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

Employee Education Program (MDPs) – Opportunities and Hurdles

Training and development the least thought of area of Human resource Department, which makes me write experiences through this editorial. Investing in Employee education program would enrich and improve employee productivity and performance moreover directly affecting the company’s own efficiency and profitability. A coin has two sides- positive and negative, hence we will discuss the hurdles that come in the way of Employee education programs in organizations; what an employee perceives and what is the employer’s side of the story and then gradually we will share the opportunities that can be tapped through organizing such programs in firms. So here we go:

Flip side story- Employee opinion

# The absence will create a gap: many employees feel that once they are absent for a longer duration from day to day work, their absence will actually cause more gaps in terms of team building, office politics and sometimes it’s a belief that employers also do not support them.

# The acting team leader takes over the team and then the difference in personality type and techniques of team handling often causes a rift between two individuals. Sometimes to the extent that the person who has just returned is given an altogether new area and team to work on and someone else bears the fruits of their efforts.

# Without the management’s support the learning of many months or days goes waste if the employees are not given a chance to utilize these skills and knowledge in the organization as it may require changes in the system or offering of some new projects. Sometimes the management looks at this initiative as an expense without realizing that in the long run such investments can bring many benefits.

# Managing work and education side by side creates hurdles, there is less time for studies, no option for flexible timings, lack of support from the team leaders for studies, all this and more can create a mind block for the employees to opt for such benefits.

Miffed employer

# Many employers assume that once employees are trained they are more likely to leave the company for greener pastures, but actually, the opposite is true: trained staff are happier and more likely to stay put.

# The cost is high, and these expenses actually will bring in more complications, lets not waste our money on something like that, where there is no guarantee if the employee will stay with us or leave for better opportunities.

# Employers feel that absence from work for a long duration may result in less productivity, which indeed is the case in many companies where the employees have to go for full time courses or university/institute courses and their absence does cause less productivity – but isn’t that a short term drawback?

Opportunities:

# Team Work: Employees who take part in workplace education programs are better equipped and motivated to work successfully with others. They gain a clearer appreciation of how teamwork is essential for workplace success and how they can contribute to the performance of the team. At the same time, they gain skills that they feel would make them better team players who can perform at the same level as their colleagues.

# Latest development: Such programmes often enhance the knowledge in latest developments and technologies. It is a useful tool to keep employees up to date with what’s new and can benefit the organizations. Keeping abreast with new and improved techniques and technologies- is important to fight competition and overcome monotony.

# Succession Planning: This is one tool which can help you in succession planning, once you have identified the resources (human resources) who can take up a larger role with bigger teams then you can invest in them. Sending them for MDPs bridges the gaps that are currently there and equip them with the required skills and makes them capable of handling enhanced new roles.

# Individual development: Good way to enhance their capabilities. Not only is the company giving the employee added skills, attributes or a value addition to their resume, it is also investing in something that would reap a lot of benefits in the long run. Employees are able to train themselves and acquire new abilities for company expansion. It should be used as a tool to transform its human resources into agents of development.

# Retention: It is one way of retaining your employees, contrary to the common myth that people will leave once they are well equipped with such skills and knowledge; whereas the people becomes more loyal and would like to stay for longer durations to apply their newly learned skills.

# Less employee turnover: Once you sponsor their education, they are more likely to stay with your company. If their education is paid and they are learning while earning what better things they can ask for, especially for employees who have to leave their studies to take up family responsibility.

Cisco is one such company and surely the retention problems are fairly low apart from other benefits. Coca Cola is another example for initiating such programs. Punjab National Bank is another name.

Share with us for the benefit of other members; your story of such programs, their success ratio and benefits!

more at http://www.citeman.com/15321-employee-education-program-mdps-%e2%80%93-opportunities-and-hurdles.html#ixzz2c7uW5StN

Avoid the Trap – Weigh Your Alternatives

A point of cross roads or a dilemma, you can call it any name. Choosing an option, whether to follow your boss after he has decided to call it off with the present company while quietly extending an offer your way to join them in their next venture or to stay put. Its tough to take a call here but if you brood over this profoundly you may get the answers you are looking for.

Consider thoughts like, do you enjoy working for them? Which is the most important question of moving with him/her to a new job? If you don’t like working for them then switching jobs will not improve your work environment or working conditions. If you do enjoy working with your present boss, then that is a positive reason to move, but remember if you don’t like working for him, just because he has a new job doesn’t mean his personality will change or his work ethics.

Sometimes we consider this as a safe bet and move on but how many times do we consider a question. What am I moving for? Is there anything for me in this shift or its just an unadorned option of following blindly?

Ensure you are not losing your identity in the course of such an action; the relationship you share today may turn sour tomorrow and then what? Weigh your options in a manner that will bring fruits for you in the long term.

Think about responsibilities, your role, the company and brand name( if you are interested in that), the freedom of thoughts to work, creativity factor, your dignity in the due course, the relationship you share and if this is what you planned for your self or not? Sometimes, though we get attracted towards the monetary benefits we fail to realize that the new role may not fit us but only be conducive to our bosses.

Upside:

• The boss knows you well, and the gelling obviously will pay a crucial role in working together in the new assignment also. How to capitalize on your strengths and weaknesses is the boss’s job and if (s) he is good at that then why not?

• It is wise in some cases to shift, chiefly when you know that this is how you get better opportunities and this person can actually guide you towards the right direction. The faith in your mentor if you consider them one is the key in situations like that. Once you plan your move, don’t look back for any reasons of regret.

• Better & superior opportunities await you on the other side, most of the times this is what happens if the move is planned as your boss has obviously moved for a higher package, a larger role and enriched responsibilities, the bigger his pie the chances are you are going to get the large chunk of the pie as his/her pet.

Downside:

Following him/her sometimes is like being a shadow…and not actually looking for your own growth.

• Sometimes, an employee is just left to being a dummy and then these people don’t enjoy the stint by following their bosses. Low respect, no dignity and other similar factors come in the way of success then and the bell of regret is all that rings in the mind.

• Most of the time the Boss is moving for his own benefit, and on his own conditions, if you think that they match with you then go ahead but if not then discourage your thoughts of going on with him especially if you have no other motive than just being an acquaintance to your boss.

• Once you ponder on the reasons you may realize that staying back may offer a better opportunity, you might end up in the same position as a successor, which  might not be the case if you follow.

Here is the self confessed real story of agony of following blindly,

I am working with the same Boss for the last 6 years. I have been with him in the last 3 companies. Now due to the long relationship he has started taking me for granted.
Some of the important points I am narrating below:

1. No exposure to senior management
I am in the current company since the last 3 years and all theese 3 years he has stopped me from interacting with the senior management of the company. Whatever I am doing as my job role; He shows to the top bosses as if he has done them. He stops me from talking & mailing to them. He manages region & I am handling location but he stops me from interacting with my counterparts even at the location level.

2. Harassment assuming he is the Godfather for me
Due to the long relationship he has started taking me for granted, he harasses me like anything. No leaves, No Saturday offs, unnecessary work pressure. The way he interacts with me & my counterparts is totally different where in he insults me in front of my counterparts & team mates. He thinks I don’t have any option other than him.

3. Dual reporting problem
Due to structure change now, I am reporting to 2 bosses (Old one & new One (Business Head)). Actually my Old boss is VP & New Boss is SVP. Old boss stops me from interacting, sharing data, coordinating with him. Due to which new boss thinks I am a bit reserved towards him. He tells me don’t interact with him as I have done everything here for 3 years and this guy is trying to take the credit where as on the other hand he himself interacts with him and shows him the picture that he is doing everything in my location.

4. No decision making powers
He has not given me any decision making powers so far. Whenever any approval of my level comes in; He stops me from making any decision giving the reason of lack of experience for the same.

Changing to a new job without a lot of pondering and honest soul-searching can sometimes be the best thing you could do for your career. So please ensure you don’t fall in the trap where the piece of cheese is bigger but not tasty

more at http://www.citeman.com/16448-avoid-the-trap-%e2%80%93-weigh-your-alternatives.html#ixzz2VnlsMklz