Nobel
Prize-winning economist Gary S. Becker, who coined the term “human capital,”
says that “the basic resource in any company is the people. The most successful
companies will be those that manage human capital in the most effective and
efficient manner.”
The
present day economy has been titled as “Knowledge economy”. In such an economy, it is people who make all
the difference. In political economy
capital or market was important. Talent
occupies centre stage in the Indian workplace.
In view of this, managing and retaining manpower is becoming crucial to
an organization’s success. To achieve
this, companies across sectors are focusing on some of the more critical HR
practices. Some of the trends that have been noticed are:
Leadership
development
Creating
a pipeline of leadership talent is key to a business’ future growth. It is imperative for the top level of an
organization to make leadership talent management a priority, and put its money
into long-term plans, as opposed to short-term ones. If companies are worried
about their talent pipeline, they have to develop their people.
Work-life
balance
No
company or employee has found the Holy Grail of balancing work and life, but
that is a work in progress. However, multinationals, information technology (IT)
and IT enabled services (ITeS) companies have been able to promote the balance
between career, family and leisure-time better. Other sectors have also been
increasingly promoting a work-life balance.
Interestingly,
most companies in India use benefits such as flexible timings, telecommuting,
crèche facilities and concierge services as an attraction and retention
strategy. Experts say companies should see the work-life balance as a business
proposition since progressive companies carry business forward with employees
and families.
Inclusion
and diversity
With
higher numbers of Gen Yers joining the workforce in India at a time when
companies across the world have an ageing workforce on their rolls, conflicts
are to be expected. Therefore, companies
are investing both time and resources in ensuring that all age groups are
comfortable working together.
Organisations
in India have also been focusing on making workplaces more representative. For
companies such as ICICI Bank Ltd, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Vedanta Resources,
PepsiCo India, Shell Companies in India and Bharti Airtel Ltd, gender diversity
has become a critical area of focus.
Health
and wellness
The
work culture at globalized workplaces involves long working hours, frequent
travel, multitasking and tight deadlines - and all this often leaves employees
mentally and physically stressed. Companies have begun to realize that healthy
employees contribute to higher efficiency and productivity. Apart from medical
benefits, companies are also offering yoga classes and health camps and have
doctors on campus.HCL Technologies Ltd, for instance, like many other IT
companies, has 24/7 medical facilities in all its centres. DuPont has an
Intranet-based tool, which assesses an employee’s health through a questionnaire
and makes recommendations based on the scores.
Right
skilling
Right
skilling, or matching jobs with a particular level of training rather than
hiring overskilled workers, is gaining currency. Companies use this strategy to
tide over a manpower supply crunch and to broaden their talent baseApart from
IT and ITeS firms, organizations in the banking and financial services sector,
too, have been increasingly hiring graduates and training them. The upside?
Lower attrition rates and wage costs. Pai explains that when you have an
over-qualified employee, it is very difficult to meet her aspiration levels
and, therefore, the chances of the employee moving on to something more
challenging are higher.
Managing
‘solid citizens
Organizations
which neglect their solid citizens are doing this at their own peril, say
experts. Unlike star performers who are potential leaders, and therefore more
likely to move out of an organization faster, this group provides stability and
bench strength to an organization. Experts say companies need to take a fresh
look at solid citizens and invest time and resources in managing and developing
this group.
Instant
rewards
Recognizing
and rewarding performers is one of the most effective tools to attract and
retain the right talent. Companies in India are looking at rewards systems more
seriously, and are adopting total rewards practices that include compensation
in both cash and kind.
Apart
from lifestyle perquisites such as a house, a car or a club membership,
profit-linked incentives, deferred gratuity, and wealth-building programmes in
the form of stock options and soft loans, companies are also including
work-life balance programmes; competency pay packages where niche skills are
compensated; and career opportunities, such as overseas assignments, new
projects, etc., to reward staff. These rewards can be tailored to suit the top
performers’ aspirations to achieve maximum effect.
Measuring
human capital:
Evaluation of performance plays a key role, not just in
rewarding an individual employee, but also in setting performance benchmarks.
And hence, the need for fair and transparent performance management system. A
strong performance analysis helps make human resources both efficient and
effective.
Managing
aspirations
As
aspirations of organizations grow, so do those of employees. And, with the
changing lifestyles and profiles of the workforce, personal and professional
aspirations of employees are not just varied, but are increasingly on the rise.
Experts say people as well as organizations have aspirations, and when the two
get aligned, achieving business goals becomes easier. Companies should be clear about goals of
individuals as well as of the organization, and the role each needs to play.
The firm should also communicate the goals, and have robust and reliable
processes to execute them.
360
degrees feedback
Finally,
recognizing the need to make performance appraisal systems more effective, an
increasing number of companies are using the 360 degrees or multi-rate feedback
process. Unlike the traditional appraisal system, which gives one-dimensional
feedback, this one allows an employee to give feedback to her reporting
manager, peers, direct reports and others. While most companies started using
this system as a means for performance appraisal, most of them now use the 360
degrees feedback system to identify the learning and development needs of
employees.
Since
companies are finally valuing people and their softer skills, does that make it
easier to hire good people? The answer is no.
In today’s business climate, attracting and retaining the best employees
is very difficult. The reason is a combination of the change in business
practices and the shift in employee attitudes.
The
business landscape has changed dramatically in the past decade as a result of
many factors from the feverish hiring boom of the 90s to the economic slowdown
in the later part of the last decade.
During this same period of time, employee attitudes have changed
dramatically. Exposure to widespread
layoffs and corporate scandals has led to an erosion of company loyalty and
reevaluation of career and life priorities by many employees.
So
now we have companies looking to acquire the best talent and a growing
workforce of talented individuals who are no longer attracted by compensation
alone, but who require and value intangibles as well.
The
bottom line is this. In order to achieve professional growth and success in the
next period of increased talent acquisition, technology professionals are going
to have to step out of their comfort zone and develop the holistic,
relationship-focused business skills that companies are requiring.
And
by the same token, companies are going to have to take a more strategic and
supportive approach to recruiting and retention if they want to find and keep
the new breed of evolving talent.
Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/146027/recent-trends-critical-hr-management.html
