VOL VIII / ISSUE 7 / JULY 2017

TALENT ACQUISITION S P E CI A L

Optimize your talent acquisition

efforts with actionable advice from
SPECIAL STORY
leaders on recruitment trends,
HiPo Programs
BIG INTERVIEW
technology and practices. Are they delivering
on the promise?
Norm Judah
Chief Technology Officer,
Microsoft Services INTERVIEW
Alexander Alonso
Senior Vice President -
Knowledge Development,
SHRM
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 cover story on talent acquisition says the
same Talent acquisition is not just
about hiring. It is an amalgamation of
frameworks and encompasses concepts
like employer brand strategy, candidate
experience, recruiting optimization, talent
partnership and last but not the least,
engagement. The cover story presents
People Matters Indeed Study on India
Hiring Outlook 2017-18 that captures
h e E d i t o r ss DDeesskk

The Talent trends in talent acquisition, Indias hiring

outlook, key strategic priorities and

Paradox
business readiness of the TA function,
and the role of the recruiter; while also
featuring what organizations and TA

T
leaders are doing for dynamic talent
alent paradox is a reality today.
acquisition in terms of user experience,
Despite high unemployment rate,
personalization, social connections,
organizations are facing challenges
collaboration or using a 360 degrees TA
m tth

while filling job vacancies.

approach.
According to ManpowerGroup report,
For the Big Interview this time, we have
FFrroom

40% of global employers report talent

Norm Judah, Chief Technology Officer of
shortages and are finding it more difficult
Microsoft Services who shares his outlook
and expensive to attract new talent. And
and insights on the role of HR in capability THE COVER STORY
according to People Matters Indeed
building, the role of the CTO, delivering (BEHIND THE SCENE)
India Hiring Outlook 2018, despite 63
solutions, disruptive technologies and
percent of the companies increasing their
skillsets for the future.
hiring budgets, organizations are cautious
VOL VIII / ISSUE 7 / JULY 2017

The issue also features a special

in their hiring outlook. Where we know
story on the 5th edition of HiPo Week, a TALENT ACQUISITION
not bad huh,
that the future of finding talent is through
S P E CI A L

lock it!
Optimize your talent acquisition

People Matters and Right Management

efforts with actionable advice from
SPECIAL STORY
leaders on recruitment trends,
HiPo Programs

technology, and automation could increase

BIG INTERVIEW
technology and practices. Are they delivering
on the promise?
Norm Judah
Chief Technology Officer,
INTERVIEW

collaboration, which focuses on the

Microsoft Services
Alexander Alonso
Senior Vice
President - Knowledge

value by taking over tasks that require less

Development, SHRM

effectiveness of HIPO programs. It also

skill, the questions still remains the same
includes Right Managements survey on
what do organizations do to acquire
High Potential programs that assesses
the talent that has the skill to do what
some of the key objectives of HiPo
automation cannot?
programs and what needs to be done to
How equipped are organizations to
make them sharper.
VOL VIII / ISSUE 7 / JULY 2017

search the talent pool? Are they leveraging

As always, we would be happy to hear
the next gen tools and models to calibrate
your views, comments and suggestions
their hiring processes and recruiter TALENT ACQUISITION S P E CI A L

regarding our stories. Optimize your talent acquisition

capabilities? Are recruiters and hiring

efforts with actionable advice from
SPECIAL STORY
leaders on recruitment trends,
HiPo Programs
BIG INTERVIEW
technology and practices. Are they delivering
on the promise?

leaders learning the fundamentals of

Norm Judah
Chief Technology Officer,
Microsoft Services INTERVIEW

Happy Reading!
Alexander Alonso
Senior Vice

recruiting right and right recruiting?

President - Knowledge
Development, SHRM

Esther Martinez Hernandez Editor-in-Chief

Talent acquisition, today, is not just done!
follow
about "acquiring" but really aligning with
technology to embrace the trend of liquid M > @Ester_Matters
talent while inventing innovative ways F > estermartinez
> [email protected]
to attract and engage candidates too. Our

4 | JULY 2017
 Certified Change
Management Expert
Lead the people side of change to achieve a desired outcome, reduce risk, and accelerate
nancial value of change initiatives

THE WHAT:
Organizations
Corporate Business Function Workforce Program face different
Restructuring
Transactions Transformation Transformation Strategies Implementation types of
change

THE DESIRED RESULT:

Changing behavior
requires addressing
four common
employee responses

Understanding Emotion Ability Intent THE HOW:

Organizations enable
individual change by focusing
on eight common levers

Stakeholder Staffing
Organizational Policy & Rewards &
Leadership Communication Measurement Capability
Management Structure Processes Performance
& Capacity

Build Momentum
Build Momentum Enable Change

Uncover Plan for Engage Enable Sustain

Change Success Stakeholders Culture Impact
Learning
Make a Assess impact Determine the Manage critical Support and
Journey business case and readiness best change strategic accelerate
for change for change interventions initiatives stabilization

Start Date: 15 July To participate, nominate or know more about Amit Kumar:
Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai Aon Hewitt Learning Center, reach out to [email protected] | or +91 11 39585050
 contents J U L Y 20 17
volu m e V I i I
issue 7

Expert Views

52 Anthony Joseph, President, Global HR, Hinduja
Global Solutions

52 Ramesh Shankar, HR Head, Siemens

53 Shalini Pillay, Partner and Head of People, Performance and
Culture, KPMG India

53 Yogi Sriram, SVP HR, L&T Group

54 Lorraine Rodrigues, Country General Manager,
Fidelity International

56 Indranil Chakraborty, Founder, STORYWORKS

cover
58 Harlina Sodhi, Senior Executive Vice President HR,
story IDFC Bank

44

Talent
60 R. Swaminathan, Chief People Officer, WNS Global Services

62 Anshula Verma, India Recruiting Leader, EY

64 Ritu Bhatia, Executive Hiring Lead (APAC), Genpact &
C O N TE N TS

Sunanda K. Malik, Talent Marketing & Communications

Acquisition
Lead, Genpact

66 Satya D. Sinha, CEO of the HR Services firm, Mancer Consulting

68 Sonali Roychowdhury, Director HR, Indian Subcontinent &
Are you doing what IMEA Distributor Operations, Proctor & Gamble

it takes?
70 Vinay Deshpande, Chief People Officer - Financial Services
Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Group
By People Matters Editorial

72 Aadesh Goyal, Global Head - Human Resources,
Tata Communications
48 India Hiring Outlook 2018
- A People Matters and Indeed Study
74 Meenakshy Sridhar, Head, Recruitment Corporate and
(Insights and expert views compiled in collaboration with Services, Reliance Industries Limited
Prashanth Bhatla and Anushree Sharma)

75 Smriti Krishna Singh, CHRO, Sony Pictures Networks India

Editor-in-Chief Photography Printed and Published by Note to the readers Printed at Rakesh Press, A-22
Esther Martinez Hernandez Marta Martinez Mahesh Kumar on behalf of People The views expressed in Sector - 68, Noida - 201301.
Matters Media Pvt. Ltd. articles are those of the authors
Senior Editor General Manager - Sales and do not reflect the views of Published at 503-505, 5th Floor
Suparna Chawla Bhasin Rubi Taj Owned by People Matters. Millennium Plaza, Tower A
manager - content
[email protected] People Matters Media Pvt. Ltd. Sector 27, Gurgaon-122009
J Jerry Moses +91 (124) 4148102 Although all efforts have been
made to ensure accuracy of
Assistant ManagerS Content Assistant Manager - Sales Published at
text, neither the editors nor the
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SUBSCRIPTION Manager - Printed at
Shinto Kallattu
Neha Yadav Rakesh Press Printed and Published by
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Mahesh Kumar on behalf of
Prakash Shahi +91 (124) 4148101 Tel: +91 (0) 120-2484668 contains 100 pages including cover
People Matters Media Pvt. Ltd.

6 | JULY 2017
 contents
the big Interview
24 Interview
76
Microsofts Techno- HR needs to refine
logy Evangelist its data and critical
- Norm Judah evaluation skills
Norm Judah, Chief Technology Officer, Alexander Alonso, Senior Vice
Microsoft Services
President - Knowledge Development, SHRM
By Ester Martinez & Suparna Chawla Bhasin By J. Jerry Moses & Bhuvan Gupta

N E W S F E AT U R E SPECIAL
I n t e r vie w
18 The NDA Report-Card Has STORY 92 I believe in the maxim

the needle moved at all?
By Manav Seth 78

Ideas spread horizontally
Moushumee Basu Roy, Head -
SuccessFactors at SAP India
20 From research to job search By Ridhi Chugh
Google makes it easy Ac q uisi t io n
By Ridhi Chugh
38 The journey of CoCubes
O p i n io n By Amol Pawar
22 Maternity kicks: Laboring
to score an own goal HipO Programs
42
E M O T I O NA L I NT E L L I G E N C E
The myriad shades of a
By Monodip Chaudhuri, Founder of Are they delivering on the high EI!
C O N TE N TS

Acumen Associates Inc, HR/IR Consultants

with 4 decades of leadership experience promise? By Sindhuja Parthasarthy,
in ITC Ltd, Shaw Wallace and Exide By People Matters Editorial Team An educator associated with Center
Industries Ltd. for Behavioral Excellence at Wipro
and an Independent Photo journalist
INFOGRAPHIC documenting human rights issues
T h e Ro a d L ess T r a velle d
28 The Attrition Advantage 80 Are High-Potential Dive r si t y
Use Dont Shoot the Programs Delivering? 88 DIVYANG: Up the game
Messenger from Ramp to Board room
By Visty Banaji, Founder and CEO of 82 The 5 essentials for the By Amitabh Adhikary, GM - Human
Banner Global Consulting (BGC) rubber to meet the road! Resources at Aditya Birla Group
By Prashant Pandey, Country
S t r a t e g y & I n si g h t s Manager India, Right Management C o r p o r a t e S ufi
30 The Dilemma of Decision- 90 Columnist or Novelist:
making 84 What do HiPo programs What are you as a Leader?
By Murad Salman Mirza, truly comprise? By Gurucharan Singh Gandhi,
An innovative thinker and an astute By Milind Apte, SVP - HR, CEAT Tyres the author of national bestseller
practitioner in areas within and associated Kabeer In Korporates and the Head of
with the fields of Organizational Learning & Development with a leading
86 Train & retain with HiPo
Development, Talent Management and conglomerate
Business Transformation development programs
By Manav Seth
D I G I TA L HR featured in this issue
34 Sell your data and make a Norm Judah Alexander Alonso
living! Anskush Puri Moushumee Basu Roy

By Abhijit Bhaduri, Columnist and regulars Contributors in this issue

the author of the bestseller 'The Digital Monodip Chaudhuri Anshula Verma
Tsunami' 04 From the Editors Desk Visty Banaji Ritu Bhatia
Murad Salman Mirza Sunanda K.Malik
Abhijit Bhaduri Satya D.Sinha
I n t e r vie w 10 Letters of the month Amol Pawar Sonali Roychowdhury
Sindhuja Parthasarthy Vinay Deshpande
36 Agility of the HR will Amitabh Adhikary Aadesh Goyal
12 Quick Reads Gurucharan Singh Gandhi Meenakshy Sridhar
emerge as game-changer Anthony Joseph
Ramesh Shankar
Smriti Krishna Sigh
Prashant Pandey
Ankush Puri, Business Head - India at 96 Knowledge + Networking Shalini Pillay Milind Apte
Yogi Sriram Manav Seth
Lee Hecht Harrison Lorraine Rodrigues Tanay Chaudhari
By Shalini Sengupta 98 Blogosphere Indranil Chakraborthy
Harlina Sodhi
Prashanth Bhatla
Anushree Sharma
R.Swaminathan

8 | JULY 2017
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 Letters of People Matters values your feedback. Write to us

the month with your suggestions and ideas at

[email protected]

and are inherently engaged and hard to

poach by opportunistic competitors. Gaur Farmaiye @Shikhar_Gaur
- K eer t i N a ir Kudos to @PeopleMatters2 @Ester_Matters
for highlighting such issues which bite the
dust but yet are important to be addressesd.
Redefining the box Britannias Darren Cruickshank @dcruicks
transformative people practices Interesting read in @PeopleMatters2 on how
In this interview, Ritesh Rana shared #workspace digitization enhances employee
insights about Britannias unique culture engagement. bit.ly/2r287S0
and the organizations highly effective
people practices. He rightly mentions AMRIK SIDHU @asid1989
in the interview that it is important to
Great questions . It was a refreshing session
with great insights @PeopleMatters2
bring together highly talented people
#HiPoWeek
into creative and collaborative work
environment. It was interesting to read Praveen Purohit @PraveenPurohitA
about Britannia for Britannians Classic topic and look forward to great
their unique culture which focuses learning coming our way... thanks
june 2017 issue on providing on-the-job learning
opportunities to instill healthy balance of Prashant Pandey@prashpandey6
values and quality of work. What is the key org driver for a HiPo
Doing it the Disney way! - R a j inder S h a r m a
prog? Managing attrition? Succession?
The interview of Doug Lipp was very Engagement? Some insights during the
insightful and it was indeed inspiring #HiPoWeek @PeopleMatters2
to read about his professional journey.
M a i l

Yugesh Goutam@YugeshGoutam
He reflected on three core points while
#Digital is reshaping the business. #HR
talking about his journey passion,
needs to adapt to new age #Technology
persistence and preparation that are
@PeopleMatters2
crucial for any person to succeed. It
was compelling to read about Disneys Rajarshi Chakraborti@the_Bong_one
organizational culture, the companys How you build Culture the Armed forces way
values and priorities that are still alive @PeopleMatters2 has got a really impressive
and popular today. Doug also talks about topic covered here.
culture of trust in organizations and follow

how combining it with appropriate

M > @PeopleMatters2
employee training results in engaged and
empowered workforce.
- Komal Nath
Corrigendum
In the cover story of June 2017 edition, the
Leadership excellence for the The art of persuasion caption of the team picture in Schneider

digital age The article highlights Electric's column is incorrect. The correct
caption is: Anil Chaudhry, Managing Director &
The article is an informative piece and ways in which persua- Zone President, India Zone (fourth from right
offers tips to readers for converting sion can help in achieving - front) and Rachna Mukherjee, Chief Human
Resources Officer, India Zone (third from
possibilities into opportunities. I
particularly liked the idea of converting
goals. Author Swati Sinha right - front) with their team at the Schneider
aspirational employee engagement into clearly states that persua- Electric India Office. Also, the name of Bharti
inspirational employee engagement. sion is the primary means Infratel's MD & CEO is incorrect in the caption
of the team picture. The correct spelling is:
The author, Murad Salman Mirza, of affecting decisions. She Devender Singh Rawat. We regret the errors.
suitably explains the inspiration-based
approach which is more enduring option
also beautifully defines it
as it assures sustainable employee as an effective interplay
engagement. Another helpful tip was of art and science, and an
related to cultivating high-commitment
employees (HICOs) rather than high-
act or process of ethically
potential employees (HIPOs) as HIPOs are winning the mind and
more extrinsically-driven whereas HICOs heart of others.
are more intrinsically-driven employees - A v a n t ik a B h a t n a g a r
{WRITE TO US NOW BY
SCANNING THIS CODE}

10 | JULY 2017
 DIFFERENT CUSTOMERS OFTEN HAVE
VERY DIFFERENT NEEDS.
WE GOT IT COVERED.

EDUCATION CRIMINAL CHECKS

VERIFICATIONS

IDENTITY NUMBER
VERIFICATIONS
PROFESSIONAL LICENSE
VERIFICATIONS

GLOBAL WATCHLIST

REFERENCE CHECKS

EMPLOYMENT
VERIFICATIONS

ISO 27001:2005 ISMS Certified

301-302 Aditya Kaushambhi Plaza, Sector 14, Kaushambhi, Ghaziabad 201 010, Uttar Pradesh, India
1800-11-RISK (7475)
www.amsinform.com I [email protected]
 Investment Partnership

TeamLease to buy 30 percent stake in Sodexo partners

Freshersworld with Zeta to pro-
Temporary staffing company TeamLease
Services has announced that it will buy
agreement, TeamLease will infuse another
Rs 2 crore to enhance product features and
vide employee
a 30 percent stake Freshersworld.com, back-end technology at Freshersworld and benefits platform
an online job portal at an 18 crore pre- will look at increasing its stake or a total
money valuation, for scaling up its hiring acquisition in the next three years. Sodexo, a paper-based meal-voucher
business. One of the key variables for firm operating in the space of
staffing business is hiring at the 0 to 3 year employee benefits and services has
experience category, where there is a long teamed up with Zeta, a technology
tail of demand. Staffing companies have startup which provides digital pay-
large teams of recruiters reaching out to ment infrastructure for companies,
this category of talent in sourcing and hir- to offer a seamless digital experience
to its consumers. This news follows
ing. One of the critical ways to scale this
the RBI directive which requires the
stage of the hiring process is to bring in
phasing out of paper-based employee
technology, access to reach and experience
vouchers. Paper-based meal vouch-
on attracting this category of talent on
digital and social platforms. As part of the ers, according to policy update by
r e a d s

RBI, wont be accepted beyond 31st

December 2017. Sodexo, whose meal
Employer Branding HR Excellence

Top 25 companies Tata Motors

q u i c k

2017 by Linked- receives 'HR

In: Where India Innovation of the
wants to work Year' Award
With the aim to make the Indian auto-
motive industry globally competitive,
Tata Motors has been a forerunner in
launching a series of programs to provide
technical and vocational training for the
unemployed youth in India. For this effort,
the company has been awarded with the
HR Innovation of the Year award by the vouchers and cards are currently
Asia Pacific Excellence Award, held in being used by 11,000 corporate enti-
Hong Kong. The Company over the past ties of India, and accepted at 30,000
few years has associated with over 135 ITIs merchant outlets hopes to combine
LinkedIn released the list of top 25 across 19 states, to develop skilled & highly Sodexos market know-how and
companies 2017 where India would like competent manpower thats future ready. Zetas digital technology solutions
to work. The top companies were identi- for management and distribution
fied by LinkedIn data team who minutely of employee benefits. With this
observed actions taken by LinkedIn's alliance, Sodexos 3 million daily
500+ million members. Flipkart tops the consumers will get access to simple
chart in India, followed by Amazon and and user-friendly technology solu-
KPMG India. The remaining 22 are: One97 tions to enjoy their everyday meal
Communications, Ola, HCL Technologies, benefits. Zeta, on the other hand,
Adobe, Alphabet, OYO Rooms, Reliance will get access to Sodexos expertise
Industries, Capgemini, Accenture, Deloitte in the B2B domain of sales and fine
India, Tech Mahindra, Swiggy, Cisco, IDFC customer service.
Bank, Wipro, Tata Communications, Voda-
fone, Cognizant, Grofers, MakeMyTrip,
McKinsey & Company, and Oracle.

12 | JULY 2017
 M&A L&D

Quikr acquires Zimmber to strengthen The Challenges

its lead in household services of Global L&D:
Quikr has joined the bandwagon of the
M&A express by announcing the acquisi-
Survey
tion of Zimmber, an on-demand household A recent survey of 200 L&D senior
services provider, to further scale its decision makers by Open University
hyper-local household services business. Business School, The Challenges of
This strategic move will help the com- Global L&D survey revealed that nearly
pany accelerate its growth in household two-fifths of organizations do not have a
services and continue to progress towards global strategy for learning, and almost
its goal of organizing this fragmented half of the L&D decision makers think
category. As part of this, Zimmber will that learning is not seen as important.
benefit from the strong synergies it has About 66 percent of the respondents
with QuikrServices and other Quikr stated that organizations with a learn-
verticals and enter into newer markets. Kumar, Co-founder & COO and another ing culture will be the most successful
Zimmber will continue serving all its on- founding member Siddhartha Srivastava, in the future, and 62 percent suggested
demand service customers and will con- CPO along with the Zimmber team will that global learning programs will be
tinue to focus on service quality. As part continue to drive Zimmber growth under the most important in the coming years.
of the overall integration process, Amit larger Quikr umbrella. 60 percent are of the belief that effec-

q u i c k
tive learning is critical to organiza-
tional success, as it helps companies
HR Solutions DIVERSITY

Excelity Global Accenture's Diver-

r e a d s
partners with Zeta sity Goal: 50% of
to offer digital its workforce to be
employee benefits women by 2025
Excelity Global, one of Asias largest Committed to a gender-balanced
providers of payroll administration, workforce, Accenture has set a target to
benefits and human capital management, achieve the gender parity with 50 percent
has partnered with Zeta, the pioneer in men and 50 percent women by 2025.
digital employee benefits solutions, to Currently, Accenture has about 150,000
offer employee benefits to corporates on women employees which comprise 40% of
a fully digital platform. The company has its global workforce. Over the past several
also announced the inking of a strategic years the company has set milestones on
partnership with GaiaWorks to connect the path to gender equality which include,
their respective software and cloud services Setting a goal to reach 40 percent women
to provide an integrated solution covering new hires by 2017 and achieving it a year adapt quickly. More than half the
workforce management and payroll ser- early; Promoting its largest percentage respondents stated that there would be a
vices to clients in Asia-Pacific. Excelity will of women to the managing director significant commercial impact if their
offer its customers Zeta Optimas digital level in 2016 (30 percent); and growing L&D teams collaborated with the world.
portfolio and paperless reimbursements for its percentage of women managing Over 50 percent believe that in-depth
medical, fuel, LTA etc. directors to 25 percent globally by 2020. global learning programs attract talent
The company has also collaborated across from across the world and only 20 per-
businesses and governments to further cent of the organizations consistently
enhance gender equality in the workplace, share learning across geographies. In
with commitments that include the White nearly 50 percent of the organizations,
House Equal Pay Pledge, Paradigm for learning architecture was found to be
Parity, and Catalyst CEO Champions for decades out of date however 94 percent
Change. of the respondents are planning to
increase investment in international
training programs.

JULY 2017 | 13
 Friends in the
Workplace Survey
What motivates you at work? Financial reward or happiness in the
office? Which is more important to you at work? How does having a
work best friend impact your job? What would be your preferred
method of improving worker relationships in the office?

Happiness vs. Salary What would be your preferred method

of improving worker relationships in the
office? (Top 2 choices)

61% 57% 11%

25.53%

29.79%

27.66%
14.89%
Workers choose Agree that having Currently dont

23.4%

23.4%
happiness at work a best friend in the have a best friend
r e a d s

over salary office makes work at work, but

more enjoyable, and would ideally like
increase productivity one A "team- Having a After Playing It doesn't I prefer
and creativity building" designated work sport bother to keep
weekend breakout drinks together me - we my work
away area where once a once a are here and
q u i c k

you can eat month month to work home

and spend life
which is more important to you at work? time together separate
away from
desks
39.17% 60.83%
Salary Happiness

For those who chose happiness

how does having a "work best friend"
how does having a "work best friend" impact your job? (Pick Up To 3 Options)
impact your job? (Pick Up To 3 Options)
I don't have one
23.4% I don't have one 28.77%
I don't have one but would like one ideally
12.77% I don't have one but would like one 8.22%
ideally
I feel more creative
23.4% I feel more creative 20.55%
I am more productive
40.43% I am more productive 23.29%
It makes work more enjoyable
57.45% It makes work more enjoyable 56.16%
We sometimes spend too much time talking / on instant messaging
21.28% We sometimes spend too much time
talking / on instant messaging 9.59%
It is unproductive
6.38% It is unproductive
5.48%
Source: Friends in the Workplace Survey by Wildgoose
14 | JULY 2017
 newsmaker of the month

Kalyan Krishnamurthy
Behind Flipkarts volte face
r e a d s
q u i c k

T
his is the man who rescued the sink- with Flipkarts matters as a prominent inves-
Apart from overseeing ing ship. In Flipkarts saga, he is the tor and an officeholder. But this time, he is in
the finance function, turnaround man Kalyan Krishnamur- charge of a much wider role. Apart from over-
he will now supervise thy, the Chief Executive Officer of Flipkart, seeing the finance function, he will now super-
who has now taken over the human resource vise the Human Resource department, while
the Human Resource department of the company. Today, Kalyan other prominent teams at Flipkart including
department, while Krishnamurthy is considered as the doyan of category design management as well as private
other prominent the corporate world. labels, customer shopping, and marketing, will
Kalyan Krishnamurthy, a two time MBA continue to report to him directly. The move
teams at Flipkart from University of Illinois and the Asian to put the Human Resources function under
including category Institute of Management, joined Procter and the purview of Krishnamurthy comes at a
Gamble in the Supply Chain Finance section time when the company is looking at issues
design management as after which he had a successful stint at eBay for pertaining to talent acquisition, retention and
well as private labels, 6 years in various capacities. But it was in 2011 contouring of different functions in the back-
customer shopping, that Tiger Global Management, an investment drop of its integration with Ebay, and being in
firm based out of New York hired him and talks with Jasper Infotech, the owner of online
and marketing, will sent him to Flipkart at the position of Head marketplace Snapdeal, along with pressures
continue to report to Category Design in 2016. And as fate would have of the impending acquisition, including redis-
him directly it, he eventually became the CEO of Flipkart. tribution of the team and a round of funding
All through, Krishnamurthy has been involved from SoftBank.

16 | JULY 2017
 Indian Oil Corporation appoints Sanjiv Metlife appoints Susan Podlogar as CHRO
Singh as Chairman Metlife Inc. has appointed Susan Podlogar as
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) has Executive Vice President and Chief Human
appointed Sanjiv Singh as the new Chairman Resources Officer. She will be a member of the
of the company. Prior to this appointment, companys Executive Group and will report to
Singh was a Director of Refineries at IOCL. Chairman, President, and CEO Steven A. Kandarian.
Susan is currently working as Vice-President Human
Ramco Systems appoints PR Venketrama Resources at Johnson & Johnson.
Raja as Chairman
Ramco Systems appointed PR Venketrama Bajaj Finance appoints Subeer Bakshi as Head -
Raja as its new chairman. He would be HR Excellence
heading the company's board of directors, said Bajaj Finance has appointed Subeer Bakshi as the
Ramco Systems. Head of HR Excellence. In this newly created role, he
would help to build next generation HR Capabilities
across the employee life cycle. Subeers special focus
SHRM appoints Johnny Taylor as CEO
would be on HR Effectiveness and Analytics, working
SHRM has appointed Johnny C. Taylor, an
with Deepak Reddy who heads HR for Bajaj Finserv.
attorney and credentialed HR practitioner
as SHRMs seventh president and CEO. Since
2010, Taylor has been the President & CEO of Myntra appoints Jeyandran Venugopal as CTO
the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Myntra, an Indian fashion e-commerce marketplace
has appointed Jeyandran Venugopal as its Chief
Technology Officer. Venugopal has over 18 years

q u i c k
Jet Airways appoints Vinay Dube as CEO of experience and has worked with Snapdeal as a
Jet Airways has appointed Vinay Dube as the technology advisor and was a part of the executive
companys Chief Executive Officer. Prior to leadership team at Yahoo R&D division.
Jet, Dube was the Senior Vice President - Asia
Pacific at the Delta Airlines, where he helped Hindustan Coca-Cola appoints Seema Nair as

r e a d s
the airline profitably expand its Asia-Pacific ED - HR
business. Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages has appointed
Seema Nair as Executive Director, HR. Nair will lead
Prasar Bharati appoints Shashi Shekar the HR function of the company in India, Sri Lanka,
Vempati as CEO Nepal and Bangladesh. Prior to this appointment, Nair
Prasar Bharati has appointed former Infosys worked for Cisco, Intel Corporation, Microland Group and
executive Shashi Shekar Vempati as Chief Crompton Greaves.
Executive Officer. Vempati is an alumnus
of IIT Bombay and has over two decades of Omidyar Network appoints Saurabh Nigam as VP
experience as a technocrat with specialization in Human Capital
areas of corporate management and digital media. Omidyar Networks, an investment firm, has
appointed Saurabh Nigam, the former Snapdeal HR
Adecco Group India appoints Marco Valsec- Head, as Vice President - Human Capital. Prior to
chi as India CFO Snapdeal, he led the human resources efforts for Beroe
The Adecco Group India has appointed Marco Inc for four years, and has also worked with the Aditya
Valsecchi as Chief Financial Officer for the Birla Group.
India market. Prior to joining Adecco, Marco
served as the Managing Director for Punkt in Paytm appoints Amit Sinha as COO
Lugano, Switzerland and comes with 20+ years of Paytm has appointed Amit Sinha as its new Chief
experience in finance and investment. Operating Officer. Prior to this appointment, Amit
Sinha was the Senior Vice President of Business
at One97 Communications and looked after HR and
Urban Ladder appoints Jaipal Singal as CFO
financial processes of the company since 2008.
Urban Ladder, the online furniture retailer,
has appointed Jaipal Singal as its Chief
Twitter appoints Emily Horne as its new Commu-
Financial Officer. Singal has 14 years of expe-
nications Director
rience in working for retail brands such as
Twitter has appointed Emily Horne as its new
M&S, Mahindra Retail and Arvind Lifestyle.
Communications Director. Previously, Horne served
as the Assistant Press Secretary and Director of
Strategic Communications, for the National Security
Council and was the spokesperson for the White House.

juLY
JULY
2017 ||
2017 17
 The NDA Report-Card
Has the needle moved at all?
f e a t u r e
n e w s

From promises to commitments, policy formulations written about his performance on the economic,
political, diplomatic, social and environment front,
to real solutions in the three years that Modi has the scope of this article is restricted to evaluating
been in office, we assess how his government has two high-stakes fields: skilling and job creation.
fared in skilling people and creating jobs And despite all the accolades he has won, even his
ardent followers cannot claim that these two areas
By Manav Seth
have been significantly been calibrated.

T
hat Narendra Damodardas Modi is Skill India: An experiment gone awry
an able and effective leader is a fact While launching the Skill India mission in July
that even the stringiest critics cannot 2015, the Prime Minister announced that the
deny. The 14th Prime Minister of the goal was to skill 400 million people by 2022. The
nation has captured the imagination National Skill Development Mission, and the Prad-
of a vast majority of the population, and has an han Mantri Kaushal Vika Yojana (PMKVY) were
effective communications strategy in place which launched with impressive visions and targets.
is an undeniable fact. The man has a gift for getting However, two years later, no major break-through
what he wants, as electoral victories in states and has occurred. As a matter of fact, a committee,
local elections have not halted despite implement- constituted by the government itself, has noted
ing the single most economically disruptive step severe functional discrepancies in the entire exer-
(of demonetization) in recent times. His achieve- cise. The Committee headed by Sharada Prasad
ments and short-comings are likely to be discussed presented a report Report of the Committee for
feverishly in the next two years, and possibly for Rationalization & Optimization of the Function-
the next several years or decades perhaps. While ing of the Sector Skill Councils which was made
several volumes of books can be (and have been) public in April this year. The report revealed

18 | JULY 2017
that lofty skilling targets and subsidization has and handlooms; the alarm bells rang, and the
created a system that is not demand-driven in government sought a review in the methodology of
terms of skills needed by their respective industry data collection. As a result, education, health and
nor is it high-quality education that is likely to restaurants were added to the list. An HDFC Bank
land them a job. Regarding Skill Sector Councils jobs report in 2016 said that Indias employment
(SSCs), autonomous industry-led entities responsi- elasticity was 0.39 fifteen years ago, and it stands
ble for skill-gap studies, curriculum development, at 0.15 now, which means the rate of job creation
training of trainers, trainee assessment, the report has more than halved. In other words, jobless
says, Most of the SSCs in their quest to achieve growth is very much a reality. Add to that the blow
the targets, compromised in quality of training, that demonetization must have had to employment
assessment and certification leading to the current the informal sector.
situation of mess. The recent turbulence that has hit the IT
Furthermore, the biggest drawback of the sector, the $150-billion worth crown jewel of the
previous governments interventions hasnt been services industry means that things arent likely
rectified: different stakeholders, ministries, depart- to improve anytime soon. With slipping growth,
ments and organizations are working towards the new skill requirement, and tough global policies,
same goal of skilling people, but have minimal talks of lay-offs and salary cuts have become all
coordination. Among the quality and duration of too common. If the industry that employs over
courses on offer, mismanagement of funds, inef- four million people is in deep trouble, the impact is
ficient methodologies to measure the skill level bound to be profound.
of trainees, questions are also being raised on
how many people are actually placed with jobs as The Road Ahead
a result of the training imparted by the govern- No matter how well the government has done on

n e w s
ment. The Prasad Committee report reveals that, other accounts, skilling the huge workable popula-
out of 18.03 lakh persons trained under PMKVY
in 2015-16, only 12.4 percent persons were placed.
The fact that the panel has called various councils
a hotbed of crony capitalism, with many SSCs After marginally increasing in 2014,

f e a t u r e
trying to extract maximum benefit from public
funds, is indicative of how grave the challenges
job creation has progressively nose-
are. Jayant Krishna, Chief Operation Officer of the
National Skills Development Corporation, stated
dived. Between 2015 and 2016, the
in an interview to The Wire that schemes had average has dipped to less than 2 lakh
glitches and inadequacies, yet course correction is
already underway. However, he also admitted that jobs in one year
skilling 400 million people by 2022 was a daunting
task in the same interview, considering that only
5 percent of the 480 million workforce is formally tion of the country and providing them with jobs
skilled. Last month, NSDC is said to have initiated remains a fundamental challenge. There needs
a dialogue with the government to review the 2022 to be a systematic, strategic and comprehensive
target to make it more realistic. overhaul of skilling interventions to ensure that
they achieve the objectives. The government
Job Creation: Is it at the new low? knows what doesnt work; hence, needs to control
It is estimated that some 12-13 million people join the damage. Furthermore, ensuring the overall
the workforce every year in India. While campaign- health of the economy is essential for the sectors
ing for the 2014 election, Modi had promised to keep growing and assimilating more people.
to create one crore jobs, and taken shots at the However, that is not all. The government needs to
jobless growth during the previous UPA regime. ramp up its efforts to attract foreign investment,
However, if numbers are anything to go by, the allow private players to expand their facilities and
NDA government is faring much worse. After form a channel that effectively builds a pipeline of
peaking to an all-time high of 9.5 lakh new jobs per skilled talent.
year between 2009 and 2011, job creation has seen A population wherein a majority is unskilled
a steady fall. After increasing in 2014, creation of and unemployed can tip the scales anytime; and
new jobs has progressively nose-dived. Between that is a challenge that the government needs to
2015 and 2016, the average has dipped to less than consider credibly. The government is known for
2 lakh jobs per year. During the second quarter of being opportunistic, creative and taking risks; it
2016, this number dipped to a new low of 77,000, as should extend the same qualities to its skilling and
per the information by Labour Bureau. employment interventions.
As per a report in The Hindu, when job creation
dipped to 1.5 lakh in textiles, metal, leather, gems References
Prasad Committee Report: http://msde.gov.in/report-ssc.
and jewelry, IT and BPO, transport, automobiles html

JULY 2017 | 19
 From research to job search
Google makes it easy
It is speculated that
in addition to the
new Google for Jobs,
the company is also
experimenting with an
ATS-type of application
for employers called
Google Hire
partners including Monster, Glassdoor, Career-
Builder and LinkedIn to understand more about
f e a t u r e

what exactly people are looking for. The API is

capable of recognizing which of the terms refer to
the same job profiles and clusters them together,
which will make job search far more efficient.
Googles recent initiative Google for But what is extremely interesting is that
Jobs aims to make it all easy for job Google for Jobs is a moniker which was previ-
seekers to search for jobs A look ously being used by Indeed, the largest aggregator
n e w s

of jobs currently in the world. This is also being

into what this tool is about seen as a direct hit for Indeed which would likely
By Ridhi Chugh be the most affected by this move. As reported

F
in this analysis, there have been complains by
or a technology giant that organizes employers worldwide about Indeeds job listing
the worlds information and makes it being ranked higher on the Google search page
accessible to people, it is not surprising than the one on their own career pages, and in
that it will now also make it easy for all probability, Google would leverage its existing
job seekers to search for jobs. Google search capabilities to bring more visibility to the
has launched Google for Jobs, an initiative which original job postings on its website.
would not just be listing the jobs for the white For now, Google would be sourcing job postings
collar workers, but would sort through job listings from its partners, but it is extremely likely that
and optimize matching job opportunities with it would also tie up with the employers directly
candidates. This initiative is a combination of in the long run for postings on its search engine.
Googles ongoing developments in the field of Arti- But what truly puts Google in an advantageous
ficial Intelligence and its established search engine position is that unlike other job portals for whom
capabilities, and seems to be a celebration for the getting jobs posted on their websites is a task and
job seekers world over. job postings are their major source of revenue,
Google CEO Sundar Pichai at Googles devel- Google does not need people to post on its net-
oper conference mentioned that 46 percent of US work, rather, the information is readily available,
employers face talent shortages and have issues and all it needs is to index it according to the
filling open job positions. While job seekers may relevance to the user and probably the urgency of
be looking for openings right next door theres the employer. The users will also have the option
a big disconnect hereWe want to better connect to apply to jobs directly from the search tool.
employers and job seekers through a new initia- In the future, it would not be surprising if
tive, Google for Jobs. Last November, Google Google provides a host of services to both job
had announced jobs Application Programming seekers and the employers. In fact, it is specu-
Interface, and when Google started working on it, lated that in addition to the new Google for Jobs,
they realized that people often search for jobs on the company is also experimenting with an ATS-
Google but they type in different terms referring to type of application for employers called Google
the same job role. It then started the work with its Hire.
20 | JULY 2017
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 Monodip Chaudhuri

Maternity kicks: Laboring

to score an own goal
An ill-considered attempt to help a cause can convert the best intentions into
an "own goal" with potentially disastrous ramifications. The recent amendment
to the Maternity Benefit Act is a perfect example

W
hen the recent amendment to be said that we have certainly improved since our
the Maternity Benefit Act 1961 independence. The best colleges and institutions
became law, Women and Child have produced outstanding women and they have
Development Minister Mrs. more than held their own in the workplace in a
Maneka Gandhi proudly claimed, hitherto totally male-dominated society. In HR, we
"We have made history." It is debatable whether have seen employers shift from point blank refusal
this is the kind of history we need. This refers to reluctant acceptance of women employees, and
to a clause in the Amendment which raises the that reluctance is waning as returns are becoming
period of maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks with apparent. With this enactment, it is very likely that
another month added for complications. The addi- we will be going back to square one. This time the
tional month makes sense; the 26 weeks does not. reluctance is no longer prejudicial but eminently
As a nation, we have little to be proud of practical. It promises to get worse in days to come.
Op i n i o n

when it comes to our legacy of treating women This time around, as just mentioned, the
in years gone by. Among other things, we had reluctance will not stem from a mental block. We
left the matter of womens education untouched. must remember that an employer is not a social
Our grandmothers somehow learnt to write their crusader. He runs a business and he owes it to
names in the vernacular and that was it. None his stakeholders to run it well, with optimum
other than the great Swami Vivekananda, after efficiency and cost effectiveness. Asking him to try
his first visit to America and Europe, admon- out a woman employee with the knowledge that
ished us about this and proclaimed that without she may get married, have a family and be away
womens upliftment no society can prosper. Let it from the workplace on paid leave for 26 weeks

As a nation, we have
little to be proud of when
it comes to our legacy of
treating women in years
gone by
twice over is going to be a very tough ask. Working
from home and itinerant options do not always
work out. Women already employed may benefit,
but what about the future? Even those employed
at present may well feel that their careers have
taken a beating as they are quietly side-lined for
promotions and greater responsibilities. The typi-
cal Indian solution to fix a problem is to allocate a
quota. If that happens then meritocracy goes for a
toss. Surely our objective must be a "fair" and not a
"skewed' employment opportunity for women.
It is extremely difficult to fathom out logic for
this particular clause in the amendment which
22 | JULY 2017
critically harms womens employability in the sole responsibility of minding hearth and home.
future. Is it a case of misplaced concern or knee- We were just coming out of this legacy and now
jerk populism? this! I am reluctant to give too much credit to the
The Hon'ble Minister has stated that this social awareness of our elected representatives
change will produce healthy children. Laudable since I have been given to understand only about
thinking. However, when women of the future 53 MPs including 11 women were in the Lok Sabha
do not get jobs in an age where double income is when this Bill was being discussed. One may feel
a must and not a fad, it is debatable whether the justified in wondering how many would have been
health of children will derive benefit from tight- present if some scam was under the spotlight.
ened budgetary constraints at home. It is no secret All in all, it needs reiteration that whenever
that the job market is not growing sufficiently any- such measures are contemplated, a hard look is
where in the world including India and now with
this legislation the employer will naturally look at
the male species as a first choice, given the require-
ment to give prolonged leave to the other gender.
The new generation of potential working women,
growing up to be more educated, more mobile and
more spirited, will be severely hit by this change.

An employer is not a
social crusader asking
him to try out a woman

Op i n i o n
employee with the
knowledge that she
may get married, have a
family and be away from
the workplace on paid
leave for 26 weeks twice
over is going to be a very
tough ask

Moreover, we have, over the last 7 decades, moved necessary at all the future ramifications. Nations
away from a paternalistic society and it is increas- are not run by lofty intentions and ideals alone.
ingly understood that parenthood today is a joint Ground realities, past legacies and future pitfalls
responsibility. Paternity Leave is also talked about. must be considered. It is not intended to infer that
In one fell swoop, this enactment brutally shifts the the powers that be did not have the common good
onus of child rearing straight back onto the lap of in mind, but as mentioned in the very first line,
the mother alone. Is this desirable? Arguably not. the result may well be that we have scored an own-
In going back to the figure of 26, one cannot but goal. Worse still, an immediate rectification is not
wonder how this came about. Let it be said that likely to be politically feasible. By the time it may
nobody would suggest that this is an arbitrary be, alas, the damage would have been done.
figure but the logic needs to be understood. The
International Labour Organization has recom-
mended 14 and we were only two short. How the About the author

number 26 was arrived at is baffling. Given that Monodip Chaudhuri is the Founder of Acumen
half of 52 weeks in a year is 26, was it a case of Associates Inc, HR/IR Consultants with 4 decades of
divide and rule or a play of divisive forces? It is leadership experience in ITC Ltd, Shaw Wallace and Exide
pointless to argue that one or two countries are Industries Ltd.
even more liberal. They do not have our legacy of
keeping women away from the workplace with the - >[email protected]

JULY 2017 | 23
i n t e r v i e w
b i g

Microsofts Technology
Evangelist Norm Judah
In an exclusive interaction with People Matters, Norm Judah, Microsofts
Chief Technology Officer of Services shares his outlook and insights on the
role of HR in capability building, the role of the CTO, delivering solutions,
disruptive technologies and skillsets for the future
By Ester Martinez & Suparna Chawla Bhasin

24 | JULY 2017
N
orm Judah, Chief Technology Officer With respect to the three pillars you talked
of Microsoft Services holds a Masters about strategy, quality and people, how do you
of Applied Science from the University define your role and take decisions?
of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science The role of the CTO is part technologist, part
in Electrical Engineering from the University evangelist (bringing people with you), and part
of Witwatersrand. In this exchange of thoughts, external evangelist (meeting with customers,
he discusses the fundamentals of the disruptive presenting to them and listening to them too). And
organizational changes at Microsoft and how it is so this combination is what really defines the role.
building its people and changing lives with innova- An element of it is wisdom, which is the ability to
tive technology. see things. I have the best job as I sit between engi-
neering and customer and not between technology
As an outsider to the HR function but also as an and solution. The wonderful part of that is gluing
insider to the business as a business leader, what technology together to deliver amazing solutions.
do you think is the future of HR? And so being able to not only show things that work
It is incredibly interesting for me just to watch but to be able to demonstrate them it is an evan-
and see the rate of change of the people function gelist role but also a development role in terms of
and what they are doing. I have spent a lot of my bringing people with you along with enabling others.
time talking to people internally and externally For decisions, there are multiple input sources
about the function. Organizations are realizing that of influence. In our case as a provider, some of them
they can actually get much more out of their people, are based on engineering and some on research.
and when it comes to people productivity, the key Many of the things that you see today with AI,
sponsor should be the HR head. And so when we talk virtual or augmented reality or Cloud have come
about HR function holistically, it has to be an active out of the research environment. Internally, I am
player in its own change, because they are them- checking input sources and influences form both
selves their own customers. engineering and research. Externally, there is a
I have spent a fair amount of time on building
capability and readiness, and I think the overall

b i g
behavior of the people with you, the injection of new
talent and diverse opinion and views can change the When you combine strategy with
quality, it leads down to how you
way people work or integrate. The introduction of

i n t e r v i e w
different technologies and skillsets is a big part of
the partnership that exists between technical leader-
ship and people leadership these cant be separate build community, knowledge and
anymore. This is happening within Microsoft and
with customers we are touching across the world. readiness, and how you deliver
In many countries, whether emerging economies or
bigger economies, this question is arising constantly this to enable people around the
up the roll Is HR being able to redefine themselves
and actually be a part of it too? This is an interest-
world to collaborate and share
ing aspect because on the one hand, they are manag-
ing their own change while on the other they are
helping orchestrate changes too. huge customer influence part and some of it is what
customers are doing and some of it they are asking.
The office of a CTO is a crucial one for any The combination of those two is also very important.
organization but especially in an organization However, the magic lies in synthesis. Its the abil-
that has redefined what technology means to us ity to look at the sources together and make magic,
today. Tell us a bit about your journey to your and thats the capability we try to grow. Whether
current role. you are a CTO or an architect, its the ability to look
I have been in Microsoft for almost 27 years and at internal or external influences and sources that
I have had multiple careers. As far as the role of a enable you to execute the job you are trying to do.
CTO is concerned, I actually synthesize this role And theres a lot of internal, external and in-between
down to 3 core pillars: technical strategy (decid- collaboration that happens while doing this.
ing which technology to use and when; and how
you convert innovation to action), quality (doing How do you see the function of the CTO
it correctly) and people (how you grow technical evolving?
people and technical leadership, in particular). I love the energy that comes from change. And it is
When you combine strategy with quality, it leads an inherent part of this role. In commercial compa-
down to how you build community, knowledge and nies, a part of what the CTO works on is deciding on
readiness, and how you deliver this in a global the best thing to take, which translates into Where
organization in multiple languages to enable people am I going to take the company forward? But given
around the world to collaborate and share. So readi- the rate of change today, the question also is Do you
ness and community are tied together and have a take a financial lens for making decisions?, which
co-dependent relationship. And its not about what is that every time you make a decision, you also need
you know, but what a group of people know. to take a financial decision, not only a technical one.

JULY 2017 | 25
 And how you manage this role should be as if you are So whats stopping organizations to experiment
managing a portfolio of mutual funds. more?
My perspective, as a CTO is that if you are I think it comes down to giving the time and
not building things or not experimenting and energy to actually encourage experimentation.
understanding, you are essentially using your own Part of this is the fear of deciding right. People
inherent capabilities and outsourcing that. Today, usually struggle to decide the one rather than
most companies are insourcing it, because such experimenting. What I find in my conversations
decisions are fundamental to the transformation of with the technical leadership and also business
businesses. The CTO has a big role to play in that. leadership is that at times, business leadership or
And I think the wonderful opportunity they have is people can push the agenda to a certain extent, but it
to play that role. actually comes from initiative and being inquisitive.
There is a need for agility in experimentation
Can you throw some light on how organizations because technology is evolving quickly. One of the
can make decisions that are transformational for conversations we are having is how to innovate
their business models? as a provider of technology or a consumer of
One of the things that many people are investing technology. We are seeing organizations setting up
today in the scope of Artificial Intelligence is bots. innovation labs/centers that are places for people to
innovate. This is an enabling idea of innovation in
an agile way.

The role of a CTO is part You mentioned synthesis for making magic.
technologist, part evangelist Tell us how prevalent this is in the business
environment today?
(bringing people with you), and From a business perspective, the magic is in being
able to connect the dots. I will give you an example.
part external evangelist (meeting A retail company was redoing its stores and was
trying to understand the customer sentiment. They
with customers, presenting to
i n t e r v i e w

installed devices with smiley faces, and frowning

them and listening to them too) faces and what they asked the customers to do was
to press those buttons according to how they felt.
But what they could do instead is use the security
cameras and recognize the customer sentiment by
Theres a common view of what a bot is and what looking at the video footage of people who come in
an artificial agent or an intelligent agent is. One the store. And more than that, you can recognize the
of the ways of doing this is to actually experiment demographics. You can actually build a demographic
with it. You can experiment with a bot in a call model in an anonymous way that can give you richer
b i g

center. Microsoft is doing work with a bank in Latin information than just somebody pressing a smiley
America that is actually looking at how they can face button or not. That for me is a simple example
relieve the load in their call center for simple calls of taking two random things and being able to
related to balance, transactions etc. so that they connect them together. So in technology or business,
can create capacity in the call center to do more connecting those dots is important.
complex things. You can experiment and you can
move with that in an incredibly agile way to get an Whats your opinion on what would be the most
understanding. disruptive technologies of the future and what kind
Lets take another example, of a retail company of bets are you taking?
that has a website and a physical store. What you Six years back, I was asked in an interview,
could do using a bot is actually connect those two What do you think about the Cloud? And at that
environments (the website and the physical store); time, people were questioning the Cloud. Today,
you can use the bot as an immigration point between people are asking if and when. But in five years,
the virtual and the physical. For example, when you the conversation will be how and why. Today, the
are considering to buy a television set, you can do number of people who are moving to the Cloud is
the homework online and can go to the store to buy more than what most people expected. I will say
it without the sales associate knowing as to what you the same thing about Artificial Intelligence. A lot
have been looking for. But if those two environments of people are investigating it but the reality is that
can be connected, when you go in to the store, the the conversations about AI are about Whether I
store associate via a connection will know who you should use it or not? In five years, the conversation
are, and what you have been looking for and they can will be How do I use AI and how it has changed the
sell it to you. So the goal is selling more in a short business? I think that AI, broadly, is going to be one
amount of time. of those massive bets that will be durable.
Such are the places where you could actually One of the other places where we are seeing a
experiment today. Instead of waiting for the absolute lot of investment today is in Augmented Reality
big thing, you can use real world problems to under- (AR) and AR is really changing the way people are
stand technology, rather than doing it in a lab and not interacting with systems. We spent the last forty
really understanding. years teaching people how to use computers, and

26 | JULY 2017
Augmented Reality will change that as computers What is your opinion on the advancements
will now suddenly understand people; this means in technology affecting areas like privacy and
that the relationship that people have with systems security?
either as a consumer or a part of the supply chain I think the essence of it is trust to me, my
will change dramatically. Its no longer the computer company and the systems and people I deal with
but the system that a person interacts with. So there and how they deal with my information. Do I know
are a number of bets like that. what they are doing with my information? Where
they are storing or sharing my information? Trust
You mentioned that the relation between becomes the essence of all of this. If my data is
humans and systems will change. How do you valuable and I get value out of it, then I might agree
think this will manifest? to you sharing it. People need to understand that it is
If you take a slightly medium term view, their data and they own it, how that data gets estab-
as an individual, a lot of work that I am doing lished, the privacy and trust of where it goes, I think
relates to finding information, collaborating with that will differentiate how we deal with this problem.
people, and getting things done. Today, I have to be But I think there is an incredible value in the ability
knowledgeable about how to do them, how to find of a system to help you collaborate and communi-
things, how to switch, and all the way to getting cate; and people will place that value against the
things done the actual task completion. I feel value of their data and context. My context is my
that the interaction of people and systems in the context and I should be accountable for how its
future, a large part will be through an intelligent being used; and it only comes with trust.
agent, who will know you and your preferences,
who will help you in getting things done in different
If you were to build a team for the future, what
ways. But theres an interesting break point to
would be your strategy for recruiting talent and
this, and it will happen when the agent changes
what skillsets would you recommend for the
from becoming advisory to doing things itself.
future?
That subtle change will happen at some point, but Internally, from a Microsoft view, we are a global
it will be in your control to decide when you are
company with a global presence. We deal with small

b i g
comfortable switching from that advisory mode to
and large customers all around the world and across
a closed feedback loop. What it means is that your
interaction with the system wont be through 150

i n t e r v i e w
apps that are sitting on your phone, but it would
through an agent. But there is an interesting
consequence to this, which is that as a company, as
The relationship that people
an entity that deals with customers and consumers,
the agent reflects the brand of the company
have with systems either as a
much like a website that reflects the brand of the
company it is a deep integration of who you are
consumer or a part of the supply
as a business. Thats going to happen to the agents
as well; your agent will become a reflection of your
chain will change dramatically
business. The interaction that you have with the
system will be a part of a collaboration that will
come through the agent in some way. So you will see multiple industries and so, we are very interested
a lot more of it. in actually being represented where our customers
are. The other thought is injecting people at different
You mentioned that the systems will become an layers of experience, from industry experienced to
additional source for us to get work done. How do university hires. Having a diverse view is important.
you see the future of workplace and employment? And it is related to the role of HR. This requires
I think that different people will do different the HR team to become more analytical and use
things. In every lifetime we have multiple careers, the information and integrate it with external
Ive probably have had two or three, and in my information for identifying and matching patterns
view, what makes me successful is operating within or anti-patterns. Growth of any company will be in
the environment that I operate in, building an the ability to attract and retain interesting people
incredible network and connecting with people. The doing interesting work.
other side of it is the environment where there are The real question today is around what students
people who like change, take risks and enjoy the at high school or university level should be learning
excitement and the ability to grow in different ways. so that they are employable in ten or fifteen years
There will be people who will be very successful time. I think that the essence of that is going to
in one environment and people who will be very be in the core elements of data, understanding
successful in the other. What is wonderful about this schema, models and systems, reviewing supply
is the connection; the systems know the provider chain, medical etc. and understanding the way
and the suppliers contexts, and the ability to match systems work. Its not a single specific skill but broad
those two things can become sophisticated. Finding systemic thinking, and a definite core capability of
people and information will accelerate dramatically, data, as well as understanding information because
and thats the part I like. thats going to be present in everything we do.

JULY 2017 | 27
 Visty Banaji

The Attrition Advantage

Use Dont Shoot the
Messenger
Voluntary attrition is not just valuable as an indicator that the
organizations health is stressed but it can yield substantive benefits too

I
ts been a long time since I heard this The point is not to glorify voluntary CEO and Business Partners with her in
fable by Aesop (when people didnt attrition and never seek to curb it. But if it formulating the strategy, it should be possi-
think it was a misspelt Employee is simply suppressed before mature people ble to explain at what stage these processes
Stock Option Plan), so I may have managing processes are in place, artifi- will have enough traction to retain and
a few details wrong. There was a cially lowered attrition can make the organ- engage an increasing proportion of high
stag called Techmajor who stood admiring izations health worse instead of better. As performers. These will take time. When the
himself in the pool of public perception. we shall see, during this phase of immature CEO demands immediate solutions, some
The Road Less Travelled

He was the proudest of his antlers, one of people systems, letting attrition continue CHROs are only too eager to present quick-
which he named 'foreign' and the other he may not be such a bad idea after all. fixes. A classic one being a demand for
named 'postings'. But he was ashamed of higher staff compensation. Not only does
his four legs which he derisively called Vo, Attrition is the Symptom Not the this put the ball neatly back in the CEOs
La, Tree and Shun. He went to Dr. Comp, Disease court but the enhancement will ultimately
an orthopedic surgeon, and paid lots of A harried business leader in a start-up asks raise CHROs pay-boat as well! Even if
money to get his legs cut shorter. One day the CHRO to do something about the very such fixes work temporarily, they have not
a lion called Business Downturn (no more high levels of attrition. So far so good. A tackled the root causes of attrition. It is
names, I promise) started chasing Tech- sound CHRO will already have worked out like treating typhoid with Aspirin.
major. He ran as fast as his now shortened an HR strategy which plans on putting a In fact, voluntary attrition is not just
legs could carry him. Unfortunately, his series of foundational and then increas- valuable as an indicator that the organiza-
antlers got caught in a trump tree (well, ingly sophisticated people processes and tions health is stressed. Given below are
just one more) and he became lion protein. practices into place. If she has carried the some examples of the more substantive
benefits it can yield as well.

Restructuring With Minimum

Distress and Cost
Organizations at the stage of evolution
where their people practices do not provide
adequate adhesion for talent are also likely

Organizations
that operate a
meritocratic
culture need to be
prepared for the
fallout when their
top talent competes
strenuously
for positions of
leadership
28 | JULY 2017
to have fluctuating workforce require-
ments or lack the predictive ability to avoid Organizations that
downsizings and layoffs. In such situa-
tions, attrition provides the least expensive
have not developed
means of bringing down the headcount
and, the higher the attrition, the quicker
comprehensive
the process. selection solutions
Clearly this does require an investment
in training some people before deploying risk repeated
them to new roles but this is generally
more economical than redundancy payouts
disruption because
and invariably less damaging to morale.
It may be objected that such deployments
it is the almost-as-
dont always place people with the right good contender who
aptitude for the roles they are to occupy. In
reality, I have found people frequently dis-
can spread the worst
covering the right aptitudes in themselves
when the alternative is redundancy.
disaffection and
cynicism
Stopping Second-best Suppuration are better equipped to fulfill them. In some
Organizations that operate a meritocratic cases, the same employees may come back
culture need to be prepared for the fallout with varied exposures, wanderlust satis-
when their top talent competes strenuously fied and a true appreciation of what the Sequence is the Key
for positions of leadership. Sound selection organization they initially left has to offer. It is worth reiterating that the argument

The Road Less Travelled

programs dont stop only at identifying There is a secondary benefit of depar- we have been pursuing applies only to
the best but go on to counsel and place the tures in organizations where business voluntary attrition. Forced attrition (or
'just missers' into other challenging roles. growth has slowed (or where productivity the sudden discovery of the precipice at
Organizations that have not yet developed gains are sufficient to mop it up). Oppor- the end of the bell curve) in fact adds to
such comprehensive selection solutions tunities for progression are created at the disgruntlement instead of relieving the
risk repeated disruption because it is the next lower level which may otherwise not pent up pressure.
almost-as-good contender who can spread arise for long periods, especially when the It is equally important to note that this
the worst disaffection and cynicism. As workforce is homogeneously aged. is not a call to give up the battle for reten-
Exeter points out (in Shakespeares Henry tion. Its just that the battle must be fought
VI): Preventing Disaffection from with sustainable strategies which make a

"When Envy breeds unkind division:

Coagulating long-term difference to the attractiveness
The above is only one instance of attri- of the organization. In the meantime, attri-
There comes the ruin, there begins
tion taking festering disaffection out of tion is preferable to bolting down unhappy
confusion."
the system before it can do much harm. people to stay through short-tem (usually
Far better, in such situations, for the In the absence of well-developed people monetary) fixes.
ones who dont make the cut to find careers processes, this is perhaps the most valu- People of my generation will remember
elsewhere than that golden handcuffs and able service attrition provides. There is the Simon and Garfunkel favorite, 'Sounds
other attrition alleviators shackle them to some similarity to an amputation saving of Silence'. I hope they will forgive me for
the enterprise while they are still smarting a gangrenous limb from infecting the rest tweaking its opening lyrics:
from their loss. of the body except that here (in the case
Hello attrition, my old friend,
of voluntary attrition) the disaffected part
I've come to visit you again.
Market-managing Careers excises itself. It is important, of course,
Because when the vision starts sleeping
Even long-established, people-friendly to ensure that the best performers are
And people processes are only slowly
enterprises are hard pressed to establish still retained and only others take the exit
creeping,
robust talent management processes, option. This much is expected from HR
It's not so bad if you still remain
where the organizations future needs for even before more sustainable attrition
To relieve the strain,
leaders is met while individuals can make reduction processes are in place.
And restore a sense of balance.
career choices that best permit them to One of the ways in which untreated
develop their potential. The plight of start- unhappiness reveals itself is through
ups (and of other corporates that have not unionization in employee categories that
bothered to develop people processes much were so far immune from it. What is hap-
beyond recruitment and on-boarding) can pening today in the tech space will imme-
well be imagined. In such situations, indi- diately come to mind. While unionization
viduals can face frustration, stagnation in this sector owes its origin to far more
and dissatisfaction even though the organi- egregious people management errors, most
zation may be growing. Till these processes of these majors are still actively trying to About the author

are satisfactorily implemented, it is prefer- buy retention, which actually aggravates

Visty Banaji is the Founder and CEO of
able that discontented employees take their the problems the current downturn in Banner Global Consulting (BGC)
aspirations to other organizations which their business is causing.
JULY 2017 | 29
 Murad Salman Mirza

The Dilemma of
Decision-making
There is no doubt that astute decision-making is a difficult skill to master.
A look at how organizations and leaders can realize the vulnerabilities &
pitfalls for charting successful initiatives

T
aking decisions is a natural con-
sequence of being confronted Prevailing rules/
with tantalizing situations and
organizations are routinely
regulations
expected to make sound judg-
ments for ensuring the efficacy of their
under a formal
business practices, especially, to placate legal framework
S t r a t e g y & In s i g h t s

the key stakeholders. However, quite often,

organizations are hampered by extenuating significantly impact
circumstances that impede timely and inci-
sive decision-making leading to floundering
decision-making,
in the business wilderness. This debilitat- especially, in terms
ing stagnancy is further exacerbated by the
perplexing inability to effectively realize of employment,
any decisions that are eventually taken.
Lets take a brief look at some of the key
corporate
aspects to appreciate the inherent complex-
ities in the respective context.
governance, data
ship of uninhabited Senkaku islands2 has
protection and
External Factors
These aspects have the capacity to
led to curtailment of several Japanese
businesses in China due to incidences of
privacy concerns
adversely influence astute decision-making.
violent backlash.
They are generally harder to predict and
planning an effective recourse is challeng- Economic Uncertainty age and the Internet proliferation has led
ing due to the burdening presence of such Precarious economic conditions can to the emergence of new players that have
uncontrollable factors. Examples include: also be a big headache for organizations embraced innovation and nimbleness at
trying to make sense of the prevailing a much greater rate than the lumbering
Political Considerations
circumstances to survive and/or thrive industry titans. This has been true in
Government policies tempered by the
in a competitive business environment. case of technology-intensive firms like
prevailing political climate can play a
Examples include, sourcing desired tal- Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, eBay,
crucial role in shaping the decisions of
ent in a shrinking labor market, keeping etc., that have created major disruptions
organization since they can be progressive
business afloat in view of rising costs of within their associated/aligned sectors by
or stifling in nature, e.g., a high tax regime
critical production materials, staggering radically changing the business paradigm.
can force a business to shift operations
expansion plans due to fickle customer Being blindsided by such astute com-
abroad, although, that might not be the
base, etc. A particularly tough challenge petitors has increased the stakes for even
preferred option due to the damage caused
is to predict the cyclical nature of the previous trendsetters, e.g., Microsoft being
to the local economy. Such a predicament
overarching economic activity and trying famously late in embracing the mobile
has been faced by multiple companies in
to formulate robust business strategies realm and Wal-Mart struggling to develop
the developed world, e.g., US, UK, France,
that can withstand its fluctuating nature, an online retail presence to embrace the
with accusations of innovative tax avoid-
especially, when global reverberations are demands of the digital age. Additionally,
ance techniques, such as, Tax inversion1
involved, e.g., due to the symbiotic relation- the fear of becoming irrelevant or obsolete
levied against prominent businesses.
ship between the major stock markets of due to the emergence of revolutionary
Another dynamic aspect is the wobbly
the world. technologies adds another grey area
relationship between the parent country
of an organization and the host country, Disruptive Technologies within the thought processes behind the
for e.g., the recent escalation of tensions The pace of growth has substantially envisaging of strategic imperatives for
between Japan and China over owner- increased with the arrival of the digital ensuring a viable going concern status.

30 | JULY 2017
 Legal Ramifications
Prevailing rules/regulations under a
formal legal framework is another area
that has a significant impact on decision-
making, especially, in terms of employ-
ment, corporate governance, data protec-
tion and privacy concerns. One of the
key challenges comes in the form of local
labor laws that are sometimes overprotec-
tive in terms of securing better employ-
ment opportunities and safeguarding the
citizens, due to which companies have to
accommodate such stipulations within
their own Talent Management policies and
procedures, e.g., several GCC countries3
have promulgated laws that focus on ensur-
ing certain percentage of the workforce
within corporate entities being locals who
are given much better pay packages that
their expat peers, such as, the Emiratiza-
tion program in UAE, the Omanization
program in Oman, the Saudization pro-
gram in Saudi Arabia, etc. Such measures
tend to cloud the desired meritocracy that
If the confidence of employees is not
needs to be embedded within the Corpo- redeemed by an invigorating leadership
rate Talent Management System to ensure
then any attempt made to inculcate a

S t r a t e g y & In s i g h t s
organizational justice4. Consequently,
relevant decisions become subservient to
prevailing legal stipulations of doing busi-
profound sense of purpose to accomplish
ness in a certain country which can create difficult challenges can become an
different standards of working within
subsidiaries of the same MNC that are exercise in futility
operating in different regions of the world.
Environmental Issues
The adverse impact of an organizations Internal Factors management trend after another hoping to
products and services on the environ- These aspects have a penchant for achieve efficiency nirvana, while, leaving
ment has become a significant liability debilitating sound decision-making and its a trail of half-cooked meals along the way
for competitive businesses, especially effective implementation from inside the to corporate wilderness.
multinationals who are obliged to main- organization by aggravating simmering Inhospitable Organizational Struc-
tain a pristine reputation to sustain their misgivings, deepening fractured relation- tures
global appeal and formulate decisions that ships, fomenting a corrosive grapevine and Organizations are vibrant entities that
are in congruence with such considera- exploiting systematic breakdowns between thrive on dynamic interactions. The extent
tions. This has translated into review and the various hierarchical levels within an to which these can be beneficial is largely
refinement of internal business practices, organization. Examples include: determined by how organizations are struc-
often after a major disaster has occurred, Disjointed Leadership tured. For example, highly centralized and
which are frequently much more stringent Employees look to their leadership for bureaucratic setups are liable to have slower
than those required by several countries vision, direction, role modeling and inspi- decision- making, proliferation of risk-
where such organizations tend to operate ration. However, if their confidence is not averse attitudes and plethora of managers
routinely. Examples include, the Bhopal redeemed by an invigorating leadership donning the garb of leaders. This can be
gas leak in India5, the Deepwater Hori- then any attempt made to inculcate a pro- easily visualized by Hofstedes Cultural
zon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico6, the found sense of purpose to accomplish dif- Dimensions Theory9, e.g., in case of ASEAN
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster7, etc. ficult challenges can become an exercise in and East Asian countries (next page).
Costs are a major issue in terms of the futility. This is further exacerbated by any The aforementioned aspects become
changes needed to comply with regula- bungling in the prioritization of objectives even more pronounced in organizations
tory standards and companies often that need to be achieved in order to ensure that operate as Monopolies, Duopolies or
seek remedies that mitigate, rather than a steady progressive stride. Another aspect Oligopolies. Such entities are generally
eliminate, the undesirable byproducts of that creates confusion with respect to lulled into a sense of complacency buoyed
their business, e.g., industries that utilize roles, responsibilities and authorities in by a firm belief in their invincibility.
coal as a fuel have an inherent propensity the organization and exhausts meaningful However, they are prime candidates for a
for pollution and can only strive within a endeavors for aiding timely and effective rude awakening from disruptive competi-
workable margin to reduce the harmful implementation of insightful decisions tors who can easily expose the frailties of
impact before the bottom line starts hurt- is the phenomenon of fad-surfing8. This their decision making processes as they
ing. Such industries are naturally caught erodes the confidence of employees in scramble to maintain their relevance in the
in a dilemma when engaging in strategic their leadership as the latter rides one market.
business decisions.
JULY 2017 | 31
 fests in weak talent pipelines, futile succes-
HOFSTEDE FIVE DIMENSIONS: ASEAN + EAST ASIA sion planning and high attrition rates.
Aseans China Japan South Korea Taiwan
Disgruntled Middle Management
120
Middle management is the backbone of
corporate entities. They have a finger on the
100 pulse of the organization and are critical to
the smooth operationalization of strategic
80 imperatives. Any disturbance within their
ranks, e.g., due to a fractured psychologi-
cal contract, can send echoes of discontent
60
throughout the organization and create
major impediments for any progressive ini-
40 tiatives. This is complicated by the fact that
most of such resentment is borne inter-
20 nally and is reflected through passive resist-
ance which may not be even discernible to
an apathetic leadership. On the other hand,
0 companies with a major union presence are
PDI IDV MAS UAI LTO susceptible to industrial actions which have
Legend: PDI = Power Distance Index, IDV = Individualism, MAS = Masculinity, Source: https://lnkd.in/fd46q7g the capacity to derail any improvement/
UAI = Uncertainty Avoidance Index, Long-Term Orientation transformative exercise and significantly
damage the employer brand. The first
casualty with a peeved middle management

The remedy initiatives is conveyed, understood and

embraced by the various process owners
is clear and honest communication that
cedes control to a rampant grapevine that is
for avoiding at various rungs of the organization.
S t r a t e g y & In s i g h t s

almost impossible to control in the absence

Another aspect is the tantalizing expecta- of vigorous confidence building measures.
brinkmanship with tions pertaining to corresponding reward
and recognition that simmer below the On Parting
corporate disaster surface of a laudable achievement. It is There is no doubt that astute decision-
requires an honest generally advisable for the leadership to
be proactive in assessing, realizing and
making is a difficult skill to master even for
leaders of prominent organizations. The
self-appraisal and ensuring the robustness of their organiza-
tions business processes before embark-
stakes are dangerously raised if a lackadai-
sical attitude is adopted towards decisions
venturing into the ing upon ambitious initiatives that can and their implementation, especially, for

dark alleys of the test the foundations of organizational

cohesiveness for successful implementa-
those residing in a leadership bubble and
shielded by a team of sycophants. The
organization to tion. remedy for avoiding brinkmanship with
corporate disaster requires an honest
realize the sources Corrosive Organizational Politics
Trying to climb the corporate ladder can self-appraisal and venturing into the dark

of real discontent be an arduous and hazardous journey,

especially, for the uninitiated ones in the
alleys of the organization to realize the
sources of real discontent and taking trans-
art of organizational politics. This plays parent, accommodative and prudent steps
havoc with the ability of those entrusted to alleviate organizational discord before
Systemic Process Deficiencies with the responsibility of taking decisions embarking upon any improvement/trans-
Efficient business processes are the that have profound impacts on the future formative measures for achieving organiza-
lifeblood of a well-functioning organiza- of the organization. For example, a weak tional excellence. Care to engage?
tion. Any impediments in the smooth flow and insecure leader will hesitate to take
of their associated activities can create a decision that can antagonize a sizeable References
bottlenecks that can hinder the achieve- segment of the employee population and/ 1. https://lnkd.in/bCZCiuV
2. https://lnkd.in/biAn6Gq
ment of desired strategic and operational or powerful unions. He/she will instinc- 3. https://lnkd.in/b3QAVfn
goals. For example, any business initiative tively seek a compromise with the power- 4. https://lnkd.in/bqitqSd
for introducing a new product/service 5. https://lnkd.in/b_wE_Vr
ful quarters which can result in diluting 6. https://lnkd.in/bPASmWb
needs harmonization of interactive the goal of making the decision in the 7. https://lnkd.in/b37kRPQ
processes complemented by synergistic first place. Consequently, either the goal is 8. https://lnkd.in/bN3VwwJ
9. https://lnkd.in/bDj9vKv
collaboration of all functions at various not met or a general apathy descends on
hierarchies within the organization. Such the workplace regarding any meaningful About the author
decisions can be dreadfully delayed or impact of leaders who are often carica-
Murad Salman Mirza is an innovative
unceremoniously laid to waste if there tured as stooges of powerful interests.
thinker and an astute practitioner in areas
are no seamless handovers between the Organizational culture pervading in such within and associated with the fields
constituent elements of various associated a work environment is often corrosive and of Organizational Development, Talent
activities. One of the related challenges is real talent is routinely brushed aside in Management and Business Transformation
how the formulation/significance of such favor of nepotistic practices. This mani-

32 | JULY 2017
IMAGINE
IMAGINE TECH
TECH COMPANIES
COMPANIES
WITHOUT
WITHOUT NEXT
NEXT GENERATION
GENERATION
TALENT
TALENT

ASSESS.
ASSESS. IDENTIFY.
IDENTIFY. UP-SKILL
UP-SKILL TALENT.
TALENT.
Today organizations are sensing, drawing Let Wheebox, leaders in online proctored
Today organizations are sensing, drawing Let Wheebox, leaders in online proctored
and framing next generation technology technology testing become your next
and framing next generation technology technology testing become your next
challenges however only few are geared up generation assessment partner to identify
challenges however only few are geared up generation assessment partner to identify
to get strategic value from it. Your existing and spot right talent for up-skilling.
to get strategic value from it. Your existing and spot right talent for up-skilling.
manpower up-skilled in next wave of
manpower up-skilled in next wave of Speak to our talent specialists to create a
emerging technologies like Artificial Speak to our talent specialists to create a
emerging technologies like Artificial new talent matrix and be ready to face the
Intelligence, Augmented Reality 3D Printing, new talent matrix and be ready to face the
Intelligence, Augmented Reality 3D Printing, new world of opportunities.
Big Data, IoT, Block-chain and Robotics new world of opportunities.
Big Data, IoT, Block-chain and Robotics
using tools like Hack, Rust, Julia, Scala, Dart,
using tools like Hack, Rust, Julia, Scala, Dart,
Ruby, Python, Haskell, R Programming, Perl
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generation business opportunities. A PEOPLESTRONG COMPANY
generation business opportunities. A PEOPLESTRONG COMPANY

Email: [email protected] or Call-Delhi: 9971333607, Bangalore:9901130906, Mumbai: 8888833675

Email: [email protected] or Call-Delhi: 9971333607, Bangalore:9901130906, Mumbai: 8888833675
 Abhijit Bhaduri

Sell your data and

make a living!
If robots take away our jobs, will selling our own data the next method by
which we will make money?

I rob banks because that's where the money is. channel, heard the same radio station. It was a

T
black and white world. You either had what many
his was the answer that a bank robber others had or you didnt. The goods were the same;
Willie Sutton (1901-1980) gave when and people had to fit in.
asked the question, Why did you rob The digital world is different in every way. It
the bank? Sutton reportedly made is an age of abundance. There are seven billion
over $2 million in the course of his versions of every product or service one for
many robberies and was on the Ten Most Wanted every person in the world. There are multiple
list of the FBI. He used to change his disguise ingredients offered and we pick what we like
every time. Sometimes he came dressed as a and create our own cocktail. Individuality is
policeman, a window washer, a maintenance man celebrated. Every member of the family is
HR

or even a bank guard. different. It is this celebration of the individual

But that was in the analog world. that is the foundation of the digital world. The only
In the digital world, the likes of Willie Sutton way the producers make money is when they are
DIGITAL

have proliferated. They are called hackers or able to create their products for a market of one.
cybercriminals. The browser and not the bank is That is why data is so precious. It is basis of
where we deposit the stuff that is more precious all individualization. That is where the money is.
than money our data. That is where the modern day Willie Sutton will
be found.
The age of Individualization
The analog world was all about mass production. You are being watched all the time!
It offered economies of scale. Choice was limited. When we install any software, it presents us with
We lived in a world of scarcity. Every house had a legalese filled End User License Agreement. The
the same brands. We watched the same television Windows Operating System agreement has 5268
words. None of us really read it before we press I
agree and get on with the task. Websites ask for
your permission to install cookies to track your
web surfing habits. Go to your phone settings and
you will be shocked how many apps have access
to your phones camera, microphone and geo-
location. All the permissions have been given by
you. Hence, we have all agreed to being tracked.
Google is a company that sells the data it
collects from all the free services like YouTube

Data is precious.
It is basis of all
individualization. That
is where the money
is. That is where the
modern day Willie
Sutton will be found
34 | JULY 2017
(just one of its free services) where people watch a
billion hours of videos every day. Data of a billion
kilometers of navigation is collected through
Google Maps. Googles search engine knows just
what you looked for. 500 million users upload 1.2
billion photos every day on Google Photos. 800
million users upload 3 billion objects every week
on Google Drive. When you connect the data that is
generated through each of these services, an awful
lot about you is known. This data can now be sold
for targeted ads.

Not just what to sell!

The Internet Service Provider (ISP) knows
every site you visited and every page you looked
at. So does your web browser. This can reveal
everything from your political views to your sexual
orientation. This can be used to personalize the ads
that you watch. The ads act like nudges that will
help companies sell us more stuff. But so can the
governments.
The data we generate is then used to craft
algorithms that can predict our next move. That
is the basis of all the nudges we get as we shop.
Those who bought X also bought Y is the
algorithm trying to figure out your next move. The

DIGITAL
algorithms are always trying to second guess you
till the time you give up controls of your life to
Instead of giving our data away for
the algorithm. free, we can now take control over
It is not just what is being collected and sold to
advertisers. Every time there is a data breach, your
what data is being collected about us
data lands up with someone you may not want to and how we can be paid for it a new

HR
be associated with. Government backed hackers,
underworld, terrorist organizations and much marketplace is springing up where
more land up grabbing a slice of your data without
your knowledge. you can profit from your own data
Make money by selling your own data
People donate their kidneys and get paid. Datacoup is a similar service that claims
Surrogate mothers get paid. Why dont we get paid
It's about time you earned more than a 'free
in the new currency? Our own data. Instead of
service' for your data. Datacoup is the only
giving it away for free, we can now take control
company that helps you sell your anonymous data
over what data is being collected about us and
for real, cold hard cash. It's simple. If you connect
how we can be paid for it. A new marketplace is
data, you'll earn.
springing up where you can profit from your own
data. They want to be ones to sell the digital
In the UK, Citizenme collects your data and footprints you leave behind. They want to be your
gives you a peek into how an advertiser will sole agents. If robots take away our jobs, will
categorize you. Once you install the ad and connect this be the next method by which we will make
your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, money? Maybe the world will be divided into two
you will see the data that is generated by you and or three major players and we will decide which
how the advertisers will use your profile. Then you data market we wish to sign up for. Every time we
can anonymize it and sell it. They become like your surf, we will be depositing some cash in our bank
authorized agent for selling your data. account. That will be the new definition of work
and pay.
Their site says:
Your data has value. Citizenme helps you About the author
exchange your personal data for cash rewards
anonymously with businesses. Your data will Abhijit Bhaduri is a columnist and the
author of the bestseller The Digital Tsunami. You
only be used for research purposes. The best thing
can follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter
is you get paid cash instantly into your PayPal
@AbhijitBhaduri
account. No minimum usage required.
JULY 2017 | 35
 Agility of the HR
will emerge as
game-changer
In an interaction with People Matters, Ankush Puri, Business Head -
India at Lee Hecht Harrison talked about the talent development
trends and challenges, the impact of automation, and how HR will
help organizations to tide through all such changes
By Shalini Sengupta

A
nkush Puri is the Business Head What are the talent development trends in
at Lee Hecht Harrison India. The India?
organization offers talent mobil- Talent Development in India is entering a new
ity solutions throughout the entire space. To a very large extent it gets defined by the
employee lifecycle from on-board- following:
ing, through career and leadership development,
Talent Demand Supply equation: For e.g. the
engagement and retention to redeployment and
Trump effect will alter the demand supply equa-
i n t e r v i e w

transition. Puris 18-years of experience maps

tion for the IT industry and the focus of organiza-
almost the entire HR spectrum from organization
tions will tilt from talent development to honing
development to performance and talent manage-
their talent acquisition practices or differences in
ment, change management and leadership consult-
terms of the competitiveness of a particular sec-
ing. At LHH, his responsibilities include business
tor. Thus, talent development in protected sectors
profitability through effective client consulting
will be driven by the policies rather than business
and associate management. Apart from this, he is
needs as compared to mediocre growth sectors
also an OD Consultant involved in driving Leader-
where it would be an active function but not as
ship Development and Executive Coaching Assign-
aggressive as high growth sectors.
ments nationally.
Maturity and effectiveness of the education
sector: A country like India still faces a huge gap
in terms of the requisite skill level and industry
readiness of Talent. A major chunk of learning is
still left to on the job.
Employee age groups: Sunrise sectors that thrive
on innovation, purpose, speed and disruption
may prefer to employ a younger work group as
compared to the mature and stable industrial sec-
tors. This yet again defines how each sector looks
at Talent Development as it is defined by the needs
and preferences of their Target talent group.

Technology is a
powerful tool that is
available to Human
Resource Managers,
waiting to be deployed
meaningfully
36 | JULY 2017
 While the above points necessitate the need for ensure that their human workforce is aligned and
a differential treatment, there are some common ready to adapt to the change in desired behaviors
threads that cut across these disparities like: and build the necessary skills, in time.
Subjectivity to scientific frameworks: Organi-
zations are gradually moving towards scientific How do you think technology is affecting
frameworks to breakdown job roles, identify and talent development in India?
Technology has had some major repercussions
define desired behaviors and establish frameworks
on talent development practices in India. Right
that help them structure a scientific approach to
from the emergence of technology-based platforms
talent development.
and gadget based learnings that have relieved the
Data Analytics: Organizations in India are managers from the shackles of distant geogra-
increasingly resorting to establish correla- phies, time constraints, mismatch to learning
tions between talent dimensions and work place styles to tools that accentuate speed and accuracy
behavior, thus leading to the emergence of a new in helping Human Resource Managers gather,
sub-sector i.e. HR analytics. analyze and draw meaningful inferences about
Revisiting qualification: Indian organizations performance and potential of employees.
are slowly moving out of the trap of perceiving To think of a Human Resource Manager trying
qualification to be a reflection of competencies. to assess potential candidates for a job opportunity
On the contrary, many organizations are seeking or planning successors or assessing leadership
support and successfully creating their own filter potential for a group of people across geographies,
mechanisms to define and identify talent based on equipped only with pen and paper tools, trying to
competencies, rather than using qualifications as a match their schedules, would have been a night-
predictor of behavior. mare in yesteryears. My salute to our predecessors
who managed these complexities! Technology
Challenging the stereotypes: India is waking
up to challenge stereotypical definitions like age,
gender, geography, functional experience, industry
exposure to tap into a latent potential talent base
within and outside the organization and thus grow
The need for speed, consistency,
accuracy and uniformity will compel

i n t e r v i e w
their talent reservoir multiple times.
Enterprise: Organizations are willing to experi-
ment and try out disruptive techniques and
organizations to get all the more
formats to develop talent, though the techniques
may seem not even remotely connected to the job
closer to technology; however, what
of the employees. we need to keep in mind is that even
Evolution of HR: Human Resource as a function
is evolving into a game-changer function, overtak-
technology needs to be managed by
ing the importance of finance in many sectors, as human interface
a function. The percolation and transference of HR
into the business is something that is increasingly
being practiced and recommended.
today is a powerful tool that is available to Human
Mass customization: While development has Resource Managers, waiting to be deployed mean-
emerged as a burning need and a compulsion ingfully.
to engage the workforce, the workforce is
in a position to demand customization and What are the challenges in talent develop-
contextualization, in the absence of which, they ment and how will HR as a function evolve to
are quick to reject the organizations development handle the challenges in this space?
initiatives and perceive a generalized approach as The 3 critical elements with respect to talent
lackadaisical attitude of the organization, towards that are Understanding Talent, Developing Talent
employees. and Deploying Talent, form the bedrock of an
organizations performance. While the solutions
On one hand, jobs are getting specialized lie here, so do the challenges. As India becomes
and on other hand technology is proving to be one of the few fast growing economies, the com-
a major competitor to human upskilling. What petitive scenario for organizations will change in
are the ways in which there can be a synthesis of India, the country will attract more organizations,
both with regard to talent development? more expats, the demographics of the work popu-
This is a trend, here, to stay. The need for speed, lation will undergo changes, and its the agility of
consistency, accuracy and uniformity will compel the HR to ensure uninterrupted talent flow, which
organizations to get all the more closer to technol- will emerge as the game changer. This would mean
ogy; however, what we need to keep in mind is that accuracy and further detailing in defining talent,
even technology needs to be managed by human faster and accurate means of evaluating talent,
interface. What might possibly change is the role innovative, customized methodology and content
of the human and the desired competencies. As for developing talent and meaningful, engaging
these changes unfold, the organizations need to ways of deploying talent.

JULY 2017 | 37
 The journey of CoCubes
a c q u i s i t i o n

Aon Hewitts acquisition of CoCubes, a hiring Mahindra formed the joint venture with Renault
while Volkswagen set up its office & manufactur-
assessment company in India, has added a new ing plant in India.
dimension to the existing set of assessment in India. A
look at CoCubes journey of growth in the HR market You can't connect the dots look-
ing forward; you can only connect
By Amol Pawar

T
them looking backwards. So you
he year 2007 was a remarkable year. have to trust that the dots will
This was the year when Indian start- somehow connect in your future.
ups especially technology start-ups Steve Jobs
were just coming up. This was the
year when Facebook had about 5% of From the year 2007, we will take a look back to
its current user base and its Founder CEO had the year 2005. In the year 2005, 2 friends, Vibhore
famously turned down the $1Billion offer from Goyal and Harpreet Grover graduated as Electrical
Yahoo & Viacom. A billion dollar valuation for a and Civil engineers from IIT Mumbai, accidentally.
start-up which was just 3 years old was an amazing I say accidently because like most engineers both
thing for most tech companies. This was to be later wanted to study some other branch of engineer-
known as the Unicorn, thanks to VC Aileen Lee. ing. They had been thinking of working together
The dot com boom and bust was behind us and and starting something on their own. They did
everyone was upbeat about Indias potential and start something of their own, however, working
especially solutions that fundamentally changed in 2 different setups. Vibhore was the first to quit
the way business was done using technology. his Microsoft campus job to work with Babajobs
During this time if you were a smart techie as CTO.
backed by a degree from one of the premier institu- Vibhore who came from a middleclass family
tions in India, you mostly thought of doing a and whose parents were not well-educated was
start-up and getting into this billion dollar club. It very clear from the beginning that he wanted to
was a time when most youngsters understood and get into programming. He started to learn coding
believed not only the potential for Indian market on his own and today, he is known for his ability
but also their ability to serve a global audience to code away in the night to finalize a solution.
from India. This was the year when Flipkart and He filed for 6 patents during his 18 months at
Myntra were founded. This was also the year when Microsoft. His exposure to last mile connectiv-
38 | JULY 2017
ity of device at Microsoft actually led him to join
the Babjobs team as CTO. As far as CoCubes was CoCubes was founded in August
concerned, the ground was getting set.
Harpreet on the other hand was more enterpris-
2007 and raised funding from
ing. He was someone who started a comic book Ojas Venture Partners and
store in 3rd standard and yes, ran it successfully angel investors
and profitably till his desire to read and share
In November 2016, Aon Hewitt, the global
comics existed. He continues to share interesting
talent, retirement and health solutions
books with individuals in his circle now. Soon after
business of Aon Plc, acquired CoCubes, a
graduating from IIT, he joined a Consulting firm hiring assessment company in an all-cash deal
and worked in data analytics and won an award not approximated at Rs 70-80 crores
for his knowledge of SAS, by his own admission.
He then experimented with BePrepared.in, meant
to be an interactive experience of interview, job
and career for students, but folded it up in about 2
years. CoCubes was formed by combining
I look at only 2 things when angel the experience of last mile digital
investing. Are you solving an
important problem? Do you care
connectivity & innovation, coupled
about the end users? with early experimentation with
- Gary Vaynerchuck students
The Early Days
Armed with this experience of last mile digital
to keep adding staff & manage relationships.
connectivity & innovation, coupled with early
The fact was, of 300 students appearing for the
experimentation with students, they both came
interview process only 3 were getting selected. So
together to start CoCubes. Like most ideas, this was

a c q u i s i t i o n
the need to move from sourcing to filtering hap-
triggered through a conversation with a relative,
pened and they moved to an annual contract with
who asked for help in placing someone who had
colleges. They were skeptical if colleges would pay
completed engineering from a regional college. The
for these assessments, but they did pay.
problem statement became clear to help connect
This was the time when they also decided to
multiple engineering colleges to companies and
buy S Quotient Analyzer, a company that oper-
provide equal employment opportunities.
ated in the field of competence benchmarking and
A quick market study, typically done to prove
assessments and was led by Saurabh Misra, BTech
yourself that you are right, was done to establish
(Gold Medallist) and an IIM Calcutta graduate.
that there were 100s of campus drives that took
This acquisition helped CoCubes quickly build a
place where companies sent their HR to multiple
battery of assessments and acquire the capability
locations to conduct campus interviews. But for
to build their own assessments.
the last 20 years, no technology solution was used
This was also the time when TVG Krishnamur-
to reduce this travel and multiple college interac-
thy, member of board of advisors of Ojas Ventures,
tions. The main hurdle was in fact the availability
the investors in CoCubes, asked them to focus on
of internet connectivity in colleges and the usage
present asset erosion and on building a profit-
of mobile being very low in the Tier-2 & 3 cities.
able venture.
Thus, through a pilot customer, the proof of con-
Come year 2011-12, and the slowdown in manu-
cept (POC) was quickly established. It was decided
facturing and IT hit the company hard, because of
to charge a certain fee to the company per campus
which CoCubes had to let go of a large chunk of
drive conducted via CoCubes. The revenue model
their staff, realign their energies and ask them-
was established and through this outsourced
selves again What is the problem we are solving.
service model, the company started to expand and
This led them to adopt lateral hiring solutions
grow.
and focus on helping companies select the right
talent using a battery of assessments. They also
A startup is a temporary organi- got involved with Sector Skill Councils to build
zation designed to search for a assessments for vocational roles and currently
repeatable and scalable business they cater to 21 of the 36 sector skill councils. This
model. - Steve Blank was a big leap of faith in the direction of purely
assessment-based productized offerings. CoCubes
The Slowdown & Growth Pre-Assess(R) is one of the services they offer a
It soon dawned upon the team and the questions pool of pre-assessed engineering talent across the
related to who they really were and what problems country to corporates.
they were solving started to crop up in conversa- One of the constant features of the CoCubes
tions. They realized that the behavior of companies journey is that they were not afraid to ask and try.
impacted colleges and vice versa, and thus if they They asked their clients for testing the newer pro-
continued in the sourcing model, they would have cesses and approaches and perfected the same with
JULY 2017 | 39
 the clients, thus forming not only deeper relation- INR 8.5Cr in the financial year 2014-15 and INR 13.6
ships with clients but also creating solutions that CR in FY 2015-16, year-on-year growth of 60%. In
made sense to the industry in general. the same period, their PBT had jumped from INR
1.32 CR to INR 2.13 CR - an increase of 61% again
Ive found that luck is quite while maintaining the profit margin of 15% in this
predictable. If you want more period.
luck, take more chances. Be more The increased interest of VC & PE firms in this
active. Show up more often. space, coupled with a successful and profitable
business was bound to attract interest while
- Brian Tracey
CoCubes was focusing on scaling the business
within India and globally. As they started to
look at their options, two clearly emerged raise
The Next Frontier
more capital and do it yourself, or partner with a
In the year 2009, the challenges faced in the
successful global business. The time had come to
Common Admission Test (CAT) for IIM brought
try and meet the needs of sourcing and filtration
the issue of online exams in focus. This led many
of Indian & global corporates. The problem
start-ups to focus on online exams in India. While
statement had changed once again How do we
skill assessment for corporate jobs was a separate
help companies across the globe find the right
vertical, the online exams in itself presented a
talent? And how do we do this in a transparent and
huge opportunity. This led to a division of players
scalable manner?
on who would do the online examinations while
the others who do the online skill assessment.
Companies like Mettl, MeriTrac who started
Enter AON Hewitt
On some other side of the table, Aon Hewitt a
with skill assessment also branched out to online
global HR services company had been building
exam solutions as fundamentally the technology
its assessment portfolio and working with Indian
platform remains the same in these 2 areas. With
and global organizations, with a suite of online
competition in this sector increasing, Co-Cubes
assessments primarily focused on behavioral
had to create a niche for themselves and hence
and cognitive aspects. With their experience of
they stuck to Engineering colleges while also
a c q u i s i t i o n

assessing about 20 Million candidates each year,

working on the vocational programs via the sector
they were looking to build or buy capabilities in
skill councils. Their focus on keeping the business
the technical and functional areas. CoCubes looked
profitable started to pay dividends. As per the
perfect it was a company which had built their
fillings with govt, CoCubes had done a business of
offerings on technical and vocational assessments,
was working with Sector Skill Councils and
running a profitable enterprise by motivated first
generation entrepreneurs who complemented each
other.
But why would CoCubes sell out? With Aon
Hewitt, they became a global company almost
overnight, while retaining their unique value
proposition of technical & vocational assessments.
They could go deeper in the assessment area and

One of the constant

features of the
CoCubes journey is
that they were not
afraid to ask and try
they asked their
clients for testing
the newer processes
and approaches and
perfected the same
with the clients
40 | JULY 2017
offer a comprehensive solution to their clients by
combining their assessments with the behavioral What the investors had to say
and cognitive assessments of Aon Hewitt. T
could accelerate their growth by approaching
the combined client base while working to scale
Why did you choose to invest in co-cubes in the first place?
India is a growing economy with a number of jobs being cre-
globally. With this one move, Co-Cubes and Aon
ated at the entry level. Hiring fresh graduates & post graduates
Hewitt were thus able to create a unique value
has always been a challenge for corporates. CoCubes was an
proposition in this highly competitive market
exciting idea to enable and simplify recruitment of students. This
place. And as they say the rest is history! was clearly going to be a large market, but more importantly the
founding team was one of the best young teams in the country.
"Everyone wants to live on top This led us to an investment in CoCubes in early 2009.
of the mountain, but all the
happiness and growth occurs What's your view on the HR Tech space in India?
while you're climbing it. While I don't claim to be an expert, my involvement with CoCubes
- Andy Rooney over the years has certainly given some insights. India is a large
market for anything to do with HR given the scale. That said, I
believe any solution that offers a clearly differentiated value propo-
sition starts to see some traction - be it a job board focused on
To paraphrase Steve Jobs, Im certain areas or a background checking solution.
always amazed how overnight
successes take a helluva long What is your advice for HR Tech entrepreneurs?
time. - Verne Harnish Few key points - (a) this space requires patience to build a suc-
cessful & sustainable company; (b) areas around recruitment
technology are largely dominated by Naukri & LinkedIn increas-
What this deal means for the industry? ingly, so better to avoid unless there is a clear differentiator; (c)
The HR tech industry in India has been growing have a clearly defined metric/ROI in your sales pitches instead of
at a rapid pace. Some estimates peg the total value fuzzy promises of productivity improvement; (d) be prepared for
of HR tech industry in India at about INR 30,000 long sales cycles.

a c q u i s i t i o n
Crore. This is attracting a lot of interest from (As per responses received from Gautam Balijepalli,Partner at Ojas Venture Partners)
various types of players. We have already seen
success in terms of Teamlease & more recently
Quess which went public. This acquisition of an
Indian HR Tech company by a global organization
underlines the market potential while more
importantly also reinforcing the belief that With Aon Hewitt, CoCubes became
world class can be made in India. This is a great
testimony to the new wave of entrepreneurship
a global company almost overnight,
that has come in the country in general and in the
tech sector in particular.
while retaining their unique value
The HR Tech industry in particular has been proposition of technical & vocational
witnessing a flurry of activity since 2015. CoCubes-
Aon Hewitt deal is all set to further improve the assessments
activity of start-ups and funding in the industry.
We also expect more and more HR services and
tech companies to take the IPO route while we 3. Remember the first principle of design
will see increased M&A activity in time to come. thinking Empathy. Learn to empathize with
This deal proves that if you identify a niche your customers and their needs while focusing
in this market and build a profitable, scalable on building a solution that solves the broader
business backed with a strong globally deployable problem.
technology platform, you can win. 4. Finding the right tech co-founder is critical to
the success of your tech founder (duh!). So if you
Key takeaways for entrepreneurs have a friend like Vibhore who codes in between
While may quotes in this article reflect the essence everything else he does well hold on to him tight.
of this story, we feel that each entrepreneur and 5. There is only so much data out there and your
especially first generation entrepreneur can learn interpretation of the data will change as you
the following from this story: mature; surround yourself with a bunch of
1. Focus on building a profitable business. The advisors who know what they are talking about
first thing any investor or buyer is going to look and take the leap of faith.
for is your balance sheet & profit/loss statement
(While there are exceptions to this norm, the
heated debate about them tells you a lot). (The contents of this article have been put together
2. Focus on solving a real problem in a real easy based on People Matters interviews with Harpreet
way. Everybody loves a solution thats easy to Grover & Vibhore Goyal, Co-Founders of CoCubes,
understand, deploy and scale. and includes information from web sources.)

JULY 2017 | 41
 Sindhuja Parthasarthy

The myriad shades of

a high EI!
What if emotional self-regulation is not always prosocial? Or having the ideal
high EQ boss, peer or friend is not the utopian dream you imagined it to be?

H With a lot of emer-

ave you come across people and said Lets not idealize emotional intel-
who, in all circumstances, are ligence. He had earlier introduced 3 types
optimistic, compassionate and
empathetic? Do they always
gent support for dark of empathy; Cognitive empathy i.e. ones
ability to relate to other peoples perspec-
seem to be in control of their
emotions and can express their feelings
EI, one can safely tives, ideas, opinions and mental models;
Emotional Empathy being ones ability to
unabashedly without letting them nega- assume that there is connect and relate to the others emotional
tively impact their professional image? Do
they seem extremely motivated at all times no universally bene- state of being; and then theres Empathic
Concern, which is about being sensitive to
ficial high EI
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

and have no inertia, self-doubt or impulse? others needs and willingness to support.
Are they also great with interpersonal He suggests that while a leader can have
relationships and can handle conflicts and high EI, he can still lack in empathetic
negotiations with great chutzpah? concern. So while they use their cogni-
Well then, apart from being God sent, ism the art of manipulating others to tive and social empathy to know exactly
they are also Golemans dream man, achieve one's own self-centered needs. And what makes others tick, they might use
woman or transgendered person. These Machiavellianism is one of the dark triad that ability to leverage that for their own
people are possibly using their high personalities, characterized by a blatant benefit. For instance they could use ones
Emotional Intelligence (EI) to achieve the disregard for morality, employment of fears, anxiety or insecurities to get things
elusive win-win outcomes in all situations. cunning two faced interpersonal behaviors done. They might even opportunistically use
But what if emotional self-regulation is not and an obsessive focus on personal gains. those times when one is in a good mood, to
always prosocial? What if having the ideal A 2010 study Strategic Use of get certain things that are against your own
high EQ boss, peer or friend is not the Emotional Intelligence in Organizational best interests. Or they may offer constant
utopian dream you imagined it to be but in Settings: Exploring the Dark Side reveals appreciation, just to flatter so that they can
fact a murky situation to be in? that people with high EI would disguise ask you for a favor at an opportune time.
Well, Emotional Intelligence is a multi- emotions to strategically pursue a personal They would possibly be presenting one
dimensional paradigm that can have both goal. They have the skills to misrepresent, side of the story, maybe even misrepresent-
negative interpersonal and intrapersonal block or dramatize rumors, gossip, and ing data to present a certain picture. They
effects. A 2014 research study by Austrian other types of emotion-laden information. may also ask you a lot of questions to know
psychologists, Is There a Dark Intelli- How does high EI affect the person your real motives, without much of self-
gence? established that there is a positive gifted with one? Well, those who use their disclosure. The most important though is
correlation between EI and Narcissism, skill to manipulate (sometimes uncon- the power play they might engage in. They
specifically narcissistic exploitativeness sciously) aren't immune to being manipu- could create a false of power by ignoring
i.e. some self-obsessed people may possibly lated themselves. Studies have proved you, postponing meetings, acting constantly
be using their warmth, charisma and fasci- that high emotional sensitivity can lead to busy or just giving you very less face time.
nating personality for malevolent reasons. higher stress reactivity. Will Get Fooled So there goes your warning; with a lot
Bingo! Another 2014 study The Relation- again, a 2013 study states that those with of emergent support for dark EI, one can
ship between Narcissistic Exploitative- higher EI may also be duped more, mostly safely assume that there is no universally
ness, Dispositional Empathy, and Emotion because of the overconfidence in their beneficial high EI. If you are one with
Recognition Abilities clearly associated ability to read others. The Atlantic in high EI and you work with someone who
'narcissistic exploitativeness' with 'emotion its famous article The Dark side of EI has, knowing its a double edged sword is
recognition' those who were very good at argues that people who are have strong pertinent!
recognizing/reading emotions are invari- ability to read others' emotions many a
ably prone to manipulating them. times are very trusting and fail to perceive About the author
This is because EI doesnt necessarily trickery in those who displayed distress.
Sindhuja pARTHASARTHY is an educator
mean high Morality Quotient. In fact, EI is To quote they picked up on the distress
associated with Center for Behavioral Excellence
morally neutral and therefore can be used but not the authenticity; they could read
at Wipro and an Independent Photo journalist
to promote self at the cost of others. High the emotions but not the minds. Goleman documenting human rights issues.
EI might even lead to sheer Machiavellian- too agreed to the argument in the Atlantic

42 | JULY 2017
Develop. Lead. Achieve.
The award-winning SumTotal
Talent Management Suite
helps you to attract, know,
mobilize, develop, progress,
and reward your workforce.

Learn more at:

sumtotalsystems.com

[email protected]
+91 40 6695 0000
STORY
C OVER

Talent This cover story presents actionable

advice from leaders on recruitment

Acquisition
trends, technology, and practices
to optimize your talent acquisition
efforts, and also unveils the survey
research India Hiring Outlook 2018
a People Matters and Indeed

Are you doing what Study about the current state of hiring
processes that recommends best

it takes? practices for talent acquisition

By People Matters Editorial

44 | JULY 2017
 C OVER
STORY

A
ll organizations want and need talent. recruiters and hiring leaders need to learn the
But how equipped are organizations fundamentals of recruiting right and right
to search the talent pool? Are organi- recruiting to establish credibility and build
zations truly doing what it takes to sustainable relationships with candidates and
build their recruiter brands? Are they leverag- clients alike.
ing the next gen tools and models to calibrate This cover story presents People Matters
hiring processes and build recruiter capabili- Indeed Study on India Hiring Outlook
ties? Are organizations using advanced analyt- 2017-18 that captures trends in talent acqui-
ics to improve candidate sourcing? sition, Indias hiring outlook, key strategic
Talent acquisition is not just about priorities and business readiness of the TA
hiring anymore. It is an amalgamation of function, and the role of the recruiter; while
frameworks and encompasses concepts like also featuring what organizations and TA lead-
employer brand strategy, candidate experi- ers are doing for dynamic talent acquisition
ence, recruiting optimization, talent partner- in terms of user experience, personalization,
ship and last but not the least, engagement. social connections, collaboration or using a
And from being metrics-driven to tech savvy, 360 degrees TA approach.
JULY 2017 | 45
 KEY FINDINGS

63% of the companies Employer Branding Knowledge of HR outside TA

are increasing their hiring budgets. And the will be a key investment area in and Data Analytics Skills will be key
hiring outlook is Optimistic but cautious the upcoming year skills for TA professionals in the future

INDUSTRY TYPE
RESPONDENTS PROFILE
IT & Communication
22%
EMPLOYEE SIZE

14%
Manufacturing/ >20,000

India Hiring 15
Engineering
%
16%

Outlook 2018
1,000-5,000

6%
10,000-20,000

A People Matters 13%

Pharmaceutical/
Healthcare Services

and Indeed Study 9%

5,000-10,000

The People Matters and Indeed

Survey on the India Hiring Outlook 20%
500-1,000
2018 saw participation from 128 10%
Consulting
unique companies. Out of which
43 percent were multi-nationals 36%
and 38 percent were India based Less than 500
companies. The survey aimed to
8% Banking, Financial
evaluate and determine three Service and Insurance
broad themes:
1) Hiring Outlook 2017-18
6% Real Estate/ COMPANY
43%
2) Key Strategic priorities
3) The role of the
Infrastructure
TYPE
5% al
recruiter. ation
4% Energy ltin ny
Mu ompa
4% Retail &
38% C
18%
1% 3% Wholesale Trade
any
3
3% 3%
% E-Commerce
2% an
Comp Small and
Education Indi Medium-
sized
Automotive Public Business
FMCG Sector
Others
46 | JULY 2017
Telecommunication Unit
EFFECTIVENESS OF HIRING CHANNELS HIRING
ACROSS
Employee Referrals
32%
LEVELS
Job Portals 30%
40%
Campus Recruitment 30%
Placement Agencies 26%
Social Media Hiring
17%

Mid-senior 32%
(5-14 years)
TOP 3 INVESTMENT KEY TA
AREAS IN THE TA BUDGET PRIORITIES FOR
FOR NEXT YEAR THE FUTURE
22%
Enhancing
Associate
employer brand
(2-5 years)

1
Increasing Building or
use of data buying robust Entry level
analytics in TA technology 1. Aligning TA (0-2 years)
platforms strategy to business

2 3 TA BUDGET FORECAST
Increase
No Change

Significant
TOP 5 SECTORS WHERE 2. Articulating the
employer brand in the Increase
Decrease
HIRING WILL INCREASE marketplace
46%
$ Significant
25% Decrease

$
IT& Manufacturing &
17%
Communication Engineering
3. Identifying $ 9%
candidates with the
right culture fit $ 2%
$

Pharmaceutical/ Banking, TA PROFESSIONALS SKILL GAP

Medical Devices/ Financial Service
Healthcare Services and Insurance Current Empathy Business Stakeholder
Curiosity
Skill set & listening understanding Management

Knowledge of Strategic Data Technology

Skill set for
HR functions thinking analytics skills
the future
beyond TA skills
Consulting
JULY 2017 | 47
 India Hiring
STORY

Outlook 2018
C OVER

A People Matters and Indeed Study

People Matters Indeed Study on the Hiring Outlook 2017-18 and trends in talent
acquisition attempts to understand the key trends in the talent acquisition space

J
obless growth has been a much talked such challenges. With such a context, People
about issue recently, which coupled with Matters Indeed Study on the Hiring Outlook
the lower than expected GDP numbers 2017-18 and trends in talent acquisition attempts
has put a question mark on the job oppor- to understand the key trends in the talent acquisi-
tunities expected in the coming year. tion.
Despite a growing economy, the level of utilization 1) Hiring outlook: What does the hiring
of the demographic dividend in the country has outlook look like across different sectors? Are
been a key concern. companies increasing their hiring budgets for the
Added to this is the disruption that technology upcoming year?
has fostered in the world of business. With the 2) Key strategic priorities and business
recent news about the retrenchment of employees readiness of the TA function: What are the most
in the IT sector, there has been a renewed interest used and effective sources of hiring? What areas of
in the impact of new technologies like artificial investment are crucial to recruiters?
intelligence, automation, cognitive technologies, 3) Role of the recruiter: The gap between the
virtual reality, and advanced robotics that have skills that recruiters possess currently and the
re-defined the job market. In India, the impact is skills required to navigate the future.
beginning to be felt, albeit in a small and indirect The survey respondents of the study comprised
manner. of senior HR and TA professionals from 128 compa-
For HR professionals and jobseekers, it is nies across different sectors. In the following
important to know what corporate India is plan- pages, the key takeaways from the responses are
ning in terms of Talent Acquisition, the concerns presented, along with the opinions and insights of
of the TA fraternity and how they plan to address HR and TA leaders.

48 | JULY 2017
 Hiring Outlook : Optimistic but
Cautious
The hiring outlook for the upcoming year ranges
from optimistic to stable. 55 percent of the respond-
ents stated that they are planning to expand their
workforce while 35 percent plan to maintain the
current levels of workforce. Talent acquisition
will be driven by expanding business activity and
replacing talent lost due to attrition.
Similarly, Hiring Budgets are also expected to
increase for a majority of respondents, though
the spending patterns are likely to shift in favor
of technology and employer branding. Ramesh
Shankar, HR Head, Siemens says Hiring budgets
are looked upon as investments in future building,
and covers both the direct (logistical/administra-
tive) & the strategic investments in brand building
& recruitment technologies.
Despite news of layoffs in IT and Communica-
tions sectors, majority of respondents from these
sectors indicated plans to hire aggressively. Deeper
analysis indicates there is continued optimism
due to opportunities in IT enablement in grow-
ing sectors such as the BFSI, Infrastructure and
Retail. Also, small and medium sized IT companies TA professionals skill set for the
are more bullish on expansion compared to large
future include domain knowledge

C OVER
ones or those dependent on outsourcing business
from overseas clients. Other sectors that plan to
hire in the coming year are Manufacturing and of HR functions besides TA, Strate-
Engineering, Pharmaceutical/ Medical Devices/
Healthcare Services, Banking, Financial Service
gic thinking and Data Analytics

STORY
and Insurance and Consulting. Incidentally, N.
Chandrashekar, Chairperson of the TATA Group
recently noted that outlook in IT for job creation tive channel of recruitment has been Employee
will continue to boom and will have 7 million direct Referrals followed by Job Portals & Campus
jobs and 10 million indirect jobs by 20251. hiring. Social hiring has not been found to be
very effective by respondents. In the coming year,
Strategic priorities related to talent companies plan to increase the usage of Job
acquisition portals and Referrals. In fact companies such as
What type of candidates are recruiters look- L&T have made getting reliable referees as one
ing for? of their strategic TA priorities. Despite the buzz
An analysis of the hiring demand across different around social hiring techniques, it is mostly used
sectors revealed that the demand for mid-career in IT and consulting sectors and companies that
professionals will be the highest in the upcoming use the channel say it is effective.
year with 40 percent of the companies looking for Another trend which stands out from the
professionals with a work experience between 5 survey is the expected increase in use of automa-
years to 14 years. This is closely followed by the tion and analytics in recruitment. Three key
Associate level i.e., experience between 2- 5 years. areas of investment that are at the top-of-the-
A focus on managerial and team leader levels mind of HR professionals include: Employer
indicate that organizations are building broad and Branding, increasing the use of Data Analytics
flat organizational hierarchies, by keeping the and building or acquiring robust technology
top-levels light. Companies are working towards platforms to aid recruitment.
making organizational structures simple with Shalini Pillay, Partner and Head of People,
minimum number of layers. Performance and Culture, KPMG India notes
The focus on hiring in the pharmaceutical that it is vital for the TA community to reflect
industry and healthcare space will majorly be on on which aspects of the life cycle of hiring need
mid-senior levels and in the IT sector and manu- to be automated and which ones need a personal
facturing sector, it will include both associate and touch.
mid-senior levels. Adoption of automation and analytics among
respondents is quite low at 17 percent, with most
What tools are recruiters most likely to use? activities being carried out manually by the TA
The surveys findings show that the most effec- teams.

JULY 2017 | 49
 35 percent of respondents have expressed the
intention to invest in Employer Branding with
higher allocations of hiring budgets but an area of
concern across respondents was the organization
culture being aligned to the TA strategy. 65 percent
of the organizations felt the need to work on the
culture to achieve desired results.
With focus on employer branding and culture
fitment of candidates increasing, the role of a
recruiter is getting increasingly demanding and
complex because there is a need to understand busi-
ness requirements and the technical competencies
that the business requires.
To be able to meet the challenges of the future,
TA teams will need to polish and augment their
skills. Our survey showed a gap between what
skills recruiters possess today and their aspirations
for the future. While the current talent acquisition
professionals possess interviewing skills, empathy
and listening, business curiosity and understand-
ing, in the future, they will need strong domain
knowledge of other HR functions, data analytics
and strategic thinking also figure in the list of
priorities.
The way TA teams measure their efficacy is also

Opportunities will be available likely to alter in the coming year. As per the survey
, the most commonly used metrics Applicant drop

for experienced professionals at off and Tenure/Retention rate are likely to be

STORY

augmented by monitoring of Reviews on Social

Associate and Mid-Senior levels, and Professional network in the future. In fact the
social media is more likely to be used as means of
especially in mid-sized compa- propagating and managing the employer brand
rather than a source for talent.
nies, across sectors
C OVER

Conclusion
The hiring outlook for the year 2017-18 is bullish
but cautious. Despite the buzz around artificial
Role of the recruiter will change: A intelligence and automation, leaders across differ-
focus on new skills and employer ent sectors believe that it will take time for any
branding significant disruption in the job market to take
The traditional role of the recruiter is set to place. The need for business alignment and culture
change. In the words of Yogi Sriram, SVPHR of fit is a crucial area that talent acquisition profes-
L&T group, The role of a recruiter is no longer sionals will have to focus on.
about filling a vacancy; it is about creating a The future also calls for a new role of the
compelling employee journey to attract the right recruiter, which simply does not stop once the
talent. recruiter is hired. Since the skills that an employee
Similar sentiments are expressed by Meenak- brings to the organization, their culture fit and
shy Sridhar, Head Recruitment for Corporate and ability to be agile directly impacts the performance
Services at Reliance Industries Limited. She says of the organization, the recruiter is required to
that The role of a recruiter has become similar be more specialized and aware of the pulse of the
to a marketing role, in the future, they will carry organization and the industry.
marketing and branding role to engage the best The future of the TA function is aptly summed
talent available for the role up in the words of Ramesh Thakur, HR Head,
For TA teams to become successful brand Siemens: Hiring has changed from mere job
ambassadors for their organizations, they need to requisition fulfillment to becoming a window
have a greater understanding of business, beyond for employer branding, business partnerships &
the HR function. These requirements are reflected engagement with the target talent pool.
in the survey results which indicate that the top
priorities for the TA team are greater business Reference
alignment and culture fitment. The need to 1
http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/
tie-in the Talent strategy and deliverables is et-commentary/it-industry-to-have-7-million-direct-jobs-
evidently the top priority across sectors, with and-10-million-indirect-jobs-by-2025-n-chandrasekaran/
almost an equal number of product organizations
and service organizations choosing this response (Insights and expert views compiled in collabora-
as a top priority. tion with Prashanth Bhatla and Anushree Sharma)
50 | JULY 2017
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Some of the compliances that can be implemented in
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 Hiring for volume F Under-investment
or Hinduja Global Solutions, the
focus on hiring has been to address
in talent acquisition
and skills
the growth driven by client growth
and the replacement caused due to
attrition. Recruiters look for frontline
function is an area of
Talent acquisition is no longer about employees who are highly efficient and concern not only from
a simple vacancy filling process; a
recruiter also needs to understand
detail-oriented.
In terms of the macro level shifts, there
a monetary point of
why employees join, stay or grow in is an excessive focus on the negatives due view but also in terms
a company to automation. However, it is useful to
remember that shifts due to disruptive of time and training
Anthony Joseph, President, Global
HR, Hinduja Global Solutions
automation does not happen overnight, recruiters
one sees incremental innovation in our
industry. In the next 3-5 years, the nature
of work will be significantly different makes an employee join the company?
from what we do today. The second macro What makes an employee stay? What
shift is to do with the global movement does it mean to grow in the company?
of talent, especially to countries like the And what is the happening in the market
US, which has come under scrutiny of outside?
late. In terms of the industry growth, A major roadblock for the recruiting
there are varied reports that predict slow function is to keep up with uncertainties
growth to stable outlook. Apart from of the market. Delivering a well-
macro-level shifts, consumer behavior is articulated and designed hiring forecast
central to understanding the potential of is becoming a challenge in itself. What
the market growth. The imperatives from is an area of concern is the under-
a HR standpoint are to hire for volume and investment in talent acquisition function,
specialized skills. not only from a monetary point of view
Talent acquisition is no longer about but also in terms of time and training
STORY

a simple vacancy filling process; the recruiters about the business, trends and
recruiter also needs to understand What technologies.
C OVER

Shift from filling a vacancy to

value based alignment
To stay relevant in the current market, organizations need to shift from hiring
for a role to hiring the right talent
Ramesh Shankar, HR Head, Siemens

I Hiring has changed

n todays world, organizations are com-
peting for talent not only within their
own industries; they are also compet- from being a job
ing with new age organizations. Hiring
budgets are looked upon as investments requisition fulfillment
in future building, and cover both the to a window for
direct (logistical/administrative) and the Amidst these shifts, we are con-
strategic investments in brand building employer branding, sciously working towards making our
and recruitment technologies. The aim is
to be relevant to the new generation and
business partnership organization structure simple with mini-
mum number of layers. Expert teams are
also provide the best in class experience to & engagement with being created to facilitate speed of deliv-
the customers.
The key themes that are impacting hir-
the talent pool ery and best in class service/product.
The challenge for TA, like many func-
ing include: 1) Digitalization; 2) Diversity; tions, is going to continuously evolve and
and 3) Localization. In our industry, we see roles. We will also focus on ex-service men revolve around being relevant. There is
displacement of jobs in manufacturing, for and differently-abled. a clear shift from being fulfillment of a
e.g. blue collared jobs are rapidly chang- Localization too has thrown open the vacancy to value based alignment. Hiring
ing with the use of technology. And speed, possibilities of becoming a manufacturing has changed from mere job requisition
quality & efficiency have improved. hub. Producing things locally also gives a fulfillment to becoming a window for
The focus on diversity has to do with competitive edge from pricing perspective employer branding, business partner-
increasing the percentage of women across & we become more relevant to our local ships & engagement with the target talent
all levels, especially in senior leadership customers. pool.
52 | JULY 2017
Bullish yet A key concern for
the talent acquisition
cautious function has to do
It is imperative for talent acquisition
professionals to understand
with the increasing
technical competencies and market commodification of
level shifts for their specific industry the function
Shalini Pillay, Partner and Head of
People, Performance and Culture, understand and sense the pulse of the mar-
KPMG India
ket. A key concern about the talent acquisi-
tion function has to do with the increasing

T
he current hiring outlook can be commodification of the function with
summed up as bullish yet cau- technology. With a number of service
tious. It is bullish from the perspec- talent acquisition team is organized in a provides tackling different aspects of the
tive of the market opportunity ahead of way that allows centralization to deliver talent acquisition cycle right from the first
us, to grow and attract the right talent. efficiencies needed for organizations touch point to the candidates onboarding
And it is cautious because we need to be operating on our scale. And it is decentral- processes, it is vital for the TA community
conscious of our internal needs and talent ized to allow the team to be embedded into to reflect on which aspects of the life cycle
requirements in the current business various businesses internally to cater to of hiring need to be automated and which
context. The macro level shifts that have the nuances and demands of the specific ones need a personal touch.
impacted the talent acquisition strategy business.
are to do with technology. Automation, The role of a recruiter is getting
robotics, cognitive and analytics are trans- increasingly demanding and complex
forming many job roles in a fundamental because there is a need to understand
manner. business requirements and the technical

C OVER
The need from a talent standpoint is to competencies that the business requires.
hire agile and mobile talent. At KPMG, the Also, people in the hiring role need to

STORY
Hiring for
requirements, potential of talent; 2) Build-
ing and improving L&Ts brand image on

Growth
a global scale; 3) Hiring the best young
engineering talent; 4) Creating a compel-
ling candidate experience and journey; 5)
The skill of selling a job at present Getting more reliable referees and authen-
to the incumbent will be outweighed tic reference checks.
by the need of fostering a long term To meet these TA priorities, we enable
association as talent availability the TA team with skill development to meet
becomes scarcer with time the challenges of high quality recruitment.
Internally, there is a dedicated leadership
Yogi Sriram, SVP HR, L&T Group level TA team which works on critical hir-
ing projects. The role of a recruiter is no

T
longer about filling a vacancy, it is about
he enhanced government spend
creating a compelling employee journey to
announced in the national budget
attract the right talent.
for the infrastructure sector is project management and the core infra-
The future challenges for businesses
promising. The growth potential is high structure businesses along with the inabil-
include the availability of domain specific
and we hope to win orders largely in smart ity to access the best talent at leadership
leadership talent, highly skilled recruiters,
cities, water, defence and aerospace, power, level from PSUs and the Government due
shortage of experienced talent for roles in
power transmission, renewables and other to various restrictive clauses of employ-
businesses which have significant growth ment. As the world is becoming more
potential. The intake of fresh talent will be polarized, barriers to free flow of talent
more selective, and mid-senior level hiring Future challenges for will be a challenge too.
will depend on the growth plan. In certain
geographies, there would be selective expat businesses include the
hiring for skills that are not so easily avail-
able in India.
availability of domain
Our top five TA strategic priorities specific leadership
include: 1) adopting a workforce platform
by using digitalization to match skills,
talent, highly skilled
aspirations, team requirements, project recruiters
JULY 2017 | 53
 Dealing with standing of the role is achieved, remuneration

Talent Acquisition
shouldnt be a topic because this is agreed and
understood upfront. Both the business and HR own
the outcome.

Paradoxes
Women in senior roles the supply/demand
paradox. In fact, I would like to put it differently. I
would say the paradox is our words not matching
We need to be more agile, get accustomed to regular reviews our actions. The most frequently cited reason is
and be prepared and willing to say, "What we put in place a ratios are representational of women graduating
year ago no longer meets the needs of our workforce today" in these disciplines. Second most popular reason
women opt out of the game when they start a
family. However, we have more educated women
than ever before, more women wanting to have
careers than ever before, more returning mothers
than ever before, yet the ratios dont reflect this.
If we agree that leadership skills are transfer-
rable from one domain to another, recruiters play
a key role in challenging conventional wisdom
particularly when the domain expertise card is
over-played. In fact, filling an executive role with
someone from a completely different domain is a
sure way of introducing creativity, innovation and
transformation into the business.

As we embrace technol-
STORY

ogy in the hiring process,

lets not forget that we are
dealing with real people
C OVER

at the other end; So, lets

I
Lorraine t wasnt surprising at the People Matters
Rodrigues Conference in Mumbai this month that deal-
ing with talent acquisition paradoxes was a
use technology to make
Country General
Manager, Fidelity hot topic. The ones that raised the temperature of the candidate experi-
International the room were automation and the risk of hard-
coding bias in the hiring process, the generational ence equal to a customer
gap between policy makers and a growing millen-
nial population, women in senior roles - supply
experience
and demand and managing expectations on budget
versus cost to hire. Generational gap between the policy makers
Budget versus cost to hire is a topic close to and the growing millennial population creates the
everyones heart which means wanting the best paradox where business practices are not keep-
talent and not willing to pay for it. There were ing up with the pace of change. How do recruiters
lots of nodding heads when this one came up. A attract the best talent when they fall short on poli-
close second was: job profile doesnt match the job cies and practices? This is where HR Business Part-
profile in the hiring managers mind. ners need to leverage analytics to drive changes in
However, these two issues are not unique to the policies and practices. We need to be more agile, get
hiring process. These are challenges that we deal accustomed to regular reviews and be prepared and
with in everyday business decision making. If HR willing to say, What we put in place a year ago no
wanted to implement a new hiring tool, we would longer meets the needs of our workforce today.
go through the process of capturing business Finally, as we embrace technology in the hiring
requirements, evaluating options, assessing the process, lets not forget that we are dealing with
financials and agreeing on a solution. Somehow, real people at the other end people with emotions
the best of us fall into the trap of thinking this and memories, who can make judgments and are
approach only applies to projects. However, we well-networked. So, lets use technology to make
should treat each new hire as a little mini project, candidate experience equal to a customer experi-
especially during the business requirements phase. ence. A candidate who doesnt make the cut today
A joined-up approach between Hiring Manger may be the senior manager you wish to hire in 10
and Recruiter will lead to a shared understanding years time, and, a poor candidate experience today
where the focus is on future requirements rather is a poor opinion of your organization forever and
than the immediate need. When a shared under- maybe even a lost customer forever.
54 | JULY 2017
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 A story at a time
Does collecting and sharing stories send the attractiveness
of your company soaring and help in talent acquisition?

you about the vision, mission and values of the

company. They share last years results and in the
next 5 years plan to become the fastest growing
FMCG company in India. They also talk about the
fact that they have brought all their global best
practices for trainee induction into the program
they have designed for India. They assert that the
induction program is very well designed and that
the foundation they give on field sales and market-
ing is second to none. They finish by reminding
you that in your marketing bible written by Philip
Kotler, no other company has as many mentions as
they have.
You now have a choice to make. Are you going
to apply for a job at the company your senior works
(the one who wrote the letter) or the competitor?
The above excerpts are from a 5 page let-
ter I had written after my first two months as a
management trainee at what was those days called
Hindustan Lever Limited. Even as you were read-

I
ing the story, something fascinating was happening
Indranil
STORY

magine this is 1992, you are a 2nd year student

in both our brains. The neurons lit up and followed
Chakraborty and you have just received a 5 page letter from
a similar pattern, a phenomenon called speaker-
Founder, STORYWORKS a friend who is one batch senior to you. Your
friend has just spent the first 2 months of an 18 listener neural coupling. That is the difference
month training program at one of the leading between the power of a story and the power of
FMCG companies in the country. A few excerpts assertions. Assertions arent often credible and can
C OVER

from that letter read never connect to the core of an individual. Stories
places that cannot be covered by direct dis- do. Hearing a story is as close as the listener can
tribution e.g. small villages are covered by cinema get to a first hand experience of watching the event
vans. These vans are used as propaganda vehicles in real life. The conclusion that the listener then
in order to increase awareness of our products. draws for himself is almost unshakeable and far
I have been working with one such van since more powerful than assertions.
yesterday. The villages we have covered are over Apart from the credibility of a story and the
100 kms from Gorakhpur. During the day, we went power it has to let listeners come to their own
to two villages where we setup stalls and used a conclusion, stories harness two other powers
loudspeaker to run ad jingles. We have now stopped stories are memorable and stories are repeatable.
for lunch under a tree and the driver and helper It is this memorability and repeatability that lends
are cooking lunch. This evening, like yesterday, we
will setup a screen in one of the villages where we
will be showing a chitrahar type film song reel Many companies
interspersed with our ads. All this is such a fantas-
tic experience. have understood that
.last two weeks were extra strenuous
because after returning from a full day at the mar-
employee-speak is a
ket, my trainers came to the hotel and took class-
room courses everyday till midnight. For two days,
powerful way to convey
the sessions went on till about 3.30/4.00am. Now I a message to both the
know why this training program is so famous. The
amount of time my trainers are willing to spend
prospective employee
on me (for no benefit of their own) is incredible.
This is definitely not a job. I have really enrolled
world to attract them
myself in a school of marketing funded by soaps and to the current
and detergents..
Now imagine the next day at campus where a employees to cement
competing company is holding a pre-placement
talk. Some very senior managers in natty suits
their beliefs about the
make a presentation. They start with telling company
56 | JULY 2017
to the spread. When was the last time you heard a
student got out of a pre-placement talk and talked
about the values, beliefs and the five key takeaways
the next day? Well structured and well narrated
stories will get told over and over again.
Many companies have understood that
employee speak is a powerful way to convey a
message to both the prospective employee world
to attract them and to the current employees to
cement their beliefs about the company. But what
most of these are getting wrong is that employees
asserting that the company listens, the company
empowers, the company has an open culture is
again never as credible as when employees let
stories about their experience of the same and let
the listener come to the conclusion.
Many of these companies label the videos as
employee stories as stories slowly seems to have
become a new management buzzword. In the last
few weeks I have watched 50 videos on company
websites and company YouTube channels, and

C OVER
of these only 6 are actually stories, even though
almost all of them have the word story on the
label. Just calling something a story doesnt make
it a story. And assertions definitely dont make it
Assertions arent often credible and
a story. can never connect to the core of an

STORY
According to Shawn Callahan and Mark
Schenk, who run one of the worlds leading individual. Stories do. Hearing a story
business storytelling companies, there are five ele-
ments that are essential ingredients for a story. is as close as the listener can get to a
S tories usually start with one of two ways: with first-hand experience of watching the
a Time Marker or a Place Marker. Most oral
stories start with Time Markers. So if you hear
event in real life
some say On Tuesday or A few months
ago or In 1992. there is a good chance
this point, e.g. The leaders in this company
you will hear a story.
really care about the well being of the employ-
Stories are always about something happen-
ees. The rest of the story then illustrates this.
ing a causal sequence of events. This event
followed this event which resulted in that event. So how does one go about collecting these sto-
Good stories help you see whats happening. ries from employees? In the work I do, in order to
Great stories help you feel whats happening. collect stories, we run something we call anecdote
If you hear peoples names, and in particular if circles group discussions designed to elicit sto-
you hear dialogues, then you know you are in a ries. Unfortunately, the question Tell me a story
story. about leaders caring for employees is unlikely
And it isnt a story unless something unan- to lead to the story. This is because we have been
ticipated happens. A story is a promise to the conditioned, in business, to give our opinion. The
listener that they will learn something new. It sales are down because, our project needs
has to contain something that is at least a little more resources because etc. etc. To elicit sto-
unexpected. ries, we use questions that take people to a moment
While I often like to leave the story at this stage in time where they experienced the same.
and let the listener make the obvious conclu- Since stories are best told orally, we would
sion, often people are more comfortable in mak- video record them and push them out into the
ing sure the message is clear and driven home; ether through the various channels available to the
and for that the fifth element is company. So my invitation to you is to go ahead,
A relevance statement. Why am I telling you collect and share stories and see for yourself the
this story? What is the business point you are power of stories as it send the attractiveness of
making. The story might even be prefaced with your company soaring.

JULY 2017 | 57
 Solo Act to
SymphonyFuture of and leaders to understand the subtleties and
nuances related to employer branding and nurture

Employer Branding
employee value proposition to unleash employee
ambassadorship. This, together with organizations
marketing efforts can become a force multiplier to
Employer branding is not a spectator sports but a contact propel employer branding. If all talent influencers
sport! But is it already a mega trend? Have companies and business leaders can put this discussion front
redesigned their organizations to factor this as a full time role? and center, it will gain momentum.
Has the work begun on it in a holistic
manner? No it hasnt. But thats ok. As always,
Harlina Sodhi there are initiators who have taken this raging bull
Senior Executive Vice by the horns and have started to make the inroads.
President HR, IDFC They are making this their priority and focus, and
Bank are starting to invest both resources and time on
it. For example, Mark Zuckerberg regularly shares
his stories of dreams, successes and failures. But
why is he doing it? Well, it does give tremendous
impetus to the FB brand which no amount of
marketing spends can! Added bonus its free for
him! Makes business sense right?
Have companies redesigned their
organization to factor this in as a full time
role? Progressive companies that are catching the
rising tide on concepts such as Future of Work,
Modern Workplaces have certainly begun to do
STORY

it (Remember my conversation on the dinner

table). Like it happened with Diversity and

R
ecently at a dinner with a group of senior Inclusion, Internal Communication and Employee
HR leaders, it was surprising to see Engagement, Employer branding, which has also
the conversations completely revolved been an additional assignment so far, is becoming
C OVER

around the value of employer branding. The zeal a full-time role reporting to CHRO/CXO.
and fervor with which everyone discussed the Is it getting talked about in the board
ascendance and power of the concept was akin to room? Yes absolutely! It has made its way to
the importance that has been accorded to likes of the board room. The reputation of a company
big data and culture in the recent past. both from value creation and risk management
Now we all know what Employer Branding is perspectives is one of the top things boards are
all about; Google is full of articles, blogs and views beginning to focus on, especially in this era of
and opinions from thought leaders to research IOT and social media. Astute board members and
agencies to publishing houses, all extoling the the CEO/CXO teams today are fully conscious of
value and virtue of it. After all employer branding its materiality and have a technology leader on
is not a spectator sports but a contact sport! What their board whos the soul keeper of leveraging
begs a question then is: Is it already a mega trend? social/technology both for creating business
Has work begun on it in holistic manner? Have value as well as to fuel employee ambassadorship.
companies redesigned their organizations to factor Anand Mahindra, the Chairman and MD of
this as a full time role? Is it getting talked about in Mahindra group consistently tweets and updates
the board room? Let me share my points of view on his followers on what is happening within
these questions: the company. His twitter followers are 4.8 mm
Is it a mega trend? Not so far, but soon nearly twice of the major national dailies in
will be. The onus lies on us as HR professionals India. No wonder then, his speed and reach of
communication about the Mahindra brand is
phenomenal!
The onus lies on us as HR profes- So does employer branding really matter? Does
it make business sense? Do stakeholders value
sionals and leaders to understand it? Is there a concept of materiality to it? Such

the subtleties and nuances related and many other questions will get asked, and are
getting asked. There will be soothsayers, naysayers
to employer branding and nurture and opinion makers. Either way, the brand is
getting built. The difference is will it be by design
employee value proposition to or default. The music will ebb and flow for a while
before it reaches a crescendo, but then, thats how
unleash employee ambassadorship symphonies are written!

58 | JULY 2017
 Pr e sents
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session, flawless. A breakthrough
event. Thank you for making
Powe red By
it all possible.

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you for your overwhelming
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TALENT
ACQUISITION
2017
 The gift of staying relevant!
At WNS, creating a talent framework that continuously assesses an organizations skill
readiness and corrects any misalignment with new talent acquisition is crucial

W
hat got you here wont get you there. advance my skills so that I can progress in my
When management thinker and writer career? There is no better gift that organizations
Marshall Goldsmith wrote a book by this can give their employees than by providing
title, he put succinctly one of the biggest business them the right skills training. I call it the gift of
challenges the world faces today. staying relevant. Workplace practices should be
Underscoring the importance of re-tooling, he tailored in a manner that employees are constantly
said that the capabilities that got a professional re-skilled to stay relevant to current business
so far will not be good enough for success in the environs.
future. Today, this is a maxim that holds good for At WNS, our talent development initiatives are
every professional as new technologies disrupt the focused on employees continuous skill develop-
way we work, rendering many skills redundant ment. We nurture potential, but more importantly,
and making new skills critical for success. Look the latent potential that can be harnessed to
around and I am sure you have heard/read about further the companys and individuals objectives.
robotics, automation, artificial intelligence, digital Our workplace talent practices are focused on
and other trends changing jobs forever. developing T-shaped professionals where we
Therefore, up-skilling or re-skilling talent believe the center is the I, that stands for the indi-
to align organizational capabilities to business vidual and the three points of the T represent
requirements has become a top priority for people domain expertise, technology knowledge and sales
managers across industries. They need to identify orientation. We believe that the future belongs to
the skills that employees currently possess, map specialists of every kind (across functions and
those to the companys business requirements industries).
STORY

and design programs to bridge any existing skill

gaps. It means creating a talent framework that
continuously assesses an organizations skill
readiness and corrects any misalignment with new There is no better gift
talent acquisition or by providing the required
that organizations can
C OVER

training to internal resources.

give their employees
What is the Gift of Staying Relevant?
A few years ago an employees definition of a than by providing them
R. Swaminathan
good workplace was one that provided a clear
career roadmap, a fair and transparent work
the right skills training
Chief People Officer,
WNS Global Services
environment, and equitable compensation.
Today, they must ask another question: Is the
the gift of staying rele-
organization creating opportunities for me to vant

60 | JULY 2017
 So whether an employee has a client-facing
At WNS, People managers

C OVER
role or not, a sales orientation will give him or
her better understanding of the customer. Or
someone with strong technology expertise will
create a work culture that
be able to create more relevant solutions if he or
she understands the issues peculiar to a clients
distinguishes itself for the
opportunities it provides

STORY
industry domain.

Design Thinking, Data Analytics in Talent employees to stay relevant

Development
We use design thinking for our skill development
and that allows improvisa-
programs. Design thinking in HR is nothing but tion and customization
putting people at the center of a program so that
we look at it from peoples point of view. It is about
marrying insights from people and business, and segment. For example, millennials like to have
incorporating those to build a program rather better control of their learning journey and so we
than going by our in-house HR learnings. With have created do-it-yourself modules that they can
design thinking, HR managers can focus on the choose at a pace they want. Our domain university,
experience of training rather than a pre-defined The Gateway, is a perfect example of this mode of
process with set goals. In this methodology, learning.
the outcome is measured not only by the goals People managers must also use design thinking
set at the beginning of training but also by the for an iterative approach to learning. They
experience that employees who received training can now test solutions before launching them,
underwent thereby making employees a part of and use data to either confirm or refine their
the learning journey and tweaking the program for program. This has given rise to HR analytics in
better results as we go. talent development. WNS is using HR analytics
Design thinking in skill development is for a program called Aspire in which we use
becoming important also because the employee data to identify and train senior managers in the
base is a heterogeneous mix with five generations organization who have the right skills, aptitude
of people often working in one organization. The and aspiration to become functional leaders in
traditional way of developing one set of training the future. People managers have the job cut out
programs for the entire talent base will not work. for them they need to create a work culture
Skills training must address the aspirations and that distinguishes itself for the opportunities it
concerns of a millennial as much as that of a baby provides employees to stay relevant; they need to
boomer. We can now develop trainee personas develop frameworks that allow improvisation and
and segment the trainee base accordingly to meet customization; and they need to make use of data
the unique requirements and interests of each for better outcomes of their efforts.

JULY 2017 | 61
 Smarter recruitment
decisions with work
force intelligence
EY believes in hiring talent that demonstrates integrity, respect Scholarship Program, Campus Anchor Program
and teaming with a vision to build a better working world etc. These initiatives aim at giving young
graduates an opportunity to meet our leaders,
seek information, understand the organization

R
ecruitment is undergoing a major structure, values and culture thus gaining
transformation with social media platforms insights into what life at EY is really like.
and analytics coming into play. The war
for talent has made organizations look at various A strong referral channel
ways in which they can source the best-in-class At EY, we believe in broadening our hiring
talent and retain it. EY being one of the fastest scope to maintain a strong and healthy mix for
growing professional services organization with sourcing the best talent from referrals, social
a vision of creating highest performing teams media, recruitment agencies and campus hiring.
depends on its people to identify, develop and This has helped in creating a ready database
retain the best talent in the market. of diverse talent that feeds smoothly into our
To ensure we find the best, our talent normal recruiting stream. We pride ourselves
acquisition team has been structured and in our strong referral contribution, a whopping
customized for the size and needs of the 46 percent for the last year with the referral
Anshula Verma organization. With specialized functions run by
India Recruiting Leader, percentage for some of our large practices
dedicated teams on the basis of their expertise soaring close to 50 percent. With this referral
EY
such as database management, market research, program we are able to encourage our employees
STORY

sourcing and stakeholder management etc., it has to share high potential talent from the market
helped the organization in improving the quality and build better, long-lasting and well-bonded
of hire and also in providing exceptional service working teams.
to its internal stakeholders.
Social media connect
C OVER

Hiring millennials Developing and maintaining strong candidate

Millennials are the future of businesses and EY pools is the need of the hour. Building
is committed to hiring the best from campuses relationships ahead of demand ensures that even
across the country. Year on year we have in crisis, our recruiters will be able to act quickly
increased our brand presence through various to fill pressing hiring needs. It is imperative
campus engagement programs including the EY to take an interactive approach that builds a
community based on sharing information with
candidates/prospective candidates, even if that
information is not about specific job openings it
keeps the candidate pool responsive.

EY uses an approach
that is focused on utiliz-
ing workforce intelli-
gence the combina-
tion of HR analytics
and strategic workforce
planning to answer
most critical recruiting
questions while improv-
ing the teams business
impact
62 | JULY 2017
 C OVER
STORY
With the advent of social media platforms,
we have invested and shall continue to invest in We believe in broaden-
digital platforms to tap active and passive talent.
Our team currently uses various social media
ing our hiring scope to
platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook, and
Twitter etc. for recruitments and to stay connected
maintain a strong and
with the market. Hiring via social channels ensure healthy mix for sourc-
that we are in sync with the rhythm of the growing
digital platforms. ing the best talent from
Data analytics
referrals, social media,
Analyzing and curating data to measure and recruitment agencies
improve hiring is important in order to move away
from traditional recruitment methods dominated and campus hiring
by instinct and begin to master the ability of
turning everyday data into recruiting intelligence.
EY uses an approach that is focused on utilizing a competitive edge for the organization.
workforce intelligence the combination of HR We as an organization have taken it upon
analytics and strategic workforce planning to ourselves to ensure a healthy gender ratio at
answer most critical recruiting questions and all levels by promoting and hiring more women
improve the teams business impact. This data- employees. Special initiatives are being run at
driven method enables seamless way to connect all the organization wide level to promote gender
employee data from sourcing to hire and beyond diversity and to prevent unconscious bias.
and also tie this into our strategic workforce Re-enforcement from the leadership also helps
planning. With this complete picture, recruiters us in recognizing the value in diversity, the
are able to meet the demands of the organization importance of the entire organization embodying
more easily and effectively. diversity, and in taking significant steps towards
fulfilling diversity-driven hiring agenda.
Diversity focus Overall EY believes in hiring talent that
EY recognizes the importance of diverse demonstrates integrity, respect and teaming with a
teams that help serve clients better and create vision to build a better working world.

JULY 2017 | 63
 Bringing back curious
applying for a job. Of course, one could argue that
companies like Google, Facebook, and other large
B2C organizations have been doing this really well
Instead of waiting for the right candidate to reach them, for a long time, but lets face it, when employee
Genpact reaches out to talent through mediums they know they perks include being able to bring your dog to work
frequent; and help them understand the value proposition and get free massages on campus, you dont need to
worry about employer branding. For the rest who
dont have bankers and barbers in office, we need
to work harder at winning over candidates.

Not just a rat RACE

At Genpact, we took a conscious decision of setting
up a talent marketing function that would partner
with the executive hiring function to bolster
recruitment efforts. Here are the4 steps we took
(christened the RACE model) to develop and kick
off our flagship campaign, Bring Back Curious,
which aims at establishing our employer brand as
a vibrant and curious workplace.
Research (yourself and your target audience):
Ritu Bhatia Sunanda K. Malik Unless we know why talent is attracted to us and
Executive Hiring Lead Talent Marketing & stays with us, we wont know what to tell people.
(APAC), Genpact Communications Lead, Genpact As we spoke to people inside and outside the
company, this is what we learnt: Employees quoted
learning opportunities, empowering culture and

7
5000 employees. 74 offices in 25 countries. cross functional exposure as the top reasons for
$2.57 bn in revenues. Listed on the NYSE for a working with Genpact; external talent revealed the
decade. And this is what a candidate said when need of ownership and exposure to different kinds
STORY

one of our recruiters called her to fix an interview of work; while our leaders stated that they looked
about a year back. for intellectual agility and curiosity in the talent
Genpact who? they hire.
To be fair, the candidate was based in one of the Articulate (and read between the lines): We
newer geographies for us and was from a differ- found an inherent connection between what the
C OVER

ent industry. Yet, this incident wasnt isolated. We groups were saying When people with endless
faced varying levels of awareness when speaking curiosity are exposed to a culture that encourages
with candidates outside of India. In India, the chal- questions, it leads to learning, empowerment, and
lenge was of a different kind legacy. For too long, growth. And thats how we arrived at the concept
wed been associated with the term BPO and were of: Bring Back Curious, the idea being that
now having trouble convincing doctors, actuaries, most people start out curious as children but as
chartered accountants, and techies that they would life happens, they often lose that sense of wonder.
be doing meaningful work here. However, our culture encourages people to bring
that curiosity back.
The power of employer branding Create (and be bold!): Joan Gantz Cooney, a
It is no secret that companies with a strong television producer in the late 1960s wanted to
employer brand have higher revenue growth, lower use television to spread literacy in toddlers. She
cost per hire and see an increase in quantity and envisioned a one hour show that would air five
quality of hire. And yet, few companies make a times a week. Skeptics scoffed at the idea of televi-
material investment in marketing to candidates. sion doing anything other than entertain. And yet,
At a recent recruitment conference, it appeared
that less than 10 percent of the companies present
had a dedicated employer branding person and
even fewer had a dedicated team. This, despite
statistics showing that 75 percent of job seekers
today consider an employers brand before even

When people with endless

curiosity are exposed to a
culture that encourages ques-
tions, it leads to learning,
empowerment, and growth
64 | JULY 2017
her show Sesame Street undoubtedly has been one
of the most acclaimed educational TV shows till
date. Before our campaign was launched, many
took a double take at the phrasing of Bring Back
Curious. Wouldnt bring curiosity back make
more grammatical sense? However, some of the
most iconic marketing slogans have played with
the rules of grammar, including Apples Think
Different, Adidas Impossible is Nothing, and
California Milk Processor Boards Got Milk. The
point is to cut through the clutter.
Execute (where the talent is): Any marketer
worth his/her CTR will tell you that social and
digital is where you get the bang for a buck. We
took the campaign across Facebook, Twitter and
LinkedIn as well as made updates to our careers
website, job descriptions, recruitment collateral
and other touch points. The campaign focuses on
bringing to life the stories of actual employees
and how they bring back curious every day. Once
launched, we experienced an increase of 22 percent
engagement in our social channels. Our engage-
ment rate went through the roof which led to our
Talent Brand Index sharply rising over a short
time. The number of applications increased signifi-
cantly which led to a consistent rise in our direct
hiring rate. Genpact has successfully shifted more
than 50 percent of its hiring to smarter

C OVER
Gender diversity. Not just a tick in the box
The previous year, we started off with a campaign
focused on increasing gender diversity at the mid
sources, and has created and leveraged
to senior levels (first in India and then to the US
and UK). Christened Career 2.0, the campaign
new channels that have proven to be
both quick and cost effective

STORY
aims to bring women who have taken a sabbatical,
back to the workforce. This stemmed from global
research that many women tend to drop out of the
workforce due to multiple reasons and when they the power of employer branding on social media
want to get back, they either worry about outdated tremendously.
skills, or dont know how to get started. Career 2.0
gave hope to these women and helped them gain Connect, check. Impact, check
the confidence they needed by assuring them that As we look back at the last 2 years, its clear that
their time away would not be held against them the investment in employer branding and partner-
and that they would come back to full time roles at ship between the recruitment and talent marketing
their market value. teams has paid off. We have successfully shifted
We received an overwhelming response both more than 50 percent of our hiring to smarter
in terms of quantitative and qualitative feedback. sources and created and leveraged new channels
Hashtags flew thick and fast, mentions flooded that have proven to be both quick and cost effec-
social media accounts and the buzz grew manifold. tive.
News about the program went viral in a matter of Our recruiters today are viewed as business
days, and we got prominently featured in national partners. Where earlier we were relying solely
dailies and news channels. But the most rewarding on search partners, today we have a strong social
aspect was the personal connect from the women media sourcing strategy with proven results.
who applauded our efforts to give them what they Instead of waiting for the right candidate to reach
deserved. We suddenly went from who are you to us, we reach out to talent through mediums we
thank you for an opportunity like this. know they frequent, and help them understand
Since then, we have done webchats and events the value proposition ourselves. Its a freer
through partners like Sheroes, JobsforHer and world where its easier for us now to connect and
Gurgaon Moms. Our story has been blogged about understand the candidates ourselves and talent
and converted to a case study by LinkedIn. Overall, landscape in a far less formal setup.
Career 2.0 has given us close to 80 talented and Our sourcing strategy has completely changed
dynamic women employees who are extremely with our learnings, hits and misses. We are at
passionate about their careers and want to strike a point now where we are debating and looking
a balance between work and family. This has at more mediums and ways on social media to
helped increase our confidence in our ability to conquer Whats next is the buzzword these
communicate directly and reinforced our faith in days in our teams.
JULY 2017 | 65
 Balancing Human
Connect & Fast-growing companies can make or break

Technology
their business plans based on how quickly they
can find the right candidates. In the coming
days, the only businesses that will survive are
Today, technology has brought a total disruption in the entire those who are innovating, leveraging data and
recruiting landscape. But we surely need technology and human embracing change. TA space surely needs Next
connection to provide a WOW experience to candidates Gen platforms which can help recruiters to
discover candidates, engage candidates and help
to make data backed decisions.
Mancer started investing in HR Tech
companies and recently invested in a company
(Param.ai), which is working on innovating
In-bound recruiting and automating many
manual use cases in candidate engagement.
Param. ai Technology plugs into the companys
internal talent databases (ATS and CRM), and
cleans, updates and standardizes the data. Smart
algorithms read the historical and trending
hiring patterns of the company against each
role and ranks, and then matches them against
open job roles and other relevant roles which
may not be captured by the Job Description.
Existing solutions are still largely based on
STORY

Boolean logic and recruiters have to manually

input, which adds another manual use case to
their Job. Params smart algo auto picks the
desired skills and starts mining huge data set
that would help recruiters to engage with only
C OVER

the top qualified candidates. It not only matches,

but the candidate summary feature helps
recruiters to make great hiring decisions.
Satya D. Sinha
N
othing can replace the human element According to a research published on
CEO of the HR Services in Talent Acquisition; technology will HR.com, a majority of candidates think that
firm, Mancer Consulting enable TA professionals to engage better discussions with recruiters are the best way to
and make smart hiring decisions. TA space know about the companys culture and if they
has many manual use cases; if technology can are the right fit for the organization. However,
automate at least few of the use cases, it will it is hard to get such insights if technology
enable TA professionals to discover, network and replaces recruiters. Technology has also altered
engage with top qualified candidates quickly. the way candidates apply and interview for
Finding the best-fit talent and providing an jobs. Many candidates, particularly middle and
excellent candidate experience is at the core senior level professionals feel frustrated when
of any recruitment process. Smart recruiters they spend a lot of time in applying for a job,
strive to efficiently accomplish both. They just to find out that their candidature has been
do it by using their headhunting, selling and rejected by a drone-like resume filtering system.
relationship-building skills. A typical hiring
process involves screening resumes and
interacting with candidates before shortlisting
a few who are most suitable for an open Technology has also
position. Although the process is exhausting for
recruiters, consistent human interaction results altered the way candi-
in a better experience for candidates.
However, things have been changing quite
dates apply and inter-
fast. Today, technology has brought a total view for jobs; it could
disruption in the entire recruiting landscape.
The advancements in technology, especially the be hard to get insights
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
have completely changed the way companies
through discussions if
hire talent. In TA space we surely need
technology and human connection to provide a
technology replaces
WOW experience to candidates. recruiters
66 | JULY 2017
 C OVER
Also, professionals who are already employed
A bad candidates

STORY
may not have enough time to input detailed
information to "convince" technology to get
shortlisted by software applications. It is like
experiences may lead
one-way investment where candidates need to do to increased number
almost everything and the employers simply use
a few search strings and algorithms to decide the of refusals from the
fate of the qualified talent.
Today, the world is facing a severe talent
selected candidates;
crunch. The demand exceeds the supply when it
comes to the number of qualified professionals.
therefore, under no
This gives leverage to the talented people due circumstances, the
to which they may refuse a job offer if the
position or the employer is not hard-sold to
organizations can afford
them. Thus, bad candidates experiences may
lead to increased number of refusals from
to deteriorate the candi-
the selected candidates. Therefore, under no date experiences
circumstances, organizations can afford to
deteriorate the candidate experience for better
recruitment efficiencies. Our Product ManStock hiring process. Also, ask some tough questions
is the best suitable product for a better Candidate while implementing a recruitment technology
Experience. solution Ask questions which are pertinent
The employers should note that the technology to candidates' conveniences. For instance, how
advancements and recruitment efficiencies much a working professional would like to
cant come at the cost of candidate experience. invest in the application process? Try to address
Thankfully, there are several ways to maintain these using the technology itself.
the delicate balance between the candidate It is critical for organizations maintain a
experience and recruitment efficiencies: balance between making the hiring process
Applicants can track their application status most efficient and managing the relationship
Let the candidates check their application status with prospective employees. It can only be done
on a real-time basis. It will be favored by most of when technology is utilized to enhance and not
them as they will know where they stand in the to replace the human interaction.

JULY 2017 | 67
 Developing talent acquisition
teams: Whose job is it anyway?
People are, and will be, the cornerstone of any organizations success; and to recruit the best, we need
to have our organizations best enrolled in that journey

S
arah, the Marketing Head of a renowned
multi-national company, was having a rough In this highly digitized
time. The Brand Manager on her most critical
brand had recently quit, and they were unable to
and technology-enabled
source the right replacement. In the past few days,
HR had sent her multiple candidates who had
world, the differentiator
cleared the selection process, but none was making will be companies which
the cut in her assessment. With the business being
in its toughest times, this was not a staffing gap are able to bring in the
Sarah can afford!
Does this sound familiar? Talent Acquisition is
human element
a never-ending problem across multiple facets of
business-linkage, turnaround time, or candidate are my top ten tips on how companies can break
experience. this barrier and make talent acquisition a business
In my ~20 years of being in HR, I have realized AND HR responsibility:
that joint responsibility of talent acquisition Leadership advocacy: How your leader
processes eases this pressure a lot. When HR and perceives and communicates the importance of
business partner, along with the right internal and talent acquisition is the single biggest make
STORY

external experts work together, it significantly or break element of joint ownership. The
improves the quality, timeliness and acceptance organization is highly perceptible and reads
metrics it not only brings the right expertise into into informal gestures more than a formal town
the hiring process (thereby making it faster and hall script. Ensure that the system has the right
more streamlined), but also ensures hiring the leadership sponsorship, both formally and
C OVER

right person and a great experience to all involved. informally, and leaders see acquiring the right
Sonali More sourcing avenues open up, hiring manag- talent as critical as building the right brands/
Roychowdhury ers have more ownership of the talent they have products.
Director HR, Indian
helped recruit and the system slowly starts operat- Ingrain it in the DNA of your organization
Subcontinent & IMEA
Distributor Operations, ing as one team to hire and retain the very best! metrics: It is critical to be clear on what success
Proctor & Gamble However, very few companies are able to do looks like, especially since it will involve
this successfully, and the reasons range from time considerable time and effort at their end. This will
crunch to capability gaps to is it my job?! Below ensure that all stakeholders are committed to the
time spent, and it is budgeted for and supported.
I know of a few companies which articulate
organization responsibility as a critical
performance metric for their middle-management
and above levels, which drives significant
ownership and results.
Integrated end-to-end talent management
processes: Joint responsibility is an overall
talent management philosophy. If you plan to
involve your business managers into recruitment
and no other organization processes (like
organization design, performance management,
learning and development, etc.), your approach
is bound to fail on both counts. Go for joint
responsibility only if it is a philosophy that works
for your organization and then embrace it across
all fronts intensity, however, across various
processes can vary.
Innovation must be a strong by-product:
Your Talent Acquisition systems should get bet-
ter and better as time passes by, especially since
the external environment is highly dynamic. As
you get more involvement from your line teams,

68 | JULY 2017
channelize their ideas and energies to innovate the
system for future. I remember when I was head-
ing Recruitment for Procter and Gamble in India
back in the 90s, my biggest innovation idea came
from a Marketing New Hire who was a part of our
Campus Team.
Make it aspirational! I was talking to one of
my mentees recently who has just got promoted
to middle-management. The biggest AHA for him
related to his promotion was not the bigger role
or higher salary it was in fact that he is now an
organizational leader and can be an interviewer on
campus!
Ensure that the right rewards and recognition
(including leadership exposure) are in place
for the extended Talent Acquisition team, so
that being a part of organizational activities
is aspirational for them. Only then will you be
able to attract top talent with high passion. Joint responsibility
Build capability: A few years back, my recruit- of talent acquisition
ment team brought to my notice a senior business
manager who was making multiple recruitment
processes significantly

C OVER
errors. Essentially, the person was just not able to
select the right candidate! On doing a deep-dive,
improves the quality,
we realized that the manager was not trained timeliness and accept-
enough on our interviewing process and all it
took from our side was a focused one-day inter- ance metrics

STORY
viewing college, along with 10-12 interviews where
experienced interviewers coached him on-the-job
job applications online, track via mobile applica-
on the nuances of interviewing. My key learning
tions, integrate with a hi-tech travel agency, etc.
from this experience is that we should never under-
Proactively handle the distractors: In my
estimate the power of capability-building and not
experience, nothing stalls a team of highly-moti-
leave anything to chance. This is critical now when
vated people more than unnecessary distractors.
we are looking for more diverse profiles, yet we
Ensure that you have proactively killed all of them
have to calibrate to the competencies needed in the
before they become a barrier for your resources
company.
pre-align budgets, pre-book calendars, systematize
Allocate based on expertise: The starting
your communication channels, so on and so forth.
point is identifying the what and the who.
Human touch The more people get involved,
What are the skill-sets required to perform a the more you can tap into bringing personal touch
particular hiring activity? into your processes, especially candidate experi-
Who (within and outside your organization) is ence. In this highly digitized and technology-
the right person to perform that activity? enabled world, the differentiator will be companies
which are able to bring in the human element.
For example, the hiring manager might be the
There are multiple ways of doing that mentor/
best person to shortlist profiles because they best
buddy roles, softer skills trainings, scorecards, etc.
understand the vacant job, recent campus recruit
Richard Dupree, former CEO of P&G, said in
might be the best person to be campus ambassador
1947, If you leave us our money, our buildings,
because they best understand the target audience,
and our brands, but take away our people, the com-
an outsourcing agency might be the best person to
pany will fail. But if you take away our money, our
manage hiring logistics because they are SMEs of
buildings, and our brands, but leave us our people,
that process, so on and so forth.
we can rebuild the whole thing in a decade."
Automate, automate and automate: As you
People are, and will be, the cornerstone of any
involve more arms and legs into your processes,
organizations success. And to recruit the best, we
the system will become more complex and prone to
need to have our organizations best enrolled in
manual errors. Tracking and follow-ups will take
that journey.
exponentially more time. Hence, proactively iden-
tify areas where you can automate and prioritize (With inputs from Himani Maharshi, Senior Manager-
running them like a machine. For example, make Human Resources, Supply Chain)

JULY 2017 | 69
 Integrating human
and technology advanced AI tools are artificial assistants that
Intelligent technology has touched and improved upon almost are solely focused on improving the candidate expe-
every aspect of the employee lifecycle, and talent acquisition rience. These tools help to automate and customize
arguably is one of the areas which has greatly benefitted by it communication processes with candidates during
the entire hiring process. Machine learning was
developed as a branch of Artificial Intelligence
that with Internet amounted to a huge increase in
digital information being generated, stored, and
made available for analysis. Engineers realized
that rather than teaching computers and machines
how to do everything, it would be far more efficient
to code them to think like human beings, and then
plug them into the Internet to give them access to
Vinay all of the information in the world.
Deshpande As SHRM Online reported last year, an AI tool
Chief People Officer Mya uses natural language technology to ask
- Financial Services questions to candidates based on job requirements.
Sector, Mahindra & It also answers applicants' questions about employ-
Mahindra Group ers and keeps them apprised of their hiring status.
Mya answers candidate questions on company poli-

I
cies, benefits and culture around-the-clock through
n todays times, where the world is increasingly
SMS, Facebook, Skype, e-mail or through a browser
becoming global with accessibility to global
window called a chat client where people can chat
STORY

resources, the focus is paramount on creating a

instantly. This saves recruiters from having to
unique experience for the consumer. It is no longer,
field the same questions time and again. If Mya is
business as usual. According to CK Prahalad
stumped, it contacts a human recruiter and then
and MS Krishnan (authors of The New Age of
returns to the candidate with an answer.
Innovation: Driving Co-Created Value Through
Another noteworthy tool is IBM Watson, which
Global Networks), there has been "a significant
C OVER

helps recruiters derive insights from ATS data,

transformation from a business process focus on
build knowledge and offer recommendations for
the firm to a business process focus on each unique
candidates. Watson can help recruiters measure the
customer experience."
degree of efforts required to fill certain job open-
In the world of talent acquisition, we are slowly
ings and help prioritize job requisitions, predict
but surely waking up to this phenomenon with a
with accuracy the likelihood of candidates being
mounting focus on candidate experience. This also
successful and perform social media "listening" to
has a lot to do with the Gen Z entering the work
create insights that help recruiters improve messag-
force. HR teams are familiar with smart and tech-
ing to candidates. There are other AI tools that
savvy Gen Y, but Gen Z has grown up in a world
automate the entire scheduling managing multiple
where information is not only real time but voice
calendars at once, freeing recruiters to concentrate
and gesture controlled.
on the strategic aspect of talent acquisition.
HR teams are increasingly looking to technol-
While there are these tools and self-learning
ogy and tools to manage the five generations in
machines, we need to pay attention to the reams of
the workforce that are functioning side-by side.
Machine learning, algorithms and Artificial
Intelligence are the buzzwords currently flitting
through hallowed halls of corporate offices and
HR professionals minds. Artificial intelligence is
about devices or applications designed to think and
act rationally, taking decisions based on the data
that is fed into the programs. Some of the most

We encourage internal growth for

employees and have an active Inter-
nal Job Portal to promote lateral and
upward movement for employees
within Mahindra Finance
70 | JULY 2017
data collected big data analytics. This has been
successfully implemented in the business areas for
organizations and is now being more frequently
applied to various areas in the human resources
function talent acquisition, onboarding, train-
ing, talent management, employee engagement, and
attrition. Since Talent Acquisition is the first and
one of the most important, not to forget, also one
of the most expensive stages in the employee life
cycle it is perhaps the most sensible area for the
implementation of data analytics.
It is widely understood that as compared to a
telephonic conversation, video calling enables you
to have deeper conversations, where you are able to
pick up on subtle non-verbal cues of human behav-
ior. In the SMAC world, with an increasing penetra-
tion of mobility devices and Internet, the playing
field has been vastly leveled. Information, ideas are
accessible even in the remotest parts of world and
helps create a better, smarter world.
With AI tools and machine learning taking over
more and more operational tasks, areas and jobs
that cannot be automated are going to be even more We are in the process of upgrading

C OVER
powerful and valuable. We, unfortunately, tend to
give the short end to the human side of things under
to a new HCM suite which will help
pressure of processes, tasks and odd menial jobs. us to complete the entire talent
With technology helping to tackle these tasks in a
faster and more efficient manner, we as a class of acquisition process right from
job posting to onboarding with

STORY
people would be able to concentrate on the more
human attributes which cannot be programmed in a
robot. The Indian consumer has always been pretty
tech-savvy, eager to latch on to latest innovations
minimum human intervention
in the technology. The talent acquisition space has
seen the advent of some of the available tools like Job Portal within the Mahindra group, leveraging
utilizing social media for employer branding creat- talent from across industries but with the same
ing employee growth stories and creating a brand sense of internal pride and values.
worth working for. At Mahindra Finance, we have Intelligent technology has touched and
painstakingly built the brand and created a trusting improved upon almost every aspect of the
relationship with the heart of India rural and semi- employee lifecycle and talent acquisition arguably
urban markets, which is the core of our organiza- is one of the areas which has greatly benefitted by
tion both from a customer and employee perspective. it. From ATS (Applicant Tracking System), posting
It was a part of our strategic vision to maximize vacancies to multiple job boards, to intelligent
hiring from the areas which act as our primary resume parsing and screening, we have seen it
customer base so that our employees understand all. Mahindra Finance has several aptitude and
the culture, topography, business cycles and most psychometric tests in place at various levels for
importantly customer sentiment. testing candidates various functional and behav-
Following through the philosophy of hiring ioral competencies. We are also in the process of
locally and the strong brand pride that we have in upgrading to a new HCM suite which will help us
our employees, it is perhaps not surprising that our to complete the entire talent acquisition process
largest source for new hires is employee referrals. right from job posting to onboarding with mini-
More than 50 percent of our hiring every year has mum human intervention. We are also adopting
been through our employees. This in itself is a strong a completely new on-boarding process which is
indicator of the sense of pride, engagement and based on principles of gamification to create a
commitment that our employees feel for the brand. better connect with the new employees and making
We also encourage internal growth for employ- the on-boarding process enjoyable and fun.
ees and have a very active Internal Job Portal to As a concept, balancing human and tech may
promote lateral and upward movement for employ- soon be replaced with the word Integrating.
ees within Mahindra Finance. Around 30 percent of Integrating the human connection with the new
hires across India were closed through IJP move- age technology would make us efficient, productive
ments in FY15-16. We also have a very active Internal and at the same time relevant.
JULY 2017 | 71
 Design thinking the new
preamble for talent acquisition,
retention & growth
While design thinking has mostly been associated with a companys operations,
it can now be explored in an organization through several methods

T
alent acquisition and retention have always and development module for employees across
been topics of great discussion and debate organizations.
across enterprises and academics globally. Today, the teams managing employee relations
The advent of the digital economy has quickened are expected to innovate to form new digital tools
the pace and the intensity of these conversations. to create seamless experiences for employees.
Value engineered and highly designed HR strate- The aim is to create an ecosystem of learning and
gies and policies have become the mainstay of all development that will help nurture talent across
conversations as organizations are dealing with levels and functions which works to not only retain
digital disruption across various functions. talent but also acquire good resources.
Josh Bersin at Deloitte estimated that in 20171, Processes are being made simpler for hiring
HR teams will focus on designing high-value expe- managers and candidates through the extensive
riences to get employees to be excited about their use of digital technologies that allow them to make
role in the organization and keep them inspired their processes less complex. At Tata Communica-
Aadesh Goyal through varied engagements. These efforts could tions, design-thinking helped us to create a solu-
Global Head - Human
range from curating opportunities to developing tion that could sharpen our recruitment processes.
Resources, Tata
STORY

Communications skills or enabling the option to explore newer Our hiring managers now save ample time and
skillsets, to introducing flexibility at work. As effort by using an artificial intelligence (AI) based
employees innovate to create tailor-made products automated tool that auto-matches a role with best-
and services, companies are taking this oppor- in-class individuals. Analytics and automation are
tunity to retain resources by allowing them the also brought into play when a new employee joins
C OVER

opportunity of all-round growth alternatives in the the company.

organisation. Our semi-automated social induction program
Design thinking can be explored in an organiza- aims to create a network experience by announc-
tion through several methods2. While an organi- ing the arrival of the new employee to the team
zational design helps to hone roles in a company and providing a checklist of things they could do
during restructuring, engagement ensures that to make the employee feel welcomed. This could be
the work done by the employees is made easier, something as simple as recommending a must-read
efficient and that good work is rewarded appropri- document/induction material or a restaurant near
ately. User experience is at the core of all design the office. The program helps break the ice around
thinking. Employee satisfaction is the prime moti- a new joinee and enables quicker socialisation
vator for creating a robust and symbiotic learning within the system.
We also have Shape the Future initiative which
endorses our open culture and gives employees
an opportunity to give inputs on the operational
functioning of the company and contribute to the

User experience is at
the core of all design
thinking; and employee
satisfaction is the prime
motivator for creating
a robust and symbiotic
learning and devel-
opment module for
employees
72 | JULY 2017
 C OVER
direction the company is headed towards. Under
the initiative, employees can submit ideas that they Design-thinking has helped us to
believe have the capability to evolve into a $200-mil-
lion business in a decade and impact masses.
create a solution that has sharpened
The best ones are selected and the ideators are our recruitment processes our

STORY
allocated teams that can help implement the idea
effectively. The effort paves the way for employees hiring managers now use an AI based
to innovate, gain new skills and become an integral
part of the organisations growth. automated tool that auto-matches a
Today, companies follow the thumb-rule of
growing their employees not just in the company
role with best-in-class individuals
but also as individuals with various capabilities
through skill development initiatives. The ecosys- Processes and strategies today are being
tem has evolved to embrace a return investment in decoded in terms of data-dependent strategies,
employees, with the belief that the return would be removing any ambiguity in processes and results.
substantial towards innovation and creativity This demystification today is further trickling
the principles that help organizations to stay ahead down to hiring processes to ensure a better qual-
of the curve. ity of talent addition in the company. Meanwhile
At Tata Communications, we created an advanced analytics are utilizing several tools that
internal Project Marketplace that spans across 40 help with better sourcing of candidates.
countries to enable employees to contribute their While design thinking has mostly been associ-
skills to key projects, build new skills and create ated with a companys operations, the fourth
new networks within the organization. The inter- industrial revolution presents a canvas that can
nal platform enables anyone across the business be custom-painted for every single employee. Tal-
to register their skills and to seek assistance on ent acquisition processes are expected to become
a project from staff around the world. This again more precise and automated. Talent will always
leverages world class digital collaboration and con- be key to enable a thriving and market leading
nectivity tools and helps employees inch closer to organization.
their ambitions by adding to their capabilities.
Feedback systems have also progressed today
to save time while keeping intact the personal References
connection with the employees. Spending long 1 https://www.inc.com/linda-naiman/6-ways-hr-applies-
hours in filling unwieldy forms while evaluating an design-thinking-to-deliver-engaging-employee-experi-
ences.html
employees work are processes that have faded away, 2 https://www.inc.com/linda-naiman/6-ways-hr-applies-
as platforms are now equipped to handle instant design-thinking-to-deliver-engaging-employee-experi-
responses coupled with feedback mechanisms. ences.html

JULY 2017 | 73
 Reinventing Talent
Acquisition
Talent Acquisition is attracting a receptive audience or nudging
the passive audience to interested receptive audience, which
hopefully manifests in higher conversion rates in closing the
organizational manpower requirement

I
n India, in the past few years, the economy
has not been greatly affected despite a global
economic slowdown. While IT industry may not
have done as well, certain sectors like e-commerce,
healthcare, hydrocarbon are on the growth path.
The hiring outlook is neither exponential nor
completely null but it is more linear.
For me, talent acquisition as a value chain in
the organizational context comprises of Attrac-
Talent acquisition as
tion, Assessment, Engagement & Retention. At
the risk of sounding negative, if you dont perform
a value chain in the
any one of these acts correctly, you stand a chance organizational context
Meenakshy
of getting a not-so-relevant candidate onboard. In
my honest opinion, the theme of Talent Acquisi- comprises of Attraction,
Sridhar
Head, Recruitment
tion is attracting a receptive audience or nudging
the passive audience to interested receptive audi-
Assessment, Engagement
Corporate and Services,
& Retention; and if you
STORY

ence, which hopefully manifests in higher conver-

Reliance Industries
sion rates in closing the organizational manpower
Limited
requirement. While this sounds pretty simple, let dont perform any one of
me tell you, this goes beyond key word search in
resumes on job board!
these acts correctly, you
stand a chance of getting
C OVER

My over 17 years of experience in Talent Acqui-

sition function helps me simplify the entire aim of
the function by: a not-so-relevant candi-
Accurately defining the quality inputs (what
traits, skills, competences, etc.) one is looking
date onboard
for to bring on board as employees and future
leaders role. There is a far greater emphasis on organi-
To be mirrored in the output (what you assess zational culture than ever before and diversity at
and hire for) the workplace is another goal that companies are
embedding in their talent acquisition strategy
The pointers above may seem simple, however, this could be cultural, socio-economic diversity,
in organizations with massive scale of operations cross functional, age, gender etc.
or in conglomerates, adhering to the process of The conventional role of the recruiter has not
input and output needs relentless effort and a changed but evolved. The transactional work is
must element to eliminate is the tendency to have being automated and theres a lot more focus on
inherent biases. Automation and other technolo- value-added work, an example being augmented
gies have helped in streamlining many processes hiring with social recruitment. The role of a
and reduced transactional work so that the focus recruiter has become similar to a marketing role,
can be on more critical aspects of the recruitment as in the future, they will carry marketing and
process. But the key challenges in recruitment branding role to engage the best talent available
have to do with the quality of candidates (who for the role. So one way to upskill TA team is to
often lack in-depth knowledge in area of their keep up with these new trends and provide oppor-
specialization); the second challenge is to do with tunities to them to learn on the job and through
retention; and the third is to re-invent talent acqui- skill development initiatives.
sition practices to meet demands of the market. I would like to sum it up by saying that the
There are a few trends across most talent acqui- purple squirrel does not exist in the market, and
sition strategies in different industries, which are: salary is not the only deciding factor for candidates
1) Social Recruiting; 2) Cultural Fitment; and 3) to accept a job offer.
Diversity. Job Boards alone are not going to help
find qualified candidates. Traditional tools of (Views expressed in the column are personal
hiring are increasingly losing their relevance; this and do not reflect that of the employer or the
is where social recruiting will play an important organization.)

74 | JULY 2017
Shaping the future of
Talent Acquisition
Expectations of organizations need to change while performance and Smriti Krishna
results cannot be compromised, the focus should be on getting the best Singh
talent and getting the best out of them while they are with the organization CHRO, Sony Pictures
Networks India

T
he word talent is a non-inclusive word
i.e. it does not include everyone who checks
the box on experience required for a role.
Experience being equal, the word talent refers to
the select few who have unique skills and capabili-
ties that differentiate them from everyone else.
Therefore, the future of talent acquisition lies in
getting sharper and smarter at attracting the select
few in a world of choices.
The challenge of talent acquisition is further
heightened by the increasing entrepreneurial
aspirations of talent. Starting their own ventures
the takes key talent out of the job market, further
narrowing the talent pool.
So what should organizations do to attract
talent in the future:
The first step is to be cognizant of talent expec-

C OVER
tations which are increasingly becoming diverse
and non-linear. It is not just about the organization
brand, role or compensation anymore. Organiza- Like organizations seek out influ-
tion culture, empowerment, the freedom to create,
flexibility to indulge in personal hobbies, an oppor-
encers to market their products and
tunity to contribute to society and the likes have services, they can also identify key

STORY
become important drivers of job satisfaction.
Millennials who have grown up in the infor- talent and encourage them to be
mation age have broad ambitions for themselves
and work is just one part of their lives, and most
their hiring influencers
prefer to keep it that way. Therefore, expecta-
tions of organizations also need to change while influencers. When key talent within the organiza-
performance and results cannot be compromised, tion speaks well about their experiences or better
the focus should be on getting the best talent still, in a world of low attention spans, says it with
and getting the best out of them while they are pictures or images (non-confidential of course)
with the organization. Hopefully, they will stay of team celebrations, capturing the spirit of the
for long-term if they remain excited about the culture, the work they do, the freedom they experi-
organizations vision, culture and future orienta- ence and so forth, it has an impact that is wider
tion. While some organizations have always been than a senior executive talking about the organi-
ahead in providing diverse exposure through HiPo zation in a formal setting. While organizations
programs, this will have to become second nature debate about what kind of information goes out on
to attract and retain future talent. Getting key social media and what kind of rules need to apply,
talent involved with technological and business social connections over Facebook, Twitter, Insta-
changes of the future seeking their opinion, gram etc. are a reality and organizations must be
allowing them to be heard and contribute in shap- flexible to adapt to that reality.
ing the future are all measures organizations can If we are paying good attention to key talent,
take to engage more deeply with talent. the issues of misuse can be managed through
The other important aspect to consider is how appropriate guidance rather than throwing the
to reach talent. While much has been said about rule book at them that kills all social conversation
social media organizations need to leverage about the organization.
social media smartly to attract talent. The current There are fascinating technological develop-
generation of job seekers is extremely socially ments taking place with AI, bots etc. in the field of
connected as we know but the adage of A play- talent acquisition. While they will aid in improv-
ers attracting A players has not changed. Like ing speed and quality of the process, they can
organizations seek out influencers to market their never replace human touch which I predict will
products and services, they can also identify key continue to be the key driver in converting key
talent and encourage them to be their hiring talent from candidate to employee.

JULY 2017 | 75
 A
lexander Alonso is the Senior
Vice President of Knowledge

HR needs to refine
Development, SHRM. Prior to
this, he was the Vice President
of Research at SHRM. Dr.
Alonso has been instrumental in the devel-

its data and critical

opment of SHRM Competency Model, and
has also served as the head of examination
development and operations for the SHRM
Certified Professional and Senior Certi-

evaluation skills
fied Professional certifications. Dr. Alonso
has also been honored by the American
Psychological Association and the Society
for Industrial Organizational Psychology
In an exclusive conversation with People Matters, (SIOP) for his contributions to applied
Alexander Alonso, Senior Vice President Knowledge psychology and workforce research.
Below is an excerpt from his conversa-
Development, SHRM talks about his career tion with People Matters where he talks
trajectory, SHRM Competency Model, automation about the skills that HR professionals need
and the importance of finance and technol-
of HR processes, data skills for HR professionals, and ogy for the HR function.
scenario-based learning approach
By J. Jerry Moses & Bhuvan Gupta Youre back from SHRMs Tech17. How
was your experience like?
The conference was exciting for a
number of reasons. Firstly, it was a truly
global conference with over 13 countries
representing. But what made it sensational
was the fact that it was the perfect place for
interview

learning. The entrepreneurial spirit and

the opportunities to learn about technology
were great.

Youve had a long career in knowledge

management. Please tell us how the
SHRM competency model came about.
I started out with SHRM as the lead
researcher for designing the SHRM Compe-
tency Model. It was my job to design and
validate the HR Competency Model. In this
effort, we worked with more than 32,000
individuals to develop and validate it over a
year and a half.
The research is fascinating because it
gave us insights into both behavioral and

As the move from

less tactical task
work to more
strategic functioning
takes over, were
seeing a greater
emphasis on the
behavioral skills
than the technical
knowledge
76 | JULY 2017
technical competencies. The most critical me was to sit down with my professor and From a professional development
competencies can be broken down into have him walk me through a data set and perspective, SHRM takes a scenario-
four clusters: 1) Technical expertise that explain to me what he thought about data based learning approach. A part of what
includes 15 different areas of functional and the questions that he asked himself we do is that we grow our repository of
knowledge. Lets say Im a talent acquisi- while looking at that data. This is approach scenarios that someone might experience.
tion professional, an area of knowledge for that I would expect HR professionals to And the other side of the coin is that we
me would be to do with recruitment reten- take to sit with their mentors and say, build educational content around those
tion and selection skills. The three other How do you think about this data? And types of scenarios. In the last two years,
clusters have to do with behavioral compe- more importantly, What would you want weve added 1200 new pieces of behavioral
tencies: 2) Leadership; 3) Interpersonal to collect as data that were not collecting competencies content all designed with
skills how well you build and manage today? micro-learning, e-learning, and seminar-
relationships; and 4) Business acumen, based events to enable people to effectively
one part of this is to do with your core What are your thoughts about automa- respond if faced with such scenarios.
business skills how do you make business tion when it comes to HR processes? People ask us all the time as to why we
decisions? What is your judgment like? I think automation will create a new focus on this and the truth is that it is
The other side is to do with how well you set of challenges for the HR profession, because research told us that this is where
analyze data and information to help you but I dont think it will replace the HR we needed to be.
achieve business decisions. As the move profession in any way, shape or form. What Ten years ago, our portfolio was primar-
from less tactical task work to more strate- frightens me is that we create fatigue, ily live events and seminars. There were
gic functioning takes over, were seeing a burnout or reasons for the workforce to limited asynchronous training, we had
greater emphasis on behavioral skills than be dissatisfied rather than finding ways to some virtual offerings. As we go on to grow
technical knowledge in the upcoming five make their work-life easier, or to make the on in the next ten years, we will focus more
to ten years. employee-employer connection smooth on specialized micro-learning opportuni-
for me, the risk with automation lies in not ties and on specialty micro-credentials.
What skills (technical, leadership, getting it right which can have a detrimen-
interpersonal or business acumen) do HR
professionals need to refine?
HR professionals have the greatest
opportunity to enhance data skills and What frightens me is that we create

interview
critical evaluation skills in service of
organizational objectives. Whats interest- fatigue, burnout or reasons for the
ing about Big Data is that a good portion
of it is not what Big Data can do for you,
workforce to be dissatisfied rather
but how you can apply Big Data? Adopting
a data scientists approach for analyzing
than finding ways to make their work-
business problems, but beyond collecting life easier, or to make the employee-
data, will impact operations most. It is
also critical to understand what relation- employer connection smooth
ships exist between the data and how they
impact the outcomes. So thats the area
which needs continuous refinement and it tal effect on the relationship between the What is your one key takeaway from
looks like HR is doing a good job. employer and employee. But I think thats this trip?
a place where the HR plays a good role. The number one skill that is often
What should HR professionals do to A tool that HR professionals need to overlooked in communication is listening,
build these data skills? use, but they dont always, except in larger and for me, the most valuable thing about
The most effective route is a combina- enterprises is concept testing or pilot coming here is not to share insights, it is
tion of approaches to learning. Ive seen testing. One example is a think aloud actually to learn from others to borrow
programs within organizations that are interview and its a tool that would be others perspectives, scenarios and learn
exploratory, and are meant to be like invaluable for every HR professional. Imag- about other peoples unique journeys
assignments that give people a chance ine you are using Snapchat and tracking of growth and applying that to my own
to understand what data they should be your daily tasks a think aloud approach context in my day-to-day work.
collecting, what the nature of data is and would have you tell me how you think
how they should be using that data. Thats about the ways that you use it and track Are there any functional areas that HR
an experiential approach. your daily activities, responsibilities. How needs to pay attention to?
According to DDI Worldwide Leader- do you communicate information? Who do One of the two areas that stand out
ship forecast, 3 of the 5 people consider you share it with? How and what do you to me is finance, and its not just under-
mentoring or coaching as one of the share? So you tell me on a cognitive level standing finance from an accounting
ways to develop oneself as a leader or as what it is that you would do and how you standpoint, but finance from how do I
a consumer of data. Coaches play a vital would use and what my objective is. It tells build a business case and understand the
role in ensuring that: 1) Youre think- me how youre thinking and interpreting pro forma financials behind it? perspec-
ing about what data usage means; and 2) the world that is valid. tive. The other area is technology the
Understanding what it means for your easiest way for any organization to fall
organization. When I think back to the How has the learning content and down in terms of its strategy is to ignore
way that I was trained as an organizational mode of delivery evolved for HR profes- the relationship between human resources
psychologist, what was really effective for sionals over the years? and technology.
JULY 2017 | 77
 Programs
Are they delivering
on the promise?
s t o r y
s p e c i a l

78 | JULY 2017
 Y
56 percent organizations agree that HiPo ear after year, the HiPo Week has covered
diverse themes to enable and assist leaders
programs are somewhat effective when it comes promote and strengthen their HIPO programs
to ROI. To assess whether HiPo programs have from enriching discussions around various
proved credible, People Matters, in partnership facets related to understanding how HiPos
can enhance the Employer Value Proposition, developing
with Right Management organized the fifth high potential employees, analyzing the perspectives of the
edition of HiPo week that facilitated discussions different stakeholders on HiPo programs, to designing and
about how effective HiPo programs have customizing HiPo programs.
For the 5th year, Right Management & People Matters
proved for organizations and what can be done have collaborated to present the HiPo week with a fresh
to accelerate their impact. This Special Story perspective. And this year, the focus is on the effectiveness
highlights the key takeaways from the HiPo week! of HIPO programs.
Its a fact that a focus on ROI is critical for businesses
By People Matters Editorial Team across industries, and cost optimization has become the
new normal. And regardless of the objectives that HIPO
programs have had in the past (creating an internal
pipeline for succession, key talent retention, leadership
alignment) the point of discussion today is how effective
have the HIPO programs been to move such metrics. And
while HiPo programs are extremely critical for building a
strong leadership pipeline and future-proof organizations,
an increased focus is on how we can really overcome the
challenges associated with execution of Hipo programs,

s p e c i a l
and how can organizations augment their impact.
This special story captures a few reflections from the
HiPo week.

s t o r y

JULY 2017 | 79
 Are High-
Potential
Programs
delivering?
A Right Management Survey on High
Potential programs - HiPo week 2017
Is there a need for adding a new facet to the science
Ranking of and art of High Potential Management? Here are
effective some key findings of the survey that assessed some
HiPo learning of the key objectives of HiPo programs and what
initiatives needs to be done to make them sharper
Business critical External MDPs
projects 1 and workshops

Mentoring/
2 6 Effectiveness of HiPo Programs
Coaching Is there a clear career Does your organization have
programs path for HiPos in your a structure methodology for
Opportuni-
ties to interact organization? measuring effectiveness?
3
s t o r y

Cross with CXOs and

functional 5 thought 57%
experience leaders Dont have 55% No
4 a career
path
Internal training programs/
s p e c i a l

Learning academies
35% Yes
43%
Have a
Not
Possible de-railers career path 10% aware
Lack of managers
59% involvement
Lack of communica- Percentage of HiPos who fill key leadership roles
53% tion to HiPos
Too much gap
53% between interventions 47% 26% 23% 4% 025%
Lack of leadership 26-50%
44% buy-in
51-75%
Other reasons (Culture, lack of
11% clarity etc) 76-100%

Benefits of a
HiPo program
Effectiveness of the HiPo program on ROI
Succession planning 80%
Retention
75%
Ready Talent Pool
75%
Better engagement
62% 56% 32% 10% 2%
Somewhat Highly Neutral Not
Others (Employer Brand) 7% effective effective effective

80 | JULY 2017
 Conference 2017
learning: 11th October 2017 | Mumbai
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 The 5 essentials
for the rubber to
meet the road!
Are the High-Potential programs in organization
delivering on what they promised to do?
By Prashant Pandey, Country Manager India, Right Management

T
he world is experiencing a global the survey were a high dropout and attrition from
readjustment over the last few years, the program or the organization; Low leadership
in which powerful forces (economic, involvement, and On-ground performance of the
political and social) are converging to participants in their new roles.
create a new reality where business The survey data clearly pointed to the fact that
s t o r y

models will have to be redesigned, value proposi- there is a need for adding new dimensions to the
tions redefined and social systems reinvented. In science and art of High Potential Management.
this new reality, human potential will become the If an organization wants a better return on the
major agent of economic growth. In this Human investments they make on their Hi-Po programs,
Age, people will take their rightful place at center there is a need to revisit both the What and
s p e c i a l

stage as the worlds only source of inspiration, How of the programs.

passion and the driving force behind endeavor and Organizations may do well to ensure that some
enterprise. of the following elements are deliberated and
It is in this new reality that we see a number addressed as they undertake this key strategic
of organizations investing on structured High initiative.
Potential development initiatives on the rise. This
is a great sign of the realization that human capital Top management alignment and
is a true differentiator and that it pays to invest on involvement
internal talent in the long run. An effective HiPo program is one that is
The question however to ask is Are the by-the-business, and for-the-business. Hence, it
High-Potential Programs in organization deliver- is critical that the program has complete sponsor-
ing on what they promised to do? The survey ship (both during the design and execution phase)
we did recently in India covering organization from the top management of the organization.
across industries, clearly pointed towards some This will ensure that the business is articulating
challenges in this regard. About 68 percent of the their leadership needs in light of their strategy.
respondents indicated only partial satisfaction on Also, they then play a role in ensuring that the
what their HiPo programs were delivering. While best talent is being identified from the larger pool
over two-third of the respondents indicated Succes- into the program. The top management needs to
sion Planning as one of the prime objectives of a play a role in the development journey too (best
HiPo program, over 70 percent felt that they are done by being sponsors/mentors to Action Leaning
contributing to fill less than 50 percent of key lead- Projects) in order to get a first-hand feel of how
ership roles. Some other worrying indicators in the participants are responding to the pressures
of the program, and if the needle is moving for
them or not. Another key aspect to consider is
how the immediate manager of the participant
If an organization wants a better is involved in the program. The managers threat

return on the investments they perception needs to be managed through effec-

tive communication and keeping them informed
make on their Hi-Po programs, there about the program movement. The participants
will be under stretch while in the program, and
is a need to revisit both the What the support and encouragement they receive from

and How of the programs their managers can be a key enabler for their
success.
82 | JULY 2017
 Aligning HR processes to support
the program
What happens when a key role opens
up in one part of the business that is a
great fit (from competence, aspirations and
organizations needs viewpoints) for a HiPo
employee in another part of the business?
What if the immediate supervisor of this
employee is not keen to let-go of the talent? Do
organizations have defined processes to address
such situations, or are the decisions ad-hoc?
It is critical that an organization is clear in
its own head on how they intend to deal with
HiPo mobility, and communicates and aligns all
stakeholders on the same. Individual careers and
aspirations should not be held ransom to power
centers and ad-hoc decision making. This not
only compromises the larger purpose of a HiPo
program, but also erodes the credibility of the
leadership leading to cynicism in the minds of
the talent.

Rigorous selection process

A HiPo program should not be used by an
organization as an R&R or engagement
tool. In order to ensure that you are investing in
the right talent that is truly a high potential, you

s p e c i a l
should ensure that you have a selection process
that is robust and beyond biases. This starts An effective Hi-Po program is one
by defining the entry criteria for the program,
and continues with an assessment process that
that is by-the-business, and for-the-
helps one differentiate between the chalk and the
cheese. HiPo programs are meant for employees
business; it is critical that the program
who are truly up-for-it both from a potential, has complete sponsorship (both

s t o r y
and also from an attitudinal viewpoint. Hence,
an organization needs to be clear on what data
during the design and execution
points it collects and factors in while selecting
the participants. For example, how do you
phase) from the top management
measure and take into account the internal drive
and ambition of an aspirant for the program?
This will ensure that organizational resources Bet on your people
are being invested right and will give us talent The moment of truth for any HiPo program
that is ready when one needs it most. is when a key role opens up in an organi-
zation. How confident is an organization then to
Setting participants' expectation take a bet on one of its own rather than look for
right talent from outside? One needs to have confidence
A well-structured HiPo program by in its selection and development process. Giving
design needs to stretch the participants. It is the right opportunities and exposure to internal
important that the participants of the program talent at the right time is key. An over-emphasis
understand this. They need to appreciate that the on What isnt, rather than What is may send
program will be demanding and will be over and one on the hunt for a purple squirrel that does not
above their day-job. This is a key element that exist. Also, when an organization reposes its faith
needs to be communicated to the participants on employees part of a Hi-Po program, it sends
in order to ensure they are willing to do their a strong positive message to the larger workforce
part once into the program. They should not and makes the program much more aspirational.
see this program as an automatic entitlement to It will also be important that the participant is
promotions or any other benefits. Also, they need provided with some support in the new role.
to understand that they need to keep delivering Winning in a VUCA work requires organiza-
and actively participate in the program in order tions to think of newer ways of engaging and
to continue to be part of the cohort. A HiPo managing talent. While an effective High Poten-
program is not an automatic guarantee of any tial program can truly be a strategic lever for an
benefits. It is important that some of these organization to win it will demand single-mind-
expectations are communicated and aligned edness, and some fundamentals to be addressed
in order to ensure active participation and no during both the design and deployment stage.
heartburns later.
JULY 2017 | 83
 What do HiPo
programs truly
comprise?
The process of managing talent should have an integrated approach.
So what do programs that focus on HiPo development truly comprise?
By Milind Apte, SVP - HR, CEAT Tyres

T
he core foundation of a successful business strategy that helps ensure attraction
company is built on the solid grounds and retention of valuable employees. Its strong
of skilled workforce and high poten- and dominant presence in a companys human
tial employees (HiPo). A major factor resource policies helps instill confidence in
responsible for driving such busi- prospective employees by providing ample oppor-
s t o r y

ness success is to build a pipeline of talent that tunities of development and grooming.
is prepared to take on greater responsibilities Employee engagement is an essential aspect of
and leadership roles. Given the current backdrop talent retention. And, in order to drive a higher
of rapidly evolving global scenario and technol- level of employee involvement and motivate them
ogy advancements, demand for leaders who can to become valuable assets to an organization, the
s p e c i a l

succeed in todays volatile, uncertain, complex following ways are recommended:

and ambiguous (VUCA) business is on the rise.
However, at the same time, there has been an acute Introduce employee rewards and recog-
shortage of able and qualified leaders. nition programs
High-potential talent is any organizations most High-potential talent is the critical business
precious asset that possesses the true potential to differentiator. And, with changing global competi-
take the company to newer heights. And in order tion and new opportunities, retaining talent has
to balance the talent pool identifying, engaging, become very challenging. However, one of the
nurturing and developing high potential employees best ways to encourage high-potential employees
at all levels becomes a key process. This process is to recognize their talent with suitable rewards.
can be effectively managed with the introduction Recognition is a critical component of employee
of robust talent management practices. According engagement and it enables an organization to
to experts, the companies which follow comprehen- showcase that the employee is truly valued.
sive talent management practices increase their
succession planning effectiveness by almost 100
percent. Though, its success highly depends on
leadership and performance management modules.
It is believed that the process of managing
talent should have an integrated approach. Amidst
the important roles of employee engagement and
recognition, talent management is a significant

Talent today needs independence,

authority to make choices and
execute and face time with senior
leaders the proposition of Whats
In It For Me should be clearly
articulated in HiPo programs
84 | JULY 2017
Increase intensity of challenging work
Interesting, new and challenging work plays
a significant role in motivating the workforce
and helps to keep them engaged and interested
in respective job roles. A particular section of
employees, especially the high potential ones are
always on the lookout for new challenging projects.
This inculcates a realization amongst employees
that they have made a worthwhile contribution to
the business and their own personal development.

Provide abundant growth opportunities

Evaluation of employee performance decides the
next step for identifying various avenues to fulfill
employees future aspirations. In order to take care
of employee aspirations, along with training and
skill development, keen importance should also be
given to career advancement and promotion.

Link with influential mentors

Getting a high potential employee engaged with
an influential mentor or motivator can prove to
be a great employee retention strategy. Along with
increasing companys retention ratio, it can also
effectively contribute in attracting new talent
by demonstrating companys willingness to the
One of the best ways to encourage
employees holistic development. high-potential employees is to recog-

s p e c i a l
Training and Development nize their talent with suitable rewards;
High potential employees are often very ambitious
in nature and career development opportunities
Recognition is a critical component of
carry a great deal of weight age to them. Frequent
training and development programs to the deserv-
employee engagement and it enables
ing employees provide employers with a big return an organization to showcase that the

s t o r y
on investment in the future.
employee is truly valued
Create a stress-free work environment
Creating a stress-free working area promotes a
healthier workforce and helps to retain top-notch them happy and gain loyalty. To get desired return
talent in the organization which might get affected on investment after developing employee succes-
due to toxic environment. Furthermore, in order sion and leadership programs, create compelling
to ensure the successful implementation of career options suitable to employees future aspira-
organizations employee engagement initiatives, tions and curate effective training and develop-
a combined effort of HR professionals and senior ment programs to produce leaders of tomorrow.
management play an important role. When an employee is designated as top talent
within an organization, it is natural for him/her
The role of HR & middle management to expect differentiated inputs than those avail-
To foster a culture of engagement, HR should lead able to everybody else. The Talent Manager needs
the way in designing, measurement and evaluation to ensure that the proposition of Whats In It For
of proactive workplace policies and practices. This Me is clearly articulated which creates a sense of
can further help to attract and retain talent with exclusivity for the employee. Talent today needs
skills and competencies necessary for growth and independence, authority to make choices and
sustainability. Middle management plays a key role execute and face time with senior leaders. Putting
in employee engagement by creating a respectful an intervention in place which offers this will be
and trusting relationship with their colleagues and one of the key success factors of an organizations
setting expectations for the day-to-day business. talent practices.
However, managers need to be empowered by India is on the verge of becoming the worlds
giving them larger responsibilities and encourag- youngest country by 2020 with almost 40 percent
ing higher involvement in strategic decisions. By of the countrys population being under 35 years
taking up more responsibilities and realizing the of age group. This allows us a huge opportunity
level of trust the organization has on the employee, to implement best talent management practices in
it makes employees much more productive. the country. Increased levels of engagement help to
While dealing with high potential employees promote talent retention, foster customer loyalty
who have a higher aspirational quotient, the and improve organizational performance and
biggest challenge facing organizations is to keep stakeholder value.
JULY 2017 | 85
 Train & retain with
HiPo development
programs
While identifying HiPo employees and executing a development program are
challenges in themselves, retaining Hi-Po employees is an uphill task as well
By Manav Seth

H
ere are some quick facts related to the most suitable employees is of crucial impor-
High-Potential (Hi-Po) employees and tance as it sets the tone for the rest of the program.
programs: But, the scope of this article is restricted to discuss-
A CEB research shows that HIPOs ing mechanisms to retain HiPos once they are a
are 91 percent more valuable than part of such development programs. Retaining
s t o r y

non-HIPOs. However, 73 percent of HiPo programs employees who are a part of such developmental
are failing to deliver business outcomes or ROI. Only programs is easier said than done, but if the follow-
1 in 7 high performing employees classify as HiPo. ing are considered, retention does become easier:
2/3rd of HiPos say that they are dissatisfied with
their training program and over two-thirds of HIPO Learning comes in many forms
s p e c i a l

programs (69 percent) have failed to build a strong No matter the duration of the program, focusing
pipeline of leaders to take over from their firms on only one aspect of the training can prove to be
current crop. In addition to this, nearly 40 percent of a deterrent. The development program must be
internal job moves made by people identified by their pragmatic enough to take everyone along, and must
companies as high potentials end in failure. strike a balance between hard and soft skills, along
The word high potentials has long been a with core theoretical information and hands-on
buzzword in the HR community, but it seems like we practical training. A sure shot way to pump some
are still struggling with the most basic challenges energy into the program is to integrate a mentor-
of identifying HiPo employees, and designing HiPo ship-styled learning method, and allow senior
Development Programs. The first step in identifying leaders to groom HiPo employees. Furthermore,
exciting high-visibility tasks should be a part of the
program to make the participant feel like they are
actually making an impact to the working of the
organization, as opposed to the feeling of being in
an incubated stimulator.

Take them along on the ride

What several HiPo Development programs fail to do
is consider the importance of communication and

According to CEB, only

1 in 7 high performing
employees classify
as HiPo & two-thirds
of HiPos say they are
dissatisfied with their
training program
86 | JULY 2017
High-visibility tasks should be a part of the HiPo
programs so that the participants feel that they

s p e c i a l
are actually making an impact to the working of
the organization, as opposed to feeling being in
an incubated stimulator

s t o r y
dialogue in the process of training. Rigid outcomes end-goal, with special duties, expanded responsi-
of the program mean that participants are given a bilities or an official promotion that will pave the
mandate that they have to complete, and complete way for the employee to feel truly valued.
it by any means possible. However, this leads to
disenchantment over a period of time as crucial Meaning and Purpose
support structures that hold up employees when Reinforce the organization values, mission and
needed are absent. The only way to work around goals during the program, and make sure that
this is to ensure that feedback is shared at every this is connected to the broader career develop-
step, communication is two-way and engagement is ment goals of the participants. The program must
consistent. Consult the participants continuously make the employee feel that there is an earnest
regarding their career goals and paths, and make attempt to help them reach their potential and
sure the program incorporates the suggestions. not just be future ready for a bigger role in the
Begin the process of alignment of where the organization. Every organization prides itself in
employees see themselves after the program, and solving a particular problem, or having a unique
where the organization sees them at this junction vision; the development program must make sure
itself. that leaders being prepared for tomorrow truly
understand, cherish and embody the same. This
Acknowledge their value understanding that work goes beyond perfor-
While rewards and benefits based on program mance and numbers will instill a sense of purpose
outcomes are the surest way to show your appreci- in the employee, and they are much more likely to
ation for your HiPo employees, they are not nearly follow the overarching values and culture of the
enough. An efficient mechanism to highlight the organization.
progress and achievement of HiPos in the program At the end of the day, having clarity about the
is by providing opportunities to them to lead publi- path of the development program and sustained
cally, giving constant attention to their attempts communication is essential to successfully retain
at improving, and public recognition of their HiPo employees. Employees can seek a higher
milestones. Merely identifying a HiPo employee designation or more salary elsewhere too, but if
for development is not enough you have to work you can communicate the interest you have in
doubly hard to engage them too. The biggest truly developing them as leaders of tomorrow,
acknowledgement must come in the form of an they are likely to stick around.
JULY 2017 | 87
 Amitabh Adhikary

DIVYANG: Up the game

from Ramp to Board room
We are convinced about the benefits of an inclusive culture at the
workplace. But what do we have to say about inclusion of DIVYANG
the differently-abled?

The clich of talent

scarcity, drooping
employee loyalty,
rising attrition and then
discussions on solutions
through Diversity
Council, disability-
d i v e r s i t y

friendly infrastructures
are good but not enough

to this other group that is always in the shadows:

DIVYANG the physically challenged? 2011
Census study reveals that 22 million of Indias
population lives with physical challenge. Let us
try to understand them and ourselves, and why
it makes sense to up the game. When we meet
someone for the first time, we often judge them on
the basis of their physical appearance or exterior
visages. And we often perceive a persons physi-
cal inabilities far beyond the limits of his own
challenge, which in turn compounds our attitude

H
towards them. For example, we perceive a person
enry Newmans prayer Lead kindly affected by polio to be less mobile and unsuitable
Light, amid the encircling gloom, for a job that requires traveling.
Lead thou me on! is answered at All in all, our own attitudes determine not
Dialogue in the Dark, a restaurant only the social expectations and treatment
in Hyderabad. You enter a completely accorded to a DIVYANG, but also his self-image.
dark restaurant, led by servers and guides who are The message that perhaps a DIVYANG child
blind. Its unique emotional experience when you receives about self from the environment, to a
get to rely on others senses. There is complete role large extent determines his attitude about who
reversal and the experts are the ones who cant see. he is, what he can do and how he should behave.
You understand your limits, learn to communicate This is the process of internalization of role
with other in unconventional ways, and reinforce a expectancy. If parents perceive their child as
collaborative mind-set. different from what is considered normal,
We have all seen, believed and appreciated they will, generally, treat him differently, thereby
women in leadership and experienced the impact it encouraging him to be different from normal.
can bring to business. We are convinced about the Our stereotypes guide our interactions with the
inclusive culture and the overall benefit it brings differently abled and they, like others, build ideas
to the workplace. But can we replicate our thoughts and feelings about self through such interactions.
88 | JULY 2017
Rejection produces inferiority, self-consciousness
and fear. A DIVYANG rarely finds opportunities in
society because of social rejection, discriminatory
employment practices, architectural barriers and
inaccessibility to transport.
Let us see how we can make a business case to
have the differently-abled on Board.
A DIVYANG learns some life skills which are
taken for granted by a normal person.
Planning and strategizing: Each time a physi-
cally challenged person has to go to a new building,
he will look for information about the building,
whether the building has elevators, if there will
be any help in case he is stuck and other such
elements. While traveling by train, the person will
visualize and assess the possibility of reserving
more accessible seats. Thus, for each new activity,
he does meticulous planning of time and resources
so that they are utilized to yield highest possible
return.
In an organization, such a persons strengths
will be planning and optimum utilization of time
and resources.
Problem Solving: A DIVYANG confronts adverse
situations every day and is forced to develop solu-
tions for those situations. For example, a person
with a crutch who needs to access an elevated area
will plan ahead to have friend accompanying who

d i v e r s i t y
will support him.
An important skill one learns while living the
life of DIVYANG is identifying challenges and
defining them for developing solutions. Such a Change will happen when we look at
person would evaluate the solution alternatives
to achieve the desired outcome while retaining as
the challenges related to the inclusion
much independence as possible. of differently-abled as a human issue
Back to working in an organization, where a
leader has to generate solution alternatives within
the restrains of resources doesnt this life skill
Havent we heard organizations telling their
of DIVYANG seamlessly fit into organizations
managers about delayed response and thinking
requirements?
through the problem holistically?
Team Spirit: A DIVYANG has limitations and The clich of talent scarcity, drooping employee
needs support to do some tasks. But he has the loyalty, rising attrition and then discussions on
natural adeptness on when to give control to a solutions through Diversity Council, disability-
more capable person. He contributes with his friendly infrastructures are good but not enough.
strength and seeks support to compliment his Change will happen when we look at the chal-
efforts to accomplish tasks. His physical challenges lenges related to inclusion of differently-abled as
force him to see through his strengths as well as a human issue. Let us do a dialogue in the dark
challenges that threaten the success of his efforts. to remove our stereotypes, and observe and assess
His vulnerability to challenging situations forces the differently-abled on their life skills. We will
him to do scenario planning and anticipate change. suddenly see a big, untapped talent pool emerge.
In an organization, we look for such virtues for A DIVYANG will reach Board Room when each
building a High Performing Team, which a DIVY- one of us says I need a DIVYANG in my Team;
ANG practices every day. and be the face of change I want to see.

Organization & patience: A DIVYANG would

need more effort to accomplish a task compared
to his normal peers. Activities require more time,
planning and extra effort. This causes impatience
when he compares his productivity to his peers,
but learns to have patience, organizes his efforts
and generates solution alternatives to improve his About the author

productivity. He may appear slow in his efforts but

Amitabh AdhikarY is General Manager - Human
he thinks over to get the complete picture, generate Resources at Aditya Birla Group
solution alternatives and then execute his plan.

JULY 2017 | 89
 Gurucharan Singh Gandhi

Columnist or Novelist:
What are you as a Leader?
What distinguishes a columnist and a novelist at a very fundamental
level and what can leadership learn from the distinction?

God help the team and

the organization that
lives for the day even
though there is indeed
a struggle for existence
daily
s u f i

the privilege of the best possible education and

c o r p o r a t e

exposure. Yet once in a while there comes a leader

who refuses to fall prey to the very real and very
pragmatic lure of fixing the current leak instead
of looking into the quality of the pipe itself ! The
lure of today is not very easy to resist; there is
exhilaration in solving for the day. It gives a sugar
rush that misleads energy for nutrition, to borrow
a dietary metaphor.
The columnist enjoys his fame every morning

A
only to realize it by noon that he needs another one
lthough I do not remember exactly for tomorrows morning. He has to find newer and
where, but I read this poignant often more dramatic ways to capture the attention
difference between a columnist and of his readers every day morning, day after day. It
a novelist; a columnist writes for the is a kind of pressure that makes us often slip on
day and most often what he writes the slope of populism. God help the team and the
for the day is a part of trash the next day while a organization that lives for the day even though
novelist writes with at least the intention of seeing there is indeed a struggle for existence daily. The
his work outlast him. It had struck me then that aphorism behind which this is sought to be intel-
while this may be a debatable definition for some, ligently hidden is often without the short-term
it had some ring of truth in it. It is not a surprise there is no long-term.
that most of us will struggle to remember names A novel and by implication the novelist on the
of columnists who would have ruled the column other hand is a different kettle of fish. It is hard
inches half a century ago while we can rattle many labor of thinking deeply about the plot and
a names of accomplished novelists still widely read the characters, of doing the meaningful work of
and relevant even after half a century or more. fleshing out those characters and what they would
In fact many a times those remarkable novelists stand for; of at least having the broad understand-
actually seem more and more relevant with each ing of the sequence of events, the drama, the ten-
passing decade, sometimes acquiring cult status sion and the wide flow of the narrative and finally
long after they are dead and gone. I thought there ascertaining how it would connect with the reader
was something that leadership in the corporate at a very deep level.
world could reflect from this distinction. A good novel is written when it finds resonance
It is not uncommon to find leaders who work for the voice of many even if it is being written as
for the day or the quarter or the year at best. Many the voice of one. A good novelist is adept at finding
of them are quite smart and sharp and have had the echo of the collective even as she begins the

90 | JULY 2017
Real people get be far less prone to populism of the day, far more
courageous to say things that might hurt current
inspired by real stories sensibilities but things that must be said and

c o r p o r a t e
confronted if any meaningful breakthrough has to
and not by intellectual be accomplished.

abstractions and The third distinction is a distinction of style of

narrative a novelist uses characters to bring out
concepts contrarian points of view. It has a far less chance
of being perceived as pontification or sermons this
way than a columnist. Real people get inspired by
real stories and not by intellectual abstractions
search for her own voice. There is universality and concepts.

s u f i
even in the novelists uniqueness and a novelist The fourth and final distinction between them
transcends those boundaries. Leaders have a thing that leaders in the corporate world can possibly
or two to learn from this. learn from is the rather obvious deep embed-
Finally, even as the flow of events in a novel ding of the author in a novel than a columnist
takes the plot and the characters forward, each in a column. There is so much of the author, his
growing in meaning, significance and stature experiences and stake in the novel that it is quite
and by the time the reader flips the last page both impossible to decant the novelist from the novel.
the readers and the characters find solace in the This adds so much more credibility for the novelist
meaningfulness of the journey. It makes the tumult in the eyes of the reader. The columnist and the
every bit worth its while. column, and this need not be really so but appears
So what distinguishes a columnist and a novel- to be more and more true, usually appears to be
ist at a very fundamental level and what can leader- two different entities. We relate to the messenger
ship learn from the distinction even though there as much and perhaps more, than the message. Our
is merit in the thought that in real corporate world ability to assimilate and act on a message becomes
we need to be both; that there is symphony in the so much more when we realize that the messenger
balance between both. has equal or even more stake in the message. The
I believe that at a very fundamental level, the corporate world usually says this differently
novelist has a far greater sense of the long-term there is skin in the game.
than the columnist. A novelist is not in a hurry For the record I like novelists and columnists
she is willing to give the characters time to in equal measure; but if push comes to shove my
build, the story time to evolve. He recognizes that vote will be for the former.
institution-building is a slow and painstaking pro-
About the author
cess; that speed might have virtues but has great
follies too. Gurucharan Singh Gandhi is the author of
The second distinction is that a novelist, while national bestseller Kabeer In Korporates and the Head
having an eye for the readers approval is not held of Learning & Development with a leading conglomerate.
The book was recognised in the Best first Published book
ransom by it. A novelist is willing to go three levels
category at the LIT-O-FEST, a literature festival in Mumbai.
beneath the issue, unraveling human motives
www.gurucharangandhi.com
and angst layer by layer. The novelist appears to
JULY 2017 | 91
 I believe in the maxim
Ideas spread horizontally
In a candid conversation with People Matters, Moushumee Basu Roy, Head -
SuccessFactors at SAP India shares her perspectives on enabling a culture of
innovation, encouraging entrepreneurial mindset, the evolving technology
ecosystem, and managing diverse teams
By Ridhi Chugh

How do you enable a culture of

innovation in what you do and your
team?
Today, we all are witnessing an
accelerated pace of change around us.
The speed at which ideas are shaping or
disrupting the business environment has
increased manifold and in this context,
innovation is not just about creating a
differentiating aspect of business but
its an essential survival skill both for an
individual and to an organization.
At SAP, we encourage our team to
interview

have an "entrepreneurial mindset" and

strongly support creative and unorthodox
thinking. Ideas leading to innovation can
come from anybody in the team and I
personally believe in what Seth Godin says,
that Ideas spread horizontally. Since
most of our work involves working with
diverse teams with different skillsets and
backgrounds, we embrace differences in
the teams point of view and cohesively
work towards connecting the dots to get
the best possible outcomes. At the core of
our approach is the understanding that
innovation can come from any source
and hence, we work towards creating
a workplace that is based on trust,
transparency and inclusiveness so that
ideas and innovation can flow freely.

Apart from
imparting
and mandating

M
oushumee Basu Roy leads
SuccessFactors, SAPs
and Telecom across domestic and multi-
national organizations and has handled
training, todays
cloud line of HR business markets in Indian sub-continent across the workforce needs
self-directed
in the Indian subconti- enterprise as well as SME segments. Prior
nent. In her role is she is to joining SAP, she has worked with organi-
responsible for growing and managing
the SuccessFactors line of business. She
zations such as CMC, Reliance Infocom
and KPMG. Moushumee is an MBA from learning at their
has more than two decades of experience
in Sales, Marketing and Operations in IT
the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and
Business Management (IISW&BM). own pace
92 | JULY 2017
 Many resources come together to lem of managing IT besides giving them Another aspect to be considered for
make what you do a success. How do you the scale, efficiency and resilience. As Learning and Development is that apart
rationalize these resources and what can mentioned earlier line of business func- from imparting and mandating train-
be some of the biggest challenges associ- tions which were traditionally dependent ing, todays workforce needs self-directed
ated with bringing everything/everybody on IT are now independent and have access learning at their own pace, along with job
together? to innovations which were earlier quite needs and aspirations. The organization
Working with a team from diverse back- restricted. This, in turn, has widened the needs to provide a comprehensive learning
grounds and skills has its own challenges scope and applications of IT solutions at platform and an environment that fosters
and benefits. Of course, the biggest hurdle an unprecedented level. the culture of continued and voluntary
in making the team effective is breaking This change in trends is captured in a learning.
the silo that in many cases tends to creep recent Gartner report which says that in
up and reduce the impact that the team 2017 CMOs are expected to spend more on Tell us about how your journey as
can have on the business. As highlighted IT than CIOs. Marketing leaders currently a woman in leadership position like?
earlier, at SAP, we work with teams that allocate 3.24 percent of their companys Have you ever faced the conventional
are rich in diversity and bring to the board revenue to technology and CIOs technol- challenges that women face directly/indi-
different skillsets and are often collaborat- ogy spend equals 3.4 percent of revenue. rectly face in their careers?
ing from different geographies. One of the Gartner expects that narrow gap between I have worked for organizations
key reasons for our teams success is that CMO and CIO technology spending to close spanning across industries such as CMC,
we are a transparent organization and our during 2017. We are witnessing similar Reliance, KPMG and SAP. I have been
workforce feels comfortable communicat- trends in HR and Finance lines of business fortunate enough to work in very forward-
ing varying points of view. This, in turn, wherein technology spend is also rising looking organizations, to be recognized
provides us with a bigger repository of continuously.
ideas and solutions to the challenges that
we face. At a macro level, I believe what
brings us together as a cohesive unit is our
At the core of our approach is the

interview
shared belief and the sense of purpose that

understanding that innovation can

we have to make our customers run better.

Over the past twenty years, the infor-

mation technology space has undergone come from any source and hence, we
immense change. What according to you
has been one of the biggest changes that work towards creating a workplace
technology has rendered and how has it
impacted the industry?
that is based on trust, transparency
Cloud technology is, by far, the biggest
change that we have seen. It is disrupt-
and inclusiveness
ing every industry that it touches and is
compelling the old established legacy play-
ers to change their business models. It has In an industry that undergoes for my contributions and be able to work
radically democratized technology and has continual change in the form of evolving with some of the best managers in the
provided a level playing field in which both technology, how important is imparting industry, who walked the talk. Out of
large enterprises and the small enterprises continuous training to the employees? these, my longest stint has been with
have the benefit of the same technology In the current business environment SAP and long before diversity became
and the results are staggering. of fast paced change, the importance of a buzzword at the workplace, SAP is a
One of the important aspects of cloud training of employees cannot be empha- living embodiment of equal opportunities
technology is that it reduces the depend- sized enough. However, this critical area and equal challenges. The most refreshing
ency on IT and helps the line of business is often ignored or neglected by most part has been that I have not been treated
functions like HR to become more strategic organizations. As per a Deloitte report, any differently from any of my male
to the business. For example, for HR, one more than two-thirds of companies believe colleagues when it came to challenges
of the biggest benefits that cloud brings moving to next-generation learning is thrown at me or growth opportunities
is the access to work-related software or urgent or important, yet only 6 percent extended to me. Simultaneously, when
information from any device, anywhere, at have mastered the technology and content as a woman, there were occasions where
any time. aspects of learning. Skill development and I needed to balance and manage things
training in an organization will strongly across home and work, there has always
Do you think the adoption of cloud impact the overall business results, boost been complete understanding, trust
based technology has broadened the productivity, and increase organizational and respect for that need for flexibility.
scope and application of solutions competitiveness. It will also produce posi- So its been a satisfying journey and
provided by IT industry? tive business outcomes in critical areas the challenges I have faced as a woman
Yes, massively. One of the prime reasons and at key moments in an organizations employee, which has in fact helped
is that it helps organizations focus on its development, such as during mergers, me feel alive, engaged, connected and
core competency and take away the prob- acquisitions and business restructurings. fulfilled.

JULY 2017 | 93
dEEVOiR Consulting Services Private Sampoorna Computer People
Limited Dy. Manager / Asst. Manager ( Human
Business Partner HR Resources )
Location: Pune, Job ID: 20755892 Location: Other India
Description: Should have experience in Job ID: 20779157
working in a multi-faceted hands-on HR role Description: Taking end to end ownership
including both operational matters and for employee engagement activities including
strategic advisory. implementing employee strategies.

Vitasta Consulting Private Limited

Manager / Asst. Manager HR Quotient Consultancy
Location: Other India Head HR Group Lead
Job ID: 20779114 Location: Mumbai
Description: Employee Life Cycle Job ID: 20772094
Management, Talent Acquisition and Description: Collaborate with the senior
Induction Leverage employee referrals and management to define and execute the talent
job-sites to minimize costs. strategy.

New Era India Consultancy Private Ltd

Assistant Manager/ Deputy Manager Talent Black Turtle India Private Limited
Acquisition Vice President- HR Business Partner
Location: Other India (Manesar) Location: Chennai
Job ID: 20758734 Job ID: 20756775
Description: Should have excellent Description: Should have hands on work
knowledge in Talent Acquisition, experience in managing Talent Management,
Headhunting, Recruitment. Talent Rotation, Performance Management.

Talent Corner Hr Services Private Limited 2COMS Consulting Private Limited

HR Manager HR Manager
Location: Surat Location: Other India
Job ID: 20740560 Job ID: 20769085
Description: Recruitment, Training, Description: To approve the instructions
Employment law compliance, Employee relating to production operations and ensure
benefits, Handling grievances etc. their strict implementation
p
ng

nt

nt,
t.

re
 Past Month's events
Social Hiring - Module: Talent Acquisition League Unified view of work life
1 - Be Branded-Build Your Annual Conference 2017 Aditya Birla Financial
Social Profile Services Group Success
Organizer: People Matters Story
Organizer(s): People Matters & Date: 9th June, 2017
LinkedIn Talent Solutions Venue: Taj Lands End, Mumbai
Key Takeaways: A PwC research Organizer(s): People Matters &
Date: 1st June
reveals that finding the right talent is People Strong
Venue: Online
the biggest challenge that keeps CEOs Date: 14th June
Key Takeaways: The webinar focused
awake at night. In this rapidly trans- Venue: Online
on understanding the role of social
forming business scenario, CHROs Key Takeaways: When you have
profile for a successful social recruit-
and Recruitment leaders are going 14000 employees, spread across 1500
ing. The opening session of the certifi-
back to the drawing board to redefine points of presence getting a single
cation program focused on educating
talent acquisition to ensure Right view of data is one of the biggest
the participants about creating a social
Recruiting and Recruiting Right, challenges. Disconnected systems are
profile to set the foundation of a suc-
which was the theme of the event. Peo- often difficult to integrate and they
cessful social recruiting journey. The
ple Matters hosted Talent Acquisition result in revenue leakage and a sig-
key takeaways of the event included:
Leadership League Conference, where nificant business impact. Aditya Birla
Define your own personal brand
global thought-leaders and experts Financial Services Group understood
Identify the critical elements of your
Knowledge + Networking

social profile divulged into the critical aspects of the power of a unified view of work
Know the steps to create and main- talent acquisition with a focus on life for employees, managers, HR
tain an exciting social profile tenets of delivering on the business teams and CXOs and leveraged the
expectations and future of the talent power of SaaS and mobile to empower
sources. them. Suresh Mani, who spearheaded
the Digital HR transformation of
such a large scale, shared his experi-
NASSCOM D&I Initiative ences and insights from the journey
"Successfully Navigating Unpacking employee
through this event.

the Workplace for experience

Women Leaders"
Organizer: People Matters & Oracle 5 ways to optimize hiring
Organizer(s): NASSCOM (in associa- Date: 16th June
tion with Diversity Dialog) campaigns
Venue: Online
Date: 12 May, 2017 Key Takeaways: While a new genera-
Venue: India Habitat Centre, Delhi tion of digital natives takes over the Organizer: People Matters & Indeed
Key Takeaways: Developing women workforce, the challenge in front of Date: 30th May
leaders is a critical part of NASS- talent leaders is to re-engineer experi- Venue: Online
COM's mission, as companies in ences that these professionals have Key Takeaways: The webinar aimed
India are challenged with the low outside of their work. This means pro- to share creative testing tactics from
representation of women in leader- viding consumer-grade experiences real-world campaigns and focused on
ship positions. Therefore, NASSCOM, for driving employee mood, engage- key optimizations. From fine-tuning
in association with Diversity Dialogs ment, and behavior. In this webinar, budgets to reworking job titles, the
organized an interactive workshop on Shakun Khanna, Sr. Director, HCM session provided best practices and
Successfully Navigating the Work- Transformation, Oracle discussed how tips for creating effective hiring
place for Women Leaders that aimed smart organizations are approaching campaigns. The key takeaways of the
at aspiring women in middle man- the challenge to deliver unique experi- event included:
agement to take on larger and more ences for their customers. The key Optimizing job titles for better
strategic roles. takeaways of the session included: performance in search
Some of the key takeaways of the ses- Re-engineering engagement to expe- Streamlining application process
sion included: rience to lower application abandonment
Understanding the business case for How smart companies drive rates
gender diversity employee mood , engagement and Strategic allocation of budgets to
Understanding the organization and behavior using key insights from ensure reception of the best appli-
customer structure and dynamics intelligent and real-time technology cants at the lowest cost
Understanding unconscious biases, Employee experience in the manu- Tracking sources to identify
stereotypes, misconceptions of self facturing sector how to help boost performing campaigns and improv-
and others productivity ing the overall ROI

96 | JULY 2017
Upcoming events
HR Summit TechHR'17 Conference & Digitizing MSMEs: The
Exhibition Way Forward Captur-
Organizer: NASSCOM ing Next Growth Level
Date: 20th - 21st July, 2017 Organizer: People Matters through Finance, Technol-
Venue: ITC Grand Chola, Chennai Date: 3rd & 4th August 2017 ogy, Marketing & Capacity
Theme: The future of work is Venue: The Leela Ambience, Gurgaon
expected to impact all three levels Theme: TechHR - Asia's Largest HR Building
of HR Strategic, Functional and Technology Conference & Exhibition
Operational. NASSCOMs HR Sum- 2017 will bring together the best of Organizer(s): ASSOCHAM
mit 2017 will be joined by futurists, businesses, HR Leaders, HR Product Date: 21st September, 2017
technologists, business leaders who & Service experts and HR Technology Venue: Hotel Pllazio, Gurugram
are witnessing the change from the partners & startups from around the Theme: The objective of the summit
front and HR masters who are walk- globe. The much sought-after confer- is to provide assistance to the regional
ing through the storm of the change. ence is focused on providing expert MSMEs in connecting with fund
The two day summit will comprise insights, information and exposure providers, technology providers, and
discussions on what we know and to business leaders, CHROs, strategic marketing gurus as per their needs
what challenges we are ready to take. advisors and senior HR profession- ranging from collateral-free loans,
How to Register: To register online, als. From leaders like Fons Trompe- receivable financing to ERP implemen-
visit www.nasscom.in/hrsummit/ naars, the global guru of culture and tation and digital marketing among

Knowledge + Networking
transformation; and Kate Sweetman, others. The event will enable MSMEs
author, speaker and a leadership going digital in various domains.
consultant; to Brian Sommer, global How to Register: To register visit
technology industry expert and many ASSOCHAM events section
5th NHRD HRM Summit more, TechHR will have leaders
"HR - The Next Wave" from across the world who will share
their perspectives and insights on a
variety of themes. Its all set with only
Organizer: NHRD
one purpose to empower you with 19th NASSCOM BPM
Date: 8th to 9th September 2017
Venue: Welcom Hotel Sheraton, Saket,
unparalleled industry content and Strategy Summit
deep-learning conversations on topics
Delhi
across the spectrum or organization
Theme: The summit will revolve Date: 13th-14th October, 2017
transformation and talent dynamics.
around themes such as Digital Wave Venue: Bengaluru
How to register: https://www.
and Implications for HR, Artificial Theme: The Summit will present new
techhrconference.com/register
Intelligence, Human aspect in ideas and real world examples of how
Human resources, 4 generations at to overcome challenges while driving
work, Ageing Experts, White col- breakthrough business performance.
lars IR, Diversity and Inclusion. The Learn how to shift services from
standardizations to enabling innova-
sessions will be held in an interac- 6th SHRM India Annual tion through technology, insights and
tive mode and format will include
presentations, panel discussions and
Conference & Exposition rapid execution of ideas.
case studies. How to Register: To register visit
How to Register: To register visit Organizer: SHRM NASSCOM events section
NHRD events sections Date: September 14-15, 2017
Venue: Taj Palace, New Delhi
Theme: The SHRM India Annual Con-
ference will bring together thought
leaders from across the globe to pro-
vide insights on HR best practices and
new age tools that will give an edge to
the HR practitioners.
How to Register: To register visit:
www.shrmiac.org/

JULY 2017 | 97
 Blogosphere >> Tanay Chaudhari

Why does the much hyped employee honeymoon phase fade away so unceremoniously from a
sense of excitement into a lull-period of demotivating air with uninspiring hours?

Open Letter to an Employer

To,
An Employer A reprimand from a
SUB: Corporate Bullying; Behavior Mat-
ters
senior undoubtedly
works like a self-

H
ave you ever paid heed to why
a young bright employee who check especially
joins your corporate with
to speed up tasks
b l o g o s p h e r e

starry eyes and a spark to

deliver the best, often loses
his passion with reasons beyond the Law
but, could yelling,
of Diminishing Returns? Why his solidar-
ity for the company dwindles and why his
name-callings and
spirits goes kaput that eventually results unparliamentarily
in either brain drain or uninterested stiff-
ened workforce? Whose loss is it? Why
abuses really prove
does the much hyped honeymoon phase
fades away so unceremoniously from a
motivating?
sense of excitement into a lull-period of impersonally and they will lose the motiva-
demotivating air with uninspiring hours? ity. The temporary push of negative tion to perform for you.
One may give the reasons as the nature reinforcements may eke-out some iota of Corny as it sounds, the Golden Rule
and load of work, working culture or con- productivity but the person broils within Do unto others as you would have others
ditions, inter-personal or intra-personal because of apathy and insult. do unto you is a sound, proven manage-
relationships, remuneration and even The rise in expectations at workplace ment principle. The next time youre about
passage of time. But thats not all; there is viz-a-viz the real challenge to keep motiva- to discipline a worker or voice your dis-
another side to it too. tions up however, doesnt work always. The pleasure, ask yourself, Would I like to be
An employee in corporate world tenders general management rule come with spoken to the way Im thinking of speaking
effort to fulfill both individual and collec- solutions, not problems goes a long way to him or her?
tive goals of the assigned job, therefore, in resolving work-related maladies and I do understand that this letter may
rightfully termed as human resource proves great in keeping the machinery hardly make any difference to your per-
bringing in revenue and sometimes focused and running. However, somewhere spectives as our viewpoints may not match;
goodwill to the company. Now, like any in the process of demanding results, yet if we could even agree to disagree,
other resource, the human resource could many forget to add that simple human imagine what a clear channel of communi-
either be utilized to the best, improved, touch of a decent, civil behavior. cation could help us accomplish together.
upgraded, conserved and reinvigorated Heeding the excerpt from the book The seeped in abrasive platitude behavior
over-time. That or it could be exploited, Time Management Make Every Second is worth paying attention to for bringing
mishandled, ravaged and used-and- Count (Bly, Roberts) (sic) Although, efficiency and mental peace, and for main-
thrown as carelessly as possible. machines and chemicals dont care taining a cordial trustworthy workforce.
A reprimand from a senior undoubtedly whether you scream and curse at them, Wishing well,
works like a self-check especially to speed people do. Your staff and co-workers are An Employee Who Also Matters
up tasks but, could yelling, name-call- not just engineers, administrators, clerks,
ings and unparliamentarily abuses really and programmers; theyre people, first and
prove motivating? While it may serve as foremost with families and friends, likes About the author

an example in front of an open office it and dislikes with feelings. Respect them Tanay Chaudhari is a Management Profes-
surely doesnt go down well, neither in as people and youll get their respect and sional and a freelance writer.
terms of work ethics nor general human- loyalty in return. But treat them coldly and
98 | JULY 2017