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H R BULLETIN VOLUME 60
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HUMANE-R|VOLUME60
HR BULLETIN
Designing future work - Adopting Agile for HR What does agile mean in HR and how to practice agility in HR function? The evolution of the software industry from waterfall model to agile now is now being adopted in other business functions as well. The word ‘agile’ isn't just used for tech anymore; it is growing as a philosophy sweeping other functions including Human Resources in many industries globally. Leaders in HR are hoping to design future work by adopting agile as a philosophy, a culture and a set of management practices to transform how organizations plan to acquire, manage and develop their human assets. With the future of work bringing more unpredictability, it is clear that people practices cannot be inflexible. Hence, redesigning future work by adopting the agile methodologies in many ways will become the base to take HR practices to the next higher level. In a fireside chat at People Matters TechHR 2021, Sanjeev Sahgal - Head HR Strategy and Agile HR at The World Bank and Raj Raghavan, Senior Vice President & Head of Human Resources at Indigo shed light on the same.
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So, what does agile mean for the HR function? With complex people management challenges like developing future leaders for roles that does not even exist yet or creating a measurable personalized employee experience (EX) instantaneously, HR Leaders somehow are left with no choice but to go ahead with immediate big bang solutions like deploying leadership development program with premium institutes or introducing immediate tech solutions to enhance EX as a reactive approach to solve such challenges. With agile principle in HR, such complex HR issues can be broken down into value driven achievable slices answering what’s and why’s of the business in a proactive way. Agile in HR brings an iterative approach of developing strategies, interventions and initiatives that are more structured and involve experimentation, integration, and constant review coupled with a collaborative culture. Though agile has sprung from the software development domain, yet the principles of agile are increasingly tried out in the world of other domains, HR being one of them. Agile HR model helps to create responsive management practices that include frequent feedback loops, engaging teams in short work cycles and frequent retrospectives resulting in a much more proactive approach rather than a reactive one. Agile HR helps leaders to manage volatility with enhanced adaptability in HR processes and strategies. By applying agile methodologies to talent management processes, Agile for HR has brought in the potential to re-invent and strengthen the entire human resource function. Raj Raghavan, Senior Vice President & Head of Human Resources at Indigo clearly advocates that Agile HR model can definitely help to ‘drive programs that create adaptability, innovation and collaboration’ much faster than the ‘traditional HR practices that focuses primarily on rules and standards with a strict hierarchical structure’. What are the best practices for adopting agile innovation approach in HR? Sanjeev Sahgal - Head HR Strategy and Agile HR at The World Bank having presence in about 130 countries have adopted agile HR to solve talent related challenges moving from ‘policy based approach’ to ‘principle based approach’ for a much better employee experience. He states that ‘as an HR in the organization, we need to ensure that there is collaboration to meet rapidly changing employee and clients expectations’. By infusing agile philosophies, it is now more about ‘how do you really make rapid decisions and how do you ensure accountability is given at the lowest level where action is actually taken’. Raj Raghavan builds on further stating that HR could bring in a great impact by ‘using an agile mindset’. It is about truly stepping out of the old tradition of following HR practice and embracing a test and learn approach to deliver value; that can be validated by ‘our people’ and their ‘experience of work’. HR leaders need to embrace this mindset to successfully adopt agile tools and practices within teams and projects. Current and future outlook of agile HR As organizational structures are seen becoming more fluid, the static frameworks of HR practices are not able to meet the requirements of a value driven HR function. Also, the readiness of organizations to adopt a new set of principles and behaviors in support of agile is yet to mature. Many organizations are still stuck with heavy compliance driven, bureaucratic and silo based HR processes continuing with the legacy of top-down decision making. Hence, it is time to adopt a way of working that facilitates responsiveness and adaptiveness in HR structures and processes. Moving beyond the limiting and restricted viewpoint of HR to just implementing controls and standards for driving execution, leaders must use agile principles to help bring real change by facilitating programs and strategies for improving organizational agility, improved decision making and innovation.
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/article/strategic-hr/designingfuture-work-adopting-agile-for-hr-30542
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7 million new blue-collar jobs likely to be created in 2021 The BetterPlace Blue-Collar Report 2021 indicates that, as the economy emerges from the lockdowns, there is likely to be more than a 50% rise in the demand for blue-collar workers across the top four industrialised states – Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. BetterPlace, a technology platform for blue-collar workforce management, launched its third annual blue-collar report that also covers major trends in employment. The report is based on data from the first six months of 2021 and spans hiring trends and projections across more than 1,500 customers, 10 million employees and 20,000 pin codes. The BetterPlace Blue-Collar Report 2021 indicates that, as the economy emerges from the lockdowns, there is likely to be more than a 50% rise in the demand for blue-collar workers across the top four industrialised states – Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Maharashtra is expected to be the largest contributor, accounting for 17% of the demand. Some of the key takeaways from the report were: •7 million blue-collar jobs likely to be created in 2021 •Impact of the second wave of COVID-19 on jobs not as severe as the first •Inter-state migration has reduced •There is a permanent shift in migration patterns for the driving and delivery segments •Key trends include digitalisation, simplified labour codes and the rise of the gig economy Pravin Agarwala, CEO, BetterPlace, said: “Since the onset of the pandemic, the country has witnessed a steep fall in employment. The worst hit was the blue-collar workforce, which struggled to retain jobs or secure opportunities. The BetterPlace Blue-Collar Report 2021 shows that the impact of the second wave of COVID-19 on jobs was not as severe as the first with the overall job demand rising marginally. In time, the demand is likely to reach pre-COVID levels, which was 104% of 2019.”…
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/news/recruitment/7-million-newblue-collar-jobs-likely-in-2021-30621
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Infosys to set up a new digital development centre in Canada The move is expected to create 500 jobs in the next three years. Infosys is setting up a new digital development centre at its largest Canadian office in Mississauga. The move is aimed at creating 500 jobs in the Toronto Region over the next three years. Infosys had previously committed to double its Canadian workforce to 4,000 employees by 2023. The digital development centre will play a key role in this expansion. In the last two years, Infosys has created thousands of jobs across Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, and most recently, Calgary. The digital development centre will train, upskill, and reskill employees in the technologies needed to help the country’s businesses accelerate their digital transformation. It will also enable Infosys to better collaborate with clients to develop cross-functional solutions to pressing business challenges. Commenting on the development, Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Vic Fedeli said: “Ontario's deep talent pool, cutting edge innovation ecosystem, and competitive business costs make our province an ideal place for investment. We thank Infosys for investing in Ontario’s post-pandemic recovery by developing this global competency hub, tapping local talent, and partnering with local academic institutions to help develop a skilled workforce that will deliver new solutions, and, in turn, help other businesses thrive and grow.” While the digital development centre is the first of its kind in Canada for Infosys, it is based on the proven model of six similar digital centres in the United States, which hire from local colleges and provide training and digital career paths.
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/news/recruitment/infosys-to-setup-a-new-digital-development-centre-in-canada30620?media_type=news&subcat=skilling&title=infosys-to-set-up-a-new-digitaldevelopment-centre-in-canada&id=30620 5
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Women Inc. are re-igniting and resuming their professional journeys In most other parts of the world, falling fertility rates when juxtaposed with improving rates in women’s education, there is a resultant increase in women’s participation in the workforce. But not so in India, despite there being ample evidence of both these conditions being met in the last two decades. Gender imbalance in the workplace has been the focus of attention for several years now. In India, the rate of female labour force participation has declined from 30% in 1990 to 20.8% in 2019. With the pandemic, the situation has likely worsened. According to a recent study, 17 million women in India lost their jobs at the start of the pandemic, between March and April 2020 alone. In most other parts of the world, falling fertility rates when juxtaposed with improving rates in women’s education, there is a resultant increase in women’s participation in the workforce. But not so in India, despite there being ample evidence of both these conditions being met in the last two decades. In corporate India, as one progresses up the corporate ladder there is a disproportionate decrease in the density of women compared to men. It’s no secret that a big section of women in India tends to drop out of the corporate workforce at mid-level to either raise a family, pursue non-traditional career options, or drop out altogether. While many women are keen to resume work post their early child-rearing or care-giving breaks and are eager to blend a career into their lives, they often don’t know where to begin, or their ‘breaks’ are not viewed kindly by hiring managers. In addition, generations of societal barriers gradually undermine the confidence and enthusiasm of these women. It is therefore extremely crucial for organizations to provide women with the right tools and opportunities to guide, coach and empower them during this process…
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/article/strategic-hr/women-incare-re-igniting-and-resuming-their-professional-journeys-30594
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Rebuilding the workplace of the future with tech The pivot to a new work culture is an opportunity for organizations to bolster their workplace flexibility options and revisit their technology investments, while making the necessary changes in their IT budgets. The workplace of the future will most definitely be defined by technology. With technology underpinning the drive towards a distributed workforce, everything from work culture, ways of collaboration, engagement, and even problem solving will change the way agile organizations operate. While many consider the pandemic as a watershed moment in human history, it is important to note that technology enabling transformation is not a new concept. Old concept, new approach From an organization’s perspective, human resources have been using analytics for some time now - often called people analytics, to manage the workforce through data-driven decision making. Companies have been using digital products and services to attract the right talent, connect with remote employees across client locations, integrate employee data and automate processes. The only difference is that it has taken a novel coronavirus to call attention to the true potential of digital HR. Building operational resilience Last year, the pandemic and subsequent lockdown highlighted the importance of business continuity and how organizations must take control of the important aspects of their businesses. Organizations with a Business Continuity Plan in place seemed to be less disrupted and were able to scale up their infrastructure and adapt to the rapidly changing working environment when faced with challenges. As we move into 2021, organizations must focus on building a business resiliency plan, equipping their remote workers efficiently, and identifying challenges quickly to take corrective measures in time. Companies must realign their policies to catch up to the changing scenarios, whether in terms of business, employee well-being, introducing additional paid leaves, or revamping existing health allowance to help deal with the situation and recuperate better…
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/article/strategic-hr/rebuilding-theworkplace-of-the-future-with-tech-30569
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