Udyam 2012: HR Strategies and Leadership

Day 2 started with the thought provoking insights of Prof. T.V Rao on Human Resource Development (HRD). Listening about “Emerging Challenges for the HR Leaders in the globalized corporate landscape” from the father of HRD in India was as mesmerizing for students of IIM Lucknow as it was for student participants from other B Schools, the esteemed Professors of IIM Lucknow, and Industry executives who took part in Udyam 2012. Prof. T.V Rao’s each word of wisdom on the subject illuminated the audience in understanding the roots of the actual problems in the current corporate landscape. Dr. Rao concluded his speech by impressing upon the importance of high value culture for the success of modern organizations and the need to increase the occurrence of two way communication between organizations and employees.

The second debate on Day 2 of Udyam 2012 was focused on “Building leadership and Management Excellence – Spotting young Leaders”. The debate diversely captured the views of the industry stalwarts like Mr. Ashish Kumar Chawla, Country HR Director, ST Microelectronics, Ms. Kavita Rao, HR - Head, Unisys,Ms. Malvika Verma, Sr. VP HR, Max Healthcare,  and Mr. Ashok Bhat, Director of MindShare HR Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.  



Mr. Chawla in his introduction speech stated that the Job of HRD department is to make the employees feel motivated. HRD can’t be separated from the rest of organization as it is one department through which all information or transactions pass within an organization. Ms. Kavita engaged the audience by elaborating on Whys, Whats and Hows of leadership. She explained why an organization does needs a leader and what traits separate a leader from a manager. A leader is visionary and innovative and one who leads his organization to success.

Ms. Malvika Verma, aptly used an anecdote to the need for right recruitment for right position using right hiring policies. She stressed that today’s organizations face two major challenges in terms of hiring right employees and retaining the star performers. Mr. Ashok Bhat emphasized that the role of HRD practices has now more or less settled in the current organizational landscape. We don’t really need an HRD department as HRD practices have become routine for most organizations.

Overall in the end of the debate the respected speakers agreed that the organizations need to understand the need to enhance the leadership quality. It is important to have lateral mobility within organizations as it motivates achievers to perform better to grab underlying opportunities.

The next session was “Rethinking HR Strategy: Impact of social media” by Mr. Vivek Tripathi, Chief Human Resources Officer, Lava International Limited. Mr. Vivek apprised the audience of the challenges faced by employees, recruiters and companies due to the impact of social media. Intricacies of HR strategies entwined with social media evoked good interest among the audience.



Jack Welch once noted – “Globalization has changed us into a company that searches the world, not just to sell or to source, but to find intellectual capital - the world's best talents and greatest ideas.”

In the afternoon session, we had an interesting discussion on "HR challenges due to globalisation of the work force".

The panelists for the discussion were:
Mr. Manmohan Bhutani, VP - People and Operations, Fiserv Global services
Mr. Prashant Bhatnagar, Director- Hiring and Staffing, SapientNitro India
Mr. G V P Rajan, Director, Vardhnam Consulting
The panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Abad Ahmad, Chairman, National Committee at Aga Khan Foundation



The panel felt that the key challenges can be overcome mainly by dealing with ‘Intercultural sensitivities’ adeptly and handling situations with ‘Contextual Awareness’. Clear explicit communication is most important to reach a common understanding. Mr. Bhutani noted that sometimes personal meetings are very essential to experience and understand culture and sensitivities of other nationalities/diverse backgrounds. Mr. Bhatnagar was of the opinion that we should be ‘global’ while being ‘local’. Values may be global but contexts should be local, he opined. He also said that organisation should move towards centers with no center of gravity – meaning an organisation which is completely decentralised in taking decisions with no single center of authority. Mr. G V P Rajan expressed that HR managers have to define global career paths and facilitate aspatial careerists. He also stressed on the need to have appropriate compensation plans and understanding of the local laws while framing local policies for the organisations in various countries.

With this, Udyam 2012 has concluded and we are satisfied with the exposure to various facets of human resources and current challenges. The event has provided excellent food for thought and equipped us with knowledge passed on to us by the eminent industry practitioners that will hold us in good stead in the coming years.

- Shekhar Kumar, Karthik Bharadwaja