HR CONCLAVE-August-2022

 

 

TOPIC- Reinventing Talent Strategies in Current Scenario: Challenges and Opportunities

 

IMI Bhubaneswar organized the annual HR conclave on the topic of Reinventing Talent Strategies in Current Scenario: Challenges and Opportunities on 27th August in which 12 speakers from the HR domain attended the conclave.

Director sir addressed the audience and shared some insights related to the industry challenges and opportunities.

 

Panel I -"Evolving Strategies for Talent Acquisition during and Post Pandemic".

 

 Mr.Yogi Shriram (Advisor to MD &CEO, Group House Resources L&T) conveyed the impact of the fast-changing environment on Talent acquisition. He further focused on the opportunities for India when a country like the US is facing a recession. He also suggested that academicians must focus on more practical knowledge which the industry demands. Lastly, he suggested that students should learn and upgrade themselves about the gig economy and spoke about how work from home has generated an imbalance between personal life & professional life.

 

Mr. Ajit Kar (Senior manager & In-charge(L&D) IMFA) talked about the work preferences of employees. He gave a brief idea about how to learn to cope with change. He advised the the students to update their resume on LinkedIn periodically and shared his views on what a recruiter would be looking for in an employee.

 

Mr. Saurav Kr. Das (Senior Manager HR, East Nestle) talked about certain recruitment strategies and the requirements of the organization that drives those strategies. After that, he discussed about the challenges faced by recruiters for talent acquisition done through online mode. Mr. Das also spoke about how social media enabled recruiters put up a lot of content online. Lastly, he talked about a concept introduced by Nestle called “NESLIFE” which has enabled recruiters like him to identify location-agnostic jobs wherein candidates from a more diverse set of cultures can apply. Altogether, it was an extremely insightful and illuminating session.

 

Mr. Debargha Dev (Regional Manager HR, North Dabur) spoke about the importance of understanding the employee’s feelings and needs. Employees are preferring a hybrid mode of work with flexibility in work time and craving for career growth rather than salary.  He further discussed the challenges faced during the online selection process of staffing which includes fraudulent practices during the interview. Though there are many cons to the hybrid mode of work environment, organizations need to adopt this new style because of the employee demand. He discussed a few strategies of Dabur which are implemented for workforce satisfaction, one of them is being more flexible and letting the workforce decide what and how to work. He advocated the concept of decentralization of authority and responsibility among all the employees for better job satisfaction and enhanced productivity.

 

Mr. Satyajit Senapati (Founder and CEO of Focussed Minds Consulting) spoke about the volatility of the environment and the importance of being versatile for the growth of an organization. He beautifully portrayed the advantages of the hybrid mode in the work culture. There is an expansion of opportunities among the candidates because of networking. He said, “Life shouldn’t revolve around work, work should revolve around life.”  The other side of the coin talks about the challenges faced by recruiters. A huge pool of candidates apply so it becomes hectic for the interviewers to conduct and implement the screening process.   He also discussed the blessings of social media in our generation and decentralization of authority for the betterment of an organization.  He explained how the organization is socializing the workforce online through informal events.

 

Ms. Anshula Verma (Director and National Head, Talent Acquisition at Ernst & Young) spoke about the habitual changes in work culture pre-post covid. She mentioned the pros and cons of hybrid mode. She gave an insight about how EY recently launched a program called “Workstation’’ where employees can simultaneously work and spend time with their families and illustrated how important is the role of ethics in corporate life. She suggested that the younger generation should network not only in the workplace but also outside.

Mr. Shomik Chaudhuri (Senior Vice President-HR at Fullerton India) Gave us a complete demonstration of the business environment and its competition. He gave insights about business pulls & pressures. He elaborated on management expectations in shaping the future and people's agenda. He discussed the points on how to attract and screen talent. He gave an understanding of how a labour market works.

 Panel II -"Evolving Strategies for Talent Acquisition during and Post Pandemic " 

 

Saugata Guho Roy (Assistant Director, GDS Consulting EY GDS) talked about the study given by McKinsey & Company that diverse and inclusive companies are more likely to perform better, and are 50% more innovative, and generate 50% more revenue. In EY GDS diversity is promoted by employing people with disability as he has a personal reason for it ,it is because he could not make it to the Indian Navy because of some disability in his eyes.

Ms. Arpita Mukherjee (DVP HR Axis Bank) talked about “equity” with the example of a party – Inviting a person to a party means inclusion and dancing with them means equity. She then talks about diversification based on women and LGBTQ not just putting them in jobs but also making them career ready. She talked about the pay gap sand said that that the pay gap is based on skills and assertiveness because a person who is more assertive about salary is generally paid more keeping the skills into consideration.

Mr. Ashish Kumar (CHRO- Mines Vedanta Ltd) elaborated on the idea of inclusive working in remote locations. Remote work can level the playing field for marginalized groups, removing barriers to entry for many people and giving leaders previously unheard-of opportunities to hire and retain diverse team. He also talked about the recently launched Robusta Aluminium which is being supplied to sustainability consumers. He inferred Diversity inclusion is nothing but Unity in Diversity. He suggested that the young millennials are an asset for diversity in the workplace.

Mr. Ashish Kapoor (Director and HR Business Partner Ernst & Young) talked about the change in the workplace over 100 years. He gave a comparison of Indian and western diversity in the workplace. The effect of western culture is greatly seen in our customs, traditions, social and moral behaviour, and our love and respect for others. He gave us an insight into the ecosystem of the organization and how people from diverse backgrounds can help in its growth. One must transform the work culture and that is the responsibility of the institution /organization.

Mr. Rakesh Prasad (AVP HR IndiGo) expressed his view on workplace diversity in inclusion he further justified that people at the workplace should look at people on a human level and not judge them on the basics of caste, creed, and sex because now diversity is much beyond, and we should respect the LGBTQ community and see everyone as a person, not to discriminate in terms of gender. He shared some facts like, if a company allows transgender in the workplace the productivity of that workplace has increased by 400 times. He provided insights on how one should treat physically disabled people so that the company can gain productivity by treating them as normal human beings.

Ms. Punyatoya Panigrahi (HR Business Partner, Tata Consultancy Services) gave us a complete demonstration of the stereotypical role in an organization. She illustrated the work environment which should not accept discrimination or mistreatment based on personal qualities. She also gave an insight that stereotypes might have impacted how you have treated someone or how you have been treated. She conveyed the idea of how equity supports diversity and inclusion. In the workplace, equity acknowledges that we are all different, and those differences make everyone unique. She encapsulated the importance of diversity and inclusion.