Target = Pressure…Does it MAKE…or …BREAK ??

Quite often we hear people discuss how pathetic is it to work under the pressure of target. A common question which surfaces at the time of a Job Enquiry is, "Is this a Target Oriented Job?" At the same time there are a few who revel under such a situation. This duality of differing mindsets propelled me to analyse this subject with a different approach.

One fine evening, I decided to take a small trip by intra state bus at Delhi. I would like to mention that in Delhi there are predominantly 2 categories of Intra State Buses, DTC & Blue Line. DTC is a Government entity & Blue Line is private.

I was standing at Raisina Road bus stop outside Chelmsford Club & wanted to take a Bus to Green Park which is one of the busiest routes in terms of people travelling. It was around 8:00 PM, supposedly a peak time & along with me there were more than 20 people standing there. A Blue Line bus came down with the conductor shouting out the name of the places they would cross & ushering the people in. In a matter of seconds, the bus was brimming with passengers, me being one among them & we set off.

The next day at around the same time, I decided to take the same trip in a DTC bus & did my research on which bus should I take. The scene at Raisina Road stand was pretty much the same, in fact, I saw a lot of same faces. It was around 7:50 PM when a DTC bus came. I could board the bus as I was able to spot the number because I was consciously looking for it but otherwise it's not very easy to spot the bus number as its written discreetly somewhere in the top front of the Bus. To add to that, the conductor was sitting passively at one corner without bothering to move even an inch.

The result: On my journey from Raisina Road to Green Park there were more than 20 vacant seats. I could see people who had travelled with me the last evening, did not board the bus as they did not even realise where it goes.

I repeated the same exercise a few more times to confirm my observation and came abreast with the same story.

I decided to talk to the conductor of Bus no. 520 & take inputs from him. He said that the Blue Line buses run on a specific target for the day which they break down to target per trip. Whereas, the DTC buses do not have any such target or pressure as you might say.

This small real life story indicates the basic truth that TARGETS enable us to propel ourselves an extra bit & achieve more. It coaxes us to go that extra mile in quest of success. If there is no target, it results in complacency.

However, there's a lop side to this as well. Do not be over anxious & let this pressure of target get the better of you. Blue Line buses are called the KILLER Line as they run over people in their quest to squeeze in an extra trip or reach a stand before another bus does so that they can stuff a few more passengers. I would like to say that this is where a line has to be drawn & if we are able to do that, we would be more effective Professionals.

I suggest everyone to break down your activities / roles into tangible aspects which can be quantified at a micro level & set a target for your own self. The deliberation & brainstorming should be done at this level. In addition to this create a Do's & Don'ts list. Once these 2 things are done, you should walk towards these, religiously following each item like a Checklist. After a period of consistently following this, do a Gap Analysis & come up with novel ideas.

Remember, Set Yourself Your Own targets…Do Not let your Target translate into a kind of Pressure which breaks you down …It's all In Your Mind…

The Art of Saying “NO” to a Job Offer

Job Market is awake!!!!...Recession...Job Cuts...Appraisal freeze are now nothing more than a blast from the past. The coming days would see a lot of "Effective" Professionals, getting multiple options in terms of choosing a new job. The parameters to be considered while making that choice have been illustrated in my blog post titled, "THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION – Which Organisation to Join ?" @ http://randomstrokez.blogspot.com/2010/01/million-dollar-question-which.html

Taking a decision of going with the offer of an organisation means you have to say a NO to the others, which is an equally difficult task. Thus, as a sequel to my previous blog post stated above, thought of putting forth my views on this aspect.

While declining an offer, the followings things should be kept in mind:

1. Do Not decline at the last moment. You should communicate your decision at least 3 weeks prior to your joining date.

2. Be clear & always explain that you are going for a role which is a BETTER FIT for you, to which, you would be able to do better justice at this point of time.

3. Display your concern by showing your openness to refer a few people from your network for the position.

4. Initiate a "Networking Relation" & always be in touch.

5. Do Not accept a counter offer. In general, the counter offer is monetary (more like a momentary pacification) and does not bear an impact on more significant aspects like, Culture mismatch, Not enjoying your work, Monotony etc. Moreover, accepting a counter offer would burn bridges & may have a negative impact on your future job searches.

Remember, your CAREER is a VOYAGE where you would come across various individuals who might or might not have an immediate impact on your Job. But in your voyage a juncture might come which brings you face to face with someone with whom you have had an interaction in the past. Thus, Build relations, give positive vibes conduct yourself cordially, have compassion, even when you are communicating something negative. This would enable you to WIN people & you would have them on your side when need arises…

Bon Voyage…

7 Steps to “Getting Hired”

 

How should one face an Interview? That's one question to which an answer is sought perpetually by a professional, aspiring & existing alike.

There are loads of books on tips to take an interview, but I have tried to keep things simple & would like to highlight a few significant aspects to be kept in mind while planning to take / appearing for an interview

 1. Fitment : The first thing is to find out whether it is the RIGHT JOB for you & do you really want to take up an interview for this. This means you would have do a thorough research & introspect as well to see whether this job is a right fit for you

 2. Subject Matter Knowledge : Prepare on the subject matter relevant to the Job Role for which you are taking an interview.

 3. Market Intelligence : You should have proper Market Knowledge about the product or services of not only the organisation you are taking an interview with, but its competitors as well. A little bit knowledge about its clients would be an added advantage.

 4. Be Sincere, Not Serious : Be honest & sincere with your answers & don't be too serious as that would make you nervous. For this you need to be convinced that this is a RIGHT JOB & you are the RIGHT MAN for this job.

 5. Punctuality : NEVER be late for interview. Show up at least 5 to 10 minutes prior to your slot.

 6. Presentation : You should be attired in an appropriate manner, should maintain a proper posture & exhibit proper Body Language (Should Research & Practice it, it should come naturally). Choice of words & manner of delivery of speech should be structured. Speak to the point, never beat around the bush. Ask questions as well & have an interactive discussion. Maintain proper rate of speech.

 7. Handshake & Eye Contact : I am mentioning these separately, as the significance of these two is immense.

 Remember, the way you need the Job, even the orgnisation would need a good resource. The NEED for both the parties are of utmost significance, so don't be anxious just be yourself.

Despondent to Admirable - The APPEAL in Recruitment as a Career

"Sir actually due to recession only CONSULTANCY COMPANIES are coming to hire at our campus. Actually I want to become an HR Generalist, that's why I want to get into recruitment so that I can make a beginning."

These are very common statements I get to hear when I come across fresh talents all set to embark upon the BIG BAD corporate world. Surprisingly even experienced professionals think on similar lines many a times. Thus, thought of putting my views down in favour of a sustained career in one of the KEY FUNCTIONS in HR Consulting.

Firstly would like to state that "Consultancy Companies" don't mean a Job Shop. Rather it would be more appropriate to term them as either a Consulting or a Consultant or even a Consultancy Services Company. Any entity which provides its knowledge based service depending upon its expertise to its clients would be termed a Consultant. It can be as diverse as a Fashion Consultant, Legal Consultant, Financial Consultant & then of course HR Consultants. Again among HR Consultants, there are Strategic Consultants, Process Consultants (Any HR process) as well as the most common, Recruitment Consultants, It is very important for an individual aspiring to make a career in HR to know & more importantly, UNDERSTAND this.

Then again, there's the concept of being in "Main Operations" or "Support Function" of an organisation. For an HR Consulting firm (Any), HR activities, be it recruitment or anything else is a revenue earning factor and for an organisation from any other industry like Banking, IT, ITES etc, HR becomes a support function as their Revenue earning activities are different.

If I start talking about all the aspects, this post in my blog might start looking like a BOOK, thus, I would limit myself to RECRUITMENT.

Recruitment is one of the most important function as Manpower is & would always be the most significant & indispensable resource in any Industry. Be it the main operations of an HR Consulting Company or even a part of the Support function in any other industry, it has a DIRECT IMPACT on the overall profitability.

In my opinion, the characteristics which make it powerful are as under :

1. Enables Cost Projection thus enables proper pricing of Products or Services : Recruitment Function with its Market Intelligence enables an organisation to know the "Cost of Resources" thus while designing cost proposals, it's useful.

2. Feasibility Ascertainment of Delivery Capability for New Business : Recruitment function helps to ascertain & execute whether a certain project or task can be executed in a certain span of time as it tells whether the number of people needed can be hired & in how much time.

3. Succession Planning : Recruitment Function is the base which triggers off the intake of resources keeping in mind the succession planning, considering the scalability of business & resources.

4. Quality of Delivery : Recruitment Functions play the major role in determining the "Quality Of Resources hired" which has a direct impact on an organisation's delivery.

5. Impact on Opportunity Cost : An "Agile" Recruitment process ensures that opportunity cost is mitigated by never letting any gaps to be there in Resource Availability.

6. Identifying a "Right Fit" : It's not always the question of the level of competency of a resource, rather, it's about the "Appropriate Fitment" of a resource in a particular role, which is ascertained by the Recruitment Function. This plays a major part in initiating Job Satisfaction & controlling attrition.

7. Creating a Homogenous Culture : The Recruitment function follows a certain defined pattern bringing in "Like minded" people on board, which creates a cultural balance in the organisation many a times resulting in "Signature" patterns.

8. Role in Brand Image Creation : Recruitment as a function acts as a good tool in propagating the Brand Image of an organisation. The candidates who go through the process get a feel of the organisation which then gets cascaded to many. The fact that a company is hiring, indicates that their business is flourishing.

(See my post titled Recruitment Process – An Important Employer Branding Tool @ http://randomstrokez.blogspot.com/2010/01/recruitment-process-important-employer.html)

9. Clear Measurement Metrics : The metrics used to measure the effectiveness of Recruitment as a Function, which is predominantly number driven, is very transparent which enables gaps to be identified & fixed appropriately.

10. Process Oriented : This removes the dependence on a particular person to have this function executed effectively. The strong process oriented nature of this function makes it uniform perpetually.

In a nut-shell, we can say that Recruitment Function MAKES or BREAKS an organisation. So do not look at Recruitment as a stopgap or an out of compulsion choice of career, but make the most of being a part of an indispensable function & canonise your value-add prospect towards the organisation you are a part of... & GROW.....

“THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION – Which Organisation to Join?”

I received a comment on my previous post, “Tangible Visibility of Success – The Biggest Motivator”, where a point was mentioned about everyone getting opportunities but not knowing which is the right one. Grabbing an opportunity is a significant decision as doing so means leaving others & that decision shouldn’t be regretted. This decision can be pertaining to buying just one pair of shoes within Rs.500 or choosing an outfit to wear to an all important date. Then there are more serious decisions like, “Which Stream of Education to Choose”, “Which college to join” & then the BIG ONE….”Which company / organisation to join”.
Thanks to my profession again, I get to meet a lot of individuals seeking inputs for this BIG QUESTION. Thus thought of sharing my views on the aspects to be considered, thought of, deliberated upon, while making this BIG DECISION. So friends lets get to the drawing board & add some colours to the quest of finding a fitting answer to make the RIGHT CHOICE.
At a Macro Level, there are 4 factors which should be deliberated upon :
- Work (Kind of work, Learning etc) & Scalability
- Money
- Brand ( Stability, Market share, Infrastructure etc)
- Convenience (work Location, extended Timings, shifts, travel duration etc)

You need to find out the details about every factor mentioned above, evaluate what is most important for you & then make a choice accordingly, depending upon “Where your level is on the “Need Hieracrchy” and “Your Appetite for Risk”.

Some points are illustrated in detail as under :

A. Nature Of Job : Seek answers to “What would you be doing” rather than the Job Title or Designation. What skills sets that you possess would be put to use
B. Introspect : Ask yourself whether you would LIKE doing the activities involved consistently. Also seek an answer to How & whether would you be able to deliver & add value to the organisation as that is a key to getting more exposure & extracting learning.
C. Research / Deliberate Upon :

C.1. Career Succession Prospect : Research / connect with existing employees who have had extensive Career Growth, Job Enrichment, internally. Check on both Vertical & Horizontal growth prospects.

C.2. Financial & Strategic impetus : Research on the Funding, last 3 years financial record & Track record of Promotors / board members.

C.3. CAGR of the organisation as compared to its industry peers.

C.4. Attitude towards Out of Box thinking, Innovation & Novel Ideas.

C.5. Customer Service Quality, Track Record & Attitude - If you are able to get a feel of an organisation as a customer, then you would be able to figure out what the people perceive. This would enable you to ascertain the REPUTATION QUOTIENT of the organisation comprehensively.

C.6. Resource longevity and Quality – Its important to find out whether the existing employees have found reasons to stick to the company. It’s also important to know what kind of people you would work with.

C.7. Total Annual Compensation – All components / factors should be taken into account – Medical Support, Pension Policy, Stock Options (If Any), Education funding, Holiday Allowance, Flexible working, Maternity Benefits, Child Care Support etc.

Apart from all these take into consideration your Gut Feel, Your Instinct as well and Go On…Make Your Choice…Take the Plunge…your Decision would be the Right One..if not then work towards making it right.

TANGIBLE VISIBILITY OF SUCCESS - The Biggest Motivator

Being Motivated as well as Motivating individuals consistently, is a key attribute in achieving effectiveness in your business. Consistent Motivation is a very difficult thing to achieve. There's a plethora of techniques, programs, methods, views, opinions on this subject which is indeed very useful. You must be wondering then why am I touching upon this subject?

A small incident at my office a couple of days back propelled me to put forth my view in this regard. We were working as usual & all of a sudden an assignment came up which gave a concrete promise of an immediate positive result, thus giving a Tangible Visibility of Success. Sharing this assignment was like fuelling the ambers, that soon began the fire and in no time it had spread across, the adrenalin rush was starkly visible. The assignment wasn't easy by any means, yet the delivery was par excellence with a record Turn-Around-Time.

This story explains it all.....if we are able to SEE THE POSSIBILITY OF ACHIEVING SUCCESS in something, no matter how small it is, we would be motivated to work towards the same. Hope is the biggest catalyst, all we need to do is give this hope a TANGIBLE FORM & make ourselves & our people FEEL & SEE the realization and that’s about it, you would have a bunch of professionals working towards completing the task in hand with an eagerness of a 5 years old opening a fully wrapped Christmas present.

Recruitment Process – An Important Employer Branding Tool

The creation of a "Brand Image" depends on the following aspects:

A - Attention
R - Retention
E- Education
S- Suggestion
C- Conviction

We should treat our Recruitment Process as a key ingredient of our Employer Branding function as it is an excellent platform to make an impact in line with these aspects. This is the time when an external resource comes in a “Direct Contact” with an organisation & gets a first hand feel. Irrespective of whether they get hired or not, if they leave with a positive experience, it goes a long way in creating a Brand Image. It is important that people talk with respect, even with awe, of their contact with our company and our employees. A positive "ARESC" impact on the candidates gets cascaded to many.

The steps which can be followed are:

- Gaining attention through good & well placed & appropriately designed advertisements / blogs etc.
- Giving proper inputs on the organisation, its culture, the position details, etc. through a presentation or a talk in a common forum which is interactive. This eases nerves & creates a Feel Good Factor.
- Have a Consulting / Counseling Approach while interviewing them rather than being purely judgmental, as it is not always about Selection v/s Rejection but the Right Fitment of an individual which makes him / her get a job.
- Encourage them to be in touch through various networking sites etc.
- And of course when they are at our premises, their comfort should be taken care of & they should never be left unattended.