Strike While The Iron Is (not) Hot! Randeep Sisodia (Director HR-Amway India Enterprises) reveals the tricks that can help companies gain an edge before the next phase of growth strikes |
 The economic slowdown is bound to pose some major challenges for corporates, but it also provides interesting opportunities, especially from an HR perspective.Post the meltdown, employee expectations with regard to salary hikes during job changes, are bound to mellow down. We already have reports that average jumps during job changes are lowering to the more saner levels of 20-25 percent (down from 35-40 percent to even as high as 50 percent or beyond). While salary used to be the key deciding factor for job changes, employees have now become wiser and take a more long-term and holistic perspective when moving between companies. I have a feeling that job security will now hold a more premium spot in the list of priorities than ever before. Another fact highlighted by the downturn, is the importance of working in a reputed, professional and values-based firm. There are organisations that retrench employees at the first signs of trouble and we have enough examples to substantiate this. However, in the past, since the economy was booming and nearly all sectors were doing extremely well, the thought of downsizing never even arose in anybody’s mind. Since the industry was bullish, job security was not the key deciding factor for employees who were on the lookout for jobs. The current situation, however, has made retrenchments a reality of corporate life. In the near future, I reckon employees are going to start looking at the management ethos and culture followed in an organisation before jumping ship. Organisations that are perceived as employee-friendly while having a professional culture will hold an advantage in talent attraction, over companies which are perceived as part of the hire-and-fire bandwagon. The above factor is hugely advantageous to reputed organisations for attracting talent and it also provides opportunities to the rest for improving their employer branding strategies. They can showcase the same through media publications, industry bodies, academic institutions, etc. Indeed, this is a very exciting proposition for HR professionals across corporate India. As of now, employer branding has not really taken off. However, I do feel that in the medium to long-term, it will gain prominence and become a key deliverable for HR professionals. |
It was not too long ago that corporations were running from pillar to post for attracting and recruiting the desired talent. HR professionals have been devoting a large amount of their time to these processes. The steep growth paths of most corporates across sectors left the management with hardly any time for the development of the leadership pipeline. This created a hindrance in terms of sustaining and managing future growth levels. In light of this, the unfortunate current scenario of lower growth prospects provides a good opportunity for companies to reflect and devote more time to this project, so that they have a strong bench strength to manage the growth trajectory, as and when it happens next. Now is the time for organisations to really put their might behind developing robust talent management processes within their systems. The most effective talent management systems are owned by the leadership at the top, and are ably facilitated and supported by those in HR. However, in the initial stages, HR must take up ownership for driving the process; it is their job to prepare, coach and hand-hold the senior leadership while eventually acting as a facilitator. Another key focus area for corporates is likely to be the need for increasing employee productivity and efficiency. It is, like I mentioned, an opportunity for organisations to ‘review the way they work’. In order to improve efficiency and productivity (to better their top-line and the already stretched bottom-line), companies should start exploring innovative ways to improve systems, optimise resources, decrease inventories, reduce cycle times and introduce innovative products. The name of the game is ‘innovation’. HR should play a key role in building a culture of innovation within the organisation. There are quite a few silver linings visible, despite by the dark clouds of gloom and doom. The trick lies in working on the opportunities available at present. So when the next phase of steep growth strikes, you and your organisation should be leading the pack to gain competitive advantage. |
|
|
