EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: ‘Degrees no longer guarantee employability’ says HR firm exec

Khaqan Sikander is the Chief Commercial Officer at HRSG, where he leads the organisation’s commercial strategy, market expansion, and growth initiatives across its portfolio of people and business solutions. HRSG provides integrated people and business solutions across manpower outsourcing, specialised services, search and advisory, consulting, and technology, while also developing proprietary digital service-delivery products.

Sikander has more than 15 years of global and multi-sector experience across Asia, Africa, North America, and Europe in strategy, operations, marketing, communications, and P&L leadership.

Beyond his corporate role, he is an internationally published author, a multilingual professional fluent in five global languages, and a visiting faculty member at leading universities in the region, where he teaches business studies.

Prior to joining HRSG, Sikander held several senior leadership positions across the healthcare and social impact sectors. He served as Chief Executive Officer at Healthx Pakistan, a technology-enabled healthcare startup under the Trudoc International Group; CEO at Naya Jeevan, focused on expanding affordable healthcare for low- and middle-income communities; and CEO at doctHERs, a digital platform enabling female doctors to re-enter the workforce. He also served as General Manager and Board Member at Aman Healthcare (Aman Foundation), where he led initiatives spanning emergency services, community health, and vocational education.

Below are the edited excerpts of a resect conversation BR Research had with him:

BR Research: When you look at Pakistan’s hiring market today, what feels materially different compared to a few years ago?

Khaqan Sikander: What feels materially different is that hiring has shifted from being “availability-led” to being “fit-and-readiness-led.” Three years ago, many employers were mainly trying to fill seats quickly. Today, they are more selective about day-one performance because the cost of a wrong hire is higher and margins are tighter.

A second shift is from credentials to capability. Degrees and experience still matter, but they no longer guarantee employability. Employers are screening harder for work readiness and role-specific competence, especially in roles that affect output, quality, safety, and customer experience.

Retention has also become part of the hiring equation. Companies increasingly hire with churn in mind and design onboarding and supervision to make people productive early. At the same time, digital tools and automation are reshaping tasks and performance measures, so hiring favors people who adapt quickly and can work confidently with systems, not just follow routines.

BRR: Which skills are now necessary in blue-collar workforces, white-collar workforces, and leadership roles?

KS: For blue-collar workforces, the definition of “skill” has broadened beyond physical ability and experience. Employers now need people who can operate with discipline in safety, quality, and time, because these three directly determine output and cost. Basic numeracy and literacy are increasingly important for checklists, machine readings, inventory handling, and compliance documentation. Another rising requirement is practical digital comfort, not advanced IT skills, but the ability to use handheld devices, attendance systems, simple apps, and traceability tools without constant supervision. The final differentiator is reliability: punctuality, ownership of the shift, and the ability to work in standardized processes without shortcuts.

For white-collar workforces, communication and execution have become the core currency. The market is rewarding professionals who can write clearly, present succinctly, manage stakeholders, and move forward with fewer iterations. Analytical thinking is also moving from being “nice to have” to essential, meaning the ability to interpret numbers, diagnose a problem, and recommend a practical action. Digital fluency is no longer limited to a tech team; most roles now require comfort with dashboards, workflow tools, and basic automation to improve speed and accuracy. Alongside this, employers are prioritizing commercial awareness and customer orientation, even in back-office functions, because every function is being measured on impact.

For leadership roles, the most valuable skills are those that convert strategy into consistent performance. Leaders are expected to build accountability without creating fear, develop people while driving results, and make decisions faster with imperfect information. Strong leaders are also becoming “system thinkers,” able to design roles, processes, and metrics that make execution repeatable rather than dependent on heroic individuals. Change leadership has become fundamental, because teams are navigating continuous shifts in technology, costs, and talent expectations. Finally, credibility matters more than charisma; leaders who can communicate a clear direction, align teams, and deliver measurable outcomes are the ones who stand out in the current environment.

BRR: How should companies think about redesigning roles and teams when automation and AI are introduced, rather than simply layering technology onto existing workflows?

KS: Companies should start by redesigning the work before they deploy the tool. That means mapping the role into its core decisions, repetitive tasks, handoffs, and risk points, then deciding what should be automated, what should be augmented, and what must remain human-led because it involves judgment, trust, or accountability.

The most effective approach is to rebuild roles around outcomes and ownership. When AI takes over routine tasks, human work should shift toward exception handling, customer and stakeholder management, quality control, and continuous improvement. Teams should be organized around end-to-end responsibility, with clearer decision rights, fewer handoffs, and simple performance metrics tied to speed, accuracy, and impact.

Finally, treat AI adoption as a capability upgrade, not a software rollout. Invest in training for managers and frontline users, update SOPs and controls, and redefine what “good performance” looks like in the new workflow. This is what turns technology into productivity rather than just another layer of complexity.

BRR: From a competitiveness perspective, where do Pakistani employers lose the most ground internationally: skills, management quality, work discipline, or systems, and which of these is hardest to fix?

KS: With our experience we have seen that the biggest gap is rarely one single factor. It is the combination of average management quality and weak systems that turns good individual talent into inconsistent outcomes. Many organizations have capable people, but unclear processes, uneven supervision, and limited performance visibility create variation in quality, delays in delivery, and higher rework. That is where competitiveness is lost most quickly.

The hardest to fix is management quality, especially at the supervisor and middle-management level. Skills can be trained, discipline improves when expectations and accountability are consistent, and systems can be designed with the right support. But management capability takes longer because it requires mindset change, coaching, and a culture where managers are developed, measured, and held accountable for execution, and not just activity.

BRR: Given Pakistan’s large informal workforce, what practical steps can employers take to improve productivity and standards without full formalization overnight?

KS: Employers can raise productivity and standards by formalizing the work before formalizing the contract. Start with clear role definitions, daily output expectations, and simple SOPs that reduce variation. Add basic measurement that frontline teams can understand, such as attendance reliability, units produced, error rates, and rework, then review these consistently with supervisors.

Next, invest in work readiness fundamentals that have immediate payoff: safety routines, quality checks, and short, repeatable training at the point of work. Standardize tools, shifts, and handovers so performance does not depend on individual habits.

Finally, introduce lightweight documentation through simple digital attendance, checklists, and traceability where possible. These steps improve reliability and output quickly, and they make eventual formalization smoother when the business is ready.

BRR: How do services like manpower outsourcing, integrated facilities management, and the use of technology improve productivity for employers in practical terms?

KS: HRSG has been providing these services for over 3 decades, and with over 800+ clients around the world (operations 19+ countries and offices in KSA, UAE, and USA), what we consistently see is that productivity improves when employers reduce operational friction and increase reliability in day-to-day execution.

Manpower outsourcing improves productivity by stabilizing workforce availability and reducing downtime. When recruitment, deployment, attendance discipline, and on-ground supervision are managed professionally, employers get more predictable shift coverage, faster ramp-up, and less disruption from absenteeism and churn. This allows line managers to focus on output, quality, and throughput instead of constantly firefighting manpower gaps.

Integrated facilities management improves productivity by keeping the workplace “always ready” for performance. Cleanliness, hygiene, utilities, asset upkeep, security, and support services directly affect safety, quality, and continuity. When these functions run consistently, organizations see fewer stoppages, lower rework, better compliance readiness, and smoother operations, especially in high-volume environments.

Technology ties it together by creating visibility and control. Digital systems improve accuracy, speed, and accountability through real-time attendance, deployment tracking, service-level monitoring, and basic analytics. The practical impact is earlier problem detection, faster corrective action, and better decision-making, which turns workforce and facilities from a cost center into a measurable performance lever.

BRR: What are the main reasons skilled professionals are leaving Pakistan today, and what does this mean for the country’s long-term workforce and productivity

KS: Skilled professionals are leaving mainly for better income progression, greater stability and predictability, clearer career paths, and the chance to work in higher-performing environments with stronger systems and merit-based growth. Many also value exposure to advanced tools, better-managed organizations, and global-quality learning opportunities that accelerate their careers.

Over time, this creates a compounding effect at home: fewer experienced mentors, a thinner layer of supervisors and middle managers, and slower capability-building inside organizations. The outcome is not only a talent gap, but a productivity gap, because economies improve when experienced professionals transfer know-how, raise standards, strengthen management discipline, and build teams that execute consistently.

BRR: If you could send one message to universities and skills institutions about employability in 2026, what would you push them to change first?

KS: My message would be simple: teach for the job that exists, not the syllabus that has existed. Build programs around demonstrable skills and real workplace performance, including applied problem-solving, clear communication, digital fluency, teamwork, and work discipline. Make industry involvement real, through employer-designed projects, internships, case work, and assessments that test what a graduate can do, not what they can memorize.

If institutions consistently produce graduates who are work-ready on day one and can learn fast on the job, Pakistan will not only improve employability, but it will also lift productivity and competitiveness across the economy.