'Scrum' it up in HR!!!!

The word 'Scrum' transports me back to my school days when me and my friends used to play a customised form of the game 'rugby'. We never had a rugby ball but rather played the game with a tennis ball/Cosco ball.

It was fun even though I doubt if any one of us had iota of an idea about the rules of the original game. The rules were also prescribed by us.

But certain things remained similar to the real game of 'Rugby'. We experienced fantastic camaraderie, had loads of fun but often at the cost of profuse sweating and regular injuries. And And And.....Well Well Well... 'the Scrum'.

One of our greatest lesson from the game was 'Scrum'.

In rugby, scrum is where the whole team acts together with every member moving with everyone else to push the ball down the field.

This ensures complete involvement of the players ensuring greater capacity building that translates to easily visible individual and team ownership.

According to this article in Business Line ' Scrum, a term borrowed from the rugby field, is an iterative incremental process of software development and is practised by everyone at Infospace India, Bangalore-based Web design and applications company.'

Scrum is also a new age software development method that uses the principle of Agile.

What I personally gauge [ I can be wrong!!!] from the Business Line article mentioned above is that it's more or less like a pit stop break which is used in racing or the 10 minutes strategy break used in IPL. Though, I am sure it's only one of the many elements of 'Scrum' in organisational context.

In the organisational context, this means a meeting before the work resumes on the next day with the purpose of seeking answers to certain critical questions that might seem too generic in the normal rigmarole.

Now, I do not know what Scrum is exactly all about in the process development context. Similarly, I did not know much about the real 'Rugby' in my school days but still we had as much fun and passion for the game as the kids who played the real rugby.

Hence, I would also like the HR folks to take the best out of the Scrum philosophy and use it in the HR team.

Here are a few suggestions on use of Scrum in HR:
1. Have a few minutes of Scrum meeting before work resumes.
2. Ask key questions to team on their work status.
3. Encourage simple yet effective interaction.
4. Act as a facilitator to seek answers from them to resolve their problems. If required seek help from others as well as give your own suggestions.
5. Instill a sense of Individual ownership for everyone and explain how it would reflect on the team ownership when considered with utmost sincerity and passion.
6. Allow a little element of fun and humour to make it sincere and not serious [As Chetan Bhagat says].

So what you waiting for HR folks. Time to move the 'rugby muscles'!!!!!!!

Website Review- http://www.HRera.com/

It's been approximately 1.6 years since when I started blogging on 'HR issues and beyond' with my humble knowledge in the domain. During this short yet profound journey I have come across various websites and blogs which continue to impact my learning and networking.

Recently, I came across a very promising website- http://www.HRera.com/. Let me now share a few thoughts and the first impression about the website.

The website is newly launched and the freshness is very visible. Freshness in form of 10 exclusive features ie.

1. Knowledge Bank - Large resource on HR, OB & Soft Skills articles.
2. Student's Corner [This interests me the most]- Guidance on Books, Projects, Term Papers, Jobs, Resumes, Tests, Group Discussions & Interviews.
3. Free Newsletter- The site claims to have largest newsletter in HR. That too for free of cost.
4. HR Jobs [Asia]- Employers can list HR Jobs in Asia, for free.HR Professionals can search these job vacancies
5. Training [Asia]- Training Providers can host their profile & specialization.(Free Hosting) HR Professionals can search Training Providers matching their requirements.
6. Psychometric Tests- Free Tests on Emotional Intelligence, IT Skill Sets, Aptitudes and for Fun.Premium Tests on Aptitudes, IT Skill Sets, for Recruitment/Selection from SERIC.
7. 360 Degree Feedback- A premium service provided by Data Zone.
8. Sponsor- An interesting way of reaching customers.
9. Presentations on HRM- Free of cost
10. Presentations on OB- Free of cost.

The sincerity of the entire pursuit in launching this website is very visible again. I find a purpose in launching the website. A purpose which is committed towards learning & development. So a 'thumbs up' to the architects of the website for finding the purpose and sincerely pursuing it.

I have personally read a ppt file on a HRM topic in the site and found it impressive. Also, the special focus on 'Students' make it sure that the knowledge disseminated to the them is in alignment to their needs and level of understanding. Again a fantastic job done in locating the different audiences from the WEB 2.0.

It provides ample scope on doing quick tests to know where we stand currently in relation to our Emotional Intelligence, IT skills and aptitude.

What impresses me the most is that a lot is encapsulated in the website catering to diverse needs ranging from knowledge leveraging; great visibility in form of advertisement, employment opportunities; free services in form of ppt presentations,HR job listing,newsletter; premium services in form of 360 degree feedback by Data Zone and more.

This website seems promising from a point of view of the large scope of fostering collaborative partnership through knowledge sharing and visibility.

However, I genuinely feel that a conversational element should be more visible in the website. A mechanism through which the audience can engage into a simple form of communication with the website owner as well as all the professionals who contribute their articles and ppt presentation to the website.

Overall, I congratulate everyone associated with the website for such a sincere effort.There is nothing cosmetic about it, a genuine purpose is reflected in this website. I can promise that I will be a regular visitor to this website.

Got quoted in Indian Express.

I got quoted in Indian Express for my comments on IPL tournament. This is the second time I got quoted in this academic year after being quoted in Hindu[Metro Plus] few months back. Please click on this link to find the E-Paper version.

In case the link does not work then paste the following in your URL:
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=New+venue+and+still+happy?&artid=dgJkoktTzuA=&SectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=rSY6QYp3kQ=&SEO=

Predictive Analysis in HR- Future of HRM

I have been to so many seminars and conferences discussing the future of HR. I myself have spoken in this issue a few times as a student participant.

Why don't we discuss the same for other domains like marketing and finance that often?

Is it because we are not happy with the present contribution of HR?

Are we not experiencing our true potential as HR proffesionals?

Or is it because this is the only domain that strives to create greater value for itself?

Being a first year HR student with little corporate experience, I am not the best person to comment on it. But I will leave you with these questions which will produce greater food for thought.

I came across this article in Abhijit Bhaduri's website which deals with 'Predictive Analysis for HR'.

Following are some of my key learnings based on the conversation between Abhijit Bhaduri and Atanu Basu :

• Predictive Analysis takes multiple, pertinent datasets and business rules into account, and then uses mathematical techniques to make contextual and actionable predictions.
• Its different from using conventional metrics because Metrics focus on tracking what was. Analytics can extend this to what will be and what if.
• A process of predictive Root Cause Analysis can then identify, quantify, and rank the primary drivers responsible for attrition among each ‘at risk’ group.
• Predictive Analysis can not do much (if anything at all) for you; it only becomes powerful when you “partner” with it.
• If you are well aware of your business then you are more ready to use Predictive Analysis much more than you think.

Now, This is the future of HR according to me. This needs to be discussed and followed sincerely to champion greater HR causes.

Following is the comment I left in the website:

I feel this encapsulates the future of HR in a much more convincing way than what is discussed in various seminars and conferences…
However, I feel HR itself should get the quantitative tools in place rather than hire a statistics expert.
Truly very informative….
Clearly there is much more between and beyond that 10% attrition rate…