human capitatl august 2015 issue

100www.humancapitalonline.com

realising business strategy through people Vol.19 No. 3 August 2015

®

INTERVIEWRakesh KhannaCOO, Syntel

22 HR PRACTICEI SpeakInterGlobe

52 PERSONAVaijayanti NaikICICI Securities

68

M&As are complicated times, but if the financial aspects are balanced out wellwith the human aspects, organizations can surely crack the best out of them

TRA INING PROGRA MME (Sep t - Dec 15)

F EE

ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONICS/INSTRUMENTATION

26-30

26-30

07-11

28-30

07-11

05-07

21-23

(WinCC)

PLC Programming

PLC Networking

PLC Advanced

MMI & SCADA

AC/ DC Drives

Elect ronics Maintenance

Elect rical Control & Relay Logic Appl.

Transformer & Swit chgear Maintenance

Field Inst rumentat ion

VLSI Design

Embedded System Design

Sinamics S120

Sim ot ion System & Programming

MATLAB

MECHANICALIndustria l Hydraul ics

Propor tio nal Hydraul ics

Industria l Pneumatics

Mechanical M aint enance

14-16

07-11

02-04

14-18

16-20

02-03EOT Cranes

07-11

14-18

19-23

05-15

07-11

02-06

07-11

29-30Vibration Analysis

16-20

23-27

Mechatronics*

AutoCAD Mechanical

CAD/ CAM (CATIA)

CNC Turning

Mechatronics in LMV (Car Mechatronics)

C O U R S E S

14-18

Energy Conservat ion 01-03

28-29TPM

14-18

23-27

07-11

26-30

14-18

%(* Service Tax @14 will be extra)

Note : Details of the Fee for the Courses marked with * Can be obtained from CRISP

FEERs. 27,500/- Per day(Air/Train/Taxi Fare, Accommodation & Local Transportation for Trainers will be additional)Payment will be made in the name of “CRISP Society, Bhopal”)

ON-SITE TRAININGS

Rs. 14,000/- per participant (Non-Residential)

Rs. 18,500/- per participant (Residence in Guest Home)

AT CRISP

(Established under Indo-German Technical Cooperation)

Shyamla Hills, Bhopal - 02 Tel: 0755-2661401 Fax : 4220022

Mob: 09425302725, 09826334406

email: [email protected], [email protected] us at: www.crispindia.com

ISO 9001 : 2008

For further details please contact :

A HELPING HAND IN IMPLEMENTING CSR PROJECTS OF PSUs / INDUSTRIES

RKETING

... Unleashing the full potential of Men & Machine

ISO 9001 : 2008

CONTENTSAUGUST 2015 VOLUME 19 ISSUE 3

www.humancapitalonline.com ■4 � August 2015

14 HR - the gluing agent in M&AsA closer look at mergers and acquisitions from the HR lens,

focusing on the issues and concerns; and the vital role HRmanagers play in waiving off the insecurities and anxietieswhile keeping all the weak links glued together

COVER STORY

22 Fostering faith in SyntellersHuman Capital in conversation with Rakesh Khanna, Chief

Operating Officer, US-listed IT firm Syntel, on theorganization's human resource strategy, its hiring practicesand how its philosophy of 'Acquire, Nurture and Grow' hasbeen weaved in to the very core of its existence. He dwellsin to the organization's talent management initiatives andwhat it takes to be a 'preferred' company for employees.

28 Blended learning: Are we ready for it?Some individuals thrive in a self-paced distant setting while

others depend on the assistance of the trainer. Every learnerought to have a general plan or learning style that closelyfits his or her own skills.

32 New age leadership competency:mindfulness decodedMindfulness decoded provides a practical approach to

understand mindfulness in an organizational context andgive insights into what a leader can do to develop it as aleadership competency.

FEATURES

52 Speak up!InterGlobe Hotel' initiative 'I Speak', as part of its whistleblowing

mechanism, encourages employees to commit to theorganization's Code of Conduct and report any incident ofactual or potential violation of the CoC or any other lawsgoverning InterGlobe.

HR PRACTICE

34 Permanent job an impasse!The winds of employment are changing course as individuals

are seeking time-bound assignments based on their skillsand employers are opening up to the idea of hiring consultantsor free agents for specific requirements rather than clingingto permanent employees.

38 Achieving inclusive growth in thisdigital eraThe biggest responsibility of organizations is to ensure that

digitization is leading to an inclusive economy and societyand are enabling crossing the digital chasm. It is thereforefor organizations to develop human capital effectively forprogress and economic growth.

42 The “people lie, numbers don't”approach to HR analyticsHR professionals must closely study the kind of work being

done by their Marketing and Customer Service Analyticsteams to figure out that Big Data Tools have evolved to apoint where they rarely ever care a byte if your data isstructured and/or unstructured.

48 The heart and soul of a businessorganizational cultureFacts, statistics, practices, perspectives and more...

Send a written request mentioning your postaladdress and enclosing a cheque*/demand draftin favour of “HR INFORMATION SERVICES”,payable at Delhi. Pay online by Credit / debitcard/ Net banking atwww.humancapitalonline.com

All monthly issues will be sent by normal book poston 9th of every month. You are expected to receiveyour issue between 15th - 20thof every month.Please inform us during the same month (after20th) if you don’t get your copies, so that we cansend another copy.

SUBSCRIPTION(PRINT MAGAZINE)

1 year (12 issues): Rs.1000


(E-MAGAZINE)

1 year (12 issues) Rs.500


IFC: Inside Front Cover; IBC: InsideBack Cover; BC: Back Cover

Crisp IFC

Drona Mobile 3

ODC 9

Hugseses 31

HRDC 53

This magazine contains 76 pages including cover

Leapvailt IBC

XLRI BC

ADVERTISERS IN THIS ISSUE

www.humancapitalonline.com■ August 2015 � 5

6 Editorial

10 Research

12 On the agenda

20 Debate

64 Life beyond work

72 Law at work

REGULARS

68 An enterprising leaderVaijayanti Naik, Senior Vice President and Head of HR at

ICICI Securities is a true example of resilience, who earnedher spurs despite her personal and professional journeysbeen closely intertwined.

PERSONA

56 Uniting culture with diversityCulture being a resilient element cannot be changed overnight

with generic prescriptions. While M&As are meant to enhancethe economic value, aspects like culture on post-merger oracquisitions are not given significant weightage as theycome under the manageable propositions.

CASE STUDY

COLUMNS

8 Food for thought by Dileep Ranjekar

37 Career management by Abhay Gupta

37 Gen-Y speak by Sakshi Sood

46 Psychology at work by Manavi Pathak

63 Guest column by Ankita Tewary Rathod


Subscription & Advertising officeHR Information Services

4938-84, Plot No. 61, K-Block, 2nd FloorDayanand Road, Daryaganj

New Delhi-110002Phone : 011-43504657

www.humancapitalonline.com

Subscription [email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

Advertisement [email protected]

HC TEAMEditor & Publisher: Mukesh Jain

Dy. editor: Sannita Chakraborty SahaAssistant editor: Lipi Agrawal Khandelwal

Advertising: Ashok DevSales : Iqrar Ahmad, Shweta Tiwari

Customer care: Archana SharmaCreative & layouts: David Thomas

Subscription rates(Print magazine) 1 year: Rs.1000;

2 years: Rs.1800(E-magazine) 1 year: Rs.500;

2 years: Rs.800

PUBLISHERMukesh Jain

HR Information Services4378/4B, Pooja Apartment

1st Floor, Ansari RoadDaryaganj, New Delhi-110002

on behalf of HR Information Services

PRINTINGDelhi Print O Pack

A-32, Backside Naraina Industrial AreaPhase II, New Delhi-110028

© 2015 HR Information Services.All rights reserved. Reproduction

in any manner without writtenpermission is prohibited.

August 2015 ● Volume 19 Issue 3

To our readers

MUKESH JAIN

Human Capital's August Cover Story 'HR - the gluing agent in M&A'takes a closer look at mergers and acquisitions from the HR lens,focusing on the issues and concerns; and the vital role HR managersplay in waiving off the insecurities and anxieties while keeping all theweak links glued together. As mergers and acquisitions bring togethercompanies of different scale, size and culture, the entire workforceundergoes an extensive yet unspoken turmoil of psychological,emotional and professional anxiety. Mergers may bring aboutopportunities and threats for both the organization and its people.

In this issue, we have interviewed Rajesh Khanna, Chief OperatingOfficer of US-listed IT firm Syntel, on the organization's humanresource strategy, its hiring practices and how its philosophy of'Acquire, Nurture and Grow' has been weaved in to the very core ofits existence. He dwells in to the organization's talent managementinitiatives and what it takes to be a 'preferred' company for employees.

In the HR Practice section, we look at InterGlobe Hotel' initiative 'ISpeak', which is a part of their whistleblowing mechanism. Itencourages employees to commit to the organization's Code ofConduct and report any incident of actual or potential violation of theCoC or any other laws governing InterGlobe. The initiative enables theemployees to red flag anything, which is not aligned with the ethicsand professional way of working at InterGlobe.

In the HR & Business section, Unmesh Pawar and Purnima Kumar ofAccenture in India in their article 'Achieving inclusive growth in thisdigital era' talk about how the biggest responsibility of organizations isto ensure that digitization is leading to an inclusive economy andsociety and are enabling crossing the digital chasm. It is therefore fororganizations to develop human capital effectively for progress andeconomic growth.

In the Persona section, we have featured Vaijayanti Naik, Senior VicePresident and Head of HR at ICICI Securities. In this section, wesketch her professional and personal lives. Having held key positions indifferent organizations, and managed bigger responsibilities back home,she never allowed professional commitment to play second fiddle toher personal obligations. True to her work as much to her familyresponsibilities, her dedication and her ability to multitask has madeher a clear winner in life and work.


We've got mail!We've got mail!MAILBOX

(Your feedback is valuable for us. Send across your views and suggestions for India's most respected HR publication [email protected] or [email protected] )

Congratulations to the entire HC team for puttingtogether a great July issue. A varied collection ofviews on the Cover Story pertaining toMid-Career Crisis was fantastic with goodexamples and variety of commentsfrom senior HR professionals.Among various otherinteresting pieces in thisissue, I glanced throughthe article 'HR practice',which had interesting piecesof information to note. Alsoit was interesting to readsome great articles by HRLeaders. Besides, 'Persona' was as usual a goodpiece to read.

PRAVEEN PUROHITGroup - HR, Vedanta, Sterlite Industries India (LTD)

Fab July issue…

I am a regular reader of your magazine and Ireally like it. Being a trainer, I would like tomention that in your L&D section; probably youcould cover how L&D can provide solutions forSMEs facing a host of challenges. That would beinteresting to read because L&D is not given muchimportance, by SMEs in my perspective.

K. S. BHASKARANFreelance Trainer, Oscar Muphy

Importance of training

I have been reading Human Capital for almost tenyears now. I appreciate the overall structure of thecontent and the rich inputs included in the stories.I have also noticed lately, that you have been

covering many topicsbeyond HR from diverseperspectives. However, Iwould like to suggest that

your publication could alsocover the in-depth scope of

HR, and best practices inPSUs, apart from theprivate sector. Overall, it is

a wonderful publication!

VINOD VERMAGM- Corporate affairs, Aditya Birla group

Appreciate the efforts!

A great publication, Human Capital isquite trendy with respect to what isgoing on in the industry in the fast-changing times. It also offers variedperspectives. What I would particularlylike to read in the coming issueswould be articles on Gen-Z HRpractices in companies, as GenZ would be taking over theworld of work in a fewyears from now!

K. RAMARAOTCS

Myriad views

I really like reading your magazine. As a student, Ifind the magazine really helpful andinformative. I particularly like the columnsand the feature stories in the magazine.I have introduced many of myfriends to the magazine. We findthe 'Case Study' the mosthelpful as it prepares usto handle particularsituations.

AKASHStudent, Sharada University

Awesome read!


I

Boycott theseproducts and servicesBY DILEEP RANJEKAR

t was an early morning flight and Isettled down in my seat to read themorning newspaper. As usual therewas an ugly large sticker stuck

haphazardly on the front page thatobstructed reading of the news. I triedto carefully take it off. However, it wasso badly stuck that it tore off asignificant part of the front page andin the bargain, took off a substantialpart of the news with it. I was reallyangry with the insurance companythat was eventually responsible forplacing the sticker as an advertisementand vowed never to use the servicesof that company. In my opinion, theinsurance company should take theresponsibility for its advertisementstickers and the nuisance caused bythem.

I also get irritated with TVadvertisements as they tend tointerfere especially when I eagerlywant to see Dhoni hitting the winningsix on the last ball in the World Cupmatch. It somehow deprives me ofthe joy of seeing the repeat of the lastball for no reason. I am fully awarethat these companies go out of theway to pay a huge premium for theiradvertisements being inserted at suchstrategic moments.

In the current times ofcommunication explosion, we comeacross several kinds of advertisementsconstantly flooded on practicallyevery possible medium ranging fromthe TV to the newspaper. As a matterof interest, when I measure theproportion of advertisements to theactual news in many newspapers, I getappalled to note that the

advertisements account for up to 60per cent of the total available space.Many of these advertisements are rankobjectionable and they hurt oursensibilities - each time we comeacross to them.

I would classify theseadvertisements and organizations inthe following manner:

Communication without anysense of proprietyThese are organizations who tryreaching out to their so called "targetsegment" at any cost. Illustratively,they would place their hoardings atsuch traffic junctions that would causedistractions in a manner that it couldeven lead to accidents. I remember aparticularly huge hoarding of one ofthe cigarette companies displayed ata fly-over near Guindy in Chennai -which reportedly used to create suchaccidents. There are others thatdisplay their advertisements atlocations where pasting posters isspecifically prohibited. And there areothers who do not hesitate in pastingincongruent posters - such aspaediatric hospital advertising outsidea crematorium.

Communication that createsirritationI know of several organizations thatbombard the radio listeners withinnumerable insertions in a short spanof time - say 10 times in 30 minutes.This happens especially in theprograms that have the highestlistenership. These advertisementscould be completely incongruent to

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

the mood and emotion of theprogram - thereby significantlydepriving the listeners the realenjoyment of the program. Therepetitive and inordinately longadvertisements stretch a two hourmovie to 3.5 hours breaking the movieinto small fragments that cannot becoherently enjoyed. I wonder why thecompanies don't understand thefutility of such advertisements. Whydon't the management consultantsadvise these companies theineffectiveness of such advertisementsthat only irritate the viewers?

Advertisements that giveanti-social messagesIn one of the TV programs a few yearsago, as a panel member I was askedmy opinion about the CorporateSocial Responsibility work by somelarge multinationals. I expressed aview that if the organization is trulysocially oriented, it should firstconduct its business in a responsiblemanner. This would include sellingand promoting products that do notpromote products and services thatare contrary to the constitutionalprinciples of our society - such asequity, justice and humanity. Theyshould also not promoteunacceptable stereotypes.Illustratively, I mentioned that theorganization under discussion muststop promoting its "fairness cream"and encourage the notion that peoplewith fair skin are better than thosewith dark skin. There areorganizations that regularize violenceagainst women and children directly


or indirectly. They even conveytraditional concepts of "rich" and"poor" classes in a crass manner. Someof them are insensitive of the issue of"cruelty" to animals.

Constant attempts to beat

the lawThis is a conspiracy between thesecompanies and the law enforcementauthorities. Illustratively, many liquorcompanies promote alcohol butcamouflage it as an advertisement foreither some mineral water or soda orplaying cards of the same brand. Evena 4th standard child realizes that theadvertisement is of liquor. It doesinfluence children about the glamourof consuming alcohol. The insurancecompanies are supposed to informcertain features and terms andconditions of the insurance they sell -but they manage to hurriedly describethe T&C in a way that nobody graspsthem. It just comes across as"gibberish" on the radio. Manyorganizations make tall claims that arenot supported by the results. Manyfairness cream, mosquito repellent,

deodorant and soap advertisementsfall in this category. The claims aresuch that they fool a vast majority ofmasses and yet, the law enforcingmachinery is unable to do much tothem.

High on commitments and

low on deliveryA large number of real estatedevelopers bombard the aspiringbuyers with all kinds of promises onfacilities and amenities that are noteventually delivered. Their brochurespromise "the moon" and project animaginary world of gardens,swimming pools, play area forchildren, gyms etc. As theconstruction progresses, the projectget delayed, at times de-prioritized,basic conditions of quality are notadhered to. Unreasonable and one-sided legal documents are forced onthe buyers. The buyers are left withno option and inordinately wait onhopes of moving into their so called"heavenly apartments". Stories of howbadly they were cheated are floatedall over by the buyers. However, the

Dileep Ranjekar, Chief Executive Officer of

Azim Premji Foundation, is also a

passionate student of human behaviour.

He can be contacted at

[email protected].

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

HC

buyers don't come together anddecide not to buy the property fromsuch builders / developers. Despiteunfair treatment, the buyers don't takethe developers to the court.

I strongly feel that we all mustcome together and seriously challengethese organizations. We must buildsocial and market pressure againstthem, act in unison as and when wesuffer from these unscrupulousentities and if required seek legalrecourse without fear. We must alsoquickly share our bad experiences toexisting and future customers.

The least we can do is to boycottthe products and services of suchorganizations to bring them to theirsenses. In the absence of suchresistance from us, the organizationswould continue to violate oursensibilities and get bolder inspreading undesirable messages tounethically promote their productsand services.


Burgeoning middle-classgrowth will pose the biggest challengefor Indian workplaces by 2030

Growth markets such as India and China present a host ofspecial challenges for global enterprises and ambitious local firmsalike. The Latest research by Steelcase shows that the type ofwork many companies perform in these countries becomingincreasingly more sophisticated,putting a premium on creatingworkspaces that can help keepvalued employees be happy andproductive. The resulting uniquechallenges will have an enormousimpact on businesses and work.

By 2030 India's middle-classgrowth is expected to accelerateand reach 475 million. Thisnumber consists of mainlyIndia's Gen Y post 80s and90s who mix traditional valueswith a Western outlook. For thisyounger generation, the workthey do is as important as thereputation of the company andthe salary paid. They strive fordifferentiation through education, reputation, brands, technologyand especially money.

Additionally seven of the 10 most expensive real estatemarkets are in Asia. As a result, businesses in growth marketshave limited space for large employee populations. Steelcasesuggests that enhancing employee wellbeing even in a very high-

density workplace begins with offering a"palette" of different types of spaces

that can spur creativity and fosterteamwork, and a "modular"approach to office design can assureresiliency in the context of constantchange. Tata Sky, created a spacefor its 190 headquarter employees

with designated areas for gameplaying and socializing. Its

unusual circular floor plangave a feeling of

openness, with thecompany'sbranding

prominently displayed.Jason Heredia, VP Marketing, Steelcase APAC notes that, "a

major hurdle to providing diverse workspaces is density, anoverriding fact of life in Asia that often governs not only workingconditions inside the office, but also employees' daily experiencesoutside of it. The office, can be something of a sanctuary foremployees, making it especially important to "humanize thedensity."

Deficient in digitaland diversity - Boardsneed 21st century upgradesto meet today's challenges

A new report released by Grant Thornton findsthat the composition of boardrooms aroundthe world needs upgrading to reflect today'sdigital economy and diverse businesscommunity. The report highlights significantopportunities for improvements to performanceand growth to those who meet the challenge.It also points out that, without revision, boardswill struggle to meet the diversity of thinkingand skills required to effectively advisemanagement teams in meeting the challengesof today's economy.

Grant Thornton's new repor t, Corporategovernance: The tone from the top draws oninterviews with business leaders and boardmembers around the world. The researchreveals a desire for board members to havecurrent industry knowledge - 62% of thosesurveyed cite this as an impor tant factor.Fur thermore, 86% think board membersshould bring new ideas to the table with whichto challenge management. However, asignificant concern raised in interviews withboard directors is the lack of technologyexperience among boards today.

Harish HV, Partner - Leadership team atGrant Thornton in India, commented:

"The role of boards is not only to set thetone from the top, but also to advise and guidemanagement teams. A lack of digital savvy inthe boardroom is a glaring gap . Digitalisationhas disrupted markets, and the way we dobusiness, but it hasn't yet changed boards.The digital sector is also among the mostentrepreneurial; generating ideas andinnovation. Companies with digital acumenon the board will be better placed to embraceand exploit new technologies to driveproductivity and performance.

RESEARCH


RESEARCH

Facilities Managementcrucial to improving quality of life

FM has a significant impact on improving quality of life in theworkplace, according to new research from Sodexo and the RoyalInstitute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) published on World FMDay.

The survey of international FM professionals sought to uncoverattitudes of those working in the field, revealing how FM isincreasingly becoming a strategic management discipline crucial inhelping increase organizations' productivity and wellbeing.

The majority of those questioned (61%) said that improving theworkplace environment and employee well-being would have ahigh impact on their organisation over the next two years.Improving workplace environment and services can enhance socialinteractions among colleagues (cited by 30% of respondents),improve ease and efficiency in daily tasks (22%) and promote apositive impact on health and wellbeing (22%). These are amongthe dimensions of quality of life identified by Sodexo, which theGroup's services can impact.

According to survey respondents, the most importantadvantages of integrated or bundled outsourcing are costefficiencies (75%) and the creation of a single point of contact forclients (68%), which simplifies supply chain administration andavoids duplication of management systems.

Satya Menard, CEO of Service Operations worldwide forSodexo, said: "We are delighted to have commissioned this researchand to publish it on World FM Day. The findings highlight the fact

that many companies are moving to implement robust industrystandards and best practice in their FM planning strategies. Moreand more, clients are looking for IFM partners who can provide aworkplace environment where employees feel engaged, safe,healthy, happy and productive - where their quality of life is apriority. This confirms what we see every day around the worldwith our clients."

New Global ScorecardShows Gender GapPersists LimitingEconomic Potential ofWomen Entrepreneurs

Dell announced the findings of the GlobalWomen Entrepreneur Leaders Scorecard at itssixth-annual Dell Women's EntrepreneurNetwork (#DWEN) Summit, revealing gender-based differences stifle the growth of women-owned businesses across all 31 countriesmeasured. The Dell-sponsored Scorecard isthe first worldwide analysis focused on thechallenges and oppor tunities for womenbusiness-owners to launch, scale, create jobsand disrupt industries. The goal of theScorecard is to provide a diagnostic tool thatwill advise leaders, policy-makers and law-makers on how to improve conditions in theircountries and enable businesses founded bywomen to thrive. The 2015 results offer acomprehensive view on the conditions forwomen entrepreneurs around the world,highlight best practices, identify data gaps andprovide actions countries can take to improve.

Building on the research Dellcommissioned in 2013 and 2014, the 2015Scorecard evaluates 31 countries across fivekey categories: relative businessenvironments, access to resources, leadershipand rights, pipeline for female entrepreneurshipand potential for high-growth women-ownedbusinesses. The new Scorecard also looks atkey factors proven to unleash high-impactfemale entrepreneurship and estimates thenumber of jobs created by women-ownedbusinesses if they reached their growthpotential.

More than 70 % of the 31 countries in thestudy score below 50 percent demonstratinga significant growth gap between female andmale-owned businesses worldwide (76 % ofglobal GDP is covered by the study). Andwhile the United States is no. 1 on theScorecard due predominantly to a favorablebusiness environment overall and women'sjob mobility in the private sector, it still onlyscores 71 % overall. If American womenstar ted growth-oriented businesses at thesame rate as men, the nation would gain anestimated 15 million jobs in two years.


Effective Trade Union Management

Location: Hyderabad

Dates: 7 Sep, 2015

ASCI HyderabadAdministrative Staff College of IndiaBella VistaRaj Bhavan Road, Khairatabad,Hyderabad -500 082, IndiaTel: +91-40-66533000E-mail: [email protected]: www.asci.org.in

General Management

Creativity and Innovation as Core

Competence: Developing Personal

and Organizational Capability

Location: Ahmedabad

Dates: 25-28 August, 2015

Manager, MDPIIM AhmedabadVastrapurAhmedabad 380 015 INDIAPh: 91-79-6632 4071-7 / 6544 9057E-mail: [email protected]: www.iimahd.ernet.in/mdpWebsite: www. fsm.ac.in

Organizational Behaviour (OB)

Leadership skill development

Location: Hyderabad

Dates: 3 August, 2015


Organizational Behaviour (OB)

Personality Development

Location: Ahmedabad

Dates: 21 Sep, 2015


HR Management


3TP: Emerging Leaders' Program

Location: Ahmedabad

Dates: July 26-August 22, 2015

General Management

Doing Business Abroad

Location: Ahmedabad

Dates: August 19-21, 2015


Business PolicyGLOBAL DIARY

August - October2015

Achieving Outstanding PerformanceOrganizer: INSEADWhen: 31 Aug 2015 to 04 Sep 2015Where: FontainebleauFees: € 8,500Details: www.insead.edu

Leading for ResultsOrganizer: INSEADWhen: 14 Sep 2015 to 18 Sep 2015Where: FontainebleauFees: € 8,950Details: www.insead.edu

High Impact Leadership ProgramOrganizer: INSEADWhen: 31 Aug 2015 to 04 Sep 2015Where: SingaporeFees: SG $ 13,500Details: www.insead.edu

Human Interaction LaboratoryOrganizer: NTLWhen: Sept 13-18, 2015Where: SeattleFees: $3,450Details: www.ntl.org

Leadership AgilityOrganizer: NTLWhen: Sept 16-18, 2015Where: DC MetroFees: $1,950Details: www.ntl.org

Authentic Leadership DevelopmentOrganizer: Harvard Business SchoolWhen: 30 AUG-04 SEP 2015Where: HBS CampusFees: $13,500Details: www.exed.hbs.edu

Corporate Social ResponsibilityOrganizer: Harvard Business SchoolWhen: 18-21 OCT 2015Where: HBS CampusFees: $8,500Details: www.exed.hbs.edu

Advanced Management ProgramOrganizer: Harvard Business SchoolWhen: 08 SEP-28 OCT 2015Where: HBS CampusFees: $75,000Details: www.exed.hbs.edu

ON THE AGENDA


Digital & Social Media Marketing and

Analytics

Location: Bangalore


The Administrative Officer (EEP)IIM BangaloreBannerghatta RoadBengaluru - 560 076Karnataka, IndiaTel: +91 - 80 - 2699 3264 / 3475 / 3742Website: www.iimb.ernet.inE-mail: [email protected]

Strategy/General Management

Creating High Performance

Organizations

Location: Bangalore

Dates: 14 September, 2015


Strategy/General Management

Negotiation Skills

Location: Hyderabad

Dates: 24 - 26 Aug, 2015


General Management NEWS ROUNDUP

Malgudi Express: Strategy Under

Uncertainty

Location: Bangalore



Leadership/HRM

20th Advanced Management

Program (AMP)

Location: Gurgaon

Dates: 24 Aug to 20 Sept, 2015

Ved AlawadiChief Administrative Officer (P)MDI GurgaonMehrauli Road, Sukhrali,Gurgaon 122 007,IndiaTel : +91-124-4560004E-mail: [email protected]: www.mdi.ac.in

General Management

How Leaders Bring Change

Location: Bangalore



General Management

The second weekend of August 2015will see IIM Bangalore becoming anoasis of new ideas from across thenation as the institute gears up for the8th edition of its AnnualEntrepreneurship Summit, Eximius2015. The Entrepreneurship andInnovation Cell organizes Eximius inclose association with theinternationally acclaimed N SRaghavan Centre for EntrepreneurialLearning (NSRCEL) at IIM Bangalore.

This year, the summit goes with thetheme, “Let’s get started”, and aims toencourage Start-ups and students fromacross the country to think big and takethe plunge. The two-day engagementwill feature over 150 startups and isexpected to get a footfall of 4500+individuals, from across the country,participating in over 30 events. Theevents give hands-on exposure toparticipants on various aspects ofstarting and running a business.

IIM Bangalore’s popular business plancontest, Bzzwings promises a continuedengagement between the institute andaspiring entrepreneurs. The contest,which will have its first round inEximius, is spread over 2 months andwill be an excellent platform for buddingentrepreneurs to learn through insightfulstart up boot camp workshops,mentorship from NSRCEL and also getequity funding and incubationopportunities should they win thecompetition. The competition Disrupt-It aims to encourage and provideincubation opportunities and attractivecash prizes to start-ups that have thepotential to disrupt existing businessmodels in the industry.

Eximius will also host eminent speakerssuch as acclaimed historian and PadmaBhushan Awardee Dr. RamachandraGuha, renowned investor and brandingguru Mahesh Murthy and CEO and Co-founder of one of India’s most admirede-commerce firms Mukesh Bansal.

IIM Bangalore’s NationalEntrepreneurship Summit

Eximius 2015

ON THE AGENDA

From time immemorial business mergers andacquisitions have been generally viewed infinancial terms while the one big aspect that getsmost affected in such scenarios has always been

- people! As mergers and acquisitions bring togethercompanies of different scale, size and culture, theentire workforce undergoes an extensive yet unspokenturmoil of psychological, emotional and professionalanxiety. Mergers may bring about opportunities andthreats for both the organization and its people. Infact a KPMG study showed that 83 per cent ofmergers and acquisitions failed to produce anybenefits - and over half actually ended up reducingthe value of the companies involved. While on theother hand, for every eight failures, there is a casewhere both companies emerge stronger. Yet mergersand acquisitions are inevitable events in the life of abusiness and may take place owing to various reasonslike ensuring survival or a long term growth.

A recent report by PTI shared that over 190mergers and acquisitions (M&A) totalling to USD 2.27billion took place in India's technology sector sinceJanuary 2011 and the trend would continue to filltechnology gaps and talent requirements. This beingthe case of a single industrial sector one can only tryand imagine the scope of mergers and acquisitionsindustry wise and globally. Nevertheless, here we are

BY LIPI AGRAWAL KHANDELWAL

COVER STORY

A closer look at mergers and acquisitions from the HR lens, focusing on the issues

and concerns; and the vital role HR managers play in waiving off the insecurities and

anxieties while keeping all the weak links glued together

HR - thegluing agentin M&As

trying to focus on the fact that while it may seemlike a normal way of life for businesses, it poses greatchallenges for the people involved therein. Theyexperience various insecurities regarding roletransitions, cultural changes, existing vs. newworkplace policies and much more. What mayfinancially appear as a win-win situation at the tip,might be hiding a huge emotional and psychologicalchaos beneath. In situations like this, what is it thatkeeps the cart running?

The answer is simple. The guardian angels whocan bring respite in such situations of professionalcrisis and insecurity are - the HR managers! Needlessto say the role of HR becomes very crucial in suchtimes as they don different faces like that of acontroller, counsellor, legal expert, talent expert,grievance manager and a mentor while handlinganxieties regarding roles, responsibilities, workpolicies, appraisals and the changing organizationalculture.As Rajeev Dubey, President (HR & CorporateServices) & CEO (After-Market Sector), Mahindra &Mahindra Ltd shares, "HR plays an active role inensuring smooth transition and building connectbetween the acquired and the parent organization".

Navigating the new pathWhile the entire organization is busy addressing the



financial concernsand benefits in a

merger or an acquisition,HR needs to be the one

ensuring that the human issuesdon't get overlooked. That is why

HR needs to take up variousresponsibilities right from the beginning

of a merger or acquisition and even postthat. Dubey explains this as, "The process

of a merger or an acquisition is usually veryintense. Certain key strategic value drivers are

carefully examined before a decision is made andhuman capital is one of the central value drivers in

this exercise. Hence, it becomes critical that HR isinvolved right from the beginning and across allphases of M&A such as pre-deal planning, targetcompany evaluations, due diligence and post-mergerintegration".Strengthening the same idea, Pooja Gupta,SVP - Human Resource, Myntra, suggests, "I wouldrecommend that HR be brought into the process asearly as possible".

To make an organization and its peopleexperience a smooth ride during and after a mergeror acquisition, the roles that HR needs to take up inthe different phases can be broadly categorised undera few heads, as Mangesh Bhide, Technology HRHead, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd elaborates, "At eachof the stages of a merger or an acquisition, the roleof HR evolves from being an administrative expert, tobeing a legal expert and then transitioning into thatof a change management expert and last but not theleast, as a counsellor for employees as well as ashrink for the management".

Here's a closer look at the sensitive focus areasthat call for both attention and action from humanresources during the different phases of mergers andacquisitions.

Cultural analysisTo avoid any conflicts beforehand, it is verycrucial to map the cultures, and take into accountany differences that may affect the two organizationsinvolved in a merger and acquisition. Sharing insightsfrom the Myntra Flipkart merger, Gupta explains, "Animportant part of the due diligence is around thecultural tenets of the merging organizations. Trying toforce fit divergent cultures is hard and requires muchmore thinking and managing. In our case, thecommon DNA - an entrepreneurial spirit and highbias for action in transparent, non-hierarchical andmeritocratic ways - helped the process immensely".

Since culture forms the most sensitive aspect ofany organization, and when handled inefficientlyduring mergers can be the cause of a sink in trustboth internally and externally, it calls for carefulmeasures to control conflicts. Dubey says, "The roleof HR leadership begins with assessing the culture ofthe target company. This can be done bydisaggregating culture into assessing managementpractices and HR practices. This will throw up anycultural and organizational differences that need tobe kept in mind".

Talent assessment and distributionThe talent needs undergo a significant change whenmergers or acquisitions take place. Tough decisionshave to be taken at times, if the organization goesthe rightsizing or the downsizing way. Even otherwiseHR should do a talent assessment before anymanpower repurposing. For forecasting the mostrelevant talent distribution strategies, it is also veryimportant to gauge talent capabilities as required bythe parent company. As Dubey suggests, "A broadtalent scan can be done in the initial stage whichinvolves evaluating people on various parametersincluding their capabilities, leadership style, and their

COVER STORY

organization/HR would take to help them achieve thesame. On the other hand, HR needs to convey theemployee concerns to the top management showingthem the real picture from the ground level, makingthem aware of the impact of their decisions on theemployees and how that affects productivity andoverall organizational growth. In this regard, Dubeyadvises, "HR has to work towards building credibilityof the parent company in the eyes of the employeesof the acquired entity. Communicating the employeevalue proposition over a period of time withreiteration of key messages helps to build employeetrust and maximizes employee awareness to createbuy-in. Having identified the right mix of mediums tocommunicate, HR can also ensure that the messagingfrom all stakeholders is clear and consistent".

Connecting all stakeholdersHR in such times acts as the connecting thread notonly for the top management and the staff but alsobecomes an active voice of all other stakeholders. AsBhide elaborates, "By being sensitive to the voice ofemployees and simultaneously being the voice ofmanagement, HR also needs to ensure that dueregard is given to the voice of customers. Ultimatelyby taking care of these three HR can also becognizant of the voice of investors, which altogethermakes a business streamlined and conflict-free".

Post-merger counsellingThe role of HR develops into a more important onepost-merger, as that is when employees need a lot ofmentoring, support and sometimes even a bit ofhand-holding to help them settle in their new roles,culture and work-groups. "Post the merger, HR's roleis to do an in-depth talent scan to understand seniormanagers and key contributors. The role post-mergeralso involves mentoring and coaching", says Dubey.

Summing upThough mergers and acquisitions are no child's play,if the financial aspects are balanced out well with anequal focus on the human aspects, organizations cansurely crack the best out of them. For this balancingact, it is the human resources that holds the skills tobring about harmony and contentment amongst thetwo joining organizations. However the complexitiesin bringing together two organizations are such thatHR needs to be very sensitive and yett actful enoughto get things into place without getting their handsburnt in doing so. There could not be a better wayto sum it up than quoting the words of Bhide, as hesays, "Considering the complications, sensitivities andvarious internal and external factors playing parts,transitions in mergers and acquisitions can be seen asequivalent to 'getting married and getting divorced'because while you're getting ready to welcomesomeone and surrender to someone, in some casesyou're also letting go of people whiletrying tomaintain your sobriety and finesse!"

COVER STORY

compatibility with the parent company". For furtherrightsizing or redistributing people among new rolesor levels, Bhide explains, "There may be cases of roletransitions or structural changes where HR shouldcommunicate to the employee about the repurposingof manpower into revised bands by virtue of (a)assessment centres, (b) tests and interviews, and (c)training and development. By doing this HR canensure they are giving enough chance to people. Insuch cases HR also needs to do a lot of sensitiveexpectations setting".

Proactive communicationOften during mergers, employees start thinking abouttheir positions in the merged organization or outsidethe same which leads to increasing anxieties and adrop in productivity. This is when HR needs to beproactive in fending off these insecurities throughtransparent and timely communication about thechanges that are about to take place. In this regardBhide says, "HR as a change-management expertneeds inclusive communication that tells theemployees as to what is in it for them, why is theorganization taking those decisions, what are theexternal factors that are making the organization takesuch a decision, what will the new management orhierarchies look like and how will that impact them".

Providing people a clear picture beforehandprovides them the much required comfort amongstthe anxieties and builds trust in the organization.Sharing what Myntra and Flipkart did for ensuring aclear and credible communication to employees,Gupta says, "It is important for HR to understandand communicate the intent driving the merger. Forus, understanding that the merger was driven bytrust and mutual respect and as a strategic choicefor both parties was very important in setting theright context. From providing information andcontext to planning and ensuring things don't fallthrough the gaps, especially in terms of employeeimpact to playing the role of a sounding board andlistening to people's anxieties - and finally to hand-holding through the process - HR had a key role toplay throughout".

Bridging the staff and managementWhen two organizations come together or when oneis taken over by the other, the biggest fear that loomson its people is the insecurity regarding their roles oreven worse, the fear of losing out on their jobs. Insuch times, not just the productivity gets hamperedbut organizations even risk losing great talent toapprehensions, if not for appropriate counselling andguidance regarding future roles.This further requiresHR to communicate effectively with employees, havingone on one discussions to understand their fears,helping waive off any unnecessary insecurities,showing them a future growth path and letting themunderstand the various measures that the


COVER STORY


What are the different kinds ofinsecurities employees faceduring M&As and how does

HR manage the same?Needless to say, during mergers oracquisitions, emotional upheavals,especially amongst the employees ofthe acquired organisation, createdifferent kinds of insecurities during theintegration phase, some of which are:� Leadership change: Employeesmay have apprehensions about thepermanency of their leadership teamand about the changes in the hierarchy� Job security: One of the biggest fearspeople face� Compensation & benefits:Employees may have questions onwhether their salary structure wouldremain the same� Organizational culture & bestpractices: There could be uncertaintywith respect to the new organization'swork culture and continuity of somebest practices� What's in it for me: One would liketo know how he/she would benefitfrom this acquisition. Will the changebring growth and development foremployees or will it be people agnostic.Will there be opportunities forpromotion or will it lead to roledilution?

HR plays a crucial role in creating a'culture of trust' between the acquiredcompany and the acquiring companyand this can be a major factor inmaking or breaking the merger/acquisition.

How does HR bridge the cultural gapsin a cross - cultural/ethnicity/national merger or acquisition?HR plays the pivotal role of an enablerand facilitator in ensuring that a smoothcommunication process is establishedbetween the two companies. It is criticalthat HR considers the unique strengthsthat each party brings to the table. Also,understanding the cultural gapespecially when dealing with companiesacross geographies and sensitising thesenior management on how to evolvecertain people strategies which willresult in a smoother transition helpsstreamline the integration. This can bedone by integrating cultures by creatingteams comprising members from bothcompanies to work on short -termprojects to yield quick results, rather

than a prescriptive workshop listing thedos & don'ts. HR should move swiftly tobuild this trust and cooperation.

How does HR handle sensitive situationslike hierarchical/ structural changes,downsizing and global mobility?The most critical activity in the first 100days is for the parent organization to'build bridges' between the two entitiesand agree on certain criticalinterventions to make the mergersuccessful. These involve large scalerestructuring or sometimes just smallchanges. Regardless of the magnitude ofthe intervention, HR needs to beequipped with a robust communicationplan to get all concerned stakeholdersaligned so that the transition is smooth.It is extremely essential for all situationsto be handled by HR in a forthright,open and transparent manner.Counselling sessions, On-site HRpresence and participative focusedgroup discussions can also help tosensitively handle these situations.

What role does HR play in handlingchange-management?HR has four distinct roles in handlingchange management� Preparing for change by assessing itsimpact and getting seniormanagement's support� Planning for change and setting up achange management structure� Implementing the change byassessing change readiness andthereafter standardizing only those HRprocesses that are adaptable to bothcultures while retaining sufficient degreeof flexibility� Sustaining the change by developinga culture to embed that change,measure progress and plan correctiveactions - an important part of thiswould include identifying change agentsbuilding a network that can make a realdifference in breaking down resistanceacross the organization, engaging andinspiring the organization to embracethe needed change.

More and more communication isthe key enabler for HR while activelypursuing change management.Communication - that is largely focusedon actively listening, connecting with theemployees and handling the wholechange management process withsensitivity and tact. �

Experts Speak

CREATING A

'CULTURE OF

TRUST'

In conversation withRajeev Dubey, President(HR & Corporate Services) & CEO(After-Market Sector), Mahindra &Mahindra

How does the role of an HRprofessional evolve in thedifferent phases of M&As?

M&As bring about dynamic situationsthat make the role of HR ever evolving,beginning as administrative experts,moving on to being a legal expert thentransitioning into a change managementexpert and then as a counsellor foremployees as well as a shrink for themanagement.

While administrative experts prepareall the data related to people and theacquired company or the employeestherein, the legal expert takes care of allthe rules and laws that need to beabided by. The role of a change-management expert requires the abilityto communicate in a way that's inclusivewhile answering the questions of allemployees regarding the decisionsorganization takes. This role requiresHR professionals to proactively reachout to employees taking care of theiranxieties.

What are the different kinds ofinsecurities employees face duringM&As and how does HR manage thesame?Here are a few insecurities thatemployees face during mergers andacquisitions:� Fear of being laid off - Losing a job isthe greatest taboo in our society and theconcern most employees face iswhether their transition will be managedcarefully, whether it will be made publicor will it be taken care of discreetly andif being laid off, how would thecompany ensure that the employees'next prospect is not compromised.� Financial insecurity - It arisesfollowed by a fear of being laid off. Incases when an employee has to bedismissed of their duties, theorganization could extend somesupport by keeping the employee on itspayroll for an extended duration saythee to six months till the employeesecures another job. HR needs to setsuch propositions with themanagement, ensuring a win-winsituation for both thereby securing thefuture possibility of having the samepeople back on-board when need be.� Insecurity regrading role transition -During hierarchical changes, employeesfear having to be accommodated a level

or two below their existing positions.Here, HR needs to help employeesunderstand their position in theorganizational matrix, showing them acareer growth path, ensuring fulfilmentdespite the change in hierarchy.

How does HR handle structuralchanges, downsizing and globalmobility?In times of downsizing, one has to takeinto account the 'survival syndrome'.When HR decides to let go of somepeople based on certain businessdecisions, they should also be able toforesee that employees who are notpart of that list and have beenconsistently performing well, also beginfeeling insecure as they tend to projectsimilar consequences for themselves.This may lead to confusion amongstthe better performing lot andorganizations may lose on their muchsought after talent. In such scenarios,HR needs to have two sets ofcommunication clearly laid out - one tothe employees who are to be laid offand another to those who need to beretained. For efficiently managingglobal mobility, HR needs to initiatecultural sensitization programs forpeople moving to different locations.For employees travelling abroad to takeup new roles, it is critical for them to beaware of the cultural norms andsettings to be able to better adapt to thenew location.

What role does HR play in change-management?With a sensitive, proactive andtransparent approach to all employeeconcerns and anxieties and acting as atactful bridge between themanagement and the staff, HR canensure that a merger or an acquisitionbrings together the two companies inthe most harmonious ways. It is exactlylike 'getting married and gettingdivorced' because be it welcoming newpeople and surrendering to someoneor letting go of some people, it all hasto be managed with sobriety andfinesse! �

Note: The views expressed herein aresolely of the spokesperson and not of hisorganization.

Experts Speak

M&As ARE

LIKE 'GETTING

MARRIED AND

GETTING

DIVORCED'

In conversation withMangesh Bhide, Technology HRHead, Reliance Jio Infocomm

COVER STORY


Experts Speak

COVER STORY


How does the role of an HRprofessional evolve in thedifferent phases of M&As?

During mergers and acquisitions nomatter whether the organization is abuyer or the one taken over, humanresources from both sides have acrucial role to play. HR not only helpssail through a lot of people challengesas the process unfolds, it also keepseverything held together in times ofconfusion and crisis. I recommendthat HR be brought into the processas early as possible. In case of Myntraand Flipkart, it was the common DNA- an entrepreneurial spirit and a highbias for action in transparent, non-hierarchical and meritocratic waysthat helped streamline the processimmensely.

It is also important for HR tounderstand and communicate theintent driving the merger. For us,understanding that the merger wasdriven by trust and mutual respectand as a strategic choice for bothentities was very important in settingthe right context.

What are the various insecuritiesemployees face during such times andhow can HR balance out the same?In spite of the mutual trust, it ishowever natural for people to bearcertain insecurities during a merger.There is a lot of uncertainly aboutrole parity and role redundancy in thenew scheme of things and HR canplay an important role incommunicating clearly how things willget mapped in the new environment.Open communication about both thepositives and even the challengesahead is always much appreciated. Ifpossible, building early connectsbetween groups that will need to worktogether helps in creating trust.

Communication from theleadership across both organizationsto show their commitment to themerger is most importantly thebinding agent and HR can sensitizeleaders to the importance of bothformal and informal and continuouscommunication through this period.In our case, both Myntra and Flipkartleaders addressed employees togetherfrom a common platform and helpedanswer employee queries with

consistent messages. This helpedpeople approach the merger withmore confidence.

How can HR bridge the culturalgaps in cross-cultural M&As?HR plays a critical role in managingcultural changes and in helpingpeople adapt to them. Culture isabout the tangible and intangible waysin which things get done. Makingthese known to people, organizingsharing sessions in small groupsacross both entities, creating commonrituals, ensuring leaders role-modeldesirable behaviours and sensitisingpeople to different ways of living andworking are helpful in binding folksover time.

How does HR handle situations suchas structural changes or downsizing?All tough decisions such as forstructural/hierarchical changes or anydownsizing decisions should becommunicated in clear, transparentways so everybody understands whythey need to be taken. Swift buthumane action is helpful in ensuringresentment does not linger. Gettingbusiness leaders involved to ensurethe rationale for decisions isextremely important. Also, keepingcommunication channels open andanswering any questions (especiallythe hard ones) that people have ontheir minds, helps. Providingspecialized support whether throughhelping outplacement or careercounselling also helps.

How important is it for HRprofessionals to be able to commu-nicate well alongside acceptingemployee feedback in such times?Itis very important for HRprofessionals to have a deepunderstanding of the businessrationale for the organization andpeople decisions; and to be able tocommunicate those effectively. It isimportant to be transparent andhonest about both the pluses and thechallenges in the way forward. Abelief in the commitment to tackleissues and resolve them is moreeffective than painting an unrealisticpicture or remaining vague aboutthings as people's careers areinvolved. HC

A MERGER

DRIVEN BY

TRUST AND

MUTUAL

RESPECT

In conversation withPooja Gupta, SVP - HR, Myntra


Is HR losing its‘human’ aspect?

In a world that is increasingly becoming automated, a blend of technology

and human touch can help HR to manage their quantitative information and

'human capital' more effectively.

Helps in a more focused connection withpeopleOrganizations are becoming increasingly complex and aregoing through a huge cultural transformation with arising global workforce and increasing customerdemands. Businesses need to continuouslyinnovate and make smart decisions in orderto stay ahead in the market in terms of talent,and service delivery. Herein arises the needfor sophistication and technologyintervention in one of the most vitalcorporate functions - Human Resources.With the growing need to hire better talentand retain the existing valued resources, it isvital to aggregate, understand, and use data in amuch more scientific manner.In modern-day enterprises, decision making is absolutelydata-dependent; and HR Analytics is the new way ofmanaging global talent recruitment, creating successfulemployee engagement programs and charting outemployee career paths. Moreover, datafication isinstrumental in equipping employees across levels to makequicker decisions. Gradually organizations are finding itdifficult to rely on instinct or manually keep track of theever evolving potential and existing talent base, along withorganizational best practices. Hence datafication of HR isinevitable. Analytics driven data, specifically predictive analytics model,actually helps in a more focused connection with people.The employee connect process is also changing from"connecting with everyone and keeping everyone happy"to "focused connect with people, understanding differentlevels of expectations and accordingly tailoring actions toachieve results". This provides the decision makers withthe business intelligence required to drive change as well.

Does not deprive the HR function of thehuman essenceDatafication does not deprive the human resources

function of the human essence. Companies now aremigrating from transactional to a relationship

based approach. Datafication with the help ofbig data and analytics assist companies in

this migration.According to a survey conducted by Harrispoll and released by CareerBuilder, morethan 20% of the 2,000 hiring managers andHR professionals surveyed reported having

replaced workers with automatedtechnologies. Of the 68% of companies that

have substituted automation processes for staffsay they've also created new positions as a result

of new workplace technologies and 35% of companiesreported creating more jobs than they had been prior toautomation.Data analytics in HR is extremely vital in developingstrategies, forecasting and minimizing risks. Storage,analysis, and utilization of data in the right manner yieldsbusiness growth and efficiency. It gives insight to each ofthe specific units attached to the employee life cycle.However, we can achieve the desired outcome in the bestpossible form, when it is executed by incorporating the'human' element in it.HR professionals need to realize the value of the analyzeddata and should be well versed in utilizing it. Effectiveutilization of the analyzed information is beneficial forachieving the HR goals and company's vision. Humaninteraction will never be replaced unless we have peopleworking in organizations and not robots. It will always bea part of the process.

AASHISH KALRAChairman - Cambridge TechnologyEnterprises

Aashish Kalra is the Chairman of CambridgeTechnology Enterprises. He is a pioneering equityinvestor in Technology, Infrastructure, Real Estate,Energy, Logistics and Hospitality. Initially, at CTELLC, Aashish Kalra was also one of the co-founders of Cambridge/Samsung Partners, one ofthe earliest independent venture capital firm.

Ramaswamy Kavalapara is a human resourcesgeneralist with 26 years of experience in all

areas of HR, including exposure to globallocations. He specializes in resource

management, C&B design & Implementation,organization realignment during M&A, cost

optimization strategies.

BY SANNITA CHAKRABORTY SAHA

DEBATE

RAMASWAMY KAVALAPARAHead - Human Resources

Xchanging-APAC


Luxury industry:A budding career option

The Indian luxury industry isgrowing exponentially. Withsuch a high magnitude

growth, study suggests that by theyear 2022, Indian Luxury Products& Services Segment will berequiring manpower to the countof 1.76 million heads. With theever burgeoning retail sector andthe myriad number ofinternational brands entering orexpanding their base in India,there is a considerable need fortrained professionals in the luxuryretail and service sector.

Any industry that you work in,it is always admirable when youwork your way from the bottomup. It is possible to put a spin onwhatever position you currentlyhold but the luxury industryrequires a different spin from thatin finance or any other. It will beimpossible to break into the luxurysector, having never hadexperience in it before.

Working for a luxury brandrequires a certain attitude. Onehas to be well educated, wellbehaved, always look good andhave a passion for excellence. Oneneeds to know and like theproducts one sells. Promotingthem has to be something oneenjoys. Advising someone on whatto wear requires creativity andimagination. Besides, one needs todevelop good inter-relational skills-one will spend your daysinteracting with people so onebetter inspire confidence.

Being a good listener andhaving customer service awareness

BY ABHAY GUPTA

Abhay Gupta is the Founder & CEO of Luxury ConnectBusiness School, India's first and only Luxury B school.

HC

CAREER MANAGEMENT

working in this field to set a highstandard of maintaining goodquality customer relations andefficient time management skills.

However, this sector alsopossesses its own set of challenges.One of the key challenges that theLuxury Industry is facing in theemerging markets is shortage ofskilled personnel who hasexposure or dedicated knowledgein Luxury. The existing manpowerlacks in professional expertise andat times is unable to maintain thestandards of a luxury brand.Opportunities are many timesmore than the supply! Poaching isrampant, which creates a drilldown affect further resulting in ahigh employee turnover rate.

Hence there is a considerableneed to train professionals andspecially prepare them for theluxury retail & service sector.

The big question today is willthe luxury industry be able tomeet the need? How does one getinto the luxury industry? What arethe key skills required to make acareer in this industry?

With the ever burgeoning retailsector and the myriad number ofinternational brands entering orexpanding their base in theemerging markets, there is aconsiderable need for trainedprofessionals in the luxury retailand service sector.

Come make a career in thislucrative and challenging industry!

is the most important. Having astrong personality is alsomandatory as one will be workingfor customers with strongpersonalities.

A brand wants people withambition, determination and acareer drive, besides loving theirjob. People with strong academicbackground are always preferredso do not neglect studies.Mastering two languages includingEnglish will always give you anedge. Most famous fashion brandsare international and one mayneed to interact with people inother countries. Since Luxury

Career optionsManagement: Brand Manager, GeneralManager, Regional Manager, Design Head,Country Head, and Asia Head

Backend: Logistics Head

Operations: Marketing Manager, CreativeManager, Finance Manager,Merchandiser, and Distributor

Front-end: Area sales Manager, StoreManager, Sales ambassador, Customerrelations' manager, Sales Staff

brand management involves a highlevel of customer interaction, thosewith a natural flair for networkingespecially with the corporate classand the ability to build up arapport with key decision makerswill do well for themselves in thisindustry. Luxury houses possesszero tolerance for anything that isbelow average or of low quality.Thus it is essential for an individual


INTERVIEW

S

Fosteringfaith in Syntellers

the clients, Syntel harnesses on passion, talent, andinnovation to reach its goals. While the company worksdedicatedly to create the right environment to reach itsgoals, its employees strive to deliver quality that exceedstheir customers' expectations through dedication andpassion for work.

In an already established Indian ITes market, how hasSyntel continued to leverage the power of its global

yntel, a global information technology servicesand knowledge process outsourcing company,believes that its people are its most valuable asset.With a mission, to create new opportunities for


Human Capital in conversation with Rakesh Khanna, Chief Operating Officer, US-

listed IT firm Syntel, on the organization's human resource strategy, its hiring

practices and how its philosophy of 'Acquire, Nurture and Grow' has been weaved in

to the very core of its existence. He dwells in to the organization's talent management

initiatives and what it takes to be a 'preferred' company for employees.

brand name to position itself as a preferred employerin this sector?As a global organization, Syntel has institutionalized aunique innovation process to deliver tangible businessresults to all our customers on every engagement -Syntelovation®. Syntelovation is part of our DNA, andour employees have generated hundreds of ideas anddeployed game-changing services, components and toolsthat have delivered cost savings and new efficiencies forour customers.At Syntel, we tell our prospective employees to "ComeGrow with Us." That's not just a slogan - many of ourleaders that are responsible for multimillion dollar


businesses got their start as Syntelcampus hires. Based on theirperformance, they moved upthrough the ranks to become VPs,Department Heads, and BusinessUnit Heads. We also have a highpercentage of recruits coming to usas referrals, which is an indicator ofhappy employees that have referredtheir family and friends to Syntel.

There are tremendousopportunities for employees tocontribute and grow in thiscompetitive global environment. Weencourage our employees to beflexible, acquire the latest skills,provide stretch roles, training inputsto avail of these unique opportunitiesfor growth and learning. All of thiscontributes to Syntel's status as apreferred employer.

In a time, when the ITes is not reallyat its helm as it used it be a decadeback, what kinds of challenges haveemerged over the years whilesourcing talent and retainingthem?The IT and KPO service industry ishighly competitive and fragmented.The evolving industry standards, too,adds to the volatility of the sector.The business space in IT and BPM

INTERVIEW

space is undergoing a radical changeand a fundamental shift.

Cost arbitrage, which was themover and shaker of this industry,has been thrown in the backburner.The "value add" to customer hasstarted driving growth, and themindset of growing by cost arbitragehas become passé. We are on thecusp of a digital revolution and thetransformation of the old mindset isone of the biggest challenges for allHR pros. The new businessenvironment will require new sets oftechnical, domain and behaviouralskills. The challenge will be to multi-skill and cross skill employees toremain relevant and competitive inthe changing environment.

The IT and KPO space has grownby 13-15 per cent CAGR for the last10 years, and finding top talent hasbeen the perennial challenge for allenterprises. Hiring from campusesboth in India and onsite geographiesand grooming them into technologyand business roles will continue tobe the primary strategy for buildingand retaining talent.

Many leaders in this space havegrown rapidly with the industrygrowth, but have not acquiredleadership competencies for the next

generation of growth. This iscurrently the biggest challenge forthe industry. Concurrently,succession planning and leadershippipeline will become a majorchallenge to fuel growth.

Tell us about Syntel's philosophyof Acquire, Nurture and Grow. Howhas it been ingrained in theworkforce?Our vision, strategy and values whichresonate with our stakeholders arealigned to our philosophy of"Acquire, Nurture, and Grow." Thisphilosophy is embedded in our talentengagement model and is gaugedannually though out Syntel EmployeeEngagement Survey (SEEQ).

AcquireAt Syntel we believe in unique valuepropositions and lasting relationshipswith clients and employees alike. Weseek out the right talent and the rightmindset among candidates. Careerprogression and a role-based growthstrategy is laid out from the start forour employees. We invest inemployees and encourage them togrow with the organization whilemaintaining a good work-lifebalance. Our philosophy of openness

INTERVIEW

Rakesh has over 26 years of experience in the technology

services industry and has held a variety of leadership roles

in North America, Europe and Asia. He is guided in his

passion for his work by the philosophy of Peter Drucker, who

once wrote "The purpose of a company is to create a

customer. The only profit center is the customer." He joined

Syntel in 2005 from i-flex solutions where he was part of the

leadership team and he spent 10 years in various roles.

Prior to his work at i-flex solutions, Khanna worked with Tata

Burroughs Limited where he managed projects in the US,

UK, Belgium, Malaysia and India for several banks and

financial groups, including BACOB Savings Bank (Brussels),

Nat West, Skipton, Yorkshire

Building Societies (UK),

GWB, and Tata Share

Registry (TSRL). He

holds a B.E. (Mechanical

Engineering) from

Victoria Jubilee

Technical Institute

(VJTI) and an M.B.A.

(Marketing) from

NMIMS, Mumbai. He is

an active member of

the Academic Council

and Board of Studies

for IT, NMIMS.

“ At Syntel, we fully embrace change and

recognize it as essential to thrive and grow

as an organization. To keep pace with the

rapidly changing business world, modern HR

functions need to implement adaptable and

flexible talent management strategies.”Rakesh Khanna | Chief Operating Officer | Syntel

and transparent communication goes a longway in building a deeper bond with ouremployees.

NurtureWe have a holistic approach to nurture talentwithin Syntel right from the induction stage.Employees are given a clear view of theirlearning roadmap to prepare them forgrowth. We also establish learning pathwaysto help employees understand the pre-requisites of their career path in Syntel. Thishelps them benefit from our in-houseleadership and development initiatives. Weprovide a platform to learn and develop inbehavioral, technical and leadership skills. Weuse simulations, online and classroomtraining to groom our employees.� Employees get Knowledge Bytes onindustry specific information to bring an all-encompassing growth path - through learninginitiatives and self-learning mode� Employees are a part of KnowledgeFridays, an informal session for smallergroups in the organization� Our culture of innovation andoptimization encourages employees tonurture technical expertise, process maturity,best practices, and continuous improvementthrough Syntelovation.� Health and wellness initiatives like SynFitbring lifestyle changes, and have beenspecifically designed to improve the wellbeingof our employees.

Grow� Syntel Talent Engagement Program (STEP)- Includes setting targets, providing timelyfeedback and developing team members,while allowing us to prepare our successionplan.� Succession Planning - An exercise toidentify leaders. Succession planning is alignedwith STEP and creates a roadmap in theindividual development plan.� Surge & Altitude - An in-house careermanagement approach and practice. It is anobjective approach by conducting multi-method, multi-rater, multi-trait assessmentfor career progression.

Being an employee - centric organization,what kinds of interventions and HRprogram have been designed to create anemployee friendly atmosphere?At Syntel, our standards of performancedelivery and customer orientation are high.With offices on four continents, Syntel hiresand nurtures people from the local talent


Knowing Rakesh Khanna

pool. Employees are alsodeputed to other regions tomaintain a multi-culturalworkforce, which gives everycandidate a fair chance tosucceed - irrespective of hisinstitute ratings. It has alsoencouraged socio-culturalequality, gender equality andequal opportunity for challengedindividuals.

At Syntel, we understand thatit is critical for employees to behealthy, happy and positive. Ourhealth and wellness missionfollows "three E's" for a holisticlifestyle - Empower, Enable andEnrich. The Empower seriescreates awareness aboutunderlying preventive healthcareissues like cancer awareness,diabetes and self-defense. TheEnable series offers courses onyoga, meditation while theEnrich series encourages alternativetherapies such as music and arts -all with the view to create a happy,healthy, enthusiastic workforce.

Another effective channel is theCEO Connect initiative that connectsSyntel's CEO with every employeethrough frequent emailcommunications. This enables ourCEO to share a vision for thecompany, as well as to shareachievements and other milestonesat both an individual and anorganizational level. Employees canalso use this platform to interact withour corporate leaders and the CEO.

Further, employees who displaySyntel's values and integrity arerecognized through the Achiever'sClub - our reward and recognitionprogram. From Syntel's perspective,personal and corporate integrity aretwo sides of the same coin. Webelieve that integrity is binary andunconditional, and there is zerotolerance for a lack of integrity atSyntel.

How does Syntel source its talentamidst so much of talent crunchworldwide? What has been your rolein managing talent at Syntel?As Jack Welch said: "If the rate ofchange on the outside exceeds therate of change on the inside, the end

is near."At Syntel, we fully embrace

change and recognize it as essentialto thrive and grow as anorganization. To keep pace with therapidly changing business world,modern HR functions need toimplement adaptable and flexibletalent management strategies.

The key to success in sourcing insuch circumstances is taking adiversified approach with the rightmix of tools and strategies. Synteluses what I could describe as a "fork"approach to source talent. We havea dedicated Talent Sourcing teamspread over geographies thatengages with talent in the externalmarket using both conventional andunconventional channels. This teamidentifies talent with the skills thatwe are hiring for and invites them tothe discussion table.

The business and technicalleadership also contributes bypersonally contributing to the searchprocess. Today, talent sourcing is acandidate's market. Good peoplewant to work with great people. Veryoften, it is the business or technicalmanager who has the bestinformation about the skills andexperience that a new person canget in the company. So, ourleadership works closely with the

recruitment function to identifyand engage with candidates.

As part of the leadershipteam, I often address theemployees at the Syntel townhall meetings. The town hall is aforum where employees can askquestions and clarify queries onfuture plans and newinterventions. Questions areaddressed immediately andwherever action is required, theleaders and their teams takenote and reach out to individualemployees.

As an employeeengagement initiative, weorganized #MeettheCOOcampaign. This allowed Syntelemployees to engage in a Twitterconversation with me ontechnology and innovation. Thecampaign was followed by ameeting in an informal setting.

The campaign helped me learn a lotabout Syntellers and their forward-looking approach to work andtechnology.

How have social media and micro-blogging sites such as Facebook,LinkedIn and Twitter helped insourcing talent across levels andage mixes? Are they really effectivesin comparison to traditionalmethods of hiring?Today, companies can target andapproach the right kind of talent -the type that fits perfectly with theirphilosophy, value and requirement.Social media engagement can helpemployers gauge a potentialcandidate's suitability for anopportunity at their organization.

Even as the traditional hiringmethods bring in a steady flow oftalent, the increasing focus onacquiring the right talent with theright mix of skills means they oftenfall short.

Social media and micro-bloggingsites increase the reach of recruitersto almost every potential candidatewho is a mobile user, whetheractively in the job market or not.The increased accessibility andgrowing trend of being on-the-gridmakes it easier to start conversationswith passive job seekers. Mobile

Sourcing talent at SyntelSyntel acquires its talent resources through a

number of different programs:

� MITR/SYNPALS - Employee referral

programs

� Syntellect - A

revolutionary

pan-India hiring

initiative

� Alumni Network

- Community of

former Syntel

employees

� Syntel Career

Accelerat ion

Engine (SCALE)/ IJPs - Provides employees

with an opportunity to apply for vacant

positions in different locations and other

teams, thus shaping their career paths

INTERVIEW



recruiting platforms provide anincredible brand value andvisibility, and have helped usbuild healthy relationships withcandidates and provided accessto a vast talent pool not availableto traditional hiring channels.

Social Media Analytics canaid head hunting by utilizinguser responses on the variousforums, message boards andsocial networking sites, even, forinstance, before a CV or resumeis uploaded. The sea ofinformation shared, uploadedand gathered from social mediachannels enables companies todraw a clear picture ofprospective applicants.However, the real power ofsocial media is yet to beexplored and will increasemultifold in the future.

How does the talent acquisitionteam at Syntel attract the mostvaluable and talentedcandidates across senior levels,especially when it is a hugechallenge to identify, process,convince and win candidatesin the face of competition?Syntel has positioned itself as astrong technology solutionprovider, with company growthrivaling or exceeding the entireindustry. However, Syntel has neverbeen the biggest. Instead, we focuson select industries and service lines,enabling us to deliver the bestpossible solutions to meet our clients'needs.

We believe in giving stretch rolesand fast track growth to our highpotential employees, based onperformance, competence andpotential, not on seniority. Most ofour senior leaders are groomed fromwithin the organization.Opportunities for larger roles thanwhat is available in industry are theUSP for attracting and retaining toptalent.

We consider leadershipdevelopment as an investment in thefuture growth of our company.Being part of the company'stransformation journey providesbusiness exposure and challenges

which attracts leadership talent.Syntel's global recruiting network

is enabled to attract and hiretechnical and domain experts andleaders as per our business strategiesand project needs, unencumberedby geography, culture and timezones.

At the leadership level, we have amodel where the recruitment andbusiness teams collaborate from thevery early stages of the search. Oncea requirement is identified, astructured step-by-step process kicksin, which involves pre-hiringbrainstorming by the business andrecruitment teams. For leadershiproles, we predominantly useLinkedIn to gain access to suitablecandidates. The delivery and businessteams step in early to start engagingwith good talent at the beginning ofthe discussion. These are multi-faceted discussions ranging from theopportunity, the work culture at

Syntel, to personal andprofessional growthopportunities.

This holistic collaborativestrategy to hire leadership hasresulted in a strong hiringpipeline at Syntel.

What is your assessment of theavailability of ready-to-hiretalent versus fresh talent in theIndian market? How often hasit influenced your hiringstrategies?In the face of resource crunchamongst lateral or ready-to-hiretalent, the Indian market isteeming with promising freshtalent. Although they may lackhands-on experience or theability to hit the ground running,they have a very high aptitudefor technology and motivationto innovate. It also gives us anincredible opportunity to investin our employees from the verybeginning. At Syntel, we giveparamount importance to theintake of fresh talent. We view itas a great opportunity to investin our employees from the verybeginning of their careers, tonurture their talent and abilities,and build a long lasting

relationship filled with possibilitiesand growth.

Syntel's strategy on taking freshtalent is predominantly guided by afew key factors, namely, giving anonline platform to every eligiblecandidate out there to be able toapply and explore a career with us.Our competitive advantage isachieved by using some of the mostcomprehensive and complexregression-based techniques to selectcandidates. We deploy amethodology of testing applicantsusing an online platform, and lateruse the results to regress withperformance in the company over athree, six, twelve and twentyfourmonths period. This allows us todevelop appropriate and scalablehiring processes.

At Syntel, the workforce is multi-generational, what kinds of talentmanagement initiatives have been

INTERVIEW

Values @ Syntel

Syntel is founded in integrity and focuses

on five core values, which play an important

role in defining the work and attitude of

every Synteller:

SIMPLE - Complex problems often have

simple solutions. Syntellers aim for solutions

that can be readily understood and executed

effectively.

SMART - Syntellers are bright, creative and

proactive. Smart people and innovative

ideas stand out.

SPEED - Syntellers demonstrate

responsiveness and act faster with flexibility,

keeping quality and costs in mind.

STRETCH - Every Synteller is encouraged

to rise beyond expectations, always raising

the bar and aiming for excellence.

SYNERGY - Syntellers know that the sum is

greater than the parts. Solve the problem

as a whole, not in isolation.


HC

designed to groom and engageyoung talent at various levels?Organizations today need to take aninnovative and effective approach totalent management.� Our flagship learning platform,Syntel University, enables broad-based skill and domain learning. Weanalyze business requirements anddemand forecasts to enable resourceup-skilling and cross-skilling throughSyntel University. Our programsintrinsically motivate employees toacquire new age and in-demandskills. In fact, we have trained over10,000 employees in Agile in lessthan two years.� STEP captures employees'individual contributions andperformance. Employees are askedto assess their own contributionsthrough the assessment period. Itmeasures demonstrated Syntelvalues and facilitates evaluationdiscussions between employees andmanagers.� The Syntel Young LeadersAcquisition & Management Program(SY-LAMP) helps acquire youngtalent from premier B-schools inIndia and coaches them through astructured nurturing program tohelp them evolve as changechampions.� The Syntel Personal Achievementthrough Competency Evaluation(SPACE) is our strategic initiative toprovide employees with a clearlydefined career path and focusedcareer opportunities.� Coaching and mentoring isessential to polish this learning, andSyntel has a structured need-basedcoaching and mentoring programwhich stems from the IndividualDevelopment Plan (IDP).� Syntel has internally developedthe concept of Internet of Learning,driving automation, gamification,digitization and social learningtraining methods. Syntel's Lab onCloud facilitates remote learning andallows our resources to up-skill andre-skill themselves in a simulatedenvironment.

Since the cost of losing a trainedon the job employee is huge forany organization. What are the

various retention policies andprogram at Syntel that helps inretaining top talent?We are a metrics-based company,which puts an emphasis onmanaging, measuring and rewardingemployees based on metrics. Thishelps everyone keep an eye on theball - on outcomes - and gives ourclients a superior deliveryexperience.

Besides clear opportunities forcareer growth and advancement,Syntel employees are encouraged toparticipate in meetings and focusgroup sessions with business leadersand team members.

In order to minimize attrition,Syntel has established severalprograms that aid in retention andboost employee satisfaction.� Compensation benchmarking,based on comprehensive marketresearch, competitor's pay structureanalysis and Syntel pay structure.� Training and continuouseducation with enhanced trainingplans that cover domain certification,e-learning, technical training and softskills.� Career progression programs likeSURGE - Syntel's CareerAcceleration Program.� Leadership training programssuch as Leadership EffectivenessAcceleration program (LEAP) - ablend of workshops, coaching andclassroom sessions.� Reward and recognitionprograms to applaud exceptionalperformers with special incentives tohelp attract and retain the best talent.� Structured skip level meetings andforums with our leadership team andHR business partners to freely voiceopinions and get an opportunity tounderstand and align to the strategicvision of the organization.� Onsite/Offshore RotationOpportunities: Syntel encouragesmoving its offshore employees anddeputing them onsite at agreedperiodic intervals, which providesopportunities for employees to workwith client business groups.

What kinds of training anddevelopment initiatives do youhave in place to train and develop

your people and ensure their careergrowth?Our Learning and DevelopmentTeam ensures employeescontinuously work on polishing theirtechnical skills and domainknowledge, which is critical to thesuccess of the organization. Syntel'sHR team designs coaching andtraining programs according to ourorganizational goals and possibleimpact. We offer various blendedlearning initiatives, which range fromin-class sessions to project work toonline discussion forums. To ensurelearning is a top-down approach anda more effective intervention, weinvolve managers as part of ouremployees' learning journeys.

Syntel has a multi-focusedtraining strategy which is deployedat different levels based on context,relevance and requirement. Some ofthese initiatives are:� Executive Coaching and Manageras Catalyst� Grooming & CommunicationAcademy� Sr. Manager Development:Building our senior managers toenhance operational excellence� Corporate Leadership programs:LEAP - Leadership developmentprograms run company-wide

We have various projects beingrun as part of leadership programsto sustain learning and ensureeffectiveness after the session.Calendar programs are plannedbased on the input collected throughappraisals, from clients, and frombusiness units.� Knowledge Group Sessions forgroups of like-minded professionals� Knowledge Bite Session: Quickknowledge bites on industry,leadership etc.� Know Your Business: Sessions forbusiness context and awareness� Blended learning with classroomtraining and mentoring, such as ourBuddy Programs for sustainedlearning and implementation

The HR team measures trainingeffectiveness through pre- and post-training assessments, cognitiveassessments, feedback from reportingmanagers, client feedback and three-month error tracking report.

INTERVIEW


Tdevelopment of the web. The controversybetween the two learning designs has goneon since the start with both sides having itsdevoted advocates.

Some individuals thrive in a self-paceddistant setting while others depend on theassistance of the trainer. Every learner oughtto have a general plan or learning style thatclosely fits his or her own skills

Blended Learning (BL) is a term used todescribe the way online learning (e-learning)is combined with traditional classroommethods (Instructor-led learning) andindependent study.

Instructor-led learning (IL) has stood thetest of time with educational institutions andorganizations still prefer it due to its own

he issue of selection betweenthe conventional classroominstructor-led learning and theself-paced e-learning has beensteady ever since the appearanceof computers and the

Some individuals thrive in a self-paced distant setting while others

depend on the assistance of the trainer. Every learner ought to have a

general plan or learning style that closely fits his or her own skills.

Blended learning:Are we ready for it?

BY V RAVI

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

merits and compliances.Online Learning (OL) is also known as e-

learning or computer based learning haspicked up well during the last decade and halfdue to extensive use of computers.

Here is a fictitious conversation betweenadvocators of IL and OL initially eachdefending and questioning the efficacy of thetheir own learning systems with the advocatefor BL joining later in the merit of having ablended approach to ensure that the learneris better engaged and is driving his/herindividual learning experience.IL: I don't understand why there is a need forhaving e-learning, the fact that the classroomlearning still is relevant since time immemorial.It allows you to teach employees in a safe,quiet, clean environment, away from the noiseand pressures of the work area. Besides, theclassroom environment provides theimportant "human touch," which is oftenmissing in technology-based training.OL: E learning is the in-thing now. It is



possible in e-learning? In fact, it ispossible to tailor a course todifferent sets of learners- beginnersor advanced the latter who canskim over it and concentrate thattime on something feel need towork more at. Everyone is able tolearn at their own pace.IL: A lot of questions are easilyanswered when face to face withsomeone when you can guaranteean instant answer. E-learning oftendoesn't allow that with trainers oftenhaving to answer numerousquestions all of the time and onlydoing it within working hours -where a lot of learners may preferto do their learning out of workinghours. This feeling of isolation canoften demotivate individuals. In aclass room set up, they feel, theyhave the necessary support andreassurance that the physicalpresence of a trainer provides.OL: But since you aren't using a

more flexible - e-learning can bedone in short chunks of time thatcan fit around one's daily schedule.For class room training you need topull employees off the job, whichcuts into work time and productionschedules. While I agree that theclassroom environment isconducive to focused learning, it'salso removed from the equipment,processes, and materials thatemployees actually use on the job.Lack of hands-on experience isfrequently an obstacle to adultlearning.IL: But group interaction enhanceslearning. Employees learn from oneanother as well as from the trainer.The group setting also teachesemployees how to interact with oneanother in a professional,productive, cooperative way, whichis something e-learning doesn'toften provide.OL: As e-learning can be done on

laptops, tablets and phones - it is avery mobile method. Learning canbe done on the train, on a plane orany other time that could normallybe wasted. Whilst you used to beconfined to the classroom, thewhole world can now be yourclassroom. Group learning can stillhappen without anyone needing totravel, saving money on the costsof travel and accommodation forexternal courses.IL: In e-learning, there is lack ofcontrol. For, learners with lowmotivation tend to fall behind whenusing e-learning as there are no settimes to be doing it. Moreover, itdoesn't appeal to all learning styles-so some learners will not enjoy theexperience. Some may preferimages, some prefer just readingwords and some prefer to talk aboutor actually do a task in order tolearn.OL: Why do you think this is not


with the learning. This is going toincrease the costs. With heavyreliance on computers that e-learning brings, comes the potentialrisks that comes with it. You need toensure that all learners have a devicethat is able to support the trainingmodule to be set out at thebeginning. Poor Internet connectionand unavoidable random faults alsocan interrupt learning.BL: Wait minute gentlemen! I havebeen listening to your arguments. Letme propose a learning method thatprovides an integrated platform foronline and face to face learning, thatcan leverage the merits and delimitthe demerits of the two.IL: This could only lead to confusion!There could be lack of a firmframework to encourage students tolearn. When compared to the face-to-face learning, the learning processis less efficient. Too many cooks spoilthe broth. A high level of self-discipline or self-direction isrequired.OL: I agree with IL. There is theneed for the learner to be activelyinvolved in learning through both thesystems, and increased lead-timerequired for feedback. More overwhere does he have time for bothwhen we have challenges in his takinge learning or the class room trainingdue to other priorities.BL: I understand. The successfulimplementation of blended learningrelies on many factors. There has tobe a percentage between thetraditional classroom and the onlinesettings. Regardless of theproportion, an important factor isthe segment (the target segment) of

learners catered. Not all have theadequate and right motivation toengage actively in learning. To thissegment I agree, the blendedlearning is a weakness.IL: Don't you think BL that theinstructors and course developersmust re-examine their course goalsand objectives, design onlinelearning activities to meet thesegoals and objectives, and effectivelyintegrate the online activities withthe face-to face meetings.Instructors must make thetransition from lectures andpresentation to a more student-centered active learning. Do theyhave the competencies?OL: Instructors need to learn how tofacilitate online discussions and smallgroup activities, and re-examinetraditional methods of assessment totake into account the new learningenvironment. Also, managing thedual learning environment also addsadditional scheduling andcommunication challenges ascourses meet both online and face-to-face. Instructors and contentdevelopers must also take care notto overload themselves and theirstudents.BL: I agree these are the challenges;In fact, instructors must be preparedto help understand their active rolein the hybrid system, assist learnersin keeping their work on time andon track, and be prepared to offerstrategies for trouble-shooting newcourse technologies. What are mostimportant in blended learning arethe motivation and segmentation incrafting an innovative curriculumand also the assessment.


In a career spanning 29 years, V

Ravi currently heads the learning

and development function for

Reliance Project Management

Group. His interests include TQM,

value engineering, individual and

organizational learning.

V Ravi

Vice President & Head - L&D, RPMG

� Blended Learning (BL) is a term used to describe the way online learning

(e-learning) is combined with traditional classroom methods (Instructor-led

learning) and independent study.

� Instructor-led learning (IL) has stood the test of time with educational institutions

and organizations still prefer it due to its own merits and compliances.

� Online Learning (OL) is also known as e-learning or computer based learning

has picked up well during the last decade and half due to extensive use of

computers.

� It is imperative for every training manager and trainer to modernise their

mindsets to embrace and execute a blended learning for their own survival.

trainer's time or any room orequipment don't you think, e-learning tends to be the muchcheaper option? If you and yourcompany are on a budget squeeze,this can be the ideal option for you.Equally for companies that havethousands of employees then it canreduce the cost per head for training.IL: The computer based nature oftraining means new technology isbeing introduced all the time to help

takeaways


HC

IL: Your approach suggestsgetting the best of both. Thingscan still go wrong, andsometimes they do. It's truethat you can forget a pen orpaper to take notes when yougo to the classroom, but at leastthere's probably someone inyour immediate vicinity whocan lend you one. Handlingproblems with digital content isinherently more complicated.OL: Come on IL and BL!Thanks to technologicaladvancement, the Internetconnections and othertechnology related issues are onthe wane. Don't blame the tool,blame the person. Some employeesmay not be too comfortable usingcomputers, especially if their jobsdon't require them to. Thereforeeven if the software is user friendly,the very idea of using the softwarecan be daunting and demotivatingfor some. Therefore theseemployees are likely to learn a lotless than they would from a physicalcourse. These days, fortunately this

segment is much smaller.BL: Look! The chain of reasoning(or consideration) for blendedlearning is: Curriculum ->Assessment -> Motivation -> Practice(blended teaching and learning) ->Outcome. Yes, it is true that the teaminvestment in the organization andmanagement of the blended learningprogram can be high but it can also

be condensed, depending onprevious work, the subject oflearning or activities to beimplemented with the learners.The activities can be veryfocused or varied, depending onthe objectives.

IL& OL: yes. We agree.BL: In today's fast paced world,leaders and managers haverealized the need for deadlinesto be organized for eachindividual employee, progressregularly monitored, queriesalways catered for and targetsmade. E-learning supplementedwith class room will help people

enjoy the benefits of both the styles.Besides, collaboration between thelearners and instructors can increasesubstantially via an online trainingplatform or in the classroom asconvenient.

In fact, it is imperative for everytraining manager and trainer tomodernise their mindsets toembrace and execute a blendedlearning for their own survival.



Tto go by, this January at the World Economic Forum; undoubtedly thebiggest high profile global leadership conference on this planet, John KabatZinn led mindfulness sessions were over crowded with C-Suite leaders,politicians and diplomats from all over the world keen to get a glimpse ofmindfulness in action. For the more zealous and already initiated audience,

he verdict is out! Mindfulness is the new buzzword that hasentered the lexicon of schools, colleges, hallowed institutionsof higher learning as well as hospitals, old age homes, trainingcenters and corporate boardrooms. It has ventured into almostevery sphere of human existence as understood from the lensof an intellectually curious mind. If its popularity is anything

Mindfulness decoded provides a practical approach to

understand mindfulness in an organizational context and

give insights into what a leader can do to develop it as a

leadership competency.

New age leadership competency:

mindfulness decoded

BY DR. SNEHAL SHAH

other sessions during this megaevent went into further depths ofmindfulness, neuroscience andbehavior modification techniques.

The origin of mindfulness canbe traced back to Buddhistscriptures and its meditativepractice, which is at least two and ahalf centuries old. Though theconcept of mindfulness is not new,last thirty years have witnessed aresurrection of sorts from its noble,spiritual past to mainstream, secular,present touching all aspects ofhuman existence. In its new form,mindfulness is understood as"paying attention in a particular way;on purpose in the present momentand non-judgmentally". Whilemeditation, practicing silence andreflection are unique gifts tomankind from the easterntraditions, this article elaborates onthe practical aspects derived fromnew age scientific inquiry andresearch.

A leader can develop these subtlequalities of mindfulness by firstunderstanding the cognitive aspects


ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

of how to train the mind and thenapplying the principles to cultivatea mindful leadership style.

Creating new categories: Whenwe become adults, our playful mindbecomes dull as it gets into the habitof labeling experiences andcategorizing them for easy recall andefficient decision-making. What wedon't realize is this very processbreeds rigidity that closes doors onan alternate way of thinking. Takefor instance the e-commercerevolution. Until few years agobuying books or doing shoppingonline was unthinkable until somemindful individuals thought of re-categorizing this whole experienceto shift from brick-and-mortarconcept to online shopping. Wewould definitely not have witnessedthe craze and the thrill of IPLseasons if key decision makerswould not have re-categorized testcricket framework to a novel,shorter, free agent IPL format.

Welcoming new information: Asa leader, we fall in love with ourideas and information that maycontradict those views is lookedupon as threatening or outrightbaseless. This is where mindfulnessmindset comes in. As a mindfulleader, one must embrace new,often times contradictoryinformation that may shake the veryfoundation of what we believe in.History bears out many examplesof this nature. Napoleon, as hemarched towards Moscow blindedby his power and might believed hewas unconquerable on thebattlefield. He underestimated hisenemy; a stodgy somewhat laid-backRussian General Kutuzov who, withhis mindful thinking and patientstrategic foresight beat Napoleonand his army in their own game.Napoleon ignored the informationthat cold and bitter winter was uponthem and the enemy wassurreptiously silent on manyoccasions when they had thechance to attack them. As a result,when the time came, his army wasdying of starvation, frostbite on onehand and got gutted in fire on theother as Russian army purposely setmost Moscow on fire after vacatingit and taking their citizens to safeareas.

Incorporating more than oneview: How often we blame othersfor mistakes but when we committhe same blunder we blame externalfactors? When a colleague comeslate to office, we don't hesitate tolabel him as "lazy" but when wecome late, we blame the traffic orhousehold circumstances thatdelayed us. Further, differentindividuals involved will interpret aparticular context differently. Anorganization may believe itsemployees are well compensatedwhile those employees have acontrary view. While the husbandmay think he is not working hardenough or long enough, a bored,lonely housewife may think he isalways in office and never home tospend time with her. Instead oflabeling these viewpoints as right orwrong or good or bad, a mindfulleader should recognize and accept

Dr. Snehal Shah holds a Ph.D. from

Carnegie Mellon University, USA

with specialization in

Organization Behavior and Human

Resources. She has 12 years of

varied experience in Industry,

Teaching and Consulting in the US

and in India. In addition, her work

has been published in renowned

journals in the US and has been

presented at International

conferences.

Dr. Snehal Shah

Faculty and Global HR Strategist

School of Inspired Leadership

Finding its roots

The roots of mindfulness can be

traced back to Buddhist literature

which is at least two and a half

thousand years old. Though the

concept of mindfulness is not new,

last thirty years have witnessed a

resurrection of sorts from its

noble, oriental spiritual past to

mainstream, secular, postmodernist

present touching all aspects of

human existence - education,

health, psychology, neuroscience,

creativity and innovation, old age,

early childhood and of course the

practice of managing

organizations.

this as reality without passingjudgments. To be effective, he needsto incorporate this diversity of ideasand opinions while makingdecisions.

When a leader develops thiscapability of looking for new waysto categorize the situation, givingdue consideration to newinformation while respecting diverseview points he starts living in thepresent without delving in the pastor worrying about the future. Whiledoing so, he is non-judgmental andfully aware of what is required tobe an effective leader. This, in truesense is to embrace mindfulness inthoughts and actions to elevateoneself and others in the circle ofhis influence. HC


I

The winds of employment are changing course as individuals are seeking time-

bound assignments based on their skills and employers are opening up to the

idea of hiring consultants or free agents for specific requirements rather than

clinging to permanent employees.

Permanent joban impasse!

magine yourself not as anemployee stuck with oneorganization, one role, oneproject and profile, rather as apool of skills that is only partly

being deployed, the rest of itwaiting to be explored and utilizedfor best! Now, to have your skillsall put to work and paid for - sureit sounds like the best situation tobe in professionally. Add anothercherry to this cake - now what ifyou could also take advantages ofthe skills that you acquired whilechasing something you were justvery passionate about or whilepursuing a hobby, along with yourprofession? Yes, all this is graduallybecoming possible with theemployment arena taking a newshape as individuals andorganizations are together donninga more flexible outlook towards

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT


the way talent needs to beengaged for optimum results.

The changing scenarioAlthough the trend has alreadybeen established in the USA andother nations where interimexecutives or working for multipleemployers is a set norm, but thisoutcome focused approach is alsoslowly setting foot here in India.As, in a recent report by theEconomic Times, Prithvi Shergill,Chief HR Officer, HCLTechnologies, also said, "I havepeople on my team who are morecomfortable working in a freelancearrangement than workingpermanent. Expertise andexperience, at the end of the day,needs to be applied to achievespecific outcomes and not just beseen through the time spent in

the office." In the same report,Santrupt Misra, Director, GroupHR, Aditya Birla Group, verybeautifully explained the reasonfor this shift, saying, "Today, thenature of employment relationhas changed driven by thechoices available to both theemployees and the employers.Many people, unlike in the past,are not seeking security ofemployment because the marketprovides so much of opportunityto be unattached and be on theirown. Employers find this modelattractive as they see costflexibility given the volatility ofthe markets. This is aphenomenon that's growing."

Two sides of the coinWith job security becoming moresubjective and people viewing the


quality of projects they areengaged in, as a bigger measure oftheir professional success andstability, the future will see talentseeking specific assignments orprojects rather than designationsor roles. These new jobarrangements on one hand willbring various benefits to bothemployees and organizations whileon the other hand there arecertain hurdles that employeesneed to be aware of while offeringtheir services to multipleemployers simultaneously.

The benefits� Firstly, it brings forth theprospect of an increased incomethrough multiple assignments atone point of time.� As a consultant or a free agentto multiple companies, one canalways be secure of being in theprofession even if one of theorganizations runs out of business.� Multiple jobs/organizationsmeans more exposure to differentcultures, people and ways ofrunning businesses. It will not onlyadd to one's experience but alsocut down on the boredom ormonotony one is likely to face in

a single permanent job.� Working on different projectswill help build one's skill setsmaking his/her portfolio richerand the personal network muchwider adding to future growthprospects.� With efficient timemanagement, despite of beinginvolved in multiple assignmentsone can leverage the freedom andflexibility to create a better work-life balance through taking outtime for their hobbies or passion.Or, even better if one can juggleanother part-time role based ontheir passion or hobby. Forexample, an individual who worksin IT for two to threeorganizations can also feel free tooffer music lessons in the extrahours.

Watch out - there arehurdles too!While juggling between multiplejobs and employers simultaneouslyhas lucrative advantages, it canalso prove to be stressful andunnerving if not handled carefully.There are certain challenges thatwhen countered wisely, can bekept at bay resulting in


streamlined performance at eachof the jobs. Here's a peek intothose challenges and how can oneovercome them.� Firstly, time management is oneskill that can either make or breakone's career as a free agentworking for multiple employers.One needs outstanding time-management abilities to be able tomanage all the jobs well, inabsence of which one mayexperience a lot of chaos andperformance slippage. Schedulinga work day in segments can helpfocus fully on each job separatelyand productively.� With multiple jobs at hand onemay end up spending extra hoursat work that again in turn mayresult in fatigue leading tocompromised performance,affecting all the assignments. Toavoid the same, one needs tochoose the assignments wisely andplan their day well in advance tobe able to optimally utilize theirtime while fulfilling all expectationsand also finding time for self.� Another challenge that calls formeticulous planning andadjustment is the fact that onemay not be able to take a leave or


a day off from all the roles/assignments on the same day.� Employer conflicts or conflictof interests among differentemployers can also arise when anindividual is associated with themat the same time. This requiresimmense discipline, transparentcommunication with each of theemployers and patience to avoidany such situations. Also, aconsistent performance in all rolesand a clear understanding of thepolicies of each employer in termsof intellectual property rights,confidentiality etc. would helpmanage them all together.

Looking aheadThere's no doubt that being inmultiple roles can be a tad bitchallenging however it certainly ismore fulfilling and professionallysatisfying. This is why various HRexperts foresee an increasing trendof well-experienced and sought

after professionals taking upmultiple roles as free agents in the

coming times. Havingsaid that, it is of coursereasonable thatorganizations also begingearing up to transformtheir culture, policies andnorms to take benefitsfrom such consultants.Organizations would needto carefully look intoflexible workingarrangements ensuringstrict contracts oragreements specifying theterms clearly. A strongcheck on the confidentialinformation and data,monitoring expenses andtax, specifying workhours or key tasks arealso some of the aspectsorganizations will need tokeep a close tab on. Onthe other hand,individuals would alsohave to let go of a fewperks of a permanentjob, while consideringworking for multipleemployers. As VikramShroff, Head, HR Law,Nishith Desai Associates,shared with the

Beyond IndiaAmericans have since long been

'moonlighting' which implies taking up

two or more than two jobs. According to

the U.S. Department of Labour, about 7

to 8 million or about 5+ per cent of all

workers work multiple jobs (which is often

referred to as moonlighting and dual or

multiple jobholding). Various HR experts

and workplace futurists assert that the

number of people working as

independent contractors is on a steep

upwards growth. Also, moonlighting is so

common in America that people working

multiple jobs come from just about every

demographic group -

across all ages,

races, genders,

marital statuses,

geographic

locations, and

education levels -

from the very young to the

highly educated. More men

moonlight, though the

number of women doing so

has also risen dramatically

over the last decade.

Economic Times, "In such cases,the individual is not employed asan employee but engaged as anindependent consultant, as a resultof which he is not eligible to thestandard employment-relatedbenefits such as leave, holidays,allowances, bonus, overtime, socialsecurity, etc. The withholding taxrate on consultancy fees is alsolower as compared to salary,although consultants may berequired to pay service tax".

Like everything else in life,working for multiple employersalso has its own pros and consand while it may be a win-win forsome, for some it may not be agreat situation to be in. It alldepends on one's ability to beable to manage their time wellalong with churning out the bestpossible from their capabilities.With a well-thought out decision,well-planned work schedule, well-managed professional relationsand a disciplined approach onecan be sure of a bright careeras a free agent or a consultantwith increasingly better growthopportunities!

Reference: The Economic Timeshttp://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/permanent-job-outdated-now-work-for-

multiple-companies/articleshow/47839715.cms

HC



The economics ofemployee motivation

The struggle to achieve thepanacea for building anengaged workforce is

unending. Modern day corporatefirms are continually striving todiscover that one thing which hasthe greatest impact on employeeproductivity.

A central tenet of economics isthat individuals respond to incentives.However, a sneak peek at themotivation crowd theory presentsanother viewpoint - that rewards andpunishments undermine intrinsicmotivation and hence are counter-productive.

A reconciliation of the two viewsshows how incentives can impact theperception of a task. Externalintervention crowds out intrinsicmotivation if individuals affectedperceive the intervening individual tobe controlling. In such cases self -determination, esteem andexpression suffer and the individualsreact by reducing intrinsic motivation.On the other hand, if the interveningindividual is considered supportive itraises intrinsic motivation. It is easyto notice that, in employmentsituations where intrinsic motivationis high the employee desirescontinued employment, developspersonal associations with co-workersand develops capital specific toconcerned job and employer.

Reasons for disengagementEngaged employees are willing topush the limits for achieving results.But for a workforce to be motivatedthere needs to be a significantmotivation which shakes them intochallenging the status quo but thisgenerally doesn't happen due to the

BY SAKSHI SOOD

Sakshi Sood is an electronics engineering graduatefrom NIT, Surat with MBA in HR from SIBM, Pune. Shecurrently works for Merck in Mumbai and has workedwith reputed organizations across different sectors inthe past. She is an avid reader and takes keen interestin the current trends in the HR domain.

following commonly observedphenomena.Social loafing - It's a reduction inindividual effort because of thepresence of others and is most likelyto occur when employees feel lesslikely to be identified.Free riding - It is the opportunity toget something for nothing. Lookingat some employees getting away withfree riding reduces morale of others.Social dilemma - This is a classicgame theory problem in whichemployees commonly face the socialdilemma of making a choice betweenbehavior that maximizes their privatebenefit and one that maximizes socialbenefit to the group.

Tilting the balanceIn most organizations, it takes the'leadership' to tilt the balance frominaction to decisive action. Managersmust understand that intrinsicmotivation is not just better and moreeconomical at motivating employeesto be productive and loyal; it alsocreates a long term commitment ofhonoring that social relationship.

What the managers can do?In a corporate system, managers mustunderstand that the reason intrinsicmotivation works so well is that inaddition to market capital it usessocial capital to dramatically increasethe employees' valuation of their time.Reinforcement theory focuses onmodifying an employee's on-the-jobbehavior through the appropriate usethe following techniques -� Use of positive reinforcement to

reward desirable behavior� Avoidance to show what the

consequences of improper

behavior will be� Ignoring the behavior of a

subordinate when the managerperceives the behavior astemporary and not serious

� Punishment as an attempt todecrease the likelihood of abehavior recurring by applyingnegative consequences

Human capital dynamics - Movingfrom transactional to socialrelationships

An employee's willingness toaccept a particular job is affected byagreeable and disagreeable facets ofthe job. Compensating differentialsreflect the market's valuation of thingssuch as high effort, but if the employercannot perfectly monitor theemployee's behavior, a compensatingdifferential will not ensure that higheffort is forthcoming.

Intrinsic motivation operateswhen someone engages in a behaviorbecause he finds the activitychallenging and rewarding in itself,and derives satisfaction in enhancinghis competence in that specific task.Intrinsically motivated employees feelthey are getting the better end of thebargain and hence are willing to ownthe system rather than just being in it.

Organizations must strive to buildan environment conducive tomotivating employees intrinsically andthe organization leaders have apivotal role to play in this journey ofmoving from transactional to socialrelationships. HC

GEN-Y SPEAK


T

The biggest responsibility of organizations is to ensure that digitization

is leading to an inclusive economy and society and are enabling

crossing the digital chasm. It is therefore for organizations to develop

human capital effectively for progress and economic growth.

Achievinginclusive growthin this digital era

here is no doubt that the world hasbenefited tremendously fromtechnology, particularly fromInternet, social media and nowmobile. This digital era, apart from

driving remarkable growth and enormousimprovements in productivity of economies,has also led to profound changes in howlabor markets operate. It is allowingcompanies to leverage global labor marketsmore efficiently, create opportunities oflocation agnostic employment therebygiving a big boost to work from home orflexible work options as well as globalmobility, reduce the transactional nature ofwork and offer more innovation. Constantchanges in technologies is also leadingcompanies to transform their learning anddevelopment models from on-spot andshort term to more durable and continuouslearning models

What digitization has also done is, it hasled to creation of demand of more unique,sophisticated and niche skills especially as

jobs requiring standard skills diminish dueto automation; and there lies the biggestdichotomy for economies andorganizations alike. If not maneuvered inthe right way, the requirement of morespecialized skills has potential to increase,instead of narrowing down, the economicgap between the richer and economicallyweaker segments of society. More so, asaccess to people who are already on thesenetworks eases and virtualization of jobsbecomes a reality thereby givingorganizations to leverage global talent, it iseasier to discover and source talent withthe highest denomination of skills moreefficiently.

The rationale is very simple - forpeople to take benefit of digital eraequitably, these digital technologies mustbe affordable for people to buy or use,and for people to be able to buy or usethose technologies and applications, theyshould be earning a minimum sustainableincome to invest in education to develop

HR & BUSINESS

BY UNMESH PAWAR AND PURNIMA KUMAR


such skills as well as be provided with asignificantly easier access to electricity,internet and required infrastructure. Inabsence of availability of these fundamentalnecessities within truly affordable range,there is a potential danger that thesesections of society will get excluded fromlabor markets, apart from losing outenormous business opportunities, therebycompounding the problems by makingthem more unproductive creating a 'digitalchasm' apart from literacy and incomedivides that already exist. On the otherhand, investors, organizations and parts ofsociety who are included in the digitalnetworks, will continue to economicallybenefit from technological and innovationadvancements.

There lies the biggest responsibility oforganizations to ensure that digitization isleading to a truly inclusive economy andsociety and are enabling crossing the digitalchasm. The key is to ensure that all sectionsof economy are not only able to participate,

but contribute equitably in order to reapthe benefits of advent of technology.

The issue of digital chasm is amultidimensional issue with lot ofinterconnected and correlated factorsimpacting the gap and requires a fullycoordinated effort involving all stakeholdersto drive game changing action plan tocreate a more inclusive economy. However,organizations, in their own capacity, canplay a crucial role to develop human capitalwhich is a very important dimension ofprogress and economic growth, and that'swhere Accenture has been extremelypragmatic and proactive.

Firstly, it's important to recognize thatskill development is the most powerfulvehicle to uplift disadvantaged groups ofsociety, and keeping that in mind,organizations should adopt education asglobal focus of the respective corporatecitizenship programs. Skill building driveseconomic empowerment, leading togreater innovation, increased

HR & BUSINESS


(Pwd) and the unemployed toimprove their employmentprospects in various industries. Asorganizations decide to tread on thisjourney or put efforts to enhancethe impact, it is essential that oneidentifies and collaborates withstrategic partners that share theirskill-building goals, and helpingthem through the journey therebygiving them a sense of pride ofmaking an impact on ground withthe end beneficiaries.

Organizations can also considerleveraging their well-establishedbusiness models to make a realdifference to the world, by taking astep forward in the direction of notonly skill development, butemployability. In places where themajority of jobs are based in cities,rural communities often remainpoverty stricken. And the onlysolution to this problem is: movingthe jobs to the people. Digitalizationis also leading to increasedvirtualization of a number of rolesand this should inspire manyorganizations to proactively seekopportunities of locating or movingopportunities to ensure inclusivegrowth. Such movement orrelocation of jobs enables people toapply the skills they learnt on realjobs thereby making a long-termdifference to their lives.

Our own experience in thisdirection taught us three things -one, such a program needsrequirements such as support from

competiveness and rising standardsof living in both mature andemerging markets.

This is an area whereorganizations can directly use theirdeep experience in talentmanagement and skills developmentto make a significant and lastingimpact on the economic well-beingof individuals.

There are multiple ways thisobjective can be achieved - bytraining economically disadvantagedyouth with vocational trade,industry skills and leveragingtechnology for effective delivery andmonitoring of skilling programs rightfrom mobilization to contentdelivery through blended learningapproaches using e-learningmodules, videos and customizedManagement Information Systems(MIS) for managing operations andso on, supporting livelihood optionsfor women and youth in rural India,or helping persons with disabilities

HR & BUSINESS

local government, connectivity,competitive talent pool, and acompetent local partner.

Second, the diligence, passion,commitment and enormousappetite to learn from theunderprivileged people, once theyjoin the workforce, made up for allthe initial challenges around set up,infrastructure, access and so on.

Thirdly, within a short period,we could really notice remarkablechanges in quality of life owing toincrease in household incomes, dropin out of town migration andincreased inclination towardseducation of not only theseemployees and their immediatefamilies, but the impact on the largercommunity was very evident.Virtualization of a number of rolesis now a reality and this shouldinspire many organizations toproactively seek opportunities oflocating or moving opportunities toensure inclusive growth.

The third dimension of howinclusion can be driven in the digitalera, apart from skill-building andcareer opportunities, is tounderstand the social andprofessional graphs of ourworkforce as people acrossgenerations work together. Deeplyingrained in technology and leadersof profuse adoption of newtechnologies, the millennials acrossthe world are having a profoundeffect in the marketplace and theworkplace. Our research confirmed

Unmesh Pawar has over 17 years of

experience across domains. He plays

an important role in partnering with

the business to strategize and deliver

on the promise of an enriched career

experience for its employees.

Unmesh Pawar

Managing Director, Global Talent

Acquisition Director, Human

Resources for Accenture in India


As Accenture’s Global Talent Sourcing

Director,Purnima Kumar has the

global responsibility for the talent

sourcing function attracting quality

talent through the right sourcing

channels, at the right time and at the

right cost to fill Accenture’s talent

needs of ~100,000 positions around

the world, delivering impeccable

stakeholder and candidate

experience.

Purnima Kumar

Purnima Kumar, Vice President, Global

Talent Acquisition Director, Human

Resources, Accenture in India

HR & BUSINESS

HC

millennials and older generationscan thrive. It could be in form oftechnology-enabled informal digitalnetworks designed for self-sustaining communities of sharedinterests or making consciousefforts to educate senior leaders thatif they aren't using the samecommunications vehicles asMillennials, they won't be part ofsuch conversations.

Our experiences have informedus that there are four key pillars ofdriving this inclusive growth in eraof digitization:� As clichéd as it may sound, butrecognition of inclusion needs to bea key business imperative. What itgoing to however make a hugedifference is not only the articulationof the intent in our vision andmission, but the design andimplementation of the inclusionagenda needs to be systemic andentrenched to such an extent thatany change dues to external market

volatility, internal dynamicsand change in leadershipshould not impact thefundamentals, continuity, orimpact of the inclusionstrategy or program.� Secondly, success andimpact of this agenda at asustained scale and impact isachieved when collaborationwith strategic partners issupported by organizationcapabilities, skills and expertise.Hence an active and sustainedinvestment in that direction isa must� Thirdly, it's important toquantify and communicate theeffort and impact to sustaininspiration in the steps one istaking to achieve the outcomes.It can be sometimeschallenging to measure impactof investments and actions,particularly those which areexpected to yield greater longterm successes very objectively,but adding this additional layerof measurement andcommunication helps garnersupport and adds a great layerof transparency and confidenceamong all stakeholders

that communication is shifting awayfrom email toward instantalternatives, and there is a significantshift towards preference oftechnologies as one wants to chooseas well as devices. Millennials arealso are pushing the boundaries ofmulti-tasking and sharing andcollaboration of information.Millennials' attitudes about security,loyalty, privacy, and work style arecolliding with the policies and normsat many large companies.

The rise of Millennials presentsa unique opportunity to improveperformance for organizations thatcan integrate the social shifts andtechnology-based skills thatMillennials bring to the businessenvironment. To be effective, thisintegration requires both Millennialsand management teams to learnand adapt.

As a measure, organizationsneed to take multiple steps to createan environment where both

� Lastly, organizations areprivileged to have influence,resources as well as depth of skilland expertise to proactively assesthe digital trends, proactivelyidentify the expected impact andrecommend solutions, which manyof our strategic partners may notbe able to project. It's henceimportant that we are playing a bigrole in coming forward and offeringour expertise and solutions toaddress the issue of digital chasm.

We firmly believe that digitizationand technology offer enormouspotential and opportunities to makeworld a much better place, but it'sour responsibility to ensure that wecreate a legacy of stewardship byensuring that benefits of this newera are passed on equitably andfairly to all.

Four pillars ofdriving inclusive

growth1. Recognition of inclusion needs to

be a key business imperative.

Design and implementation of the

inclusion agenda needs to be

systemic and entrenched

2. Success and impact is achieved

when collaboration with strategic

partners is supported by

organization capabilities, skills and

expertise

3. It’s important to quantify and

communicate the effort and impact

to sustain inspiration in the steps

one is taking to achieve the

outcomes

4. We must come forward and offer

our expertise and solutions to

address the issue of digital chasm


The idea that Data (of the wideand "wild" variety) is required torun any form of Analytics (Big orSmall) has not really caught onwith "some" HR professionals, at

TECHNOLOGY

BY SUMEET VARGHESE

The “people lie,numbers don't”

approach to HR analytics

least the ones I have spoken to. When Isay "some" you may take it to mean"many", since I always keep statisticalsampling requirements in mind wheneverI strike a conversation with anyone in HR(a "few' therefore might just representthe "many" out there, If I am right about

HR professionals must closely study the kind of

work being done by their Marketing and

Customer Service Analytics teams to figure out

that Big Data Tools have evolved to a point

where they rarely ever care a byte if your data

is structured and/or unstructured.


my sampling). This means that whenI speak to you, I always consider youfirst as part of an important data-set- either by virtue of your title, yourexperience in the HR function.

You see we are always collectingdata from each other, whetherothers like it or not, but what we dowith that data in HR is something Iwill reserve for another post someother day. For the moment though,let me clarify: HR Departments arecaught in a position where they mayhave too much of data and very pooranalytics capabilities to leverage thedata or strong analytics capabilitiesbut hardly any worthwhile data tomine for insights. Frankly, I have noclue which one is better!

Anyways, the sad/good news isthat we need to sort out many seriousdata related issues before we candiscuss the extent to which ourneighbours in Marketing, CustomerService, Finance and Operations useBig Data Analytics:

Is the Data we capture ofany value at all?Unfortunately, no one has an answer.In one case, I asked a group of HRprofessionals whether we shouldtrack the number of loo breaks thatsenior executives took during aworkshop and whether it wouldserve any purpose. Obviously, therewere blank stares. My question ofcourse wasn't pointless. The loo likethe office water cooler and thecofee/tea vending machine points inan organization is as much a spacefor exchanging workshop feedbackas it is for updating each other onsome juicy company gossip. Whilethis may be a small unwanted detailto be avoided by the HR professionalit might certainly be of interest to aData Scientist, assuming it can offersome interesting clues - Elementary,my dear HR Professional,Elementary! Strangely, with a littlebit of luck I was able to work out acorrelation (not causation) betweenthe pathetic condition of the loosused by the top management at onefirm and the MD's constant refrainthat the organization lacked"ownership". In fact, nobody (andthis included the organization's top

brass) bothered to complain aboutthe stink because they thought itwasn't "their job".

Frankly, HR professionals mustclosely study the kind of work beingdone by their Marketing andCustomer Service Analytics teams tofigure out that Big Data Tools haveevolved to a point where they rarelyever care a byte ifyour data isstructured and/orunstructured. So, ifyou have anemployee's leaverecords in XL, thepoor unsuspectingchap's FB Posts andTweets for a full yearin Word, the person'sperformance appraisalhistory in PDF, and his/her Compensation Datain any format that yourERP spits out, somemeaningful analytics can stillbe derived even if thisemployee record is a gibberishamalgamation of data. For instance,some recruiters have long studiedbehaviour patterns of candidatesbefore, during and after the variousstages of a screening process thatthey have been subjected to. Thanksto these studies we now know that ifyou handle a particular stage of therecruitment process poorly,candidates are two times or threetimes more likely to badmouth thecompany's products and services onsocial media. Obviously, in this caseprocess feedback (quantitative andqualitative data) at each stage of thescreening cycle has been correlatedwith social media behaviour(qualitative data) of the candidates.

A. People modelsI remember studying Van der Waal'sequation in school - the finalderivation of the equation, whichobviously had more variables thanthe one initially proposed, wasdeveloped to fit the "reality" outthere because tests/experimentsrevealed the equation had not quitenailed it. If People Models are "workin progress", People AnalyticsDepartments can rub shoulders with

TECHNOLOGY

their scientific peers - if not, suchmodels run the risk of being exposedby a Copernican revolution (whichobviously would happen on thebusiness side first!). We do know fora fact that the

famed/notorious 25 layered (rounds)screening process (possibly, state-of-the-art at that point in time) at Googlegave way to a four layered (rounds)screening process partly becausebusiness managers wanted "good"people in "quickly". I am assuming,Van der Waal was under no suchpressure.

B. Operational experimentsGoogle did a great job ofexperimenting with plate size tofigure out an optimal shape thatcould meet its target of kickingemployees back into shape (guilt andshame worked powerfully to reducethe number of trips employees madeto fill a small plate) and help themreduce their calorie intake. I haveseen such experiments to controlwastage of food during lunch breaks.At one manufacturing firm, the HRDepartment set up a Scoreboard toshow how many kilos of food waswasted the day before and so on.Obviously, such loud displays helpedcontrol the menace to an extent. Atanother place, a young engineerdecided to stick graphic photos ofpoor children dying of hunger rightnext to the serving area.


Consequently, people got themessage and while some folksattributed their loss of appetite tothe pictures some said it made themmore sensitive about the quantity offood they loaded on their plates.Unlike the operational experimentsGoogle undertook, the examples Icite may not have been the result ofany meticulous planning, rigorousmeasurement or even continuousexperimentation. At the same time,I cannot help but point out that HRis expected to change employeebehaviour in numerous ways for avariety of reasons. That, to say theleast, is exactly what HR is expectedto do (if we hear our line managerscorrectly). Therefore, if earlier, HRdid not have the tools to study,analyze and mould employeebehaviour, thanks to Big DataAnalytics it now has a wide andbewildering array of tools that have

the potential to predict and regulateemployee behaviour, on a mass scale.

While most of the examples herepertain to food, I am hopeful thatOperational Experiments in HR willextend to other more promisingareas of employee experience as well.I remember the case of a "desi" (noHR Degree / no Strategic HRExperience) HR Head who was askedto hire a Costing Manager. Thecompany he works for has a lonemanufacturing unit outside Delhi.Once the Costing Manager was onboard, the company realized he hadno job since he needed data on workin progress - timely data on finishedand unfinished goods and inventory,almost on a daily basis. As thecompany did not have an MIS orany practice of tracking anythingremotely called " operational andproduction data", the HR Headsecured permission from the MD tocirculate chits of paper to collectsuch data from the company's 300odd employees (all semi-skilled) atthe end of each working day. Inexchange for 10 rupees every day,each employee was asked toaccurately mention on the chit thequantum of stock they were sittingon. The scheme went down well withthe workers and the Costing Managerdiscovered he had enough and moredata to occupy himself for a full year.The MD was so pleased that hedecided to increase the amount toRs 20 per day. If a desi MIS can begenerated on the fly through anoperational experiment, I am sureHR can conduct many experimentsto help businesses unlock value fromData.

C. Dashboards and visualizationFor HR Departments that continueto labour with PowerPoint and XL,software like Tableau and Sisense canappear to be the proverbial oasis ina desert formed by data. They canmake data analytics visually stunningand beautiful and for a change, evenmake business leaders fall in lovewith HR. However, these are lowhanging fruits on a long journey. Theprimary objective of an HR AnalyticsDepartment cannot be the creation

and transmission of Dashboards andData Visualization - although thesecan greatly help Line Managers toarrive at their own inferences andconclusions, especially where theydoubt HR to offer some stellarinsights.

D. HR metricsDashboards are made up of variouskinds of metrics. Thanks to the"proliferate or perish" treaty that HRProfessionals became signatories tosometime in the past decade, varioustypes of HR Metrics (in the order of1000s) are available today withleading ERP vendors. Someonerecently claimed they havedeveloped 3000+ HR metrics to track- now that's taking this proliferationbusiness a bit too far. Unfortunatelybusinesses don't share HR's love ofmetrics. Moreover, what irks themthe most are the totally differentways in which teams within the sameorganization measure the samemetric? Recruitment alone throws upvarious ways to measure animportant metric like "time to hire"depending on how exactly youidentify the base line. Worriedprobably by the confusing signals theHR fraternity was sending out to thebusiness community, SHRMinstituted standard ways of measuringsome common metrics like Cost ofHire and so on. However, I reallywonder how these standards can beapplied across geographies or evenindustries.

Skill-sets HR professionals ofthe future will needIf Big Data Analytics is taken to itslogical conclusion by "illogical",departments (Whether, they be ITor Operations or even HR), HRprofessionals won't be around andthe best part, HR skills won't berequired. I and a senior friendfacilitated a workshop recently for agroup of finance professionals.Everything from our travel and stayonwards to getting the participantsto the venue from various regionswas seamlessly managed by theFinance team. We were personallyshocked (truth be told, we had mixedfeelings and didn't know whether to

In a career spanning 15+ years,

Sumeet Varghese has had various

avatars - initially serving as Country

Manager for the Human Capital

Institute – an HR Think-tank, and

later, as Associate Director at T.V. Rao

Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd., before

founding Your HR Buddy. He has

consulted more than 100 firms (in

India, the Middle East and South East

Asia), trained over 1000 executives

(including MDs and CEOs) and

published over 75 position papers

covering key areas of HR and OD

practice.

Sumeet VargheseFounding Partner, Your HR Buddy

TECHNOLOGY


laugh or cry) to not find a single HRprofessional play a role anywherefrom need identification to vendorshortlisting and screening to traineecoordination to venue booking tofeedback collection. When we left,the chaps said they have more worklined up for us - just that we wouldhave to re-title the entire interventionto avoid detection by the company'sHR Department and to preventgenerating the impression thatFinance is stepping into HR territory.Already, many traditional HRprocesses (requiring what was

traditionally termed "HR skill-sets")are either being outsourced orperhaps (in the case I recounted)taken over by line functions. Now ifthe rest (which is not much - thoughsome serious-minded folks mightgive it some meat and call it"strategy" or "business partnering"or "talent management") is to becarefully considered, automation willslowly catch up. Google'srecruitment algorithms have doneaway with the need to have a hiringmanager for some positions. At thesame time its retention algorithmshelp it to predict who is likely toleave. While I do not immediatelyforesee job-destroying algorithms toentirely replace a generation of HRprofessionals, I am hoping a newbreed of HR professionals withalgorithm-dismissing/refining skillswill be able to find their feet in theBig Data landscape. It is quitepossible, that the HR professional ofthe future will be more analytical; a

wee bit statistical, certainlyprogramming friendly as well as adomain expert having a moreintegrated view of HR.

Common "heuristics" linemanagers are known touse for hiring/firingAcross organizations of all types, youwill bump across various types ofpeople heuristics (unexaminedPeople Models) at work - rules ofthumb that may have served linemanagers well and which play a verylarge role in several people decisions

at a firm (contrary to what we HRprofessionals think). This is thehuman version of Big Data Analyticsat work, perhaps! From among thefew that I have been able to identify,I find the one involving a seniorfinance manager at a large Indianfirm, quite interesting. Thisgentleman hires juniors who meetone criterion: they should havecleared their CA (CharteredAccountancy qualifying exams) inthe 3rd or 4th attempt. The way hesees it, such candidates are ready tostretch more than those who havecleared it in the first attempt. Now,anyone who has taken the examthrice will confess that the pain ofpreparing for the exam three timesover and clearing it can beexcruciating indeed. Whether thatpreparation makes them moreindustrious and persevering (at least,in the eyes of this financeprofessional) is a matter of debatefor statisticians and behaviourists

alike. While there is no independentstudy out there that can establishwhether these three-timers are morepersevering and industrious than thefirst-timers, our finance managercontinues to operate on the basis ofthis heuristic and what is more, overtime, has been able to build andretain a team of productiveprofessionals using the same logic.

Every people heuristic is a fitsubject of research for a buddingHR Analytics professional. Armedwith statistical tools, behaviouralanalysis models and anunderstanding of how people formperceptions about groups andindividuals, an HR AnalyticsDepartment should statisticallyexamine those "notions" or"assumptions" about people thatmight be actually preventingorganizations from attracting, hiring,promoting and retaining talentedpeople.

One gentleman at a leadingtelecom company confessed using aparticular heuristic to screen outcandidates: he would ask thecandidate to share his/her contactnumbers during the interview. If thecandidate used the services of a rivaltelecom operator (as would beevident from the number he/sheprovided), he/she would bedismissed from the interview. Myfriend's logic (based obviously onyears of experience - Big DataAnalytics) for the summary rejectionis based on the idea that suchindividuals are never loyal to thebrands they work for. If they were,they would avail their company'sservices and not that of a rival. In hisscheme of things, people lied butthe numbers didn't. If our Big DataAnalytics program operates on asimilar premise: people lie butnumbers don't, we risk repeating thesame mistake that my friend fromthe telecom sector makes. You see -my friend never asks where thecandidate lives and moreimportantly, whether this place hasadequate network coverage or notor whether the area in which thecandidate usually operates has a goodnumber of telecom towers for hiscustomers or not. HC

TECHNOLOGY


Work, play and pause -Overcoming burnout

Recently a survey report byStaples Advantage offers aparadoxical set of findings

about US office workers.Overwhelmingly, they are happy.Yet the majority of them feelburned out. How could boththings be true? To interpret thesefindings, it can be said that theseworkers like the nature of workthey do. Perhaps to borrowGallup terminology, it gives themthe chance to use their strengthsevery day. It might also enrichtheir lives by allowing them tocontribute to products andservices that make the world abetter place. At the same time,most of these workers may befeeling stretched too thin. Theirworkplaces are making it hard forthem to limit their work hoursand workloads to healthy levels.

Even if we love our jobs, it iscommon to feel burnt out fromtime to time. Perhaps you justwrapped up a big project and arehaving trouble musteringmotivation for the next one. Itcould be that your home andfamily are taking up more energythan usual. Or maybe you are justbored. What's the best way torecharge? Are some forms ofrejuvenation better than theothers? How do you know whatyou are feeling is ordinaryburnout or something else, likechronic dissatisfaction? Accordingto a study by Tower Watsonconduced amongst workingprofessionals in India, close tohalf of the participants whoresponded to the survey reportedexcessive pressure at work. About

BY MANAVI PATHAK

PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK

one-third of them pinned theblame on "overwhelming"productivity demands fromemployers leading to burnout.

What is burnout? Burnout ismental and physical exhaustionyou experience when demands ofyour work consistently exceed theamount of energy you haveavailable - has been an epidemicin the workplace. SocialPsychologists and Behaviouralscientists comment, "There is a lotof pressure in this 24/7 cycle. Itcan lead you to feel lethargic,stressed and depleted - literallyspent. According to RonFriedman, author of the book, TheBest Place to Work: The Art andScience of Creating anExtraordinary Workplace, " In largepart it is because we aresurrounded by devices that aredesigned to grab our attention andmake everything feel urgent. " Soyou need to find ways to "put gasin your tank ". If people are tellingthat they are burnt out, they aresignalling trouble ahead. They aretelling that situation isunsustainable. The causes ofburnout can be many.Psychologists often point to jobswhere workers have high demandsplaced but have been given lowcontrol. Here are some of theways for how to do that:

Take breaksBurnout often happens from "lackof understanding of what it takesto achieve peak performance" sayFriedman. He adds "We tend toassume that (it) requires tryingharder or outworking others,

(which) may get you short-termresults but is physiologicallyunsustainable." To perform at yourbest over the long term, you needregular opportunities for restockingyour mental energy. Take a walk orgo for a run. But one should takebreaks at the right time, morninghours when the energy levels arethe highest - you should focus onwork and maximize yourproductivity. "Tackle your toughestchallenges at those times. Thenstep away for rest".

Put away your digitaldevicesBefore the Blackberry era, leavingyour work at the office was bydefault. If you wanted to takework along with you back home,it required effort and planning.That is no longer the case. Today,we all tend to carry more than wecan handle in the form of asmartphone - we therefore tendto be physiologically andpsychologically attached to theworkplace. The remedy is toactively limit your use of digitaldevices after hours. Friedmansuggests, "Put away your phoneafter a stipulated time, whatever itis, it can wait until tomorrow".

Do something interestingFriedman also recommends,"scheduling restorative experiencesthat you can look forward to".Making plans to play tennis or gofor a swim with a friend compelsyou to "focus on an approachgoal - doing something pleasurable- instead of an avoidance goal -not checking email." Research


Dr Manavi Pathak is an Organizational Psychologist and Consultant. She can bereached at [email protected]

HC

PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK

shows that approach goals are easier and enjoyableto achieve. Studies also indicate that doing activitiesthat you find interesting - even if the activity is taxing-is better for you than simply relaxing. What you dowith your down time matters, says Friedman. Sure,its appealing to laze on your couch with a tub ofpopcorn , but experts and behavioural scientistsrecommend engaging in something more challenging- like a cross word or a game of chess. Even thoughit's difficult it gives more energy.

Take long weekendsThere are several instances from corporate Indiaabout CEOs and top management executives as tohow they pause to indulge in their passion torecharge and not just focus on their professionalachievements. Feeling mentally and physicallyexhausted may be a sign that "you need some timeoff". The break need not be a two week vacation,experts suggest that , one gets greater benefit fromregularly taking three and four day weekends. Whileyou are away, it is advisable not to call your office orcheck your email. Friedman interestingly puts it,"Each of us is a little less vital than we'd like tobelieve."

DOs :

Set boundaries around youruse of digital devices duringoff- hours

Incorporate regular breaks inyour work day

Focus on why work matters toyou if professional obligationspreclude a vacation

Don’ts :

Check your email when you aretaking a vacation or a longweekend

Spend all your down timevegging ; engage in activities thatchallenge you and engage you

Mistake constant fatigue andapathy for a temporary case ofburnout ; if you feel ineffectiveon a daily basis , it might be timeto look for a new job

Focus on MeaningIf your job responsibilities preclude immediate time-off, focus on why the work or your job matters toyou. Connect your personal assignment to a largerpersonal goal - completing this project will help youscore that next promotion, for instance. Be aware, asthis might provide only temporary relief. If you areburnt out by working too hard, you need to take abreak, there is no other way out.

Make sure it's really burnoutIf none of these strategies work, you could be dealingwith something more serious. If you are listless andfatigued and still feeling effective on the whole, thenit's probably just burnout. But if you feel you are notmaking progress and that the work you do doesn'tseem to matter, it's a different problem.


Eighty-seven per cent of today's leaders around theworld cite culture and employee engagement as oneof their top organizational challenges. This isaccording to a recent report from Deloitte, whointerviewed over 3,300 executives and HR leaders in106 countries.

About two-thirds of the respondents of the samestudy, i.e., 66% reported that they are updating theirengagement and retention strategies.

The Department of Economics at the University ofWarwick found that happy workers are 12 per centmore productive than the average worker, andunhappy workers are 10 per cent less productive. Infact, unhappy employees cost American business over $300 billion each year. So it literally pays tomake sure your employees are happy.

Low-level engagement within companies results in a 33 per cent decrease in operating income andan 11 per cent decrease in earnings growth, whereas companies with high-level engagement have a19 per cent increase in operating income and a 28 per cent increase in earnings growth.

GLOBAL HR

The heart and soul of a business

organizational culture


Facts, statistics, practices, perspectives and more...

Facts and figures

��

��

�� A Deloitte report on the Global Human Capital Trends2015, states that culture and engagement is no longer anarcane topic owned by HR. It is now an imperative forevery leader and every executive in the organization.Many studies now show that highly engaged companiescan hire more easily, deliver stronger customer service,have the lowest voluntary turnover rates, and be moreprofitable over the long run.

Google, a highly rated "best place to work" in manystudies, focuses heavily on culture. The companyregularly measures dozens of factors to understand whatmakes people productive and happy. This research hasshaped Google's workplace culture in myriad ways-fromthe company's open workplace design and unlimitedvacation policy to the provision of free gourmet foodand on-site laundry services for employees.

��


GLOBAL HR

B E N C H M A R KP R A C T I C E S

cuttingE D G E

Google: The most top-rated workplace among various researches andthe first ranker on the 'Great Place to Work' list, Google's perks andpay are well known: free high-qualitymeals, meditation facilities, onsitehealth professionals and fitnesscentres. Less known are internalprograms like "Grow," which helps employees find opportunities,resources and advice for their professional development. The "Grow"one-stop shop allows employees to manage their growth within thecompany. Employees feel valued and are able to see future growthperspectives internally itself.

Cisco: Earlier this year, Cisco launched a recognition program acrossthe enterprise called "Connected Recognition." The idea behind it is

to identify and celebrate outstandingemployee work without delay. The programseeks to eliminate the bureaucratic lagbetween employees' achievement andrecognition. Anyone can nominate a

colleague for an award. To amplify the impact of the recognition, theprogram incorporates social media into the mix, allowing the honor toextend beyond the company's walls (though employees can requestthat it remains private). Such a practice inculcates a collaborativeculture of appreciation and acknowledgement.

Mars: Free candy, drinks and ability tobring pets into the workplace are justsome of the perks that come with workingat this maker of candy, beverages, andpet food. The company takes workplace safety very seriously sinceemployees often work with complex machinery and materials toproduce its food products, which include M&M's, Snickers, Pedigree,Orbit and Uncle Ben's. Mars provides a variety of wellness programsto different regions to keep its employees fit. Says one employee, "Youcan't talk about Mars unless you talk about people. In mostmanufacturing businesses, the leaders are thinking about equipment,assets, metrics, and the bottom line - but Mars clearly understandsthat we can't get any of that without people."

Hyatt: Each June, Hyatt locationsaround the world participate in'Celebrating Our People', a week-longevent that recognizes the company's

most important asset - their people - and their tremendous dedicationto caring for Hyatt's guests. During Celebrating Our People week, hotelmanagers go above and beyond to thank their staff in quirky andunexpected ways. Many times, managers will reverse the associate-serving-guest dynamic and let their people experience Hyatthospitality. For example, managers might valet associates' carswhen they arrive for work in the morning, set up a car wash in theassociate parking lot and wash all the cars, serve the food in theassociate restaurant or cook a meal at a special banquet during theweek. It's a great opportunity for managers to thank their teams fortheir excellent service and for associates to experience Hyatthospitality in a fun way.

Fostering a people-friendly cultureResearch says…� Research shows that in most companies,

engagement is low. According to a 142-country

Gallup report, only 13 per cent of the global

workforce is "highly engaged." While only 12

per cent believe their organizations are

excellent at effectively driving the desired

culture.

� A Columbia University study shows that the

likelihood of job turnover at an organization with

high company culture is a mere 13.9 per cent,

whereas the probability of job turnover in low

company cultures is 48.4 per cent.

� Statistics from New Century Financial

Corporation indicate that employees who are

actively engaged in their job, i.e., happy,

produce better results. Companies with a great

culture and happy employees:

- Outperform the competition by 20 per cent

- Earn 1.2-1.7 per cent more than their peer

firms

- Are 2.1 per cent above industry

benchmarks

- Happy workers are also more likely to solve

difficult problems faster


Microsoft: Microsoft encourages its employees to recognize thatgood ideas can come from anywhere. It isn't about level, role, tenureor title. One of the ways Microsoft fostersinnovation and the creation of good ideas isthrough campus workplace design. From the moment you step ontothe Microsoft campus, you see how great ideas spark in commonspaces where people meet to brainstorm and collaborate inside andoutside of buildings. A variety of meeting spaces with the latesttechnology fosters diversity of thought. And while the training anddevelopment resources at Microsoft are endless, most people learnon the job - from the smart, curious people they sit next to everyday. After work, many head to Microsoft's 24-hour idea factory, TheGarage, where they explore wild ideas in a space filled with peerswho cheer them on and encourage their dreams. Now that's truly aculture of collaborative learning and innovation!

Zappos: Zappos has an employee culture thatseems very much of one mind, focused oncustomer service and not in some sort of cookie-

cutter corporate way. Zappos really cares that you're happy, and it'sbaked into their beliefs, their customer interaction, and even the waythey hire. "When we hire people we do two sets of interviews. Thehiring manager and his or her team will do the standard fit withinthe team, relevant experience, technical ability and so on. But thenour HR department does a second set of interviews purely for culturefit", says Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos. And the thing that Zappos figuredout, and continues to deliver on, is the idea that people who don'tfit the company culture are better off being paid to leave as thecompany literally pays a bonus of $2000 to its new hires to quitif they don't seem to fit in. In the end, the culture is about more thanmoney. "It's not me saying to our employees, this is where our cultureis. It's more about giving employees permission and encouragingthem to just be themselves", adds Hsieh.

Wal-Mart. Founder Sam Walton's concern andrespect for staff from the foundation of the companycreates an environment of trust that persists to this day. Walton metstaff, calling them by their first name and encouraged change tomaintain the competitive edge. To this day, staff think about "howSam would have done it".

Southwest Airlines. Its relaxed culture can betraced back to unconventional CEO Herb Kelleher,who encourages informality and wants staff to

have fun at their jobs. Employees are valued, with Kelleheracknowledging births, marriages and deaths by notes and cards. Staffis encouraged to pitch in and help out, especially at check-in, givingSouthwest turnaround times less than half the industry average.

Hewlett Packard. Problems several yearsago encouraged HP to change its culture;staff are required to formulate three personal and three professionalgoals each year, and are encouraged to cheer those that meet them,such as getting away early to be with family. Two years into theprogram, HP reports no loss in productivity despite staff workingshorter hours and there is an increased staff retention rate. Theprogram has been marked by the extent to which managers boughtin, and modelled it in their personal lives.

B E N C H M A R KP R A C T I C E S

cuttingE D G E

Quora has a "vacation tax" that everyone likesto payQuora does this great thing called a "vacation tax," that helpsemployees bond, shares Nikhil Garg, an engineer at theMountain View, California, company. "Employees bring in exoticfood items for everyone in the office after every vacation/trip,"Garg says.

Fresh Tilled Soil gives its employees an all-expense paid "workation"Richard Banfield, CEO of Fresh Tilled Soil, gives his employeesone of the best perks ever: a "workation." He explains: "Forworkation we send our staff to exotic locations like Costa Ricaand the Dominican Republic. The idea is for them to try workingremotely from some unusual location. We pay for their air ticket,accommodation and food - as well as surfing lessons orsomething that gets them out if their comfort zone." They dohave to work a full day but they also get time to "surf, do yoga,or whatever they want." And it's not counted as vacation time.

Softwire pays for singing lessons for everyoneLondon-based Softwire offers its employees an unusual perk:music lessons.

"We have a drum and a singing teacher who come into theoffice regularly to teach lessons to whoever wants one - we alsohave a couple of bands within the company," says managingdirector Zoe Cunningham. If music isn't your thing, thecompany has a "Morale budget" where it arranges for otherkinds of on-site lessons, like sushi-making.

At Buffer, employees keep no secrets, not evenabout their sleeping habitsBuffer, an 11-employee startup in San Francisco, has created atell-all culture with its hacks. One of them is pretty wild, asdescribed by cofounder Leo Widrich in a Q&A with Inc.'s JeffHaden. For instance, the company gave every employee aJawbone UP wristband. It allows you to automatically track yoursleep, your daily steps, your nutrition, and a lot more, and theyshare their results with the rest of the company. Haden wastrying to help people improve their sleep patterns so they couldbe happier and more productive at work.

At OZ they bring mom's home cooking, andmom, to workGudjon Mar Gudjonsson, CEO and founder of Iceland startupOZ, said one of his favorite culture hacks was to have a teammember invite his/her mom or dad to help that team membercook lunch at the office. "It's a great little hack that can bothenhance the company culture and even increase theproductivity of the team," he said.

Incredible ways thesestart-ups hacked a greatworkplace culture

GLOBAL HR


DID YOU KNOW1

The MRIC 2013 Talent Report (formerly the MRI China Group), a leading executive recruitment organization inChina, surveyed more than 5,000 professionals and managerial talent across Greater China and Singapore to find

out what matters to them, including their perception of company culture. The research confirms that employees valuea clear vision of company direction, believing that a good understanding of where their company is heading can assurethem of job stability and support their own career advancement.

In addition, according to the MRIC Talent Report Chinese-language respondents report greater focus on quality ofleadership while Western-language respondents place greater emphasis on company values and their colleagues,

as the most important cultural aspects.On the other hand, most Japanese stick to one employer usually for a lifetime as the firms have a great way ofretaining employees through monetary rewards apart from salary. Moreover, in comparison to the US where

companies emphasize greatly on work-life balance, family time or personal time, the work culture in Japanese companiesis more workplace-centric given that they view work as the core of life.

Australia seems to be much friendlier in their overall work culture as the Business Insider recently reported a fewpeculiar yet great facts about Australian work culture. It stated that Australians socialize a lot after work, irrespective

of what day of the week it may be. Unlike Americans, Australians don't fret over office romances until one is professionaland transparent during office hours. Another notable feature of Australian work culture is that in most companiesthere are no hierarchies as they believe in encouraging the same level of respect and engagement with all employees.

Owing to reasons such as increasing office rents, traffic and declining air quality due to pollution, many foreignemployers in China have opened up to flexible working arrangements for their white collar employees. According

to a survey of more than 20 US-China Business Council (USCBC) member companies, many are now allowing flexiblestart and finish times, working from home, and opportunities to transition to part-time work, the benefits being mostlyavailable only to middle and upper management.

2

3

4

5

GLOBAL HR


Rirregularities and misappropriation of over$5 million with his employers throughfraudulent payrolls and illegally writtenchecks. He admitted to money launderingand breach of trust. In fact, it was laterfound that over a period of six years,Mehra had created a list of fictitiousemployees on the company payroll, keptformer employees on the payroll andincluded individuals on the rolls, whoprovided personal services to him. Hemade electronic payments to these 'ghost'employees and deposited the amounts tohis personal accounts. Apparently, hemanaged to hide these ostensibleaccounting irregularities from the auditor'seye by circulating the funds from one hotelto the other. The irregularities came in tolight, when the hotel hired a new treasurer,Raman Kumar, who questioned duplicateinvoices that had been sent to him forapproval and payment. He was surprisedthat no one noticed or questioned thesebogus expenditures in the past six years. Ittriggered Kumar to alert the managementand expose Mehra's wrong doings. An

ahul Mehra, a senior VicePresident with a top notchhospitality brand was presentedbefore the Court of Law forhaving committed financial

HR PRACTICE


InterGlobe Hotel' initiative 'I Speak', as part of its

whistleblowing mechanism, encourages employees to

commit to the organization's Code of Conduct and report

any incident of actual or potential violation of the CoC or

any other laws governing InterGlobe.

Speak up!

investigation was soon called upon whichexposed numerous discrepancies in thehotel's records. Owing to the organization'sstrong whistleblowing policy thatencouraged and gave adequate protectionto its whistleblowers, Kumar raisedconcerns as a step towards fraudprevention. Moreover, had Kumar notpushed the case, Mehra's wrongdoingwould have been concealed forever.

Organizations globally are encouragingwhistleblowing and adopting whistleblowingpolicies to curb unethical malpracticeswithin the system. High profile cases ofcorporate fraud by employees havecompelled organizations to build a cultureof openness and honesty where employeesfind it their ethical responsibility to bringunethical practices to the forefront, withthe option to stay anonymous. One suchorganization that has come up with astrong internal mechanism to encouragewhistleblowing and prevent fraud ishospitality brand Interglobe Hotels. "ISpeak" is an initiative that is launched byInterGlobe Hotels as a part of itswhistleblowing mechanism.

The initiative encourages all itsemployees to commit to the InterGlobe'sCode of Conduct (CoC) and report anyincident of actual or potential violation of


HR PRACTICE

the CoC or any other laws governing theorganization without fear of beingvictimized or reprimanded.

The Code of Conduct at InterGlobe hasbeen created to keep it aligned with theorganization's three core values namely -Integrity, customer orientation and future-mindedness. To achieve this, the CoCdefines the expectation from all itsbusinesses and employees. It enables theemployees to red flag anything, which isnot aligned with the ethics and professionalway of working at InterGlobe.

Vinay Jaswal, Vice President- HumanResources, InterGlobe Hotels, believes thatan efficient whistleblowing mechanism actsas a tool to detect and mitigate risks.

It not just about creating a policy, it isabout ensuring its effectiveness. Thefollowing parameters will act as keyenablers to increase the effectiveness of themechanism.� Hotline with 24/7 availability� Multiple reporting channels� Outsourcing of reporting platform� Confidentiality of complaints/complainants� Protection of the whistleblower

I Speak as a program ensuresconfidentiality and protects the employeefrom any backlash. The organization has

When they faltered…� On April 17th 2015, Chronicle reported where a desk

information officer at FBC Bank in Bulawayo allegedly

connived with a worker at Rainbow Hotel to steal

$41,846 from the hotelier.

� On February 26th 2015, Jamica Observer reported

on how three employees of the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel

in Kingston plotted together and allegedly transferred

a total of US$130,000 from the company's account to

their personal bank accounts. Indian hoteliers are also

not alien to incidences of fraud as well.

� In 2013, Times of India reported an incident when an

IT management firm duped Hilton hotel management

private services of Rs 2.9 crore in the name of hotel

management employees' provident fund (PF).

� On April 2015, India Samvad reported case where

over 200 employees of Mumbai's Oberoi Trident Hotel

in Nariman Point were not paid tips or service charges

by the management. The staff alleged that Oberoi's,

running a chain of five star hotels, misappropriated

an amount of Rs 3 crore by deducting from staff

salaries a portion of tips earned by them. The tips

were collected till 2005 but the hotel retained the

amount illegally till 2014.

further devised three channels, i.e., helpline,email and website, which can be used by theemployee to report a concern, without thefear of being targeted, harassed or threat tolife.

"If an employee is not comfortablemaking any complaint to his/her Manager/Supervisor then he/she may choose to usethe Whistle blowing mechanism. Thecomplaints received through the abovementioned channels are attended to by anIndependent Ombudsman - a person whodirectly reports to the ComplianceCommittee. At all times it is ensured that theconfidentiality of the complaints/complainants is maintained," asserts Jaswal.

Why it found a place?In the last few years, organizations havewitnessed significant reforms and have madea strong push towards robust ethicsframework. The Companies ACT 2013 hasalso been a major driver of this change,fuelling good practices among organizations.One of the key provisions of the ACTincludes establishment of vigil mechanismwith an oversight responsibility of the Audit

Committee for its monitoring. To makethe vigil mechanism effective, there

was a need of a Code of Conductto guide the employees and

vendors on ethical practices.A whistleblowing

mechanism is recognized asa strong tool for detectionand deterrence of fraud. Infact, surveys conducted byACFE indicate that thewhistle blowing mechanismis the most powerfulmethod of identifying fraudin organizations. Aligningthemselves with leadingglobal practices companies

have felt the urgent need to implementwhistleblowing mechanism.

At InterGlobe, the whistleblowingmechanism started as a pilot with one oftheir business in 2013 and then it graduallygot rolled over to all the businesses.According to Jaswal, having an efficientcommunication channel encourages internaland external stakeholders to raise alerts andtake the initiative to bring corrupt practicesto the notice of concerned authorities.

Therefore, "The idea was to ensure itsusage in a situation where a person does notfeel comfortable using any of the usualchannels of communication or protocols toraise a concern (e.g., immediate supervisoror the Human Resources), or where theperson has reason to believe that using thetypical communication and reportingchannels has been, or would be,unsuccessful," he asserts.

Did you know?In India most companies have instituted more

than one channel to report their concerns. The

companies are still implementing this platform.

As per a recent survey conducted (80

respondents) by EY the following is the status of

the compliances with the various provisions of

the act:

No. Provision % of

compliance

1 Oversight by Audit 42%

Committee

2. Direct Access to Chairman 47%

of Audit Committee

3. Safeguard against 78%

victimization

4. Penalty for action taken on 33%

frivolous complaints

VINAY JASWAL

Vice President- Human Resources, InterGlobe Hotels

HR PRACTICE

“

”

We believe that an efficient whistleblowing mechanism

acts as a tool to detect andmitigate risks.


Leading practices in IndiaAs per the survey done by EY, the difference of the

program in various industries displayed below will

indicate the existing whistle blowing mechanism in

India vis a vis a leading practice. These surveys

were conducted amongst Automotive, Telecom,

IT, Consumer products & BFSI companies.

S.No. Leading Practice % ofcompliance

1. Hotline as a reporting 57%

channel

2. Anonymity provided to 91%

Whistle blower

3. Fraud response plan 75%

4. Multiple reporting channels 44%

5. Outsource whistle blowing 32%

mechanism

The implementation processResearch suggests a number of conditionsthat are essential if a whistleblowingmechanism has to be successfullyimplemented in an organization. To startwith, employees have to be aware of theright steps to take when they want to raiseany ethical concerns within the organization.Additionally, employees must have theconfidence in the management that theirapprehensions will be taken earnestly andinvestigated upon. This is where the role ofleadership becomes critical. Unlawful activitycannot be amended unless organizationalleaders are aware of it.

Studies by Miceli, M. R. and Near, I. P.(1985) suggest that many employees who firstreport their concerns internally later gooutside the company with their informationif they perceive their organizations to beunresponsive. In such cases, employees haveto be reassured that they will not beharassed or being victimized for reportingdangerous or illegal activity. Studies by Near,J. P. and Jensen, T. C. (1983) suggest thatemployees who believe that management willretaliate for expressing concerns may bemore likely to blow the whistle outside theorganization.

At InterGlobe, the implementation of CoCunderwent the following steps to improveaccountability and individual responsibilitywithin the organization:

To begin with, one of the businesses wastasked for the pilot. The project committeeof the business and the corporate

governance team then prepared the firstdraft. This was reviewed by the leadershipteam of the business, the corporateleadership team and the corporate legalteam. Post this; it was rolled out in detailwithin the business that it was piloted in.Currently, it has been implemented across allInterGlobe businesses.

Tackling employee apprehensionA key objective of a whistleblowing policy

is ensuring fair treatment of employees. Fairtreatment increases the probabilities thatboth whistleblowers and the accused aretreated justifiably. Therefore, the ethicalimperative is to create an impartial place ofwork.

The confidentiality and the protection ofthe whistleblower are the two key aspectswhich encompasses the concerns of theemployees. Promoting and encouraging aculture of transparency and zero tolerancetowards code of conduct violation arecritical. Moreover, the policies have to ensurethat employees do not make malicious orirresponsible charges of wrongdoing that arenot supported by facts.

"In organizations like ours, leaders activelyreach out to explain the dos and the don'ts ofdoing fair business to the rank and file. Wealso make it a point to reinforce ourcommitment towards Code of Conduct bypublicly promoting positive behaviours," quipsJaswal. "Regular training and awareness of theemployees is essential for the success of thisplatform and we ensure that this is impartedin a timely manner," he concludes. HC

HR PRACTICE


Uniting culture

with diversity

CASE STUDY

BY DR. PRAGEETHA G RAJU

Culture being a resilient element cannot be changed overnight with generic

prescriptions. While M&As are meant to enhance the economic value, aspects like

culture on post-merger or acquisitions are not given significant weightage as they

come under the manageable propositions.


Tmeetings between the two firmsgave both of them a feeling thatthey can meld easily. However,after the merger, the difficultiesbegan. The cultures of both ofthe companies were juxtaposedwith each other and finally therewas no choice but to demerge.

It was a mid-summerafternoon on 18 May, 2015 in theconference room located in thethird floor of a five storeyedbuilding. Four men were foundaround the table, mildly sweatingin the AC room, with some filesstrewn before them. The numberof coffee cups lying on the tableshowed that some serious debatesand discussions were happeningthere. The entry was restricted toeveryone in the office, except theoffice boy who ran inside withcoffee mugs tray as and whenthere was an indicative bell. Ataround 11:30 a.m., there was afifth entry into the room. He isDr. Kalyan, a strategicmanagement consultant whoseservices were hired to help themen. One of the four openedhis mouth, adjusted his voice andsaid, "I felt it would be easy forme to work here but….. I amsorry I was wrong"! The manopposite nodded his headapprovingly and said, "I too feltthe same…. was our decision tomerge incorrect"?! The other twomen got alert. There was amuffled silence for a long time.Each one sighed deeply. The twomen uttered exasperatedly, "wherewe wanted to be… and where weended up!!!" Dr. Kalyan broke thesilence and asked to brief himabout the issue that is botheringthem. One of them begannarrating.

Ahalya group, an architecturalfirm in Hyderabad decided tomerge with Finetune Architectswho had offices in Mumbai, NewDelhi, and Jaipur. Ahalya group

started in 1990 by Mr. SrikantAmanaganti (Srikant) who iseducated from IIT and IIM. Healong with his friends startedAhalya architects and graduallyexpanded into allied services andrenamed the company as Ahalyagroup. Now it is time for thegroup to geographically expandand they found FinetuneArchitects to be an ideal partnerto collaborate. The heads of bothcompanies thought that theircultures would meld easily. Forthe Ahalya group, the goal of themerger was to expandgeographically and to broaden itsrange of projects. Already wellknown for its educational andhotel buildings, the Ahalya group'smanagement wanted to begindoing design work for theentertainment industry. TheFinetune Architects were wellknown for their work in hotelsand the entertainment industry,but economic conditions in Jaipurarea, meant that they needed tolook for opportunities elsewhere.As usual, the managers at bothfirms discovered that, althoughanalyzing whether a merger makesfinancial and strategic sense easy,successfully merging two corporatecultures is much more difficult.

When Ahalya group's Chief, Mr.Srikant visited the offices ofFinetune, they liked the look andfeel of the work environment.The physical spaces remindedthem of their own offices, andthey could see that the principalpartners still liked to be activelyinvolved in project design. "I feelit would be easy for me to workthere", said Srikant. Similarly,Finetune's chief, Mr. Srinivas YReddy (Reddy) visited Ahalya'soffice and said, "I want to see live,vibrant contribution on theownership side. Subsequent visitsto each other's' offices and homesreinforced their beliefs that thetwo teams would work welltogether.

Finally, both the organizations

CASE STUDY

merged but shockingly, thehoneymoon lasted less than ayear. By then, the central valuedifferences between the two firmsbecame more obvious.

Dr. Kalyan asked, "What werethe differences"? Although neitherhad a formal dress code, theAhalya group employees mostlywore ties to work, whereas thestaff in Mumbai and New Delhipreferred knit shirts. Ahalya'semployees worked full five-dayweek, but on Friday afternoonsthey could not reach anyone inNew Delhi or Mumbai officesbecause those offices routinelyclosed at midday on Friday.Srikant admitted, "At first wewondered if they were just lazierthan we were. But we just had toadjust". Communication patternswithin the firm also differed. TheAhalya group didn't hold nearly asmany meeting as Finetune and

his case is about the mergerof two Architecture firms.As usual a couple of

Dr. Prageetha G Raju is an Associate

professor of HR at Symbiosis

International University, Hyderabad

campus. She can be contacted at dr.

[email protected] and/or

[email protected]

Dr. Prageetha G RajuAssociate Professor - HR

Symbiosis International University

Hyderabad


when they did meet, there wasalways a clear agenda. Finetuneadmitted that some of theirpartners' meetings were more likefamily fights than discussionsbetween professionals. Finetune'scandid behavior with each otherwas beneficial, but the screamingshocked Ahalya's team, whichFinetune described as using a"Hyderabad-nice style". Therewere even differences in how thetwo firms handled bill collections.Finetune's approach was easygoing, in the sense that they didn'tpress people whom theyconsidered trustworthy foroverdue payments. Ahalyadisapproved: "if you don't payyour electricity bills, they cut offelectricity. It is not mean or kind,it is just a policy and it has to besame for everyone". Anotherconsultant helped the mergedcompany to follow some commonvalues and he helped them draft itwith mutual deliberation and

CASE STUDY

consensus.The merger continued, and five

years after the merger, the twogroups are working together well.A visit to the company's websitemakes it clear to employees in thecompany play well together too.Uniting everyone is a common setof values that serve as thefoundation of the firm'sorganizational culture. Thevalues are as follows:� Relationships: They should beopen, forthright, and respectful.� Spirit: The firm shows respectfor the environment and fostersthe values and ideals of clients.� People: The firm is committedto having the best staff and toolsto support them.� Balance: The firm should offerpeople opportunities for personalas well as professional growth.� Profitability: Profitability fuelsthe growth of the organizationand helps secure the future of itsemployees.

But, now, after five years, thefundamental differences in themode of working and processstructures continue to prevail.For both the companies, thefinancial and strategic conveniencealso continued to exist because ofthe merger but the culturaldifferences were gettingunmanageable at times. Dr.Kalyan suggested that one way forAhalya group is to continue itsgrowth to expand through anothermerger. This time, Finetune saysthat he would make even moreeffort to ensure that there istotally open communication withthe other management team, aswell as with the staff. Mr. Reddysaid, "You can't hold anythingback. Chances are, what you areconcealing will be the problem.Better to find out today than afteryou have committed to thetransaction".

� The behavior norm for eachand every employee ( Ethicalconduct of employee)

� The structure andaccountabilities ( Role clarity )

� Governance mechanism andways of working (Decisionmaking style, leadership style,etc.)The next step is to the carry

out the diagnostics of the existingculture. The combination ofvarious tools can be used for thediagnostics such as interview withsenior management teams,dialogues with employees, analysisof decision-making processes,customer interviews andemployee surveys, etc. Thediagnostics gives a picture of theoverall culture of theorganization. The existingcultural and the desired culturalaspect are required to bemapped. It may so happen thatthere could be good matches insome cultural aspects and there

could be gap vis a vis desired.The third step in the journey is tointegrate the culture. Here thecultural mapping plays the keyrole wherein the matches ofdesired cultural aspects to beleveraged and action plan to beprepared for the gaps.Interventions such as large scaleintegration process, workshops,shared vision, mission and valueexercise help in communicatingand establishing the desiredculture. The final step of theprocess is managing change.Interventions such as behavioraltraining programs, individualcounseling, recognitionmechanism for exhibiting desiredbehavior and values, formation ofcross-functional teams, etc., couldbe supplemented to manage andsustain the cultural change.Irrespective of various nuances ofcultural integration, the wholemotive of delivering businessresults through effective decision-

At the Outset, I would like toemphasize on my ownunderstanding of culture in

organizational context. It is set ofshared values, beliefs andassumptions which determineattitude and behavior of people oforganization. Culture beingresilient element, it cannot bechanged overnight with genericprescriptions. While mergers andacquisitions are meant to enhancethe economic value, aspects likeculture on post-merger oracquisitions are not givensignificant weightage as they comeunder the manageablepropositions. However, culture isnot a mere manageableproposition; instead it can createhavoc in to the entire process ofmerger and acquisition. 'Ahalya'and 'Finetune' should jointly workout the desirable cultural agendafor the merged organization. Theagenda should cover three primeissues which area as under:


Analysis by Santosh Rai

CASE STUDY

making process to be the primecriteria and therefore theleadership plays the key role incultural integration and culturebuilding.

Workplace diversityIn today's era of click and portalbased organization, whereintechnological advancement havecreated virtual market spaces theworkplace diversity has becomeinevitable. Since diversityencompasses all the ways inwhich people are different andunique, there are many differentforms of diversity present inorganizations. Commonlyaccepted types of diversityinclude differences in age, race,ethnicity, religion, educationalbackground, managerialexperience, seniority status,personality characteristics, andenvironmental factors, amongothers managing diversity hasbecome integral part of culturalframework of organizations.

The foremost way ofaddressing workplace diversity isto establish all HR policies basedon the robust performance drivensystem. The policy should nothave any specific reservationbased on cast, creed, gender andcommunity. While hiring orassessing the person hisassessment should be based onhis/her level qualification,experience and his professionaltrack record. The diversity can bebest utilized through formation ofteams with induction of people ofvaried cultural background, ageand gender and these taskforcecan deliver the higher level ofperformance. There has to bestructured grievance redressalmechanism in place to addressthe issue of favoritism ordiscriminatory behavior. Theforums of such redressals act asan enabler for promotingdiversity at the workplace.

Recent studies support thenotion that there are manybenefits associated withpromoting increased diversity.Diversity awareness throughout

organizations adds further valueto the benefits and advantages. Ifthe leadership of the organizationsuccessfully identifies the differenttypes of diversities present in hisor her team, the business is onestep closer to being able tocapitalize on these individualdifferences by way of improvingteam success. Furthermore, oncethe unique capabilities of eachindividual have been identified,the team leader should be able toencourage team members tobecome aware of these diversequalities and appropriately usethem to achieve team goals.

There are additional benefitsassociated with enhancingdiversity awareness andappreciation. In addition tosimply creating a more diverseteam, organizations can expect togain many benefits if the teammembers have successfullylearned to identify and appreciatedifferent types of diversities. Firstand foremost benefit is that heteam members become aware ofone another's unique abilities andlearn to identify ways to utilizethese strengths to moreeffectively to achieve a commongoal. The second benefit toincreasing diversity awareness isimproved interpersonalrelationships. Team members whounderstand and appreciate thedifferences in the team are betterequipped to resolve conflicts bytaking into consideration potentialcultural barriers and differencesin personal conflict resolutionstyles. In this way the culture ofinterdependence is created inorganization. The third benefit isbeing able to accurately meetcustomer demands andexpectations. Diverse teammembers understand thatindividual differences are benefitsrather than burdens, whichenables them to develop deeperand more meaningfulrelationships with customers whoshare similar unique qualities.

Taking positive cognizance ofdiversity and nurturing of this bysuitable and sustainable

In a career spanning 16 years in

Human Resources and Industrial

Relations, Rai has successfully

anchored various productivity

improvements and manpower

rationalization initiatives

including job evaluations. He has

also practiced innovations in

talent acquisition.

Santosh RaiDGM-HR & IR, L&T Special Steels &

Heavy Forgings, Hazira, Surat (Guj.)

interventions will always givesustainable advantage to businessand Mr. Reddy of 'Finetune'should adopt this principle asinherent culture of neworganization which willdemonstrate higher order ofsynergy and goal orientation.

To summarize, building cultureis process of defining andadhering value systems andbeliefs, communicating to thepeople of organization aboutdesired value and beliefs,Leadership to demonstrate the setvalues through exhibitingbehaviors, recognizing the rightset of behaviors and discouragingundesired value system. Theaforesaid actions are vital aspectsof culture building. The entirejourney is about unity of culturewith diversity of workforce inmajority cases of successfulmergers and acquisitions.


CASE STUDY

The case given above is aclassic example of a mergerdoomed for failure right

from the outset. Though afinancial and strategic fit, thecultural aspect was given merely acasual significance and the failurewas no surprise. Just couple ofmeetings! Few superficial thingslike the 'physical spaces' or'Principal Partner's involvement inproject design' were enough toconvince them that they could gelwell together! In fact, having givensuch trivial importance tounderstanding the cultural aspect,any success in this case wouldhave been the case of playingblind and getting it right.

If cultural understanding andassimilation are so important incase of any acquisition or merger,then why do organizations treatthis aspect so lightly? The answerlies in the definition,

understanding, perception and theinterpretation of culture. Culture isa widely used but the leastunderstood phenomena. We talkabout a country's culture whereasevery state within that country,every district within a state, maydiffer widely on any givenparameter of the culture. We talkabout our family culture whereevery person in that family maybe diametrically different fromeach other. But paradoxically,despite all these dichotomies, acountry's culture can be describedor a family's culture can beexplained. Despite the subjectivityand the philosophy involvedbehind a cultural phenomenon, aculture can be understood. Anorganizational culture is notdifferent and the same principlesapply here also.

It would be quite a feat to findtwo organizations with similarunderstanding of culture, forgethaving the same cultures. Whatneeds to be determined here iswhether the cultures of the twoorganizations are compatible. Herecompatibility means whether bothcultures can coexist or mergeseamlessly without losing theiruniqueness. It is like a marriagewhere you don't expect partnersto change their personalities butcomplement each other.

The cultural assessment shouldbe as important part of the duediligence as financial and otheraspects. So many things go behindmaking and defining anorganizational culture - history,myths and legends, organizationalstructure, policies, leadershipprofile, customers' profile, vendors'profiles, the work practices, theconstitution of the board and soon. Each and everything mentionedhere would reveal a bit and takethe story of that organization'sculture forward. It would allowpeeps inside many mysteries. Itwould unfold various angles. Thiswould tell you whether thecompany has a centralized decisionmaking process or the

decentralized one; whether it has aculture of transparency andopenness or otherwise; whether ithas a vertical and downwardcommunication culture or the 360degree communication orientation;whether it has a highlybureaucratic culture which stiflescreativity or there is a balancedapproach giving creativity anelbow-room; whether it has freefor all culture, having no systemicorientation or otherwise. Thisprocess of understanding requirestime and unfortunately the leastamount of time is given to thisaspect as we have seen in thegiven case where couple ofmeetings gave the stakeholders afeeling that they could meld easily.This has to be the most diligentprocess of any due diligence beforedeciding upon acquisition ormerger decisions. This time has tobe spent in doing basic research,reading reports, understanding thestructure & the policies, meetingorganization's various stakeholders- customers, vendors, employeesfrom various strata in theorganization, etc. This is apainstaking work and generally nottaken seriously.

So, where do we begin?An important factor not given dueimportance is 'deep understandingof one's own culture'. If I don'tknow myself well, how do I knowwhether I can get along with you!Therefore, before we embark onthe assessment of anotherorganization's culture, it is utmostimportant that first we define anddescribe our own organization'sculture clearly - our valuesystems, our beliefs, our structure,our decision making methods andso on. We need to understandthem well enough to articulatethem. It is not good enough to goby gut feel and hunches like "Ibelieve we have a transparentculture or we have an atmosphereof trust all around". Can we backthem up? Can we substantiatethem? Sprinkling of few oddinstances would look likeexceptions rather than support

Nalin Kumar Thakur brings more

than 30 years of experience in the

field of Systems & Processes, out of

which more than 15 years have

been with Anil Group. His previous

experience was, 14 years in the

field of Systems with Tata Steel.

Presently, he is heading Human

Resource, Personnel &

Administration, Systems, and

Information Technology Services.

Nalin Kumar ThakurGroup President - HR & Systems

Anil Group of Companies


Analysis by Nalin Kumar Thakur

CASE STUDY

them. While articulating them wehave to bring in the evidences ofstructure, policies, frameworks,guidelines, practices etc.

Having understood our ownorganization well, we can beginthe process of understanding theother set-up concerned. Here, likementioned earlier, we have tocover a wide spectrum, giveconsiderable time to the processand be absolutely unbiased. Lackof bias is an absolute must. Theentire objectivity would get lost ifwe are looking for what we wantto rather than be ready for thetwists and turns of the surprises.We can't formulate a preconceivedhypothesis and look for evidencesto support it. This is an easy trapto fall into and a formidablydamaging one.

Lastly, but the most importantand significant part of the exerciseremains to fit the pieces togetherand see the compatibility betweenthe organizations or the lack of it.This requires a healthy debate oneach and every point. Somethingmay look glitzy on the other side

but may stick out like a sorethumb after the amalgamation andthe vice versa. All other thingsremaining favorable, the culturalcompatibility or incompatibilitymust remain the deciding factor.

We also need to appreciate thatthe culture is a dynamic processand can never be understood centper cent in its entirety. Therewould still be fair amount ofsubjectivity but the steps definedabove, if carried out properly,would provide the whole processa fair amount of objectivity.

This work of culturalamalgamation and assimilationcontinues even after the merger,should the decision be so. Moreoften than not the acquiredorganization would suffer fromthe persecution complex - mainlyimagined, and the acquiringorganization would face hostility inevery nook and corner, in form ofpassive aggression. These mergersare generally perceived to besimilar to invasion on civilizations.And as the recorded history isproof, always in such scenario, the

receiving civilization closes thedoors and gets into extremeexclusivity. Organizational mergersare not different. All thesesyndromes would be there afterthe merger. They need to besensitively and patiently handled.

Diversity must be respected.The winds of change can comefrom any door, any window. Thecultural, gender and the agediversity would bring fresh andmultiple perspectives. How boringthe world would be if all of uswere alike! An exclusive anduniform culture is a dying culturebecause it runs out of fresh ideasafter a time. The all encompassingorganizational culture depicts avibrant, thriving and throbbingorganization. Welcoming diversityin an organization is a sure sign ofan organization being receptive todiverse ideas; an organization notafraid of getting its set normschallenged; an organizationproviding the playground forcreativity.

Diversity not only needs to berespected, it must be celebrated!

Culture is one of the mostoft spoken but frequentlymisunderstood words in

corporate language today. Formany the word 'culture' denotes acommon system of values andbeliefs that bind an organizationtogether. For others it issynonymous with how engagedtheir employees are; and there areconnotations of moral judgmentattached with it - for example,"We are extremely employeeoriented and hence have a goodculture''. For many, culture couldalso be perceived as theimmediate 'significantenvironment' their line managersprovide them; rather than thebroader organizational context.There are also frequent moraljudgments on whether a culture is'right or wrong.' For instance,'clan' culture promoting a highemphasis on employee

development is often perceived asthe best culture to have.

Ravasi and Schultz1 state thatorganizational culture is a set ofshared assumptions that guidewhat happens in organizations bydefining appropriate behaviour forvarious situations. It is also thepattern of such collectivebehaviours and assumptions thatare taught to new organizationalmembers as a way of perceivingand, even, thinking and feeling.Thus, organizational culture affectsthe way people and groupsinteract with each other, withclients, and with stakeholders. Inaddition, organizational culturemay affect how much employeesidentify with an organization.Schein2, Deal3 and Kennedy4, andKotter5 advanced the idea thatorganizations often have verydiffering cultures as well assubcultures.

However, popular managementtheories such as the CVF -'Competing Values Framework'and others, teaches us to believeotherwise. An enabling culturewhich would help an organizationfocus and deliver its key businessstrategy - is one that is 'aligned' tothe overall business vision andmission of the organization. Appleis famous for fostering a cultureof 'innovation' amongst itsworkforce, which promotes itsoverall business strategy ofdynamism and innovation in itsproduct offerings and the waythey do business.

Therefore,1. While selecting a potentialacquisition partner, both 'Finetune'and 'Ahalya' should decide whattheir key business objective is.Hence a careful diagnosis of theirstrategic focus is critical. The


Analysis by Kamalika Mitra

consensus on alignment of thesekey levels, should integrationbetween the two entitiesconsidered.

Any merger or integrationprocess invariably brings with itmultitude of changes on mostdimensions for both parties. Asuccessful change managementprogram should be such that it isable to harness the strengths ofboth the change partners. Inaddition to managing change atthe broad culture platform, anyintegration process also bringswith it enhanced diversity in thenew merged entity. The impact ofmanaging this new - foundenhanced workforce diversity is aspivotal to the entire changeprocess, as is culture. Workplacediversity refers to the variety ofdifferences between people in anorganization. Diversityencompasses race, gender, ethnicgroup, age, personality, cognitivestyle, tenure, organizationalfunction, education, backgroundand more. Diversity is usuallywitnessed in more pronouncedterms in the new entity, asdemographic workforce segmentsalso expand with increase in sizewith two entities coming together.Hence sensitive issues like gender,age and culture diversity becomeeven more critical to thesuccessful implementation of anymerger plan.

Recommended steps that havebeen proven successful in world-class organizations are:a) Assessment of currentchallenges and obstacles towardsdiversity existing in the workplaceis one of the first and mostcrucial steps towards managingworkforce diversity during achange program. Tools such as'workforce climate sensing surveys'can help accomplish thisassessment for the company,efficiently and conveniently.b) Implementation of diversity inthe workplace plan: The key steptowards this milestone would be'leadership sensitization'. Thisprocess would mean driving theneed and impact of workforce

diversity amongst the leadershipteam of the merged entity. Thiscould be conducted throughfocused group discussions andbehavioural workshops to re- alignleadership to the changing corevalues and focus of the neworganization.c) Top management shouldincorporate diversity policies intoevery aspect of the organization'sfunction and purpose. This wouldmean ensuring diversityconsciousness exists not merely asa 'good - to - have' inorganization values charter, but astringent 'must have' in thecompany policy, which everyemployee is bound to follow,respect and adhere to.d) Respect towards workforcediversity should be something thatis given enhanced focus in themerged entity. This could bestrengthened through incorporatingmetrics testing an incumbent'sadherence and respect to work -force diversity, through clear KRAsetting in the merged entity whichwould clearly reward behavioursdemonstrating enhanced respectfor diversity at the work - place.e) The merged entity should alsoconsider ways of 'celebratingdiversity' - this could beimplemented through cross -functional work teams which havea healthy mix across age, genderand cultural demographics. Othermechanisms like reward andrecognition schemes enforcingdiversity have also found to besuccessful.f) Key processes such aspromotions, recruitmentmanagement cycles, significantwork environment and otherbusiness processes should alsoclearly demonstrate and enablethe new entity's focus onworkforce diversity.g) The top leadership team of themerged entity should evaluate andquantify the impact of a diversework - force and the benefits itcan bring in managing clients,customers and other stake -holders across varied demographicbackgrounds.

Kamalika Mitra is Project Leader at

Tata Strategic Management Group.

She has core expertise in HR

transformation, job evaluation, and

rewards strategy, amongst other

offerings. She has consulted clients

at a global level across public sector

as well as the corporate space. Mitra

has worked in top consulting firms

as well as corporate houses where

she has designed and implemented

people strategy. She is an accredited

CIPD Fellow (UK) and an alumnus of

the London School of Economics.

Kamalika MitraProject Leader

Tata Strategic Management Group

diagnosis should assess whetherthe focus should be centered onproduct leadership, or operationalexcellence, or customer intimacy.2. Based on the core strategicthrust of the organization, aculture profile which enableseffective execution of this strategicfocus should be adopted. Forexample; a business focus ofproduct leadership may becomplemented well by apredominant culture profile ofadhocracy characteristics.3. The top leadership of bothorganizations should clearly definewhat the shared culture wouldlook like were this acquisition togo ahead. This would mean aclear vision of the core values andorganizational pillars which wouldshape the key tenets of the culturetransformation process. Only ifthere is found to be mutual

HC

CASE STUDY


Getting the balance right!

The work environment has changedradically over the years paving its way fornew trends. Every company is focused

on employee safety, equal opportunities incareer, focus on learning & development,flexible benefits, employee engagement, andwork-life balance.

Work-life balance is a concept that supportsthe efforts of employees to manage their timeand energy between work and the otherimportant aspects of their lives. This enables aworking professional to make time for family,friends, community participation, spirituality,personal growth, self-care, and other personalactivities, in addition to the demands of theworkplace. As a professional grows in his/hercareer, the balancing act is a constant decision-making on a daily basis, especially for a workingmother who occupies a high leadershipposition at work, and is also a parent andpartner. Being able to manage these variousroles often requires having a solid supportsystem - the support of others such as familymembers, mentors, and peers - to be effectivein all areas.

Being a parent and working professionalwith significant leadership responsibilities at thesame time has its challenges. Work hours andeven travel, factors into the schedulingchallenges - achieving equal share in householdresponsibilities for any parent, and especiallyworking mothers, is a critical step to achieving asense of balance between career and home lifedemands.

"Being a full time working mother hastaught me a lot of things and has given mevarious challenges. In my current role of beinga Director for Training, I am responsible for thefunction overseeing the employee's trainingneeds across geographies, both for its new hireemployees as well as other client-requiredtraining for existing employees. With a scopespanning 15,000 employees and three countries,

BY ANKITA TEWARY RATHOD

Ankita Rathod is Director for Training at Convergys India, China andMalaysia.

HC

GUEST COLUMN

it is a significant responsibility.The key is to focus on a plan, get organized,

and find the right balance between professionand parenthood. One should make the most oftime with the child - it is not the amount oftime rather the quality of the time and thefocus one give during these moments. I makesure that my eleven year-old son is ready forschool every day on time, once I am backhome, I speak to him about his day, ensure thatmy weekends are dedicated to my child; I takehim to various activity classes, take interest inhis hobbies, and whenever I am have theopportunity, I cook a meal that he loves. What Ihave come to realize -and this is important toinculcate- is that my child also respects mywork and understands the value that it bringsto my own growth and to our family's well -being. The support of my husband as well asmy colleagues and mentors has proven to beinvaluable in enabling me to achieve my goals.

My advice to all working mothers is exactlywhat I practice - a belief and passion tobecome greater, make a difference, andmaximize one's talents, and also leveraging asupport system to effectively accomplishresponsibilities whether at work or otheraspects of life. I think the best thing I havelearned in my career at Convergys is howcrucial it is to create an effective team that issuccessful, because a successful team is whatmakes a successful leader. Being a leader in theworkplace is not about taking on all of thetasks, but about having the right team thatdelivers those, and the role of a leader is to setthe right direction, motivate, and coach theteam to achieve the goals."



We as human beings probably learnt to respond to rhythmic bodily movement with its sensationsand impulses, even before the term 'dance' evolved. While each of us have our own reason todance, notwithstanding, dance is a beautiful way of expressing one's emotions and feelings. Intimes when everyone is running against time, dancing serves as a reprieve. For Priyanka Mantri

of Mantri Developers, dance is the rhythm of her life, which always brings a huge smile on her face, even ifshe is exhausted after a long day's work. "Since a very early age, I developed a penchant for dancing. Dancinghas always helped me to express my emotions and feelings, allowingme to "let go" in times when I have had it tough," quips Mantri.

Extremely passionate about dancing, Mantri is vocal aboutthe fact that in spite of a satisfying career, it is dancing thatallows her to lose herself in the moment. Dance has alwaysbeen an excellent outlet to channelize her energy. "It is oneof the best ways to loosen up after a hectic day at work. Ifeel, it's an exciting workout routine to keep your body andmind healthy. It stabilizes and as well as helps to gain bettercontrol of the body," she says. "I ensure I dance at least foran hour each day. This not just improves myphysical performance but also increasesmy energy level. Besides, it has definitelyhelped me in dealing with stress. Italways alleviates my mood, and instantlyputs me in a better frame of mind,"Mandri adds.

Mantri loves to experiment with newdance forms because she believes thatwhen one learns a new dance style, it's likelearning about a new culture and heritage."I am particularly fond of learning westerndance styles. I constantly keepexperimenting with new dance forms," shesays.

As the Head Mantri S.E.V.A, herportfolio keeps her constantly on her toes.Leading the CSR wing for the company,she actively participates in serving thepeople and community. All this while, herpassion has never taken a backseat. "Whenyou truly love something, you will alwaysfind a way to make time for it. It's all

LIFE BEYOND WORK

The rhythm of life


Priyanka Mantri's penchant for dance has helped her "let go" in

times when she has had it the toughest.


LIFE BEYOND WORK

about managing your time well," she affirms."Dance is that one thing that fills me withlife and joy, it has changed the way Iapproach things. The dance movements havebecome another language or lens throughwhich I see things. I believe if you're trulypassionate, you will carve out some regulartime to do what you love," she adds.

When it comes to work, Mantri candidlyshares that dance has always helped herachieve more equilibrium in makingdecision. While it has enhanced hercommunication skills, it has on the otherhand, helped her keep her cool even instressful situations. "Remembering dancesteps are a good mental exercise. Itimproves memory and keeps the mindyoung, quick, alert and open. Experimenting with new dance styles has helped me adapt to newchanges more efficiently. It drives me to challenge myself to try different approaches to work. It hashelped me build trust in turn enabling me to function more effectively in a team," she asserts. Shefurther mentions that the time, dedication and coordination that dance demands have reflected in

her work. She has been able to improve her managerial skillsand given her an artistic outlet. Through dance, she hasdiscovered a routine to physical rejuvenation.While her fondness for dance is evident, she also shares thedancing is equivalent to meditation as it helps her connect toher inner self. "Dance has brought a considerable differencein my personality. It has boosted my confidence level andopened my mind to more creative perspectives, apart fromimproving my communication skills. Moreover, it has mecalmed me down," she concludes.

My mantra in lifeI believe in living life to the fullest and acceptevery challenge that comes your way. I overcomehurdles by confronting fear and turning mentalblocks into building blocks. I always stay focusedon my goals and never quit till I am convincedthat I have given my best.

My beginner's tipsDancing is more to do with the heart than themind. You enjoy something when you really lovewhat you are doing. Initially, take the time tolearn a little about dance styles and then choosethe one that you think suites you best. Learn tofeel the music and express those feeling with yourbody. It is important to become familiar with therhythm, listen to music suited to your dance styleto get a better understanding of the beat andstyle. Most importantly relax and have fun andthe rest will just follow naturally.

Dancing involves…Technique

Timing

Eye and hand coordination

Rhythm, emotion and personality

Soparrkar, who is a pro in ballroomdancing, offers dance lessons at the

offices of HUL, Lintas, HindujaHospital, Jet Airways, ICICI,

Westside and Citibank amongothers to train employees in danceforms like salsa, samba, rumba, cha

cha cha, waltz and tango amongother international forms of

dancing.

DID YOU KNOW

LIFE BEYOND WORK

Jacqueline Bonsee, senior modern and classical languages

major, said she dances for fun and exercise at least once a

week, preferably more. "Everything about dancing is

amazing. It releases endorphins, which makes me happy,

keeps me active, and it's the best stress reliever because it

makes me feel so free," she said. "Everybody dances in the

car and in their rooms, but there is something so great about

the experience of going out and dancing in public. I'm naturally

a shy person, so it forces me to get out of my shell and is a

great way to meet people."

Brenda Goodwin, instructor in the health, physical education

and recreation department, said, "There should be a variety

of physical activities available to people and not just what

our culture currently thinks is important, such as football or

jogging. Practically everyone listens to music, so dance is a

great alternative to more traditional exercise."

Source: http://www.the-standard.org/life/

dancing-boosts-health-relieves-stress

According to choreographer Sandip Soparrkar, "Western

dancing has actually become very popular with corporates.

With work pressure increasing and long working hours,

employees don't have the time and the energy to indulge in

any such activity after office hours. "So now with offices offering

dance classes, the employees can relax and learn new forms

in the office itself." "Attending dance classes in office helps

people come out of their shells and instils confidence in them.

It helps develop their personalities, which is an added

advantage. People from all age groups can learn these forms,"

he adds.

According to Tijo Rolls of Tijo's Dance Academy, western

dancing helps employees in many ways. "Firstly, it is a stress

buster and very enjoyable. Then the employees learn a new

form of dance; and the main thing is that employees from

different departments and levels dance in the same area.

"This helps to break the ice among people of different levels

in the organization and encourages team spirit," said Tijo,

who along with his trainers, takes classes in companies like

McCann Erickson, Tata Consultancy Services, Delloitte and

3G among others.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/notes/chartered-club-ca-

chartered-accountant-cs-cwa-cfa-cpa-cima-etc/corporates-

offering-dance-classes-to-de-stress-employees/

428201442291

Expert says….

Research shows….According to a 2008 study in the AmericanJournal of Health Education, dance was alsofound to increase life satisfaction. Dance is anoutlet for emotional expression, stress reductionand creativity that benefits youth during stressfulsituations by channeling their energy positivelyand helping them bond with peers.

A paper published in the American Journal ofDance Therapy linked tango training, meditationand exercise with reductions in stress andimprovements in insomnia.

Another study in 2004 by three Americanuniversities examined the psychological andneuroendocrine (specifically, the stress hormonecortisol) effect of taking yoga and African danceclasses, with positive results in terms of perceivedstress amongst the participants. There is a wealthof evidence that shows that combining dancewith relaxation modalities is effective andenjoyable for participants of all ages.

��

��


Traditionally, in a normal Indian household, awoman is expected to tread the conventionalpath where she is married off in her early twenties,bear children, start a family and call their careerquits. This is where most

stories end for many womenemployees; however, here is anintriguing story of a womanleader who has achievedgreatness at work including fame,glory and success post marriageand kids.

Vaijayanti Naik, Senior VicePresident and Head of HR atICICI Securities is a true exampleof resilience, who earned herspurs despite her personal andprofessional journeys beenclosely intertwined. Her bravemoves helped her forge her ownpath rather than follow atraditional route.

Having held key positions indifferent organizations, andmanaged bigger responsibilitiesback home, she never allowedprofessional commitment to playsecond fiddle to her personal

PERSONA

ANENTERPRISING

LEADER

obligations. True to her work as much to her familyresponsibilities, her dedication and her ability to multitaskhas made her a clear winner in life and work.

Naik's persevering character of never 'give in' andnever 'give up' helped herestablish not just her career butmany careers along the way. Inspite of an all-consuming andstressful career demands, she hasalways displayed a good attitude,a strong work ethic, and mostimportantly, a teachable spirit,which demonstrates her trueleadership potential. She owesmuch of her success to asupportive family, especially herspouse who has been the keyingredient in making importantchoices in life.

The journey begins…..Naik's professional days beganduring the pre-liberalisation era,when getting into engineering ormedicine were the only possiblecareer choices for a sciencestudent. While MBA wasconsidered a coveted degree, yet


Vaijayanti Naik, Senior Vice President and Head of HR at ICICI Securities is atrue example of resilience, who earned her spurs despite her personal andprofessional journeys been closely intertwined.

Rapid FireFavourite quote: Life is a roller coaster.. justgot to ride it…

Leadership style: Hands on!

Current professional goal: To institutionalizethe HR template for human capital businesses

Favourite book: Capital in the Twenty-FirstCentury by Thomas Piketty

Favourite music artist: Music of the 80's

I strongly believe in: the power of being fair….

Family for me is: where I come to re-energizemyself…..

On Sundays: I indulge in "me" time……

I deal with setbacks by…..bracing myself andstaying put despite the urge to get away

Things I never leave home without…..my cellphone, cash and credit cards


PERSONA

common perception was skewed towards what exactlywas taught in an MBA?" Nevertheless it was considereda good career path to tread. However, having marriedat an early age, Naik's professional journey did not takeoff on the same plane as it usually does for most womenher age.

Despite an early marriage and childbirth, heraspirations of a career never lost sight. With lofty dreams,she resumed her education post her marriage. Shegraduated in Mathematics followed by Masters in Science,and finally in 1986, she enrolled for the MMS course atthe Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, whenher baby was all of six months old. "The two years thatI spent at Bajaj (as we call it), I learnt my lessons inmultitasking and diversity. I do know that there is a lotbeing written on mindfulness and the perils of multi-tasking, but at that point in time I did exactly that!" quipsNaik. "Here I was Mathematics major absolutelyfascinated by the trilogy of sociology, psychology andeconomics and numbers, those days we had not heardbehavioural economics yet! It was here where I realisedthat the business of people is where my career lies,"she adds.

After completing her degree from MMS in 1988,she briefly worked with a firm, however, she had totake a break to care of her daughter since her husbandwho was a Captain in the Merchant Navy was sailing,and it was important to have one parent back homewith the child. Despite that she ensured that she wasoccupied doing meaning work. "During this break, Itaught and took up odd assignments and kept myselfengaged, apart from being a full-time parent," sheshares. After a long sabbatical, she decided to returnto a full time career in 1995. Considering the factthat her career saw several breaks, she picked upjobs that came her way, knowing the fact thatshe didn't have much of a choice. "I worked ata computer reseller and at a projectengineering consultancy firm in HR," shequips. These experiences got her back intothe groove and finally, she got her bigbreak two years later, when got theopportunity to work with a FrenchBanking major BNP Paribas and sincethen she has been working in HR inthe BFSI space. "When I got back toa full time HR career after a break,my big opportunity came when theFrench banking major BNP Paribashired me. Those were not the daysof talk on "returning moms" and"diversity hiring". Yet my bosses putfaith in me, hired me and I hope thatI never let them down," she asserts.

In 2006, she joined ICICI Securitiesand has been with them since then.She is currently accountable for thedesign and delivery of theorganizational people agenda.

"Having mantled the role of Business Partnership as wellas Product ownership, my key area of work includescoaching and partnering business leadership teams invarious initiatives leading to commercial outcomesthrough human resources strategy," she affirms.

The changing dynamicsTwo decades in the business of people and nine years atICICI Securities, Naik's professional journey has beenthrough different phases, which has only helped herevolve as a matured



In brief

NAME : Vaijayanti Naik

TITLE : Head – HR

ORGANIZATION : ICICI Securities Ltd

AGE : 50 years

EXPERIENCE : 20 years

YEARS IN HR : 20 years

EDUCATION : MSc(Maths), MMS

Perspectives� Some gaps that HR organizations need

to bridge in India Inc.

HR must be strategic partner to business.Be hungry to learn the drivers of thebusiness. Meet clients if possible. HRneeds to position itself strategically apartfrom the process custodian role. Developan inside out and outside in perspective

and not be only internally focused.

� Common errors that companiescommit while designing engagementpractices

These practices need to be sustained.They should be simple and not begimmicky. Involving the family and aconsistent approach is what wins the day.

PERSONA

The buzzer round...A mysterious benefactor wrote you a check for Rs 100, 0000and said, "Help me solve a problem!" … what would you say?"Pls make the cheque in the name of Vaijayanti Naik"

What's one thing you're deeply proud of - but would never puton your résumé?Nothing

What's one dream that you've tucked away, for the moment?Live in the country side of France.

Is there something that people consistently ask for your adviceon? What is it?Typically they are to do with people issues

When was the last time you astonished yourself?When I cleared my French language exams level 1 and 2 withflying colours, especially because I was competing with 20somethings.

What do you value most: free time, recognition, or money?Appreciation for a job well done

Are you living your life purpose - or still searching?Life is a journey and not a destination

and enterprising HR professional.She has closely observed the

evolution of HR in the past fewdecades from the shadows ofPersonnel and Administration tohuman and intellectual capitalbusiness. "In the past 20 years, Ihave seen the HR practice evolvefrom personnel administration tosetting up Performance Appraisaland Learning & Developmentprocesses to getting a seat at thetable," says Naik.

In the mid-nineties to early2000, she was involved in settingup the basic infrastructure in theorganizations she worked as workwas primarily on the PerformanceManagement Systems (PMS) and L&D processes. "I sawthat you cannot get credibility for any higher endprocesses if the regular day to day work does not chugalong with 100 per cent efficiency. Hence, I worked onboth efficiency and effectiveness. There was a lot ofwork on rewards on the principle of differentiation andcompensation and rewards started becoming very centralto HR," she asserts.

In the current scenario, people issues have becomecentral to strategy. It is not just restricted managingthem. In fact, she believes that the huge battle for talent

that erupted in the firstdecade of this century iswhat really put HRcenter stage. Therefore,it is an imperative forHR folks to learn toscale, train and makeresources ready for themarket place. "At ICICISecurities, the keychallenge for us is howdo we attract andmanage talent, build andsustain knowledgebusinesses. As L & Dchampions, I see usgetting into knowledgemanagement andcodifying the tacitknowledge. In thehuman capital business

that we are in, it will be a key deliverable from HR. Onthe retail side of the business, scaling up skills andmanaging communication, building culture through storytelling is what we do," she opines.

Reminiscing of the period between 2000 and 2007,she shares that it was 'scale up time' and all processeshad to be stabilized amidst rapid growth. Today, thingshave evolved; these processes have become a part of acompany's infrastructure. "We have to now work at using

culture to drive performance.The role of HR has alsobecome integral to the brandreputation, andcommunication with thestakeholders externally andemployees internally has tostay open at all times. Ouractions on the people front areobserved closely and it impactsour ability to hire and managetalent greatly. We now live alife in a fish bowl", she retorts.

Challenges & learningsShe joined ICICI Securitieswhen the war for talent was atits peak, hence had to work

really hard both on talent acquisition and retentionaspects of the business. During that time, the MNC'swere also setting up their desks in India which createddisruption in compensation scales in the BFSI sector.However, such tough times only ended up giving lessons.It taught that such times, the need to market and positionthe firm's offering to its employees externally is crucialand at the same time, consciously running acommunication plan around it is an imperative. "So mylearning in this phase was building the ability to managethe business cycles and employee aspirations hand inhand," asserts Naik.

She mentions that even in times when businesses arein a volatile state, employee aspirations continue to


HC

PERSONA

Are best HR strategies builton a futuristic vision?Not just HR but all business strategies have to be built on

futuristic vision. Helping the organization to be future ready

is what I strive to do. It means evolving talent management

frameworks, leadership development programs,

recruitment pipelines or internal processes that help the

firm meet its present goals and move towards its future

goals.

We keep our channels of engagement with the young

generation at the workplace on all the time. This helps us to

understand how the new workforce is thinking and then we

try to proactively manage their expectations and mould

their thinking in the direction we are seeking to take. There

are also interesting ideas that the young employees share

with us that helps to shape the business that we are in.

Setting up HR from scratchvs well-established HRframeworksI was fortunate to work for global firms. This exposed me

to well-established HR frameworks with international best

practices.

At ICICI Securities, I had the opportunity to set up HR

practices almost from scratch. The year that I joined, two

firms – ICICI Securities and ICICI Web Trade were integrated.

Due to different talent requirements, both firms had different

practices. I had to build internal frameworks using

technology to integrate the HR management systems. In

my experience, building systems is the easy part. Getting

people to being habituated to it is the toughest. Innovative

ways are always akin to adopting a new culture; take any

innovative from banking online to use of smartphones for

more than making a regular call, people take time to accept.

Many veterans who were used to manual and human

interventions, found automated organized systems difficult

and we encountered some resistance. We identified that

the biggest resistance was due to the ‘non-human’

interaction to a department called ‘Human Resources.’ Over

few months, we used various forms of communication to

demonstrate that the people touch would remain through

various interventions around performance and training.

Technology was a tool that we would use to build efficiency.

remain secular, which mean that they expect regularpromotions and salary hikes if they are rated well. "Wehad to work very hard to convince the employees thatyou could build a sustainable career with us. For us, itmeant making our rewards and career programs moresharply differentiated," retorts Naik.

As a leader, she understood that to brave challenges,it is crucial to take the team along for the journey overrocky terrain. During the tough times, between 2006-2008, she and her team worked extensively to initiatedialogues with employees, kept a watch on talent withinand outside and prepared them for the next wave. 'I feelthis paid off. Not only were we able to retain our keyemployees as compared to the market, today, when theoptimism has returned we are able to hire the best oftalent that the industry has to offer," she shares happily.

To have the ability to achieve success during toughtimes in a highly competitive industry, Naik firmly believesthat HR professionals have to regularly read up on theindustry, be on the pulse of competitors, and keep one'sknowledge absolutely updated on the latest developmentsin the related field to be able to manage it. "Use yourteams, particularly the youngsters to gauge what thenew generation wants and build on their requirements,"she quips.

On the personal frontIn her personal life, her mother has been integral inshaping her future. Since her father passed away at avery early age, her mother had to really work hard toput her through college and make her independent."Losing my father early in life and coming to terms withthat loss shaped me as an individual. I developedresilience and patience early on in life!" she affirms.

Today, her husband and her daughter are her pillarsof strength and she is grateful to them for the supportand belief that they have always showed on her.

Recollecting her school and college days, she says, "Ihad a blissful childhood, was sometimes bullied at inschool but was the teacher's pet. As for B-school, Ienjoyed the fun in learning rather than with my classmatesas I couldn't spare much time after college due to myfamily commitments."

An avid reader, she reads mostly on the Kindle or onher iPad! Besides this, she loves to sing and travel.

Days ahead….Talking of the possibilities for tomorrow at ICICI Securities,she is candid that the business is currently cyclical andit is so dependent on the market. Hence she aims tobuild capabilities within the organization that one canride the cyclical waves. She feels that it is achievablethrough constant dialogues with seniors, industry expertsand trainings. "Last year we began this journey. And Ifeel we will be able to build on this over the next coupleof years. I also would very much like to institutionalisea HR practices template for human and intellectual capitalbusinesses. Truly that is the only real capital we deploy!"she concludes.


Krishna Vijay Singh is a senior partner at

Kochhar & Co., one of the leading and

largest law firms in India with offices at

New Delhi, Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Chennai,

Hyderabad, Mumbai, Dubai, Riyadh,

Jeddah, Singapore, Tokyo and Atlanta

(USA). The firm represents some of the

largest multinational corporations from

North America, Europe, Japan and India

(many of which are Fortune 500

companies) in diverse areas of corporate

and commercial laws.

K. V. SinghSenior Partner, Kochhar & Co.

I am in business ofmanufacturing footwear inMaharashtra. Six months back

I had hired designers for designingfootwear. I had also imparted thempractical training for designing.However, recently two of them haveleft my services after the completionof training and in violation of theiremployment agreement by notserving notice period of two monthsrequired under the employmentcontract. Further, according to theemployment contract they could notleave my services within one yearof their employment. Please let mewhether I am entitled to claim anyliquidated damages or not?

If the employer has invested orexpended money on skillenhancement of an employee, theemployer may be entitled to recoverthe same based on an agreement withthe employee provided the trainingor skill enhancement was such thatthe employee otherwise would nothave received as a result of hisemployment or the work that heundertakes. In other words, theamount claimed should have beenspent to enhance or impart new skills,over and above what an employeewould otherwise be expected to knowor learn in the course of hisemployment.

Therefore, if you have actuallyspent money in imparting new skillsto the employees concerned, and theemployees in question have left yourservices in breach of their respectivecontracts of employment, liquidated

Q & Adamages, to the extent stipulated intheir contracts, may become payableby the employees to compensate youon account of such breach. InToshnial Brothers (Pvt.) Ltd. v. E.Eswarprasad & Ors (MANU/TN/0511/1996), the Madras High Courtheld that a legal injury to theemployer can be presumed wherethe employer establishes that theemployee was the beneficiary of anyspecial favour or training orconcession at the expense of theemployer and there has been breachof contract by the beneficiary of thesame. In such cases, the breachwould per se constitute the requiredlegal injury. However, it is to be notedthat compensation should not exceedthe amount, if any, stipulated in thecontract and should not be imposedby way of a penalty.

In the circumstances, you mayconsider filing suits for recovery ofdamages against the employees inquestion.

I run a manufacturing unit in Delhiwith around 40 workers employedin the unit. One of my workmenhad availed 10 days leave on thepremise that his mother ishospitalized. However, it has beenover twenty days, the said employeeis neither reporting to work nor istaking my calls. In such situation,please let me know whether I needto give any notice for terminationto the employee.

Please note that absenteeismwithout approval or intimation to the

LAW AT WORK


employer would amount tomisconduct. You may however notethat habitual or unauthorisedabsence may be a ground fordismissal of the employee but it doesnot lead to an automatic terminationof employment. In other words, theemployer must also make an attemptto reach out to the employee andgive him an opportunity to presenthis case before his employment isterminated. In catena of decisions,the courts have emphasised on therequirement of compliance with theprinciples of natural justice in casesof habitual absence from work. TheHon'ble Supreme Court of India inD.K. Yadav vs. J.M.K. Industries Ltd.(1993 3 SCC 259) observed that evenwhen management has the statutory

LAW AT WORK

The relationship of an employer andemployee is inherently unequal andthe Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (the"Act") was enacted keeping thisaspect in mind. The Act is acomprehensive legislation whichseeks to protect the workman, whois usually in a disadvantageoussituation, from unjust and illegalactions of the employer. While theprovisions of the Act are clear, astudy of some of the provisions ofthe Act and the case law aroundthem throws light on how themanagement has traditionallyreacted in a conflict situation, thatis, where any conciliationproceedings or any otherproceedings before an arbitrator,labour court or tribunal in respectof an industrial dispute is pendingadjudication.

Let us consider Section 33 of theAct. Section 33 of the IndustrialDisputes Act, 1947 (the "Act")imposes prohibition on the employerfrom altering the terms of service ofits workmen to their prejudice or toterminate their services during thependency of any proceedings,including conciliation proceedings, inrespect of an industrial dispute. Therationale behind Section 33 is simple.No employer takes kindly to aworkman questioning an actiontaken against him by themanagement, particularly by raisingan industrial dispute. If a workmanhas challenged a disciplinary actiontaken against him, without regard tothe merits, it is usual for theemployer to consider such aworkman as a trouble maker whothe employer should rid itself from.

Thus, Section 33 seeks to protect aworkman from victimisation by theemployer on account of him havingraised an industrial dispute.

Notwithstanding the clearprovisions of Section 33, it has takena long time to settle the position oflaw on the same.

Before we proceed further, it ispertinent to note that sub-section(1) of Section 33 provides thatwithout the prior approval of theauthority before whom theproceedings are pending, no adverseaction, including dismissal ordischarge from service, can be takenby the employer against theworkman concerned in regard tomatter connected with the dispute.However, sub-section (2) of Section33 provides that during thependency of any such proceeding in

Statutory Protection for WorkmenPending Adjudication of Disputes

The Legal Position

standing powers to terminate theservices of an employee whooverstayed the leave period, it willbe a violation of Article 21 of theConstitution of India to do so withoutgiving a hearing to the employeeconcerned since it will deprive theperson of his livelihood. Such anaction cannot be held just, fair andreasonable. In the aforesaid case, thecompany had terminated theservices of the employee concernedas he had willingly absented fromduty continuously for more than five(5) days without leave, priorinformation, or previous permissionof the management. However, thecourt held that in all cases wheredetrimental action is taken againstan employee, the employer is

required to justify that such an actionwas taken for 'just and sufficient'reasons, and thus it becomesnecessary for the employer toestablish that adequate inquiry wasconducted by such employer priorto the termination of the services ofthe employee and principles ofnatural justice were followed in suchprocess.

In view of the above, you mayconsider initiating disciplinary actionagainst the employee and after givinghim due opportunity to defendhimself, you may proceed to takeappropriate action against him if heis found guilty of misconduct inaccordance with company policy orthe employment contract, as the casemay be.

respect of an industrial dispute theemployer may in accordance withthe standing orders applicable to theworkman concerned in such dispute(or where there are no such standingorders, in accordance with the termsof the contract, whether express orimplied, between him and theworkman) (a) alter, in regard to anymatter not connected with thedispute, the conditions of serviceapplicable to that workmanimmediately before commencementof such proceeding; or (b) or for anymisconduct not connected with thedispute, discharge or punish,whether by dismissal or otherwise,that workman provided that no suchworkman shall be discharged ordismissed unless he has been paidwages for one month and anapplication has been made by theemployer to the authority beforewhich the proceeding is pending forapproval of the action taken by theemployer.

Therefore, from the languageemployed in section 33(1), it isobvious that before an employer candischarge or dismiss workmenconcerned in the pending dispute,for any misconduct connected withthat dispute, he must obtain 'theexpress permission in writing of theauthority' before which theproceeding is pending. In other word,unless the employer has obtained theexpress permission in writing of theauthority, there can be no dischargeor dismissal of the workmen. Onthe other hand, in cases falling underSection 33(2), the employer isrequired to first dismiss the workmenand then seek approval of the actionalready taken.

As was natural and expected,employers resorted to Section 33(2)to bye-pass the bar imposed underSection 33(1) of the Act. While anindustrial dispute was still pending, aworkman would be subjected todisciplinary action after internalenquiry for other alleged acts ofmisconduct and his services wouldbe terminated. The employers wouldthereafter move an applicationbefore the authority for a post factoapproval of the action of dischargeor dismissal, as the case may be. It

is relevant to note that an employee,having lost his means of livelihood,would usually not have the appetiteto fight another legal battle. In thisway, the protection envisaged underSection 33, stood defeated to someextent.

Further, in many cases employerswould not make an application forthe post facto approval of thedismissal or discharge of theworkman. The employers, in suchcases, took the position that thefailure to make an application wouldonly render the employer liable topunishment as prescribed under theAct but would not automatically leadto a reinstatement of the workmanconcerned since the remedy for theworkman against breach of Section33 lies under Section 33A of the Act.Failure on the part of the employeeto approach the court or the tribunalunder Section 33A or failure to referthe dispute under Section 10(1)(d) ofthe Act would therefore disentitle theemployee from reinstatement wherethe employer failed and/or neglectedto make the application underSection 33(2). Moreover, thiscontention was upheld by theSupreme Court in the matter ofPunjab Beverages Pvt. Ltd.,Chandirarh vs. Suresh Chand & Anr.[1978 (3) SCR 370].

Further, conflicting judgmentswere rendered as regards the datefrom which a workman is entitled toreinstatement where an applicationunder Section 33(2) was rejected.One view was that the date ofreinstatement has to be the date ofdismissal of the workman whereasthe other view was that it has to bethe date when the application underSection 33(2) is rejected by theauthority. Although the SupremeCourt in Strawboard ManufacturingCo. vs. Gobind [1962 Supp. (3) SCR618] and Tata Iron & Steel Co. Ltd.vs. S.N. Modak [1965 (3) SCR 411]had endorsed the view that the dateof reinstatement has to be the dateof dismissal, however, in the matterof Punjab Beverages Pvt. Ltd acontrary view was taken by theSupreme Court.

The aforesaid loopholes wereplugged and the conflicting views

were clarified by the Supreme Courtof India in Jaipur Zila SahakariBhoomi vs. Ram Gopal Sharma &Ors. [(2002) 2 SCC 244]. Whileexamining the conflicting decisions,a constitution bench of the SupremeCourt held that failure to make anapplication under Section33(2)(b) ofthe Act would amount to non-compliance with the mandatoryprovision of the Act, which wouldrender the order of the dismissalinoperative. The contention that theorder of the punishment/dismissalwould not become void orinoperative till the same was setaside under Section 33A wasrejected by the Supreme Court. Thecourt held that such an approachof employer destroys the protectionspecifically and expressly given toan employee under the said provisoas against possible victimization,unfair labour practice and/orharassment because of pendency ofindustrial dispute.

In so far as the questionregarding the order of dismissalbecoming ineffective from the dateit was passed or from the date ofnon-approval of the order passedunder Section 33(2)(b) is concerned,the Supreme Court endorsed theview taken in the case of StrawboardManufacturing Co and Tata Iron &Steel Co. Ltd. and stated that theview expressed in Punjab BeveragesPvt. Ltd on the question is not thecorrect. In view of the above, theCourt held that if the approval isnot given to the employer underSection 33(2)(b), it will have to bedeemed that the order of dischargeor dismissal had never been passed.In other words, the relationshipbetween employer and theworkman shall come to an end dejure only when the authority grantsapproval. However, if approval isnot given, nothing more is requiredto be done by the employee, as theemployee shall be deemed to havecontinued in service entitling himto all the benefits available. Thecourt further held that this beingthe position there is even no needfor the authority to pass a separateor specific order for reinstatementof the workmen. HC

LAW AT WORK


R.N.I. No. 66615/1997Postal Regn. No. DL-SW-1/4022/2015-16-17Date of printing: 7th August 2015

Date of posting: 9-10 August 2015 atPSO, New Delhi-110001

human capitatl august 2015 issue

Documents