the human variable 2.0

7/21/2019 The Human Variable 2.0

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HUM N RESOURCE

HUM N V RI BLE

Vol. II Iss. 1 IMT Hyderabad



It gives me immense pleasure to present the second issue of ‘Human Variable’, the annualmagazine of the IMT Hyderabad HR Club, I’m HR. Featuring articles on contemporary HRtopics the magazine represents the voice of the young professionals who are all set to enter theworkplace.

India is seeing a major generational shift in the workplace, especially in the services sector. Forinstance, in some of the large IT companies, almost 75% of employees are less than 25 years.While this brings in the energy, expertise and ideas to the workplace, the HR managers alsohave a tough time managing the aspirations of the dynamic workforce. Dealing with issues like

employee engagement, attrition, work life balance, inclusive growth, the HR team is on thelookout for ideas that can help them manage the changing workplace.

The articles from the budding corporate professionals justly touch on these very issues.Building employee commitment among new entrants, employee engagement, inclusivegrowth, chasing life, changing workplace culture are some of the topics dealt with in this issueof Human Variable. I hope you enjoy reading the articles.

It is heartening to see the response from different schools. I would like to applaud all the authorson your efforts in putting forward your ideas. Thanks for your contribution and support.

Finally, my congratulations to I’m HR team on having put together the second issue of your

Preface


Dr. Romina Mathew

Faculty Mentor (I’M HR)

Area Chairperson (Human Resource Management)

Institute of Management Technology, Hyderabad

Best wishes



The classical methodology of recruiting has undergone changes through leaps and boundsinducing transition in terms of defining the job, identifying the skills, job targeting and jobadvertising. One reason being increase in the number of employees being hired. Nearly 73% ofstate and local government HR Managers reported that hiring full time employees have gone upby 66% than in 2013, as surveyed among 336 public-sector HR professionals. Moreover, thegrowing economy and rising turnovers led HR Professionals to rank recruiting and retainingqualified talent as most important workforce issue faced by their organization followed by theall-important succession planning and talent development.

A growing trend in recruitment process has pierced through video interviewing. In the talentacquisition process, it helps to fasten the process, reduces cost and enhances the candidate

experience. In the past year, 2700 video interviews have taken place with a cost avoidancesavings of $47500 and a reduction in manager interview travel by 220 trips. True it’s a tool forrecruiting, but also attracts the attention of job seekers and portray a technologically- advancedculture of the organization.Any organization now attracts better talent by fine-tuning the way they market job openings,particularly in online job portals and on social media sites such as Facebook, twitter, Instagram,Pinterest and LinkedIn. Companies also test their online job application websites to ensure theyare easy to navigate. Also organizations leverage benefits to recruit employees at all levels andalso highly skilled ones. Around 77% of highly skilled employees are being leveraged to beingrecruited while 57% by recruiting savings and planning.

One more upcoming transition is through optimized applications in mobile phones i.e.enterprising recruiters are deploying smartphones and tablets for tasks once spoken for onlydesktops and laptops. They are using mobile to deliver candidate skill assessments andpersonality quizzes to exhibit a variety of useful content through videos that promotes specificobs on corporate cultures and for arranging interview scheduling tasks. Convenient Interviewscheduling, getting better read on candidate’s skill levels, tying all aspects together, especiallywhen recruiting solutions from different providers are some additional icing on the cake.

But down the line, hiring rates have gone up and recruiters are finding it difficult to find the best

talent. Thus they now mainly rely on Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to help them find themost qualified candidates. Today ATS innovations have improved resume passing,streamlining the job applications and through new reporting metrics, HR leaders areidentifying the best job applications and saving money on recruitment.

“The more that you invest in your potential employee’s interests and impressions, the broaderthe pool of candidates you will make available to the job” – Daniel McDougal, ManagingPartner at Kaye/Barman International Corporation.

Emerging Trends in Recruiting

Abhisek Sarangi

XIM-B




Over the last decade, an increasingly tight and globally competitive labour market has seen thebusiness community make genuine efforts to promote and retain women..There is a parallel ethical,public good and humanitarian case for the participation of women at executive level. Women becomesensitive to their marginality at a senior level and to the lack of cultural accommodation.Their visibilityrenders them highly vulnerable.

They display the anxieties of the minority in infiltrating and surviving at the top. Some women resort tothe contrived stance of an 'honourary bloke'. They adopt hard and aggressive demeanors, talk sport andsuppress authentic female characteristics. A number of women display guilt and secrecy around theirresponsibilities as mothers and carers. They fear association with women's programs and affirmativeaction initiatives, as these highlight their 'otherness' and denote their need for special treatment.

In a culture of winners, women seek to adapt to the norms of the winning group. While women face tacitcultural barriers to demonstrating their authentic value, their attempts to accommodate the masculinemodel of authority encourage suspicion, derision, and cultural isolation..Men's early socialisationprovides them with the capacity to negotiate hierarchy. While they recognise the strategic potential ofinformal networks and alliances, they are often not privy to the workings of informal career pathways.The 'tap on the shoulder' that can open doors is elusive to most women.

Women's entry into leadership career paths is more difficult in male domains where 'like attracts like'and 'like begets like'.These subtle and often unconscious dynamics influence how talent is recognised

and rewarded. They can thwart interventions designed to support recruitment and promotion ofwomen, making it difficult for women to be recognised and rewarded. Meritocracy and transparencyremain statements of policy; idealised notions that are difficult to operationalise in the face of corridorpolitics and informal communication systems. A relationship with a key senior player can provide awoman with a level of visibility that she would struggle to attain on her own.While successful womenare often perceived as obvious role models for ambitious women, a paucity of positive female rolemodels exists.

Perceptions of women's experiences at the top can be negative and not all successful women are naturalmentors. Women's lifestyle patterns have also changed considerably since the mid twentieth century.

Greater numbers of adult women are remaining single and childless. Women are having fewer childrenat a later age. The peak years for childbearing increasingly coincide with the peak years for women'scareer development. Their exit from the workforce was characterised as 'taking an off-ramp from theirchosen career path'.

These women have invested heavily in their education and training.They have spent yearsaccumulating the skills and credentials necessary for successful careers. Most are not eager to toss thatpainstaking effort aside.

Effective policy to be implemented at the corporate level

to increase the number of women in top positions

Annie SydneyLoyola institute of technology




Employee engagement is a step ahead of employee satisfaction. It is a vast topic, so I have narrowed

down the important points which are needed to know and understand. Firstly we need to know, what isEmployee Engagement? And secondly, How to apply this using statistical tools like Karl Pearson’sstandard Deviation and Chi Square Analysis (Null Hypothesis).The often thought notion is, Employee Engagement is organizing Picnics, Family day, Games etc. Butthis isn’t the fact, is it is far more than that. As priority lies in identifying the various causes of theirdisengagement and accordingly act on it.

“Engagement is the energy, passion, or fire in the belly employees have for their employer”. EmployeeEngagement is the level of commitment an employee has towards the organization.A fully engagedemployee is intellectually and emotionally bound with the organization, gives his 100 percent, feels

passionately about its goals and is committed to live by its values. This employee goes beyond the basicob responsibility to delight the customers and drive the business forward. Moreover, in times ofdiminishing loyalty, employee engagement is a powerful retention strategy.

There are three types of employees :

1.Actively disengaged employees2.Actively engaged employees3.Not engaged employeesEmployee Engagement is a very sensitive area. It is easy to apply it on your Staff & Executives but it is

very tedious to apply to your WORKMEN (sp. Having a union) .For applying it to your workmen, youshould first sense the Pulse of the situation. We need to try to get the workers comfortable by explainingits importance and how it will benefit both the Employer and the Workmen.

The aim of the organization is to see that all employees are ENGAGED. But more important is that wehave to identify the employees who are DISENGAGED.To do this we have to use the following methods:1) Design a questionnaire covering all the aspects related to their work their relationship with theirsub ordinates their requirements related to tools for work , health and a safe environment. The primarydata can be collected through a well structured questionnaire with close-ended questions, measures at

5-point likert type scale and suggestion questions. Secondary data required for the project can becollected from the company records and Internet.2) By using Karl Pearsons Standard Deviation method- to find how many employees are:a) ENGAGED b) NOT ENGAGED c) ACTIVELY DISENGAGED.

It doesn’t end here, We need to go one step ahead by using CHI SQUARE ANALYSIS using NULLHYPOTHESIS to find the reason behind their Disengagement ( It depends from company to companywhat null hypothesis they want to be included).

Example: CHI- SQUARE

After finding the Overall Employee Engagement in the organization. Chi- square can be used todetermine whether relation exists between:a) Employees Gender and Engagement

MPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT- IN A REAL SENSE




determine whether relation exists between:a) Employees Gender and Engagementb) Employee’s age and Engagementc) Employee’s work experience and Engagement

This is called Hypothesis testing. Chi Square test is used to determine whether there is a significantdifference between the expected frequency & the observed frequency in one or more categories.The results acquired will help the organization to identify the actual needs and thus to design an

“Action Plan” so as to attain better results.

Some of the characteristics that an Engaged employee will have are:Higher self-motivation.Confidence to express new ideas.Higher productivity and Morale.Reliability.Lower absenteeism

These few points will help to decide and organize any program. I am sure we all will first identify the

needs and later design the calendar to get most out of it.


Kishan Pednekar

HR-MRF Ltd, Goa



The contemporary political and economic climate has a significant impact on the way organizations

operate. The continuous pressure to cut costs and minimize expenditure has led to a fall in research &development and in turn innovation and has also made it harder to keep the employees motivated

and engage them on an on-going basis.

In such circumstances, how do employers and HR managers motivate and retain their workforce's

commitment?It's a question that has been discussed internally as well as externally by various social scientists, HR

professionals, team leaders, employee engagement specialists for more than a decade. One common

theme that strikes through these discussions is that flexible benefit plans, employee engagement,

recognition, creative work-life balance solutions is the key to employee motivation. Although shortterm incentives such as an employee of the month prize proves to be motivating but they have only

finite appeal and few feel genuinely motivated and engaged with these practices.

HR managers face a myriad challenges with today’s changing workplace culture. There are issues

concerning the societal changes such as generational shifts, health care reform, diverse workforce

(diversity management), business partnering and technology matters (e-HR) that rise to the top of the

list of challenges. But is there a single solution to these issues?

The workplace setting is changing mainly because of rapid advance of technological developments.

Telecommuting and remote reporting relationships are becoming a norm. These ways to improve

productivity can be useful for some employees; however, these types of technological-based changes

can’t be forced and replicated for all employees. HR managers must ensure that there is a mutual

agreement between the employer and employee for various options that include the use of modern

technology because it requires motivation and discipline.

For the first time, stress is becoming the cause of employee absence, highlighting the heightened

pressure at the workplace as a result of the increasing competition and demanding customers.

Some of the responsibilities of a HR manager that are gaining ground are differentiating between lowand high performers, ensuring process compliance and securing true engagement from managers.

An effective performance management helps in aligning employees to strategic objectives.

All the issues at a workplace can be dealt easily if employers and HR managers are successful in

creating a positive organizational culture. When HR managers employ initiatives that focus on all the

stakeholders and meet quintessential human needs, they build favorable workplace cultures that can

Changing Workplace Culture




thrive in demanding times. In such an environment, workers focus on their jobs thus improving

productivity rather than focusing on what is going wrong with the organization. Sharing of

knowledge and experience occurs amongst workers which improves efficiency and productivity.

Prachi Jain

IIT-K




Employee engagement has received lot of attention of late. Lack of Employee engagement is a major issue that

the industry is facing. This constrain, limits the implementation of any changes that is taken to motivateemployees. Successful engagement of employees might improve the top line by billions of dollars. The

opposite is also likely very true.

Customer engagement has been redefined in this digital era. But, the same cannot be said with employee

engagement. Organisations are looking towards Gamification to improve employee engagement. It was

predominantly used by companies to engage customers to use their service by throwing up challenges and

providing leader boards. In a time where SMAC is transforming the way two entities interact, Gamification is

emerging as the software component that connects the employee with organisations goal and objective. It is

estimated by global researcher markets and markets that Gamification will be worth $5.5 Billion by 2018. Inanother survey by Gallup in US, it was found that over 70% of Americans are either not engaged or actively

disengaged. This report concludes by estimating that this phenomenon costs US Economy $450 to $550 Billion

annually.

Organisations have started to realise that Gamification is an excellent way to influence user behaviour. For a

successful implementation, Gamification must be bundled with the existing processes to improve

productivity and to drive the required change. As with any program, getting started with Gamification is

easy, but sustaining over a period of time is very hard. Implementing Gamification by following a structured

approach will definitely bear fruit. A lot of companies are introducing social environment for workers in theiroffice.

Take for example Khan Academy. It has various levels and gives badges for each task. These can be applied to

real life scenario. Just as users move to next level on successful completion of a target, a typical job can also

have targets, incentives and promotions that will motivate employees. As more millennials enter the

workforce, it is imperative that outside experience that the employees face (Facebook, games, be extended in

work environment. As electronic devices like smartphones and tablets dominate working environment a

simple Gamification app which could assign points and provide rewards to players with right goodies for

their hard work would do the trick.

Gamification can be a part of an employee right from the day one. Mundane tasks like filling out forms,

learning company’s policies etc can be given points on successful completion. From thereon, Gamification can

be an integrated part of an employee’s lifecycle. Marriot uses Gamification for recruitment where prospective

employees are asked to play a game similar to farmville where users manage a hotel and based on the final

score, final offers are given. Nike+ uses Gamification on their platform to engage users to take workout to the

next level.

Gamification in Organizations

Senoj Selvin Jones

Great Lakes




IF NARENDRA MODI CAN, WHY CAN'T YOU?No wonder everyone finds the corporate job quite stressful, but think about the responsibility of leading a

nation.

Compare hundreds of employees to millions of citizens,Compare the diversity of work to be handled,Compare the decisions to be taken and its impact.So, if Mr. Modi can ensure timely dinner, indulging in “Mann Ki Baat” talks with fellow countrymen,

exercising his Yoga, maintaining a social network on a regular basis, why can’t we?

Work Life balance, is all about striking the right balance between “Making a living” and “Making a life”. The

key point here is not to treat these two roles as contradictory but complementary to each other. The satisfactionat work, will keep one happy at home and the happiness at home, will keep one motivated to work harder.

Hence, the balance shall automatically prevail.

An ideal balance cannot be rigidly defined, for it shall differ individually, based on a person’s general lifestyle,

profile, work intensity and family dynamics. While there is contentment with work benefits, there is

satisfaction around socio-emotional-spiritual existence. It’s about how much weight an individual assigns to

each of them.

As rightly said by Stephen Covey,“The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities”

While this balance may seem easy to achieve if seen in isolation, but does it work when your peers are burning

the midnight oil? Often we face dilemma of what to do when everyone around us is busy working crazily. In

such cases, it’s worth remembering your priorities, whether you are ‘living to work’ or ‘working for a living’.

Planning and Scheduling: Follow a bottom-up approach to schedule and plan your tasks based on their

importance and impacts. Dilute the ‘fixed’ boundaries: While one sets up rigid boundaries between the

professional and personal time, one must be flexible to dilute these boundaries to account for contingencies.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle: As clichéd as it may sound, a healthy lifestyle equips one to handle those days of

fatigue and exhaustion.Delegation is the key: It is humanly impossible to do everything all alone. Whether at

professional or personal front, a support system always helps.

Work from Home: It may be called as the ‘Best of Both Worlds’. Exercising such an option will enable the

individuals the required flexibility and balance.

Chasing Life:Finding the Balance




IWhile achieving this balance may seem like a mirage, where the more one tries to run after it, the more distant

or unachievable it seems. However, the day you stop treating it like a race, it becomes achievable. It’s all in the

mind.

Let us accept that it’s not just about decorating the economic balance sheet, but also the socio-emotional one. If

this article motivates you a little, by showing that it is not all that difficult, the aim of writing it will be fulfilled.

My best wishes to all the readers for their lives.

Thank You.

Swapnil Karia

SCMHRD




The key parameters that need to be considered while evaluating “Inclusive growth” are equal opportunity,

diversity, non-discrimination and sustainability in the long run. By Inclusive growth, we mean extension ofproductive opportunities to the excluded group of people and including them as a part of the “growth story”

by making various structural changes in the organization. It means giving the less represented group of

people, a scope or opportunity to showcase their capabilities. Policies at the workplace must be so designed so

as to encourage inclusive growth that leads to an increase in the overall productivity of an organization and

whereby, there prevails a general sense of fairness and justice in the organization. This would lead to the

emergence of a positive workplace culture.

Also, in order to encourage the workers to perform in the most productive manner, the benefits accruing from

the organization’s growth must be distributed equitably among the workers. This would incentivize them toperform beyond what is expected of them and take the organization to new heights. This acts as a source of

“sustainable growth” for an organization. Inclusive growth is a key factor in attracting and retaining talent in

the organization.A diverse workforce in an organization with an inclusive culture makes the organization

more innovative and agile. Diverse workforce also means diversity in talent and strategic thinking, which can

be leveraged for providing a competitive advantage to the organization. The focus of an organization is to

leverage differences for the best possible business outcomes.

In the last few years, the focus of efforts in corporations across the world has shifted from diversity to

inclusion. Google provides an example of how an inclusive policy can help companies to grow and lead intoday’s competitive markets. The ability of a diverse group of people to build strength and unity despite

d i f f e r e n c e s p r o p e l s t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n i n t o n e w d i m e n s i o n s o f p e r f o r m a n c e .

(Figure- aligning diversity factors in an organization; source-LinkedIn)

With inclusivity in workforce gaining ground in India, it is not uncommon to see people from diverse cultures

being an active part of an inclusive workplace. Leveraging the benefits of diversity, however, calls for

sensitive leadership. It is crucial for the leaders of the organization to possess the requisite skill-set to manage

such differences so that there is no clash of interests and the organization as a whole is aligned towards

achieving higher goals and aspirations.

NCLUSIVE GROWTH AND WORKPLACE CULTURE




Diversity and inclusivity help workers learn from each other and respect each others’ differences. It helpsthe organization as a whole to think from varied perspectives and come up with diverse ideas.

Thus, inclusive growth has changed the face of modern Indian workplace culture to that of a more diverseand a more tolerant one and has made Indian organizations global, in the true sense, embodying elementsof different cultures across the country and the globe.

Swati Suravi XIM-B




One of the enduring challenges for HR department of IT companies in the present times is dealing with

employee attrition. Rate of switching companies is increasing and HR department is facing the heat.According to a news article in The Economic Times dated July 13, 2015, TCS clocked a 15.9% attrition rate in

the June quarter end. One of the reasons for this temporariness is the number of job options an employee has in

his platter nowadays, be it because of the rising number of start-ups or increasing number of IT hubs. A

number of IT companies are keeping their footsteps in cities like Ahmedabad, Jaipur etc. apart from the

already existing IT hubs such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Noida.

Organization commitment can be built more conveniently in a fresher if right treatment is imparted. They join

with high hopes and are enthusiastic about the company as everything that is first in our life holds

significance, be it first love or first job. This feeling should be nourished as it will lead to organizationcitizenship behaviour among the fresher employees.

Most IT companies allocate technical domains randomly when it comes to fresher employees. If their opinion

is taken and their interest considered, a company will benefit in two ways. Firstly they will pick up the work

quickly reducing the learning gestation time and secondly they will stick to the company as they will not feel

being wronged. Wipro follows this. Engineering graduates with a job offer from Wipro are given an option to

choose their preferred technical domain and they are trained accordingly. Small perks are not of much

importance to a veteran in the company but a fresher cherishes them.

They like to show the world that they work for a particular company. A pen, backpack, t-shirt or hoodie with

the company logo if gifted from time to time, matters to them. There is no point trying to do cost cutting in

these small aspects. Everyone wants recognition in terms of getting responsibilities also and they focus more

on work if ownership is given to them. In lots of projects in IT companies, the fresher employees are given

petty works and the team leads do not show enough trust in them. That is detrimental. It is like not being able

to channelize the energy of that individual and let him sulk with inferiority complex.

What can rather be done is reviewing their work at every level to ensure quality. They should be never

shielded from dealing with clients right from the beginning as eventually they have to do it. Attending client

meetings and responding to their queries, may be with subtle help from senior employees will boost their

business communication skill. Some of these small practices if followed properly by a company, can bring

forth a strong organization commitment among fresher employees. After all big issues comes once a while but

small gestures are part of day to day emotions.

Building Organizational Commitment among Fresher’sn IT Companies

Udita Banik

Christ university




Going back to the times of the Industrial Revolution, the employees of an organization were treated as the

tools of work or simply the means of earning the profits for an organization. But as the time went on and moreand more industries emerged the organizations realized the value an employee has to the company along

with what value he can add to the company as an asset.From employees being considered as machines or tools to being considered as assets, now is the time when a

few companies do consider their employees as the customers in the HR terms.

Why to consider Employee as a Customer?HR today is taking efforts in making the employees feel good at the workplace by being a good service

provider of the values that company believes in and also keeping employees as their priority in the

organization. The employees need to be taken as the customers of the HR, that is because there are many

instances when a good employee leaves the organization due some inappropriate condition at the workplace;

few of the conditions can be listed as below:-1) Poor working conditionsThese working conditions can be anything from an unhygienic washroom to a dissatisfaction of a given job

role.2) Inappropriate Performance AppraisalAn employee can be highly de-motivated to work if he is not appraised by any means i.e. monetary or non-

monetary which can again result in employee leaving the organization.3) Improper Grievance Handling

In case of any grievance if an employee is not given proper attention to resolve the grievance that can also beanother factor of employee attrition.4) Organization’s CultureThe overall organizational culture can also affect the employee’s decision to be in the organization.5) Independence given to an employeeFor an employee to be productive he needs to be given the space which he needs to work and bring in better

ideas to the workplace for effectiveness and efficiency.

Above mentioned points have explained that what can lead an employee to leave the organization which in

turn states the importance of giving the priority to the employees.

Concept of Employees as CustomersThis concept of treating employees as customers is taken as talent management process by many companies

now days. According to this concept, as for any seller the top priority is his customers, likewise, the company

with the help of HR Department keeps its employees as top priority.There are executives who underestimate the efforts put in by the workforce of the company, but what they fail

to understand is that it is the employees who serve as the battleground for customer services and also carry

Employees as Internal Customers




forward the brand image of the company by being the unnoticed brand ambassadors to the company.Ways to be a better Service Provider

1. Be Proactive

For employees to have a better understanding with the organization, the HR department needs be proactive.

Proactive attitude should be reflected by the by of sensing the problems and approaching the employee before

he/she approaches you with the complaint of something going wrong.

2. Better ReturnsEmployees have high expectations from the company when they are putting in their best efforts to get the

results or the work done, this signifies that they should be given better returns if not higher than, then at least

up to their expectations.3. Work CultureA friendly and a peaceful atmosphere should be maintained at the workplace, so that employees are

motivated to work and feel that they are an important part of the organization rather than just an earning

profit tool for them. A better work culture will enhance their effectiveness and bring in more innovative ideas

to the organization which in turn will have a great outcome.

4. Proper Grievance Handling Every organization should have proper grievance handling system which in case of the grievance of the

employees will help them overcome it and comeback to the normal state. If an employee is facing some

problem regarding colleagues, or is not getting sufficient resources to do the work properly then it is

hampering his productivity.5. Appraisal

An employee should be given appraisal in front of everyone whenever it comes to rewarding him for

something extraordinary thing done by him. This will boost up his confidence and inspire him to do things in

a better manner, this will also help in motivating other employees in the organization to give the results and

have better recognition in the organization.

ConclusionIn the nutshell, organizations should and some of them are focusing on the employees’ needs and the

requirements to work in an effective and efficient manner which would help organization grow more as well

have good reputation in the market in terms of best “best organizations to work for”. This will help in

attracting more talent and fresh blood to the organization and it will also help in reducing the attrition rate of

any organization to the least possible number. Hence, to consider employees as internal customer more than

the assets is proving to be beneficial for the companies

References1) http://www.talentmgt.com/articles/7290-treating-employees-as-customers2)The Economic Times.


Tejaswini Sethi

IMT Hyderabad

http://www.talentmgt.com/articles/7290-treating-employees-as-customers

http://www.talentmgt.com/articles/7290-treating-employees-as-customers



IntroductionToday, there is a great need of a human resource department in any organization, any firm, and any medium

or large scale business, due to large number of the employees in any particular organization. Since having

large number of employees signifies the need of having the HR department, however, along with it this also

pertains to having a need for a good relocation policy for the employees of the organization. This will help the

organization as well as the employees in achieving great milestones in their career lifespan. As working in the

same location and having the same sort of roles and responsibilities makes the life of the employees

monotonous due to which their effectiveness and efficiency both are affected which at most of the times is

proven to be a bad situation for both, employees as well as the organization.

Relocating the EmployeesMany companies including the MNC’s have a different outlook towards the relocation of the employees.

These differences occur due the difference in the location, culture, country’s ruling government, other

external factors like demographics, etc. Despite, these social variations there are few of the general guidelines

which are supposed to be followed by each and every organization or the company keeping aside the barriers

of social variations. Those guidelines are as follows:-An employee will be eligible to have his/her relocation expenses reimbursed after relocating to a new

ob location that is at least fifty (50) miles farther than his/her former residence was to his former job location.Relocated employees shall submit, in reasonable detail, vouchers for all expenses incurred to the

Human Resources Department for approval and reimbursement.All relocation related expenses should be filed separately from other types of reimbursable business

expenses and should be clearly marked "Relocation Expenses."It is not the intent of the Company to provide an upgrade in housing (e.g., move from rental to

ownership of residence, purchase of home with substantial adjoining land, purchase of multiple unit

residence, etc.) for relocating employees.Employees to be relocated should be made fully aware of the contents of this policy. Any questionable

expenses should be resolved with the Director of Human Resources before the expense is incurred. Because

relocation involves many aspects, any exceptions to this policy require the prior approval of the Director of

Human Resources.

Therefore, above mentioned are few of the guidelines which act as a blue print for any company or the

organization to frame the relocation policy in their respective premises which would suit their working

atmosphere.Relocation Packages might also include following services or the benefits for the convenience

of the employees in order to assist them in adjusting in the different atmosphere from previous one:-Autos: Transfer of vehicles to your new location. This can have certain restrictions to the amount of

vehicles, etc.

RELOCATION POLICY




Childcare assistance: A list consisting of day care providers and possible reimbursement for

special situations.

Cultural training: For those moving internationally, a class on what to expect in the new

culture will be offered.

Elder care assistance: A list of nursing homes or care centers will be provided.

Full Pack: A van line will be sent to pack all your household goods and transport them toyour new home. Any special moving needs should be discussed prior.

Full Unpack: When the van line arrives at your new home for delivery they will unload all

boxes and furniture where you wish.

Home finding trip: A visit to your future city (including airfare, hotel, rental car, and meals)

so that you can find a home, schools, etc. that are suitable for your family.

Home Buying Services: Help with the payment of closing costs, mortgage points buy downor other fees on the purchase of a home.

Home Sale Services: Help with the payment of closing costs and commissions on the sale of

your home.

Lease Break Coverage: If you're a renter, the company will pay penalty charges for breaking

a contract.

Lodging: During your home finding trip and/or move, costs for hotel stays will be paid.

Miscellaneous expenses: Out of pocket expenses like carpet cleaning, drapery installation,

utility hook-ups, vehicle registration and other incidentals could be reimbursed.

Property Management: Homeowners on international or short term assignments will have a

property management company take care of rental and upkeep.

Spousal job support: Many companies offer employment assistance for an accompanying

spouse or partner.




Storage: If you will be overseas on a short assignment or living in temporary housing for a

few weeks, the company will pay to have your items put in a storage facility.

Temporary housing: In case your new home isn't ready right away, furnished housing will

be provided.

Transportation: Getting you to your new destination by plane, train or automobile will be

reimbursed.

Travel: If you're on a short unaccompanied assignment or your families move is scheduled a

few months out, airfare back home will be paid for every so often.

Conclusion

Thus, we observe that for having a good work culture in the office premises there is a need for the constant

change which can be done by relocation of the employees to various branches or other places where theorganization’s operational units are located. This makes an employee more involved in the work along

with a better change because of which he can generate new ideas and explore his talent with the changed

working environment.


Tejaswini Sethi

IMT Hyderabad


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-human-variable-20 20/32Vol. I Iss. 1 IMT Hyderabad

With the highly dynamic business environment, skill requirements are changing at a lightning speed. This

brings the Training & Development (T&D) function at the forefront to empower the employees with therequired tools. Training is becoming pivotal as organizations recognize it as mandatory, not optional, to the

growth and success of the business and its employees. An organization’s success depends on what its

employees achieve individually and hence they are doing everything in their power to develop the skills of

their employees.

The T&D function, now, has taken the role of “Business Partner to the Management”, playing the part of a

catalyst in the growth of the employees and in turn the organizations. This proximity between the

management and the T&D team has generated a demand for “Life Coaches” and “Training Professionals”

who can identify and develop the required competencies and bridge the skill gaps. The current trend clearly

portrays T&D as one of the most valuable and rewarding professions.

This increasing demand for “Training Professionals” brings us to the most important question “Are we ready

to meet the demand?” Business organizations annually infuse fresh talent, who are brimming with

innovative/creative ideas. Additionally, the management institutions have embedded live industrial

projects, Internship programs, and Guest lectures by eminent faculties and Case studies in the curriculum, to

nurture the skills required in the professional world.

Now, it is our responsibility to utilize the opportunities given to us by the management institutions and the

industries, and use it for our own benefit. Let’s face the fact, nobody can make us perfect! It is one’s own extra

effort which will make us stand out from the crowd. How do we “make it happen”?

Well the options lie with us! Success, in true sense, is not just about building the competencies required, but

also about the willingness to learn and innovate in today’s digital era. Offline or online networking can play an

important role here. Aspiring training professionals should stay in constant touch with the industry experts.

Connecting with industry experts through blogging sites, LinkedIn etc. will make us aware of the currentmethodologies, best practices and trends of the training industry.

Reading Blogs/Articles about the latest trends in the training space which have benefitted different

organizations, in making their employees more productive will give us an idea about how to bridge the gap. A

well-developed professional network can go a long way in helping us whenever we need guidance and

direction.


TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT - A NEW BUSINESSPARTNER TO THE MANAGEMENT



The foremost expectation from a training professional is that they should be able to impart training, tailored to

the needs of the individual as well as the organization. Hence, keeping ourselves abreast with industry

requirements, thorough knowledge about the competitors and latest training techniques is of utmost

importance. Conducting a Market analysis will help us in understanding how the different companies work.

Also, enable us in understanding what are the training best practices/methodologies being used for an

enhanced performance over the competitors.

While we upgrade ourselves, we need to renew individual skillset and make ourselves competitive. Adding

relevant certifications is a great way to start on this “in demand training career track”. To name some ISTD

certifications, Instructional design courses & Train the trainer certification programs can give an extra push in

shaping your career.

With the right combination of knowledge/certifications and our attitude & passion towards this profession,

we can make ourselves a very competitive, industry ready and a desirable prospect for the role in the T&D

team of any organization.


Tanushree Kaushik

Deputy Manager- L&D [South]

En World Group



Work-life balance refers to a working individual aiming to strike a balance between his/her personal and

professional life. Career growth and work-life balance are usually the top priorities of working professionalsthese days. But at the same time juggling personal life and professional life in this competitive environment

poses problems. That is why it is necessary to have a stable work-life routine; else it is considered as one of the

major challenges that are faced by maximum working professionals in the world. Thus, both men and women

prefer to work in an organization that offers them the luxury of having a steady relationship between their

personal and professional life. But in Indian context this scenario is created because of the social structure and

institutional beliefs of our society.

With the increase in globalization and standard of living, a dual career couple or employed parents find it

difficult to take out time for their families. It’s probably because of the fear of losing their job or promotion to a

fellow executive; which leads them to concentrate solely on their work at the cost of their personal life. This

issue is faced by both the genders in our society. Somewhere this imbalance is also created by the attitude of

some firms. While some organizations see their employees as a separate entity, others follow the mantra of

“Work is Work, Family is Family- the two do not mix”. But somehow they always do and either one or both

suffer due to this stance. Also, there is a huge difference between the legal working hours and the real working

hours in India, and somehow employees think giving an extra hour will put them in the managements’ good

books. In these cases, it is the duty of an organization to put forth a point that an extra hour wouldn’t help the

employees and that the organization believes in hard work and the fact that everyone is given a fair chance for

promotion and salary hikes. Thus, extra working hours should neither be encouraged nor awarded. Rather

they should be discouraged to the extent of warnings.

Work-life imbalance is realized by the Indian government and many organizations. Thus, the Indian

government introduced Maternity Benefits Act, 1961 which entitles a woman to 12 weeks of leave with full

pay associated with a child along with additional nursing breaks. As of 2nd September 2015, the Ministry of

Women and Child Development has proposed to increase it from 12 to 24 weeks. In addition to this, The

Factories Act, 1948 demands that factories having more than 30 female worker employees must have crèchefacilities for children below the age of 6.

Various organizations have designed policies and HR strategies to impart a balance in the work-life of their

employees. Strategies like flexible working hours, child and dependent care, maternity, and paternity leaves

are granted to the employees. Some organizations provide trainings for having a work-life balance which is a


WORK LIFE BALANCE IN INDIAN CONTEXT



which is a cost-effective way to keep their staff engaged. Each organization has its own set of varied

provisions for providing work-life balance. It is observed that the public sector organizations take more

family-friendly measures than private sector firms. Each and every organization must try to inculcate certain

practices like flexible timings, elder care, commuting, childcare, trainings and practicing gender equality to

maintain a work-life balance.


Shikhi Mehrotra

FORE School of Management



"When you're in a start-up, the first ten people will determine whether the company succeeds or not. Each is 10 percent of

the company. So why wouldn't you take as much time as necessary to find all the A players? If three were not so great, whywould you want a company where 30 percent of your people are not so great? A small company depends on great people

much more than a big company does." – Steve Jobs

Let’s consider the following hiring strategy:

A certain company looks at whoever the competitor is hiring at campuses, figures out the offer made by the

competitor, and then makes a better offer to those potential recruits. Essentially, the competitor does the hard

work and the mentioned company reaps the benefits.

This is the essence of employee poaching.

Poaching has become an inevitable truth in today’s start-up ecosystem and the current war for talent. There is

an increased need of talent with the tremendous rate at which start-ups are growing today. Targets have to be

met, market has to be captured and growth has to be ensured. This means more people – freshers and skilled

talent – need to be hired.

Investors might buy into the big business plans and fabulous growth projections of the start-ups, but without

the right people in the organization, the execution of the vision is next to impossible.

The question that arises is where you find the “right people”.

Start-ups poach employees through various ways such as poaching campus recruits of competitors, existing

employees of competitors or though employee referral programmes. Due to the phenomenal growth of start-

ups, it is no surprise that they are adapting to poaching to get the best talent. A recent example would be when

Yahoo announced it was firing its employees. There was hiring frenzy on Twitter. Companies like Zomato,

Pricebaba and other companies approached Yahoo employees through tweets.

Poaching has several crucial benefits. Somebody who has worked across industries is difficult to be taught orreplaced due to their invaluable experience. Also, when one hires from another firm, an understanding of the

competitor’s tools, approaches and processes can be achieved. Case in point is when Navneet Singh, the co-

founder of grocery app Pepper-Tap roped in Devadas Krishnan from Vodafone Business Services as the head

of operations and Tahseen Quadri from Airtel as the head of marketing.


MPLOYEE POACHING - THE NEW TREND ADOPTED BY START-UPS



However, offering just a hefty package is not enough to lure talent. Start-ups must address issues like whether

the talent being brought is fit for the company, identifies with the vision of the organization and has the right

kind of entrepreneurial spirit to make the start-up reach new heights.

Thus, whether one acknowledges it or not, poaching in today’s global hiring ecosystem is inevitable and is

becoming more aggressive by the day. In the current war for talent, one has to use vigorous tactics in order to

survive. In fact, one can say that it is becoming a standard business practice in the world of global recruiting.


Sneha Mohanty

SCMHRD, Pune

Sujay S Prabhu

SCMHRD, Pune



As Markets are becoming more and more sophisticated with the intense war for talent rising, the concept of

Employer brand is becoming even more contextual. It defines the desired brand image, which, if transmittedeffectively and consistently to employees, enables them to understand and experience the brand image that an

organisation wishes to convey.

Examples of successful employer branding as a source of competitive advantage:

South west Airlines, being a service oriented organization has reversed the traditional ‘customer first’

approach by positioning their employees first and in turn expecting those employees to mirror those

behaviours that they receive from the company. It communicates its brand messages to current and potential

employees and also the formal internal and external messages via the HR and PR systems including, for

example, advertisements, media releases and compensation. They have been able to reduce the employee

turnover rate to under 5%, when the average turnover rate for the American airline industry is around 30%. It

has been recognized as Fortune Magazine’s ‘100 Best Companies to work for in America’.

McDonalds, in the early 2000s, had come to be associated with low-paying, low-status work with little or no

chance of progression to an extent that Oxford included the term ‘McJobs’ in its dictionary defined as ‘an

unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects’. But by using Employer branding, McDonalds revised the

image through various initiatives including advertising campaigns emphasising the positive aspects of

working at McDonalds. It tried to be an employer with the EVP (Employee Value Proposition) so much so that

their attempts helped them to become the “Best place to work in Hospitality’ in 2007.

VMware, a leading cloud solutions company has taken up diversity hiring –especially among women as its

major initiative. It is comparing correlations between Net Promoter Scores and reviews on Glassdoor to

measure the impact of employer brand holistically and from where they can perform root cause analysis to

identify areas of candidate experience that need improvement. This is improving performance of advertising

campaigns targeting key talent demographics along with the impact on VMware’s hiring quality.


EFFECT OF EMPLOYER BRANDING IN ATTRACTING TALENT



As there cannot be “One size fits all” solution for all the companies, each company has to explore the

opportunities within itself to improve the Employer brand and their EVP. At the macro level, the branding

and industry image attracts the human capital whereas at the micro level employer branding developed

through marketing, personal experience, word of mouth and their perceptions of brand are things that

potential recruits rely upon.

Social media has also revolutionised the way businesses can seek to attract the best talent: the route to your

target audience has become more diversified; the opportunity to pinpoint your ideal candidate has become

more realistic.

With 56% of employers who recruited new employees in the last year reporting that a candidate rejected their

ob offer, organisations need to recognise the importance of a robust, engaging and inspiring employer brand

that ensure they achieve their business goals. The race is on for Sameera Pto make their brand standout to

reach the top talent.


Sameera P

SJMSOM, IIT Bombay



While some HR professionals use social media to find qualified candidates who have a scrupulous

professional integrity, others encourage their employees to expand their contacts via social networks;

diminishing the myth that using internet during working hours will affect their business; rather onlineinteractions will promote their business. Many HR professionals see tremendous potential in social media

tools for sharing real-time ideas and solutions with co-workers.

Having perennial relationships with good quality people will result in stronger connections which will in turn

position their business in a way where large number of others will pay attention to what they have to offer. HR

professionals use tools like Twitter Tab to keep up with the industry changes and news and also to collect

information and articles for their job and related certifications. They also do blogging to inform about the

concepts, practices and methodologies of their business. The concept “thinking out of the box” applies when itcomes to HR and social media. They now realize the need for rewarding this kind of thinking.

Companies are trying to make a tool through which not only Facebook postings, LinkedIn profile and Twitter

feed of candidates can be analyzed but also their activities on specialty sites related to their profession can be

seen. By reviewing various posts of a candidate, any HR professional can easily come to know about his/her

strengths and weaknesses because they post everything without thinking about a specific job.

A website and a phone based application can be created to pull all the information related to company’srecruiting efforts at one place which will be easy to access for all the concerned people. This mobile app will be

used by potential employees to search and apply for jobs, receive job alerts, join a talent community, and get

an insider’s view about what it’s like to work for the particular organisation.

This recruitment approach is designing a different kind of world where job seekers are found and evaluated

by their merits and contributions, rather than their skills to sell themselves in any interview.


ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN ATTRACTING TALENT



With the advent of social media, HR professionals are now reviewing the corporate values. The only thing for

certain is that social media can dramatically castrate expectations. So it is beneficial for all industries and

businesses or to anyone who has not yet embraced it; to grow with these new technologies.

Gamification is related to attributes like play, design, solving puzzles or competing, and application of these

things in real-world processes at workplace; for example: health & wellness, new hire on-boarding, learning &

development. Video game-players are popular for being singularly focused during any game. Therefore

companies have begun to focus on these innovative activities.

Now companies are using data managers who are able to continuously collect information on employee

performance to have an on-going performance review not only once in a year. Many companies created the

Social Learning Camp profiling companies re-imaging learning. They have realized that social learning is not

new because from a very beginning we have always learned a lot from one another in the workplace. Thus

bringing social media into HR practices is a step towards more successful process which will be beneficial for

both the recruiter and job seekers.

: -


Abhay Kumar Tiwari

XIM-B



The term Human resource itself speaks of the importance of humans in a business organization. They are

considered as a resource crucial for the growth and survival of the business. This makes imperative that thepolicies made for such an indispensable resource should work as a driving force and not as a restraining factor.

Human minds are very dynamic and change frequently with time. So it becomes critical that the HR policies

should be innovative. In this volatile, modern, complex, and changing business environment, the new full

form of HR is Hiring and Retaining. Hiring is the foundation but retaining forms the climax of the movie. To

make the movie work wonders at the box office, HR policies need to be groundbreaking.

Larsen and Toubro was recently presented an award in the Asia Pacific HR Conclave for the most innovative

HR practices. Larsen and Toubro has very successfully implemented mentor Buddy system which creates the

environment of innovation and makes employees feel satisfied with the work accomplished by them.

There are a number of ways through which innovation in HR policies can be introduced. Employee

Satisfaction Quotient (ESQ) can be used to assess the overall satisfaction level of the employees and the HR

policies can be modified accordingly. A full-fledged feedback mechanism can help in removing the

bottlenecks restricting the employees use their potential optimally. A special reward and recognition system

would help in boosting the morale of the employees.

When employees know that their work will be recognized and will bring them goodwill in the organization,

hey will definitely put in their best efforts to achieve their targets. A specific recommendation forum can help

n channelizing the energy of the workforce. Nobody can forget the unfortunate incident happened at Taj

hotel in Mumbai on 26/11/2008. That incident showcased the values which all the Taj employees carry in their

souls. The employees put their life into danger to save the lives of the guests staying there in the hotel. The Taj

group itself could not answer the questions put forth by the Harvard business school which was doing a study

of the factors responsible for such an “Atithi Devo Bhava” attitude of its employees. Taj group proved to the

whole world that the innovative HR policies can work wonders for the organization.

n this emerging global economy, a number of startups take birth every day. These startups in particular are

coming up with numerous innovative practices. They have introduced a free-choice period where the new

employees work for a short span of time. After this period, they have the liberty to either stay or leave the firm.

Such innovative HR policies are pro-employees and bring better results. A business can’t take pride in having

no-reference policies for the employees who have worked hard for the organization. More use of modern


INNOVATION IN HR POLICIES



technology in HR practices brings transparency in the system and thus make the employees satisfied. When

the employees are satisfied, the business is bound to flourish exponentially


Ajay Singla

IIM-Raipur



Institute of Management Technology, Hyderabad

Survey No 38, Cherlaguda Village, Shamshabad Mandal, RR District

Hyderabad—501218 (Telangana State)

Tel: +91-40-30461662 Fax: +91-40-30461655

E-mail: [email protected] | Website: www.imthyderabad.edu.in

Faculty Mentor

Creative Credits

Shawnell Godinho

Core Team

Romina Mathew

Apurva Sinha, Sai Divya, Marilyn Mathew, Shubhangi Sharma,

Mohammed Ahmer, Sneha Bazar, Janane S, Gajanan Govekar

Editor

Apurva Sinha

Magazine Coordinator

Gajanan Govekar

the human variable 2.0

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