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Gurugram based Management Development Institute (MDI), also considered as one of India’s most reputed B-Schools, organized the third edition of HR Conclave titled “HR Agility: Conquering the Chaos” on Nov 4, 2017. The event brought together top industry leaders under one roof for a healthy, open exchange of ideas to chart the future course of HR industry.

Organised with an aim to discuss current challenges the companies are facing owing to the fast-changing and unpredictable business environment, the HR Conclave 3.0 opened with a welcome address by Prof. D. P. Goyal, Dean – Graduate Programmes and Prof. Sumita Rai, Chairperson – PGP-HRM the initiator of HR Conclave in MDI Gurugram.

The Conclave was graced by Mr. Rajiv Jayraman, Founder-CEO & CPO, Knolskape, who was present as the chief guest. While addressing the audience Mr. Jayraman in his inaugural address said “Digital is the main reason just over half of the companies in the Fortune 500 have disappeared since the Year 2000. As we enter into an era of Digital Blur, we need a redefined framework in Human Resources Management. HR Professionals have to play a strategic role in the organizations being an execution assurance department”.

The event kick-started with first session on Mergers and Acquisitions: How to tackle the Herculean task of culture integration? The esteemed panel discussed that Mergers and Acquisitions are a major organisational challenge, often a last minute resort, with a low success rate of 37%. Decisions are often made on the basis of financial considerations rather than soft capital, which often make or break the deal.

The second session was on ‘Gig Economy: Agile Working/ Mobile Talent leading to a shift in the strategy from ‘I need to hire a person’ to ‘I need to complete a task’. The panelist described the gig economy as an on demand economy. The circumstances, primarily the need for work life balance amongst millennia is what contributing to the rise of Gig Economy and the impact this Economy will have on employers and potential employees in the Indian context.

The sessions on interesting themes were followed with a panel discussion on ‘Leadership Planning: How to stop the formation of leadership void due to current high level of turnover in executive roles?.

The HR conclave 2017 saw the presence of eminent industry personalities namely Ms. Parul Gupta (Chief HR Officer, Jabong), Mr. Pritpal Singh Kular (Vice-President HR, General Motors), Mr. Ravi Parmeshwar (Chief HR Officer, Renew Power), Ms. Risha Gupta (Principal Consultant, Willis Towers Watson), Ms. Sweta Mohapatra (Director, Diversity Vision), Mr. Ajay Kukreja (Country HR Director, Honeywell), Ms. Geetanjali Pandit (Author of “Buddha at Work”, Former CPO – Zee Media Corporation Ltd), Ms. Shaaista (Head Human Resources, Bain Capability Center), Mr. Ankit Verma (Consultant, KPMG), Mr. Kamlesh Vyas (Director HR, EY).

The daylong event concluded with a vote of thanks from Prof. Amit K. Gupta, Chairperson, Student Affairs and closing session on “Automation: How should businesses manage reputational damage caused by job cuts? How to find roles for redundant workers?