HRinIndia

Life Lessons

2026-05-18T16:50:01.924+05:30

Important life lessons I wish I knew years ago:

1 lost money can be found, lost time is lost forever - protect what matters most
2 to learn, unlearn, relearn and then change yourself is a superpower
3 you are not your job
4 networking is about giving
5 the best teacher is your last mistake
6 good manners is as important as good education
7 do not take your good health for granted
8 be a better friend and value relationships
9 if you are waiting for a title to lead, you are not ready to lead
10 a work sponsor is more important than a mentor
11 a good story is data with a soul
12 stop worrying about what others think of you
13 if you want an easier life, work on harder problems
14 best teachers are life long students
15 imposter syndrome is real, and a good thing
16 fight against a sense of entitlement
17 half the battle is showing up
18 love and cherish your parents by giving them your time
19 success is not accidental
20 the best views are there for those who love the climb
21 lucky people work harder
22 takers may end up with more, but givers sleep better at night
23 memorizing is not learning
24 it is okay to look back, just don’t stare
25 knowing is not acting - I can > IQ
26 straight roads do not make great drivers
27 good listeners hear the unsaid (listen with your eyes)
28 be the person that you want to follow
29 do not limit your contribution to a job description
30 take care of your parents - the best gift that you can give yourself
31 customer service is not a department
32 in the long run, the optimists create the future
33 never ruin an apology with excuses
34 salary is for expenses. equity is wealth - do not rent your time
35 do not take a caring boss, joyful work or steady income for granted
36 as you get older, you love your parents more
37 challenge assumptions, starting with your own
38 we learn more from disagreements
39 best gift you can give yourself is quality time with parents
40 the older you get the less you care about what others think of you
41 be a good person but do not waste time trying to prove it
42 be comfortable with saying ‘I don’t know’ - there are no experts of tomorrow
43 being self-aware is a key to learning and growth; know yourself
44 first, invest in yourself, then help others win
45 if the answer is no, do not say maybe or yes
46 Don’t just translate, write something new and original; write for yourself - writing improves your thinking
47 It’s more important to do the right thing than to win an argument
48 do not buy your children what you never had, teach them what you never knew
49 begin with the end in mind
50 to make progress on your to-do list, you must also keep a to-don’t list
51 leave everything and everyone better than you found them
52 be kind and polite to everyone
53 Here’s how luck finds you:
—Work harder than expected
—Stay teachable
—Give without expecting a get
—Read and write more
—Show up on time
—Focus on your customers
—Develop good manners
—Be humble
—Be kind and generous
—Surround yourself with smarter people
54 bosses we remember:
—provided us a safe space to grow
—opened career doors
—defended us when we needed it
—recognized and rewarded us
—developed us as leaders
—inspired us to stretch higher
—led by example
—told us our work mattered
—forgave us when we made mistakes
55 The older you get, the more quiet you become. Life humbles you so deeply as you age. You realize how much nonsense you’ve wasted time on.
56 Hire based on high rate of learning and good judgment
57 straight lines do not make great drivers
58 stand in the middle of the road for too long and you may get hit from both sides -be decisive
59 if you do not know the answer, it is okay to say 'I don't know, but I will find out'
60 do not follow or admire mean people - be the person that you would want to follow
61 decisions you made 5-10 years ago shaped where you are today; decisions you make now will shape where you’ll be in 5-10 years.
What's the best from 61 above ?

ChatGPT - Prompts for Job Search

2026-03-09T10:32:00.001+05:30

1. The Zero Callback Diagnostic

“Act as a senior recruiter. Analyze my resume, target role, and application history. Identify the most likely reasons I am not receiving interview calls. Highlight positioning issues, keyword gaps, weak experience framing, or role mismatch. Resume and details: [paste].”

2. The Target Role Clarity

“Based on my background and skills, identify the most realistic job titles I should target. Eliminate roles that are misaligned or too broad. Define a focused job search direction. Background: [paste].”

3. Application Strategy Builder

“Create a structured job application strategy based on my target role and experience. Define how many roles to apply to, how to customize applications, and how to track progress efficiently.”

4. Recruiter Perspective Rewrite

“Review my resume and LinkedIn profile from a recruiter’s 10 second scanning perspective. Identify what stands out and what is unclear. Rewrite key sections for immediate clarity and impact. Profile: [paste].”

5. Cold Outreach Message Builder

“Draft a concise and professional message I can send to recruiters or hiring managers for the role [job title]. The message should communicate relevance, value, and interest without sounding desperate.”

6. Interview Question Simulator

“Act as a hiring manager for the role [job title]. Conduct a realistic mock interview. Ask relevant questions and evaluate my answers. Provide specific feedback on clarity, structure, and confidence.”

7. Final Job Search Audit

“Review my complete job search approach including resume, targeting strategy, outreach, and interview preparation. Refine it into a cohesive, structured system designed to maximize interview probability.”

This post is bought to you by HRinIndia - Indias Biggest HR network in India

For more informative videos Like, Share and Comment on Vidoes. Subscribe to our channel to get new video alerts.

Contact - hrinindia@gmail.com or whatsapp@9880080321

Social Media Links -

Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@hrinindia5279

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/21813/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hrinindia_/

Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/HRinIndia/

Blogs - https://hrinindia.blogspot.com/

Twitter -https://x.com/HRinIndia

US Job market

2026-03-06T10:37:05.537+05:30

Platform engineering pod at a growth-stage fintech got nuked yesterday

15 engineers. Gone. Badge access revoked at 9 AM during all-hands.

2 L6s kept. Given Cursor Pro licenses and access to their new "infrastructure copilot"

$2.1M in annual salary eliminated overnight

The kicker? Management had been running parallel experiments for 6 weeks. Senior + AI tools shipping infrastructure changes 60% faster than the full pod

Same code quality. Better documentation because the AI forces consistent commenting

Pod was pulling $140K average. The two seniors are at $220K each but doing 8x the throughput

CFO literally said "We found our 10x engineers. They're 1x engineers with 10x tools"

15 people found out they were redundant by watching Slack channels disappear from their sidebar

The seniors who survived? They're not celebrating. They know they're managing their own replacement

Company already posted the Bangalore openings. Looking for "AI-assisted platform engineers" at $35K USD equivalent

Math was never going to work any other way.

AI Agents are taking away real jobs and the market in US for coders is becoming tougher by the day

Prompts - Claude for Presentation

2026-03-05T12:21:00.000+05:30

The Complete Presentation Plan “Act as a professional presentation advisor. Create a complete presentation plan for [topic]. Define the objective, the target audience, the key message, the slide flow, and the number of slides. Make sure the structure is logical, engaging, and professional.”
Slide Structure and Flow Architect “Design a slide-by-slide structure for a presentation about [topic]. For each slide, provide a clear title and explain its purpose so the presentation flows naturally from start to finish.”
The Full Slide Content Generator “Create complete content for each slide of a presentation about [topic]. Write concise, presentation-friendly bullet points for every slide, ensuring clarity, professionalism, and easy understanding. Audience: [describe audience].”
The Story-Based Presentation Creator “Turn the topic [topic] into a compelling presentation using a clear storytelling structure (hook → problem → idea → solution → conclusion). Make the presentation engaging while remaining professional and informative.”
Visual Direction and Design “Suggest professional visual and design guidance for each slide of this presentation about [topic]. Recommend design styles, charts, diagrams, icons, and visual elements that improve clarity and give the slides a clean, modern look.”
Slide Simplification and Clarity Editor “Review the content of the following presentation and rewrite it to be presentation-friendly. Reduce the text, define key points, improve clarity, and ensure each slide communicates one clear idea. Content: [paste content].”
Improve Presentation Flow and Impact “Improve the flow, transitions, and impact of this presentation. Rewrite the slide titles and key points so the presentation feels smooth, confident, and professional from start to finish. Content: [paste].

How to make Indian talent #AI ready

2026-02-17T12:17:00.001+05:30

#AI will change the way people work, but it will not take away jobs completely. This is what Puneet Chandok, President of Microsoft India and South Asia, said while speaking at the India explained that AI will mostly change how work is done, not replace workers entirely.

He said “AI will not kill jobs. AI will unbundle jobs… Your job is a bundle of tasks. What AI will do is it will unbundle it,”

Puneet Chandok said that most jobs are made up of many small tasks. AI can handle some of these tasks, especially the repetitive ones. But work that needs human thinking, creativity, emotions, and judgement will still need people.

In simple words, AI will not “remove” jobs. Instead, it will change them. Some parts of a job may become automated, while new responsibilities may be added. Because of this, learning new skills will become very important.

“We have potentially, for the 1st time in humankind, the ability to manufacture intelligence,” he said.“Intelligence is the most valuable commodity on the planet.” He said that it has been roughly 3 yrs since the “ChatGPT moment,” yet progress in model capability has been rapid.

“The models that you’re seeing today, the capabilities that you’re seeing today, are unlike anything we’ve seen even a few months ago,” he said.

India is in a good position to benefit from AI. Many Indian professionals are already using AI tools at work. A large number of companies are also exploring AI systems to improve productivity and efficiency.

India’s strong digital systems, like Aadhaar and UPI, show how quickly the country can adopt new technology. With government support and private investment, AI could become a major growth driver for India.

AI as more than just a tool. In the future, AI systems could act like digital assistants or teammates. They may be able to understand tasks, make decisions, and complete work with minimal supervision. However humans will still be in control

Engineers and others interested in AI must keep learning. Those who understand and use AI will grow in their careers. Those who ignore it may struggle in the future.

#India is ready for #AI revolution and is going to the Worlds largest talent pool ready and raring to go.

What about your company ? As a CHRO / Head HR how are you making your engineers ready to adapt AI tools like #Cursor #ClaudeCode to increase productivity dramatically.

#HRinIndia,@HRinIndia,#AskHR,@AskHR,#RaghavHR,@RaghavHR,#AI,#HRMS,#TalentAcquisition,#TalentManagement,#SHRM,#SHRMIndia,#PeopleMatters, u/PeopleMatters,#ETHR

AI tools to learn

2026-02-14T11:06:00.002+05:30

If you master these 11 tools, you’re already ahead of 90% people.

1. ChatGPT = solve any problem

2. PicWish = remove backgrounds

3. Descript = edit podcasts

4. Perplexity = research anything

5. ElevenLabs = clone voices

6. Gamma = design documents

7. Suno = compose music

8. Runway = edit videos

9. Canva = design graphics

10. RecCloud = summarize YouTube

11. Grammarly = perfect writing

Happy learning

Shaping your HR in AI era

2026-02-06T11:55:00.007+05:30

HR and business leaders are standing at the edge of a profound shift. AI is moving beyond chatbots and task helpers into a new era of Superagents—autonomous, outcome-focused systems that can redesign how work gets done across your entire enterprise.

The Superworker Organization: AI Goes Enterprise HR and Leadership Imperatives for 2026 reveals what this means for HR, leadership, and the business as a whole. Built on months of research, real-world examples, and consultative work with leading organizations, this body of research by Josh Bersin moves beyond predictions and answers three critical questions:

What practical blueprint should HR and business leaders follow in 2026 and beyond?

How do super agents change the very purpose and operating model of HR?

What new AI and data architectures are required to support enterprise-grade autonomy?

Super Agents are transforming domains like recruiting, talent, L&D, workforce scheduling, pay equity, internal mobility, and employee enablement. You’ll see why “build vs. buy” is shifting back toward configurable, data-driven platforms—and what that means for your vendor strategy. And you’ll gain a clear, pragmatic view of the skills, leadership practices, and governance required to build trusted AI in the flow of work.
Global Industry Analyst and HR expert Josh Bersin emphasizes that, in the age of AI, HR & Business leaders need to prioritize certain strategic approaches to navigate the new HR transformation mandate, including:

Creating AI architecture, since performance depends on the quality, timeliness, and security of the underlying corpus—not the number of flashy agents you buy.

Becoming citizen developers, because today’s systems require constant tuning, though they’re easy to program using prompts

rather than code.

Taking care of employees, as they’re the most valuable resource within any organization, and rates of employee commitment and engagement are plummeting.

Top 10 HR issues CHRO focusing in January 2026

2026-01-19T13:22:00.004+05:30

Based on major reports from Gartner, SHRM, AIHR, and industry experts.

Define & Execute a Clear HR-specific AI Strategy → Create an AI roadmap specifically for HR (not just “use ChatGPT more”) → Focus on high-impact areas: recruitment screening, employee support chatbots, skills mapping, performance insights, personalized learning → Evolve the HR operating model — this is predicted to give the biggest productivity lift (~29%) → Audit current AI usage for bias, fairness, and explainability
Shape the Human + Machine Workforce (Now-Next Talent Strategy) → Map which roles/tasks will be augmented, automated, or eliminated in the next 12–36 months → Build massive reskilling & upskilling programs (especially AI fluency + human-centric skills: creativity, judgment, empathy) → Design new job architecture for hybrid human–AI–gig teams → Redesign workflows to reduce human effort/friction (not just save time)
Mobilize Leaders to Routinize Change → Shift leadership development from “inspire change” → “make change normal/routine” → Train managers in change leadership, coaching in the AI era, psychological safety, and handling constant uncertainty → Equip leaders to manage change fatigue and prevent burnout
Address Culture Atrophy & Rebuild Trust/Performance Link → Be brutally honest about the real Employee Value Proposition (what the company actually expects/requires in 2026) → Close the gap between stated culture and daily reality (very common cause of “regrettable retention”)

Tier 2 – High-Impact Operational & People Priorities

These usually sit right behind the strategic four above.

Accelerate Skills-First / Skills-Based Talent Practices → Move away from degree/job-title obsession toward real skills inventories → Implement AI-powered skills ontology + internal talent marketplace
Strengthen Employee Wellbeing & Burnout Prevention → Run regular pulse checks specifically on change fatigue/stress → Modernize total rewards (tailored benefits, mental health resources, sustainable workload design)
Modernize Leadership & Manager Capabilities → Focus on coaching, AI literacy, empathy + tough performance conversations → Shift manager role: less admin/evaluation → more change leadership & people development
Strengthen Data, Measurement & ROI Mindset for HR Initiatives → Define clear success metrics for every major HR project (especially AI ones) → Build stronger HR analytics capability

Quick Tactical / Compliance Reminders for Early 2026(These vary by country/region, but frequently mentioned)

Audit & update for new pay transparency laws
Review DEI programs for legal defensibility & real business impact
Strengthen data privacy/security practices (especially with more AI in HR)
Refresh flexible/hybrid work policies for fairness & productivity

Bottom-line 2026 mantra for most HR leaders right now:

"AI is the biggest wave, but humans who can work with AI + constant change are still the ultimate competitive advantage."

If your organization is still mostly in "AI experiment mode" → 2026 is the year most serious players move to "AI responsibility & measurable value" mode.

Which of these areas feels most urgent (or most under-resourced) in your current organization? I can go much deeper on any specific point!

HR Strategy 2026

2026-01-14T12:30:00.001+05:30

The post highlights TCS's Q3 FY26 workforce reduction of 11,151 employees, totaling over 30,000 cuts in six months, driven by cost pressures, profit declines, and AI-enabled restructuring, with voluntary attrition at 13.5% signaling internal dissatisfaction.

Management's conference call language about "releasing" mid- and senior-level staff unable to adapt post-reskilling underscores ongoing redundancies, aligning with sector-wide shifts where AI compresses team sizes and prioritizes skilled roles over junior-heavy models.

This trend risks amplifying India's graduate unemployment, with IT's historical absorption of millions now shrinking; TCS stock's 25% yearly drop reflects investor concerns over sustained growth in a productivity-led era.

TCS continued its multi-quarter workforce optimization, driven by AI-enabled efficiencies, cost pressures, and a shift toward higher-skilled roles. The company did not disclose exact quarterly exit breakdowns in official documents, but combined official data and management commentary provide the following insights:

Total Headcount: 582,163 at quarter-end (down 11,151 or 1.9% from 593,314 at the end of Q2 FY26).

This marks a cumulative decline of over 25,800 employees in FY26 so far (April-December 2025), and approximately 31,000 from June to December 2025.

Voluntary Exits: Official disclosures report voluntary attrition at 13.5% on an LTM basis for IT services (unchanged from prior quarters).

This rate represents voluntary exits over the past 12 months divided by average headcount. Using an approximate average headcount of ~588,000 for Q3 (midpoint between Q2 and Q3 totals), the quarterly voluntary attrition rate is estimated at ~3.375% (13.5% / 4), implying around 19,845 voluntary exits in Q3 alone. However, this is an estimate; exact quarterly voluntary exits are not disclosed. Unions have alleged that some "voluntary" exits are coerced through benching, performance manipulation, or pressure, potentially inflating this figure.

Involuntary Exits: Approximately 1,800 employees were involuntarily released in Q3 as part of ongoing restructuring.

This aligns with TCS's broader plan to reduce ~2% of its global workforce (approximately 12,000 roles) in FY26, primarily targeting mid- and senior-level positions unable to adapt post-reskilling.

Chief HR Officer Sudeep Kunnumal stated, "The company continues with the restructuring exercise and will continue this exercise until the end of this year."

These exits are linked to AI-driven role rationalization, with reports indicating impacts on 10-20 year veterans and specific locations like Pune (376 affected).

Total Exits and Net Decline: Combining voluntary (estimated ~19,845) and involuntary (1,800) yields approximate total exits of ~21,645 in Q3. With a net headcount decline of 11,151, this implies gross hiring of ~10,494 during the quarter (exits - decline = hires). This hiring focused on freshers with "higher order skills," as TCS doubled its fresher intake QoQ to build an AI-ready talent pool.

HR Strategy 2026

Short Term -

This checklist focuses on quick wins to stabilize operations amid restructuring and external pressures like visa fees.

Conduct a comprehensive workforce audit: Map current headcount against AI-driven role requirements, identifying redundancies in mid/senior levels and skill gaps in junior roles.
Review attrition data: Analyze voluntary exits (e.g., 13.5% LTM) by department and tenure to pinpoint dissatisfaction drivers like benching or performance pressures.
Accelerate AI reskilling programs: Target training for at least 20-30% of the workforce annually, focusing on practical AI applications to minimize involuntary exits.
Ramp up campus hiring: Finalize offers for 40,000+ freshers in FY26, prioritizing AI, data science, and digital skills through programs like off-campus drives.
Assess H-1B dependency: Calculate cost impact of $100,000 fees (e.g., potential $650M hit) and shift 10-20% of US roles to local hires or offshore models within the next quarter.
Enhance employee engagement surveys: Launch quarterly pulse checks to address internal dissatisfaction, aiming to reduce voluntary attrition by 2-3% through targeted retention initiatives.
Partner with unions/employee forums: Proactively discuss restructuring to mitigate allegations of coerced exits and build trust.
Optimize recruitment pipelines: Double fresher intake QoQ while integrating AI tools for efficient screening and onboarding.
Develop contingency plans for visa changes: Identify alternative talent pools in nearshore locations (e.g., Mexico, Canada) to offset US margin erosion (100 bps potential hit).
Monitor financial integration: Collaborate with finance to track restructuring expenses and ensure they support margin stability (e.g., 25.2% operating margin).

Long Term

This checklist draws directly from industry trends, emphasizing AI integration, cost efficiency, and talent agility to drive profitability and growth.
Embed AI in talent acquisition: Use AI-powered tools for predictive hiring, focusing on "higher-order skills" to build an AI-ready workforce from campus recruits.
Prioritize continuous reskilling: Aim to upskill 100,000+ employees yearly in AI and emerging tech, with clear pathways for adaptation to avoid mass involuntary exits (e.g., ~1,800 per quarter).
Foster a culture of internal mobility: Reduce voluntary attrition by promoting cross-functional moves and reskilling non-adapters, treating "release" as a last resort.
Localize global operations: Increase local hiring in key markets like the US (target 70% citizens/residents by FY27) to mitigate H-1B fee impacts and enhance client trust.
Balance offshore-onsite models: Shift routine tasks offshore to cut costs (20-30% savings) while maintaining high-margin AI deals onsite.
Implement data-driven attrition management: Track metrics like min_retweets or engagement in internal forums to preempt exits, aiming for below 12% LTM attrition.
Diversify talent pipelines: Expand beyond India with hires in Europe/UK (e.g., 5,000 over three years) and nearshore centers to buffer against visa policy risks.
Integrate HR with business strategy: Align reskilling with revenue goals (e.g., $1.8B AI services) to ensure talent supports productivity-led growth.
Promote ethical restructuring: Transparently communicate layoffs, offering severance and outplacement to maintain morale and brand reputation amid unemployment risks.
Leverage analytics for profitability: Model visa fee scenarios (e.g., 50-150 bps margin hit per employee) and adjust contracts to pass through costs, ensuring EPS stability.

What He should do ?

2024-12-02T22:45:00.001+05:30

• Lead by example: Just as business leaders are role models, senior HR leaders have to practice what they preach, too. Instead of simply telling

other leaders to build staff quality through training, to bring disciplined accountability to performance, and to set and deliver goals—senior HR leaders also have to model good HR.

HR for HR increases credibility.

HR departments should be iconic examples of hiring, training, rewarding, communicating, and organizing work.

• Create a powerful HR department through information: One mega message of this book is that, across the enterprise, the war for talent

should morph to victory through organization. HR departments should be better than the people in them. Our study reinforces the adage that information is power, but we would add that this is true only as long as the information is used to impact business decisions. Always be ready to show the impact of HR investments on desired business outcomes.

• Encourage collaboration within HR: HR professionals within the HR department should learn to work together. There are centrifugal forcespulling HR into subspecialties (e.g., reward experts have their WorldatWork conferences, organization designers have their organization design forums, learning specialists have their Association for Talent Development [formerly ASTD] group, etc.). While deep expertise is helpful in discovering new insights, we found more impact in solving business problems through integrated solutions—for example, talent acquisition, training, and development, and compensation should not be

done in siloed vacuums. Senior HR leaders should encourage centripetal forces that combine their specialist and unique insights into shared commitments to solve business problems. Integrated HR solutions matter

more than isolated HR practices.

• Bridge HR with other functions: Permeable boundaries should exist not only within HR, but across business functions. HR departments need to learn to collaborate with other business groups. By collaborating with the marketing department, HR can access consumer and industry trends and make sure that customer criteria shape culture, leadership brand, and

other HR investments. Marketing insights also can help HR build an HR, employer, and employee brand that distinguishes the HR department.

Collaborating with the finance department can help manage cash flow (both the revenue and cost side) and creates intangibles that have market value. HR can help shape leadership capital metrics that are of interest to investors. Collaborating with the information technology (IT) department can ensure the seamless flow of external information into internal systems and hence into actions.

HR Compliances

2024-12-02T22:33:00.001+05:30

Learn current and anticipate future regulation: While few HR professionals are regulatory experts, they can access this expertise.

Without reading and mastering pages of regulatory code, HR can be aware of current and emerging regulation and anticipate its

consequences. Getting ahead of regulation avoids oversight.

• Do regulation forums with business leaders and employees: The purpose of these briefings is not to limit innovation, to denounce regulators, or to create fear, but to be transparent about what is happening. In one

company, corruption practices were unclear in many markets. The HR professionals put together an online and in-person workshop on

unacceptable corruption behaviors. This presentation informed employees before any problems arose.

• Act quickly and fairly when inappropriate behavior occurs: When HR professionals hear of inappropriate behavior, they should act quickly with due diligence and justice. Had HR responded sooner to the senior xenophobic leader noted earlier, an enormous amount of time and reputation could have been saved.

Again, not all complaints are legitimate, but whistle-blowers should be heard. HR professionals should be listening posts both by personal contact (e.g., interviewing those who

leave the company) and by empirical data (e.g., a disproportionate number of employees might leave the company from one division).

• Be a role model: The HR department should live to a higher standard, both in legal compliance and in appropriate management practice. We have seen HR departments who encourage others to comply with regulation, but do not do so themselves. This hypocrisy limits influence.

Author Dave Ulrich

Gurudakshina - Gratitude

2024-05-16T10:28:00.002+05:30

The concept of gurudakshina is very ancient and it is unique to the Indian culture and tradition. If you are absolutely naïve about India, then it’s advisable that you first try to understand the meaning of a guru and the significance of his presence in the lives of those around him. This, in turn, will help you to understand what guru dakshina is. In very simple words, a guru can be described as a teacher, though, as per the Hindu dharma, the role of a guru in the life of his students is much more than just teaching.

In modern times, the role of a teacher has just got limited to imparting knowledge of various subjects like Mathematics, Science, English, etc, to pupils. However, in ancient India, a teacher or a guru was a spiritually evolved guide. Along with the knowledge of various subjects, he also taught his students how to live a disciplined and principled life.

A guru was the spiritual guiding force in the life of his students. In fact, as per the ancient Hindu tradition, one had to live life in four stages known as ashrams.

Considering that a man can live for a 100 years, each stage was divided into a span of 25 years. The first stage or ashram was Brahmacharya, spanning the first 25 years of a person’s life. During this time, a man lived in the house of his guru. The next stage was Grihastha, which was to be lived as a married man and householder.

This was followed by Vanaprastha, which comprised of performing penance in a forest. The final one was Sanyasa, in which a man lived as an ascetic. It’s the life of Brahmacharya that is most closely connected with the concept of gurudakshina.

In ancient times, a student lived the first 25 years in the house of his guru, which was called gurukul. A beautiful thing about gurukul was that all students resided together as equals irrespective of their social standing. The students learnt from the guru and also helped him in his day-to-day life like his own children. It was at the conclusion of this formal education that one was required to repay his guru through a dakshina.

The Indian tradition of guru dakshina was meant to serve as a way of showing respect and thanks to the guru. The repayment was not always monetary. At times, a teacher used to simply ask his student to execute an important task.

However, the guru often received a valuable gift or donations from the pupil and his family as his gurudakshina. Though the life style of Indians has changed majorly down the years, yet the reverence and respect we pay to our teachers is still as it was a hundred years ago.

2024

The MD & CEO of IDFC First bank is V.Vaidyanathan. Born in Chennai, he studied at Birla Institute of Technology (Mesra).

The story goes that when he got the admission into BITS, he did not have the money to travel there to appear for the interview and complete the counselling formalities. Mr. Gurdial Saini, his then maths teacher lent him Rs.500 to travel for the interview. Vaidya studied at BITS, Mesra and did well in his professional life.

Vaidya searched for him to repay but Mr.Saini had moved jobs. Many years later, with the help of a former colleague, he got to know that Mr.Saini is in Agra, called him up, expressed his gratitude for the timely help.

Last week, IDFC FIRST Bank made a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges. The notice reads:

"Pursuant to Regulation 30 of the SEBI Listing Regulations read with Regulation 7(2) and 6(2) of the SEBI Insider Trading Regulations, we wish to inform you that Mr. V. Vaidyanathan has transferred 1,00,000 fully paid-up equity shares of IDFC FIRST Bank Limited held by him in his personal capacity to his former school teacher, Mr. Gurdial Saroop Saini, as a gift, without any consideration as a token of gratitude for his teacher's help to him at an earlier stage in his life".

It is indeed a heart touching gesture which must be appreciated and practiced by all HR professionals.

Surround yourself with people who support you !

2023-07-19T10:59:00.002+05:30

#hrinindia

#raghavhr
#askraghav
#hrinfluencers
#hrleaders
#humanresources
#humanresourcesmanagement
#nhrdn
#hris
#peoplematters
#ethrworld

Lessons learnt from this video. Simple but powerful one.

Surround yourself with people who support you.
Never Give up trying
Try and tray again till you succeed
Power of people
Stay positive always

..

..

You will succeed rest assured
Only if you are surrounded with positive people around you.

Learn

2023-04-10T12:42:00.000+05:30

#hrinindia

#raghavhr
#askraghav
#hrinfluencers
#hrleaders
#humanresources
#humanresourcesmanagement
#nhrdn
#hris

Do you agree ?

7 Habits

2023-03-28T09:16:00.009+05:30

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

1️⃣ BE PROACTIVE: Focus and act on what you can control and influence instead of what you can’t.

2️⃣ BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND: Define clear measures of success and a plan to achieve them.

3️⃣ PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST: Prioritize and achieve your most important goals instead of constantly reacting to urgencies.

4️⃣ THINK WIN-WIN: Collaborate more effectively by building high-trust relationships.

5️⃣ SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD: Influence others by developing a deep understanding of their needs and perspectives.

6️⃣ SYNERGIZE: Develop innovative solutions that leverage differences and satisfy all key stakeholders.

7️⃣ SHARPEN THE SAW: Increase motivation, energy, and work/life balance by making time for renewing activities.

❓ What is the most important one for you?

Stop Moonlighting - Narayana Murthy Founder Infosys

2023-02-27T22:07:00.006+05:30

Mr Narayana Murthy Founder Infosys has given his advise to the younger generation about what to do and what not to.

Murthy said that youngsters should not get involved in moonlighting or entertain work from home culture. Instead, they should work from office. He encouraged the younger generation to ensure that ethics and laziness are given special focus.

"My fervent desire and humble desire to youngsters is please don't fall into this trap of I will moonlight, I will do work from home, I will come to office three days in a week," Murthy said during the recent event.

India needs a culture of honesty where there is no favoritism. Murthy also added that India needs quicker decision making and hassle-less transactions to prosper. "We need to build a culture of quick decision making, quick implementation, hassle less transactions, honesty in transactions, no favoritism."

Murthy felt that currently only a small bunch of people who work hard, are honest, and have good work ethics and discipline in the country.

While we may have our opinion which is vastly different from the views of NRN sir but we have to admit that the views expressed are contextual and youth should take his message seriously and try to adapt to the current situation.

Key take aways of this -

Avoid moonlighting

Be honest

Don't be lazy in the early part of career

Work from Office

Be highly ethical in whatever you do.

Who is responsible for this ?

2023-02-21T12:06:00.003+05:30

It is quite sad to see the state of affairs at Wipro.

Now they are asking candidates if they are keen to accept a job offer with Rs.3.50 lakhs per annum, citing challenging business environment.

#hrinindia

#raghavhr

#askraghav

#hrinfluencers

#hrleaders

#humanresources

#humanresourcesmanagement

#nhrdn

#hris

Whats New at HRinIndia ?

2023-02-12T11:26:00.001+05:30

HRinIndia is India's Biggest Online HR Community with more than 80,000 professional members from Human Resources Management Function.

It is proposed to networking and connect members by having the following activities -

#HRJobs

#HRInterns

#HRNews

#HREvents

#HRMentors

#HRAdvisors

#HRConsulting

#HRSoftware

#HRTrainings

#HRCampus

All these activites will be facilitated by the Group and members will get support from the ever growing HR Community.

We are looking for volunteers who are willing to own responsibility under each of the above categories. In case you or any HR friend is interested feel free to send in a mail to hrinindia@gmail.com

Happy Learning and Networking

Raghav

Founder HRinIndia

Indias Biggest HR Network

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/21813/

IT Sector - Quarterly Performance Reviews

2022-05-31T13:25:00.010+05:30

With the war for talent raging on companies are adopting newer strategies to hire and retain top talent.

Performance appraisal is being done on an annualized basis and the anniversary hikes are doled out based on the performance. For outstanding performers companies are promoting to higher level positions.

To retain top talent, IT major Wipro has now decided to review performance on a quarterly basis rather than annual. Around 70% of employees seen to be high performers stand to benefit from this move. “We doubled our fresher intake for FY22 compared to previous year. Our plan is to double this again in FY23. We have decided to increase the frequency of promotion cycles for 70% of our colleagues from junior bands,” Wipro CEO Thierry Delaporte said after the company’s January-March earnings.

Anniversary Hikes

the top five IT companies were earlier giving hikes in the range of 6-10% to the lower-end performers in select skillsets in the digital space have now hiked this slab to 15-25%

Once the pressure on talent supply eases companies will revert to anniversary hikes and performance reviews.

Growing Demand

Nasscom has estimated that the demand-supply gap for digital talent will increase 3.5X to around 1.4-1.8 million jobs by 2026.

The gap between supply and demand is widening year after year putting pressure on wage inflation. This will eventually lead to margin contraction impacting the overall profitability of Software Services companies.

Skill mismatch

As per the estimates the demand for the skills are different while the availability of the technical skills leading to disruption.

Strategies -

1. Increase entry level salaries during campus hiring

2. Promoting high performers - change in policy

3. Quarterly Performance Reviews

4. Retention Bonus

5. Hire aggressively with decent spike

6. Liberal perks

7. Overseas assignments and postings

8. Reskilling the engineering team

9. Hire Train Deploy

10.Pro-active hiring and keeping a bench

Creating Cloud Talent Pool

2022-02-23T13:11:00.001+05:30

Axis Bank has reserved 15 vacant positions in its human resources department for ‘homemakers’. If this hiring programme — titled ‘HouseWorkIsWork’ — is out of the ordinary, what led to it is even more unusual.

A homemaker, Pallavi Sharma sent in a CV that spelt out how her responsibilities in the Sharma household — which is her own — qualified her for the role she had applied for.

Rajkamal Vempati, president and head — HR, Axis Bank says Pallavi’s CV set them thinking, and encouraged them to be open to hiring homemakers coming right out of a career break, or without prior experience, provided they have the requisite qualifications and job-oriented skills.

This hiring exercise is being driven by Pallavi, now an Axis Bank employee. It is inclusive, having been extended to not just women, but also men, and those with other gender identities. And also those with different sexual orientations.

“We recognise that homemakers could be of all genders. Though majorly, it is women who are seen in the role of a homemaker: a thing we hope will change with more and more women taking the plunge in corporate skies,” she says.

“We have received hundreds of CVs from women, men and LGBTQIA+ homemakers,” reveals Rajkamal and notes that the hiring team would make the effort to connect and evaluate each of them.

The minimum qualification is graduation and work experience can range from 0 to 15 years.

Breaking stereotypes

Rajkamal calls for shift in thinking that values skills honed at home — budgeting, housekeeping, learning and development (of their children) — as applicable to the workplace. Rajkamal says homemakers are the pillars of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within the fundamental unit of a family.

Cloud talent pool

Shubhashree Naldurg, Head, Interweave Institute of Inclusion, notes that organisations must try to leverage the additional skillsets that homemakers bring to the table.

Going on a break to take care of the family is often seen as a setback.

“Organisations must recognise that a career break gives the woman an opportunity to acquire a new set of skills — an ability to juggle different priorities and manage time better; and also build resilience and cultivate patience, which are all very important managerial skills,” she says.

In such hiring, recruitment managers should be made aware of their unconscious biases.

Shubhashree suggests that as some homemakers may not be ready yet to join the workforce full-time, companies could find time-bound projects for them. She recommends the concept of a “cloud talent pool”, something akin to a cloud kitchen. Offering them flexible working hours and remote/ hybrid working would also help.

Author - Liffy thomas.

Source - www.hindu.com

Leadership Model by BCG

2020-08-22T21:45:00.005+05:30

An agile structure can be put in place relatively quickly, but in order to scale, agile requires a new organizational operating model, beyond minor changes to the leadership and development models.

How AI and ML transforming Staffing Industry

2019-03-11T06:57:00.000+05:30

52% of Talent Acquisition leaders say the hardest part of recruitment is screening candidates from a large applicant pool

AI is helping to design and streamline and automate major portion of the recruiting workflow avoiding repetitive tasks enabling them to handle bulk hiring.

A robust Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) that applies machine learning to auto-screen candidates based on the key skills defined helps in targeting the right candidate for your hiring needs.

One of the primary reason to use AI in stffing is the big advantage of saving recruiters’ time by making it possible to handle large volume of resumes and weeding out irrelevant profiles and ability to pull out relevant ones.

By saving the time of existing staffing team, enables the management to handle large volume of business with a limited member team. The saving in time also enables the team to hone up their technical skills to become more productive. This saving in time will also largely impact the organization since it leads to cost optimization by employing a small team to handle large volumes. Talent acquisition leaders report that their hiring volume will increase next year but their recruiting teams will remain the same size or even contract. This means recruiters will be expected to become more efficient by using the AI.

AI screening of resumes will result in considerable time savingthe percentage of the resumes received for a role are either over or under qualified or experienced. Reading through the resumes and shortlisting candidates to interview is estimated to take significant chunk of number of hours of a recruiter’s time spent for a position.

AI plays a key role in scheduling interviews with candidates by automating the process and making it more systematic and with less human intervention.

The best ATS helps in designing to automate a part of staffing workflow and integrate seamlessly with recruiting stack without disrupting the overall workflow.

AI helps complete automation of the different process in a cycle thereby reducing time-to-hire, this will also help in supporting customers with high quality of hires thereby helping clients to rely more and more on your firms capability to identify the right talent.

Substantial improvement in quality of hires.

The key differentiator in recent staffing trends is to ensure high quality resources to the clients needs. To effectively use the AI and ML techniques the IT staffing team must be highly knowledgeable about the technical jargon that is thrown at them. An indepth analysis and creating a knowledge pool within the firm helps in retaining the knowledge gained by the team members.

AI is improving quality of hire since it is able to use data to standardize the searching of right candidates in comparision to the Job Description with resect to skills experience, knowledge, needed by specific job role.

This improvement in searching the right candidate helps in better post deployment of the resources as there is a perfect correlation between the job content and the career aspirations of the candidates resulting in higher efficiencies

Many leading Software companies have already tasted the success of deploying their AI and ML tools. In this highly competitive staffing solutions / services industry time has come to embrace latest technologies to be key differentiator. Those who still have not made up their mind, wake up now better late then never and use these to enhance your workforce productivity and higher custoemr satisfaction by deliering high quality services to become a preferred vendor.

Hiring Times are here again !!

2017-06-15T21:28:00.000+05:30

The following 8 sectors show great promise amidst pall of gloom and doom.

1. Financial Services
The TeamLease report says the financial services sector makes the most of the cashless environment. Employment outlook for the financial services sector jumped by 5 points from 76 in October 2016-March 2017 period to 81 in April 2017-September 2017 period. Fintech and mobile wallets are a big beneficiary of the recent developments following demonetisation. Banks and brokerage firms plan to build digital banking and financial research teams.

2. Health & Pharmaceuticals
Employment outlook for the health & pharma sector is up by 3 points from 94 in October 2016-March 2017 period to 97 in April 2017-September 2017 period. The reason is businesses in this sector are set to scale as significant foreign investments are being planned. The government's initiatives in improving affordable healthcare and establishing new educational institutes will drive talent demand. This sector is likely to see a job growth of 13.67%.

3. Knowledge Process Outsourcing
The KPO industry, as a whole, is exhibiting robust growth and is set to add close to 150,000 professionals on its payrolls during the coming financial year. With an unabated demand for big data analytics, the demand for data scientists continues to outstrip supply. The job growth is likely to be 14.77%. Employment outlook for the knowledge process outsourcing sector is up by 3 points from 90 in October 2016-March 2017 period to 93 in April ..

4. Telecommunications
The hypercompetition unleashed by Reliance JIO and the recently announced merger of Idea and Vodafone would give rise to frenetic hiring activity. Focus on digital technology and mobile app development is expected to drive employment. Employment outlook for the sector is up by 3 points from 87 in October 2016-March 2017 period to 90 in April 2017-September 2017 period. The job growth is likely to be 11.18%.

5. E-commerce & Technology Startups
After a downturn in 2016, jobs in e-commerce & technology startups are likely to grow 14.94%. Employment outlook for the sector is up by 2 points from 91 in October 2016-March 2017 period to 93 in April 2017-September 2017 period. Notwithstanding last half-year's meltdown, the sector is back up on its feet again and is already hiring, albeit in relatively modest numbers.

6. Media & Entertainment
The sector is attracting substantial investments in theme parks and expansion of multiplexes, and is expected to create significant number of jobs over the coming HY. The government's approving of the model Shops and Establishments Act would allow cinema halls to remain open round the clock, and potentially increasing jobs.

7. Retail
The successful public offering from D-Mart, and subsequent scaling of the hitherto conventional retailer, is expected to invite competitive reaction and increase talent demand. Warehouse consolidation and hassle-free supply of goods, enabled by GST, is slated to expand the sector and, therefore, create jobs. Employment outlook for the sector is up by 1 point from 91 in October 2016-March 2017 period to 92 in April 2017-September 2017 period.

8. Information Technology
In perhaps a very long period of time, the sector is witnessing a lull in hiring, due to the combined effects of the US government's restrictive policies and automation. With more and more IT services companies emulating Infosys in upskilling their workforce, and with the tech startup scene being dull, talent demand is expected to plateau in the short term.

Feedback Vs Performance Appraisal - Case Study of Infosys

2016-08-01T06:28:00.000+05:30

Employees in India’s second largest IT services provider Infosys will soon be able to receive real-time feedback to on their performance, through a mobile application that the company is now developing. The new application will also help the employees gather feedback from team members on a real-time basis. The main objective of launching such an application is to give employees real-time feedback on a regular basis.

Earlier, Infosys had scrapped the Bell Curve system of appraisal for its employees and had launched a new system called as 'iCount'. Under the new system the company measures the performance of the employees based on certain targets assigned to them. The company may turn the iCount system into an application.

“Through the (iCount) system we are trying to give feedback to employees that are more objective and developmental in nature. We believe that feedback should also be future-focused,” said Krish Shankar, Executive Vice President Group Head-Human Resources, Infosys. The company had also rolled out an initiative called ‘anytime feedback’, as part of its new performance appraisal system iCount. Under this, an employee can get feedback from his team members on a real-time basis.

Appraisal vs feedback
“The performance appraisal can be done in a cycle but giving feedback should be real-time. We want to use the concept of crowd-sourcing in our employee feedback, where a person can get feedback from many members in a team,” added Mr Shankar.

Infosys has attempted to stem employee attrition through such initiatives. For the quarter ended June 30, 2016 the attrition rate went up to 21 per cent from 17.3 per cent as against the previous quarter. In another move, Infosys has decided to offer Restricted Stock Option to a total of 7,898 high-performing employees’ up to mid-level managers of the company and its subsidiaries.

How to ?
Alright they have scrapped Bell Curve now lies the bigger question - How does the company link pay with performance. Will the new FB system fool proof enough to entitle % hikes year on year ?

Re rating of Indian Staffing industry

2016-07-20T20:39:00.003+05:30

Shares of Quess Corp Ltd jumped more than 58% on debut on Tuesday, after the integrated business services provider’s Rs.400 crore initial public offering (IPO) saw a subscription of a whopping 144.50 times last week.

Shares of Quess Corp Ltd jumped more than 58% on debut on Tuesday, after the integrated business services provider’s Rs.400 crore initial public offering (IPO) saw a subscription of a whopping 144.50 times last week. The stock opened at Rs.499 and touched a high and a low of Rs.508.6 and Rs.480.05, respectively. The scrip closed at Rs.503 on BSE, up 58.68% from its offer price of Rs.317, fixed at the upper end of its Rs.310-317 price band.

“This (the listing) is more or less in line with our expectations,” said Gaurav Dua, head of research at Sharekhan Ltd.

“There was lot of demand for this IPO, and it was heavily oversubscribed. It was also priced at 35-40% discount to its comparable listed company—Teamlease Services Ltd,” Dua added.

Quess Corp’s IPO had witnessed the fifth highest overall subscription, in percentage terms, for any IPO since 2000. The IPO proceeds will be utilized towards repayment of debt, capital expenditure as well as working capital requirements, and funding acquisitions and other strategic initiatives.

“Quess, in our view, is well-positioned to maintain high revenue/Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization)/EPS (earnings per share) growth, driven by expected industry growth across all business segments and scope for margin improvement,” said Govind Agrawal, an analyst at brokerage firm Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd, in a note on 29 June. Agrawal had said that while valuations may appear expensive at around 41 times FY16 EPS, that is well-supported by high revenue growth and scope for margin expansion, and recommended a “subscribe” to the IPO.

Quess Corp offers business services, including recruitment, temporary staffing, technology staffing, information technology products and solutions. The company reported a revenue of Rs.3,442.4 crore in fiscal year 2016 (12 months), compared with Rs.2,572.8 crore in fiscal year 2015 (15 months). Net profit of Quess Corp. grew to Rs.88.5 crore in the fiscal year 2015-16, compared with Rs.67.2 crore for fiscal year 2014-15.

How it is going to change rules of the game for all the stake holders in the Indian Staffing Companies

Increased competition resulting in lower margins for all players
Attrition at all levels across staffing industry
Higher wages & compensation for staffing professionals reducing margins
More and more Mergers & Acquisitions on the horizon - smaller players will be taken over by stronger / bigger firms
Cash is king - the more the merrier as the industry needs funds to expand and grow business.

If you are an existing Staffing companies and looking for expert guidance and advise, feel free to reach me - 9880080321 or you can mail me at raghav.coo@gmail.com