On November 30th, IPSA, the HR club of Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, hosted a lively panel discussion on the theme ”Do We Need a New HR Paradigm to Manage Gen Y?” The event brought together participants and seasoned faculty members of the institute. Student participants Jasmeet Dang, Azad Singh, Pratiksha Vyas, Mazharul Arfin, and Ankita Mishra were introduced by the host Ragini Awasthi. They all made their presence felt on the panel that also included faculty members Dr. Swati Agrawal, Dr. Shalini Srivastava, Prof. Kaveri and Prof. Abdul Kadir. All in attendance benefited from the ideas that were discussed; and the students in the gathering gained a better understanding of HR and what employees expect from them.

An informed and exciting discussion ensued as all the participants did their best to put forth their views. Jasmeet got things rolling on a high note as he said, “Gen Y is in a habit of getting quick results because it has been brought up in an environment which is technologically advanced. 60% of the population is under the age of 35 and 1 million people are joining the workforce in India, which makes it imperative for us to look at things with a fresh perspective.” On the other hand, Azad believed that Gen Y is less adaptable to 9-5 jobs, looks for creativity, changes jobs frequently and also prefers to work on its own.

Pratiksha, who was handling moderator responsibilities with aplomb, further added, “Co-ordination is essential for effective work; and to co-ordinate well, efficient communication is a must. Interpersonal skills are very important for Gen Y, which is 75% of the population.” Mazharul focused on the changing mindset of people and talked about the workforce chain where the CEO keeps employees happy, who in turn make customers happy. And Ankita offering her unique point of view, said, “Gen Y is driven by money because it is the means of their survival. The generation is tech savvy, has a lot of expectations and needs bigger salary.”

As the panel discussion ended, it was time for a question and answer session on collaborative work. Some of the pertinent issues dealt with were the reasons why Gen Y switches jobs frequently and how organizations can have flexibility and deal with the expectations of this young generation. Finally, the host, Ragini Awasthi, took over and summed up the important takeaways from the discussion. She mentioned how Human Resources has evolved in recent times and reflected on the idea that to be a brilliant manager, you need to be able to read people’s minds. Thus ended the enriching session – it not only offered students of Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, an insight into the world of HR, but also encouraged them to express their views, their concerns and their goals.

Student Contributor: Deepshikha Goswami, PGDM 2015-17