What is an Employer Value Proposition(EVP)

Is it a buzzword or is it a necessity in the hyper connected world.. It is validated once you understand the concept and its relevance that it is imperative for any organization worth its salt to work on the current and potential offerings and convey the message to all its constituents . In the internet of things  I read somewhere your EVP is as good as the Glassdoor reviews you get from interview candidates , current employees and employees who have left .Hence a carefully sculpted  EVP is required. However what is important is the overall ethos and values of the organization ; how does it treat its employees –current and the leavers, interview candidates !!

There are good tools available to create an EVP and a few things I believe are important :

-an overall approach as a company if you are global one

- region specific/local  offerings  along with the other overarching attributes

-top down sponsorship

-continuous communication of the value proposition at all appropriate forums and using all media

The importance of EVP is only increasing with every passing day according to me . It is in fact on a lighter the Executive Presence exhibited by the organization !!

Leadership Paradox or Antithesis

Given below are a few questions related to the Leadership practice . It could be anywhere –corporate , educational institute , not for profit organization etc. .There are not finite answers to these queries or observations. The actual solution might be a combination- heady at times of experience , intuition, expertise , advice ,information , insight ,business context , goals , head heart combination etc. that will help give shape to the storm of questions I have raised !!

·         How much to influence and where

·         How to say NO and when to say NO

·         How to tell an adult that You are wrong(read –mainly male if you are in the Indian corporate world)

·         How to be a close confidante  –have a warm heart and a cool head as N S Rajan said

·         How to influence to get things  done

·         How to assimilate and synthesize

·         How to be innovative and have a real perspective

·         How to be in the moment and yet be above it to have that perspective

·         How to support and guide others

·         How to take appropriate risks and solve problems

·         How to be people oriented and yet have Big Hairy Audacious Goals(BHAGs) [Suggested by James Collins and Jerry Porras in Built to Last ]

(ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Hairy_Audacious_Goal)

·         How to take all types of people along with you to accomplish difficult goals

·         How do you treat incompetent people? How long should be the  rope given to them

·         How to learn to ignore and manage the apotheosis of the insignificant and focus on the core

·         In all this keep yourself superbly updated about your field and have a healthy network !!

Polarity management  is a good lens to examine the multiple paradoxes mentioned above

http://www.margaretseidler.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Polarity-Management-Executive-Summary.pdf

REVIEW OF THE SUCCESSION PLANNING ARTICLE

I stumbled on this article published by the international training and consultancy firm Achieve Global on the critical issue of succession planning .Article link is : http://www.hreonline.com/pdfs/03022007Extra_AjilonSuccessionPlanning.pdf

The article mentions the importance of succession planning in today’s competitive business environment. It further builds a historical and socio economic context to strengthen the case for strong succession planning in organizations. The important generic factors mentioned are a) impending retirement of the baby boomers b) Generation X and Y characterized by high volatility and low loyalty c) Lack of a strong middle management level  in most organizations

Keeping these factors in mind the article suggests a three pronged way or three different models of succession planning. They are:

a)Contingency model based on emergency replacement

b) Long term planning model based on long term organizational needs and a strong strategic framework

c) A Mixed model which comprises of the emergency replacement method and long term planning model

The article cites successful examples of organizations like Johnson and Johnson , Eli Lily Microsoft , Proctor and Gamble who have taken visionary steps to have a robust talent pipeline and have embarked on focused initiatives to develop leaders . The various tools and techniques range from identifying high potential people , using different  assessment tools and techniques , communication of the intent of the management to the employees .The article further sates the three critical factors that should be considered by human resource professionals during the process of succession planning and they are   

Strategic planning -This involves a review of the organizational strategy and building systems based on the internal and external factors

Knowledge and criticality of the role –Here the HR professional will have to identify the critical roles for effective retention of talent and knowledge

Talent Management as a holistic process- Finally succession planning has to be viewed as a sum of multiple inputs and hence on should  have a talent management philosophy where recruitment , career development , learning , retention are viewed as various dimensions of the entire process . The organization thus should have an integrated approach to manage and develop employees and plan for their career advancement  .Thus  a lot of focused efforts need to go in this direction where the Leadership team of the organization will play a very vital role in defining and executing the talent management philosophy .

My take is that most companies have realized the importance of the succession planning process. But it is a complex process at the end of the day . To be successful we will have to view the entire talent management process holistically and have a well defined yet flexible approach to handle each dimension of the talent management process with a sharp eye on the business realities . This is a job which the HR function has to do in consultation with the senior management for the company . For this the HR professional needs to have to right tools , information and technique to carve an organization specific succession plan . These tools and techniques could comprise of :

• Appropriate business knowledge ie organization’s products , revenue streams , competition intelligence
• Knowledge of critical roles and possible career paths for them
• Knowledge of various assessment methods ie 360 degree  method , psychometric tools
• Information of practices in other companies
• Facilitation and coaching skills
• Literature related to career development and talent management ie sites , books , certifications
• A perspective or view based on the information about possible solutions and alternatives to the talent pipeline issue

Sharing ..Emerging Markets and equality

The debate of growth rates in Emerging markets has always been an interesting one .On one hand these markets have registered great growth rates…. however  reports suggest that this change has happened  at the cost  of a lot of social and economic  inequality .So how do we bring in equilibrium?. In a thoughtful  HBR Blog  Prof Vijay Govindarajan and Ravi Ramamurti explain  3 ways thru which businesses have tried to bring in equality in EM.

Three 3 ideas that are mentioned are:

A)Designing products and services customized for EM

Example of a mobile banking product m-PESA by Vodafone and how it was used in Kenya

B)Second creating employment and access opportunities

Example of Aravind hospital in India  where they enlisted the poor to help the poor. Case of more than 2/3^rd of their staff being girls from nearby villages who were trained to help perform he cost effective high quality  cataract surgeries

Creating an ecosystem for education which can be a great enabler

C)Kroton in Brazil- It ensures that quality education reaches the underprivileged  thru an online and cost effective model .These graduates in turn were able to see their income grow “by a higher multiple than students in any OECD country”

PS-I have mentioned the article summary here …Original article can be found at

https://hbr.org/2015/01/3-ways-businesses-are-addressing-inequality-in-emerging-markets

On Perspectives

A perspective is important in the quest for personal and professional development . Whenever I think about perspective I am reminded of these lines by T S Eliot :

In our life we never cease from exploration

And at the end of our exploring

We will be to arrive where we started

 And know the place for the first time

A perspective allows us to do that -allows us to see the oft seen and repeated things in a new light altogether .We begin with any new venture , any new topic with the basic information . There are levels of information i.e. starting from a preliminary introduction to the topic to getting more and more deeper information related to it . Later on when there is enough and more information with which we can form generalizations for that particular topic we are stepping in  the realm of forming our own personal perspective . It is exactly like the theory of relativity moving from the specific to the general from absolute knowledge of one topic to linking it or relating it to other thought processes and bodies of knowledge .The process of perspective formation is moving from the domain of pure information to the field of insight . It is this insight that will help us gain a deeper and intense understanding of the topic and gain mastery over it . Over a period of time in our professional lives – by virtue of repeating the tasks, by virtue of living and breathing the same set of activities and thought processes we are able to form insights , generalizations about the field naturally . It is at this juncture that peers and superiors can play an important role in acting as good sounding boards. That is so because a perspective is always personal , discussions help it gain an objective nuance and the pros and cons of that insight can be examined many times even in a clinical manner .Also it this insight and perspective that will help differentiate after a particular level a high potential employee from the  rest of the peer group . It is the responsibility of the organization to provide avenues and opportunities to the people to present their perspectives . Of course it depends on the resourcefulness of the employee to present his/ her viewpoint too at the right forum .So much for perspectives and career development ! 

Management Trends

Positive intelligence

Read about the concept of positive intelligence propagated by Shirzad Chamine  which speaks of the saboteur and sage within us .It further elaborates how we can sabotage ourselves with some traits and there is a sage too within us which is the balancing factor .The earlier you are aware of these traits and this wonderful concept the better. You can visit the site  and take 2 tests – the saboteur one and the positive intelligence quotient

http://positiveintelligence.com/assessments/

The reports give a good understanding of the personality traits which either enable professional behaviour which spells success else some derailers –(minor  they may be )which take us away from our goals !! Additional details about this concept can also be found at:

https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/shirzad-chamine-how-defeat-your-internal-saboteurs

How Google Works and is Still Working

Read this amazing book .. The authors have given a very practical account of the modern day management practices followed at Google Inc and how they have helped create a new culture devoid of the baggage of the past and has characteristics like fairness and transparency , providing real space to employees to innovate , fostering team work without inhibition etc .The language is racy and grasps your attention from the word go.. One thing I could not help noticing Google with its razor sharp focus has only hired the best whether it is in the form of employees or even consultants who work for them .Talk of A’s hiring A’s- this is even mentioned in the book.The book also dwells on the future and how big Data will even push the envelope  further as far as innovation is concerned ..A must read I should say .. 

http://www.amazon.com/How-Google-Works-Eric-Schmidt/dp/1455582344

http://www.howgoogleworks.net/

Leadership Development in practice

There are innumerable theories about leadership development and multiple models about a good leadership development practice . I think an excellent Leadership development program has still the classic principals of training design in mind which are as follows :

1. -          The right set of competencies and traits( could be key leadership traits necessary for organizational success like entrepreneurship, innovation , strategic thinking , execution etc ) that one wants to develop using the program as a vehicle
2. -          Using the right blend of mediums ie classroom based, online , discussion mode, field visits  etc based on  the participant profile and the program objectives
3. -          Sponsorship  of the top management for this initiative
4. -          Selecting a solid base of vendors for the parts that may be outsourced and partnering with the vendors deeply to ensure that you get the training delivery bang on
5. -          Ongoing evaluation of the program at periodic intervals
6. -          Follow thru mechanism in place to ensure that the program learnings are translated into action
7. -          Mandated participation of the participants immediate Manager in the follow thru and actual program delivery as well
8. -          Element of teach back sessions to peers , team members embedded in program design coupled with using social media to keep the participants  and trainers/ faculty  connected .
9. -          Leveraging virtual technology to the fullest in terms of having  a repository  that contains the program specific material , a site where participants , program  faculty can express their views etc
10. -          Most importantly decide the degree of complexity you want to cover based on again program objectives and participant profile ie whether  you are aiming at a deep behavioural sensitisation/ change  or developing generic leadership skills your approach may change according to the objective
11. -          An action element is highly necessary for adult learners and hence company specific projects/ futuristic projects will make the learning more relevant and interesting
12. -          Assigning mentors and  coaches during the learning process and even after that will certainly help to make the journey smoother and aid the personal and professional development of the participants

All these are the basic ingredients of a well crafted leadership development program .Please note the list is indicative in nature there could be other important things too which based on the context you may incorporate ..I tried to follow these tenets when we designed and implemented a leadership development program in house -LEAD.. I am even sharing these learnings with colleagues in a few countries 

Unions ??? Uh...

Today’s  Gen Y HR generation may shrug at the mention of unions .But we have a vast army of Baby boomers , Gen X  folks who have toiled their way up by managing unions , closures , strikes, lock outs etc . The fact of the matter is that even today unions are playing a major role in sectors like engineering , automobiles , manufacturing ,pharmaceutical , public sector banking etc .

The Maruti tragedy sometime back  has encouraged many a HR professional to open their labour law text books ..And all these sectors do have many Gen X and Gen Y managers and not just for the  HR function  but for all functions and isn’t good industrial relations a joint responsibility of all HR and non HR functions in an organization .

So what’s in store for the young HR professional today on the Employee relations or Industrial relations front ? I get this " innocent " query from many MBA HR students ... Let's try to answer it .

If you are associated in any way with manufacturing sector you better know your Industrial Disputes Act  and  Factories Act  thoroughly .Even in the service sector Shops and establishments act ,The Sales promotions act , Workmen’s Compensation Act are very relevant and a thorough  knowledge and practical understanding will save many uncalled for enquiries and legal cases . Then there are the standard one like PF and Gratuity Act , Maternity Benefits Act and irrespective of the industry a thorough  HR professional should be acquainted with these so that you are aware of the legal environment in which you have to evolve or execute policies .

Another area which has emerged to be a very important one for India has been the area of HR related compliance. So inevitably the HR department would be the custodian along with the Risk mitigation/Compliance  department for any employee related non compliant activities ie false reporting of attendance , whistleblowing by team members against a manager/ peer etc . An understanding of the above mentioned laws , critical court rulings ( eg Vishakha case for any gender related discrimination )and Principle of Natural justice would be beneficial along with the organizational compliance and regulatory framework  for the HR professionals to do their job well.