The Corona Pandemic and the Wake Up Call For India Inc.

Having worked with some of the top Indian and Multinational IT organisations in the last decade or so, what has always baffled me is the treatment meted out to employees in India in comparison to those in developed countries like the US or even countries in Europe.

Some of the more revered concepts like telecommuting, flexible working hours, Work From Home, Vacation leaves, Paid Sabbaticals etc. only remain theoretical concepts for workers in India. Many of these companies have more favoring and relaxed working conditions for employees outside India.

Why is there such a disparity in treating employees in India? I can only surmise the answer in one word; "TRUST" or the lack of it.

Does India Inc. believe that employees in India would be less productive if they are allowed to Work from home? Or will their dedication wither if they are given a longer vacation? Will Indian employees be less productive than their western counterparts if they worked remotely?

Read Here on : The real reasons you are not allowed to work from home

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic brought to light the multitudinous challenges that Indian organisations faced amidst the scramble to move all work to homes. The lack of cultural preparedness (Policies, processes and mind set) ensured that many of these organisations (including the Large and Medium sized businesses) were caught off guard in their response to the evolving pandemic.

It is a damning fact that a significant section of companies in India do not provide any form of Work From Home facility. A report by Gartner, a leading IT service management company, says that 54 per cent of the companies in India do not have enough technology and resources for employees to work to home. The situation is still worse with companies which are outside the IT Services Space. Employees from the non-IT companies and small and medium enterprises (SMBs) are the worst-hit in India as most of them have little or no clue about how these messaging and collaboration tools work. They also seem to be oblivious to the fact that by the end of 2030, there would be a 30% increase in the number of employees preferring remote work.

Indian Managers who are ardent supporters of Command and Control form of functioning, compounded by the strict hierarchical norms of these companies have remained a impediment to flexible and more accommodative work rules. Even organisations in the forefront of technology do not fare significantly better in achieving these.

Time in seat is still viewed as more powerful indicator of productivity than any other metric. It is hence not ironic that a recent study conducted by E&Y  found  that 70% of Indian HR Heads and CHRO's considered "loss of productivity" was the single biggest concern among work from home employees. Thus the issues plaguing flexible working conditions in India are more psychological than technological. This, we could call the great cultural road block.

But things were to take a dramatic change with the Corona Scare. The Pandemic made possible what years of lobbying couldn't - making remote working a norm (not luxury). Lakhs of Indians moved overnight to "Work from Home" model. Laptops, Desktops, Internet Dongles and all other paraphernalia required for remote working were procured in record time. While many of the companies struggled initially, they also managed to recover smartly to transition work from office to Homes. At the time of writing this article, almost  all the Indian IT companies have moved to Work From Home (WFH).

But this transition hasn't been easy for India Inc. or its employees. Barring a few IT organisations, many of them struggled to provide the necessary infrastructure for people to work at home. This sudden shift also put employees at stress as most of them had never "worked at home" in the past. Initially though many of them considered it as a blessing in disguise allowing them to spend more time with Family, it has turned out to be quite stressful as they get frustrated with inadequate internet bandwidth, technical glitches in accessing organisation's resources, multiple scheduled and unscheduled calls (aka meetings) from their supervisors (over zealous bosses trying to check on their teams), multiples sources of distractions and to top it all the conflict of doing household chores along with official work (especially for Women Workers).

But could India Inc have reduced the pain involved in such a transition? Yes, undoubtedly so with more radical preparation. The failure to establish a culture that embraces flexible working was India Inc.'s undoing. All this starts with Reposing Faith and Trust in its employees. Of course there would be outliers (those employees who wouldn't be up to speed), but then which system is 100% perfect? We always had slackers at office too, didn't we?

Hopefully the Corona Pandemic has taught India Inc. valuable lessons in Trusting its employees and backing it up with a "Work Culture" that is less forbearing, more progressive and yet one that keeps an ardent eye on accountability.

Isn't it time for India Inc. to wake up?


Additional Reading here: WHY 100% WORK FROM HOME (WFH) IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR TECH SECTOR IN INDIA CURRENTLY

Are Policies Really Required?

"Its the company Policy" 

How often have you used this phrase as an HR  pro?

When all logic and explanations fail, HR Pros are often found guilty of taking refuge under this clause or so does it seem. Most employees dread this, as it signals the end of a rational argument with their employers. 

Often, too well defined policies prevent employees from contesting its existence and rationale. The myriad maze of policies and the consequent multitude of procedures leave employees dazed. Though implemented with the right intentions, most policies do not end up doing what they were meant to do and consume significant organisational energies, lead to procedural delays in decision making and strengthen bureaucratic practices. 

So, the key question remains...

• Do we really need a policy for everything? Or Should they be considered only for the essentials?

To answer this we would need to understand the very purpose of their existence in the first place.

As organisations grew, so did the complexities related to their activities.

There were multiple things to be done and they needed to be done in a particular way to yield a desired result.

A lack of clarity on how things needed to be done often caused confusion. As a result, organisations began to document the preferred manner in which their activities could be carried out. These documents were referred to as the basic guidelines of employee actions and were tightly linked to their value systems.

Over a period of time, policies became the foundation of every action that an employee could take. They were intended to make employee accountable for their actions and enable clear decision making. Thus almost every conceivable action such as the number of hours to be spent at work, dressing, vacations, wage hikes etc etc were determined by the policies.

And so it did serve a purpose at least for a while.



Now the other side of the story...

With a more inventive, freedom loving and knowledgeable talent entering the workforce, the relevance of organisational policies is in question today. The present day employees want to be treated as responsible adults.

Rather than working in an environment filled with bureaucracy and predetermined procedures, they would love to spend their waking hours experimenting with their intuitions and creatively challenging the status qou.

Though we cannot arrive at a conclusion on this debate, it would be interesting to watch out how this space plays out in the future.


Change in Action

Certain firms have not just gone beyond just removing policies, but also made radical changes in the way they perceive their employees. Take for instance, Netflix which has decided to remove the vacation policy itself, giving employees the freedom to chose their time off.


Read the Harvard Business Review on How Netflix Reinvented HR for more details on their policy makeover.


Also Sir Richard Branson, made a dramatic change in Virgin Atlantic's Leave policies - rather he completely revoked the policy itslef - something called Un Policy.

Read the entire article on Virgin Atlantic's Leave policies here....


You might also like a more light hearted view on weird Employee Policies that rocked the world here...

The Art of Story Telling

Recently attended the NHRD Session on the Art of Story Telling. Interesting to know that some of the greatest leaders have used this art form with great success. Consider Steve Jobs instead who is regarded as the finest corporate story teller ever when he introduced the iPhone to the world

“Today we are introducing three revolutionary products. The first, a widescreen iPod with touch controls. The second, is a revolutionary mobile phone. And the third is a breakthrough Internet communications device.” As the audience applauded, Jobs repeated the three ‘products’ several times. Finally he said, “Are you getting it? These are not three separate devices, they are one device and we are calling it iPhone!”

Is it time for us to move away from the boring PPTs and spread sheets to the more simple, elegant yet powerful means of getting (or selling) an Idea?

Let me know your stories!

Read the entire Forbes article on Steve Jobs Story Telling magic here

NHRDN, Chennai Chapter

One Day Seminar on Wellness @ Work, on October 17 (Friday) 2014 

at 

Hotel Hyatt Regency, Chennai

My View on Life Preethi Srinivasan

Realliging The Workplace - Welcome to the GEN Y

The entry of Gen Y and the gradual exit of Gen X and Baby Boomers from the workspace is spelling the onset of a new league of policy changes across organizations which wants to keep pace with their employee's changing aspirations. Across the world, some significant changes are seen to be happening in this context. With the entry of Gen Y into the workforce, the rules of the game are beginning to change significantly. Most organizations and institutions have begun to realize how "Out of Sync" they are with their Gen Y workforce. With this dramatic change in the landscape comes several key challenges that today's workplaces need to deal with - most importantly bridging the ever thickening line of difference between the earlier generations and Gen Y ; and being able to deliver on the aspirations of both these groups.

Glad to be back Again!

After a prolonged break from Blogging, am glad to be back again!

HR Timewasters

Just happened to stumble upon an interesting article at http://fistfuloftalent.com about things we do as HR; but of very little or no consequence!

Not sure if all of you would agree to these, but it is indeed thought provoking for a read...

Click here to for the full article

HR - Dumbest Management Concept of the 20th Century

After a long time a real hard hitting view on HR- posted by Geoffrey James on his blog 

Geoffrey blows the whistle on how the situation needing so-called tough decisions (otherwise called downsizing) during bad times was actually the very creation of Management. Geoffrey's criticism is more for top management and their management techniques which have led to such a situation  in the first place.

What makes it even worse is that such management flaws are covered up with harsh measures ( again called downsizing ) - meaning hardworking employees in the middle and lower levels of management face the consequences of flawed actions by top management.

Click here for the entire article on Bnet.com

Something Called Culture - An Interesting Viewpoint from NETFLIX

Culture

View more presentations from Reed Hastings.

The Tale of Two Seas

A Tale Of Two Seas

Sitting in the Geography class in school, I remember how fascinated I was when we were being taught all about the Dead Sea.

As you probably recall, the Dead Sea is really a Lake, not a sea (and as my Geography teacher pointed out, if you understood that, it would guarantee 4 marks in the term paper!)

Its so high in salt content that the human body can float easily. You can almost lie down and read a book! The salt in the Dead Sea is as high as 35% - almost 10 times the normal ocean water. And all that saltiness has meant that there is no life at all in the Dead Sea. No fish. No vegetation. No sea animals. Nothing lives in the Dead sea.

And hence the name: Dead Sea.

While the Dead Sea has remained etched in my memory, I don't seem to recall learning about the Sea of Galilee in my school Geography lesson. So when I heard about the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea and the tale of the two seas - I was intrigued.

Turns out that the Sea of Galilee is just north of the Dead Sea. Both the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea receive their water from river Jordan. And yet, they are very, very different.

Unlike the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee is pretty, resplendent with rich, colorful marine life. There are lots of plants. And lots of fish too. In fact, the sea of Galilee is home to over twenty different types of fishes.

Same region, same source of water, and yet while one sea is full of life, the other is dead. How come?

Here apparently why. The River Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee and then flows out. The water simply passes through the Sea of Galilee in and then out - and that keeps the Sea healthy and vibrant, teeming with marine life.

But the Dead Sea is so far below the mean sea level, that it has no outlet. The water flows in from the river Jordan, but does not flow out. There are no outlet streams. It is estimated that over 7 million tons of water evaporate from the Dead Sea every day. Leaving it salty. Too full of minerals. And unfit for any marine life.

The Dead Sea takes water from the River Jordan, and holds it. It does not give. Result? No life at all.

Think about it.

Life is not just about getting. It’s about giving. We all need to be a bit like the Sea of Galilee.

We are fortunate to get wealth, knowledge, love and respect. But if we don't learn to give, we could all end up like the Dead Sea. The love and the respect, the wealth and the knowledge could all evaporate. Like the water in the Dead Sea.

If we get the Dead Sea mentality of merely taking in more water, more money, more everything the results can be disastrous.

Good idea to make sure that in the sea of your own life, you have outlets. Many outlets. For love and wealth - and everything else that you get in your life. Make sure you don't just get, you give too.

Open the taps. And you'll open the floodgates to happiness.

Make that a habit. To share. To give.

And experience life. Experience the magic!

- Anonymous

Life, liberty, happiness

Off late I have been thinking of reblogging ( is this a new term? ) and here I am with a new Section dedicated to Books.

And I would like to start on a subtle note on Life, Liberty and Happiness ( heard this somewhere, ha? )

Richard Brodie comes up with a new work of the same name and what a better time to talk about these illusions that we all so agonizingly pursue!

Well, take a look at the book review here and do let me know how the book has changed your Lives.

Will Outsourcing Kill HR?

The Business of Outsourcing

Before we speak about HR Outsourcing , it is essential to know what outsourcing really means and why businesses have embraced the same with open arms.

Outsourcing refers to a process by which an organization subcontracts its work to a third-party service provider

. This work can be done by the parent company itself, but is “outsourced” primarily for certain obvious benefits;

• Cost Optimization 
• Save on Time -  by letting more focus on Core Business Challenges
• Improve Efficiency by outsourcing jobs to specialists.

Work is also outsourced to save time and energy and to improve overall efficiency. Investment consultancy firm McKinsey & Co. has predicted that global outsourcing industry would be worth more than $180 billion by 2010.  - Economy Watch


Hence its not surprising that more organizations are moving towards to an outsourcing model for their non-core functions - resulting in huge volumes of business moving from highcost developed nations to low cost emerging nations.


Now, coming back to our original question "Will Outsourcing Kill HR?" - especially when HR is seen as a non-core function by most organisations?



HR by itself may not see an end with outsourcing  - but there has already been a paradigm shift in the way that organization have started to view HR. HR as a function has become far more complex than what it was a few decades ago when it was considered useful ( but not necessarily as partners) primarily for three functions - 1. Recruitment and 2. Addressing employee concerns ( Industrial Disputes) and 3. Administrators of personnel programmes ( Health and Welfare).



An ever expanding HR function has also meant that a great deal of an organisation's energies is today spent on :

1. Workforce Planning and Talent Acquisition

2. Talent Development through Training / Career Programs/ Performance Management 

3. Talent Engagement



Of the above mentioned areas - a majority of them could be effectively outsourced. For instance through outsourcing the Talent Acquisition process - External Vendors could provide firms with access to a wider and more diversified talent pool - they could also ease the pressure on HR Managers with respect to managing day-today manpower requirements by providing a ready-to-deploy workforce and result in significant cost reduction as well!



Most importantly, Outsourcing would also relive HR personnel of their routine yet time consuming activities and enable them allocate more time to the crucial employee engagement initiatives. Hence, in an organizational perspective it would be ideal for firms to completely outsource their HR functions. However, this is not without its own downside.


In my next post, we would discuss on the Downsides of HR Outsourcing.

Keep Reading....

Culture and Systems - Who Comes First?

Every organisation has a unique way of working - perhaps it reflects the way its people think ( or believe). Over the years these practices solidify with time and become part of the organizational fabric. These time-tested methods of working are followed with a vengeance, with most of them believing that this is the Best way to get things done.

You might be wondering the reason for this prelude. Well, let me explain.

A top executive of a five decade old services company, in an interview confided on how he had miserably failed to run one of his pet initiatives across the company. Though the initiative would have brought many good things to the organisation, most people within his rank detested the need for any such change.

In the absence of any significant support from his own colleagues, the initiative ultimately hit a roadblock and is now cooling its heels in the cold storage.

So, was the Executive wrong in trying to bring such dramatic changes to his company's way of working? Or was it merely a result of poor planning and execution? Or was there a deeper and unseen reason for such protests?

A Legend Passes Away - Prof Udai Pareek

The legend of OD and HR is no more. Our tributes to the great man.

End of the Recession - People on Top

With the world coming out of the recession/slowdown, Corporate leaders should better prepare themselves for a large scale exodus of Talent. Here is why...

The employment scenario has begun to see some significant changes recently with improvements in the hiring numbers of some of the largest and most prominent Indian corporates. A great deal of this hiring seems to be happening in the entry and the mid-level executives indicating a strong and reviving economy. Strangely enough, compensation and benefit offerings have returned to the pre-crisis level ( and has substantially improved in certain industry sectors). So, has the worst passed us by? - Perhaps "Yes" by looking at the rising employment figures.

During my interactions with several potential candidates for my clients, most of them stated as to how they were contemplating changing their Jobs or shifting their careers altogether after the crisis is past - and this feeling is more so with those organisations who had resorted to wide scale layoffs and retrenchment during the crisis.

This would mean that organisations that had made the economic slowdown an excuse to exploit employees, now stand the risk of losing their most critical resources - People. It is perhaps time that these companies gear up for the mass exodus of key talent from across the board and one could expect the whole jigsaw of the job market rearrange itself as the good times evolve.

However the truely robust and visionary companies, which have stood their grounds (especially on core values and ideolgies) during the bad times would come out unscathed and stronger than before. It would be interesting to watch which Indian companies possess true metal and which ones were on the " also ran " category.

On People and Judgements Contd...

Talking about Judgements, take a look at the Tata Sumo Grande Ad!

Things are indeed more than what meets the eye!

Check out the cool website here.......

On People and Judgements

I am not sure how many of you are following a GE Verteran who has been blogging on some really interesting topics. Yes, I am talking about Raj Gupta who blogs at www.hrsuccessmantra.com

His recent post on Judgements did strike a similar note in my mind and reminds me of an incident which happened on the first week of my post graduation class. Being a shy and relatively slow starter when it comes to blending into a new environment, I was not really seen as someone worth hanging around with. By the end of the week, I was officially declared
( and judged to be ) an introvert by a majority of the class and especially ignored by the women folk (to my dismay.)

However things turned out to be completely the opposite by the end of the first semester - when I was selected to manage a serious portfolio in the rural camp team; when I was elected the President of the training cell; when the HOD had to request me to bring students under control and as an icing on the cake became the Placement Coordinator for the batch! I had managed to garner majority support of my classmates and my overall ratings had gone up substantially as the most eligible bachelor ( by the same women who had branded me as Introvert and Uninteresting!).

I am not writing this to brag about my qualities or my great stint at college - I just wanted to reaffirm Raj's views that quick judgments never do any good to anyone. For anything or anyone to be judged, we need to give it some time - what Raj mentions as "watching the patterns" - and these patterns are nothing but a series of actions that either support or defy our judgments.

Such early judgments affects us all - especially as HR Pros.

Consider an Interview where a candidate comes in late by a few minutes and the initial judgement by the interviewer is on the negative side. However, there would have been some valid and totally substantial reasons for such action by the candidate. The point is not  whether the candidate should be given the chance to explain his act but to ensure that this particular action alone should not lead the interviewer to reach a conclusion ( based on his Judgement) about his/her credibility. ( Remember Recency Effect?)

Kudos to Raj for bringing in such a topic to the table. We are in an age where bias and judgments fill our offices and homes - and these can change our relationship with colleagues and family members forever.

Click on the link to read "Judgments often prove wrong - don't they?"

I also found some interesting feeds on making Judgement Calls, Check these out...

Making Judgement Calls - By The Harvard Business Review

Making Judgement Calls - By BNET

Drucker on the Purpose of Business

Drucker On The Purpose Of Business

View more presentations from Giri.

Core Values of an HR Professional

This is something that has been in my mind for a long time. Do HR professionals need to imbibe any specific Values or principles that other employees need not necessarily have?

Especially in the wake of the recent global crisis, how have these values affected or changed the common HR folk? Is there a need to re-look at these values?

After foraging the internet and a lot of discussions with practicing HR professionals, I could summarize some of the Core Values that every HR pro should uphold. Of course, this is not the exhaustive list - but I found them most relevant.

• Trust Worthy
• Frankness
  
• Objectivity
  
• Empathy
• Sincerity
• Positivity
 

Do feel free to add any Value that I might have missed through the "comments" column given below. Also do check out these interesting reads from some top HR pros


A puppet, a lie and the HR guy

Is Human Resources Fatally Flawed?