In an e-mail interview with The New Manager, Ahuja discusses current global trends in strategic HR , besides other issues. Edited excerpts from the interview:

Globally, what are the important strategic HR issues being discussed?

First, I must indicate that my primary expertise lies more in the area of strategy rather than HR per se, so clearly my identification of issues will be on the “strategic” side. That said, my interaction with HR professi onals at all levels, but especially at the senior-most levels, suggests some clear trends.

Perhaps, in a global setting, one of the clearest trends is the increasing recognition of the role of HR in formulating and executing business strategy. A common question that I hear from top HR managers is: “I have a seat at the big table (where the major decisions get made), how can I maximise my added value to the company in this setting?” Alternately, I am often asked: “To be an effective strategic partner to my businesses, what do I need to know about strategy formulation and execution?” Clearly, in such roles, understanding how strategy is formulated and the links between strategy and the role of human resources in its execution are matters of prime interest. Thus, the first trend is the felt need by HR people to develop their business strategy expertise. Indeed, SHRM’s decision to develop the SHRM Academy classes and to give courses like Building Business Strategy top billing in their offerings is a clear reflection of this market trend.

The second key trend has been driven by another change in the business environment — the tremendous upsurge in M&A activity. The last few years have been some of the busiest globally in terms of merger activity. One of the most important assets acquired in a merger is people. Yet, commonly, many firms bring in their HR people into the merger activity only during the integration phase. Yet, as experts will tell you, that is usually too late. Companies that have built successful merger strategies have HR involved in target selection itself. One of the major problems in merger integration is cultural clash and early HR involvement can often mean either a rejection of poor targets or better preparation for the merger. Yet, for HR people to be partners in target selection, they need to be conversant with the major strategic issues raised by mergers. A third common discussion is about the implications of outsourcing for strategic HR. Clearly, with a new division of labour across firms, the role of strategic HR is in flux in many organisations. Making sense of how the organisation is to retain its HR edge, even when the work is being done across geographies and organisations, is another topic of discussion.

The Indian workplace is changing rather quickly. Against this background, what are the key strategic HR-related issues for India?

Interestingly, the Indian economic miracle is, in large part, an HR story. Indeed, the success of Indian companies is not based on superior access to raw materials or technology or patents, but fundamentally upon human skills. However, this skill-based competitive advantage faces a challenge on multiple dimensions.

Thus, in addition to the global strategic HR issues that I raised above, which are also relevant to Indian companies, Indian companies face an additional set of concerns. First, there is the issue of hiring and retention and then there are issues of upgradation of the skill-set through training and development in the face of high attrition. Of course, note that these are not separate challenges. Being known as an employer that develops its people and provides growth opportunities is an integral part of better retention.

HR is increasingly being viewed as a ‘strategic partner’ and a core business function. Your comments.

This is indeed very consistent with global practice. If you recognise that people are a source of competitive advantage, it is natural to view HR as a strategic partner. Eventually, all strategies have to be executed by people. If employees do not understand the basis of a firm’s competitive advantage and strategy, its execution is unlikely.

How does the HR function in India compare with that globally?

I am not sure that a blanket generalisation can be made in this context. In general, I see them facing similar challenges and see them evolving in similar ways. The recognition of HR as a strategic partner and its increasing role in strategy formulation and execution are common to both groups and I would expect that in India too.

With the changing nature of the organisational environment, there is a feeling that the HR function is losing the ‘personal touch’. Your comments.

As firms grow larger and more professional, some degree of formalisation must occur. However, size and formalisation bring other benefits. Specifically, larger, more structured and formal organisations, have the scale and the will to build the skill-set of their employees and provide higher levels of training and professional development.

More Stories on : Management | Interview | Human Resources

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page