HR Article

Going beyond basic Analytics: Making HR strategic

Advanced statistical modeling, data-based algorithms and analysis and its `predictive and prescriptive ability’ are hot requirements in the world of HR today.

Despite its process-driven approach HR has been largely dependent on the professional’s intuition. With increased focus on lowering the cost per employee, HR departments and consultancies are adopting a data driven analytics approach for greater accountability. Companies are increasingly relying on the strength this new data-based objectivity brings to businesses.

“The constant quest of `getting the right people for the right job at the best cost and time’ is getting more algorithm-based analytics,” says Yeshaswini Ramaswamy, e2e people solutions. “Corporates are looking to HR for a more strategic role in business operations. With this development the expectation today is to adopt a more data-based objectivity, a language that businesses understand, for the entire HR process.”

HR consultancies that have adopted this scientific method have been able to highlight the benefits of using data while making people decisions, thereby providing greater trackable objectivity. These processes are increasingly being incorporated by not just large MNCs and fast growing SMEs but even startups.

Article

On-the-job training boosts employee morale: Survey

Over 40% employers voted on-the-job training for increased productivity and 35% for enhanced employee morale in the organization in a survey concerning training and development, conducted by TJinsite, research and knowledge arm of TimesJobs.com. A considerable share of the surveyed employers also claimed to reduce attrition by using training and development methodology.

"Training is critical for growth and development of employees in the organisation and also to retain talent", expressed Vivek Punekar, Chief Human Resource Officer-HCL Infosystems. Referring to his company's strategy, he adds that their comprehensive training programs ranging from entry level to the highest-level executives focuses on all-round development of the people. "To strengthen our process, we analyse and identify key development areas for training - skills, technical and product learning - on regular basis. New technological upgrades and business needs are also taken into consideration in this approach."

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NOFN giving only half of promised 100 mbps broadband speed

Village panchayats connected with the National Optical Fibre Network are getting broadband speed of only 50 mbps, which is half of what the government has committed under the project, says a study. 

"The NOFN promises bandwidth of 100 mbps. However, during our study, we found that the average speed is 50 mbps," said a Digital Empowerment Foundation report released today at Convergence India 2015. 

Government has earmarked Rs 20,000 crore for NOFN project to connect all 2.5 lakh village panchayats by December 2016 with broadband speed of 100 mbps at each panchayat level. 

DEF conducted its study in three blocks -- Arian in Ajmer district (Rajasthan), Parvada in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Panisagar in North Tripura district (Tripura), that were covered by Bharat Broadband Network Limited under its pilot project.

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Companies ordered to pay taxes on ad, marketing & promotion expenses incurred over & above industry average

It would appear that not everyone's got Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's oft-repeated message seeking a reversal in the aggressive policies of the tax department that prevailed under the previous government as the Narendra Modi administration looks to improve India's investment climate and make it more attractive to overseas companies. The transfer-pricing bogey that has haunted multinationals over the past few years still hasn't been entirely laid to rest.

The income-tax department has ordered several MNCs, mostly fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, to pay taxes on advertising, marketing and sales promotion (AMP) expenses incurred over and above the industry average.

This hard line has been adopted in the latest transfer pricing audit as demands have intensified with January 31 being the last date by which these can be made. The tax department's argument is this: If the Indian subsidiary spends more than the average AMP expenses, then this additional amount is going towards promoting the brand and not the product, justifying the levy. The concept of pegging advertising spend as a proportion of turnover against industry average is an example of the 'bright-line test', a rule set by precedent that's inflexible.

HR Article

Creative Recruiting – It’s Time to Think Outside the Box

America is coming out of a long period of recession and virtually no hiring. For companies, that means that there are many eager candidates as their hiring picks up this year. After years of trying to find jobs in the same places, many eligible candidates no longer bother to check the same newspapers and internet websites that were popular nearly a decade ago. Many of the highly trained candidates that companies are interested in have stopped looking for better opportunities, making it difficult to find good employees.

That means that companies will need to get creative if they’re going to find qualified candidates. If your company is looking to hire in the coming year, try these ways to attract new talent.

1. Set up social networking accounts.

Instead of spending money on college fairs, you can meet plenty of new college graduates through Facebook and LinkedIn. Younger people are a lot more comfortable approaching a company through these methods, and they’re a lot cheaper than traveling to meet possible candidates. Furthermore, building up your online presence is a good way to add to your company’s public profile.

HR Article

Increase Employee Morale with Web-Based HR Systems

Implementing a web-based human resources management system (HRMS) can help just about any company to function more efficiently. While the benefits to employers are extensive, there are also many ways in which a web-based HRMS can make employees’ lives easier. Having a simple, web-based solution for different aspects of human resources can increase employee morale and sometimes even help reduce turnover. Industries across a broad spectrum are bringing their companies into the future with web-based HR systems.

Reduces Waiting for Information

While all HRMS are not exactly the same, most web-based systems will reduce the amount of time that an employee has to wait for information about some important aspects of employment. This may include pay rate, paycheck amount, tax filing status, benefit information, and information about bonuses. Some systems may also include scheduling functions, allowing employees to access schedules as soon as they are available. Employees benefit from having access to this information as soon as it is available no matter where they are, without having to go through the human resources department or consulting managers. This can help employees to save time and find out scheduling and other information in advance, greatly reducing work stressors and helping to strike a better work/life balance.

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Infosys, Tata Group donate Rs 200 crore to expand reach of Bengaluru NGO’s school lunch programme 

he philanthropic arms of Infosys and the Tata Group are together writing cheques for over Rs 200 crore to fund Akshaya Patra, a Bengaluru-based organisation which runs the largest school lunch programme by an NGO in the world. The money will be used to expand the reach of Akshaya Patra, and equip it with the latest food technologies to help it cook meals faster and cheaper while improving quality.

The Infosys Foundation, headed by Sudha Murty, the wife of the software company's founder, will contribute Rs 127 crore to build three modern kitchens and run operations and a further Rs 20 crore for the corpus. The Jamsetji Tata Trust will contribute Rs 55 crore to help the non-profit acquire the latest technology and improve food safety.

Akshaya Patra, which US President Barack Obama commended in 2008 as a model for other countries, is run by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. In Hindu mythology, the Akhshaya Patra is a vessel with unlimited stores of food that was gifted by Lord Shiva to the Pandava king Yudhishtira. With the grants, the organisation, over the next five years, will target 5 million school children from the current 1.5 million in 10 states. 

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HCL rewards 130 top performers by offering them a paid holiday abroad with family or a Mercedes 

Around 130 of the top performers of HCL can either drive home a Mercedes or take their family and friends on an all-expenses-paid international or domestic holiday as a reward for their contribution to the company.

"We realise their need to celebrate their impact on the growth of the company along with their friends and family," said Prithvi Shergill, chief human resources officer at HCL Technologies.

HRD experts feel the novelty of being given a luxury car or an all-expenses-paid holiday as a token of appreciation strikes a deeper chord than increased remuneration.

"The newness of a reward will have a larger appeal (than extra cash)," said Anandorup Ghose, performance, rewards and talent practice leader at executive search firm Aon Hewitt India.

Article

Navigating BIG Data

Now more than ever, knowledge is power to every type of company that exists. With data increasing at exponential rate every few years, however, it can be difficult to mine all of that data and extract information that is pertinent to your business. It is important to implement effective systems for mining through big data in order to glean the freshest and most helpful information without placing undue stress on employees and staff.

What is Big Data?

The massive influx of new data that is being created is referred to as “big data.” Data is created every time a social media interaction occurs or any other type of information is created using any form of media. In 2012 approximately three zettabytes of data existed, according to International Data Corporation (IDC.) Since that time, data has multiplied at such a fast rate that it is difficult to calculate how much data exists at present. It is estimated that approximately 2.3 zettabytes were being created every day as of 2014.

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Vibrant Gujarat: How a state-level promotional event has turned national

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was his usual eloquent self at the Vibrant Gujarat summit and made his by-nowfamiliar sales pitch on India as the new investment destination for the world. But he added something new, this time around. A justification for the hype that is the hallmark of such investment summits increasingly held by practically every big state: while gargantuan sums of investment are promised, only a tiny fraction actually gets translated into projects, plant and machinery. But that does not matter, on two counts. One, the sums promised are so huge that even the tiny fraction that materialises as realised investment is substantial. Second, and this is where the Prime Minister offered an insight, such hype prods the government to be on its toes, as well.

Vibrant Gujarat started off as an event to project the state of Gujarat as an investment destination and, of course, its chief minister. But today, the event has become something much bigger. It has grown into India’s showcase to the world. World leaders have flocked to the summit, from US secretary of state John Kerry and the UK trade minister to the secretary general of the United Nations. Many large corporations of the world send their representatives to the meet, not so much to invest in the state as to mark their presence and network with the higher echelons of Indian business and Indian policymakers who are invariably present. The big kahunas of global politics and business congregate in Gujarat not so much on account of their interest in one particular state of India as because of India’s growing importance in the world economy.

News

230 hotels join Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Clean India drive

Vikramjit and Arjun, heirs of the Oberoi Group, picked up brooms and pushed wheelbarrows along with some of their employees the other day to collect all the garbage along the streets of Civil Lines in Delhi. "For our general managers, it wasn't a choice," said Vikramjit Oberoi, chief operating officer and joint MD of the group's flagship EIH Limited. "And we went beyond just the cleaning process.

We even started to paint walls in the areas in the vicinity." While he and his cousin didn't venture out on any such exercise after that day, hundreds of employees of Oberoi and several other luxury and mid-market hotel chains, including the Taj, ITC, Leela, Carlson and the Park, have started cleaning roads around their hotels as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Mission.

In what the industry calls a firstof-its-kind initiative, 230 hotels, including 170 major ones, under the Hotel Association of India, have pledged that more than 500 of their employees will clean about 230 km of road around their hotels and clean up around 53 monuments in the country. "It is a big country and the only way a movement resonate beyond just lip service, is, when everybody embraces it," said Oberoi, who is also the president of the Hotel Association of India.

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Ahead of Barack Obama's visit, big sales pitch awaits US for Make in India

Ahead of President Barack Obama's visit, the government is readying a big sales pitch in the US for its Make in India initiative and simultaneously holding parleys with officials in Washington to unveil some big announcements during the trip later this month.

Department of industrial policy and promotion ( DIPP) secretary Amitabh Kant will head the team travelling to the US for an outreach on Make in India in Washington to drive investments in smart cities, industrial corridors and defence manufacturing. In New Delhi, a series of official-level talks, including video-conferences on intellectual property rights and investment in manufacturing are planned to show progress on key issues."

The fact that the US is holding talks signals improving ties, which will provide a big boost to the Prime Minister's economic vision. A series of meetings is planned to fast track discussions on various issues, including intellectual property rights, investment in manufacturing, totalisation pact, market access for agri products, easier visa regime etc.," a government official said.

Article

Birth of a new institution

In line with the Government of India’s approach of less government and a move away from centralised planning, the NITI Aayog with a new structure and focus on policy will replace the 64-year old Planning Commission that was seen as a vestige of the socialist era. The new body, conceived more in the nature of a think-tank that will provide strategic and technical advice, will be helmed by the Prime Minister with a Governing Council of Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors, similar to the National Development Council that set the objectives for the Planning Commission. The NITI Aayog seeks substitute centralised planning with a ‘bottom-up’ approach where the body will support formulation of plans at the village level and aggregate them at higher levels of government. In short, the new body is envisaged to follow the norm of cooperative federalism, giving room to States to tailor schemes to suit their unique needs rather than be dictated to by the Centre. This is meant to be a recognition of the country’s diversity. The needs of a State such as Kerala with its highly developed social indicators may not be the same as that of, say, Jharkhand, which scores relatively low on this count. If indeed the body does function as has been envisaged now — and the jury will be out on that — States will, for the first time, have a say in setting their own development priorities.

News

Consumer demand, capital flows to push e-tail growth in new year 2015

The year witnessed a flurry of activity with online majors like Flipkart acquiring online portal Myntra and raising fund over $2 billion. Japan’s SoftBank invested $627 million in Snapdeal and Ola, which offers car rentals through its mobile platform along with website and call centres.

Not to be left behind, US-based Amazon announced that it will invest $2 billion in the e-retail segment in India. Exclusive partnerships with online players for launch of brands like Xiaomi and Motorola reflected the growing popularity of the segment.

With a sharp increase in the participation of consumers from non-metro cities and the huge investment that was pumped into the sector, e-commerce came of age in 2014, when people ordered exotic products like Newby Flowering tea with as much enthusiasm as traditional goods including consumer electronics and books.