GreyFlex Weblog

Just yesterday the small team of us present at office got together while the systems were getting serviced and I grabbed the opportunity of discussing with them, how post these times, the business scenario will change for ever. Like it is pretty much clear the rules of business process will and have transitioned to a much more pragmatic approach. The team appeared to agree that we had to leverage our expertise in managing process, its transactional sequence, the multiplicity of priorities, anticipating and preparing for trouble, and proactively approaching opportunities with not so much dependence on domain expertise or what we have done so far. I have always believed that domain expertise can be learned and the time it requires to learn the process is inversely proportional to the willingness of the individual or the team engaged in it.

I read Seth Godin regularly and he inspires confidence in troubled times and it just felt great that he happened to mention just what we discussed in his post, http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/01/what-are-you-good-at.html

While we have been seeing a frightful drop in the business margins since August 2007, our business process has shown a steady increase in the top lines. We have managed to keep our neck out of the flooding waters primarily due to our earnest efforts to follow process and ensure that we are one up on the critical deliverable. The future belongs to proactive approach on business processes and being able to deliver value to clients over and above the transactional part of the deal. This approach applies significantly and critically to small enterprises and entrepreneurs, which in turn signifies the shift in outlook of team members of these enterprises to be aware of this challenge and adapt to it.

I am awed with the speech that Barack Obama gave on his inaugural address, and it did not appear like he was reading it, nor did it look like he had some help from a prompter. There is a lot on the web on his speech and subsequent analysis of why, how and what he said in those 25 minutes. He is known for his oratory skills, but the way he went on from issues to another and the passion he generated with those words in light of the troubled times we are in, I guess, connected much with listeners across the globe.

I have always been fascinated by the US – Indo relations. It’s been blow hot… blow cold… Most Indians, and typically a very large part of the entire middle class here, want to visit US; have been to US (some a few many times); know a great deal about the US; have someone they know or are related to closely in the US, yet I am not too sure if we have been able to impress much on our interest in US and get the policy makers there to know of the impression. We also had some of our national dailies screaming Obama quote US Citizens as Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and non believers. For some reasons I believe that Obama unlike most other Presidents seems to acknowledge the role of the sizable Indian native population in US, and therefore I guess he may want to tread a better approach to the relations with India.

On his foreign policy, http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/foreign_policy/, one gets to see the changed US policies on troubled countries mentioned in prominence. The web page may not want to include all other countries and therefore it could be why India; however time and again the tilt towards these countries, and no direct reference to us makes us the common citizens wonder, if they yet presume India not to be an ally? The United States has never,  and as, in the recent past ever shown a strong support to Indian concerns. Nor do we do so well from our end with our communist parties crying wolf whenever there is a trade agreement signed or an FDI is inked with a American multinational, which probably attracts negative media attention there in US. For that matter communist parties are just the same with any other western countries and Indian enterprises as well.

In course of our regular business we have interacted with a lot of professionals from US as clients and have imbibed processes which have helped us manage business from a generic manner locally to transacting and presenting business in structured and professional way to global clients. It is to the credit of such transactions we have learned through them that have enabled us to gain grounds with professionals from different other parts of the world. Our experience in the last decade, which I am sure is not surprising and not new to many others, as well, is that our  business prospects are proportionate to the strength of US economy and other markets also respond better then. The way we have been conducting our business and responding to global clientele has undergone a sea change for better and local clients have also experienced such welcome change. It is quite in the interest of the enterprising community that the US economy does well and our relations with US on both the fronts; economic and external affairs, improve.

Hopefully with http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/change_has_come_to_whitehouse-gov/ we will see better  times to come soon. Will there be a learning for our policy makers in managing such a change ?

I believe that Human Resource is very strategic to any Business and the cost of acquiring, nurturing, maintaining and retaining them exceeds fairly in value compared to any other resource.

In troubled and tough times like this when businesses tends to seek the easy way out in downsizing and camouflage it as cost rationale, the HR Department and professionals managing such processes need to stand up and make it count.

They need to evaluate such options with tough performance parameters and be very aware of the quality of resource they retain and release. This is also the time employer brand can actually be fortified and a very clear message on the company loyalty be stressed upon.

I represent the other side of the table in bringing across the elusive talent most businesses frantically try to acquire during good times. Human Resource professionals should be able to forecast the troubled times better, build the resource maintenance strategy and relay to the margin obsessed management the importance of long term perspectives  and gains. This way they could avoid falling prey to knee jerk reactions that most organizations have resorted to during these times.

Most economists, management gurus, financial advisors and knowledge institutions have failed us in predicting such recessionary scenario, its duration and its cascading effects. A large part of this scenario is also the creation of HR Management fraternity through mindless inflation of HR costs over the last few years and should now own up the responsibility to temper it down to reasonable level for the benefit of all.

It should rather be left to our own competence in assessing business scenarios and working towards better results which in no way should be socialist or advocate cheap please everyone policy. A more rationale effort to manage the HR Costs and talent is probably the call of the day.

So that is it!

To begin with the chairman tries to buy his son’s company which is in doldrums, all the while consumed by the insatiable greed for land, all this fueled by the hard earned money that a group of people called the Human Resource of the company has sweat to generate over so many years. One might be tempted to say… So What! The company belonged to them….!

Well with all emotions yet kept apart, I will answer back So What! So what if a person has founded a company; has invested in it; has nourished an idea; turned it to a business proposition and has generated wealth out of it… it doesn’t yet give the right to the founder to treat it like his ‘baap ki jaagir’… yes sir… it still doesn’t give him the right to treat it like one….!

Whatever the Companies Act of 1956 might want to say, I believe a company, the moment one is formed is no longer a baap ki jagir.. it belongs to those who have toiled to build it… it belongs to the people who work there… it belongs to the clients it gets business from …it belongs to the vendors who service it…it belongs to the investors and shareholders…it belongs to the government it pays tax to… it belongs to the land where its infrastructure stands….it belongs to the process that it serves the purpose of… and yes it too has a personality of its own, a character of its own … and a life of its own… a founder who may have created it cannot claim his auto-right to play with it, squeeze its life off, and then say, I am sorry, I resign !!

And the speculation galore, they are loosing clients, they are loosing investors, no one wants to buy them, employees are beleaguered, employees are looking out….they are sending resumes to recruiters, competing firms will hire them at lower than market compensation !

Come on guys!! Can we not see it… it is so clearly visible …it is a hand in glove connivance, of all those who were involved, auditors, government, politicos, bank and the management, who stripped the company of its cash, that’s all that is happened… yes that’s all that has happened… the company has been robbed of its cash…its money…

Could they possibly rob the company of its character, its personality, its business process, its human resource and the talent it has. I have had the chance to interact with some extremely great talent at this company over the years when I would try to poach business intelligence, human resource strategist, finance analyst, process specialist and many such niche areas for our other clients. Come on guys … this is the time the company, if we consider for a moment the company to be living person who is calling you out…. “Go out and tell your clients… tell your vendors… tell your team members… tell the government officials…. tell your family members… we are in charge and we will drive it now on… don’t loose faith in us, they have possibly robbed us of our money but not of our skin and our skin is colored dark, dark with the experience we have had to build our business and our process over these years. Let me not get raped. I don’t want anyone to take us over. I don’t want to merge with anyone. I want to continue living my character, my personality, and my business. Revive me back for the sake of our clients, our vendors, for you and your family, for our investors, for the tax we are paying, and for the land I belong to. I know I will live as long as I have you guys!!”

Do not send your resumes to recruiters or competing companies now, they may not value your worth as much as your company will do….stay back if you possibly can and prove a point. I just did some my otherwise poor math and realized if each employee could possibly raise a 5- 10 lakh loan you could possibly raise the money your company has been robbed off ?  or am I wrong ?

Let this be the moment of your Satyam!

Some fresh opportunities with clients this week,

1. Head - Supply Chain Management / IT / Marketing / Human Resources / Finance / Sales / Operations / Customer Services ; Location : Cochin; Client is a new cellular operator in Kerala; All roles require incumbents to have a minimum of 12 years experience, the client is open to candidates with background from any industry..! Call us on 9945109555 or email : praveen@greyflex.com to know more. 
2. Head of Facilities & Services based at Bangalore, for a fortune 500 MNC; ideally somebody with Leadership Skills; sound Financial Acumen (Average Spend category at USD 125 Million); Exposure and conviction to manage various stakeholders; the role is more strategic and less operational hence, F&A Background is not mandatory.

Some new opportunities with an esteemed client,

1. Internal Communications Analyst in the Marketing Department : Location : Gurgaon, MBA Marketing certainly, 2003-2007 Batches, ideally at least a year’s experience in IT / ITES companies; salary offered for this role is between 4-5 lacs to 7.5 lacs max.
2. Growth and Strategy Specialist based at Bangalore, ideally somebody working with international research firms handling research on IT / ITES industry and good understanding of data analytic’s. MBA preferred, 2001-2006 Batches, ideally at least 2 year’s + experience, salary offered for this role is between 7 lacs to 14 lacs max.
3. Corporate Lawyer based at Bangalore, having good understanding on reviewing contracts etc, ideally with exposure in IT / ITES Companies. LLB is a must; 2001-2006 Batches, with at least 2 year’s + experience, salary offered for this role is between 7 lacs to 14 lacs max.
4. Corporate Labor Lawyer based at Gurgaon / Bangalore (Employee Preference) ; should have worked with Corporate Companies and should have handled employee related litigation; LLB is a must; 2001-2006 Batches, ideally at least 2 year’s + experience, salary offered for this role is between 7 lacs to 14 lacs max.

There’s been a small break from my writing due to a new business process engaged by us recently. Activity in business is rare these days and therefore it is a good news considering the turtle pace of deals and action seen in business all-around. The client has been magnanimous to offer us this deal considering that we are yet operating at a smaller scale and on successful implementation the scale seems quite promising. Scaling up fast is possible when you are small and the opportunity is big :-).

Here I write on client business transition, which is an exciting phase in business. The business then has the opportunity to experience a new process, manage a new process, implement a new system and if all components in the process runs well, reward comes in the form of added bottom lines. A new process for a client brings in excitement and needs to be carried out at a fast pace which often  can be extremely de-settling for the set internal processes. Its like stirring a bowl with mud and water, and then you suddenly see a colloid of brownish liquid till the mud actually settles down and then there is clarity. The water gets it clarity with the passage of time and everything looks settled and is back to normal. Similar is the reaction, with colleagues, associates and even family members when the equilibrium is disturbed from an otherwise set eco-system.  The effect of the stir is quite different on each of these individuals.

From an account manager’s perpective, responsible to such a client, one would wish that the stir settles down instantly and clarity is available quickly. While most account managers would wishfully want such improbable to occur, the length of passage of time will test the nerve of even an otherwise cool mind. It becomes important for the account manager to be able to see clarity because a query from the client in unclear waters can be extremely unnerving leading to the feel of being out of control. A feeling such as this will be the last thing an account manager would ever wish. Though one would want to, there is certainly no escape from the extreme chaos that is bound to happen within the existing systems and the way of doing things. A new process; a new role; changed systems; often warranted by such transitions, can get colleagues & associates, grapple at the pace, and usually leads to bursts of stress and excitement getting the whole ecosystem tense. 

To complicate matters further, family chips into the chaos not realising that people involved in transition sometimes unconsciously carry home this experience. They are not unreasonable in their quest to know the reasons of chaos, but explaining chaos requires patience which is generally thin in such circumstances :-).

I believe, it is during such turbulent times, the tough get the opportunity to prove themselves and clear the stir. It takes attention, commitment, willingness and pace to settle  the process and revert to stability. It is probably an opportunity as well for everyone in the process to align and check each other on reliability and adaptability. Transition in business teaches you valuable lessons, and the gripping experience, like all times is unique and worth each penny being an entrepreneur.

It is fun on assignments which involves creativity. One could wonder the extent of creative skills possible on recruiting assignments. When a sector is dynamic, evolving and fast growing, client companies allow recruiting agencies the liberty to look for various options in the market. New roles; new positions; facilitates career moves across skills and sectors, thereby making the whole transition interesting to change seekers and facilitators.
 
I remember distinctly, with the Insurance sector liberalised in late 2000, we were exposed to recruiting in the exciting Insurance space. This space had till then invoked an image of the elephantine PSU, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India which is managed by the Government. The potential of business opportunities in the sector and the extent of career aspirations that were possible in this segment suddenly dawned on us when we met up with young Human Resource professionals from the newly launched  private life insurance joint venture company. 

The opportunity was exciting as we reviewed the database of experienced professionals from various other segments and uged them to explore the new option; as we got into dialogue with educational institutions to initiate freshers to evaluate new career avenues. The dearth of otherwise eager talent to manage this kind of business process, made it creative, fulfilling and meaningful to move people across sectors and skills and get them to accept good positions, career growth and better salaries.

Over the last year or so, with the sluggishness in various sectors, most companies are back to what we call as the relavancy factor. Probably for want of training time, they’d insist on evaluating resumes of candidates with just the similar experience, thereby reducing the role of recruiting firms to being mere resume pushers and end up hiring people only from the relevant sectors and with relevant skills. While such moves could result in short term gains of minimising transition cost of positions left vacant within a project, I believe it could have cascading effect over an extended period with monotony creeping in leading to attrition.

If time is not a serious constraint, client companies should push recruiting firms to offer candidates with relevant attributes and attitude, and not just relevant skills. Training specific skills may perhaps not turn out to be as expensive as attrition.

I knew of Dr. Randy Pausch, just the day he died. He inspires. I’d pray for his soul to rest in peace.

In the last six years of my consulting practice as a recruiter, I have had the privilege to interact with a few hundred people and transact their career movements. I’d in my posts share some interesting notes on these interactions. As a practice I would stick not to reveal name/organisation.

A challenge, we face as a recruiter is to believe in the stability of a candidates term in a position and map the natural growth from the position. It is very common to come across many who look for a change in job within short span of time of their joining new assignments (anything less than 6 months is usually considered very short span). Before discussing such profiles with a client, we get the candidate to explain us the reasons, and tend to believe in the reasons offered. The usual reasons include a role mis-match or the work environment not being as conducive as they would have expected.

More often in such scenario by the time they actually reach the interview rounds and discussion table, many tend to get wary of their own explanation on having had to look for a change. They probably over time introspect; during the process are not able to invoke the same conviction with which they began; and are eventually not able to get the prospective employer to see their point of view.

Weariness on self conviction at any stage of interview process actually jeopardises the candidature, irrespective of career levels. This holds as much good for being confident on technical skills as well as on personal skills.

The most cited reasons for rejection in personal interview processes are lack of energy, vibrancy and conviction. One could make the mistake of making a wrong move, even if it was un-intentional, but may not have the luxury of being able to rectify it, unless we are able to admit it; accrue honest reasons for such a move and carry on with conviction to another opportunity.