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Mahindra & Mahindra advisor Allen Sequeira addresses the forum in Ranchi on Friday. Picture by Hardeep Singh |
Workforce unrest can completely derail an enterprise, ran the consensus of industry leaders on the first day of the HR conclave organised at IIM-R in the capital.
The first of its kind two-day conclave titled “Turning the Tide on Unrest in the Workforce” bared harsh truths that create rift between management and workforce, leading labour unrest.
From sloppy company human resource departments who do not aid communication, lack of management experience in handling grassroots tensions to huge aspirations of a youthful workforce and salary gaps between different tiers, many reasons for resentment were thrashed out.
Allen Sequeira, advisor to Mahindra & Mahindra, aimed for the jugular when he said that the violence at the Maruti plant in Manesar was a blot on India Inc. but also a wake-up call for corporate firms to be careful while dealing with the workforce.
“In many cases, the HR does not play a catalytic role. HR personnel don’t have grassroots experience. Constant talks with the workforce is the need of the hour,” Sequeira asserted, introducing three panellists in the first session.
Padmaja Alagnandan, executive director of PwC, said many employers and employees had “unrealistic expectations” that should be junked.
K.A. Narayan, president-HR of the Raymond Group, said unrest was the manifestation of worker frustration.
“The challenge for companies is to understand, deal and resolve brewing conflicts at the onset,” said Narayan.
Biplob Banerjee, GM (HR) of pharmaceutical major GSK Ltd, shared how his company tackled dissonance amongst employees through global rotation, leadership opportunity and others.
Chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Limited R.C. Bhargava will make an online presentation on Saturday morning. Bhargava, who also chairs the IIM-R board of governors, will present the case of the Manesar violence which killed one of the mid-rung managers who hailed from Ranchi.
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