The Pecking Order Changes

The interesting aspect of every controversy in our country is the amount of
publicity it generates. Close on the heels of the major row raised by the
"instrumental" rendering of the national anthem at the function hosted by a
major software company, came the almost ludicrous brouhaha over the cavorting on
stage of aging Hollywood star Richard Gere with the born again Bollywood star
Shilpa Shetty. A Sunday program on one of the popular television channels took
the controversy to a new plane by emphasizing that the feelings of the new moral
brigade were echoed by the majority of people in our country.

The "kiss and tell" controversy or the new "pecking order" as one
correspondent called it exposes for the umpteenth time the double standards that
prevail in our thinking and so often creeps into our working world. In the
knowledge industry in our country, many social and cultural traditions are being
brought under the headlamps and exposed for what they are-the artificial
remnants of a previous era-when repression and a "holier than thou' moral
attitude served as a wonderful façade for the exploitation and lewd behavior
that has always lurked beneath the surface of our day to day life. Ask any young
lady who has dared to travel on a Delhi Transport Corporation bus in peak hours
about the behavior of the lumpen elements that have no respect for women at all.

This is not a plug for loose behavior or a general relaxation of ethical and
moral standards but just an appeal for CXOs and HR chiefs in IT and BPO to wake
up and smell the coffee. We cannot build a global industry with world beating
aspirations if we continue to keep our young folk in cages and view any display
of affection within or outside our office boundaries as a transgression of a
code of conduct. The youth of today may be more liberated in their thinking but
are well aware of their own independence and responsibilities.

At a recent talk for the National HRD network in Pune, I spoke about the need
to build networks of relationships based on passion and love with colleagues up
and down the corporate hierarchy to enable an environment of true bond ing that
would put the organization on the path to attaining collaborative success. After
the session, an elderly consultant actually asked me if I had not over stepped
the line by advocating the demolition of hierarchies and wondered if
organizations would not collapse under a climate of anarchy if rules were not
laid and enforced, particularly with the large majority of the workforce being
in their impressionable twenties. Contrast this to the response from the younger
sections of the audience who were genuinely appreciative of the fact that some
"old fogey" had actually reached out to their core feelings.

How does one build an environment of true "connectedness" in today's dynamic
knowledge industry? In our own firm we have tried to make that happen in HR by
having a team that spans twenty year old employee relations executives, thirty
some HR managers of key business units, a more mature leadership that still
stays in tune with the aspirations of the youth, and a sprinkling of truly
senior mentors to listen to and address some deeper issues of youngsters. Does
all this help in an attrition prone industry? Sure it does if our five basis
point improvement in retention is any metric, and more important, the
combination of sage advice with empathy makes for the friendly and fun
environment that is enshrined in Zensar's own Five F cultural framework.

Finally, the humor associated with the narrow-minded behavior of a few
elements is not the sole prerogative of our country. In an interview in the US,
when Richard Gere spoke about the backlash being restricted to a fringe element
of right wing ultra conservative politicians, the interviewer was quick to ask:
"Are you talking about India?" in an obvious reference to this ultra
conservatism that prevails in many parts of the western world as well! Is the
world ready for a new beginning? It better be!