from the publisher's desk...from the publisher's desk covid-19. the city which has been...
TRANSCRIPT
From The Publisher's Desk
COVID-19. The city which has beendeveloped as a major industrial hubsince 2004 generated a GDP of aroundUSD 22 Million in 2018. While the fateof Wuhan and China in the post-COVIDperiod is worth contemplating withseveral major corporations deciding torelocate their operations elsewhere, thescenario for the Indian Industries andeconomy is equally grim. While theIndian Government is offering a hugerespite in terms of an economic packagethrough the "Aatma Nirbhar BharatAbhiyan" initiative, companies in India,more so the MSMEs, have a long way totraverse before they can attain a level ofnormalcy.
Human Capital has come forth with aSpecial Edition on the plausible way
forward for the Indian Industry post theCOVID-19 pandemic with some verynoted names coming forward with valuedcontributions. Amarpreet Bhamra writesthat post the COVID-19 pandemic, HRfunction's role is set to assume a newdimension. In an exclusive conversationwith Human Capital, Dr MarshallGoldsmith advises people to follow theprinciples of the Bhagavad Gita to dealwith the crisis that has consumed us. Inyet another exclusive conversation, AbhijitBhaduri reveals the silver linings fororganisations willing to boldly bets onreimagining themselves in such uncertaintimes. Human Capital also interacted withRavin Jesuthasan, Managing Director,Willis Towers Watson, who spoke aboutautomation, the imperatives of HR 4.0,and how COVID-19 is shaping the futureof work.
Vikas Dua believes that to overcomeCOVID-19, HR leaders need to don asoldier's avatar and lead from thefrontlines. Dr. Anuradha M. V. talksabout psychological well-being at theindividual, societal and organisationallevels. Gautam Brahma shares intriguinginsights on the post pandemic changes atwork. Persona features Ashish Vidyarthi,national award-winning actor and Founder,Avid Miner, who finds new reasons to bepassionate about every single day, andconsiders himself to be a professionallearner.
The fact that experts have anticipated thatthe Indian economy will stage a recoveryfrom the second quarter in FY 2020-21 isindeed heart-warming. And this can beachieved only through sustained impetusfrom the Government and minimal socialdistancing. Hence, only can only hopethat there is no further damage to thealready ravaged economy by COVID-19.
Carpe Diem!
Neha Jain
Wuhan, the capital of HubeiProvince in Central China, hasnow become synonymous with
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 3
4 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
ContentsJUNE 2020 VOLUME 24 ISSUE 1
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
.
The Post COVID-19 HRAmarpreet Bhamra
OPENING THOUGHTS
6
TALENT MANAGEMENT
55 Strategy Amidst APandemicKalpana Bansal
Building A Zero-CostLearning ProgrammeNishath Usmani
20
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
A Psychological ContractDr. Sonal Shree
CASE STUDY
46
Thriving In COVID-19And BeyondDr. Marshall Goldsmith
INTERVIEW
12
................................................................................................................
A Man Of Many ShadesAshish Vidyarthi
62
PERSONA
................................................................................................................
What HR LeadersNeed To Do?Vikas Dua
65
SOCIAL DISTANCING
Winning Talent InTurbulent TimesDakshdeep Singh
Priyanka Sharma
50
HR TECHNOLOGY
Standing The Test OfAdversityKalyani Rao
Abhishek Reddy M
10
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
...................................................................................................................
INDUSTRY INTERVIEW
START-UPSDr. Moorthy K Uppaluri
24
NON-PROFITJaydeep Das
27
IT/ITESSwarna Sudha Selvaraj
30
MANUFACTURINGBiswarup Goswami
32
RECRUITMENTSashi Kumar
34
POWERP K Singh
36
HEALTHCARESakshi Sood
38
OIL & GASKaustubh Sonalkar
40
REAL ESTATEUrvi Aradhya
42
BFSIAmol Gupta
44
Back To The DrawingBoardAbhijit Bhaduri
16
Automation, HR 4.0,And The Future Of WorkRavin Jesuthasan
52
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
.
Cognitive DominanceAnd Leader-FollowerExchange DynamicsDr. Farah Naqvi
68
LEADERSHIP
The Leadership MantleDr. K N Viswanatham
70
...................................................................................................................
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 5
Contents..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
REGULARS
Editorial
Industry Bytes
Law at Work
Industry Bytes
Appointments
3
9
58
81
61
DIGITAL LEARNING
72 Re-imagining LearningIn The Post-COVID EraDr. Manavi Pathak
This issue of HUMAN CAPITHUMAN CAPITHUMAN CAPITHUMAN CAPITHUMAN CAPITALALALALALcontains 82 pages including cover
All rights reserved. Reproduction inany manner without writtenpermission is prohibited.
Printed atUpkar [email protected]
Published at4378/4B, Pooja Apartment1st Floor, Ansari Road, DaryaganjNew Delhi-110002
Owned byMukesh Jain
Managed byNeha JainPh : [email protected]
EditorialAjay [email protected]
Ankita [email protected]
SubscriptionHarsh AgarwalPh : [email protected]
For Copyright/reproduction of anyspecific article, kindly contact [email protected].
Customer support & Feedback
Surbhi GargPh : [email protected]
Advertisement
Corporate and media connect
Design & Creatives
David Thomas
LinkedinLinkedinLinkedinLinkedinLinkedinFFFFFacebookacebookacebookacebookacebook TTTTTwitterwitterwitterwitterwitter
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
..
/humancapitalmag /Humancapitalonline /human-capital-magazine
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
.....
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
....
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
EXPERT TALK
80 COVID-19: Time ForPaybackAbhiroop Banerjii
THE WAY FORWARD
75 Revisiting PsychologicalWell-BeingDr. Anuradha M. V.
POINT OF VIEW
78 Life & Work: After ThePandemicGautam Brahma
6 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
OPENING THOUGHTS
enterprises across the globe.Almost every other sector viz.insurance, banking, aviation,tourism, hospitality, manufacturing,automotive, e-commerce etc. ismaking a valiant effort to come toterms with the crisis unleashed bythe virus by devising plans to wardoff disruptions in the functioningof global processes. And the bittertruth is that the existing businessmodels along with businesscontinuity plans have gone topsy-turvy. Enterprises are thusscrambling to keep their workforceengaged during long spells oflockdown announced by multiplenations across the globe.
The Great Depression in the1930s and the global recession postthe Lehman Brothers saga in thelate nineties, heaped financialmisfortune across the globe. In thecurrent scenario, economists havepredicted a massive economiccollapse, global recession, and jobcuts during the course of thelockdown. For Human Resources,this lockdown has precipitatedseveral unforeseen scenarios whichsignal a rewiring of the existingpeople practices to manage theworkforce in organisations. Anattempt has therefore been madeto assess and highlight certainelements of HR which have largelyexisted on paper and will possiblyamplify in the post COVID-19 world.
he fury of COVID-19 hasundoubtedly delivered alethal punch to mostT
BY AMARPREET BHAMRA
As organisations continue to grapple with the COVID-19pandemic by either shutting down operations orremotely operating the processes, the role of the HRfunction and its practices will assume a new dimension.
The PostCOVID-19 HR
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Contingent and RemoteWorkforceWith citizens confined to theirhomes, and governments promisingto supply them with essential itemstill the lockdown ebbs, a hugesurge has been reported in ordersfor firms in the e-commerce,logistics, retail, warehousing, food,and healthcare space. As per arecent CNBC Workforce Wirereport, the likes of CVS Health andInstacart are hiring contingentworkers to meet the swellingdemand. Amazon, Papa Johns,Kroger, and Walmart are rampingup both the regular and contingent
workforce for enabling last miledeliveries. HR could bake-in aformal contingent workforce modelwith structures, risk protocols andgovernance and contract serviceproviders or staffing firms to meetbusiness requirements in similarsituations. They will also need tosolve prevailing concerns ofcontingent workers related todenial of benefits which are availableto a regular employee and lowcompensation.
This apart, the demand for gigworkforce will accelerate in thecoming times. Jeanne Meister, aPartner with Future Workplace, anHR Advisory and Research firm inForbes, states that remote work ishere to stay. She further adds thatwith the benefits of tapping into ageographically and ethnicallydiverse talent pool, managers willincreasingly explore how to makeremote working part of theirculture. In terms of human capitaltalent acquisition or the recruitmentteams within HR will be tasked tohire niche talent in quick timealong with an assured back-upbench strength of talent. Jeannementions that transforming talentmodels and digitising talent valuechains will be a big focus area forHR.
Work from Home (WFH)Work From Home is going to be asignificant reform in terms ofcommuting to work going forward.As WFH assimilates into the
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 7
OPENING THOUGHTS..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
mainstream, the frowns andsuspicion cast upon employees fordoing WFH by many corporatesincluding the reporting managersin the pre-coronavirus times isgoing to reduce further. In thecurrent situation of outbreak ofCOVID-19 and social distancingmeasures, WFH has becomeinevitable with the likes ofAmazon, Facebook, Microsoft andGoogle implementing the same.“We’re being forced into theworld’s largest workfromhomeexperiment and, so far, it hasn’tbeen easy for a lot oforganisations to implement,” saysSaikat Chatterjee, Senior Director,Advisory at Gartner. HR functionsaround the globe will feel the needto reorient the workforce, includingthe managerial and leadershipcadre, on the new realities ofWFH, and accordingly, amendexisting Human Resource policies.In order to firm this even further,HR professionals need to cultivatea better understanding of businesscritical and non-critical processes.
“HR functions aroundthe globe will feel theneed to reorient theworkforce, includingthe managerial and
leadership cadre, on thenew realities of WFH,
and accordingly, amendexisting Human
Resource policies.”WellnessCorporate Wellness Programmeswould gain more traction asenterprises would be keen tosustain a healthy workforce inorder to minimise the impact ofbio-virus attacks. HR teams arelikely to partner with businessheads on establishing andmonitoring cadence on health
perks and bonus have to bedebated, and subsequently, amendedin line with the prevailing laws ofeach country. Insurance policies inthe future are likely to incorporatecoverage in terms of medical andlife for virus related pandemics,and HR teams need to be at theforefront of leading this change.Another huge consideration wouldbe the travel policy with restrictionson local and international travellikely to be extended at the end ofthe lockdowns. For instance,existing questions on Sick Leaveand whether it should be paid orunpaid needs to be resolved.Stephen Miller, in an article in theSHRM titled Health, Wellness andLeave Benefits Help Employeeswith Coronavirus has stated thatPresident Donald Trump hassigned the Families FirstCoronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)on 18 March, 2020. The followingnew regulations have beenintroduced:
Emergency Family MedicalLeave (FML) Expansion Act:Temporarily expands theprovisions under the FederalFamily and Medical Leave Actspecifically to address COVID-19-related absences
Payroll Credit for Required PaidFamily Leave: This refundabletax credit is designed toreimburse 100 percent of wagespaid by the employer under thenew Emergency FML expansionfor each calendar quarter
Emergency Paid Sick Leave(PSL) Act: Employers arerequired to provide paid sicktime, available for immediateuse, to each employee requiringsuch time for specific reasonsassociated with the COVID-19pandemic
Payroll Credit for Required PaidSick Leave: This refundable taxcredit is designed to reimburse100 percent of wages paid bythe employer under the newEmergency PSL for eachcalendar quarter
indices and cascading communicationon hygiene and sanitary practicesto employees. It will be worthwhileto evaluate the creation of a ChiefHealth Officer and Epidemiologistrole in enterprises with a focus onemployee wellbeing programmes toprevent occurrence of diseases.Counselling sessions for affectedemployees by known and newerailments, and Employee AssistanceProgrammes are going to havemore bite and traffic going forward.
HR Tools and SystemsIn the aftermath of COVID-19, thefocus on overhauling rusty HRtools and systems is likely tointensify. Collaboration andworkplace tools are the need of thehour in organisations to tide overthe grim situation. As remote workemerges as a reality investment indigital tools, video calls and virtualworkspaces would be welcome. HRand business leaders need tosensitise the management andworkforce on new standardoperating procedures for videomeetings, conference calls, virtualworkout sessions and dress codes.HR systems used for workforcetime management, salary, pay,leaves, performance management,tele-health services, benefitsprogrammes, order managementetc. need to be configured to thenew realities. This in itself will bea key transformation. Furthermore,the aspects of HR apps and dataalong with hardware and bandwidthrequired to support remote workand new tools need serious thinking.
PoliciesThe COVID-19 outbreak hasexposed severe chunks in theexisting HR policies across globalenterprises. In this context, suchpolicies must be examined andrevisited to accommodate newerworking conditions. E.g. existingpolicies woven around WFH,disability, compensation, health,shift allowances, working hours,contract staff, vendors, employee
8 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
Learning andDevelopmentIn terms of this crisis, new contourshave emerged for Learning andDevelopment. There has been anoticeable surge in employeesenrolling for online courses, andHR teams could always encourageemployees to upgrade themselvesby undertaking some of theseprogrammes. Another opportunityfor HR could be to develop anddeliver short business and leadershipprogrammes through the onlinemode. HR could play a morestrategic role by broad-basing theexisting repertoire of learningprogrammes and include onlinecourses on wellness, health, dietand lifestyle to sustain a healthyworkforce. Organisations across theglobe will evaluate and implementmore programmes aimed at reskillingof the workforce on digital toolsand the newer ways of working.
RiskThe current risk protocols are likelyto be redesigned in order to combata situation like the spread ofCOVID-19. HR partners have toupdate protocols and internalcontrols on workplace policies,business data, employee healthdata, IT assets, employee privacy,lay-offs, HR access management,remote working, business continuityplans including interim successionplanning, alternative workingarrangement like moving processesto a new site or location, clientengagements, transportation etc. tosee that businesses operate in aseamless manner. The existingprotocols revolving aroundcontractual obligations withvendors and other outsourcedproviders will call for a revision. Infact, preparing for a worst-casescenario could be handy to ward offany such eventuality in real-time.
EmployeeCommunicationsand LeadershipHR needs to be proactive in dealingwith employee communications in
the wheels of business moving incrunch situations, and should alsosee that the workforce is operatingwith lower stress levels and anxiety.
Corporate SocialResponsibility (CSR)The destruction caused by COVID-19 would remain etched in historyfor a long time. There is animmense impact on mankind andnations, especially the poor andmarginalised. Furthermore, HRand business leaders need toengage and collaborate withcommunities and self-help groupsby designing and launching nicheCSR programmes focused onhealth, finance, wellness and skillenhancement. The involvement ofworkforce in volunteeringprogrammes should be accordedmore weightage in performancemanagement and could also bemandated in the respectiveorganisations.
The unfolding of the COVID-19Pandemic heralds a new learningcurve which is unique andunparalleled for enterprises. Asorganisations continue to grapplewith the pandemic by eithershutting down operations orremotely operating the processes,the role of the HR function andpractices will assume a newdimension. Being smarter, flexible,and prepared would be the newerattributes for Human Resources tosustain high levels of engagementand keep the wheels of theorganisations moving.
these challenging circumstances.Many organisations have activateddedicated webpages to COVID-19,thereby communicating all therelevant information to theworkforce. However, HR needs tobe more agile by conducting shortpodcasts with business leaders, livechat sessions, and virtual townhalls so that employees experiencethe connect with the business inspite of operating remotely. In thefuture scenario, HR teams need todisseminate swift information ontopics related to health andailments to the employees. Socialmedia is likely to occupy moremind space, and hence HR teamsneed to make the workforce awareabout the norms and guidelinespertaining to the same. HR canalso assist enterprises in setting upa website, app or hotline featuringcurated content to provide guidanceto employees in a lockdown. Someof the sources for content couldinclude local governments,healthcare authorities andinternational organisations, such asthe World Health Organisation(WHO). HR professionals need tobe vigilant in negating any rumoursor non-verified information whichcan rapidly spread through informaland social media networks.
In terms of leadership, HR teamsneed to sensitise the frontlinemanagers and business leaders onhow to empathise with employeesin these dire situations. E.g.Chevron and Exxon have put safetyas their topmost goal as people arecritical to functioning of businesses.Leaders need to be transparentand inclusive and encourageemployees to speak up on anyconcerns which they may be facing.Michael Beer (Cahners-RabbProfessor of Business Administration,Emeritus, Co-Founder andDirector of TruePoint Partners)has stated in Harvard WorkingKnowledge that the COVID-19challenge, like any crisis, providesthe senior management with ahuge opportunity to rapidlydevelop a trust-based culture. HRpartners should acknowledge theefforts put in by employees to keep
OPENING THOUGHTS..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Amarpreet Bhamra is a businessprocess management professionalwith 20 years of work experience inorganisations such as Ernst Young,AP Moller Maersk, Tech MahindraBusiness Services, SynchronyFinancial, TATA Business SupportServices and GE Capital InternationalServices. Amarpreet holds a doublepost graduate in Communications andEnglish respectively. He has anAdvanced Diploma in FinancialManagement from Indian School ofBusiness Management andAdministration.
About the Author
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 9
......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
.....
As working from home has become the new normal inthe wake of COVID-19, Alphabet Inc's Google hasannounced to give an allowance of $1,000 (around
Rs. 75,000) to each of its employees globally for expenseson necessary equipment and office furniture as they workfrom home.
The tech giant expects most of the employees to workfrom home for the remaining year. The company willrestart opening more buildings in more cities from July 6.
As per Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, thereare a limited number of employees whose roles are neededback in the office this year, and they would return on alimited, rotating basis. "This will give Googlers who need tocome back to the office or, capacity permitting, who want
to come back theopportunity to return on alimited, rotating basis(think: one day everycouple of weeks, so roughly10 percent buildingoccupancy)," Pichai said ina blog post.
INDUSTRY BYTES
Google Gives EveryEmployee Rs. 75,000Work-From-HomeAllowance
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
BY ANUSHRUTI SINGH
OYO AnnouncesESOPs for FurloughedEmployees Impactedby COVID-19
Oyo has granted employee stock ownershipplans (ESOPs) worth Rs 130 crore to all itsfurloughed employees impacted by the
COVID-19. The move is part of the company'sefforts to minimise the disruption experienced byemployees due to the pandemic.
OYO founderand Group CEORitesh Agarwal, inan internal emailto employeesrevealed the Rs130 crore plan. "Iwould like torecognise yourcontributions and this love and passion for OYOby making you a co-owner and shareholder of thecompany", he wrote. "I would like to inform youthat all impacted OYOpreneurs would be eligiblefor ESOPs worth around Rs 130 crore (aroundUSD 18 million)," Agarwal added.
BY ANUSHRUTI SINGH
Amazon Offers 125,000 Full-Time Jobsto Seasonal EmployeesBY ANUSHRUTI SINGH
Amazon has planned to offer full-time jobs to125,000 of 175,000 temporary workers hiredto handle surging use of its online shopping
service due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The companyhad expanded its workforce with 175,000 newpositions in March to help provide for thecommunities and keep as many people as possibleworking during the crises.
"Like other companies, wehired these individuals forseasonal roles to meet a surgein demand and, for many,there was the hope ofreturning back to their
previous companies once states began to re-open,"Amazon wrote in a blog post. "As the long-term picturebecomes more clear, we're providing the opportunity for125,000 of those who came on with us seasonally tostay with Amazon and transition into a regular, full-time role beginning in June. Some may choose toreturn to their previous job, and others may choose to
stay at Amazon in seasonal or part-timeroles."
Amazon pays at least $15 per hour toits 600,000-strong workforce. Earlier,the e-commerce giant had announcedto invest nearly $4 billion to keep itsworkers safe.
10 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
n August 1619, around 20African slaves de-boarded aship in Point Comfort inI
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Standing The TestOf Adversity
BY KALYANI RAO AND ABHISHEK M REDDY
Over the years, commitment to Diversity & Inclusionhas increased across the globe, but the real test to thestrength of these commitments is the ability towithstand this adversity.
only subtler. We encounter, and attimes, even endorse - consciouslyor unconsciously - stereotypes andprejudices against women, peoplewith disabilities, and other minoritygroups.
In an economic downturn, thesestereotypes and prejudices onlyenhance the discrimination againstcertain groups. The journal article,‘Race and recession: Effects ofeconomic scarcity on racialdiscrimination’ gives an insightinto such a troubling trend. Througha series of studies, researchersfound that economic scarcityproduced racial bias at the time of
Virginia. And by the 18th Century,7 million slaves had been draggedout of their homes and were chained,forced to toil, incarcerated, and evenraped. Africa was thus robbed ofits most able men and women. Thejustification for such atrocities wasthe heinous racial discrimination.Public assertions about people ofcolour being naturally inferior andnegative stereotyping led to severalpeople consciously believing suchbaseless claims. The prejudices andbiases continue even today, but are
distribution of resources. Prejudicedpeople allocated fewer resources toblack recipients in a recession-likescenario.
“Through a series ofstudies, researchersfound that economic
scarcity produced racialbias at the time of
distribution ofresources. Prejudicedpeople allocated fewer
resources to blackrecipients in arecession-like
scenario.”The COVID-19 pandemic is
throwing extraordinary stress oneconomies and businesses acrossthe world. As the future looksbleak, one can increasingly beginto contemplate the safety of his/her own self/family, and peoplewho are alike in terms of opinions,religion, class, gender, caste, etc.Such feelings will only enhanceprejudices even further. Theresearch report, ‘Economic scarcityalters the perception of race’ statesthat during an economic downturn,people become subconsciouslymore prejudiced. Such heightenedfeelings will impact judgementsabout people and groups. Due tothis, employers may be tempted touse poor economic conditions as areason to discriminate againstminority groups while making lay-off decisions. ‘Recessionarydiscrimination’ happened duringthe 2008 economic crisis, whereinwomen, people of colour, andthose belonging to other minoritygroups were laidoff in largenumbers. It also affected subsequenthiring practices for some time.
Today, we have a similareconomic environment, and thoughsubtle, prejudices and biases arestill at play at workplaces. Decisionsdriven by biases today will undothe commitment and investments
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 11
made in diversity & inclusion overthe past few years. They will notmerely undo the efforts, but alsodestroy the credibility oforganisations both externally andinternally, by bringing forth thequestion of truthfulness in everyeffort, investment, and D&I valuesthat organisations vouched for allthese years. Internally, it affectsemployee perceptions of theirleaders, receptivity to new ideasand initiatives, and engagementlevels. All of this will translate intolower customer satisfaction and adecrease in profits. According to asurvey conducted by Tony Simonsand Judi McLean Parks in 76 USand Canadian holiday inns, profitswere substantially higher in suchhotels where employers stronglybelieved that their managers walkedthe talk and demonstrated valuesthey preached. Even a one-eighthpoint increase in a hotel’s scoreover this aspect of managerialbehaviour on a scale of five,translated into a $250,000 increasein profit per year.
“Decisions driven bybiases today will undothe commitment andinvestments made indiversity & inclusion
over the past few years.They will not merelyundo the efforts, but
also destroy thecredibility of
organisations”Therefore, resorting to more
evidence-based decision-making onthe matters of diversity & inclusionwill benefit the organisations. Someevidence we have come acrosssuggests the following:
Inclusion helps withstandeconomic downturn: A researchconducted by Great Place to Workin 2000, companies with 1000 ormore employees stated that whenthe S&P 500 experienced a 35.5%
drop in stock performance from2007 to 2009, inclusive companiessaw a 14.4% gain. Inclusivecompanies are more likely toinnovate, drive sentiments offairness and integrity and upinvestor confidence.
Diverse companies generatemore revenue: A study by BCG in1700 companies across 8 countriesfound that diversity has a moredirect effect on the revenue.Companies with diverse managementteams had 19% more revenuebecause of enhanced innovation.
Inclusive leadership drivesteam performance: According toa research by Deloitte, behavioursof leaders that lead to an increasein individuals’ feelings of inclusionhave resulted in 17% increase in
Kalyani Rao is the Head-HR atDr. Reddy’s Foundation, a leadingnotforprofit organisation. She is a HRleader with more than 15 years ofexperience leading several functions likestrategy, change management, policydesign, talent acquisition, performancemanagement, organisationaldevelopment and compliance reporting.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
References
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-milestones
https://www.pnas.org/content/111/25/9079
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2017/10/discrimination-more-likely-when-resources-are-scarce
https://hbr.org/2002/09/the-high-cost-of-lost-trust
https://www.bcg.com/en-us/publications/2018/how-diverse-leadership-teams-boost-innovation.aspx
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/4209_Diversity-and-inclusion-revolution/DI_Diversity-and-inclusion-revolution.pdf
https://www.hrdive.com/news/diverse-inclusive-companies-have-an-advantage-during-recessions-study-fin/569691/
team performance, 20% increase indecision-making quality, and 20%increase in team collaboration.
Diversity & Inclusion has severalbenefits ranging from investorsentiments to employee morale.Over the years, commitment toDiversity & Inclusion has increasedacross the globe, but the real test tothe strength of these commitmentsis the ability to withstand thisadversity. Decisions based onbiases might come at heavy coststo the investments done till date inD&I, credibility, risks of facinglaw-suits & settlements, andassociated benefits of beinginclusive. For achieving betteroutcomes for all, diversity &inclusion should stand this test ofadversity.
Abhishek Reddy M is a Young IndiaFellow from Ashoka University and iscurrently working as an AssistantManager-Communications at Dr.Reddy’s Foundation. He is skilled atwriting, screen-writing, presentationand design.
Thriving in COVID-19and Beyond
BY ANKITA SHARMA
In an exclusive interaction with Human Capital, Dr. Marshall Goldsmith,a world-renowned executive educator and coach, Thinkers50 ManagementHall of Fame Inductee, and celebrated author, shares his thoughts,techniques, and tips on thriving and leading through the current crisis.
The COVID-19 crisis hasbrought unique and variedchallenges for everyone. Whatis your top guidance tonavigate and adapt throughthis period of upheaval andrapid change?
ADVICE FOR PEOPLEAS INDIVIDUALS
Lessons from theBhagavad GitaThere’s a great parable called theGita, which I think is a greatguidebook for helping people dealwith today’s crisis. In the Gita,Arjuna is faced with two verychallenging choices: bad andworse. He shares his woes withKrishna. What is the message fromKrishna?
Face and accept what is.People want authenticity fromleaders. They don’t want them topaint a pretty picture of what isnot a pretty picture. Face what isin a pragmatic way, yet beoptimistic — practice pragmaticoptimism.
Do not become attached tooutcomes. You do not control theoutcomes. You didn’t create thisvirus. You didn’t create thisdisaster. When we become attached
Q
INTERVIEW
12 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
A
INTERVIEW
these inconsiderate people. Now,you’re angry. You hit a perfectshot. The stupid idiots left the canof beer. You walk to your ball.What do you do? Breathe. Let goof the past. Forget about the beercan. The results of the previousshot are over.
You cannot fixate on the glorythat may or may not ever happenin the future. You can only developthe best possible strategy, walk upto the ball, and hit the shot infront of you. That is all that youcan ever do. In the words of theGita, you do your best, your duty,but do not get attached to theresults. In today’s crisis, you can’tchange the past. You have to let itgo.
ADVICE FOR LEADERSDuring this period of change,people need more communicationbecause there is more ambiguityand rapid change. I suggest thatleaders have a regular dialoguewith each person they work withthrough a simple six-questionprocess.
1) Where are we going?
As a manager, you say, “Here’swhere I see the organisation goingright now in terms of vision, goals,and priorities.” Then, ask yourdirect report, “Where do you thinkwe should be going?” This opensup a two-way dialogue.
2) Where are you going?
You say, “Here’s where I see youand your part of the businessgoing now.” Then, start a dialogueby asking, “Where do you thinkyou should be going?”
3) What is going well?
You begin by sharing, “Here’s whatI think you and your part of thebusiness are doing well.” Then, askyour direct report a seldom-askedquestion, “What do you thinkyou’re doing well?” Many times, we
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
to the outcomes, we invariably setourselves up for failure. So it’svery important to realise this andforgive yourself. Many people inthe crisis are saying, “I shouldhave saved more money. I shouldhave done this or that.” You can’tchange what you did. Also, forgiveother people for being who theyare. Getting angry at them forthings that you can’t control is acomplete waste of your time andenergy. Focus on where you wantto make a difference.
Create a strategy that fitsyour deeper purpose and doyour best. Ask yourself, “What ismy plan, and how does this plantie into my deepest purpose?” Thenext important step is to do yourbest. Once you have made peacewith what is, and you haveaccepted the hard reality thatexists, all that’s left is for you todo your best.
Make peace with theresults. When you get fixated inthe outcomes, all of a sudden,everything is personal, and youthink you’re a terrible person. Noteveryone is going to succeed. Oneof my good friends, David Chang,is among the most famousrestaurant people in the world.Two of his top restaurants justwent bankrupt. He’s a brilliantguy. He’s famous worldwide. Hehad great food. But sometimes,even the greatest leaders lose, andthey have to make peace with thatand say, “How can I start over?”
Learnings from PeterDruckerI had the opportunity to learnfrom the great Peter Drucker, thefounder of modern managementand a great mentor of mine. I wason the Peter Drucker advisoryboard for ten years. Peter Druckertaught me a wonderful lessonthat’s very appropriate for thistime of crisis: Our mission in lifeis to make a positive difference.It’s not to prove how smart we
are or how right we are. We getso lost in proving how smart andhow right we are that we forgetthat’s not what we’re here for.
There is a good guideline in mybook, Triggers, which is veryappropriate for today’s crisis.Before you deal with any topic, askyourself this good question thatwas inspired by Peter Drucker: AmI willing, at this time, to make theinvestment required to make apositive difference on this topic? Ifthe answer is yes, go for it. If theanswer is no, let it go. Do notwaste your time, emotions, andenergy on things you’re not goingto change and improve anyway.
“When we becomeattached to the
outcomes, we invariablyset ourselves up for
failure.”The Golfer ParableThere is an analogy that’s going tobe in my upcoming book, TheEarned Life. I’m not a golfer, butmy good friend and colleague MarkReiter is. He helped me put thistogether.
Imagine this: You’re a golfer.You are at the country club. It is aweekend, and you have a chance towin the monthly championship.You are very excited because youare on the final hole, and you havebeen playing very well. The group infront of you is noisy and drinkingbeer. You are very annoyed bythese people. You go up to the tee.You block out distractions. You hityour drive, and it’s perfect. It goesright to where you want it to go.However, it hits something andbounces over into the rough. Youthink, “How could that happen?”You walk to where your ball landed,and you see it hit a beer can. Thebeer can was left on the fairway by
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 13
14 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
forget to recognise people during acrisis, and they’re often doing verygood things. By asking this question,you can celebrate performancewins that you would otherwise miss.
4) What are your key suggestionsand ideas for the future?
You provide feedforward by saying,“Here are some ideas I might havefor you in the future movingforward,” and then asking thequestion, “Assuming you were thecoach or advisor, what ideas wouldyou have for yourself?” Peopleoften give ideas you might havenever thought of that may be morevaluable than your own ideas.
5) How can I help?
Another good question is, “In thistime of crisis, what can I do tohelp you?”
6) What ideas do you have forme?
Finally, you can say, “We’re goingthrough this together. What ideasand suggestions do you have forme moving forward?” You don’tpromise to do everything; youpromise to listen to people and dowhat you can.
During this period of change,leaders need to go through thissimple six-question process — notless, but more — because thingsare changing very rapidly. As anexecutive coach, I only get paid ifmy clients get better. I’ve taughtthis process to seven big CEOs. Igot paid seven times out of seven.This is how effective this processis. There are two keys to makingthis work:
One is establishing mutualresponsibility. As a leader, you sayto the person you’re managing,“I’m going to have a regulardialogue with you on these sixbasic topics so that we are in goodalignment. If you ever feelovercommitted, lacking inalignment, or confused, I want youto take the responsibility of talking
to me. Because if I do my job asyour manager on a regular basis,and you do your job in followingup with me, there’s no reason weshould have ambiguity, confusion,or any lack of alignment.”
During times of crisis, you alsoneed to say, “I cannot promise thatour strategy today is going to beour strategy five years from today.In fact, I can’t even promise ourstrategy today is going to be ourstrategy next week. However, atany point in time, I want you tohave total clarity in terms ofwhat’s most important and whatthe priorities are right now.”
“As a leader, you’remuch more of a
facilitator who learnsfrom others. You’re nota little god who has all
the answers, and it’svery important to make
peace with that.”
Why could practising eitherpragmatism or optimism beproblematic? Also, how canleaders become pragmaticoptimists?
If you focus only on the newsand reality, it can be verydepressing. It’s tough out there.Yes, it’s real and pragmatic, but ifyou focus all day on the thought“Isn’t life terrible?” you’re notmaking a positive difference andnot helping anyone. You have toface the hard reality and then ask,“How can I make the best of it?How can I make the biggestpositive difference right now?”That’s the optimist part. But youcan’t be just an optimist either.Motivational speeches or happythoughts are not going to make
everything fine. You can thinkpositive until hell freezes over, butthe virus is not going to get curedby positive thinking. If wishing thiswould go away was the cure, itwould have been gone a long timeago. So, the first part ispragmatism: Don’t hide from thereality that’s there. Today, peopleprefer authenticity. They don’twant some show or pretense. Thesecond is asking, “How can I makethe best of the reality that doesexist?” That’s the idea of pragmaticoptimism.
Today, leaders have to bebold, decisive, and tough—while also being empathic,compassionate, and supportiveof their workforce. This is oneof the most challengingbalancing acts they willencounter in their career. Onthis front, what would be yourbest piece of advice forleaders out there?
Peter Drucker gave a piece ofgreat advice: Every decision ismade by the person who has thepower to make that decision, somake peace with that. If I am thedecision-maker, then you need toinfluence me. In this case, there’sone word to describe you, and it’s“salesperson.” There’s one word todescribe me, and it’s “customer.”You don’t have to buy; you haveto sell. So first, when you’re tryingto influence people that have morepower than you do, realise that itis not their responsibility to buy —it is your responsibility to sell. Ifyou cannot sell it or change it,then you make peace and move on.
If you are the leader, you don’thave to prove that other people arewrong or put them down. On theone hand, you can be verycompassionate, and on the otherhand, you can tell the truth andsay, “Here’s the decision I’vemade”. Sometimes, it may be anunpopular decision. People maycome back and say, “This is bad
Q
A
Q
A
INTERVIEW..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 15
for me”. However, an effectiveleader can be positive and respond,“I understand that, and I’m goingto do whatever I can to help you.I’ve still made the decision.”
One of the great leaders in our100 Coaches group is HarryKraemer. He was the CEO of alarge pharmaceutical companycalled Baxter. He’s now a top-ratedprofessor at the Kellogg School.Harry was asked the question, “Asa leader, you’ve had to fire people,lay people off, make very difficultdecisions, and do things thatcaused a lot of pain for people.How do you sleep at night?” Hehad a very simple yet profoundanswer: “I only ask myself twoquestions: One, Did I do what Ithought was the right thing?Maybe I was wrong, but did I dowhat I at least thought was theright thing at that time? And, two,Did I do my best? If the answer isyes, I did what I thought was theright thing, and yes, I did my best,I can always sleep at night. That’sall you can ever do.”
What mindset shouldleaders take on as they steertheir organisation throughunknowns?
I have written an article abouta leader being a facilitator, whichis what Peter Drucker taught me.He said, “Today, we manageknowledge workers. They knowmore about what they’re doingthan you do. And as a leader, youdon’t have the answers.”
During this period of crisis, youhave to ask, listen, and learn fromeveryone around you. As a leader,you’re much more of a facilitatorwho learns from others. You’re nota little god who has all theanswers, and it’s very important tomake peace with that. The people Icoach are CEOs of multimillion-dollar companies. If I’m a CEOwho knows more about marketingthan the marketing person, moreabout finance than the finance
person, and more about HR thanthe HR person, then I don’t have aleadership problem — I have aselection problem. I have thewrong staff. You need people whoknow more than you do. You needto facilitate and learn from thesepeople and help them work withyou to develop the strategy. Peopledon’t need you to be a little godwho tells them what to do andhow to do it because you don’tknow enough to be that little god.There are no such leaders — atleast, I haven’t met any if thereare.
Leaders today findthemselves choked by thesheer volume of business andpeople responsibilities andmay not find time forintrospective thinking.However, this pandemic willdefine their legacy, for goodor ill, no matter how far theyare from retirement. Howcould busy leaders consciouslybuild their legacy?
I think it’s very good forleaders to challenge themselveswith questions as human beings.What’s my mission in life? Whatare my priorities? What is mostimportant for me? What am Idoing well? What do I need tochange? What help do I need?
Every day, I practice somethingcalled the daily question process. Ihave a person call me every day. Igo through these questionsregarding my whole life every day.Someone asked me, “Why do youhave someone call you on thephone every day? Don’t you knowthe theory about how to changebehaviour?” Well, I wrote thetheory about how to changebehaviour. That’s why I havesomeone call me every day. I knowhow hard it is. My name isMarshall. I have someone call meevery day. They listen to me whileI read the questions that I wroteand provide answers. Why? I’m too
undisciplined to do this by myself,and I need help. We all need help,and that’s okay.
What would you like ourreaders to know about yourupcoming book, The EarnedLife?
The first part of my book isabout creating your own life. Welive in a world of choice. In India,years ago, you had no choice aboutwhere you lived. You lived whereyour parents did. You had nochoice about your occupation. Youdid what your parents did. Yourreligion was set for you. Everythingwas prescribed. Today, you havethousands of choices. In manyways, this is very positive. Yet,depression is at an all-time high.People are anxious and confused.When you don’t have a choice, youalso don’t have regrets. You cannotregret making a decision when youcan’t make decisions. However,when you can make decisions, youhave regret, and it’s sometimeshard to face. So, the first part isaddressing who you want tobecome and making peace withwho that is.
The second part is that, as wejourney through life, we constantlyneed to earn respect from othersand ourselves. As part of our workwith 40 brilliant people, we foundthat they’re all trying to get better.Each one of these people couldsay, “I am successful. I havemoney. I have status.” However,they’re all saying, “I need to getbetter and keep earning respectand value.” It’s an ongoingevolution of life. Thus, the book isabout creating the life you love andearning the life you create, notonce but over and over again.
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
INTERVIEW..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
16 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
Back to theDrawing Board
BY ANKITA SHARMA
In an exclusive interview with Human Capital, Abhijit Bhaduri, a leadershipcoach, talent management expert, author, advisor, and Founder of AbhijitBhaduri & Associates, offers pragmatic advice for navigating the breakneckchanges currently underway, shines a light on the changing talent equation,and reveals the silver linings for organisations willing to place bold bets onreimagining themselves in an uncertain present.
You’ve built a very extensivecareer in HR. You are a talentmanagement expert with globalexperience in top-tierorganisations, an author, aspeaker, a coach, and so muchmore. How do you look back atyour career so far?
Q A We all have a core professionalarea of focus and a portfolio of otherinterests. My core identity has alwaysbeen human resources. But I alsohave many other interests – writing,drawing, theatre, music, etc. And Ithink, when you work on your own, itis possible to integrate many of these
INTERVIEW
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 17
INTERVIEW
of AI-powered decisions arealso quickly coming to the fore.How can HR professionalsuncover and surmount thechallenges of using AI, such asalgorithmic bias?
I wrote something recentlywhere I said that if you want to fixthe bias in algorithms, it’s not thealgorithmic bias that can beaddressed, but the bias of theperson or people who coded thealgorithm. The coders must workin diverse teams to understand ifany group is being excluded ortreated unfairly.
Biases will always be there, invarious shapes and forms, becauseevery human being is unique.Algorithms have to be constantlyevaluated for their ethicalimplications. In the post COVIDworld, if the employer uses face-recognition, the employee mustspecifically approve the usage ofthat data for some other purpose(e.g. creating a happiness index orengagement study).
If decisions are made withoutinvolving the people who areimpacted, it is likely to be biased.This is not even about algorithms.Rather, it is about human bias. Forinstance, business meetings areusually dominated by extroverts –they take up a lot more of theairtime and introverts don’t getmuch chance to speak. Extrovertsand introverts in any populationare nearly 50/50, so there seemsto be no reason why this bias stillexists. But it does. Try to mapyour own meetings to discover whodoes most of the talking.
Becoming aware of the biases isstep one because it allows peopleto address them easily. Also, it is acontinuous journey. As we go on,we will discover more nuances. Wehave biases against anyone who isnot from the mainstream. It’s themajority who must make efforts toinclude the minority in decisions.Biases in people decisions areeverywhere. If the leaders are fromcertain colleges, then they tend to
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
interests even better. In a traditionaljob role, it is a little morechallenging.
As a freelancer, it is easy forme to decide on how I will allocatetime between writing, working onmy keynotes, coaching or long-term projects. I can pick andchoose. It becomes like a shareportfolio. I can temporarily over-invest in one, under-invest in oneand keep changing the mix. Sothat’s how I look at it, which is thereason perhaps that I’ve been ableto pursue many different things. Ilove that flexibility of being a littleimpulsive if I have to.
“Every function,whether internal-facing
or external must bereimagined usingtechnology to be
location-agnostic.”The coronavirus outbreak
has pushed almost everybusiness to bolster its digitaltransformation efforts. Whatdo you feel are the biggestpitfalls that organisationsshould avoid when executingtheir digital strategies?
When you look at a digitaltransformation strategy, the firstdesign principle is that it’s notabout technology. A lot of peoplesay, “We’ve created a websitewhere people can buy and sellstuff, and so we are digital.”Absolutely not. That’s not digitaltransformation. Every function,whether internal-facing or externalmust be reimagined using technologyto be location-agnostic.
Secondly, you need to askyourself: When the lockdown wasannounced, how easy was it foryou to continue every aspect ofyour business and employeeexperience? If it continuedseamlessly and you thrived in thisnew environment, then that’s
probably a good yardstick to lookat. However, people don’t reallymake enough investments in HRtools and technology. Without that,it’s very hard for people to havetheir goals tracked and to havemanagers stay connected with theteams, or for individuals to stayconnected with their managers andother colleagues and be able tocollaborate online. The managersmust be trained to rethink theirrole in the new scenario.
You should be able to manageevery aspect of your business in aseamless, online/offline format. Ifyour business was not O2O, whichis online-to-offline, and back, thenperhaps you have some distance tocover in your digital transformationjourney. It’s really like saying thatwhen people buy something online,they also go to the store, try it outand check the size, and then orderit online if it is cheaper. Or theycan do comparison shopping, andif they need to return the stock,then they’ll still go back and returnit in the store where they tried itout. Good businesses blur thedifference between the online andthe offline realms. That’s how I’dlook at digital transformation forevery function – especially HR. Isit O2O?
“The pandemic isgoing to make even
large organisations startrelying increasingly on
freelancers and gigworkers. Freelancers
are going to experiencea lot more opportunities
as companies start toembrace a flexible
workforce.”As the role of AI continues
to expand rapidly in the HRrealm, the potential drawbacks
Q
A
Q
A
18 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
take more chances on students froma similar background. Prejudicescome in all shapes and forms. Sowhen I create an algorithm using therule book that is in my head, itshows up as a biased algorithm.
COVID-19 has cast the gigeconomy in a new light. Whatare your views on this front?
I look at the gig economy asjust one of the many variants of
definitely one of the places where alot of freelancers exist.
When we think of the term gigeconomy, it covers a whole rangeof jobs. The way I look at it, thereare three kinds of roles. One is aset of jobs that are allocated basedon the platform on which you havesigned up. Ride sharing, fooddelivery, home repairs are allexamples of this. You sign up onany platform, and the platformallocates the jobs and ensures thatyou get paid. You don’t have toworry about developing your ownbusiness or building your ownbrand, sales, or collections. It’s alltaken care of by the platform. That’sone variant of the gig economy.
Then there are freelancersdoing white collared jobs. Theyneed to build their own brand toget discovered by the clients.They’re creating their own productsand services, and people knowthem for who they are. It’s a veryperson-specific thing, andorganisations invite that specificperson or the team to offer servicesand support.
And then there are gig artistes:people in the arts and fine arts.80% of Bollywood (film making inevery language) is made up of gigartistes. Whether these people arein theatre, film, music, thebroadcasting media in general,writing, or anything like that, theyare gig artistes. They work onprojects and get paid for their craft.
The pandemic is going to makeeven large organisations startrelying increasingly on freelancersand gig workers. Freelancers aregoing to experience a lot moreopportunities as companies start toembrace a flexible workforce. Sucha workforce could include work-from-home mothers, people who’veretired, people who have been thevictims of acid attacks, or thecognitively challenged and physicallydisabled, among others. It willopen new opportunities. B2B salesis now increasingly driven by SaaSproductions (subscription-based)
talent. The key perspective to keepin mind is what I’ve talked aboutin my upcoming book, Dreamersand Unicorns, that when we thoughtof the word talent, even a coupleof years back, we looked at it as aset of people who were on the rollsof an organisation. But it’s nolonger a binary group of peoplewho are or are not on the rolls ofa company. Freelancers are a set ofpeople who are increasinglybecoming prominent, and India is
With more than 850,000 followers on social media, Abhijit is the most followedwriter in HR. Follow him on social media @Abhijit Bhaduri. Sign up for hissketchnotes on abhijitbhaduri.substack.com.
Q
A
INTERVIEW..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 19
or Cloud-based (pay-per-use).Connecting, collaborating andshaping solutions is driving value.And this requires soft skills likelistening, empathising and offeringto integrate conflicting views.Women have excelled at many ofthese. The customer success teamsat Salesforce and Oracle are headedby women.
From your perspective, howcan HR professionals buildtheir personal brand to gainmore influence and impact?
I think your personal brand isnot just about saying or doing acertain kind of thing but alsoabout the nature of the work thatyou do. Being a subject matterexpert who can simplify ideas in amanner that creates value for theusers is a prerequisite for personalbrand building. It’s about buildinga pull. That involves knowingabout the medium or platform.
When I work with leaders inhelping them craft their personalbrand, I help them discover theirunique ability to create value andhow to communicate it. Severalsenior leaders have used theseprinciples to build a strong personalbrand on various channels. Likeany other brand, a personal brandis crafted and nurtured over time.
“Many HR processeswere designed for a
world where theoverwhelming majority
was co-located. Nowwhen most roles are
remote, the HRprocesses have to goback to the drawing
board.”
In times of crisis, it isdifficult to make companyculture a priority whilecontinually putting out firesthat threaten businesssustainability. Moreover, withthe COVID-19 pandemic, it hasbecome challenging to buildan engaging culture for adispersed workforce. Whatwould your advice be formaintaining and nurturingorganisational culture duringsuch difficult times?
I think that the manner inwhich you deal with fires shouldreflect your company’s statedvalues. this means that whateveryour stated method, your valuesshould reflect why you’re doingwhat you are doing and also indicatehow you’re going to be doing it.Therefore, a company’s cultureshouldn’t change drasticallyregardless of whether it’s a short-or a long-term crisis.
Ultimately, the way you dealwith people during times of stress– whether you trust employees andcare about them and their familiesand what methods you adopt totide you over difficult scenarios –are reflections of organisationalvalues, regardless of what you puton the values posters.
Many HR processes weredesigned for a world where theoverwhelming majority was co-located. Now when most roles areremote, the HR processes have togo back to the drawing board. Whathappens to hiring or onboardingwhen you take them online? Dothey remain consistent with yourcompany’s culture? It’s not theoffice that we have been used to.The rules of engagement were alldesigned for the pre-pandemicoffice world, and it’s a differentworld now, so it’s obviously goingto need a lot of work. Now is thetime for human resource people totake the lead and shape theworkforce, work policies, andemployee experience in line withstated values and culture. Ultimately,this is a great opportunity.
“This is a situationthat nobody in the
world has experiencedbefore and, therefore,this is a time to make
bold bets.”Turbulent times demand
emotional resilience. Inclosing, could you give a fewquick tips for leaders on howto stay resilient when all theodds seem stacked againstthem?
This is a situation that nobodyin the world has experiencedbefore and, therefore, this is a timeto make bold bets. It’s a time tostart questioning the basicassumptions and begin to design adifferent workplace that valueseverything that the previousworkplace norms did not allow for.
Mental health has always beensomething that organisations haveleft people to worry about on theirown. Perhaps this is a time to stepup to the plate, prioritise employees’holistic well-being, and questionthe inclusivity of the whole process.These are things which endearpeople to you. You build deeperconnections, and that’s one of thebig ways in which you buildemotional resilience.
Maintaining a Gratitude Diaryto record every day what one isgrateful for is a wonderful way tobuild resilience. Meditation is astress buster. We have overcomemany challenges before – everyonehas. This too shall pass. The poetRumi said: Light can only seep inwhen there is a crack. When avessel is cracked, the light comesin. While times of stress are veryhard, they also strengthen andbuild us in a way that we seeourselves in a new light. If anything,I see this as a positive opportunityto bring groups together, to bringemployees together, and to revitalisethe workplace.
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
INTERVIEW..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
20 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
fancy facilitators, no modules frommarquee universities. Only a seriesof virtual sessions. Every RBC inmy ‘training blood’ was boiling overto say- ‘this ain’t gonna work’!
The apprehensions felt by meare strikingly similar to what L &D departments in organisations aregoing through in the COVID-19times. Learning needs have notreduced, but the budgets havefrozen. The ‘bells and whistles’have gone, yet the learning needsare real. In such extreme situations,how can we design great learninginterventions with a zero budget?Coming back to Niharika….
She saw my internal angst, andthen said, “This is a good design.”I walked away disbelievingly,telling myself, “She is alwayspolite.” A few weeks later, much tomy utter scepticism, we launchedthe programme.
As the programme was deployed,I witnessed something that hadnever been experienced previously.The magnitude of the feedback, thebuzz, the perception of contentrelevance, the goodwill generated,the culture building etc. everythingthat participants came back to uswith, was incredibly positive. Icould not believe it. This was afterall, the underdog programme. Thezero budget one!
But I am fast forwarding toomuch and jumping to the end. Let
o…no, Niharika! There’snothing good about thisprogramme design!” No
“N
BY NISHATH USMANI
L & D departments are undergoing a unique anddifficult situation during the COVID-19 times. WhileLearning needs have not reduced, the budgets havefrozen. The 'bells and whistles' have gone, yet thelearning needs are real.
Building A Zero-CostLearning Programme
me rewind a bit and start from thedinner table conversation that Ihad with my eldest daughter.“Maa, like me, (she is preparingfor her engineering exams) yourparticipants were alsopreparing for something. So,their interest in theprogramme is natural.” Shewas right. In parts. Theparticipants on thisprogramme were indeedhigh potential leaderswho were beingprepared for the next
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 21
level of leadership. But thisoverwhelmingly positive feedbackdid not come when they reachedthe next level or when they gotpromoted. It came way before that.The participants did not connecttheir individual promotion as acriterion, for determining theprogramme’s usefulness. They hadmade that decision long before.
Which is why I had liked to startby saying that beyond the highphilosophies and grand themes, liethe unfaltering details of execution.And that is where the success storyof this programme design begins.It is built on simple six principles.
Get the basics rightOld fashioned as it is, good learningdesign begins with learningobjectives being correctly identifiedand narrowly defined. Oncearticulated, these need to fit intothe programme’s pedagogy andcontent. In this case, there werethree key learning objectives.
As future leaders of the firm,the participants needed to havea deep understanding of thefirm’s wide offerings.
The firm’s local leadershipneeded to engage with themand teach them how to buildthe business- here and now.
They needed to build the softeraspects of leadership- likeexecutive presence andcommunication.
These three objectives translatedto three pillars, each of which hada specific learning interventionbuilt around it.
For participants, seeingis believingIn his seminal research paper, ’Iscareer management related toemployee development &performance’ (Journal of OB,1996), Raymond A Noe studied120 employees and their managersin a state agency to understand therelationship between careermanagement and employee
development activities. In thispaper, Noe argues, ‘that the closerthe employee’s current position isto their career goal, the moreinterested and involved they willbe in development activities.’ Thisis because employees recognise theneed for ‘readiness’ to the nextrole. Secondly, the participant feelsthat his/her developmentalbehaviour may improve theirchances for obtaining their desiredposition as it signals to the ‘powersthat be’ that they are interestedand motivated to receive newopportunities. Our learningprogramme was paced at 4 monthsaway from the time of the actualprocess of the promotions. So,proximity to the learning goal(which in this case was thepromotion process) greatlyenhanced the engagement levels ofthe participants, keeping themaround 95%. It is possible thatwould not have been the case ifthe programme was 8-10 monthsaway from the learning goal.
“Old fashioned as it is,good learning design
begins with the learningobjectives being
correctly identified andnarrowly defined. Oncearticulated, these need
to fit into theprogramme’s pedagogy
and content.”Give them the contextright, they will learneverything elseIn our programme, we only usedinternal trainers, following themodel of ‘leaders teach leaders’.This worked brilliantly. This isexactly what Antonio Aragón-Sánchez et all (2003) had stated intheir paper, ‘Effect of training onbusiness results’. After their study
of 6000 managers in small andmedium industries, they concludedthat on-the-job training given byin-house trainers is the methodthat had the highest positiveinfluence on profitability results ofthe organisations. ‘This positiveeffect’, the authors opined, wasbecause this kind of trainingpresents less transferenceproblems: it does not interrupt thework; it develops the workers’precise skills, and promotes anenvironment of learning’. Similarly,in our programme too- thehomegrown leaders, people whohad gone through the promotionprocess and who knew theanxieties and lows, were called onto take all the sessions. At thesame time, we had somebody fromthe senior leadership who trulycared about the programme. In ourcase, it was our CHRO, who wasthe programme’s biggest evangelist.He nurtured the programme idea,carefully molding its shape.
Provide just in timecontent that ‘comestogether’There is a reason why ‘Pizza Hut’increases their advertising spendsbetween 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. everynight. It is simply because that isthe time when people are hungry.Cereal manufacturers have smartanalytics that can predict when thecereal box is due for a refill for afamily. That is when their directmarketing kicks in. Our programmeborrowed some of these principles.Programme content, such as thein-depth knowledge of the firm,the future strategy, the opportunitiesand challenges are the things thatthese ‘to-be-leaders’ already knew.It was about re-providing it tothem at just the right time, whenit mattered the most. We alsostitched the virtual sessions,making them into an interestingTV series, where every session feltlike the cliff hanger of a greatnovel. Also, we realised that thecontent does not have to be prettyand perfect. Imperfect, evolving
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
22 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
Nishath Usmani is responsible forleadership development of seniorleaders at KPMG. She comes with anexperience of more than 18 years inleadership development, learningstrategy, talent management,facilitation, coaching & learningcommunications. She has workedpreviously worked in Capgemini'sCorporate University and DeloitteConsulting. Nishath is presentlypursuing Ph.D. in management (HR).
About the Author
and practitioner-led content, ismore precious to a learner thangreat looking slides! One look atany of the Khan Academy videoswill tell you that you do not wantthe content to be ‘perfect’!
“One of the mainobjectives of a learningprogramme then shouldbe to make the learners
believe that change ispossible and that theycan drive it post the
programme.”Bring in the FOMO, tobring in the engagementAlthough, there is a lot of researchthat proves that a state of anxietyis not conducive to learning orconcentrating, in today’s world,some amount of ‘fear of missingout’ is a good thing to build in.Through the marketing andcommunication of each of theinterventions, participants weremade to feel that ‘missing the
session, was like missing the busand they had to have to take thetrain, which is not coming anytimesoon.’ To help participants stayconnected, we played up the hypejust a little bit by talking aboutwhat they would miss (instead ofwhat they would learn), when wespoke about a specific learningintervention.
Ultimately, it’s all got todo with motivationOne of the main objectives of alearning programme then should beto make the learners believe thatchange is possible and that theycan drive it post the programme.This is what Bandura (1997) calledselfefficacy or the belief in one’scapabilities to organise and executethe courses of action required toproduce given attainments.Throughout our programme,participants were provided withthe assurance that they are alreadythe future leaders of the firm,regardless of whether they gotpromoted or not. Even at the endof the programme they were givenconsistent messages that they are‘ready’ for the next level. This wasreinforced by welldesigned
communications going from theirmanagers and other influentialmembers of the leadership. Thiscreated a sense of selfbelief thatactions from here on will bedictated by the participants andthat they have the onus of change!
Like I mentioned above, theCOVID-19 environments areforcing us to think of highlyquality, low cost offerings. Whilethere is nothing so glorious aboutthese simple six principles. Whenthey come together, they providethe fundamentals of a highlyeffective learning programme builtat a zero cost!
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 23
António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations,has, albeit optimistically, stated that the recovery from theCOVID-19 Crisis must lead to a different economy altogether.However, in light of the on-ground situation on the business
front in India, the road to recovery seems distant. The Indian Economy,which was not impacted in the real terms by the global crises during 2001and 2008, is now anticipated to contract owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.Experts, by way of analysing different scenarios, have indicated that Indiacan be hopeful of a V-Shaped recovery, and hence, can anticipate arecovery from the second quarter in FY 2020-21, provided there issustained impetus from the Government and minimal social distancing.
While sectors such as Aviation, Tourism, Hospitality, Construction andmanufacturing have been the worst affected by the Pandemic, Education,Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, IT, Telecom and Agriculture have been leastaffected. It is also unclear whether the exodus of the business orders anddeals from China will reap benefits for India in terms of orders andinvestment. There is however a silver lining in the form of the US-ChinaTrade war as also the former’s angst against China for keeping mum onthe outbreak of the COVID19 Pandemic in Wuhan. Japan has also beenforthcoming by offering an USD 2.2 Billion economic support package toaid industries to move out of China in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
An anecdote to the Indian resolve of finding ways where there is a willhas come in the form of the Indian healthcare sector. When the firstCOVID-19 case was traced in India in January 2020, there was only asolitary lab equipped to carry out tests for COVID-19. In less than fourmonths, India managed to achieve the unachievable by carrying out1,00,000 tests in a single day on 18th May, 2020.
While the prayer on every one’s lips is that India remains“Aatma Nirbhar”, Human Capital interacted with experts fromvarious Industry sectors to seek their views on the crisis athand and the possible outcomes that could emerge in the daysahead.
A COVID-19 SPECIAL FEATURE
24 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
START-UPS
Owing to the lockdown,leading organisations like Uberhave laid off its employees, andhence, the much talked out"Uber Business Model" isdefinitely being viewed withscepticism. What according toyou are the positives that startups can derive from such adisruption?
The "Uber business model" is abold and disruptive business modelthat enabled a marketplace for theservice providers and the serviceseekers to connect on a widelyprevalent and reliable mobile phoneplatform, thus making the serviceavailable anytime, anywhere in aconsistent and carefully governedenvironment. This also createdemployment for several thousands ofyoung and skilled people across theworld. It fostered a new ecosystemthat was enjoyed by customers world-over. It is not appropriate to blamethe "Uber business model" for thechallenges imposed on the businessdue to the lockdown.
If one would take a closer look atthe current business challenges, it isnot too difficult to trace socialdistancing and the associatedrestrictions around ensuring personalhygiene to be the root-causes. Thesenecessitate changes on multiplefronts like infrastructure, operations,transactions, and regulation, alongwith relevant training to theworkforce to institutionalise thosechanges, and adapt to the marketexpectations rather quickly. This isevidently over and above thechallenges imposed on the business,like variance in demand due toimpacted customer sentiment and thebleak economic outlook. Asmentioned previously, the "Uberbusiness model" is a powerful toolthat can be applied easily to createmarketplaces across the globe toconnect supply and demand in aneffective and efficient way withoutthe need for serious investment.Also, I passionately believe that everynew disruption, like the ongoinglockdown, provides tremendouspotential to challenge the status quo
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Q
A
DR. MOORTHY K UPPALURIFormer CEO and MD - RandstadIndia, Angel investor andAdvisor to early-stage Start-ups
and innovate to offer unprecedentedsolutions that the market willwelcome. It is just that one musthave the eye for such opportunitiesand the wherewithal to pursue thesame in a timely manner.
While the COVID-19pandemic has been stressful forthe Start-up Founders, it hasbeen even more stressful for theHR Managers and theemployees. Speaking fromexperience, what would be youradvice for the HR Managers andemployees to ensure that thespirits remain high?
True, it has been stressful to allthe stakeholders as everyone is at thereceiving end and were subjected toan extremely turbulent, vague, anddifficult situation that wasunprecedented in this century. It leftmillions of people worrying aboutlives, families, livelihood, andsurvival. The aftermath of COVID-19is no less than that of any world war,with so many countries, people,economies, and businesses severelyaffected and left wondering where tobegin, when and how to go about it!In tough situations like this, one hasto conserve the resources available,be mindful of the ecosystem,environment, and the way forward,and seek the much-required courageand inspiration from within, so thats/he can be a dependable support forthe people around. Unprecedentedproblems call for unprecedented andinnovative solutions. Competencieslike being enterprising, empathetic,and inclusive will be more in demandand constitute the core of leadershipgoing forward. Employees will haveto be dynamic change agents with anopen mind and quick learnersadapting to the disruption, leadingthe transformation, and acceleratingthe change for the revival and growthof the business. HR leaders, beingthe conscience of the company andculture, must take a proactive role inrebuilding the enterprise andemployee policies to enable businesstransformation in a seamless and
A
Q
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 25
painless manner. It is a proven factthat people converge and coalesceunder distress. And the Leadershipmust capitalise this rare and historicmoment to galvanise the organisationtogether and rally them towards thebusiness mission.
Do you believe that thefinancial package announced bythe Prime Minister works as alife saver for start-ups? How doyou believe that the start-upscan use the fillip provided forbetter talent managementpractices?
The stimulus package is certainlya step in the right direction. SeveralMSMEs will benefit from thispackage. While capital is a criticaland core ingredient for the success ofthe business, there are other keyelements like strategy, talent, andexecution that are vital indetermining the success of a Start-up, provided there is unmet demandfor such products and/or services inthe market. The stimulus packageenables friction-free access to thecapital and helps with the much-required liquidity in the business.
Start-ups will have to be mindfulover the extent to which they canbear the burden of debt, and howsuch leverage can help the businessaccelerate the growth plans. Withreference to the current situation dueto COVID-19, Start-ups will need toweigh in the impact it has on theircustomers and the changes indemand. It is also prudent to revisitthe business assumptions and re-validate their strategy and executionplans. Start-ups single-mindedlyapply all their passion and availableresources towards growing theirbusiness revenues and profits asplanned. Talent in the Start-ups isusually paid incentives that are tiedwith business achievements/performance, and in some cases,employees have equity that getsvested over a prolonged period oftime to ensure retention of suchperforming talent. Most elements ofthe stimulus package are intended to
help the business in the immediateto short-term, hence it is unlikelythat they will be applied towards thetalent management per se, beyondhiring to meet the needs of theorganisation in the immediate future.
While people can shrug andclaim that the millennial andGen Z workforce knew the riskswhen they opted to work for aStart-up, do the lay-offs actuallyturn the tide in favour of theGig Economy, a term that hasbeen coined basis the workpreference of the millennialworkforce?
Gig economy alludes to the jobmarket characterised by theprevalence of short-term contracts orfreelance work as opposed topermanent jobs. Gig economy wasmade possible with the advent ofuber-like business models,willingness of employers to convertjobs into manageable gigs, and agrowing workforce that could notsecure conventional jobs due to theprevailing skill gap or otherwise,more than just the preference of themillennial workforce. Surely, thelayoffs and right-sizing decisions ofthe businesses result in a surplus oftalent that will eventually settle forgigs and alternate staffing models,provided the future business demandsupports such engagements. In myopinion, the post-COVID market willbe ripe and fertile for somestructured and well-designedexperiments to figure out the rightproportion of jobs/gigs, andaccordingly, the talent mix basis therevised demand-supply. Gig economywill continue to evolve and willremain a key constituent of the jobmarket and workforce, albeitgradually.
With WHO claiming thatCOVID-19 is here to stay andthat organisations will need towork around this very premise,what according to you is theroad ahead for start-ups in
“Every newdisruption, like theongoing lockdown,
provides tremendouspotential to challenge
the status quo andinnovate to offer
unprecedentedsolutions that the
market willwelcome.”
Q
A
START-UPS..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Q
A
Q
26 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
terms of sustaining theirbusiness model as also ensuringthat they hold on to their talent?
Agility and the ability to Adaptquickly are critical factors for successof the business in such turbulent andtraumatic times. Acquiring the righttalent for the right jobs at the righttime at the best cost and retainingthem productively continues to be abusiness priority and critical for boththe short-term and long-term successof the business. Identifying the talentthat can navigate the business inturbulent and unchartered watersremains the top priority of theleadership. Equally important is theability to engage with customers,build lasting relationships, have deepinsights, and provide effectivesolutions to customer's problems andacquire sustainable business growth.Start-ups must make technology theirally, create solutions to customer'sproblems with a differentiated valueproposition that is not onlycompelling but also competitive. Startups must remain bold to challengethe status quo, innovate, try newthings, take risk, fail fast, and emergewith differentiated offerings that arerelevant, effective, scalable andsustainable. Success breeds success!Typically, high performance of the
business fosters a healthy andwinning culture that by itself inspiresand retains employees. Inspirationaland empathetic leadership willremain the critical need fororganisations to execute tirelessly andstay on the course of success.
While Venture Capital activityhas declined in China followingthe COVID-19 pandemic, severalStart-ups in Japan have opted toprovide automated services andhave thereby excelled. Accordingto you, how will the start-upscenario in India look like oncewe emerge out of the lockdown?
I see excellent opportunities forsynergistic consolidation of selectpotential start-ups that areconceptually great, but are either notyet very competent individually orare yet to build the stamina requiredto sustain on their own. Suchconsolidation of select businessesenhances the economies of scope andscale. Venture Capital firms can offerfunding to support such consolidationand bold execution of such broad anddeep solutions. This implies that thedeals will be fewer, but of substantialsize. I believe technology willcontinue to play a particularlyimportant role in the disruption andrebuilding of the new economy post-COVID. I believe there will be anemphasis on personal hygiene andpersonal protection due to COVID-19that will create new opportunitiesand market for creative solutions inthis domain. There is clearly roomfor innovation that offers the much-required assurance in personal andpublic transportation, logistics,delivery, healthcare, and hospitalitydomains to cite a few. Technologyassisted, low-touch solutions andservice-offerings could be inincreased demand. We are alreadyexperiencing a high demand forproductivity tools and platforms thatwill enable remote engagement inscenarios like WFH.
A
Q
A
START-UPS..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 27
The COVID-19 pandemic hasshifted the much-needed focus oncritical illness and refurbishmentof the healthcare sector. Comingfrom an organisation which is inthe domain of holistic childdevelopment, what do youbelieve is the biggest HRopportunity that the pandemichas provided to the non-profitsector?
COVID-19 did not break thesystem, but has unmasked the realities.The VUCA (read C as COVID19)situation has further highlighted theinadequacies of our healthcareinfrastructure in terms of quality,accessibility, affordability in additionto compromised hygiene practicesand shortage of trained healthcareworkers.
However, beyond healthcare, weare beginning to witness how thisoutbreak could indeed “leave” manyvulnerable people behind in contrastto UN’s tagline “leaving no onebehind” by SDG 2030. The economicand social crisis triggered by thelockdown has further aggravated theiniquities and marginalisation. Theunderprivileged and vulnerable havebeen hit hard from aspects namelynutrition, livelihood, safety, mentalhealth and education. The mostvulnerable are children, includingthose with special needs.
I would say that this unprecedentedcrisis has provided a much-advocatedplatform and a brilliant opportunityfor HR professionals to rise up asstrategic business partners and buildthe organisational resilience. Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) leaders arelooking at HR leaders for their counselfor ensuring business continuity asthey empathetically handle the peopleresources that is at the core of what wedo and how we do. HR professionalswith strong business acumen, senseof urgency, and the influencing abilityto build resilience within theorganisation have remarkably buoyedthe cause of business just like a CEO.
While tightrope walking on thedwindling budget lines, NPOs havealways debated investment Vs cost,
Q
A
JAYDEEP DASInternational Head - People &Culture, Children Believe
flexi Vs traditional approach.However, this pandemic has helpedHR leaders to show and tell thatthings can amazingly work togetherwithout compromising the programmeimpact or business continuity if wehave the hearts and minds of ourpeople, regardless of their workplacepositioning.
Fundraisers, events, andhuman contact are the hallmarksof the NonProfit sector. Withthe COVID-19 Pandemic, all theabove activities have come to anaught. In such a scenario, whatare the possible ways in whichan HR can enhance employeemorale?
Although COVID-19 has ruled outface-to-face fund raising drives, otheravenues remain open. Our teamshave broken the distance and time-zone barriers and are scaling upefforts, as the need of the poor arehuge and immediate. However, therecent amendment of Companies Actallowing corporates to donate theirCSR funds is a big dampener. It willdeprive the grass root NPOs whohave been amazing in providing foodand shelter to lakhs of migrantfamilies, while all systems seem to beclueless and apathetic.
As People & Culture (HR) leaders,we were able to co-create a flexi-working environment much opposedto the traditional thinking that thesocial sector cannot thrive minus in-person dialoguing. The Last 60+ dayshave shown that flexi-working hasbrought in more resolved results, andhas added more meaning to the staff.We have been able to do so as ourfront line workers and communityleaders have demonstrated theirleadership and have stood in the gap.
As our commitment to duty ofcare, there is increased focused onwellness including mental health asthe staff continue to cater to theneeds of the people we serve. Wehave been proactively consulting andcommunicating the needed shifts inour service conditions and processeswith our staff as the work-arena has
Q
A
NON-PROFIT..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
28 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
moved beyond the confines of office.Increased frequency of town hallvideo meets, virtual shout outs forstaff recognition and virtual lunchmeets to remain social amidst thelockdown has been an effective anti-dote to lockdown stress.
Honest and inclusivecommunication, trust and empathyholds the key to keep the moralehigh. We are mindful about notadding to their anxiety by springingup surprises for the fact that we needa “motivated-them”. Moreover, a“motivated workforce” is a by-product of the success stories thatstems out of what we do in ourcommunities, and we have plenty ofthem to keep our staff motivated andmoving.
With tech-enabled tools andtelecommuting dominating thework arena today, do youbelieve that team interactions inthe non-profit sector are boundto significantly change in theimmediate future? Do you feelthat this has come about as ahuge advantage for instantdecision making in the non-profit sector?
Many recognised INGOs andNGOs are not new to virtualplatforms, very much reflective oftheir stewardship of resources. Itmay however be newer for thesmaller NPOs. However, what haschanged across in the NPO space ishooking on to technology as a lifelinefor business continuity.
There is a significant shift in theway the team was interacting in thepre-COVID scenario versus the way itis currently. We do foresee that thepattern will further evolve in thecoming days. Days are past when thestaff could read a colleague’s bodylanguage and facial expressions, andthat calls for investment aroundvirtual communication that is crisp,clear and correct. The crispier thecommunication, the lesser time itrequires for consumption, analysisand decision-making. Yes, the
techenabled tools have aided fasterdecision-making.
To remain future ready, NPOshave to explore using virtualplatforms beyond the current usage.Development sector needs to exploreprogramme delivery until thebeneficiary at the village level.Technology can help us to overcometime and cost barriers and canprovide us space to do more.However, virtual trainings call foradequate caution in terms ofappropriateness of our language andpresentation in view of local culturalcontext. Therefore, figuring out whatactivities/resources that we couldprovide virtually, and how to beintentional when it comes to thesafety of individuals who participateand/or volunteer with us are criticalpoints to consider.
The breadth, depth, and scaleof the novel challenges beingexperienced by HR leaders areindeed astounding. According toyou, what are the biggest painpoints for the nonprofit sector?How must they be tackled by aHR Leader?
To explain how our interventionswork, let me share of a statement byRainata, 16, from Burkina Faso. Onbeing asked why she is activelyengaged in COVID-19 relief work, shesays, “I have learned that as aleader I should always inspire othersby setting a good example.” Thereare many such children and youthsacross the globe who have stepped infor the greater community good. Iappreciate our front liners for theirlong-term investment to make ithappen.
So far, we have well-weatheredthe disruptions caused by COVID-19.However, it has nudged almost allthe non-profits to think through ondrastic revamp of programme design,newer/deferred ways of programmeimplementation and the alliedwrenching decisions about staffing.There are big names who arerestructuring their organisation
“The COVID-19pandemic has
helped HR leadersto show and tell thatthings can amazingly
work togetherwithout compromis-ing the programmeimpact or business
continuity if we havethe hearts and minds
of our people.”
Q
A
Q
A
NON-PROFIT..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 29
making it leaner and stronger. Evennon-profits whose funds have notdeclined are nonetheless experiencingsignificant shifts in how they dobusiness. For organisations that thriveon values of equity and justice,managing the people aspects of thebusiness during such unprecedentedtimes presents challenges andopportunities.
Human connections are at the coreof any non-profit impact. However, inview of the dwindling funds due tomass layoffs impacting our donors,and a large chunk of donationslanding in the government’s coffers,the NPOs are left with a constrainedscenario while pushing us to think ofnewer ways of cost optimisations forbusiness continuity and sustainableimpact on the lives of children,youth, families and communities.
When we say newer ways and costoptimisation, we already know whatthe pain points are. Now the practicalchallenge for HR is how to actualisethe hard decisions while upholdingthe values we profess and neutraliseany legal risk allied with thosedecisions. In my opinion, HR’smaturity and preparedness whiledealing with shortterm shifts inpeople policies to negotiate challengesin the current scenario and the abilityto figure out long-term improvementsbased on experiential learnings insupporting staff will be key aspectsfor effective business positioning.While we face this pandemic, weconstantly remind ourselves not totake any permanent decisions tonegotiate any short-term problems.
According to you, what hasCOVID-19 changed the most forHR professionals? What are theareas of concerns that employersmight be called upon to addressgoing forward?
In short, the biggest change ischanged working. The new workarrangement is not the same as thework from home that used to be inthe pre-COVID world. When thinkingof deliverables, we need to becognisant of the changed workatmosphere with household chores
and well-being while weaving inempathy into equation. The Shift inwork setting has forced HRprofessionals to unbox their thinkingas the very idea of employeeexperience suddenly has differentmeasuring indices. The evolvingcontext has opened up avenues forHRs to step up business partneringto a more strategic level to augmenteffective yield.
As we look forward all employers willhave to address the following areas:
Tweaking of HR policies: It isalmost certain that remote work willbe a permanent feature. HR needs tounpack how the practicalities ofemployment terms includingcompensation & benefits, processflow, travel requirements, officeprotocols, and communicationstrategy would play out and theyremain legally sound.
Talent acquisition andmanagement: This pandemic mightenable NPOs to afford hard to findhires and let go positions that arenot business critical in the changedcontext.
Cultivating culture in dispersedworkplaces: Culture is morevulnerable in times of crisis as eachof our action and inaction sets thefoundation for our next chapter.Culture has to be cultivated throughauthentic human connects infusingidentity and purpose of our work.
Engaging a dispersed workforce:Research tells us that staff, who feelthat their physical, social andemotional well-being is a genuinepriority for the organisations theywork for, are generally more engaged.How do we keep our staff engaged,inspired and industrious will reflectour professional capability.
This situation has again reinforcedthat engagement cannot be bought.It is our privilege to have peopledriven by passion and who are clearabout their purpose in life. Andthat makes it somewhat easier tocontinue to do whatever it takes toensure our communities flourish inspite of operating in a constrainingenvironment.
Q
A
“This unprecedentedcrisis has provided a
much-advocatedplatform and a
brilliant opportunityfor HR professionals
to rise up asstrategic business
partners and buildthe organisational
resilience.”
NON-PROFIT..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
30 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
IT/ITES..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
In the wake of the COVID-19pandemic, every organisation isexperiencing its own set ofunique challenges. How do yousee the COVID-19 crisis and itsimpact on the IT/ITeS sector?
In the current situation, placingmore focus on moving forward wouldbe beneficial to people andbusinesses alike. I see this as anopportunity and would like tohighlight four main silver liningareas:
New Engagement Models
New Business Opportunities
Reimagination of SustainabilityInitiatives
Expansion of CommunityInitiatives to Global Communities
What, according to you, arethe biggest opportunities thatthe COVID-19 has brought forthfor your sector?
COVID-19 has thrown severalopportunities to the IT Sector. I havealready highlighted them in fourcategories. I expand upon them alittle bit here.
The TCS trademarked “SecureBorderless Work Space” (SBWSTM) isa point of pride, in which we havebeen able to onboard more than 95%of about 450000 of our employeesacross the globe.
Even though customers in some ofthe sectors like travel, tourism, andeducation are right now strugglingwith the situation, there is a lot ofscope for cross-pollination ofindustries, and coming togethercollaboratively to create newerbusiness opportunities.
The ongoing crisis also turns outto be a great opportunity forsustainability initiatives with a lot oflearning from current environmentalchanges.
There is a larger focus laid byorganisations on community initiatives,mainly in the education sector, whereorganisations are providing learningopportunities for people not onlywithin their communities but to globalcommunities now in the digital mode.
Q
A
SWARNA SUDHA SELVARAJHead of Talent Development,TCS UK & Ireland
The breadth, depth, and scaleof the novel challenges beingexperienced by HR Managers areindeed astounding. According toyou, what are the biggest painpoints for the IT industry? Howdo the same need to be tackledby an HR Manager?
The primary focus area has beenthe health and safety of employeesand supporting business continuity ofcustomers. The actual challenge wasto get both done in parallel seamlessly.Currently, we can be confident instating that the most difficult phasehas passed.
The challenge right now at thehands of HR managers is employeeengagement. Because of the changein the work model, there are hugeopportunities to redefine employeeengagement. This includes theexperience of employees in learning,career, well-being, welfare, to name afew.
For instance, in the next week, if100 employees are to join theorganisation across the globe indifferent countries, in different rolesacross different experience levels, canHR guarantee seamless employeeexperience? What would be theexperience of the existing employeesin integrating these newer employeesinto the global workforce? This couldprove to be a meaningful pilot fordefining the experience of the future,and what all can be done contactlessas part of these employee experiences.
What has COVID-19 changedthe most for HR professionals?What are the areas of concernsthat employers might be calledupon to address going forward?
Ethical stalking related concernsare on the rise. Organisations mighthave to work on revisiting theirpolicies to balance regulations, businessrequirements, and employee safety.
Changes in travel policies, internet-related policies, health insurancepolicies, leave policies and manyothers that would have linkages tocompensation and benefit are likelyto come into play.
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 31
Clear communication and gettingrid of ambiguity would be essentialto retaining the trust of employeesand keeping up their morale.
When it comes to addressingkey concerns such as changingbusiness needs and boostingemployee morale, what are thevital points that function as animperative for an organisationin the IT sector?
Retaining the trust of existingemployees and gaining the trust ofnewer employees would dependheavily on HR practices, policies andprocedures. Some of the low-hangingfruits could be:
Enabling Employees: An employeeis most productive when they areenabled. With all the flexibility thatis already available, it is now time toadd on the aspect of infrastructure orany other support that would enablethe employees to be at their best.
Empowering Managers: Thenearest touchpoint for an employee istheir manager. The more empoweredthe managers are, the faster the needof the employee is met.
Non-Stop Exhaustive LearningOpportunities: Providing a varietyof learning opportunities to enableemployees to stay relevant would beone of the critical priorities of HR.This is essential more than ever, andit is an important role of HR toinspire associates to take as manylearning opportunities as possible,per the business requirements andaspirations.
Clarity in Communication:Performance management, increments,promotions and related decisionsmust be communicated upfront withjustifications to cut off any ambiguitythat could arise out of them. Travelpolicies that need changes andprocesses around those with FAQscould provide clarity to frequenttravellers in organisations. There areseveral other policy and processchanges that could be thought of andcommunicated clearly for employees’consumption.
Celebrating Moments: Bringingteams together and keeping connectionsintact between employees with eventsthat highlight positive memoriescould become a key differentiator inkeeping employees bonded.
“Ethical stalkingrelated concerns are
on the rise.Organisations might
have to work onrevisiting their
policies to balanceregulations, business
requirements, andemployee safety.”
Q
A
IT/ITES..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
32 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
MANUFACTURING
The COVID-19 Pandemic andthe subsequent lockdowns hascompletely disrupted the supplychain in the manufacturingsector. Speaking from a HRPerspective, what are thepositives that have emerged forthe days ahead?
The COVID pandemic has certainlybeen a disruptor and integrator inmany ways. Despite the challengesfaced by us in our business, therewere quite a few learnings for theHuman Resources team.
a. At the plant, we took this time tocomplete the annual shutdown withminimum deployment of workforce.
b. Another positive clearly was WorkFrom Home (WFH), as peoplequickly acclimatised to digitaltechnology. WFH was not somethingwhich came naturally for us. Hence,it was important that we plan andensure that the business continues tooperate in a digital environment. E-learning was put to good use.
c. We also ensured that the leadershipwas constantly communicating withour colleagues, down to the last level,at regular intervals. We wantedeveryone to stay positive andconnected. In these tough times, withlayoffs happening all around us,regular Webinars and sessions withsenior management were veryheartening and reassuring for ourcolleagues.
d. We had reconciled to the fact thatCOVID-19 is here with us by the timeLockdown 3.0 was announced.Perhaps this was the best time tolaunch the implementation ofSUCCESS FACTORS for digitising theentire “Hire to Retire” HR processfor GHCL.
The breadth, depth, and scaleof the novel challenges beingexperienced by the HR Managersduring the course of thelockdown are indeed astounding.According to you, what are thebiggest pain points for themanufacturing sector? How dothe same need to be tackled by aHR Manager?
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Q
A
BISWARUP GOSWAMICHRO, GHCL
The lockdowns imposed due tothe COVID-19 pandemic has broughtin a host of challenges for themanufacturing sector, mostly becausethe nature of business is such thatcertain jobs cannot be carried outremotely. There were variousdisruptions and the sector was facedwith demand slumps, cancellation ordeferring of orders, leading to cashflows and collections under pressure.Additionally, the migrant labour issueled to the shortage of labour supplyas well.
Safeguarding the health of theworkforce and other stakeholders wasa major concern. We put togetherimmediate and contingent safetymeasures for our employees, and asthe industry started opening, wedecided which functions could becarried out remotely. We ensuredflexible work arrangements, and ofcourse, the change management to gowith it. As an HR Manager, I believethat we are responsible for: -
(a) The health and safety of ouremployees as a caring organisation
(b) The growth and optimumutilisation of time for employeeswhether they are at office or workingfrom home and
(c) They are well informed about theway forward.
Technology has been the biggestboon in this pandemic and has madethe above possible, irrespective of thelocation of our employees.
According to you, what hasCOVID-19 changed the most forHR professionals in themanufacturing sector? What arethe areas of concern thatemployers might be called uponto address going forward?
The manufacturing sector lostvaluable production time, and in theinitial stages, logistics became anightmare. HR learnt the art ofkeeping their house intact in spite ofcertain tough measures to take careof the rainy days, E.g. deferment ofincrements, promotions, expansions etc.Also, getting maximum productivity outof limited number of people deployed.
A
Q
AQ
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 33
The COVID-19 pandemic hasbeen instrumental for the rapidtransformation and extinction ofcertain job roles and theemergence of newer job roles.How has this affected themanufacturing sector in termsof job prospects?
I will not say it was truly theextinction of certain jobs, but thefocus was more on the “Teeth”functions. Filling of vacant positionswas deferred in terms of priority. Iwill not say that there was a bigemergence of new roles, butcertainly, there was some extra scopefor increased job opportunity in newproducts linked to PPE and Maskmaking.
When it comes to addressingkey concerns such as changingbusiness needs and boostingemployee morale, what are thevital points that function as an
imperative for an organisationin your sector?
The dilemma of keeping theemployee morale high while workingfrom home persists, and more so,when the business prospects are poorwhile the economy is facing adownturn. However, we could carryout some very engaging sessionsonline for our value deploymenteffectively with e-learnings, leading toimproved competencies. In addition,some Top management communicationin terms of “MD Speaks” webinarsessions help in building trust andfaith. Employees need to be aware ofthe exact business scenario andimpact of COVID19 from the topleader. Last but not the least, in suchchallenging times, you rely on yourintrinsic strength, and the core valuesof Respect, Trust, Ownership andIntegrated teamwork must work asthe guiding force in making the rightdecisions and keep everyone safe andpositive during these tough times.
The largescale exodus ofmigrant workforce, who makefor the frontline of anymanufacturing organisation,comes as a huge setback, sinceit is near impossible toreplenish fresh workforce postthe lockdown. How do HRManagers convert this challengeinto an opportunity?
After about three decades offunctioning in an organisation, youadd on to the fat and forget to workin a nimble footed manner. Therefore,with reduced workforce you learn towork more efficiently and productively.12-hour working shifts helped to acertain extent. We were able toimprove our efficiency in a leanenvironment. Moreover, lowernumbers in workforce also ensuredlesser job cuts without the need tosay the obvious. Such situations helpyou to think and deliver creatively,be it automation or elimination ofnon-essential jobs. There is moretime to reflect on your pastdeliverables and course correct thingsin the right way.
“The manufacturingsector lost valuable
production time,and in the initialstages, logistics
became a nightmare.HR learnt the art ofkeeping their house
intact in spite ofcertain toughmeasures”
Q
A
MANUFACTURING..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Q
A
Q
A
34 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
RECRUITMENT
There have been divergentopinions on the job marketowing to the COVID 19 pandemic,with one portal claiming thatthere will be enhancedrecruitment in the coming daysand another claiming that therewill be a huge retrenchment. Asa leading job portal, what areyour views on the same?
As of May 15th, job postings onIndeed India were growing 49%slower than in 2019. The trend in jobpostings was roughly in line with lastyear's trend until the second week ofMarch. The slowdown accelerated inthe second half of March and throughApril to May.
Hospitality and Tourism haveseen a big decline. Job postings havefallen more in occupations mostdirectly affected by the COVID-19,such as hospitality and tourism. As ofMay 15th, job postings on IndeedIndia in hospitality and tourism weregrowing 69.2% slower than in 2019.Job seekers across the country areshowing greater interest in workingremotely amid the COVID-19 crisis.Job seekers are increasingly searchingfor terms like 'remote', 'work fromhome', and related phrases. Searchesfor remote work have also increasedby over 380% as a share of allsearches on Indeed India fromFebruary 2020 - May 2020.
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Q
A
SASHI KUMARManaging DirectorIndeed India
With reported layoffs inleading organisations in thebackdrop of the COVID-19pandemic, which was followedby interventions by theGovernment as also thejudiciary, what according to youhas come about as a hugelearning for HR Managers?
As a leading labour marketresearcher, we can say that one ofthe bigger conversations that arehappening as a result of the COVID-19 situation is focused on the futureof how we work. This has created anew opportunity to see howworkforces can have more work fromhome flexibility or could even allowfor more remote work options in thefuture especially if employers see thebenefits.
With employees operatingfrom homes and remote sitesowing to the lockdown, therehas been a huge thrust ondigital upskilling and learning.Do you believe that digitallearning will replaceconventional learning?
In this environment, theimportance of learning has come tothe fore. When the dust settles, weneed to take into consideration thechanges we need to make to thetraditional mode of L&D of employees.Data from Indeed indicates anincrease in the demand for companiesusing 'E-learning' to ensure access tolearning and administrative efficiencyin job postings. Overall, job postingsreferencing 'e-learning' has seen anincrease of 71% in the last threeyears (2017-20), with an increase of8% in the last year (2019-20) alone,and a surge of 3% in the last threemonths (Jan-Mar 2020).
The COVID-19 pandemic hasrapid extinction of certain jobroles and the emergence ofnewer job roles. Do you believethis comes about as a positivefor the job market in India?
Q
A
Q
A
Q
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 35
It is too early to say since thesituation is evolving, and at Indeed,we are still gathering data on what isoccurring across the economy. Fromour recent data, we can say that jobssuch as 'online tutor', 'customer carerepresentatives', and 'tech roles' areseeing increased traction.
It has been contested that atechnically skilled HR Managerfunctions more efficiently asagainst one who is not tech-savvy. How does this scenariofunction in the period post theCOVID-19 pandemic?
Firstly, it is necessary to understandthe importance of being 'human-first'.As many employers are practisingsocial distancing precautions amidCOVID-19 concerns, companies arehaving to rethink their interviewprocesses. There is a shift toconducting interviews using videoconferencing technology, in order tohelp identify a candidates' applicableskills. Adapting to these new hiringand recruiting tactics can be challengingfor a company to implement on alarge scale. To date, most companieshave relied on in person interviewsso it can be hard to move away fromthe norm.
“COVID-19 hascreated a new
opportunity to seehow workforces can
have more workfrom home
flexibility or couldeven allow for moreremote work options
in the futureespecially if
employers see thebenefits.”
Q
A
With all of these shifts to workingremotely and interviewing over video,it is important to shift your mindset.Technology allows us to stay connectedand actually see the candidates andhiring managers, rather than simplyrelying on phone calls and emails forcommunication. In the hiring process- from interviewing to onboarding -you can still communicate thecompany's core values and companyculture, etc., virtually - that does notgo away.
What according to you havebeen some of the positives thathave been brought about by theCOVID-19 pandemic forCorporate India?
I think many companies haveexperienced that there is no impacton productivity - especially given thecircumstances people are working in.The fact that we have not seen adrop in productivity is remarkable,and shows that work from home is aviable option. Of course, we do stillsee value in having teams together,but we have seen that remote workcan be a part of the workforce.
A
RECRUITMENT
Q
A
36 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
POWER
The power sector, alreadyreeling under severe lossesowing to nonpayment of dues bythe Discoms, has been impactedfurther by the lockdown due tothe COVID-19 Pandemic. In thewake of such a crisis, how will itimpact the job market in thepower sector in the comingdays?
The outbreak of COVID-19 hasaffected the global economy acrosssectors, including power. Though thedemand for power was hit during theinitial phase of the lockdown, it isexpected to normalise during thephase-wise unlocking of the economy.The unparalleled dependence onpower will increase in order toensure the continuity of business forindustries across sectors. While theoutstanding dues of the Discomstowards power generation companieshave been indicating financial stress,the relief measures announced by thegovernment in the form of Rupees90,000 Crore liquidity infusion forDiscoms, is expected to ease out thepressure, and address the issue ofnonpayment. As such, this will have apositive impact in the job market,especially in the Power sector, as thenew package offered by thegovernment will further boost thesector, and will offer employmentopportunities to young electricalengineering graduates. Further, thedemand for competent manpowerwill by and large increase, and willchange the landscape of the jobmarket in the sector.
The breadth, depth, and scaleof the novel challenges beingexperienced by HR Managersowing to the COVID-19 Pandemicare indeed astounding. Accordingto you, what are the biggest painpoints for the power sector?How do the same need to betackled by an HR Manager?
The uncertainties brought in byCOVID-19 have emboldened the needfor a wellcrafted human resourcestrategy for capacity addition ingeneration, transmission and
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Q
A
P K SINGHDirector (Commercial) and InCharge HR, Power FinanceCorporation.
distribution sectors, and also toensure consumer satisfaction. It istime for traditional HR Leaders torethink their philosophy.
While it involves a huge investmentin financial and material resources, italso calls for developing humanresource competencies. The need forskilled manpower is becomingincreasingly essential. Thetechnologically upgraded humanresource will play a major role inorganisations, and more so in thePower sector. There is no doubtingthe Universities and colleges in termsof providing competent manpower.However, the challenge posed by thenew environment warrants people totake a proactive approach, and to beintuitive, keeping in view the long-term impact of the situation. In thiscontext, the Human ResourceDepartment needs to constantly workon innovation, aligning HR with thebusiness strategy, enhancing onlinelearning ability, besides developing aculture of oneness and bonding withemployees by the top-levelmanagement. This is more so whenWork From Home (WFH) hasbecome the order of the day despitethe challenges. Interpersonalrelationship, especially by those atthe helm of affairs is the topmostrequirement and is the greatestchallenge today. HR needs to chartout procedure and streamlineprocesses, so that they can providecontinuous input to the topmanagement. In a nutshell, HR hasbecome most inevitable linking pinbetween management and employees.This will enable organisations tomove beyond employee satisfactionand focus on the culture of personalcare.
The COVID-19 pandemic hasbeen instrumental for the rapidtransformation and/or extinctionof certain job roles and theemergence of newer job roles inalmost every sector. In terms ofjob roles, what changes do youforesee for the power sector inthe days to come?
Q
A
Q
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 37
It is a fact that the future demandsthat everyone transform themselvesrapidly, and adapt to a technologydriven world, whereby the manpowerhas to be well versed with IT enabledinfrastructure. But organisations ingeneral and HR in particular needsto focus on the engagement ofemployees, even if it comes at thecost of redefining the job role. Yes,it could be possible to redefine thejob role of some of the functionssuch as IT, HR, Public Relations,Finance, and Accounts to enablethem to be more WFH friendly andneed to be more sensitive towardsemployees and external stakeholderswho mostly interact with themthrough the virtual mode. At PFC,through our integrated processes, weare ensuring that our workforce isquickly adapting to the new norms,and the results in the last quarter ofFY 2019-20 bear testimony to thisaspect.
The roadmap for the powersector announced by the IndianFinance Minister to revise theexisting policies must come assome respite for the powersector. How do you advocate HRManagers to utilise such a fillipfor boosting employee morale?
In unprecedented times, the roleof HR managers in the organisationbecomes all the more crucial, such as
tackling immediate issues of keepingemployees safe with seamless worktransition and ensuring optimalutilisation of staff. HR managersneed to ensure that the organisationsadopt the best practices from acrossthe globe for its employees. Ouremployees have risen to the occasionand made exceptional contributionduring the last few days of FY 2019-20after the lockdown was announced.
Considering the WFH model, thiscan well be the new norm in thecoming days. Also, a flexible workingsystem can be introduced, whichincludes WFH and flexi-workinghours. Such steps could create a newwork culture and environment. Thismay promote enhanced productivityand greater motivation.
What according to you arethe biggest opportunities thatthe COVID-19 has brought forthfor the energy sector?
Volumes have been written overhow the COVID-19 pandemic hasdisrupted cities, countries, andcontinents worldwide, while causinghigh rates of morbidity and mortality.Nonetheless, every dark cloud has asilver lining. Increased technologyadoption by corporations alike hasbeen one of the biggest opportunitiesfor companies to ensure businesscontinuity. This has also led touniversal acceptance of the WorkFrom-Home culture. In PFC, we see everychallenge as an opportunity forgrowth and development. Morespecifically, I foresee a greatopportunity for learning anddevelopment for employees throughthe virtual mode of learning. It isalso offering newer avenues toemployees to think differently interms of their time utilisation andenhanced relationship with family.In the coming days, we may need toexplore the possibilities of performingmore with lesser resources. I amconfident that human resources willcome out with flying colours despitethe challenges, and the performanceof PFC and its team comes forth as atestimony for the same.
“HR has becomemost inevitable
linking pin betweenmanagement and
employees. This willenable organisations
to move beyondemployee
satisfaction andfocus on the cultureof personal care.”
POWER..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
A
Q
AQ
A
38 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
HEALTHCARE
Irrespective of the impactthat the COVID-19 pandemic hasbeen having on all the othersectors, the attention has nowshifted to the healthcare sectorin terms of providing medicalaid to those infected, providingsafety equipment to healthcareworkers and so on. Given suchan impetus, do you feel thatthere is sufficient thrust for jobsin the healthcare sector in thecoming days?
While most other sectors arereducing their hiring, there is anincreased demand for healthcareworkers worldwide due to the ongoingCOVID-19 crisis. The demand is notjust for doctors and nurses, but alsofor the paramedical staff whichincludes ward boys, diagnostictechnicians etc. This epidemic hasbrought these roles to the forefront,thereby increasing their value andrespect by many a fold.
A lot of contractual jobs have alsosprung up with companies requiringworkforce only to help tide over thecrisis. As far as India goes, thedemand for our doctors and nurseshas gone up not just in the country,but also worldwide. In fact, as perNHS data, over 40% of the doctors inthe UK who have been workingtirelessly to fight the COVID-19 areIndian.
Owing to the COVID-19Pandemic, working practicessuch as remote working and
Q
A
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Q
ASAKSHI SOODHR-Business Partner, Merck,Sharp & Dohme Corp
telecommuting have emerged asthe new normal amongcorporates. Is this an indicatorof the things to come in thefuture in the healthcare sector?
Yes, absolutely. The entire jobmarket is evolving and undergoing aparadigm change – key skills arechanging, digitisation is becomingcritical, remote working is becomingthe norm etc.
I strongly believe that the focusnow will shift to hiring for roleswhich have remote working as aninherent feature. As a matter of fact,a lot of companies are now creatingroles keeping in mind that remoteworking is going to be the norm atleast for the foreseeable future.Talent pipeline will see a majorchange because of this.
Another perspective is that thisevolving job market bodes well forwomen who are trying to re-enter thecorporate workforce. Gig workers willalso be factored in when the hiringplans will be revisited this year. Eventhe hot skills are undergoing a changewith renewed importance beingaccorded to adaptability and theability to work in uncertain marketdynamics. HiPos of earlier days willnot continue to remain so if they donot prove their mettle in adapting tothis new work environment. Thismeans revisiting succession planningwill become a key focus area for HRprofessionals this year.
The COVID-19 Pandemic hasrendered some job roles asredundant and led them torapid extinction and at the sametime led to the creation ofnewer job roles in varioussectors. What job role changeshas it brought about for thehealthcare sector?
Just like a lot of other sectors,pharma roles have undergone a seachange. Digitization has become acore focus area for us with rolescoming up in predictive analytics andmulti-channel marketing.
Role profile of pharma representativeshas also undergone many changes
A
Q
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 39
with e-detailing and virtual connectwith doctors becoming the norm.Most medical representatives nolonger perform their usual salespromotion activities with just thedoctors, their role has now evolvedinto key account management whichinvolves end-to-end management ofall personnel involved in generatingorders through prescriptions. Theseinclude doctors, pharmacists,stockists etc.
According to you, what hasCOVID-19 changed the most forHR professionals? What are theareas of concerns that employersmight be called upon to addressgoing forward?
The biggest challenge emergingfor HR during these crisis times iskeeping the teams motivated andmaintaining a business connectvirtually. In the healthcare sector inparticular, where more than 85% ofthe workforce is field-based and notused to staying at home and working,it becomes a monumental task tokeep employees engaged.
A lot of healthcare workers alsobear the brunt of being the front-linefighters in this battle against theCOVID-19 pandemic, which has takena toll on their lives. This furtherposes a problem of keeping peoplemotivated to continue doing theirwork amidst their own health
concerns, family pressures, lack ofavailability of protective gear etc.
Going forward, HR professionalswill need to redefine existing jobroles and build in remote working asan essential component, deviseingenious ways to boost employeemotivation, and, most importantly,train people managers to deal withuncertain situations and manage theirstress in high pressure situations sothat their team members do not faceany additional pressures.
Even though the frontlinemedical staff have been hailedas heroes and also applaudedworldwide owing to the zealousservice rendered by them, theyhave also fallen victims to theCOVID-19 Pandemic. How doHR Managers function to keepthe frontline employees in thehealthcare motivated?
The fact that the efforts ofhealthcare workers are for a trulynoble cause is what keeps most ofthem motivated. With the outbreakof the COVID-19 pandemic, the roleof the healthcare sector has beenbrought to the forefront. It istherefore a crucial time for HRprofessionals to provide the biggerpicture to all employees to build upthe motivation. HR must ensure thatthe safety of employees is at the cruxof every business decision, and thismust be made known to the front-line employees as well. It has beenobserved, for some time, by HRprofessionals across many pharmacompanies since the lockdown hasbegun that when employees see thatthe company prioritises their safetyand wellbeing, the engagement levelsimprove.
Periodic checks on health condition,issuance of safety advisories, sessionsto understand and manage COVID-19, sessions to manage stress andlifestyle during lockdown etc. aresome of the other commonly adoptedtechniques by HR professionals ofthe healthcare sector to keep in touchwith their employees and continuallyengage with them.
“HR must ensurethat the safety of
employees is at thecrux of every
business decision,and this must be
made known to thefront-line employees
as well.”
Q
Q
A
A
HEALTHCARE..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
40 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
OIL & GAS
The Oil & Gas Sector,particularly in West Asia, hasbeen greatly impacted by theCOVID-19 pandemic. Whataccording to you are thechallenges it brings to the oil &gas sector in India?
The oil & gas sector has a symbioticrelationship with many other sectorsassociated with it, like Automobileand Aviation, all of which beingconsidered as the bellwethers of theeconomy. The outbreak of COVID-19and the resultant nationwidelockdowns have severely affected thedemand for oil & gas products. Thesaving grace is the fact that essentialservices have been exempted, andhave necessitated consumption offuel, albeit at significantly reducedlevels. This is bound to have a rippleeffect on ancillary industries and onthe livelihoods of the people workingin those industries. The fact thatmany of these industries are part ofthe unorganised sector compoundsthe problem even further.
What according to you is theone remarkable transformationthat has been brought about bythe COVID-19 pandemic to theOil & Gas Sector?
According to me, the mostremarkable transformation was thesharp drop in urban pollution levelsduring the lockdown. However, withlockdown restrictions being eased,there is a likelihood that privatevehicles will be favoured over publictransport, thereby helping to save onuse of fossil fuels and reduce pollution.Private vehicles enable socialdistancing far more effectively thanpublic ones. While this bodes well forthe oil & gas industry, it is a matterof concern for the environment.
In your opinion, what hasCOVID-19 changed the most forHR professionals? What are theareas of concern that employersmight be called upon to addressgoing forward?
The pandemic has forced HRprofessionals to review organisational
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Q
A
KAUSTUBH SONALKARGroup President-HR, Essar,and CEO, Essar Foundation.
structures and evaluate whether someroles can be performed predominantlyin a Work From Home environment.This will not only help save costs interms of office space and overheads,but also help companies ensure thesafety and security of their mostimportant assets, their people. Withno cure for COVID-19 in sight, andthe economic implications ofprotracted lockdown, companies willneed to find ways of ensuringoperational synergy and maximisingproductivity, without jeopardising thehealth of their employees.
The COVID-19 pandemic hasbeen responsible for the rapidtransformation and extinction ofcertain job roles and theemergence of newer job roles.What possible changes does itbring about for the oil & gassector?
In the oil & gas sector, Essar’srefining and marketing operationsare in the UK where we operate theStanlow refinery (that produces 16%of the country’s road transport fuels)and a 70+ network of retail outlets.In India, we have a CBM gasproduction business in Raniganj,West Bengal. Since the businesssupplies CBM gas to nearby industriesthat come under the essentialservices category, it was imperativefor the block to continue with round-the-clock operations through thecourse of the successive lockdowns.The contingent strategy was tosustain 24x7 operations with thelowest possible number of crewmembers, while making sure theyadhere to the highest standards ofsafety and strictly maintain socialdistancing norms.
The lockdown in variousforms owing to the COVID-19pandemic has reinforced modesof working like Telecommutingin a big way. Considering thefact that the oil & gas sectorcannot function efficiently viatelecommuting, what are thealternatives that the sector canfunction in such situations?
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 41
As I have said before, organisationsmust make employee safety theirtopmost priority and evaluate whichjobs lend themselves to telecommutingwith minimum disruption of thestatus quo. At Essar, majority of ourworkforce has been telecommutingover the last two months. Most ourIndia-based businesses, like oil & gasexploration, power generation, ports,and power, provide essential servicesand have continued with reducednumber of staff managing operationson site. This, of course, has beendone with zero compromise on theirsafety, while maintaining governmentmandated guidelines to curb thespread of possible infection. We havecontinued to hire at all levels througheinterviews and virtual onboardingduring successive phases of thelockdown.
What according to you arethe biggest HR opportunitiesthat the COVID-19 pandemic hasbrought forth for the oil & gassector?
The biggest opportunity that thepresent crisis has provided is to beable to engage with our people in afocused manner. I feel that it isduring this phase that we have beenable to effectively communicate theconcept of OneEssar, a unifiedorganisation held together by certainshared values that have stood the testof time and circumstance. EssarRadio has brought our people togetherthrough daily shows featuringinteractions with a cross section ofemployees. Essar Learning TV hasprompted our employees and eventheir families to join Zoom sessionswith celebrity trainers and pick uplife skills. Our CSR arm, EssarFoundation, is doing exemplary worktowards providing food and medicalrelief to marginalised communitiesaffected by the pandemic. It is ourpeople who are the forefront of theseactivities, and who are spreading thegood word through social mediasharing.
“With no cure forCOVID-19 in sight,and the economic
implications ofprotracted lockdown,companies will need
to find ways ofensuring operational
synergy andmaximising
productivity, withoutjeopardising thehealth of theiremployees.”
OIL & GAS..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
A
Q
A
42 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
REAL ESTATE
According to an ANAROCKConsumer Sentiment Survey,'home ownership' carriessignificant preference amongthe new-age millennials, and ithas also not been dented by theCOVID-19 pandemic. Does thisimply that the real estate sectorwill not see job losses unlike theother sectors?
The Real estate sector iswitnessing a unique situation, where,despite the general slowdown in theeconomy, a certain segment ofhomebuyers who are still looking outto buy their first home, andmultinational companies are stilllooking to bring business back tonormal as they wait to restart theiroffice. All of these clients need to beserviced. This means upskilling byour employees. We have intensifiedour learning and development duringthis time to help our employeesstrengthen skills. I cannot speak forthe sector as a whole, because therewill surely be consolidation, but at KRaheja Corp, we are encouraging ourpeople and honing skills during thistime.
It has been claimed thatonline home sales will witness asignificant spurt owing to theCOVID-19 Pandemic. Does thismean that the real estate sector
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Q
A
URVI ARADHYACHRO, K Raheja Corp
will be hiring people withupdated skillsets such as digitalsales in the days to come?
The online medium makes the cutwhen drawing a customer to aproject. Beyond that, the millennialaudience would definitely be puttingin a large part of their savings andwill want to touch, feel, andphysically see their home and theamenities before they decide to buy.That said, we routinely introduceadvanced programmes for ouremployees so that they are able toget a hands-on training on enhancedtools, understand demand trends,and study consumer data analytics toleverage them in their area of work.While technology will never be ableto fully replace people, it has becomeimperative to build a workforce ofthe future which is digitally skilledand is transforming the very way weoperate.
Migrant workforce has been avestigial part of the real estatesector. With the large-scalereverse migration of this ever-important workforce, are wegoing to witness a change instrategy when it comes toemploying frontline workers inyour sector?
Front line workers are not on thepayroll, and are hired by thecontractor. Having said that, wehave implemented measures in theinterests of the labourers right fromthe early stages of the government-imposed lockdown. Our foremostpriority was to ensure safety andsecurity during these testing times -providing them food, healthcare andextensive sanitization.
Through this pandemic, we havekept the supply chain in place, bypaying contractors who have furtherpaid the wages to their workers. Infact, the workers on site recentlycollaborated to come up withinnovative solutions for our ongoingproject sites where they built andinstalled no-touch wash basins in thepremises to maintain hygiene andfollow the safety protocols instituted
Q
A
Q
A
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 43
by WHO. We do see increased useof technology and AI coming intoconstruction, along with healthsecurity as an emerging trend forfrontline workers.
When it comes to addressingkey concerns such as boostingemployee morale, what are thevital points that function as animperative for an organizationin your sector?
Employee morale boosting iscritical and is sector agnostic. For thereal estate sector, Work From Home(WFH) is a new experience and isnot a normal given. Keepingemployee morale high through townhalls, informal quarantine chats, yogaand cooking lessons online, to evenguitar lessons, we have innovated inthe ways in which we engage withour people ensuring they staymentally fit and active.
What according to you arethe biggest opportunities that
“The Real estatesector is witnessinga unique situation,
where, a certainsegment of
homebuyers who arestill looking out to
buy their first home,and multinational
companies are stilllooking to bringbusiness back to
normal”
REAL ESTATE..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Q
A
the COVID-19 has brought forthfor the real estate sector?
There are couple of key outcomesfor the sector:
1) Covid 19 has led to anincrease in home demand:Millennials seek a home as a sense ofsecurity that physical assets provideduring such exigencies. Also, lowerhome loan interest rates, which arecurrently at an all-time low areencouraging them to consider buyingtheir home now.
2) Consolidation: The smaller fly-by-night players will perish, and theones with reputation and financialstanding will withstand this.
3) Design and other innovation:The times have opened anopportunity to create new designsand layouts for office space, whichcan be refreshingly different.
COVID-19 has made all of us to thinkout of the box, and we are doing ourbest to create value.Q
A
44 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
BFSI
With businesses havingclosed owing to the COVID-19pandemic, the country’s financeshave gone into a turmoil. Froman HR standpoint, what are thepositives that have emerged forthe BFSI sector?
The COVID–19 pandemic is anunprecedented event. Like many othersectors, BFSI has also been majorlyimpacted. While we see the negativeimpact in many ways, like the two sidesof a coin, it also has a few positives.
From an HR standpoint, the speedof implementation of change and thedigital solution is phenomenal. Thepandemic has busted many mythsaround the kind of work which canbe done as Work From Home (WFH),and India’s readiness as a country toassimilate this new norm. In spite ofthe lockdown, the productivity ofemployees has not dropped and wecontinue to resolve for the future.These are special circumstances, andone that has not been faced by anyone.The employees were challenged toimprove and simplify the way thingsare done to keep the output level,and we witnessed employees rising tothe occasion. Employees are spendingtime to learn new technology and theusage of our Learning ManagementSystem has increased. Employees areengaged in learning Blockchain,Python, AI and Big Data etc. to beable to serve the customers better.
In the backdrop of theCOVID-19 pandemic, whataccording to you are the biggestpain points for the BFSI Sector?And how must they beaddressed by the HR Manager?
According to me, the biggest painpoints for the BFSI Sector is therising NPAs in India. Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the problem inthe agricultural and corporate sectorwill further be joined by consumerloans. It is the time for the accelerationof the Fourth Industrial revolution.In my opinion, marrying newtechnology and big data along withCustomer eXperience (CX) for digitalproducts will help us to survive inthis sector.
Q
A
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Q
A
AMOL GUPTAPeople Leader- India andPhilippines, FIS
HR managers, today, need tofocus on keeping employees up todate on future technologies. We arelooking to build a culture ofIntrapreneurship with hackathons,design thinking, and innovation labsand bringing in fresh talent directlyfrom campuses. In addition to this, aregular review of the start–ups in theBFSI sector is mandatory.
What has COVID-19 changedthe most for HR professionalsin the BFSI Sector? What arethe areas of concern thatorganisations in the BFSI sectorneed to look out for?
The likely impact of the COVID-19pandemic and the ensuing nation-wide lockdown in the country is verysignificant for the Indian economyand the BFSI sector in particular.Now that more and more companiesare dependent on technology as analternate channel to continue withthe same pace of productivity, ensuringWork From Home and aligningpolicies for the same is on the toplist of HRs. E-hiring, e-joining and e-induction to ensure smoothrecruitment and assimilation to theculture of the company is the newnorm. The future workplace will beone which has a more shared senseof purpose, a culture of collaboration,and a way of tapping an ecosystemspecially built to drive businessvalue. And HR professionals areensuring this seamless transition forthe employees as well as thecustomers.
The COVID-19 pandemic hasalso been instrumental for therapid transformation andextinction of certain job rolesand the emergence of newer jobroles. How has this impactedthe BFSI sector in terms of jobprospects?
Even before the current crisis,changing technologies and new waysof working were disrupting jobs andthe skills of employees. The COVID-19 pandemic has made this questiononly more urgent. Employees acrossindustries are trying to figure out
Q
A
Q
A
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 45
how they can adapt to these rapidlychanging conditions, and companiesare trying to match those employeesto new roles and activities.Implementation of AI, Big Data, andgrowth of the gig economy ischanging the dynamics of the BFSIsector and the job prospects alongwith it. This dynamic is also abouthow leaders can reskill and upskillthe workforce to deliver new businessmodels in the post-pandemic era, aseven CX is undergoing transformationand the jobs will too.
At this point, HR should devise atalent strategy that developsemployees’ acute digital and cognitiveabilities, their social and emotionalcapabilities, and their adaptablenessand pliability. Now is the time forbusinesses to magnify their learningbudgets and promise to reskill. Thiswill strengthen the organisations forfuture disruptions as well.
When it comes to addressingkey concerns such as changingbusiness needs and boostingemployee morale, what are thevital points that function as animperative for an organisationin the BFSI space?
The world of work is changing.While the current lockdown continues,many organisations have successfullyimplemented Work From Home. HRand business leaders are workingtogether to meet workforcerequirements. It is imperative touphold and maintain employeeexperience while working remotely,since it is very different from the wayit used to be when people wereworking from an office. Presently, themost important criterion is to takecare of employees who are not onlyburdened by the working dynamics,but also immense health scares.Businesses need to let the employeesknow that they are cared for withengagement activities like employeetouchpoints.
Since the future jobs will entail anincrease in the number of employeesworking remotely, we are ensuringmany available tools for digitization,risk mitigation, and productivity
measurement, while a major emphasiswill be on employee experience andwell-being. The thing is that businesseswill continue to function, it may justlook different than before.
What according to you arethe biggest HR opportunitiesthat the COVID-19 has broughtforth for your sector?
These are unprecedented timesand unchartered territory for all ofus. COVID-19 has taken the worldby storm and brought forth a newnorm as to how organisationsmanage the business. Organisationsworldwide are tackling immediateissues of keeping employees safe,ensuring optimal utilisation of staff,and maintaining the continuity ofbusiness operations. Regardless ofthe case, businesses globally aregoing out of their way and doingtheir best to ensure smoothdeliveries and constantly improvingproductivity even during theseextraordinary circumstances. At FIS,we are doing our best to accept andimplement the below:
Social Distancing: We haveundergone the checkers formatwhere we have distanced ourmachines at-least 1-meter apart tokeep our employees safe
Online Training Modules:Providing training on newtechnologies as well as to youngleaders to manage their WFHteam
Wellness: We have launched theVirgin Pulse programme whichoffers more ondemand resourcesto keep them active and mindfullyfit
Employee Health: We havepartnered with Practo, an onlinedigital platform to support thehealthcare needs of ouremployees. Employees and theirfamilies can access 24 X 7 medicalsupport via call/chat/video
Employee Care - Right kind ofinsurance and financial support:We have launched FIS Cares andincluded the pandemic into ourMedical Insurance
“HR should devisea talent strategy thatdevelops employees’
acute digital andcognitive abilities,
their social andemotional
capabilities, andtheir adaptableness
and pliability.”
Q
A
Q
A
BFSI..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
46 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
CASE STUDY..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Iglare of his monitor. He got up andheaded towards the pantry to gethimself some coffee. Standing nearthe vending machine, he absent-mindedly looked at two internstalking at the water cooler adjacentto the pantry. They were engagedin an animated discussion makingplans for the weekend. This providedAnish with a déjà vu moment andhe went down memory lane.
2010Anish had planned to utilise theweekend to the fullest with hiswife Shalini and his kids. Thehotel booking had been done. Itwas an extended weekend withMonday being a closed holiday.Skipping breakfast was anautomatic choice as he wasgetting late for office. And bythe time he managed to reachoffice, manoeuvring all thetraffic, he was twenty minuteslate. His boss, Dilip, wasstanding near the reception ofTBC Ltd. Anish apologised forthe delay, but Dilip left in ahurry without saying a word.
Maybe he’s stressed aboutthe project. There was
t was 2 PM on a sultry Delhiafternoon. Anish desperatelyneeded to get away from the
tremendous pressure from theclients to finish it within the comingweek, a confused Anish thought.Will talk to him about it to figuresomething out.
Thinking over and brushing offthe odd behaviour from anotherwise jolly Dilip, Anish reachedhis cubicle. He took off the laptopbag from his shoulder and sat onthe chair. Within a minute, Rakesh,his colleague, knocked at the door.He conveyed to him that Vikram,the HR Manager, had asked them
to come to the conference room.He had no clue about the agendafor the sudden meeting.
The conference room seemedmore crowded than ever. Therewere about forty people.
Vikram had already beguntalking about the economicturndown, the need to containcosts, the necessity to take toughcalls and so on. Anish’s heart sank.What was this about? Was Vikramtalking about laying off employees?
By the time Vikram concludedhis address with, “I am sorry, butwe have no other option,” Anishhad missed most of what Vikramhad said. He was perspiringprofusely. And the world suddenlyseemed to have turned upside down.
Of the 200 employees who hadeither been asked to quit or facedismissal, only a few had beencalled into the conference room. Itwas also demanded that theemployees mention that they haveresigned ‘voluntarily’. They werebeing provided with a two monthseverance package along with amonth’s salary for every year ofcompleted service.
Anish had been a star performer,and Dilip had been vocal about iton multiple occasions in the past.The layoff was therefore unexpectedand shocking.
How can I be laid off, hasthere been a mistake? How willI manage all the expenses?What would I tell my parentsand Shalini? The kids?
When he tried to meet Dilip, hewas told that the latter was inan urgent meeting and wouldnot be able to meet him. Hence,he sent several messages toDilip on WhatsApp.
12: 30 pm: Hi. I have beentrying to reach you to discussmy case. Vikram addressedsome of us and told us thattoday would be our last day inoffice. How can this be? Pleasediscuss my performance withhim. On what grounds have Ibeen handed over the pink slip?
A PsychologicalContract
BY DR. SONAL SHREE
The COVID-19 Pandemic has evidently altered the veryway of life and work and the thought of layoffs is alsolurking in the minds of employees. However, in therecent past, the largescale layoffs that were undertakenby Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo, Verizon Wireless andmany others at different instances was viewed more asa company's struggle rather than a life changinghuman disaster.
2019
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 47
CASE STUDY..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
This sudden outburst gave himone eureka moment. He could havethe recruiters approach the pastemployees who were suitable forthe new roles. Anish, and someothers like him, were contacted athis behest.
The day Anish was contacted,he was in a contemplative mood.The first call he had received inthe morning was a cold call from abank executive for a personal loan.He politely said no and smirkedmentally, there was a time when Ineeded it but wasn’t consideredeligible. Today when I don’t needit, these guys are following upevery second day.
As he sipped coffee leaningagainst the windowpane, there wasanother phone call that took himcompletely by surprise. Therecruiter at the other end wantedhim to join back TBC Ltd., the sameorganisation that had left him tofend for himself two years ago.
The offer was attractive, bothin terms of designation andcompensation. The additional truthwas that Anish was considering aswitch from the present companyfor some time. After a lot ofdeliberation, he decided to take upthe offer. He soon started workingclosely with Dilip again. The firstyear of the job was full of multiplelearning avenues and opportunitiesfor growth. As time passed, he wasgiven more responsibilities andthereafter, earned a promotion aswell.
Just when Anish thought hehad re-settled well at TBC, he got acall from a head hunter oneevening. She had come across hisprofile via an executive search siteand wanted to discuss a jobopportunity suitable for him. Hewas offered the position of VicePresident and a hefty joiningbonus within ten days of joining.
By the time the conversationwas over, he was in deep thought.
Anish had been working togetherwith Dilip on a project. He thoughtof professional ethics and his own
Please tell Vikram to reconsider thefacts.
4:30 pm: Dilip, I need to talk toyou. Please ping once free.
9:00 pm: You’d have reached homeby now. Can I call?
For days, there was no reply. Anishwas dejected.
This was now an extendedweekend with neither a plan forthe present nor the seemingly darkfuture. Dilip avoided him on mostdays. A few days later, Anishreceived a reply from him. SorryAnish, am helpless. I can put in aword for you in case you need astrong reference in your job search.Good luck.
Anish’s immediate instinct wasto call him, but the delay hadalready left a bitter taste in hismouth. The least that Dilip couldhave done was to have sympathisedwith him rather than ignoring him.He was lonely on his last day atTBC. Most of his colleagues hadbeen relieved from their duties.
Post his layoff, life was anemotional and physiological struggle.Sleep eluded him for severalnights. After battling for aroundsix months as if possessed, hefinally landed a job in a smallercompany as a makeshiftarrangement. He was neitherhappy with the salary nor the workculture, but had to settle for alower grade and an average package.
Two years passed. TBC Ltd., onits part, had global expansionplans, and Anish’s ex-boss Diliphad been given the task ofrecruiting competent candidates forthe purpose. Teams had to beraised quickly. The rising attrition,coupled with immense competitionfor the best had made sourcingdifficult across the industry. Everytime Dilip asked the line managersfor an update on staffing, they hada new list of candidates and excuses.
He fumed one day. I’m sick andtired of raking my grey cells forsolutions. What if we had our ex-employees with us, they couldhave managed it better!
commitment to the project. Couldhe leave midway? There was nodenying that he had been given asecond chance in a company inwhich he had loved working. Thenand now. Should he ignore that?
It was a restless night. Heclosed his eyes for a while andwoke up with a start an hour later.The conference room, Vikram’sspeech, Dilip’s enigmatic behaviour,his shame and frustrations, thesocial stigma- all the nightmaresflooded back to haunt him at once.He was in a dilemma now.
He had presumed that he hadrecovered from that bad phase, butclearly had not! After many years,the haunting memories suckerpunched him that night.
At 3 AM, he finally got up fromhis bed and started typing hisresignation letter. His mind advisedhim against it while the heart said-go ahead. There was no right orwrong for him at that moment.
Dr. Sonal Shree is Assistant Professor,SIBM Pune, a constituent of SymbiosisInternational University. Her academicassignments are in the areas of HumanResource Management andOrganizational Behaviour. Her researchinterests are interdisciplinary andinclude Recruitment, Learning anddevelopment, Positive Psychology andArts based Interventions inmanagement. She has professionalcertifications, including HRM (XLRI,India); Instructional Design (ISET,USA); The Science of Happiness at Work(Berkley Institute of Well Being, USA).
About the Author
48 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
CASE STUDY
calling out the names of theemployees on that day.
And I always question theauthenticity of an organisationwhere the engineer has no knowl-edge of engineering, and the HRprofessional has no understandingof the value of human resourcesand its impact.
Whenever there is a downturnin the economy, the simplest thingthat comes to the mind of abusiness leader is to reduce theheadcount. When leaders meet inboard rooms they talk aboutstrategy, robust plans for mitigation,unforeseen challenges, crisis andrisks. But usually, I find a singlepanic button to handle all sucheventualities i.e. reduce theheadcount.
Vikram, the HR Manager, maywell have called for a town hallmeeting with employees at thesenior level and shared with themthe challenges the company isgoing through in terms of financialand economic downturn. He couldalso invite suggestions fromemployees to deal with thedownturn. In addition, the toprung employees could offer to takea pay cut for a year, with the riderthat the company would pay backthe amount along with the prevailingrate of interest within 3 years,once the company returns to profit.The company can brainstorm andnavigate various other options tocapitalise on human power ofcreativity and blue ocean strategies.
letter at 3 AM on that fatefulmorning. At times, the premise ofjudgement cannot be drawn withoutconsidering and analysing factorswithout engaging one’s gut feelings.Anish is right when he prescribes;“There was no right or wrong.”He had gone through turbulenttimes 10 years ago, which led tothe creation of delusion anddilemma in his mind and conflictedwith ethics and personal morality.
As an HR professional, I canfeel the pain and dejectionexperienced by Anish during hisfirst stint in TBC Ltd. Why didDilip not respond to Anish’sWhatsApp messages for days - arewe professionals the metaphoricalpawns on a chessboard?Organisations today talk aboutculture, ethics, values andimportance of employees inglittering words at various forums.Is this a mere rhetoric similar tobuilding a sandcastle on a beach?
Also, it is worth contemplatinghow Vikram would have respondedif he had been in Anish’s shoes.One also needs to imagine thetrauma experienced by anemployee’s wife and family uponhearing that her husband or fatherhad been terminated for no fault ofhis. They will henceforth have nofaith in the institution of trust.There definitely could have beenother alternatives other than
Analysis By Ravi Mishra
About the Author
Ravi Mishra is Senior Vice President-HR for Global Epoxy Business, AdityaBirla Group. He is associated with theGroup since 2005, and has worked indifferent businesses i.e. Grasim Chemical,UltraTech Cement, and Birla Carbon.Prior to joining the Aditya Birla Group,Ravi was associated with diversifiedorganisations such as, Nicholas PiramalGroup, Mardia Group of Industries, andNova Petrochemicals Ltd.
nish’s conscience was rightwhen he finally decided totype out the resignationA How can we leverage an
organisation on the basis of theemployees’ bonding and theirownership with it? Why does HRignore the value of relationshipand psychological bonding?Millions of people across the worldhave sacrificed everything on asingle call of their leaders, whichreflects the power of contract-basedon emotions and truthfulness.
Anish’s story may be fictional,but it is not uncommon to witnessemployees going through suchtrauma in organisations like TBC.At the same time, I have seenmany HR leaders who have made adifference and have set the footprintto avoid the repetition of an incidentthat Anish had to undergo. Further,like IBM, the debacle in fact enabledthe organisation to bounce backagainst the crisis with the supportof high performing employees.Organisations like TBC must learnhow to build the block based on thestrong foundation of the bondbetween employees andorganisations.
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 49
was in love with the work cultureat TBC Ltd.
When he received the offer for therole of VP, Anish was probablythinking that his career had dead-ended and hence seized theopportunity to rise to a higher level.His conscious is bound to questionhim over his wisdom to resign.Moreover, it is prudent for Anish tocarefully contemplate the twists andturns in his journey in a hithertounknown company.
Anish also needs to bear in mindaspects related to employee loyaltyand the company’s expectationsfrom him before submitting hisresignation to the Management atTBC Ltd. He needs to analyse andacknowledge that the circumstancesmay have changed, learn the newlaws of the land to survive, and soon. There are bound to becharacteristic changes in terms ofculture and processes, and Anishmust not be disenchanted if he findsit vastly different in the newcompany than what it was at TBCLtd. He needs to be prepared toinject new ideas and make sometough decisions right away. On theother hand, if things in the neworganisation are appealing in termsof work culture, he must get re-acquainted with the company,engage in dialogue with people,rather than going in all guns blazing.
examine the situation within TBCLtd.– its state of affairs and themindset of Dilip and Anish. In2010, Anish, an efficientperformer, had been thinking overhis weekend plans with his familywhen he was summoned to theoffice meeting. He was leftshattered when the company’srationalisation plans wereannounced, and later, his bossDilip did not rise up to theoccasion to support him. However,he failed to take the company’sfinancial position into account,which was an essential element forsuch a measure.
Anish re-joined TBC Ltd. when thecompany was looking to expandglobally. This adds credence to thefaith imposed on Anish’sperformance by TBC Ltd. and alsoby his boss Dilip. Also, since TBCLtd. had recorded good growth,Anish was offered a good positionand provided with a handsomepackage. At the point in time whenhe received a call from anExecutive Search Firm for theposition of VP with a huge joiningbonus, he had been working on aprestigious project along withDilip. Here, Anish’s professionalethics come into play, landing himin a state of quandary, since he
Analysis By Pramod K Tripathi
efore analysing the situationin which Anish is presentlyin, it would be justified toB
CASE STUDY..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
“A bend in the road is not the end of the road ... Unless you fail to make the turn” – Helen Keller
At this point of time, Anish hasdeveloped a new perspective andapproach about TBC Ltd., andmaybe exploring a new opportunityin terms of money and position witha different set of eyes. He haspondered tirelessly to decidewhether he needs to resign or not,but his apprehension is finely tunedto do so. Conceivably, the one otherthing that may have really struckAnish’s mind is to continue at TBCLtd. or come back with a higherstatus. He, however, needs to avoidgratuitous criticisms over hisdecision.
About the Author
Pramod Tripathi is the Asstt.General Manager-HR, Bajaj EnergyLimited and is associated with BajajGroup since 2011. He carries a diverseexperience of more than 18 yrs.inentities such as Aditya Birla Group,Jaypee Group, Visaka Group SaharaIndia etc. He can be reached [email protected]
50 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
A
HR TECHNOLOGY
working and devising businessstrategies to cope with the globalhealth crisis. This is not just ahealth crisis but also a threat toour economic stability. However,this phase has a silver lining: Manypeople are working from home andkeeping themselves engaged byfollowing their passion. No moremust they endure the hustle andbustle of traffic and invest hours in
midst the coronavirusoutbreak, organisations arefocusing on new ways of
Winning Talent inTurbulent Times
BY DAKSHDEEP SINGH AND PRIYANKA SHARMA
As HR professionals, we need to broaden our horizons and be ready forwhat's next. The future which was expected ten years down the line seemsto be just around the corner now.
commuting. Working professionalsare a bit more relaxed andinvesting their time in upskillingthemselves by online learning,reading more books, and navigatingthrough social networking sites likeLinkedIn, etc.
“Gig workers” have become abuzzword lately, and Gig work isbeing visualised as the “future ofwork” by 2023. A report by NobleHouse revealed that nearly 45% ofCHROs surveyed wanted to hiregig workers to supplement the
skills of the existing workforce,39% would do this to reduce cost,and 10% to fill temporary vacantpositions.
With COVID-19 hitting theworld, the distant future of workseems to be arriving earlier,wherein people might think ofpicking up jobs that are not full-time, allowing them to follow otherinterests and passions. Homespaces will be the new officespaces, and we can expect theworkforce to be more learned as
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 51
systems, virtual recruiting events,and AI-based talent managementplatforms will place the candidatepotential at the centre of theirarchitecture.
A digital solution should focus onthe following key actions:
AI-enabled candidate profiling
Being linked with all the hiringsources
Driving engagement, collaborationand communication with thecandidates
Managing talent pipeline andcreating talent relations byacting authentically
Looking for adjacent skills andthen suggesting upskilling forthe employees, thereby sustainingthe talent
Putting the business managersin the driver’s seat for hiring
The current crisis cycle hasrepeated several times in the lasttwo decades when the dot-combubble burst in 2000, NASDAQ
HR TECHNOLOGY
people are focusing a lot on theirself-development.
From the job market standpoint,we might expect a decreased rateof hiring in tourism, aviation, andthe hotel industry. On the contrary,according to Forbes’ review, we arelikely to witness an increasinghiring trend in pharmaceuticals,technology, biotechnology, medicalresearch, teleworking software,tech support, etc.
We are currently living inunprecedented times, surroundedby uncertainties, and HR isgrappling with the new code ofwork, which talks about remoteworking and dealing with theeconomic slowdown. Design thinkingis the key to success in thesechallenging times, and as HRprofessionals, we need to redesignthe processes woven throughoutthe gamut of HR, ranging fromhiring to retirement. We need toact as enablers and align ourselveswith the business requirementsinstead of just thumping thewaves.
If you are in the talent acquisitionarena, the world is – and willcontinue – to change for youduring and post COVID-19. Thenew normal will be completelydifferent from what the talentmarket used to be. To manage thesituation at hand, we need to findout the answers to the followingquestions:
How do I reach out to thepotential candidate?
How do I ensure that thecandidate experiences aseamless interview process?
How do I ensure that post-joining activities are notchallenging for the employees?
The answer seems to be quitesimple: Digitise your recruitmentand onboarding process. A recentarticle in Forbes talks about howthe majority of legacy systemscannot see candidate potentialbecause they are designed fortransaction scale. Bridging the gapsbetween legacy talent management
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Dakshdeep Singh is an HR Techevangelist and an experienced solutionarchitect. He leads Customer Successefforts at PeopleStrong – Asia’s mostpopular HR Tech brand. In a careerspanning over 10 years, he has helpedover 80 customers transform theirhuman capital management. He hasalso been identified among the Top100 HR Leaders under 40.
Priyanka Sharma is an HRprofessional with 8-plus years of vividexperience in HR Shared Services, HRProcess Outsourcing, and HR Process& System Transitions. She acts as acatalyst to support organisations moveup the value chain by digitising theirHR processes while keeping employeeexperience at the centre. She is currentlyworking with WOOD PSN as ServiceDelivery Lead.
tanked in 2001, the 9/11 attackshappened in the US, and whenSARS hit Asia and Toronto. Manyorganisations felt they had nochoice but to lay off experiencedand talented professionals. Currently,there is a large and expanding poolof talent available in the market.Instead of hitting the panic buttonwhenever the stock market crashesand the economy spirals downward,it is important to have a long-termoutlook.
As HR professionals, we needto broaden our horizons and beready for what’s next. The futurewhich was expected ten years downthe line seems to be just aroundthe corner now. Business objectivesand strategies have become quitedynamic during this phase. It’shighly important that all HRstrategies align with their respectivebusinesses and act as strategicenablers. We need to leverage andcapitalise on technology to create avalue position and move up thevalue chain.
Automation, HR 4.0,and the Future of Work
BY ANKITA SHARMA
Human Capital interacted with Ravin Jesuthasan, Managing Directorat Willis Towers Watson, author, futurist, and a global thought leader, togather an understanding about applying automation to create optimalhuman-machine combinations, the imperatives comprising HR 4.0, why theHR profession needs to rethink its role as a steward of work, and howCOVID-19 is shaping the future of work.
The ongoing crisis hasforced organisations to rallyaround bold ideas and radicallyrethink the way they work. Itis no wonder, then, thatleaders desperately want toharness the disruptive powerof automation. But thenagging question is: How? Inwhat unique ways does yourrecent book, ReinventingJobs, address this challenge?
We know from history thatevery time we’ve had a recession,we’ve emerged from it with moreautomation than we entered it with.We are currently in the mother ofall recessions, and the adoption ofautomation is expected to increaseexponentially. A recent globalsurvey by Willis Towers Watsonindicated that 48% of organisationshave taken action, are planning totake action, or are consideringautomating work to reduce cost orincrease productivity. It is essentialthat organisations “lead with thework” and not the technology, or werun a real risk of a jobless recovery.
Reinventing Jobs is intended tobe a guide for business leaders tohelp them achieve the optimalcombinations of humans andautomation. It demonstrates
INTERVIEW
Q
A
52 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
the meaningful employee experiencein the 4IR.
iv. Building an Agile andPersonalised Learning Culture:HR plays a leading role in fosteringa culture of lifelong learning in thecontext of declining demand forcertain skills, the emergence ofnew ones and the requirement fortalent to continuously learn,unlearn and relearn.
v. Establishing Metrics forValuing Human Capital: Themutually beneficial relationshipbetween the workforce, organisationsand society makes it essential forHR to create a compelling case forestablishing viable and scalablemeasures of human capital as akey performance driver andcontinuously demonstrating theimpact of its work on businessperformance.
vi. Embedding Diversity andInclusion: Changing social,economic and political forces bringan opportunity for organisations toprofoundly advance inclusion anddiversity. HR plays a pivotal rolein promoting a sense of purposeand belonging in the workforce,equality and prosperity for thecommunities and regions in whichit operates.
“As organisationsoperate more
distributed businessmodels, leaders will
need to lead from theedge, adopt the righttechnologies, drive a
new vision oforganisational cultureand shape innovative
people strategies for thefuture of work.”
You say that the role of theHR function is shifting from
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
(with over 120 cases) how thedeconstruction of jobs into taskscan help identify where automationshould substitute, augment orcreate human work.
“We know fromhistory that every timewe've had a recession,we've emerged from itwith more automation
than we entered it with.We are currently in themother of all recessions,
and the adoption ofautomation is expected
to increaseexponentially.”
Your book describes aunique four-step frameworkfor applying work automation.Could you briefly explain howeach step in this frameworkcan help optimise human-machine combinations?
The first step involvesdeconstructing jobs into tasks andcategorising the tasks along threecontinuums: (1) Is the task repetitiveversus variable? (2) Is the taskperformed independently versusinteractively with colleagues orcustomers? (3) Is the task physicalversus mental?
The second step is identifyingthe goal of the task. Is the goal toeliminate errors, reduce variance,improve performance or achieve abreakthrough?
The third step is identifying therelevant type of automation: roboticprocess automation (RPA), artificialintelligence (including machinelearning and natural languageprocessing) or social robotics.
Once you analyse work withthese three steps, the fourthidentifies the optimal outcome:substitution, augmentation ortransformation.
As an example, assume you workat a bank processing mortgageapplications. A key task would beto verify information on theapplication. This involves checkingthe data provided by the customeragainst bank records, governmentdata, credit bureau records, etc.This is work that is repetitive,independent, and mental with thegoal of eliminating errors given thesignificant consequences of amistake (fines, sanctions, lawsuits,etc.). The relevant technology herewould be robotic process automation,and the optimal outcome would beto substitute this activity withautomation, freeing the employeeup to take on other tasks.
You recently co-authored awhite paper titled ‘HR 4.0:Shaping People Strategies inthe Fourth IndustrialRevolution (4IR)’, published bythe World Economic Forum.Could you share the six keyimperatives that underpin HR4.0 for our readers?
The six imperatives are:
i. Developing New LeadershipCapabilities for the 4IR: Asorganisations operate moredistributed business models, leaderswill need to lead from the edge,adopt the right technologies, drivea new vision of organisationalculture and shape innovative peoplestrategies for the future of work.
ii. Managing the Integrationof Technology in theWorkplace: The way work getsdone is changing. A growing areaof responsibility for HR is topartner with CEOs and other C-suiteexecutives to achieve the optimalcombination of human workforceand automation to ensure apositive impact on the future ofwork.
iii.Enhancing the EmployeeExperience: The increasingcomplexity of the workforce andthe use of technology is calling fora change in the way work isexperienced. HR plays a vital role indefining, measuring and enabling
Q
A
INTERVIEW
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 53
Q
Q
A
54 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
being a “steward of employ-ment” to becoming a “stewardof work”. Could you elucidatethis?
When Klaus Schwab, the founderof the World Economic Forum,wrote his book on the FourthIndustrial Revolution, we wonderedabout the work implications. Wequestioned whether this representeda fundamental change in work orwas just technology continuing todo what it had always done —making things more efficient,raising the speed quotient, etc. Butwhat we’re seeing is somethingfundamentally different.
Artificial intelligence has beenwith us since the late fifties, butwe have never had the enablinginfrastructure that we have today.The convergence of multipletechnologies, such as cloud-basedcomputing, transformations inmobile, the emergence of 5G, rapidproliferation of low-cost sensors togenerate data, and the increasingspeed and falling cost of graphicprocessing units, is empoweringtechnologists, business leaders andpeople managers to realise the truepotential of AI and othertechnologies. The other key
variable is the democratisation ofwork, which is the ability todistribute work anywhere in theworld and tap into talent at anytime without the frictional cost ofhiring a person into a job.
The convergence of these factorsis presenting organisations withsignificant challenges in terms ofthinking about how to get workdone in the best possible way. Atthe same time, these factors arealso creating options we’ve neverseen before. Today, as businessleaders, we have at least eightoptions for getting work done:from employees to independentcontractors to gig workers tooutsourcing and alliances totapping into volunteers forcrowdsourcing innovation orpromoting brands on social mediato the more intriguing options ofrobotics and AI.
These choices also pose realopportunities for HR to rethink itsrole. Increasingly, this professionneeds to shift from being a stewardof employment to being a steward ofwork, enabling leaders to orchestratethe various options to achieve theoptimal combinations of machinesand human talent of all kinds.
The world of work is set tolook remarkably differentthan before, and there is aneed to keep an eye on themany lasting changes that areunderway. What are yourviews on COVID-19 and thefuture of work?
I believe that this pandemic isaccelerating many of the trendsunderpinning the future of work.For example, we have been talkingabout remote work for 50 yearsbut made precious little progressuntil this pandemic ensured that anywork that could be done remotelywas done in such a manner. Weexpect to see continued advances inautomation, and companies willneed to ensure that they areapproaching this with a view to asustainable and equitable outcomefor all stakeholders.
INTERVIEW..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Q
A
A
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 55
Tas a result of the COVID-19pandemic and its after-effects ispushing the limits of organisations’resilience. An organisation and itsexternal business environmentinfluence each other, and anychange in the business environment
he unprecedented changeswrought upon the corporatesector in the last few months
invokes a response from theorganisation. Therefore, it isimperative to analyse the externalenvironment as the response of anorganisation modifies according tothe external stimulus, impactingorganisational people imperatives.
The talent function builds theunderlying fabric of what isundeniably the most critical
resource to organisational success =people. Talent strategy has nowbecome one of the top threeagenda of senior leadership acrossevery organisation from essentialservices to brick and mortarbusinesses. With the dual agendaof cost optimisation and safety, noother resource is being talkedabout as much.
Strategy AmidstA Pandemic
BY KALPANA BANSAL
Talent strategy has now emerged as one of the topthree agenda of senior leadership across everyorganisation from essential services to brick andmortar businesses.
TALENT MANAGEMENT..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
56 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
contribution that the TalentManagement function could deliver.
“Work-life balancechallenges coupled withincreased hours at workand home, doing things
that would otherwisehave been done by
others, has widenedtalent gaps and pushed
organisations toreconsider job roles.”
In such a scenario, businessgoals and objectives have gonethrough a 360degree turnaround,and it has become necessary toensure that employees are madeaware of revised work plans for theimmediate and near future, alongwith clear communication aboutmeasurement yardsticks. It isimportant to remember that mostpeople have been pushed into newroles or asked to work on newobjectives without much time totrain or upskill, and this needs tobe factored in while consideringtheir performance. Further, there isan increased emphasis on
TALENT MANAGEMENT
Resource availabilityOrganisations today are dealingwith challenges on multiple fronts,primarily Resource availability.Given the looming uncertainty, ithas become essential to have a setof critical roles and activities readywith possible succession plans.And in order to ensure businesscontinuity, providing sufficientbackup and training someonethrough shadowing or doublehatting have almost becomemandatory. Short term workforceplans are being drawn up tofacilitate redeployment of pools ofpeople to address unplanned needsor sudden changes in businessrequirements basis change in plans.
From a Capability Perspective,skills are gaining centre-stage. Thekind of adaptability and resiliencethe situation has called for hasstretched the best of resources, andonly the crème de la crème wouldbe able to survive the mountingpressures. Work-life balancechallenges coupled with increasedhours at work and home, doingthings that would otherwise havebeen done by others, has widenedthe talent gaps and pushedorganisations to reconsider job roles.Resource reallocation basis skillshas become the most important
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
dashboards and the tools thatmake these goals visible, andeveryone is aligned to achievingthe same. There is also anincreased focus on reviews andmonitoring.
Collective andindividual productivityCollective and individualproductivity has garnered theattention of the senior leadership,and companies are struggling withways to identify, address, andmeasure resistance when workingremotely during the COVID-19pandemic. One of the dilemmasfaced by the senior leadership is away of tracking productivity, andensuring work is delivered withoutbeing overly intrusive and dealingwith personal challenges faced byemployees in an empatheticmanner. Trot, teamwork, andresilience are traits that arebecoming critical to delivery, andorganisations are grappling withways to ensure that these areaugmented and reinforced usingvirtual delivery mechanisms,especially in the light of pay cutsand loss of bonus, which are likelyto create widespread disengagementand a sense of anxiety.
One of the interesting positivefallouts of the crisis is theopportunity present to the peoplefunction to identify “New Leaders”who emerge through the situationalcrisis – a move away fromtraditional succession planning!These are people who are stretchingthemselves, and are creating avisible impact on the ground. Wordslike crossfunctional projects,volunteering, and gigs, which neverintegrated into mainstream TalentManagement strategy are now atthe heart of deliberations andconsume senior leadershipbandwidth. Can we fill gaps whichwill get created because of attrition/ superannuation with thesepotential young leaders?
Organisations are also learningnew ways of retaining exceptional
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 57
TALENT MANAGEMENT..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Kalpana Bansal is Head - CompetencyAssessment and Development, RelianceIndustries Ltd. She comes with anexperience of more than 20 years andhas worked in organisations such as TataUnisys, Star TV, IMRB, MudraCommunication and Watson Wyatt (I)Pvt. Ltd and the RPG Group. Kalpanahas an MBA and has completed herExecutive Masters in Consulting &Coaching for Change from Said BusinessSchool, Oxford University.
About the Author
talent and keeping them motivated.Communication, challenges, andnon–monetary reward systemshave become the centre point ofdiscussions around workforcestrategy. In some cases, Job/RoleRe-alignment has been undertakento move people to roles that arebeyond their original role; or incases where the role itself cannotadd value in this situation, the rolehas been morphed. The incredibleturnaround made by Peoplemanagers and Leadership on theseinitiatives signifies how centraltalent strategy has become.
Jobs/Projects/Functions thathave become redundant are beingrelooked to come up with amanpower optimisation strategy.There is significant work happeningon which of these jobs/roles arelikely to become permanent andthose that will revert to pre-pandemic state. Their roleadjustments are becoming anintegral part of the LeadershipDevelopment or Job Rotation/Shadowing strategy.
Career enhancementOrganisations are not looking atCareer Enhancements in terms ofrole changes, horizontal expansionmore than Progression. This hasimpacted the process of InternalJob Postings and altered the wayAnnual Talent reviews are conducted.There is an emphasis on a talentmarketplace as a lattice of looselytied-up roles and jobs with anunderlying skill gap requirementwhich lends fluidity to the talentpool and builds up employee skills.
The recent changes in labourlaws, as well as governmentannouncements, have led tochanges on the Policy/Regulatoryfront. Concepts such as Workhours, leave, and attendance needto be revisited. Medical facilitiesand insurance schemes are beingre-examined, and benefits arebeing extended beyond the regulardirect pay premise to moreintangible benefits such as being
part of a larger community, accessto helplines, counsellors, mentaland emotional wellness initiatives,and home delivered assistance forpersonal chores. Organisations areexamining which of these changeswould be made permanent, andwhich would remain temporary.Compliance with regulatoryprocesses and adherence to thingslike the code of conduct are alsoimportant agenda items forleadership.
“Collective andindividual productivity
has garnered theattention of the senior
leadership, andcompanies are
struggling with ways toidentify, address, and
measure resistancewhen working remotely
during the COVID-19pandemic.”
Leadership has gone through afundamental shift in the times thatwe live in. There has been shift fromcompliance to autonomy, certaintyto fluidity, and regimentation toacceptance. This has also requiredorganisations to relook theirleadership priorities and build uptraining/tips to manage and leadteams in these times of crisis.There is also a new focus onensuring that there are enoughmechanisms to ensure that leadersare aligned to current requirementsand adaptable enough for suddenchanges in the near future.
Risk and Mitigation haveprobably gained the most tractionin these times. Succession planning,which always seemed like a penand paper exercise, and had ‘faraway in the future’ implicationshave now become real action itemswith most organisations identifyingready now successors, looking at
critical roles and identifying areasof strength and development,having contingency plans for talentto be able to quickly step intoroles. Organisations are alsoexamining risks w.r.t talentmanagement if this pandemicbecomes worse and people areaffected. Crisis mitigation plans arebeing drawn up. At the same time,remote worker cybersecurity hasgained emphasis and is an item offocus.
The current situation presentsus with an opportunity to transitionfrom singular to circular economy,and balance the trade-off betweenshort-term financial results andlong – term sustainability. It alsoraises fundamental issues roundthe impact on global talent mobility,business continuity, and wellbeingand safety. Organisations areshifting to focus on networks andcommunity and the virtualworkplace of the future will demanda new landscape with new roils,and continuous upskilling. At thecore of this is an integrated strategywith communication round theleadership imperative, aligned withthe situation with a feeling ofempathy and compassion for theunprecedented stereos and anxietiesthat employees are going through.There is potential for a new“humanocracy” of talent in thenear future.
58 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
LAW AT WORK
Pre-Requisite ForForfeiture Of Gratuity
he Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972(“Act”) is a beneficial legislationthat provides for the payment ofT
BY K V SINGH AND NACHIKETA GOYAL
gratuity to an employee at the time oftermination of the employee’s service,provided the employee has served acontinuous service of not less than fiveyears with the employer. The amount ofgratuity is determined basis the numberof continuous years of service of anemployee. The Act is applicable to anyestablishment employing ten or morepersons.
Despite the Act being a beneficiallegislation, there are certain provisionsin the Act under which gratuity can beforfeited. One such provision is Section4 (6) (b) (ii) of the Act. As per Section4 (6) (b) (ii) of the Act, the gratuitypayable to an employee may be forfeitedif the services of an employee have beenterminated for an act which constitutesan offence involving moral turpitude.The aforementioned provision isproduced here under:
“4. Payment of gratuity
(6) Notwithstanding anythingcontained in sub-section
(1) –(b) the gratuity payable toan employee [may be wholly orpartially forfeited]–
(ii) If the services of suchemployee have been terminated forany act which constitutes anoffence involving moralturpitude, provided that suchoffence is committed by him inthe course of his employment.”
Recently, the High Court of Bombayin its judgment of Western Coal FieldsLimited vs. the Presiding Officer,Appellate Authority under the Paymentof Gratuity Act, 1972 & Anr. [WritPetition No. 6006 of 2016], held, inorder to forfeit the gratuity of anemployee, the act of moral turpitudeshould be proved as an offence in acourt of law despite the same havingbeen established in the internal enquiryconducted by the employer.
The brief facts of the case are thatone Mr. Manohar (Respondent No. 2)joined service with Western Coal FieldsLimited (Petitioner) in the year 1990and was regularised in general Mazdoorcategory on 01.01.1992. On 21.04.2002,a complaint was received at theheadquarters of the Petitioner thatRespondent No. 2 had entered serviceby falsely claiming his date of birth as01.07.1960 while the actual date of
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 59
LAW AT WORK..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
birth of Respondent No. 2 was01.07.1953. On the basis of theaforementioned complaint, achargesheet was issued againstRespondent No. 2 on 07.09.2012.Further, an internal enquiry wasconducted against Respondent No. 2.Pursuant to the enquiry, a reportdated 05.02.2013 was submitted.Basis the findings of the enquiryreport, Respondent No. 2 wasdismissed from service on 28.03.2013.
The Petitioner issued a showcause notice on 25.04.2013 toRespondent No. 2 as to why thegratuity payable to him ought not beforfeited on the ground that he wasdismissed for misconduct of givingfalse information regarding his dateof birth for the purpose offraudulently seeking employment.Respondent No. 2 claimed gratuityunder the provisions of the Act basishis continuous service. TheControlling Authority passed anorder holding that Respondent No. 2was entitled to receive gratuity forsuch continuous service. ThePetitioner preferred an appeal beforethe Appellate Authority against theaforesaid order of the ControllingAuthority. The Appellate Authorityupheld the order of the ControllingAuthority after concluding that even ifthe service of Respondent No. 2 wasterminated for misconduct understanding order, “misconduct” wasdifferent from “offence”. ThePetitioner filed a writ petitionagainst the order of the AppellateAuthority.
The question before the HighCourt of Bombay was whether an actof providing false information withrespect to the date of birth whichwas proven in a departmentalenquiry by the Petitioner wouldconstitute an offence involving moralturpitude. The Court observed thatsince Section 4 (6) (b) (ii) of the Actempowers an employer to forfeitgratuity wholly or partially, it is anexception to the general rule underthe Act regarding payment of
gratuity to an employee. The Courtobserved since Section 4 (6) (b) (ii)of the Act was an exception to thewhole object and purpose of the Actto pay gratuity to an employee forthe continuous service put in, it hasto be interpreted strictly.
The Court relied on the judgmentof Union Bank of India and Ors. vs.C.G. Ajay Babu and Anr. (2018) 9SCC 529 wherein the Hon’bleSupreme Court of India observed“…It is not the conduct of the personinvolving moral turpitude that isrequired for forfeiture of gratuitybut the conduct or the act should bemade punishable under law. That isabsolutely in the realm of criminallaw. It is not for a bank to decidewhether an offence has beencommitted. It is for the court. Apartfrom the disciplinary proceedingsinitiated by the appellant Bank, theBank has not set the criminal law inmotion either by registering an FIRor by filing a criminal complaint soas to establish that the misconductleading to dismissal is an offenceinvolving moral turpitude.”
The High Court further relied onthe law laid down in Union Bank ofIndia and Ors. vs. C.G. Ajay Babuand Anr. (supra), wherein, theHon’ble Supreme Court of India held,“In the present case, there is noconviction of the respondent for themisconduct which according to theBank is an offence involving moralturpitude. Hence, there is nojurisdiction for the forfeiture ofgratuity…”. The High Courtaccordingly, in the facts andcircumstances of the case, held thatthere was no substance in the writpetition and the same was dismissed.
It can, therefore, be summed upthat in order to forfeit the gratuity ofan employee under Section 4 (6) (ii)of the Act, the initiation of criminalproceedings with respect to theactivity of the employee involvingmoral turpitude and the sameresulting into conviction of theemployee, is a pre-requisite.
Krishna Vijay Singh is a SeniorPartner at Kochhar & Co., one ofthe leading and largest law firms inIndia with offices at New Delhi,Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Chennai,Hyderabad, Mumbai, Dubai,Riyadh, Jeddah, Singapore, Tokyoand Atlanta (USA). The firmrepresents some of the largestmultinational corporations fromNorth America, Europe, Japan andIndia (many of which are Fortune500 companies) in diverse areas ofcorporate and commercial laws
Nachiketa Goyal is a SeniorAssociate at Kochhar & Co. Hispractice areas include labour &employment, general corporatecommercial, commercial litigationand arbitration and legal advisorywork. Nachiketa was admitted toBar Council of India in 2014 and isa member of Delhi Bar Council,Gurgaon District Bar Associationand Delhi High Court BarAssociation.
60 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
Q & AQ & AI am a human resource
manager in a real estatecompany in Gurgaon. In lightof the recent COVID-19 situa-tion, our company intends toissue offer letters with digital/ electronic signaturesthrough e-mail. Can an e mailacknowledgement from theemployee on accepting theoffer letter issued by ourcompany be valid and enforce-able under the law?
Kindly note that Section 5 ofthe Information Technology Act,2000 (“IT Act”) provides for legalrecognition of electronic signatures.However, as per Section 3A of thesaid Act, the electronic signatureor electronic authenticationtechnique should be such: (i) ascan be considered reliable; and (ii)may be specified in the SecondSchedule to the Act. Therefore,electronic signatures valid in termsof Section 3A and Second Scheduleof the IT Act can be used.
Section 10 A of the IT Actprovides:
“Where in a contract formation,the communication of proposals,the acceptance of proposals, therevocation of proposals andacceptances, as the case may be,are expressed in electronic formor by means of an electronicrecord, such contract shall not bedeemed to be unenforceable solelyon the ground that such electronicform or means was used for thatpurpose.”
LAW AT WORK..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Please note that as per section2(h) of the Minimum Wages Act,1948, “Wage” means allremuneration, capable of beingexpressed in terms of money whichwould if the terms of the contractof employment express or implied,were fulfilled, be payable to aperson employed in respect of hisemployment or of work done insuch employment and includeshouse rent allowance. However,it does not include the value of thefollowing –
(a) any house-accommodation,supply of light, water, medicalattendance;
(b) any other amenity or anyservice excluded by general orspecial order of the appropriateGovernment;
(c) any contribution paid by theemployer to any Pension Fundor Provident Fund or underany scheme of social insurance;
(d) any travelling allowance or thevalue of any travellingconcession;
(e) any sum paid to the personemployed to defray specialexpenses entailed on him bythe nature of his employment;or
(f) any gratuity payable ondischarge.
Therefore, the overtime wage willbe calculated on the basis of totalfixed salary of an employee.
Q
A
Therefore, the email acknowl-edgment by an employee would bevalid and enforceable by virtue ofSection 10A of the IT Act. InTrimex International FZE Ltd.Dubai vs. Vedanta AluminiumLtd., (2010) 3 SCC 1, the SupremeCourt has laid down the followingwith respect to the validity of acontract entered into over anemail:
“…Once the contract is concludedorally or in writing, the mere factthat a formal contract has to beprepared and initiated by theparties would not affect either theacceptance of the contract soentered into or implementationthereof, even if the formalcontract has never been initiated.”
Therefore, letters/agreementswhich are signed electronically arevalid and enforceable. However,the application/service which isused for affixing electronicsignatures should be reliable (interms of Section 3A of the IT Act)and should use Aadhaar or othere-KYC based authentication (asspecified in the Second Schedule tothe IT Act).
I am the proprietor of aninformation technology basedstart-up in Mumbai. Thesalary structure of ourcompany is basic salary +house rental allowance. Willthe overtime pay be calculatedon the basic salary or the totalfixed salary?
Q
A
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 61
Ssupport to handle any issues of anxiety or stress intheir lives. The initiative is an attempt to build apositive and relaxed frame of mind by providingaccess to mental health professionals who are trainedand experienced in helping people deal with anxieties.The entire process is confidential, and counsellors canbe contacted via a telephone number available to theteam.
With all teams working diligently from home, thecompany has also launched a Snapdeal Radio
featuring curated songsto begin the daypositively as well as adaily tip that makesWFH more productiveand helps the teamsbalance their work andpersonal lives.
napdeal has onboarded experts from the IndianInstitute of Counselling to provide easy accessto its employees who wish to seek counselling
INDUSTRY BYTES
Snapdeal OnboardsCounselling Expertsto Help Employees
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
BY ANUSHRUTI SINGH
Zomato Launches'Talent Directory' toHelp Outplace Laid-OffEmployees
Food tech giant Zomato has launched a unique"talent directory" to help laid-off employees find anew job. The list is available online and can be
easily accessed by employers who are looking to recruittalented professionals for different roles in theirbusinesses through location/resume/qualification filters.
Zomato CEO DeepinderGoyal tweeted: "Zomato hasbeen built by some of themost passionate people, whohave brought us closer toour vision every day. Ahumble request to allorganizations that are hiringto review the Zomato Talent Directory. We are deeplygrateful to have had these folks as part of our journey.And we assure you, you will be too. If you need a morecurated/filtered list, please write to us [email protected]."
BY ANUSHRUTI SINGH
Standard Chartered Extends MedicalBenefits to LGBT Partners of Employees
Standard Chartered Bank has announced theextension of medical cover and relocationbenefits to LGBT+ partners of its employees in
India.
Under the bank's medicalreimbursement policy, employeeswill now be able to declare anLGBT+ partner as an eligiblebeneficiary. The declared partnerwill also get covered under thedomestic relocation policy.
"Equity in employee benefitsis one of the critical initiatives in
BY ANUSHRUTI SINGH
ensuring that these workplace standards are met.Treating all colleagues, regardless of their sexualorientation, with dignity and respect, is the right thing
to do," the bank's HumanResources- Head Sachin Gupte said.
Over the last year, the Britishlender has launched an EmployeeResource Group (ERG) for LGBT+and allies called GLAD (Gay,Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender,Allies and Advocates) in a bid toensure it becomes an equal andinclusive workplace.
......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
.....
A Man of Many Shades
BY ANKITA SHARMA
From being a national award-winning actor who has worked in over 200films across twelve languages, to now also becoming a motivational speaker,storyteller, thought leader, and so much more, Ashish Vidyarthi can beaptly called a man of many shades. Finding new reasons to be passionateabout every single day is by no means an easy feat, and this is exactly whatAshish does. In spite of donning so many hats, Ashish is still willing to trynew things and considers himself a professional learner. It's little wonderthat Avid Miner, of which he is the Founder, is just over seven years old, andit has already made a strong mark by contributing profusely in transformingpeople and organisations to realise their unique identity and extraordinarypotential.
You have charted an unusual career pathfrom being an award-winning actor to becominga top-rated thought leader on personal andprofessional transformation. How do you lookback at your journey traversed thus far? Also,in what ways have your acting and theatreexperience helped bring new perspectives to thecorporate arena?
For me, any profession is part of life’s journey, and,at different points, we do whatever is needed at thatpoint. It isn’t easy to put a design to it. Hindsight isalways twenty-twenty, but, when we travel through life,we discover opportunities, and we try to match ourqualities with those opportunities to create somethingmeaningful. For me, my journey as an actor has also
been such.
I studied history at the Hindu College, thenwent over to the National School of Drama,
after which I started doing theatre. At thatpoint, my career choices made me move
to Mumbai and start doing Hindi films.I do see, in hindsight, a logical
progression of me acting in Hindi toacting in various languages, and
then, over the last six years,speaking to organisations and
groups of people as an Igniteconversationalist.
The way I have grown interms of my outlook towards
life involves seeing myselffinding a container or
containers, if your career
Q
A
PERSONA
62 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
being instructional, a story shouldbe crafted in a way that thelearnable part touches people toinspire action. Today, as we aspirefor a wider impact, our skill as aneffective storyteller—to createcompelling narratives of what weare committed to—is an amazingpower that is available to each of us.
Everyone in your immediatecircle—be it your parent, sibling, ora close friend—believes in a storyabout you that they comprehendand see in you, that they imagineyou to be. As we expand ournarrative to reach a larger audience,we must keep in mind that thosepeople may not have the samekind of interest as your immediatecircle. So, the need to be alistening communicator is a vitalpart of storytelling. Our workshopsare created around allowingorganisations to see and hear thepeople they are communicating to,providing the value those peoplewant, and connecting that valuewith what the organisation has.Storytelling is something thatcaptures the imagination of peopleand allows them to take actionwhen they are touched.
Teamwork is a timelessmanagement topic, and its
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
choices may be called that, which Ifit my life into. Each time thatcontainer can’t contain me, thoughit comes close, I have myaspirations, which are wider andfurther than that. At this verypoint, until a few weeks back, itused to be one-on-one in front ofpeople, igniting conversations withlarge groups of people, andcoaching or doing workshops. Now,over the last few weeks, I havebeen pouring myself into thedigital space, where I’m expressingmyself and reaching far beyondwhat I ever thought I could do. Iam a natural progression of myself,and it’s not at all by design.
For me, acting in theatre andfilms can never be separated fromwho I am. Everything that I do oreverything any of us does bearswitness to what you haveexperienced in life, what hastouched you, and what hasimpacted you. My theatre acting,travel, relationships, the peoplethat I’ve met, the thoughts thatI’ve been privy to, things that Imissed, things that I wanted, etc.all come into play in myconversations and workshops. Ihelp people make the most of whatthey have. Therefore, for me, thiselement of acting in theatre allowsme to captivate and engage peoplein interesting conversations.Communication is a key skill forany leader or person.
Now, more than ever,leaders must use theirexecutive presence to instillhope and inspire action.However, many find it hard todefine and even harder toembody. What, according toyou, is executive presence?Also, how can leaders uncoverand cultivate their uniquepresence?
Executive presence, on the onehand, is a badge which peoplewear—or want to wear—and on theother hand, is something etherealthat is felt when a person walks in
and speaks of vision. To me, theability to draw people towards youby connecting with them on anauthentic level is executive presence.
In our executive presenceworkshop, one of the things thatwe are continuously dealing with isconvincing people that this is not amatter of strategy. It is, in fact, aconnection with their own extra-ordinariness. The extraordinary isinside each of us; for me, it is myinner voice. Once leaders relate totheir own voices, that is when theyrealise that their life, their culture,their upbringing, and theirbackground have shaped who theyhave become as a unique individual.And when they bring these uniqueperspectives and experiences intotheir daily work throughcommunication with others, andby sharing dreams and passionswith teams, their executivepresence is defined.
“Today, as we aspirefor a wider impact, our
skill as an effectivestoryteller—to create
compelling narratives ofwhat we are committed
to—is an amazingpower that is available
to each of us.”Storytelling has become a
mainstream management toolthat offers a wealth ofbusiness benefits. How canleaders use stories toauthentically engage andinfluence people inaccomplishing organisationalgoals?
Apart from being a hot topic,storytelling has always been aninseparable part of our lives. Wehave loved stories since we werechildren. Every story, parable, andfable were meant to communicatecertain key points. Rather than
Rapid Fire
Favourite quote: Storms don'tlast, and dreams don't perish.
The best business book yourecently read: I don't readmany business books, but I doread a lot of articles.
A movie title that bestdescribes you: Kal Ho Naa Ho
I strongly believe in…one life,and what can I do to make itamazing for myself and peoplearound me?
What comes to your mindwhen you hear these words?
Emotional Intelligence: TimelessResilience: Staying onCorporate wellbeing: Caring,loving, nurturing
Q
A
Q
A
Q
PERSONA
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 63
importance is furtheraccentuated by how technologycontinues to change the waywe work. What do you feelare the biggest stumblingblocks that leaders shouldlook to avoid when buildingsuccessful teams?
If teamwork is really a greatthing to do, we should startinvestigating why it doesn’t happenso easily. If you ask anyone, theywill agree that their fist is strongerthan five fingers. Conceptually,everything works. However, there’ssomething about teamwork thatstops us—not conceptually, butpractically. Teamwork requireslistening to other points of view;people are not just things; theyhave their unique way of workingand set of abilities.
The moment we look atteamwork, it is about each onebringing in their best. It is akin toa set of people around a pool, inwhich they are pouring their bestand allowing each other to partakein that offering. Teamwork requires
substantial generosity and theability to take constructive criticism.When done correctly, a teamproject allows its participants to bepresent for the times that are not sogood as well as for the identificationof everyone’s amazing talents.
Teamwork is a two-way process.Not only do you gain from others,but as you participate, you’re alsocontributing your best and allowingpeople to bring out the best inyou. The context of the wordteamwork should be changed frombeing the “right thing to do” to theadded value of teamwork, in whichone plus one truly becomes eleven,and more.
“A leader’s game is notnecessarily in knowing
the final destination.The role of a leader is
to get people to embarkon a journey of finding
their way together.”
Up-Close and Personal
What's one of your favourite memories from the past year?Also, what's something you are doing or want to do in 2020 thatyou've never done before?
My favourite memories from last year were a few similar ones, but I willshare. Earlier, people used to stop me at airports and elsewhere for a selfie,and they would say that they liked me in this film or that movie. Over thelast year, a lot of people have been stopping me and saying, "We loved thatvideo of yours; loved that session you took for our organisation." So it'sfulfilling that people are also relating me to another field which I've taken on.It's a great feeling to see that you are making a difference to different sets ofpeople.
What are your top productivity hacks?
For me, the first step in being productive is to engage in early-morningideation, followed by putting ideas into words, soliciting feedback from others,and finally, finding ways to make the idea a reality. Another thing, which iskey for me, is keeping the idea even if people don't initially find it useful. Ikeep it for myself in a place where I will remember to read it and, possibly,bring it back.
What would we be surprised to learn about you?
I don't know if you'll be surprised, but I love to eat, sing, and learn. I'm aprofessional learner, and I am on a digital learning track at this moment.
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
COVID-19 is the definingtest of leadership in manyways. What would your advicebe for leaders as they navigatethis crisis scenario and thegrowth challenges ahead?
First of all, leaders are peoplewho, for me, speak into disbelief.So when the rest of the worlddoesn’t believe it, a leader has theability to speak and create a newreality, and then invite people intoit. That’s the first part.
Now in this COVID era—andI’m not saying the post COVID era,it is going to be the COVID erafrom now on—even the leader doesnot know what the future beholds.They did not know even in thepast because the future wasuncertain. But uncertainty hasbroken all past references andmodels that we had.
The pressure put on leaders isoverwhelming; they’re supposed toknow everything, but they don’t.Leaders must present themselveswith an opportunity to acknowledgethat it’s all right not to know andto share with people: “I do notknow where the future is. But Iknow that together we canmanoeuvre and be whatever thenext moment will need us to be.”
A leader’s game is notnecessarily in knowing the finaldestination. The role of a leader isto get people to embark on ajourney of finding their waytogether. Therefore, leadershipdoes not imply knowing where theroad is leading to, but rathercommitment and action. This isdefinitely a time for leaders tonourish their teams and let themknow that they have to createmore from themselves, more thanthey have ever done in the pastbecause this new world is going torequire more from each one of us.
A
Q
A
PERSONA..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
64 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
rmed to the teeth, clad in fullbattle gear, the soldier stepsacross the doorway into theA
expansive shop floor. With a quickturn of his head to the left, he scansthe landscape through his mistygoggles and tries to detect the enemy.Even though unsuccessful, he pressesdown on the trigger and lets hisammunition flow in sharp bursts,hoping to strike at least a few of thevermin. A shuffling of the feet, a quickturn of the neck in the other directionand there follows another staccatoburst of the firepower at his disposal.
What HR LeadersNeed To Do?
BY VIKAS DUA
Like a digitally created frenzied soldier's avatar, itwould behove our HR leaders to take an aggressivestand and lead from the frontlines. And only then dothey stand a chance of vanquishing the enemy viz.COVID-19.
You would be forgiven forimagining the above scenario to be afirst-person shooter game, given thatever since 1992, when Wolfenstein3D was first released by ID software,the genre has been a worldwidesuccess in computer games, a majorcontributor to what is today a $150billion gaming industry. But then, weare not here to discuss fantasy land.After all, if nothing else, the recentblack swan event, the COVID19pandemic, has taught us one thing -and that is to be in the here andnow.
SOCIAL DISTANCING..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 65
66 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
So, to drop the suspense andbring in the main characters of thisplay onto centre-stage, let me clarifythat the trigger-happy, bodysuit-clothed individual described above isnone other than the facilities workerin any one of our office spaces,disinfecting our work areas, evenwhile endangering himself, shift aftershift. What he is letting loose fromthe gun slinging across his shoulderis nothing more than a humble sprayof disinfectant.
And here is where the HumanResources Manual gets edited withyet another KRA (Key ResponsibilityArea) which is centred aroundensuring the safety of the workforce.The dimensions of this KRA are,indeed, expansive. After all, the riskimplications are immense. Even asingle, coronavirus-inflicted employeecould lead to the closure of anassembly line or a department. In aworst-case scenario, it could lead toshutting down of a plant, a store orcorporate office.
Pillars to safeguardworkplacesAs employees troop back cautiouslyinto their workplaces, the task athand for HR managers is to adhereto social distancing protocols, for thatis the only defence humanity hasagainst this infliction as we standtoday. Let us examine what all thisencompasses and what needs to beaddressed in each aspect.
1. Staggered Workforce: For toolong, companies have overcome thefinancial hurdle of expensive realestate by packing in employees likesardines. With every square inch ofoffice space being valuable, creativeideas have been implemented tomake sure that workplaces are used‘optimally’. This in turn has createdwhat we call ‘rush hour’ traffic in ourcities, where lakhs of office goershead towards their workplace at thesame time, causing crowding inpersonal and public transport. In the‘new normal’, for the safety of
employees, workforce planning willneed to factor in another variable inthe staff deployment calculation, viz.the maximum percentage ofemployees who can be in the facilityat a particular time.
2. Physical Distance: As per WHO(World Health Organisation), thedefined guideline of physical distanceis minimum 1 metre (3 feet) distancebetween two individuals.Organisations have to facilitate andencourage their employees to followthis guideline in their own interest.In recent years, workplaces haveembraced the ‘open office’ culturepropounded to facilitatecommunication and collaboration, byremoving barriers. In many cases,this will involve the entireredesigning of the physical layout ofthe employees’ desks and extend tomodification of areas such as meetingand training rooms, to ensureemployees are, by design, physicallydistanced.
3. Hygiene Protocols: Withextreme caution required to preventthe spread of the harmful virus,organisations have to take a leaf outof the books of hospitals. Right fromproviding required enablers such asmasks and sanitizers to employees, toensuring that only prepacked food issold in their cafeterias, each possiblecontamination source will need to bestudied and adequately addressedthorough hygiene protocols. HRpersonnel will also have to define thedisciplinary action that would betaken in case of any wilfulnonadherence to the requiredprotocols. In a similar vein, HRwould also need to definestandardised action steps to be takenin the event of detection of anysuspected or confirmed case ofinfection.
4. Tracking & Recording: Thechallenge of safeguarding ourworkplaces becomes much moreacute due to the fact that they are
“As employeestroop back
cautiously into theirworkplaces, the task
at hand for HRmanagers is to
adhere to socialdistancing protocols,
for that is the onlydefence humanity
has against thisinfliction as westand today.”
SOCIAL DISTANCING..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 67
more akin to a ‘motion picture’ thanto a ‘photograph’, to use an analogy.Not only employees, even visitorssuch as customers, vendors,authorities, etc. keep flitting into andout of the workplace, on a given day.HR needs to ensure that processesare put in place to appropriatelytrack and record every movement. Incase of the unfortunate incident of anindividual getting inflicted by thevirus, healthcare personnel canswiftly move towards tracing all thosewho would have been in closeproximity to that individual and bepotential carriers. Effective tracking,therefore, can greatly assist inbreaking the ‘coronavirus chain’.
5. WFH Policy: The pandemic hasexponentially increased the usage oftechnology that facilitates remoteworking, almost overnight. For a verylong time, WFH (Work-From Home)was a privilege of a rarified group,usually the senior leadership or thosewhose work was considered ‘non-customer facing’. With the viruspractically bringing the world to astandstill, with countriesimplementing a version or the otherof the ‘Lockdown’ that has beenimplemented in India, everyemployee has suddenly found himselfor herself being encouraged to WFH.While this has been warmlyembraced by many, HR leaders alsoneed to define their organisation’sWFH Policy to ensure that it coversall the requirements, protocols, andenablers of this new working model.
6. Performance ManagementSystem: The social distancingprotocols, as shared above, havemany dimensions. The mostimportant of these, no doubt, will bethe cascading effect they have on ourtraditional PMS (PerformanceManagement System) which has moreoften than not, risen from its settingin the physical office space. But,remote working and the blurring oflines between weekdays andweekends (as we have seen in theperiod of the lockdown) demand that
our PMS models be overhauled too.Driving employee performance andmonitoring productivity will requirecombining some learnings from thenew ‘Gig economy’ with ourtraditional processes. HR leaders willneed to combine their wide-rangingskills from behavioural science todata science, to come up with a PMSmodel that is robust, sustainable, andfulfils its core task of motivatingemployees to operate at their peakperformance levels.
These are the primary pillars onwhich the safeguarding of ourworkplaces will hinge, as we emergefrom our confined environments andre-join our workplaces in the comingweeks. Much like the digitally createdfrenzied soldier’s avatar in theopening paragraph, it would behoveour HR leaders to take an aggressivestand and lead from the frontlines.Only then, do they stand a chance ofvanquishing the enemy, which in thiscase, happens to be the respiratoryvirus, more commonly known as ‘thecoronavirus’ that has literally turnedthe world upside down.
“HR leaders willneed to combine
their wide-rangingskills from
behavioural scienceto data science, to
come up with a PMSmodel that is robust,
sustainable, andfulfils its core task
of motivatingemployees”
Vikas Dua is an accomplished HR andrecruitment professional, a TEDxspeaker, and a Vlogger and Blogger onHR practices. With over 15 years of high-quality experience in the field of IT andITES, he has worked with both start-upsand large corporations like Wipro,Concentrix and Startek Aegis. Currently,he is Chief HR Mentor at Attayn.co. Anactive collaborator in the campus space,he shares his learnings under his self-designed 'HR in my HeaRt' brandumbrella.
About the Author
SOCIAL DISTANCING..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
68 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
L
LEADERSHIP
business world. The success of anorganisation is often attributed toits leader. Going by the research insocial psychology, people use twoprimary strategies to navigate upthe hierarchy. The first strategy isdominance, where people try toattain social rank by coercion,intimidation, fear or manipulationof behaviour, cognition andemotions. The second strategy isprestige, where a person aims atclaiming a leadership positionthrough the display of valuedknowledge and skills.
Dominant VersusPrestige LeadersA research work by Kakkar andSivanathan published in HBR in2017 revealed that dominant
eadership has always been atopical subject in bothacademic research and the
Cognitive Dominanceand Leader-FollowerExchange Dynamics
BY DR. FARAH NAQVI
The situations of mental slavery and unquestionedsurrender that prevent followers from exploring andexpressing alternative worldviews in a fast-changingworld can be deeply damaging for all stakeholders.
leaders become more appealingthan prestige leaders when theenvironment is ridden with socialand economic uncertainty. Thereason for the same is partlyrooted in people’s psychologicaldesire for restoring their sense ofpersonal control, which isthreatened in times of uncertainty.Prestige-based leaders areconsidered more likeable andappreciated for their warmth, butleaders associated with dominancetend to get perceived as assertive,confident and decisive.
The Leader-FollowerExchangeThe presence of hierarchy is auniversal feature in groups,
organisations and society. Leadersmatter greatly, for they are the keydrivers of effective mobilisation ofall resources. However, at theheart of organisational success liesthe intricate exchange betweenleaders and followers. If thisexchange doesn’t happen effectively,success becomes more uncertain.
We all remember our first boss,for they have a lasting influence onhow we perceive leaders. Fortunateare those who find a boss withwhom they feel like nurturing along-term relationship, for it ismutually rewarding in terms ofpersonal learning and growth.However, the reverse can also betrue. Sometimes, you get a bosswhose presence makes your workexperience suffocating. This canhappen if the work culture is drivenby domination or one-sidedcommunication. The employees inthese instances feel coerced andfearful of engaging in a dialogue.Such relationship risks taking theform of dominator (leader) and thedominated (followers) by virtue oftheir skewed position and authority.
The CognitiveDominance MatrixThis article reflects on leadership,followership, and leader-followerexchange from the lens of thecognitive dominance matrix asproposed by Dr Subhash Sharma,presented below:
(II) Unquestioned Surrender (III) Create an Alternative Worldview
(I) Mental Slavery (IV) Resist the Dominance
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 69
presents an alternativeworldview. With increasingaccess to technology and theopportunities for new forms ofdemocratic spaces for interactionsit creates, rapid communicationimpacting the way we interact witheach other is not an unusualphenomenon. Leaders here willhave to demonstrate listening,empathy and perhaps embrace thealternative worldview presented bythe follower if it seems like a moreviable option. Able leaders andcompetent followers collaboratingconstructively and appreciatingeach other’s viewpoints can pavethe way for high-performinglearning organisations.
(IV) The fourth quadrant is aboutresistance. It is characterised by adirect imposition of the dominator’sworldview and its rejection by thedominated. In such a scenario, thefollowers are not motivated tofollow the leader, for they may feeltheir inputs, though valuable, arenot valued. Followers may resistsuch dominance by switchingthemselves off from the cognitivecontrol mechanisms.
Creating a Domination-Free EnvironmentReflecting on the leader-followerdynamics from the cognitivedominance perspective providesinsights into the darker side ofleadership, where leaders can domore harm than good, consciouslyor unintentionally, by unnecessarydominance.
Analysing dominance in the lightof employee/follower competencepresents us with other possiblesituations. Situation 1, characterisedby high follower competence andhigh leader dominance, can createunwanted conflicts, disagreementsand dissatisfaction for both parties.Situation 2, characterised by highcompetence of followers and lowdominance by a leader, may provideavenues of creating alternativeworldviews. Followers here mayperceive low dominance as autonomyand work harder to prove their
LEADERSHIP
The theory of cognitive dominancediscusses the conscious effort on thepart of the dominator to manipulatethe dominated through language,ideas, theories or metaphors.
(I) The first quadrant of thematrix, mental slavery, ischaracterised by the imposition ofa particular worldview by thedominator and its unquestionedacceptance by the dominated. It isimportant to note here that whileleadership and hierarchies existuniversally, they may vary from onecountry to another. So, a leader’sbehaviour may be strongly influencedby the working environment andthe norms and values of theculture where s/he is operating.For example, in a culture of high-power distance, a leader maydemonstrate dominance by adoptingan authoritarian style. Theemployees may be forced to followall commands to save their job, butthis long-term mental slavery canbe damaging for their self-growth.
(II)The second quadrant talks ofunquestioned surrender, astate where the dominated isincapable of identifying cognitivedominance. It goes to an extentwhere the dominated himselfbecomes the defender of thedominator’s worldview. In aleader-follower interaction, factorsthat can lead to such a scenariocould be the strong personality ofthe leader characterised more bydominance and less by prestige ormaybe the inexperience of thefollower. Whatever the cause, sucha scenario can be harmful toorganisational health. It can beoverly damaging in the middle-and senior-level jobs that requireemployees to draw upon theirbusiness intelligence and creativity.Both the leader and follower willbe deprived of learning and growth,for it will kill all opportunities ofdiscussion and dialogue, hamperinginnovation.
(III) The third quadrant of thematrix is characterised by thedominator’s claim of the universalityof his worldview, but the follower
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Dr. Farah Naqvi is a writer,academician and behavioural scientist.She started her career with IndianInstitute of Management, Ahmedabadand worked with institutions like ICFAIHyderabad, IBA Bangalore, Center forOrganization Development, Hyderabadas Asst professor. Currently, she isassociated with the Aero Academy ofAviation Science & Management(AAASM) as a Management Professor.Read more about Farah's work on herwebsite, farahnaqvi.com.
About the Author
merit. Situation 3, characterised bylow competence of followers andhigh domination of leader is morelikely to lead to mental slavery orunquestioned surrender. High taskorientation and optimising onleader competence and dominationmay become a necessity to get thework done. However, the worst-case scenario can be a situation oflow leader dominance and lowfollower competence where keepingthe work rolling itself may becomea challenge. It is important to notehere that other extraneous ormoderating variables may changethese hypothesised outcomes.
Cognitive dominance in any formmust be discouraged. Organisationssucceed or fail not only based onhow well their leaders lead butalso based on how well theirfollowers follow. The situations ofmental slavery and unquestionedsurrender that prevent followersfrom exploring and expressingalternative worldviews in a fast-changing world can be deeplydamaging for all stakeholders.Organisations build their presentand shape their future with thecombined efforts of followers andleaders. Fostering a domination-free atmosphere where all partiescan enter in a free discourse canlead to mental liberation and highperforming organisations.
70 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
E
LEADERSHIP
every aspect of their daily lives.The morbid fear of contracting apotentially lethal illness apart, theyare causing a variety of concernssuch as forced isolation, socialdistancing, economic hardship, anunsettled feeling, helplessness, andhopelessness. And the response tothe COVID-19 led crisis by theorganisations’ leaders is a hugeand delicate matter of concern. Atsuch a crucial juncture, it becomesessential to explore the challengesbefore leaders and organisationsand the quintessential positiveleadership behaviours.
The ChallengesThe pandemic-driven crisis hasposed a challenge never confrontedpreviously by today’s leaders. Sounique and peculiar is the problemthat the fundamental assumptionsof businesses are being transformedsince their very existence is underthreat. It is therefore natural forleaders and managers to panic insuch a situation. However, theyneed to distinguish between factsand opinions, and thereafter, shifttheir focus on facts alone tosuccessfully navigate the COVID-19times. Leaders need to be highlycalibrated in their responses andidentify key vulnerabilities andpressure points keeping theorganisation’s survival in focus.Leaders focusing on organisationalgrowth has now become an old
xecutives operating amid theCOVID-19 pandemic areexperiencing disruptions in
The LeadershipMantle
BY DR. K N VISWANATHAM
The pandemic-driven crisis has posed a challenge neverconfronted previously by today's leaders. So uniqueand peculiar is the problem that the fundamentalassumptions of businesses are being transformed.
paradigm. The missed leadershiplesson is the setting up of a crisisresponse/management team inorganisations. In-depth networking,gaining greater employer andconsumer loyalty, and demonstratingtrust among all the stakeholders areessential leadership competenciesduring this crisis.
They must hope for the best andprepare for the worst. Pessimism iscounter-productive, and therefore, itis essential to deliberately inculcatean optimistic outlook. A heightenedlevel of preparedness to accept thefact that businesses will not be asusual and will remain otherwiseneeds to be cultivated. They mustlook at this situation of crisis as atest of leadership and organisationsmust adopt newer technology andprocesses.
Putting competenciesto testAge-old leadership competenciessuch as vision, growth, and resultsorientation will no longer help.Strategising as an area of competencehas also gotten questionable todaysince nobody could predict thatsuch a crisis would unearth.
Leadership competencies to bedemonstrated are entirely diverseand different during the COVID-19crisis which are: -
(a) Being calm and quiet
(b) Retaining confidence andbeing hopeful
(c) Relentlessly communicatingwith employees
(d) Make employees comfortable
(e) Actively collaborating
(f) Reaching out to the community/stakeholders
(g) Being compassionate
The suggested set of competenciesmay come closer to the model ofresonance leadership proposed byBoyatzis & McKee (2005), whereinthey have mentioned threecomponents such as hope,compassion, and mindfulness.
During this crisis, leaders must beconvinced that: -
They lead with mindfulinfluence, not with authority
They lead by participating andcollaborating, not from ahierarchy
They lead with purpose andhigher calling, not with power
McKinsey identified fiveleadership practices that canhelp leaders respond effectively
Organising via a network of teams
Displaying deliberate calm andbounded optimism
Making decisions amid uncertainty
Demonstrating empathy
Communicating effectively
(Gemma D'Auria & Aaron DeSmet, March 16, 2020)
Source: www.mckinsey.com
An incisive attention tocultureThis is the time when leaders payincisive attention to the culturemore than ever. Culturally, there isa greater desire for socialisationamong Indian employees, and as aresult, it can lead to crowding.Crowding in public places and alsoin spaces within a workplace is adetriment for employees’ health,and hence, the practice of socialdistancing is a mandatoryrequirement. This is easier saidthan done. Organisational leadersmust act and react as communityleaders.
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 71
will emerge with reference to WFHin terms of managerial conversations,project deliverables, virtualcolleagues, virtual lunches etc.Further, the advantage of WFHresults in the possible reduction oftoxicity of human interaction.
On 12th May 2020, Jack Dorsey,the CEO of Twitter, announced anew policy that employees canwork from home indefinitely.Further, he stated, “if employeesare in a role and situation thatenables them to work from homeand they want to continue to doso forever we will make thathappen.” Facebook and Google alsoimplemented a WFH policy.Policies may be drafted thatoutline the potential difficultiesand tensions that come with WFH.Leaders are required to handle themantle of redesigning effectiveworkplaces and policies to meetwith COVID-19 crisis.
Underscoring thepredicamentIn view of the above, there is acompelling case for executives oftoday’s organisations to underscorethe predicament of the COVID-19crisis and leaders across allfunctions and domains must keepthe following pointers in mind:
The COVID-19 pandemic hasresulted in disruption andleaders of organisations need topractice positive behaviours.
Leaders need to be highlycalibrated in their responsesand not panic in such times ofcrisis. Leaders must hope forthe best and prepare for theworst. Organisations must adoptnew technology, new process,and new policies as well.
Being calm and quiet, retainingconfidence and being hopeful,relentlessly communicating withemployees, make employeescomfortable, activelycollaborating, reaching out tothe community/ stakeholders,being compassionate are thekey competencies of leadershipduring COVID-19 crisis.
LEADERSHIP
For many Indian organisations,the culture of Work From Home(WFH) poses many challenges.One such challenge is the attitudethat WFH is a paid holiday, whichis an incorrect assumptionaltogether. Leaders need to trustmanagers, and managers, subjectto the roles they play inorganisations, have a huge onus inmaking WFH a reality. Learningprogrammes centred around thethemes of WFH, social distancing,practising personal hygiene,handling psychological issues thatare a fall out of WFH and theCOVID19 crisis need to be plannedfor all employees across sectors, inview of the fact that COVID-19does not differentiate between onesector and the other, or a princeand a pauper. Leaders need to becertain about what matters mostwhen it comes to employees’presence. Work From Home/office/anywhere or productivity is acrucial question that must beanswered along with the nature ofjob and roles that permit employeesto WFH. As long as the metrics arein place, job roles that permit WFHcan be a reality.
“For many Indianorganisations, the
culture of Work FromHome (WFH) poses
many challenges. Onesuch challenge is the
attitude that WFHis a paid holiday,
which is an incorrectassumption
altogether.”WFH has certain benefits as
well. Employees can manage/structure their time very well andin a meaningful manner. Managerscannot judge how often employeesmove away from their desk. Therewill be an increased focus onproductivity and a decrease inmicromanagement. New paradigms
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Information and knowledgerelated to COVID-19 andintentional behavioural changemust be disseminated to allemployees in the organisationby the leaders of learning anddevelopment. As a norm, allleaders in an organisation mustundergo at least four webinars ofmandatory learning programmes.
There is no quick-fix solution tohandle the crisis of COVID-19,and the older and conventionalmethods will certainly not workand new leadership behavioursare to be practised.
Leaders during this crisisshould lead with mindfulinfluence, not with authority;lead by participating andcollaborating, not fromhierarchy; lead with purpose andhigher calling, not with power.
Leaders are required to handlethe mantle of redesigningeffective workplaces and policiesto meet with COVID-19 crisis.
Dr. K N Viswanatham is a SeniorFaculty Member at the State BankInstitute of Leadership, Kolkata. Hecomes with an experience of morethan two decades in teaching,training, consulting, and research.Dr. Viswanatham has a Master's degreein Psychology from Andhra University,and an M. Phil & PhD in ClinicalPsychology from NIMHANS. He canbe reached on [email protected].
About the Author
72 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
OVID-19 is changing the waypeople learn and work acrossthe world. As organisationsC
DIGITAL LEARNING
have shifted to working remotely,to sustain learning during thepandemic, they have adapted tonewer learning tools. COVID-19has indeed forced us to relook atworkplace learning offered bycorporates.
How has the Learning andDevelopment function inorganisations responded to thecrisis? Organisations that utiliseddigital learning platforms havetransitioned fairly easily to virtuallearning. Professional servicesfirms, IT/ITES, and global firmsacross all sectors fall in thiscategory. Firms with a biggernational footprint, or those thathave recently expanded, aremaking a slower transition fromthe traditional instructor-ledformats to virtual learning. RajivKrishnan, Managing Director, KornFerry Advisory Business, believes,“Firms which invested heavily ininfrastructure for instructor-ledtraining, which includes corporatelearning centres modelled afterCrotonville and the like, are nowhaving to re-think their approach.However, what impresses me isthe remarkable speed with whichfirms are digitising in this aspect.”He further adds, “Organisations
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Re-imaginingLearning In ThePost-COVID Era
BY DR. MANAVI PATHAK
We need to decide over the changes in L&D owing tothe COVID-19 pandemic. And this crisis has createdan environment which can be either viewed asterrifying or thrilling.
with evolved HR practices havehandled this crisis very well. Theyquickly analysed best practicesfrom countries which were affectedearlier than India and had workedout their game plan a couple ofweeks prior to the lockdown. The
advantage of those few days wasvital. Where employees could notbe loaded effectively when awayfrom work and working fromhome, detailed learning scheduleswere formed and also funded, sothat employees could use their
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 73
time wisely and benefit themselvesand the organisation.”
Initially, most organisationstried to create a substitute forclassroom learning on virtualplatforms. Once this was achieved,organisations also tried to reinforceengagement and make productiveuse of spare time, through onlinecourses and webinars. TataManagement Training Centre(TMTC), the learning arm of theTata Group, has delivered over 50webinars on various topics criticalto business success and personaldevelopment during the lockdown.They have also launched the TataTomorrow University, the digitalarm of TMTC, responsible fordigital offerings. A Mckinsey report,Adapting workplace learning inthe time of coronavirus, reaffirmsorganisations cannot push thepause button on capability building.As the world copes with theCOVID-19 crisis, the Learning and
Development function acrosscompanies is adapting to lead withinnovative digital solutions, toengage a remote workforce andinfluence their working.
Josh Bersin Academy reportsthat there has been an increase inthe consumption of online learningin most organisations. Companieshave rapidly deployed workathomeprogrammes, well-being, andmental health programmes to buildpositive thinking and alignment.With people forced to stay athome, they want to make use ofthis time to learn about the crisis,their jobs, and what they can do tostay ahead. Experts from thelearning community believe thattoday’s way of learning will not bethe only way to learn in the future.This period of experimentation andcollaborative creativity will likelyshape some lasting changes. JoshBersin firmly believes that thepandemic has accelerated one of thebiggest business transformationsfor many organisations. It is aneconomic and health crisis, but formany organisations, it is also anincredible opportunity to transform.As Josh Bersin has emphaticallystated, “L&D is one of the heroesof this crisis.”
“As more and morelearners latch on to
the bandwagon, thereis a risk of beingbombarded with
anything and everythingresulting in ‘digitaldumping ground of
content’.”Adapting to the NewNormalWhile we can anticipate anunforgiving period in the short-to-mid-term, Learning & Developmentwill be under greater scrutiny to
make a significant contribution.Businesses are looking up tolearning leaders to helporganisations adjust to the newnormal. Many believe that there isa real opportunity for learningteams to rise to the multiplechallenges the pandemic hascreated. Let us examine some ofthe changes that we can anticipatein the Learning space in the daysto come.
Prashant Pandey, CountryManager, Right Management, says,“Learning and Development needsto reimagine its “ Digital Version”and see where all they can addvalue.” He further adds, “LearningEvents will change in duration.Days will become hours. Smalllearning capsules or nuggets willbe popular. We will see uberizationof learning and development.”From a learner’s perspective,Prashant anticipates a big changein the mindset of the learner. Theywill now be more aware andconcerned about keeping themselvesrelevant in the hyper-dynamictalent landscape. Hence, there willnow be a ‘pull’ factor (demand) forgood content. This will also put alot of pressure on content creators.If content fails to get the learner’sattention fast, the learner willmove on. Instruction Designprinciples will now become critical.Also, companies with strong culturesand desire to place learning andpeople at the heart of what they dohave a much higher chance ofsuccess.
For Dr Shalini Lal, Co-Founder,Unqbe, this pandemic has been thetrue accelerator for many L&Dorganisations. Organisations havedemonstrated agility, and there aremany lessons to be learnt duringthis crisis. She believes, “Sharplypersonalised learningrecommendations (like Netflix)and intuitive technology will gainprominence in the days to come.”Kartik Mehrotra, Knolskape, adds,“The need to suddenly shift towork from home and the relatedbarriers to communication and
DIGITAL LEARNING..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
74 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
relationships has given CapabilityDevelopment experts the chance toprove the relevance of virtual andself-learning tools and technologies.”Learning and development teamsmust seem to understand howthese experiences have changed (ornot), how their colleagues engagewith the digital ecosystem, andwhat implications this has for therelevance of their offer.
Also, the crisis is pushing theL&D function to rethink andreframe its true value and relevanceto the business. It makes us ask,“why do we do what we do?” Dr.Pramod Solanki, Founder,Performance Enablers, says, “Weneed to ask questions as to theoutcome that we are trying toachieve. For long, the Learningand Development function hasbeen activity-oriented, instead oflooking at metric around businessoutcomes. L&D needs to getaligned to what the business andpeople require.” In essence, theproof of impact will become ahard, inescapable requirement.
There has been a sudden rise indigital learning providers. As moreand more learners latch on to thebandwagon, there is a risk of beingbombarded with anything andeverything resulting in ‘digitaldumping ground of content’.
Dr. Manavi Pathak is Head - Talent& Leadership Development at Trent.She has professional expertise in areaof Talent Management, Learning,Leadership Development & ExecutiveCoaching. She has extensiveexperience in leadership andconsultancy with global industryplayers across industries, PSUs andeducation/ social sector. She has beenassociated with Human Capital for thelast 10 years.
About the Author
Organisations need to be watchfuland identify what is purposefuland intentional and offer the sameto the learners. This pandemic isan opportunity to realign L&Dfrom cost centre to organisationalvalue creator.
“Those who pivottowards data-driven
decision-making,experimentation, and
agile solutions willprove their worth and
are more likely tocontribute to what their
organisation will betrying to achieve under
extremely testingcircumstances.”
The Way ForwardThose who pivot towards data-driven decision-making,experimentation, and agilesolutions will prove their worthand are more likely to contributeto what their organisation will betrying to achieve under extremelytesting circumstances. Those
waiting for things to ‘get back tonormal’ and run coursessupplemented by elearning andgeneric content will struggle –both to convince their employersand make any difference at all.
There is a new demand forAgility. Whether the employees inthe organisation are engaged in adigital or physical learningenvironment, the key focus shouldbe to put the learner at the centreof the interaction, aligning userneeds, and learning styles withbusiness requirements. The catchnow is to be optimistic that thisnew way of learning must lead tomore substantial changes inbehaviour and adoption of onlinelearning, once things normalise.This is an amazing opportunity forthe Learning community to showtheir true value, and once we areon the other side of the crisis,organisations do not feel the needor compulsion to go back to their‘old ways’, but make a well-informeddecision of choosing best of bothworlds.
We need to decide the mannerin which L&D will change owing tothe COVID19 pandemic. And thiscrisis has created an environmentwhich can either viewed as terrifyingor thrilling. The way forward forus is completely dependent onwhat we do with what we havelearned. L&D will have to reflect,rethink and re-engineer.
DIGITAL LEARNING..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 75
AInternational travel has stopped.Social distancing has become thenorm. A Harvard study has, infact, indicated that intermittentsocial distancing might be necessarythrough 2022.
The pandemic has sparked offan active conversation about theexpected economic slowdownresulting from it. While economicsis important, we also need toconsider the psychological impactthe COVID-19 pandemic can cause.A recent survey by the IndianPsychiatric Society showed atwenty per cent increase in mentalillnesses since the coronavirusoutbreak in India. And for acountry with a poor mental healthsystem, this should be cause forserious concern.
Some recent articles on thisaspect go to the extent of suggestingthat if the pandemic is likely tolead to a global economic slowdownworse than the Great Depression,then it is also likely to lead to oneof the worst mental health crisesever witnessed. While time alonecan testify the enormity of thesepredictions, it cannot be ignoredthat this pandemic is bound to
lot has changed since theworld was struck by theCOVID-19 pandemic.
RevisitingPsychologicalWell-Being
BY DR. ANURADHA M.V.
It is possible to convert the threat caused by the COVID-19 pandemic into anopportunity, and for this, serious measures to maintain psychological well-being need to be taken at the individual, societal and organisational levels.
THE WAY FORWARD..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
76 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
THE WAY FORWARD..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
endanger the physical, financial,and social health of people.Theoretically, the three aspects puttogether determine the psychologicalwell-being of any individual.
It is therefore extremelyimportant that the aspect ofmental health of the pandemic bebrought into mainstream societalconversations. People need to beaware of the possible symptoms ofa psychological problem, just asmuch as we are now aware of thesymptoms of the COVID-19infection. Everyone should knowthe preventive steps to be taken toavoid any kind of severe mentalhealth problems, just as well as weknow how to prevent COVID19infections. Vulnerable groups forissues related to mental healthshould be identified, and facilitiesfor psychological treatment bemade available to everyoneneeding help in this quarter, justlike it has been done for theCOVID-19 infections.
Policy decisions on these issuesare important, but in their absenceat the moment, it becomes theresponsibility of the commonpublic to start and keep theconversations alive on these issues-through the popular press, socialmedia, word of mouth, or anyother possible means.
Contagious Pandemicsand Psychological Well-BeingWell-being is a term used to referto the holistic good health of anindividual. A positive relationshipwith others is at the core of thisholistic well-being. Researchsuggests that when people possessa healthy social support system, itcould, in turn, lead to a greaterpurpose in life, higher self-esteem,better self-acceptance, greaterresilience, and personal growth.This is true for most of humanity.It is only the manifestations andextent of this need that differsacross personality types andcultures.
Contagious pandemics like theCOVID-19 affect the psychologicalwell-being of people by disruptingthese relational patterns. Socialdistancing norms, curfews, travelbans etc. make it difficult forpeople to meet their friends andfamily. There have also been manyreported instances of ostracizationof people demonstrating COVID-like symptoms, or of healthworkers, pilots, and cabin crew onduty during the pandemic.
Social distancing mandatescause different emotional reactionsin people from different cultures.In individualist cultures like theUS, Australia etc. it could lead tofrustration caused by curbing theirindividual freedom. In moreinterdependent cultures like China,Japan, and India, people might getaffected by the inability to interactwith others, especially family andclose friends, and the lack ofcultural gatherings that are at thecore of these cultures.
“Studies show thatvirtual interactions can
only be an effectivetemporary solution todeal with pandemics,
but if they become thenew normal, it would
come at the cost ofpsychological well-
being.”
Disruptions at Workand Psychological Well-beingAn Assocham study conducted in2018 found that 42.5 % ofemployees in private sectororganisations in India suffer fromgeneralised anxiety disorder anddepression. Work stress and longworking hours are the root cause
of these conditions. Now add tothis already existing stress, the fearof losing one’s job and losingincrements/promotions etc.
The lack of distinct boundariesbetween work and one’s lifeoutside work is also one of thecauses of this stress. Work fromhome at times adds to thisboundary-fading. While manyemployees may find it convenientto work from home, it becomesstressful for the ones with domesticresponsibilities like taking care ofsmall children or sick elderlyfamily members. Working fromhome and juggling the dualresponsibilities of domestic andofficial work can increase stressand irritability, affecting domesticrelationships at times. Twitter,Facebook and Alphabet Inc (Google)have declared that their employeescan work from home till the end ofthis year. This has sparked adebate over the effects that virtualsocial engagements at work canhave on individuals. While it is anoptimum solution in the long runfor some, others like Satya Nadella,the head of Microsoft, hascautioned against the psychologicalcost of a longterm work from homeoption for employees. He reasonsthat working from home canendanger the social capital thatone has built at work. There isresearch to support his claim. Forexample, a study done on thesurvivors of the Virginia Techshootout in the US found thatwhen survivors interacted facetofacewith their friends and family, itimproved their wellbeing, butvirtual interactions had no effect atall on the well-being of thesepeople. Similarly, another studyfound that doctors dealing withpeople suffering from depressionshowed lower levels of empathywhen interacting with them virtually,as compared to a facetofaceinteraction.
These studies show that virtualinteractions do not increase thesense of connectivity in people.They can be an effective temporary
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 77
THE WAY FORWARD..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
solution to deal with pandemics,but if they become the newnormal, it would come at the costof psychological well-being.
The Pandemic:Opportunity or ThreatSocial disruptions like a pandemicprovide us with an opportunity torevisit our ways of doing things.This churn is good in many ways.Some of us have got more time tospend with our families, to reigniteour hobbies, and to reorganise ourlives. If we were to dig deeper intothe lives of people who are makingthe most of the lockdown, wemight find that a strong socialsupport system is at the root ofthis sense of wellbeing.
The pandemic becomes a threatfor the vulnerable population likethe elderly who might be livingalone, people who were alreadyprone to psychological illnesses,people experiencing the threat ofjob loss, and the ones overburdenedwith work to the extent that theyare unable to engage in meaningfulsocial interactions.
The symptoms of poorpsychological health could rangefrom mild to severe. Mild symptomsinclude a continuous feeling ofdrowsiness, tiredness, irritability,guilt (especially when jugglingbetween taking care of young kidsand meeting work deadlines) etc.More severe symptoms can bemanifested in unexplained crying,suicidal tendencies, socialwithdrawal, uncontrolled negativeemotions like anger, grief etc.
There are two ways of dealingwith symptoms of psychological ill-health. The first is to take preventivemeasures. Prevention is importantfor everyone because even mildsymptoms can affect ourproductivity in the long run. It isimportant to develop a dailyroutine which includes somesocialising, if possible, throughface-to-face interactions whilemaintaining social distancing. If
face-to-face interactions are notpossible, speaking to people overthe phone, skype, facetime etc. isthe next best alternative. Updateson social media sites do not countas connecting with people. Socialmedia takes away the intimacy ofinterpersonal interactions.Conversations are carried out witha large group of people, many ofwhom we might not even know.Therefore, while social mediainteractions might haveentertainment value, they do notcontribute to the psychologicalwell-being of an individual.
“It is important todevelop a daily routine
which includes somesocialising, if possible,
through face-to-faceinteractions whilemaintaining social
distancing. Speaking topeople over the phone,skype, facetime etc. is
the next bestalternative.”
If a person displays moresevere symptoms, he needs to seekprofessional help. However, mostof these people fail to receive helpbecause their family members areunable to identify the symptoms.And even when the severity ofsymptoms is noticed, the taboosassociated with seeking psychologicalhelp stop them from acknowledgingthat they need assistance. This iswhere social conversations onmental health are crucial.
Many organisations have alreadybeen providing counselling andemployee engagement services totheir employees. However, given thegrowing incidents of psychologicalproblems, they might have to takemore resolute steps.
During an economic slump,mental health becomes a lowpriority issue for organisations.However, it should be pointed outthat since the government hasmade it mandatory for allorganisations to provide healthinsurance benefits to theiremployees, these preventive andproactive measures could saveorganisations a lot of moneyotherwise spent in paying healthinsurance claims. It will alsoensure that the workforce remainsproductive.
It is possible to turn the threatcaused by the COVID-19 pandemicinto an opportunity, and for this tohappen, serious measures tomaintain psychological wellbeingneed to be taken at the individual,societal and organisational levels.
Dr. Anuradha M. V. is presentlyworking as Associate Professor in theOB & HR area at IIM- Visakhapatnam.She has obtained her FPM from XLRI,Jamshedpur and completed herbachelor's and master's degree inpsychology from University of Delhi.Her research has been published invarious national, internationaljournals. She has also written forreputed outlets that includes theHuman Capital. Her research interestslie in the domain of identity, self andvarious aspects of meaning of workand well being.
About the Author
78 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
POINT OF VIEW
the business press are obsessed withthe infection spread, mortality,economic impact, vaccinedevelopment, human distress, andthe choice of testing and treatment.A parallel industry has come intobeing offering products, services,and advice for reopening offices,commercial establishments andfactories. Another niche area thatis booming is the one relating toforecasting the future of work afterthe virus has done its damage.
For a pandemic that is barelythree months old, the consolidationof opinion around its impact in thecoming years is indeed impressive.A lot of commentators have cometo a general agreement on how thevirus will change the world ofwork. Here is a rough summary.
reduce headcount to meet socialdistancing requirements.
Contact tracing apps installedto manage the pandemic willstay on and privacy will getredefined for everyone.
All this is fascinating, but isprobably not the way the futurewill pan out. To be sure, workfrom home will be more acceptablethan before, but that’s about it. Noless a person than Satya Nadella,who heads Microsoft, visualises anearly return to normal work inoffices, which meets the humanneed of eye-to-eye contact andunplanned agenda-less interaction,which builds mutual trust andenables rich insights into eachother’s work. The current workfrom home experience appearssatisfying to many because itbuilds on high-trust relationshipsforged over years in the normalwork environment with facetofaceinteraction. If this prolongs, peoplewill gradually be interacting withnew hires and others whom theyhave never met at all. That maynot be such a productive interaction.Also, the office provides a uniformenvironment which is a greatequaliser. Not everybody iscomfortable showing off theirliving quarters. Many do not evenhave a private ‘office’ corner withanything like appropriate elbowroom, ergonomic seating, andreasonable quiet.
“The current workfrom home experience
appears satisfying tomany because it
builds on high-trustrelationships forged
over years in thenormal work
environment with face-to-face interaction.”
here is no getting away fromthe new coronavirus viz.COVID-19. News media andT
BY GAUTAM BRAHMA
If lessons from past pandemics hold, we can expectincremental changes at work to be permanent. Majorchanges are likely to be short lived!
Life & Work: AfterThe Pandemic
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
People will work from home inlarger numbers. This will easepressure on mass transport andthe road infrastructure.
IT security solutions will evolveto support remote work whileprotecting organisational IP.Office space requirements willcome down and this will impactthe realty sector.
Telemedicine and onlineeducation will boom andelectronic payments will finallydisplace cash. E-commerce willgrow by leaps and boundsalong with the logistics industryinvolved in order fulfilment.
The Entertainment and sportssectors will be transformed aspeople switch to participatingfrom home.
Manufacturing will see a surgein automation as companies
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 79
POINT OF VIEW
Gautam Brahma is a managementconsultant who advises start-ups andSMEs on strategy & operationsincluding sales, HR and IT. Hecarries an experience of over fourdecades in the public, private andnon-profit sectors in telecommuni-cations and IT industries. He hasbeen an invited speaker on multipleindustry forums and a monthlycolumnist on HR issues for nearlytwo decades. Gautam is based out ofGurgaon and can be reached [email protected].
About the Author
deepening social inequality. Nosociety wants that. One cantherefore visualise an early openingof physical schools worldwide. Thisis a good thing because schools alsoprovide an indirect preparation forgetting along with people and forunstructured play, which is soessential for the development ofyoung minds.
It is a given fact that socialdistancing is harder to enforce inthe manufacturing sector, andwork from home is virtually notpossible except for a few functionsin a factory. So, evaluation ofautomation in large concerns is areal possibility. However, themajority of employment in Indiacomes from micro and smallenterprises who neither have thecash for any serious upgrade ofplant and machinery nor theheadroom in workforce strength toenforce roster-based partialattendance. They are likely to takereasonable precautions for hygiene,PPE and health checks andcontinue doing work as before.
When the Spanish Flu hit theworld in 1918-19 and killed around5 crore people in eighteen months,there was a lot of talk about how itwill change the world forever.Nothing that drastic happened andbefore long people were throngingtheatres and trains and doingwhatever they were doing earlier.Flu still kills tens of thousands ofpeople every year, but it is hardlya topic for much discussion. Thosewho can get themselves vaccinated,do so and continue their normalwork life. Others practice essentialhygiene and isolate themselveswhen ill. The virus mutates overtime and the vaccine is tweaked tocater to that. Much the same isexpected to happen with COVID19.And talks of its long-term impacton even discretionary activities likecinemagoing and tourism areprobably exaggerated too. August-end booking for cruise ships arelooking healthy, and in SouthKorea, there are reports of peopledriving two hours to see a movie
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Some people have been praisingthe opportunities that work fromhome will provide women whohave to drop out of work toshoulder domestic responsibilities.This has a germ of truth, but it isalso true that working women lookforward to going to office becausethat is when they are not on callfor domestic chores, and can focuson work and interaction withpeers. Indeed, the continuousblend of office and home chorescan become oppressive for bothmen and women employees.Anecdotal evidence suggests thatpeople working from home arealways on call and are putting inlonger hours at work than before.
“The continuous blendof office and homechores can become
oppressive foremployees. Anecdotalevidence suggests thatpeople working from
home are always on calland are putting in
longer hours at workthan before.”
The rosy predictions of the riseof telemedicine and online educationare again somewhat excessive.Schools that cater to the poorersections of society are struggling toprovide education to kids at home.Most children do not have asmartphone or an equivalentdevice. Even if someone in thefamily has such a device, it cannotbe spared exclusively for the child.And in any case, the data planbeing used is unlikely to supportthe bandwidth required for aZoom-call. The digital divide isextensive, and if schools remainshut for long, it will translate intoan educational divide, thereby
in a drive-in theatre when they canjust as easily stream it at home.We are social creatures and valueexperiences that we undergo ingroups. Any restrictions on thatare likely to be short-lived.
This is not to say that nothingwill change. Personal protectiongear like masks, and hygienepractices like increased distancingin public places, and frequent handcleaning, will continue. Andmanagements will be more open topeople being allowed or evenencouraged to work from home.Since e-learning has become moreacceptable, it will extend to areascurrently untouched. A new set ofrelated skills will become valued.Anything more than that looksunlikely. Of course, all this couldchange with the next breakthroughdiscovery about the virus. Onemonth ago, it was estimated that7000 research articles had beenpublished on the virus, and thatthe number was doubling everytwo weeks. With so much humanbrainpower unleashed on thisvirus, it is anybody’s guess what islikely to be discovered. However, iflessons from past pandemics hold,we can expect incremental changesat work to be permanent. Majorchanges are likely to be shortlived!
80 June 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
M
EXPERT TALK
to the higher dimensions oflivelihood into the modern world.Over time, we failed to acknowledgethe quantum capacity of theSupreme Power that governs everylife force and ensures the balanceof love, compassion, and energy tosustain the true existence of everyliving being. Humans may haveassumed that our gigantic inventionson all forms of matter and energieshave indeed provided us with acomfortable, luxurious, andtechnology-driven world of existence.The fact, however, is that it hasoccurred only due to the numeroussacrifices that Mother Earth hasmade to fulfil the greedy desires ofthe occupants of this heavenlyplanet.
With the passage of time, humanarrogance also grew, and usingone's powerful imagination, wefought fierce battles amongst eachother using advanced techniquesand technologies. Again, MotherNature, through her resources,sheltered us and tended to ourwounds. And yet, neither did weacknowledge her deeds nor themistakes that were deliberatelydone to Earth; by way of pollutingher with deadly chemicals, gases,and fumes, and suffocating herwith plastic and industrial wastes,devastating mountains to builddams, cutting down trees to makeroads over the mountains, and so
ankind evolved on Earthand learnt of ways tosurvive, grow, and developed
COVID-19: Time ForPayback
BY ABHIROOP BANERJII
As self-reliant warriors of the new era, it is time torealise the infinite potential of mankind that has beendesigned and engineered by The Supreme Power tocombat the challenges with technology and wisdom.
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
planet with springs of joy andhappiness, and fountains of growthand development, making it aperfect balance for sustainabilityand prosperity. We need to remainhumble and grateful to MotherEarth as also the Supreme Powerthat dwells in the infinite space.
The time is ripe to soulfullymeditate within ourselves seekingwings to our creative ideas andfree our minds from all the fears.It is time that we re-unite todevelop strategies for rebuildingthe nation and preparing it tosuccessfully withstand all challenges.As self-reliant warriors of the newera, it is time to realise the infinitepotential of mankind that has beendesigned and engineered by TheSupreme Power to combat thechallenges with technology andwisdom.
on. There were so many humandeeds that were done in abundanceowing to our greed, ignoring thegrave consequences of ecologicalimbalance and extinction of severalspecies.
Every individual is responsiblefor the enormous greed displayedby us. It is time that we understoodthat we need to calm the ego ofhuman excellence and to religiouslypractice to remain grateful toMother Earth. Mother Earth is theone who has been feeding us andkeeping us alive so that we emergestronger to rebuild, rejuvenate anew world of emotional andeconomical balance. Also, we needto remain self-reliant by way ofinfusing a collaborative approachof our strengths to design anddevelop ways to protect us fromthe deadly evil of our creation viz.the COVID-19. COVID-19 hasjeopardised and punctured egosof the greatest and the powerfuland has made us realise theungratefulness that was shown toMother Nature.
As Mother Earth's true children,it is our turn to regret, repent, andbe remorseful of all our greedyacts and seek constant forgivenessfrom our heavenly father viz. TheSupreme Power and MotherNature. It is time to repay the debtthat we owe to Nature by way ofbuilding a human society of unity,love, compassion, trust, gratefulnessand forgiveness. Each of us needsto be self-reliant to rebuild a new
Abhiroop Banerjii is TrainingSpecialist, Plasser India Pvt Ltd. Hewields an experience of more than 15years in Manufacturing and Corporatearenas. He is an NLP practitioner andhones a certification as an InternalAuditor for Integrated ManagementSystems and a certificate for SolutionFocus Implementation strategy fromOxford University. Abhiroop has anMBA in Human Resources and aDiploma from ISTD (New Delhi).
About the Author
www.humancapitalonline.com June 2020 81
Philips Appoints Vishpala Reddy As HR Head For The Indian Subcontinent
Philips has appointed Vishpala Reddy as human resources head for the Indian subcontinent. Mostrecently, she was serving as the regional HR director for APAC with Uber.
Reddy is an alumnus of the Symbiosis Centre for Management and HRD and has more than 20years of experience in the HR industry, of which she worked with American Express for nearly 12years where led HR for a workforce of over 12,000 employees.
Some of the other companies she has been associated with are Uber, Aon and Cognizant Technology.
RBS India Appoints Maneesh Menda As HR Head
RBS India, the innovation and operations hub of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) hasannounced the elevation of Maneesh Menda as Head of HR, RBS India. In this role, he will buildthe organisation's talent strategy and capabilities, supporting the Bank to achieve its goals.
An HR veteran and a Chartered Accountant, Menda has more two decades of rich experiencewhere he has held several global and regional roles. Prior to joining RBS in 2015, he worked withStandard Chartered Bank and held several roles with them.
Dabur Appoints Biplab Baksi As Executive Director – HR
Dabur has roped in Biplab Baksi as Executive Director- HR. He has more than 26 years ofexperience in Human Resources, began his career from Tata Motors in March 1993 as amanagement trainee. He also worked in Bausch & Lomb, BILT and Nestle.
Baksi is BTech in electronics and communications from the Institute of Electronics andTechnology (IET), Lucknow, and holds master's in business administration from XLRI,Jamshedpur.
AppointmentsMahindra Finance Appoints Atul Joshi As Vice President – HR & Admin
Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited (Mahindra Finance) has appointed Atul Joshi asVice President - HR & Admin. He moved to Mahindra Finance from M&M Ltd. where he served asHead HR for the Automotive Sector.
Joshi is a Line Manager turned HR professional with a total experience of over 28 years. He hasbeen instrumental in developing the HR Strategy roadmap and driving various strategic HRinitiatives like Organization Restructuring, Strategic Hiring, establishment of new business,Leadership Development and Organization Simplicity.
NTPC Appoints Dilip Kumar Patel As Director – HR
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has elevated ted Dilip Kumar Patel as the director,human resources.
Patel has over three decades of experience in both line functions and HR. He started his profes-sional journey by gaining experience in mechanical maintenance and CHP operation at theEmployee Development Centre in Korba, Chhattisgarh.
Patel has pursued mechanical engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela. Heis a post graduate diploma in business management (HR and finance) frAom the ManagementDevelopment Institute (MDI), Gurgaon.
Welspun India Appoints Rajendra Mehta As CHRO
Welspun India has named Rajendra Mehta as its new president and CHRO. In his new role,Mehta will responsble for HR function of the Company, as well as its subsidiaries, which includes,Welspun Advanced Textiles, Welspun Retails, Welspun Floorings and Welspun Global Brands.
Prior to joining Welspun, Mehta was the executive director and chief people officer at SynergyCapital. He has 25 years of experience in the HR domain. He holds a master's degree in personnelmanagement from JDC Bytco Institute of Management Studies and Research, Nashik.
R.N.I. No. 66615/1997Postal Regn. No. DL(C)-01/1411/2018-20, New Delhi 110001