Out of the total of 107 branches in the country, PNB MetLife has managed to open close to 89 branches till now. However, not everyone needs to travel to work every day, unless there is a need to deposit a cheque or to meet with a customer. “Only 30 per cent of employees can work out of each branch at a time,” reveals Shishir Agarwal, director-HR, PNB MetLife. As the branches are open six days a week, the Company has created two-day rosters for all branch staff. Employees are divided into groups, and each group works for two days at…
Author: Arindam Goswami | HRKatha
Arindam Goswami | HRKatha
Fresh into the HR beat, Arindam began his writing career by volunteering as a student writer during his college days. A fan of almost all kinds of sweets, he enjoys light music. He hails from Assam and holds chai as the best beverage.
The new National Education Policy has spurred much enthusiasm in corporate circles. One of the more agreed upon impacts of the new system, according to industry leaders, is an increase in quality talent and enlargement of the employable talent pool in the future. A unanimous vote went towards the introduction of vocational training, which HR folks say will be key to building holistic and employable talent. Adil Malia, HR specialist and CEO, The Firm, seems to be enthusiastic about the new education policy. “It is a move in the right direction and is shifting focus from a rigid to a…
There is a difference between being a boss and being a leader. A boss is someone who makes the rules and takes charge. On the other hand, a leader is a person who influences others positively. Building that influence over time is another thing altogether. In today’s time, especially, we need leaders who are more hands-on, more empathetic and ready to stand by their team members. These attributes create servant leaders and we need more of them right now than before. So what is servant leadership? At the outset, it is not to be confused with being subservient. The word…
Tata Steel has put a freeze on lateral hiring for the coming months, while it continues to honour prior commitments made to students on campuses. Campus recruits offered positions towards the end of last year have already joined the organisation. The first batch of fresh recruits were onboarded virtually, including around 76 management trainees and close to 150 on the technical side. A second batch of recruits are due to arrive in August. Due to the uncertainty in the job market, there has been a greater tendency to look towards further studies rather than pursue a job. Suresh Tripathi, VP-HRM,…
Who do you think will rule the gig economy? It is a tricky question. Will a generalist shine or will a specialist be in more demand? To answer with conviction, an extensive debate may be required. However, the current conditions and changes that businesses have seen, point towards an increase of specialist roles in the gig economy of the future. This is certainly the time when the gig economy will flourish, but freelancers come with different areas of expertise. While some may be generalists, others may be specialists. Some may argue that more generalists will be in demand in the…
Mylan Laboratories India, which is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of active pharmaceutical ingredients, is committed to looking after its employees until normalisation returns. Right after the lockdown was imposed, it launched a special bonus scheme for its employees in the manufacturing and research and development (R&D) divisions, which has continued till date. Out of the 35,000 plus strong global workforce, Mylan Labs has around 18,000 plus employees in its India business. Out of the total, around 4000 employees work in the R&D division across five centres and close to 12,000 employees work in the manufacturing plants. The remaining…
‘What is the right way to apply for a job? The answer is, ‘Many’. Right now, there are hundreds of individuals actively applying. All of them will look up relevant job posters and apply. A few may follow up regularly, and fewer still will make the effort to reach out to the recruiter, while a handful will take a proactive approach, which will make them stand out. A proactive approach is what candidates need right now to maximise their chances of landing a job. What is a proactive approach? A proactive job search implies making an extra effort, while applying…
How do we usually perceive growth? It is through the achievement of titles, which bring about increased responsibilities along with an increment in compensation. The management at PhonePe has decided to take a different approach towards individual growth for its technology team. The Company has removed titles from the equation altogether and has proceeded to reward and recognise people, based on their skills and contribution, and not by conferring titles that depict seniority in any sense. Aptly called ‘The PhonePe Engineering Journey’, it began in the month of April this year. Within the 2000-strong company, the technology team consists of…
Star Cement, major player in the cement manufacturing business in the North East, has adopted simple yet efficient measures, to ensure that its employees feel safe and remain healthy during these troubling times. For one, it has promised to bear all expenses incurred by the employees should they contract the virus or infection. This offer is in addition to the COVID insurance cover provided by the Company for the year. The Company’s employee strength is around 1860, which includes 100 employees each at its corporate headquarters, in Kolkata, and the regional office in Guwahati. Sudipto Mandal, vice president and CHRO,…
MoEngage, a customer-engagement platform has shifted its entire recruitment process to 100 per cent internal hiring. A majority of these hires come through employee referrals. The Company confirms that, currently, almost 60 to 70 per cent of all hiring in India is happening through referrals. While 10 to 15 per cent hiring through referrals is considered a win, this firm has actually managed to exceed existing industry norms! The firm has an effective employee-referral programme in place, which is called the Talent Ambassadors Programme. Jitender Panihar, global head-people and culture, MoEngage, says that the numbers were quite different a year…
Sushil Joshi, SVP and CHRO, Adani Airports, recalls when in the 1990s, he was working at Eicher as a frontline HR officer. Back then, the Company was undergoing a drastic change in management style. “Having a culture of courage is not merely a good thing to have, but a must in organisations today.” Those were times when the plant head, at conventional manufacturing companies, was the supreme leader. He would usually be an impatient person who would not tolerate any disagreement. At that time, pointing out the fallacy, a consultant convinced everyone how important a bottom up approach…
It is easy to blame the manager for micromanaging, but there are some employees who not only seek micromanagement, but actually need it. This is certainly an attention-grabbing statement. Why? Because it is a known fact that nobody likes to be micromanaged, whether at the workplace or anywhere else. At the core of engagement lies capability and trust, both of which micromanagement denies. “In my experience, retraining works, and the manager has to be present to explain, train, coach and guide the employee. A need for micromanagement may also occur if an employee has not had the chance to create…
An organisation is like a tribe. Every member has his/her own role to play, and together, they all contribute to the wellbeing of one another. If forced to stay indoors, the tribe may find it harder to communicate and avenues for discussion may degrade over time. When new members join the tribe, it becomes imperative for them to build new relationships and social capital. The problem is that, there are no watercooler chats anymore. We are not going to run into our colleague from the other department any time soon. Newcomers who are joining companies virtually and working from home,…
The ATMs across the country would be running dry, had this company not continued its services amidst the lockdown. AGS Transact Technologies is not just an ATM cash-replenishment company, but a leading provider of end-to-end cash and digital payment solutions and automation technology. With a workforce of 13,000, of which 75 per cent were out in the field during the lockdown, the Company had a daunting task to keep the workforce motivated and energised, especially when people across the world were locked inside their homes. “More than the incentives, I believe it was the love for the brand, and customer…
Ask any CEO and they will brag about increasing their employee headcount to indicate they are growing. Faster employee growth is a good thing for a company. However it is not always. The status quo is changing and whether we like it or not, we might be seeing a new way of determining which is the bigger and better company. The pandemic has hastened organisations’ need to become leaner and focus on retaining core employees. Ideal comments of becoming leaner and agile are becoming a reality today. The new game in the future is going to be who has fewer…
Paramjit Singh Nayyar has joined Bharti AXA General Insurance, as the CHRO and member of the management committee on July 7, after a three-year stint at HDFC ERGO Health Insurance. His last working day at HDFC ERGO was July 6. Speaking to HRKahta, Nayyar comments, “Insurance is a sunrise industry and is set to grow manifold in the coming few years. This industry also has a unique and noble objective of driving health risk coverage, which has become so much more important given the COVID pandemic.” Talking about his immediate mandate at Bharti AXA, Nayyar adds, “My immediate priorities include…
An older colleague mentions to a younger co-worker that she is very hardworking for her age. A young person asks an older person if he needs some help with navigating his new phone. A client emails a senior manager, addressing her by her name but sends the same e-mail to her junior male colleague, addressing him as ‘sir’, thus assuming he is the boss. In a meeting, the male co-worker is assumed to be in a senior position rather than his female colleague. A person hailing from a remote town is complimented for speaking perfect Hindi or English. “The challenge…
Power transmission major, Sterlite Power has roped in Swaminathan Subramanian to lead the human resources function as the group CHRO for the organisation. He joined on July 1 in his new role and will be reporting to group managing director Pratik Agarwal. “I am excited to join Sterlite Power, which has social impact underpinning its strategy, innovation as a way of life and talent shaping its journey”, stated Subramanian to HRKatha. Subramanian brings with him more than two decades of experience as an HR generalist. He has donned multiple hats in different organisations including consulting, mergers and acquisitions, HR governance…
The issue of workplace harassment has taken on a different form in today’s virtual world of work. Instead of making it easier to avoid harassment, the work-from-home scenario has reimagined it and given birth to new ways of harassment. Personal comments on people’s social-media handles, inappropriate emojis, virtual stalking, threats about performance ratings, calls at late hours, unsuitable dressing and inappropriate jokes among others can constitute virtual harassment in today’s time. “There is a need for more education around the whole issue of virtual harassment. POSH training should be mandated for everyone under these new circumstances.” Balachandar N.V, executive director-HR,…
The office culture in India has always been about developing warm and rich interpersonal relationships among individuals. Offices across the country are alive with the spark of informal conversations amongst employees on varied topics, during the breaks. Like many other luxuries, the pandemic has taken away this spark from our lives as well. The feeling of comfort derived from the friendly exchanges with colleagues is felt less nowadays. The concept of office meets is blurring in the new work culture. “More focus is required on enabling people to build social capital, because a lot of work flows from these relationships.”…
Hiring has continued virtually for many organisations across sectors, with candidates settling in to working from home. With no clarity on how long it may take for the pandemic to run its course, many companies have decided to continue with remote working for the time being, due to its many advantages. In such a state, it is debatable whether hiring for culture fit will continue to be of relevance. With the progress made in the WFH scenario over the past few months, we have witnessed some changes in the way of work. For instance, some professionals are dealing with increased…
The case for diversity calls for more than just hiring a bunch of different people into an organisation. Quite often, the ‘I’ in D&I (diversity and inclusion) tends to get overlooked as companies hurriedly tick the diversity agenda on their list after hiring. One of the reasons why diversity does not naturally exist in companies is because we fail to bring in inclusive behaviour. Individuals spend a lot of time at work, almost one-third of their lives! Organisations have a significant impact on changing the attitudes in society, at large, and have the transformative power to make society more inclusive.…
A few years ago, Professor Ram Charan created quite a stir by suggesting splitting the HR department into two halves and doing away with the CHRO’s role! While he may not have talked about outsourcing then, organisations are looking at it today. The pandemic has forced organisations to change their approach to work and come up with ways to ensure more efficiency. “The strategic roles, handled by specialists, need to remain within organisations, while the rest can be outsourced.” Rajesh Padmanabhan, HR specialist, shares, “In future, HR teams will be a lot leaner and a lot more specialised in…
Learning has been advocated by leaders across businesses as a way to thrive, survive and sail through the current economic climate. One of the best ways to drive learning and growth forward, is to tap into the dormant potential of employees and bring it out through community learning. In 1998, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) began a multi-country project called the Community Learning Centre (CLC) project. By 2003, there were 21 countries participating in the initiative. A community learning centre, as the name suggests, is a place where the local community members gather to exchange information…
A common belief is that, for those who are socially reclusive, work-from-home is like a dream come true. There is no pressure to interact with others, no loud chit-chats or music to distract from work and nobody to drag them to an office meeting full of unknown faces. However, in the real sense, things are not as simple as they appear to be. Working from home has bought out different realities for everyone, including the introverts. For them, the arrangement has its own pros and cons. What doesn’t work There are a few issues introverts face while working from home.…
The suicidal death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput has brought the spotlight on ‘nepotism’ and ‘groupism’ in the Hindi film industry. People may still be in denial, but the fact remains that nepotism and groupism exist not just in the Hindi film industry, but everywhere – even in our own corporate world. Be it entry-level management trainees, or a senior-level executives, new joinees often experience resistance at their new place of work. Many a time, they fall prey to office politics and are forced to join one of the camps, because that ensures job safety and also peace of mind.…