Dare2Compete IGNITE : Placements Session

While pursuing Organisational Behaviour in Semester 1 of MBA, I remember our professor threw this question at us ‘Do you think there is a need for an HR department in the future, as AI and other technological advancements can make it a not so important function?’

Towards the end of the course, I realised this question was thrown at us purposefully so that through the various case studies which were discussed and presentations, we could understand the relevance of each OB concept and why an HR Department is required at an organisation.

I attended a session organised by Dare2Compete where HRs of some leading companies across domains where on the panel and when this question was asked on the Role of an HR in an organisation, I really liked this statement by Kanika Gaur Sinha, HR at Mondelez, that an "HR is the custodian of the culture.''

I truly agree with her on this statement, as I observed this during my Summer Internship that various activities were around the core values & beliefs of the organisation and those activities helped us inculcate those values in ourselves.

The second key takeaway from this session was that there is a mandatory plant stint for HR Management Trainees at Aditya Birla Group. Recently, I had a talk with Aaksh Bindu, Proprietor at Babla Footwear Industries, a footwear manufacturer based out Agra. He shared some ground realities with me where his company is employing around 150 labourers and it is very difficult to make them understand the social distancing measures and company reform policies. Even after imposing strict measures, it was difficult for him to make them adapt to the new normal where he requested them some basic things like wearing a mask throughout while working, etc. So, this initiative by ABG is excellent where an MT learns how to handle plant level issues and this stint will help an MT get a holistic perspective of the business.

There is a hot topic going on in the student fraternity on how would placements take place this year: Will companies take virtual GDs or there will virtual PIs after shortlisting etc?

Now as processes go virtual there is a chance that an opportunity might not be just restricted to select campuses and can be open to all. There is definitely a need to have a centralised recruitment platform that can solve some challenges which recruiters & students face in the recruitment process but it would need recruiters, placecomms, and institutes to come on a common ground.

To end this thought, I would like to give a tip to the new placecomm joinees, try contacting your Alums, especially the ones running their own company if not for Finals they would be interested to hire students for live projects and summers.

I would like to thank all the panelists for enlightening us on the domain of HR and various questions related to the placement process. I would also like to thank Dare2Compete for organising this session and Ankit Aggarwal for being an excellent moderator.