In an exclusive interview with BW People, Shailesh Singla talks about how should a CEO and CHRO can bridge skill gap in the digital age. He also underlines the best practices that a CHRO is leveraging today from social media for the right kind of hiring and recruitment. Edited Excerpts from his interview.

Photo Credit : shutterbucks,

1. What is the importance of an inspiring workplace? 

Culture is what inspires people at workplace. Particularly the behaviors we encourage both consciously and unconsciously in our environments. Everything that an employee experiences right from walking in the building to the vibe that the organization sets, forms inspiration for an employee. Corporate culture of a workplace can either energize and inspire or drain people. 

The primary drivers of our behavior at work are SELF-RESPECT & RECOGNITION – even more than the monetary benefits and these come in by showcasing our portfolio of knowledge, skills, competencies, and repertoire of work-experiences. In my view this is what makes employees happy and thus inspires them towards work. Of course, needless to mention that a great work-ambience, nurturing, politics-free environment are imperatives and should be the ‘default eco-system’. 

2. Can we leave an important decision as hiring on a Robot? 

Robots can be effectively used to automate the backend processes and mundane tasks which could leave the employees with more bandwidth to put more thought in the hiring process. Hiring manpower has a human element to it which is the primary essence of screening people that cannot be replaced. Robots can follow a series of instructions coded for automation to respond and take a decision, but they cannot empathise with humans which is an important factor when interacting with candidates for hiring.

3. What are the challenges of working with instant gratification seeking millennials? 

Generation Z or millennials form the major part of multi-generational workforce of India which calls for a customized approach to engage with each employee instead of a cookie-cutter method. They demand for an integrated, seamless, tech-enabled process and continuous feedback for their growth. Hiring millennials isn’t the hard part. Retaining them is. Organizations that want to retain talent are going to have to think about how to keep them engaged and connected to a purpose.

Millennials are digital natives who are not only extremely experienced and comfortable with all aspects of technology, but they also use it in just about every area of their working and personal lives. Technology use habits and levels of experience vary widely between individuals and are based on far more factors than just age. It is important to select the right tools for the team, based on their individual technology experience. 

4. How should a CEO and CHRO bridge the skill gap? 

A systemic talent review system, on the bedrock of objectivity, data-centricity, transparency, fairness and consistency, is an imperative. With Big-data and Analytics playing a big role, this should not be difficult to achieve. Implementation of a professional PMS, Career-planning, Talent mobility, and Succession planning, can be all developed and sustained by an effective L&D function. This will certainly help foster a great, high-touch employee experience.  

At Oracle, all our HCM efforts are spearheaded to achieve – a) business outcomes, b) competent, high-energy, motivated, and result-oriented workforce, c) an awesome CULTURE – of ethics, integrity, camaraderie and capability development, and d) Sustainability of corporate governance & CSR.

We help the new hire build his/her understanding and rapport with the company and with the management. We further focus on providing them with a more concrete and thorough on-boarding experience, and gradually discuss their career plan that align with their personal goals and values. We make sure there is continuous communication between us, as clearly this will go a long way in training, nurturing and retaining top talent in the company.

5. What do you think are the expectations from a futuristic CHRO? 

HR needs its own digital strategy to engage with and improve the productivity of the workforce by incorporating technology that is personalized, connected, insightful, mobile, purposeful, secure, talent-centric, social and agile.

A futuristic CHRO will be focused on employee experience rather than just nurturing talent. In today’s age and time, technology has made everything ‘accountable and transparent’. Consequently, Employee Experience is measurable and calibrated. Employer branding is the most empirical derivative of good employee experience.

6. What are the best practices that CHRO’s are leveraging from Social Media for the right kind of hiring and recruitment? 

CHROs are struggling to find the right people. In multiple studies over the last few years, we have seen recruiting the right workforce as the number one challenge for talent leaders. The way companies are acquiring talent has also been changing. From an employer-centric approach, there has been a big shift to a candidate-centric approach, with candidates searching for employers like they would for consumer goods. Social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn are some of the most powerful tools available to recruiters today. As usage continues to skyrocket, more businesses are recognizing the fact that high-quality candidates can be reached faster and at lower cost using social networks than traditional recruiting methods. Social networks can give recruiters a competitive edge in locating and engaging the best candidates available to reach your company’s recruiting objectives.