IIM ROHTAK H U M A N E - R CLUB P re s e n ts
H R BULLETIN VOLUME 44
humane.r@iimrohtak.ac.in
HUMANE-R|VOLUME44
HR BULLETIN
Boards must take CEO search more seriously! Here’s how boards can make better outcomes from CEO search committees. One of the major headaches for the board of directors has always been putting a succession plan for the successful running of the enterprise it serves. Ensuring leadership stability by replacing an existing CEO with a capable successor is always on top of the agenda every few years. Let’s just say the time has come to consider leadership change in the company. Perhaps it is part of a planned succession. Or, maybe the CEO is retiring, or he or she just surprised the board with a new “opportunity” (or maybe the incumbent CEO “just didn’t work out”). Let us assume that the choice of a new chief is not a done deal and that the board wants to do a proper job of the succession. That means designating a board “CEO search committee.” How good are boards in doing CEO search? Remember there have been many failed attempts even by blue chip boards. Have you forgotten Tata Sons, Infosys, and many others?
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Here’s how boards can make better outcomes from CEO search committees. For starters, designating a distinct committee of the board to manage chief executive search offers many advantages over an ad hoc or full board approach. It shows good governance – you are telling investors and employees that sound CEO succession is a board priority and that it will be handled properly. Membership can be handpicked to assure board members with time, expertise, and independence for the task. And the board can write a charter for the committee that spells out timelines, priorities, and role of the committee versus the full board (and you can set a discrete budget line item for its needs). Keep committee size compact – 3 or 4 members. A big search committee proves both political and unwieldy. Evaluate if it is good to add the CEO succession agenda into the portfolio of an existing committee. It has its own advantages. Since the tasks and needs of the committee will overlap with executive pay setting, the compensation committee is often designated to handle CEO search. The membership will already be independent, and likely include some skills in HR and talent search. The comp committee chair is a natural for chairing the search committee, even if you have formed a separate group. With either of the approaches, membership should be finetuned for the role at hand. The independent chair or lead director should also be a member, as should the chair of your governance or nominating committee. Many board members ask us this question: Should the incumbent CEO be a part too? We don’t think it is a good idea. The outgoing chief will have too powerful of a say, and suck all the air out of deliberation. All this fussing over CEO search committee membership is vital because this core group is doing far more than coming up with a name. It is crucial for the committee to get a strategic focus on what success factors they should have without compromise. What strengths and weaknesses did recent CEO evaluations reveal? What new changes in the company’s strategic plan will push you to “lead the target” in identifying tomorrow’s ideal CEO? How will your top succession plans fit in with the rest of your executive talent development structures? Since even the best CEO committee cannot do the legwork all by itself, it sets the plan and parameters and then engages specialists for the actual headhunting and vetting. Usually, this will be an outside search firm, and the search professionals we spoke to advise consulting them early in the process. Even if the committee has candidates in mind, the search pros will know what questions to ask, how to dig for a deep reference check, and what realworld, current pay and benefits packages look like. Typically, there is never “enough” time for the CEO search, but a rushed project often leads to eventual regrets. If the current CEO announces a planned retirement, a year to 18 months is ideal to form a committee, set parameters, and strategy, work with a search firm, interview candidates, and bring a final recommendation to the full board. In a pinch, the process can be done in 6 months, but that’s far from ideal. The COVID-19 lockdown has made virtual interviewing of candidates the norm, but in some ways has actually fast-tracked the process. Now, 90 percent of CEO candidates are either internal or known to the board. Finally, ensure that the committee members will have time to devote to the work involved – it is more time and labor-intensive than you think. Also, fill the committee with directors who will be around for a few years – definitely not someone who is soon to retire from the board. You want members with more skin in the game, who will actually have to work with the CEO they select, and not merely sticking to the assigned duty…
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/blog/leadership/boards-must-take-ceosearch-more-seriously-29250
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Andhra Pradesh's new electronic policy to create over 39,000 jobs The new electronics policy 2021-24 also aims at getting a whopping market size of $400 billion from the present $104 billion. The Andhra Pradesh cabinet has approved the state’s new electronic policy which facilitates the creation of worldclass electronics manufacturing infrastructure, better ‘Ease of Doing Business’ besides offering a host of incentives to business and industrial houses in the state. The government is aiming at converting the state into a global electronics manufacturing hub by 2024. The new electronics policy 2021-24 also aims at getting a whopping market size of $400 billion from the present $104 billion. It envisages tapping a majority of new investments in the sector flowing to India and Southeast Asian countries, into Andhra Pradesh, and developing the state into a mature electronics manufacturing ecosystem. The government also plans the promotion of a world-class greenfield electronics manufacturing cluster being developed at Kopparthy in the Kadapa district. The introduction of a production-linked incentive scheme in the green field clusters extends incentives for the electronics manufacturers in the state. The government is also aiming at creating over 39,000 direct jobs in the electronics manufacturing sector with a major employment share going in favor of women. The policy framework is a major milestone for the state to become a preferred investment destination for the electronics manufacturing industry and is a testament to the investor friendliness of the government led by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, said principal secretary to the government G Jayalakshmi.
“The department is confident that the release of the Andhra Pradesh Electronics Policy 2021-24 will expedite the grounding of investments and provide employment opportunities to citizens of the state,” the senior IAS..
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/news/talent-acquisition/andhrapradeshs-new-electronic-policy-to-create-over-39000-jobs-29247
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Google to move to hybrid workplace model This would result in result in a workforce where around 60% of Googlers are coming together in the office a few days a week, another 20% are working in new office locations, and 20% are working from home. Signaling a move towards a hybrid workplace model, in an email sent to employees, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai said the company will move to a hybrid work week where most Googlers spend approximately three days in the office and two days wherever they work best. This would result in result in a workforce where around 60% of Googlers are coming together in the office a few days a week, another 20% are working in new office locations, and 20% are working from home. Pichai further added, “Since in-office time will be focused on collaboration, your product areas and functions will help decide which days teams will come together in the office. There will also be roles that may need to be on-site more than three days a week due to the nature of the work.” The idea, as per the tech giant, is to give everyone more flexibility in life and more choice around whether they work. When it comes to flexibility, the following initiatives are on the cards• Work-from-anywhere weeks: Going forward, Googlers will be able to temporarily work from a location other than their main office for up to 4 weeks per year (with manager approval). The goal here is to give everyone more flexibility around summer and holiday travel. • Focus time: Product areas and functions will also offer focus hours so we limit internal meetings during times when people need to be heads down on projects…
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/news/culture/google-to-move-tohybrid-workplace-model-29260
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Ola Electric ropes in N Balachandar as CHRO N Balachandar joins Ola Electric as CHRO. In this new role, Balachandar will accelerate Ola Electric’s journey to become a world-class talent organization, as the ride-hailing platform moves towards fast tracking India’s transition to sustainable, clean and electric mobility. India-headquartered ride hailing platform Ola Electric has appointed N Balachandar as Chief Human Resources Officer. Balachandar joins Ola from Coffee Day where he served as Group Director - Human Resources. In this new role, Balachandar will accelerate Ola Electric’s journey to become a world-class talent organization, with a focus on people and culture globally. “I am excited to join Ola’s mission to transition the world to sustainable mobility. Having the best talent from around the world is integral to this mission and I look forward to building a global organization that will offer a lifetime of opportunities for employees and enable them to make a difference,” said the newly appointed CHRO. Balachandar,or Bala, as he is popularly known, comes with over three decades worth global experience, having worked across India, Europe and Asia with established brands in the likes of Coffee Day, GE Healthcare & GE Capital, Standard Chartered Bank, Strides Arcolab, Aon and Asian Paints, among others.
Commenting on Bala’s appointment, Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman and Group CEO, Ola, said, “As we work on driving growth and building a global electric vehicle (EV) company, we are ramping up our focus on building a world-class people organization. Bala’s over three decades of experience across various consumer-facing segments will help us ensure we rapidly scale up the organization's structure, capacity, and capability to meet our global growth ambitions”. Balachandar’s appointment follows the recent announcement of Wayne Burgess joining Ola Electric as Head of Vehicle Design. Ola is gearing up to launch its first range of electric scooters in the coming months. Equipped..
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/news/c-suite/ola-electric-ropes-inn-balachandar-as-chro-29265
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HR veteran Mali Mahalingam passes away Mahalingam had an illustrious corporate experience as an HR leader spanning three decades. Mali Mahalingam, Former VP - HR of IBM India, has passed away. Reports suggest that Mahalingam had been experiencing COVID-19 related symptoms for about three weeks now. Remembering the celebrated leader, ITC’s VP HR (Agri-Business Division), Prabhakar Lingareddy, told the media, “Mali reflected what H Jackson Brown Jr once said, ‘Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more’.” Mahalingam had an illustrious corporate experience as an HR leader spanning three decades. An HR Advisor and Executive Coach, he partnered with several corporate clients in their leadership development initiatives through assessment & development and executive coaching. Mahalingam was one of the 4 architects who designed the HR Competency framework now in use in India, developed under the aegis of NHRD Network and CII. He has been a member of Nasscom Mentor Panel for mentoring CEOs of SMEs in IT and ITeS sector. Most recently, Mahalingam was leading the human resources function at IBM India, as Vice President Human Resources.
This was Mahalingam’s second stint with IBM. In his first tenure, he worked with IBM India as Head of HR, leading all aspects of the people function, and was a member of the India/SA leadership team. Prior to joining IBM, Mahalingam served as EVP and Global Chief People Officer for over eight years at Symphony Teleca Corporation, where he headed Global HR functions spanning over 20 countries, led over 12 small and..
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/news/leadership/hr-veteran-malimahalingam-passes-away-29272
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