2011 has been one of the most turbulent times in recent economic history. Not only has the global recession continued, but the uncertainty has also hit the optimism of emerging economies. It has been a year where major businesses have continued to globalize operations, and move talent and business towards areas of opportunity. This shift has created new challenges for both organizations investing in building capabilities in India and for those Indian organizations expanding abroad.

The first issue of this year brings together a compilation of views from industry experts on the key talent management trends for the new year. The synopsis from the 60 odd conversations with CEOs, heads of HR and academicians represents the pulse of the community, the things they see most likely to change in 2012 and the emerging solutions to old problems. In 2012, Talent Management will move from word to action, from soft to hard and from HR to business.

“Social” is the word that is renovating every talent practice, as this year’s Bersin’s report predicts. In 2012, we will see an explosion in social recruiting, social performance management, social rewards and recognition, social learning, and social career management. Technology brings an accessible way to democratize HR processes and engage employees and their peers, changing the role of the line manager. Other interesting trends include new approach to employee engagement, acceleration of career development and shift of ownership to individuals, talent segmentation and data analytics for talent management decision-making. As part of the cover story, People Matters and The Strategist also conducted a study to involve the professional community in sharing their views on the future of the HR function, trends and prospects for this new year.

Also included in this issue are excerpts from the Accenture Master Class on the subject “Workforce of one”. The approach to tailor people practices and policies to individuals and groups of employees throughout the organization to create engagement, to connect and ultimately to retain, is similar to customer segmentation in the marketing domain and holds great potential to be the future for talent management.

This issue also carries the best practices of winners from the HR Showcase organized at the recent Annual National Conference by National HRD Network in Bangalore. Mahindra & Mahindra’s “Auto Passion” to decide for “culture fit” while hiring, Infosys’ pioneering work in employee health with their ‘Health Assessment & Lifestyle Enrichment’ (HALE) program and Bharti Airtel’s “m - initiative” to utilize mobile technology for the entire gamut of talent practices, were among the best practices.

In our regular sections, Vivek Paranjpe continues to bring his practical and hands-on approach to the professional queries and ethical dilemmas of our readers and Elango R. continues to bring his fresh viewpoint in this issue’s column titled “Happy New Year Rituals”. The Great Place to Work® Institute series focuses on taking best practices across verticals in HR and sharing key learnings from India’s great workplaces.

From this issue onwards, and with special thanks to Dr. Anil K. Khandelwal, People Matters starts a new section on “CEO – Next Destination of the HR Professional”, where Dr. Khandelwal will share his journey from HR professional to CMD of Bank of Baroda.

We would love to continue hearing views, suggestions, criticism and comments; do write to us at editorial@peoplematters.in
Wishing you all a fabulous year ahead...

Ester Martinez
Managing Editor