Human Capital Trends of the Future

Nice video in the 'Did you know' series about the Human Capital trends of the future and the challenges faced. It talks about the internet, social media, mobility etc and how little attention we really pay to our 'most' critical asset - Human Talent!

Why did Intel miss the mobile market so far and what is the ‘lever’ that enables ARM to hold onto such a large share of the mobile device market?

The Battle of Mobile Chips - Part 1:

The mobile and the PC markets till date were working in their own Silos. These worlds have stayed separate since the requirements of both were different in terms of software, hardware and more importantly consumer usage. PC was for computing usage and mobiles were for communication. The major reason for Intel missing the mobile market was that it was entrenched in the PC and server domain. It had a strong partnership with Microsoft and this enabled it to have a dominant market share in the PC segment. The operating systems and the chips need to be designed to optimize power and take advantage of the chip capabilities, something that the windows OS and the Intel chips did very effectively. They were structured to give them advantage over other processors and ecosystems. Since Windows was the standard in the computing space, Intel also quickly became the standard in the chip making arena. However because it was a monopoly in the chip making arena and was making significant rents, it did not pay attention to the emerging threat of ARM which was anyways a small part of the chip making industry. It was more concerned about countering AMD processors in the PC market. Akin to the Walmart/ Kmart example, it would have to change its operating structure to adapt to the mobile ecosystem. ARM, being small and being just focused on design which was its prime capability, was flexible & created a niche for itself. The investments that Intel would have had to make would have been significant, without knowing the rate of return, as it would have been unsure of the potential of the market itself.

The lever that enabled ARM to get into this market was Apple who used acorn chips for its products early on. However, the lever that enabled ARM to hold on to such a large share was the fact that it avoided the market leaders Intel and AMD and created the mobile chip ecosystem itself. This was a small segment of the market and ARM became very efficient in this segment and grew with the system. Since it is a design organization, it remained very flexible as it did not have the constraints of the production of chips. It was the responsibility of other companies who derived returns from the manufacturing. These companies in turn supplied to the appliance makers who had a significant demand for their products and were conscious of the fact that ARM kept on improving the quality of the products making it more efficient and thereby improving the appliance itself. This ecosystem helped everyone to make good returns and enabled them to make significant investments in ramping production volumes. The strategic interaction among the players and then with the customer created the network externalities. ARM was known because of its interaction with Apple so other companies used its products and when this was successful, further companies and manufacturers queued up to license its products creating a monopoly in the mobile market.

Superb Presentation on Employer Branding - Attracting Followers with your Employment Brand

Causality: Attracting followers with your employment brand

Causality: Must watch presentation on Employer Branding. It provides detailed yet fascinating research on employee opinions and competencies and how companies need to reach out to their employees with better communication models at the workplace. How it is important to create an environment where an employee feels that what they are doing really makes a difference to the world. I am not talking about the UN here. The research here talks about Google and Unilever!!

Source: The original presentation can be downloaded at Slideshare (Probable (c) with Mark Ervin).

The Dilemnas/ Directions in Human Resources...

Human Resources...

Retrenchment - Do's & Dont's using a Sample Transcript...

Scenario 1

Narrator: Now we will see the interaction between the HR manager Mr. Ritesh Sharan and the worker Mr. Shivshankar.

HR: Shiv!

Worker: Ji…

HR: Sit… Sit

Worker: The company has actually decided ki, all this manual process has to be done away with. Aaj kal market mein, iska koi value nahin hai. So the company has said that we will do total automation.

Worker: Hamara Kaam saab??

HR: See… I tried my level best to save all your jobs. But I was able to save only 100 jobs. 50 jobs are now going to be redundant.

Worker: Aap bol rahe ho ki hamara kaam chale jayegi?

HR: Listen to me first. Unfortunately looking at your old age, you are going to be one of the persons who have to go.

Worker: Ji… Mera beti hai ji… Marriage karvana hai uska.

HR: Company policy hai bhai. Hum kuch nahin kar saktha.

Worker: Yeh umar mein mein kya karoon.

HR: Thoda paisa dhenge thumko. Thu kuch kar le na us se. Problem kya hai usme.

Worker: Log mujhe kya kahenge…

HR: Mein kya karoon. Try kiya meine… 100 naukri bacha liya meine.

Worker: Ji... Mein apka pair pakadke pooch raha hoon

HR: Mera pair pakadke kya phaidha hai. Kuch kar nahin sakthe abhi. Abhi mujhe upar se thumare pass bol ne keliye bola, meine bol dhiya katham baath.

Worker: Hum bhooka bhaitenge ji... Yeh kya kar rahe ho aap.

Narrator: This scenario shows how retrenchment should not be done.

Scenario 2

HR: Hello Mr. Shiv

Worker: Hello Sir

HR: How are you?

Worker: Haan. I am fine.

HR: Please sit down.

Worker: No, its ok sir

HR: No no. I request you.

HR: See… I have something bad to tell you. I don’t have words to say this, but…. The company has finally decided, and you must have also known about this ki…. We are finally getting automated machinery into the company. And because of that, currently only 100 people are required.

Worker: Sir…

HR: Listen, Listen… I tried to save the jobs of everybody, but I have to do something about this as the machinery is also very costly. But I will make sure that no hurt comes to you.

Worker: Sir… Meri beti hai sir, shadi karne keliye. Mein kya karoon sir. Hamare pet mein kyun lath mar rahe ho sir aap. Mera family kya karega sir. Mein bhuka bhaitoon kya?

HR: Please sit down. I am not saying that this is not going to hurt you. But, jitna thumhe bura lag raha hai utna mujhe bhi bura lag raha hai. But I will promise you this much that the organization will do everything in its power to keep you well forever. Mathlab financially hum thume secure kar dhenge. Relax… Relax.

Worker: Mera family mar jayega. Kahan Jayenge hum. Ky Karenge. Humare baare mein soj lijeye sir.

HR: I will finally tell you now... see what we have decided that we are going to do is that, we will make sure that financially aap secure ho jayenge. There is not going to be a severance of relationship between you and us. You might not come to work, but you are always going to be there. You are a part of the organization. We will make sure that you get a good severance package. Agar aap kahin aur kaam karma chaahthe the… then we can give a few references for you. You can actually go to these places and if they have a requirement they will definitely take you. Because they know that you are a capable worker. We will not shirk our responsibility. We will definitely give you a reference, agar aap kaam karma chaahthe the tho. If you want to start something new, we will give you a short term loan so that if you want to start a shop or if you want to go back to your village and do farming. You must understand that the organization is doing everything in its power to help you. You also have to show strength now and fight it out. We will be there with you side by side. Aap shop start kar sakthe hai, farming kar sakthe hai ya kisi aur company mein jaake kaam kar sakthe hai and we will make sure that financial problems will not be there with a good severance package. Aapko training bhi dhe dhethein.

Worker: I can understand that, the organization also does not need so many people now. Some people have to go. Lekin humko madhath chahiye. Hum akele isko face nahin kar paenge.

HR: Mein aapko pura madhath karoonga. Aapka bread winner ki status bhi rahega. Aap apna dhukhan shuru kijiye mein aapko help karoonga. Aap apna sar ooncha kar ke ji sakthe hai.

Worker: Theek hai sir. Theek hai.

HR: You will always be in our hearts. We know that you have worked very long and very hard in this organization. And we will make sure that you always get the benefits of the organization.

Worker: Thank you sir.

Narrator: This scenario shows how retrenchment might be done.

Organizational Culture, Sexual Harassment, Performance Appraisal & Top Management...

Organizational Culture has to be emphasized by the Top Management

Work ethics which includes sexual harassment practices encompass a set of behavioral norms expected from all employees in an organisation. It is also the embodiment of the core values on which the organisation has evolved. What is needed is to make work ethics an integral part of the culture and core values in an organisation.

It is necessary for the top level to set the precedent. If the top brass falters, it reflects on the morale of the employees. The top management largely contributes to the work ethics of an organisation. They are the trendsetters and guide the organisation in times of crisis. If the ‘saviours’ or the leaders of the organisation by any means become the destroyers of its own practices and indulges in these activities, then the situation becomes magnified. Work ethics are drawn from core values. When you say you are going to be honest, it has to extend to your employees, your vendors and your customers. Everyone in the company must know it and practice it. And an example has to be created from the top.

A single mistake by the top management can have a disastrous impact on the morale of the employees. It casts aspersions on the top management of the company. The employees feel bad when someone from the senior or top management is involved in these incidences. They start asking themselves what type of company are they working for and whether it is the right place for them to stay? This, in turn, has a considerable impact on their productivity, commitment and also the retention of employees. Also if the company is preaching something but the top management is doing just the opposite, no employee will take the rules and guidelines seriously and the work ethics of the company would be severely compromised. It is critical that the senior management set the highest standards of integrity, honesty, transparency and respect for the individual.

Appraisal Procedure has to more transparent

The appraisal system should be such that it is not unfair to the employee and should not be a weapon in the hands of the appraiser such that it is only based on his whims and fancies. A better approach would be to involve a larger number of people in the process or to take into account a larger time frame when conducting appraisals so that it becomes impartial. Some of the things that can be done here are:

1. 180, 270 or 360 degree appraisal programs so that the appraisal is not in the hands of a single person.

2. The organization looks at the performance of the employee over the last 3 yrs preceding the appraisal and if the employee has not been for so long then the total time frame is taken into account.

3. If an employee is not satisfied with the appraisal given then there should be grievance resolution mechanisms to sort out the concerns.

4. The appraiser can be asked to list out specific details of performance appraisal with examples relating to why such a rating was given.

Only when such steps are implemented to safeguard employees against the vindictive agenda of the superiors will the performance appraisal become a meaningful tool in the hands of the employer to ensure productivity and commitment from the employees.