E-HR HELPED HR INDUSTRY GROW BY ENABLING HR MONITOR EVERY FUNCTION EFFECTIVELY

By: Tulanahina Maity Pandey, CVP & Head HR Bancassurance, ECommerce, Group Business, BD & Partnership Distribution, Max Life Insurance Company Limited

An accomplished HR Leader with over 17 years of immersive experience in Banking and Financial Services industry across diversified roles with exposure to domestic and international geographies

1. The HR industry has evolved significantly, especially with the development of technology led digital solutions. What is your take on this evolution?

The resurgence in HR industry due to technology led digital solutions has augmented the game of employee experience. Skipping the monotonous and repetitive HR practices has helped to design best fit solution for every aspect in HR function and enabled HR professionals to focus more on strategic agendas. To quote it in simple way, HR industry has not just undergone Digital Evolution but has Digitally revolutionized itself.

2. What impact has the pandemic had on the HR industry and what new patterns/trends have emerged as a result?

During the pandemic situation - when the economic cycle went on a standstill, the HR industry was playing an expanded role in their employees’ financial, physical and mental well-being. Organizations shifted to a remote working culture and this trend has been viewed as a cost saving measure with improved efficiency for deploying a diverse team of employees. However, whilst this approach captured efficiencies, it also created fragilities as systems have no flexibility to respond to disruptions. Resilient organizations were better able to respond — correct course quickly with change.

3. In your opinion what steps must companies take to keep pace with the changes brought about by the global pandemic?

As a result of the global pandemic - adaption to new age technology and exploring the critical competencies of every individual to bring about a positive outcome has become the need of the hour. To keep pace with changes, we must accelerate the process of accepting challenges and understand how large-scale shifts are changing the way people work and business gets done. It is also important to balance the decisions made today to resolve immediate concerns during the pandemic with the long-term impact on their employment brand.

4. How has the HR industry integrated technology trends to keep up with today’s digital era?

What role does it play in the industry's growth? Why is it important to invest in digital tools for long term resilience? E-HR has helped the HR industry to grow to a large extent by enabling HR to monitor every function effectively. The pandemic situation has taught us to keep ourselves ready for new age challenges by adapting smart ways of tackling every problem to achieve the desired goals. HR industry observes Data & Analytics as core capability of driving every HR module. Investing in digital tools have gifted us with advanced Human Machine interface, Authentication and Social connect that will help in building long term resilience.

5. With the pandemic and technology advancements what will the industry look like in the next 5 to 10 years?

What does the market provide for the upcoming startups? In the next 5 - 10 years, the HR industry will probably have a HR Bot taking care of all the basic hygiene checks and pre interview assessments to evaluate the pool of talent. Digital HR or Mobile Based HR application will probably be assisting employees in resolving every query though human touch will be required for sensitive cases / interpersonal decision making. There are approximately 7 billion mobile devices in the world and there is an opportunity to design mobile based HR applications considering the end user experience. If the startups adopt extensive use of technology to create user friendly mobile applications, which would be personalized enough to ease the burden of taking care of monotonous HR functions, this would no sooner create a buzz in the market and will be adopted extensively in the market.

6. What would you advice the youngsters who aspire to foray into the field of Human Resources?

Human Resource is the heart of any organization. It plays an important role in the day to day functioning of the business. Technology may provide solutions based on the data provided and replicate decisions, but will never get the capability of spontaneous thinking which a human mind can. Although adapting to Digital HR may seem like a solution to every challenge however unique perspectives and innovative thinking will always help to influence the future of any organization. And finally the culture of an organization is always dependent on how well HR can influence organisation priorities and focus on long term goals to be achieved. So welcome to the HR Team, it is now an interesting place to be !