Consult opinion leaders before taking policy decisions

Published on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2009

Mr. Mehra, the manager, has been screaming at his team to speed up the work and wind up the project within the approaching deadline. He tried everything from commanding the employees to literally beseeching them, but to no avail. Yet, all it took is some calm validation from Ritesh, an otherwise ordinary team member, and voila! The project is all wrapped up, ready to be submitted.

Well, every company has its own share of influential people. They may be hidden in the nooks and crannies, but carry enough clout to influence people’s perception, thinking and views. This is not to say that they carry any formal power, authority or status, no they are not even labour union heads or anything equivalent. Yet, they are highly regarded, respected and wield influence, much more than the exalted and designated organisational leaders. These informal, uncrowned leaders are dubbed ‘opinion leaders’, courtesy their ability to sway opinions and actions. Employees admire them and accept their ideas and judgement, sometimes even blindly!

Yet, one can’t help but wonder what it is about such people that they are held in such enviable esteem and develop such a mass following?

Well, it is a unique combination of courage, talent, knowledge, experience or sometimes plain level-headedness with a solid dose of personal charisma that attracts people.

The ‘it’ factor may even rest in other personal qualities like intolerance for unfair practices or rebelling against blindly following the established norms. Moreover, as an opinion leader is actually a peer/colleague, employees tend to trust and identify with him as one of their own.

Irrespective of the reason, followers willingly act on what they say and emulate how they behave.

Therefore, such parallel leaders set the tone of the workplace and shape the general attitude, thinking and behaviour. This also has a direct impact on the company environment, efficiency and productivity.

As Nigel Nicholson, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School says, “In any organisation, there are opinion leaders. They are not necessarily bosses, but they are at the centre of informal networks. They have charisma and magnetism, possess strong opinions and express them forcefully. They therefore have considerable social power and can influence morale”.

People will automatically turn to their opinion leaders for input, advice and even interpretation.

They even eagerly tune into what the leaders have to say and their words carry a very decisive influence. Consequently, no organisation can afford to ignore or dismiss its consensual leaders, even though they don’t carry any formal status.

They are the role models and the change agents of the workforce and should be given their due.

What’s more, such leaders can easily mould people and change their mindsets. It makes practical sense for companies to tap into their credibility, power and influence.

Therefore, management should first identify the opinion leaders and keep an eye on them. Moreover, they have a wide social network and are a veritable storehouse of valuable employee information. Understanding their views, beliefs, interests and what’s important to them will prove quite beneficial as they represent the norms of the workforce.

In fact, top companies actually conduct ‘Opinion Leader Research’ to identify their opinions, attitudes and behaviours.

Employers should also develop a specific strategy to reach out to the opinion leaders and get them involved. It makes sense to consult them on policy decisions, as their endorsement will generate better acceptance.

Similarly, solicit their participation in other areas as they can quickly spread ideas, diffuse knowledge, inspire confidence and even persuade others to perform a desired action.

For instance, it will be advantageous to first build consensus with opinion leaders about an impending change, company decision or other critical issue.

This is because their significant testimonial will carry weight and influence other employees to accept the change. But, if the company does not bother to assuage an opinion leader’s resistance or align his opinion, all efforts at implementing the change are bound to fall flat. This is because the general workforce will definitely decide based on the verdict of their opinion leaders!

Therefore, it is absolutely essential for organisations to keep their opinion leaders positive and on board. To sum up in the words of Devashish Ghosh, Executive Vice President, Global Operations, Aptara, “Opinion leaders at various levels add to the intellectual capital of the organisation. This is especially helpful when the organisation is poised for growth!”

PAYAL CHANANIA

Know the difference between talking, communicating

Published on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2009

If your lament is, “How does Mr. Sharma manage to always convince the boss to give him leave when I cannot?” the answer is simple – communication skills. Speaking and writing are habits ingrained into us and seldom do we expend any thought or effort while using these skills. Little do we realise the power of words. Yet, fact is that a subtle change in phrasing a request, a pleasant and smiling countenance accompanying a query or a well-worded order can wo rk wonders.

Does not the mumbling colleague at work get on your nerves? Do not the vague memos sent by your boss confound you? This is why communication has to be hard-hitting. The spoken or the written word should strike you between the eyes and compel you to go further.

Believe in the power of speech as vagueness leaves one guessing as to the real import of the message. It is proper communication that will help the listener to understand the point and utilise it effectively.

Importance of clarity increases in written communication as ambiguity confuses the reader. There is also a lack of face-to-face clarifications in this form thus necessitating effective communication skills.

To be understood as well as to understand – is the heart of communication. It has to be two-sided to be effective. It can help build a good working rapport – be it with your peers, superiors, sub-ordinates or customers. It also helps to create conducive work environment.

To break the barriers

Make the mirror your best friend - Keep practising what you want to say before the mirror till you get it right. Believe me, it definitely helps.

Knowledge and ideas need to be imparted - Condition yourself to speak. Do not be afraid to express your views. They may well prove to be the turning point of your career.Build your self-confidence - Inculcate a positive attitude. This will reflect in your attitude and instil trust and confidence in the listeners. An open-minded attitude is also necessary to be able to put the point across clearly.

Learn to be firm, yet polite - Weak talk loses impact immediately. What you should do is come out and say it without beating around the bush. But a dose of diplomacy is also essential. Pepper your speech with small courtesies like ‘please’, ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’.

Anticipate possible queries – This will help you to think of suitable responses beforehand and speak more eloquently when the time comes. This works in eliminating any hesitation, stumbling over words and frequent pauses.

A serious approach is not always necessary - Infusing harmless jokes in what you say can lighten the atmosphere by several degrees. Indeed, it also helps build working camaraderie. Turn on the charm and your audience will simply be blown by your charisma.

Get to the crux of the matter - Nobody can spare the time and effort to consider long-winded explanations for trivial issues. Aim for brevity and clarity. Pay attention to how you say it- Conveying the right idea in the right tone is necessary. Think before speaking or try penning down the message first.

Having a good command over the language is essential - Good vocabulary is a definite asset, but it need not be high-flown. Listen as well - One needs to not only speak well but also to observe and listen. Proper understanding of the issues is vital.

The basic good manners still hold good - Do not interrupt a person while he is speaking or speak out of turn.

Walk your talk - Body language can speak volumes. Practice a confident gait and maintain eye contact with the listeners. Avoid shuffling, wringing hands or fiddling with objects. There is a proper time for everything - Give maximum attention to the people you are talking with. Avoid multi-tasking. Speak directly and not while working on the computer!

Be prepared to go that extra mile - Attend seminars, interactive sessions and discussions to improve your communication skills. You can also take advantage of training programmes organised by your company.

A word of caution, do not overdo things. You should know where to draw the line. Chattering incessantly, gossiping, bragging, spreading rumours and indulging in loose talk are not effective communication. In the long run, joking about others, mocking or snubbing them will get you nowhere.

Even repetitive talk can be irritating to others. One should know when to speak and when to keep quiet!

Good communication skills have to go hand-in-hand with talent, ability and knowledge. So stop being taciturn and woo your audience and the world will be at your feet!

PAYAL CHANANIA

Plan to get through tough times with people in tow

Published on Wednesday, Jan 21, 2009

With recession knocking on our front door, tough times lie ahead. It is by far the most stressful business scenario most of us have seen. The writing on the wall is clear. The only way that companies can survive the downturn is by drastic cost cutting coupled with containment. And, in the desperate rush to cut costs, many organisations are laying off people.

However, widespread and indiscriminate staff downsizing brings its own share of dangers, as precious human capital will be lost. Besides, such callous layoffs can embitter the remaining survivors too. They end up feeling hurt, unappreciated and resentful, and will jump ship at the first opportunity. In fact, many dejected and dismayed employees are just biding their time until they can leave!

What goes sadly ignored is that companies actually need to preserve their highly skilled employees, especially in bad times. They are the ones who will help organisations to not only survive, but also recover when things start getting back on track. It is not just retention, but even the company’s ability to attract and recruit new talent that is smashed to smithereens by such insensitive behaviour.

As Fred Crandall, co-author of The Headcount Solution: How to Cut Compensation Costs and Keep Your Best People points out, “During this downturn, the best companies will take a look at their future focus. They will not just lay people off, but ask, how can we get through this and keep the people we need to build the company in the future? ”

The drastic way out

It is imperative that companies should look at the future and not blindly lay off people, instead they should try to get through the tough times with them in tow. Other ways apart from layoffs to contain or cut costs can be found.

The cost-control strategy that emerges is linked to compensation. Companies can opt for various measures like:

• Reduce or suspend annual pay increment

• Reduce or suspend bonus and incentive pay

• Cut back on vacation and other benefits

• Implement salary cuts

They can even consider rewarding employees for standing by the company and also restore pay to pre-reduction rates, once the economic conditions improve.

In addition to this, there are other useful measures like offering options like paid sabbaticals, voluntary severance or early-retirement packages to employees. Even hiring freezes, contracting arrangements, job sharing and other flexible work options emerge as effective alternatives to layoffs.

Actually, there is no limit to innovative cost-cutting measures. For instance, one company organised a novel ‘cost cutting ideas’ competition and was flooded with outstanding responses. Needless to say, the financial impact of implementing just some of these fresh and unique ideas was mind-boggling! Not to mention the amazing boost it provided to employee job satisfaction and loyalty.

A touch of sensitivity

There is always a good way and a bad way of going about cost cutting. Their implementation will determine the company’s very survival and success. If they are not carried out properly, it can de-motivate employees and make them head for the nearest competitor or even attempt to sabotage their own company.

The best approach is to be candid with the staff and clearly communicate the seriousness of the situation. Be upfront and explain the need for emergency measures aimed at cost cutting. Employees will be better able to accept and adjust to the changed scenario once they understand the facts of what is really happening and why. The honesty will also put paid to any rumours, confusion, fears or isolation.

The management should also make sincere efforts to join hands with the employees in a campaign to ‘save our company’. It should seek their ideas, carefully listen to their viewpoints and also let them participate in the decisions. It should maintain constant and open communication to share information and keep them abreast with the changing situation.

Once employees start feeling that ‘we are in this together’, it will generate greater buy-in for even tough measures.

What is important is that management should never promise what they can’t deliver, as employees will only end up disheartened and lose their trust in the company. Moreover, compensation cuts should be consistent and across-the-board.

Layoffs should be earmarked only as the very last resort. If the situation still gets progressively worse despite the company’s best efforts, implementing a methodical lay-off strategy by choosing the correct employees based not on loyalty or performance, but critical skills and competencies will help. It is very easy to mistakenly dismiss the wrong people who may actually help the company recover later.

Whatever a company does, it should always act in a smooth and compassionate manner with proper planning. It will help to gain goodwill, loyalty and preferred employer status, forming an effective foundation for imminent recovery!

PAYAL CHANANIA

You think you don’t need a talent pipeline?

Published on Wednesday, Jan 21, 2009

Most companies are generally only concerned about the hiring needs of the here and now. After all, being able to meet current staffing requirements is itself a Herculean task.

But, let’s stop and spare a thought for the future. What when your star performers decide to retire or even leave for greener pastures?

Won’t you find yourself running helter-skelter looking for an appropriate replacement? And everyone agrees that you can never find a completely suitable candidate at the eleventh hour.

Oh…how you wish you had a magic wand, which you could simply wave and conjure up a ‘perfect’ replacement out of thin air.

All it takes is building a ‘talent pipeline’, and you can have high-potential candidates literally waiting in the wings for such contingencies.

But the good things in life seldom, if ever, come easy. It takes a lot of careful planning and strategy to build a strong supply of talented candidates that can beat the impending talent squeeze.

But rest assured that the substantial results will more than put paid for the gargantuan efforts.

You will successfully build a solid competitive advantage that will future-proof your company against any sort of skills shortage.

Therefore, needless to say, building and maintaining a strong and talent-rich pipeline is an important part of recruitment. But the big question is how:

Your needs– Building a talent pipeline begins with clearly identifying and defining your talent needs for the future. You should create a well-articulated picture of the expected competencies and characteristics that you are most likely to need in the long haul.

Moreover, this should not be limited to the top positions, but cover all levels throughout the organisation so as to maintain ongoing success and stability.

Finding the key players – Now you have to proactively work at finding the right people for building a continuous supply of talent. Start by strategically reviewing the competencies of individuals already on your payroll to pinpoint worthy successors.

Careful succession planning will enable you to groom the ‘chosen’ employees to fit into higher positions.

But the internal talent pool alone cannot suffice. You have to identify both active and passive jobseekers outside the organisational walls through recruitment efforts, employee referrals and networking.

You can also contact ex-employees, competitors’ workforce or even use the customer database to fuel your pipeline with potential job candidates. The key is to retain any promising prospect you come across for future openings.

As a recruitment expert says, “Organisations don’t need to hire all the ‘A-performers’ today, they just need to know where they are!”

Keeping them on the radar – The next step requires targeted strategies to keep the identified prospects in your orbit. For this, you will have to employ technological tools to track the candidates’ career trajectory as well as build bridges with them. This brings into play candidate relationship management for wooing the prospects and turning them into prospective candidates.

It also requires the organisational HR systems to develop and maintain active communication for informing candidates about available opportunities and generally keeping in touch with them through multiple channels.

Only then will your organisation be able to remain visible and connected.

A catalyst to win them over – You may have been tracking the right candidates for years. But when the time comes and you call them up, what is the guarantee that they will actually be willing to join your organisation (that too in the prescribed role) instead of the competition? This is where a strong employer brand comes in handy.

An employer brand is nothing but the sum total of your organisational values, spirit, mission, culture, image and employment experience that will determine the attractiveness of the company to outsiders.

So, you have to first build a strong corporate environment that will appeal to the talent pipeline and then create all-round awareness. This will serve as a talent magnet that can easily draw a winning and talented team onto your side. Therefore, make developing a ‘talent pipeline’ a prolific and natural part of your hiring process. After all, today’s talent pipeline alone will translate into tomorrow’s successful workforce!

PAYAL CHANANIA

Too many prerequisites never net ‘perfect’ candidate

Published on Wednesday, Dec 17, 2008

Some recruiters are totally hung up on hiring criteria. They have fixed ideas not only about the ‘right’ candidate’s experience, performance, skills, academic background and attitude, but also the image and demeanour to go with it. They consider it imperative that the potential employee should meet all the requirements of the job description and some more too.

These seemingly ‘indispensable’ prerequisites can often drive the best hiring strategy askew. After all, there is no such thing as a ‘perfect’ job candidate.

As you spend days uncovering the perfect employee for the job, you may be overlooking some of the best applicants. They will slip through your net as you concentrate on eliminating everything but the best. And when you dejectedly go back to the ‘almost-perfect’ candidates, they may either have accepted other positions or are no longer even interested in the job!

So, can you afford to keep waiting forever for the haloed candidate to emerge? And, even if the perfect candidate does exist, what is the assurance that he/she will take up the job that you are offering?

As a top retention strategist highlights, “It’s nice to strive for perfection when we hire, but this is easier said than done. It’s nice to have 100 percent, but hard to achieve. On a positive note, the 75 percent candidates can bring productive qualities and skills to your department that weren’t included in your requirements or detected in an interview. With a three-quarter selection approach, you may be much closer to 100 than you think.”

It has often been noticed that even before a company can get over revelling in the hire of a perfect employee, the said person is gone in a wink. Such star employees frequently try to leverage a good job for a similar title in an even bigger organisation.

Then again, there is another potential fallacy that the hiring standards itself may be wrong or invalid. But what if you are focusing on the wrong attributes in the quest for the perfect job candidate. After all, the perfect applicants will not always have the same background as you list in the job description.

Realistic search

It is high time that hiring managers step back and re-evaluate their quest for perfection. Try to make your standards consistent with reality. At least, steer clear of simply concentrating on the buzzwords and create a more practical profile of the ‘perfect candidate’.

Think – is it absolutely essential that your accounts manager should be the product of an ‘Ivy League’ school or you graphic designer must belong to a particular association?

Lowering your expectations will enable you to cast a wider net and incorporate good candidates who would otherwise have seemed ‘not quite right!’

While it makes sense to compile a list of all the attributes you want the candidate to possess, at least don’t hold on to the criteria very rigidly. When everything else bodes well, the candidate is quite acceptable even if his academic background is not quite right or he has a little lesser experience than assumed necessary!

So, do not adamantly insist on a prestigious degree or some specific level of experience. Try to determine whether the candidate is capable of accomplishing the tasks well even if he does not possess the exact skills or qualifications.

Shift the attention from seeking perfection and focus on finding motivated, ethical, experienced and competent candidates. Think in terms of what the candidate must be able to do to be successful in the job, not what he must have.

Concentrate on these four or five qualities and objectives required from an employee. This is called a performance profile.

Also, try to prioritise the list of ‘must-haves’ in an orderly fashion. After all, are communication skills more important than job abilities, smartness more important than diligence or image more important than passion for work?

This is not to suggest that companies should settle for mediocre candidates. But the bad news definitely is that there aren’t very many perfect candidates out there.

Yet, like it has been said, “While holding out for the perfect job candidate may be frustrating, time consuming, and costly, making a mistake in hiring can be disastrous!”

PAYAL CHANANIA

Rise above the paltry grudges, cultivate habit of forgiveness

Published on Wednesday, Dec 17, 2008

Nastiness pervades our work environment. It can take the shape of insensitive bosses, rude co-workers or malicious teammates. Your manager may play favourites or cut you out from a well-deserved promotion. A colleague may steal credit for your work or even backstab you. Another team member may delight in treating you unfairly or try to humiliate you in front of everybody.

The petty behaviour is not only annoying, but can also make you feel hurt and slighted. At best, the transgression can be trivial; at worst it can be painful. A quintessentially tit-for-tat culture is present and we are quite prone to think in terms of keeping score and taking revenge. The counter-strikes can range from verbal confrontations and abuses to plotting behind the back for ‘fair’ retribution.

Everyone is so totally focused on taking ‘an eye for an eye’, that the notion of forgiveness does not enter the picture. In fact, people often deem that forgiveness has no place in the ruthless world of work.However, consider this, your anger is truly justified, but the offence will eat away at you, making ‘you’ a victim in more ways than one. Mentally replaying the hurt and dwelling on the wounded feelings will burden you more than anyone else. The preoccupation with holding grudges and seeking vengeance can also take its toll on your work output and mar your career prospects.

As a top management consultant points out, “If people are spending a lot of time and energy playing the payback game, it absorbs energy and time from contributing to a company’s bottom line”.

What’s more, retaliating and getting even can only give momentary satisfaction, while true forgiveness will actually lighten your heart forever!

So it’s in your own best interests to release the anger and take the high road to forgiveness. The healing effect will free you of the fury, resentment and confusion that are compromising your life and work. It can also help cure any misunderstandings that may be fuelling your hurt feelings.

Letting go and moving past the transgression will help you to get on with your work and become more productive.

Especially in today’s circumstances, it is not a good idea to continue fighting it out for petty revenge. What you need to do is rise above the paltry grudges and act as a team by valuing each other and respecting everyone’s viewpoint. It even makes business sense to practice forgiveness as a lot more can be accomplished by working together than being apart.

Not easy

Yet forgiving someone is not really an easy task. It calls for great courage and generosity. Much as we would like to, most of us cannot bring ourselves to truly forgive a person who has wronged us. The pain and misery can often drive a deep wedge, which is difficult to overcome.

Try to make the deliberate choice by thinking in terms of the big picture. Consider why do you want to give someone power over you and your performance? Truly, the best revenge is not to let the unpleasant occurrences affect you and carry on as if nothing has happened!

Moreover, reflect whether the consequences of holding on to the grievances are really worth it. It can create conflicts and stress as you try to avoid contact with the wrongdoer. Constantly plotting revenge can also block your energy. Also try to get the real perspective on the situation. Your primary distress can often arise more from your hurt feelings and thoughts than the actual wrongdoing. What’s more, sometimes the reasons for refusing to forgive may no longer even be valid!

The persistent anger and frustration will also take its toll on your physical and mental health, making you miss work days and can even induce you to change jobs. Therefore, forgiveness will lead the way for healthy relationships and a peaceful life.

Real forgiveness may take some time, but it will definitely free you off the emotional baggage. You just have to remain positive and draw on your hidden ability to forgive.

You don’t have to even explicitly tell the other person that you have forgiven him. What is important is that the pardon should come from inside and reflect on your actions or behaviour. Show that you are not holding it against him. However, don’t let people take advantage of your change of heart. Remember that you are only reconciling with the deed, not condoning or justifying the same. Do not let the person repeat the same offence again.

To quote Mahatma Gandhi’s famous words, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong!”

PAYAL CHANANIA

Leverage success with a SWOT analysis

Published on Wednesday, Jan 07, 2009

It is always said that we need to concentrate on the right priorities to achieve success. But most of us are at a total loss when it comes to what exactly to focus on!

An effective framework for visioning, developing and confirming your goals is through a SWOT analysis – an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

Carrying out a SWOT analysis involves identifying internal strengths and weaknesses as well as examining external opportunities and threats, and then seeing how they relate to each other. This interesting insight alerts you to your weaknesses so that no threat can catch you unawares any longer.

With little thought, you can understand your strengths and uncover the greatest opportunities, that you are well placed to take advantage of and thus achieve your goals. Thereby, it enables proactive thinking, rather than relying on habitual or instinctive reactions

SWOT analysis is a flexible concept that can be used in various scenarios from assessing projects or business ventures, making decisions, solving problems, evaluating candidates for a position to marketing strategy formulation. It also shows it efficacy as a valuable career-planning tool.

Therefore, in a business context, organisations can analyse strategic propositions and match their resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which they operate. Gaining a better understanding of how to relate to the external situation will also enable them to carve a sustainable niche in the market.

And, when used to map a personal profile, it ensures that people are working as effectively as possible and develop their careers in a way that takes the best advantage of their talents, abilities and opportunities.

Here’s how to take an inventory of the four components:

Strengths

These are the internal attributes that add value and give you a competitive edge over others (be it companies or colleagues). So, take an objective look at:

• What do you do well?

• What is your USP?

• What advantages you have over others?

• What relevant resources you have access to?

The tangible and intangible assets, skills or resources can range from track record, specialist expertise, good communication, creativity or ability to quickly respond to change in the individual context to strong market share, organisational structure, quality equipments, loyal customers or innovative products in the broader segment. One distinguishing feature for identifying these positive aspects is that they are always useful in achieving objectives.

Weaknesses

Its time for a reality check, be realistic and focus on the harmful gaps in your capabilities. Though these factors may detract from your abilities, they are well within your control. Think in terms of:

• What are you doing badly?

• What should you improve?

• What should you avoid?

Examine them from your own point of view as well as what others see as your weaknesses.

The unpleasant truths may include but are not limited to shallow skills, inability to achieve results, lack of experience, inferior service, damaged company reputation or poor business location.

Opportunities

Analyse external attractive factors facing you like positive market trends and try to uncover greater potential.

Even studying your strengths or looking to eliminate weaknesses can open up a window of new opportunities. They may comprise an expanding job, new markets and other prospects for further development.

Threats

Threats are external obstacles in your path that are largely beyond your control. They are characterised by unfavourable trends like downsizing, obsolescence, price wars, competitors with superior skills/products, shifts in consumer tastes and changing technology. Yet, what constitutes opportunities and threats is largely subjective, as a situation like ‘an unfulfilled consumer need’ can be an opportunity for a company that can meet that need while a threat to those that cannot!

On the whole, a formal SWOT analysis not only increases your awareness of the unique situation you or your firm is in (both in terms of pointing out what needs to be done and in putting problems into perspective). But it will also provide you a roadmap to maintain, build and leverage your strengths as well as deter or eliminate weaknesses so as to pursue, exploit and capitalise on the opportunities even while avoiding, countering or at least defending against potentially devastating threats.

In the words of a top consultant, “It gives a comprehensive concept of internal and external factors and how to creatively and innovatively develop a strategy that is directional, cost-effective and of course executable.’

Individuals can reflect on their own SWOT to find a job that suits their strengths and where weaknesses can be minimised or even overcome, whereas companies can easily identify a fit between their strengths and the upcoming opportunities. This helps them to distinguish where they are today and where they can go in the future.

Therefore, this is an encouragement to still do better and an important step in finding career/company direction!

PAYAL CHANANIA