HR today is perceived as a decisive and strategic business collaborator – effectively aiding in determining and delivering value across the organisation. The contemporary challenge however, is to define and make optimum use of the "Profit" element in HR, so that it becomes more effectual. What we can expect from HR depends, to a large extent on how distinctly the deliverables are defined and how well we measure these deliverables.

Post 1991, liberalization of the Indian economy has revamped the way India Inc operates, functions and delivers. Be it in the realms of Investment, Employment, or Mergers and Acquisitions. A brand new era was ushered in with India Inc. becoming acquainted with spiralling rates of growth and better management. We have since adapted to shorter product life cycles, embraced technology and expertise, and even ventured outside our borders in pursuit of profitable pastures.

The one aspect however, that Indian corporates may not have managed well enough, is the aspect of attrition or conversely retention. The attrition issue is already several years old and corporates have, time and again, attempted at coming up with a viable solution to minimise it. But none of the organisations - large, medium or small, have met with much success. The retention issue was earlier restricted to the IT and BPO sectors, but now Retail, Insurance, Banking, Infrastructure, Biotech are also coping with it.

The need of the hour is to successfully align Human Resources with Business Strategy to attain a win –win situation for both. Progressive companies perceive HR not as an overhead but as an integral part of its overall corporate business strategy. This is a very healthy trend and once all companies adopt this practise; not only will short term problems be eliminated but even the long term financial future of the enterprise will be secured.