HR ERA Issue

HR ERA Issue # 1 Date: May 26th, 2001.

HR Era is a FREE monthly newsletter for Human Resource Professionals. Readers include HR managers, trainers, consultants, teachers, researchers, students, & admirers of HR.

HR Era aims to enhance the CAREER GROWTH of readers. It informs them about practices & ideas they can apply in their work situation, opportunities to network with other H R Professionals, training opportunities & jobs available, and techniques for self-management.

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This issue contains:

1. Moderator's Space

2. 360 Degrees Appraisal (& Also 540 Degrees!)

3. Humor In a Corner

4. Reader's Forum

5. Quotable Quotes

6. Five Ways to Not Get Promoted by Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

7. Upcoming HR Training Programs (India)

8. Best of HR Jobs (India)

9. How To Contribute Articles, Recommend to Friends, Un/subscribe, & Legal Stuff

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1. MODERATOR'S SPACE

As we enter the new millennium, we are simultaneously entering the era of Human Resources in evolution of management. The hey days of production, finance, & marketing are behind us in my opinion. Human Resources are increasingly recognized as the resource critical to organization's success and as the main source of competitive advantage. We are now in the human resources era.

Being the first issue, this month's lead article is written by me. From next issue I will expect your articles to occupy this newletter!

You will find a Reader's Forum when you read thru. Please send your questions & answers for the same.

Regards

Rajeev B. Bhatnagar, Moderator

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2. 360 DEGREES APPRAISAL (& ALSO 540 DEGREES!)

Performance Appraisal is a process very close to the heart of every H R Manager. It is very important to the organization also. After all, managers (and all human beings) tend to repeat the performance / behaviour that is rewarded by the organization.

Traditionally, only the superior appraised the performance of a manager. Now, H R Manager’s tool-box has a new tool to appraise performance - 360 Degree Appraisal. Here, additionally the subordinates and colleagues of the manager also appraise his or her performance. Thus a 360 Degree view of a manager’s performance is obtained.

                                                                       Boss
                                                                          |
                                                                          |
                                         Colleagues ----- Manager ----- Colleagues
                                                                          |
                                                                          |
                                                                 Subordinates

Now there is talk about 540 Degree Appraisal also. In this, the customers and suppliers of a manager also evaluate him.

General Electric Company, USA, was the first to try out this concept in early 1990s. Several Fortune 1000 companies use it. This practice has found many takers in India too - Reliance Industries, Goderej-GE, Godrej Soaps, Tata Steel, Telco, Voltas, Crompton Greaves, Infosys, Wipro, Eicher, American Express, Thomas Cook, and Thermax, to name a few.

How Does 360 Degree Appraisal Work?

About 10 to 15 persons are identified to evaluate a manager. Evaluators include atleast 2 bosses, 2 peers, & 2 subordinates; and are selected either by H R Dept or by the manager concerned. Each of these evaluators rates the manager on certain qualities listed in the Appraisal Format. Ratings are then forwarded to H R Department (or some times to an external consultant).

The H R Department averages & summarises the ratings of - bosses, peers, subordinates, & all ratings put together. The summary is generally shared with the manager concerned, without disclosing the identity of the evaluators. The ratings may be fed into the performance appraisal system to determine pay, promotion & other rewards.

The whole process can be done manually on paper or on computers using one of the several software that are available in the markets.

Why 360 Degrees Appraisal?

This Appraisal system promotes teamwork as all related persons directly evaluate the concerned manager. Managers become keenly aware about the need to have good relations with their subordinates and colleagues. Thus team functioning improves.

Managers are also forced to develop leadership qualities as they have to "carry" subordinates & colleagues with them.

Pitfalls of 360 Degrees Appraisal:

Let us look at the minus side also. Colleagues & subordinates are good judges of behaviour & managerial style but are not the best judges of a manager’s job performance. Hence the ratings should be used with caution in decisions for pay & promotions.

In the real life world, peers and subordinates have been known to give negative feedback about a manager due to bias or for settling scores. Such feedback gets undue importance when only selected few peers & subordinates appraise a manager.

Last but not the least, some times the organizational culture is unable to accept the system!

Issues to Consider before Implementing:

[i] Will your company’s culture support the 360 Degree system? Are managers open to the idea of receiving feedback from subordinates? Will they be pragmatic enough to rectify weaknesses pointed out?

[ii] 360 Degree Appraisal should start from top down. Will you apply it only top managers or extend junior managers or even executives?

[iii] Will you use 360 Degree Appraisal for development of managers alone, or for making pay & promotion decisions, or for both purposes?

[iv] What are the qualities you want the 360 Degree Appraisal to measure and develop in managers? - leadership skill, communication skill, interpersonal relations, teamwork, delegation, integrity, performance?

[v] Who will appraise the manager & will HR select the evaluators or the manager?

[vi] Will you design your own system or buy a readymade software package off the shelf?

More Resources:

* A good place to start is http://www.360-degreefeedback.com

* A Comparision of software packages of 6 vendors is available at http://www.netfried.com/360/360goldshootout.html

* Read ‘Are You Ready?" which deals with most important question of whether your organisation is ready for it, at http://www.work911.com/performance/particles/360.htm

* You may contact Performance Development Consultants, Malaysia at pdcm@tm.net.my

* You may read Edwards, M.R. & Ewen, A.J. (1996), 360 Degree Feedback, AMACON

(Oh! I forgot. Thanks to Mrs. Poonam Chandok for helping in the above article.)

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3. HUMOR IN A CORNER

The new Management Trainee (MT) was quite tired after hearing six hours of lectures & presentations. He slumped into his seat, dialled for the canteen & shouted his order. As luck would have it, the Managing Director (MD) received telephone call by mistake.

Management Trainee : Get me a cup of Coffee.

Managing Director : Do you know who you are talking to?

M T : No. Make the coffee fast.

M D : Do you know you are talking to the Managing Director of this company?

M T : No. And do you know who you are talking to?

M D : No.

M T : Very Good. He kept the phone.

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4. READER'S FORUM

** Any Reader can e-mail a question on which s/he seeks comments or answers from fellow professionals. We request others readers to share their comments & answers to the questions asked. Please e-mail to HREra@rediffmail.com

** Question from Ms. Meenakshi Priyam of XLRI, Jamshedpur

I am a management student specialising in HR and currently working on my summer project. Can anyone please tell me how to conduct a Training Needs identification exercise. It'll be a great help to me.

Regds,

Meenakshi Priyam,
PM&IR-I, XLRI, Jamshedpur.
meenakshi_0616@yahoo.com

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5. QUOTABLE QUOTES

** Jack Welch, CEO, General Electric

"The world will belong to the passionate, driven leaders - people who not only have enormous amount of energy, but who can energise those whom they lead."

** Chanakya, Chanakya Neeti, 14.10

"Cuckoo spends her days in silence till (the arrival of spring when) her sweet voice, which gives joy to people, sprouts. (It is better to be silent than speak harshly or rudely.)"

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6. FIVE WAYS TO NOT GET PROMOTED

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

"Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go;
From 7-3 it's misery;
Hi ho, hi ho."

Time Management has a lot more to do with "investing" our time wisely rather than just "spending it". A lot of people are not getting the returns from their time that they desire because they are not investing their time effectively, keeping them from getting promoted and advancing beyond where they are, more rapidly.

They view their job as just that, a "job", where they exchange their time for money rather than viewing it as a "position", a platform and a springboard to even greater success.

In my twenty years as a professional speaker, I have met many who lament that they are stuck where they are at and are not getting the advancement they desire thinking that external forces are keeping them from moving up the ladder. In some cases, this is true. In most cases, it is not. A lot of why we do not get what we want in life is because of what we are and are not doing. Time Management, you see, is not doing the "wrong" things quicker. That just gets us nowhere faster. Time Management is really about doing the "right" things.

And so, here are the five surefire ways to "not" get promoted.

1. Don't plan your day.

Go to work each day without a plan in mind. "People don't plan to fail but many fail to plan". Respond to whatever comes at you, the loudest voice demanding your attention. You will work "hard" but maybe not "smart".

2. Do the minimum.

Many have the attitude "they don't pay me for that". They do what is required of them to cover themselves and fail to recognize that in order to qualify for a raise, we have do more now than what we are already being paid to do. Like a wood burning stove, many stand at the cold stove and demand its heat without recognizing that you have to put the wood in first, start the flame, and wait a while for heat to radiate.

3. Rely on your current base of knowledge.

Half of what we know today, we did not know fifteen years ago. The amount of information has doubled in the last fifteen years and it is said to be doubling every eighteen months hereafter. The world, our companies, and our jobs are changing whether we are along for the ride or not. It has been reported that within five years, 60% of us will be doing jobs that are not even in existence today. Statistically, if we continue to do what we do, the same way, within five years, most of us will be obsolete, the world will pass us by.

4. Voice your complaints.

Every job has something to complain about. The pay, the hours, the location, the facility, your boss, your co-workers, the customers, etc. Since we can never be sure whether those around us are aware of our particular discontent, be vocal about what you don't like. It will keep you and them from doing what really needs to be done and it will send out a message to the "powers that be" that maybe, just maybe, you won't be here in a few months, so why should they give you anymore money or any more responsibility? And you may not mean anything by the complaining but it does have a tendency to send out a negative message about your commitment to the organization and call into question whether or not you will be here in a few months.

5. Don't share the credit.

When something goes right, put your name on the top of the list of those who made it happen. Don't acknowledge others' contributions. If something doesn't work out well, point the finger to someone else. "Victory has a thousand fathers. Failure is an orphan".

If this article has been useful to you, we have prepared an additional article entitled, "The Tools for Increasing Employees’ Productivity". It’s free. To get yours, email your request for "tools" to:ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive free Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for our free "TIME MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION LIST". Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select "subscribe". We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute-Time Management Seminars
60 Huntington St. P.O. Box 2126
Shelton, CT 06484
(800) 969-3773
(203) 929-9902
fax: (203) 929-8151
Email: ctsem@msn.com
website: http://www.balancetime.com
Professional Member-National Speakers Association
August 23, 1999

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7. UPCOMING HR TRAINING PROGRAMS (INDIA)

** Constructive Trade Union Leadership Leadership

By XLRI, Jamshedpur.
Jun 25-29 at Jamshedpur.
For details email mdp@xlri.ac.in

** Strategic Human Resources Management

By NITIE, Mumbai. Faculty is Ms. D S Dastoo
Jul 16-20 at Mumbai. Fees Rs 9000, residential
For details email programme@nitie.edu

** Management of Contract Labour : Issues & Strategies

By MDI, Gurgaon.
Jul 19-21 at Gurgaon.
For details email mdp@mdi.ac.in

** Implementing Knowledge Management for Sustainable Competitive Advantage

By IIM, Lucknow. Program Director is Prof. ArchanaShukla
Jul 23-25 at Lucknow.
For details email mdp@iiml.ac.in

** Free Service:

Training institutes & Trainers can request insertion of their H R related programs in this section. Please Email to HREra@rediffmail.com

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8. BEST OF HR JOBS (INDIA)

** Specialist - Human Resources Development

For: The Dhanalakshmi Bank.
Requirements: Grad / PG, preference to professionally qualified in HRD. More than 10 years experience, including some at senior position. Age below 45. Communication & presentation skills, exposure to computers, & leadership.
More details: The Hindu, May 9th, 2001.
Apply to The Executive Director, The Dhanalakshmi bank Limited, Corpoarate Office, P.B. No. 9, Thrissur - 680 001

** Manager - HR

For: Blue Star Ltd, a leader in the central airconditioning & refrigeration industry, with turnover of over Rs 500 crore.
Requirements: Will be responsible for complete HR function at Dadra plant. Management degree desirable. Must have 8 - 12 years experience in dealing with highly empowered employees. Service industry experience desirable.
Apply to: Mr R Majumdar, Vice President (HR), Blue Star Limited, Kasturi Buildings, J. Tata Road, Mumbai - 400 020. Or send Email to meenamorris@bluestarindia.com

** Training Executive

For: A Prestigious Financial Service Provider
Requirements: Graduate with minimum 1 years experiencein conducting training programs. Proficiency inenglish / hindi / local language.
Apply to: Mr Noorali Khan, InfoVision Solutions, The New Mahalaxmi Silk Mills Pvt Ltd, Mathuradas Mills Compound, N M Joshi Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai - 400 013. Or send Email to careersbom@infovisiongroup.com

** Free Service:

Organizations can request insertion of their HR vacancies in this section. We reserve the right to abbreviate. Please email to HREra@rediffmail.com

**Suggestion from HR Era:

When emailing your biodata, attach it as a txt file or rtf file.

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9. HOW TO

** Contribute Articles **

Contributions from readers are wholeheartedly solicited. Contributions are the things that enable sharing of learnings. Lead Article should not exceed 800 words, others 400 words. While writing, divide the article into several paragraphs and keep sentences short. Please send details about yourself also as we would like to post them along with the article. Kindly note, no honorarium is paid now!

Please email contributions to HREra@rediffmail.com

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** Legal Stuff! **

All information in HR Era is presented in good faith. However, before using, please consult relevant experts. We do not accept any financial responsibility for accuracy.

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As we enter the 21st century, we are simultaneously entering the Human Resources era in history of management. The hey days of production, finance, & marketing are behind us in the evolution of management. Human Resources are increasingly seen as the resource critical to organization’s success and as the main source of competitive advantage.

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