The greatest HR concerns

Srinivasa Rao Dasari writes about the issues that are foremost on the minds of HR managers and the way many organisations are going to deal with these challenges


Human resources (HR) as a function is fast changing as it works closely with senior management, business segments, line management and functional leaders in an IT organisation. Human resource management is undoubtedly one of the major challenges ahead for Indian IT companies.

The IT industry is already under stress on account of persistent problems like attrition, confidentiality, loyalty, etc. Managing HR in the knowledge-based industry is not a cakewalk for HR managers as it a multi-task responsibility. In the present scenario, HR managers are performing a variety of responsibilities. Earlier their role was confined to administrative functions like looking after manpower requirements and maintaining rolls for the organisation. Now it is more strategic as per the demands of the industry. A S Murti, Senior Vice president (HR), Satyam Computer Services, explains, "Since the IT industry is growing at an encouraging rate, the supply-demand issue will pose a major challenge for the industry, particularly for experience-level professionals. Retaining the best talent will also be equally important. We can't retain professionals by paying higher salaries and offering attractive perks, etc. That is the not the best way. We need to create enthusiasm in their role, their work and the organisation." He adds, for this Satyam focusses on internal and external training programmes on periodical basis and job rotation. Every 18-24 months, professionals are placed on different processes of their choice.

Present issues

Some of the problems that the IT sector faces are managing people, motivation to adopt new technology changes, recruitment and training, performance management, development, and compensation management.

Managing people

Managing people in knowledge-based industry is critical, as human resource is the soul of the organisation. Since there is a high demand for the knowledge workers, often talented professionals enjoy high bargaining power due to the knowledge and skills in hand. The attitude is different for those who are taking up responsibilities at a lesser age and experience. These factors have resulted in the clear shift to individualised career management from organisation career commitment. Managing talent pool of people is essential for the growth of knowledge-based sectors like IT and BPO sectors.
Motivating the workforce

As the competition is growing rapidly in the global market, technological edge supported by talented manpower has become a crucial factor for survival in the market. Naturally, every organisation gives top priority to technology advancement programmes. HR managers are now performing the role of motivators for their knowledge workers to adopt new changes.

Competency development

The success of knowledge-based industry is dependent on the talent pool of its manpower. Hence, human capital is the real asset for any organisation, this makes HR's role important in recruiting, managing, and retaining the best. The HR department has a clear role in this process and determines the success rate of any organisation. If HR managers are not competent enough, this will have a direct impact on the organisation. There is now a need to develop competent HR professionals who are sound in HR management practices with strong business knowledge.

Recruitment and training

Recruitment has become a major function from an important sub-system in HR, particularly in the IT industry. HR managers play a vital role in creating assets for the organisation in the form of quality manpower. Another challenge for HR managers is to put systems in place to make the people a perfect fit for the job. Skill redundancy is fast in the software industry. To overcome this problem, organisations give utmost priority to training and skill enhancement programmes on a continuous basis. Many IT companies are providing technical training to the employees on various platforms every quarter. Most find this regular training quite useful, apart from the feeling of security it provides.

The trust factor

Low levels of trust inhibit tacit knowledge sharing in the knowledge-based industry. Concerned about the recent reports about an employee of Indian call centre who allegedly sold bank account details, Nasscom is gearing up to face the unforeseen future challenges in the form of confidentiality in the IT industry. Towards this, Nasscom is working closely with legal authorities in the UK to ensure those responsible for criminal breach. Any case of theft or breach of confidentiality should be treated seriously. Such malpractices would pose a serious problem to SMEs in the BPO sector. Most of the small and medium companies in this segment do not have enough capabilities.

Lt Bipin Chandra, Vice president (India operations), Knoah Solutions, does not believe that this will severely affect the BPO industry in India. He says, "We have enough security measures as far as data security is concerned. Accessing the database should be need-based only and without necessity if anyone tries to access, our system will alert us. We have been strengthening our security policies and our existing system does not allow employees to browse through the data. Going by the recent reports,I don't think there would be any significant impact on BPO companies. Our clients ask for higher levels of security on information systems. Every organisation need to have a fool-proof security system apart from building loyalty and commitment among employees as part of HR strategies, which are common for any type of organisation."

Critical factors

At Wipro it is believed that knowledge-based industry faces five most critical challenges. One of the most important is talent management and development. The professionals bring with them a lot of aspirations and to be on competitive edge they look out for three important dimensions-learning, technology and early opportunities. A recent study conducted by Wipro showed that people join the company because of the above and they act as a differentiating model for the organisation. In the IT industry the best practices today may not be the same after a period so it is imperative that it constantly improves its own business aligned HR processes to be at a leading edge. Another dimension to the challenges faced by IT Industry is the growing pace of talent acquisition and that creates with it the challenge of smoother assimilation and cultural binding of the new joinees into the organisation fold. The pressure of delivering the best of quality services in reduced time frame calls for ensuring that employees maintain a work-life balance. Another important problem, which will continue, is retention of the employees.

Addressing the issues

Manjula Rajoli, Manager (Talent Engagement and Development), Wipro Technologies, elaborates on how Wipro manages the challenges, "Wipro's talent management and engagement has a two fold approach. We contain the challenges by following best practices in two areas-compensation and non-compensation. Challenges arising due to compensation reasons are contained at Wipro by continuously benchmarking our salaries with our competitors and providing merit-based salary increases. In addition, for middle and senior management we have equity-based compensation through Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). We also have various employee benefits programmes.