Fed up with firing, HR heads quit

By siliconindia   |   Friday, 12 December 2008, 16:57 IST   |    9 Comments
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Fed up with firing, HR heads quit
New Delhi: Partly fed up with the unpleasant task of sacking workers, top human resources (HR) executives at many companies are switching jobs. This trend is on even as a few companies are on the lookout for HR professionals with a skill (particularly needed in the slowdown time) to fire employees while still keeping the morale of the organization high, reported The Economic Times. The HR head of large multinational company says on condition of anonymity, "Either you stay at a firm and carry out the dirty job of sacking people and then, wait for your own turn, or move to a safe place." Vibhav Dhawan, Managing partner of Positive Moves Consulting, said, "During a downturn, the demand for high-quality, talented HR leaders sees a significant spurt because of the crucial crisis management role that HR has to play, either in the form of delivering bad news to employees or keeping the workforce productively motivated and engaged despite the stress at the workplace." Uday Chawla, a partner at executive search company Transearch, says three large companies have given him the mandate to look for new HR heads. Another executive with a prominent search firm, on the request of anonymity, told the daily that he has a similar mandate from four big companies. "This is the first time that I am handling the mandate for four HR chiefs at a time." This trend has also helped some former HR heads get back their jobs, replacing the incumbent. Lupin's Diwakar Kaza returned after Rajan Dutta quit a few months ago and Ranbaxy's Udai Upendra made a comeback following the exit of Bhagwat Yagnik. Some are making the move simply in search of greener pastures. N Balachandar, who quit as vice-president of GE Money Asia in Tokyo a few months ago, is now joining a pharmaceutical company. People familiar with the development say Balachandar resigned because his workload had come down. Balachandar, though, says his decision was only influenced by his wish to return to India.

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