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COVer STOry 8 The Challenges of human resources at the Global workplace The role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with the change in competitive market environment and the realization that Human Resource Management must play a more strategic role in the success of an organization. 14 Current Scenario and Challenges in recruitment industry The Recruitment Process Outsource (RPO) industry currently inevitably faces a host of challenges and pitfalls in this 21st century. A stagnant labour market, economies in recession, and the globalization of economies, all pose risks to recruitment. SPOT LiGhT 16 how Social Media can be used for hr Social Media in its simplest definition means availability of online platforms that can be used by consumers for sharing information. The desire to share has been an innate desire of human beings. It is just that opportunities to share have been limited. 18 Use Performance Management to build a Strong Culture of Performance Building a strong culture of performance through performance management is critical to meet challenges, promote innovation and develop top performing teams. A strong culture of performance fosters a vision of One Company, One Team in your company. aLTernaTe View 20 a Tribute to Steve Jobs According to Steve Jobs, the logo of Apple Company of a partially bitten apple represented a bite of the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge (reference to the Bible) and the bite could also represent byte, a reference to computer technology.
T E N T S
22 Follow Me! A leader is selected by his superiors as the person capable of utilizing the best method for handling a situation. A leader has the ability to effectively motivate people; and the ability to effectively plan, organize and control available resources...and Leadership? eVOLVinG ParadiGM 25 Preparing for the Future: Succession Planning Succession planning is a process of identifying and developing current employees with the potential to fill key leadership or high-stakes positions in an organization. As a formal concept for talent development, succession planning has high relevance in a competitive market. 28 The war for Talent The most important corporate resource over the next 20 years will be talent smart, sophisticated business-people who are technologically literate, globally astute, and operationally agile. i SPeak 30 whos a boss? an experience Sharing People do not leave companies, but they leave because of their bosses goes a popular adage. How many of you nod your head for this statement in agreement?? If so, I expect you to rethink your stand on this after you read through my experiences. eMPLOyee MaTTerS 32 employer branding: Concept and implementation Employer Branding has been a relatively new concept that is becoming popular. While branding in a marketing context was always associated with consumer products, there was an extension to the corporate branding image.
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Vol. 2 Issue 6 November-December 2011 edited, Printed & Published by Linda Brady Hawke on behalf of L. B. Associates (Pvt.) Ltd H-108, Sector 63, Noida - 201301 U. P. India Printed at M/s Shivam Offset Press A-12/1, Naraina Industrial Area Phase - I, New Delhi - 110020 Published from L. B. Associates (Pvt.) Ltd H-108, Sector 63, Noida - 201301 U. P., India Tel: 91-120-4727100 Fax: 91-120-2427108 Email: info@lbassociates.com www.lbassociates.com business development: Binoy Sahee binoy@lbassociates.com Layout & design: Atul Kumar webmaster: Uday N Jha Managing editor: William Hawke Guest editor Smita Kulshresth
diSCLaiMer: The views and opinions expressed in People and Management are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors or publisher. Although all efforts have been made to ensure the complete accuracy of text, neither the editors nor publisher can accept responsibility for consequences arising from errors or omissions or any opinions or advice given.
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34 Seven keys to Unlock Career Success Have you ever thought to yourself: Is my career progressing the way I want it to go?; Am I really doing what I want to do?; Do I really have the skills that will make me successful? The good news is that all successful people have thought these questions more often than not. 36 dealing with Low Morale in the workplace There is a wide variety of reasons why low morale can creep into the workplace. Regardless of the reason low morale can hurt productivity, increase work errors, increase sick days, decrease cooperation between teams and departments, and if left unchecked can lead to larger problems. 40 ways to avoid getting Laid Off Are you one of the professionals who are worried about being laid off? As companies are pressed to cut costs in recent times, many have looked to cutting head counts as a way to save money. It doesnt matter if you have been with the company 20 years or 20 months you could be laid off. 42 Five keys to employee development Employee development is the ongoing process between an employee and a manager. Companies need rising stars to fill new positions and one of your roles as a manager is to foster employee development to meet these needs. 44 Solid ways to improve Time Management Skills Time management is a skill that many of us seem to learn through necessity. The problem with learning a skill through necessity is that, more often than not, bad habits creep in and, although the skill may be useful in general, we do not use it to its full potential.
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whaTS neXT 46 People who found Success despite Failures CaSe in POinT 49 exploring bell Curve approach in appraisal Recently, the New Performance Management System has been introduced in Govt Sectors across the country based on Key Performance Areas (KPA) which is having its bearing on Management by Objective. endinG On hiGh nOTe 52 impression Management When a person is trying to mould his natural behaviour just to manage a particular situation or to look good in front of others, he is following the art of Impression Management. It makes people feel good if they claim to be an expert at something and people around them accept the same. GOOd LiVinG 54 Self image Self image is altogether different. It is how others perceive you, or how you would like them to perceive you. Naturally, you want everyone to like you, like you for your qualities, your attitudes, your attributes, your abilities, and how they see you overall as a person. 56 Making the Job Search easy The essence of Feng Shui & Vaastu lies in the abundance of opportunities that will come your way when you arrange your living space in accordance with its principles. Almost every technique and method you use to improve the Vaastu & Feng Shui of your home or office will bring you wonderful opportunities to enhance your career, wealth, your happiness and your lifestyle.
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The Challenges of
The role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with the change in competitive market environment and the realization that Human Resource Management must play a more strategic role in the success of an organization. Organizations that do not put their emphasis on attracting and retaining talents may find themselves in dire consequences, as their competitors may be outplaying them
in the strategic employment of their human resources. With the increase in competition, locally or globally, organizations must become more adaptable, resilient, agile, and customerfocused to succeed. And within this change in environment, the HR professional has to evolve to become a strategic partner, an employee
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sponsor or advocate, and a change mentor within the organization. In order to succeed, HR must be a business driven function with a thorough understanding of the organizations big picture and be able to influence key decisions and policies. In general, the focus of todays HR Manager is on strategic personnel retention and talents development. HR professionals will be coaches, counselors, mentors, and succession planners to help motivate organizations members and their loyalty. The HR manager will also promote and fight for values, ethics, beliefs, and spirituality within their organizations, especially in the management of workplace diversity . This paper will highlight on how a HR manager can meet the challenges of workplace diversity, how to motivate employees through gain-sharing and executive information system through proper planning, organizing, leading and controlling their human resources.
Workplace Diversity
According to Thomas (1992), dimensions of workplace diversity include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience.
Cover story
knowledge-based economy; foreign talents are lured to share their expertise in these areas. Thus, many local HR managers have to undergo cultural-based Human Resource Management training to further their abilities to motivate a group of professional that are highly qualified but culturally diverse. Furthermore, the HR professional must assure the local professionals that these foreign talents are not a threat to their career advancement (Toh, 1993). In many ways, the effectiveness of workplace diversity management is dependent on the skilful balancing act of the HR manager. One of the main reasons for ineffective workplace diversity mana g ement is the predisposition to pigeonhole employees, placing them in a different silo based on their diversity profile (Thomas, 1992). In the real world, diversity cannot be easily categorized and those organizations that respond to human complexity by leveraging the talents of a broad workforce will be the most effective in growing their businesses and their customer base.
Diversity Mentoring Program seeks to encourage members to move beyond their own cultural frame of reference to recognize and take full advantage of the productivity potential inherent in a diverse population.
Organizing Talents StrategicallyMany companies are now realizing the advantages of a diverse workplace. As more and more companies are going global in their market expansions either physically or virtually (for example, E-commerce-related companies), there is a necessity to employ diverse talents to understand the various niches of the market. For example, when China was opening up its markets and exporting their products globally in the late 1980s, the Chinese companies (such as Chinas electronic giants such as Haier) were seeking the marketing expertise of Singaporeans. This is because Singapores marketing talents were able to understand the local China markets relatively well (almost 75% of Singaporeans are of Chinese descent) and as well as being attuned to the markets in the West due to Singapores open economic policies and English language abilities. (Toh, R, 1993) With this trend in place, a HR Manager must be able to organize the pool of diverse talents strategically for the organization. He/She must consider how a diverse workforce can enable the company to attain new markets and other organisational goals in order to harness the full potential of workplace diversity . An organization that sees the existence of a diverse workforce as an organisational asset rather than a liability would indirectly help the organization to positively take in its stride some of the less positive aspects of workforce diversity .
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benefits, work environment, management and promotional opportunities to assess the progress over the long term. There is also a need to develop appropriate measuring tools to measure the impact of diversity initiatives at the organization through organization-wide feedback surveys and other methods. Without proper control and evaluation, some of these diversity initiatives may just fizzle out, without resolving any real problems that may surface due to workplace diversity .
organisational reward system and so on. T h e d eve l o p m e n t o f a n ap p ro p r i at e organisational reward system is probably one of the strongest motivational factors. This can influence both job satisfaction and employee motivation. The reward system affects job satisfaction by making the employee more comfortable and contented as a result of the rewards received. The reward system influences motivation primarily through the perceived value of the rewards and their contingency on performance (Hickins, 1998). To be effective, an organisational reward system should be based on sound understanding of the motivation of people at work. In this paper, I will be touching on the one of the more popular methods of reward systems, gain-sharing.
Motivational Approaches
Workplace motivation can be defined as the influence that makes us do things to achieve organisational goals: this is a result of our individual needs being satisfied (or met) so that we are motivated to complete organisational tasks effectively As these needs vary from person . to person, an organization must be able to utilize different motivational tools to encourage their employees to put in the required effort and increase productivity for the company . Why do we need motivated employees? The answer is survival (Smith, 1994). In our changing workplace and competitive market environments, motivated employees and their contributions are the necessary currency for an organizations survival and success. Motivational factors in an organisational context include working environment, job characteristics, and appropriate
Gain-sharing
Gain-sharing programs generally refer to incentive plans that involve employees in a common effort to improve organisational performance, and are based on the concept that the resulting incremental economic gains are shared among employees and the company . In most cases, workers voluntarily participate in management to accept responsibility for major reforms. This type of pay is based on factors directly under a workers control (i.e., productivity or costs). Gains are measured and
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distributions are made frequently through a predetermined formula. Because this pay is only implemented when gains are achieved, gainsharing plans do not adversely affect company costs (Paulsen, 1991).
HR professionals must develop competencies that will allow them to carry out their roles, competences like: Flexibility Team work Communication Decisiveness Leadership Strategic planning Network building Client service orientation Organisational awareness Self confidence Sharing of expertise Global and cultural understanding Multiple language competencies In addition to increasing and sustaining technological skills relating to communication developments, HR professionals will may also be required to increase their numerical and data compilations skills. As increasing demands merge to provide specific measurable results that prove effectiveness in their area, HR professionals will be required that produce quantifiable results that prove that their department is delivering specified outcomes based on the objectives and goals set forth by the organization. In addition to delivering specific measurable developments, managers will also need to know what contributed to the results declared. This may mean that HR professionals will be required to be familiar with and administer employee survey and provide for accurate data compilation and regression analysis. As a result of the increase in technology, innovation and globalization over the last 20 years, HR professionals around the world are forced to be more efficient, more effective and more competitive. They need to respond to the demands of global competitiveness by becoming more familiar with language skills, cultural awareness and diversity promotion. Additionally HR professionals must be committed , to continuous learning, being familiar with cutting edge communication. If HR managers wont pay enough attention to their changing role, serious consequences could result, including the deterioration or even perhaps the elimination of the HR department.
Managing Gain-sharing
In order for a gain-sharing program that meets the minimum requirements for success to be in place, Paulsen (1991) and Boyett (1988) have suggested a few pointers in the effective management of a gain-sharing program. They are as follows: A HR manager must ensure that the people who will be participating in the plan are influencing the performance measured by the gain-sharing formula in a significant way by changes in their day-to-day behaviour. The main idea of the gain sharing is to motivate members to increase productivity through their behavioral changes and working attitudes. If the increase in the performance measurement was due to external factors, then it would have defeated the purpose of having a gain-sharing program. An effective manager must ensure that the gain-sharing targets are challenging but legitimate and attainable. In addition, the targets should be specific and challenging but reasonable and justifiable given the historical performance, the business strategy and the competitive environment. If the gain-sharing participants perceive the target as impossibility and are not motivated at all, the whole program will be a disaster. A manager must provide useful feedback as guidance to the gain-sharing participants concerning how they need to change their behavior(s) to realize gain-sharing payouts the feedback should be frequent, objective and clearly based on the members performance in relation to the gain-sharing target. A manager must have an effective mechanism in place to allow gain-sharing participants to initiate changes in work procedures and methods and/or requesting new or additional resources such as new technology to improve performance and realize gains. Though a manager must have a tight control of companys resources, reasonable and justifiable requests for additional resources and/or changes in work methods from gainsharing participants should be considered.
Conclusion
The role of the HR manager must parallel the needs of the changing organization. Successful organizations are becoming more adaptable, resilient, quick to change directions, and customer-centered. Within this environment, the HR professional must learn how to manage effectively through planning, organizing, leading and controlling the human resource and be knowledgeable of emerging trends in training and employee development.
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However, the research has shown that the HR function in inter national organization has to meet a series of challenges. Three key conclusions about the role of HR professionals working in the field of international recruitment selection and assessment can be drawn: The added value of the HR function in an international firm lies in its ability to manage the delicate, balance between globally coordinated systems and sensitivity to local needs, including cultural differences, in a way that align with both business needs and senior management philosophy There now appear to be a distinction . to be made between international HRM and global HRM. In this transition, the old functional divides between international recruitment, international management development and international reward management have become increasingly weak. Over the last 20 years, the workplace has changed in more ways than one could have ever imagined, resulting from the increase in technology, innovation and globalization. The next decade will bring even greater change, impacting all facets of the workplace, including major changes for the HR department and HR managers. In order to respond to the demands of globalization, HR managers will require new skills and competencies relating to language and culture, technology capabilities to facilitate overseas communication, methods to measure
and quantify effectiveness and evaluate strategies and return on investment. Evidently, these new skills and competencies will result in an emerging new role for HR managers, requiring them to be strategic business partner, supportive of the overall corporate strategy . The future role of HR professional will change from a less administrative role to more of a strategic role. HR managers will continually be required to prove their effectiveness and their existence. They will be expected to understand international business practices and promote cultural diversity within the organization. They will need to understand the core business of the organization and become partners with line managers. They will need to prove that their initiatives and programs are result-oriented, providing specific measurable results in terms of business competitiveness that contribute positively to the bottom-line of the organization. They will be required to stay current with leading edge as more and more organization is faced with the demands of globalization and strategic alliances with other organization around the world.
Associate Professor Dr Alvin Chan is an Academic Director . of an International University in Asia. In addition to being an academic, he has done corporate training and seminars in the areas of Human Resource Management, Creativity and Innovation. For more information, please contact him at alvinchan88@gmail.com. People and Management November-December 2011 13
Cover story
The Recruitment Process Outsource (RPO) industry currently inevitably faces a host of challenges and pitfalls in this 21st century. A stagnant labour market, economies in recession, and the globalization of economies, all pose risks to recruitment. The challenges that recruiters face today are due to downsizing and consolidation of , various available resources. The best recruiter is aware that recruitment is a function that requires business perspective, expertise, ability to find and match the best potential candidate for the organization, diplomacy, and marketing skills i.e. to sell the position to the candidate and wisdom to align the recruitment processes for the benefit of the
organization. The HR managers handling the recruitment function of the organization are constantly facing new challenges. The biggest challenge for such professionals is to source or recruit the best people or potential candidate for the organization to enable them to sell their identity as one of the best recruitment professionals.
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In the last few years, the job market has undergone some fundamental changes in terms of technologies, sources of recruitment, competition in the market etc. In an already saturated job market, where the practices like poaching and raiding are gaining momentum, HR professionals are constantly facing new challenges in one of their most important function recruitment. They have to face and conquer various challenges to find the best candidates for their organizations.
employer branding, and measuring success of recruitment process (metrics) currently are the least likely practices to be outsourced. It has been observed that for most organizations, the strategic side of talent acquisition remains in-house. Organizations typically begin using RPO by outsourcing tactical practices first and, with growing maturity of the process, outsource strategic practices later. RPO Challenge: This may also be the greatest opportunity maximizing the Return on Investment (ROI). As with every other business decision, the success of RPO can be measured by its ROI. While organizations use various payment models to invest in their RPO programs, the fee per hire model dominates. This can be seen as a solution to address pressing staffing needs. Organizations that are initially turning to RPO to deal with immediate recruiting problems will likely look for a short-term payment model, given the uncertainty of their future RPO needs. However, as those same organizations become aware of the long-term value of RPO (in other tactical and strategic recruiting areas), they will likely move towards longer-term contractual arrangements with RPO service providers, or a combination of payment models.
Conclusion
To conclude, the future of RPO is positive. For those organizations that want to leverage the full potential of RPO to improve the talent acquisition process, and their overall business strategy, it is critical that they consider making RPO a larger part of their talent management strategy Then, . they may be able to join the group that manages to fully benefit from RPO.
* Komal Garg is Manager Executive Search, Ricarda People Craft People and Management November-December 2011 15
spotlight
Mr. Hareesh Tibrewala Social Media Strategist; Business Owner and Joint CEO at SocialWavelength.com
Social Media in its simplest definition means availability of online platforms that can be used by consumers for sharing information. The desire to share has been an innate desire of human beings. It is just that opportunities to share have been limited. Now with numerous sharing platforms being available, we see users share information with other users. This has given rise to the phenomena that we refer to as social media. Some key social networking sites are as follow: Facebook: Facebook has 650 million users worldwide and about 30 million in India. Facebook is generally used a social utility and for keeping in touch with friends; LinkedIn: LinkedIn has 100 million users worldwide and about 10 million in India. LinkedIn is a professional social networking platform used aggressively for recruitment, building business connections and sourcing business opportunities; Twitter is a micro-blogging platform where users put out communication about current happenings. Twitter has about 150 million users worldwide and is soon becoming a source for news as it happens. It is also used for reaching out to influencers; YouTube is a video sharing platfor m. YouTube has now become the worlds second largest search engine (after Google); Flickr is a popular photo sharing site;
Slideshare is a document sharing site. It is used for sharing PowerPoint presentations and can be used effectively for creating thought leadership and sourcing good quality information. There are also numerous blogging platfor ms like Wordpress, Blogger and Blogspot. A user can use this platform to create any type of digital content and publish it on the internet, without having any prior knowledge of HTML programming, webhosting etc.
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LinkedIn as a recruitment tool. If yours is company that is constantly looking at recruiting young talent, it is very likely that your target group is already very active on Facebook. It would then make sense to create a Facebook page for the company and engage with the target group, with the objective of creating HR branding about the company . Internal Employee Collaboration: Large organisations would find social media platforms like Yammer, Kinetic Glue or Sales Force Chatter immensely useful as a collaborative tool for employees across the organisation, which could help in knowledge sharing and project collaboration, thereby improving productivity and organisational efficiency. These tools work pretty much a like Facebook or Twitter except that access to the platform can be restricted to company employees only . Alumni Engagement: Ex-employees of an organisation are the biggest brand ambassadors from an HR perspective. Creation of a LinkedIn Group can be useful to keep in touch with these employees and use them as referral generators for future employees of the company .
spot light
B u i l d i n g a s t ro n g c u l t u re o f perfor mance through perfor mance management is critical to meet challenges, promote innovation and develop top performing teams. A strong culture of performance fosters a vision of One Company, One Team in your company This vision will lead to teams . and departments actively seeking proactive ways to drive value to the business and promote new levels of cooperation. By aligning the goals and objectives of your company with the goals and objectives for your employees, and by setting goals that can easily be measured you will establish an alignment of employee performance that with the company. When managers understand that their success is dependent on the success of their reports they will look at performance management in a new light.
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point for performance management is to review the goals your organization from top to bottom. Every department should have their own goals that align with the overall goals of the company The goals . should be clear and in terms that can be measured such as time goals, production goals, spending goals and improvement goals. Align Organisational Goals with Individual Performance: Now align the company and departmental goals with the employee goals. Once the goals are determined you must communicate them to each employee. This is an important step for the employee. You should make sure that your employee knows what is expected of them and how they fit into the department and company . If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it Goals must be measurable or you and the employee will not know how well they are doing. Doing a good days work is not a goal. Increase system efficiency by 15 PERCENT is a measurable goal. Decrease departmental spending by 10 percent is a measurable goal. Some performance management programs allow the employee to set their own goals. Regardless of how they are set, without goals and objectives you cannot measure whether the employee has been successful. To Measure You Must Record: Since goals are measurable, performance must be tracked. Baselines may need to be established. Using the results from the previous year is a good place to start. Whether the measure of the goal is time, quantity, quality or dollars it must be recorded so it can be measured. A l w a y s L o o k Fo r C o a c h i n g Opportunities: A failure is an opportunity for growth. Never pass up the opportunity to improve your employees. Note we said IMPROVE, not berate! You will improve the performance of your employees better if you teach them about a mistake rather than scold them for it. Regularly review the record of performance to see if the employees are on track. They may require additional help or training to be able to meet their goals. Creating a culture of learning is an important part of creating
a strong culture of performance. Chang e the Review Culture: Performance reviews are usually dreaded by manager and employee alike. For perfor mance management to work you must work to change that culture. Performance reviews are when the results are weighed against the goals. The review should include the original goals, the record of performance and the current results. Review Often: Typically performance reviews are given once per year. To build a strong performance culture in your company you need to perform a review at least twice a year or even once every quarter. Goals may need to be adjusted due to circumstances beyond the control of the employee. By reviewing perfor mance on a regular basis the employee is not surprised at the end of the year by a poor performance review. Nor does the company suffer due an employees poor performance that has not been corrected. Recognize Achievements and Reward Performance: At the end of the year the expectation is that the employee meets expectations. While it sounds underwhelming, it means that the employee performed as was expected of him/her. If the employee meets or exceeds expectations he should be rewarded for that achievement. If you expect employees to strive for better performance he needs to know that he will be rewarded for the hard work.
Conclusion
Performance management is often met with resistance. People do not like change and many will not like the measures placed on their performance. But over time both employees and management will see the benefits. Performance management focuses on results. It focuses everyone on the goals of their department, their company and themselves. It is a long-term initiative that puts focus on continuous improvement. In the long-ter m the benefits to the employee and the company will make it well worth the effort.
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alternate view
A Tribute to
Steve Jobs
According to Steve Jobs, the logo of Apple Company of a partially bitten apple represented a bite of the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge (reference to the Bible) and the bite could also represent byte, a reference to computer technology . A question arose in my mind as to what other ways one could explain, Why a partially eaten apple? Well, there could be several ways. Already eaten, would mean it is worth eating and relished by the founder of Apple Computers. Why leave the remaining part? The answer could be that it is so tasty and now it is all for you - apple lovers to eat, to enjoy, to relish, that is, whatever product Apple brings out is for the masses to enjoy The eaten part is much less compared to what is left un-eaten. That . shows the joy of giving part. Let everyone enjoy, could have been the message, the founder thought of conveying. An Apple was perhaps chosen, because of its importance among the fruits. Perhaps, Steve must have thought of the saying an apple a day since Apples ... launches of its products used to come in quick succession, about which everyone is aware. Again, eating an apple is one way of staying healthy So too, using Apple . products keeps one healthy in the mind in terms of technology and ease of use. No wonder, people always make a mad rush for new launches by Apple every time. As for me, the iPad (though only the first version) one of its wonder gadgets, contributed a great deal in terms of helping me type out fifty odd articles and a partial autobiography of my career (all within a period three months) that too by a totally computer illiterate person, till then. Thanks a lot Steve for opening up my inactive, dormant mind again. I enjoy every moment of using the iPad. Alas, an Apple (product) a day (product launches in quick succession) could not keep death away from Jobs. Well, finally, I am satisfied that he will be remembered for all JOBS well done. My tribute to him is conveyed in the following lines: You were an apple for everyone, Creating an i-pad too often Jobs, now lost to million You surely shine forever in heaven.
C.V Subramaniam .
alternate view
Follow Me!
The Principles of Leadership for junior and intermediate supervisors/section heads in Indian businesses
William Hawke
I served 25 years in the Canadian Forces, retiring in 1988 as a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer I followed leaders during the . early years of my career and led others during the final years. Some of those I followed were only leaders by position they were , not great leaders. Of course we all undertook leadership training during our careers, but learning is one thing, and applying what you learned is another . Since my decision to make India my permanent home back in 1996, I have seen excellent leaders and also, not-so-good or ineffective leaders; meaning those who are leaders by the strength of their position only, but not by personal qualities/skills. The latter (the not-so-good) quality is not confined to India alone; it crops up throughout the world. Ive put together this piece for those aspiring to be good leaders. The target readership is those already holding supervisory positions and those who aspire to hold such positions. My hope is that youll find it informative and useful. To be absolutely truthful, I scooped the ten principles below from a military website; but I modified the elements below each principle to fit business situations. Contact me with your comments if you are so inclined at william.hawke@gmail.com.
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So, What the Heck is a Leader? A leader is selected by his superiors as the person capable of utilizing the best method for handling a situation. A leader has the ability to effectively motivate people; and the ability to effectively plan, organize and control available resources...and Leadership? Leadership is the art of influencing human behaviour so as to accomplish the mission in a manner desired by the leader.
failure before taking action. In the absence of orders or organization, seize the initiative.
4. Lead by Example
Be mentally alert, well groomed, smartly and correctly dressed at all times. Master your emotions; avoid loss of temper and fits of depression. Maintain an optimistic outlook. Use your initiative and encourage your subordinates to do the same. Be loyal to those below you as well as to those above. Avoid coarse behaviour, vulgarity and profanity Be just and impartial in awarding . punishment and rewards. Never ever show favouritism! Obey orders issued by your own superiors; work hard; and, avoid complaining. Be mindful of setting unconscious examples for your subordinates. Become well informed if uncertain about something, ask. Remain calm and courageous. Maintain honesty in all relations. Dont engage in horseplay At . business functions or receptions, drink in moderation if you drink at all.
5. Issue Clear and Concise Orders and then Lead Others towards Accomplishment of those Orders
Ensure your subordinates know your meaning and intent of your orders. , and then lead them to the accomplishment of the mission. Be sure the need for an order exists. Develop an ability to think clearly and then issue clear, concise orders that cannot be misunderstood. Encourage your subordinates to seek clarification of any points in your orders that they dont understand. If you think it necessary, question your personnel to determine if there are any doubts or misunderstandings. Let your subordinates know what you expect of them. Make the resources your personnel need to accomplish the mission available. Supervise the execution of your orders by frequent visits to your subordinates. Ensure your personnel receive encouragement and the necessary guidance; and, deal firmly with personnel who fall down on the job through negligence.
alternate view
distribution of rewards and equal and adequate leave/time off privileges. Encourage individual development. Share the hardships if any - with your personnel.
your unit with the capabilities and limitations of other units or elements of the company/ organisation. Base your team training on current, probable or realistic conditions. Explain to each person their responsibilities and their importance of their role in the effectiveness of the cell in which they are employed.
10. Keep your Subordinates Informed of the Current Mission/Assignment, the Changing Situation and the Overall Picture.
Explain why tasks must be done, and the role of your section/department in the big picture. Ensure that supervisors pass on necessary information to the other personnel. Be alert to detect and stop the spread of unhealthy rumours. Build morale and esprit de corps by publicizing information concerning the successes of your cell or department. Keep your subordinates informed about current orders and regulations affecting pay, promotion, privileges and other benefits.
Follow Me!
Study the paragraphs above; internalize the Ten Principles of Leadership plus their subcomponents, and the words, Follow me will come out of your mouth with confidence. You may also find yourself find yourself being promoted into even higher leadership positions within your organization.
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Succession Planning
Succession planning is a process of identifying and developing current employees with the potential to fill key leadership or high-stakes positions in an organization. As a formal concept for talent development, succession planning has high relevance in a competitive market. Through succession planning, Human Resources works in tandem with top management to select, train and empower a specific individual to undertake a job with higher authority and responsibility Traditionally, succession . planning has been viewed as aimed at filling the post of CEO or the highest position in an organization. However, given the growing challenges of managing todays complex workforce, maintaining a talent pool of middle to senior management has become just as important as ensuring a plan for the topmost leadership role. Today, succession planning is an important HR mandate. Organizations spend significant resources in sourcing and developing a talent pool which can successfully meet present and future business challenges. Stiff competition drives organizations to differentiate themselves not only with their product or service offerings but through their talent pool as well. Business leaders and high potential managers now define how organizations are perceived in the market and society at large. The threat of talent poaching combined with a mobile workforce propels HR
evolving paradigm
to ensure existing talent is utilized optimally and to develop contingency plans well in place to meet the challenge of unanticipated exits at mid to top levels. Succession planning then becomes an imperative where the organization proactively prepares to tackle such contingencies by creating a pool of future performers. More recently, succession planning-enlightened organizations are inte g rating succession planning with their strategic planning processes and corporate policies. This integration is taking place not just at the top level but has become a proactive management strategy in all levels of management. Integrated with HR processes, procedures and components such as assessment, talent management, performance and potential appraisal, and leadership pipeline development, succession planning today extends beyond the realm of filling vacant roles created from vertical employee movement in the organization. Effective succession planning enables the deployment of an organizations talent on demand, as needed, currently and in the future.
A well thought-out succession plan is vital to the growth of the organization because the individuals identified in the plan will eventually be responsible for ensuring the businesss success. This process entails an overall development of employees at any level to make sure that they can effectively handle responsibilities they will be given in the next few years. Organizations with a clear vision for their future should equip themselves to handle career progressions to ensure that employee perfor mance and productivity do not get adversely impacted from internal movements and exits. Succession planning begins with identifying critical positions, and understanding their behavioural and technical fitment criteria in detail. This involves the process of role study and analysis that delineates the parameters for success on the role. In general, sufficient time needs to be devoted to identify abilities, personality & behavioural dimensions and communication skills that are required to hold a particular position, besides technical and other skill sets. After identifying the desired attributes, it is essential to select candidates from the talent pool who possess those attributes. The objective is to identify those with the potential to assume greater responsibility in the organization. HR needs to closely involve managers and leaders to identify high potential talent since these individuals will know where the hidden talent lies outside the inner circle. At times low employee performance might be more of an indication of
Succession planning begins with identifying critical positions, and understanding their behavioural and technical fitment criteria in detail. This involves the process of role study and analysis that delineates the parameters for success on the role
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their potential being underutilized than a case of not having the right set of attributes. Assessment is a key practice in effective succession planning. There are many assessment tools and approaches available to identify the future potential of employees, ranging from personality, ability and communication assessment tools, team-based interviewing, and job simulation techniques to full-fledged assessment centres. However, the role of assessment does not end with identifying the right talent for development. In many organizations, assessments are a key component of a larger framework for talent management, known as succession development. Succession development incorporates assessment in the development plan as a key exercise for developing high potential talent. Development activities will enable identified candidates to consolidate their strengths and work on areas of improvement as they pertain to the new role. An ef fective succession planning and development process will result in both short and long term benefits to an organization. In the short run, organization-wide knowledge of a succession framework creates a positive and definite context for talent to flourish and individual career aspirations to be nurtured. It also ensures that managers at all levels understand the processes in place that will reward desired behaviour in the workplace. As a systematic and long-term approach preparing high potential talent to handle the responsibilities of next higher levels in future, it is a logical, standardized, objective and a scientific method towards achieving business sustainability Succession planning offers a clear . perspective on who should be selected, why they should be selected, what skills and competencies these individuals currently possess and what is required to be developed in them. Answers to such questions are critical and differentiating factors while identifying candidates for succession. Moreover, a well-implemented succession planning and development strategy reduces the randomness in an organizations processes and managerial development movements. It also anchors managements focus to developing talent internally. Developing existing organisational talent is not only more cost-effective but it also results in creating a more effective and readily available leadership pipeline. A formal succession planning process is a proactive approach that helps HR professionals anticipate problems in the process before they get started, which in turn helps avoid negative
and dysfunctional situations from incorrect assignments to key roles. It fosters crossfunctional development since individuals in critical roles will need to possess a well-rounded knowledge of the business. Lastly, succession planning has a positive and lasting impact on the organisational culture by ensuring transparency in the succession and development process, giving talent priority over subjective preferences. A few caveats to be kept in mind while implementing succession planning are as follow: An ineffective or flawed process may result in successors with inadequate competencies for the role. A comprehensive assessment strategy needs to be instituted in this process to ensure objectivity and accuracy in the search for a best fit. Valid and reliable assessment will help in understanding the strengths and areas of development for candidates, in order that appropriate critical development experiences may be offered to those identified for succession. Second, a myopic view of talent development may lead to core competencies being missed in the evaluation process. Third, an organization should take into account different ways of developing people internally The focus should be on developing . people in important competencies like critical thinking, decision making, planning and organizing, strategic thinking and problem solving as well as making them aware of their behavioral strengths and weaknesses, in individual and team contexts. There are competencies and behavioral skills essential to hold key leadership positions that need to be identified early on in the planning process. A successful succession planning program will depend on the support from the current leadership. Explicit support with implicit anxiety about being looked over for succession will only create a faade that does not truly address leadership requirements for a longterm impact on the organization. In the right hands and with the right set of infrastructure, succession planning is a valuable vehicle for organisational change that leads to positive growth for the organization.
* The author is head, talent assessment, Pearson Talent Assessment. He can be reached at Saurabh.Singh@ Pearson.com for queries and comments. People and Management November-December 2011 27
evolving paradigm
Ms. Sajiri Chidgupkar & Monimoy Sen Gupta Co-founder and Principal Consultant at AnD Solutions
average software developer not by 10x, 100x, or even 1000x but 10,000x, says Nathan Myhrvold, former Chief Scientist, Microsoft. The war for talent is fierce. Nobody is taking prisoners; and is likely to become more so with the massive number of employees retiring in the next five years. Top organizations no longer want the tag of employer of choice they are adopting to more rigorous strategy of attracting and retaining the right employees through branding. Traditional workforce planning is being replaced by talent strategies and skills gap analysis. Once they determine the gap, it becomes clear what talent they need to hire, to layoff, or to develop or transfer internally One can no longer . sit and relax if things are working smoothly; its time we followed Murphys Law If everything is working perfectly it invariably means that you have overlooked something. Yes, and this is the kind of scepticism that will keep you and your company afloat in this fierce battle, where no one is ready to grant an inch. Now is the time that one has to shake up the whole organization; filter it and separate the go getters from the flatters. For if you allow yourself to be flattered (read: fooled) then tomorrow when your company faces the crunch youll be the least flattered. When you set out in search for these talents remember; youll not find them strolling in the corridor of popularity; on the contrary, youll find them alone working away It will be your job to make them a part of the . workforce without hurting their productivity . Traditional marketing policies have to be adapted to make your company attractive to the right kind of people. You being a successful company may be attractive to your clients but it does not convey to your employees how much of that success you are ready to share with the people who are helping you to achieve it.
Latest research predicts a shortage of 1 million skilled workers by 2020. Some of the findings included the following: By the year 2011, for every 2 workers leaving the workforce, only 1 will enter; 2.6 new jobs are expected to be created for every person entering the workforce; Younger workers are now bosses of the older workers. This is the situation in the battlefield; are you ready???? The most important corporate resource over the next 20 years will be talent smart, s o p h i s t i c a t e d b u s i n e s s - p e o p l e wh o a r e technologically literate, globally astute, and operationally agile. Talent really does matter for example top software developers are more productive than an
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Employees should see workplace as continuous lear ning, work-life balancing, personallyfulfilling roles and innovative rewards and recognition programs. The amount you invest in selling yourself to your clients has to be complemented equally in terms of money and energy for selling yourself to your employees. The time is not very far away when youll need to hire HR managers with marketing skills. Yes you can laugh, but so did the world when they were first informed that the world is round Some recruitment effectiveness strategies include the following: Employment branding Build your image in such a way that your company becomes a must have in any respectable CV. Better still your companys name should be the differentiating point between an average and an outstanding CV . Ongoing recruiting, not stop-start you have to recruit keeping the future in mind and not the just the present scenario. This means making recruitment an ongoing process and not a one off process. Nurturing relationships with strong candidates, even though no jobs for them are currently available. While at work keep in mind for a better tomorrow. So if you spot a potential candidate, hang on even if you cant offer something at the moment. Make them feel that the loss is yours and get them back at the first possible opportunity . Referrals This is particularly effective with Generation Y. They do everything through leveraging their networks. They are always connected using mobile phones, text messaging,
instant messaging, blogging or email. Have realistic job previews; dont promise something to candidates which you know the job wont provide. This is not just in respect with payments but also about the challenges that the job offers, something which is genuinely good may flop because you over hyped it. Have managers trained in interviewing: Interviews are no longer just about asking questions to the candidate; theyre about judging the candidates potential. Selection criteria: Can they do the job? (Competencies) Will they do the job? (Motivation) Can we offer them what they are looking for? (Cultural Fit) these are the fields in forms marked with * the answers are COMPULSORY. It will be on these answers that will decide whether the candidate is in or not. Rapid response and follow up Hard to hire skills are in high demand. Most candidates will not get jobs but they might be current or future customers, hence the importance of handling the rejection process effectively Get feedback from candidates . who werent selected; even their feedback is important. The battle field is ready; the swords are drown the fight is on. So be prepared remember that the fight is not meant to be easy Resources . are scarce we have heard that for ages; now is the time that we do something about it. So check your arsenal (read: policies). Prepare your battle cry and fight for tomorrow as if there is no tomorrow.
* Authors: Sajiri Chidgupkar & Monimoy Sen Gupta, HR Consultants Email: monimoy@gmail.com
i speaK
Whos a Boss?
An Experience Sharing
People do not leave companies, but they leave because of their bosses goes a popular adage. How many of you nod your head for this statement in agreement?? If so, I expect you to rethink your stand on this after you read through my experiences. I decided to share my experiences of working with a boss, who is my inspiration for my life both on my personal and professional front. Some people argue with me saying there is no one as an ideal boss in this world. But I feel there are always exceptions and my boss is one. I just felt my sharing would be insightful not only to the current bosses of todays corporate world but also the future bosses as well.
and vision. Understanding the culture of the company, aligning the goals of the department and strategizing the functional workflow are one of the key skills for the success of any department. As a head of the department, I think this is one of essential mantras to be adopted and followed. Setting clear goals and objectives - In my observation, the head of the department or the leader should be a matured enough to weigh the pros & cons of a situation before, taking a final call in any of the critical issues. If need be, the views of the team can also be taken. The objectives set for a period should be realistic and achievable, and should be defined understanding the challenges and the practical problems to be faced. Not only that the resources constraints be it man power or other resources should be thoroughly studied, before setting the goals of the department.
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Role clarity for the team members It is not sufficient, if the department goals are clearly set and defined. Each of the team members strengths and weaknesses have to be studied carefully and the roles and responsibilities should be clearly defined. This practice can minimize unnecessary work place conflicts and can contribute a lot to teams synergy . Communication Model If you are a practicing manager or you have subordinates reporting to you, assess your pattern of communication with them. Do you allow your subordinates to ask questions? Do you allow them to paraphrase once the discussion is over? Do you have clarity on your thoughts before you communicate? Do you provide them with an ambience where they can express their opinions and suggestions freely?? Always remember communication is a two way process and an effective communicator is one who obtains feedback from the receiving end to ensure the desired action could be achieved. In addition to it, listening is a key skill. As a superior, it is your duty to listen to the problems or the issues of the team members. Do not close a problem or do not assume things, how ever trivial it could be. Conflict Manager Conflict is an unavoidable syndrome in workplace. It is the duty of the manager or the head of the department to redirect the conflict into a constructive one, creating a win-win situation instead of spoiling the team morale. Based on my experience from my boss, he creates ample opportunities for the involved parties to have open communication and he is very neutral not taking sides. This practice helps the affected ones to learn from their mistakes and build trust and relationship among the team members. When the situation goes to the extreme, he comes into the picture, helping in working out a compromise formula. Career Development of subordinates When any manager takes interest in the well being of the team members, he wins their trust and builds the bonding. One of the key success skills of my boss that I feel is that he has been a personal and professional guide, mentor, and counselor or call it by any name to my entire team. He always had concern for people and used to keep giving inputs from time to time for the professional and personal development. The care that the boss shows for your well being develops the loyalty factor towards the company . Teams success / failure It has been an inspiration for me to see my boss giving appreciation and credits instantly and giving recognition for the work and not taking it on him, before the other stakeholders. Even though he has been instrumental for the deliverables, he passes on the credit to the performer. Not only that, if it is failure, he sees it as a
teams failure and not as individuals. It underlies the essence of separating the people from the problem. Though it is said easily, you need a broad shoulder to practice it. This has been a truly motivational factor. Giving and receiving feedback We have this regular practice of giving feedback to our boss and as well receiving feedback from him. This periodical activity helps in better understanding of the team and understanding of the boss and this definitely contributes to the teams productivity. But a key reminder is to have an open mind when you sit on a feedback session, be it boss or a subordinate without any expectations. Encouraging new initiatives My boss is a true professional who believes that the team growth or the team members growth, is contributing to his growth. So he is one, who always encourages new ideas, initiatives and supports in all endeavors. As a team member, this approach of my boss facilitates to think out of the box and always look out for the value addition done by us in each of the deliverables. Management by Example I would like to term the practices of my boss as Management by Example. He is an example in each and every action of our department and it quickly enables the team to fall in line with him. This includes, even coming to office on time, maintaining punctuality for all the meetings, approachable to all the members, down to earth person despite the title he has, lending a helping hand when we need to meet up time pressures, very humane in nature, consistency in deliverables, etc etc, the list being too very long. To put it in a nutshell, though I have tried to keep myself as short as possible, my boss has truly been my inspiration for me for all my endeavors. My teams success rate on all our deliverables under his leadership and guidance is truly a validation for his management principles. Having been associated with him for over two years, I think this is the best tribute that I can pay him for what I am today, by sharing his best management practices to the management fraternity . All said and done, I would urge all bosses to take good care of your team and that is the best motivating factor to enhance the teams productivity. Create an enthusiastic and positive ambience, to tap the best talent of your team. The bosses can make or break the career of an individual, provided the individual also cooperates in the successful accomplishments of the departments goals.
An experience sharing by Divya Kumar , practicing HR professional in media company People and Management November-December 2011 31
employee matters
Employer Branding:
Concept and Implementation
Dr. Sandeep K. Krishnan Vice President HR and Corporate Development, Acropetal Technologies Ltd.
Employer Branding has been a relatively new concept that is becoming popular. While branding in a marketing context was always associated with consumer products, there was an extension to the corporate branding image. While corporate branding image encompasses everything, including products, people, culture, facilities, and governance, employer branding looks the specific part of image of the organization as an employer. This part looks at one critical aspect how positively stakeholders view the organization as a great place to work? Employer branding as a concept is viewed from two different angles. The first one looks at inside out, and the other outside in. Inside out works on a premise that the organization has great practices to motivate, engage, and retain employees and the need is to identify the value proposition and communicate effectively to the outside world. The other way of looking at it is that the organization is going to make changes in the practices or processes to bring out core value proposition from employee perspective and then spread the message outside. The second aspect is the organizations starts with spreading a message and then ensures that fundamentals are in place in line with the value proposition inside the organization. As per Mervyn
Raphael, Managing Director of People Consulting International that has done pioneering work in the area of Employer Branding in India, In the current context, companies are increasingly looking at articulating and enhance their Employer Value Proposition. This is not only being done from the perspective of attraction and retention but also from the aspects of looking at the give and the get from the employee standpoint. The EVP is also helping companies look at building the workplace from an aspirational angle and therefore making the Employer Promise more distinctiveness and differentiating.
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etc. An example would be a car. Imagine driving a car Maruti Alto and a Mercedez Benz. The core purpose will be transportation. The perception is driven by factors like style, social image, luxury, mileage, service, comfort etc. Softer aspects and right messaging also influences the pricing and the kind of customers it attracts. Similarly, organizations because of its certain attributes and image attract employees and also make current employees stay committed. Developing an Employer Value Proposition if it is a start up is entirely dependent on the founders vision about the work place they want to create. In an established firm, not clear its employer value proposition, research can help in identifying the core. Typically, the research in building an EVP will involve interviews, group discussions, and studying various data including exit interviews and recruitment data. For example when RPG Group did their employer branding exercise, indepth interviews and group discussions were conducted with head hunters, new joinees, campus recruits, perception from campuses, senior people in the organizations, top management, individuals who left the organization, individuals who were offered but did not join, etc. With data coming in from various sources the key strengths of the group were identified. This involved the following :
As in the case of RPG Group, the next part of the employer branding exercise is to have a focused approach towards creating and fine tuning internal HR processes and also spreading the message outside.
Reasons to believe No layoffs, treating people with care and providing equal opportunities Performance based on balanced scorecard, strong focus on development action planning for growth, progressive practices for development As the group has multiple companies working in diverse industries, it helps individuals to move across and build their careers All companies are performance and hence there will be growth for employees as well This is a stretch in terms of branding and the organization should get ready for the same
2. Higher employee referrals 3. Less attrition 4. Ratio of offer to acceptance and acceptance to joining As in managing a product brand, employer brand needs to be reflected in various touch points of HR. Recruitment, Performance Management, Rewards, training, and behaviors related to leadership and culture. While adopting cutting edge practices in human resource practices will help in getting recognized in various HR forums, a powerful employer brand with practices that align with both the internal and external image has multitude effects and can be of long term strategic advantage.
Author: Dr Sandeep K. Krishnan is the vice president, HR and . corporate development, Acropetal Technologies, India where he heads the function. He is a mechanical engineer and a fellow of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, where he completed his doctorate. His areas of expertise include designing human resource processes, talent management, leadership development, organization structuring, and employer branding. He has been instrumental in organization development and bringing change by instilling effective HR processes, and systems as an in-house professional and as a consultant. He has worked with organizations such as IBM, RPG, and Ernst and Young in the area of human resource consulting, Talent Management, and as an HR Generalist. He teaches as a visiting faculty in institutes like IIMs, NIT Calicut, and IMT Nagpur. He has published papers in highly regarded academic journals and publications of general interest.He can be reached at sandeephrm@gmail.com People and Management November-December 2011 33
Enabling performance
Youthful outlook
employee matters
Seven Keys to
Have you ever thought to yourself: Is my career progressing the way I want it to go?; Am I really doing what I want to do?; Do I really have the skills that will make me successful? The good news is that all successful people have thought these questions more often than not. The great news is that the really successful ones take great interest in answering these questions very strongly and that is what really differentiates them from the rest. There is no right time for these questions to be answered, but more often than not, you will find that this question occurs to you when you are in your mid-career, typically after you have spent a decade in the industry . Individuals who are successful in organisations tend to be highly motivated. In order to have a successful career which is also motivating in parallel, it is important to understand the components that constitute and impact ones career. An individuals career journey can be divided into three elements as illustrated in the figure below:
Aspirations: What inspires the individuals Advancement: Ones Professional and personal growth Achievements: The basis and proof of ones successes Career Mojo: A state of career success & satisfaction
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The meeting of these key elements is paramount to solving the career conundrum. Lets consider the scenarios below to further explain the above figure: Scenario 1: Aspirations and Achievement are met, Advancement is not met. Status Plateau; This is where you have clear aspirations and leverage your abilities to deliver, but commensurate rewards and recognition in the form of advancement have not been achieved. Scenario 2: Aspirations and Advancement are met, Achievements are not met. Status Passenger; This is where you are growing and meeting your aspirations through career advancement, but you do not get a sense of realizing your potential and capabilities. S c e n a r i o 3 : A c h i eve m e n t s a n d Advancement are met, Aspirations are not met. Status Penguin; This is a state where you are experiencing growth and have been rewarded for your contributions, but are not going anywhere, much like a penguin a good bird to be around but cannot fly and hence cannot go anywhere far. The fourth scenario is where you experience all these elements; where what you are doing is in line with what you want to do, you experience that you are contributing and are being rewarded for your contributions. This scenario is the most productive of all and is where one is likely to experience career mojo. It is the synergy of these three key elements that creates career success in organizations a state where you enjoy your work, you are successful, and others feel that you are an important part of the team and value your contributions. This contributes greatly to career planning and individual development. Aspirations, Advancement and Accomplishments are key watchwords in organisations today. They form the core of an individuals persona in the work world that he or she is a part of. Individuals who have had successful careers have often taken steps in order to achieve their goals. Below are7 Keys to unlocking successful careers in organisations: Key s t o n e : Set yourself rational and achievable goals. Devise measurements against
each one and the frequency of measurement. The performance management process is a key element in organisations that enables this. Kings Speech: As a metaphor, this refers to communicating your goals to all stakeholders and asks them for help to achieve them. By enrolling them with the Kings speech people find themselves compelled and hence are enrolled into your vision. Kite Flying: Dare to dream. Dreams are a very effective tool to make progress in your career. Let your dreams soar like kites. Informal networks in organisations enable people to share and communicate their dreams. Kins Help: Ask and you shall receive. Take help from people around you, regardless of kith or kin. More minds mean more options. Identify a mentor or coach in the organization whom you can look up to and set up regular meetings. Great kings have always been surrounded by wise men and women. Kaleidoscope: Have regular points of introspection. Evaluate your achievements and see how this makes you feel. The different colours of emotions will come out. The SWOT analysis tool is a very good way of ensuring your feet are grounded. Knowledge Networks: Network with peers in the industry. Formal and Social networks contain a wealth of information and ideas. Become part of the social movements; let people know your beliefs and attitudes. The Johari window theory is a great example of what you can achieve; the more you discover the more you will reveal of yourself. Knights: Identify some of the pioneers in the field as your role models and establish contact with them; seek mentorship, gain perspectives. Let them know your views on the topics. This will give an opportunity to get your perspectives heard, corrected and ultimately improved. The above points are some of the keys that when followed can enable you to have a rewarding career. Great organisations have always put people at the forefront because they understand that they are in a people focused business. Similarly successful individuals have always had the unquenchable thirst for learning and have constantly pushed themselves in terms of their contribution. The key is to find a balance and understand what works for you.
People and Management November-December 2011 35
employee matters
There is a wide variety of reasons why low morale can creep into the workplace. Regardless of the reason low morale can hurt productivity, increase work errors, increase sick days, decrease cooperation between teams and departments, and if left unchecked can lead to larger problems.
What is Morale?
Merriam-Webster defines morale as The mental and emotional condition (as of enthusiasm, confidence or loyalty) of an individual or group with regard to the function or tasks at hand. A sense of common purpose with respect to a group. Clearly morale is an emotional issue with , employees. Most employees are good workers. They show up on time each day, do well at their job, and take home the satisfaction that they have done a good days work. They feel they belong to a group that works just as hard as they do and they work for a company and management that cares about them. This is the ideal of good morale.
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meeting expectations which they know will hurt them on their performance review. This problem is caused by managers who have not taken the time to give clear expectations of the position. Other Employees This is where the saying one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch applies. When management fails to deal with an under-performing employee it can quickly spread negativity among the entire staff. This can be a particularly bad problem with teams that are dependent on each other.
not express it, but they are waiting on management to solve the problem. I listed the first cause of low morale as poor leadership. Too often managers are disconnected from their employees or do not give them the affirmation that they need. Remember morale is an emotional issue. Employees need to know their work is appreciated. They want to have the sense that they belong, that they are respected and have the respect of their peers and management. The best motivator is to make people feel that they are a valuable and worthy person and a valuable and worthy member of the team. The following are some ways to do this: Connect: Employees need to feel there is a connection between themselves and management; that they share a common purpose and common goals. They need to know that management knows who they are, what is going on with their job and that management is there to help them when needed. One way to connect with your employees is to spend time with them. You should regularly work alongside them if possible. If
People and Management November-December 2011 37
Remember morale is an emotional issue. Employees need to know their work is appreciated. They want to have the sense that they belong, that they are respected and have the respect of their peers and management
employee matters
not, then take some time and find a reason to sit with them at their desk. Perhaps to review something they are working on, or just to stop in and see how they are doing. You MUST be sincere about this. See if there are any issues they are having that you can help with. Take your lunch or breaks with your employees. It helps to demonstrate that you do not consider them beneath your association. It also gives you an opportunity to have a conversation that is not work related. This goes a long way towards maintaining the connection you need. A c k n o w l e d g e : E m p l o ye e s w a n t recognition and acknowledgment that their work has purpose and that it is appreciated. Never miss an opportunity to acknowledge when someone has done good work. Even a simple Thank You when an employee completes a task for you will help them see their work is appreciated. Acknowledge how the contributions of your employee have helped you get your job done. Thank you for all of your hard work gathering this information. It will allow me to get my budget turned in on time. This shows the employee how valuable their work is directly to you. Acknowledge how the contributions of your employee have helped your company. Thank you for all of your hard work on this project. We will save a lot of money due to your efforts. This shows the employee how valuable their work is to the company .
Acknowledgment must be sincere to do any good. Do not pass out remarks for any reason. If your employee has worked hard on something and done a good job, they almost expect to be acknowledged for it. It affirms that their work is appreciated and that you respect the work that they do. Awards and public reco gnition of work above and beyond are excellent ways to acknowledge the hard work of your employees. All employees want recognition from management and their peers. You may also benefit from the increased performance of others so they also can get an award. Challenge Them: The drudgery of doing the same thing, day after day, year after year can cause a good employee to suffer low morale over time. While employees may be filling a vital role in the work that they do, they probably will appreciate a new challenge or task. As managers we are trained to delegate. See if there is a task you can delegate to one of your employees. Explain to them how important the task is and that due to their performance you have confidence in their ability to do it. It can be something as simple as preparing a report. Another way to challenge your employees is to take an active role in their career development. While most of us do not want to lose hard-working employees, they should be given opportunities to advance. Offer them training or teach them new skills. Sit down
Awards and public recognition of work above and beyond are excellent ways to acknowledge the hard work of your employees
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and talk with them about their career path. This shows you care about them improving themselves and are willing to help them. Even if they do not move on to another position, you will end up with more skilled employees who are more confident about their abilities and their value to the company .
loosing their job. High stress equals low morale. Employees also must know what is expected of them. Job expectations should be made clear so the employee knows what their job role and responsibilities are. Dont just verbally tell them, write them down and give it to them. During performance reviews it is the perfect time to review and update expectations. How will your employee know if they are doing a good job if you never tell them what is expected of them? The work environment is vital to employee morale. Is your workplace clean? Is the furniture and equipment functional? Is your workplace drab and dreary? If you want good morale, not to mention better performance, consider improving the work environment. Does management sit in new offices using the newest technology, while employees have broken chairs and outdated computers? Does your system, polices and work environment create a compelling place for your employees to work? Or is it so strict and outdated that they dread coming to work in the morning? Most morale issues are not problems for the employee to address. They are problems that management and leadership have not addressed.
Summary
Low morale in the workplace is an emotional issue for employees. It has many causes and must be dealt with immediately Often poor leadership . or poor management is the problem. Take steps to directly connect with your employees. Let them know that you do know who they are, the work that they do and that you are always there to help them. You should always acknowledge when they do good work, preferably in a public way A simple . Thank You for a job well done is recognition that you appreciate their work. Employees need to know their work has a purpose, is appreciated and that both management and the company value them. You must deal with problem employees before they infect the entire group. Use progressive discipline and follow-up regularly to go over the progress. Examine your system, policies and work environment. These could all be sources of low morale.
Is it the System?
Sometimes low morale can be a sign of a dysfunctional system. If you have policies that are nearly impossible for employees to follow, or are so strict they live in constant fear of loosing their job, you have a system in place that can kill morale. For instance if you have a strict attendance policy stating that if you are late 5 times in a 3 month period you will be terminated, you have a system that places little value on the employee. Yes attendance is important, but life happens. Employees may get stuck in traffic, or forget to set their alarm. There are any number of legitimate reasons that can cause an employee to be late. You do NOT want your employees driving like maniacs to get to work on time out of fear of
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employee matters
Ways to Avoid
Are you one of the professionals who are worried about being laid off ? As companies are pressed to cut costs in recent times, many have looked to cutting head counts as a way to save money It doesnt matter if you have been . with the company 20 years or 20 months you could be laid off. Many highly skilled professionals have been laid off simply for the sake of cutting the bottom line. For the business this is a strategic move to cut costs and improve profits.
For employees it is a nerve-racking experience with many wondering if they will be next on the hit list. There are steps you can take to help make yourself more valuable to the company and less likely to be shown the door.
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for work and dont leave early In the past . you may have called in sick when you felt bad. Now only do so if you are unable to work. Companies need people they can depend on to be at work every day, on time and work the full day . 2. Be Passionate About Your Job: Having a true passion for your job, being driven and motivated to always do your best is a good way to avoid the pink slip. If you have lost your passion read How Passion For Your Job Can Lead To Success (at http://itmanagersinbox. com/1559/how-passion-for-your-job-canlead-to-success) to get it back. 3. Be Likeable If you are one of those people with a rough edge you need to soften up. Companies want employees who are able to work together and get along well. Refrain from expressing your displeasure over something. Dont be that person who always says no or who has the dark negative cloud over their head. Treat co-workers with respect and try to help others when you can. 4. Be a Team Player: One Company , One Team is a mantra you should live by Companies want employees who are . team players. When approached with a problem dont respond with Its not my problem. If you cant help find someone who can. Look for ways you can help others to reach their goals and make their jobs easier. 5. Align With Company Goals and Objectives: Do you even know what your company goals and objectives are? If not you had better find out quickly and make sure your work is aligned with them. In this tight economy cutting costs is a top goal. Look for ways you can improve a process or do the job with less to save money . 6. Learn to Handle Pressure: With job cuts many are asked to take on extra duties. This can add to an already high level of stress and pressure to get the job done. Knowing how to deal with working under pressure shows you can handle the heat. 7. Stay Positive: Maintaining a positive outlook can be difficult during
times like these. It is important that you be able to stay positive even in negative situations. If you fly off the handle when something goes wrong it means you need to learn to control your response. Maintaining a positive outlook about your job and your work is far less stressful and is what others need to see from you. 8. Learn What Your Employees Want: If you are a manager, keeping your employees happy makes them more productive and shows that you are a good manager. Companies want high performing teams and the best way to do this is to start by focusing on the needs of your team. 9. Make Your Employees More Productive: Once again if you are a manager your performance is tied to how well your team does their job. The more time you spend coaching them, training them to do their job better and to do new task is time well spent. Remember; their success is your success. 10. Be the Best at What You Do: This last tip is the most important. If you want to avoid the pink slip. Simply do your job better than anyone has ever done it. The best advice we can give you for this is to read the great article titled Be The Best at What You Do (at http:// samgrier.com/6/the-street-sweeper-bethe-best-at-what-you-do/). It shows how the power of being positive and being passionate about your job, regardless of what your job is will lead to success.
Conclusion
The stress and worry about loosing your job is like a daily drum beat in your head. It can distract you from performing at your best and possibly end up causing the exact thing you are trying to avoid. During tough times you should look at your career. Are you heading in the right direction? Is your career path on track? If you have never considered these much this is a good time to start. Should things not work out for you and you do get laid off it is important to know how to handle a detour in your career road map.
People and Management November-December 2011 41
employee matters
Five Keys to
Employee Development
Employee development is the ongoing process between an employee and a manager. Companies need rising stars to fill new positions and one of your roles as a manager is to foster employee development to meet these needs. All employees will benefit from development, but you should concentrate on those who show the most potential first.
the role changes to raising the employees performance to a higher level. Discover and discuss areas the employee needs to improve in; Get buy-in from the employee that they are committed to improving; Develop a plan to improve the employees skills and knowledge; Meet regularly to discuss how the development is progressing.
Key 2 - Counseling: Counseling is a discussion for the purpose of helping the employee to sort out any personal difficulties. In employee development there may be added pressures or stress that can arise. If you see the employee is struggling with a development task sit down and talk with them. They may have fears or other emotions that are
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interfering with their development. Teach them how to deal with these emotions so they can progress and learn how handle them on their own in the future. Key 3 - Mentoring: Mentoring differs from coaching in that mentoring is about overall career growth and guidance. You want to motivate employees and help them to understand their potential and how that potential can be achieved. Show them why they should develop a career plan and help them see their future role in the organization. Your manager or another manager can act as a mentor, but you have a role to play since you interact with the employee on a daily basis. Key 4 - Teaching: With employee development teaching revolves around soft skills. These skills lay a foundation on which he/she can build. Focus on: Communications skills; Inter-Personal skills; Problem solving skills; and, Professionalism;
technical skills are an essential part of employee development. These are on-the-job skills as well as specialized technical skills. The focus should be on gaining expert knowledge in their area. This is an area where a manager can help by advising and encouraging the employee, but the real work should be done by the employee him/ herself. It can involve taking classes, obtaining certifications or gaining knowledge from experts in your department.
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employee matters
Whenever you accomplish something, especially the important things, make sure to take the time to reward yourself. A famous author Anthony Burgess used the Martini Method to get things done. Burgess set a goal of 1,000 words per day
Time management is a skill that many of us seem to learn through necessity. The problem with learning a skill through necessity is that, more often than not, bad habits creep in and, although the skill may be useful in general, we do not use it to its full potential. Taking the time to read up on improving your time management skills can lead to great rewards. Some examples are as follow: The elimination of procrastination and avoidance-of-tasks; Easier, quicker, evaluation of your work and abilities; Less worrying about deadlines; More productivity; More relaxation time;, and, (The obvious one) An overall increase in time. Time management is a skill that takes time to development
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and perfect. It also is a skill that is different for everyone. Your best bet is to try a variety of different approaches until something clicks in your brain and sticks in your routine.
a real deadline. Of course, this tip has potential for abuse, so be sure to make your own penalties for missing your personal deadlines. 7. Delegate Responsibilities: It is not uncommon for people to take on more than they can handle. The over estimation of ones abilities, though not necessarily a bad thing, can often result in stress and more work. To avoid this unnecessary stress, do not feel bad about delegating tasks. 8. Set up a Long Term Planner: In the everyday drab of life, we can often lose sight of our goals. Setting up a long term planner will help you to envision your long term goals and rationalize your current objectives. Whenever you find yourself thinking Why am I putting myself through this work right now? I could be home watching television. just take a look at your long term planner and youll be reminded of paying off your mortgage or saving up enough for your childs college tuition. Revise this long term planner monthly to keep goals up-to-date. 9. Work in a Team: This tip works handin-hand with tip # 7 (above). Although giving up responsibilities is a scary thought for some, it is an invaluable method to increase the average team productivity of all involved. Make sure the team goals are clear and make sure everyone knows who is responsible for given tasks. Make sure all lines of communication are always open. A clogged or blocked line will have the opposite effect on productivity Give tasks to those who . are best suited for them and things will get done faster. 10. Be Careful to Avoid Burnout: Burnout occurs when your body and mind can no longer keep up with the tasks you demand of them. Dont try to force yourself to do the impossible. Delegate time for important tasks, but always be sure to leave time for relaxation and reflection. Review your recent accomplishments and make sure you feel good. Review and reflection is one of the best ways to gain confidence and higher confidence means more productivity . An individual skilled in time-management stands to gain much more from everyday life than the next guy Try employing these tips in your . everyday life and watch the productivity grow.
* Source: www.dumblittleman.com; Visit for more relevant managerial tips People and Management November-December 2011 45
whats next
Whats
People who found
Next ??
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Vincent Van Gogh: He only sold one painting in his lifetime! Just one to a friend. Despite that he kept painting and finished over 800 pieces. Now everyone wants to buy them and his most expensive painting is valued at $142.7 million. Steven Spielberg: He applied and was denied two times to the prestigious University of Southern California film school. Instead he went to Cal State University in Long Beach. He went on to direct some of the biggest movie blockbusters in history Now hes worth $2.7 billion and in 1994 got an honorary . degree from the film school that rejected him twice. Tim Ferris: The man behind the 4 Hour Workweek, who changed how many people view work and life, was rejected by 26 publishers before one gave him a chance. Its been on the best sellers list for years, sold all over the world, and last year published The 4 Hour Body that went to #1 on the New York Times best sellers list. The Beatles: They were rejected by many record labels. In a famous rejection, the label said, guitar groups are on the way out and the Beatles have no future in show business. After that the Beatles signed with EMI, brought Beatle mania to the United States, and became the greatest band in history . Michael Jordan: Hes famous for being cut from his high school basketball team. He turned out to be the greatest basketball player but never let failure deter him. I love this quote I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. Thomas Edison: No list of success from failures would be complete without the man who gave us many inventions including the light bulb. He knew failure wouldnt stop him. If I find 10,000 ways something wont work, I havent failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward. There is no success without failure Decide what is important to you and take huge steps everyday even though it doesnt seem like its working. Success doesnt happen without failures. Its reality . Deal with it. How bad do you want to achieve your goal? It better be so bad that rejection wont derail you. Fall down seven times, gets up eight. Japanese proverb Let these examples inspire you every day .
Source: http://getbusylivingblog. com/famous-people-who-foundsuccess-despite-failures/ This month were introducing a new section on People and Management, Whats Next. This space is for our readers and friends and fans to kick back, wonder acknowledge and , chat about mystic or new stuff and surprise every time with new delight. This space is for you, so if you have suggestions on things that would make it an even friendlier place to swap knowledge, let us know!
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Prof. Dewakar Goel is General Manager - Human Resource, Airports Authority of India New Delhi
Recently, the New Performance Management System has been introduced in Govt Sectors across the country based on Key Performance Areas (KPA) which is having its bearing on Management by Objective. In simple words for a public sector this new appraisal system is quite pragmatic with less scope of biasness because of cascading from Top to Bottom. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is agreed and signed by the Chief Executive with Govt of India covering all activities of the organization with specific targets. The executives at the top level share the MOU points pertaining to their respective disciplines. Following the cascading approach, the MOU points are converted into KPA to be assigned to the executives down below in the hierarchy It is going to become mandatory for . every organization to have Bell Curve Approach identifying the potential at all levels of Human Resource in the organization. It has been observed that the people do not have the proper understanding about the concept of Bell Curve Approach and confuse it with the Appraisal system, whereas it is only a tool to be used for justifying the comparison of employees within a group or within the entire organization and also on the face of budgetary constraints. When I say it is not a appraisal system, I say so because it does not have built in perfor mance standards and metrics to distinguish outstanding, very good, good, average or poor performance. As a matter of fact Bell Curve rather needs another appraisal tool to facilitate the distribution of employees within the percentages that the company mandated to be assigned within the curve. Basically, the normal distribution curve used in a statistical science is
used for implementation of Bell Curve Approach, mainly as camouflage to portray its validity and acceptance. Let us to go back to the history about this theory which was conceived in the year 1994 by Herneistein and Murray when they analysed the forced ranking appraisal system to come out with the bell curve approach. According to them, managers should rank their employees from best to worst by applying rankings in a normal distribution curve with the basic objective to use that bell curve for determining the pay, rewards as well as no rewards. The Bell Curve facilitates the grouping or classification of employees for types of rewards and other benefits to link pay with performance commonly known as Perfor mance Related Pay (PRP). In todays world the organizations implementing Bell Curve Approach are keeping the following standards for identifying the percentage on performance level: Out Performers Above Expectations 10% 20% 40% 20% 10%
The Bell Curve or Normal Distribution Curve is quite easy to use understand and implement because following this concept we simply arrange the rated employees from one getting the highest rating to one who got the lowest with forming the groups with forming the groups by distributing them on percentage basis in various allocated
People and Management November-December 2011 49
Case in point
columns. The Bell Curve needs to be used independent to the annual performance appraisal rating. The concept of Bell Curve is to be implemented with due care ensuring that it should not influence and LEAD to the CHANGE of the actual performance rating. The results of Bell Curve should be utilized mainly for the purposes to guide the distribution of the total amount of rewards, budgeted by the organization for a given year just to pay for performance identified by comparison. A question may arise here that when there were 100 employees out of which say 28 were Outstanding, then, according to the bell curve only 10 employees find place in the top slot (right tapering end of the curve). i.e. outstanding category; so what will happen to the other 18 (28-10) employees? The difference between the outstanding and above expectation category is huge, but due to the Normal distribution, outstanding employees are rated same with the Very Good employees. Moreover, in such a situation which 10 persons are to be chosen, if there is hardly any difference amongst them. So here creeps in biasness say injustice to 18 persons. The most relevant question will arise as to what will happen in a situation where all employees have been rated outstanding performers? We can find the answer to the above question in the Bell Curve, where the employees are ranked from top to bottom. The system believes
that even the best perfor mers can still be ranked. As such, if twenty (20) employees get an OUTSTANDING (O) rating, then they can be ranked from 1 to 20, with the one getting rank number one presupposed to be the best among the O performers. If the organization policy sets a 10-80-10 normal distribution, then only the top TEN will go to the right side or 10 percent column. The next TEN outstanding performers will be forced fit to the middle the 80 percent, but actually it is into two: 40 percent at middle right and another 40 percent to the middle left side of the curve. If the organization policy says that those who go to the right side gets promotion and an X percent of bonus or reward then only the TEN employees will be promoted and get that X bonus. The 11th to 20th employees with O rating will have the same fate as those who did not get an O (may be Very Good or Good only). But definitely, the TEN poorest performers will go to the left side of the curve. And if the organization policy is to manage them out, then they will be dismissed. There will be chaos and problems within the organization when those that got an O will soon discover that their ratings were changed to Very Good or Good just because they slide down the curve during the force fitting stage. On the face of above limitations, the Bell Curve Approach does not recommend the change in rating regardless of the outcome in
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the bell curve distribution. If an employee is an outstanding performer, he will still be outstanding even if he was the 20th among the O performers and was not given promotion or bonus. The Bell Curve is having certain bottlenecks which need to be addressed and taken care of for viable solution. These pitfalls or I may not be wrong to say flaws can be categorized into three categories: a) Normally, this Bell Curve Approach is implemented department wise instead of having its applicability on the entire work force that gives the chance that worst in some departments may be much better than the average in other departments. b) When this approach is implemented in the department where the performance have been very good but the salary is quite less as compared to other departments than sooner or later the organization may see that the top 20 percent employee may leave the because they may not feel happy with their respective packages after comparing the same with the employees working in other departments. c) While following the Bell Curve Approach along with improving the top performer in the organization it would also attract hyper competitive nature among the employees which may result into dysfunctional working environment in the same department. Moreover there is another drawback which can be seen because generally the employees sent for training , who are coming below the expectation level, thus ignoring the important aspect of training needs for better performance. There are great amount of benefits which may come by following the Bell Curve Approach, if it is applied properly and aligned with good practices such as talent management and competency development. There will be a very effective use of this concept for the organizations which are going for restructuring, re-engineering for new business processes by way of cutting down their work force for the cost advantages etc., Some HR Professionals have a feeling of apprehension about complication in deriving the Bell Curve since it is statistical tool requiring accuracy and perfection. For these professionals there is a good news that not they can use a software that can generate desired output in the form of fool proof, error free, statistical analysis as well as a results which can be put to test for effective use. There are number of software available in the market such as K-Lite.
General Electric was the first company to implement this concept which was followed by Microsoft, Sisco Systems, Hewlett Packard and Sun Micro System etc. In our country, the response was not so encouraging to adopt this system, though it succeeded in the West because of work culture followed by corporate policies. But since, we tend to have a more emotional approach, it never became so popular. Care must be taken that using Bell Curve as appraisal tool should also have the scope for answering the complaints and law suits. It is not really possible to have any legal defense. A large number of HR practitioner in US and Europe do not advocate for appraisal as a whole mainly because of Bell Curve.
Prof. Dewakar Goel is General Manager - Human Resource, Airports Authority of India New Delhi. He is IATA qualified instructor from Geneva Switzerland on the expert panel of International Civil Aviation Organization, Montreal, Canada. He is a visiting professor for many prestigious business schools, including IITs and NMIMS University, Mumbai. He has authored more than 10 books which include books on management. Recently he was the chairperson and speaker for Asian Airports Summit 2008 at Singapore as the only Indian among representatives from 16 countries. He is delivers lectures on the topic of Influence of Stress on Performance based on his research for PhD. Prof Dewakar Goel can be contacted at dewakargoel14@gmail.com and mobile - 0968247070 with address 4051, Joy Apartments, Plot No.2, Sector ,-2, Dwarka, New Delhi. People and Management November-December 2011 51
Impression
Management
When a person is trying to mould his natural behaviour just to manage a particular situation or to look good in front of others, he is following the art of Impression Management. It makes people feel good if they claim to be an expert at something and people around them accept the same. This helps them to increase self-confidence and raises their self-esteem. After making a good impression it becomes easier to influence others. People, in day to day life, widely use this technique of Impression Management to effect a change in personality .
A real life example may be a person in the habit of being unorganised who grooms himself very nicely just before leaving for a party, or an interview or for a date. Somebody has rightly said, First impression is the lasting impression. This quote itself describes the need and importance of Impression Management.
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People who follow the art of Impression Management never try to win an argument. They believe in, Never win an argument, you often lose a friend.
who doing the same. This is a Good Tit for Tat method.
Humility: Some people are very arrogant by nature but during those 15 minutes of the interview, or to crack an interview, they try to act as humble as possible just because they know how important this trait is. B o d y L a n g u a g e : Ta ke p e r s o n a l i t y development classes before appearing for interviews and keep it in mind to carry a smile and not to cross legs or press hands. However, these days many interviews are supplemented with psychometric tests of personality to find out if the candidate is faking the interview or trying to fit-in for the job? This likely leads to problems down the line as the true self emerges.
good living
Self Image
You look at the mirror see you; you smile; the you in the mirror , also smiles; you adjust your hair maybe combing it; you look , again in the mirror tilt your head to one side, then to the other , side everything is okay, you feel. This however is your own , image, an exact replica. This is not self image. At the most this is your external appearance, for which everyone these days cares about a lot. Well, a good appearance would also boost your self image, though.
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What is self image? Self image is altogether different. It is how others perceive you, or how you would like them to perceive you. Naturally, you want everyone to like you, like you for your qualities, your attitudes, your attributes, your abilities, and how they see you overall as a person. It is the image about you that you want to create in the minds of others who see you. Or, to put it another way, it is the brand you want to create for yourself which will be etched in their minds, when they think of you. Something similar to a branded product, the qualities of which are instilled in you through advertisements etc. When you think of a particular brand of soap, a particular brand of tea etc. what comes to your mind is the qualities associated with that particular branded product. And, so similarly you have to work towards that. Self Image what comes to your mind? When we talk of Dr. Abdul Kalam, Mr. Narayana Murthy, Mahatma Gandhi and so on, what comes to your mind is the set of personal qualities and principles, values etc. they stand for, though their picture also comes to your mind. If, therefore, someone thinks of you, what personal qualities and attributes of yours would come to their mind, or should come to their mind. This is what you should care for, if you want to build up your image and the self-respect associated with those qualities, which you would then command. In a way, it could even be said as to how you would like your own epitaph to be written, that is how you would like to be remembered even after your death. And, it is very important that integrity should be an integral ingredient of the qualities that make you up. Self Introspection: First you should do an introspection about yourself, something equivalent to a self analysis. You should ask yourself, What are the good qualities that I already have? You may have some good qualities like you are kind, wanting to help others, listen to others viewpoint also, before jumping to conclusions, ability to communicate well and so on. Once you discover these, the next steps should follow. Maintain the Good Qualities: While you may have certain good qualities as above, it is very important to be conscious of them and to see that under no circumstances you deviate
from these, which will erode your value in others minds. A continuous analysis of your good and bad qualities should help you to improve your self image by adhering to the more positive ones and, at the same time weeding out the bad habits. Build up your Image: Apart from whatever good qualities you may have, you can think of continuously improving further by following other good qualities, and further enhancing your image as would be perceived by others. When you feel that this is the way you would want others to look at you as a person, you are creating the brand for you. While you need not advertise about these, as in the case of products and commodities, your actions and actions alone will take care of this advertising job for you. And others would also base their judgement not by what you profess, but by what you actually practise. You should also avoid any action, even under pressure, which would bring ignominy. The very thought that what would others think of my image if I stoop so low, should act as a deterrent. Safe guarding your Image: There could be attempts at tarnishing your image by people who dont like you. Sometimes you may feel that you have been outsmarted in studies etc. by your classmates. Some physical handicaps, a not-so-handsome appearance etc. may make you feel depressed which would make you feel as though you have fallen two-three steps down the ladder in terms of your image and, most important, beware of those hypocrites who adorn themselves with fake image-boosting masks. Your attempt should be to firmly believe in your own core values which you have chosen to depict your image, and never fall prey to happenings and situations described above. Self Esteem: You should never under-rate yourself; you should have a high esteem of yourself. The belief in you and about you is the ultimate test you. The beliefs in certain values which are core to your heart, and which you want to uphold are also important. Mack Douglas calls this as the self esteem which, according to him, is the package of beliefs that you carry around in your head, that you have accepted to be true about yourself, whether it is or not. Such thinking will also lead to boosting your self -confidence.
People and Management November-December 2011 55
good living
How is work at present? Do you feel stuck? Are opportunities coming your way? Are you losing opportunities? Is your career stable? This area can relate to our journey in life. Do you feel at present that you are aligned with your dream? Do you feel that you are on track with what you really want to be doing with your life? The essence of Feng Shui & Vaastu lies in the abundance of opportunities that will come your way when you arrange your living space in accordance with its principles. Almost every technique and method you use to improve the Vaastu & Feng Shui of your home or office will bring you wonderful opportunities to enhance your career, wealth, your happiness and your lifestyle.
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as this governs wealth and creativity Since this . zone is associated with the element of wood, if you are using wooden dining table as a desk this will also help to speed up the development of your new career. To absorb more Yang energy, undertake a major cleaning session of your home: get rid of belongings you no longer use or need, take down and wash curtains, move heavy furniture so that you can clean behind them and tackle other places that are usually inaccessible. Try to keep your home spacious so that Chi energy can flow freely . To boost the presence of Eastern Chi energy in your home, place a bowl of fresh water or any water feature in this direction of your home. Since tree is the Five Element related to the east, place wooden furniture or decorative items in the east of your home, and can grow tall plants there as well. Decorating this part of your home with bright green colours will further enhance your exposure to this beneficial Chi energy .
With the advent of the 21st century, change has been the one dependable factor in every venture. In order to match the increasing need for improved performance, organisations have started to look within rather than just at the competition to evaluate strategies that would fulfil the ambitions they set store by AIESEC in Delhi University, the Delhi chapter of the . largest student run organisation worldwide has provided the Capital with several innovations in terms of international exchange, social entrepreneurship and corporate events since 1984. 2011 shall see them presenting The HR Summit on 3rd November at The Grand- New Delhi; in an attempt to bring together HR professionals from the top companies in the city and provide them with a unique platform to discuss, deliberate and ultimately understand wholly, the human resource challenges faced by a global world. The involvement of only students from Delhi University in the inception, organisation and execution of the event makes it unprecedented, creating a larger awareness of the potential of untrained students in terms of professional interaction and management skills. AIESEC in Delhi University has geared up to look at the various obstacles rising up in the urban work culture with a view to systematically handle each adversity thrown at this generation of leaders by the rapidly changing methods and means of operation in the corporate world. It is only fitting to have Mr. Ram Sarvepalli (Senior Partner and National Director, Business Risk Services, Ernst & Young. Awarded Entrepreneur of the Year in 2010 by Ernst & Young) as a guest and speaker for such an event, given his contributions to the corporate sector. Well known individuals who have made an impact on the way human resources are handled, developed and function such as Suresh Rajpal (CEO, Visnova Solutions), Akshat Rathee (CEO, Nodwin Group of Companies), Jeyadev Parthasarathy (Founder of Quadrangle Consultancy which later merged with naukri.com), Harshvendra Soin (Chief Peoples Officer, Fortis Healthcare Ltd.) and Amit Bhatia (Founder & CEO, Aspire Human Capital Management) will be present at the HR Summit as panellists to give insight into international human resource management. Issues that may have been mentioned before but have hardly ever been given the time and energy that they deserve will be delved into; such as the need for internationalism, managing culture and diversity in the workplace, optimum exploitation of global talent and the delicate management of Gen Y shall be the highlight of the conclave. The diverse audience comprising of CEOs of conglomerates, AIESEC India Board of Advisors, AIESEC in Delhi University Board of Advisors, HR professionals and select undergraduate students promises to pose interesting observations and questions to the many new concepts and theories that are expected to be unveiled at the HR Summit. The significance of networking shall be stressed upon at this conclave as it strives to provide everyone associated with it the platform to build successful business relationships by interacting with present and prospective clients, get an idea about the trends that are being talked about the most and exploit opportunities for partnerships and collaborations. The AIESEC experience is something that many corporate forces in NCR have already had a taste of, and for those who havent, the HR Summit will
provide information and enable them to interact with partners of the organisation to learn more about the impact AIESEC has had on the corporate world. This gathering shall also provide companies the opportunity to understand the scope and magnitude of the internships provided by AIESEC in Delhi University and the network thus created. It is expected to open up new avenues in terms of management of talent and involvement of trainees from all over the world into businesses in India, thus enlarging the sphere impacted by the work of each company Case studies of . various companies shall be analysed and studied, helping the delegates to learn from past innovations, errors and decisions and subsequently stressing upon the importance of a creative outlook towards business practises. This event hopes to bring together diverse and even conflicting opinions onto a neutral ground and help create an amalgamation of the great ideas that have led change in the 21st century and thus create more options for the rising generation. Expansion is one term that will never become obsolete, and the youth of today aims to make the most of it. The HR Summit is expected to become an avenue for growth and will provide its delegates with valuable information on the impact of multi-national corporations on the Indian market and case studies about the Indian companies that developed into MNCs. The involvement of an international workforce cannot be ignored in todays age and AIESEC in Delhi University stands for bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures to operate together on equal footing, mix ideas and hopefully create a novel model that may not be possible with what uni-dimensional HR approaches yield. The true effects of globalisation are yet to hit India in terms of human resource management in its totality and the HR Summit shall endeavour , to open up the floodgates and bring in a more accepting attitude towards incorporation of the global into the Indian. The conclave shall also discuss the ways in which HR practises affect the incoming batches of employees and those who hope to join the business world in the next few years. Sustainable management shall be spoken about from the viewpoints of not only the managers but also the talent. As no strategy today can be successful if it doesnt account for the future, the HR Summit will give ample time for planning and introspection through cross-company interactions as well as an exchange of experiences and methods to its delegates. The common belief that the future will be what the present youth wants it to be like cannot be ignored and will receive the attention it deserves, along with inputs from the carefully selected student delegates at the event. The HR Summit hopes to not only leave an impact on the ways in which units interact, but also make them aware of how no interaction is complete without a future based projection, which can only be possible when the future of the unit itself is adding to it constructively .
Shirin Rai Gupta Communications and Information Management AIESEC in Delhi University