Glimpses from the Conference- "New Trends in HR and Training Industry- Part 2

Kaushik Mahapatra, leadership coach, Indian leadership academy spoke on the subject "NLP and accelerated learning". Neuro linguistic programming (NLP) enables the process of 'figuring out things for ourselves'. Rather than helping or seeking help from another it enables people to 'empower each other'. It has now been scientifically acknowledged that a lot of things get done through the power of the subconscious mind. It is important to make our power of observation strong.This can be achieved by practising awareness i.e. by being in the present.

The three words comprising NLP are Neuro ( five senses through which we perceive the world, Linguistic( the language we use, the way we communicate with self and others) and programming (that happens as a result of the combination of language and neurons). We can grow by enhancing the power of observation and our lingo. Excellence happens when you effectively integrate neuro and the language. Indian Leadership Academy offers courses and training programs on NLP and other self growth, performance improvement subjects.   

Dr Anita from Shatayu Ayurveda Retreat, spoke on the subject "Wellness at Work place". She said that a big challenge today is balancing of personal and professional lives, particularly in the cities. Five out of ten employees have some illness or the other, with the ailments commonly observed being eye syndrome, back ache, head ache, diabetes, hyper tension, joint pains and heart issues. These problems are encountered today even before people reach 50 years of age. It is important to focus on appropriate food, adequate exercise and sleep. One should aim for the perfect mind, body and spirit.

Shatayu has fifteen outlets in Bangalore.that cater to patient's need for detoxification and rejuvenation. Diet therapy, physio therapy. yoga, naturopathy, mud therapy, acupuncture. and the maintenance procedures such as Panchakarma in Ayurveda are adopted to suit  the individual and unique needs of patients.

The next session was on "Psycho metric testing" by Dr Manjunath.S.A. representing Dynaminds consulting pvt Ltd & Allevare academy pvt Ltd. The speaker started out by saying that everyone of us are designed to succeed. Yet, not everyone do. We tend to continue interpreting our life on the basis of or influenced by our prejudices. Psychometric testing is a tool that helps you to go back to the empty state in which you have been designed to succeed.It gives you insights into your strengths and also 'red flags' on which you can work for improvement.

 However, a psychometric test is not an end in itself. It is a guideline that needs to be followed up with training programs. A battery of programs that touch critical life stages for a solution to life challenges is the key.. Dr manjunath said that his organization Dynaminds consulting offers opportunities to understand the art and science of psychometric testing and also for getting trained in it. They also support those interested, to set up their own coaching practice. 

Mr Ramkumar Seshu, Founder Born to Win, a company in the  learning and development space said "It doesn't matter where you come from in life for moving and getting ahead in life."  One Lakh corporate employees and two Lakh school students have benefited from the training interventions of the company that is in operation since 2003. Born to Win  supports clients to make gain in areas such as Productivity, Time Management, Team Building, Goal Clarity and Effective Communication. 
The speaker said that HRDians have a bounden duty to help in making people ready for jobs in the next 5 to 10 years.One thing one cannot buy is motivated employees. Therefore the pessimistic predictions apart, "We, the HR people will be in demand in the next 10 years" he concluded.  

We then had a panel discussion on the topic  "HR in 2030".It was predicted during the discussion that the three driving forces in the future would be (1) Crucial conversations between you and your employees (2) Possessing the skill and the will to engage everyone in the organization given a climate of diversity and BOTS having a much bigger role (3) Retaining our humaneness with a willingness and ability to exhibit empathy. More of analytics as an enabler would be the game changer with employees in  HR  performing high end roles. There would be more happiness coaches,and executive coaches to assist in taking decisions based on numbers. There would be multi generational and multi racial workforce.  

Ms Pham Kim Ngari Founder,MPEEC Group,Vietnam  shared her journey and insights from opening a start up learning center in a small way and steadily growing to a group of centers.She said while starting a venture, it is not important how big you are but how quick you are in responding to the demands of the situation and needs of the customer which will determine success. While other centers had classes only in Vietnamese, she introduced Chinese and English as well in her center adopting a three language formula. This enhanced the appeal of the center. Further, opportunities were provided in the center to develop soft skills. 

Ms Pham said the next step that she took was identifying suitable franchisees with whom she could collaborate in a Win-Win manner. The speaker said she used the internet extensively to zero in on the the suitable prospects. The collaborators were given books worth $5000 and also provided assistance for legally registering their enterprise for imparting education.The speaker reiterated in her concluding remarks that "Speed is of the essence" as many have now copied the model and entered the field. The start advantage that she had gained in the beginning keeps her ahead in the race. 

(Part 1 of the article can be accessed here: https://hrdian.blogspot.com/2019/07/glimpses-from-all-india-hr-and-trainers.html  )https://hrdian.blogspot.com/2019/07/glimpses-from-all-india-hr-and-trainers.html

Glimpses from the Conference- "New Trends in HR and Training Industry- Part 1

In April 2019, I attended a conference organized by Mr M.V.Narasimhan, Founder, National Human Resource Welfare Association (NHRWA) and Mr Kaushik Mahapatra, Founder, Indian Leadership academy at  East West Institute of Technology, Bangalore . The conference attempted to include large number of speakers with short duration talks.A wide range of speakers across industries and countries like Malasia and Vietnam  participated. It was an opportunity for the speakers to showcase their expertise and also throw light on their business.

I  propose to write about this conference in two parts (posts) given the volume of the material discussed and the large number of speakers.  Ms sweta Pundir, Head Talent & acquisition of  United breweries Ltd said that managing one's emotions and understanding other's feelings & emotions is vital in the present times. Human beings are not to be treated as just another resource but dealt with humanely. Your EQ (Emotional intelligence), the ability to perceive your feelings visavis other's feelings is reflected in the way you treat people, right from the time interviews are scheduled. One should be able to understand situations and treat others with respect. A person with high EQ is able to perceive what is going on in the heads of those with whom they interact.

A fresh, bright start to the day is very helpful. Instead of focusing on production or sales figures first thing in the morning, the team can discuss matters such  as ." What is going on in the industry? what are the current priorities of the business partners/ internal customers? HR should take the initiative to develop the EQ of the business partners and colleagues. They should work towards ensuring bigger smiles at work and fewer attrition in the company Getting employees to cultivate a happy demeanor during work should be a priority.

Ms Visitra Amirthalingam from Malaysia  spoke about the challenges of HR and training in her country which is multi racial and multicultural in nature. she highlighted this fact quoting the tourism tag line of the country-  "Malaysia Truly Asia".   Malaysia is also noted as a 'Food Paradise' where you can taste a diversity of delectable food at reasonable prices . The speaker introduced us to some common words associated with food.- A food hang out is called"Mamak" Lepak is chilling time/ pass time when food  naturally occupies prime place and the good old tea is called " Tehtarik". 

Ms Visitra spoke about the various HR professional bodies contributing to the development of human resources in the country such as MIHRM (Malaysian Institute Of Human Resource Management),

HRDF (Human Resources Development Fund), MICG( Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance) and  MDEC (Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation).. Between them they focus on monitoring training programs provided through registered training providers, being vigilant against economic crashes, studying the current trends of HR all over the world and upskilling talent for the digital economy. Presently around 96% of employees use technology in their roles and there is a fear of robots stealing their jobs in future. In a survey 55% of the respondents said they are working at attaining additional skills in technology. 75% of them said they believe that they are likely to be replaced.

Ms Visitra said that the companies in Malaysia are looking to maximize team performance by paying attention to trust, commitment, process, results and communication with the leader being the fulcrum to make it all happen. Instagram videos are increasingly being used to communicate and keep team members updated. For purposes of learning, questions are posed and answered through What's app. A new question will not be entertained until the earlier questions have been satisfactorily answered. Attention is being paid to the processes to make it foolproof right from allocation of work to its completion. There is also a lot of emphasis on leadership development in the country. Towards this end, opportunities are created for wider exchange of ideas and seeking new ideas in an era of globalization.

Choosing Calling with Care, Pursuing it with Passion

The annual day of the National institute of personnel management (NIPM), Karnataka Chapter, is an occasion for members to unwind - to meet, greet and interact in an informal atmosphere along with their  family members. The children of members are felicitated on the occasion for scholastic achievements at the school and college level. The program begins with experience sharing by an invited guest who has made a mark in his/her chosen field or contributed to society at large, and ends with  dinner.

The chief guest for the 59th Annual day celebrations on 22nd June 2019 was Ms D. Roopa Moudgil.IPS, presently, IGP Railways Bangalore. Although she has been in service for around 19 years, I heard about her only recently, when she made news as the DG prisons who stopped special privileges (such as access to private meeting room with a revolving chair and daily visitors) illegally enjoyed by a prisoner Ms Shashikala at the the Parappana Agrahara prison, Bangalore. Ms Roopa also submitted a detailed report with visual evidence to the Government highlighting the issue. 

 It was  when the chief guest's resume was read out during the introduction that I came to know that this 'assertiveness' was second nature to Ms Roopa  and that she has demonstrated it a number of times in her career. In 2004, as Superintendent of Police, Dharwad, she flew in with her team to Bhopal and arrested Ms Uma Bharti, the then CM of  Madhya Pradesh  in connection with a 10-year-old non-bailable criminal case . Ms Uma Bharti was accused of hoisting the national flag at Dharwad’s communally sensitive, Idgah Maidan on Independence day.

 In 2013, as deputy commissioner of police of the City Armed Reserve in Bangalore, she withdrew the unauthorized additional orderlies (115 gunmen from 82 politicians) and escort vehicles deployed for MLAs and MPs, and the former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa. While working in Bidar, she included the name of a ruling party MLA in the  FIR, accusing him of instigating a mob to desecrate an Ambedkar statue for political gains. 

Ms Roopa started her talk with a story. The Japanese love to eat their fish fresh. They were not satisfied with dead fish brought from the deep sea. The traders tried many solutions like use of ice containers, but the customers were not satisfied. Finally they came up with an idea of putting sharks along with the fish that was freshly caught from the sea. It was found that the fish remained alive long after reaching the shores. The speaker left it to the audience to derive suitable moral to the story. One of them could be the value of innovating until the solution /goal is  achieved. Another learning could be "those whom we perceive as enemies, may be unwittingly helping us to be alert,  enabling us to update ourselves and achieve success". Therefore, the speaker advised " Don't be bogged down by competitors or enemies in your life."

In Ms Roopa's own life, in view of her unconventional approach to life and work, she has faced many obstacles such as threats and defamation notices. She has been transferred as many times in a career spanning nineteen years. In her posting as DG Prisons, she survived for barely 17 working days ( transferred within 5 days of her submitting the report on the Parappana Agrahara prison). Here, one is reminded of Mr Ashok Khemka, IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, who has been transferred 52 times in a 27 year career. He shot into limelight when he cancelled the mutation of a land deal between Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra's company, Skylight Hospitality and major real estate developer DLF.  Officers like these are not afraid to act because they neither hanker after cushy postings nor are they afraid of transfers. During her talk Ms Roopa reiterated "When we are in a position to take action we should, irrespective of what others think or whether support is there from others." 

As there were family members comprising of students also in the audience, Ms Roopa spoke about her journey since childhood and  how she chose  police service as her vocation. She said that she was active in the NCC (National cadet corps) during the student days and had also gone to Delhi to participate in the Republic day parade. Thus  there was this pull  and natural attraction for uniform and the civil services. However, the journey was not easy. When you are good in many fields, the challenge is all the more to take appropriate decision with respect to your future. People around try to influence you to pursue the traditional courses such as medicine and engineering.

Ms Roopa was a state rank holder in Class X and XII board examinations. Therefore,  relatives and family friends were shocked when she chose arts for graduation. Clear in her mind, she worked hard to achieve her goal of becoming a civil servant and serving society. Subsequently, after she passed the civil services exam, she was advised to choose IAS over IPS as IPS was held not suitable for women. However, Ms Roopa  was very clear about what she wanted. She opted for the police services and has never looked back. 

It is not as if doubts and setbacks do not come up. As for example,  during the journey,while others seemed set in their lives having chosen professional courses, there was an element of uncertainty in the path  chosen by the speaker. After all. at that point of time, one cannot be hundred percent sure of being selected for the  civil services . At such times, trust in the universe and  confidence in self comes to one's aid. The speaker said that courage is the key for  doing new things and making a mark. Therefore one should not be  bothered about the discouraging people .

 Choose your field with care and clarity and go about it with passion. What can be done, should be done "Now"and not on a later day,when the climate is favourable or you have gained sufficient years of experience. She exhorted the audience to focus on what you have "Now" and make the most of it. As a  parting remark, Ms Roopa had some  advice specifically for the students- "Don't be addicted to the social media. Learning should be like a Tapas (Penance). Work hard and achieve success!"  

The audience had come to experience a relaxed evening. But they got a lot more from a speaker who can be described as a role model for those in leadership positions, to do one's duty without fear or favour. Indeed, here was an evening to cherish for the children and adults alike!