Human Resources - People Matter

Human Resources (HR) is the biggest asset to any organisation and optimum utilisation of this asset directly impinges upon its effectiveness and efficiency. HR is not a silver bullet that can slay all organisation vampires, but it is a powerful tool whose utilisation can mitigate varied crises. The military is yet to take advantage of advancements in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, HR and People Analytics. These advancements offer an opportunity to completely transform modern military forces, among others. A simple example will be the implementation of chatbots in a Unified Domain network that answer the simplest of questions, which may vary from the name of the movie being played at the Auditorium over the weekend to necessary forms for retirement formalities. The possibilities are endless.

Compiling huge military data into understandable and informative content is the need of the hour. Raw data is merely a motley collection of numbers that with the help of Analytics can demonstrate a linkage between people and outcomes. Using data analytics not only improves decision-making speeds but also helps leaders make better decisions, which is a win-win situation.

Let me first put some thrust on what all spheres these two words - Human Resources - amplify in military dynamics. It involves various departments which include pay and allowances, travel and expenses, training and development, appraisals, employee engagement activities, benefits, rewards and recognition, administration, disciplinary action, legal action, recruitment, retirement, welfare, etc. In short, it plays a crucial part in every defence personnel’s military journey right from the time of induction till he/she bids adieu as a proud veteran. Handling of the Human Resource pool is a mix of people management and professional processes. In the Indian Navy, HR Management (HRM) covers the dyad of Compensation and Benefits, which is handled by the Naval Pay Office, and Leadership and Organisation, which covers the balance of HR domains listed above. While they are supported by various departments to the best of their ability, the lack of a digital data chain hampers seamless operations. A common digital data chain, if facilitated, will help in better visualisation and quicker delivery of results in diverse fields like inventory management, pension benefits, ECHS and even recruitment.

Is Virtual Recruitment feasible?

The obvious question asked is how can traditional methods of in-person recruitment be done away with in the military environment. The use of AI-based digital recruitment designed software to understand the psychological profile of a candidate as per defence forces’ requirements is a viable option. This digital transformation will be a cost-effective method, which could initially commence as a pilot project with the induction of the Officer entry scheme into the Indian Navy. This process could re-wire and re-vitalise the extant Service Selection Board (SSB) methodology and later, can also be used towards induction of Agniveers as well.

To understand this proposal better, let me elaborate further. Post-verification of essential qualifications as per the entry scheme and conduct of online examination selected candidates would appear in a virtual recruitment process. Here, the first step would be the ‘timed psychological questionnaire’ to analyse the attitude, military bearing qualities, mental makeup etc. and would be followed by a ‘virtual interview (without an interviewer).’ In the latter, questions would be flashed on the screen with sufficient time given to the candidate to prepare a suitable reply within a few minutes and the video reply would be recorded online. Finally, only filtered candidates would be asked to appear for the physical and medical tests at their nearby Military establishments and designated hospitals. This methodology, customised as per the requirement of the organisation can drastically bring down associated administrative and logistic requirements/costs.

The Millennial Mental Framework

In the era of Swipe technology, the younger millennials joining the forces lack one of the basic facets of life - patience. This is primarily because the majority of them are influenced by social media platforms. Thus, it becomes mandatory to have better monitoring mechanisms for employee mental well-being, morale and motivation levels. A worrying attitude of duty personnel frequently found surfing mobile phones with headphones on, completely immersed in a world of their own is, unfortunately, becoming common. This kind of addiction primarily leads to prevalence of lifestyle diseases like depression, anxiety and stress. The readers of this article will agree with me that this grey area has been identified and necessary initiatives such as Divisional periods, ship’s company get-togethers, Navy Day celebrations, Barakhanas, etc. are pursued regularly, but are these occasions enough? Is this generation actually communicating or are they just communicating arbitrarily connected in cyberspace via their mobile phones? Is seeking help of a psychiatrist considered taboo?

The intention herein is not to find mistakes, but to find a solution which HR can utilise across the board. On similar lines, the age-old tradition of one-way communication or appraisal or feedback needs to be brought to par with millennial values. We need to practice a 360-degree feedback mechanism where the junior can also bring about or voice the pros and cons of the work environment in the written or online format.1 This survey when taken must be anonymous and genuine criticism ought to be well taken. Here, I would like to stress that gossip and loose talk should be strictly negated and with professional maturity, the data must be recorded at the repository of HR management where peer appraisals are also evaluated. In parallel, an integrated website, rather a tributary of many, is to be hosted for the entire Indian Navy in which at the click of a button the entire history of an individual is made available including his last medical visit for Sick in Quarters (SIQ), Uniform excuse or additional emoluments or achievements. Needless to say, this information will be made available keeping confidential data rights reserved. This will allow a better understanding for superiors and the workforce to accordingly utilise varied skill sets and channelise personnel objectives as per organisational goals.

Adding to the above, is the main fear of attrition of trained manpower commonly faced by civil counterparts. This of course, in the military forces, is not a matter of great concern. But, attitude alignment as per the requirement of the Defence forces plays a much more vital role. It is a separate topic by itself and also an important pitfall, which warrants a deeper study to ensure that the image of the Military forces continues to remain salutary.

Has the Return on Investment (ROI) been achieved?

Primarily, no tangible results and lack of quantifiable financial data are the main concerns why HR Management (HRM) appears to be accorded low priority in the defence paradigm. Simply stating that high morale and the well-being of the ship’s company translates to better HRM practices is debatable. Here, the question of ROI is a figure that HR professionals quiz to define the actual worth of an individual. It is calculated by understanding the introduced change cost to that of the net benefit derived, which will dictate the continuity or early termination of the proposed change. This process has its share of trial and error and needs to undergo implementation of pilot projects before venturing forth pan Navy for accruing accurate data/results. Conducting a complete analysis of groups that underwent ROI calculation versus groups that did not can be used to estimate the effect. During this process, the key elements involved will be evaluation frameworks, process models, case applications and practices, operating standards, philosophies involved and finally, implementation. So, it’s evident that the HR team has to formulate a policy to narrow down the exact strategy with which to satisfy the HR mantra of ‘The Right Man for the Right Job at the Right Place and at the Right Cost.’

Is the Knowledge Reservoir of Reference Libraries being Utilised?

Reference libraries are well stocked with various HR management books, journals and periodicals emphasising the mantras, principles and ideologies needed for better work-life quality, increasing productivity and achieving leadership goals. But how much of this bookshelf knowledge, replenished annually, is utilised/researched for the implementation of better HR principles in the military? Undoubtedly the size and diversity that the Indian Navy epitomises is a challenge along with the factor of ‘Time and Tradition.’ The practice of recommended reads for Military Minds is a step in the right direction, but is it optimal to restrict the reading of books only to the submission of a Book Review with the annual performance report? How about making it a habit to imbibe these principles with the ever-changing times? The million-dollar challenge is to ignite the fire of learning amongst young minds so that the powerful and dormant power of this knowledge reservoir can be unleashed in a positive manner across the varied facets of the IN, including HR.

How to Make Bonds stronger?

Employee engagement is a mutually beneficial task for the employee and employer. Positive relations promote productivity, improve work culture, reduce workplace conflict and ease communication channels. To truly leverage the power of a dedicated workforce, the following concepts could be considered: -

  • In addition to the Commendations/ Awards/ pen picture at ACR, it is important to appraise the day-to-day work of an individual to boost momentum and break the monotony. This can be achieved even by simply putting in a few lines of appreciation on a stick note on a file/ a befitting reply on official Mail/ typing a quick SMS, etc. We must never underestimate the power of written words as they have a great emotional connection.

  • Rather than waiting for Board room meetings towards brainstorming/ innovative thinking to happen, it’s ideal to harness the proposed 360-degree feedback into actionable insights. Employees have great ideas to achieve tasks better, and this input can be gained instantly between the perennial discussion over smoke or during a stand-easy session or brief moments in the hallway or around the coffee machine.

  • Creating a workplace that encourages passion projects of individuals will render significant dividends not only to the employees but also to improve the overall efficiency of the IN.

Adding on, understanding the fundamentals of psychology, like how to motivate employees and teams, is useful.2 In HR, from the perspective of people, it is important to understand why people work and what they want from the organisation. Here, the two words, influence and persuasion play a vital role. These factors once practically reflected and practised are sure to improve morale, motivation, problem-solving and overall productivity.

People Analytics - Is it Time for the IN to Light this Torch?

A pun of reality example is that every desktop PC, pan Indian Navy, has this free analytical tool called Microsoft Excel already installed. But it so happens to be the least exploited program of all view technical ignorance. A majority of personnel end up opening a new excel document for every new report. Every excel workbook has the option of multiple sheets with each having 1 lakh plus rows and 16k plus columns and personnel must be encouraged to use Microsoft Excel to carry out data analysis with forecasting predictions and not just to limit its use to save balance sheet reports or send quarterly reports.

As per Gestalt psychology, the human brain processes visual information better. Using data in the form of visualizing tools like scatter plots, bar charts, indicators, line charts, column charts, pie charts, etc are ways to communicate data in the form of a story. This form can enable stakeholders to understand their hypotheses and the context of the given problem better. This will then provide the organisation with some of the information necessary to dissect the problem at hand. Here, both the quantitative (metrics such as percentages, ratios, time taken etc) and qualitative (human observations like retirees’ exit interview response, reason to decline a professional course, self-goals) number crunching is important. As said earlier, Analytics involves data analysis, visualization and validation.3 Here, the data collected can be in the form of numbers, text, audio etc so this is primarily the variety. Already, the one way in which high-speed data is being captured is via RFID tags, which are chips and sensors allowing data to be handled practically in real-time. However, there is a huge volume of big data sets containing infinite bytes which remain unexplored. Finally, it is all about optimally exploring the four pillars of data analytics, which are descriptive, predictive, prescriptive and diagnostic.

Challenges in HR are not because of the enormous amount of data to be dealt with, but rather its storage. HR data is often stored in different databases that usually are not readily compatible. Here, the correct utilisation of Data Mining to analyse big raw data to derive meaningful content is paramount. This approach applies machine learning algorithms to understand the pattern of relationships between elements in large and sometimes, messy data sets. The main bottleneck on this information highway is missing data, which is always a distinct problem in analytics. Also, outliers are another factor that distorts analyses. So, here it is important to understand various statistical tools like histogram, frequency, central tendency, mean, median, mode, standard deviation, distribution, etc., which are used to analyse the variability existing in the data set. Such a complex dive into analyses will tell us the relationship between various domains (using correlation), how to go about making predictions (using multiple regression) and also how one group is different from the other (using t-tests).

Thus, using tools which complement surveys, analyse administrative data, conduct interviews and make focus groups give inputs for HR/ People analytics. This will help not only assess but also redefine the challenges we are addressing.

A Smooth Transition for Military Veterans

Are you making one-time MoUs with Corporate firms towards the recruitment of Military veterans? Are you conducting a day seminar for future retirees for a Pre-retirement capsule course? HRM can help you chart your course through all these requirements by the simple use of established technological norms and through judicious usage of advancements in the field as modern and avant-garde tools are not restrictive in nature. Transitioning veterans starting their second innings is another field where their usage can be of immense value.

HR Management can focus more on this pool of trained manpower and help them transition seamlessly into their new life post-retirement. This involves aligning and cross-referencing them as per their abilities in terms of job descriptions (vibrant and in demand), conducting job fairs, and revising the MoUs with the corporate sector every year. The data repository of men and women who are ready to ‘re-attire’ post service could also be shared with prospective employers as this much-recommended talent pool will prove beneficial to both parties.

The Queuing Theory Concept

This concept is important to adjust to the mindset and psychological behaviour of present-generation manpower. Weightage needs to be given to understand the queuing analysis associated with the average waiting time, queue lengths, the number of servers, and service rates to optimally place the human resources. We all know the frustration of a long waiting time and insufficient usage of manpower as an indicator of poor-quality HR services. This has a huge impact on the ROI of the operations carried out.

Let us take a simple example of Service hospitals at major establishments and the everyday challenges experienced therein. Here, it is important to do a statistical feasibility study using mathematical logic and analysis to get precise deductions whilst keeping all environmental factors associated with it. Here, studying the patient’s arrival pattern, service time, the discipline of the queue, service staff available, service capacity and the number of parallel servicing channels will help us generate a suitable and useful model to provide better service. As said previously, the entire HR management is a chain of various services which need to have seamless connectivity to ensure a smooth and frictionless ride.

Innovative HR Practices

The need of the hour is innovative HR practices, to make sure that defence personnel feel motivated and keen to add value. In the end, it is finally people who portray culture of the organisation. Here, I list a few stepping stones that could help create a new roadmap for better HRM: -

  • Certification revolution to up-skill personnel is the new badge that everyone is proudly showcasing in the digital world. Defence personnel should also be encouraged to do the same proactively as they stand as recognised proof of one’s expertise in a field. It is strongly recommended to push this drive as part of the perpetual learning curve and development initiative. As a starting point, the amount allocated towards purchase of books, periodicals and magazines at various Reference libraries pan Indian Navy, could be utilised towards signing an MoU with the multiple Edu-Tech platforms available today.4 These platforms offer wide certifications including those in HR domains like recruitment, compensation and benefits, end-to-end HR organisational development programs, Learning and Development Capsules, Strategic HR, Coaching etc.5

  • Conducting bi-annual workshops in all HRM verticals, could well be a practice that will gradually bring in better transparency and knowledge gain through formal interaction with domain experts.

  • Inclusion of technological platforms like Tableau, Power BI, SAS etc. whilst writing professional reports are a few of the latest tools used by the corporate sector. They are for better reporting skills that enable us to drive strategic HR decisions with compelling and visually appealing data stories. HR metrics, data visualisations, and interactive dashboards are a must for the Defence forces towards effective strategic workforce planning.

  • Coaching and mentoring can reduce the risk of unsatisfactory performances as per the role and responsibility of subordinate staff. In addition, this will help to identify the strength and skill gaps for management development. All this is to be part of the single platform database for ease in monitoring development of manpower in various subsidiaries.

Conclusion

It is important, that the entire data repository associated with the IN needs to be analysed so that correct and strategic HR management decisions can be taken. Further, diving deep into using tech tools, employee engagement, psychological connection and timely action is important to ensure the smooth modernisation of HR practices. Up-skilling the manpower as per individual and organisational needs is a key to better people management and improving the credibility of HR. HR analytics can’t be kept siloed, no matter what the current profile of an employee is. Be it any branch of the Indian Navy, we all are surrounded by data every day and to move forward, this data has to be harnessed. In simple terms, everyone carries a piece of the puzzle but unless it is assembled collectively, confidence in the process cannot be gained. It is essential to understand the pulse or have the ability to resonate with various stakeholders of the organisation for better HR leadership training and higher management. The correct use of technological advancements in the field of HR will thus, help navigate the travails of large information caches, raw data, enormous numbers, people and processes while ensuring maximum positive impact.

Endnotes

  1. Ece Kuzulu, “Is 360 Degree Feedback an Effective Way of Performance Evaluation?” Research Gate, May 2016. www.researchgate.net/publication/315938039_Is_360_Degree_Feedback_Appraisal_an_Effective_Way_of_Performance_Evaluation, accessed 10 July 2022.

  2. A Mohammad, “HR Analytics: A Modern Tool in HR for Predictive Decision Making” Research Gate. www.researchgate.net/publication/333238246_HR_ANALYTICS_A_MODERN_TOOL_IN_ HR_FOR _ PREDICTIVE_DECISION_MAKING, accessed 12 July 2022.

  3. “Brochure by IIM, Indore.” www.iimidr.ac.in/executive-programmes/long-duration-online-programmes/certificate-program-in-people-analytics-and-digital-hr/, accessed 14 July 2022.

  4. “Certification Program in People Analytics from AIHR.” www.aihr.com/courses/hr-analytics/, accessed 16 July 2022.

  5. “Certification Program in Middle Earth HR’s Global Mastery Program in L&D.” www.middleearthhr.com/hr_analytics_course.html/, accessed 16 July 2022.