Employee Engagement- A myth or reality????

I wonder if there is something known as 'active employee engagement'???

Well!!! the several surveys lead to the conclusion that it exists. Even Professor Google has numerous definitions for it.

But when I ask the meaning of 'active employee engagement' to a few senior professionals. They say that it's all about keeping the employees happy enough through recreational activities/fun activities'.

I do not endorse that at all. I will explain /justify that through an example. If an 'actively disengaged employee' gets to participate in your company's so called 'Disco Dandiya event'. Will it help the HR team to stop him from bad mouthing about the company or raise his work performance standards????

No!!!! most likely!!!!

He will get a good excuse to get away from his work and also have a social gathering which he can entertain through his bad mouthing about the company.

Let's apply common sense and change our approach towards employee engagement.

The purpose is to get the associates excited about their job and perform better through greater involvement and ownership.

Include the following in your employee engagement tool kit:

1. Superior Learning and Development.

2. Competitive Compensation.

3. Most importantly, foster a culture of 'goodness'. A place where the right virtues and values are recognized and appreciated genuinely.

4. Have some real 'fun' after getting the above three points right in place.

;-)

HR Symphony 2009- A detailed report

One of my classmate, Kaviya Suresh mailed me the following report which she documented during HR Symphony 2009:

HR – SYMPHONY 2009 – Documentation

HR Symphony was conducted by the Student Forum of the Department of MA Human Resource Management, Madras School of Social Work on Friday, September 18 at The Savera.

The theme for the symposium was HR Trends in 2010 and noted HR Professionals were a part of this event.

Inaugural Session:

The function was inaugurated by Ms. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, MP, Rajya Sabha who lit the kuthuvilakku and delivered the inaugural address.

Speaking about key issues such as the impact of recession, she said “Corporate Social Responsibility lies in the hands of today’s youngsters. Be it managing waste or making a difference to the nation, fitting it into the corporate work schedule is the need of the hour. HR is where the human connection begins and ends.” Ms. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi affirmed that the women of the country are a potential resource that has not been discovred yet. The women are not being given the recognition they are entitled to. She stressed on the Women’s bill in the parliament should have been 50% and not 33%. She also stressed on the importance of learning the tamil language.

The Department Newsletter HURECANE was released by Ms. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on the occasion.

The Principal of MSSW, Dr. Fathima Vasanth, gave the welcome address. The Secreatary SSER, Mr. C.D. Jose welcomed the gathering. Mrs. Jayanthi Peter, Head of the Department of MA HRM, gave a brief presentation about the department and its activities. Ms. Bhargavi, President of the Students Forum, spoke about the journey of HR Symphony so far.

Keynote Address:

The keynote addressee of HR Symphony 2009 was Mr. M Mahadevan, CMD, Oriental Cuisines Pvt. Ltd. He has actively involved in setting up Fast Food Business along with various promoters under partnership and management contract basis in India. He was also involved in setting up of the Copper Chimney restaurant in Chennai along with the co-promoter of the Bombay Copper Chimney restaurant group.

Apart from the above he has set up 42 Bakeries & Restaurants in USA, Middle East, Africa, Canada, France and London under his overseas operations unit Company

Mr. M Mahadevan has been in the business of hotelier and catering industry for over 25 years in various capacities.

He is the promoter of the Company Oriental Cuisines Private Limited. The company commenced operations with China Town and Hot Breads and he was instrumental in setting up a chain of Hot Bread units in India and abroad. The Indian operations were subsequently transferred to a separate division from 2001-02. OCPL owns and operates in various cities like Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkatta, Delhi, Trivendrum in the following Line of Business

10- Food Courts

12- Fine Dining Restaurants

20- Quick Service Restaurants

31- Bakeries

02- Lodging House

OCPL operates under the following brand names

China Town

Benjarong

Hotel Oriental Inn

Zara Tapas Bar

Noodle House

Wangs Kitchen

Kebab House

Just Juice.

French Loaf

Breadline

Maple Leaf

Entekeralam

Planet Yumm.- Food Court

In his address he said that the role of HR is on the upswing, recession or otherwise. He illustrated this with personal references to his 25-year journey and his recent switch to centralizing HR operations through his chain of eateries. Today his company has over 4000 employees, carefully hand picked by the HR Department. The HR Mantra of OPCL is “Motivate and Retain”. He believes in motivating his employees through proper training, briefings and monetary benefits. If the right amount of motivation given to the employees, they can be retained and will be loyal to the company. The Policy that the employees follow is to “Serve and save”.

Mr. M. Mahadevan was the recipient of the Best Entrepreneur award and was facilitated by the then Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Few of his quotes included “We don’t fish, but we teach people to fish” and “the future is for people with knowledge.”

Panel Discussion:

A panel discussion surrounding the theme of HR Symphony was moderated by Mr. Muthukumar Thanu, VP-HR, TAFE.

The panel members were Mr. R. Venkatanarayanan, GM HR, Rane Brakes Lining Ltd. Mr. R. Paneerchelvam, GM-HR, The India Cements Ltd., Mr. G. Udayakumar, CEO, Coremind Inc., Ms. Sharmila Gouthama, Founder, Green Books Consultancy and Ms. Kavita Shanmugam, Dean, Gemba School of HR.

The panel discussion centered on the theme of HR Symphony and the following were the opinions of the panelists with regard to HR Trends of 2010:

Muthukumar Thanu, Moderator:

• More learnability leads to more employability.
• The company must take good care of the External customer (client) and the internal customer (employee).
• Resilience towards business should be developed
• Importance of influencing employees

Paneerchelvam, Panelist:

• Business literacy
• Line of sight
• To take up a tough role to get the best learning
• How well a HR must facilitate the line managers to solve problems

Venkat, Panelist:

• Scope to learn
• Employee engagement
• Creating trust
• Humane peace

Kavitha, Panelist:

• Achieving and creating a milestone
• Understanding of the employees
• Attitudes must be changed

Udayakumar, Panelist:

• Giving time to oneself and the employee
• To learn to grow
• Importance of observation skills
• Contributing in small ways for the growth of the company

Sharmila Gauthama, Panelist:

• Ability to foresee trends
• Ability to see how to contribute
• Importance of social media

Research presentation

The research details, finding, inferences and results are attached at the end of the report.

Hurecane Presentation

A presentation of the Department Newsletter “Hurecane” was made by Mr. Vivek, I MA HRM.

Corporate Event

2 events “Ad-dict” and “Linked-In” were conducted for the Corporates present in the event. Ad-dict was a simple guessing game. An ad was played and the product or service has to be guessed by the audience. The winners of Ad-dict were

3^rd place – Mr. Krishnan, Escalator

2^nd place – Rangarajan, Neeyamo

1^st place – Ms. Renu, Icon

Linked-in was a game to find the hidden link among three products or services. The winners of Linked-in were

3^rd place – Pawan

2^nd place – Avinash, Infosys

1^st place – Rakesh Mohan, Neeyamo

Plenary Session

A plenary session on Corporate Goodness was handled by Mr. M. V. Cherian, DGM HR, National Head ONGC Schools, ONGC, which concluded the evening for present student and corporate force alike.

The contents of Mr. M.V. Cherian’s speech included how one should conduct oneself at the work place, the importance of communicating and expressing one’s thoughts and feelings in the right manner. He explained his concepts with personal anecdotes and how he handled worst situations in the easiest manner. He stressed on the importance of being diplomatic and the dangers associated with taking sides. Also, some of his important words were “the most imp thing in the word "organization" is 'I', if I organise myself, organisation will automatically organize itself. similarly in "management' the most important word is "me".”

The session concluded with Vote of Thanks by Ramya Radhakrishnan, Secretary HR Symphony and which was followed by dinner.

When will I get there???? V/S How will I cope up when I get there????

During the panel discussion on the theme 'HR trends in 2010' [HR Symphony 2009], one pertinent issue that caught my complete attention was the following:

• Impatience of the generation Y to get into transformational HR role without getting 'hands on experience' in transactional HR role and the dilemma/insecurity faced many senior and middle aged professionals on how will they handle the transformational/strategic HR as they are too used to their transactional HR operations[comfort zone in other words].

Both the situations are two extremes. Following are my thoughts on the same:

• Let's objectively define how much[quantatively as well as qualitatively] of 'transactional HR operation' is the minimum prerequisite for the generation Y associates to move into 'strategic HR'. This will prove to make the generation Y associates more clear,secure and confident of their professional pursuits. And remember the fact: If you are sure about the meaning of patience then let me assure you that 'patience' is the best virtue.

• 'The solution for the senior/middle aged professionals is simple: Get back to the basics you are so proud of and thats the good old 'Change Management'. Start it with yourself. Embrace the change with some sincere proactiveness and real broadmindedness[your selective broadmindedness might not help much]

Hope this helps :-)

HR Symphony 2009-A brief snapshot

HR Symphony was better than ever before. It completely rocked with numerous encouraging feedbacks and appreciations. Since I was a little occupied with quite a few tasks, I could not make notes during the HR Symphony. But I will share a brief snapshot that my classmates [Kavya Suresh & Daniel T] wrote for press release purpose:

HR – SYMPHONY 2009

A symposium HR Symphony was conducted by the Student Forum of the Department of MA Human Resource Management, Madras School of Social Work on Friday, September 18 at The Savera.

The theme for the symposium was HR Trends in 2010 and noted HR Professionals were a part of this event. The function was inaugurated by Ms. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, MP, Rajya Sabha who lit the kuthuvilakku and delivered the inaugural address.

Speaking about key issues such as the impact of recession, she said “Corporate Social Responsibility lies in the hands of today’s youngsters. Be it managing waste or making a difference to the nation, fitting it into the corporate work schedule is the need of the hour. HR is where the human connection begins and ends.”

The Department Newsletter HURECANE was released by Ms. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on the occasion.

The keynote addressee of HR Symphony 2009, Mr. M Mahadevan, CMD, Oriental Cuisines Pvt. Ltd said in his address that the role of HR is on the upswing, recession or otherwise. He illustrated this with personal references to his 25-year journey and his recent switch to centralizing HR operations through his chain of eateries.

A panel discussion surrounding the theme of HR Symphony was moderated by Mr. Muthukumar Thanu, VP-HR, TAFE. The panel members were Mr. R. Venkatanarayanan, GM HR, Rane Brakes Lining Ltd. Mr. R. Paneerchelvam, GM-HR, The India Cements Ltd., Mr. G. Udayakumar, CEO, Coremind Inc., Ms. Sharmila Gouthama, Founder, Green Books Consultancy and Ms. Kavita Shanmugam, Dean, Gemba School of HR.

A plenary session on Corporate Goodness was handled by Mr. M. V. Cherian, DGM HR, National Head ONGC Schools, ONGC, which concluded the evening for present student and corporate force alike.

Extremely encouraging words from a very promising blogger & buddy

Raakesh Mohan is one of the brightest person I have known for the past one year since we met in the MMA National Debate Finals. We both had infact lost the finals after giving a tough fight to the winner but I do not regret participating there at all. Firstly bacause I learnt a lot there and won a great friend 'Raakesh Mohan'.

Raakesh has started writing his blog which seems very promising. Visit www.raakeshmohan.blogspot.com to know more about his writing.

He has been extremely kind by writing a few words about my blog in his first post. I really do not know if I deserve it. Here is what he says:

'Writing is not as easy as you think or at least as I thought. BELIEVE ME!! I realized it is a tough job during my unsuccessful attempt last time. It needs lots of work and dedication, pretty new words in my dictionary. So I take this opportunity which I created with the help of Mr. BLOGGER to appreciate these young yet legendary writers for what they are doing.

On the top of the list of friends who inspired me is Saikat Saha.Man oh Man People call him a HR prodigy for nothing. His passion for life and Human resource is splashed all over his blog. Just one visit tells you that this guy is a revolutionary thinker. Please visit him at http://ideatezone.blogspot.com .'

Thanks Raakesh :-)

HR Symphony details :-)

Dear Sir/Madam,

It is our pleasure to invite you for our bi-annual symposium, HR SYMPHONY 2009 conducted by the Students Forum of the Department of M.A.HRM, Madras School of Social Work.

The following are the details of HR SYMPHONY 2009:

Theme: HR TRENDS IN 2010.

Date of event: September 18, 2009

Venue: Hotel Savera.

Registration Fees: Corporate: Rs 300, Students: Rs 500

Agenda:

3:00 - Registration Begins

3:30 - 4:00 - Inauguration by Chief Guest Ms. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, MP
RAJ YA SABHA.

4:00 - 4:30 - Key Note Address by Mr. M.Mahadevan CMD, Oriental
Cuisines Pvt. Ltd.

4:30 - 4:45 - Tea Break

5:00 - 6:00 - Panel Discussion by Experts

6:15 - 6:45 - Corporate Event

6:45 - 7:00 - HURECANE (Newsletter) Presentation

7:00 - 7:30 - Research Presentation

7:30 - 8:00 - Plenary Session

8:00 - 8:30 - Valedictory

8:30 - Dinner

Panel Discussion:

Moderator: Mr. S. Deendayalan, Founder and MD, Centre for Excellence in Organization

Panelists:

1. Mr. Venkatnarayanan, GM HR, Rane Brakes
2. Mr. R.Panneerchelvam, GM HR, India Cements Ltd
3. Mr. G Udayakumar, CEO, Coremind Inc.
4. Ms. Sharmila Gouthama, Founder, Greenbooks Consultancy
5. Ms. Kavita Shanmugam, Dean , Gemba School of HR

Plenary Session:

MR. M.V. Cherian, DGM HR, National Head , ONGC Schools, ONGC on “ Corporate Goodness”

Research Presentation on HRO:

Expert’s view by Mr. Ashok Buildker, CEO, Neeyamo

We would like you to be a part of this grand event. Please confirm your presence latest by 16th September by mailing us your details (Name, Organization and Contact no.) athrsymphony2009@gmail.com

For any clarifications, please mail back at this address or call us at +919 840 285 310 (Nandita)or +919 894 336 290 (Tina).

We look forward to seeing you on the 18^th for this exciting evening.

Regards,

HR Symphony Core Team

GLIM HR Conclave 2009

On 5th September, I attended the HR Conclave organised by Great Lakes Institute of Management. As expected, I was deeply impressed with the learning I received from GLIM HR Conclave.

Let me share a few learning & observations:

1. Mr Bala V Balachandran,Founder & Dean- Great Lakes Institute of Management spoke about the relevance of 'money value of time' in education.

2. Mr R Seshasayee, MD, Ashok Leyland Ltd shared with us that the key to high performance lies in togetherness, proper communication,increasing the organisational capacity, pushing the targets at aspirational levels and emotional bonding.

3. Mr Srini Raju, MD- Peepul Capital Advisory Services Pvt Ltd explained the importance of proper goal setting and not limit one's aspiration by aiming to work in an esteemed organisation alone. He said that the focus should be more on becoming a better professional with a sense of uniqueness and achievement.

4. Mr S Ramakrishnan [IAS] spoke about the HR lessons he learnt from Horse Riding and how it's important to appreciate the subtle differences of people.

5. Mr Jay Desai ,Founder & CEO- Universal Consulting India focussed on customising the company's HR strategy based on the organisation's relative position in the fitness landscape. According to him the right place in the fitness landscape is the 'sweet spot' which lies in the middle of two extremes ie. Chaos & Order.

6. Mr Durjoy Patranabish, Country Head- Redpill Solutions shared his thoughts on how HR professionals should train themselves to become more sensitive about different backgrounds & culture.

7. Mr Ravishankar B, Head, OD & E- HCL spoke about the 'employee first and customer second approach' of his company. He told us about the HR practices based on philosophy of trust, transparency, flexibility & value centricity.

8. Mr S V Nathan, Director, Talent- Deloitte, US India Firms is one of the speaker who had impeccable humour and great examples of the HR practices in Delloite like the Delloitte film festival or the maverick contest. Each of those practices are clear cases of out of the box thinking. However the best learning from his address was that the HR fraternity should retain the learning of the downturn in order to better manage the Human Capital Post-meltdown.

9. Ms Bhavana Issar , GM ,HR,India Region-Castrol India spoke about the fact that HR strategy should have customer & business in the heart. She also expressed her thoughts on how HR should be at the business table and not on the business table. I particularly loved the Urdu Couplet which she shared with us that encapsulates the intent and aspiration which every HR professional should strive for. It is as follows:

Tu shaheen hai Parvaz hai kam tera kam tera

Tere samne Aasman aur bhi hai

Sitaron se age jahan aur bhi hai aur bhi hai
Abhi ishq ke Imtehan aur bhi hai aur bhi hai

10. Ms Richa Gulati, Economist-Watson Wyatt Worldwide, shared some interesting HR innovations with the following examples:

• New tools: Multideck survey- linking employee preferences to pension plan design.
• New design: Using employee segmentation techniques to offer the right reward.
• New research: Fairness in pay is more important than pay itself
• New model: Supply chain model of talent management

11. Another favourite speaker of mine was Puneet Jetli, Senior VP,HR & Head, People Function-Mindtree Ltd who spoke on how the Indian Army produces heroes during war times. He encouraged the audience to look at adversities as oppurtunities. He appreciated how the Armed Forces do not complain about turbulent times and shine in spite of such turbulence. Another thought which I really loved was regarding how forced bell curve should be removed from the performance appraisal systems. I completely endorse that most of the times bell curves are introduced for HR's own convienience.

12. Mr Samuel Chander, Senior VP,HR- Henkel India emphasised on the redoubled thrust on outsourcing with emphasis on cost and quality arbitrage, right sizing to right shaping, quality hiring with international standards , limiting the core and expanding the periphary [burger to dough nut approach :-)]. Another thought which I loved was the The ICARUS Agenda inspired from Greek Mythology which is based on a quadrant with 'Rate of learning in Y axis & Job obsolescence on X axis. I must confess that explaining it in this post will be challenging for me but the idea is very thought provoking and exciting.

13. Dr Pramod Solanki, Head- People & Organization Development[E & C Division]- Larsen & Toubro Ltd said that this downturn will make us much better prepared for the future challenges.

14. Mr Subramanium Arumugam, Senior VP, HR & Admin made the session very interacticve by answering multiple questions. I especially liked his focus on the growing importance of qualitative tools in recruitment.

15. Mr Sudhir Warde, Executive VP, HR- Larsen & Toubro Infotech was an absolute delight to listen. Great humour, modesty, simple but effective examples and a very student oriented speech were the ingridients of his perfect address. He focussed on sincerity, passion, communication skills, mannerisms, depth of knowledge, pride in doing one's work, commitment, ability to learn and consistency in performance as some of the key qualities required in the new recruits. One of the statement which I will always remember is when he said that a recruiter should never get confused with MAFA [ Mistaking Articulation For Achievement].

HR Symphony coming soon!!!!!!!!!

Important message for MSSW alumni from HR Symphony core Team, Madras School of Social work:

Ladies and Gentlemen!

The students forum of the department of M.A.HRM, Madras School of Social work is extremely happy to present the bi-annual symposium - HR Symphony. Which will be held on 18th September 2009 @ hotel Savera. The theme for the symposium is 'HR Trends in 2010'.We have industry experts (for Panel Discussion) and High profile guest(s) as speakers for HRS 2009. It is our humble request that all our beloved alumni be present on 18th of September, 2009.The registration for the symposium (exclusively for alumni) starts on 31th Aug 2009.

Pls contact the Registration Desk or email us at hrsymphony2009@gmail.com for further details.

Registration Desk:Tina: +919 894 336 290

Nandita: +919 840 285 310

Warm Regards,

Lijo Jacob

HRS Core Team

P.S.: Please pass this message to all your batch mates