REDEFINING HR IN THE MINDS OF THE EMPLOYEES Human Resource Management, since long, has crouched on a double-edged fence. HR has presented itself as a long standing dilemma: an enduring relic or a business necessity? From the Stone Age, mankind looked for some kind of order, some kind of hierarchy in the systems that it tried to evolve. An invisible line existed that demarcated the masters and the followers, whether it was hunting expeditions or household chores. The Industrial Economy of the 19th and 20th centuries gradually paved the way for the Knowledge Economy of the 21st century, wherein knowledge sharing and transfer started to happen intensively in various forms. However, knowledge today is just a mouse-click away and with the arrival of Gen Y (also known as the Millenials), knowledge no longer means power. “Application of Knowledge” is the new method of displaying power. Traditionally, organizations followed a hierarchical leadership format with a steep pyramid structure. Companies were divided into silos, with each manager or leader assigned the ownership of one silo. Performance management systems in such a setup were based on individual operational performance. The Command and Control style of leadership was dominant in complex and large organizations; however, there was no check on whether authority and accountability were in alignment. According to Robert Kaplan and David Norton (founders of the Balanced Scorecard), only 5% employees understand their company’s mission and vision, making effective execution in such a framework virtually impossible. Today, due to the continuously increasing demands of the customers and their ever-changing needs, where speed of responsiveness, agility and adaptability are extremely essential, the traditional chain of command structures will not work anymore. The hierarchical boundaries are slowly dissolving, since the only way to survive in a highly competitive environment is to continuously bring about innovation on an ongoing basis. This can be achieved through Collaboration, which is the way forward to redefine HR practices. Collaboration is a purposeful relationship in which all the parties strategically choose to cooperate in order to accomplish a shared outcome. When a Management Trainee gets recruited into a firm, he starts off by being an individual contributor in a team with specific targets. After a span of few years, he graduates to being a tactical leader/process creator where he leads teams to deliver certain targets. However, in a collaborative environment, the leader develops the motivation and the drive to move one step ahead and become a transformational leader. The role of a manager has traditionally been defined as incorporating the functions of Planning, Organizing, Controlling and Leading. This is actually an example of Transactional Leadership which needs to be redefined to Transformational Leadership, focusing on the functions of Strategizing, Facilitating, Empowerment and Consensus Building. Such a focus brings about a paradigm shift. It creates an inclusive environment which possesses the ability to influence employees, and to create an environment of happiness, motivation and trust. Today, Gen Y comprises 50% of the global workforce and will comprise the majority of it by 2025. They make 64% of the High Potential (HIPO) employees and 55% of the middle managers in India and are clearly valuable for businesses across the globe. However, Dan Schawbel (Founder of Millenial Branding) has said, “Only 7% of Gen Y works for a Fortune 500 company.” This reflects a serious lack of vision in today’s treacherous economy. HR today needs to revamp its approach towards recruitment policies and focus on attracting and retaining Gen Y candidates. Lou Gerstner, ex-CEO of IBM, has said, “I came to see in my time at IBM that culture isn’t just one aspect of the game – it is the game.” Corporate culture should not just happen, but needs to be cultivated and nurtured by providing challenging assignments, advancement opportunities and recognition programs like ‘Star Employee of the Month/Year’ and ‘Spot Awards’. Job flexibility, transparency, freedom of expression, freedom to innovate, promotion of cross-functional and diverse thought, and a highly people-centric attitude are the key ingredients to cook up a tempting meal for Gen Y. Youth today are looking for something more than compensation packages and perks; they are looking for a clear roadmap to success and an environment conducive to growth and immense learning. Give them that and HR will be portrayed in a completely different light within an organization. HR should keep organizational effectiveness as its focus and not individual performance. Organizational effectiveness stems from the interaction of several factors, and the most efficient way to bring about the best in the employees is to break the corporation into small companies and encourage them to think competitively and independently. One of the keys to the success of Apple is that it is a highly collaborative organization. Apple doesn’t form committees, but delegates individual responsibilities. It is equivalent to the concept of many startups working together under a single roof. What makes it even better is the freedom to have constructive arguments and thus contribute ideas. The moment you know how to keep an employee engaged, you have grasped the reins of HR Management. Apple is one of the best examples of such a collaborative environment. People, however, may choose to collaborate with others they know well – which can be deadly for innovation. It is important that they be taken out of their comfort zone because this is how they learn to stretch their limits. The ‘Dare to Try’ award by the Tata Group for employees introducing ideas – ambitious ones, but which have failed due to various reasons, has imbibed a fantastic culture of risk-taking. Such ideas will go a long way in redefining HR. When you break down barriers, misunderstandings, prejudices, insecurities, divisions, territories, hierarchies, and many a times the walls of reasons – you begin to build teams that are at it all the time; teams which realize the importance of the last 1 percent. After all, as Henry Ford has said, “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself
Posted on: Sun, 04 Aug 2013 07:29:03 +0000