Author: Reetika Bose | HRKatha

Microsoft Teams handles about 200 million meeting participants each day, that is, a whopping 4.1 billion minutes of meetings! This data points to a tremendous shift towards teleworking — the new normal. Yes, many companies have announced that they will work from home forever, or at least until next year. There are also companies that have given their employees the flexibility to choose whether to work from home or office on certain days of the week or month. Twitter, for instance, has embraced this new work arrangement of allowing employees the option to work remotely forever, if they so wish.…

Viekas K Khokha has joined Dhanuka Agritech as head-HR. Before joining the agro chemical company, Khokha was the director-HR at Zimmer Biomet, a medical device company that manufactures aluminium splints. At Zimmer Biomet, he spearheaded the HR component of the business strategy by planning, developing, and implementing initiatives that positively impacted the productivity, capability and effectiveness of customer groups. Speaking to HRKatha on his new role at Dhanuka Agritech, Khokha says, “The role brings in the opportunity to create a talent pool, which needs to keep circulating in the industry. As an HR leader, I will contribute towards the creation…

Pharmaceutical major, Lupin, is currently restructuring its compensation and benefits. The process will lead the Indian multinational towards a ‘Total Rewards’ system, which will go beyond just the financial benefits. “We ensure that employees understand and appreciate the value of their association with Lupin and can clearly see a link between their contribution, performance and rewards – monetary as well as non-monetary,” says Yashwant Mahadik, president – global head- HR, Lupin. “Not just organisations, even employees are no longer focused only on compensation and benefits. They are more excited by their own contribution, social status and the recognition that the…

While employee engagement seems to be the favourite topic of discussion in the HR space today, there is no single mantra to ensure that each member of the workforce is successfully and totally engaged. But there are organisations putting in effort to keep up their commitment towards employee engagement. Insurance company ManipalCigna has launched several initiatives in these difficult times. It has launched a program called staycation at home, that encourages an employee to take 10 days leave annually. It is not voluntary but a mandate for them. Further, the company has launched three initiatives – ‘doctor on call’, where…

The pandemic has witnessed unimaginable instances of companies laying off or furloughing employees due to financial constraints. Some have also come out to support their employees in the past few months but as they say, words are not enough. During the same time, Avon, a 135-year old organisation, has used this handicapped situation as an opportunity and supported its employees in the new normal. A pledge programme was designed with the idea of helping its employees effectively juggle work and home life. It was a voluntary programme, where employees were given the option to trade 20 per cent of their…

Most organisations are actively pursuing diverse representation at the workplace, but this alone will not necessarily ensure that all employees feel included. Creating a sense of belonging — an employee’s perception of acceptance within a given group — provides HR leaders with a good opportunity to strengthen their inclusion approach and goals. “Belongingness has been and will be an important part of our culture. Earlier, a lot of companies had high belongingness quotients, but with time, many began to look at employees not as individual human beings but as money-making robots,” says senior HR leader, Ramesh Shankar. Given the unprecedented…

For most of us, it has always been about scoring good marks or having a degree to get the golden ticket to successful employment. Now here is a company that judges candidates beyond their their educational qualifications. A Mumbai-based crowdfunding platform, Ketto, also hires undergraduates, but together, they constitute around seven per cent of its current workforce. Varun Sheth, CEO and co-founder, Ketto, opines, “Going to a good college or scoring marks will not define anybody as a person. If the candidate we are hiring is passionate and believes in our mission and values, then we are open to giving…

For any sales professional, incentives constitute a major chunk of their remuneration. For many roles, the incentive can be anywhere in the range of 25 to 50 per cent. Now, with sales figures plummeting in the current situation, the average take-home has taken a big hit. However, manufacturing company, Henkel, has come to the rescue of its salesforce. Henkel India has reworked the performance incentive structure and come up with a scheme wherein, even if the salespersons are unable to meet the given targets, they still qualify for a decent take-home. Through this initiative, the manufacturing company has ensured that…

Just as we make friends in school and college, we also make friends at the workplace, and some of them even become friends for life. Now, with ‘work from home’ (WFH), many people are missing their friends from the workplace. In fact, most people would agree that without these friends, life at work would be quite daunting! If it were not for the conversations and camaraderie at work, our social lives would definitely suffer. How blissful it is to have like-minded people at the workplace, whom we can call our friends. This realisation has dawned on many people after being…

Gossip mongers are an integral part of any work culture. Almost everyone tries to avoid them until the time they themselves are affected. However, here is a young company that has a zero-tolerance policy towards gossip. So much so that every new joinee has to sign a ‘No-Gossip’ agreement at the time of joining, and follow it religiously throughout their tenure with the company! Founded in 2014, Chalo, a bus-mobility company, takes this rule quite seriously. It is not just any other rule or simply a point on papers. The Company takes strict action against those who fail to abide…

There has been a trend for companies, be it small organisations or big, to lay off people in the name of restructuring. While companies may actually be facing a financial crisis due to the pandemic, forcing them to lay off people, rarely do they have the courage to admit it. According to Adil Malia, CEO, The Firm, “Organisations terminating employees due to business instability is a business reality. Businesses cannot be expected to carry on with the load if they are unable to sustain after paying salaries—the company may simply collapse and everybody may lose their jobs.” However, in such…

CACTUS, the science communication and impact solutions company, has announced the extension of the work-from-home (WFH) model until March 2021. It has left the final decision of returning to work to its employees, and no one will be asked to report to work. In keeping with its ethos of being an employee-centric organisation, the Company, which is a major player in the medical research segment,  has also initiated several measures to make WFH even more comfortable for its employees. It has offered a one-time allowance to handle all WFH-related expenses, to set up a comfortable office at home. In addition, CACTUS will provide…

Empathy is more critical today than ever before. During the current crisis, the workforce across the globe is under additional stress of job instability, dealing with health issues, especially mental health and safety, and hence, it has become important for organisations to practise empathy. According to studies carried out by Development Dimensions International (DDI), empathy is the biggest single leadership skill needed today. Rising expectations As organisations have come out effortlessly to stand behind employees and ensure their safety and wellbeing during the pandemic, there will be similar expectations from the employees once they are back to offices. Similarly, organisations…

Employees’ performance has always been the topic of discussion at the workplace. From intense discussions and Powerpoint presentations, to a series of evaluations, there is a review at various levels. However, things changed drastically after the pandemic, with productivity and performance being examined through a completely different lens. The COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for businesses to realise that their top performers — despite changing and uncertain work environments — not only maintained productivity, but in certain cases even thrived to become more powerful contributors during these challenging times. By definition, star performers are those who have always exceeded the…

Imagine this scenario — Ankit starts his usual day by logging into his official email address. Instead of any task or project, he receives an e-mail of appreciation from his manager, for which he is delighted. He suddenly feels a sense of confidence rushing back. Realising that his boss is acknowledging his efforts, he feels contented and is all sorted to continue for the rest of the day. It may sound like a normal exchange between an employee and a manager, but during such troubling times like the pandemic, it is a blessing in disguise. In times of crisis, companies…

‘People are your greatest asset’. How many times have we heard that? The statement may be overused, but remains true. An organisation’s success is largely dependent on the quality and performance of its people, making HR an important function in any business. Human resource professionals have many responsibilities, such as taking care of compensation, planning employee-engagement activities and so on. However, if we travel back into the past, there are various aspects, which were either not on the priority list or not needed. Mental health issues Sunil Jha, group CHRO, ACG Worldwide Group is taken aback by constant questions about…

Information technology (IT) security services company, Quick Heal Technologies — erstwhile CAT Computer Services — is all set to make a change in the performance-management system in the coming year. The Company is looking forward to implementing the concept of OKR, that is, objectives and key results — a framework that will help track the employees’ objectives and their outcomes. Earlier at Quick Heal, the performance management system had four parameters – cost, quality, quantity and efficiency. With these parameters, it used to undertake the traditional annual performance review.  However, the Company has now done away with these parameters and…

The unprecedented pandemic has had a major impact on businesses — whether established or startups — across the globe. Almost all organisations have been forced to reconsider their strategies, and the way they function on a day-to-day basis. In order to keep the financial wheels rolling during the pandemic, despite temporary shutting down of factories and offices, Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting (WCCL), one of the fastest-growing FMCG companies in the country, has rolled out a new incentive programme, where deserving employees will be given incentives on a quarterly basis. Incentives and bonuses Earlier, WCCL used to pay incentives annually,…

The COVID-19 pandemic has given birth to the remote-working culture. This has left many of us stir-crazy and in desperate need of a break away from our routines and day-to-day responsibilities, now more than ever. It is that time of the year, when organisations should look for ways to encourage overworked and potentially burned-out employees to take a break. The idea of a ‘staycation’ is to do all the things you would do if you were to travel somewhere, but finding ways to incorporate those experiences within your own home. Re-creating those relaxing vacation vibes at home can help decrease…

Job hunting during the lockdown, when companies are laying off staff or asking them to take mandatory sabbaticals, may seem foolish. The thought of switching jobs too, could feel daunting when salary cuts and hiring freezes are all people can talk about. However, if reports are to be believed, employees are not in the mood to sit back and wait for the situation to normalise. As businesses are trying to make a comeback, employees with jobs at hand seem significantly willing to explore other avenues and search for something new in their career. A recent report from Hooray Health &…

Following in the footsteps of Google, ride-hailing company, Uber, has announced the extension of its work-from-home (WFH) policy through June 2021. However, employees may also choose to return to work from their offices if conditions allow the opening of offices before then. Last month, tech giant, Google, allowed the vast majority of its 200,000-strong workforce to work from home through June 2021, without giving any indication of how things will play out beyond that. Earlier, Amazon and Apple had asked their workers to return to working from office only in January, while Twitter had allowed employees to work from home…

The Galwan Valley episode between India and China has rubbed the Indian consumers the wrong way. There is a lot of negative sentiment around Chinese products and brands. People are feeling patriotic by boycotting anything related to China. According to a survey by LocalCircles, a whopping 87 per cent of 32,000 respondents, from across 235 districts in India, said that they are willing to boycott the purchase of all Chinese goods for the next one year. HRKatha was keen to evaluate whether jobseekers also felt the same and carried negative sentiments around Chinese companies. “choosing to work with an Indian…

Team outings and casual weekend cocktail hours seem to have become history now. While these were opportunities for some employees to break the ice in pre-COVID times, others used such events to unwind, de-stress and forget the tensions associated with the weekly workload. During the ongoing pandemic, with people working from home, there is a dire need for organisations to look into ways to engage their employees over the weekends. This will not only help keep the team connected, but also be a stress buster for employees amidst the uncertainty that surrounds them. Fun activities that involve not just employees…

People across the globe are yearning for the year 2020 to end fast, with the hope that the dreadful pandemic will get over by then. Organisations across the world are awaiting normalcy. Many companies believe it is wise to simply let this period cool off on its own. That is why, they prefer to maintain a status quo on everything — hiring, appraisals, increments. On the flipside, there are also companies going the whole hog to take control of the situation and get the best out of it. Pavitra Singh, CHRO, PepsiCo India, shares with HRKatha, “In the current times,…

Due to the impact of the pandemic in the manufacturing sector, majors such as DCM Shriram have gone ahead and held back increments, which were due in the month of June-July. While the organisation is gearing up to battle the crisis triggered by the pandemic, Sushil Baveja, director – HR, DCM Shriram, spoke to HRKatha and unveiled some of the plans that lie ahead in the kitty. “Our increments usually happen around June-July and we are still in the process of taking a standard view on it. Currently, we are holding back salary increments and whenever we give out, it…

As we adapt to the new normal of working from home, companies are laying out new sets of rules to ease the work life of their employees. On similar lines, Lenovo India has rolled out new directives that bar any online meetings/zoom calls post 6.30 in the evening. The intent is to have clear guidelines in place to ensure that employees are not expected to be on calls 24 hours a day. “We do understand that the working time has increased, and this blurring of personal and official time has stressed out our employees. We are trying to move ahead…