We report on the recent World HRD Congress held in Mumbai, India, and find out what new talent is looking for and how HR can live up to their expectations.

For new talent, identifying with an organisation or network is important.

Over 840 Indian HR professionals and 100 foreign delegates attended the two-day World HRD Congress where Indian and foreign speakers provoked thinking among peers and encouraged interaction between international HR communities.

Every year the congress seeks to refine the strategic view of the HR field so that professionals can strengthen the role of HR in enterprises around the world. Following its theme, Getting to the root of competition - HR as a solution provider, this year's congress addressed several important questions around recruiting and retaining staff and HR's role in building a 'climate of performance'.

What do job seekers want?

The consensus was that young talented people want continuous excitement in their jobs, creative global projects to work on and regular travel.

They want a community to which they can belong to and an organisation or network they can identify with. They seek a good balance between their work and private life, flexibility in working hours and location, plus as little overtime as possible.

Is HR able to provide jobs that live up to these expectations?

"To be successful HR needs the power to shape jobs," said Linda Gratton, Associate professor of Management Practice, the London Business School.

Gratton, who has ample work experience across the globe, is convinced that there is little difference between students in New Delhi, New York and London.

"This future talent, in a global market, is equally well educated and informed," she said. "They are used to working on common projects in virtual networks which provide them with the right experience to work in global organisations."

Recruit smarter and faster

Chia Weng Lee: Attract convert and secure talent

Chia Weng Lee of Asia Business Group Private Limited believes that as most organisations in Asia face difficulties in retaining their highly qualified recruits, each HR manager should be a strategic talent recruiter. 

He advises organisations to, "Attract, convert and secure talent as a formal business process, recruit with the future state in mind, recruit smarter and much faster and account and measure for recruitment effectiveness."

Weng Lee's strategy for global and regional sourcing is:

• Recruit in a market where targeted skills are present in abundance. 
• Recruit in a market where new skills are present. 
• Bring in talent from other and more advanced parts within the organisation itself. For example, draw upon technical/R&D expertise from UK, Pakistan and India.  Look to Singapore, Malaysia and China for marketing know-how, and pull in general managers from European operations to Asia.

Creating learning organisations

Retaining information gathered from the experience of the organisation and the possibility to tap into this data when needed, may save the organisation fees paid to consultants who re-invent the wheel according to Abdul Qadar Obaid Ali, Chairman of the Dubai Quality Group.

"Employees are your main source of information. Their experience, opinions and ideas are often to be valued above those of outsiders. The employees, working day in and day out, know the organisation best, and knowing where to gather information is essential," he said.

Cultural sensitivity as a collaboration competency

Eleonore Breukel from Intercultural Communication Bv in the Netherlands stressed the importance of developing intercultural competencies for global organisations. She gave ample insights into the problems that can arise in collaborations between different European employees and their Indian colleagues, and gave solutions for solving the problems or avoiding them altogether.

According to Breukel, it is indispensable for those who are handling the global business of Indian and European organisations to have:

• Awareness of how organisations are managed in India and the diverse European countries;
• Knowledge on how to integrate Indian and diverse European communication patterns; 
• Skills to collaborate effectively;
• Insights into managing expectations.

Khandelwal: HR must have a strong alignment with the company's strategy

The goal of the congress was more than achieved, according to the Chairman, Dr. Anil Khandelwal, Managing Director of the Bank of Baroda.

"We are living in an exciting time in which change is endemic and constant," he said. "This demands a change in the role of HR, which must have a strong alignment with the strategy of the organisation. The time has come for the HR manager to have a seat in the boardroom."

The next Asia HRD Congress will be held on 2-3 February 2007.

For more information about the congress and the speakers visit www.worldhrdcongress.com; or contact ebreukel@intercultural.nl or www.intercultural.nl

Subject: Talent management, global HR management