Upskilling Is The Way Forward - Glimpses Of VGSoM's HR Conclave '19

The business world today is experiencing major upheavals in almost all sectors with disruptive technologies redefining the status quo, creating promising opportunities for a highly skilled agile workforce, and introducing hitherto unheard-of patois into the boardroom lexicon. While the emerging dimensions of the fourth industrial revolution may seem propitious, much like its triune predecessors, it sets in stark contrast the urgent need to refurbish the current workforce. The role of HR managers has evolved from responding to passing conditions to foreseeing the future. In a recent conclave at the Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur, this vital function of Human Resource Management was discussed at length by some of the post prominent HR leaders in the corporate world.

The chief guest for the event, Prof. Sriman Kumar Bhattacharyya, Director of IIT Kharagpur, in his opening address remarked, “In this day and age, the dynamic paradigm of Industry 4.0 demands constant upskilling by employees who wish to stay relevant”, setting the tone for the discussions to follow. The keynote address by Mr. Arindam Dutta, Executive Partner, Gartner, was an insightful discourse and struck a chord with the audience, illustrating the current and future trends in people management through excellent use of infographics.

The conclave which revolved around ideas of HR Innovation and Upskilling was moderated by Mr. Hetal Sonpal, a TEDx speaker, Angel Investor and Mentor of Change at the Atal Innovation Mission. Extending the topic of “Rethinking People management to propel organizational growth”, he invited the speakers - Ms. Sonali Misra (Head-Human Resources and Professional Development, Bain & Company, India), Mr. Satyajit Mohanty (Chief Human Resources Officer and Vice President-HR, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd.), Ms. Yamini Krishnan (Director-HR, South Asia , IQVIA), Mr. Vivek Vyas (Country Head – Employee Relations, Royal Bank of Scotland, India) and Ms. Sonia Sahgal (Director-University Recruiting, Mircosoft India) - to assess the purpose and role of HR leaders in the corporate world beseeched with rapid technological advancement and diverse employee expectations. The panelists deliberated on the various challenges faced in upskilling the workforce while driving organizational growth, drawing insights from their personal experiences while maintaining the human element in HR management of utmost importance to success.

The discussions were followed by an interactive Q&A session with the students and covered multiple queries ranging from employee engagement to corporate mentorship programs, all of which were eagerly addressed by the esteemed panel. The symposium of thoughts and ideas put forth during these deliberations provided much food for thought for all those in attendance and made the event a grand success.