Best companies to work for 2013: HR will survive the next decade, says Umesh Prasad Pani, NTPC

In its tenth year, India's Best Companies to Work for Study - 2013, the largest study in the country on workplace culture, attracted participation from around 550 organisations spanning across 22 industries. A great place to work was defined as a place where you trust the people you work for, take pride in what you do and enjoy the company of people you work with.

The Economic Times spoke to Umesh Prasad Pani, Director, HR, NTPC on diversity versus performance, data versus human interface and attrition.

Designation: Director, HR, NTPC

Present stint at company: 35 years

Previous assignments: Head of projects in Kahalgaon and Vindhyachal, Regional Executive Director, Eastern Region 1, Patna

Which side are you on and why?

A. Diversity versus performance?

Performance, anytime. In the present competitive scenario, if you are not able to perform, you will not be able to survive in the market.

B. Career HR people do a better job of human relations or is HR too important a job to be left to career HR guys?

I have been a hardcore site professional and I have not been an HR professional from the start. Would not be able to answer this.

C. Data analytics-driven HR versus human interface-driven HR?

Data analysis is required to implement your decision but human interface has its own importance. HR cannot be effective unless you see its human face.

D. HR will survive in the next decade or will HR be replaced?

HR will definitely survive. Perhaps, one may not see hard-core professionals in this space. One might see more people like me entering this space. In any company, human resources is the biggest strength.

E. HR is HR department's job versus HR is a shared responsibility

It is a shared responsibility and cannot be restricted to a watertight department. You cannot have an isolated HR department to manage human resources.

F. According to you, what is HR's biggest dilemma?

How to manage and meet the requirements of professionals of various generations and age groups in the company.

The attrition rate in your own department is:

Lesser than the organisational numbers. Attrition in NTPC's HR department was 0.14% between April 2012-March 2013. Overall attrition in NTPC was 1.77%