The Talent Acquisition League 2017, organized by People Matters, began with the opening session of Debarati Sen, the Managing Director of 3M India. Here is a glimpse of the same in the form some key insights or takeaways from her session. 

Talent and brand are the only two upon which companies can fall upon in this VUCA world

Sen talked about the unpredictability of the reality we exist in. She quoted examples of Brexit which was non-existent a few years from now, demonetization which was only a word in the dictionary, and also GST was just another policy term, which nobody knew would become a reality. And this is why talent is most important to keep pace with growth for any organization.

Talent woes

Further, she spoke about how the real issue is not about acquiring talent but acquiring employable talent. A few years from now, universities would ensure that a pipeline of employable talent was available to organizations, but this has now changed and organizations today have taken up 50% of the educational burden. 

Keeping in sync with the dynamic situation, it is important to understand that the skillset with which we enter into the industry will not suffice, and which is why there is a strong need for creating a temperament for learning, in terms of ability and agility both.

What value to do you provide to people as employers?

Quoting the example of 3M, Sen talked about the surprise she felt when for the first time she came across employees staying with 3M for more than twenty years or thirty years, and she thought that was strange that they could not find a job. But, it soon dawned on her that 3M provided a lot of value to its employees and which is why employees preferred to stay with the organization. And which is why the HR community especially must always ask themselves the value that their organization is providing to the employees and how can it be improved or enhanced.

Significant gap between what leaders want and what recruiters are delivering

Stressing on the point that hiring is always strategic; as CEOs and the senior leadership is always thinking about the people they want to hire; Sen talked about a study which highlighted that there is a significant gap between leaders and what recruiters are delivering. And one of the important areas where there is a gap is in creating a strategic design for creating talent. But to help materialize the talent strategy, it is important that talent becomes part of the conversation.

Hiring digital natives

Sen drew examples from her own college days and talked about how different is the millennials generation, and which is why the talent conversation must revolve not just around them but also on making it easier for the millennial generation to connect with the organization through the digital media. 

Artificial intelligence is here to help us

Sen focused on how artificial intelligence would automate the tasks and not jobs completely and which is why it is important to accept and learn how to utilize artificial intelligence capabilities as HR professionals.

Women add value to business

Sen spoke about the research that points at how gender diverse workplaces make more business sense than the ones which are not. The last times when Sen was in India, the percentage of women in business was 37%, and now it as gone down to 27%. It is extremely important not just as business leaders but as a nation that the HR community must find ways of attracting and retaining women in the workforce.