In the era of biometrics and unique identification number (UID), how difficult can it be to establish the credentials of an individual, one may think. A lot, actually. Technology has been able to weed out any ambiguity in the unique identity of a person, and yet it is technology itself that has fuelled the world of fakes, to such an extent that we are struggling to establish whether the real is indeed REAL. Welcome to the not-so-glamorous world of Background Verification. True to its name, it is the bedrock of any organisation, working behind the scene. The COVID-19 pandemic has…
Author: Guest Writer
Several years ago, I heard a story that had a massive impact on me. It was a story of a golden eagle that moved away from its tribe after birth and started living with some hens. As it grew up, it started thinking, behaving and even walking like a hen. After a few years, another golden eagle came across this golden eagle, playing with some hens. In sheer shock, it asked, “What are you doing here? You should be with us.” The hen-like eagle responded, “No, how can I be with you, I am a hen and you are an…
As a growing number of organisations integrate digital technologies into all aspects of their business, digital transformation has come to be regarded as the means to increase the effectiveness of business operations and customer relations. It has helped organisations deliver quality products, meet customer requirements, perform better financially, and stay ahead of the innovation curve. To transition and emerge as a more digitally-mature organisation requires not only strategy, digital culture and tech infrastructure, but also the most critical component of all — a highly skilled and digitally savvy workforce. Here are the 10 most sought-after skills your organisation’s tech talent…
On March 24, our Prime Minister announced complete lockdown in the country for 21 days. At that time, it was difficult to fathom what it actually entailed and how it would work. Coming from the old school, I had never believed in the concept of ‘work from home’, and it was hard for me to digest that entire workforces could actually operate from home. Accepting the new normal We embraced remote working, albeit with some apprehensions. Gradually, we got used to the virtual HR meetings every morning – sharing our deliverables and engagement plan for our respective teams and businesses.…
Leaders are at the forefront of this change and tasked with giving direction to their organisations, to successfully emerge from this crisis unscathed. It starts with changing mindsets and building resilience. Organisationally, achieving or improving resilience includes building a more agile operating model; ensuring that the workforce has the right capability set; nurturing organisational relationships; sharing data in real time; displaying and promoting leadership that engenders trust, supports creativity and innovation. So, how can leaders catalyse this big reset? What are the top imperatives for them? Let’s take a look. Reimagine the new normal Like it or not, remote working…
Do you know how your employees are feeling right now? Are they truly motivated and happy? How do they feel about workplace culture and norms? Are they comfortable with the way things work or do they have issues that are simply not being addressed? Considering the pace at which the workplaces are changing and evolving, if you are still dependent on a once-a-year survey to assess employee engagement, understand that the data you have collected can be pretty much obsolete by the time you assess it. That is where employee pulse surveys come in. Let’s take a look at some…
Scenario 1. Candidate goes for an interview. The recruiter takes her through the role at hand and they continue the discussion. At the fag end of the discussion come the questions –‘Tell me about your family.’ ‘What is the salary you expect?’. If the candidate happens to be a nubile young lady or a newly married woman, then she may find herself fielding questions like – ‘Do you intend to get married? Do you plan to have kids? What if you are required to relocate post marriage?’ Scenario 2. Human resource department stores employee records, in hard and soft formats.…
Organisations continue to develop technology-based networks to promote the sharing of knowledge and innovative thinking. The ability to communicate easily with each other allows one to get ahead of competitors. In reality, most business owners depend on technology to communicate with their employees, both in and around the office. This level of collaboration allows workers to maintain a better work-life balance. Using technology in the workplace will continue to enable organisations to communicate efficiently with their employees. Technology can also help organisations grow quickly and efficiently. Engaged workers are more productive, customer-focused and loyal, and organisations with high employee engagement…
Retaining employees is a marathon and not a sprint. We have moved past the age when a handsome salary was all that employees sought. The workforce of today values perks and benefits even more than their pay cheques. Fortunately, organisations are more than self-aware about the importance of employee engagement and ensuring employee happiness. According to SHRM, more than two-thirds (72 per cent) of organisations have increased their benefit offerings to retain employees. It is easy to understand why companies are increasingly investing in providing well-endowed employee benefits packages. Not only can these employee benefits enhance a worker’s mental and…
India’s Employment Crisis: Rising Education Levels and Falling Non-agricultural Job Growth, co-authored by Santosh Mehrotra and Jajati K Parida, reports a highest-ever unemployment peak of 8.8% in 2017-18, up from 3% in 2011-12. Most disconcertingly, joblessness among educated youth went up nearly 2X from 6.1% in 2011-12 to 17.8% in 2017-18 across the board. Read more
In our first article on evaluating skilling schemes, we looked at the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme. We turn our attention now to the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), a free-of-cost large-scale skills development scheme targeting those at the bottom of the skills pyramid- mainly youth and adults from disadvantaged backgrounds. Read more
Different roles of an entrepreneur, the current cleansing of India’s financial system and the imbalance of the vast bad debts of the corporate sector versus the allocation towards primary education. Read more
Buoyant ambition to impart skills training to 400 million people by 2022 saw the spawning of around 30 schemes under some 16 Central Ministries- all charged with making Indian youth more relevant to the labour market to curb the scourge of the ‘no skills-not employable’ malaise. However, good intentions aside, the estimates state that a third of Indian youth have slipped through the cracks falling flat into the Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) category. The 2016-17 Annual Report of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) estimated a skills training need of 126.87 million between 2017-2022 with…
India Apprenticeship Forum hosted its flagship event “Leveraging The Power Of Apprenticeships For Creating Human Capital”, on 20th December 2019, at Taj MG Road in Bengaluru. The first keynote address was by Mr. Surajit Roy, Senior Head, Apprenticeship Division, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). We present here video snippets of his address…Read more
Hiring an apprentice might seem similar to hiring a regular employee. However, there could be subtle differences that a hiring manager will do well to understand. An apprentice, while not necessarily gifted with academic qualifications, comes with skills that are symbiotic to the job – current skills drive the job performance and more time spent on the job drives the skills up…Read more
Apprenticeships have played a vital role in recent years by simplifying staff training and HR operations. Staff training has always been a challenge for HR teams, but the increasing adoption of in-house training programs has emerged as the ray of hope. Let’s briefly discuss the role of apprenticeship in transforming the modern workforce…Read more
Interviewing an apprentice may seem to be similar to hiring any other candidate. But, apprentices are different and hence it is important for HRs to set their expectations accordingly while interviewing an apprentice for their organisation…Read more
With multiple sectors facing huge skills gaps in the coming years, apprenticeships hold tremendous promise in nurturing our youth right from the schooling level. And when governments recognise this, and get it right by working with businesses, the entire economy – local and national – stands to benefit…Read more
An organisation irrespective of its industry thrives because of its people. And with globalisation, we can see how organisations are now doing cross border trades with an amalgamation of culture, economy, and population. Hence, organisations are no more local, but they act globally thus bringing in a paradigm shift in its culture and people. And it’s a no brainer that with the rise of globalisation, we can see a steady rise in global competitiveness. With continuously evolving technologies and better infrastructure at their disposal, organisations can now compete with each other on the global platform…Read more
Young men and women today are subject to extreme market volatility and inflation. This puts them in a dire position of not being able to find their desired employment. Among low and middle-income families, informal employment has come to dominate young people’s labour market experiences, while in high-income families, work for youth increasingly means temporary and other non-standard forms of employment…Read more
With 35% Indian graduates unemployed and an average of 25 million Indian youths illiterate, the Centre and State government together with its allied bodies are working towards educating, building awareness and empowering both apprentices and organisations to build their human capital through the non-mainstream-yet-robust Apprenticeship medium…Read more
What is the first thought that comes to your mind when you think of apprenticeship? Is it cheap labour, manual work, low wages or alternate education for students who are not regular school-goers? If you are a Recruitment/Talent Acquisition or an HR professional, you should continue reading as we debunk the 7 most common misconceptions of apprenticeship…Read more
Let’s face it. Employee turnover is real and businesses should pay attention to their employees just as they do to their clients and customers. It is a no-brainer that retaining a loyal customer is easier than acquiring a new one. And hence, every business, irrespective of the industries they operate in, attempts to be as customer-focused as possible to keep its customers happy and engaged. Businesses go the extra mile when it comes to retaining their old customers. This scenario holds true for employees too. Companies shouldn’t be focusing only on attracting and hiring the best talents. They should also invest…
Job satisfaction is nothing but one’s contentment at the workplace which the employee derives from his/her job. If an employee is not satisfied with the job, it is more likely that he/she will move on sooner or later. On the other hand, when an employee is content with his/her job, he/she develops loyalty and builds commitment to stick around…Read more
The primary Apprenticeship model has had limited success due to a rigid 52-year-old law. With periodic revisions and amendments as recent as Sept 2019, the law has been updated with new schemes and provisions. Regulatory reforms via NAPS (National Apprenticeship Program Scheme) and MSDE (Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship) offer financial incentives to organisations who engage apprentices for employment fast-tracking the growth rate of the Indian economy…Read more
Before we dive into the scope of how apprenticeships can benefit organisations, let us understand the correct meaning of the term. Vocabulary.com defines “Apprenticeship as a kind of job training that involves following and studying a master of the trade on the job instead of in school. Carpenters, masons, doctors, and many other professionals often learn their trade through apprenticeship…Read more