COVID-19 – THE NEW NORMAL—INDUSTRY SCENARIO

The world is facing humanity’s biggest crisis since World War II. Almost every country has been affected by the devastating Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Undoubtedly, this Coronavirus has put the world economy at a major risk. Businesses and individuals alike have had to adapt rapidly to cope with uncertainty and anxiety in a seemingly unending ordeal. The perseverance of businesses and people has led to the emergence of a new landscape- a ‘New Normal’ in which the global communities continue to survive.

There are several channels through which the COVID-19 outbreak has affected Indian economy. The disruption of supply chains is a major one. Job loss is on the rise along with the slowdown in manufacturing and services activities. Workers have come back to their home in faraway places, thereby leaving the upcoming harvest in a state of uncertainty. Lack of orders and initiatives has lead to massive trade contraction. Besides, there has also been a disruption in air travel, fall in travel and tourism, contraction in outdoor entertainment industries and rise in bankruptcy.

The following sectors have been adversely affected by the pandemic:

  1. Apparel & Textile Industry has seen a disruption in labour supply, raw material unavailability, working capital constraints and restricted demand due to limited movement of people and purchasing ability.
  2. Auto Sector(including automobile & auto parts)has been facing challenges on account of lack of demand, global recession and failing income levels.
    As per McKinsey & Company, global trends impacting the automotive sector are as follows:

    • Global supply chain disruption
    • Cautious demand outlook
    • Shift in mobility trends
    • A resilient aftermarket
    • A potential auto investment
    • Deal activity to grow
  3. Manufacturing Sector : India offers a strong manufacturing base. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has announced some incentives to global firms that seek to set up new operations or expand their existing operations. While India offers a range of advantages as manufacturing destinations, capitalizing on these opportunities requires a multipronged strategic approach across three broad dimensions:
    • Understanding the local regulations
    • Getting the location right
    • Building an India-specific organization structure         
  4. Building & Construction are generally leveraged and they are burdened with high-interest payments and lack of sales.
  5. Aviation & Tourism Sector has also been deprived of direct Government intervention. Since lockdown, people have stopped travelling apart from very essential travel.
  6. The Paper Industry has almost been wiped out as the world looks to adopt more environmentally friendly ways to live. Digital is the new normal.

For many business organizations, technology is considered to           be a support function with it being used as a means to get to an end. Following the pandemic, this has changed as technology has become the frontline requirement in most organizations. It’s importance can be comparable to that of revenue-generating functions such as sales and business development.

The next 4-5 years are going to be the golden period for media & entertainment. 3D/4D chatrooms and conference rooms are going to emerge rapidly. The largest chunk of media spending will shift from television to digital. Print media will cease to exist.

Businesses will experience an increase in productivity due to reduced staff. Remote work will see an uptick. The burden on local transport will ease.

High End Technology with an uninterrupted high-speed internet powering the video lectures, online projects, etc is now no more an option for the students since physical classrooms are minimal and will be kept that way in post Covid 19 scenario as well.

Coming to the professional sector,  Remote Working and Work from Home seem to accelerate as  companies are giving more stress upon two factors-Health and Hygiene. In this way, productivity has risen since commuting time, expenses and energy are saved. However, to ensure all these, advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning & Deep Learning , automation, robotics, augmented reality, Block-Chain and 5G will be the most coveted for all the industrial sectors as every industrial segment starting from BFSI, Information technology, Manufacturing, Health care, Supply Chain & Logistics, Power etc have to develop and adopt new business models.

To conclude, this is the time to rethink and reset everything. Never before has the world come to a standstill where one can pick apart the moving pieces. If we rethink everything properly, we can overcome the challenges faced by the people in this pandemic such as environmental change, disfigured lifestyle and inequality.

HR Interventions And Takeaways In The Light Of Demonetization

HR Consultants in Ahmedabad

Here’s a look at how HR intervention post demonetization can help in realizing the dreams and needs of workers in the face of cash liquidity problems. A brief about the short term measures and long term measures is given below.

Much has been discussed in Electronic, Social and Print media after demonetization. Many HR personnel have joined into the debate, which shows how aware they are about the various economic impacts and issues in India. However, what they missed was the effect on workers and the various steps to reduce the bad impacts. With HR interventions, these issues can be effectively dealt with. Find out about some of the HR interventions and takeaways in the light of demonetization.

Short term measures

  • It is important to engage with workers who know about, and are using, the full modern banking system benefits for restraining the haste in withdrawing money, as the situation can be managed for longer duration. By that time, the state of affairs can be eased.
  • Food coupons can be arranged by using Sodexo pass and more, which can be used for various purposes. These are accepted in most stores.
  • Collaborations can be made with local vendors for workers facing liquidity problems, and unable to purchase daily items. This amount can be retrieved from their salaries. The tie-up volume can attract discount in volume that can also help workers.
  • Corporate clients can influence banks to arrange easy dispensing of funds into the organization. This can help boost productivity, given that many workers rush to ATMs or banks to withdraw money and have to wait there for a long time. This would also help banks reduce commotion and disorder at ATM counters and branches.

Long Term measures

Modernization of the banking system is the future, and as a part of constant education of workers, HR personnel should take these steps:

  • Make workers tech-savvy. They have to do this to make workers aware of the advantages of the modern banking system. Workers who are using this system already can become leaders and facilitators of the change.
  • Helping workers open up bank accounts, especially assisting all blue collar employees.
  • Many employees, particularly the aged ones, prefer cash transactions. They should be taught how to use PayTM, Net-banking, Credit Card etc.
  • Using the services of contract laborers, which can remove the risks of larceny and improve compliance

It is possible to take a lot more of these actions, which can be ultimately for workers in encountering lesser issues. Rather than getting dazed by such situations, they can improve the monetary skills of workers, engage more of them and ultimately motivate and satisfy them.

Why Productive HR Advisory Services Are Gaining Prominence?

HR Consultants in Ahmedabad

In the previous 10 years, a shift in the Indian economy can be owed to the process of off-shoring related to USA and other software companies willing to establish their mark in the Indian context. With constant development in technology and management process, the scenarios are getting altered because of the cost cutting strategies used by the foreign companies to establish a place in the Indian market. This scenario became quite evident post recession because the demand surged to a great extent. The main purpose of using such plans is to make sure that the companies are able to get cost-effective benefits for sure. Considered as effective recruitment tool, human capital is considered as the biggest asset of the country.

Taking a look at the existing HR consultants needs of the flourishing companies, it has become important to select powerful workforce having required skill. They can be well-trained by the company authorities for polishing skills and getting to know the company’s vision.  Talent management necessitates for checking out essential market players with strategic function capabilities. They should be groomed professionally to perform duties in relation to highly potential roles, evaluating their application and making ample use of putting employee orientation programs. It is the effect of excellent recruitment and presentation of managerial level staff that the financial analysts and business leaders have managed to polish their skills effectively.  It is one of the best things that companies have been doing to develop newer path of growth.

These days, Indian market is experiencing the tremendous growth in the sector of Mobile Application development. And this has paved way for cross platform social messaging applications such as Whatsapp that has a powerful presence. On the platform of Whatsapp, people are trying to conduct effective business with HR Consultancy services gaining prominence. The reason is that it lends a personal touch to the transaction. All a company has to do is collect the data of mobile numbers and start sending messages. In the matter of hiring process, candidates are informed about new opportunities in such type of social groups. It is the changing condition of technology that people are using social platform to connect with rightful candidates. Also, candidates can easily check the job post appointment and the comments of other applicants. This enables them to have a proper view of the fact that job is suited for them or not. And of course, cost is the factor that enables candidates to check their exact value in the competitive market.

How An SME Can Build A Great Employer Brand Part -1

How An SME Can Build A Great Employer Brand Part -1

What is the secret recipe in building an excellent employer brand? If this question is put forward before the top management of an SME, most of them will not be in a position to give a convincing reply. The reason for this is most of the organisations simply don’t know that what it takes to achieve the feat

Not many of the SME organisations focus on building their brand as an employer. Though most of them spend lavishly on marketing activities centred around their products and services and sometimes on operational aspects, most of the times they hardly care to project themselves as a brand which genuinely cares about their business workforce. This causes discontent among the employees and results in increasing attrition levels.

So let’s discuss about the secret recipe in building a great employer brand

Employee recognition and branding:

Employees expect recognition of their work, apart from salary and perks, the recognition factor is the most important aspect that keeps them motivated and binds their emotions with the company. Every employee has a unique story to tell and the collective contribution of the employees keeps the growth engine of the organisation running.

How an employee dispense his / her daily job functions? What motivates him / her to put 100% of his / her effort? What is the impact that the employees contribution had made to the company, the fellow employees and the society? How his / her work has impacted the growth of the organisation? All these are interesting information can be woven in to quite an engaging story and shared with the world.

These stories can be shared in the website or under corporate blogs or in social networks to highlight the employees contribution and it can also be construed as mark of gratitude on the part of the employer. These stories in due course of time get shared, liked and commented by users thereby augmenting the employer brand visibility.

An experienced Human Resource consultant can ideate practices and policies that can aid in greater bonding among company and its employees.

Treat your employees well:

Employees want respect from the employers. The behaviour of an organisation should boost the morale of the employees. They should be given the freedom to do innovative thinking. Their ideas and thought process should not be stifled, rather they should be encouraged to think out of the box and put forward their suggestions in front of the organisation. Appropriate Employee grievance and redressal forums should be there in the organisation aided by websites or intranet applications that can swiftly solve their problems. If there is any grievance that has been aired on the social media or review portals by a disgruntled employee, it’s the duty of the management of the organisation to investigate the root causes of discontent and provide a suitable explanation with facts and figures.

Also keeping a strong social media presence in platforms such as Facebook, Linkedin with information regarding the organisation and its people projects the organisations open and also shows that the organisation welcomes constructive criticism.

Give your employees a great workspace:

Employees love cosy workspace. The organisation how small it may be should not compromise on the office infrastructure. An employee spends most part of the day in office and hence they expect to work in an workspace which is vibrant, clean, hosted with necessary infrastructure such as workstations, climate control and little bit of privacy. The employees should feel proud of their place of work so that they can share stories of their working conditions with their known circle of friends near and dear ones`

Proper salary and incentive structure:

An organisation should see to it that their employees are paid well and salaries revised taking in mind the inflationary figures. In many review sites disgruntled employees complain about their organisations practice of providing low salaries. This only brings disrepute to the company and buyers lose their confidence in dealing with these organisations. Also its utmost important that salaries are disbursed in time so that employees don’t have to worry about their financial commitments.

Again, not many of the organisations SME organisations are qualified to draft appraisal policies that can balance the expectations of employers and the employees and hence it would be prudent to consult a seasoned Human Resource Consulting company to aid them in this process

Invest in their training:

In this ever changing business world skill sets become obsolete within a short time span and hence it’s pertinent to arm your employees with the most sought after skills in their area of expertise. This boosts up employee morale and employee gets a sense of satisfaction that the organisation thinks about their personal growth and invests in making them more agile.

The organisations should motivate their employees to share their acquired knowledge in non-sensitive matters in the public domain such as blogs, or authoring books and online content, training videos, publish papers and participating and speaking in technical events. Motivating employees to participate in these types of activities by organisations not only enhances the profile of the employees but also the employer brand.

These are some of the factors that an SME should keep in mind in designing practices and policies that can make them unique among the vast number of organisations. Reputations are hard to build and any wrong move can break years of hard work in building a great employer brand. Organisations might sometimes falter in their endeavour of effective employer brand building due to lack of necessary expertise and hence a helping hand of a reputed HR consulting company is needed to tide over the problems and obstacles.

We will discuss more about how to implement practices that makes a great employer brand in our upcoming editions.