HR Conclave At JAIPURIA Noida Focuses On 'Managing People In Downturn - Its Opportunities & Challenges

Online, October 7, 2012 (Newswire.com) - The HR Conclave held on the 25th of August 2012 at one of the top management institutes- Jaipuria Institute of Management , Noida - saw participation from eminent leaders from across the Indian HR landscape. Ten HR stalwarts represented their respective industries, ranging from Banking and Finance, to FMCG, to Automobiles and IT, in unraveling the 'HR Practices and Challenges During the Downturn'.

After lighting the traditional lamp, the Chief Guest for the HR Conclave at Jaipuria Noida, Mr. P. Dwarakanath, Head of Group Human Capital, Max India Ltd., encouraged all the HR Heads of the industries to share their rich experience for the sake of the youngsters from Jaipuria Noida , as well as to gain from each other's wisdom. Mr. Dwarakanath was all praise for the aesthetically built and eco-friendly campus of Jaipuria Noida. He appreciated the topic saying that it was timely and correct. He believed that industries have had enough time to learn their lessons and draw up strategies to counter the ups-and-downs of the economic uncertainties that have become a regular feature after the 2008 global meltdown.

After a brief tea break, the deck was cleared for the first session of the HR Conclave at Jaipuria Noida, which had a panel discussion between HR big wigs from the FMCG, Retail and Services sectors. Dr. Some prominent speakers like Mr. V.P.Singh (Executive Director, RJ Corp); Mr. Abhay Saxena - VP (HR, Hero Corp) and Mr. N. N. Akhouri (Former Senior Vice President, Hero Honda) discussed the current situation and whether there really is as much cause for concern as there is often made out to be. The panelists discussed India's position in context to the European countries, as well as its stature as one of the fastest growing economies.

"There are various sectors that are recession-neutral and for them the impact is not too much; they include banking, insurance, consulting, retail and FMCG," pointed out Dr. V.P. Singh, ED, RJ Corp. "Currently, the market share of Coke & Pepsi has gone up and is at a point like never before. Yes, some companies that are facing the downturn are just not growing at a very fast pace but making a slow growth instead. Interestingly, the middle-class's disposable income has shot up, and people are more ready to spend than ever before. People in India like to go to Dubai, Singapore, Bangkok, etc. More and more Pizza Hut and KFC outlets have come up in the market."

The panel established the point before a rapt audience of future managers from Jaipuria Noida that the industries that they belonged to are coping well, and have adapted well to global economic realities.

In the post-lunch session, it was the turn of the Banking and Financial Services sector to discuss its global downturn scenario. The elite panel included Mr. Anil Rathore - Partner HR with ING Vysya Bank, Mr. Samar Vijay - Founder, InvestCare, and Mr. Abhishek Bhasin - Duetsche Bank. The panelists brought out the practical challenges faced by HR during the recession, and how HR was increasingly being viewed as a partner in business in attracting the right kind of talent. "If HR is to attract and retain the right kind of talent, HR personnel will have to become friends with and in fact, listen deeply to, their employees," observed Ms. Ratna Singh, Global Head HR, EvalueServe. "Keeping employees motivated to perform rather than worry about the situation is increasingly being looked upon as an HR primary function. HR has to pick up on the noise before it comes."

The final session of the one-day conclave at Jaipuria Noida focused on the Consulting, Technology & Knowledge sectors. The power-packed session had panelists of the stature of Ms. Archana Gulati - HR Head at Grail Research, Mr. Anshumal Dixit - HR Head of I-Gate and Mr. Subhodeep Dutta - Head, Corporate Strategy at Mancer Consulting. The panelists observed that many organisations turned the global crisis of 2008 into an opportunity to build a succession pipeline. Organisations, which were able to manage their people effectively, were able to sustain themselves and earn huge benefits as well.

"Managing IT or Knowledge sector employees is very different from managing employees from the retail sector or FMGC sector employees," observed Mr. Anshumal dixit, HR Head, I-Gate. "The IT sector requires individuals who are highly educated. Challenges like employee retention, annual promotions and increments, and linkages with business performance have always existed; but 2008 saw a definite impact on the employees' morale, especially with delayed hiring. This helped organisations focus on improving processes and increasing employee productivity, as well as reducing their dependency on hiring and training firms."

The brainstorming in the HR-conclave on 25th of August seems to have given out a clear message to the audience present at Jaipuria Noida that while the downturn was very challenging for global economics, a lot of positives emerged for the HR fraternity across industries. Organisations were able to attract and retain skilled workforce, and develop managerial capability by increasing layers in the designations.

The leaders of the HR domain were unanimous in their appreciation for Jaipuria Institute of Management , Noida and the manner in which it took the lead in discussing threadbare a topic as crucial as 'HR Practices and Challenges During the Downturn'.