Gaurav Shah - DeGroup

TV’s Ur-boss, Michael Scott of The Office, a paradigm of what not to do as a leader—like imprisoning your staff in a conference room to prove that work is better than jail. But while there is the ring of truth in his incompetence, the actual truth is always more interesting than fiction.

Therefore, as you prepare to be a boss in your own new company, I present 11 demotivational lessons inspired by an actual Michael Scott I used to work for. I hope they provide a manifesto of poor leadership you can post, like Martin Luther’s on the church door, to the whiteboard of your own Dunder Mifflin executive. Or at least that you can slide into his/her inbox when no one is looking.

1. Change your mind. Change it several times a day. When reviewing a report, be sure to make comments that run counter to previous ones. Leave the employees guessing. It keeps them alert.

2. Be sure your employees don’t know what's important to you. You want the best work possible, period. You don’t want them cutting corners just because something isn’t very important. Everything is important. Always.

3. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. You don’t have to explain. They just need to make it “better.” If you give them too much direction, how will they learn? For example: “I don’t know what you want from me, just make the PowerPoint ‘sexier.’”

4. Bring your employees along to all your meetings. But don't let them speak. By not talking, they have to listen. Just like a Dictaphone. Then they can remind you of anything you napped through.

5. Thank your employees — but only for efforts below their skill level. “Thank you for showing up today.” “Nice handwriting on that expense report.” Begin the staff meeting by thanking the intern for comb-binding your files.

6. Schedule weekly “all hands” meetings that require half the employees to travel (to you, of course). Agenda: they bring you up to date on what they’ve been emailing you, but you’ve been too busy to read. Don't introduce anything new.

7. Ask your tech savvy employees to take time from their projects to set up your home computer, preferably when the maid is there. Ideally, the request includes troubleshooting your kids' iPods.

8. Agree to deadlines and then accelerate them. Ask loudly from the hallway if the document is ready at 4:59pm. Announce: “I’m here late tonight if you want to finish it up.”

9. Schedule "critical" meetings a few days before Christmas. Require random employees from around the world to attend. Show up late and decide everyone can reconvene to "close the open issues" on January 2nd.

10. Send emails at 2am. On Sunday. Mark them urgent.

11. Be careful not to get too wrapped up in your employee’s own goals. If you're too supportive in helping them develop, they’ll leave you for another job. And that’s not good management.

How about you? Do you have any bosses that have embodied any or all of my how-not-to list? Have you been guilty of any of these yourself? What do you have to add?

A Comment in Response:

You've struck a painful cord. I couldn't agree more with every single thing you've listed. However, based on my personal experience I'd like to add few more things.

1. Having judgements clouded by personal animosities and friendships.
2. Raising status of incompetent individuals to that of key management members on the basis of personal likes and dislikes.
3. Communicating with just "one" management member instead of all key people regarding company's progress and updates.
4. Constantly wrapped up in scheming and manipulation thus creating distrust among team members.
5. Instead of praising employees several years of hardwork, retaliate with demoralizing comments such as are you a good manager?
6. Accusing competent people of 'constantly complaining when they approach the boss with their grievances.
7. Believing in the philosophy of promise them everything but give them nothing.
8. Complete centralization of power.

- DeTimes

Lack of authority and an inability to see where their contribution fits into the big picture is leaving Generation Y, or Millennials, disengaged and disenchanted with work.

Surveying more than 7,500 people and interviewing 40 HR and line managers, the report found that lack of seniority appears to be the problem: put simply, “Senior executives are generally more engaged than frontline managers or individuals.”

In a worldwide survey, they compared engagement levels of Baby Boomers (B.1946-1964), Gen X (B.1965-1977) and Gen Y (B.1978-1990).

Defining “full engagement” as: “an alignment of maximum job satisfaction (’I like my work and do it well’) with maximum job contribution (’I help achieve the goals of my organisation’)”, it found Gen Y employees wanting, especially in south-east Asia and China. Levels of disengagement are shown below.

Most feel under-used and not connected to the organisation’s overall strategy, and are struggling to define what it is they want from their work, says the survey.

The UK’s millennials are also showing signs of restlessness. They want ‘more opportunities to do what I do best’, with career development and training also highly important. The majority trust their managers, but the least engaged feel bosses could do more to encourage and reward them. Only 48 per cent of all of the Britons surveyed trust their senior leaders, though.

Contrast this with India, where engagement levels are high across the age categories and fairly consistent across job titles. We suggest this is a result of India’s dynamic, knowledge-based business culture.

Disengaged Gen Y’ers may either just look for another job or — potentially worse — stay, complain and not produce. It may be possible to coach them to higher levels of engagement. If not, the verdict’s tough: “Their exit benefits everyone including themselves.”

- DeTimes

Like everywhere else, politeness in India is considered to be a virtue.

You’ll quickly find that most Indians will go out of their way to be friendly and helpful to you. A traveller will frequently be asked about his nationality, name, marital status, and children, though the limited spread of English tends to restrict the scope of most conversations to simple things. It can be a bit tedious to go around like a walking curriculum vitae, but just keep smiling. This quaint curiosity is built on the best of friendly intentions, and it is part of India’s charm.

While English is certainly the language of business in India with foreigners, remember that the English spoken is British English. Therefore, avoid common British-American misunderstandings, such as "tabling this for now" (British English means "let’s put it on the table and talk about it now"), and the use of American sports slang "that idea is from left field." Even common American business acronyms, such as ASAP or FYI may not be understood in India – avoid them.

So, before you plan your trip to Mumbai (known until 1995 as Bombay) or New Delhi, keep these cultural tips in mind.

The traditional greeting in India is the "Namaste."

Hold both your hands at chest level in a prayer position and bow slightly to your associate. Additionally, this greeting may be accompanied with a garland of flowers being placed around the neck. It is expected that you remove the flowers almost immediately and set them aside, for to keep them on indicates a lack of humility. Indians seldom shake hands, when greeting people, other than during the course of official business.

The handshake is also commonly used (usually a little softer than the common American grip). Good friends may clasp each other’s hand with both hands.

It is important, however, that men should avoid touching women, even in business settings. Unless she extends her hand first, men should not reach out to shake a woman’s hand.

Remember, your Indian associate may very likely be Muslim, and in India, this means respecting Moslem customs. In devout Muslim homes, women are separated from men, and usually stay amongst themselves in a separate part of the house.

Remember also that cows are considered sacred incarnations of life by devout Hindus. Therefore, do not serve beef at meals. Also, avoid gifts made of leather (leatherbound books, attaché cases, picture frames, etc.). A wonderful gift to your Muslim associate would be a fine, silver compass. They use a compass to locate Mecca and perform their daily prayers. Many Indians do not drink and/or are vegetarians, so if you are inviting someone out for a meal, it would be a good idea to inquire beforehand about tastes and preferences.

It’s a tradition in India to be served a sweet, often accompanied by tea or fruit juice, when first meeting someone either at home or in the office. Accept it graciously and you may expect a wonderful meal to follow.

In both business and social settings, it may appear to you that servants are being somewhat mistreated. Be prepared for versions of this kind of behaviour. Traditional to Indian culture is the caste system, which, though now illegal, still has pervasive influence. Remember that for thousands of years, people were organized according to who serves whom, with everyone serving someone and expecting obsequious obedience from others.

Avoid offering your opinions about politics, social mores, etc. in India. The best way to win friends, and subsequently accomplish your goals in India, is to admire what you can (and there is much) and humbly inquire about everything else. Indians are eager, to extremely eager, to explain their country and their beliefs to foreigners, which could make for interesting conversation.

Indian management and decision-making is such that your Indian associate may seek the advice of trusted others (friends, family members, etc.) before making a decision you might be waiting for. Therefore, do not expect meetings to always result in a decision, especially if you are only in the beginning stages of a business relationship. You need to take time to build a relationship, an essential precursor to business, however frustrating it may be for the time-conscious American. Meetings should be viewed as vehicles for relationship-building and information-sharing.

During your discussions, you may notice your Indian colleague shaking his head from side to side after you speak. Particularly true of South Indians, this unique "head-wobble" is merely your Indian associate’s non-verbal way of letting you know that he is politely listening to what you have to say. This side-to-side movement does not, as Westerners might suspect, signal disapproval.

If you don’t know with whom you need to speak to in the Indian organization, the general rule is to start as high up in the hierarchy as possible. Lower-level people will not make the decisions you require. That’s why it is sometimes best to be introduced to your Indian counterpart through an intermediary. Rely on your Indian "middleman," they are invaluable as contact makers – without them, you will waste time with the wrong people and not know how to conduct yourself at the meeting when you finally reach the right person.

However, most important thing to keep in mind is that, India is in a transition, dynamics are changing. People in metros are now tending towards more matured professionals. A key thing, opportunities are seamless, you just need the right way ahead.

- DeTimes

LONDON: A London mansion that is about to be sold for a record 117 million pounds (US$ 230 million) may go to the son of Indian billionaire Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, newspapers here said.

The property on Palace Green - one of the most expensive houses in the world - is close to Kensington Palace Gardens, where steel tycoon Mittal lives.

His son Aditya, 32, has been searching for a London property near Mittal's house, which the steel maker bought for 57 million pounds from Formula One chief Bernie Eccleston in 2004.

Now the search may be finally over: Noam Gottesman, an American-born hedge fund mogul, is close to exchanging contracts on the house, the Times newspaper reported.

The price works out at more than 8,000 pounds per square foot and smashes the previous record of 80 million pounds for a London home, set only three months ago for a property in nearby Upper Phillimore Gardens.

The newspaper quoted "property sources" as saying the family of L.N. Mittal, Britain's richest man, had made an approach for the house, which is next door to the Israeli Embassy.

Another paper said the house was being bought by Mittal for his son.

Stephen Holmes of the London property agents Savills said: "That address is very exclusive and I'm not surprised by the figure. There are only about 20 properties with that view of Kensington Palace, and people queue up to get their hands on one."

Gottesman has a fortune of 460 million pounds, according to The Sunday Times Rich List, while Mittal, who owns the world's biggest steel company ArcelorMittal, is worth about 27.7 billion pounds.

- DeTimes (Source : Economic Times, India)

BUILDING TRUST AS A MANAGER:

1. Be reliable. Follow through on things. Keep your promises.

2. Have ethics. Telling your people the truth and don't reveal their confidences. Being fair and honest with employees.

3. Show respect for your employees. Treat them as adults and show appreciation for their ideas and for the work they do.

BUILDING MORE TRUST:

1. Know and care about your employees and their families. Be sure they feel you see them as people as well as employees.

2. Involve employees in planning and problem-solving. Ask for and use their contributions.

3. Delegate work. Give employees important tasks and the support they need to carry them out well.

CREATING HELPING RELATIONSHIPS:

When have you received help from a supervisor/coach/peer that made you feel good about yourself? When has a supervisor/coach/peer helped you grow and develop? Under certain conditions both the coach and the employee can grow and develop in a helping relationship. Group members can also coach each other.

GUIDLINES FOR CREATING HELPING RELATIONSHIPS:

1. Create a dependence — create a project in which people need each other to succeed and are aware of that. Determine goals together, with input from each person involved.

2. Practice quality communication.

3. Build reciprocal trust by being open, accepting, and cooperative.

4. A supervisor can support and assist in creating helping relationships within their departments by acting as a model by using orientations that help and by supporting, and encouraging, these skills in their employees as they interact with each other.

- DeTimes

Salovey and Mayer defined EQ in terms of being able to monitor and regulate one's own and others' feelings, and to use feelings to guide thought and action. While they have continued to fine-tune the theory, Daniel Goleman has adapted their model into a version that he finds most useful in understanding how these talents matter in work life. His adaptation which  appears in his work "Emotional Intelligence-why it can matter more than IQ" includes the following five basic emotional and social competencies :

Self-awareness : Knowing what we are feeling in the moment, and using those preferences to guide our decision making; having a realistic assessment of our own abilities and a well-grounded sense of self-confidence

Self-regulation : Handling our emotions so that they facilitate rather than interfere with the task at hand; being conscientious and delaying gratification to pursue goals; recovering well from emotional distress

Motivation : Using our deepest preferences to move and guide us toward our goals, to help us take initiative and strive to improve, and to persevere in the face of setbacks and frustrations

Empathy : Sensing what people are feeling, being able to take their perspective, and cultivating rapport and attunement with a broad diversity of people.

Social Skills : Handling emotions in relationships well and accurately reading social situations and networks; interacting smoothly; using these skills to persuade and lead, negotiate and settle disputes, for cooperation and teamwork.

- DeTimes

If the driving force of intelligence in the twentieth-century business has been IQ, then-in accordance to growing evidence - in the twenty-first century it will be EQ, and related and practical forms of practical and creative intelligence. This "new" intelligence is the heart-level engine that drives human capital and produces the exceptional, creative work required for any company to lead the field amidst the turbulence and confusion of global market changes. In this note, we attempt to understand Emotional Intelligence.

"Emotional Intelligence" refers to the capacity for recognising our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationship. It describes abilities distinct from, but complementary to academic intelligence, the purely cognitive capacities measured by IQ. Many people who are book-smart but lack EQ end up working for people who have lower IQs than them but who excel in EQ skills.

These two different kinds of intelligence -intellectual and emotional-express the activity of different parts of the brain. The intellect is based on the working of the neocortex, the more recently evolved layers at the top of the brain. The emotional centres are lower in the brain, in the more ancient subcortex; EQ involves these emotional centres at work, in concert with the intellectual centres.

Among the most influential theorists of intelligence to point out the distinction between intellectual and emotional capacities was Howard Garner, a Harvard psychologist, who in 1983 proposed a widely regarded model of "multiple intelligence". His lists seven kinds of intelligence included not just the familiar verbal and maths abilities, but also two " personal " varieties: knowing one's inner world and social adeptness.

A comprehensive theory of EQ was proposed in 1990 by two psychologists, Peter Salovey, at Yale, and John Mayer, now at the University of New Hampshire. Another pioneering model of EQ was proposed in the 1980s by Reuven Bar-On, an Israeli psychologist. In recent years several other theorists have proposed variations on the same idea.

- DeTimes

In August, 2005, Fast Company magazine published a scathing article entitled “Why We Hate HR”. The author, Keith Hammonds, presented four arguments:

1. HR people are not the sharpest tacks in the box. The best and the brightest don’t go into HR;
2. HR pursues efficiency in place of value;
3. HR doesn’t work for you. It supports the status quo.
4. HR doesn’t get the office next to the CEO.

The author was slammed by many of the readers in the HR community for his comments. But the unfortunate truth is – he is 100% correct.

Observations such as this, and others like them, cause me to re-think the whole concept of Human Resources. Why, for example, do not more CEOs hold HR to higher value producing business standards? On the other hand, why do HR people view themselves as administrative overhead rather than contributors to the company’s profitability and productivity factors? And, what is the incentive for either side to change their view?

I seem to have come to several conclusions. Let’s try to make sense of them.

1. CEO’s don’t know how to use HR as a contributor to the company’s P&L processes. They prefer to keep HR in their traditional roles as back office support staff. This is their comfort zone. This is how they were taught to think of HR. Conversely, HR has not convinced the CEO that they understand the business as well as he/she does. Nor has HR proven to the CEOs that the quality and substance of their work directly and positively affects the ability of the CEO to sleep well at night.

This is a double-edged sword. On one side, the CEO has been historically trained to consider HR as a support function and nothing else. It exists to keep the company in compliance with a vast number of labour laws and to administer programs conceived, designed, and approved by non-HR people. Theoretically, it is supposed to hire bright people who will stay with the company and produce good work.

On the other hand, HR practitioners have done little to change that perception. Their failure to learn and understand the corporate performance pressure points and to focus their work on relieving those pressure points has been widely ignored. As a result, CFOs can enter the CEOs office at any time armed with a stream of quantitative data that CEOs use to make their decisions. The HR executive is left to talk about the qualitative or softer aspects of business such as diversity training, wage and hour law compliance issues, employee relations, and so on.

For better or worse, most CEOs tend to live and die by the quantitative aspects of their company’s performance. If they are the CEO of a publicly traded company, the pressure on financial performance is much more intense. The poor HR executive is left to blather about issues that are secondary to the CEOs attention span.

2. Far too many HR professionals are uncomfortable with financial metrics by which CEO’s make most of their critical decisions. Then they complain about not being taken seriously. Part of the problem is based upon the concepts of specialization that our society has embraced over the past century. In HR for example, the function has become so specialized that it has lost sight of why the company is in business in the first place and, secondly, how it is supposed to stay in business. We have experts in recruiting who are told who they can hire because of diversity or EEO mandates, but do not know how to hire people who can advance the business plan of the company. Can you imagine your local mechanic who is a world class engine mechanic not being able to realize that the axle is broken? What’s wrong with this picture?

3. HR is a reactive and defensive function within most organizations. This has to stop immediately. Complying with various labour laws is a critical, but a defensive business approach. Theoretically, the work is designed to keep the government off of the company backs. Think of the various HR produced training sessions that you have gone to in the past couple of years. Has it changed your behaviour? Has it generated a better selection of talent to work in your company? Has it had an impact on sales and revenue? Has it impacted inventory turns? Suppose that you have produced a world class training program on harassment and the company records a deficit on its balance sheet? What is a good HR person to do in this case? Rare is the sports team who wins by only playing on defence.

4. HR does not hire for talent. How can one hire for talent without knowing what the talent is expected to produce? In today’s hyper competitive environment, the search for quality talent can be unforgiving. Recruiting, hiring, and retaining talent involves understanding where the company is today, where it envisions itself in the future, and getting the right people with the right KSAs to achieve that vision. HR must take the lead in being pro-active with the business. It must conduct frequent status checks on the direction and movement of the company. This includes financial as well as non-financial challenges that the company will face. If another department is not performing up to expectation, how will HR directly help that department achieve its business goals and contribute to the success of the company?

5. HR must kick the “Silo Mentality” habit once and for all. No department in any company can continue to exist as a stand-alone discipline. Organizations are made up of several interconnected and interdependent entities. Each must wholly integrate itself into all other functions, and its practitioners must be able to speak the language of every department. If you expect to work as an equal partner with the company’s other strategic experts, you must be fluent in their language as well. Negotiating a new labour relations contract or a new health care contract may be a part of HR’s traditional silo. But the results of these negotiations will have a direct impact on the ability of the company to compete, to earn a profit, and to maintain its market share with competitive pricing. Diversity for the sake of diversity is valueless. Diversity for the sake of improving corporate performance and social responsibility metrics has enormous value.

One final thought about HR. What would happen if your CEO directs that the HR department be operated as an internal profit center that must bill their colleagues for services rendered and value delivered? Could they do it? Farfetched? Not really. With the help of technology advancements, companies are doing it with increasing frequency as they outsource many of the traditional HR subjects: payroll processing, benefits selection and administration, government reporting, etc. An outside vendor can argue that they can perform these functions better, faster, cheaper than the internal functions. And, they are winning the contracts. As trade and national barriers fall, companies are finding out that they can outsource many functions, HR included, to outside vendors who provide improved value for the rupees/dollars/euros/yen expended.

Human resources is a critical and value driven asset to all companies. Whether it is provided as an internal asset or an external asset is up to the leaders of that asset.

- DeTimes

You know the old adage, “You only have one opportunity to make a good first impression?” Well, never have truer words been spoken as it relates to retaining new talent! Even though the competitive scramble for talent may have eased off in the last 12-18 months, according to a survey by Management Recruiters, there is still a demand for mid-to-upper level management, high-level executives and professionals in most organizations today.

Companies spend weeks, perhaps even months, courting key talent to their organizations, all the while espousing the many cultural assets that make their workplaces great places to be. But living up to that hype or risk losing a new employee (with all the associated costs that go along with that loss) can be very challenging. And many organizations fail miserably.
Research shows that positively engaging new employees early in the new hire process can make a marked difference in keeping retention to a minimum. That first 90 days of a new employee’s engagement is key to his or her success.

But, many companies miss the mark with new employees simply because of a lack of preparation and planning. Even fairly sophisticated companies lack a consistent, systematic and strategically focused approach to “on-boarding” new employees and assimilating them successfully into the organization. And by the time most company leaders realize something has gone amiss, they are already six or nine months down the road. In order to “fix” the problem, they now must go back and do what they should have done in the beginning!

Many organizations today are missing the opportunity to successfully engage that new hire from day one. This is usually because there is no clear process for assisting the individual in becoming successful.

Giving an employee a leg up in prioritising key actions and activities that can contribute to his or her success can make a huge difference in increasing productivity and job satisfaction. And it’s not just a matter of having clear performance goals and objectives that align with company needs and expectations. Nor is it a matter of knowing to whom the new employee can go with questions and requests for help to avoid derailment.

Critical to the individual’s success, is knowing which key relationships in the organization need to be forged. Certain relationships will help accelerate the newcomer’s time to full productivity and engagement.

Organizations that successfully orient and assimilate new hires effectively share some common practices:

- They hire an external “on-boarding” coach or assign an internal mentor to help guide the new employee through the critical early stages of his or her new assignment.

- They have in-depth orientation training designed to help new employees learn techniques that enable them to “connect” with their new team members and build an environment of trust and open communication.

- They commit to and demonstrate the right actions and behaviours to ensure mutual success.

- They make controlling turnover everybody’s responsibility by encouraging team members working with the new hire to recognize signs that he or she, or any other team member, might be “at risk.” They then arm them with techniques they can use to offer support and help turn the situation around.

- And, they survey at 30-, 60- and 90-day intervals to see how things are going and address issues they uncover before they become bigger problems.

These companies have found that by being focused and intentional in assimilating new hires can significantly reduce absenteeism, job abandonment and turnover.

So, ask yourself, what mechanisms does your company have in place to ensure that the first 90 days of a new employee’s career gets off on the right footing? Do a little research among recent new hires to your organization to gauge their experiences. By doing so, I am willing to bet you’ll end up with more than enough new opportunities to enhance the new-hire experience. In return, you can create the right first impression that can lead to many great career experiences going forward.

- DeTimes

Global salaries are expected to rise by an average of 6% in 2008 – 1.9% above inflation – according to a study by Mercer. The study of 62 countries worldwide shows a strong correlation between 2008 forecasted inflation and forecasted average pay increases but also reveals wide global variation in both projections.

India can expect one of the highest pay increases in the world at 14.1%, nearly 10% above local inflation. North America and most Western European countries will experience the lowest salary increases worldwide.

"Some multinational companies are experiencing labour cost savings of 75% by sourcing labour from emerging markets. On the flip side, they generally need to invest more in employing supervisory staff and in training. We are starting to see that short-term cost savings from sourcing labour in emerging markets can evaporate over time. It is therefore essential for multinational companies to consider both current pay levels and future salary increases when deciding where to source their labour."

"Some companies that might otherwise be looking at emerging economies to establish their customer services are now reconsidering their options. Immediate cost savings are no longer the only consideration, as short-term affordability might be offset by long-term volatility in labour costs and inconsistent service quality in many emerging markets. A US company might decide to locate its call centre in rural America where there is a good work ethic, strong language skills and less competition for labour – and where projected pay increases are lower and long-term cost variations less volatile."

In Western Europe, Ireland is predicted to experience the highest actual salary increase (4.7%) as well as the highest increase above inflation (2.6%). UK pay is projected to increase by 3.1%, 1.1% above inflation. Projected salary increases remain fairly consistent across Western Europe, with actual increases averaging 3.4% and increases above inflation averaging 1.3%.

In Eastern Europe a different picture is offered as actual pay increase levels are forecast to stay amongst the highest in the world, at an average of 6.9%. Because inflation rates are also expected to remain high in this region (4.6% on average), increases above inflation will average only 2.3%.

Bulgaria is expected to see one of the highest pay increases in the region (9.3%) and with expected inflation rates at 4.4%, pay above inflation is projected at a high 4.9%. At the other end of the scale is the Czech Republic where the average pay increase (4%) is expected to be mostly offset by inflation (3.1%).

"We are seeing increased activity amongst European and global companies in relocating labour intensive units, such as shared service centres, to the Eastern European region. This region is becoming more popular due to strong multi-lingual skills, proximity to Western European markets and the rapid escalation of salary levels in popular off-shoring centres such as India."

North America
Modest pay increases and inflation rates are forecast for next year in both the US and Canada, with average salary increases above inflation expected at 1.9% in the US and at 1.8% in Canada.

Asia Pacific
Pay increases in the Asia Pacific region will pick up next year, with actual increases expected to reach 6.6% and increases above inflation reaching 3.3%. India is expecting the highest pay increase in the region at 14.1%, reflecting its buoyant economic growth; its pay above inflation is also projected to be the highest, at 9.8%. Vietnam is also expecting a double-digit actual pay increase at 11.9%, 5.6%above inflation.

In Australia and New Zealand, pay rises are more modest, projected at 4.0% and 3.9% while inflation is likely to be 2.5% and 2.6%.

- DeTimes (Source : Mercer)