Answer to Question #253761 in Management for Neha

Question

Kinetic Electronics Ltd’ is an electronics company in Delhi NCR. The top management plans to open new branches pan India so they want to create a dynamic human resource department for managing employee functions. You have been appointed as their HR Head. Explain to the top management, what will be the importance of your department in this expansion. Give some examples in the context of this company.

Answer 1

Human sources (HR) is the corporate section that identifies, screens, hires, trains applicants, and administers worker benefits applications. HR is vital in assisting companies in dealing with the quick-converting business surroundings and the growing desires of professional people in the 21st century. Additional human resources duties include income and benefits, recruitment, dismissal, and amending any regulations that impact the company and its personnel. The presence of an HR department is a vital detail of any business, regardless of the company's size

 

Know what you want to accomplish—and why. Don’t wait for your organization to define what HR should be. There are lots of examples available and a little research will orient you to the range of the options available. Make it your business to know what’s possible. Study everything you can find and network with others to become your own expert. If you’re being interviewed, articulate your goals. If you’re already working, outline them every chance you get. Discuss your ideas with your leadership team to get their input and buy-in.

My vision at Wynn Resorts was to develop a culture where people would want to work and stay. The results included attracting more than 3 million job applicants for the 125,000 openings we filled over 20 years; an annualized 11 percent turnover rate during that time; no grievances or arbitrations filed (50 percent union, 50 percent nonunion); and being named as one of America’s most admired workplaces.

9. Be a strategic thinker. 

Every top organization needs HR leaders who align with the company’s goals by learning what those goals are and supporting them. At Wynn, we wanted HR to be more than a department. That meant employees at every level knew and understood their part in supporting our culture and HR philosophies.

For example, the company wanted a lean and empowered team, so we designed HR tools that managers and employees could use to enter and retrieve their own HR-related transactions and information. We taught them how to use them and monitored their utilization and effectiveness. Having these self-service tools allowed the HR team to become strategic partners rather than transactional clerks.

8.Become a great communicator. 

Steve Wynn taught us that the difference between a good professional and a great leader is the ability to communicate. You’re the voice of your organization’s culture, so work to fill that role using the following tactics:

• Adapt the style of a speaker you admire. Practice aloud, and then stand up at every employee gathering and report on the good stuff your HR team is doing.
• Use your skills to help others communicate more effectively in meetings, at company and community events, and in new-hire orientations.
• Start or attend Toastmasters meetings; a little bit of this kind of training goes a long way in making you a commanding speaker.

 

I believe in using technology to improve the processes and effectiveness of HR. The problem was that I didn’t used to know enough to articulate my ideas or participate in discussions. So I took courses that helped me better understand the terminology and methodology (local community colleges offer these regularly, and today those are supplemented by workshops and online courses). I’m never the smartest guy in any room, but by educating myself I was able to accomplish a wide range of IT goals, including the implementation of great human resource information systems and applicant tracking systems in partnership with vendors we trusted.

First, be curious enough to discover what you don’t know. It’s easy to do the stuff we are comfortable doing, but you need to learn about the new stuff that’s happening as a result of the pace and volume of change throughout your industry and profession. Allocate time both online and through networking to uncover new issues and the best practices others suggest to deal with them. Consider sponsoring business and industry group meetings at your company site to allow your staff to interact with others.

Second, try new things. The world’s changing and the static policies you’ve used in the past often need updating. How many of us have handbooks that contain “at will” language? Isn’t that outdated (really, when’s the last time you fired someone for no reason)? Likewise, mandatory arbitration: Ever wonder why there were so many lawsuits? We mostly do what’s been done before, but sometimes there’s a better way, and who better to suggest those things than HR?

Third, be a wise change master. Our HR roles give us the perfect platform to study, lead discussions about and influence change. Rigid adherence to yesterday prevents adopting new and good things tomorrow. That’s where an open and flexible mindset serves HR professionals well. Planning—either for the things we want to do or the contingencies for when things don’t happen exactly as planned—is a smart way to act.

Fourth, manage these changes effectively. It’s one thing to find great ideas and another to implement them. Great ideas take time and effort to implement, and someone has to manage them. Learn the best practices of project management so you can lead these changes. Know what’s available, use all the tools you can find and take a leading role in the implementation of your HR plans.

 Want something that costs money? It’s all about budgets and savings, and you have to fight for what you need. HR leaders are often hesitant to propose programs because they fear these will never get approved. I once proposed creating a new applicant tracking system and having applicants use 100 computers in the recruiting center to enter their own data directly. The cost was high, but I was able to show a return on that investment that saved enough in two years to pay it back. Had I not understood the need for, and the methodology of, a standard return on investment analysis, this effort never would have been approved. We all live by budgets, but that doesn’t mean you should give in without using all the tools available to argue effectively for your ideas.