Author: Arindam Goswami | HRKatha

In the post-COVID world, we are bound to see many changes in the way workplaces are organised. The future workplace may see a special kind of leave to prepare for situations, such as the current one. There are national laws such as the Factories Act of 1948, which dictate the minimum number and the kind of leaves that employers are liable to provide. However, that is only for factories and dock workers. Other organisations — such as in the IT, hospitality and entertainment sectors — are covered under the Shops and Establishments Act, which is again specific for each state.…

The stronghold of Indian IT companies and consultancy firms, the ‘bench’ has been thinning over the years even as contract staffing has been gaining popularity. The present pandemic has pushed the situation further over the edge. Hundreds of employees have been put on the bench awaiting active projects over the next few months and many others have been forced to leave as companies are unable to pay them anymore. With the current crisis, not having an active project would be reason enough to lose one’s job. We all knew the bench was gearing up for a change in the coming…

The Covid-19 virus has been a game changer and a disruptor. It’s unprecedented, and has forced us to relook at the way we live and the way we work. Going by the same rule, it will also influence the way performance is managed. Recently, a friend who works for one of the large management consultants shared, that during the pre-appraisal meeting, the team leaders were asked to be considerate with the ratings while appraising their team members—the reason being, work from home is tough on everyone. While many may be trying their best to deliver, sometimes, the results are just…

All the leaders and managers out there are involved in firefighting, taking calls, preparing for when the lockdown lifts and managing their own responsibilities at the same time. That is not all. They also have to guide and help out their employees who may be experiencing difficulty with the new way of working. It is a new experience for everybody and the situation has not been lenient on anyone either up or down the ladder. This may be a chance for employees to help out their managers, and lessen the load on their plate. Remain positive and be wary of…

Much before the lockdown started, one of the plants of the Aditya Birla Group went for the automation of a small function within the plant. The exercise meant the gates would open automatically and goods would be offloaded automatically too. The investment of approx. Rs 28 lakh in this automation process would allow the Company to work with 14 less people at the plant. The HR head of that business had shared with HRKatha that the Company could recover the cost of automation in lieu of salaries in less than two and a half years. Business-wise it made great sense.…

It seems the gig economy is inevitable. The COVID-19 crisis and the lockdown have paved the new path for gig workers. Companies have come to realise that going the gig way is mutually beneficial for both the parties. Therefore, they will soon have to come up with new ways to engage with the gig workers. And more importantly, they will need to rewrite the rules of engagement. According to Deloitte’s 2019 Global Human Capital Trends report, 41 per cent of executives report that prepping for engagement with gig workers is important. Not just the research reports, even HR practitioners are…

Working from home has not been easy on everybody. While a section of the workforce is sitting at home without work, another section is overburdened with work. The IT services industry is more equipped than most to facilitate a remote working environment for its employees. Yet, work has doubled owing to the new terms and conditions that organisations have been forced to work in. A senior ITes professional who did not wish to be named, says “In many cases it is because of the kind of work one has to do according to the job role. In addition, the senior…

The lockdown due to coronavirus has given us quite a few ‘jargons’, and one of them is ‘upskilling’. It is common for pundits to say that people should utilise the downtime by upskilling themselves, without giving a thought to the fact that upskilling isn’t for everyone, and certainly not when they are locked down at home. In many functions or roles, the learning or upskilling can only happen on-the-job or the experiential way. This is because it is not just about learning the concept, the application of that concept is equally important. For instance, in the manufacturing sector, there are…

Not everyone can work remotely, and that holds true for most employees at the fast food chain, McDonald’s too. In these unprecedented times when employees are working from home, McDonald’s has introduced a relevant policy for its restaurant management teams and the frontline crew in the West and South of the country. The objective is to ensure that they remain engaged and utilise this time to upskill themselves for a strong comeback, as soon as normalcy resumes. Engagement at McDonald’s is happening at three levels — for the frontline crew members at the restaurant, the managers at these restaurants and…

Although a few technology companies, such as WIPRO, Tech Mahindra and Accenture, have reassured that they will honour the pre-placement offers they have made, there are many other companies and sectors from where no such assurance has come. Adding to the hopelessness, many companies have deferred the joining date or revoked the previous offer. Some have even offered a month’s salary as compensation. The fact remains that times are uncertain and job pursuers need to be prepared for this uncertainty. Many management and engineering graduates could be left out at the campus, feeling helpless. Having said that, we are all…

The emotional wellbeing of people depends on many factors apart from their own selves, including the health and wellbeing of the people they value the most. Issues such as the illness of a loved one in the family, a financial crisis or a legal matter may trigger stress or anxiety, and subsequently affect the productivity and health of the person’s own self. The wellbeing of people, to an extent, is dependent on the people around them. To address this factor, food delivery major, Swiggy, has come up with a curated wellness programme for all its employees. Called ‘Built around you’,…

Biplab Bakshi has taken over the reins at Dabur India, as executive director-HR, from outgoing head, V. Krishnan. In his new role, Bakshi will be responsible for all HR functions at both domestic and international entities of Dabur, and will be reporting to Mohit Malhotra, CEO, Dabur. An HR professional with over 25 years of experience, Bakshi began his career with Tata Motors in March 1993, as a management trainee. He was later elevated to assistant HR manager. After three years at Tata Motors, he joined Bausch and Lomb as factory HR manager, in May 1996. He went on to…

For Pharma companies, it’s business as usual despite the odds. Procurement, production, distribution all have to run smoothly and in sync. However, the lockdown has its own set of challenges for this industry. Here is how it is fighting it every day. There weren’t any breaks for the pharma industry. Being an essential category, it was expected to continue with the production as it is, and keep fuelling the distribution pipeline till the last mile. However, the industry  has been facing its own share of challenges amidst the lockdown. Though, it has been promised government support, the on-ground situation is…

Every cloud has a silver lining! Though it may have been forced, the lockdown has turned out to be a wake-up call for India Inc. Companies have realised that work from home is very much possible and that too without compromising on productivity. Expressing optimism for the gig economy, SV Nathan, chief talent officer, Deloitte, says, “This is a great time for the gig economy. It will see a new overlay of talent that has always been hesitant to come out in the open.” Advantages of hiring gig workers The current situation has taught a few important lessons to India…

Like many other sectors and industries, the retail industry is facing a tough time due to the lockdown and coronavirus scare. There are over 15 lakh modern retail stores in India, which together do a business of around Rs 4.74 lakh crore in a year and employ over 60 lakh people. So, on an average, every month, the modern retail does business of around Rs 40,000 crore a month. Due to the pandemic, by the end of February, business had dropped by almost 75 to 80 per cent. In the past one and a half months, it has further reduced by…

In many sectors, companies are finding innovative ways to engage with the team to maintain the productivity levels, while they telecommute. However, not everyone is working from home. Rather, not every employee in every organisation is working. Remote working is not possible in every function, sector, or company. In such cases, the challenge lies in optimising the downtime of these employees. Learning & Development Learning is what most companies are looking at to keep the workforce engaged during the downtime. Ashish Anand, CHRO, SAR Group, says, “At SAR, we have created groups for people in activity-oriented jobs— such as service…

C. Jayakumar, current vice president and head-HR for divisional corporate, Larsen and Toubro construction, has been promoted to head of corporate HR at the firm. Armed with over three decades of experience in HR, he will be taking on his new role on April 2. Jayakumar began his career in 1987 as a trainee personnel officer at Samarpan Fabricators, where he was responsible for the personnel and industrial relations function and oversaw the implementation of statutory requirements. He joined Larsen and Toubro a year later, in 1988, and has not looked back since. Having joined L&T as a personnel and…

By now the fact that we have deal with an unprecedented work-scenario has been well digested by everyone. Organisations are finding out way to help their employees work and keep the business running, as much as they can. While remote working is not a new concept at all, the manner in which it has been imposed on us has never been seen before or experienced by any of us. Struggling to deal with this change, a problem that arises is the blurring of work and home. And why would it not be? After all everyone is working from home! As…

For any IT services company, there are three stakeholders – the organisation, the employee and the customer. In a best-case scenario, all three agree on remote work, provided the company has the necessary infrastructure and the employees are able. However, issues may arise if the customer is wary of remote work. This happens because of a lack of confidence that remote work will not hamper data security or delivery of outcome. This is the very reason why offshore development centres (ODC) have come into existence, where with a dedicated core team and infrastructure, the customer is assured of delivery and…

We have an unprecedented crisis on our hands. Before last week, while reports kept popping up about employees in few organisations contracting the virus, leading to a work-from- home situation, normalcy prevailed for many of us. We kept one eye on the news and another on driving business as usual. However, when the Government mandated work-from-home and isolation, it thrust the corporate world into a situation it was not really prepared for. With such uncertainty, it is upon the leaders to shine a light on the road their employees should take. This is where the twin challenges arise — of…

Geetika Mehta has been appointed as the chief people officer, at Jubilant Agri and Consumer Products (JACPL). She will manage the people function at the organisation, based out of Gurugram, Haryana. An HR professional with more than 13 years of experience in the field, Mehta previously held the position of vice president, human resources, OYO. She served the hospitality major for almost two years, from August 2018 to March 2020. Mehta began her career at Cadbury Schweppes as the HRBP for corporate functions. She worked there for a little over a year, from May 2006 to July 2007. In March,…

Every organisation is trying to find its own way of dealing with the work-from-home situation in these uncertain times. With no clue as to how long this will continue, companies are trying to do the best they can to cope with the times. ATC Tires, part of the Yokohama Group, has taken certain measures for employee welfare during this Coronavirus outbreak. Work from home Following the directives from the Government, the organisation has allowed almost all of its employees at the Mumbai head office to start working from home starting March 16. For ATC’s 300-strong workforce at its headquarters, the…

As people are becoming more cautious about the rising pandemic, corporates have declared work-from-home for many of its employees. As per Delhi government instructions, educational institutions and public facilities such as cinema halls are to remain shut till March 31st. In a scenario where classroom sessions are out of the question, there will be a fall back to digital learning. The learning community in India has been moving in the direction of digital learning since quite some time now. However one point of contestation has been from the employees who claim a lack of time to complete their learning goals.…

When it comes to layoffs, there is never an easy way to go about it. It is a complicated, time-consuming affair and one of the most dreaded tasks any HR manager has to face. Terminating a remote worker becomes even more complicated, as they cannot be pulled into a conference room and sat down. Moreover, with the rising popularity of flexible work, many managers will find themselves firing a virtual worker at some point. So how does one fire an employee who does not come to office? Whether in-office or remote, the procedure is the same for all workers, such…

For leadership positions, emotional intelligence is a significant factor to look out for in candidates. To achieve success at the workplace, everyone has to get along and support each other. It is natural to feel happy, sad, excited or angry during the course of work. The key is to understand one’s emotions well and express them in a way that is healthy and well received by others. Some people always manage to maintain a calm demeanour at work. They are not work-loving robots, but simply emotionally-intelligent people. Emotional intelligence, also known as emotional quotient or EQ is the ability to…

The ban on asking candidates their salary history has been a hot topic for quite some time now. Already 18 states in the US have banned employers from asking candidates the question. In Germany, employers are prohibited from asking ask candidates about their past earnings unless they volunteer to reveal the information themselves. The goal behind the move is to bring an end to gender pay disparity and unequal remuneration among employees in the same role. However, it may have its own limitations. At the outset, a ban on asking salary history is only going to help employees in the…