People; People: One..Two..Three..all together now !

GENERATION 21X SPEAK : PEOPLE
One..Two.. Three.. All together Now !

By Shweta Tangri

The ways in which organizations manage people this millennium will be a function of those forces that will shape the company. The characteristic of the organisation will be the dominance of knowledge as a factor of production. A knowledge organisation will be an organisation of equals as knowledge in one area is not superior to knowledge in another. The expectations of these associates will move towards the apex of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs: from the mere fulfillment of physiological needs to self-actualisation. I see 7 ways in which the people aspects of the workplace of the millennium will differ from those of 20th Century organisations.

THE DEATH OF LIFE-EMPLOYMENT. Companies will no longer be able to take on the responsibility of providing a continuous source of livelihood to their employees. They will instead offer employability, wherein a stint with the company will enhance an individual's skills.

AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE. By the end of the previous century, the number of women in the workforce had reached significant numbers. However, the people-policies of organisations continued to remain medieval. This is likely to change in this millennium. Companies will provide the option of working 4-hour days to women employees, for the first 3 to 4 years after childbirth. They will rethink performance appraisal systems and career-planning techniques to include such women.

THE FALL-OUT OF TECHNOLOGY. Most companies will boast wired workplaces. Employees in these firms will interact more with machines, than people. For most people, these interactions in the virtual mode through mediating technologies may be the source of stress and anxiety. Companies will have to train employees not just in these new technologies, but also in how these can be used in the specific contexts in which they work.

THE FREEDOM OF OPERATION. The millennial workforce will demand more freedom. They would prefer the organisation to focus less on monitoring systems. Associates would expect the freedom to choose their own timings and style of working. Those companies that fail to incorporate these in their systems this will find associates unwilling to work with them.

THE HOME-OFFICE. Telecommuting, or working from home will help employees achieve a better work-life balance. Firms will have to develop the maturity to do this: inherent in the ability to let employees work from home is the mindset that all employees are responsible people who will work irrespective of the level of monitoring.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE. The millennial organisation will have as few levels as possible. Managers schooled in traditional hierarchical control-driven organisations are bound to feel insecure about the transfer of power that this involves. The flat organisational structure will also mean that people are no longer rewarded through promotions.

THE CROSS-CULTURAL WORKFORCE. The number of transnationals will increase in this century. Employees in such companies will come from a range of diverse cultural backgrounds. People policies will have to acquire the sensitivity to treat everyone equitably, yet recognise subtle cultural difference between people. Most work-processes will be team-driven; thus, employees too should develop the cultural sensitivity required to be part of a culturally diverse team. More than an individual initiative, however, this has to be an organisational one.

What do these changes mean for HR? At one level, it will have to create a people-strategy that is aligned to the company's strategy. At another, it will have to move from a purely administrative rule to one that understands the unique people- and skill-related demands of all organisational processes. There are 6 critical tasks that will form part of millennial hr management.

CREATING A CULTURE OF KNOWLEDGE SHARING. The organisation of the future will comprise highly-skilled associates who seek opportunities that develop their skills best. Companies must institute knowledge-management systems and practices. This will ensure that the separation of any employee does not cause problems. Companies will have to create appraisal and reward systems that motivate knowledge sharing.

RECRUITMENT-FILTERS. Millennial organisations will have to focus on hiring millennial employees. They have to recruit people who can live with ambiguity and learn new skills at any stage of their career.

MANAGING COMMUNICATION FLOWS. The transmission of information and knowledge between employees will be regulated by the organisation's communication processes. Associates will prefer to work for companies which operate on the basis of transparency.

MANAGING VISION. In the 20th Century companies faced the challenge of building a shared vision that everyone in the organisation bought into. This millennium, organisations will face the same challenge, with one difference: they will be dealing with associates, not employees.

THE PERFORMANCE-MANAGEMENT CONUNDRUM. Millennial companies will have to cope with a contradiction. A large proportion of their workforce will be made up of associates who are specialists and prefer to work independently. Yet, most organisational processes will be built around teams. Thus, appraisal systems will have to carefully tread the fine line between individual achievements and the attainment of team-objectives.

RETENTION MANAGEMENT. The millennial organisation will be plagued by attrition. Companies have to identify the profile of employees they wish to retain and develop adequate incentive and reward systems for them.

In conclusion, the people management policies of the millennial organisation will have to cascade from the company's business strategy, and take into account the unique characteristics of the millennial workforce.

Shweta Tangri is a second-year ( Personnel Management & Industrial Relations )
student at the Tata Institute of Social Science

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