IIM ROHTAK H U M A N E - R CLUB P re s e n ts
H R BULLETIN VOLUME 75
humane.r@iimrohtak.ac.in
H U M A N E - R | V O L U M E 75
HR BULLETIN
How can HR stop the great resignation? Resignation letters have started piling up on HRs’ desks now more than ever. While several people will be quick to blame the pandemic, it is noteworthy to realize that the majority of the problems due to which workers are leaving did exist before the 2020 era as well. The ‘Great Resignation’ might be a newly coined term, but it isn’t a newly created phenomenon. Though in a bigger sphere, the concept is still the same. However, the ways to deal with it have changed drastically, giving more scope to solve most of the challenges, if not eradicate all. Resignation and retention are two faces of the same coin. Understanding one will in turn offer a helping hand to resolve the other. The pandemic brought light on the need of HRs and their vital role in helping companies survive in the highly volatile business landscape that currently exists. Retaining top-performing employees, creating strategic business development plans, enhancing employee experience, creating a more diverse and inclusive workforce, and becoming a people
2
H U M A N E - R | V O L U M E 75
-person in the actual sense are a few of the responsibilities now expected to be fulfilled by HR professionals. Resignation letters have started piling up on HRs’ desks now more than ever. While several people will be quick to blame the pandemic, it is noteworthy to realize that the majority of the problems due to which workers are leaving did exist before the 2020 era as well. They have only become more prominent now. HRs today have to help businesses swim ashore through the deconstruction of the great resignation by: Recognizing that flexibility along with increased pay and job security are the leading drivers of employment. Post-pandemic needs of people have changed; Identifying these new needs and ensuring the company doesn’t forgo any that they can offer to employees. They need to figure out what motivates employees to leave and what actions can undo this. A recent study has revealed that burnout is the number one reason (34%), with lack of advancement opportunities (22%) and compensation (20%) right behind it. Hesitation to go back to the WFO setup (13%) and not enough working flexibility offers (11%) make up the other two major causes. Every company differs, so do its employees and their reasons to quit. While we have the leading factors for it, internal surveys and studies to understand them are key to steer away from the Great Resignation. This is where a data-driven approach comes into picture. How to stop the great resignation: •Tally the possible aftermath: Quantify the scope of the problem and its impact on key business metrics first. This will allow HRs to understand the gravity of the situation and the urgency of the same. Tabulate the effects the resignations will have on major areas of the business and whether these can be reversed without the intervention of additional resources. •Understand the cost of the resignations: Every employee is worth a lot for the company. Not just in terms of revenue but also in brand image, reputation, performance, culture and more. Understand the cost of letting go of an employee and whether this cost is bearable by the company. If it isn’t, think about the cost you can pay to stop the employee from leaving. If this is less than what you would have to lose without them, you know what choice to make. •Make way for informed decisions, not heated arguments: Breaking head over the chain of events that lured the employee to submit the resignation letter isn’t going to help if you are planning to stick to the causes only and bombard the employee by jolting them to blurt out the reason. Chances are, they might not verbally say the actual reason for their resignation. Don’t force them to. There is only that much information you can extract from them. Instead, plan ways to help get the internal buy-in vital to address the problems, and make informed decisions around what kind of retention interventions would be most effective. •Identify the blind spots within your organization: Rather than attempting to read between the lines to find the reason, realize that the problem could be lying within your company. Explore metrics like compensation, time between promotions, location, function, size of pay increases, tenure, performance, and training opportunities to identify trends and figure out the solutions. •Look beyond the evident issues: Pay, flexibility, WFH might be very predictable reasons as they can also be backed by data and surveys. Understand what triggers retention apart from quantifiable metrics- Burnout, teammate fallouts and more. Many-a-times, a petty argument between teammates can persuade employees to make extreme decisions. Look for the loopholes and fill them before the workers use it as an exit. •Strategize actionable plans: Understanding the challenge and its complexity is the first step towards finding its solution. Create customized retention programs aimed at solving the underlined problems. Conduct ‘Stay Interviews’ instead of ‘exit interviews’ to know how close employees have been pushed towards their saturation point. Work on these. Talking to an employee after they have left the organization doesn’t really make a great difference. If you want them to stay, talk to them; listen to them, more importantly, while they are still in your company and solve their issues. HR professionals can avoid becoming a victim of this era by staying conscious and active. Conscious enough to realize the gravity of the situation and active enough to find a way out of it.
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/article/strategic-hr/how-can-hrstop-the-great-resignation-32004
3
H U M A N E - R | V O L U M E 75
How WFH culture impacted organization upskilling As we enter a post-pandemic era, it is becoming increasingly clear that returning to old ways of working is highly unlikely. According to a study by Zoho Corporation, 95% of Indian businesses are not planning to abandon WFH for at least 2 more years. The COVID – 19 pandemic made possible the impossible, as organisations had to think beyond existing norms and adapt their business continuity plans to the need to work from home. The potential for remote work and its success varies, based on the industry and kind of work. Some industries like It, finance and education could comfortably shift to remote working, while it was nearly impossible for others like the medical industry, where surgeries or complicated tests needed to be performed onsite. This was also true for the manufacturing industry, where production came to a halt due to the pandemic. As every industry began shifting at least some parts of their work online, the crucial element of 'seeing and learning' became diluted, as employees were now unable to reap the benefits of vicarious learning and real-life mentorship. However, successful business leaders were quick to fill this vacuum with tech-enabled, immersive, and personalised L&D frameworks that equip employees with the skills and knowledge required to adapt quickly in a rapidly changing workplace. As we enter a post-pandemic era, it is becoming increasingly clear that returning to old ways of working is highly unlikely. According to a study by Zoho Corporation, 95% of Indian businesses are not planning to abandon WFH for at least 2 more years…
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/article/employee-relations/howwfh-culture-impacted-organization-upskilling-32005
4
H U M A N E - R | V O L U M E 75
What did we learn from 2021?
Despite the shifts in workplace culture, numerous surveys show that a large percentage of employees would like to leave their current employer and move to a new one. I once came across a great quotation, “Life's about being made to do things and then being glad you were made to afterwards." Doesn’t that just sum up the past two years? The professional press is littered with articles about how organisations are: •Prioritizing the mental and physical health of their employees; •Reimagining all aspects of work and looking at employee health holistically to better support their workforces; •Getting their HR and IT leaders to ensure that technologies, workflows and processes are designed in a way that enshrines worker well-being; •Responding to employee needs and continuing or expanding WFH and flexible working policies; •Investing in training and development to ensure diversity and inclusion; •Finding new ways to support talent development to secure management continuity. And yet, numerous surveys show that a large percentage of employees would like to leave their current employer and move to a new one! Employees are not stupid! They can smell when policies have changed because they had to. They can tell the difference between leaders and organisations that genuinely care about them and those that act as though they do but only out of necessity. They can spot when their employers were forced to do something and yet claim that they are glad that they did it…
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/article/strategic-hr/what-did-welearn-from-2021-31993
5
H U M A N E - R | V O L U M E 75
6
India aims to expand the engineering talent pool with its new chips to startups program The chips to startup program will build on the talent pool by skilling 85,000 engineers who will turn India into a semiconductor powerhub. The Government of India recently announced a chips to startups program which will expand the already growing engineering talent pool across the country. The Union Cabinet has approved a financial outlay of Rs 76,000 crore for the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in India, announcing incentives for every part of the supply chain including electronic components, sub-assemblies, and finished goods. “The biggest advantage that India has is the entire design ecosystem. We have around 24,000 design engineers working in India. So, that's a huge ecosystem. That means the talent is there, how to apply the talent, that application process is there. So, that is what gives us a very big advantage. Almost all the major economies are today giving close to 50 per cent capital incentive on setting up a semiconductor fab or a display fab. We will be giving practically similar incentives. But what we are offering in advance is a very clear 20-year roadmap where the focus is on generating that talent, nurturing that talent and making sure that as the industry grows. There are a sufficient number of very well trained engineers available for taking that journey forward. So, that is what will give us a bigger advantage,” said Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology. This move will create massive employment opportunities along with export momentum for the country that will aid its economic growth…
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/news/talent-acquisition/indiaaims-to-expand-the-engineering-talent-pool-with-its-new-chips-to-startupsprogram-31969?media_type=news&subcat=talent-management&title=indiaaims-to-expand-the-engineering-talent-pool-with-its-new-chips-to-startups-
6
H U M A N E - R | V O L U M E 75
3 common and costly mistakes recruiters make with job boards Job boards are the #1 channel used by candidates for job search. But are recruiters making the most out of these resources? Yet most recruiters simply post jobs and hope to receive candidates who match their hiring criteria by the end of the day. They lack knowledge about the unique capabilities of individual job boards, the smart tools which make job boards management efficient, the strategic thoughtfulness required to make their sourcing stand out from the crowd, and so on. In this article, we discuss the common mistakes recruiters make with job boards, which hold them back from growth and success. #1 Not focusing on employee branding Unfortunately for most recruiters, publishing a job onto job boards equals sourcing strategically, but there isn’t a more untrue statement in the universe. OK, maybe there is but you get the point. Recruiters are often working on jobs that needed to be filled yesterday. While functioning out of urgency, the intangibles such as employer branding or candidate experience take the back seat, leaving heavy dents in the overall sourcing strategy. Today more and more top candidates are attracted by the employer brand. Sourcing software helps tap into this opportunity by empowering recruiters to set up a personalized career site in minutes - where they can showcase stories about their company, its culture, achievements, leaders, and employees. Candidates want to know who they are going to work for! Intelligent recruiters align their sourcing efforts to meet candidate expectations...
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/article/recruitment/3-common-andcostly-mistakes-recruiters-make-with-job-boards-31827
7