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Guide your HR to twitter?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 05:12:00 +0000

Most, on joining plugHR throw hesitation to wind as they engage with colleagues, community, clients and experience learning actively using Twitter. Thanks to our deep dive on social tools during the onboarding process.

Twitter is one of the most interesting social media channels however many still don’t find it as easy till they taste the addiction themselves. Once your team catches fancy, most interactions become sharp, suave and effortless. So here are three things that will help your HR get in the know and manage Twitter for you more professionally.

#Hashtags bring sense!! As you sum up in 140 characters its important that you use or add the popular hashtags in order to increase the audience for your tweet. People follow hashtags and then follow you. Keep a tab of what is trending in your circle and pitch in wherever and whenever you can. Art of listening on Twitter rests on Science of hashtags (#). plugHR runs a weekly chat on hashtag #hrtrends every Friday at 4pm, start following @plugHR for start.

Tweet chats is how you create and engage community that feels connected with your brand or product. Community conversations is powerful outcome of social media engagement. Go ahead, set up Tweet Chats around your product, clients, job seekers or what matters to you. If crowdsourcing as a term interested you, at Tweet Chats you'll see it in action. 9819733002

Lists you get added to is how others see you. You can make your own lists to classify how you see others, it's a smaller group of twitterati that you can use for focussed listening or following subject based conversations.

Social Media is an evolving tool, you can improvise real time, key is to begin. Train yourself, train your teams, draw up a simple social conversation guideline and play with future.

So its not just Zappos

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 10:48:00 +0000

Last week Amazon too spoke about exit incentive. Not just a token gesture but raising the incentive to some $5000 for taking the exit offer is a serious attempt to clean workplace of the dubious souls. So golden handshake or VRS isn’t new concept even in India, but most would remember it as an end of career smiley. That a company would pay you just after induction to say “please spare us the pain”, might take an effort.

Those who still recall our movie night at last plugHR Bootcamp, we had watched Tony Hsieh in awe and exit incentive was one thing that impressed us for sure.

Think about it, new economy businesses are mostly about belief’s. These are new business categories, quite radical, uncertain, changing at high pace forcing the talent to operate in sustained ambiguity. Last thing you want at your workplace then is a doubtful soul who walks in every day, concerned and spends all day spreading the same. You want that soul with your competitor sooner than later

Now for one’s who say the usual, “its not easy to…..”, well even your birth wasn’t easy, if that could happen, anything can happen, you just need to think like inspired entrepreneurs. Read Jeff Bezos, listen to Tony Hsieh, gather courage and roll it buddy, Post Induction Exit Incentive. It’ll just clean up some future mess in advance, much like that time machine thing which you could use to go forward, figure how much damage would these hires cost and come back to just pay them out.

For my HR, get over attrition chart stats and show me some real baddies off the bus & keep building Awesome Ventures.

The argumentative Indians can carry conversation here or catch me on twitter @prashantbhaskar

Happy Women's Day!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 15:03:00 +0000

We all have somebody or the other who might have touched our lives at some point or the time. Some inspire us to keep it going others make us believe in our true selves. This women’s day we asked some of our plug Pros to share the reasons for the smiles they carry every day. One’s who added value to their lives and left an impact for them to pass on to the future generations.

My Mom, greatness personified.

My Life has been a journey, and a lot of people have influenced it in some aspects or the other, my family, my friends and my teachers, but the one woman that has given meaning to my life and shown me how to live and face this world is My MOM.

No doubt moms are very special for everyone...but what my mom has done is truly outstanding. She is my pillar of strength, full of love and compassion.

Being a single parent life was never a cake walk for her, she struggled hard as teacher to provide the best of education and life to me. She provided not only basics but also the Luxuries of life to me. As a teacher she has mentored many lives apart from mine. Forgiveness is at the core of her heart and one look at her calm, serene and smiling face melts way all kinds of anxiety and anger.

No matter what the situation, she has disciplined me to be calm and always stick to the truth (Which we are tempted to conveniently let go).Today at the age of 60, she is still teaching and changing lives. She is my mentor, my source of inspiration, temple of Love and i never have to look elsewhere for any kind of advise. Whether personal or professional, what she will say will be the most thought after long-term solution. I trust her decision in all aspects, and yes of course she believes in learning from me as well as her other students to stay in tune with the times----she is on watsapp too!!!

I hope to instill as many values as possible in my kids as she has instilled in me. She is a very loved grand mom and does spoil my kids at time ...but always keeping them disciplined. She is and always will be my friend, philosopher and guide.

The message that she imparts through her words and deeds is very clear, whatever hardship or challenges life throws up, if you persist, persevere and pray...u will come out a champion.

Contributed By: Fatema Lokhandwala

You inspire me Maa’m!!

There will be always many people who inspire in your journey called Life. Just to name one person who have inspired you immensely would be like deciding between your own kids. Still I am taking that risk and naming one women who have inspired me apart from my Mother.

Hemangi Marathe is my Yoga instructor who has been teaching yoga since 1986 but if you meet her you will not believe that she belongs to the old school of yoga. Her larger than life smile, her curiosity to learn new techniques, her ability to adapt changes always inspires me. At the age of 48 when many people starts feeling that they need to slow down, she is learning new forms of dances.

I hope she keep inspiring all her students for many more years to come.

Contributed By: Shilpa Kayal

Now if you come to think of it, I am sure you would come across many such women who have helped you become what you are today. Sometime an acknowledgement like this can be good way to show your gratitude. So go ahead make someone feel special!!

Happy Women’s Day

Are you hiring for #startup?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 16:11:00 +0000

We are in age where being an entrepreneur is a career choice but still more than 50% fail.

The current market dynamics though have been favorable for startup but execution is a key which many miss on to. However for any startup to run successfully it’s important to have the right talent at the right time. Yes RIGHT is very crucial here and all the more when attracting one is not an easy task. No matter how brilliant the Business plan looks like but without the resources actually on boarded it might just be good as a PowerPoint presentation.

Working for startups for a while now and managing this fire fighting here are some quick tips to follow out of my personal experience.

Invest on career page: Go check your career page, will you ever apply to an organization you have never heard of and even the website looks like from 90s. Following the latest trends and what your competitors or similar player doing in the market might give a baseline at least and later is your creativity to add more appeal. After all it’s all about creating an experience!!

Don’t ignore social: The current generation is truly a ‘social animal’. Social media is a free & interactive marketing tool, which has come out as a boon for startups. Not just one but has numerous platforms to target audience as per there interest. Channelizing the social efforts in the right direction will help in branding and also help to connect with passive and genuine job seekers. Such hirings come through pull affect and also help is spreading the word of mouth. If you are a starter better focus one platform to start with rather being everywhere with no impact at all!!

A day at work: Giving a feeler for how a day or a week looks like at your organization can be a good attraction and also will fetch you genuinely motivated talent and not just the one who thing startup means higher salary. Working with startup has its own charm and challenges, and this period though might not give full but at least a partial hand on experience to both the parties.

Talent holds prime importance: Reality is that instead of running after industry expertise better attract talent profiles that have zeal and enthusiasm to work for a startup. For various reason startup might find it difficult to hire experienced candidates and even after hiring retention will be a prime concern due to the past expectation and environmental influence of the candidate. In such cases Onboarding someone will lesser experience but potential to execute might be a better choice.

Pitch at its best: Do you have a call pitch? So how did you close the last deal? Well hiring has never been out of sales, and when it’s about selling a new workplace which is new in all relevance, it becomes even more imperative. A pitch which makes sure meets the aspiration or at least incites a desire to know more is what we are talking here. Listen to talk!!

Let the JD stand out: Revisit the Job Descriptions and see does it stand out? Make it interesting enough for the candidate to write back to you and hit your website before simply ignoring your job posting for some run of the mill work from an unknown name. Yes, sometimes we do judge the book by its cover J

Hiring for startup is a challenge for sure but as said it the RIGHT fit which can make the strategy look like a master plan.

The new buzz, Employee Wellness

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 08:13:00 +0000

What’s the new buzzword in the HR circles which may show stronger trends in 2014?

Well, a lot of buzzwords for sure, but one critical one that seems to be catching the combined attention of the community is Employee Wellness. It’s really not a new-age concept, but has certainly been redefined and remoulded to suit the needs of the current times. It has gone beyond the gamut of employee wealth, health and safety, to reach a different level.

Initiatives in this area are not restricted to company insurance plans, hospital tie-ups and club memberships only. They cover provisions such as onsite healthcare facilities, online health assessment tools, programs and information providers for healthy living, employee health screening camps, wellness and nutrition coaching. Organizations are also slowly opening up to the idea of addressing specifics such as women’s health and stress management counselling. More progressive organizations look at even providing assistance to those employees who have a tobacco or alcohol dependency as well as raising awareness in HIV/AIDS.

So with this kind of interest and of course investment, it’s time to try and see what are some key reasons for organizations to start focusing on this area.

1. There is a slow but steady understanding of the fact that there is a linkage of employee health to business productivity. How organizations track this or measure this is far from developed in terms of a process, but at this stage, suffice it to say that the acceptance of this linkage as a reality, is the driver.

2. Employer branding and employee value proportion – The rising need for a balanced work-life approach in the current workforce, is forcing organizations to evaluate how they want to position themselves as a an employer brand. Hence the emphasis on providing a stress-free work environment with focused commitment towards the overall well-being of an employee has risen.

3. Such investment is a long-term spending and when weighed against other opportunity costs such as loss of work hours due to absenteeism, sick leaves, attrition / turnover cost, retraining and so on, it might not seem that significant.

Reading the undercurrents related to this future trend, SHRM India introduced the Employee Wellness Award for organizations, within its set of HR Awards, at its Annual Conference. The winner was Scope International, while SAP Labs and Reliance were runners’ ups. It is therefore evident, that this is a fast-paced trend, which will pick up speed in 2014 and so the more prepared we are, the higher our employee competitive edge will be as organizations.

About Author

Simran Oberoi

Sr. Knowledge Consultant - SHRM India

HR and Football!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 11:19:00 +0000

Author: Pranay Reddy, plugHR Pro

Remember Oliver Kahn, who stood like Colossus of Rhodes bestriding German goalpost during the FIFA ’02. Oliver single handedly enabled Germany’s progression into the finals against a star studded Brazil. His awesome goal keeping played an essential part in his team’s victory against much famed oppositions. He didn’t even concede a single goal in the seven games leading to the final, where his sole mistake in the entire tournament not only cost him the coveted “world Champ title” but his captaincy and eventually his place in the senior side. It was also for his pyro techniques Kahn was honored with the ‘Golden Ball’ a rare occurrence among the goalies.

In football, Pundits have often said and I’ll repeat, “The goalkeeping, no matter how good you are, you should must be aware that what you’re doing is a ‘Thankless’ job”. Try to recall your childhood football icons, and figure out how many were actually goal keepers? Shocked, the answer is a big fat ZERO. We are cult followers, and the goalkeepers on almost all occasions are the ones who’re unable to create any cult around; simply because they’re not involved in scoring any goals and thus are not the ones who’ve halo around their heads.

An HR manger is also not involved in creating any value in a business, directly. How many times, have you ever patted the back of your HR when your appraisals were done on time? On the other hand you’ve grumbled almost every week, as you were marked absent, just because the funny biometric was being too funny? Now I am just interested in asking some rhetorical, as all readers are well versed with answers. My purpose is to set in a though process, so that people start contemplating.

In football you cannot win a game if your Goalie is weak, because the opponent will score more goals than you, similarly if you’re HR is not strong in engaging and training, your workforce will find it difficult to stick to your organization, and you’ll see your folks entering the premises of your competitors. Bingo! Your opponent has scored a goal over you, by poaching your priceless talent. Contrary to that, if you’ve a strong and a competent HR, your people will not only stick but will create awesome values for your venture and you’ll score a goal over a goal over your competitor.

In football, Goalkeeper is the only player well positioned, who can analyze the strategy of the opponents and hence play a key role in catalyzing positive outcomes. This is possible because atop a football pitch, he is the only person who can mark the movements of his teammates. Another question to tickle your brain; who is the only manager in your organization who alike a goalkeeper can chart the progress and trajectories of your employees. You need not think furiously as you already have your answer.

When pressure mounts on the captain, or when he feels there is a need to call in a substitution, skipper always look forward to a valuable advice from his goalkeeper, whenever he has to make a quick decision. Rhetoric again, in an organization, who is the go-to person for a CEO, when he is in a dilemma, whether he need to ask some people to leave or on occasions when he needs some new talent to be pumped in the ecosystem of the workplace full of vibrant energy.

Top four challenges in Talent Acquisition

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 29 Oct 2013 18:07:00 +0000

Author: Rekha Nair

For all those who sit on the other side of the table other than HR, Talent acquisition is the most mundane, most easy and most taken for granted task. No one spares a second thought to the Recruitment process in the Company, apart from HR and if you are lucky the Top management once in a while when the bottom line is affected and the Leaders point out to ‘manpower’ issues as the reason behind it. Yes, you heard it right, most of us in HR are aware of this and this is what we deal with every day, but we would rather sweep it under the carpet and not discuss about it, but problems has to be tackled and analyzed if not today then tomorrow , definitely.

As any HR professional who has handled or is handling ‘Talent acquisition’ shall tell you that though it sounds to be the most simplest of and uncomplicated task, it is actually not so, it is a challenge every day, and the Company and the HR team along with the line managers has to be geared up to meet the challenges. Some of the most common challenges which any HR manager who handles Talent acquisition shall enumerate are as given below:-

1) Quality Manpower : It is amazing, the number of Engineering and professional colleges that we have in our country are close to 6ooo when we put together both, but when we get down to the process of sourcing, screening, selecting, we are all the more amazed at the number of mismatch that we have to deal with. If we specifically speak about the Campus recruitment, in order to overcome the mismatch, there has to be lot of industry and academia interaction and handholding to enable the colleges to come out with courses or course content which comes up to the needs and expectations of the organizations.

When we talk about lateral entries the biggest challenge is finding the right talent for the right job, your shortlisted, selected candidate might have cleared all the psychometric test, might have cleared all the rounds, all the technical questions must have been answered beautifully, however, when he gets down to working, within a month the Team manager and HR realizes that the whole exercise has been futile as he has everything going on paper but when it comes to delivering it is a big miss. The challenge is to find the right talent, the right attitude for the given job and for this HR fraternity has been struggling and experimenting, but to till date we are yet to come up with a fool proof method.

2) Stability : This might sound old fashioned and out of league, but this is one of the biggest challenges for every organization and for every HR Head , and that is to retain the talent that you have brought in and who seems to be the right fit. It is again not to be left to the HR department to make sure that once the candidate has joined he stays put for decent amount of time, apart from Induction, being your buddy and point of contact in the initial days. HR needs all the efforts to be put in by the respective Departments also where he or she joins to make it comfortable and interesting and lucrative in terms of work for the employee to make him want to come back to the office every day.

3) Transparency : It is the prime responsibility and in fact should be driven by the Ethic code of every Company that the HR department shall be transparent about the salary, designation, role, responsibilities, rules , regulations, ethics, culture etc. of the Company and every effort shall be made by the Company to cover all these aspects through the Induction program and the various training programs and sessions that the employee goes through upon his joining. The HR department should take extra effort to gauge the understanding of the employees , it is a good idea to have ‘on board interview’, similar to the exit interview, after the Induction is over so that HR is able to address the gaps in understanding of any issue by the employee.

Transparency is applicable both ways as an employee is entitled to all the information about an organization and its systems and procedures whether it is with regard to compensation & benefits, Learning &Development, Rewards &Recognition similarly an organization is entitled to have correct information about the candidate with regard to his qualification, his past experience, his last salary drawn etc. Most of the organizations have put checks and balances in place to be sure that the information provided to them is authentic, in spite of that the number of ‘discrepancies’ which are reported by verification consultants to the HR department is alarming, and it is a cause of concern as many candidates give incorrect information about their salaries and qualifications , more over they supplement it with fake certificates and references.

4) Culture fit : Okay, let us assume that we have taken care of all the above, we have got a right fit candidate who has made up his mind to stay with us long term and is totally transparent about his credentials and all is well, but then comes the most important question, in spite of the knowledge and information passed on to him about the organization and his absorbing the same, there are many unwritten rules in the organization which he shall be able to understand only in due course of time, which may confuse him or take him by surprise or might even make him highly uncomfortable, this usually happens when employees make a move across industries for example when a candidate who has throughout worked in Media industry changes over to the EPC sector , he sees a huge transformation staring at him. Here HR has to play an important role , this has to be done proactively, taking into consideration this piece of information and then by way of assigning a buddy to him in the department, or putting him under a mentor for sometime or HR itself taking pains to continuously communicate with the employee with the intention of keeping him for good and let not all the efforts go in vain. Of course, this needs equal cooperation and willingness and a genuine effort from the candidate as well to imbibe the changes and change to grow.

As detailed above, the ‘Talent Acquisition’ team whom most of us hardly give a second look unless and until we have to forward a resume under the ‘referral scheme’, is actually strengthening the foundation of the organisation every day and making sure that while all the others concentrate aggressively on the bottom line and profit margin, they are giving their invaluable support in their own quiet and determined way

About Author

Rekha Nair

She holds over 16 years of experience, primarily in Corporate HR and has handled the entire gamut of HR in a reputed IT company in the Corporate HR Division, for the last 7 plus years working as Chief Manager - HR of Angelique International Ltd., a reputed EPC company from India. Posses a good experience in Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, R&R, Trainings, Employee Engagement, HR Audits and HRIS.

Probability, People and Profits

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 10:47:00 +0000

Author: Pranay Reddy

Some days ago I asked a friend, “What is your chance of becoming the next top shot entrepreneur running a billion dollar company”. He replied, “Its 1/2, either I’ll become one or else I won’t. Suffice it to say, either he has it in him to be the next Jobs or else he’s destined to bite dust. The point to be highlighted as per him is that, his chances of reaching those heights are as high as 50%, so are the chances to fall in glitch. If the aforesaid, dictum is true then what do you have to say for snowing in Delhi. Well, as expected we have an identical answer, probability of snowing are as likely as 50% i.e. either it snows or it doesn’t. Weird isn’t it? The explanation of the aforementioned paradox is the property of probability, known as chances of an event occurring should be equally likely. This explains for the reason why it doesn’t snow in Delhi, because the chances of such an occurrence are close to zero. Similarly, if we speak of chances of rain in Mumbai during monsoons; because the conditions are so favorable it is as high as 90%.

For the sake of argument, what are the chances, of an aspiring entrepreneur to achieve stardom, now that we know the property of probability of ‘Equally likeliness’? Let’s apply some basics of mathematics: The chances of you attaining success in you entrepreneurial sojourn is say, m/n, where m is the no. of successful entrepreneurs and n is the total no. of entrepreneurs. But, as we know n>>m, i.e. n is a much larger no. then m the fraction m/n is close to ZERO. Does that mean that chances of your entrepreneurial journey ending up as a success is close to zero? The big and the obvious answer to this question is a big fat NO. But sane people have said and I quote, “Logic seldom lies, and math never”. So the only solution to this problem is to reduce the burgeoning no. n exponentially.

This calls for some introspection and some sound strategizing. It is indispensable to have an idea, which is unique, robust, ingenious and off course scalable if you’ve to reach heights. If you have such an idea, next step is implementation, and that too you need an ecosystem for your idea to thrive and veritably hard work, will power and dedication as quoted by Legend himself, Milkha Singh. Inspite, of stuffed with truckloads of abovementioned attributes, the trick that entrepreneurs miss are there people.

Irrespective of the domain of your industry viz. services, manufacturing, etc., whatever you create, you do it for people. Gurucharan Das once spoke, the best form of R&D must involve taking in the opinion of your customers, and the best way to do that is to involve your own people. It is the people who create things not machines. Suffice, to say if your workforce is motivated, supported and happy, they are in amicable condition to spell a magic in your venture. Always remember, only humans can think of what humans want, not machines.

So, I cannot guarantee the causal of entrepreneurial Yahoo, but can promise lots of correlations. Apple Inc. who’re committed to their workforce recently overtook Coca Cola, as the most valuable brand, and they did that without incurring any cost in advertising!

Author
Pranay Reddy - PlugHR Pro

Top four outcomes of an Exit Interview!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 17:51:00 +0000

Author: Simran Oberoi

Exit Interviews are usually not perceived as pleasant interactions – some people view it as a venting exercise, some adopt an “advisory” approach of providing solutions to the issues they faced and a lot of people are usually indifferent!

So as an HR practitioner, it can be very frustrating to try and gather data or meaning from these discussions and try to link it to actual root causes for employee attrition. Have you ever thought of making a slightly different sort of list of what you want to achieve out of this discussion from an exiting employee? If yes, you are ahead of most others ! If not, here are some pointers which might help…and here I’d like to use my favorite sentence- this is an indicative list, not an exhaustive one !

1. The most obvious - Reasons for leaving the firm. Of course, employees have a standard response to this that they come prepared with – but the onus is on you to make sure that you ask questions that make the employee give clear and specific answers instead of a whole lot of subjective information on what didn’t work well. Also, employees are hesitant to share negative feedback – whether it is due to the fear of confrontation or lack of belief that the feedback will have any impact. You have a hugely challenging task of creating a sense of trust in an already-disillusioned employee !

2. HR needs to find some answers, but it also needs to understand the thought process of an exiting employee…So probe sensitively about how the individual arrived at the decision to leave the firm. This will help you reach the core of the actual issue and manage attrition in a more focused manner.

3. Try to also collect the positives , the optimistic thoughts from such interviews even if those seem rare to come by – Perhaps names of supportive managers/peers, high potential team members and so on. Agreed that this could be very subjective and perception driven, but then so are a whole lot of other things related with people ! This information will come in handy to anticipate where your strength lies and how to anticipate any exits of key employees.

4. Collect feedback for HR too – so the exit interview should allow the employee to share his or her thoughts on how and when the HR’s involvement could have helped prevent the exit. This also covers getting the employee’s thoughts on what interventions make sense to them and what didn’t have any impact on their motivation/engagement levels.

About Author
Simran Oberoi
Sr. Knowledge Partner - SHRM India

She has over a decade of experience primarily in HR advisory services in the areas of Rewards (Benchmarking, Strategy, Job Mapping, Measurement), covering APAC, South Asia and the US), Long Term Incentives engagements, Organization Restructuring, Capacity Building, Competency Frameworks and Talent Development.

She has published several articles on different HR areas, with leading HR journals such as People Matters, Human Capital, Business Manager – HR magazine and industry magazines such as Oil Asia. She regularly contributes the SHRM perspective across print and electronic newspapers.

Performance Management process... is it so difficult?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 07:54:00 +0000

Author: Samruddhi Mulye

I’d wonder why few things in HR are treated differently from the rest.... so like generating payroll or organising an event for HR is ‘by-the-way’... Performance #Appraisals become a very serious job. It draws complete focus and attention from all the employees and to a large extent the company’s management as well. We’d think why getting people perform is at times so difficult or also an employee to deliver set targets does not garner complete focus and determination. After all appraisal in true sense is the result of all the hard-work...something that gets tabulated in a matrix... that brackets your performance into terms like – ‘outstanding’, ‘very good’, ‘average’ & ‘poor’. So what makes appraisals so important and special – it’s the money that gets tagged along with it that makes #appraisals so important. The struggle is to get highest hike. Why is an ‘MBA program’ into an elite or premier I institute or some training program for ‘technological advancement’ or a ‘holiday – with – family’ and may be an opportunity to work in ‘different geography or build an enterprise for the company in an unchartered territory’ not that important or does not seem to be a great reward for an employee! There is money involved in this as well. The organisation is investing in the employee, working towards building a leader in you.

There is only one answer to this – it is the ‘culture’ that we have shaped. It is extensively focused on direct monetary rewards because we have chosen to shape it that way. .. we have failed in making employees see the bigger picture and a better tomorrow.

So here’s something I went through. This is year 2003 [I was about four years in #HR career by then]... and not getting into specifics of company name, industry or employee details... but just the crux and my learnings from this incident. Typical ‘Open Performance Appraisal’ system. With KRA’s that were set last year... you guessed it right, not reviewed through the year! So, here’s the outcome first... the #appraisal letters are handed over to a set of employees [there were unions prevalent that time]. The increments given to these people were less compared to some other employees, probably the lowest in the grid. So even if we’d say that compensation related information should not be shared [else management will take strict action...!] – the discussion is bound to happen. Some happy expression... some sad.

Therefore the obvious questions from these people were ‘why such a low increment?’ The management anticipated some questions but the force with which it came was not anticipated. The increments were decided with no definite data points and rationale so again the answers to ‘why’ weren’t readily available. The responses from the management were vague. Event / circumstances specific answers were given. For which there were counter reactions from the employees. In all the entire exercise was unplanned and the process made its flaws and fissures visible to all. All the increment letters given were retracted. Fresh letters issued with obviously different figures and then much expected phenomenal attrition. The Management cuts a sorry figure.

So, in all a simple exercise turned out to be a night mare of sorts for the organisation. While, many years have gone by... things have changed and improved for better but some basic learnings.. we never seem to memorise and practice about Performance Management... though I carry them with me wherever I go and whoever I meet to explain... it isn’t a success always but it is my strong conviction that – Performance can be managed only through culture and only Culture can drive performance. You do not need an HRIS or process with a manual to achieve a flawless PMS [although must say technology does simply and organise life for everybody]. Only know and understand your objective, your goal on a broader and organisational level. The fractions to achieve the bigger picture will fall in to place steadily [which set targets right in beginning]. Secondly.... know your people; gauge their emotions... see their problems. Increments are obviously not based on these but it only helps you creating a different perspective of non-performance. Lastly, keep it simple... stay connected with your people, talk to them often. Communicate your vision, ideas. Let them respond. Keep talking to them about their performance. What you like about them and what you feel needs improvement. Let them know.

Rest the mechanical steps will fall in place automatically...! Let the culture be performance driven and let performance talk about your organization's culture to the world outside.

Author

Samruddhi Mulye
PlugHR Pro

Would you like to be "Retained" by your company!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 Sep 2013 17:07:00 +0000

Author : Kunjal Kamdar

There have been numerous posts about how to "Retain" your talent. No doubt this topic might be debatable, and most of us might have extreme views on this topic. But just thought to take on this topic, and try to understand, explore and uncover some of the assumptions that are involved in it. This post would touch upon the angle from the employees side as well as from the employer's side. So are you ready to get into this unique world of retaining and getting retained!!!

Well, getting retained is surely an important thing from both the parties i.e. employee and employers. So does it mean there are scenarios when the employee wants to get retained!!

Well, if this is true, it is surely a big risk. What does that mean!! Well, if an employee knows his/her own value in the company, they can take a chance to resign and then hope for the company to retain them. Or they have a great offer in hand and might want to negotiate. So what's wrong in it!! You might ask, right!! Well, there is nothing wrong in knowing your value in the system and no harm trying to negotiate with your current company. But what about the offer that you had accepted!! What about the time when you had decided to move out of your current company!!! Does the word "Ethics" come into picture!! Well, it will be interesting to know your thoughts on this.

Okay, let's take another scenario. You decide to move out of your company, and resign. And your company decides to retain you by offering a great role, some extra money, may be if you are lucky an Onsite opportunity too. Again there is nothing wrong in it. Who would say no to this!! Well, how about employees asking this question to themselves "Do you think your company realized your true value only after you resigning!! Food for thought!!! Often companies talk about parity issue!! Now where is the parity issue!! Well, you might say that this is a normal industry standard and happens in all companies. Well, point taken, let's move on :)

I guess by this time most of you might have already started pointing guns on me and all set to make strong objections to this post. Well, the idea is to know your views on this complicated topic. Okay, moving on to the next scenario. Well, there also are genuine cases where the employee might be a bit confused at times, and the employer might sit and counsel and then help him/her to take the right decision. In such cases, one needs to understand the mindset of the employee and make sure that you as an employer listen to them. Some might say why should we listen, they have resigned, they are disconnected with the company etc. Remember, they are still your employees, your brand ambassadors for years. So no point having an EGO, just listen to them and act, react accordingly.

So would you like to get retained!! Looking forward to your views on this topic. Feel free to express it, as some of you might not like to share it on open platform. I do understand it, so you can connect with me on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.

Author

Kunjal Kamdar

Kunjal Kamdar has been involved in sourcing for the last eight years, having worked in both recruitment and sourcing capacities. Kunjal enjoys sourcing and using Social Media to expand and innovate new channels in the recruitment process. Blogging is his real passion, and he in turn loves sharing his passion for sourcing and social media with others in the recruiting community.

To Appraise Performance..don’t wait for year to get over!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 04:14:00 +0000

Whenever a manager over heard mere “Performance appraisal”, you will be able to hear their groan out of stress. Many managers see Performance appraisal as nothing more than an empty, bureaucratic exercise forced on them by HR. Even for appraisee (a subordinate) when he gets a meeting request from his boss for performance review discussion, he feels just yesterday he has written his goals which is promptly forgotten too and this discussion becomes more of a 'BAJATE RAHO' discussion for him.

More than 80% of staff feels that performance reviews are unnecessary and is a waste of time because of lack of efforts put in by managers in to the process. Lackadaisical attitude of management results in Employee apathy.

The sanctity of performance management system is to keep a tap on the achievement viz a viz goals set and to design competency development plan based on the performance review analysis. Regret to mention than this appraisal tool is just being used to identify A,B and C category and decide increment percentage which is too mostly influenced by key business drivers. The annual performance review discussions, if so happens, are not aligned with need assessments, thus barely adds value to them.

Here, we need to change the approach rather than the system. There are four ways I perceive, if adopted, the Trust in performance appraisal system will be restored and employees will find it more effective and generate the desired outcome.

First is to Keep it Simple, many managers dislike complexity of modus operandi of performance appraisal system and bureaucratic forms. Design a format which is simple to decipher & captures relevant data and focus on structural part of conducting review discussions with reduced stress element.

Second, Frequent Connect between Manager and his subordinate. It is no longer effective to meet your subordinate once or twice a year to discuss on performance appraisal. Frequent appraisal meetings will help to monitor on goals achievements and to keep check on relationship needs, growth needs, motivational needs & learning needs of your subordinate. Meeting once in a quarter or sometimes more frequent will save you from future peril of non achievements of targets and give a pat on a back for achievement & study the shortfalls when they are fresh in memory and a employee can also express his feeling on his performance. Once or twice a year performance review meeting will force you to drop your criticism at him at once like a bomb, rather 'ZOR KA ZATKA DHERE SE' approach will be easier to swallow and leads to constructive conversation.

Third, Conversations focused on future. Annual appraisals often becomes ‘poker game’ where employees are being asked to lay their cards on the table first, so that managers can identify weaknesses and focus on actions require to improve those weaknesses. To conduct effective performance appraisal discussion, adopt ‘sandwich technique’ whereby, you open conversations highlighting notable achievements in recent times, followed by critical assessments and interactive discussion on areas of improvement and conclude the discussion with landing a hand to him to unleash hidden potentials and tips for learning and development.

Fourth, Self monitoring of performance & learning. Nowadays, modern Performance Appraisal tools track self performance ratings which has been perceived by most of the staff as a data gathering tool for counter arguments by managers. Hence they rate themselves high so that after negotiation they will be rated somewhere in mid range. Whereby, essence is to provide a honest rating for their own performance. By asking employees to keep a track on own performance and learning, write down their goals and keep a check on success and discoveries, the data generated out of it is not being used by managers to critically evaluate but to help each employees to take responsibility of their own performance.

In era of automation, we sometimes get caught in terminologies and having an online PMS module which runs once or twice a year is not at all an issue but this system will only help to capture data, it can not motivate, inspire and develop people. Hence, frequent feedback sessions on performance & creating self organized learning environment where people learn from this feedback meetings which takes place in corridor, lifts or across the coffee.

Author

Paras Khatri

Paras, born & brought up in city of dreams. A human Resource pro and a believer that having an active presence on social media will not only align you with professionals across industry & domain experts but also a platform to share your thoughts with them, which influenced me to become a blogger. A traveler, who wants to explore world, meet people and walk over no mans land. You can follow him on twitter @paraskhatri .

Learning the #Social Way

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 16:20:00 +0000

It would really be stating the obvious when we talk about how the rise of the “Social Media” phenomenon has implications for our professional lives , but a very visible area of impact for the same is how it impacts an individual’s learning process. It has literally turned the traditional classroom methods of learning on their heads ! Today, one can gain access to information faster AND also get viewpoints from other professionals, as quickly about its relevance – what does that mean? That the learning process has become truly collaborative and it has brought the experts and the knowledge seekers all within the same universe.

We learn through webinars, online discussion rooms, Twitter chats, Facebook updates, LinkedIn groups – you name it and there is a continual process of learning already in flow. However, what is strange is that organizations are yet to harness the potential power of this approach to develop the capability of its people, to create a business impact. Leveraging this power means that we as the HR community, must understand how the concept works and then what are its applications to the learning process. It is a paradigm shift in its true sense, since it requires the employees to understand that the onus of learning is on them rather than the organization and the HR department. Creating that sense of self-drive and proactivity is the HR’s role now – how to encourage the employees to take online courses/e-learning modules, how to ensure smooth and seamless facilitation of the knowledge transfer process, how to create networks of expertise, how to design learning interventions that truly connect the social media’s strengths to the employee’s needs to the business impact ! Sounds like a challenging task? Well, it definitely is. But we have to move in that direction, since that is where the future is.

Given that Social media is playing such an active role, SHRM India has recently released a report on Indian HR Influencers on Social media ( August 2013) – it is interesting to see how HR professionals across experience levels and what they share through an open channel, can have the power to influence thought processes and trends, as well as enable the overall HR community’s advancement. Another interesting concept that I’ve recently come across and wanted to share was the India HR Live Channel, which hosts live streams of panel discussions and interviews with HR experts.

The ramifications of such a trend are huge for the HR community – the organizations and HR professionals who are able to capitalize on this change, are the ones who will have great competitive advantage!

Author

Simran Oberoi

She is currently working as a Knowledge Advisor in SHRM India. Has over a decade of experience primarily in HR advisory services in the areas of Rewards (Benchmarking, Strategy, Job Mapping, Measurement), covering APAC, South Asia and the US), Long Term Incentives engagements, Organization Restructuring, Capacity Building, Competency Frameworks and Talent Development. In consulting roles, she has significant experience in key global client accounts, project and people management. She has an accreditation in Hay methodology and Job Mapping and as an APAC leader she has driven the Reward Information Global Sector Development strategy for 14 countries. In her current role she works in Knowledge Development which involves evaluation of key future areas, content creation as well as review for HR disciplines such as Executive Coaching & Leadership Development and Diversity, alongside Talent Development/Management and Rewards. It also involves research in key areas, the most recent ones being CXO/Leadership Development and Competencies.

Emotions at work place.. Needed ?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 17:24:00 +0000

Attuned to a rare habit of feeling emotions running across any space I walk into. It infuses a certain energy , tremendous power of emotions... at times positive ...sometimes negative and destructive... and sometimes just nothing. So what and how important are these emotions... Emotions are nothing but a combination of behaviour and attitude, they indicate an existence of value and in my line and way of thoughts; extremely critical for any space home or office... so focusing on emotions at work place; it is the emotions that create an organizational culture...really? So what happens to the Vision, Mission, Values, Rules & Regulations, Principles, ethics.... that organizations spend time on putting in place. Very important... but come to think of it, we’d realize that these would actually be empty phrases and statements without emotions in them. To believe that you can be the best in market for XYZ product or ABC service... this statement stays as a vision but will certainly not translate into performance or service excellence. So how are emotions going to change this ? Emotions create a culture and culture is the single biggest differentiator for a business in the space one is in.

Emotions help connecting with the world within the office space and reach out to the world outside. And that is effectively opening up the channels of communication. Ever realize, you walk across the office and you see your colleagues / team members gather in group, chit-chatting, talking – laughing and then suddenly someone notices one individual walking across / towards and the crowd softly but immediately disperses. That happens when there exists no emotions... emotions of being fearless, of being able to express freely! There is a dire need of being able to communicate fearlessly. For the new age leaders... CXO’s need to have an informal approach, collaborative and democratic way of working. A need to capitalize on the emotions people have and be a caring organization... there should be no space for anxiety, anger, confusion or unhappiness. One should be able to pick up the emotions of team members before taking decisions. So it is for the leaders of today to internalize these attributes and effectively creative an ideal leadership style that people would look up to.

So how does this help create a culture? Culture cannot be imposed on people. It needs to be build in the system by these same set of people working in the office. Culture will get driven by those emotions that must co-exist in harmony. An organization has no existence unless the people in it bring it to life. Bring it to life with their emotions of loyalty, commitment and performance excellence, which in all are enough to drive the organization on the path of success. You may have detailed, sophisticated presentations made to new Joinees / employees on organization culture but it essentially understood by employees as they interact with others in the office space.

Culture essentially drives organizational performance and effectiveness, more than competence it is the emotions and adherence to culture that are even more important. Emotions help managers coach employees during low performance, the growth paths can be delineated and one can essentially optimize the diversity. Emotions create and form the biggest culture capital in any company.

So the choice lies with you whether you would want to be in space where you work with people who are disinterested in their jobs. Who walk in, do their work and simply leave for the day not knowing how effectively they have contributed at work or you would like to create an environment where every team member functions as a partner in accomplishing your vision. Your company will succeed because you have built a culture of openness, a culture that promotes productivity and cohesiveness.

Author

Samruddhi Mulye

Sr Project Manager - plugHR

Samruddhi comes with over 12 years of HR experience with expertise in Compensation and Benefits, Performance Management, OB and Learning & Leadership. Samruddhi, in her prior assignments has worked with Infovision Software, Carlson Wagonlit travels, ABN Amro and Spanco.

So why do you work in HR?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 18:18:00 +0000

If you work in the field and have been interviewed by someone you probably would have come across this question- “Why did you choose to work in Human resources?”

Here are some responses which make me wonder

“I like to help people so I decided to work in HR”- well why don’t you do social service or work for a charity. HR is not about helping people; it is about getting the best outcomes for the business through people. It is about understanding the commercial aspects of the business and matching it up with the right talent.

“I like people” (as opposed to animals!!)- why HR then as most people you will come across while you are working in HR would be those who have been brought to your attention for untoward behavior, under performance, or those with a grievance. It may actually lead to an aversion to the human kind. You may start to prefer animals over us humans.

“I suck at numbers and I can’t sell so Finance or sales and marketing were not an option for me”- in that case you are not going too far in your HR career, any good HR professional understands that metrics and numbers are equally important in HR as in the other parts of the company.

“Oh I was into recruitment and I thought HR is similar”- you are right on one aspect that recruitment is an important aspect of HR, but HR has a much broader role and involves numerous other aspects. I personally believe that recruitment teaches you lots of skills that you can use as a HR professional namely asking probing questions, interpreting responses, reading body language, PATIENCE, handling vendors and reading through onerous documents (resumes, cover letters, agreements and contracts).

“I think that HR will be an office job I will not be required to travel or go in the field”- that I tell you my friend is a myth. While it is true that most HR roles will work out of an office. There are many times when a HR pro has to be on the go. If you work for a business with teams spread across different geographies then more than likely you would be required to travel for employee relations, performance management, recruitment, training etc. With the changing face of HR, the profession is becoming more dynamic, HR’s presence is required where the action is.

My story of working in HR is I fell in love with the field during my summer training, where I was working as a marketing intern in an IT services company. As an immensely curious intern I kept asking numerous questions to the HR manager sitting in the next cubicle. She was working on Talent development and mobility program. I got hooked to the idea of making change happen and promptly changed my majors to HR. And I have been in HR ever since.

So, I don’t know what floated your boat to HR land, but ask yourself this question and do share your responses with us.

Author

Garima Gupta

HR professional passionate about all things HR even after 13 years in the field. I have worked in different industries ranging from FMCG, retail, education and largely in financial services. I have been fortunate to get opportunity to work in India, China, Australia and USA. After various stints internationally, I have recently returned back home to US. I can be contacted for career advice and consulting.

Tricolor Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 18:34:00 +0000

As a child Tricolor always fascinated me and I wondered what is so special about the colors its constituted of. Till I came to know the real meaning that Green is a symbol of hope, joy, fertility and love, whereas the white stands for peace and honesty. The blue is for vigilance, truth and loyalty, perseverance and justice with saffron as a symbol of Indian courage. As I read about our country’s historical background fascination for our bright & colorful and meaningful flag grew. Tricolor gives me a sense independence and feeling of existence in the vast globe. I feel blessed to breathe free air and choose to follow my heart and thank all those who have sacrificed their valuable lives just to make sure that we are safe.

Feeling so strong in itself that wish my words could capture the apt tone. However my personal view regarding freedom is more to do with my thoughts and actions and considering the same course here I proudly share what freedom means to people at plugHR. Hope you get to see flavors of Tricolors in each of them…

Coming straight from CEO’s Desk who runs ‘Awesome Ventures’

Freedom to me is about chasing dreams, no matter how crazy, no matter how far. To be able to push the limits of wackiness and experience the thrill of creation. Freedom is also choosing to live each day in a manner that fits in for me things that matter, my run, my Tennis, my kids, my reads, my work, food, ok more food, parties and guitar. Freedom to disagree, make mistakes, sleep through, skip bath, stop being vegetarian are some I really really love.

Wish all the freedom you want

Prashant Bhaskar

Our Advocacy team running next to CEO office…

Freedom is option of having a choice in everything I do. Respect for my accountability and ownership .Having a voice through all media which also gives a freedom of opinion.

I am glad to be a free being and love it that way

Padmini Bhonsale

Here comes one from a highly agile and sharp HR Head

Butterfly from the cocoon, flower from a bud, seeds from a fruit....the former cannot even be talk about without mentioning the later who has just now allowed them be free...with hopes of a better and brighter tomorrow.

The sense of freedom can only be expressed by the heart to the mind of the one who just witnessed freedom. Filled with outrageous courage, the 'free' is ready to take on to the world. Spreading the wings of new colour, fragrance and promises for new fruit, the 'free' is free to explore the new dimensions of the ever changing world. What is written for them on the horizon is 'I can, I will and I shall" rather than "What, Why and How" which they have been reading on the walls of the closed protection. They are determined for success rather than the doubtfulness of the world from where they just came out.

Freedom at work invites that the same sense of 'being new'. A workforce filled with energy brings in new ideas and courage, new ways and means of success. They strive all to 'Think' and break the wall of monogamy to be what is has been. The glass is neither half-filled of half-empty for them, all they see is the opportunity of fill it further, an opportunity for success.

Navin Kumar

This one from the lady whose passion for the subject shows in her writing too..

We all say and truly feel proud of our nation and the spirit of Independence day... but I doubt if any of us can honestly feel the essence of this day because we’d never really had to fight for our freedom. We appreciate the sacrifice people made of their lives and continue to do so to keep us free... but how best can we emulate the spirit of this day. ..few things, I felt were apt and worth practising...

So here’s an opportunity to epitomize what Independence day truly means to us... Let us decide that – starting today, we will think differently, we will break free from the monotonous and negative thought processes and innovate and discover new dimensions to all aspects of life.. Be positive. Let us decide that – we take up new challenges, not getting bogged down with them and not allow the difficult situations to overpower us but instead let’s face them with a new zest and learn some wonderful lessons in life to treasure. Let us also decide that – We will now on only compete with ourselves and keep bettering at everything we did earlier. Not get into any competition that results into hatred, jealousy and creates greed that by large will only disturb the peace and harmony. Healthy competition is welcome! This in my way ... would probably be celebration of our Independence Day in truest sense...

Samruddhi Mulye

With this note I wish all of you HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY and may the spirit to remain free helps us to sustain our freedom. Let’s from today onwards shed all our inhibitions and together create a workplace where our independent thinking can take us to places.

Freedom : Walk where your heart leads you

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 17:20:00 +0000

“Walk where your heart leads you, there are no restrictions and no burdens.”

GAO XINGJIAN, Nocturnal Wanderer

This Quote is quite apt for the freedom that I feel should be there, how many of us really listen to heart and perform? The constant dilemmas between what our head states and our heart demands is a very regular rendezvous which keeps happening for even a smallest thing.

Freedom to some may be for speech, for innovation, from people, from various small things… But is it the real Freedom? I constantly ask this question to myself, and hence the weirdo in me is still very much alive..crazy…insomniac…and child like.

En route to freedom is achieved through various sacrifices, Sacrifices for the Country, people you love, for work that you do, sometimes even by surrendering yourself completely is also freedom which might philosophically be very different from slavery. Sacrifices for a larger motive, for a better life, for a better partner, for working in better company – Yes this is Freedom.

This is what I love about the quote mentioned above, let our heart leads us to freedom from every burden of judging people, making opinion without knowing their stories, passing unpleasing remarks and spreading negativity – In workplace, in personal lives, and everywhere else. Most of our problems revolves around these areas – and still we don’t change and create Freedom.

Why freedom should be more like how we have experienced it as a child, unaware about the fears, oblivious of what people will think about us, unmindful about eating the way we wanted to…laugh on even the smallest thing which looks silly now, wearing what is required and not what others will approve of….Innocent, fearless, Charming, without burdens – That’s Freedom.

How often we accept what people tell us about ourselves – without introspecting, isn’t that the constant burden of being alive but being controlled by someone else.

How often we put restrictions – rules, policies, processes, regulations, laws and what not – Is this how we were created? I seriously doubt that otherwise why we would love to Break rules and dream of living a break free kind of life but yes not without values and morals.

Alas! Many of us even put restrictions on eating on time…and not when we are hungry…think about it, is this freedom?

Bludgeoning ourselves with the thoughts full of unconstructiveness….envy, pride, jealousy, fear, revenge and what not? Yes some may argue that this is like living like a saint and not human…but here is the answer to it - when we were born, for some years we did not experience any of these – And yes this is how we are ‘CREATED’ to live freely – That is what FREEDOM is – and this is what FREEDOM means to me… J

Author

Archana Sharma - AVP Operations @plugHR

Corporate Constitution

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 16:46:00 +0000

The idea of writing this article initially felt like a burden but I realized that this was one opportunity I had to describe what freedom at workplace meant to me and how could I let that go away!

An idea to create an organization culture with an important component called “EMPLOYEE FREEDOM”! Already in love with this idea and being an HR professional what more can I ask for J

F - Freedom

R – Rational

E- Equality

E- Empowerment

D – Democracy at Workplace

O - Opportunity

M – Modern

"When people have freedom at work, they strive and deliver their best. They become emotionally committed to the organization, as opposed to being merely rationally committed. Emotionally committed employees go the extra mile in any assignment/project, actively seek new challenges and remain engaged with the organization through good times and bad."

Freedom at workplace means different things to different people but what’s in it mean for me?

When India got its independence and the constitution was formed as Indians we got ourselves some fundamental rights so I am going to try and list down some fundamental rights that could be implemented at workplace to practice “EMPLOYEE FREEDOM”.

Right to Innovate : The modern-day freedom at workplace means to make employees feel empowered, with a strong sense of ownership and contribution, a freedom to make mistakes and to have the power to innovate. Think out of the box and to do things differently. If you can do different things and the organization supports you it is a wonderful feeling. I wanted to change the outlook and format of our Newsletter drastically; the organization had full faith in me and gave me all freedom to experiment on new design and concepts. The end product was appreciated across. It all happened because of the freedom I enjoyed and the faith the organization had in me. This will help employees believe their work impacts the organization in a positive way.
Right to Express : Right to express my views, likes and dislikes without the fear of the consequences is one of the most critical rights. The freedom to exercise this right is not to tell my boss that his business strategy is flawed but to help nurture a culture of imbibing ownership and to think at all times how we can contribute in small or big ways to the success of the organization as if it were our own. Organization puts forth several initiatives for the benefit of the employees but some might not have the desired impact. Having the freedom to talk to your seniors/ managers or key people about it and suggest some ideas/ solutions and if they are ready to accept it you feel more owned.Expressing yourself will make u feel empowered to make a difference. Employers can encourage forums for two way communication such as Town Hall, All hands call, PULSE etc. which is a regular feature with engagements at Plug HR.

Right to work flexible : Flexibility to do whatever is required and whenever, as long as the job gets done well in time. The freedom to suit my work hours to accommodate family as well as social life is indeed a priority. I need my space and freedom to have a healthy work-life balance. It helps me to be a sane individual, who can contribute creatively towards work and other organizational initiatives. In Plug HR/Client Places, we have flexible working hours and this helps me a lot in balancing work life. In case of discussions involving people from various locations, we depend largely on the Go to Meeting online communication platform or Sabse Bolo (Conference Call), which allows us the freedom to participate even from home, well after the normal office hours. I believe work is important, but life is more important.
Right to contribute to change: Any change even at policy/process level that involves people always faces resistance. Getting employees buy in on changes that directly or indirectly impacts them is a critical way for any business to quickly adapt. We need to ensure that key influencers are always onboard for critical decisions as that they are well equipped to drive these at grass root levels. Creating a employee forum like” PULSE” helps in taking an opinion of employees through appointed staff representatives and also reassuring the employee that their opinion matters. Trust me, there is no better feeling than the fact that the company actually cares about my opinion. A sales guy does sales, a marketing guy markets and a backend support guy does exactly what the name suggests. With competence comes the company's resistance to change the successful profile to another function.

Virtual freedom: Social approach has taken a new meaning with social networks and employees wanting to be "connected" at all times. Companies hesitate to give full freedom as gaming, social networking, etc. are perceived as serious work dampeners, but @PlugHR it is essential to be social and tech savvy as we collaborate through virtual networks and reap the several benefits it has to offer. You will see employees of Plug HR active on Twitter (Tweetathon) ,Facebook, LinkedIn , actually name the platform and you bet at least a few of us would have left our pug marks there. This will help employer takes advantage of being a “global” company through employee interactions.

"Freedom at the workplace is the independence employees need in order to be motivated and perform to the best of their abilities. Freedom encompasses flexibility on where an employee chooses to work from, the opportunity to voice their opinions freely and the freedom to exercise their creativity to achieve organizational goals. We are responsible for our organization and the culture we drive in it. Hence it is time we take the ownership and drive the culture we always wanted in our organizations. HR is the key and @ Plug HR we create awesome ventures!"

At the end of all this, I am going to leave you with a couple of questions

What does freedom at workplace mean to you?

Is your organization really giving you the freedom you deserve? Its time you really asked yourself this question.

Author

Pallavi Prabhu - Sr. Project Manager @plugHR

My take on Freedom

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 10:58:00 +0000

Freedom holds different meaning to different people.

For the freedom fighters it was the idea of an independent and British free India.
For children it is to play & watch TV whenever they want.
For a woman it is to choose her career & lifestyle and
I don’t really know a man's point of view in this but from what I understand they would be really happy to be free from all the nagging. Actually, I think we all would like that J

This is a very generic or a very broad look at freedom. I feel that the perception of freedom undergoes changes with every stage in life. At least mine has. At preschool, I just wanted to play & watch cartoons Mickey Mouse, tom & jerry, he- man, spider man, etc. At Primary, going for a school trip would define living freely. At 18 going for overnight parties was freedom.

Now that I think about it "freedom" is not just going out for a trip or choosing a career or choosing your partner. Freedom is much more than that. Freedom is to be free from apprehensions, inhibitions, discriminations, thoughts of jealously or pulling people down and most importantly to be free from one's own past.

To me, freedom means to be able to learn from my mistakes. If I didn’t have freedom, I would have to do what the top authorities always tell me to do. I don’t have any room for mistakes so it would be harder to learn about life.

Freedom also means having the time to do things right. No freedom, in this case, would mean that I wouldn’t have any time for fantastic, clever thoughts. I would have to do things extremely precise and quick. When I don’t have freedom, I am under pressure constantly. While I am under so much pressure, it makes it a more stressful world to live in.

Freedom is to live in the present. Past always stops us from doing a lot of good for ourselves. Past gives us instances that many a times stops us from doing something or trying something new. Past experiences & lessons from them are important, but that should not be used as a barbed wire that stops us from venturing new areas of life.

I have been fortunate enough to have family & friends who have been supporting me in new ventures & giving me handy tips that keep me from getting hurt by the barbed wire.

To conclude, freedom is not just a term that comes up during Independence Day or republic day to prove a point but it’s something that is relative it varies from person to person & changes with time. The sooner you accept the truth you can be free & walk towards a better future!

One last example of what freedom means to me is being able to do many things without being forced into doing anything. No freedom means that I might have to enlist in the army reluctantly. I might even be forced to quarter troops and watch them take over my home! My life minus freedom would equal being controlled with everything. When I don’t have freedom I can’t do anything except for what the strict laws tell me to do.

In summary, we are lucky to be in a society of freedom. Just remember, we are the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Author:

Shipra Kundu - Project Manager @plugHR

Absolutely Confident.. Drastically Insecure!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 19:15:00 +0000

We’re all social creatures; and we think that in order to be sociable, we have to be liked by others. Somewhere in our mind, we dread to be considered as social outcasts. We are scared of losing our jobs, our friends, our partners, and there are zillions of things that we want to possess. But some people are so awfully insecure, that ‘doubt’ becomes their middle name! One surprising fragment of insecure people is of the defensive lot, who camouflage their insecurity by their over-confidence, but from within, they are one jellyfish!

They have values, but they never examine for themselves, as to why they believe in them. They effortlessly resort to manipulative behavior, to try and be in command of their friends and colleagues. They have an unruly knack of forcing people with their preferences, without trying to be compromising. They often seek advice from others, and later, passively-aggressively complain on having to face the consequences. They refuse to accept any constructive criticism and go up to any extent to receive a positive feedback. They are outrageously competitive in nature. Every interaction is a competition for them and every situation is an opportunity for them to dominate others. To create a sense of authority, they either make baseless arguments, or instantaneously change the subject of conversation.Their I-know-it-all attitude makes them constantly correct others.

People pleasers and chatterboxes are another addition to this league. Their typical behavior is to be sweet on the face and be extra nice to people. They speak relentlessly and endlessly, because they have the insecurity of not being heard, and are often known to be backstabbers. An astute observer can read an insecure person very quickly. They are chronic and perpetual liars, who simply lie for no reason at all, just to avoid being judged; but on the contrary, they inherently judge people. Anticipation of rejection or disapproval lead to all such actions, and hence they need reassurances and acknowledgment at all times.

Insecurities are a strong indicator of our character, and it is a fact that insecure people display their self-doubt without being conscious of it. So, before trying to spot the insecurities in other people we should introspect and dig into our insecurities to reorient our thoughts for an appropriate behavioral pattern for ourselves.

Why HR should make Business Cases?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 05:41:00 +0000

When you first read the topic , does it seems as though the profession is heading towards a paradoxical ( not paradigm) shift? In the past, there were hardly any instances of HR having to make a business case to the Board or CEO or senior management – which in essence means that today’s HR professional across levels has a clear understanding of the fact that each people related intervention also needs to have a cost-benefits analysis done, a feasibility or viability exercised conducted, senior management buy-in and clear linkages to business performance. Interesting as it sounds, it’s a challenging approach right ? Well, it certainly will be - because making a business case is not just an additional responsibility, it is a change of mindset which the HR professional must be cognizant of in current times.

Does this need to make a business case mean that each initiative has to have a defined ROI or a clear monetary impact? Not really and not in entirety. What it does mean is that the HR person will need to think beyond – he or she will need to assess what happens after the initiative in a more structured manner and the resultant effect of the initiative on the business. What it also means is that HR should be able to speak the business’s language and explain this effect to the leaders. Finally what it also means is – an absolute end to working on silos! It means collaboration and buy-in, thinking through and coming together.

So in brief how is it that HR makes a business case for its initiatives? To keep it simple – here are some quick, generic steps that will apply across most initiatives - this is indicative, not exhaustive, so you could add more aspects that you find relevant:

Understand the organization’s vision and business objectives, its implications on people and particularly to the concerned initiative/intervention.

Do a viability/feasibility study or a cost-benefit analysis – whatever you may choose to call the same, but basically a listing of the pros and cons ( should cover tangible and intangible impacts).

Budgetary and resource support needed and for what duration.

Market study of such initiatives ( if similar ones are run by competitor and your exit analysis shows that there has been attrition due to this being absent, as one of the study elements).

Challenges/Roadblocks that you perceive and senior management’s involvement in the same.

Project/Work plan with timelines and if this initiative has linkages to other future initiatives

If you are able to work along the above steps, your business case will be as comprehensive as it can be. The rest depends on how clearly this case is communicated and shared with the senior management!

About the author

Simran Oberoi is currently working as a Knowledge Advisor in SHRM India. She has over a decade of experience primarily in HR advisory services in the areas of Rewards (Benchmarking, Strategy, Job Mapping, Measurement), covering APAC, South Asia and the US), Long Term Incentives engagements, Organization Restructuring, Capacity Building, Competency Frameworks and Talent Development. In consulting roles, she has significant experience in key global client accounts, project and people management. She has an accreditation in Hay methodology and Job Mapping and as an APAC leader she has driven the Reward Information Global Sector Development strategy for 14 countries. In her current role she works in Knowledge Development which involves evaluation of key future areas, content creation as well as review for HR disciplines such as Executive Coaching & Leadership Development and Diversity, alongside Talent Development/Management and Rewards. It also involves research in key areas, the most recent ones being CXO/Leadership Development and Competencies.

Sorted in Life!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 21:07:00 +0000

You measure intelligence through IQ tests; they show a general combination of a person's intelligence and have strong predictive power. But they alone cannot really predict real-world success. High IQ and immense amount of knowledge is a must but by no means is a guarantee to success in professional or personal life. In fact many careers of intelligent professionals are derailed because they lack practical and emotional stability and are unable to control their feelings and emotions

Being practically and emotionally intelligent is nothing but being street smart; people who are “sorted in life” so who are these so called sorted people in life. People with this type of intelligence are quick to adapt, they know how to contour and select new situations to meet their needs and accomplish their goals and objectives. They work on their relationships with the goal of making it stronger be it with a team member, a colleague or a freind. They are the ones who try and understand about the people around them and the dynamics of the team or the group. They ask for the feedback and improvise and take criticisms with a spirit of learning. They certainly listen more and lecture less, value opinions and ideas and manage situations without coming across as manipulative, political or self absorbed souls.

One striking sign of practically and emotionally intelligent people is they pick their battles wisely; they practice self control in their communications and interaction. They know what to say to whom, when to say it and how to say it for its maximum effect. They exhibit a transparent picture of their character without coming across as fake individuals. They function without creating too much drama around situations and are neither diabetic sweet nor are they overtly dominant. They learn from their past experiences which in turn increases their productivity to a large extent

General IQ is genetic and can be inherited which is proven but practical intelligence and emotional stability is a skill set which is learned throughout. Being observant, analytical and practice to adapt are the keys to develop and sharpen this intelligence. In order to be successful in personal and professional life it is not sufficient to simply possess high IQ. In any given situation, it’s necessary to question our assumptions, consider the risk reward ratios and take sensible risks. We should allow ourselves and others to make mistakes and recognize the problems before they are out of hand.

Unknowingly, all of us are seeking trouble and misery by expecting our professional and personal life to be in a particular way without altering ourselves a bit. We expect everything around us to change except changing ourselves. All of us want continuous happiness, satisfaction at work and in relationships, joy, lots of time, good health without applying any practical logic to it that do we behave, do we think in a manner that would give us all that we want. We try to manipulate life at all stages, manipulate others, and manipulate work situations, events and incidents without realizing that this often does not work, it’s better to manipulate ourselves, change our mindset and become more aware of our own self.

So be practical, be emotionally stable but never mistake it for being selfish, shrewd, self absorbed or use people for personal gains. Be calculative in life but never lose respect for your loved ones, colleagues, co workers and their identity.

Five HR lessons from Steve Jobs!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 05:55:00 +0000

Steve Jobs has changed the way the world uses mobile phones, no more just an equipment to call on the go, but a device for all round communication and entertainment. Steve Jobs was not known to follow trends but he made the trends which people followed.

But what lessons can HR learn from Steve Jobs? Steve’s leadership qualities and his ability to think outside the square was what made Apple into a force to reckon with. Here are five lessons HR can learn from Steve Jobs:

Innovation

“Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.” -Steve Jobs

Innovation requires passion and the right environment to fuel the passion. Hire for potential and not just for experience. When people are passionate they produce exceptional results. We have all heard of the 80/20 rule of Google where employees get 20% of their time to innovate. HR pros let’s give innovation a chance.

Think Different

“Because the people, who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do!”-Steve Jobs

Innovation comes from ideas, and ideas from thinking. Don’t let ideas and creative thought process be drowned by red tape, legislation and procedures. Like Steve said, encourage crazy ideas which may seem preposterous because they may change the world.HR pros champion innovation and reward different thinking.

Continuous learning

“Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life."-Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs continued to learn from his failures throughout his life. Encourage people to continue learning and not be afraid to fail. People should feel that trying something different is not taboo. Focus on how the individual can learn from the mistakes and how they will not repeat it in the future. Continuous learning is important even for the HR professionals. Continuous learning is not only in classrooms but opportunities to work on secondments in other departments, learning from each other - through lunch and learn sessions, master classes and cross-mentoring.HR pros don’t stop learning.

Marketing and promoting by unusual means

“Customers don't know what they want until we've shown them.”- Steve Jobs

Steve did not wait for the customer to demand something instead he created products which the customer would desire and couldn’t do without.HR teams often fall apart when it comes to promoting their agenda whether it is related to Talent and succession or new social media policies or learning programs. Many HR teams make everything compulsory and get away from promoting and marketing to their customers, but they surely would not go a long way. If you have designed a great intervention or learning program find unique ways of promoting it.

User experience- creating experiences, customer comes first

“You've got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology - not the other way around."-Steve Jobs

While it is important to follow regulation and legislation, it is paramount to put yourselves in the user’s shoes before creating the next HR policy or procedure. No one is fond of filling long winded forms to get to a HR benefit. Just keep it simple silly!!

In conclusion, while there are several great lessons that Steve has taught us and will continue to inspire generations to come, here is a last one which applies to us all whether working in HR or not.

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me ... Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful... that's what matters to me.”-Steve Jobs

About the Author

Garima Gupta is a global HR Professional with passionate about all HR things even after 13 years in the field. She holds a rich working experience in different industries ranging from FMCG, retail, education and largely in financial services and has been fortunate to get opportunity to work in India, China, Australia and USA. After various stints internationally, she has recently returned back home to US and can be contacted for career advice and consulting on garimagupta.usa@gmail.com

Positive Words- Shots of Motivation!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 22:34:00 +0000

It’s one of those days of the week when there is stagnancy, inertia in the air. We are caught up in a state of limbo and unfortunately these days are repetitive; the mundane routine is bogging us down. We’re constantly waiting for something to happen, something to transform, something to shift us forward in our lives or relationships. Life seems to be happening around us, but we can’t seem to get on the track we’d like to be on. What keeps us motivated, inclined to carry on the daily monotonous repetition? It’s having things to look forward to like vacations, holidays, days off from work, weekends, promotions, a big event coming up, and lot more.

There is an additional aspect which keeps us motivated too in a very subtle way, it’s the words we hear and announce out loud. Words are potent! When ideas fail, words come in handy. They really have the ability to inspire, motivate, and persuade but at the same time they are entirely responsible to discourage, dismiss and dissuade. Whether it’s building a team, mending a relationship or launching a product the right words spoken at the right time can transform the absolute scenario. There are few sentences which motivate us at any point of time whether its nike saying “Just do it” or loreal telling you “ you are worth it”, for a moment they give you that zing and sway you to get going.

“I trust you!”stands number one in my list, when you listen to your boss, your spouse, your friends, people around you say that, swiftly there is a sense of confidence in the self, there is a need to fulfill the expectation of all the people who trust you, It instantly creates a self belief and an urge to be trusted all the time.

“Never give up” you fail, you stumble, you make blunders in life, at that stage if there is someone to back you up with these words, what do you do, you instantaneously react to the situation. It works vice – versa, just tell this to someone with utmost conviction and they will thank you all their lives to be by their side.

You are stuck, you are anticipating, you are procrastinating, “Make it happen” “Just start” “you can do it” these are the words you want to hear to help you rise and take that leap. In the midst of striving to reach your goals, to achieve those difficult targets, time when you are telling your strained muscles to stop, it is lines like these which leave an impact.

Praises, acknowledgement, and appreciation of all manner forever makes a person feel superior. But there are definite sentences which create an aura of motivation around us; something as effortless as “you deserve it” “Keep it up” “you rock” just builds a sense of achievement and a willingness to work towards maintaining that achievement comes automatically. Incentive theory of motivation works for most of the people, people are motivated to work because of the pay cheque that they receive every month, but the idea is if words akin to that pay cheque are used to encourage the employees the drive to work harder increases drastically.

In every course of life, we got to find our own motivation, be it positive self talk, plain conversation of encouragement, music that races with your heartbeats, movie that makes you get on the track and run, a superman or batman that inspires you to be your own superhero. Ultimately, we got to be our own cheerleader, accept ourselves and expect more from ourselves.

So, Stay motivated, Stay inspired and make a difference in the lives of people around you with your words and actions.

Cheers!

Are you Human Oriented?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 18:52:00 +0000

"JOIN OUR FAST-PACED COMPANY"
We have no time to train you.

"CASUAL WORK ATMOSPHERE"
You'll be here very late, very often -- might as well be comfortable.

"MUST BE DEADLINE-ORIENTED"
Your first four projects are already way overdue.

"SOME OVERTIME REQUIRED"
Did we mention that you'll be here very late, very often? And most weekends.

"DUTIES WILL VARY"
We might not check with you before adding more responsibilities

"CAREER-MINDED"
Female applicants must be childless, hope pregnancy is not on cards.

I came across these tweets which was shared with an intended pun but actually is a bitter reality check and an eye opener. These just reiterate that Human Resources has been more of treating Humans as resources. In the fast paced competitive work pace before we even realized Human got dropped somewhere midway and hence people became numeric assets good enough to be shown on dashboards. Numbers good enough to be deleted or added as per market climate.

Mostly organizations in urgency to increase the productivity try to optimize there bottom line which in turn results in aggressive target settings for the employees to produce desired results. As much as the top line is important ignoring employee wellness and a stress free environment is what should not be ignored either. These tweets portray the outcome based approach or behavior pertaining to most of the startup and SME where understanding human aspects still looks to be far cry.

My intension is not to counter the organization expectation but only if humans are treated as beings and not machines, as people and not just resources, as family not just assets, growth is inevitable.

So next time don’t look at your watch when somebody is late!!