HR -Organisation’s Heartbeat

Key Note Address

Ulhas D Wadivkar

Vice President (Works)

Graphite India limited

15.11.2003

Analogies

• What is the most valued commodity?

• Human Resource

• All stems from the right people, at the right time and the right place.

• Human body – blood supplies nutrition to perform

• Heart pumps blood – HR manages human talent – the organisations heartbeat!!

HR as Pacemaker

HUMAN capital is the heartbeat of any organisation, and people management processes work as the pacemaker to keep the pulsation rhythmic, giving quality life to the organisation.

HR as Key Result Area

HR is no longer seen as a mere administrative support function providing certain resource management functions,

HR is a non-administration Key Result Area (KRA).

The department's role has been transformed into a critical and significant one — of a strategic business partner

Align HR processesA KPMG survey of almost 1,000 US-based firms found that a small improvement in people management practices leads to a 7.5 per cent fall in staff turnover., per employee increase in sales, rise in organisational market value and per employee jump in profit.

These statistics show the need to align people management or HR processes in a focussed manner to build an energetic, productive and knowledge-based workforce. People management processes deal with extremely sensitive intellectual assets. The benefits of such a process can only be attained if people and processes, strategy and technology work in harmony.

Find the gapsThe process must design and monitor everyday business activities to minimise resource wastage.

Analysing the requirement of people assets at the micro level and blending technology to delivery can go a long way in enhancing overall organisation goals.

The identified processes reshaped on an ongoing basis until satisfactory results are achieved.

Once the gaps are identified and filtered for change, the enhancement processes can be triggered effectively and efficiently with suitable transformations, where effectiveness focuses on results and efficiency on activities.

Changing Trends

Monitoring the changing trends and distilling them into the work culture should be of paramount interest for any forward-thinking organisation wanting to make itself profitable and competitive in the change-driven business environment. Today, people management processes focus on the changing needs of industry and how to adapt to these changes smoothly.

HR Healthy CompanyLinking employee health and well-being to organisational outcomes is a vision for healthy organisations.

The organisations' wellness programmes are meant not just for improving employee health and well-being but also their financial position in the market.

Employees' health and well-being cannot happen by chance. HR will have to design wellness programmes for the right reasons, in the right manner.

Healthy Company StrategyA proactive and well-coordinated strategy with multiple channels of delivery is a good approach. Health information, group education through the Internet or Intranet, forming peer support groups, personal counselling and participation incentives are few ingredients of a successful wellness programmes of healthy organisationsMatching employee talents to their jobs is another interesting approach to employee health.

Matching employee talents to their jobs is another interesting approach to employee health.. services are effectively integrated with broader considerations like mutual concern, connectedness and respect.

HR – The differentiating FactorQuality, Price,Branding are must but are fast becoming non-differentiators in a competitive environment, it is only the company's human resource (HR) that is turning out to be the differentiating factor between successful and non-successful companies.

No longer can the HR department be termed as one that is just in charge of canteen, transport facilities and a custodian of employee records.

Nurture the human TalentToday the HR manager, like any other executive in a company, adds immense value to business and is vital for the overall business strategy. The underlining fact is that employees can make or break a company.

"A successful company is one that develops internal IPR [intellectual property rights] that competition doesn't do. And this is possible only if the human talent is nurtured in a company," said J N Amrolia, executive director, Ashok Leyland.

Common sense

• I am telling you nothing that you don’t know

• A plant needs sunlight to grow

• cholesterol chokes the heart

Dr Y V Verma, vice-president (HR), LG India, said: "The Indian employee force has three weakness - ego, the capability to execute, and accepting challenges.

Remove the CholesterolHR manager should develop systems and process so that ideas are continuously generated and go up in the channel to the top management.

Company should capture the internal knowledge available and make it available to others in the organisation and to the newcomers.

"This will avoid past mistakes being committed again. But the problem of getting the managers to document their knowledge/experience has to be solved,"

Hear Customer’s Voice

It is important to capture the customer knowledge / voice and building the business around it."

"Sixty eight per cent of customers switch to competition because of employees' rude behaviour,"

"The HR manager has a tremendous opportunity to impact business strategy and even head a corporate."

Many Hats of HR· Staffing (employment, recruiting and placement) · Communications (company meetings, employee/ labour relations, corporate intranet, mission/vision, policy development, customer satisfaction surveys, community involvement)· Benefits/Compensation (health care, pension, stock options, bonus plans, pay practices, market salary analysis)· Human Resources Information System (HRIS) (tracking/processing of employee information, payroll)        

Hats of HR contd.

. Performance Management (career planning, appraisals, job descriptions)

· Training (management training, technical training, soft skills training)

· Organizational Development (succession planning, culture, career paths)

· HR & IR Laws  

HR is people centric• The HR Declaration is the "Corporate Bible" Its main objective

is to provide equal learning opportunities for all employees in order to hone their skills, both materially and intellectually.

• HR is at the center , providing the basic inspiration and motivation spirit for all employees. The declaration places the HR department at par with all other divisions and departments.

• An organisation means a collection of people. The people provide the body, structure and soul to the organisation, while the organisation looks after their needs such as security, stability and support.

• HR department treats all employees as its customers,and constantly tries to provide an "assured and sustained quality of service".

Key Features of HR Policy• HR features are centered on all-round growth • A happy employee is a productive employee• Nurturing, personal attention, and help from superiors

in learning and problem solving. • The relationship is more personal than contractual.

It accepts the prestige and position of an individual in a team.

• Reward for commitment and efficiency Regard for personal confidence and trust

• commitment to growth of individuals within theorganisation. In-house training programs form an excellent platform for grooming employees to shoulder higher responsibilities.

Ideas• Dr Y V Verma, vice-president (HR), LG India,

said: "The Indian employee force has three weakness - ego, the capability to execute, and accepting challenges.

• One of the ways to resolve these issues and make the employees passionate about their work is to empower them. However, empowerment comes with responsibility and accountability."

• Conflicts between two managers/employees are not resolved by their boss but by themselves. "The two officials will be asked to talk it out and come with a solution."

Competition Within• With competition raging outside, create a very

competitive environment internally. "The company ranks each department and announces the 'Best and Worst 5 Departments.‘

• Within two days of the ranking the employees of Worst 5 Departments should draw out a strategy as to how they will improve their performance and will be out of the Worst 5 bracket the next year,"

• in addition to technical competency mapping a team reward system to be introduced.

• "Rewards are linked to product quality and customer satisfaction. The incentives are based on the warranty claims made by our customers. This way we keep a check on quality as well as customer satisfaction."

HR is Dead

• HR is Dead...Long Live HR Is HR history?

• Outsourcing is on the rise, and experts say HR head counts will eventually plummet by 25 percent or more.

• HR leaders like Kathleen Barclay of General Motors believe the profession is more important that ever. Could both views be correct? Yes. And here's why.

HR is Dead and Alive

• Kathleen S. Barclay, vice president,General Motors says. “There has never been a more important time in any company to have a very strong, active HR organization. HR can have so much impact on the way the company works, how the culture feels, and the type of talent you have both now and in the future."

HR is more dead than alive

• The profession's rosy future is far from certain. In fact, the number of available HR jobs has dwindled significantly in recent years, and opportunities are not likely to increase anytime soon. , says Frank Allen,. "I've got a database listing 18,000 HR professionals and the likelihood that Allen will be able to place all these people is pretty slim.

• The profession is enduring a wave of changes that by all accounts are likely to significantly reduce the number of people needed.

HR is more Alive than Dead

• What started in the 1980s as simple payroll outsourcing has exploded. The value of the business-process outsourcing industry has grown 20 percent.

• The good news is that outsourcing is finally giving higher-level HR professionals the time they need to tackle strategic workforce challenges. Even better, the demand for such strategists is higher than ever, for several reasons

HR is more Alive than Dead – Contd.• Second, with employees distributed across wider

geographic regions. HR people will be the ones who determine how to keep widely dispersed employees connected to corporate goals.

• Third, in spite of outsource vendors, HR consultants will still be needed to determine what combination of pay, benefits, and learning opportunities is necessary to keep employees engaged.

• Finally, someone with a solid understanding of HR and business will be needed to manage the multimillion-dollar vendor contracts. HR will always be responsible for ensuring the speed and accuracy of employee transactions, regardless of who is doing the work

What goes wrong

What does the world have to say

What is expected of HR & HR professional

My Experience• A progressive HR cannot stand without Sound IR.• IR is an integral part of HR.• HR is a tonic given to healthy child to become

strong and champion.• IR is a medicine, without which, the child cannot

be healthy.• For excellent IR a straight forward approach is the

best policy. You cannot say something and when you want something else to happen.

• Never take any undue advantage of the situation. Do not exploit. Healing touch is the essence of sound People Management Process

My Experience – Contd.• HR is all about development of Human Resource,• HR is based on transparent behavior. No false

promises. Offer true and factual picture of the situation.

• HR is empowerment with true responsibility and accountability and should fetch rewards, not necessarily the monitory ones.

• A personal bias in appraisals, mars the improvement process.

• A matter of factness, nurturing, having empathy are key ingredients for a successful HR personnel

Finally to sum up : Organisation’s Heartbeat : HR

• HR manages human talent – the organisations heartbeat!!

• HR as the pacemaker to keep the pulsation rhythmic, giving quality life

• Hr is a key result area(KRA). In a roll of a strategic business partner• HR is to build an energetic, productive and

knowledge-based workforce• HR to focus on the changing needs of industry

and how to adapt to these changes smoothly.• HR is differentiating factor between

successful and non-successful companies.

Summing up continues• Nurture the human Talent• Ensure ideas to generate continuously and go

up in the channel up to the top management• Capture the customer knowledge / voice and

build the business around it.• HR is people centric

• HR is more Alive than Dead• HR is based on transparent behavior. No false

promises. Offer true and factual picture of the situation.

• Healing touch is the essence of sound People Management Process

Any Questions ?