IIM ROHTAK H U M A N E - R CLUB P re s e n ts
H R BULLETIN VOLUME 62
humane.r@iimrohtak.ac.in
HUMANE-R|VOLUME62
HR BULLETIN
Workforce and talent acquisition planning are critical to winning the best talent: Sameer Penakalapati, CEIPAL, CEO In this interview, Sameer shares his insights on the hybrid workspace model and leveraging the right technology to acquire the best available talent in the market. With the onset of the pandemic, organizations have had to adapt to a lot of unforeseen challenges stemming from the hybrid workplace and the rising concerns of talent management. For both of these critical areas, which determine the future of any organization, the solution rests in leveraging technology-based solutions to innovate strategies that can aid in better business outcomes by bringing in the best talent available in the market. In this Q&A, Sameer Penakalapti, Founder and CEO of CEIPAL, shares his insights on this critical topic for anyone who works in the field of HR. Sameer is a serial entrepreneur who is dedicated to advising and investing in technology startups, specifically in the HR Tech & AI space. In the past 10 years, Sameer has founded and acquired over six companies, including two large staffing firms, multiple SaaS platforms, and a digital marketing agency. He has served hundreds of thousands of customers around the world. His key interests include talent acquisition, talent engagement, and total talent management.
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Here are some excerpts: The pandemic has raised a host of challenges for organizations all over the world. What have been some of the biggest challenges in the field of HR and what are your thoughts about it? The field of HR is as expansive as an ocean and we have so many areas in the HR space that have presented challenges. But, at CEIPAL, we focus on helping hiring organizations discover, curate, onboard, and manage talent for today and tomorrow. Talent acquisition is one of the greatest expenses of any corporation, representing between 60 and 70 percent of an employee’s salary. What are your thoughts on the hybrid workplace? The hybrid workspace is here to stay. Before the pandemic, more than one-third of global corporations were allowing employees to work from home one or more times per week. Now, it’s estimated that two-thirds of the global workforce spend a portion of their time working from home. That's a big shift. Over time, companies will make choices about what’s the right hybrid model for them based on business models. As circumstances evolve, some hybrid models might remain, while others disappear, depending on how difficult it is to carry out given tasks remotely. So, ultimately it's about the business model. As a tech-based company, could you share a few examples of the HR Tech innovations carried out by your organization for positive business outcomes? How has it impacted customer service? Our mission is to find the talent an organization needs at the time they need it. We do this by using AI to find the best candidates based on required job skills. A recruiter may spend days going through countless resumes before even making his or her first call to a qualified candidate to talk about availability for a given engagement. What if we cut through all of that? What an AI algorithm search engine does is find suitable candidates based on a number of criteria, such as recent experience, that we can’t process through naked eyes alone. AI automation helps you find the top five to ten most suitable candidates for the job in a fraction of a minute. Once you have these top candidates, you can pick up the phone and spend more time with them to actually build a relationship. The biggest challenge today are the dropouts. The most qualified talent is the most in-demand, so engagement is critical. If you have the best technology, you can find the top candidates more quickly and therefore engage more quickly. This gives you the time you need to build the relationships and trust you need to make placements. What are your thoughts on the increased use of people analytics in talent management? Without technology, it's very hard to drive volume. We’ve built a technology that helps to identify the candidate’s perspective. 99% of the time, we look into the candidate's skills, but what about fit? For example, has she worked in this kind of environment before? So, the people side of the data is also very important, particularly in terms of longterm retention. You must know a candidate will fit well given team dynamics and product managers. That’s where people analytics comes into play. I think it's time for companies to take a serious look at that. What are some of the strategies that HR leaders can devise for better talent recruitment and management? Although each firm has its own unique challenges, if I had to pick the biggest one, it would be timing-- i.e, finding the talent they want when they want. The second greatest challenge these firms face is compliance. Finally, there’s candidate engagement and workforce management. But, again, timing is most critical. So, while I do understand urgency, candidates are not a commodity that can be shipped overnight by Amazon. This is one reason the entire talent management lifecycle must be considered. By leveraging AI-driven staffing technology, you can evaluate top performers and expand your talent pipeline by finding similar talent that’s well matched to your team fit and organizational requirements – all while meeting compliance requirements too. Finally, what are some key lessons that you learned when navigating this new world of work? In today’s hybrid workforce, there are two sides of the coin to consider. One is that teams are more productive working from home – perhaps because they’re more motivated. However, the other consideration to keep in mind is that they’re not necessarily as innovative, because there’s no collaboration or engagement at the level there was in the office. So, how do we balance these two things? How do we encourage flexibility and also create a virtual space for thinking outside the box? At CEIPAL, we have the same challenge, which is why we just opened a 30,000 square foot space that’s colorful, inviting, and hopefully hip – right in the middle of Hyderabad…
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/article/talentacquisition/workforce-and-talent-acquisition-planning-are-critical-to-winningthe-best-talent-sameer-penakalapati-ceipal-ceo-30756
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Indian job market records a strong recovery with 89% annual growth in Aug’21: Naukri JobSpeak Several sectors record growth in hiring from pre-pandemic levels; the IT sector jumps 79% from August 2019 powering the digital transformation of businesses. Hiring activity in India is on a positive trajectory recording a year-on-year (YOY) growth of 89% in Aug’21 with the country’s premier index trending at 2673, as compared to Aug’20, according to Naukri JobSpeak. Another victory for the jobs market is that hiring activity in Aug’21 has surpassed pre-pandemic levels in Aug’19 by 24%. Several sectors, led by IT, showcase promising growth in hiring compared to pre-pandemic levels The IT Software sector displayed resilience to the after-effects of the pandemic, so much so that it grew by 79% in Aug’21 over a stable period in Aug’19. The Education/Teaching recorded a strong annual recovery growing by 102% in Aug’21 and has now surpassed hiring in Aug’19 by 34%. Similarly, other sectors that have now exceeded preCOVID numbers in Aug’19 are Real Estate (15%), Telecom (13%), Medical/Healthcare (8%), Pharma/Biotech (7%), Insurance (6%), and BFSI (5%). The ambiguous status of rules related to Travel and Hospitality has been an obstacle for the industry and the sector is still down by 53% in comparison to Aug’19. But in contrast to the situation in Aug’20 when lockdown regulations were still not relaxed, the sector has picked up in hiring by 134% in Aug’21. Commenting on the report, Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer, Naukri.com said “With a fair share of setbacks in 2020, we can finally acknowledge a trend of overall recovery in the job market. While Jan-May’21 were still in the red compared to pre-pandemic numbers of 2019, we see a positive growth trend starting in June’21…
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/news/recruitment/indian-jobmarket-records-a-strong-recovery-with-89-annual-growth-in-aug21-naukrijobspeak-30788
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Axis Bank announces ‘Come As You Are’: A charter of LGBTQIA+ friendly policies The bank also unveiled the policy of choosing titles from the option of ‘Mx’ for LGBTQIA+ customers in their Savings or Term Deposit Account. Axis Bank has announced #ComeAsYouAre, a charter of policies and practices for their employees and customers from the LGBTQIA+ community. The initiative has been taken under the bank’s #DilSeOpen philosophy. Key Takeaways from the charter: Inclusive initiatives for the employees include 1.Listing partners for Mediclaim benefits irrespective of gender, sex, or marital status 2.Employees are allowed to dress in accordance with their gender/ gender expression: 3.Restrooms of their own choice in accordance with their gender expression/gender identity. 4.A redressal policy The bank also shared in a company statement that customers will be able to open a Joint Savings Bank Account or a Term Deposit with their same-sex partner and also make them a nominee. Commenting on this initiative, Rajesh Dahiya, Executive Director, Axis Bank, shared “At Axis, we have put our focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion that respects and recognizes the importance of distinctive life journeys and several identities that extend beyond the paradigms of gender. This for us is as much about the invisible markers as it is about the visible ones. It is our belief that it fosters a culture of innovation and leverages the multiple talent pools that exist in rich demography like ours.” An initiative definitely welcomed by the LGBTQIA+ community, it will be interesting to see how this move can pave the way to more inclusive and diverse norms in the banking industry, thus breaking the stereotypical barriers of society.
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/news/diversity/axis-bankannounces-come-asyou-are-a-charter-of-lgbtqia-friendly-policies-30767
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Taking L&D programs to the next level with gamification and rewards-based incentive system Besides winning, we all love to be rewarded for our work and recognized for the effort we put in. With the help of gamification, one can implement incentives that encourage competition, while additionally providing tangible awards for performance, resulting in increased employee engagement and fun. There is a certain buzz around applying gamification to employee-centric initiatives, often in the area of learning and development. Most Learning and development experts are of the opinion that the domain lends itself to constant innovation & discovery of newer approaches to increase the learner engagement score. There are numerous innovations in the L&D framework which lends itself to the "segment of one" principle, involving hypercustomization of both process and outcomes. however, none come as close as gamification does. The desire to 'win' is a basic human emotion. Given the chance to see how we rank against one another, the vast majority are likely to move to increase performance. Taking into account the implementation, it is essential to be cognizant of the fact that gamification fosters interactivity and fun, not added pressure. Gamification elements need to be utilized to encourage delight and excitement. Taking a closer look at the employees and what makes them tick may provide better insights to the L&D experts on what precisely shall entail a “fun” learning experience. Besides winning, we all love to be rewarded for our work and recognized for the effort we put in. With the help of gamification, one can implement incentives that encourage competition, while additionally providing tangible awards for performance, resulting in increased employee engagement and fun…
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/article/trainingdevelopment/taking-ld-programs-to-the-next-level-with-gamification-andrewards-based-incentive-system-30741?media_type=article&subcat=strategichr&title=taking-ld-programs-to-the-next-level-with-gamification-and-rewards-
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Pandemic has led to changing skill needs and more challenging placements: Harappa’s Bridge the Gap Survey In the face of changing skill needs and highly challenging placements, talent leaders and academics must reinforce greater industry-academia collaboration to make the young talent ready for building their careers. Harappa recently conducted a survey titled ‘Bridge the Gap’ to understand the distinct need gaps and challenges faced across the education-work continuum. This survey saw participation from over 200 talent leaders and academics and put the spotlight on challenges across the spectrum and how industry and academia can come together to meaningfully solve the employability challenge that Indian youth continue to face. The top industries that respondents represented were IT, Edtech, Consulting, Manufacturing, e-commerce, Government & Public Administration, and Telecom. The survey revealed that close to 80% of the talent leaders & academics feel the pandemic has changed the skill requirements needed to successfully maneuver post-pandemic workplaces and has made placements more challenging for young talent. The survey also found that the top three skills that employers look for in young talent are: the ability to proactively problem-solve, self-motivation, and affinity for teamwork. Other skills highlighted were excellent communication skills, resilience, reasoning logically, time management, and learning on the job. 95.6% of talent leaders were found to believe that a college education does not adequately prepare young talent for the workforce today and 96% of academics acknowledge that there’s a greater need for academia-corporate collaboration in the wake of the pandemic to solve the persistent employability challenges…
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/news/talent-acquisition/pandemichas-led-to-changing-skill-needs-and-more-challenging-placements-harappasbridge-the-gap-survey-30618
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