Day two at MSSW

Experience at Orientation Session

36 future HR practitioners…common academic and professional aspirations…1 trainer…keen anticipation…ice breaker…socializing…great camaraderie…introspection…retrospection…team work…20 minutes break comprising of Pepsi and bread omelets…ideating process…alignment of ideas…hope for a bright and delightful future as a HR practitioner and a better Human Being….

That precisely encapsulates my experience of the thought provoking orientation process. However; I am tempted to describe the wonderful and very reflective orientation process with greater details because of two reasons:
Firstly; because it’s an assignment given to me and I want to pursue it with utmost sincerity.
Secondly; because I genuinely feel propelled to do it.

Event 1
Mr S Inbasekeran; Chief Executive of Hi Path Organisation Consultancy Services (P) Ltd started the orientation process with the perfect note where he asked all of us ‘why we chose Human Resource domain as our career’?
Learning 1
Answers were of varied kinds ranging from the vast scope that HR offers and the people aspect to it. I personally said the much popular and I must candidly confess the much prepared explanation [even though I very seriously endorse the explanation] that people can be the greatest asset or the greatest liability of any company and it’s the only asset which appreciates it’s value with the due course of time.

Event 2
A scene from the hindi movie Munna Bhai MBBS starring Sanjay Dutt; was explained to all of us. The scene discussed in the context was that of a medical student who was asked by the principal [character played by Boman Irani] of the medical college on why she[character played by a less popular actress] chose to be a doctor? The student’s answer was ‘because she loves people and could feel their pain’.To this the principal reacted that ‘he did not love his patients because if he would have had to operate her own daughter[character played by Gracy Singh]; his hands would shake which he otherwise believed was rock steady.’
Learning 2
I believe it’s of prime importance to be sensitive but one should not get influenced to an extent where he finds it tough to demarcate the problem and the person. A true professional needs to provide a solution to a problem with a true professional fervor.

Event 3
All of us actively participated in an ice-breaking game called ‘Scavenger Hunt’. We were given a sheet of paper each which had fifteen questions like ‘Find a person whose favorite dish is made of lobster?’ Or ‘Find a person who knows how to grow a Bonzai plant?’ and 13 more such questions.
We were supposed to have the person from the group sign his/her name against each question. One person was supposed to sign only once on the sheet. The person who completed the sheet of paper with required signs won a well deserved sweet little prize[Cadbury Lite Chocolate].
Learning 3
Knowing people and leveraging the best from them through a symbiotic relationship of high level interaction right from the very outset is the key to mutual learning in a delightful manner.

Event 4
The significance of HR role in an organization was explained to us in a short but very pragmatic and clear manner. A few tips on how we could navigate ourselves towards the role of HR professional were also discussed.
Learning 4
• The role of HR can serve as a blessings or blight for an organization. It depends on how well we play that role.
• Be Sensitive towards people.
• Everything has a price tag attached to it- An Olympic athlete can not treat his taste buds the way anyone else does. He needs to have a strict discipline towards his diet so that his performance is fine. Similarly; the level of aspiration is directly co-related with the level of price to be paid.

Event 5
He told us that the ever increasing Indian Population has become a boon rather than a bane as BPO sector has a high demand for skilled professionals. Also in the IT sector there is a huge demand. But it’s the BPO sector where a growth level of 30% - 40% is expected. In the IT sector; one HR professional is needed for every 200 internal customer.
Learning 5
The BPO sector has an ever greater scope for new age HR professionals.

Event 6
We did an activity where three chart papers were stuck on the walls of the classroom. Later, the 3 titles ‘Global trend’, ‘education’ and ‘self’ were neatly written on the 3 different charts respectively.
We were divided into six groups of 6 students each and were told to discuss & present the developments which took place in the past 3-4 years in the ‘global trends’, ‘education’ and ‘self’. The entire class had to also write a line each on the 3 charts so that each team could use the ideas for the presentation.
Learning 6
Firstly; we could recognize the trends of past 3-4 years in global perspective like world becoming a global village, how countries are thinking global and acting local, global warming, and increased importance of CSR etc. Secondly, the education perspective like mushrooming of engineering colleges, need for infusing better employability skills to students, virtual learning through internet etc. Thirdly; the self perspective where I got a feeling that every student had a positive outlook towards their life.


Event 7
Discussion on the entry qualification of any product or service and the differentiating factors of any product or service.
Learning 7
The entry qualification for a product is cost, quality, quantity and time. The differentiating factors are anticipation, innovation and excellence.

Event 8
Three concentric circles were drawn on the board. The inner most circle signified ‘circle of control’. The middle circle signified ‘circle of influence’ and the outer most circle signified ‘circle of no influence’. These concentric circles were drawn so that we could realize the core aspect of ‘role’ which is ‘self’ and also central to any corporate.
Learning 8
The circle of ‘control’ comprises of all the aspects of our life which is within the limits of our control like our mood swings, our temperament, our value system etc. The circle of ‘influence’ comprises of all the aspects of our life which has an influence on us like temptations, peer pressure, work ethos, childhood experiences etc. The circle of ‘no influence’ comprises of those aspects in our life which we can not influence like the climate, inflation, accidents etc.
Personally, I found this learning the most thought provoking and incisive.

Event 9
We discussed what it means to be a professional and what are the ingredients of a true professional?
Learning 9
My answer to the definition of professional was ‘a person who has the capacity to create, sustain and destroy his career or organization’. According to my opinion no one seemed remotely impressed with my answer. I am currently confused if my answer was able to make any sense.
However, I was happy when my suggestion for two most important ingredients of a true professional namely: integrity & performance was well endorsed.
The students extolled bright suggestions like resourcefulness, maturity , attitude, confidence, ethics, skills, knowledge, discipline ,code of conduct etc but the one suggestion which caught my attention and was also appreciated by the trainer came from a class mate; Upsika; who suggested improvising existing knowledge by sharing the learnings with others[this encouraged me to share the content of the assignment in my blog].

Event 10
Mr S Inbasekeran; also helped us by giving us useful tips on how we could become better professionals. He stressed on the importance of inculcating professionalism right from student level.
Learning 10
• Raising our personal standards- A deep emphasis was given on having a strong value system comprising of mainly ‘humility’. He gave the example of the sea and it’s magnanimity yet it’s situated at a lower level than a lake, river or pond.He explained the importance of good language skills and constantly improve our communication skills. He also added the significance of the right dress code as it also influences behavior.
• Emotional Balance- He told us to refrain from mood swings, temper tantrums and encouraged us to rebound from emotional disturbance. He also explained ‘emotional integrity’ which meant having sameness in behavior constantly. He gave the example of William Ouche [I hope I spelt the name correctly] who in spite of being incredibly successful treated everyone ranging from a gardener to a president with same dignity and respect.
• Relational Integrity- He encouraged us to have strong foundation to any relationship through right treatment towards people and by gaining confidence of people. He gave the example of Paul Mayor who had sent an aeroplane to help his secretary when he/she was ill. He also emphasized that a HR professional should act as a ‘safe chamber’ to the employees to whom they could share their problem with confidence and comfort.
He also shared with us the importance of developing personal power in times of struggle.

Event 11
The last exercise which was given to us was the SLOT[Strength, Limitation, Opportunity and Threats] analysis which reminded me of the SWOT[Strength, Weakness,Opportunity, Threat] analysis. I found the replacement of the word ‘Weakness’ with ‘Limitation’ very fascinating. Apparently; weakness is extensively used ineffectively in interviews as the candidate often projects his weakness as a seeming strength.
We were also suggested an action plan comprising of action items, resource points and investments.

Learning 11
I could realize the true potential of the SLOT analysis when I was in the process of completing the action plan. I felt a lot more clear on the priorities of my life as a student and future professional.


Some other observations were as follows: The entire orientation session was very participative in nature and served as a perfect start to the two years of delightful learning I am looking forward to.


Books recommended by Mr S Inbasekeran:
• ‘The road less traveled’ by Scot Spec
• ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephan Covey
• Lee Ioca- An Autobiography