Processes have changed but core HR work remains vital

People first. From the turn of the millennium, this has been the most-heard phrase among new-age companies. The one common thread that runs through industry behemoths with thousands of employees across the globe is human resources. The primary job of the HR wing in a company is to put people first — understand their requirements, fine tune the ecosystem so that employee welfare and productivity targets go hand in hand, and make the work floor their second home.

Most sought profession

So HR has been the lifeblood of all organisations but what has changed since the pandemic is the way the recruitment process has been refashioned. While the core function has remained the same, the process involved has received an enormous technological touch since every single opening — especially now since organisations are being resized under the blow of the pandemic — sees a flood of applications.

With time at a premium, how do organisations sift through applications rushing into the recruiting agency’s inbox?

With help from artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning tools, a recruiting house now combs through hundreds of applications in minutes before they are further classified and considered for a detailed manual analysis.

It is here that a job applicant has to be careful while choosing keywords which will get the maximum number of hits, even though the recruiter will finally pick the candidate who best fits the job description. Though processes have changed, core HR work — that of spotting and nurturing talent — has only got better.

Cut through clutter

Misconceptions are aplenty about the role of a recruiting personnel. To start with, many job-seekers and companies do not rightly size up the profile of a recruiter. Most absurd is the long-held argument that it requires no special skills or knowledge to source and share a few candidate profiles. This is incorrect.

Like a good salad which has a smattering of all tastes, HR job too involves a daring mix of many functions: Understand the hiring manager’s requirements; review resumes; find the right-fit talent; interact with aspirants with phone interviews or in person; understand the company’s assessments; perform reference and background checks; make recommendations to the company’s hiring managers; and follow onboarding processes.

A talent for hiring

The toughest job of the HR personnel is to find the right and meaningful common ground for both candidates. Some of the topics that require attention are: Types of recruitment models – RPO (recruitment process outsourcing), contract or permanent; various stages of recruitment; a complete lifecycle of a recruitment or talent acquisition process, types of recruitment categories (internal and external), hiring across industries with multiple clients.

The recruiter or talent acquisition leader needs to have the skills of a researcher, marketer, talent scout, salesperson and technologist. They need to design strategies or methodologies to achieve goals and, most importantly, need to master the art of communication.

Some common HR careers include HRM (human resources management), compensation manager, employee relations manager, recruiter and specialist, and training and development manager, which is super-essential in a world that strongly believes in repurposing one’s education to tailor to the needs of a changing world.

It needs no reiteration, but the truth is that every organisation — be it a technology powerhouse or a startup or core industrial unit — must have an HR wing it cannot do without. So what’s stopping you from looking at HR as a career option? Give it a try. It’s worthwhile to help people chart their career path. And build yours too.

(The author is the CEO of a recruitment services organisation)