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HR Practices in India

Evolution of the concept of HRM: Past, present and future

Paramjit Sujlana

Evolution of the Personnel Function(Source: V.S.P.Rao)

• The Commodity concept- Labor was regarded as a commodity to be bought and sold

• The FoP concept- Labor is like any oher Fop. Workers are like machine tools.

• The Goodwill concept- welfare measures like safety, first aid, lunch room etc were being provided.

• The Paternalistic concept- meeting the requirements of employees like parents fulfill a child’s needs.

Evolution of the Personnel Function

• The Humanitarian concept- social, psychological needs of workers became important. Organization was considered as a social system.

• The HR concept- employees are the most valuable assets. Realise organizational goals by satisfying employees

• The Emerging concept- employees should be accepted as partners. Feeling of belonging towards the organization.

Growth of HR in India

• Early phase: HR practices have been noticed from as early as 1800 B.C.

• Legal Phase: 1920 onwards. The appointment of labor and welfare officers became compulsory.

• Welfare Phase: during the 1960s. Legalistic functions gave way to harmonious relations.

• Development Phase: 1970 onwards. The focus shifted to developmental aspects. HRD became a focal point. IIPM and NILM emerged.

Changing ScenarioPeriod Emphasis Status Roles

1920-30 Welfare Management, Paternalistic practices

Clerical Welfare administratorPoliceman

1940-60 Expanding the role to cover labor, welfare, IR and personnel administration

Administrative Appraiser, Advisor, Mediator, Legal Advisor, Fire Fighting

1970-80 Efficiency, effectiveness, human values, dignity, aspirations

Developmental Change agent, Integrator, Trainer, Educator

1990 onwards

Incremental productivity, gains through human assets

Proactive, growth oriented

Developer, Counselor, Coach, Mentor, Problem Solver.

Shifts in HRM in IndiaTraditional HR Practices in India Emerging HR Practices in India

Administrative roleReactiveSeparate, isolated from company missionProduction focusIndividuals encouragedPeople as expenses

Strategic roleProactiveKey part in organizational missionService focusCross-functional teams, teamwork encouragedPeople as key investments.

Future of HRM: Things that could influence the future of current HR practices

• The current economic scenario.• Globalization.• Employee expectations.• Technological changes.• Life-style changes.• Environmental changes.• HR managers moving up the organizational

structure.

Current HR Practices in India

“HR managers are scrambling for workers and spending sleepless nights, worrying over compensation, recruitment and retention. Worse, almost no employee at the top 10 companies says that she is happy with the money she's making or the career counseling she's getting at her company. It includes Infosys employees, who have been promised Rs 126 crore in bonuses this year.”

BUSINESS TODAY- OCTOBER 2006

Current HR Practices in India

“As the economy started surging towards knowledge industries (IT and financial services being just two of them), the resource that HR managers came to deal with changed. Unlike blue-collar workers, software coders and investment analysts didn't come by the dozens ; to woo them, they needed to be offered stock options, not to mention high salaries. Since the wealth they were creating was phenomenal, other employers were always willing to better the deal to lure them away. One thing led to another-or, rather, to in-house valet services, free massages, gyms and crèches-and pretty soon, these were standard fare. “

BUSINESS TODAY- OCTOBER 2006

Current HR Practices in India

Did you know that you can order at least six different cuisines on Infosys' campus in Bangalore? Or that you needn't even come to office every day but work from home if you are at Sapient? Or that at MindTree, you can question your superiors without fear of getting sacked, and that at Satyam Computer, not just your birthdays, but those of your family members are remembered and celebrated?

BUSINESS TODAY- OCTOBER 2006

Current HR Practices in India

The HR manager of today has become tech savvy. There's a phenomenal amount of information technology that is being used to manage human resources. Infosys, for example, will have 70,000 employees by the end of this fiscal.

BUSINESS WEEK – OCTOBER 2006

Best employers of 2005, 2006 & 2007

2005 2006 2007

1.INFOSYS 1.INFOSYS 1.MICROSOFT

2. SASKEN 2.MIND TREE 2.MIND TREE CONSULTING

3. GENPACT 3.SATYAM 3.JOHNSON & JOHNSON

4. HCL COMNET 4.DR REDDY’S LABS 4.SAPIENT

5. NTPC 5.SAPIENT 5.INFOSYS

6. HSBC 6.AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES 6.I GATE

7. SAPIENT 7.JOHNSON & JOHNSON 7. AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES

8. COVANSYS 8.COVANSYS 8.HCL COMNET

9. HDFC BANK 9.HCL COMNET 9. ACCENTURE

10. MIND TREE 10.HSBC 10.DR REDDY’S LABS

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