Awakening the Next Generation HR

I have been giving a thought on “the quotient” that an HR Professional must have in order to play a pivotal role in business of a company. Gone are those days when your Passion for your people used to be sufficient to create an impact in the organization. Today, if you want to be a real differentiator then you need to be equally passionate about the business of your company.

Moreover, I personally believe that it’s very important to get business into HR and HR into business. This thought has put me on a crossroad where I want to discuss and explore more on the role of the next generation HR. A role that will transform the thinking and actions of an HR , a role that will provide a deeper and more mature understanding of HR as a field and HR as a key element of an organization where the business is at the focal point and employees are considered as the prime assets.

I perceive “Next generation HR” to have a deeper understanding of both business and people. They should be well equipped with business as well as people skills and should be able to deploy the knowledge that they have gained in a commercial setup. This whole approach of having next generation HRs also calls for “Next generation managers”. These line managers will be skilled with the necessary HR skills apart from general management skills and then they will be able to run more engaged and productive teams. Here I would like to quote an example of a team where acknowledgement is a problem within team, so can HR create a difference in this case? Oh if that’s not rhetorical for you, then let me tell you if the manager of that team simply practice of acknowledging the efforts of the team members regularly and be empathetic towards his team members, the scenario will change. HR department creating R&R programs/ complex interventions might not create much difference in a situation like this, while a simple pat on the back by the manager might do the trick.  The whole question is to bring in a culture of positivity and healthy interpersonal relationships among team members and managers. Trust me “Connectedness” is important!

The “Next generation HR” needs to enable the managers with all necessary people skills because these skill sets will now be the need of the hour to deal with a workforce that majorly comprises of GENY. A workforce that will then have a rebounding capability when it comes to facing the tough times and market dynamics brazenly. This next generation HR will have to emphasize on building teams in an organization where they have a sound manager who is business focused and takes his team along to create value and advantage.

It is time when we expound on the need for the HR fraternity to shift its focus and move from the traditional HR role to a more advanced role. I feel the next Gen HR will have to play both the roles that is of an Employee Buddy and Business Champ equally.

Few questions that the current HR practitioners need to ask themselves are:

1.      What contributes to a sustainable performance in the organization?

2.      Are the HR interventions& policies aligned with the company’s vision and mission?

3.      Are the HR interventions contributing to the ROI of the company?

4.      And last but not the least is the HR Dept able to maintain the equilibrium between employees & management?

You will have to ponder on such questions that will actually make you think once again whether you are living the role that you have been given as an HR. I am going to throw some light on the very basic skills that our next generation HRs should have and should actually practice in order to be more effective in their roles:

1.    Be careful of the “waiting game”:  The strategies of delay do not work when it is about engagement, motivation, morale and Passion of an employee. The sooner it is dealt the better it is for both the employees and the management. I would like to give a real time example of a friend who used to be a very very passionate employee and has now turned to a disengaged, “just working for the heck of it” type of a guy. This is not because he lacked interest but the management slept over the very problem of him wanting a challenging, a transforming and a creative profile. Just because of the fact that the employee was very committed and passionate about working the management overburdened that person with loads of work without looking for a root cause of the concern he had. This not only took away from him the interest and passion that he had but also made him feel sick in his current profile. Such an employee even if staying with the organization does not engage well and will create the least of prospects. This process can also have a very bad impact on the professional since he/ she has lost that vigor which has been sapped for nothing but mere transactions. The example given above is fallout of the situation wherein the management took the employee for granted and could not respond to his career aspiration and true calling. This “waiting game” saps employee’s energy. So be aware!

2.  Responsiveness: How responsive an HR is also plays a very crucial role Employee Lifecycle. If the HR sit on the employee query no matter how trivial it might be then the consequences can be heavy. It can be very frustrating & demotivating for the employee who expects the HR to help them.eg. HRs not responding to general queries of the employees even after several reminders. So, how responsive are you as an HR? How sensitive are you? These are some of the questions you need to ask. Believe me friends the whole game starts with caring for your employees, being responsive and responsible are the two keys to be that next generation HR to whom the employees look forward to.

3.   Stop Policing  & Be Approachable:  Being an HR requires to be humane and approachable , when I say approachable, I do not mean that one should entertain everything that the employees asks for, but to be fair and address the concerns which can be as soon as possible. The GEN- Y workforce needs to gel and share a lot with their next generation HRs and hence you need to break the shackles of being in your own castle. The role of an HR can be crucial for the business when you start giving an experience to the employee which he / she will get nowhere else, this can result in increased motivation, engagement, commitment in an employee for its company. Hence affecting the employee productivity positively.  

4.   The unconventional yet crucial trait- Being “Compassionate”- I have been a firm believer of Passion always but if you are a next generation HR Leader, then you got to be compassionate too. The element of compassion is an inherent trait required in an HR, without which the flavor of HR partner roles goes off.  The Human Touch is very necessary so another question that arises it “How humane are HR professionals today?”

I know that at this point your mind is stormed with various thoughts and you are actually visualizing all the situations that you have been, tackling problems as an HR, you might as well feel “What bullshit it is, I know my job and nobody dare tell me how to do it”. But you need to question yourself every time, are you practicing the right approach, and are you actually moving towards being that “Next generation HR”? Are you giving the employee an experience that amplify its happiness and development quotient and at the same time leading your company business grow multifold?

It all comes to valuing your ROLE … it’s a role that requires tremendous seriousness and sensitivity. Because there are thousands of eyes who are watching you every time every moment… because YOU are the next generation HR!

Smiles

Ritu