76% of all companies in the survey were found to have some kind of succession plan in place, yet 40% of companies lacked any process or capability to identify future talent. You simply cannot identify successors effectively, if you do not have a regular process in place to identify talent within your company. Talent reviews should be the starting point, not the end point of the talent management process. Managers should have plenty of tools to help identify talent. 360 reviews, performance reviews, and competency assessments can all be used to make reasonable assumptions about the potential of an individual.
I handle the Recruitment Classifieds business for a leading Publication house in Mumbai.I am concerned about the recent dip in the volume of advertisements in the recent past.Have been trying ways and means to increase business but seems extremely difficult to innovate in this area due to various market reasons.Need your inputs
My advice to Sanal would be to embrace the change. Advertising for recruiting classifieds will drop even more as more and more job portals and customised niche job boards come up and job seekers discover that searching bookmarking and applying to jobs is a whole lot more easier than earlier. Adding to the mix are vertical search engines like Rediff and Bixee who get you all the jobs at one place.
What's a publication house to do?
Well there are some things it can do:
Leverage the existing assets that it has. Existing relationships with businesses who used to advertise is a good place to start. If the publication house does not have a website yet then it should have one with relevant content and then start its jobs center on that website. Pushing readers from offline publication to online content by giving unedited content on the website is a good way to start. Marketing the savvy online reader to the advertiser would not be difficult - if you know what the biggest headache with online job boards are - resume spam.
Come up with a method to fight that and VCs would be willing to give you money!
Over
time, that led us to be bolder in our search for talent. We started to
ask “What if the college degree itself is not really that useful? What
if we took kids after high school, train them ourselves?” I talked to a
lot of people internally, and one of our product managers introduced me
to his uncle, a college professor, who he thought might be interested
in hearing me out. As I shared our observations on recruiting, he
shared his own experience in over twenty years teaching Mathematics and
later Computer Science. It turned out we shared a common passion. He
joined us within a month to start our “AdventNet University” as we very
imaginatively called it. This was in 2005. He went to schools around
Chennai to recruit students. So as not to distract anyone from their
existing plans, we waited till the school year ended, went to several
schools to ask for bright students who were definitely not going to
college for whatever reason (usually economic). We then called on those
students and their parents, and explained our plan. We started with an
initial batch of six students in 2005, who were in the age range 17 or
18.
That proved to be an outstanding success.
Within 2 years, those students would become full time employees, their
work performance indistinguishable from their college-educated peers.
We have since expanded the program, with the latest batch of students
consisting of about 20, recruited not just from Chennai but smaller
towns and villages in the region.
What would be metrics that a HR Generalist would need to keep in mind, apart from retention and attrition metrics?
Harvey’s first job out of college was working in the shipping department of an envelope company and two years later rose to become a salesman. Three years after that he left to start his own envelope manufacturing company, Mackay Envelope Company, which he built into a $100 million company today with 600 employees.
In 2002, Harvey was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame. In 1979-81, he was elected by his peers to lead the Envelope Manufacturers Association.
Fortune magazine called Harvey Mackay "Mr. Make Things Happen." As a successful author, businessman, speaker, and nationally syndicated columnist, Harvey Mackay's energy and enthusiasm are infectious. Two of his books, Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt, were ranked #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers List. Both books are also among the top 15 inspirational business books of all time, according to the New York Times.
After the success of Swim With The Sharks, Harvey followed up with Beware The Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt, Sharkproof, Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty, Pushing The Envelope, The Rolodex Network Builder, and We Got Fired. . . And It's the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Us
"At Mercer, we address the entire gamut of transformational human resource challenges that Indian companies increasingly face today. A clear priority for me is to evaluate potential synergies in our different lines of business, and develop ways to partner with customers in driving their overall strategic imperatives in terms of talent acquisition and management," said Ms. Ravichander.
In a deal scratched over a couple hours of e-mailing (including a quip about someone’s grandma), I am pleased to announce a sponsorship deal with Laurie Ruettimann’s HR Bloggers group (www.hrbloggers.com).
There was a session on HR Leadership: Paradigm shift from process recruiters to business leaders. When the Chairperson of the panel, Mr. Pratik Kumar (EVP HR, Wipro) asked the speakers as what would they like to request from their business leaders, we had some *really cool* answers (read: CEO bashing)!
Nandita Gurjar (VP & Group Head, Infosys) would like to see a recession, so that things cool-off a little bit, giving her the most deserved respite from managing change and pushing growth initiative at the same time - definitely not an easy job by any standards. I understand that she said it on a lighter note, but if you have a serious thought on this issue, it is actually not a bad idea!
Elango R (Chief HR Officer, Mphasis) in his witty style wants CEOs to stop reading books and attending conferences. He feels that there is a new "clone it" idea brought in by the CEO everyday, which makes life really difficult for the guy. I know he does not mean it. But does it really matter. It is not going to change anytime soon.
CEO’s: Are you listening?
It just resonated in my own ears! After all, I am also one of the culprits.
Facilitators need to be skilled at group dynamics, able to read when the team is flagging or when it is hitting on all cylinders. They have to be patient, yet willing to exercise discipline if one person can't stop talking or is becoming aggressive. It is more a matter of personality than formal training, but it can't hurt to bring in people to watch a well-run brainstorming session to see how it works.
There could be push factors, for example, feelings of being treated unfairly or inequitably around salary, bonus, increments or assignments etc. Sometimes a resignation is an employee's way of protesting against unfulfilling work conditions or even a statement against the corporation's values. The list of reasons could go on. The Push factors are all internal to the existing employer. Of all the push factors, the most popular one is around Manager Quality. "People don't leave organizations, they leave managers." The managers' ability to know the company policies, basic HR processes eg performance management, career development etc and skills like giving feedback, being a career coach etc can be the biggest reason for an employee to stay or quit the organization. There could as well be Push Factors that are intangible. These could be the culture, the employer brand and many other things that never make it to the Letter of Appointment.
If the tangible stuff is what attracts the employees, it is the intangibles that retain and engage the company's top talent. One of the big intangibles is around the company's culture. Every organization follows the unwritten code that immediately strikes the newbie. These are the unspoken norms around what is done and what is not done. From the dress code at work to what behavior is expected of the role and how the organization treats its achievers - all of it together forms the culture in which an employee thrives or suffocates. Every organization's statements of Values, Mission etc sounds noble. If they all followed them in letter and spirit, nobody would go to bed hungry in this world. These are always intended behavior.
Great article by Peter Capelli in today's HR Executive that discusses the relationship between HR policies and stock performance. It summarizes the findings, entitled, "Does the Stock Market Fully Value Intangibles? Employee Satisfaction and Equity Prices
On the ground, employers were really beginning to feel the pinch as senior management attempted to cover the void left by their missing HR departments for yet another week. 'We just have no idea which of the first-aid kits are fully stocked,' confided a director of one major corporation. 'And we are already more than a month late on our annual office chair audit. If things continue like this, who knows, I could lose half of my staff to repetitive strain injury. Or whatever it is they monitor.'Is HR strategic in your organization?
However a spokesman for the union was in defiant mood. 'This is only the beginning' he threatened. 'Just wait until people realise that their holiday forms are not being signed off, or that performance appraisals haven't been sent out. Employers will be crawling back to us on their knees soon enough'.
At noon yesterday the Prime Minister gave the go-ahead for the army to be sent in to provide emergency cover, and teams of soldiers were rapidly deployed at key points in personnel departments around the country. 'We have some paratroopers stationed in the office by the photocopier' said one secretary. 'I went to get some advice on an equal opportunities training course I'm interested in and they just made obscene comments about my breasts.'
The HR strike, now entering its tenth week, has resulted in a UK-wide loss of efficiency of 0.0003%, or £1.27. Striking HR professionals have been advising themselves on whether they are 'working from home' or taking annual leave. 'My biggest problem is that I can never remember if I am getting time-off-in-lieu for picketing or not', said one striker. 'But when I ring myself up for advice I'm not there.'
from Booz & Co. Interesting piece of simulation (via Prolificd on Twitter)
Check here to take the simulation if you can decide which one of these types does your organization belong to.
According to a related article on the Booz website:
Over 3,100 businesspeople have already completed Booz Allen's online evaluation, which is available at www.orgdna.com. Almost half (48%) of the responses have come from senior or middle management, and the industries best represented are professional services (21%) and software (11%). Companies of a broad range of sizes are represented, with 38% of respondents working for companies that have annual revenues of $500 million or more.
The diagnostic tool found "passive-aggressive" to be the most common corporate type, at 32%. Such an organization seems congenial, even conflict-free, yet still resists meaningful change. "This is the 'everyone agrees but nothing changes' organization," said Booz Allen Senior Vice President, Gary Neilson. "Building a consensus to make major changes is no problem; it's implementing them that proves difficult. Line employees tend to ignore mandates from headquarters, assuming 'this too shall pass.' In such an apathetic organization, instituting change is like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall."
The next most common corporate type is "overmanaged" at 18%, with bureaucracy and politics hindering action. The "outgrown" organization, which does not expand decision-making authority to match its size, was the least common type, at only 2%.
The diagnosis tool is here if you want to take that survey too.
Says this article from AESC's SearchWire
The colour of the skin no longer matters in India Inc's boardrooms. Corporate India, which depended heavily on leadership talent from the US and the UK during its early days of globalisation, is now looking at expertise from markets similar to the Indian context.
Executive search firms in India now traverse the map to identify and hire expat talent from Vietnam, Malaysia, Russia, Finland, Poland and Australia to take the country into the next level of growth. "That's because India now needs specific skills, unlike in the past when leadership was only mandated to take the company to US and European markets," says Arun Das Mahapatra, Partner, Heidrick & Struggles, a global executive search firm.
Anjali Bansal, Chief Executive Officer, Spencer Stuart, agrees, "Of late, we have imported expat talent from countries similar to India, in terms of their culture and economic development." Spencer Stuart, a global executive search consulting firm, has recruited CXOs from Vietnam, South Africa, Brazil, Australia and West Asia. Global search firm EMA Partners, too, has concluded recruitment deals for Indian companies from Finland and Poland (for expertise in metals), Australia (for mining) and West Asia (for real estate, infrastructure and oil and gas sectors), says K Sudarshan, Managing Partner, EMA Partners International.
The trend, though still in early stages, is a pointer to the fact that Indian companies are looking for experience in evolving and emerging markets similar to India. The reason for the shift, says Gerry Davis, Regional Managing Partner, Asia Pacific, Heidrick & Struggles, is because Indian companies are hiring smart now.
That seems to be the same thing my good friend AK Menon - executive search consultant who specialises in 'expat" placements also seems to be blogging about these days!
I know, elsewhere on this blog we've called Marvin Bower that. However Peter Drucker's PhD student in this article says that Drucker was not only the father of modern management but the father of management consulting too.
He said that his experience with management consulting started just prior to the U.S. entry into World War II. With a doctoral degree, he was mobilized for the war effort in a civilian capacity and ordered to report to a certain army colonel. Peter was told that he was to serve as a "management consultant." Drucker told us that he had no idea what a management consultant was. He checked a dictionary, but the term couldn't be found. He said he went to the library and the bookstore. "Today," he told us, "you will find shelves of titles about management. In those days, there was almost nothing. The few books available didn't include the term, much less explain it." He asked several friends but had no better luck. They didn't know what a management consultant was either.
On the appointed time and date Drucker proceeded to the colonel's office, wondering all the way exactly what he was getting in to. A receptionist asked him to wait and an unsmiling sergeant came to escort him to the colonel. This must have been a little intimidating for a young immigrant who not too many years earlier had fled from the military dictatorship of Nazi Germany with almost all party members in one sort of uniform or another.
Peter was led into the office by yet another stern-faced assistant. The colonel glanced at Peter's orders and invited him to be seated. He asked Peter to tell him about himself. He questioned Drucker at some length about his background and education. But though they seemed to talk on and on, Drucker did not learn what the colonel's office was responsible for, nor was he given any understanding as to what he would be doing for the colonel as a "management consultant." It seemed as if they were talking round and round to no purpose.
Drucker was more than a little uncomfortable in dealing with the colonel. He hoped that he would soon get to the point and explain exactly what kind of work he would be involved in for the war effort. He was growing increasingly frustrated. Finally, Drucker could stand it no longer. "Please sir, can you tell me what a management consultant does?" he asked respectfully.
Drucker told the class that the colonel glared at him for what seemed like a long time and then responded: "Young man, don't be impertinent." "By which," Drucker told us, "I knew that he didn't know what a management consultant did either."
Drucker knew that someone who did know what was expected of a management consultant had made this assignment. Having lived in England and read Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Drucker knew what a "consulting detective" did. With that knowledge and the insight that the colonel did not know anything about management consulting, Drucker asked direct questions about the colonel's responsibilities and problems. Peter then laid out some options about what should be done and the work, he, Drucker should do. The colonel was interested and clearly relieved. He accepted Peter's proposals in their entirety. This proved to be Drucker's first successful consulting engagement.
So, Peter Drucker was not only "the father of modern management;" one could make a case for him being the father of modern management consulting as well. Of course, the Harvard Business School awards this title to HBS graduate Marvin Bower, famed director of McKinsey & Company from 1950 to 1967 and a partner of the firm until 1992. Interestingly, the cubicle right next to Marvin Bower's when Bower worked for the government during World War II was occupied by ... Peter Drucker.
Hmm. So the real inspiration for consultants happens to be a fictional character - Sherlock Holmes?
If you take a look at the right hand sidebar on the blog you would see two new sections.
"Who Links Here" is the list of 5 recent sites/blogs that have linked to this blog according to Technorati.
Whereas if you scroll down a little more you would be able to see a heading called "Who's Talking About Me" which is a list of blogs/sites linking to this blog according to Google blogsearch.
As you can see the list has differences, and while I am no geek to explain to you why that happens, I thought I would keep both of them anyway.
I appreciate the people who link to my blog and this is my way of thanking them!
When talking to a friend who is HR manager for a fairly well known organization MNC in India it dawned on me that HR interventions could be really fun and not boring number crunching all the time.
This has happened over the last couple of months. Everytime I call this friend he would pick up the call and say "Hey I can't talk to you right now, because I am at an official dinner" ( or "Am at an office party", or "I am at this happening pub in Hyderabad with my office colleagues")
So yesterday I asked him "Hey what's up? Whenever I call you - you are out partying with your office colleagues? Are they that cool or what?"
So my cool dude friend answers "Hey, what can I do? I'm the HR guy looking after this biz unit and we have various parties across the month to celebrate some success or project launch or project ending --" I interrupted "And project middles also, I guess?"
"Yeah that too- mid project celebrations" He said without batting an eyelid.
"But why so many parties? I know tonnes of organizations that are in your business but they don't party like you do"
He looked shocked "Hey, we don't party so much - We're in cost cutting mode. Earlier we used to have at least 2 parties a week!"
It was my turn to let my jaws drop.
This organization has a tonnes of young talented people working for it and it's not the leading paymaster in its industry. Yet its attrition rates are much lower than other firms' in the comparable competitor list. I guess the parties have a small role to play.
How many friends from work do you like to hang out with?
Aaah. I guessed as much !
A portal not for jobseekers but for recruiters and corporates to connect. That's an essential difference, IMHO.
That and the fact that the firm is Hyderabad-based :)
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