Read - Human Capital Online
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Read - Human Capital Online
Rs. 50 www.humancapitalonline.com ® realising business strategy through people Vol.18 No. 5 October 2014 HR ROUNDTABLE DEBATE HR PRACTICE Pg 28 Pg 37 Pg 46 Work-life balance: Myth or a reality? Is India Inc. ready for a 4-day work week concept? RCOM empowers the youth through PRAYAG October 2014 N 3 CONTENTS OCTOBER 2014 VOLUME 18 ISSUE 5 COVER STORY 18 Dare to dream Though the world has become more competitive, it isn't always an end of the road for a mediocre. There are several unusual careers which has earned both social and financial acceptance, and also ensures modest to great success. FEATURES 28 Best of Both worlds Taking a cue from what Indra Nooyi recently said in an interview, "Women can't have it all', this HR Roundtable explores the challenges women employees face when it comes to achieving the perfect balance between career and personal responsibilities. 34 38 The nuances of the adult learning theory Adult learners have a tendency to resist learning when they feel that someone is imposing information, ideas or actions on them. Therefore, it is very important for an effective facilitator to understand how his adult learners can learn best. Cybercrime: are organizations prepared enough to deal with it? No matter how complex the nature of cybercrime is, maintaining an attitude of awareness is the best cybercrime prevention mantra. Companies are finding unique ways to get the message of cyber security across, making it an imperative to ensure that the weakest link in cyber safety is adequately secured across the organization. 42 Why learning still matters! Facts, statistics, practices, perspectives and more... HR PRACTICE 46 Empowering the youth ‘PRAYAG, a Reliance Communications' CSR initiative, extends employable skills to the youth in India for a larger economic sustainability. Based on the very tenet of converting a societal concern into an opportunity through systemic innovation and creative strategy, this initiative's is an integral part of the organization's developing business strategy. 4 N October 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■ October 2014 N 5 CASE STUDY 52 The communication factor Listening and understanding others, and being able to put one's point across, is what effective communication is all about. Therefore, managers must invest time and energy to deliver clear communication to build trust and confidence amongst employees. PERSONA 64 The multifaceted leader ! Driven by three principles in life -things don't come easy, work hard to succeed and work harder to stay successful, Rajiv Dutta's multifaceted abilities has given interesting dimensions to this HR leader's career… COLUMNS 12 33 45 50 57 62 Food for thought by Dileep ranjekar Gen-Y speak by Ankur Poddar Guest column by Naveen Narayanan Psychology at work by Manavi Pathak Guest column by Ritika Basu A point of view by Gautam Brahma REGULARS 8 14 16 58 SUBSCRIPTION (PRINT MAGAZINE) 1 year (12 issues): Rs.600 2 year (24 issues): Rs.1200 Editorial Research On the agenda Life beyond work (E-MAGAZINE) 1 year (12 issues) Rs.400 ADVERTISERS IN THIS ISSUE 2 year (24 issues): Rs.800 Send a written request mentioning your postal address and enclosing a cheque*/ demand draft in favour of 'HR Information Services' payable at New Delhi. (*Add Rs.90 for outstation cheques) Or pay by credit card online at our website www.humancapitalonline.com Opt for courier delivery by paying additionally. (Delhi: Rs. 150 per year; Other cities: Rs. 280 per year) 6 N October 2014 Pearson IFC HRDC 41 Acumen Business consulting 3 HRDC 63 L&T 5 XLRI IBC Pearson 7 HR Mantra BC Scrum 9 Crisp 11 ODC 13 IFC: Inside Front Cover; IBC: Inside Back Cover; BC: Back Cover www.humancapitalonline.com ■ October 2014 N 7 October 2014 ● Volume 18 Issue 5 Editorial, subscriptions & advertising office HR Information Services, F-316, Ground Floor, Lado Sarai Old M.B.Road, New Delhi - 110030. Ph: 29523466, 29523583 www.humancapitalonline.com Subscription queries [email protected] Articles [email protected] Suggestions [email protected] Advertisement queries [email protected] HC TEAM Editor & publisher: Punita Malhotra Dy. editor: Sannita Chakraborty Saha Advertising: Bharat Bhushan Tiwari Priyadarshini Pegu Sales (North & West): Anil K Pathak Sales (South & East): Shailendra Yagnik Customer care: Lalita Malviya Creative & layouts: David Thomas Subscription rates (Print magazine) 1 year: Rs.600; 2 years: Rs.1200 (E-magazine) 1 year: Rs.400; 2 years: Rs.800 PUBLISHER Punita Malhotra F-316, Ground Floor, Lado Sarai, Old M.B.Road, New Delhi - 110030 on behalf of HR Information Services. Printing Punita Malhotra from Vashima Printers, A-13 DDA Shed, Okhla Industrial Area-II New Delhi-110020. To our readers Thomas Frey, Innovations Editor for The Futurist Magazine, predicts that by 2030 over 2 billion jobs will disappear, mostly because of automation. He also forecasts several unimaginably new skill sets that will be required for the future, including transitionists, expansionists, optimizers, feedback loopers, contextualists, ethicists and legalists! Not only that, he lists jobs that don't even exist yet, like amnesia surgeons, memory augmentation therapists, extinction revivalists, plant educators, lifestyle housing designers, gene sequencers, currency strategists, waste data managers, drone standards specialists, bio-waste optimisers and guardians of privacy!!! You always thought you needed to become an overworked CEO or a boring investment banker to have an obnoxiously high pay check? Think again! PayDay One, a provider of payday loans, lists 10 unconventional careers that pay surprisingly well. Orthotists and Prosthetists: Average pay: $71,000 per year; Psychics: Average pay: $41,000 per year; Embalmers: Average pay: $45,060 per year; Master Sommeliers: Average pay: $80,000 to $160,000 per year; Subway and Streetcar Operators: Average pay: $59,400 per year; Flavorists: Average pay: Up to $100,000 per year; Ethical Hackers: Average pay: $92,000 per year; Airplane Repo Men: Average pay: Can earn $10,000 to $90,000 per plane repossessed; Submarine Cooks: Average pay: Varies, but in Australia they can earn up to $187,000 per year; Voice-over Artists: Average pay: Experienced voice-over talent can earn $50,000 to $80,000 per year. So, what's your calling? Though our cover story for this month, "Dare to dream" doesn't delve into such extreme career options, it does offer an opportunity to reflect on how the world of work is transforming. Who knows, we may not even be able to recognize it a couple of decades from today. Is your organization geared up for the inevitable evolution? Enjoy the read.... Processing Pre-Press Services E-9, 1st Floor Kalkaji New Delhi-110019 PUNITA MALHOTRA © 2014 HR Information Services. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner without written permission is prohibited. 8 N October 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■ Contractor Bills Verification for services is always a grey area, resulting in fund seepages. TM Labourworks is an Enterprise Contract Labour Management Software which helps streamlining the processes using SPC MethodologyTM. LabourworksTM can seamlessly connect to SAP, pull Work Orders and Push back the Service Entry Sheets (SES) based on verified services. This results in a substantial Cost savings. LabourworksTM is certified by SAP AG for integration. Call us to today to know more about “How LabourworksTM can help you leverage your SAP infrastructure for services verification & subsequent cost savings” ■ www.humancapitalonline.com October 2014 N 9 MAILBOX We've got mail! Getting better with time! Comprehensive in outlook I have been reading Human Capital for a while now. It is the best magazine in the HR magazine space and I prefer to read it for any HR related information. The articles are very interesting and informative. The effort put in by your team is also commendable. I would like to read articles on HR Jargons, tools and job related techniques that can help junior level employees. Also, please include more information on recent job openings across the industry. SHWETA VYAS Assistant Manager-HR, PwC, India Human Capital is one magazine that gives a comprehensive outlook to all aspects in HRD. The content is definitely very interesting and useful. We are able to implement many practices and ideas in our work. The December issue's Cover Story 'The changing face of Industrial Relations' was very informative. In fact, I have shared the article with many of my colleagues. The way the Maruti incident was discussed and references to the mandates were valuable. SUMIT SINGH Executive-HR, JBM Auto Limited A true advocate of HR I have been reading this magazine since the time it has been launched. What I like best about the magazine are the articles on the excellent HR practices in different organizations. The content in the magazine continues to be enriching as the topics are chosen with great care. On the other hand, I think you should give opportunities to young HR professionals and fresh management graduates also to share their thoughts and ideas, as they are very innovative and have a different perspective to traditional approaches. PREETI SHARMA HR consultant, Solutions Line, Mumbai Worthy content! I have been reading Human Capital for a long time now. The content is rich, and helps me in my day to day activities at work. However, I would like to read more on employee engagement and learn about the recent surveys that are conducted across the industry. SRIDEEPA CHATTERJI Associate-People Development, Global Logic Way ahead! I enjoy reading Human Capital a lot. The content is not just rich but is different. I have been reading this magazine for many years now and want to continue reading it. What I like best about the magazine is the way articles are grouped under different HR functions, which makes it easier for HR professional to locate articles and read according to one's interest areas. Overall, a very good magazine for HR people! KARTHIK VYAS HR Professional, New Age Recruitment Solutions (Your feedback is valuable for us. Send across your views and suggestions for India's most respected HR publication at [email protected] or [email protected] ) 10 N October 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■ ■ www.humancapitalonline.com October 2014 N 11 FOOD FOR THOUGHT Going through motions BY DILEEP RANJEKAR W ishing people on their birthday is a routine something that most of us do fairly regularly. Leaders and HR functions of many organizations aspire to do something different and innovative in their organization on employees' birthdays. Initially, there is a lot of enthusiasm among employees, but over a period of time, it becomes a challenge to sustain that energy. Only the employees retain their interest since it is their birthday. Group mails are sent to all. Many delete the mails as soon as they see it. Only a few close friends do drop a line or personally wish the birthday person. In cultures and social classes where 'birthdays' are not a big deal - it is like another day. In such cultures, if in some factory, the factory personnel head decides to issue birthday greetings himself the employees don't know how to respond to it. The reactions range from neutral to feeling happy. I happened to be once present in the room of a factory personnel head, when he had sent a message to a workman to come to his office so that he could hand over the birthday greeting card to the workman. First, the workman saw through the door glass and was hesitant to enter - the personnel head was speaking on phone. I was reading something on the opposite chair. The personnel head motioned the 12 N October 2014 workman in and he walked in to stand in a corner - not exactly knowing why he was summoned. I smiled at the workman and he probably felt a little assured. While being on the phone, the personnel head suggested to the workman to sit on the chair. He gestured back - saying he was fine standing. The personnel head repeatedly suggested the workman to sit on the chair. Finally after almost 10 minutes, the personnel head finished his call and was livid. He raised his voice and asked the workman - "when I am telling you to sit on the chair so many times, why did you disobey me?" The workman was stunned with the unexpected anger and had nothing to say. There was an uneasy silence for two-three minutes and finally the personnel head seriously told the workman - "it is your birthday today and I would like to officially greet you on behalf of the organization. The reason I have called you is to hand over to you the birthday greeting card" - after which he took out the greeting card from a pile of papers and gave it to him. The workman thanked (through gesture) and left. I was stunned with that episode………….and in amusement asked the personnel head - "if the idea was to wish him on his birthday - why scold him like this and greet him in such a mechanical manner?" On the part of the factory personnel head, he was serious about what he was doing and did not realize what he was not doing right. A few months ago, an employee leaving our organization wanted to meet me and I agreed like I normally do. The employee narrated her experiences with the organization and elaborated the situation that eventually prompted her to consider alternatives. I asked her whether she has mentioned all this during the exit interview. She burst into laughter. I asked her the reason for her laughter. She said the HR called her and requested her to spare some time for a few questions. The employee said - she was busy in something and would call back. The HR person was insistent since she was rather in a hurry - she said - "it would take just a few minutes and we can finish it on the phone itself. At least I would be able to tick the completion of an action". I was taken aback since I believed that the 'exit interview' was such a powerful tool with the organization to know what really happened. If done by a sensitive, empathetic and trained professional - it has the potential to be a mini employee-perception survey. It is an opportunity to meet the person who has decided to explore other options and fundamentally understand what led to the decision. What triggered the action - what led to such a serious conclusion? It is an opportunity for the organization www.humancapitalonline.com ■ FOOD FOR THOUGHT to learn and act on several issues. It is a process to genuinely connect with the employee to understand both the rational and emotive part of the decision. However, the crux is to create enabling conditions for the employee to think, gather thoughts cogently and express them without fear. You have to plan, think, be flexible and invest time in the process. If someone in the HR function decided to treat it as an activity to 'tick off' from among the several other things it is nothing short of a tragedy. Like in the 'birthday wishing' episode, here too, if someone whose responsibility is to treat these occasions as powerful opportunities to create an upside for the employee, for the self and for the organization by generating positive energy and achieving deeper understanding - one can just say that the soul of the activity is lost. The HR professional has just chosen to go through the ■ www.humancapitalonline.com motion without realizing the potential of the interaction. It reminds me of the process of continuous comprehensive evaluation (CCE). While the concept has existed for long, it was more formally introduced (and in a way mandated) by the Right to Education Act. Among other things - CCE has such a powerful potential to contribute to the professional development of the teachers themselves! It is not just about the students or learners but through a continuous review of the learner responses - also an opportunity to know what strategies deployed by the teacher are working. It cannot be reduced to mere formats and filling them to register completion of some job. If leaders and professionals don't make an attempt to understand the underlying principles - concepts and theories of what they are doing and don't realize the significance of why they are doing something - I would say they are merely treating their roles as that of a housekeeping person who merely ticks the charts behind the rest room doors without actually doing those jobs. The charts are made to ensure that certain things happen on a regular basis. However, doing those things is far more important than ticking the chart. If the rest room is clean and odourless - I don't think anyone would bother checking the chart. The moment you treat interactions with people as mere rituals to go through - devoid of the bond, the glue and the deeper meaning and joy behind such interactions - you can be rest assured that you have either not understood your role or have stopped enjoying your role and are doing it to merely earn salary. HC Dileep Ranjekar, Chief Executive Officer of Azim Premji Foundation, is also a passionate student of human behaviour. He can be contacted at [email protected]. October 2014 N 13 RESEARCH Skilling India A look back at the progress, challenges and the way forward India registers consistent 25% growth in online opportunities The Monster Employment Index has been depicting a steady and robust progress in the Indian recruitment industry. Studying the trends of various sectors, the media & entertainment industry has rocketed a 62% growth. Robust growth is exhibited by almost all the industry sectors monitored by the index like IT/ITES, Healthcare, Engineering & Construction, Production & Manufacturing, Travel and Education which indicates that the business sentiment is turning positive. According to the survey, the Media and Entertainment industry surges ahead with 62% y-o-y growth and Bangalore leads with 35 per cent growth in job opportunities followed by Ahmedabad with 33%. The key findings are: G Media & Entertainment leads all sectors by the way of long term gain followed by Home Appliance sector. Shipping/Marine registers the steepest decline G Among occupation groups, Marketing & Communications registers the steepest growth in demand on an annual basis G Bangalore records the most notable growth in opportunities between August 2013 and 2014 14 N October 2014 According to a FICCI-KPMG white paper launched in New Delhi, policy makers would need to recognize the structural strengthening of ecosystem by introducing enabling policies such as- Minimum Wages Act, Labor Laws, and Apprenticeship Act apart from proving required support to key stakeholders like NSDC, SSCs, State Skill Missions, Training Providers and others. According to the report, the growth in the domestic Industrial output has accentuated the crucial need for skilling India's working age population. The total projected increase in labour force during the Twelfth Plan period for was estimated to be 477.9 million in 2011 and is estimated to increase to 502.4 million by the end of 2017. At an annual addition of 9.25 million per year approximately 37 million jobs are expected to be created from 2012-13 through 2016-17. Manufacturing shall roughly contribute towards half of these additional jobs. Significant proportion of the jobs in these sectors would require a sector and skill specific trained workforce. The White Paper looks objectively at each of the related policies, enabling and implementing bodies and assesses their current performance and suggests structural and operational level efficacy interventions. It has given some valuable recommendations to promote skill development. Social Conscience will take priority in future workplaces India's future generation wants to work in organisations that demonstrate a strong social conscience and this is regardless of their relationship to the workplace. Almost 75 per cent of Indian respondents want to work for an organisation with a powerful social conscience, while only 26 per cent valued a job that makes a difference. The Indian workplace will increasingly evolve into collaborating networks of smaller organisations brought together by technology and www.humancapitalonline.com ■ RESEARCH social media. The emphasis will be on specialisation - professionals will have 'personal' brands and sell their skills to those who need them. But there will also be those who will want to work in the large, traditionally structured organisations and value long term service with a single organisation. Job security is most important for 53 percent of Indian respondents but 58 percent do not expect traditional employment to be around in the future. Instead of any elite organisation, 42 percent respondents wanted to ideally work for themselves and 81 percent are willing to completely re-train themselves to remain relevant. These findings are part of Future of Work: A journey to 2022, a specially commissioned PwC survey of 10,000 members of the public and 500 HR professionals across China, India, Germany, the UK and the US. The respondents gave their views on how they thought the workplace would evolve and how this might impact their employment prospects and future working lives. Whistle-blowing The latest buzzword but still lacks real significance in India Inc. Whistle-blowing is the latest buzzword among Indian organizations but compliance to the policy is still low, states EY's survey, 'The whistleblowing quandary: India Inc.'s journey from oblivious to obvious'. The survey reveals that while a majority of respondents assented to having a whistle-blowing mechanism, only 13% were fully compliant with the Companies' Act 2013. It also stated that only 22% of the respondents had implemented the framework because they considered the structured mechanism integral to their business operations. While many organizations had a policy in place, half of the respondents offered only one channel for reporting of complaints - which is more a 'tick in the box' approach than actually reaping the real benefits of a whistle-blowing framework. Arpinder Singh, Partner and National Leader, Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services said, "India Inc. still needs to make significant headway to benefit from an effective whistle-blowing framework. Today, regulatory measures are paving the path for sound governance practices; there are a series of metrics which need to intelligently converge for the mechanism's success. The vigil mechanism may only be an element in the larger risk mitigation framework; however, our understanding of market dynamics has helped us gauge its significance, if implemented correctly. Going forward, it is necessary for the management to pay more attention to the intricacies of the framework through efficient monitoring, support and oversight and most importantly, establishing a robust fraud response plan." ■ www.humancapitalonline.com Top pension fund assets hit $15 trillion According to Pensions & Investments and Towers Watson research, total assets of the world's largest 300 pension funds grew by over 6% in 2013 (compared to around 10% in 2012) to reach a new high of almost US$15 trillion (up from US$14 trillion in 2012,. The P&I / Towers Watson global 300 research, conducted in conjunction with Pensions & Investments, a leading US investment newspaper, shows that by individual region, Latin American and African funds had the highest five-year combined compound growth rate of over 16% (albeit from a low base) compared to Europe (12%), North America (around 6%) and Asia-Pacific (around 5%). The research also shows that the world's top 300 pension funds now represent around 47% of global pension assets1. According to the research, defined benefit (DB) funds account for 67% of total assets, down from 75% five years ago. During 2013, DB assets grew by around 3%, compared to reserve funds2 (15%), defined contribution (DC) plans (over 9%) and hybrids (over 8%). October 2014 N 15 ON THE AGENDA GLOBAL DIARY Oct - Nov 2014 Enhance your cross-cultural management skills Organizer: INSEAD Fees: • 8,500 When: Oct 20-24, 2014 Where: Fontainebleau Details: www.insead.edu Human Interaction Laboratory Organizer: NTL When: November 9-14, 2014 Where: Leesburg, Virginia Fees: $3,450 Details: www.ntl.org Interpersonal Skills for Leadership Success Organizer: NTL When: October 19-24, 2014 Where: Leesburg, Virginia Fees: $3,450 Details: www.ntl.org Intervention Strategies Organizer: NTL When: November 3-7 Where: Leesburg, Virginia Fees: $3,450 Details: www.ntl.org Theory and Practice in OD Organizer: NTL When: November 16-21 Where: Seattle, Washington Fees: $ 3,750 Details: www.ntl.org Program for Leadership Development Organizer: Harvard Business School When: 21 July-2014 - 30 Jan 2015 Where: HBS Campus, Boston, MA, USA Fees: $43,000 Details: www.exed.hbs.edu General Management Program Organizer: Harvard Business School When: 28 JULY-14 NOV Where: HBS Campus, Boston, MA, USA Fees: $61,000 Details: www.exed.hbs.edu Negotiation Dynamics Organizer: INSEAD Fees: • 6,250 When: 27 - 29 October 2014 Where: Paris Details: www.insead.edu 16 N October 2014 Financial Management Leadership Competency for Star Performance Location: Jamshedpur Dates: 5 - 8 November Human Resource Management Decision Making in Teams Location: Jamshedpur Dates: 03 Nov 2014 - 5 Nov 2014 Human Resource Management Professional Sales Management Location: Jamshedpur Dates: 21-31 October General Management Human Factors and Workplace Safety Location: Hyderabad Dates: 10-12 Novemeber General Management Organizational Leadership for the 21st Century Location: Ahmedabad Dates: 27-30 October, 2014 Strategic Management Innovation, Corporate Strategy, and Competitive Performance Location: Ahmedabad Dates: 3-8 November, 2014 XLRI Administrator Circuit House Area (East) Jamshedpur 831 035 Phone: 0657 - 398 / 665 3329 / 3330 Email: [email protected]/ [email protected] Website: www.xlri.ac.in/mdp XLRI Administrator Circuit House Area (East) Jamshedpur 831 035 Phone: 0657 - 398 / 665 3329 / 3330 Email: [email protected]/ [email protected] Website: www.xlri.ac.in/mdp XLRI Administrator Circuit House Area (East) Jamshedpur 831 035 Phone: 0657 - 398 / 665 3329 / 3330 Email: [email protected]/ [email protected] Website: www.xlri.ac.in/mdp ASCI Hyderabad Administrative Staff College of India Bella Vista Raj Bhavan Road, Khairatabad, Hyderabad -500 082, India Tel: +91-40-66533000 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.asci.org.in Manager, MDP IIM Ahmedabad Vastrapur Ahmedabad 380 015 INDIA Ph: 91-79-6632 4071-7 / 6544 9057 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.iimahd.ernet.in/mdp Website: www. fsm.ac.in Manager, MDP IIM Ahmedabad Vastrapur Ahmedabad 380 015 INDIA Ph: 91-79-6632 4071-7 / 6544 9057 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.iimahd.ernet.in/mdp Website: www. fsm.ac.in www.humancapitalonline.com ■ ON THE AGENDA General Management Creating Competitive Advantage through Service Quality Location: Gurgaon Dates: 17-19 November, 2014 General Management Building High Performance Team Location: Gurgaon Dates: 10-12 November, 2014 Ved Alawadi Chief Administrative Officer (P) MDI Gurgaon Mehrauli Road, Sukhrali, Gurgaon 122 007,India Tel : +91-124-4560004 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.mdi.ac.in Ved Alawadi Chief Administrative Officer (P) MDI Gurgaon Mehrauli Road, Sukhrali, Gurgaon 122 007,India Tel : +91-124-4560004 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.mdi.ac.in NEWS ROUNDUP SHRM India’s 3rd Annual Conference & Exposition 2014 We take immense pleasure in inviting you for “SHRM India’s 3rd Annual Conference & Exposition 2014”, India’s premier HR event catering to the most prominent HR and Business leaders. The event is going to be held in the India's millennium city Gurgaon, Haryana on 25th and 26th September, 2014. The two-day conference presents a great opportunity for you to network with over 650+ Delegates, 250+ Organisations and 60+ Global Attendees. Brief about event Human Behaviour and OD Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills Location: Gurgaon Dates: 27-29 October, 2014 Strategy & General Management CXO Program: Building Business in Emerging Markets Location: Bangalore Dates: 3 November, 2014 Strategy & General Management Learning from Corporate Failures Location: Bangalore Dates: 27 October, 2014 Financial Management Finance for Non-Finance Executives Location: Kozikode Dates: 15-17 October, 2014 ■ www.humancapitalonline.com Ved Alawadi Chief Administrative Officer (P) MDI Gurgaon Mehrauli Road, Sukhrali, Gurgaon 122 007,India Tel : +91-124-4560004 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.mdi.ac.in The Administrative Officer (EEP) IIM Bangalore Bannerghatta Road Bengaluru - 560 076 Karnataka, India Tel: +91 - 80 - 2699 3264 / 3475 / 3742 Website: www.iimb.ernet.in E-mail: [email protected] The Administrative Officer (EEP) IIM Bangalore Bannerghatta Road Bengaluru - 560 076 Karnataka, India Tel: +91 - 80 - 2699 3264 / 3475 / 3742 Website: www.iimb.ernet.in E-mail: [email protected] Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode IIMK Campus P. O., Kozhikode, Kerala, India, PIN - 673 570 Phone: +91-495-2809100 Fax: +91-495-2803010-11 Website: http://www.iimk.ac.in The agenda for conference is based on the theme ‘Connect, Inspire and Grow’ offering a platform that empowers and enables HR personnel across all industry verticals to stay in line with continuously evolving HR industry. Apart from this, the conference will have 20+ Knowledge Sessions, 6+ Concurrent Sessions on Industry Trends and 8 National & South-Asian Awards. The Keynote speakers will present you with stories and viewpoints that will bring various facets and viewpoints on human resource management from across the world. Please find below the details for the event. Also, attached is the event agenda for your reference. Key Speakers RON KAUFMAN- NY Times Bestselling author, Founder of UP Your Service, DR. KARI STROBEL-Director, HR Competencies, SHRM, SUNITA BHYUAN-Violinist and Training Professional, WAYNE F. CASCIORobert H. Reynolds Chair in Global Leadership, Professor of Management, University of Colorado, ASHOK ALEXANDER- Director at Antara, Lead at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in India, Ex-Director at McKinsey & Company, India, RAJEEV DUBEY-President (Group HR, Corporate Services) & Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, ABHIJIT BHADURI-Chief Learning Officer, Wipro Group and VIRENDER AGGARWALCEO, Ramco Systems. For more details : http://annualindia.shrmindia.org/ October 2014 N 17 COVER STORY BY SANNITA CHAKRABORTY SAHA Dare to dream Though the world has become more competitive, it isn't always an end of the road for a mediocre. There are several unusual careers which has earned both social and financial acceptance, and also ensures modest to great success. F or many of us who were born in the 70s and 80s, career options were very limited. All one could pursue were either engineering or medical. Some would be little far-fetched and would try their luck in the civil services. In fact success in those times meant scoring good marks in exams and getting through the competitive examinations which eventually spelled a secured future both socially and financially. In fact, a mediocre had to struggle hard to find a place in the employment sector. Touchwood! This isn't the case anymore. Academic success isn't the only route to a secured and successful career. Today people can achieve the basic parameters of success through unusual careers. People can earn immense wealth, fame and prosperity even being a photographer, a florist, a designer or an ad film maker. On one hand, the cut-off marks at colleges has steeped to its highest level and the 18 N October 2014 competition is fierce, but even then, those who are not academic achievers can also hope to have a bright future for themselves. A big change that has happened is that different unusual careers has got social acceptance. Being a photographer, a flight attendant or a bell captain at A luxury hotel is no longer a social taboo. The mindset especially in the metros has undergone a drastic change. There are many more career options that can pull in a pretty penny just as much as any other traditional career would. For those who were born in the pre-90s era, were all fed with the belief that certain careers were ideal and hence should be obvious career choices. This is why many of us are still stuck with mundane jobs even though the interest level is low. Welcome change A successful career is indeed an integral part of one's identity. If you ask any Baby Boomer or a Gen-X how they chose their career, most people would say they didn't. They relied on www.humancapitalonline.com ■ COVER STORY ■ www.humancapitalonline.com October 2014 N 19 COVER STORY Forensics Science Sandeep Dhupia Partner and Head of Forensics, KPMG in India Does investigation excite you Forensics Services offers very promising career opportunities for diverse skillsets. Forensic services have evolved from investigating financial statement frauds to corporate intelligence, anti-money laundering work, contract compliance services, IP Advisory, software license reviews, verifications, etc. Most importantly technology is the new enabler (not only to commit fraud but) to investigate fraud, thus bringing to the fore the need for forensic technology experts. Bundle of options Forensics offers opportunities for multiple and diverse skill sets. MBAs and Chartered Accountants, technology and telecom graduates, individuals with law enforcement experience, people with technology and engineering backgrounds, ethical hackers, banking professionals, people with experience in Internal audit, regulatory and compliance. Our team at KPMG comprises a healthy mix of accountants, management graduates, engineering graduates, telecom graduates, those with law enforcement experience, lawyers, economists, graduates, cyber and forensic technology experts etc. Sea of opportunities The growth prospects and opportunities are tremendous. Forensic services are still at a nascent stage in India and therefore trained forensic specialists are scarce and hence very much in demand by consulting firms offering forensic services. Many large corporates are also building in house Forensic teams especially in sectors such as Banking, Telecom, Pharmaceuticals, etc. Forensics also offers the foundation to embark on careers in risk management, systems and risk process designing, compliance, etc. For forensic technology professionals, with the increased use of cyber and technology to commit frauds, the scope of being involved in preventive and investigative roles has largely increased. Experienced forensic professionals may also develop a career as expert witnesses in litigation and appear in depositions in courts of law. Nothing glamorous about it The challenge of forensic science is whether the job is in academia or the civil service, one thing graduates and post-graduates must bear in mind is that the work isn't as glamorous as what they see on TV. Like other areas of science, work in forensics involves a lot of painstaking laboratory work, and colleagues don't always look as good in their lab coats as the forensics scientists on TV. others to choose their career without considering what the consequences were in letting someone else direct their path. Their teachers, parents, neighbors, and peers did by telling them to tread pre-designed career paths and they followed suit. In fact, a joint survey by PARADE magazine and Yahoo! Finance of 26,000 Americans reveal that almost 60 per cent of the respondents accepted that given a chance they would choose a different career. It's not unusual for people to start out their careers in one direction only to end up finding where their true interests lie. No doubt happenstance can play a role in your career. However, when it comes to the cost of an education or happiness there has to 20 N October 2014 be a better way in choosing your career. Times have changed. The tribe of young professionals strives to do what they are convinced about, choose to pursue careers that give them the 'kick'. And this is increasing becoming a trend. In fact, looking at the way educational institutions are expanding their courses and curriculums to accommodate new age courses only reiterates the fact that it's time we open our arms to new age careers and welcome innovative ideas and minds. From passion to career The new breed have the courage to explore unusual career streams, face the initial hiccups head on and turn hobbies in to www.humancapitalonline.com ■ COVER STORY lucrative careers. This is why despite the challenging economic scenario; people want to work off the beaten track to pursue what they are passionate about. Besides, business mindsets have also undergone a transformation. Investors are open to put their money in to innovative ideas; venture capitalists are helping young professionals spread their wings. Galore of stories of IIT and IIM graduates leaving aside their degrees to do something that they strongly believe in has inspired many to follow their heart. These young professionals opt to do interesting things leaving behind comfortable, cushy and high paying jobs. Few months back, two highflying IITians quit their lucrative jobs in the US and joined hands to start a tea cafe chain 'Chaayos' in the NCR region. A decade or so back, people would have laughed it off as the most juvenile thing to do….start a tea stall…huh! The decision to make a living out of the tea business hit headlines and many speculated on this business decision. However, the IIT Bombay graduates were confident on their decision and were looking for VCs to fun their business. They mentioned the USP of Chaayos as flexibility for customers to customize their chai the way they like it. Nitin Saluja, one of the founders spoke to the media and highlighted the USP of their product as the flexibility of the customers to be able to customize their chai in over 12,000 ways depending on the various addon choices they make. There are many like Parul Gupta who have dared to tread the unexplored path and also achieved a modest success. Making a career a florist was unthinkable in the Voice Over Lending your voice Voice Over as a career requires skillsets that are either Godgifted or cultivated to an extent. It offers great variety of work because the context and content of each Voice Over is different and hence the approach towards each is also different. More than anything else, it is the sheer pleasure of listening to your own voice in different tones and textures in a wide spectrum of work - whether it is commercials, promos, documentaries or explainer videos. The thrill of being told that the commercial will be voiced by you is the biggest high. Yes, people might not know it is you, but the person inside you surely will get the biggest kick. Voice modulation is must I doubt if a lot of youngsters are aware of this as a career option. A few established names rule the roost in this profession and I would be delighted to see new talent showing up. But in the last five years, I have not seen too many newcomers in this profession. For a career as a voice over artist, one has to have the skill to convey all kinds of emotions, through the voice and that has to be seamlessly in ■ www.humancapitalonline.com sync with the visuals. In addition, one should be a great voice modulator to bring out life in the voice over. Ample opportunities As a Voice Over Artist you are self-employed. Most Voice Over artists also have a day job and they take up Voice Over as a second career option. The opportunities depend solely on the individual's talent, the market and the relevance of his/her voice to a certain project. Income is again dependent on the quality of voice and star value of the artist like in any art form Sailing through The biggest challenge is to identify whether one has the talent and drive to be an artist. Even if you have a good voice texture and quality, you still need to reach out to the right studios, producers and agencies to make a living out of it. It is a tough and competitive market and one should have the patience and perseverance to keep trying all the time. Subha Chatterjee Voice Over Artist October 2014 N 21 COVER STORY past. Gupta, a Floral Artist by profession whirled into the floral world more than a decade ago. Her natural flair for creativity, her intense passion for flowers and endurance for perfection set her out on the path of an unusual career, something which was unheard of some 10 years ago. In spite of being a Political Science graduate from Lady Shri Ram College, her sense of inquisitiveness and eagerness to explore different things, brought Parul to the world of flowers and helped her carve out a career out of it. She has managed to carve out her niche in floral designing and her designs reflect ancient traditions of craftsmanship Floral Artistry When flowers pave a career Floral Artist is the one who create floral set ups that embody our emotions perfectly through the language of flowers. Today's floral designer is one who can balance a business, market his or her brand, and create unique and stylish designs that sets them apart. To be a successful Floral Artist, one needs to be creative, service oriented, efficient in communicating both visually and verbally and be able to react to changing local and international trends Becoming a floral designer allows an artist to connect with nature, create beautiful art, and to be commercially valuable to clients in their area. Floral designers can specialize in weddings or events or open their own floral boutiques. The options are endless, and the demand for talented and unique eye for floral visions is high in many cities across the globe. Lots to expect Growing at a compounded annual growth rate of about 30%, India's floriculture industry is likely to cross Rs 8000 crore mark by 2015. Government of India has identified floriculture as 'sunrise industry' and accorded 100% export oriented status. So there is a lot of potential in this career. 22 N October 2014 in a contemporary vocabulary. She believes that innovation is beyond qualification and never requires a technical or educational degree. While for some, doing unusual things and making a living out of it may have been well accepted, for some, it's met with objections and sarcasm. Life coach Suzy Greaves in an article in The Observer had said, "We are encouraged to be successful, to go for money, status, the big car, the title, but when we get all that, we may not be happy. Family and friends pressurize young people toward options that avoid the risks of a hard grind or minimize the chances Parul Gupta Floral Artist, Kalikaar Design Pvt Ltd Passion for floral art & design One should opt for this career for one's passion for flowers, creativity and innovativeness. It is not a monotonous job. Every time you work on a floral project, there is something new that you are creating with it. So, there is a challenge to create something different every time. Moreover, in this cut throat competition, Floral Artists can create their own niche customers. A combined knowledge of floriculture and some management tips, one can do incredible things and earn a good income. Floral Designer or Florist The art of creating beautiful and unique designs can be challenging, yet a rewarding career. Working with flowers and plants is an extremely challenging craft that requires patience, tenacity, and a keen artistic eye. One should be prepared for long hours, hard work and not so attractive stipends. But once he is trained under a Floral Artist and she/ he is able to develop new décor ideas, his remuneration may vary from five figures to six figures per assignment. Moreover, in India, there are hardly schools that provide formal trainings for this art which itself is a big challenge. www.humancapitalonline.com ■ COVER STORY Digital Marketing Kapil Ohri Planning Director (Digital), OgilvyOne Worldwide [India] Author, The Curious Digital Marketer book series Being a digital marketer Digital marketing is a wonderful career choice for those who are hungry to 'learn' and 'innovate'. The ever-evolving nature of the digital medium--in terms of technologies and platforms--inspires one to constantly pace up with the dynamic digital world and create new ways of reaching out to consumers via innovative formats of digital advertising. In India, digital media is growing rapidly. The increased usage has led marketers to strongly consider digital medium for marketing. As a result, digital media now accounts for 7 to 8 per cent of the total ad spend compared to 1 per cent in 2003. Wanting to go digital 'Accessibility', 'Comfort' and 'Affinity' are the three key factors leading youngsters to choose this career. Thanks to smartphones, tablets, laptops and economical internet access, digital medium is now accessible to one and all, anywhere and at all times. Because of high accessibility, youngsters these days are much more comfortable in using the medium for various activities like social networking, online shopping, movie ticket booking, gaming etc. Their affinity with digital medium is remarkably high and thus prompts them to convert their obsession into full-time career. of landing a perceivable inappropriate job. Unusual careers are born when some of these talented people, trapped in artificial casks, break out of them." The power to decide Greaves, who runs a coaching business called 'The Big Leap', had also pointed out that an astonishing 80 per cent of people end up in the wrong job because most are unable to decide what they actually want to do and tend to follow the herd. "We finish school, and go through our 20s conforming to what other people want us to do. That's often a solid career with a professional qualification. But most people aren't maturing until their ■ www.humancapitalonline.com Incredibly competitive industry In terms of career opportunities, digital media offers a vast array of options. Professionals can either choose a niche within digital media or can pursue it as a generalist. For instance, one can focus on particular beat like Social Media, Mobile Marketing, Web Analytics, Search Engine marketing (SEM) etc. or opt for overall digital marketing roles, which cover all parts of digital marketing. Apart from choosing streams, youngsters can also choose the type of companies they would like to work for within the digital media ecosystem. Looking beyond the Internet One key factor, youngsters should keep in mind before they opt for this career option is that digital marketing is not about loving the Internet space. It's also about deep understanding of various aspects of marketing while integrating the best of digital media practices. There are two key challenges of the digital marketing career according to me. One is dearth of training institutes imparting quality digital marketing education. And, the other is lack of understanding of digital marketing amongst marketers. early twenties, and before that we tend to listen to other people's opinions of what we should do with our lives, rather than our own. 'We are encouraged to be successful, to go for money, status, the big car, the title, but when we get all that, we may not be happy. Often it hits people around 33, when they decide they have done it all in their career and they want to find fulfillment instead," she says. Some take decisions early in life and so reap the success. For one, RJ Raunac, the radio jockey with RED FM, Delhi is a management graduate and also worked with a retail firm in the early part of his career. But an opportunity to have a tryst October 2014 N 23 COVER STORY Animation Vivekananda Roy Ghatak Co-founder and Director, Rocket Science Animation The animator's paradise Animation is broadly divided into three categories. Animation for advertising is exciting, fast paced and the focus is on innovation and creativity along with technical prowess. The work in this category is super fast paced, with deadlines tied to broadcast/launch dates. Hence the challenge is how to creatively use limited resources to get maximum output in terms of quality as well as not use up too much time. In animation for feature films, seemingly the best animation can happen, since the deadlines are not so tight especially for pre production. Animation for animated series has similar timelines and skill requirements as features, but because of higher volumes of work and lesser budgets, the focus is on optimization of resources. On path of expansion The animation industry is growing at a massive rate and with the new initiative of online content featuring more and more videos rather than still image based ad campaigns, etc., the scope of work has further opened up. Employment opportunities range from small boutique production houses to big studios engaged in feature and series production. The Hotbeds of the animation industry are Bombay- for all kinds of animation production, Hyderabad for mostly series work, Pune for predominantly flash animation studios and Bangalore for a lot of high end Outsourced production houses. Boundless scope to create magic One should opt for a career in animation only if they are passionate about creating magic through animation. Drawing skills are not a deal breaker, they can always be learned but an interest and affinity towards the performing arts, movies and storytelling in any form really helps. In animation, we have to create and build our own actors and actresses and locations from scratch compared to live action where it is mainly a mega people-managing enterprise for the director and the producer. Looking beyond the drudgery Animation seems like a fantasy. And, that's why kids want to go in for it. Animation is a huge and complex process and each stage needs a different specialization. There is storyboard artist, character designer, BG artist, animator, modeler, compositor, the list is endless. It is important to realize that there is drudgery in this career, be it 2D, 3D or any kind of animation or any category of animation. But once you get hooked to animation the funny thing is it stops feeling like work. You sit for hours on end tweaking one particular curve in the graph of an animation and not even realize the hours go by. with radio at All India Radio changed his life. At that point of time, people would have found it crazy to have opted for a career which was frivolous when one had a job in an organized sector. As the private FM regime unfolded in the country, opportunities opened up for RJ Raunac as well. From AIR he moved to Red FM Lucknow and then to Delhi. Today, he is glad to have made the right choice when he looks back. Probably, he is more successful and the growth much faster than he would have had as a marketer in the retail space. However, the degree in management 24 N October 2014 certainly did not go waste. His learning at the business school has helped him understand his consumer better. In radio, one needs to serve the content as per the target audience. and identify the listeners, step into their shoes and then frame the content accordingly. This is where his management degree comes to play, however the learning continues as one progresses in his life. This why carefully choosing your career stream is critical as it ultimately determines what you will be doing for a good deal of your professional life and will also define www.humancapitalonline.com ■ COVER STORY the number of opportunities you will have to branch out. Also, do not ignore the fact that one needs to make a living too. So, while it is an imperative to follow your passion, it is equally important to choose wisely and select a field that encompasses as many of your talents as possible, allows you greatest freedom , along with a good dose of solid confidence in your worth and abilities. Moreover, it is essential to look at the things you are good at. These will give you a very good indication of what you are likely to enjoy doing by way of a career. Through this phase, it is important to maintain a positive outlook and to be ready for change, difference and shifts in your comfort zones. This is the real world and it moves rapidly; it is important to keep up with changes and to take a positive approach by making opportunities out of challenges. Education remains a dominant factor Having said that academic success is not the sole route to success, we must all admit that good education does and will remain the training ground for perspectives to be formed and ideas to unravel themselves. So a solid educational background is a must, as it teaches you the way to approach your problem, appreciate the solutions and apply the logical imperative. Stanford University professor, John Krumboltz, an eminent figure in the field of Radio Jockey RJ Raunac RED FM, 93.5 Jump start your career as an RJ A career in RJing career requires enthusiasm, rationality, creativity of mind, good sense of humour, excellent communication skills and ownership of a live appealing voice. As a Radio Jockey, one gets to present shows and programs, and entertain the listeners over the radio. As a career, it is fulfilling and challenging at the same time. It entails a lot of responsibility and one needs to be informed about what he is presenting to his listeners. Half information will leave a very bad taste and experience in the listener's mind. Do you have an ear for music? A majority of the youth today is attracted towards Radio jockeying as a career because of the glamour quotient that comes with it. However, I would like to clarify that it requires great dedication to be a good RJ and deliver a good show. Glamour comes with serious hardwork. If one thinks that he is creative and hardworking, he can definitely opt for this career. It's lucrative and quite fulfilling. Also, in this job, one gets to interact with different kinds of people, earn special perks for holding great show. Ample options to choose from Radio is one of the most booming industries in the country right ■ www.humancapitalonline.com now and offers great career prospects. With the third phase of radio coming in it is only expected to expand further. There is ample opportunity in the radio industry for people who wish to showcase their talents in this industry. There are various leading FM channels and private radio ventures offering job opportunities. RJs can find jobs in AIR (All India Radio) and other independent radio stations. RJs can do voice-overs for television and radio advertisements. Learn the trick Always remember, the performance of the RJ is responsible for bringing in listeners to the radio station. So having a passion for music and the listeners is vital. Also, it is critical that you have a good command over the language that you choose to communicate in. As for challenges, if you don't get the basics right, it will create problems. If you are on the right track, things will remain sorted. Unlike television and movies, what is spoken in Radio is live and is instantly transmitted to the listeners. It is important that your opinions and statements are neutral and not biased, as it may offend any listener. Be sensitive to your listeners. October 2014 N 25 COVER STORY counseling psychology, feels a common mistake is to assume that career decisions happen "naturally." He feels that most young people never make a career decision but simply follow a path of least resistance. He feels that a career decision that affects everything in our future - not just how we spend eight hours, 50 weeks a year. How much time do young people spend planning it and considering options? Unfortunately, many give more thought to choosing a new pair of shoes than on choosing their career. For Rita Mehra, an intelligent, smart 20 something, in spite of being an IIM Ahmedabad graduate, Rita was not keen on a 9-5 job and wanted to venture into something that would give her creative Law satisfaction. While her friends were taking up lucrative job with world's top financial firms, she was out to make a career out of what Indians loved the most 'weddings'. She became a Wedding Planner. Her knack for efficient management of parties and events, networking, budgeting, quick thinking while sorting problems, time management, negotiating, organizing and systematic planning at college gave way to a full-fledged career. Today Rita Mehra is a noted wedding planner, and is her own boss. New age careers are finding success and acceptance along with name, fame and wealth and hence, more and more people are breaking barriers and daring to do what they want rather than following age old careers. Tarvinder Singh Senior Partner, Kochhar & Co Law an honorable career Over the last 15 years or so, the profession of law has gone through an immense transition. The practice of law is not just restricted to the traditional areas of litigation. Young lawyers can now choose from a wide spectrum of legal fields such as Corporate Law, Litigation, Taxation, Real Estate, Labour Law, Cyber Law, Intellectual Property Law etc. with each vertical having its own areas of specialization. Even from an academic perspective, aspiring students now have the option to either go for a three-year LL.B program after graduation in any discipline, or for a five-year integrated BA LL.B program after passing Class 12, which was not available earlier. Is this the right career for me? Opening up of the Indian economy has presented new and exciting opportunities in the field of law. The profession needs young and energetic lawyers to cater to the challenging assignments from foreign companies investing in India which range from corporate law to litigations. Also, the prospect of good salaries from large law firms has made law a good and rewarding career option. 26 N October 2014 Climbing the ladder Law has become one of the most prestigious career streams now due to the change in business environment and foreign investments coming in. I would say that law offers immense growth prospects and employment opportunities. Upon completion of LL.B, one could appear for judicial services or JAG Department, join a law firm/corporate house or even start his/her own independent practice. Also, a lawyer never retires, one can practice law till he or she is fit to do it. Also, good and capable lawyers are in demand by prestigious companies and law firms. This profession is almost immune to financial meltdowns and depressions. The lowdown The challenges would depend on the practice area one chooses. A young litigating lawyer for example may have to struggle for years before he/she can establish a financially sound practice. Most corporate lawyers enjoy good remuneration from day one but have to adhere to the challenges of long and erratic working hours and constant work pressure from clients. www.humancapitalonline.com ■ COVER STORY Tarot Card Reading Dr. Madhu Kotiya Senior Tarot Mentor and Life Coach Mshezaim Institute of Tarot and Divination Reading the future As people continue to get impatient to learn about their future, career of palm-readers, numerologists, astrologers and tarot card readers will continue to flourish. Tarot reading as a career is a 24x7 job. People from all walks of life flock a tarot reader's studio seeking readings for stress management, meditation, healing and solutions to their problems. Today, Tarot card readers are needed everywhere, from television and radio to events, cultural programs, social gatherings, kitty parties, and so on. Besides, the corporate sector, event management companies, sports, appoint tarot card readers before a new launch, event or game. Inclination towards mysticism If you are looking at Tarot card reading as a career, it is vital that you have strong communication skills. Having a sixth sense is considered to be an advantage; however, this skill is completely dependent on the power of intuition. It is basically the inner calling, which decides your ability to excel. By opting for this career, you can help many people who are in trouble. Also, the mysticism of his field is drawing their attention. As we go ahead As prospects increase, new mindsets evolve, people with innovative bent of minds will continue to blaze unusual career paths. The evolving economy and new paradigms are sanctioning professionals to introspect and discover what they actually want to do, and if they have it in them to pursue careers that satisfy their passions. As some beckon the courage to dare the world, we get to watch newer dimensions in a professional's life. While there will be pitfalls along the way, but then it's like the saying that goes: the greater boxer is not the one who throws more punches but is the one who is able to take punches and get up each time he is ■ www.humancapitalonline.com No dearth of opportunities Tarot card reading offers good scope for those who are inclined towards helping others through their elusive art. This is complete employment; it offers great flexibility to schedule work timings according to one's convenience and one can even work from home. Tarot definitely has a lot of potential. Apart from money, it also helps in spiritual awakening. You have the option to work for a telephone-based or Internet-based company who will route their clients to you. Or, you can go freelance. A website and business cards are essential to start with. You can also place ads in local newspapers/ print pamphlets for oneto-one interactions or Internet advertising for phone/online interactions. Not an easy task at all! While making a career out of tarot reading is not an easy task. As a Tarot reader, do not allow your clients to take advantage of you. When people start talking, they often can't stop. Set a timer when the client sits down. And do usher the client out if they are rude or disrespectful. Resist the urge to be available at your client's beck and call as that is the surest path towards burn out. Also, if you have your market in mind and some healthy boundaries in place, you'll be setting yourself up for a sane and profitable business model. knocked down. Life is ultimately about knowing your strengths, something that we often spend a lifetime to discover. I have often wondered, do people stumble upon sudden interests that compel them to give up their careers or do they make conscious decisions. We will scan though the career choices of few professionals who have taken the decision to pursue a different kind of career, who had the courage to look at unconventional career paths and stick on to it, in spite of challenges. It will reflect how every individual goes through a trial phase where he introspects and decides what is best for him, and then makes a conscious HC decision to take it forward. October 2014 N 27 HR ROUNDTABLE Best of Both worlds Taking a cue from what Indra Nooyi recently said in an interview, "Women can't have it all', this HR Roundtable explores the challenges women employees face when it comes to achieving the perfect balance between career and personal responsibilities. BY SANNITA CHAKRABORTY SAHA ...Continued from last issue O ur expert panelists Anita Sinai Guha, Regional Delivery Manager - Americas, ANZ, ASEAN, Korea, & Japan, IBM Learning, Padma Rajeshwari Nandi, Senior Director, Head - Learning & Talent Development, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Aparna Sharma, Country Head- HR, Lafarge, and Manika Awasthi Menon, Director- People Success, Sapient India, and Dr. Sujaya Banerjee, Chief Learning Officer, Essar Group discuss integral aspects of maintaining work-life balance, ponder on how to strike an equilibrium and making the right work-life choices. Do you think workplace biases compel women employees to approach work more aggressively vis-à-vis their male counterpart? ANITA SINAI GUHA: I don't agree that women approach work more aggressively. But I would contend that on average, women probably need to work harder than men to get to the same level in the workplace. A big part of it is that a woman is working both at the office and at home so, assuming she has the same expertise as her male colleague, she may require more time to complete a task because of her other responsibilities. PADMA RAJESHWARI NANDI: "A women has to work twice as hard as a man in order to achieve the same thing." I would relate this aspect to 'aggressiveness' mentioned in the question rather than getting into the literal meaning of the word 'aggressively'. Given this context, I agree that workplace biases compel women employees - at least those who are ambitious - to approach work more 28 N October 2014 aggressively. Some managers hesitate to hire women employees as they feel that women would be burdened with other priorities and will not be able to take up challenging work or fully commit themselves to work. These managers may have formed such bias either through their prior experience or listening to other's experiences. Some women will no doubt fit into this frame. However, managers tend to put all women into the same stereotype. This in turn forces women, especially those who want to build successful career, to adopt a more aggressive approach, making more personal sacrifices in order to achieve the same level of success. Though the scenario is gradually changing, the workplace biases continue to linger and continue to impose a negative start for women employees. APARNA SHARMA: I have always believed that work environment must be gender neutral wherein a woman doesn't have to prove her worth by adopting the so-called www.humancapitalonline.com ■ HR ROUNDTABLE masculine traits of being aggressive. Women are intuitive by nature and must use their emotional intelligence to grow in their roles. This will also help them in multi-tasking and preempting concerns or roadblocks if any, with best of their abilities. MANIKA AWASTHI MENON: Yes there are classic work places biases that exist which compel women to become more aggressive not only about their work but also about the way they approach their work- adopting behaviours that they see are successful. For example, in an organization if assertiveness stereotypes and biases make some women act like feminists. I believe our Gender Diversity challenges are both individual and to do with our gender. We must rally around other female talent and provide support both officially and personally. However, I have a serious concern regarding this movement turning into one that reflects cynical feminism or male bashing. The aggressive, anti-male stance is detrimental to the movement of women getting counted professionally and making a mark as leaders, driving excellence in their respective fields. and aggression is a valued trait, then women shed their natural behaviours to adopt these to succeed and compete with their male counterparts. My view is that women should be aware of these biases, should let them surface openly and address them instead of shying away from the real issue and focus on coping mechanisms to survive in an environment that is biased. DR. SUJAYA BANERJEE: I do believe the "The most important factor in determining whether you will succeed isn't your gender, it's you," argues Angela Braly, CEO of WellPoint. "Be open to opportunity and take risks. In fact, take the worst, the messiest, the most challenging assignment you can find, and then take control." Do you think it is easier said than done? Please justify your answer. ANITA SINAI GUHA: It is definitely easier ■ www.humancapitalonline.com October 2014 N 29 HR ROUNDTABLE said than done but there is a very important truth at the kernel of Angela Braly's statement. While there are elements in the environment that create obstacles in the path to a woman's success, there are also elements within us that can hinder our own progress. We need to take responsibility for those elements and make conscious efforts to overcome them. The quote, "it's not the glass ceiling but the sticky floor," comes to mind in this regard. In addition to fighting the prejudice that may be "out there," we need to recognize how we may unwittingly sabotage our own careers - like when we don't speak up because we don't believe our voice is worth listening to, or when we don't take our place at the decision making table because we're not confident that we belong, or we hesitate to volunteer for a PANELISTS ANITA SINAI GUHA, Regional Delivery Manager - Americas, ANZ, ASEAN, Korea, & Japan, Global Segment Leader for First & Upline Managers, IBM Learning, is a graduate from Harvard University. She has 20 years of experience in training, organizational development, learning and knowledge management fields. Her global experience spans a range of industries including the public sector, pharmaceutical, shipping, beverages and IT. PADMA RAJESHWARI NANDI, Senior Director & Head - L&D, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. Over the past 20 years (15 years out of which have been dedicated to talent development), Padma has enabled organizations and individuals build capability across frontline, managerial and leadership levels. Prior to joining Dr. Reddy's, she has worked with Infosys and Larsen & Toubro, among other large organizations. APARNA SHARMA, Country Head-Human Resources at Lafarge India, is at the helm of Human Resources function for Lafarge, a French multinational. She persistently and passionately values freedom, authentic relationships and realization of potential of people. With 18 years of experience, she has worked in different roles in the HR function in organizations like Monsanto, Novartis, UCB & Deutsche Bank. MANIKA AWASTHI MENON, Director- People Strategy, Sapient, India. She has close to 14 years of experience across several domains in Human Resources in a global context spanning Business Unit Level HR partnership, Setting up and running HR Shared Service Centers’ (for employee life cycle processes, policies and compliance), HR functional expertise and Corporate level HR. DR. SUJAYA BANERJEE, Chief Talent Officer at Essar, has been a Human Resources professional for over 24 years and has transformed the HR functions in several leading organizations during her career. She is a passionate HR professional having set up world class Performance and Talent Management programs through her assignments at ADNOC. 30 N October 2014 new assignment because we are not sure we can cope with the challenge. We need to take more risks and we need to trust our own ability to transform challenges into opportunities. PADMA RAJESHWARI NANDI: I would disagree with this point. Gender does make a difference, at least up to a certain extent. Several women are ambitious, are open to take risks, pick up challenging assignments and prove themselves. However, not everyone is lucky enough to get a senior employee who is willing to provide them the opportunity and challenging assignments. Not having a mentor (who is willing to invest time and effort in them, willing to take risk with them) is probably one of the most significant disadvantage that women employees face. Several women who have reached senior levels have either been lucky to have got good sponsors or have been able to cultivate good mentors. APARNA SHARMA: Success is 90 percent in your thoughts and 10 percent in your actions. The results that you desire in your life will always depend on the way you think. The quality of your life comes down to the quality of your thoughts and not from physical power or physical actions. Even the highest caliber athletes usually have the same skill sets as each other. What separates the best from the rest is the quality of their thoughts. We are all created equal. What makes us different is how we use our minds and our hearts. The achievers of the world will always have a mental edge over their competitors. They always have, and they always will. The reason for the successful to succeed is because of their unstoppable will to win. Truly, it is all about mind over matter. MANIKA AWASTHI MENON: I agree and don't believe it is easier said than done. Regardless of gender, it is important for people to have an aspiration- a purpose and take actions that will help realize the purpose. It is at the end of the day about "You" - who you are and what " You" want to achieve for yourself. If a woman aspires to be a CEO of a company then she needs to have the aspiration, build the capability and have the support within and outside of work that will help her get there. I think the same would apply for a man. DR. SUJAYA BANERJEE: No it isn't, its completely right. I agree with Angela Brady - I have personally taken on the toughest transformation assignments and delivered them successfully to leave a mark on the organization, its culture, brand, etc. I believe www.humancapitalonline.com ■ HR ROUNDTABLE my success stories have created a space for other women within the organization to believe in themselves and my success has made me a role model who encourages women professionals to find their north and believe in their abilities to succeed. The skills that make a good business leaderorganization, drive, trust, delegation and compassion-also go a long way to balance the responsibilities of work and family life." How can women transfer skills from home to office and vice versa and work it to their advantage? ANITA SINAI GUHA: Theoretically, it makes a lot of sense to consider the skills women develop at home and transfer them into the workplace. But practically, it doesn't work that way. We can be super assertive with our kids, bark out orders to our servants, even act fairly authoritatively with our husbands (!) when it comes to the home turf; and yet, we struggle with applying the same behavior to influence our teams and peers in the workplace. Perhaps, it has something to do with our (women's) need to be liked! From our childhood, we are socialized to provide service, to help others, and to make them happy, and somehow, we find it hard to relinquish this mentality at the workplace. In her book, Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg shares a study that shows how success and likeability are strongly correlated for men but inversely proportional for women. Women have the competence and capability to be great leaders but as they become more successful, they are less liked. This inverse proportion adds some ambivalence to the Pursuit of Success - an ambivalence that men do not share. Women may hesitate to be assertive even when it's warranted, because we think we will not be liked for our behavior. PADMA RAJESHWARI NANDI: I have seen few women successfully transfer skills from their home to office. For example, my exboss spent first few years of her married life in a joint family, which included her motherin-law and great mother-in-law (husband's grandmother). During these years, she learnt the art of influencing family decisions without having any authority. And I have seen deftly use this skill at workplace. Similarly, I saw another lady pick up concepts of operations management in the way she designed her kitchen. Time management and organizing skills is another aspect, which learnt in one sphere can be well applied in another. APARNA SHARMA: Listening is a big deal. ■ www.humancapitalonline.com You learn to listen better at home. At office, you're ready to cut people off and get onto your next task, where you don't obviously do that at home - you're always listening to your children or to your husband. A system of rewards characterizes a manager's efforts to encourage her team to reach goals and do the best job possible. The same idea applies to parents who are attempting to inspire their children in learning new concepts. While the specific rewards and consequences may differ, the general idea behind the execution of it is the same in either situation. As a good manager, one of your roles is Work/Life Balance: why women really leave If high-potential women are leaving their careers to care for their families, they’re not doing it on purpose. That’s the conclusion Hunter College professor Pamela Stone drew from a study of 54 female high achievers, recruited mostly from alumnae of four selective colleges and universities. The women pursued their careers an average of 11 years; 60% worked well past the birth of their second child. None was pushed out. Fully 90% left not to care for their families but because of workplace problems, chiefly frustration and long hours. Two-thirds of those who left tried part-time work but found it problematic; since they’d been putting in long weeks, part-time tended to mean 40 hours of work for 20 hours’ worth of pay. Factoring even more into decisions to opt out entirely, though, was the inability to work part-time without being marginalized. (HBR) to help members of your team grow professionally. At times, that will mean that the person will develop in a way that leads them to leave your group for a promotion. Parents do the same thing with their children - they talk with them about what their interests are, give them opportunities to learn different skills and determine which ones they want to pursue further, and, ultimately, support them in reaching their goals so they can have the lives they want as independent adults. MANIKA AWASTHI MENON: There are skills that a woman uses at home in a variety of different roles that she plays which can easily be transferable to a work place. Multi-tasking October 2014 N 31 HR ROUNDTABLE and juggling different roles (mother, wife, daughter, daughter in-law, sister), to team work (sharing responsibilities with a spouse/ significant family member to bring up a family) to negotiations and team management while managing her staff which is a common factor in today's Indian family. Women are known for their compassion and sensitivity and I believe all of these skills help women be more successful and have an edge over others. All of these experiences at home or at work help hone their skills which make them better professionals. DR. SUJAYA BANERJEE: Women have the unique ability to bring communal behaviours to the workplace. Women leaders, especially those handling homes, children, families bring A LinkedIn survey entitled "What Women Want @ Work" revealed that women are more motivated by finding the right balance between personal and work life than they are by a high salary. Sixty-five per cent indicated that a flexible working arrangement would better allow them to manage career and family. A 2013 Pew Research Centre poll on modern parenthood found that half of mothers would prefer to work part-time and 11 per cent would prefer not to work. The higher the socio-economic status, the more likely the woman did not want to work full-time: one-quarter (25 per cent) of women with annual family incomes of $50,000 or higher selected full-time work as their ideal, compared to 75 per cent of fathers. humility, wisdom, team spirit, credit sharing and high integrity and work ethics to the workplace. Besides presenting an alternate perspective Women are often the voice of balance, compassion and high EQ, no matter which level they operate at. I know of male leaders who prefer female co-workers as they have a reputation for being highly committed and excellence driven. Women are inherently better multi-tasker than men. Do you think taking responsibility for the dynamic around them can to a great extent help in tackling the issue of life-work balance? ANITA SINAI GUHA: I don't like to generalize about any so-called inherent skills of each gender. I believe men and women both have a mix of different skills and there are probably as many excellent male multi-taskers as there are not so great female multi-taskers. Personally, I'm in the latter category. I use lists to keep track of my multiple tasks but I need to tackle them one at a time. So multi- 32 N October 2014 tasking is a good skill to develop for both men and women. I've worked from home for almost 14 years but I still need to close myself into a room and demand quiet from the kids when I'm on one of my conference calls. I've learned to delegate things I cannot do well (like cooking and homework support for the kids and making nice looking ppt presentations) and I try to do the best I can with the rest - one task at a time! PADMA RAJESHWARI NANDI: It is commonly believed that women are good at multi-tasking. Pictures of working women juggling between multiple tasks are widely displayed. Certain studies have also indicated that women have an advantage over men in multi-tasking, at least in certain situations. However, it's important to understand that multi-tasking is not necessarily good. It results in more mistakes and lesser efficiency. So, multi-tasking may not really be an answer to better work-life balance. APARNA SHARMA: Over the years, I believe that there is too much of emphasis to prove that women are better than men in so many things. I feel that questions like these make me feel part of a regressive society which just wants to pit men against women and vice versa. I feel, it's collaboration between men and woman together that makes the work environment not only friendly but also brings out the best in both the genders. By being sensitive to each other's needs and supporting each other will help individuals to have better work life balance. Both men and women have inherent abilities that they can use to deliver the best and create a cohesive work place for one and all. An ecosystem where all can coexist!!!! MANIKA AWASTHI MENON: It has been widely accepted that women are better at multi-tasking than men. If you look at the key capability that would drive work life balance, it is the ability to juggle items with different priorities while ensuring the required outcomes is created. By taking responsibility women would put themselves in charge and therefore set the frame for the narrative. By doing so they would get a chance to set the balance leveraging the multi-tasking capability. This would ensure that the team as a whole gets to benefit from the balanced approach instead of running hard and maximizing only on one dimension. DR. SUJAYA BANERJEE: Yes, women must use their ability to multi-task, listen and influence emotion to manage the conflicts and biases arising out of their gender and their need to manage multiple priorities. HC www.humancapitalonline.com ■ GEN-Y SPEAK Career progression: Decoding Gen-Y's aspirations BY ANKUR PODDAR I t is well known that Gen-Y associates are demanding in nature and unrelenting in attitude when it comes to career progression. They value commitments over assurances. This is one segment which not only craves for continuous learning but also expects fast track career progression. Some of the common dilemmas organizations face while crafting career graphs for millennial are: G Promoting meritocracy while maintaining batch parity among Gen-Yers G Crafting customized roles in addition to traditional roles for enhancing exposure and learning G Looking at avenues and opportunities for providing early empowerment to this brigade which is more than keen to take up additional responsibilities early in their career. G Continuously reinventing and revisiting their career management framework to meet the ever increasing expectations of the millennials. The Gen-Y employees are very well networked and connected and tend to keep a close tab on each other's career movements. The biggest challenge is to handle external parity and comparison when it comes to awarding promotions and advanced roles. Ravish who came from a modest background had worked hard to make his way into one of the top most NITs. From his school days, he always inspired to make a career in ■ www.humancapitalonline.com electrical engineering. During campus placements, he gets an opportunity to join a well known manufacturing company as a Graduate Engineer Trainee. Within one year of joining, he is promoted as Assistant Manager. It's almost three years and he is happy and satisfied. During his recent appraisal, his supervisor shared with him that considering his performance and potential, he can look forward to the next level which was a Manager grade in about 12 to 18 months' time. Today, he comes to know from a Linkedin update notification that one of his engineering batch mate and close friend, Vijay who also got placed along with him from campus in another manufacturing MNC company has been awarded a promotion and made a Manager. Ravish starts reflecting on the day when his company had visited their campus for the pre-placement talk and the career progression chart that they had shared with the students. Though he has been one of the top performers, he knows that promotion in his current company would take at-least another year. However, the thought that his immediate peer has already moved one level up made him restless. Conflicting thoughts started crossing his mind. Some of them are: G Did he make a mistake by joining this company? G At the current pace, will he fall behind his peer group in terms of career growth over a period of time? G Should he look for newer opportunities which can offer him a managerial role immediately? G Should he speak to his supervisor and share his concern? G Should he speak to HR? More than compensation and work responsibilities, it was the designation which was worrying him. He was also concerned about what other people would think when they know that in spite of passing out from college together, Vijay progressed in his career much ahead of Ravish. He was simply unable to understand that in spite of both companies operating in the same industry and domain, and also without any significant difference in hierarchies and roles, where is it that Ravish had gone wrong? This classic example reflects the batch parity challenge which lot of companies are currently grappling with. This scope of this subject is not limited to maintaining internal parity but also calls for an extensive and continuous benchmarking of career management framework with external companies to keep the Gen-Y brigade engaged and associated. If you want to be in the race, your career management framework has to continuously HC evolve with time. Ankur Poddar is Division HR Manager (N) at Marico Ltd October 2014 N 33 LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT The nuances of the adult learning theory BY V RAVI 34 N October 2014 T wenty five years ago, on a hot summer afternoon, I was motivated into taking a training session on Work Study, at SAIL's Bhilai Steel Plant, for a group of over 40 recently designated executives promoted from the nonexecutive ranks across the Plant. This session covered one of the several topics of a detailed, monthlong training module. Being a qualified, professional Industrial Engineer, my boss delegated the task to me assuming that my good communication skills would suffice. The average age of the class was above 40 years with experience varying from 20 to 30 years and qualification from Matriculation, Diploma in Engineering to Graduation in Science, Arts or Commerce. I elaborately prepared on the topic and made several OHP transparency slides with coloured marker pens. With prayers on my lips, I entered a noisy classroom which quickly turned pin drop silent, witnessing a 28 year old walking in with the Training Manager cum Course Coordinator, an elderly gentleman. I was soon introduced to a group of 'unique' adults, who were all set for the training to begin. As I started off, I felt confident. However, as I moved to the second slide, I heard murmurs which turned to giggles and guffaws. While placing the third slide on the projector, I observed five leaving the class! Half way through, I noticed the Training Manager pass by the classroom. Somehow, I managed to control the commotion among the participants by speaking out loud. In the end, amidst the din of a relieved clap of hands, I rushed out of the room only to see him beckoning me to follow him. He offered me a glass of water as I reached his room, which I gulped down my parched throat. In the tirade that followed, I went through one of the most admonishing but learning experiences of my career, which helped me to eventually become a better trainer. I inferred few valuable tips, which I realized www.humancapitalonline.com ■ LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT later were actually the principles of adult learning. I have tried to recollect and recount what he specifically told me based on the feedback he probably received from some of the participants of my session. The six principles The following points will help not only trainers but also managers to deliver presentations or even chair meetings. The six principles of Adult learning that Malcolm Knowles, an American practitioner and theorist of adult learning, postulated lays before us a perspective that every trainer or manager involved in training should imbibe in their training sessions. I have tried to relate each of my errors and lessons learnt during training sessions to the six principles to correlate to the adult learning theory. 1. "Learning is not one-way traffic; you can't expect others to enjoy a topic what you yourself may or may not like!" Once I was training a new bunch of employees. They were enthusiastic and most of them looked excited to learn something new. However, I failed to recognise this spark and neither did I try to capitalize on it. These fresh minds like any other adults wanted to learn. I should have facilitated the session to find out their perceptions on the topic before or after listing out the definitions. But, I neither attempted to develop rapport nor lead the participants towards the topic. The sheer joy of learning comes when participants get completely involved in the session. It is ultimately the trainer's ability to involve them through different methods to keep them engaged and glued. Also, keeping pace with the changing expectations of the participants is an imperative for an effective facilitator. Over the years, I learnt to structure my session by first asking them what their expectations are and make them responsible for their own learning and sharing. This tends to motivate those adult employees who may be getting bored or easily ■ www.humancapitalonline.com distracted. Note: Adults are internally motivated and self-directed. 2. "You are telling them what you know or want to tell; did you ask them what they know?" I plunged directly into the topic without any background or context. Considering the experience of the participants, had I brought out several examples from them in the area of Method Study and Work Measurement and what Industrial Engineers do on their shop floors, it would have been easier to judge the group. theories and examples, which were not related to their work area. Instead I should have rather provided real case studies as a basis from where they could learn about the theory. I did not ask a single question during the session that could motivate reflection in them. It is not what one knows but what one does with that knowledge that counts. It is important that people be given experiences of successes on the application of learning onthe-job. I realized as an adult myself, when I am goal oriented and know what I want to accomplish, I need Adult learners have a tendency to resist learning when they feel that someone is imposing information, ideas or actions on them. Therefore, it is very important for an effective facilitator to understand how his adult learners can learn best. I could have asked their views on their work, family, previous education and link that to the topic to give the session an interesting and engaging start. People tend to be apprehensive towards any information unless they are able to identify and relate to it and the individual disseminating that information. With time, I make it a point to have tenured or well informed employees to guide and mentor younger employees during the sessions and tasks. Note: Adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning experiences. 3. "They have to pass a test at the end of the program take up a small assignment on the topic you have taken!" The participants were not expected to apply the principles of Work study directly in their jobs. However, they need to relate to why, when, where and how it is applied in the organization and how as employees they can directly or indirectly contribute to it. In fact, I realized that I was more inclined towards dwelling over an environment that is organized and has clear learning outcomes. I as a facilitator, therefore I must show how training will help them reach their goals just the same way as engaging adult employees can lead to achieving productivity goals! Note: Adults are goal oriented. 4. "You explained what you wrote on the slides they could not understand much!" Most of participants had studied in vernacular schools or colleges. Barring those working in the staff departments, those from the Plant area lacked the ability to read and understand English, which was the medium of instruction and hence were unable to connect to the topic Work Study. I was oblivious of all this as I took the session. I could have asked the participants to reflect on their experiences even during the session on how they might apply or meet their learning goals through an assignment. For the adult learner, learning must be applicable to their work or other relevant responsibilities. October 2014 N 35 LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT Takeaways G G G G G G V Ravi Vice President & HEAD - L&D (RPMG) Reliance Industries Ltd In a career spanning 29 years, V Ravi currently heads the learning and development function for Reliance Project Management Group. Prior to Reliance, he was Head of L&D at L&T Hydrocarbon and Voltas. His interests include TQM, value engineering, individual and organizational learning. He is an engineer with postgraduate qualifications in industrial engineering, management and training & development. 36 N October 2014 Adults are internally motivated and self-directed. Adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning experiences. Adults are goal oriented. Adults are practical. Adults are relevancy oriented Adult learners like to be respected. Concepts and theories should relate directly to their interests and be useful to them in their work. I, as a facilitator need to take the time to explain what they are doing-and why, their role in creating that product or service, explaining how the training will be useful to them on the job, or how, what is being learned can be implemented by deploying one or more of several appropriate training methods. Note: Adults are relevancy oriented. 5. "You are taking a theoretical subject in an afternoon session; you are handling a group which has returned to the classroom after decades. Could you have not thought of a better way of engaging them…?” The course coordinator was not prepared to listen to my appeals of defence or ignorance. When I said that time was a big constraint, he said that he was willing to give me another session if needed. Soon I realized that I should have given some opportunity to practice. For adults, an opportunity in trying out things, assessments and intervention processes with repetition help certainly to promote development of skill, confidence and competence. To develop people into effective managers and leaders, just 'teaching' isn't going to be enough! The learners as well as the trainer are equally accountable for accomplish the learning objectives, take initiative to solve problems and nurture ideas. Trainers have to assert against demands for crash training courses if that is going to jeopardize the learning objectives. Note: Adults are practical. 6. "They may be sitting in a classroom; but they are not school children!" As school students, we were talked at, and rarely encouraged or involved in the learning process. The more experience we gathered, the less that experience was used. I considered the topic as something I had to share with them as part of their syllabus and a session, which the newly promoted executives had to attend whether they liked it or not, just as I was compelled as a school boy. What dawned to me was that I should have taken interest and acknowledged the wealth of experiences of my colleagues and peers. Adult learners attend work and training with certain expectations. If this lot is explained, both logically and practically, that the course will benefits them in the long run, they will be motivated to learn and implement that learning at work, thereby improving their performance. It is important that as a trainer, one should encourage expression of ideas, teach them to reason and invite feedback at every opportunity. Note: Adult learners like to be respected. Being an effective trainer, facilitator, manager or even a leader, involves understanding how adults learn and perform best. It is apparent that the same principles of equality, collaboration, problem solving, etc., that work well for an effective manager will also enhance the process of learning for a trainer or a facilitator. These six adult learning principles, which I indirectly learnt from my own experiences and practices, could prove to be a useful tool for any manager to understand and apply the adult learning theory HC better. www.humancapitalonline.com ■ DEBATE 4-Day Workweek: Is India Inc. ready? Do you think the 4-day workweek concept will work in India Inc. or do we have a long way to go? Has the potential to work Less hours will impact productivity With the rising working women population, specifically in an industry such as wellness where the ratio of women to men employee is 80:20, a 4-day work-week concept will give them the liberty to balance their professional and personal lives. A 4-day work week concept has long been a subject of discussion in the West and may work in India for certain sectors to help strike a healthy balance of employeeorganization relationship. This could potentially result in higher productivity and positive morale as the employees will be less stressed and more upbeat about their work. Organizations too will face reduced overhead costs with increased productivity and higher retention. In addition, it will add to employees being happier as it will allow them to spend more time with their family, friends and gives them the opportunity to pursue their hobbies and interests outside work. However, certain thing that needs to be considered is that on an average after 8 hours of work, productivity goes down. Hence, employees' output quality may get affected if they are putting in extra hours on 4 working days to compensate for 3 days off. Implementation of the concept may face problem in sectors such as, retail where consumer demand is never ending especially in terms of service industry where physical presence of the employee is essential. Also, in India, where the cost of labour is cheap, the advantage of the concept might dissipate if the number of hours are reduced, resulting in demand for higher wages. In this evolving era, we often tend to get swayed away with the paradigm practices of different geographies, however, application of any concept would vary from place to place depending on the maturity of its economy. And, this concept tends to work well in developed economies. There is a need to critically evaluate India's current positioning with respect to few vital areas. How far have we been successful in embracing technology? Undoubtedly, a great potential exists in many corners across sector, especially in the manufacturing sector. Needless to say our industry operations are still labour intensive (also due to lack of technology & innovation). Other critical factors include lack of processes and system orientation; high level of uncertainty & ambiguity; Manufacturing setups with poor infrastructure; need for suitable labour law reforms, etc. Therefore, we must seriously ponder on all the above matters, as we attempt to move forward to imbibe progressive practices for good reasons. The shorter working week would also mean working for longer hours each day, which also has its own repercussion like increased fatigue, pressurized thinking process, etc. In addition, it is challenging to reduce the work hours as productivity remains a big concern in the Indian context. It is agreeable that India needs a comparatively shorter workweek; however it has to happen gradually, in a phased manner. Perhaps, at each stage, the impact can be analysed for further progressive action. Ultimately, it definitely calls for a 'change in mindset'. RUHIE PANDE VP & Head - HHR & Training ■ Kaya Ltd Ruhie Pande is the Head of Human Resources at Kaya Ltd. With over 15 years of experience, as a Human Resource professional Ruhie has worked in leading retail brands like ITC Lifestyle Retail and Reliance Brands before joining Kaya Ltd. ■ www.humancapitalonline.com PRAVEEN PUROHIT Group HR - Sesa Sterlite ■ Vedanta Group With over a decade with the Vedanta Group, Praveen Purohit has significantly contributed to all the core HR verticals such as Leadership & Talent Development and performance management, employee engagement and continuous improvement initiatives, etc. October 2014 N 37 HR & BUSINESS A s businesses, governments, and individuals become increasingly dependent on technology, they also tend to become exposed to cyber threats. Cyber fraud/crime is a range of illegal digital activities targeted at organizations' in order to cause damage. The impact of such damage can be financial, operational, reputational, or all of them together, depending on the nature of attack. It goes without saying that such attacks are not only targeted at large corporations and government institutions, but also against the common man, as long as the attacker has something to gain from it. To gauge the awareness and perception of cybercrime in India, KPMG conducted an online Cybercrime Survey 2014 with over 170 respondents across the country including CIOs, CISOs and other senior officials from corporates in India. Our findings indicate. Cybercrime trends in India and their impact on organizations Cybercrime in India has dramatically evolved in nature and scope in the last few years. Organised crime syndicates are now using tools of online deception - malware and spam emails to hack into corporate sites, etc., to siphon off funds. While organizations think that cybercrime is something that happens to other companies outside India, our survey indicates that 49 per cent of respondents experienced cybercrime in the last year alone. Our survey further reveals that 48 per cent of respondents suffered disruption in business processes and damage to reputation as a result of cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks have often led to financial losses (direct or indirect) as indicated by 45 per cent of our survey respondents. The fact that nearly half of the respondents have been victims of cyber-attacks in the last year alone shows that the numbers of cybercrime incidents in India against organizations and businesses have been on the rise. While organizations are busy passing the buck on who is to blame for the impact of the cybercrime, very few are taking the cybercrime threat seriously at senior management levels. Cybercriminal and the organization Anyone with access to a computer, an Internet connection, a motive, and sufficient knowledge can become a cybercriminal. With knowledge freely available on the web, hackers are getting younger and younger. High profile cybercrimes in the recent past have, in fact, been perpetrated by teenagers. From an organizations stand point, the typical cybercriminal is a person who is closely associated with the company, i.e., they could be someone like employee in the office, vendors, BY SANDEEP GUPTA CYBERCRIME: ARE ORGANIZATIONS PREPARED ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH IT? No matter how complex the nature of cybercrime is, maintaining an attitude of awareness is the best cybercrime prevention mantra. Companies are finding unique ways to get the message of cyber security across, making it an imperative to ensure that the weakest link in cyber safety is adequately secured across the organization. 38 N October 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■ HR & BUSINESS contractors and customers or they could even be someone sitting thousands of miles away who can invade organization's defenses to steal private information at the click of a mouse. The 2014 cybercrime survey conducted by KPMG in India reveals that 47 per cent respondents indicated that the risk of cyber-attack is perpetrated by both internal and external sources, while 37 per cent of the Survey respondents believe the risk of cyber-attack comes from an external source. What is the motivation for employees to turn cyber criminals and target their organizations? As in cases of all crimes/fraud, the root cause of cybercrimes is always a mix three core elements namely, opportunity, pressure and rationalization that influences the cybercriminal. Perpetrators of cybercrimes have varying motives targeting specific value gains. From our above survey, it is evident that nearly half of the respondents feel that cybercrimes can be perpetrated by either external people or internal personnel. The danger remains in the fact, that ■ www.humancapitalonline.com organizations are still not taking serious cognizance of the possibility, that company insiders could very well be the source of cybercrimes and this threat from internal sources should not be discounted. The testament to this is that, increasingly, internal employees are being seen involved in cybercrime. Some cybercrimes that are typically committed by internal employees include: G Data ransom: Employees steal sensitive corporate data demanding ransom for secure destruction of the same, failing to pay the ransom would either lead to the employee releasing the data in the public domain that can either lead to the employer facing penalties on account of confidentiality breach or fines from regulators. G Online banking frauds: Employees having authorizations to approving banking payouts siphon off payouts meant for genuine vendors into their own personal account. G Business disruption: These kinds of attacks are engineered by disgruntled employees who leave the organization (especially from IT departments). The exiting employees usually set up the IT systems to fail/ crash either at a particular date or attack their ex-employers systems remotely to disrupt daily operations of applications such as emails, ERP's, assembly line equipment control systems, etc. The KPMG Cybercrime survey report 2014 reveals that 71 per cent of our respondents feel that cybercrimes are targeted at accessing confidential information of companies. The confidential data so obtained is either sold by the hackers to business houses to support their industrial espionage activities or to other criminals for perpetrating crime. Other value gained from cybercrime as indicated by the survey also includes disruption of business operations and embezzlement of money. With the growing ease of transacting technology, users increasingly use their computers and mobile phones to carry out banking transactions, to avoid the hassle of long winding queues and travel. While people leverage technology to the maximum, the same cannot be said about them using technology in a secure manner. From sharing passwords, to working on malware October 2014 N 39 HR & BUSINESS Sandeep Gupta Partner - Forensic Services KPMG in India Sandeep Gupta is a Partner in KPMG's Forensic Practice with over 18 years of experience. He leads the Forensic Technology services group which includes Digital Evidence Recovery (DER), E-Discovery, Mobile Forensics, Cyber Forensics and Data Analytics Solutions. He has extensive experience in Cyber related crimes investigation and cyber security. 40 N October 2014 infected devices to do banking transactions, people make silly yet serious mistakes that make them fall prey to cyber criminals. Cybercriminals thrive on three key elements that people in general ignore, firstly, people not securing their digital devices, secondly, people sharing/insecurely storing access credentials and lastly peoples willingness to share personal data information with unknown people. Due to these aspects, cyber criminals are able to successfully pull off social engineering attacks, website spoofing and phishing attacks. The KPMG Cybercrime survey report 2014 reveals that 55 per cent of our survey respondents perceive that the 'general staff' is most prone to cyber-attacks and requires tighter security, followed by IT staff (39 per cent) and then managers (37 per cent). Cybercriminals exploit the above three key elements to the hilt, by uploading infected movies. An example of an indirect attack is where the cybercriminals upload songs, games files in file share sites, which are then downloaded by general staff into their office computing equipment. This simple act of download can unleash a tirade of malware into the corporate networks these malware can be information stealing malware, logic bombs, spyware and ransomware (programs that lock out your computer till a ransom is paid to the cybercriminal). A form of cyber-attack that is now trending is the targeting of Indian exporters, where their international customers are sent emails requesting bill payments to be made to bank accounts other than that of the exporters. These emails are made from spoofed ID's created by a global cybercriminal cartel. Payouts made, land into the accounts of the cyber mafia who clear the account and close it, there by vanishing without a trace. Some vulnerability that lead to such attacks are: G Lack of basic cyber safety knowledge by the internal staff G Usage of dubious email service providers G Usage of unsecure systems for carrying out transactions Dealing with cybercrime: What should organizations do build an effective cyber defense? While organizations do have processes and procedures to help manage risks in the conduct of business, HR process controls and soft controls in business are one of the key elements in cyber crime prevention which are clearly ignored by most organizations. Some controls that organizations these days are beginning to follow are categorized as under: People checks Deep background checks: Companies have begun to go beyond the education credentials verification, to police verification and background checks of proposed candidates. G Background checks of temporary/contract personnel and vendor personnel: Vendor personnel and temporary personnel are the weakest link in cyber safety chain. Cyber criminals are known to masquerade as temporary/contract employees (janitors, maintenance personnel) so that they have access to all sensitive systems at nonbusiness hours to help them do their deed. With this in mind, corporates have now started seeking back ground checks on contract personnel having access to key facilities. G People awareness Many companies lose the plot by confusing cyber awareness campaigns with long drawn mandatory cyber awareness tests which employees compulsorily have to take annually. For cyber awareness campaigns to be active and effective, they have to be short and meaningful. Some effective ways of enhancing cyber defenses from a people standpoint are: G Cybercrime awareness www.humancapitalonline.com ■ HR & BUSINESS campaigns: Companies are finding unique ways to get the message of cyber security across, gone are the days where posters and screen savers used to be sole medium for communication, these days companies use ambush communication as a mode to get their message across. An example of this would be where the Information Security team tests the resolve of sample employees by organizing some free gifts from vendors (like pen drives). When the employee plugs the pen drive into the system, they are informed by flash message that quotes a company policy which prevents them from using external devices on corporate networks. G Cyber-crime prevention contests: Employees awareness is enhanced by asking them to participate in online quizzes with attractive prizes, to ensure that there is active participation and some extent of forced learning. People monitoring Employee exit forensics: This is a kind of pre-emptive forensics assessment where laptops of key employees who are exiting are forensically examined to obtain indications of cybercrime. To ensure effective application of the cyber safety policies many companies also translate their long winding cyber safety policies to thumb rules, for example, cyber safety thumb rules can be five point agendas such as: G Ensure only genuine software/apps are installed on your systems/mobile devices and avoid installing all freeware absolutely necessary (after verifying the credentials of the application). G Ensure all systems have anti-virus and anti-spy ware G Don't store sensitive passwords of bank accounts and emails in files G Avoid opening unsolicited emails and attachments G Don't submit any banking passwords/card details over emails Silver lining in the dark cybercrime cloud A positive development in this grim situation is that while cybercrime has increased multi fold, there is now a high level of demand for cyber security specialists to help governments and corporates in securing their assets against cyber security. This development has led to a large number of experienced technology professionals and college graduates opting for cyber security and forensics as a preferred career choice, which bodes well for the national cyber safety initiative. To conclude, no matter how complex the nature of cybercrime adopting a philosophy of 'prevention is better than cure' and maintaining an attitude of awareness is the best cybercrime prevention mantra. While there may be many techniques to ensure that cybercrime is prevented from a technical stand point, boards/senior management of organizations must take cognizance of the internal threats in their organizations and adequately lend support to their internal departments in building their HR soft controls to ensure that the weakest link HC in the cyber safety is adequately secured. G ■ www.humancapitalonline.com HRConsultant’sTreasureisopenforSale..!!! 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Inter company Executives Salary Survey Questionnaire Inter-company Workers Wages Survey Questionnaire Set of 35 Techniques for Training Needs Assessment Climate Survey / Employee Satisfaction Survey Questionnaire Recruitment Procedure Goal/KRA & Competency based Performance Management System 360 Degree Feedback Questionnaire & Procedures Set of 10 Total Employee Involvement tools Induction Scheme Survey Procedures with Illustration for calculating Workers Need based Fair Wages Set of Job Descriptions for 233 Positions Competency Mapping Procedures & Instruments Exit Interview Procedure Toyota Performance Management System Performance Linked Wage Increment system for Factory Workers Establishing Assessment Centre Performance linked Promotion Policies based on defined Norms Procedure for Disciplinary Actions and Domestic Enquiry with Illustrations Workers Will & Skill Mapping Procedures & Instruments Measuring Impact of Training in Terms of Learning, Application, Results and ROI. Implementing Balanced Scorecard Implementing Mentoring Scheme Implementing 5S Ideal Draft Standing Orders TQM Tool Kit (packed with 127 TQM Tools) Model HR Policies & Systems Stay Interview Rs. 2000/Rs. 2000/Rs. 5500/Rs. 2000/Rs. 2000/Rs. 5000/Rs. 3000/Rs. 3000/Rs. 2000/Rs. 3500/Rs. 5500/Rs. 5500/Rs. 1000/Rs. 5500/Rs. 5000/Rs. 5500/Rs. 5000/Rs. 2000/Rs. 5000/Rs. 5500/Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. 5500/5500/2500/2500/- Rs. 7500/Rs.25000/Rs. 3000/- Payment to be sent in advance along with your purchase order by Draft /At par cheque in favour of Human Resource Development Centre payable at New Delhi to: Human Resource Development Centre D- 88, 2nd Floor, Lajpat Nagar, PART - 1, New Delhi-110024 Phone: + 91-11-29816980 / 81 / 82 www.hrdc.in M : +91- 9818300668 (Dr R.K Sahu) +91-7827633469 (Pragya) E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] October 2014 N 41 GLOBAL HR Why learning still matters! Facts, statistics, practices, perspectives and more... RESEARCH SAYS… I I I I I 42 A Louis Harris and Associates poll reports that among employees with poor training opportunities, 41 % planned to leave within a year, whereas of those who considered their company's training opportunities to be excellent, only 12 % planned to leave. A Hackett Benchmarking and Research report shows that companies that spend $218 per employee on training have more than a 16 % voluntary turnover, while companies that spend over $273 per employee have turnovers of 7 %. A 2014 report from Bersin by Deloitte, The Corporate Learning Factbook 2014: Benchmarks, Trends, and Analysis of the U.S. Training Market says that businesses increased training budgets by an average of 15 % in 2013, reflecting the highest growth rate in this area in the last seven years. It's also likely that as the economy continues to mend, organizations are able to reinvest in areas that experienced significant cost cutting during the downturn. At Great Place to Work, organizations on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list invest significantly in training and development programs. In 2013, companies on the list offered 66.5 hours of training annually for salaried employees and 53 hours of training for hourly employees, with close to 70% of those hours devoted to employees' current roles and nearly 40% focused on growth and development. Research shows an explosive growth in technology tools N October 2014 I I to train people today. Self-authored video, online communication channels, virtual learning, and MOOCs (Coursera, Udacity, Udemy, edX, …) are all growing rapidly as training tools. People still need formal classroom education, but this is now less than half the total "hours" people consume in training around the world. And among the highly advanced companies, as much as 18% of all training is now delivered through mobile devices. (Forbes) I According to a study conducted by the ROI Institute, a Birmingham, Ala.based research and consulting organization, 92 out of 96 Fortune 500 CEOs said that they are most interested in learning the business impact of their learning and development programs, but only 8% see that happening at their companies now. A recent survey indicates that 40% of employees who receive poor job training leave their positions within the first year. They cite the lack of skills training and development as the principal reason for moving on. According to the American Society for Training and Development, investment in employee training enhances a company's financial performance. An increase of $680 in a company's training expenditures per employee generates, on average, a 6 % improvement in total shareholder return. Based on the training investments of 575 companies during a three-year period, researchers found that firms investing the most in training and development (measured by total investment per employee and percentage of total gross payroll) yielded a 36.9 % total shareholder return as compared with a 25.5 % weighted return for the S&P 500 index for the same period. That's a return 45 % higher than the market average. These same firms also enjoyed higher profit margins, higher income per employee, and higher price-to-book ratios. www.humancapitalonline.com ■ GLOBAL HR Who's doing it! C ompanies like GE, Motorola, Philips , and others are extending their training budget to reach 2-3 times the audience through the use of easy- to- use training portals and virtual learning experiences. Companies like Accenture, Deloitte, IBM, Boeing, UPS, Qualcomm, and many others invest heavily in corporate training to help build key skills such as supervisory and technical skills internally. Companies like Maersk (big shipping line) and even BMW pride themselves on their internal development, apprenticeship, and certification programs. Deloitte launched a $500 million new education center focused exclusively on providing world-class education and training to its global consulting workforce. PeoplePulse is an Australian built online feedback and survey tool used extensively by Australian and New Zealand based organizations to conduct online staff skill audits and training needs analysis surveys. The tool can also be used by HR to conduct cost effective staff climate surveys, exit interview surveys, and new starter / onboarding feedback surveys to name a few popular uses. Who is spending and who is not! O n average in 2013, businesses across the United States spent $1,169 per learner. This amount varies by company size and industry, with tech firms leading the pack in terms of amount invested per learner (spending an average of $1,847). In 2014, US spending on corporate training grew by 15% last year (the highest growth rate in seven years) to over $70 Billion in the US and over $130 Billion worldwide. Companies which fall into the "high-impact" categories spend significantly more on training than average. So companies who invest in a total L&D strategy spend more per employee than those who are inconsistent. This shows that L&D spending pays off. (Forbes) According to the 12th edition of The Conference Board of Canada's Learning and Development Outlook, between 2010 and 2012, Canadian organizations increased funding for training, learning and development. Spending was up $17 per employee, a modest reversal of the downward trend of the past two decades. The Canadian organizations surveyed spent an average of $705 per employee compared $688 per employee in 2010. Despite this modest increase, overall learning and development spending is down nearly 40 from its historic high of $1,207 in 1993. Motorola calculated that every dollar spent on training yields an approximate 30 % gain in productivity within a three-year period. Motorola also used training to reduce costs by over $3 billion and increase profits by 47 % (source: Tim Lane et al., "Learning to Succeed in Business with Information Technology," Motorola). ■ www.humancapitalonline.com More on e-Learning stats for other parts of the world ® ® ® Self-paced e-Learning's growth rate in the Middle East is 8.2%, and its revenues are expected to reach $560.7 million by 2016. The self-paced e-Learning market growth rate in Western Europe is 5.8%, and it's estimated that their revenues will be at $8.1 billion by 2015. Africa's compound annual growth rate for self-paced e-Learning is 15.4%, and their revenues are expected to reach $512.8 million by the year 2016. Source: http://elearningindustry.com/top-10-e-learningstatistics-for-2014-you-need-to-know October 2014 N 43 GLOBAL HR cutting BENCHMARK EDGE P R A C T I C E S Greeley and Hansen, a Chicago-based environmental engineering firm, uses its training partly as a way to retain its engineers, professionals who are difficult to recruit even in a tight job market. At Agilent Technologies, a Santa Clara, Calif.based measurement company, examining the results of its leadership training is part of its DNA. The company does pre-training exercises which include assessments, interactive webinars, e-learning and readings to let staff know exactly what business results it seeks. Agilent then organizes 10-week post-training sessions where employees focus on how an individual course aligns with the company's business goals. TOP 5 e-Learning S T A T I S T I C S ½ The rise in e-Learning's popularity isn't showing any signs of ½ ½ ½ Source: Fortune.com Starbucks recently announced what must be a coffeehouse first: low-cost college degrees for its employees, including part-timers. The caffeinated beverage giant is rolling out a program for employees who work at least half time to earn an online degree from Arizona State University. The tuition is deeply discounted, and employees can choose from a number of educational tracks. What's more, Starbucks does not require workers to remain at the company upon completion of their degree. (Huffingtonpost) Google has formalized learning in the company in an entirely new way, relying on data analytics and other measures to ensure it is teaching employees what they need to know to keep profits humming. Google is offering more classes to more employees than it ever has before, with about a third of its 33,100 + strong global workforce going through the in-house program. It cut classes that didn't work and retooled others. Ever data-obsessed, Google uses statistics gathered from current and former employees to recommend certain courses to managers at different points in their career, say after a move to a new city or joining a new team. Amazon.com's employee development program, "Career Choice" program, a tuition reimbursement program lets any Amazon.com employee with more than three years of service receive up to $2,000 per year in reimbursement for accredited courses in career and vocational skills. Amazon's hourly workforce often works under very high stress conditions, so adding this benefit gives Amazon one more tool to help recruit and retain these people. 44 N October 2014 ½ ½ slowing. In fact, judging by the following Top 10 eLearning statistics for 2014, the future of the e-Learning Industry is brighter than ever: In 2011, it was estimated that about $35.6 billion was spent on selfpaced eLearning across the globe. Today, e-Learning is a $56.2 billion industry, and it's going to double by 2015. e-Learning is also eco-friendly. Recent studies conducted by Britain's Open University have found that e-Learning consumes 90% less energy than traditional courses. The amount of CO2 emissions (per student) is also reduced by up to 85%. The world's most rapidly growing e-Learning markets are Malaysia and Vietnam. In fact, the estimated 5 year annual growth rate for the Asian e-Learning market is 17.3%. That is the highest compound annual growth rate of any global region. According to a report released by IBM, companies who utilize e-Learning tools and strategies have the potential to boost productivity by up to 50%. For every $1 that company spends, it's estimated that they can receive $30 worth of productivity. According to a recent study conducted by The Research Institute of America, e-Learning has the power to increase information retention rates by up to 60%. That means that, not only is e-Learning more cost efficient, but also it's also more effective (in terms of how much knowledge is truly acquired during the learning process). DID YOU KNOW When Phillips consulted for a large financial services firm, the company measured the relationship between leadership development, employee retention and revenue by determining whether its sales staff opened new accounts, how much revenue each account generated, and comparing that data to the cost of training. IBM, the international firm, did a study to examine the percentage of capabilities that companies lose over time. When internal and external turnover, new technology and changes in businesses were factored in, the results were staggering. The study found that a company loses 10 to 30 percent of its original capabilities every year. Within three years, each company loses 41 percent of its staff. By year six, only 24 percent remain. Any business that doesn't believe in training, evolving, and moving their people forward is paying a much steeper price than its realizes. www.humancapitalonline.com ■ GUEST COLUMN Talent management Viewed from a multi-generational lens BY NAVEEN NARAYANAN T oday's workplaces are filled with diverse groups, in terms of cultures and more prominently, in terms of generations. A mix of generations prevails at the workplace: Veterans, Baby Boomers, Gen- X, and Gen- Y or Millenials. Each of these generations have different triggers that keep them motivated, as a result of which employers scramble to find the right talent management formula. The rapid advent of Gen-Y into the workplace has increased the complexities and competition in the workplace, and employers need to quickly respond to it. From a talent management perspective, the best way forward is for employers to understand and engage with Gen-Y as important stakeholders for organizational and business growth, as they do bring with themselves a hunger and energy to learn and perform and deliver results. The other side of the coin for Gen- Y to recognize is that they have a lot to gain from working with more experienced and institutionally astute employees who by virtue of their several years in the workplace are able to view developments and events, which may even personally affect their careers, more holistically. Older generations could also focus on seeing things from the point of view that will help them understand, adapt, and imbibe the positive cultural aspects of Gen-Y. Managing multi-generational talent in any organization is tricky but essential. ■ www.humancapitalonline.com Talent management tips to retaining the mixed employee base in an organization G Focus on self-development Employers need to nurture employees' with opportunities to develop and grow and a challenging work environment. Putting candid feedback in front of them is constructive but not enough; guiding them to develop specific skills sets through on-the-job training would work well. If they can take the feedback in a positive spirit and use it as a yardstick to groom themselves, both employees and employers stand to gain. G Recognize and address For the most part, the aspirations of millennials are fairly transparent. The urge to move up the ladder at a rapid speed is what motivates them. Recognition in terms of promotions and career growth is one thing GenY is sensitive about. Managers need to understand their aspirations completely while managing them at work. It is important for employers to recognize, on the other hand, that older employees look to get a sense of respect, trust, and equality from their employer. G Communicate regularly and clearly Continuous assessment is the next best practice to retain talent. These assessments need to be executed with immense accuracy; millennials in particular, rely on the outcome and align it with their career growth. Competitive spirits are high among millennials and they are keen to create a unique mark in their respective fields. Organizations that recognize these nuances amongst this and other generational groups and set clear goals accordingly for them and measure performances based on parameters unique to them will be successful. G Focus on diverse workforce Diversity has become a key requirement to drive business strategies and also maximize productivity and creativity. By including diverse cultures and generations, organizations have a better access to a variety of talent. Employees will be naturally supportive of colleagues and work environments that embrace diversity, because, simply, employees want to work with companies having a positive reputation on the diversity mix. G Be tech enabled Gen-Y has grown up with constant access to technology. Organizations with or without a millennial employee base must be technologically and digitally sound as all generations have a lot to gain in terms of working collaboratively should they embrace new technologies. It is the responsibility of the organization that employs all four generations to adapt and adopt talent management practices that are conducive for each while focusing on common organizational HC goals. Naveen Narayanan is Global Head - Talent Acquisition, HCL Technologies. He is responsible for driving HCL Technologies’ worldwide strategies around talent, culture and organizational effectiveness. October 2014 N 45 HR PRACTICE BY SANNITA CHAKRABORTY SAHA Empowering the youth ‘PRAYAG, a Reliance Communications' CSR initiative, extends employable skills to the youth in India for a larger economic sustainability. Based on the very tenet of converting a societal concern into an opportunity through systemic innovation and creative strategy, this initiative's is an integral part of the organization's developing business strategy. I ndia's increasing unemployment challenges and industry specific skill gaps despite the abundance of employable youth in the country highlights the sorry state of India's employment scenario. A lot of it can be accredited to the absence of a focused and coherent approach towards the issue, and the country's obsession with textbook education as a means to groom the young population. Further the unavailability of trained facilitators to coach this section of people aggravates the issue. However, the country's decision to take decisive action to meet this increasing unemployment challenges is being narrowed by India Inc.'s initiatives to tackle the problem. Reliance Communications' new initiative "PRAYAG -Providing Grassroot Advancement to Youth Aspiring Growth" is a platform designed to empower school and college dropouts from areas adjoining the company's operations. 46 N October 2014 This initiative is taken to train unemployed youth between the age of 18 to 35 years, make them employable and fill the ever-growing Retail and ITES industry with skilled manpower. These learners, un or under employed youth, women and differently abled youth, are trained in different aspects such as personality development, spoken English, computer basics, which will help them to find the right opportunities. Amit Das, Chief Human Resource officer, Reliance Communications (R Com) asserts, "An in-depth study led us to arrive at the hypothesis that an educated workforce does not imply employable workforce particularly in growing sectors such as retail, hospitality, and information technology enabled services. Therefore the company decided to extend employability skills to the unemployed or under employed peri-urban and urban slum youth in India, in an effort to help curb the problem of unemployment." The inception PRAYAG is an initiative that has made an attempt to fill the every growing employability gap among the youth owing to the visible lack of skillsets predominant in the country. Having started in the year 201112, the program has now spread its network of Chapters across seven states in India such as Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, with a combined training capacity of 3100 youth per annum. Although the program is based on the tenet of converting a societal concern into an opportunity through systemic innovation and creative strategy, its predominantly addresses three key problem areas, lack of quality training providers vis-à-vis the number required, un/ under employability of youth and lack of www.humancapitalonline.com ■ HR PRACTICE career paths for dropouts or rejected youths. "PRAYAG pertains to upgrading the skillsets and earning potentials of urban dwellers, and making them job ready through thus giving an impetus to their career graph. "Reliance Communications envisages nourishing and sustaining the ecosystems in which it operates by aiming for growth through opportunity through systemic innovation and creative strategy. With a standardized curriculum deployed across all our chapters, facilitators and program /chapter- in- charges focused classroom learning sessions across two months," asserts Das. sustainable development and nation building. "We believe in extending employability as well as digital skills as one of the key areas of our business intervention. One may call it as a business mandate or as CSR but the agenda surely is to extend employable skills to the youth in India for a larger economic sustainability," quips Das. are groomed to address the concern for quality of delivery as per the outlined pedagogy. Dashboards are created to monitor the quality of training inputs to the students on per batch basis. An appropriate curriculum has been developed based on the inputs from the industry experts from the education community and by understanding the key skill gaps that are currently present within the earmarked community. Despite the standardized Aligned to goals and aspirations With a vision to give millions the power to shape their destiny, the means to realize their full potential and a commitment to being a socially responsible entity, 'PRAYAG' is helping to eliminate skill based entry barrier, thus enabling those un/ under employed to hone their skills based on the current industry trends ■ www.humancapitalonline.com The unique aspects PRAYAG is based on the principle of changing a societal concern into an October 2014 N 47 HR PRACTICE curriculum, there is room for flexibility within the program design to address the regional and role specific gaps. Also, the learners are mentored during the training and post placement by earmarked employee mentors from Reliance Communications. A team of employees take on the onus of mentoring the students undergoing the PRAYAG program. The mentoring goes beyond extending the skill /s or imparting industry level information to the students. As part of the volunteering, the mentors focus on individual development and hand-holding the youth through their transition phase. "We invite the employers to be part of the batch selection panel to judge and constitute the batches," shares Das. Further, as part of the curriculum, visits to Reliance Communications' corporate partner locations are also arranged. This helps the learners to understand the corporate culture and its environment. "We believe that the walk through the premise and interactions with the senior officials open up the Embedded with various facets that promote aspirational window for our sustainability, including: students and motivates them I creating a regular industry interface and participation to work harder to achieve in batch planning and training , including a one day their personal goal," Das on-site visit. quips. "Besides, it also helps I involving a dedicated specialised person to undertake them to break the ice and be industry interface at each of the Chapters for better better prepared for the coordination and outcome selection process as they get I devising training modules based on the ever evolving introduced to the various market trends with a flexible facilitator led training functional facets and aspects methodology to fit the changing industry needs of the jobs," he adds. I implementing the program along with an implementation The program is further partner through the process of co-creation. strengthened by a team of employees who play the role of visiting faculty and extend discussions with the core faculty to knowledge base on special functional reduce or negate placement aspects. This team is given the key concerns. This is further role of ascertaining the quality of strengthened by inviting guest delivery of the program and growth speakers from companies in the graph of the students. "This helps us specific sector," affirms Das. in ensuring higher pass out rate of As part of the program students, on a per batch basis," component, there is a pool of opines Das. employers per Chapter that on a Post the grooming session, apart constant basis help the core team to from the Reliance Group, other understand the trends, changing employers are also given the market skill requirements as well as opportunity to hire the trained extend the platform to hire skilled resources in different functions. This youth. The list includes big retail helps in sustaining healthy chains, corporate houses, educational competitive spirit within the system institutions, development and also allows the learners to have organizations, technology options to explore. companies, etc. Interestingly, the partnering An inherent component of the organizations screen the candidates program is also to focus on building as a part of a pre-selection process. capacities of the partner This helps to reduce the expectation organizations and the team of gap between the candidate and the trainers/facilitators, apart from the future employer thereby reducing program management staff. Hence, leakages, if any, from within the every year, at least once, a six-day system. "The candidates undergo a extensive Train the Trainer session is series of mock interviews and conducted for the trainers and the Sustainability Reliance Communications decided to extend employability skills to the unemployed or under employed peri-urban and urban slum youth in India, in an effort to help curb the problem of unemployment. Amit Das Chief Human Resource officer, Reliance Communications (R Com) 48 N October 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■ HR PRACTICE Chapter Heads from across the PRAYAG Chapters. This is primarily to standardize the content delivery, build capacities and competencies of the team at the Chapter level. This further helps for a better program execution and outcome. Being an annual event, it is further supplemented by Chapter-specific development of the facilitators. "A lot of effort goes in ascertaining the skill demand at the market/employer level in order to ensure that the grooming/skilling which takes place at our Chapters meets the profiles at the demand side, and hence making the youth productive on the first hour first day," asserts Das . The criteria Since the program pertains to upgrading the skillsets and earning potential of urban dwellers and making them job- ready, it involves focused classroom learning sessions for about two months, which translates into 180 to 200 hours of delivery in a specific area like Customer Care, Sales or a CSR role in a Call Centre. The candidates can be of either gender, however, he/she must be above 18 years of age, from underprivileged communities residing in urban slums or peri-urban sections of the society. The minimum qualification varies between Inter/12th standard to graduation, with basic comprehension of the English language. The urge to work post the completion of the program and consent from parents in support of it, is critical to get an entry to the Chapter. Besides, they should not be pursuing a full time educational program as the effort is to provide springboard to un/under employed youth. Staying aligned to Reliance Group's philosophy, it is ensured that a minimum of 45 per cent of those inducted and trained are women. Smooth sailing…. "We have been evolving over the last few years through various mitigation measures to extend a solid and sound program on ground. Overcoming challenges and attaining a shared ■ www.humancapitalonline.com value for the community at large including their placement, post placement guidance was a priority for us," asserts Das. The success of the program can be measured by the fact that more than 85 per cent of the trained youth have found employment and are earning on an average 11000/- per month. At the industry level, the initiative has built ties with industry partners to engage I The rigorous pedagogy and understand the I Mentoring at all stages industry's needs and further I Pre-training interface between candidates and company create a strengthened I Field trips to corporate locations to gauge the environmental understanding process. In spite of the odds, the program has succeeded I Continuous monitoring of the candidates by Committee of core employee volunteers at R Com. in creating a local resource network by mobilising I Pool of employers for placement. development organizations, I Creating first day first hour productive workforce. community partners, local I An inherent component of building capacities of the partner organisations and the team of trainers/ government bodies and facilitators apart from the program management staff. industry. "This ensures the sustainability and scalability of the program in the long run as which further gets implied and well as establishes a monitoring ploughed back into the business system with community proposition," reiterates Das. participation," quips Das. "Also, over a period of three years, we have been The road ahead able to learn from the sharing of As part of the organization's best practices and knowledge being mandate, PRAYAG will continue to applied across the Chapters/ focus on eliminating the skill based Reliance Communications regions," entry barrier and enable those un/ he adds. under employed to hone their skills based on the current industry trends, Impact on employees giving an impetus to their career Whenever organizations create graph. impactful interventions like PRAYAG, Das reiterates that the which focuses on outcome led organization is not just committed to volunteering; it tends to generate fill the gap between policy, program exciting opportunities for employees planning and its implementation in as well. It enables them to tackle the deficient areas under education new challenges, increase employee and employability, but is equally objective and retention. Besides, such involved in building human capital engagement practices help to within the country. "Reliance strengthen the societal development Communications has taken the steps mandate amongst the employee to integrate its business processes base. It brings objectivity in their and the huge talent pool of human mindset and compels them to look resources to lay the foundation for at the concern from a different a responsible sustainable corporate perspective. "Working as crosscitizenship. Over the next few years, functional teams, platforms like the organization as part of PRAYAG PRAYAG bring out diverse and intends to extend this platform to innovative perspective and 20,000 youth across India," approaches of problem solving HC concludes Das. Processes that differentiate PRAYAG October 2014 N 49 PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK Low performers: Is it a good idea to ignore them? BY MANAVI PATHAK P erformance management make up a significant part of every manager's job and this means managers are required to deal with low performance. Managers too often view this as one of the less desirable responsibilities that come with their job because too often the perception of managing poor performance is clouded by thoughts of tense, uncomfortable situations that may result in blame, anger and denial. Engaging staff around their poor performance is tough, however organizational survey data tells us that not managing poor performance is one of the biggest gripes for employers. Performance has two dimensions: skills and attitude. A high performer is someone who has great skills and great attitude. High performers are your go-to employees. At the end of the spectrum are the low performers who can present themselves in many different ways: some low performers have poor skills and lousy attitude, and there are others who have great skills and lousy attitude. What about the lowest of the low performers in the organization - the bottom 10 per cent? Every organization has them, the bottom 10 per cent who are not meeting the expectation of performance. They 50 N October 2014 are problem - for themselves, for their managers, for the organization and for the customers. Too often we ignore them, we shut them out and we don't spend time working with them. Low performers could be the result of bad hire. However, after those people quit or are asked to go, talent development leaders may still be left with some low performers who do just enough to get the job done, but should be doing better. While companies don't want to reward low performers by giving similar compensation and recognition as the high or mid performers in the organization, ignoring them isn't a good idea. Poor performers in an organization could be the result of lack of knowledge, skill or talent - they may be the result of mismatched skills. Talent managers need to Reasons for low performance G Employee doesn't know what is expected because goals and standards or workplace policies and consequences are not clear G Interpersonal differences G Mismatch of capability and job G No feedback on performance G Lack of personal motivation, low morale G Personal issues G Workplace bullying Poor performance is exhibited in the following ways G Unsatisfactory work performance, i.e., failure to perform the duties of the position or to perform them up to the standard expected G Non- compliance with workplace policies, rules and procedures G Unacceptable behaviour at the workplace G Disruptive or negative behaviour that impacts the co-workers www.humancapitalonline.com ■ PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK establish the reasons behind low performance: Why are the high standards not being met? Is the employee going through some personal crisis? Or is the employee mismatched in the job at hand? Also, underperformance is not the same as misconduct. Misconduct is a serious behaviour such as theft or assault which may warrant instant dismissal. In cases of misconduct employers should seek specific advice about how to proceed before taking any action. In a recent study by Leadership IQ, Consulting Firm based in USA, it was reported that in 42 per cent of the companies, low performers are more engaged, more motivated and are more likely to enjoy working at their organization. The findings suggest that many organizations are not holding people accountable for their work, allowing the worst workers to skate by. Low performers end up with the easiest jobs because managers don't ask much of them, so they are under less stress and more satisfied with their daily work lives. Meanwhile it's the dedicated and the conscientious workers who end up staying at the office late, correcting the work of the low performers and making sure that the clients or customers are satisfied. This pattern breeds frustration and disengagement in high performers - and ultimately drives them to seek work elsewhere. To solve this situation, managers should speak candidly with high and middle performers. Not allowing them to fret out the frustration might potentially send them looking for better opportunities. They should also find out what could motivate them to stick around. Organizations should be worried about these findings, as high performers thrive on feeling involved and challenged. They ■ www.humancapitalonline.com also act as company ambassadors with clients, customers and potential hires. If they are bored and underappreciated, they will stop talking up their employer, mentally unplug from their work, start looking for opportunities elsewhere and eventually jump the ship. As for low performers, companies want them to become more productive disengage and to find work elsewhere. Companies do not want deluded low performers, who think they are contributing when they are really doing poorly, to stick around when they are really doing poorly. What has led to such high level of dysfunction in the organizations? Experts believe that many companies are failing to implement basic lessons of good leadership. Bosses should be clear and transparent about what they want their employers to do. There should be 'meritocratic accountability' where high performers are regularly recognized and rewarded with praise, recognition and raise. Managers should not avoid difficult conversations with low performers, who should be told how and why their work is not up to the snuff. Most organizations know they should be doing these things, but experts say that many businesses struggle to set clear performance standards. Outside of sales, where achievement is measured in numbers, it can be difficult to pin point what bosses expect from top performers. Nevertheless companies must try and they should be diligent communicating with employees about their performance while checking how engaged the employees feel. Ideally, leaders need to do a better job at holding low performers accountable. Increasing accountability starts by learning to recognize and respond to the four stages of most people go through before they get into accountability. Once the manager or leader can identify whether it is denial, excuse, blame or anxiety that is preventing someone from reaching accountability, specific actions can be directed to make the low performer move through the road blocks. Also, when performance levels fail to meet the expectations, it's also critical to enforce accountability with real life consequences. Not only it tells the slackers that the free ride is over, it also lets your best performers, who have been waiting for you to do something, to differentiate them from the slackers, know that you are doing something to remove one of their biggest pain points. This can do a lot to increase engagement in high and middle performers. Best practice employers understand that the issues that are not addressed promptly also have the potential to become more serious over time. This can have negative effects on the business as a whole as it can affect the productivity and performance of the entire workplace. HC Dr Manavi Pathak is an Organizational Psychologist and Consultant. She can be reached at [email protected] October 2014 N 51 CASE STUDY The communication factor BY PROF. L. GURUNATHAN Listening and understanding others, and being able to put one's point across, is what effective communication is all about. Therefore, managers must invest time and energy to deliver clear communication to build trust and confidence amongst employees. or about three months Rakesh Baweja, the Regional Head of the southern region of BRC projects, a construction company, has been trying to communicate with his immediate deputy about some very important aspects relating to his job. "Chandramouli is a very sincere worker", Baweja told himself. "But he has had a very bad year. He has over stepped his authority a couple of times and that has brought some real bad consequences. I, however, have never chided him till now as I always believe in focusing on the positive aspects of an individual. However, the time has now come to communicate the concern to him". Actually Baweja had received intimation from his seniors that Chandramouli should be asked to leave or relieved from some of his 52 N October 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■ CASE STUDY responsibilities, a kind of demotion, however, without any change in designation. This happened two months back. At that time Baweja ended the conversation by saying, "Dear Chandru, the fact is that many of your decisions is beginning to cost us now. We have to increase our work efforts, in fact double it and do it really well. Hope you are up to the challenge". Chandramouli was as usual enthusiastic. He always has been. "I may not have communicated the reality. But I did communicate the underlying issues." Then Baweja told him about the meeting he had in the past. However today, he had to be explicit and he realized he should get on with it. "I am not good with bad news in general. But I know how to mix it up", he told his friend Harpreet about the impending meeting. Rakesh's Office The door opened. In came Chandramouli, Assistant Regional Manager, Projects B&R Constructions Llimited. "Morning Rakesh; you sent for me". "Oh. Nothing Chandru; it is just that I wanted to have a chat with you. Come on take a seat". Baweja greeted him warmly. "Chandru, we go a long way together. I remember you six years back when you were much junior then. You took great initiatives and also had the guts to tell me when I went wrong, even though I was senior to you. I always loved and appreciated that about you". "Well, Rakesh, it is indeed delightful to hear that you remember those moments. That too fondly! I did enjoy talking to you as I always felt that since you had all the authority, you should hear it first. It was not easy to meet you those days I was way low in the hierarchy". "Ah! Chandru, just wanted to tell you that we have indeed come a long way. However, I think the way our recent relationship has evolved, has made the journey even more enjoyable. As my immediate junior, I enjoyed the fact that you took complete ownership of the various ■ www.humancapitalonline.com projects and have taken some critical decisions all the while keeping me informed". "Rakesh! That is a lot of praise for one day…well may be for a week. But I think that the credit still goes to you and I should thank you for allowing me to take the authority that I wanted. Anyway, is there a reason you called me? I hear rumours about people being asked to leave, cost optimization, etc." Rakesh sat up right. Gazed at Chandru for a second and continued. "Chandru, look at the last year alone and you have done some tremendous work and I have to thank you for that. It is interesting to see you handle labour related issues with the same vigour as you handled the sudden raw material constraints that peaked six months back". "Baweja, sometimes as I look back, I am not sure if I really handled them well. I am even surprised that you are appreciating me specifically for those achievements because the way I handled it has only made things tougher today. But why discuss these issues. I have work to do. Can we discuss why you called me? I have just about two hours before lunch time sets in and I…" "Ah! Lunch! That too brings fond memories. Your wife Vaanathi is a very good cook. I never thought I will like rice so much…and that too in so many varieties. Do you think I can have another one of your dinners…?" "And watch cricket! Yes, Baweja you are right. Maybe that is what we should be doing. Get together this weekend? I will be on it. Now what else?" "Chandru, I think that should be it for now. I just want to tell you that we are concerned a bit about the labour issue today and the consequences of the contracts you signed with the suppliers. I want to say that you need to do a lot of work there. The key issue that you should handle is that from now on I will have to review some big and critical decisions usually left in your hands. That .is what I want you to know. We will catch up later. I have to make an important call and that Prof. L. Gurunathan Faculty, PMIR, XLRI Jamshedpur Dr L. Gurunathan holds a doctorate in Management from IIM, Ahmedabad. At XLRI, he handles courses in executive compensation, and strategic human resource management. He also, consults and trains organizations in these areas. He has trained public sector corporations such as Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, NTPC, BALCO, Novo Nordisk and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Tech Mahindra, Computer Science Corporation, Accenture and Ma Foi Ltd. October 2014 N 53 CASE STUDY brings an end to this meeting of ours. Bye. Take care" Chandru walked out of the room. He looked elated. "I always love these informal chats and the dinner would be just the thing to discuss things that I wanted to discuss a long time. Great!" he thought to himself. However as he walked towards his office he was wondering about the last line, and what it actually meant. As he went back to his office and sat on his desk, he heard a ping on his mobile phone …" I am at my desk. Let me check it up right now," he thought and checked his email. It was from his boss Baweja. It read like this: "I am deeply disappointed in your performance in this organization Chandru. Your actions during the last one year especially the way you handled the labour issue and the raw material supply related contracts has put us in a lot of trouble. I have therefore transferred many of the projects that were under your direct authority to the others. Your designation also is changing as per orders from the head office. The HR team will be in touch with you regarding this." Chandru stared at the email. He just could not understand what to make of it. He failed to comprehend it completely. He rose from his seat and marched straight towards Baweja's office. By then Baweja had left. "Some emergency and boss left", said the secretary. She was not sure when he would return. Meanwhile Chandru got a call from Maneet Singh. "We have to discuss the process sir," Singh said. "What process?" shouted Chandru. "Sir, I am sorry, you did not know. But I was told that you were informed. Your designation and the job description have gone through some changes. We have to discuss the various details relating to that", said Singh. Later that night at 7:30 pm at a restaurant, Baweja was dining with his colleague and friend Harpreet Minhas from the Marketing division. "I had a tough time today 54 N October 2014 communicating a bad news to a subordinate. I still tried to do it in my own style and put it across subtly. I made an attempt to mix the good news with the bad. That is the way to do it", he said. Minhas looked at him. "Chandru was upset by the way you communicated the news". "So you know. Good! Baweja looked at him. Whichever way I communicated, I would have hurt him. But I tried to make it pleasant. I believe it is better to focus on the strengths than the challenges. It will take some time to sink in. Poor fellow! He should have seen this coming. I am surprised at him for being upset". Minhas continued. "Baweja, I understand that What's all this! Why could you not say it on my face? Why didn't you discuss all this first with me?" Baweja looked at him and asked him to calm down. "Chandru whatever I told you were true. I trust you a lot and I want you to realize that I have tried to focus on the positives only. However there were some negatives and I felt that it had to be communicated. Hence the email." "Baweja, I am too upset by this decision. And I am not sure if I can trust you anymore. " "Chandru, I always focus on the positive. I say the good things. The bad things are around you and I am not comfortable sharing the you focused on the positives. I do that too. But sometimes I think I should just communicate the core reason straight in the beginning. May be I am wrong." "Minhas, you are wrong. If I broke the news in person instead of emailing him, he would have tried to defend himself and would have gone on and on with his explanations. The decision has been taken. I focused consciously on his positives, I am sure it would not have come too hard on him. I also left office early today and have avoided his calls all day. I want this news to sink in first". negatives. I still want you to remember the little chat we had. That is more important. You are upset. But things will get better. Now, let us end that on this note. I have very important work to do". Chandru wanted to respond but realized that Baweja was not interested in continuing the conversation. He left the room. "He is upset. But it is only natural. Anyway he will realize that I have been really kind to him in this matter," thought Baweja. That evening Minhas met him. "Baweja, I heard that Chandru is quitting. Are you aware about that?" Baweja looked at him. "I do not think he will quit. He is upset. But I think even if he did, I have communicated the fact to the best of my ability". The next day: Sometime after 1:30 pm, Baweja heard his office door open. In barged Chandramouli. "You called for me? www.humancapitalonline.com ■ CASE STUDY R akesh Baweja is not right at all. He has committed the mistake at many counts, such as; 1. Appreciative enquiry is an important tool for realizing the potential of an employee into deliverables. Focusing on the positive elements of an employee is great wisdom but it's doesn't mean that if a person is about to fall, the manager should keep mum till either his bones or the wall is broken. Managers must step in to provide constructive and timely feedback to the team members to avoid the failure. Baweja did not realize the lapses on his part towards the performance gap of Chandru till his managers communicated him emphatically. Even after that he conveyed the message in a much calibrated form as if he feared that Chandru may react and challenge him. Baweja should understand that output of performance review or evaluation is not the news in terms of good or bad, it has holistic purpose and part of the organizational process is to enhance the individual and organizational effectiveness to meet its stated objectives. 2. Rakesh doesn't know how to communicate and share performance feedback with his direct reports. He said that Chandru had been informing him of all the critical decisions, he used to take. In such a situation, if results do not fall in line, the first responsibility should be owned by the manager, which Baweja didn't. His approach in communication to Chandru is something like one step forward and two steps backward. He has messed the contents of constructive feedback about performance by mixing personal matters about the choice of dinner, etc., to please him despite the fact that it is irrelevant at that point of time. Contrary to Baweja, Chandru appears to be more focused on the objective of the meeting and finish his task for the day. 3. There is a big divide in his tone and tenor between verbal communication and written one, ■ www.humancapitalonline.com which he sent though the mail. This is the sign of a weak manager, like Baweja, who lacks the courage to share the complete message assertively and be open for discussion. During the last communication, he should have had the courage to speak out clearly and also given fair opportunity to Chandru to respond. It is ridiculous that half of the message he conveyed verbally and then the other half through e-mail. He also runs away to avoid facing Chandru and also avoids his call. This case study reflects a situation when a manager fails to communicate the performance feedback to his subordinate who is a high potential employee. This results in poor performance and business loss to the company. Following are the weak linkages of communication between the employee and the manager; G Lack of common understanding of organization's goals and priorities G Lack of clear expectations between employee and manager and agreements thereof G Casual approach in place of structured method to share performance review & evaluation output G Style of communication pattern in form of good-bad-good sandwich, which doesn't carry any clear message Baweja called Chandru in his office to communicate a certain important message about performance, which has impacted the organization adversely and in turn the organization has decided to implement some corrective actions in form changing his job profile and designation. As a manager, he should also convey that he is part of this decision, being the manager. Finally, he should have concluded the discussion to suggest Chandru that he needs to introspect seriously and move forward by accepting the reality on the ground. He should empathize as a manager but clearly deliver the message to carry the desired impact. Ravi Mishra Regional HR Head - South Asia & Middle East, Birla Carbon A postgraduate in Social Work (MSW) from J. K. Institute of Social Sciences, Lucknow, he has been associated with Human Resource Management in diversified organizations such as, Nicholas Piramal Group, Mardia Group, Bihar Caustic & Chemicals, UltraTech Cement. He is currently working with Birla Carbon as Regional HR Head South Asia & Middle East, . Mishra has good exposure of working in a crosscultural environment and capabilities of building teams and getting the best out of it with maturity of understanding business perspectives, linkages and strategic orientation in actions in people management. October 2014 N 55 CASE STUDY T Santosh Rai DGM-HR & IR, L&T Special Steels & Heavy Forgings, Hazira, Surat (Guj.) In a career spanning 16 years in Human Resources and Industrial Relations, Rai has successfully anchored various productivity improvements and manpower rationalization initiatives including job evaluations. He has also practiced innovations in talent acquisition. 56 N October 2014 here is a common phenomenon wherein the process of feedback is treated as ritual in organizations. In general, feedback is given in the form of standard templates on fixed periodicity and its effectiveness is largely dependent on the individual's persona. This kind of tailor made and ritualistic approach damages the effectiveness of the feedback process. Feedback is an ongoing process and it should follow the philosophy of 'Here & Now' and it should be highly objective. In this case, Rakesh Baweja is suffering from the generic syndrome wherein in most cases, while giving feedback, superiors tend to talk only positive things about the person, and try to establish its linkage with his expectations on performance. In such a situation, the employee becomes highly confused or he feels that whether he should continue with his present way of working. Thus the very purpose of feedback loses its charm. The action taken on Chandramouli will have irreversible effect on his performance and his future perspective about his role. Chandramouli, who happened to be an empowered employee who took decisions for the company on critical issues, will be highly demotivated, especially by the way his case has been handled, He would surely feel that he has been punished for all his good intentions. In my view, there are two aspects that are going to come into the framework of the entire issue of communication that are the role of the manager and the culture of the organization. It was the failure of his manager who was unable to give proper direction and timely and objective feedback to a sincere and committed employee. Similarly, it is the culture of the organization which encourages employees to take risk, learn from mistakes and to collaborate for superior performance. There were some inherent flaws in the communication methodology adopted by Baweja. The expectation setting should be the beginning of the communication process and it should have taken place much before the initiation of the actual communication process. Baweja could have gone for various intermittent course correction sessions in between wherein he could have given constructive feedback to Chandramouli to improve his way of working, and this could have helped him to maintain his enthusiasm and performance level. In this case, the biggest setback in the communication process was dishonesty in communication, which has led to mistrust. Baweja tried to mix-up the good and the bad news whereas in reality there was no good news to be shared. Further to this, immediately after sharing all the good things, a letter was sent to Chandramouli with various allegation and disciplinary actions which was contrary to the proceedings of the actual discussion. This only created total mistrust between the two. In my opinion, Baweja should have communicated with critical incidences of mistakes made by Chandramouli, which impacted business in negative terms. He should have given proper hearing with empathy to the perspective of Chandramouli. Principles of natural justice should have been applied before proceeding for any action. This approach could have helped the management to think on an alternative action instead of initiating strong disciplinary actions. Even if the proper process of honest communication had been followed, it would have minimized the adverse impact of the action on Chandramouli and the moral of the organization. When we give feedback on a regular basis, we must realize that feedback is neither to please nor to agonize or demoralize. Its proper periodicity and objectivity can build a high performing team and create a highly productive workplace. In the entire process of communication, the PDCA cycle plays the vital role, i.e., setting of expectations, feedback on course corrections followed by objective feedback on the outcome, and this should be an inherent part of the entire value chain of organization as HC it prime cultural aspect. www.humancapitalonline.com ■ GUEST COLUMN The introspective leader BY RITIKA BASU I t's human nature, you tell children not to stick their finger into an electric socket and the first thing they do is stick their hand into the socket! It is said experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards. A lot of lessons learnt in life are through directly experiencing them. Which is why right or wrong on the job experience is invaluable. It tends to reinforce what you may have heard from others, studied in management courses or read in leadership books. Our reactions to the same scenarios vary and we each have our own way of dealing with situations. In keeping with that logic, a leader who is always learning, adapting and evolving is likely to be a more impactful, then one who has a singular leadership style. It is, but let me ask you as a leader how many times have you introspected about your leadership style? Listening and empathy is paramount Multi-listening is like doing something you know isn't good for you but continuing to do it anyway. One of my key lessons as a leader has been to listen, intently and singularly. Not to what the person is saying but to listen for what is unsaid. Unless you really engage you will be unable to understand and empathize. And empathy is paramount to being a good leader. Handling cross functional teams tests you as a leader When there are teams spread across ■ www.humancapitalonline.com multiple geographies, managing or even interfacing with distributed teams requires more care. As a leader it is important to encourage work style conversations very early on so that boundaries are clarified up front. Over communication in these scenarios is always more beneficial than under communication. Now let's add the next level of complexity, you have a distributed team and they are multidisciplinary. The digital revolution has been the next big change to our social fabric after the industrial revolution. Providing digital solutions require the unique amalgamation of left-brain and right-brain talent. So as leaders in the digital world we need to manage teams that have a plethora of varied skills and people who are wired very differently from each other. Handling cross-functional teams truly tests you. You will find that you now need to motivate various members of the team differently, as their motivation triggers differ. The tools remain pretty much the same, compensations, rewards, recognitions, step- up roles. It is when you use them and how you tweak them to each individual need that makes you a better leader. Junior folks on the team are hungry to learn and gain experience even if that means more hours. Middle management responds better to predictability and steady growth. Senior team members look for respect and acknowledgment of the experience they bring to the table. Control is easy, influence is a whole different ball game The final skill today's leaders need to develop is the art of influence, compared to the older concept of control. The concept of having a team reporting into you and then driving them towards your vision of success has morphed a bit. Your cross functional team will have people with not only different skillsets but very different mindsets. They will come together to deliver a particular project and then move on to new teams. So your 'control' over them is transient. Enter, the need to 'influence'. People tend to agree with your vision when they believe it aligns to their own. And this can only be done when you understand their context and driving factors. People tend to agree with your vision when they believe it aligns to their own. And this can only be done when you understand their context and driving factors. Being a successful leader requires a beginner's mindset. Unless you learn, evolve and adapt you are unlikely to increase your HC effectiveness. Ritika Basu is a Director, Program Management at SapientNitro based out of Gurgaon. With over 18 years of experience in managing large scale digital & technology programs within the Financial Services & Public Sector industries, Ritika is currently playing the Regional Delivery Lead role working for North American customers for the SapientNitro BU. October 2014 N 57 LIFE BEYOND WORK The putter "One can play for years and still not feel confident about the game. It's like life," says Col. Harmit Shethi, an avid golfer, for whom playing golf is a way to unwind and also utilize his time. T he work of an Army personal is a combination of missions, tasks and responsibilities - all in constant motion. With the daunting task to ensure a secure life for the civilian counterparts, the lives of these individuals are in a constant state of flux. Col. Harmit Sethi, now a professional having quit Army, shares his tryst with Golf. Initially, as a tankman, he had to spend months in the deserts in Rajasthan. It was here that he decided to try golf as a means to beat the monotony. Well, it wasn't easy, knowing that fact that there were no greens, only desert. "However, we procured some coir foot mats and started the process of practicing. Soon we realized that we would also need "Greens for Putting". This was obviously not possible. As tankmen, we used to have hundreds of liters of used oil from the tanks which was disposed of. We started using the oil to firm up some areas and made "Putting browns" instead. Voila - we now could hit the balls using the coir mats and do putting on the browns. This is how golf as a game started for me," quips Col. Sethi. Now an enthusiastic golfer, the game helps him unwind after the grind. He feels rejuvenated with every game, every put. According to him, Golf is a mind game. "It is said that if you want to close a billion dollar deal and don't know what kind of a person you are dealing with play golf with him /her or their teams. You will understand their ethos of life and will know exactly how to negotiate," he asserts. Extremely passionate about the game, he draws parallel with life. "This is game where you plan from your first shot and play. But as you keep moving the game never goes the way you had planned. You keep changing your plan as you move," he quips. Also, he considers golf as "Work in Progress". "One can play for years and still not feel confident about the game. It's like life. I try and catch up on whenever possible on the YouTube and other social media sites, the best techniques available to improve my shots," he shares. He candidly confesses that a golf course and a golf club have today become an oasis of pampering. "It is fun all the way. The stress starts when your mobile rings "wife". Then the office and the grind and then back to the golf course to distress. That's a cycle," he laughs. However, he does believe that a golf buddy will go to any length to help you at your work as well. Notwithstanding his endearing love for the game, Col. Sethi shares how the game also help him stay connected to the world and also offers an opportunity to play at any place in the world. "One can spend a whole lot of money buying golf gear and clothes - so it keeps you welldressed. It is a competitive game and at times friends play with stakes. Earning a few bucks even a few is great for your ego. Being out in the open with the trees and the greenery can do wonders to your health," he affirms. He shares a piece of advice for his hard pressed for time fellow mates, "Finding time is not an issue. I am sure you must have seen Barack Obama and other world leaders playing golf. If he can find the time, I am sure mere mortals like us have enough time on our hands," he concludes. 58 N October 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■ LIFE BEYOND WORK Correlating business and golf I I I I I In golf, people of widely differing abilities compete against each other similar to a business environment. People of any age can play it. In a four-hour game, players get enough time to talk shop as only a small portion of time is actually spent hitting the ball. As a sport, golf offers a good test of character. It rewards players who are calm under pressure, never lose their temper and think strategically. These are all virtues in business, too. Golf demands scrupulous honesty. In this game, it is easy to cheat when no one is watching. But it is unacceptable words tend to spread fast. This is true for business as well. GOLF ETIQUETTES What people can expect during a round of golf, from beginning to end: Getting started G G G G G G A good caddie can make the round more enjoyable by giving you hints that might lower your score. He can provide information on yardage, club selection, reading the greens and the layout of the course. It's often a good idea to finish warming up by hitting a few soft wedge shots before heading for the practice green and hitting a few putts. Don't hit hundreds of balls and leave your game on the practice tee. Check the scorecard to learn any local rules. If you are playing companions suggest a match, it's a good idea to make sure everyone is comfortable with the stakes. The game begins G G G G G G When your group is not keeping up with the pace of play of the group in front of you: Walk at a reasonable speed between shots. Begin planning your next shot as you approach the ball by studying the strength and direction of the wind. When you reach your ball, check the lie, select your club, visualize your swing and shot, and then play your shot. From the time you select your club until you actually hit your shot, you should take no more than 30 to 45 seconds. If you aren't ready to play when it is your turn, encourage one of your fellow players to play. On the green G TIPS FOR WANNABE GOLFER G G Nobody knows golf completely. Start playing and keep improving. It's a way of life. It is not a strength game. Old guys and lovely ladies play it with complete ease. Learn the basics. Basics can only be learnt once you reach the driving range. Think. Think what you are about to do and how will you do it in your mind. You will be amazed that your body can understand your mind - if you have thought about it. G G G G G G Start playing and show up at a golf course at least twice in a week. ■ www.humancapitalonline.com Don't step on your fellow players putting lines If your ball is on a player's line, volunteer to mark the ball. Do not stand where you might distract a fellow player and don't move. Don't make any noise when your fellow player is preparing to putt. Hold the flagstick at arm's length so the flag doesn't flutter in the breeze, and make sure your shadow doesn't fall across the hole or line. Loosen the bottom of the flagstick so it doesn't stick when you try and remove it by pulling it straight up after the other player has putted. The flagstick should be removed right after the player has hit the ball. If you lay down the flagstick, lay it off the green to prevent doing any damage to the green. After everyone has putted out, immediately walk to the next tee. Source: http://www.pga.com/golf-instruction/instruction-feature/ fundamentals/golf-etiquette October 2014 N 59 LIFE BEYOND WORK Worried your investment is suffering because the ceo is spending too much time on the links? Don’t be. We took the handicaps of ten golfers among the execs running America’s 50 most valuable companies and compared them with their share prices, and-surprise!-the better golfers also tended to have better-performing stocks. The results dovetail with a 2010 study from two Spanish economists who found that CEOs who play golf earn more than their non-golfing peers, and the better they play, the higher their pay. GOLF ASSOCIATIONS IN INDIA Governing bodies of Sport 1. Indian Golf Union (IGU) apex body of Golf affiliated to IGF 2. Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI); the controlling body for professional golf in India 3. Women Golf Association of India (WGAI); women pro golf organization of India 4. Indian Pitch and Putt Union (IPPU); governing body of Pitch and Putt Golf in India member of IPPA 5. Paralympic Golf Association of India (PGAI); organization for golfers with disabilities in India Golf Industry Association 1. Asia Golf Industry Show Hosted by CII 2. Indian Golf Industry Association (IGIA); Golf Industry Group to develop and support different industries of Golf and allied business 3. Golf Course Superintendents & Managers Association of India (GCSMAI); objective is to assist all golf course developers/ owners/entrepreneurs running golf courses. Leading Golf Event Organizers 1. Rishi Narain Golf Management (RNGM) 2. Sports & Leisure Worldwide (SLW) 3. Brandon de Souza Management Services (BDMS) 60 N October 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■ LIFE BEYOND WORK RESEARCH SHOWS CEOS WHO PLAY GOLF AND ARE GOOD AT IT! John Watson - CEO - Chevron Ian Read- CEO - Pfizer Jay Fishman - CEO- Travelers Companies Jeffery Immelt - CEO- GE Electric Steve Ballmer - Ex CEO- Microsoft Economists Gueorgui Kolev and Robin Hogarth at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona studied the links between the golf handicaps, corporate performance and remuneration of CEOs. They concluded that "golfers earn more than non-golfers and pay increases with golfing ability". Regardless of corporate performance, CEOs who played well earned 17 per cent more on average than those who played poorly or not at all. In study in the US, it was found that 90% of Fortune 500 CEOs played golf. Another one said that almost a quarter of the 25 million golfers in the US are top management executives and 80% of the top executives agreed that a game of golf is an important business development tool. DID YOU KNOW Russi Mody's contribution to golf has to be legendary in India. At a time the sport was looking for messiahs, Mody embraced it and turned it into a culture of sorts. Jack Welch, former chief executive of General Electric, believed in test of character. It may be the only opinion he shares with P.G. Wodehouse, who wrote of golf that "in no other walk of life does the cloven hoof so quickly display itself. Mr Welch's managers were expected to play golf with clients, and he insisted that the candidates to succeed him as CEO play a round of golf with the board members. Backslapping on the golf course remains a vital part of the GE way. golf as a America's most exclusive club, the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, addmitted its first two women members: Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state, and Darla Moore, a leveraged-buyout banker in 2012, it When created a lot of buzz. The National's 300 or so members currently include the CEOs past and present of many of America's largest companies. ■ www.humancapitalonline.com October 2014 N 61 A POINT OF VIEW Changing jobs: How often and for how long? BY GAUTAM BRAHMA W henever senior corporate personnel are asked for their views on attrition they usually say something along the following lines: People should approach jobs the way Warren Buffet approaches investments. They should find a good company and stay with it for a long time without worrying too much about immediate earnings. Good companies give opportunities for learning that increase a person's worth. Job hopping may give breadth but not depth of knowledge. Besides, employers do not value resumes that show frequent job changes, as they want people who, once hired and trained, will stay for a long time and pay back. Loyalty is a virtue. Professionals who do change jobs to build their career, however, offer very different advice. It usually runs along the following lines: Companies woo professionals only during the hiring process. Once hired, the employee is not compensated, in subsequent years, on worth and contribution but on considerations like equity i.e. how much can this person be paid without causing discomfort among the peers and seniors. Administrative convenience is given a higher value than performance and contribution while deciding compensation and promotion. People working for 62 N October 2014 other companies appear more valuable than those already hired. Companies evaluating potential hires look for variety in experience and feel safe if the person has already been hired earlier by more than one wellknown company in recent years. Their logic is that if this person was found good enough to be hired by companies A and B, we are probably not making a mistake if we do the same. Longstaying loyalists are seen as mediocre who probably cannot find another job. One has to look out for oneself as the employer is not going to do it. The truth probably lies somewhere in between. As for the first viewpoint, a long stay in a good company may build longterm worth but one may have to change several jobs to find that good company. As to the second viewpoint, there is a seasonality in every company's operations and unless one stays long enough one may not only not see all the seasons one may not be able to confirm that one is competent to meet the special requirements of each aspect of one's job. If one assumes that the job market for professionals is a perfect one the actual pattern of stay durations may offer guidance on what could be the optimum pattern of job stays. Of course we all know that the job market is not perfect. Employees do not know everything about prospective employers, and the reverse is also true. There are several other distortions as well, for instance the cost of changing jobs (for employees) and the cost of new hiring (for employers). However if one persists with the assumption of perfection the valid question is: how long do employees stay in jobs? Unfortunately, as in many other HR-related matters hard empirical data does not appear to be readily available for India. There is a lot of anecdotal material. Even that often relates to the IT & ITES sectors which have seen both growth and related hiring and retention challenges. However we do have fairly detailed data from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics which, while obviously not applicable to India, may throw light on job change patterns which could be generic. The latest report released on September 18, 2014 shows the following: The median tenure for people in the age group 25 to 34 years was three years while the median tenure for those in the age group 55 to 64 years was slightly over 10 years. This would suggest that people change jobs every three years till they are 35 and then stick on for 10 years before the next change. One could interpret it to mean that it takes three job changes to find www.humancapitalonline.com ■ A POINT OF VIEW the 'good' company that one can then entrust with building one's capabilities and long-term worth. The same US-BLS data also showed that the median stays in years doubled in the case of professions like Management, Architecture, and Engineering. This suggests that for highly qualified people fewer job changes are required to find the right employer and longer stays are required to develop demonstrable competence in the correspondingly more complex jobs. Of course, these are very broad generalizations and have to be seen alongside some other empirical studies, though done on smaller samples, that show that in the US employees who stay for more than two years on an average with their employers are likely to earn 50 per cent less, in terms of lifetime earnings, when compared to colleagues who have, on the average, shorter stays (Forbes, 22 June 2014). One would tend to lean more towards the BLS data but in any case this is not Indian data. One will have to wait for some smart researcher to trawl LinkedIn data to determine average and median job stays for professionals at different levels in different industries before similar conclusions can be drawn for India. This would ideally need to be supplemented by micro studies of stay-related data in specific industries. An excellent example of one such study in the maritime industry appeared this year in the AMET Maritime Journal June 2014 issue. The researchers, C. Peters and S. Neumann have done an exhaustive survey and record-based study of job durations over the years and also determined reasons for trends. It provides an excellent reference point for someone planning a career in that industry. If only there were such studies available for different industries in India, it would help both employers and employees. Even though conclusive hard data is not available for India, it does appear that if someone continues to show short stays on the CV past her mid-30s, prospective employers need to be circumspect and the individual herself needs to reflect on the drivers of job change. Maybe she is not doing the right diligence in identifying employers. Maybe she is not spending time on leveraging the learning opportunities provided by the different aspects HC of her current job. Maybe both! Yourr Workers constitute c 80 % of yourr Man npower. 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He can be reached at [email protected] & 18 rs y 295000 ++Mandays M 585 ++ Client 17Year Yea ars295000 Mandays Trg y585 Clientts October 2014 N 63 PERSONA THE MULTIFACETED LEADER ! BY SHILPA SHREE 64 N October 2014 PERSONA limbing to the top demands strength, whether it is to the top of the Mount Everest or to the top of your career," said the APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India and a very accomplished scientific thinker. To excel in your career, there is no doubt that one requires perseverance. However, to change gears and to dive in to the uncharted waters and also emerge successful, takes mettle. Meet Rajiv Dutta, Director Talent Acquisition, Convergys - India and China, whose professional journey has traversed several new innovative paths to reach where it is today. He has enjoyed being at the helm of action when both the country and the industry were going through changing times. He is a positive-minded and actionoriented professional whose primary focus has been on the human factor in HR practices. “C Dutta benefitted from the potential opportunity in business-centric Mumbai, which led him to win major industrial clients such as Hindustan Lever, Shaw Wallace and Nicolas Piramal among others. Success breeds certainty; Dutta describes how this propelled him. "This wave of success created in me a tremendous sense of confidence Driven by three principles in life -things don't come easy, work hard to succeed and work harder to stay successful, Rajiv Dutta's multifaceted abilities has given interesting dimensions to his career… in my team and what I could achieve here. Twelve months was a short chapter but it earned me a name that I was asked to join Electrolux as the Head of Corporate Sales for India," he quips. His formative years in sales were peppered with the influences of his seniors and boss who encouraged him to dream big. Foundational lessons A leader doesn't get to the top without knowing the fundamentals and having worked from the grassroots level. Dutta's career in HR came through an eventful journey and significant stint in the Sales. Soon after India opened its markets to the world and businesses began to get a true taste of competition in a dynamic environment, Dutta kick started his career with Blow Plast as a costing professional. "The push to meet targets and the daily grind toughened me and helped me build my focus on what mattered from the get go. Blow Plast was the leader in that industry. In the first four months, I managed to earn amazing incentives," he reminiscences. His sales experience helped him move through MNC companies and brands from Gillette, where he managed Braun's retail distribution to IFB consumer durables where he transitioned from selling directly to consumers to selling B2B. With the change as the Head of Corporate Sales for Maharashtra, ■ www.humancapitalonline.com Central America in 24 months. "I also got the opportunity to develop channels like campus and the "Train & Hire" model which created a radical shift in the way the BPO industry hires," emphasizes Dutta. His first foray into the IT industry was when he took up the role at IBM GPS in the year 2012 as a Sr. Project Staffing Professional, Turn right for HR managing end-to-end staffing for large focus accounts. During this stint, he helped in staffing critical positions within timing and costefficient channels. This spell excited him enough to seek out this industry, which brought him to his current position at Convergys. Drawing from his sales experience to throw light on new HR approaches emerging in the Business Process Outsourcing industry, he shares, "The BPO industry has revolutionized the way hiring is done today. There is a definite shift from traditional "Communication - the human connection - is the key to personal and career success," said the pioneering motivational speaker, Paul J Meyer. Dutta's career turns factors in this aspect very well. His HR chapter started when he moved to IBM as the zonal head for hiring, Leadership style: Servant leadership-enables managing frontline resource the right people to do the right things hiring for north and east India. "My major push to Current professional goal: make a difference switch from sales to HR was - globally not just linked to my desire Favorite book: Bhagwad Gita to broaden my field of expertise, but also to move Favorite music artist: Kishore Kumar from dealing with consumer Favorite quote: Be Here Now durables to dealing with people," Dutta explains. Life is… full of surprises And the HR stint turned Family is…biggest support and not to be out to be a rewarding taken for granted experience with immensely interesting involvement in I strongly believe in… teamwork new areas. He moved on to I deal with setbacks by moving on become resource allocation 3 things I never leave home without - phone, and deployment leader for IBM GPS, handling the wallet, promise to be back soon delivery of over 3,000 On a Sundays, I… play tennis resources in India and RAPID FIRE October 2014 N 65 PERSONA methods of headhunting to a more volume-driven yet marketing-influenced type of approaches." "I feel that my understanding of sales, targets and the target audience will help in this new and fledgling world of BPOs," he adds. Symbiotic career moves In brief NAME : Rajiv Dutta TITLE : Director Talent Acquisition AGE : 43 years ORGANIZATION : Convergys, India and China involved in HR-Talent Acquisition such as recruiting, HR, training and operations increases likelihood of success, Dutta explains, talking about HR practices as a whole. "Effective Return on Investment is when the person receives world-class training, performs well on the job, stay and grows a career," he says. Moving from different sectors EXPERIENCE : 20 years in work can be an advantage and many concepts and ideas YEARS IN HR : 8 years can be cross-pollinated to Learning on the road achieve best results feels Dutta. Travel is valued not just for EDUCATION : B.Com Honors, Intermediate "Bringing in specific resultthe sights it may provide, but Degree from Institute of Cost oriented approaches and to how it changes the & Works Accountants of India concepts such as marketability, traveller. Dutta says that his quality, target profiling and travels both domestic ones distribution components of the and international have taught value chain to the HR practices in him a tremendous sense of respect II/III cities where the retention ratio the BPO industry is a method that for various cultures. He enjoys was higher. the latter can benefit a lot," he observing people, thinking and Another lesson from the Sales opines. In fact, he correlated it with learning from how different people chapter was to keep patience while an instance that he recalls vividly. react to same situations. launching a new product with When BPO companies were hiring Speaking about this he says, "In constant improvement after from A-grade colleges in Delhi and the ITeS space, for example, people customer feedback. It is a practice the offer to join ratio was dismally in North India are more inclined to that is crucial even for HR practices, low. A take away from that, being travel when compared to people and this helped him accomplish given the talent profile needed, it from the North-East or the South. many feat at IBM GPS. was better to attract talent from Tier This is one of the reasons why the Getting all the stakeholders ITeS industry has boomed in the North. This is also partly because the surrounding states also provide excellent talent." Dutta considers it important to I Gaps that HR organizations need to understand the history and culture bridge in India Inc. of any place. He stresses on the G Most organizations tend to have a need to establish trust and blend in target-driven approach and that there before even attempting change. is an opportunity to increase focus "Overall, all human cultures want on developing strategic skills relevant to conduct business with honesty and integrity. These form the to what the industry requires. underpinnings of a good business," G We can benefit from more he expresses. His love for travel collaboration between education and manifests in every aspect of his life industry on the same lines as the and is so well established among his ones being driven by NASSCOM. India has the capacity to meet a global friends that he is now the "go to" demand for quality talent, but sustaining this ability requires focus, planning person to ask for travel advice and and partnership. best way to deal with people. PERSPECTIVE Pitfalls in designing engagement practices G BPO organizations need to continue making sustained investments in talent development for their first-level managers - the team leaders, as they are the ones who motivate and drive performance of the frontliners, the agents. Apart from competitive compensation and benefits, and rewards and recognition cycles, organizations need to invest consistently in team leader talent development programs. I 66 N October 2014 Drawing roots strength from When Dutta switched from sales to HR, he was amidst a personal challenge, the loss of his father, who was a source of strength for him. Terming it as the biggest challenge of his life, Dutta feels that managing www.humancapitalonline.com ■ PERSONA both the personal and professional change took every bit of belief and faith that he had. He attributes his ability to face any such challenges to his upbringing. Not being pampered despite being the only child of his parents taught him to be grounded and to value resources and relationships. "My father has been a tremendous source of inspiration. He taught me life's lessons at an early stage - that things don't come easy, work hard to succeed and work harder to stay successful. These guidelines honed my pro-active personality I believe," recalls Dutta. "So don't just surround yourselves with the best and the brilliant keep those who believe in the team's success close to you," he adds. Dutta also managed to keep these values in tact both in his professional and education life. He recalls how during his costing days, he would surround himself with brilliant minds such as his teachers and peers as he considered it to be a sure way to improve. have evolved, people have not changed much for millennia and have the same motivations, fears, joys and react how they would have reacted in any time. "Keeping business and people close to the heart is what makes the most impact. Happy people make productive organizations," he stresses. In a career that spans over two decades, Dutta opines that in India Inc., most organizations tend to have a A mysterious benefactor writes you a check for target-driven approach. Rs 10,00,000 and said, "Help me solve a However, there is an opportunity to increase focus problem!" … what would you say? on developing strategic skills Some problems cost money and some just come relevant to what the industry with a subsidy. requires. Corporates with special What's one thing you're deeply proud of - but regard to the HR sector could would never put on your résumé? benefit from more My achievements with my family collaboration between education and industry on the Is there something that people consistently ask same lines as the ones being for your advice on? driven by NASSCOM, he Where to travel and how to deal with people reckons. "India has the capacity to meet a global When was the last time you astonished yourself? demand for quality talent, but I have stopped counting… sustaining this ability requires What do you value most: free time, recognition, focus, planning and partnership," he asserts. or money? As for BPO organizations, I value the recognition I get in my free time, Dutta envision the need to especially when I get paid for it. focus on making sustained Putting relationships Are you living your life purpose - or still searching? investments in talent development for their first-level first Living it and loving it. managers - the team leaders. Being a strong proponent of BPO organizations need to family, he believes it to be a more. He also indulges in outdoor invest consistently in team leader fundamental unit of the society. activities with his children. "I like talent development programs as they Spending time with his family to help to travel with them and take short drive the agents who are the them imbibe some of his values and trips mostly on an unplanned basis. frontrunners," he explains. to watch relationships grow and I also indulge in a lot of outdoor Dutta is enthusiastic about what mature within the family unit, is what sports activities with my children," the immediate future holds for him he gains pleasure from. "If your he shares. in his current position in Convergys. family can't learn to respect you, He is focusing on his primary task; then any gain in any other field is Future in basic core to create the right conditions for not worth it. Even the family dog his HR team to succeed, fearlessly can tell you how you're doing," he professional concepts lead, innovate and be all that they quips. Grandiose futuristic visions and can be. "Goals can sometimes just His immediate family comprises strategies would simply be jargon if be numbers that distract. I think we of his wife and two teenaged they don't value the core concepts need to keep our eyes on why we children; a daughter and a son. An feels Dutta. Overhyped visions of a do what we do and what impact it avid traveler, Dutta likes to take tomorrow are really not how he makes to the business, than just impromptu short trips with his loved feels an HR business should be run. meeting a number target," he ones as he feels that these trips help He believes that while the working concludes. HC him connect to his family much environment and expectations may ■ www.humancapitalonline.com THE BUZZER ROUND October 2014 N 67 68 N October 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■ LAW AT WORK Q&A I work in a construction company in Chennai. The company in which I work created such circumstance and imposed such conditions because of which I could not attend come to work for a few days. Now they are also deducting my wages on account of those vacations. Can you tell me if they this deduction on their part is lawful? Your employer company being an establishment carrying out works relating to construction would be governed by the provisions of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 ("Act"). Please note as per Section 7(2)(b)of the Act, an employer company has the right to deduct wages of its employees on account of absence from work as long as such deductions are proportional to the wage-period for which the employee was absent. However, where such deductions are on account of conditions imposed by the employer company, the right to deduct wages under Section 9 of the Act would not be available to the employer company. The Hon'ble High Court of Gauhati also took a similar stance in the case of French Motor Car Co. Ltd. Workers Union v. French Motor Car Co. Ltd: (1991)ILLJ107Gau. wherein it was held that "An employer can deduct the wages under section 7(2)(b) of the Act for absence from duty. Absence from duty by an employee must be of his own volition and it cannot cover his absence when he is forced by circumstances created by the employer from carrying out his duty. Accordingly, in the event your absence from office was not on account of reasons attributable to you but attributable to the employer company, it will not be lawful on their part to deduct your wages for the period during which you were absent from work. ■ www.humancapitalonline.com I own a small company which is currently registered with the shops and establishment act of Delhi. I am shifting my office to Mumbai so want to ask you the procedure to register under the shops and establishment act applicable to Mumbai. The relevant legislation which applies to establishments in Mumbai is the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948 ("Act"). You may note that you would be in a position to register under the Act only after you have a physical office in Mumbai. Nevertheless, the process for registration of an establishment under the Act is described below: G Within thirty (30) days of commencing your business from the office in Mumbai, you would be required to send to the labor inspector of the local area concerned a statement in Form A (attached) together with the prescribed fee; G The statement under Form A must contain the details as required under Section 7 of the Act, namely, (i) name of the employer, (ii) postal address of the establishment, (iii) name of the establishment, if any, (iv) category of establishment i.e. commercial establishment, (v) such other prescribed particulars. G On receipt of the application and fee, the labor inspector on being satisfied about the correctness of the particulars contained in the application, would register the establishment in the appropriate part of the register of establishment in Form C and would issue a registration certificate in Form C. G You would be required to get the registration certificate renewed every year by applying to the labor inspector in the prescribed form (Form B) accompanied by the HC prescribed fee. K. V. Singh Senior Partner, Kochhar & Co. Krishna Vijay Singh is a senior partner at Kochhar & Co., one of the leading and largest law firms in India with offices at New Delhi, Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, Singapore, Tokyo and Atlanta (USA). The firm represents some of the largest multinational corporations from North America, Europe, Japan and India (many of which are Fortune 500 companies) in diverse areas of corporate and commercial laws. October 2014 N 69 LAW AT WORK Should there be a right to refuse unsafe work? The Right to Refuse Unsafe Work (the "Right") as a part of rights governing occupational health and safety has long been a subject matter of debate. However, it has garnered more support in recent times in light of the growing awareness amongst workers and rising worker fatalities. The Right first came up for consideration in the report of the Royal Commission, Ontario (Canada) in the year 1976 on the Health and Safety of Workers in Mines. However, as the name suggests the Right contemplated therein was restricted in its scope to apply only to mine workers. The debate on its wider applicability to include other workplaces as well gained momentum in the year 1983 when the Right was also included under Article 13 of the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), a primary convention of International Labor Organisation. The said Article reads as under: "A worker who has removed himself from a work situation which he has reasonable justification to believe presents an imminent and serious danger to his life or health shall be protected from undue consequences in accordance with national conditions and practice." In theory the aforesaid provision appears to be absolutely fair and reasonable. In fact, many would argue that the Right is an integral part of the widely accepted principle that it is a must to ensure that the life and health of employees comes before the work of employers. In the Indian context, right to life and health have been guaranteed to every Indian citizen under the Constitution of India. The Supreme Court in Consumer Education & Research Centre and others v. Union of India and others; (1995) 3 SCC 42, held that the right to health and medical care to protect one's health and vigour, while in service or post-retirement, is a fundamental right of a worker under Article 21 read with Articles 39(e), 41, 43, 48-A (of the Constitution of India) and all related Articles and fundamental human rights 70 N October 2014 to make the life of the workman meaningful and purposeful with dignity of person. The Supreme Court further held that the compelling necessity to work in an industry exposed to health hazards due to indigence to bread-winning for himself and his dependents should not be at the cost of health and vigour of the workman. In India, for instance, the applicability of such a provision could include a right of women employees to leave their employer's organization before it gets dark or unsafe for them to travel back to home, even if, the same comes at the cost of the employer's work. Undoubtedly, the same would put a check on the increasing number of women harassment cases in the country but wouldn't it simultaneously leave scope for a major abuse of the said provision in their hands? After all, who wouldn't want to leave for home early, whether safe or unsafe. The nature of the Right carries within itself an inherent scope of abuse by workers/employees. The right to refuse work on such a ground can be grossly misused to refrain from doing many kinds of works that a worker/employee may not wish to carry out for reasons other than safety hazards. The subjectivity of 'safety' or 'dangerous works' leaves scope for multiple interpretations which can vary between different individuals and which would always vary between an employer and an employee. The recent stalemate, as reported in Indian Express, between the management and the permanent workers (Union members) of the automobile major Toyota Kirloskar Motors in Bangalore offers an example to the said subjectivity where in view of the workers the working conditions of the company were unsafe and the harsh practices of the company were deteriorating the health conditions of workers but not according to the management of the company . However, this was a case of collective bargaining where the view regarding unsafe conditions was taken by a union of workers. Perhaps on account of the above reason Indian legislators decided to leave the question of determining the safety with respect to any unsafe work on a third person, i.e., the Inspector under the Factories Act, 1948 ("Act"). Section 40(2) of Act empowers the Inspector to issue an order, to the occupier or manager of a factory, prohibiting the use of any building or part thereof, machinery or plant which in his view involves imminent danger to human life or safety. Similarly, under Section 87A of the Act, the Inspector is empowered to prohibit the occupier of the factory to employ any person in the factory or part thereof that in his view has conditions that may cause serious hazard by way of injury or death to the persons employed therein or the general public in the vicinity. Apart from the aforesaid, India also boasts of other legislations related to health and safety of workmen such as Mines Act, 1952; Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986; Plantation Labour Act, 1951; Explosives Act, 1884; Petroleum Act, 1934; and Dangerous Machines (Regulations) Act, 1983 amongst others that have been drafted to cover the various aspects of occupational safety in different fields. Further, there are two key legislations in this regard, namely, the Employee's Compensation Act, 1923 and the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948. However, none of these legislations postulate a right that may allow a workmen/employee to himself refuse work on the ground of safety. Even if such a right existed, it cannot be ascertained whether workers/ employees would, if at all, dare to exercise it. The widespread poverty and level of competition in India makes, having a job more important than the quality of job itself and hence a possible theory of the opponents of the Right that 'every employee is free to quit an unsafe job and take a safer job' may not hold much ground in India. NevertheHC less, the debate continues. 1 http://www.newindianexpress.com/business/news/Toyota-Employees-Stay-Away-Refuse-to-SignUndertaking/2014/03/25/article2128453.ece www.humancapitalonline.com ■ ■ www.humancapitalonline.com October 2014 N 71 Date of posting: 9-10 October 2014 at PSO Kotla Road, New Delhi-110002 R.N.I. No. 66615/97 Postal Regn. No. DL-SW-1/4022/2012-13-14 Date of printing: 7th October 2014