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New Dimensions Of HR: The Pillars of Strategic Hiring

Business World Jun 29, 2015

HR strategy is to reinforce organisational strategy through long-term goals, says Vidur Gupta, Spectrum Talent Management The primary role of HR is to build the foundation of an organisation with right kind of people. It is involved in diverse activities that assist in smooth functioning of the company. Growing willingness and enthusiasm among employees is a major objective of HR. The department is also responsible to propagate necessary changes in employees to cope with workplace dynamics. HR roles within an organization are changing rapidly from a transactional to transformational role. The department now, has to focus on internal processes and business of the organization building up new thinking models, practices and competencies. Transition of HR practices is gradually being adopted throughout the industry. Transactional HR comprised of a set of monolithic processes such as revising workplace policies and investigating workplace issues. The change to strategic concept has made its realms wider. Now, HR strategy is to reinforce organisational strategy through long-term goals. Process oriented activities are being shifted to organization-oriented activities. The newly emerging strategic concept in HR is with a number of features that are noted as follows: Greater Focus On standardisation Hiring process and HR practices need to follow standardized procedures and methodology. Various aspects within the organization need scrutiny to map better success strategies. Moreover, HR practices should follow a global standard specific to any industry. This helps candidates and employees to have proper idea of workspace and a level of competency they need to have in an organization. Industry specific standardization will also help employees to understand the actual requirement of an organization and scale up their skills to the required level. To formulate effective HR strategies a greater focus on standardization is required. Quality Hiring In startups, people who are hired in the first round of recruitment or the first batch of employees becomes the core formation to draw a road map of success, transforming it to a large enterprise with exponential turnovers from a neoteric venture. Improvement in recruitment process will ensure quality of hiring and hence, ultimately the quality of workforce. Less Capable Expense While forming new set of strategies, the department should take into account financial aspect of the organization. Emphases should be on reducing expenditure of the company rather than increasing it as investment in HR fronts. HR should be competent enough to adapt the workforce to the changing dynamics of business environment. Compliance A number of compliances should be formulated, which will act as a central constitution guiding the diverse verticals of HR. To align HR strategies to Business strategies, focus should be on a number of specific aspects. Leadership, Culture, Communication, Engagement, workplace planning, talent, Retention, Performance management and team management should be emphasized upon by HR. Use of Technology Leveraging technology will help the department to induce progressive features in hiring and managing workforce. For instance, Enterprise Social Networks are becoming popular in enterprises for effective HR practices. Moreover, hiring processes are now shifted from conventional methods to new strategies such as social hiring leveraging social media. Higher Scalability HR should be scalable enough to adapt itself to changing business scenarios. While HR shifts to strategic concepts, the basic transactional features must be handled properly even if functional developments are induced to the process. It should be understood that the road map of HR from transactional to strategic concept is more about expansion rather than a change. HR strategies need to orient themselves to the overall business and objectivities of the organization while hiring and sustaining the workforce. A Holistic Approach Towards Internal Approach Devising policies and practices with a holistic approach towards the internal mechanism of the organization is crucial. The work culture of the organization should align with the business culture of the company. For instance, if the company promises delivery of services with speed and agility, HR should ensure that the same parameters are being followed internally forming the work culture of the organization. The author is director at Spectrum Talent Management