Top 10 Human Resource Challenges in India Today

chillibreeze writer — Geetika Iyer

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In the words of Oliver Wendell Homes-

“The greatest tragedy in America is not the destruction of our natural resources, though that tragedy is great. The truly great tragedy is the destruction of our human resources by our failure to fully utilize our abilities, which means that most men and women go to their graves with their music still in them.”

A company and its success stories are made up of its people. It’s the Human Resource (HR) department which sets the pace and acts as an intermediary between the company and its human resources. Managing and laying the foundation does not come without its set of challenges. In the recent times the major challenges which are faced by corporate India are:

1. Shortage of skilled talent pool – That’s the question organisations seems to be asking as the demand for experienced professionals burgeons forth. The primarily reason for this is human capital flight or brain drain. Every year students are picked up from top Indian institutes for high flying dollar and euro jobs.

Catch them early - The best way to overcome the crunch in the talent pool is that organisations’ should hire more qualified freshers and train them with a long term perspective. Right talent has to be identified and nurtured. This will ensure that organisational goals are synergised with individual ambitions.

2. More than salary - Though compensation may be the initial reason to switch over companies but when it comes to making a long term commitment, employees are looking beyond the pay packages. Employees built their perception about a healthy organisation on the basis of its overall work culture and the value the HR initiatives add to it. If these initiatives reflect that the organisation “cares”, they will surely think twice before moving on. It is therefore pivotal that the HR initiatives focus on making the employees feel truly valued in the organisation.

3. The engaged employee - Employee engagement is a major “food for thought” in our times. With many top companies losing a vast majority of its employees to its competitors, to yet others trying to boost their revenue figures drastically high, corporate India today is constantly adopting varied measures to intensify employee engagement.

4. A work life balance - Candidates today make a decision on choosing a particular organisation based on the work life balance preached in the organisation. A healthy work life balance directly impacts on the retention of top executives in any company. Today there are many who would gladly forgo a better pay option to spend quality time with their family. The main focus should hence be on understanding what is really important to employees and to demonstrate a caring culture through healthy work-life balance.

5. Long working hours- Spending extra hours at the office seems to be the most common thing in all fields in India today. It is reported that an average Indian spends about nine to eleven hours every day at office and often takes work home to finish. This is not a healthy scenario. It will lead to exhaustion and stress among employees and will only mount to less productive hours at the office.

6. Rewards and promotions - Good work and good performance should not only be encouraged but also acknowledged and rewarded. An award given at the right time, to the right person for a meritorious job goes a long way in raising the moral of the individual and becomes a source of inspiration for others. However it is a double edged knife, in the sense that the reward given to a non deserving person, surpassing a proper system can lead to demoralisation of many. Hence a challenge for HR is to have a fool proof selection criteria in place to ensure that the rewards are fair and are through a transparent system.

7. Retention – Organisations’ needs to ensure that the opportunities provided to the employees are lucrative enough. Be it opportunity for vertical growth, competitive compensation or better work life climate. In today’s dynamic market conditions, there are always lucrative offers afloat. Under these circumstances it becomes even more important that HR heads in organisations ensure that employees see a long term career progression and association with the company.

8. Mechanism for redressal of grievances - It has been stated that even a small grievance in the mind of an employee can sometimes lead to withdrawal from the system and finally separation from the organisation. It is hence becoming more and more important that the HR of an organisation ensures that there is a proper mechanism or forum in place where an employee can freely share his grievances. The very fact that there is someone at the work place who cares and is ready to listen is redressal in itself.

9. Compassion and Human approach - Everything is not only rules and regulation. Flexibility in implementation of rules with a human approach and compassion is the key. The majority of the work force in most companies today comprises of the younger strata. It is important to understand and adopt their needs in the organisational climate.

10. Encouragement of new ideas - An employee is not just a pair of hands, hired for a particular set of jobs; he is also an ideating being, capable of newer and better ways. It is very important that an employee feels involved in all aspects of the organisation. Developing a culture where an employee feels part of the system and is able to express a new idea will ensure better employee engagement and sustainability. Today, hatching and harvesting ideas from the collective intelligence within an organisation will add to competitive advantage.

In today’s highly volatile and competitive business environment, technology, trends and human force are in a state of constant flux. It is therefore important that HR initiatives are ever evolving and apt for the challenges that lie ahead.

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Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in February, 2012. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Geetika Iyer is a hospitality professional, having an experience of more than 8 years. In her last assignment she held the position of Executive Housekeeper with a reputed Hotel in New Delhi. Her experiences had been in hotel housekeeping operations, recruitment, training and guest relations. She wants to share her experiences through the written word. Her love for literature has drawn her to this field. She is also involved in creative writing and shares her stories through her blog.

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