How to enhance knowledge and skills

We are all familiar with the refrain: Management finds employee performance to be slacking off while certain routine matters are flagging. What are the common responses to an issue and what are needed to provide or revive knowledge and skills within an organization? The typical answer, of course, is training. While effective, if designed and implemented right, one would think at some point whether training is the only solution, and how does it really impact on the business strategy.

Many companies, especially the more progressive ones, now look at learning solutions as an integral part of their business strategy. They adopt a broader perspective and approach for assessing and meeting their organizational requirements. Based on my experience with some of these organizations and their leaders, I have chosen three key principles, which I now put forward to other companies for consideration and, if deemed appropriate, apply them. They are:

Make the Learning & Development (L&D) group your internal business consultants

The L&D group is often looked at in an organization as just a provider of training and seminars. This calls for a change in mindset, from being a training provider to an internal consultant. As consultants, their value comes from them being able to understand the “business” of the company, including how it operates, its product and service offerings, its constituents, its business strategy, etc.

Thus, when a problem that is initially identified as a training issue is given to the L&D group, they should first find out what the business and performance requirements are, determine the issues and the root causes of such problems, and only then recommend the appropriate solution. In some cases, it may turn out to be outside the scope of L&D. This should be fine. But thinking only like trainers, on the other hand, would often limit them to the discussions they have with you and their solutions might just be too focused on the training needs. That will prevent them from seeing the bigger, truer picture.

So, how do you make them consultants? Make the L&D group your business partners, and encourage the group to ask questions; the right questions. Typically these questions are open-ended at first, so that they will encourage a broader discussion of the issue. Questions like, what keeps you awake at night, what is the problem you are trying to solve or what does success look like, may seem to be simple and trite, but it really opens up the discussion to explore the different areas that may be contributing to the needs or even beyond.

Provide a variety of learning solutions, not just training

Learning solutions, unlike training, provide a broader perspective that considers a wider array of learning approaches—experiential, social, and structured programs—typically referred to as the 70-20-10 Principle that were introduced by the Center for Creative Leadership, to enhance organizational competencies. In this model, training is just one of, but not the only, solution.

So how do you apply the 70-20-10 Principle? Consider ways by which your organization can enhance the learning experience. You can implement on-the-job programs through secondment, cross-team postings, or individual swaps/exchanges. These assignments can even extend to clients or external organizations. You can also cascade a coaching and mentoring process where constant feedback and knowledge sharing is done across all levels. It’s about building a culture and structure where your employees seek and are able to learn by application and from others, through programs or ad-hoc opportunities.

Align the learning strategy with the business strategy

Learning can be strategic as well as tactical. A major difference between the two is that strategic learning focuses on supporting the organization’s vision and strategy, while tactical learning focuses on addressing performance gaps. Strategic learning is long-term and tied up to organizational metrics while tactical learning is short-term and measured through team or individual performance indicators, typically around productivity, quality, and timeliness. Training done across the organization is not necessarily strategic unless it is aligned with organizational outcomes and goals.

So what do you do to start aligning your learning programs into strategy? A useful first approach is auditing your learning initiatives. Determine which of those initiatives support your strategy and which address specific team or individual performance needs. It’s a simple method to see where the gaps are, but it really challenges you to evaluate whether the effort and resources are being channeled to where they make the most impact and sense.

As we strive to direct our organization forward, there has to be a deliberate effort to realign our learning perspective and paradigms. Positioning L&D closer to the business core, and providing a wider range of learning experiences, will help increase organizational effectiveness, improve employees’ morale as well as the company’s chance of success.

Mon San Jose is a director with the knowledge management group of P&A Grant Thornton, a leading audit, tax, advisory, and outsourcing firm in the Philippines, with 21 partners and over 700 staff members.

Source | http://www.manilatimes.net/how-to-enhance-knowledge-and-skills/284380/

What is a librarian?

There seems to be little argument that the stereotypical kind older matron with the white hair in a bun is no longer staffing the public library.  In addition, depending on your school district, you are less and less likely to see a public school with a full time librarian staffing the desk when your children come by for reading time.  It may even be true that Katherine Hepburn’s days in the classic film Desk Set depicting a corporate librarian are long gone.  Indeed, with the advent of the Internet and search engines such as Google, who needs a librarian?  I am here to tell you, you do.  You need a librarian, and mostly because you have no idea what a librarian does.

A colleague recently sent me a copy of the WSJ’s article, In Age of Google, Librarians Get Shelved.  While I generally enjoy a provocative editorial from the WSJ, I cannot fail to see how far off the mark this particular article fell.  In the Age of Google, librarians are needed more now than ever.  I am not here to proclaim that things must go on as they are.  I am here to tell you that you cannot go on without your librarian, and your librarian is your ticket to the future.  As my experience is focused in the legal arena, my comments and examples will draw from that industry.

Let’s set aside the fact that there is still a vast section of the population that does not know how to utilize the fantastic tools of the Internet, such as Google.  I am not just referring to those who are older in years.  My dear husband is terrified of technology.  He won’t admit it, but he conveniently can’t find any electronic device to Google even the most basic of questions when the need arises. I am his search engine.  Even a group text sends him into fits.  He is not alone.  While iPhones and Android phones are ubiquitous, it does not mean that everyone in our society knows how to research online.  And even more important to the seekers of accurate information, being published online does not make a fact true.  “I pulled this up on Wikipedia” might as well be, “I closed my eyes and threw a dart at the wall”.  I was recently asked to verify a piece of research material found online.  The truth was, there was absolutely no way to verify the material.  It came from a dubious website, and had no citations or any scholarly backing.  In fact, the only thing it did have were words stating exactly what the requestor was looking for.  Well if that isn’t the Bible truth, then I don’t know what is.

I return to my original question.  What is a librarian?   Some of the best librarians I have met and had the privilege of working with could be described with a few of the following characteristics:

• Organized
• An attention to detail
• Naturally grouping and organizing like things
• An inquisitive mind
• The ability to break down problems
• The ability to rely on a vast amount of knowledge to recall where information is located (in print, electronically, or real tangible matter.
• A detective like mind, working to find each piece of the puzzle

A librarian researches, organizes and presents information.  A librarian is aware of their area of expertise.  As a legal librarian I work with the law, and more specifically I work with Labor and Employment law.  On my team the librarians understand the basics of Labor and Employment Law. They watch new developments and explore trends in our particular area of law and indeed in the practice of law.  This expertise allows them to provide our attorneys with excellent research distilled down to the information required to best respond to the clients’ need.

What about all of the administrative work that is done in a library?  Does it take a Master’s Degree to put a book on a shelf?  No, it does not and that is precisely why most institutions utilize para-professionals.  I dislike this term as it implies that a library assistant is not a professional, however; the term does indicate that the person in question has library skills and works in a library but does not have a MILS and does not perform high level research.  In my particular organization we use library assistants to do a host of tasks that help free up time for any number of professionals including our librarians and our attorneys.  Someone does have to open the invoices, shelve the books, manage IDs, maintain databases , manipulate spreadsheets, route the newsletters, and deliver requests for copies of court documents.  None of these tasks should be confused with the in depth specialized research performed by highly skilled librarians.  A librarian is not, and may I assert never has been the person who reads and checks out books.  True these tasks must be done, and often a librarian might have done them. But in that same vein an attorney uses the copier, answers the telephone, and knows how to make coffee in the office.  Does that make the attorney a clerk?

One might be tempted to ask, why can’t the attorneys (or any professional) do this research themselves?  Well they could, just like you can remodel your house by yourself.  The work will get done, but without the special skills needed. It will take longer, be lower quality, and in the end could cost you more than hiring a professional.  If you are an attorney in a large firm with a billing requirement and a cost conscious client, you certainly do not want to waste your time, firm resources, or the client’s money.

The Wall Street journal probably did get one thing correct.  That very kind white haired lady behind the reference desk at the public library is likely going to retire soon, and very likely she will not be replaced.  However, the state of public libraries and local government finances is light years away from the conclusion asserted in the article that all librarians are now useless.  Librarianship as a profession is not dead.  If anything, this is the best time to become a librarian.  Maybe we need to rename the librarian something more appropriate, such as Research and Information professional, to take away the stigma.  With the VAST amount of data and information flooding the Internet someone has to be available to sort it out, organize it, decipher truth from fiction, and get you a fully formatted client ready report before your noon meeting on Tuesday.  Good luck pulling that off using Google.

Is Your Company Encouraging Employees to Share What They Know?

Many of the things we need to know to be successful – to innovate, collaborate, solve problems, and identify new opportunities – aren’t learned simply through schooling, training, or personal experience. Especially for today’s knowledge-based work, much of what we need to know we learn from others’ experiences, through what’s called vicarious learning.

Organizations know this learning is important, which is why they invest significant resources in handbooks, protocols, formal mentoring programs, and knowledge management systems to share employees’ experiences. Yet analyst estimates suggest that the companies in the Fortune 500 still lose a combined$31.5 billion per year from employees failing to share knowledge effectively. By trying to recreate the wheel, repeating others’ mistakes, or wasting time searching for specialized information or expertise, employees incurproductivity costs and opportunity costs for the organization. Because while formal systems might help communicate established best practices (the what), they often don’t explain how an individual should apply them to their own work. As a manager for Bain & Co. summarized in Nancy Dixon’s book Common Knowledge, this approach to knowledge management offers only “a picture of a cake without giving out the recipe.”

As a result, employees rely on informal learning practices, such as shadowing or observing senior colleagues to “watch and learn” what they need to know. For instance, in a study of mobile phone manufacturing lines in China, Harvard Business School’s Ethan Bernstein discovered that line workers often showed“tips and tricks” that others could copy in order to assemble phones more effectively than could be done using the official methods. (They were especially more likely to share these informal lessons when they weren’t worried about over-scrutiny from managers.)

While this informal (and intuitive) approach can be effective, it is no longer reasonable to expect employees to simply “watch and learn” in many workplaces. Organizations across a variety of industries are moving away from work that is easily observed and replicated to work that is more nuanced, specialized, and adaptive. More and more of today’s work is knowledge-based and done by people who are geographically dispersed. And success in this work requires being able to adapt knowledge to complex, changing environments. Yet our approach to vicarious learning has not kept pace; our ways of learning from others often assume that work is still watchable and that unobtrusively imitating others is enough.

Coactive vicarious learning

My research has explored an alternative to this “watch and learn” approach. Rather than one person shouldering the burden of absorbing knowledge by passively observing others, I posit that people can more effectively learn through collaborative, two-way interactions with others at work. Throughcoactive vicarious learning, the person learning and the person sharing knowledge work together to construct an understanding of an experience, which better equips the learner to apply it in their own work.

Instead of simply relying on visible results, interactive conversation and questioning allows the learner to understand the underlying reasons behind someone else’s actions, making it easier to adapt what’s learned to a new situation or task. For example, one study found that pharmaceutical development teams were better able to translate and learn from another team’s past experience when they invited members of the other team — the “sharers” of knowledge — to actively participate in their discussion and problem-solving (vs. a “learner” team simply identifying the “sharer” team’s knowledge and then trying to replicate it on their own).

Coactive vicarious learning breaks down the one-way nature of observational learning, so both parties — not just the observer — can benefit. The learner’s questions and reactions can lead the sharer to rethink an assumption or understand an experience in a new way. It can even prompt a role reversal, where the learner contributes unique experience or knowledge that might help the sharer learn. In studies of MBA consulting project teams, I’ve found that when individuals engage in this more reciprocal vicarious learning, sharing past experiences and expertise with each other in turn (vs. only an expert sharing with a novice), they consistently receive higher client ratings on their performance.

Putting it into practice

While many teams probably engage in some degree of interactive learning already, there are several key steps leaders can take to help institutionalize coactive vicarious learning at work, so that people don’t fall back solely on formal learning methods.

Leaders tend to place a disproportionate emphasis on tools like training materials or knowledge portals partly because they are easier to manage and control. It is less clear how to manage amorphous, interactive learning processes; you can’t simply force coworkers to interact and share experiences. However, more often than not, leaders simply need to remove obstacles that discourage people from seeking or sharing knowledge and learning vicariously. They can create a structure that allows these interactions to take place organically by focusing on three steps:

Create a designated space for vicarious learning. Our environments directly affect how we interact. So it’s important to consider how physical space (or virtual space for geographically dispersed teams) can facilitate vicarious learning. For instance, it might be more difficult to have a reciprocal, two-way sharing of experience in stuffy offices where one person is seated behind a big desk in the “more powerful” chair. Creating a common space that individuals recognize as the gathering place for sharing ideas and experiences lays the foundation for these interactions to unfold.

For example, members of air medical transport teams have to learn from each other’s experiences to know how to transport a wide range of critically ill patients. In researching how they learn, I found that a disproportionate number of informal learning interactions took place in one physical space: near the helipad door. Despite having plenty of office space, this 10×15 ft. area became the unofficial, mutually-agreed-upon space for members to share and ask about prior experiences. (This space was a frequent stop during every shift, since it was near the supply room for restocking the aircraft.) Since everyone recognized this space was “in bounds” for these conversations, team members showed they were willing to either share or learn something simply by choosing to stand there.

Similarly, in pursuit of this type of designated space, when Google was designing its new corporate campus, it set out to encourage these learning conversations by planning for lots of small kitchen spaces, because they had discovered that people liked to mingle in these areas and share ideas.

License and endorse vicarious learning. Leaders should be encouraging employees to seek and share experiences often. This gives individuals license to seek out what they need to learn, without fear that they’re being intrusive or bothersome — or that it will make them look bad. People often hesitate to ask others for help or advice because it requires admitting they don’t know something important. So instead they work in isolation, redoing something that their colleagues may have already done or making similar mistakes.

Leaders can license vicarious learning by acknowledging and rewarding instances when people engage in interactive learning and recycle (rather than reinvent) a “wheel.” For instance, managers at Siemens implemented a systemof “points” for sharing knowledge and learning vicariously, similar to an airline mileage reward program. Managers can also encourage an open-door environment that welcomes employees to seek or share information — and helps dispel the notion that such behavior is bothersome.

Plant starter seeds of vicarious learning. Beyond creating the space and license for vicarious learning, leaders can encourage greater learning by jump-starting the process. This means leading by example: proactively sharing experiences with team members and setting aside time at the beginning of meetings for people to discuss challenges and problem solve together. Even one-off efforts, such as a team breakfast or “happy hour,” can plant the seed for vicarious learning that can then grow into a more consistent practice.

Vicarious learning interactions are not a panacea for an organization’s learning challenges. But it is an effective piece of the workplace learning portfolio, alongside formal efforts like training programs, feedback sessions, and knowledge management systems, and informal practices like mentoring and “trial-and-error” exercises. All of these approaches reinforce each other and promote greater learning. In fact, sequencing vicarious learning and experiential learning strategies together has been shown to improve performance compared to experiential learning alone, across a range of different tasks.

Whatever the sequence or strategy, this type of learning is critical for many organizations, and leaders play an important role in making it more systematic, frequent, and easier to deploy. Companies are sitting on far more knowledge and expertise than they realize. Creating the conditions that enable coactive vicarious learning is a central way to bring out the best a team or organization has to offer. As Lew Platt, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard (HP) famously lamented, “if only HP knew what HP knows, we would be three times more productive.”

Source | https://hbr.org/2015/

The six systems of organizational effectiveness

The Leadership System is the central organizing system that must deliver on all functions owned by the Top Team or C-Suite

When the Leadership System functions effectively, performance improves. The Leadership System is the central organizing system that must deliver on all functions owned by the Top Team or C-Suite.

These functions include and require that leadership become cohesive, define the future (vision), set direction, create and execute strategy, ensure alignment, communicate clarity, engage stakeholders, develop talent, manage performance, build accountability, ensure succession, allocate resources, craft the culture, and deliver results.

The Leadership System is the organization’s DNA, its genetic code or distinctive brand. It sets the context that produces all outcomes, gives everything its meaning, and indicates what we are predisposed to doing and being. The effectiveness of the Leadership System determines the performance of the business.

Does your Leadership System predispose you to quality, agility, speed, stakeholder engagement, profitable growth, fulfilment, competitive advantage and strong financial performance? How can we improve business performance by establishing a healthy Leadership System?

We use our proven Whole Systems Approach to advance the Six Systems of organizational effectiveness. This approach to developing the organization, with leadership at the core, balances the development of competence and capability with consciousness and character, and transforms any enterprise into a profitable and purposeful organization. Every essential system is integrated and aligned, and every stakeholder is involved.

The Six Systems are broader in scope than functional departments and must be understood independently and interdependently as part of an integrated whole. These Six Systems set up the conditions and components necessary to create a healthy, high-performing organization.

1. Leadership: To achieve high performance or sustain results, leaders must define and refine key processes and execute them with daily discipline. They must translate vision and values into strategy and objectives, processes and practices, actions and accountabilities, execution and performance. Leaders address three questions:

1) Vision/Value. What unique value do we bring to our customers to gain competitive advantage? What do we do, for whom? Why?
2) Strategy/Approach. In what distinctive manner do we fulfil the unique needs of our customers and stakeholders? What strategy supports the vision for achieving competitive advantage?
3) Structure/Alignment. What is the designed alignment of structure and strategy, technology and people, practices and processes, leadership and culture, measurement and control? Are these elements designed and aligned to create optimal conditions for achieving the vision?

2. Communication: Everything happens in or because of a conversation, and every exchange is a potential moment of truth—a point of failure or critical link in the success chain. Strategic communication ensures that the impact of your message is consistent with your intentions, and results in understanding. What you say, the way you say it, where, when and under what circumstances it is said shape the performance culture.

When leaders maximize their contribution to daily conversations, they engage and align people around a common cause, reduce uncertainty, keep people focused, equip people for moments of truth that create an on-the-table culture, prevent excuses, learn from experience, treat mistakes as intellectual capital, and leverage the power of leadership decisions to shape beliefs and behaviours.

3. Accountability: Leaders translate vision and strategic direction into goals and objectives, actions and accountabilities. Performance accountability systems clarify what is expected of people and align consequences or rewards with actual performance. Leaders need to build discipline into their leadership process and management cycle to achieve accountability, predictability, learning, renewal and sustainability.

4. Delivery: The best organizations develop simple processes that are internally efficient, locally responsive and globally adaptable. Complexity is removed from the customer experience to enable them to engage you in ways that are both elegant and satisfying. Establishing and optimizing operational performance is an ongoing journey.

Operations need to be focused on the priority work, using the most effective techniques—aligning initiatives and operations with strategy; continuously improving operations; pursuing performance breakthroughs in key areas; using advanced change techniques in support of major initiatives; establishing a pattern of executive sponsorship for all initiatives; and building future capability and capacity.

5. Performance: The Human Performance System is designed to attract, develop and retain the most talented people. The idea is to hire the best people and help them develop their skills, talents and knowledge over time. Of course, it becomes more critical as they add abilities and know-how, that we reward them properly so they feel good about their work and choose to remain with the organization as loyal employees.

6. Measurement: A system of metrics, reviews and course corrections keeps the business on track. Organizations need concrete measures that facilitate quality control, consistent behaviours, and predictable productivity and results. Within these parameters, control is instrumental to viability and profitability. Every activity has a set of daily rituals and measures.

Leaders establish and maintain the measurement system to ensure disciplined processes. They track progress against strategy and planning; review status on operational results through clear key metrics; update the strategy regularly; and ensure action is driven by insight based on relevant, current information that is focused on achieving the vision.

This Six Systems frame helps people see how everything is integrated. Again, until the Leadership System operates effectively, all other systems are degraded. We work with leaders to ensure their Leadership System is highly effective, and we have dozens of cases that demonstrate the power of using a Whole Systems Approach.

Throughout our careers, we have partnered with CEOs and their teams across dozens of organizations and can say with confidence that successful transformation efforts were those in which the Extended Leadership Team did its work of mastering leadership and improving their individual and collective effectiveness while tending to the health of the Leadership System. These transformation efforts were not only successful, but more importantly, the success was sustained over time.

Sadly, we also witnessed transformation efforts that were less than successful and in some cases failed. These failures could be linked directly to a failure of leadership to consciously transform individually and collectively. Without a mature, highly evolved and fully functioning Leadership System, transformation efforts will not succeed.

Source | Excerpted from Mastering Leadership: An Integrated Framework for Breakthrough Performance and Extraordinary Business Results, by Robert J. Anderson and William A. Adams (Wiley, 2015).

Work smart. Not hard

Hard work by itself has a halo around it. Often the pursuit of making a living supersedes the quest for expertise and excellence

Sometime ago, a friend relocated from the US to Mumbai. He had a couple of gas guzzlers in the US and driving around was second nature to him. That he could drive in India as well was a rather tall assumption he made. Indian roads and cars were quite unlike the ones he had come prepared for. Driving was an important part of his stay here. He had no choice but to learn. Every evening he used to drive around in my car. With me sitting by his side, calming his frayed nerves. 

Every move, every gear shift, would be done with complete focus. We did that for a couple of weeks. Soon he was good to drive all by himself. Driving in India is now second nature to him.

Noël Burch of Gordon Training International developed a four-stage model that explains this behaviour, or what goes into building competence in any skill. 

a. Unconscious incompetence (My friend not knowing that he didn’t know the nuances of driving in India)

b. Conscious incompetence (My friend becoming conscious of the fact that he has to work on it)

c. Conscious competence (Him consciously working on it)

d. Unconscious competence (Now that he knows, it is second nature).

Everybody would like unconscious competence. Who doesn’t want to “unconsciously stay on top of the game”?

But what we ought to think about is: when you engage in a task in an automated manner, does it really build expertise? Short answer: no. Areas we want to build expertise in requires a different approach.

In 1993, Anders Ericsson and a team of psychologists published a wonderful research paper, ‘The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance’. Here, he introduced the idea of “deliberate practice”.

Practice, he argued, has to be “deliberate” and cannot be “automised”. The hours that go into practice is the base. The “unconscious competence” zone that Burch described is where automated repetition becomes reality. And that is what we ought to avoid. Question is how.

A couple of years ago, an entrepreneur friend of mine sought help. He needed some ideas to stoke his fresh entrepreneurial journey. Offering to host a round of conversations, he got a set of disparate friends to gather every Saturday evening at his office and talk. For about 45 minutes, he would describe a particular industry that he had deconstructed from a few balance sheets, anecdotal evidence, first person accounts and the like. We’d listen, share our opinions and he’d absorb all of it in. Every week, it was a different company or industry.

As much as the conversations were rich, I was intrigued by what was happening. It turned out that he was told off by a venture capitalist for a lack of “business perspective” despite having sound technical skills.

His conversations with a few others led him to believe that deconstructing industries and organizations was one way of learning and integrating different angles.

Four industries in four weeks. That was his target. He would read up on the industry, make notes and then deconstruct balance sheets of at least two organizations in the business.

Over two quarters, his understanding of what constituted the pulse of his own business changed dramatically. All of this, of course, was in addition to nurturing his fledgling enterprise.

This is deliberate practice. He was driven to put in the extra hours. He put aside his ego—that which comes from being a successful technology professional. He dived deep to acknowledge areas beyond him. Most importantly, he stayed alive to all feedback.

Hard work by itself has a halo around it. Often the pursuit of making a living supersedes the quest for expertise and excellence. Pausing to think about what we do, pondering on how we could possibly get better, and actively be present to feedback can make the world around us a better place.

It reminds me of the time many years ago when my dad would conjure up tricks to entice me to do household work. Cleaning windows was one such.

One bright summer day, when the windows were to be cleaned, I woke up early, and armed myself with “equipment”—buckets, brushes, cloth, detergent liquid and such. At the appointed hour, dad parted the curtains and we were witnesses to dead houseflies next to the glass panes. He looked at me and asked how they got there. “It surely wasn’t me,” I remember telling him.

The flies, he said, were attracted to light. So much so that they were willing to give it all they had to get to it. So what if the glass pane came in their way the first time? They just went back, did an elaborate sortie of sorts and tried again. And again. Until their heads couldn’t take the repeated crashes. “Then they die.”

His point was simple. The flies weren’t lazy. They worked hard and long on making those sorties. But doing the same thing many times over is not the way to get to the light. “If only they could ‘think’,” he said.

For many years, as I chose to approach challenges and dilemmas with the “halo of hard practice”, he would quip “Why don’t you think about the problem?” A pause later, he’d add, “You remember the dead flies on the window sill don’t you?”

Source | Mint – The Wall Street Journal | 1 September 2

Resume for success Writing a winning Curriculum Vitae is a skill. How do you make a positive impression?

If you’re someone who is done with your studies and are waiting to put your knowledge to some practical use, or someone who is looking for a career change, the first thing you do is either whip up a resume or update one.

While it’s never easy to pour out into a limited amount of space, information and qualifications that make up your resume, it is definitely something that ought to be executed skilfully.

Keep it crisp

It is no longer just the generation of black ink on a couple of white sheets of paper that drone on about what you’ve done, what you will do and how you will do it. In this day and age, the two-page resume which you’ve put so much thought into runs the risk of getting rejected or completely ignored for being too stale or monotonous.

Therefore, it’s a good thing that many individuals, like yourself, have already begun thinking outside the box.

It is an accepted fact that people charged with the responsibility of scouring through scores of resumes have a very limited span of attention. Whether it’s your qualifications or past experiences, key information represented in short, neat and evenly spaced sentences makes a huge difference.

Not only is this style easy to read, you also contribute by saving up on the employer’s time even as they simultaneously learn more about you.

The ultimate goal, on any day, is how the roles that you play and the tasks that you carry out will help you grow as a professional and as an individual as well. You might be sure about what you expect to learn from a particular organisation, but the organisation itself will need to know how you can help the company grow and why you should be chosen instead of the competition.

If the section on your past experiences state that you’ve either led a team or handled a project solo, instead of only saying that you’ve done that, you could elaborate on the process and share the positive outcome. Not only does this imply that you’re capable of dealing with such assignments, it also gives a clear picture of how you can contribute.Setting aside your capabilities and accomplishments, sections of your resume that at times do end up seeming similar to a contenders’ resume, it is vital to share information that is exclusive to you alone. Be it a hobby, a talent or a work experience in a field far from what you’re pursuing now, this section equally contributes in putting you on a future employers’ radar, ultimately leading to an interview call.

It might be too harsh to make a decision based on first impressions. But, when it comes to hiring, one look is all it takes to decide if your resume, and ultimately you, are worth spending time on.

This brings us to the most interesting and creative part of putting together a resume. Today it’s all about colours, optimum usage of space, design, visuals and even the medium itself. From graphical representations to pie charts, crisp tri-fold brochures to animated illustrations, video resumes to resumes printed on actual fabric; there is no dearth of ideas.

While this certainly puts life into the tedious task of compiling a resume, it is important to first know your audience. Quirky resumes might appeal to certain types of organisations while they may be deemed as inappropriate by others.

Last but certainly not the least is the task of stopping yourself from talking any more about yourself. You might wonder if the information provided is solid enough to get you to the next round, and, honestly, this apprehension can never completely be abated.

One way to handle this situation would be to summarise the facts about yourself, your aspirations and what you can accomplish. There’s nothing like a prospective employee who can get to the point right from the start. You may start your resume with this summary or conclude with it. No matter what you choose, you are sure to come across as someone who doesn’t believe in beating around the bush.

Finally, it’s your capabilities and the creative effort you put in that will help you stand out and eventually score the position you desire.

Key information represented in short, neat and evenly spaced sentences makes a huge difference.

Source | The Hindu | 24 August 2015

UPGRADE By giving employees the freedom to decide when and how they’re going to manage their work, organisations are getting a more responsible, loyal workforce

Digital workplaces provide employees the flexibility to work from anywhere. HTShine. com’s survey on ‘How does a digital workplace impact your life?’ revealed that as many as 50% of employees working in an organisation encouraging digitisation and flexible timing felt they were productive working from home, as they were connected with the devices of their choice and had enough time to be with their families. For 52.5%, this increased efficiency. 

When asked if flexible working hours had blurred the boundaries between work and private life, 47.5% found themselves to be more productive both at work and home because they got adequate time to be with their families. About 27.5% were increasingly comfortable in office, improving their interactions with teams. However, 25% found both their personal and professional life coming together in a digital mesh, leaving them with no time for family. 

Moreover, 37.5% found it easy to collaborate with colleagues and teams from across geographies in real time. Exhaustion was a problem, however, with 17.5% saying that being connected 24x7 was tiring. 

A massive culture change was evident. For 65% employees, the transition was smooth, motivating them to behave more professionally. Unfortunately, for 22.5%, getting used to a 24x7 work culture was tough. They were of the opinion that it was easier for the younger generation to get used to workplace changes. As many as 12.5% were overwhelmed by the changes and dismissed them, saying they were more used to their newspapers in the morning and books and had issues with the “tweeting and Facebooking culture.” 

When asked if professional interactions had undergone a change, 52.5% said it had led to increased efficiency, whereas 32.5% thought the personal touch was missing. About 15% rued the fact that they no longer got a chance to speak to their team members and that “life at work had got more process-driven.” 

As for managers, implementing changes was a big challenge. About 52.5% said that their role had changed from manager to coach and that they had to spend more time inspiring and encouraging the team. As many as 35% said they now had to depend on employees to do their job regardless of time zone, set working patterns and location. 

Source | Hindustan Times | 25 August 2015

CORPORATE TIPS - SOCIAL MEDIA ETIQUETTE

 

The power of social media is indisputable; what you say on line creates a lasting impact.

In today's time, social media has become an integral aspect of various businesses too. However, this networking tool, if misused, has major pitfalls which can range from tarnishing company reputations to harassment and breach of privacy. Hence, while it is vital for company leaders to embrace this technology, laying down rules that dissuade employees from using the tool against an organisation or in a way that breaches the organisation's interest is a must.

“Social media has overrun workstations. Employer concerns about employees spending too much official time on their personal social media accounts have underscored the need for rules about social networking. It definitely calls for policy formation that will encourage employees to follow a code of conduct when using social media,“ says Piyush Khemka, director, Times Minerals.

Here are some social networking related policies that organisations can adopt to help employees better manage their online social lives. 

TEXT AND PICTURES 

Establish guidelines for online etiquette and establish rules on where to draw the line when sharing text and photos online. “Although social media interactions rely on photos, text posts, comments and tweets, they reflect your thought and opinion and have the potential to create or destroy your career,“ warns Manuel D'Souza, Director HR, Serco Global Services. 

OPINION MATTERS 

If you are in a profession where you have a lot to lose if your on line reputation takes a beating, it makes sense to stay away from controversial posts on social media. With the advent of online networking platforms, it has become very easy for individuals to share their opinions and thoughts on a matter of public importance.However, do remember that your opinion can be at odds with the organisation's ethos or may offend the sentiments of your co-workers, which can lead to inter-personal conflict. When posting online, ensure to water down your radical views, so that your words do not offend your colleagues.

Opines Sanjay Verma, group chief people officer and global HR head, Uniparts India Limited, “HR departments need to sensitise employees on basic social media etiquette and educate them on respecting religious values so that they can uphold the cultural fabric of the workplace.“ 

MAINTAIN A BALANCE 

The exposure social media can give is not restricted to employees alone.Organisations too can leverage an employee's online presence and indirectly engage with a bigger audience be it by posting pictures of an office celebration, or the announcement of a promotion. However, as advantageous as their social media involvement may be, employees must refrain from giving away information vital to the organisation.Do not promote or popularise strategies or information that can be deemed important to the organisation. According to Verma, organisations should discourage employees from conducting official communication on such public platforms. He adds, “HR departments should encourage the use of an intra-organisational networking platforms to allow employees to discuss official work. This can help in enhancing an employee's knowledge about the company and create a culture that encourages learning. It will also improve camaraderie between employees.“ 

BE OPEN TO FEEDBACK 

The impact of social media for an organisation often works best when used as a means of gaining feedback. “Internally, we use the social channel for the betterment of the institution. We have an open blog where employees can offer their suggestions on improving our processes and business. An employee's opinion is vital in overcoming various organisational roadblocks,“ says Thampy Kurian, head, human resource, Federal Bank.

Although organisations lay down rules regarding inter-personnel communication, an agreement on virtual conduct is not yet a given. Solidifying what is acceptable and what is not in our virtual lives has yet a long way to go. 

Source | Mumbai Mirror | 2 February 2015