Wednesday, May 28, 2014

8 smart ways to sharpen your hiring approach

Sure, your hiring practices have all the bases covered from a legal standpoint. But do they do everything possible to bring in the best talent? Chances are, you’ve got a fewSure, your hiring practices have all the bases covered from a legal standpoint. But do they do everything possible to bring in the best talent? Chances are, you’ve got a few gaps to fill.

Latest best practices

Here are some of their best hiring secrets:
  1. Interview the exiting employee about their job (from Lucas). This shouldn’t be a standard exit interview. You want to find out what it is the person does. You may be surprised at how much the person does that you don’t know about. This info will help you write a better job description and find the most suitable candidate.
  2. Cut the fluff in job descriptions (from Lucas). In other words, forget all the stuff about wanting “a highly motivated individual,” and get straight to what the job entails. Also, try to include the negative stuff, like when the job is most demanding or stressful — i.e., retail shops will be busiest around the holidays.
  3. Get specific about past experience (from Lucas). Don’t just have a candidates recite what’s already on their resumes. Try to get more in-depth info about specific parts of their resume. Try to find out exactly what they did in their past jobs to see how closely it mirrors the demands of your open position.
  4. Stay away from non-job-related topics (from Bratti). Keep discussions on the topics of qualifications and experience. If the conversation starts to stray to religion, politics, or family and personal health issues, get back to discussing the job. You don’t want to stray into any unlawful territories.
  5. Discuss the biggest challenge (from Lucas). To find out what candidates really have to offer, reveal to them the biggest challenge the job has to offer, and then ask how they’d handle it. You could even present them with this question prior to the interview process and have them bring their ideas in when you meet face to face.
  6. Check references (from Bratti). A lot of employers still aren’t checking references, but it’s a bad idea. Although past employers may be reluctant to give you a lot of specifics, some info should be easy to get — like dates of employment.
  7. Don’t go in alone (from Lucas). Have someone else interview the candidate with you — either in a group setting or in a separate one-on-one interview. A candidate who rubs you the wrong way may still appeal to those whom he or she will have to work with. This will help ensure your biases don’t prevent you from making a good hire.
  8. Perform a drug test (from Bratti). Choosing not to perform drug tests will attract candidates who do drugs. But, for legal reasons, you don’t want to conduct a drug test until after the person has received a conditional offer of employment.

Top Paid CEO's of Top 100 companies world wide

"Equilar 100 CEO pay study" has released the list of the companies Top paid CEO's in the world.

This year marks Equilar’s eighth annual study of CEO pay at the largest U.S. pubThis year marks Equilar’s eighth annual study of CEO pay at the largest U.S. public companies. As part of the collaboration with The New York Times, Equilar provides data on compensation, professional history, and wealth events for the top executives.lic companies. As part of the collaboration with The New York Times, Equilar provides data on compensation, professional history, and wealth events for the top executives.

As per the detials of the study:

    • The median pay for the 100 CEOs on the list was $13.9 million, an increase of 9 percent over the previous year.
    • Oracle’s Larry Ellison remains at the top of the list with $78.4 million, marking the seventh consecutive year he has been in the top three in this study. Bob Iger of Disney and Rupert Murdoch of Twenty-First Century Fox round out the top three.
    • The lowest-paid CEO on the list is Larry Page at Google with $1.
    • Pay increased for 50 CEOs who served at least 2 full years in the position.



          source: http://www.equilar.com/nytimes/the-new-york-times-100-highest-paid-ceos

          Monday, May 26, 2014

          MODIfying INDIA




          BJP prime minister-elect Narendra Modi already indicated a model shift in India's foreign policy as he invited SAARC leaders including Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to attend his swearing-in ceremony in New Delhi on 26 May. The move came as a surprise and got due gratitude from politicians in Jammu and Kashmir and specialists in foreign affairs. "Modi wants to signal that India wants to improve bonds with its neighboring countries.” The victory is expected to improve trade ties between New Delhi & Washington and could eventually lift U.S. exports in industries ranging from pharmaceutical products to heavy infrastructure, U.S. officials and business leaders say.

          For investors?

          One has to look at the Indian stock markets to see what investors think of the results of India’s national election, which appear to show a landslide victory for opposition leader Narendra Modi. At the opening on Friday, the standard Sensex index was up more than 4.5%, the strongest opening for the Indian markets in five years. India has often been impeded by policy paralysis caused by unstable alliances, this would help the new government to act more decisively.

          Can India’s economy take on China?

          The chances of India getting back on its feet look much brighter, the country's biggest election win in 30 years, and that raises India's growth potential to as high as 8 percent per annum, economist say. "The resounding victory by the BJP-led alliance in Indian elections likely ushers in a period of significant economic reform in India. Reforms are likely to focus on improving the business environment, privatization reducing the budget deficit and support for inflation targeting," Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital in Sydney, said in a note.

          Revive India’s Economic Miracle?

          Modi will take over an economy badly in need of change. Growth in the last fiscal year is expected to clock in under 5% — well below the 8%-9% pace enjoyed only a few years ago.
          The World Bank ranks India a miserable 134th out of 189 countries on its ease of doing business index, which measures the difficulties faced starting a company, dealing with construction permits and other factors behind competitors like China or Indonesia. Without a boost to investment, the economy will continue to stumble. That means Modi will have to strip out red tape and streamline bureaucratic procedures to make it less burdensome for companies to invest and create jobs.


          How far Modi’s Election win will impact on India? Is it really a turning point?  Will our India become a developed nation in 2020? Well let’s wait for the answer.


          Sunday, May 25, 2014

          Crosswords on Selection & Recruiting




          Across

          1.     Job ________ is a systematic investigation into tasks, duties and responsibilities of a job (8)
          4.     _________ employees are hired for a limited time to perform specific task (9)
          7.     Pay smartly not ________. Recruiters compensate Freshers based on this (6)
          11.   Lateral movement of employee within same grade (8)
          14.   Letting outside vendors provide services (11)
          15.   _________ ratio indicates the number of contacts required to generate a given number of hires at a point of time (5)
          16.   _________ application blanks assign numeric values to responses provided by applicants (8)
          17.   Identify the theory: Process of locating potential applicants to apply of existing jobs (11)
          18.   Identify the theory: Joining together those with jobs to fill and those seeking jobs (6)

          Down

          2.     Picking up of suitable candidates by rejecting the unsuitable (9)
          3.     __________ branding is one of the new approaches of recruitment (8)
          5.     The ability of a selection tool to measure an attribute consistently (11)
          6.     Relationship b/w scores on a selection tool and relevant criteria such as job performance (8)
          8.     Oral examination of candidate for employment (9)
          9.     The _________ act prohibits employing children under 14 (1986) (12)
          10.   Attributing characteristics based on inclusion or membership in a particular group (12)
          12.   Standardized form of employee appraisal that uses multiple assessments is called _______ centre (10)
          13.   The _________ act prohibits employing women in certain jobs - 1948 (9)

          Hiring Work Force

          Reference: dilbert.com

          Anand Nayak

          Head of Human Resource Development for ITC has been with the Company for 40 years.


           Anand Nayak, passed out of St.Joseph's in 1967. He completed his BSc from St.Joseph's College. Later, he completed Post graduation in Personnel Management and Industrial relations from XLRI, Jamshedpur. He was awarded Abdul Bari Gold Medal.
          Right from school, Anand has been a people's man and has rightfully found his passion in the field Human Resources.
          Mr. Nayak has handled senior HR assignments in the ITC's Tobacco Division, Packaging & Printing Division and the erstwhile Tribeni Tissues Division. He has spent his entire career with ITC in Human Resource development since 1996.
          Anand has been very supportive of OBA Activities; he was the OBA President 1985-86. He was conferred the OBA Life Time Achiever's Award in the year 2005.
          He is also responsible for overall supervision of ITC's Social Development Initiatives. He is also a Director on the Board of ITC Infotech
          Topper of the Class of 1983 from the Institute of Rural Management (IRMA), Anand, he served a farmers` cooperative in the oilseeds sector for six years before joining ITC. He is on the Boards of ITC Infotech India Ltd., Agro Tech Foods Ltd. and the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).He is also on the Management Committees of several industry bodies and has served on the Human Resources and Industrial Relations Committees of the CII.
          Anand Nayak is actively involved in several social development initiatives. He is a Trustee on the Board of "Samraksha" an NGO working in the field of HIV/AIDS. He also works closely with educational institutions, helping the management of these institutions in their planning processes and building their leadership teams. He is also the Government of India's nominee on the Society of the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow.

          Board Memberships and Affiliations
          Board Member: Agro Tech Foods Limited
          Board Member: National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development
          Board Member: National HRD Network - Kolkata chapter

          Managing change at Motorola


          When consumer electronics industry pioneer Motorola split into two separate companies (Motorola Solutions and Motorola Mobility) in 2011, it marked a turning point for its HR team in particular.

          “We used it as an opportunity to relaunch our company with respect to our purpose and values. That’s how our HR transformation started. We translated our values into specific leadership capabilities in terms of how we develop, interview, assess and manage people,” says Shelly Carlin, senior vice president of HR for Motorola Solutions.

          At the same time, Motorola Solutions wanted to change its organisational culture and become more agile, so that it could react more quickly and be innovative. As the organisation grew smaller after the separation, another concern was how it was going to create development opportunities for its workforce, says Carlin.

          Eliminating performance ratings
          One of the biggest steps that Motorola Solutions took towards changing its culture was taking a different approach to performance management. The company decided to eliminate its performance ratings system in 2012.

          “The ratings created tension between the employee and manager. Instead of a conversation about how an employee could improve and grow, it became just about labels. Since it was so tightly linked to compensation, employees weren’t listening to that conversation. They were just waiting for the label because it would tell them what their compensation would be,” explains Carlin.

          Removing the label has helped managers to move from a ‘parent-child’ evaluation relationship to a ‘coaching’ relationship with employees, says Carlin. The new system starts at the beginning of each year where the manager and employees sign off on the goals that they have set for the coming 12 months. By the end of the year, they have to acknowledge that a conversation took place about those goals. There are no formal checkpoints. “We have taken HR out of the policing of the process. Managers and employees should always be having a dialogue about their performance.”
          Motorola Solutions developed training materials for managers to have better performance conversations.

          The company also gave managers five simple questions to structure these conversations around:
          What has the employee done well?
          What could the employee have done differently or better?
          What are the skills that the employee needs to grow his or her career?
          How do the employee’s leadership behaviours measure up to the Motorola Solutions leadership model?
          Where does the employee stand relative stand relative to his or her career with the company?
          “The point of the questions is not to tell them which areas they did well or didn’t. It is to engage them in a conversation to help them discover how they did on their own. Our work in HR is to help managers get better at coaching, rather than evaluating,” says Carlin.

          The new performance management system is also more efficient. It has reduced time spent on performance management by 50 to 75%, says Carlin. Previously, there was a lot of ‘noise’ in the system due to employees being dissatisfied with their performance labels and the rewards that they were receiving, she says.

          Response to the new system has been positive. “I’ve received a lot of emails from employees and managers saying what a great change this was because the old system was unproductive.”

          However, Carlin cautions that although that the system has worked for Motorola, it might not be right for everybody. “Don’t look at what we did but look at the questions that we asked. Ask yourself: Is this driving the culture that I want and is this contributing to business performance?”

          Recruitment challenges
          Motorola Solutions hired some 3,000 people globally in 2012. Yet, competition is stiff in the technology industry, especially for roles in software and systems engineering. “The challenge is to get better at finding the talent that want to work for us. Everybody is recruiting the same scarce talent,” says Carlin.

          The next generation of recruiting and talent acquisition specialists need to focus on candidates who appreciate the company’s value proposition, instead of trying to be everything to everybody, Carlin says. This requires companies to use data and analytics more precisely, so they can target where the right people are. “We are also getting our message into the labour market about what is it really like to work here and how we are different,” she says.

          Motorola Solutions is transitioning from being a product-centric organisation to one that is focused on services and solutions, and this too, is shaping its hiring strategy. “We are hiring not just to grow but to change skill sets as we continue to redefine who we are,” Carlin says.

          The hiring landscape is also changing rapidly, says Carlin. “Getting a job today is very different from when we came into the workforce. We are realigning our spend in the recruiting space to put more of a bet on social media, because that’s where the candidates are.” Motorola Solutions is also looking at ways to ensure that its brand remains consistent across different platforms such mobile phones, tablets or websites.

          “It is an exciting time for HR professional as we are seeing a seachange in the skills and capabilities to be a great HR person.”

          Building an innovative work culture
          “The ability to create an innovative culture is only as good as every single manager that you have in your firm,” says Carlin. It is the manager who creates an environment where people collaborate and exchange ideas freely, and where risk-taking is rewarded. “It is a rare manager who can create that kind of environment but also hold people accountable to the end result. We continue to upgrade our quality of managers so that they can create that environment,” she says.

          Motorola Solutions’ executive development programmes also play a big role in cultivating this culture of innovation. The CEO Leadership Forum for example, is a development framework for the company’s top 25 executives globally. The executives recently went through a full-year custom designed learning programme where they had the opportunity to determine what was needed to make the organisation successful in the future. “One of the first things that they identified was changing our culture so that we become more collaborative,” says Carlin.

          Analysis by Motorola Solutions found that almost 40% of its managers had a direct report who worked in a country outside their own. It was determined therefore that technology should be a key driver of collaboration, especially across borders. In line with this, Motorola Solutions implemented a collaboration tool called ‘Jive’, which Carlin describes as “something between Twitter and Facebook for enterprise”.

          The company is also in the process of upgrading its video-conferencing and Telepresence technologies so that the need for business travel is reduced and employees can achieve better work-life balance.

          Workplace diversity and inclusion
          Motorola Solutions has a number of business councils that were launched to create strong business links to diversity. Catering to different interest groups, each council is formally structured with a senior-level executive sponsor and top-management co-leaders. The main four objectives for all of the business councils are marketing and brand awareness, recruitment and retention, community involvement , and professional and personal development. However, each council drives its own agenda as diversity and inclusion issues vary across different geographies.

          One of the most prominent among these is the women’s business councils, says Carlin. These aim to help women in areas such as career development, building of skills, and networking. In other regions the focus areas include social responsibility and giving back to the community.


          However, Carlin feels that the long term solution to creating more inclusiveness at work is to look at the value that each individual brings to the table, instead of focusing on how they look like or where they come from. The key to this is to look at specific leadership behaviours, she says. For example, what does leading change look like for a senior manager, or an individual contributor? “This levels the playing field and gives them a much fairer evaluation,” Carlin says.

          HR "ill prepared" for global changes?

          HR departments are deemed to be ill-prepared to face the rigours of the changing global environment.

          According to a survey from PwC, despite 44% of CEOs feeling that the global economy will grow over the coming year, an overwhelming majority had little faith in HR to deal with the changes.

          In fact, only 34% claimed that HR was “well-prepared” to take advantage of transformational patterns.

          A shocking nine per cent said HR was not ready at all.

          The report recommends that HR outfits formulate “sophisticated analytics to spot talent trends and skills gaps, and provide the insight that will help organisations adapt their talent strategy, training and reward framework to maximise the opportunities available.”


          Jon Andrews, HR consulting leader at PwC feels that HR can “prove its worth” by utilising HR data analytics and strategising for changes in demand and supply.

          HR professionals give tips to enhance efficiency.


          Addressing a session on 'HR for emergent India' organized by CII here on Friday, Jagadeesh said: "FM holds ownership of organizations. So it will help if both HR and FM teams bring out quality works from employees. HR teams alone cannot take organizations or employees to greater heights."

          "Despite having an innovative mindset, many Indian companies have failed to produce quality works. HR teams must measure the quality of challenges to produce quality works. Available HR talent determines the quality of organizations. So HR teams must ensure quality HR, which is vital for any organization's development," Jagadeesh pointed out. Stressing on productivity, he said: "To maintain high-performance culture, organizations should produce good leaders. Onus should not be laid only on HR team. Employees should also be made equally accountable. Organizations need to train their employees in tackling problems."




          How can HR act towards changing global environment?


                                                                                                                             


          Most of the companies now use better analytics for finding the skill sets of an employee. According to the global change, employees tend to have transformation in their knowledge, ability and skillsets.
          What Can Be Done To Analyze Employee Performance Towards Changing Global Environment?
          We can use Hay point analysis. The hay point has three major components for analyzing employee performance as below:

          ·        1. Knowledge
          ·         2.Ability
          ·         3.skills
          This was introduced in mid-19th century, and has undergone various transformation for analyzing skills of employee in changing global environment.
          They had five point scaling, then seven followed by thirteen. Current trend uses 11 point scaling technique, these are again transformed to find control points, compensation ratio for each individual employees according to the scores obtained on their Knowledge Ability and skills.
          In 11 point rating scale, the employees are rated on the basis of Problem solving capability and Skills. A graph is plotted with the obtained score in x axis and actual wage in y axis.
          The slope of this curve gives the control points. Compensation ratio is given by wages divided by control points.
          Compensation ratio lies between 60 and 140, employees having compensation ratio above 120 are considered to be high performers. Incentive are given according to the ratio.
          This method of analyzing employees are dynamic as they tend to change according to exterior global changes. 
          By using the above method, we can to relate employee performance to his knowledge, ability, skills and also dynamic global environment.

          HR professionals give tips to enhance efficiency


          Addressing a session on 'HR for emergent India' organized by CII here on Friday, Jagadeesh said: "FM holds ownership of organizations. So it will help if both HR and FM teams bring out quality works from employees. HR teams alone cannot take organizations or employees to greater heights."

          "Despite having an innovative mindset, many Indian companies have failed to produce quality works. HR teams must measure the quality of challenges to produce quality works. Available HR talent determines the quality of organizations. So HR teams must ensure quality HR, which is vital for any organization's development," Jagadeesh pointed out. Stressing on productivity, he said: "To maintain high-performance culture, organizations should produce good leaders. Onus should not be laid only on HR team. Employees should also be made equally accountable. Organizations need to train their employees in tackling problems."

          Monday, May 12, 2014

          Crossword 8








          Get landlords PAN details on plain paper for HRA claim

          Salaried taxpayers, who want to claim I-T exemption on house rent allowance exceeding Rs one lakh per annum, will have to obtain the PAN card number and other details of their landlord on a plain A-4 size paper before submitting it to their employer.

          The circular has not stated explicitly about the kind of document so it is considered that a plain piece of paper would do," a senior department officer said. The Income Tax department will require this document to enable exemption for a taxpayer under House Rent Allowance (HRA) after the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued a ciruclar in this regard in October last year.
           Reference: economictimes.com

          Technopark company to manage Nomura’s Indian HR operations

          Technopark-incubated Extolution Software will now streamline human resources (HR) operations of leading financial services group Nomura in India. An agreement to this effect has been signed under which Extolution Software will roll out Extenta, its HR management solution, in Nomura offices across India. Nomura provides a broad range of solutions addressing specific requirements of individual, institutional, corporate and government clients in 30 countries and employs 27,000 employees. Exenta will automate and manage the entire HR operations of Nomura offices and simplify work in recruitment, training, development, retention, and performance planning. “Extenta has been getting positive reviews from the market and is tagged at par with the best human resources management solutions,” says Joe Winston, Chairman and MD of Extolution Software.
          Reference:thehindubusinessline.com

          HR COMIC- Potential Employee




          Reference: dilbert.com

          Its time to know more about your employees...

          No, we’re not talking about those long and involved employee surveys. David Niu, founder of engagement and retention consulting firm TinyPulse, formulated a far simpler plan.
          The program: Ask employees a single question, via email, at regular intervals. The responses, rendered anonymous by a tool offered by TinyPulse, gives organizations immediate feedback on how workers feel about workplace issues large and small.
          Sharon Florentine, writing on the CIO blog, quotes Niu:
          “I came up with the idea that businesses should constantly have their finger on the pulse — hence the name — of their employees,” Niu says. “Most companies do [performance] reviews once a year, but businesses change more than once a year. You don’t check your finances once a year. You don’t evaluate your business strategy just once a year, so why do we put culture and people and their engagement and satisfaction last?”
          Three typical queries:
          1.       Name one process that, were it eliminated, would make you more productive.
          2.       How transparent is management?
          3.       Please rate the quality of the snacks in the kitchen.
          And don’t just dismiss that last question as frivolous. Florentine writes that one TinyPulse client asked employees to name one thing about their office that really bothered them, Niu says. The employees overwhelmingly agreed that the water available for drinking was awful. One employee wrote, “The water tastes like a toilet bowl!”
          The client was taken aback — the company had been working in the same office for three years and nobody had mentioned how bad the water tasted — and put in a water filter. Problem solved, potential morale killer eliminated.
          The one-off question approach is way simpler than a full-blown employee survey, Florentine points out. A survey requires developing questions, evaluating responses and then devising a plan to address the multiple issues raised. The whole process can be daunting, especially for small companies.
          Other areas to explore
          In another blog post on Inc.com, Ilan Mochari took the three questions above, consulted some employment experts and recent research and put together an expanded list of questions employers might want to ask workers. Here it is:
          1. Name one process that, were it eliminated, would make you more productive. This is a straightforward bureaucracy-buster. You know that if several employees cite the same process, you’ve hit on a source of serious frustration.
          2. How transparent is management? It’s not to imply that you have to tell your employees everything. What you’re trying to assess is whether employees feel surprised or blindsided by your decisions — or if you’re inconsistent on big-picture topics.
          3. Please rate the quality of the snacks in the kitchen. This may seem frivolous, but it matters. Niu told Florentine that he asked it to TinyPulse’s employees, and he learned that none of them liked the brand of pretzels he’d bring in every now and then. “In and of itself, that’s not a huge issue — but if you’re in management, and you don’t know these things, big or little, how can you fix them?” he says.
          4. Can you list for me the factors that could contribute to your doing the best work of your life? This question comes from Dr. John Sullivan, former chief talent officer for Agilent Technologies. Sullivan notes that this — the “best work of your life” question – -is the No. 1 retention factor for top performers.
          5. Can you highlight any recent recognition and acknowledgment that you have received that increased your commitment and loyalty? This question also comes from Sullivan, courtesy of a superb article on TLNT. The aim is to identify actions that make employees feel appreciated.
          6. How would you assess your opportunities to grow and advance? There’s plenty of evidence that a lack of advancement opportunities — or better advancement opportunities, elsewhere — are why employees leave. Two-time founder Jason Lemkin stresses that finding a growth path for all employees is one of his five biggest lessons learned, when it comes to retention. Likewise, in a recent LinkedIn survey of more than 7,500 employees who’d recently left their jobs, respondents cited greater opportunities for advancement as the number one reason they took new gigs.
          7. How confident are you in the leadership of this organization? In the same LinkedIn survey, the number two reason respondents chose their new jobs was “better leadership from senior management.” Beyond the retention benefits, learning if employees lack faith in your leadership can only improve your performance.
          Just one word of caution about embarking on a program to gather employee feedback: If you’re going to have the information, management must be on board to respond to the answers you get. Finding out what’s really bugging your employees and then ignoring what you learn is a sure recipe for disaster.


          Source: hrmorning

          Mr Amitava Saha

          Head - Human Resource , Biocon



          Amitava is the Head of Human Resources at Biocon. With over 17 years of work experience with  companies like Firstsource Solutions, Mashreq Bank, Accenture and Infosys in the Human Resource space across geographies covering Talent Acquisition, Employee Engagement and related areas of Employee Life Cycle.
          Amitava started his professional career in Sales and Marketing with Coats Viyella Plc handling Business development for Home Furnishings followed by Regional Sales for Fabrics business for North India. He moved into HR with Infosys handling various Talent Acquisition responsibilities followed by managing HR for the Global Sales Force for the company. He was responsible for setting up the Recruitment practice for Accenture BPO voice business in India before moving to Dubai with Mashreq Bank managing HR for the Corporate Bank. Prior to joining Biocon in December 2013, Amitava was heading Talent Acquisition and HR for APAC business for Firstsource Solutions.
          Amitava is a BE (Electrical Engineering) graduate from Delhi College of Engineering, Delhi University and PGDM from IIM, Kolkata.
           reference: biocon.com