- First-of- its- kind discourse on the crucial role of Human Resource in building an organisation and adding value to it.
- HR needs to transform itself radically. Introducing conscientiousness can make a big difference, say experts
Sonipat, November 14, 2016: The Third Edition of the HR Conclave themed on ‘Building Conscientious Organisations: The People Dimension’ was hosted by the Centre for Leadership & Change, O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), supported by HR Club of Jindal Global Business School (JGBS). The event held at the university campus in Sonipat had thought leaders in Human Resource, representing several multinational organisations, distinguished policymakers and academicians as participants.
Delivering the welcome address Prof. (Dr) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, JGU underscored the relevance of the theme chosen for this year’s conclave. He said, “In today’s dynamic work environments, nothing is more important than building a sustainable workforce. This needs positive thinking and engagements of individuals aligned to the vision and culture of their organization. Keeping this in mind, we decided to focus on the theme of creating conscientious organizations.” Defining conscientiousness as the propensity to follow socially prescribed norms, Dr Raj Kumar said that industry stalwarts at the conclave would look at the subject from diverse perspectives.
Introducing the theme of the conclave, Dr Sanjeev P. Sahni, Principal Director, Jindal Institute of Behaviourial Sciences and Executive Director, Centre for Leadership and Change, JGU pointed out that HR personnel are generally seen as power-centric advisors with little or almost no human touch. “Most HR personnel today tell you what training or orientation you need rather than how to be trained. I believe that HR needs to transform itself radically into a more viable and respectable department and introducing the concept of conscientiousness will play a big role here.”
The Conclave saw three plenary sessions. The first session was on “Imagining a Conscientious Organisation- A Transcendental Approach.” Followed by a session about “Finding the Soul of Organisations- How to Transform Current Organisations into More Conscientious Organisations” while the third revolved around the theme “The Nuts and Bolts of Building a Sustainable Model of a Conscientious Organisation. A Transactional Approach”.
Ms. Sunita Singh (IRS), Commissioner of Income Tax in her inaugural speech stressed on the social responsibilities of working professionals. Taking an ethically correct and conscientious decision at the right time, she said, can make a huge impact on changing a workplace. “Don’t blame institutions, systems, or as a matter of fact, even HR personnel for negative vibes in your work environment. Take a positive stance yourself and add value by following your heart and choosing the right deed against the wrong,” she urged.
In his keynote address, Mr. Pradeep Chakravarthy, Author & Leadership Guru, a former fellow Mckinsey Leadership Institute India said, “Playing the managerial or HR role demands skills to manage complexities of human minds. People are different in their requirements even if they are moving along the same trajectory.” To help create a quality workforce that is also high on morale, the HR process assumptions, need to be highly synchronized and transparent, Mr. Chakravarthy added.
Mr. Viswanathan S, Chief People Officer, NIIT Technologies made an interesting observation that motivation changes according to the situation and situation changes behaviors at any given point of time. “To be successful in today’s fast-changing and competitive business environment, companies need to adapt constantly to changing mindset and condition. Hence, there is a pressing need for HR units to take a leadership role at a strategic level to set up long-term vision and goals. Only then, individuals will be able to make uniformly conscious decisions and differentiate between rights and wrongs from business development perspectives,” Mr. Vishwanathan, elaborated.
Mr. Amulya Shah, Director Human Resource, Samsung underlined the need for ‘finding the soul of an organization’. “Creativity and innovation come with soul searching. If organizations are able to find out their raison d’être, their capabilities rise in a manner never seen before. On the other hand, if they only focus on revenue generation, there are chances of active disengagement of the employees” he elaborated.
Speaking on the significance of human resource management in the hospitality sector, Mr. Swarup Sinha, Principal, ITC Limited, said, “In our industry, quality talent management is crucial from an operational perspective and is also a challenge. Processes and efficiencies need to be smooth to satisfy our guests, especially the millennial population; this is why it becomes all the more important to educate employees at each and every level of hierarchy. HR departments play an indispensable role in tuning our employees according to the organizational goals and creating a sustainable and customer-friendly atmosphere.”
Mr. Abhay Kapoor, HR Leader, Amazon India said that HR personnel in modern technology-oriented organizations needs to be decisive thinkers capable of analyzing information quickly to take robust decisions. “This helps in gaining a business competitive advantage, which involves building the capacity and conscience of the company. HR management is no longer an isolated business function, it is rather an inward journey in creating the best value for a company in the market,” Mr. Kapoor stressed.
The forum focused on the best HR practices in the industry and concluded with the consensus that ethical HR management, coupled with wisdom can create a legacy of success in the corporate world. Mr. Biren Anshu, Deputy Vice President, Oberoi Group of Hotels, Mr. Nikhil Bhende, Head HR, ICICI Prudential AMC, Mr. Sarthak Raychaudhur, Vice President HR, Whirlpool Corporation, Mr. Ayush Gupta- Deputy General Manager, GAIL among other distinguished members also participated in the day long deliberations.
Mr. Mohit Gupta, Head of Career Development & Placement Division at JGU, summed it all up by saying “At Jindal Global University it is our incessant endeavor to make all our students market-ready. Not only do the interactions with the industry doyens help build their confidence, but also ensures they are aware of current trends & sentiments in real world. The theme for the 3rd edition of our HR Conclave was carefully chosen to echo the growing sense of conscientiousness in India today under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. I am happy to hear the reinforcement of such virtues by all the speakers through the day. The enthusiastic participation and attendance of the students of our Global Law School, School of International Affairs as well as School of Public Policy, besides B-School, which organized the HR Conclave, gives me unending hope of a more conscientious business environment in India tomorrow.”