The changing face of HR in the new millennium

Human Resource is no longer a primitive activity. It has become very effectual in terms of manpower planning whether in a big or small enterprise. The role of HR managers has transformed from traditional body shoppers to pride builders. We can differentiate between a successful and unsuccessful company on the basis of how each manager manages its people. It depends on how we use and put our knowledge into work, in an economy where people have unlimited access to information.

No doubt, the HR  has become very important but it is noticed that the Industrial Relations and Personnel Managers in the industries have been ignored since a new breed of human resource executives is dominating the industrial scenario. These brilliant and talented HR executives, generally with MBA degree, are best in the field of recruitment, training and placement but not with industrial relations and related labour laws. Therefore, to handle all these contingencies an HR manager needs to be a skilled person. It needs expertise and experience to effectively deal with.An effective HR manager connects with workers. Such managers knows exactly when he needs to give them that little pat on the back and when he needs to be firm. There should be a perfect balance between what a manager has to do and what not to do. Also, HR manager needs to create strong emotional bonds with their people. This ability never comes by training in business schools and leadership programmes but this ability can only come from possessing boundless emotional energy, sensitivity and the ability to differentiate between whipping up irrelevant sentiments.

The difference between a well-run company and a great company lies in the presence or absence of these emotional bonds- bonds that build teams, make every individual see beyond his personal victory, create a sense of belonging, and enable different groups of people to follow a common vision. A good HR manager is both employee and task centred, concerned for his people but equally intent upon the purpose of the Company. Moreover, the concept of ‘Master and Servant’ is very rapidly changing  to that of dignified relationship of ‘Employer and Employee’.

The term (HRM) Human Resource Management is a modern title for managing people in an organisation. It depicts a broad understanding of the difficulties of people and their management techniques. Few years ago if you would have asked the seniors executive about their most valuable assets they would have talked about the Brand, Plant and Machinery, Goodwill etc. But if you ask them today they will talk about capital i.e., Customer Capital,  Structural Capital and Human Capital. Those were the old days when the duties of HR managers were confined only for maintaining discipline in the organisation. Even HR managers of today were known by the title ‘Personal Managers’. They had hardly any role to play in the selection process and recruitment of employees.

But now the situation has completely changed, as the employees have become more aware and trade unions has completely disappeared and managements are not uncompromising in nature and have become more adaptable to technological developments. Employers are now giving more significance to outsourcing  that is why HR professionals need to compete for even unfamiliar roles and have to demonstrate new skills. This change has occurred because the whole layout of production and management has changed.

In this era of globalisation and modernisation, organisations are becoming more competitive and innovative. The HR persons have to face new challenge each day and they have to prepare themselves and as well as their employees to face those challenges in the economy. The competition has increased so much these days that everyone should be well prepared in advance to face any kind of challenge and working efficiently and effectively should be the key to success. These Days the HR managers even have to develop themselves as service providers to their customers.

Change is the law of nature. What is appropriate today may not be a correct approach for tomorrow. So, the HR managers needs to be dynamic in all aspects. Hence, the HR person is also known as as Knowledge Manager who has bucket full of talents and ideas. He must have potential to meet every challenge to outshine his company among its other competitors. A huge amount of responsibility lays over HR Managers from recruiting an employee to provide with an excellent training and from dealing with new technologies to checking the performance of every employer in his company. Companies should understand the Four Ps (people,, products, processes and profits) are the mantra for corporate success in the modern competitive environment. The focus on first three Ps, people, products and processes will lead to profits i.e. fourth P.

The good leader i.e. HR manager take pains to analyse success and failures and learn from them. Human Resource Development has undergone several changes in attitude of Management towards its employees. People do not understand the importance of the team behind any business or venture. A good team with a good leader can make an average business look great. There is also a term called Motivation. It is a tricky subject. A good manager and leader understands that people are always motivated to do what they believe to be in their best interests. Also, it is important to mention that what skills a good leader should cultivate to work in the competitive and challenging environment. Few of the skills are- Clarity of the goal, Adopting the method of Delegation, Politeness, Analytical Power and a Manager needs to be a good example for his employees.

Therefore, these are all the modification of Human Resource layout in the Twentieth Century and an HR manager is no less than a CEO of a company.

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