Key role of HR Managers

I checked in Hotel Taj Palace, Delhi at midnight sometime in last year and the executive at the desk welcomed me.

“Sir, it’s already midnight so I kept all your documents ready, kindly sign the form and you can go to your room.

Sir, though you have booked a normal room, we have upgraded to our club room, I hope this is ok with you?" the executive smilingly told me further.

I said, “Thank you.  In the morning my friend will join me for breakfast, please book a table for two."

He said, “it's alright sir. You need not worry. Enjoy yourself”.

“Sir, breakfast will be complimentary for your friend too", he said.

“Noon is checking out time, but I want to spend more time here. Is there any issue?” I said.

“Absolutely not sir. I will do the needful. You can stay up to 4 pm tomorrow.” He said.

This gesture of the reception desk executive has made me a permanent customer of the Taj Group of hotels.

And this incident was not in isolation. My subsequent experience has always been like that.
Having stayed in many hotels, I feel there is something different in Taj, which makes it unique despite comparatively high tariffs.

Now the next question is whether it’s part of their organizational policy or something beyond that.

Here, comes the role of HR managers. A very sound HR practices must have gone into the building of work culture at Taj and therefore, their executives make the experience different.

Traditionally, the HR function was known as Personnel Management or labor-management or Workforce management but now it is re-cherished as Human Resource or Asset Management.

Many organizations though very good at innovative practices when talking about their product management but fail to recognize their most valuable assets i.e. Human Resource.
The great entrepreneur and visionary industrialist late Shri Dhirubhai always used to say, “people are biggest asset” and rightly so today RIL is India’s biggest company and a Fortune 500 company.

So what is the role an HR manager is expected to play to channelize the Human Assets?

The first and foremost important task is to recruit suitable candidates for the function. The person doesn’t need to be highly qualified or have relevant experience. A candidate with a strong desire to learn will excel even if he doesn’t have qualifications or experience.

The next best action will be to organize a structured induction program for the selected candidate whatsoever position it may be. A new employee in the organization must know about the product, services, area of operation, competition, management people, cross-functional areas, ethics policies, welfare policies, and so on.

The market is fast evolving. Artificial Intelligence is taking a big toll on manpower. New technology is replacing the outdated method of work. So instead of hard work, a Smart work concept is taking place. Therefore, periodic training programs, organizing seminars, and encouraging employees to be more participative in the overall affairs of the organization is another crucial function which HR Managers must undertake.

The high attrition means loss of many productive hours and high cost of replacement. Therefore, the periodic study on the behaviour of the employees, their satisfaction level, their money as well as the psychological requirement is a must for a growth-oriented organization. Its rightly said, “Employee doesn’t leave and company, but leave the Managers”. Therefore, HR managers must play a vital role in checking such practices.

Another area where HR Managers are challenged is to design an appropriate compensation package for each grade of employee. It's difficult to fix the same compensation for the same nature of the job, but then it’s the HR job to design packages in such a way that recruit doesn’t pose a possible threat of dissatisfaction among the existing employees. The employees' welfare measures like a good workplace, medical facilities, conducting team building programs, retirement benefits, etc are other key areas where HR Managers need to sink in.

The organization itself is nothing, without good human resources.   And therefore, a strong investment in manpower and upgrading them from time to time become the key areas for any HR Manager.