Do More than Lip Service- Women at Work

Glass Ceiling , less opportunities as you move up the ladder, Frequent breaks for Family, health, Gestation, Bullying, Harassment - Phew and what not. So many Barriers too less solutions.

Companies do a lot during the week of International women's day - and then sleepiness through out the year on this topic. Will this be called as Empowering women or creating awareness about Gender Bias, more diversity and Harassment related issues.

Points to ponder - Company Creating hullabaloo for an entire week of IWD and if you dig deep they lack providing basic facilities like Insurance coverage, Maternity Benefit, Growth opportunities, flexi timings, tele commuting facility.

Why run away from reality and create a dream sequence for people while selling the job, or promoting Women Empowerment events Once in a year, the employees will get to know this is false advertising in the coming months/years.

Since, I have started working in Corporate sector, evidently have seen changes in all these years where actually Companies are opening up to hiring more and more women who have their identities beyond Mothers, wives and Homemakers.

But are the Companies giving proper training on "treatment to women employees" - "Gender Bias" - "women friendly work atmosphere" "Sensitization of workplace"

Until this gets implemented or taken seriously by employers, the reality will take many more years to change - Here are some thought provoking facts

• Females hold only 14.6% of executive positions at Fortune 500 Companies
• Only 34% Companies have Gender training development opportunities for men
• Only 8% of women in Delhi are earning member (Source - TOI)

Dramatization of how we "EMPOWER" women should stop,really! it is high time to work out on concrete solutions.

Do issues related to women need to be discussed In the Month of March or more specifically just for a week or a day. Get real, and let's work towards making our Organisation's environment more women friendly.

Ding Ding Ding...Get u and ring the bell. 

Train- Not Drain Them!

Real Life scenario

HR department in XYZ ltd had a separate Training Division to cater to the needs of the training and development of such a large work force. Under the supervision of their HR Director, the Sr. Manager Training started doing the Training need identification for all the managers, as at that point they just wanted to cover the Manager level only, which itself had more than 60 managers for a 2500 workforce.

The Sr. Manager who was working with the organization for the past 7 years once asked the Director HR that, what was the need of TNA, they could just go through the appraisal forms of the previous year and plan the training calendar accordingly, which was not such a bad idea but while going through the forms they all realized that it was a waste of time, the better option was to get the questionnaire filled from the Managers and their seniors for TNA.

That is how all the steps were followed properly to organize the training for the managers for that particular year.

During the process, the newly appointed Director HR faced a lot of problems and aversions from many people, including the training division. And the reason was, that the trainings will be planned and delivered, but the requirement need not matter…

This is the situation in many organization now, training for them is just a status function, which means that if a competitor is providing training, so even we should do it and more so from the same vendor… amusing, isn’t it?

And if this is not enough, most organizations have nothing to do with calculating ROI on training and finding out how effective the training had been for their employees. It is just a way to utilize the budget not really investing.

And if you speak to the employees in such organizations, most of them like to attend trainings as it saves them from day to day work, some attend to pass their time and for the food they get, some don’t attend at all and take leaves, some make excuses that training is just a formality, their work is more important. But have you guys as an HR professional ever thought why people think like that for trainings?

Reason lies in the paragraphs narrated above, yes; we actually do not train them but Drain them to never come back again.

Training being such an important function needs to be taken very seriously, it is one function which if methodically done can bring lot of benefits not only in productivity/performance but also in a person’s outlook and attitude. What can be done to make training more effective and employee friendly? read on….

Training can be effectively measured and the ROI can be calculated with just a little bit more time by the HR department and the line managers in coordination.

Evaluating training can make it more fruitful and yes you can design better programs in future for the employees, once you know how much they have benefited from such programs already.

# Obtain a feedback session after at least 3 weeks from the date of finishing the training program. Bring them back, ask questions, evaluate their performance and always tell their Line Managers to send their pre training performance ratings and post training. No, no, my dear friends, the results will not show so early but the symptoms will. :)

# Give them a clear cut action plan while in training so that they all can learn about their own shortcomings and how to overcome them after returning to their jobs. The action plan will showcase to them their future course of action which can be discussed with their immediate superiors and who can help them in initiating the changes and make the training worth.

# May be for the next 6 months to one year depending upon what kind of training is being provided, the review meetings at regular intervals need to be organized with the Immediate Senior, Trainer and the Department Head to achieve the desired results accompanied by the supervisor’s observation.

# Compare the findings of training need analysis and identification and the effectiveness, and this actually works as a factual report not just for the candidate who attended the training but also for the trainer, who can boast of his/her achievements in the next program.

Training is such vast topic that it may need many more articles to complete the entire procedure, process and methodology and of course the effectiveness…but for starters or for people finding difficulty in evaluating training, this write up can help.

So guys…HAPPY TRAINING AND HAPPY LEARNING

more at http://www.citeman.com/14137-train-not-drain-them.html#ixzz2kp6GV3w2

Are core values really valued?

Integrity, Respect, Consistency, quality and so on… Are these the same set of core values adapted by your company? Really!! What a coincidence! Millions of companies have the similar ones.

And even then #Entrepreneurs do not dig out time to evaluate to know what the actual core values of their organization are.
 It’s kind of “In Vogue” to set values in company, so they all do it without realizing its worth, impact on culture and implementation.

Very often we get confused between the goals, culture and core values in an organization, there is an organization where one of the Core value was "Swiftness” and everyone accept the top Management actually was adhering to the values. But it didn't work that ways for too long, how could it? 

Core values are top to down approach (I read one article, where the author mentioned that in many Fortune companies, CEO’s one of the responsibility is to teach or coach on Values to their employees) or at least some walking the talk should have been there. Demands from team on Speedy results, but when it comes to Decisions/communications from Top Management everything used to get jammed.

 This is precisely why it started confusing all other employees also and they actually stopped believing in their CORE VALUES, as they saw that the implementation of these so called values is not there at all or its just conditional use of values - to corner an employee Management start singing the saga of Core Values, but when leadership team has to show, then response comes promptly – “Oh! We have so many things to take care of, why can’t we bend it “little” for ourselves”

And then this story is of another company where everything was totally centralized (as in every decision was taken by or with the involvement of the MD, who ideally should be involved in making only important and not day to day decisions).

One of their core values was ‘Ownership’  and this word was given a perspective for the company  “taking their own decisions and stand by it”. Such was the hypocrisy and how do you think employees working in such companies would ever respect their core values leave aside travel value along them?

One of my Mentor used to say, “to breathe the core values of the companies” and believe me we all used to do the same. The values became an integral part of our daily work that we hardly could get rid of them even after leaving that organisation. 

It is not just by designing the Mugs or diaries with the core values but also taking ownership of each decision or action taken keeping in mind the core value of the organisation. No matter how thorny the path may look initially but once foundation is laid by believing in them, they can bring back success and more success, and that’s how he started getting it done, by collaborative leadership and preparing the leadership team by walking the talk.

If we have to make the values successful then we have to take some real time actions, such as:

Define: what one word or a statement means for company needs to be defined, and let each person owns the definition by virtue of its implementation.

Be true: Yes, to have a set of intelligent core values the company has to be true to itself  or even if it is an “Aspiration Value” they can actually imbibe them in their culture by making it clear to the employees the difference between the two, so that their trust can be held and they also believe in the similar authentic set of values.

Just avoid situations where senior management says something else and the core values goes a separate way; All have to be persistent for their values.

Own it: Serious trouble starts in companies when the senior management or leaders of the companies do not own these set of core values. They pass it on as the work of employee relation or HR department, which is not true. HR can only help in proper communication, awareness, and ideas for implementation etc but the ownership of such things remains with the leadership Team/Core team only. 

They cannot pass the buck by saying that HR is responsible for maintenance and adherence to the core values. No, it’s completely unrealistic and so the authenticity of such values is just not on HR alone. In such cases its better not to have any core values for the companies than to have the wrong ones.

Breathe them: live them, read them, believe in them and as one of my Mentor used to say breathe them, which is what makes them successful. Do not compromise on the core values no matter what. Lead by example, if as a leader you own them and start showing each one of them in all the areas of work, your team members will surely do the same. If you have a core value such as “PROFESSIONALISM” make sure you show such an outlook in everything you do, no conciliation allowed which may mean decent attire, no gossips, no nonsense.

Measurement: Include it as a measurement tool: Though it may look very subjective to some, but categorizing Values as one of the parameters of performance assessment will surely make it.

If “INNOVATION” is your Core value adapt it everywhere, give incentives for any new innovation or creativity, and distribute rewards in order to build the trust of your people in these values. Do not cheat or deceive in the name of Values. If creating a learning culture is a belief, then open all doors for mentoring and coaching.

So go ahead, find out your core values and let your company be the proud owner of some Intelligent Core values.

more at http://www.citeman.com/14433-are-core-values-really-valued-in-companies.html#ixzz2kpAlqIFR

UPSIDE DOWN – Real Story

We have always thought that we were working because our bosses/entrepreneurs needed us. We thought, we were there to ‘help’ our bosses/owners meet certain targets. We thought, we were hired because the organisation needs us?

Well! well! Well! How about if the truth comes out to be actually a little different. Would you believe, if someone were to tell you that the truth is the other way round? That, it is because of us, that our bosses exist, so that they could facilitate an efficient completion of their tasks? The typical pyramidal structure of organisations is shrinking. Every business today works as an inverted pyramid, whereby, every position in the pyramid works towards facilitating the role of the widest base of the pyramid- the front-line executives.

For a company that’s selling a product, the highest value addition happens at the front-line, with the remaining part helping this front-liners do what they are expected to. And this restructuring cannot happen all by itself, it calls for an efficient leader who can motivate his/her team to think that they are ‘needed’ by their organizations. Some amount of mindset streamlining is also needed, by the front-lines, to get out of hierarchical mentality.

CLOSEST TO ACTION

Front line executives are the touch point of contact between the customers and an enterprise. Hence, the skills with which they handle a customer at this point, decides the future of a business customer relationship. Quite naturally then, a lot needs to be empowered to take day-to-day decisions.

Consultants iterate that the conventional pyramid with fewer senior positions has not changed. The way we looked at a structure, as a top down command and control structure in terms of ‘roles’, has changed.

BUSINESS SENSE OF INVERSION

So, if retaining customer loyalty is the key, one of the best ways to ensure this is by supporting frontline employees. Sometimes, an insecure manager might just not want to delegate responsibilities and if at all they do it’s under tremendous power shift downwards leading to an inverted pyramidal structure.

By putting more decision-making power into the hands of those on the lower rungs of the hierarchy – who are closest to the ‘action’ – especially in the IT and the ITES industries, organisations can act faster and effectively. The top management plays the role of a strategist, but the execution of the strategy is done by the people at the base of the pyramid.

Managers need to spend considerable amount of time in the field, interacting with front line teams collecting first hand feedback from them. This is essential because front liners are in constant contact with customers, and understand the market’s growing needs.

Any knowledge oriented organisation would need this kind of a structure. At organisations where large scale recruitments are constantly happening for global clients, it is the front-line associates who are facing the customers.

HIERARCHY IS PASSÉ

Hierarchical organisation structure is a passé now. It negates today’s rapidly changing market where decisions need to be quick and frontline executives need to be alert to the requirements. So whether or not to evolve is no longer the choice. Yes, how you adapt to change is your choice. So what really happens is, they keep the chunk of the responsibilities to themselves and leave the mundane stuff to others; ensuring that the applauses come to them and brick bats get ducked to the front-liners.
Servant leadership’ is the other side of the mentorship coin – and unless leaders believe that they are serving the best interests of the organization and the people within the organizations, there is no way that they will impact anyone.

WHEN EMPOWERMENT IS ELUSIVE

Organizations fail to implement this structure because of lack of information, low perseverance, and the inability to truly empower team members – where leaders override the team decisions – leading to ‘empowerment’ remaining an elusive concept.

More often than not, managers are unable to see this in the right perspective without losing a sense of importance. More importantly, even at the bottom, the hierarchy mindset that we are brought up with hinders from accepting this philosophy easily.

Proper planning of strategy execution and what it will imply for those who have to actually carry out the execution is needed. The required structure is all about a two way system, in which there are a number of performers and there is the infrastructure, including personnel and facilities, to support it. So, it boils down to the need for managers to act more like ‘colleagues’ and less like ‘bosses’.

more at http://www.citeman.com/12861-upside-down-%e2%80%93-real-story.html#ixzz2kpPwrDgx

Trap – Are you also offering the Cheese :)

Do you consider their performance only when they hand over their final paper?
Unlike trapping a mouse, retaining an employee at the last minute with a lump of cheese is not a bright idea..

"Your contribution has been valuable and has determined our success" 
"We believe you have the potential to take this organisation to the next level and spearhead our international assignments." 
Such statements are only uttered by a desperate boss who is trying to retain a deserving employee.

Sad reality, such level of recognition and acknowledgement is provided only when the person gets an offer from another company. But then again, if timely rewards & recognition were in place, the person wouldn't have chosen to leave, to begin with. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world and doing the right thing at the right time doesn't seem so obvious to most people! So, let’s try to understand this phenomenon a little better and build an opinion on the same.

Cheese'em up - ;)
Being offered a better profile than your current job at the point of exiting the firm just doesn’t seem right. You come to believe that if you really did deserve it then why did your employer only realize your potential after another company recognized it and offered you something worth your salt? This is because most companies today believe in being reactive rather than pro-active. How can we correct this?

Balancing out -

The knee-jerk approach to retaining people is a reality today, and it is a challenge for every HR manager to minimize this. To begin with, one need to understand what it is that triggers attrition in an organisation. A fair salary can be managed by equitable distribution of compensation and the engagement level can be tackled by clearly defining the deliverable: what is required to be done and what is expected from the person.

Stay Interviews-
Another key driver is whether the organisation is bent towards carving out the employee’s career growth path and offers learning. The challenge for us is to therefore be in pre-emptive and not reactive mode in catering to these needs. To foresee issues and nip them in the bud is great but "why is the reactive mode so unsuccessful?" 
Trying to retain an employee after he/she has accepted another job offer is a tough task in itself. The chances of retaining him/her are pretty low because an employee who has initiated a job search has mentally ‘checked out’. The trick is to try and get to them before they begin the search.

Communication A must-
Every manager must ensure that the lines of communication between him and his direct reports are always kept open. Each manager must be held accountable for retaining his people.

Most organisations care less about digging into what their people really want, until they are disgruntled and are about to leave. The idea of last minute machinations to retain an employee who has expressed his desire to quit is flawed at the very conceptual level. The best time for re-engaging and refreshing the commitment of your employees is not when the employee resigns, but long before that.

Nurture 'em -
A good company is one that takes care of its employees right from the day they are inducted. You need to know as to what extent are your employees engaged and committed. Employees should be asked as to what they expect from the company they work for – the idea is to know their needs and to meet them, if they are feasible enough. Only then a sense of belonging will be created. Last minute retention strategies should chiefly be used to understand and subsequently better anticipate and address reasons for employee discontent rather than as tools to retain employees.

Last minute Chaos -
Another demerit of extending last minute hikes would be that it triggers a strong message for others in the organisation that this is the only way of getting a hike which could spell disaster. Any last minute pay hikes and promotions will always be viewed with suspicion. Also, this would set a very wrong example. It will not only give the impression that the employee needs to take drastic steps in order to get noticed but may also creates a precedent encouraging other employees to use resignations as bullying tactics to getting better remuneration.

Having debated on the futility of last minute retention strategies, we still know that it is a bitter reality and there are organisations which opt for it. So, what is their agenda in doing so? Let’s find out.

One of the reasons could be that they want to ramp up fast, and many of them are start-ups who are growing very fast. So, they are looking for a short-term solution. They will get the person with a high price but plateau hikes in the future.

While companies continue to hold on tight to their high fliers by filling their pockets and massaging their egos, as and when they get offers from competition, it is a shame that they are yet to realise the brutal mistake they are making in the process. The mistake of making others in the organisation realise that this is a great tool to make a fast buck. It is not rocket science, its common sense! Reward your people timely and make sure people get what they deserve and you won’t have to beg them to stay with you!

more at http://www.citeman.com/12863-the-trap-%e2%80%93-don%e2%80%99t-offer-the-cheese.html#ixzz2kpOENLQX

Cultural Misfit – Are You the One?

You may be able to do the job well. But if you are perceived to be a person who can’t get along with others at work, you just might be dismissed on account of being a cultural misfit.

Who is a misfit?

Whatever the interpretation may be, it is one of the crucial reasons why out of two similarly qualified or talented people, one might be selected and the other rejected at an interview.

Many Organisations are realising that merely hiring a person who can do the task may not be a bright idea because of a variety of reasons. One of the obvious reasons is when a person is joining an organisation, he/she is also joining its employees to further the cause of achieving the organisation’s goals, and it is hence imperative that the person is able to blend in with his/her peers and their way of functioning, to ensure smoother operations.

There is a conscious evaluation whether a candidate can fit into the organisation or not, especially in an environment such and where the structure is very flat and there is efficient internal as well as external communication, which is very important.

So to agree that the wavelength must be in sync. Also, a good cultural fit with a company can bring better opportunities for promotion, increased responsibility, and more income. Not fitting into a corporate culture can stall or derail a promising career. And a cultural misfit hurts the organisation as it shows up in employee performance and retention issues that affect productivity. ‘Hire attitude; teach skills’ is the simple rule company’s have started to follow. Skills can be taught, but an attitude (the kind we seek) is something that is inherent. That is why focusing only on whether a person can do a job well is not quite enough.

MUST BE MADE TO FIT

Culture attributes vary and are usually described with adjectives such as: tough, aggressive, lean, competitive, bureaucratic, rule bound, fun, playful, demanding, egalitarian, laidback, introverted, quixotic, unfocused, impulsive or risk-averse. Like people, corporate cultures are not the same, which enables all of us to find the best personal and organisational fit by ensuring that people are in tune with the organisation’s culture. Additionally, when a person is gelled with the overall organisational culture, he is very unlikely to quit; hence this could serve as a brilliant retention tool. When we keep hiring 'Right' cultural fits, we build an organisation where all the people are aligned with goals, mission, vision and values. It is the kind of organisation where coming to work every morning is a pleasure, something the employees look forward to, and hence stay for longer.

CULTURE DEFINES IT ALL

How do things get done? What is the decision making style? How do they act on decisions? These answers can show cultural variations across different companies. The culture that is followed by an organisation directs the overall functioning of the firm, which is why companies in the same type of industry have similar cultures due to the product/service, market and regulatory demands. Managers look for people who can be a part of it, without attempting to alter it or feeling lost. A fairly easy, open, hierarchy free organisation where how well you do your job is respected more than what your level is. That kind of culture demands people who are a lot more secure about themselves.

Does the company accord preferential treatment to those at higher levels? Does it recognise and reward people? Is everyone included or do some groups and levels absorb a greater share of attention? These are important indicators of cultural progress (or stagnation) in an organisation.

MORAL OF THE STORY

The culture that is observed in any organisation is the basic fabric of that organisation and hiring an employee means weaving him/her into its way of life/work. A sheer mismatch of a candidate’s personality with that of the organisations’ could not only result in rejection but also make the hired feel lost and isolated, further pushing the importance for hiring cultural fits.

Every organisation has a set of unsaid rules. For example, the employment guide of a prominent Fortune 500 high-tech company touts flexible work hours and telecommuting as benefits to employees. What is not stated is that this is a driven culture with 12+ hour days and no time for vacations.

A CULTURAL FIT IS REFLECTED FROM THE FOLLOWING:

Your mode of dressing

Your way of speaking

Your attitude and behaviour

Your ability to work within the structure and get along with others

Your involvement in your organisation’s activities

Your willingness to go the extra mile..

And you do it all and still don't fit...Ha ha! Change the job... its sheer bad luck Darling.

more at http://www.citeman.com/12501-cultural-misfit-%e2%80%93-are-you-the-one.html#ixzz2kpSTdIwr

CALLING ALL STRESS-BUSTERS…Take it Light

“I felt like ripping my hair off by the end of the day!” 

 “I just wanted to quit my job and make a run for it.” 

“I used to just dread mornings, all I wanted to do was call in sick… everyday!” 

These may sound like convincing excuses by an employee who’s trying to procrastinate but they are, in fact, true confessions of a victim: a victim of stress. And I assume we all have used these or some other excuses/lies at some point in time at our workplace.

With the globalization/going "Glocal" as I would call it , one of the fall outs has been that employees have been bombarded with excess workload to meet the water-tight deadlines. The outcome-"Stress" which takes a direct toll on productivity as people tend to slack when burdened with huge portions of work. Fortunately, organisations are waking up to this reality and are manifesting their concern for their employees’ health by carving out several initiatives to build a stress-free environment for them.

A Weighty Issue

It is a well-known fact that most people tend to ignore their health when under tremendous stress. While some overeat, others just ignore proper meals. To battle this growing trend, many organisations are trying to encourage healthy living at the work place. Many employees stretch their work timings to meet deadlines. In the process of doing so, they ignore their health, have poor concentration and bad eating habits. There is a latent need to have something that will help these employees in addressing their concerns over stress and health related issues.

# An aware step would be in introducing a "health byte" initiative for all the employees to educate them about various health risks relating to stress. The basic objective is to encourage employees who wanted to participate and make a concerted effort at reaching the optimum desired weight.

# Another initiative is to make working-out more exciting, start competitions for all the employees for a quarter with the basic objective to help the employees to reach their desired weight in a matter of three months and encourage healthy living. During the competition, regular tips are required to be shared to help participants in their endeavour and also award cash prizes, when they meet their goal.

# Many organisations create self-awareness by joining hands with gyms and healthcare institutes in an attempt to nurture the health and wellness of their employees. One of the initiatives we started in our organization was having a fully equipped gym at our workplace. We also had a fitness consultant to advise employees on heath, exercise, diet etc.

It’s all in your mind

Apart from tie-ups with gyms, many organisations are also helping their employees beat stress by conducting yoga and meditation classes at the work place. Meditation and yoga classes in office are a way of relaxing the employees. Apart from that many companies have started yoga and spirituality camp for all their employees across the country.

Want to indulge?

Ask any woman, what is the best way to beat stress and she will tell you: ‘Shop till you drop’. Taking cue from the above, Unisource Group has come up with an innovative solution to delight their employees. They have started an employee-centric privilege programme called ‘Indulge’, which aims to make available special privileges and offers to the employees of the company.

They started Indulge in early 2005 and built strategic alliances with providers of various brands, F&B outlets, lifestyle products, electronics and cellular services and resorts, whereby employees can avail of discounts from 5-30 per cent. ‘Indulge’ is renewed every six months with new and attractive additions, and is re-launched with an event called ‘Indulge Week’ where employees were given access to the new and existing affiliates. Affiliates offer discount coupons, giveaways and host competitions at the company premises which also provide phenomenal visibility for them.

Indulge Week giveaways and activities in the past have included pizza eating competitions, ‘panja’ competitions, free holiday giveaways, free gym memberships, donut days, free checkups and health talks with regard to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet.

Stress-free work zone

Combating stress at the workplace cannot merely be done by addressing the stress points. Some times stress could be rooted to unfair practices and inadequate compensation which could also take a toll on productivity. The key factor to creating a stress-free environment for employees is:

1. setting clear expectations, 

2. having a regular and consistent reward and recognition program,

3. emphasizing on training and employee development, 
4. creating a transparent and open work culture with clear channels of communication – all this surely adds up in creating a work environment that is secure and minimizes stress for all employees.

Reflecting on the benefits of having stress busting initiatives at the workplace to have a fresh approach to work and this could do wonders. Organisations who have realised this mantra are increasingly bending over backwards to ensure that their people are fit and ready for the battle.

more at http://www.citeman.com/12866-calling-all-stress-busters%e2%80%a6take-it-light.html#ixzz2kpMjmoQn