human resource management

HEALTH AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

2007-12-01T00:43:00.000-08:00

HEALTH AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

The size of the problem

Work is an important determinant of health. It can influence health positively or negatively. This page focuses on the adverse effects of work on health, although the positive effects of appropriate work on health and well-being are no less important.

Every year about 10 million of the 150 million workers in the European Community are affected by incidents, "accidents" or diseases at work. Direct compensation costs are estimated at 20 billion ECU per year.

According to UK official statistics, every year about 2,000 lives are lost through occupational disease or injury, about 20,000 major industrial injuries occur (e.g. skull fracture, loss of sight) and there are about 200,000 injuries resulting in a work disability of 3 days or more. These figures are gross underestimates of the true incidence of occupational ill-health. Thus for example the "true" figure of occupational cancer deaths alone in the U.K. may be to the order of 5,000 per year. While only about 300 workers receive disablement benefit for industrial dermatitis every year, there may be between 15,000 and 60,000 new cases of this condition every year.

Extrapolation from the UK Labour Force Survey suggest that in a year at least one million people believed they had ill health caused by work and a further million believed they had ill health made worse by work

Hazards and Risks in the Workplace

Hazard is the potential to cause harm. Risk is a measure of the likelihood of a specified harmful effect in specified circumstances. It is important to distinguish between hazard and risk.

Hazards in the workplace include the following:-

Physical

· Non-ionizing radiation e.g. microwaves, infra red, visible and ultra-violet light

· Ionizing radiation e.g. X-rays, gamma rays, beta particles, alpha particles from

radon daughters

· Noise (usually measured in decibels dB) and vibration;

· Temperature, humidity etc.

· Ergonomic: Posture, movement (e.g. keyboard operation), load bearing (e.g. patient handling);

Chemical

· Inorganic - e.g. lead, arsenic, silica,

· Organic - e.g. solvents, resins, glues, fluxes (vapors and gases are usually expressed in concentrations of parts per million or per billion: ppm or ppb)

Biological

· Allergens of biological origin:- laboratory animals, insects, mites, wood and other

plant material, fungal spores.

· Infections: Bacteria: Tuberculosis, Brucella, Leptospira etc.

· Viruses: e.g. Hepatitis B from needle sticks injuries.

Psychological

Various aspects of work organization may be stressors.

Responsibilities to reduce risks

Several lines of defense to protect him from exposure. The responsibilities of the employer mainly stem from legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (1974) but other more recent UK and European Union legislation is very important in managing Health and Safety at work. These include the Management of Health and Safety artwork Regulations, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, Manual Handling Operations Regulations, Personal Protective Equipment artwork Regulations, and various others.

The image on the left shows a worker, protected from a chemical exposure contained within a reaction vessel, provided with local exhaust ventilation at the orifice of the vessel, designed so as to

Suck away any gases orators as they emanate from the vessel. In addition, he is wearing personal protective equipment consisting of an air hood supplied by piped breathing air, as well as rubber gloves, safety shoes and other skin protection. In his case there are therefore

Occupational Diseases and other Work-Related Ill-Health

The effect that occupation may have on a worker's health is dependent on the exposure (expressed quantitatively) to relevant agents, and on host factors. Taking a history is often very important in identifying relevant exposures and linking them to ill-health. The concept of "cumulative exposure" i.e. a quantitative measure of the intensity of exposure and the duration of exposure is important, since generally its the main determinant of risk. Health may be harmed by occupational exposures in many different ways, and practically any organ system can be affected.

Some examples follow - (starting with the lungs and skin, the organs of first contact for most chemical occupational exposures):-

Skin

· Eczema/ dermatitis - This can be irritant e.g. caused by detergents, or allergic e.g. as caused by certain rubber chemicals.

· Cancer e.g. from skin exposure to pitch/tar, or to excessive sunlight

EMPLOYEE WELFARE

2007-12-01T00:41:00.000-08:00

EMPLOYEE WELFARE

It is a comprehensive term including various services, benefits and facilities offered to employees by the employer. Through such generous fringe benefits, the employer makes life worth living for employees. The welfare amenities are extended by in addition to normal wages and other economic rewards available to the employees as per legal provisions.

The significance of welfare measures were accepted as early as 1931 when the Royal Commission on Labour stated , the benefits are of great importance to the worker which he is unable to secure by himself. The schemes of labour welfare may be regarded as a wise investment because these would bring a profitable return in form of greater efficiency.

The working environment in a factory adversely affects the health of the employees. This has to be contained through preventive steps aimed at improving the lot of workers.

An important reason in favour of welfare work is called the "social invasion of the factory" . Workers face lots of adjustment problems when they take up factory work. These changes call for extra inducements in the workplace in addition to normal wages , so that the worker begins to enjoy a fuller and richer life.

The Labour Investigation Committee reads thus: "The provision of canteens improves the physique ; entertainment reduces the incidence of vices; medical aid, maternity and child welfare services improves the health of the workers and bring down the rates of general , maternal and infantile mortality; and educational facilities increase their mental efficiency and economic productivity."

TYPES OF WELFARE FACILITIES

INTRAMURAL EXTRAMURAL

(Within the establishment) (Outside the establishment)

Drinking water Housing

Toilets Education facilities

Crèches Maternity Benefits

Washing & Bathing facilities Transportation

Uniforms and Protective clothing Sports facilities

Recreation facilities Leave travel

Subsidized food at canteens Holiday homes

Medical Aid Cooperative stores

Rest shelters Social-Insurance,Vocational training

It is rightly said that, the industrial worker is indeed a soldier safeguarding the social and economic actors of the industrial economy, and his/her actions and interactions within the industrial framework will have a great impact and influence on industrial development, The social and economic aspects of the life of a worker have a direct influence on the social and economic development of the nation.

EMPLOYEE TURNOVER

2007-12-01T00:40:00.000-08:00

Reducing Turnover: .

Many small to mid-sized companies are burdened by high employee turnover. Here's an approach to solve this problem.

We all know this old piece of wisdom: "It's easier and cheaper to keep an existing customer than it is to find a new one." Substitute the word "employee" for "customer" and it's just as true.

.Employee turnover can be one of the worst plagues on a small business. Not only is continuity of knowledge a very important aspect to growth and success, the time and money spent on constant recruiting, hiring, and training can be a fatal burden. Plus, high turnover can have a profoundly negative impact on the morale and job performance of the remaining employees (and the owners!)

If you can find a way to keep turnover lower than the average for your industry, it equates to a significant competitive advantage for you.

So, how do you know when turnover is too high? I suggest both internal and external benchmarking.

Internally, track your voluntary turnover each year. Look for averages and trends. If it suddenly goes up, it should serve as a red flag. Strive for annual improvement.

Externally, compare your company to your peers in your industry. You can obtain reports on various financial and operational metrics from the web, and from trade associations in many industries.

Notice I used the phrase "voluntary turnover. Voluntary turnover refers to employees who resign of their own accord. Involuntary turnover would include terminations and layoffs. I recommend you keep an eye on both types of turnover. If your voluntary turnover is high (compared with your internal and external benchmarking), it might signal problems with your culture, management, or new hire orientation. If involuntary turnover is high, it might mean your hiring and screening process is not rigorous enough or that you have a tendency to hire too quickly when busy and then have to let people go when things slow down

While you can't jump to conclusions and it isn't always cut-and-dried, it's absolutely worth your time to analyze your turnover statistics so you can stop problems in their tracks and avoid the associated pain and suffering that goes with high turnover.

Let's look at some of the components of a high-retention environment.

Pay and Benefits

Dozens of surveys illustrate how pay is not the most important factor in employee satisfaction. That may be true, but everyone is looking out for themselves and their families. At minimum, your employees need to feel that they are compensated fairly for the work they do, both in terms of salary and benefits.

Just as with employee turnover statistics above, you can find out about competitive pay rates by job description, industry and geography from a variety of sources.

Management/Supervision

It is better to work for a great manager in an old-fashioned company than for a terrible manager in a company offering an enlightened, employee-focused culture. It's not that these employee-focused initiatives are unimportant. It's just that your immediate manager is more important."

I agree 100%. You've probably heard the saying, "People don't leave companies; they leave supervisors." People want to be trusted, to be valued for their contribution, and to be respected both as employees and as people. They want feedback, encouragement and praise. All of these are available in abundance and are free.

Checklist for Creating a High-Retention Culture

Provide competitive pay and benefits. Provide clear expectations and directions.
Provide ongoing job skills training, starting with a thorough new-employee orientation.
Provide all the tools and resources needed to do the job.

Give frequent and honest feedback on job performance. Offer praise or

constructive criticism whenever either is appropriate, but don't sugar-coat or nit-pick. Strive for even-handedness.

Squelch bureaucracy, red tape, and needless hassle

Squelch office politics and the rumor mill.

Encourage, pay attention to, and actually use employee input and feedback. Bosses do not have a monopoly on good ideas.

Communicate in all directions: up, down and sideways. There's almost no such thing as too much communication.

Reward high performance.

Low performers need to be reassigned, coached to success, or in some cases, they need to be removed from the organization. Leaving low performers or disruptive employees in place is a sure way to hurt morale among the rest of the team.
Conduct annual Employee Satisfaction surveys. Allow anonymous responses to increase participation and candor.

Conduct exit interviews when employees quit. Use this feedback to improve your culture and retention.

It's simple, but not easy. This is hard work, and is an example of working on your business instead of in your business. I can think of few things capable of a more dramatic potential impact on your company's success. Roll up your sleeves and get started!

EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE

2007-12-01T00:38:00.000-08:00

Discipline refers to the actions imposed by an organization on its employees for failure to follow the organization's rules, standards, or policies. Traditional approaches to discipline, based on punishment, are known to promote adversarial relationships between leaders and followers. A more effective approach now being used by many companies recognizes good performance and encourages employee commitment to the organization and its goals. Once employees see the discrepancy between actual and expected performance, the burden is on the employee to change. Even with more positive approaches to discipline, organizations still need to have some form of disciplinary procedure, whether formal or informal, that carries successively stiffer penalties for repeated or more serious offences.

Establishing and Communicating Work Rules

A first step in the disciplinary procedure is to establish work rules that are

in line with the organization's goals or objectives. These work rules become the basis for disciplinary actions when the rules are broken. Management, the organization's human resources unit, and employees, who should have an opportunity for input to ensure that rules are fair and can reasonably be followed, generally establish them jointly. Work rules are directly related to work behavior and productivity. Employees who continually violate the rules are candidates for a disciplinary procedure.

Employees must know the rules that have been established. Even though employees might have had input in the development of the rules, it is the employer who creates the final version. The organization's work rules should be presented in a printed format, and each employee should be given a copy. This is usually accomplished inchworm of an employee handbook. The handbook may have other information, but the work rules are a critical part of it. In some organizations, these work rules are discussed at meetings, seminars, or training sessions. Employees with long tenure in the organization typically review the rules periodically. Work rules should be reviewed from time to time and, if necessary, revised. If an organization makes major changes in the way it operates because of new equipment, expansion or contraction, or new ownership, it will need to revise its work rules accordingly. Small companies with only a few employees also need to have written work rules. Such companies may not have an employee handbook, but it is still wise for the rules to be written down and presented to each employee. Additionally, these rules may be posted in a spot where all employees can read them easily.

Evaluating Employees

In the employee evaluation process, either formal or informal, behaviors requiring disciplinary actions are often revealed. Informal evaluation might occur at all times as supervisors monitor employees. Formal evaluations of each employee should be completed regularly so that deficiencies can be discovered and discussed with the employee. When employees violate work rules, a change of behavior is sought. Although small companies with only a few employees may not use a formal written evaluation, it is still important that employees be evaluated regularly. Small companies may find it easier to take corrective actions than large companies because of the closeness of the supervisor to each of the work situations. In contrast, a supervisor in a large organization might be responsible for fifty, a hundred, or more workers.

When employees break the rules of the organization, they often need assistance to change their behavior so as to operate within the established parameters. Counseling and coaching could be a part of this process, but they usually take place prior to disciplinary actions. If employees change their behavior as a result of disciplinary actions and conform to the established work rules, there is no need for further discipline. If a change in behavior does not occur, then a harsher disciplinary procedure will need to be implemented.

The need to resort to disciplinary procedures may be lessened by (1) smart Hiring, using background checks and extensive interviews; (2) performance Evaluations with clear goals and objectives; (3) training and development to improve skills and increase performance; and (4) rewarding performance and goal achievement

A formal disciplinary procedure usually begins with an oral warning and Progresses through a written warning, suspension, and, ultimately, discharge. Formal disciplinary procedures also outline the penalty for each successive offense and define time limits for maintaining records of each offense and penalty. For instance, tardiness records might be maintained for only a six-month period. Tardiness prior to the six months preceding the offense would not be considered in the disciplinary action. Less formal procedures generally specify the reasons for disciplinary action as being for just or proper cause. Preventing the disciplinary procedure from progressing beyond the oral warning stage is obviously advantageous to both the employee and management. Discipline should be aimed at correction rather than punishment. If the behavior can be corrected by a friendly talk between the supervisor and the employee, there is less chance that the problem will become a source of bitterness. Formal oral or written warnings are less likely to cause animosity than would a suspension. Of course, the most costly and least acceptable form of discipline is discharge. Disciplinary procedures should be viewed as a means of encouraging employees to abide willingly by the rules and standards of the organization. The importance of having a procedurally correct performance evaluation system receives constant emphasis. There is a need to adopt procedural due process for performance evaluation systems in order to rate employee job performance accurately because those ratings might be challenged. Legal problems regarding employee disciplinary measures can be prevented by making sure that these measures follow prescribed guidelines, such as these: Employees are given advance notice of disciplinary action. Disciplinary rules are reasonable. Offenses are properly investigated. Investigations are conducted objectively. Rules are enforced equally. Penalties are related to the severity of offenses.

Labor Union Involvement

Numerous employees in the United States are represented by labor unions. In a unionized organization, the supervisor is the primary link between the organization and union members. The supervisor's first responsibility is to uphold the interests of management. At the same time, the supervisor must fulfill the contractual obligations of management and see that the union fulfills its obligations. Collective bargaining between management and the union determines terms of worker contracts, legal documents that cover a specified period of time. Union contracts include provisions for a worker grievance and disciplinary procedures. For example, the union contract may stipulate that an employee can be disciplined for just cause. To fulfill this provision, management must develop a system of discipline that supervisors must follow. Feature of an Effective Disciplinary Process.

A disciplinary procedure is directed against the worker's behavior rather than the person. Key features of an effective process include the following principles of disciplining workers. The length of time between the misconduct and the discipline should be short. For discipline to be most effective, it must be administered as soon as possible, but without making an emotional, irrational decision. Advance warning should precede disciplinary action. Noting rule infractions in an employee's record is not sufficient to support disciplinary action. An employee who is not advised of an infraction is not considered to have been given a warning. Noting that the employee was advised of the infraction and having the employee sign a discipline form are both valid employment practices. Failure to warn an employee of the consequences of repeated violations of a rule is a frequently cited reason for overturning a disciplinary action.

Consistency in the discipline procedure is key. Inconsistency lowers morale, diminishes respect for the supervisor, and leads to grievances. Consistency does not mean that an absence of past infractions, long length of service, a good work record, and other mitigating factors should not be considered when applying discipline. However, an employee should feel that under essentially the same circumstances any other employee would have received the same punishment/penalty. Supervisors should take steps to ensure impartiality when applying discipline. The employee should feel that the disciplinary action is a consequence of behavior, not of personality or relationship to the supervisor. The supervisor should avoid arguing with the employee and should administer discipline in a straightforward, calm manner. Administering discipline without anger or apology and then resuming a pleasant relationship aid in reducing the negative

Effects of Discipline

Ordinarily, the supervisor should administer discipline in private. Only in the case of gross insubordination or flagrant and serious rule violations is a public reprimand desirable. Then a public reprimand helps the supervisor regain control of a situation. Even in such situations, however, the supervisor's objective should be to regain control, not to embarrass the employee. The supervisor should warn the employee of the result of repeated violations. Sometimes suggestions to the employee on ways to correct behavior are beneficial. Supervisors should be very reluctant to impose disciplinary suspensions and to discharge workers. Usually, discipline of this degree is reserved for higher levels of management. However, even though supervisors usually lack the power to administer disciplinary suspensions or to discharge workers, they are nearly always the ones who must recommend such action to higher management. Finally, it is necessary to document the action taken and inform others in the organization. Any time an organization takes disciplinary action, it must consider the possibility of an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint. The documentation should be sufficiently detailed that another manager at a similar level in the organization would come to the same conclusions or least see clearly why the decision was made. Sufficient documentation doesn’t mean that every detail of an individual's work needs to be recorded. Rather, the manager should keep accurate records of those elements that significantly contribute to or hamper the work effort. In addition, this information, both positive and negative, should be communicated to the employee either orally or in writing.

SUMMARY

If a company is to have a successful employee disciplinary procedure, both the organization and the manager have important roles to play. In practice, companies assume the responsibility of establishing rules, communicating them to employees, and developing a penalty system for enforcing them. The manager's role in the disciplinary procedure is distinct from that of the organization, yet the two overlap and support each other. Managers are responsible for implementing the organization's discipline procedure. This requires them to do several things: They must compare their organization's rules with employee behavior to determine whether a rule has been broken; they must determine whether they have sufficient proof that the employee did in deed breathe rule; they must decide what corrective action should be taken and then take it; and they must document whatever action is taken. To the extent that all managers perform these steps effectively, the disciplinary procedure will be effective and there is a very good chance that employee behavior on the job can be significantly improved

How to Deal with Employee Absenteeism

2007-12-01T00:33:00.000-08:00

How to Deal with Employee Absenteeism

Change Management Style:

We are all aware of the fact that when employees call in ill, it does not mean they are truly too physically ill to work. One reason, outside of illness, that employees are absent is stress, and the number one reason employees are stressed has to do with their relationship with their manager/supervisor.

Management styles that are too authoritarian tend to promote high levels of absenteeism among employees. Authoritarian managers are managers who have poor listening skills, set unreachable goals, have poor communication skills, and are inflexible. In other words, they yell too much, blame others for problems, and make others feel that it must be their way or the "highway." Authoritarian managers tend to produce high absenteeism rates. By identifying managers who use an authoritarian style, and providing them with management training, you will be taking a positive step not only toward reducing absenteeism but also reducing turnover, job burnout, and employee health problems such as backaches and headaches.

Change Working Conditions:

The employees in your company probably work in a well-lighted climate controlled building. The working conditions I am referring to relate to coworker relationships. Not only does relationship stress occur between the employee and manager, but it also exists between employees. Frequently I hear employees say they did not go to work because they are fearful of or angry with another employee. These employees usually report they just could not deal with "so and so" today, so they called in ill. Companies that adopted policies and values that promote employee respect and professionalism, and promote an internal conflict resolution procedure, are companies that reduce employee stress. A reduction in employee stress reduces employee absenteeism

Provide Incentives:

Giving employees incentives for reduced absenteeism is not the same as rewarding or giving employees bonuses for reduced absenteeism An incentive provides an employee with a boost to their motivation to avoid unnecessary absenteeism It simply helps the employee decide to go to work versus staying home and watching Jerry Springer.

The types of incentive programs used by companies are numerous. Some companies allow employees to cash-in unused sick days at the end of every quarter, others give an employee two hours of bonus pay for every month of perfect attendance; and still others provide employees with a buffet lunch, a certificate of achievement, or even a scratch-off card concealing prizes. The type of incentive program that your company uses should be one created especially for your company. You can create an incentive program tailored to your unique company by allowing employees to help you develop the incentive program. For example, your employees may not care about receiving a $25.00 U.S. saving bond for perfect attendance, but they might respond very well to being able to leave one hour early on Friday if they have perfect attendance all week

The duration of the incentive program is also very important. Once again allow your employees to help guide you to determine the length of time between incentives. Some companies find that they can simply reward employees with perfect attendance once a year, while others decide once a month is best, and still others decide once a week works best. The general rule of thumb is to reward workers more frequently the younger they are and the more difficult the work is to perform. Also, it is best to start with small incentives and work up to larger ones if necessary

.Develop an Attendance Policy:

Every company should have an attendance policy. An attendance policy allows a manager to intervene with an employee who is frequently absent. Besides stress as a primary reason for employee absenteeism other causes relate to alcoholism, domestic violence, and family problems. If you confront an employee about his or her frequent absenteeism and they inform you it is due to personal problems, consider referring the employee to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

If the employee's absenteeism relates to a medical problem or a family member with a medical problem, you may have to consider allowing the employee to use the benefits allowed to them under the American's with Disability Act (ADA) or the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Early identification of these employees will get them back to work as fast as possible. Lastly, make sure that you have an attorney review your attendance policy to make sure it does not violate any State or Federal labor laws. By incorporating the above four strategies into your company you will not only reduce absenteeism you will reduce employee burnout, turnover, poor morale, and workplace negativism.

For Employees Who Are Frequently Absent

One of the most important steps you can take if you are frequently absent, is to keep your employer informed. Employees who are frequently absent without good cause are generally absent due to numerous frivolous reasons. Employees who are absent for good cause have legitimate reasons, e.g. sickness or family member illness, and the employee needs time off to resolve their personal problems. Most employers generally understand the need to be gone from work due to a legitimate reason; therefore, it is important to communicate clearly and accurately so your employer does not assume you are out for frivolous reasons.

As an employee you are allowed to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The 12 weeks of leave may be taken continuous or intermittently, thereby allowing the employee to work

.
FMLA can be used for the care of a child after birth, adoption, or foster care placement.

FMLA can be used for your own serious health concerns. It does not cover for the common cold, flu, ear aches, upset stomach, common headache, or routine dental care.

In order to be covered by FMLA you must be considered an "eligible" employee. An eligible employee must have 12 months (1,250 hours) of employment, and your employer must employ 50 or more employees within 75 miles of the worksite. Employees must provide 30 days of advance notice for foreseeable events. There are different exemptions present for both schoolteachers and state/local.

If you are an eligible employee, your employer must maintain your benefits, allow you to return to the same or equivalent position, and not decrease your pay or benefits at the conclusion of 12 weeks. If you believe you are eligible for FMLA, inform your supervisor or HR department that you are requesting FMLA coverage. Your employer is required to provide you with written notice, within two business days, informing you if you are eligible or not.

LEADERSHIP TODAY

2007-12-01T00:30:00.000-08:00

LEADERSHIP TODAY

Peter F Drucker once said “Leaders grow, they are not made”
Leadership today has become a very multi meaning term. Professionals from various disciplines have defined ‘Leadership’ in different ways. Paradigm shifts in the cultures of organizations and the consistent parallel and horizontal development of companies have raised the need to look at leadership in a new angle.

A strong company is the one that has leaders spread all across the company, not just at the top. The business world today needs both good leaders and good managers. However, because of the rapid change occurring in the industry today, a company needs far more leaders, not more managers.

Time after time again, businesses put the wrong person in charge. Unintentionally, they reward a "don't rock the boat" mentality. Conformity and status quo are the first steps leading down the staircase of a business disaster. Good leaders develop through a never-ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience.

As correctly quoted by Ray Croc “The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves”. Effective leadership arises out of groups, organizations and communities that have built trust, and learned to collaborate and make decisions and solve problems constructively.

Let’s view a few examples. The Tata Group one of India's oldest, largest and most respected business conglomerates started in the 1870s & having businesses spread over seven business sectors, comprise of 91 companies with operations in six continents. It employs some 220,000 people and collectively has a shareholder base of over two million world over. Despite the seemingly insurmountable obstacles, the group remained cohesive, congenial, and mercifully alive—a fact that speaks not just to luck but to an unparalleled feat in leadership, a ‘Leadership of Trust’ as they love to address themselves. This ‘leadership of trust’, the years they call a ‘Century of Trust’, was set on five core values: integrity, understanding, excellence, unity and responsibility. These values, which have been part of the Group's beliefs and convictions from its earliest days, continue to guide and drive the business decisions of Tata companies even today.

True leadership is about taking people to a place they wouldn't go to by themselves. Good leaders don't merely supervise; they create a sense of purpose and direction for those they lead.

Organizations can only build great leaders in an environment that nurtures and supports that development. If they don’t have such an environment, they need to change their culture to create one. But organizations cannot change their culture without good leadership.

They seldom show themselves to those they lead. It has been over twenty years that the groundbreaking book ‘In Search of Excellence’ pointed out the virtues of "Management by Walking Around." Mayor Giuliani certainly demonstrated the wisdom of that practice.
But being present means more than just physical presence, important as that is. It means being present in the moment - focused totally and completely on what is happening right here and right now. It means, when you're with people, giving them your full attention, so that they will feel recognized and motivated. When you're not present to the people you lead, it weakens their willingness to commit.

Being present also means being flexible, able to deal spontaneously with rapid change. Think of being present as a focused but flexible dance with the world in which the leader can instantly change step or tempo as the music changes.

Good leadership is also instrumental in avoiding employee burnout and reducing staff turnover. James Bradley lately pointed out that “Burnout is no longer the acknowledged domain of the highly pressured lawyer or doctor, but a condition that can hit anyone at any time in their career if they are faced with high productivity expectations in a hostile and unsupportive environment”. The key then, is a business philosophy that values its people and invests to nourish and support development through professional training, coaching and mentoring. Problems only arise when this is not set in place as a positive encouraging mechanism, but instead is used as a whip by ill-equipped management. It needs to inspire people, raise morale and restore a sense of purpose and self-worth, naturally leading to best performance.

Thus, the ‘leader today’ requires to stick to certain must do’s in order to be effective, successful and sustaining in this ever changing corporate governance. These essentials can be listed as:-

01. Being there.

02. Always remember, Communication is the key.

03. Instilling optimism while staying grounded to reality.

04. Tell the hard truths.

05. Minimize status differences and insist on courtesy and mutual respect.

06. Master conflict. Deal with anger in small doses and engage dissidents.

07. Take care of yourself: Maintain your stamina and let go of guilt.

08. Reinforce the team message constantly.

09. Find something to celebrate and something to laugh about.

10. Have the courage to take big risks and more.

11. Foster a spirit of tenacious creativity. Never give up—there’s always another move.

E- RECRUITMENT

2007-12-01T00:27:00.000-08:00

E-Recruitment is catching up not only with knowledge companies but also with the potential job seekers, with opening up of economy and in the advent of globalization and economic reforms more and more foreign companies are setting up development/business centers in India and with the current buzz of outsourcing E-Recruitment had caught up the fancy of HR Honchos

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Companies are hiring younger and younger professional because of high intellectual power of Indian youth and this younger generation is some what more materialistic in comparison to the older generation this has led to increase in the attrition rates of employees, so in this scenario HR Managers have to look beyond Conventional sources of talent

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Conventional Recruitment is time consuming and involves lot of paper work which amounts the lead time of the candidate to hired is more and this hiring time makes the difference in the productivity/benchmark & Now these day’s market demands are shifting from end to end services. Skills assessment has become a strategic key factor for hiring the potential job seekers.

We must understand that recruitment is a process of attracting the maximum number of applicant for the current open position we should not believe in choosing the best among the available talent for E.g. : Indian Army is short of 11 thousand officers but Army is not recruiting left and right we must choose the best talent

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For attracting the candidates all barriers should be climbed upon this can only be possible if we use the latest Technology

In this scenario the E- Recruitment has come in to picture

:
What is exactly E-recruitment?

Recruitment process, which actively uses electronic medium in the form of Internet, Intranet of the organization, is e- recruitment or the recruitment done via web or intranet of the organization is e-recruitment.

With E-Recruitment

• One can administer online test with minimal paper work and with less Manpower

• Tests can be designed to assess the varying level of IT Skills, Typing, and Listening Skills etc

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• Separate or random questions can be given to candidates at any point of time which minimizes the act of cheating in the tests. • Has the option to conduct these tests in on premises and also via internet for those who are based at different locations.

• E-Recruitment is cheaper than an ad in the national Newspaper

• We can find out the respondents Target Salary Level

Main Reasons for the popularity of the E-Recruitment

Scanning of Resumes: Most of the E-Recruitment solutions offer resumes scanning options by which employer can sort out the active & passive job seeker; also resume can be sorted out by any criteria which company wants.

Predetermine the criteria

Company can predetermine the criteria so this intelligent software eliminates all unwanted junk CV’s automatically thus saves recruiters time, money and energy is saved.

Organizations want more people on its roll in the shortest time span and this hiring time makes the difference in productivity.

Main advantage of E- Recruitment is

• Reduction in manpower to conduct recruitment

• Reduction in Paper work

• Easy Administration

• Generation of Recruitment Reports

Factors affecting the E-Recruitment

• The intermittent level of E-Recruitment Knowledge in HR Community
• The internet usage by the candidate

• Also issues like Quality and Quantity of the candidate & Validity of the data provide by candidate.

Companies if strategically use E- recruitment solutions in recruitment process then not only HR dept align themselves to Company’s goals and also reduce recruitment budget plan which most of the companies view as a expenditure rather than investment.

A FAIR PAY

2007-12-01T00:26:00.000-08:00

A Fair Pay

HR in the present scenario acts as that indispensable pillar without the support of which an organization cannot even dream to touch the zenith of success. But this was not the case several years ago when HR was nothing more than a” personnel “department in the early 1900s. Then HR‘s role was restricted to hiring and firing, supervision of the payroll department and administration of the benefit plans. As technology stepped into the scene, it inflated the role of HR. Then HR began to play an expanded role in employee selection, training and development. These are the days strategic HR. However the crux role of HR hasn’t change much. Recruitment and administration of compensation of employees still enjoys the pivotal focus of its attention.

Over the year’s Human resource as a subject has evolved in the light of many fads including the numerous ways of employee selection, the diverse ways of training and development of human potential, the methods of performance appraisal etc. The present Hr scenario has been taken up in a cyclone of ideas related to the ways of compensating the existing human potential within an organization. Performance based compensation package has been the latest trend of most of the organizations. They say that this type of compensation is all about using it more actively to motivate the employees. In today’s scenario organizations are not much interested in acquiring physical resources but what occupies their concern is whether those resources have been utilized to the ultimate by their existing human potential. This cannot be denied that these streams of thoughts have boosted the HR‘s arena of action. But HR‘s principal to respect the intrinsic value of humans are being is overshadowed. For e.g. a person working in a company for above 10 years has given a good performance over the years. But suddenly his performance dips due to some problems faced by him in his personal front. The company fails to understand his point of view and hands him remuneration, which is exactly equivalent to his present performance. Where does he find the answers to his questions? What is the value of his loyalty of all these years to this company? Is he nothing more than a machine whose input is exactly proportional to its input?

If performance based compensation package is the most desirable and motivating phenomenon then why is it so that TCS has been given the title of the best employer. And the title givers are none other than the employees. TCS has a compensation structure which has only 5 % of its remuneration based on performance. TCS is such an organization, which makes their employees, work in teams and it is the total team, which they evaluate while deciding the remuneration, not the individual. This has a lot of benefits. First of all it does not encourage peer rivalry. Work teams are characterized by the presence of faith amongst the team members, co-ordination, interdependence, team spirit, trust, etc. These qualities cannot foster if each individual’s greed to stand out in the crowd overcomes his concern for the success of the team as a whole. That is the reason TCS has resorted to such a compensation structures. In at attempt to find out what is the reason for the company generating such a degree of work satisfaction amongst it’s employees it was revealed that TCS is popular not because of it's compensation but it’s principal of proper harnessing the existing human potential with in an organization

The idea is not to convince you that pay as per performance is not the correct way rewarding the employees. Because the above has again certain advantages. Paying as per performance means you are rewarding the person what he deserves. It means, those who does not give in that degree of extra effort is not a parasite eating on the company. And those who have the credibility get what is due for them.

The confusion that whether tailor pay to performance is acceptable no not does not end here. In a call center the sales people can be awarded as per their sales performance. But what about those who attend the incoming calls. What is the criterion to evaluate them, performance or the effort? The individual or the team? So it is not so simple to sail yourself in this growing fad. Before doing this the organizations must do a lot of homework of deciding the scales of measurement of performance, identifying the competencies on which their pay should be based. To decide which type of compensation is best to adopt the organization to make an in-depth of the job profile, it’s own area ob business. Just like a manger should be paid as per his competencies like team building, leadership qualities on the other hand a software developer should be awarded as per the hours of work he puts in, the skills he posses etc. The idea behind designing all pay packages should be paying as per ones performance, skills, competencies as well as motivating them to improve in the near future

communication

2007-12-01T00:22:00.000-08:00

COMMUNICATION

Introduction

‘No one would talk much in society if they knew how often they misunderstood others’

Many of the problems that occur in a organization are the direct result of people failing to communicate. Faulty communication causes the most problems. It leads to confusion and can cause a good plan to fail. Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another. It involves a sender transmitting an idea to a receiver. People in organizations typically spend over 75% of their time in an interpersonal situation; thus it is no surprise to find that at the root of a large number of organizational problems is poor communications. Effective communication is an essential component of organizational success whether it is at the interpersonal, intercrop, intragroup, organizational, or external levels

Barriers to Communication

Nothing is so simple that it cannot be misunderstood.

Anything that prevents understanding of the message is a barrier to communication. Many physical and psychological barriers exist such as:

Culture, background, and bias - We allow our past experiences to change the meaning of the message. Our culture, background, and bias can be good as they allow us use our past experiences to understand something new, it is when they change the meaning of the message then they interfere with the communication process.
Noise - Equipment or environmental noise impede clear communication. The sender and the receiver must both be able to concentrate on the messages being sent to each other.
Ourselves - Focusing on ourselves, rather than the other person can lead to confusion and conflict. The "Me Generation" is out when it comes to effective communication. Some of the factors that cause this are defensiveness (we feel someone is attacking us), superiority (we feel we know more that the other), and ego (we feel we are the center of the activity).
Perception - If we feel the person is talking too fast, not fluently, does not articulate clearly, etc., we may dismiss the person. Also our preconceived attitudes affect our ability to listen. We listen uncritically to persons of high status and dismiss those of low status.
Message - Distractions happen when we focus on the facts rather than the idea. Our educational institutions reinforce this with tests and questions. Semantic distractions occur when a word is used differently than you prefer. For example, the word chairman instead of chairperson, may cause you to focus on the word and not the message.
Environmental - Bright lights, an attractive person, unusual sights, or any other stimulus provides a potential distraction.
Smothering - We take it for granted that the impulse to send useful information is automatic. Not true! Too often we believe that certain information has no value to others or they are already aware of the facts.
Stress - People do not see things the same way when under stress. Our psychological frames of references - our beliefs, values, knowledge, experiences, and goals, influence what we see and believe at a given moment. These barriers can be thought of as filters, that is, the message leaves the sender, goes through the above filters, and is then heard by the receiver. These filters muffle the message. And the way to overcome filters is through active listening and feedback.

Active Listening

Hearing and listening are not the same thing. Hearing is the act of perceiving sound. It is involuntary and simply refers to the reception of aural stimuli. Listening is a selective activity which involves the reception and the interpretation of aural stimuli. It involves decoding the sound into meaning .Active listening - which involves listening with a purpose. It may be to gain information, obtain directions, understand others, solve problems, share interest, see how another person feels, show support, etc. It requires that the listener attends to the words and the feelings of the sender for understanding. It takes the same amount or more energy than speaking. It requires the receiver to hear the various messages, understand the meaning, and then verify the meaning by offering feedback

Feedback

When you know something, say what you know. When you don't know something, say that you don't know. That is knowledge. - Kung Fu Tzu (Confucius)

The purpose of feedback is to change and alter messages so the intention of the original communicator is understood by the second communicator. It includes verbal and nonverbal responses to another person's message. Providing feedback is accomplished by paraphrasing the words of the sender.

Characteristics of Effective Feedback

Effective Feedback has most of the following characteristics:

Descriptive (not evaluative)(avoids defensiveness.) By describing one's own reactions, it leaves the individual fee to use it or not to use it as he sees fit..
avoid accusations; present data if necessary
describe your own reactions or feelings; describe objective consequences that have or will occur; focus on behavior and your own reaction, not on other individual or his or her attributes
suggest more acceptable alternative; be prepared to discuss additional alternatives; focus on alternatives
Specific rather than general.
Focused on behavior not the person. It is important that we refer to what a person does rather than to what we think he is. Thus we might say that a person "talked more than anyone else in this meeting" rather than that he is a "loud-mouth."
It takes into account the needs of both the receiver and giver of feedback. It should be given to help, not to hurt. We too often give feedback because it makes us feel better or gives us a psychological advantage.
It is directed toward behavior which the receiver can do something about. A person gets frustrated when reminded of some shortcoming over which he has no control.
It is solicited rather than imposed. Feedback is most useful when the receiver himself has formulated the kind of question which those observing him can answer or when he actively seeks feedback.
Feedback is useful when well-timed (soon after the behavior-depending, of course, on the person's readiness to hear it, support available from others, and so forth). Excellent feedback presented at an inappropriate time may do more harm than good.
Sharing of information, rather than giving advice allows a person to decide for himself, in accordance with his own goals and needs. When we give advice we tell him what to do, and to some degree take away his freedom to do decide for himself.
It involves the amount of information the receiver can use rather than the amount we would like to give. To overload a person with feedback is to reduce the possibility that he may be able to use what he receives effectively. When we give more than can be used, we are more often than not satisfying some need of our own rather than helping the other person.
It concerns what is said and done, or how, not why. The "why" involves assumptions regarding motive or intent and this tends to alienate the person generate resentment, suspicion, and distrust. If we are uncertain of his motives or intent, this uncertainty itself is feedback, however, and should be revealed.
It is checked to insure clear communication. One way of doing this is to have the receiver try to rephrase the feedback. No matter what the intent, feedback is often threatening and thus subject to considerable distortion or misinterpretation.
It is checked to determine degree of agreement from others. Such "consensual validation" is of value to both the sender and receiver.
It is followed by attention to the consequences of the feedback. The supervisor needs to become acutely aware of the effects of his feedback.
It is an important step toward authenticity. Constructive feedback opens the way to a relationship which is built on trust, honest, and genuine concern and mutual growth.

Part of the feedback process involves understanding and predicting how the other person will react. Or in the case of our receiving feedback, we need to understand ways that we respond to feedback, especially threatening feedback.

Nonverbal Behaviors of Communication

Without knowing the force of words it is impossible to know men." - Confucius

To deliver the full impact of a message, use nonverbal behaviors to raise the channel of interpersonal communication:

Eye contact: This helps to regulate the flow of communication. It signals interest in others and increases the speaker's credibility. People who make eye contact open the flow of communication and convey interest, concern, warmth, and credibility.
Facial Expressions: Smiling is a powerful cue that transmits happiness, friendliness, warmth, and liking. So, if you smile frequently you will be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm and approachable. Smiling is often contagious and people will react favorably. They will be more comfortable around you and will want to listen more.
Gestures: If you fail to gesture while speaking you may be perceived as boring and stiff. A lively speaking style captures the listener's attention, makes the conversation more interesting, and facilitates understanding.
Posture and body orientation: You communicate numerous messages by the way you talk and move. Standing erect and leaning forward communicates to listeners that you are approachable, receptive and friendly. Interpersonal closeness results when you and the listener face each other. Speaking with your back turned or looking at the floor or ceiling should be avoided as it communicates disinterest.
Proximity: Cultural norms dictate a comfortable distance for interaction with others. You should look for signals of discomfort caused by invading the other person's space. Some of these are: rocking, leg swinging, tapping, and gaze aversion.
Vocal: Speaking can signal nonverbal communication when you include such vocal elements as: tone, pitch, rhythm, timbre, loudness, and inflection. For maximum teaching effectiveness, learn to vary these six elements of your voice. One of the major criticisms of many speakers is that they speak in a monotone voice. Listeners perceive this type of speaker as boring and dull

Developing Communication Skills: Listening Skills

There are a number of situations when you need to solicit good information from others; these situations include interviewing candidates, solving work problems, seeking to help an employee on work performance, and finding out reasons for performance discrepancies.

Skill in communication involves a number of specific strengths. The first we will discuss involves listening skills. The following lists some suggests for effective listening when confronted with a problem at work:

· Listen openly and with empathy to the other person

· Judge the content, not the messenger or delivery; comprehend before you judge

· Use multiple techniques to fully comprehend (ask, repeat, rephrase, etc.)

· Active body state; fight distractions

· Ask the other person for as much detail as he/she can provide; paraphrase what the other is saying to make sure you understand it and check for understanding

· Respond in an interested way that shows you understand the problem and the employee's concern

· Attend to non-verbal cues, body language, not just words; listen between the lines

· Ask the other for his views or suggestions

· State your position openly; be specific, not global

· Communicate your feelings but don't act them out (eg. tell a person that his behavior really upsets you; don't get angry)

· Be descriptive, not evaluative-describe objectively, your reactions, consequences

· Be validating, not invalidating ("You wouldn't understand"); acknowledge other;'s uniqueness, importance

· Be conjunctive, not disjunctive (not "I want to discuss this regardless of what you want to discuss");

CONCLUSION

Speak comfortable words!" - William Shakespeare

Studying the communication process is important because you coach, coordinate, counsel, evaluate, and supervise through this process. It is the chain of understanding that integrates the members of an organization from top to bottom, bottom to top, and side to side.

MANAGING PEOPLE TOMMORROW

2007-08-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

Today the human resources function is acknowledged to play a critical role in the success or failure of an organization. The expectations are that hr will be vitally involved in doing all that it takes to provide the right skills, knowledge and attitude at the right place at the right time. To do this, many HR managers are balancing a scorecard that has goals for talent retention and management, organizational culture management, training for managerial growth, HR capital management and so on.

A survey of 57 CEO ‘s and HR professionals by the author in may 2006 led to the ranking of these HR challenges in order of important and critically to meeting the most important challenge for business was

Ø Creating a high – performing culture - 47%

Ø Talent retention –28%

Ø Recruiting – 22%

Least importance was given to

Ø Human capital practice – 10% at bottom rank

Ø Hr system implementation-28% of bottom rank

Ø Globalization –22% of bottom rank

CREATING A HIGH – PERFORMANING

CULTURE

Today many organization have recovered themselves from the residues of initial response to liberation, and having transformed themselves into lean and efficient work systems, the challenge of Creating a high performance work culture seems to
take prime importance. Building organizations that sustain themselves and look at long-term strategy for surviving and thriving is the top agenda for managers today.

TALENT RETENTION

The role of business leaders in talent management is evolving as organizations grow to large proportions. Business leaders should ensure that talent development is a core corporate process and not just the domain of hr department. Managers at every level are accountable for attracting and retaining manpower to keep the wheels of business running. Every employee should be given equal opportunities to fulfill his / her potential and contribute in a value added way. Management potential needs to be drawn from within the company and grown. Creating talent pipeline with proper succession planning and employee deployment is also a crucial source of manpower.

RECRUITING IN TODAY’’S CONTEXT

The growing breed recruitment consultants operating in India is testimony to the fact that where there is grass, the nomads will travel. A huge vacuum in manpower requirements exists in most companies. Attracting and recruiting the right mix is a high priority agenda for hr practitioners in India. Many are creating blueprints for a recruitment strategy that optimizes sourcing of manpower, creation of the “right’’ employment image and compensation practices that promise the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to those who join. Effective recruitment strategies are needed to ensure targeted sourcing of candidates, proper assessment procedures that truly measure competencies needed for the job, and an effective assimilation and induction process. The role of manpower forecasting to predict organizational requirements is vital, as many companies now have strategic tie – ups with educational establishments to offer student assistance and placement opportunities to candidates to fulfill their needs.

GOING GLOBAL

The pressure of a global sings India is not really being experienced as a challenge as yet by Indian corporates. This is surprising given the context of today’s business when an increasing number of Indian companies are exploring ways and means of going global. The growing opportunities presented in this context will require a great deal of strategic inputs from the hr department to ensure the right place is available. The Indian corporate sector needs to wake to the building of globally competitive practices that will realize the dreams of companies to create sustained competitive advantage in an increasingly global context.

HR SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTATION

While many organizations are investing heavily in implementation of technology – based hr solutions, the respondents of this survey felt that there is not much priority that needs to be placed on this matter. Institutionalizing frameworks and policies in the right spirit seems more to be the order of the day rather than implementing complex systems integrated with ERP packages. The feedback from CEO’s and HR professionals seems to be that there should be more success stories in the implementation of simple system for performance management rather than focus on complex HR management processes.

HUMAN CAPITAL PRACTICES

The nuts and bolts of manpower efficiency are the lowest priority. Perhaps, past historical encounters with attempts at job evaluation and industrial engineering have shaped this response of survey participants to assign the lowest priority to human capital practices. In economically surging times like the one we are seeing today, the focus is increasingly on driving business result through creating performance – oriented culture and talent management, and issues like reduction of wastages and excess manpower tend to take a backseat.

CONCLUSION

The human resource function today seems to be engaged in a delivery mode that places immediate emphasis on high levels of performance from existing employees and managing of crises arising out of talent retention and recruiting. People who do not move with the changing demands of the situation pose an additional challenge to HR where the old mindsets need to be aligned to the new. Traditional institution –building perspectives that place emphasis on a value – driven approach and build organization culture and networks of interpersonal relationships that enrich and evoke contribution and membership of organizational systems, seems to take a lesser priority. Perhaps the time has come for HR professionals to another at some of their priorities and refocuses themselves on matters that are more important.

Source: aneeta madhok ‘s article