The pace and the nature of jobs is going to speed up and the demographics are going to be the determinant of change. HR managers are looking the niche skills for hiring today owing to informed date driven decisions.

Photo Credit : BW Businessworld,

Seen as one of the most important asset of a business for it is the human capital that constitutes the makeup of an organization. Individuals drive its management and success but with changing times, human engagement at workplace has completely transformed with the advent of technology and a whole new social dynamism owing to the complete new overhaul in the way people communicate these days. 

Speaking at the BW Businessworld HR Strategy Conclave 2017 today, Anurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief BW Businessworld said, “Human Resource is everything for entrepreneurs as people form the core and are the soul and spirit of an organization. The role of HRs is very crucial here as they deal with people and have to create a conducive environment for employees where they are taken care of. They need to concentrate on total well-being of people in an organization where they can be entrusted with a sense of ownership and can be inculcated with an entrepreneurial spirit to get the tasks at hand done efficiently well within time”

Arjun Pratap, Founder & CEO, Edge Networks stated, “We have to reimagine the workforce of tomorrow which is largely going to be technology driven. We need to understand that we are in a world where we need to improve the impact of people experience. Big data and AI is the future and the businesses need to start looking at this new world in a new light. Leaders need to strategize their businesses in a way that they built in a sense of entrepreneurial spirit in their workforce and transform them to be relevant in future. Hence, a smart workplace with a smarter workforce is the key.”

Talking about the trends that are going to dominate the HR industry in the upcoming year, Richard Rekhy, Former CEO, KPMG India stated, “Technological tools like the AI and IOT will enhance the quality of work the HR managers are going to do. Owing to these disruptions, job requirements are becoming specific but, as good talent is always scarce, HRs need to become more agile and relevant to the organization and be able to understand the use of technology. Hence, tech disruption is going to define the future of HR.”

Though, contrary to the popular perception, YV Verma, Former COO, LG India had a difference stance, “There are major issues owing to these new technologies, one is the governance aspect. The legality is lacking in the way these companies function. These new technologies challenge the value system in the society as they are fast, full of confusion, and without any assurance. Take the example of bitcoin which has created a lopsided economy full of ambiguity.”

Technologies are transforming workplaces which is fast becoming the core of organizations. Alok Tripathi, Consulting Leader, TMS, India and South Asia, IBM stated, “Technological disruptions are affecting the workplace transformations. Data is fundamental to any change in the way the companies function but the managers also need to get how to understand and use the data a lot more which exists in both structured and unstructured forms. You would not want to die of thirst in a big ocean of data. Hence, organizations need to know that the technology enablement is about the experience of the consumers and employees, the impact has on them as experience is going to be the leisure of success.”

The trend of upscaling and rescaling is also another looming tend in the year 2018. The pace and the nature of jobs is going to speed up and the demographics are going to be the determinant of change. HR managers are looking the niche skills for hiring today owing to informed date driven decisions.

The nature of jobs in technology space too are going to change. According to a report by CEB, there will be 3, 00,000 new jobs that will be created in the AI space alone. Hence, it is important to impart skill in the workforce in advance of the imminent change to bring everyone along in the economy and chart the course of change with ease.

Expressing her opinion on how this change will shape the year 2018, Manu N Wadhwa, HR Head, Coca Cola averred, “The biggest challenge is to gear up our professionals which is also the need of our economy. There is no doubt that we have the best talent in the world and more of our people are taking up leadership positions in organizations around the world. We also need to drive the forces of innovation, change mindset, instill right and creative entrepreneurial spirit and enable a novel culture for our workforce to adapt to.”

Amid the growing startup culture in India, entrepreneurs need to be more prudent about the usage of funds too. Ramesh Natarajan, Founder, LitmusWorld threw some light on this, “Well that is debatable, I do not think the fund investment and usage should concern anyone else but the investors and shareholders of a company. There is a growth opportunity which is the whole concept of a start up.”

The demand for executives too has gone up in the past few years and the year 2018 is going to be no different. The job market is going to witness a big upturn in the coming year. Monika Agarwal, Head of Global Financial Services, Korn Ferry International, India expressed her views on this, “Search industry is a lead indicator of an economy and going by the numbers, growth is about to follow. We have seen a huge upswing in demand for the right kind of talent across all the sectors this year. Thus, 2018 is going to be a great year for job market.”

However, there are concerns whether, technology will kill jobs and render people job less. Rekhy spoke on this aspect, “We need to understand the need of stakeholders here which are the employees. When hiring talent, the managers have to make sure that the employees are being integrated in the ecosystem well as they need to remember the human aspect of how you deal with people as well. Ultimately, machines will get you faster work, will be able to direct you in a particular direction, but, you cannot take away the human connection and organizations where people care for each other. HRs need to reskill and upgrade employees as the industries evolve. They need to focus on L&D more, however, there will be job losses owing to technological advancements but, it can be cascaded by upscaling employees.”

Talking about this point, Ira Gupta, HR Head, Microsoft India said, “We have to recognize the fact that we have a diverse workforce and the inclusion of every one is something we should utilise technology to address. Where, sometimes people prefer to learn on job, hence, we need to focus on at disposal technology, customised L&D which are a tipping point. But, as progress and become more inclusive, the ability to take everyone along in that development journey is the need of the hour.” 

Going forth, as companies evolve, they need to address the issues around responsiveness and create a personalised experience for their employees and technology will help a lot in that sphere. AI, robotics, big data will change the way workspace ecosystem are defined. But, human touch will persist. HR managers will need to embrace and build on technological advancements to meet both the employees as well as the business requirements.