If you talk about HR or Recruiting (considerably a
sub function of HR) it is an evolving function and lots of thought leadership
and experiments have been done to identify/spot talent. Tools galore and
interviewing and assessment techniques are getting used to make hiring very
objective process. We have certainly moved from the ‘pigeonholing’ hiring time
and now are the time we see war for talent in India evident in face of start up
revolution we are witnessing . Word ‘talent’ has got its meaning in true sense
as hiring has traveled from bean counter mind-set to focusing on building
sustainable (and predictable) stellar performance, that only talent can
deliver. Skills and past achievements on which previous day hiring was based is
losing sheen as skills and past achievements are outcomes not the real hidden prime
factor (talent) that interviewers are trying to find. Strengths based tools
used for assessing tech, functional or leadership competencies are now used by
progressive companies and even start ups today, to portray the cross-sectional
view of the candidate’s talent. In earlier times, such tools and techniques of
assessments were preserves of celebrated MNCs only. Companies have realized
that hiring mistakes are disastrous and have become cognizant that they do not
have time to train and groom an employee in many cases and so a connoisseur act
is required by the interviewing and selection panel.
What
do you expect will happen differently in 2015?
HR is going through a phase of rechristening its
avatar as it is finding it is just not a catalytic function, managing change
but also ensuring success for future. It is involving in career and succession
planning and is truly aiming at ‘building leadership pipeline’ for the
organisation. While attracting and engaging talent is everyday issue in 2015,
it is equally baffling for HR folks to plan for long-term for each top
performer/top potential as the career and technology Diaspora is changing
unimaginably quick and, we cannot keep talent immune from being influenced by
new wave of opportunities. Focus will move from making work a fun place to
making work more fun than fun. Task ahead is challenging and would define
shape and destiny of HR. 2015 HR will not just have to be business savvy it has
to be the business itself.
How
is the role of an HR manager/ Recruitment manager changing?
As explained above, with the advent of technology,
availability of information to employees is with them 24/7 on their HRIS and
Other Apps about their company policies and other ESS (Employee Self-Service
Needs) and this means they do not have to interface with the HR Admin or
Recruiting manager for anything they need to know. This makes HR a function that
has all the time to add real-value to the business. HR will have to run like a
business partner in the value chain of business. Either they will do it,
justifying the cost of their services or the function will get outsourced to
“shared Services” or “specialized HR consulting organisations”, who would be
hired to implement projects. HR role in fact will be more demanding as Business
Partner than what Dave Ulrich defined decades back.
Do
you use any technologies to assist you in your HR practices?
We extensively use technology in everything we do
in HR, from ATS (Applicant Tracking System) to LMS (Learning Management System),
PMS from SuccessFactor to HRIS and Assessment tools that we use from vendors
like Gallup, IBM’s Kenexa, etc.
Are
there any changes, or any technologies, that you yourself would want to see
introduced?
Changes that I would like to spread are the
following:
Start following shared CHRO, Shared CFO and Shared
CIO models as anyways we have run ahead of on-premise tech infrastructure
management to cloud and we have answers for all conservative risk factors and
confidentiality.
Move people across functions and businesses to HR.
KPMG and several other organisations have done this and they are seeing change.
KPMG India’s Head of HR is from outside HR. She (Shalini Pillay) is a Chartered
Accountant and has been a very success client delivery Partner.
On technology side, make all employee related
applications move from desktop to mobile.
How
can managers strike the right balance between Technology and People? How are
they getting it wrong currently (if at all)?
Managers who need predictable performance manage
average talent and would expect people to follow technology and produce and
re-produce expected results. Those managers who expect people to create enviable
solutions would use technology as runway and not the defining thing. They will
treat people as ‘creators’ not just ‘producers and re-producers’ of work
pieces.
Give one piece of advice for:
1. Job seekers when applying for a job:
Ensure that the job is challenging (a level up, not
just in title and compensation) and you would have opportunities to test your
talent, learn niche skills and derive career growth and satisfaction. Check for
kind of people you will work with and do not hesitate to talk to some of them
and get a good hang of the workplace, before you accept the offer.
2. Employers when hiring for a job:
As always said, hire for attitude and train for
skills. However, there is only certain degree to which you can train. At workplace,
people have to learn by themselves.
3. Employees when looking to keep their job:
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