This case relates to a novel human resource initiative undertaken by IOCL, one of India’s largest public sector organizations. IOCL, a Fortune 500 organization, had 33,000 employees spread across seven business divisions and 40 offices in India and abroad. When Ranjan Mahapatra assumed office as Director of Human Resources at IOCL, in February 2018, he realized that many IOCL employees perceived that the human resources department is distant and indifferent, in spite of increasing automation of human resources function. Several concerns related to human resource policies remained unaddressed, although the organization had complaint redressal forums. Mahapatra proposed an idea of a novel role of a human resource facilitator (HRF), HR personnel who would act as a single point of contact for employees within their department and ensure that employee concerns are addressed while navigating the organizational bureaucracy. The case describes how Mahapatra and his team implemented the new HRF scheme. Within seven months of its introduction, the 41 HRFs successfully resolved 1600 queries raised by the employees, which was widely appreciated by the IOCL employees. The case ends by highlighting some challenges faced by HRFs and leaves Mahapatra wondering whether he should delay the launch of the HRF scheme in other business verticals until these challenges are overcome.
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