HR Learning: 9 Dec, 2022

 1.

‘Learning Tuesdays’ at Barco are not just about learning

Barco started this initiative during the pandemic to enhance the knowledge of its employees. Growth of employees has become a priority for most organisations today, and growth does not only happen through promotions and pay raises alone. Upskilling of employees is a key area that needs attention in order to keep employees relevant and updated. Many companies offer certification programmes and e-learning modules to ensure that their employees keep learning continuously. However, Barco, a technology firm that specialises in digital projection and imaging technology has gone a step further.

It has come up with an initiative called ‘Learning Tuesdays.’ Started by Barco during the pandemic in 2021, when most of the workforce was working remotely, the programme, unlike what its name may suggest, involves much more than learning; Peer-to-peer learning, Cross-functional learning, Bonding,

Confidence building, Empathy. Barco has various other learning initiatives such as certifications in different areas of engineering, as well as emerging skills, including cybersecurity.

 

2.

Grab every single opportunity to ensure your people have a ‘great day’ at work: Aakanksha Bhargava, CEO, PM Relocations

"A workstation is a place where employees spend most of their time. HR leaders should grab every single opportunity to enable people in having a ‘great day’ at work," said Aakanksha Bhargava, CEO, PM Relocations Pvt. Ltd. Under the universe of MSMEs there is a large subset of family-owned businesses that struggle to scale and transform over different generations. Aakanksha Bhargava, CEO, PM Relocations Pvt. Ltd, is a second-generation entrepreneur, who drove the Gurugram-based packers and movers’ organisation that her dad began in 1986. Being born into a family of movers, she came to fall in love with this industry and wanted to create a distinct recognition for the brand. She traversed numerous urban areas and nations to furnish PMR with incredible levels. In the interview, Aakanksha talks about putting a team together, taking business to greater heights, addressing the unique challenges of MSMEs sector and the new role that HR teams in MSMEs have to take. I believe for a business to begin and progress, there are several aspects that stand extremely important. And one of them includes having the right team by your side. The term ‘right team’ might mean different things for different people. We often perceive it to be a group of well-versed people, professionals in the field, who have a great set of skills and unparalleled talent. In an industry like Relocations, it's already a really difficult task to make people understand what we do and where our legacy and expertise lie and why almost anybody who desires to move needs us. In such a case, gathering people who understand and work for the vision as dedicatedly has been a really hard time. 

Additionally, establishing a sense of belonging within them towards the company had been an important factor too. However, living for at least one year in each major metro city of the country, establishing a branch in each of them, and hand-picking my team in whom I could see the commitment and dedication towards the company have helped me overcome all the challenges. 

When I joined the business, we were a team of mere 45 employees but today, we are a proud team of about 600 PMRians working tirelessly to make global mobility seamless and hassle-free.  At PMR, we have always concentrated on building our people and focusing not only on their professional but also personal growth. 

Our Learning & Development programs aim to cater to this aspect of our work culture. We take a quality-driven and value-centric approach to ensure that none of our customers or clients ever face a gap in our services and have a seamless moving experience every time they decide to choose us. To meet this objective, it is highly important to train our people from time to time and keep them well-equipped with the changing trends within the industry. The regular training sessions (such as the Warehouse Training & Port Training) have successfully been making sure of that. 

Also, we hold monthly reviews and quarterly reviews with each department and team within our offices to ensure that we are aligned towards reaching our ultimate target for this financial year.

These review meetings not only ensure total productivity in the company but also help address the problems and concerns of our people to reach a conclusion that ultimately assists us in bettering ourselves as an organisation. This gives us the space to come up with some brilliant ideas and plan on executing them. Our employee engagement activities that are set especially keeping in mind the mental well-being of our people contribute to the growth as well.  

3.

Top HR skills in demand for the future

Developing a variety of skill sets can help HR professionals position themselves better to support organisational objectives and growth in the workplace of the future. Building critical skills and competencies tops the list of priorities for HR leaders along with prioritising change management and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives for the fourth consecutive year, according to a study by Gartner.

As organisations approach the future of work, the convergence of HR and technology is anticipated to act as a catalyst for the future of workplace transformation. Additionally, by focusing on developing a variety of skill sets, HR professionals will be better positioned to support organisational objectives and growth. Apart from AI and machine learning, people analytics and augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) training are recent developments that are being adopted by HR functions. People, AR and VR-led learning initiatives, Metaverse and Change Management.