hr competencies and gender v3 final

HR Competencies and Gender

Anurag Shrivastava

HRNEXT

IIM K HR SUMMIT 2012

COMMENTS

“I'd like to believe that there is no difference between the genders when it comes to HR. But now that I think about it: I can't remember ever dealing with a male HR executive, either where I worked or where I applied. Staffers, occasionally yes; execs, no. So I can't speak from experience.”

“Men usually become either too involved personally or are too aloof. Women are more empathetic. They can listen, counsel without it disturbing them. There's also a question of stereotype - most employees are not used to seeing men in HR profession.”

‘ Why are you in HR ? You are an IIT Grad ? ‘ ( functional and gender )


Evolution of hr


18th Century ; women appointed for welfare of women and girl workers

Seen as a female profession which attracted few men – soft and fluffy

Women seen as more suited - ability to empathise, relate and influence, and use emotional intelligence.

Function seen as more employee advocacy than a bottomline driven one

Evolved into the business partnering role –today - but much is left to be desired there.

HR leaders display


Strategy leadership – for HR and for company

Trusted advisor Decisive ; and ability to say know Business Knowledge Boldness Do things differently – value for best

people HR functional expertise –

communications, compliance , rewards, staffing,

Employee Advocacy

HR leaders display


Result orientation Self Esteem ; being comfortable with

oneself Collaborative Change champion Active listener Ideator Diversity champion Persuasive Coach

Hr winners …


Relationship Management – with all key stakeholders- internal and external

Strong technically – functional excellence rewards,staffing,laws,capability/OD,ER,problem solver

Unruffled under pressure ; self control

Credibility : create record of keeping difficult commitments and sticking to them. Exceptional integrity.

My two role models – of different genders live the above but different as

personalities

Competencies for 2010s


Manage resources better – do more with less

Tighter integration with business leaders for results- capability needed to compete in a space –innovation , costs or accountability

Compete in new markets – talent , people, culture transfers – global mindsets

Fairness champion – going beyond employee advocacy, diversity , and CSR

Women in HR


Significantly higher representation at managerial levels in corporate HR > 45%

Negligible presence in industrial relations

Over 80% drop in presence at senior leadership levels of large corporations, not much better than overall 4-6% representation ( US scores much higher ) .

Greater presence in functional areas like OD than in rewards, staffing and industrial relations.

Women in HR


Gender stereotypes, non-executive career path – towards staff rather than line roles

Family support - growing children, guilt Career breaks Flexible work options post childbirth,

day care Rapid societal changes, two income

norm, fewer women dropping out of career

Perception Survey


Sample size of 129, mainly in leading MNCs and Indian firms; HR & line 50% mix , 37% women respondents

Dimensions More verbal ; better ability to reach out and

communicate Multi-tasking , Juggle competing priorities Establishing trust and becoming a trusted advisor 6th sense , catching behavioural clues

Survey of professionals


20%

17%

8%

50%

5%

Women are better HR Professionals

Unique qualities- high empathy,caring

Multi Taskers

Men are better in HR

No Gender difference

6th Sense on people issues

BLOCKBLOCK SUGGESTIONSSUGGESTIONS


Family commitments are considered – not usually an issue with men

Making the choice to be career focused & stay focused

Competence & performance important not gender

Chose roles carefully which are important to business, don’t take things as they come

Lack of exposure to so called “hard nosed roles “ ; more in OD and welfare

Don’t ask for special treatment but never be apologetic about need for work-life balance

Channelise aggression more effectively. Don’t over do

Instead of just external networking , build on internal networks, Grapewine

Move beyond “HR hat” to look at problems using “business hat”

Women in hr- expert view

Developing HR career


Be an expert - applying theory to business to get respect

Take a 360 view of a problem - to be an employee advocate as well as value creator

Build relationships - lasting . Professional and personal across levels

Champion fairness as core professional and personal value

So does gender matter ?


Women dropout rate from career extremely high Only 2/22 women of 1992 XLRI batch in corporate HR

leadership role Industries mainly services – IT or Banking Negligible presence in core sectors

Significant ( 70% ?? Or more ) of CXOs in HR are men while at entry level they are about 60% or so Work-life balance choice ? Far better represeentation of

wmen at exec level More men exploring the feminine side and

women becoming more hardnosed about business – gender shall be irrelevant

Path forward


Industrial exposure , IR General management path Develop internal networks Stay focussed on career but not be apologetic about

worklife balance Exposure to hiring,rewards,measurements International postings, East Asia Stint in business functions – sales Leverage Technology, Social Media

hr competencies and gender v3 final

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