The way we work is changing. It’s transforming how companies hire, nurture, and manage their talent. And how HR is a facilitator to all of these.
And it’s transforming fast.
Here at Springworks, we love any opportunity to get an even better understanding of what the future of the HR world looks like.
Just a few days back, we conducted a small meetup with four amazing HR stalwarts from Google, Adobe, JustAnswer & Quaero in Bengaluru.
Contrary to the whole world discussing the ‘Future of Work’, we decided to discuss the ‘Present of Work’ – four burning issues that organisations are facing – ranging from being a remote friendly company to making the workplace truly inclusive for women.
Here Are 16 Key Takeaways From the Round-table (aka What You Missed)
1. The HR role is considered as a trivial role or an easy job. People often view HRs suspiciously for being “on the side of the management.” But it’s not true. The role is like a bridge between employees and management and, sees both side’s point of view.
2. HR role can be difficult because there are no clearly defined objectives and the role can be quite dynamic. HR is responsible for maintaining good human relations in the company and achieving the goals of the organization as well as help employees in their personal growth.
3. Storytelling should be a key part of your recruiting process. You need to tell your company’s story and culture to new employees. Tell them your core values and what your organization is about.
4. An HR professional’s job is similar to a sales/marketing professional. For HR professionals, the strategy revolves around talent acquisition (Just like lead acquisition). They figure out a target candidate pool and implement recruiting tactics to reach that desired pool.
5. HR is an advisory role and most often acts as the first point of contact for the managers, middle managers, and employees.
6. Most of the startups don’t see HR as a top priority department. So they end up getting bad experiences with HR and lead employees to think that the function is not important for the company. Startups should understand that they need someone who can create a diverse and engaged team and amazing work culture.
7. Take a positive approach while communicating with employees. Don’t just talk when there’s a problem, but on a regular basis.
8. Personalize your communication and show a genuine interest in each employee. Understand them and help in their growth.
9. If you separate admin tasks from the HR job role then HRs can be quite empowered and it becomes an important role.
10. HRs play an important role in managers’ team development strategy by providing people management skills coaching. The training helps managers to manage their teams in the right way.
11. Great performers are not the same as great managers – so it might not make sense to promote them to managers. Top performers are promoted because of their ability to do work well, not because of their ability to lead.
12. Set the expectations in the beginning. Some new hires don’t want to be managers – so ask them when they join if that is something that they are looking for or not.
13. HRs have to stay on top of the latest technologies and the right HR tools to improve their effectiveness. Human resource information, tools, and applicant tracking platforms are constantly being upgraded.
14. Talent acquisition begins at the top of the funnel. If you don’t source a diverse talent pool, you won’t see talent enter your interview process—and how will you hire a talent that doesn’t apply.
15. Your past employees can be your best promoters just like happy customers. Stay in touch with them and make them feel that they are still part of the organization. Ask them to write a review on Glassdoor. New applicants often wonder what former employees are saying about you.
16. You need to define your own vision and role. Don’t just wait for your company or CEO to define what your role is. HR is an important person in the organization. Keep trying new practices and suggesting new ideas.
Now It’s Your Turn!
Here we learned so many valuable lessons at our first ever meetup. The working world is constantly transforming – Match the Pace!
Are you a Human Resource Professional? Would you love to share your tips or wisdom?
Please drop your thoughts in the comment section below.
Want to be a part of one of our upcoming, invite-only HR Round-tables?
What’s next in this series? In the next article, we’ll see the ultimate battle: Working from Home v/s Working From Office
