Running a small business is a stiff challenge given the constant pressure on funds, technology and manpower. The human resource function is yet to evolve in majority of small businesses. But a window of opportunity has come about with the advent of specialised talent management companies focused on the small business space. Helping small organizations to focus on strategic support in the areas of Talent Engagement, Talent Management & Talent Development is Husys, an organization that focuses primarily on the operational excellence of SMEs. Having recently received SMEpost Super SME Award, G R Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, Husys, opens up on the big unfolding SME opportunity in an interview with SMEpost’s Swastika Tripathi. Edited excerpts:

Q: HR management outsourcing is fast developing and adjusting to the needs of SMEs. How do you see Husys fitting into this space?

A: Husys is an organization and we build people with independent HR systems that are customized and built to the organization’s need.  It’s an organization responsibility at Husys and individual preferences and expertise is not rubbed onto the organization. Accountability lies with Organization. We built our 3P’s Service Excellence model, which is very unique in HR Services delivered as a Department/Function for organizations.

We believe and trust that each individual is unique and also the environment they are in. Our key strength is in identifying that uniqueness in an organization and building the practices. We customize to the needs of the business environment.

Q: Customized and value based small business HR and payroll services can be of benefit. What are the various pros you find in this for SMEs?

A: Payroll outsourcing for SME can actually be a huge relief to small business owners. Apparently, any small business owner tends to wear too many hats at the same time. But as the business grows this becomes more and more impossible. The processes start becoming more and more complex. This is the time when small businesses should consider the advantages of outsourcing. Payroll outsourcing in India is fast developing and adjusting to the needs of SMEs.

Q: What are the various services provided by Husys?

A: HR OPERATIONS: This area of competency focuses primarily on the Operational excellence and delivery capability in terms of the day to-day transactions of the Business. This area of specialization brings the best of the breed operational efficiencies in building and managing day-to-day business HR operations.

HR CONSULTING: Our Company has been working on this competency from the Design of our core service. Our Company delivers the following services but not limited to – HR Consulting Engagements, Outplacement, and HR Advisory.

HR TECHNOLOGY: A traditional HR Information System is deployed by helping all the day-to-day operations and data management for employees. The work flow of HR Function is also taken care by this model.

ApHusys: Our Company is in the process of launching App based software, ApHusys. It is an application for Human Synergies which allows organizations to manage and maintain the HR operational data across and provide instant access to employees & HR Department users comprehensive personalized information they need to make fast, informed decisions by delivering information anytime, anywhere to any Web Browser and on Mobile Devices.

Q: What is your business model?

A: We do help in building practices, which are customized for your business and culture. We do conduct a brief audit ranging from 1 man-hour to 5 man-days to understand the depth of the HR support required to achieve the business vision. (Paid Service to help you diagnose your own system & a detailed report by our HR partners would be a ready reckoner for your future reference) and then we design and suggest best model to implement and build for sustainable continuity.

Q: What kind of money is involved in availing the service? Is it in-sync with the pocket-size of SMEs/ Start-ups?

A: Our services are best for the Small and medium sized companies and are pocket friendly. Our services range from Rs. 6,000/- to Rs. 50,000/- for SME’s. Further for Start-up we are offering, Rs 6000/- + ST have to be paid in advance for various services. Additional Rs 1,500/- + ST for 20 Job Postings for 3 months has to be paid.

Q: What has been Husys’ experience so far in the SME sector? What has been the learning from the same?

A: So far the Husys experience has been enjoyable at each and every step we’ve served SME segment in the past 14 years. It is a continuous learning of SME customer behavior/preferences, attracting and engaging in a personalized, intuitive and contextual way through the SME customer lifecycle journey to generate incremental revenue through targeted and deeper product / service relationship through HR Functional Management Services.

Each element of sectors in SME is a growth engine for us and when blended in HR services, it represents a huge business opportunity.

Q: What kind of SME companies are outsourcing from Husys and which sectors do they usually represent?

A: We have built our model to work in every industry. We have built an impeccable knowledge base of over 15+ different industries. Our teams are equipped to build and manage HR function effectively for business results be it a human intensive services business or the quality focused product business. We have catered our services in sectors such as IT, Education, Health-care, Automobile, Infrastructure, Agriculture, Pharmaceuticals, Logistics, Engineering, Trading etc.

Q: Which top sectors acquire this service and what in your view is the requirement that has made them prevail?

A: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in India have seen exponential growth over the last few decades in various sectors. In a broader view of prevalence of SME in India is due to the use of Improvement of basic Infrastructure facilities, Regulatory reforms of ease doing, Introducing of Labour Law reforms, Easy financing of credit tools, Access to Marketing platforms and networks, access to modern affordable technology and even GOI program to promote and support entrepreneurship – this has added to the domestic economy on multiple levels, including adding muscle to the country’s Intellectual Property (IP).

Q: What is the overall outlook for SMEs in HR outsourcing and which sectors seem bullish?

A: It is time for transformation of HR industry in India as disruptive changes from the supply and the demand sides are changing the nature of services. The industry in India can potentially leapfrog into a groundbreaking innovation market as the country has access to advanced technology skills.

However, driven by brick and mortar businesses and traditional delivery models, the sector has fallen behind as compared with other highly mature service sectors and the global market in past.

Over the last few years, the HR industry has witnessed some radical evolutionary leaps led primarily by technology and the growth of domestic home grown multinationals.  The industry is estimated to be over Rs. 30,000 crores. Out of this, the segment of recruitment accounts for a majority of the industry (over 70%).

Compared to other mature HR service economies in the West, most experts believe that there are sizeable opportunities in India yet to be explored. Ironically, while in all other geographies, the evolution of services has followed a common path, there is a large opportunity in India to leapfrog if companies can efficiently utilize technology. The future of the industry will be largely driven by a combination of Social, Cloud, and Mobile technologies, commonly referred as SOCOMO.