MANAGING PEOPLE IN DOWN TURN CONDITIONS

News about stressful working conditions and difficult bosses are lot more frequent. Add to this, the insecurity of a potential job loss is not comforting. Many organisations have , on paper, sound communication plans and adequate HR practices for "sensitive" dealings with employees. On ground , the realities are far different . Some managers are arrogant and create situations that are damaging to employees confidence. Few managers stand up and have the conviction of dealing with purpose and positive outcome.

What differentaiates these managers?

As severence is inevitable , they follow a collaborative approach with the employee , based on sincere approach. They have credible practices and earn the respect of the people. Above all, they are rarely critical and do not seek excuses to find fault. The communication is positive and imbibe confidence despite the bad news. In order to influence people and motivate , it is essential to inspire trust. This can only be done by a congruent verbal and non-verbal behaviour 

POSTED BY: PALLAVI SINGH

                       PGDM III SEM, 'B'

SALARY CUT OR JOB LOSS

Whether a salary cut is better than a job loss has become an extremely popular topic of discussion these days. Organisations are being forced to take drastic steps like salary cuts to sustain themselves and to avoid any further lay-offs.

So, should an employee be happy about the fact that atleast his/her job remains intact and secure? Well, ideally, every employee should understand that the company is trying its best to sail through these troubled waters and as we support our families through thick or thin, it is our duty to support our organisation too. But then again, as it doesn’t take much to demotivate an employee or disappoint him/her, the impact of a salary cut is certainly there. A setback is a setback, no matter what its quantum is.

But it is imperative that employees understand the depth of the prevailing problem and stay patient and positive until times get better. Everything that goes up has to go down and everything that goes down will come up again! With ample support of employees, hope that organisations do all they can to motivate and encourage their employees no matter how bad things are out there.

POSTED BY: PALLAVI SINGH

                       PGDM III SEM, 'B'

How to Overcome Fear of Public Speaking

Before the Presentation :-

Three simple skills utilized prior to a speaking engagement will lower the amount of stress your child will place on the situation.

    * Visualize. Ever had someone tell you to picture the audience in their underwear? It works! How? It places the presentation in a ridiculous light, lowering the stress associated with public speaking. But if visions of boxers or briefs are too scary to consider, try these visualization techniques. See yourself in the room the presentation occurs in. Picture yourself walking to the front of the room and presenting your material. Visualize audience reaction and your success.

    * Tune in to triggers. Recognize what is stressful about the public speaking experience. Identify triggers that cause anxiety and don’t sweat the small stuff. Focus on your message.

    * Practice. It’s true. Practice makes perfect. The more comfortable you are with the material in the presentation, the lower the anxiety the day you speak. Practice in front of a mirror or ask a friend or family member to be a temporary audience.

During the Presentation :-

You might encounter physical or non-verbal difficulties during your presentation. It is best to deal with any symptom as it occurs, but some basic speech postures will make public speaking a positive venture. Some common problems afflicting public speakers include:

    * Knocking knees. The worst thing a speaker can do is to stand with feet together, locking the knees. Instead, assume a model pose, where weight is distributed evenly between the two feet. Stand so the heel of the right foot is close to the inside arch of the left foot. This provides balance. Plus, if you flex your knees slightly, you avoid falling over.

    * Dry mouth. Drink water before you speak, and, if possible, have a glass of water handy in case you need to moisturize a parched mouth during the talk.

      Shaking hands. If you don’t plan on gesturing and feel uncomfortable with your hands by your side, simply put them together. Depending on your message, this non-verbal cue shows the audience you are relaxed and comfortable with the situation, even if the opposite is true.
   
* Quivering voice. Breathe deeply. Smile! A smile will squelch a shaking voice and show confidence.

* Averting eyes. If you are afraid to make direct eye contact with an audience member, divert your gaze to the top of his or her head. Even though you are not making direct eye contact, it appears that you are. Another tip that will put you at ease is to scan the room while talking. Find a point to your right, middle, and left and scan to those spots during your speech.

Public speaking does not have to evoke a dreadful fear. Using these tips will help lower your fear of public speaking.

POSTED BY :-
SHWETA RANI
PGDM-3rd sem

HR - A STRATEGIC BUSINESS PARTNER

In today’s world talent is a precious commodity. The economy is moving from a manufacturing to a knowledge economy. In that context companies are increasingly finding it difficult to find talent and finding it more difficult to retain them. In addition to that, a new generation has entered the work force Gen Y who are extremely ambitious, demanding and connected. Managers are finding it difficult to handle this workforce. In the current context, organisations have to seriously think, rethink about the talent pool they have and should also think how they should cultivate talent within to ensure that a steady talent pipeline is available.

For that to happen, HR has to be seen as a strategic function than a supporting function. A study by Mercer clearly states that HR managers want to move up the value chain but feel that they are not equipped to handle the responsibility because of lack of exposure / experience. For HR managers to move upstream, they should objectively analyse the current situation of HR in their organisation and what needs to be done to move away from traditional processing mentality to a strategic approach.

Many HR managers want to move from a process to a strategic stream. Many studies have shown that although there is some progress, a lot needs to be done to alter thinking. To do that, HR should become a board room agenda and HR managers should demonstrate the reasons why it should be a top priority amongst leaders.

 

POSTED BY ; PREETI KUMARI

                        PGDM III SEM, 'B'

NEGATIVITY IMPACTS WITH ONE AND ALL

Negativity is nothing but one’s disagreeable nature with the facts, “say no first” attitude, and fear of consequences of any new change, action or event.

Every individual might have experienced negativity (Negative Attitude) at some point of time at the workplace, business, and social service organizations or in personal life. Negativity becomes most destructive force, if not taken care in early stage and spreads across quickly to eat away morale, teamwork, Initiative nature and finally output.

Situations, people, past experiences, surroundings and culture in which one is living his life are major causes for initiating negative feelings within a person. When these factors combined with excessive workload, concerns about ability, job insecurity, office politics, favoritism, lack of challenges, routine work, gossip and lack of recognition at the workplace, it will become a full-blown problem. The most serious thing is favoritism, which can screw up all, from an individual to a big organization.

Gossip at tea time: Where one should be very careful to avoid negativity. During this time people get a chance to peep into others lives. Some gossips may seems to be information, humorous or as a de-stressor. But, the negativity slowly steps in to minds and takes the form of dissatisfaction, frustration and conflict. Finally these negative feelings not only hamper one’s productivity, but also curbs professional and personal growth.

Where ever you work with someone-- could be a peer or a senior; first thing you need to bear in mind is absolutely zero prejudice about him/her. The best way to avoid any notions settling in one’s mind about somebody is by being neutral during the gossiping. Learn about them from their doings and then behave accordingly.

Boredom at the workplace spreads out negativity which leads to bad relationships, frustration and dip in productivity levels. Boredom arises due to routine job. It depends purely on an individual. Some people like to work on the areas where they are comfortable and don’t want to take challenges. However some people want to work in new areas, new technologies, and always want challenges rather than sticking to old ones. In such cases, the management must try to understand the person’s aspiration and come up with innovative solutions to make one’s work place interesting and to break the boredom. As work is always work and changing ones work is not possible and not correct thing in all cases, management should be able to help the folks to see the work in a new angle and with a different perception. This will really help in rejuvenating one’s mind.

Apart from work, there should be some non-work activities which could motivate and give a breeze of fresh air. It could be team outing, birth day celebration or get together. Normally, many organizations celebrate Birthdays on a common date; some do celebrate individually on the particular date. Again, the celebration should not be in a mechanical way – like bringing cake, calling the team, cutting it and eating followed by some plastic smiles and artificial humor. People will get bored soon and loose interest. Nobody likes this kind of celebration which is nothing but another unavoidable meeting. It is more like punishment than pleasure. People need some personal touch and care. In such cases, management should think to some innovative ideas like – send a greetings mail to the person, send a flower bouquet, greeting card and some goodies to their home. This will make a big difference, not only will the person become happy but also their family will feel proud of the Organization. A small thing can make a big difference. Many organizations conduct team outings and plan many activities to keep the employees mind away from work for a while and keep the team sprit up. It works fine to some extent, but not the way it should have been. While planning for team outing, management should discuss with employees, what they like and their expectations. Based on expectations, activities should be planned by involving the employees. Another thing, we should be careful while planning for activities, there should not be too many activities packed up in a time frame – it will de-motivate and make them frustrated. Mainly people should get enough free time to do things in their own way rather than following enforced rules. Lastly, we should not mix-up team-outings with team building.

One more factor that spreads negativity within an organization is the kind of interaction between “the Boss and Subordinates of the company” and “the HR and the Employees”. Each and every employee needs attention of the Organization and Organization requires everybody’s participation. Management should try to involve each and every one in decision making - based on their roles and responsibilities. Otherwise employees feels that their views has no value and there is no consideration for them, and this slowly leads to hostility and a ‘why should I care?’ attitude–Again Negativity. It is very important to make every employee feel that they are important to the company. This can be achieved only by improving communication with them and being open about most managerial decisions.

Lastly, few more important factors that lead to negativity – Lack of appreciations and recognition. After working hard for days, weeks and months together, employees expect a basic amount of appreciation and recognition for their efforts. When that does not happen, most of them tend to lose the motivation to work as hard as they did earlier. Again, the process of evaluation and comparison for recognition should be transparent; otherwise it will backfire and may raise misunderstandings.

Ultimately, one should have to deal with negativity in work place as well as in personal things for a beautiful life.

 “Transform each hurdle into an opportunity”. “Stop gossiping and idle talk”. “Keep yourself occupied”. “Be transparent and make the process transparent”. “Communicate effectively with peers and seniors”. “Stop favoritism. “Be neutral”. “Be innovative”. 

POSTED BY : SHUBHAM AGARWAL

                        PGDM III SEM, 'B'

CREATIVE RETENTION STRATEGIES: TREADING THE UNBEATEN TRACKS

With globalisation taking the entire globe into its ambit, competition in every segment has reached its climax. Whichever sector of our economy you take, there are innumerable employers and so are employment opportunities. Employees tend to make the most of it by switching from one company to the other and from one job to another in search of better avenues, perspective, work culture or promotion. But this leads to a great loss of human resources for employers.

Picture it! An employee, who joins as a fresher and gradually becomes more skilled by dint of his experience, ultimately switches to another job to justify his experience. All investments made by the employer turns futile.

As this culture swiftly gained momentum and would have acquired malignant form, employers apprehending the potential threat that this ‘aaya ram, gaya ram’ cult possed to the employers in particular and whole economy in general, came up with plethora of creative retention strategies. Maintaining a stable, seasoned staff is an investment that can pay rich dividends in the long run. Initially employees resorted to legal measures by making written agreements with employees, which made it compulsory for employees to serve respective companies for a certain period. But this was no solution, it was yet another problem. It is not only important to ensure that employees hold on, but it is equally important that they work towards productive welfare companies.

Of all the creative retention strategies that are used by the organisations today, the major one is to identify the reasons or factors which tempts employees to migrate. Employers have a continuous evaluation system in place, which ensures that every employee gets his due share. A short term, performance based bonus and compensation system that rewards continued employment at three months, six months, a year and so on has been put in place,which ensures that as an employee grows in his skills and experience, so does his perks and avenues. So that he is not lured into another job.

Several employers allow employees to dedicate some part of their working hours to their work related interests like research works which not only boosts productivity but also spurs a sense of oneness in employees and makes working a playful experience.

Establishing employee ownership program that rewards longevity with profit sharing bonuses or shares in the company has really boosted the employee retention rates. The best way to retain top quality employees is to make them a part of employer themselves by including them in board of directors or providing them shares in the company. A sense of ownership in employees greatly spurs the cause of employers.

Though there are scores of employee retention policies around, still each one of them can be made more effective. The gap between employers and employees can never be bridged. Both can have their own perspective over the same issue. So any unilateral policy drafted and decided by employers alone can never satisfy one and all. All retention policies must be bilateral,i.e,employers and employees should equally be involved in all retention strategies. Many employers conduct polls to find what employers actually want and this leads to many unconventional innovations like permitting employees choose their own shift which actually works wonders.

So,in nutshell, organisations already have a lot of creative retention strategies today. But still it needs to be taken to the next level with few new innovative ideas. Every employee retention policy has some room for improvement. Employers must keep themselves open to suggestions and global developments. These retention strategies will go a long way in strengthening the relation between employers and employee sand generating a conducive work culture.

POSTED  BY : PALLAVI SINGH
                         PGDM III SEM, 'B'

How to Create an Effective Risk Management Plan

 

The goal of risk management is to essentially decrease the various risks which are associated with reaching any specific goal. Threats can come in a wide variety of different forms, and some of them include threats involving the environment, humans, technology, and politics. Your risk management strategy may not be effective if you use the wrong plan.

 

The goal of risk management is to create an approach which is structured when it comes to handling uncertainty, especially those which are related to threats. An effective risk management plan must be comprised of a number of important things, and these things include risk assessment, along with strategies that are designed to mitigate risk. Much of this will be done through the usage of managerial tools.

An effective risk management plan can use a number of different strategies in order to handle risk in an effective way. The risk management plan can transfer risk to another group, or it can avoid the risk altogether. It can also be designed in such a way that the impact of the risk is decreased in case it does occur.

There are other risk management strategies which are designed to accept a few or perhaps even all of the consequences that may come with a given risk. Many risk management strategies place a heavy emphasis on risks that come from things which are related to either legal issues or physical issues. Examples of physical threats are fires or natural disasters, while legal issues will in all likelihood denote things such as lawsuits.

Financial risk plans place a heavy emphasis on protecting the financial assets and resources of the organization. Financial risks will generally be managed through the usage of financial instruments which are traded. When it comes to risk management planning, it is crucial to make use of a process for prioritization, one in which the risks which have the greatest losses and highest probability of occurring are addressed first, while the risks which have a lower impact and probability of occurring are given a lower level of importance. The problem with low probability risks is that they are often mishandled, and this can lead to problems down the road.

How Risk Management Plans Should be Structured 

A risk management plan must be capable of identifying new risks. Another type of risk to be mindful of are relationship risks. These risks will often result in situations where a collaboration occurs which is ineffective. A risk involving process engagement may occur in situations where procedures or methods are used which are not effective.

The danger that comes with these risks is that they lower the productive level of the employees, and they also reduce the effectiveness of cost, as well as service and reputation. Intangible risk management must be incorporated into risk management plans since it allows immediate value to be created via the identification and decrease of any risks that may lower productivity.

Another challenge that organizations will face when developing risk management plans is being able to properly allocate their resources. This is closely connected to the concept of opportunity cost. Any resources which are used for the purpose of risk management may also be used for other activities which may be much more profitable.

The goal of your risk management plan should be to reduce the amount of spending to the lowest level possible will maximizing the reduction level of risks at the same time. No matter what your organization specializes in, there are a number of features that your risk management plan should have. First, risk management must be capable of creating value.

Features Your RMP Should Have

Your risk management plan must also be a vital part of the internal processes of the organization. The risk management plan that you establish should play an important role in the decision making process. The plan must also be capable of clearly addressing uncertainty.

All good risk management plans must be structured, and this should be done in a manner which is systematic. No risk management plan should be created which isn't dependent on the absolute best information which is available. It is also important for your risk management plan to be tailored properly, and it should be both transparent and inclusive at the same time.

 POSTED BY :-

SHWETA RANI

PGDM - 3RD SEM