In the month of December, the Chapter celebrated the Silver Jubilee year of National HRD Network. The journey started 25 years ago on 6th December 1986 when Late Dr. Udai Pareek laid the foundation of this framework of and for the HR intelligentsia. The NHRDN has since then grown leaps and bounds in terms of effectiveness and recognition. All the 30 chapters of NHRDN were also celebrating, through events organised at different locations, the Silver Jubilee of the foundation of the National HRD Network. The celebrations will go on through the year, and numerous special events would be organised across all the chapters on various emerging and potential HR themes.

The event started with NHRDN’s customary “Code of Conduct” oath taking were all the participants reaffirmed their belief in NHRDN’s ethos and values. This was followed by the opening speech by the NHRDN National President Mr S. Y. Siddiqui. He congratulated the NHRDN family on the successful journey of 25 years and reiterated NHRDN commitment for its mission and vision on good professional growth and learning through networking. He also paid tributes to the founding members of the NHRDN and discussed about unique shared vision and collaborative approach that made NHRDN a phenomenal success in last 25 years. He also reiterated the significance of the NHRDN unique GEN Model (Governance, Engagement & Networking) in present HR world. He asserted that NHRDN membership has grown to 12000 now and the network plans to raise the membership to 20000 by the end of next two years.

He also laid a few guiding stones for the NHRDN journey through 2020, the theme of the panel discussion. He pointed out the importance of institutional identity, shared leadership, speed in decision making and the role of young HR professional in successful growth of HR in India Inc.

It was announced that NHRDN is moving across to international collaborations to enhance the learning and growth through shared and collaborative initiatives. He told that NHRDN has collaborated with AHRI (Australian Human Resource Institution) and the collaboration has helped immensely in joint learning of the both entities.

The opening speech was followed by reading out the letter from Dr. T. V. Rao, founding member of NHRDN. It focused on competency development and creation of a healthy environment as the fulcrum of future growth of HRD growth in India. This was followed by a video presentation as a tribute to the unparalleled contribution of Late Dr. Udai Pareek in the growth of HRD in India in general and NHRDN in particular. Dr. Udai Pareek was a professional, advisor, author, researcher and role model par excellence. It was his efforts in 1985 that led to the foundation of NHRDN network. His guidance since then has been instrumental in the growth and success of NHRDN and HRD in India.

The occasion was followed by a panel discussion on the theme “HR-2020: Through three lenses” at the IDSA, New Delhi. The panel discussion was attended by HR leaders from various organizations, NHRDN members, young professional & students. The panel discussion was chaired by Mr. P. Dwarakanath, Director-Group Human Capital, Max India Ltd. The panel included Mr. Subhash Jagota, Director, Global Business Solutions, Mr. Sunil Ranjhan, Vice President General Affairs (HR, IR & Admin), Honda Siel Cars India Ltd. and Ms. Sakshi Khosla, Sr. Manager – Human Capital, Max India.

It was asserted that HR in 2020 is to be seen through the three lenses of the viewpoints of three different generations of HR professionals’, i.e., Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y. He pointed out that the three participants have been carefully chosen to represent the three different viewpoints. He asserted that the success of HRD in 2020 will be seen through the collaboration of the ideas and energy from these three generations only. This brought in the importance of talent & competence building in future growth of HRD in India.

The discussion was focused on how HR has evolved from the old days of industrial relations agent to a talent management role. He asserted that the scope of HR has widened from handling disputes to nurturing talent and engagement in organizations and this trend is going to continue to HR journey across 2020.  The change in focal points of HR decision making in organizations was also discussed leading to emerging concepts of portable loyalty; instant gratification and breadth of experience over length of tenure in the discussion. Another key perspective came in the emerging trends that are going to be at the centre stage of all decision making processes in the coming years. The challenge is also to face the change in work locations, talent management, technology changes and growth of contractual labour as the coordinates of future HR growth.

The concepts of physic income and ability to break rules over rigid organizational frameworks were discussed in comprehensible details. The discussion concluded with the changing psyche of the young professionals and stability of employees in an organization and reaffirmation of adaptability, cultural sensitivity, technological adaptations and team work will be at the heart of future journey of HR across 2020.

This special event was a perfect start of the year-long celebrations at NHRDN. The discussion brought in various dimensions of changing patterns in the scope and effectiveness of HR in coming years. The event celebrated the joy of silver jubilee with the golden ideas that will lead the HR community and HRD growth to a successful future.