HR Best Practices 2015 Dun & Bradstreet India & Sodexo release a study on ‘HR Best Practices 2015’
Bangalore, February 16th , 2015: The most crucial resource for any industry or economy is the human resource, and over the last decade, there has been a profound shift in the working of human resource development functions. With corporate India realising that strategic human resource management is the key to ensure sustained competitive advantage; companies are re-visiting their existing policies and adopting new and innovative tools towards managing its human resources. Sharing of HR Best Practices has been identified as one of the most prominent areas, especially for developing countries for maximizing organizational and individual efficiency. Keeping this in mind, Dun and Bradstreet, in association with Sodexo launched a study on ‘HR Best Practices 2015’ in Bangalore today.
The publication ‘HR Best Practices 2015’ represents interesting and effective human resource initiatives undertaken by Indian corporates across various areas of recruitment, retention, talent acquisition and management, employee welfare, and performance improvement among others.
Delivering the welcome address, Mr. Rajiv Warrier, Managing Director, Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services said, “Sodexo Benefits & Rewards Services has partnered with diverse organizations over the last 18 years in India. The HR Book on Best Practices is our endeavor to provide a unique platform for the HR community to share their best practices which would be beneficial to the business community in general.”
Expressing his views at the event, Mr. Arvind Raghav, Director – Risk Management Solutions, Dun & Bradstreet India said, “In our survey, nearly 60% HR professionals cited flexible work arrangement and stress free workplace as effective employee engagement initiatives. In short, work-life balance can turn out to be the differentiating factor in the near future.
Further, 73% of respondents feel lack of candidates with suitable skillsets is a major area of concern for skill shortage. We all know that Skill Development is an important area for our generation and hence, it should not come as a surprise to all of us when organizations are forced to invest heavily in training and development activities.” he added
With the objective of creating a knowledge sharing forum, the event witnessed an interactive panel discussion on ‘HR Best Practices 2015: Transforming the Thinking’, highlighting the evolving role of human resources from that of a business function to a business partner.
Also present at the launch were Dr. Madana Kumar, Senior Director & Global Head – Learning & Development, Shri Pankaj Kumar Pandey, IAS, Managing Director, Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd., Mr. Amitabh Sinha, Head – Marketing, Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services, Mr. Pankaj Kumar Pandey, IAS, Managing Director, Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd, Dr. Madana Kumar, Senior Director & Global Head – Learning & Development, UST Global, Mr. G. Y. Suhas, Head HR & IR & Admin, L&T Construction Equipment Ltd, Mr. Deepak Kumar Hota, Director – HR, BEML Ltd, Mr. Aditya Narayan Mishra, President – Staffing, Randstad India along with the leaders from the business and HR community.
HR Best Practices 2015
The publication, ‘HR Best Practices 2015’, a joint initiative of Dun and Bradstreet and Sodexo India, is intended to serve as a knowledge sharing platform including a collage of some of the excellent human resource initiatives practiced across India Inc. Based on a primary study of approximately 50 respondents comprising human resource senior personnel, Dun and Bradstreet analyzed the key human resource trends related to challenges, skill shortage, talent management and employee engagement among others. Some of the key findings include –
Maximizing productivity with limited human capital turned out to be the most critical challenge faced by HR leaders today. Effective talent management strategies and creation of modules to prepare employees to play multiple roles to cater to the need of the hour to meet business objectives with available manpower are sighted as key focus areas. This was clearly reflected in the findings where 57% of respondents identified talent management as the most critical area that needs immediate attention in terms of adopting best practices for Corporate India. Three major benefits of effective talent management included retention of skilled manpower, gaining a competitive edge and meeting long term business prospects
The past few years have witnessed a surge in employee engagement initiatives across companies in Corporate India. However, more than one third of respondents cited employee engagement as a critical challenge faced by HR leaders. More than 50% of HR leaders revealed that flexible work arrangement and good infrastructure as effective initiatives to catapult employee engagement.
Approximately 75% of HR leaders agree that the country is facing issues related to skill shortage primarily employability skills. 73% of respondents cited difficulty to attract candidates with suitable skillsets needed for their respective industries/job roles as the major reason for skill shortage. More than 50% respondents also mentioned mismatch in salary and compensation expectations as another major reason for skill shortage
The publication has shared the views of experts on the existing role of HR functions for an organization’s growth. These experts have captured the essence of the evolving organizational needs and shared their thoughts on how they expect the role of HR to evolve. They believe that the role of human resource management is going to be accentuated in the near future for aligning employee and organizational goals with each other.