Session on “How HR Role Has Transformed In The COVID-19 Crisis”

A session on ‘How HR role has transformed in the COVID-19 crisis!’ by Mrs. Hubna Farhan – Head of HR & OD at Adamjee Textile Mills (Pvt.) Ltd. was held through Zoom on June 10th, 2021 was conducted by Ms. Tehseen Azhar – Director of Alumni Relations and Senior Lecturer (MS). The session was exclusively for the students of the Human Resource Management (HRM) course.

Mrs. Hubna Farhan being a seasoned HR Professional with over 14 years of experience in the manufacturing industry including all leading sectors like Pharmaceutical, FMCG and Textile shared her valuable knowledge and experiences with the students simply and interactively.

She described ‘change’ as a forced thing, as it’s in basic human nature to stay in their comfort zone. According to her, the Covid-19 crisis has turned out to be a lifestyle changer and is considered a new normal. She then described the two main challenges faced by the HR department, first one was to manage the operations of their department, and the second one was to create an integrated joint experience where everybody feels comfortable and valued so that the business processes flow smoothly and employees can perform their parts remotely.

Most of the organizations are now optimally utilizing the interactive HR module due to the crisis, as they have no other option but to go digital. This shift to digitalization has also drastically changed the work style of top management as there is less physical interaction with the employees. This saves them time which they can utilize more productively. Going digital has helped HR is reducing discrimination and politics at the workplace as the data & objectives are there for all relevant personal to see and evaluate the performance of the employees.

HR department workload is doubled in this Covid-19 crisis, as they first have to get the training themselves and then have to train the employees to do their respective tasks effectively. Apart from this, the HR department also has to make time to focus on the successful implementation of the transformation agenda of the whole organization.

According to her, the HR department now matters more than every other department and an HR professional is now considered a Super Man of the organization.

In the end, a Q/A session took place which the students utilized effectively by asking HR-related questions from Mrs. Hubna Farhan and gaining valuable knowledge from her insightful answers.