Project Management skills in HR …

HR in India is a very very dynamic function with the growing economy and multiple people challenges . It just means that as a HR professional you will be fraught with multiple initiatives and projects at the same time . Hence project management skills are highly essentially for HR success . The essence is in time management , focus , planning , roping in resources at the right time and constant tracking of the projects and initiatives . Not to forget that most important activity of keeping an eye on the budget and timelines . From attrition , to talent development , hiring C&B – based on the nature of your role you could be doing several things at the same time and hence the need for effective project management (PM ) skills. I would be working for instance on a range of issues at the same time each requiring a different skill set and mindset ranging from employee engagement , change management , diversity etc . In fact some reading on PM skills and actually understanding tools and techniques related to that could be useful for HR professionals .

First Time Managers ..

At MSD there is a global program for first time managers to groom them and help them as far as all the core and critical skills are concerned to be a successful manager . India is a country fraught with first time managers across all sectors let it be the more traditional ones or the sunrise ones . Reasons obviously being that the economy was on a general upswing since the past couple of years and we were in a great need of managers so people with a certain degree of technical proficiency got selected , were put on a fast track . So we have a set of highly talented people who are in need of all kinds of technical , behavioral inputs let it be in the form of Assimilation programs , On the job training , Induction programs , coaching and not to the mention the ubiquitous Leadership programs !! Thus there is a mushrooming of Leadership programs and vendors in India . Each organization based on their unique needs would design interventions which will support the target group and business . But we really need to put in focused energy and effort on First Time Managers where the interventions are probably designed in phases and spread from the initial posting and placement period to the settling down period and even after a year or so .

Attrition is well a problem…

There could be multiple reasons but the challenge continues . When you look at the attrition analysis of Asia Pacific region the graph really goes northwards when you look at India . What are the reasons – there are lot of seminal studies on this topic . But when you deal with it day in and day it you cannot help wondering the business loss and the revenue loss associated with attrition . Some times you think that in the sea of humanity many time personal considerations are not looked at . There could be too many opportunities . What is it with Gen Y and attrition ? Lots and Lots of queries and doubts . But it remains a huge challenge and as an offshoot it has lead to a high wage bill as well. Not that attrition is the only reason for high wage bills – but when you write those neat notes requesting for that higher percentage increase for the Indian market . So there is no shying away from that reason ie attrition

Prediction by friend and HR colleague , Asmita Sen whose world view never ceases to surprise me

Future predictions by Asmita

*Executive coaching gaining performance in India .In fact it will be a key role of HR practitioners in the future .Thus HR practitioners can help themselves by honing their coaching skills .
*Counseling will develop as a big area in corporate India later .This is so because there is a lot of imbalance and stress in modern day existence .There would be a lot of rationalization which will follow the hectic growth pace and hence there would multiple decisions on the downsizing and workforce rationalization front . This would call for a lot of onsite counseling help
*Compensation will soon be commensurate with the skill sets. Hence the current trend of paying disproportionate salaries will discontinue. After sometime there will be a lot of rationalization and hence lot of people will be rendered redundant
*Sumedas, IAOD gaining prominence as national credentialing institutes of repute . Hence their programs and initiatives will have industry wide repercussions .
*Organizational development related skills and actual delivery would be a must for HR professionals . The requirement would be far more deeper and HR professionals would need to develop and hone their delivery skills .
*AIDS and depression will be the major workforce killers in India
*Communication and its effective use plays a vital role for success in the HR profession
*India and China specific management practices will emerge in the near future with the rapid growth in their respective economies The world will look to the East even for progressive management thoughts and practices
*There will be a blend of the Orient and Occident in management thought and practice
*Quality of work life would be extremely important for Generation Next and issues like staying next to your place of work , five day week would be extremely crucial
*Training and Industrial Relations would be vital areas of specialization for the HR professionals . They will have to choose between these two areas in their career span
*Sooner or later any fast growing person (in case he/she does not update his/her skill levels ) will arrive at their level of incompetence
*Future lies with the specialists ( this again calls for the extinction of the species called the HR generalists ). The idea of a shamrock organization comprising of teams of core specialists will gain prominence
*We can build a body of knowledge in the realm of management based on allegories , allusions , examples drawn from Indian mythology . This can be a huge project by itself requiring lot of energy and resources
*Each passing generation seems to expend itself on issues which are not extremely critical and value adding . Hence they seem to be playing a less significant role than their predecessors and not able to create the kind of value which probably the earlier generation created


Asmita Sen's linkedin profile is as follows :
http://in.linkedin.com/pub/asmita-sen/9/75a/83b

Patience in a leadership role

I think patience and large doses of it are required with every step of the leadership journey . There are so many issues and decisions simmering in an organization big or small that whilst some issues require quick decision it is the leader’s prerogative to postpone a few decisions, ignore a few trivial issues and delegate some to the more capable people . In juggling these activities the leader should not lose his/her cool and take the whole team along with him/her to ensure that the organization functions as a cohesive whole .

Strategic thinking , futuristic approach , ability to think big , problem solving and team management skills are essential ingredients of the leadership role . A lot is written about the essential competencies necessary for a leadership role . However I think at an operational level patience and ability to maintain cool on an everyday basis are also required to remove the subjective emotional part in the decision making process. Now how do you develop it ? In some people it is inherently present in large doses . In some people it might not be inherently present in generous proportions and it needs to be developed . But it is high time that we start placing a premium on this trait too .It is that balance between patience and quick action that is important for success in a Leadership role !!

Management Education in India

Ancient India has been a creator and repository of a vast body of knowledge. However we have not been very systematic in documenting that knowledge for various reasons. One of the reasons could be our temperament – to specify more on that front … We pay attention to abstract phenomenon rather than creating or codifying concrete systems or institutions. I think the same plight affects modern management education in India. The premier institutes (or Tier I Institutes as they are called) have seen compensation levels reaching an astronomical high. At the same time there has been a proportionate increase in the compensation levels at the second rung management institutes as well. However one would like to ask what are the concerted efforts taken to enhance the skill levels of the students ?

I happened to visit as part of the Campus Placement process at least 40 different Management institutes since 2004. Let us leave aside for the time being variables like availability of slot , compensation levels offered by various companies , profiles offered by the recruiters et al . The general observation was that a) the communication skills of the students calls for improvement at times b) lack of practical skills i.e. accounting knowledge, practical application of concepts for fields like HR. c)lack of awareness of the skill level requirements in the industry . At the same time most of the students came across as extremely confident[ Henry Mintzberg did mention once in his characteristic style that Confidence without competence borders on arrogance ]. The students are indeed highly open to all kinds of inputs and moldable . However the industry requires more advanced skills and the students have to go through a steep learning curve .The students per se are not at fault as they have not got the right inputs . As result the there is a mismatch between the actual yield and the industry expectations . If we take a Systems view of the whole situation then we will have to make changes at the input stage itself so that there is a consequent change in the process and thus the final output . Thus industry will have to actively collaborate with the education sector to create talent for the future. Talent creation itself will become an important HR activity going ahead. Organizations like TCS, Infosys , ICICI have already started collaborating with institutes to evolve specific curriculum that suits their interests . In addition to this there are many institutes that have evolved insurance specific courses( taking cognizance of the booming insurance sector in India ) , institutes like NMIMS at Mumbai have started a focused MBA course in Capital Markets . It is interesting to note that management education in China too is more or less in the same state . However we have long way to go before India is able to regain its status as centre for higher learning …

Women in EM( Emerging markets ) are more ambitious so says a recent HBR blog !!

What the blog says
Women in Emerging Markets Say They're Very Ambitious Professional ambition is extraordinarily high among women in the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, as well as in the United Arab Emirates, say Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Ripa Rashid, authors of Winning the War for Talent in Emerging Markets. The proportion of educated women in those countries who reported in a survey that they are "very ambitious" is 59%, 63%, 85%, 65%, and 92%, respectively, compared with 36% in the United States. The numbers of women who aspire to the top jobs in companies is similarly high in those countries, the authors say. Winning the War for Talent in Emerging Markets: Why Women Are the Solution by Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Ripa Rashid

My Comments
Why? After ages of suppression and living in a male dominated world how come we have got these trends . Is it like a "waiting to exhale" kind of situation- you did not get a platform or opportunity to express yourself and once you have got it make the most of it ? Or is it that the drive to excel is greater when the competition is more intense ? We don’t have finite responses to these queries . But it certainly calls for employers relooking at their talent management strategy – both the talent acquisition approach and the talent engagement and development outlook . Women might have certain unique needs and you might need to address them as employers on a timely basis . And once these issues / concerns are addressed you might have a totally engaged / committed , highly skilled employee on board .

All in all we can safely say that if the current trend continues we can see more and more women in senior leadership positions in EM

HR In India …

With umpteen mergers and acquisitions across sectors and the stock markets functioning almost in sync with the world markets the business world in India is witnessing a lot of action. There are issues related to infrastructure, availability of talent, comparisons with China –but there is lot of sustained optimism around the India story .Lot of new businesses are being formed and old businesses are gaining a new texture .With so much happening in the business world there is an everyday change process in the HR profession .This change process is happening across sectors and demands that the HR professional hones his/her skills to cope with the dynamic situation . We are literally at a tipping point – a lot of change is happening and lot of spectacular changes will happen some pleasant, may be some not so pleasant . What’s in store for the HR professional then? Well let’s begin with the inevitable Recruitment function .There is lots and lots of difficult recruitment for the fledgling businesses and established ones with all the constraints of a half developed, sometimes developing economy. The HR professional has to provide new tools to the hiring managers and scale the process to meet the growing business demands .
On the learning and development front I think the thrust is more towards just in time delivery . This has to ironically go hand in hand with long term development planning !Thus the HR professional needs to have ‘hardcore’ OD related skills. State of art tools and methods are being used for effective performance management in organizations .There will be a tendency to shift from the more subjective evaluation processes . All this calls for reducing the transactional activities and thus there is an inevitable shift towards automation of the HR operations domain. Thus use of various ERP applications is gaining popularity across all industry segments and sizes . And then the much vaunted participation in the change management process in organizations. This is taking place (or will taken place in some instances ) in form of partnering business for the expansion activities , incorporating newer practices in each HR sub function and the every necessary change related communication . It could again be both through formal or informal channels .
What does this action mean for the HR professional ? There is no pre determined formula to tackle the change process. But a few things that the professional can do is to a)keep knowledge levels dated b)function in sync with business and be aware of the every changing models and plans c)understand and keep abreast with business financials d)network in the industry and even outside the function e.g. finance function , IT function – as they would play a vital role in shaping the HR function . e)Go back to school – get the necessary certification , practical knowledge / functional competence to acquire ‘delivery skills ‘in at least one area .

I think there would be a time when India specific HR practices evolve and gain validity . Thus the way ahead is extremely challenging and exciting for the Indian HR professional.But in the day to day challenges of the job have we understood the repercussions of the change process ? And most importantly have we prepared ourselves to face the future and even present situation ?

Getting introduced

I an Aparna Vishwasrao and I am based out of Mumbai . I have done my post graduation in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations from Tata Institute of Social Sciences , Mumbai . Prior to that I have completed MA in English Literature from SNDT University, Mumbai. I am an HR practitioner with more than 12 years of work experience in both Indian and MNC firms. This experience has involved working with established companies- Indian and MNC as well as start up ventures .

I aim to present my view points on a range of HR related issues through reviews , articles, critiques which may provide the reader with new perspectives …

HR : a profession in transition

Transformational in some contexts – Transactional in others

Strategic in some organizations – Operational in others

Asking the difficult questions at times – Providing the quick solutions at others

I would like to use the blog as a platform to chronicle my thoughts and views on various aspects of the HR movement and practice. One of the chief concerns related to the HR field is that the body of knowledge is not codified and hence there are too many reference points .But it is indeed a very good idea to express our thoughts . This is so because even good ideas and thoughts which might have practical value have a huge potential to get lost in the day to day routine and rush .My aim is to create and add value by inviting varied comments and different perspectives through blogosphere .I endeavor to use this virtual space to transcend boundaries of all kinds
: national, cultural, intellectual and may be even psychological.…

And I invite you – the reader – to challenge the viewpoints and engage in a dialogue ....