My last note was written exactly six months back and I thought of penning down a fresh one in the New Year and at the same time keep up the promise to myself of writing at least twice a year. It’s a personal resolution of sorts which for a change was taken midway through the year last year (and happy to have broken the rule of New Year resolutions!).
In the past 6 months, I talked at few B schools and shared my thoughts around the expectations that the business will increasingly have from the new folks joining the HR teams. There is a clear shift taking place and as the businesses strive to stay afloat, the role of HR is becoming increasingly relevant and meaningful. The following are some of the habits that the Millennial HR folks need to quickly adapt or do more often to stay ahead of the curve and get counted as the true business partner.
Influencing business decisions. One of the most important capabilities that needs to be acquired is the ability to influence the business folks. This calls for gaining as much insight as possible on how the business is run. Knowing the market, the competition, the product, etc. will aid in enhancing this ability. This calls for a lot of reading. Calls for lot of introspection on how things could be done differently. To add to all that, to develop a long term perspective.
Collaborating with leaders & managers. Keeping the overall organizational goal in mind, it will be very critical to join hands with every leader and every manager. HR has to lead by example around this. Quite often as HR, we want the world to work as a team and somewhere we ourselves fail miserably to act as a collective. The spirit of inclusiveness has to be put into action mode. The more we do that, the better will our deliverables work.
Multitasking to increase bandwidth. With the pressure on cost, the focus will be on leaner workforce. That would mean doing more with less. I could be a good Talent Acquisition Manager but should I be well versed with Compensation practices too? Yes very much. That is what the business folks will appreciate. Bring on the table your ability to handle more rather than just be good at one capability. Widen the breadth and retain the depth at the same time.
Analysing data & trends. As much as you might hate numbers, this is one critical ability to inculcate as Big Data become the rule of the game. A HR professional not having a sense of how the numbers stack up will not get counted. One needs to become a student of trends and gain insights along the way. Mining not only HR related data but also business data will be imperative.
Leading initiatives around best people practices. Keeping abreast of the best HR practices in the industry and otherwise will be a good habit to have. The more we keep track of the initiatives being taken in the HR sphere, the more equipped one will become in rolling out new practices. And in this whole process, HR will be looked up to take the lead. A very important ability would be to build the context, plan and execute the initiatives seamlessly.
Mentoring the young hires. As much as this has to be the reporting manager’s responsibility, the HR team will need to jointly develop mentoring related interventions with them. The construct of this program will be of immense value as it will enable the young hires settle down in the organization. For the young hires, HR is the first connect hence it calls for deft handholding.
Thinking future. As much as it is important to read in today’s world, it is also critical to have some time set aside for thinking. All of us get caught up in the everyday chores and miss out on what I would call as the “me time”. The more one develops this habit, the more one would be able to come out with fresh thoughts and ideas. And that would help pave the way into the future. Take a walk, go for a coffee or travel alone. All nice ways to hone this skill. Thinking empowers!Practice it
Wish you all success & happiness in your HR journey!
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