SHRM India Hosts PSE Leadership Forum 2024 and Sets Industry Benchmark for #PeopleSuccess

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) India successfully concluded its inaugural PSE Leadership Forum yesterday, bringing together distinguished HR leaders and professionals across Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). The forum was a vibrant hub for discussing strategies, best practices, and innovations in people leadership within the PSU sector.

The forum was attended by senior leaders across sectors with noteworthy representation
from Maharatnas, Navratnas, state and central PSE organizations like GAIL, SAIL, ONGC,
IFFCO, Oil India, BHEL, RVNL, PFC,NBCC, Grid India, EIL, and others.

The event featured a keynote address by Shri D. Shivakumar, Operating Partner at Advent International Private Equity and a former CEO at Pepsico and Nokia India. There was also a thought-provoking TED Style Talk by Shri M Damodaran, Indian Corporate Advisor, Mentor, and Former Chairman, SEBI. Both addresses shed light on the evolving landscape of leadership and innovation within PSUs.

In conjunction with the forum, SHRM India PSE Team unveiled its flagship survey research
report,”SHRM PSE Trends 2024 – People Success. This comprehensive report delved into
seven critical themes crucial for the future of PSUs: Developing Leaders for Tomorrow,
Women Leadership, Community Impact, Health & Wellness, Learning & Development,
Technology at Work, and Employee Benefits.

Achal Khanna, CEO of SHRM India, APAC & MENA, commented on the forum’s success, “This forum has set a new benchmark for discourse and development within India’s public sector. By bringing together the brightest minds in the industry, we have fostered a dynamic exchange of ideas that will undoubtedly propel our sector forward. We are particularly proud of the insights shared in our ‘SHRM PSE Trends 2024’ report, which highlights a strong commitment to training and development with more than 87% of PSU participants confirming investment in these areas.”

Ashissh Kaul, Director, Knowledge &  Advisory and Business Head, PSE at SHRM India,
added, “The’SHRM PSE Trends 2024′ ‘report has identified key areas for growth, including the need for enhanced learning methodologies and better support for gender diversity and technological adaptation.

Our findings show that most participants express positivity, indicating a strong commitment
to employee growth and skill enhancement. Overall, most participants felt that their
organisation invests enough on L&D with 87% giving a positive response. However, when
we sliced the data by levels, only 60% of participants across E2-E3 levels believed that their
managers are well-equipped to coach & mentor the young workforce. This number further falls to 40% when we asked the same question to participants at E4-E5 level. Additionally, the report highlights a gap in technology training, with 56% of participants indicating a lack of
investment in understanding the impact of generative AI and new technologies.”

One of the other highlights from the report that was highlighted was while as 90% of
the men tend to believe that their organisation has created a supportive ecosystem for
women to succeed, contrastingly only 73% of women felt the same. Further the report also
highlighted the fact while as 84 % of men believed that their organization was making
investment in the advancement of women empowerment, only 77% of women agree to the
same. “The PSE Leadership Forum is not just an event but a catalyst for sustained growth and innovation across public sectors. We are committed to continuing this journey, fostering a
culture of knowledge sharing and collaborative development,” concluded Khanna.
The forum was held at the Taj Palace, New Delhi, accommodating a large gathering of 100+
attendees and speakers across four sessions aimed at empowering PSEs for future
challenges.