In spite of all uncertainties, turbulence and digitalization, basis of HR is not going to change wherein the HR has to engage, reward and retain employees.

1. HR2.0:RethinkingChangingWorkWorld SPECIAL FEATURE
23
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Dr.SyedArifullah
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Head-HR,
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19
Special Feature
CHANDANCHATTARAJ
President - HR
(India
&G
lobal),
Uflex Ltd., Noida
15MakarandKhatavkar
Group
Head
-HR,
KotakM
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BankLtd.,
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GuruvayurappanPV
Sr. Vice
President - HR,
Om
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HealthCare,
Bengaluru
AjayKrBhardwaj
Vice
President HR,
Bajaj Energy Ltd.,
Noida
21RajeshTripathi
Vice
President&
Head,
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BUSINESS MANAGER FEBRUARY 201814

2. BUSINESS MANAGER FEBRUARY 201819
SPECIAL FEATURE
BM Do you think HR has been
able to become a serious
business partner in 2017 -
something that was a buzz
for several years now?
CC We live in a world where
everything changes rapidly.
Continuous innovation and
technology advancements
create huge competition
among companies and thus
HR as a function needs to
stand tall with the
organization to face this
challenge and offer
solutions beforehand.
HR as a function has evolved
significantly during the past
few decades. The year 2017
came with lot of buzz words
and had served new dishes
on the HR professionals
table. Right from managing
millennials to ditching
annual performance
reviews, pay & performance
decouple, man machine
collaboration and battle of
apps etc., HR has lead the
battle in every ground.
No doubt 2017 brought new
challenges and opportunities along. What satisfies me as an HR
professional is the acceptance that HR as a function has created for
itself. The changing business environment has forced the leaders
to create a talent pool which is capable of handling the VUCA
world challenges and HR here is playing a pivotal role.
As we move forward, HR needs to raise its game by aligning its
skills and capabilities with the organization's vision. As HR
pursues its makeover, it's time that strategic role must now change
to meet the intense pressures of today's business environment.
BM Do you think HR transformation is important in this
technological age? If yes, why?
CC Today, almost every company is undergoing a digital
transformation. Cloud/mobile computing, artificial intelligence,
and increasing automation have created the potential to transform
nearly every aspect of a business and HR domain.
The convergence of mobile computing, sensors and artificial
intelligence is taking place simultaneously with an intense focus
on employee engagement, culture, wellness and productivity. The
result will be a new breed of products that will totally reinvent
what HR technology and HR itself can do.
HR will have to use familiar technologies to reach employees in
new ways, and use multiple channels to provide HR services
anytime, anywhere and on any device. If we do not adapt and
embrace the digital technologies, we run the risk of becoming
obsolete, which could deter some potential employees in today's
tech - savvy world.
In order to be relevant with this generation of employees it
becomes must for HR to not only adapt to the situation but also
offer solutions in advance.
About the Author
Chandan Chattaraj is the President - Global Human Resources of Uflex Ltd. He comes with extensive experience in People Development and Change Management from varied industry
sectors. An alumnus of Xavier Institute (XISS), he was conferred the distinguished Award of "The Most Powerful HR professionals of India" in 2010.
CHANDAN CHATTARAJ
President - HR (India & Global),Uflex Ltd.,Noida
Expand scope
and partner closely
with business
In spite of all uncertainties,turbulence and
digitalization,basis of HR is not going to
change wherein the HR has to engage,
reward and retain employees.

3. BUSINESS MANAGER FEBRUARY 201820
SPECIAL FEATURE
BM What were some of the biggest lessons you learned in 2017 to
take HR transformation to the next level?
CC Technology, business models and continuous innovation were the
buzz words for the year bygone and will continue to remain the
focus for the organizations in the future. The talent needs of the
organizations are changing by the impact of digital
transformation.
The year bygone has taught us to widen the scope of HR function
and partner closely with the business to achieve the overall vision
of the organization. We must first develop our own team's
capability in order to be ready to implement and benefit from
analytics and measure the functions contribution to business
value in rapidly changing business needs.
In order to sustain the transformation further, HR needs to have a
clear destination with an intelligently designed strategic roadmap.
HR will have to redefine itself and its value to the business by
making it evidence - based, using technology and skills that
capitalize on the immense value and competitive advantages of
data and analytics.
BM What do you think HR practitioners struggle most with, in
the new - age work world?
CC At the time when disruption has become the new norm, the
changing workforce trends and the dynamic business environment
poses some real challenges for the HR function irrespective of the
industry or geography :
Building a diverse talent pool : Managing a multi -
generational workforce, sourcing talent from around the world
and delivering on the people development imperative for
constant up skilling the existing workforce is the key. If left
unattended, this key differentiator of the business success
might drift and misalign with the business needs posing to be
one of the biggest challenges to handle.
Embrace the 'new age deal' : The new work equation must
realize that the millennials are now the dominant workforce
and an organization's culture should be strategic enabler for
managing this change.
Career development : Today's workforce demands
transparency around careers and career moves not only on the
reward front but also at the engagement level. Retaining the hi-
potential employees of the organization is critical to the success
of the organization and one of the challenges faced by the HR.
BM How did HR employees and senior management team
members respond to the HR transition vs other employees at
the workplace?
CC The HR transition in the age old organization is no easy task. In an
organization where the function has always been understood for
its transactional role, moving towards a strategic role calls for
being challenged at every step taken.
For us at Uflex, managing these hurdles and proving the function's
ability to demonstrate value by being an integrated driver of the
business was the need of the hour. The moment we embarked on
the journey of HR transformation from years back we were fully
conscious of the fact that we cannot work in a traditional, classical
way of putting HR tools and techniques in place in a sequential
manner. We knew that we have to be bespoke & work as per
requirements and acceptance of our business leader. Today, the HR
stands at a very responsible position placed with lot of
expectations from the leadership team. The HR transformation at
Uflex was a phase where the entire organization experienced a
change where discomfort and resistance was an expected reaction.
Although strong communication played a vital role, investing huge
amount of effort to get people engaged was the key. Today, HR at
Uflex is about the influence it brings to the table of the business
leaders by the means of powerful tools that support the business
strategy and leverages its crucial resource - the people.
BM How do you see the HR
landscape changing in the
present business scenario?
CC The present business
scenario is turbulent and full
of uncertainties. To be of
relevance, the HR must
understand the megatrends
reshaping the world of work
and the impact they have on
the workforce. Technological
breakthroughs, demographic
shifts, data and analytics are
shaping the workforce; to
manage these changes
effectively requires HR to
disrupt itself and reinvent
its services. Looking across
the HR transformation
journey, we can now
recognize three critical
phases which HR teams are
moving through - effective
HR services and
transformation, focus on
business impact & result and
digitization & automation.
The challenge today,
perhaps, is to accelerate the
journey. Perhaps by starting
with the end in mind would
help HR practitioners across
companies to have an impact
on HR efficiency, employee
experience, and business
impact and sustainability.
BM When you look at next 3
to 5 years - what's your
prediction for the future
with respect to HR
technology?
CC HR technology will be all
pervading wide and deep in
the HR function in the next 5
years. HR analysis will
become a very important
vertical of the function and
the whole employee life cycle
will be managed by
automation. One very
important development
which is now breaking
through and will encompass
HR function is the HR
automation on cloud. This
will certainly open new
horizons as technology will
become less costly, more
convenient and user friendly.
HR needs to realize that
digitalization is their friend,
and the leadership team needs
to understand the new value
HR delivers, which has
changed significantly. Having
said that, the basis of HR is
not going to change wherein
the HR has to engage, reward
and retain employees. BM