Sure, it's reasonable to want to view how someone trains, but you have two or three people view it, not the entire team. That's just cheap and tacky. Pay for your own training. And call people back.
Nov 30, 2006
Not the way to recruit trainers
The HR blog points to a really shady underhand way some people recruit trainers (via the Evil HR lady):
Nov 29, 2006
Hewitt Associates in India
Donald Glade posts about the history of Hewitt Associates which he says grew organically for a long time and only recently engaged in M&A.
In fact, in India their entry was through a joint venture with an Indian HR consulting firm called Noble House, which became Noble & Hewitt and later Hewitt Associates. This happened in 1998 and much before Hewitt's other acquisitions started in 2002 in other parts of the world. The bio of Sumer Datta HRO Leader of Asia shows Hewitt's entry into the Indian market. Of course, India is quite central to Hewitt's HRO practice also.
In fact, in India their entry was through a joint venture with an Indian HR consulting firm called Noble House, which became Noble & Hewitt and later Hewitt Associates. This happened in 1998 and much before Hewitt's other acquisitions started in 2002 in other parts of the world. The bio of Sumer Datta HRO Leader of Asia shows Hewitt's entry into the Indian market. Of course, India is quite central to Hewitt's HRO practice also.
There are no comfortable jobs in HR
On an online network someone said "If recruiting is tough, then what is a comfortable role in HR?"
- Performance Management is about making sure goals are aligned, people are assessed and given correct feedback and low performers are counseled.
- Compensation is about creating pay for performance so that it is equitable and yet factors in individual performance and motivates people to strive harder, and to yet keep within organizational budgets.
- Training and learning is about assessing right developmental inputs, assessing the right intervention and following up to see whether the behavior change has actually taken place, while keeping costs low and within budget.
Social networking in India
The latest India Today chronicles the growth of social networking sites like Linkedin.com, Ryze.com and Orkut in India. (fellow blogger Dina Mehta is quoted extensively)
I've been a member of all three sites for over 2-3 years and while Ryze's growth seems to have stagnated, Orkut is really on a roll these days. Linkedin showed growth a year ago although it's reduced now, but India is in their top 10 countries now (I hope they add search by Indian cities functionality soon)
Orkut is primarily growing due to the adoption of young college going crowd and by ripple effect people in the workplace too. There is a critical mass to discover old friends now, which wasn't the case 6-10 months ago.
I haven't yet become a member of the Indian sites Yaari.com or Fropper.com (which has even been advertising on FM radio !)
Related posts:
Tricks Social Networking Sites Play
Social Media and Employer Brand Management
Business Networking Sites
Employment Brands being shaped by social software
Social networking knowledge
Branding, Social software and The Long Tail
You'll find physician jobs on The Recruiter.com.
I've been a member of all three sites for over 2-3 years and while Ryze's growth seems to have stagnated, Orkut is really on a roll these days. Linkedin showed growth a year ago although it's reduced now, but India is in their top 10 countries now (I hope they add search by Indian cities functionality soon)
Orkut is primarily growing due to the adoption of young college going crowd and by ripple effect people in the workplace too. There is a critical mass to discover old friends now, which wasn't the case 6-10 months ago.
I haven't yet become a member of the Indian sites Yaari.com or Fropper.com (which has even been advertising on FM radio !)
Related posts:
Tricks Social Networking Sites Play
Social Media and Employer Brand Management
Business Networking Sites
Employment Brands being shaped by social software
Social networking knowledge
Branding, Social software and The Long Tail
You'll find physician jobs on The Recruiter.com.
Nov 28, 2006
Becoming a B School visiting faculty
Tomorrow I cross over to the other side.
I've given guest talks at some B Schools earlier, but from tomorrow I'm going to teach a HR elective on "Performance Management & Competency Building" at KIAMS. (some of the students have also started a blog )
Wish me luck :-) The only downer is the commute from Hyderabad to Harihar.
I've given guest talks at some B Schools earlier, but from tomorrow I'm going to teach a HR elective on "Performance Management & Competency Building" at KIAMS. (some of the students have also started a blog )
Wish me luck :-) The only downer is the commute from Hyderabad to Harihar.
2006 young thought leaders
Some amazing dissertations have been selected for CRISIL's young thought leader awards.
Check them out here.
Check them out here.
Blogging trends in India
The Hindu reports on a survey by MSN : Interesting blogging trends in India :
Huh? When did business leaders and politicians start blogging in India? What's wrong with this survey? Or are Indian bloggers talking about bloggers like Jonathan Schwartz, Om Malik, Anil Dash ? (but who's the politician???)
The following findings are not so surprising:
"blogging is dominated by men, and blogs founded by business leaders make for the most enjoyable read, followed by those by politicians. "
Huh? When did business leaders and politicians start blogging in India? What's wrong with this survey? Or are Indian bloggers talking about bloggers like Jonathan Schwartz, Om Malik, Anil Dash ? (but who's the politician???)
The following findings are not so surprising:
A desire for self-improvement and personal development is found to be a key driver of India's blogosphere with a large majority of online users reading blogs to stay informed about world events. They enjoy reading about technology the most, followed closely by news and education. Elsewhere, technology content ranks low.Hmm, I guess dates of updation are revealed by most blogging software. I might have been accused of self-centred content sometimes and poor writing. So if you sense it anytime, drop me an email or comment to let me know !While growing in popularity in India, the blogging community is still nascent with only one-seventh of Net-users actively blogging. And more than half of all Net users were unaware altogether of blogs. India's blogosphere is heavily dominated by men — three quarters of its bloggers are male. It is also fuelled by young adults.
Bloggers looking to improve their sites should take note that aesthetics plays a huge role in attracting and retaining audiences.
A good blog should be updated regularly and be well-written, with eye-catching pictures. (ooops - I don't use pictures too much, readers!)
Amongst the most annoying aspects of blogging pointed out by Net users in India were poor writing, self-centred content and lack of information about when it has been updated.
Nov 27, 2006
Talent management in two directions
Dave lefkow writes on his blog that there are two ways to approach the HR software market
Talent management in two directions
I'm still disappointed there there exists no full fledged ERP for HR...something that integrates talent management, with ATS and a Learning Management System.
The closest thing I've seen to something like that was in a company's internally built system...but it still needed external ATS and LMS integration.
Talent management in two directions
I'm still disappointed there there exists no full fledged ERP for HR...something that integrates talent management, with ATS and a Learning Management System.
The closest thing I've seen to something like that was in a company's internally built system...but it still needed external ATS and LMS integration.
HRO – Defined
dd at systematicHR HRO – Defined -gives us a lowdown on the difference between HR BPO and HRO. Insightful, specially for India from which much of this HRO might be delivered.
Sapphire Weekly HR Newsletter
| News from the HR World XLRI Jamshedpur 27 November, 2006 School of Business & Human Resources |
| NEWS Work Force Management Indian managers storm global bastion If this continues any longer, Indians could be penalised for breaking one glass ceiling too many. The latest one to crack under the weight of their talent is that of management committees of global mega corporations. Citibank has nine Indians, including India CEO Sanjay Nayyar, in its 40-member council. Rivals StanChart, Deutsche and HSBC have one Indian each in their management councils. StanChart has Jaspal Bindra, who is one of the only two members outside the board of directors to be part of the governing body. Anshu Jain, the head of Deutsche Bank’s global markets, is the only Indian in the bank’s eleven-member management council. HSBC has SN Mehta, a group MD who is an integral part of the group management board. India will require two-fold increase in workforce: CII The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) estimates a booming economy - with about eight percent GDP growth annually - will require about 16-20 million workforce in the organised sector over the next 10 years to sustain the current high growth rate. A study, presented at the 14th CII quality summit here, has revealed that of the existing 8.5-million workforce in the organised sector, about 30 percent will retire in the next five years. 'With an annual growth rate of 30 percent, the IT/BPO sector will be hiring about 360,000 people in this fiscal (2006-07) and, in turn, create a million indirect jobs across the board to support its operations and infrastructure,' Sudarshan, Manipal Universal Learning Ltd president said. To find out more click on the title Employment in IT sector set to double Employment in India's fast growing telecom sector is set to double in the next five years from the present level of 1.5 million people, industry experts gathered at the CEO Conclave here have said. The Indian IT services and software sector is likely to generate revenue of 80 billion US dollars in the near future providing employment to four million people, experts, including IIM Ahmedabad professor Rekha Jain, estimate.
BPOs' no-poaching pacts fall apart The BPO industry’s much-touted no-poaching pacts seem to have come a cropper. BPOs that have inked such deals say they exist only on paper. HR honchos in the sector are now declaring that these tie-ups are largely ineffective in retaining talent due to their cosmetic nature. Large BPOs, including IBM Daksh, Dell and EXL, have declared the collapse of such pacts and are, instead, vouching for self-governance as an effective tool for employee retention. The non-performance of no-poaching pacts is also being endorsed by HR consultants like Hewitt Associates.
India, Inc. hones talent-spotting Bang in the middle of a massive expansion, there is one thing that can spoil India Inc’s party. No, it is not about getting business. Nor is it about funding issues or a spoilsport government. But it is all about getting the right people on board, at the right time. In a knowledge-led economy where business ramp-up is fast and attrition is rising, that too among top performers, employee strategy is one of the most critical factors in swinging the game for India Inc Industrial Relations Can IT sector do without unions? Labour Laws are routinely flouted by many Indian BPOs. "We contribute nearly five per cent of CCAI condemns unions in BPO; gives alternative NEW DELHI The Call Centre Association of India (CCAI) today condemned unions in BPO sector and said any unions in the industry would hamper industrial efficiency and prosperity. "Instead, we propose a non-political Business Process Industry Human Asset Maintenance Forum to address the unionisation issue," CCAI President Sam Chopra said at an open house session for call centres and BPO fraternity. International
Recruitment International Recruitment Poses Significant Challenges for HR Professionals Attracting staff from overseas remains a challenge for HR professionals due to a low rate of labour market mobility. According to a new report compiled by the Intelligence Group, in association with StepStone, despite the opportunities which exist, the annual mobility of nationals in the European Union (EU) is less than 0.4%. For those willing to work overseas, the primary motivation is to broaden experience (64%), followed by career development (50%) and the opportunity to obtain a more lucrative salary/benefits package (47%). More companies than ever before will have to develop international recruitment campaigns to ensure competitiveness. Compensation Morgan Stanley -- a Case of Pay Schizophrenia Morgan Stanley can't seem to make up its mind. First, the New York investment bank offered incentives to its senior executives not to put their money in the company's stock. Then, it turned around and offered top retail brokers goodies if they do. So, on the one hand, the company is encouraging top employees to channel their funds into something other than company stock. On the other hand, it is encouraging others to invest in its shares. There seemed to be two features of the new compensation strategy for the senior executives. Irish Financial Services Salary Survey 2006 Pay levels in Irish financial services companies are forecast to continue to increase, according to a recent survey conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Mercer’s Financial Services Remuneration Guide 2006 indicates that employers across the Irish financial services sector are projecting salary increases of 5-6% for 2007. Mercer has observed that companies are increasingly adopting a total remuneration approach to employee compensation. Larger incentives and commissions are driving the increased compensation compared to 2005. Work Force Management Employee retention plays key role in achieving business success Many business executives agree that hiring and retaining quality employees is a primary concern, and is increasingly becoming the focus of their human resources strategies. Experts say employees tend to leave jobs because of poor working conditions, lack of appreciation and support, little or no opportunity for advancement or inadequate compensation. Attracting quality employees is a function of a company's reputation, business philosophy and its desirability as a place to work. Retaining quality employees, on the other hand, involves keeping them happy and motivated, but also begins with due diligence in hiring practices. An employee retention program doesn't necessarily have to be elaborate or expensive. It can be fairly easily accomplished by implementing a few common sense best practices. Free food fuels employee energy and satisfaction Boosting workplace morale and turning employees into cheerleaders for what they sell are two of the reasons most often cited by companies that give free food to their employees. Because the kinds of places that give their workers free food tend to attract workers who already like those products - chocolate factories attract chocoholics - giving it away to those people makes it a cherished perk. "Not only is it good for morale, but we want our employees to be familiar with the product," said Michael Mitchell, Homemade Ice Cream. Ohio companies that give employees free food and drinks include J.M. Smucker Co. in Orrville southwest of Akron; Salary.com in Waltham, Mass; On the Rise Artisan Breads & Pastries etc. |
Nov 26, 2006
Six sigma comes in the way of innovation?
Fortune says:
Six sigma appeals to organization because it is the search for order in chaos, for controlling, planning and measuring. It's the classic roots of traditional management practices.
Innovation however, means letting go of controls, of relaxing the variability, of being tolerant of mistakes, of coming up with new perspectives for existing goods and services.
The article goes on to say:
1. What kind of market/markets are you competing in?
2. How are your customers changing?
3. What is the cost of entry in your market?
"In fact, of 58 large companies that have announced Six Sigma programs, 91 percent have trailed the S&P 500 since, according to an analysis by Charles Holland of consulting firm Qualpro (which espouses a competing quality-improvement process).
One of the chief problems of Six Sigma, say Holland and other critics, is that it is narrowly designed to fix an existing process, allowing little room for new ideas or an entirely different approach. All that talent - all those best and brightest - were devoted to, say, driving defects down to 3.4 per million and not on coming up with new products or disruptive technologies."
Six sigma appeals to organization because it is the search for order in chaos, for controlling, planning and measuring. It's the classic roots of traditional management practices.
Innovation however, means letting go of controls, of relaxing the variability, of being tolerant of mistakes, of coming up with new perspectives for existing goods and services.
The article goes on to say:
An inward-looking culture can leave firms vulnerable in a business world that is changing at a breakneck pace - whether it's Craigslist stealing classified ads from local newspapers or VoIP threatening to make phone calls virtually free.The paradox of business leaders is that they have got to do the trade-offs on building today's business or to prepare for the unknown tomorrow. Where to put resources would depend on the following:
1. What kind of market/markets are you competing in?
2. How are your customers changing?
3. What is the cost of entry in your market?
The cities war for talent
Richard Florida at The Creativity Exchange: shows that not just organizations but even cities are engaged in a struggle for talent
"Cities have long competed over job growth, struggling to revive their downtowns and improve their image. But the latest population trends have forced them to fight for college-educated 25- to 34-year-olds, a demographic group increasingly viewed as the key to an economic future."In Lansing, Mich., partiers can ease from bar to bar on the new Entertainment Express trolley, part of the state’s Cool Cities Initiative. In Portland, Ore., employees at an advertising firm can watch indie rock concerts at lunch and play “bump,” an abbreviated form of basketball, every afternoon.
And in Memphis, employers pay for recruits to be matched with hip young professionals in a sort of corporate Big Brothers program. A new biosciences research park is under construction — not in the suburbs, but downtown, just blocks from the nightlife of Beale Street.
Nov 25, 2006
Training - which one is better
On a HR email list I saw this email from a person:
My reply was:
We are looking for an answer?? Do employees like inbound training or
Outbound training?
Which one of them according to you is better?
Do you mean "classroom training" when you say "inbound training"? Outbound training is very popular with participants as it goes against the preconceived notions of training. It is very activity based and is outdoors and gives people a chance to escape their ordinary humdrum corporate life.
However as a HR professional, the focus should be on how people utilise learning they get in training (whether classroom or outbound) and if post training support is not given well, even with a very positive feedback (where employees might have "liked" a program) very poor implementation might result.
So when spending your training money, be very cautious :-)
TCS to hire graduates
Moving away from the "Engineers only" syndrome TCS claims it's going for a disruptive innovation by hiring science graduates and to train them on software development for a period of 7 months (as opposed to the 3 month training that engineers get). News is that it has hired some 500 such graduates for starters.
I think it's not just innovation but desperation for talent that is forcing TCS to take this path. What next? Arts and Commerce students? TCS, infy, wipr et al opening colleges to feed their demand for people?
"Five hundred science graduates are currently undergoing the pilot programme at TCS's Chennai facilities. TCS plans to scale up and make offers to 2,000 science graduates during this academic year," the company's chief executive officer S Ramadorai told a news conference in New Delhi.
Nov 23, 2006
The HR Prayer
The prayer to Catbert that every HR person utters 7 times a day.
Oops, now everyone knows about it.
Insidously transparent thing, this blogosphere is !
Oops, now everyone knows about it.
Insidously transparent thing, this blogosphere is !
HR.com launches a job site
Seems HR folks are so busy changing jobs that they can't have enough of specialised job sites !
Got a mail from Debbie McGrath, CEO of HR.com that stated
Got a mail from Debbie McGrath, CEO of HR.com that stated
HR.com announced today the launch of the largest vertical job board to support the HR Industry in North America. The HR.com Career Network will provide HR professionals with a much needed vehicle for hiring leading HR talent. The job board is free to post and search for all HR.com registered members and will feature jobs ranging from payroll clerk through to VP of HR.I built a network for HR folks in India to search for a job, way back in 2001. You can find it here. It's an egroup on Yahoo.
The return of TAS
It seems that Tata Administrative Services (TAS) is one of the preferred companies on B School campus these days.
Eons ago when I graduated, TAS was considered a fuddy-duddy place to join. It was the place you would try for if you didn't get into the consulting firms (i-banks were just visiting IIMA then :-) or the top layer of FMCG companies like HLL or P&G. TAS kind of stuck out in the placement process as you couldn't club it as an industry or function track. The fact that it sounded like the Indian Administrative Service, didn't help matters.
The high point was that if you were selected for the final round of interview you would get to meet Ratan Tata himself in person, over dinner, at Mumbai.
So when I found out that it's a hot firm in campus, I wanted to understand how it had gone about polishing its brand. Currently TAS offers global projects too, to make itself comparable to global firms. And the final interviews are conducted by Noel Tata, considered by many to be Ratan Tata's successor.
This article at the Tata site is very useful, even though it was written in 2002. It shows the thought behind the branding.
....instituted a Tata Leadership Award, 2002 for management students who participate in a contest and present outstanding case studies.
TAS has a clear presence on the campuses now, it is in turn banking on the Tata presence across industries, from infotech to automobiles to attract the best talent. This talent promises to work in different industries thanks to the cross-level functional ability from work-level study that has been implemented across the group.
Another article states:
Says a Tata manager who graduated from a B-school in 2000: "Salaries were a major part of why TAS lost out when the MNCs came in; the pay was incomparable and acted as a discouraging factor."
The new TAS resembles any other training program followed by a GE or an HLL, in spirit at least. That’s very different from the institution that Tata Administrative Services was — sourcing multi-disciplinary talent and grooming it in its backyard.
Eons ago when I graduated, TAS was considered a fuddy-duddy place to join. It was the place you would try for if you didn't get into the consulting firms (i-banks were just visiting IIMA then :-) or the top layer of FMCG companies like HLL or P&G. TAS kind of stuck out in the placement process as you couldn't club it as an industry or function track. The fact that it sounded like the Indian Administrative Service, didn't help matters.
The high point was that if you were selected for the final round of interview you would get to meet Ratan Tata himself in person, over dinner, at Mumbai.
So when I found out that it's a hot firm in campus, I wanted to understand how it had gone about polishing its brand. Currently TAS offers global projects too, to make itself comparable to global firms. And the final interviews are conducted by Noel Tata, considered by many to be Ratan Tata's successor.
This article at the Tata site is very useful, even though it was written in 2002. It shows the thought behind the branding.
....instituted a Tata Leadership Award, 2002 for management students who participate in a contest and present outstanding case studies.
TAS has a clear presence on the campuses now, it is in turn banking on the Tata presence across industries, from infotech to automobiles to attract the best talent. This talent promises to work in different industries thanks to the cross-level functional ability from work-level study that has been implemented across the group.
Another article states:
Says a Tata manager who graduated from a B-school in 2000: "Salaries were a major part of why TAS lost out when the MNCs came in; the pay was incomparable and acted as a discouraging factor."
The new TAS resembles any other training program followed by a GE or an HLL, in spirit at least. That’s very different from the institution that Tata Administrative Services was — sourcing multi-disciplinary talent and grooming it in its backyard.
KM is about OD
KM guru Denham recounts some perennial KM issues firms deal with and I am more and more convinced, that once the IT infrastructure and issues are sorted out, KM is an Organizational Development initiative. I mean, look at what Denham points out to:
Organizational Development and Knowledge Management
OD and KM - More thoughts
OD and Web 2.0
- How to speed learning, increase awareness and share experiences.
- Helping groups learn from mistakes and errors, practices to carry over learnings from project to project and improve corporate memory.
- Discovering opportunities and gaps in knowledge flows, improving personal networking and finding experts (in larger firms).
- Providing environments, tools and processes that encourage informal learning, knowledge sharing of effective practices and stimulate innovation.
- Improving competitive advantage, agility and adaption by making staff more aware, sharing the small insights, building on incremental improvements.
- Finding tacit knowledge sources and helping to put these to work.
Organizational Development and Knowledge Management
OD and KM - More thoughts
OD and Web 2.0
The Cycle
Every crisis carries within it the seeds for the next phase of growth...and each phase of growth carries with it the seeds of the next crisis.
Not said by a philosopher...but by a management academic and consultant, Larry Griener, in 1972 !
Of course, Larry was talking about organizational growth :-) , but the truth is so evident in every facet of life, isn't it? In fact, in its essence it sounds almost like the Hindu theory of reincarnation.
In fact, Creative Destruction, sounds like a job for Shiva.
Not said by a philosopher...but by a management academic and consultant, Larry Griener, in 1972 !
Of course, Larry was talking about organizational growth :-) , but the truth is so evident in every facet of life, isn't it? In fact, in its essence it sounds almost like the Hindu theory of reincarnation.
In fact, Creative Destruction, sounds like a job for Shiva.
Coaching: Some questions
With innovation being the order of the day, there is a need to update and learn new skills. Now there are other emerging options that gives an option for desktop learning, making it seems a lot easier. But then, will theory alone suffice this need for more?
As professionals you undoubtedly feel the need to continuously update your skills and learn new skills. The most usual method is to enroll in a training course which is either offered by your company internally or to go to a training vendor and get the certification. New emerging options for you are learning at the desktop with the help of either virtual classrooms or multimedia e-learning packages.
But the most effective way of learning has always been, and continues to be, learning by doing. Right from the time of ancient India and the gurukul tradition to the pre-industrial age in Europe, when skills were passed by apprenticeship, it was the most preferred way to pass knowledge and competencies. This was because using this methodology not just explicits knowledge [which contributes the "knowing what" of a skill] but also the tacit knowledge (which constitutes the "knowing how") gets passed from the senior to the junior.
How does this eclectic means of improving competence have anything to do with developing your competence?
Before we go further I'll just touch on the meaning of the word "competencies". Contrary to the oft-meant expression, competencies are not just skills, but are a basket in which, knowledge, skills, attitudes and values of a person reside. Hence the term developing competencies usually implies some degree of change in all these variables.
But usually, a formal training program only develops the knowledge part, hoping that skills would develop and almost never touching attitudes and values. This drawback can be offset if one has a personal coach who takes an interest in the personal and professional development of oneself.
Who are coaches and what does coaching mean?
Coaching is a process by which an individual (the coach) helps another to remove internal barriers towards an achievement and helps to learn, perform and achieve.
Who makes a good coach?
A coach can be a person known to you, who is more skilled and genuinely takes interest in your growth and development. He/she could be a member of your organization but that is not necessary. He/ She should have a orientation towards learning and development. It would help if they have done training or tutored and coached others. He/she should also have a keen understanding of your ambitions and strengths.
How to go about building the coaching relationship?
If you admire a person who has grown professionally in your chosen field and feel that you would be grateful for his/her advice and coaching, approach him/her with your desire to accept them as a coach. They should feel challenged in helping you grow as a professional. Be warned that coaching needs commitment and desire from both parties to succeed and also needs time to mature. So explicitly state your expectations from them and ask their expectations from you.
How does the Coach help you develop?
The coach instructs you to do an activity, and then while you do it observes you, gives feedback and then works along with you to help you do it better the next time.
As professionals you undoubtedly feel the need to continuously update your skills and learn new skills. The most usual method is to enroll in a training course which is either offered by your company internally or to go to a training vendor and get the certification. New emerging options for you are learning at the desktop with the help of either virtual classrooms or multimedia e-learning packages.
But the most effective way of learning has always been, and continues to be, learning by doing. Right from the time of ancient India and the gurukul tradition to the pre-industrial age in Europe, when skills were passed by apprenticeship, it was the most preferred way to pass knowledge and competencies. This was because using this methodology not just explicits knowledge [which contributes the "knowing what" of a skill] but also the tacit knowledge (which constitutes the "knowing how") gets passed from the senior to the junior.
How does this eclectic means of improving competence have anything to do with developing your competence?
Before we go further I'll just touch on the meaning of the word "competencies". Contrary to the oft-meant expression, competencies are not just skills, but are a basket in which, knowledge, skills, attitudes and values of a person reside. Hence the term developing competencies usually implies some degree of change in all these variables.
But usually, a formal training program only develops the knowledge part, hoping that skills would develop and almost never touching attitudes and values. This drawback can be offset if one has a personal coach who takes an interest in the personal and professional development of oneself.
Who are coaches and what does coaching mean?
Coaching is a process by which an individual (the coach) helps another to remove internal barriers towards an achievement and helps to learn, perform and achieve.
Who makes a good coach?
A coach can be a person known to you, who is more skilled and genuinely takes interest in your growth and development. He/she could be a member of your organization but that is not necessary. He/ She should have a orientation towards learning and development. It would help if they have done training or tutored and coached others. He/she should also have a keen understanding of your ambitions and strengths.
How to go about building the coaching relationship?
If you admire a person who has grown professionally in your chosen field and feel that you would be grateful for his/her advice and coaching, approach him/her with your desire to accept them as a coach. They should feel challenged in helping you grow as a professional. Be warned that coaching needs commitment and desire from both parties to succeed and also needs time to mature. So explicitly state your expectations from them and ask their expectations from you.
How does the Coach help you develop?
The coach instructs you to do an activity, and then while you do it observes you, gives feedback and then works along with you to help you do it better the next time.
Organizational Chart Wiki
Joel reports that the often sacred "organizational chart" will be available for people to create and everyone to see !
Scoble outlines CogMap, a wiki that empowers anyone, employee or not, to create organizational charts for any company, big or small.
This is going to spook a lot of companies. Now, there’s no way to know if these org charts are accurate once you get beyond the executive suite. Still, as Wikipedia has showed us, once the network effect takes over, the quality of information may get a lot better. It would be great as CogMap ramps up to give companies a place to verify information - should they even wish to.
Org charts for Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft are already available.
Wow ! That's one more tool for sales people and recruiters to use. Considering the fact that Indian firms' charts change so frequently it will require a really dedicated wiki chap to maintain relevance !
Musings
My thoughts on the future of HR and recruiting got published on Jobster's The Networker newsletter. A copy is available at the Recruiting.com site too.
Feedback welcome.
Feedback welcome.
Nov 22, 2006
Everybody serves
If you are getting paid, then you must be serving somebody. As Charu says, first you are an executive assistant in the corporate world.
Yes, even freelancers like me.
But thankfully we can afford to choose whom we serve.
In fact, one small consulting firm went through some gut wrenching discussions internally on whether they should be doing consulting or training work for tobacco or liquor companies.
So even if we serve, whether as external consultants or internal staff functions, at an individual level, we always have a choice.
Yes, even freelancers like me.
But thankfully we can afford to choose whom we serve.
In fact, one small consulting firm went through some gut wrenching discussions internally on whether they should be doing consulting or training work for tobacco or liquor companies.
So even if we serve, whether as external consultants or internal staff functions, at an individual level, we always have a choice.
Find call center jobs at Jobs In Call Centers.com.
Notice period debates
There's a big debate that I missed as I was offline, on whether an employee is obliged to served the notice period.
Rashmi has her views here and Vulturo's is here.
My take is that yes current Indian systems are biased in favour of the employers.
As the balance of power continues to shift in favour of the employees, the rule for notice period will become more and more like the US where there is a 15 day notice period, and the employee is under NO obligation to serve it.
Of course, the employer is free to fire you without a day's notice too.
As the Indian workplace evolves and becomes segmented according to industry a lot of these useless rules will wither away and die.
Amen to that.
Rashmi has her views here and Vulturo's is here.
My take is that yes current Indian systems are biased in favour of the employers.
As the balance of power continues to shift in favour of the employees, the rule for notice period will become more and more like the US where there is a 15 day notice period, and the employee is under NO obligation to serve it.
Of course, the employer is free to fire you without a day's notice too.
As the Indian workplace evolves and becomes segmented according to industry a lot of these useless rules will wither away and die.
Amen to that.
Back after a hiatus
I was in Kolkata and Jamshedpur over the last 6 days. Had originally gone there to attend our alumni homecoming which was canceled due to a tragic event. However, my relatives are in both the cities so utilized the time to meet them.
Kolkata still can't seem to shake off its Marxist identity. One day was the huge leftist rally which was called to protest the Saddam hanging ! Of course, everyone conveniently forgot that Saddam was a Communist killer in his time and had banned the Communist Party of Iraq !
Then there were news that unions were being formed in the state's fast growing IT sector, but there is news that it's actually devoid of IT professionals !
Kolkata still can't seem to shake off its Marxist identity. One day was the huge leftist rally which was called to protest the Saddam hanging ! Of course, everyone conveniently forgot that Saddam was a Communist killer in his time and had banned the Communist Party of Iraq !
Then there were news that unions were being formed in the state's fast growing IT sector, but there is news that it's actually devoid of IT professionals !
Nov 14, 2006
Leader Member Exchange
I had first heard about In-groups in the context of the Leader Member Exchange theory.
Charu describes a manifestation of such a process which she labels "Sutta-Bonding" :-)
Becoming a member of the Leader's in-group is a tricky political thing, and is a double edged sword. Often when leaders leave the new leader either marginalises the earlier in-group or replaces it with his or her own in-group.
The causes for formation of such an in-group might be visible (like people who like smoking together) or more ingrained in social biases (like a similar worldview). For being an effective leader it becomes imperative to constantly be inclusive and get view-points of people not in the in-group to get a diverse perspective.
How does your organization define diversity and inclusion?
Charu describes a manifestation of such a process which she labels "Sutta-Bonding" :-)
Becoming a member of the Leader's in-group is a tricky political thing, and is a double edged sword. Often when leaders leave the new leader either marginalises the earlier in-group or replaces it with his or her own in-group.
The causes for formation of such an in-group might be visible (like people who like smoking together) or more ingrained in social biases (like a similar worldview). For being an effective leader it becomes imperative to constantly be inclusive and get view-points of people not in the in-group to get a diverse perspective.
How does your organization define diversity and inclusion?
India sends most students to the US
Richard Florida (author of The Creative Class) quotes the The Institute of International Education's Open Doors 2006 report [Download opendoors2006_fastfacts.pdf ]. Richard is a new convert to blogging and joins leading US authors like Gladwell, John Hagel and Seth Godin who are also blogging. His book Creative Class explores creativity and its link to economic growth. It is a must read for city level economic growth that people should read.
India is the leading place of origin for international students with 76,503 students in the U.S. in 2005/06 (a decrease of 5% from the previous year), followed by #2 China (62,582, up less than 1%)
What is interesting for me to note is that Indian numbers have decreased and I think it's not only because higher education institutes in India are but also because of the marketing efforts of educational institutes from places like Singapore, Australia and perennial favorite UK that is catching up.
India is the leading place of origin for international students with 76,503 students in the U.S. in 2005/06 (a decrease of 5% from the previous year), followed by #2 China (62,582, up less than 1%)
What is interesting for me to note is that Indian numbers have decreased and I think it's not only because higher education institutes in India are but also because of the marketing efforts of educational institutes from places like Singapore, Australia and perennial favorite UK that is catching up.
SAPPHIRE Weekly- News from the HR world
XLRI
13 November, 2006 School of Business & Human Resources
NEWS
Work Force Management
Talent shortage is India Inc’s greatest problem says CII
While the economy is experiencing a 10-12% growth, India Inc is facing a shortage of manpower at all levels. It is becoming difficult to get CEOs with domain expertise to run the business as multinationals grab Indian CEOs and Indian firms expand their operations overseas. Lack of vocational training and exposure to industry requirements makes it difficult for the industry to get people for managerial posts and other positions at the bottom of the pyramid.
The CII Institute of quality is conducting a two-day national summit on quality of education at school, college and university level in
To find out more click on the title
Why
The World Bank Institute offers a formal definition of a knowledge economy as one that creates, disseminates, and uses knowledge to enhance its growth and development.