HR Leaders expectations from B School & Students

HR Leaders who attended

1. ?Raj Narayan, ex CHRO Titan Industries
2. Praveen Kamath,Dir HR, Wipro Limited
3. Shikha Gupta, Director HR and DEI, India and South Asia at Schneider Electric
4. Lakshmi Savanth,Global Human Resource Business Partner - Digital Business, Process Industries at ABB
5. Ashoka Thammaya Director - HR, Global Supply Chain -?Schneider Electric
6. Vishal Shah Vice President - Leadership & Organisation Development?
7. Indegene?
8. Shivakumar Venkateswaran, CHRO-USDC, ex CHRO IIM-Bangalore
9. Baskar Varadhan, VP_CHRO & CTO @ Natural Remedies.
10. Ashok G, Founder's Coach- India Scale-up,ex Head HR SPAR
11. A Krishna,?ex CHRO/CFO of Bosch India
12. Anup Lewis, HR Head, IDFC First Bank

Topics briefly covered were

1. Business Challenges in the Industry?(Great Recession, What is the Business/economic outlook for India, Manufacturing in India, Impact of Automation / ChatGPT on jobs, industry, Hybrid Working)
2. How HR is helping the Business to address these challenges
3. How B Schools can help prepare students to address these challenges
4. What are the skills they are looking?for in the industry (from a MBA School)

?Key Discussion Highlights:

• Yes there are global headwinds like economic recession in the West (USA/Europe) which are likely to affect India, but India is a large country and has a huge domestic market and hence the impact will be significantly lower.
• Some leaders said that this is a cyclical phenomena happening once every 7 years (Recession) and hence we need to factor this into our future planning. We need to prepare a scenario planning and be prepared for such occasions.
• In the past it was about Lifetime employment but now neither the employer can guarantee life time employment nor the employee can guarantee life time loyalty. Its all about supply and demand. Careers have become short.
• We are moving into a GIG economy and there will be plenty of opportunities for people to work in more than 1 job at a time.
• India is likely to grow about 7% in terms of GDP
• The talk about Jobless Growth is dumbfounded. India will need to create jobs to meet its growing demands. Maybe the nature and the form of jobs may vary. Some leaders said that this is a passing phase. And jobs will resurface.
• Hence one needs to continuously stay updated and be relevant by upskilling
• India will be the go-to destination for higher education by 2047. Many foreign universities will come to India and partner with existing universities or set up their own universities and students from all over the world will throng to India for higher education
• Worlds reliance on China will gradually come down and a large part of the manufacturing will move to India. Apple, Airbus are some examples.
• We are operating in a Global environment and not working in isolation.
• Just like Internet brought in a major revolution in the world, so too will ChatGPT bring in a revolution today. Everything that is repetitive will be automated. Many roles like content creators may become indispensable.
• We cannot shun ChatGPT or technology, AI or automation. We must learn to live with them and try to leverage them for providing superior service to our stake holders
• India is very resilient and very good at adapting to challenging circumstances and come up with creative innovative solutions (JUGAAD)
• Every one of them are hiring and need people. Some of them in niche areas. But they need quality people/students

Outlook for Students & What is expected from B School Students

One of the leader said that there is no short cut for success. There is nothing called SMART WORK. Its only HARD WORK that pays. He shared a frame work for success for students:

1. Be the top 3 in the class. Academic success is one of the most important criteria for selection
2. Pick up 3 new skills every year and master them. Get a certification from a reputed organisation/university
3. Learn at least 3 new languages including a couple of foreign language. There is a premium for foreign languages (Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish)
4. Follow 3 HR/Business Leaders. Reach out to them, start engaging with them and seek their mentorship.
5. Take up 3 unique Projects every hear – preferably related to your domain/area of specialization
6. Publish 3 papers (Articles, Research Papers) in leading professional journals

• Work hard, and later?you will look smart.
• Work Ethics is very important. One should develop good work ethics.

1. Discipline
2. Attitude
3. Like keep the phones away from studies/college or at work.
4. Come prepared for meeting if not don’t attend. Don’t be a mute spectator
5. Be on time. Prepare to be atleast 5 minutes early
6. Make notes at the meeting. Our memories are short
7. Honesty, Integrity & Ethics

• Workplaces have to Inclusive. We need to accept and respect differences and not make a clone of everybody. Diversity & Inclusion will be the key to success
• Learn to understand global cultures
• Use common sense in your judgement. Develop situational awareness and mindfulness.
• Be natural self and be simple. Don’t try to outsmart people. People can see through you. Be genuine & Don’t fake
• Do what you Love or Love what you do. We don’t know what we love and hence it is advisable to Love what you do. Students are too young to know what they really want. Some of them said even after 30 years of work they are not sure of what their passion is. Hence on the practical side, love what you do and derive satisfaction out it.
• Multi-tasking is the key to success. Don’t be bogged down with one domain or function. Try to embrace multiple areas, functions and domain. Many of them gave examples how they have served different functions finance, business, sales etc
• You need to adopt a T Shaped approach for skill building. You need to have a breadth of skills (wide variety of skills) and at the same time have depth is a few niche areas (specialised/expert).
• Growth is not just vertical growth (promotion in the hierarchy). Lateral movement / job rotation & transfers are also developmental opportunities & growth.
• Adaptability to changing demands and circumstances will be a key driver of success because Change is the only thing constant.
• Command over English language. Many of the HR Leaders present have studied in vernacular language but over time have mastered English Language and today are heading HR in large organisations.
• Communication is the key to success. You may have a great idea but if you cant express/ articulate or present it to your audience it is of no use. Hence presentation, articulation skills is key. Become members of Toast Masters Club to improve your communication skills
• Don’t jump to become an Entrepreneur. Work atleast 3 years or more understand how organisations work before attempting to become an Entrepreneur
• You have to sell your self. It’s a competitive world. Build your personal brand.
• Write your CV today as it should look like a year from now. And start working towards that direction
• Don’t fear failure. Don’t give up. Keep trying till you succeed. Hence perseverance is key to success.
• Develop a solutions mindset. Don’t come to a meeting with just a problem. Also come up with 2-3 suggestions/solutions and seek advise/help.
• As you evolve you need to continuously develop. Continuous improvement is the key to sustainability in this fast changing world. Skills get outdated in 3-4 years.
• As much as you focus on Functional Skills, Life skills are equally important. Develop your Life Skills (Emotional Intelligence).
• Need to understand Business. If you are truly a Business Partner you need to understand what the business is all about, the market, the challenges and co-create strategies & solutions with Business. But at the same time be connected with People.
• You need to constantly look at adding value in whatever you do. If you are not seen as adding value, you become irrelevant.
• Learn to be a Team Player. You need to be sensitive to others.
• To be successful and valued in an organisation, your Contribution to the Company (CTC) should be greater than the Cost to the Company (CTC)
• Network with Industry Leaders / Thought Leaders and build your Social Capital.

Skills that the HR Leaders look for in Students while Hiring/Advise (3 skills from each HR Leader)

1.????Obsession towards academics.

2.????Knowledge about the industry and the company.

3.????Attitude, leaning ability and humor are important.

4.????Initiative and leadership

5.????Willingness to learn

6.????Solve the problem.

7.????Resilience

8.????Willingness to learn

9.????Common sense

10.?Clear thought process

11.?Adaptability to culture.

12.?Relevance ( how relevant are you talking)

13.?Structuring in your mind.

14.?Talk in bullet points, spot on communication.

15.?Keep your language simple but elegant.

16.?Research skills

17.?Solution mindset.

18.?Social capital ( networking, who you know is important)

19.?Can do approach

20.?Go to sales jobs first to learn marketing later.

21.?Apply the concept

22.?How we’ll can people relate to people

23.?Hiring for the future – they are self lead and self motivated teams.

24.?Have and extra effort for your ambition.

25.?Leaders of tomorrow should develop empathy.

26.?Build an inclusion mindset.

27.?Attitude – can do player

28.?Fit in the organizational culture,?be adaptive to M&A , reorganization, pressure and changes.

29.?Be functionally knowledgeable

30.?Have a thirst and be hungry to learn, know what is happening around the world (innovate and ideate)

31.?Oral and written communication

32.?How do you sell yourself effectively.

33.?Realize your potential. Ask people to help you realize your potential.