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.

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.

Is this a bold move?

You decide that after reading this post.

There’s enough written about managers. I’ve written about it myself here, here & here. But this post is completely devoted to a much avoided/evaded part of a manager’s role: Giving Feedback

So here’s a suggestion I have: Why don’t we make giving feedback a part of a manager’s performance review? Make it objective and quantifiable.

Why should we go with this approach to management? Here’s why:

- It will make managers give feedback. Simple. Right? Yes, sometimes a basic request for feedback isn’t met. At times it’s completely avoided too.

- Feedback can be tracked and reviewed along with other parameters as part of the manager’s performance review. It would help identify areas in which the manager might need help, when it comes to giving feedback.

- Takes away the opportunity to just give hints and get away with it. The recipient knows exactly what’s been said.

- Avoids arguments. When the feedback is clear and precise it doesn’t give room for arguments, debates or worse, assumptions!

- When you make it quantifiable, the manager’s focus will be on giving feedback with enough data.

- Makes it a direct interaction between the manager and his direct report. Often, feedback is passed through other leads/employees. An approach that always backfires.

- It helps set-up a clear communication channel between managers and direct reports. Performance parameters can be set openly and discussed without any discomfort.

- Expectations can be set, managed and communicated effectively.

- It takes away the assumption that giving feedback is a one-time effort.

- Once the feedback is in place, it would help with formulating measures for improving the direct report’s performance. Follow-up can be well planned, tracked and executed easily.

- PIP (Performance Improvement Plan) will make more sense than before. Since feedback is captured on a regular basis and hence helps avoid surprising the recipient.

Thinks to watch out for:

- Managers need to be trained before implementing this move.

- Feedback is to be given only about work. Shouldn’t be a personal judgment of the manager.

There could be many more instances to look out for. That’s exactly why a training session would be helpful. Is this a bold move? Maybe not. It’s a matter of companies implementing and manager’s accepting it. Yes, Change is Strange!

Do you think your organization is ready for this? Are you ready for this? Do you manage people? Are you a leader? Do you report to a manager who gives feedback? Do you report to a manager who hates giving feedback? Would love to hear your thoughts. I’m open to receive feedback!

Allow yourself to learn...

….and the ‘Learning Curve’ will end up along the right path! That’s a piece of advice I got from my mentor when I started my career. And I’ve given it so much importance, that it has kept me in real good shape.

The reason I bring up this subject is because I’ve often heard candidates ask, "What will be my learning curve?” I find that odd. Really. Were they waiting for their learning curve to take-off? Or are they asking what they’ll learn from this Company that would help them get ahead of the curve? Maybe, I’ve read the question wrong. Maybe, I haven’t got it wrong. Since improving one's learning curve isn't going to happen overnight or for working at a Company. The Company will only act as a medium to help you get to your goals. The learning curve is driven by the person than by any external factor.

You may argue, the market conditions are bad, companies aren’t willing to experiment; my manager doesn’t allow freedom at work and many more reasons. But doesn't that form part of your learning curve? I think it does. You learn to cope with it differently, think differently to get a work around, make a well thought out case study for your ideas that your manager will buy into, come up with a practical business model that the Company doesn’t see as an experiment. Yes. I’ll say all of the above are possible. I‘ve tried them and hence won’t agree otherwise. So if one isn't thinking along those lines, then maybe you have resigned yourself to accept whatever comes your way.

More often than not, when you allow yourself to learn you are in control of the situation than vice-versa. So that brings me to the question. What have I done with the advice I got a long time back?

Be ready to unlearn!
It really is the start point. Yes, your direct report may have a better solution. But your gut feel/instinct is to go with your solution. That’s the start to unlearning. When you begin to see reason in other’s approach at work, you learn to think and reason in new ways. Be ready to explore.

Get yourself a good mentor
Yes, I got one from a completely different area of work. I like it that way. Since this person knows my strengths and is also able to see my objectives from a third person’s point of view. That gives me an unbiased opinion. Ok, some may not agree here. But that’s why I also follow experts in my field of work

Reach out to experts
You are one too. But then you have so much more to learn. Take on the ‘Learn & Share’ attitude. You’ll be amazed.

Accept feedback
But that doesn’t mean you get steamrolled with criticism. Over time you’ll learn to put active filters on feedback and take the positives. Not every opinion counts, but the ones that really count will leave you a better person. The trick is I identifying that particular feedback.

Ask questions
I’ve seen it happen in meetings. When the organizer asks, “Are there any questions?” the room suddenly goes quiet. Each person waiting for the other to start asking questions. That’s bad. Yes, it’s obvious. You have a question. Go ahead and ask. You don’t need to wait. It’s ok to look stupid now than when you get done with a project/ mess-up half way through, only to realize you got all wrong. Ask early. Get answers early.

Embrace Change
Doesn’t mean you go about changing everything you ever believed it. But an open mind will help you understand the necessity to change. For the better.

Now, get to work on it. And let me know if there are more ways that have helped you get ahead of the learning curve.

Guest Post: Striving for Continuous Improvement & Innovation

Author: Narayanan Viswanathan

Management guru, Tom Peters, stated: 'Get innovative or get dead'. One couldn’t be just as candid & relevant, all the same. ‘Find out what works & do more of it’ & ‘don’t fix it if it isn’t broken’, have been the most standardized management techniques used by some of the business entities, who either no longer exist today or are on their way out of business. It used to be thought that Innovation was what took place within R&D centres, propelled by the geeks hired specifically for the purpose, but this isn't the case today. The need to break the collusion of mediocrity, enable constant revitalisation & consequently maximise stakeholder value have forced organizations to recognize that innovation is paramount to all within the organization. It is evident that innovation is the way forward & innovators need both motivators & enablers. Hence, business entities encourage innovation across functions in the organization, rather than just within the specialist R&D units.

Innovation however, cannot be entirely engineered towards a desired outcome. It is a perpetual journey towards excellence, which could involve a process of trial & error. Take for example, the drug discovery process which has an average success rate of 17.54%; which means, statistically 21 out of every 25 processes are scraped. Out of the remaining 4, 2 fail to meet consistency & undesired effect tests, & out of the remaining 2, only 1 takes the shape of a medicine that is commercially marketed.

Innovation need not essentially refer to creation of something unique or grandiose. Take for example, NASA spending millions of dollars in sub-contracting costs to invent a Pen, that can write on any surface & in zero-gravity, that can be used by its Astronauts in outer-space; the Soviet’s instead, used a 9H grade Pencil which left residue less enough to be considered safe for use in space-station.

Innovation is also about identifying & leveraging on existing techniques; being applied on hitherto untapped area. For example, McDonalds’ adopted assembly line production technique, a process that revolutionized auto industry, for preparing fast-food – they called it the Speedee System. It improved their efficiency, wiped out carhops that were ubiquitous in the industry at the time, & set new standard for success in fast-food industry.

Innovation can be in every sphere of work across the functions in an organization. Take for example, Dell Direct model that stipulated a unique way of buying & selling. It starts & ends with the customers; provides them with customized systems, services & support; & also, enables Dell to manage the entire supply-chain with limited idle inventory. It not only set Dell apart, it also revolutionised the focus on customer experience, as an important differentiator, while also reducing direct costs.

More products & services have been created in the last century alone than the entirety of time before! All signs & trends only signal the possibility that the rate of innovation will only head northwards. The problem for many organizations is that they are not culturally equipped to deal with such rates of change. The fall of Ashton Tate Corp. (of DBase fame), the decline of International Harvester Co., the death of Walkman & Kodak films, are trite examples for lack of sustained development & innovation resulting in down-fall, while the advent of Internet, ATM, e-commerce & wireless communication are prominent examples of path-breaking inventions that revolutionized our times.

It’s important for organizations to constantly improve performances against key business processes through a deliberate Plan-Do-Learn-Repeat mechanism. It has been said before, but it is true nonetheless that innovative solutions help save millions of dollars that can be invested back into the customer relationships & employee development initiatives, that will have a direct bearing on both sustenance & growth of the business entity.

About the Author:
Narayanan Viswanathan, is a certified Global Professional in Human Resource Management (GPHR) with over 10 years of progressively responsible hands-on experience in the entire gamut of HR functions; with functional specialization in Talent Management & Talent Engagement. Currently, he is part of a 6-member HR Centre of Excellence (COE) team, at Cognizant, which is the strategic wing of corporate human resources, that manages the cross-geographical implementation of Balance Score Card, Performance Management, Career Development and Career Progression initiatives. He is also a Six Sigma Green Belt certified professional.

Bring your own shoes!

Question I got from the audience in a forum:

“I’ve just transitioned into a new role within my current company. I was told that the previous manager who held that position for over three years had done a fabulous job which got him promoted. Recently, everybody I’ve met from the top management has been telling me, “You’ve got some big shoes to fill!” Although I understand their expectations, don’t such remarks put unnecessary pressure on the new person? This isn’t an HR issue or question. But can’t the management avoid such remarks and give the new person some time to prove himself? Any thoughts on how to handle the situation”

Well, I did answer the query at the forum. Here’s the answer in as many words as possible.

First, I presume your management has done its due diligence in identifying the right candidate for the role. So unless they didn’t find you suitable, you would not have been offered the position. Right? That’s simple. They have placed their trust in you to get the job done and hence there are bound to be expectations. The previous manager’s success has only increased their expectations.

Yes. The management can avoid such remarks when they meet you, at least not in their first interaction. Maybe, they are saying this for lack of anything better to say. You’ll need to watch out for something more important; Are they just asking you to deliver results? Or are they telling you that they understand you have big shoes to fill and you can count on their support till you find your footing? So here’s a reply that you could use: “Thanks for the heads-up! I’m confident that I’ll deliver results and I’ll need your support to achieve it.” This answer could convey to them that they are partly responsible for your success too. The management cannot just identify a successor and throw him into deep waters. If that happens, you'll have more trouble than you expect.

A few things that you may want to try in your new role:

- Have patience: You’ll hear the big-shoes-to-fill line at least a million times within the first month. Tell yourself that these are new folks who are yet to see you perform magic. They’ll eventually be singing your praises to the next manager.

- Accept the previous manager’s achievements: You might have a few things to learn from your predecessor’s work. Acknowledge it. While you don’t want copy his style, he might have done a few things that you could follow/continue too.

- Self-doubt can be fatal: Really. You will get to hear a lot of the previous manager’s work being rated excellent; if you don’t know when to stop listening and start working. You will end up doubting yourself in that role! That’s fatal. Remember the management chose you for the role, someone must has noticed your potential.

- Can’t change things overnight: It’s a fact. Give the team and management some time to get used to your style of working. You may have some great ideas, but you need the team to execute it. So get the team to believe in your work. That is a process you don’t want to hurry.

- Bring your own shoes! – You have a long distance to run and its best done with your own pair of shoes! Really. Try and do your own things, like building strategies, team management, setting team objectives, etc., Off course it needs to be alignment with the business goals. Else, you'll end spending energy by running the wrong race!

Good luck in your new role!

Employees promoting competitors!

A reader asks:

“Our company’s dress code isn’t that stringent. So effectively employees can wear business casuals to work and shifts to formal business attire when needed (like a client visit). We leave it to them to exercise discretion. We have however noticed that far too many employees wear/carry stuff from their previous employers to work! At times, it’s from our direct competitors! Can we include a line in our dress-code policy that prohibits employees from wearing/displaying stuff from competitors? How do we avoid this happening again?”

Appreciate that you’ve let employees decide what they wear to work, as long as it conforms to business needs. However, your employees are taking their dress-code freedom for granted. That’s really bad.

Here’s what could have happened, there’s Joe who likes that blue-shirt he got at his previous company. It matches his favorite trouser. He doesn’t mind that the shirt has your competitor’s logo on it. For him, the combination looks good & the bigger picture gets dwarfed. He then walks into the office and obviously other employees notice. Some of them like it and the others don’t. The ones that liked it might go back & scour their wardrobes for stuff they got from their previous companies. If they find something they like, they’ll wear it to work. Or will display stuff at their desks, like coffee-mugs, awards, calendars. Or use their previous company’s back-pack. The one’s that don’t like it think it’s not for them to correct the others. Had you stopped Joe and asked him not to wear that shirt, the others would not have followed. That’s the risk with setting precedents. Before you know it, it’ll snowball into a messy issue. Employees will feel you are controlling there wardrobe! Really.

Common sense is a rare commodity. So you’ll need to go that extra mile in letting people know they can’t wear/carry/display stuff that could promote competitors. Yes, you can add it in your company’s dress-code policy. But let’s be honest, just how many of them will even read it. You might get some responses in the initial few days. After that, it’s back to old ways. Also, if you haven’t interfered in the way your employees manage their desks, such as displaying personal things, then trying to disallow that immediately (without notice) will backfire.

So, here are some options that you could try.

- You cannot demand loyalty. You can only earn it. So have patience. Make your company's brand worth sporting on one’s attire.
- Communicate to all new employees during induction. It’s a good start-point. At least you’ll not have to worry about them.
- For existing employees, send out mails which tell them that you have noticed this and your stand on the issue. Tell them why you are doing it in the first place. A client visiting your company could notice an employee displaying competitor’s stuff (deal breaker) and that not an image you want to project.
- Most important is that you avoid setting further precedents. The policy is applicable across the company that includes senior management too.
- Yes, popular fashion brands are ok, so are sports-brands. Unless off course they are direct competition to your business.
- I understand that budget could be a constraint, but if you can manage, there’s nothing like giving out stuff that has your company’s logo!

Yes, employees have a choice of what they want to promote. But if their loyalty is still with your competitor, then that’s where they should have remained!

Footprints

Today is Earth Day. It's a day to help promote awareness for a better environment. By reducing our carbon footprints. Yes, you may have heard about enough ways to reduce your contribution to global warming. But, have you done enough?

At the work place, it isn’t an HR action item to implement methods for a greener world. It’s up to every employee to exercise their common sense to help preserve nature. If you still don’t know what to do, here’s a website that might be of help.

The right time is NOW. Reduce, Reuse & Recycle.

Visibility Issues

Conversations you get to hear during a normal workday.

Employee (to manager): Where do I get my policy query answered?
Manager: Send a mail to askhr@ggggg.com and someone from HR will reply soon.

External Agency (to finance person): Who handles staffing contract extensions?
Finance person: I’ll check & revert. Someone in HR should get that done.

Manager’s mail (to another common email ID – hopefully belonging to HR): Who will act as a single point of contact (from HR) for my business group? I have some queries.
He get’s a reply (shocking! From HR): We (who?!?) have received your query. Someone from HR will get back to you shortly.

The phrase ‘Someone from HR’ makes me uncomfortable. Is HR not making itself visible? Maybe that’s true.

HR’s role in any company (big or small) can be compared to a client facing job, like sales, marketing or PR. Just imagine if your sales/marketing person couldn’t create recall value with their clients. The deal’s dead. It’s the same situation with HR; we need to create recall-value with our customers (employees, vendors, management, etc.). How else will we deliver results? As much as we don’t like, it takes only one bad remark/comment to ruin our objectives. Yes, that’s bad. Since you know there are 10 other good things you might have done. Sadly, only the pit falls get scrutinized. Sorry, I digress.

The problem is that people don’t know whom to contact from HR. There’s no visibility! We just aren’t making enough noise. Just because you are addressing an issue, don’t assume the entire workforce knows about it. If there is a common problem, it would help if you could circulate the answer to that query – via email, forums, company intranet. The idea is to NOT get that query asked by the remaining employees. You’ll not end up wasting time & effort on redundancy. You could use various methods to tell people whom to meet for HR related business:

- Start with company wide emails telling them about the HR hierarchy.
- Share info during New Hire Orientation (new people getting into the company).
- Make announcements in open-houses, quarterly company meeting, intranet, billboards within the company.
- As a HR business partner meet the managers regularly.

Basically, whatever it takes! In the people business, things get escalated sooner than a ‘bug’ that gets recognized in the software being built. It’s true.

It’s time to get out of the desk and meet people. Start now…go get some visibility!

Analog players in a digital world

That’s what most of us are. I believe HR isn’t immune either. Entry into the digital world is a big step taken towards positive change. Now that can be challenging and I did write about it here.

Why is it challenging?

- We (read: HR) spend money on acquiring the latest Performance Appraisal System to help ease transactional activities and go the paperless way. Only to get back to printing appraisal letters and dumping them into envelopes, because that’s being done for the last thousand years.

- Interview candidates are asked to fill sheets of paper giving their personal & professional data. Only to file those papers in the drawers. Instead, can’t we ask them to fill an online form?

- Often we encounter situations where existing employees who were following traditional systems got introduced to new systems/gadgets. The first instinct is to snub the new systems, since they require time & effort to understand. Even at the cost of making one’s work life easy!

Let me clarify. I’m not saying that we just dump analog systems and head for a digital revolution. At least give it a try. It could end up saving cost, time and improve process. What more can you ask for?

Any other analog ideas we could do away with? I’m all ears.

Make Some Noise!

It’s About Time!

Recently, I had taken up a mission to come up with an attractive method to highlight the Company’s Employee Benefit Plan (EBP) – the target audience was to be both internal and external to the company. During the course of the mission, I was surprised by reactions when I shared benefits related information. I actually went in expecting to hear the standard response along the lines of ‘the-competitor-also-has-the-same-benefits’, but the reality was different. Benefits that didn’t sound great at first - actually ended up getting the audiences’ rapt attention. I did notice that benefits were previously highlighted keeping in mind the competitors. Now, here I was highlighting benefits keeping ONLY the target audience in mind. The benefits make sense only when they make a positive difference to YOUR audience. Competitors aren’t necessarily the only audience.

That’s a big change in paradigm and a tough one to implement. It’s a radical change in thinking and acceptance will take time.

I’ve repeatedly mentioned in my previous posts – Comparisons are a necessary evil. However, it's got a dark side to it. It can take your creativity to rock bottom levels, by aligning you to your competitor’s plans! Instead your focus should be on plans that take you and your company to the next level. It’s easier said than done. Agreed. The least you can do is to give it a positive try and the only way, will be forward.

HR isn’t just about preparing workflows, policies, processes, guidelines and every other document that may never see the light of day. It’s about making some noise about those very documents and getting the audience interested in using them. After all they are the end-users. Right? What use is a bunch of documents/systems that get either sent to the ‘Junk Folder’ or shot straight to the bin?

Think about that HRIS (Human Resource Information System) that was implemented to ease transactional activity, recruitment challenge that was met last quarter, employee relations having improved citing more transparency and credibility, customers (again both internal and external) noticing your improved services and experiencing that WOW factor – all these seem like part of your daily chores. Even if it is, it’s time to make some noise about these achievements.

Every product/service needs an endorsement, even if it’s the only one in the market with immense capabilities. Making some noise is essential to stay in business, to ensure that competitors sweat a lot more.

Go ahead, Make Some Noise!

What You Can't See CAN Hurt You!

Absolutely!!

How about that surprise ‘Resignation Mail’ you received from one of your team members? The process violation that got escalated to top management because you had thought it wasn’t a big deal? That angry customer who forgot that you don’t handle technical support and yet sent you a mail since you Head the company?!?!? Remember that baseless rumor which started at the water-cooler has now reached dizzying heights and has badly affected Employee Relations?

These instances are just tip-of-the-iceberg. There could be tons of such situations that you didn’t see coming your way, because you couldn’t see them. It’s like driving fast on a foggy morning without realizing that the road curves ahead! It’s a horrible situation, right? That’s exactly what’s happening when you can’t see but CAN get hurt!

It’s time to set your eyes on the radar. You don’t necessarily have go breathing down one’s neck to find out what’s happening. You just need to make those daily/weekly/monthly meetings more interactive, communicative and productive. Start the trend by becoming accountable yourself and the rest of the staff will follow. The more you procrastinate, the tougher it becomes to resolve issues!

Everyone loves to be in ‘Control’. That urge can let you down terribly! Empower people in the organization to take decisions at various levels; it helps in quickly sorting minor issues that could possibly snowball into a bigger one. Making them accountable will ensure they think twice before they take any decision.

Day-to-day transactional activities end up consuming our energy and we get caught trying hard to resolve the wrong issue! The real issue is happening on the other end of the spectrum! Are you tuned in?

- The HR Store

Change is NOT an Option!

We love this topic. Don’t we?

Everyone’s talking about ‘Change’. From jobs, careers, politics, education, automobiles, houses, vacations, leadership, blogs, companies, etc. – it’s becoming a common language everywhere. Yet, the real proof is in the 'end-result' of embracing Change! Many times discussions on this topic are left behind at the table, they don't see the light of the day.

You can’t really blame anyone. There’s a high priority given to get things done on a day-to-day basis. Transactional activities consume 90% of a person’s time at work. Honestly, no one cares for Change, unless it’s at a point where going ahead with work gets halted! Obviously, embracing Change for no reason is foolish! It should have a purpose, a definite cause for introducing it.

Change is all about Timing. Identifying that opportune time is a task most people don’t want to take up. An error is often treated with an air of “We’ll fix it for now and worry later” approach. The problem with that approach is that, the next person handling the issue will land at the same error and spend the same amount of time rectifying it!

Here’s a situation:

You have a Human Resource Information System (HRIS) to ease HR transactional activities like typing out appraisal letters, various requests for HR related documentation, manage database operations, etc. The system is running smooth for a year. During the course of the year there was a repetitive error which got overlooked, assuming ‘someone else’ will handle it. Voila! One fine day the system crashes (due the error); hell has just broken loose at work! Everyone from HR to Finance (Off course!) to Engineering has advice on the next steps. The third-party vendor is called, they are given a deadline to get it fixed or else you go to the next best vendor. Believe it! 9 out of 10 times it just a threat! You want the system up & running ASAP!

Unfortunately, the vendor can’t fix the issue and you are forced to take up another HRIS application. The work has to start from scratch!! The Change has taken you by surprise, the clear vision you had just got blurred, no one has a clue on what next to do! A state of hysteria sweeps through teams…Change has just rocked the boat!!!

Come to think of it, Change at a very major level is often more acceptable. Like replacement at the senior management level, leadership changing hands, changes in company policy to accommodate latest legal procedure and more. The trouble starts when Change happens to day-to-day activities. Like having to alter the process of generating candidate offer letters, preparing new format for appraisal letters (you had used the earlier one for 3 years!!), getting used to a newer HRIS application, taking a newer route to work, even changing cubicles at work!!

So the next time you ever ask someone else to Change...Ask yourself a question: Am I ready to accept the consequence of Change? After all, you cannot always Control/Change the situation…You can only CHANGE YOURSELF!

- The HR Store

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world" - Gandhi

Salary Negotiation

Salary negotiations anyone? Ask recruiters and they’ll say; NO!

Salary discussions somehow seem to be the biggest hurdle in the hiring-process. But why? Easy to predict the usual suspects, profile mismatch (found after the interviews!), company’s internal parity/team fitment, compensation structure mismatch, not able to match candidate’s expectations, candidate received a counter-offer from another company! Candidate got retained by the same employer with a hike! Loads of other issues. The situation looks grim and looks like it cannot be eradicated completely. After all, it’s called a negotiation NOT a verdict!

So what can be done to reduce the chances of having to deal with a messy salary negotiation? You give some and receive some, both for candidates and employers.

Quality wins hands-down in a negotiation, like sales people will tell you, quality is what is remembered long after the customer has paid a hefty price! The price was just a negotiating tool…

From a candidate point of view

1. Start with finding out the role and responsibilities of the job. If it’s a fit, undergo the interview process. You might NOT want to put an amount on your resume if you don’t know what you are getting into. Chances are you may need to do more than you had expected and quite naturally you need to be compensated for the same.

2. Set expectations right from the start – both of you should know what each one is getting into! It’s a build up to your negotiation phase.

3. When you enter the stage for salary negotiations – please be REALISTIC! Ask for a 500% hike, ONLY if you can substantiate with realistic reasons. No one in their right mind wants to low-ball you; barring a few, its people after all !

4. Do a quick check on the availability of your skills in the industry. Is it niche? You have a strong point to talk about.

5. Ask questions whenever given the chance about the company, work culture, peers, engagement model of the managers, company communication, etc., a strong indicator about the company’s fair-play attitude!

6. Compensation structure plays a BIG role! Start by understanding their compensation structure and later try mapping it your current salary structure. Both will surely have their positives. Be practical when you do this, since it could back-fire! A benefit here could be missing in the other and vice-versa.

Mostly Importantly

The Company doesn’t want to hear reasons like:

- I’m really smart, hard-working, with high integrity, etc. so I need to get paid more! What the heck, if you already are not, they would not even be talking to you. Get real!
- My friend with another company doing the same job is getting more than me! Hmmm…why don’t you wait and interview with that company then? Your friend is not your ticket to the salary negotiation table…
- You started out asking for 8% hike, but now realize you need more (10%)! Stick your commitment of asking for 8% (you were the person who gave them that number!) Don’t change that overnight, it’s a red-flag.
- An interview is a window to gauge you. You could been a STAR in your previous company. No one will ever know, if you cannot communicate that across with good presentation. So just because you cannot tell them your worth, don’t expect them to read your mind!

The company wants to hear you say things like:

- The company’s revenue returns will be higher because of your work! (Directly or indirectly) Time is money! Outline the reasons, such as newer, cost effective and process oriented approach to their latest problems (off course you may have to know about it during the interviews!) You are already up 1- 0…
- You are at the table negotiating for a salary based on your value, and they need to know that from you! Like you are capable of handling more responsibilities (give examples, not just talk) than what your current job lets you do.
- They’ll like to believe that your offer to do more sounds exciting since they get to fill a higher position with a lesser budget and a worthy candidate! Win-win situation. Score 2- 0
- Talk about instances where you have gone beyond your line of duty to complete tasks. After all, rewards are for people who have done more than what they are asked or even paid to do!

From a Company’s point of view

1. If you thought the candidate was already paid more than could have afforded – please don’t waste the candidate’s or Company time!
2. It’s unfair to low-ball a candidate, be fair and realistic. The Company has limits too. Candidates understand that!
3. Ask your HR interviewer to add more value to interview feedback, not just act as facilitators!
4. Candidates always expect more, stay firm and decide where to draw the line! You can’t keep stretching till the talks break…if you think the Company’s offer is good, stick to it!
5. Learn to say NO to more-than-necessary demands! If you set a precedent, others will follow! You do know candidates talk to others in the industry, right?


- The HR Store