HR Management: Why Treat Blue Collar Employees Differently?

Introduction India is changing, quite rapidly, into a powerhouse of human resources. India’s biggest resource is her young and vibrant working population. The services sector operates at fast pace, with much of its workforce being young educated Indians born in the `90’s and highly adaptable to the changing environment. India’s manufacturing and public sector, though, has a long way to go. Human resource management policy and practice in this sector is designed to suit the requirements of organized labour, contracted with collective bargaining and decision making and often entangled in numerous legal battles and a near lack of trust, in many cases, between labour unions and board rooms. The manufacturing sector in India is growing at an estimated CAGR of 14% over the last four years and is now estimated to have a workforce of more than 10 Million people. Many global players have entered the Indian market, after the much-awaited FDI schemes have come into play over the last decade and are expected to accelerate the growth further. It is a big challenge for the HR managers to manage the human capital including industrial labour. Though a lot has to be done on issues of exploitation, wages and resolving disputes etc., I would like to bring to the forefront a topic that assumes least importance today in the corporate world, but carries the potential solution to many issues that have intrigued the honchos for quite some time. Technology! Companies have invested in Human Resource Management Systems and other automation that reduces the effort required, while increasing efficiencies and faster turnarounds. With greater use of mobility-based technology in terms of smart phones and mobile applications, a new concept of employee services is fast emerging in managing day-to-day affairs of the workforce. However, this is sadly restricted to only white collared employees. At the most, the industrial workers are provided with a kiosk with limited functionality, while the white collared employees enjoy the full suite of services. In an era where there is a wide use of technology to gain efficiencies in every field, not much has been done in this area in most companies. There is lack of concerted effort and willingness in getting technology across to the industrial workforce. I guess this is probably, because of the perception that the corporate India carries about the colleagues who wear uniforms and perform tasks that warrant physical labour, as less educated, as someone not capable of handling computers or any other form of technology or perhaps fear that such changes could lead to potential IR issues and hence the lack of initiative. It is not just about the processes or the technology, the main issue is that of inclusiveness or the lack of it and unnecessary discrimination that follows. Current Situation HR or personnel affairs of the industrial workforce, right from their recruitment till their separation are manual and involve a lot of paper work. All this comes with its usual inefficiencies, bureaucracy and red tapes. Many companies have taken steps to automate certain parts of the overall employee lifecycle, however much of it, largely remains manual. Many companies have implemented state of the art helpdesk services to resolve employee queries as a measure of enhancing employee satisfaction, but find it difficult to extend the same to the industrial workers, largely because of language related constraints and also possible resistance to a departure from the traditional "human touch" requirements, many a time, in the name of ‘Organisation’s Culture’. This leads to higher cost of operation, due to less use of automation and localized services that involve more number of HR resources, leading to a lesser potential to bundle common services into Shared Services. As a result, manufacturing companies in India tend to have a more resources in their HR function compared to the west or to services companies in India. [eventpdf] Some Facts As per the statistics published by Indian Labour Bureau for the year 2012, India has more than 150 thousand factories in the organized sector with more than 10 million workers. Of these, 65% are permanent workers, while others are contracted or casual labour. The literacy level of permanent workers is more than 60% with average education level up to Secondary education. More than 25% of them achieved higher education past matriculation. The average age of an Industrial worker is around 30 years. India’s computer literacy can be placed at around 30%, with 10% of people using mobile devices. India’s Internet usage record is also very impressive. It is believed that India will have around 500 million mobile phone users by 2020. This points to an interesting discovery, that the average Indian Industrial worker is around 30 years of age, has completed secondary education, has access to a mobile phone and Internet, and can potentially be trained to use computers at the workplace, and hence is equally entitled to make use of the technology assets of the organisation. Roadblocks I guess it is only a perception that industrial workers don’t know computers or cannot be trained to use computers, and hence they are not given access to email or intranet and other self-services tools available to others. Others feel that giving too much information to an industrial worker can be counter-productive. There is another view: that education means empowerment. Empowerment of the Industrial labour force is a much debated topic globally, and more so in the case of India as it makes the transition from an agrarian to an industrial society; or more aptly, from a socialistic to a capitalistic approach to economic growth. The old school thinking is very much prevalent in many companies, Indian and MNCs alike, when it comes to managing HR matters for an industrial workforce. The biggest resistance comes from the traditional "unions" and also from production supervisors and HR partners who have the daunting task of managing day-to-day affairs of the workforce. That is not the real issue at all. In fact, many senior management members don’t recognise this as one of the big needs for new age industrial relationship management. We are still buried under the heavy load of various settlements, collective bargaining agreements, and traditional methods that have driven the way industrial relationship is managed in organisations. Way forward I personally think that this change is good and will become inevitable in times to come. It is high time organisations prioritise this, and start a new beginning. Companies also have to gradually train people to be independent and learn new things. Computing, e-banking, employee self-service, communication through Intranet etc. If we look at the benefits of this change, apart from lower cost of operations and reduced dependency, reducing the gaps between white collared and industrial labour will improve relationships and promote inclusivity and better management of the labour diversity. Editor's note: If you like this content – please share it with your social media groups across Twitter and LinkedIn. Just use the buttons on the left of the page. Please also add any comments below, to contribute to this discussion. About the Author Deepak Puligadda is an independent process transformation and shared services consultant based in Bangalore India. Disclaimer: This article contains general information only and is based on the experiences of the author.

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