Author: Radhika Sharma | HRKatha

Most of us have dealt with Monday morning blues at some point. As students we’ve felt tired and lazy after a fun weekend and made excuses to stay away from school or college. As adult professionals, especially when unhappy at work, we’ve often felt depressed and lethargic at the thought of going to work on a Monday. Then emerged a trend, which was something close to a solution to these blues. Called ‘Bare Minimum Monday’, the phrase was coined by Marisa Jo, a TikTok content creator. Not surprisingly, she came up with it while struggling with the ‘Sunday scaries’ —…

Leaders are expected to be unflappable figures, fearless and always in control. They are seen as heroes, possessing exceptional intelligence and brains erupting with brilliant ideas. From their position of superiority, they issue instructions, which their subordinates are expected to carry out. However, ever since the business world changed, after surviving the pandemic, people have realised that they do not need heroes but ‘human leaders’ or ‘people’s leaders’. Servant leadership Leaders are support systems. They are there to build the required capacity in their teams and achieve their objectives while working together to accomplish organisational goals. “The concept of servant…

Banking has always been considered a more male-dominated area, as it has more processes and systems that make it appear as a technological business. However, Mashreq Bank is one company that believes that even the women in the Bank’s workforce possess enough technical knowledge to handle these roles better. Mashreq Bank’s subsidiary, Mashreq Global Network Bangalore, is a crucial player in the company’s digital strategy and has taken on the responsibility of enabling remote work. Mashreq Bank is a prominent financial institution with a global presence in Europe, Asia, Africa and the US. It has been one of the UAE’s…

People stepping into the work culture for the first time are like artists starting to paint on a blank canvas. Therefore, the first job is crucial in determining one’s future career path. For those entering a professional or corporate environment, their experiences shape their vision for the future. This is where they get to actually apply their skills for the first time and learn how to do so effectively. As Ravi Kumar, CPO, Page Industries, rightly puts it, “It’s an adventure, because after graduating from college or school, one jumps into an unknown environment. It’s like being in a jungle.…

Organisations today want to embrace people centricity. They wish to bring in people who will focus on the human capital and help build human assets of the company. However, in reality, very few companies truly embody this principle and follow through with their words. This is where leadership plays a significant role, in fostering such a culture. And this is what was discussed at The Great HR Debate, Session- 5, on 17 February, 2023. In a special address at The Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru, respected industry veteran, S ‘Venky’ Venkatesh, president-group HR, RPG Group, explained how it’s important for organisations to…

While talent and people are undoubtedly crucial to business success, HR plays a vital supporting role in ensuring that the company has the right talent and organisational structure in place to achieve its goals. We generally see CEOs or other senior executives from the top ranks shouldering the responsibility of setting the strategic direction of the company and ensuring its success, while the HR may play a critical role in supporting these efforts. That being said, the role of HR has evolved over the years to become more strategic and focused on talent management and organisational effectiveness. Therefore, to understand…

Bob Iger, CEO, Disney, has mandated that employees return to the office for at least four days a week starting March 2023. Iger’s reasoning mirrors that of Tim Cook, CEO, Apple, who defended the tech giant’s in-person work policy as essential to fostering innovation and collaboration, despite sparking a petition from workers. More recently, employees of Amazon have submitted a petition against Andy Jazzy, CEO, who expects them to return to office for at least three days a week. However, according to a survey by Future Forum, employees with flexible work models are 57 per cent more likely to admit…

Nothing can be better for an organisation than having a team of high performers. It brings many benefits to the business including increased productivity, better performance and strategic growth in addition to an overall positive energy within the organisation. However, there’s one more great benefit of having good talent and that is to attract more good talent to the organisation. “A company that attracts top talent is often seen as a desirable place to work, and this can help attract even more high-quality employees,” says Ravi Chopra, senior HR leader & former group CHRO, Hero Motors Company. “Having a team…

Interview paralysis is a common phenomenon experienced by many job seekers during the interview process. It is the feeling of being overwhelmed and unable to perform effectively due to anxiety and fear of judgment. This can lead to a lack of preparation, difficulty in communicating one’s skills and qualifications, and ultimately, a lower chance of landing the job.  Reasons for interview paralysis There are many factors that can make individuals anxious preventing them from focusing and performing well during the interview. Dishonesty: One primary reason for candidates suffering interview paralysis is “putting things on their CV that they’re not able…

Bringing one’s whole self to work is one of the proven ways to feel more comfortable, confident and engaged in any given role. It simply means being authentic, honest and true to oneself at the workplace. This ultimately leads to more positivity and productivity at work. However, when new employees join a company, there’s always a mismatch somewhere. What should the employees do in such situations? Should they try to fit in, or just ignore the mismatch in culture or behavioural traits? “The employee who finds a mismatch on account of newness, should be pragmatic and mature enough to go through…

The year 2022 saw several major companies, such as Microsoft, Tesla, Ford and Wayfair, implement mass layoffs. During these emotionally-charged times of workforce reduction, what goes on in the minds of the existing employees? What do they feel? “A sense of insecurity will always be there,” confirms Praveen Purohit, deputy CHRO, Vedanta Resources. People tend to overthink and create a fear about the uncertainty of their future in the organisation going through a mass layoff. They remain constantly insecure that they may lose their jobs as well in the future. “A sense of insecurity will always be there.People tend to overthink and create a fear about…

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the budget for 2023, which is the fifth budget of the Modi government’s second term. The newly- announced budget has been welcomed as a smart resolve of the government for inclusive development of India. The major focus of budget 2023 is the heightened investment in infrastructure and upskilling facilites to the creation of more job opportunities and ultimately raises the standard of living for the citizens. Job creation: “It’s a very professionally balanced budget without giving too much focus on political agenda,” says P. Dwarakanath, former non-executive chairman, GSK. The budget has ample opportunities from the HR…

People are raving about the AI chat bot, ChatGPT. Its interactive features and in-depth responses have taken the internet by storm. While the bot is definitely capable of helping organisations in certain ways, the HR department may stand to gain significantly by it. So, how can ChatGPT help or benefit various HR activities? “The AI bot is surely capable of managing and accomplishing the fundamentals of base HR processes,” feels Prabir Jha, founder & CEO, Prabir Jha People Advisory Provides answers: With its interactive nature, ChatGPT can give answers to the ‘What’, Why’ and ‘How’ of various HR tasks. For…

The series of layoffs that have swept across large technology companies, such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta, have created an abundance of talent in the market. Talent of this level is hard to come by under normal circumstances. Therefore, it is natural for organisations to make the most of this opportunity and try to hire the laid off employees, especially the specialist talent. The first criterion for selection, however, would definitely be ‘skills match’. The most skilled and talented person who fits the role, will be preferred and shortlisted. However, in a situation, where two or more people are…

Post Twitter’s acquisition by Elon Musk, the social-media company has been on a layoff spree. Not only did the Company fired many people from the top management, including CEO Parag Agarwal, the employee strength has been reduced from 7,500 to a mere 2,300 in the last three months. However, hopefully, the status quo will change and things will turn around in some time, allowing the Company to get into hiring mode. The big question is, ‘Who will join the Company now?’. Given the manner in which Twitter’s employee-value proposition has nose-dived, the platform will need talent super soon to manage…

Creating HR practice groups can be an effective way to tackle specific and cross-functional HR priorities. It involves grouping employees with similar expertise and responsibilities together for a more superior approach to resolving HR challenges. These groups can help prioritise a lot of responsibilities such as talent management, employee engagement, compensation and benefits or compliance. ADVANTAGES Such special practice groups come with a lot of benefits. Collaboration & engagement: “The top-most advantage of having such groups is the cross-functionality that leads to increased collaboration in the organisation,” says Pradyumna Pandey, CHRO, Mother Dairy. Cross-functional HR practice groups can bring employees from…

Although different terms, ‘attrition’ and ‘resignation’ are similar concepts. Both have a common outcome — loss of talent for the company. Hence, the two terms are often used interchangeably. As Ajay Tiwari, senior VP-HR, Lupin rightly puts it, the two terms are flip sides of a coin. ‘Attrition’ is a more general term that encompasses all types of employee turnover, while ‘resignation’ specifically refers to employees choosing to leave their job. “At the end of the day, whether it is ‘attrition’ or ‘resignation’, the company is losing people,” observes Manish Majumdar, head – HR, EMS, Centum Electronics. Both terms suggest…

Employee satisfaction has always been a key indicator of a healthy and productive workplace. It was also said that employees with high satisfaction level rarely quit. However, this saying doesn’t hold true any longer. Satisfaction doesn’t guarantee long-term employee loyalty. Even satisfied employees may wish to leave for various reasons, and hence, talk of quitting despite everything appearing to be going well for them at the workplace. While the reasons why satisfied employees may choose to leave an organisation could be professional or personal, Udbhav Ganjoo, head – HR, global operations, Viatris, points out, “The age, tenure and specialty of the…

Productisation of HR services is the process of packaging HR services and offerings into a structured and easily-consumable format, similar to how a product is sold in a store. It offers a clear and concise set of options to address common HR issues. Using these, HR professionals can more efficiently manage their workload and better allocate their time and resources. There are several reasons why organisations may choose to implement productised HR services. It involves developing a range of pre-packaged offerings that address common HR issues, such as onboarding, performance management and employee development. These offerings can include training workshops,…

Achievement addiction, also known as success addiction, is a term used to describe people’s intense drive to succeed and constantly achieve their goals. In a fast-paced organisational environment it helps employees to stay productive and highly result driven. “Employees who are highly motivated to achieve are more productive, as they are driven to work hard and accomplish their goals,” feels Pallavi Poddar, CHRO, Fenesta Windows. Focus on achievement can lead to a desire to continuously improve and excel, which can result in better performance in the long term, ensuring success. Another positive trait is developing a sense of accomplishment. This…

Resumes should be error free. The language used should make them stand out. They should contain keywords. They should not have any grammatical mistakes. How many times have we heard such advices? With job seekers and employers adapting to new technologies and changing job markets, resume trends are constantly evolving. Therefore, it is important to stay updated when it comes to the latest resume trends. Here are some trends to anticipate in the New Year. Unmesh Rai, VP- human resources, Piramal Enterprises More market-driven approach Resumes present the professional journey of job seekers, showcasing their story effectively. Hence, in 2023,…

How inclusive a team is depends on the leadership. Inclusive leaders take their team members along with them, irrespective of their culture, gender, faith, orientation or belief. They treat all team members as equal, regardless of the nation, region or state they belong to, or their views and thought processes. Leaders are the ones who make people feel valued and included in an organisation. Humility, empathy and curiosity, self-awareness, adaptability, and being collaborative are some common characters of an inclusive leaders. But what makes some inclusive leaders stand out and be more successful than the remaining. The first thing that…

In this age of specialists, the demand for professionals with specific skillsets has grown across companies and sectors. Why is there a need for such talent possessing specific skillsets? To meet the requirements of certain roles or projects or just to fulfil a business demand because of the life stage the company is in. Whatever the reason may be, the important thing is to fill the skill gap at the earliest. An organisation following the traditional approach would probably place an ad or hire a consultant to help identify a person with the requisite skillsets. However, this approach is not…

Retention of employees is a common practice. In fact, with a shortage of critical talent, companies are quick to make a counter offer and try to lure the employee to stay back. As a counter offer, companies often offer a raise, a merit increase, bonus, or an opportunity to move to another team. Counter offers may help resolve an immediate problem; however, how healthy this practice is in the long run is questionable. “When a talented employee leaves the organisation, after having stayed put in the company for a considerable amount of time, it is often better to let them go,”…

This is the dawn of GenZ, a more digitally native generation. It’s been a few years since this new generation has entered the workplace and they have brought in their own knowledge, their experiences, and new perspectives to the workplace. Slowly they have started influencing and changing  workplace practices and culture. “We get a new and fresh perspective on work as the new generation steps forward into the corporate culture, and GenZ is one undeniable force in shifting the same,” states Uma Rao, CHRO, Granules India. With a different approach and perspective for every problem, they bring in some freshness.…

The very thought of ‘layoffs’ can be scary for any employee today. It is a term that no employee wants to hear during their tenure. However, this is the bitter reality that has truly manifested after the COVID-19 pandemic and the slowdown that followed. It impacted innumerable jobs and roles. There are many online platforms today where people can seek jobs, says Tanasvi Mishra, former CHRO, Strides Pharma and VP & head of human resources at Endo International. It is easy for job seekers to set up an account and try to find a relevant job. Sometimes, they may find the perfect opportunity in…