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The Human Factor: Prioritizing People in HR Management

Recognizing Human Capital as the Cornerstone In the intricate machinery of modern business, one factor stands out as both the cornerstone and the driving force: people. Behind every strategy, every innovation, and every success story, lies the pivotal role of human capital. Recognizing this, the field of Human Resources (HR) management has evolved from a primarily administrative function to a strategic partner in organizational growth. At its core, the human factor emphasizes the importance of prioritizing people-centric approaches in HR management. Embracing a Human-Centric Approach In today’s dynamic and rapidly changing workplace landscape, businesses are realizing that their most valuable asset is their workforce. Companies that embrace a human-centric approach to HR management understand that nurturing, empowering, and engaging employees is not just a moral imperative but also a strategic advantage. By prioritizing the human factor, organizations can unlock the full potential of their workforce and drive sustainable success. Fostering a Culture of Trust and Inclusion One of the fundamental aspects of prioritizing people in HR management is creating a culture of trust, transparency, and inclusivity. Employees thrive in environments where they feel valued, respected, and empowered to voice their opinions. HR initiatives such as open-door policies, regular feedback mechanisms, and diversity and inclusion programs foster a sense of belonging and enable individuals to contribute their best work. Investing in Employee Development and Well-being Furthermore, investing in employee development and well-being is paramount in prioritizing the human factor. Providing opportunities for learning and growth not only enhances individual skills and competencies but also cultivates a culture of continuous improvement. Moreover, promoting work-life balance, mental health support, and wellness initiatives demonstrates a genuine commitment to the holistic well-being of employees, leading to higher morale, productivity, and retention rates. Personalizing Talent Management Strategies Another critical aspect of prioritizing people in HR management is adopting a personalized approach to talent management. Recognizing that each employee is unique with distinct strengths, aspirations, and career paths, HR professionals must tailor their strategies to meet individual needs. This involves implementing flexible work arrangements, offering personalized learning and development opportunities, and providing avenues for career advancement and skill diversification. Leveraging Technology for Enhanced HR Practices Moreover, leveraging technology and data-driven insights can enhance HR practices by enabling more informed decision-making and predictive analytics. From recruitment and onboarding to performance management and succession planning, technology can streamline processes, reduce bias, and optimize resource allocation, ultimately enhancing the employee experience and driving business outcomes. In conclusion, prioritizing the human factor in HR management is not merely a moral imperative but a strategic imperative in today’s competitive business landscape. By placing people at the forefront of organizational strategies and practices, businesses can unleash the full potential of their workforce, drive innovation, and achieve sustainable growth. In doing so, they not only foster a culture of engagement, collaboration, and excellence but also create a workplace where people feel valued, inspired, and empowered to thrive. Curious to see how prioritizing people can transform your HR management? Reach out to us now to learn more about our tailored solutions and take your organization to new heights.

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The complexity of collaboration!

In our previous blog “Collaboration.. a tool to achieve aspirations” we have discussed about the importance of collaboration and its definition in the view of an individual. But what makes collaboration complex? What can organizations and leaders do to instill collaboration? Lets explore the complexity of collaboration! What makes it so complex? The complexity lies in the fact that individuals who do not know each other and who have their personal goals , come together to perform a common business in an organization. The extent of diversity in their skills, experiences, styles of working and the likely conflict each other’s individual goals makes collaboration tough to achieve and sustain. If you look at the scenario closely, the business environment is more prone to break collaboration than to induce it. Thus we have a scenario here where business needs collaboration to deliver customer service and individuals bring their diverse personal goals. What can organizations and leaders do? Since collaboration is a business necessity, organizations need to take measures to instill collaboration despite all the diverse individual needs. Some of the approaches that leaders in organizations adopt are: 1. Conducting team building events: This is the most widely used method, which may have instant impact but may not sustain. 2. Creating cross-functional groups: This is a powerful approach to bring together diverse people who otherwise may not come together to collaborate. 3. Team rewards: When designed well, team rewards create a ‘reason’ for individuals collaborate because they see that by winning together, the gain is for each individual as well. Thus reward binds the team together! 4. Job rotation: By moving people across functions, organizations create greater sensitivity and respect for each other. When I do not know what your job is, I may erroneously tend to overestimate what I do. Similarly, I underestimate what others do. Through job rotations, we can break this perception. 5. Knowledge sharing sessions: A quicker method to create mutual understanding is a structured knowledge-sharing session. Colleagues and team members can share knowledge about their job with others. To deal with the complexity of collaboration, leaders play a very significant role. Without any external stimuli from leaders and organizational systems it is far too hard to expect individuals to collaborate! Excerpts from the article – Complexity of collaborationBy: Dr.Raj, Published in HR Mirror, Hans India.Follow Dr.Raj on Twitter @drraj29 

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Top 6 characteristics that bind a team together

From our previous discussions, we understand that, when teams fail to become high performing teams, the work environment will be vitiated, focus will be narrowed to one’s own work irrespective of whether the end goal is achieved or not. Members tend to disown accountability and may resort to blame game, throwing allegations at each other. every time a situation like this arises it is common for the team members to look at the leader to fix the situation. Is it only the leader’s responsibility to keep the whole team together? Do teams have no owns towards the team performance? To answer these questions, let us see how each member of the team can make a meaningful contribution for the team to become high performing team. Here are the top 6 characteristics that bind a team together. Unified goal: It is said that a commonly shared goal will act as a binding force and knits the members together. Now, who should spell out the unified goal? Is the onus on the leader alone? Here while the leader needs to help the team understand the overall goals of the organization, each member can have a contributory role in clearly articulating the common goal. Clarity of roles and responsibilities: Here the onus is equally shared between the leader and the member; it is the leader who should fundamentally clarify while the team member should also make necessary efforts to seek clarity. Passively waiting for the leader to communicate is not going to help the team member. Concern for the end goal: Here the onus is greatly on the team member, it is not sufficient to say that “I have done my job” unless the end goal is achieved successfully. Team member needs to perform the specifically assigned responsibility while keeping an eye on how it is going to contribute to the bigger goal. Customer centricity: Once again, each team member needs to make efforts to understand who the end customer and who the immediate customer is. For example, for a procurement executive, production department may be the immediate customer; however, the procurement executive will be able to contribute to high performance of the team if he/she is equally concerned about the end consumer who may not be directly visible. Relationships: It is common sense, though difficult to measure in quantitative terms, the negative impact of poor relationships among the team members. Lack of positive relationships slows down the business process, hinders information sharing and creates unhealthy organizational dynamics. And these go completely against the spirit of high performance. Therefore, team members need to learn to build informal relationships with peers proactively which will create a healthy work environment and contribute to high performance. Communication: This is almost an extension of earlier point; if there are healthy relationships, there will be seamless communication and better knowledge sharing and alignment among the team members. Each member can take initiative on fostering transparent communication rather than restricting oneself to transaction nature of communication. Responsible and professional team members need to therefore understand that they have a very significant role in creating a team culture and in building a high performing team. While one cannot undermine the role of a leader, one should not trivialize the onus that lies on every team member. One must realize that self-management is more sustainable than relying on one single leader. The above characteristics effectively bind a team together. The message to each team member – irrespective of level in the hierarchy is: “You will be the architect in co-creating a high performing team which makes it easy for you to professionally excel and contribute to higher business performance.”  This article was published in HR MirrorHans IndiaFollow Dr.Raj on Twitter @drraj29

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Leadership Effectiveness – Quality of Leader-Follower Relationship

It is always known that the leader’s competence has a bearing on the leadership effectiveness in delivering business results. The focus, drive and ability of the leader have a bearing on the overall result.However, at a deeper level, it is interesting to note the impact that a follower can have on a leader’s effectiveness. Yes, follower’s investment in to the relationship with the leader is crucial foundation for leadership effectiveness. What i mean to say is that leader follower relationship is important for leadership to be effective. Imagine a relationship between the leader and follower flowing smoothly; it will facilitate more trusting interactions, which will speed up the business functioning. On the contrary, if there is a rift or complexity in the relationship, then energy will be focused more on maintaining the relationship than on smooth and speedy performance. Who should take the onus in building the leader-follower relationship?  The answer is an obvious one: BOTH.  At the beginning of an association, leader can help the follower in understanding the expected behavior. Follower then have to make efforts to see how many of those expectations can be met. By placing right efforts, the follower is gaining the trust of the leader. The relationship will then stabilize; the follower will experience greater freedom and empowerment (while of course, some followers may fall out with the leader). The relationship will mature over a period; it will result in greater commitment, growth and mutual respect & concern. The whole spirit will be one of ‘winning together’!  Article By: Dr. Raj;  CEO, HR Footprints Management Services Pvt. Ltd.  Follow Dr. Raj on Twitter @drraj29

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How HR is using Social Media

“If you are a potential candidate seeking employment, your profile may be verified on the social media. HR people can check your online activity and attempt to understand your personality.” In the last post we discussed on how businesses use Social Media! Moving forward, let’s find out how HR folks are using it and what is in it for you!   How are HR folks using the Social Media? HR folks are not far behind in using social mediums. In some specific areas, we find HR department heavily using it. For recruitment: I would rate hiring as the top most use of social media for the HR professionals. You open LinkedIn; you will be inundated with job postings. Recruiters find these mediums as a rich source to spot potential employees. They may be posting the openings and invite the interested candidates; or they may proactively track sometalented professionals and engage in headhunting. For profile verification or reference check: If you are a potential candidate seeking employment, beware; your social profile may be verified. They can check your online activity and attempt to understand your personality. In addition, the recruiters may also reach out to some of your friends in your social media groups to carry out a reference check. Employer Branding: In these times where talented people are in great demand, organizations need to build their brand among the potential candidates. Social mediums are a powerful channel to share about company culture, project their leaders, and create interest for potential employment. For this reason, you find the photos, events and updates being posted on many company social media pages. What is in it for you? When you understand how organisations and HR departments use social media, it clearly offers some leads for you to use it smartly! More than a casual presence on the several available mediums and platforms, if you can use it in a more planned way, there are benefits to reap. In addition, one needs to exercise some caution to prevent negative online reputation. Watch out this space for more personal tips on appropriate use of social media! This article was published in:  HR Mirror, Hans India Follow us on Twitter @hrfootprints 

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How did the HR function evolve?

In an earlier article “What are the Career options in HR?” (Posted on December 11, 2013), we discussed on the fundamental nature of the HR function. We also addressed some important questions on the importance of the HR function as a support to business, pay and growth in HR careers. If the HR function is indeed looking attractive, what should an aspiring candidate do to prepare for a career in HR? A good understanding of the evolution and changing nature of the HR department is an apt starting point and that is the focus of this article! Core Business Processes:  Any business has to have some product or service to offer and address a customer need. To deliver what the customer wants, one needs to have a facility to make the product (manufacturing), a channel to tell and sell to the potential customer (marketing/sales) and a process of managing the cash flows (finance). This is a very rudimentary view of core business process. With the increased complexity and to compete with the other players, organisations do add several functions like IT, supply chain, research and so on. Please note that we have not included HR function yet!  How did the need for HR emerge? It is common sense to understand that all these departments perform their roles only through people and those people do have some needs. That is where the need for some essential services of administration and employee welfare started. Organisations felt that there must be some department that takes care of the work place administration like seating, transport, food and so on. In addition, there is a need for someone to attend to the personal aspects of the employee or their families. It includes essential services like salaries, health care, insurance, loans/advances, provident fund and so on. On the other hand, government agencies wanted to ensure that the organisations comply with certain norms and rules to prevent any exploitation of those people who work for the organisations. It called for someone to be responsible for all compliances. To address all these needs of the employees, organisations felt the need for a separate department. Consequently, the personnel and administration (P&A) department came into existence. P&A department essentially took care of facility administration, employee services and statutory compliance. Anyone who is good in excellent coordination, liaison, service orientation, interpersonal skills and with good understanding of labour laws fit this role. Of course, as one grows in these areas and becomes a manager of a team, other team management skills are also called for. By the way, in some places, the same P&A function is renamed as HR department (while the true meaning of HR function includes several other aspects beyond P&A).  What is the present status? From the way the need emerged, it is an essential function and if we do not cater to any of these requirements, there is bound to be employee dissatisfaction and possibility of non-compliance to the laws of the land. Therefore, in most of the companies of decent size, these functions are usually performed at the required level. At the same time, the present outlook of the organisations is that P&A is necessary as an essential service, but not good enough to make a huge difference to the business. Consequently, companies do not want to spend too much of money on these functions. As the recent trends are emerging , organisations may opt for outsourcing. The expected benefit of outsourcing is greater efficiency, lower costs and better compliance. In light of these changes, aspiring candidates can opt for a job in P&A function of an organisation or in a company that offers outsourced services. A graduation with a diploma in labour laws and basic computer skills is essential for a career in these areas.However, due to the outlook of the organisations towards this function, salaries are usually not very high. Also, it may not offer too much scope for innovation except some ideas for process optimization. As the demands from employees kept increasing, organizations’ expectations kept changing from the P&A department, hitherto performing essential functions! That led to new age HR function! More on that next week! This article was published in:  HR Mirror Hans India Follow us on Twitter @hrfootprints                       Follow Dr. Raj on Twitter @drraj29

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