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HR Era, Issue # 38,
Jun 1st, 2003
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Sharing & Growing
Writing down what we learn thru reading
or experience sharpens our own understanding & thinking on the
subject. Publishing it adds value because we gain from appreciative
as well as critical comments received. Publishing also makes us
known amongst fellow professionals & makes our contribution
permanent.
We invite you to
use HR Era as your medium of self expression, sharing, and growth.
Email your contributions to
Rajeev@HREra.com or
Alka@HREra.com
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Contents
1.
Moderator's Space
2.
Managing Low Performing Managers
– article summary by
Rajeev B Bhatnagar
3.
Tomato Soup for the Soul
4.
New Members
Lincoln Chua,
Anand Sitaraman,
5. Appreciations from Members
6. Post Exit Interviews
- by
Romi Felix
7. Layoffs - My Thoughts -
by Prakash
8. Readers' Forum
Help on: Employment Terms in India - TS
Ching
Help on: Lowering Absenteeism - Sriram
Rajgopal
Help on: Employee Handbook & Policies - Manoj Shrivastav
Help on: Lowering Attrition
Rates in 24*7 Setup - Niti Kochhar
Help on: Career Planning in IT - Zo Hualngo
9.
Best HR Jobs (India)
10. HR Training
Programs
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1. Moderator's
Space
Dear Friends,
We have crossed 2000 members.
warm regards
Rajeev B Bhatnagar
Rajeev@HREra.com
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2. Managing Low Performing Managers
– article summary by
Rajeev B Bhatnagar
This note
summarizes an HBR article The
New Game Plan for C Players,
by Axelford, Handlfield-Jones & Michaels. In the end are my
comments about ethics of down-sizing in Indian context. To read
full article please refer Harvard Business Review of Jan 2002.
Basis of the
Article:
The authors are
from McKinsey & Company and have written the best-seller titled
War for Talent.
The article is based on 5 years research in which they surveyed
13000 managers in 112 companies, studied 27 companies with
reputation for top-tier talent, and consulted more than 100
companies working on upgrading their talent pool.
Who are Low
Performers?
Low Performers
refers to managers who deliver barely acceptable performance.
Performance which is on the verge of satisfactory, just enough to
get by. It does not refer to the grossly inefficient or dishonest
managers whom every company must remove.
Why is it
essential to Manage Low Performing Managers?
There are several
examples of companies which have replaced Low Performers with High
Performers and as a consequence (at least partly) dramatically
improved economic performance. The Limited, SunTrust Banks , and
PerkinElmer are cited.
Quality of
managerial talent is a critical driver of continuous success of
every business. In today’s challenging times, if such systematic
cleansing up of few Low Performing Managers (LPMs) is not done
then it could jeopardize the existence of the company and jobs of
all every staff members in the company.
Keeping Low
Performers has a substantial cost. They block advancement &
development of other more talented people. They under utilize &
demoralize the people they lead. They select & promote Low
Performers.
Why Companies
fail to Manage LPMs?
There are several
reasons – emotional, ideological & practical. Emotional reasons
are the main barrier. Managers become emotionally attached to
people they have been working with for long years and who have
contributed to the company. Ideological some managers believe that
all Low Performers can be guided to improve their performance to
next level and company should invest in them endlessly. Practical
reason is that resentment & negativity spread in the
organization.
In order to
overcome such strong reasons, there is a need to have a rigorous &
systematic process for dealing with Low Performers!
How to Manage
Low Performing Managers?
The approach is
called as “an iron hand in a velvet glove.” Iron Hand, the first
part, consists of three steps - identify the Low Performers, agree
on an Action Plan on each Low Performer, hold managers accountable
to carry out the Action Plans.
Velvet Glove, the
second part, means showing fairness and respect because it is just
the performance of the employee which is low, the employee himself
as a person is not low! For this the steps are Deliver candid
feedback along the way, Offer instructive Coaching to help low
performers, Give them a generous separation package.
Iron Hand
Identify Low
Performers: There should be
clear performance goals for every position and the senior
management must articulate a set of leadership competencies –
skills and behaviors expected of all managers in the company.
Next, is to set a target percentage of managers they expect to be
designated as Low Performers with reference to the above goals &
competencies. Easier way to achieve this percentage identified is
to let managers give relative rating to their staff. Lastly, at
least 3 senior leaders must be included when discussing the
performance of each manager for Low Performance category.
Agree on Action
Plan for each Low Performers:
The time frame is 6 to 12 months. The Plan should specify not the
expected performance as well as the support in terms of coaching
that would be provided. The message to the person should be
unambiguous and encouraging. At the end are 3 options – the
performance improves to next higher level, the person is moved to
another positions (if unsuited for present one), or he leaves the
company.
Hold Managers
Accountable: Managers need to
be compelled to carry out the Action Plans or else they will fail.
The CEO and HR Department need to rigorously follow up managers to
implement. SunTrust even links bonuses of unit heads to achieving
talent management targets.
Velvet
Glove:
The Velvet Glove is
important because it eases the burden on under performers, reduces
managers’ reluctance to identify low performers, generally
increases trust in the way company deals with people. Here are the
ways.
Delivering
Candid Feedback Along the Way:
The fact of sub par performance should be informed to the Low
Performers without sugarcoating. It should be given in a written
form as part of annual appraisal and orally given throughout the
year. All managers have strengths and weaknesses, and the low
performing ones should be told about theirs. Termination should
never come as a surprise to them.
Offer
Instructive Coaching: Low
Performers need guidance on how to do things differently to do
improve performance. This can come from frequent interaction with
supervisor. Example of “Corrective Action Plan” used by Arrow
Electronics is cited.
Give a Generous
Severance Package: This helps
in reducing anger, hurt, litigation. There should be standard
policies on the severance package and also be flexibility to go
beyond the standard. Additionally non-monetary support should also
be given – in terms of office services for preparing resumes /
out-placement, emotional support thru counseling.
Start at the
Top:
The company
embarking on talent management should first start with the top 50
to 150 managers. CEO & top leaders can be directly involved in
handling such a small group and can ensure integrity of the
process. After this experience, the talent review can be pushed
down to next 200 to 350 managers.
My Comments:
Culturally, India
and West are different. Relationships are more personal in our
culture and assessment of people is more based on inherent
qualities & potential of people rather than pure performance.
Secondly, the social security support for people becoming jobless
is absent unlike in the West. Hence downsizing on large scale is
rarely appreciated.
Even in the West
“re-engineering” or “right-sizing” has lost its earlier panacea
status which on announcement pulled share prices up. There appears
to be greater realization of its adverse impact on employee
morale. It is getting out of fashion in the West, one may say so.
The moral for HR
Professionals is that we must relentlessly focus on how HR
processes are leading to performance management & improvement,
promoting people according to merit, continuous development of
people, and increasing manpower productivity. Such a focus,
successfully implemented, would avoid drastic solutions like
down-sizing which is like an open-heart surgery!
Article summary by Rajeev B Bhatnagar
DGM-P, Larsen & Toubro Limited, Chennai.
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3. Tomato Soup for the Soul
Smart Doctors
Five surgeons are discussing who makes the best patients to operate
on.
The first surgeon says, "I like to see accountants on my operating
table, because when you open them up, everything inside is numbered.
"The second responds, "Yeah, but you should try electricians!
Everything inside them is color coded.
"The third surgeon says, "No, I really think librarians are the
best; everything inside them is in alphabetical order.
"The fourth surgeon chimes in: "You know, I like constructionworkers...those
guys always understand when you have a few parts left over at the
end, and when the job takes longer than you said it would."
But the fifth surgeon shut them all up when he observed: "You're all
wrong. Politicians are the easiest to operate on. There's no guts,
no heart, no balls, no brains or no spine, and the
head and the ass are interchangeable."
Sent by G.R.Pole, Email:
gr.pole@fibcom.com
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4. New Members
Lincoln Chua, Malaysia
Lincoln is currently with HELP Institute, Malaysia. Currently, he is
involved in re-organising the HR Dept in the college. Besides that,
he is responsible to maintain the ISO 9001:2000
certification for the college.
Email: chualincoln@yahoo.com
Anand Sitaraman, Assistant Manager- HR, The
Associated Cement Companies Ltd.
Hiiii !
It's great to be a part of HR-era....I am Anand Sitaraman and am
presently with The Associated Cement Companies Ltd. since the last
11 months in the capability of an Assistant Manager- HR. I completed
my Post Graduate Diploma In Personnel Management & Industrial
Relations from XISS, Ranchi last year. My hobbies include playing
table tennis; reading fictions; and quizzing. i believe in the
philosophy that " when the going gets tough, the tough gets going".
My contact number is : 06589-235300 extn. 316(O) 242 ( R). Email :
anand@acccement.com
Warm regards,
Anand Sitaraman
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5. Appreciations from Members
On Issue # 36, Working Women - Survival
Strategies
The quote with which you started the article really touched me. The
survival strategies mentioned in the articles are really good &
implementable. It will help the working women.
regds
K.Meena Priya
Email: kmp@lntecc.com
On HR Era's Free Ebook on Time Management
Hello Mr. Rajeev,
That was really nice and effective. Thanks a ton !
Regards,
Priya
Iconium Consulting Group,
Email: iconium@vsnl.com
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6. Post Exit Interviews - by
Romi Felix
This is in reference to the issue # 35, dated 03/05/03 on Managing
the New Millennium - Conducting Exit Interview - By Sanjeev
Sharma.
In
this regard I wanted to express my opinion w.r.t post exit
interview. There is a general feeling as to the validity and the
reliability of the exit survey at the time of departure. Mainly
because the outgoing citizen for the want of better reference and
earlier clearence of the dues often give positive interview.
The concept of post exit survey came into practice to
strengthen the validity and reliability of the exit interview
process.
What we normally do is, we co-relate the data of a particular
employee in respect to the exit interview at the time of departure
and post interview process after 6 months, mainly to find out the
mean deviation.
I
must tell you that this process of co-relating the pre & post
gives quite a relevant information because people are less
emotional and have time to reflect and compare the new work place
to their former one and they no longer have to restrict their
views because they need to get a good reference.
The post survey should ask about positive aspect of the former
employer and should also include a list of "triggers" that caused
the departure. Respondent's should be given a choice to
include their name and current employer.
OUR EXPERIENCE:
I
did a similar survey 2 yrs back and it was quite an interesting
revelation. Based on the exit findings many HR Policies &
Practices underwent changes.
Regards,
PROF. FELIX
MGR - HR
MASCON
Email: romy_felix@hotmail.com
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7. Layoffs - My Thoughts -
sent by Prakash
As a HR Pro, I am very much concerned about Layoff that is widely
prevalent in Software companies and to what extent HR is responsible
for this.
The management and HR is mainly responsible for Layoff. Short
sighted vision and politics in management and poor manpower planning
by HR are main reasons for Layoff.
To a large extent the management is responsible since layoff is due
to poor performance of people at top and lack of vision and
foresight in ensuring the growth of the organization.
The management instead of firing people under them, should take the
responsibility. Can these people come forward and take a cut in
their salary and give away other benefits like car, free loan etc.
An effective Layoff strategy should start from the top and not from
the bottom as it happens in many Indian Software companies.
Most of the Indian Software companies have no social responsibility.
They use people just like a "use and throw" product.
The compensation should be structured in a way, that managers and
above are paid according to their performance and abilities.
During boom period many Software companies (except few cos., like
Infosys) has not talked about performance pay ( I mean sharing of
profit ) i.e. if we achieve "x" revenues you will get a percentage.
Why the same companies talk about performance pay now in a recession
period.
Boom or doom period, the values and ethics of a company should not
change according to their convenience.
Can our HR / management people grow and mature ? Instead of
concerning with our own self can we think and act in the interest of
others, the larger self.
Regards,
Prakash
Contributed by Prakash,
Email:
prakashb@mail.com
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8.
Readers' Forum
[Please
email your replies directly to member asking the question with a
copy to us at Alka@HREra.com
for publishing. Email new questions directly to us. ]
Help on: Employment Terms in India
Hello All,
I am a new member to this Group and I find it to be informative and
interesting. I wish to seek an understanding on the general
employment terms in India, and hope someone can share their
experience with me.
My Company is in the Multi Level Marketing business and we are
setting up a new company in India ( Bangalore ). We are in the
process of recruiting managers in India to fill the various
positions ( eg. Marketing & Sales, Administration, Training,
Customer Relations etc. ). However, due to our lack of knowledge on
the working environment in India, we have some difficulty in
establishing a suitable remuneration package for the persons we
intend to hire.
We understand that it is a common practice in India to provide
various allowances in the package, for tax reasons. I wish to obtain
some understanding on how the remuneration package can be structured,
and what are the major employment issues that we should watch out
for. The common
items include annual leave, medical leave, public holidays, medical
benefits, traveling reimbursement, allowances, company vehicle (
for certain category of managers ), statutory deductions, annual
increment, bonuses etc.
Due to the sensitivity of our business, it may not be appropriate to
identify our company at this point in time. I hope the members in
India can share their experience with me.
Regards
Ching TS
TSChing@elken.com.my
Help on: Lowering Absenteeism - Sriram
Rajgopal
Hi,
I need some help for framing a policy on monetary incentive for
lowest absenteeism. The objective is to introduce a monetary
incentive which would motivate people and be effective in reducing
absenteeism.
Regards,
Sriram.
Sriram Rajgopal, Email:
srg_ram@yahoo.com
Help on: Employee Handbook & Policies -
Manoj Shrivastav
Hi Everybody,
HELP ME ! HELP ME! HELP ME!
i am manoj joining a new company as HR Executive. there is two
questions to all the members of our group pls help me out. this is
urgent.
1)I want to develop a new employee handbook for all the employees
newly inducted as well as old employees. pls anyone who can give mew
th eformat or sample as well as contents of such employee handbook
will be of great help to me to save my job, since if i want to stay
on this job i will have to develop such system. my email i/d is
manoj150@rediffmail.com. pls help me by providing me a sample of
employee handbook used in different type of industry.
2)The second questions is that I also need to build up a new HR
systems for my company which includes induction and orientation
programme, performance appraisal system, training and development
modules for different departments like accounts, marketing ,
administration etc,
WAITING FOR YOUR REPLY ON THE ABOVE TWO TOPICS
DESPERATELY
MANOJ SHRIVASTAV
Email:
manoj150@rediffmail.com
Help on: Lowering Attrition Rates in
24*7 Setup
hi! all,
I am Niti Kochhar, working with HCL COMNET and a member of HR ERA. i
am presently working on a paper dealing with HR interventions in a
24*7 setup. The area of focus of these interventions is mainly
towards reducing the attrition rate in the organization.
Would highly appreciate if i could get some inputs on the above.
thanking you,
Best regards,
Niti Kochhar
HCL Comnet
Niti Kochhar , Email:
mail2niti@yahoo.co.in
Help on : Career Planning in IT
Hi,
Wonder if anyone in the IT industry can share their policy w.r.t.
Career Planning ?
Thanks
Zo
Zo Hualngo, Manager - HR,
Mphasis BFL Limited
Email:
Zohmingliana.Hualngo@mphasis.com
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9. Best HR Jobs
[Free
Service:
Employers & Consultants can email their job
vacancies to
Alka@HREra.com
. We reach them to 2100 HR professionals for free]
International Recruiters,
Hyderabad
Hello ,
This prashanth and i am working as an recruitment executive . I got
an urgent requirement with me for INTERNATIONAL RECRUITERS(8)
POSITIONS. These positions are for an US based MNC in HYDERABAD.
The requisites goes like this :
*The candidate must have an experience of 1 yr in domestic
recruitments.
*2+yrs of experience in INTERNATIONAL RECRUITMENTS.
*Experience in US recruitments will be an added advantage.
*as this is an urgent requirement please do respond immediately.
please try to pass this message to people who suit the profile and
who are looking for a change.
with regards prashanth mail me
on : sudhakar@husys.net ,
backupprashanth@yahoo.co.in
for voice : +91-040-27844596. +91-040-56551632.
HR Professional, Granite Company, Hyderabad Hi,
There is immediate opening at Hyderabad.
Granite Company with 200 employees invites HR Professional staying
in Hyderabad with 6-8 years of experience with strong understanding
of HR & IR processes to single handedly implement all the HR & IR
activities.
The Incumbent would be in-charge of HR and Industrial relations
activities at the factory premises located at the outskirts of the
city
The candidate needs to be an MBA/MHRM/MA (IR&PM) under the age group
of 33-35 years.
Please respond to the jobs@b2bsoftech.com
Regards
PBS Srinivas, Manager-HRD,
B2B Software Technologies Ltd.,
6-3-906/A/2; Somajiguda
Hyderabad - 500 082.
Ph.No. :+91-40-23372522/23375926 ,
Fax No.:+91-40-23322385
URL : http://www.b2bsoftech.com
Human Resource Officer, Mumbai
Hi,
Currently having an URGENT Human Resource Officer position with a
Known company in Mumbai. ONLY MUMBAI CANDIDATES PLEASE APPLY. Send
your resumes at
ethos@roltanet.com Education : A Graduate
with/without MBA
Experience : A minimum of 3 years of handling various HR Operational
responsibilities such as Compensation, Recruitment, Attendance &
Leave records management, handling payroll data, etc. from another
knowledge industry. The person should have excellent knowledge of MS
Office( esp. MS Excel).
Attributes : The person should be Team Oriented, with good
Analytical skills, hard working, Quality oriented.
Salary : Negotiable.
Preference would be given to local candidates. Candidates preferably
in Western Suburb.
Manashi / Sangeeta
Ethos Consulting, Unit No. 11, Gokul Apartment, Near Farooq High
School,
S.V. Road, Jogeshwari (W), Mumbai - 400 102
Tel: (022) 2678 5797 / 2679 8027, Tel: (022) 2678 5797 / 2679 8027
Email: ethos@roltanet.com
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10. HR Training
Programs
[Free
Service:
Training Organizations can email details of their
training programs to
Alka@HREra.com
. We reach them to 2100 HR professionals for free]
NLP Tools for Personal Effectiveness,
June 21 and 22nd 2003, Delhi
Performance Hypnosis, July 24th 25th 26th and 27th at India Habitat
center, Delhi
by Santhosh Babu
NLP Tools for Personal Effectiveness
This is a two day workshop organized by Times Foundation in at
their 4 Tilak Marg Building. This workshop looks at simple and
effective NLP tools for day to day applications. Participants will
get hands on experience of this tools and have the necessary skills
to apply these tools by the end of the workshop. So no need of that
continues practice!!!! This is a subsidized workshop. Participation
fee is Rs 3,000.00 per person.
Performance Hypnosis
This is the only workshop you need to attend to master the skills of
hypnosis. This practical four day workshop teaches you everything
you need to effectively work with trance. This is not about clinical
hypnosis, self hypnosis or healing. This is all about being able
about put anyone into a trance anywhere. For the first time you will
learn the powerful language patterns of hypnosis and the end you
will be hypnotising the entire class!!! Participation fee is Rs
12,000 per person.
If you need more information, please contact me.
Seema Middya
Email:
trainingalternatives@hotmail.com
An Insight into Malaysian Employment Act
& IR Act, Jul 18th, Singapore
Hi
HRSINGAPORE is organising the above on 18 July 2003. Please read the
details shown below and register before 4 July to qualify for the
subsidised rates.
This one day seminar will cover some of the matters in the Malaysian
Employment Act 1955 and the Industrial Relations Act 1967.
Who should attend
-----------------
HR & Non HR directors, managers, officers, executives and assistants
who deal with Malaysian HR matters.
Trainer
-------
Cyril Sen designs and conducts training programmes in human resource
management. He obtained his Diploma in Personnel Management from the
Malaysian Institute of Human Resource Management (MIHRM), and has a
MBA in Training & Human Resource Development from Newport
University, USA. He is Council Member of MIHRM.
Admin
-----
Date: 18 July 2003
Time: 9am-5pm
Location: Rose Room, Basement Level, Hotel Phoenix, Singapore.
Refreshment: Buffet Lunch, Tea, Coffee & snacks will be served.
Closing date: 11 July 2003
Cost
------
S$280 for HRSINGAPORE Subscribers and those who register before 4
July 2003.
S$330 for non-subscribers and those who register after 4 July 2003.
Contact:
HRSINGAPORE
www.hrsingapore.net
Office Tel (65) 6337-8016
Voicemail/Fax: (65) 6399-3697
Office Address:
89 Short Street#04-16
Golden Wall Centre
Singapore 188216
Attitudinal Revitalization & Change, Jun
12-14, Bangalore
This is a very unique program in its content and methodology to
address certain serious issues like the need for a paradigm shift in
the attitude of employees towards their work and home. This is the
third time we are organizing this workshop in Bangalore during the
last one-year.
The details of the workshop are as follows:
Venue: A star hotel in Bangalore (Name of the hotel will be
intimated shortly)
Date: June 12 to 14, 2003 (Thursday thru Saturday)
Course Fee Rs.3000/- per participant. It includes reading material,
lunch, tea/coffee snacks etc.
For more details, contact: Mr.N.Sivasankaran, Program Coordinator,
Southern Region- AHP, 113, 1-A Main, 3rd Cross, Sree Deepam, ISRO
Layout, Bangalore 560 078.
Tel: 080 6666002, Mob: 080-56712432.
E-mail: nsiva01@rediffmail.com , ahp-jmaths@icenet.net
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Develop the Future Leaders of Your organisation. Get the Competitive
Edge.
INSTITUTE OF HRD
BANGALORE
Presents
MDP
A Three Days Management Development
Programme on
MANAGERIAL SKILLS
For
Organizational Excellence
On June. 26, 27 &
28, 2003, at The Leela Palace, Airport Road, Bangalore-8
We are pleased to in form you that
Institute of HRD in association
with naukri.com
will be organizing a Three Days Management Development Programme on
" Managerial Skills for Organizational
Excellence" for the benefit of Managers, Asst.Managers,
Senior Executives, Coordinators and Team/ Project Leaders on
June 26, 27, & 28 ,2003 at The
Leela Palace, Airport Road, Opp. Manipal Hospital, Kodihalli,
Bangalore 560 008. India.
Workshop Contents:
* Changing Role of Managers in the
Current Business Scenario.
* Strategy & Vision for Managers.
* Excellence orientation for Managers.
* Communication & presentation skills
for managers.
* Creating High Performance Teams.
* Interpersonal Skills for Managers.
* Effective Motivational Skills.
* Coaching & Mentoring for Managers.
* Radical Change Management.
* Values & Ethics for Managers.
Eminent faculty from Academia &
Corporate Sector will be Resource Persons. In case you need a
printed brochure kindly give us your complete postal address.
For more details contact :
J.Reuban (Phone: 080-3436406)
Regards
J.Reuban
Coordinator
INSTITUTE OF HRD
# 12, I Floor, 80 Feet
Road
Near UTI Bank
R.T.Nagar Post
Bangalore- 560 032,
India
Phone: 080-3436406,
E-mail: ihrd@vsnl.net
Redefining Excellence in Corporate Training
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