Posts Tagged HR
The Bane of Sytems / Processes
I came across this picture in one of the forwarded messages in my inbox and it reminded me of situations employees find themselves in so often.
To me, this picture depicts situations where companies burden themselves and their employees with cumbersome processes / tools for simple tasks. Don’t all of us agree that many of the organizations we work with have a little too much of systems / processes and tools? 10 forms for joining the organization, 20 for leaving. And between those two, a multitude of unwieldy processes to follow, forms to fill and redundant tools to use. We could do a lot with simplification - minimalistic organization structure design, minimalistic processes etc. But, how to make this a reality?
Add comment November 12, 2008
Managing Differently in Challenging Times
As everybody talks feverishly about the world economy slipping into a recession and people draw numerous parallels between previous depressions and the current situation, I thought about putting down 5 broad management principles that we can adopt and do things differently this time around:
- In most downturns, managers typically tend to narrow their focus on operational efficiency and cost-optimization alone. A better way to manage will be to be “ambi-dexterous” and maintain focus on both topline and bottomline.
- In most cases, downturns have trigerred the tendency to source talent from low-cost talent pools with a view to minimize costs and at the same time ensuring ‘adequate’ staffing. Instead, organizations should be looking at tapping diverse talent pools to build up a diverse work-force which ideates using different perspectives. This enriches the problem-solving processes with alternative thinking. Some cues can be found in the Creative Class.
- Most downturns are accompanied with a free-fall of the “axe” or downsizing. Instead, forward-looking leaders need to focus their existing people assets on most “high-yield” activities and maximize gains.
- Economic slowdowns tend to create a general environment of gloom and employee morale takes a big hit. It is critical to keep employees motivated and engaged during these trying times. And, who is better placed to drive engagement than the “people managers”. From “employee engagement” being a HR responsibility, leaders need to ask their managers to be accountable for employee engagement.
- Finally, like most situations in life, we tend to take a short term view in times of a slowdown. From a short-term focus on protecting margins and pleasing the stock markets as much as possible, leaders and managers need to take a long term view towards balanced and sustainable growth. We need to remember that equity, as an asset class, has a tendency to trend upwards. So, we just need to be doing the right things and in due time, value will be realized.
1 comment October 21, 2008
Report on “Key Human Capital Trends” - PwC
I came across this very interesting report from Pricewaterhouse Coopers on the Key HR Trends for 2008. It serves interesting information and analysis under 5 main sections: Human Capital Impact, Human Capital Drivers, Human Capital Foundations, Human Capital Future and The HR Function.
I found the section on “The HR Function” most intersting, espcially when the report talks about how employees perceive the effectiveness of the HR function and what kind of reputation HR enjoys. Here is a chart that talks about this:
Add comment September 22, 2008
Maximizing Employee ROI
“There are probably as many stereotypes about today’s workforce as there are workers. Consider two of the most enduring: Employees are cubicle-bound clock-watchers, getting by doing the minimum possible. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, employees are ambitious “free agents,” loyal to themselves and their careers, but not to their employers.”
- Towers Perrin Global Workforce Study
I personally feel that employees, in general, should be very willing to go the extra mile, if they have got the right “deal”. Before falling prey to such stereotypes about employees being ‘clock-watchers’, it will be prudent to ask oneself if we have done enough to incentivize the right behviours - behaviours that maximize individual and group performance. HR and line managers need to work together to maximize “employee ROI”. Isn’t it intuitive? A typical employee spends almost 8-10 hours in office. She definitely wants to maximize her ‘returns’ from the time and effort she puts in. Employees are eager to invest more of themselves to help organizations succeed - and will do so if they see the personal ROI. Now, the key task cut out for HR executives and managers is to structure this “deal”.
The study has also identified critical drivers (at a global level) for attracting and retaining talent.
Top 5 Attraction Drivers:
- Competitive base pay
- Career advancement opportunities
- Challenging role
- Convenient work location
- Flexible schedule
Top 5 Retention Drivers:
- Company reputation
- Satisfaction with the organization’s ‘people’ decisions
- Relationship with supervisor
- Clear understanding of career path within the company
- Work-life balance
Of course, the drivers and components of the ‘deal’ will vary across cultures, industries and has to be seen in the light of market realities. But, such inputs can go a long way in optimizing the Employee Value Proposition using a scientific and realistic approach.
Do share your thoughts on maximizing employee ROI.
Add comment September 17, 2008
Article in Deccan Herald
My article “What Soft Issues Mean for Hard Numbers?” got published in today’s Deccan Herald DH Avenues.
Here is the online link http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Aug62008/avenues2008080582926.asp
Add comment August 6, 2008
Organization Effectiveness Simulator
I came to know about this interesting Organization Effectiveness Simulator created by Booz & Co. through Gautam’s blog. This is a little dated, but an article from Booz’s website says that over half of the organizations are either “passive-aggressive” or “overmanaged”.
Take the short survey yourself and find out what kind of an organization you work for.
Add comment July 3, 2008
The Managerial Rub-Off Effect
I have been musing about the “managerial rub-off effect” for a long time. Essentially, the hypothesis is that if you have a great manager, it would have a positive rub-off on you, and you would manage your team well in turn. What it means is sub-cultures get easily created within an organization by managers and there could be positive and negative aspects to it based on how managers manage. Here is a simple matrix to explain what I am talking about:
Optimized: Managers who have great bosses create high levels of engagement within their teams
Concern: Managers who do not have great bosses, in turn are not able to create high levels of engagement with their teams
Striving: Talented in terms of people management - these managers create highly engaged teams, despite not having great bosses.
Sub-optimal: Despite having a great boss, these managers are not able to pass on the “rub-off” effect to their teams. Possible talent issues, poor selection of teams, need for coaching?
In one of my drill-downs into employee data, I found that in almost 65-70% of the cases there is a direct linkage between how a manager is managed and how he manages. This clearly indicates the power of managers to create sub-cultures within organizations (with positive or negative weaves). This makes a strong case for senior managers to lead by example when it comes to people management and thus, foster a productive and engaged workplace.
1 comment June 2, 2008
