As the country's population grew and globalization became more prevalent, opportunities and demand for a skilled workforce also grew.

As we celebrate 75 years of Independence, we need to reflect and see how far we have come as a country, especially in terms of Talent as a function. We are a young nation built by its youth. During the initial days of the post-independence era, Talent was practically non-existent because business focussed on the transaction of products and services. The legal sides of the companies were on the rise due to the rising disputes. That said, the Indian Constitution included clauses focusing on labor welfare. Labor unions such as the Indian National Trade Union Congress worked for the welfare of the laborers across industries.

As the country's population grew and globalization became more prevalent, opportunities and demand for a skilled workforce also grew. Talent as a function also evolved from primarily focusing on getting the candidates on board to an integral part of the employee lifecycle.

Evolving market and the importance of skilling 

India is an agricultural economy, and agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for about 58% of India's population. There are state and national level labor laws that are designed to protect the interests of those working in this sector. The increase in the number of industries after 1947 gave rise to labor unions which represented the underrepresented groups and worked toward protecting the rights of the laborers. During these times, factories and industries were required to employ welfare officers who undertook the work pretty much like Talent and worked as the bridge between the laborers, unions and the decision-makers.

In contrast, when we look at skilling, the scenario was very different until the early 80s, as most industries were looking for headcount to fulfill the production demand. Skilling employees was limited to training mostly in operating and managing machinery used to scale the production. The scope for people to cross skill was also slim.

Things started to change in the late 80s and early 90s as globalization happened. With that, India’s education system and socio-economic situation also improved. Education was taking precedence; opportunities were being created for women to get education, and more women had started taking an active role across industries. Recruitment firms had begun to emerge during this time, but they focused primarily on recruitment and getting the workforce.

The 2000s saw the rise of different industries, and with that, the role of Human Resources (HR) also evolved. Now HR was not just responsible for looking at recruitment and sorting disputes, but it was becoming an active service that is a part of the employee lifecycle with a foot in learning and development, employee experience and rewards, to name a few.

The Information Technology sector has seen a significant boom in the last decade, raising the demand for a skilled workforce. India has one of the largest youth populations, with around 12 million youth entering the workforce annually. For the youth to succeed and get good employment opportunities, they need to be skilled and trained to become high-functioning members of society.

Skills are the modern-day currency important for all industries — skilled people can be easily absorbed into the workforce, whether agricultural, automotive, education, or IT. The rise of learning and development opportunities is helping people carve out unique career paths that would otherwise have been impossible. In addition, government initiatives, educational institutions, and NGOs are also working on skilling the youth and helping them find employment that matches their skillsets.

The evolution of work, workplace, and the ways of working

The nature of work, the workplace and the ways of working have evolved. Initially, the government sector was prevalent, but globalization gave rise to the private sector and the function of HR and Talent evolved with it. Talent was about recruiting people, which later became a holistic function as professionals from the country started going outside for opportunities and the global workforce also started entering the country with the growing demands of the industry.

I believe globalization and the adoption of Talent practices from different countries gave rise to the modern-day Talent function where the need to make an impact started coming in and employees were not looked upon as a headcount but as an asset to the organization. The Talent function's human aspect helped organizations get through the black swan event like the pandemic.

The workforce has also evolved. We have four generations working under one roof with different expectations from the workplace and their work. Talent is the binding factor that takes care of these different needs, and helps the organization and the people achieve their collective goals.

The HR function has become Talent now. As a function, we focus on the person and the capabilities they bring to the table. Talent in the modern-day context goes beyond just setting rules and getting people on board — it is more about connecting people to the organization through values and purpose. It is to help individuals achieve their goals while contributing to the organization’s goals. Talent is a strategic partner of the business. It has come a long way from being a transactional function to being equal.

Technology to write the future of Talent

Today, Talent and technology go hand in hand with recruitment, rewards, payroll, and most other Talent functions gone digital. Candidate experience is an essential facet of the modern-day Talent function, and it is all backed by data collected via various Talent technologies.

Talent teams are leveraging digital technology and methodology to influence tangible Talent parameters like cost of labor, onboarding and managing diversity ratios, along with intangible assists like leadership, culture, employee listening, etc.

At EY, we provide our people an exceptional EY experience across the moments that matter. We enable the businesses to make sound people decisions that will support the organization’s vision. As a million parts — with real people, having a real-time business impact — come together, the Talent organization faces the challenge of synchronizing them to help the organization move forward. So, when we look at it broadly, the Talent narrative begins when we move seamlessly.

Today, the EY organization has diverse teams — not just in the standard dimensions of diversity but also in employment (as gig working continues to penetrate traditional workforce models). Geographically too, we are more fluid as we build more agile teams across the globe. The scope of our roles and functions blends into the larger business vision, and all this must be sustained in a single ecosystem.

As Talent, we are expected to build teams that can help deliver a single vision. The ecosystem is tangible and can be built as we leverage digital capabilities to forge unique experiences by bringing together threads from across disparate processes and programs.

Talent as a function has gone through a considerable amount of change in the last 75 years, and these changes are parallel to the changes happening in society.

(The views expressed in the article have been curated by Sreekanth Arimanithaya - Global Talent and Enablement Services Leader, EY GDS specially for BW People publication)