Article: HR leader at OYO Rooms is expected to play a business role

Entrepreneurship

HR leader at OYO Rooms is expected to play a business role

Dinesh R., CHRO at OYO Rooms, shares that the business role of HR surpasses its functional expertise at OYO.
HR leader at OYO Rooms is expected to play a business role

This anecdote is a part of a series from the People Matters June cover: Travails of Team building. The story focuses on learning the first principles of attracting and enabling the core team from entrepreneurs. Read it in two parts Travails of team building: Learning from startups and Travails of team building: Enabling, not retaining.

Dinesh R

It is important for the entrepreneur to believe that HR has an important role to play. Once that clarity is there, the earlier they hire an HR leader the higher the benefits.  At OYO, HR used to be predominantly a recruiting and operations function. While these continue to be important for any startup, my task is first to ensure that we are organized right for what we want to achieve in the future. Second, building the right capabilities and institutionalizing knowledge is critical while we expand rapidly. Third, creating a sense of purpose is a key mandate that I have taken. Fourth, articulating the culture and getting all to live the culture will make us stand out. 

At OYO, the founder and the initial team have a deep connect with employees and people are always a top priority. However, when the organization becomes large, it becomes imperative for someone to ensure the company remains nimble, agile and as fast paced as it was when we were in 1 city or 10 cities. Here the role of an HR person is critical in hiring the right kind of leaders who share the same purpose and vision and have an entrepreneurial mindset. I am very happy that at OYO the founder expects the HR leader to play a business role which is unlike many places where functional expertise is more important.

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Topics: Entrepreneurship, Culture

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