‘Glocalisation’ – the new HR mantra

In an attempt to become truly global, or ‘glocal’ as companies like to call it, corporates are adopting unconventional strategies. For instance, a company’s R&D team is based in India, the global sales teams are dispersed throughout Europe and Asia, while the headquarters is in the US. Making sure these remote teams are working towards achieving the same goal can be a challenge.

This was the central point discussed by speakers at the 14th Hindustan Times Shine HR Conclave, Bangalore Chapter. They discussed how organisations are shifting their centres of gravity to seek new growth opportunities in emerging markets while expanding to become truly global.

“The global HQ is like the palm of our hand and the local offices are like fingers. They are different but connected,” says Amitava Saha, head HR, Biocon Limited. In such a scenario, how do we build glocal (global and local) leaders who perform globally?

“We don’t believe in merely hiring talent. We are now working towards creating talent within the organisation. We have stopped AMITAVA SAHA, head HR, Biocon Limited hiring because business needs these days are very specific. We believe in equipping our young workforce by giving them opportunities to flourish and also allowing them to make mistakes,” explains Arpana Mehra, VP, human resources APAC, ACS, A Xerox company.

Taking the discussion forward, Manoj Biswas, MD-HR, Accenture for India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, says, “Irrespective of the size of the business, complexities faced by an HR professional are somewhat similar. The war for talent is over. The challenge is now to groom talent. The idea is to have an end-to-end talent management strategy to retain and engage the new-age workforce.”

Prasad Menon, HR & CSR, McAfee India Pvt Ltd, says, “Being a global, and that too a product driven company, McAfee looks at having a stable ecosystem and a talent pool, including leaders with mandatory global experience. This approach helps leaders to nurture and groom talent underneath.”

Amitava Saha believes that the concept of acquiring talent has come of age. “The modern day workforce wants to add value to their employers, while creating their individual identity. There is a greater need for communication channels between employee and employers,” he says.

(Views as expressed by panelists at the 14th Hindustan Times Shine HR Conclave – the Bangalore Chapter held on February 19, 2014)