People Matters: HR Tech unlocking new possibilities - August 2019

VOL X / ISSUE 8 / AUGUST 2019

BIG INTERVIEW Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.,

SHRM-SCP, The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

INTERVIEW Sadhguru

Indian Yogi, Mystic, Author, and Founder of Isha Foundation

HR TECH UNLOCKING NEW POSSIBILITIES

Inside

Rapid-Fire: Krish Shankar, Group Head- HR, Infosys The State of HR Technology India 2019-20 Workforce Transformation: GE Transportation's story

exity.

When you operate in more than one country it’s hard to see through the complexity. ay and That’s why ADP brings together global scale with local insight, to transform Pay and HR into an engine for growth.

plexity, Because how you pay your people really matters. And seeing through the complexity, opens a world of possibilities.

Discover how growth starts with pay at adp.in

Copyright © 2019 ADP, LLC. All rights reserved. WF399882 | OMG33013 | 06/2019

Copyright © 2019 ADP, LLC. All rights reserved. WF399882 | OMG33013 | 06/2019

arks are the property of their respective ADP, the owners.

ADP logo, and Always Designing for People are trademarks of ADP, LLC. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

or. What drives people and business forward? To achieve what they are working for.

To grow. As individuals, as teams. Across borders and across cultures.

arks are the property of their respective ADP, theowners.

ADP logo, and Always Designing for People are trademarks of ADP, LLC. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

Growth starts here…

A

lmost all facets of HR have been touched by technologies including the next-gen Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. This has greatly helped accelerate the shift for people managers from managing bureaucracy to becoming business partners and adding value to the business. The supporting role of technology has emerged in a more enabling role where new-age technologies including Analytics and Data Science, AI and Chatbots and Cognitive technologies are providing global businesses a solution to build an effective workforce. Organizations today bet on technologies to manage all aspects of the employee experience, assist and motivate employees, and boost overall productivity. Adopting HR technology, as per our study The State of HR Technology India 2019-20 finds, is not only about improving the efficiency and effectiveness of HR processes but empowering the employees (58 percent).

The rising adoption of technologies also made it imperative for organizations to equip their workforce with new-age skills as a research by IBM shows that while two-thirds of CEOs say AI will drive significant value in HR, only 11 percent of chief human resource officers report that their organizations have the necessary skills (AI, data science and machine learning) needed to fulfill that potential.

| AUGUST 2019

THE COVER STORY (BEHIND THE SCENE)

Planting a seed of thought?

Our wavelength is not matching.

Hmmmmm.

Phew.

VOL X / ISSUE 8 / AUGUST 2019

FFrroom m tth h e E d i t o r ’’ss DDeesskk 4

Betting big on tech

The accelerated growth of technology also means that HR have more data today than ever before and hence there is a big opportunity for HR to employ the insights to make evidence-based decisions and improve the overall effectiveness of workforce.

In this issue, we take a look at the bigger picture in terms of how top-notch organizations are leveraging technology from people analytics to talent acquisition technology to RPA and Blockchain, to move to the next level of their journey and what’s the way forward for HR across functions.

For the Big Interview in this issue, we have Johnny C Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, the President & CEO of The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), who shares his journey from a lawyer to the CEO of the world’s largest HR professional society. We also have Indian yogi, mystic, author, and founder of Isha Foundation, Sadhguru, who talks in-depth about his philosophies and shares how businesses can make the shift from looking at human as a resource to human as possibilities.

We have an interview with Lara Hernandez, Senior VP, Human Resources, Hilton in Asia Pacific, who shares about her journey into HR, trends in the hospitality industry, and Hilton's talent management strategies.

This issue features a special story on our exclusive research, The State of HR Technology India 2019-20 which analyzes how Indian organizations are making their way through digital transformation, the current level of adoption of HR tech, and the roadblocks facing Indian businesses.

You can access the detailed report from our website.

As we conclude People Matters TechHR India 2019, where everything was crafted to create learning, exposure, interactions, discovery, fun, realizations, reflection… to help you in your journey to become the answer, we would like to thank you for being a part of this journey.

BIG INTERVIEW Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.,

SHRM-SCP, The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

INTERVIEW Sadhguru

Indian Yogi, Mystic, Author, and Founder of Isha Foundation

Happy Reading!

Esther Martinez Hernandez Editor-in-Chief follow

M > @Ester_Matters F > estermartinez > ester.martinez@peoplematters.in

HR TECH UNLOCKING NEW POSSIBILITIES

Inside

Rapid-Fire: Krish Shankar, Group Head- HR, Infosys The State of HR Technology India 2019-20 Workforce Transformation: GE Transportation's story

People Business Consuling @gmaawards, @Peoplebusiness_

Presents

Media Partner

Institute Partner

GREAT MANAGER AWARDS 2019 People Business in partnership with 'The Economic Times and ET Now' launches 4th Edition of 'Great Manager Awards' initiative to identify and reward organizations with 'Great Managers' in India and also enable the participant organizations to compare and benchmark themselves across in the industry. *Registrations open for the Great Manager Awards 2019

Get in touch: irfana.khan@peoplebusiness.org

rahul.mahajan@peoplebusiness.org

www.peoplebusiness.org

www.greatmanagerawards.com Rahul Mahajan- 9818592779

Irfana Khan- 7022268706

contents

AUGUST 2019 volu m e x issue 8

52

cover story

40

It’s time HR should bet on next-gen technologies

Chris Havrilla, Vice President, HR technology and solution provider strategy at Bersin by Deloitte

54

My biggest fear is the MISUSE of technology

56

Analytics will help shape the future of work

Clinton Wingrove, Director of www.WantToBeGreatManager. com and HR Anarchist at www.ClintonHR.com

Olly Britnell, Head of Global Workforce Analytics and HR

Strategy, Experian 58

HR TECH C O N TE N TS

Unlocking New Possibilities

By Mastufa Ahmed

Exploring future of work, Artificial Intelligence & HR

Soumyasanto Sen, Founder & Future of Work Strategist,

People Conscience 60

Talent acquisition technology trends that enterprise companies should consider Jonathan Kestenbaum, Managing Director of Talent

Tech Labs 62

Exploiting technology to enhance employee experience

Aaron McEwan, Vice President, research and advisory at

Gartner expert views

42

HR Tech landscape is a little bit out of control

64

organizations and a top influencer on social media

Josh Bersin, A world-known industry analyst and founder of

Can AI improve Talent Acquisition?

Abhijit Bhaduri, An advisor on talent management to

Bersin by Deloitte 44

46

68

Features Writers

Senior Editor

Assistant Manager, Content

Yasmin Taj

Manav Seth | Vallari Gupte Anushree Sharma

Associate Editor, Print & Online

Mastufa Ahmed

Manager, design, photography, and production

Marta Martinez

Senior Associates, Content

Drishti Pant Neelanjana Mazumdar Design & Production

Shinto Kallattu

Manager, Content

Digital Head

Jerry Moses

Prakash Shahi

Associate Editor

General Manager, Sales

Abid Hasan

Senior Features Writer

Shweta Modgil

| AUGUST 2019

Rubi Taj rubi.taj@peoplematters.in +91 (124) 4148102

How AI is Supercharging HR

Anna Tavis, Ph.D, Associate Professor and Academic Director

Chaitanya N Sreenivas, VP HR & HR Head, India South Asia, IBM

Editor-in-Chief

HR should focus on digital labor Consulting, KPMG in India

Organizations with the right HR technology can manage talent efficiently

Esther Martinez Hernandez

6

66

Vishwesh Padmanabhan, Partner and Head, Digital

Jason Averbook, CEO of Leapgen

From transition to transformation

of Human Capital Management at NYU

Manager, Sales

Saloni Gulati saloni.gulati@peoplematters.in +91 (124) 4148102 Manager, SUBSCRIPTION

Neha Yadav subscribe@peoplematters.in +91 (124) 4148101 Printed and Published by

Mahesh Kumar on behalf of People Matters Media Pvt. Ltd. Owned by

People Matters Media Pvt. Ltd. Published at

People Matters Media Pvt. Ltd. 503-505, 5th Floor, Millennium Plaza, Tower A, Sector 27 Gurgaon-122009

Tel: +91 (0) 124-414 8101 ask@peoplematters.in www.peoplematters.in Printed at

Printed at Polykam Offset C-138, Phase - I, Naraina Industrial Area, New Delhi - 110028 Tel: 011-45566341-42

Note to the readers The views expressed in articles are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of People Matters.

Although all efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the content, neither the editors nor the publisher can take responsibility for consequences arising from errors

or omissions in the information provided.

Reproduction in any manner without prior permission from the publisher is prohibited.

Printed at Polykam Offset C-138, Phase - I Naraina Industrial Area New Delhi - 110028 Published at 503-505, 5th Floor Millennium Plaza, Tower A Sector 27, Gurgaon-122009

This issue of People matters contains 100 pages including cover

contents 28 If you’ve got a strategy, the only way you’ll get it done is through your people

70 We believe in creating ‘hire-to-retire’ experience for our employees

the big Interview

Interview

Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

Lara Hernandez, Senior VP, Human Resources, Hilton in Asia Pacific

By Mastufa Ahmed

By Ester Martinez

18 n e w s f eatu r e

The man machine conundrum: The doubleedged role of tech

By Dhruv Mukerjee

By Manav Seth 22 I n te r vie w

C O N TE N TS

Sadhguru on why Human is not a resource

Changing groupthink - a practitioner’s approach

By Amitabh Adhikary, Head of HR for Agile Airport Services, a 100% subsidiary of Inter-Globe Aviation

20 Agility is the new

currency

76 Wo r k p la c e Be h avio r s

78 I n te r vie w

Diverse team brings better outputs: PwC India CPO

Padmaja Alaganandan, The Chief People Officer of PwC

By Abid Hasan

86 I n te r vie w

Culture truly is King...

Surabhi Washisth, People Director, WeWork India

By Yasmin Taj 88 T h e r oa d less t r avelle d

26 E m p lo y ee Well n ess

Workplace burnouts: Are we taking them seriously?

Learning on the cusp of Digital Transformations

By Dr. Swatee Sarangi, Head of Capability Development, Corporate HR, Larsen and Toubro Limited

By Drishti Pant

84 Resilie n c e

Imitation is the sincerest flattery – but the worst strategy

By Visty Banaji, Founder and CEO of Banner Global Consulting (BGC)

By Dhruv Mukerjee

34 Flexi b le Wo r k p la c es India’s growing gig economy: Are we ready for this change?

92 S P E C I A L

How GE Transportation created a workforce for its Bihar plant

By Jerry Moses

By Dhruv Mukerjee

36 Pe r f o r m a n c e Ma n age m e n t

10 Steps to fix Performance Management

By Mitch Zenger, Senior HR Tech Advisor at Synctrics

The State of HR Technology India 2019-20

By Anushree Sharma

39 I n te r vie w

The workplace has become a social tool

regulars

Philip Ross, The Founder and CEO of the UnGroup and Cordless Group

By People Matters Editorial

04 From the Editor’s Desk

74 Wo r k a n d S k ills

12 Quick Reads

How industry-academia partnerships can accelerate digital transformation

By Yeshraj Singh, General Manager and Strategic Initiative Leader – Digital transformation, QuEST Global 8

80 R E S E A RCH

| AUGUST 2019

10 Letters of the month

16

Rapid Fire

96 Knowledge + Networking 98 Blogosphere

Featured In this issue Aaron McEwan Abhijit Bhaduri Anna A. Tavis Chaitanya N Sreenivas Chris Havrilla Clinton Wingrove Jason Averbook Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. Jonathan Kestenbaum Josh Bersin

Krish Shankar Lara Hernandez Olly Britnell Padmaja Alaganandan Philip Ross Sadhguru Soumyasanto Sen Surabhi Washisth Vishwesh Padmanabhan

CONTRIBUTORS to this issue Amitabh Adhikary Mitch Zenger Dr. Swatee Sarangi

Visty Banaji Yeshraj Singh

Letters of the month The future is all about skills driving talent There is no doubt that the future of work will be about finding the right people with the right skills. The fact that we will be facing a shortage of over 85 million professionals in just a decade is a sobering reality check. I am not surprised by the fact that most of the skills needed in the future, as listed by LinkedIn’s ‘Future of Skills 2019’ report, are related to digital technologies. The government and industry should come together to overhaul the learning environment in our country and restrict the export of talented professionals by equipping them with new-age digital skills.

As noted by the study, motivating the workforce to undertake continuous learning will be vital in navigating the talent crunch.

LinkedIn’s report does a commendable job of helping us envision the future and should be a must-read for all HR professionals.

- Akash Makan

The skill shifts: Are we ready for the future?

The cover story that assesses our preparedness for the future of work poses a critical question; are we ready for a future we don’t know? The fact that business leaders are extremely concerned about finding talent equipped with relevant skills is alarming, and yet, also relatable. I am sure that leaders and managers in all industries are struggling to build the right team and close open positions as there simply aren’t enough candidates to choose from!

As the experts in the story suggest, in the

absence of readily available talent, we need to equip the existing workforce with the right skills and knowledge to make them future-ready. This is a challenging and multi-layered issue that will require a coordinated effort between various stakeholders to change existing models of learning and rewrite conventional learning practices. While there is still a long way to go before we can confidently claim to be future-ready, these conversations bring to light critical challenges and trends that warrant attention and dialogue.

- Proksh Malik

The 1440 mantra of time management Kevin Kruse’s interview had some very insightful lessons for leaders of all kinds. The 1440 mantra to time management can work as a great reminder to make each minute count and give it your best at all times. His advice on separating a failed product, or a failed business, from the feeling of failure as a person should be heeded by today’s entrepreneurs carefully. Employees indeed need to be emotionally invested in their work in order to deliver results at their maximum potential, and the only way to drive engagement in the workforce is to help people grow in their careers. Kevin serves as an inspiration to countless leaders and entrepreneurs, like myself, who are chasing their dreams against all the odds. The key is to remember, as he says, there will always be ups and downs, and if you aren’t failing regularly, you aren’t experimenting and innovating enough.

- P. Iyyer 10

| AUGUST 2019

JUly 2019 issue

Always see the good in people It was incredibly humbling to read Aman Nath’s interview and learn about the philosophies with which he approaches his work. The almost-philosophical and candid nature of the interaction made for delightful reading. I am pleasantly surprised to learn about the fact that Neemrana Hotels hires raw talent and grooms them for excellence. He is absolutely correct that learning, exposure, and the correct teaching can enable an individual to do just about anything. Employee testimonies clearly reflect the effort with which Neemrana Hotels has cultivated a healthy and progressive culture of work, where a willingness to learn is of paramount importance. I want to thank People Matters for introducing us to the visionary leaders behind restoring valuable historical sites into some of the most beautiful hotels in our country.

- Manisha Kalra

Interact with People Matters

Dealing with misdemeanor at work Visty Banaji has discussed the topical and complex issue of how to deal with a misdemeanor at work with fairness, balance, and empathy. We are often too quick to pronounce judgments whenever a rule or law has been violated, but the case isn’t usually black or white. As explained wonderfully by the writer, we must take into account the intentionality, interest, and impact before we evaluate the severity of the transgression in question. We cannot deny that even the most wellestablished rules and processes can sometimes dispense injustice and roll out penalties that are disproportionate to the indiscretion. Banaji is spot-on in suggesting that each punishment and penalty is an opportunity for organizations and individuals to introspect regarding the effectiveness of systems that pronounce these punishments. I would like to congratulate the writer on presenting such a multi-dimensional issue with simple and understandable perspectives.

- Kanika Tyagi

Tackling the continuous learning challenge The special story on how leading organizations are establishing a culture of continuous learning as an integral part of their workplace is very informative.

Businesses need to prioritize the creation of new learning experiences in their organizations or risk falling behind the competition. The lessons and insights provided in the story are of immense value to HR professionals and L&D practitioners as they have been derived from real-world success stories that have delivered measurable results. All the leaders and experts in the story highlighted crucial aspects of the discourse; be it the necessity of making learning fun, the importance of continuous feedback, or the use of new tools and technology to make the learning process effective. Looking forward to the next special story and learn more about the best practices in India’s leading organizations!

- Pawan Sahota

People Matters values your feedback.

Write to us with your suggestions and ideas at editorial@peoplematters.in

Acing new-age talent acquisition and recruitment Congratulations to all the winners of the People Matters Talent Acquisition Awards 2019! Reading about the practices and programs initiated by the winners was a timely reminder of the numerous changes and innovations taking place in the domain of talent acquisition and recruitment. All the winning organizations have proven that there is a need to reinvent the recruitment process and change existing norms in order to meet the business challenges of today and tomorrow. More importantly, the winners have demonstrated that creativity and innovation, alongside new-age tools and technology, will play an integral role in the evolution of how we attract, hire, and retain talent. As the demand for quality talent outstrips supply, these success stories will serve as motivation for HR leaders and professionals to find unique solutions and design new recruitment frameworks.

- Keshav Mahajan

The skilling challenge and how other countries are dealing with it Your report on how the countries of Norway, Finland, Hong Kong, Japan, and Switzerland are honing their human capital to prepare them for the future of work was fascinating and insightful.

Despite the different situations all the countries find themselves in; they share a common challenge of preparing a futureready workforce. We are seldom exposed to interventions by foreign countries in the learning and skilling domain; unless they make news headlines. All over the world, there is an unmistakable movement to ensure that individuals keep learning new skills throughout their life.

I am also pleased to learn that countries like Norway and Finland are also making efforts towards promoting a better match the skills that people have and the work they are trained to do. Industry leaders and policy-makers in our country must examine these programs and adapt them to the Indian market and sensibilities.

- Ila Dutta

David Green @david_green_uk How emerging AI solutions can help increase employee engagement ow.ly/ K3yf50uTUP1 via @PeopleMatters2 #HRTech #HR #FutureOfWork #EmployeeEngagement #PeopleAnalytics ZingHR @ZingHR Thrilled to be a part of @PeopleMatters2 #TechHRIN #PerformanceCulture #Businessoutcomes #HumanResources #FridayThoughts Making H>R 1-2 August '19 // Gurugram.

See You at Booth # G7 Skillsoft India @SkillsoftIndia Happy to be part of the biggest Tech HR event of the year presented by @PeopleMatters2 on 1st & 2nd August in Gurgaon. shruti @shrutiamy Wow! #TechHRIN trending in India!! This is huge especially on a day when Twitter is hot with the cricket fever. Congratulations to the entire team of @PeopleMatters2 @Ester_Matters PeopleStrong @peoplestrong Join PeopleStrong at Asia’s largest HR & work tech conference, @PeopleMatters2 #TECHR2019, where 3000+ #hrtech enthusiasts and 150+ speakers will be coming together to make business happen. Come, meet us at Stall number G9 and soar beyond limits. See you there!

Womensweb.in @womensweb It's time to recognize women role models.

Nominate inspiring women role models for the Women In Corporate Awards, 2019 presented by Women's Web: zurl.co/IZs8 Last Date: 15th July . Proud to have on board @ PeopleMatters2 as Talent Media Partner for #WICA2019 follow

M > @PeopleMatters2

{WRITE TO US NOW BY SCANNING THIS CODE} AUGUST 2019 |

11

ECONOMY

q u i c k

r e a d s

Budget 2019: Top highlights you can’t afford to miss

12

“The unambiguous mandate by the people in the recent election has set the ball rolling for the New India,” stated India’s first-ever woman Finance Minister while presenting her maiden budget and assuring that a $5 Tn economy size is quite doable in the next few years. The FM’s first budget was a much-awaited one given that it came at the backdrop of falling employment, farm distress, slow economic growth, and amidst hopes that after PM Modi’s party’s decisive election victory, it will deliver a strong growth mandate.

The FM stated the government aims to simplify tax administration and ensure greater transparency. The tax collection has increased to 11.37 lakh crore to 2018-19 from

ECONOMY

JOBS

Central Government created 3.81 Lakh jobs in two years: Budget According to the recently released Budget 2019-20 documents, the Central Government of India has created more than 3.81 lakh jobs over the last two years across various organizations. About 32,38,397 people worked in the Central Government entities across the country as of March 1, 2017. Two years later, on March 1, 2019, the total strength went up to 36,19,596, shared Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister of India.

An estimated 98,999 people were hired by the Ministry of Railways since 2017 and about 80,000 new jobs were created in the police force. The departments that come under the science and technology ambit saw a rise in the number of jobs created. The other areas where new jobs were created, included the Culture Ministry, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare and the Civil Aviation Ministry.

| AUGUST 2019

6.37 lakh crore from 2013-14 with Direct tax revenue having grown 78 percent from 2014 to 2019. Currently, only 25 percent tax rate is applicable to companies with an annual turnover of Rs. 250 Cr. The corporate tax of 25 percent has been extended to all companies with an annual turnover of Rs 400 Cr. Only 0.7 percent of companies will remain outside of this 25 percent rate.

Also, 80 livelihood business incubators and 20 technology business incubators to be set up in 2019-20 under ASPIRE to develop 75,000 skilled entrepreneurs in agro-rural industries. 100 new clusters to be set up in 2019-20 under SFURTI, which will enable 50,000 artisans to join the economic value chain.

Deutsche Bank to slash 18,000 jobs by 2022 in restructuring

HIRING

TCS on a hiring spree, hiring strongest in 5 years India's biggest software services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported a net addition of 12,356 employees in the April-June quarter, making it the highest in the last five years. The company stated that it has issued joining letters to over 30,000 fresh graduates.

Around 40 percent of the fresh graduates have been on-boarded in Q1 and the rest are expected to join by Q2. As of June 30, 2019, the consolidated headcount of TCS stood at 436,641. Meanwhile, the percentage of women in the workforce rose further to 36.1 percent, while the total number of nationalities represented grew to 149. TCS added that it continues to invest heavily in organic talent development. At the end of Q1, over 315,000 employees had been trained on multiple new technologies, and over 361,000 had been trained on agile methods.

Germany’s biggest lender Deutsche Bank is undertaking a major restructuring by planning to cut 8,000 jobs by 2022. The bank stated that the layoffs would reduce annual costs by EUR6 Bn (S$9.16 Bn) over the same period.

However, where exactly this slashing of around one in five of its workforce to 74,000 employees will happen, has not been disclosed. Though it is being speculated that many jobs are likely to be cut in home country Germany. In particular, Chief executive Christian Sewing has been making tough cuts to the investment banking unit as its business had fallen back by 20 percent in Q1 of 2018 alone.

Deutsche Bank’s struggles mirror the wider struggling German banking sector that was once widely envied. As per a media report, last year, more than 32,000 jobs were slashed in the industry.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

WORK AND LIFE

Salaries of board of directors of stateowned enterprises in Indonesia rise increases from 90 to 95 percent that of President Directors, while Human Resources Directors' bonus increased to 90 percent and other directors to 85 percent.

In Indonesia, the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) play a crucial role in the national economy. They contribute towards national economy growth, providing goods or services which are not covered by private company, employment provider, providing support guidance to small and medium businesses, and source of government revenue.

The land of ski resorts, the world’s biggest private banks, big pharma companies and commodity traders that is Switzerland was recognized as the best place for expatriates to live and work, as per a study conducted

by HSBC Holdings.

Previously in the eighth spot in 2018, Switzerland surpassed Singapore thus unseating the Asian economy from its first place for the first time in the last four years. The average salary in Switzerland is $111,587 which is 47 percent more than $75,966 mean pay package of all the coun-

q u i c k

Based on a regulation issued by Stateowned Enterprises minister, the government of Indonesia has decided to increase the salaries of board of directors of stateowned enterprises (SOEs).

With the new regulation, the salary of Deputy President Directors will be 95 percent that of President Directors, marking an increase of 5 percent.

Human Resources Directors and other directors will have the salaries that are 90 and 85 percent of President Directors’ salaries, respectively. Besides the salary, the bonus for various roles also rises. The bonus for Deputy President Directors

Switzerland beats Singapore as No. 1 for expats: Survey

ECONOMY

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

IT grads in Singapore expect an annual salary of $53,721 As per the annual survey by employer branding firm Universum, on an average, IT graduates expected an annual salary of $53,721. The salary expectation of IT grads works out to be about $4,500 per month, 20 percent higher than the expected salary among business and engineering students.

Business/commerce students expect an annual salary of $44,459, and engineering/ natural sciences students expect an annual salary of $44,661. The demand for higher salary among IT grads highlights the scarcity of talent in this sector. It echoes the increased demand for a very low supply of technical and digital talent in Singapore.

The survey also reveals the most preferred sector of graduates and the type of company they want to work in with banking being the most preferred followed by MNCs that offer flexible working hours.

Expats who are working in the banking sector in Hong Kong are struggling to land jobs in the wake of the massive lay-offs announced recently in the industry.

Once known as Asia’s financial hub, the expats in the city are facing the repercussions of a shrinking market.

Apart from the Deutsche Bank, Nomura Holdings Inc. has also announced job cuts in the city. Laid-off expats are looking for alternate career options wherein their banking skills would find a fit. However, there are many others who are settling for a lower-paid job within the banking sector and even saying yes to a demotion.

r e a d s

Laid-off expat bankers in HK face language barrier, job loss tries’ surveyed. Upon moving to Switzerland, seven out of 10 expats in the survey said they had more disposable income.

Singapore, having occupied the top rank for the last several years, placed second this year. It still remains the most highly ranked destination for expats with children. Expats choose Singapore for its growing economy and a better education system as compared to their home country.

Other countries that rose through the ranks include Turkey, which moved from 22nd place to the seventh. It gained more points because of its “open and welcoming communities” and ease of settling in. Even Spain climbed up by nine places and now rests on the fourth spot as it was ranked as the best in terms of quality of life, physical and mental wellbeing. On the other hand, Britain moved down to the 27th place as the looming uncertainty of Brexit put expats at unease in terms of expectations for global stability. Britain continues to be high on the list for career progression and fulfillment.

Even though Sweden received a high score for economic stability and work-life balance, expats still cited that they found it difficult to make friends and unlock their potential.

AUGUST 2019 |

13

newsmaker of the month

The winning philosophy of many nations, one team “We are an incredibly diverse team from different backgrounds and cultures but, crucially, we respect this and embrace it.”

q u i c k

r e a d s

Moeen Ali, Cricketer, England

O

ne question that pops up in every fifty-over cricket World Cup is “Will England be able to lift the trophy?” This time, the England team was upbeat about the championship and they finally did it on their home turf at Lord’s, the Mecca of cricket. It took 44 years for the British men to answer this question. The game had its origin in England but the fact that they could not win fifty over title all these years has always haunted them since its inception. After the controversial and breathtaking win in the final, there were a flurry of elucidations on how England won the maiden title, but as the New Zealand Captain Kane Williamson rightly put it, “Could have been this, could have been that, but this is it.”

14

| AUGUST 2019

One thing that worked for team England was the diversity in their team. England Captain, Eoin Morgan, and batsman Joe Root revealed the ethos of three lions on their jersey– courage, unity, and respect. The ethos carefully crafted played a significant role for all the England players.

Looking at team diversity, Captain Eoin Morgan is from Ireland who played for his home country and also led England to win their first fifty over World Cup. Ben Stokes, the player of the match is from New Zealand. The all-rounder played the most crucial innings in the final. Pakistani origin, Adil Rashid was the key spinner for England. Another Pakistani origin all-rounder Moeen Ali played an equally important role. Jofra Archer, the Barbadian born English cricketer, was selected for the World Cup just one week before the start of the tournament.

Initially, Archer was not eligible to play for England until the winter of 2022, but in November 2018, the ECB announced a change to its rules and the rest is history. The twenty-fouryear-old boy became the leading wicket-taker for England in the championship.

This diverse talent is an example of win-win, and it doesn’t restrict to sports but goes well with the corporate culture where it’s proven that diversity in team brings in more value.

Sharing his thought over unity and diversity, Moeen Ali, said, “We are an incredibly diverse team from different backgrounds and cultures but, crucially, we respect this and embrace it. We never shy away from it. It doesn’t matter where you come from or what you believe in if you can come together with a common purpose – in our case winning the World Cup – and if you show courage, unity, and respect (our team mantra), you can achieve anything.”

Former Flipkart exec joins Truecaller as MD Former Flipkart executive, Sandeep Patil, joined Truecaller in the role of Managing Director of India operations. This appointment comes at the heels of the announcement that the Sweden-based spam identification service is also planning to launch a lending business for companies and institutions, in India.

Aditya Birla Group elevates Sushil Agarwal as group CFO Sushil Agarwal, CFO of Grasim, and an Aditya Birla Group veteran, has been elevated as the Group CFO. The elevation is in recognition of his three-decade-long association with the group.

Sushil has also been given a director’s seat at Aditya Birla Management Corporation.

Schindler India appoints new president of India and South Asia Ashok Ramachandran assumed his new role as the President of Schindler India and South Asia. The global provider of escalators and elevators has appointed Ramachandran to replace Uday Kulkarni who has retired from his role as the president.

EY Global Delivery Services gets a new HR head on-board EY Global Delivery Services appointed Sreekanth Arimanithaya as the Global Talent Leader. Sreekanth will be responsible to drive a complete re-imagination of their Talent Function and how it partners with the business.

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail names new HR Head for Lifestyle Business Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail has named Gurucharan Singh Gandhi as the new HR Head for Lifestyle Brands. Prior to this, Gurucharan was heading Learning and Development for the Aditya Birla Capital group for about three years.

CHRO of Godrej Properties Ruhie Pande moves to a new role After heading HR for Godrej Properties for 2.5 years, Ruhie Pande now joins Godrej Housing Finance as Chief Human Resources Officer. In Godrej Housing Finance Pande will get the opportunity to not only lead the HR function but also be a founding member of the company as it is currently in its initial stage.

Fortis Healthcare appoints a new CHRO Sanjay Sinha has been appointed as the new Chief Human Resources Officer of Fortis Healthcare.

Based in Gurgaon, Sinha will be in charge of leading the HR function for the hospitals’ giant at a group level.

AkzoNobel appoints Head of HR for India Subcontinent Dutch multinational, AkzoNobel has appointed Anushree Singh as Head of HR, India Sub-continent. Singh will report to Marieke Bos-van den Berg, Human Resources Director South Asia, and will be working closely with Rajiv Rajgopal, Managing Director of AkzoNobel India.

r e a d s

Warner Bros appoints first female CEO WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey announced the appointment of Ann Sarnoff as the new Chair and CEO of Warner Bros. Sarnoff, who is currently President, BBC Studios Americas, brings more than thirty years of diversified business and media experience to the role of overseeing worldwide operations at Warner Bros.

Voltas CFO Abhijit Gajendragadkar steps down After leading the finance agenda for Voltas for more than a year, Abhijit Gajendragadkar has stepped down from his role. Gajendragadkar became CFO in March 2018 after he had been Executive Vice President of Finance at Voltas Ltd. since December 3, 2016.

q u i c k

Quess Corp appoints new CEO of Monster APAC & Gulf Quess Corp has appointed Krish Seshadri as the CEO of Monster APAC & Gulf. The leading business services provider in India had acquired the digital recruitment platform Monster. With more than 20 years of experience in spearheading tech, digital and mobile businesses across the US, India and Asia, Seshadri has worked with a variety of MNCs.

Home Town appoints new CHRO Home Town, which runs under the parent company of Future Group, has elevated Sindu Aven as the new CHRO. In her new role in Home Town, she would be to leading the Human Resources and Administration functions. She will be reporting to the Managing Director, Viraj Ddwania.

Planet Fitness appoints new Chief People Officer One of the largest franchisors and operators of fitness centers in the U.S., appointed Kathy Gentilozzi as Chief People Officer. Gentilozzi will oversee the company’s human resources operations including talent acquisition, leadership and organizational development, business partner support, culture and employee engagement.

GroupM announces new Global CEO GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, announced that Christian Juhl will become global CEO on October 1, 2019, succeeding Kelly Clark.

Christian will be responsible for the vision, strategy and operational excellence of WPP’s mediafocused companies. Christian is currently the Global CEO of Essence, a data and measurement-driven agency he joined in 2013. He led Essence’s acquisition by WPP in 2015, and since joining GroupM, Essence has grown exponentially in markets, clients and services.

AUGUST 2019 |

15

Rapid-fire with Krish Shankar Krish Shankar, Group Head - Human Resources, Infosys, in conversation with People Matters, reveals some interesting insights about his personal and professional life

r a p i d - f i r e

1 Up-close

One thing that makes you passionate about HR? The opportunity to impact and inspire many people

One must-read book for CHROs and HR leaders It’s an old one- but Good to Great is still got some very relevant insights

What was the turning point of your life as an HR professional?

When I joined Airtel from Levers, I became the independent HR Head of a company and had to take all accountability, and saw the impact we could have on an organization, thanks to the team there

One leader you closely follow and one hallmark of that leader Richard Branson - in a way he is what I am not, but he is always inspiring, thinks big and backs his people Your advice for aspiring HR professionals?

You are going to see a lot more change – be ready for it. Be flexible, keep learning- and remember, the biggest legacy you can leave is when people thank you for their success

One tech/innovation that will transform HR? AI and AR/VR. These technologies will together transform how we work and how we develop people

One question you ask in every interview?

In terms of your career and achievements so far, what is it that you are proud of?

What's your learning mantra?

‘There must be some idea or concept in the world that can help me be better’- be curious, you can learn anything, anytime

Self-paced learning or guided (organization-lead) learning?

Guided leaning - the organization plays a big role in shaping people’s development too

Three key talent priorities for Infosys, currently?

Reskilling, building alternate career paths for people, creating an agile culture, and retaining talent

Appraisals based on rating or ratingless performance management?

Some form of rating helps (I also found that employees want this as it gives them clarity)

In the fast-paced world full of disruptions and challenges at every corner, what keeps you going?

Honestly, when I see people I have worked with or mentored do well and take on bigger leadership roles as CHROs or CEOs! There are so many of my direct reports who are CHROs. That keeps me going

2 Quick choices

Things HR professionals must keep in mind while implementing tech in any HR process?

Understand and empathize with users and involve them in design

4 Personal

Gig Workers or Permanent Employees?

Honestly, permanent Flexi work or 9 to 5?

Flexi

HR as a business partner or HR as a business driver?

More ‘HR as a business shaper’ (semantics do matter!)

16

3 Expert-take

| AUGUST 2019

Next big HR deployment Infosys is working around?

Many. In fact, we aim to be a ‘live’ enterprise Core HR competencies no technology can replace?

Empathizing & listening, catalyzing change & mobilizing people for change, and Coaching & mentoring people

Best career advice you've gotten?

As a leader, what distinguishes you from your CV? How would you like people to remember you?

If not an HR then what?

Probably a teacher or a sports writer What do you think about when you’re alone in your car?

Catching up on messages, & to-do things

f e a t u r e n e w s

The man machine conundrum The double-edged role of tech Machines and technology have become ever more prevalent in their use today and businesses are no exception. But as they reshape the future of jobs, they also prove our biggest bet in addressing future talent problems

By Dhruv Mukerjee

A

shish walked into the new office briskly, tightening his tie and checking his neatly ironed shirt. It was his first day at his new job and a sense of nervousness pervaded his every action as he made way through the relatively new office complex. He’d received an onboarding email a week prior and had since then been in touch with his recruiter who gave him clear instructions on whom to approach and where. He was also thankful for a regular chat with his manager, being able to speak freely to him to know the scope of his work better.

18

| AUGUST 2019

But he also has other reasons to be nervous about. After spending six years working for an IT firm, he had finally been shown the door. “Workforce restructuring” they had called it. But then spending two years of working with a fintech startup on developing their back-end services, he’d become interested in the world of finance and honed his skills on big data analytics and running nuanced machine learning algorithms in hopes of getting a more structured job. This was finally his chance.

Ashish’s case is reflective of a larger case of job shifts that have affected many across global economies and encapsulates

what many have been going through in recent times, albeit in different settings.

With skill shifts redefining how jobs are structured and companies fast adopting newer ways of working, job markets across the world is in a state of flux. As the impact of Industry 4.0 rises, job opportunities have been noted to have sharp polarisation between high and low skilled professions—-while the demand for one rises, many low skill jobs are under a threat of getting either automated or taken over by machine counterparts.

Automation represents a very threat to the job avenues open to people across the globe; a problem that is further accentuated in the growing labor markets like India and China. A recent Mckinsey projection1 on the extent of jobs getting affected by automation has been the estimation that in over 60 percent of occupations, one-third of work done currently

India’s case: rising jobs displacement and skills gap The jobs market in India with one of the largest working population in the globe has been undergoing similar shifts. The asymmetrical distribution of skills among the working population has resulted in a skills shortage that is often noted to be widening faster than it’s being addressed. Here technological disruptions are but one of many cases driving this change. A joint study2

by FICCI and EY recently on the future of jobs in India identified three key factors that would go on to define how jobs shape in the period leading up to 2022. It noted that over nine percent would be deployed in new jobs that do not exist today while 37 percent would be deployed in jobs that have radically changed skill sets in the period leading up to 2022.

In addition to technologies that today comprise of what is ushering a Fourth Industrial Revolution, demographic shifts, the see-saw effect of globalization and demographic shifts within the labor force will pay a key role. The report also goes on to note that the impact from primary forces is expected to be majorly on sectors such as IT-BPM and BFSI and relatively

The other aspect of the rise of tech Technological application within HR processes has greatly improved HRs ability to deal with such changes. HR tech today has evolved to both provide overarching solutions like an integrated HRMS where data is stored and analyzed holistically or specific solutions to the company’s varied need in areas like learning and recruitment. AI applications have improved the accuracy of hiring and helped businesses tackle biases while cloud and mobile tech have made learning programs more accessible and have made employee-centric programs more possible. All this has enabled HR professionals today to be more strategic in problem-solving and to add value to their businesses.

A Gartner report placed future talent consideration at the top of the key concerns in front of CEOs and business leaders today. And for companies to truly build future-looking talent management practices—all the way from hiring to retaining key talent—HR tech is bound to play an important role. The key factor being its justifiable and effective use. And although technological adoption within business processes are only going further accentuate the job crisis, it might prove a valuable ally for companies to build the proper ways to deal with such eventualities.

f e a t u r e

Automation represents a very threat to the job avenues open to people across the globe; a problem that is further accentuated in the growing labor markets like India and China

lower on core manufacturing sectors such as apparel. Such projections go on to show that Ashish’s case is not peculiar but is soon to become a prevalent part of India’s job scene.

Millennials and Gen Z job preferences are greatly influenced by the rising use of technology and many have begun working across tech facing fields. It has become an important part of employer brand and companies that have better tech offerings today have a noticeable advantage over others in creating its employer brand and attracting skilled professionals. Globalization, on the other hand too is affected by the rise in use of technology, as the rise in protectionist policies across much of developed markets like the U.S. has been partly in response to the eventual threat of techbased job displacement and how countries with larger working population like China are able to leverage technology and provide cheaper labor options. The rise of technology has both directly and at times more subtly reshaped the future of jobs. But that just remains one side of the coin.

n e w s

can be automated. Although complete automation of job roles remains far, the current use of technology means significant shifts within the workplace. The report goes on to note that "activities most susceptible to automation include physical ones in predictable environments such as operating machinery and preparing fast food.” Collecting and processing data are two other categories of activities that can increasingly be done better and faster with machines. But as we move ahead, many more traditionally people-driven process is going to be machine-driven.

Automation isn’t the end of it all either.

Businesses are in a race to transform their processes to use the latest technology.

This has resulted in rising digitalization, the evolution of big data analytics into a more predictive role, and the use of AI to make processes run smoother. All of them have made companies more efficient and cost-effective while reshaping jobs market significantly, making them more unpredictable than before. And as we’re just in the early stages of fully realizing the potential of many such technologies, coming years are projected to see further noticeable disruptions.

Notes: 1 Jobs lost, jobs gained: workforce transitions in a time of automation 2 Future of jobs in India a 2022 perspective AUGUST 2019 |

19

Agility is the new currency In today’s uncertain, volatile, and disruptive business environment, what is on the minds of a CEO?

By Manav Seth

n e w s

f e a t u r e

T

here are no two ways about the fact that the future is digital, but there is no clarity on how business leaders propose to harness the opportunities that come with it. The role that leaders, particularly CEOs, play today will be instrumental in defining what the future has in store.

However, in today’s uncertain, volatile, and disruptive business environment, what is on the minds of CEOs? ‘Agile or irrelevant: Redefining resilience,’ the 2019 Global CEO Outlook report by KPMG, helps us understand some of the key challenges that CEOs are facing today and how they intend to confront them. This year’s CEO Outlook report is based on a survey of 1,300 CEOs from 11 of the world’s largest economies and includes 125 CEOs from India. Here’s a look at some of the key findings of the report:

Uncharted waters World over, the confidence in the global economy is decreasing, and as a result, leaders are focusing on building organizational resilience to ride over disruptions and maintain momentum. The report says, “While 94 percent of all the CEOs were confident in their own business’s growth prospects, only 62 percent feel the same way about the global economy.” The top threats to growth were identified as climate change risk, disruptive technology risk, return to territorialism, cybersecurity risk, and operational risk. Notably, environmental and climate change risk has risen from its fourth position last year to the top of the list. What’s more, 63 percent of CEOs said instead of waiting for the next disruption, their organization is actively disrupting the sector, up from 54 percent in 2018.

In the domestic market, however, Indian CEOs have exhibited increased confidence in both their companies’ growth as well as the prevailing domestic macroeconomic environment. As per the report, the recent swearing-in of a new government has bolstered investor sentiment, and CEOs in

20

| AUGUST 2019

India are eyeing greater expansion opportunities in developed nations as well. While there is robust confidence among the CEOs in India regarding the country’s economic growth, their faith in the global economy’s growth has fallen from 89 percent in 2018 to 53 percent this year. Factors like the U.S.-China trade war, Brexit, and the rise of protectionist policies have contributed to this sentiment.

Leading in uncertain times Global leaders recognize that agility is the new currency in today’s business world, and 67 percent believe that being

“too slow” risks bankruptcy (up from 59 percent last year). To that effect, 84 percent of CEOs want a culture wherein mistakes are accepted as a part of the innovation process; however, only 56 percent say that they have such a culture in place. An equal number of CEOs, 84 percent, are “actively transforming their leadership team to build resilience.”

Indian leaders are also acutely aware of the fact that they need to improve their innovation processes and execution over the next three years as 70 percent attest to the sentiment, up from 50 percent last year. They are also well aware of their

Ninety-four percent of all the CEOs surveyed were confident in their own business growth prospects; only 62 percent feel the same way about the global economy

role in actively developing and promoting an innovation strategy in their organization; 73 percent of the CEOs believe that the growth of their organization will depend on their organization’s ability to challenge and disrupt business norms. As per the report, Indian CEOs are “actively transforming their leadership team to strengthen their resilience and are working to ensure a strong connection between the front, middle and back-offices in a way that their predecessors did not”. In line with their global counterparts, 80 percent of Indian leaders are also in favor of creating a “fast-failing” innovative culture; although, only 46 percent believe that their organization empowers employees to innovate without worrying about the consequences of failure.

Changing from within

The evolution of the CEO In addition to driving transformational change in their organizations, CEOs are also helping in the evolution of their role.

Global leaders recognize the fact that they need to be adaptive and willing to challenge the status quo. While 67 percent of global CEOs stated that they need to act with agility as the average CEO tenure is decreasing, 74 percent said that they made a significant “misstep” early in their career that they have been able to overcome, which signals to an evolving mindset. Indian CEOs also feel the need to be more agile as 74 percent said that the average tenure of a CEO has reduced to five years, despite an increase in challenges and responsibilities. While 66 percent believe that there is immense scope to improve their understanding of customers, many still rely on personal experiences to develop customized solutions for their customers. Alarmingly, 74 percent of Indian CEOs disregard data-driven insights because “they found those to be contrary to their own experience of intuition,” says the report. However, 89 percent agree that data scientists are the most effective group in their workforce.

f e a t u r e

Sixty-six percent of Indian CEOs place greater emphasis on investing in new technology, and the remaining 34 percent want to invest more in developing workforce skills and capabilities

n e w s

With their task cut out, leaders are driving organization-wide digital reinvention to enhance their technological capabilities, train employees, and secure their digital operations. While 44 percent of the CEOs plan to upskill more than half of their workforce, just 32 percent prioritize workforce investment over technology investments, suggesting that global leaders will focus on improving their digital capabilities extensively in the future. The fact that global leaders are giving more preference to investing in technology over their workforce can be understood from the finding that only 16 percent of the organizations have implemented AI in automation in some of their processes. Cybersecurity is also an increasing priority for global leaders as 69 percent of CEOs stated that a comprehensive cyber strategy is essential to build trust with key stakeholders, up from 55 percent last year.

Much like their global peers, Indian CEOs realize the importance of improving their digital capabilities, and 92 percent expect “significant” return on investment from their digital interventions within the next three years. CEOs in India are also more confident of the increasing use of cloud technology; however, they are less concerned about migrating their business data to the cloud (47 percent) as compared to global leaders (61 percent). Similarly, 66 percent of Indian CEOs place greater emphasis on investing in new technology, and the remaining 34 percent want to invest more in developing workforce skills and capabilities. It is encouraging that every second Indian CEO plans to upskill more than half of their current workforce with new digital skills and 69 percent of CEOs in India are “well-prepared” for a future cyberattack, up from 36 percent in 2018.

Arun M. Kumar, Chairman and CEO, KPMG India, says, “A successful CEO now needs to be an agile CEO. Succeeding in a world of volatility and uncertainty requires different leadership skills, particularly in large organizations. It’s no longer a question of simply defending your position and using scale to maintain competitive advantage. Today, CEOs need to be comfortable disrupting their business models by forging new strategic partnerships, considering alternate M&A strategies and increasing the skills of their workforces.” The report encapsulates the many challenges facing today’s leaders and CEOs. The need to be agile and disruptive has never been higher, and world over, leaders recognize the same. Business leaders need to leverage advancing technology and embrace the digital way of working to build a resilient and sustainable organization that not only stays relevant, but thrives in the future of work. A good starting point in this journey would be to examine KPMG’s 2019 CEO Outlook report and contextualize the challenges that they are grappling with.

AUGUST 2019 |

21

Indian yogi, mystic, author and founder of Isha Foundation, Sadhguru, talks in depth about his philosophies and shares how businesses can make the shift from looking at human as a resource to human as possibilities.

By Drishti Pant

S In t e r v i e w

adhguru’s fundamental vision is to offer the science of inner wellbeing to every human being – a science that helps a person realize the ultimate potential within. From this vision stemmed a multitude of projects, programs, and methods.

As human potential is most critical for the success of business, the economy and society at large, it becomes important to explore this multitude of projects, programs, and methods and learn what businesses can take away from this philosophy.

In an exclusive interaction, Indian yogi, mystic, author and founder of Isha Foundation, Sadhguru, talks about his philosophy ‘Human is not a resource’ and shares how businesses can make the shift from looking at human as a resource to human as possibilities.

Since many decades, human beings have been referred to as resources, especially in the business context. However, now the perception is taking a shift and they are being referred to as possibilities. Can you share more about the new perception?

Why do you believe that human is not a resource?

Sadhguru on why Human is not a resource 22

| AUGUST 2019

A human being is not a resource - a human being is a possibility. It is just that there is always a distance between a possibility and a reality. What an individual human being will become essentially depends upon whether we can unfold this possibility or not. If you consider a human being as a resource, then once we pick up a resource, we already know its qualities. We know what it can and cannot do. In other words, it is a quantity. There is a phenomenal difference between a quantity and a possibility.

A possibility means it is yet to be. Human beings have essentially come in a seed form.

A seed realizes its potential only if it finds fertile soil. With the right kind of soil, one seed can make the entire Earth green. So, when you have a human being on your hands, if you think of them as a resource, you will never unfold their genius. This is like making an auto-rickshaw out of an airplane. What could take you to great heights, now you are

using it in a mundane way and you think, “This is it.”

How can businesses make the shift from looking at human as a resource to human as possibilities? Why is it important for them to make that shift?

How will this new concept change the way companies look at HR function?

Unfortunately right now, most businesses and industries are thinking only in terms of quarterly balance sheets – but balance sheets are very devious. You would have seen, in the last twentyfive years, the same instrument which would have cost you 10,000 rupees, costs ten rupees today. Why couldn’t you have made it for ten rupees on the first day? Because it had to evolve. That is one hundred percent true when it comes to a human being – you need to allow that being to evolve.

If you want to handle people, first of all you must understand there is a way to get the best out of a human being. Today, unfortunately, many people and event management schools are saying that unless you are stressed and pressured, you will not produce your best. However, there is enough scientific and medical evidence to show that a person will be at their peak performance only when they are in a pleasant state of experience. When you are in unpleasant states of experience, the best will not come out.

As we have seen in the past, the definitions and approaches keep on changing with time, until when do you think the perception of looking at human or talent as possibilities will live?

And how do you think this concept will further evolve in coming years?

If you set up an atmosphere where everyone is doing their best, you will not need any management. It will simply happen. You can witness this at the Isha Yoga Center – everyone is giving their

There is enough scientific and medical evidence to show that a person will be at their peak performance only when they are in a pleasant state of experience. When you are in unpleasant states of experience, the best will not come out

In t e r v i e w

Once we were doing a program for a major international company and their top twenty-five executives were with us for three days. Our volunteers were there and they will neither eat nor sleep if something has to be done – they will be on all the time. So, these executives were watching them and they asked me, “Sadhguru, where do you get such people?” I said, “You don’t get these people – you have to make them.” They asked, “How do you make them?” I said, “You must make them fall in love with you.” “Oh, how do we do that?” I said, “First you have to fall in love with them.” They said, “Oh, they don’t pay us for that!”

Right now, you slog in your workplace and go home and love somebody. No, I'm not telling you to start an affair in your office! But, you spend more time in your workplace than with your family, if you are a successful human being. Can you be in a place for more than fifty percent of your life without involving yourself and suddenly go home and fall in love with somebody? It is not going to work.

At least you can practice in your office, if nowhere else.

best all the time. You do not have to drive them – you will have to stop them and make them rest.

Otherwise, they will go on endlessly. We are on seven days of the week because we are doing what we love to do. So, where is the question of taking a break from that? But for this to happen, the people who lead have to set that example and inspiration, and above all set an atmosphere of love and joy.

This is the best way a human being can blossom into a higher possibility. But for this to happen, the first thing is you must stop looking at human beings as resources. They are not material that you can use and do something else with.

It is a dimension of life. If you nurture it right, it will blossom into something tremendous. As I mentioned earlier, human beings are in a seed form. Whether you make a seed into a big tree or crush it is up to you. But if you make it into a big tree, it will bear much fruit. Otherwise, you will see very little.

Taking us deeper into his philosophies, Sadhguru writes on ‘Intelligence beyond boundaries’ and shares how humans can move beyond the limitations of their intellect and come to a deeper dimension of intelligence.

AUGUST 2019 |

23

Intelligence beyond boundaries As our technological capabilities increase, we must also strive to upgrade human beings to move beyond the limitations of their intellect and come to a deeper dimension of intelligence which is the very source of life itself within us

By Sadhguru, Isha Foundation

R

In t e r v i e w

ight now, ninety percent or more of humanity lives by their physiological and intellectual capabilities. What you call as your body and your mind is a certain accumulation of memory. Memory is what has made you everything that you are. For example, if a man eats a piece of bread, the bread becomes a man. If a woman eats it, it becomes a woman. If a dog eats the same bread, it becomes a dog. That’s a smart piece of bread! It is not the bread but the kind of memory the system carries that transforms bread into a man, woman or dog.

The very structure of your body is a certain dimension of memory. Memory is also a defining boundary. But there is a dimension of intelligence which we call chitta, or in modern terminology, it can loosely be called consciousness. This dimension of intelligence has no memory in it. Where there is no memory, there are no boundaries to it.

Human intellect is an island. All products of human intellect are small islands. Consciousness is the ocean in which we exist. Consciousness is an intelligence that is not identified with any memory or boundary of you and me, and this and that.

This is a dimension of intelligence which has no boundaries.

As our technological capabilities increase, we must also strive to upgrade human beings to move beyond the limitations of their intellect and come to a deeper dimension of intelligence which is the very source of life itself within us.

Infrastructure for consciousness If anything needs to happen, a certain amount of human energy, time, and resource has to be dedicated to it. So, we have to invest in consciousness. Till now, we have been investing only in our survival. But with the kind of technologies that are coming up, survival will not even be an issue in the future. When survival is not an issue, we

Technology will bring comfort and convenience but will not bring wellbeing. It is time to focus on inner wellbeing. Right now, your wellbeing is still determined by what is around you, not what is within you 24

| AUGUST 2019

will definitely start investing. But the sooner we invest, the lesser the aberration will be when we move into these new possibilities that technology will open up.

Technology is always a double-edged sword.

Which way you are going to use it depends on who you are. Whether your identity and experience are very exclusive or inclusive will determine in which way the sword will swing.

So what do we have to do for consciousness to manifest in human societies large-scale? In every generation, there have been very conscious beings.

But in some generations and in some societies, they have been heard. In other societies, they have been ignored. It is time we make that voice heard, which refers to a dimensionless, boundaryless consciousness, and make methodologies to become conscious available.

Technologies for inner wellbeing As there are technologies to create wellbeing in our surroundings, there is a science and technology to do the same within us as well. With any amount of technology, if you do not know how to be, you still are not well. We know more comfort and convenience than any generation ever knew in the history of humanity. But can we claim we are the most joyful and fantastic generation ever?

No! People are becoming neurotic. I am not saying that we are worse than other generations, but we are not significantly better, despite the toll we have taken on every other life to get what we want to have.

Technology will bring comfort and convenience but will not bring wellbeing. It is time to focus on inner wellbeing. Right now, your wellbeing is still determined by what is around you, not what is within you. If your body and your brain took instructions from you, would you keep yourself healthy and blissful every moment of your life? If you had a choice, definitely you would. If you are not blissful every moment, obviously, your body and your brain are not taking instructions from you. This means you are not conscious enough.

So we have to invest in that direction. In our cities, there are hospitals, schools, toilets, and everything. But do you have a place for people to meditate? When technology starts doing most of the things that you are doing now, and you do not know why you exist, then the need for inner wellbeing will become super-strong. If we want to be ready for that day, it is very important that we invest both physical infrastructure and human infrastructure which focuses on the innermost core of who we are.

THE KEY TO BECOMING A TRUE LEADER IS

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE Identify leadership abilities on the 5 key aspects of emotional intelligence • • • • •

Self-awareness Self-assertion Personal development Leadership Adaptability

Get an EQ Score with an in-depth analysis CONTACT US FOR A FREE ASSESSMENT +91 80 4261 3119 | customer@centraltest.com | www.centraltest.com

Workplace burnouts

Employee Wellness

Are we taking them seriously?

Although companies have been experiencing favorable growth conditions over the past few years, workplace conditions have significantly changed in this period.

A shift that is perhaps leading to a crisis of employee burnouts

By Dhruv Mukerjee

E

mployee wellness programs are on the rise. With the dependence on key skill sets growing within companies, employee well-being has slowly begun to take center stage and with it, HR professionals today are looking at keeping their workforce healthy and fit with a completely renewed focus. Both investments and buy-in from senior leaders across the board today has propelled the

26

| AUGUST 2019

rise of wellness companies that focus on ensuring employee health remains a priority within talent management practices. Technology too, in the form of digital platforms and cloud computing, has enabled companies to provide interactive wellness solutions to their employees. With both technological and management practices evolving to pay more attention at keeping the workforce fit, it comes as a little surprise when reports project that the overall wellness industry can be worth over about Rs 1.5 trillion by 2021, according to a recent report by FICCI and EY. This has, in turn, spurred a rise in corporate wellness programs as well. And not without good reason. A 2018 study by ASSOCHAM titled ‘Corporate Wellness Programs: Benefits to Organisation & Economy� estimated that Indian corporates can save $20 Billion through initiating corporate wellness programs for their employees. The report estimated that for an average for every rupee

being spent on an employee wellness program, the employers get Rs. 132.33 as saving on absenteeism cost and Rs. 6.62 back as reduced healthcare costs. Although at an initial glance, the need to keep employees healthy—-both mentally and physically—might just seem to be driven by a corporate need to have their employees productive, there are other factors that make such wellness programs even more relevant today. But the immediacy of the need might just push the need for wellness programs even more. It is because the impact of workplace burnouts has skyrocketed today.

Multiple reports done on the working conditions and mental health of employees show a disturbingly rising trend among the country’s workforce; a serious case of burnout. A recent study aimed at analyzing depression levels across sectors like IT, finance, and manufacturing noted that over one out of every five employees across its survey base was suffering from workplace depression. Medical and healthcare experts blame it on lack of support systems at both workplaces and in personal circles.

The growing signs of depression are but just one of the possible outcomes of work culture that points to a larger problem facing the Indian working class; the problem of employee burnout. It has been characterized by a state where a person feels physically, mentally, and emotionally drained which is affecting his/her overall well-being. A part of the impact can be felt in the fall of personal productivity— and once it begins impacting a large percentage of the working force— a reduced overall organizational productivity. But since most such costs to the company accrue over longer periods, often companies end up considering employee burnout as an employee-level or even personal problem rather than addressing it as a broader organizational problem. It is high time that companies begin treating employee burnout as one of the core talent management challenges.

Burnout has a significant impact on employee morale and engagement levels. If left unattended, the problem of burnout could spread across the organization. As its often a combination of both personal and organizational factors, employee burnout can be significantly tackled by taking a holistic view of the problem. Burnouts are often triggered by highly stressful work conditions; aspects such as toxic work environment, biased managers, unrealistic deadlines, unpredictable schedules, difficult interactions with colleagues all play a role in increasing burnout rates.

Charting the road ahead As the problem of workplace burnout rises across the board, HR professionals have to look beyond traditional solutions to workplace issues. Studies show how employees who experience burnout are often chronically exhausted and detached from their work. In a survey of Indian working professionals by the National Mental Health Survey of

A recent study aimed at analyzing depression levels across sectors like IT, finance, and manufacturing noted that over one out of every five employees across its survey base was suffering from workplace depression

Employee Wellness

Looking beyond simple measures

India, workplace burnout was becoming a part of India’s growth story. It noted that although working extra hours had made employees better compensated and financially sound, the added baggage that current work cultures contain—and at times promote—also end up affecting their mental and physical health across companies.

It added that factors like performance pressure and fear of losing jobs are the major reasons for burnout among employees. According to the report, around 15 percent of Indian adults need support for one or the other mental illness issue.

Quizzed on their employer support to towards stress management, the report also noted that while nearly 46 percent received stress management backing from their employer companies, many lacked the support from their employers when it came to managing causes of burnouts.

Working women were also found to be more stressed than men. This points towards the need to move towards a cognizant effort of recognizing signs of employee burnouts and using wellness programs and company culture to address critical problems.

AUGUST 2019 |

27

I N TERVIEW B IG 28

| AUGUST 2019

If you’ve got a strategy, the only way you’ll get it done is through your people - President & CEO, SHRM

J

ohnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world's largest HR professional society. SHRM has grown to a record 3,00,000 members in over 165 countries, impacting the lives of more than 115 million workers and families globally.

Taylor has a diverse background in leadership and people strategies across various global organizations and industries. Before joining SHRM, he was president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. He also has been responsible for the global HR function at IAC, a portfolio of publicly traded media and Internet businesses, later assuming the CEO role for one of IAC's operating companies. In addition, he was a labor and employment partner at McGuireWoods, LLP, where he was president of the law firm’s HR consulting section.

Taylor has served on multiple for-profit and mission-driven boards, while always making good human resource management a priority. Before becoming CEO, Taylor was a long-time SHRM member and served as chair of its board of directors in 2005 and 2006.

In an interaction with People Matters, Johnny takes us through his journey from a lawyer to the CEO of SHRM, the expert of all things work, workers and the workplace.

You started your career with a major law firm after pursuing a joint degree in law and mass communications. You then started a tech company as its founding CEO and then moved into the non-profit higher education space. Can you tell us more about your diverse career and what was the key motivator for you while going through these shifts?

Everything in the formative stages of my career was focused on becoming a lawyer.

As a matter of fact, going to law school was the only “planned” part of my life.

I saw my neighbor go to law school and become a lawyer. I thought, ”I want to be that.”

That’s why mentorship, apprenticeships and things like that matter so much.

I didn’t come from a family of lawyers, but I could look at other people who had done it and say, “If I can see it, I can do it.” So, seeing opportunities in other people is critical for career and growth.

What happened thereafter is interesting. I was a labor and employment lawyer.

Those experiences – typically responding to things that had gone wrong between employers and their employees – gave me a real insight into the challenges of people management. What I found was that I was constantly fixing things that were broken – and typically in the course of costly, nasty litigation. I remember constantly wondering: “Why are we here? Where did this all go wrong?” That was really my segue to HR. I left the law department to go into HR and I said, ‘If we could just do things better, we could prevent lawsuits and improve the relationships between companies and their human resources.”

Once in HR, I realized that finding really talented people was harder than I ever imagined, and that part of the problem was that people lacked the requisite skills for the jobs we were searching to fill.

We were all saying we needed talent and we knew the talent we met suffered from a skills gap. This led me to want to better understand the education sector, college and university education in particular. So, I assumed the role at a national college fund. After seven and one half years in higher education, I received a call from AUGUST 2019 |

I N TERVIEW

By Ester Martinez

B IG

In an interaction with People Matters, Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) takes us through his journey from a lawyer to the CEO of world's largest HR professional society

29

wrong people helping you design your business strategy, then you’re going to end up with the wrong business strategy, right? We started replacing people almost instantly and, once we figured out that we had the right group of smart, talented people, we focused on our business strategy. It was a two-part, two-stage strategy. So, after we changed the people, we brought in three different business consultants, government affairs consultants, and communications consultants and they helped us think about it. Three of these groups came and sat down with the new team. Together we came up with the business strategy we’re implementing now.

B IG

I N TERVIEW

The award-winning television host and entrepreneur Martha Stewart in conversation with Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM President and Chief Executive Officer during the annual SHRM Annual Conference 2019 in Las Vegas.

Conventional wisdom is that you design your business strategy first and then you go to your people strategy second. I flipped it on its head. I said, “We’re going to start with people first” an executive search firm looking for the next CEO of “SHRM”. And it’s so funny in life, everything makes sense. It was like, my legal practice, my HR practice, and my education practice. And I ran a business, in the middle of all that – a dot.com, so I knew how to run a business. It really felt like I was made for this job.

So, what was the mandate when SHRM happened to you? What was the exciting part and what was the big challenge that made you think “I can really make a larger contribution”?

I was the chairman of SHRM’s Board of Directors in 2005 and 2006. I didn’t ever envision coming back to do this because I had a corporate career at the time and couldn’t imagine working full-time for a non-profit trade association. I could not have been more wrong about the opportunity. It is a beautiful homecoming.

When I took over this role at the beginning of 2018, we were in the middle of the “perfect storm” for HR professionals: (1) we had a very healthy economy in the United States; (2) Growth was everywhere and businesses needed people to continue growing; CEOs were openly saying: “The key to my success is not access to finan-

30

| AUGUST 2019

cial capital, it’s access to human capital;” and (3) #MeToo became a global phenomenon as a result of Harvey Weinstein very public sexual harassment scandal. Everyone was talking about #MeToo, workplace harassment, and workplace equity. With all of these workplace/people issues happening at once, I realized that I could be in the middle of a global discussion and a global mission — which was to make people’s lives at work better. Because if we did that, then we could make a better world.

So what were some of the foundational year-one things that had the biggest impact?

It was very simple: people strategy first, and then business strategy. Conventional wisdom is that you design your business strategy first and then you go to your people strategy second. I flipped it on its head. I said, “We’re going to start with people first.” The senior management team got together, and, within 30 days, we decided our culture and guiding principles. We made a major change in the first 60 days. Not only was it challenging, but it’s also intimidating for people. A lot of folks told me, “Do the business strategy first.” But my logic was: If you have the

That’s quite a big commitment, isn’t it?

From a business-outcomes perspective, if you’re starting with people, quite a lot of other things have to wait. So how did you build that conversation?

You noted how much time I spent with the people, our members, and our employees. I needed to get their buy-in and that was another side of it: What really worked for me was that people saw me talking with them — listening, learning, observing, not saying ”I know everything.” I took a different approach which is “look, listen, learn,” and then we acted. So that has really worked out well. But it took a lot of patience. Not just patience on my part, but patience on my team’s part as well. I like to say. “We drove the plane and built it at the same time, but we landed, and things are good.”

What do you spend most of your time as a CEO doing?

I became a CEO in 2007 - my first forprofit CEO. Then and now, I spend a lot of my time on people issues. This morning, one of my colleagues woke me up at 8 o’clock and the first thing she said was, “We’ve got a people issue.” It’s always a people issue. I spend more than 70 percent of my time as a CEO on people issues, not broader business strategy. What I’ve learned over time is that, if you have a solid business strategy, the only way you will get it done is through your people. Making sure that moving players around the table and making sure I’m putting them in the right positions is really hard work.

You founded a tech company on your own and also served on a board of directors. So how much of all this came from your experience of running a business?

All of it. I observed very successful business people and it really was that “Aha” moment. I’ve worked with three billionaires, not CEOS who get a job from a board of directors but individual, person-

ally wealthy people and all of them spent upwards of 60-80 percent on people. That’s what they do. They spend their time on people. If you get the right finance person, you don’t spend your time thinking about finances. I’m not an accountant. That’s not what I do. My job is to pick, motivate, and develop the right accountant. So that’s what you do. This job is all about people.

Should I be able to read a balance sheet, a ledger? Yes, of course, I must know the fundamentals of business. But you need mastery at all levels in your team, which comes from investing in hiring and retaining the best talent.

I think it’s a very intriguing problem statement for many HR leaders to get their leaders to actually understand. Is it people, entrepreneurs who have built businesses get it, and professionally hired HR people don’t get it?

SHRM President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., talks about second-chance hiring during the general session at SHRM Annual Conference 2019 in Las Vegas.

SHRM recently announced an initiative called “Getting Talent Back to Work.”

Tell us about this initiative. What are the different levers that organizations need to change or barriers to break to make sure that workers with criminal backgrounds not only get hired but are included?

The first part of the question is really getting at why? The why is pretty straightforward. In the United States alone — although it’s really important to think globally about this — about 700,000 people a year are going to be released from incarceration. If we want to do anything about lowering recidivism, they’ve got to get jobs.

If they don’t have a job, they’re more likely to go back to jail. We start foundationally.

Our pledge is about getting companies to not automatically throw away a candidate with a criminal record. What happens a lot: we learn a candidate has a criminal background and we immediately put them in the reject pile: “They can’t work here.”

HR, sadly, oftentimes is the group that has enforced that. Background checks are important of course, but our initiative is about getting HR people and businesses to agree that we’re not going to automatically assume that they don’t fit. They deserve consideration as qualified people: give them a chance to be considered for opportunities.

Once you’ve done that, you can talk about the next step — bringing them in.

The biggest issue now is inclusion. It’s not enough if they are hired but others won’t work with them. If people have drawn certain predisposed conclusions about how people who have been to jail are, then you put them in hostile environments. So much of our work is moving past that. The Getting Talent Back to Work” initiative is a pledge, but we also provide a toolkit. The toolkit educates, saying, “This is how you find the formally incarcerated. This is how you onboard them. But most importantly, how do you make them feel included.”

Once we’ve got people in the workplace, SHRM is going to study the issue.

We don’t know a lot about this population and what happens when they come back to work. Think about it. In the past, we’ve just said, “If you have a record, there’s no job.

There’s no data.” And in HR — I am a firm believer — you must make data-informed, evidence-based decisions. The First Step Act was signed in December 2018. We were there at the beginning. We can actually track these people. We can actually say: “This type of person, with this type of AUGUST 2019 |

I N TERVIEW

One of the things I want to do more globally is understanding employment. In the U.S., we’re talking about the gig-economy, informal workforce, whereas in India, there seems to be the opposite problem with large percentage of informal employment

ogy, but the CTO’s job is to convince and persuade and influence them. That’s the same for CHROs when it comes to people matters.

B IG

I think it comes from a lack of attention people management issues receive from business school curriculum. For years, business leaders — CEOS, typically, not all — come from business schools.

And the business schools, until recently,

didn’t focus on people issues at all. They’d have one course or two of leadership in a two-year MBA program. The subject of people was never given an in-depth discussion and study. If you understand your people dynamics, your organizational chart, your succession as well as you do your capital and operations budget, you’d have a stronger organization. But business schools don’t prepare people for that. As a result, you’re asking people who’ve been trained to focus on this — as in, business — to also focus on people. That’s the problem.

It’s their blindside.

It’s a foundational issue. Our schools can do better and it’s why in India, for example, we’re teaming up with universities like XLRI and ISB. There are a lot of business leaders who won’t come through those programs, so we have to figure out how to strengthen and equip HR people to do better. What it requires is courage and expertise. What happens when you, as the HR professional, know the right decision, but your CEO doesn’t? How do you use your influence and courage skills to get them to the right place? I say this oftentimes: Most CEOs don’t know technol-

31

B IG

I N TERVIEW

background, didn’t do well here; but these types of people do really well in this type of environment.” It will be informed with data, as opposed to anecdotal hit-or-miss.

There will be issues. There will be people who have committed crimes who will come into your workplace and commit more crimes. Guess what? There are a ton of people who have never committed a crime who also commit crimes in the workplace for the first time. It happens. But I don’t think they are any more predisposed to commit crimes than others, and what we know for sure already is that you retain them better because they are looking for opportunities and they will value organizations that hire them.

For years, business leaders — CEOS, typically, not all — come from business schools. And the business schools, until recently, didn’t focus on people issues at all. They’d have one course or two of leadership in a two-year MBA program.

The subject of people was never given an in-depth discussion and study Do you have a group of organizations that work very closely with this program?

Are you piloting that toolkit and measuring it?

We are. We have more than 2,200 companies and individuals who’ve now signed up, and we are a community of people who have agreed to exchange information and data and talk about what worked and didn’t work. So yes, we’re absolutely doing it. It is about getting talent back to work. We have a workers shortage and we have a skills gap, which exacerbates the workers' shortage. We have to find talent no matter where we can find it. We don’t have the luxury of ruling out 700,000 people every year.

So this initiative is only for the U.S. right now. We have heard about your initiative in India where Indian Oil hires women with criminal records. Can you elaborate on this?

I have to tell you: SHRM has operated historically as an international organization. The same way that we take our U.S. model, thinking, vision and we export it, a truly global organization reciprocates.

There is an organization from India that hires women who have been incarcer-

32

ated, Indian Oil. We have learned a lot from that experience, and we are incorporating those learnings into the program. With the complexity of talent issues we need to deal with, no one country has the answer. We need to learn from each other. One of the things I want to do more globally is understanding employment. In the U.S., we’re talking about the gig-economy, informal workforce, whereas in India, there seems to be the opposite problem with large percentage of informal employment. So there are learnings on the implications on employment, taxes, etc. It’s a fascinating discussion. We are now watching and learning from India. I love the global nature of this job.

| AUGUST 2019

When you look at this gig economy, automation, AI and technology coming, there will be a lot of shifts and changes in the nature of HR professionals. What would be your advice for HR leaders to get ready from a skilling or reskilling perspective of their teams?

Curiosity is the key. To look around the corner and say, “HR is going to be disrupted, not just once, twice, but in everything.”

People who resist AI will be disrupted. Years ago, you used to go to the teller and get your money and the idea that an ATM machine was going to spit your money out at you, not a person, people thought was ridiculous. “That will never work!” Now, I can’t imagine living without ATMs. What has happened? People were worried about what would happen to those jobs. There are fewer bank tellers than there were 20 years ago, but now banks are larger. What it did was create a whole new set of jobs: AI jobs, programming jobs. History tells us the jobs are going to change. Banks are bigger than they were before they had the ATM. The ATM machine didn’t ruin people’s careers, right?

Where do you find that curiosity in our community?

We talk about it a lot and here’s the blunt

answer: People who aren’t curious need to leave the profession. We’ve all met that HR person who you say, “You’re in HR?” You know they don’t represent our profession well. They don’t represent themselves well. They’re either not courageous, or they’re not equipped, haven’t taken the time to study HR. Whatever it is, we can help them. That’s SHRM’s role, globally, is to equip people with the skills. That’s why we have certifications. That’s why we have learning management systems. But for the people that either can't or won’t do it, we should encourage them to do something else. In HR, we need people who are curious and who genuinely care about how human beings can add value to an enterprise.

Does it feel difficult to be in an executive position in an organization that has so much history, so much of a legacy and, of course, so much of strength of the brand?

Yes, we’re 71 years old this year.

We’ve been successful. That’s the problem — convincing people that we need to change when everything is going fine.

My analogy is: I lease cars. Every three years, I get a new car. The car is not broken; I just want a better car. I want a new experience. I want disruption.

I want the latest technology. But how difficult is it to adapt to change? Very.

Human beings have a change resistant gene.

What your advice to accelerate change in organizations?

First, people need to know what’s in it for them. Leaders need be able to articulate their vision. Why should people want to stay here? You have to paint a vision. The second part, the part folks don’t like to talk about, is there are people who aren’t going to go on the next journey. Not just employees, but other partners, too. That’s when leaders need to say, “This isn’t for you; that’s it — so we need to separate amicably”! The third part is: Leaders need to celebrate successes. If you win, people get excited.

We’re competitive, so success helps in change management.

What your big hairy audacious goal for SHRM? Our big hairy audacious goal for SHRM is to become $250 million business in less than five years. We have an ambitious goal. We will do it.

(Photo by Chris Williams/Zoeica Images)

Real Time Compliance Management Avoid non-compliances taking place than a post mortem after the damage is done.

Organizations have to adhere to many compliances under Labour Law , Factories act & similar laws. By implementing Labourworks you not only send advance Email/SMS notice about a possible non-compliance likely to happen & give an opportunity to the contractor to take corrective actions. But if the corrective action is not taken in time then you can simply block the entry of the worker & avoid non-compliances from taking place in a real time mode.

Some of the compliances that can be implemented in real time mode are

Working without a weekly off Maximum work hours exceeded in a week Contractor Labour License expired Labour License Capacity exceeded Medical Check up not done Induction training not completed Work Order expired Work Order Capacity exceeded Female worker entry during night shift Debarred worker entry

There are many more compliances which can be handled in an offline mode as well.

Labourworks™ is an Enterprise Contract Labour Management System which helps you streamline various processes using SPC Methodology™ . SPC Methodology™ are industry best practices in Security , Productivity & Compliances. Organizations have also observed up to 10%* cost reduction on Contractor billing by implementing SPC Methodology™. There are more than 350 installations of Labourworks™.

Please call on us today for a live demonstration...

SAP is a registered trademark of SAP AG

020 25281608 / 9326727467 labourworks@scrum-system.com www.scrum-system.com

India’s growing gig economy:

Are we ready for this change?

India’s gig economy has been growing by leaps and bounds. But have our labor markets kept in pace to this changing nature of work?

Flexible Workplaces

By Dhruv Mukerjee

O

ften called the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”, the current business environment is one that has reshaped how people interact with companies.

Technology today is replacing older modes of work at an increasing rate and with an ever-growing search for profitability in an increasingly competitive world, businesses today have welcomed the benefits of newer technology with open arms. And as it is with any system of interconnected entities, aspects such as labor markets have greatly evolved too in the wake of these changes.

The gig economy is one such result.

The recent spree of changes that modernday economies are undergoing due to the adoption of newer technology, today, has loosened a previously structured

and often regulated access to formal work opportunities. The rapid adoption of technologies, in addition to changing candidate preferences, today means that workers are able to procure multiple pieces of work or ‘gigs’ while companies have an option of reaching out to candidates with requisite skills.

With such shifts within the labor markets, it remains important to note how pervasive has the impact of a growing gig economy been for an economy like India.

Modern problems require modern solutions With a large working population and an overall workforce which grows by over four million every year, the advent of the gig economy in the country has had a major impact on the country’s labor

market. Reports show how there has been a significant rise in both the number of gig workers across the country, as well as growing numbers on the hiring side. According to one such study that captured this growth, over 70 percent respondents from the hiring side have used gig workers at least once or twice for solving organizational issues in the last year. Further, the report said, nearly 45 percent of the human resource (HR) heads surveyed wanted to hire a gig worker so that they can supplement skills of the existing workforce, 39 percent would do this to reduce the cost and 10 percent for filling temporary vacancies in their teams.

India, due to its sheer number of the working population, many of whom are beginning to get digitally connected, has found a growing acceptance to gig work.

Reports from a freelancing aggregator Truelancer states that over the past few years, the gig economy has grown greatly.

It currently values the global freelancer market at $2-3 billion which is growing at an annual rate of 14 percent. India currently accounts for $1 billion of the global market. While the US leads the race with 53 million independent workers,

With a large working population and an overall workforce which grows by over four million every year, the advent of the gig economy in the country has had a major impact on the country’s labor market 34

| AUGUST 2019

With talent pools today becoming way more diverse in their age constitution and with Millennials and Gen Z workers increasingly becoming part of the country’s workforce, many have begun preferring to become part of the gig economy

Drivers of the gig economy To look closely at the projected rise of the gig economy in India, one needs to follow the journey of how technological and demographical shifts have made companies and candidates evolve their interaction with each other. Increasing digitization has meant that remote working options have become an option in front of HR professionals, often playing a key role in incentivizing employees.

Co-working spaces, both offline and online, have come up which allow people to connect and make the best use of each other's qualifications to perform efficiently.

With talent pools today becoming way more diverse in their age constitution and with Millennials and Gen Z workers increasingly becoming part of the country’s workforce, many have begun preferring to become part of the gig economy. Either under the force of lack of formal jobs and or just evolving economic conditions, studies show that as more and more companies undertake business transformation to make their processes more technologically driven, the number of gig workers are bound to go up.

Increasing use of technology, like AI and automation, would also lead to the creation of new job profiles and a business’s need to look for qualified talent. In the coming years, instead of hiring outright for such

positions, it’ll be possible for companies to just reach out to talent on a more projectlike basis.

An important aspect of the rise in tech usage in a country like India has meant that many who would’ve worked previously within the unorganized sector are now able to procure better employment. But that’s not to mean gig economy finds itself in a clear area when it comes to the ’formality’ of the jobs it generates.

Most jobs created under this growing trend exist in their own informal space.

Although this might seem to be an effective measure for both professionals to set their working wages according to free market operations and a company to hire people with specialized skills on a temporary basis, the real-life implementation of the model doesn’t essentially come back without its red flags.

The other side: Are labor legislations keeping up?

While it has reached a fairly mature stage in developed countries where recruiters and employers are used to a concept of a mobile workforce, organizations in India are still getting used to this departure from the traditional work culture. But as estimates show, flexible jobs and gig based employment are certainly growing.

Given the technological journey that Indian companies are still to chart, the gig economy is bound to grow. But in order to successfully utilize the gig economy as a way of engaging the rising workforce of the economy, many other factors like

skill levels and technological access of the masses have to fall in the right place. But all is not ideal with the current work of affairs.

Many end up becoming a part of the gig economy not out of a yearning to try out different things but rather a very real need to have a job. Given the rapid growth of India’s working population, the employment generation capability of a gig economy has helped many within the labor markets to become employed.

A stance which many have proposed as a way of creating jobs. Although this might be a temporary solution towards creating employment, independent workers by nature of their work are more exposed to market shocks than regular salaried fulltime employees of a company.

Flexible Workplaces

India has 15 million freelancers with its gig economy workers increasingly gaining independent contracts in industries like IT and programming, finance, HR, and design, among others.

Conclusion Regulations here can come in various forms. They range from overarching schemes like the creation of a Universal Basic Income scheme and the provision of skill-building opportunities (even ‘gigs’ would soon require specialized skills) to looking closely at the freelance and gig-based employment and taking steps to make them an attractive and secure option for people to follow.

Though proponents of the gig economy claim people can benefit from flexible hours, it has its fair share of detractors, who consider it a form of exploitation, with very little workplace protection.

While gig work is a necessity for some, it is a luxury for others. It remains to be seen what journey we undertake.

AUGUST 2019 |

35

Performance Management

10 Steps to fix Performance Management In a world where traditional performance management systems don’t work, organizations should build solutions that can help drive the results needed to remain competitive in a digital world

By Mitch Zenger

36

| AUGUST 2019

W

e all agree that the current state of Performance Management no longer works inside of today’s modern organization. As a result, companies are eagerly looking for the next great solution that will help drive the results needed to remain competitive in a digital world. As we transition to a more digital workforce, an integrated Performance Management solution will become an important tool necessary to optimize team success. Designing these tools in the right way is critical to creating a culture that can attract and retain employees dedicated to reaching the full potential of your organization.

I recommend these ten critical steps to help optimize performance inside of your organization:

The digital workforce has a very different perspective on how their personal information should be managed and exchanged. We must quickly put every employee in control of their own personal performance data using tools that allow this data to be portable, authentic, and secure. This transformation will be accelerated in response to the several highly publicized cases of consumer data misuse that are causing individuals to scrutinize how their data is managed and controlled across all digital platforms. Employees will then be able to grant data access to their employer or recruiter as they control their performance reputation throughout their career.

Step 2 Focus more on team success Anna Tavis from NYU sums up the transition perfectly: “The big challenge for a lot of companies and for HR as a function is how we transition from a philosophy and a whole infrastructure we built around individuals to an environment where it’s about teams and collaboration.” Performance Management must direct their attention on team skills, team goals, and team performance to drive measurable business outcomes and retain valued employees. Developing team capabilities matters more than cultivating individual skills.

Step 3 Connect the Performance Management tools together Performance management software must create a synchronized solution that integrates learning, development, goals, performance, feedback, recognition, and analytics into an integrated platform that employees use to work better together as a team. Employees will never take the time to log into ten different applications to perform each of

Step 4 Make all summary data transparent across an organization Transparency is the foundation needed to create an equitable and trusting work culture. All aggregated data must become transparent across every organization so that everyone can understand how they impact the overall success of their team and organization. Allowing complete transparency will reinforce team behaviors that ultimately deliver better results for everyone as they collaborate together.

Performance Management must direct their attention on team skills, team goals, and team performance to drive measurable business outcomes and retain valued employees Step 5 Make your performance reputation transferable

Performance Management

Step 1 Let employees own their performance data

these different tasks. These activities are all connected and the Performance Management platform must also be connected.

Successful next-generation Performance Management requires revisiting fundamental assumptions that no longer exist within today's workforce.

Nobody expects to remain employed within the same organization for the duration of their career.

Younger employees expect to work for ten or more different employers. It no longer makes sense that your performance data is deleted every time you move to a new organization. Creating platforms where workers have a reason to maintain their data and own their careers will help workers actively manage their career development to ensure long-term employment.

Step 6 Create a common performance vocabulary Business literature has created a unique vocabulary for all of the different components of employee Performance Management. When HR professionals discuss strengths, we use terms like ENFP, or 7426, or Woo/Achiever, or Guardians in Business Chemistry. When we discuss goals, we use terms like MBOs, OKRs, or Key Performance Indicators. There is also a separate vocabulary for learning, for personal development, and for AUGUST 2019 |

37

Performance Management

Unconscious bias is created when a limited number of people get involved in reviewing individual performance. We must get everyone involved in creating and evaluating feedback to be able to create a more holistic picture of performance inside of an organization employee recognition programs. These different components of Performance Management must all be connected together using a common performance vocabulary that everyone understands and can be universally transferred from one organization to the next.

Step 7 Connect performance goals to personal and team goals Most companies only focus their goal setting activities on individual achievement goals related to business outcomes such as hitting sales targets, customer satisfaction targets, or output goals.

Organizations need to also include three additional types of goals and connect them all together using a common performance vocabulary just mentioned. The three additional goal types include team achievement goals, personal development goals, and personal wellbeing goals. Employees should control the creation and exposure of goals in all four categories, so that co-workers can understand and support each other as they accomplish these different, yet connected, types of goals.

Step 8 Get everyone involved in coaching and mentoring Unconscious bias is created when a limited num38

| AUGUST 2019

ber of people get involved in reviewing individual performance. We must get everyone involved in creating and evaluating feedback to be able to create a more holistic picture of performance inside of an organization. Technology now allows us to automate the collection of feedback from peers, teams, direct reports, internal stakeholders, and even external stakeholders at regular intervals across your organization.

Step 9 Design tools like a consumer experience Performance Management technology should deliver an experience similar to the consumer experience people get using tools such as Netflix, Facebook, or Amazon. Unfortunately, most of the existing tools in the market have been designed as an enterprise solution to deliver the data and reporting for business leaders who want to know about their workforce. These tools must be designed to help teams work more productively together, help individuals manage their career development, and help organizations to create a better work culture using an interface that is more similar to Instagram or Twitter.

Step 10 Create value and benefit for everyone participating Many companies are finally starting to realize that their current Performance Management process does not work, and is even counterproductive in trying to deliver better performance in an organization. We must design new solutions that create value for everyone involved, so that every participant has both an intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to accurately create and confirm performance related activities. Performance Management needs to feel more like an incentive program that optimizes team success and less like a babysitting service that HR is dictating across your organization.

About the author

Mitch Zenger is a Senior HR Tech Advisor at Synctrics

The workplace has become a social tool Philip Ross

Philip Ross, the Founder and

CEO of the UnGroup and Cordless Group, talks about the workplace of the future and how Worktech will impact efficiency and productivity in the future workplace

By Shweta Modgil

P

hilip Ross is the Founder and CEO of the UnGroup and Cordless Group. An author, futurist, and advisor on the new world of work, Philip specializes in predicting the impact of emerging technology on the way we will work, shop, learn, consume leisure and live. Much of his focus has been on workplace innovation, advising organizations such as McKinsey & Co, Marks & Spencer, EY, Allen & Overy, GSK, Barclays, Macquarie Group, and BBC among others on innovation and future concepts.

In an exclusive interaction with People Matters, Philip talks about the workplace of the future and how Worktech will impact efficiency and productivity in the future workplace.

Technology is altering the way we work and our workstyles. What do you think will be the two-three most significant ways in which emerging technology will impact work and the workplace?

Technology has changed the relationship we have with our workplaces. People are no longer anchored to the office because technology has enabled flexible working and when people are in the office, they are not anchored to one space which enables agile working practices.

Technology is starting to be built into the infrastructure of the building, starting a new wave of ‘cognitive buildings.' These workplaces will be active predictors of individual employee needs, instead of passive responders. This means employees will have a more seamless working experience.

Collaboration has become a significant part of workplace strategy and new technologies are allowing for more seamless collaboration between employees. Collaboration across different geographies can now be achieved by advanced video conferencing systems and instant idea sharing tools such as interactive whiteboards can send work electronically in real-time.

Increasing use of Worktech means the adoption of new ways of working, which

will necessitate a change in people’s behavior and their relationship with technology. What do you think is this change going to look like?

People will have a more seamless working day. From the moment they wake up through to working in the office and commuting home. Technology will respond to people’s working preferences such as lighting and temperature in the office, reserve a parking space in the staff carpark before they arrive at the office and even know the individual’s coffee order before they have to order it. This means there will be more time for people to focus on their work tasks and less on the environment they are working in.

What is your vision of a future workplace? How will it look like and how will the people and technology dynamics be in such a workplace?

The workplace of the future will be responsive to individual employee needs from the moment they enter the building.

Biometric security will grant access into the building, a workplace app will help locate people in the building, locate and book seats and meeting rooms, tell individuals what services are offered in the workplace and suggest events to individuals based on their preferences.

This workplace will allow employees to walk into the office and all they will have to think about is the work at hand, allowing for a more productive workforce.

In t e r v i e w

Leadership is key to implementing change management in any organization. Engaging with leadership ensures the topdown support, which is necessary to integrate a successful change in an organization

What do organizations need to prepare their employees to the advancing march of Worktech and adapt to the future workplace?

Leadership is key to implementing change management in any organization.

Engaging with leadership ensures the top-down support, which is necessary to integrate a successful change in an organization. Leaders should communicate openly with their teams to prepare them for new changes, particularly in technology. Following this, support programs to train and upskill employees to use new technologies will help them adopt the technology more willingly.

AUGUST 2019 |

39

STORY C OVER 40

| AUGUST 2019

HR TECH H

uman resource management has gone through a paradigm shift over the last few years especially in terms of how they leverage technology to accelerate business gains. Organizations today face unprecedented change given that their workforce expect a digital tailor-made experience from their HR function and this is where technology comes into play as a no brainer. Adopting HR technology is not only about improving the efficiency and effectiveness of HR processes but empowering the employees (58 percent), according to our survey State of HR Tech 2019. This is a sign that the supporting role of technology has today emerged in a more enabling role where new-age technologies like Analytics and Data Science, AI & Chatbots and Cognitive technologies are providing global businesses a solution to build an effective workforce.

This makes the case for the rising investments in HR technology. As such, the HR Tech market is expected to be a $34 billion dollar industry by 2021 of which $3.6 billion worth of the business will be based out of the APAC region including India. With technology advancing and paving way for the new-age workforce to deliver their best bets, we see a slew of new solutions that come into the territory of HR realm.

In the cover story, we take a look at the bigger picture in terms of how top-notch organizations are leveraging technology –from people analytics to talent acquisition technology to RPA and Blockchain, to move to next level of their journey and what’s the way forward for HR, across functions such as workforce optimization, talent management, learning and development, remote workforce management, as they becomes more mission critical to business.

AUGUST 2019 |

STORY

By Mastufa Ahmed

C OVER

Unlocking New Possibilities

41

HR Tech landscape is a little bit out of control: Josh Bersin

With too many solutions available in the market, it’s time for vendors to rethink their solutions as ‘experiences’ that integrate into Office 365, Teams, Slack and other tools – and operate flawlessly, says Josh Bersin

By Mastufa Ahmed

J STORY

osh Bersin is a world-known industry analyst and founder of Bersin by Deloitte, a leading provider of research-based membership programs in human resources, talent and learning.

Josh is a public speaker, and writer on the topics of corporate human resources, talent management, recruiting, leadership, technology, and the intersection between work and life.

In an interaction with People Matters, Josh shares insights on top tech trends in HR, adoption of next-gen technologies such as machine learning by businesses, and the way forward for HR.

C OVER

You saw a massive shift from ‘Automation’ to ‘Productivity’ in 2018. How have things changed so far in 2019?

This trend is accelerating. Not only is productivity the theme, but simplicity. People are just too distracted and busy with their phones, emails, and messages – so we need HR tools that operate “in the flow of work.” Vendors have to rethink their solutions as “experiences” that integrate into Office 365, Teams, Slack and other tools – and operate flawlessly. We can’t send people to any more “destination apps” unless they are really fun, enjoyable, and valuable to use.

How do you see the current landscape of HR tech globally? And what lessons can CHRO and people manager learn from the current level of adoption of HR tech?

The HR Tech landscape is a little bit out of control. After 11 years of economic growth, VCs have funded many incredible startups causing a lot of “cognitive overload” among buyers. Even as an expert I have a hard time keeping up with all the tools. I’m not saying any of these systems aren’t great, but I know that CHROs are tired of getting emails and sales calls from vendors, and they want to buy tools that are proven and integrated into the ecosystem they already have. Companies that have digital teams can set up sandboxes and evaluation and architecture groups to help – but most companies don’t have time for this so I advise vendors to slow down and make sure you have sustainable solutions before you blast out all your sales and marketing and expect CHROs to listen.

Among the new-gen technologies (AI, ML, RPA, blockchain), which one are you most excited to use and why? Share examples of use cases.

Clearly ML and AI are way ahead of everything else because these technologies are now embedded into everything. We have AI-based assessment, selection, salary advice, learning, career management, and management. Leaders can now get AI-based tools to help them with coaching and it

Clearly ML and AI are way ahead of everything else because these technologies are now embedded into everything. We have AI-based assessment, selection, salary advice, learning, and career management 42

| AUGUST 2019

will go on and on. I expect us to come to work with “recommendations and nudges” every day, just like we get “recommended alerts” on news, stocks, and wellbeing tips.

What are exciting new innovations to look forward to in the context of HR and new-gen technologies?

I think chatbots, employee experience platforms, and integration with MS Teams are big. These are technologies that now exist and work today and they didn’t even exist two years ago. We all have to select the right tools in these areas. Employee self-service has become employee “listening and response” and platforms like employee engagement have become “action platforms” that deliver recommendations to managers. All these are new ideas going into production this year.

Employee experience seems to be one of the focus areas for HR today. How can HR leaders ensure a seamless employee experience and help them give their best in terms of productivity and efficiency?

This is the biggest topic in HR at the moment.

I think it requires an employee experience leader

STORY

Yes. This has already happened. Our newest People Analytics Excellence course in the Josh Bersin Academy is under great demand (coming in Q4) and most HR leaders tell me they no longer want to hire HR people who don’t know some statistics and have data fluency. But not everyone is an analyst; people need to know how to interpret data, tell stories from data, and understand when the data is misleading. There is a lot to learn here – but as I wrote years ago –the “datafication” of HR has arrived.

C OVER

Do you think HR will see a new level of data competency in 2019 with the rapid adoption of people analytics that help people managers make decisions about their workforce?

Employee self-service has become employee “listening and response” and platforms like employee engagement have become “action platforms” that deliver recommendations to managers and a cross-functional team that looks at the most unproductive problematic areas in your company.

Right now it’s a consulting process but over time we’ll find better tools to instrument, design, and continuously improve employee experiences. Just as companies monitor customer experiences, we will do the same for employees.

How can technology help HR to understand the needs of employees in a gig economy?

This is a growing area with not enough tools.

My latest research shows that only 12 percent of companies even know what gig workers they have and what they’re working on. Some of the core ERP vendors are building solutions here (many are building tools for internal marketplaces) but the vendor market is still lacking.

What are your top tips to HR leaders trying to build a business case for innovation and use of technology in the HR function?

I am very pragmatic here. I believe you have to build a solid system of record and then experiment and innovate in all these areas, with a plan to pilot different tools and throw some away if they don’t work. Just as marketeers have many tools to reach and communicate with consumers, we now need many tools to reach and communicate with employees. It’s not a time to sit back and wait – there are many ready solutions now. You just have to pilot and experiment to find the right ones for your particular company.

AUGUST 2019 |

43

From transition to transformation

In an exclusive conversation with People Matters, Jason Averbook, CEO of Leapgen, shares his thoughts on navigating a HR technology transformation journey, emerging trends and technologies, and more

By Mastufa Ahmed

J

C OVER

STORY

ason Averbook, a global keynote speaker, industry analyst, co-founder and CEO of Leapgen, has launched his latest book: The Ultimate Guide to a Digital Workforce Experience ~ Leap for a Purpose. Jason looks to broaden executive mindset to rethink how to better design and deliver employee services that exceed the expectations of the workforce and the needs of the business. Leapgen is an emerging growth management consulting firm dedicated to raising the potential of HR and IT leadership as they strive to innovate their organization’s digital workforce experience.

In a conversation with People Matters, Jason Averbook, CEO of Leapgen shares his thoughts on navigating a HR technology transformation journey, emerging technologies and the future of HR.

How do you foresee the future of work and the role of next-generation of technologies?

The future of work is here today. That’s the first and most important realization. It's just not evenly distributed. What’s most important about that statement is the need to think about the role of HR and realize we (HR) are going to have to make decisions: What do we want to be great at? Vs. What is it okay to be just performing at?

The role of next- generation technologies is not to serve the HR function. The role of the next generation of technology is to serve the workforce; if I've served the workforce and the workforce uses my tools, the organization adapts in a way such that the workforce trusts the fact that HR is actually going to make their jobs better versus HR doing things to track them.

That's what's going to drive the future of work and the role of HR.

What are the most critical business challenges that HR & Work technology can help organizations solve today?

We have to change the concept from counting people to making people count. That's going to drive diversity 44

| AUGUST 2019

It's really the concept of deployment. There's a big difference between implementation of technology and deployment of capability. So many organizations today implement technology hoping it's a silver bullet versus truly deploying capability.

When I deploy capability, it means I'm transforming the organization; true transformation means making changes to how people work. Changing how people work is a huge problem in most organizations. They're just not good at it. So that's the biggest business challenge out there today.

The second business challenge when we think about work technology is what I call the ‘I’ - which is the ‘Impact.’ Am I truly using these tools to create impact? or am I using these tools as a way to track data? These are massively different topics, but if I'm not driving impact with the solutions I'm putting in place, my organization is going to push back on whether that solution is considered a success.

People analytics and employee experience are among the top keywords being used in the context of HR. What's the current state of affairs and what's the way forward for organizations to elevate employee experience?

The way organizations need to think about elevating employee experience is really made up of four key concepts: mindset, people, process and technology.

Mindset means having a shared vision as to what the employee experience is going to be within my specific organization as well as being able to understand the principles and how I'm going to measure success.

People means designing for people, designing for the workforce and trying to create an experience for employees versus designing for HR. We use design thinking to do that.

Process becomes a question of how you’re going to generate data and output from processes. So it's not just getting the process done; it's getting the process done and creating a data trail I can use to generate analytics.

Lastly (yes, lastly), Technology. If I understand what I'm doing, if I understand my people, if I understand what I'm trying to achieve from a process standpoint, then I'm able to pick my technology. Employee experience will change the agenda of HR over the next five years - guaranteed but most organizations will fail. They’ll fail if they approach employee experience from a technologyonly standpoint versus truly approaching it from a transformation perspective around how people work.

Will technology eventually help elevate HR’s role to HR being a strategic partner for organizations to make a more strategic impact on the organization? Do you see this in large organizations already?

The most important answer to this question is this: if ALL we're doing - which we've been doing for the last 40 years - is transitioning from one technology to another, we will not make HR more strategic. There's a big difference between transition and transformation. We need to think about how to transform the way people work, the role and the responsibility of the employees in the organization when it comes to data, and what I want my HR people doing. If I'm doing transformation, technology will play a key role and it will make HR more strategic. If all I'm doing is technology and transition, that won't happen.

Anyone who thinks AI isn’t a regular part of HR today is mistaken. We're already using AI when it comes to algorithms, when it comes to how I search for information in a portal.

We're already using AI when I navigate applications

STORY

It already is. Anyone who thinks AI isn’t a regular part of HR today is mistaken. We're already using AI when it comes to algorithms, when it comes to how I search for information in a portal. We're already using AI when I navigate applications. What's going to change massively is how AI becomes embedded into the function, basically shifting the role of the HR business partner from answering questions to solving problems. Is that going to be called AI? No, and that's really, really important. Don't get caught up in the technology; get caught up in what the technology can do for us. It's going to allow us to automate, and not artificially. It's going to allow us to automate the mundane tasks our business partners have been doing in the past and truly focus on the strategic. That's what's so exciting about AI now and into the future.

Assessing HR technology solutions relies on having a digital HR strategy and roadmap in place, which answers the first question: What is your vision? Having a digital HR strategy also answers a second, critical question: How is the people function aligned to corporate objectives, and what are the things I should be working on and not working on?

Once I've done that, we get to a concept that's so important when it comes to technology intentional sequencing. I'm sequencing the way I choose and deploy technology in an intentional way. Organizations around the world spend billions of dollars every year - essentially wasted money - because they put modules in place instead of deploying processes. They put technology solutions in place instead of putting in place capabilities to drive the workforce forward.

So I have to align from top to bottom and realize that when I build my roadmap every year - I mean

C OVER

To what extent do you think AI will become a regular part of HR in five years?

How should organizations assess HR technology solutions with viability, scale, alignment to business?

that seriously, every year - I have to look at it all over again and intentionally sequence.

Among the new-gen technologies (AI, ML, RPA, Blockchain), which one are you most excited to use and why? Share examples of use cases too.

I'm excited by all of them because it's really about the combination of all of them leveraged together. That's actually going to change the HR function. The technology alone won't do it. So if I take artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, block chain, all of those things together - THAT is going to change the way the function looks at data, the way the function creates employee experience, and the way the function can give back to the business. That's what those technologies do.

So what I'm most excited about is seeing how organizations leverage whatever the latest technologies are in the world to actually transform the function. HR will transform from a function designed in the past to be a tactical, reactive function to one that's a proactive, prescriptive function.

AUGUST 2019 |

45

Organizations with the right HR technology can manage talent efficiently: IBM’s HR Head, India & South Asia

Chaitanya N Sreenivas, VP HR & HR Head, India South Asia, IBM talks about how one of his key priorities as an HR leader include building a workforce that is ahead to the market shifts and which can compete in the era of AI, cognitive and cloud

By Mastufa Ahmed

C STORY

haitanya N Sreenivas (Chinni) is a seasoned HR professional with more than 25 years of experience in HR and Business. Prior to taking on this role, Chinni was Director, HR for IBM Global Technology Services (GTS) India & South Asia. His roles and responsibilities entailed thought leadership, strategy and support to the GTS Business Unit to help it grow and evolve into a mature centre with Global Delivery Capabilities whilst also working on the larger India strategy.

Having joined IBM in 2003, Chinni has been a significant part of IBM’s transformation and in ensuring a new-collar skill based agile workforce.

C OVER

Among the new-gen technologies (AI, ML, RPA, Blockchain), which one are you most excited to use and why? Share examples of use cases.

HR is undergoing a massive disruption. The ubiquity of mobile and social technologies and personalization has redefined the bar for employee experience. For example, with the disruption of business models across all industries, the talent acquisition game has changed and the need for a continuous learning culture has never been more

urgent. The CHRO stands at the intersection of all these demands.

Over the last several years, companies have spent their time building, implementing, and improving AI frameworks, allowing managers and HR professionals to streamline a multitude of activities, from employee onboarding to learning management to identifying, selecting and developing their top talent. With the amount of data gathered on job applicants – in application forms, through pre-employment assessments and constant interaction with employees, we now have the ability to train AI platforms to improve candidate experience, separate high from low potential candidates and predict who will be successful in a position.

IBM’s HR function was one of the first to adopt AI technology and so we have a wealth of insights and learnings to share to help others get started.

IBM HR’s experience is that AI can be applied in almost any area of HR, including candidate attraction, hiring, learning, compensation, career management and HR support. For example, IBM Watson Recruitment (IWR), uses AI to leverage information about the job market and past experiences of hiring candidates to predict time-to-fill and identify the candidates most likely to be successful.

As we move forward, we are looking at major AI-influenced changes transforming HR. With people becoming more and more technology savvy, organizations are looking at implementing several tools and systems that automate repetitive tasks 46

| AUGUST 2019

We believe that real innovation in implementing AI in HR, will be about using machine learning and predictive analytics to develop goal and utility-based AI systems. By evaluating candidate characteristics and information, AI can predict who an organization’s future high performers will be, who will stay on the job longer and who is most likely to receive a promotion

To what extent do you think AI will become a regular part of HR in five years?

Performance management via annual or semiannual reviews has been a mainstay for businesses for decades. Managers, HR personnel or others in

STORY

Performance management has long been an important HR function. How can analytics help drive the next data-driven phase of performance management?

Organizations with large employee base are turning to AI to reduce the cost involved in managing operations, to improve employee engagement, to drive bias-free decisions in employee screening and recruitment

C OVER

Any job opening in a major organization typically invites hundreds of applications; yet only a fraction of the incoming resumes are relevant!

Thanks to AI supported systems, this extremely cumbersome process is now taken over by software and search algorithms that are able to successfully shortlist few people matching one’s requirements from a pile of irrelevant applicants.

This is just one example of the way AI is reshaping and revolutionizing every sphere in our lives, including HRM. Not just talent acquisition, human resource departments have comprehensively benefitted from AI supported systems and software throughout their work domain. Processes like onboarding, performance review, feedback, training, retention etc. have not only improved from an efficiency standpoint but also have reduced on a lot of administrative tasks, thereby allowing HR managers greater time and energy to focus on strategy, mentoring and motivating employees.

Many HR leaders have already begun experimenting with varied facets of AI to deliver maximum value to their organizations. Organizations with large employee base are turning to AI to reduce the cost involved in managing operations, to improve employee engagement, to drive bias-free decisions in employee screening and recruitment.

AI can also help HR to focus on strategic business initiatives and can enable them to streamline and modernize HR operations, especially in the following areas: • Recruitment and on-boarding • Automating repetitive tasks • People analytics and retention • Learning and development As we move forward, we are looking at major AI-influenced changes transforming HR. With people becoming more and more technology savvy, organizations are looking at implementing several tools and systems that automate repetitive tasks. A survey of HR executives by IBM in 2017 found that half of them recognized the power of cognitive computing in transforming key dimensions of HR. This is clear indication that AI is set to become a redefining force in HR.

supervisory roles meet with workers every six to 12 months to go over goals, performance metrics and various rankings. These assessments are used to make advancements, determine promotion, to identify training needs and to address periodic raises, bonuses and other compensation.

While this has been the most common method of rating employee performance till now, things are changing at a rapid pace. Performance management is now taking a more fluid approach that uses data analytics and ongoing feedback for enhanced effectiveness.

In late 2015, IBM set out to shape a whole new performance and appraisal management system designed for the era of cognitive business, called Checkpoint. At IBM, we have created innovative offerings across the whole value chain of employees’ work experiences using Watson technology and its analytics capabilities. For example, through appreciation, coaching, evaluation (ACE) app, users can give feedback, receive feedback, participate in surveys and review feedback.

They can ask for feedback from anyone - a manager, a direct report or a teammate at any time. In each instance, employees have the option to submit open-needed questions about how they performed or to use the prompt already programmed into the system. All ACE users have the option to check out AUGUST 2019 |

47

an IBM learning tool that outlines best practices for giving and receiving constructive feedback. For example, employees can learn to identify what task they have done, how did it affect them or the team and how can they improve in the future.

With all these tools, performance management has now become holistic by bringing together multiple sources of data, created a platform for feedback on performance as well as career development.

Will technology eventually help elevate HR’s role to HR being a strategic partner for organizations by simplifying administrative tasks and freeing up our time and resources to make a more strategic impact on the organization?

HR departments were once primarily administrative functions. But the view of HR has evolved considerably in the last 5 to 10 years. Today the phrase ‘strategic HR’ is used to refer to HR

With the growing pace of automation and change in the digital era, success in organizations will increasingly depend on human talent, creativity and innovation. Only those organizations with the right HR technology can manage talent efficiently. While looking for an integrated HR solution, one should keep in mind the following characteristics to arrive at a decision: • Enable the company and their activities to be organized by the demands from new digital business models - the HR technology solution should enable the creation and coexistence of various existing organizational structures • Promote the digitalisation of the HR functions: Technology solutions must also enable all or most HR processes, to be developed digitally at the internal (HR department) and external

C OVER

STORY

In the pre-digital era, HR was looking to optimize for efficiency and standardization, with shared services and the separation of front and back office activities, today, HR is characterized by speed, personalization and democratization practices that provide a competitive advantage to organizations. The strategic HR movement has seen a shift in HR’s focus from administrative to high performance practices like Talent management, Leadership development, teamwork, and performance management at an organization level.

In the pre-digital era, HR was looking to optimize for efficiency and standardization, with shared services and the separation of front and back office activities, today, HR is characterized by speed, personalization and democratization. In the digital era, we are focused on the end to end experience and this can be delivered seamlessly with the new technology, with personalization. Our slow but efficient bureaucracies of the past are being outperformed by this new model. The most exciting aspect is the two-way nature of the technology. HR used to announce new programs, and the conversation was essentially one way. The new technology makes all our employees co-creators of the culture and our programs. They are no longer consumers of HR, but co-producers.

48

How should organizations assess HR technology solutions with viability, scale, alignment to business?

| AUGUST 2019

levels (employees, managers, work units, etc.)

• Evolve in pace with the transformation of the digital ecosystem - enable the company to be aligned with the needs of their business model as well as the needs of their partners, suppliers, shareholders, etc., and thus contribute to its success at all times • Maintain digital experience among users: delivering a true digital experience that is also attractive and simple, bringing value to the user • Transform data into knowledge - transforming large amount of data meaningfully into useful information that we can fully exploit for a given knowledge-related goal and for decision making • Inclusion of smart tech such as social networks, mobility, analytics or big data, cloud and the internet of things along with AI and ML • Agility -HR function must adapt to the rapid pace of action their organisation’s demand and become a facilitator rather than a burden so that the organisation’s business goals can be achieved

How have technologies like virtual reality evolved for learning and development over the last few years? Any examples?

Skill is the new currency across businesses globally and in India. One of my key priorities include building a workforce that is ahead to the

STORY

What are your key priorities as IBM India HR leader especially with regard to HR technology adoption?

C OVER

Beyond keeping things fresh to sustain the professional creativity and passion, learning keeps people relevant in our ever-changing world.

Organizations cannot grow if their employees are not learning and their skills are not aligned with the changing business demands. It is important for organisations to create an environment that encourages learning.

Employee satisfaction is often linked to opportunities for development and progression. Usually, the more opportunities for professional development and career progression that are available to employees, the happier they will be.

To help solve this problem, IBM developed ‘Your Learning’, a powerful suite of learning technologies platform. Because of its ability to adapt to changing business needs, IBM’s Your Learning can accelerate the knowledge curve for any medium- to large-sized corporation. It can help every employee learn quicker, learn smarter and help the company stay agile and top-notch.

Through our platform, we create a personalised learning environment for each employee, providing a 24x7 interface that responds quickly, flexibly and creatively to the changing technical and business landscape. It provides search, browse, career roadmaps and customized learning channels.

Cognitive ability of the platform is personalized based on current role and most importantly it also addresses the passion and aspirations for future roles

Skill is the new currency across businesses globally and in India.

One of my key priorities include building a workforce that is ahead to the market shifts and which can compete in the era of AI, cognitive and cloud market shifts and which can compete in the era of AI, cognitive and cloud. Also, to keep up with the changing market landscape and emerging technologies the workforce needs to constantly up-skill itself to be relevant in the coming years.

How can leaders ensure a better alignment of HR & Work technology investment and business goals?

HR is no longer a facilitator but a key strategic partner with the organization to drive business results. With the war on talent, transformation of business driving the need of new skills, and employees demanding commercial grade experiences, it is a business imperative for HR to stay ahead of the market. Technology is a key enabler in this journey and with AI, ML, other technology evolving in the marketplace, HR has a very key role to play in meeting the business goals. By actively participating in the business decisions, strategic investment decision and ensuring that we have the right talent at the right place with the right cost will be key for the years to come.

AUGUST 2019 |

49

Unmatched

Scalable, costUnmat Encourage ethical

technology,

effective, and techno and safe workplace

Experience Ex devel oper and engaging ledevelop adership practices, while

World-class W certification certific development fostering a cultureo Learning Lea solutions. solutions. solutio of compliance.

Drive business outcomes Drive & help people achieve their help p fullest potential. fullest

tech&dev

te

Unmatched

Scalable, costUnmat Encourage ethical

technology,

effective, and techno and safe workplace

developer and certification solutions.

tech&dev

develop engaging leadership practices, while

developmentcertific fostering a culture solutions.

Learn more at skillsoft.com Learn more at skillsoft.com

solutio of compliance.

te

gh We beliean ve that true learning is achieved through an work. experience that supports people in the flow of work.

Try

gh We believe an that true learning is achieved through an work. experience that supports people in the flow of work.

Try

India@skil soft.com

+91 91007 88993

India@skillsoft.com

+91 91007 88993

It’s time HR should bet on next-gen technologies

HR leaders should prepare to be data literate and adept at using complex problem solving and project execution methodologies, such as design-thinking as these technologies will be the catalyst for the new face of HR, says Deloitte HR tech leader Chris Havrilla

By Mastufa Ahmed

C

C OVER

STORY

hris Havrilla is the Vice President, HR technology and solution provider strategy at Bersin by Deloitte Consulting LLP. Chris has worked with business and HR leaders—both as an internal HR & HR technology/strategy practitioner or as a consultant/adviser—on radically improving talent strategy, technology, and leadership—as well as the vendors who serve them. With a blend of technical, HR practitioner, business and vendor experience, she describes herself as a bit of a talent, HR Tech and Future of Work "whisperer”.

She loves figuring out how the latest trends and innovations in data, tools, and technology can help change the face of HR and the world of work.

Chris, in an interaction with People Matters, shares her take on the new face of HR and role of next-gen technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, and future of work.

How do you see the new role of HR as the maturity of next-gen technologies such as AI and blockchain increases?

The new face of HR will have a broad set of skills and experiences. The people who will be the most successful will be business and technology savvy and have curated a broader set of experiences outside of traditional HR to leverage their relationships and work. It will be less about transactions, compliance, and compiling data – and more about understanding the work, skills, and capabilities.

We will see AI technologies become a more regular part of HR over the next five years as awareness, learning, experience, and the maturity of the technology and usage increases. In fact, over the next three years, a majority of respondents in a survey

by Deloitte indicated they expected increased usage of robotics (64%), cognitive (80%), and AI (81%) 52

| AUGUST 2019

HR leaders will need to architect the organization’s shift from a business enterprise to a social enterprise and manage the workforce experience with a focus on personalization and bringing meaning back to work. HR leaders should prepare to be data literate and adept at using complex problem solving and project execution methodologies, such as design-thinking as these technologies will be the catalyst for the new face of HR. Finally, HR leaders need to understand, use, teach, and manage the technology to help drive reinvention with a human focus.

Is AI actually gaining ground in HR functions in developed markets? To what extent do you think AI will become a regular part of HR in five years?

Awareness for AI HR functions is stronger than the momentum with almost two-thirds (65 percent) of Deloitte’s 2019 Global Human Capital Trends report respondents citing the importance of AI and robotics in human capital – however, only 26 percent cited readiness to address the impact of these technologies. We did, however, see traction around automation with 41 percent of organizations reporting using it extensively or across multiple functions, a growth of over 100 percent from 2018.

I do believe we will see AI technologies become a more regular part of HR over the next five years

as awareness, learning, experience, and the maturity of the technology and usage increases. In fact, over the next three years, a majority of Deloitte’s respondents indicated they expected increased usage of robotics (64%), cognitive (80%), and AI (81%).

How should HR leaders prepare for future of work and make best use of technologies?

As organizations prepare for the future of work, they should rethink or “recode” work. Leaders should examine deliverables where machines can take on transactional, repeatable, and data-driven tasks and humans can focus on problem-solving, interpretation, design, communication, relationships, decisions, and outcomes. This combined approach sets up what Deloitte is calling “superjobs.” Today, 84 percent of organizations are thinking about reskilling and retraining and investing with a focus on superjobs and the future of work in order to leverage these next-gen technologies – with 18 percent investing significantly.

ment. Leaders should manage this transformation toward faster development to help employees become more productive and enabling them to do their best work.

How can technology help HR to understand the needs of employees in a gig economy?

Combining, data, analytics and natural language processing (NLP) tools and technologies, HR leaders can gain greater insights into workers’ sentiments, needs, likes, and dislikes. In Deloitte’s 2017 High-Impact People Analytics study, we reported the most mature organizations had more well-defined, and expansive “listening architectures” – using multiple channels to gain a clearer understanding of talent issues to build more well-rounded and innovative insights and solutions. The key is then to act on the data these tools deliver in order to address employee needs.

How have technologies like virtual reality evolved for learning and development over the last few years?

Technology is like any other tool. It’s all in how we wield it. The promise of these technologies to help employees embrace experiential learning, speed up the skilling and reskilling process, and become more productive is huge. Having said that, we have to make a mindset transition from traditional training to true learning and develop-

STORY

It became clear from Deloitte’s 2019 report, as part of the workforce reorganizes into these superjobs, lower-wage-work across service sectors continues to grow - along with non-traditional contract, freelance, and gig employment work – and it is imperative that these jobs are not left behind in the future of work. It is important for organizations to create a culture and infrastructure where everyone has a place and has meaning in their work. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ for the workforce of the future. In the absence of this, skills like design-thinking are critical to reducing risks in the innovation/invention process.

C OVER

Combining, data, analytics and natural language processing (NLP) tools and technologies, HR leaders can gain greater insights into workers’ sentiments, needs, likes, and dislikes What are your top tips to CHROs and talent leaders wanting to build a business case for innovation and technology use in the HR function?

Don’t make it about what is best for HR – develop a strategy to show how HR using these tools is best for the business, workforce, and other stakeholders. This strategy should focus on outcomes aligned with the business, people, and enterprise IT, and show how HR will meet all objectives important to the organization. HR leaders can deliver a picture of the current state of HR technology along with a realistic objective of the future state – not only what is desirable, but what is feasible and viable.

Organizations are investing billions of dollars in HR technology but aren’t getting the value they expect. This makes the plan to get from the current state to the future state of HR technology critical, so critical in fact that Deloitte launched their first High-Impact Technology Strategy study to dig into this topic deeper. In addition to Deloitte’s quantitative and qualitative findings, we anticipate other outputs and resources such as technology strategy framework, guiding questions, a maturity model, stories, etc.

AUGUST 2019 |

53

My biggest fear is the MISUSE of technology

HR is at the forefront of business automation today. But do HR professionals have the skills to make the best use of it?

By Clinton Wingrove

H

C OVER

STORY

R was one of the last functions to be equipped with technology. I can still remember the excitement in the 70s of Word Processing, Email, and very basic HRIS’s.

Now, HR is at the forefront of business automation.

But, do we, the HR professionals have the skills to make the best use of it? I fear not.

As CEO of a North American HR Software House and Consultancy and, since, as an independent HR consultant, I have studied closely two key issues. First, the differentiating skills of great HR leaders. Second, the trends in HR technology.

Great HR leaders demonstrate five key skills that enable them to make truly strategic impact in their organizations: • Courage – enables them to push back on inappropriate demands; and, especially, to fight to enhance the quality of the organization’s management and leadership; • Personal impact – equips them to establish personal presence and credibility; to influence their organization’s strategy, not merely support it; and, to achieve what they know is right for their organizations and the employees; • Commercial acumen – enables them to create robust business cases for what they do, especially new initiatives - demonstrating the longterm impact on the core businesses; • Analytical acumen – enables them to create processes that generate and use quality data; to research effectively; and to make evidencebased decisions; • Technology acumen – enables them to understand the behavior-engineering power and the analytical power of new tools; to understand their short and long-term impacts; and to make reasoned selections between different options.

We, in HR, must be able to prove the positive impact of our processes and initiatives on our core businesses. We need to integrate data from disparate sources to achieve that 54

| AUGUST 2019

We must not underestimate the importance of Technology Acumen. Important though they are, such skills as Word, PowerPoint, Excel or the organization’s HRIS are not the issue. Technology Acumen is much more about:

1. Using technology to increase data quality Quality data is Comprehensive, Valid, Reliable, Differentiating, Useful, and Defensible. Data quality can be enhanced using technology, for example: • B y timing user engagement.

Marketing organizations really understand this – just watch the timing of marketing emails arriving in your Inbox. The timings are not accidental!

They are designed to hit you at times known to be optimal for your attention and response. We can apply similar principles to HR process and technology design.

• T hrough the design of user interfaces.

Layouts, fonts, colors, and screen sequences can greatly impact the speed, completeness, and even honesty with which individuals enter data. Think about your own experience with different applications and surveys.

• By validating data.

For example, we all understand basic validation such as (i) only allowing a limited range of years for Date of Birth, (ii) limiting Appraisal Ratings to a fixed range of options, etc. However, much more sophisticated validations can be accomplished.

2. Using technology to underpin analytical acumen Many of our processes are in desperate need of improvement, not least (i) identification of potential people-managers, (ii) assessment of performance and capability, (iii) assessment of overall potential, (iv) measurement of productivity, and (v) identification of genuinely critical competences.

We need analytical skills to design, validate and evaluate them.

Analytical acumen includes (i) collection of quality data, (ii) data integration – matching data from multiple sources, (iii) data aggregation – combining similar datasets from different origins,

(iv) data analysis, (v) data interpretation, and (vi) data presentation. Of those, I find the following are in most need of enhancement: • D ata integration – matching data from multiple sources.

We, in HR, we must be able to prove the positive impact of our processes and initiatives on our core businesses. We need to integrate data from disparate sources to achieve that.

For example, it is possible, by linking Employee Engagement Survey data to Business Outcomes data, to demonstrate correlations – a much more powerful argument for investment of management time than mere benchmarking.

• Data presentation I have heard it said that, “There is no power in PowerPoint.” The intention was good but the statement was blatantly false. I have witnessed some of the most outrageous yet impactful abuses of data in presentations e.g., (i) manipulating scales to make differences between data points appear more significant than they are, (ii) presenting data to show trends that don’t exist, (iii) using 2D and 3D graphics which visually distort relativities.

Visualization using charts and pictograms is one of the most powerful ways in which data can be used to persuade … but, it can also grossly mislead (even those who produced the visuals!)

In summary, data integration, analysis, interpretation, and presentation tools are some of the most powerful technology available to HR but must be used with knowledge, skill and caution. Beware!

As the saying goes, there are “Lies,” “Damned Lies,” and “Statistics”. There are also, “Plain and simple misinterpretations of data,” often driven by a preconceived belief in what they should tell us. Don’t fall into that trap.

It is probably fair to say that there are two major fears about technology in an HR context, (i) fear that automation will replace people, and (ii) fear of data insecurity. Important though those are, neither are my largest fear

STORY

• Data interpretation We all have unconscious biases when faced with and handling data, some more than most.

At the very basic level, it is easy to believe (i) that bigger numbers are better than smaller ones, (ii) that anything with a decimal point must be more accurate, (iii) that “correlations” infer “causes”, (iv) that trends will continue, …. False interpretations can be costly. Many of these have been at the heart of failed initiatives. We need the skills to interpret our analyses without building in our own biases.

It is probably fair to say that there are two major fears about technology in an HR context, (i) fear that automation will replace people, and (ii) fear of data insecurity. Important though those are, neither are my largest fear. I have invested over three decades working with organizations to enhance productivity whilst maintaining strong, positively engaged, and sustainable workforces. My biggest fear is the MISUSE of technology.

Despite decades of education, management theories, and a surfeit of management books, productivity has not increased significantly for over a decade. Despite massive advances in technology and communications, productivity has not increased significantly for over a decade. Despite massive advances in workplace environments, employee support, and work-life balance, productivity has not increased significantly for over a decade.

C OVER

• Data analysis As the volume of data with which we work increases, so must our range of analytical skills (or, at least, understanding if we have staff to do the analysis for us). We must be aware of the analytical power that technology gives us. It can help us to differentiate between mere correlations and true causal relationships. It can enable us to execute split sample testing and validation of proposed processes and assessments. It can enable us, through regression analysis, to identify more important from less important data and factors. It can enable us to make predictions that are much more robust than mere extrapolations.

3. Using technology to drive what people feel, think and do

Why? Just stop reading this and look around you (physically of using your recall if you are alone). What do you see? Most of us are being consumed by an epidemic of distractions, primarily technology-based.

The combination of the environments we are creating and the tools with which we are equipping employees (or allowing them to use) is at the root of many of our issues. Adding more technology is probably not the solution – we need better technology. As HR professionals, we must invest in understanding the immense power of the environment and technology. With appropriate technological acumen, we will be able to identify or design what we need, take back purchasing decisions from Procurement and IT, and enhance employee commitment and productivity.

As HR professionals, the need for us to understand the impact of and best use of technology was never greater. Now, is our time to learn, take control, and enable our organizations to excel.

About the author

Clinton Wingrove, is Director of www.

WantToBeGreatManager.com and HR Anarchist at www.ClintonHR.com. He may be contacted via: clinton. wingrove@WantToBeGreat.com or connected with on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/clintonwingrove AUGUST 2019 |

55

Analytics will help shape the future of work

To be a strategic business partner, HR needs to be powered by insights in order to make informed decisions that can demonstrate true value and impact bottom line, asserts Olly Britnell

By People Matters Editorial

O STORY

lly Britnell is the Head of Global Workforce Analytics and HR Strategy, Experian – a leading player in credit data and business and consumer analytics.

His team’s focus ranges from delivering core MI to predictive capabilities across the full employee life cycle. They deliver strategically aligned people measurement, providing insightful analytics to support all people decisions in Experian. This has included developing predictive capabilities leveraging Experian’s proprietary consumer data sets.

Olly talks to People Matters about the role of data and analytics for HR in decision making and the future of work.

C OVER

How do you see the rise of new technologies and the future of work?

We can see the world of work is changing at a pace never seen before. Change is something that great businesses do well, in response to or ahead of changing markets, in order to stay ahead of the competition. But the pace of which the world around us is changing creates big opportunity and big risk. Multiple trends are merging; hyperconnectivity, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, robotics, deep analytics, bitcoin, blockchain and self-learning systems, and this disruptive technical evolution that we’re seeing is creating a real acceleration in knowledge.

With this and the ten thousand people who are retiring a day, there’s becoming a sizable gap in workforces. This and the evolution of a candidates’ market means we’re already seeing a continued global war for talent. This impacts what we need to

There is a big opportunity for HR to utilize the data sets they have to make evidence-based decisions that drive robust strategies, help evaluate workforce impact, enhance efficiencies and improve the overall wellbeing and effectiveness of the workforce 56

| AUGUST 2019

be doing now as well as how we equip ourselves for the future.

How can HR bring real value as we move ahead with the future of work?

The business trends and pace of change we’ve seen in recent years have meant that many organizations are better realizing the value of their employees, or human capital. The cost of human capital can be up to 70 percent of total business costs and arguably the most valuable asset, according to a study by a Paycor survey.

Many methods of competitiveness such as access to capital and product differentiation are easily matched, but HR can deliver higher value by offering talent and organizational capability that gives a unique advantage to win customers and contribute to business growth.

HR is now more commonly recognized as a strategic business function and the driving force behind organizational development. To be this strategic business partner however, HR needs to be powered by data insight, as this allows you to make evidence-based decisions that can demonstrate true value and bottom line impact.

So how do HR utilize this data and to what extent?

The accelerated growth of HR technology and capability has meant that HR have more data today than ever before. I think there is a big opportunity for HR to utilize the data they have, along with other available data sets, to make evidence-based decisions that drive robust strategies, help evaluate workforce impact, enhance efficiencies and improve the overall wellbeing and effectiveness of the workforce.

The amount of data created in just one minute today, is greater than all data that existed in total in 2000 and this will continue to grow.

Analytics need data to deliver insights and so to produce the best insight, your data needs to be correct. Deep learning is only as good as its data and so if you find you have missing or incorrect data, spend time on cleaning and defining it, and getting HR business partners to understand why it’s important, and their role in keeping data clean.

We transformed our one-dimensional view of our employee base by developing a predictive analytics tool that combines data from up to 200 employee attributes with our unique Experian MOSAIC and Financial Strategy Segment data. The tool, which has saved us c. $14m over two years and which we’re now offering to other organizations, delivers key, statistically significant attributes, to generate an attrition risk score for each employee – helping to make evidence-based decisions on the workforce.

This is one way such data can be analyzed and utilized to inform better HR strategies and decisions with bottom line impact. The extent to which you can use workforce data is vast and I believe this will only continue to grow in a world ever more fuelled by data. Those not thinking about making data driven HR decisions run the risk of getting left behind.

tions are now using this to target “nudges” based on certain responses, whether that be about flexible benefits take up, health/well-being support, resource planning or training.

Monitoring changes in employee data and making sure reference records are up to date can flag any issues that may need addressing. Changes in personal circumstances such as financial vulnerability can be addressed – helping support the individual whilst protecting your workforce and your business from challenges such as internal fraud.

Retention – With our predictive analytics solution, we’re able to test and learn various scenarios – predicting future trends to proactively manage issues before they occur. We can also identify high risk employees to drive proactive action to retain them.

How are companies using HR data strategically?

C OVER STORY

It’s great to see the HR role evolving in more organizations to that of the strategy partner, where we have a part to play in the formulation of business strategy with executive management.

Engaging in the strategy decision making is the future of HR and this is key to the success of organizations, as HR play a crucial role in analyzing whether the required skills and resources are available for strategic projects before the business embarks on them. As people are such a valuable and costly business asset, getting this right is critical to business growth.

Executing the role of strategic partner is no easy task and rule 101 is make sure that your data and analytics are aligned to support your business and HR strategy. Understand how they inform decisions across the employee lifecycle. Some thought provoking examples I have seen, and we use at Experian include: Learning – Creating Netflix style content, built on data tracking of behaviors, sentiment and 360-degree feedback. Using consumer style marketing to support proactive learning content – think of Amazon/Google adverts when you have just booked a flight, it then knows to offer you hotels in the same city. Apply this approach to learning about your employees and you’ve got a tailored employee learning experience.

Recruitment – Providers that understand movement in publicly available social media content can target talent at the right time proactively, not speculatively. This is based on algorithms, when people are likely to be looking for a new job for example, understanding publicly available changes in LinkedIn profiles or connections made to a Recruiter via Twitter is enabling businesses to be one step ahead in targeting key talent. Using a range of data sources to automatically screen and vet candidates to make the right hiring decisions also helps reduce the time to hire and protects the business and employees from bad hires.

Engagement – Daily or weekly sentiment tracking is now becoming more popular – organiza-

This has not only safeguarded our talent, but it’s allowed us to create a more fulfilling culture and has been transformative in driving positive outcomes for employees. HR teams now spend less time recruiting new employees. Instead they can focus on using the data available to ensure existing employees are fully productive, engaged and enabled.

All these examples, have one thing in common, they are all enabling a proactive data-led HR function with demonstrable value towards business growth.

And what do you think the future holds for HR in a data driven world?

Great opportunity. We are now looking broader than traditional HR data sources – email, calendar data, wearables, some even factoring in weather and climate data. Within Experian we utilize consumer profile and financial security data from our proprietary data sets to provide a whole different lens on our workforce, which is proving hugely valuable and insightful. This type of approach is transforming the role of HR. I’d say the future for HR in a data driven world is bright.

AUGUST 2019 |

57

Exploring future of work, Artificial Intelligence and HR

Soumyasanto Sen, Founder & Future of Work Strategist, People Conscience, gives a brief overview and strategies on new way of working, including workplaces and culture; impact of AI and automation in HR; and new role of HR with continuous learning agility

T STORY

he world of work is experiencing a major change as we are already observing some of the most remarkable disruptions related to the workforce and work. The demographic, political and socioeconomic trends of the past years, like rapid urbanization, globalization and polarization are influencing these disruptions of working.

Furthermore, automation, gig economy, digital platforms, and other innovations are changing the radical nature of work.

Future of work, workplace and work culture

C OVER

As per World Economic Forum, 75 million current job roles may be displaced by the shift in the division of labor between humans and machines, while 133 million new job roles may emerge at the same time. The impact is much beyond just change in jobs, its more about task automation and leveraging on human potential and productivity. For organizations, it’s important to create opportunities out of these, as the rising of the new technology has brought us to a conjugation point with a transition in the world of work.

Everyone is unique and different and what works for one may not work for another. New ways of working also change in behaviors and growth of digital world clearly demands future workplaces for more human connection. These workplaces are the places where employee’s senses are being put to work, and are the key to creativity, collaboration and wellness; and should enable new, more effective ways of working; increase employee engagement and agility with consumer-oriented way.

For any transformation, it is a change in the mindset of an organization, as the way we work today is different from the past, and this difference is driven by the rise of technologies. There are

For any transformation, it is a change in the mindset of an organization, as the way we work today is different from the past, and this difference is driven by the rise of technologies 58

| AUGUST 2019

always the organization shifts from its old ways of doing things to the new. The new strategies, structures, processes, and technologies are most likely so different from the past and current state that they require people to adopt new ways of working, an adoption to a new work culture.

Organizations must create right approaches to ensure such a shift in culture, and the two most important drivers for creating organizational cultural change are leadership support and learning agility. A successful strategy for new working must focus on a holistic integrated approach and emphasis to empower and trust employees to work anywhere, anytime with full flexibility.

Moreover, retaining and developing top talent, reskilling, augmenting tasks and functions, collaborating with non-human workforce are some other factors while considering strategy for future of work. The opportunities with these strategies can be recognized once the organization focuses in providing a framework to drive transformation across their workforce, workspace, and culture, as such initiatives must be an integral piece of an organization's overall transformation strategy.

When thinking about the future of work, there are many things to consider, and one is definitely the impact of AI and augmentation on the workforce. The future of work is not only about creating new ways of working or how new workplaces are

derived or even how AI is replacing existing jobs; it is also about how we can enrich new human capabilities and integrate them into the workforce, while creating more sustainable business functions for the future, including the HR function.

Impact of AI and automation in HR

HR is not about what it implies today or in past rather the emphasis should be on the values that it can create for the organization and workforce.

Today, the focus is on activities like staffing, training, compliance and other administrative stuff, as HR plays a transactional role for the business today. But for organizations, it matters most when HR activities and capabilities add value to the investor, customer, community and the workforce.

HR is lacking many of the skills to prepare for future of work including competence like design thinking, analytics, agile working, etc. HR needs to be able to build itself to prepare for these, if they want to survive with other business functions, as

STORY

New role of HR and continuous learning

HR is lacking many of the skills to prepare for future of work including competence like design thinking, analytics, agile working, etc. HR needs to be able to build itself to prepare for these, if they want to survive with other business functions, as many of them are way ahead of HR today

C OVER

Today, there are different types of HR technologies out in the market, and many of them are using some form of machine learning or AI technologies in their platform with use cases. One of the biggest areas that we can see an impact is in recruitment, whether its candidate sourcing, screening, pipelining, interviewing or even onboarding. The other HR functions that are seeing automation are administration, learning & development, talent management, benefits, engagements and many others. Overall, it’s going to impact every single area with more automation, augmentation, and amplification. The impact and adoption are not the same for all these functions, as the benefits of AI and automation for HR and the workforce don’t come instantly. It’s a journey and one can see the short-term benefits of this journey in automation, the medium-term benefits in augmentation and finally the long-term benefits in the amplification of human activities or tasks.

When considering short term benefits, focus is more on saving cost and increase productivity, hence automating tasks is a primary objective of such initiative, robotic process automation is very good example on it. While assessing the medium-term benefit, attention is on better decision making and human-machine interaction; chat-bots, predictive analytics are some good use cases for mid-term. For longer term, organizations must consider capabilities to autonomous work and boost human activities, like use of cognitive analytics and robotics can be some examples.

HR leaders needs to contemplate and understand a lot when it comes to the impact of AI and automation on the HR function, and as well as on the organisations. Workforce are the core part of every single transformation and organization overall, and the impact of AI and automation on the workforce is no doubt very high. And it is critical that HR professionals are prepared themselves enough to support the workforce transformation within their organizations as well.

many of them are way ahead of HR today. This can help also HR to empower themselves to get to the business and help them to prioritize based on the business needs and to become more adaptable.

HR has to learn from the business on how HR can look more at the consumerization and focus on workforce on that respect. Enabling a culture of employee experience, agility, networking, continuous learning, and data-driven work, is what HR needs to consider. HR is yet to be integrated across organization functions and be ready to cater as trusted business partners, neither as a silo nor to just remain as a transactional function.

With all of the changes that are happening, it is critical that HR looks into their current function and considers how they too can reskill, upskill and adopt the concept of lifelong learning to ensure that they are prepared to reinforce a much more digital and data-driven business. Continuous learning is a need for organizations today, as it provides transparency on the skills of its workforce, invests in the development of its people, provides workforce with visibility into potential career paths and the skills they should develop.

The world is moving at an unusual pace, hence organizations need to be proactive and ensure that they can help their workforce and leaders get prepared to respond to the needs of the business, to the demands of the transitions and supporting the fast-growing changes associated to the new world of work.

AUGUST 2019 |

59

Talent acquisition technology trends that enterprise companies should consider From recruitment bots to matching tools, here are some of the top trends that companies should focus on

By Jonathan Kestenbaum

I

C OVER

STORY

have spent the vast majority of the last six years immersed in the Talent Acquisition technology landscape. I have seen trends come and go, but the biggest takeaway from my time as an investor, researcher, and incubator of talent acquisition technology is that no trend just appears fully-formed overnight. New trends develop over time. Not every trend is ready for adoption at scale when it first reaches the marketplace. This can leave some companies facing either the intimidating prospect of jumping on board what can seem like a volatile new trend or feeling like they’ll be left behind.

Adopting technology simply because it’s the latest trend doesn’t make sense for most organizations, especially when new tech often comes to the table before the technology and marketplace is actually ready. Experimentation can help companies who have the bandwidth find those trends that are right for them, but it can also be expensive, time consuming, and ultimately hurt the quality of hiring. That’s why “Talent Tech Labs” monitors

Experimentation with new technologies and trends can help keep companies fresh and on top of developments that are rapidly becoming industry standards emerging trends in talent acquisition technology— as well as established trends to see how they are performing—in order to offer guides to the latest technologies, what they mean for the industry, and how companies can decide whether they are a good fit for their needs.

Here are a few of the trends that are poised to make a big splash in the near future

Advances in matching are accelerated by using algorithms and machine learning technology New trends in matching tech go way beyond what job boards offer, Boolean search, or keyword 60

| AUGUST 2019

matching. Today, ever-advancing algorithms and even machine learning technology provide faster and more efficient results. What might have taken a recruiter three days to do can now be accomplished in three minutes. While matching technology has been around for a long time, these new forms of matching are worlds apart from what has come before in terms of deeper insights into prospective unseen matches, speed and scalability.

Why now? New age matching systems works as much as 10 to 100 times faster, and can generate results at scale. Because of this, even in cases where the results produced by matching algorithms are just equivalent to what a human recruiter would have been able to generate, the time savings getting there are usually enormous.

Examples: Companies like Ideal, Restless Bandit, IBM Watson, and Hired Score are incorporating algorithms and machine learning into matching technology to bring greater efficiency and scale.

Adoption: Companies should determine what their matching needs are and adopt matching solutions based on data that they trust.

Programmatic advertising gives visibility on the effectiveness of job spend dollars As opposed to being a new form of advertising, programmatic advertising is, instead, a way to measure job spend effectiveness so that advertising dollars can be put toward the most productive job sites and platforms.

Why now? Programmatic advertising has already proven itself in several industries, making it easy for companies to see its effectiveness firsthand without a lot of investment in implementation. What’s more, programmatic advertising is simple to use and offers analytics and clear performance metrics so companies know whether they’re getting enough bang for their advertising buck.

Examples: Recruitics, Appcast, and PandoLogic are just three of the companies offering programmatic advertising services tailored to talent acquisition right now. Because programmatic advertising has already been deployed in other sectors, a variety of other vendors offer similar services, but don’t necessarily focus specifically on recruiting.

Adoption: Simply having the data available is only one step to getting the most out of programmatic advertising. Companies also need to make changes to their job spend based on the results they’re seeing in order to achieve a return on their investment. Today’s systems can behave dynamically based on settings or rules set by individual companies. As a simple rule of thumb, the amount that a company saves by way of higher yields by using programmatic advertising should at least meet, if not exceed, the amount that is being spent on the service.

Social search tools expand sourcing at scale

By now, most companies have probably heard that recruitment bots are the wave of the future, but are they? The answer, at least right now, is both yes and no. Bots are already on the market, but the way that they are best employed remains very much a work in progress. While bots may not yet be able to provide an enhanced candidate experience at every step of the process, they are certainly able to add value for some companies when deployed at the right points in the hiring process. The key is in determining just where those points are and positioning bots discretely to do specific tasks rather than succumbing to promises of what bots may be able to deliver in the future.

Why now? For many, it still isn’t the right time to adopt bots into existing workflows and recruiting processes. However, while bots may not quite be the “magic bullet” that they are sometimes sold as, they

Adoption: For some organizations, bots can raise completion rates and gather more (and more focused) data when incorporated into the pre-application and application phases of the recruitment process.

For other companies, bots may be able to replace a mundane, time consuming activity like scheduling interviews. The best thing to do right now may be to keep an eye on bots and learn what they’re capable of (and what they aren’t) so that an informed decision can be made when the time is right to adopt them into an existing recruitment system.

Experimentation with new technologies and trends can help keep companies fresh and on top of developments that are rapidly becoming industry standards. However, uninformed and reactive experimentation costs companies a lot of time, energy, and resources, often for very little payoff. Companies should adopt new technologies when the cost of inaction is high and the risk of failure is low. Of course, most companies already know that. What they need help with is knowing when the cost of ignoring a new technology is higher than the cost of adopting it.

Fortunately, keeping up with the latest trends doesn’t always mean adopting technology just for technology’s sake. Instead, companies should keep their finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the industry so that they know what’s available and when the time is right for them to start adopting a new technology into their processes.

STORY

Recruitment Bots can deliver results when targeted, but may not be for everyone... yet.

C OVER

Many companies say that they have already adopted social search technology, but what they’re actually doing is often a kind of “hunt and peck” approach, leveraging the networks of individuals for reach and exposure. Social search technology does the same thing at scale, accessing all publicly available information on prospects and passive candidates from across all social networks in order to find leads and get jobs in front of the people who are qualified for them.

Why now? Social search technology works much like any other job advertising approach, but instead of utilizing a source like Monster or Careerbuilder, it leverages social media across all available networks. This makes it uniquely suited to identifying passive candidates rather than only targeting active job seekers.

Examples: Entelo is a great example of a company that excels at social search. Other examples can be found in the Talent Technology Ecosystem.

Adoption: Social search is not intended to replace job boards and other tools, but rather to function holistically in conjunction with them. In order to determine what percentage of overall job spend should go toward social search versus job boards and other tools, companies should carefully examine their recruiting needs and be sure they have good analytics in place to measure what approaches are working best for them.

also aren’t going away anytime soon, and now is definitely the right time for progressive companies to start paying closer attention to recruitment bots and asking pointed questions about how they work and what value they can deliver to organizations going forward.

Examples: Mya, TalkPush, and Olivia are among the companies bringing recruitment bots to the market, boasting a wide range of functionalities depending on the types of candidates a company is seeking. For organizations who are interested in adding recruitment bots to their processes, finding the one that’s the correct fit will mean identifying clear use cases and matching the bots that are best able to perform those functions.

About the author

Jonathan is the Managing Director of Talent Tech Labs. He is a lawyer by education, and an entrepreneur and investor by trade.

AUGUST 2019 |

61

Exploiting technology to enhance employee experience HR leaders are starting to use technology to personalize the design and delivery of HR solutions to improve the employee experience and increase productivity

By Aaron McEwan

C

C OVER

STORY

onsumer expectations from companies and brands have changed drastically over the years thanks to the emergence of new technologies consumers are getting to experience today.

The consumers who are also employees expect the same level of experiences in their workplace.

So much so that In India, technology ranks among the top reasons employees will leave their current role, and join a new company, according to Gartner’s Global Talent Monitor. They expect their employer to provide the latest in modern technologies to help them get the job done. India is the only country in Gartner’s survey where ‘technology level’ consistently appears on both the list of attraction and attrition drivers. This makes it imperative for organizations to find a way to address the needs of modern workers as employees grow increasingly frustrated with workplaces that expect them to work with outdated, slow and complex technology.

New digital innovations are making personalization easier, and HR leaders are looking for ways to use them to engage the technology-enabled workforce. However, despite HR’s current focus on supporting employee needs, Gartner research shows that less than 30 percent of employees agree

HR effectively helps them perform better. Faced with these pressures, HR leaders look to modern tactics and external vendors to personalize the design and delivery of HR products and services to meet both employee and business needs.

It sounds difficult, but it needn’t be. At its basic level, personalization is a process that creates relevant interactions between two parties based on personal and behavioral data, designed to enhance the experience of an individual.

Why personalize?

Marketing leaders long ago realized the benefits of personalizing the design and delivery of products and services for their consumers. The benefits are similar for HR, allowing HR leaders to: • Meet specific employee needs: Different employee segments can receive individualized access to information or HR solutions designed for them. For example, a person applying for paternity/maternity leave has very different expectations to someone applying for standard annual leave or paid time off for a holiday.

• Deploy effortless experiences: HR can make it easy to nudge specific employee segments to access and consume relevant HR solutions.

• Increase awareness and adoption: Employees are more likely to pay attention to and use HR solutions that are relevant to them.

• Drive productivity: Employees have access to simplified experiences and HR processes, reducing time and effort to complete tasks.

Organizations need to declutter. Reducing the number of steps involved in reviewing and signing-off on annual leave or expense reports, reducing reporting or automating workflow are

Gartner research shows that less than 30 percent of employees agree HR effectively helps them perform better 62

| AUGUST 2019

just some of the small changes organizations can make to help workers have a productive and satisfying day.

• Increase engagement: Employees who feel their specific needs are met in their organizations will be more engaged and more likely to stay.

While technology undoubtedly makes it easier to personalize to individuals and groups, there are many challenges for HR leaders, particularly privacy. HR leaders must be wary of sharing or using all the data at their disposal when personalizing HR products and services. For example, personalizing communications around healthrelated events may spark apprehension rather than comfort for some employees.

Three principles for personalizing HR As HR leaders start thinking about personalizing HR services, they should follow these three principles as they view and select different technologies to personalize and enhance the employee experience.

HR leaders today look to modern tactics and external vendors to personalize the design and delivery of HR products and services to meet both employee and business needs While more employees of all ages want digital experiences, there are still some occasions where people prefer human interactions. For example, when employees must interact with HR due to a sudden short-lived event such as a death in the family, severe weather or a minor injury at work, 42 percent of employees would rather speak with an HR specialist than utilise self-service HR systems.

It’s possible to add a human touch to digital interactions. Digital experiences could mimic human interactions to make employees feel more comfortable and simplify and streamline access to information and completion of tasks. Some organizations are already offering a multitude of channels to connect with employees, such as voice assistants and chatbots. Using machine learning, natural language processing and employees’ individual data, chatbots and VAs can provide genuinely relevant responses (such as information on remaining days of annual leave or the location of requested policies and documents on a company intranet).

HR leaders need to look at new approaches for retaining talent. Start by tailoring HR solutions to different employees’ needs by giving employees the help they need, rather than creating enjoyable experiences. Personalizing the delivery of HR offerings before personalizing their design, and humanizing digital experiences where needed by examining which HR interactions require a human touch.

STORY

2: Prioritise personalization of delivery There are two strategies HR leaders can use when leveraging technology to personalize: personalizing the design of HR’s various offerings or personalizing how those services are delivered. Both methods provide ample benefits.

Currently, some HR functions personalize the design of their offerings by creating, for example, bespoke benefits platforms, employee development plans or even pay solutions for employees.

However, personalizing the design of HR services can be costly and time consuming to build for each employee segment and certainly more difficult for individual employees.

3: Humanize the digital experience When considering what channels to deliver solutions through, HR sometimes eliminates important human interactions in favour of digital experiences. In an attempt to automate transactions aligned with the organization’s digitalization strategies, HR implements new processes (many of which may involve new technologies) that change the way employees work.

C OVER

1: Prioritize helping over “wowing” Some employers try to delight their employees through personalization and provide unique experiences to “wow” them. For instance, employees who receive a personalized message from HR on their birthday could experience a moment of delight.

However, it can go too far. For example, one vendor uses employee data to track employee moods and then personalizes messages based on this information. Without understanding why employers are sending these mood updates, employees quickly realize how much data the organization has collected and are more likely to react negatively and be less inclined to use HR solutions.

Personalization of HR solutions is most effective when it helps employees meet specific needs by making the solutions simple, relevant and beneficial. For example, one organization personalizes its learning content to help managers by nudging them to the most relevant training and rewarding them for completion, resulting in improved employee perception of managers. HR leaders should focus on providing valuable assistance or support while using a limited number of data dimensions to balance relevance against privacy concerns.

HR leaders should first consider personalizing the delivery of offerings as a more cost-effective solution that still meets employee needs. The delivery of offerings involves how HR solutions are communicated and used within a wide variety of channels. Similar to airplane boarding passes, which can be received via email, text message or printed, HR products and services should also be delivered in ways that make it easier for employees to access and consume them.

About the author

Aaron McEwan is vice president, research and advisory at Gartner, advising and coaching senior HR leaders in the Asia Pacific region

AUGUST 2019 |

63

Can AI improve Talent Acquisition?

Using AI for sourcing, screening and setting up interviews can be great ways to improve the candidate experience

By Abhijit Bhaduri

M

C OVER

STORY

en wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success.”

Sir Ernest Shackleton, was a British polar explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. This is supposedly the ad that he placed to invite people to join him in the expedition. The Smithsonian mag broke many hearts when it found out that this legendary ad was the figment of somebody’s imagination. Shackleton never placed the ad.

The legend nevertheless has an important lesson for everyone who needs to hire people for a task. Today we have Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help you search for a needle in the haystack.

Here are some things that will improve the quality of your hires.

1. Be brutally honest in describing the job: If the job involves long hours of repetitive work, telling the candidate helps you find someone who does not like too much of change. The Mercer Employee Engagement Index says that more than one in four would consider leaving their organization, if they had the chance. That is a potential attrition of 25 percent waiting to happen. Textio analyzes the language used in the ad to identify bias. Saying a job requires a ‘‘rock star’’ will draw more men than women; saying it requires a ‘‘passion for learning’’ attracts more women than men.

2. Avoid bizarre designations: Using a fancy designation is gimmicky and dishonest. It raises expectations of something grander that what it is.

All in-store repairs of Apple products are carried out by "Geniuses", formerly known as Mac Geniuses. When a Genius cannot solve your problem, it can breed cynicism. There is a company that calls the Receptionist, Director of First Impressions. It is unfair to call the Receptionist a Director without paying him/her the salary of a director.

About the author

Abhijit Bhaduri is a talent management advisor to leaders who want to keep their organizations competitive. With more than 850,000 followers on social media, he is one of the most widely read HR professionals from India.

64

| AUGUST 2019

3. Assess personality for senior roles: While the job descriptions may be the same, you probably do the same job very differently from your predecessor.

Personality shapes several aspects of the role – our ability to bounce back after rejection (Sales roles); risk taking ability; our method of competing with others or even how much we voluntarily socialize with colleagues can be traced to personality. Two

leaders will give feedback in very different ways.

In one case, it motivates the employee to try harder.

Another boss may leave the employee bruised and humiliated. A caveat: use a personality assessment tool that is scientifically validated and reliable.

Humantic uses AI to assess the candidate for Big Five personality traits without requiring her to answer a questionnaire.

4. Use technology in hiring: Using AI for sourcing, screening and setting up interviews can be great ways to improve the candidate experience.

Hilton, Humana, Thredup are among the many companies that are using AI in hiring. Bloomberg and Dolby Laboratories have used GapJumpers to reduce bias in hiring. Humantic recommends assessing the existing team members and then decide whom to hire.

Using the power of AI to supplement (not replace) the human judgment can make the Talent Acquisition process more effective. Making an informed choice can be the first step in having happy employees.

HR should focus on digital labor

...says Vishwesh Padmanabhan, Head of digital consulting, KPMG, as he talks about how emerging technologies are creating new opportunities for HR as a function

By Mastufa Ahmed

V

ishwesh Padmanabhan, is the Partner and Head, Digital Consulting, KPMG in India.

Vishwesh is a senior executive with an extensive and proven track record over many years across Australia and the Asia Pacific Region.

In an exclusive interaction with People Matters, Vishwesh talks about the new focus areas for HR, how AI is gaining ground in HR functions in SEA and India, and more.

STORY

How do you see the rise of next-gen technologies such as AI and blockchain and their impact on the HR world?

C OVER

The first area of focus for HR is digital labor, or the augmentation and automation of human labour, which is increasingly finding its way across HR processes (ex. recruitment, employee onboarding, performance management etc.) as well with business unit employees. Most companies leveraging these technologies today are utilizing co-bots, i.e. bots that work alongside humans, and HR is getting involved in training employees to work with such co-bots. The second area of focus for HR is how to manage the digital native talent that is

coming in today and how to build the right mindset to leverage their skills across the organization.

Is AI actually gaining ground in HR functions in SEA and India? To what extent do you think AI will become a regular part of HR in five years?

AI is a part of HR in many organizations today and therefore, the future is already here in a sense and this will only increase as we go ahead.

Technologies including robotics and AI bring the promise of higher productivity and increased efficiencies, but they also raise questions about the bigger impact of automation on jobs and skills. How do you envision the future of work and role of next-gen technology?

What we have learnt from similar technology changes in the past, is that the initial period requires adjustment, but after that time period, technology creates new jobs and roles for employees, which are often hard to envision at the start of the journey.

How is KPMG as a tech implementation partner helping HR organizations remain competitive, innovative, and sustainably profitable?

KPMG has strong propositions on digital labor and HR workspace of the future. We are actively working with our clients on their journey to be future ready in HR as well as business units, not only from a strategy point of view, but also getting it implemented on ground and helping clients realize the benefits from such initiatives.

How have technologies like virtual reality (VR) evolved for learning and development over the last few years?

We have seen adoption of virtual reality (VR) in two key areas. The first is to train specialist

CHROs should build business cases, focused on specific business outcomes using digital 66

| AUGUST 2019

The employment contract is changing from full time employees to gig workers, and this is necessitating changes in measurement and management of employee performance as well as employee experience. Workers in a gig economy are often not keen on sharing long term issues and challenges, and therefore, it is critical for HR to focus on micro-experiences and leading indicators of worker performance. eContracts could be crafted to trigger weekly wages or incentives based on specifics.

What are your top tips to CHROs wanting to build a sound business case for innovation and technology use in the HR function?

The two primary levers that CHROs can influence are cost/ productivity as well as experience and engagement. CHROs should build business cases, focused on specific business outcomes using digital, for the complete organization.

Performance management has long been an important HR function. Can analytics truly help drive the next data-driven phase of performance management?

Yes, many of our clients are using multi-variate analysis to spot trends in employee performance and correlate that with various factors at hand, which allows them to take early action and

STORY

How can technology help HR to understand the needs of employees in a gig economy?

The productivity gains from RPA are already well understood and many companies are already adopting RPA solutions. I am very excited about the potential that AI/ ML brings to the table, especially in the HR function

C OVER

workers, especially those working in hazardous environments (ex. crane operators) using a virtual setup to reduce health and safety risks.

The second key area is to increase productivity and efficiency of workers on the shopfloor, sales force, plant operations etc., where conventional classroom based training models are not efficient at scale.

manage performance on an ongoing basis rather than measure and take corrective action at the end of the review period.

How can leaders ensure a better alignment of HR & Work technology investment and business goals?

We believe that there are three facets of digital where HR and business leadership have to work together– ideation, realization and change adoption. HR business leaders should work closely with their business and technology leaders to actively drive outcomes across all 3 phases.

Among the new-gen technologies (AI, ML, RPA, blockchain), which one are you most excited to use and why? Share examples of use cases.

The productivity gains from RPA are already well understood and many companies are already adopting RPA solutions. Therefore, many of our clients believe RPA is already a mainstream digital technology. I am very excited about the potential that AI/ ML brings to the table, especially in the HR function. We should watch out this space closely because there are many startups doing cutting edge work that will impact HR functions across sectors.

AUGUST 2019 |

67

How AI is Supercharging HR

Here I break down how AI may work across the employee life cycle and illustrate how IBM successfully integrated AI at scale into its own operations

By Anna A. Tavis, Ph.D.

T

C OVER

STORY

he online weekly Arabian Business reported in June that a team of NYU Abu Dhabi students designed an AI-based simulation “Survival of the Best Fit”. “The goal was to teach people how the transition to automation happens,” explained Alia ElKattan, one of the team members.

The game was designed to teach its participants how machine learning can be biased, particularly when it comes to the hiring decisions. The students came up with the idea when they saw in class how biased data sources could lead to erroneous hiring decisions if not monitored by human oversight.

This news is instructive for two reasons. On the one hand, new technologies (AI in this case) are pushing traditional organizational boundaries to transform. Students are teaching the elders. On the other, the roll out of the new tools is slowed if employees are not using them no matter how smart those tools are. According to McKinsey's Insights, only eight percent of all firms have transformed their core practices that support adoption of AI in the organization. Given the challenge it is worth reviewing today how technology and people are intertwined at work and why HR’s role can become the great enabler of this transformation.

It is about time we demystified the hype and laid out a practical agenda for HR’s adoption of AI. This article aims at breaking down how AI may work across the employee life cycle and illustrates in the case of IBM how the HR organization successfully integrated AI at scale into its own operations.

How IBM HR leads through AI The business case for the next generation HR is shared in 2018 IBM Watson Talent report: The Business Case for AI in HR. Diane Gherson, IBM’s Chief HR officer summed up her organization’s transformation through AI in the introduction: Enabling to solve pervasive talent issues such as knowing our skills, preventing unwanted employee turnover, reacting quickly to employee hotspots, matching employees and external candidates with career opportunities, supporting managers with better salary investment guidance, eliminating manual tasks in benefits administration and payroll through robotic process automation, and creating an irresistible platform for employees to 68

| AUGUST 2019

learn on the go. With some upskilling, ethical operating guidelines, and a healthy dose of technical curiosity, the HR function is now positioned to truly drive strategic advantage while better supporting the workforce we rely on to put the strategy into action.”

At IBM, AI is applied across the entire Employee Life Cycle. Here we review key lessons to be learned by reviewing 1) traditional practices that needed to change 2) how AI innovated the process 3) what tangible outcomes the innovation delivered.

Attract: Reimagined candidate experience Traditional: Job seekers use keyword search words on Google, job boards, and employer’s websites to identify available jobs then apply.

AI solution: IBM’s recruitment chatbot “ gets to know” the candidates before they apply, helps answer key questions and serves up appropriate roles based on the analysis of their skills.

Result: Improved quality and qualification of job applications, higher attraction rates, better candidate experience, longer term retention.

Hire: Efficient and effective hiring process Traditional: Recruiters are under time pressure to fill many roles while selecting from a large pool of candidates. Mistakes are inevitable.

AI solution: IBM Watson Recruitment (IWR), uses AI to analyze past data to predict time to fill and identify the candidates most likely to be successful. IWR lets recruiters focus on the moments that really matter in hiring and machines do the rest.

Result: Faster and more accurate hiring, a better candidate and recruiter experience. AI helps minimize the impact of unconscious bias and build better targeted job descriptions.

Applying AI through the employee life cycle at IBM

Develop

The AI solution: AI enabled manager prompt the manager what actions need to be taken with their team members. Unstructured content from annual and pulse surveys, as well as social media chatter within the corporate firewall are analyzed on the ongoing basis. No delay and prompts about the actions to be taken.

Result: Timely and effective problem solving by managers leading to higher engagement levels & trust.

Engage Attract

Hire Deployment of AI in HR can occur across the entire talent lifecycle

Traditional: Annual formulaic compensation adjustments based on external market data and bell curve performance evaluations.

Result: Compensation consideration enabled by AI cuts out thousands of hours of manual work and minimizes chances of subjective decision making.

Develop: Personalized learning Traditional: Traditional classroom based training and development is time consuming and ineffective.

The AI solution: AI-customized accelerated skills development at the individual level. In aggregate, organizational learning is optimized as well. AI supported learning system includes: open learning platform, customized content channels and employee-specific experiences serving the needs of the business directly.

Result: Strategic organizational capability to lean and change is enhanced through AI. Learning dashboards show progress towards closing skill gaps in a business.

Grow: Career development Traditional: Line manager assigned episodic training delivered by HR or outsourced to vendors.

Individual career coaching reserved for the handful of high potentials

The AI solution: AI enabled coaching and skills development as well as internal career marketplace allows for high touch customization at scale.

Result: Increased employee engagement, retention and organizational capability growth.

STORY

The AI solution: AI-based compensation advice examines many more variables than those traditionally considered. The focus is on employee skills, the going rate for those skills, and whether those skills are increasing or decreasing in demand.

The future is already here, and the future of HR’s success through AI has already begun. For the first time in business history, HR has an opportunity to impact the world of work like it never had before C OVER

Retain: Smarter compensation planning

Serve

Retain

Engage: Enhancing motivation Traditional: Engagement surveys are conducted once per year with the results delivered with delay.

Too little, too late actions are taken. Disengagement is inevitable.

Grow

Serve: AI for 24/7 employee interaction Traditional: HR business partner service was limited to senior management and shared services were impersonal, rules based, and standardized.

The AI solution: IBM broadly deployed Chatbots that became the principle way for HR to improve employee experience. Chatbots are easy to create, customize, improve and scale. Chatbots deliver realtime answers at any time, customized to the individual employee.

Result: HR service is extended to all and every employee at scale.

According to Diane Gherson: “in HR in 2017 alone, IBM realized $107 million in savings as a result of AI.” But while cost savings and efficiencies have been important, the benefits of IBM’s deployment of AI are far reaching.

Start doing AI today The principle lesson for all organizations to learn is to stop talking about AI as the thing of HR’s future and start doing AI today. From NYU students in Abu Dhabi to the global technology giant, IBM, AI is emerging as HR’s most critical tool and the engine of renewal and transformation at scale. The future is already here, and the future of HR’s success through AI has already begun. For the first time in business history, HR has an opportunity to impact the world of work like it never had before. Let us get into action.

About the author

Anna Tavis, Ph.D is Associate Professor and Academic Director of Human Capital Management at NYU, senior editor at People+Strategy Journal and author of HBR articles: The Performance Management Revolution and HR goes Agile.

AUGUST 2019 |

69

We believe in creating ‘hire-to-retire’ experience for our employees Lara Hernandez, Senior VP, Human Resources, Hilton

in Asia Pacific, in a conversation with People Matters, talks about her journey into HR, trends in hospitality industry, and Hilton's talent management strategies

By Mastufa Ahmed

L In t e r v i e w

ara Hernandez is a strategic global leader with over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry across the Americas, Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe. Currently based in Singapore at Hilton’s Asia Pacific headquarters, Lara oversees talent development of over 50,000 Team Members, with a focus on People and Culture.

Lara has led and overseen multiple disciplines in the hospitality industry around the world. Lara believes that HR serves as the business partner to the wider organization, enabling the building of a strong culture focused on robust purpose-led talent strategy.

In a conversation with People Matters, Lara talks about her journey into HR, trends in hospitality industry, and Hilton's talent management strategies.

In your career spanning 25 years in sales & marketing within the hospitality industry, what sparked the shift from marketing to HR?

I’ve always loved hospitality and have been in the industry since I entered the working world. Hospitality is a special business – one that can be likened to a ‘street corner business’ that opens doors to the communities in which we operate in. More importantly, it is one of the few industries which offer an accessible entry point to the working world, regardless of one’s background and educational level. It is highly resilient and adaptive, and has the capability to provide individuals with a breadth of opportunities to accommodate multiple career trajectories, including lateral changes.

I myself have made several lateral changes throughout the span of my career. I kickstarted my hospitality career with a 3PM – 11PM shift as a front desk clerk – that was my entry point to this exciting industry and I have never looked back since. Along the way, I was fortunate enough to learn and hone my skills laterally.

For instance, I held several on-property roles

70

| AUGUST 2019

across operations and sales, and then moved to lead complex teams across multiple disciplines and cultures. These experiences have truly broadened my perspective on the industry, and provided me with a myriad of opportunities to learn and grow.

I have also always been particularly passionate about people. As someone who started in the front line of the industry and was able to progressively explore the spectrum that the industry has to offer, I have always been conscious of the importance of creating opportunities, career succession, performance management and mentorship. Moreover, when dealing with running the big functions of the business, I have in turn come to value the human resource (HR) business partners who have helped me progress as a leader and refine my talent management strategy.

As people and culture are at the heart of our operation, we are constantly seeking ways to develop an engaged workforce of the future that is able to offer excellent service and contribute in providing amazing guest experiences for our guests at every hotel in every region we operate in. We have established multiple robust avenues for learning and development catering to the different learning needs of our Team Members, through programs launched across the Asia Pacific region.

Our initiatives such as the launch of the Hilton Vocational Training Center in Myanmar, and partnership with Sichuan Tourism University to establish the first Hilton School of Hospitality Management in China, which provides training to youth who are keen to build a career in hospitality, are developed with our

Ultimately, the warmth and care that the industry offers to the people and communities in its surroundings was a huge pull factor for me. When the opportunity with Hilton arose, I was drawn to the fact that I would get to focus on people development in such a dynamic region like Asia Pacific.

Can you share some instances of challenges that you might have faced in terms of team building, creating the right culture or anything else? How did you get over them?

Amidst our rapid growth as one of Asia’s fastest growing hospitality companies, an ongoing challenge that we face is in nurturing talent to sustain excellence in operations and services across our properties. As one of the region’s fastest-growing hospitality companies, we need to think very differently about the existing processes and communication strategies that are in place to drive synergy.

In t e r v i e w

You cannot be a 100-year-old hospitality organization without carefully and properly understanding how people serve people. Over the last century, Hilton has demonstrated just that Team Members and culture in mind. Not only do these initiatives ensure that we are able to mold new generations of aspiring hospitality leaders, they are also part of our drive to attract and retain hospitality talent, as well as our mission to develop and introduce a great workforce and workplace culture to more people.

How do you build a successful, enduring culture, and how do you sustain that culture?

You cannot be a 100-year-old hospitality organization without carefully and properly understanding how people serve people. Over the last century, Hilton has demonstrated just that, having invested significantly to ensure that our valued Team Members are well taken care of to begin with, so as to take care of our guests.

We have an existing talent management strategy driven by our value proposition, Thrive@ Hilton, which makes a nod to our commitment to a holistic and personalized approach. Under the Thrive@Hilton, we have set in place initiatives which allow our Team Members to grow AUGUST 2019 |

71

in body, mind and spirit – creating an environment that promotes their well-being and happiness. In Asia Pacific, these include our Heart of House initiative, which provides a conducive physical working environment that offers features such as napping pods, Wi-Fi and healthy meals, as well as other programs such as the Hilton University. Our focus also continues to be on ensuring that there are career development pathways for our Team Members, whether it be through our management trainee programs, Brand Learning, Leadership Development curriculum or Women in Leadership initiatives.

As we move forward, we also take into consideration the evolving needs and preferences of our Team Members, especially as Team Members of different generations come to make up our workforce.

Can you share some insights on Hilton's talent management strategies and how are they different from the rest?

In t e r v i e w

At Hilton, we believe in creating what we call the ‘hire-to-retire’ experience for our Team

72

As a 100-year old business, we have always had a front-row seat – if not, the driving seat – in witnessing numerous changes and innovations that were considered as technological disruptions during the time

| AUGUST 2019

Members – a seamless experience from the beginning, which enables access to a multitude of opportunities and skillsets within the organization. This means being present at every step of the journey, from ensuring that they have a great experience through the recruiting process and all the way through the onboarding period and beyond. It is also about making sure that our Team Member benefits are regionally and culturally relevant.

In Japan, for instance, we have overhauled our Team Member benefits to include paid sick leave – a relatively uncommon concept due to certain established cultural conceptions. In China, our female General Managers who move away from their families for work are given relocation support and monetary aid to assist in covering their children’s school fees, so that they are able to remain together as a family. As we grow exponentially across the region, these aspects in turn become increasingly important as our workforce expands to include a multitude of Team Members from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

All in all, what sets us apart is our approach to locality. As we come together at the regional level to discuss learning and development and recruitment, we are able to dissect the differing wealth of knowledge that our leaders bring to the table in their respective regions and co-create solutions that are best applied across all markets and the regions as a whole.

How does Hilton plan to carry forward the Great Place to Work tag? What are your top priorities moving forward?

We recognize that our Team Members are at the heart of our success, and we actively strive to create an environment that promotes their personal well-being, in order to help them flourish and succeed.

What is your take on the future of jobs now that technologies such as AI are making inroads into business? Does this have an impact in HR, and how has it changed the way you manage talent in the hospitality industry?

As a 100-year old business, we have always had a front-row seat – if not, the driving seat – in witnessing numerous changes and innovations that were considered as technological disruptions during the time. Innovation is in our DNA, and we have always been, and will continue to be pioneers in hospitality. We were the first to introduce the mini-bar concept – perhaps, during the time, some might have thought that bartenders were out of

I certainly do not lie awake at night worrying about robots taking over the jobs of our Team Members – we are in a peopleserving-people business, and no matter how efficient or advanced technology can be, it could never take away the element of human touch

In t e r v i e w

There are two key aspects that would be of utmost priority to me going forward. The first aspect would concern how we continue to maintain our relevance in attracting and engaging our talent across the region. We have to always have our ears on the ground and pay close attention to what makes us competitively ahead – by understanding our objectives of expanding our portfolio across the region and of what we want to activate locally. For me, I personally love to be close to the heart of the business and be part of the process from the get-go – I will continue travel across the region to meet our Team Members and understand first-hand their needs and preferences so as to be better able to mold a great experience for them with us.

The second aspect would be to recognize the significance of feedback in career development and to ensure that we continue promoting the process actively across the organization. This also means providing our Team Members with the tools and resources they need to carry out check-ins with their managers, and vice versa. In my career, I have been fortunate enough to get the support of my mentors and sponsors who have helped me grow through their feedback.

business! Of course, that did not happen, and it stands to enhance the guest experience at hotels across all these years.

We are also consistently on the lookout for areas where we could incorporate technology to increase efficiency at the workplace. So, in any place where technology is able to fit in, we would definitely leverage on that. However, I certainly do not lie awake at night worrying about robots taking over the jobs of our Team Members – we are in a people-serving-people business, and no matter how efficient or advanced technology can be, it could never take away the element of human touch. In fact, the advent of smart technology and automation will only continue to sharpen the focus on enabling Team Members to do what only humans can do, which is to extend genuine hospitality and service and provide thoughtful recommendations, to deliver the light and warmth of hospitality through exceptional service and help create memorable experiences for our valued guests.

AUGUST 2019 |

73

Yeshraj Singh

How industry-academia partnerships can accelerate digital transformation

W o r k

a n d

S k i l l s

Considering the growing skills gap that can have a huge impact on the growth of our country, here’s a look at an emergent model of innovative talent sourcing that could be leveraged by any OEM or engineering service provider

W

hom would you believe?

Applicants lamenting job scarcity or employers complaining about talent shortage?

However, before evaluating these conflicting perceptions we must confess to the ever-widening skill-gaps between what’s needed by the industry and what’s made available by the universities. As per Deloitte’s research - technology, digital, automation programming, tools & technology workability, and critical thinking are the top 5 must-have skills to thrive in the ‘Industry 4.0’ age. However, it’s a matter of huge debate whether global universities functioning as academia have truly been able to generate ‘ready to deploy’ resources as per sectoral demands. McKinsey predicts, the global economy is slated for a 95 million surplus of low-skilled workers, while lacking about 40 million tertiary education workers and 45 million secondary education workers.

How have industry needs evolved?

Considering the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution - characterized by the seamless amalgamation of physical assets and digital technologies – there is a huge untapped scope for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In fact as per reports, the IIoT market was valued at USD 59.54 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach USD 91.40 billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 7.39%. Additionally, the factors affecting industrial value creation and value capture in product development have also augmented 5 new trends such as - Product as a Service, customized product, design disruption, faster speed to commercialization and distributed manufacturing. Consequently, the industrial world’s primary objectives are already shifting to facilitate faster product regeneration and optimiza74

| AUGUST 2019

As per Deloitte’s research - technology, digital, automation programming, tools & technology workability, and critical thinking are the top 5 must-have skills to thrive in the ‘Industry 4.0’ age tion of assets, facility, fleet and network. At this critical juncture, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in every industrial sector are planning to leverage these new trends by aiming for the 2 new objectives.

Hence, OEMs are undergoing rapid Digital Transformation by adopting & implementing Design System Integration, Model based Enterprise, Industrial Analytics and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) plat-

form. There is also a marked shift in focus from conventional software to implementing cloud based software & apps. All of this leading to multiple resourcing & ecosystem challenges such as: • Lack of skilled resources in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and analytics • Lack of solution architects with software and multi-domain experience • Cultural limitation of procedural vs

solution based approach • Insufficiently matured knowledge ecosystem of outdated university or training institute curricula • Cost of training the resources affecting cost-effectiveness Now, solving all these challenges with a single silver bullet might be highly improbable. Even if in some cases such solutions are implemented, they have ended up becoming too expensive, yet short-lived.

However, if you believe that every challenge hides an opportunity – here’s an emergent model of innovative talent sourcing that could be leveraged by any OEM or engineering service provider.

Groundwork for the new model

1. Planning – For partnering with certifying companies, developing the detailed curriculum based on the latest IoT tech stack & digital technology material, reviewing the syllabus for possible inadequacies, determining the final headcount for training and hiring and then strategically sending out the invitations of partnership to colleges and universities.

2. Implementation – Again for best results it could be further divided into four stages such as: i. Campus visit and program kick-off – This stage is meant for actually selecting the students eligible for the training and certification from all the institutes that expressed their interest of participation. To start

off the selection process, campus visits to the shortlisted institute/s is organized for meeting 4th semester students, who would be pursuing IoT as part of their existing curriculum in fourth and fifth semester.

This IoT course syllabus could be jointly developed/reviewed to include latest technology and tools. ii. Interview – Just before the fifth semester ends, a four-stage selection process is organized. The first 2 rounds are adeptly formulated to test every candidate’s general aptitude and technical knowledge. The next 2 rounds of group discussion and a face to face interview with the recruiting company’s HR representative, is aimed at finally selecting

S k i l l s

For the best results of leveraging this model there are three mutually exclusive phases of:

3. Outcome demonstration – In this final stage, the recruiting company demonstrates the results of such an initiative and moves on to scaling IIoT platforms for their clients with the talent sourced from such initiatives.

a n d

Three phases of the new model

Considering the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution - characterized by the seamless amalgamation of physical assets and digital technologies – there is a huge untapped scope for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)

W o r k

Compared to its consumer counterpart IoT, Industrial IoT is much more complex in terms of data capture & analysis. Moreover, IIoT unites critical machineries and sensors in high-risk industries such as aerospace, defense, healthcare and energy – in which failure often results in lethal or other emergency situations. However, unfortunately due to these reasons and a few more such as cost and feasibility academic training & certification in IIoT is limited to theoretical classes with dated industry use-cases. Therefore, the ground work to build such a future-proof talent pipeline starts with creating an experiential IIoT training ecosystem. A comprehensive training that not only upskills existing engineering talent for the industry’s digital transformation demands, but also certifies them in at least one of the prevalent IIoT platforms such as GE Digital’s Predix or Siemens’ MindSphere or anything more prevalent, updated and comprehensive.

the predefined number of meritorious students eligible for training. iii. Training, hackathon & live projects – This stage that starts alongside the college’s 6th semester and continues to seventh semester. This stage consists of IIoT platform training as per the pre-designed curriculum, hackathons & real-time projects.

In the hackathons, students build apps for the industrial segment, while interacting with the trainer at the institute who is trained by the recruiting company’s subject matter experts and ultimately passes on the queries to him. In seventh semester, a multi-disciplinary team of students execute the real-time projects, such projects are sponsored by senior leadership & mentored by subject matter experts from recruiting company. iv. Certification & assessment – This stage that coincides with the college’s 8th semester’s starting is all about periodic assessments to choose the best performers and awarding them with a certification, with an opportunity to be absorbed into an industry workforce. With the final offer in hand, dreams turn into reality.

With this model and the stages described above being piloted by a global engineering services and solutions company, there is more than just a chance to succeed. It’s a corporate strategy of social stewardship that engineers a positive change with a mutually beneficial relationship between the industry and the academia. It’s an extremely foresighted recruiting proposition that places collaborative community-building at the heart of creating a scalable and ready-to-deploy talent pipeline that suffices the evolving needs of impending Digital Transformation.

About the author

Yeshraj Singh is General Manager and Strategic Initiative Leader – Digital transformation, QuEST Global. In this role, Yesh focuses on delivering transformative digital solutions across Industrial segment to optimize processes, launch new products, improve quality, maintain compliance, and control costs.

AUGUST 2019 |

75

Amitabh Adhikary

Changing groupthink - a practitioner’s approach Bizarre group behaviors - can they be interpreted and more importantly, can they be changed?

Workplace Behaviors

In a groupthink, people who are opposed to the decisions of group as a whole frequently remain quiet, preferring to keep peace rather than disrupt the uniformity of crowd

76

A

huge mass of employees, gathered in an open place, and demanding a salary increase. The demand gets vociferous, perhaps getting unmanageable. There are few instigators in the mass but you don’t know who they are. It goes on for a moment and you decide to take charge. Your team addresses the entire mass, like a political leader, and then the crowd starts cheering. Something magical happened- what was it? Were you a Pied Piper, if yes why didn’t you blow your pipe earlier? Did you make announcements of huge dole-outs or did the mass realize that you are their savior? There are many interpretations. Welcome to bizarre group behaviors - can they be interpreted and more importantly, can they be changed?

In 1972 Irving Janis, psychologist at Yale University, professed the theory of “groupthink” and described the systematic errors made by groups when making collective decisions. In a groupthink, people who are opposed to the decisions of group as a whole frequently remain quiet, preferring to keep peace rather than disrupt the uniformity of crowd.

Janis suggested that groupthink tends to be the most prevalent conditions where there is a high degree of cohesiveness. Situational factors like external threats and structural issues like group isolation also lead to groupthink. When people

| AUGUST 2019

do groupthink, they demonstrate symptoms like illusion of invulnerability, illusion of unanimity, unquestioned beliefs and stereotyping. The risk taking capacity of the members go up, they tend to ignore the consequence of individual and group actions. They have a strong belief in their thinking and are resistant to thoughts that contradict them.

The in-group members dominate the group and are not considerate or even hostile to the out-group members. The tacit conformity of members out of fear of getting socially ostracized is assumed as unanimity of group.

As HR practitioners, we experience groupthink among employees and employees who are least employable, demonstrate the strongest groupthink.

I take the liberty to mention that employee protests and agitations are manifestations of groupthink.

In my article in People Matters (How to get a win-win wage settlement), I have mentioned that the outcome of a settlement is return on the investment on the processes. I have mentioned few processes as minimum mandate and few more processes as pre-work for wage negotiation. While I had focused on the processes to address groupthink in that article, this article will dwell on the behaviors of members in groupthink and share approaches to change this thinking.

My learning on group behavior was influenced from the stories of behavior of ducks - they flock together so that they are not hunted by predators and they keep distance among themselves so that they can stretch their wings. Even if the ducks

In any groupthink situation, it will make immense sense to look out for sub-groups. Even if there is no subgroup, interacting with employees in small groups will help improve the quality of decision they take collectively driven and statutory compliances abiding organization.

3. Address group isolation: Need of social recognition is a basic human need and people who are deprived of this need will either show signs of withdrawal or will engage in groupthink. At times the feeling of isolation may be a perceived one, but for the group this perception is a reality. The solution to this issue is a cliché- engage, engage and engage.

4. Appreciate and leverage the power of sub-groups: As groups get smaller they become more rational. In any groupthink situation, it will make immense sense to look out for sub-groups.

Even if there is no sub-group, interacting with employees in small groups will help improve the quality of decision they take collectively.

Our ability to diagnose group behavior and make interventions to alter the undesirable part will help us create lively organizations. Every individual’s contribution counts in building a great organization.

Workplace Behaviors

move together to shield from external threat, they maintain personal space - an interpretation that is in sync with Janis’s theory of groupthink.

Will this insight about group behavior empower us to change groupthink of employees?

Janis’ theory highlights the risk of systematic errors in collective decision. People in groupthink demonstrate symptoms of illusions, which aggravate the errors.

With the knowledge on risks of groupthink and insights of behavior of people demonstrating groupthink, let us understand few approaches to change groupthink: 1. Challenge the assumption of cohesiveness: A necessary condition of groupthink is a high degree of cohesiveness among the members.

We assume cohesiveness and give-in to the irrationality of groupthink. From my experience of handling groups, I have found that a group is never a single unit but an aggregate of multiple sub-groups. An example of a group that I recently handled were more than 700 employees demanding an astronomical salary increase. This group was an aggregate of employees of different skill categories and different functions. Most of the out-groups had rational expectations and only a few in-groups were irrational in their demand.

Conversation with the out-groups enabled us to explain our solution and we could alter the groupthink.

2. Understand their external threat: Most groups are formed to shield themselves from external threat. Remember, the behavior of ducks - flocking is fundamental to shielding from attack. Not losing the existing benefits or earning is a more powerful motivation than getting something more. Employees engage in groupthink at times against fear of reprimand or discretionary actions of managers. It will make sense to make practice and communicate credentials of a policy

About the author

Amitabh Adhikary is Head of HR for Agile Airport Services, a 100% subsidiary of Inter-Globe Aviation.

AUGUST 2019 |

77

Diverse team brings better outputs: PwC India CPO The important essence of leadership is to balance customers, shareholders, and employees, says Padmaja Alaganandan, the Chief People Officer of PwC, in an interaction with People Matters

By Abid Hasan

In t e r v i e w

P

admaja Alaganandan has been associated with PwC for over eight years and has worn multiple hats during this stint. Prior to her current appointment as the Chief People Officer, Padmaja was the technology sector lead for PwC’s Advisory Line of Service. Before that, she was the leader of the firm’s People and Organization Consulting practice.

In an interaction with People Matters, Padmaja shares her thoughts about the need for a learning culture, up-skilling, and women in leadership roles. Here are the edited excerpts:

You have worked in almost all facets of the HR domain. Can you share some insights on how HR, in general, is transitioning to the next level in the digital era?

I started my career in business consulting, and the issues we looked at for clients were about how you enter into a new market, what the pricing strategy should be, how do you build distribution reach, and so on. But over the years, I realized that almost all those projects would end up with issues that were in the people space. What kind of organization design do we need? How do we build the required culture and leadership for success? And my entry into HR consulting was a natural journey.

HR is experiencing a three-sixty degree transition because people and talent issues have become not just relevant, but critical to companies and CEOs. The pool of available talent in HR is becoming more concrete, given the larger number of reputed institutions focused on producing good talent in the domain. All the reputed business schools offer HR as an optional course, and there are sufficient specialist institutions too. It is a reflection that there is more quality in education. There is an ongoing debate about whether we should hire HR specialists or groom people from the business functions to perform them. I see merit in both approaches and we probably need a mix.

As a CHRO, what are the things you do to create a learning culture in the organization?

Organizations across industries are focused on learning, and for a business such as ours which is built on knowledge the only way we can add value in client work

78

| AUGUST 2019

is through people. We invest a lot in learning, of different kinds. On an average, our employees spend around 64 hours in a year on learning modules which include technical, leadership building and mandatory e-learning. There’s a lot of content we make available online, through our learning platforms. While we focus a lot on this, I also believe that if one has to upskill– whether it’s on topics such as Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence or softer learning such as leadership behaviours and emotional quotient building, there has to be a pull-factor and these cannot just be mandated through push-factors. In our organization, around fifteen thousand employees are going to be upskilled on

ner thinks that you add value, you stay.

There is enough data to show that when we have more diversity, we do a better job, whether it’s a specific project or any key decision.

I remember an instance where I was part of a large cross territory global pitch, and the client wanted to see what diversity - gender, racial, age - we are bringing into the project because they felt they would get a better outcome that way. In the UK, the regulator looked at how many of the large audits have women as lead auditors, and is encouraging firms to add to their

What are going to be your key focus areas in your new role at PwC?

numbers. So from the perspective of business outcome and what our external forces are telling us, we want to drive more diversity because we believe that we will have better results.

driving flawless operations in terms of HR technology and people experience. But, I would say diversity, up-skilling, and talent leadership and development are the key focus areas.

PwC provides thought leadership consulting in HR. How do you follow the same practice in your organization? How different is it?

You shared that many CHROs are becoming CEO. One of the biggest roadblocks considered for CHROs is that they have to play the bad cop in the company.

How should they deal with it?

I think the one energizing aspect of the “people” role is that it’s part of India’s leadership team. So anything we have as a business strategy, there is a people aspect to it. Therefore, there is a seat at the table to participate in thinking about the strategy.

We are growing in different areas, and how we build talent is a priority. Upskilling and productivity are other priorities for our people and for the firm. Driving diversity is a key focus. We are also focused on

In t e r v i e w

There is enough data to show that when we have more diversity, we do a better job specific digital tools that have to do with analytics, robotic process automation, and data visualization etc., because we believe that will drive a lot more innovation, and make them and us fit for future.

How is the L&D landscape changing with respect to new talent management practices, and what are some of the new approaches being followed by employers to enhance learning and development?

Learning and development are two sides of one coin. As far as learning is concerned, all of us need to help people who come on board to understand the environment, workplace practices, do’s, and don’ts. Then there is technical learning which is specific to the team and helps drive productivity, it may span from supply chain to Blockchain. Then there is the managerial and leadership capability building. So, underlying all of these is a global framework we have worked towards. Organizations should focus their L&D agenda across multiple dimensions like technical acumen, digital acumen, commercial acumen, and relationships.

How can women gain more visibility in all business functions? What hiring trends do you see among consulting firms?

It’s a meritocracy. Because in the end, it’s all in our client’s hands and what they see as value adding. If your client or part-

While the underlying principles are similar, the advantage in one’s organization is that you can have focus on longerterm impact - look at a 2-3 year horizon as against consulting engagements which would be of shorter duration.

In my current role, I can have a more systemic view on all teams and the business as a whole, including teams that I was not earlier part of. So that’s a big advantage. And what needs to be done is really no different. It’s really about seeing how we are looking at the people side at the house for business success. It’s about looking at where we need to drive whether it’s leadership development, talent management, and up-skilling for workforce productivity or looking at driving diversity.

Not in every situation. But if the CHRO shirks from playing bad cop when it’s needed, they’re not doing their job well.

One thing I realized as a leader is that you have to balance three stakeholders - your financials or shareholders, your clients or customers, and your people. It’s possible to make one constituent happy at the cost of the other, but that’s not sustainable in the long run and building a sustainable business requires that balance to be met.

So the important essence of leadership is to balance all three things. I think from the HR perspective, you have to be an employee advocate, and not let just short term financial results dictate your decisions.

AUGUST 2019 |

79

RESEAR C H

The State of HR Technology India 2019-20

To understand how Indian organizations are navigating digital transformation and to benchmark data on the use of HR technology, People Matters presents an exclusive research on "The State of HR Technology 19-20". The Study engaged over 250 respondents from 208 unique companies. Read on to know the key trends and shifts in the upcoming years.

By Anushree Sharma

80

| AUGUST 2019

H

The study focuses on: • Automation levels: Function-wise automation in which the organizations have adopted technology • HR technology investment: The budgets and strategy of adopting technology • New-age HR technology: The impact of new-age technologies on HR and work

Respondent’s Profile This study, conducted in the months of June and July 2019, saw the participation of 208 unique companies from MNCs, indigenous firms, small and medium businesses across different sectors spread across India.

Here are some key findings of the report:

HR Automation Levels A ubiquitous increase in adoption of HR technology in organizations is evident.

However, the study found that the levels of automation of HR technology are considerably low in some strategic HR functions such as identification and management of HiPos, succession planning, and strategic workforce planning.

Among the organizations that have adopted HR technology, most have achieved the highest levels of automation level in their HR operation process, with 7 in 10 companies reporting that more than 50 percent of their HR administrative processes are automated.

Performance management continued to be in the top three spots with 58 percent companies claiming the performance management function to be more than 50 percent automated. However, the percentage of automation dropped by 11 percent from 2016, which may be due to disruption in the performance management processes.

Performance management today has moved from just being about annual appraisals and is more about regular and 360 degree feedback. Hence, requiring more of human intervention and less automation as compared to previous years.

RESEAR C H

R today is facing fierce challenges of helping organizations to become a top destination for talent, building the workforce of the future, managing an agile organization and retaining top employees, all while providing strategic insight to key decision-makers.

To become true strategic partners to the business and enable enterprise-wide digital transformation efforts, leaders must act quickly to modernize the HR organization and align its capabilities to address these new challenges.

Today’s dynamic HR technology and services market is aligned to this requirement.

According to a report*, the HR technology market place is expected to be a $34 billion market by the year 2021. Almost $3.6 billion worth of that business is expected to come from Asia including India. A sizable chunk of almost $20 billion will be commanded by existing solutions largely in Human Capital Management. The HCM software providers continue to expand and acquire new capability, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and HR chatbot solutions are flourishing, and new automation is being used to improve operational efficiency and employee experience.

While the advancement in HR technology is accelerating, the ongoing pace of progress of these technologies is transforming how people carry out their work, and how HR supports employees. Hence, HR will need to have a solid grasp of the possibilities and limitations of technology and be active participants in looking for opportunities to leverage it.

To better understand how Indian organizations are making their way through digital transformation, we are excited to present to you our study People Matters State of HR Technology India 2019-20. The study engaged with more than 250 respondents from 208 unique companies with a series of questions about their HR technology and service delivery environment.

Employee Strength

Less than 500

30%

500-1,000

14%

1,000-5,000

23%

5,00010,000

12%

10,000- More 20,000 than 20,000 8%

13%

* https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-human-resource-management-hrm-market AUGUST 2019 |

81

Function-wise automation High-levels of automation

HR Operations:

70%

have automated more than half of the function

Performance Management:

58%

have automated more than half of the function

Communication & Collaboration:

50%

have automated more than half of the function

RESEAR C H

Medium-levels of automation

Compensation & Benefits:

Recruitment:

47%

have automated more than half of the function

have automated more than half of the function

Employer Branding:

Rewards & Recognition:

Onboarding:

35%

34%

have automated more than half of the function

have automated more than half of the function

42%

Learning & Development:

41%

31%

have automated more than half of the function

have automated more than half of the function

HiPo Identification & Management:

Succession Planning:

Strategic Workforce Planning:

23%

have automated more than half of the function

Low-levels of automation

have automated more than half of the function

82

| AUGUST 2019

22%

22%

have automated more than half of the function

HR Technology Investments

Next 12 months in HR Technology

Increasing the effectiveness of HR execution emerges as the key objective of investment in HR technology. To empower employees and managers to self-manage people workflows and processes (59 percent) and to increase efficiency of HR execution (59 percent) completes the suite of top three core objectives of investment in HR technology.

Even with investments increasing in HR technology, only 20 percent companies have allocated a budget of more than 1 crore for this. About 45 percent plan to invest less than 25 lacs in the next 12 months.

As per the findings, 20 percent of organizations are planning to invest more than 1 crore in HR Technology in the year 2019-20 which is a 35 percent increase from FY 2016-17.

The research also reveals that CHRO (70 percent) and CEO (62 percent) are the two key decision-makers for investing in a technology. The rise in CEO involvement in HR technology investments shows that the top management now sees much more ROI in these investments along with the need to create a future-ready workplace.

45%

< Rs 25 Lacs

59% To empower employees and managers to self-manage people workflows and processes

59% To increase efficiency of HR execution (cost reduction)

7%

Between Rs 1 Crore and Rs 2 Crore

13%

>2 Crore

74%

71%

71%

70%

69%

Ability to integrate

Strong analytics layer

Consumercentric user experience

Flexibility to customize

Accessibility and mobility

RESEAR C H

To increase effectiveness of HR execution (higher impact)

10%

Between Rs 50 Lacs and Rs 1 Crore

Attributes in HR technology: While shortlisting HR technology, which attributes do you look out for?

Investment objectives

69%

25%

Between Rs 25 Lacs and Rs 50 Lacs

New-age HR Technology Analytics, Artificial Intelligence & Chatbots and Cognitive Technologies were ranked as the top three new-age technologies that can create an impact on talent and workplace.

Among the various technologies, Blockchain emerged as the least mature technology because 39 percent of the respondents are not well-versed with it.

High-impact future technologies

54% To increase employee satisfaction and engagement

53% To free bandwidth across the HR team to focus on more strategic business partnership activities

Budgets for HR tech

75%

Going Up

4%

Going Down

21%

Remains the same

Rank-1: Analytics

Rank-2: AI & Chatbots

Rank-3: Cognitive Technologies

As the world of work evolves, it is critical for organizations to leverage technology that enhances the speed of the overall people processes, empower employees, and build a team of better, more productive workers.

This study provided key insights into the current landscape of technology adoption rate, the approach towards building a digital HR function, and the challenges in adopting niche technologies in HR. To get access to the full and detailed insights, scan the QR code to download your free digital report.

AUGUST 2019 |

83

Dr. Swatee Sarangi

Learning on the cusp of Digital Transformations Digital is transforming the way we learn and learning will transform the way we digitalize

R e s i l i e nc e

Digital is transforming how learning and development content is curated, distributed, accessed and consumed consumed. Today, what we learn is digital, how we learn is digital and why we learn is digital. Here are a few new dimensions of learning which will be pertinent in the cusp of digital transformations:

Crisp Learning

D

igital today is the mainstay of competitive strategy for all organizations. The focus of business to integrate people, process and technology is now universal. We see established and legacy organizations transforming as their customer expectations and processes in business value chain are changing. They are embarking on transformation journeys owing to competition from new age companies, start-ups and agile competitors.

Regardless of the size and type, they are donning new avatars and are transforming. Their endeavours of optimizing, innovating, experimenting, creating and realigning have a profound impact on the way people think, feel and act in the workplace.

Digital transformation is leaving no part of people and HR untouched. Underlying assumptions, resources, services, skills and perspectives pertaining to learning and development are being challenged and changed. We are witnessing blurring of boundaries between formal and informal, individual and group, classroom and e-learning.

Digital is transforming how learning and development content is curated, distributed, accessed and

84

| AUGUST 2019

Workplaces today are flocked by millennials. They are restless and have a need for all things instant.

With distractions and limited attention spans, micro learnings with game elements auger well for them. Why talk about those who are millennials only by age, it is also applicable to the millennial mindset. Learners prefer to learn when they are on the go and in the flow. We can hear them say, “Not too much - not too little, not too easy – not too hard, but just right.” The answer lies in what I coin as Crisp Learning. From being fresh and firm like a crisp wafer, invigorating as a crisp breeze, lively and stimulating like a crisp conversation and clear and sharp as crisp reasoning. It’s just right and can mean different things to different people. With right elements and desired flavours it’s just apt for sharpening intellect and skills. I view it as an intervention which is concise yet powerful and fun yet meaningful. It can satiate curiosity and hone competencies in customized yet comprehensive ways. Crisp learning implies curating and delivering personalized learning experiences. It has the perfect content in terms of nature, type and size.

It has a blend of myriad learning pedagogy, aids and mediums like classroom, coaching, mentoring, assignments, e-learning, action projects amongst others. Immersive and engaging digital gamification and simulations are highlights of crisp learning.

Swift Learning As businesses strive to be competitive in both existing and new markets, people need to learn at the speed of change in business. I have experienced that when there is informational and intellectual humility, curiosity is triggered and new business ideas are generated. We need leaders who are flexible, nimble and agile –those who can unlearn, learn and relearn swiftly. How can organizations create swift learners? We can make people commit to learning goals with milestones and have metrics to measure applications. Innovation boot-camps ignite creativity and enable out of box thinking.

Action learning projects provide opportunities to see knowledge and skills in action. They help in honing a swift mindset and skill set. However, the pace at which skills are changing and becoming obsolete can be overwhelming. Learnability as a competency is going to be most pertinent in the digital age. Ironically swift learning manifests when learners slow down to pause and reflect.

They become swift as they prepare for the future by learning from the past. Swift learning is accentuated due to the anytime, anywhere and any device revolution.

Synergistic Learning

Sublimation Learning Digitalization sets the stage for shifts in states. In my view, the need of the hour is what I label as Sublimation Learning. It has its roots in the Latin word sublimare, which means “to raise to a higher status.” I thought of this concept as I recalled my Chemistry lessons where molecules in the solid state move fast enough and strong enough to sublimate into gas without becoming liquid. In sublimation learning, the organization as a system reverberates with learning and transforms. Any digital transformation journey needs adoption and integration of change. It is possible through an enabling culture that aids shifting from fixed to a growth mindset. Sharing stories of success and more importantly adversity helps in open-

ing minds of people to unfamiliar and disruptive experiences that digitalization beholds. Sublimation learning channelizes energies associated with setbacks, uncertainties, ambiguities and complexities in the workplace from negative to positive.

It manifests in viewing digital as more creative than disruptive process. The role of learning and development professionals will be centered around being catalysts propelling sublimation learning in the cusp of digitalization. They will actively champion enablement and transformative culture rather than running scripted training programs.

Efforts can be focused on creating passionate, entrepreneurial and start-up kind of mindset will help learners move to higher states in digital transformations.

Digital is transforming the way we learn and learning will transform the way we digitalize.

These new dimensions of learning will make workforce future ready to drive business transformations.

R e s i l i e nc e

Digital transformations offer opportunities for people to share and collaborate with diverse stakeholders across time and place horizons. I call it Synergistic Learning because it’s a lot about learning from and with others. The compounded effect of this learning is very enriched. As Artificial Intelligence gains importance, social and emotional intelligence also become critical. Synergistic learning provides an opportunity to learn from interaction, experience and wisdom of others.

Working with cross-functional teams aids synergistic learning. In my experience, it helps expand the width and depth of knowledge and skills. Building communities of practice augments exchange of tacit and explicit knowledge. Both formal and informal formats like symposiums, seminars, cafes and conversations can help in synergistic learning.

They foster reflections of best practices and judgement for designing best fits that dynamic context of digitalization brings.

As businesses strive to be competitive in both existing and new markets, people need to learn at the speed of change in business

About the author

Swatee Sarangi is the Head of Capability Development, Corporate HR, Larsen and Toubro Limited.

AUGUST 2019 |

85

In t e r v i e w

Culture truly is King...

…says Surabhi Washisth, People Director, WeWork India in a candid conversation with People Matters, where she shares her story of becoming the HR Director at such a young age, her motivations and plans of revamping the perceptions around HR being seen as a reactive function, and what makes culture so crucial at WeWork

I

By Yasmin Taj

t is not very often that you will find a 25-year-old leading the HR operations of a company. But at WeWork India, it isn’t age that defines roles, but the expertise and exuberance that a person can bring to the table. Surabhi Washisth, People Director, WeWork India is one such young dynamic leader who has broken these myths and has outshone herself as an HR leader on a mission.

Washishth has made it a mission to revamp the perception of Human Resources from being seen as a function which is reactive, by proactively making employee first decisions. She holds a B.Com. Hons (Finance & Investment) from Christ University, Bangalore and is a Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum.

She started her career working with Target in their Finance team. She then moved onto join Headout, a 500 startups alum. Here,

86

| AUGUST 2019

she donned various hats, from looking after their operations team to establishing herself as a HR manager. She then joined WeWork India's founding team in 2017 and was promoted to the post of Director of HR. Here, she manages People Strategy, Talent Acquisition, People Operations & Learning pan-India.

At WeWork, the HR team holds an ‘Employee First’ mentality that supports & harnesses the power of the people as opposed to conventional practices. Her passion for changing the culture of HR in India starts from revamping it in the organizations that she works for, and then ensuring these organizations are looked up to by other organizations within the country. Naturally a problem-solver, her aim is to constantly remove redundancies and question the status-quo and conventional cultures cape when required.

Here are the excerpts from the exclusive interview with Washishth:

With a degree of Bachelor of Commerce and specialization in Finance and Investment, you have worked in diverse roles in different companies.

What triggered you to join the HR function? How and when did your journey in the field of HR begin?

Entrepreneurs identify a gap in the market and create a business around it. I tailored my mission around the gap in the HR experience delivered to candidates and employees. I was looking for opportunities in startups back in 2015, and a certain lessthan-ideal experience made me realize the massive gap present in current-day recruitment. This experience helped propel me towards my mission of revamping the perception of HR. Owing to this, my work

has never felt like a “job”, and is a mission and purpose that I’m working towards.

In 2017, what led you into the co-working world at WeWork? From joining WeWork as an HR Business Partner to being a member of the India launch team and now heading the People/HR team, how has your journey in WeWork been like?

Is hiring any different for companies in the co-working industry? Can you share how similar or different it is?

The biggest difference when hiring for a co-working industry as compared to any other industry is the expertise you are looking for, especially in roles which require a strong technical background.

However, the two traits I always look for (be it a co-working or any other industry) is having an owner-mentality and a good attitude. Having an owner-mentality means that you are treating your work and the business like it’s your own, and it translates into employees being immensely driven and motivated. Having a good attitude is immensely crucial, since we spend 8+ hours at the workplace, 5 days a week.

We spend the majority of our waking hours in the office. Being surrounded by people who create a good working environment is key to a fulfilling workplace. This

For high-growth companies, what skills and behaviors are generally prioritized, while hiring?

This is one of my favorite conversations as an HR professional. Having a great attitude, being a self-starter and having an owner-mentality must always be prioritized, since these behaviors make achieving our super ambitious goals easier, together!

Culture truly is King. It is of prime importance since it leads to an environment where employees feel fulfilled; it increases their productivity as they feel trusted and empowered How can these skills and behaviors be identified during recruitment?

At WeWork, we are continually trying to ensure we better our recruitment practices and train interviewers to be able to identify these during an interview. We conduct a mandatory “Cultural Interview” where we ask various situational questions to be able to assess these qualities. An important tip to keep in mind is to ensure these interviews are conducted in the form of a conversation rather than a rapid-fire interview. The more the candidate is at ease, the more authentic they are and then their personality truly shines through.

WeWork is famous for its unique work environment and culture. And you have always stated that ‘Culture is king’.

According to you, how critical is ‘culture’ in the hiring process? Can it be assessed?

If yes, how?

Culture truly is King. It is of prime importance since it leads to an environ-

ment where employees feel fulfilled; it increases their productivity as they feel trusted and empowered. It creates a strong employer brand and attracts even better talent. It is a continuous cycle of delivering a great employee experience and attracting top-notch talent that then leads to overall business success.

At WeWork, we believe that culture is an output -- the result of intent and action achieved through a system of inputs. Our goal is not to maintain our culture as we grow, but to enrich it. It is essential that this culture evolves, expands and is built on a system designed to support change.

Culture can be assessed by strengthening your recruitment practices and training your interviewers. An important point to remember is that you needn’t have the exact same company culture at 500 employees as you did when you only had 50 employees. However, establish your basic tenets of culture and ensure this foundation is rock-solid and unshakable.

Do you have some unique hiring practices as well or is it more or less similar to other corporates? If you approach hiring at WeWork differently, can you share more about the process with us?

The biggest differentiator at WeWork: Our entire hiring and recruitment team treats employees like humans. We extend basic courtesies, we empathize with our candidates, we are respectful of their time in interviewing with us, and most importantly, we ensure we always close the loop with our candidates. We have received this feedback time and again from our rejected candidates, and it helps validate that we are on the right track.

Having said that, we continually strive to be better with our candidate experience and believe there is always scope for improvement. Remember that candidates who are job-hunting may be in a sensitive stage of their lives, and the more we empathize with them, the better experience we are able to deliver.

In t e r v i e w

Having been in the startup circle and being an early adopter of a lot of tech products in the market, my respect for companies which solve real-time problems has sky-rocketed. Back when I was at Headout, we needed a solution for our remote employees present across New York, San Francisco, London, Berlin, and other upcoming global locations. This is when we discovered WeWork (much before it launched in India). Experiencing the product first-hand and finding that it solved my problem of office space and engaging employees from thousands of miles away left me in absolute awe of the product.

Working for a company which you have been a user of and experiencing its solutioning-power first-hand leaves one feeling immensely inspired, as you are fully aware of the impact and value it delivers. My journey at WeWork has been absolutely breath-taking and gratifying.

We provide a platform to those employees who are ready to soar, and we propel them to do so and break their own glassceilings. Experiencing the kind of passion and vigor our people put in on a daily basis leaves me feeling immensely inspired and grateful. To be surrounded by a bunch of energetic, driven individuals ensures that you are always motivated to do better and be better!

is not commonly spoken about, which I find quite surprising. This is something we take very seriously at WeWork, and will always strive to get better at.

How do you plan to further lead the people’s agenda at WeWork in the coming years? How do you see the new people strategies shape as per the growth and expansion plans of the company?

We will continue to ensure that we have people-friendly practices, we always think of people first in every new situation, and most importantly, break the norms when it comes to people practices. Questioning the status-quo is a great way of ensuring we are changing with the times, and are not blindly following any existing practices.

AUGUST 2019 |

87

Visty Banaji

Imitation is the sincerest flattery – but the worst strategy The compensation war Indian corporates lost can still be won

The road less travelled

For too long Indian corporates have allowed the vehicles of material reward at our disposal get constrained by the unnecessarily imitative stance we took a quarter century ago

T

he Roman legion was the supreme battle formation of its time. It established the might of Rome’s empire over much of Europe and beyond. Yet, a little over two thousand years ago, at the battle of the Teutoburg forest1, three of these magnificent fighting machines were virtually wiped out, checking (according to some) the relentless spread of Roman imperial power for the first time. Many reasons are given by historians for this cataclysmic defeat but the one that rings truest, because of its obvious logic, is that Publius Quinctilius Varus, who led the Roman expedition, allowed his soldiers to face battle when they were in a narrow forest track, out of combat formation and under conditions that were favorable to their Germanic enemies who were masters of forest fighting.

Indian corporates, by the early '90s, had worked out functioning remuneration models. Of course, they fell gravely short on individual wealth accumulation because there were limits on how much cash could be paid out at the highest levels but perquisites and welfare measures took on some of the burdens of benefit delivery. Individual differ-

88

| AUGUST 2019

entials in compensation were also nowhere close to the magnitudes that are commonplace today but one may argue that was not entirely inimical to creating a spirit of teamwork and intrinsic motivation. Came liberalization and the entry of a new crop of MNCs with fat and simple 'cash only' models of remuneration. Indian corporates followed in droves and, even if they couldn’t make their packages as fat, they vied in making them simple and easily comparable. The newly arrived MNC recruiters felt like US Navy aviators did at the great Marianas turkey shoot as they picked off the best talent groomed over the decades by Indian companies – especially since they were served up in neat little packages with newly minted CTC labels to help the shoppers pick the best deals. The legions of talent Indian industry (mainly manufacturing) lost in those years gave a severe check to its investment and growth plans in the following years. Though I did not come across any CEO butting his head against the walls of his office, shouting, "Give me back my legions!" (as Augustus Caesar is reported2 to have done after the catastrophe at Teutoburg), they could well have done so considering they were faced with the choice of permanently hemorrhaging their best people to overseas competitors or to lift compensation for top executives (and, with some scaling down, for other managerial levels) close to international benchmarks.

I have dealt in a previous column3 with the consequences of virtually unchecked increases

in senior-level compensation and the strain everincreasing inter-level differentials put on the fabric of the organization. What this column seeks to address is whether Indian industry could have responded differently to the compensation challenge posed by newly arriving MNCs after liberalization. More importantly, are there any lessons for the compensation philosophies we adopt going forward?

From bubble-wrap to level fields

As we merrily marched out of our incommensurable benefit ramparts and converted them to optional cash components not only did we lose the cost advantage of delivering benefits to scale, we simultaneously lost our best people

AUGUST 2019 |

The road less travelled

I trace the perquisite and (non-cash) benefit loaded compensation pattern followed by most Indian corporates in the second half of the last century to three causes. Historically, the stage was set by the need to attract people to remote locations where companies set up their manufacturing or mining operations. Entire townships had to be set up, providing employees with basic essentials like physical security, roads, housing, and hospitals and progressing to top grade schools for their children, a huge range of sports facilities and lavish clubs (suitably graded, of course). The Tata township at Jamshedpur set the gold standard but there were several equally facility-rich instances both in the private and public sectors. Though I was spared the cloying claustrophobia of being brought up or having to work in a company township (I will go underground till the hit teams organized by my friends, who swear there was no better experience to be had this side of Swarga, get tired and give up), those patterns influenced the type of welfare measures and employee benefits that were created in other locations with large concentrations of employee population and, in some ersatz form, even in the smaller offices. Non-cash delivery mechanisms got a huge boost when penalty high taxation rates made it virtually impossible to provide incremental value to employees through their salaries. The other rule that kept us busy finding innovative ways to deliver benefits through non-monetary means was the cap on employee remuneration. Though it was only in 2015 that Ravi Mehta and Meng Zhu carried out their experiment4 on the extent to which scarcity or abundance influence how creatively people use their resources (novel ways of using bubble-wrap sheets was their measure) we could have given them plenty of case studies as we struggled to find new ways of delivering value to incentivize effort without contravening Company Law guidelines.

There is no gainsaying we were severely constrained in what we could pay and reward employees with till the time of liberalization.

Rapid correctives on the monetary side were in order (though they didn’t need to be quite as unchecked and iniquitous as they turned out 3).

Where we made a strategic error was in our eagerness to imitate the new entrants’ ways of conveying compensation solely as cash. They had scarcely any choice in the matter but we did – and squandered it. In the process, we abandoned the advantages we had built in delivering what employees valued and which our newly arrived competitors for talent could not have replicated for years, if

ever. Leveling the field doesn’t advantage all antagonists – least of all the ones who have defensive fortifications already built. As we merrily marched out of our incommensurable benefit ramparts and converted them to optional cash components not only did we lose the cost advantage of delivering benefits to scale, we simultaneously lost our best people. With the willing assistance of our friends in Finance and the guidance of the newly arriving breed of compensation consultants, we allocated every welfare cost to individual CTCs which we thought we were being extra smart in rubbing into the consciousness of each employee. The recruiter, of course, had only to give a premium on the CTC to the select best (who were naturally delighted with the sharp earning boost) without having to recreate the overhead of the entire welfare system from which we had computed artificially low and illusorily variable individual costs.

Some of us resisted the competitive disadvantage that the Procrustean CTC bed imposed somewhat longer than the fashionistas did – to the eternal vilification of our erstwhile colleagues (I expect at least a couple of furious calls as soon as this column is in circulation). To no great avail.

Soon CEOs were measuring the potency of their people policies by the length of typeface occupied

89

by the CTC figures of their top teams compared to those of the newly arrived Joneses. People who tried nuancing the bare CTC figures with nonquantifiable benefits (like post-retirement medical cover, for example) were considered wusses or wuss.

It was not only the poachers who were happy with the MRP-tagged merchandise they could shop.

The people getting picked wore the figure like a badge of honor and sometimes even started judging their own worth by that unidimensional yardstick. Their zeal in augmenting it with each job hop could not have been more if they were laying up karmic stock to improve the starting handicap in their next rebirth.

The road less travelled

Countering the commoditization of compensation

90

While the foregoing review (of how playing on their talent competitorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; turf was a huge mistake for Indian corporates) should be helpful all HR strategists, this column hopes to achieve more than that. The recap of how we dug ourselves into our present hole is a prelude to some practical suggestions for how we can get ourselves out of the quagmire of undifferentiated compensation delivery.

Understandably, it is no longer feasible or wise for companies to set up hospitals just for employees and their dependents. But larger corporates at least can use their enormous bargaining power and actuarial base to carve out innovative extensions to standard medical cover schemes

| AUGUST 2019

Michael Schrage wrote: "Executives, entrepreneurs, and investors are too ready to believe that commodity is destiny. The result is a dulling of strategic focus and a narrowing of the business mind."5 We can easily add most CHROs to the list of types that have accepted the inevitability of commoditization, at least insofar as planning their compensation offerings is concerned. While this still leaves the rest of the Employer Value Proposition (EVP) available for differentiation and branding, clearly compensation is too important a component of the EVP to be left as a fully fungible figure of CTC. By way of illustration (but certainly not as an exhaustive listing) let me give three constituents of the undifferentiated CTC mass which can be extracted and de-commoditized. They relate to Health, Housing, and Education.

Understandably, it is no longer feasible or wise for companies to set up hospitals just for employees and their dependents. But larger corporates at least can use their enormous bargaining power and actuarial base to carve out innovative extensions to standard medical cover schemes. One such extension (that has been referenced earlier and actually implemented in some companies) is post-retirement medical cover for the employee and spouse. There can be many other health cover extensions which can be chosen depending on the demographics of the employees the organization most wishes to retain and the potential employees it needs to attract.

The one asset most employees wish to retain with them post their working lives, and possibly bequeath to the next generation, is a house. They will go to great lengths to build long term careers in companies that contribute significantly to the house acquisition process on an ongoing, longterm basis. There are many ways to link longer tenures to the support companies provide for house acquisition and organizations can choose those best suited to their retention criticalities.

A third investment that resonates greatly with most employees is education. While their own continuing education (and here we are not referring to directly job-related learning, which organizations underwrite in any case) is of growing importance in a world filled with uncertainty and career transitions, the education of children strikes a special sweet spot in most employeesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; need maps. Several organizations have found clever ways to use the trusts they run and the CSR outlays they make to subsidize these benefits to a greater or lesser extent.

There are many ways to skin each of these three cats. The methods we were familiar with in pre-liberalization days have been augmented manifold by newer forms these services take and cost-effective ways of funding them collectively. In any case, the three examples we have dealt with were just the familiar-to-all tip of the compensation iceberg. The key forward-looking thrust of this column has been to remove the straitjacket we have worn for more than two decades that prevented us from developing creative options for

From potatoes to porsches After Teutoburg, Augustus and the Romans learned their lesson and did not venture their arms on territory so unfavorable to their military capabilities. For the next few hundred years their legions suffered no comparable defeat.

Hopefully, HR in India will also learn the dangers of blind imitation. For too long Indian corporates have allowed the vehicles of material reward at our disposal get constrained by the unnecessarily imitative stance we took a quarter century ago. Since then, the more undifferentiated compensation cash we have poured into our EVPs, the more they have resembled potatoes – fatten-

It was not only the poachers who were happy with the MRP-tagged merchandise they could shop. The people getting picked wore the figure like a badge of honor and sometimes even started judging their own worth by that unidimensional yardstick ing but indistinguishable one from the other. If we succeed in de-commoditizing our compensation offerings with the kind of innovations suggested in this column, each EVP can become as distinctive as a high-performance sports car. Not everyone can get a Porsche (and certainly not the ones who need to ask for its price) but who doesn’t want one? And that’s what a great EVP should be like.

The road less travelled

compensation delivery, despite (or perhaps because of) much more money being available for spending under that head as purse strings were rapidly loosened. Once the constraint of pushing most compensation costs into individually identifiable and quantifiable buckets is removed, there is no limit to the ingenious and organizationally unique ways HR can design Comp & Ben plans that support and extend the company’s EVP. While the most innovative of these new options for compensation delivery will naturally be company-specific, there are some key characteristics they are likely to share. Most of these benefits will be non-computable to any degree of precision and non-commensurable. Thus, the value of the benefits will be difficult to reduce to single Rupee figures. The benefits may or may not be optional but it will obviously not be germane to debit employee compensation with the full cost for availing of them. Level-wide benefits, which leverage the scale provided by large numbers of employees, will be obvious (but not exclusive) candidates to pick from. Employees will find it more difficult to forgo compensation quanta if they are prized by their families and those which are socially conspicuous. Barriers to replication will start with finding packages that can’t be easily bought (at least by individuals or beachhead operations – eg holiday homes in exclusive resorts where there are no hotels). Using the company’s properties, partners and privileges can make such barriers practically unscalable.

Recruiting organizations, especially those with largish employee bases of their own and some regard for the need to run policy-driven rather than idiosyncratic and ad-hoc people practices will find it difficult to breach the barriers we have been describing. The scope they have for poaching over the barriers will be limited and expensive (which is really the point of erecting the barriers in the first place) but, of course, not impossible. This leads to a salutary restraint on the amount of talent-thievery but doesn’t impose permanent shackles on people who can better realize their potential elsewhere. On both the occasions I had for changing corporate employment in my career, the organizations I joined were flexible and ingenious enough to find such individualized perquisite substitutes and, at least in one of the cases, with an unreplicable substitute of its own.

Notes: 1. Peter S Wells, The Battle that Stopped Rome – Emperor Augustus, Arminius and the Slaughter of the Legions in the Teutoburg Forest, W. W. Norton & Company, 2005.

2. "Quintili Vare, legiones redde!" ('Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!'), Augustus is supposed to have shouted while butting his head against the walls of his palace. Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars, Translator: Catharine Edwards, Oxford University Press, 2009.

3. Visty Banaji, But who will guard the guardians?, People Matters, 14th March 2018, (https://www.peoplematters.in/article/ appraisal-season/can-runaway-increases-in-executive-compensation-be-slowed-down-17720).

4. Ravi Mehta and Meng Zhu, Creating When You Have Less: The Impact of Resource Scarcity on Product Use Creativity, Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 42, Issue 5, February 2016, Published October 2015.

5. Michael Schrage, The Myth of Commoditization, MIT Sloan Management Review, Winter 2007.

About the author

Visty Banaji is the Founder and CEO of Banner Global Consulting (BGC) AUGUST 2019 |

91

How GE Transportation created a workforce

for its Bihar plant The transportation company staffed an ambitious locomotive plant in Bihar with locally sourced talent and identified ways to empower and engage a young, thriving workforce

S P E C IAL

By Jerry Moses

92

| AUGUST 2019

I

Local talent and the RTD skilling model With the objective of finding local talent, the HR team scouted over 20 colleges across Bihar, UP, Jharkhand, and Orissa. 200 students with diplomas from leading polytechnic colleges were identified for the position of Graduate Engineer Trainees.

Once recruited, students were put through a finishing school under a ‘Recruit-Train-Deploy’ (RTD) model. The company signed an MOU with Tool Room and Training Center (TRTC), Patna, an institute under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, which is mandated to create a skilled workforce as well as to support the industry by producing mechanical tools in the MSME sector.

One of the key steps the company needed to address was to identify and equip the workforce that would staff the plant. Finding local talent who were not only skilled but willing to work out of a remote plant location was a major challenge The center in Patna offered courses ranging from three months to a year-long program that range from tool design, advance machining to Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) technology.

At the center, candidates went through a threemonth long training program and practiced their mechanical skills using real machines – starting from manual tools to CNC based tools and advanced welding simulations. The company brought in in-house experts to supervise the curriculum on a nearly weekly basis, in order to align the course to the needs of the industry.

According to Anil Kumar Singh, the Principal of New Government Polytechnic, Patna, the success of the RTD is evidenced in the confidence that was instilled in the students at the college.

“Students have knowledge, but once they get a job, they’re far more confident”, he said. “When students realized that they have an opportunity to work with MNCs after graduating from a three-year diploma program, they work hard,” he added. The college now boasts an enviable list of multi-national employers ranging from Alstorm to Grasim Industries on its placement records.

S P E C IAL

n 2015, a $2.5 billion contract was signed between GE Transportation (a Wabtec company) and the Indian Railways to produce 1,000 Diesel Electric locomotives on a joint venture model. Under the partnership, 100 locomotives with 4500 - 6000 horsepower (HP) had to be supplied to the Indian Railways every year for 10 years. This flagship ‘Make in India’ project was India’s first big-ticket foreign direct investment in railways. Once operational, the factory would have an integrated eco-system of about 60 local and 10 global suppliers with a localized set up. Taking the vendors into account, it was estimated that a total of 4,000 new jobs would be created.

The ambitious project, however, faced several roadblocks. The factory that would produce these units had to be set up at Marhowra, a distant town in Bihar. Not only did the land regularly flood during rainy season, the site location could only be reached by narrow roads over a three hour journey from Patna. In addition to this, there were land compensation issues that needed to be negotiated.

But these early challenges were resolved over time. The ground breaking of the factory construction started in June 2016, and by September 2018, the phase – I of the plant was ready.

One of the key steps the company needed to address at that time was to identify and equip the workforce that would staff the plant. Finding local talent who were not only skilled but willing to work out of a remote plant location was a major challenge. “Identifying the right talent to staff the factory was identified as a high risk business priority,” according to Sajid Iqbal, GE Transportation HR Leader for APAC Region (now Wabtec’s HR Leader for International Freight), who worked on defining the overall HR strategy for the Marhowra Project. The project’s full scope includes building Marhowra plant and two brand new Services Operations Sites in Roza, Uttar Pradesh and Gandhidham in Gujarat, with more than 1,000 employees working from all functions from engineering and design to sourcing to manufacturing, service, etc .

Despite the investment in upskilling, the company took the decision to not sign long term bonds, this move further instilled confidence in the program among selected candidates Sajid Iqbal, GE Transportation HR Leader for APAC Region (now Wabtec’s HR Leader for International Freight)

AUGUST 2019 |

93

High performing teams created a decentralized way of operating and resolving people issues at the ground level. It ensured that each team was operating as its own company Sriprakash Srivastava, HR Site Leader at the Marhowra plant for GE Transportation, a Wabtec company

S P E C IAL

Speaking about the RTD model, D K Singh, an advisor at TRTC, Patna said that “The learning quotient of the students went up when they were assured of a job. One could see a level of sincerity among students that one can’t observe in the training programs otherwise”. To upskill students, “The three-way synergy between the state and central government, industry as well as the educational institutions contributed to the success of the program” he added.

GE Transportation recruited all the students from the program. “No one was left behind,” Sajid said, “Despite the investment in the program, the company made a choice to not sign long term bonds to retain candidates; this move further instilled confidence in the program among selected candidates,” he added. Apart from technical knowledge and skills, the course also included motivational talks by business leaders and sessions on confidence building, punctuality and other soft skills.

The curriculum designed along with the industry is

now being adopted as a best practice at TRTC. As the first few batches of students graduated from TRTC, they were sent to GE’s Pune plant to observe and learn from a real factory environment.

Empowerment and high performing teams While skilling the candidates was one key challenge area, engaging young professionals on the factory floor and building a culture of great work was equally important. Sriprakash Srivastava, HR Site Leader at the Marhowra plant, said that the culture of the company needed to reflect ‘quality and safety’ –two attributes that were important to the end customer. As part of a quarterly exercise, the company encouraged employees to re-look at the list of “Do’s and Don’ts” which serves as a culture handbook on the behaviors that employees need to display on the factory floor.

To help empower and engage employees on the factory floor, the company adopted a High Performance Team (HPT) structure. This concept of organizational development is aimed at helping organize and achieve team-based goals, mostly in a manufacturing setup. Each team is responsible for one of the many functions on the factory floor; they range from assembly, testing, light and heavy fabrication and painting, multiple teams are represented on the shop floor.

Each team consists of eight to fourteen members. And they nominate leaders within their team to be a “Star cap” for tenure of one-year. Each star cap is focused on one area of organizational concern: • Engagement • Planning • Employee health and safety • Quality • Maintenance The final decision on who gets to be a star cap is taken by the management.

As new members join the HPT team, the team takes on the responsibility of onboarding them

Students are far more confident when they are assured of a job Anil Kumar Singh, Principal, New Government Polytechnic, Patna

94

| AUGUST 2019

The three-way synergy between the state and central government, industry as well as the educational institutions contributed to the success of the upskilling program D K Singh, Advisor, Tool Room & Training Centre, Patna

Navigating the future Managing a young workforce at a remote factory location came with its own challenges. Sriprakash noted that although the attrition rate has been low, the lure of government jobs in the state still

continues to persist among employees, although this is slowly changing. The company has built 100 housing units inside the campus for employee accommodation, some of these are prioritized for women employees. Given the total workforce size, there are male employees who stay in town, where there are challenges with electricity and quality accommodation.

As the factory grows, and the skill sets improve through job rotations, the company is now considering offering a full-fledged engineering program that interested employees will have the opportunity to pursue. “We want the employees to learn and grow in their careers,” Sajid said. One of the biggest success stories in establishing the Marhowra plant is the qualitative shift in the lives of the staff that produce close to eight locomotives a month –their individual stories from the selection, to training and finding a voice and the confidence to work on the factory floor – is a testament to the concerted effort of multiple stakeholders and institutions that converged to make in India.

S P E C IAL

and working with them to ensure that their job duties are aligned to the team and organizational goals. “This decentralized way of operating and resolving people issues at the ground level ensured that each team was operating as its own company,” said Sriprakash. The teams, however, are not left to fend for themselves, “There may be times that the team may not be on the right track, so they are supervised by an operations manager, who acts as a coach,” Sajid said.

Amrita Bharti, an employee at the factory who is also an “engagement star cap” noted that the introduction of “high performing teams” drastically changed how work was done. “While previously, as an employee I was focused on my own work and role; HPTs ensured that we are able to contribute to the team’s best interest,” she said. She also noted that the team discussions on critical aspects of the manufacturing process gave her an opportunity to find her voice and build confidence.

“Coordination improved after the HPTs were introduced,” said Manish, another employee.

“As we work with each other on things like leave plans, we ensure that production is not impacted,” said Kumar, an employee who works on the final assembly. He also noted that working in such a robust team structure ensures that there are fewer differences – whether it is to do with seniority or experience.

To help track the team success, the company follows a team score card – that measures the team performance across the various metrics – from employee health and safety to planning. The R&R programs are also aligned to both individual as well as team performance.

“While previously, as an employee I was focused on my own work and role; HPTs ensured that we are able to contribute to the team’s best interest" Amrita Bharti, An employee at the factory

AUGUST 2019 |

95

Past month's events Making sense of the HR tech market & what to buy?

Tweetchat on The new frontiers of HR technology -

Knowledge + Networking

More opportunities, more impact People Matters 16th July, 2019 Online By 2021, the HR technology market place is expected to be a $34 Bn market, out of which $3.6 Bn worth of business will be based in Asia including India. There are a number of products that HR professionals can choose right from onboarding solutions, performance management to improving employee experience. But the question that most leaders grapple with is: How do you select the right technology? An investor approach to selecting HR technology might hold key lessons in assessing the viability of the product. Hence, People Matters hosted this webcast and brought together investors and HR leaders like Aniket Lila Investment Team, Nexus Venture Partners, Nayrhit Bhattacharya, Investment Team, Chiratae Ventures (Formerly IDG Ventures India) and George Oommen, Sr. Director - HR, Technology & Process Consulting. They threw more light on how HR leaders can assess HR technology products amid a marketplace of many products. They discussed the current landscape of the HR tech market. In an interactive session they shared how one can assess HR technology solutions with viability, scale, and alignment to business.

People Matters 11th July, 2019 Twitter The new era of HR technology is no longer about digitizing standard HR processes, it is about enabling tangible business outcomes including - productivity, innovation, and collaboration. Addressing challenges using the latest technologies like AI, ML, robotics, Blockchain throughout the employee lifecycle (from recruit to retire) opens up a new world of opportunities. This also means new skills, new strategies, and exciting new possibilities. This Tweetchat brought together experts to brainstorm ideas on how the HR function can bring about the desired impact by using technology. David Green, Managing Director - The People Analytics Program, Insight222, Ashish Vidyarthi, Founder, Ashish Vidyarthi & Associates, Avid Miner, Actor, and Michael Jenkins, CEO, HCLI, among others, participated in the Tweetchat and answered some questions on the new frontiers of HR technology through their tweets. Twitteratis including global leaders, thought leaders, HR Technology partners, and innovators highlighted the most critical business challenges that HR and Work technology can help organizations solve today.

Designing the learning roadmap: JSW's journey from challenges to impact People Matters and SkillSoft 10th July, 2019 Online Introducing learning programs at a large scale in an established company is a major challenge.

JSW – one of India’s leading business conglomerates recently embarked on a learning transformation journey across the company. As part of this journey, the company faced multiple challenges – from on-boarding diverse population across geographies, work shifts to upgrading Digital Learning skills. In this exclusive webcast, Falguni Vable, AGM- Employee Engagement, L&D, D&I, Digital Learning, JSW and Ajanta Chatterjee, Head of Learning, Leadership and Talent Development, JSW shared how the company leveraged e-learning tools to help bridge the skills gap. They shared their story right from building the business case, aligning learning objectives to business aspirations, navigating implementation challenges and defining key success metrics that was central to the success. The online session was moderated by Snehal Pawar, Customer Success Manager, Skillsoft.

Cracking Collaboration: The new science of teamwork People Matters and Right Selection 2nd July, 2019 Online The vast majority of employees now spent most of their day working collaboratively. However, 96 percent of executives cited poor teamwork as the main source of workplace failures.

This highlights the need for leaders to understand how to make their teams successful by helping them work together

96

| AUGUST 2019

collaboratively. It might be the most-pressing question organizations must address: How can managers better lead teams to improved performance given the volatility and challenges teams face today? To help leaders across sectors and geographies with this question, People Matters and Right Selection organized this virtual learning session. Chester Elton, author of Helping Leaders Create High Performing "All In" Cultures, Executive Coach, Keynote Speaker shared his learnings and

guided the viewers on the path of creating more collaborative and strong teams. In the one hour session, he shared how leaders can identify motivation drivers for each team member. He also discussed how managers can help new team members learn faster and smarter. He gave a cheat sheet to leaders and managers on how they can build bridges across functions, cultures and distance.

Upcoming events Learning for the future

NHRD 9th August to 14th August, 2019 Pune Chapter Workforce analytics is presently considered as an important component of HR analytics in business and industry. From making better hiring decisions to optimize the employee experience, data has become critical for HR teams. But are current HR organizations or firms skilled enough to make most of the HR analytical tools? While many HR professionals are now increasingly leveraging analytics to take better talent decisions they often lack the skills.

NHRD has hence organized an almost a week-long certification program to help HR leaders harness the analytical skills.

On the first two days of the certification program, the focus will be on demystifying analytics. Then from 12th to 14th August the sessions would be based on advanced HR Analytics. Prof. Niraj Mankad and Prof. Tejpal Singh Batra will facilitate the program.

CII: Leadership Masterclass Series Confederation of Indian Industry 1st October, 2019 Taj West End, Bengaluru Prof Soumitra Dutta, Professor of Management and former Founding Dean of the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University, in a day-long session will speak on the theme “A strategic roadmap for winning in the Digital Revolution”. Widely regarded as an authority on all aspects of innovation in the digital economy, he will share the latest insights with the Indian business community. https://bit.ly/2xNaiLn

https://bit.ly/2JJfoxF

Knowledge + Networking

People Matters and ACCA 7th August, 2019 Leela Palace, Bengaluru There is only one way to stay relevant in today’s dynamic business environment and that is through learning the new and unlearning the old.

The future is uncertain, it’s fast, and it changes rapidly. And to grow under such volatile conditions requires a dedicated effort to learn quickly, implement that learning rapidly, and adapt constantly to be ready for the future. The findings of a recent research report by People Matters and ACCA on “A Finance-Talent strategy for the long term” further confirms that the importance of learning initiatives has risen. In the report, key talent priorities like designing learning initiatives aimed at keeping the skills up to date to match evolving talent demands emerged as one of the top talent priorities in the next 12-18 months as over 59 percent of the total respondents highlighted this being at the very top of their agenda.

This was followed by two key concerns which have become extremely relevant in today’s world i.e. retaining top talent (51 percent) and building the digital proficiency of modern-day finance teams (41 percent).

NHRDN - Pune Chapter's Certificate Programs in HR Analytics - Wave 3.0

In such a scenario, how can organizations ensure that their talent is upskilling in line with future skills and competencies? How can they design their learning processes to support learning for the future? To discuss these questions and find answers to them, People Matters and ACCA have organized a roundtable discussion, where HR leaders from diverse sectors will come together.

The discussion will particularly focus on learning needs for specialized professions such as finance and accounting.

Some of the key competencies needed in the future shall be highlighted.

By invite only

AUGUST 2019 |

97

Blogosphere

>> Shabbir Merchant

The challenge of 996 is not restricted to China alone, but is a much wider phenomena

The choice of 996 v/s 8585

b l o g o s p h e r e

I

98

have been intrigued by the recent conversations on the 996 work culture (work 9 to 9 for 6 days a week), which has been publicly endorsed by Jack Ma and apparently a norm in many Chinese companies. In fact, the challenge of 996 is not restricted to China alone but is a much wider phenomenon.

“Bank intern who died after 'working for 72 hours' felt pressure to excel. An intern who died after allegedly working for 72 hours straight at a leading bank had admitted that he felt “pressurized” to succeed.

A 2016 Work and Well Being survey done by the American Psychological Association reported that one in three employees reported being ‘chronically’ stressed on the job.

My call to working professionals of our time is to create an 8585 lifestyle for themselves. Work productively for eight hours for five days a week, sleep well for eight hours every day; and the balance hours focus on five other life priorities.

8 hours of productive work day: ‘Work expands to the time available’ is a well-known management adage, which turns out to be true as very often employees end up spending extra hours at work because they are caught up in doing nonproductive work. Organizations should focus on how to create a work culture and work systems, which enable employees to be focused and fully productive for 8 hours of work.

8 hours of good sleep every day: An article by Sloan MIT titled ‘Why sleep is a strategic resource’ outlines very aptly that sleep deprivation can affect work performance negatively. Needless to add the quantity of sleep and quality of sleep are both important to rejuvenate the body and the mind.

5 life priorities: For the balance hours available, professional could focus on five life priorities which would help in creating a holistic focus on their life.

1. Health & Wellness: Many organizations do encourage physical wellness

| AUGUST 2019

Bank intern who died after 'working for 72 hours' felt pressure to excel. An intern who died after allegedly working for 72 hours straight at a leading City bank had admitted that he felt ‘pressurized’ to succeed by having an on-campus gymnasium or sporting activities or tie-ups with external service providers. The need of the hour is also focus on mental wellness. Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco is a shining example of how he brought mental wellness on the organizational agenda by directly sending out multiple emails to his employees on the subject of mental health and why it needs to be a priority for his employees.

2. Family & Friends: In this digital world, employees need to create an oasis of actual physical interaction with their circle of family and friends. Employees should remember that attending the PTA meeting at your little daughter’s

school is as important as attending the Management team meeting.

3. Pursue a Passion: A CNBC article mentions that having a hobby outside of work could help you perform better 9-5. The same article also quotes a research study which found that engaging in a hobby/leisure activity can provide immediate stress relief and leads to sustained happiness.

4. Spirituality: Many of us, as we were growing, had our parents encouraging us to pay attention to our spirituality by regularly praying, but most of us (including me) ignored their advice.

Spirituality is not a fad but is perhaps the most integral part of human life for a foundation of peace and gratification.

5. Giving: The Persian poet Rumi writes, that a man walks past a man in poverty, looks up and asks God, “Why, God, do you not do something for these people?”

God replies, “I did do something. I made you.” Take some time out to give back to the community, to your nation, to the under-privileged, whether it is your talent, your time, your money or a combination of all 3, but let ‘giving’ be a key life priority for you.

As much as I have tried to put the case for adopting an 8585 lifestyle and shunning a 996 lifestyle, the jury is still out to whether: • Organizations can build a successful business model with the core of 8585 for their employees.

• Employees genuinely want an 8585 lifestyle for themselves and are willing to do something about it.

But then, it does not matter what others want, what matters is whether you would like to pursue an 8585 lifestyle for yourself and do you think your organization will support you for the same? After all, you are the CEO of your life!

About the author

Shabbir Merchant is the Chief Value Creator at Valulead Consulting.

RNI Details: Vol. X, Issue No. 7, R.N.I. No. HARENG/2010/33504. Price Per Copy: Rs. 150/Printed and Published by Mahesh Kumar on behalf of People Matters Media Pvt. Ltd. Published at 503-505, 5th Floor, Millennium Plaza, Tower A, Sector 27, Gurgaon. Printed at Polykam Offset, C-138, Phase - I, Naraina Industrial Area, New Delhi - 110028. Editor: Esther Martinez Hernandez

RNI Details: Vol. X, Issue No. 7, R.N.I. No. HARENG/2010/33504. Price Per Copy: Rs. 150/Printed and Published by Mahesh Kumar on behalf of People Matters Media Pvt. Ltd. Published at 503-505, 5th Floor, Millennium Plaza, Tower A, Sector 27, Gurgaon. Printed at Polykam Offset, C-138, Phase - I, Naraina Industrial Area, New Delhi - 110028. Editor: Esther Martinez Hernandez

IT’S SKILL OR BE SKILLED OUT THERE. Stay Ready.

IT’S SKILL OR BE SKILLED OUT THERE. Stay Ready.

Learning. Skills. Progress. degreed.com