THE HR PUZZLE:EMPLOYABILITY
India today is buzzing and teeming with hitherto unheard of talentand industry.We boast of superior quality tech grads,management grads and professionals.But incresaingly this is leading to what I'd like to term as India's HR puzzle.
Unlike the West,where a fitment policy is adopted by organisations in letter and spirit while recruiting candidates,here the mantra is 'Buy cheap and best'.Managements in India are yet to wake up to the hard reality that Indians are incresaingly feeling stressed out and a deeply disgruntled.And the prime reason for this is the mismatch between the aptitude and the kind of job a person undertakes.This is essentially the root of the problem.And the reason for this is not far to seek...
This is why...The staffing procedure in India is mostly a negotiation game,the relative stakes being high for either parties: the employer and the potential employee.Managements in India traditionally lay emphasis on the academic credentials a person carries and then reckon the value that can be placed on the same. This then follows a negotiated settlement process whereby a final compensation package is arrived at.In the process, either party tries to capitalise on the relative insecurities that confront them;viz. the dire need for money from a job for the Potential Employee and time for the Employer! What's the end result of this game? Its a Lose-Lose situation for both.Why? Becoz the employee here seeks an entry that would enable him to see money in the future by virtue of the current employment and the Employer feels that the employee is a good buy at current levels.You see,both parties are playing a game of deception and the loser is the Organisation!
This predicament is surfacing as a major issue today,given that IT sector is hotting up and attrition rates have hit alarming highs! Even the non-IT space is losing quality performers in this race.Because all the employee class guys seeek to cash in on the Employment boom that the country's witessing.And organisations are increasingly realising that the learning/training costs could burn a big hole in their budgets.This is only to be naturally expected. So what should Organisations do to curtail this menace? This is the HR puzzle that India,and probably a lot of the capitalist / semi-capitalist economies face.
It is an accepted fact that talent follows money.And since money is the primary driver for these job hoppers,it is important to understand the needs of the employees and heed their aspirations.A right fitment policy is essential to induce a substitute for money in the form of passion as a driver /motivating factor.Some insights provided by Maslow's theory are useful.But I personally feel that instead of compartmentalising the traits of people into varied tiers,Organisations should undertake a sustained campaign to induce a passion for work and performance right from the level of the floor cleaner to the CEO!That would be my ideal organisation.The HR puzzle requires a great effort on the part of the organisations to break from the mould and reinvent themselves.This would call for a paradigm shift.
And how do we do that? First,organisations should be willing to shell out the extra buck when initially recruiting freshsers.It shows that you value someone and not price him.Secondly, emphasis should be on the employability of the prospect on hand,rather than academic credentials.One would do well to appreciate the fact that people with passion deliver better than people with I.Q. alone.Thirdly,organisations need to wake up to the fact that cutting flab on one end means overloading on the other,and accordingly need to take the employees into confidence when such exercises are undertaken.Typically the attrition rates shoot up when an Organisation undertakes a restructuring exercise to cut the extra flab,in the process loosing on the essential flab too!Fourth,a realistic and periodic Employee satisafaction survery needs to be undertaken to ensure that it serves as a pulse check and a measure of potential disasters.This,one must note, should be undertaken in both letter and spirit! Fifth, and this is important,Organisations need to understand clearly the aspirations of the employee.This is not as simple as it may seem.It is a complex process starting from the very point of Interview of the prospect on hand to the time he/she moves out of the organisation(ideally on superannuation).The prospect should be tested for the passion and aptitude for the job and promised a career growth in the organisation.On a regluar basis, the organisation should endeavour to ensure that the employee's aspiration goals are met. Sixth,and this is something that is ultra-vires the organisation, the education system in India needs to be revamped to ensure that we have a really talented pool of professionals and not grads and degree holders by the dozen.This means an emphasis needs to be on the quality of education that is imparted at all levels rather than the volume/quantitative achievements professed by the Govt. bodies.Now how do we do that is another puzzle which needs to be solved!
Unlike the West,where a fitment policy is adopted by organisations in letter and spirit while recruiting candidates,here the mantra is 'Buy cheap and best'.Managements in India are yet to wake up to the hard reality that Indians are incresaingly feeling stressed out and a deeply disgruntled.And the prime reason for this is the mismatch between the aptitude and the kind of job a person undertakes.This is essentially the root of the problem.And the reason for this is not far to seek...
This is why...The staffing procedure in India is mostly a negotiation game,the relative stakes being high for either parties: the employer and the potential employee.Managements in India traditionally lay emphasis on the academic credentials a person carries and then reckon the value that can be placed on the same. This then follows a negotiated settlement process whereby a final compensation package is arrived at.In the process, either party tries to capitalise on the relative insecurities that confront them;viz. the dire need for money from a job for the Potential Employee and time for the Employer! What's the end result of this game? Its a Lose-Lose situation for both.Why? Becoz the employee here seeks an entry that would enable him to see money in the future by virtue of the current employment and the Employer feels that the employee is a good buy at current levels.You see,both parties are playing a game of deception and the loser is the Organisation!
This predicament is surfacing as a major issue today,given that IT sector is hotting up and attrition rates have hit alarming highs! Even the non-IT space is losing quality performers in this race.Because all the employee class guys seeek to cash in on the Employment boom that the country's witessing.And organisations are increasingly realising that the learning/training costs could burn a big hole in their budgets.This is only to be naturally expected. So what should Organisations do to curtail this menace? This is the HR puzzle that India,and probably a lot of the capitalist / semi-capitalist economies face.
It is an accepted fact that talent follows money.And since money is the primary driver for these job hoppers,it is important to understand the needs of the employees and heed their aspirations.A right fitment policy is essential to induce a substitute for money in the form of passion as a driver /motivating factor.Some insights provided by Maslow's theory are useful.But I personally feel that instead of compartmentalising the traits of people into varied tiers,Organisations should undertake a sustained campaign to induce a passion for work and performance right from the level of the floor cleaner to the CEO!That would be my ideal organisation.The HR puzzle requires a great effort on the part of the organisations to break from the mould and reinvent themselves.This would call for a paradigm shift.
And how do we do that? First,organisations should be willing to shell out the extra buck when initially recruiting freshsers.It shows that you value someone and not price him.Secondly, emphasis should be on the employability of the prospect on hand,rather than academic credentials.One would do well to appreciate the fact that people with passion deliver better than people with I.Q. alone.Thirdly,organisations need to wake up to the fact that cutting flab on one end means overloading on the other,and accordingly need to take the employees into confidence when such exercises are undertaken.Typically the attrition rates shoot up when an Organisation undertakes a restructuring exercise to cut the extra flab,in the process loosing on the essential flab too!Fourth,a realistic and periodic Employee satisafaction survery needs to be undertaken to ensure that it serves as a pulse check and a measure of potential disasters.This,one must note, should be undertaken in both letter and spirit! Fifth, and this is important,Organisations need to understand clearly the aspirations of the employee.This is not as simple as it may seem.It is a complex process starting from the very point of Interview of the prospect on hand to the time he/she moves out of the organisation(ideally on superannuation).The prospect should be tested for the passion and aptitude for the job and promised a career growth in the organisation.On a regluar basis, the organisation should endeavour to ensure that the employee's aspiration goals are met. Sixth,and this is something that is ultra-vires the organisation, the education system in India needs to be revamped to ensure that we have a really talented pool of professionals and not grads and degree holders by the dozen.This means an emphasis needs to be on the quality of education that is imparted at all levels rather than the volume/quantitative achievements professed by the Govt. bodies.Now how do we do that is another puzzle which needs to be solved!
posted by vallabha at 9:45 PM
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