Ten Areas Where HR Managers Need To Improve Immediately

The past two decades have seen personnel departments transform into human resource departments, and focus shifting from industrial relations to employee relations. More recently, the focus has gone beyond employee relations to employee engagement. Human resources is now a highly evolved discipline. However, in spite of a burst of knowledge, practice is still proving elusive.

Here are 10 things HR managers may not be doing, but need to start implementing immediately.

1. Earn a seat at the table
Many HR departments complain about being a siloed function. However, to get a seat on the table they need to earn it. HR managers need to take initiative in understanding core business issues, which involves learning the nitty-gritties of finance, operations, etc. HR managers also need to show their impact in monetary terms, be it through minimised TATs for recruitment or impact of training on productivity.

2. Re-examine your core role
Traditionally, HR has been a risk mitigator; they handled ‘labour’ issues to protect the interests of the company. Companies, especially those in the service sector, are as only good as their people. HR’s role is no longer that of a disciplinarian, but of that of an enabler to maximise productivity. This can only be done by developing a culture of trust where talent can thrive. Remember talent is your strategic differentiator. 

3. Leverage technology
Most companies are automating most backend HR functions like payroll, leave management and benefits, giving HR more time to focus on improving employee engagement. Technology is also bringing about a shift in how employees can work – working from home, virtual teams, etc. and HR needs to be sensitive and proactive in implementing such a change at the workplace.

4. Hire for heart
For millennials, money is no longer the top motivator. Their prime motivator is their passion. HR should also be recruiting for attitude. Skills are essentially transferable and a skill gap can mostly be covered through training and coaching. However, a gap in attitude will always lead to sub-optimal performance. 

5. Recognise and reward good people management
Impressive business school degrees and work experience don’t always translate into competencies in people management. HR needs to take responsibility for recognising and developing people management skills to develop strong leadership bench strength. Unfortunately, most reward and recognition is done for end results; but, how those results are achieved is equally important if sustainability is to be achieved. 

6. Balance between data and the human touch
HR departments are either too data driven, or too subjective. This is often a factor of the size of the company. However, HR managers in all companies, irrespective of size, need to balance being objective and factual while keeping an emotional connect with employees. 

7. Offer a career, not a job
Attrition is one of the biggest HR challenges. HR managers are not usually able to communicate the ‘what’s in it for me’ for staying loyal to the company. A paradigm shift that is getting implemented in variousHR departments is creating defined career paths with set parameters for progression.

8. You can’t improve what you don’t measure
Peter Drucker gets quoted ad nauseum, what gets measured, gets done.  The investment involved in measuring employee engagement often leads to companies using ineffectual interventions to engage employees based on subjective assessments. The cause for demotivation may often be operational or interpersonal, which an offsite or a R&R ceremony can’t fix.

9. Employer branding
There are several companies in the B2B space that advertise heavily to get attention of prospective employees. External and internal branding is crucial to attract the right talent. Employees are your best ambassadors. Focus on maintaining relationships during exits, as it may cause more doors to close than what it seems on the surface.

9. Maintain neutrality
HR departments are often partial to top management or towards the rank and file. They are neither supposed to be ‘yes men’ for top management nor blind champions for employees. It is essential for the HR department to remain neutral and look out for the best interests of all stakeholders.

- This article was written by me for Times Ascent as a guest blogger

A recap of this year's MindMine Summit

Another year and another MindMine Summit gone by and I’m already looking forward to what people will achieve this year from what they took back. The two days went by in a blur with some of the nation’s brightest minds discussing India’s future economic landscape and how each and every one of us contributes in our own way.

A tradition we are all familiar with is the lighting of the lamp prior to any event. So to start off the event on an auspicious note, Mr Sunil Kant Munjal, Mr Pawan Munjal and Mr Nitin Gadkari along with the first session panellists carried out this ceremonial deed. Prior to the beginning of the summit, Mr Sunil Kant Munjal gave a short address to the gathered intellectuals to reiterate the theme of the MindMine summit and the true purpose of such summits. That it is imperative that we keep ourselves updated and ready to adapt in this highly volatile landscape to ensure that this is India’s decade. We started the summit with an attention-grabbing speech by Mr Nitin Gadkari highlighting the various ways in which the government is toiling away to ensure the sustained growth for India. From on the ground negotiations for reduced material costs to creating untapped logistics sources, it is quite clear that this government is focused on delivering promised growth for the country. After that eye opening speech, we had a stimulating discussion led by Mr Nitin Gadkari about India 10 years down the line. How the initiatives put in place have already caught the eye of various institutions such as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. But for any such growth, we need supporting infrastructure. Mr Suresh Prabhu highlighted the uphill battle that the railways has in its hands to upscale India’s logistics and various steps taken to overcome them. All this infrastructure in coordination with the Make in India policy is designed to promote the manufacturing industry. Mr Amitabh Kant reiterated the various initiatives the government has taken to ensure foreign interest in manufacturing in India. However, without the skill and ability to scale quickly none of the infrastructure matters as highlighted by Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad. He recapped us on the goal of the Digital India initiative. How it will along with a new certification system in government organisations will ensure people are skilled to handle the various job roles they face.

Nowadays demand for all those manufactured goods is not driven by the weekly family visit to the mall. But rather the mouse clicks or the smartphone taps that has brought convenience of purchasing to the masses. From the Nike’s to the Gucci’s; bringing both access to brands and affordable prices e-commerce has tapped our increasingly disposable income quite effectively. However, while we spend our hard earned money getting the latest fad in fashion, our borders are protected by soldiers using aging equipment outclassed by lawless militants. Despite that they ensure we are sleep in peace. Keeping this in mind, the government has reviewed the defence budgets and will be revamping the armed forces. From importing the latest equipment to developing and manufacturing in the homeland to ensure safety and independence. This will not only help creating jobs but also help us in maintaining peace in the region.

Smartwatch Wars : Disruption Is At Hand

I won’t deny the fact that I like gadgets from Apple, and have been following up on the updates about their much anticipated smartwatch - Apple Watch (which is slated to go on sale from April 24). The thing that intrigued me more than the updates on Apple Watch was the flurry of renowned watch brands like Tissot and TAG Heuer announcing their own versions of smartwatches in the past couple of weeks. It is natural for the likes of Samsung and Motorola, who are direct competitors to Apple, be in the arena of smartwatches. However, seeing the legendary luxury watch brands jump on to the smartwatches bandwagon appears as if these luxury watch brands deem Apple Watch to be a threat!

We are all living in the age of ‘disruptive innovation’, where an innovation carves a market for itself by finding a new customer base and displaces an existing market. The likes of Uber and Ola cab-rental services are examples of disruptive innovations where they introduced a non-traditional way of functioning with no hassles of maintaining a cab fleet or any fixed assets.

Likewise, the wristwatch segment has been subjected to some really interesting disruptive innovations in the past few years. Couple of years back, Pebble released a smartwatch that communicated with the user’s smartphone via Bluetooth and displayed notifications about emails and text messages, allowed controlling music and tracking fitness, etc. And that had set the trend for devices not working in a stand-alone but inter-connected way, communicating with other devices, particularly smartphones. Now you don’t have to flick out your smartphone from the pocket each time it buzzes; you get notified on your smartwatch about the incoming call or text and you can take the appropriate action right from your watch.

I don’t see smartwatches as a fad that will fizzle out soon because it is a sensible extension of a device which has become an integral part of our connected lives – a smartphone. Smartwatches will not be an additional device that we will have to carry, but ultimately will be a natural replacement to traditional wristwatches. Smartwatches have graduated from gadget enthusiasts’ market to become more mainstream, with both Google and Apple launching their own versions of smartwatches. Till now these smartwatches were in the price segment of USD 150 – USD 350. Much under the price segment of luxury watches like Tissot, Rolex, etc. Whereas Apple Watch will start at a price point of around USD 350, and will go up to USD 12000 for its 18-karat rose-gold edition. The foray of Apple Watch entering into the price segment where the luxury brands operate is a worrying factor for these brands. They cannot afford to ignore the smartwatch trend. If someone is buying an Apple Watch priced at USD 1000 or more, it will definitely be replacing a luxury wristwatch, as no one will wear two wristwatches.

For industry trend analysis I often cite the example of Kodak, a renowned film-based camera manufacturer which didn’t gauge the digital photography market well and was beaten by Canon and Nikon. In the same vein, a threat looms over the traditional wristwatch manufacturers if they ignore the trend of smartwatches. Tissot and TAG Heuer are taking the right measure by being cognizant of disruptive innovation brought by smartwatches which can negatively impact their market share.

It pays more to take risks rather than becoming a sitting duck to a trend that is going to impact your business.

How can we create a more Compassionate & Inclusive Society?

“A social inclusive society is defined as one where all people feel valued, their differences are respected, and their basic needs are met so they can live in dignity.” ~ The Social Inclusion Act, Canada

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Before talking about having a compassionate and inclusive society, there are multiple differences to be addressed first. One important aspect of an inclusive society is the integration of the people into the mainstream irrespective of their physical and mental abilities. Mother Nature is not equal to each human, some are not blessed with full functionality of their body from birth, while some are unfortunate to lose some of their body ability to incidents. Their physical disability becomes a challenge for them to be treated equally in the society. Due to which our society still has a long way to go to be termed as an ‘inclusive society’.

The presence of physical and social barriers prevent the integration and participation of the disabled people in the community. Right from places of education to public transport to office premises, all are built without any consideration for physically disabled ones. Lately, we have made significant progress in implementing barrier-free accessibility for disabled people in all walks of life, be it public transport or buildings. However, public transportation system is still not completely barrier-free for disabled people; for instance public transport buses are not wheel-chair friendly. The same can be said for older buildings that still are not disabled-friendly. I give kudos to the disabled who tread their way to offices daily despite so many physical barriers.

In my opinion a greater role should be played by private sector by opening avenues of opportunity for people with disabilities. Across industry sectors there are specific areas where people with disabilities can be incorporated into the workforce. The BPO sector has been a game changer in providing self-reliance to persons with disabilities. It is the only sector which has a very high diversity in terms of people who are differently-abled, and not on basis of gender, caste and creed. There are success stories of BPO companies that have almost 90% of workforce with disabilities. By enabling people with disabilities to become self-reliant and have opportunities to earn their own living we can work towards eradicating social barriers for them to be included in society, and in turn also help in economic growth of the country.

What I feel is that we as a society have literally treated differently-abled persons differently. Right from childhood a differently-abled person is treated differently, different schools for them, different seats in public transport, etc. What is important is that we become more compassionate towards them as humans rather than being sympathetic towards their disabilities. It is important to encourage the removal of physical and social barriers within the society, rather than to fix the disability or health of the concerned person. The more steps that we take to make their daily walks of life easier and make them feel equal; that will take us more closer to ultimately become a compassionate and inclusive society.

Indo-US Business Opportunities - The Road Ahead

President Obama became the first US President to grace the Republic Day celebrations as Chief Guest last month by accepting the invitation from PM Modi. And when he arrived in Delhi PM Modi set aside the protocols to greet him personally at the airport. The media has been abuzz by their surprise friendship and bear hugs, but the fact of the matter is they share a good rapport. This rapport between the leaders of the two largest democracies in the world seems to strengthen the relationship and collaboration between the two nations – India and United States.

Both Obama and Modi share some similarities besides their excellent oratory and people connect skills. One of them is that both had come to power by making strong promises for the growth of their country’s economy. While President Obama had failed in delivering some of them, it would be interesting to see if PM Modi would also follow the suit or will be able to deliver on his promises to bolster the Indian economy.

I’m impressed by how PM Modi recognizes the importance of the role that US can play in the further growth of Indian economy and the efforts he has made to woo the American investors to do business in India are commendable. With a bullish Indian economy and the past year showing revival from recession for the US economy; the business opportunities are there between the two to benefit from. In my opinion there’s a huge potential for PM Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign to boost the Indian manufacturing sector from US investments.

The steps taken by the Modi government to make the process of starting business in India easier and faster; are the steps in the right direction to build trust and attract foreign investments. But certain lacunae needs to be addressed first; like the delay in implementation of uniform Goods and Service Tax, lack of stable policy on labour and taxation laws etc. act as deterrent to foreign investors from coming to India. The Indian market had been optimistic till now from the entire positive environment that Modi government had brought. It is action time now for the Modi government to deliver on the promises made. PM Modi will have to address the roadblocks from the way of his ambitious ‘Make in India’ campaign of making India a global manufacturing hub; and investments from US businesses can help in realizing this dream.

The success of the bear hugs of the two leaders will be gauged by the trajectory the trade volume between the two countries takes over the year. Still the road ahead for Indo-US business relations appears to be bright, and would be of smooth ride too if the policies and agreements to increase trade by both countries could be implemented soon.

The time is now for India to ‘Shine’!

Focus, Happiness and Life Priorities

Feel like you’re juggling too many projects and struggling to get your work finished? Feel that there aren’t enough hours in the day? And there’s just too much happening and it’s flat out exhausting?

Then there is definitely a need to look back and set your priorities right!

It happens a lot of times that one gets distracted and diverts their vital time into some other thing that captures one’s interest. Has this happened with you? If yes, then there’s definitely a need to focus on the work or pursue the work/activity where your focus and attention is undivided.

Successful people in life have always gone from one work to another after getting bored with their original work and fallen in love with a new one. The result: they never had the kind of success they could have enjoyed if they’d only stuck with and relentlessly pursued the work which they didn’t like and work which they could never focus on.

In my opinion, one should pursue the work that one loves and is passionate about. This would lead to undivided attention and focus.

Also, it necessary for you to always prioritize! If you keep all of your options open you haven’t made a commitment to anything. If you’re keeping your options open you’re not wholeheartedly focused on the business or the project that can help you fulfill your highest goals. One should always stick to what one is doing and what one can do best. It’s important to not be tempted by false opportunities. Focus on what is going to make you happy. Ask yourself – “What can I do to achieve greater success and help myself and people who I love?”

Apart from this, there are whole bunch of techniques to help one focus on what matters most. I’m sharing two that work for me.

Tomorrow’s List: End each day with a to-do-tomorrow list. Leave it on your desk and go home. It will be waiting for in the morning and you don’t have to spend time at home thinking about tomorrow.

Stop Doing List: The greatest leaders, like Warren Buffet, learnt to say “no” to almost everything not important. Not only they refuse to do anything that is not absolutely essential, they spend a lot of time looking around their companies for things that can be eliminated. The best leaders seem to have figured out ways to say “no” to the nonessential items. Now figure your.

Hope this article was useful. Please feel free to share your views with me by writing down a comment below.

My take on ALS Ice Bucket Challenge!

I am pretty sure you must have heard about the Ice Bucket Challenge viral fundraising campaign (under the hashtag, #ALSIceBucketChallenge), which challenged participants to either post a video on social media of having a bucket of ice water dumped over their heads or donate $100 to ALS, or both – within 24 hours. There have been reviews and comments of every kind about ALS’s Ice Bucket Challenge.

To those who are not aware of it - ALS is a fatal progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The disease disrupts muscle control, causing paralysis and eventually death. About 6,000 Americans are diagnosed annually. There is no cure and no known cause
Interesting things cropped up on the internet and there was a debate between people who opposed it and those who supported it. The debate between the two groups highlighted and challenged the existence of the Ice Bucket Challenge, which is simply interesting when supported by evidences.
People who are thinking that raising money for an incurable illness is a “waste” of water, have taken to the Internet to protest the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

I feel that although the popular ALS ice bucket was about creating awareness about the disease yet, it comes with its own catch of wasting water.
Some say it was genius, some say it was frivolous. Critics have called the Ice Bucket Challenge a gimmick, a waste of water and a way for people to get recognition by not donating.
Bollywood also engaged in this viral activity of dumping bucket of ice-cold water on themselves. Some did it just for fun and didn’t even know much about the cause according to the reports.
Whether this was necessary or not is still debatable, but it did influence and garnered attention of everyone in the world.

What surprised me was how creative people became leveraging the campaign publicity and came out with their own campaigns supporting other causes. While some were really funny such as Dirt Bucket Challenge and I need not mention their purpose; Others came up with their own version, posting videos as they donated rice to those in need.
In line with the mantra of ‘charity begins at home’, this campaign titled ‘Rice Bucket Challenge, aimed to save water and feed the hungry.

Hunger in India remains at “alarming levels”. Far from enthusiastically dumping buckets of grain over their heads, this trend actually urged participants to donate a bucket of cooked or uncooked rice to a needy person. A further option was the donation of medicines to the value of 100 rupees to a local government hospital. Now this is something that’s inspiring and motivating. Isn’t it?
To all the readers! I would love to know your view, too. Feel free to share your opinions by posting a comment.