Get the Basics Right

Every day, organizations struggle to find additional means of gaining

competitive advantage. Products can be copied, promotional campaigns can be

mimicked, and even technological innovations can be imitated. The only real

source of sustainable competitive advantage for an organization is the power of

its people.

HR is fast shifting from being activity-based to playing a strategic role. It

is time HR learnt from the business side, donned the intra-preneurial hat and

captured imagination, to garner mindshare as well as internal customer loyalty.

We need to view people not as mere resources but as assets/capital. This fresh

perspective brings forth the need for a human capital strategy.

Capital is typically defined as produced commodities, which are used in the

production of other goods and services.

MULTI-TASKING MANAGER: HR pros need to don several different hats

Human Capital is defined as the aggregation of the innate abilities and the

knowledge and skills that individuals acquire and develop throughout their

lifetime. The former represents a potential, which is received free of cost by

individuals (and organizations as a whole), while the latter is the

actualization of this potential mostly through individual efforts involving a

cost.

Both components enhance the productivity of individuals in the production of

goods, services and ideas within market as well as non-market environments.

The elements of human capital: Employer branding



The war for talent is every recruiter’s nightmare. And winning wars is

about planning and strategy. As organizations spend huge amounts of money

running advertisements and conducting interviews, doesn’t that mean we are

interviewing similar candidates? And are these the right kind of candidates? The

one’s who are doing good work, are well recognized and are comfortably working

in good companies.

Every organization needs this ‘talent’. So, how do we inspire them to

apply or even consider what we have to offer? They would most of the time, not

even look at a single advertisement, except maybe for a cursory glance.

Employer branding is one of the essentials of a well thought out Human

Capital Strategy. The exercise need not require truckloads of money, but some

innovative thinking (see box).

Induction



Now you have the employee you wanted. He’s joined the organization. This

is the time for you to consummate the alliance and build the real relationship.

Induction is the time to set up expectations and capture critical potential

indicators.

n Good induction

program: A good induction program is about communication. Treat the new recruit

with respect and as a mature and responsible individual. Welcome him and make

sure that he is comfortable. Introduce him to all relevant people individually.

n Undersell the

organization: The induction program is the time to manage the inductees’

expectations. Undersell the organization and make the presentations as

professional and business like as possible. The expectations you set here will

come back to haunt you later.

n Lay down the

organization’s expectations: This is also the time for you to lay down your

expectations in terms of performance, professionalism and other values you want

to espouse.

n Clarity on

organization values and policies: Walk the inductee through every policy and

rules manual, this will help him know the organization better and not feel lost

once he goes to work.

n Lay down the

PMS system: Clearly enunciate your Performance Management System. It is very

critical for an employee to know what is expected out of him and what the

performance parameters are.

Also invest in soft skill programs (preferably in-house to get the right

flavor). It shows an inductee the focus of your organization’s way of doing

things. i.e. communication and team building.

n Buddy scheme:

Design a Buddy or Mentoring scheme (they are two distinct approaches) to help

assimilate the new inductee into your organization smoothly.

Maintenance and motivation



Maintenance and motivation form the bulk of HR activity today. An activity

that is most central to our success as a people oriented organization. Your

recruit is now on the job and is face to face with your world. Your relationship

with your employees has begun and the analogy again is to a good marriage. There

will be differences of opinion and arguments too. The success of this

association will be judged by the ability of HR to keep the employee engaged.

n Keep in touch:

This is one of the basic management mantras for high motivational levels and

employee satisfaction on various issues. Keep in touch with your people. Be

aware of not just birthdays or anniversaries, but more importantly of the family

and important events like graduation dates, any illnesses and so on. Employees’

performance and outlook on the job is a combination of all factors professional

and personal. To do your job effectively, you need to be aware of all that

affects your people. Your proactive initiative shall gradually develop into

trust and that is the key to your employees staying with you. Manage by

wandering around.

n Map individual

growth to organizational growth: Let the employee know how he grows when the

company grows. And to make the company grow and fill up new positions, he has to

grow and add value to himself. It’s a self-explanatory matrix.

n Partner with

line functions: HR can never succeed in isolated silos. One has to climb down

from the ivory towers and integrate with the line function and become partners

to the business in every sense of the word.

n Uphold and

educate leadership: This is the trickiest part. Always support leadership in the

public discussions to uphold the organizational fabric, at the same time do not

hesitate to educate the leadership if you need to in the larger interest of the

organization.

n Make the

employee feel important: Keep track of his achievements and personally recognize

his work whenever you can, in formal as well as informal discussions.

n Take interest

in his work: Go down to his workstation and try to understand what he is doing.

The more interest you take in your people’s work the closer they shall come to

you and open up.

n Recognize

contributions: Celebrate any exceptional contribution in a big way. A

transparent and objective reward and recognition scheme is a sure way of

motivating an employee.

n Empower

employees, ensure cross-functional participation: Let the employees participate

in shared activities like organizing monthly parties, festival parties, picnics,

sports events, pantry committee, new office furnishings, etc. This makes

employees feel like a part of the decision making process and the organization

gets new perspectives. They will in turn be more receptive and less critical of

such initiatives.

n Encourage

bonding: Encourage unofficial/informal events to create relationships. Involve

their families in functions.

n Provide

learning and growth opportunities: Train for growth and overall personality

development. An employer who cares for people is creating assets, which will add

to his wealth creation.

n Meritocracy: It’s

about survival of the fittest and rewarding the better. Typically, 10-15 % of

any organization comprises star performers (essential for growth), another

40-50% core workers (essential for stability and deliveries), next 15-30%

drifters (just around; will do; need counseling to shape up) and the balance

15-25% dead wood (eating into your productivity). To promote meritocracy in your

organizations you should "Reward the stars", "Recognize the

core", "Counsel the drifters" and "Fire the dead wood".

n Leave Space for

Vertical Growth: Never hire an immediate supervisor for an existing employee who

can fill the vacancy in up to 6-9 months (Potential Mapping) — Keep updated

potential appraisals. For every vacancy, evaluate if you have someone internally

who can take up the position.

n Career mapping

and succession planning: Let each employee know how his career can shape up with

you. Show him the growth path but no rash or undeliverable promises. Focus on

lateral movements along with vertical and educate your people.

n Know your

larger family (employees’ family): It is very important for you to know and

involve your employees’ extended family.

n Work life

balance: Helping employees find the right balance shall help them adjust better

and result in enhanced productivity.

Employee communication



Employee communication is the most important ingredient in the Human Capital

Strategy, and this is the place where most half-baked strategies come unstuck.

Remember the rules of communication and make full efforts for closing the

communication loop at all times. It’s your responsibility as an HR

professional. It is also very important for the organization to speak in one

voice at all times.

n Communication

to be responsible and measured at all times: Listen, assimilate and respond. Be

clear in what you are trying to say and think well before you communicate

anything. Also, have different communication strategies for different groups of

people.

n Identify

influencers of your organization: Use them effectively to convey independent

communications. They are important in your communication chain.

n Have clear 2-3

yrs strategies in place: Your long-term strategy will provide an edge to your

communication. Lack of conviction in communication is the biggest folly you can

make.

n Show a future

objectively: Do not over promise but remember positive propaganda helps and is

an effective wartime tool. Say you are the best again and again and you’ll

believe you are the best.

n Encourage

feedback, draw people out of their shells: People will not come to you on their

own, take the initiative to reach out to them. It is very important to do this

exercise with each employee. It is important to gain your people’s trust.

n HR to spend at

least 30 min with each employee every quarter: Use a formal structure of

feedback capturing to ensure you don’t leave out anyone and anything.

n Be honest and

transparent, yet no loose words: Say you can’t answer rather than giving a

story which you can’t substantiate. People will respect you for that.

n Do what you

say; do it as of yesterday: Tomorrow you will forget what you said, but people

will remember it for a long time.

n Build trust;

start with "smaller trusts" and build on them: Always protect the

trust placed with you, even when escalating issues upwards.

Aim at developing Commitment and trust’. And always communicate with

CONVICTION. Believe in what you say, for others to believe you.

Family



The essence of a Good Human Capital Strategy aims at creating an environment

and a great employee value proposition that is in tune with your organization’s

people philosophy. When the organization is successfully able to convey the

message that it cares for employees is when you have reached your destination.

The net result? A world-class working environment that motivates and propels

people to work better and stay on.

Rama Krishna is senior human resources

executive at Tata Consultancy Services

Candidate’s Envy, Company’s Pride>>>>>>>>>>>

everal factors affect the candidates’ perception of future employers. 

Here’s what companies need to do:



n Best
practices:
Study some of the best practices around and implement what ever you

can with some creativity. Remember not all best practices will suit any

organisation. Things like flexi-time and promotions from within are easy to

implement.

n Public

relations: Network, with fellow professionals, in various meets and even with

the candidates not found suitable at a given point of time. Word of mouth will

do the organization a lot of good. Also, candidates trust word of mouth and

references more than the advertisements.

n Use innovative

recruitment tools: In the information age, do not limit the approaches. Explore

all avenues to reach out to the candidate one needs. Use print advertisments,

Web services and even e- mailers. The more the candidate sees the organization’s

name, the more curious he’ll be to know about you and make the first contact,

which is essential to start an active engagement.

n Make a dapper

presentation: Aggressively sell the organization; remember the P’s of

marketing as detailed by ‘Kotler’. Identify the USP (unique selling

proposition) of your organization and build up a story line on the same. If you

can afford it, involve some Corporate Communications agency to help you out.

Create a smart corporate presentation and utilize the same to optimum by running

a kiosk/Powerpoint show while candidates are waiting.

n Good treatment

to prospective candidates: Give them respect and treat them well. A candidate

never forgets good treatment and will regard your organization as progressive.

Never make the candidate wait for more than 15 minutes if you can help it. Avoid

calling the candidate to your office more than 3 times. Many candidates drop out

on account of this. Close the loop fast to ensnare (Aha!!) the candidate before

he loses interest. And Bingo, you have talent eating out of your hand.

n Build a great

top layer: Organizations are dependent on leadership for their success. Get the

best leaders you can for your top level. Go for high drive and initiative

profiles.