As the mood for summer sets in, so does the mood to travel, visit new places & take a vacation. An unconventional, but popular mode of vacation is ‘Go Backpacking’. Backpacking is defined as travelling without much-detailed plans, travelling light without much baggage, exploring territories which are not found in tourist guides, picking up transport methods which are uncommon, home stays, trying out local cuisines etc.  Basically, a relaxed and slow-paced travel to explore unknown places without a fixed itinerary or agenda.

Traditionally most of us are apprehensive about this kind of travel.  As cautious prudent travellers, we prefer to be in control; only visiting places which have been tried and tested, looking for locations which were accessible easily. Often, we invest our money and time in staying in a place which will provide the comfort of home.

Many of us would question, how does it matter which mode one chooses to travel? In the end, did we achieve the derived result of visiting & seeing the place of interest?

Well, the answer is simple and depends on whether we want to simply visit & see these places or ‘Do we want to experience & learn’?

If you answer is latter, then you need to move away from your comfort zone, learn to embrace the newness. We should be comfortable to explore ambiguity, ready to risk and finally we should be ready to break away from traditions and acquire new ways.

Now the question arises- Does the same stand true for our outlook at workplace?

At this juncture, when we are embarking on a new journey towards making HR a truly Strategic Business Partner, it most certainly does.

For all those on this journey, you need to take a pause and for all those who are just beginning their journey, do remember to adopt the outlook of ‘Backpack’ travel and not the traditional tourist outlook.

Some of the fundamentals of ‘Backpacking’ which will enable our journey towards making HR Strategic Partner, more meaningful & impactful are:

• We are ready to let go of our traditions and acquire new ways

All traditions and practices have expiry dates. What worked in the past need not be a guarantee for future success too. We need to be ready to let go of our traditions and acquire new ways, either in terms of usage of technology in our daily life’s, or exploring the role of data / analytics in our decision making or making organizations future ready by conducting proactive surveys like Gen Y Readiness etc. We should not fall in the trap of BEST PRACTICES wherein we will react only when someone else tries something first and establishes it as ‘good practice’.  In doing so we are always chasing and not taking lead to set the agenda.

• We are ready to risk

As a true business partner, HR should be held accountable for some measures which we strive for and should be ready to risk our reputation on the same, in the same fashion business does. Our metrics should focus on how much additional business we could generate, how much the productivity and profitability grew, how ready are we for future in terms of leadership pipeline, how ready are we in terms of organization’s overall capability, what is our build v/s buy ratio and so on.  In exploring new destinations, we would fail at times or land up in a place which we may or may not like, but we need to believe that it is part of the game. We would lose some and win some, and even if we lose in some place, the experience and learning of that journey would make us better prepared for the future.

• We will embrace newness

The best part of any backpack tour is that every moment is new and probably hasn’t been anticipated in the way we had thought. You build on what comes to you and innovate on the move, explore which is to your liking and your aspirations. It is all about co-creating with your stakeholders rather than pushing the present agenda which you have built in the traditional tour plan. In the journey of HR as Strategic Partner are we going to embrace this newness , do things in a way which we haven’t done before or we continue to bulldoze the same old way.

• We will come out of our Comfort Zone

Let us promise to come out of our comfort zones, whether it is managing transactions or other meaningless activities which don’t add value to business or HR function. As much as transactions bring the much-needed satisfaction that we have achieved something during the whole day’s activities and thereby giving us a feeling that we have reached some destination, it is equally critical for us to realize that many at times it is the Journey which is far more important than the destination. It is OK to go back home with loads of ‘Work In Progress’ and not close all trackers and transitions at end of day.

• We are ready to explore ambiguity

The biggest challenge in any backpack tour is the ability to explore ambiguity and be comfortable with the idea that the journey will be full of surprises. For many of us in HR, we relish the comfort of ‘calendar’ and a set of activities which are structured or conducted in regular fashion, be it the Annual Day which always falls on XX day of the year or a Quarterly Training Calendar which says that Training would happen in YY date or Appraisals would get triggered on AA date and Close on BB Date etc.  We should be willing to buffer in some extra time slots within these calendars to put aside some time for exploring new destinations and be flexible to accommodate changes therein.

Backpack tour is a new way to explore life and the purpose is not just reach the destination but to experience and learn during that journey, the journey of HR as Strategic Business Partner is no different . . . So, my fellow travellers, this summer, let’s backpack and enjoy this journey.

The one topic that never ceases to excite us, whether it is the HR professionals, the line managers, the finance team or the senior management, is the bell curve. Few of us see it as an unnecessary evil which cannot be avoided, while others see it as an evil which is thrust upon all of us to act as a great equalizer and for a few others, it is a mechanism to settle scores. One thing is for sure-it is the most misunderstood and abused concept, probably not just in HR circles but across all known management concepts.

We need to understand the NEED for the bell curve and how to ROLL IT OUT to break some myths surrounding it. It is critical to build an appreciation for the bell curve as we cannot skip it in the near future for sure.

The top 3 reasons why the bell curve is a part of our lives and will not vanish very soon are . . .

We will always have limited budgets & unlimited aspirations

Businesses (investors) have limited budgets to share with all stakeholders, which includes employees, and hence the people cost cannot be an unreasonable component of any business model. At the same time employees have unlimited aspirations which can often be a result of peer pressure or consumerism rather than a direct result of their performance / contribution.

To balance these diverse compulsive needs we need to build a mechanism which is in the form of a bell curve.

We want to build a high performance work culture

All successful organizations have one common trait, which is pampering those who are successful and believing the fact that nothing can replace success. To build a culture of success or high performance, it is important and imperative that organizations identify the right role models and protect them. One of the challenges of absolute ranking is that we fail to distinguish between the different classes of performance and thereby encourage building a culture of mediocrity.

Behaviours that get rewarded get repeated, and the inability to identify high performers and create role models, does not encourage fence sitters to strive for more.

High Performers don’t appreciate depreciation

We would all agree that the contributions of the Top 20% is what drives the organisations to the Next Orbit. We aren’t negating the contributions of the rest, but at the same time we all agree that the other 80% can sustain the organization in its ‘As Is’ state, but cannot propel it to the next orbit. As human species we are highly aspirational in nature and also very self-aware. It is often found that the high performers are aware of their contributions and want to be recognized for it in some form, if not monetary always. Non recognition of higher contributors results in greater disappointments in those who deserve it rather than in those who don’t.

Surprisingly, it’s true that if you ask high performers, who have previously been mediocre performers, whether they are OK with the idea of treating all equally, they would say NO.

Some Secrets that will help in easing the discomfort around the Bell Curve are . . .

Bell the bell curve before the appraisals roll out

Many a times the bell curve is drawn and shown to the managers after their appraisal sessions and ratings are done, which in-turn forces the manager to rework their ratings and feedback thereby leading to an embarrassing situation of going back on their word to their teams, leading to a loss of face.

It would be ideal if the managers are given access to the bell curve for their teams in advance. By doing so we are empowering the managers with all the relevant information and thereby they can set the right expectations at the beginning of their conversations with their team members.

Who says the bell curve can’t be flexible?

One of the common myths is that the bell curve has to be consistent across the industry and the organization.

Based on how the organization has done vis-a-vis what it has promised to its investors or vis-a-vis their competitors, the organization may choose to have a liberal or non-liberal bell curve to appreciate / not appreciate the contributions of its employees. In the same fashion within the organization each of the functions / geographies / domains can have a flexible bell curve based on their contributions, without jeopardizing the organizational level bell curve.

Tell the world that it is the business which draws the curve

Another common myth which runs among the employees is that the HR folks have some special skills which helps them draw the mystical bell curve.

In reality it is the business which draws the bell curve based on the commitments it has made to the investors, it is the business in the form of its managers who drive the normalization process, and it is the managers who define which employee falls in which category and so on. HR is just a facilitator for this process and shares the same with one and all.

Be open for a conversation

Post normalizations when employees have doubts or grievances as to why the ratings have changed, HR should be open for a dialogue without any hesitation and be prepared to broach the proceedings of the normalization meetings transparently.

It is absolutely a must that all these meetings are co-hosted by HR and the manager of the employees, with the proceeding of the same being published for future references. We need to start believing that we are adults who can handle difficult and uncomfortable conversations.

Explore beyond the bell curve ratings to appreciate employees

One of the challenges we face today is that, in many organizations complete growth in terms of promotions or increments / hikes is attached to performance ratings only, which creates an environment where the winner of the bell curve takes it all and the loser has to fall.

We need to explore ideas where in the ratings obtained from the bell curve are not the sole criteria but play a predominant role, and other components like contributions beyond call of duty, the enhancement in the skill matrix, the flexibility of employee etc. can be explored to arrive at the final rating for release of increments or for consideration of promotions etc.

In short there is no guide which makes the bell curve fool proof. It is critical for us to understand and appreciate that we cannot kill the messenger because the message isn’t comforting to the majority (80%) of employees. We need to build an appreciation that it is an uncomfortable truth, till the time we have limited budgets and unlimited aspirations.

As a kid I never had a chance to realize the challenge and dilemma of parenting; from my perspective it always looked so effortless. Once in a while you shout and once in a while you pamper – that basically summed up the whole parenting process. As the days passed and one journeyed into becoming a parent, the challenge was then in the face. It was clear that shouting and pampering are probably the two pillars but when and how much to shout or pamper and how to express anger and love and so on were the challenges which still continue to confuse and perplex.

The scenario at the workplace isn’t much different. HR as a guardian of the organization ethos, values, policies etc., has to do the job similar to that of a parent at home. The dilemmas  of parenting can be easily paralleled to life at work as well.

Over the years, as one evolves into being a parent, the realization dawns that parenting is not about being rated in a ‘Popularity Contest’. It is about laying firm ground rules which help and empower the children to understand the difference between right and wrong. In short, the END cannot be compromised just because the MEANS to achieve it are not popular among the children.

Organizations have always consciously or unconsciously chosen HR as the prime mover to set the culture and ethos, which is in fact quite similar to parenting (cultivating the next generation). To make the matters worse, in the organizational context, the employees perceive HR as peers unlike at home where there is a clear distinction drawn between the parents and children.

So how does HR balance this dilemma of being perceived as a friend, philosopher and guide while at the same time ensuring that the basic principles are not compromised? Some situations which give rise to conflicts are . . .

Saying NO isn’t being Rude – It is absolutely ok to go back and say no, when required, to the employees for their stated or unstated demands. The only challenge here is how we convey this message. Are we supporting the rejection with data and facts, with rulebook clause, with precedents etc., or are we coming across as a unilateral decision making authority conveying the message? Many a time, it is the latter which is a cause of heartburn.

Saying no with a firm logic will surely enable to set the mood towards being seen as reasonable and fair and thereby negating the fear of being unpopular.

We can’t survive more than a day by living in deviations and exceptions – Many of us believe that giving an exception or deviation will rest the matter and solve the problem at hand. This approach is very short sighted and will help us survive only for that day and nothing more. As famously quoted in Mahabharata by Bhisma–“Following Dharma (Rulebook) isn’t easy”. When we stick to the rulebook and processes, the decision making is like ‘SUN’ which means the process will generate a lot of heat and dust but eventually leads to brightness. On the flip side,  when we take a shortcut (deviation/exception) for decision making, the process is like ‘Moon’ which means it will be easy and calm but eventually leads to darkness.

Staying firm with the rule book and not allowing deviations and exceptions, ensures that we follow Procedural Justice; which in the long run builds credibility.

Escalation is the end of the World syndrome – We all have bad days where things are bound to go wrong. Any and every escalation from the CxO or Management cannot be treated like Gospel from God to be acted upon then & there. Judicious call has to be taken by HR and thereafter acted upon to ensure that there is some method to madness.

It has to be understood by HR that escalations need not mean that we are not doing our job as expected. It simply indicates that some stakeholder is not happy about it. Parents (HR) will eternally remain unpopular between children (employees) & grandparents (CxO / Management) and continue to escalate.

Compromise isn’t an option just for sake of those year end Internal Satisfaction Surveys – Many organizations’ have year end internal satisfaction surveys where in the employees rate the various Support & Strategic functions on their services, offerings etc. These scores are considered for appraisals, bonus payouts,promotions etc., of the HR team members. This gives rise to the dilemma of passing tough messages and at the same time being in good books of the ones giving the scores.

It is critical to understand that we need to educate the employees to appreciate that the Role played by HR is as advised by the CxO / Management / Organization and they cannot be penalized for the same.

Can’t have Hole in our Soul – As a function it is the duty of HR to ensure that the Soul of the organization remains intact and, to ensure the same, it is quite possible that many times decisions have to be taken that are unpopular with some sections of stakeholders.

Any such situation has to be discussed openly with the CxO / Management and a consensus has to be built to shield HR in those times, to ensure that any irreversible damage doesn’t happen to the credibility of the function. Draw a parallel to the times when the grandparents tell the stories of the parents to their grandchildren and let them realize that the parents are doing the right thing.

In short, like parenting, HR needs to focus on ‘What is Right’ and ‘What is Good’ rather than ‘What is Easy’ and ‘What is Popular’.

I look forward to your thoughts and observations on this topic and wish you all a prosperous, Productive & Profitable 2021!

In this era of sequels, we couldn’t resist the temptation; so here we go…

Before that, the story so far..

Everything comes to an end – fairy tales, good times, bad times and even our lives. So the question that arises is – Does accepting the fact that we are mortals help us in any way? Well, the debate is still on. People who believe this, like the Sufi saints in Kashmir sleep in coffins every night as they believe that this could be their last sleep. These sets of people often cherish the sunrise of the next morning more than others and respect each day as a gift. Psychologists have shared that people who have had near-death experiences are very good at prioritizing their lives post such experiences.

So how does having a mindset of ‘me mere mortal’ help us in our corporate lives? Some thoughts:

• It helps accepting failures faster
• It brings a sense of urgency & focus
• It helps appreciate finer things
• It promotes the idea of celebrating every success
• It makes us agile and helps evolve
• It keeps us grounded

The new beginning… 

So how does one ensure that one is in the mindset of me mortal?

Let our ego be mortal

One of the biggest factors that leads us to believe that we are immortal and prevents us from evolving is our ego. Our ego grows with every success and with each step we take, towards the power centre and this compromises our sensitivities towards our surroundings and our original belief system, which enabled the success in the first place.

We need to ensure that we do a reality check from time to time, whether our ego is mortal or immortal and the best way to do so is to check how we are treating the people around us, especially those who are the weakest in the value chain.

Let our experience & expertise be mortal

Our successful experience and expertise sometimes makes us rigid because we start believing that our way is the only sure shot way of getting what we want. We don’t want to disturb the apple cart by attempting something new. This is an irony,  since the reason we achieved success in the first place was because we moved away from the tried & tested.

We need to ensure that we keep experimenting, learning from our past experiences & expertise by incorporating new ideas and not just re-run the same. We need to be open to criticism of our works/ideas by new generations and explore new insights on what has to be done. We need to encourage positive insights on our past works and celebrate worthwhile criticism.

Let us continue to be students of life 

Why do we believe at a stage in life that we know everything and there isn’t much to learn from others or ourselves? Many of us have been average students in our academic years, but turned out to be great students of life. That was the reason why we evolved with time and reached great heights of success. Unfortunately, with each success, we let go of the student mindset and picked up the mindset of ‘I Know’!

We need to re-energize the philosophy of ‘When was the last time you did something for the first time’? This would ensure we don’t get stuck to our past and keep exploring new avenues from time to time, as we did when we were students. We need to bring back the enthusiasm of learning things and challenge the existing ones.

Let our failures be mortal 

Sometimes, unexpected failures make us defensive in our approach and we tend to stick to the safe path. But, failures teach us more than one thing. We don’t realize, by doing so, we are stuck to a mediocre legacy which is depreciating with each passing day.

We need to realize and accept that just like success, failures too have an expiry date. We need to move on and start a new day with a new belief and approach. It is as simple as playing any sport where we don’t give up if we lose a match, we rework the strategy and approach the game with a new perspective.

In short, having a mindset of ‘me mere mortal’ helps us reinvent ourselves by adapting to what is around us, without much pain & resistance. This ever evolving process also ensures that we are relevant to the times and are able to cherish the happenings around us to the fullest.

Everything comes to an end – fairy tales, good times, bad times, and even our lives. This pandemic shall end too. We may be mentally ready to accept that all things come to an end but hesitate when it comes to our lives. Accepting death or being mortals is something which many of us secretly don’t believe will happen, or a subject we best avoid to discuss and even if we discuss, it is one of the most uncomfortable ones.

So the question that arises is- whether accepting the fact that being mortal helps us in any way? The debate is still on.

People who believe this, are like the Sufi saints in Kashmir who sleep in coffins every night as they believe that this could be their last night in this world, and they often cherish the sunrise of the next morning more than others and respect each new day as a gift. Psychologists have shared that people who have had near-death experiences are very good at prioritizing their lives post such experiences.

So how does having a mindset of ‘me mere mortal’ help us in our corporate lives? Well, it does in many ways and some of the obvious ones are:

• It helps accepting failures faster

A ‘me mere mortal’ mindset always makes us realize that we have very short time and the clock is ticking, hence we don’t want to waste time in unnecessary debates, pretenses – in short, we accept the current status ‘as it is’ from time to time and move on to the next stage.

• It brings a sense of urgency & focus 

A ‘me mere mortal’ mindset builds a sense of urgency towards all of our activities and thereby it helps to get away from the mindset of procrastination. A mindset of accountability and ownership builds around the issues which are dear to us and the self-drive ensures that things happen and are not just there on paper.

• It helps to appreciate the finer things 

With a ‘me mere mortal’ mindset we are more liberal towards the work of others and start cherishing the finer things around us; as we believe we don’t have too much time to be self-indulgent and be preoccupied with petty things in our life.

• It promotes the idea of celebrating every success

A ‘me mere mortal’ mindset builds a healthy attitude of celebrating every success whether small or big, thereby spreading happiness and our surroundings. It ensures that we move away from timeline-based celebrations or wait for big occasions and ensures we are proud of every brick we lay on our path to success.

• It makes you agile and evolved

This mindset keeps us agile as our survival instincts are at the highest levels. We keep evolving with what is happening around us and aren’t stuck with a pre-determined thought process on what or how things should be.

• It keeps us grounded 

A ‘me mere mortal’ mindset keeps us grounded most of the time as we realize that we and our successes/achievements too shall pass & someone else will replace us. It is a reminder that we too are ‘dispensable’.

In short, having a mindset of ‘me mere mortal’ helps us to reinvent ourselves by adapting to what is around us, without much pain & resistance. This is an ever-evolving process that ensures that we are relevant in the times we live in and can cherish everything, to the maximum.

The last few months have been slow on all of us and hiring wasn’t an exception in this process. When the hiring is slow, it has always been observed that we are more diligent during the hiring process and areas like Values alignment etc. come into greater and sharper focus; but as the economy booms back and hiring starts picking up, the fear of old habits catching up again gets real.

So what has been our old habit?  Simply put, we were busy hiring mercenaries and upon joining we expected them to become monks from the day zero.

What is a mercenary v/s monk? In our context, mercenaries are those employees who decided to join our organization mainly because of better compensation, while monks are those who decided to shift their careers because they saw new Value (beyond compensation) in the new jobs.

Who is to be blamed for this scenario-the employees or the organization’s or the hiring teams?  I guess in this case, we all are culprits, because somewhere we all believe that miracles do happen and we can ignore the science of Employee Value Proposition, Culture & Values Alignment etc.

It is imperative and critical to understand and appreciate that Mercenaries don’t become Monks, how much ever we may believe in miracles. People who join for money will always be vulnerable to quit you and switch over for a few more bucks from your competitor and this switch can happen over a few months into the new role or in a few years; but it certainly will.

So how does one ensure that  we are hiring monks and not lining up mercenaries? Below are few process checks:

• Check why they want to join?

Spend time with the candidate to understand what is the motivation for them to join us, some questions which require detailed probing are- what did they hear about your culture, what do they know about the job, how much time have they spend on your website, how many friends & colleagues they have in your organization, what are the 3 bad things they think your organization suffers from and so on. Sometimes, asking candidates why they want to join you may be useless. If possible, this information could rather be acquired from secondary sources.

• Check what your hiring team has offered them?

Check with the candidate what was the storyline offered by your hiring team. In short, how much time did the hiring team spend in explaining the role and EVP of the organization vis-a-vis compensation, benefits, location of job, etc. When the initial conversations are restricted to monetary / non- monetary C&B related topics we can be sure we will land up hiring a mercenary.

• Check at what point of conversation, compensation comes up for discussion?

Compensation is most of the times the tipping point for a candidate to decide to move or not and hence a critical conversation topic to be discussed. What needs to be observed is that at which point of conversation or discussion rounds this topic comes up. As discussed before, the earlier it comes, the more bad news it is for us. It is critical to understand and appreciate that the culprit in here could be both i.e. the candidate as well as hiring team. Many a times in the zeal to check fitment the hiring team starts the conversation with compensation.

• Check why has the candidate quit his last jobs and what was the jump in their salary?

We hear all kinds of stories why a candidate decided to move on from his/ her previous jobs. What is interesting to note and probe further is the kind of hikes they negotiated for at each jump. Interesting trends emerge if the jumps have been too frequent and will indicate whether we are looking at a mercenary or a monk.

• Check how consistently your organization & employees discuss your EVP?

Do we have clarity on our EVP and are we proud about the same or no? How many times does our EVP come into discussion, both in the internal forums and external forums including social media? What is being discussed about the organization in social media and other websites, what kind of feedback do you land up with when you ask ‘why should I join xxxx organization’? Does EVP come up and reflect on some sub sects of our culture which are not the formal version?

In short, expecting the HR team or Line Managers or the Organization culture to change an employee with the mercenary mindset into a monk is expecting too much. It would be better if we are able to introduce earnest process steps and checklists to ensure we are hiring employees with a monk mindset that will save all from unnecessary troubles later on. Any day it is good to take extra burden to get the right resource rather than landing up with a bad one and not knowing what to do with them later

During the last few weeks of getting over COVID and getting back to normal life, I have been spending considerable time with my friends from the Learning and Development domain and during the course of our discussions many topics arose- the most fundamental and critical one being – what is our purpose in this new age?

The new age is more challenging today than ever, because the internet and technology have made knowledge accessibility a non-competitive or non-strategic leveler. Today anybody with a smartphone and internet access can reach any depths of knowledge and doesn’t necessarily require a classroom or a teacher to acquire knowledge.

In this new age where the economy is slow and every penny matters, the organizations and managers are both not excited to nominate folks to training programs. In this age of instant gratification wherein participants believe that by merely attending a course nirvana is granted, fundamentals need to be revisited and that includes relooking at what is the PURPOSE of the LEARNING FUNCTION.

Learning & Development as a function has evolved with time and is again at crossroads today.

Traditionally it was seen as a function that simply facilitated ‘Fulfilling GAPS’, in terms of skills/competencies and thereby enabled the overall development of capability building both at the individual and organizational level. Then came a phase where it became a strategic function by enabling the business to identify its future leaders and groom them. In time, now it has again reached a threshold in evolution.

Learning as a function is poised to enable Organizations and their employees to ‘EVOLVE’.

‘Evolution’ is drastically different from ‘Fulfilling Gaps’ in many ways, starting from the fact where Fulfilling Gaps is perceived more as ‘near’ term and transactional in nature; whereas Evolution is more Futuristic and Strategic in purpose. Fulfilling Gaps is seen merely as a responsibility of Learning Function, whereas Evolution is a co-creation process between the various stakeholders. The biggest difference is that Evolution thrives to make the organizations and its stakeholders Future Ready in a more comprehensive manner than we do now.

Evolution is not possible to achieve if the following fundamentals are not in place. The Learning function has to ensure that foundations for these fundamentals are established before we embark on this journey:

• We will Focus to make Organizations Future Ready

Fundamentally the Learning function should focus on making the organization future-ready. It could be in terms of making it more flexible to adapt, to change, or having a leadership pipeline in place, or Institutionalizing Values as cultural ethos and thereby creating a unique DNA for retention or attraction of Talent and so on. This doesn’t mean Learning should not focus on the daily bread & butter issues of gap fulfillment of immediate needs, but it also needs to draw a line on how much do we invest in today and how much for tomorrow?

• We are not responsible to make Employees Resume more attractive

Knowingly or unknowingly Learning function has made needs identification from Performance Appraisals as the Primary and only source. More than often it has been observed that the needs identified during this process are more aligned to the individual personal aspirations rather than business requirements. It is no wonder that at the end of the year we often realize that much of the budget could have been better utilized or optimized if we gave up the responsibility of making employees resumes future-ready.

• We will focus on those who are geared up to make a difference

Learning is a two-way process. We can’t force adults into closed rooms and expect them to learn, absorb, and implement if they are not ready or keen to do so. So why do we invest an equal amount of time and energy on those who are keen to learn and those who are there only to warm the seats? It is imperative that we focus only on those who are geared up to make a difference as that would be a winner for all the stakeholders.

• We are not responsible for just food & sanitation

In the quest for evolution, we can’t be held ransom on issues like food or sanitation of the training facilities, etc. We should refocus our energy on issues like the alignment of learning programs and aspirations, the applicability of the learning’s at the workplace, and so on. It’s time to dump the existing measuring parameters of our learning interventions and focus on issues that would truly reflect the spirit of evolution.

• We are ready to Risk it

As a true business partner, we should be accountable for some measurements which we strive for and should be ready to risk our reputation on the same in a similar fashion in which business does. Our measurements should focus on how much more businesses we could generate, how much the productivity and profitability grew, how ready we are for the future in terms of a leadership pipeline, or in terms of organizations overall capability, what is our build v/s buy ratio and so on.

Evolution isn’t easy, but it is the top priority in all the CEO agenda.

Evolution is the opportunity for us to recast ourselves from being perceived as a reactive support function to being projected as a futuristic business partner. It is now up to us as to how we make this  move and move on..

In order to succeed in these challenging times, all the functions are reinventing themselves and if we think of it, Learning & Development is not immune to this trend either.

So, have Learning & Development spent time learning about itself? Is it ready to unlearn? Is it ready to let go of some of its clichés that are not relevant anymore? Is it ready to embrace the future? Is it aligned to business needs and employee aspirations? These are some of the questions which The Strategist’s most recent research attempts to answer.

Leaders as Teachers Commitment Index is at 2-5 Days in a Year – L&D leaders give a window of 2-5 days in a year for imparting training. The fact remains that no one can make employees learn better than their role models – the leaders; hence L&D needs to persuade them to increase their time involvement.

Faculty Fees to have Variable Component -Linked to Degree of Learning of Participants. Currently, there is no link between feedback for trainers and their fees in the majority of organizations. Linking faculty fees to feedback is the first step towards tying L&D to organizational business growth. The next level would be linking fees to competence attainment.

• 90 Minutes of Magic-

Majority of the leaders feel that the ideal time period for a training session should be around 90-180 minutes. With increasing stress & workload, and diminishing attention spans; the idea should be to deliver it quickly, deliver it well!

• Let’s Play Some Games – Gamification is on the Rise-

With wide-ranging benefits, Gamification in training is becoming more and more attractive by organizations. L&D needs to explore ideas to incorporate games in the form of simulation, plays, stories, puzzle-solving, treasure hunting, etc. in training programs

• Learning through Networking Needs to be Explored–

Companies need to explore using seminars/ conferences for training as they are good platforms for networking and as adults, we learn more quickly with experiential sharing. The value of social or observational learning is well proven in children. It is time that businesses also realize its importance and explore the same.

• In-Person Interactions Favored over Technology-

Faculty in classroom / formal training still rules the roost when it comes to the popular form for delivering the pieces of training. The right mix of delivery can be determined by the profile of participants, the nature of topic, budgets, etc. Based on the feedback of effectiveness, the nature of intervention should be determined.

• Storytelling as a Methodology is Gaining Prominence-

Learning by storytelling is gaining popularity as it connects individuals through emotions and is also ideal to engage all generations. However, there is a still lack of skilled faculty for conducting storytelling sessions.

• Trainings on Smartphones-

Popular Trend M-learning will be the face of the new age L&D. Increased savings, mobile workforces, and better utilization of time along with a rewarding learning experience are some of its benefits.

• Insource Design & Outsource Delivery (Faculty)-

Since too much exposure to In-house faculty dilutes the impact after a few programs because of a sense of repetition, it is a good idea that training design and developing content should be done internally; whereas delivery can be external, under supervision.

• Encouraging Innovation in Business Priority Today-

L&D leaders believe that encouraging innovation is a top priority for their function. Innovation should be encouraged across and from the beginning, L&D needs to play a crucial role by incorporating the same in its programs.

• Performance Change is the Best Way to Measure! –

It is believed that impact metrics (productivity improvement) should be more widely used vis-à-vis output metrics (participation/ attendance). L&D also needs to move away from using the ‘feel-good factor’ as a success metric.

L & D Team as Strategic Business Partner. . . Long Way to go . . . Unfortunately, L&D members are still considered facilitators or trainers. To build Strategic Business Partner Outlook L&D should work towards interlinking organizational capability with business growth.

It is now time for the L&D department to do some introspection…let us find out where we are and where we need to go, identify those practices which should be thrown out the window, and the new ones which we should initiate. Mostly, let’s toss away the blanket of complacency…empty our cups…and embark upon the new adventures to welcome new age learnings!

It’s often debated & witnessed that even when most of us have the same access to resources some of us keep moving up the value chain either in terms of our learning, innovation, or new ways of doing work better, while the rest tend to be stuck where they were.

Why is it that among all the species it is only Humans that have evolved so much and so quickly?

Well, I guess, the answer lies in the mindset of Doing the Things Differently. So, why do some of us Stop Doing Things Differently and stick to a routine? Is it a question of capability or something else?

Well, the capability could be an issue when we are looking at large scale innovation or paradigm shifts but not when it comes to minor day to day improvements and, ideas. It is often witnessed that we can improve a lot with the experience we gather over some time as ‘evolving is in the nature of our species’.

The reasons for not having the mindset of doing something for the first time could be different for each scenario. At the Micro level (individual), it could be a simple matter of upbringing wherein the environment disabled new thinking, or it could be a simple matter of Rewards & Risk.

At the organization level, when we deep dive we discover reasons which are interesting as well as baffling, Some of the reasons reflect our transactional mindset wherein we are living only for today and don’t envisage tomorrow.

To summarize, some popular reasons are:

• We don’t Celebrate Failure

One of the biggest challenges that emerge is that we have stopped celebrating failures. When we attempt to do something for the first time it is obvious that not all the attempts would lead to success; in fact, most of them would end as failures. At that juncture, what is our reaction? We reprimand the result or celebrate the mindset of attempting in the first place.

Celebrating failures is something that will enable all of us to keep walking and keep evolving. We should also ensure celebrating failures should not be confused with tolerating mistakes, as in finance we have to draw a line between error and omissions.

• Managers live for today

Why disturb the Apple Cart? Why think of tomorrow when I am not sure if I am going to be there? Why risk my reputation which I have built over all these years?

These are some of the mindset questions which drive the Managers which in turn disable the environment wherein new attempts at addressing the existing situations/way of doing things can be challenged.

• The Rewards / Recognition are Negligible

It is no secret that Behaviors that Get Rewarded Get Repeated.

The degree of reward/recognition influences all of us to think whether we should attempt moving out of our comfort zone or stick to the routine.

The pertinent questions to be here are- In the rewards & recognition framework do we have provisions for celebrating failures? Do we have provisions to highlight innovations of various degrees from small improvements to large innovations? Do we have provisions to highlight ideas that are not business viable but at the same time are cutting edge?

It is important & critical for all of us to appreciate and encourage the attempt of doing something for the first time rather than restricting ourselves to reward only if the end results happen to bring glory.

• Cut the Red Tape

The operation was successful but the patient died. Many times the ideas get killed in the process because they are either too lengthy and time-consuming or managed by people who do not believe in experimenting. If you want to promote innovations, cut the red tape- reduce the process length- draw a straight line between idea generators and approvers.

• Are we ready for disruptions?

As a group how many are ready or comfortable with disruptions around us? Because any change in and around us, is bound to impact all of us somehow as we live in this highly connected & networked world. . An environment fostering disruptions, even welcoming it would result in many more attempts at doing something for the first time.

The idea/ thought of disabling the reason why we evolved so far as a species is quite discomforting. It’s time we relook at ourselves and re-energize the mindset which will encourage each one of us to do reflect on When was the last time, we did something for the first time . . . it’s time that we keep walking.

Technology is often considered as a bane or an intruder into our lives; whether it is omnipresent in the form of our mobile phones or as emails popping up or messages on WhatsApp and so on. This is after discounting notifications from Facebook / LinkedIn etc. which I guess we are comfortable with since we have subscribed to them for our own individual needs & aspirations.

It is often observed that when the ‘going is good’, these intrusions are not perceived by us as intruding because we all like the limelight and good news they bring in. For example, when a mail is marked saying you have been promoted and someone decides to reply all and starts a chain of congratulations, we are very comfortable. But if we reverse the scenario, wherein we are just one of the recipients of these bulk emails, we quickly write back to the IT Admin, saying ‘why aren’t we exploring the idea of banning the reply all button’!

It is glaringly obvious that one of the reasons for stress among most of the workforce today is their inability to draw a line between their work and living space. For some this need doesn’t arise because they believe they are Super Heroes and can take on all & manage everything; whilst for others, it’s a fear/concern that they would be perceived as Non-accessible / Non-Committed, etc. and thereby hamper their chances of growth in days to come and for another large group, it’s a simple challenge of not knowing how to say ‘NO’.

The art of drawing a line between the different worlds in which we live is critical for sustaining success in the longer run. It is important to understand & appreciate when we decide to hang-up our shoes, we will have to cherish Apple & Blackberries as fruits and nothing more.

So how does one ensure we are balancing Apple & Blackberries as Tech Tools and as Fruits?

• Respect your off time from the office

Spending time with oneself or one’s near & dear ones is a crucial aspect of healthy living. It is no crime to be on phone or emails beyond the office hours. Our stakeholders understand and will appreciate the same. All that we have to do is clearly share our expectations in a manner that they don’t get offended with it. In jobs wherein we are collaborating with stakeholders beyond our time zones, we can draw a simple discipline chart for ourselves wherein we can be off our phones/emails between 8 PM to 10 PM (IST) and spend that time with the loved ones and post 10 go back to our second love i.e. work.

Shying away from phones/emails during the evenings around dinner time and spending time with loved one’s, short walks, music, catching up with friends, loving the pets give the much-required breather.

• Respect your weekends

Weekends have been designed with the purpose of unwinding and not clearing the ‘unread’ mailbox which we have accumulated over the week. Neither have the weekends been designed to laze around and not pursue things beyond our limited realm of work & workspace. We can start respecting our weekends by learning to be away from technology and going back to nature – which would basically mean spending time on all those aspects which would otherwise take a back seat.

Putting phones on silent during the weekends is the first step towards cherishing Apple / Blackberries as fruits.

• Respect your hobbies

Have you ever thought- When we were kids, despite running around from pillar to post, morning to evening, why we never felt tired when pursuing our hobbies? The answer is simple- Unlike work, hobbies always unwind us. As we grew up in our careers somehow we learned to put those hobbies on the backburner and released that space in life for work and work-related aspects and thereby letting go of the precious viable opportunity of unwinding. Paint, Dance, Sing, Walk, Go Cycling- do what unwinds you.

Pursuing at least one hobby is the art of bringing balance to our lives.

• Respect your limitations, remember you can’t do it all

More than often, in our urge to please others, we commit more than we can deliver, we strive for more than what we need to achieve, we dream of doing it now & here and not having patience for tomorrow. In this need or greed to do more, we forgo our understanding of our strengths and limitations. When things start falling short we externalize the blame and often blame technology for intruding in our lives and eating into the private space. We are all in a constant race to achieve the ever eluding balanced life.

Technology is a tool that comes with a silent / off button, choosing to use it or not is our choice and we can’t blame the external factors for not creating a conducive atmosphere for doing so.

In short, we have to learn to draw a line, the technology always has been and will always remain a mute spectator, and we can make it a bane for ourselves or a blessing. We can wish away saying that life was easy when Apple & Blackberries were just fruits but it’s not too late to ensure they still remain so.