The other day I was parking my car in a wretched basement parking-lot with narrow bends and alleys. I started to park my car on a slope against the gradient and could park the car in a single attempt. The parking assistant who was helping me was seemingly impressed and said aloud - 'Gari bahut acha chalate hain, Sir', meaning 'You drive very well, Sir'. That instant recognition though small was real and made me feel good for I have always taken pride of my driving skills. Better, it made me forget the despicable parking-lot.
Ayan is home…Did I tell you about Ayan? My brother and his wife have been blessed with a baby boy. The two day old baby came home today and we were at our brother’s place to welcome our delight. My son Arnab has become a Dada (elder brother in Bengali) and he is both happy and overwhelmed by this promotion. His reaction at times is joyous and at times he is starting to feel a bit left-out. But small shots of praise, whenever he is doing something for his small bro, is making him feel delighted and responsible. He is excited and although being just 5 years old himself, is trying every bit to be caring and in-charge. We are both amused and delighted to see his brotherly overtures.
Anyways, just goes on to emphasize once again – appreciation need not be costly to be engaging and instant recognitions are always valued no matter how small they are or who really gives such notes of praise to you
So go ahead, tell someone this new year eve a word of praise to anyone who you feel has done something to be deserving of the same. And on that note, a VERY HAPPY 2012.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Contextual Challenges
Sometime back when BBC started rehearsing the announcement of Queen’s demise, in case of an eventuality, it was seen as a proactive measure and also an attempt of to rectify the past, when one of their announcers goofed-upon big time during the death of another royal. Recently, however when they started rehearsing the possible death of the former British PM Tony Blair, many eyebrows were raised. Tony Blair is pretty young and is hale & hearty except for a minor heart scare in the past. He has three kids, with the youngest one born in the year 2000, when he was in-term. The BBC reportedly came in for a lot of flak when they started recording obituaries from the ex-colleagues of Tony. Too many steps forward or from being proactive to hyperactive! The next you know they may start recording advance obituaries for all their celebs & dignitaries and may be even for the English cricket team. Just to be future-safe, you see!
The ability to interpret contexts correctly and take suitable decisions has a lot of importance. At time certain contexts may appear similar, however they may only be so on the surface. The underlying dynamics may be completely different. As in the case of BBC, they made the mistake of looking at possible demise of Queen who is in her late eighties and that of Tony Blair, who although has a high degree of importance considering he has been the British head of state but his age & stage of life has no indication of similar eventuality in the near future, in the same light. Context is different from a situation. Context comes in a flash and disappears equally fast. However for the time that it lasts it has profound impact and hence reading and knowing how to deal with the same correctly is important. The worst thing that someone can do is to try and engineer a context, in the similar way that BBC tried to do in the case of Tony Blair.
Leaders have similar challenges confronting them. Reading and dealing with the contextual challenges goes a long way in deciding the future of organizations and engagement of its constituent stakeholders.
The ability to interpret contexts correctly and take suitable decisions has a lot of importance. At time certain contexts may appear similar, however they may only be so on the surface. The underlying dynamics may be completely different. As in the case of BBC, they made the mistake of looking at possible demise of Queen who is in her late eighties and that of Tony Blair, who although has a high degree of importance considering he has been the British head of state but his age & stage of life has no indication of similar eventuality in the near future, in the same light. Context is different from a situation. Context comes in a flash and disappears equally fast. However for the time that it lasts it has profound impact and hence reading and knowing how to deal with the same correctly is important. The worst thing that someone can do is to try and engineer a context, in the similar way that BBC tried to do in the case of Tony Blair.
Leaders have similar challenges confronting them. Reading and dealing with the contextual challenges goes a long way in deciding the future of organizations and engagement of its constituent stakeholders.
Friday, December 23, 2011
The Eveready Indian
Further to my 2nd December post - 'The Vacation Phobia' there is still more evidence to suggest that Indians are allergic to holidays.
Regus Survey- 2011 findings -
The statistics is alarming and shows that a very high majority of people in India are working during their holidays. Is it having an impact on their health and personal lives? From an organizational view-point is it leading to quick burnout and drop in productivity-levels? Is it affecting their ‘engagement’ with their work and with the organization?
Interestingly, the same survey also indicates that not much work is actually done by the staff working during holidays.
So who wins in this 'no-holiday' syndrome - the individual, the company or the family? None, I guess!
Anyways for all of those who have choosen to be with their families during the coming holidays - a VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR!
And for the 'Eveready Indian' my message is -
Regus Survey- 2011 findings -
The statistics is alarming and shows that a very high majority of people in India are working during their holidays. Is it having an impact on their health and personal lives? From an organizational view-point is it leading to quick burnout and drop in productivity-levels? Is it affecting their ‘engagement’ with their work and with the organization?
Interestingly, the same survey also indicates that not much work is actually done by the staff working during holidays.
So who wins in this 'no-holiday' syndrome - the individual, the company or the family? None, I guess!
Anyways for all of those who have choosen to be with their families during the coming holidays - a VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR!
And for the 'Eveready Indian' my message is -
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Beckon, not Blame!
At 34.2 percent, India's rate of female participation in the labor force is the lowest of any of the BRIC countries, according to U.N. statistics. Women make up 42 percent of college graduates in India, yet even those with diplomas are expected to let their careers take a back seat to caring for husband, children, and elderly parents. The Center for Work-Life Policy, a Manhattan think tank, conducted a study in the year 2010 on the challenges Indian women face in the workplace, and found that in fact, gender disparities at Indian companies grow more pronounced in management's upper ranks
Who is to be held responsible for such low participation of females in the workforce ? Many blame the organization for being inflexible and un-empathetic towards women. Some critics even put some organizations in the bracket of being biased towards women and as the cliché goes for women there is a glass-ceiling at the top. During the India Economic Forum-2009, Indra Nooyi, chief executive officer, PepsiCo spoke about her own personal experiences as a woman employee. She said, “The resume of a successful woman looks impressive but no one knows the heart aches and breaks that go in its making and as a woman I understand what other working women like me go through.”There are some who put the blame on managers and point to the fact that most of them either berate women colleagues or do not let them decide at all. Male managers may feel do not come-out honest towards women colleagues, a trait that women do not appreciate. Other think that that the women employees themselves are to blame for still a dismal rate of women participation in India. A primary research conducted on 1,140 women professionals shows 'career orientation' being the key factor, Indian women can be segmented into: a) Career Primary, b) Career and Home and c) Home Primary. They approximate into a distribution of 19%, 58% and 23% of women in the workforce — data which requires more authentication and individualization to each workplace. The second and major category (Career & Home – 58%) seems to causes maximum heartburn to talent managers. High attrition, lethargy in managerial evolution and low engagement are some key issues. The study finding indicate that a stressor at home forces the woman to work. 'Once it is removed, she quits. While at work, she seeks flexibility, templatised work with little goal pressure and prefers to remain an individual contributor life-long'. Hence the study feels that companies should not waste their energies on this category and instead focus on the first category of female employees that is those belonging to the ‘Career Primary’.
Despite this blame-game, several companies have taken wonderful initiatives for their women employees. CSC has not only flexible hours for women but they have also launched an exclusive website for its women employees called Planet W. The site acts as a discussion forum to exchange ideas and get useful tips on diverse issues. Google has taxis on call for employees, a particular draw for women who may need to rush home to care for a sick family member. German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim, mindful that families frown on young women traveling alone, will pay for an employee to bring her mother along on longer trips.
Who is to be held responsible for such low participation of females in the workforce ? Many blame the organization for being inflexible and un-empathetic towards women. Some critics even put some organizations in the bracket of being biased towards women and as the cliché goes for women there is a glass-ceiling at the top. During the India Economic Forum-2009, Indra Nooyi, chief executive officer, PepsiCo spoke about her own personal experiences as a woman employee. She said, “The resume of a successful woman looks impressive but no one knows the heart aches and breaks that go in its making and as a woman I understand what other working women like me go through.”There are some who put the blame on managers and point to the fact that most of them either berate women colleagues or do not let them decide at all. Male managers may feel do not come-out honest towards women colleagues, a trait that women do not appreciate. Other think that that the women employees themselves are to blame for still a dismal rate of women participation in India. A primary research conducted on 1,140 women professionals shows 'career orientation' being the key factor, Indian women can be segmented into: a) Career Primary, b) Career and Home and c) Home Primary. They approximate into a distribution of 19%, 58% and 23% of women in the workforce — data which requires more authentication and individualization to each workplace. The second and major category (Career & Home – 58%) seems to causes maximum heartburn to talent managers. High attrition, lethargy in managerial evolution and low engagement are some key issues. The study finding indicate that a stressor at home forces the woman to work. 'Once it is removed, she quits. While at work, she seeks flexibility, templatised work with little goal pressure and prefers to remain an individual contributor life-long'. Hence the study feels that companies should not waste their energies on this category and instead focus on the first category of female employees that is those belonging to the ‘Career Primary’.
Despite this blame-game, several companies have taken wonderful initiatives for their women employees. CSC has not only flexible hours for women but they have also launched an exclusive website for its women employees called Planet W. The site acts as a discussion forum to exchange ideas and get useful tips on diverse issues. Google has taxis on call for employees, a particular draw for women who may need to rush home to care for a sick family member. German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim, mindful that families frown on young women traveling alone, will pay for an employee to bring her mother along on longer trips.
Tata lead in many ways the business scenario in India. They are truly the captains of the Indian Industry. When it comes to the issue of women equality & diversity as well they are miles ahead of others. They provide a beckon of light to those women who are talented and want to make a successful career. Talk about a pioneer in India, in terms of engaging the hugely talented women workforce in this country, Tata's are leagues ahead. Here is a snapshot of various initiatives of Tata Group of companies in India and away –
Some women in top roles across Tata Group (2011 data, Source ET) -
- Simone Tata, Chairperson, Trent
- Ritu Anand, VP & deputy global head of HR, head global talent management, TCS, India
- Deborah Hadwen, CEO, TCS, Australia
- Delna Avari, Product Head, Tata Motors
- Veetika Deoras, Deputy VP (brand Marketing), Tata Captal
- Jia Maheshwari DGM Tata Reality & Infrastructure
- Sohini Thakur head of Business HR, Tata Steel
- Jyoti Narang, COO, Taj Hotels
- Deepa Harris, Senior VP – Marketing & Sales, Taj Hotels
- Renu Basu, Head – Sales, Taj Hotels
- Suma Venkatesh, Director Development, Taj Hotels
- Mridula Tangirala, Director – Operations, Tajsafaris
- Ashrafi Matcheswala, GM, Taj Group
- Ritu Chawla, DGM, Taj Krishna, Hyderabad
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Emotional-Side of Engagement
Recently a German couple hired a mountain rescuer to look for their toy frog that had tumbled from a 2000 – m peak in the Australian Alps. It cost the couple $ 565 to rescue the cuddly green toy that was some sort of lucky charm for them. For the mountain rescuer it was one of those odd off-season assignments. Will you be interested to know how did the frog tumble to those depths? Well! The story goes on like this – The husband was posing with the frog on top of the 2192 – m peak in the Australian state of Tyrol, while his wife was clicking this memorable moment. But before this joyous moment could be secured the camera shutters, the husband slipped and although he was able to hang-on & get back up again, the frog tumbled down under. I wonder if the same rescue mission would have been taken-up by the lady in case instead of the frog her husband had tumbled into the depths below!
Mid-December die-hard fans of the Indian cinematic icon & superstar Rajnikanth celebrated his birthday all over the country. One such club in Maharashtra, the Maharashtra State Head Rajnikanth fans Welfare Association, which has some 90 branches in Mumbai alone, celebrated the day in a way that made news item. The day started with a ‘puja’, followed by a milk-abhishek of Rajnikanth’s photograph, followed by charity (made out of generous donations from Rajni’s fans), ladoos, payasam, cake-cutting & firecrackers that reached frenzied-levels. The virtual world posted with gaiety like – Rajnikanth had just blown his birthday candle. HURRICANE ALERT has been declared by the weather bureau’; ‘Rajnikanth will cut a knife with his birthday cake’; and, as Delhi celebrated its 100th birthday, one of Rajni’s numerous fans wrote – ‘Delhi was born the same day as Rajnikanth. Guess that’s the reason Delhi was made the capital.
The engagement of the German Couple to the toy frog or the engagement of Rajnikanth’s fans with their idol-star is purely an emotional connect. They toy frog’s material value must have been belittled by the money that the couple spent on rescuing it. Similarly many fans who danced in frenzy & donated with generosity may not have met Rajni in person ever nor most of them would but still for them his birthday becomes a moment to celebrate. Partly, engagement is an emotional-bonding with the subject that may be a toy frog, a person or an organization.
Sapient, US-based business and technology Consultancy Company, has found a unique way to do charity. Employees bid for the services offered by another employee and the money collected through such bids is donated to charity. The services can be anything as weird as an employee offering to chauffer his team members to work every day to offering to bring home-cooked food for the team for a week. And this process is completely silent and anonymous, hence the name ‘Silent Auction'. After every three weeks, the top services would be selected for a ‘loud auction', at the end of which the entire amount would be given away for charity. The services have little rationale and more emotions, like the home-cooked food. Similarly, the bidding for these services, the amount of which in most cases in much more than actual value of those services, is more an emotional-bid than a rational-bid. But this is also one way of keeping employee engaged to each other, towards a ‘bigger’ cause and to the organization.
Mid-December die-hard fans of the Indian cinematic icon & superstar Rajnikanth celebrated his birthday all over the country. One such club in Maharashtra, the Maharashtra State Head Rajnikanth fans Welfare Association, which has some 90 branches in Mumbai alone, celebrated the day in a way that made news item. The day started with a ‘puja’, followed by a milk-abhishek of Rajnikanth’s photograph, followed by charity (made out of generous donations from Rajni’s fans), ladoos, payasam, cake-cutting & firecrackers that reached frenzied-levels. The virtual world posted with gaiety like – Rajnikanth had just blown his birthday candle. HURRICANE ALERT has been declared by the weather bureau’; ‘Rajnikanth will cut a knife with his birthday cake’; and, as Delhi celebrated its 100th birthday, one of Rajni’s numerous fans wrote – ‘Delhi was born the same day as Rajnikanth. Guess that’s the reason Delhi was made the capital.
The engagement of the German Couple to the toy frog or the engagement of Rajnikanth’s fans with their idol-star is purely an emotional connect. They toy frog’s material value must have been belittled by the money that the couple spent on rescuing it. Similarly many fans who danced in frenzy & donated with generosity may not have met Rajni in person ever nor most of them would but still for them his birthday becomes a moment to celebrate. Partly, engagement is an emotional-bonding with the subject that may be a toy frog, a person or an organization.
Sapient, US-based business and technology Consultancy Company, has found a unique way to do charity. Employees bid for the services offered by another employee and the money collected through such bids is donated to charity. The services can be anything as weird as an employee offering to chauffer his team members to work every day to offering to bring home-cooked food for the team for a week. And this process is completely silent and anonymous, hence the name ‘Silent Auction'. After every three weeks, the top services would be selected for a ‘loud auction', at the end of which the entire amount would be given away for charity. The services have little rationale and more emotions, like the home-cooked food. Similarly, the bidding for these services, the amount of which in most cases in much more than actual value of those services, is more an emotional-bid than a rational-bid. But this is also one way of keeping employee engaged to each other, towards a ‘bigger’ cause and to the organization.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Break-Away or Break-Down!
As kids, me and my younger brother used to look forward to the evenings when we could have a match of cricket. We had a reasonably big courtyard in our old house and that used to transform into a cricket pitch as the sun became more sedate. And our father used to be one of our players. We used to tell him in the morning itself to be in back in time during the evening to be able to play with us and on most days then not he used to turn-up. We enjoyed having him because we could bowl him ‘out’ very easily and when he used to bowl we used to hit lusty ‘sixes’ (much to the annoyance of our neighbours). He was such a ‘useful’ player that way! And then we used to drag him into playing almost everything that we played – badminton, table-tennis etc. He actually got a carpenter to make a table-tennis table at home so that we didn’t have to play on the dining table. I think our father also enjoyed playing with us and despite the fact that he was a very devoted government employee, he always had time for us. I have never seen him suffer from any worry or stress and is the same happy-go-lucky man even today.
I do not think many of us can really dream of such breaks and quality time to just do anything today. All of us are busy and hardly find any time. No doubt stress-levels, blood pressures, heart-aliments hyper-tension have become common terminologies. Finding quality breaks away from work is so important to recharge the batteries. A new Swedish study has suggested that reducing work hours for exercise may increase employee’s productivity. The researchers Ulrica Von Thiele Schwarz and Henna Hasson of Karolinska Institute. Stockholm divided the employee in to three groups for their research. One group of employee participated in the mandatory exercise programme of 2.5 hours a week during regular work hours. The second group received the same reduction in work hours, but did not participate in an exercise programme. The third group worked regular hours with no exercise programme. The researchers found that employees assigned to the exercise programme showed significant increase in self-rated measures of productivity, felt more productive at work and a reduced rate of work absences due to illness. Their detailed findings are due to appear in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
There is another new trend catching-up in Sweden. Office-goers are heading to dance floors to unwind during their work breaks. More and more Lunch Beat Studios are coming-up and workers of all ages are flocking there during their lunch breaks to shake and jig a bit.
Others are letting their employees play a match of table tennis or a game of cards or may be jam-up some music between work-breaks.
The logic appears to be pretty simple - If you cannot shorten a long unending road, then plant more trees on the way. That will at least keep you sane and going. Engagement believes in sustainability. So break-away or break-down!
I do not think many of us can really dream of such breaks and quality time to just do anything today. All of us are busy and hardly find any time. No doubt stress-levels, blood pressures, heart-aliments hyper-tension have become common terminologies. Finding quality breaks away from work is so important to recharge the batteries. A new Swedish study has suggested that reducing work hours for exercise may increase employee’s productivity. The researchers Ulrica Von Thiele Schwarz and Henna Hasson of Karolinska Institute. Stockholm divided the employee in to three groups for their research. One group of employee participated in the mandatory exercise programme of 2.5 hours a week during regular work hours. The second group received the same reduction in work hours, but did not participate in an exercise programme. The third group worked regular hours with no exercise programme. The researchers found that employees assigned to the exercise programme showed significant increase in self-rated measures of productivity, felt more productive at work and a reduced rate of work absences due to illness. Their detailed findings are due to appear in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
There is another new trend catching-up in Sweden. Office-goers are heading to dance floors to unwind during their work breaks. More and more Lunch Beat Studios are coming-up and workers of all ages are flocking there during their lunch breaks to shake and jig a bit.
Others are letting their employees play a match of table tennis or a game of cards or may be jam-up some music between work-breaks.
The logic appears to be pretty simple - If you cannot shorten a long unending road, then plant more trees on the way. That will at least keep you sane and going. Engagement believes in sustainability. So break-away or break-down!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Empathy is Engaging, Sympathy is Condescending & Compliance is Demeaning
‘The Bangalore unit of Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) has received the National award for “Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (2011)” under the “Best Employer” category. According to BEL communiqué, disabled people account to 2.75% of the PSU;s workforce at its Bangalore complex who have been offered a wide spectrum of welfare initiatives. Grace time, free transport, hearing aids, walking sticks for the blind, calipers with special shoes for employees suffering from orthopaedic problems and wheel chairs etc. are some of the facilities provided. Besides ramps, special toilets and ATM counters have also been set up at various locations within the facility to make life easier for these employees. BEL also runs a school, Ashankura for special children. An ancillary unit named Vijaya Physically Handicapped Association has been established in the BEL industrial estate for providing jobs and rehabilitating the disabled. Disabled sportsmen and sportswomen are sanctioned special leave ton attend state national and international competitions. What is noteworthy is that some physically challenged employees of BEL have received the Eklavya and Arjuna awards.’ (The Times of India)
In its Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace, the ILO defines a disabled person as “an individual whose prospects of securing, returning to, retaining and advancing in suitable employment are substantially reduced as a result of a duly recognized physical, sensory, intellectual or mental impairment”. As a comprehensive human rights Convention for people with disabilities, the UNCRPD recognizes that disability is an “evolving concept”, stating that “persons with disabilities include those who have long term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others”. Organizations benefit from having employees who have the skills to do the job effectively and efficiently. For many people, having a disability does not impact on their ability to do the essential requirements of a job. Recognizing the true potential of disabled people and creating workplaces and work-practices that are conducive to such people is the need of the hour, especially in countries like India.
BEL has taken that extra-step and its recognition should be an eye-opener for many. Internationally such awards in the year 2011 have gone to companies like CISCO, KPMG, EMC2 awarded by Springboard Consulting.
Some countries are far ahead in institutionalising such practices. Australia for instance has Australian Network on Disability that clearly lays down code of practices for employers with respect to disabled people. In UK employers are bound by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). The employers who exhibit the two tick symbol are thought to have a positive attitude towards job applications from disabled people.
Employers who use the disability symbol make five commitments regarding recruitment, training, retention, consultation and disability awareness.
The disabled can also be read as differently–abled and they bring immense talent along with them and add value like any other ‘normal’ employee. Evidence of the ability of the disabled comes from a lot of true stories:
Naseema Mohammed Amin Hurzuk of Kohlapur, a wheelchair user since the age 16, she has rehabilitated over 8,000 disabled children through various avenues that include a medical aid centre, vocational training centre, an integrated school, hostel and co-operative credit society.
Buse Gowda, Bangalore, a visually impaired person, is known for his mastery in classical dance. He is now part of a dance troupe called Natyanjalli and has over a thousand dance performances, world over, to his credit.
Pradeep Singha, Mumbai cannot hear, speak or see, but has succeeded in several areas. He is a trained masseuse and an editor at the Braille Press. Pradeep He works at a Braille press, is proficient with computers, is also a trained masseuse and also trains other disabled persons at the press.
Creating conducive organizational ecosystems for disabled people to co-exist the organizations is neither a legal issue nor a CSR issue. It is in strictest sense an ‘engagement‘issue – an engagement that has empathy at the core not sympathy and has definite paybacks to the company. Treating this issue as a charity is being disdainful towards the disabled people. And, of course, if it is just for legal compliance, then it is almost mortifying the issue and always serves the bare minimum.Organizations must remember that when it comes to disabled people - Empathy is Engaging, Sympathy is Condescending & Compliance is demeaning!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
It Happens only in India!
A yesteryear forgettable and otherwise appalling bollywood number had a very apt line – ‘It happens only in India’. Some incidents in the last few days reminds me of this line.
It can only happen in India that a super specialty hospital in Kolkata, having an annual turnover of over Rs. 180 Crore could flout every possible fire safety norm and 89 patients could perish in a hell-fire that broke-out last Friday. But for the extraordinary callousness on the part of hospital authorities, facilitated by administrative neglect, one of the worst disasters in recent memory could have been easily averted. ‘That all the deaths were due to suffocation points to the absolute unpreparedness of the hospital staff. There were no evacuation plans, no alternative exits in the seven-storey building, no proper arrangement to provide access to fire tenders, fire alarms and smoke detectors malfunctioned and water hydrants simply didn't work. Worse still, the hospital had another fire in 2008, but failed to learn its lessons. Even more despicable is that the fire department only in July had given the hospital three months to clear out its basement, which it used to dump inflammable and radioactive material, and from where Friday's fire emanated. But there was no follow-up. Amazingly, the state government has a 1.99% stake in AMRI and two nominees on the hospital board with the director of medical education as its chairperson.’ (source: TOI)
A country’s political medley that preaches economic reforms becomes cold feet every time the issue of FDI in retail comes-up! The government puts the announcement in abeyance because it wants to avert mid-term polls! How funny!!! A quote from an article ‘Selling the wrong idea’ from The Times of India describes the situation very aptly – ‘Adam Smith, writing in The Wealth of Nations, was probably the first to call England a nation of shopkeepers. But few remember that Smith used the phrase to argue that England was a "nation whose government is influenced by shopkeepers". And that influence was malign. Thus, he blamed the founding of the British Empire on the desire of shopkeepers to secure monopoly of trade in colonial commodities. India's shopkeepers today invite a similar, if different, opprobrium. By opposing retail sector reform, they and their political supporters in the BJP, Trianmool Congress and the communists, are not merely sabotaging this important reform.’ We are perhaps the only nation among the developing contries to oppose FDI in retail. We are too then a nation of shopkeepers, after all this economic- reform drama. True, it happens only in India.
Amongst all this depression there was some ray of hope and brightness from our very own Virendra Sewhag. His blistering and record-breaking 149-ball 219-run knock against the West Indies in the fourth ODI in Indore, lit-up the faces of many Indians badly searching for some news to cheer. India the current world champion in this format of cricket won the series against West Indies 4-1. Do you think it is a matter of just coincidence that the sport in which India has undoubtedly excelled most has a administrative controlling body - the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI), that has perhaps the least governmental interference, among all the other sporting bodies? Well, I leave that for you to answer…All I can say is – it happens only in India!
All three incidents if looked closely have some linkage – the AMRI fire disaster, the retail-FDI blockade and Viru’s superfluous innings, all are reminder of the same fact that a free market is the key to true victory of the people. Why can’t you and I decide what to buy, where to buy from (be it the health services or the retail store!)or how to run an organization (the sporting bodies or the business set-ups)? Can you start a hospital tomorrow if you want? No, because you have to get 10 permits, 20 clearances for which you shall need innumerable contacts and lots of ways to please the signatory which in all cases is someone called the government. In most cases, those who can ‘fix’ the same can flout any norm (AMRI), can block the competition (FDI) and you and I haplessly suffer. But wherever that happens in much ‘lesser’ proportion we come out winners (Viru’s knock personifying Indian cricket today).
The key to free markets is true empowerment and a belief that market (people) are the best regulators.
Organizations must also take a lesson from the larger eco-system. Empowerment and de-centralization is the only way you can let your employees (people) to be ‘engaged’ to their jobs and to their contributions. The more the interference from the ‘top’, the lesser are your chances to win. Controls create a need to align, group for gaining more and more illegitimate power. Only a handful can turn the things to their advantage, in this case. On the other hand, a belief that your employees shall behave best when empowered and de-controlled always has larger paybacks.
Create that sense of ownership in people (citizens or employees) and they shall be the best guardians!
(My 100th post of the year is dedicated to the memory of those who perished in the AMRI fire disaster.)
It can only happen in India that a super specialty hospital in Kolkata, having an annual turnover of over Rs. 180 Crore could flout every possible fire safety norm and 89 patients could perish in a hell-fire that broke-out last Friday. But for the extraordinary callousness on the part of hospital authorities, facilitated by administrative neglect, one of the worst disasters in recent memory could have been easily averted. ‘That all the deaths were due to suffocation points to the absolute unpreparedness of the hospital staff. There were no evacuation plans, no alternative exits in the seven-storey building, no proper arrangement to provide access to fire tenders, fire alarms and smoke detectors malfunctioned and water hydrants simply didn't work. Worse still, the hospital had another fire in 2008, but failed to learn its lessons. Even more despicable is that the fire department only in July had given the hospital three months to clear out its basement, which it used to dump inflammable and radioactive material, and from where Friday's fire emanated. But there was no follow-up. Amazingly, the state government has a 1.99% stake in AMRI and two nominees on the hospital board with the director of medical education as its chairperson.’ (source: TOI)
A country’s political medley that preaches economic reforms becomes cold feet every time the issue of FDI in retail comes-up! The government puts the announcement in abeyance because it wants to avert mid-term polls! How funny!!! A quote from an article ‘Selling the wrong idea’ from The Times of India describes the situation very aptly – ‘Adam Smith, writing in The Wealth of Nations, was probably the first to call England a nation of shopkeepers. But few remember that Smith used the phrase to argue that England was a "nation whose government is influenced by shopkeepers". And that influence was malign. Thus, he blamed the founding of the British Empire on the desire of shopkeepers to secure monopoly of trade in colonial commodities. India's shopkeepers today invite a similar, if different, opprobrium. By opposing retail sector reform, they and their political supporters in the BJP, Trianmool Congress and the communists, are not merely sabotaging this important reform.’ We are perhaps the only nation among the developing contries to oppose FDI in retail. We are too then a nation of shopkeepers, after all this economic- reform drama. True, it happens only in India.
Amongst all this depression there was some ray of hope and brightness from our very own Virendra Sewhag. His blistering and record-breaking 149-ball 219-run knock against the West Indies in the fourth ODI in Indore, lit-up the faces of many Indians badly searching for some news to cheer. India the current world champion in this format of cricket won the series against West Indies 4-1. Do you think it is a matter of just coincidence that the sport in which India has undoubtedly excelled most has a administrative controlling body - the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI), that has perhaps the least governmental interference, among all the other sporting bodies? Well, I leave that for you to answer…All I can say is – it happens only in India!
All three incidents if looked closely have some linkage – the AMRI fire disaster, the retail-FDI blockade and Viru’s superfluous innings, all are reminder of the same fact that a free market is the key to true victory of the people. Why can’t you and I decide what to buy, where to buy from (be it the health services or the retail store!)or how to run an organization (the sporting bodies or the business set-ups)? Can you start a hospital tomorrow if you want? No, because you have to get 10 permits, 20 clearances for which you shall need innumerable contacts and lots of ways to please the signatory which in all cases is someone called the government. In most cases, those who can ‘fix’ the same can flout any norm (AMRI), can block the competition (FDI) and you and I haplessly suffer. But wherever that happens in much ‘lesser’ proportion we come out winners (Viru’s knock personifying Indian cricket today).
The key to free markets is true empowerment and a belief that market (people) are the best regulators.
Organizations must also take a lesson from the larger eco-system. Empowerment and de-centralization is the only way you can let your employees (people) to be ‘engaged’ to their jobs and to their contributions. The more the interference from the ‘top’, the lesser are your chances to win. Controls create a need to align, group for gaining more and more illegitimate power. Only a handful can turn the things to their advantage, in this case. On the other hand, a belief that your employees shall behave best when empowered and de-controlled always has larger paybacks.
Create that sense of ownership in people (citizens or employees) and they shall be the best guardians!
(My 100th post of the year is dedicated to the memory of those who perished in the AMRI fire disaster.)
Friday, December 9, 2011
Great, Good & Gone!
‘Small’ one year toddler of my neighbor was playing with a ‘big’ toy car of my son. She was trying her best to push the car out of the flat into the wings of the apartment. She succeeded in pushing only the first pair of wheels out of the door but the rear pair got stuck and would not come-out despite her best attempts. She then decided to board the car and although she succeeded in sitting on the top of it after quite an effort, she could not only manage to face the rear of the car. The she tried to push the car-out again. The car, however, would not budge from its place. I was really impressed by the little girl’s valiant efforts and instinctively wanted to go and help the ‘angel-faced’ in her efforts. For me, it would be just a matter of a slight finger-push to the car to roll-it-out into the gallery. But then I thought, would she really appreciate my help? I may help her out of the parental ego of patronizing but that would take away the pleasure of performance and achievement out of her. There would be absolutely no incentive to her after my help. And, then suddenly, she managed to pull the car into the gallery. Both she and the car tumbled into the gallery rather than a smooth drive. But as she gathered herself up on her feet again, she had a winning smile on her face. I am glad, I did not help! On her part, the cute Barbie-like girl, learnt to perform and the joy of performing forever!
Performance is a powerful engager. For most organizations the key lies in creating a true culture of performance that acts as a powerful engagement tool.
Just last week, Biscuit maker Britannia Industries pink slipped 42 executives in a single day, at the same time rewarded the top performers with bonuses as high as 150%. This is not a surprise to those who know that at Britannia this is part of the ongoing performance management process, which differentiates employees into three categories - the great, good and under-performers. Each year, under-performers (usually 20 to 30) are put on a performance improvement plan and progress is consistently and carefully monitored. In those cases, where the level of performance continues to be below the acceptable benchmark and there is no noticeable improvement, employees are transitioned. The Rs 4,600-crore Britannia, which has 250 managers, has been growing at strong double digits every year for the last four-five years. In future as Britannia faces tough competition from rivals like ITC, Kraft and Parle and as it forays into a new category of cereals, the Industry experts believe that companies like Britannia are bound to get tougher on performance expectation from employees.
Britannia’s ‘great’, ‘good’ and ‘gone’ performance management policy is justified because it truly rewards the performers and motivates them to perform even better in future. The notion of treating everyone equally is flawed. That can never happen and companies like Britannia have understood and implemented them well. More than anything it helps in fostering a culture of performance that acts as a powerful engagement tool for those who do! In sharp contrast most of our government set-ups have followed a performance management policy that has never segregated performers from non-performers. Hence there was no incentive to perform. I read in the newspaper that even the government is now considering performance-based incentives to employees. Hindustan Lever Ltd (HUL) and Procter & Gamble (P&G) rewarded their India -CEOs with hefty hikes for robust growth at their respective operations. ‘Unilever for its part recorded a 15% growth in sales from emerging markets as against just 5% in the developed world. P&G's three companies India — P&G Home Products, P&G Health & Hygiene and Gillette India — registered double-digit growth in the last fiscal year.’ Both companies believe in paying for performance and paying competitively to all its employees.
Performance is a powerful engager. For most organizations the key lies in creating a true culture of performance that acts as a powerful engagement tool.
Just last week, Biscuit maker Britannia Industries pink slipped 42 executives in a single day, at the same time rewarded the top performers with bonuses as high as 150%. This is not a surprise to those who know that at Britannia this is part of the ongoing performance management process, which differentiates employees into three categories - the great, good and under-performers. Each year, under-performers (usually 20 to 30) are put on a performance improvement plan and progress is consistently and carefully monitored. In those cases, where the level of performance continues to be below the acceptable benchmark and there is no noticeable improvement, employees are transitioned. The Rs 4,600-crore Britannia, which has 250 managers, has been growing at strong double digits every year for the last four-five years. In future as Britannia faces tough competition from rivals like ITC, Kraft and Parle and as it forays into a new category of cereals, the Industry experts believe that companies like Britannia are bound to get tougher on performance expectation from employees.
Britannia’s ‘great’, ‘good’ and ‘gone’ performance management policy is justified because it truly rewards the performers and motivates them to perform even better in future. The notion of treating everyone equally is flawed. That can never happen and companies like Britannia have understood and implemented them well. More than anything it helps in fostering a culture of performance that acts as a powerful engagement tool for those who do! In sharp contrast most of our government set-ups have followed a performance management policy that has never segregated performers from non-performers. Hence there was no incentive to perform. I read in the newspaper that even the government is now considering performance-based incentives to employees. Hindustan Lever Ltd (HUL) and Procter & Gamble (P&G) rewarded their India -CEOs with hefty hikes for robust growth at their respective operations. ‘Unilever for its part recorded a 15% growth in sales from emerging markets as against just 5% in the developed world. P&G's three companies India — P&G Home Products, P&G Health & Hygiene and Gillette India — registered double-digit growth in the last fiscal year.’ Both companies believe in paying for performance and paying competitively to all its employees.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Second to None!
For all those aspiring women out there looking for respectable second career, TATA SCIP is the answer.Video (link) of the interns at TATA SCIP shows how engaged the participants are! Talk about a pioneer in India in terms of engaging the hugely talented women workforce in this country, Tata's are leagues ahead.
(For more read: http://www.tatasecondcareer.com/# )
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Happy Notes
I have always been critical in the way government offices function in India. However, I have always been careful not to fall into the trap of stereotyping and being the son of a central government employee myself, have been very cognizant of the fact that there are few amongst the command’s children who do their job quite well. On my recent visit to State Bank of India’s Jayanagar branch at Bangalore, I was floored by the excellent service that I received. I am otherwise a non-client of the bank and my visit was with a specific purpose of opening a public provident fund account, which could be opened only at a SBI branch. Within a minute of entering the branch, I was greeted by a lady who took my form, asked me for some address & id proofs, asked me to paste my photo on the application form (for which she gave me a fevistick instead of asking me to go in search of the same) and then asked if I could wait for sometime. Thereafter she would call me and given the challan so that I could deposit the minimum money to activate the account. I politely asked her how much time would it take and went on to add that I was asking her the same since I had to go to pick-up my son from the school. The moment she heard that I had to go to pick-up my son from the school, she asked me to give the money that I was supposed to deposit in the account to her and proceed to pic-up my son. She told me that she would do everything needful and my account would be opened. It was some 12 noon at that time and she asked me that if I wished I could collect my passbook for the account between 2:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. It was such a relief. I thanked her profusely and she just returned the greeting with a kind smile. And it was not only her; I could see almost every employee speaking to the customers with polite eagerness to serve. By the time I left the bank, I felt like opening a savings account in the bank and become it’s regular customer.
Later in the evening we went to a showroom to prospect for a future purchase. We went primarily to check the price and variety available at the store but not with an intent to buy. By the time we walked out of the store, we had not only almost finalised our future purchase but also ended-up with an unintentional but happy purchase of some other items in the store, worth a cool two and half thousand rupees. Completely unintentional impulse buying, prompted by the excellent salesmanship of Imran, one of the sales boys in the shop. Imran was polite, very cooperative, understood our needs perfectly and was very energetic. His enthusiasm towards his job made us not only intent on buying what we were looking for from the same shop in future but also spend a few thousand bucks that we never imagined before entering the store.
Not a bad day, two good experiences and a nice feeling of satisfaction, I thought as I munched my dinner. However one thing common between the bank and the store was their excellent employees. Both prompted trust and a feeling of polite empathetic service, calling us again to their respective organizations.
Just goes to reinforce, Employees engage Customers and not the organizations. Engaged employees shall engage customers even better. The secret is no longer a secret, however while some have solved this, for many it’s still a puzzle.
Later in the evening we went to a showroom to prospect for a future purchase. We went primarily to check the price and variety available at the store but not with an intent to buy. By the time we walked out of the store, we had not only almost finalised our future purchase but also ended-up with an unintentional but happy purchase of some other items in the store, worth a cool two and half thousand rupees. Completely unintentional impulse buying, prompted by the excellent salesmanship of Imran, one of the sales boys in the shop. Imran was polite, very cooperative, understood our needs perfectly and was very energetic. His enthusiasm towards his job made us not only intent on buying what we were looking for from the same shop in future but also spend a few thousand bucks that we never imagined before entering the store.
Not a bad day, two good experiences and a nice feeling of satisfaction, I thought as I munched my dinner. However one thing common between the bank and the store was their excellent employees. Both prompted trust and a feeling of polite empathetic service, calling us again to their respective organizations.
Just goes to reinforce, Employees engage Customers and not the organizations. Engaged employees shall engage customers even better. The secret is no longer a secret, however while some have solved this, for many it’s still a puzzle.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Top-Shot
Cognizant's compensation performance milestones to its top executives point to strong growth in the year 2012.
Performance milestones
The company's compensation committee granted the awards (in the table) of performance units to the top five executive officers.
The units will be subject to certain performance milestones and continued service requirements. All or a portion of the units shall vest based on the level of achievement of the revenue milestone set forth below:
0 per cent of the units, which are awarded, shall vest up on achievement of 2012 revenue of less than $7,243,000,000
50 per cent on achieving revenue of $7,243,000,000
100 per cent on achieving $7,525,000,000 and
200 per cent on achieving $8,087,500,000.
Performance milestones
The units will be subject to certain performance milestones and continued service requirements. All or a portion of the units shall vest based on the level of achievement of the revenue milestone set forth below:
0 per cent of the units, which are awarded, shall vest up on achievement of 2012 revenue of less than $7,243,000,000
50 per cent on achieving revenue of $7,243,000,000
100 per cent on achieving $7,525,000,000 and
200 per cent on achieving $8,087,500,000.
Source: Business Line, Dec. 1, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
The Vacation Phobia
"Others goof off work, Indians, says new study, goof off holidays."
The latest study by Expedia, an online travel firm, shows interesting stats reflecting Indian behaviour towards vacations:
• Indians leave 20 percent of their vacations unused. 29 percent of Indians couldn’t plan their holidays due to work pressure.
• Fifty-three per cent of Indians regularly check in on their emails and work status even during vacations.
• 28 per cent Indian respondents said they would prefer getting paid for unused vacations.
The study concluded –
• Europeans and Brazilians treat holidays as necessity
• Japanese and Koreans treat holidays as rare treasure (since they hardly get it).
• And Indians view holidays with guilt habit.
Worrying symptoms as stress and burnout are reported among all categories of Indian employees. Now you know where it is all coming from! Recently when I did a session on ‘health and Stress Management’ for the Chief general Managers of Reserve Bank of India at Chennai I equated such symptoms with the parable of a boiled frog. The frog’s body cannot detect slow changes in temperature and hence if it is kept in a beaker containing water at room temperature and the water is slowly brought to a boiling-point the frog stays and doesn’t jump-out. The frog stays, stays and dies in the same water. Stress & burnout is also similar. It is a silent killer. Most of the times slow and gradual changes in stress-levels are not detected and suddenly one day the lid just blows-off.
Strangely, many times the organizations can do very little about it. I remember when Mr. Narayan Murthy of Infosys wanted his employees to go back from their office early, the employees themselves objected. Recently I have met so many people willing to work more and earn more in a very less time (even encash vacations!). There seems to be a mad-rush.
Talk about employee’s contribution to engagement? The cost of rising prosperity is too high.
The latest study by Expedia, an online travel firm, shows interesting stats reflecting Indian behaviour towards vacations:
• Indians leave 20 percent of their vacations unused. 29 percent of Indians couldn’t plan their holidays due to work pressure.
• Fifty-three per cent of Indians regularly check in on their emails and work status even during vacations.
• 28 per cent Indian respondents said they would prefer getting paid for unused vacations.
The study concluded –
• Europeans and Brazilians treat holidays as necessity
• Japanese and Koreans treat holidays as rare treasure (since they hardly get it).
• And Indians view holidays with guilt habit.
Worrying symptoms as stress and burnout are reported among all categories of Indian employees. Now you know where it is all coming from! Recently when I did a session on ‘health and Stress Management’ for the Chief general Managers of Reserve Bank of India at Chennai I equated such symptoms with the parable of a boiled frog. The frog’s body cannot detect slow changes in temperature and hence if it is kept in a beaker containing water at room temperature and the water is slowly brought to a boiling-point the frog stays and doesn’t jump-out. The frog stays, stays and dies in the same water. Stress & burnout is also similar. It is a silent killer. Most of the times slow and gradual changes in stress-levels are not detected and suddenly one day the lid just blows-off.
Strangely, many times the organizations can do very little about it. I remember when Mr. Narayan Murthy of Infosys wanted his employees to go back from their office early, the employees themselves objected. Recently I have met so many people willing to work more and earn more in a very less time (even encash vacations!). There seems to be a mad-rush.
Talk about employee’s contribution to engagement? The cost of rising prosperity is too high.
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