THERE was a time when one would only approach the HRD for matters like recruitment and pay role issues and it was considered to be just a support function, because it did not contribute to the bottom line. However, with the boom in the economy and growth of the knowledge economy, HR has taken on a new avatar. As the focus moves from traditional brick and mortar organisations to more people-oriented business' like IT-ITES, media, etc, HR has become significant in nature and magnitude of its role in an organisation. As the competitive advantage of organisations has moved from machines and production to the expertise and creativity of its people, HR has a large role to play in attracting, motivating and finally, retaining these very people.

However, with all its work and efforts, experts believe that HR is yet to be given the full credit it deserves and is still considered to be a support function, irrespective of its growth and its contributions to the organisation.

Gone are the days when HR's major function consisted only of recruiting people and handling few personnel related issues. Inspite of this so-called increase in power, one of the biggest fears that HR faces today, according to experts, is that of striking a balance between the employer and the employee. Experts say that HR seems to be facing the brunt of the employer and the employees as it still does not seem to have the authority to take a stand regarding issues dealing with the organisation.

HR will only find success in dealing with these issues if they are given the freedom to incorporate the necessary changes through an HR perspective. He says that the role of HR is gradually evolving. Hence, human resource personnel will have to take on the role of a strategist and an enabler for the organisation to face the next wave.

Another fear' that HR faces is in bridging the leadership gap that many organisations confront at various levels.

He says that with every industry growing fast, there is a dearth of leaders across industries and levels and HR has the tough job of finding people with the right leadership quality to bridge this gap.

With immense opportunities, organisations are chasing very limited resources - especially in terms of talent availability, spiraling compensation and benefit costs. The challenges, for HR, therefore, are huge and spread across various sectors including talent management i.e., talent acquisition, development and retention, building organisational capability, HR effectiveness measurement and organisational effectiveness.

Let's face it. HR in almost every organisation is over-worked. Every department wants to find the right people for the right job and at the right time. So the question here arises is that does HR have a say in this or all they do is bring in random people with a few years of experience and place them in front of a line manager? While everyone complains that HR does not really care about what kind of people are brought in, experts have a different point of view. They feel that HR needs time to find the right people with the right skill sets to complement not just the job but also the organisation.

HR's role also includes focusing on finding the right fit for the job and the organisation as they are going to be increasingly team driven and they have the job to find the individuals with skill sets which will give way to team expertise, team strengths and team learning. So it's very important that the individuals have complementary traits and are able to pool in their expertise for the success of the team to take the organisation forward. And these things, as anybody would know, take time.

HR pays attention to more than just the right educational and experience fit.The right credentials do not guarantee success. Personality types, personal aspirations, natural strengths and preferences often get masked. These ultimately drive success or failure. Getting the organisation not to just accept a resume-based view to staffing is tough but an unavoidable imperative.

The process of recruitment is a critical one and HR must be in tune with the business to know if there are elements of a job description that need to change or be updated as the search begins. HR's role is to help the managers know how to interview properly to ensure that they identify the real skills and abilities of the individual and make the right hiring choice. HR, then, must have the right products in place to support the new hire as they come to work to facilitate their becoming a contributing member of the organisational team and department as quickly as possible.

No matter what is said or done, HR plays a very crucial role for the success of an organisation. And yet, they are not given a place in the Board of Directors (BOD).
With its rigorous contribution to the organisation, experts are beginning to question as to when HR would own a seat in the BOD.To respond to the new business realities, HR professionals must be players and not just partners. They have to be a part of the decision making process, as they contribute and add value. They contribute to the organisation's ability to compete. They, too, are players in the game, and not observers of the game.

HR can be instrumental in helping identifying the tools and establishing the framework in the organisation that will foster and support this kind of thinking. Every business decision has human implications in all phases of execution and HR can be instrumental in making sure that there is a fully integration execution plan.

Joshi feels that it is not just a matter of being desirous of being a part of the decision making process but being capable of adding value to this process. And when that happens, the question of whether HR should or should not be a core member will not arise.

In the end, the question still looms around the fact whether or not HR has been given its credit. While some may believe they have, there are a majority of experts who would disagree. It all depends on the organisation you fit into. It is said often that in a knowledge economy, companies with the best talent will win. And finding, nurturing, and developing that talent should be one of the most important tasks in a corporation. So why isn't it?