Last year, a video from HDFC Bank went viral, showcasing a senior manager publicly berating his team for not meeting targets. This abusive behaviour is not an isolated case. Recently, similar incidents involving private banks such Bandhan Bank and even a public sector bank, Canara Bank, have come to light again, painting a grim picture of a workplace driven by numbers, devoid of empathy, and where personal time is seen as a luxury. The absence of accountability for such behaviour allows it to cascade down, perpetuating a cycle of stress and hostility.

“The relentless pursuit of numbers can lead to a culture of fear and anxiety, ultimately diminishing productivity.”

Ramesh Shankar, seasoned HR leader

Why are private banks, in particular, breeding grounds for such intense pressure? The answer is a complex web of factors, with unrealistic targets, communication breakdowns, and leadership shortcomings at its core.

Crushing targets, stifling communication

Every interaction becomes a transaction, the pressure to perform overshadowing the human element. This, unfortunately, is a reality for many in private banking. Ramesh Shankar, a seasoned HR leader, aptly points out, “The relentless pursuit of numbers can lead to a culture of fear and anxiety, ultimately diminishing productivity.”

Stringent sales targets are a cornerstone of performance in any organisation. However, in private banks, these targets often morph into unattainable benchmarks, leading to a culture of fear and anxiety.

Further intensifying the pressure is the fierce competition within the banking sector. New players and fintech startups are challenging the established order, forcing traditional banks to constantly prove their mettle. This relentless pursuit of performance translates to a culture of urgency, where results are expected not just annually, but quarterly or even monthly.

“The influx of new players in the market has intensified competition, forcing banks to adopt a more aggressive approach, which often translates into pressure on the workforce,” says Satyajit Mohanty, VP-HR, Dabur India.

“When there’s a lack of accountability or repercussions for toxic behaviour, it can cascade down the organisational hierarchy, perpetuating a cycle of stress and hostility.”

Nihar Ghosh, senior HR leader

Leadership by intimidation: A recipe for toxicity

Leadership styles play a pivotal role in shaping organisational culture. “Respectful environments foster dignity, while others inadvertently cultivate toxicity,” highlights Nihar Ghosh, a senior HR leader. Recent incidents serve as stark reminders.

Recent incidences serve as stark reminders. The issue escalates when such behaviour emanates from the upper echelons of management. Senior leaders, tasked with setting targets and driving performance, inadvertently set the precedent for acceptable conduct within the organisation. “When there’s a lack of accountability or repercussions for toxic behaviour, it can cascade down the organisational hierarchy, perpetuating a cycle of stress and hostility,” cautions Ghosh.

Furthermore, the relentless focus on short-term gains, driven by investor demands, creates a myopic approach.

“The focus on short-term gains has become ingrained in the banking sector, driven by the need to satisfy shareholders and investors. Listed entities are particularly vulnerable to this pressure, as they are beholden to quarterly performance reports and shareholder demands,” Mohanty emphasises.

Long-term employee well-being and sustainability take a backseat as employees prioritise immediate profitability.  Compounding this issue is the communication gap between management and employees.  Many managers lack the skills to provide constructive feedback, resorting instead to intimidation tactics. This not only erodes employee morale but also stifles innovation and critical thinking, crucial ingredients for long-term success in a dynamic financial landscape.

“The influx of new players in the market has intensified competition, forcing banks to adopt a more aggressive approach, which often translates into pressure on the workforce.”

Satyajit Mohanty, VP-HR, Dabur India

The perfect storm: Young leaders, shifting values

The changing demographics of leadership also contribute to the problem. Younger managers, lacking experience in handling complex situations and managing pressure, often clash with older generations who value stability and respect. Additionally, the evolving values of some company promoters prioritise aggression and results over traditional values of loyalty and respect for employees. This shift can lead to a culture that prioritises immediate results over employee development, hindering long-term talent retention.

“This generational shift in leadership has resulted in a clash of values and management styles, with older generations valuing stability and respect, while younger leaders prioritise innovation and results,” asserts Mohanty.

The path forward: Beyond the pressure cooker

The onus falls on private banks, and the banking sector as a whole, to implement effective strategies to create a healthier work environment. This involves holding individuals accountable for their actions while incentivising respectful behaviour. Regular performance reviews can be used for course correction and support, focusing on development alongside goal achievement. Training managers in emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and effective communication can equip them to navigate human behaviour and build a supportive environment.

“Addressing these issues requires a collective effort,” emphasises Ghosh. “From senior management to frontline employees, everyone must be committed to cultural transformation and behavioural change.” By prioritising people alongside profits, private banks can move beyond the pressure cooker and create a sustainable work environment that fosters employee well-being and long-term success. After all, a thriving bank isn’t just about numbers; it’s about empowered and motivated people working towards a shared vision. This can be achieved by fostering a culture of open communication, where employees feel comfortable raising concerns and offering suggestions. Additionally, investing in employee well-being programs, such as stress management workshops and flexible work arrangements, can significantly improve employee morale and productivity.

In conclusion, the pressure cooker culture in private banking is a complex issue with deep roots. However, by acknowledging the problem and implementing targeted solutions, banks can create a work environment that is not only profitable but also fosters a sense of purpose and well-being for its employees. This shift towards a more sustainable and human-centric approach is not just ethical but also essential for long-term success in today’s competitive financial landscape.

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The tragic suicide of Gaurav Gupta, an employee at Paytm Payments Bank in Indore, on 26 February 2024, underscores the critical importance of careful consideration and proactive planning for individuals facing turbulent times in their organisations.

Gupta’s decision to take his own life was reportedly fuelled by the stress and anxiety stemming from the financial downturn and uncertainty surrounding the future of the company. Despite not leaving a suicide note, it’s apparent that Gupta was dealing with immense pressure, fearing the possibility of losing his job due to the company’s regulatory issues.

These scenarios leave employees feeling uncertain and anxious about their professional futures.

“The initial step, involves understanding the root causes of the downturn, its organisational impact, and the future outlook.”

Vivek Tripathi, VP-HR, NewGen Software

For employees facing such turbulence, careful consideration and proactive planning are paramount. “The initial step,” advises Vivek Tripathi, VP-HR, NewGen Software, “involves understanding the root causes of the downturn, its organisational impact, and the future outlook.” Should the challenges be industry-wide or beyond the company’s control, employees may choose to express resilience and loyalty by weathering the storm alongside the organisation. However, when the company’s woes stem from internal factors such as flawed business models or ethical lapses, as in Byju’s case, the situation becomes more nuanced. “A breakdown in trust towards leadership due to reckless ventures or unethical practices,” Tripathi says, “may necessitate exploring alternative career paths.”

Periods of ambiguity necessitate introspection. Do an individual’s career aspirations align with staying put? While some prioritise stability, others may seek growth opportunities elsewhere. Open communication with leadership becomes crucial. Seek clarity on the company’s strategies to address challenges and its plans for employee well-being. If exploring external opportunities is considered, proactive preparation is essential. Updating resumes, refining online profiles, and actively networking can enhance marketability in the job market.

“Employees in such organisations may be more inclined to weather the storm, trusting that their efforts will be recognised and rewarded ultimately.”

Ramesh Shankar S, HR leader and former CHRO, Siemens

Ramesh Shankar S, HR leader and former CHRO, Siemens, emphasises that the appropriate course of action for employees largely depends on their perception of the organisation’s values and leadership’s credibility. If an organisation is known for its strong values and the leadership inspires confidence by demonstrating a commitment to navigating challenges collectively, then remaining with the company might be a viable option.

Rituparna Chakraborty, VP and co-founder, Teamlease, underlines the importance of building a robust professional network. “A strong network serves as a safety net during unforeseen disruptions,” she says. Staying informed about industry trends, competitor strategies, and market dynamics empowers individuals to make informed career decisions. Additionally, seeking guidance from mentors, colleagues, or career counsellors can provide valuable perspectives and empower individuals to make confident career choices.

Shankar contrasts this with companies such as the Tata Group, known for transparent communication and solidarity during challenging times. “Employees in such organisations may be more inclined to weather the storm,” Shankar says, “trusting that their efforts will be recognised and rewarded ultimately.”

“Setting up a savings account and regularly contributing a portion of your income acts as a safety net, providing a cushion in case of unforeseen circumstances.”

Rituparna Chakraborty, VP and co-founder, Teamlease

Ultimately, the decision to stay or leave rests on each individual’s assessment of the company’s integrity, leadership credibility, and alignment with personal values, as Shankar believes.

Financial prudence is also crucial. “Setting up a savings account and regularly contributing a portion of your income acts as a safety net,” advises Chakraborty, “providing a cushion in case of unforeseen circumstances.” This financial buffer reduces the pressure to accept unsuitable job offers solely due to immediate financial needs.

Employees navigating turbulent times with their current employers must prioritise their well-being and professional growth. While loyalty is commendable, seeking opportunities elsewhere may be the most prudent course of action if the company’s leadership fails to address underlying issues or adhere to ethical standards. By prioritising informed decision-making, actively building professional networks, and taking steps towards financial security, employees can weather these storms and emerge prepared for the opportunities that lie ahead.

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Imagine a scenario: Manager A employs a classic commanding style, unilaterally announcing a major project shift without consulting the team. This decision triggers a cascade of negative consequences. Team members feel disengaged, their individual contributions ignored.

Ramesh Shankar S, senior HR leader and former CHRO, Siemens, points out, “People don’t like it because it feels too strict and distant. To get respect and keep employees interested, leaders need to be more friendly and approachable.” Morale plummets, replaced by a sense of undervaluation.

“Leaders should encourage open-ended questions, present options, and empower team members to participate”

Ramesh Shankar S, HR leader and former CHRO, Siemens

Second, innovation suffers. Stifled by the manager’s command-and-control approach, employees hesitate to share ideas, fearing they won’t be valued. This stifles creativity, hindering the organisation’s ability to adapt and thrive.

Gen Z and Gen Y, products of the digital age, crave autonomy and self-reliance. They’re accustomed to readily available information, empowering them to make informed decisions and solve problems independently. Commanding leaders, wedded to a directive approach, struggle to connect with these employees who value the freedom to contribute and express themselves.

Purpose and values are also crucial for these generations when choosing a workplace. Younger generations seek more than just a paycheck; they seek a sense of purpose and alignment with their workplace values. Commanding leaders solely focused on task completion, neglecting the broader mission, fail to resonate with Gen Z and Gen Y.

Anil Mohanty, an HR leader, agrees, “They value inclusivity and dislike being pressured. They are technologically advanced, well-informed, and seek leaders who treat everyone equally.”

“Diversity and inclusion, beyond just gender, are crucial to them, and leaders need to be respectful and explain their decisions transparently”

Anil Mohanty, HR leader

“Diversity and inclusion, beyond just gender, are crucial to them, and leaders need to be respectful and explain their decisions transparently,” he adds.

Work-life balance ranks high on Gen Z and Gen Y’s priority list. The rigid, structured approach often associated with commanding leadership clashes with their desire for flexible work arrangements.

Furthermore, these generations value collaboration and shared decision-making. Commanding leaders typically make decisions unilaterally, expecting immediate compliance. However, Gen Z and Gen Y, raised in a collaborative environment, value being part of the decision-making process. Unlike the unilateral pronouncements of commanding leaders, they thrive on open communication and participation.

Shankar emphasises this shift. “Leaders should encourage open-ended questions, present options, and empower team members to participate.”

The commanding style is not dead, but it needs to adapt. Leaders must embrace a more collaborative and participative approach. Open-ended questions, multiple options for consideration, and active listening empower team members and foster a sense of autonomy.

“While experienced leaders may find it challenging to relinquish their commanding ways, mentorship towards flexibility is key”

Pradyumna Pandey, head-HR, Hero Motocorp

Pradyumna Pandey, head-HR, Hero Motocorp, believes, “Micromanagement, often associated with commanding leadership, should be avoided. The younger generations seek autonomy and independence, and leaders should be adaptable to different working styles.”

He advises, “While experienced leaders may find it challenging to relinquish their commanding ways, mentorship towards flexibility is key. Leaders must be open to having their assumptions and methods challenged, fostering an environment of trust and open expression.”

In conclusion, commanding leaders who adapt to the unique needs and preferences of Gen Z and Gen Y can remain effective. Embracing a more inclusive, collaborative, and flexible approach will not only improve employee satisfaction and retention but also unlock the full potential of their teams, propelling the organisation forward in a rapidly changing world.

The post The demise of the iron fist: Why commanding leadership can’t crack Gen Z and Y appeared first on HR Katha.

This might sound strange. Shouldn’t creativity blossom in a neat and tidy environment? But the truth is, innovation thrives not in the comfort of familiarity, but in the jarring collisions of diverse thoughts and unexpected detours.

As Amit Sharma, former CHRO, Volvo Eicher, aptly notes, “Innovation thrives in the face of the unknown, when there’s no clear roadmap. In today’s dynamic landscape, organisations that embrace a little chaos, that trust their people to navigate the unexpected, are the ones that will truly break new ground.”

“In today’s dynamic landscape, organisations that embrace a little chaos, that trust their people to navigate the unexpected, are the ones that will truly break new ground”

Amit Sharma, former CHRO, Volvo Eicher

This embrace of chaos isn’t about unmitigated mayhem, but about fostering an environment that welcomes unconventional thinking. Diverse perspectives, often born from the friction of conflicting viewpoints, are the fuel that propels innovation forward. In the ordered, often echo-chambered confines of structured thinking, the tendency is to default to familiar solutions. Chaos disrupts this stasis, forcing us to explore uncharted territories and consider the unthinkable.

Sujiv Nair, global CHRO at Re Sustainability, echoes this sentiment: “Chaos can sometimes bring in creative solutions that logic, with all its rigidity, might miss. It’s the catalyst that pushes us beyond our comfort zones and unlocks the potential for breakthrough ideas.”

Beyond unlocking creativity, chaos serves as a crucible for adaptability. When faced with the unpredictable, we’re forced to think on our feet, improvise, and learn to navigate the unknown. This agility, honed in the fires of chaos, becomes a vital asset in the dynamic landscape of innovation, where unexpected challenges are the norm.

“Chaos can sometimes bring in creative solutions that logic, with all its rigidity, might miss.”

Sujiv Nair, global CHRO at Re Sustainability

Some of history’s most significant innovations, from penicillin’s serendipitous discovery to the accidental creation of the Post-it note, were born from the embrace of chance. Chaos, with its inherent randomness, increases the likelihood of such unexpected encounters, opening the door to unforeseen opportunities and revolutionary breakthroughs.

Furthermore, innovation flourishes in environments that encourage experimentation and risk-taking. Chaos provides fertile ground for this, forcing us to abandon the comfort of the tried-and-tested and embrace the unfamiliar. The lessons learned from these experimental ventures, both successes and failures, contribute to a culture of continuous improvement and refinement.

Ramesh Shankar S, senior HR leader, emphasises the power of this approach: “In areas such as research, HR, and beyond, embracing a little chaos is like adding fuel to the innovation fire. When diverse perspectives are welcomed, unconventional ideas celebrated, and experimentation encouraged, the sky’s the limit. This mix of creativity is what sparks groundbreaking solutions and fuels organisational success.”

The prospect of embracing chaos may seem daunting, but its role in the innovation process is undeniable. As Amit Sharma reiterates, “Organisations shouldn’t dismiss unconventional ideas out of hand. Innovation thrives on a little bit of chaos, where employees can think outside the box and find unexpected solutions to pressing problems.”

“In areas such as research, HR, and beyond, embracing a little chaos is like adding fuel to the innovation fire”

Ramesh Shankar S, senior HR leader

Leaders, then, become architects of this chaotic playground. By fostering flexibility, encouraging open communication, and valuing exploration over rigidity, they create an environment where innovation can truly flourish. This means empowering employees to embrace uncertainty, view challenges as opportunities, and learn from their failures. It also involves building cross-functional teams, celebrating diverse perspectives, and allocating resources for experimentation.

By acknowledging the power of chaos, leaders can cultivate a culture where creativity thrives and adaptability becomes the norm. In this environment, organisations are not just equipped to survive the ever-evolving landscape of progress, but to thrive within it. They become not merely players, but pioneers, shaping the future through the unexpected sparks ignited by the embrace of chaos.

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Before delving into the antidote, it’s crucial to grasp the nuances of workplace incivility. This term encompasses a range of disrespectful behaviours, both overt and subtle, that creates a toxic atmosphere. Examples include rude comments, dismissive gestures, gossip and the failure to acknowledge or appreciate colleagues’ contributions. Recognising these behaviours is the first step towards building a more civil workplace.

Impact of workplace incivility

The consequences of workplace incivility are far reaching. Employee engagement declines, job satisfaction diminishes and turnover rates rise. The negative effects extend beyond individual well-being, affecting team dynamics and the overall organisational culture. Productivity may suffer as employees become disengaged or distracted by the hostile work environment.

Samir Bhiwapurkar, head of HR and general administration, Japfa Comfeed, insists that generally it is the HR that takes the lead in clearly communicating the organisational culture. This involves emphasising fundamental practices such as the importance of timely attendance in meetings and fulfilling deadlines. He also adds that managers play a critical role as mentors, providing guidance to employees, addressing any challenges that may arise, and facilitating discussions, particularly in conflicting situations.

“To ensure ongoing improvement and alignment with organisational norms, there is a systematic feedback mechanism in place. This involves soliciting input from cross-functional teams, enabling a comprehensive understanding of an employee’s performance and potential areas for growth”

Samir Bhiwapurkar, head of HR and general administration, Japfa Comfeed

He suggests, “To ensure ongoing improvement and alignment with organisational norms, there is a systematic feedback mechanism in place. This involves soliciting input from cross-functional teams, enabling a comprehensive understanding of an employee’s performance and potential areas for growth.”

Need for a comprehensive & proactive approach

Fostering workplace civility requires a comprehensive approach, starting with a leadership commitment to establish a culture of respect. Leaders must exemplify civil behaviour by communicating clear expectations for a respectful workplace and implementing policies with defined consequences for incivility. Education and training programmes play a crucial role in raising awareness about workplace civility and providing employees with conflict-resolution skills and effective communication tools.

Bhiwapurkar says that a proactive approach is needed to address specific shortcomings. Personalised training modules, accessible through platforms such as Learning Management Systems (LMS), are provided.

He states, “These modules are designed to enhance skills and focus on areas that need improvement. This comprehensive strategy not only makes employees aware of organisational expectations but also ensures they receive the necessary support and guidance throughout their journey within the company.”

Open communication channels should be encouraged, creating an environment where employees can express concerns without fear of retaliation and addressing misunderstandings promptly. Recognition programmes and a culture of appreciation further contribute to a positive workplace by celebrating positive behaviours and acknowledging colleagues’ contributions. Inclusive practices, promoting diversity and addressing biases help ensure that all employees feel valued and respected.

“Leadership, including top managers, plays a crucial role by exemplifying the desired behaviour consistently and ensuring that employees observe these principles in action. The organisation’s values and code of conduct should be integrated into daily routines, influencing everything from meetings to emails”

Sharad Sharma, CHRO, Pramerica Life

Sharad Sharma, CHRO, Pramerica Life, asserts that to create a workplace culture that discourages incivility, organisations should clearly communicate expectations, especially during onboarding, outlining the dos and don’ts.

“This message needs reinforcement in various forums. Leadership, including top managers, plays a crucial role by exemplifying the desired behaviour consistently and ensuring that employees observe these principles in action. The organisation’s values and code of conduct should be integrated into daily routines, influencing everything from meetings to emails,” opines Sharma.

He points out, “This daily reinforcement helps employees understand the accepted norms, making it more likely for positive behaviour to become ingrained in the organisational culture.

Zero-tolerance policies should be communicated clearly, swiftly addressing and resolving incidents to underscore the commitment to a respectful environment. Regular feedback mechanisms, such as established channels for employee input, enable continuous refinement and improvement of workplace civility initiatives. Together, these measures form a robust antidote to workplace incivility, fostering a healthy and respectful organisational culture.

Ramesh Shankar S, chief joy officer, Hrishti.com comments, “To address incivility in the workplace and ensure ethical behaviour, a key antidote involves establishing clear codes of ethics and values within the organisation. This starts with effective induction programmes that educate employees about the do’s and don’ts, emphasising the importance of ethical conduct.”

“Leadership and management play a crucial role in reinforcing these values by consistently promoting ethical behaviour through various training programmes. They should integrate these principles into daily practices, making them a part of the organisational culture”

Ramesh Shankar S, chief joy officer, Hrishti.com

He believes, “Leadership and management play a crucial role in reinforcing these values by consistently promoting ethical behaviour through various training programmes. They should integrate these principles into daily practices, making them a part of the organisational culture.”

Shankar further suggests periodic reminders and training sessions to help employees internalise these values, ensuring that ethical considerations become second nature. This approach is similar to the way families instil values in their members from an early age, creating a way of life that guides behaviour in various situations.

Organisations can prevent incivility by promoting a culture of respect and open communication. Leaders should set a good example by being respectful and clear about expectations. Establishing and enforcing policies against incivility, along with training programmes, helps employees handle conflicts better. Encouraging open communication channels lets employees share concerns without fear. Recognition programmes for positive behaviour and promoting diversity also contribute to a more respectful workplace. By prioritising these values, organisations can create a culture that discourages incivility and encourages a positive work environment.

Creating a civil workplace requires a multifaceted approach that involves leadership commitment, education, open communication and a culture of recognition and appreciation. By addressing workplace incivility head-on and implementing proactive measures, organisations can cultivate an environment where employees thrive, collaboration flourishes and productivity soars. The antidote to workplace toxicity is a commitment to fostering a culture of respect and civility, and the benefits extend far beyond the workplace, positively impacting individuals and the organisation as a whole.

The post What’s the antidote for workplace incivility? appeared first on HR Katha.

Scam uncovered

The scam that shook TCS revolves around ES Chakravarthy, global head, resource management group (RMG), TCS, who allegedly accepted bribes from staffing agencies over an extended period of time. Responsible for hiring and placing candidates within the organisation, the RMG processes an astounding average of one candidate per minute. With around 3,000 employees, the division handles the placement of over a thousand engineers and new hires daily.

Allegations & internal investigation

A whistleblower brought the scandal to light, prompting TCS to initiate an internal investigation. A committee comprising three members, including Ajit Menon, chief information security officer (CIO), was formed to probe the allegations. After weeks of thorough investigation, the head of recruitment was sent on leave, four senior officials of the RMG were terminated and three staffing firms were blacklisted. Furthermore, Chakravarthy himself has been barred from entering the office. It is noteworthy that Chakravarthy has been associated with TCS since 1997. Another RMG official, Arun GK, also faced repercussions and was dismissed.

While the TCS scam is a glaring example of fraudulent practices in mass hiring, it is essential to avoid generalising and assuming that all IT companies or industries following mass-recruitment practices engage in such activities. However, the TCS scandal does raise concerns about the vulnerability of mass hiring processes to manipulation and corruption.

Tanaya Mishra, VP and head – HR, Endo International, tries to explain the process. Information technology companies such as TCS and others often outsource their recruitment processes to agencies that are expected to provide suitable candidates. These companies typically have well-established placement strategies and may even blacklist certain agencies or universities based on their past experiences. However, there can still be instances of fraud or manipulation within the system.

“If there is collusion or corruption within these agencies, it can lead to dishonest practices. This is the first area where the integrity of the hiring process can be compromised”

Tanaya Mishra, VP and head – HR, Endo International

According to her, the first instance of fraud occurs during the initial scrutiny by the agencies responsible for shortlisting candidates. “If there is collusion or corruption within these agencies, it can lead to dishonest practices. This is the first area where the integrity of the hiring process can be compromised,” explains Mishra.

The second area prone to fraudulent activity is the selection of colleges and candidates. According to Mishra, this process involves individuals within the organisation who may have vested interests or monetary incentives. Such individuals can easily manipulate the selection process to favour certain candidates or colleges.  

Several factors contribute to the susceptibility of mass hiring processes in the IT industry and other sectors that tend to go in for mass hiring:

Competitive environment: Intense competition and the need to meet recruitment targets within strict deadlines can create an environment conducive to unethical practices.

Insufficient monitoring: In large organisations, limited supervision and monitoring mechanisms can allow scams to go undetected for extended periods, making it easier for fraudsters to exploit loopholes.

Reliance on external agencies: The involvement of external staffing agencies adds another layer of complexity. In the absence of proper regulation and monitoring, it opens up potential avenues for fraudulent activities.

Lack of stringent background checks: Mass hiring often prioritises speed, leading to compromised background-verification procedures. This can enable individuals with malicious intent to infiltrate the system.

Mishra also points out that there may be multiple agencies involved in the process. Some agencies act as intermediaries, bringing together multiple colleges and offering candidates to organisations. While this can provide a broader pool of candidates, it also increases the complexity and potential for misconduct.

Within certain organisations too there have been instances of unethical practices.  

It is worth noting that these findings are based on Mishra’s investigation. “However, it is crucial to address such issues and promote transparency in the hiring processes of IT companies or any other industry. By exposing and discussing these concerns, it becomes possible to create awareness and encourage organisations to take appropriate measures to prevent such fraudulent practices,” asserts Mishra.

“It is unfair to paint all companies with the same brush based on the actions of a few individuals. Each company should be evaluated on its own merits and efforts to maintain ethical standards”

Ramesh Shankar S, chief joy officer, Hrishti.com

Ramesh Shankar S, former HR head Siemens and chief joy officer, Hrishti.com, says that most companies, especially those that are large and growing, have processes in place to ensure checks and balances. These processes are designed to prevent fraudulent activities and maintain integrity in the hiring practices. However, he admits that it is not fair to generalise that such scams happen in all IT  sectors and other sectors where mass hiring is practised, as every good organisation strives to have well-established protocols to prevent such incidents.

“If any fraudulent activities do occur within a company, it is the fault of the individuals involved rather than the entire organisation,” points out Shankar. “Any reputable company would take appropriate action to address such misconduct. In the case of TCS, the firm has taken measures to rectify the situation and preserve its strong reputation in the industry,” says Shankar.

As Shankar rightly observes, in other areas of business too — such as sales that deals with multiple dealerships or the supply chain that works with various vendors — there can be instances of corruption or unethical behaviour. He believes it is crucial for companies to take action against individuals found engaging in such activities and to educate and train their employees about ethical conduct.

Shankar feels, “It is unfair to paint all companies with the same brush based on the actions of a few individuals. Each company should be evaluated on its own merits and efforts to maintain ethical standards.”

The TCS scam serves as a stark reminder of the importance of maintaining ethical hiring practices and implementing robust mechanisms to prevent fraud. Companies must prioritise integrity, transparency and thorough background checks to safeguard their recruitment procedures and protect their reputation. By doing so, they can foster an environment of trust and uphold the credibility of their hiring practices, ultimately contributing to a more reliable and ethical industry as a whole.

The post TCS scam — a modus operandi common to mass hiring practices?  appeared first on HR Katha.

Talent of this level is hard to come by under normal circumstances. Therefore, it is natural for organisations to make the most of this opportunity and try to hire the laid off employees, especially the specialist talent.

The first criterion for selection, however, would definitely be ‘skills match’. The most skilled and talented person who fits the role, will be preferred and shortlisted.

However, in a situation, where two or more people are at par in terms of skill set, their previous company can become the deciding factor. Of course, it will depend on the role as well.

“Every company has a unique culture, based on which it is labelled. Whoever joins the company, regardless of their background, is made to work in a specific way.”

Kamal Karanth, a talent specialist & founder XPheno

Believe it or not, there is always a perception in the market that employees from certain companies inculcate certain soft skills and behavioural traits.

“Every company has a unique culture, based on which it is labelled. Whoever joins the company, regardless of their background, is made to work in a specific way,” says Kamal Karanth, a talent specialist and founder, XPheno.

People coming from highly process-oriented companies, such as say GE, will be considered to be hard working and highly process-oriented beings. Those who work at Xerox, would be really good in sales as Xerox trains people well in that particular field.

Similarly, a Googler’s mindset is bound to be more innovative, as Google offers a work culture that values experimentation, creativity and work-life balance. On the other hand, Amazon is known for its processes, and a culture where employees work hard and long. Having opportunities to work independently and required to make quick decisions, employees at Amazon are bound to be trained for a fast-paced and results-driven work environment.

Therefore, “laid-off employees from different companies are perceived differently, based on the general image those companies have and the kind of talent they’re known for in the job market,” explains Karanth.

Suchismita Burman, former CHRO, ITC Infotech & founder, Be Inspired, believes that the culture factor works more for the senior-level employees than the entry-level employees.

“For senior-level people, the two significant factors that work are the span of control or the power dynamics and the role definition in another organisation, along with the cost of joining.”

Suchismita Burman, former CHRO, ITC Infotech & founder, Be Inspired

“Given the layoff scenario, the primary focus of professionals such as senior developers would be to look for stability in the new organisation, followed by the value the new company is giving to their skills. The employer, on the other hand, will select them based on the value such professionals are going to add to their existing workforce,” she explains.

However, Ramesh Shankar, former head of HR, Siemens South Asia & now founder, Hrishti, has a different take on this.

Though he agrees that the culture of Amazon and Google are different, the similarity between the two will be more predominant in the job market.

“Both companies have a strong focus on technology and employ people with a diverse set of skills and experience. Therefore, many of the employees laid off from these companies will have transferable skills, and the culture of the previous employer may not make a big difference to employers,” opines Shankar.

“In earlier times, the very word ‘layoff’ was a stigma. Now, however, people have come to accept it as a reality. Those laid off do not feel embarrassed to share the fact, as the companies are more at fault. Also, the companies compensate their laid-off employees well, offering them financial support and help with outplacement too.”

Ramesh Shankar, former head of HR, Siemens South Asia & now founder, Hrishti

Apart from the culture quotient, there are other ways to differentiate between talents with the same skill sets and decide which one to pick. There are several factors that influence such choices.

Compensation is one big deciding factor. Employees in these large technology companies are paid really well. And there will be a lot of bargaining involved. While the laid-off employees will try to retain their previous salary, the company planning to hire will also endeavour to get the best fitment without disrupting its budget or creating a disparity in the salaries of the existing employees in the same role.

“Finally, it will depend on the bargaining abilities of both the employer and the candidate,” asserts Burman.

“Earlier, the very word ‘layoff’ was a stigma. Now, however, people have come to accept it as a reality. Those laid off do not feel embarrassed to share the fact, as the companies are more at fault. Also, the companies compensate their laid-off employees well, offering them financial support and help with outplacement too,” shares Shankar. Both the other leaders agree with the same.

All of these have changed the overall scenario. This, in a way, has increased the bargaining power of the candidates, and they will not accept anything as an offer.

Apart from the compensation, laid off senior level employees from these large technology companies will decide on their next employer, based on the value the new company gives to their skills. Similarly, the equation will only work when the employer finds that such professionals can add value to their existing workforce.

“For senior-level people, the two significant factors that work are the span of control or the power dynamics, and the role definition in another organisation, along with the cost of joining,” observes Burman.

“Many things must be explicitly stated by both the parties. For instance, what is the motivation drive of the individual, the requirements of the role, the culture, how the power dynamics work and what is that one thing that both the parties are committing to each other,” states Burman.

The post Whom to hire? Employees laid off from Google, Amazon, Microsoft or Meta? appeared first on HR Katha.

While organisations do try to ensure parity when giving gifts to their customers or clients, some special / important clients may be showered with more generosity compared to less important ones who may just be given a standard gift. Is this kind of differentiation seen in the gifts meant for employees too?

Well, organisations comprise different kinds of employees who can be differentiated in terms of their tenure, abilities and contribution. Some are special or extraordinary, while others may not be so. Some are very senior, experienced and tenured, the so-called solid citizens who can be relied upon for support at all times. Then there are star performers and those that can be called the pillars of the organisation.

Then why aren’t different Diwali gifts given to the employees according to their place and value in the company?

“We talk of inclusion in all aspects, and therefore, companies follow the same while gifting during festivals too”

Pallavi Poddar, senior HR leader

“Diwali is a festival celebrated across the country, by one and all, in their own ways. While rewarding employees for their good work and rolling out performance-linked bonuses and incentives is one thing, gifting employees during Diwali is altogether another. The latter is just a simple gesture and remains consistent across all levels,” shares Ramesh Shankar S, senior HR leader with HRKatha.

All HR leaders and experts share that no company differentiates when it comes to gifting employees during festivals such as Diwali. The festival is seen as a joyful event, which is supposed to be celebrated together involving everyone.

“As a firm, we are anyway maintaining a differentiation through compensation, variable pay and performance-linked rewards. Therefore, there is certainly no need to differentiate in terms of gifts during festivals,” asserts Mahipal Nair, VP & head HR, India, Japan & APAC, Trellix.

While some service-sector companies may have huge workforces in their corporate offices, other firms and conglomerates may have a significant number of employees on the shopfloor as well as the corporate offices. Do such big businesses differentiate between their blue- and white-collared employees?

“Absolutely not. No good company will ever do such a thing,” asserts Shankar who has spent a lot of time leading HR in the manufacturing sector. He observes that while the budget for gifting during Diwali may differ for the white-collared and blue-collared staff, the gifts remain consistent.

“As a firm, we are anyway maintaining a differentiation through compensation, variable pay and performance-linked rewards. Therefore, there is certainly no need to differentiate in terms of gifts during festivals”

Mahipal Nair, VP & head HR, India, Japan & APAC, Trellix

“For unionised workforce at the shopfloor, the budget for Diwali gifts is mostly decided through negotiations with the union, but for other employees, the management decides the budget,” adds Shankar.

Most companies aim to maintain consistency and uniformity across all levels of employees when it comes to gifting on Diwali so that there are no ill feelings amongst the employees.

“We talk of inclusion in all aspects, and therefore, companies follow the same while gifting during festivals too,” shares Pallavi Poddar, senior HR leader.

Poddar points out that while there is certainly no differentiation or discrimination in terms of Diwali gifts, there may be some variations when it comes to organising Diwali dinners, get-togethers or parties depending on the level and the managers.

She also adds that many MNCs have strict policies against corporate gifting, which actually restricts them from going beyond a certain limit while showing a gesture. “One certainly cannot go beyond gifting chocolates and sweets in MNCs,” she adds.

While Diwali is a festival which comes every year, there are some firms that go beyond all imagination when it comes to gifting their employees. Some firms have been known to gift gold worth lakhs of rupees to their employees. However, the financial performance of the business may not be the same every year. Should companies maintain consistency in gifting year after year?

“Diwali is a festival celebrated across the country, by one and all, in their own ways. While rewarding employees for their good work and rolling out performance-linked bonuses and incentives is one thing, gifting employees during Diwali is altogether another. The latter is just a simple gesture and remains consistent across all levels”

Ramesh Shankar S, senior HR leader

Most HR leaders feel that organisations try to maintain uniformity while allocating budgets for Diwali gifts every year. Fluctuations may happen owing to inflation rates, but there is usually no major change.

“In fact, big IT companies with a large workforce try to stick to the same budget every year,” reveals Poddar.

On special occasions, however, companies may think of doing something special. “Siemens is celebrating its 175th anniversary, and therefore, the Company planned to do something special this year,” says Shankar citing an example.

Fluctuations in the employee-welfare budget may also take place closer to the festival itself, depending on changing needs or requirements, mentions Poddar.

As a strategy, companies stay away from differentiating amongst employees when it comes to showing joyful gestures during festivals or special occasions, as discrimination of any kind may adversely affect the sentiments of employees.

The post Why should companies maintain parity in employees’ Diwali gifts? appeared first on HR Katha.

The information technology (IT) and tech products sector saw a major boom and the focus on growth plans increased like never before. Even the education tech sector in India speculated major growth during the lockdowns and hired in huge numbers. In fact, businesses were talking about a huge talent crunch and ‘The Great Resignation Days’ became a hot topic of discussion.

Coming back to the present, companies who were once hiring in hundreds and thousands, especially during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, are now cutting jobs.

All the big tech and tech product firms are laying off people in significant numbers. Microsoft, Google, Tesla, Snapchat, Twitter, Uber, Facebook and more have either slowed down hiring or have laid off employees. In India, companies such as Ola, Blinkit, BYJU’s, Unacademy, Vedantu, Cars 24, MPL and Lido Learning are amongst the brands that have cut jobs.

“We will see an impact on jobs across businesses, but the magnitude of the impact will vary”

Ramesh Shankar S, senior HR leader

As per media reports, in 2022 alone, more than 20,000 people have lost their jobs in the US and about 12,000 employees in India have been impacted so far. Interestingly, some of the very companies that were hiring in thousands in the last two years basis growth prospects, are now firing employees left, right and centre.

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO, Uber, also mentioned in one of the internal memos to employees that the Company will slow down hiring since the business is not growing as was anticipated earlier.

There are many factors at play here.

Political conditions: The geopolitical situation in Europe, with the Ukraine-Russia war, has led to major inflation in Europe and the US. Many economists predict that the US market will be hit by recession the likes of which the world has never seen before. Companies such as Tesla decided to cut 10 per cent of the workforce as Elon Musk, CEO, Tesla, admitted that he did not have a good feeling about the economy in the near future.

Funding winter: In India, however, it is mostly the start-up ecosystem that is being impacted along with the education tech sector. The way the economic situation has panned out in the West, there is a huge funding crunch or ‘winter’ in the startup ecosystem in India. As a result, many startups have been unable to sustain and have had to let go of people.

Return to office & reopening of schools: Ever since the opening up of schools and institutes, companies in the edtech space have been facing challenges, being unable to grow at the pace they had originally expected to grow in.

Impulsive hiring: “We can say that these businesses did not hire smartly during their peak days. They were too impulsive in hiring people then, only to lay them off later in their bad times,” enumerates Udbhav Ganjoo, head – HR, global operation, India, emerging Asia & access markets, Viatris.

Ramesh Shankar S, senior HR leader, admits this is not something new. History has been witness to many businesses thriving and expanding rapidly amidst demand surge and then deteriorating with a drop in demand. They then resort to cost cutting and layoffs. For instance, in the ed-tech sector in India, during lockdowns, when schools were shut, the demand for online learning tools increased. However, when schools re-opened, the demand went down and the business failed to grow as expected. “This is quite natural. It happens in all businesses. At one point, there is a peak, and then slowly the demand for products starts falling,” says Shankar.

Ganjoo says that companies need to hire smartly while they are expanding. “Smart hiring for me would be hiring with caution and expanding one’s manpower capabilities as per the business plans, taking into consideration all external and internal factors that can create an impact,” asserts Ganjoo.

“We can say that businesses did not hire smartly during their peak days. They were too impulsive in hiring people then, only to lay them off later in their bad times”

Udbhav Ganjoo, head – HR, global operation, India, emerging Asia & access markets, Viatris

“I do not believe in the idea of mass hiring, that is, hiring people in huge numbers at one go. Hiring in phases is a much better option,” opines Ganjoo. He also suggests that we should not forecast business expansion too quickly and end up hiring people in advance for roles that we need in the future. What if that future never really becomes a reality?

Short-sightedness: “Nowadays, businesses have very short-sighted plans. They think quarter to quarter, which actually results in such mass layoff scenarios,” points out Shankar.

He goes on to state that now even CEOs are hired for very short periods of time. When the desired results fail to show, they are asked to leave.

Since the US market is experiencing rising inflation and a major recession is predicted, India will be impacted as well. As per HR leaders, right now it is the start-up ecosystem that is witnessing more layoffs and job cuts. However, as we all know, there is a value chain, and slowly, sectors such as e-commerce, BFSI, manufacturing and FMCG will also start seeing an impact. If people begin losing jobs or taking salary cuts, their purchasing power will go down. This will impact the consumer goods businesses as well.

“While there will be an impact across businesses, the magnitude of the impact will vary,” concludes Shankar.

The post Why is the job market becoming so volatile? appeared first on HR Katha.

Although fostering a culture of ownership within an organisation may appear to be a Herculean task, if done with the right intent, it can do wonders for the organisations in terms of achieving their goals.

It’s all about trust

As Ramesh Shankar S, senior HR leader, Hrishti, puts it, “Ownership culture in any organisation is based on day-to-day behaviour rooted in trust and empowerment. This permits both the managers and the subordinates to take risks to accomplish the tasks given to them, with the role of the managers being to guide the employees without interfering”.

Agreeing with Shankar, Sudipta Marjit, group head – HR, TATA Autocomp Systems, says, “By creating a culture where your employees are as invested in the organisation’s success as you, great things can happen”.

“If one wants one’s employees to take ownership at the workplace, one must treat them with respect and invite them to be more than just ‘resources’”

Jayesh Sampat, senior HR leader

Empowerment is essential

Marjit points out that employees who feel more empowered in their respective roles tend to be more motivated when it comes to resolving customer issues and coming up with innovative ideas for improving their areas of expertise.

Training can ensure retention

Marjit believes that inculcating an ownership culture in the teammates will require training programmes to improve the employees’ role-related key areas of work. This will lead to employee retention and contribute to a more stable working environment.

Involvement in decision making

Meanwhile, Jayesh Sampat, senior HR leader, advises, “To encourage employees to take ownership at work, involve them in developing the vision of the organisation. This helps them feel part of something bigger than themselves”.

Sampat goes on to suggest, “Invite employees to help make important decisions. This will not only encourage them to put their best foot forward, but will also make them emotionally invested in the outcomes of these decisions”.

It is Sampat’s belief that employees’ jobs should be given a context in the bigger picture of the company’s operations.

They should be allowed to understand that the ‘Why’ will help them overcome the ‘How’ cropped from a problem. “Trust employees before you must. Your trust in them will give them the much-needed confidence and sense of ownership” advises Sampat.

How can managers ensure that work is being executed correctly?

Create trust: Shankar S says, “The work of the managers is to provide the required security cover, otherwise, the employees will not take risks. However, this can happen only when the managers create trust in their subordinates”.

Explaining further, Shankar says that the management provides a safe environment till the time the employees do not deliberately attempt to sabotage the work, in which case the management needs to step in and take action against the employees.

“Ownership culture in any organisation is based on day-to-day behaviour rooted in trust and empowerment”

Ramesh Shankar S, senior HR leader, Hrishti

Reward good work: “When managers are allowed the freedom to give monetary rewards to their teams, say in the form of bonuses, the employees remain motivated and determined to accomplish their tasks. This, in turn, makes them realise the importance of ownership. However, in some cases, employees are unwilling to take ownership. This creates a problem, and the team suffers”.

Shankar reveals that in his career, he has seen many managers who don’t promote the ownership culture. When a teammate fails to deliver, instead of taking the onus, they do just the opposite. On the other hand, when it is time to give credit to a teammate or the team, such managers often hog the credit for the success of the task”.

Respect individuals: As correctly pointed out by Sampat, “If one wants one’s employees to take ownership at the workplace, one must treat them with respect and invite them to be more than just ‘resources’. This lays the foundation of a culture of ‘humans first’.”

Why is ownership important?

Long-term benefits: On being asked what makes ownership so important for the employees, Ramesh S explains, “Taking care of employees is essential and advantageous as they are able to take risks and deliver value services to the customers in the long term.”

Personal investment: In Sampat’s view, “An ownership culture is when employees take initiatives, solve problems and demonstrate personal leadership. It encourages them to have a stake in the organisational outcomes, even failures. One can say that the ownership culture keeps employees more invested in the organisation’s success.

“Inculcating an ownership culture in the teammates will require training programmes to improve the employees’ role-related key areas of work”

Sudipta Marjit, group head – HR, TATA Autocomp Systems

Employee motivation: It can be a powerful driver of employee motivation, employee performance and longevity in the organisation, feels Sampat. He also adds that trust in employees will give them the much needed confidence and a sense of ownership.

According to Ramesh S, ” The team leaders delegate the powers and give them a free hand in taking decisions. Therefore, the risk of failure is low”.

Bigger picture: Sampat says that a sense of belongingness makes the employees realise that they are bigger than themselves, and hence, “they strive to work hard to understand the ‘Why’ to overcome the ‘How’”.

They come to acknowledge the fact that these little steps will make them ready to face the issues well and they are willing to take ownership without any hesitation.

Citing the example of the crew of an airline, Ramesh S says, “The airline crew owns the airline the moment they begin their duty. This shows in their behaviour towards their passengers on the airplane”.

The post How to instill a sense of ownership in employees appeared first on HR Katha.

To make such goals achievable and possible, all employees are required to be aligned with the purpose of the company.

However, this sense of responsibility may not come naturally to everyone. Some need a fair amount of sensitisation and training to understand the larger impact of achieving sustainability goals. That means, educating employees on social issues becomes vital.

Generally, we see the CSR teams driving these agendas. However, training employees is the responsibility of the HR. After all, anything to do with people lies in the ambit of HR.

“I would definitely say that training or educating employees about social issues should be an HR responsibility as they can ensure that the idea cascades down the organisation much faster,” opines Manish Sinha, SVP & CHRO, Mahindra & Mahindra, Automotive Business.

“I would definitely say that training or educating employees about social issues should be an HR responsibility as they can ensure that the idea cascades down the organisation much faster”

Manish Sinha, SVP & CHRO, Mahindra & Mahindra, Automotive Business

In fact, many HR leaders agree that training employees on social issues is the responsibility of the HR. While this does happen in some organisations where some of these training programmes are actually co-created by the HR teams, other organisations have a long way to go.

“I believe achieving sustainability goals becomes an organisational responsibility and all top leaders including the HR leadership, partner to achieve these goals,” says Praveer Priyadarshi, senior HR leader.

Priyadarshi further mentions that quite often, the CSR team along with the marketing communication team, partners with the HR to drive certain programmes in an organisation.

“The role of the HR in this is largely about engaging the employees and other stakeholders to drive such agendas,” points out Priyadarshi, who has personally witnessed the HR teams partnering with NGOs — to hold workshops on various social issues such as water conservation — in many organisations.

“A lot of sensitisation does happen through trainings and workshops,” admits Priyadarshi.

Many campaigns are specially designed to sensitise people, such as Pepsico’s HIV campaign, which endeavoured to sensitise people to the discrimination faced by people uffering from HIV at the workplace.

Sinha who spent more than seven years at Pepsico was part of this campaign.

Talking to HRKatha, Ramesh Shankar S, HR leader, recalls his tenure with Siemens, where he witnessed the Company driving many initiatives, such as training and educating underprivileged students in engineering. Scholarships were provided to these students for further studies and the HR teams collaborated with other functions to drive such agendas.

“The role of the HR in educating employees about  social issues is largely about engaging people and other stakeholders”

Praveer Priyadarshi, senior HR leader

Moreover, many of the employees’ volunteer plans and activities are co-created with the HR teams. Shankar explains that there were health drives at Siemens, where the HR team partnered with the medical teams at Siemens and set up various health camps. Employees also participated in such initiatives and came forward to help or contribute to such social causes. This also helped the employees understand ways to keep themselves healthy by adopting a healthy lifestyle.

“Various employee volunteering programmes were co-created and employees were free to choose the cause they wanted to contribute to,” says Shankar.

At Mahindra, the Group-wide programme collects stories from all employees, where they have demonstrated an act of bravery. The best ones are actually broadcast to all employees through mails so that they inspire and instil a sense of responsibility towards humanity. “Stories of people saving lives on the road or of other humanitarian acts inspire others to behave in the same manner and help build a culture where corporate citizenship is valued,” shares Sinha.

The overall impact of such activities actually creates a culture where people really want to do something for the world. Moreover, this also creates a great employee value proposition as all youngsters want to contribute or give back to the society.

“Youngsters want to work for organisations that take steps to build a better society”

Ramesh Shankar S, HR leader

“Youngsters want to work for organisations that take steps to build a better society,” says Shankar.

Achieving sustainability goals has come to be an organisation-wide agenda, and all leaders, including HR leadership teams, play their part in educating or sensitising their people through employee volunteer programmes. “With such initiatives, we see brand ambassadors from within the workforce or leaders who take the initiative to cascade knowledge and awareness regarding such social issues throughout the organisation,” says Shankar.

The post How HR sensitises the workforce to social issues appeared first on HR Katha.

This is one of the most devastating examples of groupthink, a phenomenon wherein a group of people reach a conclusion without critical reasoning. The members of the group do not act with practical and common sense. Instead, they choose to act in a way that will not upset any of the other group members.

Of course, the Challenger space shuttle explosion was an extreme instance, but if groupthink can lead to such horrific consequences, it needs to be nipped in the bud so that any harm or negative repercussion can be kept at bay.

“Groupthink doesn’t allow for innovation or for expression of diverse opinions”

Ramesh Shankar S, HR leader

Groupthink can prove to be very dangerous for organisations where teams have to make critical decisions on a daily basis. It also stifles creativity and individuality.

Members who may have a problem with the group’s decision feel pressured to change their opinion so that it can align with the majoritarian order. In their pursuit of unanimous agreement, the members bypass moral quandaries and ignore future ramifications of their decision.

Groupthink is prevalent in many organisations for a variety of reasons, some of which pertain to the workplace and its leaders.

Anil Mohanty, head of people and culture, Medikabazaar, says, “Groupthink is dangerous and a sign of unhealthy work culture.”

It also happens because sometimes a few senior individuals in an organisation who feel their opinions are superior to others, create groups with people who may support them and have no problem with the solutions they offer, Mohanty explains.

This kind of influence can be oppressive and rules out any possibility of dissent.

At other times, “employees who wish to remain in the good books of their seniors, refrain from speaking their minds because they fear that their views may spoil their image,” Mohanty adds.

“Employees quickly learn to agree and push in the prescribed direction rather than think of new ideas or challenge existing practices. It seems outwardly like great teamwork but it is actually a very stifling environment”

Maneesha Jha Thakur, HR consultant

“Groupthink can be kept in check if the leaders allow for a more democratic workplace,” states Mohanty. They also need to stress the importance of constructive criticism, and bring change in the mindset of employees who think that their seniors are always correct.

Criticism can be a good thing because it opens up discussion, and creates more possibilities for creative solutions, feels Mohanty.

The fear of going against the senior grain, or employees being too enamoured by their leaders can also result in groupthink.

Maneesha Jha Thakur, HR consultant, says, “The three main reasons for groupthink are strong leadership, organisational culture and fear”.

According to Thakur, strong leadership often means that everyone remains in awe of the leader. Whatever the leader says is taken as the last word. A culture of rewarding conformity, harmony, conflict avoidance, implementation excellence and derision towards those who want to discuss new ideas is strongly embedded in groupthink. “Employees quickly learn to agree and push in the prescribed direction rather than think of new ideas or challenge existing practices. It seems outwardly like great teamwork but it is actually a very stifling environment,” admits Thakur

Another perspective on groupthink is that when the workforce has a majority of long-tenured employees and homogenous composition of talent, that is, when the organisation lacks new blood and diversity, there is a tendency to fall into a thought process of ‘this is the way we do things around here’ aided by ‘we already tried it, and failed’, Jha enunciates.

“To address groupthink, organisations need to be aware of their culture,” Jha says.

She feels organisations “need to build decision-making processes that demand individual contribution and innovation. A culture of encouraging dissent needs to be built. The leadership should not set goals and paths in a top-down fashion but follow a bottoms-up approach. Finally, organisations must train and provide exposure to long-tenured employees, add new employees with varied perspective and profiles, and chase diversity seriously.”

“Groupthink is dangerous and a sign of unhealthy work culture”

Anil Mohanty, head of people and culture, Medikabazaar

Ramesh Shankar S, HR leader, is of the opinion that “Groupthink doesn’t allow for innovation or for expression of diverse opinions”.

Shankar explains that when a group of people think that their decisions are correct, they start discouraging dissent that may arise because of difference in viewpoints. And because people are unable to think critically and come up with creative solutions, groupthink has a tendency to suppress experimentation and risk-taking as well.

It can be tackled if leaders encourage dissent and innovation, feels Shankar. “Dissenting doesn’t mean that a person is entirely opposed to the ideas presented by the other members,” he points out.

Sometimes, when people have a different opinion than the consensus of the group, they may feel that voicing their opinions could make them unpopular among others. However, it is the responsibility of the leaders to ensure that everyone’s opinions — right, wrong or absurd — are heard. “By fostering an open culture at work, encouraging debate, and giving employees the freedom to express themselves without the fear of censure, organisations can control groupthink,” Shankar suggests.

Clearly, to be able to overcome groupthink, organisations need to provide some degree of freedom of expression to their employees. They also need to bring a change in the leadership style so that group discussions don’t feel suffocating for the members because of their imposing seniors. Leaders should also ask everyone’s opinion again even if a majority view arises, and make sure that nobody is hesitant to speak what they feel. Only by creating an environment where everyone is free to express themselves can organisations curb groupthink and promote healthy and fruitful discussions.

The post How Groupthink can turn fatal for organisations appeared first on HR Katha.

If an organisation aims to grow and expand, it needs to not only focus on building its business, but also cultivating a strong foundation of core values that positively impact everyone inside and outside its boundaries. However, this is easier said than done.

Many a time, organisations forget that they even have a purpose outside of succeeding in their line of work. Their ‘purpose’ may be printed on a plaque outside their office buildings, but not actually practised inside. This dissonance becomes apparent when stories about misconduct and injustice start doing the rounds, about organisations that are otherwise known to promote pristine values and beliefs.

“An organisation should have a purpose beyond the business needs of the organisation”

Ramesh Shankar S, HR leader

So what can be done to promote a culture of purpose in an organisation, to actually push the ideas to the forefront and ensure that they’re practised by everyone?

1. Define purpose: Ramesh Shankar S, HR Leader, says, “First of all, an organisation should have a purpose beyond the business needs of the organisation”.

It should be a properly defined purpose that doesn’t clash with the business needs of the.

2. Involve employees: Shankar goes on to add, “Secondly, it should involve all employees”.

In some organisations, only the top management knows about the purpose of the organisation and they do not involve their employees or urge them to adapt it. “There is no engagement or emotional connection with the purpose,” he explains.

By keeping the employees out, organisations themselves push them away from the purpose, so much so that many of them fail to even recall it. Not surprising, because the purpose hasn’t been communicated with them in a clear manner by the upper management.

3. Link it all to HR: “Thirdly, it should all be linked to the HR functions,” states Shankar. All the HR processes of the organisation, be it rewards, recognition, training and development, induction, promotion or incentive schemes, should function around the purpose.”

4. Live the purpose: Fourth, and most importantly, everyone in the organisation should live by the purpose every day. “Only through regular practice of the beliefs can a culture of purpose be built,” stresses Shankar.

“An organisation is likely to have a strong culture of purpose if everyone at work personally identifies with that purpose, and is emotionally invested in doing the best to follow the values and beliefs”

Anil Mohanty, head of people and culture, Medikabazaar

Anil Mohanty, head of people and culture, Medikabazaar, agrees that organisations need to create a purpose that goes along with their beliefs and values.

It is necessary for the management to help foster a sense of personal purpose in the employees as well. “An organisation is likely to have a strong culture of purpose if everyone at work personally identifies with that purpose, and is emotionally invested in doing the best to follow the values and beliefs,” he enunciates.

“Organisations should communicate their purpose by demonstrating them through everyday practices at work,” he suggests.

Sachin Narke, chief learning officer, head- talent acquisition, and head-HR, Forbes Marshall, says that every employee should know and be able to recall the core purpose of the organisation.

He explains this through a personal example. At his orgnaisation, Forbes Marshall, the management came together and discussed the purpose of their organisation. After defining the purpose, they started facilitating each department to come up with their own purpose statement. The organisation took a top-down approach here, where each leader defines his/her purpose.

“When one goes down the hierarchical levels, all employees realise their larger purpose in the organisation and are able to practise it in their work life.” Narke says. He also believes that the young generation of employees truly wants a culture of purpose in their organisations.

“When one goes down the hierarchical levels, all employees realise their larger purpose in the organisation and are able to practise it in their work life”

Sachin Narke, chief learning officer, head- talent acquisition, and head-HR, Forbes Marshall

Millennials, and Gen Z employees are driven by their own sense of identity these days, feels Narke. Since they are aware of all the choices available to them, that weren’t present during their parents’ time, they have become more flexible and want to see their workplaces follow the path of their beliefs.

Certainly, organisations need to practise what they believe in. It is important to put the values of the organisation first, and not let them be suffocated under the demands of work and business. An organisation is more likely to be successful in the long term when all the employees in it believe in the same values, work to achieve them and also adapt them in their lives.

The post How to promote a culture of purpose in an organisation appeared first on HR Katha.

It’s not surprising that organisations usually reserve the best facilities for their high-performing employees. After all, it does makes sense that employees who put in more effort and bring forth better results, be preferred over those who are medium or low performers. However, such an approach can also lead to friction among the employees, and give them a sense of being ignored.

If an organisation seems to be favouring only few employees and providing them with the best facilities to promote their growth, there is an obvious disparity in the workforce.

“We can’t define leadership using the narrow lense of high performance”

Amit Sharma, CHRO, Volvo Group India

High performers are usually known to be capable of achieving success and leading people even without the crutch of training, which renders the organisations’ emphasis on giving them the best of everything a little useless. In this process, organisations run the risk of losing the trust of their employees, and wasting the potential of all the talent that showed promise in the past but weren’t able to capitalise on it.

What if the high performers are not equipped with the inherent skills needed to become leaders?

So, is it fair that organisations should only provide leadership training to high-performing employees?

Performance vs aptitude

Anil Mohanty, head of people and culture, Medikabazaar, says, “performance shouldn’t be the only parameter for judging an employee, because leadership involves many duties and requires the fulfilment of different roles, other than just being great at one’s job.”

“If an employee is very good at providing ICO’s (Initial Coin Offering), the company may grant him/her a managerial role, even though he/she may not be up to it for lack of the aptitude to communicate with people in an assertive manner.”

To be a leader, one doesn’t have to be the best at one’s job. Leadership requires different sets of skills, such as confidence, ability to dominate conversations, natural charisma, and so on, that are different from technical expertise at work. These qualities cannot be taught to people, and sometimes, any amount of training will not help achieve the desired result.

“If an employee is very good at providing ICO’s (Initial Coin Offering), the company may grant him/her a managerial role, even though he/she may not be up to it for lack of the aptitude to communicate with people in an assertive manner”

Anil Mohanty, head of people and culture, Medikabazaar

Amit Sharma, CHRO, Volvo Group India, believes, “We can’t define leadership using the narrow lense of high performance. Today, many people can be leaders if they are given a valid chance.”

“Leadership training should cut across all hierarchies,” Sharma stresses, and not be restricted to only one strata of performers, otherwise the organisations will suffer in the long term by not exploiting their talent.

The inability or unwillingness to give a second look to the other employees is what results in a lot of potentially good leaders never getting the break and the platform to learn and grow.

Ramesh Shankar S, founder of Hrishti.com, and former EVP & head of HR, Siemens, says, “Organisations need to differentiate between potential and performance.”

Resources and budget

“If an organisation has unlimited resources, then it should access and enlist employees based on their potential, to be leaders, and not solely on their performance.” Shankar says.

“Organisations with limited budgets usually prioritise high performers because they don’t want to waste their money. However, this process can turn harmful if the employees don’t show the expected growth,” Shankar points out.

“If an organisation has unlimited resources, then it should access and enlist employees based on their potential, to be leaders, and not solely on their performance”

Ramesh Shankar S, founder of Hrishti.com, and former EVP & head of HR, Siemens

“If even 30 per cent of the employees show potential for leadership, then the organisation needs to invest in them rather than on the high performers who may not have the same aptitude.” Advises Shankar.

There is always a reservoir of talent in an organisation, and it’s the responsibility of the senior management to bring it out to the surface. It isn’t wrong to rely on high performers to gauge potential leaders, because they’re often the safer bets. However, by focusing on two or three per cent of the workforce, the companies fail to explore the hidden potential that may only need a little bit of coaxing to flourish.

By making the process of providing leadership training democratic, and giving more opportunities to employees to prove themselves, companies can avoid wasting potential, and gain extraordinary returns.

The post Why leadership training shouldn’t only be given to high performers appeared first on HR Katha.

“With other functions in the business environment already digitised, the HR is supposed to build a mindset and competencies where people can use and adopt such digital tools to build a culture around it”

Chandrasekhar Mukherjee, CHRO, Bhilosa Industries

A 2021 global study has revealed that the intention of HR leaders to digitise their HR processes is quite high at 83 per cent. However, digital transformation at the workplace is a journey, which requires everyone to be in sync in order to be successful. That means, every function in the organisation needs to transform digitally. In a global conference at Paris, a representative of Orange, the global telecommunications company, revealed that the CEO hired an HR head to enable digital transformation in the company, instead of appointing a chief digital officer.

“If employees find that one function of the organisation is not as competent and digitised as the others, they will seek better employee experience elsewhere”

Ramesh Shankar S, senior HR leader

That means, driving digital transformation is not about technology but about the people in the company. As the HR department is connected to all other functions in the company, it needs to ensure that everyone is in sync with the process of digitisation. Let us see how the HR can facilitate this transformation journey.

Ensuring a seamless experience

Ramesh Shankar S, senior HR leader, explains that it is very similar to how people operate in a bank. Nowadays, all financial assistance to the customer is provided digitally. All queries are addressed digitally, and all monetary transactions, even loans, are facilitated digitally. If customers find that some areas of service are digitised and others are not, they will simply move to another bank for a better experience. This can happen with the workforce as well. If employees find that one function of the organisation is not as competent and digitised as the others, they will seek better employee experience elsewhere. “Now, people are used to enjoying a seamless experience at work. They want things to be accomplished with a single click of a button,” points out Shankar.

“True integration will happen when the heads of departments and managers drive the adoption of digitisation through a top-down approach to make it a success”

Anil Mohanty, head of people, Medikabazaar,

Ensuring the right mindset & competencies

Chandrasekhar Mukherjee, CHRO, Bhilosa Industries, likens digital transformation to any other change-management process. He believes that HR has probably been the last function to be digitised in a business environment, compared to other functions. The reason is clear — larger cost saving processes were digitised first.

“With other functions in the business environment already digitised, the HR is supposed to build a mindset and competencies where people can use and adopt such digital tools to build a culture around it,” explains Mukherjee.

Ensuring a top-down approach

For the HR, however, undergoing digital transformation in the HR processes has been a big challenge, especially in the smaller companies. As per Anil Mohanty, head of people, Medikabazaar, tech savviness and the eagerness to adopt digital tools flows from the top. Mohanty admits that he has seen people refraining from using digital tools for leave approvals and performance management, claiming them to be too complex. “True integration will happen when the heads of departments and managers drive the adoption of digitisation through a top-down approach to make it a success,” insists Mohanty.

The post Why other functions need to pace-up with HR for successful digitalisation appeared first on HR Katha.

Now the responsibility to communicate these decisions to the workforce falls on the HR. It is the HR that is expected to step up and bear the brunt, and it’s HR’s job to take the employees into confidence and implement the same.

“In my tenure, I never allowed the HR to go and deliver such decisions to employees alone. The immediate manager has to be involved”

Ramesh Shankar S, former CHRO, Siemens, and HR consultant

How can HR prepare to hold tough conversations with employees?

A survey revealed that 37 per cent or a third of the managers found it difficult to have conversations with employees where they knew the employees would not like the decision and would definitely retaliate.

Some organisations communicate such sensitive decisions by simply sending across a mail without really engaging in a real-time conversation. Such methods generally lead to major uproars within the company.

Pia Shome, chief people officer, U Gro Capital, shares with HRKatha that she has found herself in such situations multiple times in her career. There are a few things that she practices as an HR professional to convey such messages and also handle the retaliation of the employees.

“One needs a high level of EQ or emotional quotient to sail through difficult conversations”

Sushil Baveja, executive director -HR, DCM Shriram

First is overcommunication of the change in the policies and why it is being done. Using town hall meetings, memos or any communication medium, one should keep communicating the message as much as possible, stating the reason why it is being done. This way, the message will seep into the minds of the employees. Second is, taking out that extra time and going that extra mile to explain to the employees why the changes are being done on a one-to-one basis and understand their concerns. After understanding where the hitch is, one needs to solve the problem for them.

Shome enunciates with an example of a change in the reporting time. Some employees will definitely have a problem with this change, and someone may say that the change is making it impossible for them to drop their children to school. However, the decision cannot be changed just for a few employees. Therefore, HR will have to make an exception for such employees. The key is to understand where the hitch is and solve the problem.

“The problem lies in the way each employee sees a change in the company, through their individual lenses, failing to understand the strategic importance behind the change. So, our job as HR is to make them understand and implement the changed processes,” shares Shome.

“One cannot rush the conversation. One needs to keep some data or numbers ready to lay the foundation for the talk. It helps to set the whole context”

Pranav Prasoon Thakur, head-HR, Renault India

“Also, as HR, we need to first believe that whatever we are going to convey is right and internalise the decision. If we ourselves are not convinced, how will we convince others? Therefore, we need to go into the depth of the subject and reply to all queries or retaliation with empathy,” adds Shome

All difficult or unpleasant conversations need to be handled in a very mature way. “One needs a high level of EQ or emotional quotient to sail through such conversations,” opines Sushil Baveja, executive director -HR, DCM Shriram.

Pranav Prasoon Thakur, head-HR, Renault India, believes that HR is the bridge between the management and the employees. It is the responsibility of the HR to prepare itself for such occasions, and communicate the decision by laying down the context to the whole conversation.

Communicating to someone that they would no longer be required in a company, is one of the most difficult and extreme steps which an HR person may have to take in their career. Thakur shares that he likes to prepare himself for such conversations. “One cannot rush the conversation. One needs to keep some data or numbers ready to lay the foundation for the talk. It helps to set the whole context,” explains Thakur. This approach makes it easy to also explain the ‘Why’ behind the whole decision.

After presenting the context properly, it is time to slowly and accurately come to the transactional part of the whole talk. We have to be clear about what we are saying. “After laying down the context, we will have to be compassionate while revealing the decision to the employee. There can be instances where the employee may ask for some considerations. Try to offer help at whatever level possible,” advises Thakur. Lastly, we need to close the loop, without ending the conversation abruptly, and by giving a clear direction or idea about the next step.

“The problem lies in the way each employee sees a change in the company, through their individual lenses, failing to understand the strategic importance behind the change. So, our job as HR is to make them understand and implement the changed processes”

Pia Shome, chief people officer, U Gro Capital

Thakur cautions that reactions are inevitable, and it is impossible to know how and from where they will come. However, such emotions need to be handled and controlled with compassion. One is supposed to listen to the employees and demonstrate understanding skills.

If the situation allows, Thakur also suggests spreading the whole process across timelines, provided there is the bandwidth to do so. This way, the uncomfortable decision will not feel like a bomb dropped on the employee. “If we have time, we can break the process into timelines, and give indications to the employee about what is to come,” shares Thakur.

Thakur shares that if one is having a one-to-one conversation with the employee, the best way to go about it is by first setting the environment right. Such conversations should be held where there is a room for venting out emotions.

“Emotional reactions need to be anticipated, and as HR one has to deal with them without disturbing the dignity of the other person,” adds Vivek Tripathi, VP-HR, Newgen Software.

According to Ramesh Shankar S, former CHRO, Siemens, and HR consultant, the responsibility of communicating such decisions should not rest solely on the HR. The bearer of bad news should not be the HR alone. The immediate manager of the employee should also be involved. “In my tenure, I never allowed the HR to go and deliver such decisions to employees alone. The immediate manager has to be involved,” opines Shankar.

“Emotional reactions need to be anticipated, and as HR one has to deal with them without disturbing the dignity of the other person”

Vivek Tripathi, VP-HR, Newgen Software

Shankar shares an instance where very senior managers, including a business head were sacked during one of his past stints. The decision came as a disciplinary action. Five senior managers were sacked because they misguided a customer, and the action was taken after an investigation. Though, in such cases, retaliation from sacked employees is not anticipated because they are at fault, others had to be explained why this was happening. After all, the sacked employees were all very senior managers with some reputation in the company. After sacking them, the company decided to communicate this to the rest of the employees as an example, through an internal newsletter. The communique detailed the incident, giving all the facts and the reason behind the action, setting an example of equity. Though the names of the people involved were not revealed, this helped the employees understand the reason behind the decision.

Not all decisions taken by the management are agreeable. Human resource leaders believe that, in such cases one should do it only if one has the courage to stand by the decision, or else quit. “Don’t compromise on principles and values because personal credibility is at stake,” advises Shankar.

Tripathi feels that it all depends on the level of disagreement one may have with the decision. “In case one disagrees, then it is upon one to decide whether one would want to stand by it or disassociate oneself from it, since the latter can also result in some repercussions,” points out Tripathi.

While having such conversations, it is important to show compassion and empathy. It is also essential to listen to the employees and understand their side of the story, before reaching closure. There cannot be any loose ends.

The post How to break difficult news to employees appeared first on HR Katha.

Urban company was probably the first organisation in the country to officially announce leaves specifically for mental health.

Last week, Godrej Properties announced a ‘Taking a pause to heal’ initiative, wherein from May 5 onwards, employees were given a break for five days, which included a weekend. They were not required to do any official work during the period, and the clients and customers were informed of the same in advance, so that the sales and customer-centric teams could also take a break.

Another instance is that of Goldman Sachs, where Friday, May 7, was announced as a ‘self-care day’ for all employees so that they could take a break from work, rejuvenate and return charged up.

The number of organisations formalising leaves for stress or mental health issues is very few in India, however, the encouraging factor is that there is a growing concern and acknowledgment of employee stress especially during the pandemic.

“Ensuring mental wellbeing is more about understanding people, empathising with them and creating such policies and practices that can reduce their stress at work. More than mental-health leaves, people need mental peace at this moment.”

Ramesh Shankar S, senior HR leader & former CHRO Siemens

It may be that people are talking about it now because as a society we are all affected due to loss of family and friends. What were just numbers in the previous wave of Covid-19 has turned out to be names we all know.

Add to that people continue to struggle to juggle official work and domestic chores, with employees across ranks battling similar challenges. All of these have added to a lot of mental stress among employees.

However, most companies are yet to structure and formalise a mental health leave policy. The question also is whether or not we need a specific mental health leave policy. It has to be noted that there is still a lot of taboo around mental health issues, though there seems to be prejudice and misconception.

Mental peace

Senior HR Leader and former CHRO, Siemens, India, Ramesh Shankar S feels that giving a mental health leave makes no sense at all. According to him, ensuring mental wellbeing is more about understanding people, empathising with them and creating such policies and practices that can reduce their stress at work. “More than mental-health leaves, people need mental peace at this moment,” explains Shankar.

Shankar cites an example from the past, when he was working with a company as a CHRO. He observed a regional sales manager making calls at 12:30 a.m. for sales reports. When Shankar, who happened to be travelling with that regional manager, caught him taking updates at that unearthly hour, he was very angry with him. He was almost about to fire him for the act.

“Instead of calling them mental health leaves, why can’t we just call them leaves? We can simply increase the number of overall leaves for employees, because many people will not even avail such leaves otherwise. It is just like what happened to the concept of period leaves for women. The policy was totally lost because most women are still not comfortable revealing such personal facts about themselves.”

A senior HR leader who preferred to stay anonymous

“After that incident, I made it a point to personally follow up with his regional team members regularly to find out whether he had been calling them up at odd hours for sales-related discussions,” mentions Shankar. He strongly believes that organisations should strive to ensure that every employee gets to enjoy their personal time with family.

Open, stress-free environment

Manoj Kumar Sharma, CHRO, Aarti Industries, also feels that mental health of the workforce is not just about giving leaves and breaks. It is about creating a stress-free environment at the workplace. In fact, Sharma believes that the main reason for stress and anxiety is that people do not find anybody with whom to share their thoughts or difficulties in life. Therefore, creating an environment where employees feel comfortable and encouraged to open up, talk and share their feelings is what is required to ensure their mental health.

“Creating a culture of stress-free work is a long-term solution that will have a deeper and more positive impact. Of course, if required, stress leaves can be used as an incentive in the process. However, focussing on stress leaves alone will simply be a ‘tick in the box’ activity, which will definitely not address the issue, but offer just a temporary solution.”

Manoj Kumar Sharma, CHRO, Aarti Industries

Expert help

Sharma is of the opinion that it is best to consult specialists in mental health cases and seek their expertise to address the problem of mental health issues at the workplace. These benefits should be extended to the employees’ family members as well. Aarti Industries has tied up with a wellness partner and Sharma claims that his employees and their family members use these services.

“Creating a culture of stress-free work is a long-term solution that will have a deeper and more positive impact. Of course, if required, stress leaves can be used as an incentive in the process. However, focussing on stress leaves alone will simply be a ‘tick in the box’ activity, which will definitely not address the issue, but offer just a temporary solution,” explains Sharma.

Awareness and education

A senior HR leader from the e-commerce industry tells HRKatha, that in India, employers do not understand the problem of mental health and stress. That is why, for them, it is difficult to even come up with good policies. He reveals that at his firm, they focus on educating leaders on what mental stress actually is and the signs to look for, so that they can identify symptoms in their team members and take timely action.

He also points out that people are not comfortable talking about such things openly, and therefore, offering mental health leave will certainly not work.

“Instead of calling them mental health leaves, why can’t we just call them leaves? We can simply increase the number of overall leaves for employees, because many people will not even avail such leaves otherwise. It is just like what happened to the concept of period leaves for women. The policy was totally lost because most women are still not comfortable revealing such personal facts about themselves,” enunciates another senior HR leader.

Just by granting some ‘stress leaves’ to people, we cannot address the issue of mental health. Organisations should focus more on creating a stress-free environment at work and practise this continuously, making it part of the culture, for genuine results.

At Wipro, an initiative, MITR (friend) was started way back in 2004. After thorough analysis and surveys, the Company found that many people were going through high levels of stress. The Company’s MITR counsellors, a group of volunteers, assist employees battling mental stress issues, and the Company has a policy of maintaining anonymity through the entire process.

Probably that’s the way to go ahead.

The post Do we need specific stress or mental health leaves? appeared first on HR Katha.

Several researches and analyses have taken place to prove that layoffs do not help organisations in any way to boost their profits. Many myths are attached to layoffs.

1. Increase in productivity: People think layoffs help increase the productivity of the company, as they help cut flab and make the company leaner. But a study conducted by Wharton professor, Peter Cappelli, found that while labour cost decreases during downsizing, sales per employee also goes down.

2. Reduction in cost: Another myth is that layoffs help cut costs. However, there is no logical reason to support this. A research conducted by professor Wayne Cascio of the University of Colorado lists some direct and indirect costs associated with layoffs. These include severance pay; paying out accrued vacation and sick pay; outplacement costs; higher unemployment-insurance taxes; the cost of rehiring employees when business improves; low morale and risk-averse survivors’ potential lawsuits and sabotage.

The research by Cascio also mentions that IBM had to spend 700 million dollars on employee restructuring in 2007 and Microsoft spent around 1.6 billion dollars during a mass downsizing activity in 2014 when they laid off 18000 employees.

3. Increase in profitability: Yet another myth that exists is that by cutting costs through downsizing, there will be an increase in the profitability of a company. This is also not true. A study of 122 companies found that downsizing further reduces the profitability of a company and the most affected are the organisations in the R&D intensive sectors. Cascio’s study of firms in the S&P 500 also established that companies which downsized remained less profitable than the ones that did not.

“Nowadays companies tend to measure profits on a short-term basis rather than focusing on the long-term impacts. Whenever they witness losses in back to back quarters, the shareholders and investors pressurise the management to take some major steps. Hence, they resort to laying off people as a short-term remedy rather than thinking about the long-term impact. I think it is foolish to do so. Layoffs should be the last option”

Another survey by the American Management Association on the companies’ own perceptions of layoffs reported that half the companies did not see any increase in operating profits and one third did not see any positive impact on the productivity of the workers.

“We cannot say that layoffs can increase the profitability of a company. It only helps to reduce the losses by cutting costs,” says Ramesh Shankar S, former EVP and head, HR, Siemens.

Amit Das, director and CHRO, Bennet & Coleman, adds, “It certainly reduces the fixed cost in the short term but the implications arising out of the negative internal and external environment, impact on reputation and goodwill, low morale and productivity, make the objective of ensuring profitability in a sustained manner extremely difficult.”

At the end of it all, we are still left with one question — Are layoffs necessary? Isn’t there another way to come out of bad times?

Let us take a classic example of an airline company which has never laid off a single employee in 40 to 45 years, that is, since its inception. Southwest Airlines, a US based company did not lay off a single employee even during the great recession period when many of its competitors were ‘forced’ to do so.

Experts say that no company wants a layoff to happen and it is a last option. But how did Southwest manage to avoid it?

“Layoffs certainly reduces the fixed cost in the short term but the implications arising out of the negative internal and external environment, impact on reputation and goodwill, low morale and productivity, make the objective of ensuring profitability in a sustained manner extremely difficult”

According to Shankar, in a manufacturing industry, material cost sums up to around 60-70 per cent of the total cost, and the cost of human resource is only 5 to 10 per cent.

“Nowadays companies tend to measure profits on a short-term basis rather than focusing on the long-term impacts. Whenever they witness losses in back to back quarters, the shareholders and investors pressurise the management to take some major steps. Hence, they resort to laying off people as a short-term remedy rather than thinking about the long-term impact. I think it is foolish to do so. Layoffs should be the last option,” opines Shankar.

Shankar suggests that rather than laying off people companies should look to minimise the major costs, which can differ from sector to sector. And if not fulltime employees, organisations can hire part-time, third-party or contractual employees to reduce the impact of unemployment.

Some may still argue that during layoffs mostly underperformers and disgruntled employees are targeted, which allows the organisations to increase productivity while claiming to have a positive effect on the corporate culture. But the fact remains that you cannot expect productivity from the remaining employees as their morale is already down and some may also be deeply affected by the thought of losing their friends and co-workers.

“Companies can and should use these opportunities to clean up and take the tough calls. Good times often lead to bad management practices because they tend to get hidden, and bad times force companies to review their bad practices and clean up”

“Such actions taken only during the layoff time will have no positive impact on corporate culture if not the reverse. We cannot expect to go for interior decoration when the house is on fire”. Nevertheless, a well-structured identification process backed by robust communication and adequate support during exit process helps to reduce the pain and the inevitable negative impact on the organisation’s reputation, besides low internal employee morale,” advises Das.

Hari T.N, head-HR, BigBasket, adds, “Companies can and should use these opportunities to clean up and take the tough calls. Good times often lead to bad management practices because they tend to get hidden, and bad times force companies to review their bad practices and clean up.”

The post How layoffs can backfire appeared first on HR Katha.

HRKatha had reported a few months back that in Uttar Pradesh, a surprising number of PhD holders (3700) had applied for peon vacancies. These posts, for messengers, were advertised by the Uttar Pradesh Police, stating the required qualification as Class V.

“Today, even for a constable’s post you will have a PhD holder applying because it is easily available in some universities for a sum. People are misguided into thinking that higher and multiple degrees will improve their job prospects,” remarks S Ramesh Shankar, EVP, head-HR, South Asia, Siemens.

Overqualified employees often compromise and settle for low-paying jobs that are not challenging. They are too big for the pond size and that makes them restless, unstable and a threat. A company is unable to exploit their potential, which leads to increasing stress levels and frustration in these employees. They don’t stick around for long and are responsible for taking the attrition rate up.

“Today, even for a constable’s post you will have a PhD holder applying because it is easily available in some universities for a sum. People are misguided into thinking that higher and multiple degrees will improve their job prospects”

If the highest qualified resources develop without differentiated performance, companies harm themselves. These resources develop negative attitudes, such as a sense of entitlement with regard to their skills, or resentment through boredom. “Their hubris will become initially self-congratulatory and subsequently self-destructive. Their negative attitude around those less qualified will trigger an air of discontentment that further leads to disengagement. This is bound to adversely impact the organisation’s health and happiness,” says Adil Malia, COO, The Firm.

They also suffer from financial crises because their salaries are not enough to repay the loans they have taken for higher education.

The chances of failing for the ‘highest qualified resources’ is as high as that of the just qualified employees—knowledge not being the only success criterion of performance. However, if the mental makeup of the ‘highest qualified resource’ is such that it expects a premium in compensation, benefits and performance merely by virtue of additional qualifications, without displaying differentiated performance, it is the start of a problem,” opines Malia.

Most good organisations will not shortlist overqualified candidates, but refuse them politely. “In our company, we have employees who pursue higher professional studies, but we do not promote them directly on the basis of just that fact. However, they are free to apply if vacancies arise for senior roles,” says Shankar.

In the last decade, there has been an extraordinary upswing in the number of individuals opting for higher education in India. The motive behind this is the belief that more the number of degrees, the higher the chance to be financially secure and professionally successful.

“Successful enterprises, therefore, focus on acquiring CRT — compositely right talent and not HQR — highest qualified resource. For successful performance in a role, intellect and intelligence must align. Certification from any knowledge adding factory does not matter!”

We wonder if this trend is favourable for the employers. Do they benefit from hiring smart, academically qualified individuals or does this result in a backfire?

“The problem is with our education system. It stresses upon academic prowess rather than skills required for a job. For instance, in countries, such as Germany if you are a carpenter, you take pride in being one. In India, however, being a graduate or a post graduate is a must if you want to make it in life,” opines Shankar.

“To be able to successfully perform a role, the resource must be ‘competent’ and not necessarily ‘qualified’. Academic knowledge is only one part of competency. There are many other aspects,” reiterates Malia.

“The relationship between qualifications and jobs needs to be redefined. We need to focus more on vocational education rather than generic education, such as BA/ BSc/ BCom/ MA/ MSc/ MCom. In an engineering company, do we need engineers by qualification? No. We need individuals with application skills who have learned out of passion,” reasons Shankar.

“Academic qualification is not a true test for talent acquisition. We are slowly gearing up towards putting a ‘test-method’— ‘job-wise screening mechanism’— for the selection process,” continues Shankar.

“Successful enterprises, therefore, focus on acquiring CRT — compositely right talent and not HQR — highest qualified resource. For successful performance in a role, intellect and intelligence must align. Certification from any knowledge adding factory does not matter!” stresses Malia.

“Certainly, companies loose out big time when they hire only ‘HQRs’ and I seriously doubt if any company does that,” adds Malia.

While it is not easy to change the mindsets of people, we are slowly and steadily moving towards differentiating talent from academic prowess.

The post ‘Overqualified’ does not necessarily mean ‘smart’ appeared first on HR Katha.

More power to HR in 2019

In an era, where everything is changing, the only differentiator for organisations will be their ‘people’. Hence, it is critical for organisations to keep HR at the centre of business and organisation strategy. 2019 will see the maturity of Industry 4.0 and the emergence of Industry 5.0. The convergence of information /data sciences and manufacturing will see new dynamics at the workplace. If HR does not enable the organisation to create a future ready workforce, the organisation cannot be a winner in the marketplace.

“Multigenerational organisations are more of a reality than a fad today. They were existent in the past too but the differentiation in needs is predominant today and needs to be addressed”

The biggest challenge for HR in your sector

The biggest challenge for HR in our sector is attracting and retaining talent in the core sectors. While IT may look glamorous in the short run, manufacturing forms the structural foundation for any nation. India also wants 25 per cent of its GDP to come from manufacturing. Our ability to make the core manufacturing sector attractive enough to draw and retain talent will make us competitive in the markets.

“While IT may look glamorous in the short run, manufacturing forms the structural foundation for any nation”

HR technology will become a true ‘system of productivity’

Digitalisation is changing everything, including HR. It is going much beyond automation. We need to learn to embrace technology in such a way that all routine tasks are digitised, and people have time for more human touch and interactions.

Download the HRKatha 2019 Forecast – powered by Sodexo to read what the top 30 HR leaders predict for the new year

Technology will allow HR to be more human

It is not a dream but a reality today. However, technology will not enable human interactions. Human beings must realise the value of increased human interactions. Unlike humans, no technology or machines have emotions or the ability to make judgements. Hence, it is critical for us to ensure that we value and promote human interactions in organisations and society.

“We need to learn to embrace technology in such a way that all routine tasks are digitised, and people have time for more human touch and interactions”

Managing a diverse workforce

Flexible and adaptable policies and processes to cater to the needs of different generations will help us create synergies in the organisation. We have created an environment where all generations understand and empathise with the needs of other generations and create win-win situations. Multigenerational organisations are more of a reality than a fad today. They were existent in the past too but the differentiation in needs is predominant today and needs to be addressed.

HRKatha 2019 Forecast is powered by Sodexo

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