How to manage Strategic role of HR in E-commerce sector
E-commerce is one of the fastest growing sectors in India and tops the chart for both average employee salary and attrition rate. Being a human resource professional in this industry is not easy as there is an absolute shortage of candidates perfectly fitting the job requirements. Majority of the E-commerce companies are start-ups and it's a challenge to draw in suitable manpower and manage the company’s diversity. In addition, controlling the attrition rate in a high-performance environment and ever-growing competition is a formidable task. In fact, HR professionals have become amongst the most important strategic partners of the business. Here are few must have attributes that an HR leader must possess in the E-Commerce space.
Be Flexible and dynamic: HR professionals in the e-commerce industry don’t have defined processes or model to follow. The set rules of HR have to be modified in response to the evolving business objectives, changing hierarchies, entering new geographies and dynamic growth plans. E-commerce companies are known for their fast-paced culture and operate 24 x 7 and all throughout the year. To manage these dynamics the HR managers need to be flexible and accessible. Sometimes the changes require a complete overhaul of recruitment policy and HR operations.
Make employees happy and contented: In an atmosphere of fast growth, funding, mergers & acquisition and cutthroat competition, the task of retaining top talent is challenging for HR leaders. To achieve the retention goal, HR strategy should focus on providing an open work culture, employee friendly policies and good work-life balance.
Enable employee development: Innovation and disruption happen at a fast pace in the e-commerce industry. This calls for regular employee training and development to improve their skills and keep them abreast of the latest developments. The old models of training and development won’t work in this sector. Instead, HR managers must call in subject matter experts to facilitate intensive skill and aptitude development of the employees. Fulfilling sessions with industry experts open up their mind for innovative thinking. If HR managers take care of employee development, they feel fostered and display stronger inclination towards being loyal to the company.
Be on top of the Recruitment process: E-commerce companies make use of advanced technology and systems and finding the right candidate possessing the advanced technical knowledge, relevant work experience, and cultural fit has become a daunting task for the HR managers. Unlike in mature industries, human resource managers in the e-commerce sector need to be constantly on their toes, work closely with business heads of various verticals to understand the suitable profiles and hunt from the vast pool of candidates to find the closest fits. To alleviate these challenges, many enterprises are using innovative hiring trends like organizing hackathons and using social media to recruit. But more often, HR managers take help of Recruitment specialists by outsourcing their requirements to them. It not only gives them time to focus on Employee development and retention but fulfils their hiring needs in a timely and cost-effective manner.
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