HR as Change Agent

• Provoke the positive changes in the organization so that it can stay competitive.

• Build the organization’s capacity to embrace and capitalize on the change

HR as Change Agent

Before ChangePreparing for Change

During ChangeManaging Change

Post ChangeReinforcing Change

• Serves as a catalyst for change

• Helps the organization build a capacity for change

• Plan change process with sponsors

• Ensure project team has necessary skills, training

• Coach sponsor• Lead by example by

doing it first within the HR function

• Facilitate the discussions about the change and its content with all stakeholders

• Coach leaders through the change

• Acts as a coach/mentor to employees to help them understand change as it affects their lives

• Emphasize ‘what is in it’ for the individuals and address concerns

• Strike a balance between the business and employees

• Communicate, communicate, communicate

• Help employees to break from the past & adapt a new culture.

• Sustain the momentum• Internalization of new

behavior / way• Recognize & celebrate

success• Build on the change

Change Agent Role

Change Management Tool

“Of course change management isn’t restricted exclusively to HR. Line managers are the owners of change while HR can be seen as it’s architect, facilitator and designer. Nobody ever said that only HR manages change.”

Dave Ulrich

Case Study - Airtel

• Radio Paging and Fixed-line Service Sector of the 1990s - Second largest communications network in the world.

• Phenomenal Growth Rate

• Biggest drivers of Economic Growth

• Generated employment opportunities for millions in the country in core and allied sectors.

Background

• HR played an important role in setting up basic operations, with a focus on providing adequate resources for services like staffing and payroll

• Sales, Distribution and Marketing teams led the Telecom Sector on its growth path

• As the sector learnt to stride the growth path, talent was hired in great numbers

• HR witnessed a growing trend of employees graduating from these nurseries and moving to other companies across sectors.

• The Telecom sector and Economy continued to grow at a rapid pace and this trend of exiting employees plagued HR managers.

• Sector quickly adopted policies to address the fundamental question: Why does an employee switch to another company?

• HR proactively devised solutions to motivate, train and engage employees.

• Processes to standardize systems and practices to leverage synergies of scale for HR operations.

• These practices were introduced across verticals within HR to support business which was constantly breaking new ground and making novel demands on the HR function

• The challenge was to position telecom as an employer of choice, and living up to the brand promise and positioning.

Young Leaders Programme To hire the best managerial talent from top B-Schools in the country.

Ring-fenced with attractive and innovative reward programmes and other long-term investments like leadership development programmes.

Mid-career professionals from across industries were attracted to the promising telecom story.

People from Banking, Insurance, FMCG Organizations started joining in sales, customer service etc.

HR as a Change Agent in Airtel

Career Paths

Level Progression & Career Progression

Ready reckoner for any employee keen to know what critical experiences he or she needed to gather to reach a particular destination within the organization.

Continue to evolve with the roles in the organization as the industry keeps making fresh demands of its talent.

HR as a Change Agent in Airtel

Organization and Talent Reviews

Reward, Recognition and Talent Management

To have a common view of capability gaps and talent pipeline with business.

Hi-Po (high-potential talent) identification and development

Hi-Po identified through a series of discussions and assessments and provided with critical on-the-job training inputs.

HR as a Change Agent in Airtel

• HR - Integrator and Innovator• Have a view of the long-term strategy, anticipating needs and

innovating on solutions• HR is the major Change Agent for Dynamic Industries like Telecom,

helping managers straddle multiple eco-systems such as voice and data.

Conclusion