Messages

1891

Career Development / Career Development Issues with Teams

« on: April 25, 2012, 01:51:35 PM »

Teams are increasingly being considered as a unit of work world over. Organisations seek harmony, coordination and oneness in teams for growth and prosperity. More emphasis is laid on group and team dynamics, still however career development issues concerning the teams are neglected somewhere, which is truer for organisations in the developing world and multi national corporations.

Individuals are being replaced at a rapid pace and there are both positive and negative facets of the same. There has been sufficient amount of discussion surrounding individual issues like the selection procedures, designing the training programs, the appraisal systems and rewards and recognition. All these fall within the ambit of individual career development issues. However, as mentioned earlier, not much attention has been paid to career development issues pertaining to teams! This write up is dedicated to the same.

Teams play a very important role in the individual and career development of the team members. If team dynamics are understood and exploited properly, individual and collective development will happen exponentially. For example one simple way of development of team members would be through benchmarking with team members who exhibit better competencies and skills. Teams can use these member skills and competencies to develop the same in other members who lag behind in certain areas where others excel.
   

Taking the above mentioned example further and assuming a team of people from across various departments. Different people from different departments make up for an interesting mix in terms of skills, competencies and attitude. People from quality, for example, can teach or introduce various quality concepts to those who are naive to the latter e.g. the marketing department. People from operations would be reasonably good in quality concepts and HR may or not be up to the mark depending upon the kind of organisation. Marketing people can similarly share their competencies in marketing communication which may be a weak link in the productions department.

This exchange of skills and competencies can lead to better staffing flexibility. In yet another way, team members may help in identification of training needs for members. Even if team members do not make a conscious effort on acquiring of new skills, a simple rotation of tasks or assignments among the team members will facilitate the skills exchange.

The need analysis program can lead to a developmental plan for each member of the team. In highly empowered teams the execution of the developmental plan also lies on the team members. In Cadillac, for example, each plant and work unit has a training needs analysis program in place that reminds the members of the KSA’s required to achieve targets or goals.

Teams can thus be geared towards acting as a very powerful tool for individual career development, where team members can enhance their own work skills and those of their peers. One strong reason why teams fail is an inappropriate staff / member selection for the team, which creates barriers for skills transfer. Once this is overcome development issues within a team is taken care of.

1892

Career Development / Mentoring and Career Development

« on: April 25, 2012, 01:50:54 PM »

Mentoring is one of the most effective career development program these days. In India it is gaining popularity even among SMEs (Small medium enterprises). It is in fact one of the better ways to foster relationship within individuals across the organizational hierarchy.

Mentoring is a process of developing formal relationships between junior and senior members of the organisation, in certain cases mentoring also takes place between peers. In other words it is a process of developing relationships between more experienced members of an organisation and the less experienced ones for transfer of knowledge and skills. These associations are developed with the intent of developing career functions. For example, coaching, sponsorship, protection to peer, challenging assignments, introduction to important contacts and resources are certain ways in which mentoring may happen.

Mentoring is also targeted to psychological functions; role modeling, counseling, benchmarking individual practices are various ways in which the latter is achieved. It is no doubt an important tool that apart from employee development also leads to increased job satisfaction, organsational dedication and career achievement.

The process of mentoring works both ways i.e. it benefits both the parties, the mentor and the mentee. It increases the job involvement and satisfaction of the mentor. In case of the one mentored, he feels valuable, the job satisfaction increases and there is essentially a transfer of knowledge and skills.

Organisations that have Formal Mentoring Programs

Lots of organisations are using mentoring programs as means of career development. Federal express, bank of America and Merrill lynch are some organisation that have formal mentoring programs in place. Bank of America for example has developed quad squads which comprises of a mentor and three mentees (also called as protégé for ‘males’ and ‘protegee’ for female). Many organisations have also developed like to like mentoring relationships (for example Anglo-Indian mentors with Anglo-Indian mentees).

Mentoring Techniques

Mentoring requires an exercise of great wisdom, caution and expertise on the part of the mentor. There are many techniques that are used these days, some of which have been briefly explained below:

    Mentors are assigned with the responsibility of preparing their mentee for change. The focus is to prepare the individual mentally before he/she is asked for change, so that the change is not taken as negative and instead a developmental process. This mentoring technique s called sowing.
    The other entering technique is called as accompanying, wherein the mentor is involved in the learning process of mentee side by side explicitly, guiding all the time.

    Doing is yet another mentoring technique in which the mentor uses his own example to make something understand. It is also called leading.
    Harvesting is one technique that is essentially aimed at evaluation of the past learning’s and to extract conclusions from the same.
    Catalyzing is one technique wherein the process of learning or knowledge transfer is speeded. This is done only when a significant amount of change is achieved.

For mentoring it is important to understand the learning requirements and the style of the mentee. An inappropriate mentoring methodology can act reverse. As mentioned at the beginning of the write up, you require great deal of expertise for the mentoring process. Handle with care is the mantra!

1893

Career Development / Career Management - Meaning and Important Concepts

« on: April 25, 2012, 01:48:08 PM »

Career management is conscious planning of one’s activities and engagements in the jobs one undertakes in the course of his life for better fulfilment, growth and financial stability. It is a sequential process that starts from an understanding of oneself and encompasses occupational awareness.

An individual’s career is the sole source of one’s natural expression of self. One school of thought describes work as the purpose of life and the source of one’s expression and the purpose of being or existence. Yet others believe that there is a wide difference between an individual’s career and his life. In any case, career is an integral component of one’s life and therefore the need for its management.

Career management is more or less like the organisational management; after all an organisation is nothing but an assortment of individuals! The process of career management begins with the formulation of goals and objectives those that are short term or meant to be achieved in the short run.

This is a tedious task compared to a long term career goal which is more or visionary in nature. Since the objective is short term or immediate, it is more of action oriented. Second it demands achievement every day, every moment. Again this step can be very difficult for those who are not aware of the opportunities available or are not completely conscious of their talents. However more specific, measurable and achievable the goals greater are the chances of the management plan bearing fruit.

Achievement of goal requires a well chalked strategy, which implies a plan of action to achieve the goal. This has to be followed by drafting or establishment of procedures / policies / norms or rules that govern action or practice.

The final step in the career management process is evaluation of the career management plan for ensuring that progress is being made or if there is a need to introduce some changes in the latter.

One may also utilize the services of various career assessment tests at various stages to choose career paths that are in tandem with ones likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. These tests range from ones that are small and brief to the ones that are exhaustive offering minute details. Some of the tests that one may like to undergo are MBTI (Myers and Briggs Type Indicator), SDI (Strength Deployment Inventory) and Multiple Intelligence among others.

The onus of career management is more on the individual self than the employer. Ensuring personal development in terms of skills, competencies, change in attitude with time are things one may need to take care of on one’s own. Short term goals need to met and evaluated. The long term career goals need to be revised with the change in employment scenario and self; organisations may or may not be concerned in a big way or aligned to your priorities in career and life. Often counselling is of major help in evaluating a job and the future prospects and for establishing clarity of values for they undergo a change with the passage of time!

1894

Career Development / Indicators of Career Program Effectiveness

« on: April 25, 2012, 01:47:29 PM »

A career development program is a planned mechanism to integrate a series of activities related to individual career planning by the employees and organizational career management for the employees. The main objective of designing and developing a career management program is to provide employees with an opportunity to grow within the organization and expand their horizons and upgrade and use their skills to maximum possible extent so that the organization can be benefited ultimately. Times have changed and so have the needs and aspirations of employees. Gone are the days when they would stick to their job until their retirement. In today’s world, when there is so much to explore and achieve, they simply can’t afford to be static. They need continuous development and evolvement of themselves and reach new heights.

Career program in such a scenario tries to strike a balance between the employee requirements and objectives and organizations requirements and objectives. The entire program is a consortium of several activities and workshops that help in fostering better communication at all levels of organization so everyone can understand each other’s requirements, skills and competencies.

The program also gives employees an opportunity to understand their own desires and aspirations and feasibility of their goals so that they can assess their skills and competencies and therefore, set realistic goals. Once a career program is introduced in the organization, the top management has to make sure that it serves the purpose for which it has been introduced and implemented. There are several factors that indicate the effectiveness of a career program. By assessing and analyzing them, the HR professionals can measure till what extent the program has been successful.

Indicators of Career Program Effectiveness

    Matching the Standards with the Results: Comparison between already established goals and objectives and achievement is the biggest indicator of the effectiveness of a career program. Lesser the difference between the two, more successful the program is. But before matching the two, HR managers should make sure that the set standards were feasible to achieve and achieved output is calculated without any bias.

    Greater Self Awareness among Employees: The effectiveness of the program can also be measured by the degree of increase in self awareness among employees. If they feel that they have achieved greater self awareness and self-determination and acquired necessary and useful information about their career, the program is definitely a big success.

    Balance between Employee and Organization Requirements and Objectives: Implementation of a career development program should result in better communication at all levels within the organization, a balance match between individual and organizational career and identification of talent pool by HR specialists are other major indicators that can help you measure the effectiveness of a career development program.

    Changes in Performance Indexes: Improved employee performance ratings, improved employee morale, reduced turnover rates, reduced employee absenteeism, increased promotions from within and reduced time to fill job openings are other positive indicators for measuring the effectiveness of a career program.

Along with this, a positive change in the attitude and behaviour of employees and adequacy of organizational career information can also be seen as indicators of career program effectiveness.

1895

Career Development / Implications of Workplace Changes

« on: April 25, 2012, 01:46:19 PM »

Career, as a series of upward moves of income, status, power and security has died long back. In 21st century, career is seen as continuous learning and changes in identity due to experience and personal learning along with upward moves in income, status and power. Employees, these days want a fulfilling career and organizations need to give them. The traditional psychological set up of individuals has changed and they no longer have the same interests. They desire for a boundary less, alive and flourishing career where they get a chance to shape their lives according to their requirements. Organizations need to understand the desires and demands of their employees if they want to create a pool of talent for them and ensure better working all through. In order to strike a balance with continuous workplace changes, both employees and organizations have to come to the mutually beneficial terms so that both can meet their requirements and future aspirations.

Tips for Individuals to Handle Workplace Changes

    The main focus of organizations today is on the employability of individuals. They should not hold on to a specific job. Rather they should focus on developing skills and competencies that are portable and can be used anywhere and everywhere in the time crisis.

    Individuals must take care of their career needs, desires and aspirations. They need to take control of their careers and look out for their career interests. After all, they also have right to look out for their dream jobs.

    They must think of developing new and better personal skills in order to achieve their dream careers. Plus, they should make every effort to assess themselves and their competencies and plan their careers accordingly. Most organizations lack in employee career planning. In such a scenario, the entire responsibility comes on individuals to choose their own direction.

    Employees must invest in reputation building, networking, socializing and peer learning relationships so that they can fulfill their desires and aspirations.

    Individuals must be committed towards life long learning to keep their skills updated and relevant to increase their employability.

Recommendations for Organizations

    Although it is an employees responsibility to manage his or her own career but times have changed and it is now employer’s responsibility too to provide their employees with tools and techniques, professional career guidance and opportunities so that they can enhance their skills and re-invent themselves.

    It is employer’s responsibility to create an environment that supports continuous learning and overall development of individuals. It can be done through professional training, associations, workshops, etc. Organizations such as Motorola, Intel and Ford are known as people developers just because they offer supportive environment to their employees.

    The organizations must make arrangements to provide additional training such as orientation training, core training and computer training in order to increase employability of the employees. Along with this, they should support this with a proper reward system.

    Before hiring new candidates or outsourcing, organizations must try to redeploy their already existing employees and teach them new skills.

    They should assist employees in striking a balance between their work and non-work life so that they can produce better output at work.

1896

Career Development / Organizational Assessment Programs

« on: April 25, 2012, 01:45:18 PM »

The purpose of organization assessment programs is to evaluate the potential of employees for growth and development within the organization. Many organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, Ford, Intel and IBM use such programs to fulfill their staffing requirements. Since these organizations are known for continuous innovation, they need special target groups in order to handle their very special department. These specially formulated teams consist of those individuals who have greater employability and are able to work under pressure. To speed up high-priority development of new products and innovation of entirely different products, highly competent individuals are required. In order to fulfill their staffing requirements, these organizations take help of assessment programs.

Organizational Assessment Programs

    Assessment Centers: Assessment centers are popular decision-making tools that are used by most companies including Pratt & Whitney, AT & T, Sears Reobuck & Co., TVA, JC Penney, IBM, GE and Bendix. All the individuals (participants) in assessment centers are engaged in a variety of exercises and put in different situations including tests, group discussions, interviews, in-baskets and business games. Their performances are evaluated by the experts. After that a panel of trainers gives them an in-depth feedback on their strengths and weaknesses. They then are given an opportunity to improve their skills and set their future career goals.

    Psychological Testing: Psychological testing consists of written test that help individuals as well as organizations understand their personality, career interests, work attitudes, vocational interests and other personal characteristics. It reveals their career needs and preferences and then they are given jobs that suit their personality as well as skills and competencies.

    Promotability Forecasts: Promotability forecasting is a tool that helps organizations is identifying the individuals with exceptionally high potential to perform different types of jobs. This technique is used in making early forecasts. Once individuals are identified, they are made to attend conferences and training programs and other relevant developmental experiences in order to groom them for higher positions. Several companies have different programs to groom different groups of employees. Along with this, high potential employees are given developmental assignments that are a real test for them.

    Succession Planning: Succession planning is a formal process with an aim to groom lower level individuals to replace next-higher level individual in case he or she leaves the organization or gets retired. The process involves continuous review top executives and the next lower level employees in order to determine whether he or she is the right backup for the senior executive or not. This is the most important exercise which often takes several years in grooming the next person for the senior position. It includes overall development of the selected individual and continuous review of his or her performance. This is a common assessment tool in Fortune 500 companies that choose their CEO by the same process. Organizations create a pool of talented employees who have high leadership potential. They are put to different jobs in different situations and are evaluated by a panel of experts. The process is usually restricted to senior level management only.

1897

Career Development / Benefits of Formal Succession Planning

« on: April 25, 2012, 01:44:22 PM »

Succession planning is one of the most important career development tools used by organizations. This is done to determine the backups for each senior position by identifying and training the executives who are at the next-lower levels. This is an important process as most organizations rely on it to find their next CEO and other top notch executives. This includes an overall development of lower level employees to make sure that they can effectively handle the responsibilities that they will be handed over in next few years. Formal succession planning is an examination of organization’s long range plans and strategies and HR forecasts. It also offers several other benefits and has a positive impact on organizational culture and efficiency.

Benefits of Formal Succession Planning

    Formal succession planning is a systematic approach for preparing employees at lower levels to handle the responsibilities of next higher levels in the coming years. The process involves a lot of serious planning and careful HR forecasts in identifying the capable employees who have the potential to be promoted to next level in the hierarchy.


    It provides a logical approach for succession of top notch positions by the next lower-level employee. It is all about identifying the skills and competencies and potential of an employee so that he or she can be deployed at different jobs in the time of crisis.

    Succession planning gives the answers to all the questions regarding preparing an individual for the next level in the organizational hierarchy. It helps HR specialists in knowing and understanding why a specific individual should be developed and trained to promote to the next level.

    It reduces the randomness in organization’s processes and managerial development movements and establishes formal steps and actions, policies and procedures to support the process of selecting the CEO and other top management executives.

    A formal succession planning process is a proactive approach to fill a top position. It helps HR professionals to anticipate problems in the process before they get started. This is very important to avoid negative and dysfunctional situations.

    It fosters cross-functional development and facilitates the integration of HR planning components, processes and procedures. Not only this, it supports connecting formats, guidelines, analyses, judgments and discussions at their front.

    Formal succession planning helps in further exploitation of computer systems, HRP software applications, HR tools and techniques in order to support the identification, development and training of the individuals.

    It helps HR managers in overcoming the limitations of reactive management approaches and fosters pro-active management approaches to make organization a better place to work.

    It establishes a logical basis for making choices among qualified candidates. Who should be selected, why they should be selected and what skills and competencies they own and what needs to be developed in them are critical factors while identifying the employees for succession planning.

    The process establishes a specific connection between the business objectives and HR strategic planning. Along with this, it also increases internal promotion opportunities.

1898

Career Development / Career Programs for Special Target Groups

« on: April 25, 2012, 01:43:39 PM »

Career development programs are designed to meet specific needs and requirements of a particular group of employees. They can be developed for a particular department of special target groups. Depending upon the group for which the program is to be designed, the activities and workshops involved in it also change accordingly. Therefore, before designing and developing a career development program, it is very essential to analyze the requirements of the targeted group. However, there can be some common programs that can be used for all groups within the organizations. There are several different groups in an organization including Fast-track Employees, entrenched employees, supervisors, executives, new employees, women, employees with disabilities and many more.

Career Programs for Fast-Track Employees

Fast-track employees are the star performers who have potential to do more that what they are supposed to. The organizations place such employees in fast fast-track groups for quick and upward moves. These are specially selected employees from various groups and departments who are given an opportunity for rapid and intensive development.
   

These employees require continuous technical as well as psychological training in order to expand their horizons and develop such skills that they can perform more challenging jobs of different kinds. Fast-track employees are also able to manage quicker job changes particularly in the time of crisis. The organization can design high-ended career development programs for them to ensure their quick and intensive development.

Career Programs for Entrenched Employees

Since organizations undergo a lot of restructuring and cutback due to recession and streamlining of their activities and operations. Because of this, many employees are asked to leave the organization and explore some other career opportunity. In order to eliminate negative consequences, organizations can start career programs for this special group in order to help them find a new job. Organizations can offer generous severance pay packages to them to fund their career explorations. Along with this, they can also introduce schemes such as pension funds and accrued time off. They can also provide ongoing career development training and counselling and outplacement assistance to them.

Career Programs for Supervisors

When every group requires different career development programs, obviously the needs of supervisors will also be different from other employees. The can be provided with continuous training, counselling and coaching on how to lead teams and recognize special skills in an employee. Since they act as mentors of their subordinates, they should be provided with an integrated counselling on performance appraisal system and how to use it in order to measure the performance of their subordinates.

Career Programs for Women

With increasing numbers of women entering the workplace, the organizations must develop special career programs for them. Organizations need to identify their problems and challenges that they face on regular basis and try to develop special programs while keeping all these points and considerations in mind. Since women are good multi-taskers, the HR specialists should make special efforts to enhance their abilities and capabilities and motivate them to perform better regardless of the circumstances and difficulties in their personal lives. They have different problems and different requirements when it comes to career. This should be kept in mind while designing specialized programs for them.

1899

Career Development / Policies on Hiring Couples and Relocation Assistance

« on: April 25, 2012, 01:40:40 PM »

Recent studies have shown that many employees are less willing to accept relocation offers from their employers. The most important factor related to their willingness to relocate is their spouse’s willingness. Couples prefer working in the same city once they get married and in rarest of the rare cases they are willing to move. It is not surprising finding as it has been happening since the time when women started taking up jobs. Earlier relocation was not a real problem but when both the individuals are working, organizations are facing huge problems in relocating their employees. If they pressurize the employee to relocate, they start looking up for other employment opportunities and put in their papers with their current organization.

Some large scale organizations, popularly known as people developers have already begun offering relocation assistance to their employees. They make arrangements for the relocation of their spouses also. However, the level and degree of such assistance is quite low. It depends on the necessity of the relocation of that particular employee.

Mostly, the relocation assistance is offered to the employees of higher grade. Low level or middle level employees still do not come in this category and organizations still don’t find it feasible for them to provide relocation assistance to these employees. Yes, top-notch employees can definitely take advantage of this policy.

Providing relocation assistance does not mean that the organization would offer job to the spouses of their employees. Rather it means, they offer a specific amount to a spouse in order to help him or her with resume writing and job hunting. Some companies also assist them in finding job in the state or country where they’ll be relocated through their references and networking. Motorola is known to offer such assistance to the spouses of their employees who are relocated to take up international assignments. This is a positive development for both the parties. Unisys has a policy to pay around $ 500 to the working spouse of their employee to help with job hunting and resume writing.

Even Johnson & Johnson offers career counselling to the spouse of their employees and provide them with job-related information in order to foster relocation. Many organizations including Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and ConAgra have specially hired relocation consultants and even firms to assist them in planning the relocation of their employees. Not only this, they also involve their employees in the entire process and relocate them only when they find out a feasible solution.

Some organizations have reworked on their policies and allow their managers to hire both spouses. They have altered their policies on nepotism but they still have this rule in place that they still can not work under the same supervisor in the same department or can not work under the direct supervision of his or her spouse. In order to hire both spouses, they have introduced several policies that are beneficial to them. This is beneficial for the employer as well because it includes less expense on employee relocation and transfers. They can now relocate the entire family easily. The major disadvantage of this policy is that if one spouse leaves the organization die to any reason, the other may also leave.

1900

Career Development / Career Personality Tests

« on: April 25, 2012, 01:39:41 PM »

A career personality test centers on finding what a particular individual is best at and for what types of jobs he or she will be suitable. This test helps professionals in understanding their priorities, career aspirations, desires and values and goals. It is not necessary to choose a career in a particular domain which you have studied at university level.

Different individuals have different mind setups and different needs and requirements and skills and competencies when it comes to their career. Not all individuals having same educational qualifications are competent to handle the same type of job. If you want to change your career but don’t know which way to go, do not worry! A career personality test will help you in defining your goals and objectives more clearly and finding the career opportunities that would suit you according to your personality type.

Career personality tests can be broken into different parts including career assessment tests, personality assessment tests and assessment on how to have a successful professional life, personality tests for career paths. All these components play an important role in helping individuals make their career choices.

These tests are not popular in small organizations but several industry giants known as people developers regularly provide opportunities to their employees to understand their competencies and career interests so that they can put at the right place and be used effectively.

Career personality test deals in identifying the interests, abilities, likes, values and desires and aspirations of the individuals related to diverse jobs or occupations. The main objective of conducting these tests is to enable people to identify the careers they can excel into by analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, interests and disinterests, skills and competencies. It is good to conduct these tests prior to taking admission in a particular course but since most people don’t do that, many big organizations help their employees find what they are best at.

The second main component is personality assessment test which is comprised of different questions and scenarios. The main objective of this test is to determine the personality, character, capability, emotional quotient, willingness and preferences of an individual inside various professional fields. The personality patterns can be used to identify which particular line of work is ideal for an individual where he or she can give their best. Based upon the results of test, the individuals are told what careers match their personality. Organizations use this test to determine the competency of an individual within a chosen area.

Understanding how to have a successful, long and fulfilling professional life is very important. Most people who are not satisfied with their professional lives are not happy in their personal lives too. Therefore, striking a balance is very important. It can be achieved only when individuals do what they like. A career personality test helps them understand how they can bring efficiency and effectiveness in their work to live a fulfilling and satisfying life.

There are numerous types of career personality test. You can conduct an online research to find out which one is the most authentic and gives genuine results. You can determine more suitable career options according to your personality.

1901

Career Development / Career Ladders and Career Paths

« on: April 25, 2012, 01:38:44 PM »

Typically a career involves a growth path which takes an individual to a higher position in the organizational hierarchy over a certain period of time. It is called the career ladder or the career path. Most of the organisations map out various steps in the lifetime of an organisation in advance. This is done to proactively assess various job movements, vertical and lateral or cross functional moves.

Career ladders are part of the information services which in turn is a component of the career development systems. It is a part of the career management process. According to one survey conducted among 182 of the fortune 500 firms, career ladders or career path was considered as one of the effective tools of retention, work motivation and having the communication.

The process of chalking the career path is beneficial to both the employees and the organisation. From the perspective of the organisation, they are able to preempt future job opportunities for the employees and for answering employee queries about their career progression. Lots of organisations group jobs by job families. General Motors for instance employs one such strategy. They group marketing, HR, Engineering and production etc to draft a picture of future prospects for the employee in each group.
   

For an employee the career path or the ladder helps him set targets for himself throughout his career; evaluate himself continually and develop new skills required at the time of transition from one position to a higher. The career path carries the time line, the intermediate goals and the skills and competencies or the qualifications. It thus serves as a guide map. For example the career path in a sales department may look like:

Executive Business Development ⇒ Senior Executive Business Development ⇒ Assistant Manager ⇒ Deputy Manager ⇒ Manager ⇒ Area Sales Manager ⇒ Senior Manager ⇒ Deputy General Manager ⇒ General Manager ⇒ Vice President and so forth.

At each level an employee may be required to spend a certain amount of time and give a certain level of productivity. Unless the individual performs brilliantly the time frame is not compromised upon. In a research survey it was found out that, those organisation who picked up very young professionals from top business schools and escalated them to senior positions failed miserably despite their rich skills and qualifications! It is thus necessary to spend certain time at each level, which prepares you for the next.

Employees who outperform others are placed on fast track development tracks where they are provided training inputs so that they are able to move up the ladder and assume leadership positions soon. For such cases multiple or dual career paths have come up in the recent years! This is especially true for scientists and engineers who lacked managerial skills and were regarded as misfits for leadership or managerial positions, not anymore. Nowadays organisations have dual career paths so that a person in a technical position can move up through any of the desired paths.

It therefore appears that career paths and ladders are good contributors to the career development system within organisations. Apart from the above mentioned benefits they also act as agents of motivation by helping the employees remain focused.

1902

Career Development / Employment Counselling

« on: April 25, 2012, 01:37:56 PM »

Many firms across the globe have realized the necessity of employment counselling. One of the reasons is to create a quality workforce along with desired skills and competencies in order to utilize them to maximum possible extent. In today’s highly turbulent and ever-changing environment, keeping a pace with the latest developments and surviving the cut throat competition have become the first priority. In such a scenario, having a talented and extraordinary workforce is the first and foremost requirement. Organizations can only rely on their human resources as a company’s success is attributed to the quality of manpower it has.

Today, many HR specialists and practitioners are busy developing innovative techniques and tools to attract the best chunk of people and utilizing their skills to the maximum possible extent.

Employment counselling is an attempt to determine individual’s interests, desires, aspirations and skills and competencies in various occupations and jobs. The information collected is very important in order to understand where to put a particular employee to get maximum output from him or her. It is one of the most popular services offered by organizations to their employees.

The organizations which are looking to retain their biggest assets and attract new talent from the industry care for their employees and try to provide them services and assistance to make their relationship more meaning and purposeful. An organization may gain competitive advantage from this tool as they target to make every employee better.

Employment counselling is a process that helps individuals in learning how to deal with their interpersonal, decisional and emotional problems. The specially appointed counselors help them to learn and encourage changing and moving in a direction where they can give their 100 percent. It is a well planned step-by-step process with an ultimate objective of achieving satisfaction and fulfillment from professional life. Other than this, the main objectives of the process also include bringing positive changes in the behaviors of employees making them independent problem solvers, bringing changes in their habits, helping them choose a more suitable career option, bringing a nice change in their outlook towards different things, helping them to handle interpersonal conflicts, assisting them in dealing with their emotional instability and facilitating them to communicate more amicably with their team members.

It is also known as a remedial approach as it is offered to provide employees with an expert’s assistance to deal with their issues related to their professional life. It is also called a preventive approach that helps employees realize their potential and career interests before it is too late to make a right career choice. On the other hand, when employees get such services in their organizations, they develop a sense of belongingness towards them and stick to them even in crisis.

Employment counselling is beneficial for both employees as well as employers as it has a positive impact on them and helps both the parties achieve their short-term and long-term goals. No one is perfect - neither the organizations nor the employees. This is an effort to fight with inadequacies of employees and well as employers.

1903

Employee Relationship Management / What is Employee Relations ?

« on: April 25, 2012, 01:25:21 PM »

An organization can’t perform only with the help of chairs, tables, fans or other non living entities. It needs human beings who work together and perform to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization. The human beings working together towards a common goal at a common place (organization) are called employees. Infact the employees are the major assets of an organization.

The success and failure of any organization is directly proportional to the labour put by each and every employee. The employees must share a good rapport with each other and strive hard to realize the goal of the organization. They should complement each other and work together as a single unit. For the employees, the organization must come first and all their personal interests should take a back seat.

What is Employee Relations ?

Every individual shares a certain relationship with his colleagues at the workplace. The relationship is either warm, so-so or bad. The relationship can be between any one in the organization - between co workers, between an employee and his superior, between two members in the management and so on. It is important that the employees share a healthy relationship with each other to deliver their best performances.
   

An individual spends his maximum time at the workplace and his fellow workers are the ones with whom he spends the maximum hours in a day. No way can he afford to fight with his colleagues. Conflicts and misunderstandings only add to tensions and in turn decrease the productivity of the individual. One needs to discuss so many things at work and needs the advice and suggestions of all to reach to a solution which would benefit the individual as well as the organization.

No individual can work alone. He needs the support and guidance of his fellow workers to come out with a brilliant idea and deliver his level best.

Employee relations refer to the relationship shared among the employees in an organization. The employees must be comfortable with each other for a healthy environment at work. It is the prime duty of the superiors and team leaders to discourage conflicts in the team and encourage a healthy relationship among employees.

Life is really short and it is important that one enjoys each and every moment of it.Remember in an organization you are paid for your hard work and not for cribbing or fighting with each other. Don’t assume that the person sitting next to you is your enemy or will do any harm to you. Who says you can’t make friends at work, infact one can make the best of friends in the office. There is so much more to life than fighting with each other. Observation says that a healthy relation among the employees goes a long way in motivating the employees and increasing their confidence and morale. One starts enjoying his office and does not take his work as a burden. He feels charged and fresh the whole day and takes each day at work as a new challenge. If you have a good relation with your team members you feel going to office daily. Go out with your team members for a get together once in a while or have your lunch together. These activities help in strengthening the bond among the employees and improve the relations among them.

An employee must try his level best to adjust with each other and compromise to his best extent possible. If you do not agree to any of your fellow worker’s ideas, there are several other ways to convince him. Sit with him and probably discuss with him where he is going wrong and needs a correction. This way he would definitely look up to you for your advice and guidance in future. He would trust you and would definitely come to your help whenever you need him. One should never spoil his relations with his colleagues because you never know when you need the other person. Avoid using foul words or derogatory sentences against anyone. Don’t depend on lose talk in office as it spoils the ambience of the place and also the relation among the employees. Blame games are a strict no no in office.

One needs to enter his office with a positive frame of mind and should not unnecessarily make issues out of small things. It is natural that every human being can not think the way you think, or behave the way you behave. If you also behave in the similar way the other person is behaving, there is hardly any difference between you and him. Counsel the other person and correct him wherever he is wrong.

It is of utmost importance that employees behave with each other in a cultured way, respect each other and learn to trust each other. An individual however hardworking he is, cannot do wonders alone. It is essential that all the employees share a cordial relation with each other, understand each other’s needs and expectations and work together to accomplish the goals and targets of the organization.

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Employee Relationship Management / Importance of Employee Relations - Why Employee Relations at Workplace?

« on: April 25, 2012, 01:24:34 PM »

Every individual at the workplace shares a certain relationship with his fellow workers. Human beings are not machines who can start working just at the push of a mere button. They need people to talk to, discuss ideas with each other and share their happiness and sorrows. An individual cannot work on his own, he needs people around. If the organization is all empty, you will not feel like sitting there and working. An isolated environment demotivates an individual and spreads negativity around. It is essential that people are comfortable with each other and work together as a single unit towards a common goal.

It is important that employees share a healthy relation with each other at the work place. Let us find out why employee relations are important in an organization:

    There are several issues on which an individual cannot take decisions alone. He needs the guidance and advice of others as well. Sometimes we might miss out on important points, but our fellow workers may come out with a brilliant idea which would help us to achieve our targets at a much faster rate. Before implementing any plan, the pros and cons must be evaluated on an open forum where every employee has the right to express his opinions freely. On your own, you will never come to know where you are going wrong, you need people who can act as critic and correct you wherever you are wrong. If you do not enjoy a good relation with others no one will ever come to help you.

    Work becomes easy if it is shared among all. A healthy relation with your fellow workers would ease the work load on you and in turn increases your productivity. One cannot do everything on his own. Responsibilities must be divided among team members to accomplish the assigned tasks within the stipulated time frame. If you have a good rapport with your colleagues, he will always be eager to assist you in your assignments making your work easier.

    The organization becomes a happy place to work if the employees work together as a family. An individual tends to lose focus and concentration if his mind is always clouded with unnecessary tensions and stress. It has been observed that if people talk and discuss things with each other, tensions automatically evaporate and one feels better. Learn to trust others, you will feel relaxed. One doesn’t feel like going to office if he is not in talking terms with the person sitting next to him. An individual spends around 8-9 hours in a day at his workplace and practically it is not possible that one works non stop without a break. You should have people with whom you can share your lunch, discuss movies or go out for a stroll once in a while. If you fight with everyone, no one will speak to you and you will be left all alone. It is important to respect others to expect the same from them.

    An individual feels motivated in the company of others whom he can trust and fall back on whenever needed. One feels secure and confident and thus delivers his best. It is okay if you share your secrets with your colleagues but you should know where to draw the line. A sense of trust is important.

    Healthy employee relations also discourage conflicts and fights among individuals. People tend to adjust more and stop finding faults in each other. Individuals don’t waste their time in meaningless conflicts and disputes, rather concentrate on their work and strive hard to perform better. They start treating each other as friends and try their level best to compromise and make everyone happy.

    A healthy employee relation reduces the problem of absenteeism at the work place. Individuals are more serious towards their work and feel like coming to office daily. They do not take frequent leaves and start enjoying their work. Employees stop complaining against each other and give their best

    It is wise to share a warm relation with your fellow workers, because you never know when you need them. You may need them any time. They would come to your help only when you are nice to them. You might need leaves for some personal reasons; you must have a trusted colleague who can handle the work on your behalf. Moreover healthy employee relations also spread positivity around.

It is essential that employees are comfortable with each other for better focus and concentration, lesser conflicts and increased productivity.

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Employee Relationship Management / Strategies to Improve Employee Relations

« on: April 25, 2012, 01:20:54 PM »

For the organization to perform better it is important that the employees are comfortable with each other, share a good rapport and work in close coordination towards a common objective. People feel responsible and motivated to do good work and enjoy their work rather than taking it as a burden.

It is important that the management promotes healthy employee relations at workplace to extract the best out of each individual. Competition is essential but it should not promote negativity or any kind of enmity among the employees.

Let us go through some steps and strategies for a healthy employee relationship in the organization.

    Involve your team members: They should feel important and indispensable for the organization. An individual must be assigned responsibilities according to their interests and responsibilities. Don’t impose work on them. Let them willingly accept challenges. They must enjoy whatever they do otherwise they would end up fighting with their superiors and fellow workers.

    Encourage individuals to share their work with each other: This way people tend to talk with each other more, discuss things among themselves and thus the comfort level increases. Let them work together and take decisions on their own. A team leader should intervene only in extreme cases of conflicts and severe misunderstandings.

    Assign them targets and ask all your team members to contribute equally and achieve the target within the desired time frame. Motivate them to work in groups. This way employees have no other choice than to trust their fellow workers and take each other’s help as well. An employee must have the liberty to express his ideas and all of them should sit together to decide on something which would be beneficial to all.

    One should try his level best that all the employees must have their lunch together at the same time. Half an hour to fourty five minutes must be dedicated to lunch and one should not discuss work during lunch time. There are other topics as well. Discuss movies, sports, shopping or any other thing under the sun. There will be no harm if the employees go out together once in a while for get togethers, picnics or shopping. Ask them to bring their family members as well.

    Encourage effective communication among the team members. It has been observed that poor communication leads to confusions and misunderstandings. The communication has to be precise and relevant. One should not play with words and be very specific about his expectations from his fellow workers as well as the organization. If you are not very happy with your colleague’s proposal, don’t keep things to yourself. Voice your opinion and do express your displeasure. It will definitely prevent a conflict among employees later and improve the relations among them. Be straightforward. Don’t pretend things just to please your boss. If you find anything unacceptable, discuss with your superior but in a polite way.

    Written modes of communication must be promoted among the employees for better transparency. Verbal communication is not as reliable as written communication. The agendas, minutes of the meeting, important issues must be circulated among all through emails. Make sure that all the related employees are in the loop. Don’t communicate individually with any of the employees as the other one might feel neglected and left out.

    Morning meeting is another effective way to improve the relation among the employees. Let everyone come together on a common platform and discuss whatever issues they have. The meetings must not be too formal. Allow the team members to bring their cups of coffee. Start your day with a positive mind. Greet everyone with a warm smile. Exchange greetings and compliments. If any of your team member is not in a pleasant mood, do take the initiative and ask what is wrong with him. Try your level best to provide him a solution.

    Organize birthday parties, Christmas parties, New Year parties etc. at the workplace. These small initiatives actually go a long way in strengthening the bond among the employees. Ask all of them to decorate the office, their work stations and make all the necessary arrangements themselves. You will actually be surprised to find out that everyone would be ready with some thing or the other. Employees would actually take the initiative and organize things on their own. Let them enjoy with each other and have fun.

    Praise the individual if he has done something exceptionally well. Reward him suitably. The names of the top performers must be displayed on the notice boards for others to draw inspiration from them. Encourage everyone to perform well to live up to the expectations of the superiors as well as the management.

A healthy relation among employees promotes a positive ambience at the work place and employees feel happy and satisfied at work. They look forward to going to office da