CONTEMPORARY ISSUE ON SEMINAR A STUDY ON

Recent trends in human resource management

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Preface
The underlying aim of the seminar on contemporary issue as an integral part of MBA program is to provide the students with practical aspects of the organization working environment. Such type of presentation helps a student to visualize and realize about the congruencies between the theoretical learning in the premises of college and actual followed by the organization. It gives the knowledge of application aspect of the theories learnt in the classroom. The seminar project in Recent trends in human resource management is a complete experience in itself, which provide me with the understanding. This has become as inspirable of my knowledge of management being learned in MBA program.

Quotes 2010

Following are some quotes1 by leaders of INDIA INC., which shows the importance and need of HRM that they felt during the period of recession. We linked hikes to performance - Vikram Bakshi, MD, MacDonalds India For the first time, we have an HR professional on the Board of Directors. Today, every organization recognizes the role of a CFO in managing money, but there is another important function which is HR, for managing peopleChanda Kochhar, MD and CEO, ICICI Bank Ltd. I met all, 100% of our employees Vineet Nayar, CEO, HCL Technologies. Invest in Leaders, even at premium Akhil Gupta, MD, Blackstone Advisors Cement relationships with your employees-Kiran Karnik, Ex-President, NASSCOM You have to be visible as a leader- L. Brooks, CEO, Goldman Sachs India Keep Employees abreast of all happenings- Onkar S. Kanwar, CEO, Apollo Tyres Tough times dont last, tough people do K. M. Birla, Chairman, ABG The first deliberate call we took is not to lay off anybody. We decided to reskill all surplus workers- Arun Bharat, CEO, SRF Ltd.

Source : Business Today( Jan 10, 2010, issue)

Table of Contents
Quotes- 2010.1 INTRODUCTION3 New Trends in International HRM ..5 Human Resource Management in India7 Top 10 Human Resource Practices- Post Recession...10 Top 10 Trends in Employee Management..14 Top 10 Work Force Trends.............19 Demographics and changing nature of work..20 Future of Employment Relations............26 New Trend of Upgrading Talent.29 Changes in Technology...33 CONCLUSION...36 References...37

INTRODUCTION

H
order.

uman resource management is a process of bringing people and organizations together so that the goals of each other are met. The role of

HR manager is shifting from that of a protector and screener to the role of a planner and change agent. Personnel directors are the new corporate heroes. The name of the game today in business is personnel. Nowadays it is not possible to show a good financial or operating report unless your personnel relations are in

Over the years, highly skilled and knowledge based jobs are increasing while low skilled jobs are decreasing. This calls for future skill mapping through proper HRM initiatives. Indian organizations are also witnessing a change in systems, management cultures and philosophy due to the global alignment of Indian organizations. There is a need for multi skill development. Role of HRM is becoming all the more important. Some of the recent trends that are being observed are as follows:

The recent quality management standards ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 of 2000 focus more on people centric organizations. Organizations now need to prepare themselves in order to address people centered issues with
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commitment from the top management, with renewed thrust on HR issues, more particularly on training.

Charles Handy also advocated future organizational models like Shamrock, Federal and Triple I. Such organizational models also refocus on people centric issues and call for redefining the future role of HR professionals. To leapfrog ahead of competition in this world of uncertainty, organizations have introduced six- sigma practices. Six- sigma uses rigorous analytical tools with leadership from the top and develops a method for sustainable improvement. These practices improve organizational values and helps in creating defect free product or services at minimum cost. Human resource outsourcing is a new accession that makes a traditional HR department redundant in an organization. Exult, the international pioneer in HR BPO already roped in Bank of America, international players BP Amoco & over the years plan to spread their business to most of the Fortune 500 companies. With the increase of global job mobility, recruiting competent people is also increasingly becoming difficult, especially in India. Therefore by creating an enabling culture, organizations are also required to work out a retention strategy for the existing skilled manpower.

NEW TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL HRM

International HRM places greater emphasis on a number of responsibilities and functions such as relocation, orientation and translation services to help employees adapt to a new and different environment outside their own country. Selection of employees requires careful evaluation of the personal characteristics of the candidate and his/her spouse. Training and development extends beyond information and orientation training to include sensitivity training and field experiences that will enable the manager to understand cultural differences better. Managers need to be protected from career development risks, re-entry problems and culture shock. To balance the pros and cons of home country and host country evaluations, performance evaluations should combine the two sources of appraisal information. Compensation systems should support the overall strategic intent of the organization but should be customized for local conditions. In many European countries - Germany for one, law establishes representation. Organizations typically negotiate the agreement with the unions at a national level. In Europe it is more likely for salaried employees and managers to be unionized.

HR Managers should do the following things to ensure success Use workforce skills and abilities in order to exploit environmental opportunities and neutralize threats. Employ innovative reward plans that recognize employee contributions and grant enhancements. Indulge in continuous quality improvement through TQM and HR contributions like training, development, counseling, etc Utilize people with distinctive capabilities to create unsurpassed competence in an area, e.g. Xerox in photocopiers, 3M in adhesives, Telco in trucks etc.

Lay off workers in a smooth way explaining facts to unions, workers and other affected groups e.g. IBM, Kodak, Xerox, etc.

HR Managers today are focusing attention on the following

Policies- HR policies based on trust, openness, equity and consensus.

Motivation- Create conditions in which people are willing to work with zeal, initiative and enthusiasm; make people feel like winners.

Relations- Fair treatment of people and prompt redress of grievances would pave the way for healthy work-place relations.

Change agent- Prepare workers to accept technological changes by clarifying doubts.

Quality Consciousness- Commitment to quality in all aspects of personnel administration will ensure success.

Due to the new trends in HR, in a nutshell the HR manager should treat people as resources, reward them equitably, and integrate their aspirations with corporate goals through suitable HR policies.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

India is being widely recognized as one of the most exciting emerging economics in the world. Besides becoming a global hub of outsourcing, Indian firms are spreading their wings globally through mergers and acquisitions. During the first four months of 1997, Indian companies have bought 34 foreign companies for about U.S. $11 billion dollars. This impressive development has been due to a growth in inputs (capital and labor) as well as factor productivity. By the year 2020, India is expected to add about 250 million to its labour pool at the rate of about 18 million a year, which is more than the entire labour force of Germany. This so called demographic dividend has drawn a new interest in the Human Resource concepts and practices in India.

Indian HRM in Transition One of the noteworthy features of the Indian workplace is demographic uniqueness. It is estimated that both China and India will have a population of 1.45 billion people by 2030; however, India will have a larger workforce than China. Indeed, it is likely India will have 986 million people of working age in 2030, which will probably be about 300 million more than in 2007. And by 2050, it is expected India will have 230 million more workers than China and about 500 million more than the United States of America (U.S.). It may be noted that half of Indias current population of 1.1 billion people are under of 25 years of age. While this fact is a demographic dividend for the economy, it is also a danger sign for the countrys ability to create new jobs at an unprecedented rate.

With the retirement age being 55 to 58 years of age in most public sector organizations, Indian workplaces are dominated by youth. Increasing the retirement age in critical areas like universities, schools, hospitals, research institutions and public service is a topic of considerable current debate and agenda of political parties. The divergent view, that each society has a unique set of national nuances, which guide particular managerial beliefs and actions, is being challenged in Indian society. An emerging dominant perspective is the influence of globalization on technological advancements, business management, and education and communication infrastructures are leading to a converging effect on managerial mindsets and business behaviors. And when India embraced liberalization and economic reform in the early 1990s, dramatic changes were set in motion in terms of corporate mindsets and HRM
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practices as a result of global imperatives and accompanying changes in societal priorities. Indeed, the onset of a burgeoning competitive service sector compelled a demographic shift in worker educational status and heightened the demand for job relevant skills as well as regional diversity. Expectedly, there has been a marked shift towards valuing human resources (HR) in Indian organizations as they become increasingly strategy driven as opposed to the culture of the status quo. Accordingly, competitive advantage in industries like software services, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology (where India is seeking to assert global dominance), the significance of HRs is being emphasized. These relativities were demonstrated in a recent study of three global Indian companies with (235 managers) when evidence was presented that positively linked the HRM practices with organizational performance. In spite of this trend of convergence, a deep sense of locality exists creating more robust cross vengeance in the conceptual as well as practical domain. Key HRM Practices in Indian Organizations
HRM Practice Job Description Observable Features Percentage of employees with formally defined work roles is very high in the public sector. Strong dependence on formal labour market. Direct recruitment from institutions of higher learning is very common amongst management, engineering and similar professional cadres. Amongst other vehicles, placement agencies, internet and print media are the most popular medium for recruitment. Strong emphasis on security and lifetime employment in public sector including a range of facilities like, healthcare, housing and schooling for children.

Recruitment

Compensation

Training and Poorly institutionalized in Indian organisations. Popularity of Development training programs and their effect in skill and value
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Key HRM Practices in Indian Organizations

HRM Practice Performance Appraisal Promotion Reward and Observable Features development undeveloped. A very low coverage of employees under formal performance appraisal and rewards or organisational goals Moderately variable across industries. Seniority systems still dominate the public sector enterprises. Use of merit and performance limited mostly to globally orientated industries.

Limited in scope. The seniority based escalator system in the public sector provides stability and progression in Career Planning career. Widespread use of voluntary retirement scheme in public sector by high performing staff. Cross functional career paths uncommon. Gender Equity Driven by proactive court rulings, ILO guidelines and legislature provisions. Lack of strategic and inclusion vision spread. The central government has fixed 15 per cent reservations for scheduled castes, 7.5 per cent for scheduled tribes and 27 per cent for backward communities. States vary in their reservation systems.

Reservation System

TOP 10 HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES-POST RECESSION

Top Ten HR Practices that organizational goals every year: can help you achieve your

1. Safe, Healthy and Happy Workplace: Creating a safe, healthy and happy workplace will ensure that your employees feel homely and stay with your organization for a very long time. Capture their pulse through employee surveys. 2. Open Book Management Style: Sharing information about contracts, sales, new clients, management objectives, company policies, employee personal data etc. ensures that the employees
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are as enthusiastic about the business as the management. Through this open book process you can gradually create a culture of participative management and ignite the creative endeavor of your work force.. It involves making people an interested party to your strategic decisions, thus aligning them to your business objectives. Be as open as you can. It helps in building trust & motivates employees. Employee self service portal, Manager on-line etc. are the tools available today to the management to practice this style. 3. Performance linked Bonuses: Paying out bonuses or having any kind of variable compensation plan can be both an incentive and disillusionment, based on how it is administered and communicated. Bonus must be designed in such a way that people understand that there is no payout unless the company hits a certain level of profitability. Additional criteria could be the team's success and the individual's performance. Never pay out bonus without measuring performance, unless it is a statutory obligation.

4.

360

Degree the

Performance peers and

Management subordinates,

Feedback has been

System: This system, which solicits feedback from seniors (including boss), increasingly embraced as the best of all available methods for collecting performance feedback. Gone are the days of working hard to impress only one person, now the opinions of all matter,
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especially if you are in a leadership role (at any level). Every person in the team is responsible for giving relevant, positive and constructive feedback. Such systems also help in identifying leaders for higher level positions in the organization. Senior managers could use this feedback for self development. 5. Fair Evaluation System for Employees: Develop an evaluation system that clearly links individual performance to corporate business goals and priorities. Each employee should have well defined reporting relationships. Self rating as a part of evaluation process empowers employees. Evaluation becomes fairer if it is based on the records of periodic counseling & achievements of the employee, tracked over the year. For higher objectivity, besides the immediate boss, each employee should be screened by the next higher level (often called a Reviewer). Cross functional feedback, if obtained by the immediate boss from another manager (for whom this employee's work is also important), will add to the fairness of the system. Relative ratings of all subordinates reporting to the same manager are another tool for fairness of evaluation. Normalization of evaluation is yet another dimension of improving fairness.

6. Knowledge Sharing: Adopt a systematic approach to ensure that knowledge management supports strategy. Store knowledge in databases to provide greater access to information posted
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either by the company or the employees on the knowledge portals of the company. When an employee returns after attending any competencies or skills development program, sharing essential knowledge with others could be made mandatory. Innovative ideas (implemented at the work place) are good to be posted on these knowledge sharing platforms. However, what to store & how to maintain a Knowledge base requires deep thinking to avoid clutter. 7. Highlight performers: Create profiles of top performers and make these visible through company intranet, display boards etc. It will encourage others to put in their best, thereby creating a competitive environment within the company. If a systems approach is followed to shortlist high performers, you can surely avoid disgruntlements. 8. Open house discussions and feedback mechanism: Ideas rule the world. Great organizations recognize, nurture and execute great ideas. Employees are the biggest source of ideas. The only thing that can stop great ideas flooding your organization is the lack of an appropriate mechanism to capture ideas. Open house discussions, employee-management meets, suggestion boxes and ideas capture tools such as Critical Incidents diaries are the building blocks that can help the Managers to identify & develop talent.

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9. Reward Ceremonies: Merely recognizing talent does not work, you need to couple it with ceremonies where recognition is broadcast. Looking at the Dollar Check is often less significant than listening to the thunderous applause by colleagues in a public forum. 10. Delight Employees with the Unexpected: The last but not least way is to occasionally delight your employees with unexpected things that may come in the form of a reward, a gift or a well-done certificate. Reward not only the top performers but also a few others who are in need of motivation to exhibit their potential.

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TOP 10 TRENDS IN EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT

The Indian workplace has undergone a sea change, and human resource priorities have now taken centre stage. In a knowledge economy, it is peoplenot capital or marketwho make all the difference. As talent occupies centre stage in the Indian workplace, managing and retaining manpower is becoming crucial to an organization's success. To achieve this, companies across sectors are focusing on some of the more critical HR practices. Ten such trends are: 1. Leadership Development: Creating a pipeline of leadership talent is key to a business' future growth. Peter Cappelli, the professor of management and director of the Center for Human Resources, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, says it is imperative for the top level of an organization to make leadership talent management a priority, and put its money into long-term plans, as opposed to short-term ones. If companies are worried about their talent pipeline, they have to develop their people, says Cappelli. Also, good bench strength helps companies deal with volatility in labour supply. "Companies including Hindustan Unilever, Procter and Gamble and GlaxoSmithKline have been able to withstand attrition in key executives because they have always invested in developing leaders," says P. Dwarakanath, president, National Human Resource Development Network. Experts say succession planning should not be seen in isolation, but as part of overall organizational development. 2. Work-life Balance: No company or employee has found the Holy Grail of balancing work and life, but that is a work in progress. However, multinationals, information technology (IT) and IT enabled services (ITeS) companies have been
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able to promote the balance between career, family and leisure-time better. Other sectors have also been increasingly promoting a work-life balance. Interestingly, most companies in India use benefits such as flexible timings, telecommuting, crche facilities and concierge services as an attraction and retention strategy. "We are yet to fully buy into the fact that employees become more productive and remain motivated when companies allow them to have a life beyond work," says Prabir Jha, global head, human resources, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd.

3. Inclusion and Diversity: With higher numbers of people joining the workforce in India at a time when companies across the world have an ageing workforce on their rolls, conflicts are to be expected. "One of the challenges companies face today is resolving conflicts among different generations," says Pavan Bhatia, executive director, human resources, PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd. "An inclusive and diverse workforce is the future of the workplace," he adds. Therefore, companies are investing both time and resources in ensuring that all age groups are comfortable working together. Organizations in India have also been focusing on making workplaces more representative. For companies such as ICICI Bank Ltd, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Vedanta Resources, PepsiCo India, Shell Companies in India and Bharti Airtel Ltd, gender diversity has become a critical area of focus. 4. Health and wellness: The work culture at globalized workplaces involves long working hours, frequent travel, multitasking and tight deadlinesand all this often leaves employees mentally and physically stressed. "Employees are increasingly grappling with lifestyle-related diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and cholesterol, which can be checked by regular monitoring and a healthy lifestyle," says A. Sudhakar, executive vice-president, Human Resources, Dabur India.
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Companies have begun to realize that healthy employees contribute to higher efficiency and productivity. Apart from medical benefits, companies are also offering yoga classes and health camps and have doctors on campus. HCL Technologies Ltd, for instance, like many other IT companies, has 24/7 medical facilities in all its centres. DuPont has an Intranet-based tool, which assesses an employee's health through a questionnaire and makes recommendations based on the scores. 5. Right Skilling: Right skilling, or matching jobs with a particular level of training rather than hiring over skilled workers, is gaining currency. Companies use this strategy to tide over a manpower supply crunch and to broaden their talent base. "You don't need an IITian to supervise a car maker's shop floor or a management graduate from a premier business school to sell soaps, which largely has been the case," says T.V. Mohandas Pai, head, human resources, Infosys Technologies Ltd. 6. Managing Solid Citizens: "Solid citizens" are the second-rung performers who make up 50-60% of employees in any organization. They are the backbone of any company. Although they contribute significantly to the company's overall performance, they don't have the potential to become leaders. "Unfortunately, most organizations focus on the 15-20% key talent at the expense of solid citizens," says Dwarakanath. Organizations which neglect their solid citizens are doing this at their own peril, say experts. Unlike star performers who are potential leaders, and therefore more likely to move out of an organization faster, this group provides stability and bench strength to an organization. 7. Instant Rewards: Recognizing and rewarding performers is one of the most effective tools to attract and retain the right talent. Companies in India are looking
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at rewards systems more seriously, and are adopting total rewards practices that include compensation in both cash and kind. Apart from lifestyle perquisites such as a house, a car or a club membership, profit-linked incentives, deferred gratuity, and wealth-building programs in the form of stock options and soft loans, companies are also including work-life balance programs; competency pay packages where niche skills are compensated; and career opportunities, such as overseas assignments, new projects, etc., to reward staff. These rewards can be tailored to suit the top performers' aspirations to achieve maximum effect. 8. Measuring human capital: Evaluation of performance plays a key role, not just in rewarding an individual employee, but also in setting performance benchmarks. And hence, there is the need for a fair and transparent performance management system. A strong performance analysis helps make human resources both efficient and effective. "In today's business environment, where the focus is on increasing performance, companies must have robust systems to identify performers so that the best performers get identified, recognized and duly rewarded," says Ganesh Shermon, partner and head, human capital advisory service, KPMG India. Shermon cites the example of oil and gas company Bharat Petroleum Ltd, which has instituted a balanced scorecard based on key result areas to measure performance. 9. Managing Aspirations: As aspirations of organizations grow, so do those of employees. And, with the changing lifestyles and profiles of the workforce, personal and professional aspirations of employees are not just varied, but are increasingly on the rise. "Since competitive advantage depends on competent people, knowing what employees aspire for could just be the way to have an edge over competitors," says Kishore Poduri, head, human resources, eClerx Services Ltd.
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10. 360 Degrees Feedback: Finally, recognizing the need to make performance appraisal systems more effective, an increasing number of companies are using the 360 degrees or multi-rater feedback process. Unlike the traditional appraisal system, which gives one-dimensional feedback, this one allows an employee to give feedback to her reporting manager, peers, direct reports and others. "Multirater feedback not only reduces the risk of biased perceptions, but also gives you a holistic view from all the stakeholders within the company," says Sanjay Bali, vice-president, HR, Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd. While most companies started using this system as a means for performance appraisal, most of them now use the 360 degrees feedback system to identify the learning and development needs of employees.

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TOP 10 WORKFORCE TRENDS

1. A global war for Smart Talent will be the top driver of competitive advantage, as educated, skilled and experienced employees will be in demand. 2. The aging of the population in America and Europe will have dramatic effect on society and the economy impacting productivity, knowledge and growth.
3.

An increase in women in the U.S. workforce will change the policies, power and positioning of organizations. A diversity savvy workforce will be required to understand and align with the diversity in the global marketplace.

4.

5. Finding, training and retaining high-tech skilled employees from a global talent pool will be the greatest challenge for every organization. 6. Incorporating innovation into the organizational DNA will be a key driver of future competitive advantage. 7. Building a sustainable, healthy and green workplace will be an essential capability for retaining talent and attracting the future workforce 8. Preparing employees to meet the challenges of a complex and stressful future, where accelerated change and risks can be managed effectively with high performance agility, will be vitally important. 9. An organization that is committed to employee development, continual education and training, will return to the organization new skills and new competencies.
10.

Attracting the next workforce, or preparing the current one, will require a new workforce culture to better understand transnational teams, online collaboration, globalization and business process transformation.
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DEMOGRAPHIC AND CHANGING NATURE OF WORK

One of the most powerful forces affecting the changing nature of work and the work force is demographics the changing distribution of the work force along a number of important dimensions. Here we can only briefly highlight the most important demographically- related changes that will be occurring during the next decade. The work force of 2010 will be significantly different than it is in 2004, but the characteristics of workers today are already very different from what most of us think they are. And basic changes in the characteristics, beliefs, values, and expectations of millions of workers in all functional areas will require equally fundamental changes in the way those individuals and teams are managed. The Changing Nature of Work and the Demand for Workers One of the most important changes that affects both organizations and management is what we like to call the demand side the kinds of workers who are required to do the kind of work that needs to be done. For insight into how changes in the nature of work itself are affecting who is in the work force, we reviewed the research by Professor Richard Florida of Carnegie-Mellon University. His data shows very clearly that the most rapidly increasing category of workers is what he calls the creative class those who are engaged in what others have called high-end knowledge work and what we have described as Creative Activities. The rise of knowledge work as the dominant activity in the economy has driven the development, coalescence, and emergence of this new class of
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workers those who produce and apply knowledge. The middle class, the working class, and the service class were products of the Industrial Revolution and the growing automation of the means of production. The vast majority of jobs today involve producing, applying, and distributing knowledge rather than things essentially creative activities. Florida points out that creative work activities with low process structure and unpredictable outcomes are what create economic value and competitive advantage today. But the most important work force management insight stemming from his analysis is the values and expectations that Creatives bring to their work. As he suggests, creative people: - Work on varied and individualized schedules Are self-motivated and self-directed - Rely on their own tools Place profession and career ahead of a specific employer - Expect to work in a variety of job situations (and for a variety of employers) over time - Place a high premium on self-control (that is, on being in charge of what they do, where they do it, and under what conditions) - Prefer to work in close proximity to others who share their interests, skills, and work styles - Tend to choose where they want to live and work first, and only then worry about who they will work for, or where they will find the kind of work they want to do Thus, without even considering the basic demographic changes within the population at large, we already have a work environment in which well over one-third of the work that must be done (and by far the most important third) requires people who are very different from the dependent
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manual laborers, clerks, and even middle managers around whom much of organizational life (and management practice) has been built for the last several hundred years. Changing Work Force Demographics but equally dramatic

changes are occurring on the supply side of work. The behavioral and emotional attributes of the workers who constitute todays work force are changing so rapidly that it is an open question whether organizations will be able to adapt at all. First, just consider the fundamental impact of recently changing birth rates along with the aging of the so-called Baby Boomers. Birth rates have an enormous impact on the labor pool, and thus on job opportunities, wage and salary expectations, and related attitudes about work and life. Indeed, we believe the most fundamental driver of work force diversity today is the continuing decline in birth rates in virtually all developed countries around the world. The work force is aging, and it is growing at a much slower rate. The result is a much broader range of ages in all professions generational diversity is a new condition that most organizations have never faced before. And the shrinking number of new entrants to the work force means more importing of labor (and thus a more multicultural work force), more exporting of work, more use of consultants and part-timers, and a growing need to keep older workers in the active labor pool. To be more specific, in 1965 there were approximately 4 million live births in the United
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States. Today those individuals are 39 years old, and at height of their business careers. Just ten years later, in 1975, there were only 3.1 million births (in the United States); those individuals are just 29 today but will be in their mid-thirties in 2010. That is decline of 28 percent in the biggest source of the labor pool in just 10 years. And that means that talented workers will be short supply and thus highly demanding for the rest of this decade. Because of those declines there are fewer and fewer young adults entering the work force far too few to replace those who are reaching the tail end of their careers. And with the Baby Boomer generation now in its late 50s, that pattern is about to become far more pronounced. The net result is that the work force in total is aging, and it is growing at a much slower rate. U.S. Census Bureau data show a dramatic flattening of the age curves over the next several decades. That is, there will be many more older workers, and many fewer younger ones, based on current birth rates and population statistics. And of course, older folks are staying in the work force much longer as a result of both personal choice and economic necessity. In fact, many organizations already have to cope with what amounts to four generations of workers in the workplace all at the same time. These four groups are: Seniors Baby Boomers and their elders who are 50- and 60-somethings, many of who are already actively seeking or enjoying part-time work, and/or flexible working arrangements. Retirement in its traditional sense just isnt what these folks want. Forty something mid-career
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professionals- In one sense these are the workers you want they are young enough to have lots of energy, they are ambitious, they want to contribute, and theyve been in the work force for 20+ years already. But they are also frequently the parents of growing children (and the children of aging parents) and typically get caught in classic work/family life balance issues. Thirtysomething- These are the young, hard-working, but still wet behind-the-ears professionals. They have lots of energy, but they need lots of direction and molding as well. Many of them were caught up in the dot-com boom of the late 1990s; some were incredibly successful, and led rather heady lives. Today they are older, somewhat wiser, and still ready to work hard. But they are also rediscovering life outside work and most of them dont want to work those 80-hour weeks any more. Generation X and Generation Y- This group, predominantly twenty-something, came into the work force with a very different set of values and expectations from their elders. They grew up with the PC and instant messaging, with Game Boys, with cell phones, and with loud music. They are incredibly proficient at multi-tasking, and they are more social and collaborative from their genes up. They are willing to work hard too, but only on their terms. Theyre unwilling to suffer under poor managers, and they have no hesitation in speaking their minds and in moving on quickly if they get turned off, or turned down. And the overall shrinkage in the number of new entrants to the work force is another reason why the Seniors will be actively encouraged to stay in the work
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force. That shrinkage also means more importing of labor (and thus a more multicultural work force), more exporting of work (offshore outsourcing may be unpopular, but its not going to go away), and more use of consultants and part-timers. All of these factors mean a whole lot more complexity in work force management and support. For example, this picture suggests that workers will ask for and get much more choice in the design of their workplaces and a much wider range of types of office equipment. In essence, we have to recognize that, in Alvin Tofflers words, one size misfits all. This diversity will in turn put enormous pressure on infrastructure and support staffs, which will be tasked to satisfy those complex requirements and manage the resulting portfolio of workplaces and technologies. Implications for Real Estate Executives The general business implication of these demographic shifts is that there is going to be a major talent shortage, especially for knowledge workers, in the developed world within five years. Although the human resource management challenges are fairly obvious, the implications for the real estate professional are perhaps less clear. We believe that changes in demographics and an increased demand for creative talent means that more work will have to be taken to the worker, not that workers will migrate and relocate to wherever companies want to be. The basic location strategy for sustainable companies within five years will be the development of a workplace portfolio that has as its primary focus, Where are the workers we need and how do we move our business there?
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In addition, this new work force will demand and expect very different workplace configurations more collaborative space in corporate facilities, a wider variety of locations and facilities in which work can be accomplished, more personal control over when and where they will work, and more support for remote and mobile work styles. The task of real estate and facilities managers is clearly shifting from providing a place to enabling the organizations work to get done wherever and whenever it must be done. Organizations will need comprehensive real estate strategies of place that appeal to all the major demographic segments. No one group will supply the talent needed in the future. And the various groups will continue to have varying needs and expectations. Providing work force support is not going to get any easier in the future; in fact, it will be far more complex than it is today.

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FUTURE OF EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS

THE CHANGING CHARACTER, PLACES AND PATTERNS OF WORK have been the subject of intense policy debate and speculation. Will there be sufficient paid jobs to support the wealth and health of the nation? Will the employment opportunities of the future assume a radically different character from the present, and are we, as some commentators contend, poised to experience a radical redrawing of the boundaries between paid and unpaid work? As a consequence of policymakers, think tanks and other visionaries vying to impose their particular interpretations of the future, there is no shortage of responses to these complex questions. Commentators typically assert that the forces of globalization, new technologies and business restructuring are challenging current patterns of working, but find little else on which to agree. The more pessimistic accounts suggest that the new millennium will be blighted by diminishing job opportunities in the economys traditional industries and occupations, rising levels of unemployment and widening social divisions. Others, however, point to developing shortages of suitably trained and skilled workers to support the growth of new production and service industries and signal new possibilities for more liberating forms of work and a better blend of leisure and working time. IN CONTEMPORARY DEBATE OVER THE FUTURE of employment relations not enough attention is focused any longer in research on the nature of the power relationship in the workplace. This is a strategic mistake. The role of trade unions as voluntary and autonomous institutions committed to social justice in the workplace is being underplayed. By contrast their function as partners of
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companies

in

assisting

to

bring

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improvements

in

productivity,

competitiveness and profitability are perhaps being over-stressed. In the nineteenth century many craft trade unions sought to justify their existence in a hostile political economy that questioned their right to exist by emphasizing their role as stabilizing and respectable forces in the maintenance of order and authority in the workplace. In the search for legitimacy they argued there was a harmonious common interest uniting capital with labour that transcended any underlying division of purpose. The strike weapon and the threat of its use was kept well out of sight most of the time and yet even the most peacefully-minded unions argued the case for their independence and autonomy from employers and the state. They did so because they recognized the needs and demands of workers and companies were not only not always identical but often based on an unequal relationship in the distribution of power. There is no reason to doubt todays workplaces are also based on a realistic perception by employers, employees and unions about the nature of that power. The implicit assumption that lies behind the onward march of individual employee rights is a tacit acknowledgement of the urgent need for workers to enjoy a much stronger representative voice. But a number of difficulties arise as a result of this that few trade unions have yet to grapple with. The most serious problem remains the often neglected but entrenched nature of trade union structures. Historically our trade unions have found it difficult to establish rational forms of organisation that were able to limit competition between them in the endless struggle to gain new members. By international standards as varied as collectivist Sweden and the free market United States, Britains employees have always tended to have trade unionism on the cheap with relatively low subscription rates and limited services on offer. There are few signs of any improvement. But the demands made by todays workers now facing the trade unions make them vulnerable to accusations
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of under-achievement. Employees are much more concerned to have an effective and professional servicing of their individual concerns than in the past. They expect a greater degree of competence from trade union officials and shop stewards. But the numbers of qualified people holding positions of authority in the trade unions to service those demands are far less than they were thirty years ago. There are now only an estimated 5,000 full-time trade union officers. In the past trade unions were able to make them more effective by the mobilization of their collective strength. Now this is no longer possible and we are unlikely to see any improvement in the degree of leverage trade unions may expect to wield in the years ahead.

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NEW TREND OF UPGRADING TALENT

A downturn can give smart companies a chance to upgrade their talent. Downturns place companies' talent strategies at risk. As deteriorating performance forces increasingly aggressive headcount reductions, it's easy to lose valuable contributors inadvertently, damage morale or the company's external reputation among potential employees, or drop the ball on important training and staffdevelopment programs. But there is a better way. By emphasizing talent in costcutting efforts, employers can intelligently strengthen the value proposition they offer current and potential employees and position themselves strongly for growth when economic conditions improve. Companies can maintain their attractiveness to internal and external talent by using cost-cutting efforts as an opportunity to redesign jobs so that they become more engaging for the people undertaking them. A job's level of responsibility, degree of autonomy, and span of control all contribute to employee satisfaction. Headcount reductions provide a powerful incentive to use existing resources better by breaking down silos and increasing the span of control for challenging managerial roles-thus improving the odds of engaging key talent in the redesigned jobs. Consider Cisco Systems' approach to downsizing during the last recession. In 2001, as deteriorating financial performance forced the elimination of 8,500 jobs, Cisco redesigned roles and responsibilities to improve cross-functional alignment and reduce duplication. The more collaborative environment fostered by such moves increased workplace satisfaction and productivity for many employees.

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Initiatives like Cisco's succeed when companies focus on redesigning jobs and retaining talent at the outset of downsizing efforts. In addition to redesigning roles, companies cutting jobs should carefully protect training and development programs. These are not only essential to maintaining workplace morale and increasing long-term productivity, but they also give people the skills necessary to carry out redesigned jobs that have greater spans of control. During the last recession, International Paper continued offering classes at its leadership institute by replacing external facilitators with the company's senior leaders. This approach not only reduced the cost of delivery but also, thanks to the involvement of senior leaders, redirected the content of the leadership program by tying it more closely to decisions and skills affecting the company's current performance. Similarly, IBM retained its employee-development programs during its major performance challenges in the mid- to late 1980s. It took the arrival of Lou Gerstner as CEO and a new strategy to turn the company around, but the historical investments IBM had made in developing its people helped achieve a successful turnaround. Before undertaking widespread layoffs, companies should use their performancemanagement processes to help identify strong employees. Companies that conduct disciplined, meritocratic assessments of performance and potential are well placed to make good personnel decisions. These companies should also bring additional strategic considerations to the decisions. They should assess which types of talent drive business value today and which will drive it three years from now, as well as which talent segments are currently available and which will be in the futurekeeping in mind, for example, that new MBAs will be equally available in two years. They should also look at which types of talent would take years to replace or develop-for instance, skilled electric utility engineers in an environment where
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retirements are dramatically reducing supply. Performance management well informed by key strategic questions can minimize the negative cultural impact of downsizing, improve the bottom line, and help identify talented people the company should try to retain. Companies that are reducing staff must focus relentlessly on the internal cultural and external reputational implications of cost-cutting efforts. Although strong employer brands are resilient, it's difficult to reestablish brand strength once the culture has been damaged. The way many companies conduct large-scale downsizing decreases efficiency, morale, and motivation on the part of remaining employees. It also increases voluntary turnover among high performers and compromises a company's ability to attract strong talent in the future, as potential employees wonder how risky it is to take a job there. Counteracting these tendencies requires creativity. In 2001, Cisco gave generous severance packages and assistance with job searches to the workers it laid off and launched a program that paid one-third of salary, plus benefits and stock options, to ex-employees who agreed to work for a local charity or community organization. Steps like these protected Cisco's employer brand by attempting to make departing employees feel better about Cisco and underscored the company's commitment to its people for those who remained. The results were measurable: employee satisfaction remained high, and Cisco retained a prominent spot on Fortune magazine's "Best Companies to Work For" list. A strong employer brand is also important for companies undertaking selective recruitment even as they cut personnel costs elsewhere. Using slowdowns to uncover and hire displaced talent is often fruitful. Studies have shown that although overall levels of recruitment may level off or even fall, the quality of
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workers hired rises in recessions. And opportunities to find and hire displaced talent may be particularly valuable during this downturn, as massive downsizing in the financial-services sector makes available to nonfinancial companies a large pool of highly educated and motivated professionals who previously might not have considered jobs outside their previous employers or industries. Some organizations are moving surprisingly quickly in response to these opportunities in the talent market. In late October 2008, the US Internal Revenue Service hosted a Manhattan career fair targeted at displaced financial-services professionals. More than 1,300 people attended, many standing in line for three hours to learn more about an employer that offered a newly interesting brand of "job stability." Cost cutting during a downturn is often necessary to ensure a company's current profitability and future competitiveness. Rather than freezing all hiring and employee-development programs, companies should use this period as an opportunity to upgrade talent and better engage existing staff. This means reinventing a percentage of the capital liberated from cost cutting into, for example, selective recruiting and development programs and in efforts to safeguard the culture and to redesign jobs so that they are more engaging to the remaining employees.

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CHANGES IN TECHNOLOGY
Technology may have made things easier for recruiting managers, but it s beginning to show its evil side as managers go overboard with it... Key learnings: Technology is a tool that can be used to aid the recruiting process. Technology cannot replace human touch and therefore cannot be used to build relationships Technology has indeed been a blessing. The reaction time to any problem has been slashed over a hundred times and leaders, managers and the worker fraternity in general is more connected now than ever before. However, like all good things, the positive streak of technology too can fade if it's taken too far. Critics who play down the role of technology, have always condemned the way technology has eroded the personal touch among people. In addition, they blame it for the way managers use it for the sake of speed and not quality. Amidst the brickbats, technology has emerged as a force to reckon with and has undoubtedly redefined the way business is done. Technology is secular. It has touched every aspect of business however little it may be. And the human resources function is no exception. In fact the role of technology in the arena of staff management has been incredible and today the function has become completely technology-driven. The function right from the recruiting stage to the exit interview and everything that comes in between is largely driven by technology. While this may be seen as a revolution of sorts by some, for many such aggressive takeover is beginning to take its toll on the efficiency with which the function is meant to be executed. And according to analysts the first casualty is the recruiting function. Impersonal recruiting: A recent forum on "Technology and Its Application in the Human Resources Function", conducted at the Town's hall, at Vancouver, presented a rather scary picture of what awaits us in the near future. A few
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speakers at the forum unintentionally spelt horror for the recruiting function. They were rather candid about the way they recruit and the role of technology in their recruiting process. One of the speakers went to the extent of saying that thanks to technology there is no real need of meeting the candidate or even speaking to him. Recruiting managers can make their decision by simply exchanging mails! The trend is indeed horrifying. How can one replace personal relationships that we by virtue of being humans share with everything that we come in contact with? Reducing the potency of a relationship to a mere click of a button can be damaging to the very basis on which an organization is built. If every recruiting manager were to select recruits on the basis of the mails exchanged then the concept of a "competitive edge" or a "differentiating factor" will not be there at all since everybody would be doing exactly the same thing. Moreover in such a technologically-intensive scenario , the need for any other staff management initiative too would seem redundant as people would barely interact personally and even if they did it would only happen in case of a system crash. The scenario can be nerve- wrecking and therefore it's time recruiting managers wake up and understand that technology is only a tool and it can by no standards be used to replace relationships. Focus does not stray. When recruiting managers lose perspective of the core issue, the entire exercise fails. In this case, recruiting managers must understand that recruitment is like sales, and they are the salesmen. Their main job therefore is to sell the job And sales is a process that needs human interaction. Hence handing over this process to technology can sabotage the defining purpose of the activity and therefore may not give the desired outcome. Understanding that technology is a mere tool to accomplish the objectives of the sales activity, which is recruiting in this case would help recruiting managers keep technology in its right place. A typical sales activity needs four basic pre-requisites for its success. These include: Establish and nurture a relationship Identify customer needs Strategies to overcome difficulties in meeting the needs
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 Complete the sale

Each of these factors is relevant even as we see recruiting as a sales strategy. Hence recruiting managers must use technology in the third stage where difficulties hampering the activity need to be overcome by use of means that are both time and cost-effective. Understanding how technology can aid the process of recruiting will help recruiting managers maximize their efficiencies. However, if they let technology drive the process then the intended benefit may fizzle out and the process efficiency would be affected adversely. The best solution therefore would be to integrate the benefits of technology with the recruiting process in a way that helps maximise its efficiency.

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CONCLUSION

The World Competitiveness Report rated Indias human resource capabilities as being comparatively weaker than most Asian nations. A dramatic shift in recruitment practices has been taking place as globally pretend Indian companies as well as global technical services rivals have made India a battlefield of recruitment for the best workers. The recognition of world class human resource capability as being pivotal to global success has changed Indian HRM cultures in recent years. While the historical and traditional roots remain deeply embedded in the subjective world of managers, emphasis on objective global concepts and practices are becoming more common. Three very different perspectives in HRM are evident. Firstly, Indian firms with a global outlook; secondly, global firms seeking to adapt to the Indian context; and thirdly, the HRM practice in public sectors undertakings (PSVS). As the Indian economy becomes more globally linked, all three perspectives will move increasingly towards a cross verging strengthening. Interestingly, within the national context, India itself is not a homogenous entity. Regional variations in terms of industry size, provincial business culture, and political issues play very relevant roles. The nature of hierarchy, status, authority, responsibility and similar other concepts vary widely across the nations synerging system maintenance. Indeed, organisational performance and personal success are critical in the new era.

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REFERENCES Google.com

blogs.oneindia.in/24058/15/2/showblog.php www.management-hub.com/hrmanagement9.html www.allbusiness.com/human-resource-management/3131796-1.html

Business Today magazine, Jan 10 issue Money Today, Anniversary issue

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