Bhubaneswar: Xavier School of Human Resource Management (XAHR) in collaboration with the HR Association of XAHR (XIMAHR) of Xavier University, Bhubaneswar (XUB) hosted its annual business conclave, ‘Kshitij’, Sunday. The conclave aimed at providing the students of Human Resource Management (HRM) a comprehensive view of “Agile HR”, which was the theme for the event.
Attended by the enthusiastic and erudite batch of future HR managers, the gathering was graced by the presence of eminent leaders from different industries. The speakers for the session were Upasna Nischal (Global Head – Talent Management, ACC, Evalueserve) and Rajesh Hurkat (Head HR, Mattel India).
The speakers, along with Sasmit Patra (Associate Dean, International Programmes), Andrew Dutta (Associate Dean, XAHR) and Arup Roy Chowdhury (Assistant Professor, XAHR), inaugurated the conclave by lighting the ceremonial lamp and elucidated briefly how the theme is important and should be widely discussed.
Andrew Dutta opened the forum with his welcome address by stating that ‘Kshitij’ is a prestigious, student-driven HR conclave which aims at the creation of finest HR stalwarts.
Arup Roy Chowdhury in his addressed stressed upon the need of a robust HR system in the present-day complex and ambiguous nature of the industry. He termed ‘Agile HR’ as a function of anticipation, innovation, responsiveness, collaboration and execution of HR practices.
Sasmit Patra, the moderator of the discussion, in his address called for shifting the conventional form of panel discussion towards a more agile approach.
The first speaker for the panel was Upasna Nischal, who stressed upon the need to go beyond classroom education. She also reiterated that technology, political scenarios and demographics have been the ‘movers & shakers’ of the HR industry. She reinterpreted the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world as VUCA – Vision, Understanding, Collaboration, Adaptability for success.
The second speaker, Annapurna focused on developing curiosity, humility and collaborative abilities in an HR manager. She also endorsed the inclusion of design thinking as an essential course in every MBA curriculum.
Rajesh Hurkatspoke next spoke about how to overcome the hindrance of laws and regulations while executing Agile HR strategies. He suggested that one should customize their own ‘Agile’ framework instead of following any template.
The session was followed by an interactive and enriching Q&A round, that helped the students clear their doubts regarding how organizations adapt and apply ‘Agile HR’ methodologies.
The event also marked the release of the 12th edition of ‘HRXpert’, an annual magazine by XIMAHR.
The conclave concluded with a vote of thanks by Shivam Sharma, the student coordinator of XIMAHR.
