iimshillong togethr may-june 2012

Dear Readers,

With immense pleasure, we present to you this issue of TogetHR.

We all rejoiced when we heard that India born Chief Executive of Pepsico, Indra Nooyi is one of

the 18 women who are now heading America's biggest 500 corporations. But the point to ponder

over here is that only eighteen of the Fortune 500 companies are being led by women. Has the

disputed glass ceiling really been shattered? The cover story of this issue “Breaking the glass

ceiling” mulls over this very subject and also discusses the role of HR professionals in bringing

about the sought after change.

Under the Concoction section this time, articles on diverse themes have been served on your

platter.

Article of the Issue is “What makes an employer of choice” deliberates on the question every

employer wants the answer to - what any employer can do to retain its best talent and win its

employees’ hearts. The article “Is the approach to motivating employees and rewarding

them intrinsically relevant from an Indian organizational context” puts forth an interesting

idea as to whether or not money is the intrinsic motivator for the Indian workforce.

Change management in the context of organizations is an ever popular topic. But who

propagates this change and makes it successful. “Role of middle managers in change

management” discusses this.

The world is going green. There is a sudden surge of awareness about protecting environment

amongst companies. Amidst these “greenwashing” of the world, has HR remained untouched?

To know more, read the article “Green HR”.

This time we got an opportunity to have an interview with Mr Benjamin Felix, Titan Industries,

which is presented in the Conflux section of the magazine.

Across all B-schools, the managers of tomorrow are busy having their first taste of the corporate

life that awaits them. With the intention of capturing these experiences, the Contest with the

Best section presents an opportunity to you to share your experience with everybody and also to

win a prize for the same.

Team usHR has been continuously getting your support and we extend our gratitude for the same.

Do write in to us with your feedback @ [email protected].

Happy Reading!!!

Team usHR

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Rohit Dwivedi

Prof. Sonia Nongmaithem

Team usHR:

Ankita Shah

KNK Srividya

Noopur Borwankar

P Padmini

Sourojit Ghose

mailto:[email protected]

Disclaimer: The views presented are the opinion/work of the individual author and The HR Club of IIM Shillong bears no responsibility whatsoever.

Cover Story 10 - KNK Srividya | IIM S

Women, today, are a force that the world cannot afford to ignore. With organizations across the globe paying special heed to their gender diversity ratios, the infiltration of women across all industries is without doubt, on a rise. Contemplating whether the glass ceiling has really been shattered and what is the role that HR professionals can play to address this issue.

Conflux 1 1 Excerpts of Interview with Mr Benjamin Felix

Rajkumar, Titan Industries Ltd

Concoction 4 4 Role of Middle Managers in Change Mgmt

- Sugam Malhotra, Vineet Gijre | IMI, Delhi

7 Green HR

- SOWMIYA .V |SDM IMD, Mysore

17 Approach of Motivating Employees in Indian

Context - Raspal Singh, Sidharth Panigrahi

TAPMI, Manipal

Connoisseur Speaks! 19

Contest With The Best! 21

May - June 2012

Conflux

www.iims-ushr.in | 1

Please elaborate on the job responsibilities you

undertake as Assistant Manager HR, PED Division, Titan

Industries Ltd?

I am responsible for the HR Function of the Precision

Engineering Division. My responsibility is similar to that of an

account manager, where I manage a team of HR generalists

and interface with HR subject- matter experts.

How different has the experience been here compared to

your internship experience during MBA in XLRI?

I did my internship in the Human Capital Practice area with

KPMG where I did a compensation and benefits survey for a

client. I think the real difference is the

depth of specialization and decision

making. As a consultant you go into a

great deal of depth and specialize in your

area of expertise, whereas in my current

role decision making pays a larger part and

I am able to see the outcome of the

initiatives that I plan.

How do you

identify which employees require what kind and what

amount of training? Is it possible that sometimes

employees have to undergo unnecessary training?

There are generally three

sources of identifying

what training an

employee required.

We have the development plans decided during the

individual’s performance appraisal which are linked to the

key responsibilities that he/she has taken up. Apart from this

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we have a role based competency mapping that we

undertake annually and the competency gaps identified

are another input. Also, sometimes there are initiatives which

are taken up at an organization or department level which

also warrant some kind of training input.

There is no such thing as unnecessary training, all training

inputs are designed to improve the performance of the

individual and meet the aspirations of the organization.

However, it is possible that due to lapses in training program

design or by oversight in nomination decisions the efficiency

of the learning management process may be reduced.

Could you throw some light on your Performance

Appraisal system?

We follow a Management by Objectives method, where at

the beginning of the year, KRA’s are derived from the

overall plans of the organization. The KRA’s are reviewed

every six months to take course correction actions if

necessary. The PMS process also measures the

performance using Critical Success Factors which

focuses on the “HOW” and not only on the “WHAT”?

Can you discuss the measures Titan takes to control

attrition?

The attrition levels of Titan are much below the industry

average. We look at both lead as well as lag indicators

when it comes to attrition. We have an open channel of

communication with our employees to ensure they are

encouraged to discuss any grievances. We also have

engagement surveys which give us indications of any

systemic issues that could lead to attrition.

Apart from these, when an employee resigns, we do an exit

interview to understand why the employee is leaving and the

factors influencing his decision.

These inputs are used to draw up engagement plans and as

an outcome of that control attrition.

How do you manage people resisting change especially

when the senior leadership of the organization demands

the change?

Resistance to change stems from a fear of the unknown

and a sense of insecurity. So it is important for us as the

agents of change to ensure everyone is kept well informed

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of the change that is about to happen and the benefits of the

change.

We have often seen Human Capital Management and

Talent Management being synonymously used with each

other. What is your take on that?

Well these terms are really dependent on how each

organization uses them and like you mentioned they are

used synonymously. My take would be that Human Capital

Management is in a broader sense, managing the

capabilities and resources of the organization and Talent

management on the other hand, is managing the key or

critical Talent of the organization. It is essentially a subset

of Human Capital Management.

In the present time, when every company tries to cut

down its budget, how feasible is it to invest on Talent

management activities?

Investment in people and investment in Talent are

important for the

long term

sustainability of any

business and hence

those investments

should be seen as long

term investments and

should be attacked last. As HR professionals, building this

business case and urging managements to allocate

adequate resources are our primary tasks. Also, when the

going gets tough we need to work on innovative ways to

reduce costs.

How significant is

the role of IR in

Titan?

Industrial Relations at

Titan have been

largely cordial and

harmonious, but that

does not in any way reduce the significance of the role. IR is

about being able to create a balance between the

aspirations of the management and the employees. And

we have to constantly work on maintaining this balance in

this constantly changing world.

What, in your opinion, is the future of HR?

THE FUTURE IS HR. The Role of HR has changed

significantly over the years and the function has moved from

a service function to a

strategic function. I firmly

believe that the

sustainability of any

business depends a lot on its

people and its people model.

Concoction


How many times have we heard the clichéd statement –

“Change is the necessity of life”?

Isn’t it something we all constantly experience in our lives?

A child going to school for the first time, a teenager

moving out of a school to a college, a graduate moving

into the unknown world called the corporate are all

examples of changes in life. These are just examples to

show how change is a part of our lives.

Then isn’t it right when said “change is the only constant”.

The human tendency is to always remain in the safe

confines of the known boundaries, but the external

environment always forces upon a change. The same

concept applies to the organizations world-wide.

An organization needs always to be on the vigil and

implement a change philosophy frequently in order to

remain competitive in the changing external environment.

Demanding customers, changing global and economic

conditions, market saturation, increasing costs are just few

reasons why a need for change might become inevitable

for an organization. Sometimes, a change might be simply

driven by a desire to change.

Everybody understands the need for change, but is it easy

to bring a change? Humans by nature are scared of the

unknown and thus resist any deviation in their routine. In

order to create readiness for change, it is important to

make all stakeholders understand the advantages of the

future, the disadvantages of not changing, showing gaps

between current performance and future required

performance, providing the needed resources to implement

change and rewarding behaviors compatible with the

desired change.

Change might cascade from top or might initiate from the

bottom. However, the distance between the top and

bottom in the hierarchy will results in communication gap

and make a well-thought of change strategy fail in

seconds. This is where the role of middle managers

becomes significant.

Top-Bottom Change

Even the most brilliant of strategies can fail if they are

simply formulated by the top management and passed on

to the bottom of the hierarchy for implementation. Senior

managers are undoubtedly the decision makers in the

organizations and front line workers do what they are told

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to. The managers at the top are usually the ones farthest

from the frontline realities.

And the decisions made at the peak often

prove unworkable at the ground and thus the

best of the strategies fail during

implementation. But, with no

sense of power or task

ownership, the lower wrung

employees are unable to

associate their daily activities with the strategic objectives

of the organization and this is where strategy

implementations fail if not given a proper direction. The

objectives, goals, and a consistent line of action are

determined by the middle managers. These objectives are

specified by them and made clear to the employees below

them. The line of action should be consistent with the

mission, vision, goals and the strategy – both short-term

and long-term.

Bottom-up Change

Managers are closest to the action – it is their teams who

must change their working ways for successful change

implementation. However they are in best position to bring

innovation to the processes to increase productivity.

Sometimes, this change comes at a cost, a cost most

organizations are unwilling to bear. When this innovation is

passed on from bottom to top, there might be resistances.

The senior management might not welcome

such innovations; reasoning that the most

innovative and productive processes are

already in place and the suggested

change would merely add to

costs. The senior management

would want status quo in such

conditions. However, the middle

managers can effectively deliver the right message

to the senior management as they are in better position to

make them understand the importance of the breakthrough

that the lower wrung employees might bring. The middle

managers convert the vernacular language into a language

that the senior management will understand – Strategy.

The Different Roles of Middle Managers

during Change

Communicator: At the helm of each change in an

organization lies a successful communication channel.

Employees seek open and direct communication and the

best person do to this effectively is the

immediate

supervisor and

hence the

role of middle

managers becomes

important as the communicator of the

change. Sharing as much information as possible

on a regular basis and as broadly as possible is the key to

winning support.

Advocate: No change can succeed without the

quintessential buy-in at the middle level. It is important to

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Role of Middle

managers

Communicator

Advocate

Coach

Liaison

Resistance manager

Process-focussed

explain to people “why” change is necessary. Explaining

“why” makes the people feel important and valued,

whereas simply telling “what” to do is like ordering and

makes them feel obligated to change.

Liaison: One of the important roles of a middle manager

in a change process is to take charge of things and

providing a direction for the change to

happen smoothly. This

involves continuous

interaction with various

stakeholders and giving a timely

feedback on the progress.

Resistance Manager: Any change process is going to

see resistance from almost everyone, especially the

employees who have to change their ways to see through

the change. Handling this resistance and converting it into

employee buy-in is an important role of the middle

manager. This is possible through open communication;

working with them and making them understand the need

for change.

Process-focused: For a change to last, it has to be

reflected in the core processes of the organization. Thus, it

becomes important for the middle managers to ensure all

processes of selecting, appraising, rewarding people and

all core businesses are aligned to the changes desired.

Conclusion

Change is an inevitable part of life, be it humans or

organizations and it truly is about the survival of the fittest.

There is no stopping for those who are able to successfully

sail through the dynamisms of change. Sometimes, there

exists a need of some guiding angel to make the process

smooth. Middle managers can become these guiding

angels for organizations in the process of change.

Sugam Malhotra | IMI, New Delhi

Vineet Gijre | IMI, New Delhi

Concoction


“The future of a country is shaped by the

way a country invests in the

development of its human resources. As

in the case of all countries, and especially

as a developing country, Bhutan too has

grand visions and aspirations. We have

therefore, invested heavily in HRD from

the early stages of our development

process and continue to do so. In turn,

we hope to become an IT enabled

knowledge based society to build a wholly green

and sustainable economy within which pursuit of happiness

will be the conscious goal of every citizen.” This is the

opening speech of the Prime Minister of Bhutan at a

recent human resources conference held in India.

What does the above excerpt imply? It indicates how

important “Going Green” is in this contemporary era and

the subsequent role of an HR. In this 21st century, we are

entering a green economy – one in which consumer and

employee expectations and future environmental change

will require businesses to address “green” issues. With the

universal issue of global warming and on-going talks on

carbon taxation, it becomes inevitable for today’s

organizations to go green. In tandem with this subject

matter, the role of HR becomes inevitable

to help organisations go green. And

hence the term ‘Green HR’ has taken

shape.

In simple terms, Green HR is

environmental friendly HR initiatives

resulting in greater efficiencies, lower

costs and better employee engagement.

Green HR is about focusing on managing,

giving direction to and finally retaining

people while eliminating workplace inefficiencies, using

greener processes and initiatives. When a company

decides to integrate sustainability with its business

strategy, holistically, HR leads the crowd as the key

participant in ensuring that employees become a part of

this practice.

As per Dan Sanford, Managing Director of Buck’s

Communication practice who directed the survey, “Many

employers now recognise that green programs in the

workplace can promote social responsibility among

workers and help retain top talent. More than 60% of

survey respondents have made environmental

responsibility part of their organisation’s mission

statement”.

According to the survey,

78% of the respondents use Web or

Teleconferencing to reduce travel

76% promote the reduction of paper use

68% implement wellness programs to foster

employee’s proper nutrition, fitness and healthy

living

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These statistics clearly indicate the importance of adopting

green practices in today’s times.

Some of the modern HR initiatives towards Green HR

include increasing awareness

among employees about

being environmental friendly,

promoting car-pooling, video

recruiting, going paperless

and initiating cleanliness

drive. On this front, there can be innovative initiatives by

HR like initiating Tree Plantations on special occasions and

celebrating “Go Green” day in office by asking employees

to wear green attire on that day. There can be an

exhaustive list of such ideas; these are just a few

examples.

It is the role of HR in ensuring that environmental

responsibility becomes a part of company’s vision and

mission. Going green facilitates HR to ensure better

employee engagement; HR should welcome and embrace

ideas on going green contributed by the employees. This

initiative can be further invigorated by incentivising the

whole program. Monetary rewards or gifts/perks can be

given to the best idea. In this context, Google has yet

again emerged with an out of box idea – Self-Powered

Commuter Program. This program encourages Google’s

employees to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by

commuting to office by walking, riding a bike, cycling or

even rollerblading! And those employees who participate in

this initiative earn points, which then go towards donation

to any charity. Google donates $100 for every 20 days of

self-powered transportation. Isn’t this an innovative

initiative benefitting all the

stakeholders?

Generating and raising

awareness has and will

be one of the key

primary roles of an HR

manager. This role has yet again seen it applicability in

going green. Raising awareness among employees is the

most critical aspect in Green HR. Lighting in office

overnight wastes enough energy to heat water for 1,000

cups of tea! Given such astonishing facts, it becomes

inexorable to adhere to greener practices. Considering the

above facts, the critical role of HR comes into play by

raising awareness via communication; conducting

awareness programs, to help employees take their green

step.

Talent retention has become a costly affair. One survey

estimated that it costs as much as 1.5 times the

employees annual salary to recruit and train a

replacement. Given this backdrop, how does an

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organisation keep them on staff? Even in tough times one

must find creative ways to keep top talent. Right now,

sustainability is being measured in the marketplace. Apart

from the basic measurable indices, companies are being

rated based on the sheer Greenness, if that is even a

word. Such is the level of importance of going green in this

century of crammed carbon emissions. Green HR also

plays a critical role in attracting and retaining talent. These

days many applicants prefer to work with a company who

not just provides mere employment but goes a step further.

New graduates look for employers with strong

environmental and social credentials. When a company

attaches an image of environment responsibility to itself, it

stands out of the crowd in terms of brand image. This will

in turn attract the best talent and help in retaining it.

There is a 5 fold benefits to the company by

going green. And the role of HR in

nurturing the entire process of going

green is inevitable.

Cost cutting Enhance

reputation

Increased efficiencies

Enhance Reputation

Attract new business

Better employee engagement

Green ideas and concepts are beginning to gather

pace within the HR pace, often complementing existing

sustainability based initiatives. Such practices are

essentially delivering both tangible and intangible benefits

to the organization, rather than simply adding a gloss

and glitter to the brand and reputation. And I would like to

reiterate that it is the role of an HR in facilitating these

momentous initiatives.

Being green can become an integral part of the company’s

way of doing business. The green opportunity for many

organizations can be a compelling competitive advantage.

The concept of go green can be seen more as a profit

centre than as a cost centre. In the near future, going

green will no mere be a mere certification or brand, but will

become the way of life.

Green HR can appositely be termed as “Turning

unnecessary expenses into necessary profits!”

SOWMIYA .V | SDM IMD, Mysore

Cover Story


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Cover Story


Women, today, are a force that the world cannot afford to

ignore. With organizations across the globe paying special

heed to their gender diversity ratios, the infiltration of

women across all industries is without doubt, on a rise.

Contemporary India does have examples such as Naina

Lal Kidwai, Indira Nooyi, Kiran Majumdar Shaw and

Chanda Kocchar. But such women are few and far

between. It is yet to be seen if these limited examples

demonstrate the existence of

parallel shifts in the stature of

women at the workplace,

across industries and

across all levels of

hierarchy.

Although today, the

term Glass ceiling is quite well

known, for the uninitiated - the

term "glass ceiling" was coined in a 1986 Wall Street

Journal report on corporate women by Hymowitz and

Schellhardt. It is a concept that most frequently refers to

obstacles faced by women who attempt to achieve senior

positions in corporations, government, education and non-

profit organizations. Although the number of women in the

workforce has increased and will continue to increase in

the field of governmental service and in educational area,

the advancement of women

into higher echelons of

management has not kept up a similar

pace.

An investigation into the

possible reasons for this

incongruity has led to the

understanding that deep

structural and institutional

perceptions are the root cause

for this. Society has its own

stereotypes and biases against

women in executive positions.

Women are viewed as fragile

and lacking in the qualities that are considered important

to be successful managers. When it comes to leadership,

traditional masculine traits have higher perceived value

than the feminine characteristics.

Now, the question arises - Why

is it important for HR

professionals to understand the

concept of the Glass Ceiling?

“We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly.”

- Margaret Atwood

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The answer to this can be found in the answer of the

subsequent question.

Can the organizations of today afford such a bias? The

answer is a resounding ‘No’.

Organizations all over the world are recognizing the need

to best utilize the available talent in the company,

irrespective of the gender. For this, the existing barriers for

women to move upwards in the

corporate ladder should be

removed. Competent

women should be given the chance to be in decision

making roles and not sidelined only based on gender.

This is where the role of the HR department comes in.

Human resource professionals are at a position wherein

they can take measures which have a wide impact on the

organization. HR professionals should take the initiative to

identify whether the glass ceiling phenomenon exists within

their organization and should proactively take actions to

overcome it. There are certain suggestive actions that HR

professionals can take to rise above the glass ceiling. It is

only an indicative list that HR professionals can consider

as a starting point. Knowing the culture of the organization,

getting the top management on board and ascertaining

their sustained commitment towards the cause, deciding

on the key steps to be taken and finally reviewing the

success/failure of the steps are a few broad measures that

need to be taken.

Role of the Organizational Culture

Existing current HR policies and practices like hiring

practices, growth chart of women in the organization,

pay differences (if any), differences in promotion based

on gender should be reviewed

The perception, opinion and awareness of the

employees about a possible bias against women in the

organization are important

Existing policies and programs that support the career

growth of women to the top management positions, and

also evaluation of the effectiveness of such policies

should be done

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Commitment of the top management

Top management’s dedication to talent management,

including women in senior positions should be

measured

The fact that gender diversity at higher ranks,

especially at board level, is an important factor that

contributes to the success of the organization, should

be demonstrated

Line managers should be trained to raise awareness

and to help them understand the barriers to women's

advancement

Measures to be taken

Development of new programs that encourage the

growth of women in the organization

Continuous reforms in existing policies based on the

feedback gained

Acknowledgement of successful senior-level women as

role models to motivate and encourage women at other

levels

Reviewing why women leave the organization

Based on the reasons for the turn-over, provision of

adequate flexible work-options for women and fostering

a comfortable environment for women

Implementation of leadership development programs for

women, including international assignments, if

applicable

In any case, emphasis must be laid on the delivery of

quality work and assessment should not be based on

gender. Human resource professionals have a substantial

role to play—whether it is through changing the culture in

the organization, formulation of workplace policies or

through spreading awareness among the workforce —to

evolve women leaders across the world. And it is by no

means a small task. It is not just a challenge, but a huge

responsibility that the future generations of HR

professionals have to be ready for.

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With fatter pay packets and better perks your

competitors are ready to lure the best out of your talent

pool. Employee retention has become a major problem

with this growing war for talent. Therefore, it is necessary

for an organization to attract the best talents and in turn

retain them and motivate them. This calls for the

organization to have that extra edge over competitors and

thus be the employer of choice. What a man desires is

unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar Like any other

relationship the proverb stands true for the employee-

employer relationship too. ‘Unfailing love’ happens only

when there is undying

trust and care. There

is this constant need

to make an employee

feel important. This calls

for the employer to stand true to his

promises. Both the employee and the employer need to

trust each other. Employees constantly assess the

organization. The actions of who’s who in the organization

need to constantly reinforce the employee’s belief that they

are being cared for. An organization and its policies might

go on to say “We care” to its employees but its sanity

becomes questionable if the employee’s supervisor is

impatient while listening to his/her problems or turns a

deaf ear towards him/her. The psychological contract

gets severed. As long as the give and take relationship

remains equitable employees remain satisfied.

Till the time an employee’s professional and personal

needs mesh with that of the employer, a win-win

situation exists and everything functions smoothly.

But unfortunately it is not easy to strike this balance all

the time. Just like the conscious, unconscious and

subliminal levels in a human being, there are various

layers in an organization too. To add to this are the variety

of people of varied psychologies. It is probably not

possible that all the grooves fit in very well every time.

It is then that there is a need for easing and customizing

solutions for some employees. Some retro fitting is

needed. Thus being the employer of choice is also about

being flexible and yet be equitable in dealing with its

employees. Some may like to be in their comfort zone and

do very little productive work each day while challenging

work might be the stimulating factor for the others. Pay

may be a motivator for one employee while recognition for

another.

Being an employer of choice is all about employer

branding strategies and value proposition for employees. It

is about differentiating the organization from the

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competitors in the industry, about nurturing the employees

as well as the psychological contract.

Just like a product needs to be aligned to the basic needs

of the customer for it to have a pull, so does the employer

branding strategies. It is therefore natural that organization

might have a different mantra for different employees. It is

about identifying the need for affinity of an employee. In an

interview with an employee as a part of my summer

internship project, it emerged that it is a “Family feeling”

towards the organization which helped employee stick to

his workplace. On further probing and analysis, it was

found that the factors that contributed to this ‘Family

feeling’ were as following:

Relationship with the supervisor

Best friends at workplace

Say in the work allotted to him

Though some people complained about the work life

balance being hit and the compensation not being

equitable, the ‘Family feeling’ pulled them together. Despite

these complaints, the employees stuck to the organization.

When we talk of ‘An employer of choice’ the first things

that come to our mind are – A good work environment, an

open door organization where people are easily accessible,

a strong feedback mechanism, open links of

communication, work-life balance, appreciation and

recognition, good career progression and a promising

future.

We can go on to list quite a few factors that would

determine being ‘the employer of choice’. But I think the

solution might be on the intangible side of the spectrum. It

is more to do with the bonding that the employee forms

with the organization via his manager; the satisfaction that

s/he derives out of it. It is the feeling of oneness with the

organization, when the organization becomes a part of his/

her personal sphere. I had the privilege to work with one

‘employer of choice’ and I realized that apart from the

above listed factors it was also about mixing up the ease

of a small company with the sophistication and

complexity of a large organization.

I believe employee satisfaction is the hygiene factor for an

organization to become the employer of choice. The

motivating factors are far more intrinsic. It is like the subtle

music playing in the background whose presence goes

unnoticed but its absence pinches. It is the feeling that the

employees carry with them.

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This called for delving deep into understanding the day to

day actions of the managers because that held the secret

behind their ‘success mantra’. Though these were small

thoughtful actions, they created a huge impact on the

psychologies of the employees.

The city of survey fell in the tier–II category and hence the

measures taken were relative to the culture existent there.

There was “Samosa day”, “Jalebi day”, a day set aside

for a closed group get together of the employees and

their families in a luxurious club, a day in the week called

the “Lights off day” when the office would close at 5 pm

so that the employees could go home and enjoy their

time with their family showing they cared about the

employees work life balance, a yearly meet of the ‘techies’

in the organization at a central place where they could

discuss the relevant developments, learn from each other

and form a personal bond which is a very rare thing

given the boon of IT. They went a step further and

connected with the families of the employees and it was

this gesture that mattered to the employees. On special

occasions such as birthday or anniversary of the

employee, the manager would send out a personal

invitation to accompany the employee to office on his/her

special day. With a small gathering of the employees, a

customized note of thank would be given to his/her spouse

for being a constant support, making them realize their

silent but magnanimous role, their silent contribution in the

firm’s success. In a surrounding of people who matter the

most to an employee, it helped to build that bond. Such a

practice in tier-II cities gets directly to the heart of people

and makes a huge impact. The decisions of leaving an

organization are discussed at home before a final call is

taken. How about making a positive impact there? They

had caught the pulse of what was driving their

subordinates and that is how most of the talent retention

was taking place.

Therefore, if an organization wishes

to be an employer of choice then it is

equally important that they be vigilant

about its middle management. They

have greater impact on the

company’s performance than almost

any other part. They play a crucial role in redefining and

representing the organization to the employee. For an

employee: Manager = Organization.

The values a manager exhibit, the way

he communicates, the work and team

dynamics all determine the

engagement levels of

employees in the team. They

become the strategic relations

manager. It is only through them

that an organization can build in the feel good factor and

leap a step ahead in etching a mark in the employee’s

heart and mind.

Tarun Avtar Arya | FMS, Delhi

Concoction


Self actualiz

ation

Esteem

Love/belonging

Safety

Physiological

Industry has witnessed a

transition from company

to customer, and

now

to employee. Today,

employees form core of

industrial belief. The outside-in

approach of appeasing customers is

replaced by inside-out approach with believe

that customer delight is derivative of

employee satisfaction. Motivation is the

buzzword in field of human resource practice. Interestingly,

what underlines the need of motivation is not action, but

end result (i.e. employee drive to walk the extra mile).

From military to schools, time has always chosen the

recourse of motivation to get the work done.

Underlining this concept of motivation, studies have been

conducted to understand variables affecting motivation.

Researches, experiments and plethora of analysis emerge

everyday citing component of motivation. One of the

variables which have been talked over in industries and

institutes is money.

Cases, studies and reports have come out with claims that

money does not necessarily constitute the source of

motivation. But how sustainable is the analysis viz-a-viz

other nation? For example would the results of the study

be the same if carried out in a third world country?

Thanks to Abraham Maslow that human needs was broken

down to several components. Known as Maslow’s

hierarchy, the model outlines five needs of human:

physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem and self-

actualization.

A close observation of the model would

draw a mind map between the

problem statement and

the model. What makes

people (in US and

Europe) believe

money is not

the intrinsic motivator? Answer: the level of income and the

facilities which they receive, the scope of equal

opportunity. Before reaching to a conclusion, we should

appreciate the rationale behind the needs of a nation.

Contrary to former statement, India as a nation is marred

by opportunities and income. Our strengths include

knowledge and emotions. Consequently, we fall into the

bracket of ‘love/belonging’ need of hierarchy. This implies

that the immediate hierarchies are needed to be catered,

which is safety. Thus, money works as finest indicator of

intrinsic motivation. One would definitely not focus on

developing intellectual assets in a country, where seventy

percent of population lives in rural area under the condition

of labor intensive capital.

We propose a framework called the 5G Model for

working towards intrinsic motivation of a nation/culture:

Concoction


Gauge

Generate

Garner

Give

Guide

Gauge:: Gauge the

strengths, weakness,

opportunity an strength of a

nation/culture. For example,

the SWOT analysis of India’s

hierarchical needs is carried

out below:

Generate :: Look at the weakness and threats. Focus on

threats, which would act as the immediate source of

motivator. Weakness should

be focused as a long run

objective. One should

generate ideas by

focusing on short term

(evolving) and long

term (sustenance).

Garner :: Gather ideas to address the threats and

weakness. The Chinese use two brush strokes to signify

crisis, one brush stroke meant for opportunity and other for

danger. Crisis is a double edge sword that can be

leveraged either to get the best or face the worst. Careful

assessment needs to be done while analysis threats and

opportunities. The opportunities of today can turn into

threat tomorrow and vice-versa.

Give :: It is vital for organizations today to offer incentives

to employees. Incentives should not be mundane and

management should make sure to understand employee

needs without biasness or preconceived notion. Offering

incentives (both tangible and intangible) not only motivates

employee but also results in improved employee

performance, an increased belief of company’s ownership

within employees. These factors ultimately yield profits,

quality assurance, process and technical improvement for

the company through higher degree of employee

participation. A holistic approach of Give and take Model

can be shown as below:

Guide :: Understand how the implementation went and

evolve the model for sustainability (i.e. long term goal

accomplishment).

Offer

•Offer incentives which result in derivation of factors scotching threats and weakness.

•Example: Pizza/Popcorn/Cookie Days & Executive Recognition

Question

•Ask what they want out of work

•Understand the reason.

Map

•Match motivators to the company or department culture

•Consider each employee’s age and life stage

Act

•Bring a community speaker to speak on subjects of interest to employees like personal finance, stress management or improving relationships

•Example: Thank you card or e-mail, themes contest

Internal

External

Advantag

e

Disadvantage

Strength: Love/Belonging, self actualization

Weakness: Physiological

Opportunity: Esteem

Threat: Saftey

Raspal Singh | TAPMI, Manipal

Sidharth Panigrahi | TAPMI, Manipal

Connoisseur Speaks!


Hi, I am a fresher and have recently joined

my new job after my engineering. It’s been

only a few days here and I have already

started feeling depressed at this workplace.

From the first day itself I have been getting

negative vibes in the office. The workplace

was not at all welcoming and the concerned

people were not even aware of my joining. All

this and the events that followed have lowered

my morale and I find it hard to sustain here.

What do I do?

Hi, I am the works manager of a well

performing industry. However the

performance has declined over the last 2

years and the profits are now increasingly

becoming negative. This downturn is being

blamed on my inefficiency and lack of

commitment when it is the workers and staff

that are loitering around in the premises

and even the machinery is badly in need of

maintenance. However I have been asked to

resign after shouldering the blame in front

of the board of directors. What should I do

now?

Connoisseur Speaks!!!

Hi, we understand your situation. This is a common problem faced in the workplace where the fault is of someone else and the blame is shouldered by another. We understand the emotional and mental trauma you are facing where having worked diligently and with full commitment towards the welfare of the company you are being blamed for the downturn. Especially when the fault is someone else’s and you know the people also. Our suggestion to you would be to communicate to your immediate head and make him aware of the situation. Explain him that it is the workers who are idling away time which has resulted in loss of productivity. Again the machine is badly in need of maintenance. You can get an engineer’s report regarding this to prove the same to your head. Again you can show your past performance as further proof of your diligence and commitment towards the company. We are sure your efforts shall not go in vain. Your efficiency shall be recognised. In case you are still being forced to shoulder the blame despite all this, approach the HR head and/or the grievance redressal cell that may exist in your organisation. Hope we are able to help you.

The problem you are facing is very common when the company does not take the orientation programme seriously. There are a few requisites for an effective programme which are seldom observed and hence the system becomes ineffective. However, you should not lose heart and try to adjust yourself in the new environment. Interact with more and more people, get their feedbacks, and try to learn from them. Concentrate on the work given to you and try to be innovative in your own way. Prove your worth to your superiors which will help you in getting challenging projects which will lead to increased interest in the work. In extreme case, talk to the HR of your organisation and explain to him the problem you might be facing and get his/her guidance on the matter.

Connoisseur Speaks!


Hi I am the senior manager of an FMCG

company. We recruit a lot of sales

managers to market our products. The

sales managers sign a clause on joining

which requires them to convey their

physical locations to their GM at all times,

even on Sundays and other holidays. It is

also ensured that these policies are

conveyed to the sales force on their joining.

However, now it has been observed that a

group of 20 sales managers have not been

following these rules and regulations since

a long time. As the senior manager I need

to decide whether this sales force should be

laid off or not. What should I do?

We understand the dilemma you are in. you as the senior manager need to take a decision which involves various issues. If you comply with the company policies and fire the sales managers you would fall short of sales managers which would impact the profitability and image of the company. On the other hand if you ignore the issue it would give a wrong message amongst your junior employees encouraging more misconduct and non-compliance with the rules. Our suggestion to you would be to speak to these employees separately, understand their reason of non-compliance and act accordingly. Give them a warning regarding the situation if they are at fault. Make the situation very clear that they were informed about all the conditions of the job prior to joining. Non-compliance with these clauses would bring serious action against them. Despite this if no change is observed then give them a PIP but even if doesn’t work, fire the employee. Because, if for once this is tolerated, it would be repeated again by other employees. This would spoil the work culture and impact the goodwill of the company. While warnings are given to the concerned sales managers prepare a back-up plan in case it becomes necessary to fire them.


Contest


Last date for sending the answers for Contest: June 30th, 2012

Email ID: [email protected] Subject of the email: TogetHRContest5_CollegeName


Contest


This Issue’s Results

Last Contest Answers

The prize for “Article of the Issue” has been awarded to Tarun Avtar Arya from FMS, Delhi for his Article “What makes an employer of Choice?”. He is awarded with a cash prize of Rs.1000/- and a Certificate of Appreciation.

All other articles selected for the issue shall also receive Certificate of Appreciation.

The prize for “Contest with the Best” for MAR-APR 2012 Issue has been awarded to Somya Harsh from SDM Institute for Management Development, Mysore. She is awarded with a cash prize of Rs.500/- and a Certificate of Appreciation.

Team usHR invites articles from B-Schools all across India. We are looking for original articles related to field of Human Resources. References should be cited wherever necessary. The best article will be featured as the “Article of the Issue” and would be awarded cash prize of INR 1000 Instructions:

Kindly email your article with the file name and the subject as <Title of Article> _<Institute Name>_<Author’s name/Group’s name> by 30th June 2012

Article must be sent in Microsoft Word Document (doc/docx), Font: Times New Roman, Font Size: 12, Line spacing: 1.5. The size of the article should be between 700-1000 words

Announcements

The cover page of the article should only contain the Title of the Article, the Author’s Name and the Institute’s Name. Results shall be announced in the next issue of TogetHR

For other updates, check our Facebook page – “usHR-HR Club of IIM Shillong”

Also certain entries which could not make the cut to the TogetHR will get figured on our blog

www.iims-ushr.in

APPRAISAL

MASLOW

INTERVIEW

BENCHMARKING

EMPLOYMENT

Main Answer:

WHISTLEBLOWER

http://www.iims-ushr.in/

Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management

Mayurbhanj Complex,

Nongthymmai, Shillong - 793 014

Email Id: [email protected]

Mobile: +91-89740 52909

© Team usHR, IIM Shillong


iimshillong togethr may-june 2012

Documents

role of hr professionals

change management

role of middle managers

green hr sowmiya

article green

titan industries

context of organizations

concoction section