H R Era,     Issue # 8A,       Feb 14th, 2002

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1. Moderator’s Space

2. People CMM   - by Rajeev B Bhatnagar  

3. Tomato Soup for the Soul
          Help .... Titanic is Drowning
          Seventh Day in Heaven

4. Buhari's Quotation Corner 

5. Practice, Practice, Practice (Presentation Skills) - Tracy Brinkman

6. Aims of HR Era, How To Contribute Articles, & Legal Stuff

Dear Friends,

Mr. Syed Buhari, our eGroup member, has offered to regularly contribute quotations to HR Era. Welcoming his interest, we have re-named the old column as Buhari's Quotation Corner. 

The main idea behind HR Era is to pool & share the knowledge residing in the 750 minds (& as many hearts) of members of this growing eGroup. HR Era will lose vitality if  we do not share.  

I invite more members, one & all, to occupy their corners, areas, & spaces.

with warm regards

Rajeev B Bhatnagar

2. PEOPLE CMM - by Rajeev B Bhatnagar

Recently Wipro, a leading software company in India, announced getting certified at Level-5 on People CMM. Curiosity of HR Managers is now aroused about this new tool for improving HR practices and becoming an employer of choice. Designed for HR managers in software & information systems industry, People CMM has a thing or two for those in other industries also. 

Starting with the Father (or Mother) - CMM

DoD (Department of Defence, USA), the biggest buyer of software, needed a system to evaluate the capability of software suppliers. It funded a project in SEI (Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University) and the CMM was developed. CMM stands for Capability Maturity Model and is used to assess the capability of software suppliers to develop software. 

Organization is assessed by SEI (or its authorised assessors) based on processes & technology used, and their capability to develop software is certified between Level-1 (lowest) to Level-5 (highest).

Organizations began using the CMM as a tool to upgrade their software development capability by improving their internal practices in line with the CMM and by going for certifications at higher levels. Today about 47 organizations in the world have attained CMM Level-5.

The Child is born - People CMM

Studies found that several software organizations had made lasting improvements in their software development processes using CMM. Many of these organizations also found that for continuous improvements, it is essential for them to make major changes in their people management practices - in other words, Human Resources practices. HR was an aspect which CMM did not address fully, it focused more on process & technology aspects.

Bill Curtis, who had been associated with development of CMM, thus conceived the idea of creating "People CMM," a model to measure capability of software organizations in people management area. After 7 years of work (with reference group, correspondence groups, national seminars), the People CMM was finally published in 1995. 

Structure of People CMM (Version 2)

The model lays down that HR Practices in organizations can evolve from Level-1 (lowest, chaos) to Level-5 (highest). Each level represents a distinct level of maturity of the organization's people management systems / HR practices. When assessment is done under People CMM, the organization's HR Practices are assessed under four "threads" and maturity of HR Practices is classified into one of the five levels. To understand fully, let us study the following table (carefully).

Take the example of Mastek, which went in for assessment at People CMM Level-3. Mastek's HR Practices in seven KPAs (Key Process Areas) specified for Level-3 were studied, viz, Competency development, Competency analysis, Workgroup development, etc. Assessors asked the question whether HR Practices in each of the KPA met the goals specified for that process. Goals for each KPA are listed in Appendix-D of People CMM. Since the conclusion was yes, Mastek was certified at People CMM Level-3. It became the 3rd organization in world to reach this level.

Engine for Improvement in HR Practices 

An organization has to effect many improvements in its HR Practices to bring them upto the level for which it is being assessed (Level-3 for Mastek). That is the first step. In second step, further improvement, evolution in HR Practices, comes from going for higher level of certification. 

People CMM helps the organization in selecting immediate improvement areas. For instance, it guides Mastek that to rise to Level-4 from 3, it should initiate HR Practices in Mentoring, Quantitative performance measurement etc. In other words, People CMM helps the organization to narrow down improvement activities to those which are foundations for developing next level of maturity. 

As an organization moves from one level to higher, it institutionalizes new capabilities. The aim is, of course, to take HR Practices to Level-4 like TCS, and then Level-5 like Wipro.

A Word on Assessment Process

The final certification is awarded by SEI. Assessment can be done only under the guidance of Lead Assessors certified by SEI. Assessments are rigorous. For Wipro the certification assessment lasted 9 days, 1200 employees were polled, 70 interviewed, & 800 documents looked into. The certification process for Level-3 or 4 can cost upto Rs 30 Lakhs, hence some organizations utilize People CMM as a reference, but do not go in for certification

How Does People CMM compare with other Models & Certifications?

In India the most popular is ISO 9001. Several HR Departments and educational institutions have obtained ISO 9001 certifications in India, the first being HR Department of Larsen & Toubro Limited. In Europe also ISO 9001 is popular. Other models include Japan's Deming's Medal and USA's Malcolm Balridge Award.

The uniqueness of People CMM is that it designed specifically for improving Human Resources Processes. All the other models are general process improvement models. They were designed to bring about process improvements in manufacturing or production processes. This uniqueness of PCMM is one of main reasons why it deserves close attention of every HR Professional.


Is People CMM applicable to industries other than Software?

It is definitely an excellent tool for every software organization. The creators of the model specifically say that PCMM designed for organizations in software or information systems industry. They neither claim nor disown applicability to other industries.

Though People CMM is gaining popularity, it is still in infancy. So far only about 24 organizations have been assessed on People CMM. General applicability of the model will become established only after more use. 

I believe every HR Manager must thoroughly understand the People CMM model. First reason: it is the only process improvement model focused on HR. Second reason: substantial R&D has gone into developing it. Besides the 7 years of preparatory work mentioned earlier, the model has been revised based on last 5 years' experience in implementing, and the version 2 has been brought out in July 2001. (Unfortunately Version 2 is voluminous, unlike Version 1 which was slim). 

The model is based on current best practices in Human Resources area and provides an excellent conceptual model for HR activities. It's aim is to win the game of recruiting & retaining talent.

Further References & Resources:

Primary documents are at the website of SEI (Software Engineering Institute) http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmm-p/version2/ .You would find Version 1 & Version 2 of People CMM, details on assessment method & articles. 

QAI India is the leading consulting organization in India on People CMM, they helped Mastek as well as TCS. Visit them at http://www.qaiindia.com . In USA, the leading consulting organization is Tera Quest with which Mr. Bill Curtis is also associated. Visit them at http://www.teraquest.com/static/TQPeopleCMMIndex.html .

Sites of Mastek, Wipro & TCS provide their reactions on getting People CMM certifications. 

Mr. Rajeev B Bhatnagar, the author is DGM - Personnel with Larsen & Toubro Limted, Chennai. He can be contacted at HREra@rediffmail.com  

3. TOMATO SOUP FOR THE SOUL  

Help ... Titanic is drowning

Everybody in the ship is shouting, crying, running or praying to god... Just then an Italian asks the nearby Sardarji in the ship.

Italian: How far is land, from here?

Sardarji: Two miles ..

Italian : Only two miles, Then why are these fools making noise. I have got the experience of swimming even more.

Sardarji : .....!@#$% ...??

(The Italian jumps off the ship into the sea and comes up to the surface to ask something again)

Italian : Just tell me which side, land is two miles from here ?

Sardarji : Downwards ...


Seventh Day in Heaven

Three men died and stood in front of God.

God asked the first if he had been faithful to his wife. He admitted to two affairs during his marriage. God gave him a compact car to drive in heaven.

The second man admitted to only an affair and was given a midsize car.

The third man was asked the same question and said that he had been faithful to his wife until the day he died. God praised him and gave him a big luxury car.

A week later the three guys met in a parking lot. The man driving the luxury car began to cry. "What's the matter?"

"I just passed my wife, and she was riding a bicycle!"

From Mr. AA Shah, aashah@gearelecon.com

5. BUHARI'S QUOTATION CORNER

SMILE IS A CURVE THAT
SETS EVERYTHING STRAIGHT.

YOUR LIFE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE.
IT IS A REFLECTION OF YOU..

Success seems to be conntected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes but they don't quit. - Conrad Hilton, Founder of Hilton chain of hotels.

Contributed by our member, Mr. Syed Buhari. sibuhari@yahoo.com

6. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE (Presentation Skills) - by Tracy Brinkman  

I know this article should be about an advanced presentation skill, but you must first master the basics – walk before you run, tread water before you swim and of course practice before you present. A perfect example of this is in my martial arts class – Master Jeoung reminds us constantly that we must know and master the basics. He reminds us that the seven fundamental moves in the first two forms we learn will make or break everything else. You can be a black belt easily once you master the fundamentals.

One fundamental you must master to become a competent and proficient speaker is – Practice. Now while everyone attempts to pound that into your head, I’m going to take it one step farther and give you a Practice Process. Each step of the process builds on the previous step allowing you to build your style and technique into your presentation as you practice it’s content.

The Practice Process:

1. Read the material to yourself 5-10 times quietly.
While doing this begin to make mental notes as to where you want to speak faster or slower. Where to change the pitch and volume of your voice.

2. Read the material 5-10 times aloud.
While doing this step practice the mental notes you made on rate, pitch and volume. Test it out, change it, and hone it to fit both your material and your speaking style.

3. Make a voice recording of your practice. 
Now that you’ve practice the speech 20 times (10 in step 1 and 10 in step 2), make a voice recording of your performance. I say performance because if you sit down and read it into the tape recorder then you’ll get a different speech. Are you going to sit and read your message to your audience? If you said no, then you need to stand and present your speech to your recorder 
in the same active manner your audience will receive it. Listening to this recording will give you more insights. You’ll notice things that you’ve missed during your previous readings. Make changes, practice them a couple times and record yourself again. Do this until you are comfortable with how you sound.

4. Practice your presentation in its entirety in front of a mirror. 
Here you’ll begin to focus on your facial expressions, your posture, gestures etc. Put in effective 
gestures and expressions at those key and impactful moments of your speech – get to your audience both visually as well as audibly. Again, make changes, and practice them until you are 
comfortable with the results and the body language is fluid with your speech.

5. Video tape yourself. 
This one will sometimes take you all the way back to step 3 or sometimes even 2. Watching 
yourself in the mirror is one thing. Your involved in your speech and can miss little things. But when you use videotape, your performing and that’s it. So now you can go back and review that performance and hone it to the razors edge your striving for.

6. Give a practice performance to a safe audience. 
This safe audience could be a family member, close friend, or trusted associate. I found a great place for my practice presentations – Toastmasters. Here a group of people, who want 
to improve their speaking skills, gather to present to, and constructively critique one another. When you present to a willing party, be sure to be open minded when receiving the response to your performance. Don’t put up your defenses when they make suggestions – because that’s what you want.

This process may seem long the first couple times you go through it. But if you make it a habit to follow all these steps, then each and every one of your performances will be the best it can be. And your audience will thank you for that!

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Want to be a better speaker? Want to put your life in the fast track? Brinkmann and Associates provides motivational and educational material spiced up with humor and entertainment. Informing, educating and listening to keynotes does not have to be boring! We will put every effort to see to it that it is not. From personal development skills, advanced presentation skills to motivational seminars. We will provide you with a made to order program expressly designed to meet your needs and the needs of your audience. Guaranteed!! Subscribe to our free newsletters on speaking and success: ttp://www.tracybrinkmann.bizhosting.com/ezinesubscribe.htm 

6. AIMS OF HR ERA, HOW TO CONTRIBUTE ARTICLES, & LEGAL STUFF  

Aims of HR Era

It aims to enhance CAREER GROWTH of its readers by bringing to them practices & ideas they can apply in their work, opportunities to network with other Professionals, training opportunities, jobs available, and techniques for self-management.

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. 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 

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.

Visit our Website at http://hrera.tripod.com 

 Copyright (C) 2002 by Rajeev B. Bhatnagar