HR – A Diluter!!
Predictions
witness the reality.
Five decades
back, Intellects addressed that a heterogeneous clash of different brains and
thoughts in Indian industries will happen. Here, my first statement can be justified.
Professional
industrialization started after liberalization in year 1992, under the rich hands
of Present Prime minister and Ex – Finance minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
A good
Initiative as per Economy & industrialization Exposure is concern. No doubt
that a no. of Indian companies had great leaders before liberalization, but
unfortunately a majority among them were led by unprofessional, unethical as
well as short sighted leaders.
An emergency
after the liberation was a need for management graduates as Indian companies as
well as global market wanted professionals, so, a shift towards management
profession started with a great pace. People from best and reputed management
schools joined the organizations to fulfill the need. But the outcome was a “heterogeneous
mix” of existing bosses and new professionals. Improvement and swift growth was
a requirement and industries tried to add a catalyst (New Management
Professionals) that accidently ignited unexpected efficiency retardation. There
is “a worry “clash between professionalism, ethics and vision.
Now many of
Indian companies led by people of 50+ age group who were schooled in a relatively
less efficient world; working in office from 9 to 5 and few of them in 8 to 8
culture, hourly rate and sign-up times for conference rooms, but, on the contrary
there are new managers who don’t even like to wear wrist watches. For them
clock is just a decoration. They prefer to work whenever they are most
productive. They prefer to bring their own device to work and use them wherever
they go, rather switching to the company’s technology during the day. Instead
using intercom, they prefer interacting online through instant massaging or
cell phone messenger. They prefer conferences via Skype, vtolk etc. in place of
expensive infrastructure like video conferencing etc. New age managers are more
transparent, assertive & are not willing to learn workplace politics. They
do not believe in hypocrisy and prefer to straight forward calls. They do not
maintain distance with subordinates, juniors but, treat them as friends unlike the
old age leaders who are diplomatic and often show off their powers. New age employees are comfortable working with
colleagues in different geographies and thrive on instantaneous communication.
All the aforementioned reasons ratify
the fact of heterogeneous clash between new age and old age leaders.
As it becomes compulsory for businesses to
transfer the responsibilities to new age leaders so that enterprises can run
their business uninterrupted, now businesses are confronted with two crucial
questions:
1.
How can we attract
this new generation of technology-driven workers to our company? And
2.
How can we adapt
our culture to retain them?
The transition is not easy because many of
20-25 year-old companies are operated by old age leaders and it is also felt
that their speed is not matching with the current pace of technological and
information change in the industry therefore, they have to give some space to
the new age leaders so that they can unleash their potential while remain in
power, they are not transferring their responsibilities with happiness. Here HR
can play a role as a diluter in smooth transition by taking following things in
consideration while designing people policies.
First, HR can make entrepreneurs to
focus more time and energy on measuring the degree to which new generation employees
are engaged in the company, its offerings and values. Engaged employees
translate to better customer service, product innovation and productivity. By
measuring engagement - and determining how the organization can improve upon
engagement - managers can ensure that each employee understands his or her
value to the broad goals of the company and drive them toward those goals as a
technological and cultural challenge.
Second, HR must let the existing Generation-X bosses to understand that Gen-Y workers are motivated differently from generations of the past. For hiring and retention, it's important to advance the corporate culture in a way that allows for effective communication and new types of motivations.
Employees might be encouraged to bring their own devices to work. They might be allowed to post to Face-book and Twitter and use those networks for global collaboration. The company might reward risk-taking rather than safety. It might treat its office as a gathering place, rather than only a workplace, to enable employees to work wherever they want and view the office in the casually collaborative way they view a coffeehouse or college union.
That's not to say that accountability must be discarded, but the way accountability is measured may need to change, a third consideration. Perfect attendance may need to be valued less than perfect projects. Revenue generation may need to be measured by the rupees generated from digital ability rather than hours spent in office.
Most important is the necessity to realize that the world has changed!
Second, HR must let the existing Generation-X bosses to understand that Gen-Y workers are motivated differently from generations of the past. For hiring and retention, it's important to advance the corporate culture in a way that allows for effective communication and new types of motivations.
Employees might be encouraged to bring their own devices to work. They might be allowed to post to Face-book and Twitter and use those networks for global collaboration. The company might reward risk-taking rather than safety. It might treat its office as a gathering place, rather than only a workplace, to enable employees to work wherever they want and view the office in the casually collaborative way they view a coffeehouse or college union.
That's not to say that accountability must be discarded, but the way accountability is measured may need to change, a third consideration. Perfect attendance may need to be valued less than perfect projects. Revenue generation may need to be measured by the rupees generated from digital ability rather than hours spent in office.
Most important is the necessity to realize that the world has changed!
By: Ajay Tanwar, Head – Plant HR, Roop
Polymers Limited, 68 – Rozka Meo Industrial area, Sohna – 122 103, ajayhrd@gmail.com, +91 93 55 777 888, +91
94 6789 79 04
