Lack of right talent is an ‘artificial shortage’: Mahindra & Mahindra’s Rajeshwar Tripathi at UPES Automotive HR Roundtable

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Pune, May 19, 2017: At a time when various industries are undertaking mass lay-offs due to multiple factors like automation, digitization and cost efficiency, job security has become a major concern.

Senior HR leaders and professionals from Indian automobile industry met at the Automotive HR Round Table organized by University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) today in Pune to deliberate on Talent Strategies for the Automotive Sector, Digitization in HR and Impact of Automation on Jobs.

Delivering keynote address on the theme ‘Talent Strategies in the Automotive Sector’, Rajeshwar Tripathi, Chief People Officer, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “Lack of right talent is an artificial shortage because as organizations and as a nation we have not been able to reap demographic dividend. We are not doing enough to develop our young employees. Therefore, instead of talking about job security, organizations and employees should talk about continuous development to stay relevant, which is the key to job security”.

Gajendra Chandel, Chief HR Officer, Tata Motors Ltd. emphasized on capability building for future. During a panel discussion on the subject ‘Digitization in HR’ moderate by M.M Durai Sayi, Vice President (HR), Ashok Leyland Ltd., Anand Khot, HR Leader, IBM said, “Digitization in HR is a given.
 
Infact, organizations have taken way too long to adopt it. It’s time for cognitive HR.” Rajeev Jorapur, VP (MIS), Bajaj Auto Ltd. raised the pertinent question of how digitization can help align organizational goals with individual goals.

On the sensitive subject of impact of automation on jobs panellists were optimistic about the job scenario despite increasing automation. They agreed that jobs may not go away but will definitely be realigned. Avinash Dixit, Group Head, HR, Setco Automotive Ltd. urged the audience comprising of HR professionals from automotive industry to encourage employees with routine repetitive jobs to learn new skills and upgrade themselves as these are the jobs that will get automated first, leaving them unemployed.

Maharana Ray, General Manager (HR), Bajaj Auto Ltd. appreciated UPES’ Initiative ‘Abhigyat’, which is its’ faculty immersion program under which faculty members are sent for internships across sectors to stay updated with industry requirements and in turn make their students industry-ready when they graduate.