DR.

INDU SHUKLA,
Associate Professor, FCM,
Rama University, Uttar Pradesh,
Kanpur

Everything you need to know about the challenges of HRM. The organizations today realize
that human resource is the most valuable asset and are adopting policies like competence
building, job rotation, performance linked pay, empowerment, etc., which promote the overall
development of the human resources.

Greater stress is also being given in the field of employee welfare and social security with
increased post-retirement benefits like health insurance, provident fund, pension, etc.
HR professionals have to play a vital and pivotal role by acquiring, preparing and
maintaining human resources for the meeting various challenges.
Social, economical, technological conditions are changing. These changes are already affecting
business and will have an even greater impact in future. Human behaviour is also complex.

The individuals rarely react exactly in an identical manner even in identical situations. These
changes pose major challenge to the human resource management. The human resource
function has to make a pro-active and creative response to these challenges and the
consequence they hold for the human resource function.

The challenges of HRM can be studied under the following heads:

A: Challenges of HRM Faced by HR Professional:-

1. Managing Workforce Diversity

2. Meeting Aspirations of Employees

3. Empowerment of Employees

4. Management of Human Relations

5. Dynamic Personnel Policies and Programs

6. Building Responsive Organisation

7. Creating Dynamic Work-Culture

8. Building Core Competence and Creating Competitive Advantage and

9. Outsourcing HRM Functions.

B: Challenges of HRM Faced by Organizations over the Last Few Decades:-

1. Technology

2. Economic Conditions

3. Social

4. Political

5. Labour Legislation

6. Workforce Diversity

7. Levels of Education
 8. Corporate Reorganization

9. Competitive Advantage

10. Quality of Work Life.

C: Challenges of Human Resource Management Faced in the 20th Century

Challenges of HRM:

The organizations today realize that human resource is the most valuable asset and are adopting
policies like competence building, job rotation, performance linked pay, empowerment, etc.,
which promote the overall development of the human resources. Greater stress is also being
given in the field of employee welfare and social security with increased post-retirement benefits
like health insurance, provident fund, pension, etc.

HR professionals have to play a vital and pivotal role by acquiring, preparing and maintaining
human resources for the meeting the above challenges.
In doing so, HR professionals will face the following challenging tasks.

Challenge # 1. Managing Workforce Diversity:

An important challenge that human resource managers face involves workforce diversity, i.e.,
the increasing heterogeneity of organizations with the inclusion of employees from different
groups such as women, physically disabled persons, retired defense personnel, backward classes,
ethnic groups, etc.
Whereas globalization focuses on differences between personnel from different countries,
workforce diversity addresses differences among people within the same country.
For instance, more and more women have been joining the organizations in India and women
executives have also been occupying important positions at the middle and top levels in the
organizations. This in itself is a challenge for organizations as, traditionally, the Indian society
has been male dominated.
Workforce diversity has significant implications for the management. The managers will be
required to shift their approach from treating each group of workers alike to recognizing
differences among them and following such policies so as to encourage creativity, improve
productivity, reduce labour turnover and avoid any sort of discrimination.
When workforce diversity is managed properly, there would be better communication, better
human relations and congenial work culture in the organization.

Challenge # 2. Meeting Aspirations of Employees:

There has been a rise in the proportion of employees in today’s industries who belong to the
younger generations whose aspirations are different from those of the earlier generations.
Today’s workers are more careers oriented and are clear about the lifestyle they want to lead.
Considerable changes have been noted in the career orientation of the employees.

They are becoming more aware of their higher level needs and this awareness would intensify
further among the future employees. The managers would be required to evolve appropriate
techniques to satisfy the higher level needs of the employees and develop suitable plans for their
career advancement.

Challenge # 3. Empowerment of Employees:

There has been a general change in the profile of workforce in industrial and other
organizations. The organizations in future will get better qualified and career oriented young
employees. The proportion of professional and technical employees will also increase as
compared to the blue collared employees.

They will seek greater degree of participation in goal setting and decision-making and also
demands greater avenues of self-fulfillment. To respond to these demands, organizations will
have to be redesigned or restructured to empower the employees so that they have sufficient
autonomy or freedom to take decisions while performing their jobs.

Empowerment involves giving the employees more information and control over how they
perform their jobs. Various techniques of empowerment range from participation in decision-
making to the use of self-managed teams. In future, organizations will follow team structures
which will pave the way for empowerment of lower levels.

Empowerment would be all the more necessary to speed up the process of decision-making,
make use of environmental opportunities and to serve the customers and society better.
Challenge # 4. Management of Human Relations:

Management of human relations in the future will be more complicated than it is today. “Many
of the new generation of employees will be more difficult to motivate than their predecessors.
This will in part be the result of a change in value system coupled with rising educational levels.
Greater skepticism concerning large organizations and less reverence for authority figures will
be more common. Unquestioning acceptance of rules and regulations will be less likely.”

Since workforce in future will comprise better educated and self-conscious workers, they will ask
for the higher degree of participation and avenues for self- fulfillment. Moreover, the proportion
of professional and technical employees will increase in relation to blue-collar workers. The
ratios of female employees in the total workforce wall also rise. Integration of women within
managerial ranks might itself be a problem.

Money will no longer be the sole motivating force for majority of the workers. Non-financial
incentives will also play an important role in motivating the workforce. In short, human
resources will be treated as assets which will appear in the Balance Sheets of business
organizations in future.

Challenge # 5. Dynamic Personnel Policies and Programs:

The Human Resource Manager of tomorrow will not only look after personnel functions, but will
also be involved in human resource policies and programs for the entire organization. Similarly,
human resource management is not merely going to be an exclusive job of the HR Manager, but
every executive in the organization would be made responsible for the effective management of
people in his unit.
Thus, management of human resource will receive greater attention of all managers from top to
bottom. The human resource manager would play a key role in the formulation of personnel
policies, programs, plans and strategies of the organization. Every HR program will have to be
properly planned and directed by the human resource manager in consultation with the line and
functional managers.

Challenge # 6. Building Responsive Organization:

The Human Resource Manager will have to contribute tremendously to the building up of
responsive organization. Creating adaptive customer-oriented organization would require
soliciting employees’ commitment and self-control and encouraging empowerment of
employees.

Instead of imposing himself as the traditional boss, the future manager will have to think of
himself as a ‘team-leader’, ‘internal consultant’ and ‘change facilitator’.

Challenge # 7. Creating Dynamic Work-Culture:

The human resource manager will have to mobilize a new work ethic so as to assist the top
management in setting up and enforcing quality standards. Greater efforts will be needed to
achieve group cohesiveness because workers will have transient commitment to groups.
As changing work ethic requires increasing emphasis on individuals, jobs will have to be
redesigned to provide challenge to the employees. Flexible starting and quitting times for
employees [flextime] may become necessary. Further, focus will shift from extrinsic to intrinsic
motivation of employees.

In future, changes will have to be initiated and managed to improve organizational effectiveness.
A work culture conducive to absorption of changes in the technological, economic, political,
socio-cultural and international environment will have to be nourished by the HR/Personnel
executives if they want to acquire higher status in industry and society.

They will also have to make top management more actively involved in the development of
human resources for meeting the challenges of environment and enhancing organizational
effectiveness.

Over the years, human resource management has emerged as a discipline in its own right and
the HR manager as a professional. Professional dynamics will enhance its prestige and quality of
service. However, its survival and success in future will depend upon the judicious application of
knowledge and skills available.

Human resource management will emerge as a well-established, well-respected and well-

rewarded profession, comparable to other established professions provided the challenges and
opportunities are successfully exploited for its advancement.
Challenge # 8. Building Core Competence and Creating Competitive Advantage:

The human resource manager has a great role to play in developing core competence by the
firms. A core competence is a unique and inimitable strength of an organization which may be in
the form of human resources, marketing capability, or technological capability. If the business is
organized on the basis of core competence, it is likely to generate competitive advantage.

Because of this reason, many organizations have restructured their business by divesting those
business activities which do not match core competence or acquiring those business activities
which fit their core competence such as Gujarat Ambuja acquiring cement companies and
Reliance Industries acquiring yam companies.
In fact, organization of business around core competence implies leveraging the limited
resources of the firm. It needs creative, courageous and dynamic leadership having faith in the
organization’s human resources.

In today’s globalized market piece, maintaining a competitive advantage is the foremost goal of
any business organization. There are two important ways a business can achieve a competitive
advantage. The first is cost leadership which means the firm aims to become the low-cost leader
in the industry.

The second competitive strategy is differentiation under which the firm seeks to be unique in the
industry in terms of dimensions that are widely valued by the customers.

Putting these strategies into effect carries a heavy premium on having a highly committed and
competent workforce. Such a workforce would enable the organization to compete on the basis
of market responsiveness, product and service quality, differentiated products and technological
innovation. Creation of competent and committed workforce is a great challenge for the human
resource manager.

Challenge # 9. Outsourcing HRM Functions:

These days, many organizations are outsourcing routine HRM functions so as to focus on
strategic HR issues that affect corporate performance and shareholder value. The HRM
functions which are of routine type and can be safely outsourced include recruitment, selection,
compensation, job evaluation, training, etc. Outsourcing of such functions would enable the
management pay greater attention to core business activities.
The term ‘outsourcing’ means getting some service from external service providers or agencies
rather than performing it within the organization. This practice is called Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO). The basic feature of BPO is that companies hire out on contract those
services or tasks which fall outside the area of their ‘core competence’.

For example, a business enterprise may outsource employment of personnel, training of

personnel and payroll accounting to a specialized service provider, often called a BPO film.

Outsourcing of routine HRM functions is cost effective. The management need not invest in the
staff and necessary infrastructure for the performance of routine functions. Further, BPO firms
use their expertise in the performance of such functions.

Challenges of Human Resource Management – Faced by Organizations over the

Last Few Decades

The management of human resources has changed over the last few decades but this change has
been relatively slow in comparison to the changes in other areas of business and management.

The management of human resources are facing the following challenges:

1. Technology:
An organization’s technology is the process by which input are transformed into output by its
workforce. Revolution in technology and ether technological innovations which adversely affect
the interests of the workforce and there occupational mobility There is a need to upgrade
abilities of employees if the organization want to survive in a competitive world market.

Hazardous, risky, and repetitive jobs could be handed over to sophisticated robots. The old
concepts of work have under gone dramatic change. The changes have been coming so fast that
organizations have realized that they must perform and prepare for a great range of human
resource flexibility.

2. Economic Conditions:

The economic conditions have a strong influence on human resources management People,
goods, capital and information are moving around the globe and number of organizations are
trying to become global players. IBM, Coca-Cola, Motorola and Gillette are earning more than
half of their revenues from operations outside USA.
President Clinton’s successful endorsement of NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement]
will further increase efficiency and markets, and create a greatly, increased competitive
challenge to enterprises worldwide. India has become a sourcing centre for much global
organization. They have successfully utilized the services of skilled manpower which is available
here at low price to create distinct cost advantages for their products.
Overall, growing international competition and interdependency, intensifies the pressure on
executives, supervisors and all employees to become more innovative, more quality and cost
conscious. Therefore, it is the responsibility of HR managers to play challenging roles and create
a competitive advantage for the organization, into global market place.

3. Social:

Changing social trend around the world help account for importance of the human resources
management to the organization Social applications, both formal and informal, will have large
influence on the attitudes and behavior of employees at work because people are normally social
oriented. The job of managing become more challenging and more variable. This trend intensify
the importance of all managers’ roles in selecting and managing human talent.
HR managers have realized the importance of conducting their business in a socially relevant
and responsible manner. Organizations do not operate in isolation. They are the part of society
therefore social impacts have to be carefully evaluated before undertaking any programme. If
public believes that any organization is not operating in the interests of society then it is the
responsibility of an organization to alter its practices in respect to satisfy society’s needs.

4. Political:

Political scenario effect the functioning of HR managers due to ideologies, opinion and thinking
power of political parties. For smooth working of organization’s political stability is a necessary
parameter because on the basis of this the organizations and HR managers will formulate their
policies and practices. Political interests and instability create unrest and loss of production to
the organization.
The role of trade union is also very important. Due to the positive attitudes of trade union the
The result of awareness of workers, organization such as Polychms, Philips and Mahindra have
successfully implemented a VRS scheme for his employees.
5. Labour Legislation:

There have been a number of labour legislation both in the states and at the centre which are
influencing HRM policies and programmes in a big way due to lack of fuller understanding and
overlapping among labour Acts. Although, the HR managers cannot manage the personnel
unilaterally because it has to abide by the rules and regulations imposed by the Government
from time to time.

The important legislation enacted in India affecting HRM are:

The Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923, The Trade Unions Act, 1926, The Payment of Wages
Act, 1936, The Factories Act, 1948, The Minimum Wages Act, 1948; The Employment State
Insurance Act, 1948, Industrial Disputes Act 1948.
The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders, Act,) 1946. The Provident Funds and
Miscellaneous provisions, Act, 1952, The payment of Bonus Act, 1965, The Employment
Exchange [Compulsory Notification of vacancies] Act, 1959, The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972,
The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 and The Apprentice Act, 1961, etc.

6. Workforce Diversity:

Diversity issues in Indian organizations are peculiar owing to differences in social ethos, cultural
differences and regional origins. Due to this changing nature of the workforce the organizations
are becoming heterogeneous in term of age, gender, knowledge, ability and religion. Specially
the increase of women and reserved categories has resulted in the need of organisation to re-
examine their policies, practices and values. In addition to this HR managers have to deal with
issues of child labour and contract labour.

7. Levels of Education:

The educational level of the workforce are better. They have more expectations about equity and
better working conditions. Better educated employees always challenge and question
management decision and want more meaningful work and a great voice in decision making
process.
Educated workers often demand more responsibility and autonomy than their employers are
willing. Therefore, the organization has to develop a more flexible approach to all aspects of
HRM. Managers will be required to face a wide variety of demands from employees.
8. Corporate Reorganization:
In the free economics of the world the reorganization of corporate policies and corporate culture
are very essential because these factors have a major impact in determining the interaction
between human resource management and other departments with-in the organization.
The political changes, faced by employee in the organization during the course of
reorganization are as follows:
(i) Job changes including new roles.
(ii) Transfer of new geographic locations.
(iii) Change in compensation and benefits.
(iv) Changes in career possibilities.
(v) Changes in organizational power, status and prestige.
(vi) Staff changes including new colleagues, bosses and subordinates.
(vii) Creation of open culture.
(viii) Establish two way communication system.
(ix) Establish relationships between people and position.
(x) Establish shared values and beliefs within an organization.
The understanding of the above listed points within the organization is very important in order
to formulate appropriate HR policies and strategies.

9. Competitive Advantage:

An adequate HRM practices is helping in achieving the competitive advantage. This refers to
unique benefits that an organization can offer to its customers. The benefits can range from
lower prices for equivalent services offered by competitors, superior quality of products better
after sales service, guarantees on trouble free performance or even special extra advantages that
justify a premium price. If customer perceive the uniqueness of products or services, the
consequence is competitive advantage.
The human resources has become central to competitive advantages is brought out effectively in
the following Jack Welch, Chief Executive Officer, General Electric – “We have found what we
believe to be the distilled essence of competitiveness. It is the reservoir of talent and creativity
and energy that can be found in each of our people.”

10. Quality of Work Life:

The quality of work life means different things to different person. To Prof. Lloyed it means, “the
degree to which members of a work organization are able to satisfy important personal needs
through their experiences in the organization.” There are many factors which can contribute to
“quality of work life.”

Walton cites the following:

(i) Adequate and fair compensation.
(ii) Appropriate balance of work.
(iii) A safe and healthy environment.
(iv) Opportunity for continued growth and security.
(v) An environment in which employees develop self-esteem and a sense of identify.
(vi) Job enrichment and job rotation.
(vii) Interpersonal skills and team work.
(viii) Developing and using employees skills and abilities.
(ix) Due process and privacy.
(x) A sensible integration of job career and family life and leisure time.
These considerations have a profound and sustained impact on the way human resources are
managed.

Challenges of HRM – At Organisational Level, Workplace and Department Level

Social, economical, technological conditions are changing. These changes are already affecting
business and will have an even greater impact in future. Human behaviour is also complex. The
individuals rarely react exactly in an identical manner even in identical situations.
These changes pose major challenge to the human resource management. The human resource
function has to make a pro-active and creative response to these challenges and the consequence
they hold for the human resource function.
Some of these challenges are discussed under three broad groups are:
1. Organizational Level.
2. Workplace.
3. Department Level

1. Challenges at Organizational Level:

The organizational level challenges include:

(i) Integration of human resource plans with corporate plans.
(ii) Task of motivating executives in view of reduced promotional opportunities.
(iii) Wages settlement and executive salaries.
(iv) Integration of change techniques.
(v) Task of keeping the organization young and productive.
(vi) Industrial relations movement from conflict to cooperation.
(vii) Development of an organizational culture.

These are explained below:

(i) Integration of HR Planning:

There is a challenge relating to integration of human resource planning with strategic plans of
the organization. Here, effort may be made to forecast the human resource required to
implement the plans of the entire organization for meeting varied requirements including
expansion, diversification or reduction in operations.
The process of integration is likely to positively reinforce the human resource objective of the
enterprise and effect human resource planning. The integration of training and development
objectives and strategies with the corporate plans represents a major challenge to improve
organizational performance.

(ii) Motivation of Executive:

The developments pose a great challenge to human resource managers forcing them to evolve
measures for motivating the executives in a stagnant environment. To overcome the frustration
arising from blocked upward mobility among executive’s efforts may be made to redesign the job
as a motivational measure for providing alternate job experience or providing lateral movement.
Other motivational measures include indirect compensation or benefits, recognition of their
personal worth and treatment a dignified way. A friendly and supportive relationship can bring
individuals a source of worth. A superior may treat individuals a source of worth. A superior may
treat individuals with dignity and recognition of their personal worth.

(iii) Wages and Salary Differentials:

The third challenge involves wage settlements and emerging trends in the dynamics of
relationship with respect to executives. There are varied challenges in the domain of wage and
salary administration especially in public sector enterprises in India. The Bureau of Public
Enterprise issues guidelines to regulate negotiations in public enterprises which do not remain
unknown to even trade unions.
(iv) Change Techniques Integration:

Business is altered by new or different technologies, product lines, financial resource, marketing
plans and ways of managing human resources. Hare we are attempting to focus on strategies to
improve business effectiveness through management of human resource.
The application of innovative change techniques has become imperative in view of the declining
productivity growth and the economic competition. While introducing change the companies
use varied amount of participation and adhere to a process-oriented approach.
a. Organizational development
b. Productivity sharing plans.
c. Joint participation
d. Problem-solving groups
e. Autonomous work team.

(v) To Keep Organization Young Productive:

There is a challenge task of maintaining a young and productive Organization. Here, effort may
be made to task into account the emerging dimensions relating to the unbalanced age structure
of the human resource in the future. This necessitates adherence to a designed strategy for
renewal of manpower in a phased manner. In recent past a large number of giant industrial
enterprises were set up.
These enterprises recruited large number of young qualified industrial workers in the same age
group of 20 years within a span of 4-6 years of its inception. A new dimension relating to the
future age structure of the manpower is important to upkeep the efficiency, capability and
productivity of the organization.
In view of this, a designed strategy for renewal of manpower is important in a phased manner a
few years ahead of mass retirement period is called for. Young blood has to be inducted to
balance the aged workforce and revitalize the organization.

(vi) Development of Good Industrial Relations:

The present industrial relations situation in India is marked by multiplicity of unions giving rise
to barriers in the process of bi-partisan and collective bargaining. It has become very difficult for
the management to ascertain who the right representative among their employees is.
The unions tend to make irrational and false promises and adopt erratic and violent measures to
compete with the rival unions. Indeed inter-union rivalry stemming from political groups has
caused violent clashes designed by outside leaders. This problem can be resolved by evolving a
system of recognition of trade unions.
In connection with the above measure an attempt may be made to accomplish industrial
harmony through workers participation which has vast potential for the integration of workers
with the organization. However, the practice of this concept must start from top and percolate
downwards to supervisors. The secret of harmonious industrial relation rests with the improved
inter-personal interaction based on trust and confidence between workers and management.

(vii) Development of Good Culture:

There remains to be accomplished a challenging task of developing an organizational culture

where members have values conducive to organizational growth, innovation and effectiveness.
Organizational growth, innovation and effectiveness are influenced by the members and their
values system.
A managerial behaviour has special impact because of its strong modeling influence. Such values
are essential for institution building so that continuity and vitality achieved.

2. Challenge at Workplace:

Workers are working at the workplace with different machines, equipments and facilities.
Methods, system and technology are changing very fast and following challenges
are faced:

(i) Adoption to Technological Changes:

Changes in technology in altering the nature of work itself. We are entering the age of the
electronic workplace. Managers and workers which will be increasingly subject to technical
obsolescence. Many will also be displaced by the advancing technologies. These changes are both
good and necessary in business are to remain competitive. However, it would be a serious error
to ignore the impact of these changes on employees. The challenge to the human resource
function is a large one.

(ii) Challenge from Hardly Working Workers:

There will be some individuals in any organization who are just not carrying their own weight.
They are not considered as an asset at least for the organization.
The causes for such ineffective or non-performing manpower can be two-fold:
a. Causes due to personal factors of the individual.
b. Causes due to underutilization of manpower arising out of external factors.
The task of utilizing non-performers necessitates development of competence among executives
to assist the unutilized workforce by understanding its strengths and weaknesses, providing
feedback on its performance and Vising counseling to revitalize it.

(iii) Challenge Related to Grievances:

There is hardly a company or an industrial concern which functions absolutely smoothly at all
times. In some, the employees have complaints against their employers, while in others it is the
employers who have a grievance against their employees. These grievances may be real or
imaginary, valid or invalid, genuine or false.
But grievance will be invariably there. The nature and pattern of grievance may differ. The way
of grievances may differ the way of their expression may differ but they are there. Hence, the
need for creating a formal grievance handling procedure becomes a must.

(iv) Focus on Socio-Psychological Needs:

There is a challenge relating to the shift from economic man concept of human being to a
dynamic self-activating concept. This necessitates emphasis on the overall quality of work life
and fulfillments of socio-psychological needs of people. Modern employment contract will have
to provide assurance for the overall quality of work life rather than mere economic support.

(v) Improvement in Managerial Effectiveness:

There is a challenge relating to improving the effectiveness of all managers in the process of
human resource management. All executives have develop concern for different personnel and
industrial relations functions such as – appraisals, rewards, punishments, promotions, selection,
training and development, discipline and dealing with unions.

3. Challenge at HRM Department Level:

The following are challenges at HRM department level:

(i) Process orientation.
(ii) A concern with strategy and proactive approach.
(iii) Research orientation.
(iv) Developing personnel policies.
(v) Strengthening a matrix personnel department globalization.
(vi) There must be a focus on process orientation involving development of formal processes
which the line executive can use in managing people effectively.
(vii) There must be a concern to development human resource strategies in line with
organizational goals. The development of these strategies must be based on environmental
scanning, embracing, emerging political issues, socio-cultural changes, economic factors,
advancing technology and international events influencing domestic labour relations. This
anticipation of problem areas by environmental diagnosis is a very crucial strategy.
(viii) The challenge relating to research orientation involves audit of current practices and
manpower utilization, experimentation of innovative ideas, evaluation of personnel programmes
and computerization of manpower information system for enhancing the quality and efficiency.
(ix) There is a challenge, for developing personnel policies. This may involve improvement of
human resource system to fulfill growth and development needs of people, formulation of
policies to meet organization’s internal requirements, long-term perspective and maintenance of
consistency, and firmness in implementation and interpretation of these policies.
(x) There is a challenge relating to reinforcement of a matrix organizational personnel
department at plant level.

This challenge can be met by:

a. Working closely with the like executives.

b. Seeking to handover the personnel function to the line executives through persuasion,
education, and adopt a consultative role.
c. Evolving a participative approach in developing personnel policies.
d. Maintaining a high level of reputation of integrity and ability.

Challenges of Human Resource Management – Faced in the 20th Century

The 20th century has brought about revolutionary changes in business management practices
across the world. Companies fight with one another in the market arena with human resources
as a competitive weapon. The performance efficiency among companies is reflected by the
quality of human resources deployed in these enterprises. HRM is the prime mover of
management of people at work. It has to encounter a lot of challenges in the corporate journey.
Geographical boundaries of a country have only political relevance. The economic relevance has
transcended the geographical frontiers of countries. Enterprises set up their facilities abroad and
anywhere in the home country. They are trying to become global players in order to survive in
the market. Business managers transact business in multiple languages and in different cultures.
In the globalized environment, HR managers are required to play challenging roles and create
competitive advantage for their firms.

Many Indian companies have become global companies. They are re-organizing their operations
and refocusing their energies board on core competence. Many non-core areas are out sourced
to external agencies specializing in areas. It helps the company’s focus precious resources to core
areas of the business. Firms are starting their operations where human resources with higher
skill and competence are available at lower cost.

Companies either directly set up their facilities or access the overseas market through tie up with
local players. Besides concerns take the inorganic route to grow big in size through merger and
acquisition.
In this context, HR managers have to play a vital role.

Some of their roles include:

a. Anticipation of change – HR managers have to anticipate change and take proactive steps
to respond to changes when they unfold in the environment.
b. Security for women employees – Globalization has made the people work round the
clock in response to changes in global timings. Laws have been changed in India to enable
women employees do night shift. In this context, HR managers have to arrange for security and
safety of women employees commuting to work and leaving the workplace during late night
hours.
c. Periodical training – HR managers have to arrange periodical training to update and
upgrade the skills and competency of workers.
d. Focus on high net worth employees – HR managers have to identify high net worth
employees and arrange to suitably reward them by awards, rewards and fast track promotions
and so on.
e. Career counseling – Provide an atmosphere and institute a mechanism to give career
counseling to human resources.
f. Cross-cultural training – Arrange for cross-cultural training to employees deputed for
global assignment.
g. Job satisfaction survey – Undertake periodical surveys and find out areas of
dissatisfaction of employees and accordingly advise the management to put in appropriate
measures to check employee attrition.
h. Well-being measures – In the context of acute competition for talented workers, HR
managers have to advise the management to put in place well-being measures like subsidized
canteens, fitness studios, housing quarters, congenial work environment, creche, recreation
facilities, health check up on to keep them from being headhunted by competitors besides
recommending compensation and perquisites on par with industry leaders.
i. Counseling and mentoring – Arrange for counseling and mentoring employees of merged
entities in times of mergers and acquisitions.
j. Cross exposing and cross training employees – Employees are supposed to be master
of one but jack of all in the contemporary environment. HR managers have to cross expose and
cross train the contemporary workforce so that they become multi-skilled.
k. Work home – Arrange for facilities for employees who work from home and advise the top
management of legal implications of the telecommuting arrangement.