' I've Had Enough '

We've all had those days when we've 'Had enough' and want to pop a letter to the management and say' I resign'. Well, we are going to let you do that with the added benefit that anything you say cannot be held against you and if you are able to blow us away, we give you a prize ! 

Here's what you need to do ? ✔ [Step 1] Submit the coolest resignation letter you can come up with, as a comment on the contest post on our Facebook wall and ✔ [Step 2] Get as many friends as you can to like your comment before the contest deadline. ✿ The entry with the maximum number of likes wins super cool goodies and gets featured on our blog. 

Is there a catch? None except one. You cannot simply lift a letter off the net. It has to be your creation. Hurry! Contest ends 6:00 p.m. on 24 May 2013. 

Here's the winning entry. Congratulations to Kali Rawat on winning this contest. 

The Get Wit-Witty Contest !

Ever been through the phase where you made a super witty remark at work and nobody really got what you were trying to say? Well, here's your chance to try once more and get acknowledged! 

Welcome to the awesome Get Wit-Witty Contest!

Or should we say otherwise? We have a task for you, something which will come to you naturally and won’t take much of your time either. It's really simple. All you need to do is click on  http://bit.ly/GetWitWitty Answer a few questions and lo behold! You may just win yourself some awesome goodies and a chance to get featured on our blog. Bonus points if you can add a hint of sarcasm.

Is there a catch? None except one. Have fun! Oh wait, there is another. If you pick a quote or something off the net, do mention where you got it from. That’s all.

Contest ends 04 May 2013. 6:00 p.m. Results will be posted on our Facebook Wall. www.Facebook.com/MakeWorkFun . What are you waiting for? Get cracking we say! Remember this "Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until they speak." - Steven Wright

Winning Entries : Priyanka Agrawal – (a line on the mug) flipped the other way if the boss passes by | “Don't mess with me. I am smarter, meaner and know the management better.” | & Arnaz Mistry – “I have a great boss so murder is not on the cards!” | 

© Never Grow Up ^TM WPL

3 Steps to Engage Employees at Work!

Research shows that staff performs better when they are happily engaged at work and are less likely to exit your company, thus positively impacting attrition scores and your company’s bottom line.

Engaged employees are builders. They are eager to know what the employer expects from them in the capacity of their role and wants to fulfill them. They consistently perform well. Such employees desire to use their talents and strengths. They are passionate about what they do and always try to find out innovative ways to help their organisation to make progress. Having said this, it is also the responsibility of the enterprise to perform its roles and work towards developing and nurturing employee growth both career wise and personally.

Read More on Entrepreneur India Online. 

Business Standard Says Hello !

Employees at a financial services firm are not staring at a computer in front of them and endlessly typing e-mails. They are seen walking up to one another's cubicle and talking about everyday work and queries. If you thought that the employees' computers are under repair, you are wrong. It is a 'no-mail' day in office.

This initiative is part of a series of initiatives by employee engagement firm Never Grow Up that deals with keeping employees happy. 

Read more on Business Standard online. 

And You Are? Seriously?

Contest time! ✔ [Step 1] Think of the 'Coolest Designation You'd Like to See on Your Visiting Card' and post your answer as a comment to this picture on our Facebook wall. ✔ [Step 2] Get as many friends as you can to like your comment before the contest deadline. ✿ The entry with the maximum number of likes wins super cool goodies and gets featured on our blog. 

Hurry! Contest ends 6:00 p.m. on 28 Feb 2013. P.s.Watch out for the winning entry in this post. 

The Results | Congratulations to Chaittali Dave, on winning our ' COOLEST DESIGNATION' CONTEST ! A whopping 61 likes for the designation 'ROCKSTAR RANI' in less than a week.

Deal with Ex-peers as a new boss!

Here's our take on how to manage ex-peers as a new boss. 

As featured in The Economic Times , February 2013.

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!  

Corporate India is not up to the mark !

Mumbai: At a time when leisure time physical activity — or LTPA, as it is increasingly being called — is emerging as the global mantra for health, urban India seems clued out. A new survey suggests that one of the reasons that Corporate India is sluggish could be the poor levels of physical activity among its white-collar workforce. About 60% of the 17,000 corporate employees who participated in the pan-India survey admitted to exercising three times a week and that, too, for less than 30 minutes at a stretch. The benefit of a brisk walk or the power of 10,000 steps daily in shaping one’s health is clearly not popular as yet here. 

    

In corporate India, the daily step count rarely crosses 3,000. “The average number of steps that urban Indians take would be between 2,500 and 3,000, especially if they don’t take the public transport that entails walking across bridges and platforms,” said Dr Aashish Contractor, a preventive cardiologist at Asian Heart Institute in Bandra Kurla Complex. LTPA is different from a planned exercise regimen. Instead of pumping iron, the World Health Organisation has said people can be healthy by being active — like walking briskly, skipping and swimming— for up to 30 minutes every day. A study in Lancet recently estimated that inactivity caused 6 to 10% of all deaths from major non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and breast and colon cancers.

WORKOUT JOURNAL 

• Over 60% exercise 3 days a week Over 58% exercise for less than 30 minutes a day 
• Over 77% take less than 10,000 steps a day* 
• Over 43% are sitting for 8 hours or more a day Over 44% rate their sleep as less than restful 94% eat less than 3 pieces of fruit a day 84% eat less than 3 servings of vegetables a day 

*10,000 steps = 6.4 km (approx) 

*17,000 respondents polled across 8 Indian cities 

HEALTH MATTERS Not even 5k steps a day? Sedentary life 

It showed that inactivity caused 5.3% of the 57 million deaths that occurred worldwide in 2008. The idea of underlining the problem was to show that the solution was simple: increase in leisure time physical activity. “Research has shown that leisure time physical activity is beneficial for all,” said Dr Contractor. In fact, the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine has categorized people on the basis of the number of steps they take: people who take less than 5,000 steps a day are sedentary, those who take between 5,000 and 7,500 are low on activity, those taking between 7,500 and 10,000 are somewhat active and the active ones take between 10,000 and 12,000 steps a day. In the 60s, Japanese walking clubs adopted a local pedometer’s nickname for their product —manpo-kei (translated as ten thousand step meter) — as the standard. The Japanese mantra of 10,000 steps a day translates into walking 6.4 km a day. The survey shows as much: 77% of the respondents admitted that they fail to take more than 10,000 steps a day. The reason is not hard to find: around 43% confessed to sitting for eight hours or more a day. Moreover, while doctors say five servings of vegetables and fruits daily can keep heart diseases at bay, the corporate sector is not a follower. Around 94% said they ate less than “3 pieces of fruit” a day and 84% said they ate less than 3 servings of vegetables. 

The Lancet’s special issue on physical activity just ahead of the London Olympics said physical activity is a neglected dimension of prevention and intervention worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income nations. “One problem is that physical activity is often perceived only in the context of controlling obesity.”

Article Credits: Malathy Iyer TNN, Snippets from an article that appeared in the Times of India FP, Mumbai.

Housecleaning now an office perk !

San Francisco: Phil Libin, chief executive of Evernote, turned to his wife last year and asked if she had suggestions for how the software company might improve the lives of its employees and their families. His wife, who also works at Evernote, didn’t miss a beat: housecleaning. Today, Evernote’s 250 employees — every full-time worker, from receptionist to top executive — have their homes cleaned twice a month, free. It is the latest innovation from Silicon Valley: the employee perk is moving from the office to the home. Facebook gives new parents $4,000 in spending money. Stanford School of Medicine is piloting a project to provide doctors with housecleaning and in-home dinner delivery. Genentech offers take-home dinners and helps employees find last-minute baby sitters when a child is too sick to go to school. These kinds of benefits are a departure from the upscale cafeteria meals, massages and other services intended to keep employees happy and productive while at work. And the goal is not just to reduce stress for employees, but for their families, too. If the companies succeed, the thinking goes, they will minimise distractions and sources of tension that can inhibit focus and creativity. 

Now that technology has allowed work to bleed into home life, it seems that companies are trying to address the impact of home life on work. There is, of course, the possibility that relieving people of chores at home will simply free them up to work more. But David Lewin, a compensation expert and management professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said he viewed the perks as part of a growing effort by American business to reward people with time and peace of mind instead of more traditional financial tools, like stock options and bonuses. 

At Deloitte, the consulting firm, employees can get a backup care worker if an aging parent or grandparent needs help. The company subsidises personal trainers and nutritionists, and offers round-the-clock counselling service for help with issues like marital strife and infertility. Deloitte executives, and other experts, said they believe that such benefits were likely to spread.

Hannah Valantine, a cardiologist, professor and associate dean at the Stanford School of Medicine, said the university’s experiment with helping out at home was part of a broader effort to support doctors, given their hyperkinetic pace of life. “If you’re coming home at the end of the day exhausted and you have a pile of cleaning to do, it’s the kind of things that leads rapidly to burnout, and burned-out physicians don’t give the best care,” Dr. Valantine said. “We’re trying to send a very strong message that the institution cares about you and about your life.” Some compensation experts argue these types of perks ultimately do little to attract employees and might obscure more fundamental problems at companies that have trouble retaining talent. So 18 months ago, Stanford hired a consulting firm called Jump Associates to better understand why so many academic doctors feel burned out. The company videotaped them from the time they woke up, through the workday and until they and their families went to sleep. In one video, a kidney specialist told a story that shocked the researchers: while she was on maternity leave, she bought a minivan to ferry the children of friends and neighbours to school and sports practices.

That way, the doctor explained, she would be able to ask for favours when she returned to work — and that, in theory, would enable her to juggle the dual demands of work and family.

Article Credits: Matt Richtel, NYT NEWS SERVICE. Times Of India Mumbai.

New Hats For The Chiefs !

New Hats for the Chiefs

Companies are doing away with time-worn designations and introducing creative concepts in naming key roles. Others are doing away with terms like ‘employees’ and ‘heads’, in an attempt to break down hierarchies and bring in more colour to their jobs 

Job titles that say, ‘agile evangelist’ or ‘chief pusher’ may conjure up images of work involving two extremes — one, a crusader, and the other, connecting to the seamier world of narcotics. But with a bit of lateral thinking, these can also be perfectly operational, senior corporate designations.

Corporate India is tossing out the old, stodgy nomenclature in favour of creative, personalised designations. At Bangalore-based start up Teleradiology Solutions, the CEO is called the ‘chief pusher’, quite simply because he pushes and nudges employees into delivering the goods. The organisation also has a chief listening officer (HR head) and chief enabler (technology head). “It creates an environment where designations do not matter,” says chief dreamer, Sunita Maheshwari.

Instead of being called ‘business development head’,Maheshwari prefers the quirkier title she now has. In most organisations that work on similar lines, executives want their titles to resonate their approach to work instead of seniority. It breaks down hierarchies; Maheshwari, for instance, plans to knock off the ‘chief ’ in her title.

In most cases, though, the choice of designation is reserved for those who have proved themselves. The rest of the employees can stick to well-worn labels. The core content of the ‘glamorised’ role does not change.

The Label Says it All 

Chief Listening Officer

THE WAILING wall for all employees. Looks after policies, compensation and career growth. Also known as the human resource head

Chief Pusher

OTHERWISE CALLED the chief executive officer. Now wears the ‘nudging’ badge high

Chief Dreamer

IDEATES TO get more clients and business. In the traditional hierarchy, is called business development head

People Success

A HUMAN resource officer who involves himself or herself closely in career development, and is a success enabler of employees and the organisation

Chief Ethics Officer

KEEPS A check on fraudulent behaviour, and a close watch on every business unit

Agile Evangelist

THE ROLE involves promoting the adoption of Agile software across businesses

Story by Devina Sengupta @ Times : Snippets from ET, 13 April 2012, Page 6. 

Our Story on YourStory

We have waited long for this day to come and it's finally here !  Our Story and journey has been featured on YourStory.in , one of the most comprehensive online platforms for entrepreneurs.  Check out the coverage :)

We just scored a Business Award :)

And it's all thanks to you !

Never Grow Up^TM has been nominated as one of the top Professional Service Businesses of 2011 at the Small business awards by Zee business & Franchise India and feature in the Top 100 Small Businesses of 2011 in the Small and Medium Entrepreneur Magazine: January 2012 Issue.The Top 100 Businesses have been finalized on the basis of exclusivity, market leadership and growth. Read the entire coverage here !

info@willnevergrowup.com I www.willnevergrowup.com I Facebook.com/MakeworkFun

Pehle Aap (People First) !

It’s been said that ‘Home is where the heart is’ well the same applies for any organization. Work, check; place, check; pay hike, check, office-they say. Be it sole-proprietorship, partnership, joint-stock, all initiates with money, material, machinery, method and Man. (err, women too). And the man being referred here as the company or the employee of the organization. The fact is the company grows, spreads gradually with the employees, along with them. Yes selection, recruitment are only process and types. Nothing beyond it. Man-made process, machinery, idea is all cost and figure but the real thing comes with the employees. An identity or existence of a particular organization is again through the employees, directly or indirectly. Company cultures are like country cultures’- Peter Drucker, and the citizens are working men. When we talk about the ‘aam aadmi’, it connects like nothing else.   

Research and experience clearly show it’s worth the time and money to build a high performing workforce. The cost of replacing an employee typically ranges from one to three times his or her annual salary and the average company loses about $1 million with every 10 professional employees who leave. The investment side is also affected. According to a recent analysis done by investment firm Frank Russell Co for the Great Place To Work Institute, money invested in a portfolio of stocks of Fortune 100 Best Companies in 1997 and held through 2003, returned almost three times more (72.9% return) than the same amount invested in an S&P 500 portfolio (25.2% return) during this six year period. Customers, contractors, advertisers, other agencies, shareholders, & valuation fluctuate but the employees are a bit more. Belonging-ness and esteem are two basic human needs, and if it is provided, things just fall into place. Grievance, suggestions, advice, interest, loss, advantage, risk all are primarily known, spoken, heard by them. Making sure employees are happy and satisfied with the job, the working environment, remuneration, and most importantly the sense of belonging does work wonders.

                                                                              

Because the security guard you pass by gives you that welcoming smile, or a ‘salaam’ while entering the office premises.      

Because the receptionist gives that warm gesture while passing his/her desk and comes forward to help.                        

Because the departmental manager stands informed about the records enquired the very last day.                               

Because the whole thing works, very much like this. So the first priority should ideally be to accurately gauge the true sentiment of the employee so that strategic and tactical changes can to put into motion to promote employee satisfaction which adds the real value. 

  -PEHELE AAP, dear employees.

Guest Writer Submission: The Author, Ankita P is currently pursuing English honours from Calcutta University. The views mentioned above belong to the author. © Never Grow Up.2011.  

The 10 Commandments !

No matter the size of your company, having a team of motivated employees is critical to your business success. There are 10 simple ways to ensure your team is enthused, productive and ready to give their all.

Build a foundation: It’s important to build a rock-solid foundation for your employees so they feel invested in the company. Tell them about the history of the business and your vision for the future. Ask them about their expectations and career goals, as well as how you can help them feel like a part of the team. Create a positive environment: Promote an office atmosphere that makes all employees feel worthwhile and important. Keep office doors open, and let folks know they can always approach you with questions or concerns. After all, a happy office is a productive office. Put people on the right path: Most employees are looking for advancement opportunities within their own company. Work with each of them to develop a career growth plan that takes into consideration both their current skills and their future goals. Educate the masses: Help employees improve their professional skills by providing on-the-job training or in-house career development. Allow them to attend workshops and seminars related to the industry. Encourage them to attend adult education classes paid for by the company. Employees will feel you are investing in them, and this will translate into improved job performance. Fun factor: Once in a while, put your work aside and do something nice for the people who work for you. Treat the office to a pizza lunch or take everyone to the movies. These little diversions can go a long way toward improving productivity. Acknowledgement matters: You can make a huge difference in employee morale by simply taking the time to recognize each employee’s contributions and accomplishments, large or small. Be generous with praise. Give out incentives: Offer incentives, either with something small like a gift certificate or something more substantial such as a performance based bonus or salary increase. Also, give out awards such as “Employee of the Month”. Such tokens of appreciation will go far in motivating employees. Deliver what you promise: Getting people to give their all requires following through on promises. If you tell an employee that they will be considered for a bonus if numbers improve or productivity increases, you’d better put your money where your mouth is. Failure to follow through on promises will result in a loss of trust. Helping hand: Help employees reach the next level professionally by providing on-site coaching. Bring in professionals to provide one-on-one counselling, which can help people learn how to overcome personal or professional obstacles on their career paths. Make the right match: You can improve employee motivation by improving employee confidence. Assign individuals with tasks you know they will enjoy or will be particularly good at. An employee who is successful at one thing will have the self-confidence to tackle other projects with renewed energy and excitement.

Source: Allbusiness.com , Expresscomputeronline.com , ET Special Issue, Nov 2011.

Insights into WLB & Gen Y

Balance it right!

• A startling 85% of recruiters say that candidates turn down job offers from employers that aren’t work-life balance-friendly. According to a work-life balance survey 80 per cent of executives say that work-life balance as a parameter plays a vital role during the job search process. 
• Work-life balance today directly impacts the retention of top executive talent. An unhealthy work-life balance leads to increased stress, strain on personal relationships and a lack of personal fulfilment. All of these factors will push executives towards greener pastures. Other aspects like compensation and perks are of a transactional nature. 
• According to some, the degree at which work-life balance influences the decision of a job-seeker is closely linked to one’s age and the nature of the role the employee has chosen to perform. 
• According to the AESC survey, two-thirds of companies are developing programmes to help top candidates boost their family time without sacrificing their careers.

Making it work :) 

• Time-out: It is an efficient tool by which every employee is given an opportunity to choose time-out during work hours.This can be followed on a daily/weekly basis depending on the nature of the business. An employee can take 30-45 minutes of time-out to read, listen to music, play an indoor game, take a nap, exercise, practice yoga, watch a movie, etc. But at the same time, the employee must be within the company premises at a dedicated space allocated to pursue such activities. 
• Child care: It’s necessary to develop a children’s programme for working mothers/fathers wherein companies need to invest in a separate space where a working parent can spend time with their kid/kids during work hours. A progressive firm needs to make arrangements w.r.t school pick-up/drop and other basic amenities in the form of indoor games, stationary, food, etc. 
• Personalize your workspace: The offices are likely to provide much more than just a cubicle. You will find the office space designed to take care of employees’ “needs” beyond work. 
• Work-exchange: Creating a “trading place” where employees can opt to pursue something that they aspire to pursue (read: hobby) will foster positive results. 

How Gen Y today defines and perceives work-life balance?

• The Gen Y job-seeker has different priorities/aspirations. Experts say that besides a good salary, they show concern w.r.t flexible working. “While compensation, career growth, importance of the task performed, etc are important, work-life balance assures employees that they will work in a conducive environment"
• “The whole phenomenon of ‘my own space’ seems to be the flavour of the day, especially for Gen Y,” According to a recent study across Asia Pacific, work-life balance is the single largest contributor to the Gen Y group of employees who are anticipating a change in their career in the next five years. 
• On being asked the reason for not having aspirations to advance to an executive position, they again attributed as the impact it would have on their work-life balance as the prime reason. 

This post is a series of snippets from the ascent and various other reports that has been compiled to share insights into work life balance, looking at things that work and managing a young a vibrant workforce in the years to come ! 

Help Employees Balance Home & Office

Stress At Work

Help Employees Balance Home and Office

Win-win situation: Employees who can balance roles are likely to be more productive and less stressed

How many times have we had a colleague at work who is bogged down by stress, not directly linked to workplace? Ira Mohanty was one such colleague. She woke up at 5 am, sent her two children to school and then by 9 am, was at her laptop answering mails and attending to work-related calls. From 1 pm onwards, Ira kept looking at the clock and from 2.30 pm, we could hear raised voices from her cubicle as she called home and shouted at her children who just kept watching television and did not finish their homework. They were home with easy-going grandparents and did their own thing till the parents returned home. And Ira is not alone. At the water cooler or in the cafeteria and even in the lift, one hears snatches of conversation on these lines: Kids these days are so opinionated… only does what she wants to do… eats only chips and noodles… refuses to dress by herself or polish her shoes… hates going to school… spends too much time on the net… has become a virtual stranger… difficult and moody… and so on. 

More and more parents are coping with the challenges of how to manage professional and personal lives — how to be better parents, how to stay abreast of what is happening with their children in schools and their social lives, how to be there for them in their time of need while juggling their careers and job-related challenges. All of us grapple with balancing multiple roles but our biggest responsibility is towards the next generation. Being a parent, I could empathise with them, but the enormity of the issue came to light last month when in a focused group discussion, the members of our Global Work Life (GWL) team broached the subject of having parenting workshops to help colleagues and other employees cope with different issues. These issues stemmed from the fact that most employees have nuclear families where care givers may not be part of the family system. The findings of the 2010 Global Work Life Issues (GWLI) Survey, conducted among IBM employees, indicate that almost half (46%) of IBM India employees have a child under the age of 18. Among parents of children 0-5 years old, 12% have their child cared for at home by a nanny, babysitter or maid. 

Another 14% of these parents have their child cared for by a relative (other than their spouse or partner). "In-home" care by a maid or nanny can be quite flexible and affordable, but may also be very unreliable and of poor quality. Caregivers often lack knowledge of child development and have poor social-relationship and literacy skills. Parents using this type of care reported the lowest satisfaction rates in the GWLI survey compared to parents whose child was cared for by a relative or in a child care centre. Employees across the world are sharing similar concerns about managing work and family. Magazines and the Internet provide information and counsel, elders at home advise you differently while friends have a totally contrary opinion. 

So how do you cope? We put together a panel of experts in child care and decided to host parenting workshops for parents to address their queries and discuss issues relating to their children. The workshops stressed that it is equal responsibility, which means both the father and the mother have to be involved in child rearing, as against the misconception that only the mother is responsible. What parents at work learned were different aspects of quality parenting, like laughing with the child, spending time with the child, playing with her/him, listening to what the child has to say and not just existing together in front of the television set. Care givers must also be equipped with basic information to handle difficult situations at home. Employees who can balance roles are likely to be more productive and less stressed, so it is a win-win both for the organisation and the individual. A workplace that encourages an individual to balance different roles is likely to have a happier and more productive workforce. 

The author is Diversity Manager at IBM India, South Asia Source : ET Mumbai 06 September 2011

What your HR will never tell you Directly !

About your Resume!

1. “Once you’re unemployed more than six months, you’re considered pretty much unemployable. We assume that other people have already passed you over, so we don’t want anything to do with you.” –Cynthia Shapiro, Author

2. “When it comes to getting a job, who you know really does matter. No matter how nice your résumé is or how great your experience may be, it’s all about connections.” –HR director at a health-care facility.

3. “If you’re trying to get a job at a specific company, often the best thing to do is to avoid HR entirely. Find someone at the company you know, or go straight to the hiring manager.” –Shauna Moerke, an HR administrator

4. “People assume someone’s reading their cover letter. I haven’t read one in 11 years.” –HR director at a financial services firm

5. “We will judge you based on your e-mail address. Especially if it’s something inappropriate like kinkyboots101@hotmail.com or johnnylikestodrink@gmail.com.” –Rich DeMatteo,

6. “There’s a myth out there that a résumé has to be one page. So people send their résumé in a two-point font. Nobody is going to read that.” –HR director at a financial services firm

7. “I always read résumés from the bottom up. And I have no problem with a two-page résumé, but three pages is pushing it.” –Sharlyn Lauby, HR consultant

8. “Most of us use applicant-tracking systems that scan résumés for key words. The secret to getting your résumé through the system is to pull key words directly from the job description and put them on. The more matches you have, the more likely your résumé will get picked and actually seen by a real person.” –Chris Ferdinandi, HR professional

About the Job Interview!

1. “It’s amazing when people come in for an interview and say, ‘Can you tell me about your business?’ Seriously, people. There’s an Internet. Look it up.” –HR professional

2. “A lot of managers don’t want to hire people with young kids, and they use all sorts of tricks to find that out, illegally. One woman kept a picture of two really cute children on her desk even though she didn’t have children [hoping job candidates would ask about them]. Another guy used to walk people out to their car to see whether they had car seats.” –Cynthia Shapiro,

3. “Is it harder to get the job if you’re fat? Absolutely. Hiring managers make quick judgments based on stereotypes.  They’re just following George Clooney’s character in Up in the Air, who said ‘I stereotype. It’s faster.’” –Suzanne Lucas, a former HR executive

4. “I once had a hiring manager who refused to hire someone because the job required her to be on call one weekend a month and she had talked in the interview about how much she goes to church. Another candidate didn’t get hired because the manager was worried that the car he drove wasn’t nice enough.” –HR professional at a midsize firm

5. “Don’t just silence your phone for the interview. Turn it all the way off.” –Sharlyn Lauby, HR consultant

6. “If you’ve got a weak handshake, I make a note of it.” –HR manager 

7. “If you’re a candidate and the hiring manager spends 45 minutes talking about himself, the company or his Harley, let him. He’s going to come out of the interview saying you’re a great candidate.”  –Kris Dunn, chief human resources officer

[Condensed from Reader’s Digest Magazine, April 2011] 

Work Place Festivities !

WORKPLACE FESTIVITIES

Festivals have become a big part of the office culture nowadays. In the first of the two-part series, Mithila Mehta explores how organisations today celebrate festivals, outlining the professional implications. India is a country that loves its festivals and this sentiment extends to the workplace as well. Most organisations celebrate festive occasions with all the rituals and traditions in an extremely enthusiastic manner. "My organisation celebrates all major festivals, right from Holi to Eid, Parsi New Year, Christmas and Diwali. The HR department does an excellent job planning the festivities," says Suruchi Baliga, a journalist. Apart from the traditional celebrations, organisations are organising festivals in innovative ways. "Last year, we had a secret santa game at work. Everyone was assigned a colleague and you had to be his/ her secret santa for a week," shares Seema Koshi, a media research analyst. 

Today, occasions like Valentine's Day are also being celebrated. "On Valentine's Day, we had a red dress code. There were huge heart-shaped decorations, and the canteen made heart shaped cakes. It was meticulously done," recalls Baliga. Koshi shares how her organisation celebrates Children's Day by asking employees to bring their young ones to work. "Last year, we had about fifty kids at the office. We played games, saw an animated movie and had a party," she says. 

DASH OF COLOUR 

Festive celebrations at workplace are most welcome because they provide a respite from the routine. "Let's face it; office does tend to get monotonous at times. Festivals add a dash of fun and colour. It gives us something to look forward to," says Bharat Ramanujan, senior copywriter at an ad agency. For the organisation, festive celebrations can go a long way in building a happy, positive corporate culture. This is important in today's context, when organisations are more people-focussed than ever before. Says Samay Taneja, HR manager with an IT solutions company, "We get an opportunity to bond with our employees in a more informal setting.” Interestingly, the globalised nature of organisations is also reflected in the festivals and events being celebrated. "A few years ago, the focus was only on Indian festivals and ceremonies. However, now international days like St Patrick's Day, the year of the rabbit and the Chinese new year is celebrated,” informs Ramanujan. 

BREAKING BARRIERS 

Festive celebrations at the workplace help break existing hierarchies and boundaries. "This is one of the few occasions when people let their guard down and are willing to mingle. The entire mood is light and laidback. The usual office rules don't apply, and everyday dynamics are ignored," expresses Upasana Jain, risk analyst at a FMCG company. Agrees Baliga, "The entire organisational hierarchy is suspended. You can simply go up to the CEO and wish him. It is the perfect networking opportunity. Not only is the upper management approachable and 'around', but you have a perfect reason to strike up a conversation." At most workplaces, employees rarely get an opportunity to interact with colleagues from other departments. Festive occasions allow that as well. "We tend to become very comfortable in our own departments, forgetting to consider the organisation as a whole. So when there's a festival, it feels really nice to have everyone together. The same finance guys who I bicker with everyday are singing and dancing with me,” laughs Koshi. 

WE'VE GOT TALENT 

Festive occasions are also a chance to shed the sober and serious office appearance. It is also a platform to showcase some of your talents at the workplace. "I make the most intricately beautiful rangolis. So, during the Diwali celebrations, I offered to make a rangoli for my office. Colleagues, who had never spoken to me before, got to know me," says Jain. If you're an excellent organiser, help plan the event. If you cook well, carry some festive goodies to work. In this manner, festivals needn't just be about the holidays they bring, but also about fun at the work place.

[Mumbai Mirror, August 29,2011]

The Thing About Employer Branding !

To set the ball rolling, Employer branding can be defined as all the operations carried out by a business to create and communicate its own identity to a target group composed of candidates and employees, so that the brand attracts and holds onto these subjects in line with the corporate culture and values. 

Credits : Google Images

The Employee Is the Customer

Over the last few years, employees are increasingly behaving like consumers when choosing to join or stay with an employer. It states that a positive employer brand can be a way of differentiating one organization from another and a way of creating a strong, distinctive and attractive identity with which current or potential employees can identify. This brings us to a set of questions and things what one also needs to look at i.e. How strong is your product? Will it survive the expectation of the ever so changing consumer?

 

The Need to Create an Employer Brand
If we look at an employee as someone out to buy a TV set and the employer as the brand, the question is...what do you look for while buying a TV? Why do you prefer a certain brand over another? That also brings us to a fundamental question of, what does your existing and potential talent pool think about you? Why would someone want to work with you? Is there a certain perception about you as a company in the minds of existing and potential employees? With a shrinking talent pool, increasing cost of talent acquisition and fierce competition, there is an increasing need to become an employer of choice for people. A company that people want to work with! Think of a company that is flooded with requests in the ‘careers’ section with people wanting desperately to work with & you get the picture. If the above holds true, you need to ensure that you are doing the right things to get through to people at all levels...and to that effect having a concrete Employer Branding Strategy in place is critical.

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