Name: Usman Ahmed

ERP: 06674

Submitted To: Mr. Leon Menezes

Submitted On: 23rd February, 2015

State of HR in Pakistan
All types of organizations, whether single owner/family-owned businesses, local
companies or multinational are waking up to the need and possibilities of a
functional HR department. Awareness about the potential of HR in organizations
increased since 2000s and the need for departments to effect strategy and bottomline was felt a far cry from the origin of the HR department as a reactionary
competitive measure. Multinational companies present in Pakistan like Unilever and
P&G have effectively employed good HR practices, setting a standard for other
organizations to emulate.One such example is of local companies like Shan Foods
have established a proper HR department to overlook talent recruitment, training
and development and resource management. The trend will hopefully cascade down
to other organizations in that vein i.e. other family-owned or single owner firms.
Another healthy development is establishment of HR departments in Advertising
and Media agencies like Lane 12 and Mindshare a much needed move which
shows that such workplaces are realizing the value of human resource development.
However, all these positive developments in the positive sector contrast with the
complacency of government organizations. Such organizations do not have lean
structures owing to considerations made to reduce unemployment. Besides
redundancies, there is a lack of strategy, teams, HR partnerships, trainings and
other functions that make human resource efficient. Compensations and benefits
are not linked to performance but to personal rapport, age and years spent in the
department. This creates a lack of motivation. Reforming government departments
does not seem to be a priority and the effort required for said reform seems like a
tall order. If such reform is achieved, there would be an increase in public
confidence in government institution and help establish good HR practice as de
rigueur for Pakistani organizations.
The Good
HR departments are now establishing measurable short term goals and working
towards improving talent skill set, hiring and overall operational effectiveness
through the employee. It is in this way that model organizations in the country are
aiding the realization of the organizations long term goals. They are empowering

Name: Usman Ahmed

ERP: 06674

Submitted To: Mr. Leon Menezes

Submitted On: 23rd February, 2015

and mobilizing the employee to fulfill the Organization goals and objectives which is
increasing retention and job satisfaction. This includes key ancillary functions such
as taking measures to improve their learning and skills, giving good work
environment and culture, competitive compensation packages etc.
One HR success story that I encountered was of K-Electric (formerly KESC)
galvanizing the human resource through their AZM initiative where the company
organized events and workshops to empower employees. The company went
through major right-sizing that resulted in protests and violence. Sensing the
decrease in morale, the AZM events involved employees in the new vision and
mission of the company, allowed for ownership of the new direction and formalized
a new culture. All this was made possible by sensing the issues and taking the right
steps at the right time by the K-Electric HR department. In a few years, K-Electric
established itself as an employer of choice among graduates from top business and
technical institutes.
Hopefully, success stories will lead to more organizations adopting good HR
practices and encourage young professionals to pursue the field.
The Bad
It is bothering that a perception lingers about HR jobs being droll or inconsequential.
This is discouraging people to take up the discipline professionally and as a career.
There needs to be more awareness and business institutes should offer more
courses related to HR and allow students to major in it.
Another issue with HR today is the rigid nature of HR systems. SAP, Oracle and
Microsoft offer solutions that aim to help organizations manage their HR function.
However, they are too rigid and force their system upon organizations existing
systems. I believe that systems should work for the organizations and not the other
way around exception being when such systems improve existing functions.