Managing The Human Resource

An interview with FirstMeridian Business Services about efficient resource management in manufacturing in a post-pandemic era

- Kruthi Bharadva

The past 15 months have been a trying time for manufacturers and a big part of that is recruiting and hiring the right people. With supply chain changes and now the vaccination drives, manufacturing must adapt and shift yet again. As the world changes around us, it’s easy to wonder what the future holds. The next 10 years will most likely hold a variety of changes for manufacturing operations as we recover and adjust from the pandemic. We spoke to Sudhakar Balakrishnan, Group CEO, FirstMeridian Business Services about efficient resource management in manufacturing in a post-pandemic era:

How has hiring and manpower acquisition in the manufacturing industry evolved over the past decade?

The past ten years have been about automation integrating into the manufacturing space and increasing production rates, digitisation, using technology to drive marketing etc.

Hiring a new talent pool as well as skilling, re-skilling of experienced employees has also undergone a sea of change. IT professional’s strength in manufacturing companies has increased than before. Training programs are leaning more and more towards automation, digitisation, shrinking of processes, centralised manufacturing. The last 10 years have also witnessed higher productivity levels of employees due to automation and also, we see a more knowledgeable workforce.

Hiring criteria has also evolved. Apart from the required skills, the focus has also been on parameters viz., attitude, adaptability, change, embracing new ideas/ technology, level of general knowledge etc. Today you will see even a blue-collar employee is far evolved and knowledgeable than what we witnessed 20 years ago.