Transitioning from IT to Manufacturing HR: How Can I Make This Career Shift Successfully?

Greetings to you all!

This is Arun. I would like to know how easy it is for any IT industry HR professional to transition into the Manufacturing Industry HR field. How acceptable are IT Industry HR professionals in Manufacturing (referring to job roles)? I am aware that there is a significant difference in the way a worker is managed in Manufacturing compared to how they are handled in IT or BPO professions.

The reason I am asking this question is that I have 3.8 years of experience in the IT Industry as an HR professional but I am considering a move to the Manufacturing industry. Could anyone guide me on how to successfully transition into Manufacturing Industry HR?

Thanks & Regards,
Arun
Email: [IMG]https://www.citehr.com/misc.php?do=email_dev&email=YXJ1bi5maWphcmRvQG dtYWlsLmNvbQ==[/IMG]

Hi Arun,

It is very difficult as well as challenging to work in a Manufacturing Organization. Manufacturing companies strictly follow government laws, company rules, regulations, and policies in old methods. Their working style is absolutely different from IT and BPO companies. IT and BPO, or any new company nowadays, believes in a paperless office, communicating through email, and sending requisitions and confirmations via email. However, at least Manufacturing companies do not. For everything, their paperwork is a must and must be signed and stamped by a senior or authority figure.

I have seen the working style of CTR Manufacturing Industries Ltd., Pune, a typical manufacturing unit for radiators.

Regards,

Jayshree Vasavada
HR Admin Head - Dadar
HDFC SLIC
Email: jayshreev@hdfcinsurance.com

Hello Jayshree,

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I do understand they believe a lot in paperwork. But recently, many MNC manufacturing companies are moving towards ERP packages like SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft packages, and hence believe in cutting down costs. With ERP self-service, a manager can approve leaves, give promotions online without signing on a piece of paper, and hence they can do away with paperwork.

I have noticed that traditional manufacturing companies' HR departments are reluctant to go for ERP packages. Even if they implement them, they don't follow through and go back to paperwork. I really don't understand why they feel HR professionals from IT or BPO are not fit for manufacturing companies. Is there a mindset block for IT/BPO HR professionals? As an HR professional, I feel that even an IT or BPO HR person can handle workers and strictly follow government laws and company rules.

What is your take on this?

Regards,
Arun F
arun.fijardo@gmail.com

Hello,

Thanks, Jayashree at least replied.

I have spent a lifetime in the manufacturing industry and can speak fairly knowledgeably about the climate there. Just note the following points:

1. In the manufacturing industry, the customer is remote from where the work happens. (This means sensitivities do not have to be sharp, and you have time, often, to resolve disputes using time as a resource to your advantage.)
2. The nature of employment (blue-collared, limited education, collective identity, borrowed intelligence - always in need of an "emancipator") is what you may be dealing with in the manufacturing industry.
3. High education levels, critical interface with clients, and therefore higher and sharper sensitivities in IT, ITES, or other service industries.
4. Money is used as the main motivator and controller of individual and collective behavior. (In fact, this major tool, used so successfully, is now virtually useless in retaining competent people.)
5. More show of strength, use of power, bargaining, deployment of negative capabilities are evident in the manufacturing industry.
6. Legal compliance and the nuisance of enforcement agencies are common denominators to all kinds of industries as IT and the like have no special exemptions except if operating in special export promotion zones.

What I have said above is not all. You will discover every day new forms of collective and individual behavioral patterns - sometimes dicey, sometimes purely power-oriented and belligerent, and tackle your way in creating a kind of symbiosis of energies for the larger good of the organization is an everyday challenge.

Think twice and more. Interact with more people from the manufacturing industry before taking the plunge because in this sector, there are more Industrial Relations than fashionable HR. More disputes management than mere coordination of positive energies.

If you would like to ask more questions, feel free to ask. I will be happy to answer.

One thing I can promise. The thrill and challenge of dealing with human resources in a transactional, representative, and institutionalized frame are enormously satisfying! I have had no regrets. I am more than elated to have been in the manufacturing industry!

Regards, Samvedan
July 4, 2008

Hi Samdevan,

Chill... it's okay. I really like to work in the manufacturing industry. It is quite challenging because you are surrounded by professionals. As you said, you have to be sharp and should know the rules very clearly. It is a challenge to work in the manufacturing industry with lots of learning experiences too.

Regards,
jayshreerv@gmail.com

Thank you, Samdevan and Jayshree, for your valuable time in answering my questions.

I have still not received my answer. Let me ask a direct question to the people (Samdevan and Jayshree) who have actually worked in the manufacturing industry for years now. Samdevan and Jayshree, by now, you must have met a lot of HR IT professionals. I would like to know your perception of HR IT professionals - are they fit for the manufacturing industry (keeping in mind the ability to grasp labor laws)?

I hope I am not irritating you by asking so many questions. Actually, I really want to know your direct views on us.

Thanks,
Arun F

Don't think too much. Go with a positive mind if you are determined to proceed. Nothing is impossible to achieve. You have to understand the culture of each organization and the nature of the industry. During your induction program, senior colleagues will come to your aid. Any job that you love, you will succeed in.

Good luck.

Ram K Navaratna
HR Resonance

Hello,

You are not irritating at all.

First, IT-HR professionals! I found them to be good communicators - polished, persuasive, and tactful. However, due to a lack of orientation in handling conflict-prone relationships, they often stick to white-collar occupations. Operating in a non-threatening atmosphere, your creativity can and does indeed blossom. But too much of this coziness can make one reluctant to ask for tougher assignments. In fact, I wonder what is prompting you to consider the Manufacturing Sector. I would like to understand your motivations in this regard.

It is certainly not an impossible task to adapt and develop the competencies required in the manufacturing sector, but it is not as easy as some may lead you to believe. Learning things that you have not learned in school, attitudinal adjustments necessitated by the job and culture. Peers and seniors will certainly help you, but you should not depend solely on them. You must keep on learning and become professionally autonomous for the level at which you operate for the time being. After all, no one is flawless. Some have knowledge but lack skills, some have knowledge and skills but lose out because of attitudes. For any competent performance, one needs knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and the final determinant of performance is the skill to do and the will to do. And that holds true for your sector as well.

Proactive attitudes, continuous learning, willingness to take risks, taking a stance, flexibility to change, and commitment to dealing rather than "fixing" will see you through successfully. You find fixers everywhere, but you don't often come across resolvers of issues without resorting to "fixing". If you want to be different, you should be value-oriented. Competent people do not endorse fixing!

Labour law and related matters can be learned. If you have started late, you will have to invest time anyway. Collective Bargaining is a mind game. We all have an inherent skill that may need refinement. Incidentally, I am not a trained lawyer, but corporates trust my opinion on labor law, among many other matters. (This specifically refers to understanding human beings and human behavior - both individual and collective).

I suppose this post will provide you with adequate answers. There are no final or permanent answers in any case.

Feel free to respond with more questions if you have any.

Regards,
Samvedan
July 4, 2008

Samvedan,

Thanks a ton for clearing all my doubts. The reason I am trying to move to manufacturing is that I have been in the IT/BPO sector for nearly 4 years now. I did not enjoy working in this particular sector; I always wanted to be in manufacturing but never got an opportunity.

No doubt there is money in this sector, but there is no job satisfaction. There is too much of HR Tech stuff (i.e. software to track employee problems) and hence less human touch. You are unable to show your creativity for your employees.

Also, there is less decision-making because HR plays a very limited role in IT. Half of the HR responsibility for grievance handling is passed on to the employee's managers. We just act as middlemen passing the communication from employee managers to top-level management.

Whereas in Manufacturing, you get direct contact with workers or laborers, understand them, and solve their queries.

In my last company, an MNC, we had around 9000 employees, and grievance handling was done remotely. For all these employees, we had a ticket or telephone system to solve the employees' problems, and there was too much frustration on the employees' side.

The HR generalist's KRA was to handle all other communication except Employee Grievances, which are an important part of the HR department. Employee grievances were addressed through Tickets or Phone by some other team.

In IT, the HR role is limited, and I feel we do a job that any graduate can do, which is not the case in manufacturing where HR is always on their toes.

Anyways, I thank Samvedan, Jayshree, and Ram K Navaratna for clearing all my doubts on the Manufacturing Industry.

Samvedan - thanks a lot for spending your precious time and guiding me, a person you don't even know.

Citehr - Thank you too for such a lovely forum where we HR professionals can discuss our careers.

Thanks, Arun F [Login to view]

Dear Arun,

Always have a BIG picture in mind.

Need your kind answer to my straight question! Are you working in HR Support/Back-end related stuff? If you have a yes...please read below.

In IT, the role of HR is very critical, challenging, and interesting too. I will touch upon a few areas of interest and discuss further:

1. Recruitment - Campus and Lateral Hiring
2. Training and Development
3. Workforce/Manpower Management
4. Performance Management
5. Associate Care/Employee Grievances
6. Compensation
7. Talent Management
8. Employee Engagement
9. Legal Related
10. Market Research Group
11. HR Outsourcing - RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) and many more...

Out of the above-mentioned categories, the one you discussed about your role can be related here to point number 5. This is a small part of HR in IT.

At every level given above, HR personnel have to think and make decisions. They are not just communication vehicles. If you are working in a small company, you always look for a company that has a global presence where you can get a chance to look at the bigger picture.

Labor Laws, you can buy a book and get to know everything in a month (I am not kidding, it is possible). But the only thing that differentiates you from others is the relationship building you maintain with both internal and external stakeholders.

Thanks for giving me this opportunity to express my thoughts. In case you need any clarity, please write to me at ashaok.kolla@yahoo.com.

Thanks,
Ashok Kolla
www.ashokkolla.com

Hi, this is Sonal. I am pursuing an MBA in HR and currently undergoing an internship in a manufacturing unit. I need assistance in designing a training calendar for them. Can someone help me out?

Sonal
Email: guptasonal9@gmail.com