“Optimal blend of HI & AI, is the future,” Girish Menon

2020: What to learn – what to erase

That 2020 has given all businesses an opportunity to think harder about what really matters as opposed to what was considered important in a rather busy world, has been a boon. One thing that I

would personally want to erase is the grave loss that many people suffered in India Inc. and the world due to COVID.

Many organisations had to take some difficult calls and that did hurt. I hope 2021 can help build more pleasant memories for the future

HR has shown great agility and business acumen

HR is a business function — there is no question of migration. Will HR play P&L roles? I would definitely say an emphatic ‘yes’. People capital will be the biggest differentiator in the next decade and HR has a huge role to play, whether it is as HR leader or business leader.

How HR can use ‘tech’ and ‘touch’ thoughtfully will be key from a hybrid workforce perspective

2021 – changing organisational design

2021 will be all about good old-fashioned human connect, whether it is understanding and connecting with employees internally or customers/ partners externally. This becomes even more pronounced and important as many organisations continue to operate remote first or hybrid.

Managing hybrid workforce is more challenging

We will need to get the basics right and at scale — optimal blend of human intel (HI) and artificial intelligence (AI). In other words, how HR can use tech and touch thoughtfully will be key from a hybrid workforce perspective. Organisations will need to move away from the typical ‘let me monitor and manage you’ culture to a culture of autonomy, and HR will need to lead that from the front

Trend of HRBPs in India

I expect the numbers to get sharper with a very high output driving business expectation. The HR fraternity has definitely made immense progress in moving from being a personnel/welfare
office to a business partner in the last couple of decades. I expect the game to reach the next level rapidly in the coming decade, starting 2021.

Shift of talent calculus to more buy-and-rent and less build

It has to be horses for courses, injection of fresh talent and investment in the internal talent to win in the marketplace. I would also add another element to build and buy, that is, borrow. And yes, we should expect gig workers to increase in thinking/highly-skilled areas, as we progress.