Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary S.

Becker, who coined the term human capital, says thatthe basic resource in any company is the people. The most successful companies will be those that manage human capital in the most effective and efficient manner. The present day economy has been titled as Knowledge economy. In such an economy, it is people who make all the difference. In political economy capital or market was important. Talent occupies centre stage in the Indian workplace. In view of this, managing and retaining manpower is becoming crucial to an organizations success. To achieve this, companies across sectors are focusing on some of the more critical HR practices. Some of the trends that have been noticed are: Leadership development Creating a pipeline of leadership talent is key to a business future growth. It is imperative for the top level of an organization to make leadership talent management a priority, and put its money into longterm plans, as opposed to short-term ones. If companies are worried about their talent pipeline, they have to develop their people. Work-life balance No company or employee has found the Holy Grail of balancing work and life, but that is a work in progress. However, multinationals, information technology (IT) and IT enabled services (ITeS) companies have been able to promote the balance between career, family and leisure-time better. Other sectors have also been increasingly promoting a work-life balance. Interestingly, most companies in India use benefits such as flexible timings, telecommuting, crche facilities and concierge services as an attraction and retention strategy. Experts say companies should see the work-life balance as a business proposition since progressive companies carry business forward with employees and families. Inclusion and diversity With higher numbers of Gen Yers joining the workforce in India at a time when companies across the world have an ageing workforce on their rolls, conflicts are to be expected. Therefore, companies are investing both time and resources in ensuring that all age groups are comfortable working together. Organisations in India have also been focusing on making workplaces more representative. For companies such as ICICI Bank Ltd, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Vedanta Resources, PepsiCo India, Shell Companies in India and Bharti Airtel Ltd, gender diversity has become a critical area of focus. Health and wellness The work culture at globalized workplaces involves long working hours, frequent travel, multitasking and tight deadlines - and all this often leaves employees mentally and physically stressed. Companies have begun to realize that healthy employees contribute to higher efficiency and productivity. Apart from medical benefits, companies are also offering yoga classes and health camps and have doctors on campus.HCL Technologies Ltd, for instance, like many other IT companies, has 24/7 medical facilities in all its centres. DuPont has an Intranet-based tool, which assesses an employees health through a questionnaire and makes recommendations based on the scores. Right skilling Right skilling, or matching jobs with a particular level of training rather than hiring overskilled workers,

is gaining currency. Companies use this strategy to tide over a manpower supply crunch and to broaden their talent baseApart from IT and ITeS firms, organizations in the banking and financial services sector, too, have been increasingly hiring graduates and training them. The upside? Lower attrition rates and wage costs. Pai explains that when you have an over-qualified employee, it is very difficult to meet her aspiration levels and, therefore, the chances of the employee moving on to something more challenging are higher. Managing solid citizens Organizations which neglect their solid citizens are doing this at their own peril, say experts. Unlike star performers who are potential leaders, and therefore more likely to move out of an organization faster, this group provides stability and bench strength to an organization. Experts say companies need to take a fresh look at solid citizens and invest time and resources in managing and developing this group. Instant rewards Recognizing and rewarding performers is one of the most effective tools to attract and retain the right talent. Companies in India are looking at rewards systems more seriously, and are adopting total rewards practices that include compensation in both cash and kind. Apart from lifestyle perquisites such as a house, a car or a club membership, profit-linked incentives, deferred gratuity, and wealth-building programmes in the form of stock options and soft loans, companies are also including work-life balance programmes; competency pay packages where niche skills are compensated; and career opportunities, such as overseas assignments, new projects, etc., to reward staff. These rewards can be tailored to suit the top performers aspirations to achieve maximum effect. Measuring human capital: Evaluation of performance plays a key role, not just in rewarding an individual employee, but also in setting performance benchmarks. And hence, the need for a fair and transparent performance management system. A strong performance analysis helps make human resources both efficient and effective. Managing aspirations As aspirations of organizations grow, so do those of employees. And, with the changing lifestyles and profiles of the workforce, personal and professional aspirations of employees are not just varied, but are increasingly on the rise. Experts say people as well as organizations have aspirations, and when the two get aligned, achieving business goals becomes easier. Companies should be clear about goals of individuals as well as of the organization, and the role each needs to play. The firm should also communicate the goals, and have robust and reliable processes to execute them. 360 degrees feedback Finally, recognizing the need to make performance appraisal systems more effective, an increasing number of companies are using the 360 degrees or multi-rater feedback process. Unlike the traditional appraisal system, which gives unidimensional feedback, this one allows an employee to give feedback to her reporting manager, peers, direct reports and others. While most companies started using this system as a means for performance appraisal, most of them now use the 360 degrees feedback system to identify the learning and development needs of employees. Since companies are finally valuing people and their softer skills, does that make it easier to hire good

people? The answer is no. In todays business climate, attracting and retaining the best employees is very difficult. The reason is a combination of the change in business practices and the shift in employee attitudes. The business landscape has changed dramatically in the past decade as a result of many factors from the feverish hiring boom of the 90s to the economic slowdown in the later part of the last decade. During this same period of time, employee attitudes have changed dramatically. Exposure to widespread layoffs and corporate scandals has led to an erosion of company loyalty and reevaluation of career and life priorities by many employees. So now we have companies looking to acquire the best talent and a growing workforce of talented individuals who are no longer attracted by compensation alone, but who require and value intangibles as well. The bottom line is this. In order to achieve professional growth and success in the next period of increased talent acquisition, technology professionals are going to have to step out of their comfort zone and develop the holistic, relationship-focused business skills that companies are requiring. And by the same token, companies are going to have to take a more strategic and supportive approach to recruiting and retention if they want to find and keep the new breed of evolving talent.

Top Ten Bad HR Practices

Everybody talks about practicing the best HR practices, which is a good start but pretty useless if bad practices continue to persist. So what are the top ten bad HR practices which need to be eliminated? 1. Employee has no access to personal data (over-confidentiality): Cant view or update personal information; have no access to leave records, salary data, attendance record, training, and promotion details. As a result, the employees are unsure if the management decisions are based on correct information. This creates suspicion and negatively affects employee-employer relationships. 2. Lack of clarity on deliverables: Absence of a well-defined job description leads to lack of accountability. Neither the employee nor his / her immediate superior (boss) are able to define the job-deliverables. Result is a loss of focus and interest. 3. Absence of goal-based performance: Employee is unaware of the goals to be achieved during the year. There are no quarterly targets and no process to track their completion. The organization

merely carries out an end of the year performance assessment. It is often difficult to build a performance culture in such organizations. 4. Employee development without his / her involvement : No opportunity is given to an employee to project his / her development needs. Training manager nominates employees on various development programs. There is no formal process to collect training needs and analyze skills and competencies gaps. All this leads to unplanned employee development, a wasteful effort, both in terms of time and money. 5. Rusting of talent: Long tenures in the same position with no avenues for job rotations make people rust and relax. In the first 2-3 years in a job position, an employee experiences new challenges, contributes and innovates. Thereafter, it becomes routine and monotony takes over. Even a change of location, if not the job, can provide the requisite challenge to an employee. 6. Non-performers lobby: Each non-performer remains glued to his / her chair. The worst happens when a non-performing manager has to review subordinates who are professionally competent, highenergy youngsters. Some of them leave the organization prematurely and add to the attrition rate. The end result is the creation of a non-performers lobby which impedes the progress of the organization. 7. Retaining performers: Getting rid of the non-performers is important, but identifying, developing and retaining high performers is equally vital. If your best talent is being lured by other companies, your schemes to reward performance are simply inadequate. 8. Lack of feedback: Employees have individual opinions about the quality of leadership in the company. They know their engagement levels at the workplace. They understand what hinders their performance and satisfaction. Unless the management is prepared to receive and analyze their objective feedback, nothing can stem lower productivity and increase disharmony. 9. Line manager not a people-manager: If a line manager only performs his /her operational role and has not been groomed for people management, who is to blame? HR has probably faltered by not institutionalizing a system that ensures that team managers are trained on people management prior to appointment. 10. Technology phobia: Many older employees, even in big organizations, refuse to acknowledge that technology can empower HR staff by providing timely, accurate and quality information for decision making. Often, they feel that IT staff will need to be hired to manage computer based systems. They need exposure to SaaS technology which will demonstrate how it neither requires elaborate hardware platforms nor software expertise.

Increasing employee engagement

An employees engagement in various functions in the organization is directly proportional to his / her performance outcomes. It is a driving force that keeps employees motivated. Research by Gallup and others shows that engaged employees are more productive, customer-focused, profitable, and less likely to leave. Not surprisingly, best-performing companies recognize this fact and encourage employee engagement and participation in various organizational functions. When employee engagement is recognized and accepted as a crucial part of policy, it unlocks workforce productivity. Employees feel more connected to their workplace and are therefore ready to take ownership of their work. What motivates employees is undoubtedly, recognition for their contribution to work and their partnership in achieving goals. . A survey conducted by Gallup suggests that talented employees may join the company quickly but the length of their employment depends on their relationship with their direct supervisor. It also suggests that employees having friends at workplace are more likely to engage in the company and work satisfaction jumps up to 50 percent when they have close friends at work. The quality of employees determines the success of a company. It is therefore important for a company to provide opportunities to its employees for achievements by trusting them with responsibilities, which can help them grow professionally. Besides, publicly recognizing the contribution of the employees to the company can make much difference in the attitudes of the employees.

HR Moving from back office function to strategic business partner

Globalization and emergence of complex business requirements have forced organizations to consider HR more as a strategic business function rather than simply being relegated to the back office. Traditionally, the HR departments functions were limited to providing support to the organization by dealing with contracts, benefits, leaves and recruitment. The department was usually located conveniently towards the lobby, so that potential candidates could easily submit their job applications. HR was also considered more as a liability than an asset for the company. However, times have changed significantly and so has our understanding of HR functions. HR is now strategically involved in saving costs through a number of ways. The major expense in an organization is usually the payroll, which directly relates to manpower management, recruitment and resource utilization. HR can therefore be considered as a critical division that is strategically involved in saving money and obtaining a higher return on investment when hiring talent, negotiating contracts and benefits, creating policies that help retain employees and managing employee abuse of time and resources of the company. All these activities together save a huge amount of money. Challenges for HR Most companies now rely on HR not only to optimize the use of their most important asset the employees, but also to sustain their business. The ideal HR department would function as a business partner, by hiring the best talent and creating a great workplace according to changing business trends. Instead of simply doing transactional work, HR can contribute to the growth of the business by proactively determining what employees want from their job and understanding the key drivers to attract and retain employees. Today, HRs major challenge is to proactively understand the changing needs of employees. While each customer of a company is considered unique, why is it so difficult to think of each employee as unique? Why are employees treated as one composite group and uniform policies are created for all the employees? The key challenge for HR therefore is to not only create fair policies but also be sensitive to the circumstances of each employee. Besides compensation, learning needs and recognition, three other areas that may continue to pose a challenge to HR in creating a better work environment include: Freedom: A certain degree of space at the workplace attracts younger employees in droves. Companies like Google and Marriott acknowledge this fact and encourage open and transparent employee communication. Flexibility: Flexibility at work is gaining momentum employees are beginning to be hired on a contractual basis, typically for a particular project or when a specialized skill is required. Most European and American countries already follow this model. Work boundaries: Work is more than just a means of livelihood. Many people spend the bulk of their time at the workplace, make friends there and are actively involved in their departments success. HR can play an important role by finding common ground between organizational objectives and the life goals of an employee, thus creating a win-win environment. Thus HR is an important thread between the employee and the employer and serves as a link between them in a manner that both the employee and the employer are happy