Termed as the personnel department in the initial days, Human Resources (HR) Department had a humble start with their primary work focus being maintaining employee records, and hiring new talent – also known as talent acquisition. They also were responsible of handling adjustments, leave addendums, and handholding employees from a formal distance during their life cycle in the organisation. Read on as Subhankar Ghose, a People Management Professional with over 16 years of leadership experience shares his insights about HR Industry and their Relevance in modern day employment
Their primary focus of work included recruitments and sourcing people from varied backgrounds. They were meant to ably balance hiring across campus recruits, professionals referred by head hunters, and professionals with personal reference from existing employees. They were meant to take them on board essentially but that is no longer what the job role is restricted to.
Changes Seeping In
Today’s scenario has HR serving more than just a support function. HR industry has evolved to ensure the professionals serve as a critical department to the management and help in shaping and enhancing the culture of the organization. The latter is most important to pave the way for right talent, to attract them to the organization and keep them engaged for a longer time period. A right kind of organizational culture conducive to all also keeps the happiness quotient high which in turn positively affects productivity.
Hence, in the current scenario HR industry seeks professionals able enough to help with employer branding beyond the regular talent acquisition and management functions. It is also important to seek professionals who know how to project the company to the potential employees in the most effective fashion to attract good talent.
Attracting And Managing Talent
Once the HR professionals have managed to attract an employee is on board it is also up to them to create a conducive environment to make the employee feel welcome and help them settle down. This depends on how approachable the HR professionals are, how they tackle grievances. Earlier HR didn’t take much pain or effort to resolve issues. However, nowadays is has become very important for the HR to closely get associated with the business function they are kept in charge of and work in tandem with the managers to solve problems. They should also make themselves well aligned not only to the upper management but also be amicable towards the lower rung of employees and be the middle man essentially between them and the higher management.
Out And Open / Being Loud And Clear
HR industry today demands professionals to be dynamic and aggressive and no more sit as silent players on the sidelines. Professionals are encouraged to go forth and interact with people, try and anticipate and apprehend problems before they occur. HR professionals need to understand the pulse of the organization and work towards building a healthy culture which is precautionary rather than reactionary.
They are also expected to be part of the strategic aspect of business focusing on budgeting and business unit development. HR today is viewed as a change agent which needs to actively engage and keep themselves visible, along with making efforts to make the organization visible to the world for all the right reasons.
By The People, For The People
Working towards external orientation, HR should also take initiatives in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and hold various engagement activities to buoy the spirits of the employees, giving them a proud sense of belonging.
In addition to all the above, when an employee is sent his or her joining letter, the HR should also look at circulating the information to the outside world and internally within the system welcoming the new employee and also celebrate the commitment of long standing employees to the organization. They should look at promoting the highest achievements of teams and employees to the outside world thus enhancing the name of the company in the industry as well.
Times, They Are A-Changing
In summation, a conservative basic approach must be put aside today and instead new world, inclusive and dynamic approaches need to be adopted. An important point to remember is how HR does a lot of branding of the company for the employees -both existing and potential.
About Subhankar Ghose:
Subhankar is a People Management Professional with over 16 years of leadership experience spread across industries. He has been associated with companies like ICICI Prudential, Muthoot Pappachan Group and ABP News Network. He is leading the Human Resource Department responsible for Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Compensation & Benefits and Employee Relations. He would be additionally taking care of Administration & Information Technology. He is also a member of ZOOM’s Executive Management Team. He is a Post Graduate in Human Resources and a Bachelors in Electronics & Telecommunication. He is an alumni of IMT, NIT Silchar (formerly REC), Cotton College & Don Bosco School. He is a Life Time Member of Associations like AIMA, NHRDN, NIPM & ISABS (Associate Member).
Attracting And Managing Talent
By The People, For The People