Sunday, September 30, 2012

MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE FOR INVESTORS IN KOWLEDGE BASED INDUSTRIES IN CHHATTISGARH


(The Blog post also serves as BACKGROUND to SURVEY–1: IS CHHATTISGARH READY TO BRING HOME PROFESSIONALS WORKING AWAY?)

It is widely believed that promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship in knowledge based industries is important for future prospects of economic development in Chhattisgarh. Efforts are being made to encourage investments in diverse sectors associated with knowledge based technologies. However, inadequate availability of trained and skillful workforce is recognized as one of the key challenges for driving investments in knowledge intensive industries in the state. One section of subject matter experts believe that early mover companies will have the privilege of attracting skillful resources from the state, who are working in reputed companies at different locations outside their home state. In this way, if strategically worked out, early movers may have the advantage of having extremely useful set of human resources comprising of:-
1.       Talented fresh students from local colleges in Chhattisgarh (includes IIM,IIT - proposed, IIIT -proposed, NIT, AIIMS, HNLU, BIT, Central University, IGKV and many other institutes), with following advantages:-
a)      Flexibility of grooming young talents from diverse areas to become professionals trained in line with the prospects of companies and with aspirations of youngsters.
b)      Cost-effective and efficient human resource management in relatively cheaper and evolving cities of Chhattisgarh; professionals hailing from the state itself and starting their career in the state have good chances of long term association with early movers.
c)       Opportunity to capitalize on aspirations of younger employees to contribute towards multi-dimensional growth and expansion of the company within the state (for fresh students joining as early employees, this may translate to quicker rise in organizational ladder).
2.       Experienced but (may be) lesser trained resources available in local market with following prospects:-
a)      Organizations like CHIPS and CREDA have been implementing huge projects in knowledge based industries with the help of private players (under PPP) in the state; the local talent pool is actively involved in executing the projects in association with private players; a few of the local talents excel to more competitive places, after having local work experience.
b)      Local talents (with some experience) can easily be tapped for doing the nature of job, they are already carrying out, by providing benefits like superior employee care and superior work culture; they may also get value addition in terms of carrier growth and in terms of future career prospects through institutional bonding with a reputed and growing organization.
c)       Local market professionals have been efficiently carrying out repetitive, low tech and routine maintenance work in wide variety of areas (in different projects running in the state). Many of these professionals do not get an opportunity to exploit their potential due to lack of an environment for professional growth. Quite a few among them can be groomed to work on high end technologies and to take higher responsibilities.
d)      Motivated quality professionals with experience in less knowledge intensive industries may be engaged and encouraged to develop a different carrier path in emerging knowledge based industries; in many cases, previous industrial experience in different domains could become a valuable asset. 
3.       Experienced talent pool (from much competitive and matured market in different locations across the globe), which comes back from distant locations to their home state will have following prospects:-
a)      Quality human resources are most critical asset in knowledge based industries. They will be driving the business. They will enjoy the privilege of setting up new routines and new processes for the new offices. At the same time in the age of information, they can always remain connected with much established offices through different medium of communications.
b)      Natural temptation of professionals for driving an organization with vigor in a newly evolving ecology (for knowledge based industries) can be mobilized for business development opportunities (for example an IT project manager with experience in telecom operations may have inclination for business development and may like to take the role of Center Manager of a (say) non-voice BPO and take the challenge of growing the center leaps and bounds).
c)       Better job satisfaction due to better work-life balance and better recognition in social arena would be helpful in building healthy work culture in office.
d)      Opportunity to get closely connected with the villages in the vicinity of home towns (of the professionals) through organizational initiatives under CSR or other social initiatives.
A company that plans for a big investment in Chhattisgarh, may need to develop detailed understanding about its human resources requirements, which would require an understanding of the operational dynamics of the company to minute details with reasonably long term perspective in consideration.
However, once the Human Resource requirements are finalized, it would be possible to go ahead with the strategic planning and execution to mobilize resources; most appropriate mix of above mentioned three types of resources may be suitably recruited and assigned responsibilities. At the same time, efforts to promote development of quality professionals locally would need to be carried out through synchronized efforts with government agencies, with training institutes and academic institutions in the state.
Further, it is expected that the above arrangements may be a possibility for early movers in knowledge based industries in Chhattisgarh. Gradually, other competitors may start following the trend to explore possibilities in Chhattisgarh causing early mover advantages to start diminishing. By the time this begins to happen, state should have got matured enough to accommodate expansion of knowledge based industry. In this process, state will have developed an institutional infrastructure to nurture and absorb talents locally. In the follow-up to the development of infrastructural facilities with good supporting institutional facilities for human excellence in diverse areas, next level evolution would be triggered for development of an environment, which would be liberal, accommodative and progressive; where best of the best intellectuals and intellectual communities in general would love to reside. 
In view of the above, the most critical aspect is bringing back the talent pool working outside the state to work in the state for initial push to human resource requirements of the early investors. In this regards, it is mention worthy that at least for last four decades, Raipur-Bhilai area has prominently figured among quality education centers (for school level education) in Central India. Bilaspur and Korba have also been good centers for schooling in the state. Therefore, Chhattisgarh is assumed to have been consistently nurturing good talent for quite a long period of time. Thus, in corporate world, there is an acceptance of the fact that there are significant numbers of qualified professionals hailing from the state, who are working at different locations across the globe.  But, the widely raised question in this regards is - Would the professionals from Chhattisgarh, who are working away from the state be open and passionate to return to the home state and work? We have tried to conduct a survey for the same, which is an attempt to develop a broad understanding on the same.   

Details of the survey are elaborated in following blog post:-

References & Links:


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