Cross Training In Organization

What is cross-training? Getting introduced to different departments in an organization apart from your core department.

Companies today, make sure that the employees and managers go through their cross training sessions so that they become more valuable, they can combat worker boredom and provides more flexibility to the company as well as the employees themselves. The benefits of cross-training includes readiness of an employee who might have to fill in shoes in case of an ill employee, provides more variety in work and more inputs and higher productivity. It also results in the interaction between employees, which builds a sense of teamwork within a department and also with other departments. They also start to understand other employees better as they know what it takes to perform their task and leads to a better work environment in the company and at times of unbalanced work flows, employees can be shifted from one department to another easily and work can be carried on without glitches.

                        For cross training to be effective, a lot of planning and organizing goes into account. It cannot be implemented all of a sudden during a crisis. It is important, for example, who will be eligible for training, will it be mandatory or voluntary, weather it’ll be restricted within the department or to other departments as well, and will it be internally or externally administered. Prior to its implementation, it will be helpful to set up a task force consisting of the managers and employees and identify the pros and cons for the business, assess the feasibility and set up a realistic schedule for the same. Training can take place through an on-the-job buddy system, or supervisors can be asked to conduct all the training and finally, the employees should be given time to absorb the new information. It may also be helpful to evaluate newly trained employees' progress on a regular basis. 

                        Some of the highlights and benefits of cross training include:

§  Increased flexibility and versatility.

§  Improved individual efficiency.

§  Increased standardization.

§  Better teamwork and coordination among the employees.

§  High morale among the employees.

Some the esteemed companies that practice cross-training include, Dell, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Infosys, Tata Group, Starwood Hotels and Resorts to name a few.

                        Cross-training should be an integral part of any organization as it would be in the best interest of the company and the employees and it would also be helpful to achieve the goals and objectives of the company.

 Article By -

Karthik M

Batch 14-16

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Profile of Anurag Verma - Flipkart

Anurag Verma

Director - HR

 

Profile:

HR professional having 17 years of experience in the core areas of HR viz. Strategic HR, OD, Change Management, Talent Management , Employee Engagement, Learning and Development, Designing and Implementing HR Operations &, HRMS, Employee Communication.

Specialties:

Strategic HR, OD, People Strategy, Employee Engagement, Change Management, HRMS, Talent Acquisition & Management, Learning and Development, Power Coaching

Key Professional Skills:

Internal Communications,Strategy,Deferred Compensation, Talent Management, Change Management, Organizational Development, Employee Engagement, HRIS, Talent Acquisition, Performance Appraisal, Performance Management, Strategic HR, Coaching, HR Policies, Personnel Management

Experience:

Director- HR                                                  Flipkart                                                 Oct 2012 – Present

CHRO                                                            ITIL ( A TVS and ILFS JV)                 Sept 2008 – Oct 2012

Corporate Manager-HR                                 Visisht Group                                        Jun 2004 – Jun 2006

Sr. Manager- HR                                           Sylvan Inc.                                            Aug 2003 – May 2004

Head- HR/Corporate Communications         Maharishi Group                                   Jan 1996 – Jul 2003

Marketing Executive                                     BPL Sanyo                                            Aug 1994 – Dec 1995

Education:

UIM, Jabalpur                     M.B.A., Marketing, Finance, Human Resource                       1992 – 1994

Govt. Science College        B.Sc., Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry                                   1989 – 1992

Christ School                      HSSC, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, English, Hindi        1977 – 1989

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Indian Personalities and Work Culture

 

Across
4. It is important not to be late but to be ..... for a business meeting (8)
6. In Japan it is very important to take a ..... when you visit colleagues (4)
7. Jawaharlal Nehru gace this legendary Carnatic vocalist the title "Queen of Music" (14)
9. Bird Man of India (8)
10. This renowned musician had rare honour of playing Shehnai at the Red fort on the eve of India's Independence in 1947 (13)
11. In Northern Europe, people feel comfortable when the ..... distance between them is about 75 cm. (8)

Down
1. In Britain it is important to include ..... when making a presentation because a sense of humour is valued (5)
2. In Germany people are addressed by their titles and ....... (7)
3. "Flying Skih" (11)
5. "Father of Modern Dance in India" (11)
7. This modern painter was often dubbed as the "Picasso of India" (9)
8. A lot of people think that all Europeans have ..... attitudes but they are often very different (8)

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COMICS

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Unraveling upcoming IRS rules on Obamacare

Next year promises to be a busy year for healthcare reform compliance — so the IRS has already begun issuing sample documents and rule changes for employers. Here’s what HR pros need to know.  

First, the IRS issued draft forms for employers — with insured and self-insured plans that are subject to the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate — which must be used to verify their compliance.

The filing for these forms is made on the basis of the calendar year — regardless of the type of year on which a firm administers its plan. The first due date for this form is early 2016 and that data will be based on the 2015 calendar year.

Non-calendar year deferral

If your plan operates on a non-calendar year basis, the feds will allow you to defer compliance with the employer mandate reporting until the first day of the plan’s 2015-2016 plan year. If your plan defers, however, you must still file a report with the IRS for the entire 2015 calendar year.

The reporting forms are available for download on the IRS website, but the drafts don’t currently contain any filing instructions. However, employers can expect IRS guidance on these forms in September.

Changes in ‘Affordability’

On top of the draft forms on the ACA’s employer (and individual) mandate, the IRS also released Revenue Procedure 2014-37 on the ACA’s affordability percentages for 2015.

This release reminds firms that the definition of “affordable” under the healthcare reform law can — and will — change moving forward. In this document, the IRS announced that it will increase the affordability percentages for 2015 under the Shared-Responsibility mandate.

Specifically, for plan years beginning in 2015, a large employer’s coverage will be considered affordable as long as employees’ required contribution to the plan doesn’t exceed 9.56% of their household income. That’s an increase from the 9.5% threshold that is currently in place.

3 safe harbors

In many cases, employers don’t know their workers’ household income. Because of this, the IRS has set up three affordability safe harbors that firms can use to determine affordability based on the info that is available to them.

For plan years beginning in 2015, the safe harbors — with the adjusted affordability percentage — are:

1. An employee’s premium co-sharing for the lowest-cost, self-only coverage that provide minimum value must not exceed 9.56% of an employee’s W-2 taxable (Box 1) income. (Note: The cost of dependent coverage isn’t calculated when determining affordable coverage.)
2. An employee’s required premium co-sharing for the lowest-cost, self-only coverage that provides minimum value and isn’t greater than 9.56% of the rate of pay as of the first day of the coverage period (usually the first day of the plan year), and
3. An employee’s required premium co-sharing for the lowest-cost, self-only coverage that provides minimum value isn’t greater than 9.56% of the federal poverty level for a single individual.

Employers must remember to use the adjusted affordability percentages beginning in 2015 when it comes to using the IRS’ safe harbors.

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Average raise in 2015 forecast at 3% — will you be competitive?

Here’s a benchmark for you: According to recent research, the average raise in 2015 will be 3%. Are you in that ballpark?  

Along with the strengthening economy and growing job market, pay raises for US employees are improving, according to Mercer’s 2014/2015 US Compensation Planning Survey. That 3% figure is up slightly from 2.9% in 2014, 2.8% in 2013 and 2.7% in 2012.

These results are indicative of a steadily increasing trend. Additionally, salary increases for top-performing employees – 8% of the workforce – will be higher as companies continue to focus on retaining and engaging top talent.

Mercer’s most recent survey, which has been conducted annually for more than 20 years, includes responses from more than 1,500 mid-size and large employers across the U.S. and reflects pay practices for more than 16 million workers.

Results are captured for five categories of employees: executive, management, professional (sales and non-sales), office/clerical/technician, and trades/production/service.

Top performers getting the rewards

As organizations strive to balance reward programs with budgets and the need to retain critical talent, they are analyzing key segments of their workforce and concentrating rewards on top performers. Consequently, the range between increases to high-performing employees and those given to lower performing employees continues to widen.

Mercer’s survey shows the highest-performing employees received average base pay increases of 4.8% in 2014 compared to 2.6% for average performers and 0.1% for the lowest performers.

Growth sectors vary

In addition to differentiation seen across various employee performance  segments, variations exist among industry sectors. Compared to the average pay increase of 3.0% in 2015, organizations within high-performing industries plan to grant higher raises.

The Energy industry is among the highest with a projected average pay increase of 3.5%. In contrast, other industries expect to award less next year, including Consumer Goods at 2.8% and Non-Financial Services at 2.8%.

source: HRmorning

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Digital marketing to create 1.5 lakh jobs: Experts

About 1.5 lakh jobs are expected to be created in the digital marketing space within a couple of years as more companies tap the Internet and the social media platform to bolster business, say HR experts.

India is emerging as a digital outsourcing hub for diverse services including online advertising, social media and website design, they said.

“With both businesses and consumers increasingly shifting their focus to the digital medium, there will be 1.5 lakhs jobs available by 2016,” Manipal Global Education Services Executive President V Sivaramakrishnan said.

Going by estimates, around 25,000 new job opportunities are likely this year itself in digital marketing space.

The rising demand is also spurred by increased use of the Internet and mobile phones besides fast growing e-commerce businesses.

However, the availability of talent is less than demand. “Almost every single brand has put in place a digital marketing strategy and are struggling to hire people to execute the same,” Trivone Digital Services Founder & CEO L Subramanyam said.

Reflecting similar sentiments, CareerBuilder India MD Premlesh Machama said there is a dearth of skilled and experienced professionals for digital marketing.

HR firm Randstad India CEO Moorthy Uppaluri said there has been a huge proliferation of technology that has changed the way companies engage with their clients and employees.

“Hence, the focus of companies to enter new digital channels of engagement is driving up the demand for digital (marketing) professionals,” Uppaluri said.

According to MeraJob India CEO Pallav Sinha said, India is also becoming a potential outsourcing hub for digital marketing services, with many entities taking up projects from clients in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Unison International MD Udit Mittal said the requirement for more skilled and efficient digital marketing professionals is rising at an exponential level.

Among the business areas, e-commerce is turning to be a major recruiter of digital marketing professionals.

Lighthouse Partners Managing Partner Rajiv Burman said the digital space offers opportunities to professionals working in marketing departments of corporates as well as fresh graduates.

Echoing similar views, Advaiya Solutions’ Founder and CEO Manish Godha said growth of digital marketing segment is very promising and would create many job opportunities.

“Other areas for digital marketing growth include social marketing, content creation and management, search marketing, email marketing, analytics and video production,” he added.

As per Randstad India estimates, the starting salary for digital marketing professionals is in the range of Rs 4.5-5.5 lakh.

Source: Economictimes

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Two-thirds of employees are currently not happy with their salaries, says survey

As the recession becomes a thing of the past, many employees are saying that they are not happy with their current salaries. CareerBuilder recently conducted a survey that asked how happy employees are with their current pay. According to the survey, 65 percent of all full-time employees say they do not currently earn their desired salary.

Even though more than half of the people surveyed are unhappy, there does seem to be a positive correlation with the desired salary and the rising income. Respondents who earn between $75,000 and $100,000, say they are happy with their current salary. “The $75,000 threshold is particularly significant, as this level allows households in most areas of the country to not only get by, but enjoy an ideal lifestyle and a secure future,” says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.

Percentage who earn desired salary by income level

	Less than $50k	$50-less than 75k	$75-less than 100k	$100-less than 150k	$150k or more
Yes	23%	39%	56%	66%	57%
No	77%	61%	44%	34%	43%

While not everyone is happy with their salaries, many do say they feel successful without earning large incomes. More than half of respondents said they feel successful making less than $70,000. Surprisingly, 78 percent of respondents say they don’t need to earn more than $100,000 to feel successful.

However, men are more likely than women to say they need more than $100,000 to feel successful. Currently, 39 percent of men say they are happy with their salary, while only 30 percent of women feel that same way.

“Regardless of income, we found that workers tend to find success near their own salary level or in the range directly above,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. “This is healthy because it shows workers can derive meaning from their work at any level while still striving for that next promotion or raise.”

What salary do you need to earn to feel successful?

	All	Men	Women
Under $50,000	25%	18%	32%
$50,000-69,999	30%	29%	31%
$70,000-99,999	23%	24%	22%
$100,000-149,999	15%	18%	11%
$150,000-199,999	4%	5%	2%
$200,000 or more	4%	5%	2%

Other parts of the survey dealt with raises and salary transparency. Most respondents (56 percent) say they have never asked for a raise. More than half of the people who have asked for raises have reported receiving them. One interesting note, is that women are less likely to ask for raises than men.

Salary transparency is when a company discloses the pay of all employees. This hot topic has been debated at many companies, but only 29 percent of them actually participate in salary transparency. Most companies that have transparent salaries are IT and sales companies, as well as companies who employ fewer than 20 people.

Feelings on salary transparency are mixed, 47 percent of respondents feel transparency positively impacts the workplace, where as 53 percent say it negatively impacts the workplace. Companies who are in favor of transparency say that it ensures pay equality and it can dispel wrong assumptions. Those who are against it say that it can cause jealousy and morale issues, it violates worker privacy, and it can lead to equal pay litigation. Two-thirds of employees say they would not like it if their company disclosed their salary information.

Source: hr.blr.com

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