IIM ROHTAK H U M A N E - R CLUB P re s e n ts
H R BULLETIN VOLUME 77
humane.r@iimrohtak.ac.in
H U M A N E - R | V O L U M E 77
HR BULLETIN
Flexible workplaces will become the new reality as employees embrace higher accountability Today’s employees are more self-aware. For them, flexibility is a combination of schedules they follow, hours they invest in learning, locations they work from, the kind of ownership of projects they enjoy, and the frequency with which they would want to interact and engage with their teammates, customers, and supervisors. If I went back in time and told my younger professional self that the very definition of workplace would undergo a sea change, it would have sounded ridiculous. But things did change. And the way it happened was brave and new. This disruption of the mental image of today’s workplace has pushed us for a mindset shift and has made the flexi-work model, a widely adopted reality.
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H U M A N E - R | V O L U M E 77
We are a generation of digital natives who believe in leveraging technology to break the barriers of geographies. Just as employees are embracing the idea of remote or hybrid workplaces, employers have also grown peoplecentric and are making flexibility a viable option. However, the challenge lies in how to build that trust bubble where flexibility and accountability balance each other out. Otherwise, an employee and an employer will be trapped in a perpetual seesaw of orthogonal wish lists. Stabilize the flexibility-accountability seesaw Today’s employees are more self-aware. For them, flexibility is a combination of schedules they follow, hours they invest in learning, locations they work from, the kind of ownership of projects they enjoy, and the frequency with which they would want to interact and engage with their teammates, customers, and supervisors. All this, while maintaining a good work-life balance. And the encouraging news is that employers are empathetically responding to this need for flexibility to ensure higher retention and talent growth. I feel, given the evolving times and the constraints that we have been exposed to over the last couple of years, a symbiotic relationship between an employee and an employer is non-negotiable. Enterprises must transform and customize the workplace models to build a culture of accountability while allowing employees to ‘work from anywhere, anytime’, provided this fosters team collaboration and solves customer problems with desired service levels and quality. Accountability is not about meeting certain goals about hours or work deliverables. It is about ensuring the quality of output, response and turnaround time while assuring complete security of data and networks. To help employees function in a safe environment and to lay the foundation of a strong flexi-workplace strategy, it is critical to establish clarity of purpose. Unless an employee understands the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’, it is not fair to expect desired outcomes. Clear communication always improves productivity and encourages task ownership. Remote working could at times get lonely. A few possible ways to combat this would be to infuse positivity by setting up interactive workshops with peers and leaders, fostering cultural cohesiveness through water-cooler sessions, and scheduling in-person brainstorming meetings to help each other grow. The success of a flexible workplace would depend on how outcome-driven the framework is. Continuous monitoring will help breed confidence and streamline work stacks. However, there is a fine line between micromanaging and guiding. A manager should be able to work with assigned team members to set goals and help them achieve those objects and key results (OKRs). After carefully weighing the trade-offs, both could arrive at a turnaround time estimate. If there is an overspill, hurdles should be resolved collaboratively. One of the primary concerns of such a workplace is the security of data and networks. Customer-sensitive information is not something to be dealt with lightly. We live in a world where breaches of data privacy and compliance regulations can cost us beyond measures. It is mission-critical to set up secure networks, be mindful of customer and employer data, respect customer conversation confidentiality and follow locale-specific compliances to protect such a model from breaking down. Self-driven accountability will ensure the success of workplace flexibility It will take time to guarantee the seamless operation of a flexi-workplace. But I have seen some organizations practice this for years even before necessity demanded and there is no reason why such a model cannot be scaled up industry-wide. The moment we focus on unifying ideas and nurturing that culture where mutual trust, collaboration, and accountability can breathe uninhibited, workplace flexibility will become the norm.
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/blog/strategic-hr/flexibleworkplaces-will-become-the-new-reality-as-employees-embrace-higheraccountability-32091
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H U M A N E - R | V O L U M E 77
Insights into business excellence journey in 2021: Attraction by mediocrity In the business context, mediocrity can be defined as the recorded proficiency level of aptitude and skills put into action, which is consistently recorded at suboptimal levels. Yes, you read it right- “ATTRACTION”. Mediocrity is undoubtedly a powerful and alluring phenomenon. We all get attracted to it and continue getting enamoured by it in various ways. Not only does it have a democratic existence, but it cuts across young or old, junior, or senior, tenured or a new employee in the organization. The attraction is so potent that we all get enchanted by its simplistic and rationalising virtue. Regardless of our pedigree, experience, position, and role, we tend to fall for it while being unaware of our emotional and mental commitment towards strengthening this one-sided relationship. What is mediocrity in management, you ask? In the business context, Mediocrity can be defined as the recorded proficiency level of aptitude and skills put into action, which is consistently recorded at suboptimal levels. It is understood that by way of its sheer nature, mediocrity is not self- perpetrated. However, the use of 'Attraction' as a metaphor in this context is only to demonstrate our innate ability as human beings, to be blinded or be overly infatuated with it. Just as one would be in any attraction, our indulgence is without foresight. So, what’s the big deal with Mediocrity? Business numbers are growing, decision making is fast, people are motivated, and leaders are taking ownership, as an organization we are ticking all the right boxes. Most of us confuse ourselves by correlating mediocrity with productivity or numbers achieved. You see, there is no direct correlation between the two...
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/blog/strategic-hr/insights-intobusiness-excellence-journey-in-2021-attraction-by-mediocrity-32088
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H U M A N E - R | V O L U M E 77
Importance of upskilling in health tech space igital and technological innovation in the healthcare industry in 2021 has provided a light of hope in the sector that will help in enhancing performance and delivery to both doctors and patients respectively. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic challenged the traditional healthcare systems across the world, affecting the private as well as public healthcare setups. The traditional healthcare eco-system heavily depends on secondary and tertiary care infrastructure to offer critical care and unfortunately, the two waves of COVID-19 completely crippled this system, and it is still grappling to revive itself. Therefore, not only has healthcare suffered losses, but an overburdened workforce, stretched resources and disruption of normalcy has forced the healthcare systems to move towards innovative solutions. As of 2018, there were 4000 plus start-ups in the healthcare sector. Indian Healthcare start-ups raised $1.3 billion across 69 deals and the state and the central government have introduced new schemes to encourage digitisation and innovation in healthcare. The Indian healthtech market is estimately growing at 39 % CAGR to reach $5 billion by 2023. Digital and technological innovation in the healthcare industry in 2021 has provided a light of hope in the sector that will help in enhancing performance and delivery to both doctors and patients respectively. The Healthcare industry is now backed by digital solutions, electronic medical records, medical data, and this creates a demand for an efficient workforce to be successful with these elements. As per the IAMAI-Praxis report, Health-tech is currently addressing three major challenges in the healthcare system i.e., accessibility, affordability and quality. With increased tech adoption, increased use of AI/ML and data collection, the health-tech industry is expected to develop into value-based healthcare at a reduced cost of care…
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/article/skilling/importance-ofupskilling-in-health-tech-space-32083
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H U M A N E - R | V O L U M E 77
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Letting the team take the spotlight is important for a startup - Here's why? As the company grows, the founder should start trusting their team and be the leader.
“No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you're playing a solo game, you'll always lose out to a team”- Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder, Linkedin The above quote summarizes why your team should be front and centre for your startup. As entrepreneurs, it’s natural for startup founders to treat their company as a baby that they need to nurture and be involved with at every stage. It’s a common desire to want to be the centre of attention for your startup and take pride in the idea that you have built. However, a good leader is someone who shares and shifts the limelight on the team behind the startup. A good team is the foundation for a strong idea, a good team will help you build good products, and a good team works towards a shared vision. On the other hand, a good leader knows when to take a step back and let the team take over. A good leader learns to let go and give others a chance to lead. When you first start a company, the founding team typically takes charge of everything. From marketing to sales, and coding to financial planning, founders are knee-deep into almost every aspect of the business. However, if you continue to be the centre of your business as your company grows and the number of people grows, it will be detrimental to the firm's success...
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/article/leadership/letting-theteam-take-the-spotlight-is-important-for-a-startup-heres-why-32082
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H U M A N E - R | V O L U M E 77
How to remodel performance management to define talent in your organization Building trust does not come easy, the real test is how employees experience it. In the hybrid world of work, there is a rapid change in the talent landscape coupled with a high demand for talent. The nature of talent itself has changed, with people more willing to explore new roles. Today, performance is strongly related to growth and employee experience. HR must reimagine the way talent is evaluated and groomed for leadership, leading to a new era of succession planning and PMS. According to Ajay Kadyan, Co-founder, Zimyo, these are qualitative constructs encompassing thoughts, processes, feelings, emotions, etc., This is especially true for remote working norms with a diverse and distributed workforce, wherein employee wellbeing, continuous performance management, multi-rater feedback hold value. “Going from presence to impact is key to fostering a sense of meaning, purpose, and connectedness,” said Sneha Arora, VP-HR, Myntra. Remodeling the succession planning process As the notions of performance and potential changed, the basics of evaluating leadership potential evolved. Krishna Raghavan, Chief People Officer, Flipkart shared the company’s approach by noting, that “leadership competencies are linked to four agilities - ‘mental agility’, ‘people agility’, ‘change agility’, and ‘result agility’ across thought and execution”. Broadly, agility ties in strongly with the emotional quotient, especially with the myriad growth opportunities available for the hybrid workforce, according to Ajay. Naturally, organizations must focus on employee wellbeing and engagement to achieve outcomes that make employees feel valued and connected…
Read more at: https://www.peoplematters.in/article/performancemanagement/how-to-remodel-performance-management-to-define-talent-inyour-organization-32002
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