Monday, August 5, 2013

MANAGEMENT/HR SPECIAL....HR MANAGERS today have the potential to occupy SENIOR BUSINESS POSITIONS



HR MANAGERS today have the potential to occupy SENIOR BUSINESS POSITIONS 

RAJEEV DUBEY,
president (group HR, corporate services & after-market) and member of the group executive board, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and national president of NHRDN tells that there is indeed some scope for an HR manager to be a CEO

Q. EXPERTS SAY THAT HR MANAGERS HAVE TO BE STRATEGIC BUSINESS PARTNERS’IN ORDER TO ENSURE ORGANISATIONAL EXCELLENCE. BUT WITHIN THE INDIAN CONTEXT,WHY HAS THE APPLICATION OF THIS PHILOSOPHY BEEN ALMOST NEGLIGIBLE?
HR is slowly beginning to be recognised as a strategic business partner. But the reason why this has not been so till now is because: a) HR was involved mainly in transactional kind of work like payroll management, the mechanical side of performance appraisal, etc; b) The strategic role of human capital itself was not recognised and focus was on financial capital, technology, marketing, new product development and other ‘hard’areas; c) HR professionals tend to operate in silos and did not have a close working relationship with other functions - in both strategic as well as operational contexts; d) HR professionals did not have a good understanding of the business.
Q. DO YOU SEE HR MANAGERS TURNING INTO CEOs OR IS IT AN UNACHIEVABLE TASK?
Given the recognition of human capital as a critical and an often differentiating success factor, HR professionals are increasingly working seamlessly with other business functions and have every potential to develop into well-rounded business managers. If young HR professionals try and move back and forth from HR into business roles, they will increase their probability of occupying senior business positions, including that of the CEO. In fact, they could well be at an advantage compared to people who have not had any exposure to HR because the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) world needs a whole brain approach where the left combines with the right brain to come up with truly transformational solutions to business challenges.
Q. THE PRIME MINISTER'S NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT HAS IDENTIFIED THE TASK OF SKILLING 50 CRORE PEOPLE BY 2022. DO YOU THINK IT IS AN ATTAINABLE TARGET?
The target taken by the Prime Minister’s National Council for Skill Development is no doubt ambitious, but will give a much required impetus to the perennial problem of skill shortage that our country is facing. According to me, the major areas of concern that should be addressed are:
    The skills that are created should be the skills that are demanded by the economy. Currently, the skills being imparted are not in line with the market demand;
    The quality and quantity of the infrastructure/faculty needs upgradation; There is a vast scope for improvement in mobilising resources from enterprises to partner in skill-development activities initiated by the government.
Q. SEVERAL HR MANAGERS GET A LOT OF ACADEMICALLY-SHARP AND ‘EXPERIENCED’EMPLOYEES. BUT THEY COMPLAIN THAT THEY ARE NOT EMPLOYABLE? WHY IS THIS SO?
    
The lack of a close relationship between academics and the business/industry;
    The kind of experience, which the concerned employee has gone through and its relevance to the job requirements;
    Ultimately, it is about having the wisdom and maturity to apply academic knowledge and experience to the situation at hand.
Q. WHICH HR PRACTICES OF THE WEST HAVE IMMENSE POTENTIAL TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN INDIAN ORGANISATIONS?
Long-term strategic approach; execution discipline and operational excellence; a sharp focus on quality, and a nonhierarchical set-up that functions on the principles of collaboration and empowerment rather than command and control.
Q. AS THE NATIONAL PRESIDENT OF NHRDN, WHAT ARE YOUR KEY PRIORITIES?
While a detailed plan of action will be ready by the end of the month, the basic value proposition of NHRDN will be around creating vibrant platforms for networking; enhancing capability, for both white and blue collar workers; thought leadership and advocacy in areas, which concern both professional knowledge as well as its application to societal problems and harnessing the power of IT for all the above.
Q. DO YOU THINK THE ATTRITION PROBLEM WILL EVER GET RESOLVED?
The opportunities available to newcomers today are far more than what they used to be. Also the mindset of young managers today is that they should experience diverse industries and businesses and hence, they move quickly.The attrition problem will always exist and we need to live with that.We should strive to create a work environment that empowers people to unleash their potential and contribute as long as they are with us and create a robust pipeline of future employee
Viren NnaiduTAS 130724

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