AJfeeds: Couplet #2

 

1.     एक फूल तुम हो , एक फूल मेरी किताब में रखा है,

तुम यादो से निकाल दो कभी अगर

 तेरा ये प्यार मैंने सजाके रखा है ॥

AJfeeds: Quote of the day #1

  Power of faith is stronger than the power of science

AJfeeds: Couplet #1

  ऐ मौत तु जरा बता के आना,

अपना इरादा है दूनिया से शान से जाना, जिंदगी में बहुतो का दिल दुखाया होगा,

जाने से पहले उन सबको गले लगाना, जिंदगी बेशक रही हो मतलबी

अपना हर अंग किसी को देके है जाना, अकेला रहा मै बेश्क अक्सर

अपनी मौत पर शानदार मेला है लगाना, ऐ मौत तु जरा बता के आना ॥

New Rules of Work Leadership (Meaning at Work)

American political activist, author, and several time presidential candidates, Ralph Nader, once said, “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” Truer words have not been spoken concerning Leadership in a disruptive business world.

 Technology has disrupted almost all the spheres of our lives. It has created new jobs that were once possible only in the realm of sci-fi movies. Organizations are breaking down data siloes and redistributing decision making so that corporate hierarchies are now much flatter. As if that was not enough, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have made the business world smarter, faster, and agile in the last decade alone.

On the other side, most of the corporate leadership development programs haven’t responded appropriately or fast enough. An aggressive personality and hard-driving skill set, that got so many leaders to the top in past years, seems to have peaked in the current environment. The old formulas have gotten obsolete.

 Five Future Ready Lessons for Leadership

 ·     A leader’s success is measured by innovation, not execution.:  The traditional corporate mindset has its focus on systems and processes, whereas the entrepreneurial style is more risk-oriented and dynamic. A successful leader builds a culture of innovation and motivates people to expect more from themselves. Collaboration & communication is key in any effective organization and new age leaders use it wisely. With the advent of HR Tech, several tools empower leaders and organizations to collaborate better.

In a recent Fortune survey, 73 percent of responding CEOs cited the rapid pace of technological change as their greatest challenge

PeopleStrong’s Zippi is one such tool. It’s a complete productivity-focused tool that helps organizations track tasks, communicate effectively and monitor performance in a secure environment.

 ·     Enjoy the adventure: Bruce Lee once said, “Be Water, my friend”, Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless like water.

Water is the perfect example of agility; it changes it flows/ directions depending upon the situation. None of us have a crystal ball to see the future, however, a leader needs to embrace ambiguity because leading disruptive innovations means getting used to incredible levels of uncertainty. Modifying assumptions and adapting in the face of change helps leaders achieve new heights.

Also, leaders are now required to anticipate the future and be prepared for it. Interpreting data accurately, integrating different views and taking quick judgments to reach unified decisions makes all the difference.

 ·     A New Age Leader is open about goals, performance & failure: One of the other important traits of leadership is taking everyone along and be transparent with your stakeholders, customers and team members. It’s better to put together a shared vision and the rationale behind it.

At PeopleStrong, we had written the New Code of Work statement (#NCOW) which is a vision for 2022 and was shared with all the employees, where every function knows their role and expectation.

 ·     Democratizing the Goal Setting: When we travel to an unknown location, we tend to take the help of google map which shows step by step directions and navigation. If we take a wrong turn, it still reroutes us towards our destination. Similarly, organizations need to set a disciplined goal-setting process on a quarterly, bi-annually or annual basis. However, a leader fosters an environment to experiment and learn by defining different milestones or control points to ensure even if someone falls or misses, they can iterate again & again until the goal is met.

 ·     A Digital Leader practices managed empowerment: Leaders believe in building a sense of pride amongst people around them while delegating roles & responsibilities. They inculcate a work ethic that drives people to deliver the best of the product and drive oneself beyond the ordinary. To be a humble leader takes great courage, and it’s critical in creating an environment where employees feel included, acknowledged and appreciated.

 For the smart organizations, I’d say, develop your talent on its way to the top. Building your bench is crucial to strategic succession planning, and developing employees is critical to retaining them.

 “Leadership is a practice, not a position. Leaders don’t grow when they are comfortable, they grow when they anticipate the future, avoid complacency”.

#PeopleStrong #Tagged #HRTech #leadership #NewCodeofWork

Article Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-rules-work-leadership-meaning-amit-jain/

Originally Published on LinkedIn

Combatting Covid the Peoplist Way

In a prolonged crisis, as this is proving to be, we often see waves of activity separated by a period of calm, like flying through a hurricane. During these difficult and unprecedented times where everybody's mental health is luring down, the only way to keep mine at peace is by spending quality time with my three-year-old daughter. While helping her out with her studies, I came across one of her nursery rhymes - Sharing is Caring. She ran down the corridor singing- Sharing is caring, oh sharing is fun, we can all share, be kind to everyone, and the verse resonated with me as I contemplated the world around me.

The world came to a sudden halt, everything came to a standstill, and homes became confinements. The air got filled with uncertainty and fear, the fear of illness, the fear of loneliness, the fear of losing our loved ones, and the fear of losing our jobs. Fortunately, the latter one was taken care of, thanks in part to the management at PeopleStrong. Be it Taggd, PeopleStrong, or Wheebox, all companies under the PeopleStrong umbrella not only provided job security to all employees but also gave them comprehensive care and support.

PeopleCare engraves within the DNA of PeopleStrong. During these trying times, we launched a three-pronged safety net for each and every member of the PeopleStrong family. The purpose was to provide comfort and protection to each of our Peoplists in such strenuous conditions. Our pillars stood upright amidst vagaries of nature.

Our first pillar was the personal connect wherein we established a Covid Care taskforce team headed by the leadership team and supported by HR and volunteers from within the organization. The teams connected personally with each of the 1500+ Peoplists. They enquired about the health and safety of our Peoplist and their family members. Whenever needed, the task force provided various assistance and support to our Peoplists. Our best-in-class communication platform Zippi gave us the leverage to maintain meaningful and deeper connections.

The second pillar of our Covid Care program was providing real-time support. We quickly realized that we must save our Peoplists from the pandemic stress and arrange for the availability of professional doctors for any of their concerns during these times. Hence, we stepped up and partnered with a top healthcare provider to set up a dedicated medical helpline for our Peoplists along with their family members. This medical helpline was an instant success. The availability of 24x7 doctor teleconsultations provided a sense of relief to the employees of their and their family member's well-being. The helpline also facilitated employees to request Covid tests or any other diagnostics tests, along with expediting emergency responses (such as ambulance, beds, oxygen, and concentrators). With this real-time support, each of our employees breathed a sigh of relief and got a sense of assurance. However, our PeopleCare values didn't allow us to stop here. We went beyond and launched an elderly care program partnering with a leading vendor in this field to provide continuous support and well-being to the elders in the family of our Peoplists. It has been one of the most fruitful endeavors in acknowledging and empathizing with the families of the Peoplist.

The third pillar of our Covid Care program was avoiding financial stress. Uncertain times like these can inflict a lot of financial aches on every human being. We understood this and believed it is our responsibility to empower each employee with the required monetary cover so that our Peoplists are not affected by any financial duress. We took three bold steps to ensure this financial cover is relevant and adequate for each Peoplist. We enhanced the sum assured of our Mediclaim insurance by 50% along with an additional top-up plan. We understood that such times take a toll on the well-being of employees. Hence, we also scrapped the attendance and abolished any salary deductions due to absenteeism. We introduced 'paid' quarantine leaves of fourteen days over and above our existing bouquet of paid leaves. Going beyond the tides, we also set up a Covid Care Fund to assist our colleagues financially. The fund received generous donations from our colleagues and had been a beacon of light for the suffering families. We also created an internal plasma donor bank, which catered to the urgent requirement of plasma by employees and their families.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unparalleled ill health and disruption to human life around the world. These difficult times call for thoughtful actions. Going with the motto of Sharing is Caring, all I have realized is that there isn't anything more robust than the bond of caring. We all, hand in hand fighting through the adversities, will surely sail through the rough sea and reach the calm and pleasant shore. Even when the pandemic has left us all with impulsive choices and paranoid sources for help, PeopleStrong has sought a way to bring order to this unrelenting chaos through the means of PeopleCare. This, along with the values of our Peoplist have made us strong, future-ready, and unbeatable in the face of adversities like these.

Article Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/combatting-covid-peoplist-way-amit-jain

Originally Published on LinkedIn

AJfeeds: Quote of the day #28

 

People dislike me because I think differently.

Gender Diversity: Step Towards Organizational Equanimity

 Lets begin by answering the first question that comes to mind. What in the world is ‘Equanimity’? It is definitely not ‘treating everyone equally’ as one might be tempted to consider. Rather, think of that little smiling Buddha statue you might have seen somewhere, eyes closed, and that benevolent smile playing on his lips. Equanimity in the corporate world is a similar kind of peace; a Zen-like calmness an enterprise can reach when they attain that fine balance between financial growth, brand enhancement and other development-oriented initiatives. This balance brings stability and scalability in the organization and lights up a big bright neon sign around the brand that basically says ‘We are a great employer!’ Gender diversity is one such way of doing so.

While we are on all things spiritual, it won’t be remiss to quote verse 16.6 from Bhagavad Gita, which translates to “There are two kinds of beings in this world—those endowed with a divine nature and those possessing a demonic nature”. Though one does acknowledge that everyone has some bit of both, ancient Chinese philosophy further expounds that Yin and Yang- seen as male /female or described as seemingly opposing forces- may actually be complementary or interdependent in the natural world. 

In the corporate context, that's where women power really shines. Even though most firms may boast of a male dominated employee roster, women employees are able to bring that special something to the table- qualities that men usually disregard as inconsequential virtues. As per the Pew research centre, women are far better at creating a safe and respectful workplace, valuing people from different backgrounds, showing more compassion, empathy and generally being more ethical. Considering today’s increasingly intolerant, self-centered, impatient world, that’s as good as admitting that companies without a female workforce will most likely be running a one-legged race!

It, therefore, becomes imperative for organizations to build an eco-system that value and utilizes such precious skills. Lift up the confidence of your female workforce, give them the tools to break the glass ceiling, create forums and events where they can have a no-holes barred access to leadership to discuss workplace challenges and grievances, and your organization will bloom like never before. Let the agenda for Gender Diversity not be relegated to a purely PR/ CSR exercise about hailing the virtues of women; initiatives that respect ‘women power’ and their abilities should actually be entwined within the very fabric of a company’s organizational culture. That's when the true potential of women can be harnessed.

Traditional, orthodox mindsets that influence our thoughts or perceptions that a role can be performed best only by a particular gender are assuredly the biggest bane for any enterprise. Such perceptions create negativity and greatly hamper an organization’s journey towards equanimity. Today’s truth is that more women are breaking gender stereotypes at the workplace than they would care to know. Anyone, irrespective of their gender, should be allowed to perform that role if they possess all the right skills for it.  At PeopleStrong, we have imbibed these critical aspects in our DNA because we seriously believe that women are our secret superpower! Here is why:

·       Diversity at Foundation: A company which began its journey 13 years ago, walked the talk by having a woman as one of the co-founders. Today:

o  2 out of 7 board members are women, including Ms. Renuka Ramnath as our chairperson (one of the most influential women in Indian corporate scene)

o  52% of the total participants for first time managers program (Taking the leap) to build next level of leaders are women.

o  24% of the total Work level 2 (mid to senior level) roles are managed by women.

·       Recognition: In 2 out of the last 3 years, PeopleStrong’s highest award- Purple Crown Award- has been bagged by women and approximately 50% of the total best performers and promotions awarded were to women.

·       Workforce Distribution: 43% of the total workforce is women and they are equally distributed across different locations.

·       Building funnel: We focus on creating a talent pipeline that can be funneled into current as well as future projects, whether it is through campus hiring, mandatory expansion for teams etc. by ensuring that at least 1 out of 3 resumes are that of a woman.

·       Equal Pay Master: Not that we want to brag, but the halo around our HR practices most definitely comes from PeopleStrong’s obsession towards a fair and impartial performance evaluation and compensation parity across all levels. From an entry-level woman employee to a senior management employee, they are paid at par in comparison to their peers/counterparts. In my opinion we are amongst the very few organizations who can claim this as an ‘implemented best practice’.

·       Tech Gig Workforce: Women are the epitome of strength and sacrifice; they are ubiquitous, effortlessly multitasking and leading different tasks while also managing the home front. There are a lot of women who take a break in their career for different personal reasons but continue to have professional aspirations, only wanting a chance to realize their dreams. And we weren’t about to pass up a golden opportunity like this one. A year ago, we introduced the concept of Tech Gig workforce for our Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) vertical wherein all women employees who want to work from home can get associated with it. This concept offers flexibility in timing, location and type of work, which makes it lucrative, interesting and beneficial for them too.

 While we still have some way to go in creating an environment that further cements a positive change in the collective organizational mindset, the HR team at PeopleStrong is fully committed to creating equanimity by encouraging and appreciating our women for what they truly are – rockstars!

Article Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gender-diversity-step-towards-organizational-equanimity-amit-jain

Originally published on LinkedIn