BR Sharma is an IT Engineer and an MBA graduate in Human Resource management. In 2005, Sharma kickstarted his venture, Global Jobs, one of the first HR agencies in the country to offer complete recruitment, training and development solutions to companies. Coming from an HR background and having worked in India for a couple of years, Sharma realised that at the time, Nepali corporations were lacking the know-how about the importance of human resources management. And since its establishment, Sharma, who is also the managing director of International Management Institute of Nepal, has provided management trainings to hundreds of companies in the country. In this interview with The Post’s Alisha Sijapati, he talks about the challenges in HR management and  some of the qualities an HR manager should have. Excerpts:

What prompted you to open a consulting firm for HR management? Since 2005, what sort of evolution have you seen in the HR sector?

When I got recruited in an Indian firm right after I received my degree in IT engineering, I was guided by professionals who had more than 20 years of experience in the management field. After working with them, I realised that I wanted to pursue a career in HR management, and I worked towards an MBA degree. Then, upon returning to Kathmandu, I researched the HR field in Kathmandu Valley, and realised that by-and-large organisations had very limited knowledge about Human Resource management. Even if they knew about the sector, they showed little interest in wanting to work on employee behaviour at work. But since the time I began my journey at Global Jobs, things have definitely improved for the better. Now, most companies have an HR department and it has now rightly become the backbone of organisations.

Initially, when I started Global Jobs, I had to do a lot of research on the subject—on whether or not the business would be suitable for the market—and I think I got into the sector at the perfect time. Not many corporations were familiar with HR solutions. In 2005, CEOs of corporate giants were sceptical about our organisation and the vision we wanted to achieve. Now 15 years later, big corporate houses come to us for recruitment and training of their employees. In today’s working culture, employees are not treated as mere labourers. Organisations are learning the value of well-trained and motivated employees and their needs and demands.

Global Jobs is also an online platform where candidates are open to seek out vacancies uploaded by various organisations. Currently there are numerous online platforms for job-seekers to choose from. What does your organisation do to stand out in the competitive market?

When we started Global Jobs, we focused on HR solutions and slowly started branching out into other related fields as well. Back in the day, not everyone had smartphones in their hands or internet at home. However, 2009 saw a drastic change. Internet became more accessible and job seekers began to seek out online portals as much as they did print vacancies. Today, there are numerous online job portals and I am happy that there are many organisations who are committed to providing better HR solutions. The only challenge is there is more demand from the job-seekers than there is supply from organisations.

Furthermore, in order to continue evolving, at Global Jobs, we are also planning to launch video resumes and video vacancies. We want to be different than the rest. This will give better insights to both the job-seekers and the organisations that have vacancies.

Why is there the imbalance between the demand for jobs and its supply?

Today, most people are well educated. Every graduate is looking for a job but the organisations that are looking for hire have not grown in a way that all candidates can be absorbed into the work force. There are also issues regarding the teaching methods in colleges here. I have personally sat down for dozens of interviews for big corporate houses and I see the students, including management students, lack the art of speaking and professionalism, manners, body language and to some level the right etiquette. Although there are many job opportunities, many candidates are incompetent for the positions advertised.

As you have worked with hundreds of HR managers in the country, what are some of the top qualities that you think make for excellent HR managers?

HR manager is one of the most crucial individuals in any organisation. The top most quality every HR manager should have is organisation. This includes strong time management skills and the ability to complete tasks efficiently. He/she needs to have unimpeachable ethics, morals and principles. As HR managers are the backbone of an organisation, they need to be responsible. They need to be thinkers and have a positive attitude. Overall, they need to be good evaluators. They should set  good examples.

What advice do you have for fresh graduates who are seeking out jobs on online portals?

There is no dearth for vacancies in our country, but what is lacking is the competency level in the candidates. You can apply for a job but if you don’t get a reply, don’t be disheartened. One rejection is not the end-all; oftentimes a wonderful opportunity comes up only after a dozen rejections. The most crucial part is that young graduates need to do a little homework on the organisations they are applying for. Graduates need to be well-informed and at least be prepared to showcase professionalism in job interviews.