Women HR Leaders- Business Manager-HR magazine

Finally Women in HR have made India Inc. to believe that this function isno more a male domain and it is done through their sensibilities,commitment and leadership acumen. The changing attitude oforganizations also ratify the perspective that women in HR can very wellclimb to the top of the corporate ladder.

No doubt that the journey of women from home manager (HM) to humanresource manager (HRM) has not been very easy in the back drop of culturalcontext but social change coupled with determination and believing in self hasopened the doors for women to attain senior roles in Corporate India.

The visibility of HR women at higher levels has been slow but not disappointingas compared to last two decades. In fact whatever changes in the perception ofIndia Inc.have occurred, it was only in these two decades when MNCs entered thecountry and encouraged gender diversity.

Many research studies on women mangers in India have repeatedly revealed thatthe strengths making them successful at work are their ability to perceivesituations, multitasking, empathy, crisis management skills, collaborative workstyle and sensitivity in relationship. But it has not been so easy for women toachieve respect and social /workplace acceptability. The journey towardscorporate higher up is not devoid of any hurdles still there are many mental, socialand behavioral challenges lie ahead of women in the career world.Few are due tosocial and cultural taboos, whereas others are due to self behavior. Social andcultural taboos include the mindset of families where daughter is still treated no.2in comparison to son in the family.Many qualified women do not reach to the topprimarily due to the work environment essentially developed over decades infavor of men. Long unpredictable work hours, discriminatory practices, machoculture and gender stereotyping are deeply embedded at many workplaces.

Self behavior related challenges are about attempt to pleasing everyone atworkplace taking more and more responsibilities and not fully leveraging theirteam. It also becomes challenge when women interpret leadership as quality thatrequires harsh / strong action against their values and beliefs trying to copy malecounterparts' behavior. It is also seen that women do not speak out and hold backwhen they are confronted in many situations.Women HR leaders need to chooseappropriate situations to speak up and make their presence meaningful.

But our Women HR leaders of this anniversary issue have proved that glassceiling stands shattered and is no longer a barrier as they stepped in with moreknowledge strategic function across the globe as they believe in self with highconfidence and "why not" attitude.They successfully strike a fine work life balanceand handle social pressures with the support of their husbands, family membersand excellent home environment. BM salutes to women power and recognizestheir contribution towards the growth of organizations and nurturing humanpower.

Now the time has come where providing opportunities to women in organisationis not a 'Nice to have' any more, it is 'must have'.

If you like it let us know. If not, well, let us know that too.

Happy Reading!

Women Power

Anil Kaushik

Editors Note

Comprehensive ViewYour cover feature on Hiring practices,attrition and retention presents good insightand Compel the readers to analyse thepractices they have which directly impactthe attrition and retention. It is right thathiring practices are Considered lessimportant than other HR interventions. I amof the opinion that all employee relatedproblems are some how and some whererelated to the hiring practices of theorganization. Other surveys also indicateand ratify your survey findings. Man Powersurvey also indicated that hiring in Indiawill remain robust in coming three months.Employers across four regions and sevensectors reported positive hiring plans . Mostopportunities are expected in service,finance, real estate and Insurance sectorswhereas weakest hiring plans are reportedin wholesale and retail trade sector.

Sumitra, Noida

Hiring ImpactMostly the top management is very muchinclined to go in for the cream among freshgraduates and tradesmen. The same is thecase with experienced candidates ascompanies tend to prefer candidates whohave worked with good companies. Due tocultural mismatch between the previous andcurrent company, the candidate feelsuncomfortable and also demotivates hiscolleagues all the time. Such a person is verymuch unlikely to remain with the companyfor a long time.An employee who is not technically soundor is a poor team player but has somehowmanaged to enter the organization due tofaulty screening process, is also likely toquit within the first 6 months.

Jaspreet Singh Janeja, e-mail

State of ConfusionI have read the cover feature with surveyfindings on hiring, pay hikes and attrition.After that many other surveys have alsocomeup with their findings. I can say thatthese findings have only added to confusionbecause some say that hiring is up whereother say that employers may starttrimming employees as slow down begins tobite. Dont know what is the real picture.Main power survey including yours &others indicate positive hiring. Contrary toit, ETIG study of companies indicate thatindian companies are focusing on trimmingstaff costs to wheather the impact of an

economic slowdown and to maintain theircompetitiveness in the face of a slide ininvestments. According to study the share ofemployee cost to sales ratio of BSE 500companies has remained to 7.8% which isthe lowest since 2008.

Gunjan Mehta, Bangalore

ConcernIt is a matter of concern that IT companies havedeferred campus hiring by three months. If it isa clue that industry has started facingslowdown, campus recruitment may effectbadly. Number of companies have also delayedon-boarding process for 2010 recruits. It shouldhave started by now. These signals are not goodfor campus recruitments.

P.S. Gupta, Meerut

Violence and IRThe article by Dr. G.P. Naik & Dr. K.Janardhanam has come up with goodinsights for employers and employees whoare always confused to assess the resaons ofviolence in industrial relations.Authors havevery clearly put the possible reasons ofworkers resorting to violence and also a pieceof advice to employers not to createsituations where workers are pushed to walls. The article is an eye-opener. If employersand managers show sensitivity and empathyin handling employee grievances, therebecome negligible chances of employeesresorting to violence.

B. Murari, Ahemdabad

Strategic IRCase study by anil malik is enough to learntricks of handiling greedy union president.Sometimes you need to make such peopleunderstand in their language theyunderstand.Greed has no limits and if unionleader becomes greedy, and not handledstrongly, it will be a perennial problem.

Rabindra Singh, Hardwar

Readers are invited to comment on articles published in BM through email at : [email protected], [email protected]

Readers Response

2 Business Manager July 2012

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Published on 1st of Every Month

July2012Vol. 15No. 1

Inside

COVERFeature

Smita Dash Sahoo

Mandeep Maitra

Dr. Shalini Sarin

Dr. Sujaya Banerjee Padma Singh Sushmita Basu

Aparna Sharma

Dr. Tanvi Gautam

Dr. Tanaya Mishra

Women

HRLeaders

Women

HRLeaders

The HR Women-Celebrating Success -Smita Dash Sahoo In the galaxy of stars through difficulties - Aparna SharmaBreaking the moulds all through - Mandeep MaitraPower of believing in self - Dr. Tanvi GautamWinning Isn't Everything, but Wanting to Win is - Dr. Shalini SarinBeing Professional handling tough situations... - Dr. Tanaya MishraBe Woman & Write your destiny - Dr. Sujaya BanerjeeTransforming from Home Manager to HR Manager - Padma SinghChallenging journey of establishing business HR - Sushmita BasuWomen- The Natural Leaders

- A.S. Sharma

pg. 09-33

Surrogate HR

pg. 41

pg. 61

pg. 64

HelplineLabour Problems

& SolutionsQuestions by readers on variety of

problems they face at work andanswers by Anil Kaushik Chief

Editor. Look at it. These may alsobe of some help to you.

JudgmentsLatest from the Courts

Latest verdicts from different HighCourts and Supreme Court effecting

employer employee relations.

& HR News

pg. 40Govt.Notifications

pg. 34

Developing A CompellingEmployees Value Proposition

What is an employee value proposition? Simply put E.V.P is an employee's perspective or what is in it for me to work here?and an employer's communicated promise to its employees. -An article by Chinmay Kumar Podder.

Great Place to Work & Edenred study on Rewards and Recognition

What makeOrganisations Best forR & R?

pg. 37

Spirituality In CorporateGovernance

Spiritual leadership is moving leaders from managingemployees to inspiring employees, a critical component oftransformational leadership. It integrates transformational andservant leadership with spiritual, ethical, and values-basedleadership models into a combination of core competencies. -An article by Debaprasad Chattopadhyay.

pg. 52

The Employee Pension Scheme, 1995

Know About It!

There is no provision in the EPS 1995 to file 'date of birth' in theoffice records.Therefore, any information about date of birthwhich is given under the EPF Scheme 1952, is taken as basic .data for EPS 1995. An article by Ram Niwas Bairwa.

pg. 55

Managing Discipline

Unenumerated MisconductsIn majority of judicial verdicts, it is held and ruled that anemployer is estopped from taking strict action in the event of adelinquent committing a misconduct which does not findplace in the list of acts and omissions that constitutemisconduct in the Standing Orders or Service Rules.An article by Shantimal Jain.

pg. 63

pg. 59

pg. 57

CASE ANALYSIS

Valuing workforce & visionary leadershipThe case analysis refers to case study Strategic handling of Union Presidents greedby Anil malik published in June 12 issue by Mihir Gosalia.

CASE STUDY

Dream Big & Dare to Step InThe case highlights various challenges which came across the journey from being anemployee to becoming an employer.The establishment of a brand in a competitivemarket is an unavoidable challenge.

pg. 05

Inside

Book Review4 Business Manager July 2012

pg. 39

EVENT REPORT

NHRDN Silver JubileeConference at Kolkata

Air India plans to float VRS

Getting right persons still difficult for employers : survey

Workers' Strike Hits Arvind Production

Air India may exclude commanders from'workmen' category

Bajaj Auto Uttarakhand workers threaten stirover salary hike

pg. 43

Top Ten Companies inRewards & Recognition

TPG Software Pvt. Ltd.(Information Technology)

Intuit Technologies Services Pvt. Ltd.(Information Technology)

American Express India Pvt. Ltd.(Financial Services)

Aditi Technologies Pvt. Ltd.(Information Technology)

Intel Technology India Pvt. Ltd.(Information Technology)

JM Financial Services Pvt. Ltd.(Financial Services)

Music Broadcast Private Limited(Media)

Reliance Commercial Finance(Financial Services)

SAP Labs India Pvt. Ltd.(Information Technology)

Qualcomm India Pvt. Ltd.(Telecommunication)

Workforce today is more articulate about their needs.Employees desire the best of everything- competitivesalaries, comfortable & aspirational lifestyles, jobsecurity, career enhancement options, work-life balance,and so on. Competition for talent is ever increasing and

organisations need to have well-defined philosophies and strategies tohelp them develop innovative ways of tapping intrinsic motivation ofemployees by engaging their hearts and minds. While manyorganisations are struggling to make sufficient progress in thisdirection, there are organisations that have institutionalized robustpractices and effective processes in different people practice areas thatgo a long way in positively impacting employee perception. India's BestCompanies for Rewards and Recognition was conceptualised torecognize companies who are leading the way in the area of Rewardsand Recognition for us learn from.

Organizations for this study are assessed on three parameters:Trust, Pride & camaraderie, which are further broken into variousdimensions and sub-dimensions.

To ensure that above mentioned parameters are experienced byemployees, an organisations needs to undertake ahost of activities andinstitutionalize a number of practices. They do so in 9 People PracticeAreas, namely Hiring, Inspiring, Speaking, Listening, Thanking,Developing, Caring, Celebrating and Sharing, through which peoplemanagers in the best workplaces enable their employees to experiencethe organization.

With the objective of recognizing organizations with outstandingrewards and recognition practices, Great Place To Work Institute, incollaboration with Edenred, has launched a first-of-its-kind study called" India's Best Companies for Rewards and Recognition".

Characteristics of the most positively perceived rewards and recognition programmes

Research indicates that the most critical characteristics of effectiverewards and recognition programmes are the fairness, equity andjustice inherent in these programmes. This sense of equity is both

Business Manager July 2012 5

Great Place to Work & Edenred study on Rewards and Recognition

Best forR & R?

What makeOrganisations

internal within the organization andexternal with respect to comparableorganizations operating in themarketplace. There are three aspectsof equity and fairness which arerelevant here. The absence of thesethree aspects hurts the effectiveness ofrewards and recognition programmessignificantly.

a. Distributive justice: Theproportion in which financialresources and gains/profits of theorganization are distributedbetween various stakeholderssuch as promoters/ owners/investors/ shareholders,managers and employees atdifferent levels in theorganization, belonging todifferent divisions/functions/locations, etc., define distributivejustice. If some stakeholders are"disproportionately" rewarded (inthe eyes of the otherstakeholders), then theeffectiveness of the rewardsprogramme can suffer. Anotheraspect of distributive, as well asprocedural justice, is thatdifferentiation in rewards andrecognition reflects true andsignificant differentiation inperformance and contribution.

b. Procedural Justice: Answers tothe following questions indicatewhether requisite proceduraljustice exists, the absence ofwhich hurt the effectiveness of theprogrammes- For whatactions/behaviours/efforts andresults/ contribution /performance are rewards andrecognition provided? Are onlyresults rewarded and recognized,or do they apply to sustained effortas well? How fairly, transparentlyand correctly are efforts andresults measured? Does everyoneget sufficient opportunities toperform and to be recognized andrewarded? How does theorganization ensure that resultsachieved through wrongbehaviours and non-performingpeople don't get rewarded orrecognized due to favouritism,nepotism and organizationalpolitics?

c. Interactional Justice: This isabout the human element offairness and justice which formsthe capstone of effective rewardsand recognition programmes. Dothe recipients of rewards andrecognition (and even those who

don't receive rewards at any pointin time) feel the sense of beingappreciated and thankedgenuinely from the bottom of theheart by those who are in aposition to reward and recognize?

Some basic fundamentals thatorganisations seem to apply are:

Set a clear benchmark for theaverage level of compensationwithin the organization across jobfamilies, job levels, functions andbusinesses and expected level ofperformance, which determinespay competitiveness in theindustry.Determine "bottom-line goals" ofthe company and tie people's pay tothe goals: This help anorganisation to reward forperformance that directlycontributes to its businessobjectives. This is done byintroducing the aspect of variablepay linked to achievement ofbusiness outcomes. Ensuring theline of sight of the goals/businessoutcomes is of key importance tomake the programme effective.Line of sight here refers to thedirect control/lability of (each)employee to influence theachievement of business goalsthrough his/her abilities andefforts.

To ensure that rewards andrecognition systems at anorganisation are effective, it needs tohave programs that reinforcecompany values and goals andencourages employees to act in linewith such goals whilst alsoemphasizing the importance ofachieving these goals.

What to recognize and how to makerecognition/appreciation heartfelt?

Recognition has been found to havedirect impact on the kind ofbehaviour reinforced in theorganisation. Therefore, it is alwaysnecessary for organisation to thinkthrough the areas for which they wantto reward/recognize their employees.It is also of utmost importance thatthe desirable outcomes are achievedand can be tracked and shared.Organizations should be wary of"unwittingly encouraging ortempting" employees to behave and actin an undesirable or unethicalmanner to win an award.


What make Organisations Best for R & R?

Mr. Prasenjit Bhattacharya,CEO Great Place to Work Institute in India says: This

Study is an attempt to studywhat the best workplaces in

this area do differently and toencourage more

organizations to improve theirrewards and recognitionpractices. The study has

brought focused insights inthis important area for

organizations who want touse the power of appropriaterewards and recognition to

create high performingorganizations."

Some of the areas commonlyrecognized and rewarded inorganisations are Outstanding salesperformance, Delivery excellence: intime, within budget & Years of service.

The categories in which companiesreward employees depend on thenature of business of theorganisation. The alignment of thesesystems with organisation strategy iswhat help the organisation to achievethe desired impact of their rewardsand recognition programmes. Forexample, the R&D organisations haverewards associated with productinnovations, and there are awards toincentivize sales, etc. Organisationsalso recognize areas like customerservice excellence, team excellence,innovations and ideas that havelasting impact on the business.

An important aspect of execution isrecognizing and rewarding in such away that every employee feels valuableand is proud of the achievement. Thespirit behind it should come alive.Togetherness and timing are alsocritical for effective recognition. It is,therefore an important challenge toensure a good balance betweenpromptness in recognizing and doingit in such a way that it becomes aproud moment.

Creating a chance for allto be recognized

Organisations now understand thepower of recognition andappreciation. They understand that itrequires a lot of effort on the part ofemployees to continuously contributetowards organization's success. It isthe recognition or words of praise thatgive an employee the push to go on.Oragnisations now are creatingplatforms for all to recognize eachother, which includes peer to peer andjunior to senior recognition.

Transparency and communication in the effectiveness rewards andrecognition system

Rewards and Recognition motivateemployees for results only if they areperceived to be fair. It is found that theperception of unfairness associatedwith Rewards and Recognitiondiscourages employees. To betransparent, organisations need toensure constant and comprehensivecommunication around rewards andrecognition. Use of intranet and e-mailfor communication related to rewardsand recognition is a common practice.

Best workplace differentiatethemselves by using additionalmethods like posters, teasers andnewsletters for the same. Extensiveinformation about Rewards andRecognition is provided during theinduction process in theseorganisations. The best workplacesalso conduct periodic training/education sessions to equip managersand employees to use various rewardsand recognition methods effectively.Intuit uses videos and online tutorialsto educate employees about rewardsand recognition.

Measuring effectiveness of theinitiatives and programs is the key toensuring that an organisation getsright outcomes for the money andefforts that it invests on the absence ofsuch measures there is possibility tolose focus of the objective with whichan initiative/Program was started,and thus, it may not add the expectedvalue.

Informal feedback from employeesand employees surveys are the mostcommon methods used byorganisations to measure theeffectiveness of Rewards andRecognition Programs.

The usage of different methods torecognize also provides an importantinput to organisations on howeffective/useful the employees arefinding these methods.

In addition to measuring progressof employee performance towardscorporate goals, well-definedperformance measurement Systemshelp to gauge employee reception,understanding and buy-in for rewardsystems. This critical feedback canhelp managers make adjustmentsnecessary to drive improvements andavoid unforeseen undesirablebehaviours and actions that negativelyimpact corporate goals and theorganization's culture.

Feedback taken from employeesthrough various other channels alsohelps understand the effectiveness ofthe rewards and recognitionprograms. Employees have theopportunity to share their feedbackthrough forums like HR Open Houses,skip level meetings, etc. Fall inpercentage of attrition is consideredto be another significant input thatspeaks about the overall culture of theorganisation of which appreciationand recognition are an essential part.Some organisations have seen adecrease in turnover of employeesfrom identified high performance



Mr. Sandeep Banerjee, CEOEdeured, said, "this

benchmark study is to honourthose organizations whichhave set an example by

creating programs, practices,elements and dimensions that

define their intent to rewardand recognize their

employees. This studysalutes the business and

leadership that haschampioned programs in

order to maximize theeffectiveness of rewards andrecognition, which is a spacewe closely associate with and

have over 50 years ofexperience in, globally."


category post the implementation of rewards inthe category, which clearly exhibits theeffectiveness of system.

The way rewards and recognition are designedmay sometimes boost individual performance andachievement of short term goals but may harmteam work, collaboration and organisation growthand sustainability in the longer run. On the otherhand, team and organisation level, and hence mayaffect individual productivity. Managers are attimes not comfortable in discussing and sharingthe 'not-so-good news' with employees. Therefore,the challenge of the organizations is to equip theirmanagers to ensure that they maintain a balanceand become 'good/effective' managers instead ofaspiring to be 'nice/populist' managers. Managersneed to exercise due diligence in implementingthe programs that require their involvement.Diluting standards in the quest of popularity cando a lot of harm. Some managers complain thatthey don't get time to complete the necessarypaper work and it is difficult for them to managerewards and recognition formalities for a largeteam. In some cases rewards programs do moreharm than good when people believe that they arebeing compared negatively to reward winners,similar is the case with Incentive Pay (Pay forPerformance). If it is perceived by employees thatmany winners have won their rewards more onaccount of favouritism, nepotism and politics,then the programme is likely to have adverseimpact on morale, motivation and performance.

It is hard to balance between promptness andtrying to make the recognition individualized,especially keeping in mind the hectic schedules.The organisations which have global presencefind it difficult to balance betweenconsistency/uniformity and local needs. Creatinga consistency across different teams and BusinessUnits is also a challenge. Many times differentBusiness Units interpret guidelines differently.Teams sometimes find themselves gettingconstrained in applying creativity to the extentthey would have liked to.

The rewards and recognitionownership/implementation pattern in the bestworkplaces shows that to ensure effective andwidespread reach, organisations shoulddecentralize practices and rest the responsibilityof recognition with team leaders, peers andjuniors rather thank with a distant authority oressentially the HR function. They need to monitorimplementation to ensure that there are nounjustifiable differences in teams. They need todefine right metrics of effectiveness and measureand track them to ensure that recognition haspositive impact on performance.

Major findings and key insights:

1. Effective rewards and recognition practicesneed to reflect a company's culture (basic values &beliefs ) and integrate well with the nature of itsbusiness, strategy and goals.

2. Absence of fairness significantly hurtsemployee perception and efficacy of R&Rpractices. Absence of fairness is evident byfactors like

a. Insufficient external parity,

b. Inadequate internal equity

c. Lack of impartiality in assessment,

d. Lack of clarity of desired actions & resultswhich will be rewarded, and

e. Inadequate transparency on how and whysome employees get rewarded.

3. Recognition practices (which are essentiallynon-monetary represent great unutilizedpotential, as recognition:

a. can be given both publicly and privately,

b. does not require big budget,

c. can be provided not only by the organizationand its senior leaders, but also by peers andjuniors,

d. can be more proximate to the actions andresults, and hence strongly reinforcing,

e. can be done frequently

Most companies are not utilizing the potentialof recognition sufficiently.

4. Empowering and encouraging peoplemanagers and peers to provide recognition makesrecognition practices more effective.

5. Involving employees while deciding onvaried ways in which rewards and recognition canbe provided, instead of taking unilateral decisionsmakes R&R programmes much more effective.

6. Using rewards and recognition, particularlyrecognition, to drive desirable behaviours andefforts, not just the results which go beyond salesperformance or customer satisfaction, make R&Rpractices more impactful.

7. Making rewards and recognition moreindividualized or personalized, without violatingthe essence of fairness to match with theindividual's preferences and personality make therewards and recognition more meaningful andmotivating.

8. Setting realistic, achievable and line of sightgoals drive success. Rewards for goals that seemunachievable do not motivate.

9. It is necessary to strive to strike a balancebetween driving and rewarding individual resultsand team performance because only focusing on"individual achievements andrewards/recognition" can harm team work andcollaboration, while only focusing on teamachievements without encouraging andrewarding individual excellence can affectindividual drive and productivity.

To sum up, rewards and recognitionprogrammers must connect to the emerging needand expectations of the workforce and link themwith the company's overall goals and strategies tobe successful.


BM

COVERFeature

Smita Dash Sahoo

Mandeep Maitra

Dr. Shalini Sarin

Dr. Sujaya Banerjee Padma Singh Sushmita Basu

Aparna Sharma

Dr. Tanvi Gautam

Dr. Tanaya Mishra

Women

HRLeaders

Women

HRLeaders

COVERFeature

The HR Women-Celebrating Success

'Personnel' was a field which was largelydominated by men in India. Womenhardly could take up this profession asit was mostly an IR role inmanufacturing sector and unionised

environment. When the services sector came up in abig way and mildly unionised companies startedlooking beyond IR, IR & HR became two distinctbranches of the Personnel function. With a new roleof HR Manager and India opening up to MNCs,ladies brought in true elegance and unmatchedfinesse to such roles. With time, women also enteredinto Roles where IR environment was less militant,like the Banking & Insurance Sector. This gave themwork exposure in interacting with the Unions andduring this fascinating period, she discovered thather natural skills and inherent tact helped her inprofessional effectiveness. And, she started on thepath of success; success initially not in the form ofpromotions, higher positions and power but in theform of effectiveness, efficiency and managementskills.

Successful women in HR! How can success bedefined? Is it about the brands one has worked with,or the pay packet or the years of service, or aperception? If so, is it a perception of the individualabout self or the people about the individual? Peoplemay call an individual successful, but thatindividual may still be chasing success. Is successthen a state of mind, just like happiness is a state ofbeing? Or is success a continuous process linked toeach one's professional needs? I think it is acontinuous state of celebration, and in mycelebrations, I briefly present to you how the first 3organisations, I got associated with, played a vitalrole in making the career of an HR woman:

(1) National Aluminium Co. Ltd (NALCO),Orissa, gave me THE professional break, after myM.A & M. Phil in Personnel Management, asTrainee (HRD) through Campus Recruitment,during times when one year's experience wasalways 'desirable' but there was hardly anyworthwhile place where this 'desirability' could beacquired. I learnt the practical HRD function inNALCO. Let me share my genuine thoughts here -the way NALCO helped me in acquiring'desirability' 20 years back, is desirable from manycompanies even today.

(2) Fourteen years! Strikes a chord in my heart! Itis the stint I had in a Nationalised Bank and I saythis with great pride that whatever expertise Igained on HR, IR, Administration, Accounting,Organisational Discipline, Vigilance, Welfare,policies, processes, systems etc, is from here. WhenI appeared at the Western Regional office ofBanking Service Recruitment Board (BSRB) atMumbai for the interview, on qualifying in the AllIndia written examination, I knew little that I wouldbe taken by Bank of Maharashtra, while I wastargeting Bank of India. The trust that it laid on mebuilt confidence in me, and crafted me as aprofessional. And my genuine thoughts are - the wayI was taken care at Bank of Maharashtra, I fear Imay not be anywhere.

(3) A big credit goes to a Janalakshmi FinancialServices Limited (JFSL), a microfinance company atBangalore for being able to pull me out of a secureBank job and from the realms of loyalty. It was anoffer that sent me looking within and asking - Howcan I? Why should I? What am I looking for? What amI missing? All these questions opened a new channel ofcommunication with my own inner self and deeper

Smita Dash Sahoo Chief Human Resources Officer, IFGL Refractories Ltd., Kolkata

Smita has about 20 years of experience in Human Resources function in manufacturing,Banking, Microfinance, Consumer Finance and Academics in Public sector, Private sector

and MNC. Recently she has joined IFGL Refractories Limited, a listed company and presentglobally, as the Chief Human Resources Officer.


needs. The reason for change was to fix the learning curve and to explore theprivate sector. But the real reason was my need to contribute to the well-beingof the poor. The job was to get HR going as a function. But the real job I saw wasthe associated challenges. Thus, I got introduced to my own self. My genuinethanks to this organisation - the way this company gave me an opportunityand supported me in adjusting from public to private sector, secure toinsecure environment, and administrative to strategic position, may manyother companies give such a career break to HR women professionals.

SHARING THE EMPLOYMENT SPACE - RESERVATIONS & APPREHENSIONS

This is how any career can be made, man or woman, HR or Sales. Trustis, as long as women have merit, space will be made for them. Those societiesand institutions, who have shared spaces smartly, have undergone awholesome growth and a sustained development. Problem arises when thedemand is more than the supply. And in that case, is this a man's world or awomen's? Does an HR woman get selected for a job when she equals a malecandidate in every respect? There are reservations that women would like aback-end job, or may not sit late, or wouldn't attend parties with clients, ormay not be able to handle the unions or may not be able to handle therecruitment vertical due to excessive travel etc. Additional arrangements

like pick and drop service, separate cost on accommodationduring travel, etc. may be warranted. All this extra care,

isn't it an avoidable headache (and cost)? Howorganisations think about employment of women

depends upon their maturity levels. When therereally are safety issues, haven't legislations like

Factories Act 1948 disallowed employment ofwomen near dangerous machines?

ORIENTATION OF WOMEN PROFESSION-ALS

Because of these reservations andapprehensions, do woman in generaland an HR woman in particular, haveto compromise on her values orsacrifice on her career growth? Orhas she been unconcerned aboutcareer growth, simply wanting tomake the two ends meet? From myexperience I find that there arebroadly two types of womenprofessionals- Engagement

Oriented and Career Oriented,and the Career Oriented Womenare of two kinds - Goal Orientedand Value Oriented. In briefthey can be explained as below:

1) Engagement Oriented -Such women are driven by theneed for a balance between their

personal and professionallives. They are happy to

be gainfully engagedand do not look

COVERFeature

The HR Women-Celebrating Success -Smita Dash Sahoo

Having been an athlete,sportswoman andan NCC cadet inschool/college, I had one basicrule - till you havereached thefinishing line,game is on andyou can win. Tillthe last second,don't give up.


beyond that. They close their minds to career growthas they are not prepared to shoulder higherresponsibilities, for fear of imbalance in the maintwo fronts of their life. Such women however, may bedriven by values which are anyways, demonstratednot for career growth.

2) Career Oriented - (A) 'Career Goal' Oriented- Such women have a clear career goal and areobsessed to reach there as soon as possible. Whatvehicle they take, what means they adopt everythingdepends on this obsession. They thus, keep aligningand realigning their values, principles, philosophiesetc., to the environmental demands and develophigh coping capabilities to avoid an identity crisis.Internally and externally they are driven only bytheir Career Goal.

(B) Value Oriented - Such women professionalsat the outset lay down certain core script consistingof the Dos and Don'ts based on their value systemand principles of life, and would not compromise onthem for anything. They project themselves throughtheir value system. Internally they are Valueoriented and externally Task oriented. They firmlybelieve that hard and smart work with high valuesbuild career. Due to these orientations, they acquireknowledge, skills and expertise which project theminto the limelight. They get identified as talents andattain leadership qualities which automatically takecare of their career growth.

There could be women who initially wereEngagement Oriented but became Career Orientedin later part of their lives and vice-versa. So therecould be shift from one orientation to another. It isadvisable to either be Engagement oriented withstrong value system, or Value Oriented Careerwoman. Lot of credit for the success would go to themen in the form of father, brother, husband, friend,and son in personal lives and Boss, peer and teammember or subordinate in professional lives. Thosewho get the support of men as well as women inboth fronts of their lives thrive even better.

CHALLENGES FOR WOMEN IN CAREER

For women employees in India, Work Life Balanceis of utmost importance and several times I foundwomen struggling to complete their work withinoffice hours as they could not dedicate 2-3 hours ofextra time that the men did. They also miss out on thebonding that generally happens after office hoursamong the peers and also with the boss. Women HRprofessionals might not be able to take up certainroles or may be facing challenges in roles that requireodd or long working hours and which involveexcessive travels. Security is a major issue. We havefound so many incidences of criminal attacks onwomen of late. More than conducive workingenvironment, safe social environment is the, greatestchallenge and, need for women professional today.

Yes, there have been challenges and they willcontinue to exist. There could be professionalexploitation or abuse too. There could be demand forfavours in exchange of some genuine needs. Therecould even be harassment of various types. But,doesn't she face it outside work place too; let us sayin school, college, travel route or neighbourhood,

thus being aware how to tackle such situations. Stillthen, providing a safe and secure work environmentis an obligation of every organisation, as providinga safe and secure living environment an obligationof every society.

HR LEARNING - TIPS FOR THE (HR) WOMAN

I have had difficult times too. There have beentimes when my self-confidence appeared to havebeen shattered. At times I would be nursing myinjuries while getting advised to be more tactful. Butall these are part of the game. Having been anathlete, sportswoman and an NCC cadet inschool/college, I had one basic rule - till you havereached the finishing line, game is on and you canwin. Till the last second, don't give up. But mostimportant is, fight for the right cause in the rightmanner at the right time. I share below some of mylearnings as an HR woman professional:

(1) A pleasant personality with a strong characterand positive attitude helps in being effective.

(2) Be a Value Oriented career woman. Be flexiblewithin rigid boundaries.

(3) Learn to say 'NO', wherever required, but in apositive way. It should not hurt egos.

(4) There is something to learn from everytransaction in life. Be a continuous learner.

(5) Designations are immaterial, the Role you get toplay is important.

(6) There will be good and bad bosses, peers,subordinates, situations, conditions, climate,environment and culture in every organisation.When you encounter the bad, face it and remaingood with people. Don't quit, because thingssettle down with time and every organisationhas its share of good and bad. Stick on, as whatmatters is the Role you play.

(7) First satisfy the job and then look for jobsatisfaction.

HR TAILOR AND SCULPTOR

Has the HR woman succeeded on both fronts?Yes, to an extent that could be possible, but thestruggle is on. The most notable fact is that the skillsets which woman bring, including the emotionalquotient, are unique and too well suited for certainjobs like the Human Resources.

In the profession of HR, women are able toprovide an environment of trust and fairnessequally to both men and women. As a closing piece,let me share a secret with you - HR profession ismost enjoyable when you have reached a stage inyour career when you have transformed into an HRCraftsman with specialisation in Tailoring andSculpting. 'HR Tailor' measures the needs of theorganisation and stitches clothes in the name of HRpolicies, processes and systems to suit and fit theneed. Since the organisation is in the growingstages, a periodic review is made, and necessaryalterations are worked out, if possible, or then new policies, processes and systems are 'stitched' depending upon the growth of theorganisation.


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The HR Women-Celebrating Success -Smita Dash Sahoo

BM

As I got to down to pen this piece wentinto flashback mode. What experienceshave made me the professional that Iam today? What were the challenges

faced during a sixteen year career?

I come from a conservative family wherewomen worked but it was not activelyencouraged. In the mid 1990's girls from townslike Ujjain, mostly, became homemakers aftergraduation. I too might have become one, were itnot for the inner drive "Dare to be different"-make a mark! Drawing inspiration from mydoctor aunt - the World was my canvas. Inhindsight, stepping into the corporate world wasan accident.

I originally wanted to join the IndianAdministrative Services (IAS) but had to take onan alternate profession as I had to becomefinancially independent early in life and owingto the stringent norms of the administrativeservices, time was not in my favor. This initialdisappointment did not deter me and I took onthe challenge head-on.

After completing my graduation from TISS, Iapplied to a leading chemical company. Duringthe interview told the panel that would considerjoining them only if they allowed me to work onthe shop floor. The panel was aghast! Why does

this young girl want to commit professionalharakari by working in a highly unionizedenvironment? I was firm and am fortunate thepanel reposed faith in me. It was baptism by fire.There was a new crisis every day. Workers wenton a go slow on the smallest pretext for e.g. thereis less sugar in tea today. I learnt to be cool underpressure, build good relations with workers andappeal to their fatherly instincts since many ofthem had daughters my age.

It has been a roller coaster ride since then. Ioften reflect on experiences.

What is it that drives me? 'Be a Contributor'.The intent is to add value to the organization andpeople that I work for/with. In short 'make adifference'. Some say you have to be born withsuch drive others say it can be acquired. I believeit is a combination of both. A few strands.

Education is a passport to a job but your pasttrack record is the basis for a new assignmentmeaning that you have to be a contributorcontinuously. You need an inquisitive mindset,constant hunger for knowledge and insights.Accept challenges head-on for in every solutionlie rich experiences and long term rewards. It isthis drive to contribute that has, mostly, enabledme to generate transformative insights whichhave impacted the organization in a positive and


Aparna is a Post Graduate in (PM & IR) from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai of the1996 batch. She has worked with Nocil , Monsanto, Novartis & UCB before joining the Deutsche Bankgroup as Director-HR for 2 of their Service Centres in India. She was conferred the "WOMAN SUPERACHIEVER" award in December 2011 by the 6th Employer Branding awards (Regional Round). Also,

conferred the " HR SUPER ACHIEVER AWARD" by STAR NEWS at the 20th World HRD Congress 2012,Mumbai as part of the "HR & Leadership Awards" for Excellence in Human Resources Development at a

glittering award ceremony on February 16,2012. Aparna is an active member of various professionalassociations like, Indian Society of Training & Development (ISTD), All India Management Association

(AIMA), National Institute of Personnel Management (NIPM), National HRD Network, and Sumedhas.Currently, she has been appointed as the Honorary Treasurer of National HRD Network, Mumbai Chapter

(2012-2014) and is a member of the Executive Committee. On the personal front, Aparna is a very avidreader, poetess, intrepid traveler, nature and wildlife enthusiast, amateur photographer, has a passion

for gardening and a keen people collector.

Aparna SharmaDirector-HR, DBOI Global Services (Deutsche Bank Group)

In the galaxy of starsthrough difficulties

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Challenge is thatof work life

balance. Women,who work,

continue to behomemakers,

though not in theearlier sense, and

are constantlystruggling to

excel in both theworlds. Support

from theorganization and

spouse,smoothen the

process althoughmust admit that itgets very difficult

at times.

IN THE GALAXY OF STARS THROUGH DIFFICULTIES -APARNA SHARMA

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lasting way. Sharing of knowledge has helped meevolve. By writing-speaking what you knowknowledge becomes part of your DNA. Meetingstudents, aspiring professionals has kept meabreast with how Gen Y is thinking, tailor HRsolutions to attract such talent and provokethought within.

Yet there have been many challenges alongthe journey. Some roles are traditionallyperformed by men. There are others which aremore welcoming of women. Changing mindsetswas a challenge. I was once told 'you cannot dothis since this required me to work through thenight'. I asked my senior for the brief and timeframe. With the support of colleagues and bettertime management, completed the job beforemidnight. All I requested was a home drop forteam which the senior readily agreed to.Similarly, I spent over twenty days with the salesteam to make farmer/field visits. The farmers

were impressed to see a lady work shoulder toshoulder with her male colleagues that salessurged. If you have confidence in your abilities,are willing to learn, and honest to yourself aboutyour limitations, no challenge is too big toaccept. When men want to discuss a problemoutside of work, they can meet for a drink afteroffice. Found that difficult to do due to homecommitments. I got around it by requestingcolleagues to meet earlier over coffee/chai orcloser home so that travel time is reduced.

Another challenge is that of work life balance.Women, who work, continue to be homemakers,though not in the earlier sense, and areconstantly struggling to excel in both the worlds.Support from the organization and spouse,smoothen the process although must admit thatit gets very difficult at times. In such situations, Ihave sailed through with the belief that this tooshall pass and given my best.

I also believe that Indian women are blessedwith special powers that allow them to multi-taskwith relative ease. Gender & now, GenerationalDiversity continue to be a challenge whileorganizations are trying various creative ways tocreate & retain a sustainable competentworkforce.

I just finished reading the Geeta once, onlyvery recently. However, as the immortal lines ofGeeta quoted above speak, I have always valuedCommitment, Ambition and Strive to achieveExcellence in all that I do since my childhood. Isincerely strive to make a positive difference inothers lives and always continue to improvemyself with truth and knowledge.

Stumbling upon a profession almost byaccident, three things that have worked for me inthis serendipitous career choice have been;strategic perspective, involvement as a changeagent and team orientation and peoplemanagement. I demonstrated my strategicperspective even during my first job interview,as narrated above.

As a change agent, I have played an integralpart in setting up and revitalizing the humanresources teams and defining the culture of theorganization, in three out of my four previous

roles. One of the striking highlights as a changeagent has been when I worked on theperformance management process following themerger of one of my previous organizations.With a strategic perspective, I took the best ofboth organizations and created a new process forevaluating performance. In the capabilitydevelopment effort, there is an equallycompelling story to tell. I came up with arevolutionary idea to decentralize training incollaboration with employees from the business.This not only increased my team's capacity butalso created ownership and made training realfor employees.

The third aspect of my career that has workedfor me has been my team orientation and peoplemanagement skills. My colleagues vouch"Aparna is a people's person". Working withpeople comes naturally to me; a necessary trait,considering MY profession.

I maintain that even though I came into thisprofession by chance and had a second chance toget into to the administrative services, I chosenot to stray from the path as I am extremelypassionate about people as assets. I have beenable to successfully create successors in allorganizations by giving autonomy, empoweringstaff and mentoring them.

Being a woman has been a source of strengthin my journey of contributing to organisationsand the society at large.

(Views are personal)


I maintain that even though I came into this profession by chance and had a second chance to get into to the administrative services, I chose not to stray from the

path as I am extremely passionate about people as assets.

IN THE GALAXY OF STARS THROUGH DIFFICULTIES -APARNA SHARMA

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BM

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Mandeep MaitraHead Asia - Hot Spots Movement, Founder Karma Consulting Solutions, Singapore

Former Country Head HR, Infrastructure, Admin and Corporate Social Responsibility at HDFC Bank

Breakingthe

mouldsall

through

Mandeep currently spearheads strategy and development of Hot Spots Movement in Asia. Hot SpotsMovement, founded by Professor Lynda Gratton of London Business School is a niche research andconsulting team. Before starting work with Hot Spots in 2010, in a career spanning over two decadesMandeep worked in the banking and financial industry for over 18 years, consulting for two years andmanufacturing for around a year. In her previous assignment where she spent close to twelve years,

Mandeep had the privilege to work towards building one of the best and strongest Bank's in AsiaPacific. During her tenure the Bank grew in it's staff strength of around 1500 in 1999 to over 60,000 in2010. At that time as a Country Head HR and Corporate Services, Mandeep was the youngest memberto be part of the Management Committee and the only woman to have broken the glass ceiling in the

Bank. She received various awards and accolades personally and for the institution in her career here.In the last one and half years besides working for Hot Spots Movement, Mandeep founded Karma

Consulting Solutions in 2011.

"I want to do HR because I think it is easyand I love meeting people" said this younglady who had come to take some careeradvice from me. It amused me what my lasttwo decades has taught me that HR isanything but for the faint hearted. I thoughtabout that night in May of 1988 prior toreporting for work the next morning atEicher Tractors, Parwanoo when the guesthouse caretaker didn't let me in because hewas expecting a gentleman (Mr Mandeep)asSenior Officer Personnel or working in aTractor Gear manufacturing plant of sixhundred employees that had precisely fourwomen - a telephone operator and threesecretaries, or the Union antics against theManagement in the 80's era! I maintain thatmy baptism into HR happened at that plantin Parwanoo and that kind of experientiallearning remains valuable to me till this day.

I met some amazing people through theyears. Icons like Prof Indira Parikh, DrPritam Singh, Arun Wakhlu and AnilSachdev inspired me no end and influencedmy thinking. I also had the privilege ofmeeting some incredible women whoworked at the grass-root level. Most of thesewomen had come from a social servicesbackground and were great athandlingworkers at the shopfloor. Their traininghelped them to strike quick rapport with theworkmen and were avid at handling chronicabsentees, alcoholics, poor performers andso on. They were well respected for theirhard work and contribution by workmen,Union Leaders and Management alike.

The girls coming from Managementschools in those days mostly preferred andwere given Corporate HR (Head office based)roles by most Companies (although the boyswere picked for factory based / IR roles).Corporate HR roles gave a good exposureregarding policy making, campus hiring,design and implementation of staff andexecutive development programs and attimes looking after compensation andbenefits of executives (the award staff wascovered by the Union Agreements). For along time women HR professionals werethought as being good in only handling"softer issues". But then there were alwaysexceptions in women who started breakingthe mold and started being counted as beingcapable of handling the toughest ofemployee relation issues and tackling allkinds ofBusiness challenges.

The first wave of women leaders, becausethey were breaking new ground, adhered tomany of the "rules of conduct" that spelledsuccess for men. But the subsequentgeneration of women leaders who startedmaking their way into top management, didnot have to adopt the style and habits that

had proved successful for men but drew onwhat they felt was unique to women - thoseskills and attitudes even if seen as being"feminine" were developed from their sharedexperiences as women.

At the age of twenty-seven I startedreporting to the General Manager in a Bankand in another five years I was a Head of HRof another Bank reporting directly to theCEO. Being the young member of theManagement Committee, gettingopportunity to create a blueprint for HR andpresenting the same to the Board ofDirectors was a high point at that age. Ialways maintained that it was a lot of hardwork, some calculated risks to move jobs anda lot of good luck that helped me get where Igot in life. Well my accomplishments weredespite of me being a woman leader.

Fortunately, by the turn of the centuryenough was being written about what werethose qualities that made women leaderseffective. We were being applauded for ourassertiveness and persuasive skills, ourability to take risks and get things done,being more empathetic, flexible and strongerin interpersonal skills as compared to ourmale counterparts. Women were found to begifted with an innate intuitive ability to readsituations accurately and genuinelyunderstand all those they were leading in anattempt to make their people feel moreunderstood, supported and valued.

From an HBR to a Cosmopolitan and nowcountless blogs there is much one can readabout inspirational work of many unsungwomen personalities!One is encouraged toread that a lot of work has happened aroundthe world towards gender equality. InAmerica, more than 50% of the workforceare women, and globally, around 50% ofgraduates entering multinationalcompanies are women. In the developedworld, there are more female than malestudents, and on average, female studentsachieve greater educational qualificationsthan their male counterparts. Women arequickly becoming the more educated genderand are overtaking men in many fields.

However, one continues to come acrosstrends like in the graph belowwhichshowsthe percentage of ambitious women invarious countries as against the percentageof women who feel discriminated against.For India you will see that we have thelargest percentage of ambitious women evenmore than US and China but at the sametime we have the amongst the highest (onlysecond to UAE) percentage of women whofeel discriminated against. This issomething that the Corporate World in Indianeeds to address with utmost urgency.


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BREAKING THE MOULDS ALL THROUGH- MANDEEP MAITRA

The first wave ofwomen leaders,

because they werebreaking new ground,

adhered to many ofthe "rules of conduct"

that spelled successfor men. But the

subsequentgeneration of women

leaders who startedmaking their way intotop management, didnot have to adopt thestyle and habits that

had proved successfulfor men but drew on

what they felt wasunique to women -

those skills andattitudes even if seen

as being "feminine"were developed from

their sharedexperiences as

women.

I personally did not understand thistrend like many other women leaders whomake it to the top. For a long time I wasbusy in my career and dreaming of biggerthings! But as I traveled extensively acrossthe country and mostly in B, C, D categorytowns I heard some amazing sagas ofpersonal triumph by women against allodds to stand on their own feet.Unfortunately, came across an equallylarge number of disturbing storiesofvexation from women employees in thesecenters and surprisingly also in metrocities. Little did I realize that aprofessionally run organization could alsopose everyday challenges for womenemployees. But then there are all kinds ofpeople who make up our organisations,right?Taking one step at a time over adecade I tried to champion many of theissues of these women and founded"Sisterhood of Strength". Like otherdiversity programs the attempt was toconnect women across the organisation,build a stronger network, get role modelwomen leaders from within and externallyto mentor, coach and address existingchallenges, and build a strong supportsystem for our women employees. The need

of course had been triggered by the fallingratio of women employees in mid andsenior levels.

I often hear these debates at theechelons of Management about number ofwomen at the top. In 2010, less than 5% ofthe world's CEOs and around 30% ofmanagers were women. Closer home,Business Leaders and CEOs in Indiaconstantly talk about the lack of talentedwomen leaders and also acknowledge thatthe Corporate World has failed women. Buthaving said they also hold womenresponsible for "not displaying tenacity andan uncompromising determination toclimb the professional ladder and force acorporate revolution that will give thempower." Most top bosses feel exasperatedthat even the most talented womenmanagers sometimes fail to fit theorganizational molds and opt out of theworkforce at most critical junctures.

This huge drop off at the top of thecorporate ladder can be put down to acombination of personal attributes(women are viewed as lacking a strategicperspective, are not seen negotiatingstrongly or networking with powerfulmen); structural issues (women tend to joinspecialist roles which are not typicallydevelopmental escalators to the top);organisational culture (with 'masculine'traits overvalued in senior roles) andreasons of family structure (it is hard forwomen to return to a fast track career afterhaving children, and most men are notprepared to take an equal role in bringingup children).Many of these factors lookunlikely to change significantly. Perhapsthe notable exception would beorganisational culture and familystructure, but even then it will beevolutionary, rather than revolutionarychange.

The focus of change in Corporatestherefore has been on organizationalpolicies, supporting systems, andinfrastructure - that can provide increasingflexibilityto women at the workplace.Fortunately, there is general consensus ona macro level that we need to create a moresupportive environment for women but thepace of change still seems slow. Womencontinue to face some challengesthat are


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Suggested measures for aspiring women leaders...1. Enlist mentors at your work place and solicit feedback on leadership techniques.

2. Establish credibility.

3. Report harassment of any kind.

4. Reflect on the feedback and work hard not to let it happen it again!

"one-off" in their nature. There is ashortage of female role models.Leadership styles can be acquired byobserving others; but there are often fewfemale executives to observe. Women canwatch male leaders too, of course, but mencan't illustrate how to navigate femalestereotypes.

Women find that if they assertthemselves forcefully, pursue their ownambitions and promote their self-interests,people may perceive them as pushyandcalculating triggering a backlash. But ifthey act in a stereotypically feminine way,they aren't seen as strong leaders.

Women complain that they lackprowess at workplace politics. "We need towork harder than men to prove ourselves"."We feel the constant pressure to nevermake a mistake and to continually proveour value to the organization". They feelthey can never rest on their laurels andfind themselves negotiating with men atevery stage of their career.

Many women have to face a constantstate of unease when they hear everydayraunchy banter or humor by men at workthat may not be appropriate. A woman maynot feel comfortable with language such as"I'm going to whip your butt on our salesgoals this month." Clearly chauvinism ordiscrimination is an enigma thatorganisations (and business cultures) needto work hard to prevent.

Other women feel that they are judgedharsher when they choose to remainsingle, or choose their careers over theirchildren or for not being able to keep ahousehold running and clean whilstbringing in a significant portion ofrevenue to keep dual income lifestyle.

Some believe that it all boils down to(Asian) men not being able to see women inpowerful, responsible or decision-makingroles, and therefore try to downplay andmanipulate their efforts andaccomplishments.

Even if all of the above is true - womenhave to have a CAN DO spirit and dosomething about each of the abovechallenges. Some suggested measures foraspiring young women leaders could be:

Enlist mentors at your work place andsolicit feedback on leadership techniques.After a meeting, ask a trusted superiorwhat behaviors worked and what didn't.Remember some male mentors may not beaware of the unique challenges you may befacing in asserting leadership. Explorejoining some women's forum or networkexternally if you are unable to find anymentors internally! (Believe me when I say

women can be woman's best friends, it istrue!)

Establish credibility. Be sincere inactively engaging colleagues, superiorsand direct reports, and talk to themfrequently -exchange ideas and research.Don't hesitate to ask for their help andsupport at the right time. You will besurprised how many of these people backyou up when needed.

If the Organisation culture isconstantly making you feel stressed andwearing you down re-assess what could bethe real reasons behind thesemanifestationsby reaching out to a trust worthy mentor or Coach, internallyor externally. This is better than being seen as whining, complaining or getting emotionalat work.Whilst having a dialogue with your Supervisor orCoach do remember to be rational inseparating the anecdotal stuff fromregular occurrences. Always reportharassment of any kind.

If you observe inequities at work - notbeing considered for an assignment orgetting passed over for a promotion or achance of a better increment approachyour Supervisor or HR department(whoever you feel comfortable indiscussing this matter with) andunderstand the merit behind the move.Reflect on the feedback and work hard notto let it happen it again!If you are notconvinced record it as a disagreementrather than a dispute (if you feel theorganization is open to such a thing andwon't hold it against you). And if yourepeatedly feel that you are not beingtreated fairly and remain disenchantedwith your employers - it may be time toweigh your options.

When it comes to women in leadership -there exist somereal structural andcultural biases! Now what these biases are- that could be specific to companies,regions and countries but the fact remainsthat they all need to be addressed at theearliest. Otherwise all these discussions byBoards and Top Managements on creatingstickiness for women leaders wouldremain only noble intentions.

I am enthused by this new growingappreciation of those traits that womenuse to nurture and keep their familiestogether! These are the same traits thathelp them organize volunteers to unite andmake change in the shared life ofcommunities. This feminine way ofleading includes helping the world tounderstand and be principled about'values' that really matter.



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Women find that if theyassert themselves

forcefully, pursue theirown ambitions and

promote their self-interests, people

may perceive them aspushyand calculatingtriggering a backlash.

But if they act in astereotypically

feminine way, theyaren't seen as strong

leaders.

BM


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Dr. Tanvi GautamFounder Global People Tree (People centric solutions for the new workplace)

Power ofbelieving

in self

She was looking for career advice after college. A senior VP of HR at an MNC asked:"What would you do,if you won a 100 million dollars right now and did not have to work a day in your life for money"?. "Travelthe world, learn new things, help people grow" she responded. That question, he revealed, was the best

way to find out the true aspiration of any individual. As long as you take up a career around youraspirations, you will do well, he advised. Looking back at her career Tanvi has managed to keep true to

that aspiration. She has indeed travelled the world, studying and working in four different countries(USA, Australia, India and Singapore), worked in leading multinational HR departments,earned her Phd in

OBHR, taught in world class Universities across the globe before going on to create her own HRconsulting outfit (Global People Tree). Dr.Tanvi's thought leadership on topics related to creating

engagement in the new workplace can be seen in Forbes, Straits Times, Economic Times and manyinternational conferences across the globe. She is also on the board of the international Asian Region

Training and development organization, an international body aimed at developing a strong cadre of HRprofessionals around the globe. All this while managing a family along side !

BM caught up with Tanvi to find out what she has learnt along the way that can help other women in the field of HR.

Can you share an early personalexperience that defined you world view ?

Upon finishing my bachelor's degree atLady Shri Ram College, New Delhi I sat for theentrance test for Masters in Sociology at JNUand stood third all India. At the same time, Iwas accepted for a diploma program at the LaTrobe universityin Australia. With a fully paidscholarship too! Everyone I consulted advisedthat a degree course at JNU was superior to adiploma in Australia. Others also pointed outthat I had never been away from home. Howwould I manage by myself ?

I decided that when the Australianuniversity was willing to take a chance on mewith a full scholarship, I was ready to take achance on myself. And I worked hard, tookextra courses, and in fact managed tocomplete a Masters degree in the same timeperiod. The overseas experience not onlyenhanced my world view, but showed me thepower of believing in myself.

I strongly suggest to all women to step outof their comfort zone and take a chance onthemselves. One may not always succeed butone will always be wiser than the one whostayed back in the shelter of comfort spots.

Can you share a guiding principle thatis core to your working philosophy?

Some people look at a situation and say'why', others look at the same situation andsay, 'why not'? The ability to look for whatcould be, to take a chance, has always guidedmy research, writing and consulting. Justrecently, I wrote a piece for Forbes magazinetitled "Real men don't need work life balance".This piece came about as I realized that all thewriting, research and HR practices see work-life balance as an issue for women. To me,success lies in recognizing the case for mentoo. They too play an important roles asfathers, as caregivers of parents or spouses.That approach is far more inclusionary andactually supports the cause of women too.Interestingly, many comments from the peoplewho read and shared the article showed they

agreed. When I was researching knowledgetransfer in cross cultural teams in the ITindustry, I asked why the socialization to theclient was excluded when assessing teamperformance?This idea had never beenexplored in the HR research or practitionercircles. Given that most firms are executingwork through collaborative workarrangements, this construct is a veryimportant one. I created a tool for projectleaders to use in helping their teams performbetter when playing at a global scale.

HR professionals must ask questions thatpush the boundaries of thought and practice

further. Thought leadership is a corecompetency that all women HR professionalsshould aspire for if they want to be takenseriously in their organizations and beyond it.

Given your exposure to HR issue at aglobal level, what do you think are someof the trends that Indian HR professionalsshould prepare for?

Firstly, India is unique: it straddles the oldworld and the new world simultaneously. Weare addressing the skill building of the nationthrough initiatives likes the National SkillDevelopment foundation at the same time aspositioning our existing talent at the higherend of the value chain. For this we have toadopt a global mindset while being careful tonot abandon our own identity. India is wellpositioned to blend our values with thepractices of the west, so that the emerging HRpractices work for our own unique culturalrealities. For instance in the West, diversityand inclusion is about celebrating the'uniqueness' of each person but in the East itis about creating 'harmony and respect' in the


POWER OF BELIEVING IN SELF -DR. TANVI GAUTAM

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Emerging HR tools1. The power of storytelling2. Organizational networks analysis3. Greater learning within and through teams

The overseas experience not onlyenhanced my world view, but showedme the power of believing in myself.

workplace by celebrating similarities. Thispremise of unity in diversity,has been part ofthe Indian ethos for decades.

Secondly, as India grows, there is ashortage of talent. The increase of women inthe workforce, the evolving nature of agingpopulations, the aspirations of our youth - allcombine to demand greater work lifeintegration policies.Organizations mustrespond to these changes. For instance,thestigma associated with women taking a breakwill have to be dropped. In the USorganizations like PwC are using programslike 'Full circle' to enables women to off rampand on ramp in their careers. The programallows high performing women to take a breakfor upto five years and still return towork.There is a need for framework to createmore flexible careers for men and women.

Thirdly, as shown by a recent study byMercer, organizations in APAC are still payinglip service to diversity and inclusion. 68% oforganizations claim to have a diversitystrategy linked to the organization's visionand mission but only 41% say it is integratedinto the business goals and corporate scorecard. Companies are adopting adhoc,piecemeal measures which are often notintegrated with the larger HR practices andprinciples. Without a systems perspective D&Iinitiatives are set up to fail. Maternity leave,work from home and part time work are anecessary but not sufficient condition tocreate a more engaged and empowered femaleworkforce. There have to be systemic changesto the mental models about women in theworkplace.

What are some of the emerging toolsand techniques that HR professionalsshould be aware of?

There are many but I would like to pointout three in particular. The first is the powerof storytelling. This is a very powerful tool forleadership as well as organizational change.Through the use of effective and real storiesHR professionals can gain greater momentumfor their projects as well as connect withemployees more effectively. Think of it this

way, given a choice between 50 slides about aproject or one story, which one would youchoose ?The power of 'once upon a time' ismuch higher than any a 100 page detailedpolicy manual. Storytelling is also being usedto perpetuate firm culture to newcomers.

The second is organizational networksanalysis. This is a highly sophisticated toolthat is being used widely to uncover informalnetworks within the companies. Theorganizational chart is a relic of the past. Realwork, knowledge exchange and informationflows happen through informal networks.These need to be mapped and managed foreffective talent management. The third is thegreater learning within and through teams.For instance mentoring trees alloworganizations to tap into the wider expertiseof the company. No one person has the bestanswer to your questions and hence it makessense to leverage the knowledge and expertiseof a larger group.

When we stand back and look atstorytelling, organizational network analysisas well as mentoring trees, it is clear that thefuture of HR practices lies in leveraging thepower of communities for learning and action.

What do you think are competenciesyoung and upcoming women in HR shouldhave?

Apart from the ability to take calculatedrisks, and thought leadership mentionedearlier, women must actively find mentors andsponsors both from HR and the practice sides.By doing this you will enhance yourknowledge and skills immensely and earn therespect of not just your HR peers but thepractice managers. The latter in particularenables the creation of a strategicrelationship between HR and practice.Creating bridges comes naturally to mostwomen and this is where this innate abilitycan come in handy. Finally, make yourpresence felt on social networks. Leverage thepower of technology to make your mark at aglobal level. If you are not on Twitter andLinkedin, you will miss out on keyconversations and connections.


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When we stand back and look at storytelling, organizational network analysis as well asmentoring trees, it is clear that the future of HR practices lies in leveraging the power of

communities for learning and action.

POWER OF BELIEVING IN SELF -DR. TANVI GAUTAM

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Dr. Shalini SarinVP Country HR Partner, Schneider Electric India

Shalini holds a Doctorate in organization behavior, and double masters in Sociology and HumanResource Management. She is a certified Psychometrician from British Psychology Society anda certified trainer and Executive Coach from Motorola University-Chicago. She is a Certified SixSigma black belt and accredited in 'Personal Counseling' too. Also she has an Advanced Human

Resource Certification from Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Winning Isn't Everything,but Wanting to Win isThis famous saying by Vince Lombardi justabout sums up my life. I have been scriptedwith hope at birth and I have been dealing inhope ever since. My life began very ordinarily in amiddle class family with traditions and values ofPunjabi environs. Now that I look back into the past,I realise that there were no gains without pains- earlymarriage, post-graduation after children andDoctoral degree when children were still insecondary school and - I was in the thick of myprofessional journey. Gain was- I never experienced aglass ceiling !!

I started with teaching in ManagementInstitutions. It became quite apparent early on thatthe traditional mould of learning, in pre-caststreams of education, is not going to satisfy myappetite for knowledge and the desire to apply it tothe corporate world. To test the value of what I waslearning and to ratify the importance of it inapplication, created a need to work on consultingassignments. It was a wonderful era wherecompanies were at the cusp of accepting OD as thenew means to organizational success. I pursued mystudies while in the consulting space. That gave metime and a wider view of what the industry waslooking for and continued my learning as I picked upnew pieces of knowledge. This kept me growing andever hungry for more. I realized that unless a view ismade contextually relevant and its impact onbusiness is assessed and success clearly measured; itis an inconsequential theoretical exercise.

MY LEARNINGS

It became clearer through the times that runningout of options is not an option for those who aspire tolead. There is always a possibility, one needs to findit, extricate it from the web of negativity and nurture

it with progressive thinking. During implementationone needs to Go All the Way, no looking back ..takingyour peers, seniors and associates along with you. NoEklaa Chalo worked for me ever. I have yearned forresponsive surroundings and involved eco system.That gets my best out.

Problem solving has been an integral part of myprofessional upliftment and continued learning. Aswith any new habit, making problem-solving anintegral part of behaviour requires patience andpractice. I must caution that initially the processmight feel awkward and stilted, but within a fewweeks' time, problem-solving could be ingrained andinternalised; almost into the day-to-daycommunication.

A leader, in my view, creates a road where noneexists, pushes the envelope, leads by example andwalks the talk. Effective leaders change the rules ofengagement, watch without a conspicuous probe,look for the bigger picture, and find a path to go overthe hurdles rather than look for a workaround.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND CAREER EVOLUTION

In my view, an effective manager is able to retrievethe best out of a frugal team, extend their potential todeliver greater performance in shorter time-frame,and most importantly - empowers without aconspicuous probe at each step of the delivery. Mygreatest achievement is effectiveness i.e. makingthings happen. I have consistently maintainedexecution focus and often responded with flexibilityto shifting priorities and rapid change. This hasdeveloped a strong bond with my peers- leading tomutual trust. I have the benefit of a high caliber well-knit team whose advice I consider very valuable.Professional success cannot be attributed to an

individual. I have enjoyed everyinteraction of coaching, mentoring &counseling, whether subordinates, peersor even my boss! Influencing changewhile seeking buy-in from those whoresist, has been the most fascinatingchallenge- and incredibly satisfying too.

KEY HR ISSUES

On a global scale, despite national andregional differences, there is remarkableunanimity on key HR issues andchallenge being faced today which are:

Change management representing aparticular challenge for personnelmanagement staff, as this expertisehas generally not been a consistentarea of focus for training anddevelopment of HR professionals.This may also be the reason why it iscited as the foremost issue as HRcontinues to attempt to helpbusinesses move forward.Leadership development: HRprofessionals continue to wrestle withunderstanding the best ways to keeppeople in the pipeline and developleaders for future successionplanning. Increasingly recognized asbecoming strategic business partnerswithin their organizations, HRprofessionals are expected to providethe essential frameworks, processes,tools, and points of view needed forthe selection and development offuture leaders.Measuring HR effectiveness is aninteresting new focus area as ithighlights the profession's need tomeasure results in terms of drivingthe business. HR professionals havebeen questioned in the past regardingtheir business acumen. Utilizingmetrics to determine effectiveness isthe beginning of a shift fromperceiving HR's role as purely anadministrative function to viewingthe HR team as a true strategicpartner within the organization.

EMERGING HR TRENDS

I can clearly see a perceivable trend ofHR being seen as a partner of linefunctions. Though hesitant and slow, thistransition reflects an importantmilestone for HR. Going forward, HR willplay an enabling role in formation,execution and measurement of businessstrategies. HR executives would need tounderstand numbers, appreciatebusiness critical issues and find


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solutions for fiscal health of the business. This would demand a firm hip- lock withbusiness where every Line Manager mirrors an HR Manager. Being a part ofSchneider Electric Leadership team, gives me an unprecedented opportunity toparticipate in and support the evolution of HR. Another area where HR has a majorleadership role to play is in initiating CSR practices. At Schneider, HR is alreadyinvolved in implementation and communicating policies and ideas across theorganization. HR is also responsible for systems and processes that are related toeffective delivery. With HR partnering with CSR, the future of a firm can bestrengthened in terms of its product responsibility, sustainability, and quality.

WINNING ISN'T EVERYTHING, BUT WANTING TO WIN IS -DR. SHALINI SARIN

I realise that there were no gains without pains- early marriage, post-graduation after children and Doctoral degree when children were stillin secondary school and - I was in the thick of my professionaljourney. Gain was- I never experienced a glass ceiling !!

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Dr. Tanaya MishraSr. Vice President, Group HR, JSW Steel, Mumbai

Dr. Tanaya Mishra is currently Sr. Vice President - Group HR, JSW Steel Limited based at Mumbai. Dr. Tanaya has avast experience in the field of HR and has spent approximately two decades in the industry. She is one the rare ladyHR Leaders who is conversant and at ease with both the service as well as the manufacturing sector. Dr. Tanaya haswon a number of awards and accolades including Leadership at Work 2012 at the World HRD Congress and has been

awarded the Young HR Leader Award by NHDRN 2008 and has won the HR leadership Award at the 3rd EmployerBranding Awards 2009. She holds a PhD. in Manpower Planning, Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management, a

Bachelors Degree in Law (LLB) and has been trained and certified by SHL, DDI, Thomas. She is a National andRegional committee member with CII, subject matter expert with SHRM, treasurer and executive council member of theNational HRD Network (NHRDN) - Mumbai Chapter and is part of the core committee of Employers Federation of India.

Being Professionalhandling tough situations...

"Contributing to the human capital to make it moremotivated and productive, engaged the primeobjective of any passionate HR Head and that hasbeen my mantra to reach where I currently am. I haveworked across both service and manufacturing sectors. Mylast two assignments have been in the hard coremanufacturing sectors of Steel, Cement, Infra, Ports,Concrete. A lone lady in a man's world of Sr. Mgmt, howdoes it feel ? Actually very good. Contrary to popular beliefand numerous discussions on Gender Diversity andWomen being discriminated at work place , it is not at allthat difficult. It's the assignment and deliverables that oneneeds to concentrate on. At the end of the day it's aboutbeing a professional immaterial whether one is a man or alady and handle tough situations and emerge successful.Yes, with a lady around may be the locker roomconversations are limited.

As a HR leader one key success factor is also ensuringthat the organization is a learning one and there isconstant development of people. Today is a world ofwhirlwind changes , unless employees are equipped tohandle these difficult and changing situations it wouldmean disaster for the organization. I also think as HRleaders it is essential to understand the potential that thehuman capital of one's organization has and devise waysand means to constantly upgrade them either throughstretch assignments , projects, external and or internaltraining inputs that are identified through developmentcenters. Organizations need to have a future readyworkforce to ensure that they are on the way to progressand development. One key element for a HR Leader is toensure succession planning is done for key leaders andalso to ensure that leaders are groomed for future positionsto ensure sustainability and continuity in the vision andmission of the company.

Last but not the least the home environment is key toensure that effective contributions are being made at. Ihave none other to thank than my husband, parents and notalways cooperative twins to be able to do and contribute theway that I currently am. Apart from being a professional Iam fairly active in the national HR forums". BM

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Dr. Sujaya Banerjee has been a Human Resources professional for over 22 years and has transformed theHR functions in several leading organizations during her career. She is an OD professional par-excellencehaving set up world class PMS and Talent Management programs and help build Learning Organizations

through her assignments at ADNOC, Lowe Lintas and Partners, British Gas and now the Essar Group.Sujaya has been listed among the Top 40 HR professionals in Asia and has won the Youth Icon Award for

2009 besides bringing several international accolades to India- the Learning Elite Award - CLO USA,Learning in Practice Award - CLO USA, Best Project Implementation in Asia- SuccessFactors and Best

Business Adoption Award- SuccessFactors. She has presented White Papers at leading conferences atGE's John F. Welch Leadership Center (Crotonville), at the CLO Summit-Harvard Business School, ASTD,SkillSoft Perspectives and recently at SuccessConnect Sydney. She is a sought after speaker and thought

leader and is a regular contributor to HR Magazines. Sujaya is a TEDx speaker and leads the Learning & ODRoundtable- a forum for practitioners which has a worldwide membership of over 1600 Learning & ODprofessionals. The L&OD Roundtable enables capability building of Learning professionals and helps

member organizations become Learning Organizations.

Dr. Sujaya BanerjeeChief Learning Officer, ESSAR Group, Mumbai

BeWoman& Write

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