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on the issue of nepotism in theentertainment industry. It is indeedironic that this has come about whenthe country is already reeling undermassive disruptions owing to theCOVID-19 pandemic, and theentertainment industry in particular hasbeen left high and dry owing to issuessuch as closed theatres and productionwork being halted mid-way. This hasalso brought into focus issues such asfinancial upheavals, job losses andworking within the limited confines ofone's home leading to depression,domestic abuse, and in the worst-casescenario, suicidal tendencies.
Human Capital, in its July edition, hastherefore come about with the crucialissue of "Employee Wellness". A Gartner
study, which has revealed that 68% oforganisations have brought in at least onewellness initiative by March 2020 trulycomes about as heartening. With unlockbeing underway, offices preparing to openup, not only need to adhere to socialdistancing protocols to ensure physicalsafety, also need to pay heed to theemployees' mental health. Vikas Duawrites that HR professionals must act asmentors, counsellors and guides until theworld invents a vaccine for COVID-19.Amarpreet Bhamra writes that eventhough employee wellness has emerged asone of the important parameters for anorganisation, they had thus far ignoredthe fact that wellness has a direct impacton productivity.
In an exclusive conversation with HumanCapital, Dr. Steven Rogelberg, Chancellor'sProfessor, University of North CarolinaCharlotte, reveals how science can helpfix bad meetings. Backed with evidence,Dr. Steven provides tips on effectivemanagement of inclusive meetings andpractical advice on how leaders and HRprofessionals are positioned to ensuresuccess in meetings. In an interviewwith Human Capital, Paul Gibbons, bestselling author and speaker, speaks aboutchange agility, digital transformation,behavioural science, and the fascinatingsurprises that the pandemic hasuncovered.
Persona features Rahul Goyal, ManagingDirector and General Manager, ADP India& South East Asia. Rahul is a proponentof the outside-in approach to business andenjoys working on ambitious greenfieldprojects. He strongly believes in makingthings happen rather than waiting forthem to happen. Case Study presents theignominious predicament confrontingtoday's professionals from various sectorsin the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Carpe Diem!
Neha Jain
Sushant Singh Rajput's untimelydeath has jolted the entire nationand has opened a Pandora's box
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4 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
ContentsJULY 2020 VOLUME 24 ISSUE 2
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Technology At Work:New ChallengesGautam Brahma
A POINT OF VIEW
6
How To Get StartedWith People AnalyticsNadeem Khan
40
PEOPLE ANALYTICS
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THE CHANGE CULTURE
49 The Need For AnOverhaulKalpana Bansal
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A Great Place To WorkRajesh Mehrotra
25
WORK CULTURE
Inspired By The NewRahul Goyal
58
PERSONA
The Need ToGear UpVikas Dua, Amarpreet Bhamra
With The EndIn MindDipankar Das
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
28
Overcoming The SombrePath To FailureKeshav Sridhar
WORKPLACE 2.0
36
The Science BehindProductive MeetingsDr. Steven Rogelberg
INTERVIEW
18
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COVER STORY
The Relevance OfUpskillingSuresh Kumar Chitralayam
56
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
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When The Boss IsThe Cause!Dr. Farah Naqvi
62
LEADERSHIP
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A Paradigm ShiftDebjani Roy
46
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Call Logs Of An HREnthusiastDr Anamika Sinha
Dr. Jallavi Panchamia
42
CASE STUDY
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At The Nexus OfScience, PhilosophyAnd BusinessPaul Gibbons
22
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Contents..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
This issue of HUMAN CAPITHUMAN CAPITHUMAN CAPITHUMAN CAPITHUMAN CAPITALALALALALcontains 76 pages including cover
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REGULARS
Editorial
The Bookmark
Industry Bytes
Law at Work
Industry Bytes
Industry Bytes
Appointments
3
17
21
75
65
61
EXPERT TALK
30 Opportunities Aplenty!Rohit Hasteer
66 Wellness Programme:A Misnomer?Mrinmoy Majumder
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33 An Experience ParExcellence!Kenneth W Wheeler
38 COVID Customisations:A Key To WellbeingSwarna Sudha Selvaraj
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68 Upskilling-An ImperativeAvesh Kumar Jha
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Harnessing A 'GrowthMindset'Dr. Manavi Pathak
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PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK
Is Your Action BiasCosting You?Ankita Sharma
70
COGNITIVE BIAS
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6 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
POINT OF VIEW
extensively switch to work-from-home solutions and computer-based operations using AI, tocounter the risks of infection toemployees and the expense ofsocial distancing at work. Whileworking from home has its ownlimitations, discussed earlier inthis column, machine-learningbased AI, the most common variety,poses even bigger challenges.
A couple of years ago, anautonomous Uber car controlled byArtificial Intelligence (AI), ran overand killed a lady walking across apoorly-lit road with a bicycle loadedwith plastic bags. The followingdetail is important. The caridentified the combination of lady-bicycle-bags as an unknown object,because this combination had notbeen presented to the AI softwarewhen it was ‘trained’ with imagesand videos of what it mightencounter on the roads. It did notknow how to react. On comingcloser, it recognised the bicycle. Ithad been trained to expect a bicycleto move out of the way at a certainspeed so it slowed down to avoidthe collision. It had not beentrained to deal with a bicycle thatwas being pulled along by a walkinghuman being, so this speed reductionproved to be insufficient. Just beforethe collision, the car identified thehuman being behind the pile ofbags. By then, it was too late.
When human beings compiletraining inputs for AI, they go bythe records of past situations andhow they were handled. This waythey transfer their biases withoutnecessarily meaning to do so. Forinstance, in the case of resumesbeing sifted to predict success atwork, the AI engine will throw upmale candidates from certainregions and linguistic groups, ifonly such people have been doingwell in the past in that organisation.The best of female candidates willbe ranked lower because theirresumes do not match the currenttemplates of success in thecompany. The only way this canbe corrected is by providingconstructed hypothetical resumesof ‘successful’ candidates drawnfrom other groups not currentlypresent in the company. Thisimmediately raises the complexityand the cost of the training phase.
“When human beingscompile training inputs
for AI, they go by therecords of past
situations and howthey were handled. Thisway they transfer their
biases withoutnecessarily meaning
to do so.”
uring the ongoing pandemic,it has been reported in themedia that companies willD
BY GAUTAM BRAHMA
Managers looking for a quick-fix that reduces theneed for human employees are indulging in wishfulthinking. And HR managers should point this out atevery opportunity.
Technology At Work:New Challenges
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Common AI software, of themachine learning sort, is ‘trained’by presenting it with patterns ofinputs that it is expected to handle,with classifications or labels, sothat in the future, when workingautonomously, it can recognisesimilar patterns and actappropriately. Depending on theintended application, these traininginputs could consist of the winningand losing positions of pieces on achessboard, X-Ray images of lungsof healthy and unhealthy people, orresumes of suitable and unsuitablecandidates for a vacancy. In otherwords, the quality of the softwaredepends entirely on the quantity,variety, and the labelling of thetraining inputs. Once trained, itcan work round the clock at greatspeed, and not make any mistakesinduced by fatigue or inattention.
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 7
POINT OF VIEW
Gautam Brahma is a managementconsultant who advises start-ups andSMEs on strategy & operationsincluding sales, HR and IT. Hecarries an experience of over fourdecades in the public, private andnon-profit sectors in telecommuni-cations and IT industries. He hasbeen an invited speaker on multipleindustry forums and a monthlycolumnist on HR issues for nearlytwo decades. Gautam is based out ofGurgaon and can be reached [email protected].
About the Author
The dependence on complextechnology solutions also increasesrisks of disruptions from malicioushackers in many ways. One verypopular route is throughransomware which denies access tothe organisation’s computingresources unless an amount ofmoney is paid to the attackers.This has significant costs as even acasual survey of literature on pastattacks will confirm. Also, the costsmade public are just the tip of theiceberg. Most companies try toplay down the impact of data theftand the amount of money paid toransomware attackers. This is doneto prevent loss of confidence intheir consumers and investors. Injust a three-day period during theend of June, NHAI was hit byransomware in India as was theUniversity of California in the US.It is not known what the attackcost NHAI, but the universityended up paying more than amillion dollars to free its computers.
“HR managers shouldpoint out at every
opportunity that thereis no getting away from
right hiring, faircompensation, regular
training, and thoughtfulcare for building a
community of engagedand productive
employees.”Since AI solutions involve
significant expense, companies willdraw the attention of hackers whowill make AI deployment a basisfor estimating the capacity to pay aransom. Preventing such attackscomes at a cost because it involveshiring skilled staff and signing upsupport with expensive serviceproviders. With a larger-than-before share of employees working
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The current pandemic hasexposed another weakness ofmachine-learning based AI, trainedon inputs drawn from routineeveryday work. For instance, in theUS, there was an abnormally highvolume of demand for certainproducts like toilet-paper rolls,hand sanitizers, masks etc. The AIsystems did not know what to dowith them, and either flagged themas errors or ended up disrupting thepredictive inventory managementsystem. Human beings had tointervene to set matters right.Indian companies have beenadopting AI in some businessoperations and are facing similarchallenges. A supplier of saucesand condiments faced similarproblems here while handling thedemand surge at the start of thepandemic.
Yet another challenge comesfrom unintended inclusion of itemsin the training inputs. An AI systemtrained to recognise cancerouslesions in lung X-Ray images wasfound to behave erratically, ‘clearing’obviously ill patients. On analysis,it was found that in the XRayscans used to train it, most of theimages of cancerous lungs hadcome from a particular hospitalwhose XRay machine placed amark in the corner, identifying thecompany that had made thescanner. The AI software hadlearnt to associate that mark withcancerous lungs. If this mark wasabsent, the image was classified asone from a healthy lung.
Adopting AI requires skilled andexpensive workforce and large andexpensive computing resources.That in itself is a deterrent toadoption. Now that other limitationsare getting exposed, the correctionswill require additional effort andexpense. As the abnormal consumerbehaviour during the pandemic hasshown, no amount of training cantruly ensure that the AI softwarewill respond appropriately tounusual situations, like when aperson buying one bottle ofsanitizer every month suddenlyplaces an order for twenty bottles.
from home, where their systemsare physically accessible to othersand where the Wi-Fi environmentmay not be as secure as inside acompany premises, the challenge ofmalware prevention multipliesmanifold.
Does this mean that technologydeployment will pause during orafter the pandemic? Certainly not.It does mean though that managerslooking for a quick-fix that reducesthe need for human employees areindulging in wishful thinking. HRmanagers should point this out atevery opportunity. There is nogetting away from right hiring, faircompensation, regular training,and thoughtful care for building acommunity of engaged andproductive employees.
References
1. “Our Weird Behavior During ThePandemic Is Messing With AI Models”;Will Douglas Heaven; TechnologyReview (MIT; May 11, 2020
2. “California University Paid $1.14Million After Ransomware Attack”;Kartikay Mehrotra; BloombergCybersecurity; June 27, 2020
3. “AI Techniques In Medical ImagingMay Lead To Incorrect Diagnosis”;University of Cambridge; ScienceDaily; May 12, 2020
4. “Uber’s Self-driving Car Saw TheWoman It Killed”; A. Marshall & A.Davies; Wired; May 24, 2018
5. “Cyber Attack on NHAI Email Servers,No Data Loss”; PTI; Economic Times;June 30, 2020
COVER STORY
BY VIKAS DUA
Until the world of medicinecan provide the protectiveshield in the form of avaccine against COVID-19,HR professionals must donthe hat of mentors,counsellors, guides, allrolled into one.
The Need ToGear Up
8 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
COVER STORY
The motley group stays confinedwithin the walls of the house. Tasksare shared amongst the constituents,almost in an un-documented but
predefined manner, based on eachindividual’s age, gender, predilections,authority and other factors. There arewindows to look out at the sparse streetsand screens to look at and interact withother solitary souls.
No, this is not an upgraded version ofthe popular television show, Big Brother (orBig Boss, as it is titled here in India). Thisis just a screengrab from the life of anurban professional, who could be in anyone of the cities across the globe today.Any resemblance to the aforementionedtelevision show is purely coincidental. Onlythis time, there is no booming voiceemerging out of the woodworks, outliningthe next task or issuing punishment orders!And of course, it does bear mentioning thatthankfully, it is not a group of randomstrangers handpicked and airdropped intothe house, but family members.
“With no vaccine availablecurrently, avoidance of the
infection is the only weaponthat humanity has to
safeguard itself. This has ledto the guidance andadherence to ‘social
distancing’ from others.”The COVID-19 pandemic has indeed
ushered in unprecedented changes in theway we are supposed to conduct ourselves,
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 9
in the interest of safety. With no vaccineavailable currently, avoidance of the infectionis the only weapon that humanity has tosafeguard itself. This has led to the guidanceand adherence to ‘social distancing’ fromothers. In effect, this has led to thegermination of these mini, imitation ‘BigBrother houses’.
The fact is that since 1999, when thisDutch reality television show was launched,it has sprouted 448 seasons across 54countries! In the interim 20 years, manypsychologists and psychiatrists have studiedthe inmates, more granularly than thearmchair viewers watching them in avoyeuristic manner. Unsurprisingly, researchover the years has shown that the inmatesin the ‘Big Brother house’ face many adversephysiological and psychological effects,including increased emotional sensitivity anddysphoria (a mood or state of uneasiness ordiscontentment) on account of being in theisolated confines of the house. Millions ofworking professionals who today are confinedto their homes, with the requirement toadhere to social distancing under the
10 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
‘lockdown’ guidelines, areunknowingly, in a similar state. Astate in which their wellness standsseverely compromised.
The Global Wellness Institutedefines wellness as the activepursuit of activities, choices, andlifestyles that lead to a state ofholistic health. Now, one can arguethat the onus of ensuring one’swell-being should lie on theindividual himself or herself.However, in the world of business,this could be one of the most fatalmistakes that an organisation’sleader could make. After all, thesuccess of an organisation is, moreoften than not, directly dependenton the quality of its people.
HR leaders across the globe,therefore, are facing a uniquepredicament. While employeeengagement has always been a vitalpart of their job roles, addressingthe well-being needs of their staffhas become an equal, if not more,critical responsibility. This iscompounded by the fact that alarge number of their workforce isnot even in the workplace.
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................COVER STORY
SAHIBA SINGHChief People Officer, AcuverConsulting
“As businesses contend with theafter effects of this pandemic, it isof utmost importance that companiesstep up to take employee wellness astheir first approach; the role ofHuman Resource becomes broaderin keeping the employees, and theirpassion and motivation high. Theline between work and life isblurring, businesses will have toconsistently and empatheticallyunderstand each of their employees'state of mind at multiple levels.They should hence focus on providinga robust suite of wellness programthat will include flexible workarrangements, yoga practice sessionsfor mindfulness, motivationalwebinars with thought leaders fromdiverse backgrounds etc. so that theemployees log out happy and log inhappier.”
In the words of Dr AasthaSachdeva, Counselling Psychologistand Founder, CounSoul, “Thebiggest fear being faced by theemployees in these unprecedentedtimes is the fear of uncertaintyand the fear of the unknown.Physical absence from the workplacenot only creates a sense of socialisolation, but heightened feelingsof insecurity about their personaland professional lives, both, in thepresent and the future.”
This requires HR practitionersto build a fresh approach to addressemployee well-being across everydimension of wellness - physical,emotional, environmental, financial,intellectual, occupational, physical,social, and spiritual.
So, below mentioned are theprimers to kick off on some levers
PRIYA VASUDEVANPresident- Human Resources,Liberty General Insurance Limited
“At the workplace, employeesexperience multiple emotions -achievement, satisfaction, joy, envy,fear, anxiety, sadness, guilt. Thiscannot be controlled or modifiedeasily, however, how these emotionsdrive the employee and causecascading effects in the organisationcan be changed. Mindfulnesspractice is gaining ground as anapproach that connects people totheir core self, allowing them toobserve self from a neutral position- thus deepening awareness andbringing about conscious choices.These positive choices impact thelarger ecosystem, thus leading towholistic wellness.”
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 11
approach in line with the ‘newnormal’ will be to design systemsthat reward productivity, innovation,task completion and customersatisfaction.
“The revised approachin line with the ‘new
normal’ will be todesign systems thatreward productivity,
innovation, taskcompletion and
customer satisfaction.”2. Enabling StressManagement: Today, ‘stress’ hasbecome almost synonymous withcorporate life. This is caused bydiverse dimensions ranging fromthe daily commute the professionalhas had to undertake to his or herworkplace, to the competition onehas to face during the upwardascent to the corner office. Withthe economy getting disruptedextensively as a fall out of thepandemic, organisations have spedup their re-organisation efforts,amongst which job cuts have notbeen left behind. This has, in turn,led to insecurity amongstprofessionals, many of whom havealready been facing the disruptionof job roles by technology in thedigital world. By summoning up allthe empathy within themselves,HR leaders will need to assist theircolleagues to reduce their stresslevels, something that can bedebilitating if left unchecked.
3. Encouraging PhysicalActivity: In recent years, leadershave encouraged employees tofocus on their health. Off-sitesinvolving some amount of physicalactivities designed to increasecollaboration and build teamworkhave been very common. To convertthis from a sporadic activity to anongoing lifestyle approach, someorganisations have even integrateddistribution of fitness trackers into
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................COVER STORY
AKASH SANGOLEHead-Human Resource and GeneralAdministration, Panasonic LifeSolutions India Pvt. Ltd.
“Wellness is not just a word but astate of different dimensions likeoccupational, emotional, spiritual,environmental, financial, physical,social, and intellectual. I firmlybelieve that employee wellnesspropels performance. Maintainingpersonal connect with employees,paying them on-time, no pay-cuts,and job security in these unprec-edented situations like COVID-19,provide a major boost to employeemorale. Focus on programs such asYoga, ergonomics promotes ahealthy lifestyle in difficult situa-tions. I think that employees shouldinvest their time in passions ofinterest, self-developmental andextracurricular activities whichwould largely keep them engagedand motivated. Wellness promoteshappiness, which keeps people inbest of their health.”
SURENDER JEET RAJSenior Vice President - HROperations, Newgen Software.
“An organisation's wellness andprosperity are directly proportionalto the wellbeing of its employees.The challenging scenario of moderntimes has created an overwhelmingneed for employee wellbeing - bothphysical as well as mental. When itcomes to wellbeing, we often thinkabout how to support the individual:five years ago, wellbeing was aboutfresh fruits and yoga classes, andbeing physically fit. Now we havefortunately evolved beyond that tocounselling and mental healthservices. To improve the productivityof employees and to retain them,employee wellbeing should be thepivot of every organisation. Anemployee having a positive emo-tional state of mind forms the basisof a healthy and wealthyorganisation, especially in today'sday and age.”
that HR practitioners need to focuson -
1. Driving Remote Productivity:For a culture that is largely based onthe ‘bosssubordinate’ relationship,physical proximity has been anintegral part of our environment.For the longest time, only anegligible percentage of employeeswere permitted to work outside ofthe office premises. Consequently,operational approaches andperformance monitoring processeshave always been centred aroundthe largely in-house office workers.Engagement has been measured bythe daily ‘attendance’ in the officeand efficiency has been measuredby the shift duty ‘clock’. The revised
their wellness programmes andcreated a competitive environmentbased on hitting the minimumrecommended daily target of10,000 steps. With our homesteadsin our urban centres beingconstrained in terms of thephysical footprint for many formsof exercise, employees will have tobe guided with innovating andfollowing practices like Yoga andPilates, which can be practisedeven in relatively smaller spaces.
4. Assisting Coping withSocial Isolation: Our workplacesare usually a humdrum of activitywith interactions and conversationswhich tend to transcend theprofessional space and enter intothe personal space as well. It is an
12 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
aspect that many amongst us revel,unless of course, this has happenedin bad faith or an unethical manner.In the current scenario, socialisolation has been forced, for themost part. Colleagues who wereused to some light banter, juniorteam members who were used tosome guidance from their supervisorsand many others, have suddenlyfound themselves impaired.Replicating the social aspect of theworkplace is probably the mostdifficult to do. However, bystrategically building in casualinteraction sessions with colleaguesor training sessions by experts overvideo conferencing, HR teams canensure that employees get somebreaks in between their workschedules.
5. Guiding with Technologytaming: One of the fallouts of
remote environments is that notonly is the screen an interface forofficial work, it is also the go-between your friends, family andentertainment. Consequently, thishas led to a dramatic rise in the‘screen time’ that individuals areexposing themselves to in thecurrent period. As per a surveydone by Ericsson, for an averageIndian, this has increased byalmost 2 hours daily post theinitiation of the lockdown in India.Moving a step beyond ‘Work-lifebalance’, HR professionals willneed to think creatively toencourage employees to bring inthe ‘Screen & Off-Screen’ balance.Promoting podcasts, reading oreven the humble, voice call, can besome of the suggested mechanismsto this end.
Thankfully, while the basictenets of wellness can be tracedback to ancient civilizations inIndia, China, Greece and Rome,the study has been expandedgreatly in the 19th century acrossthe globe, and we have reachedthis heightened level ofunderstanding of the subject today.
The tentacles of technologyhave also not spared this domain.According to the U.S.headquartered Limeade, that hasdeveloped a proprietary technologyplatform for enhancing employeewell-being and employeeengagement, when employees seetheir organisations care for them,multiple benefits accrue, such thatemployees are -
10 times more likely torecommend their company as agreat place to work
4 times less likely to suffer fromstress and burnout
2 times more likely to be engagedwith the organisation and theirwork
Dr. Sachdeva, therefore, furtherguides, “At this time HRprofessionals need to play the roleof change makers by supportingtheir community of people, keepingin touch with them, answering
Vikas Dua is an accomplished HRand recruitment professional, a TEDxspeaker, and a Vlogger and Blogger onHR practices. With over 15 years ofhigh-quality experience in the field ofIT and ITES, he has worked with bothstart-ups and large corporations likeWipro, Concentrix and Startek Aegis.Currently, he is Chief HR Mentor atAttayn.co. An active collaborator inthe campus space, he shares hislearnings under his self-designed ‘HRin my HeaRt’ brand umbrella.
About the Author
References:
1. Wikipedia2. The New Wellness Revolution by
Paul Zane Pilzer (Paperback)3. https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/4. https://www.limeade.com/5. Dr. Aastha Sachdeva, Clinical
Psychologist and Founder, CounSoul
their queries while giving hope tothem for a positive future. Anorganisational framework withaccess to counselling services andemployee assistance programsneeds to be developed in everyworkplace as a policy to ensurethat we enter the post COVID erawith a resilient workforce.”
Given this guidance, it is easyto absorb that there are multipleadvantages of driving an activewellness programme, especially ata time like this. It is expected thatHR professionals will seek tofurther the wellness agenda in theirorganisations with enthusiasm.Beyond the financial benefits that ahealthy and motivated workforceprovides, such efforts would alsobe a catalyst in ensuring that oursociety remains stable and strong.Till the time that the world ofmedicine is able to provide theprotective shield in the form of amuch needed vaccine against thisinvisible enemy, our HRprofessionals must don the hat ofmentors, counsellors, guides, allrolled into one. This will be theirsingle most valuable contributionin the war against the coronavirus.
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................COVER STORY
RITU KOCHHARHead-Human Resources, PerfettiVan Melle, India
“Building strategies to nurturephysical and mental wellbeing ofemployees is key to creating adifferentiating experience leading tosuperior business results. Withemployees working remotely duringextended lockdowns and strictersocial distancing guidelines, protectingtheir wellbeing - both physical andemotional - has become moreimportant than before. In the givencircumstances, it is imperative tobring constant and transparentcommunication to the fore not onlyto ensure seamless execution of thework but to also support employees'mental health. Lastly, ensuring openchannels of communication to hearhow employees are feeling will helpbuild resilience to tide the timetogether!”
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 13
My memory flashes backto the eighties when Iwould hear my father (aradiologist) occasionally
sharing stories with us on certainindividuals failing the health test.In those days, public enterpriseslike SAIL (Steel Authority of IndiaLimited) mandated a health check-up for any new hire in their ownhospitals. If the new hires failedthe test, they would stand to forfeittheir offer letter. The rationale wassimple – a healthy workforcewould be more productive and alsolower the healthcare costs incurredby the enterprise.
Over the years, enterprises haveoscillated in their focus on thehealth and wellness of employees
The need to adopt wellness and care for employees' well-being is nowon a war footing by a majority of the enterprises. That ROIs inemployee wellness programmes have a direct impact on productivityhas seldom been acknowledged in the past.
BY AMARPREET BHAMRA
The Ayurveda rooted in the Indiantradition focusses on nutritional,exercise, social interaction andhygiene needs to be combined withYoga and meditation and datesback to 1500 BC, while thetraditional Chinese Medicine in2000 BC, influenced by Taoismand Buddhism, lays emphasis on aholistic perspective to achievinghealth and wellbeing by cultivatingacupuncture, herbal medicine, andqi gong. The Greek physician,Hippocrates mentioned thatdisease is a product of diet,lifestyle, and environmentalfactors, while the ancient Romansdeveloped a public health systemto prevent the spreading of germsand maintain a healthy population.
and have largely been centred onreducing cost, increasing marketshare, and reaping profits. Nowthat we are in the midst of asevere, long-drawn and contagiouspandemic, enterprises have wokenup to switch on the spotlight onemployee wellness programmes.Employees all across the globe aretrying their best to cope up withthe new realities of socialdistancing, remote work, managinghousehold chores, and attending tothe family including the childrenand the elderly.
Lessons from the pastHowever, it is interesting to notethat wellness has its roots inhistory and is not a recent coinage.
COVER STORY
Switching TheWellness Gears
14 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
In 1817, the Welsh social reformer,Robert Marcus Owen was the firstto recommend an eight-hourworkday, coining the phrase “eighthours labour, eight hoursrecreation, eight hours rest.”
Moving on, the physicianHalbert L. Dunn presented his ideaof “high level wellness” in the1960s, and Dr. John Travis,influenced by Dunn, opened theworld’s first wellness centre inCalifornia in the 1970s. He alsopublished a wellness assessmenttool - The Wellness Inventory(1975) and The Wellness Workbook(1977) which are in use today.Corporate wellness programmeshave its origin in Henry Kaiser
who built a hospital for hisconstruction employees in 1933,while the first Employee AssistanceProgrammes (EAPs) were launchedin the 1950s to combat thegrowing problems of alcoholismand mental illness.
Shortcomings inwellness initiativesEven prior to the pandemic, manyglobal enterprises invested andoffered wellness programmes inconjunction with reputed wellnessproviders. While employees wereabsorbing these offerings therewere noticeable shortcomings inthe design and implementation ofthese programmes.
Low and uninspiring communi-cation on wellness programmes
Limited offerings in thepackages – E.g how to copewith anxiety or hypertensionmay not find a mention
Missing culture to openly talkand address ailments related tostress, depression etc.
Poor change management withHR functions busy with routineadministrative tasks
Budgetary pressures to accom-modate wellness programmes
Limited coverage on criticalailments affecting employees(according to MetLife researchreleased in April 2020, 65% ofworkers say that they do notfeel that their employer offersbenefits or programmes thathelp support or improve theirmental wellbeing)
Low usage by employees forwellness programmes (E.g.significant reminders need to besent to employees aboutenrolment in EAPs. As per 2019data from the Society forHuman Resource Management,only 10% of employees useEAPs)
Non-availability of channels foremployees to speak up abouttheir wellness challenges
Minuscule share for financial,nutritional and emotionalofferings
Absence of coaches and trainingprogrammes for managers tosupport employees on wellness
With the spread of the pandemicand substantial casualties, most ofthe enterprises have been compelledto hop on to the bandwagon ofemployee wellness programmes.Some of the underlying reasonsinclude stress, work pressure,isolation, minimal socialinteractions, physical andbehavioural disorders and lowimmunity. A CNN reportmentioned that the DisasterDistress Helpline operated by theFederal Substance Abuse andMental Health ServicesAdministration recorded a 338%increase in call volume in March
NIHARIKA MOHANHead - Human Resources & CSR,Luminous Power Technologies
“As the line between work andpersonal life blurs in the newnormal, employee wellness programshave become a norm. Employersneed to understand that wellness isnot just about physical wellbeing,but needs to be holistic and includeother elements of emotional, mental,and social wellbeing. Organizationscan step up their wellnessprogrammes through flexible workschedules to help prevent burnout,breaks for fitness and wellnessactivities, broadening medical coverto include counselling, therapy andstress management courses.Practicing Gratitude and giving backto the community brings in a senseof fulfilment and joy that isunmatched. The true success ofthese wellness programme will bemeasured by the positive impact ithas on the health, happiness andproductivity of the employees.”
ANUSHREE SINGHCountry HR Director, India Sub-continent- AkzoNobel India
“Recognition of mental healthissues and wellness is taking a frontseat. Such challenging times havereinforced that mental wellbeing willassume an importance equal topersonal safety. Besides employee'sphysical wellness, HR will have toplay a significant role in addressing,creating awareness and providingsupport to the employees in termsof mental health issues. HR functionneeds to leverage employeeassistance programs to enableemployees to cope with stress, beresilient and embrace change. Thiscultural shift requires concertedefforts to advocate significance ofsuch investments and its impact onemployee productivity and morale.”
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2020 as compared to February2020. The World HealthOrganisation has estimated thatdepression and anxiety bled theglobal economy up to $1 trillion in2019. In their study in Gallupconducted in 2018 on 75000 full-time employees, Ben Wigert andSangeeta Agrawal mentioned that23% employees reported feelingburned out at work very often oralways, while an additional 44%reported feeling burned outsometimes costing employer’smoney in lost productivity, lowengagement, and increased errors.
To overcome these anomalies,enterprises have started talkingabout developing andstrengthening resilience,demonstrating empathy, and
offering care to their employees.For instance,
53% of 256 employers surveyedby the National Alliance ofHealthcare Purchaser Coalitionsreported providing specialemotional and mental healthprogrammes for their workforceowing to the pandemic.
Target has added onlineresources to help employeesimprove their wellbeing
Starbucks rolled out therapybenefits for its workers in April2020.
Price Waterhouse Coopers haslaunched wellbeing coachingsessions where employees canreach out to a professionalcoach to discuss anything thatmay be causing them stress.
The Indian contextFrom an Indian context, there isan uptick in enterprises revisitingtheir wellness programmes andexpanding the reach and variety ofwellness offerings to theemployees. Lijee Philip, in a reportpublished in The Economic Times(April 3 2020), shares the exampleof Johnson & Johnson who haveimplemented a telemedicineprogramme to help employees andtheir families deal with concernsrelated to mental and physicalhealth.
“With global supplychains broken and
financial uncertaintylooming, enterpriseshave a high stake inembracing employee
wellness programmesand embed them with a
strategic priority.”With global supply chains
broken and financial uncertaintylooming, enterprises have a highstake in embracing employee
SHOBHA TAHILRAMANIHead HR, Siegwerk India
“As we are settling and adapting tothe newer ways of working, everyaspect of our lives - health, families,careers, and finances have beenimpacted. Though physical wellbeingis easier to address, the invisibleemotional imbalance can harm theworkforce in multiple ways, hence,addressing it appropriately isnecessary. This is more pertinent inthe current time when uncertainty islooming large around us. Therefore,the employer has to be moreempathetic towards the employeesand support them appropriately toplay a value creation role as theymay face numerous unprecedentedchallenges going forward. Thecompanies will have to seriouslystart initiating regular counsellingsessions for employees to keep thememotionally fit along with theirphysical wellbeing.”
AMRIT JAIDKA ARORAHead-Human Resource, DigitInsurance
“Employee Wellness in times of apandemic is an important strategicdecision that can help companiesincrease efficiency and productivity,especially in this existing globalcrisis. While technology can beacquired and ideas can bereplicated, it's time for organisationsto identify and look after its mostimportant asset - the employees.Keeping employees happy andengaged is crucial. Along with theneed to be physically fit, this is alsothe time to ensure that companieskeep a check on the employeesmental wellbeing, especially forthose who are working remotely. Soorganizing regular connects withteams and managers, wellnessworkshops, having a counsellor ordoctor available and building anatmosphere of empathy and trust, iswhat companies should look at todrive employee wellness.”
wellness programmes and embedthem with a strategic priority.Leaders in enterprises need to takethe big leap and talk more openlyand frequently about employeewellness. They can change theworkplace culture by includingdetails on wellness in theirpresentations or annual reportswhich are shared with theemployees and the shareholders.The analytics and the data onwellness which is currently low-keyhas to be brought in the forefront.
Stephanie Johnson fromTableau in a blog titled, MeasuringEmployee Wellness during Covid-19 – What business Leaders needKnow (April 2020), states that
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31% of companies are not usingany data analytics to inform anddrive corporate health and well-being strategy. She emphasises theimportance of measuring basicbiometric data, health habits(exercise, diet, sleep, weight,alcohol and tobacco use),absenteeism data, sentimentanalysis and pulse survey datawhich will morph into robustwellness programmes. In the sameblog, she cites a reference to
R NANDAChief Human Resource Officer, TataChemicals
“In the current situation, asignificant majority of the workforcetend to become stressed due toissues relating to either work orpersonal and family situations andcompounded by the fear of thepandemic. It is, therefore, necessaryfor the organisations to prioritiseemployees' mental, as well asphysical health, and to enable themto find solutions to address theirissues and contribute to their well-being. Having a highly motivatedand productive workforce is criticalto business success in thiscompetitive environment, whereremote working becomes the newnormal.”
HARISH MAHADEVANVice President, Human Resource,CredR
“As the economy now opens upand several companies are aiming tostay afloat and return to normalcy,there is a lot that needs to be doneon the employee well-being front.Wellness is subjective to people anda company needs to make itsmeasures very specific towardsvarious employee cohorts. Forinstance, front line sales personnelhave different anxiety triggerscompared to work from home teammembers. It's also important tomanage high performers as theymay be inherently inclined towardsresults and may not be able toanticipate burnout levels of theirteam members and may end upcreating pressure which can becounter-productive in these times.Conversations on empathy andsensitizing managers on the impactof their behaviour are extremelycritical. Nobody is free in thesedemanding times. All are workingfor office or home, irrespective ofgender. A simple practice such assetting up a time for conversationsinstead of labelling someone asunresponsive would help buildpositive culture and well-being.”
employee wellness programmeshave direct impact on productivityand revenue has seldom beenacknowledged in the past. Thepandemic has woken upenterprises to reset their businesspriorities on their most valuableand strategic asset – employeesand their wellness.
Prudential Financial whichconducts Health Risk Assessments(HRA) together with employeeengagement surveys, to improvehealthcare offerings, pointemployees to existing resources,and create benchmarks for futurefollow-ups.
“Leaders inenterprises need to
talk more openly andfrequently about
employee wellness.They can change theworkplace culture byincluding details on
wellness in theirpresentations shared
with the employees andthe shareholders.”The offerings in wellness
programmes could be broadenedwith inclusion of nutrition, sleep,personalised wellness etc. to makethem attractive for the employees.Redesigning workplaces,conducting virtual workoutsessions, building wellness apps,strengthening ventilation systems,monitoring air quality and airconditioning by establishingthresholds, developing ergonomicsguidelines, onsite health clinics andadvocating use of non-pollutantsanitation products would be theother essential components tousher in meaningful employeewellness programmes. Nicole Dunnin an article titled, The Future ofWorkplace Wellness in Forbes,states that the corporate wellnessmarket alone is projected to beworth $97.4 billion by 2027growing at a compounding annualgrowth rate of 6.8%.
The need to adopt wellness andcare for employees’ well-being isnow on a war footing by a majorityof the enterprises. The masked factthat returns on investment in
Amarpreet Bhamra is a businessprocess management professional with20 years of work experience inorganisations such as Ernst Young, APMoller Maersk, Tech MahindraBusiness Services, SynchronyFinancial, TATA Business SupportServices and GE Capital InternationalServices. Amarpreet holds a doublepost graduate in Communications andEnglish respectively. He has anAdvanced Diploma in FinancialManagement from Indian School ofBusiness Management andAdministration.
About the Author
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www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 17
THE BOOKMARK
Cutting The Chase!
o you ever wonder what Steve Jobs got right thatTata did not? Or, what can the corporate strategistlearn from an illiterate man who sits in front of aD
BY SIDHARTH BALAKRISHNA
temple? Or even, what do Artificial Intelligence practitionersand companies need to keep in mind while leading andmarketing? How can Mahatma Gandhi and Donald Trumphelp you innovate? Why is true Strategy like going intobattle, while Operational Excellence is like going on a diet?Why is it so important to separate problems from theirsymptoms? How can employees lead, ideate, and innovate?What are some effective ideation techniques?
If such questions often plague your mind, whether asan individual or a professional and if you are looking toreinvent, then Cut To The Chase is a stepping stone toyour success! In this book, the author brings in newperspectives and approaches towards Strategy and problemsolving, while also discussing techniques to help readersideate and bring an entrepreneurial approach to their workand management. The book covers important aspects ofdevising successful strategies and implementing innovationthrough novel concepts and approaches, including throughhuman resources. It stresses on a practical approach basedon the author’s learnings from heading Corporate Strategy atlarge Indian conglomerates such as the Vedanta and theEssel (Zee) Groups. He outlines how structured problemsolving can help both established firms as well as start-ups.He provides unique perspectives on how senior executivescan learn from historical characters such as Birbal, as well
as from other successful entrepreneurs such as Steve Jobs and BabaRamdev; also discussing how to get aspects such as marketing right.The book has much for established firms, NGOs as well as start-ups;being rich in anecdotes and practical examples of what successfulcompanies and individuals have done.
Sidharth Balakrishna is the Former Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer atEssel (Zee) Group and has worked with both top Management Consulting firmsand Corporates, as well as startups in over three countries; all this while writingsix books and regularly teaching at the country's top management institutesincluding the IIMs.
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The Science BehindProductive Meetings
BY ANKITA SHARMA
Human Capital interacted with Dr. Steven Rogelberg, Chancellor'sProfessor at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, bestsellingauthor and the world's leading expert on meetings, to understand howscience can help fix bad meetings. He gives evidence-based tips onrunning effective and inclusive meetings and also offers practicaladvice on how leaders and HR professionals are uniquely positioned toensure meeting success within their organisations.
If you spend copious amounts of timeon meetings every day and feel thatmost of them are, at best, inefficientand, at worst, detrimental to yourproductivity, your plight is nodifferent from what millions of othersare also experiencing, especiallyduring these challenging times whenremote meetings have become agreater burden than ever before. Weneed meetings. But we also need themto be done well.
Interestingly, one of the manyhats you wear is that of a meetingscientist. Your recent highlyacclaimed book, The SurprisingScience of Meetings, comes out ofthe vast amount of research youhave conducted over the past twodecades. What does sciencereveal about meetings that mightsurprise us?
What surprises people the most isthat there is a robust science, whichdemonstrates that while bad meetingstake a toll on people and teams,meetings done well promotes employeeengagement, inclusion, innovation, andteam success. Science helps identify anevidence-based path forward, aroundthe key drivers of meeting success. Atthe same time, it also helps usunderstand which practices don’t havethe value that conventional wisdomseems to suggest.
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there. It is not hard for us toidentify ‘must-have’ attendeesversus ‘nice-to-have’ attendees.Let’s just focus on the ‘must-haves’when we call the meeting together.
Remote meetings decrease inquality with size. Instead of over-inviting, consider recording yourvirtual meeting. Give non-essentialmembers a break and just sharethe recording with them. To avoiduninvited team members fromfeeling marginalised, provide themwith the opportunity to attendfuture meetings on the topic. It israre that they will take you up onthe offer, but the option will beappreciated.
As for innovation, researchsupports the benefits of leveragingsilence in meetings as a way ofgathering more ideas, perspectives,and insights from attendees. Forexample, if you compare groupsbrainstorming in silence (e.g.,typing into a shared document)versus those brainstorming with
For example, the research onhaving a meeting agenda in and ofitself shows a little actual directbenefit on meeting performance.But, if we stop and reflect, thisshould not surprise us. Whatmatters most is what is on theagenda, its relevance to attendees,and how the meeting is facilitated.
Here is something to considerwith agendas. As opposed to a setof topics to be discussed, tryorganising the agenda as a set ofquestions that need answers. Thiscreates focus and clarity for thepurpose of the meeting. Invite onlythose relevant to the questions athand. By framing agenda items asquestions, you know when to endthe meeting. The meeting has beensuccessful when or if the questionshave been answered.
“Large meetings arefake inclusion.”
Running inclusive meetingsis difficult. It can be evenmore challenging to runremote meetings that engageall team members inbrainstorming and give thema sense of belonging. How canleaders make meetings moreinclusive for all participants?
One should always strive to bean active meeting facilitator,regardless of who the attendeesare. Draw people in (e.g., ‘Sandy,please share your thoughts’) tokeep attendees engaged. Considermaintaining a tally to be sure thatall voices are heard. Instead ofsaying ‘any questions orcomments’, call on people by nameto share their thoughts. Also, don’tlet people go off track; interruptand redirect them if necessary.After all, that is your job as ameeting leader.
Also, remember that largemeetings are fake inclusion. Onlyinvite people that truly need to be
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 19
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20 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
their mouths, silent brainstorminggroups produce nearly twice asmany ideas. Those ideas also tend tobe more creative. Why would silentbrainstorming result in more andbetter ideas? When communicatingvia writing, all can “speak” at thesame time. There is no waiting foryour turn. Plus, there is less filteringof ideas given the simultaneousgeneration of thoughts. Fortunately,silence can be done very easily in avirtual meeting. Just share aGoogle doc with attendees duringthe actual meeting and ask folks tomute themselves as they contribute.
“As for innovation,research supports thebenefits of leveraging
silence in meetings as away of gathering more
ideas, perspectives,and insights from
attendees.”Meeting fatigue is on the
rise, especially among thosewith a schedule packed withback-to-back meetingsthroughout the day. What areyour tips for warding offmental and physicalexhaustion from attending somany meetings?
There are three key strategies.One, block off time on yourcalendar so you can take breaksaway from meetings. Two, betweenmeetings, be sure to get up, movearound, stretch, etc. Three, whenasked to attend a meeting viavideo, ask whether a video meetingis really needed. Perhaps a phonecall would work just fine, and youcan even take a walk during it.
How can HR lead theefforts to increase meetingquality and experience withintheir organisations?
HR can lead the efforts torecapture wasted time and
frustration. They are uniquelypositioned and skilled to solve themeetings problem. Although thereare many paths, here are three thatwould certainly help:
(1) Impactful Training:Research suggests that only around20% of leaders receive trainingaround meetings. Given how manymeetings there are, this is a crazystatistic. This is clearly a low-hanging fruit opportunity. However,training has to move beyondteaching basic meeting tactics. Forexample, research shows thatagendas, in and of themselves, dolittle to improve meetings. Instead,their importance rests on how webuild and structure these agendas,and most importantly, how leadersconduct discussion around agendatopics. We need to providemeaningful meeting skills andfacilitation training as part ofonboarding, high-potential andleadership development efforts.
(2) Feedback andAccountability: Our researchsuggests that leaders have overlypositive assessments of themeetings they run. Clearly, thisbelief is not helpful to self-development. Organisations mustassess meeting quality/culture aspart of their pulse and engagementsurveys. Given the frequency ofmeetings and their fundamentalityto team and unit success, a simplemeeting metrics dashboard shouldbe created. Leaders desperatelyneed feedback and must be heldaccountable if things are to bemade better.
(3) Influence CulturalPractices: HR can help in thefollowing ways:
Change default norms aroundmeetings and introduce newmeeting approaches.Introduce alternative meetingstructures, such as huddles and“magic time.”Introduce alternative meetingformats, like walking meetings,and determine when they aremost appropriate.
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Promote meeting-free timeperiods, given that all employeescan benefit from some amountof “makers’ time”.
Introduce guidelines/practicesfor managing meeting size andstopping a knee-jerk tendencyto default to a one-hour meeting.
“Only around 20% ofleaders receive trainingaround meetings. Given
how many meetingsthere are, this is a crazystatistic. This is clearly
a low-hanging fruitopportunity.”
In closing, what furtheradvice would you give leadersabout how they can becomebetter at running meetings?
The best way to improve yourteam meetings is to ask attendeeshow the meetings are going – theultimate act of stewardship. Sendout a quick survey through whichfolks can share what is going wellor not-so-well and provide ideas forimprovement. Then learn, reflect,and try some new things based onthe feedback. Now that we havebeen meeting remotely for sometime – and may continue to do sofor the foreseeable future – thetiming may be ideal for this step.
Virtual meetings are incrediblyhard to lead. Success can beelusive. However, careful thoughtcan turn your remote meetingsinto efficient and engaging events.Take the challenge of being thetype of meeting leader you wouldwant to see in others. Take thechallenge of fixing meetings – onemeeting at a time. And hopefully,over time, your stewardshipchoices will become the norm wesee in all meeting leaders.
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To know more about the science of meetingsand Steven, visit stevenrogelberg.com.
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Fidelity International has announced 26 weeks paidparental leave for all its employees. With the
introduction of a companywide Enhanced ParentalLeave policy now fathers and secondary carers will beable to take the same amount of paid leave asmothers and primary carers.
The new policy will come into effect for childrenwho are born (including via surrogacy) or placed foradoption on or after 1 September 2020 and will offerup to 26 weeks of paid leave for each parentemployed by the company within the first 12 monthsof a child's birth.
Anne Richards, CEO, Fidelity International, said“We want to be a market leader and offer an inclusiveculture where all our people may spend time caring
for their children and thrive intheir careers. We are thereforedelighted to be announcing ournew parental leave policy andare especially proud to beoffering this globally to all ouremployees.”
INDUSTRY BYTES
Fidelity Announces 26Weeks Parental LeaveFor Employees
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BY ANUSHRUTI SINGH
Genpact LaunchesInternal LearningProgram To FosterProfessional Resilience
Genpact has launch Adaptand Rise, a role-based
online learning platform forpeople who wants to upgradetheir professional skills.
The new program is inpartnership with EdCast andwill offer free courses to help professionals upskill in13 roles including business analyst, digital programmanager, finance and accounting professional, humanresources professional, project manager, risk andcompliance professional, and more.
Each role-based channel features approximately 100hours of bite-sized learning content, including videos,articles, blogs, podcasts, and more. The content iscategorized into 14 skills that are common acrossroles, including artificial intelligence basics, changemanagement, digital business strategy, peopleleadership, and storytelling.
The course material is available in both web andmobile application.
BY ANUSHRUTI SINGH
IBM Unveils Watson Works To AddressThe Return-To-Workplace ChallengeBY ANUSHRUTI SINGH
IBM has announced Watson Works, a curated set ofproducts that embeds Watson artificial intelligence
(AI) models and applications to help companiesnavigate many aspects of the return-to-workplacechallenge due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis aseffectively as possible.
Watson Works provides data-driven insights to help employersmake informed decisions onworkplace re-entry, facilitiesmanagement, space allocation andother COVID-related priorities.
The AI based platform is designedto help companies manage facilitiesand optimize space allocation byusing real-time data provided by the
employer including wifi, cameras, bluetooth andsmartphones, monitor employee health, and maximizethe effectiveness of contact tracing, among others.
Subram Natarajan, Chief Technology Officer, IBMIndia, said “It cannot be overstated just how disruptivethe COVID-19 pandemic has been to businessesworldwide. As most of the global economies and
businesses reopen, organizations arefacing the complex challenge ofreturning people to workplaces in away that prioritizes the health, safetyand productivity of employees. WatsonWorks has been made available toenable companies to leverage AI forreinventing themselves to adapt to thenew normal and emerge smarter.”
22 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
At the Nexus ofScience, Philosophy,and Business
BY ANKITA SHARMA
Paul Gibbons isn't here to just inspireyou; he's here to challenge you. A scientistby background, Paul isn't a fan of emptyplatitudes and management doublespeak.As a public intellectual, bestselling authorand global expert on change, strategy andleadership, he is successfully steering aneffort to use contemporary science andphilosophy as provocations for bustingmyths, debunking pseudoscience, makingbetter strategic decisions, implementing21st-century change, and creatingorganisations where talent flourishes. Inthis exclusive interaction with HumanCapital, Paul talks about change agility,digital transformation, behaviouralscience, and the fascinating surprises thepandemic has uncovered.
You have charted anunusual career path tobecoming what you are today.In what ways have your variedexperience in the fields ofscience and math, economics,neuroscience, psychology, andphilosophy helped bring newperspectives to the businessarena?
I must be honest; I find mostbusiness books trivial. I cannotremember the last one I read (ohyes, it was Switch, an excellentbook), although, in the 1990s and2000s, I probably read 50 a year!What I really enjoy is bringingthinking into business from
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disciplines that business professorssimply overlook: evolutionarybiology, philosophy, neuroscience,spirituality, economics, behaviouralscience, and even math! My nicheis translating the latest researchand thinking into business ideas.
My study is in philosophy,history, other humanities, economics,and anthropology. I’m a scientistby background, and I read threescience magazines a week on topof four to five philosophy andeconomics publications.
However, one exception isneuroscience. This was a fad a fewyears ago. Many coaches and
consultants talk about oxytocin andsubstantia nigra and so forth, butthat is like figuring out how a carworks by studying the chemicalformula for octane. Good luck withthat! A great example is a couplein marriage counselling talkingabout their serotonin receptors –is that really helping? It’s likesaying, “Darling, when we argue,my 5HT receptors in myventromedial prefrontal cortexcan’t cope.” Get real! But gurusleapt so quickly onto the bandwagontrying to sound clever, throwingaround words that are mostlyunhelpful when it comes torunning businesses.
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My mission, because I read sowidely, is to create betterleadership for better businessesand a better world. I try to do thatby bringing perspectives welloutside what business schoolprofessors and consultants discuss.I think business thinkers need toread more widely – the worlds ofscience and philosophy have somuch that can be made practical!
From small start-ups tomulti-national corporations,no one has been spared thewrath of COVID-19. Thepandemic has forcedorganisations of all sizes toadapt and evolve quickly.Could you share yourreflections around theongoing crisis?
First, I’m humbled by howhumans have reacted – except afew leaders. We’ve found newdepths of altruism and sacrifice forthe greater good.
Most interesting is how quicklychange has been able to happen. Ifyou had said to a bank CEO inDecember 2019 that 100% of hernon-frontline staff were to beworking from home, she wouldhave laughed. For decades, theworld has been inching towardsmore virtual enterprises – then inMarch, poof! It was a reality.
In a second black swan event,the death of a not-famous blackman in a small US city sparkedglobal uproar against racism. Weagain witnessed a rapid, empathetichuman response: a tiny event inthe grand scheme of thingsalighting new commitments tosocial change. I’m inspired.
What is interesting is that thechange literature focuses on hownon-adaptable humans are – howmuch they resist. However, wehave seen huge untapped reservesof resilience, commitment, andchange capability.
My great passion now is howancient spiritual ideas fromphilosophy and Eastern and
Western spiritual traditions can beharnessed to make workplacesbetter for humans. My new book iscalled Spirituality, Work, andCapitalism – perhaps out inSeptember this year.
Getting started is often themost difficult part to movealong the path of digitaltransformation. Where andhow can companies begin tomake digital changes to theirbusiness? Also, are there anypitfalls to look out for?
Now you are going to drag meback to talking about business.Okay! The problem with digitaltransformation was unlikely to bewhether companies could capitaliseon the opportunities it presents.We’ve seen discontinuous changesas shopping, teaching, exercise,medicine, and communicationsmoved to digital formats – seeminglyovernight.
The bigger problem was alwayswhether societies and companies
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Rapid Fire
Favourite quote: True glory consists in doing what deserves to be written,in writing what deserves to be read, and in so living as to make the worldhappier and better for our living in it. — Pliny the Elder
You strongly believe in… philosophy. The great revolutions of the worldhave started as revolutions in thinking, be it democracy, universal suffrage,the scientific revolution, the declaration of human rights, religious tolerance,sustainability, or environmentalism.
Describe today’s change leaders in one line: Professional change agentsneed to develop their critical thinking skills and throw out all the garbagemodels from the 1990s that never worked very well, even then.
What comes to your mind when you hear these words?
COVID-19: It is the greatest medical and economic challenge of the last 100years. Our response will define our capability for collaboration as a globalspecies.
Science and business: While business loves exploiting science to make cooluseful tech, it is terrible at using science to run itself. The same is true insociety – we love gizmos, but (especially in the US) reject science when itdoesn’t fit our worldview. More science, less fluff!
The future of work: What is our competitive advantage as humans?Machines will soon think faster and better about many things – so if wearen’t to become redundant, what are the things we can do that make usspecial?
could adapt workforces to thesubstantial shift in manpowerrequirements – whether we couldhandle the fact that by 2030,perhaps as many as 50% of jobswill have changed or ceased.
Now, thanks to COVID, theproblem is greater – because itcomes not on top of fullemployment in the West butdouble-digit unemployment. Thissocietal challenge is the biggestpitfall. Western companies werenever good at protecting workersfrom downsizing, or outsourcing,or technological change. Thechallenge is greater today, and Iworry that we will not rise to it.
You often say that digitalchanges are paradoxical inseveral ways. Could youelucidate this point of view?
Technology is racing aheadfaster than we can keep up. Dataare being mined and crunchedfaster than strategists can adaptbusiness models and more quickly
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than humans can adapt to performtheir roles in the techno-humansystem, be that medicine, commerce,or government.
Weirdly, humans are a bottleneck.Two hundred years ago, datamoved as fast as the matter(paper) it was printed on. Onehundred years ago, analogueelectronic communications meantvoice could travel at the speed oflight but only as fast as I couldspeak. Today, I can transmit thewhole US Library of Congress inan hour (digitised). However, ourbrains don’t work any faster thanthey did 10,000 years ago! That ispartly why we feel so inundated.
Another paradox is that eventhough the change looks like atechnological challenge, at thebottom, it is a human one. Itleaves us with the questions: Whatis our superpower? What are theunique challenges that the machine-species (robots or AI) cannot solve?
In one of your books, youwrite: Creating change-agilebusinesses will eliminate theneed for what we today callchange management. What doyou mean by that, and howcan organisations shift from achange management paradigmto a change-agile paradigm?
The change paradigm hasforever been to strategise thechange top-down, and then alignpeople as needs require. It hasnever worked well. We get changefailure and change fatigue. I’veoften said that change managementis a Band-Aid on the wound of badleadership. Were our leaders up tosharing vision, cascading objectives,sharing the big picture why,resolving conflict, helping theirstaff adapt – then we would notneed change managers putting outchange fires. That is change agility,or one dimension of it – anorganisation with change capableleaders at every level.
In what ways couldbehavioural science help
Elon Musk is a business leaderI admire – whatever his quirks. Heis singular in that all his businessesare dedicated to a better future forhumankind: Tesla, SpaceX, TheBoring Company, and SolarCity. Itseems to me that he chooses hisentrepreneurial activity at thesweet spot between lucre andsocial value. He is also prepared,unlike many leaders, to take onprojects that most people thinkimpossible and that will takedecades to realise. He was ridiculedfor taking on the space establishmentbehemoths, Boeing, Raytheon, andLockheed Martin with SpaceX, andit seemed even more ridiculous totake on Toyota, General Motors,and BMW – yet Tesla has.
As for political leaders, mychoice has to be Angela Merkel,who sets an incredibly highstandard for moral leadership.Think of how many scandals haveplagued Trump in three yearscompared to Merkel in fifteen. AndGreta Thunberg – the world needsmore inspiring people like her –she gives me hope for humanity.
What would we be surprisedto learn about you?
As a teenager, I used to becalled “Disco Paul” because I lovedgoing out dancing so much. Shh!That’s a secret. And I was 20 kiloslighter – which helped. In my 20s,I taught myself four languages (allEuropean, no Hindi or Mandarinsadly) – so I can give talks, intheory, all over Europe. (Theproblem is I live in a tiny town inthe mountains of Colorado whereeven English is rare.)
Today, I compete at mind sportsat the highest levels – worldchampionships. Backgammon whenI was young, then Bridge, and nowPoker – I’d love to win the worldpoker championship. I also lovecomputer games like Civilisationand League of Legends. I suppose,in short, I’m the purest of nerds.In my downtime, I watch Netflixand anything sci-fi.
leaders wield new tools tostep up their organisationalchange efforts?
We used to think, changehearts, minds, and values, thenbehaviours will follow – exceptthey don’t. So, to effect behaviouralchange, we would train, teach,inspire, and persuade – all of whichproduce the change inside people’sheads. Then, we’d shake our heads,thinking, why are people still doingwhat they always did?
Behavioural science is a newfrontier in business. The specificsof that take three chapters in twobooks! But, in short, we focus firston helping people design newbehaviours, and then on usingbehavioural science to supportthat. The paradigm shift is from“think your way into a new way ofacting” to “act your way into a newway of thinking.”
As a highly regardedauthor, speaker, educator, andthought leader, you are aninspiration for many. Whocurrently inspires you, andwhy?
First, a joke. I once asked afamous actor, “Who inspires you?”and he said, “Me!” After I rolledaround the floor laughing, I askedagain. “No – I mean, who else?”He thought very pensively andsaid, “Nobody, really.” I still laughremembering that. And I’m stillnot sure whether he was joking!
There is still no better book onchange than The Fifth Discipline(1996) – and Peter Senge hasinspired me since I first read that(and have since read it threetimes.) He has faded from publicview but is still, to my mind, agreat thinker on the human side ofthe business, the ecosystem, andsustainability.
The thinkers I admire? The“who do you want to be when yougrow up” people are DanielKahnemann (author of Thinking,Fast and Slow) and Steven Pinker(author of Enlightenment Now).
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www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 25
Lemotional wellbeing. 8-10 hours atwork can either contribute to it orbreak that smile! Today, more andmore companies are moving awayfrom shareholders, profits, or growthas the primary purpose of theorganisation. Humans areincreasingly becoming the fulcrumaround which organisations are beingbuilt. And if we are building a
et me put it straight up. Comingto work every day with a smileon my face is a result of my
A Great Place To Work
BY RAJESH MEHROTRA
Humans are increasingly becoming the fulcrum aroundwhich organisations are being built. And if we arebuilding a "People First" organisation, it would meancreating a very strong and consistent culture foremployees to thrive in.
“People First” organisation, it wouldmean creating a very strong andconsistent culture for employees tothrive in.
A culture is no longer determinedmerely by facilities, perks, and pay-outs or a great looking office. Talentnow seek a strong culture that makesfor a happy and fulfilling workenvironment. And a happy, challenging,and fulfilling work environmentwould mean a clear purpose to whichall the employees are aligned, and
WORK CULTURE
26 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
the work making a positive impacton a life spectrum.
The role of the leadersThen there is the role of the leaders.While we propagate co-creation forculture which has proved to besuccessful, I believe that the leader’seffort at culture is farreaching. And itstarts with self. It is as easy asasking ourselves:-
What would make me happy tobe at work?
What are those initiatives I haveto take to include everyone in thishappiness?
How would I feel if someone wereto communicate and behave inthe manner I was?
Using self as a filter for an actioncan help us to be empathetic andlook at the deeper needs of anemployee. Leaders can no longerseparate the personal from theprofessional. And above all this,being vulnerable. Vulnerability is nolonger a leadership curse. It is whatmakes us human, makes us lookinward, be empathetic, and be opento change.
Consistency in characterConsistency in character andbehaviour, in good and difficulttimes, is truly the hard part.‘Strength of character’ is a term thathas been heard by many of us duringour childhood. And this phrase
carried an important lesson for life.To my mind, the strength ofcharacter would imply authenticityand commitment; the ability to betrue to values, despite the hardshipthat may transpire from following itthrough. I mention this because thecommitment to follow through is themain challenge. And to my mind, the‘strength of the character’ supportsthe culture that we promote withinand how true we are to the valuesthat build that culture.
Hence, a strong culture needsleaders who are
Vulnerable
Knowledgeable
Lead by exampleMake a concerted effort to evolveCan make difficult decisionsLive the values that are co-created within the organisation
I regularly swap stories with myfriends in leadership positions acrossthe globe on various things that ourcompanies are doing to create anattractive workplace. On one hand,the question is how do we make thework motivating and exciting for ourpeople. On the other is fun at work-from camping, office beer parties,fun office spaces to ensure thatemployees enjoy their time at work.There is a strong affinity towards aculture that promotes exciting workand fun. However, many Indiancompanies are diverse in age, region,religion, gender etc. and hence, whatworks for one may not work foranother. The solution lies in spottingthe common grounds of humanbehaviour and targeting them. Thesecommon grounds will vary acrossorganisations and cultures. One suchcommon ground is the celebration ofsuccesses. That may not equate tofun, but creating opportunities toprovide fame to employees,celebrating their efforts, and theirsuccesses is important to createenergy and positivity.
There are many identified valuesthat create a strong foundation likecollaboration, transparency,empowerment, agility, innovation,
“A happy,challenging, and
fulfilling workenvironment would
mean a clearpurpose to which all
the employees arealigned, and thework making a
positive impact on alife spectrum.”
WORK CULTURE..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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WORK CULTURE..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
“Culture is aconstant effort.
Every member ofan organisation isworking at it with
every word he speaksand every action he
takes.”
Rajesh Mehrotra is the Chief HumanResource Officer, Godfrey Phillips IndiaLimited. He has an experience of overtwo decades in people's process andpractices. He is leading the best practicesand driving cultural changes within GPI.
About the Author
trust, respect, equality to name a few.But it is not what you say but whatyou visibly and actually do aroundthese - constantly and consistently -that defines the work environmentand help make an employee acheerleader for your brand.
So, in a nutshell, what shouldbrands do to emerge as a great placeto work? There are definitely somegolden rules to that. Yours trulywould like to share those in whichone reposes blind faith.
Co-creation: Most organisationstalk about the top down approach forculture. I endorse the fact that aculture that is both bottom up andtop down is easier to maintain.Leaders are not perfect or infallible.Creating a culture that is owned byeveryone allows space for openconversations, and a frequent checkon the followed path. Collectiveconscience also allows for stayingtrue to the values and reduction ofdisappointment or disillusion in anorganisation.
Empowerment : Empowerment,can undoubtedly, not emerge withouttrust, respect, and fairness. Fairnesswould be an important aspect tomaintain respect and trust. Havingestablished processes for peopledecisions help, but it is equallyimportant to consider the emotionalelement. They need to be also SEEN& FELT as fair to be respected andtrusted by employees. Coaching andmentoring is an important pillar forempowerment. Coaching andmentoring helps employees developskills, evolve and enables them toincrease the impact of theircontribution to the organisation. Anemployee’s incentive is - to grow,progress, capitalise on potential, andhave a meaningful impact.
Communication: My ‘strengthof character’ is constantly tested invarious situations when it comes toopen and consistent communication.Sharing challenges, taking feedbackfor improvement, being open tocriticism or unpleasant opinion, it ishard for many to overcome the baserinstincts of avoiding or waiting for
matters to blow over, or at times toone’s utter dismay, complete denial.A consistent, dedicatedcommunication effort is imperativefor creating a workplace thatemployees trust and respect. I putthe responsibility on Leaders morethan anyone to be upfront, constantlyshare information, and betransparent and open in the decisionsthey take, admit mistakes, andcommunicate clearly on rectification.
Hiring with care: Culture is aconstant effort. Every member of anorganisation is working at it withevery word he speaks and everyaction he takes. In a living, breathingculture that is prominent within anorganisation, every person who joinsmust contribute to it. Therefore,hiring ‘a right fit’ is critical.Sometimes, a highly skilled andtalented employee who is culturallyunfit is detrimental to an organisation,than an average worker who is aperfect fit.
Care & Empathy: Empathy,understanding, and care is notinherent. Every person, organisation,and society must work at it. It has tobe felt, be constantly reminded,practised, encouraged and appreciated.Most of the times, having empathy atthe core of decisions leads us tomake the right ones. Leaders mustlead with it, employees must follow itand organisation must reflect it. It isinteresting on how stories oforganisation going out of their wayfor employees create a narrative thatfurther encourages employees to playout their role in daily work withinthat.
And these are what makes a strongculture in an organisation. Makes it agreat place to work for.
28 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
dollar outsourcing company.Almost a quarter before thefinancial year came to an end, shewould religiously send out L&Dupdates to the Business Headsseeking their inputs for the comingyear. And with Saloni’s recurrentpush, they would share theirdepartment’s Learning requirements.This would serve as a TrainingNeeds Identification (TNI) of sorts,which Saloni would then collate,budget, and present in the AnnualOperating Plan (AoP) Councilmeeting for the next year. Hardwork and diligence, would go intothe L&D strategy for the year.
The Country Head, an astuteIndustry veteran, for some reason,however, did not seem to be tooimpressed by Saloni’s style ofstrategy development. And soon,he rolled the L&D department, sofar reporting directly to the CHRO,under a VP heading Strategic HR,who until then had been Saloni’speer.
Saloni was distraught and soughta meeting with the Country Head,who obliged. The Country Head satSaloni down and patiently explaineda few observations, about what shecould have done differently.
The company was on a growthtrajectory, with new initiatives andcapabilities identified to supportthe spurt in revenue, but the L&DTNI focused on existing businesses
aloni was a friendly andeffusive Head of Learningand Development at a Billion-S
BY DIPANKAR DAS
The Learning journey in an organisation begins withan L&D strategy. And when strategising, apart fromthe coverage or the modules, it is essential to focuson the business outcomes sought by the leadership.
With The EndIn Mind
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The focus on the mission, vision,values and cultural pillars of theorganisation, which was essentialfor a growing organisation, was nota priority for the L&D department.
Learning deepens organisationalcapability, but Development standsfor future-readiness, which isensured by L&D. This point was notbeing addressed by the department.
L&D departments need toembed inside the business and notremain a parallel function. Theyneed to develop co-ownershiptargets in designing and delivery ofmodules.
There was no effort to gobeyond the HoDs. The rank andfile had a slew of expectationswhich were not being addressed.
Becoming CriticalTraditionally, L&D has been agood-to-have department,rarely a critical department.But increasingly, with thequick obsolescence of skillsand an ever-changingenvironment, it is L&D whichcan cushion the impact ofchanges, and even help preparethe organisation to stay ahead ofthe Learning Curve necessary tosurvive and thrive.
When strategising for a robustL&D presence in an organisation,it is important to keep a few pointsin mind:
All Learning should be alignedto the Mission, Vision and Values
of the organisation. In fact, notjust aligned, the initiatives shouldbe built around them. If Innovationand the Entrepreneurial values arepriority areas, then modules suchas Design Thinking and BusinessExecution should figure prominentlyin the roster of programmes.
All L&D is entwined with TalentManagement. The core purpose ofL&D should be to retain the HighPotential employees and furtherdevelop their skills. This honing ofskills is often a greater retentionstrategy than the annual bonus.
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 29
“All Learning shouldbe aligned to the
Mission, Vision andValues of the
organisation. In fact,not just aligned, theinitiatives should bebuilt around them.”
A Powerful and PositiveInfluenceRemember the HawthorneExperiments. Albeit indirectly, L&Dis one of the influences which helpdifferentiate an organisation in theeyes of its employees. A gratefuland happy employee base is alwaysmore engaged; an engaged employeeis more productive.
When strategising, do not thinkof coverage or the kind of modulesthat would do justice. Think insteadof the business outcomes thatwould be sought by the leadershipand how L&D can enable them. AsUber Guru Steven Covey had said,start with the end in mind. Whilekeeping the end in mind, it wouldbe good to map L&D not just aslearning, but a spectrum ofexperiences that employees arelikely to go through. If welldesigned, it will be a sought afterjourney that every employee wouldlike to be a part of. It wouldenthuse and motivate.
Design for ApplicationAs the ADDIE model suggests, theDesign element comes next. Fromexperience, this author would liketo suggest to be humble and biteas much as can be chewed withease. Too often, L&D plannersmake an ambitious land grab, whichremains unfulfilled at the end ofthe year. Think Application. Dowhat can be done well and withrelative ease. Let the Astronautsseek the moon, L&D professionalswould do well to remain grounded.There have been instances wherein
comprehensive programmes havebeen rolled out for particularprofiles such as Managers, whichcomprise more than 100 hours ofLearning in a year, and by theyear-end, only a fraction of thetarget group could achieve it, dueto the extensive prior occupation.Such unrealistic planning results inL&D initiatives losing credibility inthe organisation.
Sustain the MomentumLearning is good, but sustaining itis another story. The key is not tostructure it as a series of individualevents, but as a process, whichinvolves Training Delivery inClassrooms, through virtualplatforms, embedding it in thePMS, recognising Learners with Xnumber of hours, and most of all,enmeshing it in on-the-job Learning,where it becomes unavoidable.
“When strategisingLearning, we often
suffer from theoversight that
Learning is aboutLearning. It is, but it
needs to be aligned toand embedded in the
organisationalcontext.”
SocialiseSocialisation of learning is thesurest way to ensure seamlesssustenance. There has been aspectacular rise in the number ofLearning sessions being attendedby people during the Lockdown,thanks also to the meteoric rise ofEdTech platforms such as Zoom,Google Hangouts, etc. This has madeLearning possible, anytime andfrom anywhere. More importantly,Learning is available in short,convenient capsules, rather thanelaborately planned events.
Measure and CelebrateAnd now, Drucker springs eternal,what gets measured, gets done.The impact of Learning is, ofcourse, notoriously difficult toenumerate. In an age whereadvanced Analytics is ruling theroost, not being able to flick anumber capturing the rupeessaved, additional revenue earnedor the degree of organisationalcapability enhanced, is a bit of adampener. While, of course, one cango the full length of the KirkpatrickModel and churn out numbers, itis never too easy and depends a loton help from other departmentsand stakeholders. Instead, try tocapture the impact of Learning.Put up anecdotal inputs, ask theLeaders to speak up in support,organise Learning Road Shows inthe organisation, publish your owne-Newsletter. In short, make asplash, create an aspirationalvalue, which employees appreciateand seek out.
Big Picture ThinkingWhen strategising Learning, weoften suffer from the oversight thatLearning is about Learning. It is,but it needs to be aligned to andembedded in the organisationalcontext- its growth strategy, itsvision and its values. If that isensured, L&D will not be a paralleldepartment, cocooned in its silo,but go with the ebb and flow oforganisational priorities.
Saloni has learned that lessonnow, and she is back to being thegreat enabler she always was.
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Dipankar Das is the author ofCracking the CSAT Code at the CallCentre. He has worked in diverseorganizations, including Genpact,Concentrix and for the Tatas. He iscurrently Vice President and GlobalHead of Skill Development at iSONExperiences.
About the Author
30 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
almost every facet of our lives. Thecoronavirus outbreak has hamperedthe supply and demand in the localeconomies, and virtually no sector hasremained untouched by this healthhazard. The Housing sector is nodifferent and is facing the heat withdirect impact on new project
he world around us haschanged significantly with theCOVID-19 pandemic impactingT
BY ROHIT HASTEER
The COVID-19 pandemic has created difficulties andincreased pressure on the real estate sector but it alsobrings opportunities with itself. Business and HR shouldrise to the challenges and seize the opportunities.
OpportunitiesAplenty!
EXPERT TALK
launches, land acquisition, homebuyers seconding guessing makingsuch a huge investment at the stageetc. In fact, varying opinions areemerging on the impact of thisoutbreak on the real estate sector.However, crisis and adversities likethese often bring opportunities alongwith challenges. COVID-19 hasopened myriad opportunities for HRprofessionals working in the real
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estate sector and a few of them havebeen mentioned below.
Demand for workforceThe current crisis has made many ofus realise the importance of a home.With the pandemic reaching everynook and corner of the world, theonly place that kept us protected wasour safe abode. Besides safety, ourhomes also became our workplacesas a majority of us were forced towork remotely. A home was perhapsthe biggest and the most valuedcommodity in recent times. Thegovernment is also working towardslaunching several affordable housingprojects and the interest rates arelikely to fall in future. Hence, postthe temporary slump, one can expectthe housing sector to stand tall on itsfeet again wTop of Formith thedemand for homes rising. This wouldmean that organisations would needto pull up their socks to cater to theincreasing demand and have therequired manpower in place. Hence,talent acquisition teams will have agreat opportunity at hand, and theyneed to explore new and innovativeavenues of hiring.
Employee well-beingEmployee well-being has not been atop priority for most organisationsacross industries, including realestate. While everyone hasacknowledged the need, very littlewas done in terms of investment inthis area. However, the recentpandemic has forced organisations inthe housing sector to rethink theirapproach towards employee wellness.Right from safeguarding thatemployees have access to sanitisedfacilities, to ensuring their mentalwell-being, employers across the realestate sector need to include theseofferings at the workplace. Prior tothe pandemic, HR had to negotiatehard to ensure that health andwellness also becomes a part of theoverall company philosophy, however,there is an increased understandingand need for employee wellness now.Even people would prefer working
EXPERT TALK
with an organisation which cares forthem. Hence, employee well-being isanother opportunity area for HRprofessionals.
“Learning facilitatorsneed to establish digital
learning norms andimprove learning
efficiency and experienceof people. They need to
identify platforms whichcan cater to delivering
content as per individualneed.”
e-LearningWhether it is a small businessenterprise or a large conglomerate,COVID-19 has triggered everyone tobecome more adept to technologyand we see product demos and salespitches being made virtually. The realestate sector is no different. VirtualReality (VR) tours, webinars toeducate and engage homebuyers,digitisation around home search,paying rent etc. are now rapidlybecoming a reality due to suspensionof offline sales. Hence, it isimperative that HR digitises itself tokeep up with the digitaltransformation of business.Historically, real estate developersand organisations have invested ininstructor-led training to its people.However, with the new norm ofremote working, it has becomedifficult to carry out theseprogrammes and has created a muchstronger need for online learning.Learning facilitators need to establishdigital learning norms and improvelearning efficiency and experience ofpeople. They need to identifyplatforms which can not only hostcontent, but also cater to deliveringcontent as per individual need. Thiswould mean incorporating bite-sizedmodules, webinars, virtual reality,
32 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
About the Author
Rohit Hasteer is the Group CHRO forHousing.com, Prop Tiger.com andMakaan.com. He has an experience ofmore than 20 years in the domain onCompensation Benefits, Talent Acquisitionand Talent Management, Training &Development. He has worked withcompanies like CITIBANK, Make My Trip,Aviva Life Insurance and UT WorldWide.He takes keen interest in buildingOrganisation culture and PeopleDevelopment. He is an MBA from IMT,Ghaziabad.
gamification and augmented reality aslearning interventions.
Organisation Re-design: Thecoronavirus pandemic caught most ofus off guard, and businesses at largewere not prepared for a crisis of sucha scale. With the adverse effectslooming large on the economy,organisations need to adjust businessplans and staffing arrangements inorder to stay afloat. While there isperceptible uncertainty, but as onesees, some roles may becomeredundant, while the demand forsome roles may increase. The role ofHR becomes all the more importanthere as real estate sector needs tofind ways to effectively utilise peoplebetter. For instance, hiring may notstart immediately once we are backto normal, but the quantum of workwould increase significantly to coverup for all that is lost in time. Hence,HR needs to make the best use of theexisting talent pool by moving themcross-functionally. In fact, it is agreat opportunity for HRprofessionals to introduce crossoverthinking into talent management.Also, certain state governments havestarted overhauling the labour lawsfor ease of business. In a gigeconomy with relaxed norms,organisations in the housing sectorcan adopt more flexible employmentarrangements. HR again would be atthe forefront charting a new coursefor talent management.
Assessment & IncentiveStrategies: The recent pandemichas most certainly affected theAnnual Operating Plans (AOP) ofbusinesses and with the uncertaintyunfolding each day, organisationscannot set long term goals in thenear future. We may have to relookat the way we assess our people, andsoon, organisations may drift towardsquarterly, monthly, weekly or evendaily plans. At the same time, therewarding strategy may also need anoverhaul. Material incentives (Bonus,International Trips, etc.) have beenthe focus of rewards strategy in thereal estate sector, however, thecoronavirus pandemic has changedthe way employees look at rewards.Today, flexible working,telecommuting, humanistic care,profit-sharing are some of theincentives which are truly valued byemployees. Also, at a time when thereal estate sector is facing aneconomic challenge, it would beprudent for the sector to befinancially responsible. Therefore, itis important for business leaders andHR professionals to devise acomprehensive and competitive totalrewards program which is able torecognize and motivate people.
The COVID-19 pandemic hascreated difficulties and increasedpressure on the real estate sector butit also brings opportunities withitself. Business and HR should rise tothe challenges and seize theopportunities.
“HR needs to makethe best use of theexisting talent pool
by moving themcross-functionally.
In fact, it is a greatopportunity for HR
professionals tointroduce crossoverthinking into talent
management.”
EXPERT TALK..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 33
the ones that succeed in creating arobust wellness strategy that trulyrepresents a ‘Wellness Culture’everyone loves and resonates to.What more accomplished way toexpress employee care than by makinga meaningful investment in theiroverall wellbeing! Even with theknown benefits of wellness programmessuch as lowered health cost, increasedbenefits, happy and productiveemployees – much needs to beachieved in the direction of establishing
rganisations that visualisehuman resources as peoplefirst and employees next areO
BY KENNETH W WHEELER
For a wellness programme to succeed, it is imperativethat we reach out to our employees and make them acore part of the decision making.
An ExperiencePar Excellence!
an employee wellness strategy thattruly works. It is therefore essentialto explore ways of putting together asuccessful framework of wellnessculture, and taking a holistic approachto improve the employee experiencethrough wellness initiatives, both inand out of the workplace.
Engage and InvolveEmployeesMost employers fail to understandthis. For a wellness programme tosucceed, it is imperative that wereach out to our employees and makethem a core part of the decisionmaking. We need to put together alaundry list of wellness dynamics,educate employees of the benefits,and then roll out a survey tounderstand what gels best with themand spin your strategy around it.Conventional wisdom and researchtell us that people engage insomething when they perceive thatthey have managed to get a good deal.When employees are empowered toselect programmes, you fulfil theassertion of WIFM (What’s In it ForMe)! This forms the seed of creatinga successful wellness programme –and this approach now speaks to theemployees need and generates anoutcome that employees find desirableand beneficial, and thus, there is anautomatic increase in interest!
Focus on IntrinsicMotivationThe true value of Wellness Culture issustainability. How do you ensure
EXPERT TALK..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
34 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
employee motivation does not slipaway? The approach of intrinsicmotivation allows for a longtermimpact where employees displaybehaviour as continued progressbecause the behaviour is self-rewarding. How can this be achieved?
Select programmes that address abehaviour employee ‘can do’ and‘want to do’ because their WIFMsare clear and merged with theirvalues and belief system
Encourage a committed leadershipteam that self participates,proactively supports the programmeand actively encourages employeeparticipation
Highlight the values it holds like“A healthy lifestyle is a rewardinglifestyle’ – ‘Be a role model forothers’ or ‘lead by example’
Be high on celebrating success. Beloud on recognising employeeswho make progress in theirpersonal goals. Make public callouts for employees that do a bitmore, shine a bit more and bringa bit more energy to the programmeand peers alike
Give less weightage to ExtrinsicMotivation that runs on cashincentive pay out. It provides a short-lived burst of motivation that fadesquickly and completely dies ifincentives are pulled off. How manysteps do you think an employeewould take if some incentive amountwas attached to completing 5,000steps? 5,000 or at best 5,001?Would employees do 10,000? Justabout a handful!
Identify Your InternalChampionsIdentify employees from cross-functions who can be your voice to alarger group. They will help ensurethe programme stays its course ofintended ROI. This group can betitled ‘employee wellness club’ tocarry out the following advantages inyour favour:
To build and sustain the wellnessculture in the organisation
Evaluate the programmes impact,influence and desired benefit
Be your promoters and feedinputs on how things are movingat ground level
Assist with reiterating the objectivesand goals of the overall wellnessprogramme
Encourage peers and build theright momentum at a companylevel
“Unhealthy employees are morelikely to disengage and are 43%more likely to have increased stressand anxiety,” says Dr Kevan Orvitz,CEO at MEGAComfort, a wellnesstech company. Your internalchampions can help you fight thisconcern effectively.
Strategic Communication – themost critical building block forwellness success!
According to a research by HarvardBusiness Review, 58% of organisationsreport that employees are unaware ofthe health and wellness benefits.Hence, your goal is to ensure that theprogramme information is bothvisible and accessible to all employees.To adopt a maximum positive impact,treat it how the marketing teamwould strategise communication forthe release of a new product. Buildloads of enthusiasm by selectingmultiple communication channelsthrough different internal campaigns.
Consider the following:
Create attractive flyers, banners,inspirational emails from CEOsdesk and posters to spread theeyeball reach on both internalintranet and social media alike
Have wellness related short videoclips uploaded on HRMS platform
Use fancy slogans such as ‘WhackyTwisted Friday’ or ‘Shake a LegWednesday’
Make it a part of your quarterlybusiness review – evaluate andmeasure your programme
Include it in your reward andrecognition programme
Collect & publish testimonials ofemployees benefiting from theprogramme
EXPERT TALK..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
“Even with theknown benefits
of wellnessprogrammes such aslowered health cost,increased benefits,
happy and productiveemployees - much
needs to be achievedin the direction of
establishing anemployee wellnessstrategy that truly
works.”
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 35
EXPERT TALK..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Involve leaders in your organisation topromote the efforts proactively
Make communication happen bothways - roll out periodic survey forfeedback to continuously refinethe programme
It must be a part of your newemployee orientation
Communication on employeewellness programme must bestrategic and ongoing with the needof constant marketing. If you do thissmartly, you make a significantinfluence in creating your ownwellness culture that can thrivebeyond imagination!
Befriend Technologywhile capturing theHuman TouchTech today is inseparable in almosteverything we do, and the employeewellness programme is no different.What I would emphasise here is onthe virtue of human touch. To makeyour wellness programme completeand meaningful you need to bring inthe following attribute to youremployees:
Live consultations on topics likemental and emotional wellbeing
Chat online option with a qualifieddoctor to address any employee andtheir family health query
Online helpdesk support tounderstand insurance benefit orquestions around deductibles tooffering advice on managinganxiety to depression
Parental advice, mother care andeven managing child psychology
Provide tools in your platform toallow employees to get their healthscreening done, use healthcalculators and health navigatorswhile also taking a health riskassessment
Merge this with personalisedreports along with a professionalto get proper guidance to makenecessary lifestyle corrections
It is important to understand thatwe need to extend our programme andinclude diverse aspect of wellness –
mental, emotional, physical andpsychological well-being as well.
Be tough to establish aBudgetEstablishing a budget is a criticalstep as without designated funding,the programme will freeze to death.Put careful thought to all activitiesand spends involved and ensure youget a wellness programme budget asa default component in your HRbudget – this must not becompromised or undermined in anyway.
To bring it all togetherThe younger workforce is increasinglycomfortable with discussing overallindividual wellbeing and even mentalhealth openly. They are forthcomingto act on it. HR must quickly rise tothe occasion, tap into the openness ofthis expressive generation and incollaboration with other businessstakeholders bring to life a unique‘Wellness Culture’ specific to yourorganisation. Work stress is certainlyon the rise and employee’s mentalmechanism to cope with it noticeablyon a decline. Use the pointers above,blend technology and human touch tostrike a right balance betweenemployee wellbeing and organisationalhealth – After all, one-third of ourlives is attributed towards work, so,let’s look at it as creating a ‘way oflife’!
Kenneth W Wheeler is Director ofTalent & Culture at True Fit Corporation.Prior to this, he was associated withLogiNext as VP Human Resources (L&D).He comes with 16 plus years of richlearning experience spread acrossindustries. Awarded as 101 Top HRMinds (India) 2019 and a certified NLPcoach, Kenneth is a well-rounded expertin Envisioning, Strategizing and Leading arobust gamut of HR and L&D framework,contributing to both MNC (Wipro) andthe Start-up ecosystem (Ola, LogiNext).
About the Author
“HR must quicklyrise to the occasion,
tap into theopenness of today'sgeneration and incollaboration with
other businessstakeholders bring
to life a unique'Wellness Culture'
specific to theorganisation.”
36 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
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S
WORKPLACE 2.0
the challenges in life and choosesthe path of self-immolation isindeed painful. While it is tragicfor the one who succumbs, it isequally horrendous for those whocome to face with such disturbingnews. As for the family membersof the deceased, it is the mosthorrible experience to live with forthe rest of their lives.
We have witnessed people whoseemed to be bearing a strongpersonality, to whom the masseslooked up to for inspiration, haveended their life suddenly. Theyleave behind several unansweredquestions, and thereby, seed thedoubts of existence deeper in theminds of their followers. Yes, lifeis very fragile and one shouldnever take things for granted. Younever know what your colleaguecould be going through in his/herlife.
Often, your family, friends,relatives, colleagues, and your Bosswould be engrossed in their ownhustle. Also, discussions on mentalhealth remain to be taboo eventoday. In our society, voicing aconcern is seen as complaining,and sharing agonies is seen as asign of weakness. Therefore, mostpeople lose their natural self overa period of time, and hence, beginliving off-grid.
tressful situations, strainedrelations, and the bucklingpoint at which one gives in to
Overcoming TheSombre Path To Failure
BY KESHAV SRIDHAR
It is the onus of the HR leaders to run through Psychometrictests and related interventions in the organisation thatensures holistic health and development of their humancapital.
you could be pushing someone tothe edge of their life when yousnatch away their livelihood. To allthose overly critical people - life isnot all black and white. There aredifferent shades to it, and peopleexperience a wide array of emotionsas per the given situation and thechanging times. One shouldremember we are mere particles inthe flow of time and not absoluteauthorities, no matter what our‘designation’ is in the family or theorganisation.
Currently, the only differencebetween a Man and a Machine is‘emotion’. Considering the currentpace of progress in the field ofArtificial Intelligence and MachineLearning, it appears that even thisuniqueness will be an attribute thatwill be undertaken by Machines.Everyone commits mistakes. Themost important thing is whetherone has realised their short-comingsand is making efforts to improveand move on. As friends, relatives,and colleagues to someone whoneeds a helping hand, we need tobe sensitive and mature enough toavoid overly judging people.
Whether it is stress owing toour own mistakes or because of thethings done by someone, it isobserved that we will be unable tolive in peace if the people aroundus replayed and constantly remindedus of the disturbing events of thepast.
Absence of freedom ofexpressionIn the corporate arena, very fewcompanies carry the culture whereinthe freedom of expression is valuedwithout any insecurities. Thoughmost of the corporates havePsychologists empanelled with themas consultants, employees do notreach out to them for assistance.They dread that they would bemocked by their colleagues, despiteassurances of confidentiality by thecounsellor.
“Though most of thecorporates have
Psychologistsempanelled with them
as consultants,employees do not reach
out to them forassistance since they
dread that they wouldbe mocked by their
colleagues.”It is observed that very few
organisations have the maturity toacknowledge and accept theemotional challenges of theirpeople, and offer genuine help. Fora ‘Boss’, firing people could be theeasiest thing to do. However, younever know the extent to which
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 37
WORKPLACE 2.0..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
time. It is basically their fear offacing people and their criticism,manifesting in different ways.
7. They would not appear to betheir true self, as they would haveto always act to somehow get theacceptance of people around them.Passing through every day wouldbe a big struggle for them.
8. In few highly critical cases, theywould hear and see things whichwould exist only for them in theirown world.
In this age of social media,whether we like it or not, most ofus are in constant limelight, eitherfor personal or professional reasons.And, more is our material needs,more is the urge to outsmartothers. The reason for one’s stresscould be anything. It is unlikelythat one would get professionalhelp from their family. Hence, it isthe onus of the HR leaders to runthrough Psychometric tests andrelated interventions in theorganisation that ensures holistichealth and development of theirhuman capital.
The ‘Forces’ of LifeAs per Applied Mechanics, ‘Stress’is Force upon Area. The force thatwe experience in our daily life is,in fact, various energy transactionsin every situation. In other words,these are the various shades of ouremotions. The more localised theforce, the more intense the stress.For instance, if one has gonethrough a traumatic experience inthe past, and the event is replayedon repeat mode, either by oneselfor the people around on a regularbasis; this makes disturbing emotions(force) to become immenselylocalised i.e. related to a particularsituation or experience. This cyclicand repeated turmoil of emotionscause a fatigue that things getunbearable over a period of time.
In cases of high depression, theworld (area) is shrunk to onlythose people associated with thetrauma/disturbance. Within notime, even these disturbing peoplefade away from their mind, andwhat clutches them very firmly isonly the hard-hitting painful burstsof emotions, which becomes soparalyzing that it presses onebrutally to question if it is reallyworth living a life of such quality!
And thus, the sooner one getsprofessional help, the better arethe chances of coming out of sucha dangerous phase of depression.It is noteworthy that when one isaround such people, one mustexercise due caution to ensure thatthe past is not replayed since itwill trigger an avalanche of highlydisturbing emotions in them.Discussions on achievements,failures, morals, status symbols etc.can be shoved away till the personis able to negotiate such things asa normal being. Hence, the biggesthelp you can do to anyone strugglingwith depression is to connect themwith a well-qualified Healer.
Ways of spottingFew ways to spot people who couldbe on the verge of going off-gridinto depression, in your own team/family:
1. Such people are overly consciousabout being judged by others. Theybecome their own fiercest critics ineverything they say and do. In fact,it is the voice of the people whohad strongly criticised them in thepast and were taken very seriouslyby them, which is why it has nowbecome their voice of self-criticism.
2. As they live in the constant fearof being criticised, they obviouslywould try to avoid social gatherings.Also, because their voice (ability tospeak out their mind) would havegot suppressed by repeatedexperiences of stress, it would bean uphill task for them to even getready and move out of their houseto work in the real world.
3. Most likely, they would havefrequent mood swings, and hence,they would latch on to some sortof habit, without which they cannotfunction normally. Most probably,it could be some substance abuse.
4. They would always want to bein the good books of all, as theyare highly doubtful about theirability to fight back in case of anyconfrontation.
5. They would have fragmentedspeech and disarrayed thoughtprocess. However, by appearance,they may seem quite normal. Also,they would try to laugh a lot evenin case of unexpected instances.
6. They would be trying to changethe team, company or place veryfrequently, as they get veryuncomfortable when people comecloser to them over a period of
Keshav Sridhar is a HR Consultant &OD Specialist. A seasoned HRProfessional, he wields an experience of15 years and has worked with Google,Partygaming, Aditya Birla Group, BITSPilani University etc. Keshav holds adegree in Mechanical Engineering and aPost Graduate Diploma in HumanResource Management. He can becontacted [email protected].
About the Author
38 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
T
EXPERT TALK
January, February and March of thisyear are historical and memorablemoments because those who hadthese occasions after the lockdownshave only had quarantine celebrationsdigitally. In fact, many did notcelebrate these events at all. Doesthis have to do something withwellbeing? Well, you know theanswer.
Mobility is restricted duringthis global crisis, and humanbeings have been staying in thesame place for a very long time,not because of their choice but outof compulsion. Psychologically,human beings like to do things outof their own free will. We comeacross situations in which peoplearound us perform difficultactivities easily and willingly ifthey are not forced to do so.However, when forced, even if theactivity is simple, there is a highprobability that mistakes will occur.
We are seeing a global crisisthat has forced over 2.5 billionpeople in the workforce to workremotely. This crisis has alreadystarted creating extreme implicationsfor the business sectors, especiallyin terms of managing costs andoptimising the performance of theirworkforce.
Governments and organisationshave created a charter on thewellbeing of people to make surethat possible support is providedto everyone so they can manage
he birthdays and anniversariescelebrated together withfriends and families in
COVID Customisations:A Key to Wellbeing
BY SWARNA SUDHA SELVARAJ
The responsibility of wellbeing is with the self, family,organisation, and community as we prepare to coexistwith COVID-19.
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phase, with extensions beingprovided for remote work andactivities being conducted toensure the work areas for thosewho are returning to work arehighly sanitised. There wereseveral videos of children andyoung adults celebrating theopening of food joints KFC andMcDonald’s in the UK last month.Employees of these food jointswere assured of workplace safetyby adopting many “contactless”delivery approaches.
Amongst many other commonlyheard words, “furlough” and “layoffs”have become prevalent. There areorganisations that are supportingemployees with full payment oftheir salaries even though they arein furlough. Specific advances and
this situation and come out of itsuccessfully.
The Wellbeing CharterA common trend seen acrossorganisations is the three-phasedapproach towards managing thewellbeing of employees:1. During the crisis2. Return to work3. Long-term plan
All of these wellbeing activities fallunder these four broad categories:1. Financial2. Physical3. Mental4. Social
Physical safety has been the mostimportant category in the first
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 39
Swarna Sudha Selvaraj is the Headof Talent Development for TCS Europe,UK & Ireland. She is a vibrant HRleader with over 17 years of workexperience gained from associationwith Tata Consultancy Services andMurugappa Group of Companies.
About the Author
special relief funds are beingprovided for employees to managetheir urgent expenses. Not manytimes do we hear about seniorexecutives accepting pay cuts, butthis was also gracefully done byleaders.
Virtual coffee connects on videohave been part of the employeeengagement and connectionactivities to support the mentalwellbeing of employees. Multiplesessions on mental wellbeing byexperts, services from trainedcounsellors, weekly engagementsbetween team members andtouchpoints of decision-makers tosupport with any quick decisionshave all been in place acrossorganisations as services foremployees and their families. As Iwrite this, I’m visualising thosemoments when we have seenemployees joining sessions asfamilies along with their children.
Organisations have come togetherto appreciate health care workerstogether and offer communitysupport, and technology companieshave also created digital solutionsto the problems faced for helpingthe government in managing thepandemic.
As organisations get ready towelcome back more employees intoworkspaces and also implementtheir long-term plans, it is importantthat they don’t go for a typicalbroader restructuring of policies,processes and systems, but insteadhave a segmented approach forcustomisation at a policy level too.
COVID CustomisationsWe are slowly moving ahead fromall our short-term activities to long-term strategic direction to copewith the current situation and getbusinesses back on track. Needlessto say, global organisations arealso customising their plans basedon the situations that everycountry is in.
Best Buy has transformed itsprocess of posting company newsin the elevators of its headquarters,previously called “The Lift”, into a
digital posting now called “TheUplift”. Such simple yet thoughtfulchanges could create a lastingimpression. This is a great exampleof customisation in communi-cation that can be suitable for allemployees. This is very innovativeand brings to life the visual effectof the elevator even when lookingat it in the digital mode.
With employees becoming jadedby information overload, especiallyon learning, wellbeing webinarsand programmes, we found a wayto publish an integratedemployee engagementcalendar in TCS UK, which isavailable on the social collaborationplatform for all employees. Thishas increased the engagement ofemployees and has broughtcustomised engagement basedon the interest of the employees.
Whether it is infrastructure orthe internet that is going to replacethe travel and petrol allowances orthe hikes and promotions that willbe withheld, offering transparencyand customisable benefitoptions for employees to choosefrom, based on their personalrequirements, might help employeesin managing their wellbeing andalso support their coworkers andfamilies.
Special care to vulnerableemployees could be an extendedservice, as there may be situationsthat could arise where a lack ofthis might lead to wellbeing issues.
Creative flexi-working policiesthat emerged in the gig economyare going to provide customisableoptions for employees to choosefrom. I would not be surprised if,in line with the “leave sharing”scheme, there may be a “salarysharing” scheme involving employeeswillingly supporting other colleaguesof theirs who are laid off, mainly insectors where layoffs are expectedto extend over a longer time.
Beyond all this, the effort tokeep in touch and celebrate successmust be a part of every small andbig team’s agenda to stay connectedand celebrate. Creating these
“throwback moments” is criticalin ensuring the wellbeing of anemployee.
A Joint ResponsibilityIf John does not make an effort toconnect with his friends or hisorganisation to seek help when heneeds it, it may lead tocompromising his own wellbeingand that of his loved ones.
If 6-year-old Preetham needsmore attention from his parents,and his parents are working veryhard without even realising thatPreethan needs attention, this couldalso create issues in wellbeing. Awork-life balance and a commitmentto it as a family would be essential.
If Jeanette was seeking helpbut could not find out where sheneeded to reach out in herorganisation, then it could lead towellbeing issues not only forJeanette but also for her colleagues,as there is lack of clear, concise,and transparent communication.
If Martinez fell sick and wasconsidered a COVID-19 case by thecommunity, and they felt Martinezcould be dangerous and werewithout empathy, this could alsolead to wellbeing issues.
The responsibility of wellbeingis with the self, family, organisation,and community as we prepare tocoexist with COVID-19. Self, ofcourse, has the highest responsibilityto stay calm and leverage resources,as and when required, to stayhappy and keep growing.
EXPERT TALK..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
40 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
T
PEOPLE ANALYTICS
before, where HR is now encouragedto use data and analytics to linkpeople strategy to the businessstrategy and outcomes. Tounderstand how to develop apeople strategy, i.e. strategicworkforce planning, it is essentialto comprehend and implementpeople analytics as a strategic toolkit and a driving factor for thisalignment.
What’s all the fuss overPeople Analytics?Traditionally, HR has relied heavilyon ‘intuition’ and ‘gut-feeling’when it comes to making peopledecisions that impact the business.However, the influx of digitaltechnologies, big data and theinternet of things have allowedorganisations to track progress andfeedback from not only theircustomers but also their workforce.Furthermore, whereas previouslyleaders determined the value of thebusiness by looking at the narrowfinancials of a balance sheet, now,more than 80 per cent of thisvalue has shifted off the balancesheet and into the intangibles, i.e.,intellectual, social and humancapital. This is why the role of HRhas transformed into that of astrategic partner to the business,where people analytics plays a key
he COVID-19 pandemic haspushed HR to take on amore strategic role than ever
How to Get Startedwith People Analytics
BY NADEEM KHAN
Now more than ever, HR needs to continuously improveits capability to ensure that it remains relevant to thebusiness. It must provide value that impacts businessperformance, the bottom line and a sustainable future.People analytics provides a way forward.
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analytics. Now, let’s have a look atthe three most important steps togetting started on this journey:
(1) Identifying a BusinessProblem
HR has been blamed time andagain of not understanding thebusiness and focusing too narrowlyon itself as a department alooffrom the business operations.Hence, the first step in the processwill be to identify a businessproblem that needs to be solvedrather than an HR remit.Remember that people analytics isnot about HR; it is about businessperformance and how to improveit. For this purpose, use thefollowing six questions to assessand prioritise the business problem.
i. Is the project critical andimportant to the business?
ii. Is the data available?iii. Is the data easy, inexpensive and
not resource-intensive to access?iv. Is the data clean and trusted?v. Are there significant risks if
ignored?vi. Is the project valuable in financial
terms?
If you score “yes” on all sixaspects, your business problem isworth investing your time andresources towards as this willcreate a high-impact and low-effortproject, enabling you to focus on aquick win. Nevertheless, it’s always
role in the process of businessoptimisation.
What is People Analytics?To understand people analytics,one must understand humancapital measurement (HCM) andreporting. HCM and reporting areabout highlighting the currentworkforce composition and pasttrends of key metrics throughdashboards that may include KeyPerformance Indicators (KPIs).Analytics, on the other hand, looksinto the future by analysingcurrent trends and using statisticsto model the effects of a particularoutcome.
Reporting focuses on past trends,whereas analytics focuses on futureinsights that can mitigate risk andinfluence decision-making. There isa misconception that by onlyreporting human capital, you will beable to identify and drive actionableinsights. Research shows that HRspends too much time focusing onbasic reporting tasks to thedetriment of analysing this data.
Getting Started withPeople AnalyticsBefore getting started with peopleanalytics, it’s important tounderstand that this process is ajourney, not a destination, whichusually begins with reporting andmoves towards predictive people
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 41
Nadeem Khan is the author of'Introduction to People Analytics – Apractical guide to data-driven HR'. Hehelps HR leaders become StrategicBusiness Partners so that they canhave more business impact, incomeand growth. Unlike many others whofocus solely on data analytics, Nadeemenables HR professionals to becomebusiness savvy, influential and use thepower of intuition. He can be reachedon LinkedIn @Nadeem Khan.
About the Author
important to ask, “Why are welooking at our attrition rates, andhow does that impact our businessperformance in terms of a financialimpact?”
(2) Collaborating with theBusiness
This journey will most likely involveextracting people and businessdata from multiple disparatesystems and unifying these disparatesources into one single repository.In some cases, you may not haveharmonised definitions, metricsand measures throughout thebusiness. Your role is to synthesiseall the data and information intoone whole system. This will requireHR to move out of their silos,collaborate and learn from thewider business. As finance andmarketing have already been onthis journey of forecasting thefuture, there is much HR can learnfrom both their wins and theirmistakes.
(3) Driving ContinuousImprovements
People analytics is a process thatrequires continuous improvementson three levels: HR’s capability,data and technology. Although theprocess begins with reporting, thisshould move towards predictivepeople analytics that brings strategic
PEOPLE ANALYTICS..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
“Whereas previouslyleaders determined thevalue of the business by
looking at the narrowfinancials of a balancesheet, now, more than
80 per cent of thisvalue has shifted off thebalance sheet and into
the intangibles, i.e.,intellectual, social and
human capital.”foresight into the business.Throughout this process, HR willneed to evaluate its own capabilityand ensure that it aligns with thebusiness needs. Initially, we mightfind disparate and scattered datathroughout the business, but HRmust take the lead role inorganising the data with clarity viadashboards accessible across thebusiness as the process unfolds. Itis also important to add the needfor a people analytics leader whoensures that data-driven culture iscultivated in the organisation.Lastly, the key role in this wholeprocess is technology. With oldand clucking HRIS systems thatprovide nothing valuable to the
business, HR may need to investwisely on developing or outsourcinga people analytics solution thatshows business results. All this is acontinuous journey and should notbe considered as an end to adestination.
With the rapid advent ofartificial intelligence and machinelearning, organisations are nowseeking to make permanentconnections between core HRfunctions, marketing, finance andbusiness performance to improveorganisational practices. Now morethan ever, HR needs to continuouslyimprove its capability to ensurethat it remains relevant to thebusiness. It must provide valuethat impacts business performance,the bottom line and a sustainablefuture. People analytics provides away forward.
42 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
CASE STUDY..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
IAfter going through the phases ofdenial, anxiety, and finallyacceptance, I started to find myfocus at work. And yet, isolation,dual roles of work and home, skillupgradation, and many othersimilar demands were beginning tovex me. In my own family, someonewas either “zombied” to the laptopscreen or she/he had turned into acouch potato, watching TVceaselessly. Even I was attemptingto cope with myself. I did what Ialways do when I am lost, calledmy friends who are a source ofinspiration and my intellectualbackbones. It seemed befitting toseek their sense-making processesduring this seemingly tumultuousand rocky period.
My first call was to Mini Menon,with whom I shared the POSH IC(Internal Committee). She respondedon COVID-19 and its fallout in thefuture. She expressed greatdisappointment at how peopleassume that sexual harassmentends at physical distancing andthat harassment is within
t had been a month since thelockdown was enforced inalmost all the states in India.
‘boundaries’ and not beyondphysical harm. She said, “I amoverwhelmed with people sayingthat with the lockdown there willbe no work for you as a part ofthe IC team. Poor souls don’tunderstand that when people havefelt lack of control, have beenmonitored and chased by thegovernment and the police, broughtdown to Maslow’s levels of basicneeds, some will innovate methodsof bullying, including sexualharassment. Moreover, socialmedia gives them the isolationand private space for such acts.We will have more cases oncethey have made sense of what isaround them in the immediate.Worst is that the legal and socialsystem will not be equipped andaware of how to deal with it. Weneed to find a way to educateboth the men and the women onwhat might be a fallout of suchlong isolation and being in theanxiety.”
While what she mentionedseemed more like her fears andassumptions, I felt that similarincidents were being reported inother contexts. The confidence that
the acts would not be noticed orpunished made perpetrators toexperiment. Further, a quick lookat a few articles in Psychologyfrom various magazines suggestedthat there were increased incidentsof domestic violence during thelockdown. Overall, her revelationsbothered me.
I soon contacted Gaurav, mycoach. He narrated how he wascoping with the ongoing crisis. Hesaid, “I see people operating froma need to protect. Their behaviouris guided by their primitivereptilian brains. There are toomany unsorted emotions. UnderCOVID-19, people are adjusting tochildren screaming in thebackground while they areaddressing an important strategymeeting, mopping and cooking, andare coping with an overarchingfear of joblessness. Newspapersand WhatsApp have been circulatingmisinformation; salary cuts,economic meltdowns are oftenbeing discussed in the open whichmakes them insecure. The newskill in leaders would be to remainhumane, shift focus from thebottom line to people and “connect”-the basic human behaviour. It isimportant to communicate activelyto build trust and seek loyalty byextending loyalty. A newintelligence - beyond intelligencequotient (IQ), Emotional Quotient(EQ), Spiritual Quotient (SQ) andSocial Quotient (SQ) - ‘Compassionquotient’ is needed in leaders now.Leaders, under this crisis, wouldhave to prioritise continuity overperformance. Performancemanagement would shift topurpose and mission, rather thanKRAs or leaving it to people todecipher. Servant Leadership withresilience would evolve. Leadersthat are focused on power andposition would lose loyalty.Investment in people will have adedicated team to work when thelockdown is removed and workreturns to normalcy.”
This conversation with Gauravfilled me with hope and positivity,and his words were vastly reassuring,to say the least.
Call Logs Of An HREnthusiast
BY DR. ANAMIKA SINHA AND DR. JALLAVI PANCHAMIA
In a recent survey by Josh Bersin, MIT SloanManagement Review and Culture X in the backdrop ofthe COVID-19 pandemic, HR Departments polled thephysical well-being of employees as the topmost areaof priority and mental well-being was renegaded to thebottom of the pile. Employees, on the other hand,polled job security as the top-most area of concernwhich preceded their physical well-being. Thus, it isevident that the priorities among HR departments andemployees are vastly discernible, and more so, in suchtesting times.
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 43
CASE STUDY..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
an OD and OMR consultant. Hesaid, “Virtual teams mean virtualempathy. As work gets moredigital, and work from homebecomes a reality, organisationswould have to evolve to includeagility, better communication andalignment, coupled with verystrong leadership. HR will need adigital mindset where even funwould no longer remain organicbut would rather have to bedigitally planned. The role of thesupervisor’s empathy and resiliencehas been well researched andreported in large-scale disasterstudies in academics. In thepresent crisis which by nature issociopsychological, leaders willneed to engage teams with virtualskills. They will need to mindfullyreplace virtual methods withsoftening of facial features, awarm hug, resonated breathing etc.Access to bodily and non-verbalcues which we have in face to facemeeting will no longer be availablewhich they would otherwise do inface to face meetings.”
The last hot seat contestant wasan NGO worker from Janvikas;one of the largest and oldest NGOs
At this point, I felt as if I werea host on reality TV, and our nextcontestant was a College Professor.She shared her excitement as wellas fears around holding classesonline. A quick look at LinkedIn,confirmed the increased postingsof courses done on Udemy, Edexetc. She seemed to be almostcertain that even after the lockdownhas been lifted, we would continueto work remotely, through the‘online’ mode. A close look at theincreased usage of WebEx and MSteam to over 700% 1 since 16th
March was indicative enough onthe future of training and learningfunction, including the educationsystem.
This resonated, albeit in a fastforward mode, on the prediction offuture of work by Katz, a seniorHarvard Professor, way back in the90s. He had mentioned thattechnology will encourage flexiwork,multi-assignment, low loyalty tothe employer, high loyalty to workand Gig economy. Big data andblockchain AI, Digital work, digitalsolutions in HR may get real sooner.The advantage would be that ashared, competent resource could bea cost-saving mechanism for firmsand institutions. Nevertheless, itwould put added burden onemployees to get competent andreskill on a continuous basis!
I also spoke to a recruiter aboutemerging trends on withdrawingcampus placements, delaying thenew joining as well as onboardingonline. I wondered whether her lifewas also in a big translucent mess!She mentioned that she felt guiltyat times for being the mouthpiecefor her company’s decisions ondelays or withdrawals. Often angryat the placement heads who gaveher a mouthful on ethics inrecruitment at this point, shementioned that she had acquirednew skills to be self-reliant andself- disciplined. She had startedmeditation and exercise. And thishad emerged as a blessing indisguise.
The next contestant in myreality show was Mr Nikhil Maini,
of Gujarat. She spoke extensively onthe challenges confronted by migrantworkers and the vulnerabilitiesfaced by them - hunger, pooraccess to government schemes,information asymmetry, access tophone and digital cash, socialstigma, and the feeling of beinglocked up in a strange land withoutdaily earnings, and no possibilityof going back home. She felt thatwhile community kitchens andcommunity lodging provided byvolunteers and NGOs was only ashortterm respite for them, a long-term sustainable plan is awaitedfrom the government for this sector.
After her call, I felt that therewas no denying that the scenariotoday will change us forever. Thoseof us who are open to acceptingand adjusting to change would seethis as an opportunity, and thosewho are caught in the “ifs andbuts” will only experience greaterconfusion. Notwithstanding, ofcourse, a strategy for returning towork, coupled with re-engagementneeded to be worked out. Goingforward, we would have to reinventourselves repeatedly at every level.
1 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/zoom-microsoft-cloud-usage-are-rocketing-during-coronavirus-pandemic-new-data-show-2020-03-30
Dr Anamika Sinha is AssociateProfessor, Goa Institute of Management.She is also a freelance trainer and an ODconsultant.
Dr. Jallavi Panchamia is associatedwith Indian Institute of Public Health,Gandhinagar. She has researched andpublished papers in journals of repute inthe domains of organisation culture,prosocial behaviour and mental health.She has been conducting MDPs andtraining sessions in the area of HRanalytics and Interpersonal effectiveness.
44 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
CASE STUDY
circulated in one’s circle. Eventhough it is seen to be untrue onmost occasions, it has created a lotof stress in people’s life, and hasled to foul play either for thesurvival of those who are weak orhas been used as a power ofposition to exploit the situation intheir favour. At times, people haveno option but to accept suchharassment, either related to workat home or due to their internalfamily related pushes in personallife. However, this is not a newthing but have increased in currentsituations due to constraints ofjoblessness, economy meltdown,salary cuts, bleak future etc.Everybody wants to secure his/hersurvival that leads to a compromisewith the values in the absence ofinbuilt safeguards in the systemand lack of will in governance toaddress as a priority.
When talking of purpose andvalues in life, we simply ignore thecontext. We can relate humanbehaviour and the compromise inthe given circumstances to thereallife accounts by Victor Franklin Man’s Search for Meaning.People treat such priceless thingsas mere vanities, and one hascome across victims having noregret, but accepting it as a realityof life. In instances where one ofthe spouses has a lost his/her job,it has led to reduced earnings withincreased expenses.
At the same time, many managerswho are working from home havea lot of good things to share. They
internet revolution, COVID-19 hasimpacted a large part of the societyand has presented a gloomyoutlook to both the personal andprofessional front. The very questionof survival has come into theambit and forced people to fall inline, be it the forced lockdown orsocial distancing. Things arehowever still in motion and peopleseem to be adhering to the “Failfast – Learn fast” principle.
The revelation of Mini as aPOSH IC member is hardlyfrightening. We have witnessedmedia reports and social mediaposts on increased incidents ofdomestic violence during thelockdown, not ignoring numerousincidents of sexual harassment.One strongly believes that thingswill take its course to settle sincethe process of transition from onephase to another is an unpredictableand significant jump. An individual’ssocial behaviour is complex, andhence, cannot be altered by design,since it evolves due to severalinternal and external factors.Therefore, HR leaders are requiredto educate employees on alignmentto work in new realities and createthe needed framework to addressvarious issues and genderdiscrimination which were hithertonot experienced.
Gaurav has rightly pointed outthat the imposition of fear psychosisor prevailing negative vibes getting
Analysis By Ravi Mishra
About the Author
Ravi Mishra is Senior Vice President-HR for Global Epoxy Business, AdityaBirla Group. He is associated with theGroup since 2005, and has worked indifferent businesses i.e. Grasim Chemical,UltraTech Cement, and Birla Carbon.Prior to joining the Aditya Birla Group,Ravi was associated with diversifiedorganisations such as, Nicholas PiramalGroup, Mardia Group of Industries, andNova Petrochemicals Ltd.
any a times, big changeshappen by default. Inrecent times, after theM
have managed to display greatempathy and compassion tosupport their team members. Theyunderstand the compulsion andchallenges of work from home,such as space constraints, health-related challenges and inadequacyof medical support, children notaccepting the new reality, nodomestic help etc. Many businessleaders have also come forward tosupport their employees in such anhour of crisis. Managers havedeveloped to be emotionallyintelligent to handle such turbulenttimes with utmost care. This is amere reflection of the organisationculture.
It is evident that we ignoredthe writing on the wall. As hasbeen rightly predicted by Katz inthe Future of Work or The Shift:The Future of Work is AlreadyHere by Gratton, the new normalwill have a huge impact on ourlives. We, however, can anticipatea lot of positives.
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quotient in Leaders, other thanintelligence quotient, emotionalquotient, spiritual quotient, andsocial quotient. He intenselyadvocated the dos and don’ts ofLeaders in the prevailing scenarioby illustrating the shift ofPerformance Management andinvestments on people withpositivity. This conversation withGaurav sparkled with optimismand coolness. HR folks will recallthe line of Katz, the senior HarvardProfessor, that technology willencourage flexi-work, multi-assignment, low loyalty to employer,high loyalty to work and Gigeconomy.
Further, during the conversationwith her recruiter, the latterexpressed her anguish at theplacement heads on giving lectureson ethics and extending the majorpoints, rather than focusing onemployability of new talents. Shewas happy with the skill/traits shehad gained during this period oflockdown since she felt self-reliantand disciplined with an amplitudeof meditation and workout. Thisconversation, in fact, amped thecaller.
Nikhil Maini, an OD and OMRconsultant, said “virtual teamsmean virtual empathy”, andhighlighted the major chore fororganisations and Leaders too, byadopting the best mode ofcommunication, empathy, trust andmany more in such unprecedentedcircumstances. Lastly, the workerfrom the largest and oldest NGOs
and the survival of business areparamount, and hence, companiesare going back to the nitty-gritty.
The protagonist is vexing tohighlight several situations (dueto the COVID-19 pandemic)confronted by individualsirrespective of the sector they arein. She saw that the people shecalled were experiencing a similarstatus quo and were confrontedwith the same situation involvingtheir family members. Tounderstand the flip side of thecorona-confined circumstances ofvarious people, she called MiniMenon, her co–team member inthe POSH Internal committees(IC). Mini spoke about the modusoperandi of sexual harassmentwhen people are in seclusion. Shealso advocated teaching men andwomen the impact of lonelinessand its repercussions. Mini’sthoughts were more on thedeleterious aspects of a confinedenvironment with worries andconventions. She also citedincidents to indicate that intimatepartner violence was on anincrease. Gaurav, the protagonist’scoach narrated the presentscenario, “people are in fear of jobsecurity, salary cut, due tomiscommunication of socialmedia.” He was unambivalentwhen he stated that at thisjuncture, it is vital to build trust inpeople and imbibe the compassion
Analysis By Pramod K Tripathi
n today’s COVID-19 affectedeconomy, controlling costs,maintaining competitiveness,I
CASE STUDY..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
“Tough Time Teaches you the best lessons of life”
broadly underlined the challengesof migrant workers and their direneeds of livelihood etc.
In the given narrative, HRprofessionals had tried to evaluatethe unique position of all thosewho have been forced to stayindoors. These professionals wereexasperated leading to wide-rangingfeelings and conditions of each inthis epidemic condition with theirunprecedented responses. There isa stark variance between whatwork from home meant as anuncompelled working arrangement,and what it has emerged in realityin the present situation. Anoperating archetypal that has beenimplemented globally, has had animpact on employee know-how,performance and finally on theoutcome.
About the Author
Pramod Tripathi is Deputy GeneralManager-HR, Bajaj Energy Limited andhas been associated with the BajajGroup since 2011. He comes with adiverse experience and has worked inentities such as Aditya Birla Group,Jaypee Group, Visaka Industries,Sahara India etc. Pramod carriesproficiency in L&D, PMS, Policyformulation and Capability Building.
46 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
I
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
located in a farmhouse opposite theQutab Minar in Mehrauli in Delhi.Often, we would leave the office latein the evening, and we would find theQutab Minar flushed in orange light,a beautiful sight to behold, courtesythe Archaeological Survey of India.Looking back, I feel this was amoment of ‘wellness’ of the bestkind for us, since we carried this veryimage back home, and were motivatedenough to come back the next day to
recall the days when I was workingwith Bharti Telecom way back in1998-99. The Corporate office was
A Paradigm Shift
BY DEBJANI ROY
With economies having endured numerous tectonicdevelopments, organisations had to take a closer lookat their work norms, values and ethics, principles andpolicies, adversely affecting many a people issue.
start afresh. Besides, innumerableemployee programmes were floatedinternally from time to time by theincumbent HR department thatcreated the general aura of employeewellness all around.
Therefore, it is a fact that EmployeeWellness was not a new subject tothe corporate world back then.However, probably in the last 10years, wellness has been expressedmore in terms of motivation andengagement activities – directly aswell as indirectly, affecting employeemorale and belongingness within a
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 47
company. Certain retentionprogrammes were also aimed atuplifting the spirits of the people atthe workplace, making them to feelvalued. Together, engagement andretention programmes acted asadhesives that stitched up the fabricof the so termed ‘Wellness’ in thoseearly days.
Wellness in the presentdayThat was then. Corporates havecome a long way from those Goldendays of employees working at evenpaces, with performance pressuresbeing just at the right levels, andadequate rewards and recognitioncoming one’s way. Today’s workplaceis vastly different - one that isfraught with huge performancepressures, corporate politics, norms ofacceptable behaviours, psychologicalisolation (what with the new WorkFrom Home patterns or RemoteWorking), insecurity of jobs, lack ofwork-life balance, and much more.With economies having endurednumerous tectonic developments,organisations had to take a closerlook at their work norms, values andethics, principles and policies,adversely affecting many a peopleissue. Thus, we live in times ofgreat stretch and stress today. Anemployee getting into the office on aregular morning no longer assuresthe continuity of his/her employmentthe next day owing to multiplefactors. An employee, despite puttingin 365 days of rigorous performanceof a reasonable kind, is on mostoccasions, unable to lay claim torewards whatsoever. If at all, he/shelands up with single-digit percentagesas increment. Expensive MDPs andAMPs are no longer the order of theday, with organisations strictlybelieving that the impetus forlearning is an employee prerogative.There is cut-throat competition forjobs, with the supply of manpowerfar outnumbering the number ofavailable opportunities. And in allthis – the employee suffers a roughturn throughout.
HEALTH AND WELLNESS..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The hour of crisisThis has led to aberrations ofdifferent kinds at the workplace.Employee well-being - physical andmental/psychological - is at a crisispoint. And this has rung alarm bellsacross many organisations. As aresult – there is currently a renewedfocus on ‘Employee Wellness’ allacross, this time ‘Wellness’interpreted more in letter than inspirit. This is further backed byresearch that tells us that the healthstatus of employees directlyinfluences the work behaviour,attendance, and on-the-jobperformance in an organisation.Therefore, improving employeewell-being does result in a moreproductive workforce, and hence,75 percent of high-performingcompanies today measure employeehealth status as a key part of theiroverall risk management strategy.This has also led to the Managementbelieving in and HR executing manyactive wellness programmes. Besidesproductivity, other areas which arepositively influenced through‘Wellness’ are employee morale,recruitment and retention ofemployees, reduced absenteeism,reduced health risks, improvedcamaraderie amongst workers,better work-life balance, improvedmental sustenance and many more.
What are ‘Wellness’ programmes?Simply explained, employees are themost critical and invaluable assetsfor an organisation. Ensuring theirexcellent mental and physical healthsets employees up to perform well.The health and wellness of theemployees usually have a directeffect on the productivity andprofits of the company. Mostorganisations today are aware ofthis and are therefore prepared toinvest reasonably enough on suchprogrammes, dubbed ‘Wellness’.Even if the good effects of such‘Wellness’ programmes are hard todetect and spot at the first glance,employees who are usually healthybring a whole range of healthbenefits to others and to theOrganisations that they work for.
“Improvingemployee well-being
does result in amore productiveworkforce, and
hence, 75 percentof high-performing
companies todaymeasure employee
health status as a keypart of their overall
risk managementstrategy.”
Kinds of ‘Wellness’ programmesrange from:
Provision of healthy Foodand Diets (Organic, tasty, Officecanteens)
Assistance (Rehab) facilitiesin-house (for tobacco especially;prescription drugs etc.)
Sleep facility (Nap corners)
Fitness Centres and programs(Yoga; Zumba; Meditation etc.)
Exploring Transit options(Cycling)
Employee Assistance Programs(chat/online Counselling fordepression, GAD, Stress, substanceabuse etc.)
Wellness challenges andadventures (drinking morewater; reimbursements; weightloss; immunity workshops etc.)making every possible effort atcreating a heal
Paramedical Services (massagetherapy)
Culture curries (Grafitti walls/boards; reading rooms; art therapy)
Social Volunteering
Walking the extra mileOrganisations today are walking thatextra mile in creating healthy workingcommunities for themselves. Asstated earlier, workplace wellnessprogrammes are not new and haveevolved tremendously over the pastfew years. We are talking aboutprogrammes that go beyond smokingcessation classes and health screenings.Significant examples being :
1. At Accenture, employees are offeredTeledoc services, wherein they canask health related questions to adoctor, 24/7.
2. At Asana, naps are a great offer toemployees in one of the restingtooms to rest, rewire and bounceback at work. Daily Yoga programmesand free Gym memberships are onoffer as well at this software company.The in-house culinary team serves 3delicious meals every day, and alsoboasts of an inhouse nutritionist foremployees to refer.
3. At Intuit, the company’s “Fit forLife” programme offers meditation andmindfulness classes as reimbursableexpenses as well as incentives foremployees engaging in stress-reductionhabits, like taking a walk, practisingbreathing exercises, or listening tocalming music.
The list can go on, citing Google,Microsoft, Draper, SAS, Deloitte etc.Many Indian organisations that havealso embarked on this consciousjourney are Aditya Birla Group,Kirloskar Group, Anand MahindraGroup, Infosys, Wipro etc.
An organisation’s health andprosperity are directly influenced bythe health and wellbeing of itsemployees. In today’s competitivebusiness environment, it is criticalthat organisations step forward andinvest in human capital as acompetitive advantage. To containhealth care costs, managers shouldtake an active leadership role inmeasuring the health status and thendeveloping and promoting wellnessstrategies based on those data. Withsome amount of creativity andinnovative planning, HR professionalscan improve employees’ health status,resulting in a healthier, more engagedand more productive workforce. Andwith that lethal combination ofproductivity and profits resultingfrom a long-term vision of creatingmentally and physically fit workforcecommunities, organisations would bein a position to sustain a formidablepresence for themselves for years tocome.
“With some amountof creativity and
innovative planning,HR professionals
can improveemployees’ health
status, resulting in ahealthier, more
engaged and moreproductive
workforce.”
Debjani Roy is an industry stalwartand domain expert in the field of HumanResource with over 25 years of functionalexperience across companies such asBharti, HCL, Bentley Systems, Kuoni,and SRL Diagnostics. Till March 2019,Debjani was with SRL Diagnostics asCHRO. Currently, besides being the ChiefHR Advisor to Mind Your Fleet (a softwarestart-up), she is a visiting professor to anumber of reputed B-Schools. Debjani isalso a sought-after speaker, an author,an education-activist, as well as coachand mentor to students in the academicspace.
About the Author
HEALTH AND WELLNESS..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
48 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
Tmany others. These measures have had asignificant impact on our mental and emotionalwellbeing. Employees at all levels are dealingwith issues such as fear, anxiety, and depression.This is further exacerbated by the lack of socialconnect as a result of being away from work andpeers. There is also an onslaught of new practicessuch as virtual learning and working, as well asthe pressures of balancing work from home andchildcare responsibilities, with combined financiallosses due to pay cuts, increment freeze andlayoffs.
The economic, psychological, and socialconsequences by such an unprecedented eventviz. the COVID-19 pandemic has led torepercussions for the human race, calling for anincreased focus on the concept of well- being andself-care in uncertainty. The pandemic in itself,while being neutral to demographics, hasintroduced or amplified issues such as socio-economic inequalities, gender biases, anddiscrimination which are associated with deeperhuman rights. Many of the guidelines issued bygovernments to citizens are contingent on accessto food, water, sanitation, healthcare, and socialsecurity schemes for survival without having toleave home to work.
The Challenges of Work fromHomeEven with the ‘white-collared’ workforce, workfrom home amplifies the challenges of urbanhousing, tiny homes with two working members,children wanting access to laptop/broadbandwhile the parents are working, no domestic help,and extended working hours that eat into personaltime. However, organisations are turning a blind
he COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in aslew of measures such as social distancing,work from home, extended lockdowns and
The Need For AnOverhaul
BY KALPANA BANSAL
The current times call for an overhaul in the tried andtested ways of working, and interaction. It is thereforeimportant for organisations and individuals to recognisethat it takes time to acclimatise.
THE CHANGE CULTURE..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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THE CHANGE CULTURE..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
over mental health issues has createdan untenable situation of unmethuman needs and violations ofhuman rights across the world.
The organised workforce which haslong lived by the time-honourednotion subscribed to by westernmanagement practices which honourmanagement hierarchy, subordination,goal setting and productivitymeasurement, is suddenly facing anunexpected dilemma. Avenues toexpress unmet psychological needs,the need for space, the need foracceptance, and the time to grapplewith their inner demons havereduced. It has also brought attentionto the lack of focus on mental well-being and has resulted in a newnarrative for mental health. This hasresulted in a paradigm shift in theevolution of a human rightsframework that considers mentalwell-being. Sustained efforts by theWHO, and the World Bank haveresulted in the 2030 Agenda forSustainable Development, makingmental health a human developmentimperative.
With a rapid increase in mentalhealth cases, organisations are calledon to shift their attention to addressmental health challenges faced byemployees through action on thesocial and psycho-social determinantsof health.
Organisations are taking a 3-prongedapproach to this challenge by:
Protecting mental health byminimising work–related riskfactors such as conflict, stress oruncertainty
Promoting mental health byenhancing work satisfaction andproviding opportunities foremployees to build on theirstrengths
Addressing mental health problemsthrough counselling and EAPprogrammes.
This approach is cascaded throughmany interventions such as:
Communication: Building anawareness of the workplaceenvironment, the challenges of
eye to the travails of existencewithout domestic help and the dailyuncertainty of sudden changes tobusiness plans. The pandemic alsoincreases demands for a home withenhanced standards of cleanlinessand to provide basic needs like foodand water for its members. Landlordpressures to vacate homes, EMIpressures, and changes in retirementmilestones due to decreased earnings,have all led to a great deal ofpressure on the average employee.This has resulted in an uptake incases of chronic stress, substanceabuse, domestic violence, anxiety,depression, and selfharm, leading tosignificant loss of productivity,increased absenteeism, and conflict inrelationships owing to such mentalhealth challenges.
Families of four to eight membersare spending days at a stretch athome, in highly confined spaces, withhardly any social interaction. This hasled to disagreements, fights, andarguments that can cause friction,and take a toll on mental health. Oneof the key aspects of this closetedtime is that it has increased physicalproximity while reducing the qualityof time spent with one another.Couples are battling chores, homework,financial pressures, constrainedspaces, office discussions in the livingroom. This has changed thecomplexion of the relationship leversand rendered it dry and monotonous.
Pertinence of mentalhealthMental health emerged at theforefront of global health priorities ofthis decade. Countries, communities,and organisations, however, have nottreated it on an equal footing withphysical health in terms of budget,advocacy and practice. Globalestimates put the allocation of healthbudgets to mental health at less than7% of the overall health budgets. Thecurrent pandemic has accelerated themove towards an increased focus onmental well-being. The arbitrarydivision of physical and mental healthfocus and the propensity to brush
“The organisedworkforce which has
long lived by thetime-honoured
notion subscribedto by westernmanagement
practices whichhonour management
hierarchy,subordination,
goal setting andproductivity
measurement, issuddenly facing an
unexpecteddilemma.”
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THE CHANGE CULTURE..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Kalpana Bansal is Head - CompetencyAssessment and Development, RelianceIndustries Ltd. She comes with anexperience of more than 20 years and hasworked in organisations such as TataUnisys, Star TV, IMRB, MudraCommunication and Watson Wyatt (I) Pvt.Ltd and the RPG Group. Kalpana has anMBA and has completed her ExecutiveMasters in Consulting & Coaching forChange from Said Business School, OxfordUniversity.
About the Author
virtual work and theuncertainties, and crafting storiesof warriors and providing a senseof community
Walking the Talk:Organisational leaders set thetone in terms of behaviour andaction by recognising thatemployees have their ownfragilities and provide room foracknowledging that vulnerabilityand not expecting them to be ontop of their game at all times.
Learning from best practices:Look at other companies who haveacted and replicate what’s working
Demographic Segmentationof Employees: Understandingthe opportunities and needs ofindividual employees, so thatmultiplicity of solutions emerges,and employees are not treatedwith a “one size fits all” approach
Building Support Resources:Spread awareness of sources ofsupport and where people canfind help, such as a counsellinghelpline, chatbots, communitychats, listening to podcasts.
Sensitisation of peoplemanagers: Identification ofdistress, early warning signals,harmful use of psychoactivesubstances and illness andequipping them to be a point ofreference
Examining policies andpractices: Organisationalpractices that support a healthywork-life balance;
Recognition Initiatives:Recognising and rewarding thecontribution of employees.
Taking proactive stepsMental health interventions need tobe rendered as a central part of anintegrated health and well-beingstrategy that covers prevention, earlyidentification, support andrehabilitation. Leadership alignmentand acceptance of the difficulties ofacknowledging is key to theeffectiveness of any interventionaround mental health. Organisations
have a responsibility to supportindividuals with mental challenges inthe current time. Proactiveaddressing of issues such as flexiblehours, work–life balance, respect forpersonal time, addressing negativeworkplace dynamics, and supportiveand confidential communication canhelp to ameliorate the issue.
The current times call for anoverhaul in the tried and tested waysof working, and interaction. It isimportant for organisations andindividuals to recognise that it takestime to acclimatise and this wouldlikely impact the work delivery. Somethings may slip up or be less thanperfect, and it is alright to take itslow and easy. Establishing newroutines, re-charting new ways ofdoing things and reprioritising earliercommitments might require that weallow ourselves some time to take adeep breath, and may require us toproactively reach out to our leadersand inform them about thechallenges. The good part about all ofus being in this together is thatmanagers are more understanding ofthe travails and are more willing toaccommodate, and its best to dealwith the issue sooner rather thanlater.
“Organisations havethe responsibility tosupport individuals
with mentalchallenges in the
current time.Proactive methods
such as flexible hours,worklife balance,
addressing negativeworkplace dynamics,
and effective communication can
help to ameliorate theissue.”
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Exploring ForceMajeure In EmploymentRelationships
f there is one thing that COVID-19has reminded us, it is that wecannot predict everything. In itsI
BY ANSHUL PRAKASH, ABHINAV RASTOGI AND DEEKSHA MALIK
fullblown shape, the pandemicdisrupted businesses, and severalentrepreneurs made attempts toresort to force majeure clauses intheir commercial arrangements withthird parties to get some respite fromtheir obligations.
Force Majeure has been definedin Black’s Law Dictionary as an“event or effect that can be neitheranticipated nor controlled.” Generallyspeaking, a force majeure event isunderstood as one that presents
unforeseeable circumstances whereina party to a contract would beexcused from performing itsobligations. The concept is oftendistinguished from a mere hardshipin performing one’s contractualobligations, and it instead refers toan unexpected turn of events thatfrustrates the very basis of formationof a contract. In the context of theCOVID-19 outbreak, there have beenseveral discussions around thequestion whether the pandemic couldbe considered as a force majeureevent. While some answer in theaffirmative, it is imperative to note
LAW AT WORK
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that from the judiciary’s standpoint,this defence is not fool- proof. Severalfactors, including the intention of theparties, the purpose of engagement, thelocal situation, and the possible meansof fulfilment of the terms of thecontract would be examined by a courtbefore allowing relief to a party.
Examining the Indianemployment and labour laws
Perhaps, one concept under Indianemployment and labour laws that canbe considered closest to a forcemajeure event is lay-off. Lay-off isenvisaged under the Industrial DisputesAct, 1947 (IDA) (a statute that coversevery establishment wherein business orcalling of employers is carried on) tomean a situation wherein the employeris unable to provide work to itsemployees for reasons beyond itscontrol, such as shortage of rawmaterials, break-down of machinery ornatural calamity. When such an event istriggered, the employer can preventemployees from reporting to work andcan accordingly refuse to pay wages tothem, for wages is paid only in returnfor the services rendered by theemployee. However, the employer maybe required to pay compensation to theemployee for the loss of work. Wherethe establishment is a nonseasonalfactory/mine/ plantation employing 50or more workmen (nonmanagerialemployees), the quantum ofcompensation and the period duringwhich such compensation is to be paidis prescribed under the IDA. For otherestablishments, the compensation mustbe contractually agreed, or else theemployer would be required to paycompensation up to the whole of thewages payable to the workmen.
The question often asked is whetheran employer can suspend the contractof employment during a force majeureevent (employers may not want toterminate the contract altogether, asthey would want to reinstate theemployees upon the situation returningto normalcy). Courts in India haveusually answered in a cautious manner.In Rajasthan Trade Union Kendra v JKSynthetics Kendra [(1996) IILLJ 347Raj], the court observed that therecould be circumstances resulting in an
employer’s inability to provide work toits employees, but the result of thesame is not cessation of employmentrelationship, but only a suspendedanimation for the time being, postwhich the employee is required to bereinstated at work. Similarly, in thecase of Auro Engineering PrivateLimited v RA Gadekar [(1992) IILLJ693 Bom], the Bombay High Courtdealt with the issue ofnonconsideration of annual incrementsfor a period when the employer hadlaid off its employees (in particular,non-managerial employees) at the timeof determining their retrenchmentcompensation. The court observed asfollows:
“Time and tide would not cease toflow, [and] increments would notcease to be earned. The onlyconsequence of the contract ofemployment being suspended, by wayof layoff, strike or lock-out, would bethat the employees would have noright to demand wages, nor would theemployer be liable to make paymentof wages during such period.”
What emanates from theseobservations is that even if lay-off isconsidered as a temporary suspensionin employment, the continuity ofservice (which assumes significance forthe purpose of availing severalbenefits) under the contract ofemployment remains unaffected by alay-off/force majeure event. Indeed,several statues recognise the continuityof service period of an employee evenduring break in work occasioned by alay-off. Importantly, a person isdeemed to be in continuous service forthe purpose of receiving:
a) retrenchment compensation underIDA;
b) earned leave entitlements underseveral state-specific shops andestablishments statutes (such as theone applicable in Maharashtra andKarnataka);
c) maternity benefit under the MaternityBenefit Act, 1961; and
d) bonus under the Payment of BonusAct, 1965.
It is imperative to note that most ofthe labour laws (and consequently theentitlements based on continuous
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service) are aimed at benefitting non-managerial employees or lowpaidemployees. For managerial employeesor employees earning a fairly highremuneration, employers have theflexibility to determine how theemployment relationship would betreated in a force majeure event inaccordance with the contractualprovisions.
Considerations whileincorporating and using aforce majeure clause in anemployment contract
In view of the above legal position, aforce majeure clause in anemployment contract should be verycarefully drafted. The first stepshould be to identify the targetcategory of employees who would begoverned by the terms of this clause,for, as mentioned above, the abilityof the employer to enforce a forcemajeure clause to its fullest extentwould depend on the applicable lawsgoverning the relevant category ofemployees. If the targeted employeesare those holding a managerialposition, the relevance of a forcemajeure clause is of paramountimportance as the relationship in anunforeseen event would be governedby such clause. Of course, anemployer can draw guidance from theextant legal regime, even if notapplicable to managerial employees,to ensure that the clause in questionpasses judicial scrutiny. Once thetarget category is identified, it wouldalso be important to check if there isany other arrangement (such as asettlement agreement / collectivebargaining agreement entered with atrade union) that may impact theoperation of the force majeure clauseor require the employer to notifybefore invoking the same.
The next consideration pertains tothe kind of events the employerwould like to specify as force majeure,and the consequences that wouldensue from invocation of the same.The specific events to triggering aforce majeure situation should becarefully set out with limiteddiscretion accorded to the employer.A rather vague or allencompassing
clause would be difficult to enforce,especially in a country like Indiawhere employers and employees arenot considered to be in an equalbargaining position and employmentlaws are more often than notinterpreted in a pro-employeemanner. Similarly, the consequencesensuing from the force majeureclause should be carefully thoughtthrough and well negotiated inadvance with the concerned employee.A suspension of employmentresulting from a force majeure eventmay be subject to statutorystipulations, as discussed earlier. Onthe other hand, while termination ofemployment can be envisaged as aconsequence, one may have to caveatits invocation with the prevailinglegal position. For instance, when theCOVID-19 outbreak reached Indiaand the nationwide lockdown wasannounced, the government ofKarnataka passed an order prohibitingtermination of employment as aresult of the lockdown (which waslater withdrawn). Further, invocationof a vague force majeure clause toterminate the services of an employeemay be regarded as an act bereft ofgood faith and a colourable exerciseof the employer’s rights.
In any event, invocation of a forcemajeure provision should be donecautiously. An examination of theevent, the impact on the employer’sindustry, the job specifications of theconcerned employees, any alternativemeans of fulfilling the terms ofemployment etc. should be assessedbefore resorting to the relevant clause.
In India, employment contractsrarely provide for a force majureclause. Given the limited industrypractice and judicial approach in thisregard, one needs to look to thefuture and carefully observe how thejurisprudence evolves on this front.Until then, employers are advised totake the cautious route and not treatemployment contracts at par withcommercial contracts as far as forcemajeure events are concerned.
Abhinav Rastogi is a PrincipalAssociate in the Employment,Labour and Benefits (ELB)Practice in the Delhi office.
Deeksha Malik is an Associatein the Employment, Labour andBenefits (ELB) Practice in theMumbai office.
Anshul Prakash is a Partnerwith the Corporate andCommercial Practice Group in theMumbai office. He specialises inEmployment and Labour laws andheads the Firm's Employment,Labour and Benefits (ELB)Practice. Anshul has advisedvarious prominent domestic andinternational clients on issuesrelated to employment.
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www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 55
In furtherance of thelockdown orders in thebackdrop of the COVID-19pandemic, the Union Ministryof Home Affairs vide orderdated 29 March 2020 (MHAOrder), and various stategovernments issued advisories/orders (State Advisories/Orders) requesting employersto not terminate theemployment of theiremployees or reduce theirwages/salaries during thelockdown period. What is thestatus of these advisories/orders vis-à-vis labour laws inIndia?
The Union and State governmentshave issued various advisories onaspects relating to termination,reduction in wages, leaves, etc.While it is suggested that theseadvisories issued mostly under theDisaster Management Act, 2005,must be adhered to, consideringthe exigency and unprecedentedsituations that we are encounteringcurrently, these advisories cannotbe said to supplant the applicablelaws that specifically govern issuespertaining to employer-employeerelationship. The employers maystill invoke the provisions such aslay-off and retrenchment. Thatsaid, establishments need to bemindful of the sensitivitiesinvolved and must avoid arbitraryactions as far as reduction inpotential headcount is concerned.
Can employers reduce theheadcount in the backdrop ofMHA Order and StateAdvisories / Orders during thelockdown period?
Employers (manufacturingestablishments with 50 or morebut less than 100 workmen) mayinvoke the provisions of ‘lay-off’ asset out under ID Act without priorGovernment approval. For theperiod of inability to provideemployment to certain sections ofworkmen, the company will berequired to pay 50% of the basicwages and dearness allowance (ifany) for a period of 45 days, ifsuch workmen have completed atleast 240 days of continuousservice in the company. For thebalance period, the company mayenter into an agreement with theworkmen and opt for unpaid leaveof absence. However, such periodshould be reasonable (say amonth), and if the companyforesees a prolonged period of ‘nowork’ situation, it may contemplateany of the following alternatives:a) consider retrenchment of the
workmen; orb) have discussion with workmen to
consider the option of voluntaryresignation.
For managerial employees, theoption of progressiverationalisation of salaries may beexplored by taking such employeesinto confidence.
Q
A
Q
BY ANSHUL PRAKASH AND PRACHI VIJAY
Can employers reduce thesalary of employees in thebackdrop of MHA Order andState Advisories/Ordersduring the lockdown period?
Section 9-A of the IndustrialDisputes Act 1947 (ID Act) readwith Schedule IV of the ID Actprovides that any reduction inwages will amount to change inconditions of service. As per the IDAct, no such change can be effectedwithout furnishing the concernedworkmen (non-managerialemployees) with 21 days’ noticeprior to such a change. In WestBengal and Andhra Pradesh, thetime limit is 42 days instead of 21.Such notice would be sent in theprescribed manner (the procedurefor issue of a notice under Section9-A of ID Act is prescribed underthe Industrial Disputes Rules ofthe relevant state).
In cases where an employee isnot a ‘workman’ under ID Act, thechange in conditions of servicewould be guided by the terms ofhis/her employment agreement andthe company policy. For any changein the terms of the employmentagreement, consent of the employeeswill also be required to be obtained.
The employer should ensurethat there is no unilateral/arbitraryaction of change of employmentconditions of workmen/non-workmen to avoid any litigation orbacklash by the employees.
Prachi Vijay is an Associate in theEmployment, Labour and Benefits(ELB) Practice in the Mumbai office.
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56 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
OVID-19 has upended the livesof many. And owing to thenationwide lockdown, businessesC
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
and individuals have incurredinsufferable losses. At a wider scale,the economy has been set back by afew years. A collective fear ofuncertainty is apparent across allindustries and has revealed that weneed to rethink the way in whicheconomies and societies need tobattle the crisis. While still reelingfrom the aftereffects inflicted by thepandemic, businesses and employeesare finding new ways to stay afloat insuch a faltering economy.
Coping with the situation
Individuals across the globe aregrappling with the fear of contractingthe virus. In addition, many aretroubled with the thoughts of losingtheir jobs, furloughs, and salary cuts;and have already shifted their focustowards spending money cautiouslyand minimally. Adding to thefinancial strain, they are constantlyworried about their jobs. Professionalswho have lost their jobs owing to thepandemic are unsure of securinganother job. In such trying times,employees must find new ways totackle the situation. Upskilling is asmart move that can ease theirworries and help them succeed in thepost-lockdown world. Understandingthe importance of upskilling andcontinuous learning, many companieshave started upskilling their employees.
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The Relevance OfUpskilling
BY SURESH KUMAR CHITRALAYAM
The COVID-19 pandemic has put an added emphasison the way we learn and adapt to constant changes;multitasking and acquiring new skills are essential tonavigate the challenging post-lockdown world.
A Perfect Time to Upskill
Isolation from the real world,quarantine, and working from homeis already the new normal forprofessionals. They have more timeat their disposal because they nolonger spend countless hourscommuting to offices or socialisingetc. Furthermore, weekends givethem blocks of uninterrupted time tofocus on learning something theyhave always wished to learn. Withseveral online courses available forprofessionals across sectors, they canstudy at their own pace and withinthe comforts of their homes. This canalso function as a leisure activitybecause online learning provides theflexibility of learning in smallincrements to its learners. Withnumerous platforms and universitiesopening their doors for onlinelearners, an employee can find acourse that aligns with his/herinterests at the click of a button.Companies are also facilitating virtualtraining sessions for employees. Thecurrent remote working scenariooffered to employees also facilitates avirtual learning atmosphere.
A Healthy Distraction
Though working from home mayprove successful for some, it cannotbe denied that some employees arebusier than ever, and are consumedby tight deadlines and heavy workload.With no option to socialise orventuring out of their homes, they
“A collective fearof uncertainty isapparent across
all industries andhas revealed that we
need to rethinkthe way in which
economies andsocieties need to
battle the COVID-19crisis.”
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 57
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Suresh Kumar Chitralayam isDirector- People & Operations, VuramTechnologies. Under Suresh's guidance,Vuram Technologies has emerged as oneof the best places to work in the countryand has been certified as a 'Great Placeto Work' for two consecutive years. Hehas been conferred with the Top HRMinds (India)' award by the World HRDCongress. Suresh holds an MBA inHuman Resources. Beyond work, heactively participates in activities byBhumi, an NGO.
About the Author
might feel stressed because they aretoo focused on work. Learning a newskill can help them get distractedfrom work and their set routine. Notonly will it make them take theirminds off the cabin fever they areexperiencing during this period, butwill also help them adapt to thedifficult times ahead. At the sametime, they have something to focuson, and it does not come with anyassociated stress.
The need to continue learning
Upskilling, while making use of theavailable time during the lockdowncomes with an array of benefits.There must be a new skill that anemployee would have wanted tolearn, but had to postpone for quitesome time. Taking advantage of thetime in hand, they can brush up askill, such as a programming language,or can advance in their field ofinterest. This is also the right time tolearn new technologies or explorecross-functional skills that will helptheir career advancement. Not onlywill upskilling help them gaininvaluable insights in areas of theirinterest, but will also serve as a markof how well they can positivelyhandle and manage change. Employeeswill also feel confident that their newskills, fresh knowledge, and being
up-to-date will help them navigatethe challenges in their careers postlockdown.
Benefits of Upskilling
Post lockdown, industries willdrastically set new trends; theeconomy and businesses will undergorapid changes. Organisations willneed to rethink the way they operate.They will have to streamline theirworkforce to improve efficiency.While organisations focus on suchpractices, upskilling can be the bestinvestment an employee can make,because the workplace and jobmarket will no longer be the sameagain. It is going to be a lot morecompetitive. By upskilling themselveswith the right skills, employees canbecome a nimble and talentedresource an organisation would vie toretain.
Continuous learning has alwaysbeen of paramount importance tocareer-oriented individuals. Thepandemic has put an added emphasison the way we learn and adapt toconstant changes; multitasking andacquiring new skills are essential tonavigate the challenging post-lockdown world. With or withoutlockdown, employees have toconstantly challenge themselves andevolve as better professionals. In thegiven scenario, upskilled employeescan handle any challenge thrown atthem by the market or an organisationwith the utmost confidence.“By upskilling
themselves with theright skills,
employees canbecome a nimble andtalented resource anorganisation would
vie to retain.”
Inspired By
The New
BY ANKITA SHARMA
Not shying away from weathering the storm is perhaps a way of marchingahead for Rahul Goyal, Managing Director and General Manager, ADP India& South East Asia. In his vast experience stretching across diverse HR domains,Rahul has achieved professional success because of his potential to transformchallenges into opportunities. A proponent of the outside-in approach to business,he has an entrepreneurial mindset and enjoys working on ambitious greenfieldprojects. Making things happen rather than waiting for them to happen isRahul's strong belief, and finding innovative ways of solving the workforcechallenges of tomorrow are perhaps his favourite food for thought. In pushingthe limits daily to bring next-gen HCM and payroll solutions to businesses, Rahulhas set an example for many in the HR industry, whether it be in enthusiasticallygoing the extra mile for clients during these challenging times or beingpassionate about technology, employee experience, and the future of work.
ADP has a 70-year history ofleading the way globally in the HRtechnology space – and it continuesto be at the forefront of providingnext-gen solutions for the humanresource industry. Take us throughthe journey and evolution of ADP inIndia.
ADP has been present in India for quitesome time. We have had our globaldelivery centers from way back in early2000 with around 10,000 associates nowbased in Hyderabad, Pune and Chennailocations. We have been offering HCMsolutions and payroll outsourcing servicesto domestic clients and multinationalcorporations (MNCs) based in India. TheIndian market is adopting payrolloutsourcing and HR technology at a fastpace. Both Indian corporations and MNCsacross industries seem to have developed agreater appetite for ADP solutions andservices.
PERSONA
58 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
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The current situation hasforced organisations to rallyaround bold ideas and radicallyrethink the way they work.How are your clients’ needschanging amidst the pandemic,and how are you supportingthem?
COVID-19 came as a surprise,and I don’t think many organisationswere fully prepared for a pandemicof this magnitude that has chal-lenged business continuity plans.
In this situation, we realisedthat our clients needed flexibilityin Service-Level Agreements(SLAs) and timelines. They alsowanted additional digital functionsand features matched with a super-simplified approach as well asnecessary checks and controls. Weseized this moment, and ourassociates closely connected withour clients to listen and understandtheir evolving requirements. Wecollaborated with clients to deliverthe services. Our digital solutionsmet the increased demands for awork-from-home (WFH)environment, and we helped ourclients to operate their payroll andcompliance needs remotely. Thepandemic is a shared experience,and COVID-19 brought our clientsand us together.
“Like in many othercountries, India also
witnessed severallegislative changes that
impacted payroll,affecting both employeesand employers. Thirty-five legislative changes
were brought in a shortspan of three months.”
The fast-changing regulatoryenvironment in response to thecontinually evolving COVID-19situation is significantlyimpacting organisations inIndia. How is ADP supportingbusinesses to respond quicklyand remain compliant with thefrequent legislative changes?
Like in many other countries,India also witnessed severallegislative changes that impactedpayroll, affecting both employeesand employers. Thirty-five legislativechanges were brought in a shortspan of three months. We have ateam of compliance and legislativeexperts who actively follow thesechanges, interpreting andincorporating them into ourproducts. This had to happen veryquickly, with immediate effects forour clients. We also conducted a
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www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 59
Rapid Fire
Favourite quote: Growth isnever by mere chance; it is theresult of forces working together. —James Cash Penney
The best business book yourecently read: Nine Lies aboutWork – Marcus Buckingham, AshleyGoodall
Complete this sentence: Istrongly believe in… makingthings happen rather than waitingfor them to happen.
What comes to your mindwhen you hear these words?
The future of work: Bots
Inclusion: Human connections
Resilience: Optimism
Up-Close and Personal
What has changed the mostfor you since the COVID-19outbreak?
I now have a new mantra:"Fitness first."
Which hard-won lessonswill this pandemic have taughtyou?
This pandemic has taught me togenuinely care for others. We'venever gone through a crisis like this,and connecting with others,including family, friends and myteams, is really important to me.
What would we be surprisedto learn about you?
I have recently developed a keeninterest in Indian mythology
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number of webinars to communicatethese changes to our clients,answering their queries, andpreparing and helping them to staycompliant.
India hosts the secondlargest group of ADP associatesafter the USA – with severalbusiness units based here.What talent challenges haveyou been facing over the lastfew weeks, and how are youaddressing them?
With the COVID-19 pandemicand subsequent lockdown, ADP
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60 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
India offices also transitioned 100%of our associates to work from home.
Switching to full remote workingwas new to everyone. This was alsoa very challenging period. Anuncertain environment was aroundall of us. First and foremost, ourresponse began with the healthand safety of our associates. Weinvested in developing a strongculture of communication acrossthe organisation. Our leaders spentsignificant time and effort connectingwith their team members with day-start and day-end meetings,prioritising informal discussionsabout their wellbeing and theirfamily’s health rather than onlybeing task-oriented. This elementof empathy, acknowledgement ofthe constraints, and genuineexpression of thanks helped ourassociates to be continuallyengaged and deliver our clients’requirements efficiently. We all felta sense of urgency and found anew meaning and purpose whilstservicing our clients.
What has COVID-19 changedthe most for HR professionals?What are the areas of concernthat employers might be calledupon to address going forward?
I believe the biggest lesson fromCOVID-19, as we just discussed, is
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the importance of employeewellness. HR professionals willhave to incorporate employeewellness programs into their futureHR strategy.
Secondly, we’ve been talkingabout flexible working for a verylong time. Employees would expectflexible work conditions and ahybrid approach in terms of workingin the office or remotely fromhome. HR professionals need to alsoconsider temporary unavailabilityin their workforce plan because ofthe current COVID-19 situation.
Going forward, HR leaders willalso be spending significant timein building a stronger work culturefocused on empathy and gratitude,thereby fostering stronger humanconnections and collaboration.
“Going forward, HRleaders will be
spending significanttime in building a
stronger work culturefocused on empathy
and gratitude, therebyfostering stronger
human connections andcollaboration.”
Which are the biggestopportunities that COVID-19has brought forth for the HRTechnology industry? Also,what are your immediatefocus areas?
This crisis has brought to thesurface a very important and yetoften less visible core HR activity:the payroll function. Organisationsare realising that timely andaccurate payroll processing iscentral to business continuity intimes like these. Companies will beinvesting in building robust andscalable payroll systems and willfocus more on data security anddata privacy aspects, along witheasy-to-use features. We also seeorganisations increasingly wantingto consolidate and aggregatemultiple payroll vendors, especiallyin multi-country scenarios. AtADP, we will continue to focus onproviding innovative payroll andHCM solutions to our clients andtheir employees.
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In wake of economic crisis caused by the COVID-19pandemic, Microsoft Corp. has announced a new
global skills initiative aimed at bringing more digitalskills to 25 million people worldwide by the end of theyear.
The initiative includes immediate steps to helpthose looking to reskill and pursue an in-demand joband brings together every part of the company,combining existing and new resources from LinkedIn,GitHub and Microsoft.
This is a comprehensive technology initiative thatwill build on data and digital technology. It starts withdata on jobs and skills from the LinkedIn EconomicGraph. It provides free access to content in LinkedInLearning, Microsoft Learn, and the GitHub LearningLab, and couples these with Microsoft Certifications and
LinkedIn job seeking tools.
Microsoft has alsocommitted over $ 20 millionin cash grants to help nonprofit organisations acrossthe globe to assist people tolearn digital skills.
INDUSTRY BYTES
Microsoft CommitsTo Skill 25 MillionPeople
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BY ANUSHRUTI SINGH
“Nesternship”Opportunities ForYoung Professionals
Nestlé India has launched a virtual internshipprogramme, "Nesternship" for young professionals.
The programme addresses applications fromGraduates in the Final Year of any discipline and Post-Graduates and focus on upskilling and enabling theinterns to thrive in workplaces, that they join, at a laterdate.
The programme offer virtual internship opportunitiesto 1000 young talents across diverse functions andeducation backgrounds over the next four months. Theprogramme will go live on 1st August 2020 and willcontinue for four months, with upskilling 250 internsevery month till end of November.
Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and ManagingDirector, Nestlé India said, “India's future hinges onthe energy, capabilities and hard work of our youth andbeing part of that eco-system, Nestlé India is committedto this imperative. We intend to do our humble bit andplay a part helping the youth of the country cope withthese unprecedented times, by ensuring that they donot lose out on opportunities to build their professionalcompetence. As a Company, we have always believed thatin times of need, we must heed the call of society”.
BY ANUSHRUTI SINGH
Netflix To Allocate $100 Million IntoBlack Community's Financial InstitutionsBY ANUSHRUTI SINGH
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communities thesegroups serve. We planto redirect even more ofour cash to Black-ledand focused institutionsas we grow, and we hopeothers will do the same",Netflix wrote in a blog post.
The move comes as several U.S. tech firms witnessincreasing pressure from investors, consumers andworkers to take action against racial inequalityfollowing nationwide protests sparked by the death ofAfrican American George Floyd in police custody.
Netflix has pledged to allocate 2%, or about $100million of its total cash holdings, into the
financial institutions and organisations that directlysupport African American communities in the U.S.
As per the streaming giant, the initiative is a partof its "commitment to racial equity." The companysaid it will start with $35 million, of which $25million will be moved to a newly established fund"Black Economic Development Initiative", and $10million will go to Hope Credit Union for creatingeconomic opportunity in underserved communitiesacross the Deep South.
"This capital will fuel social mobility andopportunity in the low- and moderate-income
62 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
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‘B
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concept was further developed byChristina Maslach, a SocialPsychologist, who subsequentlydeveloped the most widely usedquestionnaire for assessingburnout. Until the mid1990s, whena general version was published,burnout was more or less a
urnout’ was first coined inthe 1970s by HerbertFreudenberger. And this
When The Boss IsThe Cause!
BY DR. FARAH NAQVI
It is imperative for organisations to consider the issue of burnout very seriously,and more so when the current scenario is laden with layoffs, job insecurity,work from home, and high dependence on technology.
phenomenon restricted to thehumanities or caring professions.Researchers like Leone et al.argued that burnout is the heir toNeurasthenia, an illness firstdescribed in 1869 by NeurologistGeorge Miller Beard. Neurastheniacentred on the notion of a somaticdepletion of nervous energy causedby excessive demands on peoples’brains, owing to the fast-paced
modern life, causing symptomssuch as exhaustion, anxiety,despair, insomnia, palpations, andmigraines. The striking similaritybetween burnout and neurastheniais that both are consideredmaladies of their times, andmental exhaustion is a commondefining symptom in both theconditions. So, the concept ofburnout is archaic but not obsolete.
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 63
it is equally important to ascertainif things are fine with the company.In 2018, Gallup conducted a surveyof 7,500 employees and found thetop five reasons for burnout as -unfair treatment at work,unmanageable workload, lack ofrole clarity, lack of support fromthe manager and unreasonabletime pressure. In another surveyon 9013 participants, TeamblindInc identified poor leadership asthe number one cause of burnoutin Tech workers. Various researchesin recent years, including thoseconducted by Harvard, Universityof Manchester etc. indicate thatpoor leaders/toxic bosses are oftenthe culprit for employee burnout.
In June 2018, a survey wasconducted by The Predictive Indexon 5,103 respondents from 22different industries asking them torate their manager on a scale of 1-10, with 1 for terrible and 10 forawesome. Those who got a ratingof 4 or below falling in thecategory of ‘bad managers’, hadseveral aspects in common. Thesemanagers failed to communicateclear expectations, played favourites,displayed a lack of concern for thecareer development of subordinates,were not open to feedback, wantedto prove themselves right, betrayed
LEADERSHIP
“Burnout is the heir toNeurasthenia, an
illness first described in1869. Neurasthenia
centred on the notionof a somatic depletion
of nervous energycaused by excessive
demands on peoples’brains…”
Burnout: A medicalconditionIn May 2019, WHO includedburnout in its InternationalClassification of Diseases (ICD11)defining burnout as, “resultingfrom chronic workplace stress thathas not been successfully managed.”This update served the purpose ofnot only raising awareness butstrengthening its strong connectionto workplace factors causingburnout. Many assumed thatburnout would now be considereda medical condition. WHO thenclarified that it has been includedas an occupational phenomenonand not a medical condition. Oftenpeople experiencing burnout ignoreits severity, perceiving it to betemporary work stress. However, itis important to note that there is amajor distinction between stressand burnout. Stress is characterisedby over engagement, while burnoutis characterised by disengagement.Stressed people can still see theproverbial silver lining in thecloud, but burnout is associatedwith a feeling of helplessness andhopelessness.
Burnout can be caused bymultiple factors and could berelated either to the individual,interpersonal stressors or workplaceenvironment. Whatever the cause,it is important that burnout is notdiscounted as a problem specific tocertain employee/s. While it iscritical to understand whethereverything is fine with the employees,
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trust, were poor listeners, and puttheir own needs first. Thesemanagers, though focused onthemselves, lacked self-awarenessas well as knowledge about howtheir behaviour impacted thosearound them.
Types of ManagersAn analysis of different types ofmanagers in light of the HumanQuality Grid by Dr SubhashSharma presents us with four typesof managers or leaders.
Democratic & Divine-like
Authoritarian & Divine-like
Democratic & Demonic-like
Authoritarian & Demonic-like
64 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
Management Styles andLeadership GridThe First strand of thought viewshumans in terms of theauthoritarian-democratic modes ofmanagement style. The Secondstrand of thought is derived fromthe lessons about human naturefrom Gita. The Divine-like humanqualities include truthfulness,gentleness, modesty, steadiness,forgiveness, freedom from anger,malice, and excessive pride (Gita,XVI, 2&3). The Demonic-likedisplay arrogance, excessive pride,anger and manipulation (Gita,XVI, 4,10). A combination ofDemocratic and Divine-like can beconsidered as an ‘idealised’ type ofmanager. The Authoritarian andDivine-like is the typical benevolent-dictator. Democratic and Demonic-like is the typical manipulator typeof manager. This type uses thedemocratic process as a facade tocover up his/her manipulativetactics. Authoritarian and Demonic-like is an oppressor as depictedthrough many mythologicalcharacters.
The ‘bad managers’ in the studyby the predictive index quotedabove seem to be more of thedemocratic-demonic types. In thesame study, respondents were givenan open field question to share thetop words that came to their mindwhen thinking of great managers.Strong work ethics, respectful,supportive, communicative, honest,transparent, fair were the keywordsused by them to define greatmanagers correlating with the ideaof divine democratic managerialstyle. If the managerial style ismore of authoritarian-demonictype, there is likely to be highlevels of negative energy taking atoll on employee’s emotional andthe organisation’s financial health.
The need for duecredenceIn a research by Tait et al to studythe impact of organisationalleadership and physician burnout,
published in Mayo Clinicproceedings, the respondents wereasked to rate the extent to whichthey agreed with a set of givenstatements about their supervisor.The statements were along thelines - my supervisor holds careerdevelopment conversations withme, inspires me to do my best,treats me with respect, recognisesme for a job well done, empowersme to do my job, is interested inmy opinion, keeps me informedabout changes and encourages meto develop my talents.
“Organisations willhave to keep a close eye
on every workplacefactor that could cause
burnout, be it a badboss, work policies, or
factors rooted in theorganisation culture.”
It was found that for every1-point increase in the compositeleadership score, there was acommensurate 3.3% decrease inthe likelihood of burnout. Whilethis research reestablishes theclose linkage between managerialstyle and burnout, it also suggeststhat the key for positive workplacelies in the Divine managerial style(autocratic or democratic),depending on the situationalcontingencies. Implementing suchkind of surveys where managerscan get feedback and take coachingfor making improvements in theirmanagement practices can beworthwhile for reducing burnoutcaused by a bad manager or boss.
Work forms an integral part ofa person’s life, and it is imperativefor organisations to consider theissue of burnout very seriously,and more so when the currentscenario is laden with layoffs, jobinsecurity, work from home, and
high dependence on technology.The present dynamic and uncertainwork climate calls for drawingupon the Divine democraticmanagerial style for creating asynergistic work environment. It isnoteworthy that workplace burnoutcan be cumulative, and in theevent of a manager experiencingburnout, it may affect thoseworking with him owing to thesnowball effect. Hence, organisationswill have to keep a close eye onevery workplace factor that couldcause burnout, be it a bad boss,work policies, or factors rooted inthe organisation culture.
Dr. Farah Naqvi is a writer,academician and behavioural scientist.She started her career with IndianInstitute of Management, Ahmedabadand has worked with institutions likeICFAI Hyderabad, IBA Bangalore andCenter for Organization Development,Hyderabad as Asst. Professor. Currentlyshe is associated with the IndianInstitute of Business Psychology (IIBP)as a Senior Researcher. Her website ishttps://farahnaqvi.com.
About the Author
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www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 65
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INDUSTRY BYTES
LinkedIn Rolls Out'Polls' Feature To TapInto ProfessionalNetwork
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BY ANUSHRUTI SINGH
SBI To Upgrade ExistingWork-From-HomePolicy To Work-From-Anywhere
In a bid adjust to thenew challenges posed
by COVID-19 pandemic,State Bank of India is inprocess of upgrading itsexisting work-from-homepolicy to work-from-anywhere.
According to SBI's annual report, apart from rapidadoption of digital technology, the focus of the bank inthe days ahead would be on revisiting risk assessmentand business procedures. The WFA facility hasalready been implemented across 19 foreign offices.
“For instance, likely job cuts and salary reductionswill have relatively low level of stress on account ofhigher proportion of Govt/ Quasi Govt sectorcustomers,” the report quoted SBI Chairman RajnishKumar as saying.
With global acceptability of Work-from-Home(WFH) arrangements, the Bank is in process ofupgrading its existing WFH policy to Work fromAnywhere (WFA).
BY ANUSHRUTI SINGH
Skill India Launches AI-based DigitalPlatform For Skilled WorkforceBY ANUSHRUTI SINGH
LinkedIn has globally rolled out a new 'Polls'feature, a quick, easy way for members to tap into
the collective knowledge of their professional networksto gain opinion and perspective on topics andconversations related to the contemporary scenario.
The polls allows users to reach out to theirnetworks to ask for feedback, share it with others,spark new conversations, and make informed decisionsbased on the responses.
Amid the current uncertain environment, recruiters,HR heads, marketers, and company heads are allusing the feature in diverse ways to solicit feedbackacross relevant subjects like workplace preferences,shopping habits, and key company goals.
In India, members andcompanies such as L&Thave currently been usingPolls to shape workplacepolicies, and identifyindustry trends and hiringtrends for the future.
The Ministry of Skill Developmentand Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has
launched 'Aatmanirbhar SkilledEmployee Employer Mapping (ASEEM)'portal to help skilled people findsustainable livelihood opportunities.
Apart from recruiting a skilledworkforce that spurs business competitiveness andeconomic growth, the Artificial Intelligence- basedplatform has been envisioned to strengthen theircareer pathways by handholding them through theirjourneys to attain industry-relevant skills and exploreemerging job opportunities especially in the postCOVID era.
ASEEM refers to all the data, trends and analyticswhich describe the workforce market and map
demand of skilled workforce to supply. It willprovide real-time granular information byidentifying relevant skilling requirements andemployment prospects.
ASEEM, also available as an APP, isdeveloped and managed by National SkillDevelopment Corporation (NSDC) in
collaboration with Betterplace. The portal aims atsupporting decision and policymaking via trends andanalytics generated by the system for programmaticpurposes.
The AI- based platform will be used as a match-making engine to map skilled workers with the jobsavailable. The portal and App will have provision forregistration and data upload for workers across jobroles, sectors and geographies.
66 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
n an intense football tournament,the knockout stage overwhelmsthe players and there is constantI
EXPERT TALK
pressure to perform in every matchand emerge victorious. Here, thecoach plays an important role andthe team adapts on the basis on hisstyle.
Now, picture a corporateenvironment where at the end of theday what matters is to ‘close thesale’, so much so that the persons in-charge of sales skip their meals, worklong hours, and yet, manage tomaintain a relationship with theirrespective customers. According to awrite-up in Time1 (2019), workers inthe Amazon warehouse in Minnesotaalleged that they are being treatedlike robots and were hardpressed tomeet delivery targets. This happenedlargely because workers’ transactionis managed by technology, and arehence competing with technology tomatch up to its expectations andefficiency level.
Closer home, a couple of yearsago, a food aggregator’s deliveryperson was notoriously caught oncamera taking a bite of the foodmeant to be delivered. The clipcreated quite a stir on social media,making the aggregator to comeforward with an official statement onTwitter. The actions of the deliveryperson were completely outrageoussince it cast doubts on the aspects ofhygiene being followed by theorganisation. However, the COVID-19
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Wellness Programme:A Misnomer?
BY MRINMOY MAJUMDER
Employee wellness is best managed when our focusshifts back to fundamentals, and thereby, simplifyingthe HR policies, where employees are driven by theirdeliverables and not control mechanism.
pandemic single-handedly madecompanies and customers to be morehygiene conscious and made usrealise that most of the tasks can bedone without setting foot into thecompany’s premises.
Homogeneous tasks such asfactory production aside, jobsinvolving knowledge sharing andbusiness intelligence, mostly requirebrains to prick together that may ormay not be confined to a physicalspace. Work From Home (WFH),once considered a privilege, is now anorm, hinting that it requires astrong mandate for us to re-think ourwork engagement. Seemingly,employee wellness has been thebuzzword to keep employees fit andfine, so that the organisation and thecountry collectively have a healthyworkforce. It is perhaps logical toconsider that being unfit adds to thecollective stress of employees, soemployee wellness does matter.
Let us now re-think and askourselves, when we have betteraccess to technology, resources andhealth care, employee wellnessbecomes an area of concern. To anextent, the answer lies in developingexuberant HR policies to keep up inthe talent market, that we seldompay attention to basics. In a highpaced corporate environment, gettingleave becomes a challenge, since it ismaintained that ‘leave cannot beclaimed as a matter of right’. Sincethe ancient days, as envisioned by
“Employee wellnesshas been the
buzzword to keepemployees fit andfine, so that the
organisation and thecountry collectively
have a healthyworkforce.”
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EXPERT TALK..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Mrinmoy Majumder teaches courseson people strategy and industrialrelations. He can be reached [email protected].
About the Author
Adam Smith, ‘work’ is often termedas an economic transaction. Hence,in practice, no one, by virtue ofearning and providing salary is to beunderstood to be conducting charityin any form. We exist to performapart from everything else ineconomic terms. So, whentransactions are mechanised, overthuman relations force itself intoeconomics, thus, making humanrelations symbolic. Symbolism, onthe contrary, has proliferated on amuch higher scale due to socialmedia. E.g. health or fitnesschallenges meant for employees areoften broadcasted through theirsocial media platforms, much to thefanfare of hashtags/views/trends.
Employee wellness is bestmanaged when our focus shifts backto fundamentals, and thereby,simplifying HR policies, whereemployees are driven by theirdeliverables and not controlmechanism. Where employees maychoose to customise their work
schedule, where they are given ampletime for themselves and their family,and where there is no restriction onphysical space of work execution. Ifnot, employee wellness programmesbecome misnomer since intense workpressure and clocking long-hours isbeyond the control of employees.
1 Time (2019). I Worked at an Amazon
Fulfillment Center; They Treat Workers
Like Robots. Retrieved on June 19, 2020
from https://time.com/5629233/
amazon-warehouse-employee-treatment-
robots/
“We exist toperform apart from
everything else ineconomic terms. So,
when transactionsare mechanised,
overt humanrelations force itself
into economics,thus, making humanrelations symbolic.”
68 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
T
EXPERT TALK
While we ponder on the ‘whys’ andthe ‘hows’, the bigger shock mightbe the longevity of this change andthat it might simply emerge as the‘new normal’. We do not have toimagine this anymore, as leadersacross the globe are dealing with itin reality in response to theCOVID19 pandemic. The outbreakof COVID19 is an unprecedentedcrisis for individuals and businessesalike. The impact of the pandemicis highly visible on economies, andcountries around the globe aretrying everything possible to curtailthe spread of the virus. In a matterof weeks, individuals and businesseshave been compelled to grapplewith the question of self-survival.
Organisations have beenscrambling for ways to maintainbusiness continuity in the face ofthis fastspreading pandemic. Insuch testing times, how quickly weadapt, how creative we are when itcomes to planning, and how wellwe execute those plans, willdetermine how we emerge out ofthis adversity. The crisis hascreated an imbalance in the socio-economic wellbeing of people.People are forced to rethink abouttheir career plans, financial goalsand other commitments as theimpact is proving to be huge.Remote working, dependency ondigital and redefined job profiles
magine a crisis that warrantsyour organisation to changethe way it operates overnight!
Upskilling-AnImperative
BY AVESH KUMAR JHA
HR and Learning & Development professionals oftoday must be skilled to facilitate an environment, bothin policy and practice, where people with diverseexperiences succeed as a unified and strong unit.
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
With crisis comesopportunityThe International LabourOrganisation (ILO) has estimatedjob losses of over 25 million as aresult of the COVID-19 pandemic.While the lockdown is a massivesetback for everyone, every crisispresents an opportunity. The needto relook over the manner in whichwe worked prior to the pandemichas emerged. Now, we need tolook at newer ways that can assistus in the given context, and also inthe post COVID-19 era. Forinstance, this may involve greaterutilisation of cloud platforms toconnect employees virtually. But
along with reskilling of resources isgoing to be the future of work. Thepandemic has jolted workplacesinto rebooting and getting smarter.
“Remote working,dependency on digital
and redefined jobprofiles along with
reskilling of resourcesis going to be the futureof work. The pandemichas jolted workplaces
into rebooting andgetting smarter.”
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 69
Avesh Kumar Jha is Senior VicePresident– Organisation Development& Performance Management, HindujaGlobal Solutions. He comes with anexperience of more than 24 years inSales, Business Development,Consulting, Training Design andDelivery, Leadership Training, StrategicOrganisation Development &Performance Management andDiversity & Inclusion. Avesh holds anMBA – Sales from Indian Institute ofBusiness Management, MagadhUniversity.
About the Author
then this would mean that everyonein the organisation is equipped touse these technologies and therelies the need to shift to the‘continual reskilling and upskillingmindset’.
Many industry leaders areanticipating a recession andeconomic downturn in the postCOVID19 era. While this alonerisks jobs, let us not forget theonset of the automation boom andthe fast-paced technologicallandscape. To remain employableand relevant in such competitivetimes, reskilling and upskilling isthe only way to survive and thrive!
The generationaladvantageToday, the workforce in manyorganisations constitutes of four orfive generations, right from theTraditionalists (born before 1946)to the Generation Z (born after1997). This mix offers huge benefits,due to the unique perspectives andideas of those involved. Each ofthese generations has reacteddifferently in the pandemic, basistheir skills and experiences. Thisalso means that organisations areneeded to be prepared to cater tothe needs of the diverse set ofpeople to enable them to deal withthis situation. HR and Learning &Development professionals of todaymust be skilled to facilitate anenvironment, both in policy andpractice, where people with diverseexperiences succeed as a unifiedand strong unit. Most of us mightnot have faced a crisis of such akind during our lifetime, andhence, might not be prepared forit. Reskilling and upskilling are theonly ways in which the situationcan be managed and prepareourselves for the present andfuture.
Thought leaders, over severaldecades, have been making liberaluse of the acronym VUCA –Volatile, Uncertain, Complex andAmbiguous. Thanks to COVID-19,we are experiencing the real,
dynamic VUCA world, for the firsttime! Remote working, which wasalways termed as a ‘benefit’ forcertain employees or roles, hassuddenly emerged as the only wayto work!
Analysts and commentatorshave said that remote working willcome about as the new normal. Weneed to think about the skills thatare required to work efficiently andmanage the workforce during thischange, enabling them to staycurrent, relevant and productive.And the next step is inculcatingthe habit of upskilling, so that ourpeople are inspired to continue tostay relevant and worthwhile.
“We need to thinkabout the skills that are
required to workefficiently and managethe workforce duringthis change, enablingthem to stay current,
relevant andproductive.”
Technology:The key enablerTechnology has been the keyenabler for remote working andcompanies are making hugeinvestments on this front tokeep their operations running.Organisations are makingextensive use of video and audioconferencing apps, chat/messagingtools, cloud storage and othervirtual management tools. But thebig challenge ahead of everyone iswhether we are sufficiently skilledto work with such tech tools? So,this presents the trigger of learning,unlearning and relearning. This isthe way the world will reorganise,redesign and rethink methods ofstaying connected, engaged,productive and contributingusefully.
It is natural to witness a rise inthe demand in digital skills. It istherefore handy to accept thistrend. That said, some things arelikely to remain relevant - theemotional connect with people,empathy, the need for people tolisten effectively, to understand toeach other and to be able toinfluence each other. Honing theseskills will be key in a remoteworking environment. Withproximity out of the question forsome time, the need for people torefresh their skills on these aspectswill emerge. As has been stated byAlvin Toffler, American writer,futurist, and businessman, “Theilliterate of the 21st century willnot be those who cannot read andwrite, but those who cannot learn,unlearn, and relearn.” This is ofutmost importance today anddeserves to be treated with greaturgency. One believes that the timeis now to reconstruct ourselvesthrough consistent reskilling andupskilling. Wishing everyone asafe, strong, healthier andsuccessful future!
EXPERT TALK..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
70 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
A
COGNITIVE BIAS
reaching the main entrance of thebuilding, we went to the nearestlift and pressed the call button.Within a few seconds, I franticallystarted pushing the already-lit callbutton. Then, when we got into theelevator, I kept hitting the tenth-floor button – I mean, like fourtimes in around six seconds. Mywell-meaning friend told me thatthis would not make us movealong faster. On hearing this, theother elevator occupant laughedand said, “I do this all the time!Too much, actually.”
I know that those extra buttonpushes do not make any difference,
few months back, my friendand I were rushing to get toan appointment. Upon
Is Your Action BiasCosting You?
BY ANKITA SHARMA
When faced with a new or uncertain situation, we prefer doingsomething — anything — to feel like we have control over a situation. Thishappens even if the action is irrational, unwise or counterproductive.
experiment. It also makes us seefailure as an acceptable outcome,provided that we learn from it.But, in the face of ambiguity anduncertainty, we often get restlessand feel compelled to act. Many ofus ignore the costs and default toaction, regardless of whether itmay provide zero or even negativeeffects.
Let me turn to soccergoalkeepers to show you what Imean. When defending a penaltystroke, the goalie has to choose aside before the player even kicksthe ball. So, is it better to dive tothe right or the left? Here’s thekicker (pun intended): Statistically,goalies are far better off stayingput at the centre! Despite this fact,
but I can’t help it, especially whenI’m in a hurry. Many of us areparticularly susceptible to actionbias. When faced with a problem,we prefer doing something —anything — in order to feel likewe have control over a situation.This happens even if the actionis irrational, unwise orcounterproductive.
“Woah! Action bias? But that’sa good thing! Taking action iswhat helps me get things done. Itmakes me productive,” I hear yousay. Speed is essential to individualand business success today. Biastowards action is generally a goodthing. Taking action implies notsuccumbing to “paralysis by over-analysis”. It encourages us to
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 71
a fascinating 2007 study foundthat goalkeepers almost alwayschoose to dive to either side. Why?The answer might surprise you: Itfeels and looks better to have failedin stopping the ball by jumping inthe wrong direction (action) ratherthan staying still in the intensesituation of a penalty shootout(inaction). This is action bias — wewant to look active, even if itachieves nothing or makes mattersworse.
Action Bias andCOVID-19Action bias is pandemic toindividuals and organisations. TheCOVID-19 crisis has made thiseven more explicit. Although it istrue that staying at home is aneasy task compared to defendingour country in a war, hanging backdid not turn out to be as easy as itseemed. People around the worldhave been acting irrationally — beit the crowding of supermarkets tostock up on toilet paper or thecontinued breach of stay-at-homeand social distancing directives.Such people have been popularlytermed as “covidiots”.
We prefer taking some actionrather than passively sitting athome — even though restraint andpatience are the best strategiesright now — because we perceivethat value can primarily be realisedthrough action.
Think Before You ActWe have a tendency to think thatpeople who do the most stuffproduce more value. Such aconclusion couldn’t be further fromthe truth. Often, the person whodoes not act quickly or restrainshim or herself affects real change.Choosing to look busy when thingsare unclear is an easy way out; bycontrast, making actual progress ischallenging.
Action bias makes us act soonerthan we should. Consider meetings,for instance. Since the pandemicstruck, we have been spendingmore time than ever before
collaborating with colleagues viameetings and conference calls,often across different time zones.Many of us are mindlesslyparticipating in thousands ofmeetings in the name of “keepingup with change” when most ofthem merely philosophise on theissue at hand rather than solve it.Action bias lures many of us to sayyes to meetings we could easilyskip. We don’t even ask ourselveswhy we are doing what we aredoing. In ambiguous situations, weare tempted to fix problems, butdefaulting to action could insteadaggravate it and impede productivity.In other words, we sometimeshave to think rather than actimpulsively.
The next time you get invitedto a meeting, don’t be afraid topause for a while until you find theright action. Think: Is this meetingtruly useful? Or am I attendingthis meeting for the sake oflooking/feeling good? And if youranswer is the latter, carefullyreconsider your next steps. Forexample, could you just catch upon the post-meeting minutes? Ifboth you and your team memberhave been invited to attend ameeting, could one of you forgoattending it?
COGNITIVE BIAS..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Bangalore. The employees putthrough call centre training weredivided into two groups. Onegroup continued to take technicaltraining and practice calls as usualuntil the end of the work shift. Theother group was asked to sit insilent reflection during the lastfifteen minutes of every workday.The result? The reflecting groupperformed 23% better after onemonth of training, despite the factthat the other group worked fifteenminutes longer every day.
We all have a lot of learning todo right now, and building in timeto reflect rather than just act canimprove performance and alsobuild resilience. Recent data fromLinkedIn reveals that professionalsare investing 130% more time onskilling/ reskilling/ upskilling sincethe COVID-19 outbreak. We willlearn best when we create thespace for it through inactivity.Spend at least fifteen minutes atthe end of each day just reflectingon what you’ve learned.
Final ThoughtsInaction is usually not looked uponfavourably. However, thinking,pausing, reflecting, or simplyrestraining are all hard work. Justbecause no action is observeddoesn’t mean that nothingsignificant is happening. The adage“Don’t just stand there; dosomething!” could be changed to“Don’t just do something; standthere!” for specific situations.
References:
1. Action bias among elite soccergoalkeepers: The case of penaltykicks (Bar-Eli et al., 2007).
2. Reflecting on Work Improves JobPerformance. HBS WorkingKnowledge. (2014).
“We prefer takingsome action rather
than passively sitting athome — even though
restraint and patienceare the best strategies
right now — because weperceive that value can
primarily be realisedthrough action.”
Build in Time forReflectionA few years back, a couple ofHarvard researchers conducted afield experiment with Wipro,
72 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
arol Dweck , Professor atStanford University and theauthor of Mindset–ChangingC
PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK
the Way You Think to Fulfil YourPotential, says that leaders approachproblem solving with two mindsets.Someone with a fixed mindset whenstuck with a problem will assumethey have reached the limits of theirabilities. Whereas, Growth mindsetpropels people to try out differentoption of solving the problem.Predicting what the future wouldrequire is an impossible task, soleaders must equip themselves withstrong portfolio of future ready skillsin order to keep responding withdynamism and insight . Growth
Harnessing A'Growth Mindset'
BY DR. MANAVI PATHAK
It is critical to identify and understand one's mindset because, in order to besuccessful, one must be self-aware of the mindset to which they subscribe.
“Human Beings arework in progress whomistakenly thinkthey're finished”
– Dr. Daniel Girlbert
mindset is one such skill. Both thesemindsets tend to remain subconsciousand unacknowledged by the person.There is a large body of literatureindicating the impact such mindsetshave over the way people perceive andinterpret the qualities of individuals,groups, and the world around them.For instance, at the individual level,mindsets impact motivation, academicachievements, procrastination, andother outcomes differently.
Devising differentframeworksWhen encountering setbacks, forinstance, people who view theirintelligence as fixed tend to attribute
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 73
failure to the lack of ability andwould react by feeling a sense ofhelplessness, withdrawal, or beingpetrified. Yet, people who view theirintelligence as malleable tend tomake fewer helpless attributions andto invest greater effort or changetheir approach in response tofailures. In particular, it seems thatthese two mindsets set up differentframeworks or ‘meaning systems’that guide people’s attributions andbehaviours. For instance, growth andfixed mindsets about intelligenceinfluence academic performance andself-esteem through a network ofgoals, beliefs, and strategies thatstemmed from these beliefs. It hasalso been proven by Research thatinternalisation of growth mindsetbuffers a negative consequence thatpeople with low socio-economicbackgrounds and minorities suffer inschool.
It is critical to identify andunderstand one’s mindset because, inorder to be successful, one must beself-aware of the mindset to whichthey subscribe. One who employs theGrowth Mindset believes that liferequires continuous learning, and thatfailure is a critical and necessarycomponent of that learning and self-development. It is the deep beliefthat mastery, talent, and ability isdeveloped over time throughperseverance, grit, and hard work.
Interestingly, evidence shows thatit is possible to shift from a fixedmindset to growth mindset.Microsoft is a good example of whathappens to an organisation when itadopts an altered mindset. Microsofthas reworked on its culture byadopting a Growth Mindset. SatyaNadella has popularised the conceptof Growth Mindset when he tookover as the CEO in 2014. Microsofthad come up with a framework toimplement and practice thisorganisationally, and the culture waschanged from “know-it-all” to “learn-it-all”. In fact, it got reflected in themission statement of Microsoft, “toempower every person and everyorganisation in the planet to achievemore.”
PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The key learningsWhat can other organisations learnfrom this especially in challengingtimes due to the pandemic? Whenthe entire company embraces agrowth mindset, their employeesreport a feeling that is far moreempowered and committed, andexperience a greater advantage in theevent of stressful situations. Byseeing the world through the lens ofgrowth enables in steering awaythoughts from the negative focusback to the positive. They alsoreceived far greater organisationalsupport for collaboration andinnovation. In contrast, people atprimarily fixed-mindset companiesfocus more on looking smart reportmore of only one thing; cheating anddeception among employees,presumably to gain an advantage inthe talent race.
Growth Mindset is a useful andhandy framework that organisationscan use in the current times. Insteadof stressing over problems, employeescan use growth mindset to seeopportunities for improvement. Whilethere will be stressful situations,growth mindset will make employeesfeel empowered to respond in apositive and constructive manner.
Is it easy to adopt a growthmindset? No, it is not. Carol Dweckexplains, ‘we all have our fixed-mindset triggers.’ When one facescriticism, negative feedback anddisappointments, there is a tendencyto become defensive and insecure,responses that inhibit growth. Ourorganisational cultures will alsocomprise of fixed-mindset triggers. In
“Growth Mindset isa useful and handy
framework thatorganisations canuse in the currenttimes. Instead of
stressing overproblems, employees
can use growthmindset to see
opportunities forimprovement.”
74 July 2020 www.humancapitalonline.com
order to grow and develop, we need toidentify and work on these triggers.It is hard work, but individuals andorganisations can gain a lot bydeepening their understanding ofgrowth-mindset concepts and theprocesses for putting them intopractice. It gives them a richer senseof who they are, what they stand for,and how they want to move forward.
To summarise, an important thingto remember in these times is thathard times are temporary. Adopting agrowth mindset to see failure as an
Dr. Manavi Pathak is Head - Talent &Leadership Development at Trent. Shehas professional expertise in area ofTalent Management, Learning,Leadership Development & ExecutiveCoaching. She has extensive experiencein leadership and consultancy withglobal industry players across industries,PSUs and education/ social sector. Shehas been associated with Human Capitalfor the last 10 years.
About the Author
Source : Mindset - Changing the Way You Think To Fulfil Your Potential By Carol Dweck
“It is hard work,but individuals andorganisations can
gain a lot bydeepening their
understanding ofgrowth-mindset
concepts and theprocesses for puttingthem into practice.”
opportunity to learn and get bettercan help when faced with challenges.In a fixed mindset, everything isabout the outcome. If you fail, it hasall been wasted. The growth mindsetvalues what you are doing whateverthe outcome. Remember, challengeand failure are necessary to learning,self-development and growing as anindividual.
To quote Carol Dweck, “In oneworld, effort is a bad thing. It’s likefailure, means that you’re not smartor talented. If you were, you wouldn’t’need effort (Fixed Mindset). In theother world, effort is what makesyou smart or talented (GrowthMindset).”Traits of Growth Mindset
Embracing Challenges Head-On
Perseverance ( not giving up) inthe face of setbacks, defeat andfailure
Seeing Effort and Hardwork asa Path to Mastery
Using Criticism and Negativefeedback as a form of learningand self-development
Finding lessons and inspirationin the success of others
Traits of a Fixed Mindset
Prefers to Avoid Challenges
Giving Up Easily to obstaclesor challenges
Seeing Effort as fruitless or awaste of energy
Ignoring useful negativefeedback or criticism andtaking it personally ( i.e., ego)
Feeling threatened by thesuccess of others
Not learning from oracknowledging their mistakesbecause of arrogance or Ego
PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
www.humancapitalonline.com July 2020 75
Avalara Appoints Kathleen Weslock As CHRO
Avalara has appointed Kathleen Weslock as chief human resources officer (CHRO). Prorto her appointment she was serving as CHRO at Livent. She has over two decades ofexperience and has overseen human resources for several companies, including Cisco,Deloitte, FIS (formerly SunGard Data Systems), and others.
Bharti AXA General Insurance Appoints Paramjit Singh Nayyar As Head-HR
Bharti AXA General Insurance has appointed Paramjit Singh Nayyar as the CHRO andmember of the management committee, after a three-year stint at HDFC ERGO HealthInsurance. He has nearly two decades of diverse experience of scaling up businesses inindustries, such as BFSI, telecom, retail and healthcare.
Reali Appoints Varun Bhatia As Chief People Officer
Reali has named Varun Bhatia as the company's first Chief People Officer (CPO). He hasover 30 years of experience spearheading people strategies and leading entire HRorganizations. Most recently, Bhatia served as Chief People and Culture Officer at AirAsia.He has previously worked as the CPO of AirAsia Group, CHRO of Levi Strauss & Co., andexecutive positions at Kraft Foods, Procter & Gamble, and The Gillette Company.
AppointmentsSterlite Power Appoints Swaminathan Subramanian As CHRO
Sterlite Power has named Swaminathan Subramanian as the group Chief Human ResourcesOfficer (CHRO). Subramanian has 22 years of experience in consulting, HR Governance,Mergers & Acquisitions, Compensation & Benefits with in-depth exposure in Asia, Africa,and Middle East market.
Myntra Appoints Kenneth Sequeira As Deputy Director- Human Capital
Myntra has roped in Kenneth Sequeira as the Deputy Director - Human Capital. Prior tothis, Sequeira was Talent and Learning Consultant at Kantar where he played aninstrumental role in designing, developing, and delivering learning interventions of allmodalities. Sequeira pursued Master of Management Studies in HR from Xavier Institute OfManagement and Research.
NetCom Learning Appoints Subir Sinha As Director-HR
NetCom Learning has appointed Subir Sinha as its new Director, Human Resources for Indiaand the US. Sinha brings with him nearly 30 years in the HR industry, having worked withcompanies such as the Creative Group, Arvind, Reliance Retail and ITC - Agrotech. In thepast five years, Sinha has freelanced as a consultant, leading his own firm, Subir Sinha HR &Corporate Advisory.
Licious Appoints Naveen Kumar Nerlaje As Head-HR
Licious has named Naveen Kumar Nerlaje as the head of human resources. He is a seasonedprofessional with nearly 20 years of experience in various facets of Human resourcesManagement. Nerlaje comes with a very strong experience in shaping the organisationalculture, nurturing progressive employee relations and talent & organisational development.
R.N.I. No. 66615/1997Postal Regn. No. DL(C)-01/1411/2018-20, New Delhi 110001
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