The manufacturing sector in India has the potential to reach US $1trillion by 2025. With industrial corridors, smart cities, and new reforms, India is poised to capitalise on its strengths of raw materials, entrepreneurship and talent. 

In fact, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s 2021 Global Manufacturing Risk Index, India emerged as the second most sought-after manufacturing destination across the world, only next to China.

However, there are a number of challenges that still continue to influence the sectors’ output. 

The costs of infrastructure, poor logistics, high power tariffs, and inflated operating expenses have made the manufacturing sector earn low returns on capital and attracted little investment. Still, the country’s rich natural resources, low-cost labour, and skill-intensive value chains are a boon for manufacturers across the world. 

To make the most of the opportunity, companies need not just macro-environmental support; they also need to build efficient practices within their companies – that includes effective talent management, leadership foresight and organisational culture. Here’s how HR technology is modernising the manufacturing sector:

Intelligent automation of routine and transactional HR activities

In a manufacturing setup, there are often different sources of data that need to be collated. To truly leverage the potential of digital transformation, there’s a need for a single source of truth. Different systems should be able to speak to each other and provide a clear picture of people's needs. 

Speaking on this issue, Sandeep Gautam, CHRO at NBC noted that the company needed an integrated system that compiled data. “We already had small, light modules, but using these different piecemeal solutions can lead to inefficiencies and data errors," added Sandeep. The company chose HONO’s talent solutions. 

The comprehensive digital tool helped the HR team at NBC cut down the time taken to complete tasks such as processing salaries and focusing on strategic activities. The HR solution also offered something new: A view of the productivity levels of the employees.  

HONO modules built for NBC were Manpower Planning and Position Management, Integrated Facial Attendance Solution via Employee Access Control, and Line Management through the Auto-Replacement and Auto-Rostering of Workers.

“We used to take around six to seven days to streamline attendance. With HONO, we were able to bring in critical changes required and gain deeper insights than simply looking at the symptoms like absenteeism," Sandeep said. 

Before HONO, workforce management data was captured every shift and every hour had to be manually input into a logbook. Today, shift and line managers can automatically see the data in a tab. 

An end-to-end HR solution helps cut down time, and streamline processes and help create the business case for investments in improving the HR function.

Seamless integration and understanding the employee pulse

Ensuring the proper contextual use of digital tools to recreate HR practices is essential for manufacturing companies today. 

HR solutions, like AI-driven talent tools, intelligent automation, and deeper analytics, can help the manufacturing industry keep pace with changes by building an agile workforce and selecting best-in-class solutions. What’s important is that these tools are able to integrate seamlessly and impact business outcomes.

At PGP Glass, the objective of introducing an HRMS solution was to have the functionality to integrate with other applications. The company leveraged HONO’s Talent Management (Recruitment), Performance Management, Competency Management, Rewards & Recognition, and Succession Planning Core HR functions, such as Leave & Attendance Management, Travel & Expense Management, and Payroll Processing.

To establish lines of communication with employees, PGP Glass used HONO Pulse surveys. It collated all data into a single streamlined dashboard for real-time insights and the analysis of employee sentiments, challenges, suggestions and other feedback they may want to share.

"Throughout the year, a manager can record the feedback, particularly regarding values. A good proportion of our assessment covers values," Rajeev Yadav, Global CHRO at PGP Glass, said. "These functionalities from HONO will help make the process stronger and more automated. These are what the business benefits will be."

As digital transformation revitalises the manufacturing sector, technologies like HONO will be critical to bringing about business efficiencies – in data management, automation and personalisation.