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Right-training and Right-sizing for Survival – Sunder Ramachandran & Sangeeta Singh An excellent way to determine the state of the job market is to count the number of pages of leading job supplements every week. More pages mean more work opportunities and that only translates to a growing economic climate. But these days, the reverse is true. Diminishing jobs and retrenchments, businesses packing up and the downfall of formidable companies is only creating more uncertainty and fear in the country. This, in turn, affects the productivity and morale of the employee. It is not new that whenever there is a budget crunch or as we are experiencing now, a slowdown, one of the first things we see happening is training cuts in organisations. Big mistake for this is the time when all employees need to sharpen skills, learn to do more with less, get creative and continue to commit to sustain the organization. Most professionals echo that "When the going was good the company pampered them and did everything to retain them. Now that the economy is slow, they want to throw us out. Isn't that really unfair?" Why should employees be considered as disposable commodities when the profit margins start to diminish? Why are they considered indispensable and given high retention bonuses when the organization is flourishing? Are businesses only concerned with the bottom line? What happened to business ethics and a loyal workforce? Were the Team Building and Behavioral Training programmes only delivered to employees for short term gains? What happened to the nice looking values and mission statements of companies at their plush receptions? These are some of the few questions that most employees are asking currently. Now, more than ever, is the time for organizations to dive deep into the ethics of business and review the importance of human assets and evolution. Now is the time for organizations to get their house in order and focus on retaining and hiring the right talent. Now is the time to get employees to work together and feel a sense of belonging to the organization. Now is the time to ask some simple questions like "If the economy was to stabilize tomorrow, how would I want my organization to look like? What kind of values will I want my workforce to live by?" Alok Mittal, Managing Director of the VC firm Canaan Partners feels that "Even in a downturn scenario, it is important to keep training going. Apart from its ongoing value to the business, it is also a strong signal to the organization that talent development remains a key agenda. The first step is to figure out which pieces of training are optional and which need to be retained. Second, training needs to be made more cost efficient - this may involve using more in-house trainers, reducing off-site trainings in favor of at-company, and increasing on the job mentoring. Employees are often themselves the best source of innovation in making training more efficient, and it is useful to solicit their suggestions when looking to rationalize costs on this front". This year's World Economic Forum at Davos was dominated by two important issues- the dying global economy and business ethics. The time has come for organizations to think about the long term benefits of training. This time is crucial for organizations to invest in training interventions that will boost employee morale, administer optimism, focus on collaboration and develop deep empathy for each other. This is also the time to coach leaders on the importance of honesty and integrity, train leaders to empower their teams, prepare leaders to face any eventuality and develop leaders to work in unity. For this is the time for the leaders to tell their teams "We will not only get through this together, but we will shine together". Imagine how successful an organization can be where each and every employee lives by the values of partnership and collaboration, where there is harmony and security in every cubicle of the office, where everyone stands united, lives by and believes in the importance of ethics and is enthusiastic to achieve every target that is placed before them, where everyone trusts the guidance and direction of their captains and finally, commits to sincere and hard work. Imagine a workplace where people want to stay instead of paying them to stay…imagine the affect of all this on the bottom line. The key question that most leaders are asking is training & development interventions takes time and money - two resources that are in short supply at the moment. How do we incorporate a training strategy in the current economic scenario? This challenge can be overcome with a little creativity. Here are some ideas to make this happen. Consider informal learning - Often, the most valuable learning takes place serendipitously, by random chance. Most companies, however, focus only on formal learning programs, losing valuable opportunities and outcomes. Keeping in mind, the ever increasing need to ensure optimum utilization of both time and money, some organizations are promoting the culture of informal learning. Informal learning includes job shadowing, Sharing best practices, peer to peer learning, mentoring, stretch assignments and cross team projects. Here are some ways to initiate this: Ask for employees to share informally gathered knowledge with peers in a formal way. Support informal communities of practice. Create others where you see there are gaps. Look at what your meetings really offer from an informal learning perspective. Find more opportunities for accidental learning and make it a topic of conversation. Regularly share your best informal learning moments and resources with your teams. Structure all these activities by putting them on a common platform i.e. a corporate blog or intranet. "The economic situation offers companies an opportunity to redraw contours of training towards a more inclusive, collaborative and participative model which has employees as key stakeholders right from conceptualisation to delivery of training programs" says Kapil Murdia, Knowledge Management Executive with an Executive Search firm in Gurgaon. Meet & Greet Something as simple as Meet & Greet where executives of the organization can share a specific area of expertise with employees over coffee/tea break is a method of education. Lunch & Learn A forum where employees bring their own lunch. Time frame could be extended by ½ hour to cover a specific training topic. It is possible to break down a complete training Sunder Ramachandran is a Managing Partner and Sangeeta Singh is a Senior Consultant with WCH Training Solutions, New Delhi. E-Mails: sunder.ramachandran@gmail.com; ssingh65@yahoo.com; info@wchsolutions.com | HRD News Letter | March 2009, Vol.24, Issue:12 20
course into manageable chunks to cover off during lunch periods. Organizations must be careful though...as that break away is necessary and so this should not be daily. This must be communicated as a voluntary training opportunity and evaluated to determine impact both on the organization and its employees. Jo Verde, Senior Director with Jemm Consultants, Canada feels that "Organizations should at all times be looking at their training strategy and plan but perhaps redesign of appropriate training into self paced modules with online testing for knowledge and performance change. Another thought is perhaps organizations might choose to use attendance at a desired external training course as recognition for top performers in an organization. This person could then come back into the organization and share the knowledge with others. I have for a long time been a believer that an excellent test of training effectiveness from a knowledge standpoint may be measured by an individual's ability to train others. Organizations may be missing out on a tremendous opportunity here which hits, reduced cost, motivation, recognition, commitment, skills development and so on" Using Web 2.0 & Electronic Learning One way many companies have realized significant training cost savings is through online learning. Electronic learning accounts for a smaller part of training today, but that is changing. Many experts size the online learning market growth from $2.2 billion to well over $15 billion. Whether you are talking Synchronous or Asynchronous online training, the challenge is to engage the learner in a style that fits his/her learning preference. Obviously there are types of training which lend themselves to online and others that are better suited to leader led for any number of reasons. The key is to be able to plan and implement a training strategy which incorporates the needs of the business and cost related issues as well as the needs of the learners, training preferences, topics/training objectives etc. Leveraging the collaborative power of technology, the need is to leapfrog from "classroom" to 'web-room", from training to "mentoring" and 'peer learning' and from "trainer" to "facilitator". This can be a winwin as not only it enables organisations to accomplish 'more" by committing less resources, it also keeps employees involved. There are several - webinar, podcast, videoconferencing, learning blogs, or even conventional phone or mobile systems. Learning through digital connections and peer collaboration can be significantly enhanced by web technologies where Users/learners are empowered to search, create, and collaborate in order to learn new information. "In my experience, unfortunately what I see is the pendulum swinging all one way or all the other. The best organizational training strategy and plan uses a variety of methodologies from online, to lead led, to self paced, to tutorials, to lectures, to study groups and so on. They measure ROI and learner feedback and are serious about adjusting their training continually, making sure that results fit the corporate strategy and goals and they manage training like every other area of the business" says Jo Verde of Jemm Consultants. A successful general knows that only way to win a war is to keep "morale of the soldiers" high by involving them, challenging them and developing them. The economic slowdown is triggering right sizing in many organisations, however it will be in their best interest if they also look at right training as a survival strategy. Statement about Ownership and other particulars about HRD Newsletter, as required under Rules 8 of the Registration of Newspapers (Central) Rules 1956. 1. Place of Publication : Hyderabad 2. Periodicity of its Publication: Monthly 3. Printer’s Name : K Satyanarayana Nationality : Indian Address: 506, Sai Siri Sampada, 7-1-29/23 & 24, Leela Nagar, Ameerpet, Hyderabad — 500 016 4. Publisher’s Name: K Satyanarayana Nationality: Indian Address: 506, Sai Siri Sampada, 7-1-29/23 & 24, Leela Nagar, Ameerpet, Hyderabad — 500 016 5. Editor’s Name : Prof C Balaji Nationality : Indian Address : 506, Sai Siri Sampada, 7-1-29/23 & 24, Leela Nagar, Ameerpet, Hyderabad — 500 016 6. Name and Address of Individuals who own the Newspapers and partners or Shareholders holding more than one percent of the total capital: National HRD Network registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 (Regn No. GUJ/1236/A’bad dated 6th December 1986) and Bombay Public Trust Act 1950 (Regn No. AR/1175/Ahmedabad dated 6th December 1986) I, K Satyanarayana, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief Date:February 18, 2009 Sd/- K Satyanarayana Signature of Publisher. Gwalior HRM Summit News ABV-IIITM, Gwalior in collaboration with Agra Chapter of National HRD Network hosted the first HRM Summit on January 24-25, 2009, in IIITM, Gwalior with the tagline "Talent Acquisition & Talent Management Trends in Knowledge Economy". The Program Committee included Prof S.G Deshmukh , Director, ABV-IIITM (Patron), Dr.Santossh Rangnekar and Dr. Manoj Patwardhan as Coordinators and Mr. Jai Prakash Sharma as secretary. The summit attracted a galaxy of eminent professionals which included Mr. Aquil Busrai, HR Executive Director HR, IBM & National President, National HRD Network; Dr. Upinder Dhar, National President, ISTD & Director, Nirma Institute of Management, Ahmedabad; Dr Sharu Rangnekar, Guru of Indian management; Mr. C.S. Raju, General Manager (HR), Maruti Suzuki; K.K. Jain, Professor, IIM Indore; Mr. K.K. Muthu, HR Expert, New Delhi; Prof.Uma Shankar Vyanketesh, ITM Gwalior; Col C.K. Singh, President NHRD, Agra Chapter; Mr. Abhishekh Singhal, Alliance Manager, Planet English; Mr. Madan Srinivasan, HR Director-Transitions, HCL Technologies, Gurgaon; Mr. Avinash Mishra, GM (P&A) Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, Malanpur; Mr. Manmohan Bhutani, VP, Fiserv, New Delhi, Mr. Rakhee Pundir, HR Consultant, Kritikal Security Scan, New Delhi; Mr. Prithvi Yadav, Director, GHSIMR, Kanpur; Mr. A.K. Verma (Synergy); Mr. Avnish Tiwari (Innovators) and Mr. V. Swarup (SRF) The summit was a grand success. | HRD News Letter | March 2009, Vol.24, Issue:12 21
Page 2 and 3: ISSN-0974-1720 Vol - 24 March 2009
Page 4 and 5: Smarter HR : Deploying Technology t
Page 6 and 7: Editorial Dear Fellow Professionals
Page 8 and 9: Lead Feature Your 'Time Pass' Throu
Page 10 and 11: Column Trust — The Act of Transpa
Page 14 and 15: A n specter is sweeping across the
Page 16 and 17: Pink Slip- An Involuntary Exit Mobi
Page 18 and 19: Fighting Attrition in Retail Attrit
Page 20 and 21: Resurrecting Organizations in Turbu
Page 22 and 23: E conomies have slowed down and com
Page 24 and 25: Introduction : Utility in diversity
Page 26 and 27: Introduction: Competition is the ke
Page 28 and 29: Little Harry had managed to convinc
Page 30 and 31: "If a man hasn't discovered somethi
Page 32 and 33: Municipal School to Managers Recent
Page 34 and 35: 2000….when the dot com burst happ
Page 36 and 37: Preview An effective Training Progr
Page 38 and 39: CASE STUDY - 29 "Mr. Sridharan, You
Page 40 and 41: NAGPUR NHRDN NAGPUR CHAPTER EVENT O
Page 42 and 43: JAIPUR CHAPTER MDGs 3rd State Level
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