5 Tips to Develop Value Based HR Management Anil Kaushik, Management Expert & Chief Editor, Business Manager-HR Magazine What is value based HR Management? It is a set of functions quite away from routine administrative activities, which contribute in developing capabilities to compete and take business on a high graph. It includes increasing attraction rate of the organisation, developing and retaining the talent, acting with speed and agility, creating learning environment, providing strategic clarity and facilitating innovation with empowerment. The demand on HR Management to become value based and strategic is increasing day-by-day. To remove the label of ineffective, incompetent, cost addition and value sapping, HR Managers have to create value and move beyond routine functions of statutory compliances and record keeping to strategic partnership in business. After globalisation and economic liberalisation, corporate India is facing relentless margin pressures, more and more powerful customers with ever increasing aspirations and enormous pressure to innovate and strive for survival with excellence. HR management has to contribute and address these important set of issues. HR management cannot sit in alienation, but has to work to make a difference. The ultimate goal of HR has to be the successful execution of business strategy like other functions in the organisations. HR influence has to be used to create a strong link between internal activities and external performance of the organisation to develop a fully aligned and integrated approach. I feel that time has gone when HR professionals could be able to hide themselves behind administrative/ personnel matters. I firmly believe that if HR professionals are able to create an environment where employees deliver their best at workplace, there is no reason why they will not be able to turn around the company's results. After all, what is organisation? It is nothing but a group of vibrant people working with their mind and soul. And the Value/Brand/ Image of the company lies between the ears and lips of the people working therein. The quality of organisation products/services depends upon the quality of the people they have. It is only the people who make difference between a successful and a failure organisation. In the present times, HR professional's understanding of the link between their functions and the business is imperative. Here are the important steps to provide value based HR management: 1. Creating a learning environment To create value, HR professional has to foster a learning environment in the organisation, and the learning has to happen at the convenience of the employee and also if they need new skills to perform a particular task. It has to be a continuous activity. The skills that may be required tomorrow, has to be developed today. The HR professional's role is to create rich, multi-dimensional learning environment in which employee can find the right resources and also to develop internal trainers to take on the task to develop their human resources. The organisations and HR professionals who perceive and treat the training as a sheer wastage of time and money and only an HR tool of luxury, are mistaken and they are bound to pay the price for this misconception. It is not just knowledge that is important; it is acquiring that well in time. Quick assimilation of knowledge and transferring the same to others is the need of the hour. 2. Increasing attraction rate The scene has changed. It is not the talent in question before the organisation for job but vice-versa. HR professional has to sell his organisation to attract the talent by exhibiting their values, vision and mission, employee related practices and convincing them to join the organisation. It is true that compensation packages lure the recruits to great extent but recent studies have started showing that career advancement and monetary gains have been replaced by work/life balance. Talented people are no more prepared to sacrifice their family happiness for work and money. What attracts now a talent is getting a right work environment with flexible people centric policies and their personal development. By linking recruitment, motivation & development initiatives into an overall strategic plan, HR professionals may be able to ensure that organisation has the right people with the right skills to meet its business objectives. HR professionals have to send a message down the line that organisation values nothing but talent and employees are seen as integral part of the organisation's success. 3. Retaining talent The biggest challenge for HR professionals today is to retain their talent. From the very first day you have to internalise the person joining your organisation, create a sense of belonging because most of the talent join the organisation with high expectations and with heavy impact of the previous organisation culture. The most common reasons of attrition are well known like job dissatisfaction, organisation climate and value system, internal politics, bad boss, absence of reward systems, etc. HR professionals have to add value by engaging people in the organisation's vision and making them feel that their position in the organisation is relevant. 4. Mastering technology Now-a-days, it is necessary for HR professionals to master technology and use intranet, computers, and internet to reduce the time spent by employees on routine tasks and to create a transparent environment. The use of technology streamlines the HR processes and ensures a prompt redressal system, providing a visible demonstration to the whole organisation that HR management is capable of responding quickly to the employees and business needs. HR can focus their knowledge and energy on strategic initiatives and create solutions to business problems. 5. Developing leadership It is for the HR professionals to identify and prepare the budding leaders in order to ensure the future success of the organisation. It's very simple to make tall statements like believing in the value of people. However, unless the leader of the organisation has passion about linking people and how they perform to achieve business goals and strategy, the gap cannot be filled up. It is the leader who has to consistently drive the effort; otherwise, it won't work in the long term. To add value, HR has to provide appropriate tools and environment to the future leaders so that they get recognition and command support from outsiders as well.