AUGUST 2017 BUSINESS MANAGER1

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06 Managing expectations forHR business partnersThe most challenging aspect for HR Professionals is tomanage the expectations from the business managers andLeaders.The process starts from introspecting the need,analyzing the objectives of the need, assessing the impactand managing the consequence are some of the importantdimensions in the journey of purposeful, meaningful andimpactful partnerships in overall Expectation Management.An article by Prashant Rao

16 The Impact ofAutomation and ArtificialIntelligence on jobsAn article by Vidur Gupta

14 Re-skilling can only boost employment

Today a million Indians become age - eligible to join thework-force every year and by 2020, India is projected tohave the world's largest work force.That's stunning, if wecan train and skill our workforce. An article by Sandeep Maurya

In this ISSUE

Cover Feature

Diversity in the workplace

India is growing at a rapid pace. India's diversity, too, isgrowing and is different from the western world and evenfrom our neighbour China. So, our solutions to diversitymust be different from the rest. Here, some organisationsare going an extra step to ensure that unique needs ofgenders are identified and met. An article by Dr. Anupriyo Mallick

10In every ISSUE

Response

From the Editor’s Desk

Guest Column by Dr. Vinayshil Gautam

Guest Column by Prof. Arup Varma

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Re-Skill or PerishSURVIVAL OFTHE RE-SKILLED

- BM Editorial team

Technology is a boon;embrace it and up-skill to stayaheadMonica Malhotra Kandhari

Staying updated has neverturned out to be insignificantSanjay Bahl

Time for continuous learning& enhancing skill levelsAchal Khanna

To beat job cuts, adapt newtechnological skillsAnnapurna A

Skill-up to remain resilientand sustainableRituparna Chakraborty

To stay relevant-Realise,renew and refresh...Dr. Rima Ghose Chowdhury

Automation also bringsopportunities for skills up-dationNiharika Jalan

INTE

RV

IEW

S

DEBATE

SPECIAL REPORT

Who should be

responsiblefor re-

skilling ofemployees?

Mukul Chopra

Dr. GayathriVasudevan

AkankshaTripathi

Re-skillingis lifeline of

activity

Akshara Seth

Volatilityin job

market:Will it end

soon?

-BM Editorial team

&

18-38

Survival of the

re-skilled

Re-Skill or Perish

It is true that no organization canremain competitive unless talent isskilled and trained to take on the

global workforce. While it is critical to"create new jobs" for the Indianworkforce that is young compared tothe global workforce; it is even morecritical to provide the right skills forthose jobs through education,training, retraining and re-skilling.

To get things straight, let us share astartling fact - up to 40% of theestimated four - million workforceneed re-skilling over the next fiveyears, if they are to keep pace with thechanging face and automation of theIT industry, says a report by Nasscom.

BM EDITORIAL TEAM

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AUGUST 2017 BUSINESS MANAGER18

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Not surprisingly, this is indeed the truth weare living every day. In a scenario where 'joblessgrowth' has become a reality, those who canupgrade, update and up-skill are the survivors.Research reports suggest that jobless growthhas created a scenario where it has become alabour - intensive market. The focus is on 'labourproductivity', where more work is now beingdone with fewer employees.

Given such conditions, one needs to acquirenew skills to remain in the workforce.

Where are the gaps

1) The very first challenge lies with up-skilling or re-skilling, itself: While both theorganisations and workers have beenfocusing on upgrading the coredomain/technical skills, what has lagged isup-skilling to able to grow in their currentroles, being relevant in related functions andbeing pertinent across sectors.

2) Another thing which possess a bigchallenge is - soft skills: Even the besttrained people in India lack soft skills andthat is definitely one of the biggestchallenges that the industry face, today.Ability to communicate adequately and towork in a team environment and adhering towork culture, policies and regulations isequally important to succeed as are thedomain knowledge.

3) The biggest of them all is - continuity: Thebigger challenge lies in re-skilling employeeson an ongoing basis. As re-skilling is crucialto ensure adaptability and effectiveness inuncertain times, it needs to happen on aregular basis and not on one - off basis.

Re-skilling need to bemethodical

Global reports point out that most CEOsbelieve that cross - functional and cross -technical knowledge will be crucial to remainemployable in the long run. They also stress thatthe need of the hour is to expand theoreticallearning from institutions and virtual courses topractical industry application.

Industry experts suggest that one of theeffective ways of doing this is to invest inbuilding an in - house training delivery system,which could be a combination of classroom andonline training. What needs to be kept in mindis that the content of such programs should beglobally relevant and new - age channels suchas videos, webinars, global cohorts andexperiential programmes, where progress of thelearning can be checked on a real - time basis, isused.

Technology must be used intelligently.Digital channels to develop and distributeshould be created. There must be a labourmarket information system so that people knowwhere the jobs are, what skills are needed,what's the career progression in that role -everything readily available at one place.

Conclusion

Businesses are going through a state ofconsolidation and thus job creation is going tobe less than the volume of job cuts. However,industry experts believe that while volumes ofnew job will fall, the quality of new jobs will bespecialised, advanced and more niche than theexisting jobs.

Industry players emphasise the need formultidisciplinary skills in addition to knowledgeof technology.

The current education systems also need anoverhaul to suit the future labour markets.Academia and industry must rethink their roleand participate and invest in continuouslearning, re-skilling and up-skilling of theiremployees.

To summarise, following should be the re-skilling focus for India Inc

Organisations should focus on capacitybuilding.

Blending different thought processes,mentoring and reverse - mentoring are fewother strategies to overcome skill challenges.

Re-skilling programmes need to becompletely revamped, keeping in mind theneeds of the future workforce andworkplace.

Employers should start hiring foremployability.

In - house training, development andmentorship programs should be among thekey agendas of all the organisations.

Efficient and strong industry academiaconnect is required for creation ofsustainable and skilled talent pool.

Through re-skilling, companies can ensurethat they have people in the wings ready to fillcritical positions, when required. By rolling out aprogram that targets re-skilling of theworkforce, a company can retain talent, stayahead on the talent warfront and furtherimprove its chances of success.

Moreover, it should be the onus of allprofessionals to embrace every opportunity forprofessional growth and advancement. Theworkforce regardless of their industry, role,experience and business environment mustalways endeavour to tap into the knowledge baseof people who have walked the walk.

www.businessmanager.in

Cover FeatureTo escape

the fear of

getting fired

in the

scenario

where news

of job cuts

has become

a routine,

re-skilling

has become

imperative.

Re-Skill or Perish

BM

AUGUST 2017 BUSINESS MANAGER20

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Cover FeatureRe-Skill or Perish

INTERVIEW

MONICA MALHOTRA KANDHARIManaging Director, MBD Group, Delhi

Technology is a boon;embrace it and up-skill to

stay ahead

It's high time now that we have to upgrade our skills,otherwise, be prepared to get replaced by someone else who

have already retrained themselves with the required skill sets. Iwould say that technology is not a curse; rather it is a boonwhich is forcing the workforce of our country in up-skilling

themselves so that they can compete globally.

How do you see the scenario of mass layoffs inIT sector to change in future?

Ans. Growing job insecurity and layoffs among IT professionalscall for up-skilling. The personnel need to re-skill themselvesaccording to the need of the sector. According to a NASSCOMreport, 40% of the estimated four million workforce in Indianeed re-skilling over the next five years to keep pace withautomation and changing skill needs in various industries.

To combat with automation and technological revolution in theindustry, HR has a major role to play in order to train theiremployees in digital skills and help them become innovative andcreative. I believe that the universities and education institutestoo have a great role in skilling their students because with thesame knowledge & no diversified skills, it will be hard forengineers graduating every year to find up a suitable job withdecent pay. With only the basic knowledge & nothing diversified,it won't be wrong to say that job cuts might continue for many

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more years. Hence, there is a strict need of skills up-gradation. Moreover, the professionals trained innewer technologies like Artificial Intelligence, cloudcomputing, analytics, big data, digital marketing, etc.will command higher pay scales.

What all sectors and functions will be highlyimpacted by job cuts?

Ans. With gloom in the IT industry due to job cuts, allthe related industries are facing the heat. With newertechnologies changing the way how these industriesshould function, are compelling the professionals tore-skill themselves. Apart from the hardcore IT sector,professionals in other industries like manufacturing,telecom, banking, etc. have also started feelinginsecure about their jobs due to machine learning, AI,automation, robotics and technology replacing themanual jobs.

Is there a greater need than ever to stay updated,up skill, re-skill and remain employable?

Ans. With manual jobs becoming obsolete andautomation overtaking it, yes, there is a greater needthan ever to stay updated, up skill in order to remainemployable. Hence, to survive in this fast evolvingtechnological environment, it is very important to re-skill yourselves in newer technologies like robotics,Artificial Intelligence, Analytics, AR/VR, etc. Manyorganisations are now days taking this initiative oftraining their employees on digital skills and helpingthem survive in the industries.

Moreover, with increasing competition in the industrywhere every organisation wants to have the best talentand since there are many people with the same skillsets as yours, it is very important to up skill yourabilities & talent to showcase your employer that youare a valuable asset for the organisation.

Has the current surge of job cuts made up-skillingmore crucial?

Ans. Shrinking job market due to mass layoffs in ITand related industries has resulted in a dire need ofskills up-gradation. Growing job insecurity and jobcuts have left the professionals worrying aboutredundancy and survival in the industry. Hence, thereis a necessity to come out of your comfort zones andre-skill yourselves for better job roles & salary hikes.Many corporates are now days taking the initiative ofpartnering with online learning platform (accessanytime anywhere) to provide training to theiremployees.

Since, a greater need to stay employable hasemerged from the way technology is taking overthe businesses - AI, robotics, digital, is it right tosay that technology is the curse that is pushing theworkforce to stay updated? Or, is technology

actually a boon, which is aiding up-skilling ofemployees?

Ans. The growth in digital technologies like robotics,AI and cloud based services is happening at a muchgreater pace, there is a need to re-skill the workforcein order to catch that speed. Gone is the time when wewere comfortable with whatever we know, we thoughtthat's enough for us; it's high time now that we have toupgrade our skills otherwise be prepared to getreplaced by someone else who have already retrainedthemselves with the required skill sets. I would saythat technology is not a curse; rather it is a boonwhich is forcing the workforce of our country in upskilling themselves so that they can compete globally.

From making a pencil to designing a building,technology is now an important part of every industry.With this significant shift in technologies, it hasbecome really important to up skill the professionalsfor each and every industry, not just IT.

How can organisations help employees to remainemployable?

Ans. At this time of rapidly changing industry,organisations should intensify investment in re-skilling their employees in order to strengthen theircapabilities and make them industry ready. Companiesshould also keep in mind the age groups of theirworkforce and devise strategies according to it, forexample, millennial learners would prefer learningthrough gamification or social connect whereas mid -level professionals would love to hear & get trainedfrom motivational speakers in special sessionarranged from them. Also, it is important for theemployees to understand and implement varioussolutions themselves which can help them remainemployable.

Even though companies are currently restructuringleading to job losses, many are hiring with a rapidpace and many are helping their employees indifferent ways to remain competitive and employable.Diversifying one's skills is a major task which cannotbe overlooked by employers these days. With layoffshappening, it's really important to have employeeswho can multi - task and perform different jobs withinthe organisation.

What are the 3 basic rules to follow to stayrelevant, updated and employable?

Ans. Organizations and professionals have startedrealizing the need and importance of re-skilling inthese tough times of combating automation. Followingrules should be followed to stay relevant, updated andemployable:

Diversify your skill sets.Be Agile, updated and adapt quickly to changes inthe industry.Give your best and never give up. Keep trying inorder to succeed. BM

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Cover FeatureRe-Skill or Perish

TECHNOLOGY IS A BOON; EMBRACE IT AND UP-SKILL TO STAY AHEAD