TAPMI gave the students a great learning opportunity by inviting Mr. Harish TR- Director-HR Adecco India, to talk about the future of HR Consultancies in India. He shared his experiences with the students in good detail which helped them understand the practicalities, technicalities as well as the opportunities galore in the world of consultancy. To begin with, he made it clear to the students that in the field of HR consultancy, one doesn’t just need HR skills alone but also selling and account management skills. This means that one needs to know how to bring in money to the organization.

Talking about the need that organizations feel about outsourcing HR, Mr Harish highlighted issues such as improved focus, access to world class resources, cost factor, risk sharing, difficulty in management, lack of resources within the organization etc. However it is also a fact that certain core jobs cannot be outsourced. He also talked about the ways in which HR is moving towards business partnering. Within consulting there are enormous opportunities for career growth. For an HR person, in any conventional organization, it is very difficult to attain positions such as that of a CEO, whereas in HR consulting firm it is very much possible.

adecco collageWhile working in the consultancies, one must be clear about the priorities- Candidates, Clients and Delivery. He/she is also expected to be flexible and have patience. It is good to move jobs within functions, take tough jobs in the beginning of the career itself. This is because a person has high learning ability at that time. As one goes up, HR acumen comes down and business acumen goes up.

Mr Harish ensured that the session remained interactive and involved students in the discussion. He took up the questions that students asked towards the end of the discussion and answered each one of them patiently. There he also talked about the evolution of the customer engagement model in India and how it differs from the western countries.

The lecture was an enriching experience for the students which was not just informative but had the power to change the way most students thought.