HR talent pool in the country

Is recruitment becoming the sole focus of this fraternity, sidelining other functions such as managing people’s expectations, training and performance management?

Not really, though there is a large focus on recruitment, it is with reason. With the growth of all sectors, the need for qualified and employable manpower has shot up, and there really aren’t enough such people in the job market. So, if organisations have to grow and realise the opportunities they have, recruitment is actually a ‘strategic function’ for HR. I don’t think the other functions are sidelined.

Given that there is a big supply-demand gap in the talent market, it is essentially the same set of people who keep moving from one company to another, and with an increased compensation with every move. I think, sooner or later, this trend will make the cost of talent unviable and start hitting the bottomline. I personally feel that HR should start looking not only at talent acquisition and retention, but also talent creation. That is, how do we bring in more employable people into the mainstream job market.

Have HR education programmes changed suitably to fulfil the needs of industry?

Have HR education programmes changed suitably to fulfil the industry needs ?

From admin to IR to personnel to HR, it’s been a long journey for the people manager. Overtime, HR education has also changed to meet the needs of industry. HR has moved from a ‘backroom’ function to a ‘boardroom’ function. Educational institutions have also tried to keep abreast of these changes and have updated and revised their syllabi over time. However, I also think this is easier done in B-schools than in universities, because the former have greater autonomy and freedom to revise their syllabi. For instance, at XLRI, the faculty concerned can change and upgrade courses to make them more contemporary. In addition, periodically, every two-three years, they review the entire course structure and pedagogy of the HR programme.

They seek feedback from their own HR alumni, from senior HR professionals, other academic institutions and from industry and build that into our course structure. This has enabled them to keep their syllabi dynamic and in sync with industry needs. They have been able to include new courses, modify some existing ones and even change the focus of the entire programme. In the current format of the HR programme, besides the required HR topics, the students also get significant inputs in finance, strategy, and IT.

Is HR education getting its due in India?

Is HR education getting its due in India?

Considering that companies fill HR vacancies with people from other disciplines, is there enough formal training for these people?

The scenario is changing for HR. While it is true that in some cases, HR roles are assigned to people from other disciplines, such instances are becoming increasingly fewer. Companies do look for trained HR professionals to handle HR roles. More often than not, if the role is assigned to a non-HR executive, the reason is not because of the quality of HR professionals, but the dearth of HR professionals.

Most companies do try to provide training to non-HR people through job-shadowing, nomination to HR courses and so on when they are given HR roles. In fact, this need has also sprouted some innovative partnerships between industry and academia. For instance, XLRI have two such partnerships, one with Accenture and the other with L&T, to conduct long-duration certification courses in HR. I think one of the challenges for the education sector will be to keep pace with the demand for HR professionals, both in terms of quality and quantity.