HR ERA Issue

HR ERA Issue # 2 Date: June 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. Succession Planning

3. Humor In a Corner

4. Reader's Forum

5. Quotable Quotes

6. Three Steps to Reaching Every Goal by Jason Gracia

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

Dear Friends,

Enthusiastic response of H R professionals to first issue of H R Era is gratifying. I have received words of appreciation from several readers, questions for Readers' Forum, suggestions for improvements, and SEVEN promises already to write articles!

I request more & more of you to respond, interact, write, & email me.

Regards

Rajeev B. Bhatnagar, Moderator

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2. SUCCESSION PLANNING

TRUE HORROR STORIES:

"N" became the CMD of a dynamic INR 1 billion (Rs 100 cr) telecom company. He had succeeded on retirement of his predecessor, the founder CMD. But in "N’s" 3 years, he lost the support of his immediate subordinates - the GMs. The union went on a strike, he replaced some key executives - including the poor HR Head. Profits fell & competitors overtook in sales. Finally "N" resigned before completing his 5 year term!

"G" was the Head of Information Technology Division of a leading foreign bank in India. He built the Division into a INR 1.50 billion (Rs 150 cr) business single handed with a profit of 25% ! One fine morning this highly talented manager submitted his resignation. That year the Division’s sales & profits did not rise (a shameful thing in IT).

There was a young GM (HR) who developed two good managers to replace him some day. He gave them lot of responsibility, exposed them to top management. What next? One day the top management felt this GM was weak in a specific skill (IR) so he was shifted out & one of the subordinates replaced him.

Examples where a Department Head deliberately does not recruit / develop a subordinate so that his position remains secure are common. I can recall more than a dozen instances I have observed from the H R Desk.

SUCCESSION PLANNING IS NECESSARY FOR:

i] Meeting demands for senior level managers arising due to retirements, resignations, and new growth areas / functions getting created.

ii] Building leadership capability in the organisation so that this capacity keeps pace with growth needs of the organisation.

iii] Preventing senior managers from neglecting development of subordinates (deliberately or otherwise).

STEPS IN SUCCESSION PLANNING:

A Succession Planning Process which can be bench-marked with international best would have at least the following steps:

i] Identify key positions for which succession needs to be planned. (Senior positions in the organisation, positions that get created due to strategic growth, Retirements, Resignations)

ii] Identify the essential requirements in a person for filling each these positions. Essential requirements can include things like educational qualifications, experience, general leadership attributes essential in your company (example General Electric believes 4 leadership traits are necessary to succeed in their culture), and specific competencies that are needed for that position.

iii] Identify a set of 2 or 3 people who can succeed to the position. Most companies use supervisor ratings and reviews of rating by a senior level panel for identifying high potential employees. Few go beyond and use tools like Assessment Centres, Ability Tests, Psychometric Tests, 360 Degree Appraisals.

H R Departments have a major role in tracking the data generated. And computer savvy H R Departments are the winners.

iv] Next step is to let the key high potential employees know that they are high potential. This helps in retaining talented people. They feel important. In fact retaining key high potential employees is the most important driver of for Succession Planning in companies that have implemented systems on this area.

v] Having identified people with high potential & compared them with the essential requirements, we know the Gaps. The high potential employees have to be counselled on their development areas, development plans drawn up and implemented.

vi] Last but not the least, as and when opportunities arise, the identified successors should succeed. This completes the cycle.

FUTURE TREND:

Succession planning will become a key process to deliver business performance in times to come. So now is the right time that all H R Professionals should build up their knowledge & skill base in this area.

The succession planning process itself is moving toward becoming more transparent & open (now it is secretive) and more towards identifying leadership pools (rather than 2 or 3 successors for specific positions).

MORE RESOURCES:

i] William C. Byham’s article "Grooming Next-Millennium Leaders" is a simple conceptual discussion of issues. Visit http://www.shrmorg/hrmagazine/articles/0299byham.htm

ii] IES’s Press Release on "Succeeding in the War of Talent" tells why we should not be secretive about the process & findings. Visit http://www.employment-studies.co.uk/press/0016.html

iii] If your company is willing to spend some money upfront to implement a succession planning system then visit Dutch Driver’s Succession Planning Links at http://www.tcm.com/trdev/dutchsp.htm

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3. HUMOR IN A CORNER

OFFICE ARITHMETIC

Smart boss + smart employee = profit

Smart boss + dumb employee = production

Dumb boss + smart employee = promotion

Dumb boss + dumb employee = overtime

ROMANCE MATHEMATICS

Smart man + smart woman = romance

Smart man + dumb woman = affair

Dumb man + smart woman = marriage

Dumb man + dumb woman = pregnancy

SHOPPING MATHS

A man will pay £2 for a £1 item he needs.

A woman will pay £1 for a £2 item that she doesn't need.

(Sent by Mr. Sushanta Ganguly for you)

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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 Mr R Narayanan of Global Software, Chennai

Greetings everyone.......

I am an HR professional working for a Software Company in Chennai. I am looking forward to doing my PhD in Management in the areas of resource management, group dynamics, human relations and welfare etc. I would like to know some universities in India and abroad (Only USA and UK) which offer PhD in Management. If you have any information, pls let me know....

Thanks for your time.

Regards

R.Narayanan
R_narayanan16@yahoo.com

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5. QUOTABLE QUOTES

** Bill Gates, CEO, Microsoft

"What I do best is share my enthusiasm." (talking on how to motivate people)

** Celine Dion in Celine Dion: My Story

"The only failure is not knowing how to be happy."

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6. THREE STEPS TO REACHING EVERY GOAL

By: Jason Gracia

Having goals in our lives is important. For some, merely creating goals brings about a positive change. When you make a goal, you are creating an exciting challenge for yourself. To make sure you meet that challenge with the right tools, you will need to do three things.

1. WRITE IT DOWN

The first step is to write your goal down on paper. This may seem like a simple step, but it makes your goal visible and tangible. Get out a clean sheet of paper, and write your goal down in clear words. It doesn't have to be a big dream for it to be useful. Any goal you have should be written down. It should also be somewhere you will look often, or pass by during the day.

2. BREAK IT DOWN

You may have a goal of losing weight. This alone seems like a difficult thing to do. But when we break this goal down into its different parts, these smaller goals become easier to handle. Losing 10 lbs. seems overwhelming, but losing 1 lb. a month for ten months is something you can definitely do.

3. REMIND YOURSELF

With so many things to do during your busy day, your goals can sometimes be put aside. Write yourself a reminder, and place it where it will be seen often. Your desk, fridge, or even bathroom mirror are just a few of the places where you could post your goal. With these three steps, reaching your goals will be much easier. You want to be happy, and you deserve it.

Now you have the tools to go and get it!

Visit Jason's Motivation123 Web site to receive a free Motivation Idea-Kit, free motivation newsletter, plus hundreds of articles, tips and ideas to help you live a happier life today.

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7. UPCOMING HR TRAINING PROGRAMS (INDIA)

** Conflict Management & Team Building Skills

By NITIE, Mumbai. Faculty is Mr. SK Nair
Aug 6-10 at Mumbai. Fees Rs 9000, residential.
For details email programme@nitie.edu

** Assessment Center Approach to Competancy Mapping

By XLRI, Jamshedpur. Prog Director Mr. R K Premarajan
Aug 20-23 at Mumbai
For details email mdp@xlri.ac.in

** Workshop on Communication Skills

By MDI, Gurgaon.
Aug 23-25 at Gurgaon.
For details email mdp@mdi.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

(Prepared by Mrs. Alka Bhatnagar)

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8. BEST OF HR JOBS (INDIA)

** Senior H R Professionals (6)

For: Ashok Leyland Ltd, one of the largest manufacturers of commercial vehicles.

Responsibilties: Manage Ir and implement HR interventions for sustaining positive work culture.

Requirements: Formal qualification in Per Mgt. Over 15 years' experience in structured & system driven organisations. Age around 40. Knowledge of Tamil for positions in Ennore & Hosur. Knowledge of Hindi or marathi for positions in Bhandara (near Nagpur)

Apply to Dy General Manager - Manpower Planning & Recruitment, Ashok Leyland Limited, 19, Rajaji salai, Chennai - 600 001. Email to srikant@alc.global.net.in

** Manager - Human Resources (5)

For: SABIC Research & Technology Pvt Limited, Baroda, is a research centre set up by saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation.

Requirements: MSW preferably with LLB. 10 - 15 years experience in Human Resources Management. Practical exposure to team building & performance appraisal systems. Knowledge of computers & database management. exposure to quality systems like TQM & 6 Sigma desirable.

Apply to: Jerry verghese International Limited, 206, gateway Plaza, Hiranandani garden, Powai, Mumbai - 400 076. Quote refernce number JVI-G2/SABIC/06-01, enclose recent photo, & use A-4 sheets.

** Human Resource Manager, Training Officer (4)

For: Le Royal Meridien, Chennai, a 5 star hotel of PGP group

Requirements: PG / Graduate in HR. 5 years experience for manager & 3 years for Officer. Ability to develop & conduct training programs for all levels of personnel.

Apply to: The General Manager, Le Royal Meridian Chennai, 1, GST Road, St. Thomas Mount, Chennai - 600 016. Email gm@royalmeridian-chennai.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.

(Prepared by Mrs. Alka Bhatnagar)

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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

** Recommend to Friends **

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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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