As workplaces are transforming, the demand for HR expertise and leadership has never been greater. The role which priorly focused on recruiting and administrative tasks, has now evolved to become more people-centric.

Besides being the People Manager, the emphasis is also on piloting the changing work dynamics, looking after employee experience and holistic well-being, maintaining employer branding, and thriving in the highly competitive market.

While currently, HR leaders are playing an influential part in expanding and innovating the business, in 2023, they will need to up their game “to deal with uncertainties and be successful as the new trends start to fire up,” says Ms Priya Mathilakath, Head HR- Corporate and Retail, Titan Company Limited. 

To achieve the same, she shared insights into how to successfully accomplish HR transformation in 2023, during an exclusive interview with People Matters.

IT and HR: The mandatory merger

The transformation into a digital workplace has unfolded in the last decade. One of the most important lessons that successful organisations now understand is that bringing people together under a shared vision can be the most significant source of advantage in the market. Merely implementing technology is not enough, one has to use it as a communication channel to reflect the culture and vision of the organisation.

“People function and Information Technology (IT) are now the key enablers of a seamless and elevated employee experience. To take the merger to another level, talent training is crucial along with becoming digitally ready. This will create experiences that positively impact an employee’s perception of the workplace, further automating tasks or addressing individual inquiries,” said the Head HR of Titan Company Limited. 

Employees are as important as finances

Gone are the days when the most common benefit was a company pension and anything else was considered a bonus to employees. Today, successful companies know and value their staff, as they are essential factors in any organisation’s success. “I've found that if you value and treat your people well, your company will succeed and reap the benefits,” said Priya Mathilakath.

“In today’s time, people allocation is as powerful as financial allocation in every company. During the assessment, every conversation begins and ends with how talent ready is the company and how have you protected the company's talent. While loyal customers, visionary leaders and quality goods and services will influence success, but to keep moving forward in the coming years, companies will have to learn to value their best asset - its employees,” added Ms Mathilakath.

Feedback is critical to improving performance 

Studies suggest companies that collect employee feedback experience 14.9 per cent lower employee turnover rates. Besides this, effective employee feedback helps boost overall staff performance. However, don’t just seek positive employee feedback, in reality, both positive and negative feedback can be helpful.

“Never underestimate the power of employee feedback. If they don’t feel heard and don’t see action on the ground based on the feedback that they're giving, you will experience its impact on the stickiness of employees to the organisation. This will further influence employee experience and culture. Therefore, it’s a must that companies should invest in creating listening platforms,” stated the Head HR of Titan Company Limited. 

She further shared how Titan has evolved into a ‘listening company.’ “We have a practice called Tell Me. It is a platform, which began 20 years ago on pen-paper and it has now taken a digital shape. The top management directly listens to the feedback with the help of this medium and understands how is the employee experience in the organisation,” shared Ms Mathilakath.

Image source: HR World