Pati or Patni or Woh (Depression or Death or Nepotism)

This post has two parts and is long.

Part 1

It has been a week since the demise of Sushant Singh Rajput (SSR) and social media is filled with the usual garbage that it always carries. Several years ago as the popular social media(SM) gradually began turning into the sewerage that it is today, I decided to cut my losses and fold. From time to time, I login to my SM accounts to see if anything has changed and every time I logoff knowing that things have gotten only worse. The half-understood, half-baked, copy pasted, illogical and vulgar language, thought and expression seems to have overtaken everything that was once good on social media.

Even LinkedIn seems to be joining the bandwagon. These days almost every other post belongs to some gaudily dressed woman creating irrelevant content and batting their false eyelashes (even botox lips) into their selfie cameras. And LinkedIn seems to have no moderation in place.

Over the last week though, the usual garbage from this channel has been overflowing into other media channels and this has irritated me to no end. The first couple of days almost 80% of news comprised of tweets and excerpts from SSR well-wishers and so-called friends. These people were apparently so moved by his demise that they could not even pen “Rest in Peace” in full for the departed soul. Honestly, I don’t want to know what any of them think or feel. The only thing that interests me is to know whether the death was a SUICIDE or MURDER. That is the only answer I seek.

Don’t get me wrong. Even though I can personally never understand or sympathize with anyone who even contemplates suicide, I have come to accept that to some it holds the promise of peace and solace. Death in any form is sad and warrants mourning. But I have seen very little of it during this last week for Sushant at least.

For most, it has become a mud-slinging, finger-pointing and getting their two-minutes-of fame opportunity. For the rest, it is all about, what’s-in-it-for-me? Everyone and I mean EVERY SINGLE ONE seems to have an opinion which is based purely on hearsay and not reason or logic. I will come to that in the second part of my post.

But, first things first - A couple of things about this death simply don’t add up.

First - There is no suicide note. A reminiscent tweet of one’s dead parent does not amount to having suicidal thoughts. He still had a list of 50 Things To-Do. He was selected for the 2024 space program and had bought a piece of land on the moon as well. Only someone who wished to live through a May Day situation would want to learn Morse Code. Why would he want to die before that?

Second – The death of Sushant’s ex-manager Disha Salian just six days ago was also made to look like suicide. Later, it was claimed as accidental death but the underlying thought was that she was suffering from depression. Sounded exactly like the actress Divya Bharti’s death. That she was hosting a party at her home and had been negotiating some important deals for Sushant earlier was conveniently forgotten. Not everyone turns into a manic depressive after an emotional breakup. Somehow, the word “DEPRESSION” is being made out to be the monster in all of this while the real villain roams free.

Third - Paying his house help in advance could either mean that Sushant was sorting out his finances for the future or was trying to get rid of someone to protect himself in some way from something sinister. Someone who owned a Maserati, had a very healthy bank balance and no liabilities at 34 would definitely not be afraid to pay back loans no matter how large.

Fourth – Dogs are one of the most alert and sensitive beings. Something about the dog’s behaviour in Sushant’s house does not seem right. Honestly, I haven’t figured this out yet.

But yes, I am extremely curious to know the real cause of Sushant’ death. Maybe even Disha’s.

Part 2

Now coming to the second part of my blog – The narrative around Sushant’s death has two parallel themes one of Depression and mental illness and the other of Nepotism in Bollywood.

In most cases, the people who have dredged up this issue again, seem to either have very limited vocabulary or haven’t found any other interesting word in the dictionary yet. To all these people, I will only say this, when you point one finger at another, there are at least three other fingers pointing back at you. So beware of who you employ or have around you before you blame others.

Let me try and explain how and where Nepotism really exists.

1.     In many homes even today, there is a favourite child who gets the best opportunities or goodies than the rest of the family. That is Nepotism.
2.     Even a poor hard working farmer will always handover all his land and property to his one and only lazy son but not to his hardworking neighbour. That is Nepotism.
3.     A successful businessman will always get the most talented professionals to work for the business, perhaps even promote them to board levels but will eventually handover its reigns to his not so talented children. That is Nepotism.
4.     Have you heard of any politician or village head handling over their seats of power to a true leader? The seat always goes to a close family member no-matter how unqualified or vindictive. That is Nepotism.
5.     Have you heard of railways or police or Group D government jobs given to the wife or son on the untimely demise of an active employee? That is Nepotism.
6.     Family jewels are always passed down from one generation to the other and not given to charity. That is Nepotism.
7.     When you feed your own child and the maid’s child, the former always ends up getting the best portions. That is Nepotism.
8.     Some academic institutes are more famous than others because the successful alumni consciously select, recruit and promote juniors from their alma matter. This ensures a good placement and reputation for the institute and a higher perceived market value of the students of the institute. The institute on the other hand has a “Management Quota” for the children of these alumni. That is Nepotism.
9.     Kings, zamindars, temple priests and even our very own caste system is nepotistic.

I can go on but I think you get the drift.

Nepotism exists in democratic, socialistic, autocratic, capitalistic and all other forms of governance. Nepotism always has and always will exist. To call one person or only a group of people Nepotists is absolute stupidity.

The media and film industry for all its faults has never made any claims of being a Great Place to Work. They are almost always in the public eye and more prone to scrutiny than any other industry. Yet, people choose to make a career in this industry. Nobody is forced to choose and make a living in this industry. You can always leave should you so desire. Some other industries are worse.

The media and film industry allows talent to come from colleges, modelling agencies, film and dance institutes, theater, television, radio, business, cricket, , politics, fitness centers and even those who are wholly disconnected from the world of media and film – such as self-styled god-men. No other industry offers such a wide berth to its talent. Yet, everyone is hounding the media and film industry for Nepotism.

It is ironic to see some self-declared “outsiders” who have actually made it big in film industry, blaspheme the same industry that has given them so much. To these ladies and gentlemen of the film industry, I want to give a small advice. Several sons and daughters of superstars could not make their mark despite several launches and good scripts. Not every Kapoor or Khan or Bachchan or Bhatt or Shetty is successful in cinema. Whereas, several talented actors from impoverished backgrounds have made their mark and have a huge fan base, albeit after a lot of struggle. The second list is way longer than the first and will continue to remain so.

The success or failure of a talent in Bollywood does not depend on some awards, few boot-licking journalists, missed scripts or nepotism. It depends entirely on the audience. Stop blaspheming the same industry that has given you so much fame, fortune and fan following. There are worse industries to be working in. You can check coal mining, smelter or power plants or even the health care industry if you like. Every profession has challenges of its own as well as its benefits. Focus on the positives.

Yes, there will be arm-twisters, groupies, henchmen, bullies and mean girls. And they will definitely get their just desserts. I am not talking of Karma but Time. Aging is a great leveler. It shows and is in-your-face-literally.! So relax. Unless you find it in yourself to be happy and at peace, don’t expect to find it outside.

Centered

The misunderstood and misrepresented concept of 'Good and Bad' or 'Right and Wrong' has been the basis of all depravity since the beginning of human consciousness. Perceptions and notions of 'Good and Bad' is unfortunately absolute for most people. All accounts of human history recount tales of dissatisfaction, fear, massacre and all things negative because of our limited understanding of the absolute truth.

In the words of Sir Bernard Shaw ' It is all Relative'. And so it should be for all of mankind. Creation and Destruction are the only two 'Absolutes'. Everything else in between is just 'Relative'. I would therefore, if given a choice, correct this mistaken notion of an 'Absolute' of anything to a 'Relative' one.

The Future Of AI And Automation In The Workforce

The rapidly changing technology landscape has necessitated the use for faster and more reliable forms of machines that support the human workforce. There is possibly a very rare population that has not heard or is not aware of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its impact in the near future. For a large part there is a lot of misconception, misunderstanding and skepticism around AI and its implications on the human race.

For skeptics, the mention of AI invokes images of gun totting, trigger happy robots or monstrous machines with the power to cause grave injury. This is based on their overarching reliance on sci-fi movies as well as their own limited understanding of AI.

 For the longest time AI has shaped our financial markets across the world. From calculating, the spot prices of crude, to game changing financial market predictions, to calculating the ticket or hotel prices for our next vacation, AI has been part and parcel of our lives since the beginning of this century.

 The rapid advances in technology have brought AI into our palms literally. Imagine a life without your smartphone. ‘Avatar’, an AI technology that enables SIRI, is no monster. Can you imagine an iPhone without SIRI in it? Imagine the relief of the army families, when an AI drone flies into enemy territory under heavy fire instead of live men.

 Yes, an AI based defence system that is devoid of emotional and value based judgement, a moral compass and compassion, has all the trappings of the ultimate fascist force in history. A single rogue AI machine can perhaps create millions of others like it and simulate human bombing squads which operate on the same paradigm.
 
 Like any other technology, AI has had its fair share of successes, failures, judgements and controversies. For all of its success however, AI still remains a largely under represented technology due to lack of human understanding.

 AI is not here to take away our jobs but to make us faster and more capable than we already are. The immensely capable human mind can learn and adapt to emerging AI systems as long as we are willing. Automation only means that we drop redundancies and monotony to focus on more challenging assignments. AI is here to stay. Our options therefore, are clear and binary. You can love or hate AI but you can no longer ignore AI.

Why HR needs to market itself?

HR is an art and not a science. Pure science is based on the principles of hypothesis and predictability. Art on the other hand is based on the principles of probability and creativity.

While science can prove its hypothesis, art needs marketing to sell a thought. While every subject and process needs to go through a process of change and recycle continuously, HR as a profession is on a severe back foot in today's day and age due to its dated process designs. From learning and development theories and practices, to performance, succession and motivation processes, HR has repeatedly failed to show business value. Engagement as a function is yet to find its bearing. The only functions that have constantly bailed HR so far are employee relations, statutory compliance and communications. Drawing largely from the theories of psychology (which change quite frequently these days), HR has mostly been relegated to repeated transactional jobs.

Unfortunately HR has been reduced to the level of just hiring or payroll processing in most businesses since, business leaders fail to see the value of investing in other aspects of HR due to our repeated failure in justifying ROI. On LinkedIn for example, nobody even bothers to read through your entire profile before sending across their CVs or manpower solution capabilities. The two letters ''H'' & "R" in your job title is sufficient for almost everybody to assume that you are into recruitment. As if that is all that HR does.

The number of HR persons involved in transactional roles such as Recruitment and payroll in most organizations today is atleast five times that of those in transformational roles. These repetitive transactional jobs unless they are value based, are not just seasonal and but also simply supportive in nature. This leaves a mere one-fifth of the HR members to partner with businesses in upping their people readiness meters.

Despite this, HR leaders will go ahead and shoot themselves in their foot by stating ''HR to Employee'' ratios, without first explaining to business leaders the difference between transactional and transformational HR. The other worrying feature in HR of late is the over dependence on analytics. HR analytics to me seems like the most illogical investment of time and resource. HRM is all about managing behaviours, expressions, expectations and emotions. If an HR team is not qualitatively clued in to what employees are feeling and thinking about your organization and you need quantitative data to tell you so, then, such HR needs to be scraped from the organization. Numbers can at best give some clues to guide HR. But if numbers drive the HR function, a business should kiss goodbye to stability, culture and sustainability.

I once heard a funny anecdote about an analytics expert telling an HR manager why they needed a new hire. Because an existing employee did not come to work on a Monday (peak work day) and had been taking a few extra sick leaves over the past couple of months, it essentially translated to the existing employee looking to leave the organization. Interesting, I thought, given the fact that an ideal HR manager should have already known the reason why  the employee was looking to leave and where he/she had interviewed and much more than this if they knew their job.

HR unfortunately today does not have its ear to the ground. Mimicking the so called "Best Practices" of other organizations in your business is possibly the "Worst Practice" possible. "Best Practice" was surely a term coined by some HR team with great marketing skills. But even those organizations that are pioneers of "best practices" or have them all, continue to have employee attrition. Doesn't that ring a bell?
      
As the quantum of knowledge workers increase in an organization, HR has to enable self managed benefit structures instead of obsessing over confidentiality and secrecy. And let's face it, from appointment letters to compensation structures to L&OD modules you can Google them all. HR needs to be quick and agile today. HR needs to understand what the business needs and design practices suited for the organization. If your policies need to change, they must. If your old legacy systems needs to be trashed, they must. If pushing paper is taking too much time, HR must go digital. Stop bringing in consultants to tell you what others are doing better and hence, you should do it too!

Getting the business to agree to your point of view, is where your marketing and influencing skills come in handy. So here are some sure shot ways of influencing and championing for your team and your ideas. I always tell my team, that you can never expect to please or satisfy 100% of your audience. Target the majority and the rest will sort themselves out. Naysayers cannot stop your success. Be proud and confident of your work and ideas so that external ridicule does not demotivate you. Don't try to be a people-pleaser all the time. Time yourself right. Talk logic. Talk sense. State verifiable facts. Do your homework. Do not push your idea too hard. Give your audience time to absorb your new idea. They will surely come around when the time is right.

Hope these help.

Why ''Make in India'' is still a far fetched dream?

In December 2010, a group of 19 Indian students landed in Beijing after an exhilarating voyage across the islands of Indonesia and Malaysia. None of us expected any surprises. A temperature controlled bus would ferry us to our cozy hotel rooms and we would prepare ourselves for the gruelling study trip the next day – that was the standard plan.

But fate had different plans. The luggage conveyor belt stopped turning and I realized that my luggage was missing. Lost in transit at Malaysia – we were told by the airport staff at Beijing airport.
The temperature outside was -4 degrees Celsius and all I had with me was a hand luggage with just a night's change and a fleece jacket. While it might sound like a lot to most men, it is definitely not enough for a woman. Trust me about that. The lady at the airport understood that too. With 400 Yuan as compensation for the hardship and a promise of luggage recovery the next day, we had no other choice but to leave for the hotel as scheduled. On the way though, I made it a mandate to stop and shop for some essentials to tide me over for the next couple of days atleast.

It was midnight by the time we booked into our rooms and we had an early start scheduled for the next day. The only thing I was capable of thinking about was sleep and that’s what I did.
On waking up the next day, I realized how cold it was in the room despite the heater. So I made myself a cup of coffee. The standard red Nescafe sachet beckoned and the coffee was made. With my very first whiff and sip, I realized that this coffee smelled and tasted better than the one at home. Perhaps, the Chinese grew better coffee than Indians hence, Nestle created better products here I thought.

But I didn’t have much time to ponder, so I rushed to get ready. Now, I truly believe that if you want baby soft skin, use only baby products. So a Johnson’s baby oil is a standard feature of my toiletry kit. Since, my luggage had gone missing, I had to purchase one last night. Again a known and much loved product but this too felt different. It felt creamy and smoother in comparison to its Indian counterpart. I will be fair - The smell was the same though. Never mind I said to myself, they make it better because Chinese babies are more important perhaps for Johnson & Johnson.

My luggage was delivered to my hotel my noon that day and the hotel called me to confirm the same. I was elated. What service!

After a long day of study visits across Beijing, we were all tired and hungry. The hotel plan did not cover dinner. But more than the prices, we shuddered at the menu that was on offer. So we decided to take a walk and catch some grub at the nearest KFC or Mc D. The Mac came first and we ordered a Mc Chicken with fries on the side. As students, we opted for the cheapest combo. At 50 Yuan (~ 300 rupees) we were thrilled and shocked to see the portion size of the meal. So why were Indian Mcs so tiny? They looked like a joke in comparison. Believe me, Indians can eat just as much as any Chinese if not more. Our hunger is no less inferior to our Chinese friends.

This was just a one day account of my experiences with different brands in a NON-INDIAN environment. There are more.

Back in the 90’s when dad came back from London, Singapore, Oman and other foreign visits, we eagerly awaited the perfumes, cosmetics and soaps he brought for us. The sweet scent of the perfumes lingered even after the clothes had been through a wash. The Camay soaps were milky and the scent lingered for hours after a bath. The makeup made us glow and made heads turn not because we wore too much of it but because, the product was doing its job right.

The QUALITY was top notch. There was no compromise on the quality of a product made in a NON-INDIAN country.

If we want to really “MAKE IN INDIA” we INDIANS have to be QUALITY CONSCIOUS. It is not okay for Olay so deteriorate to a runny consistency just ten months after its initial launch. It is not okay for Nestle or Coke or Pepsi to sell us substandard products that will be rejected in the international market. To those in the decision making echelons of this country and corporates, please note – RESPECT INDIA before you MAKE IN INDIA.

Own your Professional Growth

The role and responsibilities of professionals, needs to change and evolve over a period of time. People often ask me how this can be done. So here are six easy steps to do just that.

1. One of the easy ways to make this change happen is to track the changes happening in the industry vis a vis your role.
2. Even if you do not have a network of professionals in the same role at other organisations, just look up the job descriptions of a role on multiple job boards. See if you fancy any new addition to your role and list that on your KRA.
3. Don’t be over ambitious though. Understand what you can do and what you cannot keeping your organisational context in perspective.
4. Identify low hanging achievables and jot them down.
5. Make a separate list for training and certifications that you need to achieve a certain competency.
6. And last but not the least, keep abreast of what is happening in your organisation and the industry in general. An outdated professional with a meritorious past is the worst qualification to have.

Just remember that if you don’t own your own growth, no one else will.

“Wanted - SUPERMAN OR SUPERWOMAN with a better dressing sense”!

While I love to write and share my thoughts with others, I rarely get the time to do so these days. So I decided to write a few short articles on some recent observations at work and in the industry as a whole.

Most HR professionals identified in the elite cadre across the industry, agree that it is important to induct non-HR persons into HR roles in order to speed up the function of an HR Business Partner (HRBP). However, over the last year, while more and more roles have opened up for HR Business Partners across all organisations, the job descriptions have sadly remained backward in approach. Most JDs of HRBP outline the role of an HR purist.

An HRBP according to any typical job description (JD) is expected to deliver a role that spans across the entire spectrum of HR operational activities such as recruitment, performance management, exits and statutory compliances as well as analyze the myriad data, capture trends, report the same to the management, train and coach on leadership development and manage the talent pipeline. Oh Wait! That’s not all, the HRBP has to also strategize, manage the external branding as well as internal communication, engage and motivate employees and aid in change management.

Here’s a thought - Why don’t we simplify the JD instead and simply write “Wanted - SUPERMAN OR SUPERWOMAN with a better dressing sense”!

If your organisation is in a bad shape and really needs an HRBP, what you are actually serving the HRBP at the very start is a ‘’big basket of rotten apples’’.

In case you are an HR person who belongs to an organisation that cares for its employees and is really serious about sustaining an HRBP role, here are some helpful tips you can use –

1. If you add too many areas for any role, then don’t expect the incumbent to succeed.
2. Don’t expect an HRBP to start performing from day one.
3. The first job of the HRBP is to listen to the employees and the leaders. Make copius notes and then bring order to the chaos.
4. An HRBP is not a one man/woman army model. HRBP has to be a team of experts who identify and undertake one project at a time in order to succeed at the same.
5. Do not expect an HRBP to succeed if he/she has to impose upon the remaining HR team members. He/She will belong to the HR team and in order for them to succeed, they need to be able to make friends in the team. A role that acts as a data collector/fault finder of his own team will seldom be able to make friends internally. Such an HRBP is bound to be de-motivated the fastest and leave your organisation for greener pastures.
6. None of the HRBP JDs mention anything about knowledge of business or developing leaders from within his/her team or grow more HRBPs internally.

Lastly, an HRBP role is that of a doctor who has to treat an accident victim. No wound can be healed overnight. No one medicine can cure all ailments and no one treatment is a sure shot guarantee of complete recovery. Hope this helps.

The Child Executive and his Toy Chair

1995 was the year when a telephone entered our house. I remember racing my three year old sister to answer the phone, every time it rang for the first two months. The novelty wore off soon though. But quite early on, our parents taught us the value of short conversations and meaningful relationships. My first job as a call center executive in GE taught me another lesson. The importance of keeping conversations short and simple. Even today, I find it a criminal waste of time to speak to anyone for hours together. It is a shameful waste of productivity and a costly drain of airtime.

I once read an account of a company driver who remembers an incident that happened in the long past. One day in the peak of summer, four corporate executives had to travel to a remote rural location. Given the poor condition of rural roads, a tyre went flat and the passengers were forced to stop while the tyre was changed.  While three of the executives scurried away to take shelter from the scorching sun, only one executive stayed back. He took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves and squatted down with the driver to help change the tyre. Working together, they changed the flat in half the time it would have taken for the driver to do it alone. They resumed the journey soon after. The executive who helped the driver was none other than Ratan Tata. I felt a sense of pride just hearing the story. Imagine the pride and the sense of association the driver must have felt on that day.

Over the years, I wondered how so many people could spend hours talking over the phone with their "soulmates" (ironical) and one or two years after entering the institution of marriage, their conversations dwindled. The youth today has a burning itch to check their mobiles every few seconds and feel lost if the slow data connectivity delays the delivery of their life saving whatsapps. I rarely see these young guns read books while waiting at the airport. There are barely any young minds absorbing the beauty of nature while travelling with family and friends. We do not have the time to connect with the real people around us. Yet, as we enter our organization and begin work, we want our leaders to be connected to us.

Three to four years of graduation and two years of post graduation from premier institutes and presto, you have theoretically produced a professional who is ready to hit the corporate ground running! BUT, their academic degree is not a passport to becoming a great leader. Talking to bosses, attending late dinners and stretching over the weekend is OK for these bright minds but sparing some time to help the junior recruit settle down at work is too much work. With our heads buried under spreadsheets and numbers, we often forget that everything in life ultimately boils down to people. So when the office guards opens the door for you or the office boy runs your errands, saying a simple "Thank you" seems like a bit too much effort. A message on whatsapp or a friend's foreign vacation pictures on Facebook are more important than acknowledging the live person in front of you. It is so easy to give orders to your reports but so very hard to coach them and help them grow. I feel sorry every time a bright executive leaves for consulting roles simply because they could not master the art of connecting with people. Leaders are not made by the degrees you earn or the title you hold or the people you network with. Leaders are made by the attitude you have and the behaviour you display even in the passing.

How many of us thank the office boy who brings our mail to us or serves us tea or coffee? How many of us take the time to just smile at the receptionist every morning as we enter the office? These are just some people we meet everyday. But under the enormous weight of our inflated professional titles and super inflated egos, we rarely have time to notice these people who don't play a role in paying our salaries. Yet, we all have something to say about the "company culture not being quite right". The "what's in it for me?" attitude works well - but only for a while. Time is a cruel performance appraiser. The best leaders are not those who made the most money but those who connected the most with people.

Your life is a huge blank canvas and your behaviours are all the colours that you have at your disposal. The picture you paint on the canvas is entirely up to you. Just remember. that the canvas has two sides. On one side is the picture you paint as a professional and on the other, the picture is that of you as a person. The colours you choose and the picture you paint on either side it entirely up to you. But remember that one day, the professional life will end and only the picture that you painted on the personal side will see you through to the end.

The Success Stoppers

Have you ever run a relay race? A relay race is a team sport where the entire team has to work together one after the other to each the finishing line. Each time you pass the baton to the next runner you place an implicit faith in your team member that he or she will give their best to reach the finishing line first. However, imagine running a relay with some members who did not have the motivation to come first in the race. Imagine what would happen if one member of your team suddenly fell down during the race and could not continue running. What if someone did not have the right shoes and ran slower than the rest since they were afraid to fall down. And worse than everything, what if one of your team members did not realize than they were falling behind in the race and had to run faster to keep up with others?

It is a terrible feeling to lose a relay race when one or the other team member does not perform their best and as a result the entire team fails. Similarly in an organization, it is team work that gets us success. Organization success is not a one man job. Neither is it the responsibility of one person. Hence, when the organization goal is clear yet, we all look to a single leader to give us direction every time, we are bound to fail.

At Adani Power, our rate of growth has been phenomenal and we only have to go further. We have already created several benchmarks in the industry but we cannot stop there. To do so however, each one of us needs to be a leader in our own jobs. If we don’t own up to our responsibilities then we are thee roadblocks to our organization's success. In this article, I will give you a few examples of how someone can be an organizational roadblock and how to avoid becoming one.

The Credit Seekers (Vindictive by Nature)

One of the worst kinds of attitudes that some employees in an organization have is the quality of vindictiveness. Vindictive employees are those who deliberately stall decisions or work without thinking of the consequences of delay for the organization. They are aware and empowered to do what needs to be done. Yet, they deliberately postpone certain activities in order to cause harm to someone or defame someone. They are not indecisive by nature. Instead, they are calculative and manipulative and take pleasure in making others feel uncomfortable. Vindictive people also have a credit seeking mentality. They claim credit for success and blame others for failure. As team members they do not gel well with others. Most employees reporting to vindictive leaders feel stressed or frustrated since the leader is never transparent in his speech or behaviour.

   

The Free Riders (Happily Indecisive)

These are the second worst kind of roadblocks for an organization. These people are fully aware of what needs to be done and have all the necessary resources available to them. Yet, when it comes to taking the decision, they hesitate or procrastinate for fear of ownership. These people love to delegate upwards or play the blame game when work does not move ahead. Such employees never show ownership and display a responsibility avoidance attitude in everything they do. Success or failure does not matter as long as they do not have to decide. Such lethargy in willingly not letting work move forward is a matter of grave concern for an organization. As employees, you must make sure that work does not stop at your table. Take quick decisions. If you are unable to decide yourself, ask your team or your supervisor, do your due diligence and let the work conclude or pass to the next person.

The Energy Suckers (The Perpetually Negative)

Failure is the stepping stone to success. We have all heard this but when it comes to our daily life, we often forget the saying. If you don’t take the risk, you have failed by default. Hence, before you say no to a challenge, stop and think what it would feel like to try and succeed instead of failing by giving up. To continue our forward motion to success at Adani Power, saying no without trying is not an option.

Being conservative is not wrong. It means you have calculated the risks and are taking a logical decision. But negative people start talking without facts. They quote stories of failure and hypothetical situations instead of trying to think of ways to counter the risks that may befall. Negative people tend to spread negativity around too. Even if you have reservations, as a team, you must give your best efforts instead of pulling down the team’s morale by being negative or non-supportive. Speaking ill of your own team is also a big no-no. It shows that you are a bad team player let alone a leader. Stick with your team and support their activities even if you think you might all fail.

The Blissfully Ignorant (Unaware or Uninformed)

The least you can do as an employee in an organization is to stay informed of what the business goals are and the timelines. You don’t need a supervisor to tell you what needs to be done. Build networks with your peer groups across the organization to understand what everyone is doing and if you or your team need help or can help others in any way. So pick up the phone and start talking to peers.

Being unaware or uninformed of what is happening around you and what needs to be done by your team is unacceptable. It cannot be an acceptable excuse at any level. Buying time by saying, “I did not know it had to be done”, is professionally unacceptable behaviour.

The Hoarder (Afraid to Delegate)

As normal human beings, none of us can be an expert in everything. Neither are we infallible or indomitable. However, when an employee is good at a particular job or has shown consistent performance, it is natural that people look to them when new work has to be done. It is quite normal for such employees to sometimes feel overburdened. However, most of these people are perfectionists by nature and do not like the way others work. Hence, they hoard all the work and keep it to themselves. They refuse to mentor or coach their team members for fear of devaluing themselves. Therefore, they cannot delegate. In the event such employees fall sick or forget to finish a pending task, the entire work stops completely since no one else knows or is aware of what needs to be done.

As leaders or as employees too, you must learn to coach others in your team to do a job as efficiently as you do. Reverse mentoring is a new concept but it is true that even junior employees can coach senior employees. Remember, you can move up to the next level only if you have helped your supervisor move up. So help your supervisor trust you and delegate work to you so that the work never stops entire organization benefits.

What Employees Want

Human beings are rational creatures. But rationality does not necessarily mean being right. We are easily swayed by the latest trends and fashions without understanding our own need and affordability. Over the last couple of years, industry has been rife with discussions on best practices and world class policies and practices. As the world gets smaller with internet connectivity, information is easily available to all. Employees of an organization compare internal policies and practices with external benchmarks. Globalization also, makes it necessary for organizations to adapt and adopt global practices.

In the midst of all this ‘’informative noise’’, have you ever stepped back to really understand whether all change that globalization has brought along is really right or necessary? Are we all victims of the infamous information paradox today? When we compare two organizations and their respective policies and practices, are we also being fair and rational to both organizations?

If you were in the management function which decides on employee perks and benefits, how would you prioritize the need of employees? There are several kinds of benefits and perks that companies offer their employees. We all want them but the main question is – Do we NEED them? Do we really know what our needs really are? Or are we using industry benchmarks as an excuse?

Having worked across various different types of organizations, I was curious to find out what we as employees really need. But to provide any logical answers, I needed facts first. Hence, I decided to evaluate the gym and indoor sports facilities at 4 different organizations. The surprising find was that across all organizations, when a gym or indoor sports zone was inaugurated, the first month saw a large number of regular members. Over a period that number reduced. During the second year, the weekly turnout of employees at these employee facilities is reduced to less than 15 unique people with only 7 to 8 regular members. This applies to site locations too where a large number of employees live in corporate townships and have a 9 to 5 working period. Even here,, the average monthly turnout of unique members is not more than 25. This essentially means that only 2 to 5 percent of employees use the facilities available to them.

Don’t get me wrong. The point here is not about low utilization or cost to company. But as HR we really must understand what our employees really need. Is it a challenging job or better teams or work life balance or retiral benefits or healthcare facilities? Everyone has a different need personally. But what will be the best fit for both the employee and the organization? That is the question which needs to be answered.

As HR we also need to play the role of a strategic partner to our business leaders. Imagine sitting at a strategy meeting and pitching your case for employee benefits. With these numbers at your disposal, would your pitch be about employee needs or cost to company?

In this article, we will try to explore a few points and discuss why it is necessary to be different. Every organization is different. They have different strategic focus areas and markets to operate in. The people needs of these organizations too will therefore, be different.

Organizations just like people need to evolve and adapt to moving trends. However, what trends are right for the organization and what are not will make sense only if employees truly understand the needs of the organization.

When everyone talks of thinking outside the “box”, perhaps, we should begin our thinking by clearly understanding the box. What does our organization do? What are our organizations values and goals? What are our challenges and what are our strengths? Understanding the organization well, will help us understand why certain policies and practices are designed the way they are.

Typically, there are three types of strategic focus for organizations –

1. Organizations that focus on Customer Centricity
2. Organizations that focus on Product Leadership
3. Organizations that focus on Operational Effectiveness

The needs of each of these organizations are different. An organization cannot and should not focus on all three areas unless it wants to fail. Let us understand why and see a few examples.

Customer Centric Organizations

Organizations that focus on Customer Centricity always put customers first. Whether it is the way their product is packaged or the way their employees treat customers, the customer is always the king. Typically, industries such as hospitality, IT services, FMCG goods, BPOs, eCommerce etc are customer centric in nature. Organizations operating in this space, have to design internal policies and processes in such a way that their employees are empowered to take care of customers. From giving discounts to customers to spending large amounts on customer research, to going out of the way to customize a user experience, these organizations design processes keeping the customer in mind always. The focus of these organizations is to make sure a customer keeps coming back to them again and again. Such organizations spend a lot on employee trainings that focus on customer service at the junior levels and marketing and sales competencies at the senior levels. They do not look for the top talent in a college because the organization does not need it.

For example, at the Ritz Carlton in London, every employee and staff inside the hotel can spend up to one thousand pounds to address any emergency customer needs without taking any permissions or approvals. A housekeeping attendant once realized that a guest had forgotten their laptop in the room and had left for America. The attendant got in touch with the guest directly, took their mailing address and shipped the laptop to America at a cost of five hundred pounds. This is the level of customer centricity which makes the Ritz stand out from its competitors.

TCS for example never hires toppers in a college. They focus on the average to above average merit since a regular churn in employee population is healthy and necessary for the organization.

The needs of such organizations and its employees are a strong reward and recognition (rnr) system. Every employee needs to feel valued and empowered in order to provide the best customer service to their customers and clients.

But getting the right rnr system is a challenge and many organizations have failed too. For example in the US, a departmental clothing store MACY’s decided to offer free Nachos at the company cafeteria for a week to a high performer. Employees were offended for two reasons—
1. The reward showed no individual appreciation.
2. Employees who were diabetic or health conscious, could not avail the reward.

Individual contribution and team feeling is the need of such organizations and its employees.

Product Leadership Organizations

An Apple iphone or a Bose speaker is premium product. If a customer wants the best product in the market, they know where to go. Unlike Samsung or HTC, an Apple does not have hundreds of different models available in the market. Similarly, a Rolls Royce or Porche and Ferrari do not advertise their products like the Ford or Honda or Toyota etc. A premium product is the USP of these organizations. The customers that these organizations target are those who are willing to pay a premium for the best product.

Product Leadership Organizations spend millions of dollars on research and development of their product. Everything these companies do are focused on the product that they produce. Hence, all activity inside the organization is focused to making the best product. These organizations have employees as their focus. Their source of revenue is the specialized talent pool inside their company. All internal policies and processes are designed to ensure that employees are happy and do not leave the company in favour of other competitors. They target premium institutions to attract the best talent in the market. They go to extraordinary lengths to make an employee feel comfortable inside the organization such as by offering luxurious offices and workspaces to amazing food and other perks.

However, during the 1980s General Motors, which was a leading car manufacturer in the US went wrong with its people policies. At a bankers and investors meeting, three top executives of GM travelled from the same office to the same meeting in three different private jets even though the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. The employees were completely disconnected from the needs of the organization. GM was saved due to governmental assistance but has never been able to buy back investor and customer confidence as before.
At Google engaging and motivating employees is a continuous work in progress since there are no sure shot answers. In  such organizations the factors that determine employee attitudes AND work behaviour have less to do with what the company does than who they are and their existing values.

Product leadership organizations need to value their employees for their merit. However, it needs to be finely balanced and is an extremely tricky job.

Operational Effectiveness Organizations

Large scale manufacturing, financial institutions, heavy metal industries, logistics and monopolistic industries have two things in common. Their product or service is fixed and they are capital intensive industries. A steel manufacturer cannot manufacture copper and aluminium too. The railways cannot make their trains fly during the rainy season. Banks cannot offer outlandish interest rates as they are controlled by a central regulator. A shipping company cannot offer festival discounts on client shipments.

The amount of investment necessary for an organization in these industries is enormous. The only things that make these industries competitive, is the speed and the cost at which they operate. The faster a bank processes loan applications; the better will be the user experience. The cheaper the ticket and faster a train, the greater will be the number of repeat customers on that route. They lower the cost of steel, the higher is your number of repeat orders. These organizations make profits from volume of sales. Hence, they not only have to focus on low cost but also on speed of delivery.

All processes and systems in such organizations will only focus on these two aspects - Reducing operational costs and adopting the best systems and processes.

In such organizations the people requirement are of three types. Such organizations are usually people intensive in nature. A large number of employees are required at the junior levels who are skilled in a specific discipline. This skilled workforce is required to perform routine tasks on a daily basis. The second kind of people required are those at the mid to senior managerial level, who are good people managers and have a fair degree of technical knowledge. At the very top, such organizations need to be lean and have only a few candidates who are strategic thinkers and can interact with external stakeholders with ease. Everything in such organizations is about achieving effectiveness in all aspects of its operations. Hence, all perks and benefits must be designed in such a manner that it benefits all different groups of employees. Such organizations will fail if they try to individualize or personalize benefits and perks for its employees.

Being Different

From the above descriptions, you may have understood that every organization can have only one strategic focus. A conflict in the focus or focus on multiple areas is the death knell for an organization and history has plenty of proof for the same. We are sure, that you may have understood what Adani Power needs to focus on as an organization from the above description of organizational focus.

It takes courage to be different and even more courage to accept the differences.

Comparing ourselves with others is easy but understanding what we really need is a big challenge. The relation between an organization and its employees is a mutual one. Just as an organization is responsible for the well being of its employees, the employees are responsible for understanding the organization’s goals and its needs and perform accordingly. A conflict in either will cause stress for both the employee and the organization. When employees and the organization are aligned, they can create magic together. Instead of looking outward at external best practices, such organizations can create industry benchmarks for others to follow. Where do you want to be - An onlooker from the outside or a game changer from inside?

You decide.