The Hindu Business Line : The importance of being in HR

With just one swipe of Budget 2005, the Finance Minister has made life difficult for HR professionals. The Fringe Benefit Tax threatens to nullify all the creativity and innovation displayed by the HR fraternity over the last 10 years to offer improved benefits to employees. It's time for the profession to rework its strategies.

In the 1960s and 1970s, creativity, ingenuity, innovation and resourcefulness were terms that were not normally associated with the HR fraternity. Gerald G. D'Souza, Senior Vice-President HR, The UB Group, says that it's only in the last 10 years that HR has come into its own. "Hardcore organisation development, organisational behaviour and training have become centre-stage."

It's also true that HR as we know it today dominates IT and other knowledge-based industries. "Earlier what we called 'welfare activities' are now being championed by HR," says D'Souza, adding, "and activities that are part of normal work are called HR interventions. This is how jargon gets built up."

Rahul Varma of Accenture says that the HR department, over the years, has become more strategic to an organisation's success. High-performing companies focus on building human capital, that comprises core HR processes such as recruiting, career development and competency management, as well as broader issues such as workplace design, learning and training, and knowledge management.

"Our research has shown that there is a strong link between the maturity of an organisation's human capital processes and its overall financial performance. Effective human capital management practices do matter," he adds.

Picture by A. Roy Chowdhury

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