The Hindu Business Line : Emerging from the shell

SIMPLE question to begin with: Do you see your workforce as indifferent subordinates or as people with quality and commitment who can be trusted to add value without being prompted to do so?

Your response to this question could well reflect your thinking on that most challenging resource of all - human resource or HR.

Years ago, trading patterns and markets were stable, technology static, customers passive, the speed in getting to market was secondary, competition was limited to sectors and regions, and hierarchies were generally accepted in all walks of life. But today's scene is dramatically different, given the fact that the world is shrinking into a `global village' with trade barriers coming down and with information technology changing the very texture of everyday life. And competition and demanding customers keep companies literally on their toes.

Accordingly, the HR role, earlier seen essentially as one of record keeping, personnel administration, and system policing, is evolving into something different. The equation has changed unmistakably. Quality talent is not just employees but a strategic business partner. And to build this partnership, companies must attract, nurture and manage quality talent, and most vital of all, make sure they retain this talent.

Living on hope

Says Bala Narayan, Head, Human Resources Department of the Pune-based Zensar Technologies, "at six o clock in the evening, when people are leaving after their job is complete, for me it is Zensar leaving. The hope is that these people will report back to duty tomorrow.'' But there is no room for complacency. To keep talent within the organisation, companies are now bending backwards and "are in the process of creating an amiable atmosphere where talent can bloom, putting in place a system that helps unleash their potential and build a reward and recognition mechanism that provides value for people,'' he says.

People-driven focus

HR issues have come into greater prominence in the wake of the dotcom bubble. According to Ganesh Sanker, General Manager, Human Resources Development and Organisation, KPIT, other factors of production, such as capital, raw material, land, etc are becoming more easily available and hence less important for business success in comparison to people. As manufactured items get commoditised, technology drives value addition. And the driving force behind technology is people.

"Globally, the share of services in the GDP is increasing at a rapid clip. Incidentally, India has the highest growth rate of services export. Again in services, the driving force is people. Dynamic changes in technology and the market place are making companies rely more on high performance and high productivity of people (rightsizing, business process outsourcing, etc for instance) for survival and growth,'' he says.

He points out that time to market is going down and hence the time required to ramp up operations is also getting shortened. This again brings into focus the role of the HR professional.

Is this prominence visible only in the IT segment or is it across all segments? Sanker says that in the recent past, while IT was a growth industry, other industries in India were going through a painful restructuring process in the context of globalisation and liberalisation. "However, soon this will be behind us and the next economic cycle will result in growth across the board. In this phase, changes in HR strategy and the prominence of the HR professionals will grow in every industry, not just the IT industry," he says.

With companies growing in size and sophistication, the top-down communication model has been replaced by bottom-up, cross-level communication, thereby encouraging people to voice their opinion and feelings. "The HR function is an integral part of the industry, especially the service industry. Be it finance, hotel, intellectual property or anything, it is driven by people. Hence, HR is now occupying the centre-stage,'' says Narayan.

Some help from IT

Another aspect to this whole dimension is how HR is embracing IT. HR needs IT's help not only to automate processes but also to speed recruitment, to improve employee development, performance management and succession planning. Some of the points that an HR department could well keep in mind are: reengineer all employment processes using IT automation wherever possible, reengineer the role of HR shifting away from the routine of running employment processes, recognise the effect on the role of the project manager, and deploy his/her use of HR information in planning and managing people.

What is the future trend in HR? According to Sanker, it is towards "HR becoming less of an administrator and more of a business partner. The HR performance can directly affect the top and bottom-line of the organisation. HR must drive improvement in the quality of people, productivity and performance at a lower cost.'' Besides, HR has to create a flexible workforce to deal with business cycles, has to improve its own productivity while increasing its reach. This will be through use of digitisation and systems, says Sanker. And HR has to make work a more enriching experience in order to improve retention, he feels.

Growing together

According to Kalpana Jaishanker, Director, HR, of Geometric Software Solutions Ltd, today HR is looked upon more as a business partner, and not as a necessary overhead. Today HR is looked upon as an integral contributor to a company's profitability, providing inputs on manpower availability, training requirements and the like.

Is HR more important to the IT industry? According to her, all services industry, including IT, take HR very seriously. Over the years, there has been a maturity in perception of the role of HR.

What about software that would help speed the process of recruitment? Geometric uses HRMS software to automate all HR-related functions. Using online software, appraisals and employee satisfaction surveys are being done today, she says.

As technology develops and more sophisticated tools evolve, one thing is becoming clearer — every company needs a strong HR base to make the most of emerging opportunities.

rsavitha@hotmail.com

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