A friend recently called to vent her bottled emotions. She was fed up of a colleague at work, who could not stop bragging. The man in question was newer than most others in the organisation, but walked around with a smirk and a ‘know all’ attitude, boasting about knowing everyone and everything. Who are these braggarts? What do they look like? How exactly do they brag? These ‘all talk and no walk’ employees manage to annoyingly divert all attention to themselves at meetings, coffee breaks, lunches and parties. They dominate every conversation and digress from a context as per their…
Author: Puja Bothra | HRKatha
Puja Bothra | HRKatha
She has been a business writer for a decade now. Besides, she also influences people through motivational workshops. Likes to travel long distances with a book in hand and accounts her travels in a blog. She is very passionate about Yoga and calls it her purpose in life.
Today, we present two individuals from two different companies, occupying two different hierarchical levels, and belonging to two very different sectors, but with one thing in common. They both exited their respective companies amidst an overwhelming show of love on their farewell day. One of them is the CEO of a popular television channel and the other is a team leader with a global technology company. It may be a coincidence, but HRKatha managed to procure the videos of the two farewell celebrations, where colleagues and employees bid an emotional goodbye to the two individuals. This goes on to prove…
Aarif Aziz was working in the balcony of his office when I called him on a Saturday afternoon. CHRO, Diageo India felt blessed to be in Bengaluru, where the weather is pleasant, while I complained about the harsh Delhi winter. Having spent his childhood in Jaipur and done his engineering from Kota, he has had his own share of extreme North Indian weather. Michelle Obama writes in her autobiographical memoir that she studied law without knowing what she was getting into. Her decision (checking boxes) was influenced by what people claimed as the formula for success. Aziz has a similar…
We are at the brink of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Automation has changed the manufacturing process and the HR function is also going through massive disruption to keep pace with the newest technologies. Creating a talent pool is the primary responsibility of the HR. It struggles with hard-to-fill positions, but also manages to devise ways to handle the situation because a company’s survival and success depend upon its talent. “We leverage AI in the hiring process, to be able to gather more information about the candidate with the intent to make an informed decision. Every individual leaves a fair amount…
Last few years have witnessed a sea change in the way employees are cared for in their organisations. Amongst the companies that have taken a big leap in this area, is Capgemini. We spoke to Anil Jalali, CHRO, Capgemini to know more about how they have raised the bar for fun and happiness at work. At Capgemini, HR is more technology driven and has evolved to become more focussed on business and outcome. “For us, employee relations is all about making sure that we are always on the ground and are always accessible to people and their concerns. We ensure…
Air, water, food and learning are the essential elements, in the same order, that support life on Earth. Learning is an intrinsic machine fitted in our cells, and therefore, as long as there is a body, there will be learning too. With the advancement in science and technology, learning has significantly evolved. Not only have companies kept pace with scientific and technological advancement and embraced contemporary learning forms, they have also innovated programmes to flatter Gen-Next. Microlearning has given way to nanolearning. How is nanolearning different from microlearning? Microlearning Micro means very small and learning is the process of acquiring…
The World Economic Forum (WEF), the international organisation for public-private cooperation, engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of the world to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Its annual meeting at the end of January in Davos, witnesses heads and members of various governments, global companies and international and non-government organisations coming together to define priorities and improve the state of the world we live in . This is the most popular global event in a category other than sports that draws great participation from experts from across the globe in various fields. DAVOS 2019 Nuggets from the world…
Finance Minister Piyush Goyal presented the Interim Union Budget 2019 on Friday, 1 February in the Lok Sabha. Goyal was appointed interim finance minister on 23 January, because Arun Jaitley continues to be absent from the office on account of cancer treatment overseas. This may be the last union budget of the governing party (BJP) as India will vote for a new government at the centre in 2019. Here are some key points from Goyal’s union budget that impacts the salaried employees in India: Expectations of the middle class salaried employees have been honoured in the interim budget by offering…
‘HR’ and ‘business’ are not isolated from one another, anymore. Their tracks are not parallel as before either. The human resource business partner (HRBP) brings the two together for a common objective. The role of a human resource business partner is a strategic one in the HR function. The primary responsibility an HRBP is to align employee motivation with the larger business goal. It is a more complex role, where HR works closely with the business to get the best out of the people. Himanshu Gupta had a similar motive when he took on a regional HRBP role at Tata…
We live in a culture so intent on taking advantage of our vulnerability that we need to start our day with booster shots of emotional agility. Machines have affected the cognitive function of the mind and that has impacted the emotions too. The dynamic culture of a workplace is a minefield for emotions. Whether it is a home-bred or a global company, the challenge is the same. The ones who can deal with their emotions effectively and with agility are able to demonstrate high emotional quotient levels, leading to higher levels of professional quotient. Psychological safety is the belief that…
Last week, we stumbled upon a post in a popular social-media networking site for professionals. This is how the post read: – “I was sacked from work six months back and after appearing for over a hundred interviews, I still have no job. I am desperate for work, can anyone here help me get one.” The post received numerous shares and comments. Some comments expressed sincere concern, while others offered recommendations to explore. We wonder whether any of that helped him get a job, and whether he got noticed by an employer looking to hire? We will never know that,…
‘Beware! All that glitters is not gold’, said my mother when I insisted on her buying me a flashy, big, fat pop-up book at a bookstore. Instead, she chose for me a book that was devoid of pictures, saturated with text and contained no exciting pop-ups. After that, ‘all that glitters is not gold’ was thrown at me multiple times in different contexts and I learned that things can actually look different (rather better)than what they really are! With time I realised that this phrase is not applicable to things alone, but people also. Goldbricking is the practice of passing…
Each individual is important for an organisation— from the base line to the top management— but senior leaders hold the reins of the company in their hands because of their strategic position and are responsible for the growth and development of the organisation. While there are many contestants fighting for that coveted space, only a handful actually reach there. This is because the tapering top of the pyramid can accommodate very few. How does a boss decide whom to promote? Some are of the opinion that those who reach the top level—director, president, VP — are people’s people. On the…
Being a boss is tough, and being an ideal boss even more so. You are frustrated because every time you try to strike a chord with your employees, it snaps. Energy, time and potential are resources that are depreciating fast. You dream of becoming a boss like Harvey Spectre from Suites— an American legal television drama series—but fear ending up more like Louis Litt! You were promoted to your current position by virtue of your sound technical knowledge, flawless work habits and meticulous ways. In your present managerial position, you are compensating for both the boss and the subordinates. The…
Jayant Kumar, CHRO, Tata Power, is on his way out. He has put in his papers and is currently serving his notice period till January 31, after which Himal Tewari will take on the role. Tewari, who is currently VP-HR at Tata Sons, joined Tata Power six years back as chief-business HR. He was responsible for end-to-end HR deployment at Tata Power & Group Companies. Within the same organisation, he was elevated to CHRO position about two and a half years back. With 24 years of working experience in HR, Kumar, who is based out of Mumbai, believes in a collaborative and…
The operating environment for organisations is changing rapidly. The only way in which a company can survive, stay relevant, and generate profits is by ensuring digital dexterity. Digital dexterity is the ability to quickly overcome disruptions in the business environment by adopting digital solutions. The business environment is encountering rapid and mammoth changes and that too, quite frequently. This is rendering certain businesses, practices, products and skill-sets redundant. So, how does a company ensure profit, customer-satisfaction and growth in these volatile times? Continuous competition in business has forced companies to cut costs by re-structuring, removing obsolete practices and policies and…
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got” These words by Henry Ford have inspired many men and women to invent the unthinkable. Inventions are happening at rocket speed in the business space to not only improve employee productivity and well-being, but also to cut costs and increase profitability and customer satisfaction. HR, in particular, has adopted automation and digitisation in its function to enhance employee experience. Employee self-service is a step towards that. Employee self-service (ESS) is the latest technology in the HR space — a digital interface/ application for the employees…
Corporate India has spread its arms to accommodate diversity in its workforce. Policies are continuously reviewed to strike a balance so that no one is left behind from being a part of India’s economic growth story. Organisations understand that phenomenal growth will be possible only with a unified effort from people, irrespective of gender. Corporates have taken measures, such as extended maternity leaves, day-care facility in the workplace and work-from-home opportunities, to name a few. Yet, statistics do not reveal a very rosy picture for women in corporate India. The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has recoded that: •…
Leaders are coming out of the closets and openly speaking about their insecurities. Today, more than ever, leaders are required to demonstrate high-levels of emotional intelligence, as artificial intelligence is replacing human intelligence in numerous tasks. The leadership function has changed dramatically, the bar for measuring employee well-being has risen. Employee well- being is multi-dimensional– job satisfaction, positive mindset, stress-free work schedules, and motivation. This is a tall task for the leaders. This can be accomplished with effective and authentic leadership. Also, there are leader who are insecure and self-doubting. These traits are found in most leaders in varying intensities.…
Adieu 2018! We welcome 2019 with new resolutions and firm aspirations, but before that, let us recall the significant movements, mergers, and developments that took place in the year that has just gone by. Movements— Some daring, some progressive, some shocking HRKatha reported about 100 CHRO movements in 2018. Some key movements in the HR space were as follows: – • Sukhjit S Pasricha, IndiGo’s vice president-HR moved to Bajaj Finance as HR chief and Raj Raghavan joined Indigo after heading HR in Amazon India for seven years. • DP Singh retired from IBM after holding important HR positions for…
You reap what you sow and that’s how the process of acquiring talent in an organisation goes. Companies are going out of the way to develop a robust talent acquisition strategy to acquire employees who align with their values. Piramal is one such company that is searching for candidates with not just skills, but values. Organisations have been known to visit business schools and hold contests—Mahindra’s ‘Warroom’ and Tata’s ‘TBLA’ are amongst the popular ones. Companies attempt to introduce themselves through such contests. They give students a glimpse of real-life work situations, and present case studies for which the students…
There is a saying ‘make hay while the sun shines’. The meaning of this proverb is that if there is a task that needs to be done, it must be done while you still have a chance to do it. This validates our opening statement because work is like a rollercoaster. Once you are in it, you will be driven so fast that there will be no time to dream of a beautiful life that awaits you after retirement. The child in you Once there lived an innocent fellow inside you who dreamt of becoming an astronaut because outer…
The greatest danger in current times is resistance to change. The hiring goals of HR have changed over the years. The qualities they seek in their people are agility, flexibility and resilience. These traits are closely related to one another, so we shall combine them into one attitude — agility. Agility is an attitude, which gives people a mindset that quickly aligns their thoughts and actions to suit the needs of a fluctuating environment. Agile workers are quick learners, respond fast and adapt quickly to the changing situations. Lalit Kar, HR head, Mumbai International Airport explains the importance of an…
Leadership is about mobilising people to extract the best out of them emotionally and intellectually. However, companies often face situations where the function heads may act otherwise rendering their people hostile and unproductive. Leadership is quintessential to success, but leadership guided by ego is not. Employees suffer due to the ambitions and high expectations of senior leaders. Lack of interpersonal and problem-solving skills in the leaders creates an environment which is hostile, individualistic and short-sighted. In such an environment employees not only feel conflicted and burdened but also fail to find the inner strength to bounce back. HR plays a…
Human beings are social animals—they crave friendships and true relationships. Having positive people around them makes them happy and helps improve their productivity. Meaningful relationships can actually make a vocation feel like a vacation! Good relationships have many benefits. They make a person feel more free and confident at work. They dispel negative energy from the workforce and inculcate a spirit of teamwork and collaboration. Here are five ways to develop meaningful relationships at work: Attitude There are certain attributes that help you become a people’s person — trust, respect, open-mindedness, compassion, communication and confidence. These special ingredients add…
Prabir Jha President and Global Chief People Officer at Cipla has resigned. He broke the news yesterday. He has been a part of Cipla for a little more than 3 years. In the past he has worked with other companies like Reliance Industries, Tata Motors and Dr. Reddy. He has about 2 decades of experience in HR. He says, “Cipla has been a wonderful run. All good things must also end. I leave Cipla March2019 end.” We wish him the best for his new innings. Jha joined Cipla in October 2015 as group chief people officer. He had moved from…