Dear Mr. Snisonko,
Firstly my humble appreciation and acknowledgement to you Sir, a senior pro Snisonko whose views, not only me, but every reading member of CITEHR will fully endorse. The views expressed by him are to be etched in our minds as I can see his anguish of things drifting, and the virtual plea to do whatever we can to restore pride in the profession and to salvage lost ground.
I too have about 40 years or working experience of which nearly 25 of it has been in IT. I have seen changes in every aspect - technology to people. It was a "challenge" to understand what the technology people were speaking as most of it would seem "Greek and Latin."
I have been consciously keeping pace with the changes and have ensured that I keep my mind free and open to learning. That has helped me upgrade myself, at least of the technology movement front. I must admit that I have had the good fortune of working for companies where things were happening on all aspects - business, technology, people, branding and growth. HR which owes its birth to IR was getting more and more scientific and analytical - thanks to the technology influx.
While this was good, it sort of began to remove the human element slowly. The speed of technology development increased with the appearance of "internet" (about near twenty years ago) have contributed a lot for the changes that we now see.
Does human resource get the priority it’s worthy of?
Not always, not everywhere. Survival of the fittest’ might seem to be a merciless reality. But, it’s becoming all the more true in the current circumstances, where competency means everything. While the solutions providers and systems integrators in India have scaled up in both in terms of technologies and market reach, where do they stand when it comes to human resource management?
This question might be tough to answer, but one thing is certain. The results are clear signs of need for improvement. It’s very important to consider HR as something beyond just a drop in the bucket as it makes an organization ‘fit’ for growth.
The sheer volumes - business, people, transactions added with the dimension of geographic distances and the various divisions made in the ways HR has been split (Recruitment, C&B, L&D, HR Ops, HR Admin. HR Welfare etc., and the list goes one, with load of people in each of these areas, serving people flung across locations - domestic and abroad) makes it not only a "Frankenstein Monster," but has taken away the human element totally. Companies work to keep pace with the competition to enable investors earn bonus shares, dividends etc. To keep the wheel moving they pay "above the roof salaries" to their "producers" viz., Techies, and pay a much lesser salary for those who enable these functions moving smoothly calling HR as a support function. In the parlance to business HR and Admin are not money earners and so they are several rungs below and are not supposed to compare themselves with anyone - not techies but even Tech. Support people. The dividing lines are made, and so it's merely transactional. This is the scene in large multi-nationals, which however is different from SME (Small Medium Enterprises), where one gets more satisfaction in being and doing hands on HR. However the challenges are to manage and match - Branded companies, attracting the right talent for Recruitment, working on cutting edge technologies for Retention, big-fat Compensation, and all other +'s Plush Working Spaces, Food Courts, Snack Bars, Perks (non-existence Gym. HelathClub, Memberships to elite clubs, etc.). Weekend Bashes, Fully Paid Annual Excursions to exotic places. etc.
There's a lot to say, but I would only submit, "there is a lot to do as well."
It all begins right at the top.
The Promoter/CEO, has to make it a priority to treat each employee as an entrepreneur. Apart from trusting on his own skills, the Promoter/CEO should also have confidence on the potential of his employees. Concisely, treat every employee as a partner. He does not have to share the ownership with employees, but he can definitely co-share power. After all, each employee is a potential ambassador of the company.
The next thing that the Promoter/CEO, should do is to stop assuming that he/she knows everything, and so go on to appoint professionals who will run the business and on the top of this list should be HR. After doing this they should empower them sufficiently to enable them carry on the business of running a successful company. On technical aspects they consult tech. specialists, likewise on the people front they should "consult" HR which acts more in an advisory role.
On the other side, my humble request to HR folks would be "Hold your head high, do not fall for small favour and accept things just because it comes from the top. Know that you are responsible as you hold a trust worthy position, as the same time pelase remember you are meant for the "people" so your allegiance is more for them."
Some might think this is a pipe dream or just for theory, but I am a living example of having fulfilled my role in this the HR position with great dignity and respect. Some of them who were hired then today are "entrepreneurs" in their own right, and this gives me is the greatest pleasure today, for at that time I only hired a programmer" with potential and promise, but today it turns out that they have become leaders in their own right.
Believe in your abilities, be human as there is no power beyond a human and here is a Chinese quote to support what I said, "The fishes, though deep in the water, may be hooked; the birds, though high in the air, may be shot; but man's thoughts are out of our reach. The heavens may be measured, the earth may be surveyed; the heart of man only is not to be known to anyone except him.".
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