The need for Human Resource (HR) functions and processes is emerging and has claimed importance right since the birth of an organisation. However, the myth still exists regarding the existence of HR as a separate function in an organisation because it has always been seen as a cost centre. However, budding companies like PRODT are changing the mindsets of the past by not considering the HR function as an overhead. It has started to be considered as an indirect revenue centre because it increases revenue generation capabilities of an organisation through recruitment, training and development, performance reviews, etc.

Why is it important for any organisation to define HR systems?

The HR function is the central authority for the smooth running of an organisation. It is still easy to execute what has been set, but it is difficult to set up the entire function, execute it and build a habit of that process as it takes time.First of all, it is imperative to understand that HR defines the policies and guiding principles as per the nature of the business. In fact, other units follow the same principles too. Once these guiding principles are defined and the process documents are set, the hardest challenge is to get it started. In my opinion, this is the main difficulty of most HRs who try to build it from scratch. This may be because the need of the execution does not seem to be required at that point and as a result, the entire function takes a back seat.

Areas covered by an HR:

Let’s get a quick overview of what the HR department covers in the initial days of the firm:

Recruitment: Finding the talent, not only in terms of skills, but also understanding whether the person will be able to adapt to the working culture and can be a good team member, becomes critically important. As human capital is the capital that can make or break a company, finding the right talent is a must for any organization.

Compliance: One must adhere to the state and country laws and make provisions of the same to safeguard the interest of the employee as well as the employer.

Policy formulation: This gives an employee the overall structure and processes of an organisation. Like every house has its discipline, every organisation has some discipline which gives a person a fair idea of how this organisation works.

Building the culture: Defining the culture of an organisation and bringing it into existence is very sensitive. It involves understanding the nature of the business, empathy for each other, discipline, ownership and being result-oriented.

Defining the processes: Listening to the word ‘processes’, you may sigh because you may have to follow principles. However, once these guiding principles are adhered to can make the processes and life much easier and relaxed for each one of us. These points are a few of many tasks accomplished by HR and this is what we are trying to build in PRODT as well. Especially, when it comes to a work from home culture, where teams are connected through Zoom, Slack, etc. the chances of us feeling alone, not being appreciated and not being motivated enough, increases. Hence, the challenge of making sure we are connected with each other becomes extremely important. Some of our upcoming initiatives are meant to develop the employee-centric approach in a work from home culture, to bridge the gap between the management and the collaborators from various cities in India.