Working towards creating a fungible workplace

Mumbai, November 30, 2022: The role of the human resource heads especially in a post disruptive environment has been elevated to attract and retain talent and at the same time formulate better employee value propositions to form deeper connections with the company to attain business goals.
 
The pandemic has dramatically elevated the expectations of the workforce as employees grow more conscious about the attributes that they look for in their current employment. This was discussed at the 12th CII HR Conclave with the theme- ‘HR Release 2023+ Evolve | Innovate | Inspire’ organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
 
Speaking on the subject of the future of the worker, Avijit Bhattacharya, CHRO, Tata Capital Limited stated that today, the employee experience that the company provides has become even more important than the very consumer experience itself.
 
“Just like the consumer, even the employee has several choices before he decides to choose your organization. A consumer experience may not be visible to the other consumers of your product or services, however an employee experience that you may provide would certainly be visible to other employees,” Bhattacharya informed.
 
He also informed that a potential employee consumes many such experiences on social media even before he joins the organization which influences his decision-making process.
 
Pallab Mukherji, Chief People Officer, Equitas Small Finance explained that the job of the leadership today is to empower the managers who in turn can motivate the workforce. “The processes cannot operate in isolation. There is a need to create a fungible workplace where people can work in different models,” he said.
 
Sudakshina Bhattacharya, CHRO, HDFC Ergo revealed that companies who prioritise employee experience always tend to get their customer experience right. “There is a need to understand the common thread. So, it should be the customer first, but employee always. This is how you can ensure employee productivity,” she pointed out.
 
Speaking on the subject of redesigning rewards for the future workforce of the organization, Amit Chincholikar, Group CHRO, Tata Consumer Products stated that there is a need to keep looking at rewards for differentiation.
 
“Given the talent challenge, there is a need to train people to take up newer roles from within the organisation. Also, when you incubate new products, you can incubate new start-ups within the organization as you give them an opportunity to take up entrepreneurial roles,” he informed.

He stated that companies need to work towards ensuring an elevated employee experience. “If you give him an opportunity to grow and learn, it will keep him back,” Chincholikar said.
 
Anandorup Ghose, Partner, Deloitte India explained that over the past few years, the employee models have changed. “People are going to live and work longer, and people are not ready to retire. So, there is a need to constantly change the employee models as well in the companies,” he pointed out.

As employees grow more conscious about the attributes that they look for in current and prospective employment, there is an urgent need for organizations to evolve the employee value proposition by making it more humane, enabling employees to form deeper connections, offer radical flexibility, promise of personal growth and holistic wellbeing.
 
Meenakshi Priyam, Group CHRO, Udaan explained that what attracts an employee to an organization is not the reason that they stay. “An employee looks at factors like career growth, the manager, and the company itself and values it more than the monetary compensation that he would receive,” she added.
 
Krish Shankar, Group Head HR, Infosys stated that there is a change in the mindset of the employees who are joining the workforce. “There is a need to keep changing the employee value proposition or the offerings that you give, that people see. You need to keep updating or reinventing the value proposition,” he said.
 
Speaking on how companies can find competitive advantage in the learning function, Heide Abelli, Chief Content Officer & CEO North America, Byteedge stated that the learning and development function must be uniquely tailored. “This is to address the specific demands of business strategy and to expand and extend the organisations competitive edge,” she said.
 
According to Abelli, the central role of the chief learning officer is to extend and expand the organisations competitive advantage through a differentiated and dynamic learning & talent development strategy. 
 
Concluding the session, Sanjay Behl, Chairman, CII National Committee on Leadership & HR & CEO & Executive Director, Greaves Electric Mobility stated that the world is in the midst of one of the biggest crises, but at the same time it is an opportunity that must not be missed. 
 
“There is a need to innovate and get the right skill set for the workforce to match the opportunity with the talent,” he said.
 
Behl informed that there is a need to set up a new code for the human resource. “All the stakeholders should have one agenda that is to empower the human spirit,” he added.