Interviews: Panel v/s One-to-one

Well, you’re ready for that all important interviews to begin and walk into the room…and you’ve walked into one of the two scenarios (or versions of it).

• You come face-to-face with an interview panel of 2-4 (or at time even more) people waiting to start the interview.
or,

• You have one person waiting to start the interview.

Either way, it isn’t a choice that you were given. Instead, you’ll have to deal with it as it unfolds. Well, here’s the take on both sides of the story. Which would you prefer?

Typically, panel interviews are practiced (or should be practiced) by companies with trained interviewers. It requires a set of people asking questions that aren’t redundant and focuses on evaluating different skills/topics. Since it involves more than one person asking varied questions, it’s perceived to be a lot tougher to focus. Yes, it’s difficult to gauge the pulse of everyone on the panel, but you can be assured that the final hiring call rests (or should rest) with the manager. We can argue that the panel interview saves time, cost, more focused and gives you an accurate decision/assessment. It also acts as a platform to train new interviewers. At the same time, it can be intimidating to the candidate, more stressful or might even confuse the candidate with different questions at the same time. More importantly, one can’t rule out the possibility of a dominant interviewer’s opinion affecting the hiring decision.

The only way to ace a panel interview, like in other formats, is to go prepared and stay relaxed.

On other hand, we have one-to-one interviews. It gives candidates enough time to answer each question systematically and in detail. It also gives the interviewer an opportunity to speak more openly and ask open-ended questions. More importantly, each discussion can be customized based on the candidate. It gives an opportunity for the hiring manager to evaluate the interviewer’s independent assessment of candidates. This takes away the bias of the ‘influencer’ in a panel interview. On the cons, it’s time consuming, costs are higher and the process is tedious.

So, if you had the option to choose a type of interview, what would it be?

Does HR have a sense of humor?

A recent discussion with friends, led me to ask this question.

Does HR have a sense of humor?

My first reaction was, “Yes!”. Obvious choice? Not really. I really do believe that, since I’ve met HR people with a great sense of humor. However, many in the group disagreed. So I decided to ask this question to an open audience. One way to validate was to go out there and ask folks who have/are interacting with HR on a regular basis. Twitter provided that perfect platform to test the question and some of the replies I got are here, here, here, here & finally here! Maybe my friends had a point, since it didn’t come as a surprise to them that most people think HR doesn’t have a sense of humor!

I’m not out to counter those replies, but I’m just as curious to know why folks feel the way they do about HR. One plausible answer could be, just maybe, most often than not, a company’s HR team is the first point of contact to people outside the company. It’s a huge responsibility to represent one’s firm/company in the right light. So that to some extent plays a part in taking away the funny side of HR. Another possibility could be that HR fears they won’t be taken seriously or considered to be professional in their approach towards work.

On second thoughts, a sense of humor is more a personality trait. It’s the hallmark of great salesmen or manager. Even good leadership relies on well-timed sense of humor to energize employees. So maybe it’s time to ask the serious-type HR folks to chill-out a bit. It’s possible. Heck! Even job-descriptions have sense-of-humor listed as a requirement for roles that have a client-facing function! I suppose we can categorize HR as a role that has client interactions too. No? Why then ask for something that one doesn’t follow? Beats me.

So here’s a message to all HR folks: Have fun! Spread some laughter. It acts as an ice-breaker.

Go break a leg! Figuratively, duh!

Guest Post: Stopping yourself when you react to others pushing your buttons

Author: Carolyn Matheson
Twitter: @capcoach

We all know what it feels like to have our buttons pushed. Something happens, that seems to take us over, every muscle in our body tightens up and we turn into somebody no one wants to be around.

Steve was in a rush to get to the store but someone else took the parking space he had his eye on. His button had been pushed. He was going to let the other driver know how mad he made him and that he couldn't get away with taking his car park space. Leaping out of the car he started waving his fists and swearing at the other driver who was taken aback in shock.
In his anger, it didn't occur to Steve that the other driver did not have a personal vendetta against him. He had just been told his department at work was about to be re-organized making him angry and fearful even before he reached the store. The final straw was the other driver and Steve allowed him to push a button which was ready to be triggered by almost anything. Steve's reaction was an immediate and emotional response, with little thought to the consequences.

As he got back in the car his stomach was tied up in knots, his heart racing, he put his head in his clammy and sweaty hands. A thought popped into his head, 'what was that all about, I am so ashamed of my behaviour'.

The more you know about what is likely to push your buttons, the more you can anticipate your reaction and be ready with simple tactics. Often something has happened just before you started to become defensive. It is easy to blame others - the boss, family, colleagues, the economy, debts; anyone but ourselves.

Warning signs that you might be susceptible to button pushing:

• Extreme tiredness, inability to relax, difficulty in sleeping, overactive mind, feeling very disconnected from yourself and others.


• Waking up in the morning and wanting to go straight back to sleep.


• Worried about health, money or work.


• Easily distracted and having difficulty concentrating. What are your warning signs?

Suggestions to stop you reacting to other people

• Say No! Don't take on more than you can handle


• No one pushes our buttons like our children. If you recognise that you are about to react, keep your lips firmly sealed. Step away from the situation for a while and think through your options. Go for a walk. Just a 15 minutes’ walk is enough to unfreeze your brain so you gain a different perspective.


• Put yourself first. I have noticed that when I am calm and relaxed it is much easier to deal with anything that life throws at me.


• Discover the power of laughter. If you get tense, the negative energy will increase. You can't laugh and be angry at the same time. It's impossible!

About the author:

Carolyn Matheson is a Master Certified Coach, and works with executives and their teams across the world. She is one of the world’s leading executive coaches whose world turned upside down 5 years ago when diagnosed with a chronic illness.

An inspiring speech!

Found this video clip of Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address. It's an inspiring speech and worth the 15 mins spent listening to it.

Dealing with career change

From a reader:

Why is it so difficult to change the sectors and profiles one is working in? I have worked in an industry for 3 years, beyond which I would like to try out something new, a different industry. But somehow one doesn't get calls for these kinds of roles or opportunity. For example, someone who has worked as a fresher in the IT industry, as a Business Analyst, does not get calls for sales in FMCG or marketing in a non IT company despite the appropriate educational background. What can one do to pursue such kind of a change?

Thanks.

Good question! Yes, I agree it’s difficult to change careers after spending three years in an industry, but it not impossible. Yes, your competition changes significantly when you want to carve out your career in a different field. Yet, there are ways to get calls from the desired industry. That’s not going to happen if you’re trying to squeeze in time while holding the current job. You’ll have to go the extra mile.

Here are some tips to get you into a career in the industry of your choice:

Understand the industry landscape: While there’s an intention to change your career, you may want to take that step forward with enough information at hand. There’s a ton of information available online, on blogs, networking sites, white papers, webinars, etc. Try and get yourself educated with enough info from the industry. You’ll know whether you have the required info when you are able to answer the question: What does it take to get into the new role?

Map overlapping skills: After you’ve gathered enough info to understand the required skills for the new role, map them to the skills that you possess. It will help you analyze the gaps in certain skills required for the role and work on it.

Start networking: It’s obvious, isn’t it? Your best source for info/jobs in the industry, must and will, come from people working in that field. Get on to those networking sites (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) Just a word of caution, networking is a 2-way street. You’ll have to invest time and effort in discussions and interactions. People will show interest only if you show potential and are aware of the know-how of the industry.

Be flexible: Three years work experience needn’t necessarily mean anything to a recruiter or hiring manager from a completely different industry. They’ll be ready to give you an opportunity, only if you show some flexibility. And flexibility could be around: role, work status (full time v/s contract), salary, benefits, perks, etc. Show them you’re willing to put in extra to learn the ropes. Chances of getting hired on potential are very high!

Get yourself a mentor: This could be the single most important thing for anyone looking for a career change. Invest time in locating the key people in the desired industry and identify a mentor for yourself. Go get yourself a mentor who will guide, train, prepare, provide expertise and share contacts with you, from the field. It will help you improve your learning curve. The mentor wouldn’t do your job for you, but will help you get on the right track to achieve your goals.

Informational Interviews: Well, you done your part of understanding the landscape, networked like never before, identified a mentor. What next? Ask for informational interviews from experts in the field. If need be, go out of your way to accommodate yourself to their schedule. Remember, you want this more than them. Informational interviews are an excellent opportunity to get you aligned with the needs of the industry. They also act as an opportunity for you to showcase your potential. For all you know, the person taking the interview might actually end up hiring up! You can never rule out possibilities. No?

Shadow-work with professionals: Another area where networking will pay off big time. Try and locate experts/professionals from the desired industry and check if you can shadow-work with them. It’s a great opportunity to learn on the job. If possible, share your views with them. It helps refine your approach to the task at hand. Yes, you don’t get paid. Maybe, you don’t want to get paid, since you have a contract with the current employer.

Patience: Your career change isn’t going to happen overnight. You’ll have to spend loads of time and do the right things to get to where you want to be. Patience plays a big role in your decision. The more you have it, the better it get for you. It might even include lifestyle adjustments (including financial decisions) that need to be made.

Resume that captures your preparation: This is the crucial point in any career change. Do you have a resume that speaks of your effort that has gone into preparing and learning for the role?

Career changes are possible. Really. I’ve seen people make it happen. But there really isn’t any shortcut to reach your goal. Atleast, not one that I know of.

Good luck!

Perspectives

From a reader:

I am a litigating lawyer and have been with my current firm for almost 4 years (I joined them straight after college). About 3 years back I got married and took a transfer to a different location. I have really learnt a lot with the current firm and have been given a lot of opportunities. But I'm really bored here now. I feel like I'm being taken for granted and am not getting the full recognition from my bosses (my immediate boss and the one above him) though my clients now specifically ask for me to handle their matters (which is a big big deal when I'm barely 4 years into the profession and get to handle matters involving a ton of money). I can handle work pressure but the stress created by my boss is tough to handle. For instance, I have a junior who is supposed to be exclusively working with me but my boss gives him independent work and keeps him busy, which means I’m effectively on my own.

Anyway, I want to make a move to a company where the work & ambience will be very different from a litigation firm. I don't want to move to another firm because there is just too much stress and I really need a break. But I am scared to take the plunge - what if I can't adjust in a company since I am so used to a firm? As in I do a lot of my work independently and my bosses don't really interfere with the calls I make on my matters. I will have a strict hierarchy & reporting structure in a company.

I'm confused. Please help.

Well, I’m going to take your question in parts and answer them to the point.

First, at the current firm, you’re getting to do your own thing which means that the boss trusts your decisions completely. Now, that could also translate to the fact that he doesn’t have to spend time reviewing your work. It then brings us to the fact that your boredom isn’t really due to the lack of opportunities. It’s stemming from the fact that while you need to be given space to do your own thing, you are also asking for recognition for it. That may not be the way that your manager sees the situation. He might feel that the best recognition has been given in the form of letting you do your own thing! No? It’s going to be a matter of perspectives, until you sit down with your manager and share your views.

Getting opportunities of the kind that you’ve described are rare to come by at an early stage in one’s career. It looks very likely that the hidden reason for a job change is the working relationship with your manager. You may want to address that quickly. It could also be that your manager’s seeing the appreciation from clients and doesn’t really want to make changes in working styles that could backfire.

Stress which you feel is created by the manager (like giving work to your direct report) could be sorted out too. Talk it out to your manager. He needs to know that you aren’t comfortable with his approach and that you are responsible for the performance of your direct report. For all practical purposes, he might feel that your direct report is under utilized or the job allotted doesn’t fall under your activities. It’ll stay that way if you ignore the issue and wish it to go away! Start with having a discussion. Try and be candid.

Here’s a tip though, most often there’s a tendency to bring up an issue when it happens. For example, you may want to bring it up the next time you see your boss assigning work to your direct report. That could be plain bad timing! Since there could be urgency around getting that specific work done and you could look like delaying it. On the contrary, have the discussion once your direct report finishes the work and hands it over to your boss. You can then explain your stand when things are calm. Start with explaining that when works gets allotted without your knowledge, it becomes hard for you to plan your deliverables. It could also put the direct report under dilemma to prioritize his work, leading to delay in completion of projects. Your boss needs to know that his approach is hampering your work. The way I see it now is that you are delaying having that discussion with him sand you’re taking on the work that your direct report would have otherwise completed for you. Obviously, leading to a lot of frustration! Speak up.

If you like what you are doing and see a lot of opportunities, why would you choose to change jobs? Beats me. Often, the very idea for a job change crops up when the reason for the change could have been addressed in the first place. Makes sense? To be honest, you might get the same opportunities in a Company, but the number of people in there is going to be tough competition to beat. Not due to lack of competency. Not due to lack of knowledge. It’s a number game in a bigger Company and that’s going to take a while to beat. Also, there will be processes and procedures to follow. That might prove to be a challenge for someone who is used to working independently. It will work, provided you have the patience to ace the system.

The bottom line is that you have chance to sort out differences with your manager at the current firm. It might lead you to give up things that you would have liked if it was done your way. You’ll get things that you didn’t expect would come your way. That’s the way these discussions go. Once you are done having that discussion, you can then decide if it’s worth sticking with the firm. Your decision will then have more objective reasoning.

Good luck!

Remote HR. Possible?

From my discussion with a reader:

Scenario: An employee works for a firm that doesn’t have an in-house HR team. Most of the HR related work (staffing, employee relations, performance reviews, general HR activities etc.,) are managed from a remote location. Email and phone are the best available options for communication. The HR person does visit remote locations once in a while to spend time with the employees.

Now, the employee is planning to quit, citing better career opportunities. Manager has initiated the exit process and asks HR to complete their part in the exit process. HR calls in from headquarters to conduct the exit interview. Asks employee the reason for deciding to quit and even tries their best to retain the employee. The HR has had very limited discussions in the past and have only stepped in when there’s a crisis. The employee isn’t comfortable answering most of the questions, because the HR person conducting the interview hasn’t even met/seen the employee.

I was informed it’s the same with other HR related activities too.

Leads me to ask: Does managing HR remotely work?

Well, if we consider the above scenario, the answer is a ‘No’. Managing HR from a remote location would mean that you still don’t get to feel the pulse of the organization. You really can’t expect employees to open up in a discussion with a HR person they’ve never met before. When it happens in an exit interview, you can be rest assured that it’s not going to be taken well.

Might have worked differently if it was a couple of employees working remotely and HR steps in to cater to their needs. It’s then a given, that HR will communicate only via phone/mail. It wouldn’t be possible to fly out to go meet just the two employees working remotely. Cost is a major deterrent. This is exactly the reason why managers are hesitant to let employees work remotely. In-person communication always has an advantage over remote discussions. Period. Agreed that there’s enough high-end technology that might help HR manage employees working in remote locations, yet, it doesn’t substitute for an in-person discussion.

Among various HR activities, employee relations top the list of HR activities that requires face-to-face interaction. Though emails/phone calls can answer the queries, it doesn’t allow one get a feel for non-verbal communication. That’s about 70% of every discussion! An exit interview provides a great chance to understand the reason for an employee’s exit. It could maybe even help with getting enough data for rehiring the employee in future. That would only be possible if you showed up in-person at the remote location.

There are a couple of repercussions that I can see stemming from having a remote HR team. First, managing cultural differences across locations can prove to be a challenge for a remote HR team. Second, future hiring can take a hit if either current/exiting employees voice their opinion on not having a local HR team to cater to their needs.

I’m not discounting the fact that there could possibly be a ton of advantages (cost, infrastructure, time, headcount, etc.,) which prompts HR team to work remotely. These costs will become negligible, when compared to the cost of losing great talent. Especially when you’re dealing with people who are helping you grow revenue, talking on behalf of your Company or bringing in good talent through referrals.

Choose wisely.

Should I quit?

Dear HR Store,

I have a query. Is it time to quit a company when an employee is depressed and stressed out? With end results sometimes leading to an employee in tears.

The problem can be attributed to a horrible manager and repeated escalations aren't helping as well.

Thanks.

Well, with the limited information that you have provided, my answer is ‘yes’. You should look for another job.

I really can’t think of a good reason to ask you to stay back in a job that’s only going to make it worse for you. That’s assuming you’ve done your part of having discussions/ tried sorting out any issues/ taken & given feedback, with your manager. It might not have worked out in your favor, but that effort is required to find out the real cause of the problem. Might just help you deal with similar situations in future.

You mention that you escalated the situation. Whom did you escalate it to? Was it his boss? Or HR? I’m keen to know.

Did you escalate the issues after having a candid discussion with the manager? Or did you escalate it to the next level without having a discussion with the manager? If it’s the former situation, then it’s fair since you went through the reporting hierarchy. If it the latter (by-passing reporting structure) that’s not a comfortable situation for your manager to be in and that could have worsened the situation. The second line manager will have only your version of the issue and he’ll then approach your manager for getting his version. You can bet your last penny, that if this happens, your manager isn’t going to be very happy with it.

Now, I’ll assume you must have spoken to your manager’s boss (second line manager), rather than with the HR. If that hasn’t worked either, I’ll have to assume that the second line manager has backed your manager’s work and stands by your manager. Their working styles could be functioning just fine for each other. In that case, I don’t think you stand a chance to counter argue or escalate. It will go eventually go against you. You could even try and get help from HR (employee relations). It might bring a fresh perspective to the issue.

Your references for future jobs might be dependent on the manager. Therefore, keeping HR informed might work in your favor, should the next employer try and reach them for your reference.

I do have one more question, are you the only person affected by your manager’s behavior? Or are the other members on the team equally affected? The answer should tell you the something about the manager’s way of dealing with things and you could then either align yourself to his way of working or leave. That’s a call you can take with some objectivity and which could also lead to some very truthful answers. It would be futile to try and change the way your manager approached things at work, unless he is the ready to sit down and have that one candid discussion. Better yet, be open to receive feedback. In your case, the situation seems to have gone too far for trying that approach.

Get your resume updated. Start applying for a new job. Get an offer in hand. And then quit.

Good luck!

Previous posts that might be helpful:

Are you hit by 'Hurricane Micro-Manager'?

Abusive Managers: Confront or Walk-out?

PS: I got these wonderful tips on Twitter from @preethe, who read this post. She suggests a couple of things that might work too. Thanks!

1. Explore the option of changing projects within the same Company. That could lead to working with a different manager.
2. Taking the issue to HR and then talking to the resourcing manager for a new project might solve the issue.

What will get you rehired? Or not.

Your chances of getting rehired are blown away, if:

You’d sent your resignation via voicemail / text / fax.
As silly as it sounds, I’ve come across people who chose to send their resignation over phone! The only way to do it is in-person, unless you are working remotely.

You didn’t serve out the required notice period.
Yes, we know you got a better job offer elsewhere. That doesn’t give you the right to walk away without serving your notice period. Your unfinished work landed on your colleague’s plates, not that they don’t already have enough to do!

You left your team members high & dry in the middle of a critical project.
Again, we know you got yourself a great job, but your team members haven’t forgotten your act.

Performance was the primary reason for your exit.
The job still requires the same skills. Not many companies take it well even if you’ve been away from over a year.

You were fired for disciplinary action.
Remember that sexist comment you passed on your colleague…during work hours? Yep, people haven’t forgotten that. Nor have they forgotten that drunken incident on that fateful Friday. Drinks were on-the-house, so was your behavior!

On the contrary, you’re chances of getting rehired increases, when:

You left on a positive note. (Captain Obvious? Yes!)
Searching for a job can get one to do crazy things, like asking to get rehired after burning bridges with the previous employer. No, they aren’t interested.

Ready to start afresh.
That would mean salary, benefits, perks and insurance. Everything. Your ego too. Period.

Good rapport with the team members.
You might the manager’s pet, but nobody wants to work with a team member who doesn’t gel well.

Your team members want to refer you back.
Managers are employees too. Chances are that your previous manager has quit as well. That would leave your team members to refer you back. Would they?

What have you gained since the time you left?
Very important question that deserves a well thought out answer. Be honest.

You’re ready to undergo the interview grind, one more time.
Being in the role earlier doesn’t guarantee you a place in the team. Get yourself prepared for the interview grind.

Your previous Company wants you back!
This has to be the best case scenario for getting rehired.

In the end, opting to get rehired starts with answering a very basic question: Is this your ONLY option?

What would you do? Take a quick poll.

Job offer negotiation

From a reader:

I came across your blog while searching for some info. Really must appreciate your efforts in answering our queries.

I’m writing to you to seek your advice on a job offer.

I’ve been working for 4 years with an IT company that’s in another city. I‘ve been in search of a job opportunity in my hometown for over six months. Currently, I’ve got an offer from a company in my hometown. But I’m not that excited with the offer. Though I’m getting a very good role, responsibility and position (designation), the salary which they are offering is not that good. When I’d mentioned to them that I’m expecting a better hike, they countered that by saying I’m relocating to my hometown and as per my experience their offer is the best in the market. I’m not concerned about the fact that I am relocating to my hometown (it can wait a little longer if needed), my concern is that I’m pretty sure that I’ve not been given a fair offer considering both my experience and skills.

At times I feel like compromising on the salary front, thinking that I’ll prove my skills & experience while performing on the job. But when asked about appraisals, I was informed that I would be eligible for the next appraisal cycle (next year). That would mean that I would have to remain on the same salary for another year and I would be underpaid. This is another factor which is not attracting me to accept the offer.

I’m due for an appraisal in a month’s time with my current organization. Assuming, I get a decent hike post-appraisal, my salary would be way beyond what they are offering me. Is there a room to negotiate for a better salary? Please suggest.

Thanks.

Congratulations on the offer!

Well, there are many things that come to mind. First, are you moving from a tier-1 to a tier-2 city? The reason I’m asking is because offers vary depending on the geographic location/city. Many factors such as cost of living, talent pool, tax liabilities, legal compliance, etc, are taken into consideration while deciding the salary range. So effectively, an offer of $x in a tier-1 city might be seen as high in a tier-2 city. Now, this might or might not be true in your case. Especially since you mention that they cited your experience as being a major deciding factor in the offer. On the contrary, they are also referring to you relocating to your hometown and that their offer is the best in that market. So, it comes down to you answering my question.

Second, you’ve been trying since six months to move back to your hometown. I assume then that this must be your first job offer there. Does that tell you something about the job market in your hometown? Either way, the current situation has more candidates (and good ones at that) than the number of jobs available. Is the job movement from a generalist role to a specialization? That could complicate things too. If four years of your work exp is spread across various skills and you were interviewed for a specific skill, then your technical competency gets rated on that particular skill.

Third, have you made a list of things that are important to have for your relocation? Yes, there’s role, responsibilities, salary, etc. However, in this case since the salary is lower (than your expectations) there might be benefits that might be part of the job offer. Like, relocation benefits, flexi hours, telecommuting, vacations, insurance coverage, bonuses, stock options, etc, that add to the whole offer package. Did you explore those as well? I assume you did.

Next, you mention that you are pretty sure that the offer isn’t a fair one. Well, what’s the benchmark you are considering? If it’s based on objective data then it makes sense. If not, you may want to re-evaluate the offer.

Finally, let’s move to the upcoming appraisal. There isn’t any concrete data on the possible percentage of hike that you might expect, especially given the current market conditions. Expecting the next employer to compensate you with a hike for work that you’d done in your previous company, isn’t really the way to bargain for a hike. No? If that’s the case, then you might as well wait for the appraisal and then start interviewing. Given that your move to your hometown can wait a little longer, I suggest you don’t take up an offer that you are not satisfied with. Period. Cause it will catch up with you sooner than later.

Is there room to negotiate for a better salary? Yes, there is if you have decided on things that you are ok to let go and others which you must have. Off course, you can still go ahead and ask for a hike. The max that they’ll say is a ‘No’. But that discussion will have more weight if you went in with researched data. Negotiations are really about giving as much as getting. I see there’s a lot you can take away from this interviewing experience.

Hope you get the offer you are expecting. Good luck!

Recruiter mails offer letter to official email ID!

From a reader:

I had interviewed a couple of weeks back and got through after multiple rounds of interview. Prior to the start of the interview process I had filled out a ‘pre-interview’ form that was given to me by the recruiter. In the contact details part of the form, I had mentioned my personal email id and phone number as primary contact points. I was also asked to give my current official email id as part of the form filling exercise. I had clearly indicated that I was not to be reached or sent any communication about the interview process to my official email id, since the email is shared within the team. I made it through the interviews and the recruiter had called to discuss the offer with me before emailing it to me. He then sent the offer letter to my official email id. I think my manager and colleagues have read the mail. This might affect my exit and references. How do I manage this?

My reaction on reading this was…Arrgghhh, another recruiter blunder! The first one was here, but this one’s plain stupid.

Well, there are at least five different sets of people that are going to get affected by this mail. You. Your current manager. Colleagues. Prospective manager. Recruiter.

We’ll take it one at a time.

First, are you ok with the offer? If yes, it makes things a lot easier. There really isn’t much you can do now but start the exit discussion with your manager. You cannot rule out the possibility that this will affect your exit process. You can however come out clean and tell the manager that you had provided the email id as part of the form filling activity. Further, that you had clearly indicated (I hope this wasn’t just verbal) that the official id was not to be used for any sort of interview communication. It’s good to be truthful, cause then you have nothing to hide. He might buy that, but don’t bank on him accepting it right away. He’ll be wary of setting a precedent. If he goes easy on you, the other team members won’t take to it lightly. He’ll have to deal with discontented team members who know about the offer. On the other hand, if you aren’t ok with the offer, then I suggest you either bargain for a better offer or start updating your resume. Hope it’s the former that works out better.

I’ll give the benefit of doubt to your colleagues and assume they didn’t read the mail which was addressed to you. But then, curiosity can do strange things. If for example, the mail had a subject line: From xxxxx: Offer Letter. That would turn even the most disinterested reader into a curious reader. Your colleagues are going to be upset with you. Period. Not because you are leaving them (that’s more emotional), but because they now know your offer and are comparing that with their current job. Your manager’s not going to be happy with this situation. One person’s mail has caused an imbalance within the whole team!

Next up is the recruiter. Well, where do I start? I’m just going to say that if I was the recruiter’s manager, I would be having a candid discussion right this minute. The recruiter’s blunder is going to affect their chances of getting you across the line. Hope you have mailed the recruiter, making your displeasure known. This might not help your case, but he should know he messed up. The damage has been done and the worst part is that he is no longer in control of the consequences.

As for the prospective manager, if you are ok with the offer, I suggest you write to him and explain the situation. You may want to tell him about the possibility of not getting references from your present manager. However, do mention that you’ll try and work out things from your end. There’s only so much your future manager can do. He wasn’t the one sending out the mail. Hopefully, he’ll understand and give you some flexibility.

Finally, the person in the middle of the storm is you. Since the email id is shared, there’s a possibility that a log’s maintained for all mail transactions. Bring it up with the manager and request him to either delete it or allow you to delete it from the id. Again, it’s only damage control. It will only stop others (who haven’t already read the mail) from accessing the mail.

Good luck!

Guest Post: Three Mistakes - Innovation as a Culture

Author: Prateek

When ‘The HR Store’ asked me to write a guest post for his blog, I was not only surprised but overwhelmed with gratitude. The gratitude because, one of the best compliments you can get from a blogger is that he thinks your views are worthy enough to be displayed on his blog. And surprised because his being a blog of a niche focus in the area of HR, and my credentials in the field are limited to reading a couple of books and interacting with working HR professionals in couple of organizations. So for this blog post I have picked up a topic which has always been something which I look up to in an organization. My level of respect and adoration grows leaps and bounds for any organization who can display the elusive traits of Innovation.

Innovation as an organization culture has always been a nightmare for organizations. The perfect blend of processes that might nurture innovation in the organization has eluded professionals across the globe. There have been companies that have invested millions of dollars to get the better of the competition year after year.

Steven Jobs is one professional who I have always looked up to, for his clarity of thought and vision for an organization. If anyone has been able to inculcate a culture of innovation successfully in an organization, that person would be Jobs. I present here my learning from reading about Jobs & Apple, on Innovation.

Dollars vs. People
"Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it."-- Steve Jobs, Fortune, Nov. 9, 1998

One common mistake a lot of organizations do to be innovative, is choosing a wrong starting point. You have got it wrong in the first place if your idea of innovation starts with an R&D budget. The idea of innovation is not having a fixed amount to money to spend, but to identify a set of people who are willing to bring about change in an organization, who have the ability and vision to produce next level of products or services. There should be a budget for financial responsibility and accountability for sure, but the idea that a budget is allocated based on current mindset and vision of an organization to innovate is flawed. R&D organizations need to be restructured independently, with a set of goals that's in-line with that of the organizations.

Age vs. Experience
"It's rare that you see an artist in his 30s or 40s able to really contribute something amazing."-- Steve Jobs, At age 29, in Playboy, February 1985

If we actually look at innovation, it's more of an art than science; it's less of process and more of out-of-box abilities of a person or even an organization. As Steve Jobs points out, age is often an ignored criterion but somewhere in configuring an overall organization mix to establish innovation as culture this needs to be considered. There are two ages of people where the innovation peaks, one in early age mainly triggered of the youth & enthusiasm to keep trying that which is not tried. One that involves taking risks traversing unchartered or untried territories. The second time is late into one's professional career where experience teaches people of ways that things could work; the fall-outs and possible areas of improvement. Though an organization cannot ensure this non traditional distribution of age for innovation, it can be work towards providing a borderless culture to allow the voice of youth and experience to communicate and ideate. This probably is the best shot at innovation, because talent which can be innovative is present within most organizations, but often the channel or medium to communicate those ideas to a level where something sufficient can be achieved is missing.

Process vs. Individuals
"It is hard to think that a $2 billion company with 4,300-plus people couldn't compete with six people in blue jeans."-- Steve Jobs on Apple's lawsuit following his resignation to form NeXT (Newsweek, Sept. 30, 1985)

This is a million dollar observation! Mighty giants with thousands of brains working in tandem with each other are still beaten hands down when it comes to innovation by smaller start-ups. This is an illogical and at times even a paradoxical situation, that an organization with huge amount of talent is not innovative enough and few of its employees can simply quit, making it big by innovating. Case in Point: Patni Computers, Infosys, Wipro and Mindtree among many more companies that one can follow. I believe that the primary reason for this kind of occurrence lies in the fact that the cumulative energies of people is being diverted to a completely different area of work. It may be so because they are restricted by communications channels, processes and systems or even plain office politics. So when an organization is structured such that it allows for free flow of ideas, there's an opportunity that it is considered seriously and brainstormed. This is a key point which should be kept in mind while designing an innovation core for the organization.

I believe these are the three mistakes organizations have been doing time and again while eyeing for innovation to be at their core. The idea should be to strive towards a perfect balance which would maintain status quo of the day to day business while at the same time increasing the overall entropy of innovation in the system. Thus, setting it for a better and more stable state.

About the Author

Prateek is a Business Process Consultant working in Supply Chain Management and Planning Space. He is a passionate blogger, a technology enthusiast and a social media junkie. He blogs about topics like Organization Processes, General Management, Personal Management, and Business Issues. You can read more about him here.

Take a stand

That’s the least you can do.

It’s applicable to HR, as it is to any other field of work. It’s time you put your best foot forward. Choose to do the right thing. You’ll end up making enemies out of people who were used to hearing you say yes, all the time. That’s fine, because you can bet that they will stop treating you as a doormat. Change is strange, but it will be fine if you give them time to digest the new normal.

It’s time you take a stand:

• When a non-performer’s being rated as a high-performer cause the manager didn’t do his job & is avoiding the dirty work.


• When employees are making demands that can’t be done.


• When leadership is using HR as a messaging medium to convey bad news.


• You get the seat at the table, only to get designated as the person who captures the minutes of the meeting.


• Your department is treated as a cost center by the business & you agree!


• Managers don’t take responsibility for retaining their top talent. They feel its HR’s headache!


• You don’t need to take sides when managers are at war with each other.


• Your time is always taken for granted. And you grant it without questioning!

These situations are just a tip of the iceberg! You can and should say NO to a lot more unreasonable demands.

Make it a part of your competency. Bring in some attitude to your work. You can be candid and that’s far better than sugar-coating stuff for the short-term. You’ll at least get the message across loud and clear.

Obvious or Curious?

Well, before I start with this post, I want to ask you to read through the dictionary meaning of a couple of words, at least the one explanation that makes sense in this context.

Read up here on obvious and curious.

Now that we have, let’s get down to the post. This one’s really got me thinking.

• Does good talent take jobs that state the obvious? Or ones that leave them a bit curious?


• Do employees like reading a user manual (obvious) before using the intranet/HRIS? Or will they use it better if you create curiosity about the application?


• Can managers retain the best folks by opting for a natural career progression for everyone? Or will a few of them opt for a more risky career path if they find something curious?


• Is that sales person pitching your product in the way that’s sounds obvious? Or is he willing to create some curiosity in the customer & let him try it out first?

If you still haven’t answered truthfully, then maybe this post won’t have an impact on you. Cause the answer is screaming at us. Most of us (at least starting with me and many that I know personally) including talent, managers, sales folks, marketing honchos, customers & even the front desk receptionist, among so many others, love stuff that tickles brain-cells. We are constantly looking for something that conveys curiosity, stuff that’s compelling enough to take on the risk. It’s a battle of the obvious versus curious choice. Before you jump at a conclusion, it’s OK to take a side. Go ahead and pick your choice. It’s perfectly alright.

It only starts getting murky when the leader picks obvious and implements it without considering the curious set of people. Towing the line is then, the only option. However, repercussions of this will be experienced when the market picks up and the curious lot will be find jobs that suit them better.

So what’s this choice got to do with HR, staffing or employee relations? It does mean a lot. In fact it means creating a work environment with a difference.

The obvious choice is to play it safe. Create enough policies so that HR doesn’t need to answer any questions. Make the hiring process predictable enough to hire mediocre candidates. Rate every employee as a high-performer and not worry about the side-effects until it happens (like a lay off). Follow industry benchmarking even when you know you can do much better. Implement processes that doesn’t give room for people to question or improvise.

On the other hand, you have curious. It has people who like to question status quo. They take the time & effort to find alternate solutions. They’re inquisitive by nature and are constantly looking at raising the bar. Setting new standards in benchmarking is a norm. Willing to take risks and they are fully aware of the repercussions and have solutions for that too. Curious is always ready to engage employees in an open manner and strive towards creating an inclusive work culture.

If you are in HR and are telling me that allowing curious is a culture thing or is a numbers driven issue at a very big organization, I’ll strongly disagree. If it were that, the curious lot would have left you in their very first month on the job! Really. I suppose it’s then an individual trait. Some managers are allowing for it to grow, while many others are curbing it at the very start. As a HR person, are you having discussions with the business to allow for that curious mind to grow? That’s the HR power that you will bring to the table. Start with one and you’ll be surprised that there are more people than you can think of in your company who’ll endorse that view.

So when will you start?

What if your HR Dept is like an open kitchen? Really.

Maybe I was really hungry when I posted this question on Twitter:

Does having an open kitchen at a restaurant enhance customer experience?

You can see some of the replies here, here & here with an emphatic YES!

The bottom line is that people love restaurants that have open kitchens. It’s such a big hit. It’s gives customers a great chance to see the way food’s cooked and that could in turn enhance customer experience. Off course, it demands a certain set of standards to be maintained, like hygiene, cleanliness, quality of food & surroundings, behavior, safety precautions for having an open kitchen, deciding just how much transparency is good, etc, If going the open-kitchen way enhances customer experience to an extent where they are willing to go around and spread the good word, then wouldn’t it in turn grow the business? Obvious, isn’t it?

Now, I asked that question because I felt that the open-kitchen model would work wonders for a HR department too! By choosing to open the doors to our HR cabins or department we would help build trust, confidence, effective communication channels and not to mention a very motivated workforce. By the way, this is not just HR speak. It’s a way of improving HR life at work. This approach would also help HR connect better with employees. No? Think about it this way, the more you choose to stay closed about policies, rewards & recognition, performance reviews, etc, it’s only going to put that much more distance between HR & employees.

We believe HR department is responsible for understanding the pulse of the organization, providing information and educating the senior management on best practices. Then shouldn’t HR be initiators and become ‘Change Managers’ before campaigning for change among the managers/VP’s/CEO? I really wouldn’t buy “It’s been the Company’s culture” stand. It’s been there because no one’s questioned it. It’s been there because no one’s willing to take the initiative and invest time to build an open door HR department, since it requires you to give people in your teams the authority to take decisions (which is tied to hiring the right person). It’s possible to implement this model when HR stops being a compliance-only dept that use phrases like follow this process or check that policy. It’s possible only when you actively participate in running the business.

Understandable that change is strange. But the HR-needs-a-seat-at-the-table jig isn’t really necessary for this change to happen or be implemented. All you need to take is three small steps. Start small. Let the effect be experienced by employees. Your brand ambassadors (employees) will sell the idea for you, by spreading the good word. It’s not going to happen if you sit around and wait for everyone to come onboard your idea-ship in one day. They’ll be the usual naysayers, pessimists and a whole lot of pushback from different departments. Take a stand. It’s time we did.

So should we then not drive towards having an open door HR department? Off course, it’s an emphatic YES from my side too. It’s obvious. It’s the right-thing to do.

Any thoughts?

Are you assertive enough at work?

Well, I was recently part of a discussion with a group of friends from a variety of work background. We had someone from engineering, HR, recruitment, sales, consulting, among others. The topic discussed was about being assertive.

The question we shared among the group was: Are you assertive enough at work?

The question was directed more towards their life at work than in personal life. While the entire group started out saying we were assertive, the real truth emerged only after sometime into the discussion. As much as we wanted to debate, we really weren’t assertive enough in our work life!! The dude in engineering wasn’t assertive when he told he sure wasn’t going to meet the product release deadline. The sales guy wasn’t assertive enough to tell a No to his client’s demands, fearing he might lose them. The recruiter wasn’t assertive when it counted the most, in telling the hiring manager to take a decision with the existing bunch of candidates. That the grass wasn’t greener on the other side of the candidate field. HR often ended up quoting stuff from policies, rather than a firm ‘No’ to crazy requests from employees (fearing attrition!)

Another obvious question asked was, do we then really need to be assertive? Off course we should be assertive. Isn’t that obvious? Being assertive really isn’t about forcing an idea on someone, pushing so hard that it forms cracks in a client relationship, does not mean you hide behind a HR policy instead of answering the question openly. It’s about being confident and not giving up on yourself when you know the outcome of a certain activity. Being decisive in your ‘No’ with valid reasons. If you choose to be assertive, you have then are decided to speak firmly about how you feel about a situation. It’s a thin between aggressiveness and assertiveness, striking a balance is the tough part.

There’s a ton of information on the web, telling/asking/showing/advising us on how to be assertive? Just what are we doing with that information? From our discussions, it was clear that most of that info got thrown to the backburner in a never ending rush to deliver results, please unrelenting clients and hire the next-best candidate.

So is being assertive a personality trait or one that we learn on the job? If we agree that circumstances reveal a person, is it then really possible to teach someone to be assertive (thinking on the spot rather than after the event has occurred)?

That gets me to ask you: Are you assertive enough at work? How do you manage to stay that way? Do share your thoughts.

Manager asking for too many reports without sufficient notice

From a reader;

I work as an analyst and part of my job description requires me to prepare/generate reports on a regular basis. I’ve a weekly schedule that is planned way in advance and it helps me to prioritize my work such that deliverables aren’t affected. This mode worked great with my previous manager who has since left the Company. I now report to a new manager and I’m finding it difficult to adapt to his style of working. He’s ok with my weekly schedules and has been very supportive at work. However, I’ve noticed many times that he has asked for too many reports (not in the weekly schedule) without giving sufficient notice. The requests are mostly from clients who want a report immediately. This has had an effect on my weekly deliverables. I don’t want to continue in this manner. I need to discuss and sort it out. How do I approach my manager?

Is this happening only to you or have the other team members (if any) brought up the same issue? There are two things that come to mind. First, I get the feeling that your manager is much disorganized and needs help with time management and prioritizing his work. Also likely that he isn’t able to manage clients well enough and he’s getting pressurized to deliver things quickly. Second, maybe his trust and confidence in your work is high and hence he is relying heavily on getting the work done only by you. Either way he shouldn’t be having too many last minute requests, at the cost of already-scheduled work.

Whatever be the reason, it’s time for you to set up a discussion. Now. His management style is hurting your deliverables and that will come up for scrutiny sooner than later. If it comes to that, you’ll not be able to justify by saying you were catering to last minute/unscheduled requests. There’s a high chance he’ll ask why you hadn’t brought up the issue earlier. You get my point? It’s better to sort these things out before it reaches a point of no return.

Timing is crucial when you set up a discussion. Don’t do it when he comes up with his next last-minute request. That will backfire. Instead choose a time when you’ve completed work on his latest request. That’ll give you some data points to talk about. You need to find out if he is comfortable with a formal discussion or an informal one? If it’s a formal discussion that he prefers, then set up a meeting on his calendar at his convenient time. Tell him you want to discuss a concern that’s affecting your work and deliverables. Next, when you meet him, go prepared with points that you want to discuss about. Don’t try and get defensive, rather have an open and candid conversation. Get to know his side of thinking and address them accordingly. If he’s a good manager, there’s a high possibility that he will see that his actions are indeed hurting your work and change them to work better. On the other hand, if he turns out to be a jerk, he’ll agree to change and yet continue with his previous style. Hope it’s the former and not the latter that you encounter, since you mention that he’s very supportive at work.

If he turns out to be a jerk and doesn’t change his style. You have a few choices. While scheduling your work the next time around, allow for some buffer. If a project requires 10 days, you ask for 14 days, you then have a 4 day buffer, should he come up with last minute requests. Make sure you document very request that comes your way. That will be helpful for later discussions and will also act as a cover. If that’s not the way you work, you decide if you want to work for this manager.

My experience says that nine of ten times, having discussions early into an issue helps clear the air. Good luck!

Post that might interest you: Yes, it's ok to disagree with your manager.

Start-up: Hiring challenges

From a recruiter:

Dear HR Store,

I’m a recruiter at a start-up that has started hiring. Seems like the market conditions are improving and big players in the market have started hiring too. Candidates are accepting our offer, but that hasn’t stopped them from talking to the big players. My question to you is: how many times can we call candidates after they have accepted our offer? What can we do to convince the candidates to join us?

Thanks.

First, welcome to the world of start-ups. I just love the thought of a start-up. Hmmm……Sorry, I digress. This question’s about you. Not me. I’ll proceed to answer your question in two parts.

How many times can we call candidates after they have accepted our offer? Well, I’m tempted to ask, what is the purpose for which you are calling the candidate? Are you calling daily/regularly with an intention to find out what the candidate’s been up to since accepting your offer? That’ll look like you are stalking the candidate or you’re unsure of your choice or might even tell the candidate that you are desperate to get him onboard. Yes, it might be all of that and more. But that’s not the impression you want to give the candidate. Right? So, ideally here’s what you could do. Start with a call a week. That should suffice if the candidate’s going to join you within two weeks. If the joining time is more than two weeks, you could call a couple of times a week after the first two weeks. Understandable that you want to give your interactions a personal touch, but an overdose of anything is harmful. You could even try mails on other days. Make your mails informative. That should help a lot. Try and avoid calling daily! That’ll end up hurting your cause a lot.

Your next question, what can we do to convince the candidate to join us? So, what do you talk about in those calls / mails? Do you have a unique story to tell the candidate? Why, when or what was the reason for the startup to take shape. Take the opportunity to use those calls as personal touch time to give the candidate as much information as possible. Ones that will help him take an informed decision. Talk about improvements in product line, new customer wins, new additions to senior management/other teams, re-emphasis his role in the team, growth plans for the start-up, financial plans etc, Hiring for a start-up can get challenging, but you can make life easier for yourself by getting as much information as possible. You are expecting a candidate to give up his regular job and take a chance with a start-up with hopes that it will payoff soon. Give him enough reasons for doing just that. It may have been covered in the earlier interviews, but the gravity of the situation would have sunk in only after he went back home, consulted with his family, friends and peers in the industry. Decisions change rapidly based on the inputs he gets from them. Highlight that the startup is an opportunity that is very rare and one where he will find enough challenges that would be of high interest. Involve the manager in your talks. In most startups there isn’t a manager! Get the boss to do some talking too. Helps a great deal.

Good luck!

Guest Post: From my wife!

Finally…

A non-hr person blogging about HR practices! The human resource professional who runs this blog thinks it would be a great idea to see HR from a different angle, an angle that would be more cynical, ready to find fault & more commonly called, The HR Store's wife!

Well, get ready for a whirlwind cynical side. I’ve worked in 3 companies – 1 Start-up, 1 mid-scale company and 1 big conglomerate. I will try to talk about my experiences in each of these companies and more importantly, my interaction with HR there.

I work for a humongous corporation now with over 75000 employees all over the world. Nothing works beyond process & policies and off course your HR rep. I always thought I would be the one to rebel against this kind of a company, but I find a weird sort of security where I know I cannot be screwed over by a mean boss or the blue-eyed boy of the boss or the curvaceous colleague (all have happened, I swear!) Everything at work is documented and no matter how many bosses change or how many projects you have been moved into, your past is always taken into accord, good or bad and that to me is very comforting. The HR rep here is very accommodating and she is even expected to respond to our emails in 24 hours (its a rule!!) Though they don’t really give us an answer that we want, it helps that we have an answer in a day's time. A lot of approvals are done by the HR and this helps that we don't have to get our silly transport, cafeteria, HR system issues, compensation clarity, across to our bosses who are really not interested. My only crib about the HR here is that they lack personality; they are cold, unemotional, efficient machines who eventually get the work done! Touch-time with employees is purely based on necessity.

Prior to this I worked for a start-up. This has to be the most horrible company ever in the history of mankind!! Really. It was run and worked on the whims and fancy of one man; the CTO cum IT Director cum Marketing Director cum Sales Director cum every other senior management role. The HR in this company was absolutely non-existent. This was because of the said manager, like I mentioned above. The HR director was above everyone and did not think he could stoop down to our level (employee level). The thing that most bugged me was, when I had to discuss salary issues, leave issues, medclaim issues; issues that should rightly have been handled by the HR or Finance personnel in the company, it was addressed by the above manager. It was hell and I was so grateful to have got out with my temper intact!!

Finally, the mid-scale company I worked for was comfortable. The projects that I was involved in were pretty ordinary, but my working relationship with my bosses and HR was fantastic! The gripe here is, the HR were constantly involved in extra-curricular activities, team building activities and everything else associated with ‘fun @ work’ theme. I am all for some fun @ work activities but when it happens about 4 times a month, it gets a little annoying and downright irritable when you have deadlines and releases to meet. And they expect you to participate (mandate) without any exceptions. And God forbid, had you ever participated in one of these events once, the HR personnel organizing the event would be all over you like an ant at a picnic. It would probably have helped if they had spent their time drafting some policies for leave, travel, re-location, regular FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) etc., because every time we approached them for issues relating to the above, they were all set to play Dumb Charades!!

Based on my experience, I felt that the management got it all wrong when hiring HR folks. There was always a feeling that the HR rep didn’t fit in with the business needs. Maybe that’s something companies can look deep into. After all, if HR reps are representing the business internally to employees, then wouldn’t it make sense to spend more time in getting the right candidate?

Thanks for reading the post and let me know what you think of it!