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June - 2016 - issue > CXO Insights

From Personnel to Human Resources - HR Makeover Trends

Surabhi Mittal, HR Head, LANXESS
Monday, June 13, 2016
Surabhi Mittal, HR Head, LANXESS
Headquartered in Cologne, LANXESS is a global leader in specialty chemicals and has profound excellence in High Performance Materials, Advanced Industrial Intermediates, Inorganic Pigments, Liquid Purification Technology, Material Protection Products and Functional & Leather Chemicals

It won't be an exaggeration to say that the HR landscape has had a complete makeover since its inception. The evolution from 'personnel' to 'human resources' was the answer to the need of the day to focus on value of employees as organizational resource and view HR as strategic and trusted partner contributing to important business decisions, advise on critical situations, and in short, be the front wheels leading the path rather than back wheels supporting the journey. This transition couldn't have been more vibrant and evolving than today's times! The intense business competition, increasing globalization, transformational change, new technologies and so on, are compelling HR managers to re-engineer long-standing HR processes and the technologies that support them.

Today's organizations focus on employee in a holistic way; wellness, engagement, pride and happiness being the key indicators associated with the workplace. It is a symbiotic relationship between the employee and the organization based on trust, fairness and respect. Employee engagement has become priority for many organizations to keep employees motivated, which in turn shall impact performance. Offering health and wellness programs that support a healthy workforce continues to be a trend for many organizations. These programs create differentiated employee value propositions and reflect that organizations value their employees.

With more millennials joining the workforce, the talent landscape has changed and so has the ecosystem. The policies around attendance, leave management and working conditions have become more progressive. Many organizations offer flexi time, work from home, and telecommuting option to those whose roles permit this flexibility.

More and more emphasis is on having transparency and openness as part of cultural fabric. Companies following best practices have been driving OD interventions to sow the seeds of two way dialogues and feedback across levels and geographies. Lot of time and resources are committed in strengthening the performance culture with a strong foundation of values. These are aligned to the latest trend of doing away with bell curve and annual appraisals by many companies who are now focusing on continuous year-round discussions and dialogues to promote overall development of employees and establish performance oriented culture, thus focusing not just on the 'What' but also the 'How'.


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