FEBRUARY 2014

COVER STORY
18 The power of small praises
Energized employees elevate the chances for
success when they go beyond individual
accountabilities, financial results and short-term wins
to respond to market dynamics. Praise, recognition,
appreciation and celebrations - all remain a constant
source of energy. The way you channelize this energy
source to deliver maximum impact makes all the
Contents

difference.

FEATURES
26 The next big thing!
Businesses globally are harnessing on Big Data to
store, analyze, and monetize any information in and
around its business. In this HR Roundtable, Human
Capital explores how Big Data has crept into HR
processes, how it is transforming the function and
why organizations need to orient their staff to reap
benefits optimally.

32
36 Are you being served?
As competition gets stiffer, positive customer
experience is a way to differentiate your organization
from competitors. Effective customer service
training has a key role to play in making this happen.
Boomerangs to fly
Re-hiring former top performers is a great practice
for cost-effective recruitment but the upshot
challenges may take away the glory of this enchanting
pick. Embracing the physics of flight can ensure a
winning outlook.

40 Tapping the hiring trendo-meter

Facts, statistics, practices, perspectives and more...

49 Bud to boss
Make a smooth transition from being an individual
contributor to a successful first-time manager by
knowing what to expect.

54 More the merrier

A view on six leadership styles and thoughts on the
best (and not so good) situations to use for each
of these...

HR PRACTICE
44 Decoding the digital way
Think and create are axioms that is making Atos'
Digital Campus program a big hit with its employees,
as they embark on the digital route to challenge their
potential.

4 I February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■

February 2014 I 5
 FEBRUARY 2014

CASE STUDY
58 Managing multi-generational
aspirations
For multi-generations to work alongside
demands that the leader harnesses the different
qualities, talents and contributions of each team
member effectively. It is also equally vital for
leaders to develop skills and practices needed to
manage a multi-generational workforce.
Contents

PERSONA
70 Seeking solace in diversity
A well known movie star once said, "In this world, there
are two types of people - one, who have a single
occupation all their lives, and the others who accomplish
all occupations in a single life". Interestingly, much before
these words were spoken, this thought had become the
guiding light in GR Venkatesh's life and career.

REGULARS COLUMNS
8 Editorial 12 Food for thought by Dileep Ranjekar
14 Research 31 Gen-Y speak by Ankur Poddar
16 On the agenda 43 Guest Column by Bhuvaneshwar Naik
64 Life beyond work 52 Psychology at work by Manavi Pathak
75 Legal Q & A 68 A point of view by Gautam Brahma

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■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 7
February 2014 ● Volume 17 Issue 9

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To our readers
Circa 1896. Psychologist and philosopher William James pens a letter
to his class at Radcliffe College, with the quote: “The deepest principle
of human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” He succinctly
captures the essence of human motivation and its core connection to
the power of recognition. He is probably clueless that an entire body
of work will be built on this simple thought and it will continue to be
relevant even centuries later, especially in the organizational context.
So, you have that elaborate incentive program on-board and you
think you’ve cracked it. Or a snazzy pay-for-performance system that
spells sheer perfection. But is your workforce inspired? Are they
driven? Are they engaged? Are they happy? Think again…
Employee recognition is no recent invention by any standards, but its
implication for organizations is most definitely moving to higher
grounds. After a comprehensive research study, Jean M. Twenge of
San Diego State University and Stacy M. Campbell of Kennesaw State
University concluded that Gen- Yers have personality traits like high
self-esteem, narcissism, anxiety, depression, lower need for social
approval and more external locus of control and
hence…unrealistically high
expectations, a high need for praise, difficulty with criticism, an
increase in creativity demands and tendency for job-hopping among
other things. Their recommendation: organizations should upscale
their recognition and praise programs to appeal to the psyche of this
brave new workforce.
Tap into “The power of small praises” with our cover story of the
month. Learn how the transparency of a recognition program can
mirror your vision effectively and leave an indelible impression.
Understand why recognition strategies need to be internalized by
managers to seep through the system. Sensitize yourself to the ways
in which peer applause can spur performance.
Mark Twain once said, “I can live for two months on a good
compliment.” Sounds pretty good to me! J
PUNITA MALHOTRA

© 2014 HR Information Services.

All rights reserved. Reproduction
in any manner without written
permission is prohibited.

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■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 9
 MAILBOX I

We've got mail!

Truly consistent! Getting better each day!
I look forward to every issue of Human Capital I have been reading Human Capital for seven years
because I get to read about the latest trends in now, and it has never let me down. It has
HR, case studies, improved with every passing day.
related legal I always read the magazine
matters and to keep abreast
researches. What with what is
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good job. Keep it up!
BISWANATH BABU
Head-HR, Areva India Limited
Awesome Jan
Your January 2014 issue was wonderful. It had all the
Make it lighter flavours that make a good read. I particularly enjoyed
reading the HR predictions. Though the New Year
Human Capital is one of my preferred magazines. seem to have mixed outcomes in store, I just hope it
I read it whenever I get some time in a day. brings good times for Indian corporates.
However, I SUJATA NANDI
would like to Student, IIM Indore
read more
stories on the
lives of HR Looking forward
people, who are
not necessarily I look forward to the interview section in Human
leaders. I would Capital. I like the fact that interesting personalities
like to read more are being interviewed and we get to learn about
articles which are different aspects. However, I would like interesting
lighter and bring personalities other than HR
forth the problems Leaders to also feature in
of HR professionals at work. this section. This will make
SAURABH SINHA the magazine even more
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Rudapur, Uttaranchal ARUN KUMAR
HR Department, Amira
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(Your feedback is valuable for us. Send across your views and suggestions for
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10 I February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■

February 2014 I 11
 FOOD FOR THOUGHT I
I
have been a rebel right from
my childhood.
In fact, my parents saw the early
streaks of my rebellious nature when
they failed to enrol me in any form
of pre-school education, in spite of
me having reached the age for it.
When I turned six, several attempts
were made to get me enrolled in the
first standard. Once again I refused.
Now I can only imagine how
frustrating it must have been for my
mother, who had to drag me to
school. However, I would still
manage to run away from school
and reach home before my mother
did.
I finally agreed to go to school
when I was seven plus years old.
Strangely, I never felt the need to go
to school. I was able to read and
write without going to school and
was happy at home, playing, reading
stories, flying kites, experimenting
with musical instruments, etc.
When I was eight, I refused to
undergo the 'sacred thread
ceremony' and since my resistance
was fairly severe, my father agreed
not to force me in doing it. This also
partly because, he too did not believe
in the ritual.
In terms of education, the family
tradition, as established by my elder
brother and sister, was graduation,
post-graduation and then doctorate
in science. Naturally the same was
expected from me as well. However,
education in general and science
education, in particular did not
attract me. As luck would be, I did
12 I February 2014
Being a rebel

BY DILEEP RANJEKAR
not get admission into the post-
graduate science program, and I
happily changed my track. I tool
admission in a business management
course, something which was not
widely popular during those days. In
fact, my parents were also not too
familiar with this stream of
education.
In a family and community where
something like a 'registered marriage'
was a rarity, way back in 1979, I
convinced my family about the
simplicity and convenience of such a
marriage. And, my parents readily
agreed to it when my time came.
There were no invitation cards, no
presents, no reception and no
horoscopes matched at my wedding.
Many of my friends and relatives were
not even aware of my marriage.
Some of my colleagues in the
organization came to know of it, only
after I applied for a Provident Fund
loan to repay the money I had
borrowed for the expenses, which
was mainly travelling expenses of my
family members.
At some point of time, early
enough, I realized that my being a
rebel was turning problematic. People
perceived me as obstinate, a rigid
child then an angry young man! At
times, I must have come across as
arrogant. I did not, however, think of
how it would impact other people,
their views and their perceptions.
As time passed, I realized that
being a rebel was not easy.
If I have to be a genuine rebel, I
must focus on what change I want
to bring. For that, I must develop
the art and science to create such a
change and influence people's
thinking in a credible and creative
manner. This is a tight rope walk, of
not compromising on your
principles and yet not adversely
affecting the sensitivity of people.
Being a rebel needs a lot of
application of mind, strategy and
meticulous execution of your plan.
And for each issue, there is a
different plan - there is no one
formula that works in all situations.
Being a rebel does not necessarily
mean bringing about a revolution in
the country or creating some kind
of widespread mutiny. It can be
reflected in several small and even
mundane looking situations.
If someone attempts to break the
queue in which I am standing
(common case at airports, railway
stations, elevators and bus stops), I
politely tell that person. I have
observed that 75 per cent of the
times, the person do get back into
the queue. The remaining lot have
to be dealt with a slightly raised pitch
which will attract the attention of
others in the queue and at times, by
simply making a request with folded
hands. Believe me, it works! One has
to try and understand when people
do it intentionally and when they do
it unmindfully. One must be very soft
with people who do it unmindfully
and firm where it is wilful.
The other day, I was in a queue
for a taxi at the airport and the man
ahead of me, took out his cigarette
www.humancapitalonline.com ■
 I FOOD FOR THOUGHT

packet, lighted the cigarette and
threw the empty packet on the
ground. As a reflex action, I went
ahead, picked up the empty packet
and put it in the dustbin that was
just three feet away. I went closer to
the man and whispered, 'what are
you doing'? Everyone was watching.
The man felt ashamed, looked into
my eyes and whispered back, 'I will
never do it again'. I quietly returned
to my position in the queue. Mission
was secretly accomplished. I am
confident that this man would never
do it again. I did not shout at him,
nor did I attempt to put him to
shame. In fact, I did his work of
putting the packet in the dustbin.
If someone is driving in to a no-
entry from the opposite side, I make
it a point to stop the vehicle and
make him aware, and if possible
make the person turn back. Again,
there are multiple categories of such
people, ranging from ignorance
about the 'non-entry' to
'convenience/short-cut' to 'habitual
offenders of established law'.
There were/are situations that
compelled me to come back to my
rebel mode.
A significant part of my work has
involved giving feedback to people
about their strengths and also
development areas, which in other
words mean making people aware
of what they are doing well and not
doing well. One cannot do this with
a rebellious mindset. One has to get
into a nurturing, analytical or adult
to adult mode. As a father, with my
children, I had to be a teacher, a
counsellor, a friend or a learner to
them during their early life. However,
even in the above situations, the rebel
in me had to be preserved in not
accepting something that is not good
for the individual or for the
organization/family. However, the
way my rebel manifested, would be
different each time.
A rebel has to be a fearless person
with clear notions. He/she is often
needed to be a non-conformist and
disagree with what is happening.
Every protest has to be supported
with reasons. A true rebel has to
rebel in mind and not necessarily
physically. A rebel is often a thought
leader, who has explicit faith in basic
principles of equity, fairness and
justice. In other words, if you want
certain things to happen in a certain
way, you must remember that other
people have their own rights, their
own ways of thinking and multiplicity
of opinions. You cannot approach
anything with an attitude of 'my way
or the highway'.
Above all, a true rebel ensures
that he/she does not come across as
a rebel.
Most of us have a rebel inside us.
It is important to allow the rebel to
express. Rebels have changed the
world from time to time or have
provided a different direction to
mankind. They have questioned the
fundamentals and challenged the
existing paradigms. Moreover, this
world will be a very boring and
insipid place to live in, without rebels!
HC
Dileep Ranjekar, Chief Executive Officer of Azim Premji
Foundation, is also a passionate student of human
behaviour. He can be contacted at
dkr@azimpremjifoundation.org.

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■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 13

 RESEARCH I

Top trends of 2014

Futurestep, a Korn Ferry, a company specializing in high-impact
recruitment solutions, has revealed its predictions for the recruitment
and talent management industry in 2014. Based on insights from 17 global
experts, the list reflects trends that have emerged over the past 12
months and is likely to dominate over the coming year. Byrne Mulrooney,
CEO of Futurestep is of the opinion that 2013 was a difficult year for
many businesses, with the economy forcing many to reassess their spend
in all divisions, including recruitment and talent management. It was a
Attract, year that saw a focus on internal training - with the ageing workforce an

develop & retain

According to a latest research report
from Bersin by Deloitte, employers
will be challenged to attract, retain
and develop people in 2014.
Organizations will need bold,
innovative talent and human
resources strategies to compete for
skills amidst a global economy
recovery. As retention concerns
mount, organizations will focus on
building a passionate, highly-
engaged workforce.
According to Josh Bersin,
Principal and Founder, Deloitte
Consulting LLP, December 2013 , "In
2014, businesses will find it
increasingly difficult to attract, retain,
and develop their people. Passion,
engagement, development, and
innovation will be key. Global
economic growth will create a new issue that divided industry opinion, and globalization a key aim. In
technology, it was mobile that emerged as a clear frontrunner to take the
level of competition for people, and
industry into the future. And its technology as a whole that is setting the
2014 will be the year of the agenda in 2014 too, particularly in the areas of data and social media. We
employee." expect innovation within recruitment to gain greater momentum this
year, widening its remit to drive change, improvement and forward
thinking.
The trends that Futurestep believe will shape the recruitment and
talent management industry globally in 2014 are:
® Business will start hiring for tomorrow - not just for today
® Mobile recruitment will finally take off
® Big data will drive real decision-making
® Smarter sourcing will win the day
® Expect more globalization - but more localization too
® Business will start hiring for tomorrow - not just for today
® Mobile recruitment will finally take off
® Big data will drive real decision-making
® Smarter sourcing will win the day
® Expect more globalization - but more localization too

14 I February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■

 I RESEARCH

Working
with the best
Glassdoor, a jobs and career community, has announced the winners of
its sixth annual Employees' Choice Awards that honours the 50 Best
Places to Work (recognizing employers with 1,000 or more employees).
This year's top 5 are Bain & Co., Twitter, LinkedIn , Eastman
Chemical, and Facebook . Global consulting firm Bain, which also
ranked first in 2012, has reclaimed the top spot from Facebook, which
dropped out of the top three for the first time in four years. Second- Promising signs
ranked Twitter is brand-new to the Top 50, as are Disney and Chick-Fil-
A. Costco Wholesale , which has a long-standing reputation for for global hiring
employee satisfaction, jumped from #46 on last year's list to #16 this
year, the biggest climb of any company on this list.
The tech sector led the field with 22 companies on the list, including According to the Manpower
insurance software provider Guidewire, call center Software Company Employment Outlook Survey,
Interactive Intelligence, and Google. Healthcare companies diagnosed employers across the globe expect a
with a case of employee satisfaction are medical device-maker Stryker, cautious yet positive approach to
the Mayo Clinic, biotech veteran Genentech, and Memorial Sloan- hiring for the start of 2014, despite on-
Kettering Cancer Center. Consumer products that earned employee going economic uncertainty and
loyalty are Procter & Gamble, Nike, and Nestle's Purina, where dogs are disruption. Upticks in payrolls are
welcome at the company's corporate offices and there's an on-site dog
anticipated by varying degrees,
park. High-flying travel companies on this year's list are Orbitz
Worldwide, Southwest Airlines, and Hyatt Hotels. Old and new energy
according to the first-quarter according
companies have workers fired up. On the list are Chevron, oil and gas to the survey.
equipment provider Cameron International, and SolarCity, which This quarter's research of over
installs photovoltaic systems for homeowners and businesses. 65,000 hiring managers across 42
SolarCity's enterprise clients include Wal-Mart, the U.S. military, and countries and territories reveals that
cities and schools around the country. Chain restaurants that serve up there are encouraging New Year signs
worker satisfaction are Starbucks, Chick-Fil-A, and Texas Roadhouse. for global labour market. Employers in
At a time when fast-food workers around the country are starting to 34 of 42 countries and territories
organize strikes, Chick-Fil-A gets high marks for flexible hours and expect to increase payrolls in the next
Sundays off. Starbucks' policy of granting benefits to both full and part- three months, compared with 29 in Q4
timers gets warm reviews from its baristas.
2013. Employers in Taiwan, India,
New Zealand, Colombia and Singapore
report the most optimistic outlooks,
while the weakest - and only negative -
outlooks are reported in Italy, Ireland,
Finland, Spain, Slovakia and Belgium.
While Brazilian employers forecast
their weakest hiring climate since the
survey began in Q4 2009, but still
expect favourable hiring.
As in the previous quarter, Europe's
strongest hiring plans are reported in
Turkey. Greek employers forecast the
strongest hiring pace since Q4 2008,
improving by six and 17 percentage
points from Q4 2013 and Q1 2013,
respectively.

■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 15

 ON THE AGENDA I
GLOBAL DIARY
February 2014
Invention Strategies
Organizer: NTL
When: February 24-28
Where: Leesburg, USA
Fees: $3,450
Details: www.ntl.org
Human Interaction Laboratory
Organizer: NTL
When: February 23-28
Where: San Diego, California 92108
Fees: $3,450
Details: www.ntl.org
Diagnosing Organizations with
Impact
Organizer: NTL
When: February 10-14
Where: DC Metro, USA
Fees: $3,450
Details: www.ntl.org
Creating Outstanding Business
Leaders
Organizer: Harvard Business School
When: February-May, 2014
Where: HBS Campus, Boston, MA, USA
Fees: $61,000
Details: www.exed.hbs.edu
The Leadership Transition
Organizer: INSEAD
Fees: • 9,950
When: February 10- 14 (Module-1)
Where: Fontainebleau
Details: www.insead.edu
M&As and Corporate Strategy
Organizer: INSEAD
Fees: • 7,950
When: February 10-14
Where: Fontainebleau
Details: www.insead.edu
Finance for Senior Executives
Organizer: Harvard Business School
When: February 9-14
Where: HBS Campus, Boston, MA, USA
Fees: $11,750
Details: www.exed.hbs.edu
Emerging Issues in Health Care
Organizer: Harvard Business School
When: March 2-4
Where: Off Campus
Fees: $ 5,750
Details: www.exed.hbs.edu
16 I February 2014
Financial Management
Advanced Corporate Finance
Location: Jamshedpur
Dates: February 7-9
General Management
Executive Coaching and Mentoring:
Developing Future Leaders
Location: Hyderabad
Dates: February 10-14
General Management
Team Building and Conflict
Management
Location: Hyderabad
Dates: February 17-21
General Management
Basic Leadership Skills
Location: Jamshedpur
Dates: February 10-14
General Management
Managing High Performance Team
Location: Gurgaon
Dates: February 6-8
Human Resource Management
Strategic Human Resource
Management: Contemporary HR
Practices for Leaders
Location: Hyderabad
Dates: February 24-28
XLRI
Administrator
Circuit House Area (East)
Jamshedpur 831 035
Phone: 0657 - 398 / 665 3329 / 3330
Email: mdp@xlri.ac.in/
mdpoffice@xlri.ac.in
Website: www.xlri.ac.in/mdp
ASCI Hyderabad
Administrative Staff College of India
Bella Vista
Raj Bhavan Road
Khairatabad,
Hyderabad -500082, India
Tel: +91-40-66533000
Website: www.asci.org.in
ASCI Hyderabad
Administrative Staff College of India
Bella Vista
Raj Bhavan Road, Khairatabad,
Hyderabad -500 082, India
Tel: +91-40-66533000
E-mail: poffice@asci.org.in
Website: www.asci.org.in
XLRI
Administrator
Circuit House Area (East)
Jamshedpur 831 035
Phone: 0657 - 398 / 665 3329 / 3330
Email: mdp@xlri.ac.in/
mdpoffice@xlri.ac.in
Website: www.xlri.ac.in/mdp
MDI Gurgaon
Management Development Institute
Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road
Sukhrali, Gurgaon-122 007
(Haryana)
Tel: +91-124-4560004, 4560534, 4560537
E-mail: caomdp@mdi.ac.in
Website: www.mdi.ac.in
ASCI Hyderabad
Administrative Staff College of India
Bella Vista
Raj Bhavan Road
Khairatabad,
Hyderabad -500082, India
Tel: +91-40-66533000
Website: www.asci.org.in
www.humancapitalonline.com ■

The Administrative Officer (EEP)
IIM Bangalore
Leadership/HRM
Bannerghatta Road
Bengaluru - 560 076
Karnataka, India
High Impact Leadership Tel: +91 - 80 - 2699 3264 / 3475 / 3742
Location: Bangalore Website: www.iimb.ernet.in
Dates: February 17-19 E-mail: openpro@iimb.ernet.in
The Administrative Officer (EEP)
Strategy & General Management IIM Bangalore
Bannerghatta Road
Bengaluru - 560 076
Outsourcing Management-Creating Karnataka, India
Value through Collaboration Tel: +91 - 80 - 2699 3264 / 3475 / 3742
Location: Bangalore Website: www.iimb.ernet.in
Dates: February 17-19 E-mail: openpro@iimb.ernet.in
Indian Institute of Management
Strategy Management Kozhikode
IIMK Campus P. O.,
Kozhikode, Kerala, India,
PIN - 673 570
Strategic Thinking Phone: +91-495-2809100
Location: Kozikode Fax: +91-495-2803010-11
Dates: February 12-13 Email: ashrafadiraja@iimk.ac.in
Fore School of Management
Strategic Management B-18, Qutub Institutional Area
New Delhi 110016
Phone: 011- 2685 6301
(Direct), 4124 2424
Effective Negotiations Skills (Extn 471 & 498)
Location: New Delhi Email: mdp@fsm.ac.in
Dates: February 26-28 Website: www. fsm.ac.in
Fore School of Management
B-18, Qutub Institutional Area
General Management
New Delhi 110016
Phone: 011- 2685 6301
Developing Communication (Direct), 4124 2424
Competency (Extn 471 & 498)
Location: New Delhi Email: mdp@fsm.ac.in
Dates: February 20-21 Website: www. fsm.ac.in
Fore School of Management
General Management B-18, Qutub Institutional Area
New Delhi 110016
Phone: 011- 2685 6301
Enterprise Risk Management for (Direct), 4124 2424
Creating Risk Intelligent Organization (Extn 471 & 498)
Location: New Delhi Email: mdp@fsm.ac.in
Dates: February 10-11 Website: www. fsm.ac.in
■ www.humancapitalonline.com
I ON THE AGENDA
NEWS ROUNDUP
CEO Lifestyle 2014
with Robin Sharma
Eyeball Events will be organizing its
fifth edition of CEO Lifestyle from
28th February to 2nd March 2014 in
Hyderabad and Chennai. CEO
Lifestyle 2014, has a new format
with Robin Sharma, the globally
celebrated author of 11 international
bestselling books on leadership
including “The Leader Who Had No
Title”, who has graciously accepted
the invitation to lead a seminar titled
"Lead Without A Title". This
exclusive, one of a kind show will
take place on 28th, February 2014 at
N-Convention Centre in Hyderabad
and on 2nd, March 2014 at ITC
Grand Chola, Chennai.
Tickets for the Robin Sharma Seminar
in Hyderabad and Chennai will be sold
online on the CEO Lifestyle's official
websitewww.ceolifestyle.in For more
details contact: Prashanth Bashyam at
prashanth@eyeballmedia.in, Santhosh
Kumar at Santhosh@eyeballmedia.in
Please await an exclusive interview
with Robin Sharma at Human
Capital’s forthcoming issue.
Society for Human Resource
Management (SHRM)
The corporate workforce today is
subjected to very erratic and
unhealthy lifestyle which results in
lifestyle diseases. The unhealthy
lifestyles of the workforce ultimately
have an impact on the success of
the company. To address all the
health and wellness issues related to
the workplace and to provide
permanent solutions to this, SHRM
India is organizing Health & Wellness
program across India this January
and February. This unique program
will include health and wellness
sessions, fitness workshops, wellness
activities, and experiential learning for
the HR professionals. The holistic
sessions in this program will harness
the strengths of one’s inner most
energies and build connections of
the body, mind and soul which in
turn will lead to one’s personal as
well as professional development.
February 2014 I 17
 COVER STORY I

The power of
small praises

18 I February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■

 I COVER STORY

Energized employees elevate the chances for success

when they go beyond individual accountabilities,
financial results and short-term wins to respond to
market dynamics. Praise, recognition, appreciation and
celebrations - all remain a constant source of energy.
The way you channelize this energy source to deliver
maximum impact makes all the difference.

■ BY SHAILJA KAUSHIK

J
ohn Wooden, the legendary basketball coach
and winner of 10 NCAA championships for
UCLA in 12 years with seven in a row, had one
unbending rule for all his players "When you
make a basket, immediately look for the
teammate who either passed you the ball or
blocked out your opponent allowing you to
score, and point him out. He is the one who
made your score possible." This tenet nails the core
element of cohesive work teams - 'recognition-rich
culture' that fosters trust and friendliness among the
employees as well as strengthens boss-employee
relationship. Canadian management journal, HR
Reporter cites one of the Gallup Survey from recent
past that indicates 90.5 per cent of organizations
have a recognition program currently in place but
about 65 per cent of workers say they have not
received recognition in the past year and Workforce
Management cites SHRM Survey May 2011 that shows
only 31 per cent of employees are satisfied with the
recognition they receive. A close scrutiny of these
statistics uncovers one simple reality - majority of
the organizations have put several employee
recognition programs in place but these are unable
to generate the desired impact in the workplace
culture. If this is so, then where lies the gap?
Unveil the devil in disguise
While total rewards strategies have won accolades
for their impact on driving business objectives, many
have dismissed the power of informal recognition
programs as 'plain jane' due to their overtly simple

■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 19

 COVER STORY I

that the winners are voted

Success Formula for P2P by a group of peers 'the
"Make it simple for employees to recognize each other. academy members'
Ensure recognition is easy and frequent. There should be a enhances its appeal,
clear line of sight between the displayed behaviour and/or making it the most
achievement in question and the timing of the recognition coveted award amongst
being made public. Too short a period will be like jumping the film industry
the gun if the behaviour is not being repeated. Too long a worldwide. Many
gap may dilute the motivational impact on the person in companies mistakenly
question and the rest of the target population." believe that only exclusive
and pricey rewards can
Ashwin Shirali
Regional Director HR
Accor Hotels India satisfy and motivate
employees. This outlook
and intangible nature, which makes annual award ceremonies where few needs to be replaced with a more
execution difficult and control top guns walk away with a trophy pertinent desire of the Gen-Y that
vague. However, this does not mean for 'best performance' when others seeks social acceptance and
their impact is also similar to their sit suspecting 'behind the scenes' admiration. Studies reveal that
nature. In reality, amongst the Gen- voting or sulking over the validity of companies that celebrate small wins
Y employees, a simple 'thank you' KPIs. This raises the inevitable amongst all its employees on a more
note from a colleague holds more question - Are these awards making frequent basis perform better than
value in cementing team bonding employees pitch against each other others.
than a shopping voucher. and limit their horizon for Peer-to-peer recognition where
"Collaboration is the most required performance? Even if we cannot say co-workers express genuine
competence in large complex with certainty that they do, we know appreciation through either paper-
organizations operating in the for sure that their effect is based or electronic medium plays a
current and futuristic VUCA incomplete when not complemented much more significant role in
(volatility, uncertainty, complex and with daily appreciation from peers building high-performance work
ambiguity) world. Organizations need and managers. This mandates the culture. Sheikh puts forth, "Peers are
to invest in building collaborative need for more frequent and genuine closest to the action and also can
cultures," contemplates. Emrana recognition coming from a variety experience the impact of something
Sheikh, Vice President HR, of stakeholders, who are in close gone well. Hence, empowering them
Automotive Division, M&M Ltd. relationship with the employee. As to recognize good work and efforts
Avinash Chandra, Regional Sales Ashwin Shirali, Regional Director, of their colleagues helps
Manager at one of the leading Human Resource, Accor Hotels, organizations to strengthen team
pharmaceutical companies, again India puts it, "The recognition work and foster camaraderie in the
won The Best Manager Trophy at programs must be given the widest organization." As a matter of fact,
the company's annual sales meet this Gallup Q12 Survey that measures
publicity within the organization to
year. This is his third trophy in a employee engagement levels
ensure that they become aspirational
row. As he goes up the stage to highlights the importance of strong
for the employees and they should
receive his award from the Sales peer relationships in its tenth element
actually have the power to guide and
Director, his peers discuss how the 'I have a best friend at work' which
determine employee behaviour."
system is 'biased' taking into account is tied directly to performance
just one KPI of 'maximum sales' and outcomes. Metaphorically, peer-to-
his own team members feel they
Let peers do the honours peer recognition is like that item in
Do you know what makes Oscar the main course which is easy to
were unduly pressurized by him to
such a prestigious award? The fact prepare, is inexpensive and is
achieve the target numbers without
any support. While
'one' Avinash rejoice
his win, several others Go Global Act Local
are fueled with "We operate in diverse global markets like South Africa,
discontentment, Australia, China, USA, etc. The design of the reward &
distrust and hostility recognition system at Mahindra AFS aims at ensuring
against not just their maximum reach as well as accommodates varied
colleague but the requirements of a diverse workforce. We build country
company as a whole. specific recognition programs, as they reflect the realities of
The irony is that HR the respective culture, market, business model and
folks dish out a large strategic business needs."
portion of their
budgets to conduct the Ms. Emrana Sheikh
Vice President HR
Automotive Division, M&M Ltd.

20 I February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■

February 2014 I 21
 COVER STORY I

savored by the vast majority of the outcome as there is no doubt informs Deodutta Kurane, Group
guests. Jayantika Dave, Vice that employees down the line are President, Human Capital
President - HR, Ingersoll Rand better placed to give more Management, Yes Bank. In the
International mentions, "We have meaningful and accurate feedback absence of such a direct link,
started a peer-to-peer recognition on what is actually happening versus employees will be left perplexed
program called 'Extra Mile' Award what those at the top may think is about the relevance of the
where co-workers can nominate happening"; many companies programs and the company will
each other for going
above and beyond the
normal call of duty to
provide a service or
solution. This is in Reward vs. Recognition
contrast to our top down "A robust recognition program backed by a market
recognition program, based reward structure that is flexible will help in the
'Zenith' and 'Rock Star' alignment of individual goals with corporate
Awards where an objectives, encourage team spirit and have a positive
employees' immediate impact on performance."
manager recognizes the
employee for any Deodutta Kurane
Group President, Human Capital Management
achievement." Employees
Yes Bank
who feel a sense of
attachment and closeness to their resonate with the thoughts of Sheikh also not get any meaningful return
peers are more productive and tend that "the combination of an effective on its investment. Ingersoll Rand's
to stay longer with their employers. top down as well as peer-to-peer enterprise-wide strategies and
Electronic platforms are used by recognition strategy is what we India's key focus areas of growth,
many organizations like Ingersoll believe will drive greater innovation, operational excellence
Rand and Mahindra AFS which engagement, and collaboration." and building organizational
deploy e-card recognition programs, capability underpins the design and
and smileys and appreciation cards What you celebrate? execution of One Ingersoll Rand
at various levels, respectively to Recognition programs are largely Rewards and Recognition Program.
encourage instant peer-to-peer linked to the bottom-line results of "Since it reflects the voice of our
recognition as well as to enable the company that includes both employees and applauds Sector
employees to inspire each other to needs and expectations of the achievements while demonstrating
model specific behaviours. While workforce as well as the company's team and organizational
Shirali rates peer-to-peer overall goals and strategies. For development, the Program is well-
recognition superior to top down example, "high performing YES admired internally", adds Dave.
approach in the sense that "it BANKers are accorded the CEO's Stephen Covey coined a term in
empowers employees to recognize LEAGUE OF EXCELLENCE Awards 1994, "begin with the end in mind'',
each other and aids in better buy- which is the highest recognition in which is very relevant to the process
in, strengthens team bonding, YES BANK, for demonstrating of establishing employee
ensures no cynicism builds up that exceptional performance and recognition strategies that focuses
the recognition is 'fixed, minimizes outstanding execution, towards on constructive employee
negativity that arises from feeling of achieving business and behaviours that needs to be
favouritism and by listening to those management objectives in their positively reinforced to ultimately
at the bottom of the pyramid, respective functions, in accordance achieve business results. Philips has
ensures that there is credibility of with the Bank's vision & strategy", a whole gamut of various rewards
and recognition programs,
which echoes sound
Leverage Social Media business alignment. This is
"Recognitions are acknowledged in our internal social highlighted by Yashwant
media channel called 'ConnectUs' so that all employees Mahadik, Head HR
can see who is rewarded and for what specific behaviour. Business Transformation &
It also improves transparency around recognitions and Head of Global Learning
makes this more inclusive where peers and colleagues and Philips University at
can go and 'Like' or congratulate these employees Philips India, who says,
publicly on ConnectUs." "Most of our programs
are focused on "what you
Deepak Shetty
Senior HR Director and Head HR achieved" and "how you

Philips Innovation Campus in Bangalore
achieved" aspects of

22 I February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■

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■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 23

 COVER STORY I
54%
Organizations lost high
performing employees
- T&D magazine
performance. We ensure business
alignment by including three
elements in our programs - results
focus (what you achieved against
your set targets), Philips behaviours
(Eager to win, Take ownership &
Team up to excel), and leadership
and functional competencies." The
Acceleration Program Award at
Philips' Vadodara Factory is given to
employees who display Philips
Behaviours' in their work and the
recognized employees have lunch
with the Plant Manager & HR Head
along with their respective Head of
Department. Such celebrations
represent the spirit of appreciation
and achievement. Based on the
similar principles, Accor Hotels,
through their employee recognition
strategy, pay tribute to the employees
who demonstrated exemplary
behaviours in implementing any of
the five Accor values of trust, respect,
innovation, performance and spirit
of conquest, in their daily work
thereby contributing to maximising
guest satisfaction understanding that
this is the only sustainable route to
optimizing returns to each of the
stakeholders viz.
owners, internal
customers, external
customers. To get
maximum returns,
organizations have to
go a step deeper by
anchoring the
employee recognition
initiatives to not only
the business objectives
but also organizational
values, which help in
driving performance.
Thus, we imbibe that
24 I February 2014
#1
Reason for leaving 'Lack
of Appreciation'
- Department of Labour
99%
HR leaders anticipate
employee engagement
being a key challenge
they will face
- SHRM Globoforce 2011
both 'end' and 'means' need to be
applauded to build a sustainable
organizations.
Create recognition fully aware and trained on the same
connoisseurs and is clear on how critical it is to
The responsibility of HR does not align future career possibilities and
end with designing tailored employee rewards with the display of such
recognition strategies as per their values and behaviour in day to day
business values and objectives. operational life", divulges Shirali. A
Desired results can be replicated only report 'Trends in Employee
through effective execution that Recognition Report 2013 by
requires sensitization of managers WorldatWork suggests that
and employees to the importance organizations typically are not
of recognition, behaviours that have training managers about their
to be recognized along with the recognition programs. Its findings
understanding when's and how's of bring forth that only 12 per cent of
the company's recognition practices. organizations provide some training
Accor Hotels recognize exemplary on recognition to managers and
behaviours that demonstrate Accor when they do, it is usually through
values, which are documented in the online and in-person training
Accor Management Ethics Guide. All sessions. Kurane feels, "leaders are
Accor employees are educated about the most critical 'link' in human
these company's value during initial capital management, therefore at
employee on-boarding and induction Yes Bank, we create a solid
schedule. "Additionally, all our foundation of YBL management
General Managers are mandated to credo in each leader (one of which
take refresher lessons on these is celebration of achievement and
values and behaviours at frequent success) at YES BANK through
intervals to ensure that everyone is structured and standardized
Measuring ROI
“Impact reflects in the overall engagement levels which stand
at 84 per cent in 2013 for us. One of our flagship programs -
Performance Plus has been recognized as a global best
practice. Performance Plus Awards serve as a breeding
ground for discovering early talent. Forty six per cent of the
winners have moved two roles while 4 per cent of the winners
have moved three roles in the last three years. In 2013, the
combined contribution of 100 performance plus contestants
was 120 per cent as against the AOP.”
Yashwant Mahadik
Head of HR Business Transformation & Head
Global Learning & Philips University
Philips
www.humancapitalonline.com ■

The average
employee interacts
with 42% of its
co-workers at
workplace
37%
HR leaders said they tie
employee recognition
programs to corporate
values
- SHRM Globoforce 2011
learning initiatives." For instance,
'Lead with Passion' is one such
initiative which is currently being
rolled out at YES BANK. Over 1200
leaders at various levels are
participating in this workshop which
is a leadership
development initiative
aimed at building and
scaling up leadership
capability. The workshop
specifically focuses on
making rewards and
recognition more
objective, systematic and
process oriented along
with other objectives of
developing leadership
competencies and
increasing ownership
levels towards the team members,
thereby resulting in higher
productivity at all levels. Sheikh
summarizes the essence of
managerial role and training in
achieving the objectives of employee
recognition strategies as, "Managers
are the recognition catalysts and
they play an important role in
building a reinforcement culture.
Therefore, it is vital to invest time
and efforts in empowering them to
create powerful recognition
experiences. It is important not just
to enhance their internalization of
recognition tools but also to train
them in identifying the right
behaviours which need to be
■ www.humancapitalonline.com
I COVER STORY
42%
of its co-workers at
94%
says peer-to-peer
recognition is more effective
workplace as compared to tenure-
- CLC HR Work Environment
Survey2011
based awards
- SHRM/Globoforce Spring
2013 Report
recognized." Mahindra AFS build
the skills of their managers through cent increase in engagement levels,
elaborate communication respectively. Many companies use
e-cards and automated mailers to
campaigns, which include elaborate
mailers, posters, leadership talks, send out instant recognition
etc. "To strengthen RISE behaviours, reinforcing the right behaviours.
Mahindra AFS has imparted training
programs to business leaders who Get simpler and better
are called Risators who then further Ralph Waldo Emerson once said
champion the cause internally in “Trust men and they will be true to
their business verticals. These you; treat them greatly and they will
workshops become an ideation show themselves great.” Praise and
platform, to seek instigate change recognition are the basic building
in their business and work blocks for fostering trust and
Sustainability is the key
We believe that the activity should have a measurable and
lasting impact on our key stakeholders – shareholders,
customers, employees and the communities we work in.
We also consider if there are large, impactful initiatives as
against one time occurrences.
Jayantika Dave
Vice President HR
Ingersoll Rand International
environment," Sheikh informs. She camaraderie among employees,
also adds, "Most of the people which in turn build high-
managers are provided with performance team that drive
monetary budgets which they can business results. So next time, when
use, based on their own discretion, you sit to review your bouquet of
to recognize their team members. employee recognition programs add
Apart from this, emphasis is placed or enhance the element of peer-to-
on creating more personalized peer recognition and sparkle the top-
experiences." Research findings of down recognition initiatives with
David Brown, Director of Hewitt more focused managerial training,
Associates, featured in Daily strategic business alignment coupled
Telegraph depicts the relationship with better internal branding of these
between frequency of recognition programs. With the millennial
and engagement levels - as generation soon to constitute 50 per
compared to monthly recognition, cent or more of your total workforce,
weekly and daily recognition you really don’t want to neglect their
generates 20 per cent and 35 per motivational needs. HC
February 2014 I 25
 HR ROUNDTABLE I

The next
big thing!
Businesses globally are harnessing on Big Data to store,
analyze, and monetize any information in and around its
business. In this HR Roundtable, Human Capital
explores how Big Data has crept into HR processes, how
it is transforming the function and why organizations
need to orient their staff to reap benefits optimally.
■ BY SANNITA CHAKRABORTY SAHA

Our expert panelists Ganesh GANESH NATARAJAN: Datafication is

O Natarajan, Vice Chairman

and CEO, Zensar
Technologies, Ravi Shankar,
EVP & Chief People Officer,
Mindtree, Nishchae Suri, Head People &
Change Partner - Management
Consulting, KPMG, Manish Sinha, India
HR PMO & HR Business Partner for
Global Customer Organization &
Globalization Services, SAP Labs India
and Vamsi Madhav Country Head
Talent Acquisition (Corporate), CMC Ltd
share perspectives on India Inc.'s comfort
level with handling data and why it has
become an imperative for HR to optimize
on the available data to simplify people
processes.
What is datafication? How has it
evolved to became a business
imperative for HR?
the science of using data coming from
different sources, analysing the data to
extract meaningful information and then
contextualizing it to create knowledge
that helps in refining decision making.
For HR, where multiple data points and
experiences have to be considered for
taking people related decisions,
datafication can be an invaluable asset,
especially in key processes like recruiting,
performance evaluation and promotion
decisions.
RAVI SHANKAR: Datafication is not a
new subject - but it is a known
technological application, now being
practiced in a new field. The concept
came from consumer behavior studies
- it was all about providing the right
services at the right time. Today, our
corporates are characterized by a large

26 I February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■


set of employees - they're manpower
intensive. With so many people serving
as sources of information such as
background verification data,
performance data, social profiles and
other internal/external data, it is a
natural progression that we're trying to
derive intelligence for better utilization
of resources. The sheer numbers - of
people involved, their activities and
business impact, creates a necessity for
better understanding and decision
making.
NISHCHAE SURI: The process of
converting subjective parameters into
objective data points that enables
decision making is called 'datafication'.
Does your management information
system give you insights to questions like
- what demographic profile is ideal for
high sales performance, what's the total
■ www.humancapitalonline.com
I HR ROUNDTABLE
cost of employment of your top 10 per
cent most engaged workforce, what's
the impact of attrition on productivity
by region or the linkage between sales
performance? These days, organizations
are investing heavily into Big Data and
Data analytic tools to answer some of
these questions. Datafication is
anchoring the change.
More than ever before, leaders are
demanding HR for evidence based
informed analysis about the workforce.
Business leaders expect HR to use
information to benchmark, drive insights
and derive opportunities. Some key CEO
room conversations these days revolve
around issues that pertain to - what
makes our workforce tick, how can we
improve management insights, how can
we improve productivity, how can we
reduce cost? To answer these questions,
February 2014 I 27
 HR ROUNDTABLE I
one needs to understand the
interlinkages between the 5 Cs - Cost,
Capability, Capacity, Connectivity and
Compliance.
MANISH SINHA: Every time we take
an action, we make a decision. These
decisions may be based on our past
experience, judgment or pure 'gut
feel'. Datafication is the emerging
science of quantification of our
experiences, thoughts or actions. In
last few years, businesses are creating
a huge amount of data, which can
be converted to meaningful
information with help of analytical
tools. This information serves as the
input for data-driven decision
making in organizations.
'Big Data' in HR refers to the
detailed analysis of people-related
data using advanced analytical tools.
With help of various talent-focused
analytics tools, HR is now able to
see those facets of People or HR
program-related information that
were not readily visible or accessible
earlier. This presents a tremendous
opportunity for HR to gain insights
for effective decision making.
VAMSI MADHAV: I am a devout user
of LinkedIn. My passion multiplies
with every passing day for the way
LinkedIn 'datafied' our professional
connections. For me, this process is
datafication. How can the HR
fraternity benefit from the big data
revolution? There is an imperative
need to introspect deep and to define
the problem areas in an organization.
Areas such as team collaboration,
benchmarking best cognitive and
psychometric behavioural patterns,
predicting possible exits, most
importantly answer for 'what is likely
to happen and how can HR be better
prepared?' HR datafication is key to
HR success, for which the journey
must begin by arriving at a problem
statement.
How has datafication transformed
the HR function? How is your
company making use of
datafication to simplify people
processes?
GANESH NATARAJAN: In the
recruitment process, Zensar
considers all possible data before
coming to a conclusion. A candidate
28 I February 2014
is met and evaluated by at least three cannot bias the appraisal process.
managers and all information RAVI SHANKAR: We can't say that
available from references and social datafication has already
media is considered to build a 'transformed' people processes - it
comprehensive picture of the is still at an infant stage. There are
candidate beyond what is mentioned extremely few companies who base
in the resume and what can be their HR policies on Big Data. We're
gleaned through the interviewing still creating initial data mining
process. By using this 180 degree view through unusual co-relations of
PANELISTS
NISHCHAE SURI is Partner and Head of People and Change, KPMG
in India. He joined KPMG from Mercer Consulting, where he was the
MD and CEO for their India operations. Suri has worked with global
and local corporations in areas of HR strategy & transformation,
leadership & talent management, and rewards in more than 25
countries.
GANESH NATARAJAN is Vice Chairman & CEO at Zensar
Technologies, a global firm that transforms Technology and
Processes for Fortune 500 companies. He is a Board Member of the
RPG Group, Board Member of Global Talent Track, Chair -
Knowledge IP & Innovation CII and member of the Chairmen’s
Council of NASSCOM.
RAVI SHANKAR brings with him over 30 years of diverse experience
in the IT industry. In his last assignment at HCL technologies, he was
the Sr Vice President and Head of HR. He also has the expertise in
being a Consultant across industry sectors and in renowned
companies in Asia-Pacific region such as Pfizer, Citibank & Astra-
Zeneca Hoechst.
VAMSI MADHAV currently heads the talent needs for CMC Limited
and services all the strategic business units, for the multiple
services offerings that the company provides. In a career spanning 13
years, Madhav held various key positions in HR & Business
Development. He holds an Engineering degree with Masters in
Business Ethics and HR, He is currently pursuing his research in
Business Ethics.
MANISH SINHA is currently the India HR PMO and HRBP for the
Global Customer Organization & Globalization Services at SAP Labs.
Manish has over 13 years of HR experience, of which last 10 years
have been with the Global IT Leaders SAP & Oracle. Over these
years he has assumed various expert and leadership roles in HR
Business Partnering & Organizational Development.
of a candidate, recruitment decisions people-centric information- to
can be made more accurate. analyze employees and draw a
In evaluating the performance of cultural/provisional/behavioral fit.
key individuals and managers a 360 For example, we are using our
degree approach is preferred, again historical hiring data to figure out
to ensure that a single point of view which kind of students have been
www.humancapitalonline.com ■
 I HR ROUNDTABLE

steady and successful employees One of the high

here - which colleges, which stream technology companies has
of engineering for particular roles, a high performance sales
etc. force. The sales force is
Mindtree, right now, has brought judged on objective and
in HR Datafication in a couple of subjective parameters. The
areas. The earlier mentioned campus subjective parameters have
hiring is one. We're correlating been quantified into data
student backgrounds and colleges points and a deep analysis
with success rate in the company. helps them gain insights
Turnover modeling is another area. into an ideal 'fit'. They
Attrition Reports across the years combine analysis from
have clearly given us a database with performance and attrition
crucial information such as reasons to identify early warning
for leaving, employee lifecycle data
pertaining to time periods in different
signals when talent may
attrite. They are also able
Research says…
service lines and so on. We're trying to optimize their hit rates A new survey by Informatica Corporation revealed
to create a turnover modeling with by running analysis on that 72 per cent of Indian organizations are now
multiple variables such as employee's potential talent pools. considering, planning or running 'Big Data' projects,
home location, educational profile They are able to reduce with organizations viewing the trend as an
etc. - to now create Retention Metrics time to hire and enable opportunity rather than an IT challenge by a greater
from earlier attrition data. This way, their businesses for larger than two-to-one margin in India. Organizations
focus is shifting to retention rather opportunities. intend to get a wide variety of benefits from their big
than attrition. We're making changes MANISH SINHA: With the data efforts, according to survey respondents.
to impact turnover by giving help of Big Data, Improving efficiency in business operations by
ourselves the ability to identify companies are able to add doing more things with more data is the number
vulnerable spots in resourcing value in all possible talent one business driver (55 per cent). This is followed
decisions. Now, we have Forecasting areas. When it comes to by attracting and retaining customers (38 per cent).
capabilities for next 90 days on workforce analytics, SAP However, lack of maturity in big data tools is the top
employee turnover, with sufficient runs SAP and challenge (42 per cent) that respondents face in big
accuracy, wherein we can point out SuccessFactors. We have data projects. Lack of support for real-time
zones of high turnover and ensure implemented the core of streaming data is another key challenge (32 per
better performance. the SuccessFactors cent), followed by concerns around data security
NISHCHAE SURI: Datafication Workforce analytics tools. and privacy (30 per cent).
allows organisations to explore their We collect data on 150
talent from any perspective - standard metrics, and have
whether you want to compare and in- built reports showing head count, VAMSI MADHAV: Organizations
cut your talent data across locations, hires, terms, gender diversity and now realize the scope in improving
grades, employee demographics, head-count movements. We further organizational efficiency and
performance levels, your least or plan to enrich the content in organization development, an
most engaged employees - giving you workforce analytics to cover more imperative need to seek data, right
a level of management information topics, allowing for increasingly and relevant data as per the
previously not available. All now… integrated analysis to support our contextual environment a particular
at the click of a button! For instance business decision-making. We aim to organization is operating at.
the business leader might want to better analyze the impact of The opportunity for HR is to
know how higher levels of workforce programs by having swiftly and aggressively distinguish
performance link to engagement; enterprise-wide data available which from the traditional systems and be
you might also want to find out if allows us to consider recruiting adept at looking at the data engines
lower levels of engagement link to a metrics, learning and development, and analytics. Most importantly, the
higher sickness absenteeism. and our high level financial data. art to mine data, identifying
relationships, patterns, hypothesis
and testing them, data digging and
expert Andreas Weigend, Head of Social Data Lab at
Stanford University is of the opinion that Big Data is an analysis, etc., as per me would
clearly be a source of competitive
SPEAK amalgamation of tools, skills and most importantly the
organizational mindset to view data as the new 'fuel' advantage for an HR professional.
that is helping the company to function without brakes. HR needs to be agile in harnessing
However, he also points out that technology has big data for the business
evolved at a faster rate than workforce skills, which performance and results.
should have ideally been the case. At CMC Limited, we understand

■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 29

 HR ROUNDTABLE I
the need and importance of using club advanced mining tools like SAP
technology for the modern day HR with HR roles. These tools, which
function. We have several innovative were initially conceptualized for
tools such as Process Performance consumer behavior analysis, need to
model, which help us conduct our be mapped for human capital
organizational governance and also analysis.
enable strategic predictions. Companies have started
experimenting with this. Mindtree has
More and more data has been a couple of analytics professionals
created in the last two years due to working with the HR team. We've
globalization, mobilization, cloud started on this path and we're
computing and social media. developing our ecosystem along these
Amidst this data explosion, what lines.
are some of the prominent NISHCHAE SURI: Datafication can
challenges of datafication? Is HR help reveal the hidden insights in
in India Inc. geared up to handle your organisation where savings can
the challenges? be realized and investment can be
GANESH NATARAJAN: Most HR targeted to improve business
departments tend to be still lost in performance and improve efficiency.
paperwork and archaic processes A very small percentage of
and they need to consider the organizations these days are able to
availability of big data, analytics and answer these questions and drive
business intelligence in all its facets intelligent decision making by linking
to make the HR function more together the many data sources in
effective. Managing global talent, their organizations by using
answering their queries that come in sophisticated data analytics tools.
through smart phones or the Some of key challenges that
Internet and responses fine-tuned organizations are facing these days
with a 180 degree point of view are are building initial momentum for
datafication and
analytical initiatives
and learning to
Who's in on it? organize and build
the analytics team
EMC, Oracle, IBM, SAP, etc, have their when the senior
academic alliance programs, with management starts to
universities in India and overseas to take analytics
help introduce full-length electives or seriously. In addition,
crash courses on various facets of Big expanding the team
Data. Training outfits like NIIT, Aptech, capacity when
etc, too are exploring the space. analytics builds
momentum in the
organization poses as
critical to any HR manager in the a big challenge for many.
present times. Learning to improve business
RAVI SHANKAR: Our biggest performance using datafication is not
challenge is to do 'real' datafication. a precise science. Ironically, it's not
We need people who are not from very analytical either. The analytics
the HR function for this - from teams are trying to figure out what
business intelligence technology motivates leaders and creates
backgrounds. Getting these people interest to apply analytics to business
to work in HR is a challenge. We challenges and opportunities.
need to train them in HR practices, MANISH SINHA: It is estimated that
so they can work on data to derive a massive amount of over eight
meaningful content that can actually exabytes of data is created every
influence real HR decisions. Right year. However, just data creation is
now HR policies are based on not enough for datafication,
reporting mechanisms through basic otherwise a majority of organizations
tools like excel. Now, we need to would have achieved big data
30
February 2014
maturity in their operations. In my
view, there are three non-negotiable
elements that every company must
reflect upon while charting out their
talent analytics plan.
This is a pre-requisite for having
successful datafication in any
organization. And it starts from the
top. If the leaders believe in data-
driven decision making and they
demonstrate it in every instance, it
would create a need for a robust
talent analytics. The next important
element is to create relevant data.
One should remember that business
intelligence upon which decisions are
made is based on data points. Hence,
it is critical to ensure the data is
validated to avoid a 'Garbage in -
Garbage out' situation.
Lastly, it is critical to note that
data analysis is a specialist role. The
skills of talent analysts may
sometimes be equally or more
important than the tools employed
for data analysis. Hence, it is
important that suitable personnel are
identified for the role.
Big Data in HR is evolving
everywhere. Companies are at
various maturity levels on a steep
learning curve with growing
awareness of this topic every day. In
my opinion, HR in India is also on
the same journey and will evolve
with time. With the analytics industry
in India getting stronger by the day,
it will help in building an ideal Big
Data social surrounding.
VAMSI MADHAV: Data is in
abundance. One of the most
prominent challenges is having 'HR
as a data operator'. While data
analytics is a powerful tool, it can
only be as powerful as the operator.
Big Data indeed would
revolutionalize HR. It presents both,
a challenge and an opportunity for
the HR manager, who has
traditionally been seen as a not very
data savvy or technology savvy
professional. The real need is HR
analytics education for India Inc.
Another key challenge for HR India
is 'HR Data Management'.
Companies still seem weak at
managing HR information. HC
To be Continued...
www.humancapitalonline.com ■

Empower, execute and excel

BY ANKUR PODDAR
A
ccording to Kruger and
Smit in their book "Basic
Psychology for HR
Practitioners", an individual's job
satisfaction is a direct result of his
or her ability to execute tasks.
This attribute is more apt for the
brigade of young management
trainees (MTs) belonging to the
Gen-Y, and occupying a major
section of the mainstream
workforce.
We are living in a world of
VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty,
Complexity, and Ambiguity), which
suits the personality traits of this
millennial segment. They chose to
pave their career by treading
unexplored areas and untested
waters. They are impatient,
unconventional and prefer risks
over rewards. The fact that a lot
of Gen-Y management graduates
are getting into unchartered
territories with new profiles,
speaks a lot about their tendency
to explore, experiment, and
execute. They are keen to invent
new business offerings and
improvise current business
technologies. They respond very
well to challenging assignments
which require high degree of
execution. For them, an unknown
territory or unchartered path
presents a sense of adventure
which they love to engage in.
Gone are the days when the
designation enticed people, today's
generation is more concerned
about the role and the kind of
responsibilities it will entail. What
matters to them is their ability to
■ www.humancapitalonline.com
make an impact and thus create
visibility for themselves. During
the campus selection process, it is
evident that the 'profile' offered
by the company, which primarily
influences the choice of the
candidates while decision-making.
In fact, a lot of FMCG majors
engage MTs by assigning them
early ownership based
responsibilities to drive business.
They provide on-the-field sales
exposure to MTs during their
training phase. They are assigned
sales representatives' roles for
outlet-to-outlet selling with defined
targets. Although grilling, it also
becomes highly gratifying for them
to operate on ground zero and be
part of frontline operations. They
don't seem to enjoy the classroom
training programs as much as they
enjoy on- the- job training, which
gives them real-time practical
exposure.
Several managers, who have
been functional guides for these
trainees, share that Gen-Yers:
 Expect a clear direction in
terms of deliverables backed by
complete empowerment
 Value coaching and mentoring
over supervision
 Love discussions, dialogues and
constructive arguments
 Are passionate about results
and most of times end up
exceeding their targets
 Have the inner zeal to excel
and exceed the expectations and
make a mark for themselves
 Multi-talented and multi-
taskers, they are agile towards the
I GEN-Y SPEAK
changing business environment
These kind of Gen-Y associates
do not believe in just completing
the task, most of them go beyond
and take up additional projects,
which would add value to the
company. When they come for
their formal reviews, their
presentations and thoughts are
laden with recommendations and
suggestions. They evaluate the
current processes with a critical
outlook and do not accept the
norms easily. Many a times, they
would like to see some quantum
changes in some of the existing
work practices. They don't seem
to believe in following a set
template or standard pattern.
Rather, they would try and
leverage their resources to come
up with creative and unique
solutions.
They have the knack to identify
diverse opportunities where they
can make an impact. In fact, when
some of these ideas are
implemented and scaled up in the
organization, it gives them a real
sense of pride.
This generation is so well
networked within their peer group
that information for them is just a
click away. They are experts at
accessing multiple information
sources.
It will therefore, not be wrong
to say, Gen-Y is trained to
compete for excellence and not
just survival!! HC
Ankur Poddar is Division HR Manager (N) at
Marico Ltd
February 2014
31
 FEATURE STORY I

Boomerangs
to fly
Re-hiring former top performers is a great practice for cost-
effective recruitment but the upshot challenges may take away
the glory of this enchanting pick. Embracing the physics of flight
can ensure a winning outlook.
■ BY SHAILJA KAUSHIK

32
February 2014
 I FEATURE STORY

his is Raju Varghese's second innings employees can easily get merged with the

T with his employer, whom he had left

few years back for greener pastures.
Being a top performer then, he was
approached by the former employer
to re-join them at a senior role (than before)
and at a fatter pay package. The initial
happiness of filling the vacant position with a
organization culture and can contribute
effectively at a much faster pace than new
employees, since they are attuned to the
organizations' pulse. They also bring fresh
perspectives from the external world." To
leverage these 're-hires' benefits offered by
re-hiring former top
familiar resource that too at a lower cost soon performers, companies
began to fade away when the line manager emphasize on 'hygiene'
realized that this step didn't go down well with factors when it comes to
his current team members -some of whom were re-hiring former top
expecting a crack at this vacant position and performers. For instance,
TIMESJOBS
were left feeling ignored with the re-hire decision. "Siemens India check past
performance, takes
Survey 2013
The business need feedback from the
The paucity of right talent, swelling hiring costs
and expanding business uncertainties have
previous manager and HR
to certify their suitability
32% employers consider
'maintaining a good relationship
made 'boomerang hiring' the latest fixation in for re-hire and good
conduct", says Shankar. with the ex-employees and keeping
corporate circles. A survey conducted by
TimesJobs.com showed nearly 85 per cent While some companies them updated on the company's
employers do hire ex-employees in their have a formal written re- latest ventures, projects and job
organization. A similar 2010 survey by Right hiring policy, in others it is openings' effective sourcing
Management found 9 in 10 employers are open a tacit practice. strategy for re-hires.
to rehiring former employees. There are myriad
benefits outlined with this approach as R Nanda,
Head of Human Resources & Corporate
Acknowledge
challenge
the 30% employers label
'familiarity with the organizational
Communications, Tata Chemicals says, "Re-
Well, you made an offer processes, culture and system' key
hiring is considered to be one of the most
which the boomerang benefit of boomerang hiring.
effective hiring strategies for various reasons:
employee accepts and
1. You already know the individual - how
does he assimilate into the system, his
strengths and weaknesses - therefore one
joins you. Now what? KPI
achieved, job ends - really? 56% employers deem
Hiring boomerangs is not 'blunder of positioning re-hires
is able to judge better on overall
that simple. To a certain under employees who were their
professional skills sets;
extent, one won't be wrong juniors before they left the
2. Also ' 'boomerangs' know the
to call it a 'political' strategy organization' most acute
organization much better than a
packed with lot of
rank outsider so they settle in shortcoming of boomerang hiring.
maneuvering and cajoling
faster, re-activate internal
of the existing workforce
networks and get off the ground
to bring business results.
much faster;
Three situations can make 're-hiring' a
3. Are high on motivation given
nightmare, if not handled intelligently in
that the individual is familiar
anticipation:
with the organizational
1. Re-hiring a top-performer who was viewed
functions and work culture."
as a 'traitor' by the previous boss
Similar thoughts are also
or team members may
echoed by Ramesh Shankar,
polarize the team
Executive Vice President and
2. R e - h i r i n g
Head of Siemens India HR who
says, "In our view, re- hired

February 2014
33
 FEATURE STORY I
an employee leapfrogged over an
existing employee who was eyeing
the job may topple the company's
culture
3. Significant changes, including shift
in organizational focus, have
occurred between the time the
employee left and returned, may
cause confusion.
Nanda cites internal resistance
from peers and team members as
one of the key challenges in re-hiring
former employees apart from salary
negotiations based upon the last
drawn salary package, current
job market scenarios and the
role for which he is being re-
hired. Ensuring successful re-
hiring of ex-employees is just
like the 'negative splits' race
strategy for the marathon -
running the first half of the race
slightly slower than the second
half. Take time to run the first
part of rehiring - connect with
the former employees, check
exit interviews and match with
the job fit. However, adopt a
more accelerated and focused
approach post-hiring by
ensuring re-assimilation of the
re-hire into the organizational
system, without causing any
resentment among the existing
employees. Boomerangs should
be welcomed without causing
any heartbreaks or heartburns
on either side. Shankar corroborates
saying, "We ensure that we have been
fair to the re-hire without adversely
affecting the interests of existing
employees in terms of pay,
designation, position, role, etc."
Embrace excellence
Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, senior
adviser at global executive search
firm Egon Zehnder and author of
the book Great People Decisions
advises on his HBR Blog that the
success of bringing back a former
colleague depends on how effectively
HR re-introduces them into the
organization. While all due diligence
is being done through rigorous
interviewing and screening process
to ensure the best qualified candidate
gets the job, it is also imperative to
clearly communicate to team
34
February 2014
members exactly why the former
employee is being brought back to
other company, and especially to any
internal candidates who were not
successful along. Briefing the
returning employee about the
changes that has occurred since he
left the company is also vital. While
Nanda identifies "clear
communication on what the person
brings to the table and how that is
important to the organization.
Identify potential sulkers and invest
in engaging with them to manage
the transition. Where work
responsibilities need to be re-
apportioned be sensitive to how it
would be perceived and take
mitigatory steps" as important to
avoiding any resentment from the
existing employees, Shankar
accentuates "principles of
transparency, equity and fairness" as
critical in the process. To align the
re-hires performance with the
organization's current vision, it is
essential to reframe the changes that
have happened when the person was
away. "Given that the re-hire is
already aware of the organization
work culture and overall functioning,
it is imperative to have an open
discussion to set the expectations
right as well as sensitize the individual
on newer policies and changes within
the organization," says Nanda. At
Siemens India, re-hires, similar to all
other new lateral hires, are part of
the regular formal on-boarding and
induction process in the organization,
and they also have a buddy to
smooth transition back into the
organization.
Flying high
Success of boomerangs like anything
else that flies in our atmosphere from
Frisbees to airplanes is governed by
the four forces of flight - drag, thrust,
weight and lift. When you re-hire,
the exceptional skills and
competencies of the ex-employee
that are just right for the business
acts as the 'weight'. To have a right
weight means the ex-employee
should necessarily be a top
performer which supports your
decision to gain an internal buy-in.
The various challenges of salary
fitment, internal acceptability and
business focus alignment form the
'drag'. Pre-hire discussions with the
candidate should be designed to
provide enough enthusiasm or 'lift'
to take them off the ground. Re-
assimilation through expectation
setting and internal 'open'
communication 'thrust' them to
move forward and deliver business
results. So get these four forces of
flight in your re-hire practice to get
maximum sustainable impact. HC
www.humancapitalonline.com ■

Potential vs performance
The battle continues
Defining the parameters for career development becomes a tough yardstick
to measure, especially when potential is pit against performance.

BY SANNITA CHAKRABORTY SAHA
Potential gives the performer an edge
All good talent management programs will tell you to
consider those employees as high potentials if they score
well on performance as well as potential. If an employee
is a top performer but is not backed by potential, then
you need to give him probably a high bonus or
an increment, but not a promotion. For
career growth, potential is most critical to
move on the career ladder. Your
performance may be higher because
you may excel at just one particular
technical skill, but it’s your leadership
skills, interpersonal skills, innovative
thinking and strategic abilities that give
you an edge. For example, if you are a
data entry operator, you may be a high
performer because you can type faster.
That may get you higher incentives, but
will not earn you a Team Leader position. If
you are in a sales role, you may be a high performer
because you are good at selling, but to become a sales
manager, the ability to teach your team selling skills, create
a sales strategy, be an inspiring leader, etc., are vital. Thus,
a lot of good performers tend to get stagnated in their
careers beyond a point. In fact, sometimes organizations
are responsible for making under-performers out of their
high performing employees as they fail to assess them on
their capability to do a higher job. At DCB Bank, the
concept of competency based interviews was introduced,
which faced initial resistance. Eventually, everyone agreed
that it is one of the most effective ways of identifying
talent for bigger roles.
HAMSAZ VASUNIA
Head Business - HR
■ DCB Bank
Hamsaz has over 10 years of experience in
operations and managing P&L responsibility. In
her current position, she actively manages vital
functions like talent acquisition, training,
performance management and compensation
across all regions of the Bank.
■ www.humancapitalonline.com
I DEBATE
Performance drives business growth
For career growth, a consistent track record in terms of
performance is extremely important. High performers
are assets to any organization as they are always the
preferred choice for challenging projects. High
performers always aim for quality work thereby
exceeding expectations. Career development
is a planned activity to manage future
requirements of the organization. It not
only equips employees to perform but
also inspires them to give their best.
An individual with high potential is of
no use to the organization unless he
performs. Performance has no yardstick;
it solely depends on the individual’s
capacity, goals and ambition for growth.
The organization’s growth depends on
individual performance and not merely on
high-potential. A high performer is self-
motivated and makes the most of the skills and
capabilities. He has the ability to showcase his
accomplishment to the management in the right
perspective, thereby building trust and confidence. He
can even set examples to his fellow employees through
his consistent delivery. Performance is the sole driving
factor for an organization’s profitability and business
growth. An organization is characterized by the outcome
of the challenges faced and the ability to prove itself.
Potential is only measured by the scale of performance.
Hence the mantra is to keep performing and to make the
most of each opportunity to succeed and build along and
sustainable career.
P.T. GEORGE
Sr. GM & Head Business - HR
■ V Guard Industries Ltd
George has 28 years of experience in all
verticals of HR including policy formation,
leadership development, talent management,
recruitments, etc., in industries such as
Pharmaceutical, Textiles, Minerals, Hospitals,
Electrical & Electronics, Automotive and BPO.
February 2014
35
 LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT I
Are you
being served?
ahul, a mid-level MNC
BY DIPANKAR DAS
R
■
executive drummed up a war
chest of eight lakh rupees to
buy a mid - segment sedan.
Spouse in tow, he stormed into a car
showroom of the manufacturer he
liked most and asked for his preferred
car to be shown to him. It was
evening and the showroom did not
seem to display the steely resolve
salesmen are associated with, when
it comes to making a sale to the bevy
of undecided customers hovering in
36
February 2014
the showroom at the time.
Rahul was a patient man, and he
took a good look at the model he
was shown, but the salesman he had
spoken to had done a Houdini. His
mind hummed with a plethora of
queries around the car he had set
his heart on. He waited for some
time, but no salesperson was free,
or perhaps, keen to address Rahul's
queries. A discerning customer, Rahul
wondered, even when he goes to the
grocer's, a shop hand gets him all
www.humancapitalonline.com ■
 I LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

that he asks for, from the shelves in a jiffy. Battle for loyalty
And here he was in a showroom, all set to Customer loyalty is won or lost on the
make a million rupee purchase, and no one frontlines by the seller. What determines the
seemed to bother. Needless to say, Rahul success or failure of the Representative (Rep)
and his spouse soon stepped out of the is the kind of processes the company has, and
showroom. They were again seen in another the kind of training the Rep has undergone.
car showroom a few days later, proud Unfortunately, almost as a rule in customer
owners of a new sedan, animatedly talking to service organizations and contact centers, the
a salesperson, who seemed to address every
query Rahul had.
As competition gets stiffer, positive
Being different customer experience is a way to differentiate
Trillions of transactions take place every year
across the world. More than 50 billion calls your organization from competitors.
go out to contact centers in the US alone.
Ever growing literature on customer service
Effective customer service training has a
has proved to all that in an age of key role to play in making this happen.
commoditized products and services, the
way a business connects with a consumer
can make or break it image. Yet truth be told, ratio of technical training to training on service
if as a consumer you are able to get your job aptitude is typically 90/10 or even worse. A
done with some effort, you would emerge strong Customer Service Training intervention
happy that after many calls, long waits, is required to ensure Reps do not learn service
unpleasant call center or sales agents, you aptitude through trial and error, but in the
have been able to close a transaction. You classroom itself. A good customer service
training program should be structured around
count your blessings. However, things need
a customer experience cycle, which would
not be this way. Strong customer service
skills, can give a business the ultimate
advantage - a loyal customer base. According
to a HBR article, 5 per cent improvement in
customer loyalty can help improve profits
by 20 per cent. And here training can play a
key part. Training needs to be designed
around the five parts that constitute customer
experience. These are:
 Physical: Accessibility, location, décor,

parking availability, ambience, user friendly

interface for website
 Functional: Policies, ease of doing

business, staffing, payment options

 Technical: Employee level of expertise,

quality of product, equipment, user

friendliness of product
 Experiential: Customer engagement,
personalization, congeniality, anticipating
needs, service recovery, above and beyond
service, soft skills
World class service organizations have
powerful training programs for all new and
existing employees, which consists of soft
skill training that increases their service
aptitude, while equipping them with the
knowledge and skills needed to provide a
best-in-class customer experience.
vary from
industry to industry; however,
the following parameters are
mandatory:
 The opening is very critical and greeting
the customer well is essential. Remember,
the first six seconds is the 'Moments of Truth'
when the customer forms a opinion about
the Rep and his company.
 Listen carefully. Active listening will help
you to understand customer needs, both

■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014
37

 LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT I
Dipankar Das
Training Delivery Leader, IBM
GPS, India
Dipankar specializes in various
aspects of Training. He started with
content writing and customized
training design for engineering and
softskill programs, followed by
responsibilities in Managerial and
Leadership development. He is
currently responsible for Training
Delivery, supporting clients from a
cross section of industries, including
Telecom, Travel and Technical
Support. Prior to IBM GPS, he
worked for organizations such as
Genpact and Convergys.
38
February 2014
those spoken and unspoken ones.
 Resolution is at the heart of a
customer interaction. A successful
resolution is most of the battle worn.
 In days of rapid customer churn,
the effort should be to make every
transaction, a transformative
moment. As Mary Angelou had said,
people will forget what you said,
but not the way you made them
feel. Every interaction is an
opportunity, make the most of it.
 Look back, paraphrase and seek
customer feedback as to whether
their expectations have been met.
 All interactions should not be
stand-alone transactions, but a way
to open the gates for an enduring
relationship. Therefore, close all
interactions in the best possible way.
Getting the training right!
Training should help clarify to the
frontline employee, the importance
of the customer, help understand
issues from the customer's
perspective, instill pride in the
service legacy of the company,
strengthen service aptitude and help
the employee to go over and above
the call of duty to make the
interaction memorable.
Training must technically and
attitudinally transform the Rep to
deliver against the brand promise
at every stage of the interaction with
the customer and be able to deliver
against customer experience and
then WOW the customer. One key
way to render above and beyond
service is to address unstated needs
of the customer. Whenever you find
a company providing exceptional
service, chances are that there is a
world class training program
backing it up.
For example, the Cheesecake
Takeaways
 Define your service vision - without that, customer service is a day dream
 Attract, hire and retain - people with a service DNA
 Non-negotiable experience standards must be uniformly abided
 Train for a strong service capability and culture within the organization
 Build capability for recovery from service bloopers
Factory instills in their employees
that good service is unacceptable.
Exceptional service is the only
option. The Cheesecake Factory
wants their minimum service
standards to be what their
competitors consider above and
beyond.
Back from the abyss
While we could be brilliant in
servicing customers, however, human
errors, technology breakdowns,
outrages in telecom, out of stock in
retailing, undependable vendors,
make life all the more unpredictable.
How well are the frontline Reps
trained to handle such blips, or to
recover from a service pitfall makes
the difference.
A friend, who is a bit of a nag,
when it comes to receiving services,
while checking out of a hotel,
complained about a leaking shower,
unclean floors, among other adverse
experiences. To the consternation
of the front desk employees, hearing
the litany of complaints pouring
forth from my displeased friend that
day, the manager herself had
decided to be at the front desk. She
patiently heard him out. She
apologized profusely and then asked
how they were planning to go to
the airport. When he shared his plan
to call for a taxi, she offered him a
free taxi ride to the airport. The
gesture definitely helped the
situation. However, the manager did
not stop at that. Soon, my friend
received an email, stating how each
of the issues he had shared had
been addressed and welcomed him
to stay at the hotel again. Most of
the service recovery was post facto,
however, the fact that the hotel tried
to undo the damage and recover
www.humancapitalonline.com ■
 I LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

the confidence of the consumer, re-instated the faith

in the hotel and needless to say, my friend has been
a regular visitor since then.
The above example is a reflection of the lost art
of Service Recovery. Frontline employees tend to think
that a customer will be satisfied if their order is
accurate, delivery is timely and the product or service
is good. However, that is not the case. If one looks at
the Customer Engagement Cycle in any transaction,
the chances of something going wrong are many at
every stage of customer interaction and each can
possibly ruin customer experience.
All employees, therefore, need to know the possible
service defects that can occur and how to address
such situations. Good training needs to ensure that
employees are trained and then assessed on service
recovery skills. It is important to have protocols in
place to fix service defects and reduce service mishaps.
A study by the Service Management Group (SMG)
showed that customers with problems are likely to be
more loyal, once they were solved, than customers
who never complained. As someone has said, a
complaint is a gift.

Above and beyond culture

Customer Service revolves around interactions, billions
of them. Each transaction is an opportunity to create
an impression, a lasting one. If customers are simply
satisfied then we have a happy camper, but how likely
is it that he will come back to you for business.
However, if the Rep were to exceed customer
expectations in every interaction, chances of the
customer returning, and even endorsing your product
are much higher. But often when CSRs are asked why
they do not deliver above and beyond service, while
they understand the concept, they are clueless about
how to go about it.
So, it is key that Reps are trained to recognize
such opportunities, convert them and also all such
events are documented and shared with new joinees.
Organizations are beating competition through a
carefully nourished above and beyond culture. For
example, a restaurant chain in the US, Cameron
Mitchell Restaurants not only has removed the word
'No' from the vocabulary of its 2000 associates; it also
has a great brand promise: "Yes is the answer, what
is the question?" This is not just lip service. Nearly
everyone in this company walks this talk. The company
has created such a strong above and beyond culture
that nearly all its employees try to outdo each other
in exceeding guests' expectations.
The battle for the heart and mind of the customer
will get tougher and only strong training interventions
can help companies achieve great customer service,
and that is the future of any organization. As author
Joe Calloway put it, "If you want to see how a company
is doing, look at their current sales; if you want to
know how a company will perform in future, look at
their customer satisfaction scores." HC

■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014
39

 GLOBAL HR I

BY SANNITA CHAKRABORTY SAHA

tapping the
hiring
trendo-meter
Facts, statistics, practices,
perspectives and more...

RECRUITING
TOP 5


T R E N D S
Social networks is the fastest growing source.

Employer branding is getting more importance.

Data use is crucial to making good hires.

Internal recruitment is on the rise over last year.

Mobile hiring is calling for more investment.
Source: LinkedIn

World's largest employers

Rank Company Country Employees
1 Department of Defence US 3.2 million
2 People's Liberation Army China 2.3 million
3 Walmart US 2.1 million
4 McDonald's US 1.9 million
5 National Health Service UK 1.7 million
6 National Petroleum Corporation China 1.6 million
7 State Grid Corporation China 1.5 million
8 Indian Railways India 1.4 million
9 Indian Armed Forces India 1.3 million
10 Hon Hai Precision Industry ( Foxconn) Taiwan 1.2 million
Source: BBC

40
February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■


ALL ABOARD acquisition fact sheet
Microsoft will hire several
thousand workers in China to
suppor t new cloud
computing ser vices and
smar tphones using its
Windows operating system.
(Businessweek)
In 2012 alone, Facebook
added 1,419 employees to
reach a total staff of 4,619
staffers worldwide.
Walmart hired approximately
55,000 seasonal associates
and transition more than
■ www.humancapitalonline.com
35,000 associates from
temporary to part-time and
another 35,000 associates
from part-time to full-time by
the end of 2013.
Google employs roughly
60,000 full-time employees,
it is is hoping to make that
number into 1,000,000 or so
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
hired approximately 70,000
full-time seasonal workers in
the U.S. to meet holiday order
demand.
I GLOBAL HR
cutting innovation
E D G E in recruitment
Known for innovative
recruitment practices,
Sydney-based software
company, Atlassian
sought a European bus tour
to recruit employees. They
have hired 15 developers
in 15 days, through a
European 'Recruitment Roadshow' bus tour. They sent
members from its engineering department to London,
Amsterdam, Berlin and Madrid to pick senior software
developers along the way.
Deloitte's global careers website is designed to focus
on the candidate experience. The site is a living example
of "a global strategy
executed locally." It is
a single site supporting
more than 80 country-specific recruiting strategies.
The Deloitte solution uses cutting-edge marketing
approaches and the latest technology to serve
candidates consistently around the world.
Valero Energy Corporation has turned college
recruiting into a true competitive advantage. They start
their recruitment a
month before any
planned activities from
their competitors, court
potential recruits by
transporting them in
style to corporate
headquarters during the
academic year, and use graduate assistants to identify
top talent without having to visit campuses. The
numerous practices they combine to create their
approach deliver unprecedented success.
Harvard is a huge organization, to make hiring simple,
each major business unit or school is responsible for
its own. Their application system, ASPIRE, allows
potential employees to
search positions on a variety
of criteria. Interested
candidates can upload their
resume on the website. If
approved, they move to the
phone screening stage and
then followed by several
rounds of interviews,
reference checks, till the final offer is made.
JP Morgan hires only from top schools and demand
outrageous grades as qualifiers. For them discipline
and the willingness to work hard to succeed are key
when it comes to new hires. They have realized that
individuals with these
traits and a history of
winning can carry those
behaviours in the
business world. They
look directly at skills,
abilities, and a track record of producing under intense
competition.
February 2014 I 41
 GLOBAL HR I

cutting spotlight
E D G E on selection

Marriott International Inc. has

developed a hotel-themed online game
where candidates juggle the
responsibilities of a particular role
associated with
hospitality. At My
Marriott Hotel™
on Facebook, the
player can play the game by choosing
his preferred language such as, English,
Spanish, French, Arabic and Mandarin.
The game could be as simple as
managing a virtual kitchen.
Interview questions at Starbucks are
based on commitment to overall
excellence, respect for associates and
dedication to CSR. The
focus on positive
relationships with
associates even is
reflected in the hiring
terminology. Each
Starbucks employee is
called a 'partner'.
Microsoft determines the right fit by
using different methods of evaluation to
define how passionate the candidate is What worldwide research indicates...
and how this passion can be used to
contribute to the growth and continued The 2010 Talent Shortage Survey shows that 31% of employers
success of Microsoft. For instance, the worldwide find it difficult to fill positions because of talent shortages
evaluation could include prospective in their markets.
talking about
Sidney Sheldon 80% of baby boomers will keep working full- or part-time past their
novels turned current retirement age, AARP reports.
into movies (as
a measure of According to Towers
their analytical Watson, 65% of global
skills).
companies and more than
Google banks on behavioural interviews
as a key hiring practice. The interview 80% of companies in fast-
focuses on aspects such as the growth economies are
candidate's own experience. Candidates having problems finding
are asked to speak about their own
employees with the right
experience,
and two kinds skills.
of information Pew Research Center has
emerge, which
helps to nail found that Generation U
the right candidate. First, you get to see (unretired) workers will fuel
how they actually interact in a real-world
situation, and second, you get a sense of
93% of the growth in the US
what they consider to be difficult. labour market through 2016.

42 I February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■


Design thinking

BY BHUVANESHWAR NAIK
S
AP believes in discovering, ideating and
implementing the best practices to realize
the true competencies of being one of the
top product companies. One of the best practices
in SAP is the true spirit of HR- by the people,
for the people and of the people. One such best
practice is about a problem solving process called
design thinking, a process in which empathy is
needed to understand the problem context,
creativity is applied to derive solutions and
insights, followed by rational thinking to analyze
and fit the solution to the context. All of these
combine to form the most effective problem
solving process - design thinking.
The 7 step process
Scoping requires creating a persona, which is a
representation of the target audience helping
them understand the reason behind the problem
and the people affected. This data is collected by
talking to the audience, who can well describe the
problem and also its effects. 360 degree research
is the extension to scoping.
Synthesis helps club data, analyze, and identify
where it fits. It has some design challenges, which
needs to be understood and faced accordingly.
Ideation involves brainstorming on a particular
subject, gathering all possible ideas and building
on those collected ideas. It's a crucial step as it
requires thoughtful conceptualization.
Prototyping is about building the first
framework for the solution capturing all details of
the ideas and the data. It helps build a prototype
which is not very expensive.
Validation takes care of refining the prototype.
The prototype built, has to be modified and
updated according to the dynamic changes of the
problem context. The solution is validated with
end users, stakeholders or other knowledge
workers and also iterated based on the learning
from validations.
Implementation is the final step. It decides the
value of the whole process, when the solution is
ready for the users to help them in problem
■ www.humancapitalonline.com
I GUEST COLUMN
solving.
Employees at SAP celebrate womanhood, be
it Women's Day or any other initiative of
Business Women Network. We contribute
towards women employees by looking after their
safety, happiness and success. One of the
problems addressed was the high attrition rate
of women employees, who return to work post
child birth. This potential problem required a
strong solution. SAP wanted new mothers to
resume work with confidence.
We got our solution when five women came
together to start a program called Run
Mummier. Understanding the problem and
deriving a successful solution is challenging, but
the seven steps to design thinking can make it
easy to comprehend. Scoping helps to
understand the target audience, women within
the age range 22-35, and who are ready to
become a mother. 360 degree research requires
analyzing the problem by placing oneself in the
person's shoes. The fear in them was the best
analysis one could have ever reached, not one
woman, but many who help to realize this fear
and concern. Data is collected clubbed, initiating
ideation, by which we get the best idea. In this
scenario, ideation can create a bridge that fills
the gap during the maternity leave, which will
keep the women connected to office while they
are at rest.
Empathy is very important to find solution to
any problem, be it personal or professional. It's
not just the brain that provides a solution, it's
the combination of brain and heart, which
understands the intensity of the issue and comes
up with the best solution. Hence, one of the
best ways to keep employees in SAP like a family
is to understand them, take care of them and
yet be a professional. For this we need real
thinking - Design Thinking ! HC
Bhuvan is the Lead for HRBP platform in India. Bhuvan brings over
19 years of experience in Human Resources of which 17 years have
been in leadership roles in global organizations like SAP, Capgemini,
Yahoo! and Taj Group of Hotels.
February 2014 I 43
 HR PRACTICE I

Decoding
the digital way
Think and create are
axioms that is making
Atos' Digital Campus
program a big hit with its
employees, as they embark
on the digital route to
challenge their potential.

44 I February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■

 I HR PRACTICE

BY SANNITA CHAKRABORTY SAHA

ew technology trends such

N as social, cloud, location,

mobile, social, big data
have become buzzwords in
the past few years. This data bubble
has led several companies to develop
and design their engagement
programs that involve gizmos and
social media, as a means to keep
tech-savvy employees hooked on to
their seats. Atos, an international
information technology services
company, has discovered a way to
creatively engage its highly technically
induced workforce, by creating a
special technology platform for
employees to develop, test and
deploy their innovative ideas on the
Cloud. This platform allows
employees to leverage their power
of ideation and collaboration and
also unearth their true potential
beyond the normal project related
work and assignments.
The Atos Digital Campus
platform is a community driven
initiative conceptualized in 2012 with
the purpose to help employees
contribute to the innovative work
package. These work packages
include disruptive technologies
trends of social, cloud, Location,
mobile, social, big data, internet of
things and augmented reality. Milind
Kamat, CEO, Atos India shares, "We
strongly believe in nurturing
innovative approaches to solution
development, problem solving and
code reusability, which this platform
offers in sufficient measure."
Atos had been facing persistent
demands from customers for
innovative solutions, which they
could use and also offer their own
customers… and the need to develop
something on those lines had
become imperative. Furthermore,
several universities were approaching
Atos for an establishment where their
students could get trained and work
on the latest technology trends and
be job ready. The need was further

■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 45

 HR PRACTICE I

accentuated and an innovative
platform called Atos Digital Campus
was launched to meet this end.
As a technology driven company,
innovation remains a high point,
which makes it imperative to
constantly sharpen their innovation
streak, to survive in this highly
volatile environment. "Atos Digital
Campus enables each individual to
contribute towards the
organizational goals through
innovative ideas," says Kamat. In
several companies, it is commonly
seen that employees in spite of
having bundles of interesting ideas
fail to get any limelight. This program
was created to make available this
wonderful opportunity wherein
employees get to see their idea come
to life. As Kamat says, "Atos Digital
Campus wants participants to think
differently and completely out of the
box, context and create their own
CODE."
The process is facilitated by the
organization in the form of necessary
resources that help in the
implementation of the idea. To top
it, participants have an added
advantage; it allows them to access
the resources from anywhere,
anytime!
The platform
Atos Digital Campus is deployed on
a virtual PaaS (Platform as a Service).
It gives access to a development and
test platform that has multiple
options of building solutions. The first
stage involves the identification of
the challenge. Once a business
problem which requires an
innovative technological approach is
identified, it is listed down by the
leadership team of the Digital
Campus Program. It is followed by
the nomination of a mentor or guide
to help the participant through the
process. "A few senior level
employees with requisite skillsets are
nominated as mentors to tackle the
respective challenges thrown at the
participants," Kamat says.
There are no specific criteria for
participation. Any employee who is
keen to contribute towards the
development of a solution can go to
the Digital Campus website and
register himself by entering his
credentials including his name, email
address and mobile number. Post the
registration procedure, a notification
is sent to the participant with his
login id and password. This
authentication credentials allows the
participant to login in to the Digital
Campus page and get an overview
on the current challenges. He can
pick and choose from those available
and then get himself registered
accordingly. He can also make
suggestions in terms of his role,
duration and possible approach that
he would like to take s on the chosen
challenge.
Coming back to the enrollment
procedure, once a request is
submitted, an email is sent out to
the participant with the necessary

” Three challenges on mobile and cloud contributed

to an extent where the company was able to
successfully go live with the solutions for three
customers from finance, manufacturing and
services industries.In addition a customer also
appreciated the innovation which Atos brought
along with the solution. The initiative also helped

46 I February 2014
the employee learn new technologies.
Milind Kamat
CEO
Atos India ”
www.humancapitalonline.com ■
 I HR PRACTICE

details of the virtual machine that is assigned participant's need.

to him. With it comes an instruction about One key advantage of this program is the
how to get it installed on the device he is flexibility that comes with it. The time
currently using to access the site. invested on the implementation of the ideas
Once the participant has all the necessary is not considered to be part of official hours.
instructions in place, he can starts working This means that the time spent is beyond the
on the challenge and use this platform to office book hours. "An added advantage of
collaborate with other challengers. Many a this platform is that it allows multiple
times, there are multiple people working on participants to work on the same challenge.
the same challenge. The participant can also This is done by forming a group, where they
seek advice from his mentor during the continue to work in a team, although on the
course of the challenge. Virtual discussions same idea," Kamat adds.
with the mentor can be a huge guiding factor. Once the code is successfully developed
This is when innovation and creativity kicks and approved by the mentor, the challenge
in. In fact, Kamat retorts that the mentor's is registered as completed
availability in-person is mandatory to kick in the system. It is
start a meeting or session. During the process, then
many a times, a challenge may arise due to
the reason that the mentor and employee are
not physically present in same room. They
could very well be working on different time
zones. At this stage, training and
communication plays a key
role.
Though they have a
virtual connect, the
mentor must train and
educate the participant on
ways to tackle the
challenge. At the same
time, the participant must
make use of the available
virtual platform to post a query,
which not only give him good
insights, but also allows collaboration
and ideation between other
challengers working on the same
project. This method allows the
challenger to adopt a multi-
dimensional approach towards
problem solving and code
development.
Although initially only 50
registrations are accepted from
employees to work on innovative
challenges, the duration of each challenge made available for the
ranges from one to three months, including development of Proof of Concepts and Test
the time taken to design and develop. Once Cases. A weekly report highlighting the
the ideation stage is over, participants are number of users registered, number of
encouraged to accept the challenge and work challenges added, completed, in progress and
effectively towards success. other useful information on virtual machine
allocations is shared with the leadership team.
The pluses in it This helps the team to monitor the progress
According to Kamat, this program allows and also seek advice in order to make
participants to select a work package of their adequate corrections in the courses or
choice and contribute to the project by challenges if needed.
utilizing a virtual platform for its
development and testing. This environment Thinking independently
is deployed automatically as per the When an employee registers for a challenge

■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 47

 HR PRACTICE I
on the Atos Digital Campus, the
understanding is that the participant is there
because he is keen to leverage on his hidden
talent or potential to solve complex business
and technological challenges. "Typically in
projects, due to well defined project
organizations, there is always someone to
guide or train. If he is stuck in a problem,
there is a defined project organization
helping the employee to solve it," explains
Kamat. "In Digital Campus, if a participant
is stuck in a problem, he needs to find a
solution all by himself, however he can take
the help of his mentor," he adds. Hence, the
program orients the participant to think
differently and completely out of the box. It
equips him to think independently by
encouraging a mindset that if things do not
work, he cannot blame his project manager,
which is commonly the case at work. This
helps to build a sense of ownership to handle
a project end to end with all his potential
and innovative spirit going forward.
Developing intellectual capital
Once the employee's ideas have been
implemented, and also deployed on the
Cloud, he can use a Cloud Storage to store
his data and also access it from anywhere in
the world! Atos takes a step forward by
rewarding the best contributors. They have
an opportunity to work on live projects
48 I February 2014
that may involve working on latest
technologies beyond the current
assignment. Participants also get the
opportunity to learn and work with mentors
who are also SMEs on related topics. This
generates intellectual capital and motivates
them to live their passion.
For a program of this scale, roadblocks
could have played a major dampener at
some stage or the other. However, careful
thought and deliberation that went into the
conceptualization of the program has
helped in avoided striking challenges. "At
times, participants did have a tendency to
take a different approach which did not
align with the larger goals and objectives of
that particular challenge.
Hence, frequent monitoring
and review by mentors
continues to be an essential
aspect for the success of this
program," Kamat assets.
The road ahead
The program has proved
immensely popular among the
workforce and students alike.
Ravi Ranjan has successfully
developed a mobile based GPS
application to enable effective
task management for fleet
drivers on the move while
working on this project. Kunal
Shah has developed Proof of
Concepts and demos across
different areas including
mobility, augmented reality,
dash boarding for some of their
key prospects and customers.
He feels that having enrolled in
Atos Digital Campus has helped
him learn and understand
newer concepts, match
problem statement with implementation in
real time, grown his knowledge of business
problems and domain understanding and
developed skillsets on Open Source
technologies including Moodle, HTML 5.
With such positive feedback, Atos is looking
forward to create more virtual rooms/
project rooms based on the disruptive
technologies. "We also intend to bring in
more participation from domain and
functional experts to add effective business
value to challenge. The idea is to build
complete automation of the environment in
order to build, deploy and test, enabling
alternative technology stacks for
deployment," concludes Kamat. HC
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 I HR & LINE

bud to boss Make a smooth transition from being an individual contributor to

a successful first-time manager by knowing what to expect.

BY SHAILJA KAUSHIK

"Do you remember four

years back when I became a
manager for the first time. How
difficult it was to achieve the
management's expectations and
drive business results without
jeopardizing my work
relationships?" "Yes
I do. However, developing MR.KNOW-IT-ALL
clarity on new skills,
competencies and focus areas
required in the new role
resolved the ambiguity and
increased the impact."
MR.LOST-IN-LINE

COMPETENCY POWER PACK

Leader
Engage, persuade, motivate and empower your
employees.

Engager
Set right goals and expectations to increase
commitment of employees to their jobs, team
and organization.

Communicator
Ensure employees understand how their jobs
Individual First-time and work contribute to organization success.
contributor manager
Follow directions Give directions on what needs to
get done, when and by whom
Change agent
Answer difficult questions to mitigate
Ensure your projects Help others keep their projects on employees' apprehensions, overcome
are accurate, timely time and work together resistance and guide them to stay positive.
Focus on your own
department
Offer a broader perspective on own
and other departments Performance builder
Keep yourself Coach others facing performance Encourage, facilitate, recognize performance
motivated issues, conflicts, unmet demands and give feedback to drive business results.

■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 49

 HR & LINE I

I am a manager now, so how do I...

Gain respect from reports?
¬ This will take a lot of time and patience
¬ Assign tasks, set goals & get out of the way
¬ Hold your direct reports accountable
¬ Don't micromanage everything they do
Reframe team members’ roles?
¬ Analyze own strengths, weakness and goals
¬ Meet your own boss to clarify expectations
¬ Review performance/motivations of team
¬ Match job assignments with skills
Exercise my authority?
¬ Showcase your expertise & experience
¬ Avoid applying 'hard authority'
¬ Position yourself as their coach & mentor
¬ Hold one-on-one career discussions
Keep relationships in check?
¬ Foresee problems due to existing relationships
¬ Maintain existing friendships, don't befriend all
¬ Balance work and friend mode intelligently
¬ Adopt an objective and fact-based approach

Common
pitfalls
Throwing weight around too quickly
Focusing on problems not solutions
Failing to delegate assignments
Saving exciting work for themselves
Being a 'friend' rather than boss
Letting friendships get in the way
Not being able to listen to others

I Manager imposed
I Staff imposed: coaching, mentoring
Demands I Peer imposed: information support
I System imposed: budgets, reports, meetings
I Externally imposed: customers, suppliers etc.

I Limited resources
I Legal regulations
Constraints I Quality of available processes and equipment
I Team diversity or virtual teams
I Policies and procedures

(Source: SkillBrief)

50 I February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■

 I HR & LINE

MYTHS
DEBUNKED
Managers wield significant
authority
There is an intricate web of
demands and constraints through
which you to have negotiate your
way to achieve goals.

Authority flows from the

manager's position
Direct reports may not necessarily
respond to your orders. You'll have
to win trust and earn respect by
demonstrating your own
competence and be a 'role model'.
10 commandments
Managers must control
their direct reports for a first-time manager
Nurture a strong sense of
commitment to the organizational 1 Never lose your temper at work
vision rather than blind allegiance
to your orders.
2 Never indulge in office gossip
3 Never speak negatively about bosses
Managers must forge
individual relationships 4 Always listen more than you talk
Your job is to build teams and not 5 Take responsibility for team mistakes
make friends. Harness the
collective power of the team 6 Never foster unrealistic expectations
diversity rather than just one-on-
one relationships. 7 Show respect for your associates
8 Care more about the team’s success
Manager's job is to ensure
things run smoothly 9 Never resent the success of a peer
You have to recommend and
initiate changes that enhance
10 Never play role of a victim/martyr
group's performance, which may
need challenging the existing
processes.

Statistics say it all

60% of first time frontline managers fail within the first two years.
BUSINESS WIRE SURVEY 2007

50-55% of managers come from individual roles within the company.

CALIPER CORP.

26% feel they weren't ready, and received no management training.

CAREER BUILDER SURVEY, MARCH 2011

■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 51

 PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK I
Power of storytelling

BY MANAVI PATHAK
W
hen we think of the words
'storytelling' and 'business
management', they somehow do
not mesh well in our minds. Storytelling
conjures up words such as myth, fiction and
gossip. Whereas, the word 'management'
brings images of deliberate decision-making,
rational planning and control. Most consider
telling stories as neither professional nor
technical; rather, treat it as something
personal, subjective and ephemeral. The lack
of appreciation for storytelling at the
workplace can be partly attributed to the
dominant view on the nature of useful
knowledge in business management.
Traditionally, management education has put
too much emphasis on the tools of
rationality, while underestimating the role
that intuition, improvization and stories play.
Up till now, storytelling has attracted
limited attention in the field of management
and organizational studies. There is increasing
interest in knowledge- creating organization
and knowledge management which has given
impetus to storytelling in organizations. In
tandem with the increasing enthusiasm
shared among managers, scholars and
consultants have begun to acknowledge the
persuasive power of storytelling. A flood of
articles and books are now touting the
importance of storytelling as an important
tool for leadership development, change
management, culture transmission. What is
going on?
Case for storytelling
In an era of accelerating economic and social
change, the communication challenges facing
managers are much more difficult than what
was a decade ago. According to Devdutt
Pattanaik, Mythologist and Storyteller, "The
imperative for faster innovation, emergence
of global network of partners, rapidly
52 I February 2014
growing role of intangibles, increasing
ownership of means of production by
knowledge workers, escalating power of
customers in the marketplace and burgeoning
diversity, all these forces imply a capacity to
communicate in a compelling manner." Smart
managers are often heard asking, how many
people do we need in our organization who
can communicate compellingly, who can
engage and inspire staff and clients to
embrace change with enduring enthusiasm.
The answer is 'everyone'. It is because the
capacity to communicate difficult change
message offers immediate impact on the
bottom line.
In the current scenario, the command and
control approach is unlikely to generate
positive response in employees, let alone the
marketplace. The era when top managers
could simply give orders and expect the work
to be done is long gone. Neither does it prove
effective to give people reasons why they
should change if they already have different
opinions. This is a phenomenon, psychologists
call 'confirmation bias'. When we already have
an opinion and receive inconsistent
information, we question the new information
and not our pre-existing opinion.
As a result, leaders turn to storytelling to
overcome barriers to communication. Since
time immemorial, human beings have used
stories to spread religions, win support for
political agendas or launch wars. Managers
think in stories, they remember in stories, they
plan in stories, they express hopes fears and
dreams in stories. Moreover, storytelling is not
a rare skill possessed by a few people who
possess the gift of gab. Leadership storytelling
involves taking a capacity that people already
have and applying it for constructive purposes.
Stories as tools
Some of the most successful company use
www.humancapitalonline.com ■

storytelling intentionally as a leadership tool.
Some have high level a corporate storyteller
whose job is to capture and share important
stories. At Nike, in fact, all senior executive are
designed corporate storytellers. P&G has hired
Hollywood movie directors to teach senior
executives how to lead better with storytelling.
Why is the art of storytelling so
important to business leaders? It is
because we can't just order people to
'be more creative' or to 'get motivated'
or to 'start loving your job'. The
human brain doesn't work that way.
However, you can lead them with a
good story. You can even successfully
order people to 'follow the rules'
because nobody reads the rule-book.
People will eagerly read a story about a
guy who broke the rules and got fired,
or a woman who followed the rules
and got a raise. That method proves to
be more effective than reading the
rulebook anyway. Another barrier to
telling stories at work is not having
stories to tell. Read up stories about
how other leaders have helped navigate
various challenges they face at work. If
something memorable or teachable
happens to you, please pay attention
and make a note of it. Some leaders
get so enthusiastic about storytelling
that they spend an inordinate amount
of time sitting telling stories infinitum.
Fun, perhaps, but not particularly
useful. Eventually, employees say,
"When are we going to get any work
done?". Storytelling is a tool and not a
goal. It must focus on business
objectives. Beware of the myths of
organizational storytelling including this
one. Story telling is an ancient art that
hasn't changed much in several
thousand years. The goal of an
organization is to establish a
storytelling culture. Organizational
storytelling is about bringing people together
and getting them to tell their stories.
Leadership 'storytelling' is about mastering a
well-told story with the sight, sound and smell
of the context fully articulated. Stephen
Denning, author of The secret language of
leadership: How leaders use narrative to inspire
action, says, once you have effective stories,
keep them alive and vibrant. Make them a part
■ www.humancapitalonline.com
I PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK
of the company culture through a repository
of stories where people can record their
stories, from which others can draw when they
need stories. He further adds, make it easy for
people to tell stories by providing images and
background. An effective CEO often uses an
emotional narrative about the company's
Lessons in leadership storytelling
Learn the narrative pattern relevant to the business: Only a fairly
narrow range of stories have the capacity to communicate a complex
idea such as knowledge management and spark action. The stories
that have this capacity have an underlying narrative pattern.
Understanding the narrative pattern remains a key in getting business
benefit from storytelling.
Be authentic and truthful: Leaders have little success with stories
about imaginary events. Hard-edged business audience typically
respond, "this will never happen here". That can be the end of
discussion unless the storyteller can point out that it has already
happened there. Moreover, the story needs to be factually accurate
as far as it goes and authentically true when people check it out.
Leaders who do not tell authentic stories become known as people
who 'just tell stories'.
Story listening as important as story telling: The term 'storytelling'
implies that the activity is about telling people stories. In fact, the
effectiveness of storytelling in organizations depends as much on
story listening as it does on storytelling. That's because an effective
communication begins 'where the audience is' and not 'where you are'
as a communicator. Unless you know where people come from and
what stories they are living, it is going to be very difficult to craft and
perform a story that will resonate with them. As a result, knowing the
audience, mingling in their world and listening to their stories are
precursors to effective storytelling.
Beware of prevailing myths of organizational storytelling: Many books
and articles on the use of stories in organizations mistakenly equate
organizational storytelling with entertainment storytelling.
Adapted from : Stephen Denning (The Secret Language of
Leadership: How leaders Use Narrative to Inspire Action)
mission to attract investors and partners, to set
lofty goals and to inspire employees.
Sometimes, a well-crafted story can transform
a seemingly hopeless situation to an
unexpected triumph. So, let's begin, tell me
your story. HC
Dr Manavi Pathak is an Organizational Psychologist and Consultant. She can
be reached at manavi.pathak@sify.com.
February 2014 I 53
 HR & BUSINESS I

More the
merrier

A view on six leadership styles and thoughts on the best

(and not so good) situations to use for each of these...

BY MOHINISH SINHA

54
February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■

 I HR & BUSINESS

M
ost of you would agree with
me when I say that good
leadership has the power to
energize, engage, and motivate
team members to go 'the extra
mile' for their organization.
Take the case of one of the world's
largest FMCGs, Procter & Gamble, which
has emerged as the world's number one
Best Company for Leadership 2013 - as
Hay Group's study found. People
development is woven into P&G's strategy
and culture. As the company's senior
team shares, "We've made people
development a strategic choice. We do not
do people development in a vacuum. It is
a priority of our senior leadership and
managers throughout the organization.
You could talk to almost any manager
within P&G and they'd say it is part of
their job to grow and develop people."
Clearly, good leadership is
synonymous with flexibly tailoring one's
leadership style to suit the situation.
However, a rather more modest outlook
appeared in Hay Group's research -
globally, only a quarter (26 per cent) of
leaders is able to adopt a range of four or
more leadership styles. In comparison, one
third (36 per cent) of leaders have
mastered none or only one leadership
style. In India, two out of three leaders
are creating a demotivating climate for
their employees to work in!
situation, provides critical information, and
quickly sets people in the right direction.
The style can also be very effective when
setting boundaries and putting a stop to
unwanted behaviours.
Remember, the coercive leadership style
is for occasional use only, when stuck in a
difficult situation. Think of it as the sand
wedge in golf - only used to get out of a
specific tight spot! Excessive overuse will
result in passive resistance, rebelliousness or
even sabotage of organizational goals. As is
the worry in India, the coercive style tends
to erode innovation, and will be near useless
when facing complex tasks requiring creative
solutions.
2 AUTHORITATIVE LEADERSHIP
Shape the vision
The 'authoritative' leadership style, dominant
amongst North American leaders (47 per
cent), is focused on communicating the
long-term direction, purpose and vision, and
ensuring that everyone is motivated and
working towards the 'big picture'.
Authoritative leaders win people over by
convincing them that they want to do the
job. They also give feedback to people on
how they are doing relative
to their goals, creating
a positive climate that
elicits the best from

1 COERCIVE LEADERSHIP
Do it, or else
Let's start with the most used leadership
style in India (and Asia) - 'coercive'.
Leaders using this style tell team
members what to do, and expect them
to do it. Then, they check over
employees' shoulders, and are more
likely to criticize rather than praise what
they are doing right! You may recognize
this to be the most commonly used
leadership style in Asia, however, it is
now on the rise in Europe too,
prompted by the recession.
Here's the thing…this style does
work well during crisis, or when
undergoing significant change, or when a
leader is up against the clock on simple
tasks with an inexperienced team. In
areas where confusion and chaos reign,
a coercive leader takes control of the

■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014
55

 HR & BUSINESS I
Mohinish Sinha
Leadership & Talent Practice Leader

Hay Group India
Mohinish Sinha’s core expertise lies
in organization transformation,
leadership development and coaching,
and setting up and assessing learning
functions. He works with clients to
identify their needs for organizational
transformations, change, and learning
by helping turn their business
strategies into the results they
desire.
56
February 2014
the team.
If you've ever had an
authoritative manager, you, as a
team member would understand
what you need to do, how you
need to do it, and why your role
is important to the overall
objective - all of which contributes
to creating a high performance
climate for the team! Of course,
this style is most impactful when
used regularly, but in a subtle way.
It is most effective when a new
vision or clear direction is needed,
and is particularly valuable when a
team is new or looking to its
manager for expert guidance.
Since it helps to motivate people,
it is also a good choice when day-
to-day tasks are difficult or
unpopular.
However, if 'authoritative' is
your dominant leadership style, I'd
advise you to hold back on this
style approach when managing an
experienced team who know as
much - or even more - than you.
This style can be counter-
productive when trying to develop
self-managed work teams, or
involve employees in the decision-
making process.
3 COACHING LEADERSHIP
Help people grow
The nest is the 'coaching'
leadership style, which Hay
Group's research found to be the
most dominant leadership style
((81 per cent) in the most high-
performing Asian organizations.
We found that a coaching leader
invests the time to understand
individuals' strengths and
weaknesses, and works with them
to achieve their personal
development goals. He/she
delegates assignments based on
who will learn most from the
experience, not necessarily who is
best for the job. The leader
focuses on building long-term
capability, even at the expense of
short-term performance!
Clearly, this style, characterized
by pushing team members to be
the best they can be, works well
closer home. The best use is when
managing a group of motivated
people with a clear sense of
aspiration and a willingness to
work towards long-term career
goals. The style is also useful when
encouraging individuals to
innovate, show initiative and take
calculated risks; since it helps
team members to find their own
solutions to work problems.
However, in a crisis situation,
steering away from 'coaching' - it
can do more harm than good; a
crisis is a time when the team
needs explicit direction, or when a
team lacks information or
experience. And if a leader is too
focused on individual aspirations,
the needs of the organization can
be neglected. This style also has
little effect when dealing with
performance issues.
4 PACESETTING LEADERSHIP
Do it how I do it
We now come to the final
leadership style from Hay Group's
research, characterized by a 'do it
how I do it' approach -
'pacesetting' leadership. The
pacesetting leader leads by
modeling and is apprehensive
about delegating, working under
the assumption that the most
effective way to accomplish a
complex job is to do it his or
herself. He or she expects a job to
be done to the very highest
standard. There is little tolerance
for poor performance, which
results in responsibility being
quickly taken away.
The best time to use
pacesetting leadership is when
managing a group of competent,
achievement-focused and highly-
motivated individuals who want to
compare themselves against best
practice. It is also helpful when
time and resources are limited; or
when weak performers show little
sign of improvement and need to
see what high standards look like.
We have seen that this style is
www.humancapitalonline.com ■

rarely applied in Asia where it has been
shown to have a particularly negative
impact on workplace climate. In our
experience, it is not conducive to long-
term employee development. Pacesetters
stifle the involvement and growth potential
of employees by refusing to delegate more
complex and interesting tasks. They can
also damage team morale; since they are
prone to working long hours, they expect
the same of their team, and will often
favor a select group of workers, leaving
others feeling undervalued and frustrated.
To put things in perspective, every
leadership style has its place, and each can
be effective in different circumstances. In
the same way a golfer uses a range of
clubs, leaders need to utilize multiple
approaches, and be able to adjust them to
each team member or business situation.
The better leaders are at adapting their style
and the broader the range of styles they
use; the more likely they are to create a
high performance climate.
2 AFFLICTIVE LEADERSHIP
Create harmony
In contrast, we have the 'affiliative'
leadership style - where the single biggest
factor is to 'create harmony'. The affiliative
leader wants everybody to get along, and
is keen to be seen as 'just like one of us'.
We have seen that affiliative leaders strive
to create harmony within the team by
focusing on people rather than tasks.
Moreover, they trust that if they treat their
employees well, they will be rewarded with
loyalty and high performance.
In our experience, this leadership style
is best used when managing a group of
high performers or expert professionals -
for example, designers or scientists; it
helps to ensure that they get on and work
well together. It is also useful when
providing support to a team member
experiencing difficulties, since it recognizes
individuals' emotional needs. As you would
have guessed, affiliative leadership tends to
have a positive impact on team
performance and is used by the best
leaders to create high performing climates
for employees.
However, the downside is that this style
has little effect when addressing
underperformance. It should be avoided
when dealing with complex situations that
■ www.humancapitalonline.com
I HR & BUSINESS
require clear direction and control.
Overreliance on this style, our research
shows, can create an impression that a
leader is avoiding the need to tackle tough
situations.
6 DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP
Many brains are better than one
The 'democratic' leader is one who
believes that 'many brains are better than
one', and wants to get the best from his/
her team by sharing decisions and
responsibilities. Keen to achieve
commitment and consensus, they involve
team members in the decision-making
process. They prefer to reward good team
performance rather than the work of any
one individual, and we see this style most
commonly used in Latin America.
When should you use this style? When
managing a competent and knowledgeable
team, particularly when tasks need to be
coordinated. The style is also useful when
a manager is seeking fresh ideas or
unclear on the best course of action. Do
keep in mind, this style should only be
used when the leader shares information
and has confidence in the team's
capabilities. It can be disastrous if team
members lack the necessary skills and
experience or are ill-informed! This style is
also ineffective in crisis situations, when
there is no time for meetings or discussions;
so its overuse can raise doubts over the
leader's own ability. HC
February 2014
57
 CASE STUDY I

Managing
multi-generational
aspirations
For multi-generations to work alongside demands that the leader
harnesses the different qualities, talents and contributions of each team
member effectively. It is also equally vital for leaders to develop skills and
practices needed to manage a multi-generational workforce.
■ BY PROF. GURUNATHAN L

M Communications is a well- assumptions. As for you not being a part

K established brand, leading in the IT

sphere for three decades. In spite
of having made a name in the
market, it is currently faced with a situation
where Gen-X employees are unable to
connect with the younger lot.
It's a bright sunny morning and
Chatterjee, Head of Marketing at KM, is
sipping his morning tea in his office. An
enraged Lingam, Assistant Head of
Marketing walks in, disturbed and furious.
"I have just realized that I am not part of
your current organizational strategy team.
It is indeed a good team but will not prove
effective in the long run", he bursts out. "I
know you have the right to choose your
team, but I am a bit surprised by your
choice." Chatterjee is taken aback, and
retorts, equally enraged. "Thank you for
your quick judgment of our efficacy,
Lingam. Please do not make such
of the team, let me tell you that I did
recommend your name. However, I am
surprised to find that your name is not on
the list. By the way, the team will prove to
be an effective one. I assure you."
"You know what I am talking about.
Your tone reflects your aversion for me
and I know why. Be a man and accept the
fact that you did not want me in your
team. I do not choose to be in a team
where the team leader does not like me
either" gushes Lingam. In spite of his
outburst, Lingam was itching to know the
reason why his boss did not include him
in his team. His mind rolled over to an
instance when he had questioned
Chatterjee's leadership style in the
previous meetings. He had found it,
well…autocratic. Chatterjee definitely did
not want anyone who questioned him.
On hearing this, Chatterjee thumped

58
February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■


his hand on the table and shouted.
"Lingam, that's enough! I am not going to
stand here and listen to you anymore.
You can leave the room. You can go
ahead and make a complaint to
Padmanabhan on your way back if you
think the selection process was biased or
you were unfairly treated. As for my
leadership style, the fact that I am
ignoring what you are saying should help
you understand how accommodating I
am!"
On hearing this, Lingam was further
enraged. He made up his mind to share
his ordeal with Padmanabhan as he felt
that as the HR Head he could at least
give a better explanation. So, before he
wound up the conversation, he would tell
Chatterjee what he thought of him. "If
you want to grow as a leader, you will
have to listen to disparate views of your
team members too. A leader's most
important quality is his ability to listen to
opposing point of views, and stay
unbiased" Lingam countered.
"Lingam, since we are trading advices
today, let me tell you this. Only an idiot
■ www.humancapitalonline.com
I CASE STUDY
of a leader will put people fundamentally
opposed to him in the team. With such
opposition, the team will never function as
needed" announced Chatterjee and
stormed out of the room.
At the office of Mr. Padmanabhan, HR
of Head, at about 11:45 am, the phone
rang.
Padmanabhan picked up the phone to
find Lingam on the other side. He
informed Lingam that he had just been on
the phone with Chatterjee a minute back
and had been expecting his call. Chatterjee
had shared a brief of the situation that
conspired between the two. "Tell me what
I can do for you" asked Padmanabhan.
Lingam's downpour of his tribulation
began. "Apparently, I have an attitude
problem…coupled with what you call lack
of emotional intelligence or whatever bull
you HR guys create…but the chief issue is
that I am surprised that I am not part of
a team I very much want to be and am
sure I fit right in. It seems you allow your
team leader to choose and he is choosing
a bunch of well… 'yes' men!"
"Well, actually the decision was mine.
February 2014
59
 CASE STUDY I
Prof. L. Gurunathan
Faculty, PMIR
XLRI Jamshedpur
Dr L. Gurunathan holds a doctorate in
Management from IIM, Ahmedabad. At
XLRI, he handles courses in executive
compensation, and strategic human
resource management. He also,
consults and trains organizations in
these areas. He has trained public
sector corporations such as
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, NTPC,
BALCO, Novo Nordisk and Dr.
Reddy’s Laboratories, Tech Mahindra,
Computer Science Corporation,
Accenture and Ma Foi Ltd.
60
February 2014
However, I agree that I did go
with Chatterjee. He is the team
leader. We want this team to
discuss strategy, question our
present strategy and come out
with a new one! We need the
brightest for this and you were
my first choice in the team.
However, I also do not want a
team member who doesn't share
a healthy rapport with the team
leader", said Padmanabhan (Pad).
"Pad, listen to me and listen
clearly! Your job is to form a
team, an ad hoc team and going
by the CEO's advice, Chatterjee is
to be the team leader. However,
your job was to decide who else
would be in the team" cried an
agitated Lingam as he slammed
his hand on the table. According
to him, If Pad was convinced of
his prowess, he would not have
sidelined Lingam for such an
important assignment. Such an
action was only creating doubt in
his rationale and honesty.
Pad, on the other hand, was
quick to retort by saying that he
wanted choose to have
constructive discussions in the
team meetings and not
acrimonious exchange of words.
As the Assistant Head of
Marketing of a very key region
and someone who had challenged
some tough competition, Lingam
had risen to be a rising star in
the organization. In fact, he was
seen as a prospective successor
to Chatterjee. However, Lingam
was unconventional. His thinking
was aligned to ways of most
senior management. But that was
also the issue. At this juncture,
Lingam pointed that they were
getting distracted. "First, I think I
want to flag this selection issue.
Maybe I can talk to the CEO
about this. I want to be a part of
the team. Second, I am beginning
to realize that you are willing to
accommodate Chatterjee's
interests rather than yours. I
mean, if everyone gets to choose
his own team, think what that
would lead to. Finally, coming to
my behaviour in team meetings, I
think I can change myself faster
than I can expect to see changes
in others", Lingam asserted.
"That's excellent! As for your
second point, I am only trying to
achieve a balance between talent
and attitude" replied Pad. "A very
talented set of individuals cannot
make a team if they do not
respect each other. Unfortunately
Lingam is not the team leader
and hence Chatterjee gets to stay
while Lingam is shown the door.
Unless Lingam turns mild and
takes disagreements positively, he
will have a tough time in any
team. People respect an individual
for his/her opinions and view. I
have not been in any such
meetings myself, but as your HR
partner I am speaking from the
views shared by your superiors"
Pad shared.
"Disagreements! In my
opinion, it is not the way I speak,
it is just that I disagree. I agree
that I disagree to most of what
comes out of my superiors. But
unfortunately, they are wrong.
Plain wrong" stated Lingam.
"You may have a point here.
Many have grown within the
organization. Until recently we
have not seen such a huge
difference in age between the top
management and the next line. It
is a consequence of attrition. And
all this attrition happened in the
last five years. You are all young
and belong to a different era.
They are used to a seniority
driven culture. But I doubt if we
can change them. We have to
wait till you get the right
position" said Pad, analyzing the
situation.
"Well Pad, by the time I get
there, I will become them.
Something tells me that I am
investing in the wrong
organization" Lingam concluded
the conversation.
At around 3:00 pm at
Chatterjee's office, Pad walked in
to meet Chatterjee and sort out
the matter. On seeing him,
Chatterjee guessed the reason for
his sudden visit. Pad began by
saying that they had been unfair
to Lingam and that his his inputs
www.humancapitalonline.com ■
 I CASE STUDY

would make a big difference. On this, Chatterjee

remarked that they did need talent like Lingam,
but they also needed people with the right
attitude. "Disagreeing with whatever is said, just
because we are old…well that only means Lingam
has to grow up. If it is becoming harder to
convince, then I can put a word to the
CEO….after all Lingam is standing on thin ice. Yes,
he has achieved a lot for the organization and has
created new markets. But, the last two years have
not been that great" stated Chatterjee.
Pad warned Chatterjee and told him that
Lingam had a lot of potential and was capable of
getting a job anywhere. "The problem is perhaps
not just with him. It is, if I may say so, with you
as well. You hate disagreements, especially from
someone who is 15 years younger to you. We
need new ideas, new ways of doing business and
with the team you have created you will not get
new ideas but only your own ideas rehashed back
at you" shared Pad honestly.
"Pad, if that is the way you see me, I am really
sorry to say that you do not understand me. Well,
yes, I do not like disagreements, especially when I
am set on something clearly. I need support!
Leaders need supportive followers…not
subordinates who make the leaders doubt
themselves. I respect your views and the fact that
the current team is formed for getting ideas. I will
get ideas. I will get it from people like Lingam,
but through my supportive team members who
will elicit it from people like Lingam. By putting
people like Lingam, the team will have a tough
time moving on. I know what I want to do and all
I need is a supportive team."
"Chatterjee, that is not the purpose of this team.
This team was formed with a view to create new
ideas…not to implement existing ones."
"Pad, stop teaching me my job. I know why the
team was formed. But do not forget that most of
us who have been with the organization for so
long have enough ideas with us and unlike this
young generation we also know what the
organization stands for."
Back to office at 3:25 pm, Pad looked pensive. His
assistant, Ayesha, asked him what was on his
mind.
"Well, nothing. I am trying to manage the
aspirations of two different generations, but in
trying to please both, I am worried if I am
depriving the organization of its bright future. The
fact that I belong to the young generation is
making it more difficult."
"Hmm…" murmured Ayesha softly, "I think what
we are seeing is nothing but a transition stage and
there is bound to be some chaos."

■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014
61

 CASE STUDY I
Rajorshi Ganguli
Vice President - HR, Global Generics

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited
Rajorshi Ganguli, Vice President-
Global Generics Business, Dr Reddy’s
Laboratories Limited, has over 17
years of experience in diverse areas
of HR such as competency modeling,
leadership development, talent
management, recruitment,
performance management, learning &
development, employee engagement
and managing innovation. He has
worked both in corporate and
business HR partner roles. He has
earlier worked with companies such
as BPCL and Usha Martin. He holds
a PGDPM from XISS, Ranchi, and is
the gold medalist of his batch.
62
February 2014
M
ost often an
organization's progress is
stalled or rather its
degeneration sets in when it does
not encourage diversity of
thoughts, ideas, people and
background to co-exist. In the
current situation, Chatterjee
symbolizes the senior management
who enjoys being surrounded by
sycophants and hates being
challenged. This type of an
individual gets exasperated when
someone questions their ideas,
thoughts or views. They are killers
of creativity, breeders of
mediocrity and are against diversity
of any kind. When a leader adopts
this as a practice, it becomes all
the more dangerous. The senior
management always sets the tone
in the organization and others
emulate this style over a period of
time. Individuals like Chatterjee
behave in such ways when such
demeanour is encouraged by the
prevalent organization culture or
the coteries they exist in. Insecurity
and inability to take risk also
perpetuates these behavioural
traits.
The other aspect in this
situation is the generation gap and
learning to handle it. It is essential
to create a team that understands
the strengths of each generation.
Organizations will have people
from multi generations and their
working styles will vary.
Increasingly, the workplace will
have Gen-X or Baby Boomers at
top and the Gen-Y at the operating
level. Mutual respect for each
other's ideas and thoughts need to
be inculcated. Chatterjee represents
the senior management hence, he
should be more accommodative
while forming a team. He should
allow different perspectives to flow
during brainstorming session.
Surrounding him with his clones
will give him with a lop-sided
viewpoint. On the other hand,
Lingam should work on his
interpersonal skills especially his
dealings with his seniors. While
there is no doubt that he has
innovative ideas and the potential,
he needs to be coached on how to
present himself especially when he
is working with people with
opposing viewpoints. Disruptive
styles during meetings do not lead
to any value creation; on the
contrary, it creates a negative
perception about the person,
however intellectually savvy the
person may be otherwise.
In this situation, Padmanabhan
and the CEO should firmly handle
the situation. Pad must rise above
these organizational politics and
ensure that the right team is
created for the benefit of the
organization. While he does keep
Lingam's name away from the team
at the behest of Chatterjee, there is
no doubt that in his hear he agrees
that Chatterjee did make a mistake
in excluding him from the team.
Padmanabhan must adopt the
following means to put an end to
the current impasse:
1. Make sure that Lingam (and
people like him) is included in the
team so that conflicting thoughts
are tabled and discussed. Like-
minded people may end-up
formulating a strategy, which is one
sided and do not weigh out
different options.
2. He must approach the CEO and
inform him that the right team is
not being formed by Chatterjee. He
should discuss the current scenario
and organizational dynamics so
that the CEO is fully informed and
if necessary, intervene.
3. The fact that Lingam
unnecessarily argues and disrupts
meetings can be handled by giving
a direct feedback to Lingam.
Padmanabhan must speak to him
and advise him on professional
etiquette. A pre-meeting between
Chatterjee and Lingam can be
organized so that both are clear on
their expectations. Pad can himself
be present in the meeting to
facilitate and intervene if the
situation detoriates.
4. For Chatterjee, he must take
the help of the CEO (if needed) to
constantly remind him to
appreciate 'diverse or contra views'
in meetings and adopt a more
accommodative style while dealing
with younger counterparts.
www.humancapitalonline.com ■

P
admanabhan needs to
understand the vibes of the
organization. He cannot
afford to be overly inactive and
react after issues emerge into the
open. Lingam is not an isolated case
but a real challenge for human
resource professionals to address.
Organizations must prepare
themselves to avoid the impacts of
conflicts, arising due to this
generation gap, which is natural.
Finding a solution is not very difficult
if one tries to understand the
perspective and structure it
proactively. Padmanabhan should
make a thorough analysis of the
cohesiveness and collaborative
approaches being practiced at the
various levels in the organization.
Organizations do exist because of its
deliverables in the present situation and
not by holding the legacy of the past.
Going forward, Padmanabhan
should plan to have a Focused
Group Discussion (FGD) engaging all
potential employees from different
level across different functions, to
develop a strategy and road map to
create a better work environment.
This will help all employees
irrespective of their age, gender or
any personal identity to work together
towards a shared goal and vision of
the organization. He should also
emphasize on the fact that very soon,
we need to prepare ourselves with
skills to work with the 'Gen-Z' also
defined as 'digital natives'. During the
FGD, Padmanabhan can moderate
focusing on the following key
elements, which will give a sound
direction to Chatterjee and Lingam
while taking everybody on board:


Values at the core
Employees must understand and
embrace the values, which defines
the conduct of all employees in the
organization. It should reflect and
showcase intermittently at podiums
and platforms. People should rise
above personal biasness that tend to
overshadow organizational ethos.


Conflict management
Employees should be taught that
instead of focusing on conflict
resolution, the emphasis should be
on core issues. Any element of
arrogance or personal aversion for
■ www.humancapitalonline.com
I CASE STUDY
any individual, during interpersonal
interactions, should be discouraged.
Different methods of dealing with
differences of opinion without taking
it to personal levels should be
inculcated across the organization.


Emotional intelligence at work
Managers should apply their
emotional intelligence, first to
manage and regulate themselves and
then to manage and influence their
team members, to maximize the
contributions towards the organization.


Adaptability
Change is the law of nature and hence
it is critical that organizations adopt an
adaptive nature keeping in line with the
changing trends.


Core rigidity
It has been observed that at times Ravi Mishra
people who stay long with one Vice President-HR
Birla Carbon
organization tend to became victims A postgraduate in Social Work
of core rigidity. Wisdom created (MSW) from J. K. Institute of Social
through experience and continuity is Sciences, Lucknow, he has been
an important element as source of associated with Human Resource
knowledge transfer but it should not Management in diversified
be presumed as the tool and organizations such as, Nicholas
certificate for future successes. Such Piramal Group, Mardia Group, Bihar
employees should be updated time Caustic & Chemicals, UltraTech
and again about the importance of Cement. He is currently working
creative destruction. with Birla Carbon as Vice President -
The leadership team at KM HR, based at Chennai. Mishra has
Communications must accept that good exposure of working in a
the Indian workforce is getting cross-cultural environment and
younger with the entry of Gen-Y, capabilities of building teams and
and the age old command-and- getting the best out of it with
control leadership style will no maturity of understanding business
longer work with this workforce. HR perspectives, linkages and strategic
professionals should lay emphasis on orientation in actions in people
collaborative style of leadership and management.
groom their leaders at all levels.
People such as Chatterjee and
Padmanabhan should focus on
professionalism at the workplace,
while practicing clear and effective
communications with regard to
problem solving and mentoring the
young guns such as Lingam. It is
essential to have the ability to work
with subordinates in a changed
scenario of workplace demography
with different age groups and
gender. Organizations do operate in
dynamic, unpredictable and unstable
environments, hence it is paramount
for managers to accept and adapt to
change rather than seek stability in
their static approach. HC
February 2014
63
 LIFE BEYOND WORK I

Fuel that passion for everyday

inventions, add a patent and
behold... its a whole new dimension
to your humdrum existence!

eureka!
BY SANNITA CHAKRABORTY SAHA

I did it...
Ideas unlimited…
For Anjeel Babbar, personal inventions are a not just a
break from corporate chaos, but a way of life that
defines his very being. What started as college
projects during his engineering days has evolved
into a passion for inventing practical devices to
simplify everyday life. From a fully automated drip
irrigation unit that waters just the right amount of
water to all the plants for his terrace garden to
a mini temperature-controlled wine cellar to
house his home-brewed concoctions, Babbar's
innovative genius has him on his toes 24X7.
"Pursuing a passion requires time, energy, money
and dedication and amidst the stress that we live
in, this is one challenging task to accomplish.
However, it is equally important never to
mix work and hobby.” he advises.
Babbar believes that pursuing his
Hydroponics
interest gives him a chance to
socialize, and make
friends with like-
Anjeel Babbar’s tips for the minded people...and
wannabe inventor above all,
Invent something that has value brush away all his work
stress. "After a long tiring day at work, when
Ensure that success is measurable I come home and open a bottle of wine from my cellar, it
Start with a small and simple idea clears my mind and helps me to refocus" he shares.
Being an engineer, Babbar was always drawn towards
Keep exit criteria in case of hurdles experimentation, to the extent that his first brush with
invention involved modifying his motorbike during his college
days. Fiddling with machines gave him several ideas; similarly, meeting interesting
people and watching their creations helped him give life to many of his inventions.
He never claims any of his inventions to be completely original…they have evolved
from inspirations all around him.
For Babbar, the key to life is accepting challenges. His mantra: never lose heart when
you attempt an idea and it fails. “Some ideas will work and some will not, but never
let disappointment suffocate a new brilliant creation” he quips.

64
February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■

 I LIFE BEYOND WORK

The amateur inventor’s

GUIDE TO PATENTING
How do I know if my invention is worth patenting?
A subject matter search should be conducted to
understand whether the invention you have is patentable
or not.
What all can I patent? Can I patent an idea too?
Any product, process and device can be patented.
Business method cannot be protected. In
India Section 3 of the Indian Patents
Act, lists inventions that are not
patentable in India. An idea per se
cannot be patented. A proof-of-
concept is required to further
validate the invention.
What are the steps to patenting
an invention?
1. File a provisional application
to block the priority date.
2. The Patent Attorney
establishes the novelty and
inventiveness of the
invention.
3. Approximately 12
month are given to work
on proof-of-concept.
4. File a complete
specification describing
the best mode on how
the invention was
Water Car carried out in a
patent office.
5. There are four
patent offices in India,
Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai
and Kolkata. Depending
on the jurisdiction, one can file a patent in any of the
offices listed.
Why is patenting my invention important?
Patents are exclusive rights that a person gets for his/
her invention for a period of 20 years, from the date
of filing an application. If one does not have a patent
protection, your competitors can make, use or sell
your invention and you cannot stop them. You have no
legal right to prohibit your competitors from selling
replicas of your products. A patent grants exclusive
rights to commercialize your invention.
What are my commercial benefits of patenting?
An inventor may further license it to anyone including
his competitors. Further, if you are a start-up/
entrepreneur, having a patent portfolio makes you an
innovation-driven company thereby attracting venture
capitalists / investors / collaborators.

Ritu Mehdiratta, PhD is a freelance Intellectual Property

Consultant. She advices start-ups and individual inventors on
creation, monetization and commercialization of IP. She can
be reached at mehdiratta.ritu@gmail.com or+919739111367.

Home Made Teak Wood Fridge

■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 65
 LIFE BEYOND WORK I
Decoding the MIND of an inventor
Do YOU have it in you?
‘What if’ is constant with them
Live a life of constant curiosity
Tend to practice lucid dreaming
Have a usual tendency to probe
Ambiguity is a comfort zone
Combine logic and imagination
Brimming with enthusiasm
Frustrated by regular processes
Thrive on regular challenges
Think of constant improvement

SURPRISING INVENTIONS!!
Food enthusiasts got a reason to celebrate with New York City Chef
Dominique Ansel's new fusion food, the Cronut. Made of croissant
style pastry that is fried like a donut, his recipe stirred several
reproductions across the world. (Source Time)

Stuck with the problem of keeping lions from attacking his family
cattle, 13-year-old Kenyan boy Young Richard Turere engineered a
system of flashing LED bulbs on poles, which drove away lions. He
invented 'Lion Lights' in spite of having no formal electronics or
engineering training. (Source IBT)

Eesha Khare, a high school student made a new kind of super-capacitor

energy-storing device that lead to superfast battery charging for phones
and other devices (including car batteries). Khare's device last longer
than the average battery and charge up quicker. (Source IBT)

Brittany Wenger, a teenager used her computer knowledge to create

an algorithm that can look for patterns in a patient's genetic profile
to spot signs of a nasty form of cancer called mixed-lineage leukemia.
She earlier created a computer program that analyzes breast tissue
samples to spot signs of breast cancer. (Source IBT)

Engineers at Deciwatt were asked to build a light for less than $10 to
replace the dangerous and polluting kerosene lamps. Gravity Light
produces 25 minutes of light from just the force exerted by the weight
of a bag of stones, sand or water-anything heavy. (Source Time)

A 19-year-old inventor, Boyan Slat, says it is possible to remove about

20 billion tons of plastic waste from a massive series of floating booms
and processing platforms that slowly sucks in the floating plastic like
a giant funnel. He has named it ocean cleanup array.

66 I February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■

■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 67
 A POINT OF VIEW I

Changing habits:
Time & place matter most!

BY GAUTAM BRAHMA

L
ast month, we explored the challenges to their supervisors. To others, it may be
involved in changing habits. best positioned as something that increases
People are more likely to be open to their leisure time in the evening as they can
change of habit around temporal landmarks finish work on time.
such as first day of a week, first day of a Secondly, behaviour changes are likely to
month, first day of a New Year or first day be more successful if they are invoked at
after a long break from work or study. The appropriate temporal milestones which
willingness to change is sharper around individuals use to compartmentalize their
personal temporal landmarks such as life, such as birthdays, anniversaries,
birthdays and anniversaries. Also, the birthday of first child, completion of
persistence with new desirable behaviour is another year at work, or even Mondays.
greater if a commitment has been made Thirdly, the desired changes are more likely
before others and involves a loss of money if the employee can be persuaded to
on breach. The last bit is important since commit to them in the presence of others,
loss aversion is a stronger drive for most especially those who personally matter.
people as compared to gain seeking. The Creating that group setting is then the key
persistence with efforts to change is
stronger if people change their
surroundings. Finally, the continued efforts
to make the changes are more likely if the
desired result is in line with deep
aspirations unique to the individual. These
are findings from interesting empirical
research by J. Riis of Harvard Business
School and H. Dai & K.L. Milkman of
University of Pennsylvania.
The implications of each of these
findings are very interesting for
organizations, since all organizations have
an interest in developing desirable
behaviour in all or select employees. Firstly,
behaviour change is more likely if an effort
is made to ascertain deeply held employee supervisory skill. While the research is
beliefs and aspirations and then position somewhat silent on the choice of
the new behaviour as something that is in interaction that works best, it could well be
line with those unique elements. For that a face-to-face group meeting where
instance, punctuality may be better 'sold' to commitments are given might work better
some as something that makes them more than similar commitments sought and given
useful to their fellow workers, while for over email with copies to relevant others.
others it may be attractive as something The public commitments in recovery
which makes them appear more obedient groups like Alcoholics Anonymous are an

68 I February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■

 I A POINT OF VIEW

extreme case in point.

Thirdly, people in the process of making
changes in their work habits would benefit greatly
from a change in their physical surroundings
which will complement the temporal milestone as
the start of a new period in their lives. People
mentally delink and discount undesirable
behaviour done in previous such periods in their
lives, and are therefore less burdened by the
enormity of the change required. This resetting
could be a change of city, building, floor or even
a relocation of their work desk. This could also
result in the elimination of cues that triggered the
inappropriate behaviour in the first place, and
that would be icing on the cake.
Fourthly, learning relating to loss aversion is
harder to apply in the workplace. The study
found that people who put some money aside
which was diminished, involuntarily, each time
they relapsed to the old undesirable habit, were
more likely to make an enduring change. While
managers cannot obviously get their people to put
money aside, they can innovate around the
concept and come up with something equivalent
that works. How about letting assembly floor
workers see the amount they stand to earn from
target production each week and then see the
amount diminish each day as their performance
takes them away from that target?
The key learning is that changing people
involves knowing a lot more about them as
individuals. Managers who make that effort have a
better chance of succeeding. Managers who treat
all employees as carbon copies of each other and
use vanilla initiatives to inculcate desirable work
habits are less likely to be successful. Luckily
information technology is constantly reducing the
effort required to extract and leverage employee
data and craft and time employee-specific
approaches to performance improvement. It is up
to managers to study the research findings, get
convinced themselves and then check how deeply
they really want the desired changes to happen.
At an intuitive level, lay people have long been
using some of these approaches. For instance,
one can see the popular media references to
'relocation therapy', which links the change of
surroundings to better attitudes and better
relationships and even to better response to
cancer treatment.
Managers may like to seize the opportunities
that present themselves every day for one
employee or another. While a global temporal
milestone like New Year's Eve has passed,
individual temporal milestones present themselves
every day. Or, at least every Monday! HC

Gautam Brahma is a management consultant. He can be reached at

gautam.brahma@bizmentor.in

■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 69

 PERSONA I

BY SANNITA CHAKRABORTY SAHA

Seeking solace in
DIVERSITY

70 I February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■


multi-faceted personality
A who listens to his heart for
most decisions, G R
Venkatesh, Head, People
Office, Future Group comes with
varied experience in diverse fields. A
man who gets his zest for life from
his urge to explore unchartered but
exciting territories, life has been a
roller coaster ride for Venkatesh.
Currently, heading the Human
Resource portfolio for one of India's
largest retail chain, he considers
himself to be more of a problem
solver rather than an HR
professional; he gets a new lease of
life by taking up unusual challenges.
Hailing from Bhopal, Venkatesh
has always been an outstanding
student. An alumnus of Indian
Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad, and an Electronics
engineer from Bhopal,
Venkatesh has worked in
organizations ranging
from investment
banking to
manufacturing to
consulting to
telecom services
■ www.humancapitalonline.com
to retail. With such rich experience,
he has emerged as someone who
has a well-rounded holistic world
view. "I would term my professional
journey so far as exciting, satisfying
and full of learning. By exploring new
fields, functions and newer industries
and solving unknown challenges, I
have discovered newer strengths
within myself. I can take some pride
in realizing that I have knowledge
A well known movie star once said, "In this
world, there are two types of people - one, who
have a single occupation all their lives, and the
others who accomplish all occupations in a single
life". Interestingly, much before these words were
spoken, this thought had become the guiding
light in GR Venkatesh's life and career.
and expertise today in a wide variety
of subjects and can handle challenges
in any field with courage and
optimism," he declares.
Such diverse experiences have
helped him to keep an open mind,
and also ingrained in him the values
of humility and respect for others, a
cornerstone to his work ethic. In fact,
in a short span of time that he has
spent in HR so far, he has been
exposed to both environments -
setting up HR from scratch as well
as managing well established
frameworks.
The journey all along
Having managed to grab a coveted
job through campus placement in
1994 with Peregrine, as equity
research analyst, Ventakesh's job was
to evaluate stocks and recommend
people the best possible stocks
options. He reminisces that at this
point HR was never on the horizon
and he was simply happy to have
landed the job of his dreams. But,
after a two year stint, realization
dawned that this is not what he
wanted to do. A chance meeting
with the Managing Director of
Fujitsu Optel gave him his second
break. Fujitsu, at that point, was
I PERSONA
setting up a manufacturing plant in
Bhopal and was on the lookout for
top talent, which was scarce in
smaller towns. Venkatesh was
offered a role in corporate planning,
which he happily lapped up in 1996.
"At Fujitsu, my role had no
boundaries. I was not restricted to
any function or role and could try
out different things, and this
flexibility made me feel empowered,
and also helped me earn the respect
of many. Very people get that
opportunity to work in an
entrepreneurial manner and yet be
a part of an MNC. My five years at
Fujitsu gave me great learning for
RAPID FIRE
FAVOURITE QUOTE
“Be the change that you wish to see
in the world” – Mahatma Gandhi
LEADERSHIP STYLE
Transformational through servant
leadership
CURRENT PROFESSIONAL GOAL
To make Future Group a place where
happy people thrive, who have a
meaningful life and who add value to
business and society
FAVOURITE BOOK
‘The Bhagavat Gita’ , it remains a
guide for all situations in life
FAVOURITE MUSIC ARTIST
Kishore Kumar
February 2014 I 71
 PERSONA I

ambitious Train the he adds.

Trainer program ever In his career, he has willingly

In brief created in India, which we

call as 'Store Guru'. While
explored diverse fields of financial
analysis and planning, strategy,
all this was in the ambit customer service and human
NAME : G R Venkatesh of starting something resources management, which is
new, it has been a quite rare. While some may relate
TITLE : Head, People Office responsibility to sustain his diverse career job roles as that
and nurture the Group's of being the jack of all trades and
AGE : 42 years core values and culture - master of none. Venkatesh has an
through sustenance and unconventional take on it. "Without
ORGANIZATION : Future Group establishment of old and a consideration to the staid
new rituals, practices and conventional way of career building
EXPERIENCE : 19 years experiments", he shares. in a particular discipline, I have
voluntarily embraced change in my
EDUCATION : PGDM (IIM-Ahmedabad) Experience speaks career at regular intervals. The quest
Venkatesh considers has always been to understand the
BE (Electronics & himself lucky to have nuances of diverse sciences and arts
Telecommunications) worked for new age around me so that I could be that
industries all through his person who can appreciate varied
from MANIT, Bhopal points of view in an attempt to
career. "Whether it was
telecom or retail, I have holistically resolve challenges - in
been part of an industry business and in life", he proclaims
the years to come," confesses trying to create history proudly. So far, he has been
Venkatesh. in India," he says. "Whether it was fortunate in his endeavours and also
Around 2000, the company faced setting up telecom networks in areas counts himself among the lucky few
a decline due to several reasons and such as J&K and Andamans; who can enjoy and appreciate the
Venkatesh decided to move on by designing and experimenting with beauty and intelligence of
2001. He joined Airtel's mobility new categories and new delivery Mathematics and Design at the
division after a short stint with a formats for an emerging industry same time. In fact, this richness and
telecom consulting firm. However, like organized retail and functionally, diversity of roles has proved to be
he soon moved to the customer getting to know people and learning an invaluable asset for Venkatesh to
service division having realized his how to manage them have been the approach people related issues with
inclination towards customer most enriching experiences so far," a unique perspective.
service. At Airtel, he learnt to
respect commitment, hard work
and process adherence. The big
break came when he joined
Pantaloon Retail in 2003 and got the
opportunity to work for Kishore
Biyani, one of the most talked about
leaders in India. Having worked
closely with retail brands brought
him in close association with the
people who strive so hard to keep
the customers happy. To put a smile
in their face became an objective
for him.
At Future Group, he envisaged,
designed and implemented a
comprehensive Hire to Retire
People management solution, which
traversed the entire gamut of the
employee's life cycle events
completely on an indigenous
technology platform catering to
30,000 people seamlessly - making
their lives easier. "I look back fondly
upon creating perhaps the most

72 I February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■

 I PERSONA

The challenges
While working in varied industries, including sunrise
sectors, did enrich his experience and outlook, there
were several challenges too…like learning evolving
regulations, managing pioneering efforts without
precedence, understanding employee behaviour in
stressful, chaotic and ambiguous business conditions,
working under tight budgets and exploring unchartered
market segments. "Each of these challenges have given
me new learning. The most important learning has been
to have enough self-confidence and a belief in oneself
that all challenges can be overcome by application of
mind and with due and honest effort," he recalls.
His myriad experiences may sound inspirational, but
each juncture and each role called for unlearning and
relearning of new knowledge quotients. Ventakesh believes
having an open mind and staying humble enough to
learn helped him to stay on the knowledge curve. "To
maintain a steady speed of 'upskilling', it's important to
realize that whatever one already knows is already
obsolete as new knowledge keeps permeating through
the society", he affirms.

The restlessness ingredient

Venkatesh comes across as a man who has an insatiable
thirst for unexplored avenues. Constantly, in a state of
flux, his restlessness has found some solace in his current
role. While some professionals spend decades performing
the same role in different organizations, Venkatesh has
never let himself be set in a mould. Working across
industries, within various functions and geographies has
ensured that he never had a dull moment. It also made
him discover his own potential and built a firm belief in
the adage that infinite potential does exist in a human
being.

Getting inspired
Having closely worked with Kishore Biyani, Venkatesh
admires the sheer audacity of his vision, the ability to
dream, dream big and to visualize events much ahead of
time. "I have picked up some of the greatest things from
him such as self-confidence, optimism, a never-say-die
attitude, and sheer guts and gumption," he admits. In the
past, he has also had the privilege of working with Anil
Nayar, ex-President of Bharti Airtel, from whom he learnt
the art of being politely firm, being patient, and having
a keen analytical business mind.
All his functional skills in HR can be attributed to his
guide and mentor, Sanjay Jog, who has patiently taught
him various nuances and has always had confidence in
his abilities.
He also credits Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad (IIMA) for bringing a change in the way he
thinks. It was here that he realized, for the first time, that
there was so much more to explore in this world than
physics and engineering that I was adept at. "It was also
here that I was introduced to the late Prof. S P Singh,
who in an hour-long session gave me a direction in life,"
he says.

■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 73

 PERSONA I

roads in India has always amazed

KEY PERSPECTIVES me. My most memorable
experiences have been to the
Gaps HR organizations need to bridge interiors and the so-called
underdeveloped areas within rural
L
L

At times, HR setups tend to veer

around an agenda that is not in India. I have been struck by the
consonance with the business realities. simplicity of the people, their
Either they are too idealistic and chase cultures, their rituals and have
utopian goals; or are too passive and a understood how difficult life could
blind follower of the business leader. HR be and how privileged we are. I have
must demand and get an equal partnership also realized that hardship does not
in the strategic agenda setting of the mean unhappiness. In fact, the
business. greatest pleasures and happiness
come from overcoming challenges
L
L

The other weak point is the relatively

rather than through avoiding pain.
lesser use of statistics, data and analytics.
The range and beauty of my
The focus on predictive analytics is almost missing and proactive tools to manage
experiences while on the roads in
people better is an area worth focusing upon in the next few years.
India has always amazed me and
someday, I should be able to put
Pitfalls in engagement practices together a travelogue," he says
dreamily.
L
L

Any engagement event which is devoid of emotional attachment is useless.

Understanding and noting the relevance of the engagement practice in the life of
the employee is key. The way ahead
L
L

“What’s in it for the employee?” is the question which must be asked at all Considered an amazing strategist
points in time. Else, it’s an automated ritual at work, which is a waste of time, who uses humour to mask his
energy and money, as it creates no emotional bond of the employee with his or brilliance, his colleagues are of the
her workplace. opinion that Venkatesh has a knack
for understanding the key pressure
points in organizations and in the
What makes a good HR manager market. In fact, he is highly admired
L
L

A good HR manager’s prime responsibility is to understand the changing for his ability to engage people across
aspirations within people. Some of this is stated but mostly they are latent, subtle the organization and share his
and implied. learning in a very simple manner.
L
L

A good HR manager will always scan the environment to understand He believes that "Being empathetic,
developments and trends in people’s thinking, emerging trends in culture and while being assertively decisive is the
ambitions and the emergence of new professions, within and outside his or her key to effective leadership. Besides,
industry. Only happy people can deliver excellence in business results. being morally upright and having a
moral compass within yourself
which always guides you in turbulent
Beyond work He is a voracious reader and likes times help you stand tall in all
Venkatesh has had a typical middle reading books, magazines and blogs situations."
class upbringing. His father was on any subject and whenever he finds As he sets out for yet another
employed with the MP State the time. He loves exploring various tireless journey, his current goal is to
government and hence his family subjects ranging from history, give a better life to the 30,000 people
travelled extensively within the mid- science, philosophy, mythology, that the Group employs. He feels
sized towns of MP. His modest psychology, fiction, finance, that monetary benefits combined
upbringing inculcated in him the core advertising to economics. "You will with challenging assignments, will
Indian values, which even today; find books and books in my house give them the much desired
reflect in the various aspects of his and at my workplace. I still find the appreciation and recognition that
personality. charm of reading a paper book, and they strive for. "The excitement of
Venkatesh lives in Mumbai, with have not yet graduated to the world doing something new everyday and
his wife and a beautiful daughter, of e-books," he says. "The Bhagavat the freedom to experiment and learn
who is as curious and sincere as he Gita" though, remains an all-time is what inspires people to come to
is and as patient and caring as her guide for Venkatesh. work every single day. The smile of
mother. Hectic schedules have never Travelling is another important a satisfied customer and the warmth
prevented them from taking quality facet to his personality. "I love to of a team working together is the
time out together - whether for travel and explore new worlds, dream that I want to turn in to a
family meals, or weekly outings or within India. The range and beauty reality in days to come," Venkatesh
periodic vacations. of my experiences while on the concludes. HC

74 I February 2014 www.humancapitalonline.com ■


Q&A
I
was an employee with a
public sector company but
was retrenched two years ago
after having worked with the
company for over an year by
giving one month salary. Can
you please enlighten me of the
situations in which retrenchment
can be termed illegal and
whether I can file an application
for reinstatement if my
retrenchment was illegal?
Answer: From the facts stated in
your query, I understand that the
relevant provision of law
governing retrenchment in your
case was Section 25F of the
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. For
the application of the conditions
under Section 25F, an employee
should have been in the
employment of the company for
at least one year before the date
of retrenchment. Further, as per
the said provision, a legal
retrenchment is subject to three
conditions. Firstly, either one
month's notice stating the reasons
for the retrenchment is given to
the employee, or in alternative of
the notice, one month's salary is
given to the employee retrenched.
The second condition is that the
employee must be paid
compensation in terms of clause
(b) of Section 25F, at the time of
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I L AW AT WORK
retrenchment. And finally, the
appropriate Government or
authority needs to be notified of
the retrenchment. Besides, you
may also note that the employer
is required to follow the last in
first out principle during
retrenchment, unless there are
good reasons recorded in writing
for not following the said
principle.
I note that the first condition
has been satisfied in your case
and you have been given one
month's salary in lieu of the
notice. However, it appears that
retrenchment compensation has
not been given and that a notice K. V. Singh
to the appropriate government in Senior Partner, Kochhar & Co.
terms of clause (c) of Section 25F
of the Act may not have been Krishna Vijay Singh is a senior
given. It is also not clear if the last partner at Kochhar & Co., one of
in first out principle was followed the leading and largest law firms
or not. In the event any of the in India with offices at New
aforementioned conditions were Delhi, Gurgaon, Bengaluru,
not met in your case, the Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai,
retrenchment could be termed Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, Singapore,
illegal and you may refer the Tokyo and Atlanta (USA). The
industrial dispute with the
firm represents some of the
competent labor court for
reinstatement and back wages. largest multinational
Although Limitation Act, 1963 corporations from North
is not applicable to the reference America, Europe, Japan and India
made under the Industrial (many of which are Fortune 500
Disputes Act, however, delay in companies) in diverse areas of
raising the industrial dispute is corporate and commercial laws.
February 2014 I 75
 L AW AT WORK I
definitely an important
circumstance which the labour
court may consider while
granting relief. I understand that
it has been about two (2) years
since your services were
terminated on the ground of
retrenchment.
You may note that where the
retrenchment is illegal, the labor
courts may take into account
factors like manner, nature and
length of employment, the
reasons for retrenchment and
also the delay in raising the
industrial dispute while passing
in award in favour of the
workman. In certain
circumstances, including in cases
where there has been a long
delay in raising the industrial
dispute, and reasons for
retrenchment show that
reduction of work force was
essential for survival of the
company, a labour court may
substitute monetary
compensation for a
reinstatement in case of illegal
retrenchment.
My husband was employed at a
local factory. Unfortunately, my
husband passed away a few
months ago in an accident. My
lawyer wants proof of my
husband's salary. Since I do
not have the original, he is
suggesting the claim can be
made based on minimum
wages act. I have a photocopy
of the salary certificate. Please
tell me the better way?
Answer: The photocopy of the
salary certificate alone may not
be sufficient to prove the salary
of your husband. I suggest that
you approach the employer of
your husband to provide you an
original salary certificate. In
addition, or in any case, you
should lead evidence through a
witness employed at the local
factory where your husband was
employed, and who has issued
the salary certificate, to
corroborate the genuineness of
the salary certificate and the
76 I February 2014
factum of last salary of your
husband. Besides, I suggest that
you also submit the bank statement
of your husband where salary was
credited and this aspect may also
be further corroborated by a
witness from the bank. The above
should not be difficult.
Proceeding with your claim on
the basis of wages specified by the
government under the Minimum
Wages Act, 1948 may not be
prudent. The government sets the
minimum wages under the
Minimum Wages Act, 1948 for
specified category of employment
and every employer in the specified
category is required to pay a
salary/wage to the employee which
is not lower than the minimum
wages specified by the government
under the Minimum Wages Act. In
other words, the last salary of your
husband would be at least equal, if
not more, than the minimum
wages. Making a claim on the basis
of minimum wages should only be
considered if for some reason the
last drawn salary of your husband
was lower than the minimum
wages applicable to his category of
employment under the minimum
wages.
As stated earlier, it may not be
advisable to proceed with the claim
merely on the basis of a photocopy
of the salary certificate issued by
the local factory/employer. In the
event the said salary certificate is
not proved by a witness from the
employer and the factum of the
last salary of your husband is not
established, the court may calculate
the compensation taking the salary
of your husband in terms of the
Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
My company has recently
recruited new employees. I have
been told by some of them that in
their previous organization they
were being paid bonus as a part
of their monthly salary. But, as
per the Bonus Act, there is not
specific requirement of a monthly
payment of bonus. Can you
please confirm.
I confirm your understanding that
under the Payment of Bonus Act,
1965 ("Bonus Act") there is no
specific indication of monthly bonus
payments. The amount of bonus
payable under the Act is
determined annually, depending on
the profits of the establishment (or
'available surplus') in an accounting
year. Similarly, the eligibility of an
employee (covered under the Bonus
Act) to receive bonus is also based
on the number of days on which
the employee has worked in an
year. Therefore, if payment is made
on a monthly basis, an employee
may still claim any balance that he
would be entitled upon completion
of the accounting year, if the bonus
so calculated is higher than the
amounts paid to him on a monthly
basis.
Further, you may note that as
per section 19 of the Bonus Act, all
amounts payable to an employee by
way of bonus under this Act are
required to be paid within a period
of eight (8) months from the close
of the accounting year. In case of
any dispute regarding bonus
payment pending before any
authority in terms of the Bonus
Act, the bonus is required to be
paid within a month from the date
on which the award becomes
enforceable or the settlement
comes into operation, in respect of
such dispute.
Although it is clear that the
amount of bonus payable under the
Act is determined on an annual
basis, however, the same is required
to be paid within eight (8) months
from the close of the accounting
year. Thus, it is possible to pay the
bonus with respect to a particular
accounting year on a monthly basis;
however, the entire bonus, even in
the case of monthly installments
should be paid within a period of
eight (8) months from the close of
the accounting year. HC
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Bullying at
workplace
A
call from the editorial department of
Human Capital in early January and I
thought it was to convey greetings for
the New Year. I could not have been more
wrong, and I soon realized that I was being
bulldozed to write about 'bullying at
workplace'. My meek protests were casually
brushed aside and I was given a tight deadline.
Left with no choice, I got down putting some
mind to the subject. Soon, several memories
flashed through, the first of a great bull that
had decided one day not to allow anyone
past him on the road outside our house. As
we dared to squeeze past in our old but
strong ambassador car, it looked menacingly
at the poor car, and without any further
cause, repeatedly smashed it with its
powerful blows. Eventually, we had to leave
the car and get back home after the bull had
lent its fury, and had parked itself in front of
the badly dented vehicle. Thankfully, it was
soon persuaded by the municipality to Lord
amongst the cows at the local Gaushala
enclosure, much to our relief.
On a more serious note, bullying is not
the sole prerogative of the bulls. In the initial
years of my practice, tales abounded of
several advocates who would throw files at
their juniors, wrapped in the most colorful
and offensive expletives, at the flimsiest
reason. Work spaces appear to have
improved since then, and we rarely come
across such overtly insulting and abusive
behavior. Nevertheless, it would be wrong to
assume that the malice has disappeared
completely. It appears that the proverbial
bull now displays its traits in a more private
and personal manner at the workplace, often
targeting the intended victim when she or he
is alone.
Bullying as such is not defined by law. In
order to define and understand workplace
bullying, let us consider its attributes. Firstly,
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I L AW AT WORK
there has to be a power imbalance where the
target feels she or he is not in a position to
oppose or defend against the actions of the
bully. This could be for a variety of reasons,
such as, the superior position of the bully at
the workplace or the social support that the
bully enjoys within the workplace due to peer
support or support from those in powerful
position. Secondly, there has to be an
element of malice and aggression. In other
words, there has to be an intention to
victimize and humiliate the target. Thirdly,
such humiliation should have continued for
some time, that is, it should not be a one off
incident. It would be very difficult to call a
single incident or a series of incidents that
have ceased without any reason as bullying.
If there is malice, the abuse would continue
and not cease without intervention or a
cause. Fourthly, there should also be an
element of increase in the aggression or
victimization over a period of time.
There is no legislation in India specifically
dealing with the issue of bullying at
workplace. This is still a matter primarily
within the purview of the organization and it
is for the organization to frame effective
policies that discourage bullying. Needless to
say, bullying affects employee morale and
can result in lower productivity.
Further, sometimes the employers may
also resort to bullying for a variety of
reasons, including in order to decline
increments or promotions to deserving
employees, or to avoid legal obligations such
as payment of retrenchment/severance
compensation, or to discourage employees
from objecting to favoritism and
discrimination or from exercising their right
to organize collectively. In so far as acts of
bullying by the employers are concerned, the
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 includes some
of them within the definition of 'Unfair Labor
February 2014 I 77
 L AW AT WORK I
Practices'. Such unfair labour practices are
punishable with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to six months or with fine
which may extend to one thousand rupees or
with both . Some of the acts that are
construed as Unfair Labor Practices include ,
(i) to interfere with, restrain from, or coerce,
workmen in the exercise of their right to
organize, form, join or assist a trade union or
to engage in concerted activities for the
purposes of collective bargaining or other
mutual aid or protection; (ii) discharging or
dismissing a workmen by way of victimization
or in the colorable exercise of the employer's
rights, or for patently false reasons or in utter
disregard of the principles of natural justice;
(iii) showing favoritism or partiality to one set
of workers regardless of merit; (iv)
discharging or discriminating against any
workman for filing charges or testifying
against an employer in any enquiry or
proceeding relating to any industrial dispute;
and (v) indulging in acts of force or violence.
However, the said Act applies only to
workmen, and excludes employees at a
managerial level or supervisory level. The
Factories Act, 1948 also provides for special
provisions with respect to the health, safety,
welfare, working hours, leaves etc. of the
workers in a factory but as the name of the
legislation suggests, the applicability is
restricted to premises where manufacturing
process is carried out. These welfare
measures help in containing the possible
abuse of workmen at factories which could
put their health and safety at risk. Similar
provisions in respect of other organizations
are provided under the shops and
establishment legislations, enacted at state
level. However, both these legislations do not
provide for provisions relating to behavioral
bullying at workplace.
The Industrial Employment (Standing
Orders) Act, 1946 is another piece of
legislation which aims to protect employees
from unnecessary harassment by requiring
employers to formally define the conditions
of employment vide the concept of standing
orders, a contractual document governing the
terms and conditions of employment
including suspension or dismissal for
misconduct, and acts or omissions which
constitute misconduct. The said legislation
1
Section 25U of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
2
Section 2(ra) read with the Fifth Schedule to the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
78 I February 2014
also creates an obligation on the employer to
provide for means of redressal of complaints
of the employees. However, the applicability
is restricted only to certain industrial
establishments.
Coming back to bullying at workplace that
does not involve the employer, the attributes
described earlier may not apply where such
exploitation or victimization is that of a
woman employee. It is difficult to distinguish
whether a particular victimization of women
is pure non-sexual bullying or sexual
harassment. In both cases, there is malice.
The only difference is that sexual harassment
necessarily includes victimization with a view
to seek or obtain sexual favors. For a person
accused of sexual harassment of a woman
employee, it would be difficult to establish
that the bullying was not with a view to seek
sexual favors. As you may have noted, in case
of sexual harassment, which is another form
of bullying, repetitive or continued
harassment may not be necessary and a single
incident is sufficient to establish the same.
It may also be pertinent to note that
sexual harassment at workplace is no longer a
workplace matter alone. The recent
amendments to the Indian Penal Code have
also made sexual harassment a cognizable
offence punishable with imprisonment which
may extend to three years, with or without
fine. The enhanced punishment for assault or
criminal force with the intent to outrage the
modesty of a woman and the new definition
of rape in the Indian Penal Code also provide
further protection to women at workplace.
It is difficult to define bullying at
workplace and even more difficult to frame a
comprehensive legislation covering all aspects
of bullying. Organizational factors contribute
to fostering and enabling bullying. Bullying on
the part of the employers, leave employees
bitter and dejected. Employees who are
allowed to mistreat others create a culture of
distrust and dissatisfaction. Ultimately, it is for
the employers to learn how to create a
positive work environment which does not
encourage bullying and the bull is confined to
bullying at the 'Gaushala'. HC
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■ www.humancapitalonline.com February 2014 I 79
 R.N.I. No. 66615/97
Date of posting: 9-10 February 2014 at
Postal Regn. No. DL-SW-1/4022/2012-13-14
PSO Kotla Road, New Delhi-110002
Date of printing: 7th February 2014