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Source: Maharashtra Times (Mumbai) dated August 20, 2019

Analytics, chatbots: The new frontiers in HR transformation

More Indian companies are using smart technology to manage human resources, but with impact hard to quantify, budgets remain low

Fifty eight per cent of Indian organizations will invest in technology to enable employees and managers to self-manage people processes this year, according to a new report by People Matters, a HR media platform founded in 2009. Based on the digital agendas of India Inc organizations titled State of HR Technology India 2019-20, the study highlights the understanding of automation levels in different aspects of talent management and also entails companies’ investment plans in HR technologies and how can they future-proof HR teams for digital transformation.ISTOCK

According to the report, there has been a ubiquitous increase in the adoption of HR technology, which testifies the progression of Indian companies towards the age of digital disruption in the HR space as well. Communication & collaboration, employer branding observed a surge in HR technology adoption by 21 percent and 17 percent respectively. However, strategic functions like Hipo (high potential employee) identification and management, succession planning, and strategic workforce planning are least mature in terms of technology

adoption. Even with investments ‘going up’ in HR technology for the year 2019-20, only 20 percent companies have allocated a budget of more than Rs 1 crore to this. About 45 percent plan to invest less than Rs 25 lacs in the next 12 months.

To increase effectiveness of HR execution emerges as the key objective of investment in HR technology. To empower employees and managers to self-manage people workflows and processes (59 percent) and to increase efficiency of HR execution (59 percent) completes the suite of top three core objectives of investment in HR technology.

When asked while shortlisting HR technology, which attributes do they look out for, ability to integrate (74 percent) was the top choice. However, it was found that only 37 percent companies have mainly an integrated system either from one partner (21 percent), multiple partners (8 percent) and in some cases, an integrated in-house technology (8 percent).

Cost still remains the prime factor in making HR technology investment decisions. As mentioned above, cost reduction was one of the objectives of investment in HR technology. The study also found that cost saving measures (49 per cent) is one of the top three metrics that companies track to measure the ROI of HR Technology. The other metrics include time-saving measures (54 percent) and HR operational metrics across functions (52 percent).

NEW-AGE HR TECHNOLOGY


The study shows that analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) & chatbots and cognitive technologies were ranked as the top three newage technologies that can create an impact on talent and workplace. Among the various technologies, blockchain emerged as the least mature technology because 39 percent of the respondents are not well-versed with it. While India Inc. organisations are highly optimistic about the opportunities that new-age technologies can bring to talent management and HR, the journey to adopting these technologies is not easy.

Organisations face challenges in adopting these technologies due to budget constraints, leadership buy-in, and lack of skills and capabilities in the HR team.

The limited budgets for HR technology (46 percent), leadership buy-in to experiment (43 percent), ability to measure return on investment (42 percent) are some of the challenges when it comes to adopting new-age technologies in their organization. Highlighting the HR involvement in adopting and executing technologies, the research reveals that in more than half of the participating organisations, the execution project is jointly owned by the HR team and the IT team.

As the world of work evolves, it is critical for organisations to leverage technology that enhances the speed of the overall people processes, empower employees, and build a team of better, more productive workers.

This study provided key insights into the current landscape of technology adoption rate, the approach towards building a digital HR function, and the challenges in adopting niche technologies in HR.

While organizations have kickstarted their HR digital journey, only three processes namely, HR operations, performance management, and communication & collaboration are automated more than 50 percent. The digitisation level has improved but still needs a lot of effort in the context of: investments, leadership buy-in, and skills and competencies of HR teams.

Limited budgets, leadership buy-in, and skills and competencies constitute the top three challenges in adopting the advanced technologies in HR. Currently, the efforts or investments in future-proofing HR teams are largely sporadic or in the planning phase.

From the study, it was evident that the HR service providers should focus more on integration, a strong analytics layer, and accessibility and mobility of technology as these form the suite of attributes that organisations are looking forward to while investing in any technology. Further, the investments in HR technology in 2019-20 have significantly increased by 35 percent as compared to the study done in 2016.

Source: Hindustan Times (Mumbai) dated August 20, 2019.

Scientists find 1st evidence of high altitude pollution

TIFR Balloon Facility has developed sophisticated plastic balloons to float at the coldest part of atmosphere at edge of stratosphere. DEVENDRA OJHA, chairperson, TIFR-BF committee

Read the full article at:
https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/scientists-find-1st-evidence-of-high-altitude-pollution/story-H1AdEWbWBFflkUWTA71yxM.html (Accessed on August 20, 2019)

A Review Of Google's Colab And CoCalc for Collaborative Data Science

As part of my on-going series on learning data science and reviewing the latest tools, I ended up needing to work on data analysis with people in different countries. While big companies have their own internal tools for sharing code among teams, there were less available for students and freelancers. Fortunately, two such tools, Google Colab and CoCalc, are emerging to help data scientists collaborate online (Disclosure, I am a contractor with the tech policy nonprofit, Tech4America). 

Google's Colaboratory (Colab, for short) began as a research project with makers of the popular online programming notebook, Jupyter. The features have recently ramped up, as machine learning and other data science needs have become more commonplace.

Read the full article at:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregoryferenstein/2019/08/18/a-review-of-googles-colab-and-cocalc-for-collaborative-data-science/#7c6878a46f02 (Accessed on August 20, 2019)

US economists expect recession in the next 2 years

• The survey came out after Donald Trump pushed back against talk of a looming recession as a raft of US data reports last week showed a mixed picture on the economy
• The survey showed 38% economists expect a contraction of growth next year, while 34% don't see it until the following year

To read the full article, please visit:

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/us-economists-expect-recession-in-the-next-2-years-1566221076095.html (Accessed on August 20, 2019)

HCL signs MoU with MADC to expand its Nagpur campus

IT services major to add 90 acres to its 50-acre MIHAN campus

HCL Technologies (HCL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) for expansion of its campus at the Multi-Model International Passenger and Cargo Hub Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN), in line with its plan for Tier-II cities.

As part of the MoU, HCL will acquire 90 acres of land to add to its existing 50-acre MIHAN campus.

HCL started its business operations in Nagpur in April 2018 and already has more than 800 employees servicing global accounts. The MIHAN centre delivers a spectrum of services, including infrastructure management, application development, product engineering, BPO, IT services management and HCL’s internal enabling functions. The campus, when fully operational, will employ over 8,000 personnel, an HCL statement said.

To read the full article, please visit:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/hcl-signs-mou-with-madc-to-expand-its-nagpur-campus/article29164996.ece (Accessed on August 20, 2019)

Digitising Bharat on agenda at ET Startup Awards 2019

Top industry leaders to deliberate on 'Building Digital Businesses for Bharat' at panel discussion


To read the full article, please visit:
https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/startups/et-startup-awards-2019-a-high-powered-panel-to-deliberate-on-building-digital-biz-for-bharat/70746026 (Accessed on August 20, 2019)

UGC releases fake universities list running in India

The eight educational institutions from Uttar Pradesh are labelled as fake, while seven are from Delhi. Every year, UGC releases a list of fake universities ahead of the college admissions

To read the full article, please visit:

https://indianexpress.com/article/education/ugc-releases-fake-universities-list-up-delhi-has-the-most-ugc-ac-in-5845473/ (Accessed on August 20, 2019)

UGC recognises 113 HEIs for ODL

UGC recognises 113 HEIs for ODL

Read more at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/70737275.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Now, there is a price for engineering internships in Bengaluru

Many have alleged that college managements are asking students to cough up a ‘fee’ for getting internships in companies.

The All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) made internships mandatory recently. While students have welcomed the move, many have alleged that college managements are asking them to cough up a ‘fee’ for getting internships in companies.

To read the full article, please visit:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/now-there-is-a-price-for-engineering-internships/article29164418.ece (Accessed on August 20, 2019)

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Captures Two Galaxies Interacting, Distorting

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured two luminescent galaxies at play. Catalogued as the UGC 2369, the galactic duo has been caught in an interaction resulting from the mutual gravitational attraction between them. Galaxies interacting is not uncommon, but two similarly sized ones merging is a momentous event - the image shows the galaxies distorting as they pulled closer and closer together. A thin bridge of gas, dust, and stars connecting the duo can be observed. The bridge was developed when the galaxies pulled their material out into space across the diminishing divide between them.

To read the full article, please visit:
https://gadgets.ndtv.com/science/news/nasa-hubble-space-telescope-ugc-2369-galaxies-at-play-esa-2086503 (Accessed on August 20, 2019)

Just days away from entering Moon orbit, here’s what lies ahead of Chandrayaan-2

The Chandrayaan-2 is presently in the Lunar Transfer Trajectory and in this Tuesday, the liquid engine of the spacecraft will be powered so as to get it inside the orbit of the Moon.

To read the full article, please visit:

https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/just-days-from-entering-moon-orbit-heres-what-isro-chandrayaan-2-has-done-so-far-5912997/ (Accessed on August 20, 2019)

Scientists made a stable cyclocarbon ring of 18 carbon atoms: Here’s why it matters

A team of scientists from Oxford University and IBM Research has managed to make and image a ring of 18 carbon atoms for the first time, which is a carbon allotrope-- cyclocarbon (C18).

To read the full article, please visit:

https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/scientists-made-a-stable-cyclocarbon-ring-of-18-carbon-atoms-for-the-first-time-5915193/ (Accessed on August 20, 2019)