simply because someone is on the job. Same applies to learning through developmental relationships. One needs to follow the cycle of plan – learn – reflect – practice for this to happen successfully, and a support structure needs to be built ensure effectiveness. Considering the pace and quantum of learning, there needs to be a sharp focus on this.

Last but not the least, L&D is often caught in the tactical trap of building capabilities needed for today. This is important as failing to do so can cause businesses to divert from their course. However, failure to focus on building future-ready workforces can impact organisations in the longer term. There is an urgent need to understand futuristic capabilities and focus on the same. For instance, building capabilities to ensure digital readiness are a requirement across sectors. Top leadership expects L&D to be supported with futuristic capability building.

Application of design thinking to learning

Learning interventions: Design thinking will ensure that the right objectives at different levels are addressed. The content to be covered, methodology to be used, and assessments to be carried will all be influenced by design thinking, and will ensure better benefits.

An important point to note is that, while the learner is an important customer, we cannot ignore the business and line managers who are the key stakeholders. A comprehensive design-thinking process will take them into account to ensure that their needs are taken care of. For instance, involving managers in the pre- and post- intervention stages and crafting business objectives (and not just learning objectives) are aspects, which will lead to effectiveness, but are often ignored. Employee experience has been a buzz word in HR, and rightly so, over the past few years. It includes elements of what people encounter, observe and feel over the course of their journey in an organisation. According to Jacob Morgan, a thought leader on the ‘Future of Work’, employee experience is created and influenced by three key aspects — organisational culture, technological environment and physical environment.

Design thinking— a design methodology that provides a solution-based approach to solving complex problems and generating new opportunities— lies at the core of employee experience. Putting the employee at the centre and following through the structured five-step design thinking process will ensure that we are building the right culture and the right physical and technological environment that will create a ‘wow’ experience for the employee.

In learning and development (L&D), design thinking will ensure that we create a top-notch learner experience. At a time when learners’ time is scarce and learning opportunities are abundant, learner experience through design thinking is what will create stickiness for learning. Learner experience will be integral to learning effectiveness.

Design thinking will need to be applied across different elements in the learning value chain as follows :

Learning process: The various processes – learning, need identification, intervention design, and so on – will need to be centred around design thinking if they are to be effective in addressing customer needs. When it comes to learner interfacing processes, such as learning communication, feedback collection, and participation in external events, focus on this will ensure that we create a hassle-free process that leads to perfect adoption.

Learning technology: An intuitive, user-friendly digital system is what anyone will want. Design thinking will ensure an easy to access and use system with all the right features and functionalities that will enhance effectiveness. Without design thinking, we may end up creating a digital clutter, which does not serve any purpose.

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More power to HR in 2019

What makes the difference in organisations? What did we learn from the ‘Kodak moment’ to the silence of Nokia handsets? There was a time when we were celebrating Kingfisher Airlines’ ‘Fly the Good Times’, which ended at a stage where the aircrafts couldn’t be moved even from the parking bay. What happened to Union Carbide, Enron, Lehman Brothers, Hindustan Motors? The list goes on and on. How did destruction come to be equated to creation and how did disruption become the tool of success and the ability to thrive upon?

If we see the larger picture and analyse the countries, which are ruling without rules basis their power of development, we will observe that this power is derived from the realisation of the potential of human resources. Consider Singapore —this country utilises its human resources— the only resource it owns— in the best possible way to get everything else.

Coming back to industry, name any great companies, from Walmart to GE, Apple to Google, Amazon to Flipkart, Boeing to NASA, Infosys to IBM — What has made the difference? An ECG for less than Rs 10? A new, made-in-India, GE device makes this happen. The bottom line is very simple. For organisations to lead in the times to come, they have to value their human resources, give them opportunities to experiment and make them ready to embrace failure and successes fast. Human beings offer the only competitive advantage, which has existed since pre-stone ages, and will continue to do so in the future. The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin will remain universal. Machines do everything, but the realisation of need and its creation comes from the human mind. Organisations must value the most valuable thing — human resources— if they wish to be valued themselves.

For instance, the IT sector has increased its contribution to India’s GDP from 1.2 per cent in 1998 to 7.7 per cent in 2017. According to NASSCOM, the sector aggregated revenues of US$160 billion in 2017, with export revenue standing at US$99 billion and domestic revenue at US$48 billion, growing by over 13 per cent.

“If we see the larger picture and analyse the countries, which are ruling without rules basis their power of development, we will observe that this power is derived from the realisation of the potential of human resources. Consider Singapore —this country utilises its human resources— the only resource it owns— in the best possible way to get everything else”

Less is more: HR to cut steps and create more impactful and innovative initiatives

It is painful to still find many organisations that drive HR with an admin mind-set. This help to bring the output but not the outcome. Only organisation that believe in the Blue Ocean Strategy, and facilitate their people to dream and derive can sustain. This is the age of disruption. You have to pay to dispose your old desktops and CD disks, which cost a significant sum not too long ago. Remember the Hollywood films decades ago which imagined driverless cars?

While you can’t fix the fiction, you do need to provide the wings to fly across the boundaries of standard operating procedures and so-called company policies which were made in the past and require review every two years or so. Awarding the employees annually based on a yearly performance management system is passé. Nobody wants to wait that long. Why measure everything and everyone with the same scale, when every individual is distinct? The bottom line is, make the HR professional agile enough to think innovatively beyond cluster and staking human resources. Go beyond the tag of qualification and past performance to label individuals in organisation. Every moment is fresh to move forward. Capitalise and cultivate the power of vision beyond visibility.

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Perennial issues – weakened productivity, high turnover rates, and a lack of team collaboration and innovation

Take care of your people, engage with them to find the solution to issues. Stop thinking within the bracket of ‘weak productivity, high productivity’. These are the buzzwords of a bygone era. Examine where we stand in the context of the Industrial Revolution 4.O. We are not lagging but standing static far behind time. My suggestion is to speed up the creation of the aura for natural collaboration instead of sermonising on its importance on a social platform. Let collaboration be the norm in a natural way rather than creating it artificially.

“Stop thinking within the bracket of ‘weak productivity, high productivity’. These are the buzzwords of a bygone era. Examine where we stand in the context of the Industrial Revolution 4.O”

Think and eradicate the roadblocks and conflicts that hinder collaboration among people and teams. HR policy should be aimed to facilitate people to work fast and not create roadblocks. It is time to work for artificial intelligence, deep learning, algorithm, IoT, machine learning. It is time to change our vocabulary and our thought process. Inculcating the culture of innovation in the organisation is the need of the hour. Think positive.

Developing new skillsets for the future workforce

I believe new skillsets for the future workforce are: liberty to think openly, challenging the current status quo and learning to work in a team. When I was a child, my father was insistent that my handwriting should be good enough to hold the attention of the examiner at first sight. Today my children prefer to open their smart phones or iPads with the help of retina or biometrics, instead of memorising the password and punching (keying) it. Our workforce has to be developed to be resilient, go for fast failure. But all this depends upon the quality of leaders in the organisation, who not just exhibit these behaviours but also apply them instead of putting them on signage or colourful posters. Let’s develop such leaders/engines first, and the coaches will follow suit.

“Organisations must value the most valuable thing — human resources— if they wish to be valued themselves”

Investing in HR innovation labs – more data & insights

Organisations must invest in HR innovation labs. I don’t believe in more data but I do believe in quality data that helps to develop insights. Few weeks back I was working on a project called ‘What drives the organisation output or outcome?’ Organisations exist to deliver the designed outcome while employees are busy in giving their best output. We try to align outcome and output which sets the wrong precedent. It is better to do it right the first time or fail fast. Many times organisations fail despite employees putting in their best, because the HR or leadership fails to drive the outcome.

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More power to HR in 2019

There are many upcoming challenges for HR to face in the coming year. These will not only keep HR personnel on their toes but also ensure they are more relevant for an organisation. There are multiple layers at which the challenges will appear.

At a global level, concerns around immigration are posing a challenge on the job and employment front. The immigration issues in the US-India and Brexit-India corridors are creating a challenge for the mobility of the people. This will drastically impact the IT and tech companies in terms of hiring people locally in their respective countries, which will increase their cost burden. At the local level, state governments will get aggressive about wages. Sectors, such as manufacturing, retail, consumer goods and so on that employ people at the base of the pyramid on a large scale, may witness wage increases by 30 to 40 per cent. These are some of the regulatory changes that can be expected at the base of the pyramid and in the area of global mobility.

“There is so much resistance to new technology and developments in people that HR will have to focus on reskilling their employees. It is going to be a tough year for HR”

Second is the impact on the middle management. Recently, it has been realised that the middle management has ended up as a mere communication channel between the top and bottom management levels, and is hardly adding any value to the organisations. A huge amount of stress is building up on this middle management. All companies, just like the new e-commerce firms, are looking to hire people below 40. The big challenge for HR will be to deal with the middle management and make them productive.

The third challenge will come from technology, which will impact jobs in two ways. One, jobs will disappear with automation taking over. Two, new roles will be created for which the right people are not available.

The fourth challenge will be lack of personal learning and failure to re-invent amongst the employees. There is so much resistance to new technology and developments in people that HR will have to focus on re-skilling their employees. It is going to be a tough year for HR.

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The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

The biggest challenge in our sector will be to improve the productivity of the employees and customer service, with the rise in costs. With the minimum wages set to increase, the costs will also increase. We are going to deal with this by restructuring, that is, by creating bigger jobs with lesser people. High quality of skill development and costumer service measuring will help us improve customer service.

Managing a diverse workforce

While managing a diverse workforce, the only rule is to learn to connect with people, be it a 60-year old man or a 22- year old youth. The ability to connect with the multi-generation workforce, flex our style of work and be sensitive will be the need of the hour for HR.

“Sectors, such as manufacturing, retail, consumer goods and so on that employ people at the base of the pyramid on a large scale, may witness wage increases by 30 to 40 per cent”

Developing new skillsets for the future workforce

The plan of action will be technology-based learning. Re-skilling is a continuous activity and we are investing in ‘learning on the go’ and becoming investors for re-skilling.

The real HR will stand up and get closer to people

In the times to come, HR will get closer to the people in spite of all the noise around technology. Many conferences and conversations have been talking about humanisation of the workplace failing which machines will take over the functions of HR. Therefore, advancement in technology will definitely make HR come closer to people.

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More power to HR in 2019

2019 and beyond will see challenges and disruptions to business models across industries, primarily caused by digitisation. To meet this, talent will become very important. Having the right talent to re-invent, re-purpose and deliver value will make the role of HR that much more important in 2019. HR will become the key driver for any company’s strategy because the focus of companies will shift to investing in people; to rescaling and redesigning the employee-value proposition to meet competitive challenges.

HR will also have to work towards retaining talent because there will be a high demand for people whose skills are relevant and updated with time. People as a differentiator will become more and more relevant. That means, HR as a function and its actions will become highly important to business.

“2019 and beyond will see challenges and disruptions to business models across industries, primarily caused by digitisation”

The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

The biggest challenge for HR in my sector as well as any other, will be getting the organisation ready for change.

The following are the three broad trends that will cause disruption and compel organisations to be future ready.

 – Rapid changes in use of technology

 – Geo-political environment across the world

 – Change in the way people view their roles in companies.

All these three will lead to a change in the way work is enabled and delivered. HR will have to do a lot of work to create an adaptive and fast-moving organisation that is agile and responds quickly to opportunities and challenges.

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Unionisation of employees a challenge for IT companies

My view on unionisation is that it is not necessarily disruptive. It just happens that the history associated with the term has negative connotations and gives an idea that it may not be great. If the focus of the company is to run its business ethically and safeguard the interest of all the stakeholders, then it’s the right direction. Companies need to engage and communicate with their workforce throughout, and explain the rationale and reasons for business decisions. It’s not command and control, but collaboration and sharing of ideas that will shape companies tomorrow.

“HR will become the key driver for any company’s strategy because the focus of companies will shift to investing in people; to rescaling and redesigning the employee-value proposition to meet competitive challenges”

Both the employees as well as the company are aware that only working towards the common interest of the customer brings value. As long as the workforce is aligned with the larger goal of the company, and is treated fairly, unions or collective bargaining will not pose a threat to companies.

Adopting technology and analytics to HR function

This is a very important area, and we are seeing benefits from early adaptation in our company. There are two aspects to how technology is making an impact. One, technology is definitely getting better and it is delivering power to improved decision making. This includes use of analytics, artificial intelligence and data processing. It empowers the HR and business leaders to make better decisions. Technology also helps the workforce to collaborate and work better. It bridges the gap between distances and time zones, and allows virtual teams to deliver better outcomes. Overall, data helps make better business decisions, improves communication (internal and external), encourages collaboration and reduces costs.

Technology will allow HR to be more human

The flip side of using technology in the HR function is, that when you see results from technology and use it for decision making, you forget that there is a human behind the numbers. There is always the danger of letting technology overtake the capacity of human beings. HR needs to maintain a delicate balance between the human beings and technology, and I see greater understanding of this need among HR folk. While dealing with people, it’s important that you always remember the ‘human’ part of HR and use technology to augment human capability. While you can do better with the use of technology, you should never forget that finally companies are about people, emotions and individuals doing great things together.

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More power to HR in 2019

Building a culture of capable people is a role HR will play in 2019. Power will be more in terms of dissemination of knowledge, creation of a competitive culture and ensuring the strength of understanding in the organisation. HR must understand the business requirement and act accordingly. It will help to connect people’s purpose to that of the organisation. HR will play the meaningful role of being a transient connector — connecting the hopes and aspirations of the business with the purpose of the employees to create a customer connect.

“Employee experience will gain significance in future, and therefore, we must focus on the physical, digital and human spaces to manage that”

The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

The biggest challenge is to ensure relevance of individual aspiration to that of the business in this highly digitalised environment. Digitalisation is gaining prominence with each passing day. More than 70 per cent of the workforce will comprise the millennials, who are entering what I call the ‘quarter life crisis’. Many of the baby boomers are suffering from midlife crisis, with no clue about what they will do in the future.

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These are some of the challenges HR will face in the year to come. We need to constantly understand the three things that millennials really look at:

 – The way the work and workplace are organised

 – The meaning of ‘social connect’ in the workplace

 – Creation of employee experience through the digital experience

Employee experience will gain significance in future, and therefore, we must focus on the physical, digital and human spaces to manage that.

#MeToo – Safeguard leaders or the employees: role of HR

In my view, the #MeToo campaign has been misinterpreted by people — it is a manifestation of suppressed human emotion. Anything we human beings do to suppress our normal living and normal working can get manifested into a movement. #MeToo happened because one section of society felt it was not given its due share and there was some form of harassment. The role of HR is to ensure that workplaces are safe and there is zero tolerance for any sort of harassment. It is our responsibility to value people and make sure there is equity and fair play in workplaces.

“In 2019 HR will play the meaningful role of being a transient connector — connecting the hopes and aspirations of the business with the purpose of the employees to create a customer connect”

Technology will allow HR to be more human

Technology will enable HR to reach out, but in doing so it should not forget the human element. While technology will demand re-designing of work and workspaces, HR will definitely get impacted by it. It will be very challenging for HR to remain human. We have to continuously strive to strike a balance between people experiences and technology interface.

Managing a diverse workforce

We have always managed a diverse workforce. Every three to four years the organisation re-thinks its values and policies to make sure that employees’ experiences have meaning and purpose. We focus on universal employee engagement and employee deliverance that stand rock solid for a decade.

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More Power to HR in 2019

There can be many reasons to feel powerful. HR already has the power to shape rewards and recognitions in the organisation. That is just one source of power. I want to focus on HR drawing power from its expertise at bringing science to the table. It matters most when teams are being formed to execute against projects. A squabbling team is a sure-fire recipe for low morale, project overrun and missed deadlines.

As work starts to rely more on collaboration, HR needs to take the lead in the organisation to build a culture that celebrates cross-functional problem solving. This is actually much tougher than simply creating a team. Building a team is often more about personality factors than just skills. Knowing that the science of personality has an impact on team productivity can help HR create better teams.

“The jobs that follow the ‘faster, higher, stronger’ principle will progressively be taken over by machines. However, jobs that involve dealing with ambiguity, human emotions and changing rules are still best left to humans.”

For instance, a study of 133 factory teams found that higher levels of interpersonal sensitivity, curiosity, and emotional stability resulted in more cohesive teams and increased pro-social behaviour among team members. When the team has people who remain unruffled it improves team effectiveness. Having people who are open to others’ ideas makes a team function more efficiently.

Collaboration is often better with people who are very high on altruism as a motivator. Bringing science into HR is the best way to build credibility.

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Technology will make HR more human

Technology can only perform rule-based jobs that need to be done at scale. Algorithms and programmes can do such jobs better than humans. The jobs that follow the ‘faster, higher, stronger’ principle will progressively be taken over by machines. It is easy to programme robots to do something repetitively and do it blindingly fast. Not only can robots work faster than humans, they are devoid of Monday morning blues! They do not seek vacations nor do they object to working on weekends. They can go through mountains of data in a moment and identify anomalies.

They are already more superior legal assistants than humans, and make better radiologists than humans too. Cars are going driverless. The trend is clear. Any job that is faster for machines to carry out makes it uneconomical to be left to humans. That means, we will have robots replacing humans to carry out many of these jobs.

However, jobs that involve dealing with ambiguity, human emotions and changing rules are still best left to humans. That is what Daniel Pink was referring to in his book A Whole New Mind – Why right brainers will rule the future. Technology may allow more human-ness in the workplace. Leader will required who understand how to motivate people to give their best and feel more engaged and happy at work. The ‘resource’ part of HR will be handled by machines leaving HR to get the best out of the ‘human’.

Application of design thinking to learning

Design thinking principles will identify:

 – Why do learners wish to learn? What’s the motivation? What are their apprehensions?

 – What do they wish to learn specifically?

 – How does the learner learn best?

 – What is the best time for learning?

 – How do we test for learning?

We can keep formulating questions to see how we can observe the answers to these questions in the behaviour and conversations (without asking the learner directly to answer these questions). Posing questions is often the least effective method. For instance, asking why someone wants to learn something always leads to predictable and cliched responses.

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More power to HR in 2019

HR will increasingly find a strategic and pivotal place in the organisation. CEOs will look forward to HR being their sounding board and a trusted partner in creating a strong and capable organisation with the desired talent at the right place. They will also expect HR to create pathways to improve productivity and agility; to build a conducive culture and workplace, where employees feel energised and connected; create a work environment where people feel the desire to sculpt their careers leading to creating a good employer brand.

“HR innovation labs will focus more on studying the new generation’s habits and improving employee experience”

HR will also become more important as organisations invest in creating a pipeline of future leaders, who will be able to deal with ambiguity; be more tech savvy; will fit the organisation’s culture and take it to the next level. Hence, HR will be looked upon as a key contributor, talent builder and change architect.

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The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

The biggest challenge for HR in pharma will continue to hinge around the twin pillars of talent and capability. The pharma sector will require leadership talent in both general management, commercial function and core areas of research science, manufacturing technology, quality and regulatory processes and intellectual property. The long-term success of an organisation will be determined by how innovative an organisation is and how deeply the same is embedded as a capability in its talent. HR can strengthen the same by creating a robust R&D capability, recruiting talent with an innovative bent of mind and creating processes that incentivise this capability in the long run.

The second biggest challenge for pharma will be managing the millennial workforce with their immense knowledge and tech savviness alongside their expectation of fast growth and immense flexibility. The above creates a bigger challenge for the pharma industry as it is highly regulated by nature, while attracting and retaining millennials requires a flexible and open culture. HR will have to advise organisations to modify outdated policies and adopt more flexible approaches to attract and retain talent.

Most Indian pharma giants are expanding their business in the global market through mergers, acquisitions and organic growth. This expansion brings forth another challenge of attracting, managing, engaging and retaining the global talent, which is culturally very diverse. While it is necessary to maintain the business model and culture of the parent organisation, it is equally important to develop inclusive HR strategies to ensure performance at the global level.

“Learning will no longer be one size fits all”

HR’s role in maintaining profit margins in an environment of price control and increasing employee cost

HR will have to address the issue of workforce productivity. Being a generics industry, one such way is to build a powerful front line of executives and managers who are the preliminary source of effective sales. This can be done by hiring and retaining the right talent and imparting relevant and latest sales training that enhances their efficiency and long-term capability. In manufacturing, R&D and support services also HR can contribute in introducing and measuring people cost and their contribution.

HR will have to play an effective role in advising management in creating a right organisation design, to enable faster decision making and cut down bureaucracies and eliminate redundant roles or create a efficient workforce mix with lesser cost. They will also have to bring in an effective pay mix for different grades and incentive plans, which leads to value creation.

HR should partner effectively with business to use the power of people analytics to highlight lost opportunities and ineffective use of resources leading to bottom-line impact.

HR can also contribute to the profit by curbing the attrition rate and saving the cost on hiring and re-hiring which not only increases the HR spend but also numerous man hours and efforts. The best way to do this is to motivate and engage the workforce through non-monetary means. Studies have shown that employees value recognition much more than material rewards.

New technologies will change learning in 2019

We are living in an age of rapid transformation in the way we learn. Automation and AI are replacing traditional learning. I feel the new technology is already bringing about change in learning and in 2019 it will further evolve:

Learning on the go: In an increasingly dynamic and digital world, all learners are demanding access to learning anytime, anywhere and at their pace. While classroom learning will exist, mobile learning will gain more prominence along with aspects, such as bite-sized content and much more.

Customised learning: Learning will no longer be one size fits all. New technology will ensure that learning caters to the individual learning needs and styles of employees. They can choose their own courses and approaches, i.e. online, mobile, apps, gamification.

Innovative ways to engage the millennials: Technology will also help to engage the millennials by creating learning approaches that fit learning styles of millennials and leverage highly interactive and agile technologies, for instance, social and virtual learning platforms, such as virtual learning sites, mobile learning and gamification. The millennial workforce will want to experience learning in a way that is fun and engaging.

Investing in HR innovation labs – more data & insights

The pace of change is extraordinary. The definition of talent has undergone a complete revamp. The jobs, roles and challenges of tomorrow are unknown to us today. How can organisations be future ready? How can they attract, engage and motivate the right talent? What are the implications for HR?

HR innovation labs can help organisations and the HR fraternity answer questions, such as the above, through a group of highly intellectual thinkers, who come together to extrapolate and predict the future of HR, and the upcoming trends that pertain to specific industries. These innovation labs are also relevant for HR consulting companies, that help organisations make their people practices future ready. HR innovation labs will also focus more on understanding new-generation habits and creating processes for better employee experience and bringing in design thinking to people practices.

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More power to HR in 2019

I think the role of HR in business is undergoing the biggest transformation of all times. In today’s era of digital disruption, the need for businesses to change and adapt is critical to stay relevant and the important piece for this change is the need to handhold the employees and create the urgency for change by inspiring them and upskilling them. The calling is to work closely with the business and help acquire new skills, invest in continuous learning to upskill, and manage the change due to restructuring as the businesses evolve to continue to stay relevant.

“HR will take a centre stage in the process of evolution” 

HR as a function is being called upon to take centre stage in this process of evolution, to help the business make this transition and therefore, I think there will be more power to HR in 2019 and beyond.

The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

Business is evolving rapidly due to digital and it is not just change but substantially transformational change. It is imperative for HR to work with the business to put in place the HR strategy, which helps the business evolve and continue on the path of growth.

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Developing new skillsets for the future workforce

As businesses change, it is imperative to continue to upskill the workforce. The future workforce is a workforce which will continue to upskill and adapt rapidly, and the biggest challenge faced by HR is to help the workforce through this process.

Technology will allow HR to be more human

No, it is not a dream as it is soon becoming a reality. The deployment of HR technology and AI will create better processes to manage the workforce. This will give HR more time to focus on creating better experiences for the employees as operational work reduces with the use of artificial intelligence. HR can pay more attention on strategic and high-impact work and build more in-person relationships and connections.

“Technology will give HR more time to focus on creating better experiences for the employees as operational work reduces with the use of artificial intelligence. HR can pay more attention on strategic and high-impact work and build more in-person relationships and connections”

Managing a diverse workforce

To me, diversity is all about having different viewpoints, which helps a business deliver superior performance. It also helps to attract top talent. Diversity has a direct correlation with productivity. By creating an enriching work environment, different ideas and thoughts are able to thrive. This has a positive impact on problem solving and the delivery of services. Diversity should not just be confined to gender, but has to be inclusive covering people from different age groups and ethnic backgrounds, including even differently abled people.

“E-learning is the future of mass learning platforms”

Technology will change learning in 2019

There is an evolution in the learning technologies. Companies deploy learning management systems (LMS) and invest significant money and resources on creating the right content to enable the learning agenda across the organisation. Over the last couple of years, due to the penetration of the Internet we have seen the emergence of learning platforms which have very rich and diverse content. I do think that the future is with these kinds of mass learning platforms.

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More power to HR in 2019

‘Power’ is often used as a pejorative, particularly in the modern organisation where the  nature of work is changing dramatically. Companies are seeing a movement towards less hierarchy; employees are less reverential, and co-operation has trumped competition. In this milieu, instead of wishing more power to HR, I would rather want HR to become more influential, more valued and more effective in 2019. Why and how will this happen?

First, the big challenges confronting organisations revolve around people – getting the right talent, continuous re-skilling, and managing cost, for instance. The HR function will naturally have a pivotal role in addressing these key organisational challenges.

“I would rather want HR to become more influential, more valued and more effective”

Second, the contours of organisational challenges are changing rapidly. This means, solutions need to be crafted to suit every new situation quickly and in a collaborative manner. The HR function, by design, has an enabling role and an integrative character, and will certainly be critical in shaping these solutions.

Lastly, more and more organisations derive their value from soft power. Their intellectual property, brand and culture often count for far more than the hard assets of land, building, machinery. People are at the centre of such soft power, and HR is the guardian of the
interests of the people.

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The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

I believe each sector has its unique set of HR challenges. For instance, it can be the sweep of automation in manufacturing and IT sectors or the excessive mobility of the workforce in the real- estate and e-commerce sectors. I work at the intersection of education and development and in a sense, our sector has its unique HR challenges as well.

For one, the under-evolved people supply chain is the most serious challenge we face. To start with, colleges and universities in the country are not developing students who fit our bill in adequate numbers. Rare are the students with a passion to improve society, with competence in their subject and a willingness to work in the difficult areas of the country. Next, the HR ecosystem of recruitment consultants, trainers and technology tools does not address the needs of our sector, partly because the sector is still sub-scale. There are not too many organised players and it is relatively less remunerative. Further, people are still to understand how to build long, meaningful and rewarding careers in this sector.

This has no easy solutions. At the risk of sounding pompous, I believe our organisation in a way is shaping the people practices in the sector. Starting a university with a focus on education and development, a systematic and sustained recruitment effort at several campuses across the country, significant investment in capacity building of new recruits, building a contribution culture and a fair salary and benefits package are some of the things we are doing. It is a long haul. We will reap rewards over time, and many others will as well.

C-Suite and HR to work together to create an adaptable and sustainable culture

The way we learn and where we learn from are both undergoing a remarkable transformation. Life-long learning has become a necessity for each one of us. It is human nature to adapt and I see that most people are making an effort, ably supported by their organisations.

Here are a few pointers to what C-Suite and HR can do together:

 – Learning is getting democratised with easy, economical access to the best resources. Employees can be encouraged to complete these courses and acquire relevant certifications. These budgets will not break the bank while at the same time will make an enormous difference to the employee and the organisation.

 – Learning on the go has become necessary. People are learning from podcasts, YouTube videos and the like, while travelling or whenever they have free time. Rather than frown upon such use of their time, HR can be more liberal and progressive.

 – With all learning, you ‘use it or lose it’. So, we need to create opportunities for employees to apply their learning and give them the freedom to fail.

 – A lot of the learning happens outside of our comfort zone. So, the time-honoured traditions of stretch assignments, job rotations and exposure to multiple geographies are still very valuable.

#MeToo – Safeguard leaders or the employees: role of HR

#MeToo has brought sharp focus on an important issue today. This movement is an effort to create awareness for gender balance and remove ill practices attached to it. HR has several roles and responsibilities in the way this plays out in organisations.

First, organisations need to create a safe place to work, where everyone feels welcome. While the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act in India concerns itself only with sexual harassment of women, HR has to uphold the law in letter and spirit and prevent harassment of all kinds. This includes having a functional and empowered Internal Committee and setting the right behaviours through exemplary action.

“#MeToo has brought out stories of women who lost out on their careers or were victims of unfair appraisals, because of the power asymmetry.”

Like with everything else, prevention is better than cure. There is therefore a very important role of creating awareness and communication. This includes e-learning modules on what is appropriate and what is not, gender sensitivity workshops and ample
communication.

Quite often, #MeToo has brought out stories of women who lost out on their careers or were victims of unfair appraisals, because of the power asymmetry. HR and C-suite leaders need to ensure fairness, transparency and speed in acting on these matters. An organisation pays a heavy price if it is seen as shielding the wrongdoers. It will need to apply consistent yardsticks regardless of the seniority of the person.

It is often said ‘people may not do what I say but will do what I do’. Leadership behaviours are watched closely by all employees and it is important to ensure people take the right messages.

Lastly, in a perverse turn of events #MeToo can end up as #NotHer because organisations start to become wary of recruiting women. This is dangerous and HR needs to be the gatekeeper to ensure there is no discrimination whatsoever.

HR technology is no longer a forms automation system but a true system of productivity

Yes and more.

If there is one sub-function within HR that is undergoing disruptive change, it is HR technology. Analytics, social media and ubiquitous computing have already revolutionised HR. The way employees interact with HR, the way they learn and the way recruiters interface with candidates are illustrations of how much of an impact HR Technology has already had.

There is more to come. I believe, in the coming few years AI will make serious inroads in areas, such as candidate assessment and employee- response systems.

There will still be a place for the human touch, no doubt, for while reliability and responsiveness can improve with technology, empathy will still come only from the people.

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More power to HR in 2019

The human resources landscape has transformed in the past decade and is evolving at a faster pace than ever before. The reason does not boil down exclusively to technology, as one must expect. Rather, it is the employers’ increased awareness of the need for diversity, equal opportunities and support, wherever that may be needed.

The following are the pointers, which will enable HR to be the powerhouse of any business in the coming years:

HR operations: Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies will give HR a massive facelift, creating great change in mundane and repetitive tasks – recruiting, learning, employee experience and talent management – in 2019. This will free up human potential to focus on judgement and creative thinking.

Employee experience: Gone are the days when employees only wanted a paycheck and a designation. 2019 will be the time to concentrate on what employees feel and whether they are heard and cared for at work. HR with strong focus on strengthening the culture of success and deriving employee happiness will enhance the productivity and help achieve organisational goals.

Learning tools: One size doesn’t fit all! Customisation is the key.

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The real HR will stand up and get closer to people

Advances in technology have evolved HR’s role beyond administration, and the professionals are expected to be more strategic. It’s no secret that machines are taking on many manual, repetitive, and even problem-solving tasks. But capabilities, such as empathy, autonomous creativity, moral judgement, and the creation of meaning, remain exclusive to humans. The ‘human’ in human resources is becoming a competitive advantage for organisations.

“The ‘human’ in human resources is becoming a competitive advantage for organisations”

Social belongingness at the workplace, interpersonal relationships, breaking silos between teams, team dynamics, carving career journeys, and ensuring health and well-being are responsibilities to be shouldered by human resources for productive and performing organisations.

Technology will allow HR to be more human

While technology may guide through all aspects of HR, the human touch / factor will not go missing. It may transform processes that have relied on human labour but the sheen of human factor cannot be removed.

There will be data-backed conversations. The ‘human’ angle will be required to deal with sensitive issues.

Technology will be responsible for the big picture of employee happiness at work. Proactive measures by HR professionals will be needed to counter the risk of leaving.

Competing organisations and their strategies to retain top talent can be understood with the help of technology. The application of technology to the culture of your organisation will need strategic, creative thinking.

Cost control / war on waste. While insights can be provided with data mining, its presentation to the management will need human intervention.

“Employers’ increased awareness of the need for diversity, equal opportunities and support will give more power to HR”

Perennial Issues – weakened productivity, high turnover rates, and a lack of team collaboration and innovation

Matters such as weakened productivity are age-old issues for HR. These can be dealt with if HR collaborates with the finance, business and operational leaders, identifies appropriate measures, understands the related roles and implements interventions.

Productivity can be improved by:

Engaging employees at the workplace (employee motivation).

Ensuring leadership capability to handle teams and their performances.

High turnover rates /attrition decreases the overall efficiency of the company. It is an important quality indicator used to assess the health of an organisation.

Attrition can be controlled by:

 – A comprehensive engagement plan to keep employees happy.

 – A strong culture.

 – Opportunities for career growth.

 – Prioritising camaraderie and providing promotions and hikes to build employee loyalty.

Team collaboration and innovation can be achieved by:

 – Inclusion of diverse workforce with complimenting ideas for innovation.

 – Handholding of new team members and helping in smooth sailing in the organisation.

 – Rewarding and recognising achievements and performances.

Managing diverse workforce

Diversity management is an evolving concept. It can be managed by:

 – An inclusive work culture with open and clear communication.

 – A workplace culture free from harassment and glass ceiling for women to be discouraged.

 – A motivated, engaged and committed workforce. Atypical working, flexibility, efficiency over working hours, remote working, hiring based on personality and not just qualification, and people analytics (mental wellbeing) will have to be focused on.

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More power to HR in 2019

People are increasingly becoming the differentiator between successful and also-ran organisations. As we move into 2019, the people factor is likely to become even more critical. How we hire, develop, retain and motivate employees to put in their very best in the organisation will determine the extent to which organisations are able to win in the marketplace.

“All four generations will be working together, Gen Z is very different from Gen Y as they are the true digital natives “

Organisations have to focus on engaging the whole-person paradigm of their employees — not just their physical presence, but also their heart, mind and soul. 2019 will also be the year when four generations will be present in the workforce. Gen Z is very different from Gen Y as they are the true digital natives, many having had Facebook accounts much before they finished primary school. Managing such a diverse workforce and ensuring that all generations that comprise it are equally engaged and committed, is going to be a challenge which not many organisations are fully prepared to take on. HR has to take the lead in preparing the organisations to engage the diverse workforce in an increasingly complex, volatile, ambiguous and uncertain world.

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The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

The biggest challenge for HR in 2019 will be to attract and retain employees and enhance their productivity. As the industry becomes more competitive and customers become more quality and price conscious, it will become increasingly more important to have agile, innovative and customer centric employees who have immense drive for results, besides having domain expertise. The demand for employees, who demonstrate these competencies will be immense and the challenge will be to ensure that not only is the organisation capable of attracting such talent but also of retaining them, besides continually enhancing their productivity on an ongoing basis.

“HR has to look at every initiative from the organisational impact point of view, and discontinue those that have no effect on the organisational results”

Less is more: HR to cut steps and create more impactful and innovative initiatives

HR has to look at things from a business perspective, instead of operating in a siloed manner. It has to begin to view things from an end-outcome and impact perspective as far as the business is concerned, instead of being merely activity focused. HR will need to examine how it is making an impact in terms of making the organisation more customer centric or helping the company gain market share, and so on. HR has to look at every initiative from the organisational impact point of view, and discontinue those that have no effect on the organisational results.

Role of technology in HR in 2019

Artificial intelligence will become an integral part of HR before the end of 2019, and people analytics will become more and more critical in people related decision making. Decisions related to hiring, promotion and compensation will increasingly become dependent on people analytics.

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More power to HR in 2019

It has been quite a while since HR in the IT industry evolved from being governing bodies and facilitators to partners. HR has now made its presence a necessity at the centre table of business discussions and growth plans. Irrespective of the organisations’ intention to grow organically or inorganically, HR’s contribution is immense. To elaborate, in an organic growth scenario, when an organisation is pitching for new business in new markets/technology, HR insight on the sociocultural texture, existing laws of the land and talent availability amongst many other things helps in the deal-related decision making. In an inorganic growth, HR due diligence brings forth every aspect of the organisation’s strengths and areas of challenge — from talent quality, culture of the company, leadership vision, commitment, ethical practices and so on — which are essential to makeany merger and acquisition (M&A) a successful integration.

The role of unions in the IT industry is minimal and will have lesser prominence. One must ensure this does not make space for bad practices in the industry.

The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

HR in your sector Among other challenges, a significant one is maintaining the balance between legacy skills and next-gen skills. We are in the times where the legacy skills are as important as the disruptive next-gen skills, and the fact remains that both the sections of the talent pool bring in diversity. It becomes vital for HR to blend the two and provide necessary interventions to bridge the gap between skill differences or cultural differences.

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Unionisation of employees: a big challenge in 2019

Unionisation as we all know came into existence to provide the workforce with proper working conditions, wages, benefits, transparency in operations and similar requirements. The IT industry has evolved and there are different tools, procedures and departments which have helped overcome these basic needs. Hence, the role of unions in the IT industry is minimal and will have lesser prominence. One must ensure this does not make space for bad practices in the industry.

Developing new skillsets for the future workforce

Skill upliftment is a necessity for existence and no more a ‘good to have’. Once this message becomes the norm, acceptance will be easier. Organisations must create different learning platforms, classroom training, virtual training, access to digitallyenabled content, real-time curation of content, mock projects, designsimulated environments for workforce to participate /experiment their learning, and set up skill communities.

Introduction of policies/practices that encourage a learning environment plays a vital role

(i) Compensation structures, variable pay and salary increases should be viewed from a different lens

(ii) Performance evaluation practices should consider the fact that individuals are getting into unknown terrains

(iii)Coaching to the workforce on how to handle current assignments while transitioning to newer skills/projects will enable minimal disruption to the business and individuals. Finally, equipping leaders with the right tools/frameworks to help the workforce acclimatise in the newer environment/skills will go a long way in the upskilling journey.

India is very much party to the gig economy, but we still have some social stigma and supply-chain issues to address.

Role of HR in the temp workforce

India is very much party to the gig economy, but we still have some social stigma and supply-chain issues to address. Skill wise, there is no difference in temporary and permanent workers. While we do need the temporary workforce, the fact remains that temp workers are not available in abundance as compared with some other nations.

The gig economy will play a crucial role in the coming years as we require special skills on a temporary basis. We will welcome the concept of the temporary workforce, but there is still a lot of work required to cross the bridge and strengthen the infrastructure of supply chain for the temp workforce in India. I believe if the workforce is able to view the various options that are lined up for them and the opportunities available to them, through the agencies at the end of one project, the insecurity and stigma will lift.

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More power to HR in 2019

Definitely YES! The changing landscape, that is, globalisation is becoming more real with every passing year. Political uncertainty, the changing shape of the workforce, technology and digital innovation are not only challenging but also creating more opportunity, in general and specifically for the employees and HR.

With the manifestation of the digitalrevolution, while on one hand we are predicting job loss, efficiency and cost saving, on the other hand there are more new jobs getting created along with customer centricity — Amazon, Paytm, Uber, Ola, Foodpanda and Zomato are just some examples that we are experiencing in our day-to-day life. Engaged talent and customers are going to be an absolute need in the future.

My experience suggests that the digital revolution has elevated the value of people in the value chain of an organisation as well as customer centricity. HR needs to demonstrate leadership to facilitate and take people along on this journey of upping the game for humans. HR will have to play a leading role in the development and upskilling of people. With shrinking budgets and greater pressure on bottomlines, the HR function finds itself an equal party to strategic decision making and a worthy compatriot to the CEO and business heads.

It’s time to give up the 20^th century processes in favour of returning the decision rights to the employees. 

The real HR will stand up and get closer to people

HR of today is different, especially in this aspect. Gone are the days when the HR interface was restricted to hiring, appraisal cycle and exit formalities – HR is ‘the people’ now. From mentoring to allied roles, HR ensures there is a connect. The pressure to stay connected in today’s organisations is on HR alone.

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Personalised people policy – one size doesn’t fit all

Today the notion of work is becoming increasingly decentralised, as played out in the gig economy. But the mental shift of employees hasn’t followed suit, as employees readily give up their power to their employers. This is the reason why so many employees today ‘feel stuck’ in their jobs, and powerless. Employees forget they have the power to walk away.
It isn’t the employees’ fault even though most companies reinforce this idea.

Netflix rightfully trashed that model. A company’s job isn’t to empower people; it’s to remind people that they walk in the door with power and to create the conditions for them to exercise that power.

How does an organisation give power back to the employees? By dismantling the excessive and useless processes that exist in most organisations! The many procedural practices in place today are remnants of 20th-century models that are no longer relevant to how businesses are conducted. It’s time to give up the processes in favour of returning the decision rights to the employees, for instance, how will employees want to structure their compensation, the number of leaves one may want to take, and bonus in lieu of leaving the organisation, and so on.

There is no better time to do this than now as technology today enables a customised solution more than ever. To my mind, people across the full spectrum of functions would love nothing more than to be free to tackle projects in the way they think will produce the best results in the shortest possible time.

Digital revolution has elevated the value of people in the value chain of an organisation as well as customer centricity.

Digital talent crisis in Banking

Banks are working hard to update their legacy systems and looking to technology to improve operating effectiveness and enhance customer experience. They are working on finding the space for traditional banking in the world of Fintechs, where technology is the key to relationships. With more millennials getting comfortable with the use of technology and looking for lesser human interface, it is becoming imperative to relook at the model. To do so, banks will need significantly deeper and broader technology expertise than they have today. Banks need leaders who understand the kind of transformation possible and can manage change effectively.

The future of talent in banking mainly revolves around the following key themes:

-Technology and broader trends are reshaping bank workforces

-Banks are in the early stages of planning for workforce transformation

-Talent strategy has become a critical issue for boards

One of the primary questions is – who is the new banker? Is it that AI-enabled solution-generating robot or the person in a suit who will devise a solution on the go? With increased complexity, it is obvious that the first one is the real banker and the person you may meet may merely be the communicator of what solution the machine has developed for the customer. The need for IT professionals who can create financial solutions or support the technology behind them is going to be the leading force. A bank will comprise more technology employees than bankers. The big question is how do they convince IT professionals to work for the financial industry?

Banks can remain attractive by:

-Transforming the workplace: We will not know what the banks of the future will be like until we feel our way there. Our success will be defined by our ability to bring in tech people and integrate them into the business of banking.

-Solving the millennial dilemma: What do the millennials want? There have been numerous studies on the subject and yet the current management is perplexed with what is required. Less driven by the high salaries that financial institutions have traditionally relied upon, how do banks offer the variety and width of experience, especially in the context of the ever-tightening regulatory framework, post the global financial crisis? Banks will have to find a new path and opportunities to manage their risks and businesses with the strength of technology, where humans are free to move within organisations and contribute.

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More power to HR in 2019

HR should never seek power. Whenever they have tried to seek power they have failed to add value to business. Instead, they should seek influence, as it is influence that leads to power. In the past, HR was never the first choice for professionals. Generally people who couldn’t make it to other professions typically ended up in HR. This must change. We should see more people from line function moving to HR. Unlike other professions, such as law, engineering and medicine, HR is relatively straight forward. Anyone who has worked in teams and has been in corporate career for five years has a reasonably good understanding of HR. If a business head moves to the HR function, he will earn more respect from the people in that business because he will be able to speak their language and understand their problems. I feel that more people from line functions should move to HR.

The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

The biggest challenge for us is at the bottom of the pyramid. Almost 75 per cent to 80 per cent of our workforce is at the bottom and the attrition rate is very high. It can be five per cent a month to 20 per cent a month.With this kind of churn, it becomes very difficult to achieve high productivity and deliver consistent customer experiences.There is no easy solution to this problem. We are identifying the means to keep the bottom level content. Respect, recognition and fair wage – we are using these three elements and delivering them consistently to create an attitude of loyalty. We are also training our supervisors so that they treat the workers with respect and not stress them with overwork. We have set a trust, which takes care of not only our direct employees but also our associates who come from the third party.

“If a business head moves to the HR function, he will earn more respect from the people in that business because he will be able to speak their language and understand their problems”

Role of HR in the temp workforce

The temp workforce model will see tremendous growth in 2019 and beyond. HR will create an environment for the successful hiring of temp workforce. Many companies have created a platform, where service providers and customers can come in contact and this model has seen a success. This will see tremendous growth in the future.

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Managing diverse workforce

Corporate India overcame the cast barrier decades back. The future will be about employing women and encouraging them to take tech and analytics roles, giving them support to see them grow and be successful with time. There will be strict policies in companies for the benefit and growth of women in the workforce. Companies will not only hire people with disability but also create an environment conducive for work. In our practice, we have seen that the attrition rate is much less for people with special needs. The future will see more such people joining the workforce and getting employed. We have created an eco-system where women are comfortable working in a male-dominant job.

“The future will be about employing women and encouraging them to take tech and analytics roles, giving them support to see them grow and be successful with time”

Personalised people policy – one size doesn’t fit all

Companies in the past have had a basket of benefits to choose from. We have taken a different approach to ensure that there are some common benefits that are universal and good for everyone. In addition, we feel cash is most important and therefore, we like to pay our people in cash and pay them well so that there is a common medium, which pleases all. Some benefits will be marked as basic and these should be universally adopted by a company.

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More Power to HR in 2019

Today more than ever, people are seeing a new side of HR and recognising its value in an organisation. In the years to come, the economy will change rapidly, and companies will have to find ways to handle the beast (economy). The only way to do it will be through its people. HR will play the quintessential role as guide, to help people cope and evolve successfully. 2019 is a year of transformation and anything to do with transformation will need people, and people will need HR specialists.

“The temp workforce is here to stay. I call it the ‘permanent temp workforce”

The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

The biggest challenge for HR in our sector is the advent of gig workers. They have been coming quietly, without us having to do much work in that area. These gig workers are not just college dropouts and unemployed young adults, but also Gen Xers, that is, people in the age bracket of 55 plus. These people, who come with great experience, are willing to work for 15 to 20 years. The challenge for HR is to harness this power and develop an eco system for their sourcing, and to keep them engaged. How we connect and disconnect with gig workers will be the biggest challenge in 2019.

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Role of HR in temp workforce

India is not unfamiliar with the concept of temp workforce. The Contract Labour regulation Act was passed way back in 1970. But ever since people have been unsure of contract working and whether it is legal or not. But HR is pretty much aware of how to deal with contract workers. In fact, HR should stand up for the temp workforce and make sure that people of position do not take advantage of them. The temp workforce is here to stay. I call it the ‘permanent temp workforce’.

“PLAN TO GO TO TIER-II AND TIER-III CITIES FOR HIRING. WE SHOULD BE OPEN TO HIRING PEOPLE WHO DO NOT SPEAK QUEEN’S ENGLISH”

Managing a diverse workforce

We used to have horses for courses, but it does not work anymore. Organisations will have to adopt the rule of inclusion. You have to create a level playing field and not neglect anyone. We are challenging ourselves to look beyond gender and persons with disabilities, and plan to go to tier-II and tier-III cities for hiring. We should be open to hiring people who do not speak Queen’s English.

C-Suite and HR to work together to create an adaptable and sustainable culture

C-suite is fully recognising the value of learning, specially in organisations such as ours. Our only edge is learning.We do not have a service or product to sell. We have our intelligence and experience to put on a weighing scale. C-suite is completely bought over; it’s a matter of executing what the C-suite is expecting of us. There is no business that can be completely blind or oblivious to the need of people having to re-tool themselves. In this rapidly- changing world, the only thing constant is re-invention. GenZ is making sure that the C-suite is making them future-ready. They are demanding training and seeking more learning and challenges.

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More power to HR in 2019

The two key themes for HR in 2019 will be:

Differentiate or lose: 2019 will be a year of opportunities for great talent, and maintaining status quo in how we manage talent will cost heavy. There won’t be a dearth of choices for talented people and an organisation’s work culture and people practices will become a key differentiator. Some companies will falter and some will rise to the occasion. The proactive ones will manage to attract and retain super talented people who will influence business results in a big way. HR will be needed to lead this differentiation by focussing on the right initiatives and effective deployment of technology.

Less is more: 2019 is the year when HR will need to roll out high-impact initiatives, to drive employee experience and engagement. Instead of making incremental changes, it will be important to identify a few big changes that will make employees go “Wow!” and focus energies on them.

HR technology will become a true ‘system of productivity’

It is not only about driving productivity but also about ensuring personalisation in talent management through technology. ‘One size fits all’ just doesn’t work anymore and every organisation is a medley of talent segments, each with their own needs and aspirations. Technology can be used to have direct access to your employees’ needs and desires and also to understand what they are good at (that can be leveraged) and what they need to get better at.

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Technology will allow HR to be more human

It is an immediate reality. Technology expands your reach and ability to influence the quality of employee experience, much more rapidly than any HR structure or other intervention can. At TIL we have deployed an AI-assisted tool that helps us understand every employee’s perspective and engagement with the organisation. We are also piloting a skill tool to understand and leverage our skill capabilities as an organisation and help employees achieve their aspirations.

“2019 is the year when instead of making incremental changes, it will be important to identify a few big changes that will make employees go “Wow!” and focus energies on them”

AI-based recruitment – the differentiator

Most tools do look similar and there is hardly any attempt to change the fundamental approach to recruitment and selection. Mostly they are repackaging the concepts and applications into something that looks more contemporary due to gamification and a friendly user interface. I think there is a need to reinvent the fundamental concepts and/or how it is being applied in order to build tools that are plug-and-play and credible to the hirer. This has been done for engagement, for instance, where we have moved away from the conventional employee-engagement measuring models to something that’s fundamentally different in its approach — AI tools that measure mood scores based on employee lifecycle milestones and interpret data based on a combination of scores, responses and milestones. We do not have one set of questions, any longer, for all employees to understand how they feel.

“I think there is a need to reinvent the fundamental concepts of AI-based recruitment and/or how it is being applied in order to build tools that are plug-and-play and credible to the hirer”

Role of HR in the temp workforce

Temping is picking up and we’ll see more of it in 2019. Earlier, it used to be mainly utilised for transactional roles, but we are witnessing an upsurge of it in specialised technology jobs, especially for short-term project-based interventions, where a temp hire makes more economic sense. Many agencies are specialising in this and the turnaround is pretty decent. However, there is still a stigma attached to temping specially for tech and other specialised roles in India, and people still prefer permanent on-the-roll jobs. In the West, temping is seen as a way to have a flexible work schedule and to choose when one wants to work and when not. This is a big attitudinal change and there are signs that the trend will quickly pick up in India as well.

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More power to HR in 2019

I would rather think of this question as what more can HR do in order to influence business strategy. For this to happen, I would rather ask how much we have done to make the function more ‘scientific’ than it is today. The question is whether we can make people decisions with the same rigour as a business leader makes business decisions.

Sadly, HR must now play a game of catch-up because all other business functions, including production, marketing, finance and supply chain, shifted to a ‘scientific’ model long ago. It’s almost impossible to find a global firm with an HR function with the goal of ‘becoming scientific’. Having worked at Amazon for over seven years, the real news may be that there are probably just a few companies, including Amazon and Google, where HR is striving to make their function totally scientific, data driven and precise.

“The question is whether we can bring the same rigour to people decisions the same way a business leader makes business decisions”

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So, what is the difference between a traditional HR mindset and scientific one? Traditionally, all HR functions have relied heavily on the use of past practices. Although these approaches were once the most effective, they are probably still used even though the business environment, the technology and even the workforce assumptions under which they were created may have changed dramatically. In contrast, ‘Scientific HR’ assumes continuous change, so it uses data and facts to shift towards the latest, most effective HR approaches continually.

Less is more: HR to cut steps and create more impactful and innovative initiatives

I would rather pose a question and ask how HR can directly impact business results. At Amazon, we said, “We manage HR as a business.” So, rather than simply ‘aligning with business goals’, continuing with the previous question, the scientific model focuses on HR actions and resources so that they produce the maximum direct, measurable impact on business results.

“Before you can credibly and effectively develop others, you should develop yourself first”

The two primary areas where HR can traditionally produce the highest business impacts include increasing the productivity of the workforce and improving the volume and speed of product and process innovation. Under this approach, HR focuses on solving broad strategic business problems (e.g., decreased sales, product development or missed deadlines) rather than tactical HR problems. And finally, under this model, HR problems and results are converted into their monetary impact on revenue (e.g., the retention efforts on salespeople allowed us to maintain INR 25 million in sales revenue). Reporting results in revenue impacting currency allows executives to quickly compare HR’s impacts with those from other business functions.

People- front in the Aviation Sector

At a time of great uncertainty and rapid change in many industries, aviation stands out as one of the fastest growing and most dynamic sectors in India, and broadly the global economy. With the industry landscape shifting constantly, the momentum of this change looks set to accelerate in size and scope, calling for a new generation of air transport leaders. To stay ahead of the game, airline CEOs are seeking HR support to think in possible scenarios and rapidly adapt their business models to changing market conditions while providing their organisations with clear guidance. Most importantly, they want to ensure that they have the right leadership qualities on board and that they adopt appropriate talent management practices.

“To be able to figure out what these inputs are that derive the outputs is key. Unless we do this now, future will tell how HR professionals failed in teaching machines to be unbiased”

Although continuity in leadership has proven to be a strong asset in the complex air transport industry in the past, there is now widespread belief that today’s market calls for a new type of leader. Indeed, a survey by global firm, Egon Zehnder, a few years ago, stated that most of their respondents saw a strong shift in leadership competencies against a background of severe competitiveness and accelerated change dynamics in the airline industry. Gaps in leadership competencies are perceived, for example, in areas such as change leadership or innovative thinking. To close these gaps, strengthening the internal talent pipeline through holistic, highly professional talent management as well as recruiting external top performers is widely considered a promising way of bringing fresh thinking and experience into the industry.

Developing new skillsets for the future workforce

I am reasonably sure that this can be commented on more profoundly by several other colleagues, but I wanted to think of this a bit differently. Rather than simply developing new skillsets, I pondered over how one can be more effective and become a mentoring and motivating manager.

Start with yourself – Before you can credibly and effectively develop others, you should develop yourself first. Otherwise, you may come across as a hypocrite not a mentor. Shaping good behaviour starts with role modeling and sharpening one’s development skills.

Foundation of trust and mutual respect – Employees need to know that a development discussion isn’t just a sneaky way to get an employee to admit their weaknesses. To know the right way to go about this, see how to build trust in your team.

Ask questions – Coaching questions force employees to think and figure things out for themselves. Questions can also be revisited after an assignment is completed as a way to reflect back on lessons learned and a way to cement the new knowledge or skill.

Help navigate organisational politics and culture – While ‘politics’ is often viewed as a dirty word, it’s the way things get done in organisations, and your staff needs to know this. Job shadowing and role-playing are two ways to educate employees about the ins and outs of being politically savvy.

Everyone is coming up with AI-based recruitment. Where’s the differentiator? 

I strongly believe that HR should rely on data-driven decision-making rather than relying on past practices or intuition. Under the scientific model that I reflected on in the first question, important people management decisions are made based on performance data. Decisions on the most effective approaches for hiring, retention, development and incentives are based on the latest available data. Data and objective criteria are also used to determine when needed work should be done by employees, outsourced labour or using technology.

AI based recruitment- In my mind, it is not just about using machines to help with recruiting but about how you become scientific and create a culture of experimentation within your HR function. Google HR has long been a supporter of hypothesis testing, especially covering the factors that actually predict new-hire success. Amazon includes its focus on hypothesis testing in one of its HR Tenets, “We form hypotheses about the best talent acquisition, talent retention, and talent development techniques and then set out to prove or disprove them with experiments and careful data collection.”

The differentiator on AI-based recruiting is, how do we figure out biased decisions that machines make? After all, Machine Learning based Artificial Intelligence relies heavily on what these machines learn and the inputs to these learnings come from past data that has heavy human bias! To be able to figure out what these inputs are that derive the outputs is key. Unless we do this now, future will tell how HR professionals failed in teaching machines to be unbiased!

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The post “Airline CEOs are seeking HR support to cope with changing markets,” Raj Raghavan appeared first on HR Katha.

More power to HR in 2019

With the digital transformation compounded by the whole 5G revolution that India will see, companies will have no choice but to rethink their operating models and business models. A significant facet of this will be talent and agility. HR will play a big role in not only reshaping and retooling the workforce but leveraging different employees on and off balance sheet. Human Resources alone will have to anticipate the future policies and devise strategies to make the organisation future ready.

“We have to constantly be two steps ahead anticipating what the future would be”

The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

The biggest challenge for HR in our sector will be to stay ahead and current with respect to new trends that are shaping businesses. Our business is to make other businesses more successful. We have to constantly be two steps ahead anticipating what the future would be. A big priority for us is to have the right talent, two steps ahead of competition, with the right skill sets, and understanding and appreciative of how digital, quantum, cognitive is going to shape future of businesses.

“the personae of people are important to design thinking —HR will identify and stratify the five or six personae”

Application of design thinking to learning

Organisations have come to realise that the personae of people are important to design thinking — to help identify and stratify the five or six personae that work. After establishing these personae, we need to analyse what motivates, engages, and excites them. We need to determine whether we are designing HR programmes that can respond to these different personae in the way they desire. Organisations will have no choice but to connect individuals to the big picture, create a sense of purpose in people and align it to the organisation’s purpose. The focus will shift to wellness and well- being. Technology will be used to augment and personalise learning in 2019.

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Perennial issues — weakened productivity, high turnover rates, and a lack of team collaboration and innovation

We need to make this simple and not complex. With multigenerational diversity coming to the workforce, the demands, expectations and aspirations of the employees are very different in different segments. Organisations will create a sensible and agile work environment and allow creative workspaces.

“#MeToo is about inclusion and not about objectifying anyone” 

Human Resource personnel will tirelessly work towards the physical and mental well-being of the people to improve productivity. They will do so through flexible workplaces, where people can work from anywhere and at any time. They will encourage people to go on holidays, educate them about the side effects of being digitally connected all the time, ensure that people are covered under insurance and health programmes, spread awareness about fitness at the desk, change the rewarding strategy (offer vacations instead of cash rewards or gift vouchers). For the HR, it will be important to create the right culture and atmosphere.

#MeToo – Safeguard leaders or the employees: role of HR

#MeToo should be about reaffirming the fact that ‘I can be myself without feeling threatened or objectified’. It is about creating healthy work spaces. People need to be educated so that they know the difference between acceptable and non-acceptable behaviour. They need to know the implication of going off-track, and thirdly the action that will be taken in such a scenario. #MeToo is about inclusion and not about objectifying anyone. As HR leaders, our job is to build genuinely inclusive workplaces, break social codification of the past to truly let both genders and also the third gender work effectively at their full potential.

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The post “Digital transformation and 5G revolution will change business models in India,” Unmesh Pawar appeared first on HR Katha.

More power to HR in 2019

As technology takes a place of honour in all facets of HR, it’s important to ensure that we work harder to keep the humanness in human resource alive. Digitisation will help us release time from the more mundane, repetitive and time-consuming tasks. It is our responsibility to then use this time to enhance the one-on-one connect and deepen our understanding of employees through meaningful interactions. This will help further customise our offering, making jobs and engagement richer, leading to better productivity.

2019 will also see HR heads belabour on the choice of what is useful technology and what isn’t so as to not get into something because it is the new shining object.

Leadership hiring will also be an important agenda. With business life cycles shortening and relevance of longterm strategy reducing, the need to get the leadership team right is becoming so critical. Fortunately, there are tools now that help reduce the risks but at the end of the day picking the right fit is always a little subjective.

Download the HRKatha 2019 Forecast – powered by Sodexo to read what the top HR leaders predict for the new year 

Lastly, HR will play a central role in creating a fair and inclusive workplace with a larger focus on diversity next year and in the years to come.

“2019 will also see HR heads belabour on the choice of what is useful technology and what isn’t so as to not get into something because it is the new shining object”

The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

The real-estate sector is going through a difficult phase. While there is no dearth of talent availability, good quality niche talent is always in short supply. That’s a challenge.

One of the biggest gaps that can be filled progressively is building better managers. This is a brick and mortar industry, literally. Long-serving leaders grow in their careers on account of their experience. Traditionally, in this sector, unlike other industries, there is not enough investment on building people management capability. Therefore, it’s a lot easier to find a good technical senior resource than someone who is also a well-rounded leader.

AI-based recruitment – the differentiator

AI-based recruitment helps cut levels of assessment and expedite the turnaround time on hiring. But the big differentiator it can bring, if managed well, is that of removing recruiter bias to a larger extent.

Perennial issues — weakened productivity, high turnover rates, and a lack of team collaboration and innovation

That’s true and much is being done to impact each of these areas. It is also a continuous effort and one can never reach a place where you have done enough. Turnover is not such a big issue for this industry. A large section of our employees is long serving and there are also many who would have worked start to end in one organisation.

“Innovation is the lifeblood of modern business. Look for impact, Look for simplicity”

However, other issues on productivity, innovation and collaboration are perennial. Continuous skill development, use of productivity tools, talent renewal, and so on, are good ways to impact productivity.

Collaboration is cultural, but it needs systems and a built-in framework to make it a natural way of working. Just expecting employees to bring a collaborative mindset isn’t good enough.

Innovation is the lifeblood of modern business. A lot of innovation is happening in terms of business models, go-to-customer strategies, as well as product and pricing strategies across all sectors. This requires serious unlearning and learning, use of design thinking principles and deep data analytics to instil insighting and zero-based thinking in the company, which is the fulcrum of an innovative culture.

Less is more: HR to cut steps and create more impactful and innovative initiatives

I strongly vote for less is more. Look for impact. Look for simplicity. Establish feedback loops and stay grounded.

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More power to HR in 2019

We are living in an ‘Age of People’ where value is created by cutting-edge talent, in fast- changing times dominated by innovative experiences. And what’s more, all this is happening in a context that is digitally analytical and intuitively predictive. Organisations will have to be cognitively alert and people sharp. Talent in such markets tends to be very high premium and a gilt-edged resource. Given this situation and context, success will have to be through more power to HR. But HR here is not to be misunderstood as meaning ‘the HR’! The definition here is broad based and refers to business managers, who will have to take more and direct responsibility for their people in the enterprise.

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The real HR will stand up

Talent is comparatively a very crucial ‘low cost-high contribution’ resource in the value creation journey of enterprise. Unfortunately, this ‘talent’ resource comes with three peculiarities. One, it is emotional and needs sensitive handling. Second, it comes with multiple choices and therefore, needs meaningful and authentic engagement to hold on and retain in a Company.

And third, it is constantly in search of a meaningful identity and a meaningful role in the larger journey of the enterprise. To that extent, talent requires to be constantly connected with the business strategy. As talent will be a ‘mother-source’ of all value, if real HR does not stand up and help the business managers to take charge, it will never be able to meaningfully engage or strategically connect talent to the business strategy. If that happens, God save that company! Money will be spent by such a company to hire talent resources, but the talent so hired will not even make any meaningful contribution to enterprise value.

“We are living in a new world of experiences and engagement. You cannot reach acutely steep new destinations on ‘tuk-tuks’,”

It is most critical for the companies, therefore, to hire an effective HR professional who understands business, nurtures ‘talent’ and has the instinctive wisdom and capacity to connect the two. If corporates hire transactional HR business partners, they will need serious HR coaching or they will continue to create value through talent. We seriously are living in times where professionals need to ‘think fast – think slow’!

Investing in HR innovation labs – more data & insights

Everyone understands that if data is not converted into insights and ultimately, if insights are not converted into knowledge, then such an exercise is merely clinical and is shorn of practical application. Such a situation will lead to analysis paralysis and will be a waste of time, resources and energy. We are living in a new world of experiences and engagement. You cannot reach acutely steep new destinations on ‘tuk-tuks’. Innovative labs are thus very critical in their success narrative. But for that, the analysed data has to be converted into insights and insights thereafter into sustained knowledge, so that it can then be positively used for critical decision making.

“Future leaders will be expected to make decisions anchored on behavioural economics, build employee connections, ensure employee engagement and constantly work on a connected and supportive eco system”

Managing diverse workforce

Unfortunately, we limit our understanding of diversity to gender, complexion, religion, sexual orientation, and so on. This I would like to refer to as ‘surface-level brand diversity’. And we indulge in such surface diversity for two reasons — one, it is obvious and therefore, does not require a deep search for acquisition, and second, it helps manage social and employer-branding pressures.

However, this does not go a long way in creating value and to sustain it requires mandates, reservations, protection, and so on. The real diversity that creates value for the enterprise is intrinsic diversity, which is not obvious on the face of it. I refer to it as ‘Authentic intrinsic diversity’. It includes diverse exposures, diverse sectoral experiences, diverse views, diverse instincts, diverse competencies. Such diversity adds to the value-creation journey by offering a rich, robust and wide range of propositions. As this adds real value, it subsequently becomes very attractive to the company. No reservations, mandates or protections are required for such diversity.

However, it is like a journey. An enterprise begins with ‘surface-level brand diversity’ but must aspire to reach its desired level of ‘authentic intrinsic diversity’ in a planned and time-bound way.

“HR not to be misunderstood as meaning ‘the HR’! The definition refers to business managers, who will have to take more and direct responsibility for their people in the enterprise”

Developing new skill-sets for the future workforce

In a digital world, which will be predominated by humanoids, robotics, 3D printing, artificial intelligence, algorithms, machine learning, predictive analytics, and so on, we should be focussing much more on mindsets rather than skill-sets. Future leaders will be expected to make decisions anchored on behavioural economics, build employee connections, ensure employee engagement and constantly work on a connected and supportive eco system. Each enterprise will have to systematically plan all mind-sets and skill-sets that will help future value creators be prepared and ready.

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More power to HR in 2019

HR will play a key role in driving changes in organisations through talent acquisition, retention and development. There will be greater focus on the overall well-being and health of the employees. In compensation, the focus will be on driving more retention. Hence, the emphasis on key skills and key talents will increase. In terms of mode, there will be renewed thrust on longer term retention levers, such as benefits and stock plans. Any investment in this area will have a big impact on the engagement of the people.

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The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

The challenge in the IT services industry will be fulfilling the requirement for niche talent, with the growth of the newer agile, digital and cloud services. Therefore, getting people to learn and build the right, new skills at the right time on a continuous basis will be tough. Second, building a talent pipeline for IT services in overseas locations, especially the US, will be another key challenge.

“As we move to a greater use of agile development, our performance management will also be more agile. We will see greater use of real-time data, and crowdsourced inputs from the team to make performance management truly agile”

The real HR will stand up and get closer to people

As we move to a greater use of agile development, our performance management will also be more agile. We will see greater use of real-time data, and crowdsourced inputs from the team to make performance management truly agile. The way we engage people will also undergo change—the annual surveys telling you that you are a great employer will lose relevance. We will have to focus sharply on identifying levers to better individual performance and retention, through more analytics. This will help redefine the way managers engage with their teams— increasing the human touch.

“While we have been talking of learning and career growth all along for years, most large companies have followed a template and standardised system. I think this is truly changing – and I see this as a big trend”

HR technology will become a true ‘system of productivity’

While we have been talking of learning and career growth all along for years, most large companies have followed a template and standardised system. I think this is truly changing – and I see this as a big trend. The concept of N=1 is fast gaining ground, and is also being enabled, thanks to technology. Flexible career development options, including fast-track careers based on skills, capabilities, as well as interests of employees will see huge traction. Similarly, customised and personalised learning options, and the use of positive psychology nudges to get people to learn continuously will be a game changer in the coming year. The world of talent acquisition has been increasingly using both technology and the newer elements of social media. This is one area where technology will provide more impetus for change, using AI and many other newer assessment technologies. In addition, people have become very conscious of the bias that can be built into these assessment and selection systems. Therefore, proactive auditing of processes and checking for any form of bias will become critical.

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The post “The concept of N=1 is fast gaining ground through technology,” Krish Shankar appeared first on HR Katha.

More Power to HR in 2019

In my view, if HR is prepared to partner with the business leaders to achieve their strategic objectives through effective and aligned people strategy, power will just follow. The year 2019 and thereafter will see stronger war for the ‘right talent’, and HR will be expected to play that crucial role of attracting the right talent through a stronger compelling EVP, retaining the key talent through an attractive total rewards framework and engaging the people through progressive and relevant policies and processes. Besides, HR has a pivotal role to play in driving productivity and a culture of innovation, since these will differentiate the winners from the laggards in the highly competitive market. Hence, it goes without saying that HR will be an important player in the years to come in shaping the future of any organisation. The coming years will be full of opportunity for HR primarily in the following areas:

Workplace rules: Try different workplace rules, given the fact that we have a multi-generation workforce, and all of them have unique engagement drivers.

Common values: Customise policies under a common set of principles and values.

Need-based interventions: Go for learning and development interventions for the individual depending on each person’s need. This will require a bouquet of options including micro learning, e-learning, special projects, onthe- job learning, customised classroom coaching and mentoring. Growth culture: Differentiate performance and reward, and propel the career of top talent.

Innovation and technology: Manage change through innovative practices by smartly leveraging technology.

The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

Our industry is facing multiple challenges today and one of them is to transform our employees from being unique skill holders into being ‘integrated skill’ holders in this era of multimedia journalism. This is being addressed through focussed training, continued exposure to multimedia platforms, revisiting the job descriptions and productivity norms. Besides this, the process of attracting and evaluating talent for the future has been redesigned so that we have people who can adapt to the future requirements of the industry with the right skills, attitude and learning agility. Besides this, we are continuously reviewing our policies and processes so that they stay relevant at all times and compliment the EVP for attracting and retaining talent in our industry.

Download HRKatha 2019 Forecast – powered by Sodexo to read what the 30 HR leaders predict for the new year.

#MeToo – Safeguard leaders or the employees: role of HR

The recent #MeToo campaign has pushed all organisations to think and act fast to create and sustain a harassment-free workplace and the role of HR now is not limited to being a ‘guardian’ of the workplace culture but also that of a ‘trusted champion’ of the organisation’s reputation and goodwill, including all stakeholders. It is not about the leaders or employees but about involving leaders and employees to create a harassment-free work environment together. The role of HR will include the following:

Continuous training, awareness sessions and communication through multiple platforms has to be the new normal. Clarity on the subject is of paramount importance. Hence, the message has to be reinforced through various means, including online modules, emailers, sessions with experts, and so on.

Educating both leaders and employees to report every incident is extremely important. Enhancing the channels of reporting for ease of reporting, will enable the process.

Speedy redressal of every reported case through enquiry and necessary action is a must.

Educating and empowering the POSH committee/internal committees will be an important focus area. Equipping the members of the committee to discharge their roles effectively will be of primary importance.

The POSH policy is required to be kept relevant and updated at all times, which then must be communicated within the organisation through various mediums.

The right HR technology

We should stop chasing every new HR technology invention. Instead, we should focus on leveraging technology to enhance the sharpness and consistency in our objective fulfilment aligned with achievement of overall purpose. We must continue to use technology for what we need instead of starting with technology. We must leverage technology for both productivity improvement through process and workflow re-engineering, as well as to enhance our employee experience at every lifecycle touchpoint. Notwithstanding the above, there is a huge opportunity to positively impact the employee lifecycle through the right selection of chatbots and mobileenabled employee-connect platforms. All transactional activities impacting employees require automation, which in turn, should be able to drive speed, correctness and accuracy, uniform employee experience and potential to scale up and replicate across all geographies. The alignment between the need and the right choice of technology will definitely enhance productivity and is the need of the hour.

“Our industry is facing multiple challenges today and one of them is to transform our employees from being unique skill holders into being ‘integrated skill’ holders in this era of multimedia journalism.”

Investing in HR innovation labs – more data & insights

This follows from my earlier response that all investments should be made to achieve the business objectives and augment performance within the organisation. All I mean to say is let us not put the cart before the horse. We need to be sure of the requirement in our respective organisations and identify the areas wherein data insights and results of innovation labs, and so on, will enable business leaders to take effective decisions pertaining to their people. This, in turn, will nurture the quality of employee life cycle, enable proactive and progressive decision making and provide HR the right levers to shape talent for the future.

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More power to HR in 2019

Yes, Indeed. The shift is rapidly towards creating business impact through people.The entire life cycle management of people is best left to HR operational experts. Business–HR partnership assumes significance in the areas of culture building, capability readiness, succession acceleration and moving from performance to contribution. With digital enabling this quicker than ever before, HR is expected to wear a predictive hat and take instant decisions on its feet in every single area. The task is to partner the business in organisation/team design, work flow enablement, realtime learning, customer engagement, retention measures and social engagement. Workforce is of all kinds now, so building stakeholder culture for organisational success coupled with brand building is of different order. Times are exciting and the tasks are varied but it calls for a multi-faceted HR leadership to be able to do this.

Personalised people policy – one size doesn’t fit all

There is constant pressure for personalisation of policies. While 80 per cent of the policies hold good, at a generic level, around 20 per cent need a flexible approach. Normally, the organisation will accommodate flexibility of policies based on merit. There is an increasing trend to be more flexible towards ‘value creation’. If we were to apply the 20:80 principle, and spirit the organisations into value creators:others, this flexibility warrants attention on the 20 per cent differentiators to increase the outcome directly linked to the better flexibility they are provided. There is no ‘one’ answer here, but taking a position of customisation towards ‘value creators’ is much more sustaining than doing so-called on an ad-hoc basis across the board. This is surely trending for now and is likely to take final shape in 2019.

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The real HR will stand up and get closer to people

At the onset of industrial revolution 4.0, it’s imperative to look at what the new age workforce needs to excel in. It’s high time, the focus shifted from productivity to performance. Adaption of technology, innovation and disruptions is required for a better future. To do so, I see the following happening:

A. Shift in mindset

The future of work looks very different from the past. However, people with grit, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit will embrace this future, rather than cling to the status quo. People should realise that they can be better at their jobs with the technology of today, and the technology that is yet to come , instead of fearing that their human skills will be devalued. Hence, a shift in the mindset needs to take place. HR, with the support of technology, needs to empower people to perform and identify gaps to be filled through development programmes rather than evaluating performance alone.

B. Dependence on HR analytics

Data derived from HR analytics should drive the decisions at the workplace. HR will take charge of attrition and recruitment with HR analytics and come up with insights for improvements.

C. Accuracy of vision to create business impact

Define mission and strategy around business impact, with focus on developing a more capable, agile workforce for the future. An accurate vision leads to classification and prioritisation of tasks for optimum efficiency.

D. Better communication

Communication has a significant effect on the success of any strategy in the organisation. Effective communication will result in employee engagement, boosted workplace productivity and hence, business growth. The conduit from strategy to execution needs to be built strongly on communication to make it fully effective. The organisational communication should be accessible and understandable by employees at all levels and hierarchies. The idea behind communication for the workforce should not only be limited to informing, but should also extend to alignment with organisational success, as partners.

“Diversity not only includes how individuals identify themselves but also how others perceive them. Through strong policies and practices supporting diversity, continuous communications and diverse work groups can go a long way in creating a highly functional and diverse group.”

Technology will allow HR to be more human

With advancement of technologies, through complex algorithms, we are getting better inferences out of data, which in turn enables us to make better judgments of a situation and take actions accordingly.

Technology has had positive effect on internal operations for organizations, but it also changed the way human resource management work. Human Resource Information System (HRIS) allow HRM professional to better facilitate human resource plans, make decisions faster, clearly define jobs, evaluate performance, and provide cost effective benefits that employees want. Likewise, it helps to strengthen communication with both the external community and employees. Technology also dramatically changed how human resource managers orient, train, and develop employees and help them manage their careers.

Teleconfencing technology allows employees to train and collaborate in groups regardless of their location. Technology has a visible positive impact on the internal operations of the organisation but it has also changed the way the HR department works. Technology facilitates better human resource planning, decision making, job evaluation, performance management and communication.

Although the aforementioned developments have increased the HR department’s dependency on technology but, the human touch is always there to understand the situation better and take action accordingly. Technology is there to enable HR to be more employee centric. The role and processes may change, but through the data that is being derived from the man– machine synergy, HR will be close to the employees than ever before. The future will be a blended model of Hi-Tech and Hi-Touch HR.

Managing a diverse workforce

Globalisation has made organisations more diverse than ever. Encouraging diversity is the way forward for companies. In a global talent market, the businesses that can successfully manage diversity in the workplace, will definitely have a competitive advantage over others in terms of differentiation, innovation and employer branding. Workplace diversity refers to the variety of differences encompassing race, gender, ethnic groups, age, religion, sexual orientation, citizenship status, military service and mental and physical conditions, as well as other distinct differences between individuals in an organisation.

Diversity not only includes how individuals identify themselves but also how others perceive them. Through strong policies and practices supporting diversity, continuous communications and diverse work groups can go a long way in creating a highly functional and diverse group. Co-existence of a multigenerational workforce along with machines will be the new order of the day.

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More power to HR in 2019

We live in very exciting times and there will be new challenges around people productivity and linked to that, challenges in organisation structure, design, systems and possible right sizing. The other part of the reality will continue to revolve around skilling up plans. With the elections coming close, we hope that new stable government policies will be made in the coming year. We can also hope for an economic surge in the next year and therefore issues around engagement and talent management will continue to exist. Either for good reasons and otherwise, HR will continue to be a key element in the organisations as far as I believe.

#MeToo – Safeguard leaders or the employees: role of HR

The HR has to be the conscious keeper at both sides.The matter in these cases comes out with proof and sometimes without, so it is about one’s word against the other. Therefore, the role of HR has to be fair in the direction of doing something which is right and not something which is popular.The responsibility of the HR is to be an impartial and honest adjudicator. The worse thing that can happen is that men will stop hiring women in their teams. Therefore, the other responsibility of HR is to educate people on both sides. The HR must remain calm and composed while handling such sensitive cases.

“Either for good reasons and otherwise, HR will continue to be a key element in the organisations as far as I believe.”

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AI-based recruitment – the differentiator

In the coming times, the question will revolve around on the predictability of the outcome. I have been posing the same questions to some of my friends and I find that at the end, the real differentiator will be whether the outcomes or the closure we have reached is accurate enough. We should not have to double check and look to trying something else. Also, the boltons that have been mentioned earlier should be able to integrate with talent management, engagement and other development tools.

“The worse thing that can happen is that men will stop hiring women in their teams. Therefore, the other responsibility of HR is to educate people on both sides. The HR must remain calm and composed while handling such sensitive cases. “

Investing in HR innovation labs – more data & insights

Small interventions will continue to happen. Different dimensions of HR, such as talent screening, talent identification, talent assessments, learning methodologies and technology will come out of these labs and these are very niche and bolt-on products. Some of them will intensify, some will survive, while some may not be able to survive. But we should not expect a success factor equivalent to come out of these labs. Digitally enabled, digitally leveraged and niche interventions may come out of these labs. The challenge will be for companies to have the ability to have 25 such things and bolting them on to their current ERP (enterprise resource planning ) equivalent.

“The Big question is whether the organisations be able to shift from a ‘culture fit’ to ‘culture plus’ mind set?”

Managing diverse workforce

Diversity should not be only restricted to gender diversity and inclusion of LGBTQ in the workforce. Diversity is fundamentally the most talked-of but the most underserved and underdelivered agenda. It is more about plurality of mindset and perspectives. My question is, “Will the organisations be able to shift from a ‘culture fit’ to ‘culture plus’ mind set?” Diversity is more about taking different perspectives and points of view in the working of the organisation and companies are still struggling with this. The problem is that while we want to hire them, we also wish to make them work just the way we have always made others work, to ensure a culture that we have always had. How do we move from conscious diversity to unconscious inclusion? Building a culture of pluralism is the new rule for diversity.

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The post “Bolt-ons to integrate with talent management, engagement & other development tools”, Prabir Jha appeared first on HR Katha.

Needless to say, we are at the threshold of an automated digital economy, with the world of work poised at the intersection of people and technology. With lofty goals to achieve, it will not be an easy path to tread. However, able leadership, emerging technology, and emotional connect with people will be the gamechangers.

While globally, companies have been reeling with their own set of issues, the Indian workplace has had its own share. However, what kept us afloat were our dynamic HR leaders reinventing themselves at every juncture to meet the evolving business demands.

Download the HRKatha 2019 Forecast – Powered by Sodexo, to read what the top 30 HR leaders predict for the new year

2018 gave us a glimpse of some major disruptions – digitisation, automation, unionisation of white-collar workforce, inclusion of LGBT, emerging technology & analytics at different phases of workforce management, and the #MeToo movement.

In 2019, the spotlight will be on reskilling the mid-management, strengthening the leadership bench with focus on diversity, improving employee experiences and making HR more human, despite the onslaught of technology, data and analytics.

As we identified the top trends of 2019, a big question that came to the forefront was whether all of these will make HR more powerful in the system.

To find answers to many of these pertaining questions, the HRKatha team interviewed 30 leading HR leaders of the country from diverse sectors. I believe the insights will be of immense value to the HR community.

HRKatha Forecast 2019 — powered by Sodexo — brings an array of bold predictions on how HR professionals can stay prepared in 2019 and beyond.

Happy Reading!

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