HR professionals: Upholders of business sustainability in a challenging economy

Human Resources practitioners have always played a pivotal role in business sustainability. But now with a pandemic-hit economy, cuts on consumer spending, climate change and social unease rattling just about every industry, HR is at the epicentre of keeping the core of any business - its human capital - intact.

Varuna Pandey has 15 years of experience as a HR professional in the banking industry and moved to Singapore from India in 2015 to take up the role of Deputy Vice President - Overseas HR and Operations for Axis Bank.

“During pre-COVID times, banking was well on its way to digitalisation with continual and paced re-skilling and up-skilling for the existing workforce,” notes Varuna.

“COVID-19 has not only accelerated the need for digitalisation and brought agenda items like remote working and employee wellness (including mental and emotional wellbeing) to the forefront. With the changing face of banking and this unprecedented transition driving increased usage of digital solutions, HR professionals need to equip themselves to ensure availability, connectivity, productivity, and well-being of all employees. An agile and iterative approach is the most effective way to deal with the ongoing challenges.”

Currently enrolled in the Master of Human Capital Leadership (MHCL) programme at Singapore Management University’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business, the HR veteran believes tackling the ongoing challenges thrown up by the pandemic requires a nimble strategy.

One of these challenges is the issue of employee wellness. “Employee anxieties are currently at two levels — organisational and personal,” she believes. Questions preoccupying them may include: How will my organisation overcome the global slowdown? Will my organisation be able to sustain itself through the economic crisis? Will I keep my job? Will I continue to have the same income? Will my role and skills remain relevant post-pandemic?

To address these anxieties effectively, communication is key. “Do not dismiss any of the employee concerns, and do not give false reassurances,” Varuna advises. Instead, provide channels for employees to share their concerns, ask questions and engage in open discussions. Ultimately, “a lack of communication can propagate negative thinking and fear, affecting morale and productivity”.

Technology adoption is another critical issue. With remote working becoming more prevalent over the past year, the adoption of digital solutions for a whole variety of work-related tasks has been accelerated. Moving forward, she believes such tools will also be necessary for the new realities of the post-pandemic workplace, where working in the same location as one’s colleagues will not be the norm for some time.

“The hiring focus has moved to creating a ‘liquid workforce’ comprising contractual, part-time and gig workers,” she notes. “Talent acquisition will need to step up the use of technology for remote hiring and onboarding solutions.”

Perhaps the greatest pandemic-spurred paradigm shift for HR has been the transition from being responsive to being proactive. “HR must develop capability to deal with the unknown, and act for future-readiness,” says Varuna. “Resilience and a complexity mindset will be the defining characteristics of future HR leaders.” As per a Harvard Business Review article1, complex problems live in the realm of the unknown. There are no best practices to solve complex problems because we have never experienced them before and, therefore, could not have predicted them. In this framework, it is crucial to tap into your organization’s collective intelligence, prioritize company values, and allow solutions to emerge.

To that end, she is advocating for a different approach to resource allocation. While tough times may have traditionally called for trimmed budgets for anything deemed non-critical, “I feel this is the time to ready our human capital for the next phase”.

That means companies should invest in their employees’ learning, without myopically assuming technology will replace human talent.

“This pandemic has emphasised the need for the rapid adoption of digital thinking and organisations will have to cultivate vital skills for a digital world among all its employees,” Varuna asserts.

“At an individual level, employees will also need to take charge of their own learning, adopt a growth mindset towards being a life-long learner, and continue to re-skill and up-skill themselves to be ready for jobs of the future.”

She is certainly walking the talk. Having long planned to pursue a postgraduate degree, she finally took the plunge in 2020 after being drawn to the MHCL programme’s content and rigour.

So far, the journey has been enriching, she says.

“I did always have a plan to pursue a Master’s, but my professional and personal life kept getting busier and the milestone kept on moving,” adds Varuna.

“This course offered a lot of value in terms of content and rigour. Learning the evidence-based approach to people's decisions is quite fascinating. The course learnings, blended with 15 years of experience as a practitioner, will equip me with the skills for the next phase of my career.”