IIMT - HR Conclave 2016

About

IIM Trichy organised the fourth annual HR Conclave on November 5 at The Westin Chennai. The event brought together eminent professionals from the industry on a common stage where they shared their experiences and knowledge pertaining to the evolution of human resources management (HRM) in organisations.

The Conclave, which saw over 150 participants, provided a platform for HR professionals to interact with panellists and exchange experiences and practices in the field of HRM.

The Dean of Accounts and Administration at IIM Trichy, Professor V Gopal said that the Conclave is more about identifying problems in the field of HR and asking probing questions. He added that myths surrounding HR need to be busted. The perception of HR is moving from being a purely qualitative domain to an analytical one.

The event was inaugurated by the chief guest, Suresh Kumar R, Operations Director at Vodafone India Ltd. In his keynote address he highlighted how rapid changes in technology are influencing people and their workplaces. He mentioned how the field of HR has substantially evolved with time and has embraced technology for day-to-day activities of recruiting, skill development of employees and performance reviews. He further talked about the rising role of analytics in HR and how an overwhelming amount of effort goes into collation of data. He emphasised on importance of utilisation of this data for arriving at useful insights.

First panel

The first panel discussion was on ‘People Analytics – The Human Equation’. The panellists were Asim Rizvi, Senior Director - Human Resources at CallidusCloud India Ltd, Debolina Dutta, Director HR - APAC and India at VF Corporation, Rajan Sethuraman, Chief People Officer at LatentView Analytics, and Vasudha Nandal, VP and Head of Human Capital Management at Sulekha.com.

The discussion revolved around the uses of analytics in real life business situations. It deliberated upon how analytics has helped in tackling problems of recruitment renegotiations, attrition, improving efficacy of induction programmes and overall productivity. The discussion was followed by a question-and-answer round where people spoke on handling of inaccuracies and gaps in data collection, and the subjective nature of qualitative data collected.

The discussion was moderated by Professor Vijaya V.

Second panel

The second panel, which discussed ‘Happiness Factor in Organisational Sustainability’, consisted of Chitra Byregowda, Head of Sustainability and Diversity at Mindtree Ltd, Richa Pande, Chief People Officer at Inatech and Sandeep Tyagi, Director HR - Samsung India Electronics Pvt Ltd.

Capt J Raghuram, Management Consultant and Leadership Coach, was the moderator for the discussion. Major topics of discussion were how assessing happiness quotient aids sustainable organisations and why employee happiness has a high significance today. The panellists further discussed the important parameters that help improve employee engagement, measurement of happiness index, effectiveness of employee engagement surveys and cultural inclusivity within organisations.

The panel discussions were followed by a boardroom simulation game organised by LearnBiz Simulations. It tested and reinforced management education by creating a real-time simulated competitive environment.

The event ended with a vote of thanks proposed by Professor Abhishek Totawar.

Panels

People Analytics – The Human Equation

Data Analytics is the rage today for companies to enhance business value. HR Analytics or people Analytics does the same with reference to Human capital management for maximizing returns through people productivity and Talent sustenance. Attracting and retaining a talented workforce spells success. People Analytics is concerned with the identifying and recommending different permutations and combinations of people decisions to enhance business competence through people. It researches and analyses anything to do with employees at work right from recruitment, performance, Learning and Development and culture to make sense of what is the business impact of any people initiative.

The panel discussion will focus on the following key questions–

Is the challenge of People analytics the same as that of other Analytics?
What is the Blueprint of a High impact People Analytics team?
How does People Analytics measure business impact?

Happiness Factor in Organizational Sustainability

Happiness leads to success or success leads to happiness? Is a happy worker a productive worker? What leads to happiness at work? All these are trending issues in today’s workplace.

Traditionally organizations have thrived on the assumption that stress and pressure in the cut-throat environment makes employees to perform. What organizations have often neglected is the hidden costs incurred in doing so like increase in health care expenditure, disengaged employees, and lack of loyalty. This resulted in paradigmatic shift in HR practices with HR managers putting thrust on happiness and wellbeing of employees.

Research also show that happy employees are less likely to leave, more innovative, more likely to satisfy customers, are safer and more likely to engage in citizenship behavior. This suggests that happiness is a critical factor which distinguishes between a successful organization and a sustainable organization.

According to a recent survey by World Economic Forum (WEF), 88% Indian employees are found to be the happiest over 14,000 employees across 15 countries. Here, it is important to explore that ‘what parameters define happiness and well-being for Indian workforce’. Is it money, fame, lifestyle, or positive work environment and meaningfulness at work? What are the current practices in organizations which reflect this Happiness approach at workplace? This panel will highlight the HR practices which creates conditions where employees can flourish and thrive at work.

Panellists

Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker

Suresh Kumar R

Operations Director

Vodafone India Ltd

Chitra Byregowda

Head, Sustainability and Diversity

Mindtree Ltd

Rajan Sethuraman

Chief People Officer

LatentView Analytics

Asim Rizvi

Senior Director, Human Resources

CallidusCloud India Ltd.

Debolina Dutta, PhD.

Director HR- Vans, Operations, Finance APAC and India

VF Corporation

Sandeep Tyagi

Director - Human Resources

Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd.

Capt. J Raghuram

Management Consultant & Leadership Coach

Vasudha Nandal

Vice President & Head- Human Capital Management

Sulekha

Richa Pande

Chief People Officer

Inatech

Reminiscence

2015

Theme: Evolving HR

The third edition of IIM Trichy’s annual HR Conclave was held on 17th October, 2015 at The Westin, Chennai, with the theme “Evolving HR”. The event was inaugurated by the Chief Guest, Mr. Deodutta Kurane, Group President & Head - Human Capital Management, YES Bank, and Dr. Prafulla Agnihotri, Director, IIM Tiruchirappalli. Mr. Kurane spoke about the People-Work framework which addresses the evolving role of HR. He also talked about the Uberification of HR to address the challenges of the Virtual Office, creating packages catering to employee specific needs; convergence of leisure, work and fitness at work and rebranding of an HR Manager as a Human Capital Business Manager.

The first panel discussion was centered on the topic -‘Aligning HR strategy in the wake of Make in India campaign’ by our esteemed speakers,

Ms. Elaine Kueper, Global Director, Tripura Foundation
Mr. Raghuram J, Associate VP – HR, Vodafone
Mr. G. Raj Narayan, Founder & MD, Radel Group and Chief mentor of DRONA
Mr. Shyam C Raman, Executive VP – Group HR, Murugappa Group
Ms. Sumathi Sampath, Head, Talent Acquisition, Infosys BPO

It was followed byasecond panel discussion on the topic - ‘Dynamic employee engagement and Employee Gamification’ by the following panelists,

Ms. Aarthi Sivaramakrishnan, Head HR, Beroe Inc.
Ms. Padma Kiran Rao, Director – HR, Societe Generale Global Solution Centre
Mr. Prashant John, Founder & Director, ‘kwench
Mr. Sujesh M T, Head – HR, DFS India Pvt. Ltd.

HR Conclave 2015 also featured a first-hand experience on gamification,through a simulation game ‘ChangeQuest’ powered by KNOLSKAPE. The participants were faced with a role-play situation, where they had to convince the upper management of introducing change in a certain process of the organization.

Mr. Ashok G, Senior VP - HR, SPAR, Landmark Group, delivered the valedictory speech, gave insights about the world of HR in the retail industry and signaled the end of the event.

This HR Conclave brought together eminent senior professionals from the industry and academic scholars, who shared their experiences on the rapidly changing nature of Human Resources domain. The event saw active participation from senior executives of Ford Motors, Rane Group, CTS, TVS group, Hyundai Motors, Kevin, Oracle, Hospira Healthcare, Scope International, TCS, Wabco, Philips, and many others. Various faculty, researchers and students from DoMS IIT Madras, St Peter’s University, PSG Institute of Management and other colleges also attended the event creating a rich blend of participants with varied experience.

2014

Theme: Proactive HR

Building upon the success of IIM Trichy’s inaugural HR Conclave in 2013, the 2ndedition of this premier event was held on Sept 18th, 2014 at the Hilton Chennai. “Proactive HR” was the theme of the year, underscoring the evolution of HR in contemporary organizations. The success of organizations today increasingly depends on people, embodied with the right skills, knowledge and abilities. The increasing complexity and demanding goals for managers and the growing focus on legislations in recruitment, and employee relations has ushered in a new generation of Human Resource Managers, who today play increasingly strategic roles in contributing to the success of organizations.

Following the tradition established by last year’s conclave, the dialogue was once again facilitated through 3 panel discussions:

Is Organisational Citizenship Behaviour a Myth?
Does Organisational Commitment translate into Personal Growth?
Diversity: A Competitive Advantage

The event saw active participation both from industry and academia. Senior executives from HPCL, ING Vysya, ITC, Cognizant, Dalmia Bharat Cements, Ducen and NHRD graced the occasion. Various faculty, researchers and students from DoMS IIT Madras, St Peters University, and other collegesattended the event creating a rich blend of participants with varied experience. The discussions provided tremendous insights from HR veterans who shared their vast experience with the audience.

The esteemed list of speakers and panellists included some of the highly respected and seasoned personnel from the HR community:

Mr. Awdhesh Krishna(Managing Director - Global Head of HR, Wholesale Corporate at Nomura)
Ms. Aparna Sharma (Country Head, HR – LafargeIndia)
Mr. Prince Edison(Vice President, HR - BhartiAirtel Ltd)
Mr. Sunil Kumar(Centre Head, WorldBank)
Dr. Vishal Shah (Vice President – Corporate HRD, Wipro Limited)
Mr. Yogesh Mariwalla(Executive Director – Index Advisory Pvt. Ltd.)
Ms. Sindhuja Shankar(Head-HR – World Bank Group)
Mr. Surya Prakash Mohapatra(India Head-Knowledge & Capability – HP GBS, Hewlett Packard)
Dr. Deepak Malhotra(Vice President-HR – IL&FS Environmental Infrastructure & Services Ltd)
Ms. Rituparna Chakraborty(Senior Vice President& Co-Founder – Team Lease Services Pvt. Ltd.)
Ms. Srimathi Shivashankar(Associate Vice President – Diversity & Sustainability, HCL Technologies)

2013

Theme: Contemporary Challenges and Opportunities in HRM

The first edition of HR Conclave (2013) was based on the premise that the overall HR scenario in India and at the global level is undergoing a sea change. HR is no more a staff-function, rather it has acquired a strategic role. Subsequently many HR managers, unlike in the past, are becoming strategic business partners. They possess significant leadership qualities and are capable of managing organizational change. They are actively involved in redefining culture of the organisation where organizational development has become an important part of their KRA (Key Result Area). At the same time, they are facing increasing challenges in their search of high HR performance to retain talents and build engagement in the workplace.

The primary theme for this conclave was "Contemporary Challenges and Opportunities in HRM" which was discussed through a series of following three panel discussions:

Leadership and Change
Talent Retention
Redefining Culture for Employee Engagement

A respectable audience pool of HR managers, academicians and management students attended this conclave. The take away for the participant was a renewed understanding in handling major HR issues, based on the seasoned and erudite inputs from top HR management, carefully picked up from the best in industry to represent challenges in different sectors.

We had the presence of esteemed panellists and speakers from the Indian industry

Mr. Awdesh Krishna (Managing Director - Global Head of HR, Wholesale Corporate at Nomura)
C. Mahalingam (Mali) (Executive Coach & HR Advisor to Corporates)
Mr. Dharmarajan (Vice-President & Head-HR of L&T Construction, Buildings & Factories Independent Company)
Mr. K. Ganesan (Vice President HR at Tata Consultancy Services)
Mr. Krishna Bhagavan (Country Head HR at Motorola Solutions)
Mr. Muthu Kumar Thanu (Group CHRO at TAFE)
Mr. Prince Augustin (EVP - Group Human Capital & Leadership Development at Mahindra & Mahindra)
Mr. Rajesh Padmanabhan (Corporate Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer at Capgemini)
Mr. Samir Agarwal (Principal at the Boston Consulting Group)
Mr. Sasi Sunkara (Partner at McKinsey & Co.)
Mr. S.Valliyappan (Heads Menmai Management HR Consultancy)

about iimt

Genesis of IIM Tiruchirappalli

On Hallowed Grounds
Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirapalli (IIMT) is the eleventh IIM and was instituted on January 4, 2011 by the Hon'ble Minister for HRD and Telecommunication, Shri Kapil Sibal, under the patronage of the Government of India and the stewardship of IIM-B. Tiruchirapalli is a prominent city for art and culture. IIMT is building its sprawling permanent campus spread over 172 acres of land on Trichy-Pudukottai highway, 12 km from Tiruchirappalli International Airport and in the interim the institute is functioning from NIT Tiruchirappalli.

Moulding Excellence
IIM is a name that has steadily become synonymous with excellence and has established a benchmark for unwavering quality. IIMT, while recognizing the mentorship of IIMB aims to find its own footing in developing competent professionals for the industry. The flagship programme, Post Graduate Program in Management (PGPM), has been instrumental in the achievement of this goal.

Heart of the Being
Hard Work, Perseverance, Passion and Integrity are some of the virtues necessary to attain success. IIMT boasts of a collection of eminent faculty and motivated students which form its backbone. Therefore students are chosen from a thorough screening process to ascertain their association with this prestigious institute. IIMT takes excellent care in ensuring an optimal student-teacher ratio to encourage better learning and to impart appropriate guidance.

Guiding Star
"Knowledge is endless" is a motto that has strongly governed IIM Tiruchirappalli. IIMT has strong values which it imparts to its students, primary amongst which are an unceasing desire to learn. IIMT strongly believes that the foundation of value creation lies in the path of continuous learning. The institute recognizes the fact that its students would be the catalyst of change for the betterment of the future and hence takes great responsibility in shaping them into leaders of tomorrow. IIMT understands and gives students full freedom to decide upon their academic gradient based on their work experience, academic background as well as their appetite for a challenge and thus provides them with an environment conducive in enhancing their learning experience.