HRs sometimes struggle without clarity and purpose when asked to define its direction for the future. A leading HR executive of one of India’s biggest technology multinationals said, “the coming era is one of diversity in mindsets. Not just gender-based mindsets, but managing mindsets between rich and poor, rural and urban, north and south, between languages, etc. Part of this increase in diversity is due to the growth in industrial output in India and also growth in aspirations of people.”
Technology will change the game
Two experts from global conglomerates say that the growth horizons that talents looks for, are shorter and the employer-employee contract is changing in time spans. Another former HR of one of India’s largest conglomerates added, “earlier, community was a key part of being in an organisation. Now, it is difficult for the new group of talented people to relate to what community is about. It’s about them and it’s about now. The more visceral needs of the Maslow’s hierarchy have taken precedence to the self transcendence needs that people have.
The use of IT In HR is only going to increase and generations to come will need to be prepared for this. While this can be a great boost to productivity, outputs, outcomes and overall efficiencies, it can also cause job loss especially at the lower levels, the experts caution.
Attracting and retaining talent
It is quite clear that HR is going to play a leveraging function in the years to come and it has to step up to the plate. Talent that can deliver within two to three years must be hired and their recruitment skills have to become innovative and fine honed. For example, good freshers can play managerial roles is a powerful surmise. HR must give these surmises a chance but at the same time be cautious. The biggest challenge will be to work with these assumptions yet attempt to test their validity and reliability so that companies can get maximum leverage by trying out different hypotheses.
What may hold good for India may not hold good for US and Europe. People in India may not focus on purpose of work, whereas in Europe and the United States, young people are questioning the same. Additionally, moonlighting and gig working are here to stay and beyond a point they can’t be restricted. Ways to work with them have to be thought. This would be the challenges in the near future. n
