Article on CHANGING ROLE OF HR
By v.sundar rao (former VP-HR ,Saint-Gobain Vetrotex )
Till a fortnight back, most of the HR professionals are busy with recruitment with or with out help of recruitment consultants. In those good times for many young HR professionals the focus was mainly on Recruitment, and to retain people with innovative Pay and Perks .So the the priority use to be RETAIN -> RETRAIN ->RETIRE.
Overnight the scenario seems to have changed with freeze on recruitment consequent to meltdown of Financial markets world over. This is happening across all verticals of Indian industry to meet the challenges of 3 Cs –CASH, CREDIT and CREDIBILITY . Adding to this if OBAMAs call for “ stop outsourcing “ if true it is the worst that can happen to Indian Industry .
To sustain in this scenario only way out for HR is to take a 3 pronged approach to make organizations COST EFFECTIVE by reducing non-performers, retaining high performers and retraining potential people. Thus the focus of HR should now be to RETIRE ->RETAIN ->RETRAIN .

RETIRE
Are we geared up to follow JACK WELSH concept of 20- 70-10 ie keep your top 20% performers delighted, and retain the 70% potential performers, and slash the 10% low performers .
It is high time to review the contribution of each employee and rewrite the Jacks formula as 30- 40-30. With the fears of job insecurity creeping fast, employees will be forced to seek the umbrella of collectivism (Trade Unions). In which case, there is an urgent need to institute strategic restructuring interventions immediately; failing may end up in a fiasco like JET AIRWAYS.
Indian labour Laws being what they are, can we legally get rid of the non-performers? Mind you Pink slips work effectively in a Demand chasing Supply scenario. Where as now it is supply chasing the demand . In this Job security stands out as a prime concern , than job hopping .Can Industry dole out huge VRS compensations to the redundant employees?
How to trim the organization FAT is the need of the hour, and RESTRUCTURE the organization /people to be LEAN and MEAN is the only option to sustain. Sooner than later the Unions will be entering the scene(hither to kept at bay) and HR should equip both on strategic and legal fronts to deal with the Unions both in IT and non-IT sectors . HR can no longer be content with their skills of Recruitment and development , but quickly equip themselves to deal with rough and tumble Industrial relations . There is an urgent need to horn the skills of collective bargaining/ negotiation with unions . All the techies of the IT/ITES fall under the definition of WORKMAN in Industrial disputes act , and HR should be able to handle the collective / individual disputes as well the agitations like strikes, lockouts, and other instruments of dispute settlement.






RETAIN :
The RETENTION strategies adopted in recent times lost their adequacy today.
With the meltdown globally is Attrition still a worry?
Yes – Attrition of Talent especially thru pouching still remains a tough task to contain. In the pressure to REDUCE the headcount to contain cost , all the more important to retain the Best . Majority of employees leave the organization mainly because of their “Boss” whose People Management skills or Interpersonal skills are found inadequate, even though they are Technically very competent . Many of the Bosses can do the Job efficiently, but getting it done by others is a nightmare for them. So retention of Merit with out doling out huge packages is big challenge for HR.

RE-TRAIN:
According to a Mckinsey study, only 25% of Engineering graduates, 15% of Finance &Accounting professionals, 10%of other graduates are found to be suitable for talent oriented work in successful organizations .Thus the need of the hour is to institute processes of Managerial & Behavior Skills acquisition and building through a continuum of learning, developing and mastery,to retain the talent .
To help retain the Talent, organizations must provide the resources employees need to manage their careers, to align individual visions of career success to that of business goals and objectives.
UNLESS employees are trained to acquire & continuously enhance their COMPETANCIES in Commitment , Credibility, Creativity, Communication, Competency (Managerial & Functional ) their Contribution to the Organization will become stale if not diminish .
CONTACT US for HR consultancy/ Retainer to handle RETIRE-RETRAIN –RETAIN people for your organization .
V.Sundar rao –CEO, Susikkshit HR consultants , vsrao95@rediffmail.com, Mob 09848051584, www.susikkshot.com