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Dozen Ways To Promote Informal Learning

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 2 May 2015 13:45:00 +0530

Dozen Ways To Promote Informal Learning

Learning management systems and learning content management systems are the centerpiece for many learning departments, but most organizations are unaware that these systems have capabilities to support informal learning.

Learning leaders can support informal learning within systems, but all solutions are not rooted in technology. Some tactics require only that managers and employees revisit lessons when and where appropriate and provide adequate learning support or access to developmental resources. What follows are 12 ways to engage a workforce in informal learning tactics.

1. Encourage learners to continue learning after formal courses.

Most enterprise learning systems provide a variety of communication capabilities that not only share administrative information about course materials but also facilitate informal learning after the course finishes.

These communication capabilities may include pre-set notes, which can prompt workers to apply skills taught in training at times when instructors anticipate workers might need reminders. Or, the system may enable distribution of resource materials, such as supplementary readings, references, job aids and similar materials that workers could consult in a performance support context. Ongoing discussions among participants in which they can share challenges and strategies to transfer learning to the job are another possibility.

2. Provide a space for communities.

Because they let learning professionals distribute information and promote conversation among participants in a course, most enterprise learning systems allow users to set up groups with the same capabilities. Within these groups, learning professionals can promote conversations among:

a) Occupational communities that find online communities helpful when they do not have an opportunity to work together in-person. These communities could include decentralized communication professionals or occupational safety teams in organizations with several work locations. For instance, IBM has had communities like these for many years.

b) Demographic communities that find that online communities let them connect with people who share similar characteristics, such as gender, race or sexual orientation, but who might be uncomfortable meeting in public. For example, many large organizations have women's, African-American, Latino and LGBT networks.

c) Interest-based communities that find online communities provide them with an opportunity to discuss particular subject areas, such as agile programming or management.

3. Provide self-assessments to assess workers' interests and skills; apply that self-awareness.

The self-assessments can be written internally or acquired through third-party sources. For example, the website for prospective students of the Masters of Technical Communication program at Southern Polytechnic State University near Atlanta lets prospects assess whether a master's degree even meets their needs.

4. Maintain skills profiles for key job categories.

Enterprise learning systems provide a number of capabilities for skills management. The first of these are tools to maintain profiles for the skills or competencies needed in particular jobs. These skill profiles play a key role in performance and career management.

One key challenge with skills profiles is developing them. Someone in the organization needs to identify the competencies needed in each major job family, as well as distinguish among junior, intermediate and advanced skills. That's easier said than done since doing so involves many people, starting with workers who hold those jobs and their managers.

Devising the list also may seem daunting because organizations have two strategies: go for a limited number of broad competencies, which may be too general to be useful, or collect a larger number of specific competencies, which can feel restrictive and likely should contain competencies unique to a position rather than general ones for all positions. Further, a system cannot resolve these philosophical issues or develop the lists.

Because their primary service is skills, most large professional services organizations invest heavily in skills management, as do many larger, more established government agencies and high-technology companies. However, the benefits associated with skills profiles can effect any organization looking to optimize hiring, facilitate retention and create targeted developmental interventions to build the workforce.

5. Assess skills workers possess.

In addition to developing skills profiles for particular jobs, some enterprise learning systems let managers assess workers' skills against profiles. Managers and workers can use this analysis to determine individual training and development needs.

Essentially, while working with a manager, learning leader or other third party, workers review a list of competencies needed in their jobs and, for each, indicate their skill level. The system matches the skills and employees' levels with a generalized profile of workers in that job and generates a list of skills gaps where the worker's skill level falls below that of a competent person in the position. At that point, a manager can step in to direct any development needed, or if the organization has self-paced development options available, employees could take advantage of existing resources to improve their skills and close gaps.

Skills assessment processes pose challenges. One, the longer the list of skills, the more burdensome an assessment can be. Imagine assessing dozens of skills. Two, a values-based assessment - "satisfactory, good and excellent" - can lead to more poor assessments than a performance-based assessment - "can perform independently," "can perform with moderate assistance," "can only perform with substantial assistance."

6. Track skills development.

If organizations can link competencies developed through training to the competencies in one or more skills profiles, the system can automatically update workers' skills profiles to reflect the new skills acquired when learners complete programs. This can be an asset when leaders are considering what candidates are available for internal promotions, development options like projects or succession planning.

Most systems also let people manually update skills profiles to reflect competencies developed through informal learning. Ideally, a system should require that workers actually demonstrate they can perform a skill to a manager before updating the profile. Otherwise, workers could receive recognition for skills they might not really have.

7. Match skills available with those needed.

As part of hiring, talent management systems which link learning to other talent processes such as selection can generate a list of workers in an organization who already possess skills a hiring manager wants.

Doing so lets organizations manage their inventory of skills as well as provide tangible recognition to workers who have developed in-demand skills, including those developed informally. For example, skills tracking capabilities in LinkedIn help track skills, and fee-based services let recruiters use them to identify candidates.

8. Assist with career planning.

Provide self-assessments to help workers determine what types of work suit them. Also provide career road maps to identify skills needed in a particular career. Let workers assess their current qualifications, and link those skills to developmental opportunities to fill gaps, including informational interviews, training, developmental assignments and professional organizations. This connection to talent strategy boosts learning strategy effectiveness and can help boost retention. Employees not only see opportunities for advancement, but they also see learning as a tool to facilitate career growth.

9. Tailor information to each workers' needs.

Provide workers with the information they are likely to need based on their particular work contexts. Learning and talent systems maintain profiles for each worker and match worker characteristics with labels on content that authors included when they stored the content.

Emerging systems hope to offer additional levels of tailoring, much like Amazon.com and e-commerce systems that pinpoint content based on previous use.

10. Record informal learning activities.

Because most informal learning happens outside of an internal development event or some similarly measurable activity, it often requires some manual effort to track it. Managers and workers might add participation in conferences, completion of university and other third-party courses, books read, leadership roles in nonprofit organizations and similar activities. Doing so increases the likelihood that others will recognize the worker for skills acquired informally.

11. Track progress toward a particular goal.

Just as enterprise learning systems can track informal learning activities, they also can track activities focused on a larger goal.

For example, a company that makes custom hearing devices can certify new workers who custom fit the devices through a combination of classes and supervised field work. The system automatically records course completions. Later, managers manually record completion of each supervised field activity in the system. When workers complete all of the required activities, they receive certification.

12. Track informal learners, which informal learning resources they use and which ones they don't.

The analytics and reporting capabilities of most enterprise systems report the number of times that workers visited particular resources used in informal learning and the number of unique users who did so. For instance, if a particular user visits the same resource four times, that would count as one user but four visits. Therefore, distinguishing among visits and visitors can help leaders assess the general usefulness of a particular page.

Some systems also let designers request satisfaction data from users on each page. For example, some systems let learning professionals include a two-question survey asking users whether the information on the page answered their question and include a space to explain why or why not.

For learning leaders looking to increase the availability of and participation in informal learning in an organization, these capabilities can help. In many cases, the company is already paying for them. Find out what existing systems offer, then choose one on which to pilot informal learning efforts. When the organization embraces it, add another.

15 Habits that contributes in individual's success

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 19:39:00 +0530

Attitude matters a lot at workplace. Various studies have proved that one most important ingredient that may turn a failure into success is attitude but at the same time, the study has also explained how our attitude is affected with individual's habits. In a nutshell we can never ever neglect our habits as they are directly responsible for our attitude. Following are few habits that tops the list, read the, enjoy them and try to implement:-

1. Measure Success in Happiness Rather than Wealth

The modern generation of employees are increasingly motivated by factors other than wealth, with job satisfaction, benefits and empowerment all key considerations. This also represents a shift in the way that people measure their success, as defining it in pounds and pence or dollars and cents only leads you to consistently chase a higher amount with ever achieving true satisfaction. This can be counter-productive, so be sure to create a clearly defined vision of success and understand precisely what it means to you.

2. Challenge yourself and Do Hard Things

You cannot succeed in life without first achieving personal growth, which demands a willingness to accept and overcome difficult challenges. It is only though overcoming obstacles that we are able to learn and develop critical life skills, and it is these attributes that will equip us to obtain success. By challenging yourself and confronting difficult tasks, you can also change your mind-set with regards to the possibilities that life holds.

3. Listen to Constructive Criticism and the Opinion of Others

While positive feedback can improve your morale and motivate you to achieve success, it is your ability to respond to constructive criticism that will ultimately empower you to reach your goals. After all, this type of feedback highlights areas in which you need to improve, rather than simply reaffirming your strengths as an individual. Your weaknesses can then be targeted through training and development, which in turn will empower you as a stronger and more rounded individual.

4. Learn from Failure

While failure is considered to be a teacher of valuable life lessons, drawing from painful and disappointing experiences is far easier said than done. In fact, it requires an ability to decipher the exact lessons that we can learn from each individual failure, so that we can apply these in the quest for future success. By confronting the issue head on and identifying exactly where things went wrong, you can take actionable steps towards ensuring that the same mistakes are not made again.

5. Develop an Early and Consistent Wake-up Routine

While recent studies have suggested that enjoying eight hours sleep each day may actually be counter-productive to your levels of mental agility, it is still important that you develop a consistent cycle of sleep. This enables you to become an early riser who wakes up at exactly the same time each day, which makes it far easier for you to optimize your time and develop a productive schedule. So while the rest of the world is still snoozing in bed, you can be taking decisive action towards empowering your body and mind for the day ahead.

6. Choose a Positive Attitude

While there are some who consider the fear of failure to be a key motivator, it is more likely to create inhibitions that prevent you from achieving success. Instead, it is far better to be proactive and adopt a positive attitude in everything that you do. Given the variables that can influence your chances of achieving success, it is crucial that you take control of your own outlook and use positivity as a way of identifying opportunities.

7. Make a Commitment to Achieve Every Single Day

Although waking up one morning with a proactive and positive outlook is to be encouraged, it means little if you are unable to commit to this every single day. Recommitting to your routine and the pursuit of your goals is crucial to achieving success; otherwise, the pressures of everyday life can divert your focus. While this requires tremendous drive and strength of character, it will ultimately empower you to be successful over a prolonged period of time.

8. Work harder than your Competition and Those Around you

While you can only control your own efforts in the pursuit of your goals, it is important to remember that each individual’s success is also determined by those around them. When competing with others for a specific goal or prize, for example, you must do everything within your power and leave no stone un-turned if you attain success. At the heart of this is your level of dedication to the cause, as making a commitment to work harder than those around will ultimately afford you a critical edge.

9. Make Complacency your enemy

One of the biggest obstacles to long-term success is complacency, which can easily set-in after positive feedback or the attainment of short-term goals. You must strive to use these achievements as a spring-board, however, and rededicate yourself to the cause with renewed vigor. Take the example of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who despite emerging as one of the best players in the world continues to commit himself to a punishing daily fitness regime that encourages self-improvement.

10. Fear No Single Individual

Pursuing success in your chosen profession is extremely difficult, primarily because you will undoubtedly come across intimidating and purposeful individuals who are striving to achieve similar goals. You cannot allow these individuals to undermine or overpower you, however, as this will put you at a disadvantage and force you to feel inferior to the competition. While you must always respect competing individuals around you, it is important that you remain fearless and back your talent to ultimately succeed.

11. Commit Your Goals to Paper

Believe it or not, the power of the to-do list lies in subtle psychology. Often applied to short-term goals or daily tasks that require completion, this type of list provides an actionable schedule for individuals which enables them to mark their progress as they proceed. This can provide reassurance that you are achieving your goals and being productive within a given time frame, and committing your long-term goals to paper may help you to remain focused and motivated during more difficult times.

12. Surround yourself with Positive and Successful Individuals

Having a diverse and mixed group of friends is all well and good, but it is imperative that individuals within your social circles share a similar outlook to work and professional success. If you have friends who have a tendency to draw focus and distract you from your work, for example, you may ultimately need to make a choice between pursuing success and settling for your existing lifestyle. If the idea of eliminating people from your life makes you feel uncomfortable, ask yourself if a true friend would risk your long-term happiness by actively preventing you from achieving your goals.

13. Maintain a Fit and Healthy Body

According to the Athletes Way philosophy, there are a number of daily lifestyle choices that can help to create the perfect balance between physical fitness and mental agility. There are numerous studies that have proven a link between the two, and it is increasingly clear that regular exercise is a key driver of enhanced mental performance. So if you wish to develop the necessary stamina to achieve personal and professional success, a physically fit body is pivotal.

14. Invest Only in the Pursuit of your Goals

While wealth may not be the most suitable measure of success, it can certainly be used to fund personal and professional development. With this in mind, it is important to spend money on the development of your career or business, rather than simply investing in material possessions that do little more than create a superficial image. Making these spending decisions is a key part of chasing success, as it forces you to consider your goals and how much you value their accomplishment.

15. Be Prepared to Make Sacrifices

On a similar note, you may well be forced to make sacrifices in your quest for success, as any goals that are worth achieving are unlikely to be easily obtainable. The so-called ‘law of sacrifice’ states simply that you cannot obtain something that you want without being willing to give something up in return, so you must therefore be prepared to sacrifice a life of excess and material possessions in order to be successful in your career.

The Bottom Line

The definition of success is a diverse concept, and one that remains unique to each individual. Determining what it means to you and developing long-term goals are therefore important steps towards achieving happiness, while you must also be willing to make lifestyle changes and re-evaluate your entire outlook in life.

Seven Ways to Use Rewards to Fix Employees

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 6 Nov 2014 14:41:00 +0530

1. Understand why the employee is having issues.
Communication is the first step. Incentives or rewards will not engage problem individuals if they are struggling in other areas, so identify the root of the problem. Why is the employee struggling or not living up to expectations? Is it a lack of skills that can be solved with training? Is the employee's personality creating obstacles to learning or improving? Are personal problems creeping into the office and causing performance issues?
2. Know the corporate culture.
To build an effective rewards and incentives program, know employees and understand the culture in which they work. Many variables contribute to corporate culture, and demographics is one of the biggest factors. If an employee falls outside of the core demographics, he or she may not feel engaged with other employees or company business methods. Continuous training and interoffice gatherings, social or business related, can help alleviate feelings of not fitting in with peers.
3. Customize programs.
In general, trying to execute a one-size-fits-all program is a recipe for failure. This is especially true in a diverse workplace. Knowing employees' interests and hobbies helps. Do they like to travel, golf or ski? Are they shoppers or homebodies? By matching rewards to their interests, talent managers can create a more personalized approach to demonstrate caring and motivate employees after a program ends.
4. Communicate.
Regardless of the type of rewards program, maintain continuous communication. Don't rely on the prize to motivate an employee throughout the process. For some, the prize may seem too far from reach; remind employees that their small, daily efforts can have a huge impact. Utilizing the right communication methods can be the fine line between success and failure. Asking for feedback lets talent managers know if the program is reaching its intended audience and can help when planning the next program.
5. Know when to make changes.
If the aforementioned steps have been taken and employees are still not productive, they may be complacent from doing the same tasks for years or be bored by a lack of stimulating challenges. Offer them a different role, perhaps one featuring newer experiences to remind them what they liked about the company in the first place. This is worth trying because it can be less costly to reposition employees than to replace them. If there is no immediate opening, developing a career path could make them more engaged in their current job.
6. Know when to get help.
There are times when managers might be in over their heads. Managing an effective rewards program with constant communication takes a lot of work, and seeking external assistance can help hit established targets.
7. Know when to call it quits.
A toxic employee can greatly impact the morale and productivity of an entire team, rendering an incentive or rewards program useless. Knowing when to terminate could be the best thing for the employee and the company long term. Much like personal relationships, opening new doors can lead to a happier environment for everyone.

10 Best Practices for Your Human Resources Department

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 00:44:00 +0530

1. HR is a potential employee's first impression

Human Resources departments should strive to not just be super efficient and organized with new hires, but should really think of themselves as the first ones to welcome a new employee and make a positive impression. Taking care of a new employee/intern's unique needs is an important responsibility that should be done carefully.

2. Put it in writing and set expectations upfront

Don't assume new hires know what your organization expects. What may appear simple to you is foreign to the next person. Develop a straight forward employee handbook or manual to address the basics including job descriptions, attendance expectations, e-mail communication etiquette, payment methods and more. Review standard operating procedures and set people up for success.

3. Screen for culture fit

Every organization has a culture of its own. It is up to the entrepreneur to choose to define and build it or let it develop on its own. Screening a candidate for a cultural fit is critical. We have passed over numerous talented candidates because they were not appropriate for the culture that we have worked so hard to build.

4. Understand motivation

You must know what motivates your employees—financial rewards and money is not always the best way to give your employees drive. Every HR department must set-up non-financial rewards programs like mentorship lunches, featuring special employees or better parking. Money is not the only driver of strong employees.

5. Go hi-tech or go home

Streamline the HR workflow by using technology to improve communication and accessibility. Some specific examples include HR management system software, Internet based payroll, and electronic applicant tracking. These electronic systems will save time, money and reduce the errors caused by archaic paperwork.

6. Be transparent

Generation Y-ers heavily emphasize workplace culture, benefits and transparency. Sometimes these issues even trump salary considerations. Therefore, the most crucial HR best practice that every business should implement is stressing the transparent culture of the business during interviews.

7. Create a talent community

Turn your careers page into an interactive social community by utilizing talent community plugins prospective employees. Provide valuable content through these means and regularly interact with interested individuals.

8. Be consistent

After setting up appropriate policies and procedures, be sure that you're enforcing these rules fairly and consistently across all employees. Nothing undermines your respect like the perception of playing favorites (and be sensitive to how things may be perceived). Even if employees do not like certain policies, if they're enforced consistently it makes it much more difficult to be questioned.

9. Keep your eye out for who you want to hire

Relying on applications means that you're relying on people who self-select (and are driven by the need for a job more than anything else). For some positions, that's fine, but you need to keep an eye out for people who are fantastic and already have jobs. Hiring employees away from other companies tends to mean you're selecting the pool of potentials.

10. Be personally involved

As an organization grows, the owner must choose their battles wisely and hiring is one of the most critical because its the lifeblood of your company. Eventually you will need to hire an HR director, but by being involved in each and every hire you set the tone for how your company runs and who is in charge. Employees work harder for owners they can tell are 100 percent dedicated to quality control.

How to Create More Value From Employee Surveys

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 May 2014 23:57:00 +0530

CEOs often proclaim that "people are our most important asset." Yet many HR departments find themselves unable to play a significant part in translating these words into reality for several reasons:

a) Some HR departments rely so heavily on benchmarking that they fail to customize their strategies to their organization's unique circumstances, thereby almost guaranteeing they will, at best, stay average.

b) Others get too caught up in the flavor-of-the-month programs.

c) Many are so busy putting out fires they have no time to address what's truly important - drivers of business results.

d) Despite its potential, too often the only thing that comes out of the annual employee engagement survey is a big data dump with no real impact.

Analyticscan ensure HR is not pigeonholed as non-strategic and out-of-touch. "It's no longer possible for HR departments or functions to ignore analytics," said Larry Costello, executive vice president, Tyco Fire and Security. "The forces bringing analytics to the forefront are simply too powerful to disregard."

Talent leaders can use a four-step process to create an HR analytics strategy that will transform the traditional engagement survey into a source of actionable business intelligence.

Step 1 - Create a smarter employee survey.

Traditional employee engagement or satisfaction surveys are not up to the task of producing actionable business intelligence. Engagement is necessary to produce great results, but it's not sufficient. For example, in the Harvard Business Review article "Manage Your Human Sigma," while describing an analysis of customer engagement at a multi-site retailer, Gallup researchers state, "Our working assumption was that at least a few of the top employee engagement stores would also be top customer engagement stores. We were wrong.

Just one store appeared on both lists."

There are two major deficiencies in most employee engagement surveys:

1. They pay too little attention to critical organization-level factors such as work processes, hiring processes and informal learning. These factors are big drivers of business results, but are typically not among the top employee engagement/satisfaction drivers. For this reason, they are under-measured in most surveys.

2. They miss the opportunity to tap into workforce wisdom about the drivers and impediments of what it takes for an organization to be a good seller and a good community and environmental steward - both of which are increasingly necessary to an organization's ability to outperform its competition.

Employee survey content should be expanded to include a broader set of questions that go beyond HR's current concept of employee engagement.

Step 2 - "Linkage analysis" to business outcomes.

Next, statistically link the data from the smarter employee survey to data on desired outcomes.

Linkage analysis can be done with soft outcomes data collected within a smarter employee survey, which includes engagement - including employees' intent to stay and willingness to recommend the organization to friends as a good place to work - as well as elements such as employees' reported ability to help the organization achieve its cost containment goals; and the extent to which employees report that the work environment supports excellent customer service.

Data on hard outcomes comes from outside the survey, such as sales, safety, turnover and customer satisfaction, and is then mapped to the survey. This involves aligning these outcomes to the survey responses of the employees who provided them. It is important to note that this mapping requires the survey be non-anonymous. Hence, creating business intelligence from a smarter employee engagement survey requires contracting with an independent third-party analytics firm, since failing to do so is likely to result in less-than-frank responses to a non-anonymous survey.

Thespecific statistical methodologies that should be used for the linkage analysis will depend on the outcome being analyzed. The techniques can range from complex multivariate analysis, such as logit regression or panel estimation techniques, for most individual-level data, to more straightforward univariate analysis - correlations and statistical testing of differences of means - for group data with small sample sizes.

However, it's important not to get hung up on the statistical nuances since there are plenty of experts who can help with this. The critical point is that linkage analysis is the missing connection that allows organizations to move beyond guesswork, hope and intuition on the people side of their business.

"Leveraging analysis that connects areas like employee engagement to important business results is the missing link," said Mary Humiston, senior vice president, global human resources, Applied Materials. "It is helping us to develop a strong fact-based HR strategy for driving improved business results. Identifying the unique human drivers of our business outcomes with precision and rigor is helping us to elevate our game."

Step 3 - Create a rigorous, fact-based process to identify the best areas of opportunity.

It's important to understand that benchmarking is not analytics. For example, knowing that an organization benchmarks at the 90th percentile on a specific survey item should not be cause for celebration - unless linkage analysis reveals that the specific item drives an important business outcome. And a low score on a specific survey item should only create significant concern if it drives a key outcome. Benchmarking provides little, if any, basis for creating a fact-based HR strategy.

Following a survey, many organizations spend lots of time working on their lowest-scoring items. They would therefore focus heavily on seeking to improve survey item A - the item with the lowest overall score.

However, if a second piece of information is added to the mix, a different conclusion emerges.

Remember survey item A with the lowest score? Turns out it's a negative predictor of sales and therefore is actually a poor target for improvement. The best area of focus turns out to be survey item B, which has the fourth-lowest score, but is both an important positive predictor of sales and still an area of relative weakness. While it might be tempting to wonder what the specific survey questions are that correspond to A and B, that would miss the point, which is that each organization must do its analytics homework to determine the survey items that are most important for it rather than accept a one-size-fits-all answer.

The content of the actual survey items in this example doesn't matter; the results will be different for every organization. That's the point of doing this analysis - to help organizations move beyond benchmarking and target survey items that are the most important predictors of their organization's business outcomes.

Step 4 - Make insightful and easy-to-understand recommendations.

Getting to step 3 can be challenging, since it helps move organizations beyond potentially misleading one-size-fits-all benchmarking measures. But to enjoy the full advantage of this breakthrough, effectively communicating the findings from the analysis is essential. Three points to keep in mind:

1. Avoid data dumps and the temptation to share everything learned in the course of the analysis.

2. Home in on the most important findings and implications, and focus on those.

3. Communicate simply and compellingly. This is as much art as science, but it's critical skill to create actionable business intelligence on the people side of the business.

The top areas of opportunity emerging from Step 3 provide a compelling business case to create a fact-based HR strategy to drive business results.

"At Applied Materials we are using analytics to convert both HR data and business data from information into actionable insights," said Angela Sheffield, head of global workforce planning at Applied Materials. "The executive team is very engaged - they are asking for more. It really helps them to understand the link between what goes on in HR and our business results and guides them to where the biggest levers are for improvement."

One of the real beauties of this approach is that it is possible to provide insightful, customized reports to each manager and offer specific recommendations for actions the manager should take - based on his or her specific pattern of results - to help that manager achieve his or her objectives.

Once this has been achieved, it is typically no longer necessary for HR to push the findings of the employee engagement survey onto the organization - the organization starts to pull for the analysis and insights. The move from push to pull is a significant breakthrough in HR's ability to help the organization be truly strategic.

There are powerful forces - in terms of both supply and demand - that are bringing HR analytics to the forefront. First, technology advances have made HR data available on a scale that was heretofore unimaginable. More importantly, the growing economic premium associated with superior human capital management means that HR strategy is simply too important to be left to gut and intuition. If HR doesn't step up to the plate, another part of the organization is sure to fill the void.

Assess if Employees Are Really Happy

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 May 2014 23:48:00 +0530

When it comes to a new employee's journey with an organization, recruiting and on-boarding are top priorities in laying the foundation for human resources in making a new team member happy. But sometimes companies focus too much on making a great first impression, overlooking the opportunity to validate how new employees are feeling in their job in that initial period.
According to Right Management, a subsidiary of the staffing firm Manpower Group, 44 percent of employees say they are "unsatisfied" and not happy at work.

One way to reverse such a discouraging number is to invest in a 90-day happy check program, a mechanism to ensure new hires have continued to progress after the initial on-boarding period has concluded.
In performing a happy check, HR must address three questions: What is it that you want to measure during this check now that new hires have had a chance to experience the culture and interact with fellow team members? Who should perform the check? And how will HR follow up?

Measurement

Regardless of an organization's culture, here are some basic questions to consider as part of a happy check program:

a) On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the happiest, how happy are you that you joined us?
b) How are things going in your daily work?

c) Is the work what you expected?

d) Is there anything we can do to make you more successful in your role?

e) How are things going with your supervisor, manager or coach?
f) Have you had a special moment that sticks out in your mind as an especially rewarding or happy moment since joining the company?

g) Is there anything we as a company could do to enhance the on-boarding process to make it better for future new employees?
Of course, companies should also have their own set of questions to supplement this list, ensuring they are capturing what is most important to them.

Who Performs the Happy Check?

The size and structure of an organization will largely determine the answer to this question. Ideally, the "happy checker" should be someone who plays a neutral role in the new employee's daily work.
For example, perhaps it's the HR representative who was responsible for orientation on the employee's first day. Another candidate might be a new hire's direct supervisor - although there is the risk of not getting complete and transparent information depending upon that employee's relationship with the manager and how safe he or she feels sharing honest feedback with the supervisor.

Happy Check Follow Up

Valuable feedback on various opportunities for improvement may be revealed during the happy check process. To protect the program's integrity, it is important to establish a clear follow-up procedure that ensures the new employee who shared his or her ideas for improvement understands that the feedback was heard and acted upon to improve the company's processes moving forward.
Feedback should also be consistently reported to senior leadership to ensure they have a pulse on the perspectives of newer employees.

Happy checks - or what others may refer to as 90-day reunions - can also serve as a wealth of information that is easily accessed and readily available. When the company is ready to take the steps to implement a happy check program, consider these tips:
1. Set the stage:
Let new employees know during their orientation session that they will be participating in a happy check at their 90-day period with the company.

2. Show the value:
As the company introduces a happy check program to new employees, let them know how much the organization values the process as a way to ensure that things are going well in their job as well as the transparency the company hopes will be shared through any suggestions new hires may have for enhancing on-boarding.
3. Share success stories:
When a company hears about a great idea during a happy check, take the steps to implement it and share the success story with the entire company.

How to Create a Culture of Succession Readiness

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 5 Nov 2013 13:10:00 +0530

Lets start with a quote "Failing to plan is planning to fail".

Every day for the next 18 years, 8,000 Americans will turn 65. That demographic includes today's 47-year-olds. The AARP estimates only about 37 percent of companies have considered how this brain drain will affect them in the next five to 10 years. The situation is not very different in India where retirement/superannuation age is 60 years for centre Government employees and all Public Sector Undertakings employees. A big chunk of employees are going to depart from the organizations in next years.

The skills leaving the workplace will create a knowledge gap that is hard to close. Therefore, leaders must think differently about their people assets and create a culture of succession readiness. Knowledge will be lost if preparation does not begin now.

Building in Readiness

Building a culture of succession readiness means learning how to observe, shape and reinforce the right behaviors for all employees to achieve and sustain success. Start with strengths.

Find exemplary performers and look at what they do. Leaders should capture what happens so they know which activities to teach, practice and reinforce. A succession-ready culture will create more capable performers as talent managers take on their most important role - developer-coach.

Open architecture describes a culture designed to teach or cross-train employees, providing them with multiple skill sets. This makes adding, upgrading or swapping activities easier, yet many organizations tend to pigeonhole their employees.

Tom Gilbert, a 20th century performance expert, created a formula to measure the performance improvement potential for every worker in a specific work setting. By looking at the exemplar, Gilbert demonstrated what the variance was in terms of possible - or potential - performance.

Some companies today use Gilbert's formula. Instead of assuming the most accomplished performer is uniquely different from the lowest performer, his work reminds that differences often relate to opportunity and contingency. With proper coaching - opportunity - and consequences for increasing skills - contingency - a performer at any level of accomplishment can advance.

Gilbert demonstrated that there is an acceleration curve, but not a bell curve, on performance potential. Extraordinary performance is shaped and limited only by workplace conditions, and those conditions are in the talent managers' hands.

The Fabric of Succession

Learn to ask a simple and clear question of top performers: "How did you do that?" and attend to the answer. Further, leaders should learn how to support behavior change in themselves and in others. Doing so will open the door to achieving a culture of flexible succession. Two major American business leaders who have incorporated these concepts into their succession planning are Laree Daniel, senior vice president, chief administrative officer for administrative operations at Aflac, and Denise O'Callaghan, senior director, learning and performance improvement for Express Scripts.

Some 40 percent of Aflac's operations employees will be eligible for retirement in 10 years. Daniel manages those employees, is mindful of those departures and is working to ensure those who stay have a sense of what their future holds at Aflac. Managers are measured by each employee's improvement. Daniel said that processes, systems and structures that surround workers can bring out their best, allowing individuals to achieve evolving potential. In such a culture, one need not be trapped by "where I am," but can strive toward "what I can be."

Aflac's emerging leadership initiative develops employee potential from the office floor to the C-suite. The program was specifically designed for high-potential employees to engage them in initiatives outside their typical roles so that they learn new things about the business and how it operates. This helps to mitigate risk of flight as bright, creative workers look to their futures. Plans are refined with each participant on a regular basis, sometimes weekly but at least monthly. In these roles employees are expected to demonstrate the values essential to being an Aflac employee in observable and measurable ways.

Any Aflac employee's path to increased responsibility requires becoming expert in behavior and, if they are to manage others, in coaching. Leaders are required to earn the right to be someone's coach. "We have a 'leaders are coaches' understanding in our culture, but there is an optional, extra step leaders can choose to take in order to achieve the designation of a certified coach," Daniel said.

Understanding how to shape and support behavior is the No. 1 skill Daniel and other Aflac leaders seek in supervisory candidates. Daniel and all others have developmental plans with a focus on what the company expects her to do to help employees succeed. Senior leaders engage in cross-training, through rotation and pairing, as do all other levels of the organization. This broader exposure generates new ideas, which are captured and incorporated into work processes where appropriate or considered for the future.

Creating a culture where managers are no longer command-and-control timekeepers and goal setters but rather coaches and mentors requires an understanding of behavior, the cues that get desired behavior started and the follow-up that keeps it going.

Demonstrating proficiency in the science of behavior means:

a) Pinpointing the appropriate results and behaviors for employees at every level.

b) Measuring progress at frequent intervals.

c) Providing regular data to each performer about his or her progress while arranging consequences that maintain, redirect or accelerate behavior.

d) Evaluating progress and celebrating accomplishment.

The manager's job is to take the present behavior and build on it for everyone's success.

Daniel said those who have the privilege of managing others must understand that their success is measured by that of their employees. She said she expects every leader to learn how to maintain, accelerate and celebrate individual achievement. Performance goals for managers - up to and including top executives - are linked to each person they supervise demonstrating progress toward individual goals.

Molding the Right Behaviors

Acquisitions require new behaviors and creating a new culture, both of which can present their own challenges. Two pharmacy benefit managers, Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions, merged in April 2012 to become a company with more than 30,000 employees tasked to make the use of prescription drugs safer and more affordable. According to O'Callaghan, the organization has a flexible approach to learning that is consistent with the company's overall efforts to drive clients and members toward better decisions and healthier outcomes.

Express Scripts' research revealed that poor decisions typically reflect a gap between intentions and behaviors. By anticipating member needs and preferences, then earning their attention, the company can close these intent-behavior gaps. The company also extends the behavioral approach to its employees via training and coaching.

For instance, it will soon adopt a behavior-based rapid change process as part of a succession-ready approach. With rapid change, groups and individuals start with the end product, the end delivery and the customer interface in mind. From there, everyone in the system identifies how his or her specific behavior affects the end result and how the team can use that knowledge to work better as a unit. This promotes shared knowledge and cross-training at all levels, resulting in better understanding of every person's role in making the company successful.

"We can unify and solidify respect for the worth of every employee for the value they bring and the behaviors they engage in once we as leaders and managers learn to ask the simple question, 'How did you do that?'" O'Callaghan said. "Then we take that information, help others to replicate it and standardize our processes. We are all about creating an environment at Express Scripts where the best choices are also the easiest ones to make."

The Science of Behavior

Managers can look to a future where their role is that of coach. To coach well, they need behavior-based principles to guide their efforts and measure their effects. The following six items are critical, yet often missing in organizational efforts to create a sustainable succession-readiness plan.

1. Discover the employee behaviors that are reinforced or suppressed by a company's operational and HR systems, management processes, physical settings and technology.

2. Attain skills in the science of behavior, grounded in a belief that every employee is underutilized, to create a culture of individual and group potential for performance excellence.

3. Observe, measure and track individual skills based on what employees actually say and do. This kind of observed analysis can occur at every level. All employees can demonstrate excellence in their particular business environment, demonstrating worthy habits through deliberate practice. The mystery of effective senior leadership is not innate to a person, nor is it unobservable. A person's particular learning history and skills can be made clear and replicable.

4. Measure leaders, managers and supervisors by their direct reports' success. Understanding how to coach skill development is a useful tool for managers, helping them to build excellent habits. Blame for individual failure is absent in such a culture. Rather, the analysis is about what is needed to redirect or accelerate performance and skills development.

5. Create a culture of mentoring and coaching. This culture of engagement and respect requires managers to transfer critical skills to employees and seek opportunities for them. It is understood that leaders are not in such positions because they are the only ones who can lead; instead, they too are products of opportunity for repeated practice.

6. Understand that all employees are essential to success. As employees progress, they coach others. Continuous learning and supporting effective behavior from all is the expectation from the moment of hire in such a culture.

Robust succession is about scientifically applying good practices to behavior that create a level of fluency in problem-solving across many conditions and areas of company operations. It requires placing a new value on the potential of every worker and approaching that potential scientifically. As Gilbert demonstrated, the performance improvement potential of every person is unlimited among current top and bottom performers.

As much as things change, the laws of behavior remain the same. Talent managers can create a succession-ready culture to address, with optimism, a fast-approaching future.

Skill Up on Office Politics

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 Sep 2013 22:44:00 +0530

Whether we like it or not, politics is everywhere. Turn on the TV, any channel really, and there it is: politics. Get up and go to work, and there it is again: politics.

Despite its initial stench of nastiness, betrayal and lies, politics is actually a skill - and a worthwhile one.

Seldom have leaders or managers in any business or organization gotten to where they are without playing some form of office politics. And if they managed to get by without doing so, it's likely they got lucky, some experts say.

One such expert is Jack Godwin, a political scientist and author of "The Office Politics Handbook: Winning the Game of Power and Politics at Work." To Godwin, politics is about understanding and recognizing power. He said even workers who are turned off by the idea of politics could find use in becoming politically astute.

Chief Learning Officer spoke with Godwin about office politics as a leadership skill. The following are edited excerpts from the interview.

1. How do you define politics as a skill in the workplace?
Well, I'd say there are two elements of social and the personal. The social skills are important because politics takes place wherever there are people who are independent and where the distribution of power is asymmetrical. What makes people interdependent? The organization has a goal - some sort of mission that requires people to work together. What makes the distribution of power asymmetrical? Somebody has bureaucratic authority in the office - power by virtue of his or her position. Social because, well, there are at least two people.

The other half is a personal element, which requires self-awareness, self-discipline, self-control, and when you're talking about office politics you have to show people that you can police your own bad habits and not politicize situations inadvertently and unnecessarily. So there's a person and a social. The way I define politics, I say politics is about power, and any social situation and any relationship becomes political, becomes politicized, the moment power is introduced.

2. How is office politics different than the politics we're familiar with, like government politics? How is it the same?
Well, "The Office Politics Handbook" is really about politics for the rest of us - not presidents and prime ministers, but people who work for a living. Anyone who works in any kind of an organization has to contend with politics. So what's the difference? It's a matter of scale. Office politics - or as I refer to it throughout the book, micro-politics - takes place on a human scale between supervisors and employees. It's similar except for the scale.

3. How does a leader become politically astute?
This is a three-part answer. It has to do with situational awareness. First, you ask yourself: What is the degree to which the situation or the environment lends itself to personal intervention, your intervention? Second, what is your position and status? That is, are you strategically placed within the situation? And third, what are your relative strengths and weaknesses and what are the strengths and weaknesses of other individuals in the situation.

This to me is the inventory of situational awareness. This is an abbreviated version I go on at length about for half a chapter in the book. If you can read the field, read the players, calculate the power differential, list the alternative courses of action, consider the consequences of inaction and then make your move - all in a span of a few moments, a few seconds - then I would say that's an executive, that's a leader who is politically astute.

4. Is this a skill that can be taught?
I think it can be. What I would say is a skill is something that you could acquire by education, training and experience. So it can be taught, it can be learned. And the way you learn politics, you might say interpersonal politics at this level, is the same way you learn anything else - by studying and practicing. The more you cultivate your skills, the sharper they become.

5. Can a leader be successful without playing politics?
I think so, but I think it would take luck. More often I think the people who rise are already politically skilled. Take Bill Clinton. He loves politics, the art of acquiring and using power. He's a politician the way some people are a natural musician or a natural athlete. I don't mean to imply that anyone has the same potential any more than anyone can be a world-class athlete or musician. But you can learn to live up to your potential.

In the corporate world, a chief executive must have political skills regarding the external environment, right? There are always external stakeholders, shareholders, environmental lobbies and government legislators. I think you also have to be skilled internally.

6. Most firms would prefer office politics stay out of the spotlight. Should corporations teach politics as part of their formal leadership development programs?
I would say yes, corporations and business skills I think should give the same weight to developing political skills as they would give to developing good communication skills or good negotiation skills.

These are micro-skills, but they all fall into the same category - what we call people skills. ... It's always easier to work with any person who's got those technical skills but who's also got good people skills. Good communication, good negotiation and good political skills. So it's a question of when we use the world politics, or political skills, let's not automatically assume it's negative. The book is not about setting traps or playing dirty tricks on your co-workers. It's about creating a better environment for everybody, yourself included. Even if you never go on offense, there's nothing wrong with playing defense. There's nothing wrong with recognizing the political environment and being able to read that field like I said.

Amendment in Labour Laws 2010- ESI Act, 1948 in India

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:16:00 +0530

Employees’ State Insurance (Amendment) Act, 2010

The Government of India through its notification in the official gazette dated: 25^th May, 2010 has enacted The Employees’ State Insurance (Amendment) Act, 2010 to amend the earlier ESIC Act, 1948. The ESIC (Amendment) Act, 2010 has received assent of the President on 24^th May 2010.

Further, as per the Government of India Gazette Notification No. S.O. 1296(E) dated: 1^st June 2010, the Central Government has appointed the 1^st day of June, 2010, as the date on which the said Act, except Section 18 thereof, shall come into force. Amended Section 18 comes into force on 3^rd July, 2010.

Following inter alia, are the salient feature of the Employees’ State Insurance (Amendment) Act, 2010.

1. These amendments will substantially improvise the medical and other benefits under the Scheme. Emphasis has been given for development and expansion of infrastructure for augmenting the benefits under the Scheme.

2. APPRENTICES COVERED:

Benefits under the scheme have also been extended to apprentices and trainees employed under Apprentice Act and Standing Order Act.

3. POWER TO APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENT;

The appropriate Government is empowered to extend the provisions of ESIC Act 1948 to any other establishment or class of establishments, industrial, commercial, agricultural or otherwise after giving one month’s notice of its intention of doing so by notification in Official Gazette instead of notice period of six months.

4. DEFINITION OF DEPENDENT EXPANDED:

Definition of “dependents” as contained in clause 6A of section 2 of the Act has been extended to enlarge the number of beneficiaries under the act such as:

A widow, a legitimate or adopted son below the age of 25 years and an unmarried legitimate or adopted daughter.

The age limit of the dependants has been enhanced from 18 to 25.

5. Dependent parents as per definition of “family” has been substituted so as to include;

“A minor brother or sister wholly dependent upon the earnings of the insured person in case the insured person is unmarried and his or her parents are not alive”. It has been also clarified that dependent parents to include “Dependent parents, whose income from all sources does not exceed such income as prescribed by the Central Government”.

6. SMALL FACTORIES ALSO ARE COVERED:

The definition of Factory under Section 2(12) has been amended to expand coverage of smaller factories. The amended Act covers all factories, which employ 10 or more persons irrespective of the fact whether the manufacturing process is being carried out with the aid of the power or without the aid of the power.

7. INSPECTORS RE-DESIGNATED AS SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICERS:

The designation of Inspector has been re-designated as “Social Security Officer” to enroll them as facilitator of the Scheme rather than to act as mere inspectors.

8. VRS EMPLOYEES ALSO COVERED:

Medical benefits to the insured person and his spouse have been extended under circumstances where insured person retires under Voluntary Retirement Scheme or takes premature retirement. In the earlier Act the benefit was applicable only on attaining the age of superannuation. Proviso to sub section 3 of section 56 has been substituted to provide the same.

9. NOTIONAL EXTENSION OF PREMISES:

Accident occurring to an insured person while commuting from his residence to the place of employment and vice-a-versa shall be deemed to have arisen out of and in the course of employment for the purpose of benefit under the Act. A new section 51-E has been added for this purpose.

10 NORGANIZED SECTOR EMPLOYEES COVERED:

A new Chapter V-A has been added to enable provision for extending medical care to non insured persons against payment of user-charges to facilitate providing medical care to the below poverty line (BPL) families and other un-organized sector workers covered under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY).

10. Exemption of a factory or establishment or class of factories or establishments from the operation of this Act will be granted only if the employees in such factories or establishments are otherwise in receipt of benefits substantially similar or superior to the benefits provided under this Act.

11. Section 91 A of the Act is amended to removing. retrospective grant of exemption from the provision of the Act.

Amendments in Labour Laws -2010 in India - ID Act

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:09:00 +0530

THE INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2010 No.24 OF 2010

[18 th August, 2010]

MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 15th September, 2010

S.O. 2278(E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of Section 1 of the

Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act, 2010 (24 of 2010), the Central Government hereby appoints the 15 th Day of September, 2010, as the date on which the said Act shall come into force.

[F.No.S-11012/1/2007-IR(PL)] RAVI MATHUR, Addl. Secy.

An Act further to amend the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

Be it enacted by Parliament in the Sixtieth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

1. (1) This Act may be called the Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act, 2010.

(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

2. In the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), in section 2, -.(i) in clause (a),- (a) in sub-clause (i), for the words “major port, the Central Government, and”, the words “major port, any company in which not less than fifty-one per cent of the paid-up share capital is held by the Central Government , or any corporation, not being a corporation referred to in this clause, established by or under any law made by Parliament, or the Central public sector undertaking , subsidiary companies set up by the principal undertaking and autonomous bodies

owned or controlled by the Central Government, the Central Government and” shall be

substituted: (b) for sub-clause (ii), the following sub-clause shall be substituted, namely:-

“(ii) in relation to any other industrial dispute , including the State public sector undertaking, subsidiary companies set up by the principal undertaking and autonomous bodies owned or controlled by the State Government, the State Government.”;

Provided that in case of a dispute between a contractor and the contract labour employed through the contractor in any industrial establishment where such dispute first arose, the appropriate Government shall be the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, which has control over such industrial establishment.”;

(ii) in clause (5), in sub-clause (iv), for the words “one thousand six hundred rupees”, the

words “ten thousand rupees” shall be substituted.

3. Section 2A of the principal Act shall be numbered as sub-section (1) thereof and after subsection (l) as so numbered, the following sub-sections shall be inserted, namely:-

“(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 10, any such workman as is specified in sub-section (1) may, make an application direct to the Labour Court or Tribunal for adjudication of the dispute referred to therein after the expiry of forty five days from the date he has made the application to the Conciliation Officer of the appropriate Government for conciliation of the dispute, and in receipt of such application the Labour Court or Tribunal shall have powers and Jurisdiction to adjudicate upon the dispute, as if it were a dispute referred to it by the appropriate Government in accordance with the provisions of this Act and all the provisions of this Act shall apply in relation to such adjudication as they apply in relation to an industrial dispute referred to it by the appropriate Government.

(3) The application referred to in sub-section (2) shall be made to the Labour Court or Tribunal before the expiry of three years from the date of discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or otherwise termination of service as specified in sub-section (1).”

4. In section 7 of the principal Act, in sub-section (3), after clause (e), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:-

“(f) he is or has been a Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) or Joint Commissioner of the State Labour Department , having a degree in law and at least seven years’ experience in the labour department after having acquired degree in law including three years of experience as Conciliation Officer:

Provided that no such Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner or Joint Labour Commissioner shall be appointed unless he resigns from the service of the Central Government or State Government, as the case may be, before being appointed as the presiding officer; or

(g) he is an officer of Indian Legal Service in Grade III with three years’ experience in the grade.”

5. In section 7A of the principal Act, in sub-section (3), after clause (aa), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:-

“(b) he is or has been a Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) or Joint Commissioner of the State Labour Department, having a degree in law and at least seven years’ experience in the labour department after having acquired degree in law including three years of experience as Conciliation Officer: Provided that no such Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner or Joint Labour Commissioner shall be appointed unless he resigns from the service of the Central Government or State Government, as the case may he, before being appointed as the presiding officer; or (c) he is an officer of Indian Legal Service in Grade III with three years’ experience in the grade.”

6. After section 9B of the principal Act, for chapter IIB, the following Chapter shall be substituted namely:-

CHAPTER II B

GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL MACHINERY

9C. (l) Every industrial establishment employing twenty or more workmen shall have one or more Grievance Redressal Committee for the resolution of disputes arising out of individual grievances.

(2) The Grievance Redressal Committee shall consist of equal number of members from the employer and the workmen.

(3) The chairperson of the Grievance Redressal Committee shall be selected from the employer and from among the workmen alternatively on rotation basis every year.

(4) The total number of members of the Grievance Redressal Committee shall not exceed more than six:

Provided that there shall be, as far as practicable, one woman member if the Grievance Redressal Committee has two members and in case the number of members are more than two, the number of women members may be increased proportionately.

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the setting up of Grievance Redressal Committee shall not affect the right of the workman to raise industrial dispute on the same matter under the provisions of this Act.

(6) The Grievance Redressal Committee may complete its proceedings within forty-five days on receipt of a written application by or on behalf of the aggrieved party.

(7) The workman who is aggrieved of the decision of the Grievance Redressal Committee may prefer an appeal to the employer against the decision of Grievance Redressal Committee and the employer shall, within one month from the date of receipt of such appeal, dispose off the same and send a copy of his decision to the workman concerned.

(8) Nothing contained in this section shall apply to the workmen for whom there is an established Grievance Redressal Mechanism in the establishment concerned.”

7. In section 11 of the principal Act, after sub-section (8), the following sub-sections shall be inserted, namely:-

“(9) Every award made, order issued or settlement arrived at by or before Labour Court or Tribunal or National Tribunal shall be executed in accordance with the procedure laid down for execution of orders and decree of a Civil Court under order 21 of the Code of Civil Procedure , 1908.

(10) The Labour Court or Tribunal or National Tribunal, as the case may be, shall transmit any award, order or settlement to a Civil Court having jurisdiction and such Civil Court shall execute the award, order or settlement as if it were a decree passed by it.”

8. In section 38 of the principal Act, in sub-section (2),-

(i) clause (ab) shall be omitted;

(ii) for clause (c), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:-

“(c) the salaries and allowances and the terms and conditions for appointment of the presiding officers of the Labour Court, Tribunal and the National Tribunal including the allowances admissible to members of Courts, Boards and to assessors and witnesses;”.

How to Create More Value From Employee Surveys

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 22:18:00 +0530

CEOs often proclaim that "people are our most important asset." Yet many HR departments find themselves unable to play a significant part in translating these words into reality for several reasons:

b) Others get too caught up in the flavor-of-the-month programs.

c) Many are so busy putting out fires they have no time to address what's truly important - drivers of business results.

d) Despite its potential, too often the only thing that comes out of the annual employee engagement survey is a big data dump with no real impact.

Analytics can ensure HR is not pigeonholed as non-strategic and out-of-touch. "It's no longer possible for HR departments or functions to ignore analytics," said Larry Costello, executive vice president, Tyco Fire and Security. "The forces bringing analytics to the forefront are simply too powerful to disregard."

Talent leaders can use a four-step process to create an HR analytics strategy that will transform the traditional engagement survey into a source of actionable business intelligence.

Step 1 - Create a smarter employee survey.

Just one store appeared on both lists."

There are two major deficiencies in most employee engagement surveys:

Employee survey content should be expanded to include a broader set of questions that go beyond HR's current concept of employee engagement.

Step 2 - "Linkage analysis" to business outcomes.

Next, statistically link the data from the smarter employee survey to data on desired outcomes.

The specific statistical methodologies that should be used for the linkage analysis will depend on the outcome being analyzed. The techniques can range from complex multivariate analysis, such as logit regression or panel estimation techniques, for most individual-level data, to more straightforward univariate analysis - correlations and statistical testing of differences of means - for group data with small sample sizes.

Step 3 - Create a rigorous, fact-based process to identify the best areas of opportunity.

However, if a second piece of information is added to the mix, a different conclusion emerges.

Step 4 - Make insightful and easy-to-understand recommendations.

1. Avoid data dumps and the temptation to share everything learned in the course of the analysis.

2. Home in on the most important findings and implications, and focus on those.

3. Communicate simply and compellingly. This is as much art as science, but it's critical skill to create actionable business intelligence on the people side of the business.

The top areas of opportunity emerging from Step 3 provide a compelling business case to create a fact-based HR strategy to drive business results.

Eight Principles of Inspirational Leadership

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 8 Mar 2013 10:09:00 +0530

Companies from all over the world are thinking differently about values, culture, trust, transparency, meaningful connections and collaboration. These characteristics are different from command and control organizations where power is the province of the few and information is tightly controlled. This traditional ethic has led to uneven performance, escalating self-interest, growing dissatisfaction with companies, missed opportunities and even scandal, but talent leaders can help companies to envision a different future by enabling a new brand of leadership.

Living examples of this new future are led by people who have a different view of what leadership means and can do. They view it as a behavior, not a title. It is more about relationships and connections than power and authority. They don't coerce or threaten to achieve results, they inspire others to act. They pursue significance beyond the immediate and short-term. They demonstrate "humbition" - a humble personal perspective accompanied by a fierce ambition for the organization's success. They help to create a culture bigger than themselves so the organization endures.

Researchers John Zenger and Joseph Folkman uncovered similar findings in their multi-year research detailed in their book The Extraordinary Leader. They examined more than 200,000 surveys for 20,000 leaders with correlated company performance data. The most important factors that distinguish the best from the worst leaders are: inspire others to high levels of effort and performance and energizes people to achieve exceptional success.

The Inspirational Leadership Model

While there is widespread agreement that new approaches are needed, and that "inspiration" is a vital ingredient, according to the 2011 HOW Report from advisory services firm LRN Corp., only 4 percent of organizations inspire their employees. It is valuable to define inspirational leadership not in terms of traditional leadership competencies, but principles that provide a broad framework to guide future behavior for the leader and the organization.

There are eight principles on inspirational leadership that a leader demonstrates that become infused into the culture. They can be divided into business and relationship clusters to reflect the fact that inspirational leadership is about both relationships and positive organizational and business results.

1. Rethink and reframe.
Decades ago the priority was to keep the assembly line working and not make changes. Today, in the innovation economy businesses have to stay competitive, out-think the competition and fight complacency. Leaders need the courage to reframe, rethink and outmaneuver others who attempt similar actions.

Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies, used the phrase "mirror mirror" to enable employees to see the company's actual position in the marketplace. While HCL was doing fine according to some measures, it was mired in a comfortable mediocrity. Through many meetings, Nayar listened, led with questions - not his own answers - and recognized that not everyone would be accepting. By challenging convention and living the values he was espousing, Nayar established a new level of trust. The results have been significant. From a mid-level, regional player in IT services, HCL is now a global leader in the industry and considered to be among the best managed companies in Asia.

2. Pursue significance.
People want to believe in what they do. It is no longer enough to go to work just for a paycheck. People want a higher calling. Younger generations, in particular, are demanding more from work and life.

The pursuit of significance, meaning and purpose is a serious focus for organizations. It is not a "nice to do" or the corporate social responsibility program of the day; it is a central mission, and one that many top leaders and companies support. Jeffrey Immelt of GE once said that "To be a great corporation today, first you have to be a good one." Professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers espouses the four P's: profit, people, principles and planet. Harvard professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter gave a name to organizations that prize purpose: vanguard companies.

"In vanguard companies, belief in the purpose and embrace of the values generate self-guidance, self-policing and peer responsibility for keeping one another aligned with the core set of principles," Kanter said. "This type of human control system does not work perfectly by itself, but it certainly reduces the need for rules, and this helps people feel autonomous. Rather than feeling forced into conformity, employees feel that they are willful actors making their own choices based on principles they can support."

3. Live, share and scale the right values.
Leadership is about shaping, living and spreading the right values that drive the organization to achieve exceptional results. These values provide the spirit, soul and continuity of the enterprise. Organizations need to stand for something, not just exist for their own ends, and leaders need to help shape these values.

One of the first things that former IBM CEO Sam Palmisano did when he took the job was to enlist the company's employees in rethinking what IBM stands for today. A collaborative tool was used to reach all employees globally, and the three values that emerged were dedication to every client's success, innovation that matters for our company and the world, and trust and personal responsibility in all relationships. More than 140,000 employees participated in this discussion.

"It wouldn't do to create values from the top, like [former IBM Chairman and CEO Thomas] Watson did; today people are too sophisticated, global and cynical. We want people to connect to the entity in a way that's relevant to them. Then they have pride in the entity's success and will do what is important to IBM," Palmisano said.

4. Lead through culture.
Culture is a core part of the business infrastructure that has been ignored or underestimated for decades because it was thought to be too big or amorphous to change.

Inspirational leaders understand that culture is the organization's operating system, and it should be intentionally shaped, developed and enhanced. An organization's culture is its enduring asset, significant beyond a single leader's impact; and values-based cultures lead to stronger business results.

5. Earn and extend trust.
A trusted person is open, honest and delivers results.

The conventional wisdom is that trust, like culture, just occurs and it is too soft to measure or change. However, trust can be measured, monitored, developed and improved. And it needs to be improved - according to the 2011 HOW Report, only 9 percent of employees work in high-trust organizations.

6. Embrace transparency.
Transparency means "to shine light through," and in business the term means decisions are accessible to all people; information is not needlessly withheld; people are honest, direct and clear about their motives; apologies are offered when mistakes are made; and information is shared with relevant stakeholders.

Transparency is a condition of modern life that cannot be denied. Google is now a verb. The sooner leaders and organizations accept the almost universal availability of information, the better. Especially as younger workers enter the workplace, transparency is an established ethic, and anything else is distrusted.

7. Connect with others.
The inspirational leader connects with others in meaningful and unique ways. Establishing the tie between the inspirational leader and employees is important. This connection must be tangible, whether it is virtual or in person. It could be seeing former McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner get his hamburger every day or having a meeting with Nayar while he explains HCL's value zones. Communities form when people are connected.

8. Collaborate across boundaries.
The next level of connectedness is collaboration. Inspirational leaders do not just connect, they work together to accomplish ends across geographic and organizational boundaries. Collaboration can take many forms, including working together on joint projects, sharing knowledge and experience, and enabling the flow of information and talent across the enterprise.

One of the toughest issues leaders face is when organizations retreat into turf wars, silos and protective behavior. Traditional rewards, governance and rules reinforce this type of dysfunctional behavior. Inspirational leaders need to pierce these mindsets and demonstrate how collaboration can lead to greater, not less success when rooted in purpose and values.

Manufacturer W.L. Gore & Associates has structured its entire company around the premise that communities always outperform bureaucracies. It has eschewed economies of scale for an economy of ideas, and work units are rarely larger than 150 to 200 people. Connection and collaboration occur almost organically when these people are linked by common purpose and principles.

These eight principles of inspirational leadership interact and build on each other. A leader who is trusted and collaborates across the enterprise is more impactful than a leader doing just one or the other. When leaders are capable and experienced in all eight principles, they become inspirational leaders who can leverage, propel and inspire the organization to greater heights in a world that is demanding new approaches to leadership and more responsible and ethical organizations.

Six Strategies to Keep You Engaged at Work

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 7 Jun 2012 14:37:00 +0530

Engaged employees have the highest productivity because they show up mentally and physically every day with a high degree of motivation to deliver extraordinary results.

The following six strategies will keep you engaged at work.

1. Build friendships with people at work.

• On a scale of 1 (low)- 10(high), how satisfied are you with the friendships you have at work?

• Love and connection is the most important emotional need that people have to stay motivated.

• We spend roughly 50% more time with our customers, coworkers, and bosses than we do with our friends, significant others, children and other relatives combined.

• Gallup research shows that without a best friend at work, the chances of being engaged in your job are 1 in 12.

• Gallup research shows that employees who have a close friendship with their boss are more than 2.5 times as likely to be satisfied with their job.

Action Item: If you want to be more engaged at work, develop at least three strong friendships at the office, maybe even one with your boss/senior.

2. Develop a learning and growth plan on a quarterly basis.

• On a scale of 1 (low)- 10(high), how satisfied are you with the opportunity you have to learn and grow in your current role?

• Learning and growth is a life-long emotional need that people have to stay motivated.

• You currently have skills, behaviours and experience that enable you to deliver results.

• Action Item: Identify learning and growth objectives and develop a 90-day action plan to improve your skills, behaviours and experience in required areas to help you achieve your full potential.

3. Contribute to the success of the people around you.

• On a scale of 1 (low)- 10(high), how satisfied are you with the contribution you make to the success of both internal and external people?

• Contribution is a life-long emotional need that people have to stay motivated.

• Action Item: Identify three activities that you do that contribute to the success of others. Develop a plan to spend more time doing these activities and/or add new activities within the scope of your role.

4. Step into your significance.

• On a scale of 1 (low)- 10(high), how significant and important is the work that you do?

• Significance is a life-long emotional need that people have to stay motivated.

• When you do activities that you love to do, you feel a sense of purpose and significance.

• Action Item: Identify what you do that makes you feel significant and important. Develop a plan to spend more time doing these activities and/or add new activities within the scope of your role.

5. Embrace variety and challenge.

• On a scale of 1 (low)- 10(high), how satisfied are you with the amount of variety and challenge in your current role?

• Variety and challenge is a life-long emotional need that people have to stay motivated.

• Boredom sets in if you don’t have enough variety and challenge in your role.

• Action Item: Identify what you do that makes you feel a sense of variety and challenge. Develop a plan to spend more time doing these activities and/or add new activities within the scope of your role.

6. Create certainty to achieve career success.

• On a scale of 1 (low)- 10(high), how satisfied are you with the amount of certainty and control you have related to your career success?

• Certainty is a life-long emotional need that people have to stay motivated.

• Fear and pessimism set in if you don’t have enough certainty related to your career success.

• Action Item: Define what career success looks like to you. Reach out to your boss (and other coaches and mentors) to help you create more certainty related to your career success.

Great questions to ask on a job interview

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 1 Mar 2012 22:21:00 +0530

Great questions to ask on a job interview

Who's in charge? - Ask who you'd be reporting to and how success will be measured, suggests executive coach Meg Montford. "It tells them that you are ambitious and not just a time-clock puncher." If you're hired, knowing how achievement is measured will help you get off on the right foot.

What's your management style? - If you determine that the interviewer is also your potential manager, try to get a feel for what he or she might be like on the job by asking, "How would you define or describe your own management style?" advises Ford Myers, author of Get The Job You Want, Even When No One's Hiring. Doing basic research on the company is great, but you need to figure out what daily life would be like in the trenches.

What's your biggest problem right now? - "This question tells the company that you're already processing how you may contribute value to them," Montford says. Showing that you're already thinking about the job's challenges makes it easier for hiring managers to picture you in that position. Listen closely, and mention some possible solutions on the spot or in a follow up "thank you" note. On the other hand, if the problem seems like something you can't or have no interest in solving, the job might not be a great fit.

Why are YOU here? - Asking why this person has joined the company and why they've stayed will give you instant insight into its corporate culture, Myers says. If their reasons align with your own motives for wanting to come aboard, that may bode well for your happiness at the organization. If they have trouble coming up with anything better than, "hey, it's a job," that may be a red flag.

Why is this position open? - It's important to determine if the job is new or if it already existed. Did the previous person leave, and is there an internal candidate? "If it's a new position, then you may have some input into how the job is defined, if you're hired," Montford says. "If there's an internal candidate, then that opens up many more questions in your mind, such as will the internal person have an edge among the competition."

What next? - Two helpful questions at the end of an interview are "where are you in the hiring process?" and "when and how should I follow up?" Myers says. These show that you're genuinely interested in the job, while also providing essential information for your job search plan.

10 Qualities to look for while Interviewing People

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:20:00 +0530

10 Qualities to look for while Interviewing People

There's a lot to listen for in a conversation. When a person speaks, listen to what's NOT being said, as well as what's being said. The purpose of an interview isn't merely to learn about an applicant's skills or background you've already gleaned this information from their resume. Listen beneath the words to who a person is. Listen for the qualities that most matter to the position and to the company.

1. Confidence & Self-Acceptance

Beneath the surface conversation, listen to who a person is. Listen for how comfortable a person is during the silences within a conversation. All conversation waxes and wanes during the pauses in a conversation, listen for the level of confidence and self-acceptance a person has. When s/he pauses to gather her/his thoughts prior to answering your question, do you sense nervousness or anxiety? The level of comfort a person exhibits during the pauses within a conversation says a lot. Listen for the level of confidence and self-acceptance beneath a person's word.

2. Follow Through & Persistence

Follow through and persistence is the unique ability to engage in a project and see it through -- at all costs. The downside of persistence is the fine line that exists, separating persistence from stubbornness. Think about the qualities that are essential to the position - then, upgrade those qualities, envisioning a top performer in the position. Identify the desired qualities for the job - then pursue a line of questioning that will allow the quality to emerge. What line of questioning will bring forth the quality you're looking for?

To ask the applicant to "tell me about your follow through abilities" isn't going to reveal anything but an artificial response. Use your own experiences to identify impactful questions. What line of inquiry would bring out YOUR perseverance? A question about personal commitments and passions, or a question about your project management skills? My guess is that you'll learn more about a person's persistence by asking them about their passions vs. previous job responsibilities.

3. Integrity

Integrity is about being responsible for our actions and inactions; it's about keeping one's word -- to oneself and to others. It's about being responsible for handling whatever happens, and making adjustments so problems don't reoccur. When one is responsible, one doesn't blame or complain. Listen for how the applicant responded to situations in the past. Does prior behavior demonstrate responsibility, integrity and keeping one's word? Listen for level of ownership and the attitude one has in accepting responsibility. (Hint: You'll also learn about their leadership qualities in this conversation.)

4. Creativity

The most tedious jobs benefit when performed by a person who thinks creatively. Listen for the level of comfort in considering and/or behaving in an "out of the box" way. Don't confuse style with creativity. Creative thinkers can present very "ordinary." Listen to a person's mind when assessing their creativity. A bold dresser who looks "creative" might very well be a rigid thinker. A conservatively dressed person might be an extraordinary creative thinker. Don't let appearances fool you.

5. Standards

We're all motivated by our values, whether we realize it or not. Values are what motivates and sustains us. They are the core of who a person is. What standards motivate the applicant? Does s/he seem to value working hard and getting the job done at all costs, or does s/he place priority on communication? Is s/he motivated by setting standards of excellence and quality, or are her/his motivators about connectedness and team? Listen for what drives a person. By doing so, you'll have a better sense of "job fit."

6. Clarity of Communication

Communication isn't just about the words a person uses. It's also not only about the tone or affect the speaker uses. Communication is about being 100% responsible for the other person's listening. Communication is also about making a profound connection with another human being. It's about establishing rapport and being such an excellent listener that your responses perfectly answer the needs of the conversation.

How strong a connection has the applicant made with you? Did the person present authentically or were they playing a role to impress you? Listen for how well a person listens and connects with you. This is a highly valuable skill with enormous benefit for your team and organization.

7. Personal Philosophies & Beliefs

What are the beliefs of the person? What messages do they embrace or are passionate about? A person's beliefs about opportunity will generate activity based upon their particular perspective and beliefs. Is their glass half full or half empty? A person's personal philosophy about life will tell you something about how they'll approach the challenges of the job. Guide the conversation to allow the person's belief system to emerge. Then listen for it.

8. Commitment

The word commit comes from the Latin word committere, which means to connect and entrust. Listen for a demonstration that the person has the ability to connect and entrust her/him self consistently to your product, service or organization. The ability to connect and entrust oneself is a key ingredient for rapport and building trust. Commitment is the quality that generates a consistent connection with another - an ability that benefits all types of relationships. Listen for evidence that the person can follow through on the connections they make - this is where commitment is found.

Connection + Consistency = Commitment

9. Passion

Success comes effortlessly to the person who's doing work they're passionate about. But, must a salesperson be passionate about their product to be successful? Maybe not. Listen for what the person's most passionate about - is s/he a people person or is s/he passionate about analysis? What motivates a person and lights their passion? When do their eyes sparkle with excitement? The more aligned a person is to their job, the more passionate and successful they and you will be.

10. Authenticity

Warren Bennis, professor and noted author of more than 20 books on leadership, change & management and who's advised 4 U.S. Presidents, speaks about authenticity as a core ingredient of leadership. He says: "Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is that simple. It is that difficult."

How genuine is the person during the interview process? How comfortable with oneself does she/he appear? Authenticity is about being real & about being genuine - listen for conflicts that get in the way of a person's authenticity.

Minimum wages to be split for PF Contributions

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 8 Oct 2011 20:52:00 +0530

LABOUR LAW UP-DATE

MINIMUM WAGES TO BE SPLIT FOR PF CONTRIBUTIONS : HIGH COURT

In a democratic set-up, the hallmark of administration is to make a subject transparent, simple and free from intricacies as far as possible. It is, however, a different matter that our officials consider it a quality extra-ordinary to obfuscate the simple issue and make archaic what is straight one. Any important issue may hang in fire for any length of time but what can be waited is completed with tearing hurry. This mentality is also known Babucracy. It is a sad commentary indeed that our elected representatives either remain bogged down in petty politicking or do not understand the imports of administration. That is why; they have the least say in labyrinthine of governance leaving almost everything to the whims and fancies of the officials.

To cut the long story short, when the Employees’ Provident Fund Commissioner (Compliance) found that the grip of interference of the department is loosening due to catena of judicial pronouncements, his office worked overtime to find some excuses to tighten it and thereby avail the opportunity to heckle and harass the entrepreneurs. On 23rd May, 2011, the Addl. CPF Commissioner issued a circular wherein the minimum wages were not allowed to be split for the provident fund contributions with certain restrictions. This circular was enough to upset the apple cart and caused a lot of consternation and nervousness among employers.

Yours truly, who has always taken up the cudgels on behalf of the law-abiding employer, immediately wrote a letter within 48 hours of the issuance of the circular in question, requesting the Central Provident Fund Commissioner (Compliance) not to show any undue and undesirable haste and withdraw the said circular. He was also requested to properly assess and weigh the pros and cons of the judgment of Karnataka High Court, which was made the basis for the issuance of the circular so that no confusion could occur in the circle of employers. What was more intriguing was that the Nelson’s eye was turned towards more clear judgment on the subject delivered by the Punjab and Haryana High Court (This judgment is now upheld by the Division Bench of Punjab & Haryana High Court wherein the appeal filed by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation was dismissed, the intentions of administration were staring in the face, which were certainly different from what they suggested and our letter followed with reminders was also ignored.

Be that as it may, the same was subjected to judicial scrutiny and on 29th of September 2011; the Hon’ble Court of Andhra Pradesh in W.P. M.P. No. 28744 of 2011 in W.P. No. 23478 of 2011 as argued by advocate C. Niranjan Rao, passed the injunction order till the final disposal of the Writ Petition.

Earlier our colleagues Advocate Harvinder Singh and Advocate SK Gupta had filed a writ petition and the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi also found the prima facie infirmity in the circular dated 23.5.2011 of the Provident Fund Commissioner and stayed the same vide its judicial order dated 30th August 2011.

The representation of yours truly dated 25-5-2011 was not even acknowledged. However, when the Delhi High Court stayed the operation of the circular of EPFO dated 23-5-2011, the department issued a fresh circular on 27-9-2011 asking all the Regional Provident Fund Commissioners to keep the earlier circular in abeyance. Normal courtesy demands that the information about it should have been given to the Labour Law Reporter, being the whistle blower; but that was not done. We don't mind it but we certainly wish that had the decision for rectification of circular been timely taken the litigations could have been avoided.

The crux of the administrative law is that the principles of natural justice must be kept uppermost. Discretionary powers should not be reduced to arbitrariness. Bias of any type vitiates the fair play and justice. An administrative decision, that is bound to create confusion, must either be eschewed or be allowed to wait for some time to settle down the dust. It is hoped that the Authorities will not sit on the plank of any prestige and strive for promoting the congenial relationship between employers and employees with emphasis to growth and generation of employment. The minimum wages be allowed to be split in allowances for which either the EPFO should seek amendment of the ‘basic wages’ in the EPF & MP Act otherwise the order of Punjab & Haryana High Court be honoured wherein the EPFO has lost the battle firstly before EPF Appellate Tribunal, then before learned Single Judge and afterward in the Division Bench.

Highlights of some of the judgments to be reported in November, 2011 issue

Employers need not pay provident fund contribution higher than the prescribed ceiling. (Supreme Court)
A vague charge-sheet will vitiate enquiry. (Supreme Court)
Delinquent be heard when Disciplinary Authority differs with Enquiry Officer. (Supreme Court)
Gratuity can’t be claimed before Labour Court. (AP HC)
Travelling allowance is excluded from ‘wages’ under ESI Act. (AP HC)
Bias against enquiry officer untenable without supporting reasons. (P&H HC)
Gross indiscipline will justify termination. (P&H HC)
Nature of duties not designation is determining factor as to whether an employee is a ‘workman’ or not.
(Karn. HC)
Dispensation of enquiry appropriate when holding is not possible. (Del. HC)
Removal justified when the employee neither complies transfer nor appears before medical board. (Del. HC)
Settlement for specific duration will continue to be effective till it is substituted. (Del. HC)
A charge-sheet for theft should be precise. (Mad. HC)

Also an informative article on drafting an agreement between Principal Employer and the Contractor so that it should not treated as sham contract.

ONGC Class-I Executive Graduate-Trainee Jobs July-2011

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 00:55:00 +0530

ONGC Class-I Executive Graduate-HR Trainee Government Jobs in India July-2011

66 Strategies For Becoming A Powerful Human Resource Executive

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:37:00 +0530

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
-Margaret Mead

Becoming a strategic partner to a company is an exciting challenge for any human resource executive. The suggestions set forth below come from CEO's, employment law attorneys, consultants, Chief Relationship Officer Forum members (www.croforum.com) and other human resource professionals. May they prove to be of great value in setting your career on fire!

Are You Up For The Challenge?

1. Are you crystal clear about what you want from your career? Do you really want to become a strategic partner? If so, why? How good do you want to be? Top 25%, 10%, 1%? How would you rate your level of commitment? What is the ultimate benefit you are after? More money? More power? More responsibility? Career growth? Greater acknowledgement? It is important to understand the big "Why", so you can refer back to it during challenging times.

2. Define what you like most about HR. Will you be able to do more or less of it in a strategic role? For example, will you have to abandon any of your "duties" in the role of "Employee Champion" to become a strategic partner?

3. Focus on your highest and best use. What can you do better than anyone else? What are you gifted at? Eliminate wasteful activities, outsource administrative ones, and focus like a laser beam on what you do best. Write down the five things you can do best and then circle the two things you love doing best. Chances are this is your highest and best use

4. Fast Company magazine claims today's mantra for success is "change, learning and leadership." To what extent are you conversant and able to add value to your company in these three critical areas?

5. How does your academic and professional background affect your human resource focus? Do you have a degree in HR management? Do you have a financial background, or one in sales? Do you need to broaden your academic background?

6. It is the expectation in corporate world that strategic partners have an MBA. Enroll in part time MBA classes and watch the perception of your value to the organization grow dramatically.

7. Don’t over commit. This is a quick way to lose credibility. Delivery is key to strategic success. Focus on three critical deliverables at a time. Do not dwell on trivial concerns.

8. Maintain your mental and physical balance. If you are over-worked and lack proper sleep, exercise or diet, you will make you a poor candidate for the executive boardroom.

9. Expect to grow. Like crazy. Sometimes in ways least expected. Your professional growth is limited only by your imagination. Dialogue with the President or CEO about your career expectations. Get their support for your career growth in advance. Use "up front" contracts. Get your understandings in writing.

10. Be prepared to address other people’s judgment about the human resource function. For example, some people may feel that "human resources is an administrative function" or "you don’t know about business." Know what emotional filters to expect and how you will respond to them.

11. Be prepared to accept the pressures, risks and rewards that come with being a strategic partner. Becoming a strategic partner involves many trade offs. With added responsibility will come added stress, as well as a bigger paycheck. It may also mean less personal/family time, recreation time, lunch hours, extended coffee breaks, etc.

12. The mantra for today’s leader is "the less you control, the more you can do." If you want to take on new responsibilities you must learn to delegate. Make sure you delegate to people with the skills and character necessary to be trustworthy so you can free up your time to focus on critical functions.

13. Be prepared to make mistakes…and take responsibility for them. The more risks you take and the faster you learn what doesn’t work, the faster you will advance in your career.

14. Think "out of the box". The "processional" or "lateral" effect of events and decision-making must be explored. In other words, be creative, experiment, test and find out.

15. Develop a strategic plan. Identify your long-term vision, the mission that will take you there and the goals that you must meet to stay on course. Put it in writing and update it every 90 days.

16. Read at least one business book every month. A great short book to read is A New Vision For Human Resources by Jac Fitz-enz & Jack J. Phillips. Dave Ullrich’s books, including HR Champions, are also excellent. Also, listen to books on tape. At least one per month. Many excellent books and tapes are available for free at your public library.
Dealing With Other Strategic Executives

17. Get their attention! You have to be your own best public relations consultant. One way to get someone to notice you is to send him or her an article they may find of interest. Send it with a simple "FYI" and let them be impressed with your business acumen.

18. Always be prepared when speaking with other strategic partners. You only have to be unprepared once to lose your credibility.

19. Take other executives to lunch at a restaurant you know they’ll enjoy. Then, when you get to speak with them, focus on them. Don’t tell them everything that you can do, dig to find out their needs and pain.

20. Understand something from the world of sales. Don’t focus on telling people what you can do. Focus on getting them to ask, "Can you help with ______?" Better it is "their idea" than yours.

21. Once you have their interest, get to the point. Executives do not like longwinded explanations – period. Find out in advance what their commitments will be if you are able to meet certain value-added propositions. Then write up in a one page follow-up memo to memorialize the understanding.

22. When presenting information, stick to one page "hot sheets." Too much information results in overload and shut-down. Keep it simple and let them know you have additional information readily available.

23. Do not allow yourself to be bullied, manipulated or sabotaged by other executives. Speak in "I" terms and make sure the other person does too. If they cross over into your emotional space or take credit for your efforts, let them know you feel such conduct is unacceptable and define possible consequences. Then do what you say you were going to do. Get help when dealing with villains.

24. Do not fear losing your job. If you find yourself fighting against a management philosophy that simply "doesn’t get it" then it is time for you to move on. Don’t fight it. There’s always another job. You deserve the opportunity to be a strategic partner!

25. Learn about the business you are in. Read industry related magazines and journals. Attend industry conferences. Learn the facts and trends. Speak the language.

26. Find out the vision of those at the top. Don’t assume their objectives or values, ask them. Dig deeper when the opportunity arises. Then help communicate it to the rest of the workforce.

27. Get involved in the strategic planning process. Create a strategic plan for your department. Don’t wait for someone else to ask you to do it. Just do it.

28. Ask for feedback on your job performance from other executives, as well as your subordinates and peers. Be open to their insights and suggestions. You want to create an environment of "radical honesty" when it comes to in assessing your progress. Ask what is going well, what can go better and what else would they like to share. Then say "thanks" and do something positive with the feedback. Immediately.

29. Be prepared to dress the part of a successful executive. You lead with all your actions and can’t afford to look more casual than your peers.

Money, Money, Money

30. You must have a complete understanding of finances. If you are not well versed in accounting, or cannot analyze a financial statement, consider taking an accounting class at your local community college. Go to www.amazon.com and buy The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack and The Accounting Game by Darrell Mullis and Judith Orloff.

31. Learn how to measure and benchmark. If you are not sure how to do this, read Jac Fitz-Enz’s book, The ROI of Human Capital: Measuring the Economic Value of Employee Performance. As the author states, today’s strategic HR executive has to show how he or she contributes to the organization’s service, quality and productivity (SQP).

32. Keep a scorecard to help document your success. Benchmark the costs of turnover, training, recruitment, benefits, compensation and other aspects of the employee relationship. Focus on leading factors more than past results. Strategic partners know how to speak in "bottom-line" terms. See the HR That Works! Cost Calculator.

33. Reduce the incidence of unwanted turnover in your organization. We estimate the cost of turnover for a $50,000 a year employee to be in excess of $50,000! How many unnecessary turnovers can you help prevent? See our Sample Turnover Cost Calculator.

34. Show how outsourcing administrative functions will allow you to focus on your highest and best use while saving the company time and money in the process. Potential vendors should be more than pleased to help you with this calculation.

Hire Only The Best

35. Your most important job will always be to help the company hire great people. This means pre-hire job needs analysis, meaningful interviews, extensive background checks, credit, criminal and driving investigations where appropriate, skills assessment, character assessment and drug testing. Develop a sound hiring process and follow it every time. We recommend www.brainbench.com and www.zeroriskhr.com to help judge applicant skills and character. We recommend www.infolinkscreening.com to perform your credit, criminal and other background checks.

36. Take full advantage of online recruiting. Online recruiting can cut costs and expand your hiring sources. If you don’t already have an online recruiting program on your web site, take a look at www.careerscout.com.

37. Involve co-employees in the hiring process. It is the first step in building team chemistry. Encourage and reward qualified candidate referrals. Have future co-employees involved in the interviewing process. Use the Co-Employee Applicant Appraisal form.

38. Form a strong relationship with a few temporary employment firms. Make sure they know your personnel needs. Make sure you know how they hire, train, compensate and manage their employees. If you face a downsizing, they can help by finding work for displaced employees.

39. Develop a fun and powerful employee orientation process. Cap it off by having the employee complete the 60-Day New Employee Survey where they give insight into the hiring and orientation process, as well as how they are adjusting to their new role with the company. Tap into their fresh insights while you can.

Increasing Productivity

40. Learn about how technology can help the h.r. function. Become a master of human resource information systems (HRIS) such as those sold by SAP and PeopleSoft. Once you’ve mastered that, then learn about workflow technology.

41. Get to know the management philosophies of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. He is credited with developing the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM). Read a Deming book and learn his 14 Principles. Take a visit to www.deming.org.

42. Study the competition. What human resource initiatives are other companies doing that are producing favorable results? How can you model or test these initiatives at your company? Remember, just because they did it first doesn’t mean you can’t do it too! Don’t get caught with a "not invented here" mentality.

43. Get familiar with character assessment and development tools by taking a half dozen or more of them yourself. Most companies (ZeroRisk HR, ClearDirection, Predictive Index, McQuaid, DISC, etc.) will allow you to take at least one free examination if they view you as a potential client. You can be in charge of increasing your company’s collective E.Q. We recommend www.zeroriskhr.com for the hiring process. Tell them we sent you and get two assessments for free.

44. Survey the workforce. Constantly. Use open-ended questions and don’t make responses optional or anonymous. Post the results. Encourage employees to speak up without fear. Consider using our Employee Survey. Test its effectiveness on a few of your employees to assure yourself of its many benefits.

45. Develop an employee suggestion program that works. Start with the I-Power program available for only $99 at www.I-Power.com. It’s based on a Peter Drucker suggestion. Tell ‘em we sent you.

46. Make sure your job descriptions are up-to-date and accurately reflect the "value added aspects of the job." Involve employees in identifying essential job performance functions.

47. Eliminate traditional performance appraisal thinking. It seldom improves performance. It is your job to help eliminate "more than/less than" thinking in the workplace and focus on what is going right and what can get even better. Save poor performance discipline for warning notices and counseling. Take a look at the Performance Improvement Dialogue Worksheet.

48. Help employees go through the career mapping process. Help them discover where they want to go and define the skills and character traits they will need to get there. If you can’t expand job opportunities for valuable employees you will lose them.

49. Train the workforce constantly. Education is the greatest form of leverage. Very simply, companies that train more earn more. Consider use of our Training Modules. You can further develop your training abilities by becoming a member of ASTD (www.astd.org).

Legal Compliance

50. Educate business partners on ever-changing personnel law obligations. Make sure your handbook and personnel policies are up to date. Help prevent claims by training managers and the rank and file. Either do it yourself, or work with your local employment law firm.

51. Think in terms of Management by Agreement. Bring employees in on compliance decision-making and memorialize the mutual commitments. In writing.

52. Work with an experienced employment law attorney to audit your personnel practices. Use them in advance to help make critical personnel decisions. What a company should be after is wise decision making – not cheap decision making.

53. Make sure your company purchases a comprehensive Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) policy. Work with a knowledgeable broker to help advise them on different coverage options and claims management history. See the EPLI Coverage Worksheet.

54. Distribute the Compliance Survey at least every six months. Make sure employees know their rights and obligations and that no violations exist.

55. Get yourself access to the entire HR That Works! Program (www.hrthatworks.com). These materials were designed to help increase productivity and protect the bottom line – guaranteed!

Belonging and Mentoring

56. Meet with other human resource executives who strive to be strategic partners. Join a mastermind groups such as the citehr.com, NHRD etc or simply take each other to lunch. You will need the support of professionals outside your company if you are to become a strategic partner. Support each other’s challenges and help each other commit to getting things done.

57. Step up the depth of your relationship with professionals from the insurance, legal and accounting professions. Buy ‘em a lunch and ask a whole bunch of questions. Then immediately do something with what you have learned.

58. If you haven’t already done so, obtain the SPHR Certification from the Society for Human Resource Management (www.shrm.org) or IPMA Certification from the International Personnel Management Association (www.ipma.org). You can also get specialized certification related to compensation and benefits from World At Work (www.worldatwork.org ).

59. Be prepared to give back. Take an inexperienced HR professional under your wing. Help them discover their highest and best use.

60. Volunteer to a non-profit organization that can use an hour or two of HR advice during the week. Teach a class at your local community college. Remember, what goes around comes around!

61. Get out and speak to non-h.r. executives about the benefits of HR as a strategic partner. Be a spokesperson for the cause. Speak at Kiwanis, Chamber and other business events. Help people discover the power of building powerful employment relationships!
Get Paid What You Are Worth

62. Truly strategic HR partners are in high demand. Find out what similarly situated professionals are getting paid. Go to local salary surveys, check with your peers, and look at online resources such as www.salary.com. Check in with HR recruiters such as www.donnadavisassociates.com.

63. Negotiate for bonuses based on your ability to directly impact the bottom line. For example, if you are able to reduce unwanted turnover by 50%, what bonus should you be entitled to? How can you tie your compensation to your success as a strategic partner?

64. Shop around your resume. This does not mean you are not committed to your employer. It means you are investigating your true potential and giving yourself career options. This will allow you to negotiate from in a position of strength.

Publicize And Celebrate Your Success

65. Don’t just let your success stories sit there – publicize them! Use intra-company newsletters. Pin a note on the bulletin board. Send an article to an industry or HR publication. Send out an intra-company news release. Strategic partners know the value of tooting their own horn. So should you.

66. Celebrate every chance you get. Reward yourself and others when things go well – and for no reason at all!

CONCLUSION
Many consider becoming a strategic partner as the greatest challenge for today’s human resource executive. It is a challenge that beings within. You will have to shift your focus from administrative to "value-added." You will have to become a master of finances, benchmarking, planning and empowerment. Once you know who you are and what you want to do, you have prepared for success.
Becoming a strategic partner will be a rewarding experience. You can do it!

Who I Will Become?:
The three things I want to be well known for in my career are:
1)
2)
3)
Now Take Action!
Remember, the idea is to deliver, not over-commit. Stick to the "Rule of Three" and your success is guaranteed

Baseline Survey for CSR projects/ Demographic Survey / Socio-Economic Survey

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:44:00 +0530

BASELINE SURVEY FOR CSR

Name of Station/ Site__________________________

Name of the village/city_____________ District___________________State_______________

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE:

i. Population: (in thousands)

ii. Age profile: Between 0-15yrs % Between >15-30yrs % Above 30 yrs %

iii. Sex composition: Male % Female %

iv. Literacy Rate: %

v. Population below Poverty Line: %

vi. Percentage of SC/ST in BPL population: %

vii. Caste composition: Scheduled Caste % Scheduled Tribes %

Directions for filling the survey questionnaire:

i. The following questionnaire consists of 8 clusters for which responses should be marked below the responses header

ii. Note that the data furnished need not be exactly accurate but must fairly represent the scenario.

iii. Please ensure that no part of survey may be left blank.

iv. Mention any sources of information used to provide the data at the space provided*.

1. EDUCATION

S.No.	Questions	Responses
1.	Are there adequate numbers of schools catering to the village? If yes, specify the number of schools providing primary, secondary and higher secondary education along with average distance from the village (in kms).	Education		Number		Distance
		Primary
		Secondary
		Higher
2.	Do the schools have adequate teaching staff? Tick the appropriate option.	Yes No
3.	Specify the overall percentage of children enrolled and attending the school.
4.	Specify the percentage of children belonging to SC,ST and Below Poverty line families enrolled in school at primary, secondary and higher secondary education levels?		SC(%)		ST(%)		BPL(%)
		Primary
		Secondary
		Higher Sec.
5.	Percentage of families who can afford higher than elementary education?
6.	Percentage of school going girl child?
7.	Enlist the areas in which projects can be undertaken for education sector based on the above responses.	1. 2. 3.
8.	Apart from the above areas, specify any other important areas where projects can be undertaken under education sector.	1. 2.

2. EMPLOYMENT

S.No.	Questions	Responses
1.	Specify three major Sources of sustenance?	1.
		2.
		3.
2.	Is there unemployment among families in the village? If yes, what are the reasons thereof?	Yes No Reasons:
3.	What is the percentage of unemployment among SC/ST/BPL families?
4.	Are youth belonging to SC/ST families aware of career/educational opportunities after High school? Tick the appropriate option.	Yes No
5.	Are the youths (15-30 yrs) of the village skilled and qualified to find a suitable employment opportunity? If no, specify the percentage of unskilled youth and average education attainment.(Till class 5/Till class 8/Till class 10/ Till class 12.)	Yes No Percentage of unskilled youth: Average education attainment:
6.	Are there vocational training centres situated in the village or nearby area? Mention the name and kind of training provided.	Yes No Name: Training provided:
7.	Enlist the areas in which projects can be undertaken to enhance employment opportunities based on the above responses.	1. 2. 3.
8.	Apart from the above areas, specify any other important areas of employment seen suitable by the people where they require skill enhancement/training/qualification.	1. 2.

3. HEALTHCARE

S.No.	Questions	Responses
1.	Is there a hospital/healthcare center with adequate equipments and facilities in the village or nearby area? If yes, how far is it (in kms)?	Yes No Distance from village:
2.	Does the Healthcare center/hospital have qualified and adequate number of staff (Doctors/nurse,etc)? If no, specify the requirement.	Yes No
3.	Are families aware of Govt. sponsored programmes such as family planning, HIV/AIDS, Immunization Programmes, National Rural Health Mission etc.? Tick mark the applicable	Yes No
4.	Any recurring chronic disease or illness suffered by villagers? If yes, mention the disease and the cause of the disease if known.	Yes No Disease: Reasons:
5.	Enlist the areas in which projects can be undertaken to improve healthcare facilities/services based on the above responses.	1. 2. 3.
6.	Apart from the above areas, specify any other important areas of concern with regards to healthcare of the villagers.	1. 2.

4. INFRASTRUCTURE

S.No.	Questions	Responses
1.	Is there electricity supply in the village? Tick mark the applicable.	Yes No
2.	What are the main sources of drinking water in the village? How far are the sources from village (in kms)?	Sources	Distance(in kms)
		1.
		2.
3.	Types of fuel used for cooking by the villagers?	1. 2. 3.
4.	Is there proper sanitation/drainage system in the village? If not, specify the problems.	Yes No
5.	Are the approach roads in and around the village get repaired and maintained in good condition?	Yes No
6.	Is there proper street lighting system in the village?	Yes No
7.	Does the village have community centre/panchayat ghar?	Yes No
8.	Do underprivileged groups know about banking/financial institutions and Government financial schemes? If yes, mention any difficulty that they face for availing the facilities.	Yes No
9.	Enlist the areas in which projects can be undertaken to improve infrastructure facilities based on the above responses.	1. 2. 3.
10.	Apart from the above areas, specify any other infrastructural needs of the villagers which can be fulfilled by Organization.	1. 2.

5. ENVIRONMENT

S.No.	Questions	Responses
1.	Mention any ecological/environmental damage caused by Organization's operations in the vicinity of the village.
2.	Has there been deforestation in the village or nearby area in the past few years? Specify reasons thereof.	Yes No Reasons:
3.	Do villagers know regarding potential hazards of pesticides?	Yes No
4.	Do villagers know regarding disposal of non-biodegradable waste?	Yes No
5.	Do villagers know about recycling of waste, rain-water harvesting and renewable sources of energy?	Yes No
6.	Is there contamination in any of the village resources such as water bodies, air, soil,etc. and mention reasons thereof	Yes No Reasons:
7.	Enlist the areas in which projects can be undertaken to restore environmental damages/minimize environmental degradation based on the above responses.	1. 2. 3.
8.	Apart from the above areas, specify any other important areas where projects can be undertaken for conservation of environment.	1. 2.

6. SOCIAL ISSUES

S.No.	Questions	Responses
1.	Are villagers aware of ill effects of decreasing sex ratio due to female foeticide and infanticide?	Yes No
2.	Is there a significant number of villagers who are suffering from drug/alcohol/any other addiction?	Yes No
3.	Are villagers aware of ill effects of child marriage/early marriage?	Yes No
4.	Enlist the areas in which projects can be undertaken to eradicate social problems based on the above responses.	1. 2. 3.
5.	Specify any other social issue/problem prevailing in the social system such as superstition, caste discrimination, honour killing, domestic violence, dowry etc. Mention any other observation regarding social problems.

7. ART/CULTURE/SPORTS

S.No.	Questions	Responses
1.	Mention any traditional art form/handicraft that is getting extinct and reasons thereof.
2.	Are there any heritage sites such as ancient monument, forts, palaces, secular architecture,rock-cut caves,remains of ancient habitation etc excluding any religious site, in and around the village? If yes, is it being conserved by any Govt. agency/Trust/Society,etc?	Yes No
3.	Is there any sports/recreational facility available in the village? If yes, mention the facilities available and whether they are adequate.	Yes No
4.	Enlist the areas in which projects can be undertaken to support arts/culture/sports based on the above responses.	1. 2. 3.
5.	Specify any other important areas /activities where projects can be undertaken to promote Arts/culture/sports.	1. 2.

8. LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT

S.No.	Questions	Responses
1.	Are there Veterinary hospitals/Clinics/services in the village?	Yes No
2.	Are villagers aware of Government schemes regarding livestock management? If yes, are they benefiting from the schemes?	Yes No
3.	Are villagers aware about the earning opportunities from the Livestock management such as Dairy farming, manure, biogas, etc.	Yes No
4.	Enlist the areas in which projects can be undertaken to provide for livestock management based on the above responses.	1. 2. 3.
5.	Apart from the above areas, specify any other issues faced by the villagers for livestock management.	1. 2.

*Sources of information/data/figures:

38 Lessons I’ve Learned

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 3 Jun 2011 10:30:00 +0530

38 Lessons I’ve Learned

1. Always swallow your pride to say you’re sorry. Being too proud to apologize is never worth it — your relationship suffers for no good benefit.

2. Possessions are worse than worthless — they’re harmful. They add no value to your life, and cost you everything. Not just the money required to buy them, but the time and money spent shopping for them, maintaining them, worrying about them, insuring them, fixing them, etc.

3. Slow down. Rushing is rarely worth it. Life is better enjoyed at a leisurely pace.

4. Goals aren’t as important as we think. Try working without them for a week. Turns out, you can do amazing things without goals. And you don’t have to manage them, cutting out on some of the bureaucracy of your life. You’re less stressed without goals, and you’re freer to choose paths you couldn’t have foreseen without them.

5. The moment is all there is. All our worries and plans about the future, all our replaying of things that happened in the past — it’s all in our heads, and it just distracts us from fully living right now. Let go of all that, and just focus on what you’re doing, right at this moment. In this way, any activity can be meditation.

6. When your child asks for your attention, always grant it. Give your child your full attention, and instead of being annoyed at the interruption, be grateful for the reminder to spend time with someone you love.

7. Don’t go into debt. That includes credit card debt, student debt, home debt, personal loans, auto loans. We think they’re necessary but they’re not, at all. They cause more headaches than they’re worth, they can ruin lives, and they cost us way more than we get. Spend less than you earn, go without until you have the money.

8. I’m not cool, and I’m cool with that. I wasted a lot of energy when I was younger worrying about being cool. It’s way more fun to forget about that, and just be yourself.

9. The only kind of marketing you need is an amazing product. If it’s good, people will spread the word for you. All other kind of marketing is disingenuous.

10. Never send an email or message that’s unfit for the eyes of the world. In this digital age, you never know what might slip into public view.

11. You can’t motivate people. The best you can hope for is to inspire them with your actions. People who think they can use behavioral “science” or management techniques have not spent enough time on the receiving end of either.

12. If you find yourself swimming with all the other fish, go the other way. They don’t know where they’re going either.

13. You will miss a ton, but that’s OK. We’re so caught up in trying to do everything, experience all the essential things, not miss out on anything important … that we forget the simple fact that we cannot experience everything. That physical reality dictates we’ll miss most things. We can’t read all the good books, watch all the good films, go to all the best cities in the world, try all the best restaurants, meet all the great people. But the secret is: life is better when we don’t try to do everything. Learn to enjoy the slice of life you experience, and life turns out to be wonderful.

14. Mistakes are the best way to learn. Don’t be afraid to make them. Try not to repeat the same ones too often.

15. Failures are the stepping stones to success. Without failure, we’ll never learn how to succeed. So try to fail, instead of trying to avoid failure through fear.

16. Rest is more important than you think. People work too hard, forget to rest, and then begin to hate their jobs. In fitness, you see it constantly: people training for a marathon getting burned out because they don’t know how to let their straining muscles and joints recover. People who try to do too much because they don’t know that rest is where their body gets stronger, after the stress.

17. There are few joys that equal a good book, a good walk, a good hug, or a good friend. All are free.

18. Fitness doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a long process, a learning process, something that happens in little bits over a long period. I’ve been getting fit for five years now, and I still have more to learn and do. But the progress I’ve made has been amazing, and it’s been a great journey.

19. The destination is just a tiny slice of the journey. We’re so worried about goals, about our future, that we miss all the great things along the way. If you’re fixated on the goal, on the end, you won’t enjoy it when you get there. You’ll be worried about the next goal, the next destination.

20. A good walk cures most problems. Want to lose weight and get fit? Walk. Want to enjoy life but spend less? Walk. Want to cure stress and clear your head? Walk. Want to meditate and live in the moment? Walk. Having trouble with a life or work problem? Walk, and your head gets clear.

21. Let go of expectations. When you have expectations of something — a person, an experience, a vacation, a job, a book — you put it in a predetermined box that has little to do with reality. You set up an idealized version of the thing (or person) and then try to fit the reality into this ideal, and are often disappointed. Instead, try to experience reality as it is, appreciate it for what it is, and be happy that it is.

22. Giving is so much better than getting. Give with no expectation of getting something in return, and it becomes a purer, more beautiful act. To often we give something and expect to get an equal measure in return — at least get some gratitude or recognition for our efforts. Try to let go of that need, and just give.

23. Competition is very rarely as useful as cooperation. Our society is geared toward competition — rip each other’s throats out, survival of the fittest, yada yada. But humans are meant to work together for the survival of the tribe, and cooperation pools our resources and allows everyone to contribute what they can. It requires a whole other set of people skills to work cooperatively, but it’s well worth the effort.

24. Gratitude is one of the best ways to find contentment. We are often discontent in our lives, desire more, because we don’t realize how much we have. Instead of focusing on what you don’t have, be grateful for the amazing gifts you’ve been given: of loved ones and simple pleasures, of health and sight and the gift of music and books, of nature and beauty and the ability to create, and everything in between. Be grateful every day.

25. Compassion for other living things is more important than pleasure. Many people scoff at vegetarianism because they love the taste of meat and cheese too much, but they are putting the pleasure of their taste buds ahead of the suffering of other living, feeling beings. You can be perfectly healthy on a vegetarian (even vegan) diet, so killing and torturing animals is absolutely unnecessary. Compassion is a much more fulfilling way to live than closing your eyes to suffering.

26. Taste buds change. I thought I could never give up meat, but by doing it slowly, I never missed it. I thought I could never give up junk food like sweets, fried crap, nachos, all kinds of unhealthy things … and yet today I would rather eat some fresh berries or raw nuts. Weird, but it’s amazing how much our taste buds can change.

27. Create. The world is full of distractions, but very few are as important as creating. In my job as a writer, there is nothing that comes close to being as crucial as creating. In my life, creating is one of the few things that has given me meaning. When it’s time to work, clear away all else and create.

28. Get some perspective. Usually when we’re worried or upset, it’s because we’ve lost perspective. In the larger picture, this one problem means almost nothing. This fight we’re having with someone else — it’s over something that matters naught. Let it go, and move on.

29. Don’t sit too much. It kills you. Move, dance, run, play.

30. Use the magic of compound interest. Invest early, and it will grow as if by alchemy. Live on little, don’t get into debt, save all you can, and invest it in mutual funds. Watch your money grow.

31. All we are taught in schools, and all we see in the media (news, films, books, magazines, Internet) has a worldview that we’re meant to conform to. Figure out what that worldview is, and question it. Ask if there are alternatives, and investigate. Hint: the corporations exert influence over all of our information sources. Another hint: read Chomsky.

32. Learn the art of empathy. Too often we judge people on too little information. We must try to understand what they do instead, put ourselves in their shoes, start with the assumption that what others do has a good reason if we understand what they’re going through. Life becomes much better if you learn this art.

33. Do less. Most people try to do too much. They fill life with checklists, and try to crank out tasks as if they were widget machines. Throw out the checklists and just figure out what’s important. Stop being a machine and focus on what you love. Do it lovingly.

34. No one knows what they’re doing as parents. We’re all faking it, and hoping we’re getting it right. Some people obsess about the details, and miss out on the fun. I just try not to mess them up too much, to show them they’re loved, to enjoy the moments I can with them, to show them life is fun, and stay out of the way of them becoming the amazing people they’re going to become. That they already are.

35. Love comes in many flavors. I love my children, completely and more than I can ever fully understand. I love them each in a different way, and know that each is perfect in his or her own way.

36. Life is exceedingly brief. You might feel like there’s a huge mass of time ahead of you, but it passes much faster than you think. Your kids grow up so fast you get whiplash. You get gray hairs before you’re done getting your bearings on life. Appreciate every damn moment.

37. Fear will try to stop you. Doubts will try to stop you. You’ll shy away from doing great things, from going on new adventures, from creating something new and putting it out in the world, because of self-doubt and fear. It will happen in the recesses of your mind, where you don’t even know it’s happening. Become aware of these doubts and fears. Shine some light on them. Beat them with a thousand tiny cuts. Do it anyway, because they are wrong.

38. I have a lot left to learn. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that I know almost nothing, and that I’m often wrong about what I think I know. Life has many lessons left to teach me, and I’m looking forward to them all.

Coal India Management Trainee vacancy May-2011

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 May 2011 01:02:00 +0530

Govt. Jobs-Coal India Management Trainee(Human Resource, Finance) vacancy May-2011

NHPC Trainee Officer(HR, Finance)-Engineer and other jobs May-2011

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 4 May 2011 22:08:00 +0530

Government Jobs in INDIA - NHPC Trainee Officer-Engineer and other jobs May-2011. Opening in NHPC for Trainee Officers(HR)

Functional Competency dictionary for Quality Assurance and Quality Control

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 5 Apr 2011 16:19:00 +0530

Below is an example of Functional Competencies required for personnel engaged in Quality Assurance and Quality Control:

DEPARTMENT: Quality Assurance and Quality Control

CAREER STAGE	MANAGE SELF	MANAGE OTHERS	MANAGE MANAGER
COMPETENCY AREA	DESCRIPTION	DESCRIPTION	DESCRIPTION
Cost estimation & control	Basic knowledge about the:- § Capital budgeting § Cash flow / funds flow analysis Understands all cost drivers, its relationship with key areas, compare with fixed targets and scope of improvement of assigned area.	§ Compilation of the data from various sources § Keeping records of costing and various types of expenditure made on the various materials. § Analyzing the gap between budget allocated and actual budget. § Analyzing the gap between given target and the actual target achieved § Monthly review of costs and expenditure of procurement/material handling. In depth knowledge about:- § Capital budgeting § Cash flow / funds flow analysis Budgeting (various expenditure on raw material, stores, spares and procurement of materials) Review all the cost drivers, implementation of related improvement plans and assess the impact on overall cost structure and savings.	§ Analyzing and interpretation Co-ordination with purchase, Stores, Sales and other departments for proper and timely accounting for expenses, income, acquisition of fixed assets and liabilities. § Costing (product costing, element wise break up) on a periodic basis § To develop benchmark rates to extent possible for RM and encourage competition among suppliers and reduce the procurement cost of RM. § Proficiency in various project evaluation techniques such as, § Capital budgeting § Cash flow / funds flow analysis § What if, analysis § Monitoring & control proper § Accounting including capitalization of various project § Scrutinizing of ledger & sub ledger accounting at quarterly and yearly basis including capitalization of various projects Understands the cost drivers, its criticality & reviews the implementation of cost saving schemes. Provides direction for innovative measures for cost control
Quality Consciousness	§ Conversant with national/international standards, customer specification and quality systems. § To ensure the quality is as per the laid norms and their application to the process	§ To understand the quality aspects of the processes in plant & mines, QMS and its interdependencies with other areas and recommending improvements. § To support our suppliers to test RM as per laid norms along with the feedback on quality to suppliers and regular interaction with the plant.	§ Reviewing the procedures and systems for quality surveillance and establishing the quality policy for entire function and regularly evaluates the relevance and applicability of quality parameters § Ability to identify, analyze and recommend improvements and solutions to the product quality; Ability to precise quality deviation report Ability to identify quality defects & plan preventive actions based on the monthly recovery reports § Ability to take cognizance of Feed back from the marketing personnel on the customer complaints and ensure customer visit, complaint investigation and incorporation of the preventive actions
Progress Monitoring	Resource planning and its effective utilization	Monitoring of progress and anticipating constraints.	Organizing resources to take care of unforeseen events.
	Detailed knowledge of modes of measurement as per IS or other applicable standards.	Review of material planning, their timely availability and control on inventory.	Organizing resources to take care of unforeseen events.
	Co-ordination with other disciplines.	Cost estimation and Cost control techniques.	Anticipate constraints and delays from progress reports and initiate actions in advance.
	Sequencing and time estimation	Co-ordination with other functions.	Cost and time monitoring and ability to introduce cost reduction methods.
	Materials Management	Prioritizing of various activities	Scrutinizing and advising in change of priorities
	Progress monitoring and reporting	Visualizing and ensuring operatability, maintainability and reliability of the system	Strategic planning
Third party / customer inspection/ Joints analysis.	Conversant with customer PO, Stock of the material and identification of the material.	Conversant with requirement of PO, standards and QAP.	Handling all third party agencies for clearance and certification of material.
Third party / customer inspection/ Joints analysis.	Preparation of manufacturing feasibility reviews on enquiries received from various customers.	Preparing the schedule for TPI after consulting with marketing and logistics.	Responsible for understanding and translating customer needs in terms of process and product performance.
Systems Management	Implement Small Group Activities TPM, WCM, QC, Kaizen etc.	Ability & vision for change implementation.	Ability to capture managerial experiences & knowledge on the job
	Suggest & implement process improvements	Effective use of Small Group Activities to attain excellence in operations	Ability to de-bottleneck capacities
	Inquisitiveness and willingness to learn and implement new things	Clear focus on cost implications in each area of activity	Ability to focus on measurement
	To ensure adherence to statutory requirements relate to all aspects of plant activities.	Ensure maintaining relevant database	Ability to manage working capital effectively
	Problem analysis and solving skills	Ability to apply measurements in all areas of working to quantify output & performance	Ability to identify impact of market forces on company finances
Human Resources	Resolves minor problems and complaint on an informal basis.	Resolves and recommends formal or informal performance / disciplinary actions up to and including dismissal. Decides on staffing, appointments, promotions, reassignments, etc.	Develops departmental polices and procedures. Takes action on performance recommendations
Human Resources	Resolves minor problems and complaint on an informal basis.		Exercises delegated authority for all personnel administration actions, to include difficult, controversial or sensitive issues.
Software Packages	§ Operation of MS-OFFICE for documentation of data and preparation of letters, equipment specifications, etc. § Generating report through SAP as desired by Upper Management	§ Knowledge of MS-OFFICE for documentation for preparing reports. § Maintaining record with help of SAP, Managing information system to upper level § Supervising and monitoring proper functioning of SAP in F&A module of their respective area.	§ Knowledge of MS-OFFICE for documentation and data analysis § Design the modules of SAP as per the requirements, Integrated Supply Chain Information Technology § Responsible for monitoring the EDP activities of Finance & Accounts Department, checking need for any new programme/software to be developed and ensuring the smooth flow of data.
Rules, regulations and norms	Must have knowledge of rules and regulations related to power systems and norms set by the government. Knowledge of ISO (EMS & QMS), 5’^s ,TPM & KAIZEN etc	Must have knowledge of regulatory compliances, ISO (EMS & QMS), 5’^s ,TPM & KAIZEN etc.	Implements rules and regulations mandatory inside the department, ISO (EMS & QMS), 5’^s ,TPM & KAIZEN etc.

Also read more examples of competency dictionaries here for :

Finance and Accounts
Plant Operation

Functional Competencies for Finance and Accounts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 14:12:00 +0530

DEPARTMENT: Finance and Accounts

CAREER STAGE	MANAGE SELF	MANAGE OTHERS	MANAGE MANAGER
COMPETENCY AREA	DESCRIPTION	DESCRIPTION	DESCRIPTION
Job/ Technical Knowledge	Basic knowledge in overall work related areas in accounts / Accounting standards.	§ Proficiency of corporate Accounting Practice/Standard Auditing Practices along with the expertise in budget analysis and identification of variance § Interacts with branches & group companies for inter-unit accounting matters and respective receivables, settling any disputes and finalizing the financial matters with the respective heads of Finance & Accounts teams § Supervise and control of creditors account § Providing stock statements to the bankers.	§ Proficiency in working areas like finance, accounts taxation commercial and Internal control Procedures § Monitoring of financial activities, their requirement & utilization of funds, trouble-shooting for any problems § Providing a link between internal auditors & other depts. like store, purchase & sales.
Business and company Know how	Knowledge about the competitors and basics of the Industry	Knowledge about Business Dynamics depth knowledge of Monitory policy, EXIM Policy, WTO provisions	Knowledge about Business Dynamics, In depth knowledge of Monitory policy, EXIM Policy, WTO provisions Knowledge about Business Dynamics, Monitory policy
Planning & Budgeting	Preparation of profitability & balance sheet statements along with co- ordination with other departments for getting inputs and 'Understanding of revenue cost and investment drivers	Monitoring of CVA/ EVA	Proficiency in preparation and Monitoring of Business Plan Analytical findings, impact of improvement initiatives.
Management Accounting	In depth Working Knowledge of cost Accounting /Management technique	§ Depth knowledge of cost accounting and management technique and ability to integrate things § Proper and timely accounting for expenses, income, acquisition of fixed assets and liabilities. § Control and supervise various transactions § Passing of purchase vouchers and processing payments against them. § Process the payment of project suppliers / contractor / consultant etc (project and operational). § Keeping track of timely payment of bank debts § Passing of purchase vouchers and processing payments against them	§ Proficiency in cost accounting & management techniques § Business overview in depth knowledge/ understanding of value based management § Scrutinizing of ledger & sub ledger accounting at quarterly and yearly basis including capitalization of various projects.
Projects- Capital Budgeting	Basic knowledge about the:- § Capital budgeting § Cash flow / funds flow analysis	In depth knowledge about:- Capital budgeting Cash flow / funds flow analysis Budgeting (various expenditure on raw material, stores, spares and procurement of materials) and drawing a comparison between the allocated and actual budget	Proficiency in various project evaluation techniques such as, § Capital budgeting § Cash flow / funds flow analysis § What if, analysis Monitoring & control proper accounting including capitalization of various project
Finance Functions	Idea about the normal workings of Banks, Finance Instruments etc.	§ Full fledged idea about Working capital Management Technique e.g. Credit Monitoring & Control, Receivable management, Inventory Management, Fund management etc.	§ Proficiency in corporate finance § Proficiency in Working capital Management Technique e.g. Credit Monitoring & Control, Receivable management, Inventory Management, Fund management etc. § In depth knowledge of Corporate Governance § Preparation of Balance sheet § including co-ordination with § statutory auditors, branches § and Head office practices
MIS & Costing including SBU- wise profitability	Basic understanding of MIS and data collection	§ Compilation of the data from various sources § Keeping records of costing and various types of expenditure made on the various materials. § Analyzing the gap between budget allocated and actual budget. § Analyzing the gap between given target and the actual target achieved	§ Analyzing and interpretation § Co-ordination with purchase, Stores, Sales and other departments for proper and timely accounting for expenses, income, acquisition of fixed assets and liabilities. § Costing (product costing, element wise break up) on a periodic basis
Cost Consciousness	Should have a culture for Cost Consciousness	Should follow high standards of cost consciousness	Should continuously look for new avenues of cost reduction through innovative ideas
Software Packages	§ Operation of MS-OFFICE for documentation of data and preparation of letters, equipment specifications, etc. § Generating report through SAP ( F&A module) as desired by Upper Management	§ Knowledge of MS-OFFICE for documentation for preparing reports. § Maintaining record with help of SAP, Managing information system to upper level § Supervising and monitoring proper functioning of SAP in F&A module of their respective area.	§ Knowledge of MS-OFFICE for documentation and data analysis § Design the modules of SAP as per the requirements, Integrated Supply Chain Information Technology § Responsible for monitoring the EDP activities of Finance & Accounts Department, checking need for any new programme/software to be developed and ensuring the smooth flow of data.
Statutory Provisions / Taxation	Knowledge of statutory provision with respect to the Tax management & tax planning Procedural formalities	§ In depth knowledge of provision applicable to the organization with regard to Tax Planning, Assessments, Awareness of the latest development of legislative changes § Assessment of income tax. § Maintenance of record of deposits (fringe benefit tax). § Record of Tax audit	§ Proficiency in statutory provision applicable to the organization § Tax Planning § Assessments / appeals, etc. § Awareness of the latest development of legislative changes § Controlling & monitoring the TDS on various payment & its formalities as per income tax rules.
Internal Customer satisfaction	Should always serve customers first	Cater to customers and follow on complain at regular intervals.	Cater to customers and follow on complain at regular intervals with focus on changing/ reviewing the process based on complains
Rules, regulations and norms	Must have knowledge of rules and regulations related to power systems and norms set by the government. Knowledge of ISO (EMS & QMS), 5’^s ,TPM & KAIZEN etc	Must have knowledge of regulatory compliances, ISO (EMS & QMS), 5’^s ,TPM & KAIZEN etc.	Implements rules and regulations mandatory inside the department, ISO (EMS & QMS), 5’^s ,TPM & KAIZEN etc.
Human Resources	Resolves minor problems and complaint on an informal basis.	Resolves and recommends formal or informal performance / disciplinary actions up to and including dismissal. Decides on staffing, appointments, promotions, reassignments, etc.	Develops departmental polices and procedures. Takes action on performance recommendations
Human Resources	Resolves minor problems and complaint on an informal basis.		Exercises delegated authority for all personnel administration actions, to include difficult, controversial or sensitive issues.

Also read more examples of competency dictionaries here for :
Plant Operation

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Survey Methodology

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 11:53:00 +0530

Survey Methodology

The main objective of this project is not only learning the theoretical aspects but also get practical knowledge of every aspects related to employee satisfaction. I was given opportunity to work on every massive part of the project, which could give me a bird’s eye view of the whole organization. Following is the methodology I have used in survey:

Primary methodologies for conducting employee satisfaction survey-questionnaire (paper-&-pencil). The choice of methodology should be based on what is best for the respondents – best in terms of convenience, ease of use, and trust in the method in which case Internet is more cost effective. If all employees are substantially all employees have access to the Internet from work. Internet / Internet is my recommended methodology.

It generally results in a higher response rate and is faster than paper-and-pencil. It also give a little more controls in terms of how the questions are presented and gives the ability to require that certain question should be answered. Organization has a secure system, there is no issue with regard to confidentiality of sending result when an Internet survey is done. If only a small percentage of employees have Internet / Internet access from work than preference always go to using the traditional paper-and-pencil methodology.