The second Indo-German HR Partner Forum of 2017 was hosted by and at the Indo-German Training Centre (IGTC) on Tuesday, 9th May 2017. The topic of the day and agenda was all about HR in the realm of Social Media and #Tagging along with Millennials. One could not have chosen a better venue nor host for such a trending topic as the very essence/value of IGTC are its students – the Millennials, the most active users of Social Media!
The forum was formerly welcomed by Radhieka R Mehta, Director, IGTC and followed by the Welcome Address by Bernhard Steinruecke, Director General, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC). The audience were treated to a 45 minutes round-up on as to what is “trending” with regard to Indo-German Relations and World/European Politics and Economy.
The trending opening topic was followed up by the 2nd episode of “Journey of a Senior HR Leader”, a live tête–à–tête in a “chat show”. This time BR Suresh, Senior VP and Country Head HR, Bosch Ltd. was being interviewed by and KS Harish, Country Group HR Head, Bayer, South Asia. The live chat had everyone fully enthralled and mesmerized as Mr. Suresh shared episodes his professional journey over the last 35 years. Some of the key messages to the Millennials, who were present in the room were: be disciplined, build credibility and embrace change but not every two years as one needs to have the time to deliver so that an organization can appreciate that person’s worth.
After such a lively interactive session it was time for the much awaited presentation of the IGTC students – the very topic of the day – #Tagging along with Millennials! The students had done an extensive in-depth written report, based on their perspective & research, of how each of the twenty three HR Forum Partner Company was utilizing the Social Media with special focus on their HR activities/initiatives. They also did a comparison based on best practices of four organizations like General Electric, Marriott International Hotel, Atlantic BT and Disney who are considered to be the best users of Social Media in HR. The report contained their inputs/suggestions on how the member companies could increase the use of Social Media in their HR practices and how it would benefit them. It also gave the companies a perspective of what a millennial looks at when applying to a company and how to best reach out to the millennials via use of Social Media. These individual reports were handed out the respective partners and a synopsis of the report was given via a live presentation by 9 student’s representatives. Amidst the applause and praise for their hard-work and valuable report, the students were also given a “taste” how it is to be treated as a professional as the forum members asked probing questions (which they passed with flying colours) as well as gave concrete feedback.
The interactive session with the Millennials gave way to reconnecting the forum companies to “their German roots”, Beate Weber, Deputy Director – Head of Language Department, Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan (MMB) & Vaishali Karmarkar, Intercultural Facilitator, Marketing Corporate Training, Faculty gave a brief presentation as to how the MMB would be the “right “ partner in this endeavor.
Post lunch, it was time for the moderator of the “Round Table on Role of Social Media in HR”, Surabhi Mittal, Vice President HR, Lanxess India Pvt. Ltd to ensure everyone stayed engaged and active. The lively debate cum banter on what the companies have been able to do successfully, what challenges they have been facing and what they would like to do differently in the future concluded with the mandatory selfie photo as well as forming a WhatsApp group.
