by Prompt Personnel | Apr 3, 2020 | Human Resources, Uncategorized
During this tough time where businesses are facing challenges; we thought it’d be more helpful to gain some in-depth insights from the top management who are well-adept with their area of work. With our new series on #PromptProductivity, we are sitting down with some of the most important people belonging in the managerial positions, for a detailed chat on the current scenarios. We had a talk with our VP – Staffing, Ms. Shirley Gokhlay to understand how she has tackled and managed work from home for her team, and here is what she says.
It is a tough time for the workforce of all levels, especially for you. How are you coping with this sudden, unprecedented challenge, in terms of managing work from home? How has the current situation impacted productivity levels in your department?
When the COVID 19 situation started to be recognised as a concern to the country, we as an organisation realised that we need to start working on a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to keep as a contingency plan. So, in a span of 2 days, we had the entire plan of action chalked out for every department to ensure that each one of us in the organization would be able to work from home with minimal impact on efficiency & productivity. Advance Technology has also played a vital role in providing us the platform to enhance the BCP. Yes, it’s a tough time for the workforce to cope & adjust to various unprecedented challenges and slthough there was an initial teething issue, we are happy to see that most of our challenges could be ironed out within a week. Our employees are now more equipped to handle their work efficiently and there has been minimal to zero impact on productivity of work as of now.
How are you managing your employees and their work from home? How are you overcoming these challenges to ensure regular flow of work?
Work and employees are being managed & challenges are overcome with the following process in place:
- Creation of a WhatsApp Group where all employees can communicate and interact with each other.
- Conference call in the morning with key people of the team, Ops Sr. Manager & Key Account Managers to understand the daily actionable for the day.
- Access to information/data required by the employees for smooth functioning of daily operational activities.
- Addressing any immediate concerns by way of chat/call to reduce the turn-around time with a solution.
- Taking a stock of the situation and analysing if we were able to complete the day’s activity by the end of each day.
What techniques are you implementing/implemented to ensure productivity and efficiency?
Below are the techniques implemented to ensure productivity & efficiency prevails:
- Daily Mobile attendance
- Desktop / Laptops, Internet connection provided.
- Access to require data/ information / software.
- BCP plan communicated to all stakeholders to ensure smooth operations.
- E-on-boarding of new employees through the mobile app.
- Key people of each team/department’s regular discussion in the day to plan the day’s activities.
This has been an unprecedented situation for not just companies but also employees. What everyone needs at this point is to keep communication clear and transparent while also considering other factors like any pain points of employees and their overall well-being.
by Prompt Personnel | Mar 27, 2020 | Human Resources, Uncategorized
Although the idea of work from home isn’t novel to some people, it can topple the routines and productivity of others, who haven’t or cannot indulge in this trend. However, now with the countrywide lockdown in effect, everyone has been forced to adopt work from home. For those who aren’t used to delivering the same productivity and performance as that in an office, at home, this has been and may be difficult with multiple distractions, lack of a dedicated work station and environment. Here is how you can work from home the right way, without compromising on your performance and productivity.
Create a work friendly environment
Make yourself comfortable and rejuvenate well before you begin and set on a mission for the day. Create an environment that is conducive for you to work in. Dedicate a particular corner of the house to your work, include your planners and work to-dos in your work paraphernalia and set the mood to work in. Make a note of all things you have to do and tick them one by one.
Dedicate a set time slot
We may be relatively free from the regular 9-5 time slot as we take work home. But it is still crucial for us to set a particular time slot to work and adhere to it by all means. Use your time wise and bright and dedicate and don’t let laziness hamper with this set time.
Set boundaries with family
With every member of the family being home, there is bound to be maximum disturbance at home. While everyone is engaged in board-games, movies and other hobbies together in the living room, it can be difficult for you to focus. It is important that you set some rules down and draw boundaries with everyone. This is imperative for them to understand and allow that space to you when you are working.
Increase communication with you teammate
It is easy to be in the zone of your work at an office, where one can simply stroll their chair to their colleagues’ desk or just dial the desk code, in case of any help. The same cannot happen at home, and to maintain the efficiency of work, one needs to be connected with them. To facilitate this, you can engage in conference calls and video calls and keep the communication frequent.
Take frequent but small breaks
Although work continues and you need to dedicate more or less, the same hours to it, you don’t necessarily have to sit 9-5 in your chair. Take small but regular breaks, do a chore, engage in a hobby and relax for a minute.
Although this has been an unprecedented situation, professionals who aren’t adapted to a work from home pattern, will simply have to find ways to be productive at home too. It is definitely not as difficult as you might feel. With a few ways and techniques, one can work from home the right way and efficiently.
by Prompt Personnel | Mar 13, 2020 | Human Resources
Most employers face challenges on retaining their employees. It is in fact, expensive to replace than to retain and it is said that it can cost the employer double an employee’s salary to replace them when they quit. Also, when employees in critical positions in organisations decide to quit can substantially disrupt workflow in the short-term. So how do we adopt simple and consistent methods for Employee Retention?
Here are some effective strategies which employers can follow –
- On-boarding and orientation — It is important that your onboarding process and orientation for a new employee gives them a fair and comprehensive brief on not just the company and job profile but also on the company culture and how they will be contributing to it. This not only ensures that they have a good idea on how the organisation operates but also makes them feel like they belong and have a substantial role in the company’s success.
- Competitive compensation — A rather primary factor when it comes to attracting good talent to a company and retaining them is competitive employee compensation. The salary needs to be in consideration with the industry standards that your organisation caters to. Also, this doesn’t include only the salary but also the benefits such as bonus, insurance, retirement plans, etc. Include benefits which matter. As an HR, it is important for you to understand and offer the right Salary and benefits which motivates and retains the employees.
- Communication and feedback — Connecting with each employee regularly and giving honest constructive feedback by keeping lines of communication open is an essential practice for retention. As feedback and open communication only paves a way for scope of improvement and growth.
- Training and development — The job doesn’t end with just hiring the right talent. It should be every HR’s priority to invest in the employees’ professional growth and development. Trainings can vary from functional skills to even soft skills. Investing in regular training and development programs makes the employees feel that the company is investing in people.
- Recognition and rewards systems — Constant appreciation and acknowledgement is a no-brainer when it comes to employee retention. It can be in any form in case you don’t have formal rewards & recognition programs in place such as via a direct report, a gift card, an extra perk or simply an email, it is imperative to show regard to every employee.One must make certain conscious efforts in order to keep employees motivated, appreciated, and engaged to ensure they stay.
by Prompt Personnel | Feb 7, 2020 | Human Resources
There are numerous cases where candidates fail to revert to the employer after a successful interview and this is defined as ‘ghosting.’ It is when an employee that engages with you, abruptly disengages with you. A lot of time and effort goes into a hiring process and when employees ghost the employer without any intimation or reason, all that effort and time seems to have gone futile. However, there are many ways for the employer to ensure that they do not get ghosted and their efforts are fruitful. A few of them are mentioned below.
1. Keep the process short: By extended the hiring process lengthy and unreasonable, there is a high chance for the employee to change their mind about joining the company. Make sure to keep the process to the point and short, so that one doesn’t lose good employees in the process.
2. Develop a personal relationship with candidates: Developing personal relationships with candidates ensures that the candidate feels a connection with the team and company, which in turn keeps the interest level of joining that firm high.
3. Keep them engaged: The process doesn’t end with just hiring an employee, one needs to keep the employees engaged and interested throughout their course of the tenure.
4. Talk about salary early on: By bringing up the salary expectation question early on, both the sides know how much they need to offer to make the candidate stay.
5. Conduct respectful interviews: In no circumstance should the employee feel disrespected in or after the interview process. That demotivates them and detaches them from the idea of joining the company.
Ghosting cannot be fully prevented but it can definitely be reduced by taking the measures mentioned above. Keeping the gap between the interviews and joining date short also helps keep the employee focused on one company only. Maintaining a good relationship with the employee from the start, furthermore, helps keep the employee engaged and comfortable.
Image source-Google
by Prompt Personnel | Jan 27, 2020 | Human Resources
Attrition is one of the top challenges faced by any modern employer. Now, there may be several reasons why employees leave an organization. In the last decade, employers have begun to investigate the reasons why employees leave an organization via surveys during the tenure of an employee or information gathered during the exit interview. On average, an industry may face an attrition of anything between 14-18% per year, affecting the executive or individual contributors to mid-level management employees. Major reasons behind this are usually dissatisfaction or unfavourable treatment from the immediate manager, compensation or work environment. Other reasons consist of inconsistency of growth and compensation, lack of long-term vision for the company and individual growth plan of employees.
Having listed these reasons is not enough to tackle this challenge. Taking note of these possible reasons and resolving these concern points is what will bring the solution. Meeting every demand of every employee is also not the solution. It is an issue that is to be resolved at an organizational level. Many organizations now have an elaborated development plan for every employee at every level, and yet, there may be attrition that cannot be controlled and is beyond the reach of an organization.
We can, however, formulate ways on how to lessen the impact of employee turnover. Some of the things to be considered are:
1. Impact of attrition: Too much focus on skill sets led to missing out on candidates with the right attitude and personality.
How to handle: Spending more time on hiring talent by analysing the candidate’s individualism and personal perspective on the world and work.
2. Impact of attrition: An experienced and trained employee left the organisation with a pile of work unmanaged.
How to handle: Identify any resentment developing early on and tackle it.
3. Impact of attrition: Young talent leaves the organization after the training.
How to handle: Young talent should not be promised an early hike in compensation and should, instead, be given monetary and non-monetary incentives both, like badges, token of appreciation, sponsored training courses and more which benefits the company and retains the employees in the long run.
Having taken all the necessary precautions, there may still be room for some attrition. Eventually, it is the responsibility of the reporting managers and the HR department who need to be trained to handle workload management and attrition respectively, without letting it have an emotional impact on the team members.
Statistics source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/737996/average-voluntary-staff-turnover-by-industry-india
Image source-Google
by Prompt Personnel | Jan 16, 2020 | Human Resources
A very crucial part of an HR’s role is the on-boarding of a new employee, which is the process of interacting with the employee on their first day. It not only makes the employee feel welcome and happy to be a part of the organisation but also impacts their productivity positively. This process of on-boarding covers every step, like taking care of the preparations, arranging for an orientation to familiarize them with every aspect of their work and introducing them to the team. In addition to these, introducing them to the tools and software used in the organisation and evaluating their on-boarding experience afterwards is also important.
1. Hearty welcome
Make sure to congratulate the employee on receiving a new job so that they feel like they are a part of the team. Place an announcement that they are starting at your firm on your social media pages or even send out an announcement tweet.
2. Get started
Set up their new email with their correct full name as they can get into the swing of things on day one. Arrange a starter package for them that includes their mobile phone, laptop, new business cards and personalised message pads. These etiquettes will make them feel like they are already an important part of the company and motivate them to perform their best.
3. Familiarize them
Set up an introductory lunch with their immediate bosses and team members in a casual setting, to ease the employee’s nerves and familiarize them with everyone.
4. Make them feel at home
Send them the brand/company merchandise like T-shirts, phone cases or water bottles, etc to make them feel like a part of the organisation.
5. Give them a tour
Take them on an office tour to every room, the pantry, washrooms etc, so they are well acquainted with the office premises.
6. Have them come prepared
Send your employees the pre-training sessions before hand, so they spend less time with the training after they join and come prepared.
7. Update them
Make sure to email all the rules and regulations like office timings, dress code, holiday calendars and office etiquettes to the employee before they start work, so they know what to expect.
8. Encourage interpersonal interaction
Involve current employees in the process of pre-boarding too, so the employee can connect with their colleagues and be more comfortable on the job without feeling left out.
9. Store their information
Collect their personal information for the payday process like their bank account numbers so that they can receive their salary smoothly.
An HR has a huge role in employee retention and performance, as they are in charge to make them feel included and comfortable. These simple tips can facilitate smooth on-boarding to help make employees feel at ease even before they begin work and thereby, bring positive outcomes.
Image source-Pexels
