Direct & Polite

The recent column by Ranjini Manian on how to communicate without being rude is an excellent piece and makes a lot of sense especially in Asian context where direct communication is rare and sheer diplomacy is preferred.
The author is right that the art of being 'direct' in communication without being rude is equal to professionalism. And undoubtedly professionalism is strongly amiss by and large right from top to bottom in countries such as India. How many times have you believed when some public servant or your business partner has promised you something, by some 'X' date. I bet more number of times you have 'not'.
The lessons that I read from this article are three-fold:
1. Direct communication + Effort = Professionalism
2. All communication trainers need to read this article for appreciating the art of effective communication.
3. All HR professionals can draw lesson that their ability to undertake 'direct' communication with their employees shall stand them better chances of engaging them then otherwise.

Mobile Training

Mobile phones enhance learning for teachers, says academic
'Mobile technology can be an invaluable learning tool for teachers according to an academic from the University of Hull.
Kevin Burden from the University’s Centre for Educational Studies has investigated how the use of mobile phones could help teachers in their professional learning, and in turn improve the classroom learning environment.
Burden, together with Peter Aubusson and Sandy Shuck from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Australia, has carried out a study with teachers in the UK and Australia.
Kevin Burden explains, “Since teachers do not tend to be located in one place for the working day, but move between classrooms, playgrounds and staffrooms, mobile learning is an effective way for professional learning to occur on the move.”
In their recent paper ‘Mobile Learning for teacher professional learning: benefits, obstacles and issues’ published in the ALT-J journal, the academics state that professional learning requires reflection and that mobile technology helps to capture the spontaneity of learning moments.
One teacher used his mobile phone to video, audio record and photograph student role-plays in his science classes. He started using the device because “it was there and in his pocket” and used it for professional learning; recording the activity allowed him to reflect on what had occurred and how engaged the students had been. A second use was to celebrate the work that students had completed.
Others who were interviewed thought that this was unusual and that since most teachers see mobile phones as a personal communication device, their use in the classroom is probably a generation away. However, many of the participants held the view that teachers became interested in particular technology and their value in the classroom after they had become familiar with the technology for personal use; digital videos being a case in point.'

Use of unconventional media in faclitating learning of students could become a lesson for corporate trainers in incorporating the same in employee training and engagement. This way the trainers may also succeed in getting rid of the menace of mobile phones in training rooms by using the same tool for training people.

Culture is the incubator of Employee Engagement

Without a strong and a breathing culture engagement practices cannot sustain too long...

Read my column in Business Line:
Human Resources: Employee engagement


'Employee engagement is the new corporate buzz-term. And many companies, looking at the benefits of engagement enjoyed by their competitors, want to jump on to the bandwagon and introduce practices that are mostly copied from the best ... '

Can you 'bank' upon this Bank?

Spanish bank Santander was recently voted as the worst bank for customer satisfaction in a survey carried-out by J.D. Power & Associates. The JD Power study measures customer satisfaction based on six factors (problem resolution; account activities; fees; product offerings; account information; and facility). In a unforgivable blunder, the bank sent up to 35000 UK customers' bank statements to wrong addresses. The statements inlcuded customers' names, account numbers and details of transactions that they had carried-out. The basic issue of 'trust' that customers' expect from a bank was destroyed.
But what angers more the experts about Santander is its faliure to carry-out basic banking operations like opening new accounts, honouring terms and conditions etc. The breakdown of online banking facility compounded the problem.
Ridiculously though, the bank continues to put a weak defence that these problems are of a very small percentage of customers.
Experts are of an opinion that it represents a total administrative failure on part of the bank and also its approach of paying more attention to new cusotmers then caring for old customers.
But administrative processes are no rocket-science in a bank especially when it comes to attending cusotmer grievances. There is definetly a human faliure - an excellent example of a bunch of people working dispassionately and in a disengaged manner.
In an organization where people are engaged and committed, such problems can always be avoided or checked before they become enormous.
I repeat, customer satisfaction and a direct function of employee experiences. Quality of organization-employee relationships translate into quality of relationship between organization and customers.

Retention War is ON again

With hiring taking the fast lane in most sectors, poaching is back with a bang. Airline is one such sector; demand is picking-up and need for more staff is imminent. Jet has recently not only restored the salares of pilots and cabin crew staff cut in 2008 and 2009 but also recalled the staff it retrenched during the same period. Around 250 old staff members re-joined Jet, some of them leaving their jobs in other airlines. IT is also on the same track. The job market is buzzing with IT requiring more than 4 lakh engineers every year. Every IT professional is today having more than one job offer in his/her mail box.
Such a scenario will definetly put stress on retention of employees especially that of key talent. HR professionals beware, the challenge is not only to get right (number and type) of hires but also to prevent organization from becoming a 'leaking-bucket'. Engagement of employees will be key  not only to keep people in fold but also to create and strong advocacy of the company by employees themselves and thereby boost referrals for getting quality and compatible people. Anyone listening???

The Employee Engagement Report 2011 by Blessing White

The Employee Engagement Report 2011 by Blessing White is out. The research reflects interviews with HR and line leaders as well as online survey responses of nearly 11,000 individuals from North America, India, Europe, Southeast, Asia, Australia/New Zealand, and China.

Key findings


 Fewer than 1 in 3 employees worldwide (31%) are Engaged. Nearly 1 in 5 (17%) are actually Disengaged. Engagement levels vary by region from 37% in India to 17% in China.

 Despite the rough and tumble of the economic recession, engagement levels around the world remained roughly stable when comparing early 2008 and mid-2010.

 Yet more employees are looking for new opportunities outside their organization than they were in 2008, suggesting that 2011 will be a challenging year for retention (and a hot market for firms looking to attract top talent).

 Consistent with the 2008 findings, there is a strong correlation between engagement levels and age, role/level, and tenure in the organization. Older employees and people in positions of power and authority are most likely to be Engaged. So are long-term employees (7+ years with an organization). Employees who work in departments closest to strategy decisions and customer relationships tend to be more Engaged as well.

 Engaged employees plan to stay for what they give; the Disengaged stay for what they get, suggesting that organizations can benefit from a targeted retention strategy.

 Employees worldwide view opportunities to apply their talents, career development, and training as top drivers of job satisfaction. When it comes to contribution, their needs vary considerably, reflecting their circumstances (e.g., region, age, function, engagement level).

 Trust in executives can have more than twice the impact on engagement levels than trust in immediate managers does. However, consistent with past studies, employees are more likely to trust their immediate managers than the executives in their organization.

 Managers are not necessarily doing the things that matter most. The actions that corrrelate the most with high engagement are not always the ones that receive the most favorable ratings. And in some regions relationships trump skills, that is, employees’ knowledge of their managers as “people” behind their titles appears to impact engagement levels more than manager actions.

 Executives appear to struggle with key leadership behaviors correlated to engagement, yet the findings suggest executive behaviors can have a greater potential impact on engagement than manager actions.

 Most alarming: Executives aren’t getting the basics of performance right. Creating an environment that supports high performance is the item that received the least favorable response in the entire survey; it also has among the strongest correlations with engagement levels.

And hence, despite an overall increase in engagement, more employees are headed for the door-

 Engagement surveys without visible follow-up action may actually decrease engagement levels, suggesting that organizations think twice before flipping the switch on measurement without 100% commitment for action planning based on the results.

Implications and recommendations

Three major implications have been articulated by Blessing White based on the survey findings:
1. Need for Individuals to have ownership, clarity, and action.
2. Role of Managers in coaching, relationships, and dialogue
3. Role of Executives in creating trust, communication, and culture among people.

The survey very clearly has the following crux:
1. Engagement is key.
2. Responsive and progressive organizations fare better on engagement scores.
3. Engagement is everyone's job that includes HR, line managers, executives and the employee himself/herself
4. Engaging workforce is key to building and sustaining great organizations.

Working Mothers

Few days back, on one of the episodes of the quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati a contestant was a lady constable working for one of the state police force. Like many contestants who bare their personal lives in the show, she also narrated her story. She had married a boy of her choice much against the wishes of her family members, since the social affiliation of the boy was different. Since then the girl's family had not kept any contact with them. She has a small kid whom she leaves behind home for attending to the calls of her duty, which at many times are at odd times and odd places. During such times her insecurity about her baby is very high. On the show she even pleaded to her family to forgive them and accept their relationship, now that much water had flown under the bridge. Imagine in our country sometimes people have to apologise for choosing their life partner! What a pity!!!Having said this, her present difficulties also indicate the predicament of the young working couples with very young kids.

Human resource departments should understand such realities and attempt to create facilities and benefits which take care of such women workers. That would be the biggest engagement that they would be able to create for such employees. Mind Tree Consulting, for instance, has a on-site day care centre known as 'baby's day out' and women counselling network known as 'Dhrtiti'. Such benefits not only allay the worries of young working mothers but also help them reduce their anxieties and stress.