Author: Arindam Goswami | HRKatha

Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, IKEA India observed Equality Day on March 3, at its corporate office in Bangalore, to celebrate its commitment to equality at the workplace. IKEA, as an organisation, aims to achieve 50:50 gender balance across all roles for men and women, and that means equal opportunities and equal pay for both. To spread the word around, it organised Equality Day along with an NGO called Breakthrough, which is also dedicated to the cause of gender equality. At the event, everyone got together to discuss and share learnings and ideas about how it is…

IPM India has seen change in the organisational culture as the leadership team has spearheaded a movement to make the workplace more diverse and inclusive. Having begun its journey in 2015, with the introduction of gender representative KPIs, the organisation set a goal of reaching 40 per cent representation of each gender by 2022. Adopting a transparency approach, the KPIs are shared with the employees in a bi-monthly town hall. Since 2017, the KPIs have been part of the objectives of the managing director and people and culture head, as well as that of the organisation. Diverse hiring: Creating a…

A background check is one of the most important measures available for screening potential or current candidates. Used properly, it can enable hiring of the best talent. However, if done sloppily, it can unleash a hoard of unnecessary issues upon the employer. Therefore, hiring a good reference-check vendor is the first important step in the hiring process. There is, however, a challenge there. What with the sheer number of vendors out there, and each one claiming to be the ‘best in the market’, finding the right one for an organisation is hardly a piece of cake. On the other hand,…

After a short stint at Avanse Financial Services, Saba Adil has stepped down and joined Raheja QBE General Insurance, as its chief people officer. Speaking about her new role, she says, “Being a key member of the leadership team, supporting business growth as the organisation is scaling up is one of the key priorities here.” “To build the right capabilities to deliver strategic objectives, and to create a value-driven new-age organisation focused on customers and employees is the current mandate at Raheja,” adds Adil talking about the official mandate in her new assignment. Previously, as CPO at Avanse, she was…

During any interview, the goal is to hire the best talent for the workplace. This involves eliminating the bad apples, and toxic behaviour is certainly one of the traits to look out for. Every interviewer has her or his own way of finding out what kind of person the candidate is. However, there are some regular and some new methods used to determine the right fit for any role. An interview is essentially an artificial construct, where the candidates trying to show their best side and at times even the interviewers do the same in an attempt to project the…

Chandrasekhar Mukherjee, who was heading the people function at South Indian Bank, has stepped down from his role as CPO to join Magic Bus India Foundation, as its CHRO. Magic Bus works with children and young people, taking them on a journey from childhood to livelihood, and out of poverty. Currently, there are 3,75,000 children already undergoing this journey of moving out of poverty in 22 states and 80 districts of the country. Magic Bus also works in Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar. “Broadly, I will be leading the HR function of the organisation, in Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, including the offices…

The concept of Teal organisations is a new one, where self-management replaces conventional management.  At first glance, it sounds utopian and also quite possibly is. A popular topic of discussion, it presents an exciting new area for organisations to step into. However, its sustainability as a successful management system still remains debatable. A Teal management system is a new management model put forward by Belgian author, Frederic Laloux, in his book, Reinventing Organisations. It essentially suggests a system of self-management based on peer relationships without hierarchy or any central command. Moreover, it involves employees negotiating responsibilities with their peers, charting…

Food delivery major, Swiggy, announced its new childcare and parenthood policies keeping in mind the journey of parenthood. The policies have been designed to fulfil the diverse needs of the modern parent. New-age parents today require a lot more flexibility to balance childcare and professional life, and these policies have been crafted keeping in mind just that. Parents juggle family needs, career demands and transitions, while continuing to experience dynamic career opportunities and development. However, what makes these policies different is that they are inclusive of all parents, whether biological, adoptive same-sex or heterosexual. Taking care to include parenthood in…

Uber, the global transport company with its roots in San Francisco — one of the most diverse cities in the United States — is now driving the diversity agenda in India. Through the Company’s Bhavishya programme, which is Uber India’s and South Asia’s initiative, it has been trying to onboard more women and diverse driver-partners into the Company. Pavan Vaish, Head of Central Operations (Rides), India and South Asia, has been the personal sponsor of the programme. Bhavishya has given birth to Rani from Bhvaneshwar, India’s first transgender driver-partner for Uber, and many others with similar stories of success. Vaish…

Spencer’s Retail has managed to forge a great relationship with its staff, enabling them to continuously perform better, even while setting a clear path of progress for them to look up to. What makes this Kolkata-headquartered retail stores chain different, is the initiative it has taken to enable the lower-level employees and help them reach the upper echelons of the organisation. Naresh Kumar Purutipati, CHRO, Spencer’s Retail, highlights how Spencer’s has been successful in its practice of helping its store employees identify their core skills and the areas of improvement, to be able to rise up the ladder in the…

Indian businesses are quite optimistic about a positive economic outlook, even while the the country’s economy is said to have been pushed towards a downturn. Nine out of ten businesses across industries are reported to be doing equally well or better than last year. A survey carried out by AON, a global professional services firm, covering over a thousand companies, has reported that two out of five industries are likely to offer a double-digit salary in the coming year. In terms of global outlook, we seem to be doing quite well for ourselves as compared to our neighbours. This is…

Biswarup Goswami, former senior vice president-HR, PI industries, has moved to a new role as the chief human resources officer (CHRO) at Gujarat Heavy Chemicals, which is a chemical- manufacturing company. An HR veteran with over three decades of experience, Goswami has been leading the HR function in organisations for the past eighteen years. Goswami worked at PI industries as SVP-HR for almost two years, before which he lead the HR function as president and chief transformation officer at Laxmi Organic industries. He held that post for a little more than a year and led the charge on building organisational…

Tata Steel recently launched an interesting pilot programme for its maintenance crew, comprising workers who look after the plant and heavy machinery in its factories. These employees can now look for work outside the organisation as well! There used to be a time when technology was not as advanced as it is today, and maintenance required at the plant was frequent, which meant the crew was expected to be on duty at all times. Of late, it has been observed that breakdowns in heavy machinery do not happen as often because of technological improvements. As a result, the maintenance employees…

Coordinating with or managing a global team has never been an easy task. However, over the years, with the help of technology— such as the many avenues of video conferencing and collaborative platforms for employees to share information with each other— the process has become more streamlined and easier to manage. However, organisations still have to make sure they follow certain norms to sustain the smooth functioning of geographically-diverse teams. With the economy becoming more global, teams are increasingly getting distributed across multiple time zones and regions around the world. Organisations have found ways to adapt to this continuous change…

Getting a job is never an easy task. From networking, reaching out to recruiters, submitting resumes and preparing for the preliminary interview, it takes a lot of effort to ace it. And after all that has passed, there comes the final interview, which decides the candidate’s fate. At this point, it is easy to think that 90 per cent of the work is complete and that one can lie back for a moment. The common mentality is that it is a done deal and the final round is merely a formality. However, that is not the case at all. The…

Reference checks can be one of the most overlooked elements in an interview process. Since they are done towards the end, there is a risk of them being superficial or ending up as just another item checked off the list. Reference checks can be a useful tool in the hiring process to get a holistic preview of the candidate. There are a few inquiries that the hiring manager can make while conducting a reference check. In many cases, it so happens that reference checks are carried out even after the individual has been on-boarded. In such cases, if something negative…

In the war for talent, it is but natural for employers to feel more comfortable turning to the nearest best option available — former employees—and understandably so. Former employees know the ropes better and are able to get up to speed quicker than a brand new employee. However, the decision to rehire needs to be a sound one rather than a comfortable one. There are many factors to take into consideration before rehiring an ex-employee. When it comes to rehiring, the decision usually rests with the line managers. They are the ones who will let the HR know that they…

We are all familiar with the square-rectangle logic. All squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares. For employees and enagagement, it is more or less the same. An engaged employee is one who is satisfied and immensely productive. On the other hand, a worker who is satisfied in his or her position is not necessarily an engaged one. The latter kind is not helpful for the organisation. It can be very easy to overlook the minute difference, especially becuase employees will not overtly convey whether they are feeling connected with the organisational goals and vision. Those who are…

Satisfaction at the workplace is dependent on several factors. Although priorities change with age, one factor remains consistently important —getting on with colleagues at the workplace. While higher pay, better hours or fancy facilities and other factors are also relevant, these cannot substitute the need for camaraderie, which is common to all employees across organisations. In 2019, a research was carried out by the Institute of Learning and Management by surveying over 2,100 workers to identify the factors that affect their job satisfaction and explore their career plans for the new decade to come. Good relationship with colleagues was cited…

It is true that organisations sometimes make the mistake of hiring the wrong person for the job. It is not only the blue-eyed managers who find themselves in such a situation. Everyone, whether it is a fresh management trainee or a senior professional, will admit to having made a bad hire at some point in their professional life. Depending on whether the bad hire in question is an entry-level person or a senior executive, the potential damage to the company can be devastating, considering the incurring costs. One may assume the next step would be to fire that person, but…

Every good organisation will have a learning and development programme in place to help its employees grow and contribute in greater quality. However, getting results from an L&D programme is easier said than done. If there are a thousand employees in an organisation, usually only 30 per cent or less will show any interest at all in reskilling. The majority of the workforce may think of reskilling as extra work. Every good manager knows that keeping employees motivated is the key to achieving productivity and quality. Different managers employ different techniques from a vast array of tools available to them.…

Stelis Biopharma today announced the appointment of S Raghavendra Rao as chief human resources officer (CHRO). Rao joins the biopharmaceutical company after managing multiple roles at Siemens, where he was the vice president & head, learning and leadership development. An HR professional with over two decades of cross sectoral experience, Rao has held many positions in manufacturing, engineering, automotive, apparel, footwear, semiconductor, IT, R&D at some of the most recognised Indian organisations like Arvind, Eicher, and Tata and some of the most prominent brands world over such as Volvo, ABB, NXP Semiconductors (formerly Philips) and Siemens Ltd. With a strong…

Armaan Seth, who recently moved out from his role of Head of Human Resources for Philips India has joined Syngenta, a global biotechnology company which produces agro-chemicals and seeds, as its new Head HR for Asia and Pacific and will be based in Singapore. In his new role, he will be part of the Global HR Leadership team and report to the CHRO based in Basel, Switzerland. Armaan transitioned out of Philips India in end December and will move into his new role at the agro-chemical giant in January. As the Head HR for the region, he will spearhead HR…

The umbrella of diversity encompasses many different kinds of individuals and communities. While gender diversity has been accepted as a common agenda for most corporations, it is the rest of the diverse talent that ends up yearning for recognition in the corporate world. They include the queer community, the disabled and the aged among others. The Essar Group has taken initiatives for one such community through its multiple initiatives. While the transgender community has been a topic of discussion, it still remains to be accepted into the workplace due to the lack of actionable policies and programmes across organisations. Moreover,…

Gig workers are being hired for specialised jobs as well as for manual labour. The workforce of today is looking beyond tenure and jobs — at purpose, value, experience and learning. That is why, the gig economy of today is burgeoning in India. Fuelled by a growing start-up eco system as well, the members of the gig workforce are able to lead a life they desire, choosing assignments that match their sense of purpose and values, while also allowing them the time and ‘me’ space required to pursue their hobbies and other activities. Surprisingly, it is not homebound women or…

There are two kinds of young professionals today. The first kind is willing to stick it out in a job, which they do not like, which offers no growth and provides measly pay. Why? Because they believe unless they put in a certain amount of time in an organisation, other companies will see them as runners and avoid hiring them. The second kind comprises those who are not walled in by these notions and are willing to change jobs as often as needed, until they find an organisation they really want to stay in. Examples of the second kind are…