“Employee wellness will continue to be at the core of HR service delivery,” Pramath Nath

2022 was a volatile year for HR & workforce

The two years preceding 2022 saw a tectonic shift in the way the world operates. The pandemic challenged many theories and broke stereotypes about life, work, and relationships. The Great Resignation was an outcome of a response to the adjustment made by people in their personal life. Similarly, companies had tried to sustain during the pandemic. Post pandemic, many had to shut shop. Several companies turned bankrupt. Many lost their viability and customers. To survive, cost cutting was imperative. As a result, layoffs followed. But, it’s important to note that the Great Resignation and massive layoffs were both western phenomena. Both are over-rated by the western media. They should be ignored since our economy was insulated from their impact.

2023: Will it be a turmoil again or peace?

2023 has started on an excellent note for HR. Organisation-building, capability building, developing succession at leadership levels and in critical roles, talent retention, increase in productivity, stronger reward and incentive structure, engaging workforce by creating meaningful work, inclusion & diversity (not only on gender but thinking as well) are themes my fraternity is busy working on this year. Having learnt lessons from the pandemic, employee wellness will continue to be at the core of HR service delivery.

It’s an opportunity to test the creative ingenuity of HR professionals in fostering a culture of trust, respect, collaboration and high performance which can help retain top talent

Employee loyalty, a thing of the distant past

If attrition levels are a yardstick to measure employee loyalty, then with each passing year, loyalty is becoming disposable. It’s an opportunity to test the creative ingenuity of HR professionals in fostering a culture of trust, respect, collaboration and high performance which can help retain top talent. We must also acknowledge that opportunities and scope for jobs and entrepreneurships are expanding which are impacting retention. But, it’s time the world redefines the term ‘loyalty’ and not keep it synonymous with long tenure.

If a person is committed, trustworthy, productive and performs at high potential, delivering value to an organisation during his / her tenure, he / she has been loyal. It’s an organisation’s responsibility to retain such talent by suitably applying (monetary / nonmonetary) levers which are tailor-made for top talent. After all, we need to retain cutting-edge talent whose value-adding contributions can steer organisations onto the next level.

Pay transparency or staying discreet?

It’s incorrect to label Indian companies as discreet on matters of pay transparency. All professionally run organisations – Indian or MNC – are managed with similar philosophies. In fact, listed Indian companies are more transparent since they are mandated by law to publish compensation details of key management personnel and senior management. MNCs don’t have to do that. Besides, both types of organisations participate in salary surveys conducted by top consulting firms with whom they share data and get benchmarked. On an individual level, it’s always good to be discreet about one’s salary.

33 leaders predict the upcoming trends for 2023. To find out more click here.