'HR Must Be Run Like A Business To Be Efficient'

<div>With a Bachelor&rsquo;s degree in engineering from BITS, Pilani, and an MBA from the IIM Lucknow, it was only in 2000 that Manmohan Bhutani got into HR function. Before that, he was managing IT/ software &amp; ITES businesses. Bhutani believes to measure its impact on the business, HR and business strategies must be aligned and an HR practice must run the department like a business to be efficient and effective. As VP, People &amp; Operations, Fiserv India, he is part of Fiserv, Inc., a leading global technology provider serving the financial services industry. <br /><br />The global downturn taught Bhutani that HR function is essential for companies to realign their strategies and adopt cost optimising&nbsp; measures to improve bottom line. Bhutani wishes HR practitioners would give up traditional policies and make the HR function more dynamic to cater to the ever-changing business environment and empower associates and the Gen Y in particular. <em>Excerpts:</em><br /><br /><strong>What made you choose HR as a profession? <br /></strong>I always had an inclination towards mentorship and resource development, but I did not start my career with it. Most of my experience is in business development and operations. It was in early 2000 when I got an opportunity to handle an HR related assignment and I accepted it with open arms. In my opinion, and I am sure many will agree, the core asset of a company is its people and it is they who have the ability to take the company to the pinnacle or otherwise. Managing this core asset, meeting employees&rsquo; expectations and needs, deepening their capability, constantly motivating them, empowering them, indulging in innovation that works best for them, and helping them maintain a fine work-life balance are things I have been responsible for and would like to continue with in my career. Most of all, I like to see employees happy and fully motivated to give their best. In my many years of HR experience, these two things have always mattered a lot, I respect this sentiment and enjoy keeping it that way through good human resource management techniques and leadership.&nbsp; <br /><br /><strong>What has been the biggest achievement of your career?</strong> <br />Sometimes there is a very thin line between achievement and failure. In one of the assignments, I was managing operations for a large US-based retail chain. The service was not doing well and there were bonuses and penalties associated with service level agreements (SLAs). Service delivery had issues; we were penalised for two months for not meeting SLAs. We were losing money. We were given 2 to 3 months to improve the service and save the Contract - termination of which also meant job losses. I took the team into confidence and motivated all team members (across levels) to put their best foot forward to meet/exceed SLAs. The team met everyday and results were shared with all on a daily basis. This service was turned around in less than 3 months and we not only met SLAs but earned bonus for 6 months in a row. What I like about this achievement is that it was the confidence I could instill in my team members that motivated them to come up with the best, not for any individual or company but for the team.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><br /><strong>What have been the primary traits/qualities that have helped you attain your present position?<br /></strong>I think I have seen and worked on every aspect of a business, and without any regrets I can confidently say that I have enjoyed and loved my time working for people and their aspirations. I see myself as a person who has acquired a good sense of managing diverse global talent, which is a key requirement in today&rsquo;s corporate world. In doing so, I have gained good knowledge of cross cultural intelligence and communication needs. I am a people&rsquo;s person and open to both applause and criticism. One needs to be flexible enough to accept viewpoints from the environment, act on them and exchange faulty practices for more effective ones that will keep us ahead of the curve and&nbsp; this particular trait is one of my positives. Trusting people, empowering them and giving them confidence has given me a lot of satisfaction and best results. <br /><br /><strong>How do you track employees' satisfaction or dissatisfaction in your company? </strong><br />At Fiserv we are very sensitive about employee welfare and needs. We have a well developed feedback mechanism and communication structure that works top down, lateral and bottom up. Associate pulse is a very important measure to improve governance framework, organisational processes, associate morale and motivation, development needs and other such critical HR matters. We have structured forums of communication and feedback, like: quarterly departmental open houses, organisational and global open houses, annual associate engagement survey called Voices in Action which seeks associate responses to usher changes wherever required and rate organizational processes from strategic to operational point of view. We have established anonymous helpline which can be used by associates to raise red flags and speak about any wrongdoing they see in the company. <br /><br />We have also set up grievance redressal forums where associates can reach out to their HR representatives to speak frankly about things bothering them. We collate this associate pulse and communicate with associates through established channels like organisational open houses and tell them about corrective measures introduced to address concerns. Listing is not enough, what is equally important is to act on them, inform affected parties about the action taken and seek feedback. This ensures complete satisfaction. <br /><br /><strong>A recent survey has questioned HR's actual contribution in an organisation. Would you like to comment on it with particular reference to your organisation? </strong><br />It has been established beyond doubt that HR is a critical function for organisational success. How HR representatives run the function is what can be questioned and that is true for anything. It does not matter what needs to be done, what matters more is that it is being done correctly and in the true spirit of things.&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><br /><strong>What is your rate of attrition? How do you prevent it?</strong><br />Attrition is a part and parcel of every organization, especially IT industry. Employees even exit companies that are considered 'Best Employers', and there are no quick fixes. The only way we can minimise attrition is by effectively engaging with and listening to our most important stakeholder - the associates. The attrition level for Fiserv in India is generally lower than the average attrition rate of IT Industry.&nbsp; <br /><br /><strong>What is the biggest challenge you face when selecting people?</strong><br />The biggest challenge we face is that we may not always find all the skills we want in an associate, but this can be overcome if we screen for a good attitude. I have experienced that we can easily improve skills/knowledge through various training interventions but it is very difficult to change the attitude of people.<br /><strong><br />What are the challenges you are facing in your organisation?</strong><br />Fiserv in India has been very successful in attracting and retaining talent. We have been working hard for the last few years to develop ourselves as an employer of choice to scout the best available talent in the market. We are continuously working towards taking the organisation to new heights; however, this has its associated challenges in terms of dynamic work environment and stiffer competition that exists. It is our endeavor to create a futuristic and progressive organisation that listens and cares for associates.<br /><strong><br />What are the steps a company should take to develop and motivate future leaders?</strong><br />HR in any organisation has a vital role to play in hiring, retaining and developing career plans for its people. A good organisation has robust HR practices that primarily focus on people management. In order to groom and motivate future leaders, companies must focus on &ndash;</div><ul><li>Aspirations of an individual within the organisation</li><li>Career path mapping of an individual with his performance goals</li><li>Effective utilisation of resources by giving them meaningful/ challenging work and tracking performance</li><li>Giving due accolades to deserving people to motivate them for better performance</li><li>Identifying potential candidates and regularly monitoring their learning curve in order to nurture them into future leaders</li><li>Effective retention plan for deserving candidates so that they can become future leaders within the organisation</li><li>Creating&nbsp; leadership development programmes</li><li>Regular or periodic performance evaluation of potential candidates and providing feedback for improvement</li></ul><div><br /><strong>How do you retain talent in your company?</strong><br />At Fiserv, we follow a simple methodology to retain our top performers. This includes:</div><ul><li>Promoting and rewarding high performance</li><li>Creating an open culture for communication</li><li>Focus on career, learning and development</li></ul><div>Creating a positive work environment, developing leadership skills for management and continually seeking associate feedback are the keys to engaging and retaining our organisation's top talent.To retain talent, we need to make sure associates are personally committed to the goals of the organization and they feel that these goals are worth achieving. We should also ensure that associates feel they are playing a suitably significant role in achieving these goals. <br /><br /><strong>How important is HR to the bottom line of a company? </strong><br />A good HR practice improves the bottom line of any company. Companies often fail to adopt human resource practices that would improve financial performance. An HR practice must run its department like a business that must be efficient and effective. To measure its impact on the business, an HR function must align its strategy with the business strategy.<br /><br />Research shows that the way people are managed affects quality, profitability, productivity and total return to shareholders by increasing associate commitment.<br /><br />Associate engagement surveys show that commitment arises from a combination of various factors, which include: job satisfaction, recognition, appreciation from managers, remuneration, job challenges, responsibilities, continuous learning, etc. <br /><br />HR provides expertise and vision in these areas, which are important to the executive team. It focuses on developing the right culture through implementing practices and HR metrics that are important to the organisation.<br /><br /><strong>How has the downturn affected HR?<br /></strong>Economic recession has troubled all streams of businesses and the overall impact is visible across all organisational functions. HR has also witnessed a short-term impact of this downturn, but the future looks secure for HR professionals. HR is the backbone of any organisation. During economic crisis it can eventually help companies realign their strategies, adopt cost optimising&nbsp; measures to improve bottom line and work towards developing a more fruitful working environment so that the best talent can be effectively utilised and retained. HR is seen as a crucial player in improving organisational performance. <br /><br />As an organisation navigating the waters of global recession, Fiserv has invested in training its line managers to improve management skills in order to develop and engage talent. We have taken this opportunity to restructure the organisation to be more agile and effective in delivering the business strategy and to utilise all resources including people more efficiently during the upturn. HR has been effectively instrumental in minimising the impact of the downturn.<br /><br /><strong>How should HR be integrated with the core line of business? </strong></div><div>For a robust and effective organisation structure it is highly critical and important to interlink its core functions. Linking HR to the core business domains helps in resolving teething business issues with a systematic approach. The HR function engages with associates to understand their problems and implement effective and relevant solutions for their day-to-day working issues.&nbsp; It is therefore highly critical for an HR function to be associated with core business domains.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><strong>If you could change three things about HR practices, what would they be?</strong></div><ul><li>Give up traditional HR practices/policies and make the HR function more dynamic to cater to the ever changing business environment</li><li>A simple and more practical approach to the most critical issues and giving up the complex framework which sometimes jeopardises the resolution</li><li>More transparency in the system&nbsp; through empowering associates and Gen Y in particular</li></ul>