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| 2. India Inc Betting Big On Temporary Employees |
India Inc betting big on
temporary employees
11 Nov 2008, 0214 hrs IST, Papia Lahiri, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: Global financial crisis and
the consequent knee-jerk reaction in
India—retrenchment
and layoffs—has given temping firms a reason to smile. Amidst layoffs and
cautious hiring as means of cost cutting, temporary and contract staffing is
fast emerging as a lucrative option. The demand for temporary staff across
sectors has been steadily growing at 25-30% over the last six months.
India Inc is increasingly realizing that contract or temporary staffing can
help reduce cost of hiring, absorption, managing people and compliance.
Currently, the top five employers in
India
account for nearly 1.20 lakh temporary employees in the organised sector.
“With the global crisis affecting almost all sectors in
India,
companies are now more keen on hiring temporary and sub-contracted staff,” says
Kelly Services India country general manager Rajiv Mehrotra.
According to the industry estimates, organisations are saving anywhere between
20-40% in their total wage bills by opting for temp staffing. It is also
helping companies to identify requisite talent with specific skills as per
their own requirements.
Most of the temp hiring is done by sectors which engage in numerous
short-duration projects. Sectors like IT, ITeS, BFSI, aviation, hospitality,
manufacturing and infrastructure are reported to have increased their contract
staff considerably. These include companies like Microsoft, GE Money and Big
Bazaar, among others. Contract staff is being hired across levels in various
sectors as it helps companies take on more time-based assignments while
reducing costs of permanent hiring.
“When it comes to conditions of working for temporary or sub-contracted staff,
they differ across sectors, but primarily, legal obligations remain similar for
contracted and permanent staff,” says e2e Business Solutions (a HR consultancy
firm) director Yeshasvini Ramaswamy. “However, it helps the organisation
because they are able to procure requisite and trained people.”
According to the fourth annual temp salaries primer report, compiled by
staffing solutions company TeamLease Services, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkota and
Delhi pay the best salaries in temping, with Bangalore paying the most in IT
and HR, Mumbai in engineering and Delhi in sales. Ahmedabad,
Bangalore, Mumbai and
Delhi
offer the best wage hikes.
However, the positive aspect of the slowdown is that many organisations in the
country have been able to control high attrition rates, which prevailed across
sectors like IT/ITes, banking, financial services and retail. Analysts say,
less productive employees seem to be getting removed, while those with proven
capabilities
would be valuable to the employers.
Firms will find it easy to narrow down on requisite talent. “History shows that in turbulent times
demand for temporary workforce grows steadily. This is quite contrary to the
perm business where only critical positions are hired irrespective of the
economic barriers. As the global economy gains traction, we will see employers
regain confidence and become more willing to add permanently to their
payrolls,” says a Manpower India spokesperson.
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| 3. 9 Ways To Make Great Decisions |
9 Ways To Make Great Decisions
Those of you working in HR play a pivotal role in the company. You are decision
makers; you are the ones who implement the decisions of the organization. The
first thing that you should remember is that you are not just 'working in HR',
but that you are part of the cornerstone upon which your company lies. Because
you play such an important, decision-making role, here is a researched article
just for you on how to make Great Decisions. Here it is:
"Perfect decisions are few and far between because life is messy. A great
decision is always possible, however. Great decisions don't all have fairytale
endings, but they do achieve the best possible outcome under the circumstances.
The most successful decision-makers don't act on impulse, intuition, or even
experience alone; they have a system that they work through step by step. Here
is one such system:
1. Define the issue. A problem well
stated is a problem half solved. Employ the "who, what, when, why, and
how" regimen of the journalist, although not necessarily in that order.
Why is the decision necessary? What is the objective? How can a great decision
change things for the better? Whom will it affect? When does it need to be
made?
2. Take a positive approach. Make a
conscious effort to see the situation as an opportunity rather than a problem.
3. List your options. The more
alternatives you consider, the more likely you will be to not overlook the best
solution.
4. Gather information about your options.
You will not only make better decisions if you have investigated thoroughly,
but you will also have more peace of mind as you carry out your decision.
5. Be objective. If you already have an
opinion on the matter, the natural tendency will be to look primarily for
evidence to confirm that opinion. That works if you happen to be right, but if
you're not… Welcome alternatives and opposing views. Remind yourself that the
goal is not to prove yourself right, but to make the right decision.
6. Consider your options. Write down
the pros and cons for each option and see how they stack up against each other.
Try to determine both best-case and worst-case scenarios for each option. See
if there is some way to combine several promising solutions into one potent
solution.
7. Be true to yourself. Do any of the
alternatives compromise your values? If so, scratch them from the list.
8. Make a decision. When you're
convinced that you've found the best alternative, commit to it.
9. Be open to change if circumstances change.
Once you make a decision and begin to act on it, a better option may open up.
This is sometimes referred to as the "boat-and-rudder effect." It's
not until a boat is in motion that the rudder can come into play, but when it
does, it makes greater maneuverability possible."
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| 4. Delegate But Don |
While
managing affairs of an organisation it becomes impossible many times to do
every thing of your own and you feel delegating essential activities to some
one, which means handing over some of your authority and control to someone
else and making sure things move as you desire. Most managers admit that
delegation is good thing but when it actually comes to the point they find all
sorts of excuses why they cannot do so. The reluctance you may have about
delegating any task means that subordinates never get a chance to prove that
they can do. Many of the reasons given for not delegating are not genuine. It
may be because you feel that you are irreplaceable, not having trust in your
people and not accepting the differences.
There are those managers who think they are really good at delegating because
they give so many tasks away but they may not have understood that there is a
difference between delegation and abdication. If you give too many tasks, it
may mean that your subordinates may have responsibility but not authority but
not authority, so they have little influence in getting things done should
others don’t extend cooperation. They can be asked to carry out tasks, which
are outside their skills and abilities, so they are unlikely to be able to complete
in time satisfactorily. The consequence is that when subordinates do not
achieve result they may become unresponsive and unwilling to take up other
· Do I believe that I am the only one who
can do the job?
· Do I avoid delegating because I think
it is going to take up too much time?
· Am I reluctant to delegate because I
dread losing control?
· Do I have too much to do?
· Do I find it difficult to trust other
people to do a job properly?
If
you find answers of these questions in affirmative, it is not a good sign.
Please have a re-look at your attitude. In fact you will be more effective if
you concede and acknowledge that delegating is a vital part of managing
effectively and could allow you do more.
1.
DECIDE WHAT TO DELEGATE
It will be a wrong assumption that
you can delegate any task to anybody only because you do not feel like doing it
or you have to keep some one busy. Make a list of tasks you must delegate,
tasks you should delegate, tasks you can delegate and tasks you may retain. This
analysis useful because it prompts you to realize that you may still be
carrying out some tasks which you should have delegated much earlier. Once you
decide what to delegate the next step is to make certain you know precisely
what it involves. Identify the mental process needed to carry out the tasks,
the activities perform and equipment to be used, the relationships with other
people necessary to complete the tasks. The purpose of identifying is to
consider the skills and abilities necessary to carry out the work.
Delegating requires you to pass on some of your responsibility and authority
for carrying out tasks while still being accountable. So before delegating
assess how much risk is involve, how much authority and
responsibility you will be given up. By analyzing these factors you are able
make a wise choice about which jobs would be most suitable and delegating.
2. DECIDE WHO CAN DO IT
Consider the level of ability that your people possess. You are likely to find
while assessing the abilities that some are aces (experienced people,
need no support), Kings and queens (fairly experienced but need support from
time to time) jacks (need to learn, ought to be told how to carry out) and at
last fill in blanks (to be called upon when need arises, can provide specific
skills).
Recognizing the various levels of ability which subordinates possess means you
will need to provide assistance for those who require it and can leave those
who are able to do of their own by tailoring the amount of assistance you
provide the capabilities of different people, you will improve those who need
improving and encourage those who are already competent. For subordinate to be
capable of carrying the tasks delegated to them, they need to know the facts
and feel supported.
To know exactly what is required of them they should be made fully aware of
area of responsibility being delegated, amount of authority delegated and
standards required and the time scale involve so that they know precisely what
is expected of them and within how much time tasks is to be completed. TO be
effective, assess the capabilities of different people, no which tasks would be
given to whom, identify the facts people need to know, understand the
importance of giving encouragement and support and try to suit the right tasks
to the right people.
3. BRIEFING
After deciding what to delegate and to whom, you need to guide the person who
will be completing the tasks and this requires you to introduce the task,
telling details, define standards and setup a system for reporting on progress.
Tell what you want, what it needs to be done an how it fit into overall job
responsibilities.
Telling about components of tasks with responsibilities and authority being given
to him. Describe the background as to why it needs to be delegated, set the
standards of quality. Check whether some one needs coaching in some aspect of
the task. Encourage and instructs when needed and brief enough to hand over the
tasks and let a person move on with it.
4.
MONITORING PROGRESS
The real challenge facing you is to monitor progress without interfering in the
work that your subordinate is doing. If you keep popping up demanding, enthusiasm
of subordinate will vanish. You need to decide with whom how to monitor. With
certain people you may only need to check the work on completion while with
others you need to keep a silent watch on what is going on so as to spot to any
wrong, which might be appearing. You should always be able to monitor as what
is happening and what should happen. Monitor progress without interfering.
Occasionally check and make gap analysis between actual happenings and should
be happening.
Help people to overcome any difficulties they experience. Encourage people to
find their own solutions. Review how the task was performed. Congratulate
subordinate for his good work and give credit to him with open mind when and
where it is due.
5.
YOUR ATTITUDE
Delegating is a two way process. If you are prepared to take a risk by deciding
to let someone else do a task that you would normally do, while still accepting
full responsibilities for a result, trust subordinates and support their mistakes,
I am sure they will commit themselves and give their best. It is only by having
the right attitude that you are likely to generate the right attitude in
others. You need to mind yourself that you are not the only person who is
capable of doing the thing you do. You will not loose control of your work
overall if you let go a part of it. You should have faith that if you choose
wisely and delegate well enough, you will get good results.
Show
that you trust people to do the task properly. Trust is built up gradually and
can be initiated by asking people to carry out less important tasks before to
delegate anything of greater importance. Always do what you have promised you
will do. Regularly indicate that you value the effort others have made towards
achieving results. Never letting those who are doing delegated tasks takes the
blame for anything that goes wrong. If problems occur your subordinates need to
be certain that you will stand up for them and be loyal to them. If you do not,
they will learn not to trust you. You should
believe that subordinates or any other person in the organisation don’t commit
mistakes intentionally but inevitably mistakes will happen. The important thing
is to let it be known that if some thing goes wrong people should not be afraid
to admit it. This gives them confidence that you will support them and that
your attitude will always be helpful no matter what the circumstances.
If
you have not conveyed your willingness to support mistakes, your subordinates
will not bring you their problems. If they are confident that you have their
interests at heart, it is reciprocated. I am confident that they will work hard
to ensure not to let you down. Since you will be handling over a certain amount
of authority and responsibility, you need to feel that this will be properly
used. Whatever the size of the task, any thing that is delegated will always be
the better for a degree of commitment. In fact, the more commitment you can
obtain from those to whom you delegate, the greater the chance that they will
be successful.
To take on the task and its attendant responsibilities, people need to be
interested, willing and able. Ability without a willingness to take on a task
generally means that it will not be satisfactorily completed.
To
obtain commitment, you need to convince people that they are carrying out tasks
which are necessary, have certain degree of autonomy within which he has to
operate provided the objectives are met and they have been entrusted with the
task because they are considered capable of doing it. In this way you help
subordinates to become committed to the job and encourage them to treat the
tasks as their own.
6.
BENEFITS
· Gain time to devote to strategic
activities like thinking and planning.
· Help other people to develop and to
increase their self-confidence.
· Get to know people better and so
enhance relationships.
· Learn to let go.
· Get more done, including many of the
things you always wanted to
do.
Remember that attitude is an essential consequent of successful delegating.
