Experts in the field of Human Resource and Development who are working in the apparel industry often rue that the HR department is still taken as a support function and not as the employee nurturing or employee engagement springboard. We have to link HR and training to profitability… What is required is not ‘policing’ of workers but ‘performance management’, which is the real job of an HR professional. “How many companies look at ROI for investments made in people management?” questions Aisshvarya S. Shah, CEO & Chief Trainer, Work Senses, Chennai. It cannot be emphasised enough that there is an urgent need to strengthen the role and scope of the HR department from mere salary management to HR development to meet challenges that are ailing the supply chain.
In an earlier article in August 2020, at the peak of the first wave of Covid, Apparel Resources (AR) had highlighted the importance of the HR department to keep workforce motivated during the difficult phase when employees were under tremendous stress. It was pointed out by HR professionals in the industry that the HR department should now work as a ‘Human Resilience’ department keeping the staff positive and productive. The second core focus that was stressed on was how HR could help to reduce cost, handle labour shortage issues and get more business by using networks to keep the company updated. However, the initiatives taken then were reactionary to the need of the hour, but the good thing that came out was the realisation of the constructive role that the HR department could and needs to play for long-term gains both to the employee and the organisation. The time has come for companies to step ahead of the traditional role of HR and explore the ‘real’ contribution that an HR team can make to the organisation.
With growing importance and as well as emerging challenges, the approach to HR has to change 360 degrees to make an impact, feel experts. Vasanthi Srinivasan, Senior Associate Dean, IIM, Bangalore and expert of organisational behaviour & human resources management is strongly of the opinion that for HR, it’s time to reboot, not just change as contemporary practices to hybrid practices, as some old things to leave and some new things to adopt. What is really important now is the influence of HR in the organisation.
She underlines important points regarding the apparel industry also. “Career planning (career growth trajectory) is a challenge for apparel industry professionals across the companies as the majority of professionals change jobs for just more money. And this planning should be from both sides – employees as well as owner/HR perspective. At the same time, a goal sheet should be more than a few numerical targets. It should also have enough importance of elements like learning new skills, teamwork.”
She also underlines that the majority of companies will follow a multi-contractual system for hiring, so HR professionals have to create their new network to get the best talent and the best solutions to ensure their organisation’s growth. And for that, they need to learn from other industries also.
Agreeing with the above, Prof. Chandan Chowdhury, Senior Associate Dean, ISB says that the HR role is becoming more critical as jobs are more based on technology. The use of technology is going to dominate in overall business, accordingly, HR is going to be more than ever important, contributing not only in existing roles, but also ensuring the growth of the organisation, every aspect of business like the owner of the company/firm. “The technologies like 3D printing, sew robot already exist but the same will dominate like anything in the apparel industry. There will be many job roles in future that don’t exist today, so HR has to be a 4.0 expert. To provide skills as per the requirements of factory and company, HR has to be advanced itself.”
Reena Ahuja, Partner Director, HR Practice, Smarthead Consulting, emphasises the importance of changing attitude towards ‘people’, stressing that the time has come to treat them as human capital and not a cost by the companies. “Cost means money flying out of your hand without any gains, whereas investment means to put money into an asset, which puts money back into the employers’ pockets and by virtue of the definition, people are certainly making investments,” she argues. Reena further states that though there are various problems associated with people management, 90 per cent of these problems are common amongst the textile industry with only 10 per cent being very company-specific, so a common collective solution can be worked out provided companies share ideas and experiences. Reena stresses the importance for employers to create capabilities for the future and to understand human capital to build a clear action plan to achieve long- and short-term goals through strategies by reorganising processes and being able to invest in rewards for the employees apart from salaries.
Cost control is one of the most important factors in apparel manufacturing and HR can’t create distance from this aspect of the business. In fact HR has to contribute in the same actively and for that Vasanthi Srinivasan suggests while weighing cost or investment, one should not start thinking from people perspective, rather one should think from the strategic investment point of view. “How do you see jobs (not people), people are to fill the job, rethinking job, rethinking position, do we need so many positions (not people); many jobs are really redundant. How many jobs can be changed from single-skilled jobs to multi-skilled jobs? The nature of jobs is going to change,” she says.
Vasanthi further adds, “Organisations are reasonably agile but they don’t realise this as they don’t have data to see this so it’s HR’s role to create organisation’s data to strengthen organisation’s internal working with extra investment.” She further adds that one has to understand that worker or manager, everyone is now not the same as they used to be pre-Covid. Nearly all of them have passed through a lot of struggle, so along with data, technology, HR have to think and work from this perspective also.
With the role of HR increasing and remote workforce becoming a norm, there are many technologies available in the market today which allow HR to disseminate information through proper digital communication channels. While for small businesses, HR tech helps to upgrade their systems – remain in compliance, effectively track time, process payroll and maintain employee information. For larger corporate structures, advances in human resource technology are helping HR leaders become even more engaged in their company’s overall strategy objectives. According to results from the 2020 Paychex Pulse of HR Survey, a market leader in HR research, more than 85 per cent of HR professionals surveyed said that technology “has strengthened their contribution to corporate success,” and more than 80 per cent reported that their company’s investment in technology “will allow them to maintain or grow their headcount and increase employee productivity.” Some of the companies offering AI-led HR tech are Wovo, Darwinbox, Skillate, Grove HR, Asanify HRMS to name few.
An interesting aspect that has come out of all these and on which, all experts strongly agreed upon was that irrespective of the scale of operations, SMEs as well as corporates have to adopt these changes and work accordingly. And from micro to million-dollar company, no organisation can survive without focusing on agile and tech-savvy HR. Simply put, HR is not going to be needed if it is not adding value as the majority of responsibilities of HR are now becoming digitally possible.
Change is happening…but very slowly
Change is happening and efforts of strengthening HR at various levels by apparel manufacturers is being reflected on the ground level also. A case in point is Shahi Exports, India’s largest apparel manufacturer which has invested in technology – Wovo – so that HR can have a smooth process. In collaboration with Personal Advancement and Career Enhancement (PACE) initiative of Gap Inc., the company’s HR department has trained 60,000 women workers in soft skills. Outlining the vision, JD Giri, Director, Shahi Exports, Faridabad has always maintained that it is high time to invest selflessly in staff and workers, to make them feel that they matter to the organisation. The company has multiple training initiatives that include leadership development initiatives, outbound development sessions, internal classroom sessions to help build relevant soft and technical skills of all employees.
Another big name in the industry – Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) that has presence in both the manufacturing and retail side of the business – has a reputation of being employee-friendly with some of the best HR practices in India.
The HR policy of the company is about building a culture of ownership through values of passion, integrity, commitment, seamlessness and speed. From leadership trainings to open houses to family get-togethers to performance matrix evaluations to encouraging innovations… the company is a true pioneer in employee engagement. No wonder the company has always found place in the top 10 Indian companies to work in. The most amazing fact is that its policies find resonance in both manufacturing and retail ventures.
Not only the big companies, but now industry stakeholders are observing significant transformations in HR policies at smaller companies also. These companies are also acknowledging that making salaries and other such basic work is no longer the only responsibility of HR. HR must communicate well and be empathic. Most importantly, they build trust. An HR professional has to make sure that the learning of factory’s one department becomes the assets of other departments also.
It has been highlighted by the companies making the transformation that skill upgradation cannot be limited to only workers, but has to engage the mid-level and top-level management also. And the same needs to be aligned, for which the HR practices of apparel industry have to be agile and contribute to the growth of the industry. HR teams have to play the role of calmer, friend, guide, motivator and must stand by the affected employees at all times.
Global studies recommend three basic aspects of employee engagement – the employees and their own distinctive psychological make-up and experience; the employers and their capability to create the conditions that promote employee engagement; and interaction between employees at all ranks.
