Sunday, August 8, 2010

HRM (Human Resources Management) to HCM (Head Count Management) - A Role Redefined

This weekend got an opportunity to attend the “Building New generation HR Leadership” meet conducted by the CII. It was a welcome relief from my horribly hectic and often repetitive job. And one good thing about attending any talk is it arouses your grey matters (it is just a co incidence that the seminar was co-sponsored by “Grey Matter”, a Kolkata based consultancy firm!!!) and gives one an opportunity to go beyond the contour of a clerical (err…managerial) corporate way of thinking and helps one to delve deep. One such accident happened when the General Manager –Human Resources of a public sector Navaratna company was delivering his talk. As the discussion veered around nurturing talent, an important topic came up related to how long one can bear with a non performing resource. We being a part of the new “Hire & Fire” generation could not fathom the fact when the speaker stressed on the point that they try and nurture their resources rather than firing them at the drop of a hat. The conviction with which he emphasized the collective responsibility in terms of grooming a talent was a revelation for most of us. Though he stressed being in a public sector company he has time, size and patience at his disposal to groom a new recruit and try his capabilities in different verticals to access his role-competency matrix. He was convinced that every single individual’s performance can be improved by providing him with the right opportunity, timely counseling, an inspiring boss or proper recognization provided the employee is not insane and has the correct attitude.



This kind of conviction is a rare quality in our generation of HR professional who in their urge to become Business Partners (a term which now a days is often being misused and abused by HR professional) are forgetting the inherent role of HR. One must understand HR is a leadership function and it does not require much of a qualification to become a successful HR practitioner. But few important attributes of a HR leader are understanding the basics of human psychology, transparency in dealing with process and people, trustworthy, a compassionate attitude, a knack of catching the pulse of the public and the understanding of the business. I fail to understand why such sudden urge to become business partner. The question is are not we already partnering the business by acquiring, nurturing, retaining and growing the most important, valuable as well as vulnerable, flexible and potent asset in a business the Human Capital. If we are performing the core job then we need not worry. But if there is this sudden wake up call then either we were not doing our job as per requirement or we are coining a fancy term because suddenly we realized that business is not taking us seriously. And often we put the blame on the court of the vertical by stating that we don’t get adequate say or respect because we are not revenue earning vertical .But then so are finance and supply chain. Does any one dare say that they don’t put importance on Supply chain or Finance? We are targeted because we have horribly let ourselves down by not sticking to the basics. We need to understand ours is a leadership and people oriented function which runs on trust, faith and skill.



I would put a basic question forward. In how many organizations HR is respected or trusted (and I don’t mean being feared upon). How many persons walk into a Human Resources Managers cabin and discuss their problems and seek solutions. How many of us are at least good listeners, a basic requisite for the function. In India in most of the organizations people don’t trust HR and many HR managers think their job is just maintaining confidentiality and policing. Yes I fully agree we need to maintain the hygiene and there are documents which are confidential. But most of the times we over do it. We need to understand society is changing rapidly and the new generation is more open and forth right. In order to deal with them one needs to be transparent. As per my limited understanding this secretive nature of HR can be attributed to the manufacturing sector where the IR manager worked as an agent of management and kept everything under the wrap from the eyes of union. But business has taken a paradigm shift and one can not continue the same practice in service sector where the unlike a rigid union we have an informed employee. Most of the times these unnecessary practice of keeping everything confidential leads to creation of unnecessary rumor and ruins the work culture. HR gets branded as a diplomatic function and looses its credibility among employees.



Have we developed with the passage of time? In order to prove that we are an important function we are using many tools, techniques and jargons. But most organizations still follow the Bell Curve for an important career enhancement activity like PMS, not because it is a full proof technique but due to the lack of any other technique. It’s a pity that very few professionals understand the logic or would go and explain the Bell curve logic to an employee. It is always good to take help of number but for a humane function like ours I m afraid we must not end up being a slave to numbers. A balance has to be maintained.

With the change in global economy retention will be major challenge for most of us. Do we have a strategy for that? How many organizations take the EXIT interview seriously or even bother to conduct one. Any HR who wants to know the health of the organization and improve the culture must do take constant feedback from its employees. And to do that successfully one needs to win the trust of employees and make them believe that his concerns are being heard. With the increase in disposable income, money will cease to become the most important tool of retention. The generation that will work an average of 30 years in private sector would look beyond money and crave for good work culture, best practices and good people managers to work with. The sooner we realize these challenges the better.

Else we will end up being neither People Manager nor Business Partner. The next generation HR professional will end up with designations as Head Count Manager!!!!!!!!!! Hence it is imperative for a HR manager to understand he is a leader and he has to perform as one go get the much required credibility back.





Sunday, May 9, 2010

In Memoriam

* This piece was written few months back to relive few of the mesmerizing moments spent at the B-School Campus.

They say "Time & Tide waits for none"..... and how true it is ... two years have already passed since we were separated to tread on different paths...... still it seems like yesterday.



Today we are standing at myriad crossroads of life far apart from each other. There were innumerable moments in the last two years when we have felt the presence of each other, met each other accidentally on Business trips to different cities and started our conversation with "abe yaad hai tujhe".... clearly reflecting the fact that the bond still continues.


Life is moving on a fast lane (Thanks to recession and the sudden surge of business houses to streamline their process!!!), probably no time to contemplate. It’s time to relive some of those glorious moments lived together. The moments that will remain etched in our memory forever...


240 of us were brought under the KSOM umbrella sometime in june 2006. And the best thing about this class of 2006-08 was the tremendous ability of each individual in different spheres (Prof.Govindraj deserves kudos for bringing the magic together). Some had fantastic organizing ability, some were excellent in academics, someother exuberent sports enthusiasts, some being creative geniuses and few other having tremendous histrionics ability. And as a team we excelled in whatever we attempted and cherished in each other’s achievements.


From Icebreaking to farewell every moment lived in the sprawling campus of KSOM was special. The time all of us spent at Amphi on weekends,burning midnight oil just before the term exam,late night sessions before Kollosseum'08,booz party (Sahoo & Maharana Being at the receiving end),Cricket@3PM,romance on rooftop, Suva's Retail in Detail, Boring Strategy class..i still get nightmares about the voluminous handout..(I used to indulge in something else sitting in the last row and my strategy grade promptly reflects my sincerity !!!!!),online quizzes ,depressing morning sessions to partho sir's interesting methods of teaching, IIM-KOL & XIM triumphs, group studies, fights for group formation, syndi sessions followed by coffee breaks, innumerable fights followed with customary hugs breaking rules.. bunking classes, few exhilarating and stimulating marketing classes, PK Mohanty's bakwas FM classes and project ( Many people dropped the idea of taking Finance specialization courtesy PK),proxy, placement pressure, DJ nights, watching the T-20 triumph.....free downloads......many relationships blossomed many hearts were broken... there are innumerable moments ......these are the priceless moment probably all of us want to relive again & again. We lived a life of gay abandon full of freedom. Those glorious moments will never be back but the fond memories of the time lived together will give us the impetus to move on, to live life to the fullest.


I guess this is the apt time to remember those good old days and get bit nostalgic.






This is my tribute to all of you (Friends,faculties and every single person who had a role in bringing us together) for giving those wonderful 18 months and a lifelong bond of friendship, trust and love......


CLASS OF 2006-08 ROCKS!!!!!!!!!






Thanks guys for being there every time I needed you..........






"KAB MILENGE NA JANE HUM YARON PHIRSE SABHI


LAUT KAR AB NA AYENGE AB WO MASTI BHARE DIN KABHI"

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Take a bow Master

Being an amateur writer and writing about a living legend is a dangerous proposition as it is extremely difficult to write something new about him that has never been written or to explore a new perspective. But writing a blog gives one that little bit of freedom to write whatever one wants to express. And today thanks to Bharat Bandh (ah at times actually they provide a little bit of relief from maddening corporate schedule) I’m taking full advantage of my creative freedom. And to all my esteemed readers, whose constant encouragement motivates me to use this platform to vent my feelings I sincerely request lets celebrate the Birth Day of the Magician who has enthralled all and sundry for the last two decades with his magic willow.



Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, it seems I have heard the name ever since I remember even though he started playing international cricket seven years after my birth (no prizes for guessing my age!!!!).He has been a part of almost every Indians’ life for last two decades and for cricket fanatics like me he is responsible for providing the maximum magic moments of my life. This man has achieved phenomenal success and he is still going strong. What differentiates the maestro from others?


His insatiable thirst for runs and the love of the game stands out. In a fast paced world, it is not easy to wake up everyday and do the same thing for two decades. And more so when one is a sportsman where physical fitness is of paramount importance. And here this guy is doing it since he has been sixteen and he still retains the child like enthusiasm. He still feels butterflies in his stomach before every match; he still plays the game with a plastered hand. Trust me you it is not easy to carry a nations expectations on your shoulders. In a country like ours where media decides who the fall guy will be and where everyone is a self proclaimed cricket expert only a handful of failure can spell doom for anyone. But Sachin has remained a phenomenon ever since he has stepped onto the cricket field. Probable because he does not play to prove anything to anybody, he plays because he enjoys it the most. It can be a learning for all of us lesser mortals.


Where Sachin succeeded and others failed was probably the way he carries himself off the field. It has a lot to do with his upbringing. A generation which has seen scandals involving Maradona to Warne to Woods, Sachin is probably among the few Superstars who remain unscathed even after being in the limelight for so long. Success did not reach his head and he kept his foot firmly on the ground. Being born in a cultured Marathi family he inherited it from his father during his early days. Even today after he reaches any milestone he looks up to the sky probably to seek blessing from his late father.


He keeps his game simple. Yes he was gifted with skill, but so were many others. But transforming skills into performance were the stuff champions are made of. Relentless hard work and a regimental life style help him to remain fit as a fiddle even at this age. The way he has reinvented himself is commendable. From being an attacking Batsman who loved to dominate the bowler, he changed gear to become a more measured batsman to provide stability to the Team. His mental strength can be measure from that famous match against the Aussies where he did not play a single ball outside the off stump while scoring a glorious 240.Who can forget his match winning knock against the same opponent in the deserts of Sarjaha in the summer of 1999.His straight drive is more gracious than a beautiful model on ramp. His square cut is like rampaging river. And now he has championed the version of cricket which was supposed to be meant for the younger generation by becoming the orange cap winner in IPL-3.


Even after playing more international matches than anyone in the world his enthusiasm for the game is still like a little kid. He is an inspiration of anyone who wants to achieve something big in life.


His contribution to world cricket in general and Indian cricket in particular has been tremendous. Still as a servant of the game he has never allowed himself to be bigger than the game. As a thorough team player he takes pride making the juniors in team comfortable and providing them numerous invaluable tips. Neither time nor tide can affect his achievement.


Thank you little master for enthralling us with those numerous moments of ecstasy. Thank you for helping so many people to dream big. Thank you for giving India a platform in the global sporting map.


KEEP PLAYING LIKE THIS.


Sunday, March 21, 2010

IT STINKS BUT IT STICKS !!!!!

First things first: This piece is not going to be music to most of the ears and it reflects the disillusionment of a generation that other wise takes pride in its achievements (however hollow and mundane that might be).But intention is not to draw a conclusion but just to show a comparison (knowing fully well that most of the people will jump from their seats to say that such comparisons are useless but then have we stopped comparing Sachin with Sir Don!!!)



Circa 1990: An easy paced life, one had lots of time to think, to contemplate and decide what one wants to do. Time for family, friends and more importantly for himself. No cell phones, no computers. Limited opportunities, over seas tours meant just for the elite ones. In order to unwind one used to look at the beauty of nature, the contrast between the blue/dark sky and green/golden crop field (depending on the season) used to satiate one’s quench. The aroma of a rain drenched soil and the sound of rain drops falling on roof tops had their own beauty. The summer and winter vacations spent with entire family celebrating so many festivals had their own charm. Of course the Doordarshan and the Vivid bharti had their staunch followers. Sunrise and sunset used to inspire so many creative souls.


Circa 2010: Life on fast lane, at least India is shining (Lets forget Bharat at the moment), the youth has money, everything available on fingertip(the finger firmly on a cell phone or laptop key board or remote control), the so called standard of living has gone many fold thanks to the easy availability of money. Rapid industrialization has brought in more opportunities and the pace of life has gone up manifold. One needs to travel quite a distance to find the greenery, it still rains but the aroma and the dance of rain drop is missing. Summer and winter vacations and entire family celebrating together are things of past( Common its an era of global warning so how can one feel the presence of so called four seasons).One does not have the time to watch the glory of rising sun and the beauty of the fading sunlight. Even diseases like cholera, small pox, and leprosy have given way to their more illustrious partners like heart attacks, high BPs and stress related syndromes.


Some how somewhere life has lost its inherent meaning and that brings me to the question how many of us are actually happy being SLAVE (yes that is what we are irrespective of we agree or disagree) to his /her highness (read “BOSS”). And if we are not then why are we a part of this set up.


1. The Education System: It has left us with no other alternative than to be a follower. Illustrious schools like IITs and IIMs also churn out thousands of bright students whose only aim in life is to earn a seven figure salary and work in some fancy sounding organization. The percentage of people who either opt for research or entrepreneurship is dismal. The lack of leaders in corporate world (and I’m not talking about the designated leaders rather I’m talking about people who walk the talk) is there for all to see. Unless we overhaul the current system two decades down the line the much glamorized corporate world will have a severe problem due to this lack of leaders.


2. The Herd Mentality: Today one is as good as his pay package. Designation and salary decides our social status. And very honestly these two parameters don’t always reflect the true value of any individual. But we are a part of the race. For us life is not meant to be lived, it is a formula one race course where no one remembers the runners up. So we have to win it irrespective of we want or not. From where I see today things are bursting at its seams.


3. The Corporate Houses: These are the real rulers. They know how to make one dance to their tunes. They are as lethal and as harmful as any drug. They show you their ultra glamorized picture when they visit a campus and offer you a salary that you cannot say no to. Then they make you addict to a certain amount of money and life style. Once the victim becomes addict you are made to work like hell. Physically you work 10*6*365 (i.e. if you are lucky enough) and mentally you keep slogging 24*7*365. The corporate mafias have four arsenals up their sleeve i.e. increment, promotion, retrenchment and learning. And trust me you these are the most potent weapons that can force any one to perform.


4. The Lure of Money: from my limited understanding I feel there is a certain amount of money one requires to lead a certain kind of lifestyle. Beyond that all our earnings goes into savings that we do for future. But just a gentle question?? Is it really so essential that in order to save for an uncertain future we will sacrifice the little happiness’s of today. The ball is in our court to decide what we want from life. Money is a deadly addiction and the more you earn the more you crave for it (in my limited corporate experience I have seen many examples of it).


I know to each his own. But the pace at which we are moving will lead to lots of stress and anxiety related problems and by the time we realize it would be too late. Just as food for thought I’m asking all of you few very pertinent questions.


i) Is it really essential to win in one’s professional life every time at the cost of our personal life?


ii) Can not we slow down just a little bit before life fads out??


iii) Can all of us not strive to become leaders in true sense and better corporate citizens (both as Boss & Subordinate)?


iv) Money or Business card can never provide containment. It has to come from within.


No need to answer, just introspect for a while. This pursuit for materialistic pleasure will lead us to disillusionment and affect the social balance.


I’m leaving with few lines form T.S. Eliot’s magnum opus- “The Hollowman”


“Life is very long

Between the desire

And the spasm

Between the potency

And the existence

Between the essence

And the descent

Falls the Shadow

For Thine is the Kingdom

For Thine is

Life is

For Thine is the

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.”


Thursday, February 18, 2010

Hamla (Attack) & Amla

After the lull post 26/11,terror again struck India.For the perpetrators of terror this country has become a soft target. They can strike us as,when and whereever they want to.Somewhere they know we are incapable of stopping them.Few innocent and budding lives will be lost,we will hit back with empty rhetoric,few candles will be lit, our politicians will blame our illustrious neighbour,media will get free content and airtime for a week, we will take a deep sigh and feel ah we are safe and then everything will be forgotton. Only those who have lost their near and dear ones will cry in silence.
It has almost been a decade since 9/11 has happened but no one has dared to attack USA.We have criticized Bush and his attack on Iraq but at least he made sure common USA citizen is safe in his country. His family does not have worry every time he goes out of home. Unlike us he is not left on the street to be butchered by few bloody fanatics and fundamentalists.
Our politicians are too busy playing petty politics and this power hungry bunch is too self obsessed to take a tough stand. They have all the time in the world to do publicity stunt for SRK or to stop Aussies to come to India. But lack the courage to stand up when it is required. Let's accept the fact that as a nation we have failed miserably as far as controlling terrorism is concerned.If you take fifty years to heal/remove an ulcer(our neighbour) then it is natural that it will turn into a cancerous tissue. A certain Azmail Kasab can kill thousands in full public glare, hold the country hostage, rape the psyche of a nation and still undergo trial for more than a year. So much for democracy and justice!!!!!!
As of the problem of terrorism is not enough we have our own internal so called people's messiahs to deal with(read maoists). They come fully armed,kill policemen as well as common men,paralyze the system add the colour of fighting for people's cause and leave in full glory. And look how shamelessly few political groups are supporting them and how hopelessly our underprepared police force is getting killed. At times it seems this democracy is leading us towards anarchy.
Resigned to our fate we agian  turned to our favourite sport to provide us few proud moments. And proud moments they did give us. Inspite of Hasim Amla's super human effort , absence of Dravid and Yuvi,rain interruption and injury to Zaheer the Men in Blue played fantastic cricket at the mecca to level the test series and maintain their numero uno status.
Well done guys at least we have something to cheer about.......

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

All Z WELL ....

After a hectic week full of lots of activities including attending training sessions today i got the much required holiday thanks to Goddess Saraswati!!!!!! Got a chance to watch 3 idiots once again. This movie is a must watch for all. The best part about the movie is its universal acceptance. It questions conventional wisdom and turns it on its head. Like all Hirani movies it gives a very important message but through humour. It gives all of us a chance to introspect, to follow our dreams and to run after excellence rather than job, money or reputation. Dr. Kalam during his tenure as President had raised his concern about the lack of interest in todays youth in getting into research. The prime reason being we are gradually getting tuned.. rather i would say forced to become a part of the rat race.Both peer as well as parental pressure plays a role in this. One either has to become a doctor or engineer or MBA else he is percived as useless for the society.Look at the number of students who have committed suicide within last fortnight. Its a pity during a period when they should enjoy living their life, explore their full potential we are forcing them into a mad race which inturn is resulting in excessive pressure . It has to stop. Someone somewhere has to pull the chain. 
Life is short .. lets make the journey as eventful as possible. Let our generation take charge and convince all that human mind has tremendous capability... and should not be measured only by the designation and profession. The journey is as important as the destination... lets explore the hidden talent.. each one of us is blessed with some unique talent and we must creatively utilise it.. There are so many Rancho's waiting to become Phungshuk Wangdu. And our prime responsibility is to let them grow and not nip them in the bud. 
 The corporate training session also gave me a chance to take a breath . to wait and find out my progress not in turns of numbers(Thank god!!) but in terms of where i stand as a manager and as a human being. There is so much of scope as far as handling tough situation and behaving with subordinate is concerned.
So way to go but ALL Z WELL as long as we are moving in the right direction......

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

The Beginning

The new emerging India of post globalization era  is growing at a rapid pace and youth has to play a pivotal role in order to make INDIA a super power...not interms of Military capability but interms of socio economic growth.And waht better way to spread the message and reach out to people and solution through debate and deliberation through a medium which has redefined the way people interact. And the best thing about the medium is the old and the young both have accepted it. So be it Mr. Tharoor or Mr. Bacchhan everyone is hooked to it.
Hence the start . The aim is-
  •  Spontaneous expression of powerful emotions collected in tranquility as well as through turbulance...laced with the rebellious attitude and served with an aim of touching heart, acting as a catastroph; bringing about a change ....the change that will see an inclusive growth,India and Bharat growing together,that will empower today's youth to stand up and be counted.
  • To debate and deliberate.
  • Giving  vent to ecstacy and agony  !!!!!!!!!