Ways to maximize employee happiness from an HR perspective

A business can’t run merely with the infrastructure which includes the tables and chairs!! It needs human labour, the man power, which is of utmost importance, be it a servant, or be it a manager. A manager can’t do the job of an engineer and vice-versa. Everyone has its own importance. This is a well-known fact that no one can do all the work by himself/herself, the minimal guidance and support is always needed. Human workers are very important assets for an association, where everyone comes with a sole purpose of working for the good of the company! Employees make an eminent part of an organization without which certainly an organization doesn’t and cannot work! Hence, it is very necessary for an organization to keep them happy and safe. That’s how a business works!

For an organization to reach the greater heights, the support of the employees is immensely needed. And this will only happen if employees are happy, content and are willing to stick to the workplace. It is very important that a healthy, sporty and learning environment prevails in the atmosphere of a growing company. The positivity amongst the employees is the most important thing. This is a base for many positive things that can happen to an organization.

Here, we will talk about the employee relations, and its utter importance in an organization. Every individual shares a certain relationship with the people he/she works with, has a different bonding. This relationship can be with anyone, be it between the boss and the employee or with a colleague. It is very important that you share a good bond at your workplace with at least the people you work with, to make sure you perform your best and nice outputs evolve. In fact when you work with an organization you spend maximum time at your workplace, so if you won’t get a positive vibe from this very place, you can’t think of performing good! The term “Employee relations” refers to an attempt that an employer makes to keep the employees happy and to manage relationships between the employer and the employee. Because certainly employees can’t work in a vacuum, they need an atmosphere to communicate with people and work in coordination with them to get their job done. Hence there has to be a proper management in relationships among the workers so that the functioning and processes of the business go well without any hindrances, and the employees put up their best endeavor in everything. The company which provides their employees an unbiased environment, enjoys the loyalty of the employees.

Nice and effective communication also comes under managing the employee relations! That is, to make sure that no communication gap breathes amongst the employees. Because a good communication is always required when you want to get your work done, or you are working for someone.

An HR department focuses on, makes strategies for the same! These plans obviously depends on the number of employees working with the firm, its location, its size and the like. These include the following concerns:

• Pay and benefits: Employee-friendly companies provide a worth pay for work done by the employees with other benefits such as medical claims, group insurance, leave travelling allowances and the like. These certainly encourage the employees.
• Work-life balance: The employers are also concerned that whether the employees are able to maintain a balance in their professional life and personal life.
• Safe working conditions: Safety of the employees is also a matter of concern for the employers. Some companies (working in nights!) provide the cab facilities, with a pick-up and drop provision just to ensure the safety of the workers. 🙂
• Making the employees feel that the work they are doing is of a great importance to the company and the production is affected, make them feel wanted and responsible for the kind of work they do, which is again indirectly good for the company only!
• Another thing that the department does for the employees is giving them recognitions! So that they know, yes their work gets noticed, and the good work is always appreciated, this gives the employees a motivation and inspires them to work even harder!

And yes these plans, these strategies made for the employees are of much importance, as, ‘Happy employees are the productive employees!!’

Cheers!!

Click here for government certification in Management

The post Employee Relations- 3 appeared first on Vskills Blog.

Not only human beings, but almost every living creature has a tendency to keep going what has been going till now, and not to adapt and accept changes easily.

No one is very much fond of going through the changes. But, Become Job Ready Now !ive by welcoming the worthy experiments in the already running processes, doing the things in a new way, and not just being afraid of the risks involved.

Who doesn’t fear risks?

Everyone wants to be in one’s own comfort zone, and never want to step out where uncertainties prevail!! People are afraid of experimenting, because it certainly involves risks, and doing something out of the box not always gives fruitful results. Similarly, if we talk about the organizational procedures, experimenting with the ongoing processes can sometimes push everything into a rut. In other words, when we do a certain thing out of the box, we should also be prepared of the adverse effects of the same. ‘Failure’, the word itself sounds very scary! This is what everyone fears the most. This is the sole reason, people shirk taking risks. We fear the failure and the after effects of the failure, that how others will frame an image, others will judge him/her on this failure! And this is the reason why we want to do everything in an old fashion!

So, what is the very need of getting out of a cozy blanket, when you have been sleeping in comfort? Yes, there is need. If we want to achieve something extraordinary, we need to do something extraordinary!

There is no scope of learning, if we continue doing the things in the same fashion! Yes, experimenting is risky, but at the same time we learn a lot of things, and no wonder if the same things work out in a better way(Doing it in the a different way)!

It’s very essential in an organization that it promotes experimental learning, and the leader creates an environment where the newer and innovative ideas are always welcome, and things work in a suitable way. When an employee enters in a firm, he/she is expected to learn the old way conventions in which the work is done. In fact he/she is given trainings for the same, this is termed as conventional training! But, to what extent does it aid the organization and the employee? It kills the innovative ideas, enthusiasm and strength in the employee, with which he/she probably enters. And on the other hand, the employer is also left with the old, shabby processes! So, again a two-way loss.

There is something which can be done about it.

Two types of trainings are given to the employees, one is: Conventional training in which the employee is trained in accordance with the processes and the methods that are already being used by the company. And the other is Experiential training in which individual’s thought processes, strengths and of course the ideas are respected and paid heed to.

In organizations, special trainings, in fact should be held to let employees think and realize that learning and experimenting can be fun and rewarding at the same time. It should provide a platform to its employees for all sorts of learning and development in the future.

There are many benefits of experimental learning that an organization should be providing, we shall talk about them briefly!

• This atmosphere would encourage the workers to develop their understanding, and evaluate the processes in their context and then work hard to apply their understandings of the things.
• People can actually apply their experiences and change the things for better.
• It is a process of teaching and learning, which benefits both the organization and the employees!
• Even Albert Einstein didn’t set up all these inspirations by attending theory classes!! But by applying his creative ideas and experiments!

According to a data analysis, I could figure out that about 70% workplace learning happens through on-job experience and practice, which is good!! And 20% workplace learning happens through coachings, feedbacks and personal networks and the rest 10% learning is gained through the formal off job training, which is beneficial as well.

So, where there’s a risk there are fruitful results also waiting at the other end, but when the organizations won’t even consider the experiments and changes, neither the learning will happen nor there will be possibilities of betterment.

Remember, always being pessimistic doesn’t help. Light at the end of the tunnel may not always be another coming train but it could be a golden opportunity waiting on the other side! 🙂 Take thoughtful risks, it helps!!

Cheers!! 🙂

Click here for government certification in Life Skills

The post Experimental learning appeared first on Vskills Blog.

People today can probably compromise on everything but on ego and the self-respect!

So, what basically an agile manifesto says! It has certain ground rules which are as follows:

• Promote individual interactions rather processes and tools. In simpler words, it believes that what a calm interaction with the desired person can do, the huge traditional processes and tools cannot!
• Encourage the working product and not just the comprehensive documentation. It means that what should matter is the end product that the company produces and not the documentations.
• Favour customer collaboration over contract negotiation. This is self-explanatory it says rather making the negotiations in the contract try gaining their collaboration, so that the company heads towards the growth.
• Respond to change rather following a plan. This is also certainly important that if in an organization there is a scope of acceptance of change and they are always welcome rather reluctantly following what has been followed till date. If the organization will be open to changes more likely it can head towards success.

Now, let us talk about some features of the testing manifesto of the Agile concept.

They are:

• The organizations should start the process of testing the product throughout its manufacturing process rather checking it once at the end, when it has been passed through many nets. This increases the process, and hence more time-consuming!

• The team working on the particular product should try to prevent the bugs rather fixing the bugs when all the processes are done, because certainly “Prevention is better than cure.” 🙂

• The focus should be on testing the understanding rather than blaming the functionality because certainly it is in no way going to help the organization.

• The belief should be in building the system rather breaking the system. It’s better if we think of the growth of the team as a whole rather being a self-centered person, only think about one’s own growth, at the stake of the company’s growth!

Now, probably to have a clearer picture of what actually are the differences in the mindset of the people in an Agile organization or otherwise. Let’s proceed:

In the points that follow, I’ll be using “P” for the people in an organization without the Agile concept and “A” for the people working with an Agile mind set.

1. “P” try to be predictable about business software, outcomes, productivity and the like, whereas “A” very well know that the business software is not possible.
2. “P” work by setting the time deadlines, prices and the scope for the projects. But it is known to “A” that a scope for the project cannot be fixed!
3. The most important difference is that the organizations (non-agile) measure the success of their projects by its conformance to plan, whereas an agile organization measures the success of the projects by the value it give to the customers.
4. Again a very important difference, an agile organization values the people more than the “processes” which means it believes in doing the things in which the employees are happy and not what the process says. Basically it accepts a process and doesn’t impose it. Whereas other organizations value methodologies and its processes more than the people.
5. An agile organization always welcome the software and the development changes rather resisting the changes like the other firms, which is indeed beneficial for them in the long run, after all the world is changing into a “tech savvy”.

Now, summarizing what all we talked in the above text. The agile mind set basically teaches us that in an organization, we share knowledge and not just boast about it!

• Failure is an option, it provides us with an opportunity to learn, we shouldn’t get demotivated with the failure, rather work on the weak points and do it even better, once again. In our minds, there should be a floating thought of motivation always and we should never forget that we improve continuously, we learn from our failures.
• When different people work together for the same purpose it is very much obvious that there will be difference in thoughts, but to head towards success, diversity in thoughts should be accepted and always welcomed.
• Collaborate and communicate is yet another thing which agile teaches us. Most importantly make your workplace fun, so that you keep enthusiastic about working in it and for it.

We embrace change!!

Cheers!

Click here for government certification in Management

The post Agile-A modern era organizational concept appeared first on Vskills Blog.

How important is it for us that our point is well-understood and is not misinterpreted by the second person whom we are trying to communicate with? Whether we are at our workplace or at our home, at both the places it is equally important that our words have a say, and this would only happen if we communicate effectively. Just to tell, the most ineffective conversation is when the speaker wants to say something else, but the listener takes in something completely different and reacts accordingly. So, the most important thing, when you are talking to someone, is to make sure that the second person hears what actually you mean to convey!

An ideal conversation is a must between two people or a group of people, because where there is a communication gap, there is a problem. When you say something and perceived as something else on other side, there is an issue then!! Both the words which defines the very essence of what we want to communicate and the gesture with which we say it make a GREAT difference. Similarly, when you are the listener, you have to be more careful in that scenario. Being a good listener is also an uncommon quality that people generally don’t possess these days. It asks for the patience, a positive body gesture that yes you are paying heed to what the next person is saying.

In this text, I would discuss the conversation manners which are actually important at the workplace to create a positive impact.

We call a conversation meaningful if it is a two-way process. So, what is a two-way process in terms of communication?

A communication is said to be a two-way thing if you convey a message and it is well received at the other end and understood in the same way you intended to do it. Here the half job is done. The other half is completed when you become a good listener as well, and you hear the other person exactly the way you wanted him/her to hear you. This is where a two way communication is accomplished.

Effective communication is a very essential tool in an organization to make sure every process is going smoothly. As it helps in team work, when the communication is clear and thorough it helps in building trust, enhancing the official relations, decision making processes is improved and problem solving becomes easier.

One of the key features of an effective communication is when you talk to someone or a group of people it is very essential that you make an eye contact with them, since where you look while talking makes a lot of difference. It says many things, it defines your confidence. When you make an eye contact with your listeners it leaves a very good impact on them, and they hear you with more attentiveness. Yes this is a fact, when you make an eye contact it reflects your confidence level and may be in the point that you are trying to make. Talking with someone with shirking eyes gives them a feel that you yourself are not firm about what you are saying and then there’s no point making the other person believe the same thing, when you are not sure about it.

Next thing that matters is the body language. It is very necessary that you have a consistent body language throughout the conversation, no matter you agree with the second person or not, keep your point but remember not with a negative body language. Negative or inconsistent body language could include avoiding the eye contact, giving negative expressions, raising your voice, thumping your feet and many more! These things obviously leave a negative impact on not only the person you are communicating with, but may be others who are not even a part of the conversation, and just listening to the arguments being made, and may be they judge you on it .

So, I would end up with saying that an effective communication is very necessary among the employees in an organization for it to work smoothly, and communication gap is something that ruins even the smallest of the matters.

Talk softly, and make others follow you!! 🙂

Cheers!

Click here for government certification in Management

The post Effective Communication- How to succeed in corporate life appeared first on Vskills Blog.

Human resources is something very necessary for a firm, and also inimitable. In other words, employees are an integral part of the firm. It is very necessary to keep the drudges satisfied and happy, so that they stick to the firm and also don’t shirk work! It is always good for the company if the workers work for a long time, and not for a short term. So that a comparatively lesser money is spent on training the new employees every other month, and also the reliability factor. So, the HR department of the company takes care of this factor, that employees are happy with the work environment provided by their company, and the employees are able to give their hundred percent!

For this purpose, this department frames some policies which are for the employees, some obviously to attract the employees and some to maintain the discipline within the working area. Both are equally necessary, having equal importance.

I would discuss some of the policies that will help us better understand the things.

1. It is very necessary that companies give the employee a feel that Yes, while working there they are able to retain their identity and they see their own growth with that of the firm. Some companies conduct internal surveys to have a glance of what actually the employees think of working within the place and the people. It is very essential that the workers feel safe and secure in the environment.
2. Employees expect that in the firm which they are working should not run its processes in disguise, rather the management processes should be transparent. The policies, initiatives regarding sales, marketing or any step, which the company takes, should be discussed with every single employee and they should be asked for their ideas for the same as well. This inculcates the feeling of belongingness for the firm, and this shall help in the growth of the firm in the long run.
3. HR has such provision of giving a pat on the back when the employees perform a good job, it is Performance Based Incentives, sometimes also called Variable compensation. These incentives are also very necessary and play a very crucial, but indirect role in the growth of the firm. Because, when the employees will get the appropriate and timely rewards, they will be obviously more encouraged to work even harder. These incentives can be in the form of a salary hike or promotions given to the employees, certainly after evaluating the yearly performance of the workers. Some companies encourage the deserving candidates by giving the certificates or something of this sort, as a reward of outstanding performance. This not only boosts the moral of the employees who performed well but also inspires other workers to perform equally good for the company.

Click here for government certification in Human Resources

The post Three policies that HR must follow for happy employees appeared first on Vskills Blog.

We all know what disguised unemployment is, but before I talk about its demerits, I would like to give a little introduction about this term.

Disguised unemployment is the state where people appear to be working for a firm or an organization but the output of the firm is not affected whether they work or not. In such cases, either the worker does no work or his/her productivity is nearly zero, as he is made to do the same work redundantly. In simpler words, when extra people are made to perform a job, which could be done with fewer people also. So, even if the so-called employed persons leave the organization, the productivity is not at all affected. In such cases we say, that these employees are disguisedly unemployed.

For example- Supposedly 25 people are hired for cultivating a land of 500 square yards, will each one of them will be honestly involved? Will everyone will be working to his/her potential? The answer is NO, in fact the workers won’t be performing the amount of work, which an average human labour can. Here comes the disguised unemployment. Now, at least ten of these workers are not actually employed, even if they walk out, the land cultivation won’t be affected at all.

Unfortunately, India being a developing country, faces this problem of disguised unemployment. Having abundant of population and tonnes of unemployment, there’s no deficiency of human labours, and as a result they are disguisedly unemployed, which is certainly not good for a developing country like ours. And not only in the “fields”, but the educated persons also fight for the jobs in today’s era, like anything. And this scenario has an easy analogy with the economics concept, “Lesser supply, higher demand leads to the increase in prices!!” The demand for the jobs is more than the available lot.

This disguised unemployment is present even in the biggest of the firms, as they have ample funds so they recruit, say, ten employees where there was a need of just eight. So, when seen from the company’s perspective, is it any way beneficial to the company? Those funds (that is now the salary paid to the employee, who has absolutely no work to do and the output of the company also won’t be affected much if the employee leaves the firm) could probably be invested somewhere else from where a sure shot good profit is expected to come.

Not only the companies, but even the employees employed this way are not benefited. Let’s see how!

No doubt, it makes the employee happy for the first few months if he/she gets to work less or nothing at all, and gets the salary almost for free! But is it good for his/her growth? Is it good for his/her career? Isn’t he/she just wasting his time and skills?

So, basically it is a two way loss. Neither the company has an edge nor the employee. This is something not good for a country also.

This should be seen as a problem for the country’s growing economy, and steps should be taken to eradicate this fully.

Open for feedback and suggestions 🙂

Click here for government certification in Management

The post What is disguised unemployment appeared first on Vskills Blog.

India is a developing country. Education is an important aspect for a country to reach its heights. But is our country following a correct procedure to motivate the young talent here? Why students, after completing their higher secondary education aspire to go abroad? Why they do not want to pursue their higher education, in India?

Is there a problem with the system?

Why here every student aspire to work in some foreign country? Is it beneficial for a country to allocate its resources on a bright student who ends up settling in some foreign country and working for them? Isn’t it Brain-Drain? And consequently is this good for India’s economy?

These are all questions which need to be answered and can’t be left unattended!

To eradicate this problem one should know the root cause, I personally interviewed some people who got education in India and are settled in US and some who strongly aspire to follow the same. I got some disheartening replies to my question “Why did you have this dream of settling down in US despite living in a country which has probably nurtured you like a mother since your birth till you left her?”

One of the replies that I got to this, was- “Oh, India? Are you kidding me? What US has given me in all these years in term of financial status or may be in terms of personality development, India could have never given me this much!”

Huhh, so, I won’t criticise the reason which this person gave me, in fact I’ll try and figure out why this has been happening to our country, that despite producing gems India doesn’t get them to serve her in return.

Definitely this is sad, that a citizen of our country thinks like that. But feeling sad won’t help, we need to work on the very reason that is making it happen. Because brain drain is a termite that is making our country hollow day by day. People should inculcate the feeling of oneness in themselves and they should have that possession for the country. So that rather than feeling that they are losing on something, while working in India, they work upon betterment of the country. And it is perfectly said that “If you want the change then be the change.”

What we want is the personality development and the financial status, no? So, why not help our own country to reach that height, so that people from other countries come and work for us, and our development!

Come, let’s work for our country and make it the best in every aspect. Because escaping from a problem, i.e. going to some foreign country and working for them, is never a solution.

Cheers!!

Click here for government certification in Life Skills

The post Brain Drain- India’s huge human resources problem appeared first on Vskills Blog.

I would discuss an issue, from which actually a renowned firm suffered.

I won’t name the organization or the people involved with the matter, because the prime concern of sharing this incident is not to defame anyone but to air that sometimes being violent doesn’t help, in fact tackling the situation judicially and wisely helps, and of course to discuss how an HR helped in this issue.

So, what happened was that, there was a rage amongst the employees in an organization. And that rage was against the issue that they wanted to get permanent on the first hand and secondly they wanted to get a salary hike. And just to mention, the organization was not totally against these two demands but they wanted some time to think and access the performance of the employees so that they can make them permanent or give them a salary hike. But, they hikers weren’t ready to listen to any of the requests made to them. This problem increased when their rage took a violent turn. They made a sort of team and started throwing stones on the management, which not only hindered the work of other employees but also created a negative environment in the office.

And what all the respective managers did not do to control the situation. Alas, they couldn’t help it.

This is where the crucial role of an HR employee comes. None other than my father, who is an HR manager and who is the true source of this story with a ‘moral’, handled this issue. So, what he did was something different from reciprocating what the hikers were doing, different from making fake promises to them to just handle the issue on a short term basis.

To resolve this problem, he talked to the drudges directly in fact had a one on one conversation with the people who actually had the problems, and astonishingly he found that some were in the gathering just because they were way too gullible and certainly schizophrenic. Realizing this he could solve half of the problem, because all he had to do was to make the folk realize to be more pragmatic and to develop their own perspective other than just being a slavish adherent. He didn’t take any help of indirect mailings and most importantly he didn’t leave any scope of miscommunication between him and the workers, which could have created the unwanted chaos. That other than having the indirect mailings and thus creating more chaos.

As a result he was able to persuade the hikers, and handled the situation smartly. It took time no doubt, but it ended on a peaceful note. And this is what matters! All’s well that ends well. Sometimes having the peaceful conversation helps in sorting the biggest of the issues.

So, the crux of the above text is, rather stretching the matter or taking the help of the office politics, and making the matter more complex, the organizational issues can be solved by being genuine and stating the points in a manner which doesn’t sound harsh, then why won’t the people will hear you, and why won’t your point be understood and taken care of. J

And of course ‘The way we see the problem is the problem’ and it is not the actual problem that bothers us but the way we look at it.

Cheers !!

Click here for government certification in Human Resources

The post Resolving Conflicts in office appeared first on Vskills Blog.

Well, everyone wants to have those ‘authoritative’ powers over other. In an organization to what extent does it aid?

Organizations set designations for their employees, I agree it helps the organization to work properly, as designations make people hold the responsibility for the respective work they do, they are answerable to any flaw that happens in the procedure.

But, does this designation thing bring the peace and harmony amongst the employees? Actually, in my opinion creating designation is perfectly okay and it works for the good of the company. But the problem arises when this leads to imposing ones thoughts on others. In some firms the Managing directors and the people with actual authorities regarding the respective issues are unapproachable, in fact even if they meet with the employees it is like the ships that pass in the night!

The point which I want to make is, there should not be any dictatorship in a firm, because it kills the very innovation that is in the employee, moreover they tend to accept that there’s no place for something new to be accepted whole heartedly, and the system will go as it has been going for the past years. So, one day or the other the new ideas won’t evolve in the organization, which is sometimes the need of the market.

So, it is very important in an organization that the thoughts and amendments, which are suggested by the employees, are paid heed to. The suggestions and the ideas of the employees should have an equal say in the firm irrespective of the designation they are assigned. Suppressing the ideas and thoughts of the employees will not only demotivate them but also will prove to be a hindrance in the growth of the firm. When the workers will feel that yes, they have a say in the firm for which they work, they will feel good in themselves and Trust me!! They will come up with so many innovative and better ideas. Because innovation and smartness is not something that comes with experience, rather comes with one’s creativity. The head should not be adamant, in fact he/she should listen to every perspective of an issue from every individual related to the matter.

Remember, “The boss is always right” sometimes pushes the firm in a rut from which coming out becomes difficult. So, listen to suggestions and do the needful, should be the policy! Then only the organization will have more chances to compete in the market, and will come out with flying colors.

Open for feedback!

Cheers!!

Click here for government certification in Human Resources

The post Democracy in Organizations appeared first on Vskills Blog.

“Freedom” is a very pleasant word to hear. We all want every sort of freedom in our life, little knowing to use it the right way. But here, we would discuss, what actually should freedom means! “Boys” want freedom to roam around on the streets late in the night. But the consequence of the same is different. Most of the time, they end up misusing it.

So, the point which I want to make here is if you are given freedom, learn to use it and not misuse it. Girls want freedom to take all the life related decisions of their life, they should be taking their decisions no doubt, but is everything going smooth in the society ? And not only boys and girls but today’s generation actually misuses it rather doing something good to the society.

We should know, for “what” the freedom is given to us, and should make sure that we don’t misuse it anytime. Freedom is not only to roam around round the clock, but to have independent thoughts, and India being a democratic country gives us the liberty to speak, but this we should know that how we present our thoughts. Remember always “genuineness with respect”. Raise your voice and not your tone. Youth of today’s generation generally forgets whom are they talking to! And usually disrespect and hurt the other person. So it’s very important with what gesture you keep your point. No matter how genuine your point is, but never forget humbleness. Education teaches us to be humble and not to be rude to people if you know the little of things. So, I would sum up with it’s good to have freedom, it’s excellent if we use it the desired way and it’s brilliant if we use the freedom, specially “Right to speech” in a way that it serves the society without harming anyone’s sentiments.

Cheers! Look freedom in a different way. 🙂

Click here for government certifications

The post What is Freedom ?? appeared first on Vskills Blog.