Over 93% of MSME Entrepreneurs have Limited Understanding of HR: Stratefix Survey

The Indian MSME sector has been the engine of economic growth for several decades. The success of MSMEs depends on their ability to attract, retain, and develop talent. However, they face many obstacles when it comes to People management because of a lack of resources and a deficient HR management system.

According to Chirag Patel, Co-founder of Stratefix Consulting, " Until recently, HR was considered a peripheral function to most small business owners. They were ignorant of this function and its necessity as most of them had completed their education before HR became mainstream, leaving them unaware of its importance. Aside from the salary, employees are attracted to the facilities available, the culture of having fun at work, and their favourite roles in the organization. Employees' expectations from a company have also changed over the past few years. Furthermore, employees rely heavily on growth not only in the present, but also in the future. HR plays an important role in managing all of this.”

Stratefix Consulting was established exclusively to assist MSMEs across India. Since inception, the company has helped over 300 MSMEs strategize solutions for growth and scale. The company works as an extended team by studying the situation and identifying gaps, strategizing solutions, and even assists in executing the plan. The company is solely focused on MSMEs in metros and non-metro cities.

Here are the Key Highlights of the Survey

The survey was conducted to gauge what MSME enterprises understand about the HR department’s role in an organisation:

A deeper analysis of the responses MSME leaders and entrepreneurs revealed that:

• 67 % of respondents think that HR is responsible for recruiting employees

o   In the opinion of 54% of respondents, staff training is the second most important role.

o   34% of business owners believe HR's primary role is to increase employee efficiency.

o   In 20% of cases, business people are not clear about the exact role of human resources.

o   HR has two "important" roles, according to only 15%: resolving employee grievances and handling benefits.

• In 71% of MSME Business Owners' view, HR departments are more about employees' interests and less inclined towards the company
• 58% of company owners said that the HR department does not need information on the company's financial statistics
• The goal of setting up an HR department is only realized by 33% of business people.
• A mere % of the respondents believe that HR contributes to the success or failure of their company, whether in good times or bad times.