The Last Working Day!

So the last working day of 2012 is a Monday. For a change, we hear stories of joy (away from the usual 'Monday Blues' discussions) on how we survived the Mayan prophecy and the  corporate world lives on to see another appraisal cycle! As we prepare to put our feet up and party, we thought it would be prudent to share a few thoughts on the year to come and our view on Employee Engagement & People Management and some of the people challenges for 2013! 

While the job market is open for the ‘right candidate, one of the key challenges that human resource managers have faced across industries is ‘engaging talent’ once on board. Another challenge that remains is ‘building effective and transparent’ dialogue between the core management team and everyone else. There is no dearth of employable talent with the sheer number of employable ‘Gen Y’ candidates coming from colleges and B-Schools across the country, we feel recruiting people who ‘fit the company culture’ needs to take precedence before their pedigree. Only then can we have the right task force.

With a fresh batch of employees joining each year, a clear cut strategy on their career progression during their stint needs to be in place and this needs to be communicated regularly and effectively. Especially since this new and diverse breed of employees also come with a different set of expectations as compared to their predecessors. Managing these expectations in an attempt to curb attrition seems to be one of the biggest challenges HR professionals face today.  Attrition numbers in the first year or 1.5 years across companies or industries is an indicator of the amount of work that is needed in the space of active employee engagement.

While companies remain open to caring for their employees and paying ‘attention’ to engagement scores, organizations need to truly start looking at employees as their greatest asset (not necessarily just a cost center)  and undertake initiatives and prove this belief on a consistent basis.  This can be either to rewarding emotional intelligence or taking steps to build the right ‘top down’ culture across the company by ingraining company values while remembering that this is not a one-time task. We sure have miles to go before we sleep

On this note we wish you a happy new year. May 2013 be stress-free and; may you remain hale and hearty. May your bonuses multiply and appraisals be a cake walk. Here's  to the new year and a fresh start!  

Merry Christmas!

Maintaining Work Life Balance.

7:00 a.m: Alarm rings

7:30 a.m: Breakfast with newspaper

8:00 a.m: Leave from home for work

9:00 a.m: Office starts

8:30 p.m: Leave from office 

10:00 p.m: Reach home

10:30 p.m: Dinner with news

11:00 p.m: Slumber

Remind you of your daily routine? Well, it’s time to stop and think! Just take a look at the routine. When do you have your lunch? When do you spend time with your family? Most importantly, when do you spend time with yourself? Remember that work is a part of life and not the whole of it? 

With evolved lifestyles, working professionals are finding it increasingly difficult to find the right mix between work and life. Life is dominantly about making the right decisions at the right time and maintaining balance between the different roles we perform in our day to day lives. The task to separate the personal and the professional becomes exceedingly tough with better positions and promotions. However tough the job might seem, the need to undertake such a task is undeniable.

Question yourself. Are you really enjoying life? One of the main reasons behind taking up any job is the desire to lead a good enjoyable life. But are you actually fulfilling that desire? You earn the bucks but you do not have the time to spend it, to enjoy life with family and friends. Does that really make sense? Your heart will certainly say ‘No’. Just take the initiative. The rest will gradually fall into place.

How to start? Here’s how!

Once too much pressure builds up, learn to unplug. Disconnect yourself from your mobile phones, emails, letters and chats. Give yourself some time to unwind completely. Spend time with yourself. Do things which you like doing. Take this time to relax.

Choose your profession carefully. Take up something which you want or have always wanted to do. Do not do a job only because you have to. If you choose something that interests you, then you can keep fatigue and stress strikes at bay. Doing something you like does not leave you exhausted. On the contrary, you would feel satisfied.

Plan properly. It helps to make proper use of time and best use of money. Organizing things properly will actually help understand requirements. That will help you allocate time and resources to things that are essential and necessary.

Do not get swayed by the 'herd'. Stay away from fierce and unhealthy competition and mindless rat race. Doing what everyone else is doing is the easiest way out. Our lives have both good and bad moments. No one takes decisions for us. We do it ourselves. So take decisions which you think are correct. This goes a long way to keep the balance between work and life.

Opt for flexibility in timings whenever you get the option. Many organizations offer this as an option to make your life more valuable. Always keep in mind that work is only a part of life, not the whole of it. There are other important things in life and there are people who make our lives complete. Do not let work consume you so much that you forget this elementary point. 

Take some time out every day to exercise and do not keep any other work scheduled for that time. If any work crops up at that time, you can always re-schedule it to some other time.

We all have one life. Spend it wisely we say.