people & management july 16

Vol.7 Issue 5 • July 2016, Noida |

6 | Vol.7 Issue 5 • July 2016, Noida

Vol.7 Issue 5 • July 2016, Noida | 7

Linda Brady HawkePublisher

from the publisher’s desk

Welcome to the July edition of

Don’t silo your HR department or talent acquisition efforts. Get the whole company involved in recruit-ing efforts. Work closely with your marketing department, especially on employment branding. A strong employer brand can be your greatest strength.

- Tiffany Brown

Talent is the primordial asset that enables the growth of any organisation .Our Cover Story Talent Acquisition explores how the future needs of an organisation can be best achieved with top talent from industry. An organisation’s greatest asset is its skilled human capital; how to train them is high-lighted in our Best Practices.

Special Focus takes you through the digital world of HR, whereas Higher Education in India talks about the importance of executive education in India.

HR Lifestyle suggests yoga on a daily basis for the physical and mental well-being.

Thought Stimuli features ways of creating an Employer Brand

There’s much more to keep you updated.

Enjoy Reading!


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CONTENTSCOVER STORY22 Talent Acquisition - A ‘War of Talent’

No matter how large or small an organisation is, hiring a new employee is an important decision.

24 EXPERT QUOTES

HR BEST PRACTICES26 Corporate Training with a Diff erence

An organisation’s greatest asset is its skilled human capital. Constant change in technology is making training an integral part of any business. But despite the huge jumps in corporate training, there are gaps in implementation.

SPECIAL FOCUS28 Application Latest Trend in HR

The constant evolution of the digital era has been unlocking newer ways for us to connect from any corner of the world, as

and when required.

HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA30 Executive Education in India

Business environment is hyper-competitive and constantly changing. To succeed in this environment there is very pronounced need for a lifelong learning.

34 EXPERT QUOTES

HR SPEAKS38 Employment Contract The New Age

Our business environment has been undergoing a paradigm change.

43 Education Lifetime Achievement Which Keeps you on a Right Track

Education is not preparation for life, but is life itself”. John Dewey’s quote is still very relevant and has gained utmost importance in today’s

corporate world.


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CONTENTS

Edited, Printed & Published by Linda Brady Hawke Owned by L. B. Associates (Pvt.) Ltd

H-108, Sector 63, Noida - 201301 U. P. India

Printed @ US Printographics E-53, Sector-7, Noida - 201301, UP, India by Linda Brady Hawke

Published @ L. B. Associates (Pvt.) Ltd H-108, Sector 63, Noida - 201301 U. P., India

Tel: +91-120-4727100 Fax: +91-120-2427108 Email: [email protected] | www.lbassociates.com

Managing Editor William Hawke | Editor-at-Large Alankar Srivastava, [email protected]

Trainee Associate Editor Shagun Walia, [email protected]

Director Business Development Binoy Sahee | Sr. Manager Events & Marketing Sunita Rawat

[email protected]

Layout & Design Atul Kumar, Anil Kumar, Sandeep Verma | Webmaster Uday N Jha

Circulation & Subscription [email protected]

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in People and Management are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily refl ect those of the editors or

the publisher. Although all eff orts have been made to ensure the complete accuracy of text, neither the editors nor the publisher can accept responsibility for

consequences arising from errors or omissions or any opinions or advice given.

HR LIFESTYLE45 Yoga Healthy Workforce is equal to Increased Productivity

India’s much touted millennial population looks set to breach the 65 percent barrier by 2021, making the nation the youngest country globally, even as it lags China in terms of holistic population.

PARADIGM SHIFT48 New Trends in Recruiting Space

It is beyond doubt that social media plays a useful role in the way business works and this trend is moving from just being marketing-oriented to assist wholly in recruiting and hiring.

OFFSHORE PERSPECTIVE50 Feedback Apps A Powerful Tool of HR

With the changing business world and its strategies, HR is also seeing up-down trends in its practices and procedures.

THOUGHT STIMULI53 Create an Enviable Employer Brand

To be or not to be well, there is no question about it. Your organisation will always have two brands: one which is known by clients and markets, and another which is nurtured by the people who work for you.

Wallet-HR (www.wallethr.in) is a comprehensive Human Resource Management Software which automates the entire gambit of the HR department . Wallet-HR helps enterprises in maximizing its workforce productivity, Our Hire 2 Retire Solution gives the Management information when it matters in a way they require. The Robust tightly Integrated Wallet HR comes with over 15 Modules

Wallet-HR is a product Designed :Developed & Owned by Crystal HR & Security Solutions Pvt. Ltd a company pioneering in HR & IT Solutions . The management of Crystal HR comes with two decades of domain expertise , which has helped them in delivering a best of breed solutions suitable for most of the industry verticals with minimal customization. The product is designed using the latest Microsoft technologies.

Wallet HR Suite consists Recruitment Management, Attendance Management, Leave Management , Travel Reimbursement , Exit Management, Payroll management , Performance Management, Learning & Development, HR Analytics, Employees Dashboard, Task manager , Travel Management ,Canteen & Visitor Management and Mobile Application.

Wallet-HR is available as both On-premises and as an On cloud solution ( As SaaS Offerings) which comes Packed with an integrated mobile application for employee self service related functions. . also it Helps employees check their attendance Discipline , Income Tax Proof Uploads; Payslips Downloads etc all by themselves.

The mobile application which a GPS based solution acts as an attendance device showcasing the exact location of IN & Out ( In Sync with the Map) for

employees who are on the Field, making this solution suitable for organizations who have an extensive fi eld force (feet-on-street employees).

Our employee self service portal aids organizations in engaging with employees even when spread across several locations. Organizations Messages, Events; Videos: Photographs can be showcased for the employees to check the happening across locations & Departments.

HR Analytics helps the management in taking critical decisions.

Crystal HR offers a basket of Biometric attendance device Solutions , Ranging from Card based Biometric to Face recognition depending on the industry requirements .Also , these machine can converted to a SIM based machine where the data can be pushed from the machine across locations directly to the server within seconds . We specialize in integrating with the software directly where the data can be fetched from the machine to the attendance software directly without any manual intervention.

We have completed Six successful years and we have rich experience in implementing the system with over 150 installations across various industry verticals in India and still growing at a rapidly pace . Our clients fi nd our product to be increasing their workforce productivity and helps in cutting down unnecessary paperwork.

Our clients testimonials has expressed that they have saved considerable time and money using Wallet-HR. They have also expressed their happiness over the ease of use of our product..The detailed Client List is given in Website with testimonials to substantiate our claims.

Advertorial

Ashish Patel is the Managing Director & Founder Consultant of Euphoria Consulting , one of Asia’s quite well known Organisational Development and Human Resources Consulting fi rm.

Ashish carries with him the wisdom of 18 years experience which is a stalwart combination of corporate milieu and consultancy.

He has conducted more than 1000 workshops spread over industry and academia in USA, UK, Russia, GCC Countries & India.

Ashish’s profi ciency is as -

• Champion Business Transformation Project - initiating organisational diagnosis followed by agreed planned intervention designs and necessary reviews / feedback

• Leadership Strategy Coach in defi ning and re-aligning individual leadership style in context to business strategy

• Role of an Internal Leadership Coach, initiating strategic & behavioural changes

During his coaching assignments, he has designed various interventions in consultation with the client requirement. He has done extensive work in the areas of Organisational Diagnosis, Business Transformation,

ASHISH PATELManaging Director & Founder Consultant+ 91 97696 25444, + 971 55 154 6421

[email protected]

Leadership Development, Organisational Culture and establishing employee connect, Organisation Strategy Building, Cross Functional Synergy building, etc.

He is doing extensive research on the areas of entrepreneurship and family business models to extend co-creation concept framework in the family entrepreneurship.

Ashish also plays an important role as –

• Member of Company Operating board (corporate stint) to align the business strategy with day to day operational challenges.

• Empanelled mentor & Business Scaling up Coach for Entrepreneurship centre at 3 prestigious incubation centres

• Special invitation to be Jury and Mentor for “Power of Ideas – 2010” an initiative by Economic times and IIM – Ahmedabad.

• Board member for three fast growing startup organisations.

• Speaker at international conferences (World HRD Congress, World Coaching Congress, World SME Summit, Asia Retail Congress, ASIA Pacifi c HRM Congress, World OD Summit)

• Internationally certifi ed for varied Leadership Assessment and Leadership Coaching



Q Please tell us about the journey of The Next Milestone Technologies.

A The Next Milestone Technologies was co-founded by me, along with senior professionals from the education and corporate sector. We intend to solve real life problems; specifi cally the high level of unemployability in India and other markets. 55 percent of people in metropolis and 75 percent in non-metros are unemployable. Given that 605 million Indians are under the age of 25, this poses a serious issue for industry to attract the right talent and for youth to get employed even if the jobs are available. Over the past two years, we have tested our solutions across markets, with thousands of users and we believe that we now have the tools to try and solve this problem. With a top team that has led large companies and education businesses, we feel we will be able to make a tangible contribution.

Q What are the key considerations while making customised offerings to clients?

A Our solutions are relevant for both the education and the corporate sector. Our tools have been customised in a manner

Attracting the

Right TalentMr Jagmohan Bhanver, Co-founder & CEO, TRUEtest, a division of The Next Milestone Technologies Pvt .Ltd, Speaks to People and Management. Excerpts...

that any user can benefi t from them, whether it is a seven year old or a senior professional. Our product team has identifi ed critical needs of each segment and the user proposition and experience has

EXPERT’S INTERVIEW

www.peopleandmanagement.com


been aligned with those needs. For school students, the imperative is to enable early stage identifi cation of hidden talent and scientifi c methods of choosing the right stream. At a college level, users can benefi t by understanding the right career choices. Working professionals can use our solutions to enhance their career. All of this is aided by an ecosystem that enables relevant counselling and industry mentoring. The technology overlaying the business model allows us deep understanding of our users in order to add great value to them.

Q Share your views on Executive Higher Education in India?

A Whether it is Higher Education or Executive Education, I believe the thrust needs to be around making it more usable. This means greater industry involvement, right from the stage of curriculum design to the pedagogy. Flipped classrooms should become more prevalent and face time with faculties should be used for debate and discussion rather than concept-sharing. More industry interface will ensure that participants and students

understand real corporate problems rather than focusing on theoretical issues which will not prepare them for what they will encounter in their career. Industry professionals will need to wake up to the reality that if they don’t take out time to mentor youth, the latter will never transition to the kind of talent required by companies. Higher Education which started with an elitist focus will now need to think of ways of touching the lives of the majority of Indians. This can only happen by adopting technology.

Q What is your mantra for success?A Focus on solving problems that have a

deep impact on people’s lives.

A Enlighten us on the future goals of the organisation?

Over the past 13 years, we have been doing our bit to mitigate the issue of unemployability. Having said that, we were going about it in the wrong manner! Over the past one year, we have tried to replicate our offl ine model into a more powerful online platform that allows people from anywhere in the world to gain self discovery (through various customised psychometric tools), and then have access to the best counsellors and industry mentors that can enable their success. We are also enabling greater industry interface through our platform (TRUEtest) and working on technology applications that can enhance user experience. Over the next year or so, we intend to foray into specifi c international markets too.

Over the past two years, we have tested our solu-tions across markets, with thou-sands of users.

Higher education which started with an elitist focus will now need

to think of ways of touching the lives of the majority of Indians. This can only happen by

adopting technology.


Rina Sagayamary Peter

Started off with one idea and eight people, has now transformed into a 60 plus dynamic team called Zoho

Recruit that has been constantly striving for innovation. The idea took inception in 2008, when the need of the hour was to develop a software solution for recruiters that reduce their daily chores of candidate management, resume management, communication and report generation.

Zoho Recruit, over the years has evolved into an easy to use, cohesive and collaborative application tracking system, with focus on making recruitment an easier task. Right from creating a single interface for all recruit activities to sourcing, tracking, hiring and analysing, Zoho Recruit has established itself as one of the pioneers in creating effi cient resume parsing and candidate tracking features. Zoho Recruit has also integrated with over eight popular job boards giving wider reach for job openings to travel.

Upcoming Zoho Recruit In today’s competitive business

environment, interviewers are entitled to use any red fl ag, as an excuse to not hire someone. But at the same time, they crave for promising individuals who would be able to inspire and revolutionise the company to a greater success.

Zoho Recruit, the Applicant Tracking System, focuses on getting the right

Journey of

Zoho Recruit

candidate for a particular job, and that too within a minimal amount of time. With both small and medium enterprises expanding at a rapid pace, it has become necessity for companies to look for the right talent. Companies need to update and adapt to newer technologies and strategies.

Zoho Recruit in the next fi ve years aims to increase its subscriber base by enthralling users with state-of-the-art features inside the product and counteracting the fl aws of the past.

The next 5 years will revolutionise businesses altogether. Most importantly, revolutionise Zoho Recruit into a worthier product.

Marketing Zoho RecruitZoho Recruit’s strengths lie

in its ability to provide a diverse range of features that cater to different needs of recruiters. Apart from having a simple, yet effective user interface, its functionality to provide maximum customisation to a client has made it very easy to market Recruit. Reaching out to the recruiter communities and providing them with an easy solution has always been the key for marketing this strategically.

Right from creating a sin-gle interface for all recruit activities to sourcing, tracking, hir-ing and ana-lysing, Zoho Recruit has established it-self as one of the pioneers in creating effi cient re-sume parsing and candidate tracking fea-tures.

INDUSTRIAL INSIGHTS



Be it the quick Chrome extension for downloading resumes directly from the internet into Recruit, the simple copy and paste option for resumes, the collaborative platform, the advanced analytics for generating insights, the integration with several job boards or the custom careers website-Recruit does it all. And all this for less than half the price.

Marketing StrategyThe Human Resource industry,

being one of the largest in the world, has seen a meteoric rise in the last decade.

With startups constantly enforcing disruption to the big players, the future of businesses will be strongly decided on technology, innovation and entrepreneurship and of course, the marketing strategy.

One of the most important aspects of any marketing strategy relates to identifying growth opportunities by utilising SWOT analysis. Once a company has identifi ed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of any marketing scheme, it becomes simpler to address those opportunities.

Zoho has primarily focused on implementing these at a consistent basis. This strategy is effective right now. But as new horizons open for customers to explore, different strategies need to to be implemented to cover that ground. Therefore, marketing strategies need to be implemented from time to time to stay in the competition.

The Writer is Product Marketing Manager, Zoho Recruit

Zoho has primarily focused on implementing these at a con-

sistent basis. This strategy is effective right now. But as new horizons open for customers

to explore, different strategies need to to be implemented to

cover that ground.


Q Giftxoxo.com started in 2012 with a unique concept of gifts. Could you please tell us about your offerings?

A We started as a gifting company. However, over the last 4 years, we have diversifi ed and moved beyond gifting. We are into three major business verticals, and each is strategically linked. We work with lot of corporates globally to handle their rewards, recognition, channel incentives, etc through a robust SaaS platform. We sell curated experiences and activities through our mobile app Frogo. This mobile app is a geo-based app and helps a consumer to discover and book amazing experiences around. These experiences are also sold to corporates and individuals as gifts for various occasions. We are the only company in India which does curated experiential gifting.

Product gifting has been all around; however we are into a unique position where customer can do experiential gifting. Giftxoxo is a company which believes in creating memories and moments in the form of unique experiences that users can cherish for a lifetime. It provides exclusive, curated WOW experiences across India in various categories including Gourmet Food, Adventure, Tours and Getaways, Health and Wellness, Arts and Learning and Philanthropy. Its simple platform standardised pricing and high quality offering ensures that customers are delighted each and every time.

Q Enlighten us about your Cloud based Rewards and Recognition Platform.

A Giftxoxo Enterprise is a new age platform from Giftxoxo to engage employees and channel partners. It’s a simple to use tool and can be integrated with the HR

management system across teams globally. It’s simple and engaging features help employees to connect beyond their regular offi ce work. The reward points can be redeemed over our exclusive range of experiences. Employees who have been using this platform have really found great value from it.

Companies can use Giftxoxo Enterprise to appreciate employees with reward points for various milestones such as monthly awards, spot rewards, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. They can also encourage fi tness for their employees with its wellness modules and also integrate the system with third-party apps and email plugins.

Employees who have been using this platform have really found great value from it

‘We Create Memories to Cherish for a Lifetime’

EXPERT’S INTERVIEW

Mr Manoj Agarwal, Co-founder of Giftxoxo and Frogo talks to People and Management. Excerpts…



Giftxoxo Enterprise has a large collection of experiences spread across 6 categories - adventure, gourmet, health and wellness, tours and getaways, arts and learning, plus, philanthropy. Some examples are fl ying a microlight plane, enjoying a tour of Bollywood, going horseback riding, dining on a yacht and taking a pottery class.

Q Where do you see Giftxoxo 5 years from now?

A Giftxoxo is working towards becoming one of the largest curated experiences and activities company globally. It will continue to sell these experiences via corporate and consumer channels. The corporate channel engages various stakeholders of companies including employees and customers. The consumer channel would serve the requirements of people who want to explore something unique, make their day special with handpicked experiences around them.

Q List measures that an organisation can incorporate to increase productivity.

A Creating a workplace fi lled with happy people isn’t as diffi cult as you might think. And it is not about salary hike.

The purpose of this portal is to increase productivity, communication, and satisfaction in the workplace, and to help build a great culture and a positive work environment. Recognising people for their good work sends an extremely powerful message to the recipient, their team and other employees through the grapevine and formal communication channels. Employee recognition is, therefore, a potent communication technique. Creating and maintaining a culture of recognition is one of the 5 organisational objectives and goals for recognition programs.

Q What are the challenges that start-up companies face in India?

A Start-ups are a rollercoaster ride. Every day, there is a new challenge. However, some of the key challenges we have faced are, getting the right team, getting the initial set of customers and managing our cash fl ows in a bootstrapped mode. Currently, Indian start-ups are facing the fundamental questions around profi tability, longivity, and seriousness of business models.

Q How do you ensure high quality in delivery?

A We have been very quality conscious since we started. Experiences are all about consumer touchpoints and hence, quality is paramount. We take consumer feedback seriously and fi x issues from a long term standpoint. We are also in the process of going through quality processes such as TQM, ISO, etc to ensure we meet global standards in quality management.

Q What, according to you, are effective ways of performance appraisals?

A Performance appraisal is a continuous process. It can’t be seen as a standalone function but it needs to be evaluated in totality. In cross functional roles, it’s important to have performance related inputs from cross functional teams. Apart from that, theprocess is a continuous one. Hence, static and traditional methods of performance appraisals don’t really hold good. Technology platforms enable and make such continuous and cross functional performance appraisals very easy to handle. Hence, solutions like ours are really handy.

Q Last but not least, what is your advice to the HR Managers?

A HR is a complex function where one needs to understand and adapt to meet requirements of a very diverse set of human beings. Human touchpoints are most effective, but it has a limitation; it’s not practical to do it when company size is more than 150 people or so.

HR functions can be really handled wellwith technology solutions. A good mix ofhuman touchpoints along with strongtechnology intervention can help HR save time in tactical functions and help them focus more on strategic HR.

We sell cu-rated experi-ences and activities through our mobile app Frogo. This mobile app is a geo-based app and helps a consumer to discover and book amazing experiences around


Shagun Walia

Talent is the primordial asset that enables the growth of any organisation. Without the right talent, business can’t

achieve success. Profi t maximisation, creative and innovative approach, raising capital, and delivering great experience for end users – all depend on employees.

Several years after the term ‘War of Talent’ was coined by MC Kinsey, the war is still going on to meet the right talent to fulfi l future needs. The Human Resource (HR) Department must create innovative strategies to attract productive employees; social media and employees’ branding are effective tools in this endeavour.

Talent acquisition not only means recruitment, it is a wider concept. It is an activity that involves fi nding the business needs and building a talent pool for the future. It predicts different requirements of the organisation, and is a process of planning and identifying

the different roles followed by requisition, sourcing, application, screening, interview and fi nally the employment offer. Talent acquisition should, in fact, be run like a marketing campaign for a product.

Talent Acquisition Process

Organising

Small organisations can keep track of the topmost talent while for bigger ones, special softwares are advisable.

Employer’s BrandYou can attract top talent

through communicating and making connections through Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. And you can always keep your top talent engaged with your organisation’s updates. Make

COVER STORY

Talent Acquisition - A

‘War of Talent’

Talent ac-quisition not only means recruitment, it is a wider concept.



sure your website is fl ooded with best practices.

Start Sourcing TalentIdentify networks and forums

where specialists in your industry gather, and you can actually connect with a top talent.

The HR can work on important aspects to avoid uncertainties:

Analysing the History of Attrition for Certain Positions

It is very important to analyse reasons for the continuous alteration of certain job positions - salary package, time shifts or any other considerations.

Specifi cation EasePredict specifi c openings at

a predetermined time. For some organisations, hiring is a set of experimentation involving new ways and meeting organisational needs at the minimum cost. Strategic planning around talent acquisition might not evaluate the long term partnership of the employee with the organisation. It can be best evaluated by the behavioural attributes as they relate to the position.

Behavioural AnalysisIn today’s world, skills are

getting outdated at a fast pace because of the competitive changes. So, it becomes important to predict that is it possible to hire for today and meet the challenges of tomorrow. By adding such a tool for talent acquisition, organisation can meet today’s need followed by future needs.

Though one can work on improving the manpower skills, behavioural traits remain the same for a long time. It is very important to match the profi le of the candidate with their particular traits to the job position. This will nullify the consequences of trial and error method, and the whole talent acquisition process will become analytical. Incorporating such changes will help HR to offer the best position to the potential candidate. It will be truly benefi cial for retention as well as for business success.

The right person for the right job not only increases productivity, but also keeps them engaged. Such employees are always ready to take the challenges in response to a changing environment.

The new paradigm of doing business is mobile and social network. It has changed the way we hire, interact and engage with our talent pool. Talent mobility is one of the biggest transformations that the new technology has brought in.

Futuristic ApproachIt is the duty of HR to help employees adapt

to the changing environment. As the trend of hiring, interacting and engaging is changing - it pushes the HR to talk to talent in their language on their turf. For example, talk to Gen Y on social networks and mobile so that they relate to you as their own.

HR needs to become a driver of change by helping individuals engage with the organisation by building and adding value to it.

Sources

http://www.social-hire.com/social-recruiting-advice/5531/recruitment-vs-talent-acquisition-what-is-the-difference

http://www.infor.com/content/executive-briefs/see-your-future-in-your-talent-acquisition-proces.pdf/

HR needs to become a driv-er of change by helping individuals engage with the organisa-tion by build-ing and add-ing value to it.

HR as a business function has gone through a

huge transformation from being transactional and administrative to a more business forecasting and strategic role.

HR professionals are now considered as business partners. They are expected to add value to business by ensuring the right fi t and timely hiring of talent in the Organisation.

Talent Acquisition, thus has taken a much wider and strategic role than just sourcing talent. With the ever increasing demand of business to fi nd the right match for the role and on time has made recruiters focus on talent in a holistic way.

Creating a talent pipeline, forecasting the future talent needs and optimising the cost of hire are some of the areas, Talent Acquisition professionals have started to focus upon.”

In today’s economy, competition is global, capital is easily accessible,

and technology is cheap. In such an environment, talent is the most important factor in a company’s success! And even as the demand for talent goes up, its acquisition - search for the best and brightest has become a challenge.

At Redstone learning, we train and certify smart and astute professionals globally, who aspire for fast track career growth? When asked what they look for in their employer, the answer is a great company with a great job! By a great company they mean one that’s managed well, has a great culture with a strong value system, and offers fl exibility with better benefi ts. And by a great job they mean better learning and career advancement prospects, with signifi cant wealth creation opportunities.

So while every company leverages social and professional networks and fi gures out more innovative hiring practices, it will also have to ensure that it is that great company offering a great job!

EXPERT QUOTES

Great Company, Offering a

Great Job!

Sourcing Talent

Subrata Ghosh, Founder & CEO of Redstone Learning, A global Professional Learning Company

Subhajit Sengupta, Head HR Jetking Infotrain, an IT and IMS training institute.

Lemon Tree Hotel’s growth and development plans, over the next few years envision

tremendous increase in our room inventory. In order to achieve this seamlessly, our focus has been to “Attract and Retain” Talent. At Lemon Tree Hotels, we have a strong belief in the mantra “We recruit for Attitude and Train for Skill”.

We run a robust “Management Training and Executive Training Program”, in the operations departments, which over a period of eighteen months give us trained Executives and Assistant Managers who are well-versed with the Lemon Tree culture. These MT’s are selected both through Campus Recruitment and a well structured Internal MT selection process. We also have an “Engineering in Training Program”, which caters to our maintenance and engineering department. We also have a “GSE Program”, wherein employees undergo a rigorous six months training and post qualifying become Executives.

The Lemon Tree Hotel Company believes in hiring talent from Hotel Management as well as other Graduate colleges. The North Eastern states have proven to be a potent and perennial source market for talent acquisition.

We are also proud to state that we offer employment to “Opportunity Deprived Indians (ODI)”, which include People with Disabilities (Orthopedically Handicapped, Speech & Hearing Impaired, Vision Impaired and Down syndrome), insurgency widows, needy women (orphans, widows and divorcees) and people who belong to economically and socially deprived sections of our society.

Rajesh KumarVice President - Human Resources, The Lemon Tree Hotel Company

“Each One Brings One”

| Vol.7 Issue 5 • July 2016, Noida24



What can a talent acquisition leader do to succeed in today’s increasingly competitive landscape?

At Happiest Minds, referrals grow as a key source of

quality hires.

Referrals benefi t the company and the new hire,the quality of the personal connection with the candidate, the cultural fi t where the acquired talent fi ts easily into the company’s culture and the ability to work at the company for continued periods of time.

A successful referral program is one that proactively encourages, a process that is quick and simple and an incentive structure that is both rewarding and benefi cial.

The Happiest Minds’ experience shows that when a person is referred, he or she is hired about one-tenth of the time.

Therefore, we can surely and safely conclude that referral sourcing programs are the way to go in the future and there can never be too many people referrals.”

Talent acquisition is a vital part of HR process; it not only recruits candidates

to fi lling existing vacancies, but also utilizes the candidates and their skills to fi ll similar positions in the future as well. Talent acquisition planning & strategy requires an understanding of the workforce environment and the eye for the global considerations. It identifi es future position in an organisation by series of management plan or analysing history of certain positions. This not only limits itself to hiring skill talent but also includes elements of employment branding building positive candidate experience, managing candidate communities and maintaining relationships with potential candidates to continually build and enhance the talent pool for an organisation.

Many people think that the terms recruitment and talent acquisition are synonymous, but companies who keep an eye on the big picture know there’s an important difference between the two. Recruitment and talent acquisition are comparable to short-term and long-term—quick fi xes versus long-term planning. Both approaches may be used depending on the circumstances, but one tends to be tactical in nature and the other, strategic.

Internal hiring managers can improve overall recruitment planning with a basic understanding of the strategic nature of talent acquisition. Independent recruiters can likewise improve relationships with employers by better understanding the unique role that acquisition plays in helping a company achieve its strategic vision. ”

Ravisankaran Raja Vice-President & Head,

Happiest Minds Technologies

Anupam Jauhari,Vice President - HR, Infogain

Industries like IT & ITES, KPO, retail, healthcare etc. have been

growing at a rapid pace and generating job opportunities in India consistently for the last 1 ½ decade Due to shortage of appropriate skills, demand and supply gaps widen and companies have to constantly put efforts to retain their productive, talented workforce. While the last decade saw the “War of talent for leadership”, the current challenge organisations are experiencing a talent shortage not only at the leadership level, but across levels and across industries.

At Omega Healthcare, we continuously revisit our talent strategy. Though we ensure our hiring happens through diverse ways, 50 percent or more of our requirement is met through our innovative employee referral schemes. This is a result of the right positioning for our brand in the market, catalysing each and every employee of Omega to act as a ‘brand ambassador’.

Attracting the right talent only addresses the basic challenge. The true challenge, however, lies in engaging them and retaining them. What motivates Gen-X will not motivate Gen-Y and what motivates Gen-Y will not motivate Gen Z. Hence, our engagement strategy is tailor-made to understand the employees and create engagement programs around “The voice of the people”.

Guruvayurappan PV, Vice President & Head- Human

Resource, Omega Healthcare

in India

Job Opportunities

An Eye on the

Big PictureTalent acquisition


In such a backdrop, what can companies and trainers do to ensure effective corporate training?

New Imperatives There is a gradual shift from

the general to the specifi c courses. Certain basic processes such as understanding business drivers for training, knowing delivery and content, assigning subject experts, pre-training assessments, preparing trainees, delivering business-specifi c customised courses, post-training assessments and follow-up assistance are integral parts of the new requirements of corporate training. There is also the need to increase the value and return on training investment by designing courses which are clearly aligned with corporate strategy. Precise and

An organisation’s greatest asset is its skilled human capital. Constant change in technology is making training an

integral part of any business. But despite the huge jumps in corporate training, there are gaps in implementation. Tracking the training process, getting optimum feedback and understanding whether the process has been successful in delivering real-time results.

Effectiveness is Gauged on two Parameters • The degree to which the programme achieved the stated objective; and,

• The ratio of the cost of the training to the return.

There are also different types of training. While product, sales or technical training, teach specifi c skills, workshops on leadership, team effectiveness, attitudes, ethics, integrity and diversity are focused on the intangibles. It is tough to gauge the benefi ts of the latter, as results vary from individual to individual.

Sanjeev Duggal

with a Difference

CorporateTraining

Tracking the training process, un-derstanding whether the process has been success-ful in deliver-ing real-time results

HR BEST PRACTICES



powerful training framework should be directed to achieve key business goals. Smart companies are also realising that one-time induction training or annual process training programmes are inadequate.

Offering different types of training modules at different stages in an employee’s career programmes can be best tracked if they are customised to suit the needs of individuals based on the specifi c

problem at hand. Sometimes, the results are apparent if it is a one-time module designed to address a specifi c dilemma.

The key to effective training function is active participation by all stakeholders, including learning managers, HR managers and learners’ managers. Senior leaders should be actively engaged at every stage, right from need identifi cation, and conceptualising the training programmes to conducting sessions. HR managers or the team that assesses training needs in an organisation, designs and manages such programmes must remember that while the main ingredients of a training module may remain constant, the methodology used needs to evolve continuously.

Keeping a Constant Track What also sets successful companies apart is

their ability to keep a tab on changing aspirations of their people and their ability to adapt their training modules to emerging needs. Good old established companies like Punjab National Bank have also realised the essence of improving customer service through extensive training programmes to bring service at par with private sector global banks and also to upgrade skills of employees. Around 30,000 employees including bank managers and employees at various levels and locations recently underwent customer sensitisation programmes.

Another important aspect is to track the impact of a particular training procedure. Managers should ensure that the learning is well directed and yields effective results. They must also quantify abstract data such as how employees are responding to the programme and how is it translating into everyday work. Hard data can be used to review if the training is working or requires improvement.

Thanks to the focus on building a sustained learning environment, employee training in India is big business and has grown into approximately Rs 5,000 crore businesses, with potential to grow further. But unless companies take steps to ensure effectiveness of training, they would be throwing away good money.

The Writer is CEO & Managing Director of Centum Learning

| Vol.7 Issue 5 • July 2016, Noida28

SPECIAL FOCUS

The constant evolution of the digital era has been unlocking newer ways for us to connect from any corner of the world, as and when required. With the advent of mobile platforms, businesses

are introducing innovative mobile apps to cater to the needs of their customers almost every day. Almost every category of industry has been beefi ng up their trade practices as a result of advancement in connectivity. Likewise, recruitment procedures are also transforming signifi cantly as mobile apps are taking the recruitment industry by storm.

In order to corner the digital market, recruiters across the globe are embracing mobile recruitment apps with open arms. With the ever-

Ms. Keyuri Singh

increasing popularity of mobile recruitment, the traditional methods of hiring candidates through emails and phone calls have become outmoded now. Recruitment apps play a great role in ensuring a smooth hiring process by saving time and money of recruiters. Since numerous recruitment apps are being introduced on a daily basis by app developers, it is imperative for organisations to keep abreast of the latest recruitment apps as they contribute greatly to help recruiters and candidates fi nd each other easily. Moreover, adopting technological innovations also help recruiters stand out in the recruitment industry. A study conducted in 2015 revealed that 65 percent of job-seekers prefer looking for jobs using their mobile devices which is no doubt, a positive factor for mobile recruitment apps.

Recruitment apps are making headway in the hiring sector as they are superior to conventional hiring methods. Some of the advantages of employing recruitment apps are as follow:

• Recruitment apps make the hiring process trouble-free and quicker;

• Enable recruiters to explore diverse talent pools.

• Allow organisations to evade middlemen by interacting with the prospective candidates directly.

Let’s take a quick look at the latest corporate hiring practices that are revolutionising the conventional system of recruitment.

1. Video Recruitment Apps: Many recruiters are considering live streaming video as an essential part of their recruiting strategy. Video-based recruitment via Skype or other similar apps act as a great alternative for face-to-face interviews as they enable

Latest Trend in HRApplication



small companies as well as large corporates to source deserving candidates from any corner of the globe. Thus, recruiters are widely utilising video applications for hastening the screening process of prospective candidates. Moreover, it saves cost by eliminating the expenditures of interviewing prospective candidates who are remotely located.

Moreover, video apps come in handy for interviewing candidates soon after the completion of the screening process. Live streaming videos enable recruiters not only to talk to prospective candidates but also record the video of the interaction for shortlisting them. Live video streaming apps are not used only for interviewing remotely located candidates, but also for screening local candidates.

2. Software as a Service (SaaS) Solution: The current hiring trends make it necessary for recruiters to spread out their reach without extending their available resources. Keeping this factor in mind, a lot of organisations are adding SaaS solutions to their recruitment toolkits for facilitating smooth and effectual hiring. Compared to licensed applications, SaaS recruitment solutions are also cost-effective as they are priced on a monthly basis. Considering the immense benefi ts offered by cloud-based recruitment tools, SaaS solutions will soon infl uence the future of the global recruitment industry.

Cloud recruitment provides unmatched functionality to recruiters, thus saving their valuable time and money. Different cloud recruitment apps have brought the latest trend of paperless technology to the recruitment sector, thus eliminating many unwanted

costs. Besides this, they have been empowering recruiters to become more tactical by allowing them to introduce continuous innovation in the hiring process. Another advantage of cloud-based recruitment apps is that they come with public API code for automating hiring processes and messaging between various platforms and systems. What’s more, they can be scaled as per the requirements of the recruiters.

3. Verifying Digital Footprints: Modern organisations are constantly looking out for candidates with the right attitude so they can perfectly blend themselves with the work culture. Thus, many recruiters have started to recruit candidates on the basis of their digital footprints. By examining digital footprints, a recruiter can easily assess the quality of candidates even before meeting them. A candidate’s social profi le and his/her social media activities on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, etc., speak of his/her personality in volumes, thus portraying the traits of the prospective candidates who are likely to join an organisation.

4. Mobile apps for Data Analytics:Analytics programs of superior quality can signifi cantly help recruiters to make strategic choices in a better way. Data analytics gathered from mobile recruitment apps enable recruiters to easily access candidate information so that the best candidates can be identifi ed and located with no trouble.

The Way AheadMore and more recruiters are going mobile

because of the functionality, user-friendliness, and out-and-out uniqueness of mobile apps. Mobile recruiting offers a unique way to contact job-seekers and engage with them at any time from any location. Organisations that are not following a mobile strategy for hiring candidates are missing out on the opportunity of interacting with the most important section of the talent pool i.e., the tech-savvy generation of Millennials. Thus, instead of falling behind the times, recruiters should pick up steam to learn the ropes of mobile recruiting so that they can play their cards right to expand their search, and stay organised in the process of recruitment.

The Writer is Vice President – HR, Infogain

Organising outdoor ac-tivities such as musical evenings, dance and drama pro-grammes and sports events also moti-vates employ-ees and helps them build a positive yet competitive mindset


HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA

Rakesh Seth

Executive Education

IN INDIA


Vol.7 Issue 5 • July 2016, Noida | 31VVolVollV .7 7 Isssuuee 5 • JJuJulyy 20016, NNoida

Business environment is hyper-competitive and constantly changing. To succeed in this environment there is very pronounced

need for a lifelong learning. To stay relevant and proactive, executives up and down the corporate hierarchy as well as business owners and all types of professionals are increasingly recognising the need to refi ne, update and expand their knowledge, perspectives and skills. Today all top class owners and professionals have a desire to stay at the top of the game to effectively compete in the global business space.

Executive education is an important tool for global businesses to nurture top leadership talent. It offers executives new knowledge to enhance skills and gives them the opportunity to step back and gain a new perspective on their roles. In an increasingly complex global business environment, leaders will continue to look for ways to stay ahead of the crowd and infl uence meaningful change, ensuring continued need for high-quality executive education.

The best executive education programs for managers must offer proven, measurable outcomes that meet the learning and development needs. Start with identifying what your managers want to achieve and you will likely get an idea of what type of executive education programme for which you are looking for your managers. Business executive programs provide vital help for international businesses seeking to develop global leaders. There’s plenty of evidence to show that business executive programs from top business schools in the world can help nurture the best leadership talent.

Executive Education brings fresh PerspectiveHigher Executive Education Programmes

offer a time-honoured way to upgrade and extend management and leadership skills. They can provide the tools you need to meet decision-making challenges in an increasingly complicated world.

Executive Higher Education classes can bring fresh perspectives, new knowledge and leadership skill development. If you’re a general management professional who wants to deliver greater business results and advance in your career, Executive education classes are the perfect complement to your on-the-job training and your basic education. Higher executive education can offer fresh ideas, skills and motivation to boost your capacity to drive high-impact business results.

Executive education is an im-portant tool for global business-

es to nurture top leadership talent. It offers executives new

knowledge to enhance skills and gives them the opportunity

to step back and gain a new perspective on their roles.


Building Global Perspective

Global leadership is crucial for companies seeking to succeed in the global arena of business today. But a lack of global leadership skills in top managers is holding many companies back. Global leadership in today’s volatile economic environment requires CEOs and senior executives to be more focused, knowledgeable and astute than ever before. This is the only way to drive business success and sustainability, as well as to stay on top in their own careers.

Executives must master the challenges of globalisation – sizing up the forces shaping the future of their companies and seizing new opportunities. Your global leader journey may begin with a dream, but dreaming alone won’t get you there. If you’re an ambitious executive aiming for a top global leadership position, you’ll most likely need a path of careful career planning that combines on-the-job challenges and high-quality, strategic executive education.

We expect the following few trends that will affect the way executive higher education are taught in:

1. Digital Disruption The boom in social media and rapid growth

of digital technology is completely changing the rules of the game for companies and business schools. Business schools have the ability to respond rapidly to customer needs and can meet the challenge of providing students with a customer-focused approach especially in executive education.

2. Shift to Emerging MarketsMultinational companies are struggling to

catch up with the global shift towards emerging economies. Companies from advanced economies need to be more agile, to understand local culture and practices, and to develop speed in decision making. Executive education can help fi ll the gap by encouraging:

• Aspiration rooted in cosmopolitanism;

• Conceptual frameworks to understand cross-country differences;

• Self-discovery tools;

• Openness to foreign cultures and ideas through immersive modules.

3. New Problem Solving Tools - Action Biased

Being innovative requires a shift from rhetorical to critical thinking. To develop the necessary skills, executive education will need to do better at promoting:

• The ability to reframe problems;

• The development of empathy to think in terms of human-centred innovation;

• Opportunities to continually practice problem solving and to allow students to make mistakes

The key lies in overcoming functional fi xedness, developing and exercising empathy for human-centred design. The process is about clarifying, ideating, developing and implementing with very real problems on the table to grapple with.

4. Experiential LearningMore than any other skill,

entrepreneurship and innovation need to be learned by practicing. Business schools are now developing complete ecosystems to ensure their participants interact with real entrepreneurial projects. Among others, these include:

• Business and family offi ces networks;

• In-company projects;

• Conferences and interactions with alumni entrepreneurs.

Initiatives such as Ted-x speaking events, social events and contact with new entrepreneurial heroes give students the opportunity to put their education in a larger, more concrete context.

5. New set of ValuesExecutive educators can inspire

future innovation by turning the focus on those people who are making signifi cant contributions

Global leadership in today’s volatile economic environment requires CEOs and senior executives to be more focused, knowledgeable and astute than ever before

HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA



to society. Top social innovators should become role models for a changing business world. Executive Education schools are there to help you hone your leadership and business skills or add to your competencies. Maybe you want to offer more to your company, make a change or simply be ready for the next opportunity.

Ongoing Improvement in Execution Leadership Skills

Executive education helps you in honing your executive leadership skills. Execution leadership means having a strategic mindset and the leadership skills to perform a function, implement a process or execute a project. Having strong execution leadership skills can be the defi ning factor in meeting objectives for long-term business performance, particularly in a tough global economy.

Real-world Executive Development

Real-world executive development is essential for developing global leaders that drive continued business success in an increasingly complex world. Real-world executive development is about practical, hands-on executive education that is relevant to you and your business. If you want to stay ahead of the crowd, real-world executive development programs can make a difference.

But a common consensus estimate is that people now are doing what counts as changing career four or fi ve times per person. We work because it gives us meaning and identity and possibly social status not just a pay cheque. So we mutate rather than retire.

For example, many schools will run mini MBA for doctors. Many doctors come out of school with

these fantastic medical skills and then they have to go out and start their own practices. We’re helping doctors understand the business of health.

A key factor will be how successfully business education itself can adapt and develop leaders with enhanced entrepreneurial and innovation competencies to meet these challenges.

Changes at a Glance Executive education is changing to meet

the demands of a changing global economy. In some cases, these changes include adding online programs to existing on-campus executive education offerings, creating hybrid programs and reaching for higher student engagement.

Programs are often offered 100 percent online in a self-paced format and they can range from a required number of semester credits or CEUs (continuing education units) to complete.

Hybrid programs may offer most of their courses online, requiring students to visit campus once or twice a semester; others may feature a 50/50 split, or have a specifi c physical meeting schedule. Hybrid and online programs offer less time spent with professors or fellow classmates for the sake of convenience and fl exibility which may be of particular importance for working executives.

Expansion of Interactive Technologies and Programs

To address the issue of low graduation rates, schools have made efforts to increase student engagement and promote classroom communities in the virtual campus, Indian Conglomerates/MNCs especially those with large workforces use executive education with part or full sponsorship both as a development and incentive/loyalty tool for senior management. Around the world as the capital fl ows to India and China, people are moving to alien environments and cultures to take up challenging assignments in existing and emerging sectors. As the socio economic scenario becomes more and more challenging there is a stronger need to educate senior managers who operate in this era of fast paced change.

The Writer is Chief HR Mentor, REEOCSYYS

As the socio economic scenario becomes more and more challenging there is a stronger need to educate senior managers who operate in this era of fast paced change


EXP

ERT

QU

OTE

S

The biggest challenge that is driving the edu-tech scene today is the fact that there is a gaping mismatch between academia and the industry. While the academia focuses on theories, the industry is looking for candidates who can exhibit practical applicability of these technologies. Five years back, Edureka started with the objective of fi nding a solution to this problem. The professional workforce need to be industry-ready to take on a real-life challenge and we want

to upgrade the workforce skills. We want to contribute for this by helping professionals up-skill themselves through high quality, differentiated learning. Companies out there are looking for quality talent and we are helping them by creating an ecosystem of quality, industry-ready, future-proof professionals. Today, we have 250,000 satisfi ed learners who keep coming back to us for up-skilling even further.

Bridging the Industrial Gap

CEO&Co-founder, EdurekaLovleen Bhatia,

“Apart from the events, conferences and workshops that ThoughtWorkers are encouraged to attend, the organisation works hard to ensure consistent knowledge sharing across teams and geographies - the kind of learning that is engineered to happen on the job. However it is evident that Executive Education is fast gaining momentum in corporate India and not without good reason. Reputable institutes are providing management, functional and leadership development programs for professionals traversing all levels of the organisation. Companies are partnering with top national and international institutes to run customised programs for their executives, catering to specifi c business mandates. Executive education programs are also key to building business networks that strengthen one’s growth and infl uence in the community.”

Executive Education Programs

People Head at ThoughtWorks Technologies IndiaMr. Kaushik Ghosh,

The compulsory Mind game got fi rm roots in Indian grounds. Right from the Vedic times, a strong knowledge in standard language was the symbol for the country. Time is shifted now; a global trend of education in an English fl avour is preferred in hype. The age is different but the mind, values and ethics are the same. The passion to learn, fashion to study and nation to build is the major focus of both schools and colleges today. Knowledge is extensively

applicable to the management sector where a new thinking is forever welcomed.

Global Trend of Education

Managing Director at Educommerce Academy, Former Financial Accounting Manager Supreme Foodservices GmbH, DubaiSourabh Jindal

“Indian conglomerates / MNCs, especially those with large workforces use executive education with part-or-full sponsorship both as a development and incentive/loyalty tool for senior management. What are changing dramatically in this education space are the content and pedagogy and more customisation especially in the advanced management programmes. Around the world as the capital fl ows to India from various countries, people are moving to alien environments and cultures to take up challenging assignments in existing and emerging sectors. As the socio-economic scenario becomes more and more challenging, there is a stronger need to educate senior managers who operate in this era of fast paced change.

“Continuous Executive Higher Education In India”

The author is Founder, Director of Council of Education & Development Programmes (CEDP) Skill Institute, MumbaiMrs. Shaheen Khan



At Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development (SCMHRD), the objective has never been to shape students into perfect ‘managers’. AsDr. Dipali Krishnakumarsaid, “Our goal is not to produce managers, but train people to become leaders who can learn and have an attitude to learn.”

As SCMHRD’s Director, Dr. Pratima Sheorey, puts it, “The faculty themselves are constantly going out and learning. In fact, I tell them to take 15 days of training justto know what the market today is like.”

How it worksThere are seven departments at SCMHRD:

Marketing, Finance, Operations, HR, Infrastructure, Business Analytics and Strategy.

The Strategy and General Management department is headed by Dr. GurudasNulkar, who believes that “Management education is an applied science.”

SCMHRD pioneered the Business Analytics and Infrastructure Management programmes which arefairly unique. Prof Prakash Waknis,Head of the Infrastructure programme explains, “Most of the infrastructure projects today,requireplanning, monitoring and maintaining. To do that, you need to know a lot of things, from tendering, bidding and contracting, to project management, contracts management, PPP, et al, all of which are taught to our students.”

Head ofOperations department Dr. Manoj,too believes that managerial capabilities are crucial in the supply chain. “Rather than simple operations management, we concentrate on the Supply Chain and Logistics part of operations,” he says.

Dr. Vinita who is the Head of Human Resources department says, “Two years ago, we started a new course, now called Empirical Resource Project in HRM.After this course, the students have to write a research paper which must be accept in an international conference and then published inan international journal. This goes a long way in building the research capability of the students.”

The studentsDr. Sheorey explains what makes SCMHRD students

different is “An ability to see the relevant information

in a sea of data. Our students have an analytical bent of mind and are comfortable with software and technology. Students of HR, Marketing, Finance, Operations or any other fi eld, are equally comfortable with numbers.”

Hand in hand with technologySCMHRD connects business and

technology with all subjects. From SPSS to SAS, Lindo/Lingo, Primavera, the world’s foremost tool for Project Management, students have access to the

latest and best software to get hands-on experience. There are specialised laboratories for Finance which have Bloomberg terminals, special analytical software including for big data and advanced computing.

Not just studiesTheCSR cell conductsseveral drives like the yearly

‘Shapath’and ‘Prayatna’ to help resolve social issues such as human traffi cking and illiteracy. Prayatna featured among the top 10 in Asia in the Dell Innovative Challenge. There are also surveys and studies, like the one recently concluded in the urban infrastructure space wherein the students of the entire Infrastructure Management batch were directly working with McKinsey and the Pune Municipal Corporation to develop the Smart City Vision document. This document was submitted to the Ministry of Urban Development in December 2015 basis which the city of Pune featured in the second position in India for development as a ‘Smart City’. Such consultancy projects happen constantly, with companies like Intel, Lupin, Tata Chemicals, Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages etc.

Placement scenarioSCMHRD was one of the fi rst B-schools to sign up

for the Indian Placement Reporting Standards. Manu Sasidharan, a second year student on the placement committee, emphasises that it was in line with SCMHRD’s belief in transparency, ethics and fairness. This, plus placement fi gures upwards of Rs 13.45 lakhs pa, 35 percent of the batch getting PPOs and a 100 percent placement record, make SCMHRD the place to be for budding managers & professionals.

“At the end of the day, we don’t aspire to be the best B-school, because if you’re the best, there’s nowhere else to go,” Dr. Sheorey adds. The idea, she says, is to want to be a better institute, and keepbettering that.

Dr. Pratima SheoreyDirector SCMHRD

“Management Education is an Applied Science”

About Ashoka University

Ashoka University is a private, nonprofit university. An unprecedented example of collective public philanthropy in India, it is a pioneer in its focus on the Liberal Arts. It offers its students a multidisciplinaryliberal education, which is usually defined as one that transcends the boundaries between the arts and sciences, and carries a strong emphasis on learning across subjects. Such an education provides depth and breadth of learning, both by exposing students to diverse disciplines and by emphasising scholarship and research.

Ashoka University offers Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes across the humanities, social sciences and fundamental natural sciences. The aim is to help students becomewell-rounded individuals who are able to think critically about issues from multiple perspectives,communicate effectively and go on to become ethical self-aware leaders with a commitment to public service.

The University’s focus is on attracting the brightest students, putting them under the guidance of the most inspirational faculty, and developing a global reputation for innovative research. Faculty and students come from across the country, and the world, and Ashoka is committed to maintaining the highest intellectual and academic standards. Care is also taken to ensure that affordability does not become a deterrent for deserving and meritorious students. Ashoka University offers support to those who meet its demanding academic standards – over two-thirds of the current students are pursuing their education supported by scholarships and other forms of financial aid.

The University is helped in its endeavours by some of the top-rated institutions in the world. Ashoka’s academic partners include Yale University, University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; University of California, Berkeley; University of Michigan; Sciences Po, Paris; Carleton College; King’s College, London and Trinity College, Dublin. These par tnerships extend to the development of faculty exchanges, summer and semester abroad programmes for students and research projects.

Ashoka’s unique post-graduate Young India Fellowship (YIF), now in its fifth year, has rapidly become one of the most sought-after programmes in India. YIF alumni are making their mark in some of the top organisations across the public, private and social sectors. They can be found at leading firms such as BCG, The Gates Foundation, McKinsey and Co., Microsoft, TIME Magazine, and the World Bank. In India, acclaimed organisations likeGenpact, Avendus Capital, Cipla, Goonj,STAR TV and Teach for India count Ashoka alumni among their ranks.

ManyAshoka students have gone on to premier global research universities like Cambridge, Harvard, Oxford, Princeton, Stanford and Yale and been awarded well-known international scholarships such as the Chevening, Commonwealth, Fulbright and Rhodes scholarships.

(Ashoka is located on a 25-acre campus in Rajiv Gandhi Education City in the NCR near NewDelhi, India.)

Ashoka University


HR SPEAKS

Our business environment has been undergoing a paradigm change. The pace of globalisation has accelerated in

the last decade, with locus of economic activity shifting to emerging markets. The world today is best described by the term VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous), the times, where chaos, turbulence and rapidly changing business environment have become the “new normal”.

Business leaders face unprecedented challenges brought on by simultaneous macro-level economic, technological, demographic and social trends. These trends have created a multitude of business challenges including mergers and disruption, changing customer and consumer demand, uneven availability of talent, changing expectations of the workforce from companies and vice versa, etc.

The technological trends have a signifi cant impact on both businesses and people. Many

industries have already been and will continue to be disrupted. New business models are being created. For e.g. Uber, the world’s largest taxi company owns no vehicles; Facebook, the world’s most popular media creates no content; Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate; Apple, with sales of over 200 million smart phones and tablets does not own a factory. Jobs are getting eliminated and new ones are being created with more mergers, acquisitions, technological upgradation, change in business models and requirement of new skills etc.

The global demographic makeup is also shifting in signifi cant ways. First, the world population is changing—most signifi cantly, we will see India overtake China as

Ajay Bhatia

The New AgeEmployment

Contract

Work, talent and competi-tion are going global, as crit-ical new skills are getting scarce and distributed unevenly, forc-ing companies to think about new ways to fi nd people.



the world’s most populous country in the next fi ve years. India has the largest available workforce with close to 65 percent under the age of 35. But despite demographic dividend, employability gaps at entry level in India are still large. Almost 60-70 percent of people passing out of campuses are understood to be lacking functional capability required by corporates. Ageing workforce and impending retirement of the baby-boomer generation is likely to pose serious challenges for most developed countries and even some emerging markets such as China. World urban population is expected to increase by 72 percent by 2050, from 3.6 billion in 2011 to 6.3 billion in 2050. Such population shifts are likely to have a strong infl uence on where organisations will do business in future.

Also, the economic and political tensions in many parts of the world, consequent population shifts, differing aspiration of multi-generations, technological disruption and changing business demands, have been fuelling social unrest, as we see rising unemployment, parochialism, religious intolerance, sharpening rich-poor divide, jobless growths, unequal access to basic health, sanitation and educational facilities. In the advanced economies, we have also seen wage stagnation or even wage declines, which reduce aggregate demand domestically in those countries and spills over to global demand, while contributing to the disturbing rise of inequality.

Work, talent and competition are going global, as critical new skills are getting scarce and distributed unevenly, forcing companies to think about new ways to fi nd people, develop capabilities, and share expertise. Consumers and employees demand almost instant access to information, yet true about the fact that there are less face-to-face interaction, lack of engagement, resulting in low customer/employee experience.

In this new world of work, the barriers between work and life have been all but eliminated. Employees are “always on”—hyper connected to their jobs through pervasive mobile technology. Networking tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Glassdoor enable people to easily monitor the market for new job opportunities. Details about an organisation’s culture are available at the tap of a screen, providing insights about companies to employees and potential employees alike. The balance of power in the employer-employee relationship has shifted—making today’s employees more like customers or partners than subordinates.

As a consequence of the pace and the nature of changes and evolutions in the economic, technological and social environment in which organisations operate, the nature of the employment relationship is undergoing fundamental changes:

• Employee-work contract is changing. People are operating more like free agents and volunteers.

• Rapid changes in existing jobs and the creation of new ones.

• Role and composition of teams have been evolving.

• Organisations are increasingly using contingent workforces, contract labour, temporary staffi ng, part-timers, freelancers and other non-standard forms of employment, as a strategy to cope with cyclical changes as well as to manage costs and effi ciencies.

• There are no fi xed job defi nitions. Functional fl exibility is the rule of the game.

• New cognitive technologies are displacing workers and reengineering work, forcing companies to redesign jobs to incorporate new technology solutions.

• On the “War for Talent”, it appears that the battle is over, and talent has won. Employees today have increased bargaining power, the job market is highly transparent, and attracting top-skilled workers is a highly competitive activity.

• Employees operate in a transparent job market. Accessibility and connectedness of professionals online, through LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, has made talent more accessible than ever.

• Organisations are getting fl attened, virtual and networked, giving people less time with their direct managers and colleagues.

• The new employees joining the workplace have different expectations as compared to the previous generations. Millennials are highly connected, technology-savvy, demanding, youthful, ambitious, and fi lled with passion and purpose. Unlike the generations before them, Gen Y work to live rather than live to work.

• Younger employees have increased the demand for greater responsibility on the job, rapid job rotation, accelerated learning, receptive leadership, and continuous feedback.

• Work environment has transformed from working fi xed hours in a physical offi ce at a geographical location to working 24/7 with email, instant messages, conference calls, Skype meetings and mobile devices that have eliminated the barriers between our work and personal lives.


HR SPEAKS

In this scenario, change employer-employee relationships has become one of the critical challenge for organisations. Psychological contract presents an opportunity to examine the fundamental aspect of this employee-employer relationship.

Advanced by Argyris in 1960, Psychological Contract was originally defi ned by Levinson as “the unwritten and implicit contract or mutual expectation between employees and their employers”. The ‘Psychological Contract’ was refi ned by Schein in his seminal and described it as: “The unwritten expectations operating at all times between every member of an organisation and the various managers and others in that organisation... Each employee has expectations about such things as salary or pay rate, working hours, benefi ts and privileges that go with a job… the organisation also has more implicit, subtle expectations that the employee will enhance the image of the organisation, will be loyal, will keep organisational secrets and will do his or her best.”

Before, we move forward, let us understand the key difference between regular or formal employment contracts versus the Psychological Contracts:

Employment Contracts Psychological contractsWritten UnwrittenExplicit ImplicitLegally Binding No legal statusDoesn’t tell us much about what people actually do at work

Tells us most things about what people actually do at work

May exert only a small infl uence on behaviour

Exerts a large influence on behaviour, feelings and attitudes

Strengths of Psychological Contract• Focuses on the employment relationship

• Implicit nature of ongoing exchange

• Describe how employment relationships can go wrong (i.e., due to breach). For example when one perceives another as failing to fulfi l promises. Examples: Promised pay increase or promotion were not given, work aspects were misrepresented, arbitrary caution taken without feedback or support, etc.

Such psychological breaches result in host of side-effects, including negative emotions (Anger, betrayal, sadness), weak relationship (Loss of trust and respect, reduces commitment), reduced employee well-being (Lower job Satisfaction) and withdrawal of behaviour (Less willingness to work hard, to share ideas, to be a good

workplace citizen). As can be understood, it has serious organisational impact, which cannot be ignored.

Basically, psychological contract gives insights into what goes on in the workplace and what are its essential elements? It offers a framework for addressing ‘soft’ issues about managing performance; it focuses on people, rather than technology; and it draws attention to some important shifts in the relationship between people and organisations. If people are bottom-line business drivers, their capabilities and needs should be fully integrated into the business process and planning. The purpose of business strategy becomes how to get the best return from employees’ energies, knowledge and creativity (CIPD 2009).

Now, the question will be that if Psychological contract is an old concept and it existed even when formal employment contracts were the focal point, then why this focus required now?

Reason is the business and environmental context, as explained above, which has transformed dramatically. Research has proved that the psychological contract is dynamic and that it naturally changes over time as a result of changing needs and relationships (Smithson & Lewis). It refers to the way the employment contract is interpreted, understood and enacted by employees at the interface between themselves and their employing organisation (Millward & Brewerton).

To summarise, the traditional context of psychological contracts is required to be refreshed now, primarily due to following factors:

• Pre-dominance of the diverse environmental factors like speed and complexity accompanying organisational transformations in the form of mergers/acquisitions, exponential growth, downsizing, de-layering, technological, economic, political and social changes.

• Globalisation, new technologies, and deregulation have created an environment that is increasingly complex and unstable, which has changed the expectations of both employers and employees.

• New employment contract is often associated with new organisational forms such as networks, or “virtual” organisations. In many cases, the new organisational forms directly affect the employment contract, as when employers increase hiring of temporary or contract employees.



Ideally, these new organisational forms offer organisations greater fl exibility in response to (increasingly important) product-market and technological shocks. At the same time, new organisational forms may be less effective than envisaged if the new forms violate the traditional employment contract and if the traditional contract remains widely held by employees. Conversely, an advantage of some organisational forms is that they make clear to employees when shocks are exogenous (i.e. not under control of management). In such organisations, management actions such as pay cuts may be increasingly perceived as fair because employees understand that the continuation of the enterprise is threatened. Thus, whether new organisational forms conform with or contradict the perceived fair employment contract is crucial for understanding their ability to thrive.

• The old contract which was forged in a period of secured employment, stability, growth and predictability, assured rewards, upward mobility and career advancement for employees, was based on organisational expectations of hard work, commitment and loyalty from the employees to the organisation. However, the new contract which is characterised by motivational factors of job enrichment, competency development, employability, continued professional learning, pride and recognition, collaboration, work-life balance, social impact and individual-driven career management for the employees, is based on organisational expectations of innovation, disruption, agility and fl exibility to employ, engage or disengage, according to the changing needs of skill and knowledge.

• The notion of long-term loyalty between employees and employers, in exchange for job security, is metamorphosing into a “new employment contract” characterised by lower commitment between employer and employee, coupled with increasingly portable employee skills. Now the employees exchange performance for training so as to remain marketable .Much of this could be caused due to opening up of the labour market, making it more visible, transparent and networked and more susceptible to external factors.

• The new age employment contract is more based on shorter-term transactional understanding .The contract is now renewable daily based on current needs and performance!

Shift of Psychological Contract from “Relational” To “Transactional”

Relational Transactional High organisational loyalty

Little organisational loyalty

Employees develop company-specifi c-skills

Employees develop marketable skills

Stable employment Unstable employment Willing to commit to one company

Flexibility/ easy exit

High intent to stay with organisation

Less willing to take additional responsibilities (unless company goes the extra mile!)

Members highly socialised

Reward system primarily focuses on short term

It’s clear that the balance of power has shifted from employer to employee, forcing business leaders to learn how to build an organisation that engages employees as sensitive, passionate, creative contributors.

As we are observing, psychological contracts have started impacting employment relationships and in turn the organisational outcomes, tremendously .Some key pointers and trends in this direction are noted below:

• Organisations have started engaging employees at individual level rather than at a collective level, by focusing more on the non-formal aspects of employment.

• Different organisations have different people-related systems, processes, policies, environment and culture, resulting in different employment experience and relationship. This also contributes to the perception of breach or abiding by the psychological contract.

• Credible and consistent actions in terms of philosophy and policies of the organisation are contributing towards creating overall trust in the work context and shaping the employment relationship. A trusting environment provides opportunities for clarifying and setting right some of the perceptions due to breach of contract.

• People want to work for exciting companies which are driven by values and larger purpose. Employers have been making efforts to align the employees to their mission, vision, values and survival, to achieve enduring success. Culture is clearly seen to play a strong role in bringing about this alignment and coordinated actions towards the goals.

• Neither companies assure lifetime employment to their employees, nor do employees profess complete loyalty to the employer. However, as people are the competitive advantage, organisations are increasingly


focusing on designing policies and programs to retain and motivate the workforce, despite knowing that this could be the riskiest of investments.

• Organisations are bringing bold and innovative thinking, as applied in business operations, to managing people expectations more effectively. So, we see people policies being reviewed and re-engineered, relooking how they evaluate and manage people, how they engage and develop teams, how they select leaders, how they operate, how can they redesign work, how they simplify the work environment, and how they create an agile, fl exible, learning workforce to face the continuous change, uncertainty, ambiguity and disruption.

• Movement away from loyalty based talent strategy of the past towards more short-term agreements focused on performance and mutual value exchange.

• Growing desire among employees to work for companies with a solid employer reputation, reward for performance, career trajectory and culture of collaboration.

• Organisations are focusing on “real” engagement, i.e. where employees maximise their value to the organisation, not just based solely on competitive rewards. It is challenging since engagement is defi ned by the individual only, and is always a moving target. Companies are trying to redefi ne a compelling employee value proposition that balances the economic, technological, demographic and social challenges, by focusing on some of the key drivers like career opportunities, managing performance, pay and reputation, communication and culture. That way best employers are able to outperform than any other average company on revenue growth, operating margin, and total shareholder return.

• Companies are now investing in analytics tools to fi gure out why people leave, as the subject of engagement, culture and larger purpose weigh on the minds of business leaders everywhere.

• In order to survive and thrive, companies are redefi ning their relationship with employees to go above and beyond in different ways not just to engage by working harder, but to engage in ways that show resilience, learning, adaptability and speed.

• At a time when work related stress is taking a toll on the life of employees, progressive and best in class companies are going out of the way to make their staff love the work they do and also ensure they have a great work-life balance. They ensure a friendly working environment, special healthcare facilities, fl exible work hours, work from home options, promote diversity, and genuinely care for their team members, to keep them motivated.

The emerging talent imperative is at an interesting intersection between business requirements and employee expectations.We live today in a knowledge economy. The core assets of an organisation are not its tangibles like buildings, machinery and real estate, but in the intangibles like intelligence, understanding,

skills and experience of its employees. The central managerial challenge of our time is the creation of incentive systems appropriate to knowledge economy, while most of our current motivational programmes remain fi rmly entrenched in the industrial age. For the knowledge workers and the employees of tomorrow, the need is to move from monetary incentives, traditional recognition and career advancement as the motivators. Today,

these motivators are being increasingly replaced by the purpose and meaning, contribution to the society, human values, understanding and spirituality.

Organisations have realised the need to develop an honest, inspiring and competent leadership that is passionate and values driven. Leaders have started to engage with people and try to design challenging tasks with purpose. Also, keeping the millennial in mind, best employers have started putting in place community structure and collaboration platforms, real-time feedback mechanism, easy access to information, analytical insights to drive right behaviours, besides harnessing and channelising the emotional and spiritual energy of its employees for both individual and organisational developmentThat’s the way to go.

(Source: Rousseau, DM. Psychological contracts in organizations:

Understanding written and unwritten agreements. 1995. Newbury

Park, CA: Sage)

The writer is VP-corporate HR & Global HR Head, Innodata

Incorporation

At the same time, new organisational forms may be less effective than en-visaged if the new forms

violate the traditional employment contract and if the traditional contract

remains widely held by employees.

HR SPEAKS



Education is not preparation for life, but is life itself ”. John Dewey’s quote is still very relevant and has gained utmost importance in today’s corporate world. This world is being

defi ned as VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous). It challenges the very premise of traditional competencies and career development. Talent development is no longer linear, nor has defi ned boundaries and more importantly has a short shelf life. Hence, education has to be continuous. Let’s examine this in the context of Senior Management roles in companies.

Job Descriptions: Do They Exist?Over the years, Senior management roles have evolved from

being just functional leaders to, a senior team of generals for the company. What really do organisations want out of them? The simple answer is “get the job done”. And what is their scope of work? “Whatever it takes.” What is the ultimate accountability? “Deliver to Shareholder expectations”. The underlying reasons are that regulatory, accounting and legal changes, including the onerous responsibilities of Directors have forced these roles to become more contiguous and interdependent than ever before. The CEO wants his team to develop strategic muscles.

What Business Are You In? Digital disruption has made management re-look at their

vision and strategic intent statement and many organisations are reinventing themselves to stay relevant. MasterCard is now a technology company! The plastic card company has transformed through solutions that are virtual, digital, leveraging on payment technology innovations

Mr. Swaminathan Subramanian

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENTWHICH KEEPS YOU ON A

EDUCATION

Right TrackContinuous Executive education is increas-ingly be-coming critical to develop talent for C-Suite readi-ness

43


HR SPEAKS

in sport, while people grow in experience in the corporate world, it is easy to lose sight of the basics. Many companies are sending senior managers back to school to brush up on concepts, learn new and emerging disciplines. Also, learn from each other. Leading business schools that offer executive education encourage cohort learning. These are long term courses, interspersed with classroom learning and project deliverables. They are fl exible to accommodate the need of working professionals, provide virtual learning platforms and encourage self learning. Companies leverage off these programmes as a means of developing senior talent as well as a useful retention and engagement tool.

Ultimately, the one who learns more is the one more curious. One can’t rely solely on structured learning interventions. There is abundance of literature with real time updates on the internet. Learning hasn’t been more “available” and out there. Social media and networks are another source of learning continuously. As Mark Twain said, “I never let schooling come in the way of my education”.

As a growing NBFC in India, with over 500 branches and over 10,000 employees across rural and semi urban areas, Fullerton India has endeavoured to build a learning organisation emphasizing continuous learning. The Fullerton Back to School programme targeted at senior management has enrolled participants to Executive programmes at Harvard Business School, XLRI-Georgetown Executive programmes. Towards developing senior talent in the rural business, Fullerton has partnered with Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA). The Company has placed strong emphasis on internal grooming of senior talent and places job rotation and enrichment as a strong proposition to its employees. Over 65 percent of management roles in the company are fi lled through internal talent deployment. In addition to campus programmes, the company runs an internal learning series called #Knowldgeadda focused on current topics which acts as a forum for employees to learn from Industry experts.

The writer is Executive Vice President and Head - Human Capital, Fullerton India Credit Company Limited

These are long term courses, inter-spersed with classroom learning and project deliv-erables. They are fl exible to accommo-date the need of working professionals, provide vir-tual learning platforms and encourage self learning

including biometrics. “Fintech” is a commonplace parlance today and is buzzing with ideas. There is a lot to learn from companies that have created value propositions through aggregation and have provided a marketplace. The world’s largest taxi fi rm, Uber owns no cars. The world’s most popular media company, Facebook, creates no content. The world’s most valuable retailer, Alibaba, carries no stock. And the world’s largest accommodation provider Airbnb, owns no property. All this has happened in a fairly short time refl ecting the pace at which concept has been translated to execution and eventual adoption. For any executive in today’s corporate world, there is no such thing as business. As usual, they need to continuously upgrade their own and their company’s capability technologically, commercially, fi nancially and operationally.

People reach senior management levels because of their functional expertise and strong execution. Progression thereafter is stymied by questions raised on whether the candidate has “executive presence”, “the ability to operate in a multicultural environment”, “has a global outlook”, “gets the big picture” and most often “is he/she Board ready?” More often than not, these are becoming deal breakers. Continuous Executive education is increasingly becoming critical to develop talent for C-Suite readiness.

Learn or Be Left BehindIt might seem chaotic out there,

but there are winners and there is a lot to learn from them.

Basics FirstNever lose sight of the basics.

Sportsmen are the best to emulate. Regardless of their world ranking, they train hard to strengthen and refi ne their basic techniques. Like



www.peopleandmanagement.comwww.peopleandmanagement.com

India’s much touted millennial population looks set to breach the 65 percent barrier by 2021, making the nation the youngest country

globally, even as it lags China in terms of holistic population. The country is currently clocking a GDP in the vicinity of 7.5-8 percent and things look set to improve further with good monsoon forecast, the stable economy, corporates doing well, and the general feeling among the populace

Yoga Ms Sagorika Kantharia

being that of forward thinking. India stands today where Japan stood 50 years back with a majority of the population in their most productive years.

According to a survey done by Deloitte in 2015, 80 percent of Indian millennials aspire to lead or reach

Healthy Workforce is equal toIncreased Productivity


HR LIFESTYLE

a management position within their organisation. While close to 60 percent of the 1.2 billion population, as estimated during the 2011 census, may be below the magical age of 30, an age that is also dawning upon us is the age of sedentary, grey-cell driven prosperity. More than 50 percent of India’s respondents during the Deloitte survey felt that their current employer value was making full use of their skills, as compared to only 28 percent worldwide. In short, young Indians are hungry for challenges, and employers seem to be obliging them. While we bask in the glory of the Indian success story and how we stand on the threshold of greatness, let us pause for a moment and look at the pitfalls that may arise as we march on.

What is the issue? - one may ask. The government is stable, the economy, as frivolous as it is, is improving on the macro front, business is booming and more and more global organisations seem interested in India and its overfl owing cup of talent. The land of opportunity, it would seem, has shifted from the Occident, to the Orient.

While we make merry at the joyous prospects ahead, let us also keep in mind certain drawbacks that a fast-developing country faces - heightened work pressure, the burden of keeping numbers growing, and that of ensuring that the people behind the numbers don’t fade out, all of which sound like symptoms of lifestyle-related diseases we have heard before.

Work-related stress has been pegged as Indian employers’ No. 1 worry. According to the Indian Heart Association, 50 percent of all heart attacks in Indian men occur under 50 years of age and 25 percent of all

heart attacks in Indian men occur under 40 years of age. A report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) recently said 25 percent of Indians risk dying before the age of 70 due to lifestyle diseases. With recent high profi le stress-related deaths bringing the focus on what it is that life means beyond the numbers, the challenges and the growth, Indians are now also looking for ways to de-stress, such as yoga, zumba and tai chi. Even as shareholders raise questions, promoters rap knuckles and there are huge compensation packages and huge EMIs involved in a highly consumerist, highly competitive culture, the Indian workforce is increasingly looking at solutions that help de-stress the mind and body.

Not only is it pressure from one’s employers, but an increasingly aware workforce is also realising that neglecting health affects the individual productivity and general health in the long run. To be able to drive productivity, one has to encourage one’s employees to partake in activities that soothe the mind, in turn healing stress-related damage. It is towards this end that home-grown solutions such as yoga come to the fore.

Stress harms the human mind and body, resulting in higher medical bills, interrupted sleep patterns, impaired judgement and debilitated decision making. It knows no boundaries, following people home, taking on the role of family stress thereby compounding itself at work. Yoga, as medically proven, increases fl exibility, increases muscle strength and tone, improves respiration, energy and vitality, helps maintain a balanced metabolism, helps reduce weight and among other things improves the health of the various vital organs. Almost a magic cure, yoga has been known to bring people out of depression, as well as get those severely mentally ill back from the brink. It rejuvenates the body, increasing blood fl ow, allowing the body to recover from a wide variety of lifestyle problems such as hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and diminished attention span. It is for this reason that it is still viewed as one of the most reliable de-stress methodologies among corporates. Regular practice of yoga not only improves health but helps in increasing concentration and focus, thereby increasing individual productivity.

Regular prac-tice of yoga not only im-proves health but helps in increasing concentra-tion and fo-cus, thereby increasing individual productivity




What top management across Indian organisations has realised is that yoga helps in improving employee performance. It creates a culture of wellness where a healthy workforce becomes a productive workforce. A growing body of research now suggests that yoga helps reduce stress that tends to assault bodies, which are confi ned to workplaces for hours. Companies are slowly investing in the assumption that limiting stress could translate into fewer employee absenteeism, lower healthcare costs and higher morale, thereby improving longevity of career with them.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi propagated International Yoga Day being incorporated into the UN Calendar; such are the benefi ts of yoga and meditation. Meditation and yoga need to be incorporated into daily life where they help improve wellness not only for the employee, but for the organisation at large.

Benefi ts that have impacted various Indian organisations positively by dint of including yoga in their schedules include a calmer way of being and leading a more balanced and fulfi lled life, connections to the inner workings of the mind, which help open up peaceful realms within, improved effi cacy that goes hand-in-hand with improved mental and physical wellbeing, the ability to face newer challenges with courage and acceptance, thus making life a lot more growth-conducive and a strengthened connection with oneself that helps cultivate an inner knowing.

Were employees to practice even 15 minutes of yoga a day across Corporate India, the benefi ts that could be reaped would be immense. The short term benefi ts that would be noticed would be those for the employees, but over a period of time, these would begin to refl ect on the corporate, in turn over a period of time, refl ecting on Corporate India. France has limited the number of work hours per week to 35 and banned work emails after offi ce hours. Japan encourages chewing on food slowly and vigorously, and the drinking of hot water, in order to boost the digestive system, thereby improving holistic wellness for its people. It’s about time that India woke up to the collective power of yoga, and recognise the fact that were a workforce of 0.8 billion people to practice yoga, the improved relative productivity would boost not only the nation’s wellness, but also the GDP, the economy and various other parameters, thereby pushing us from the moniker of ‘world’s

youngest nation’ to ‘world’s most productive nation’.

The writer is Chief People Offi cer, Jagran Group

Yoga, as medically proven, increases fl exibility, increases muscle strength and tone, improves respiration


PARADIGM SHIFT

It is beyond doubt that social media plays a useful role in the way business works and this trend is moving from

just being marketing-oriented to assist wholly in recruiting and hiring. One may be mistaken that when a recruiter looks for a candidate online, he is merely on the hunt for one who is tech-savvy.

Today’s managers and head hunters are picking social media as an arena to give a head start to their searches because a report by global research consultancy fi rm TNS suggests that social media is where people spend a whopping 2.2 hours a day. There is a paradigm shift in the way people are using the internet, and this is shaping trends seen today in the recruiting space

With the onset of job-posting portals, it is becoming increasingly easy for people to review potential candidates’ profi les and differentiate the ones with the right skill set. Creating and maintaining one’s social presence in the virtual world has become synonymous with how one carries oneself, or portrays oneself in real life. This is profoundly true for those candidates who are actively seeking employment opportunities via the virtual space. Unlike, traditional times where businesses were limited by the information that an applicant provided on his or her paper resume today, there is so much access to candidate information. From a person’s LinkedIn account to Facebook, Twitter and Google+, there is much on the table for the employer to evaluate. Aggregating all the information, employers can now better assess the characteristic that a candidate possesses. Especially mentioning employers seeking niche skill sets, the online hunt makes for an effective and effi cient search for a well-fi tted candidate.

Not just a cost effective option, online hiring also gives organisations a bigger audience while easing administration burdens. Organisations looking to scale up their staff bring a lot of pressure on HR and online hiring helps streamline the selection by automatically weeding out the irrelevant resumes to the jobs in question. Online recruiting communities or consultants are also an excellent option for employers seeking to outsource the initial assessment of candidates.

The Monster Employment Index recorded a 27 percent growth in May 2016 versus the same period

last year. The trend is seen across companies in all sectors. Organisations like Capgemini, Procter & Gamble, Accenture, TCS and many others source their candidates online. At K Raheja Corp, last year, around 90 percent of our recruits were through online hiring.

Companies often fi nd it challenging to reach out to freshers through job fairs and placement activities in universities. Here is where online hiring plays a pivotal role. Tools used in the process help businesses successfully recruit without going through rough planning for a large format outreach event. Smaller organisations, however with less time, manpower and money could fi nd this very benefi cial. Imagine an online job fair; that’s what online hiring is like. On the click of a button, one can know everything about an organisation and also reach out to them.

Lastly, online hiring is easy; one would just need a company website and either list jobs on the website or preferably use job-listing software wherein in-built customisable screening tools aid in the process. Keywords can be set up to identify the right skill set for each job and sieve through all the resumes one may receive.

Sr. VP Human Resources, K Raheja Corp

Urvi Aradhya

New Trends inRecruiting Space

DMA AD 1

50

$

FeedbackApps

OFFSHORE PERSPECTIVE

With the changing business world and its strategies, HR is also seeing up-

down trends in its practices and procedures. Every business is supported by its employees, i.e. human beings. Employees are not the machines and have their emotions and are very sensitive to organisational environment. We can recollect back in the 1980s seeing suggestion boxes in IBM offi ces all around the world. While businesses always want suggestions, these tools were a bit awkward to use, slow and we never really know what will happen with our suggestions. In the corporate setting, these tools and technologies unleash the power of the corporate “suggestion box.” Remember this idea and there was no “double loop” dynamic to let people see other people’s suggestions and contribute or rate them.

The word “Feedback” is a new buzzword in HR, and while I’m already getting a little tired of talking about, it’s an amazing thing to unleash. As one consultant likes to put it, “Feedback is a gift.” It is a gift to give (i.e. give it kindly and gently) and a gift to receive (take it with honour and respect). When we open up the fl oodgates to feedback in a positive and constructive way, we immediately fi nd ways to run our operations better. Today, with all our opportunities to “like” and “rate” things everywhere we go (look at how many consumer sites now have fi ve star ratings), we expect an opportunity to rate things or give people a “net promoter” score. Why can’t we do this at work? Of course the dynamics at work are quite different. At work, if you “down-rate” your boss or say something critical about the company (even in a constructive way), you may be labelled as a “trouble maker”. However, these practices might take some time in becoming reality.

AppsA Powerful Tool of HR

Feedback

Raju Foujdar

| Vol.7 Issue 5 • July 2016, Noida



But, when the interests of the organisation are paramount, the employees should speak up. Keeping quiet in such cases will neither help the employee nor the organisation. “He, who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life” – Muhammad Ali

The majority of HR mobile tools currently available on the market are focused on acquiring and managing talent; though a new layer of analytics applications are cropping up allowing users to dive into data on the go. While some apps are available as standalone products on the Android Market or iTunes App Store, many SaaS providers have mobile versions of their web applications created specifi cally for use on mobile devices. Somehow these apps are starting to take over everything from the ingrained performance review processes to the informal suggestion boxes to the employee-of-the-month clubs.

Once considered fads, they are now established in hundreds of companies as a way employees can anonymously rate their bosses, praise or complain about their co-workers, offer health and safety suggestions, and point out ineffi ciencies and inadequacies of the company. Used for purposes other than anonymous commenting, feedback apps are also used for better and more effective collaboration initiatives amongst colleagues and team members

Technology, Not Without RisksDespite the fact that these new technologies

are being touted as a way to improve a company’s productivity, human resources experts warn that there are risks. Allowing managers and employees to instantly comment on the performance of each other and their co-workers in real time could lead to bullying, a more-pressured work environment or harassment, experts says. Dr. Karissa Thacker, a Delaware-based workplace psychologist and advisor to International Paper, AT&T and other companies, compared the use of instant feedback tools to the days when e-mail fi rst became prevalent in the workplace. Some people would send inappropriate messages, creating tension in the offi ce, until management set clear rules on the proper use of e-mail. She said. “This stuff is coming fast;” she said; “It is critical that human resource leaders be proactive in developing rules of engagement regarding instant feedback apps. Employees can fl ag offensive or inappropriate feedback and have

human resources or an administrator handle the matter. Employees can also enter a response to feedback they feel is unclear or wrong, or if the issue mentioned was not their fault, he said.

Wilson said the reaction to her company’s product has been positive and people who use it to comment on an employee’s performance to a group tend to act professionally and not send negative feedback. Her company’s product also let managers confi dentially send constructive criticism directly to the employee, instead of to the group. Still, companies should not just jump into using instant evaluation software, said John Jersin, a former Google executive who is now CEO and founder of Connectifi er, a technology recruiting company in Newport Beach, Calif. Jersin said companies should only use such technology if its use is linked to some desired business outcome. “Companies should take care to avoid falling into ratings for the sake of ratings traps,” Jersin said in an interview with SHRM Online. “Sometimes businesses get really good at dramatically improving metrics that are meaningless and then are also disappointed when the business doesn’t improve.”

In the best instances they are vehicles of employee engagement and growth and development; in the worst cases they are fans of negativity churning out vitriol and mistrust. The Eight key advantages of incorporating feedback apps into your HR process are as follow:

1. It promotes engagement. If you provide an app, sooner or later people will use it.

2. Apps are designed to provide anonymity; they give your department and managers unfi ltered information.

3. The social recognition component where employees can give feedback to each other can help management uncover hidden diamonds in the workforce whose contribution far exceeds “just doing their job.”

4. It can make your company better, but only if you listen.

5. So what should you look for when you decide to add feedback apps to your HR process?

6. First and foremost, regardless of what app you add, make sure that there is a procedure in place for

52

OFFSHORE PERSPECTIVE

using it. Make it clear right from the start that while fair and open comment is welcomed, this is not a place for slander of others or inappropriate comments. Take a page out of the Netfl ix notebook, for example, where employees are advised they should not say anything online that they wouldn’t say in person.

7. Secondly, fi nd ways to show in practical terms that online feedback is being listened to and acted upon. For example, if you add the app Waggl, it to gather feedback on your meetings, and the feedback indicates most participants were unimpressed, start the next meeting by announcing some changes to make the meeting more effi cient and attribute the changes to feedback received.

8. Look for feedback apps that will take you beyond the obvious. Not everyone wants to tell you why they feel upset at work, but this information you need to know. So look at an app like Thymometrics that allows you to check in on the mood of your team.

New Source of Valuable People DataIn many ways, this new marketplace (and I

believe it will become a major segment of HR and business software) is creating a vast and powerful new source of business data. Once you settle on a toolset and a way to collect anonymous feedback data, you can now start correlating it to business performance, turnover, theft, compliance, customer service, and a whole variety of other business measures. You now have a regular feed of positive (and sometimes negative) suggestions, and can more rapidly innovate and iterate on your own company’s business practices. Will you get some “noise” and “junk” in the system? Of course you will – and it’s important to set standards that personal comments, discriminatory and infl ammatory statements and other types of disparagement are not going to be permitted. This is why many of these tools now include fi ltering software, screening systems, or approval workfl ows that let you (or the vendor) approve or disapprove. In many ways this market is similar to the enormous trend toward Net-Promoter scores throughout the customer lifecycle. I now get a survey from almost every airline after I fl ied in a fl ight, we can rate Uber

drivers and restaurants in a few seconds, and most well run product companies now have open feedback forms on their website. The trick, of course, is to make these things very easy to use so you reduce friction and get lots of real-time feedback that refl ects employees’ immediate suggestions on what you could be doing better. I won’t try to describe these tools in detail, but I see them as complimentary to the tools above, because they provide evaluative models which assess personality traits and organisational behaviours which help defi ne culture point out inconsistencies and illustrate where culture is problematic.

Many of these tools also include personality assessments (similar to Myers-Briggs), which let individuals and managers assess themselves, assess their teams and gain insights and tips on how to better get along or “fi t” into the company or team. The fourth category is a big one: tools that help people give to others thanks, recognition, and even gifts (or points). While this is a slightly different category (many of these systems are really rewards points and rewards programs), it is rapidly crossing into this market because whenever you give someone “thanks” you’re also providing feedback. If feedback is the killer app, then “thanks” is the gorilla in the market. When you unleash the ability for people to easily say “thanks” to their peers (and give them points or other rewards), an enormous new network of information starts to fl ow. Leaders suddenly see important people who they have never noticed and the culture of helping others starts to grow and improve.

T h e w r i t e r i s G e n e r a l M a n a g e r (HR & Administration), IPCA Laboratories Limited

In many ways this market is similar to the enormous trend towards Net-Promoter scores throughout the customer lifecycle

| Vol.7 Issue 5 • July 2016, Noida



enviable Create an

Brand

current and prospective employees associate with an employer. These qualities can be economic (remuneration), functional (training and skills) or physiological (such as a sense of identity or esteem).

They are not just in the services they offer to their clients but they lie within the company itself. Google, Coca-Cola, P&G, Apple, Microsoft, HP, Facebook – these are all companies that use active internal branding strategies by developing the who, what and why that propels their own brand as a company, not just in their product or services. As a matter of fact, they have become the most desirable workplaces

To be or not to be well, there is no question about it. Your organisation will always have two brands: one which is known

by clients and markets, and another which is nurtured by the people who work for you. Irrespective of the size of your organisation, whether you have taken time to consciously develop it or not, your employer brand does exist.

In a knowledge driven industry, a strong employer brand is a key to success of every business. Whilst most organisations have already acknowledged it as an imperative and are putting conscious efforts in bringing their employer brand to life, there are many who are still learning the ropes.

Well, from an organisation’s point of view, an employer brand encapsulates the key qualities

Vikram Jethwani

Employer


THOUGHT STIMULI

At the same time, efforts towards employer branding can help create an image which attracts the right type of talent you need. After all, it is not just about the top talent but people who have the right kind of skills and attitude that matches the personality of your brand

simply because of their focus on employer branding, both internally and externally.

So, if you still think that employer branding does not matter to your organisation, here are the four reasons why you need to keep working on it without an exception:

Attract Right Talent: Strong employer branding builds an effective bridge between HR, internal communications and marketing. Recruiting, retaining and training people are becoming more important in business as most organisations now recognise their staffs as their core asset. No matter how much you strive on other fronts, your organisation tends to lose on talent to competitors who have stronger employer brands.

At the same time, efforts towards employer branding can help create an image which attracts the right type of talent you need. After all, it is not just about the top talent but people who have the right kind of skills and attitude that matches the personality of your brand.

Most employees prefer to work for organisations which genuinely promote a set of values and purpose, matching their beliefs and aspirations. Employer branding initiatives create an opportunity to sound off an organisation’s point of view on this front.

Control Recruitment costs and Attrition: A strong employer brand means attracting the desirable talent at a lower cost. If a recent LinkedIn study is to be believed, organisations with stronger employer brands were able to cut their recruitment costs by over 50 percent.

On the other hand, your existing staff would like to continue working

with you as they feel connected, engaged and valued. Strong employer brands are invariably well-placed to get commitment and loyalty from their employees. Resultantly, their employee turnover rates are generally lower than the industry average. This helps in saving costs which go into advertising jobs, hiring and training new people for the same set of roles. Happy employees would rather get you more and more referrals for other openings too.

Boost Employee Morale: People like to work for brands which they feel proud to be associated with. Organisations which genuinely care for their employees are always in a position to upkeep and boost their staff ’s morale. No amount of investments and incentives could help if your employees’ morale is headed down the curve. Being responsive and fl exible is a key to improve your employer brand and demonstrates that you really care for your people.

Enhance Company Reputation: A strong employer brand equipped with a sound value proposition and a good level of employee engagement will bring an organisation optimum output and fi nancial success, which even multi-million dollar investments, mergers and acquisitions may not bring. Whilst there is no doubt that these can help a business, companies cannot afford to ignore the possible gains which can be delivered by elevating their brand profi le through their staff.

As per a Glassdoor study, 69 percent employees would not take a job with a company that had a bad reputation even if they were unemployed. Social media is all pervasive. No organisation can sustain employer branding initiatives and a good reputation unless they are backed by authentic initiatives at the backend. It can’t be done overnight. So, have patience and keep moving forward.

A Quick Guide to bring your Employer Brand to life

Thanks to the growing popularity of digital media – it is a completely different world today. There is nothing like a one-way communication wherein an organisation just says what it wants to. Everyone has access to online resources, especially the social media channels, to




authenticate the information and check what people are writing about the organisation.

From an employer branding standpoint, almost all the people search information about their prospective employers before taking any decisions. How is the work culture; what benefi ts are provided to employees; what could be the pitfalls; whether there are possibilities of growth, so on and so forth. These are some typical queries which linger in their minds.

And believe it top-ranking sites like Glassdoor come in handy – they just focus on such central subjects and let people share their independent feedback about their past and current employers. Social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook come next. People generally tend to fl ip through them to know about the latest happenings.

So, How to Go About it.First things fi rst; Employer branding is not

about producing great marketing stuff and promoting something that does not exist. It is all about ingenuity. Mission and vision statements hardly excite anyone. People want to see whether your organisation can walk the talk. So, it is better to work in that direction.

To begin with, get your HR and marketing brains together and let them identify the key areas where your organisation has been making a difference. It could be transparent culture, fl exible work environment, compensation and benefi ts, community engagement, or anything, which you feel matters to your prospective employees.

Before you look outside, it is really important that you hear your current employees. Give them various platforms where they can voice their concerns and feedback. Conduct regular town halls and invite questions. Let your HR team be in constant touch with your staff for taking feedback. Having an anonymous forum where employees can post their concern helps. It lets them express freely without any fear of being victimised or isolated. At the same time, you provide them an opportunity to fi rst share their feedback internally, and not all over the place.

Most importantly, be responsive. Adopt a balanced approach and try to resolve issues,

without being defensive or aggressive. There may be some concerns which couldn’t be handled immediately, so keep them on the horizon, but don’t leave them unattended forever.

Creating an environment of mutual trust with staff is the foremost step towards developing a strong employer brand.

Moving to Digital SpaceAs discussed above, primarily

you need to manage review sites like Glassdoor and then social media channels such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Glassdoor lets you put information about your company, benefi ts provided to employees, latest updates and photographs. This can be used to share as much information as possible. It is worthwhile to add photographs of offi ces and latest happenings in the company.

At the same time, most of such information can also be updated on other social media sites. This helps in creating a positive aura from different corners. Here, quality and consistency are the key factors that can make or break the game.

Developing an enviable employer brand is a long journey, but even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So, make your choices and a clear plan of action to build a strong employer brand which your organisation truly deserves.

Vikram Jethwani, Manager, Corporate

Communications, The Smart Cube.

Let your HR team be in constant touch with your staff for taking feedback. Having an anonymous forum where employees can post their concern helps

, [email protected]

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