The Hindu Business Line : Management imperatives in the current context

While there is no denying the fact that organisations need to manage the careers of high-potential employees, the question is how should human resource (HR) managers go about it?

To begin with, they should assess and identify the high-potential human resources on their rolls, says John Curicatt, Head of Human Resources, HSBC Global Resourcing. Speaking at a panel discussion on the issue at the ISB-NHRD Talent Management Concla ve at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, Curicatt said there could be tremendous value in an assessment done by multiple stakeholders.

“The question is how objective can an assessment be? Because, there can be differences between the innate abilities of a high-potential employee and the transformation of that potential into action,” he said.

HR managers should be cautious in their assessment of employees, as their psychometric, numerical and verbal abilities may differ. “Managers should make sure that they have the ability to build a rapport with those in the senior management, so as to communicate their needs to them,” the HSBC official said.

Those at the top should also be ‘watchful’ not to come across as arrogant higher-ups. In the middle management, the assessment should focus on capacity-building.

HSBC has adopted a resourcing-led talent strategy. “We will take into consideration, the organisational goals and transformation needs which are vital in the current context of the slowdown apart from the personal aspirations of the employees,” Curicatt said.

Sangeeta Sabharwal, Senior Partner, Transreach, said succession planning and leadership pipeline are vital in talent management. “The most trusted way of building a leadership pipeline is by doing it from within. We need to create this pipeline at every level in an integrated system,” she said. HR was one of the most complex management functions today, she said, and senior managers should learn the transition from ‘managing self to managing others.’

There could be a big difference in the perspective/functional aspects once a manager is elevated to a higher position.

Dr Krishna Sagar Rao, Chief Executive Officer, Matrix Mentoring Pvt Ltd, said the HR manager should focus on building employee equity/net worth in the current economic scenario. Quality and productive capability, combined with creating of a sense of indispensability, would help in building employee net worth, he said.

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