Backed by more than 30-year experience in the domains of human resources management and organisational development, Vijay Deshpande takes keen interest in training, manufacturing, logistics and project management. Leading many organisations from the HR front since 20 years, he has added experience of working at large multinationals and Indian companies, such as Bayer India, Bombay Dyeing Group, KEC International (RPG Group), Kansai Nerolac, Bajaj Electricals, and Greaves Cotton, to his portfolio. In addition, he has created a niche for himself by mastering the concepts of behavioural training, development centres, mentoring and coaching.
Q: Tell us about HR trends that will create ripples in 2014.
A: The year 2014 has started on a subdued environment. The GDP of India is far from being impressive. The political scenario poses several challenges of uncertainty. At global level too, one does not see any encouraging buoyancy. The industry will have to face this challenge and move ahead. However, the challenges of uncertainty have never been a one-time issue for the industry. Managing business uncertainties will be a major organisational capability that companies will have to hone perpetually. HR leaders will have to continuously enable people to face uncertainties and find game-changing and innovative solutions to myriad issues on all fronts. Subdued environment, compulsions of cost reductions with higher efficiencies and productivity, and increasing necessity of ‘doing more with less’ will drive people performance this year. In addition, career transitions in multiple functions, like operations, HR, sales, marketing, and business strategy, will gain momentum.
Increasing usage of social media, like Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, etc., will continue to keep people ‘virtually connected and perpetually active’ with its own consequences on attrition and global movement of people. A global mindset, along with managerial competencies, is what will make one successful in this ever-evolving and competitive business environment.
Q: What are the challenges that a HR manager should be cautious about in 2014?
A: Business will require talent in abundance, and HR leaders will have to make it available by all possible means – acquire, groom within, develop and retain. Bear in mind that good talent is not only what gets easily noticed. It may not carry an aura around itself. There would always be a good amount of hidden talent within the organisation. The HR leaders will have to continuously do talent mining within the organisation and ensure that the organisation’s need for talent is well met.
Secondly, a fixed 8-hour work schedule is getting increasingly challenged. HR managers should cautiously welcome newer trends, like flexi-time working, working from home, fixed-time employment and project-based employment. In older organisations, the emphasis on assessing employee engagement through surveys and taking actions based on these surveys will not be adequate. Employee engagement will have to be handled far more proactively than revolving it around surveys. While HR will have to engage organisations in active, innovative and off–beaten track initiatives and interventions, HR leaders have to ensure that all such initiatives do not become a mere paper–pencil activity as it tends to happen in the large organisations.
Q What impression would these trends leave on a company’s HR policies?
A: New trends will replace the traditional working systems with ever-increasing usage of social media and 24x7connectivity. This coupled with work pressures will create work-life imbalance. Managing diversity, handling issues of sexual harassment at work, supporting female employees at times of their family compulsions, motivating younger talent and being sensitive to the older talent who may feel lost in the cacophony of ever-changing environment are some psycho- social challenges HR leaders will have to handle efficiently.
Q: What difference do you see in HR policies of 2013 and 2014?
A: The year has already started with several issues. Not that 2014 will be different from earlier years. However, competitive pressure will galore and will pose several challenges for HR leaders. The compensation will have to be far more flexible than it was in 2013. Companies will have to go beyond the issues of internal parity. Differential generations/ talent will require differential/ flexi compensation. Talent retention will be increasingly difficult. HR leaders should understand and accept the reality that some attrition is unavoidable. People, despite having no issue with the organisation, will look at other tempting offers that seemingly provide better and more lucrative dimensions. The anxiety of talent retention leads to increase in employees resigning, creating more imbalances and unhappiness across the organisation. Informal communication channels, grapevine and scuttlebutt can create negative ripples.
Q: With productivity maximisation gaining momentum across the industries, how can a company increase its productivity in today’s competition-driven market?
A: Higher productivity helps in beating the competition. It will keep an organisation ahead of competition. Higher productivity in manufacturing will come with higher automation either at high or low cost. In sales, effective CRM and ways of ‘locking-in-customer’ by technological superiority, combined with cost effective solutions, will give assured and higher sales productivity.
Q: How can a company reframe its HR policy in difficult times?
A: No policy can be a rigid paragraph on an A4 sheet, hung on the corporate walls. Any policy has to be live, breathing and resonate the needs of time. Difficult times will need more cautious approach towards people. A message must go across the organisation that tough times do not last but tough people do. Low morale arising out of high inventories, difficult market scenario and low compensation will have to be handled effectively and sensitively. While people have not created difficult times, it is they who can beat difficult times with winning attitude and spirit.
Q: According to you, what is a secret to engage employees effectively in a budding organisation?
A: Involvement in mission and vision, total people engagement, constant communication, encouraging ‘We Feel’, and publicising the rock star performers on social media and home turf will definitely help in achieving this herculean task. Recognition is undoubtedly the basic need of mankind. And, HR leaders have to understand that recognition runs through any engagement initiative at the organisation.
Q: What kind of employees are the assets for an organisation?
A: Passionate employees who are determined to perform and excel, have global mindset and competencies are the assets for an organisation.
Q: How can a HR professional capitalise on the emerging trends of 2014?
A: Today’s managers will have to ride the wave of change; if not he/she will be crushed under it.
Q: How to ensure transparency among the different levels of hierarchy?
A: Little more communication is always better than little less. This also addresses the issues of transparency. ‘Walk the talk’ is the mantra that leaders have to live and show.
Q: With more and more Indian companies creating a mark globally, how can HR department lend support to effectively manage diverse workforce?
A. Diversity is very Indian. There is no country on the world map as diverse as India. In India, we have several religions, languages, dressing patterns, cultures, food habits and the like. Ours is the only currency that has denomination printed in 16 scripts. As such, managing diversity is in our genes. We know it very well. We have to continue to respect this diversity and still build and guide organisations on common vision and mission.
Q: What makes JK Tyre a great place to work at? What are your practices to keep morale high of JK Tyre’s employees?
A. JK Tyre is a very caring and professional organisation. It provides excellent operational freedom, and nurtures talent. The We believe in people’s capabilities and provide growth avenues. We treat people as human and not only as resource. The top leadership is very people oriented and builds a strong emotional connect with people. That’s why we have low attrition rate, around 7 per cent, and high engagement.
There are no words to describe a mantra (what you say and how you say can become a mantra of motivation). There is no root (of a plant) that is devoid of medicinal properties (nothing is waste or refuse). No one is unfit (what is important is how we manage). JK Tyre’s HR lives this successful mantra of human resource management, ensuring high motivational level for the employees.
