Prioritizing and balancing technology for the right uses
Thinker and life enthusiast Mark Manson (also a New York Times bestselling author) has a peculiar way of explaining things. One of his many ideas is that “happiness comes from solving problems”. Just park that thought for a moment!
As I sat down to pen my thoughts on top HR trends for 2019, I realized two things. #1. Wow, another year comes to an end; and #2. Wow, what a year it has been! We all understand how a massive technological revolution is redefining the word ‘work’ and even though it is impossible to predict what the future holds, we must prepare for it. This is where we go back to Mark. You see, the keyword in his idea is “solving”. Solutions to today’s problems lay the foundation for tomorrow’s problems and so on. At my organization, we have been in the business of solving problems for our clients — as well as the ever-evolving needs of our people — for the past twenty years. This is why this thought resonates deeply with me. So here, let’s look at these three trends that will help us solve for the new world of work.
Leveraging technology. Not for technology’s sake
Digitization of HR is now a necessity but it is imperative to create an ability to prioritize and balance technology for the right uses. Not that we need numbers to establish the convergence of HR and technology but here goes. The global market for HR technology solutions is reportedly around $400 billion globally and the Indian HR industry is estimated to be Rs 40,000 crores. While change is impossible without technology, it’s necessary to understand technology keeping in mind factors such as company culture, target audience, and timing. At Genpact, we have seen success with some thought through implementations resulting in smarter processes and more incisive decision-making, enabling effective recruitment and acquiring best talent through digitization. Our AI-enabled chatbots are transforming HR self-service and employee engagement, and our experiment with Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) is predicting performance and attrition by understanding communication patterns for talent analytics. Cutting-edge stuff happening there!
Being a marketer. Thinking nuanced EVP
The demand for digital, analytics and automation talent is likely to exceed supply by ~4X in the next 3-5 years and as we enter the digital talent war, we have to arm ourselves with refreshed people strategy and effective recruiting methods. Nuanced employee value propositions that talk (and appeal) to exclusive talent pockets is the only way to attract, engage, interview, and onboard talent and equally importantly, develop and retain existing employees. In fact, we are seeing encouraging early responses to our recently launched digital EVP: ‘Dream in Digital. Dare in reality’. Digital employer brand reach and influence is going to be a norm in the future and the sooner we are on it, the better. An effective nuanced EVP that’s equal parts credible and aspirational is a great place to start.
Living your culture. Learning with agility
Culture is often an unstated abstract concept. At Genpact, we have attempted to make it tangible by creating our culture framework (CI)2 that outlines behaviors that drive success for our people, and resonate with our strategy. (CI)2 stands for Curious, Incisive, Courageous. On a bedrock of Integrity. It ties together all our core beliefs… of continuous and pull-based learning, of linking talent to value and identifying top performers, of decentralizing by changing the way we work and institutionalizing improved knowledge access, social collaboration, virtual partnerships, and smart org-redesign. (CI)2 is a blend of our brand and our personality — just how any culture framework should be!
On that note, cheers to a new year. And more transformation around us!
