The Art of Conversation at the Workplace

The  subject of " The Art of Conversation at the Work Place" was discussed in a webinar organized by Ms Bija training under their Mask Leadership/ Leaders connect program on 19th January 2022. The speaker was Mr Nirmal Singh Raghav, Group Head-HR, IT & ORG Ramani Group of companies.  

 A conversational style and ability to converse effectively is something you develop naturally over a period of time. It reflects your values and what the 'Total you' stands for. Conversation is crucial for any relationship, be it at the work place or at home The foundation for effective communication  is your conviction and belief in the idea you wish to convey. At work , the HR employees are required to handle challenging conversational situations such as  when you are sacking someone for non performance/ when organization has lost confidence in the employee, interacting with militant unions etc.  

When  engaged in the role of telling a person that he/ she is losing the job, the conversation should  be made in a sensitive manner, keeping in mind the concerns of that person. Drop your assumptions and listen with an open mind to the other person's  thoughts and feelings. At the same time, it is necessary to tell the point of view of the organization without trying to be  'Goody, goody". By the end of the conversation the person should have more clarity of the situation and the way forward. The employee  should feel that you care for their concerns. This in turn should lead to a mutual discussion on  the possibilities and solutions to a seemingly difficult situation. When the person leaves your cabin, it should be with a feeling of optimism instead of hopelessness. 

When dealing with and conversing with militant unions, it is necessary 'to be careful about every word you speak'. Equally important is the emotional balance and equanimity during the conversation. The speaker gave a situation of an accident having occurred at the plant in a factory that results  in the death of a workman. The HR person coming down  and addressing the 300 odd workers should be sensitive to their feelings and mood of the situation and speak appropriately with proper choice of words. 

While on the subject of conversations, the matter came up as to the care and caution to be observed while conversing with women employees. It is necessary to be aware of the cultural background ( as for example, is she from a rural area and not  used to a familiar and informal style of urban people when talking to women?)  of the woman employee so as to not disturb or hurt her feelings. Do some homework in advance as to what and how you would like to convey the message effectively. 

One way to make conversations more acceptable and effective is to ask questions instead of telling- "What do you think?' or "How could it have been done differently?". Always be clear about the purpose of a conversation and be fair to the person you are speaking to. In this regard, it should not only be fair but also appear/feel fair to the other person. The trick is to say what is necessary and important but in a unemotional, neutral tone of voice. 

A question came from the participants as to how to handle the proceedings in  a sexual harassment discussions by a committee  particularly when the person against whom the allegation is made is an important executive of the company?  Mr Raghav  said that  it is important  to remind ourselves of the fact that the purpose of the exercise is to "find out the truth" to enable taking appropriate action. Therefore, do a lot of homework and thoroughly examine relevant facts that should include call records, text messages etc between the person charged  and the complainant. Further, it is necessary to dig into  details of  the backgrounds of both the accused and the complainant. Has there been any previous complaints related to them?  As finding out the truth is the objective, anything and everything needs to be investigated, concluded the speaker.

Role of Acceptance and Analysis in Business Situations

In the webinar on the above subject organized by Bija Training under their Mask Leadership series on 1st December 2021,  the speaker was Ms Renu Bohra, CHRO, DBShenker India Pvt Ltd. The webinar covered  aspects such as the relationship between acceptance and analysis, ways to enhance one's analytical skills, developing critical thinking skills and the significance of culture when it comes to rational and critical thinking. 

In this connection, she discussed  the air crash of the Korean air cargo flight 8509 in December 1999 which was the last such incident involving the airline resulting in a fatal accident. The aircraft crashed into the Hatfield forest shortly after take off from London Stansted airport, killing all the four crew members on board. The accident was on account of a technical snag when the plane was in the control of the senior pilot. The first officer (junior) whose Attitude Direction Indicator( ADI) was working correctly, knew that there was a mistake but was unwilling to challenge his captain's actions or make any attempt to take over the flight with his own controls.The following video in a nutshell gives the summary of the discussions.

Other things also touched upon during the discussion include the assertion of the speaker that while analytical thinking is important, we should not give a go by to holistic thinking wherein she mentioned Edward De Bono's "Six Thinking Hats" which gives sufficient place to  all forms of thinking including intuitive thinking.  It is often seen that analysis tends to be done when there is a failure. We would do well to analyse the reasons for success as well so that they can be replicated. To a question as to whether there are situations wherein analytical thinking is not valid or need not be done, the speaker pointed out that in occasions of an emergency like that of a fire, action rather than analyzing is the key requirement. It was pointed out from the audience that in matters of compliance also where the law has already been passed, you would simply have to comply and not much room would be available for analysis.  

The speaker concluded by stating that acceptance of everyone in the company, a culture of  analysis (both  it's need and embracing its results)  can be gained by involving people in the process of analysis and decision making.Making employees stakeholders and giving them sound reasons for decisions made will go a long way in building such a  culture. Overall, it was a very rewarding webinar which I am happy to share with my readers. 

Comprehensive Look at the Life, Times and Future of MSMEs in India

The Micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs) play an important role contributing almost 29% to the GDP  of the Indian economy . As per the 2018-2019 Annual Report of the Department of MSMEs there are 63.4 million MSMEs in India employing 110 million people. Around 51% of the MSMEs are in rural locations. Thus they not only provide opportunities for entrepreneurs but create jobs for a wider spectrum of the population in terms of age, sex, geographies and perhaps more job satisfaction than in depersonalized large organizations. They help in the development of local communities and enable people to find their livelihood closer home. Further, 40% of the total export from India are produced by this sector . Thus, the health of MSMEs are vital for the health of a developing economy like India. 

The classification for identifying small units which was based on the investment was recently amended in May 2020 by the Government of India to enhance the upper limit of the investment and also bring in the factor of turnover. Accordingly the units are classified as follows:  

Micro Enterprise:  Investment up to Rs 1 crore, turnover up to Rs 5 crores 

Small Enterprise:  Investment up to Rs 10 crore, turnover up to Rs 50 crores 

Medium Enterprise: Investment up to Rs 50 crore, turnover up to Rs 200 crores   

Some of the challenges that MSMEs have been facing over the years include are finance related, marketing and managerial related, technology related, competition related and labour related challenges. In a way they are inter connected and become a vicious cycle when the organization is operating within tight financial constraints. 

The sector which was already facing difficulties associated with demonetization (operating largely in the informal domain, the overall credit availability for the sector diminished considerably), the arrival of Covid 19 and the national lock down on March 24th 2020 struck further blows. Many countries to which the MSMEs exported were affected by the pandemic and they in turn reduced or cancelled orders. Similarly raw materials supply from abroad was also adversely affected. The sector is  grappling with  poor cash flow, slowing demand and rising unemployment.   

The Government of India has released financial package to tide over the Covid 19 financial crisis in the form of relief measures by RBI and announcements by the finance minister (20 Lakh crore package). This includes a special refinance facility to Small industries development bank of India to the tune of 15,000 crore for passing on to small businesses through non bank/micro finance institutions, moratorium on term loan EMIs for a period of six months, 20,000 crore subordinate debt scheme, Rs 3 Lakh crore credit guarantee( will be repaid to financial company by Government if remaining unpaid), Fund of Fund corpus (Rs 50,000 crore) with contribution from Government , LIC and SBI.   

It may be too early to come to a conclusion as to whether the relief measures have helped MSMEs to bounce back. It is however a fact that 35% of MSMEs and 37% of self employed persons have gone out of business. The relief measures have either not reached them or were not adequate enough as revealed by a survey conducted by the All India Manufacturers' organization(Results published in June 2020). The unemployment rate also rose from 4% in April 2020 to 6% in May 2020. The sentiment amongst MSMEs is that the Government should have extended upfront liquidity and that providing loans has only increased the burden on businesses. Being an important pillar, MSME revival at the earliest is most essential.

It is suggested that like the single window concept for processing applications for new units, Government consider arranging services under one roof connecting MSMEs and the service providers in the areas of marketing, accounting, technology and HR. This would be mutually beneficial to both the MSMEs and the service providers. Regular training similar to those envisaged under the ZED program (Zero defect maturity levels) as also entrepreneurial development program will go a long way in strengthening MSMEs to meet the challenges as they shrug away the impact of the pandemic and move towards a bright future.  

Growth Matters Forum is a community for business owners to explore ideas, streamline growth and create an impact. Join the community here  

Promoting Diversity in the Work Place

In the webinar organized by Bija Training under their Mask Leadership series on 17th November 2021, Ms Saumya Badgayan, VP (Corporate Strategy- HR&IR), Gold Star Jewelry Pvt Ltd spoke on the subject of diversity in the work place. When discussing promotion of diversity, what immediately comes to mind for most people is raising the number of women in the workplace to offset imbalance in the gender diversity. However, right at the beginning the speaker made it clear that doing away with all forms of  discrimination  be it age, regionalism, caste, sex or  differently enabled should be the aim of a diversity drive in an organization. The focus of the speaker during the webinar was to share her own experience in promoting diversity at Gold star Jewelry wherein efforts have been made to provide jobs to women and transgenders as also to achieve acceptance and a congenial environment for diversity. 

A question raised during the webinar was as to whether we have sufficient talent pool to accommodate diverse groups such as say  differently enabled or transgenders and what needs to be done in this connection. Ms Saumya said that instead of aspiring and hoping talent would be available, employers should take the initiative- perspire/ make efforts to ensure that they develop people from diverse groups for fitting in to the requirements of the company. She cited the example of the TATAs who developed the skills and provided opportunities to the LGBTQ communities. 

The speaker said that persons belonging to the transgender group face a lot of hardships in getting access to facilities available to other employees in the normal course. As for example transgenders are denied maternity leave if they had a male name given to them at birth. Other problems according to Soumya are obtaining an address proof for Adhar card or other amenities. They are unable to produce address proof as they stay in shelter homes since accommodation in  regular residential areas are denied to them . Government authorities need to intervene and address these problems with empathy.

Soumya  shared the experience in her company while  employing more women and transgenders. They were imparted special training as employees are required to handle tiny sized diamonds. The training  ensures that the precious stones are not lost or over polished. Here, more skill based schools are to be developed with support from the Government. Ideally, the industry, Government and educational institutions have to work as a team in this regard. Gold Star Jewelry Pvt Ltd also took the  initiative to provide jobs to prostitutes to  rehabilitate them. This involved educating them and changing their mindsets towards working in a factory since their previous life was totally different. 

She then  related another  typical problem that they had faced while promoting diversity. As their company was dealing with diamonds, thorough personal search is an important and integral part of the security  procedure. However, there was a problem when it came to conducting search of the transgender employees. Neither the men nor the women in security were willing to carry out the security search procedures. They had to be sensitized to see themselves as they would a nurse or a doctor who examine and assist patients irrespective of their gender.  Another instance shared by the speaker was with regard to to the employment of differently abled employees. Those fitted with prosthesis limbs had to remove the attachments at the security gate which took more time resulting in long queues during entry and exit, irritating the other employees. The matter was addressed by forming a separate cell for the differently enabled employees. 

It was very clear from the discussion that promoting diversity and inclusion is not just about employing people of diversity and leaving it at that. It is about having a strong belief in the need for it and putting in place a system and a smooth environment where employees of diversity could work happily and flourish. Soumya said that her company was fully committed to D&I. It was because of this approach of the company that proactive action could be take to address needs. As for example, the executive toilet was converted to a toilet for transgender employees. In order to create a buy in and a favourable climate  amongst the employees for D&I, it is important that the movers and shakers represented by the top management  frequently  articulate their belief and support for D&I so that the rank and file of the organization embrace it as well. 

The extent to which the company is convinced that the policy is most essential and beneficial is the key. Here, a feeling of pride in being the pioneers and cheer leaders of D&I will go a along way in getting it established as a natural part of company culture. The speaker said that all this cannot be expected to happen overnight.  It involves unlearning and relearning by the employees. The company had a three year journey sensitizing its employees through various means that included skits, dramas, plays etc. Saumya  concluded saying that "The purpose of the organization is not just profits". It should have a vision and think beyond and aim for becoming better than 'what we were yesterday'. This would mean implementing the UN's sustainability goals and aspiring to move from being a 'good' to a 'great' organization. 

One cannot dispute the position taken by the speaker of the evening. In fact, one cannot but be impressed by what her company has done to support and promote D&I in the organization. Yet, as I pondered over the subject , a tinge of sadness enveloped me. One swallow does not make a summer. Humans are known to be very adept in giving lip service with not much happening on the ground. This is true whether it is action in terms of protecting the environment or protecting the long term interests of an organization. No matter how forcefully we may declare that 'profits are nor everything', experience shows us that  it is the bottom line and top line that matter the most to most corporates. Would they show as much patience and application as the speaker and her company to ensure people of diversity worked happily in the company? If the past is any predictor, not much can be expected. But then, hope- isn't it everything? 

NB:  Readers may like to read my earlier blog on the subject which discusses why it makes good business sense to have diversity at the work place.

https://hrdian.blogspot.com/2018/08/diversity-and-business.html  

Leadership through Empowerment

I have been sharing  the gist of webinars I have attended including those organized by Bija Training under their Mask Leadership series, for the benefit of readers. On 10th November the webinar organized by them was on the topic of "Leadership through Empowerment" and the speaker was Ms Neethi Sharma President and Co founder, Team Lease Edutech Ltd. This time however, I was assigned the role of giving an oral summary of the proceedings of the session at the end. Therefore, I am sharing with you the video of the summing up I made and filling up the gaps of points I may have missed by including them in this write up. Please do not miss watching the video for the comprehensive coverage.

The major  questions that were addressed by Neethi were the following: 

1)  Is empowerment just delegation?   

Not at all. It means a lot more that include hand holding, training, being part of their successes and failures. Leaders have a problem in that as they reach higher levels of management, they find it difficult to let go and accept that juniors are also competent enough to take responsibly and deal with situations.

2)  What do you do when people do not match up to expectations? How can we then practice empowerment? 

Small baby steps have to be taken to empower people according to their abilities (more responsibility  as they enhance them). It is okay if everyone cannot be empowered. What is important is  to enable our people to think on their own. Do not stunt their growth; when we do that we are stunting our growth as well. Sometimes, it is the lack of trust that prompts us to conclude that they do not or cannot 'match expectations'. Hence there is the need to build trust.   

3)  Is there any step by step  process that you can share for empowerment? 

There is no standard process of one size that fits all. It would vary depending on the styles and beliefs of the individual leader and the readiness level of the one to be empowered. The thumb rule is give them a feeling that you are with them to back their decisions. Further, encourage and facilitate decision making- " If a problem has only one solution, don't come to me for approval. Do what needs to be done".   

4)   What do you do when you do not have a formal place of work with the ones reporting to you is not physically available for interactions? (This happens when working for global agencies or many gig workers are involved)   

As it is, getting work done from people reporting to you can be a challenge. When they are spread far and wide, building relationships becomes of paramount importance. People tend to develop bonds with those who can be useful to them, help them in solving problems etc. Therefore it is important to demonstrate that you can be of  substantial help and eventually it is all about  give and take. The more you give the more you get. 

5)  Would you recommend various levels of empowerment depending on their hierarchical level in the organization?    

The differences in the level of empowerment is always bound to be there. As already discussed, you have to try out small and see what the person is capable of handling and pass on more responsibilities accordingly. The highest level of empowerment would be financial empowerment done  last if and when it is felt necessary. In this regard, the team members also have to rise to the occasion and demonstrate through their behaviour that they deserve to be handed over the 'privilege' of higher responsibility; it cannot be claimed as a 'right'.    

6) Should children be empowered and if so at which age?  

As in the case of adults who have unique traits, abilities and attributes, children also exhibit such characteristics right from childhood. The empowerment can and will  happen depending on the readiness level of the child and the willingness and confidence level of parents. Empowerment in Indian families which are known to be traditional and conservative has increased over the years. Today, as for example, children have a big say in deciding vacation destinations of the family.  

Tackling issues of Instant Gratification and Procrastination

I attended a webinar on 22nd September 2021 organized by the Rotary Alumni Association under their 30 day basic education literacy  program "Vidhyarthi". The session had two speakers one of whom spoke on  the subject "Beyond Religion".  This being an HR blog, in this post, we discuss the gist of what was shared by the second speaker whose talk touched upon the subject of instant gratification and dealing with procrastination. Readers who are interested to read the entire proceedings of the evening  can read it at this link 

The speaker, fifteen year old Aadi Sai Vijai Karan is a winner of the Young Achiever's award 2021 for contributions made by 4US byUS, a non profit organization , founded by him . The organization connects accomplished mentors with children from underprivileged families so that they receive sound guidance for securing a good education. Aadi is also a published author having written the book "The World as I see it"  which gives  a teenager's perspective of the world. 

Speaking on the  topic of "Surviving in the 21st century as a teenager".  Aadi said that there are umpteen number of activities in a teenager's life. So much so, it is a challenge to use time effectively. As for example the teenager may be discussing with friends about partying, frequently opening and closing fridge doors to spending one hour on Netflix and then panicking about the essay/math work that needs to be done to watching you tube, watching stand up comedy shows of Kenny Sebastian and so on. The speaker said that deadlines push you and are important for getting any work done.  It would be a struggle to complete things in the absence of deadlines. He said that this aspect is discussed in detail in his book "The World as I see it". 

The villain that comes in the way of rational thinking and being productive is the mysterious voice in the head that may tell you " Let's watch one more video before we start the assignment". Thirty minutes later you find that there are as many as six assignments pending and time is not enough. The voice in the head now says " There's always a tomorrow and the day after and the day after that".  The youngster today wants to do something for which he can see immediate results (quick, easy and immediate), what is called as instant gratification. Therefore a you tube video is likely to be more attractive than other activities to satisfy your immediate need for entertainment. But then two hours later, you find yourself feeling incredibly guilty for having put off important work.  

This brings us to the question as to whether mobile phones need to be policed by parents. The speaker answered the question in the negative. He said the trick is first acknowledge that instant gratification is real and then embrace it  to convert it  as an ally instead of seeing it as an enemy. In order to satisfy the needs for instant gratification one can split a goal into smaller milestones and as you reach each milestone you are happy and have a sense of accomplishment. This will also propel you to pursue the  goal with more vigour. Aadi gave the example of his own book writing project. He had at first set small goals of writing one para, then two paras, one page, three pages and so on so that the initial achievement satisfied the needs of instant gratification and then he was able to set higher targets. Before, you know it, you have completed the book! 

In the above strategy, the matter that is most important is to be crystal clear as what your goals are while setting them.   As for example " I am going to take notes everyday", " I will learn Python/Java/Korean language in the next three months". The goal setting should answer the question with clarity " What are we doing? and Why are we doing it?". Once this has been done, take action and consistently do it until the goal is achieved. The onus is on you; you need to keep motivating yourself.

The  experience sharing by the teenager, to my mind is not just relevant to teenagers.On the contrary, these days all of us irrespective of age are bitten by the instant gratification bug and we would all do well to try out the tips suggested and see how the phenomena can be used to our advantage to get more work done, instead of fighting it. The modern challenges require modern tools for tackling them!

Network is your Networth

In this post I would like to share the gist of the online webinar organized by Bija Training under their Mask Leadership series on 8th September 2021. The speaker was Mr Anand Bhadkamkar, Former CEO of Denzu India. The speaker started out by saying that networking is all about expanding your network. However, even as you do it, you should be clear of the purpose, your interest area and the quality of the people you would like to have in your network. 

Your network includes key people within the organization, outsiders working/ connected with your industry, clients,vendors and reporters. It is important that your values and the values of those in your network match in order to be mutually beneficial.  It would be great if  the people whom you had looked up to as role models as a youngster can be won over/ gained as part of your network. It is necessary to commit time for the people in your network. One also needs to be adaptive to the existing realities and ways of keeping in touch and interacting. While previously a meeting over coffee/ lunch/Breakfast may have been the norm, today you may look at virtual meetings and other innovative means of engaging with your network. What ever the method, sufficient time has to devoted to plan the interaction and execute it real time.    

Having decided on the key members of the network such as mentors you would like to interact with in a week,  the onus of working out opportunities to connect with them is on you. There should be a push and initiative from your side.  Set aside two hours of dedicated time per week for this activity. The big goal should be to grow as a professional and with this aim in mind, listen a lot more than you speak. To a question from listeners as to the role of LinkedIn as a networking tool, the speaker said that it is a useful platform that can be used in the context of developing one's brand. One can post in specific areas of interest. The profile also is to be specific and sharp. Get an understanding of how the platform works and curate it to your needs. Having said this, it is not to be taken that LinkedIn is the be and end all of networking. One should look at other means of connecting and engaging with one's network. 

The value of a connect will be known when it becomes available to you when you need it most. One should remember to treat the relationship similar to that of a  bank account. You will be able to draw from the account when you need it only if you deposit sums at frequent intervals and keep the account live. Be aware of your own sphere of influence. Let the relationship be mutually beneficial. Share information on a regular basis; reach out with a phone call. 

As discussed earlier, you should have clarity on your ultimate goal and purpose. The length, width, depth  and hues of the network would depend on this. Therefore, your network can extend to people in other industries and in your social circles. As for example it could be a contact from among your Gym friends who connects you to his friend and who in turn is able to connect you to a very good customer in your line of business or interest area. 

Short and sweet, this session made available to participants cream ideas for  initiating, developing  and sustaining your network, which as the title of the webinar suggests is your net worth!    

NB: readers may also like to check out my poem "Networking Insights" at this link