The answer lies in learning, unlearning and relearning, which is the mandate for success.

Culture of continuous learning

Central to preparing for the phenomenon called ‘permavucalution’ is the notion of perpetual learning. “It’s not just about acquiring new skills but also unlearning outdated ones and relearning in alignment with evolving organisational needs,” emphasises Anil Mohanty, CPO, DN Group. This culture of continuous learning lays the foundation for a workforce capable of navigating the complexities of the modern workplace, where AI integration is not just a possibility but an inevitability.

As highlighted by industry experts, including leaders from Maruti Suzuki and other prominent organisations, traditional approaches to strategic planning are becoming obsolete. Instead, businesses are embracing a mindset of learning, unlearning and relearning to navigate through the complexities of the modern world.

“Businesses must cultivate resilience, fortifying themselves against unexpected disruptions while remaining poised to capitalise on emerging opportunities.”

Anil Gaur, senior HR professional

AI: A catalyst for transformation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the forefront of this transformation, promising to revolutionise industries and streamline operations. Systems enabled by AI have the potential to make decision-making more efficient, reduce manual intervention and enhance accuracy. “Leaders must emphasise the need to view AI as an enabler rather than a threat, recognising its ability to simplify tasks, accelerate processes and improve overall productivity,” advises Mohanty. Additionally, they must stress the importance of adequate training and preparation to harness the full potential of AI and ensure that all stakeholders are equipped to embrace this technology.

The fourth industrial revolution, driven by advancements in AI, machine learning, 5G technology, robotic and quantum computing, presents both unprecedented opportunities and challenges. To remain competitive, businesses must invest in up-to-date technological infrastructure and foster a culture of digital literacy and innovation.

“It’s not just about acquiring new skills but also unlearning outdated ones and relearning in alignment with evolving organisational needs.”

Anil Mohanty, CPO, DN Group

Embracing uncertainty

The advent of the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) era further underscores readiness in the face of constant flux. What was once considered an exceptional circumstance has now become the norm, demanding a paradigm shift in mindset and strategy. “Businesses must cultivate resilience, fortifying themselves against unexpected disruptions while remaining poised to capitalise on emerging opportunities,” emphasises Anil Gaur, senior HR professional.

Furthermore, the need for flexibility and adaptability has never been greater, as businesses must navigate unpredictable disruptions such as economic downturns and public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. To thrive in this environment, organisations must embrace a more iterative and responsive approach to strategic planning, continually reassessing their strategies to capture emerging opportunities and address evolving challenges.

Therefore, rather than overestimating future growth or relying on long-term projections, businesses are encouraged to focus on short-term strategies that prioritise agility and flexibility. By staying attuned to current market conditions and avoiding overly speculative assumptions, organisations can position themselves to respond effectively to unforeseen challenges and capitalise on emerging opportunities.

Logic and pragmatism

Amidst market fluctuations and economic uncertainties, leaders emphasise the importance of logic and pragmatism in decision-making. Rather than chasing quick gains or engaging in speculative practices, businesses are advised to pursue gradual, incremental improvements. “This entails avoiding excessive risk-taking, maintaining a balanced approach to planning and prioritising long-term sustainability over short-term gains. By adopting a logical and methodical approach to business strategy, organisations can navigate through turbulent times with resilience and confidence,” suggests Mohanty.

Crisis as catalyst for innovation

Agreed, there is a perpetual state of crisis, but then it also presents an opportunity for innovation and evolution. Startups, buoyed by government support and venture capital, are driving change and challenging established norms. However, as Gaur cautions, “the journey from inception to success is fraught with challenges, requiring not only creativity and strategic direction but also the ability to navigate crises of leadership, autonomy and control.” 

Embracing change with confidence

As organisations embrace the imperatives of learning, adaptation and resilience, they are better positioned to thrive in an ever-changing business landscape. With the right mindset and strategic approach, organisations can transform challenges into opportunities, paving the way for a brighter and more prosperous future in the dynamic world of modern business.

However, “despite the urgency and significance of the ‘permavucalution’ phenomenon, awareness and adoption remain limited within the business community, particularly in regions such as India,” points out Gaur. While some forward-thinking organisations and industry leaders have begun to embrace the permavucalution mindset, many others remain unaware or indifferent to its implications.

He further suggests, “Moving forward, it is imperative for businesses to prioritise education, awareness and proactive action in response to the permavucalution paradigm. Professional bodies, industry associations and thought leaders have a vital role to play in facilitating discussions, disseminating knowledge and driving organisational change.”

While the road ahead may be fraught with uncertainty, it also presents boundless opportunities for those willing to embrace change and innovation. By harnessing the collective ingenuity of industry stakeholders and leveraging the transformative power of technology, organisations can navigate the turbulent waters of modern commerce with confidence and resilience.

The post Navigating the ‘PermaVUCA’ business landscape: Strategies for success appeared first on HR Katha.

According to recent reports, the EGM faced numerous technical issues and witnessed employee protests. Three registered shareholders were unable to join the meeting, either due to access issues or because they were forcefully removed. 

The voting poll had only one agenda item, and the EGM should have been adjourned due to the absence of the founders as required by law.

The company declared that the EGM was not conducted properly and violated legal agreements under the Companies Act 2013. Byju’s founder, Ravindran, and other board members did not attend the invalid EGM. This means the EGM, if still held, did not have enough attendees to proceed with discussions or voting. 

Only 37 out of 170 attempted attendees joined after verifying pre-authorised names: 8 were Byju’s employees, 5 were legal representatives, and 24 were investors. Notably, Raveendran, his co-founder Divya Gokulnath, and his brother Riju Ravindran chose not to participate. Voting was slated to end by 12:30 on 23 February 2024, with results expected shortly after.

Byju’s, once India’s top edtech startup, has faced criticism since early 2022 for various problems such as accounting issues, claims of mis-selling, and large-scale job cuts. Over the past year, it has let go of numerous employees due to a decline in venture capital funding and reduced demand for online learning. Additionally, some investor board members departed due to disagreements with Raveendran.

The post Chaos, disruptions, employee protests mark Byju’s investor meeting appeared first on HR Katha.

The crisis-hit-nation is considering reducing the salary of government employees by 10 per cent as a counter-measure to this. To address the crisis, the government is exploring various options, such as decreasing spending on government departments by 15 per cent. They also plan to cut down the number of federal ministers and state ministers, and the remaining officials would work without receiving any compensation.

The government of Pakistan had asked the IMF to send a team to conduct a review of the country’s economic situation. There were many speculations that the IMF would intervene and provide aid to Pakistan to help it overcome its economic crisis, which is considered the worst in the last 10 years, however, the request has been denied by the IMF.

Furthermore, the crisis-hit-nation had reached out to various nations, including the IMF, to ask for financial help as it is currently facing one of the worst inflation crises in recent years. The country has experienced a 70 per cent increase in gas prices and a 30 per cent increase in electricity bills.

Recently, the foreign exchange reserves in the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reached an all-time low of $4.343 billion, which is enough to cover only two weeks of imports. Pakistan has been struggling with a balance of payment crisis, with its foreign exchange reserves falling to $4.6 billion, barely enough to cover three weeks of imports, mostly for oil, as reported by Reuters. In 2019, Pakistan received a $6 billion bailout, which was later increased by an additional $1 billion in early 2021.

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Core teams

The immediate response was for everybody to huddle together, informs Dr Raj. “We created a team that was orchestrating all the interaction, guiding on protocols to be followed and ensuring supplies. There was a logistics operation that ensured a smooth transition to the cloud with no disruption to the business of our customers.” Thanks to these core teams, the infrastructure for remote work was set up within a matter of days, which helped the Company stay up and running throughout the lockdown.

Leadership communication

In a remote work environment, especially at the time of crisis, communication is key. “People have to be fed with lots of information about what is happening around and what people are doing,” says Raj. The organisation’s internal employee-communication platform was abuzz with chatter. “We were publishing a lot of information just to keep the engagement, morale and motivation high.”

“The immediate bosses give individual attention to the schedules of people, enabling their teams to balance both personal and professional responsibilities effectively.”

 

It is also a time when leaders must go the extra mile to be in touch with their workforce. “There was lots of communication from the leadership, which is continuing even today,” informs Raj. “In fact, immediate bosses are playing a much bigger role. For instance, every morning, they have a review meeting with their teams in which they not only talk about work but also try to get a holistic understanding of the person’s family.”

Pyramid at work

Newgen Software’s pyramid structure of reporting coupled with increased communication from immediate leadership helped the organisation address issues that would have otherwise perhaps not seen light of day. “Our reporting structures are so defined that at the most one person has a maximum of 10 to 15 people reporting to them,” explains Raj. “We call it the pyramid structure, which helps us ensure that every boss or team lead has a true picture of their colleague’s life beyond work.”

The pandemic situation is even grimmer now, says Raj. “It’s not only the individual but even the families that need support, from arranging medicines to shifting hospitals.” The organisation’s various departments, such as operations, HR and infrastructure used their networks to assist people and their families. “Our support was not limited just to the metros where we are present. We made sure that our help reached people even in far-off places,” adds Raj.

Respecting time

This year of working remotely and virtually also provided some new learnings that the Company has added to its crisis-responsive culture. “Output has transitioned from the boss to the individual,” points out Raj, “so now, there’s a lot more focus on people’s schedules.” Besides, considering the Company services clients located all over the world, schedules also had to be adjusted for time zones.

“There are mothers who have small babies to support, some employees have elderly parents to take care of. We realised we had to align to these schedules as well,” says Raj. “The immediate bosses gave a lot of individual attention to the schedules of people, enabling their teams to balance both personal and professional responsibilities effectively.”

All of these factors put together not only helped the company respond to the year’s challenges but also led to some positive developments. “I can happily tell you that productivity and engagement have gone up and our attrition is lower compared to normal times,” states Raj.

The post Newgen’s 4 hacks for a crisis-responsive culture appeared first on HR Katha.

“Crises create opportunities for employers to communicate what has been done for the welfare of the employees. These acts are further amplified during normal times and enhance brand equity of the organisation, leading to attraction and retention of the best talent,” says Praveer Priyadarshi, senior HR consultant.

An employee will only work with you if you have the right culture. It is all about whether you are transparent and fair to your employees. Just because of COVID, you will not change your employee value proposition.

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He further explains, “A company is known for the way it handles challenges during a crisis. It defines the approach of the organisation. If the company takes care of the employees during such times, its employees become its brand ambassadors and continue to remain so for a long time.”

However, one should remember, employee branding is not an overnight activity. In fact, many companies tend to create some spikes through an activity or a special leave policy, and expect some positive review almost instantly. However, while these activities do create some kind of positivity during the interim period, they are not a long-term gameplay.

Ravi Kyran, president-HR, Bajaj Auto, believes ‘consistency’ is a long-term strategy in employee branding. “Any organisation has to stick to its core philosophy, and have a consistent approach towards employee branding even during a crisis, such as COVID-19.”

For instance, an organisation which boasts about having employee-friendly policies over the years, but does not think twice before laying off people during the COVID pandemic, implies it’s going against its own beliefs and policies.

Kyran suggests that organisations own up, both during good and bad times. He cites an example of how some companies announce a certain special leave just to prove that they care about their employees. However, Kyran rightly points out that such tactics hardly work, because employees look for long-term commitment, whether times are good or bad.

It is understood that layoffs are a business decision, and sometime they are totally inevitable. However, layoffs can also paint a negative image of the company among job seekers. The manner in which layoffs are handled also counts.

Any organisation has to stick to its core philosophy, and have a consistent approach towards employee branding even during a crisis, such as COVID-19.

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During this pandemic, the hospitality industry was the worst affected, and like many other players, Marriott had to furlough tens of thousands of employees. However, what made a difference was that the Company’s CEO, Arne Sorenson, also announced that he would relinquish his entire salary until the end of 2020. In addition, his executive team volunteered to take a 50 per cent pay cut. What made this layoff and the entire episode stand out was the fact that Marriott’s leadership was also ready and willing to face the brunt, and not just at the cost of the employees, who were asked to leave.

Similarly, the President and CEO of Walmart, Doug McMillion, visited many of the Walmart stores to engage with the frontline employees. The act was a statement that the CEO was also out there to show solidarity during chaos, and not just sitting in his closed cabin simply passing orders.

Rohit Suri, chief HR & talent officer – South Asia and Corporate Communications – GroupM India, says, “An employee will only work with you if you have the right culture. It is all about whether you are transparent and fair to your employees. Just because of COVID, you will not change your employee value proposition.”

“The fact of the matter is, how you deal with your employees should be fairly consistent. If it is in your organisation’s DNA, it will continue to be so irrespective of the time frame,” Suri adds.

Crises create opportunities for employers to communicate what has been done for the welfare of the employees. These acts are further amplified during normal times and enhance brand equity of the organisation, leading to attraction and retention of the best talent.

So how do employees perceive employee branding during these COVID-19 times?

As per Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR) 2020, 50 per cent of candidates say they wouldn’t work for a company with a bad reputation – even if offered a pay increase.

Priyadarshi opines, “Employees do not join a company only for compensation. There’s always more — what the organisation offers to an individual apart from the salaries.”

The post Consistency with employee branding a must, even amidst a pandemic? appeared first on HR Katha.

On July 14, Air India had asked its departmental heads and regional directors to identify who could be sent on LWP, on the basis of their performance, efficiency, health and redundancy. It had also left it open to the employees to voluntary opt for the LWP scheme if they wished to.

The subsidiaries of Air India — Air India Express, Air India Engineering Services and Hotel Corporation of India have still not introduced the scheme.

Things have not been going very well for Air India for some time now. Last week, Hong Kong banned Air India from flying to its airport till October 3, after six passengers, flying from Delhi into Hong Kong tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival.

Air India has managed to accumulate a debt of around Rs 70,000 crore and its net loss in 2018-19 was estimated to be about Rs 8,500 crore.

At the beginning of 2020, the Government had initiated the process of selling it to a private entity.

With the pandemic and the lockdown, many airlines across the globe have had to downsize, send their crew on furloughs or even reduce the size of their fleet. Most experts do not expect the demand for flights to be restored to anywhere near normal before 2024.

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It may sound like a normal exchange between an employee and a manager, but during such troubling times like the pandemic, it is a blessing in disguise.

In times of crisis, companies often tend to focus on the stress and strain of keeping the organisation together and afloat. Things would go smoother if employers start recognising and mostly acknowledging the efforts of their employees. In fact, it is even more important during times of struggle, to let the employees know how much they are appreciated.

“More than the organisations, the managers should be more appreciative on a daily basis. Today, however, the need is even more because the overall situation is very gloomy. There is a lot of uncertainty prevailing, and believe it or not, there is no good news on the way,” says Jayant Kumar, joint president- HR, Adani Group.

“For organisations, this period is a test of their loyalty. If they take care of employees during this crisis, employees will go beyond their limits to perform for the organisation. If not, tomorrow when the market re-opens, they will be the first to leave. Therefore, when the chips are down, it is important to take care of employees more than anytime else.”

Employees are constantly juggling between work and personal life within the four walls of their homes, which is a relatively new experience for them. Initially, it may have felt right to be away from office, chilling at home and work, but it has started to take a toll on everyone, especially employees.

“Under these challenging circumstances, leaders and managers in the organisation should create such conditions wherein people can succeed and achieve higher and better and then appreciate and reinforce their confidence,” advises Kumar.

Some people prefer monetary rewards, while others are happy with public acknowledgement. There are yet others, who would rather be rewarded with increased responsibilities or new opportunities, since these can often lead to promotions.

However, Ramesh Shankar, former EVP & head- HR, Siemens, believes that appreciation does wonders to people. He believes, “Appreciation is not just financial, in the form of compensation or benefits. Rather, non-financial appreciation is more effective in today’s scenario. Money cannot buy happiness. All employees need today is to be recognised and applauded for the effort they are putting.”

Secret to productivity

Recognising the hard work the team does can have a significant impact on their productivity. It is observed that employees work harder and with more drive when their efforts are recognised and appreciated. The more the focus on acknowledging employees’ hard work, the better the chances of keeping them happier and more committed to the company’s end goal.

As Kumar already mentioned, a lot of uncertainty prevails currently. Therefore, if adequate attention is given to appreciation and recognition of efforts, it can even bring in clarity and definiteness in the ecosystem, and thus increase the productivity of the employees. “Productivity comes with a mindset. As everyone is unsure of what is going to happen, a well thought out appreciation will bring clarity,” he explains.

“Appreciating employees will relieve them of anxiety. An anxious mind can never create excellence, and under such circumstances, we want our people to be better than what they used to be earlier. These situations demand higher efforts from the employees.”

Appreciation is not just mere words from an employer and an employee. In fact, it is a gesture shown during such critical times, such as the pandemic.

“When companies take care of employees during their difficult times, they respond with equal sincerity when companies themselves are in trouble. Organisations do not realise that this is an opportunity for them to take care of their employees. Once the employees feel better and are back in form, they will put in extra effort owing to that particular gesture bestowed upon them,” he elucidates.

Keeping anxiety at bay

The pandemic situation is taking a toll on people’s mental health. While for some it is a new experience, the rest are finding it even harder than ever before to deal with the stress and unease brought on by the new normal.

In Kumar’s words, “Appreciating employees will relieve them of anxiety. An anxious mind can never create excellence, and under such circumstances, we want our people to be better than what they used to be earlier. These situations demand higher efforts from the employees.”

“How can employees be expected to put in extra effort when their mind is constantly occupied with negative thoughts?” he questions.

While some fear loss of jobs, others have already seen pay cuts and deferred appraisals. The locking and unlocking of states have left employees feeling worried about their future. That is precisely why employers should never let go an opportunity to appreciate the goodness in their employees.

While the importance of feeling appreciated varies for different individuals, it is essential to the fostering of a positive relationship — be it at the workplace or at home.

On the flip side, if appreciation is absent, individuals are less likely to feel connected or motivated to invest themselves in that relationship.

According to Shankar, “For organisations, this period is a test of their loyalty. If they take care of employees during this crisis, employees will go beyond their limits to perform for the organisation. If not, tomorrow when the market re-opens, they will be the first to leave. Therefore, when the chips are down, it is important to take care of employees more than anytime else.”

Infusing hope

It is during a crisis, or during sickness that employees need more love and care. Similarly, Shankar continues, “Employees need more appreciation and reassurance from the management during a pandemic, when businesses are not doing well. The feeling of insecurity and the fear of losing bonuses, increments, and jobs is even more during such times.”

Kumar aptly considers appreciation to be the lifeline in such a difficult situation.

“The only way is to appreciate the small and big things that people are able to do under such challenging circumstances. Hope brings light despite all darkness, and inability to create positivity and hope amongst the team members, will not only cause employees to suffer, but also organisations to lose,” concludes Kumar.

The post Why it is important to ‘appreciate’ employees even more now appeared first on HR Katha.

Agile methods and frameworks have existed for several decades and the concept is nothing new. When you look at agile teams, they are typically associated with being in the same offices, meeting daily and undertaking necessary changes to projects as one collective team. However, the agility is evident in not only the manner of solving complex problems but also in transforming the way of working. It also requires a change in mindset, demands giving up the traditional ways of operating and learning a lot of new things on the way. Organisations that have taken this route tend to move faster by embracing collaboration, driving innovation, and optimising operations even while mitigating the risks. In fact, teams that use agile methodologies experience nearly 20 per cent higher project success rate than those who do not rely on a proven approach. In short, once you go agile there’s no looking back.

With entire teams now stationed at their homes, listening to various market needs and navigating the change can be a daunting task. So, how do you ensure the teams have an agile mindset? Most importantly, how do you lead an agile team to success? Well, here are the basic elements to build and lead your agile team.

Lay the foundation for high-performing teams

Start by transforming your methods of communication and collaboration amidst the teams working remotely. Most importantly, you will need stable internal systems and processes put in place; ones that can be clearly understood by everyone and ensure smooth day-to-day operations. Then, you need to form your teams and equip them with the necessary skill sets that get the task completed on time. To optimise your team, make sure its membership remains in the five to nine-member range. Ensure your teams are well-coordinated and collectively respond to the tasks ahead. Lastly, assign managers and scrum masters to guide the team and help improve their performance.

Create a growth-oriented environment

For your teams to perform at their best and deliver great results, as a leader, you need to provide them with context. This will be an ongoing task for you to improve things, remove any hurdles or even impediments. You also need to provide the teams with the necessary resources to avoid loss of productivity. Encourage the teams to share their wins and even failures, which will be essential learnings for everyone. To bring out the best in your teams, you also need to provide the right conditions for them to grow.

Coach your teams to success

As a leader, your role is not limited to only inspiring, but extends to providing effective coaching. Relieve yourself from a commanding role to become a mentor and coach them to collectively solve complex challenges. Avoid telling teams what to do. Instead, ask powerful questions that can open up avenues, while demonstrating empathetic listening skills.

Practice transparency in communication

One of the hallmarks of a powerful leader is effective communication. With so many pressing situations that demand a leader’s attention, having a clear communication plan is vital for success. By conducting regular meetings, you will be able to keep the team together and open communication lines. Encourage everyone to ask questions and respond to them appropriately. At times, you will need to deliver news that is not so good; do it in a way that is sensitive but at the same time gets the message across.

With an agile mindset, your organisation will be well prepared to quickly respond to changing market dynamics, turn disruptive situations into opportunities, and also manage to deliver on customers’ needs.

The post How to lead an agile team to success in uncertain times appeared first on HR Katha.

On the flipside, there are also companies going the whole hog to take control of the situation and get the best out of it.

Pavitra Singh, CHRO, PepsiCo India, shares with HRKatha, “In the current times, we have reflected on what we need to do differently, challenged norms and ensured that ways of working become more agile and drive faster decision making. We have looked at all cost lines, prioritised discretionary costs and strengthened ecosystem partnerships. There are various process improvements that we have focused on to drive efficiencies at all levels.”

For any given company, according to Singh, there are two types of costs — good costs and bad costs.

“Bench planning and talent development for us is an ongoing legacy process, and this year will be no different in terms of our commitment to give unique careers and critical development experiences to our employees. We have our pulse on outside talent too to ensure that we are investing in future capabilities ahead of the curve.”

Good costs include training and investments in R&D, innovation and advertising, while bad costs are those discretionary costs that are not needed immediately.

Singh says, “A crisis provides a good opportunity to relook at the existing systems and identify the bad costs to drive efficiencies.”

“At PepsiCo India, we are leveraging this time to strengthen our business, build efficiencies and continue to invest in good costs to build future capabilities and talent,” she adds.

For instance, the Company has been investing heavily on internal talent development through key capability interventions.

PepsiCo India has been organising leader-led sessions, powerful online learning platforms and leveraging industry experts through its ‘Outside-In’ series, for its employees.

“Bench planning and talent development for us is an ongoing legacy process, and this year will be no different in terms of our commitment to give unique careers and critical development experiences to our employees. We have our pulse on outside talent too to ensure that we are investing in future capabilities ahead of the curve,” claims Singh.

Meanwhile, PepsiCo India has also honoured all its commitments to the external hires — Millennial campus talent — and extended internships and offers. It will continue to do so for the remaining year as well.

Singh believes that communication is the key during these uncertain times. “Employee communication has been the biggest lever for us to reinforce certainty and make sure that everyone has access to information about company operations and performance,” she explains.

In the initial phase, the Company organised weekly townhalls to ensure flow of information and build a connect with the employees as they tried to adapt to the new normal.

Now, the Company has moved to just one company-wide townhall every month, where there are interactive sessions between the employees and the senior leaders. “Employees are encouraged to ask questions. Our long-standing tradition to ‘voice opinions fearlessly’ with or without townhalls, encourages our employees to keep sharing their feedback, ideas and questions,” shares Singh.

“We have been leveraging multiple formats to ensure continuous employee listening, which is key during such challenging times, to get a feel of the pulse of the organisation,” she points out.

PepsiCo India believes that while it is important to listen to the employees, it is equally important to provide them with a feedback on their work. That is why, the Company will ensure that the performance-management process is completed within its due time.

Singh is of the opinion that, difficult times or not, providing feedback on how employees have performed will always remain core to the performance-management process. Shying away from it is not the right strategy.

“This year has provided an opportunity to rethink on the traditional metrics of measurement, and instead, focus a lot more on the ‘How Tos’ — collaboration, agility, future-first thinking,” she states.

Singh also clarifies that 2020 has made the Company cognizant of the fact that it has not been a level playing field for all due to multiple circumstances, unique to different individuals. The Company will continue to take cognizance of this and attempt to strike the right balance.

PepsiCo India has three sets of employees – one which works out of offices, another which is out in the market and a third which works in its factories and bottling plants.

“We have opened our plants after core process changes to ensure that staffing such that it facilitates social distancing. We have got logs and measures in place to ensure ‘contact-tracing’ for all workers,” reveals Singh.

For the office-based workforce, it was easy to adapt to the new normal because, the Company has been practising a remote-working model for several years now, with limited key roles across India and the world.

“So, when the pandemic hit, we took it to the next level and quickly scaled up to adapt our working styles to full scope for all our office-based workforce. We are still operating at 100 per cent remote working for all office employees, until we see a declining number of cases in India,” Singh asserts.

For its frontline employees, PepsiCo India has been extending safe travel and stay privileges across its sales territories. In addition, the Company has insured all its frontline staff, including the off-roll employees employed with the distribution partners. “We extended them medical benefits in case of COVID-19,” shares Singh.

PepsiCo India took an additional COVID 19 insurance and a higher coverage for the workmen, while also covering costs of home care as a part of the hospitalisation policy for all its employees.

The post How PepsiCo India has been re-strategising its workforce since the pandemic appeared first on HR Katha.

“COVID has changed a lot of things. Earlier, I wanted my employees to undertake virtual training, but the suggestion was not embraced then. The acceptance was very slow. But now, the same thing is being accepted easily. So, for situations like this we have to think fast and be ahead of time.” 

Very often, decisions taken in the heat of the moment or without dwelling much over them, weigh more heavy in terms of consequences. However, sometimes, while moving towards something better, we either try to jump to solutions or keep our calm and take the time to find that idea, which is just right and fulfils the need of the hour.

Similarly, even in organisations, the best way forward is either to make sweeping changes or embrace a gradual, improvisational approach to change.

This is the time when organisations are leaving no stone unturned to adapt to the new normal and focus on new changes that will decide whether their boat will sail or sink.

“If an organisation plans to let go of a talented pool of people, then their replacement will entail a huge cost. When COVID settles down and everything returns to normal, replacing these people will be tough.”

HRKatha spoke to a few industry leaders and found out how they think the changes in the organisations should take place.

Jayant Kumar, joint president, HR, Adani Group believes, “Whether a change is gradual or disruptive within an organisation, is completely dependent on external factors. If the environment demands rapid change, for instance, the current situation that we are in, we will have to make some disruptive changes at a faster pace.

“Organisations need to take tough decisions. You start with low-hanging fruits and then move to the ones at the top. That is the only way it will work.”

But, Kumar continues, “When the environment demands a faster change and we are on the track towards slow and steady change, then we may just miss the bus.”

Interestingly, for Kumar, changes in the work culture and deep-rooted competencies, are for a long-term purpose. “Then we will just have to work for a longer period of time, to be able to reach there,” he adds.

Rajkamal Vempati, head HR, Axis Bank holds a different opinion.

As the workplace has undergone tremendous changes, Vempati says, “One thing has been very clear that there is no better teacher than constraint. All of us are adapting to new practices, habits and rituals to manage work. Here, the decisions have to be taken in a disruptive manner.”

She explains, “When you are managing a crisis, you have to make sure that you are on the top. There is no ‘One size fits all’ perspective today. It will be incorrect to say that gradual decisions are better than fast decisions. When you talk too much about it, you amplify change in the long run but underestimate the drastic change that has happened in the short term.”

Unlike Vempati, some in the industry believe that changes have to take place in a measured manner. The larger goal and objective have to be in place. Changes need to be brought about in a non-threatening manner, and this involves a lot of communication.

Chandrashekhar Mukherjee, CHRO, Magic Bus Foundation states, “A gradual change has a process in place, and organisations need to follow that process before implementing those changes. Change involves people, and different people react in a different manner. So, these changes allow organisations to take everybody along with them.”

“One thing has been very clear that there is no better teacher than constraint. All of us are adapting to new practices, habits and rituals to manage work. Here, the decisions have to be taken in a disruptive manner.”

“Organisations need to take tough decisions. You start with low-hanging fruits and then move to the ones at the top. That is the only way it will work”, the CHRO, adds.

In crises like these, organisations may face a situation, where laying off employees or sending them on leave without pay is considered the quickest option possible. But, it is time, organisations move beyond such silly decisions and make arrangements for better planning.

Irfan Shaikh, group head-HR, Liberty Group, says, “Any plan initiated by the organisation has to have a gradual approach because the decision that you take today will cost you in the long term.”

“When organisations decide to layoff employees, replacing them should also be a considered option. To be precise, if an organisation plans to let go of a talented pool of people, then their replacement will entail a huge cost later, because when COVID settles down and things returns to normal, replacing these people will be tough,” Shaikh adds.

The problem is not the inability to take action but the inability to take ‘appropriate’ action. The pandemic has forced organisations to make hasty decisions at the snap of a finger.

On one hand, certain businesses are not doing well, and on the other, some — under the essential category — are flourishing during the pandemic.

“When the environment demands a faster change and we are on the track towards slow and steady change, then we may just miss the bus.”

Shaikh points out that drastic decisions can lead to many consequences, which may not be the right ones. Organisations can get into legal complications. Leaders have to realise that any quick decision taken in the heat of the moment can have harmful repercussion for the organisation tomorrow.

Mukherjee, on the other hand, clarifies that tough decisions are not always taken in a hasty manner.

Citing the example of the airline business, he says, “Right now, the airline business is badly hit by the pandemic and there have been a number of layoffs, which all of us saw coming. Now, these decisions need to be communicated clearly to the employees. They have to be made to understand gradually.”

For instance, ever since the lockdown was announced, Indigo Airlines had held on and stayed strong as an organisation through these difficult times. However, finally, the low-cost airline decided to lay off some of its employees.

While Kumar believes that disruptive changes are not for the long term, he also adds that in order to survive in the long term, we have to survive in the short term.

“If my short-term need is so crucial that it demands a faster change, then being agile is the best option. Agility is not just about speed, but it is speed coupled with the ability to change the direction fast. And that can happen only if organisations are running the ability to change fast, depending upon the external and internal organic factors,” he explains.

One interesting aspect that Kumar points out is that, right now, we cannot be fragile or else organisations will be disintegrated.

Many of us believe that in normal circumstances, when things are good, gradual changes are expected to happen, but they are not meant to happen in situations like the pandemic.

Sunil Singh, CHRO, Cadila, believes that the changes that are happening right now were probably due for the last 10 years. “People are now talking about the nature of work and digitalisation, but the acceptance has been very casual and slow.”

Singh believes that this is a very typical approach that happens in a normal circumstance.

Sharing his personal experience, Singh says, “COVID has changed a lot of things. Earlier, I wanted my employees to undertake virtual training, but the suggestion was not embraced then. The acceptance was very slow. But now, the same thing is being accepted easily. So, for situations like these, we have to think fast and move ahead of time.”

It is true that all the technological changes that are happening today, have existed around us for the past decade. Zoom calls and Microsoft teams were not founded yesterday. Along with companies that were accepting them slowly, there were other companies who were ahead of the curve in terms of adaption to the new technologies.

Singh rightly adds, “Gradual changes may not work out in today’s time because when you get comfortable working in a certain manner, you become acquainted with it. Today, it is impossible to have 100 per cent attendance in the workplace anymore. It is going to be an environment where people have to change.”

The post How should companies embrace change? appeared first on HR Katha.

However, in these times, when the entire function revolves around communication, empathy, understanding and self-awareness, people with high emotional quotient (EQ) are much in demand.

Rishi Tiwari, director – HR, Hilton, is of the opinion that EQ and IQ go hand in hand, rather than each existing in isolation, to determine the overall possibility of a candidate to succeed as an employee in a given role.

He draws an analogy, saying one can imagine IQ as a great car engine that requires a fuel of EQ to propel it faster to succeed in the race of performing a job with great success. “The finest of car engines would be of no use if they do not have fuel in them,” he quips.

Employees with hire EQ  always tend to keep themselves afloat in adverse situations

“However, as a part of the normal human schema, it is rare to identify a candidate with both high IQ and EQ at the same time, because a higher level of intelligence develops cognitive abilities that always thrive on identifying cause and effect relationships, commonly called the ‘logic’. On the other hand, EQ is a measure of social intelligence or the ability to understand problems or situations even outside the periphery of logic,” explains Tiwari.

The coexistence is never directly proportional, rather, it is more inversely correlated with a coefficient yet to be researched. Hence, it is the HR’s job to identify on a slider scale, the trade-off between EQ and IQ, which is best suited for a given role. For instance, for a leadership position, we are more likely to hire a person with higher EQ rather than IQ, if a final decision has to be reached between a set of candidates.

It is often heard that if you wish to succeed in the workplace and move up the career ladder, emotional intelligence is critical to your success.

According to a survey by Career Builder, nearly three-quarters (71 per cent) of hiring managers said they valued an employee’s EQ over her/his IQ. Another three-quarters (75 per cent) admitted they would be more likely to promote an employee with high emotional intelligence.

Goleman’s model also states that those with a higher EQ have a greater ability to self-regulate, and higher levels of motivation – which can, in turn, reduce their tendency to procrastinate, leading to improved self-confidence, and enable them to focus on achieving long-term goals.

While leaders and managers with a higher EQ can help teams to collaborate more effectively and identify the specific drivers that motivate individual employees, teams can also develop an emotional intelligence all of their own.

EQ and IQ go hand in hand, rather than each

existing in isolation, to determine the overall possibility of a candidate to succeed as an employee in a given role

So what has changed in the current context?

Employees with high EQ are more likely to stay calm under pressure. They are good at solving conflicts and are capable of taking a more thoughtful business decision without leaning towards a single stakeholder.

“There has been a great shift in factors impacting organisational performance. Earlier, we were focusing more on the knowledge part — because it was scarce — and a differential factor between the organisations, to succeed. Though the knowledge of subject matter can undoubtedly be imbibed, additionally, a shift is happening towards the emotional quotient ,” elucidates Ravi Mishra, SVP- HR and admin, Birla Carbon.

“Though emotional intelligence had always been important, its realisation was not so visible,” points out Mishra.

Rajeev Singh, CHRO, ATG Tyres (Yokohama Group), believes, “Working from home amidst a turmoil-like situation such as this, without hampering productivity, requires a new skill, which is resilience. And to possess quality resilience, it’s important to have a good EQ level in the employee, where one needs mastery over the art of effectively managing heart and mind simultaneously.”

Singh further explains that in a COVID-like situation, employees with hire EQ will always keep themselves afloat. Such remote working skills will always call for balanced behaviours from team members, and working environments will always hit one or the other problem, which will mostly require employees with higher EQ. This is because, IQ can be imbibed but EQ comes from within.

Though the knowledge of subject matter can undoubtedly be imbibed, additionally, a shift is happening towards the emotional quotient

“As a leader, if you fail to be empathetic towards your employees or team members, you cannot reap successful results.”

Researchers have suggested that emotional intelligence influences how well employees interact with their colleagues.

Ensuring a diversified employee base has become a stringent mandate in most organisations. Hence, not everyone who possesses higher EQ can or should be hired. It is all about imbibing the art of balancing.

“Also, it depends on which role you are hiring for. Let’s say, the employer is looking to hire for a position of security-in-charge. He won’t look for people with higher IQ level. Certain roles in organisations are characterised by varied needs, hence, it’s the role which you should screen first before hiring,” suggests Singh.

Always keep in mind that what people remember you for, is how you made them feel and not what you did to them in hard times!

The post Why high EQ is more in demand than high IQ now appeared first on HR Katha.

Insurance companies, such as Aviva Life Insurance are crafting their response to the crisis and are continuously striving to improve their existing practices.

Amit Malik, chief people operations & customer services officer, Aviva Life Insurance, says, “Any crisis is an opportunity and I think that has been one key element of our response — be it towards our customers, partners or employees.”

The Company’s response to the Covid situation was guided by its crisis-management team. To ensure business continuity and stakeholder communication, the focus has been on its employees and customers.

“It has involved relooking at a lot of processes to enable remote functioning, quick adoption of digital means and educating our customers to do the same, increasing the frequency and nature of communication with our existing customers, and helping our employees manage their health and wellbeing in these tough times,” adds Malik. 

Very simply put, there were three challenges that the Company had decided to focus on when the menace broke out. 

The first challenge was to make sure that any new customer seeking a new policy is able to do so, and hence, the whole policy-issuance process needed to continue even while working from home.

Second, attention had to be drawn towards the existing customers. The Company had to make sure that they were able to reach out for any help they required with respect to their policies. 

Any crisis is an opportunity and I think that has been one key element of our response — be it towards our customers, partners or employees

The third and most important challenge was to ensure that the employees, the Company’s driving force, did not experience any form of anxiety because of the ongoing uncertainty. 

Living the value of ‘Care More’ in these challenging times, Aviva India continued with its legacy of ensuring the engagement and wellbeing of its employees and took no time to adopt social- distancing norms. Guidelines and best practices were shared with all employees to help them balance their mind, body, heart and soul as they continued to work, even while handling added household responsibilities. 

The ‘Work Feeling Happy Campaign’ or WFH was launched to ensure that learning never stopped. The fun activities did not let anyone’s mental wellbeing be impacted during the testing times.

To handle this situation in a structured way, the Company came up with several strategies as a key to encourage everyone to embrace the new normal.

Learning via ‘Curious Learner Challenge’

Aviva India’s 1700+ employees have been provided access to 8500+ learning resources to identify their learning needs and enjoy on-the-go learning. People have shown interest in courses not only related to their jobs, but in various fields such as IT, coding, fine arts, photography, music, social-media advertising, mindfulness, leadership skills and so on. 

Over the last two months, Malik shares, “We have curated and shared over 25 webinars and podcasts and received excellent feedback. It is indeed interesting to see insights from employees who attend webinars and live sessions shared by us, which encourages healthy debates on the WhatsApp groups.”

Engagement via ‘Work Feeling Happy Campaign’

This four-week campaign aimed to equip everyone with information, micro-steps, fun quizzes and webinars on weekly themes and complimentary access to a meditation app, which they could enjoy along with their families.

The initial theme was health and wellbeing, with the focus being to ensure that the disturbance in the daily schedule and reduced movement does not impact the physical and mental wellbeing of the employees. This was followed by mindfulness and gratitude, with an aim to de-stress everyone.

Gradually, the employees were offered online courses, along with activities to inculcate budgeting amongst kids and family, and understand the shortcomings while handling personal finances. The employees were also guided on being resilient in adverse situations similar to the current scenario around the globe.

The evolution of the video platforms has built a supportive ecosystem for the sales team.

Under such extreme conditions, the ability to adapt to digital platforms faster has helped its salesforce deliver even under lockdown conditions. 

“Our ‘mobile sales tool’ has helped them log in policies without requiring personal meetings with the customers. Customers were encouraged to leverage the benefits of the self-service portal— that helps them with their policy renewals and so on, for which they would typically depend on their advisors,” Malik said.

The crisis and the related uncertainty of health and life have made the need for insurance stand out like never before — especially in a country, such as India, where people are prone to buying insurance not for indemnity, but rather investment. 

The insurance company is living up to its purpose of ‘With You Today for a Better Tomorrow’, wherein it is operating with the goal that not a single customer’s policy should lapse for the lack of awareness or inaccessibility to our services.

In Malik’s words, “After the initial low in March, renewals have steadily improved — the top query in our call centres for the last month has been about renewal premium payment and our business numbers for the months of April and May are evidence of the same.”

Moreover, self-service portals for policyholders are proving to be game changers for Aviva Life Insurance. 

Malik believes that insurers will need to ramp up their call centre operations to keep pace with the increase in premium payments, claims and other customer requests. Going forward, new- age solutions such as cloud telephony, AI-powered chatbots, and interactive voice response and so on will provide the customers with contactless service and seamless experience.

Now that the Company has got back to working from office, albeit with just a few employees initially, the challenge is to help its people imbibe social distancing as the new normal.

Aviva is meticulously putting in interventions for every single minute that an employee spends in the office to ensure that social distancing is maintained at all times.

An onsite doctor has been engaged who visits the office thrice a week to check on all support staff and any employee who is feeling unwell. Employees have to sign an e-health declaration every day before coming to work. For seating arrangements, a minimum six-feet distance is ensured between the work stations. Employees will have limited usage of common spaces, such as the cafeteria, lifts, meeting rooms and so on.

For Malik, employee safety is paramount, and therefore, even more than the numbers, it is about understanding who can contribute from home and who needs to come to office. 

The post How Aviva Life Insurance India sees opportunity in a crisis  appeared first on HR Katha.

As per the report, till about June, the Asia Pacific region will witness the maximum loss in terms of work hours, equalling about 125 million full-time jobs.  More than four out of every five workers reside in a country presently going through partial or total lockdowns.

This means, a significant 81 percent of the global workforce comprising 3.3 billion people is impacted.

Only two weeks ago, it was projected that about 25 million people would be rendered unemployed, but now a much higher number of people are expected to be rendered jobless. This will be in addition to the nearly 190 million people who were registered as jobless in 2019, even before the coronavirus outbreak happened.

The study terms this the worst crisis to affect the world, ever since World War II.

Huge losses are predicted across various income groups, particularly in the upper-middle income nations. As per the ILO, about 1.25 billion workers are presently working jobs in the ‘high risk’ sectors where the likelihood of layoffs and pay cuts is higher. Many of these workers will feel the impact of job loss more as they are already earning little and have low skill levels.

The post About 1.25 billion livelihoods at risk from the pandemic: Study appeared first on HR Katha.

With such uncertainty, it is upon the leaders to shine a light on the road their employees should take.

This is where the twin challenges arise — of trying to ensure that the employees, colleagues, customers, and their families are kept safe, and of attempting to prevent disruptions in the supply chain and stay afloat. Driving business continuity at a time like this comes with its own set of challenges and to-do’s since this is not business-as-usual.

The best leaders are very clear in what they want to communicate

Here are a few essential dos and don’ts that leaders need to keep in mind during a crisis situation.

Stay genuine and authentic

Leadership is successful when the employees believe in the leader. In such times, it is all the more important to know what and when to say, because people in an organisation have limited avenues to source information from and are most likely to believe whatever comes straight from the horse’s mouth

“A leader should not present flowery words to the employees in times of distress. Along with grace and dignity, being genuine in words and actions is the most essential element in leading people,” says Nihar Ghosh, CHRO, Emami Group.

Take the example of Jeff Bezos, who in an open letter to his employees on March 22, said, ‘It is only going to get worse before it gets better’. While the message is not all positive, it presents true facts without any sugar coating. This not only helps build an employee’s trust, but also paints a clear picture of the state of business at hand.

“Clarity, assurance and accountability have to be essentials of any leadership communication in moments of crises. The best leaders are very clear in what they want to communicate”, says Prabir Jha, HR specialist.

However bad the state of things may be, clarity in a difficult time is more assuring than flowery words.

Keeping the flock together:

Every company has experienced work from home, and while the concept is not new, a complete remote-work scenario is something nobody had ever practiced. This may prompt leaders to work harder and for longer hours to stay in touch with others within the organisation.

With everyone working from home, leading during this time translates to staying connected. People are more used to the physical space rather that the virtual one. Therefore, it falls upon the leaders to help them navigate through this every business day. Constant communication cannot be over-emphasised at this point.

Managing expectations:

As every organisation out there is trying to stay afloat, there may be dedicated teams working longer hours to ensure that business continuity becomes possible. However, not everyone may be able to pull in the same level of productivity that is expected of them. The same level of output as on a regular working day cannot be expected from the workers during such times, since this is a scenario they are not used to.

Sensitivity and empathy are key to keeping the employees engaged and motivated to continue working despite the challenges encountered in delivery. Now, there will be constraints that people may not be used to, and in this scenario, there may be multiple variables hindering work, which are not thought of. “Exacting standards of outcome is not the best thing to do right now because people may just give up or sign off,” points out Ghosh.

This is especially true for jobs, which are more outcome-based, such as sales or marketing. There will be a high degree of anxiety created around this time. Therefore, sensitivity and compassion are important elements in leading people.

Communicating consistently:

While there is a lot of pressure on employees to deliver, the leadership faces the pressure to provide answers.

A leader should not present flowery words to the employees in the time of distress. One should be genuine in words and actions.

Leaders are human too. Despite the tough environment, they have to project a sense of calm and assuredness to those under them.  Most organisations have blueprints on how to function during a crisis. Even so, people may merely be taking it one day at a time. Employees at this time will need answers to questions that one may not have.

So what can be done?

Honest, consistent and adaptive communication is the need of the hour. Rather than projecting false confidence it may help more to be honest about being uncertain and proactively following up on earlier statements.  This means, actively addressing any concerns that are raised and adapting to the ever-changing reality.

Preparing a plan B:

This may sound apocalyptic, but it may be time to have a contingency plan in place. There may be a need to start a dialogue around a plan B for the organisation. With business hit hard and struggling to stay afloat, workers are bound to wonder about the fate of the organisation and their own.

In such a case, all leaders must communicate with their employees about what a worst-case scenario may look like, and how the company is preparing for it. “The essence of leadership is to make people feel that their leaders are standing beside them, not just through words but through actions,” asserts Ghosh.

It is the times of distress that make or break a leader and with no clue as to when the lockdown is going to be lifted, leadership needs to heed these few points to drive business continuity and overcome the barriers of leading remotely!

To conclude, as Jha puts it, “Done well, an informed group of people can collaborate responsibly to effect a remedial game plan that finally wins them, individually and collectively, their day. And it becomes folklore to leverage in future storytelling in culture shaping that ensures a more battle-ready environment for the future.”

The post Leading during business un-usual appeared first on HR Katha.

It is rather shocking that the international body whose main task is to ensure that all the member nations are protected and their interests are served, is itself facing a financial crisis. The global economic crisis has deeply impacted the very body that works towards achieving international peace and security.

Although efforts have been on since January, 2019, to cut costs and reduce expenditure, operations in New York, Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi as well as the regional commissions will bear the brunt. The backup reserves that were delved into will also run out soon.

The Secretary General has conveyed that temporary measures and steps will have to be taken to be able to pay the staff’s salaries and entitlements. Meanwhile, all conferences and meetings will be put off for the time being. Also, efforts are on to reduce services and save energy. Officials have been asked to cut down on travel or avoid trips unless absolutely essential.

The member states have also been requested to pay up their contributions on time and also increase their contributions.

The post UN faces worst cash shortage, operations and staff salaries impacted appeared first on HR Katha.

It is for those who do not wish to choose the voluntary retirement scheme, that the employee separation schemes have been offered. All the interested employees have to let the management know before the end of this month.

The move will help the Company reduce expenditure in the face of slow sales and mounting inventory.

It is reported that sales have fallen for almost nine months in a row. The sale of passenger vehicles in the last quarter was only a fifth of what it was in 2018, for the same quarter.

Employees at one of Ashok Leyland’s plants carried out a protest demanding better bonus for the year.

In an attempt to balance production and demand, the Company had announced certain no-work days with corresponding allowance cuts at its plant in Pant Nagar, Uttarakhand also.

With these steps and initiatives, the Company hopes to bring down costs, and save Rs 500 crore in terms of operational expenditure.

A slowdown has affected the automobile sector the world over, affecting all associated industries and businesses in the auto space. The sector has been facing massive layoffs for some time now.

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Not all who lost their jobs were able to find alternative employment. A significant number are still struggling to make ends meet. In the April-June quarter, there was a steep drop in the export of cotton yarn [(-)34 per cent].

Of the over 600 spinning mills that shut down across the country till March, 2017, 225 were in Tamil Nadu.

Several spinning mills are on offer for sale, but considering they cost about Rs 500 to 1000 crore, there are no takers. All the equipment in these mills is gathering dust.

Many feel that the high state and Central taxes and levies are responsible for the poor performance of Indian yarn in the global market. Also, with the rising cost of raw materials and the import of yarn from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, at lower prices, has adversely affected business. In fact, Indian mills suffered a loss of approx. Rs 20 – Rs 25 per kilogram.

All these factors put together caused hundreds of mills to close in India.

Only if some discount is offered in the state and Central taxes and levies for cotton and blended yarns, can the mills that are still operational hope to carry on.

The trade standoff between the US and China, as well as the free-trade agreement between China and Pakistan are also said to have contributed to this slump.

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While hiring competitive human capital is challenging for organisations, an even bigger challenge is to retain them and not lose them to competitors. Thus, it is important to provide the hired talent with the warm and comfortable space required to make them stay loyal, contented. Providing them the right working environment and atmosphere will also ensure that their productivity does not decline.

Whether they are employees at the baseline, middle level or at the top, the C-Suite is churning out innovative practices to assist the employees in every possible way to ensure their well-being, both at work and at home.

Interestingly, many avenues open up for employers to extend a supporting hand to employees in their lives through a systematic approach called Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).

First introduced in the mid-1900s, to address the problem of alcoholism at work, EAP was started in the US. The objective at the time was to overcome the falling job performances and productivity amongst employees, who were alcoholic.

Research shows that work-related stress is on the rise, and this programme aims to support employees in overcoming all kinds of negative emotions arising at work. Moreover, EAP also helps to support employees suffering from mid-life crises. The sessions within this programme make changing careers a lot easier. It is especially helpful to those who plan to start work all over again after a break due to a physical or mental ill health.

There has been phenomenal growth in the EAP space, covering all aspects of an employee’s work life such as:

• Coping with work
• Managing work-related stress
• Relationship with colleagues
• Bullying and harassment
• Productivity and performance
• Conflict and anger management

Presently, EAP also addresses personal issues hampering the performance of employees at work. The programme helps to resolve matters associated with negative events, traumas and losses, which generally are a cause for mental illness, such as negativity, anxiety or depression. In addition, EAP is directed towards helping employees going through abusive relationships as well.
In short, it covers the following personal problems:

• Family problems (with spouse, children)
• Substance abuse
• Abusive relationships
• Separation and divorce
• Financial and legal issues
• Low-self esteem
• Emotion management
• Stress, anger and anxiety management

The direct benefits of EAP are reduced absenteeism, higher productivity and lower turnover. In some organisations, a 24-hour hotline is made available for the employees to quickly talk and get support without having to wait. Moreover, there is continuous counselling that employees can sign up for in case they see a need.

Apparently, organisations are taking more and more responsibility for the overall well-being of their employees and EAP echoes the same. The CEOs and CHROs are collaboratively working towards improving employee satisfaction so that performances stay steady and overall business objectives are met.

Some organisations outsource this through an external service provider so as to keep the assistance programme (counselling) confidential. Employees freely discuss their issues with the assigned person without any hesitation or embarrassment. EAP is offered to employees free of cost and these services are often delivered via phone, video-conferencing, online chatting, e-mail interactions or even face-to-face.

The underlining purpose of EAP is to support the well-being of employees at work and in their personal lives. However, not many organisations in India are offering this service to their employees.

The few CHROs–from sectors, such as IT, FMCG and electronics and appliances–that HRKatha spoke with have not yet implemented EAP in their organisations. The handful of MNCs that are offering this programme to their employees, have definitely become some of the best companies to work with. These employers have earned a substantial amount of loyalty as well.

Cost can be a constraint for widespread adoption of EAP in our country. However, considering its innumerable benefits, it will not be long before more and more companies start to offer this programme to their employees. There is enough evidence available from the many researches done at the workplace, that mental illness is on the rise, and only EAPs will help organisations deal with such issues early on.

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In the process of trying to tide over the financial crisis that it is facing, Jet Airways was paying salaries to its staff in instalments, in a staggered manner. However, it has not been able to follow the schedule that it had drawn up for the payment of salaries in December, following which the National Aviator’s Guild discussed the current situation at an open house meeting.

The pilots are expected to take a final call if the Airline defaults on the payment scheduled for February.

The Airline is attempting to arrange the cash required to handle the present cash crunch. It has already managed to secure Rs 250 crore through advance sale of redemption miles to its associate firm. It is also negotiating with lenders for short-term loans.

The Jet management now approves of offering the Jet Privilege Private (JPPL) loyalty programme to other carriers. JPPL sells miles to Jet Airways as well as its partner airlines, banks and hotels. However, till now, an exclusivity clause prevented it from selling miles to any other airline which is not a partner of Jet. With the clause now being renounced, JPPL is now free to introduce other airlines as partners and even manage their loyalty programmes.

A resolution plan is also being negotiated with Etihad Airways, the strategic partner of Jet. It is expected that banks will put fresh capital into the Airline and convert debt into equity.

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