One is often amazed normal individuals with really impressive track records are furtively transformed into corrupt monsters when they become CEOs. In reality, they would have had serious flaws in the character which is often ignored or hidden for years.

Corporate boards or search partners cannot identify these by just reviewing their resumes or by standard interviewing process. This raises the concern of how can we penetrate the facade of an upwardly mobile executive, who, in reality, is a wolf in a sheep’s clothing.

What traits or signals do show and what can be done to reduce the likelihood of hiring a dysfunctional CEO? Below are the potential traits to look out for:

-          Obsession to acquire prestige, power and money

-          Tendency of developing high-flying strategies with little thought on implementation

-          Liking towards a data driven management style that overshadows broader goals and vision

Many good CEOs also exhibit a few of such traits. However, potentially bad CEOs possess several of these traits and show them time and again.

There is certainly, no ideal process/method to select a CEO, and also there may be no position available which can catalyse as a true test of a person’s fitness to assume the BIG chair. But there are several ways that companies can use to mitigate these risks when hiring a CEO. Some of them include, disregarding the rule of track record being the predictor for future results, performing a thorough reference checking focussed on integrity and interpersonal skills, using an experience based interviewing process, etc.

Ponder for a moment the last person you hired. After you selected them, did they work out as intended? Or did they turn into somebody totally unlike what you thought when you interviewed them?

The most important aspect of any business is recruiting, selecting, and retaining top people. Research shows those organizations that spend more time recruiting high-caliber people earn 22% higher return to shareholders than their industry peers. However, most employers do a miserable job selecting people. Many companies rely on outdated and ineffective interviewing and hiring techniques. This critical responsibility sometimes gets the least emphasis.

Hiring and interviewing is both art and science. Refusing to improve this vital process will almost always guarantee you will be spending money and time hiring the wrong people. Here are several reasons why traditional techniques are inadequate:

* The majority of applicants "exaggerate" to get a job

* Most hiring decisions are made by intuition during the first few minutes of the interview

* Two out of three hires prove to be a bad fit within the first year on the job

* Most interviewers are not properly trained nor do they like to interview applicants

* Excellent employees are misplaced and grow frustrated in jobs where they are unable to utilize their strengths

Hire the best and avoid the rest. Cisco CEO John Chambers said, "A world-class engineer with five peers can outproduce 200 regular engineers." Instead of waiting for people to apply for jobs, top organizations spend more time looking for high-caliber people. An effective selection and interviewing process follows these five steps:

Step 1 -- Prepare. Prior to the interview make sure you understand the key elements of the job. Develop a simple outline that covers the job duties. Possibly work with the incumbent or people familiar with the various responsibilities to understand what the job is about. Screen the resumes and applications to gain information for the interview. Standardize and prepare the questions you will ask each applicant.

Step 2 -- Purpose. Skilled and talented people have more choices and job opportunities to choose from. The interviewer forms the applicant's first impression of the company. Not only are you trying to determine the best applicant, but you also have to convince the applicant this is the best place for them to work.

Step 3 -- Performance. Identify the knowledge, attributes, and skills the applicant needs for success. If the job requires special education or licensing, be sure to include it on your list. Identify the top seven attributes or competencies the job requires and structure the interview accordingly. Some of these attributes might include:

*  What authority the person has to discipline, hire, and/or fire others and establish performance objectives

* What financial responsibility, authority, and control the person has

* What decision-making authority the person has

* How this person is held accountable for performance objectives for their team, business unit, or organization

* The consequences they are responsible for when mistakes are made

Step 4 -- People Skills. The hardest to determine, as well as the most important part of the process, is identifying the people skills a person bring to the job. Each applicant wears a "mask." A good interviewing and selecting process discovers who is behind that mask and determines if a match exists between the individual and the job. By understanding the applicant's personality style, values, and motivations, you are guaranteed to improve your hiring and selecting process.

Obviously many jobs, particularly sales jobs, require a high degree of people contact. By placing someone in this job who dislikes interaction with others would be a mismatch, affecting his or her job performance.

Pre-employment profiles are an important aspect of the hiring process for a growing number of employers. By using behavioral assessments and personality profiles organizations can quickly know how the person will interact with their coworkers, customers, and direct reports. They provide an accurate analysis of an applicant’s behaviors and attitudes, otherwise left to subjective judgment. The D.I.S.C. Assessment and the Personal Interests, Attitudes and Values are popular and useful tools.

Step 5 -- Process. The best interview follows a structured process. This doesn’t mean the entire process is inflexible without spontaneity. What it means is, each applicant is asked the same questions and is scored with a consistent rating process. A structured approach helps avoid bias and gives all applicants a fair chance. The best way to accomplish this is by using behavioral based questions and situational questions.

Behavior Based Questions

Behavioral based questions help to evaluate the applicant’s past behavior, judgment, and initiative. Here are some examples:

* Give me an example when you . . .

* Describe a crisis your organization faced and how you managed it.

* Tell me about the time you reached out for additional responsibility.

* Tell me about the largest project you worked on.

* Tell me about the last time you broke the rules.

Situational Based Questions

Situational based questions evaluate the applicant’s judgment, ability, and knowledge. The interviewer first gives the applicant a hypothetical situation such as:

“You are a manager, and one of your employees has just told you he thinks another worker is stealing merchandise from the store.”

* What should you do?

* What additional information should you obtain?

* How many options do you have?

* Should you call the police?

End of Part 1...

- DeTimes

What is Behavioral Interviewing?

Behavioral interviewing is an interview methodology built on the premise that “the best indicator of what a person will do tomorrow is what he or she did yesterday.”  Behavioral interviews focus on specific experiences of candidates, as opposed to “what-if” scenarios.

Why do companies conduct behavioral interviews?

Traditional interviewing typically involves a brief review of the candidates’ experience focused on the technical aspects of a particular position, and a whole lot of “gut feeling” on the part of the interviewer.

“Gut feeling” Interviewers tend to hire people they like, people that have similar backgrounds to the interviewer, or people who just plain interview well.  The result is that, unfortunately, the “best candidate” for the job often isn’t hired.  Worse still, “gut feeling” interviewing exposes organizations to potential lawsuits when best-qualified candidates are overlooked.

Structured, behavioral interviewing can dramatically increase success because:
1)    It provides a more objective, replicable process to evaluate and compare candidates.
2)    It increases the likelihood of identifying the best candidate for the job.
3)    It reduces turnover and, therefore, lost training time.
4)    It can help protect an organization from lawsuits.
Behavioral interviewing increases hiring success by almost 50%.

Here is a sample model for Competency based Behavioral Interviewing Model:

Competency-based Interviewing Model:
   
Step 1.     Assemble job information
-Ask yourself: What does this person do?
-List duties/responsibilities

Step 2.     Link skills to tasks
-Derive the skills needed to perform duties
-Skills can be duplicated
-Make a master list, eliminating duplicates

Step 3.     Pick the skills to interview for
-Cross out skills that should be assessed elsewhere
-Eliminate skills that do not distinguish superior performance
-Highlight questions you want to probe

Step 4.     Develop interview questions from competencies
-Identify target behaviors for each competency
-Write 2-3 interview questions per competency

Step 5.     Modify Interview with Big 5 Personality Assessment (optional)

Step 6.     Listen for complete responses
-Stay in control: Dealing with difficult candidates -Situation, Behavior, Outcome
-Use probes to obtain missing information

Step 7.     Assess
-Use structured rating materials
-Document
-Turn downs (declines)
-Assess yourself

Sample Questions:

Decision Making and Problem Solving

Give me an example of a time when you had to keep from speaking or making a decision because you did not have enough information.

Give me an example of a time when you had to be quick in coming to a decision.

Leadership

What is the toughest group that you have had to get cooperation from?

Have you ever had difficulty getting others to accept your ideas? What was your approach? Did it work?

Motivation

Give me an example of a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty.

Describe a situation when you were able to have a positive influence on the action of others.

Communication

Tell me about a situation when you had to speak up (be assertive) in order to get a point across that was important to you.

Have you ever had to "sell" an idea to your co-workers or group? How did you do it? Did they "buy" it?

Interpersonal Skills

What have you done in the past to contribute toward a teamwork environment?

Describe a recent unpopular decision you made and what the result was.

Planning and Organization

How do you decide what gets top priority when scheduling your time?

What do you do when your schedule is suddenly interrupted? Give an example.

Other Behavioral Questions

Give a specific example of a policy you conformed to with which you did not agree.

Give me an example of an important goal which you had set in the past and tell me about your success in reaching it.

Describe an instance when you had to think on your feet to extricate yourself from a difficult situation.

- DeTimes

"Who is wise? He that learns from everyone.

Who is powerful? He that governs his passions.

Who is rich? He that is content.

Who is that? Nobody."

-          Benjamin Franklin

 

In this new generation X, it’s fashionable to try and get all you can. Greed is often known to take people on the path of sufferings.

Once you receive a job offer, you are faced with a difficult decision and must evaluate the offer carefully. Fortunately, most organizations will not expect you to accept or reject an offer immediately. Ask these questions and decide if the offer is acceptable or not.

“What are the promotional opportunities of the position?”

“To what position/level?”

“How and when will my performance be reviewed?”

“Will this include a salary review?”

“What kind of salary progression would be expected in the first three to five years?”

If your offer is truly unacceptable, you must communicate this fact in no uncertain terms to the decision-maker while keeping the outlook for resolution positive. Example:

“I am still very interested in working with you and your company; however (never use the word “but”), at this point I am not able to accept the offer for the following reason: (state your reasoning succinctly and what part or parts of the offer are lacking). If you were able to _____ (give your proposed solution), I would gladly accept the position immediately. Are you able to help bring this about?”

Second, you need to communicate what is specifically lacking in the initial offer. Is it the position? The role and responsibilities? The money? Location? Insurance? Vacation time? You must name it specifically.

Third, you must provide a proposed solution. Tell them exactly what can be done to make things “right.” You need to make it understood that if this could be changed, you would be willing to accept the position. Immediately. On the spot. They will be much more willing to go to bat for you if they know that this is the last roadblock. Don’t play the “you shot low so I’ll shoot high” game. Be straight with them as to what it will take to make it happen.

Lastly, you need to appeal to their position and their vanity. “If it is in your power” is a positive challenge to the true power of the manager. If they really want you and your request is attainable, this will ice it. Very few managers like to admit they are powerless to get what they want. So if it can be done, they will make it happen.

In attempting to sweeten an acceptable job offer, the best approach is to play upon the ego and power of your new manager. Not in a negative way, but giving him a chance to “show his strength” within the company. You need to realize that you are in one of the strongest political positions you may ever be in with your new employer. Utilizing this technique can have the side effect of enhancing your future power within the organization—if used correctly.

You give him power in two ways: (1) by accepting (yes, I said “accepting”) the position, you give him power because he has added the desired person to his team; and (2) by asking him for his assistance in meeting your further needs, you give him an opportunity to show his power within the organization. How to do this?

“_____ (name of boss), I’m calling you with some very good news. I would like to accept your offer and I’m looking forward to working with you and becoming a valuable member of the team. (Wait for their positive response.) I am committed to working with you, and as my future boss there is (are) a (two, three, some) minor issue(s) about the offer that I want to make you aware of. I don’t know if you’re able to make changes in this (these) area(s), but I’d surely appreciate your looking into that possibility. Namely, would it be possible to _____ (name changes)?” - DeTimes

Resume is more like a marketing document. Making it impactful and attractive to leave a lasting impression is very critical to hit the right job.

The information you display in your resume must be clear, concise and logical. Make sure it contains no mistakes that can confuse the reader. People in charge of selection do not spend more than 10 seconds scanning your resume to see if they will read it or not, and about 30 seconds reading it to take a decision on inviting you or not to an interview. DO NOT FORGET THIS! For each position they may receive 300-400 applications.

Before writing up and sending your resume you must ask yourself a few questions. Write the answers and later there will be time to shape the resume

- What do I think the company and/or the selector are looking for?

- What abilities are required in somebody to develop and carry out the position?

- What achievements and functions in previous positions have I carried out that can help me to do well in my new job?

- Do I have the correct academic preparation? Have I updated my knowledge?

- Do I speak languages?

- Do I have other life experiences that have helped me to develop skills and capacities to solve problems? (For example travelling abroad alone, volunteering in some NGO, taking on responsibilities at university...)

- What type of position is ideal for me? Do I like to work alone or in a team? Am I creative or do I prefer to be directed in a project?

- What did I like about my previous position? What aspects or functions I would rather skip this time?

- For what reasons am I changing or looking for a new job? Always be honest in the answer. It is not necessary to lie, but neither is it necessary to give all the details or to speak ill of the company and ex-colleagues/bosses.

- Are there periods of inactivity in my professional history? How I can explain them positively? What have I learned and what abilities have I used, for example travelling, taking care of my children, looking for work for a long time...

Organize the answers in blocks, like this:

1. What is my objective? What level of responsibility am I looking for?

2. Summary of abilities, acquired skills and knowledge.

3. Experience.

4. Studies/training.

5. Use of computer programs/Internet.

6. Languages.

7. Points of interest that I want to emphasize: things I like, interests, voluntary work.

When you write the CV or resume you must present what you want to communicate with your resume: the information the resumet contains is relevant. It is only necessary to reflect your interests and hobbies if they are relevant to the position to which you are applying; for example, if you like to read, and the position is in mass media, or for example you like sports and you decide on a position in a sports company.

If you are a volunteer and help people but you choose a sales position, it is possible that the selector might think that you are not going to meet the hard and competitive nature of a commercial position, where people often come second after sales and targets.

Lastly, DO NOT FORGET:

- Your resume or CV is useful for your future, not for your past!!

- You are not confessing, "you do not have to say/write everything ". It emphasizes what is relevant and what is worth remembering.

- Do not write a list of positions carried out and their description. Write achievements and goals obtained!

- Reflect those abilities you best know how to apply and that you enjoy in work. Do not write things that you do not want to repeat.

- Always be honest (I don’t get tired of repeating this advice). It is possible to be creative, but not to lie. - DeTimes

In this article we will give some sure shot steps that will help you ruin your interview with a recruitment consultant.

It is important that when a recruiter calls you, you take the call. Depending on how you manage the call, it can lead you into great career prospects. Certainly, if they have an assignment where your profile is of relevance, you can get an interview call.

The great ways to ruin the whole purpose are cited under:

1.       Be laid back for the meeting thinking it’s not a real interview.

Tip:  Consider a call from a recruiter seriously. Be prepared for the interview as if it was ‘real’; because it is a ‘real’ interview for a potential job. Give it your 100%.

2.       Be defensive and unprepared when asked questions.

Tip:  Answer questions in clear, concise manner and follow up on the answer for clarity. You must be prepared for an interview with recruiter like you would be with a direct employer.

3.       Don’t hesitate to fudge on your resume.

Tip:  It is an offence to exaggerate on your resume and it can lead to job termination as well, sometime down the line. Keep it like it is.

4.       Be nosy and think that you can do whatever she has got. After all, you need the job and recruiter has to fill one position and make money.

Tip:  Be focused on what you do the best and don’t be too nosy.

5.       Blow your expected salary, demand a glorified position and responsibility requirements.

Tip: It’s a huge mistake that can only lead to rejections. If your profile warrants the money, title and responsibility, you will anyways get it.

If a recruiter is sold on you and your integrity, he/she can be a great resource in shaping your career for the good. Ultimately, it’s up to the recruiters; who gets the chance to meet the customers.

Happy hunting! - DeTimes

“To be a great champion, you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.”

-Muhammad Ali

Interview in a very tricky process. There is no standard 100% success formula of winning an interview. Interviewers use interviews as a process to eliminate your candidacy. Every question they ask you is used to differentiate you from other candidates. It is done to determine whether what you have fits the organization’s missions and goal.

“So, why don’t you tell me about yourself?” is the most frequently asked question. There are more than 100 ways to answer this open-ended question. It is the most expected question and the most difficult to answer, usually. The key to answer this and other questions in any interview is to offer a response that supports your objective. You must answer in such a way that the interviewer doesn’t respond with comments on your hobbies, extra-curricular activities, spouse, etc. Trust me, interviewers aren’t interested.

Here are some tips that will prove useful in answering this or such questions.

1.       Provide a brief introduction, emphasizing on those attributes that are important for the position you are being interviewed for.

2.       Summarize your career history. This is the main part of your response to this question. It must support your career objective and must sound compelling to the interviewer.

3.       Don’t assume that interviewer will do the hard work all the time. Tie-in your response to the needs of the organization. You must connect these dots for the interviewer to create a compelling perception.

4.       Ask an insightful question. It is usually not the answer but the question that enlightens. By asking a question you gain control of an interview. However, don’t do it just for the sake of it. Do it to engage the interviewer into a conversation to gain useful insight/information.

5.       Interviewer will deal the cards, but you have the ACE. It is up to you to play your cards well.

Some other such tricky questions:

1.       “Tell me about a time when you had to rely on a team to get things done.”

2.       “Provide an example of a time when you had to persuade people to do something that they didn’t want to do.”

3.       “Give me an example of your leadership style.”

25 of the most often asked questions in a behavioural interview.  Tell me about a time when:

1.       …worked effectively under pressure.

2.        …handled a difficult situation with a co-worker.

3.        …were creative in solving a problem.

4.        …missed an obvious solution to a problem.

5.        …were unable to complete a project on time.

6.        …persuaded team members to do things your way.

7.        …wrote a report that was well received.

8.        …anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures.

9.        …had to make an important decision with limited facts.

10.   …were forced to make an unpopular decision.

11.    …had to adapt to a difficult situation.

12.    …were tolerant of an opinion that was different from yours.

13.    …were disappointed in your behaviour.

14.    …used your political savvy to push a program through that you really believed in.

15.    …had to deal with an irate customer (co-worker/boss/subordinate).

16.    …delegated a project effectively.

17.    …surmounted a major obstacle.

18.    …set your sights too high (or too low).

19.    …prioritized the elements of a complicated project.

20.    …got bogged down in the details of a project.

21.    …lost (or won) an important contract.

22.    …made a bad decision.

23.    …had to fire a friend.

24.    …hired (or fired) the wrong person.

25.    …turned down a good job.

So, you will have realized by now that answering this question effectively, gives you the opportunity to talk about your strengths, achievements and fitness for the position. Take this golden opportunity and run towards a victory.  

- DeTimes

In your views, which of the following actions are the most important for a a strategic recruiting program?

Planning your recruiting priorities and budget, while clearly articulating the desired profile for each position;
Determining sourcing options that best meet your hiring needs and budget;
Screening out candidates with unrealistic expectations;
Assessing candidates based on past performance;
Closing the deal with a compelling offer; and
Activating a long-term integration program as soon as the offer is accepted. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First of all, strategic recruitment will mean fruitful only if its in line with the business strategy and vision. Having a farsightedness for strategic recruitment is very important so clearly identifying a future needs would play a pivotal role here.

Clearly articulating the desired profile is important. Recruitment priorities are critical as they must meet all the goals - short/medium and long term.
Going through a normal process of search can be helpful, but since there is no urgency/shoestring timeline on strategic recruitment, you can look at various options for sources. Referral can be one of the best here.

If you screen a candidate with unrealistic expectations, it will make no sense since you will benchmark on pseudo factors. Thats why I said clearly articulating a desired profile is important along with realistic expectation of output is critical for success on strategic recruitment. At such times, decisions based on instinct can work, but no quantitative analysis is available for such decisions. So it depends on how the organization takes it. Rest all things in the process can simply follow on its own.

So most important would be know your futuristic need clearly and honestly, rather than want.

- DeTimes

What should expect from a Recruiter? How much should I pay? What type of guarantee should I get?

1. What should you expect from a Recruiter?
Expect only as much as you are willing to give.

A few things are very important to understand when you are hiring a search firm. Their understanding of your business is important. Not just an industry vertical. Each business has a different product/ services/ strength/ weakness matrix. You can only expect the right result from a recruiter when you have enabled this understanding. Let's define a Recruiter's job. His job is to find you the right talent. Some mistaken it for best talent on market. But is that best RIGHT for you?

So if you show commitment to finding the right talent, a recruiter will do his job at best. This will happen if you don't work with fly-by-night operators. You still need a long term partner. So first choosing the right partner is important, and then working with commitment is important to enable the best output from a recruiter. And it DOESN'T COST, rather IT PAYS.

2. How much should I pay?
This question is fairly simple. There is a standard industry practice, it ranges anywhere between 15%-30% of annual gross compensation. Thats the minimum you need to pay. For a retained search, 0-30-60 is the model and for contingent search payment on output is the model. However, if you say, 0-30-60 is not acceptable for a retained search, then expect compromising results. This happens only because there is no tangible commitment from your end and it doesn't go well with world class partners. Trust the partner and commit yourself for a long term relationship, they might make mistakes in the beginning but in the long run, they will prove extremely worthy. This is typically true for senior level and critical and/or urgent requirements.

3. What type of guarantee should I get?
The word guarantee is very tricky. There is a warranty clause usually for a free replacement or a rebate on a sliding scale. For senior level, it can be upto 180 days or less and for lower levels it can be upto 90 days or less. Or on a sliding scale for up to 12 weeks. However, there is no guarantee of the person's actual performance etc as many things like attitude can change with time. So only an thorough effort can be put to know these factors realistically, but its still a gamble.

- DeTimes

How does an individual "sell" the need for a clearly articulated "employment brand" to senior management?

Let's understand this. Employees are a company's greatest assets. It doesn't make a difference whether the product is cars, medicines or cosmetics. Also if a company is big, medium sized or small. A company is only as good as the people it keeps.

In order to succeed, you need right people (talent), not the best one. Lets remember even ordinary people can produce extra-ordinary results given a conducive environment. In order to hire the right talent (may not be the best talent) more importantly, an employer must be known by several factors such as culture, internal opportunities, compensation & benefits, ethos & value system, employee relations and many more. Only if these are clearly known a decision can be made whether the employer is good or not, for that particular person under consideration. The right candidate will consider every influencing factor when he is making a career decision, since it's critical to all.

In times like today, when the demand supply situation is not balanced, many companies have been compromising on having the right mix of talent. That in turn, calls for a compromise on business goals. There is no tangible result in the short term. However, in the long run, positive result are inevitable. The question to answer is: Do you want to face a hiring crisis, now or ever?

You don't need to pay a million dollars to an executive who performs well to make an employer brand. In fact, thats a bad idea, anyways. Smaller things must be taken care of really well and bigger will follow on their own. Recognize the smallest achievement of an employee in front of people. Let them spread a word of mouth, which is the strongest known medium of PR. Next step could be recognizing these achievements in front of your customers. They would spread the word for you. In fact, they will also recognize this effort and give you more business. It is a slow exercise though, but it produces immense and commendable results. This is specially good for companies which are small and have budgeting constraints. Even such companies, will start active programs for building employer brands in a bigger way at a later time, once they realize the worth of doing it.

- DeTimes

A business relationship is self defining. It means all relationships that are at stake with regards to any business under consideration. From a 'Sales' perspective, it obviously means a relationship that enable mutual benefit in the short/medium/long term. A relationship that is profitable to all parties involved goes a long way.

However, it is more important to consider the foundation of such relationships over time. The basics are always most important to take these relationship on a new plane and reap long term sustainable benefits out of them.

- DeTimes

It is important to keep in mind that most senior executives are appointed through the crony system, therefore many organizations if they do go out to the market to hire are filled with nervousness and trepidation.

As a follow on from this hand wringing they develop a wish list of must have's for the selection process. These wish lists are often decided by committee where those in attendance try to outdo each other with the "muscular toughness" of their exacting criteria. So the brief, the recruiter receives is a requirement for someone with 7 degrees, 3 Ph.D.'s, 30 years experience and the candidate must be under the 21 yrs of age. If the hiring manager really doesn't have a clue as to what they really want( and many don't) then the job brief the recruiter gets will be "find us a good person who fits our culture".

However, On an average (in normal situations with a serious need) it takes 6-8 weeks for generic positions. It can take a lot longer for niche positions. This is a general situation.

We must consider several factors to estimate time-lines including:
1. The Employer and their employment brand
2. Urgency of need
3. Response and Decision making time frames
4. Accessibility of THE RIGHT profile
5. Negotiations and various other process factors.

From one of my experiences, it took us 6 months for placing a candidate in a company only because it was a strategic recruitment decision and response times were very slow from the clients end. So there are such cases as well.

It can happen faster as well, like in one of our assignments it took 7 days flat to roll out the offer letter because the need was extremely urgent. So it is quite situational and client's commitment, priority and nature of need does play an important role here.

- DeTimes

Is India getting ready for the shared HR services environment. are we aware of the advantages of the shared HR Services?

HR Shared services provide a centralized approach to service delivery, thus optimizing resources (cost certainly is included). Many companies have setup their captive shared services center in India already. At the same time many companies have looked at buying this service from Outsourcing vendors.

However, it exhibits a very slow growth rate because of several reasons:

India has just recently adapted to the HR function in real sense. It was always looked at as a cost center earlier on. Now its moving to more of a strategic partnership role. Once this augments, we will see a rapid growth in this area as well. India is intellectually strong and is thoroughly service oriented. So it's bound to grow.

We have seen recent developments from companies like Gillette, SCB, etc. in this area and they have already established a strong setup for shared services. Outsourcing may be the mantra for several developed countries due to economic reason. I reckon it's definitely in the making.

Employee relations and Service delivery are now a key concern even in India. So I think Indian companies will also join the club. However, it will take time to seep into the mindset of Indian HR organizations.

I can only conclude saying that Shared Services in India will only evolve over time, may be longer than expected.

- DeTimes

Question asked by a Senior Executive from Wal-Mart, US on LinkedIn:

Which implementation organization structure do you find is a best practice? One that is organized by system platform or one that is organized by function. For example would you expect to see an ERP team and Spend Management team or would expect to see more of an operational organization and a pool of project managers that can be assigned based upon the needed skills of any project?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answer (Rated as Best):

This is a very challenging issue. For example if you need to implement a highly specialized technology project you will need a right mix of people. In that case you will need execution from an experts' group and managed by good administrators who can make worthy business decisions.

It more important to answer, what is the right mix of people required in the organization structure? I would recommend a fluid organization structure. What I mean, is that at technical levels one should have teams classified by expertise and at administrative / management level classification must be done by functions. Interoperability is important and an apt resource allocation on the basis of need, to deliver a certain project, should be done.

Project management function seems to get more generic at every higher level. And technical expertise tends to become more specific at each advancing level. Creating an organization with fluid structure is critical for business success.

Directors (Functional)
            |
Mid Managers (Functional)
            |
Team Managers (Specialized)
            |
Technical Groups (Specialized by system platform)

In a fluid organization, it is easy to pull resources from independent teams that are critical to a particular project. So simply pick the right mix of people and designate them accordingly for a specific project. I think this flexibility helps in various ways, not only in delivering the project success but also, in planning for future business needs.

We can conclude saying that a fluid organization provides flexibility to organize the resources in need, optimize them at best, plan for future business needs, and achieve business goals objectively.

- DeTimes

This is one of those interesting questions I am answering.

Lets divide this answer in parts:

1. Human Capital itself is a big challenge. Consider shortage, attrition, bouncing. The biggest is the talent crisis.

2. One of the other big challenges is the inappropriate mix of people. There are too many misfits in any organization today. This may be due to an aggressive drive to hire the best talent. Sometimes when you are trying to do that, selection becomes very individualistic. Hence, misfitting occurs. You may hire the best but not the RIGHT talent.

3. Employee turnover. Attrition is one of the biggest challenges. Retention has become very expensive. And re-hiring the same set of talent pools can cost a fortune. This challenge will continue to prevail. Getting more out of employee relationships is becoming more and more critical each passing day. Retaining the right people has become difficult. A truly converged wealth sharing platform is essential to resolve this epidemic.

4. You don't have motivated task force. Commitment is low with such people and they can never deliver success at its true potential. Motivation is important for operational excellence.

5. The informal and political culture inside the organization. This is a major obstacle on the way to success. So having an articulated value system is important.

6. Employees will give only as much as they get from the top. Top managements' commitment to business goals and all stakeholders must be visible only by example. This is purely a will issue.

7. Having the right processes in place for the people to operation smoothly. It must be a clearly defined one.

8. Accountability on operational efficiency must be clearly defined and enforced. Autonomy is a key factor here.

These are several factors which are key. Books can be written on this.

- DeTimes

1. Most important leadership concern : Scarcity for today & tomorrow
2. Most important concern for leaders : Relationship Management

A1.
The global economy is faced by a massive concern of scarcity of Leaders already. Hence, the first and foremost step should be to create enough leaders for times to come.

If we do not undertake steps for future needs of our leaders, several large companies can collapse. Several economic stability factor will start vibrating.

Hence, it is extremely critical to address this need carefully and religiously. Else, many companies, tomorrow, will look like a headless chicken running everywhere. None of us want to face a leadership crisis, now or never.

A2.
Currently, global economics times are testing, especially due to the recession in the US. Several economies will take a beating and and only a few self reliant economies will emerge as winner. It is important for leaders to get most value from their existing relationships. I am again repeating this. If all the people go the extra mile to suffice for the deficit gap, then there is no deficit. This is the key factor.

Leaders of today's times have a massive task at hand to save our future. In the next few years we must produce as many leaders as possible. We don't want to lose our fortunes for anything.

These I believe are the two most important tasks at hand, which also demand serious measures with urgency.

- DeTimes

It is true that many companies are now hiring agency to manage termination. Termination is undoubtedly a critical business decision but has a lot to do with employee relations as well.

I am sure nobody hires an agency to convey divorce to their partners... It's a strong case of how you communicate the termination across the board. I would never hire an agency for such purpose. It may make sense to hire an agency to carry out administration functions after communicating the decision.

Justification:
Employees are a part of one family, the company. Once they quit, they become part of you extended family. The strongest PR medium is word of mouth. One, you definitely don't want that any person post termination loses respect for your company. Losses can be huge because they know your competitive advantage. Second, there is an after math that many companies don't do too well. There is a certain impact on other employees as well. It does hurt to hear such critical decisions from an outsider.

Lets also consider some situations:
You terminate someone for conduct. It is an immediate unplanned decision for not following your value system. Managers have to do this.

You terminate someone because you are over staffed. In other ways you plan a lay off. To successfully undertake a lay off, communication is the key. And if such communication is done by an agency directly to employees, it hurts the morale even of the other employees who survived. In these times, the demand supply of good talent is imbalanced. You don't want to end facing a hiring crisis, now or never.

Using an agency, can also have detrimental impact on your employer branding. This can mean, that when you need most critically need good talent, it is not available because no one wants to join your company.

So such activity is a complete no-no, because this way you can usher out unwanted people but you will lose some most required people on the way which can prove to be fatal for your company.

The organization which hires an agency for terminating its own employees, looks like a careless and irresponsible organization that doesn't care for its own people. Competitors can also use this very well to their own advantage. Lets remember, today the bigger competition is about hiring the best teams and not just about your product or service. Attracting best talent to your company is another factor where you can get comprehensively beaten by your nearest competitor.

Suggestion: Communicate such a decision through your leadership and with care and responsibility. Convey the reasons in a well articulated way that doesn't hurt anyone's respect. And then bring the agency in picture to carry out administration activities. This makes more business sense.

No one wants to "HEAR" such things from an outsider. Most definitely not.

- DeTimes

Succession planning involves several key decisions. There are many points to be considered:

Key points to designing a succession plan.

1: Evaluate existing employees and the current needs
-List all employees you have and their respective positions
-List your current hiring needs

2: Review those you can promote from your current employees.
-List the names of who could be promoted (and to what position) within the next 6 months time

3: Develop an action plan for each one of those who you can promote with their key deliverables clearly cut out.
-List the training needs before a promotion is possible
-Outline a basic plan for training on these critical tasks / skills that were identified
-Do a SWOT analysis for each one of them
-Rate each person's desire to be promoted (1-10)

Tips:

-Rework on your succession plan each quarter. This will give you a reassessment of hiring needs and also see the development of existing staff upon training. This will also give you a clear idea where you stand for succession.

-Do a succession plan even if you're fully staffed. You never know when someone will leave you, so you must be prepared for that.

If you identify that you need an "assistant manager" but currently believe that no one from within can be promoted within 6 months, you should focus your efforts on hiring someone who could fill that position sooner.

-Doing the 1-10 rating of desire to be promoted will help you assess who you should work with first if you have a few people to choose from.

If you can't rate the person because you don't know about their desire, then you need to have a casual conversation with them to help you determine their interest in growing within the company.

If you have someone who isn't interested in getting promoted, do not "force" the person. That's one benefit of a succession plan. It forces you to take a hard look at your team, who you have, and what to do as a result of your assessments.

- DeTimes

Employee Review can be very tricky.

Many times you don't find real facts for which there are several reason including:
1. It is not taken as a serious development exercise.
2. The critical nature is not correctly communicated.
3. Too much of performance related stress is involved with it.
4. An honest feedback is not available for improvisation because everyone wants to prove a point to move forward.
5. Many times, it is close ended and extremely objective. It is important that you ask open ended questions and listen actively for facts.
6. Communicating this as a development exercise for better performance of company and people in order to achieve the ultimate goal is beneficial.
7. I have seen this happening in review meetings for sales people. Only and numbers are discussed. This is not helpful for any development exercises. You surely need more information on various factors like a realistic funnel, customer behavior, innovative strategies, future needs of the business, etc. There are many such critical factors that need to be involved.
8. If a particular person hasn't done very well in 1 qtr, an honest discussion followed by some coaching can resolve and retain that person as an achiever.

Here are some key questions you can ask. However, other specific questions must be asked depending on that person job description to ensure you get enough generic and specific data for assessment of the real situation.

1. Past performance
-How have your job and responsibilities changed since your last review?
-What skills or areas have you grown or improved in?
-What lessons have you learned over the past year?
-How well did you meet your goals and objectives over the past year? Compare the past year with previous reviews. Be specific.
-What areas can you improve your performance in? And what activities/plan would assure that improvement?

2. Present situation
-What are the predominant current requirements of your job?
-What areas of challenge do you currently face?
-What do you enjoy about your job?
-Where does your job fit in the organization? (How does your job impact internal and external customers?)
-How happy are your customers with your performance?

3. Future
-How will your job responsibilities stay the same or change in the future?
-List your job goals/objectives for the next 6-12 months.
-What areas do you need to grow or improve in to meet your goals?
-What training programs or coaching areas, if any, do you need to meet these goals?
-What additional assistance do you need to reach your peak performance level?
-What are your career goals?
-How can management help you be more effective?

- DeTimes

What are some strategies for retaining employees of an acquired company?

Current Position:
Recently acquired company, 10% of staff given notice due to business synergies, 50% of remaining staff left due to poor morale, increased workload, lack of management confidence, and/or lack of strategic vision after integration.

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Firstly, I feel sad to hear this happen again. This is because acquisitions and merger happen on a strong strategic vision and a reason. However, success depends on how well it is executed. Else its the doom's day in the making. If remains to be seen, what the reason was.

In any acquisition process, there are a few barriers. Simply because a lot changes post integration. New vision, new policies, new people, everything is almost new and changed. And thats where there is so much resistance.

Key areas to ponder:
1. Most important is the communication system that you follow to convey acquisition, and all new changes along with a clear purpose attached with everything that is being done. Honesty is the best policy here.

2. Employee relationships must be considered as a critical factor. Communicating notices is easy but conveying them well is difficult.

3. Every persons attitude must be considered while serving those notices. Because if they dont find a genuine reasons, they create grapevines which are totally destructive. This must be avoided.

4. A fluid system must be implemented to listen to employee concerns and grievances and thats where you will find key facts for a resurrection.

5. Leadership must stand solid and must get involved in minute things during the process of integrations, however, in your case it is not possible any more. So they must get involved with commitment to changing difficult times into sweeter ones. A critical role must be played by them here. They must communicate the plans realistically, clearly and must ensure that everyone understands the same.

6. Ask clear objective based questions and listen carefully for fact finding and work on them for the good.

7. If people are leaving even now, conduct comprehensive exit interviews and again find facts and key concern areas. This will give you enough food for thought and come up with out of the box solutions for these key concern areas.

8. Lack of management confidence? This is a key concern area. Senior management, probably doesn't know the fate and they are more busy finding a new job? Because they are the ones who can do the trick. However, this where you must begin. I am sure the parent company's management also is concerned now on the fate of the company. Get them involved only if they are not perceived as enemies. Else, ask senior management to get more autonomy into things and strategic decision making.

9. Communication is the key. Now since 50% of people have already left. Try best to retain the remain 40%. Else you actually see the doom's day. Remember, it again becomes a start up company. And trust factor will tend to zero. Because no customer will live with such a situation.

10. Involve some key customers and ask them to communicate their positive views through proper channels on this acquisition and what value they see in it. This will surely help in getting some confidence.

Internal communication is the key. Do it well and you will see the results. Start building an employer brand through right channels. Partner with the right search firm which understand these concerns deeply and act honesty with them. They can do the trick by getting right new people into the system.

All in all, communicate wisely.

Retention strategies one can follow:

Retention is the biggest challenge with the new age companies. It is about creating loyalty. Lets understand the word loyalty first. It is the consequence of a trust based committed relationship.

Employee relations are most critical for any retention drive to succeed. These days it has become so critical to answer "Whats in it for ME?" It is only because, a wider choice is available to good talent.

1. Hiring decision is very critical. Hire the right talent and not always the best talent on the market. Develop a niche for the employees right from day one. The word RIGHT has a lot of meaning. Don't show a pseudo pictures. Show reality. Commit less and deliver more. A wrong hiring decision is known to be more expensive than re-hiring due to attrition, simply because it dents the organization terribly. Especially, if such a decision goes wrong for a senior level mandate.

2. Provide empowerment on the job along with continuous training. A right balance of accountability and autonomy can be created to make the work environment conducive. Expose them to new skill sets. Like having an informal quality circle which gives them added skills and responsibility, both. Or a mentoring program.

3. Recognition more than just reward makes a big difference. This is a leadership decision. If possible, have a recognition scale for every quarter. And let the CEO do the thanks giving at a luncheon. (Like the famous HP Banana Award) Recognize individual and team success very strongly.

4. Commit yourself to developing leaders for tomorrow. Rather than just managers. This should be conveyed by the employer branding in open.

5. Provide them with ample internal opportunities to grow vertically as well as laterally. (Like sending your mid manager on an international assignment for a short term, which will add value to him/her as well as the company)

6. Higher education for upgrading relevant skill sets. Provide for a well established career development program.

7. Offer practical and genuine benefits (I mean tangible fringe benefits). At the same time offer compensation on par with industry standards. You don't have to pay any extra to retain them.

8. Follow a strong value system which is human and based on respect for all. Employee satisfaction is measurable. Just doing surveys won't make any sense. Go a step beyond that. Have a good listeners in the grievance cell.

9. Have a very fluid communication system so that anyone at any level in the organization is easily accessible and approachable. Also implement an honest 360 degree feedback system. It could also include providing clearly articulated KRAs.

10. remove all negative factors from the system. It could also mean unfit people even if they are most skilled. Attitudes go a long way into achieving success.

11. Most often I have seen organization default on being realistic. It's a good thing to be aggressive on goals. However, if they are not realistic, they can prove detrimental to organizational success.

12. Rather than just focusing on cost cutting, profit making, top line, bottom line etc., it is worthy enough if the leaders follow a wealth sharing practice.

13. Add more value to employee relations. Doing small things can go a long way. Simply, sending a small gift for an employee's birthday/anniversary/etc. can mean a lot. It's only human to do that. I think it is a part of organization's responsibility to create an extended family.

14. This suggestion can go a long way if honestly implemented. Support employees in their crisis. It could just mean an emotional chat or a small financial help, if that is required. In one of my earlier companies, we had such a case. A colleague had to undertake an open heart surgery but didn't have enough financial aid for that. The company didn't do anything about it. And the consequence was hard hitting. The whole team put in a mass resignation.

- DeTimes

There are several factors that need to be considered and critically evaluated while signing up with a search firm.

1. What is their domain expertise?
Do they have the domain expertise in your industry vertical. If they don't have are quick learners? Are they willing to put in the extra effort honestly to help you with your needs.

2. What does their team look like?
Do they have dedicated people, who are experts in your industry?

3. What is their value system internally?
Are they ethical search partners. Do they follow a very transparent communication system? Credibility, Integrity, consistency, reliability, honesty are some other values to actively look out for. I agree with many here.

4. What is their long term proposition?
Are they looking at building organizations in the long term or are they just looking at sourcing some candidate for you and raising the bill?

5. Obviously, are they result oriented and do they have best practices in place? By result orientation, I mean, are they known to produce the right result? Or are they just pushing for a closure on sub standard candidates?

6. How good do they understand their clients with a wider spectrum? How good they understand that a cultural fitness is important? And various such questions can be food for a brain storm with a partner.

7. Do they have a wide spread network of people to produce apt result within a time frame?

8. Do they commit less and deliver more? Or is it the other way round?

9. Can you speak to another customer on his experience with a particular search partner? If its a start up company, then they may not have customer recommendations/testimonials at all. But in that case, a good judge of the individual is required for evaluation. They can prove to be good. In fact better to many other established firms because they put in more honest efforts, they learn with you, they provide a lot of flexibility etc. But judgement can be made only after you have understood them deeply.

10. Watch out for fly-by-night operators. They will never add value to your organization in the long run. Avoid hiring them completely.

There are many other points to ponder on, but this is a brief outlook for hiring services of a search company.

- DeTimes