Sunday, March 30, 2014

Before we drift too far

The color, the smile, the hand raised in blessings
We all stepped away from our land
The land with sound of waves, star gazing nights, good times with friends
Every evening my lane temple bell echoes far
Skype, Whatsapp, and all rest folks connects us back to them

Still, something was missing..
And, before we get drifted too far
Few hands rise again to retouch the land and relive culture


Welcoming all for Utkal Divas, 5th April,2014 - Johannesburg,SA.
Please support us by gracing your presence and spreading a word.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Inaugural function of HR- SYMPHONY, 2012 (September)


Message from the Student Forum - HR Symphony 


Greetings!!

The student forum of department of M.A – H.R.M, Madras School of Social Work is delighted to present the inaugural function of HR- SYMPHONY, 2012 (September).

This event is a prelude to the HR Symphony which is a student forum initiative that is being conducted as a “National Level Annual Management Event” providing podium for both professionals and students to discuss on significant management topics.

We are going to release the theme of the season during this ceremony held on 11th July,2012 at MSSW auditorium. 

For more updates, stay connected.

Cheers,
Pragnya Mishra
On Behalf of Student Forum

Saturday, July 07, 2012

Changing face of HR


You might have read a lot already with the same title, so am moving directly to latest two name tags of the role- ‘Personnel Manager’ & ‘Human Resource Manager’.

Around two decades back organizations had a role of ‘Personnel Manager’. (S)He used to administer payroll and employee benefits . Gradually they moved to more accountable role and re-christen as ‘Human Resource Manager’. But still there exist an identity crisis for the clan of HR managers. Modern commoners assume role of HR is to hire and fire employees.

Personnel managers focused on tracking and maintaining employee records, counsel managers and employees, respond to top managerial questions. HR managers still do all but with topping of new technology. Accumulation to their profile is to react, proactively react to – (not in any order)

  • Utilization of employees to their maximum potential and help them to realize it
  • Optimize the cost along with  higher productivity
  • Brand the employer
  • Preserve  the talented resources and refine the unproductive and costly member of staff
  • Attract talent
  • Understand and act according to business
  • Communicate
  • You can add more :-)
All these aim to Create a better (read healthier, safer and happier) workplace.
All the above errands affix the term ‘Strategic Partner’ to former role tag.



HR is no longer a by-stander, the day the employee joins a firm,  the face of firm are the HRs. Even before they join their roles-responsibilities, span of control, paycheck etc are decided by HR. Going even further proactive HRs groundwork on existing employee work pattern i.e. predict if the employee is going to stay during and post assignment or will move on along with the reasons for same.


Few major efforts to regular compliance monitoring, compensation & benefits  for employees are

























Even for the employers the HR activity embraces CSR planning and execution, Employer branding, Grievance eradication, Leaders identification & sparkle and framing business policies & strategic planning.

HR moved from policies framing of employment, holidays etc to making People. People who work as team and sharing emotional bonding rather than remaining just employees.

Thus the HR skill set also got upgraded, as
  • Strategic partner
  • Change driver and manager
  • Employee engagement architect 
  • Talent manager
  • Leaders creator

Thus again the name HR need to be renamed. New school of thought call – Human Capital Manager. What’s next? 



Saturday, June 23, 2012

The Recruitment Mission


The beauty of this summer was the internship and its gyan exploration. Knowledge grows with sharing, right? And It’s a long one.

My assignment was on ‘Recruitment – Selecting profiles and Scheduling for interviews’ and to close ‘X’ number of openings. So, the mission starts with the objective to close the openings in ‘Z’ week(s) timeframe.
First action was to devise the plan, How? I need to choose the right channel, ideal profiling , categorization based on profiles, time scheduling, and gyan (knowledge) on the JD (Job Description) of openings.


Gyan on JD

First of all be acquainted for whom and which position(s) the recruitment is done. Foundation on the roles & responsibilities, benefits entitled, etc through the JD.

Channel Selection

Choosing a channel depends on the job position (opening), the employer’s brand, the resources, the recruiting budget, urgency to close the opening or the time window, manpower forecast, etc.
So, one can choose from a huge pile of options; say
  • Ø  Internal advertising – Posting on intranet via online notices, mails to employees(Buddy referral)
  • Ø  Printed advertising – Posting on local/national/employment special newspapers, newsletters etc
  • Ø  Online – Using job portals, social – media (as LinkedIn or twitter)
  • Ø  Consultancy
  • Ø  Head hunting and /or Poaching
  • Ø  Re-hire
  • Ø  Campus recruiting
  • Ø  Walk-in
  • Ø  Body Shopping
  • Ø  Promotions and Present temporary workforce
  • Ø  Casual applicants
  • Ø  Candidate references i.e. taking references from the candidates, etc…

Profile Selection and Ideal Profiling

The profiles are selected based on the JD i.e. role and responsibilities, age, benchmarking the current/previous working companies, pay scale, preferred work location, etc… Recruiters practicing the same and using job portals might notice a strange phenomenon that not all profiles available on the website are job-seekers. Many candidates upload the resume just to check their own market demand and stay updated (assumption- by getting recruiter’s call). Also, some resumes are inactive for a period; still they make appearance on search; which can be filtered out.
Again, before jumping to the assignment a recruiter need to do groundwork on Ideal Profiling i.e. identifying the common employee profile based on psychological parameters that incline to succeed in definite role.

Time Scheduling

It is the most important, yet at times neglected section. A recruitment process can be breakdown into 1-5 stages depending upon the employer’s style of recruitment drive and channel. It may consist of an initial written knowledge test followed by interviews, discussions or combination. The efficiency of the recruitment based on time taken to conduct each stage is necessary; it will help the recruiter to amplify the process.  It also has dependence on the decision making ladder. The more complex and lengthy the ladder, the slower the decision, thus long time taken to close the opening(s).
Also, the time taken to complete the entire process starting from the first round till the result announcement impacts the employer’s brand.

Even though for a greenhorn initially it seems as easy as cakewalk, but its demanding. But the above four points of homework makes it enjoyable. It may seem story of recruitment - selecting 10 profiles from job portal, 8 interested to attend, 4 – 5 arrived for the drive and 2 candidates are offered the position, ending up as 1 new hire. But selecting the right channels, ideal profiling and scheduling makes it easier.

What do you think on the same? 

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Is innovation required?


Innovation is the talk of globe, everyone CXOs, academic leaders, Presidents and customer want to innovative concepts, technology and techniques.  Once all a company needed was to – improve, continuously improve and expect to succeed. But the information explosion and global economy changed all the rules of business. Peter Drucker, management guru stated innovation as one of the business competence needed for the future. Jack Welch, former CEO of GE believes in ‘break the glass’ i.e. continue to innovate.

What is it?
Innovation is creation of ideas with excellence in execution due to human curiosity.  Innovation is not invention, as it is commonly misunderstood as. Invention is creation of idea and innovation is commercialization of former. Innovation is the art of sustaining a company’s competitive advantage by discovering new opportunities.

Why?
Too many companies start investing money, manpower, material without defining the need and facets for innovation. A firm starts effective and efficient innovation when there is a reason or need to do it, those can be one or multiples from the list below to improve, save money, grow and survive
  •  Growth

With the rapid global economic growth the products and industries are maturing rapidly and consumers are willing to experience something new rather than repair or recycling. Products and services are getting short attention span and expectation from them is rising. Thus, product life cycle is shortened and firms must discover new needs quickly and swiftly than other market players.
  •  Opportunity

Diminishing the boundaries, as the global village is growing firms should realize potential of new markets and products beyond pre-existing geographic locations, products/services and systems.
  •   Competitive advantage on ‘Distinctive Capabilities’

Customers no longer want same product/service as their neighbors, they demand an upgraded version of same. Firms need to determine the innovative solutions to tap the demand to move ahead of others and gain the advantage point. Companies which can move with new well executed ideas leap far ahead before others realize and it become their distinctive capability.
  • Survival

In the world of uncertainties many companies stick to their standard mode of operation.  Innovation distinguishes the firm from other similar and it helps to survive through the rough patches of economy and be the leader. Innovation is the key to long term sustained growth.

Innovative organizations
·         3M :sticky Post-it notes
·         EnronOnline: B2B site
·         HP: laser and ink jet printers
·         Michelin: radical tire
·         Citibank:ATM

Organizations which ignored innovation
·         Xerox
·         Kodak
·         Motorola
·         Levi Strauss
·         Smith Corona(’s type writers)
·         P&G (in 90’s)

Wind up
To go ahead innovation is must. As the management guru, Gary Hamel, puts it ‘Most companies are built for continuous improvement, rather than for discontinuous innovation. They know how to get better, but they don’t know how to get different.’