Human Resource Management as a career track

Question (Q): Could you tell us about your background.

Answer (A): I am the Compensation and Benefits Manager at British American Tobacco Bangladesh Limited since 2011. Before that, I  worked at an international bank. At the moment, I primarily manage the local market rewards, compensation and benefit policies.

Q: What are the most important qualities of an HR professional?

A: From my experience, I would say HR is all about people, maintaining meaningful relationship and fostering credibility. That is why we call it the heart of the organisation.

Another capability of the HR profession is catering to ever-changing needs of the employees who not only require dedication and credibility, but also require commercial acumen and local industry insights.

Q: What are the most significant challenges that an HR professional may face in his/her job?

 A: For HR in today's Bangladesh, I think the most significant challenge is recruiting the best fit talent. The universities which have the most employability are the ones which have incorporated the business contexts or some skills into their curriculum. There are not often enough quality résumés for HR to review, even though a huge number of graduates are getting their degrees every year. We can very well see the rise in GPAs, and number of graduates, but the quality of education is yet to catch up with the industry needs. Things are changing, however, and business integration is taking the shape of the top executives as guest faculties, business competitions like Battle of Minds which throws the challenge of managing real-life business scenarios or even career weeks.

Another key factor is getting the right people in the right places.

Q: How can an HR individual add more value to his/her career with right interventions?  

A:?As far as our workplace goes, we try to adapt a 70:20:10 method of learning where our employees learn 70 percent through on-the-job activities, 20 percent through learning from peers and mentors and the rest 10 percent through trainings and formal interventions. We believe in learning from being involved in different projects and through the people around you and formal interventions can only reaffirm what you have already learned.

In terms of the formal learning, something commonly done by a number of HR professionals is a Post Graduate Diploma in HRM. Bangladesh Institute of Management (BIM) offers it. Also some private universities offer similar training. Doing such additional coursework after graduation is good, but you need to have corporate exposure to complement it as well. Individuals who want to pursue a career in HR may also want to look at international accreditations and seminars which would increase their exposure to the new ideas in HR these days.

Q:?Often an HR professional may need to handle delicate but stressful situations, for example, resolving conflict or facing agitated workers. For an HR professional, how to prepare for these in a situation like this?

A:?I think having respect for people working all across different levels in the organisation is a must, irrespective of your role. We do not want to disregard the union leaders' demands. We   want to get into their shoes to understand what their demands are and also inspire them integrate their goals with those which will be mutually beneficial for the company.

I also think that having patience is one of the key things in building career in industrial relations. Collective Bargaining Agent or the employee union may approach you in a different way than a managerial staff would, but it is important that you do not lose patience or the sight of your deliverables. Both the parties are working towards the same organisational goals, and being mindful of that is also essential. It goes without saying that you need to do your groundwork in labour law, organisation's context and understand the background of the situation but having patience to see the bigger picture and the resilience to work in tough situations will always go in your favour.

Communicating the right messages in a compatible way and on time is also crucial. Being open and providing evidence while communicating to the employees can help you overcome any unwanted situation.

Q: AS a C&B professional, can you please shed some light on your specialty?

A:?Contrary to popular belief, compensation and benefits package is not just about the salary, but what it takes to attract, retain and motivate top talent to drive great performance. It also aims to reward our people competitively and fairly for their contribution towards delivering our business results. Along with the hygiene factors like monthly pay, it also entails driving some of the motivating factors for the employees. Simple things like drop-off facility for employees working odd hours at night or even day-care centre for working parents like we have our Angels' Nest in BATB  go long ways in building satisfaction and a motivated workforce.  

Q: In your specialty, what excites you, and what challenges tend to push you to the edge?

A:?Though usually not ranked the most important, compensation is an important factor in job quality. We have some obvious challenges when it comes to providing competitive salary and benefits to attract and retain the best employees. Organstions can, and should, market their strengths because people are also looking for jobs that make a difference, offer interesting and varied challenges and have positive working relationships. However, we will never be able to escape the fact that compensation and benefits are important - and deciding factors for people when they consider a job.

Q: Do you have suggestions for aspiring HR professionals of the future and graduates  willing to shine here?

A: Till very recently, many people did not get the idea of HR, this was a part of administration, known as personnel management, with mostly salary accounting. Even though it is now an autonomous function, there is high potential for qualified entrants in this field. This can prove to be a great opportunity for those who want to come to this field.

There is a huge demand for such professionals, and the future graduates need to realise where the potential lies and think about developing their career accordingly. Those who are bright and enthusiastic will definitely find a way to rise and shine here.

Thanks a lot for giving us the time and talking to us about HRM.

Welcome, it was a great pleasure for me as well.