People being a major investment of a company in the service sector, helping them to move with the tide determined by the changes is the task of the management. Every function of the human resource department, from the recruitment process to the exit interview must be in tune with the current.

Globalisation brought about a drastic change in the way a business operates. Its impact can be experienced in all functions of the entity. The outlook of the human resource department was transformed within a short span of time. Recognition of the role played by the employees forced them to draft the company policies so as to augment the individual performance. In the staffing function, the task of the first screening of the possible recruits was handed over to the third parties like placement agencies. The selection process was made to incorporate the changes happening in the industry. The employees have to go through different stages of tests and interviews which analyses his competency to the task involved. Simulations of the actual situations were made part of the selection process by many industries to review how the individual would behave in an actual scenario.

With the employee expenses being a major cost to the company, the entities were forced to reduce the cost through innovative ways. The task of applying for a job based on one’s talents and skills was shifted from the HRD to the employees. This was made possible with the popularity of the corporate web portals. With the companies competing for the cream of the talent, the need for promoting and popularising a cordial and motivating work culture became the need of the hour.

To make the employees competent to face the technical, managerial, and business advancements, training and developmental programs were necessary. Deciding on the right training at the right time needed the HR department to be always on the watch out for the market situations. With the intensity of competition surging with the entry of the MNCs into the market, and the economy opening up to globalisation, ensuring the arrival of talents from around the world became necessary. With business entities forced to contest with the multi national corporations who have experience in their respective field of business, mergers and acquisitions became a necessity. These called for cross cultural training among the employees to guarantee harmony and excellent team work to contribute significantly to the organisation.

The existing employees and the new recruits were asked to take psychometric tests like John Holland’s Career Preference Test and Myer-Briggs Type Indicator to understand one’s skills and inner personality. This ensures the placement of the right person with the right skill to the right job. This also suited an environment where the employees were given the opportunity to transform and transfer their talents within the same entity through job rotation. This technique added to the motivation of the employee by providing opportunities to expand his career within the organisation, driving him to perform better.

Concepts like exit interview found a place in today’s business. Performing exit interviews helps to point out and remove the negative factors that force an employee to leave the organisation.

Thus HRD was forced to dance with the tune defined by the changes.