This document provides an overview and recommendations for the automobile sector in India. It discusses the tax structure, operational challenges, systems updates and challenges, and human resources issues like workforce distribution, talent acquisition, and skill development. The document recommends making automakers employers of choice, implementing grievance resolving sessions and digital networking platforms, and placing MBA graduates in managerial positions to help address challenges in the industry.
I am here to take you all through the challenges faced and best practices followed in the automobile industry
Before looking at the challenges, lets look at the current scenario and HR updates of the sector
The majority of workforce in this sector is divided in two – white collared and blue collared. In terms of educational level almost 50-55% of blue collared workers come from ITI and vocational background, only 3-4% and 1-2% have PHD, CA and MBAs employed in OEM and Tier 1 suppliers respectively
We all know about the Labour issues in mahindra & mahindra, toyota kirloskar, bosch, etc
Maruti SuzukiIndia, has reached a wage settlement agreement with workers at its Gurgaon and Manesar plants, under which employees will get an average salary hike of around Rs 16,800 per month spread over three years.
the workers will receive 50 per cent of the increased salary in the first year and the 25 per cent each in the remaining two years. This happened after the agitated workers burned the HR alive earlier in july 2012
This tells us when the industry faces such labour issues, HR plays a critical role in managing and mitigating the negative outcomes of these issues.
PSA Peugeot Citroen and Tata are in talks to form a partnership that might result in Tata producing and distributing Peugeot's cars in the Indian market. The two firms may also share engine technology. Tata Motors could make PSA's cars at its Sanand plant in Gujarat.
This prospective partnership calls for HR Alert as when two organizations come together, they bring their cultures with them which is reflected in the HR policies and practices of the companies. Their organizational structures differ, their compensation policies differ which paves way for HR to play a key role
Along with these issues, HR faces various other challenges in the automobile industry and they are:
Talent Acquisition is a challenge because
The Automotive Industry is competing to improve globally, especially in terms of technologies. The HR professionals are expected to hire talent which is in tune with these changing times and technologically advanced.
Also, The speed of the recruitment process has to match the speed of this process industry. While the process has to be stringent so as to recruit the best talent, it also needs to be adaptive and responsive to the immediate requirements.
Along with the recruitment process,
The constant cost pressure on Automotive and Ancillary manufacturers make it a daunting job for the HR to attract and retain talent in the given cost structures.
While the pride of having worked for a single automobile organization for a number of years is still around, the new breed of performers has a different value system where in the motivating factors to keep them glued to the organization are also changing. The challenge HR faces here is to manage to keep this new talent engaged
Gender diversity
The Automotive Industry in India is characterized by maximum proportion of the workforce being male.
Companies, especially auto OEM’s and Tier I suppliers, are making a conscious effort to increase the participation of women in the workforce, including in the core operations function.
This encouragement of women working in this industry raises the concern of managing the gender diversity and issues arising out of it like glass ceiling, workplace harassment and many others.
After understanding the HR challenges let us now look at some of the best HR practices in the Automobile Industry
The need of the hour today is multi-skilled employees
Companies need people who can adapt quickly, think on their feet and who are competent enough to perform duties beyond their JD’s.
1. Grievance Resolving Session is a formal redressal procedure which is designed for communication between the employees and the management for the settlement of a grievance So various policies are used such as
a) Open Door Policy : The employees can directly go to the top management and discuss about their grievances if any
b) Step Ladder Policy : The employees have to follow the hierarchy in the organization to resolve their grievances
2. Developing a Digital Network Platform : Recognizing the challenges of dealing with a multi-generational workforce, companies are coming up with various digital network platform to facilitate staff engagement across the organization something like Internal Facebook
Mahindra & Mahindra has a internal communication platform for their employees called “Young”
3. BOLT:
It is a path-breaking online testing initiative done by Nerolac, the instrument is a lot more than just online testing & hence appropriately called B. O. L. T i.e. Beyond Online Testing. The aim of BOLT is to enhance the competency levels of the employees across the organization and evaluate them for career advancement, appraisals and cross functional movements.
4. Job Rotation & Job Enrichment are the two human resource strategies that are widely practiced in the industry today.
Companies like Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Nissan are effectively using these strategies in their Organization.
Recommendations
Employer of Choice
In order to become the Employer of choice, the leaders must believe that the company should focus on empowerment of employees as we all know that talent is the major asset of any organization thus to create the brand value among the current employees and future aspiring employees companies can have Media Tie-Ups and Job Fairs for Auto & Ancillary Industries which would give an edge to the Industry in terms of Recognition & Competitive advantage.
Ferrari ki Sawaari
A Sales Executive who manages to exceed his targets for a given month should be given an opportunity to drive a top-end car manufactured by the company for 1 whole day which otherwise may not be possible for him to purchase. He gets to drive this car & take his family out for a day and this will aid in fostering employee loyalty which will in turn help in increasing their motivation levels.
MBA Graduate in Managerial Positions
THANK YOU
WE will now like to end our presentation and the forum is open for questions.