The role of Human Resource Department is crucial as it deals with the most sensitive yet valuable resource of the company apart from ensuring smooth functioning of the entire business. Undoubtedly, Human Resource Management is more than mere recruiting and managing people. The following are some of the most commonly faced challenges pertaining to the Indian context.
Attracting the right talent - In India where manpower is in abundance, recruitment has become an adversely complex issue in the recent past due to the factors like diversity, changed employee expectations, huge competition, misconception of the required skill sets, lack of practical orientation in the academics and fake candidates. Formulating standardized recruitment procedures with a professional approach is the biggest challenge in attracting the right candidate. Employer’s commitment for the development and prospective career path of the employee should also be conveyed effectively.
Retention of the best – Retaining the best employee means sustaining performance, productivity and development. This is quite tricky as contentment of a job is relative to each individual. Hence, wide consideration ranging from attractive and lucrative packages to providing support for the family needs like crèches, on-site summer camps for children etc is essential to retain the employees. The list seems endless but, maintaining standards within available financial resources and in par with the other competitors is very challenging indeed.
Identifying poor performers - Constant monitoring and evaluation is mandatory in identifying any acute talent shortages or decreased productivity. Enhanced training procedures, counseling and introducing high performance work systems are some of the factors that might help in talent management.
Synergy with other departments – Synergistic approach with other internal departments paves way for the win-win situation. Poor coordination not only hinders with the work flow but also decreases the performance rate. Nevertheless, this needs a lot of attention to detail and commitment. Each move should be taken carefully and extra cautiously.
Globalization/Local competition – Globalization is inevitable in the modern context. Coping with global issues needs proactive approach and not reactive. Most of the problem areas posing threat to work consistency can be managed effectively by developing a long term multifaceted corporate strategy. Other major concerns include uncertainty in global economy, recession, market turmoil etc. Local competitors cannot be ignored either as they are a constant threat at a much closer proximity.
Government policies/Labor laws – In some instances, stringent Government policies might interfere with the overall turnover and profit making. On the other hand, company’s policies and practices have to be in strict accordance with the labor laws giving no room for any litigation. Employees are aware of the fact that ‘Appearing employee friendly’ is different from actually being so. Hence, exercising Integrity and accountability as admissible is vital.
Outsourcing HR Activities – The toughest challenge for any Human Resource Department is the need to constantly reassure their importance with respect to the other departments. Outsourcing HR activities is a better option to reduce cost and time in most instances. But, to bring forth such an external influence involves a lot of risk factors that might dilute and compromise quality.
Dealing with Attrition – Keeping track on attrition rate is important in striking a balance between the depleting experienced hands and topping up of fresh talents. Some local competitors might as well go to the extent of indulging in constant poaching of skilled employees. Talent loss due to attrition will certainly have a conspicuous negative impact fiscally. Identifying the causes and keeping attrition to the minimum would be the best option. In India unmarried women contribute considerably to attrition as they leave the job once they are married. Hence, some sort of diversity in the recruitment process is worth considering.
Organizational Development – Organizational restructuring making use of strong leadership and team building strategies would do wonders in developing an innovative organizational design. Performance culture would become a part and parcel of such business.
Being Ethical – Last but not the least, legal compliance is not the same as being ethical. HR like any other department has to be value driven and conscientious. Repeated ethical analysis has to be carried out for self-assessment purposes. However, inculcating and practicing ethics is virtually challenging as attitude of a person cannot be assessed and managed so easily.
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—About our writer:
Rajalakshmi Govindan, a consultant dietitian with 13 years of experience at executive level has done her master’s program from a reputed university in UK. She has been a ‘Project Head’ of a World Bank assisted social welfare scheme. Her areas of interest include food science, microbiology, nutrition, dietetics, biotechnology, home science, child development, social welfare, ecology and literature. She is good at creative, technical (medical) and web content writing.
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