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GEARING UP FOR THE FUTURE!

The Times Ascent HR forum was back with a bang, with this year's
theme being HR: 2020 - HR's Role In The uture! The fun"amental
#remise of the e$ent, organise" by the Times %rou# for the secon" year
in a row, was that to"ay's lea"ers ha$e to "o more than merely e&tract
work out of their #eo#le! 'o"ern #eo#le management has a lot to "o
with becoming 'change artists' an" with nurturing the "reams an"
ambitions of em#loyees with a $iew to making them realise that their
contribution is not (ust a transaction of work for money! Therefore, the
term 'resource' might be mis#lace", since it im#lies a to#"own acti$ity
wherein em#loyees ha$e to be 'han"le"' by the management! Ra$i
)iran, *hief +&ecuti$e ,fficer, -tarcom '. %rou#, -outh Asia, agree", /I
ha$e a fun"amental ob(ection to the term 'resource' when "escribing
Adrenalins V Balaraman, Starcoms Ravi Kiran, Accentures Pankaj Vaish, Walt
#eo#le! 0eo#le are assets because we buil" them an" "e$elo# them an"
Disneys Rajat Jain and !R"s Dr# $an%o&adhyay at the 'imes Ascent (R )orum
not (ust use them!/ held in *um+ai on the ,th o- January
The changing role of #eo#le managers was another bone of contention *om#anies are use" to fi""ling with HR-relate" costs when it's belt-
for the HR e&#erts who atten"e" the forum! Times Ascent took on the tightening time! Howe$er, e&#erts agree" that #eo#le costs are
role of obser$er an" analyst, as organisational lea"ers an" HR hea"s legitimate an" must be gi$en as much im#ortance as other in$estments!
congregate" at the %ran" 'aratha -heraton to engage in li$ely Ra(at 1ain, 'anaging 2irector, The 3alt 2isney *om#any 4In"ia5 0$t!
"iscussion an" intellectual "ebate! Two 6uestions re$erberate" through 7t"! affirme", /*reati$ity cannot be substitute" with anything else!/
the forum, $i8!:
a5 How coul" HR show return on in$estment an" become a more
A9:-TI'+ 0R,',TI,9-
mainstream business function an";
:+-T+R2A:'- inno$ati$e #ractices are routine
b5 3hat is the HR manager's role in managing change within the
to"ay! This is true for em#loyee #erformance
organisation<
measurement an" rewar" tools!Tra"itionally,
#romotions were an annual affair, but gi$en the
These were the sub(ects of the two #anel "iscussions at the forum! 7et's
com#etiti$e scenario, com#anies can't affor" to
see the wor"s of wis"om that the e&#ert #anelists ha" to offer!
make their #eo#le wait too long to be #romote"! Nina Fernandes
It's '#ayback' time
To #ro$i"e a solution to this, 9ina ernan"es, Hea"- Human Resources,
-ome still consi"er HR to be a su##ort function! =ut there are others
'astek 7t"! un$eile" the conce#t of 'any time-#romotions'! As the name
who actually "are to "ream that there coul" be room for it to e$ol$e an"
suggests, this #ractice allows em#loyees to nominate themsel$es for a
ac6uire a more strategic role! 3ith functions like recruitment an" #ayroll #romotion at any #oint of time! -oun"s hea$enly< It's not as sim#le as it taking a backseat to more "eman"ing functions like em#loyer bran"ing, soun"s! 3hat comes between asking for a #romotion an" getting one, talent grooming an" succession #lanning, this "ream coul" actually inclu"es grilling sessions with re$iew teams which are set u# to (u"ge come true! As for getting a seat at the table, only time will tell how well whether you actually "eser$e a (um#! -o, you ha$e to make a list of your #rofessionals in this function manage to a"minister their new roles! =ut achie$ements in your #resent ca#acity an" "efine your $ision for the there can be no "oubt that those in$ol$e" in #eo#le management must future before a##roaching the re$iew committee with a #resentation! It show tangible results (ust like any other unit like -ales or 'arketing! or is, but ob$ious that your imme"iate boss will sit in on the meeting an" this to be the case, HR hea"s an" managers must ha$e a thorough $ali"ate> run "own claims that you make in the #resentation! =ut if the knowle"ge of the business an" must come u# with ways to show #anel thinks you li$e u# to your claims, you win? monetary an" nonmonetary results that a"" to the bottomline! 2r! Abhi(it %ango#a"hyay, 0rofessor - ,= @ 0'IR Area, A7RI affirms that cor#orations are taking this $ery seriously, /0eo#le with cross-functional e&#ertise are being taken into HR to"ay!/

.! =alaraman,
*+, an" 'anaging 2irector, A"renalin
confi"antes! They then become a #art of the
The most im#ortant initiati$e;
7ea"ershi# is an ins#irational function;
;that HR can take to engage their
;:ou must create loyalty to the cause, not to
em#loyees, is to clearly articulate the goal!
the in"i$i"ual! If you "o a (ob an" en(oy it,
After all, when you bring someone in, his only
money (ust ha##ens! The real test of a
#ur#ose is to take you an" your organisation
lea"er;
into the future! The language you use when
"ealing with em#loyees is e&tremely im#ortant
;is making e$eryone has to #itch in "uring a
an" "eci"es how well or #oorly you "o! *larity
crisis! 'y un"erstan"ing of lea"ers "oesn't
of goal an" consistency;
come from obser$ing #owerful lea"ers!
+$ery"ay #eo#le can lea" #eo#le to success!
;will hel# em#loyees get results! Ask them
,ne becomes a lea"er by common sense!
how it can be "one an" make them your
*hange nee" not be strange
The Times Ascent HR orum's 'umbai cha#ter was a resoun"ing
*hange management is a strange #ara"o& an" a rele$ant 6uestion!
success an" it is our en"ea$our to kee# the ball rolling! After all,
-unit 'ehra, 'anaging 0artner, Hunt 0artners, an" mo"erator of the
there's always ne&t year?
secon" #anel on HR's role in change rea"iness, ga$e an e&am#le of
how the nature of work has change" "rastically, /,nce, we talke"
HR -A:- 'TA7) T, '+' about salaries in thousan"s an" lakhs! 0ost 2000, it's in crores, or
e$en greater than that!/
,rganisations must be able to make em#loyees
"ance to forms of music yet to be hear"/ was the
-o what are some of the elements of change-rea"iness an"
$iew that 2r! -u(aya =aner(ee,*hief 7earning
organisational agility< Training #rocesses figure" #rominently on the
,fficer, +ssar %rou# #resente" at the HR orum
list! =i(ay -ahoo, 0resi"ent-HR, Reliance Retail sai",/3e look at
"uring her talk on 'Inno$ati$e HR 0ractices'! The
training as a continuous im#ro$ement #rocess for change
HR #rofession,accor"ing to her, nee"s to rein$ent Dr Sujaya Banerjee .
management!/
its own role in or"er to accom#lish its goals effecti$ely! To illustrate this,
2r! =aner(ee #resente" a case stu"y from the agency 7owe, which use"
Hiring the right #eo#le is another mantra! 0anka( =harga$a, *hief-
themes like =ollywoo" an" erotica to em#hasise that em#loyees were
HR, 'arico 7t"!, sai", /:ou nee" to recruit #eo#le who are
welcome to s#eak to the HR "e#artment any time they ha" a 6uery! The
comfortable with change! Also, you ha$e to create a culture where
firm #ut u# #osters which looke" like the a"s of the 'frien"shi# chat
#eo#le are free to e&#eriment!/ -waran -ehgal, .ice- 0resi"ent @
lines' one sees in #ublic #laces, accom#anie" by a s#eech bubble that
Hea" HR, +"elweiss In"ia ha" some interesting insights to share on
state" that the HR "e#artment was waiting for em#loyees' calls!
the sub(ect, /0eo#le ha$e "ifferent reactions to change! 'any think
they can't change at all, but e$erybo"y has a limit to change!/ A""e"
Bnmesh 0awar, Recruiting 7ea", Accenture 2eli$ery *entre for
Technology, In"ia, /Agility means staying rele$ant in a changing business en$ironment!/ 'ona *heriyan, %eneral 'anager- +m#loyee +ngagement @ +uro#e 7iaison, i-fle& -olutions 7t"! recounte" the time i-fle& face" its first an" #erha#s its biggest challenge - lea$ing their comfort 8one an" $enturing out in"e#en"ently, /3hen we mo$e" away from *itibank, we were entering unknown territory! =ut we ga$e em#loyees a choice - they coul" either stay or come away with us! At that #oint, we foun" out that #eo#le hate change?/ Human *a#ital Alignment -oftware
3orl"wi"e Hea"6uarters C A"renalin e-ystems 7t"! 0olaris House, 2DD Anna -alai,
*hennai - E00 00E, In"ia! 0h: FGH DD D2HD IJK0> IJ2K Toll ree : H L00 D2I D2I2, +: infoMmya"renalin!com, 3: www!mya"renalin!com

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