CORPORATE MANTRAS

Improving Employee Skills

Vineet Bajpai, CEO, Magnon Solutions, list five programmes that a company should provide to improve its employee’s skills 

1. People management:  companies should pay attention to improve employee’s skills. Organisations must ensure comprehensive training that include leadership, accountability, managerial support, unbiased evaluation and soft skills.

2. Public speaking: ensure that at least once in a quarter, almost everyone in the company gets a task that involves oration.

3. Proactive research: employees should be encouraged to undertake self—training programmes as well. Technical professionals keep them—selves updated irrespective of any organised training given to them. Companies need to inculcate a similar zeal in all departments.

4. Technical skills: employees should be given training to upgrade their technical skills.

5. Personal grooming: organisations need to conduct ‘development’ sessions that are open, communicative and informative. Discussing uncomfortable things in friendly seminars is a great way to bring everyone in sync and offer a deep corporate etiquette and culture to the company.

PROMOTE YOUR SITE HERE

•  LEARN MANAGEMENT
• Read Out The Organisational Crticisms
• Nurenxintan Directory
• http://hub.roi.com.au/

         http://www.hiphop-directory.com/

        http://www.freelinksdirectory.net

Patricia kitchen brings some tips for new workplace managers on how to review employees

There’s a first time for everything – and that includes the day you switch from being the recipient of a performance review to being the person who delivers it. To help the individual in the new role as supervisor, Diane Arthur, President, Arthur Associates Management Consultants Ltd., a human resources firm in Northport, N.Y., wrote The First-Time Manager’s Guide to performance appraisals. Here is some advice from Arthur and others for those new to evaluating employees.

How tough? Most important, Arthur says, is that you don’t fall into the trap of trying to come across as "tougher and more authoritative" than is necessary.

Keep the tone collaborative. Don’t say, "you must stop that." Instead

she says, try something like, " please tell me how you plan to rectify this." "don’t ‘should’ them," says Paul Baard, a communications and management Professor at Fordham University. Instead, point out the employee "would be well served by using a time management system." The idea, he says, is to focus on behaviours, "build the person up," not attack character.

Back it up. Have data to support your statements. Sherrie Brouillard was promoted last fall to supervisor in the collections department at people’s Alliance Federal Credit Union in N.Y. Since then, she has kept notes that helped her complete evaluations for seven staffers who report to her. Brouillard says that she’s learned it’s important to give feedback during the year so an employee is not surprised by anything said in the review.

When the employee is a buddy (or former buddy). Yes, Arthur says, this can be awkward. And her advice, if it seems appropriate, is to acknowledge the situation by saying, I know this may feel a little awkward for both of us." If you get guff from the person you’re reviewing – along the lines of, "I liked you better before," say something like: "Things do changes. But, you’re still my colleague, and I’m glad you are," Baard says.

When the employee is significantly older. Acknowledge the person’s experience. And be thankful you’re not in this situation that Arthur describes: a young man in a seminar she was conducting told of working for a manufacturing company alongside his father. The son was promoted, so he was his father’s boss – with the job of doing his review. And the father had an attendance problem!

•  MANAGEMENT FUNDAS

Here are some language dos and don’t for the first-time performance review giver from matt Halpern, an attorney with the Melville, N.Y., office of the employment law firm Jackson Lewis Lip:

Don’t say: You are thoroughly incompetent.

Do say: You are not performing some task in a competent way. They are…

Don’t say: You are deficient.

Do say: Your performance is deficient in the following areas…

Don’t say: You can’t get to work on time.

Do say: Your attendance is not acceptable as follows…

Don’t say: You’re the worst employee in the company.

Do say: You have many areas where you are performing in a less than satisfactory fashion. They are…

Don’t say: You act like a lunatic.

Do say: Your loud and angry public responses are disruptive and unacceptable. For example…

Don’t say: You are a drama queen every time I tell you something is wrong.

Do say: When I point out improved methods for performing work, you react to the fact that I have to confront you rather than listening to what I have to say. For example…

The employee’s response. When the person sitting on the other side of the desk responds with a laundry list of what’s wrong with the workplace – or with you – it’s a from of venting, Arthur says, and as long as it’s kept under control, you need to be able to deal with it. For one thing, it’s valuable for employers to find out what’s on their employee’s minds. And she says she would rather have the employee express dissatisfaction directly to her than do it behind her back.

The problem employee. Baard says that it’s important to remember "even if people are prickly and emotionally over—re—active, they are still entitled to candid feedback," or they’ll have no idea they need to adjust their work habits. If you find yourself in such a situation, here’s his advice. "Check your business card to remind yourself of your position, and do your end of the transaction as well as you can."

You may be perfectly accurate in saying to an employee during his or her review, "Not one person in this department can stand working with you." But first, stop to consider this: Do you want to be right, or do you want to be effective?

When it comes to millennial employees, "managers need to be ready and prepared to give them reviews more often," says Lisa Orrell, owner of a marketing firm in Campbell, Calif., and author of Millennials Incorporated. Indeed, Baard says he’s seeing MBA students who "stand more ready to receive revaluative feedback." However, they’ll be looking for specifics, he says not the vague statements that some bosses use to keep from ruffling feathers.

The best mentors see something in us we don’t see in ourselves. They help us think twice about paths or steps we shouldn’t take, says Barbara Rose

The best mentors offer advice we don’t always like to hear. They chide us, goad us, challenge us. Some even have the gall to tell us to straighten our frizzy hair.

Sometime we reach out to them, but just as often they attach themselves to us. They can be annoyingly opinionated, and it can be hard to remember they have our best interests at heart.

Consider the experiences of Cook County (111). Circuit Court Associate Judge Patricia Mendoza. She never planned to go to law school until. A family friend and lawyer got on her case. "I was very shy," recalls Mendoza, who talked about her friend at a recent "speed mentoring" event sponsored by Chicago’s Alliance of Latinos and Jews, a 14 year—old nonprofit group that builds bridges between the two communities.

"You would look at me and I would blush. My mother’s friend insisted I apply to law school. I kept saying no. I told her, ‘that’s you, that’s not me.’ I just couldn’t imagine being her."

When the older woman brought her an application to DePaul University College of Law and insisted she fill it out, Mendoza consoled herself with the thought she would never get in but she did.

When she tried to drop out before her first set of finals, a professor refused to sign her withdrawal forms.

When she passed the bar and settled into a satisfying public—service practice, her mentor, by then a judge herself, prodded her again. "You really should think about becoming a judge," she recalls Circuit Court Associate Judge Consuelo Bedoya—Witt telling her. "No, that’s not me, that’s you, again," Mendoza told her. But the seed was planted, and once again it took.

"One piece of advice I give to people now is, if someone you trust encourages you to do something and you’re thinking, ‘It’s just not me,’ don’t just dismiss it. Sometimes people see something in us we don’t see in ourselves."

Angelique Power, Director of Marketing at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, was a graduate student at the School of the Art Institute in the early 1990s when she took a part—time job working for an executive at a large corporation.

Oblivious to the company’s unspoken codes, she dressed like an art student, rhinestone—studded cat—eye glasses, untamed hair while taking a keen interest in her boss’ work.

"I made sure I understood what was happening and, whether I was asked or not, I would talk to her about my opinion," Power recalls. "I think she was kind of taken aback and amused so she started to build a relationship, ask me question, hand me challenges and allow me to rise to occasion.

"She would invite me along to watch meetings, hand me projects to run, and when I graduated she offered me a full—time job" and later promoted her to run the department. But, not before setting her young protégé straight. For starters, she told Power to straighten her hair, a potentially sensitive directive to a multiracial woman.

"She said, ‘Here’s the uniform take it or leave it.’ I took it," Power says. "There’s always an unseen map. There was a cultural code you had to follow to be taken seriously. It’s not anything you would find in any handbook, but it was critical for me."

The mentoring relationship deepened into a mutually beneficial friendship. "This was a woman who was a high—ranking executive, but in my role I could always be very honest," Power says. "Others might be sycophantic. I became sort of the beacon of honesty."

It was hard to break away, power recalls. But when she left the company and her mentor for the museum of contemporary Art, "I was ready to take everything I learned, all this business savvy, and bring it back to the art world, which is really what I wanted to do all along, and not brush my hair if I don’t want to."

A on corp.’s Chief diversity officer, Corbette Doyle, a champion of corporate mentoring, counts among her early influences a college professor who persuaded her to change her major from mathematics to economics. He gave me a world view of global business and made me think big picture in a way that I hadn’t," says the Tennessee—based executive. "First I was going to be a lawyer, then a math professor, then an actuary. They were all fairly narrow disciplines. He really pushed me to take a lot of liberal arts classes and to think broadly about the array of opportunities."

When she was offered a fellowship to get her doctorate in economics he convinced her to turn it down. "Go to work and get somebody to pay for your MBA," he told her. And that’s what she did.

"He was the epitome of a great mentor," she says. "the best mentors help you think twice about paths or steps you shouldn’t take, and that takes, a lot of insight into the person you’re helping."

•  ORGANISATION BEHAVIOURAL MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Having a professional online presence is becoming crucial, says Bridget Carey

Miguel Merino’s online resume has the usual rundown of work experience and education. But the university of Miami senior music performance major takes it a step further by letting visitors listen to his tracks, read critics’ reviews, see a list of upcoming gigs and watch videos of his performance.

"It’s the first time I’ve had my own website that I’ve put some work into," said Merino, 22. And it’s worth the $20 a month as a personal promotion tool, he says: "It’s super important."

Merino was pushed to create the site, migimusic.com, because of a class assignment. But multimedia resumes work for more careers than those in the performing arts.

Recruiters say having a professional online presence is becoming more crucial. Vital bits of information on candidates are found through Internet searches as the markets shifts to passive recruitment, and Google searches as background checks have become common in to hiring process.

Paper and electronic resumes are not extinct, but they are only the beginning. Getting a job offer may depend on social network profiles, personal websites, blogs and you tube videos. It’s about your online footprint and the management of your personal brand.

Joe Laratro, President-elect, South Florida Interactive Marketing Association (SFIMA), has been hearing the term "reputation management" tossed around recently in marketing circles.

Do you know what comes up when you do a Google search on your name? Reputation management is getting the links you want people to see to show up on top.

"You don’t want someone searching your name and seeing you passed out drunk somewhere," Laratro said.

And if you think bosses aren’t searching for information about you, think again. A November 2007 survey by career media company Vault reports that 44 percent of employers are logging on the sites like my space and Face book to examine the profiles of job candidates, and 39 percent have looked up the profile of a current employee.

"There’s no doubt that myself and my team certainly scour the Internet for the past experiences of a individual," said Dan Alpert, a manager at the digital marketing services firm avenue a Razorfish, and president, SFIMA.

"You want to be very sensitive to what type of brand you put forward-one’s own personal brand identity. If it’s not tasteful, it shouldn’t be online." But you don’t have to be a web whiz to create a professional online identity. LinkedIn.com is a social network that revolves around making business connections and updating resumes. Creating a profile there is a small step in boosting your online professional appearance. "If you are in the professional world and you want yourself to be seen by the best companies out there, using a social networking site is almost as important as having a degree," said Dion Taylor, an account manager at Technisource, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., recruiting firm.About 30 to 40 percent of the resumes Taylor’s department gets have some sort of web link, and he says clients are clicking on those links. He’s also seeing more people turn in video resumes. Many of them, however, are lousy. "Most of the ones we see are just you tube-ish. They put on a shirt and tie. My name is Bob. My strengths are this," Taylor said. "I think a lot of people miss the mark with them."

Recruiters interviewed have all said the same thing: Having a video resume alone doesn’t make you more likable or stand out more. If anything, it can be risky.

Charles Caulkins, managing partner at employment law firm fisher & Philips in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., lets his corporate clients know that by accepting videos or photos they open themselves up to the possibility of accusations of discrimination based on looks. He added that having applicants fill out a standard application makes it faster to review them all. Videos, he said, could be a deterrent to a busy recruiter who may think, "Now I have to click on this video. How long is it? Are they going to get to the point?"

"I think HR people for the most part are sticking with the tried and true, sticking with the paper resumes or electronic PDFs," Caulkins said. Visual-CV.com, a site that hosts free multimedia resumes with videos, suggests in it tips guide that an online portfolio shouldn’t take the place of a traditional paper resume and application. Louise Kursmark, author of the guide and president of best impression career services, wrote it’s best to think of an online resume as an add-on for networking and a relationship builder, so bias shouldn’t be a concern.

Debra Bathurst’s human relations team at Oasis Outsourcing in West Palm beach, Fla., sifts through social networks when head hunting, especially because the market has shifted to passive candidate recruitment, she said.

"We would be behind if we weren’t using LinkedIn or Zoom—Info," Bathurst said. But she added that much of her candidate base still comes from job board sites and employee referrals.

•  MANAGE YOUR OFFICE ENVIRONMENT

The major cause of failure in organizations is not is not the lack of goals but a clear and well-defined action plan, says Udayan Banerjee

Making New Year resolutions is like building castles in the air. Big, bold, beautiful but baseless. Which is why, more often than not, New Year resolutions come crashing down, as do many of our dreams and goals. The only way to stop this from happening is to put solid foundations under them, that is, support your New Year resolutions, dreams and goals with strong action plans.

Action plans are a step-by-step process of taking you from where you are now to where you want to be in terms of achieving your goals. Just as buildings cannot be erected without a blueprint and unchartered paths navigated without a map, similarly dreams and goals cannot be achieved without a definite action plan. Research has shown that the major cause of failure, in people and organizations is not so much the lack of goals but the lack of a clear and well-defined action plan. If you do not back your goals with an action plan, you simply fail. On the other hand, proper planning prevents poor performance. An effective action plan can be formulated using the 6W method --- Want, Why, What, When, Who, What if.

Step 1: Make your want obsessive. The greater the obsession, the higher the commitment and the deeper the involvement the stronger the resolve to overcome obstacles on the bumpy road to success.

Step 2:Convert your wants into goals using the SMART principle, i.e., make them specific, Measurable. Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound. Ask yourself why you want to attain your goal. Be passionate about the benefits of your goal. This will keep you motivated.

Step 3: Understand what knowledge, Attitudinal behaviour, Skills and Habits (KASH) are required to achieve your goal. Take an honest inventory of your current KASH level and raise them to the level required to reach your goal.

Step 4: Identify who can help you achieve your goal. Team up with people having similar goals. Team support and encouragement will keep you moving. Success is always a team effort.

Step 5:Determine by When you intend to achieve your goal. A definite time frame will allow you to utilise your resources (time, effort, money) more effectively.

Step 6: Be ready with plan B --- What if plan A fails?

It pays to put a strong foundation under your castle. If Thomas Edison had not, we should still be watching television in candle light!

•  SHAPING THE FUTURE

http://directory.myniaga2u.com/

     LEADING THE WAY

Q: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CREATE LEADERS?

A: A leader’s greatest skill is his/her ability to listen – which we, at Dale Carnegie, believe is the most important communication skill.

Q: WHAT KIND OF QUALITIES DO YOU LOOK FOR IN THE PEOPLE YOU HIRE (APART FROM TECHNICAL/HARD SKILLS)?

A: I like what I refer to as “the fire in the belly” – a deep desire to succeed, a willingness to work hard and think outside the box – a go-getter attitude, a risk taker. You can usually identify those traits in an interview, but you can certainly ask questions that can help you uncover someone’s approach to their career.

Q: IS IT HARD TO FIND PEOPLE WITH THE RIGHT MIX OF WORK-RELATED, LEADERSHIP, INTERPERSONAL AND ATTITUDINAL SKILLS?

A: Talented employees are a company’s biggest assets. At times, you can find someone with the right interpersonal and attitudinal skills and then, because of the cultural climate in the company, they become disengaged. At Dale Carnegie, we believe that keeping your employees engaged – that is winning both their hearts and minds, is the key to attracting and retaining talented employees. It’s not that difficult to attract and find talent, what’s hard is retaining them.

Q: HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR ORGANISATIONS TO HAVE A LEADERSHIP PIPELINE?

A: It is very crucial to have a leadership pipeline. And the key to this is employee retention. Once you have identified the top talent in your company, it is your job to make sure you retain them. It is from your talent pool that you must look for succession planning, and that means investing in training and development.

Q: WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL TEAM MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES?

A: I prefer a collaborative process – one that focuses on consensus building – at the same time, it’s important to make sure that people have specific goals and that they are held accountable for achieving them.

HAPPY REUNION

THE BOND BETWEEN AN EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYER DOES NOT BREAK WITH THE EMPLOYEE DECIDING TO WALK THROUGH THE EXIT DOOR. MANY ORGANISATIONS ARE NOW SETTING UP ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONS FOR THEIR EX-EMPLOYEES IN AN ENDEAVOUR TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY AND EVERLASTING RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM.

“It’s not good trying to keep up old friendships. It’s painful for both sides. The fact is, one grows out of people, and the only thing is to face it,” said the famous writer W Somerset Maugham. But this saying no longer holds true in the present times where relationships, personal or professional, are best if maintained for as long as one can. Gone are the days when you cut all ties with your ex-employer once you decided to move out. Employees as well as employers now understand the relevance and need for maintaining a cordial relationship with each other even if they are no more associated, profe-ssionally. We have all heard of alumni associations in schools and colleges, but now they seem to be the latest fad catching up in India Inc.

THE TIE THAT BINDS:

Experts validate that many organizations reap the benefits of maintaining relations with their former employees through an organized approach and setting up an alumni association is one such effective method that organizations are adopting to facilitate the same. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories takes pride in its alumni network; aptly named ‘Friends Forever’. “The alumni network portal, available on our website, is the face of this association to the external world. We launched Friends Forever about 8 months ago and the numbers of alumni signing up has been steadily increasing,” expresses Prabir Jha, Senior Vice President & Global Head – Human Resources & Corporate Communications Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories. Ameerpet Prashant Bhatnagar, Director Hiring, Sapient informs, “Yes, we have a very active alumni programme, which has been alive for a number of years. Early last year, we launched a brand new global site, www.sapientalumni.com, where alumni can log in to look up former colleagues create profiles of themselves, or learn about reunion events”.

    NIIT Technologies does have a few significant initiatives in place to preserve the bond with its ex-employees. “We have an initiative known as ‘Forever NIITian’ for ex-employees. A club of this natu-re was set up to connect with all ex-employees and since they have been a part of the NIIT family, we would like to keep in touch with all of them,” states Rosita Rabindra, Executive Vice President and Head of HR, NIIT Technologies.

     Cognizant is among the very few companies that has a dedicated alumni section on their corporate website. “In our case, we capture details of ex-associates of Cognizant through the alumni page of the careers section on our corporate website and use this information to share organizational happenings and accomplishment with them and inform them about opportunities in Cognizant,” expresses Sriram Rajagopal, AVP, Human Resources, Cognizant.

AN EVERLASTING RELATIONSHIP:

In the present times, when employer branding is considered an indispensable part of any organizations agenda, employees as well as ex-employees are considered brand ambassadors of the organization. So what is the purpose or intention behind initiating such alumni associations? “We appreciate the many contributions that our alumni have made to Sapient growth and success. Our culture is built on foster–ing our people’s growth, and that doesn’t end just because they leave. We created the Sapient alumni network as a way for our alumni to stay connected with us and the innumerable friends that they made during their time here. It is designed to be a resource that they can leverage,” elucidates Bhatnagar.

     Rabindra explains, “This initiative is aimed at sharing information about the company and staying connected. We look at them as our brand ambassadors. It also helps in our business need as they move on in their career. Besides, a lot of people keep coming back so initiatives like this really help to keep connected”. Jha adds, “Employees are our brand ambassadors, and continue to be our brand represen-tatives beyond their employment period here. We value their contribution to the organization while they were with us and Friends Forever keeps the warm ties alive even when they are not formally with us”. “Our relationship with our alumni is an extension of this philosophy. It is our culture to keep in touch with all those who have been a part of our growth and success. Keeping in touch with alumni helps us stay current in the minds of those interested in returning to Cognizant so as to buy back Cognizant experience, as these ex-employees understand our corporate culture and expectations better than new hires and assimilate faster into the organization,” expounds Rajagopal.

CELEBRATING OLD TIMES:

An alumni association can be a platform for various kinds of exchange between a certain organization and its ex-employees. And most of these associations put together a lot of activities in place to make sure this interaction is useful and interesting. “The alumni network is a platform wherein several inte–ractions can take place. It offers a mode for interaction amongst the alumni members besides being the bridge between the alumni and the organization. Updates in the industry and the organization are shared through the portal. Organization announcements, images of events (like the company’s annual celebration), CEO’s communication and even job listings are shared on the portal. It forms a strong social networking sphere for all its members,” states Jha. 

     At Sapient, they maintain a private website with up-to-date information on company news, events and careers, which alumni can access using their personalized Ids. “In addition to connecting with other alumni and referring colleagues, our alumni enjoy attending reunion events where they can build up their personal networks with former Sapient family members,” says a proud Bhatnagar. 

     The end of your tenure with an organization does not mean the end of your relationship with it. Organizations today, believe in the power of creating a bond with its employees and becoming a family for them; it really doesn’t matter if they are current or ex-employees.      

Anurag Jain, President, Consulting, and Applications Solutions, Insurance and Business Process Solutions, Perot Systems, on the five essential dos for a leader to inspire his team

Vision: know the road you are treading on. Have a clear idea about what you want to be and where you want to take your organization. A commitment to your vision will help you achieve success.

Know thyself: Understand that leadership is about working to accomplish shared goals. Understand your strengths and bring on board people with skills that you lack. Willingness to accept new ideas and listening to your team is critical. Create trust: be transparent in your dealings with stakeholders and inspire trust of team members. Transparency in sharing your vision/goals helps create co-owner-ship. Lead by example and deal with people in a fair, transparent and con-sistent manner.

Create opportunities: a successful entrepreneur is one who creates new opportunities and provides creative solutions. Keep your promises and deliver on time.

Innovation: be on the look out for opportunities in everything you do. There are new technologies and solutions that can help you do more with less. Be on the leading edge of change by embracing new trends that can help you create value for you customers, employees and the communities you serve.

6 THINGS NEVER TO SAY TO YOUR BOSSsome standard statements that no boss appreciates. Avoid using them for that extra bit of success in your professional arena. ‘I can’t do so much’Even if the task is far from achievable, carry on for that moment and try and explain your point of view later. Go a step further and give alternative solutions. ‘

That’s not my problem’The higher the position, the more the responsibilities. Everybody needs assistance during crises. If a problem doesn’t bother you directly, your boss knows that. So spare him or her the reminder.

‘I wasn’t told during recruitment’Agreed, many things that your boss asks you to do may not have been put down in black and white in your offer letter. But never start off a ‘job description’ argument. Chances are, you will never win.

‘That’s a very bad idea’Your boss is not superman and will have his or her share of dumb ideas. But that’s something you need not tell openly.

‘We should hook up on Orkut’You shouldn’t do that, ever! Many feel that having a personal rapport with the boss will add brownie points to their career. But in that case, wait for your boss to make the first move.

‘Sigh’A long sigh is seen as a sign of annoyance. Also, a confused sigh leaves things open for your boss’ personal interpretation. Few things in life are as a risky as that.

THE WORKPLACE PHILOSOPHY, TODAY, IS NO LONGER ABOUT CONCENTRATING ONLY ON ONE’S OWN TASK, BUT IS ALSO ABOUT ADDING VALUE TO OTHER FUNCTIONS. AS JOB HORIZONS WIDEN, THE NEED TO KNOW AND CONTRIBUTE MORE HAS BECOME IMPERATIVE. AND NOW, FIRMS ARE DOING JUST THAT BY IMPLEMENTING MULTI-TECHNOLOGICAL TRAINING ACTIVITIES - DEEPESH DAS