11/23/2017 Article: A roadmap for reinventing HR in PSUs — People Matters

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A roadmap for reinventing HR in PSUs

SCOPE HR Summit opens with an impactful inaugural session focusing on key challenges for HR today at PSE and also a focused
road-map for solutions. 

A roadmap for reinventing HR in PSUs

Reinventing HR is the constant evaluation of a critical business function – in the beginning of the 20th century it was just administrative, post 1930s it was supervisory,
while post 1945 it was more of a hiring champion and post 1950s HR took a very di erent shape and was named Human Resources Department. This was the time
when the department took shape as recruitment, talent management and the complete spectrum. This is how former Gail CMS Dr U D Choubey and the current DG of
SCOPE started his inaugural speech at the SCOPE HR Summit which started on February, 4. Post 2008, HR went for a paradigm shift considering new challenges like
globalisation, managing speed of change, managing work diversity. Dr Choubey emphasised the diversity of work that a ects not only the skills but also on attitude.
Another challenge is the rate of attrition: retaining people is a key issue for all organisations and How can we aspire to create a sense of belonging to a company?
Loyalty is about building skills, about access to opportunities – especially for Millennials. Retention is about capacity building and recognition. Compensation/package
will be a hygiene and not su cient. An important aspect is also how you will link this career development into succession planning, and then to the long term needs for
the organisation. Investment in training and capacity building is the way forward for engagement and retention and it is also a long-term investment for the next level
of leaders in the organisation. The biggest challenge is that employer should be transparent, responsible and accountable.

Dr. Veena Swarup, Director (HR), EIL & Summit Convener  shared how these challenges in HR –the nerve centre of the organization- needs to manage the balance and
sustain business performance and accommodating the needs of the new generation. Organizations need to build learning agility across functions and roles. The
challenge is to build the e ectiveness of the intersect of HR - strategy and technology. The HR function need to up its game to take the place at the business table.

R G Rajan, Chairman, SCOPE & CMD, RCF, shared how proactive HR management is required to sustain level of performance for business. Engagement is a challenge
today and HR needs to play a critical role in this perspective. From data and records, HR needs to address complexity of the workforce, legal obligations and
coordination of the goals of organizations and employees. HR is the service provider of both manager and employees and they are the owners of process and
procedures for the company and also a partner for managers at the ground. He spoke how PSE environment is becoming competitive and how learning and
development should pay a critical role in keeping that competitive edge. The challenge highlighted was the level of loyalty from employees as that makes capability
building which is a long term approach to look at how to leverage social media, as technology makes the process of imparting skills and knowledge more agile. Finally,
he addressed the need for more women leaders at PSE, from starting point of gender audit – SCF being the rst PSE in India that has undergone a diversity audit.
Linked to diversity is the importance of work-life balance for all employees that addresses the needs of employees and in turn a ects productivity.  

Author and Deputy Director ILO, Dr. Sher Verick shared the importance for ILO being partner with SCOPE at the HR Summit. Many of the terminology of HR is getting
into ILO too, Dr. Verick shared. His address focused on how HR should evolve in complementing the business requirements as well and creating an ecosystem that
provides sustainable success in the new world at work. He said, “Today we face uncertain economic times, in 2016 we still live in the economic environment from the
2009 recession, while India is a brighter spot, there is a lot of uncertainty. The labour market is a challenged by both quantity of jobs and quality of jobs. We are in the
4th Industrial revolution, from water and steam power, to electric power, to electronics and IT, the 4th is about expansion of arti cial intelligence and robotics. These
have massive implications in work creating around the world.” The employer-employee is more complex also in terms of social protection and rights. For example, how
does an Uber driver access his employment protection? Dr. Verick concluded with practical insights on the importance of having better HR practices that will lead with
better business success by the following three key areas: rstly, investment in skills development, formalizing training investment & fostering apprenticeships. Skills at
not only at entry level but also about management and leaders, skilling should be across the board. Secondly, focus on gender diversity and inclusion. Clearly the
business case has been proven, female labour participation in India is a major challenge and needs to be addressed by government and industry leaders equally.
Attracting and retaining female talent and building a level playing eld will be critical for HR to lead. Thirdly, the importance of Industry Relations and social dialogue
which is critical for sustainable performance. “ILO’s role is to make sure we document and disseminate best practices and raise the level of IR across the board,” he
said.

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11/23/2017 Article: A roadmap for reinventing HR in PSUs — People Matters
Dr. Phyllida Travis, Director, Dept. Of Health System Development, WHO Regional O ce, South East Asia kicked o her address on the importance of reinventing HR in
health, health workers themselves needs a revamp of skills and productivity, need for innovation in HR. Health spent is increasing around the world, HR’s role in
managing that cost is also signi cant but not su cient – requires many stakeholders to come together that can contribute to the same. In 2016, ILO will focus on health
employment and how we can maximize the contribution to economic development. Regionally, health workforce development and change is a political commitment
for the Asian region of a long term level of 10 years to support change in health workers in transformative educations and adaptive learning, second is rural retention
that requires interventions and incentives to stay in rural areas, third one is on migration of health workers, that the country least equip that is producing talent but
exporting it outside.  

Ameising Luikham, Secretary, DPE spoke about HR with a story to relate. In India only 2.3%  is skilled or trained, while in South Korea it is 90% and above. In northeast,
were Secretary belongs, dependence of society is very high, you know all the skills because everybody participate – gardening, building a house, learns in informal
system  imbibed in us from children. Unfortunately, our children they don’t have that level of exposure, basic skills are not acquired, it is essential to remember that
exposure is critical. Luikham shared how automation is bringing a lot of changes but still human skills are critical to run those machines. Expectations from government
in investing in  skilling from PSU is very high, he believes that while the investments are in good direction but yet should be higher. HR should invest in giving exposure
and providing skills to raise the performance bar for PSEs. Additionally, there is a need to PSU to tighten up management practices and create a performance driving
culture. 

The Chief Guest at the Summit was K V Chowdary, CVC who concluded the inaugural by accepting that any organizations is as good as its people. HR is hence critical,
they are chosen by HR, they are trained by HR, they are guided, placed, monitored, incentivized, motivated all driven by the HR function. The main key area for HR is to
retain talent, people leave organizations for more reasons than money alone – it is a lot more than the paycheck. Culture plays a critical role that a ects beyond work.
Workplace a ects the house and society at large. That organization’s environment goes beyond the workplace alone, culture a ects society too. That is the level of
impact that HR actually has in society. Similarly happens with ethics too. The philosophy of the organizations also impacts the values of individuals and how they live
their lives. At commission level, KV Chowdary shared how vigilance is important for all organizations, and it is not a bad word. The commission aims to bring education
and awareness about anti-corruption and the role that values, ethics and culture plays. HR has a critical role to play to prevent and in uence the right behaviours.
Additionally, the organizations is also investing in re-training themselves across di erent skills and creating a unique culture that holds all together by increasing
interaction across people, more investment in training and perspective building. This is a journey of CVC of transformation, government services do not have the
privilege to have an HR department, that way PSU have a great opportunity, as this is the role that HR can play in PSU Transformation. Impacting people, beyond the
workplace, to a better citizen and ultimately a better society and better world.

The inaugural concluded with the winners of the Case Study Contest: Bharat Cooking Cold Limited for HR Transformation, BHEL for their Learning tree identi cation of
training needs via a mobile app, HEC for their program to building e ectiveness in union resolution.

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Ways to keep your employees stress free at work

Organisations are realizing that employees are not replaceable property but they are resources which need to be valued

Ways to keep your employees stress free at work

A highly competitive workspace, hovering deadlines and a pressure-cooker like environment are realities of our time. Our highly connected lifestyles have magni ed
work stress with long working hours, disturbed sleeping patterns, sedentary lives and lack of relaxation. Resultantly, most working professionals today are stressed and
su er from symptoms such as backache, neck pain, headaches etc. The resultant stress not only causes chronic diseases like hypertension, it also becomes a reason
for declining productivity, and attrition rates in organizations. Additionally, organizations also su er from loss of millions of working days due to stress-related
illnesses.

While for a long time, there was no concern o ered by HR managers about this aspect of employee wellness, today things are changing. More and more organizations
today are realizing that employees are not replaceable property but human resource that needs to be valued. Therefore, in the recent times, e orts are being made by
corporate houses to help employees achieve wellness, health and reduce stress. Setting up of gyms inside o ce campus, o cial tours, yoga classes and socially
relevant activities are some ways organizations are improving their employee engagement and wellness.

At Koenig we o er regular everyday yoga classes to begin the day at workplace, and our employees tell us that this makes a sea of a di erence in their overall physical
and mental well-being.

Here are some e ective methods that workplaces can adopt:

Reflexology 

Re exology is a non-intrusive treatment to wash away the stress from the body. In the procedure, e ective pressure is applied to the re ex points in hands, feet and
out ears by professional re exologists. The points when carefully stimulated further correspond to di erent parts of the body, and o er relief. The process does not
require much space and can be performed in-house. Primarily, all that this treatment needs is a special chair. Additionally, a proper re exology session needs 30-45
minutes. A once in a month session with a re exologist can rejuvenate your employees and can minimize their mental and physical stress.

As a recreational activity in o ce, it can help reduce stress and provide adequate rest amidst the stressful working condition. The treatment further ensures better
sleeping patterns and boost of energy that helps the employees to remain better focused and productive at work.

Re exology

Yoga

Across the world, people practicing yoga have discovered various psychological and physical bene ts including improved strength, exibility and general well-being,
apart from relief from stress, anxiety and depression. Yoga is a form of meditation and exercise practice that synchronizes the body, mind and soul. Thus, arranging
yoga sessions once or twice a week can help the employees de-stress, calm their pressures, and burden.

Conducting a yoga session requires a hall or a large room where at least a section of employees can be accommodated together. Your conference room or board room
can be used once a week for this purpose. Yoga is known to combat fatigue, generate energy that further leads to increased productivity and morale, and reduces sick
days and stress.

Yoga

Work out sessions

Many organizations worldwide and even in India have incorporated a gym area with state-of-the-art equipment within the o ce premise. While the long o ce hours
o er a sedentary lifestyle to the employees, a gym in the premise can help them stretch out to attain tness. Due to spending most their daily hours at o ce, many
people tend to skip physical exercises. This exposes them to the risk of developing lifestyle diseases such as Obesity, Hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.
Therefore, inculcating wellness programs would help the employees improve their health and remain stress free, as experts believe that 30 minutes of workout a day
not combats stress but also helps with clarity of mind.

Work out

Off-site gathering

Often, hectic schedules distance employees from their personal lives and leisure activities. Additionally, the competitive work environment creates ssures among the
employees. Therefore, arranging occasional o -site gatherings can help employees mingle with each other and also help them de-stress themselves by talking fun and
not work. A short trek, a visit to a historical monument or an evening at a cultural program can work wonders to the mental state of stressed-out employees.

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