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Everyone loves INCENTIVES
Career Hotline
Google ‘searches’ manpower
Don’t be an ENERGY SUCKER
Rise of franchise
FIRST PERSON
Time for employment revolution
Refreshing i-breaks
Happiness @ work
Course chat
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Everyone loves INCENTIVES
While incentives are an excellent way of keeping the workforce motivated, lack of a transparent formula can defeat the very purpose of offering these, writes
Charandeep Singh
The era of pink slips is over. The economy has come out of recession. Volumes are back in business. Foreign investors have again made India, the hub of their strategic investments. The economists are talking of achieving a growth rate of 8.5 per cent this fiscal.
When the picture is so rosy, even the corporate houses are going an extra mile to dole out more monetary emoluments to their employees in the form of ‘variable pay structures’ or ‘incentive schemes’ which are launched from time
to time. “See incentive structures are basically an icing on the cake. They are devised in such a way to give our employees that extra push which is needed at times to perform extra- ordinarily and in lieu of that one makes some extra money ”, says Harjote Singh who works in the senior management of Bajaj Allianz.
Whatever may be the reason as to why incentives are given, or how well developed the incentive structure is, but they are a sure shot hit with the employees since it is always ‘money which makes the mare go’.
Definition
“When we hire a resource we hire him for his domain competence, like his experience, knowledge and skills. For these attributes we pay him the fixed salary. But the variable part of his salary is given to him for the goals he has achieved and the said tasks he has accomplished in the given frame work”, says M.S Venkatesh, President HR Educomp. In general parlance incentive accrued depends upon his target achievement. For example the incentive earned would depend upon increase in the market share for a particular territory since previous year, increase in the market penetration in a defined geography and to some extent even on emboldening the brand presence or to make brand more visible. “Incentives bring value along with volume and we incentivise to achieve a particular target”, adds Venkateshan. These kinds of incentives as discussed above are generally for front ending positions, but for Senior Management positions incentives accrued are generally on the basis of KRAs achieved which depends mostly on the group performance. KRAs for Senior Management include ‘Budgeted Revenue’, ‘Budgeted Gross Profit’ and ‘Budgeted Profit and Loss’ as well the percentage achievement on these parameters. “In our organisation, we have a performance-linked plan and a grading system based on that. It is on the basis of these grades that we earn incentives which most of the times is a substantial amount”, informs Amir Hussain, General Manager of IREO. These days incentives are earned broadly on team efforts and less of the “Individual Accelerators” come into play. “Like in Jalandhar we have no project, but we have hired a resource that is on training. Based on the performance of Team Punjab, he will also get his share of incentives”, adds Amir. But certain organisations have a pretty flat-structured incentive schemes. For example a major life insurer is these days running a scheme by the title of “Dare to Win”. In th scheme if in an agent is able to do a business of Rs 12 lakh he gets a trip to Malaysia, Rs 18 lakh he gets a trip to Rome and if he is able to log in a business of Rs 32 lakh by December 31, then he
gets a fully paid trip to Atlanta, USA. All these freebies are given over and above the regular commissions that are earned by them. Similarly in India Bulls the sales resources have to earn a brokerage which is equal to three times their CTC to justify their salary, and then they get three per cent of the total brokerage generated over and above their salary as a part of their incentives. The payout of incentives varies from company to company, to the front liners they are paid on monthly basis else they get computed on half-yearly or annual basis.
“An employee, who starts earning incentives, is like a lion who has tasted blood. From there on he will start calculating his incentives first and then work towards his target, which augurs well both for employee as well as the organisation”, says Anirudh Sood, employed in a MNC bank who has “earned” an incentive of Rs 9 lakh last year.
The ‘other’ view
It is not that everyone in the organisation gets incentives or everyone is a part of variable pay. Most of the times it is the sales team which walks away with the lion’s share of ncentives as it is they are who are the projected face of the organisations and secondly they are the ones who have the onerous tasks of increasing the brand presence. “We in our organisation pay incentive only to the sales team, but to the operations team and the training faculties we pay handsome salary which is at par with the industry and at times we give them good reimbursements”, says Runa Pasricha Divisional Marketing Head of Planman Consultancy. But some companies don’t pay incentives at all. “I want to give my employees security. Incentivising an employee is a short-term measure and is another word for insecurity. The competitive market in which we operate is fiercely dynamic. I want to give all my employees long term and stable careers, with best salary structure of the industry and alongside that an opportunity to grow organically within the organisation. After all it is my duty to see them happy”, revels Naresh Gulati CEO, Oceanic Immigration Consultancy. But in some companies employees do crib about the lack of transparency in the variable pay structure. Like for example ESOPs are paid to senior management and key contributors. They are always paid on supervisor’s recommendation, which at times can be subjective and prejudiced. On what basis are they given no one knows. So some many a time employees rue the lack of clarity in disbursement.
Hitting the bull’s eye
Everyone wants money. Extra cash is welcome to all and thus the incentives schemes have an encouraging effect on the performance of sales force. But to make the incentive programme fool-proof, the management should ensure that the targets on the achievement of which incentives are earned should be realistic, time bound and achievable. In other words incentives schemes should be transparent as well as measurable else the very purpose for which they been evolved gets defeated and the much hyped incentive structures would turn out to be a story of sour grapes.
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B.Tech options for diploma holders Pervin Malhotra Q. I have a diploma in electrical engineering and have been working with an IT company for the past three years. I am in a dilemma as I am very keen to have a B.Tech degree on one hand, and I don’t wish to leave my job also. There are no evening courses in my city either. Please guide me. — Suresh Kr Arora A. The good news for you and several others like you is that you can get a B.Tech degree without leaving your job as Thapar University in collaboration with 24/7 Learning has put B.Tech courses online. Through the AVAGMAH initiative, diploma holders can now complete their B.Tech programmes from their homes or office, without having to leave their jobs. Aimed at working diploma professionals, the three-year online degree programme is available in mechanical, electrical, civil engineering and computer science. Diploma-holders with minimum two years of work experience can now avail of this course after clearing the admission test. The entire programme comprises roughly 300 hours of online classroom sessions. Practical sessions will be conducted with the support of local engineering colleges in the major cities across India or at Thapar University, Patiala. For details visit: www.avagmah.com Eligibility: Diploma in engineering (three-year), Or completed first year of a B.Tech programme, Or advanced diploma or diploma (Computer Integrated Manufacturing). Candidates should be employed in a central or state level industrial organisation/related organisations, employing similar manpower/self-employed in equivalent capacity. You could also check out Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur (AP), JNTU, Hyderabad or AMIE (Associate Membership of the Institution of Engineers (India) (www.ieindia.org). AMIE (Sections A & B taken together are equivalent to BE/B.Tech) is offered in several engineering disciplines including Electrical. IGNOU, in collaboration with Chennai-based Sri Angala Parameshwari Education Trust (SAPET), offers Certificate, Diploma and Degree programmes in various engineering branches, including electrical, civil, mechanical, electronics and communication technology and computer science. The programmes also offer lateral entry to the third-year in any engineering discipline to Diploma holders in engineering subjects. This is a boon for students who have completed their Class XII with physics, chemistry and mathematics (PCM) and are interested in pursuing engineering but have not got an opportunity to study in conventional engineering colleges.
Grow with MFs
— Saket Narula A. With the capital market riding on the back of a booming Indian economy, MFs have emerged as an important financial intermediary for the investing public. Although assets of the 30-odd Indian funds have jumped skywards, investors need to understand how a MF works and the increasingly diverse and complex investment options created by a large number of MFs. The agent or distributor assumes the role of a financial advisor and is the key channel for bringing mutual funds to a large number of investors all over the country. The Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) which sets the industry standards for all funds operating in India has a certification process — the AMFI Mutual Fund Test. This certification has been made mandatory by SEBI for anyone engaged in selling mutual funds — agents as well as those employed in distribution companies and banks. Upon clearing the test, you can apply for your AMFI registration number which will certify you as an AMFI Registered Mutual Fund Advisor (ARMFA). The Test can be taken by anyone (regardless of age or qualification) who wishes to test his knowledge of the complexities of how mutual funds function internally and externally. The automated multiple-choice online test requires no prior knowledge of computers. Papers are set for each candidate separately and assessed online. After you have the AMFI Basic Module, you can look at the AMFI Advisors Module. The AMFI MF Test is also offered as a separate module of the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) Certification in Financial Markets (NCFM) along with other subjects such as derivative trading, capital markets etc. AMFI has prepared the necessary study material to help you prepare for the Test. The Workbook can be obtained from the AMFI office in Mumbai. For details log on to: www.amfiindia.com/testingprogram.html You could also contact your nearest NSE Centre (there are seven of them) to register for the online test for a fee of Rs 500. There is no restriction on the number of attempts Log on to www.nse-india.com
for details. Two good books I can recommend on the subject are The Indian Mutual Funds Handbook by Sundar Sankaran and The New Commonsense Guide to Mutual Funds by Paul Farrel — both published by Vision Books (www.visionbooksindia.com).
Eligibility for Public Notary
— Veena Malik A.
Notaries draft, verify, and attest various deeds and documents both judicial and non-judicial such as conveyances and power of attorney concerning real estate, factories etc. Notaries often bear witness to and certifying signatures on legal documents and of course you will be called upon to prepare a person’s last will and testament that we so often see hotly contested on TV soap operas. Sometimes the courts direct notaries to exercise the function of Pro Tem Judge (Temporary), Magistrate, Commissioner or Arbitrator. The appointment of a notary is a statutory appointment, which is done under the Notaries Act and the Rules. To answer your first question, the eligibility for becoming a public notary is as follows: Advocates (civil/criminal/taxation/revenue) who have been practicing for the past 10 years and enrolled with the Bar Council of India and with a no-objection certificate from the Bar Council concerned are invited by the Judicial Branch of the state government. However, you are in luck; applicants belonging either to SC, ST, OBC and women candidates need only seven years of legal practice.
Gender no bar
— Madhvi Vaid
A. No this is absolutely untrue. There is no specification which career is for whom and you can definitely be a successful engineer. In fact, according to a recent survey carried out by the Social Development Foundation of Assocham in over 20 engineering institutes, including regional ones, young girls today are more inclined to pursue technical education. Girls’ enrolment in engineering institutes this year has shown a rise of 125 per cent. It was found that since 2002 women mostly pursue system engineering, followed by information and communication, environmental and electrical engineering. Ninety seven per cent of male engineers and 92 per cent of female engineers are employed. So go ahead without any hesitation and work hard to make your dreams come true.
The writer is a noted career expert and director, Career Guidance India (CARING). Please send in your queries with your full name, complete address
and academic qualifications to: The Editor, Jobs and Careers, The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh-160030, or at careers
@tribunemail.com
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Google ‘searches’ manpower Google Inc plans to hire more than 2,000 persons around the globe, bumping up its workforce as it expands into new markets and battles for talent with faster-growing rivals. The world’s largest Internet search engine, whose finance chief told investors in September that the Internet industry was waging a “war for talent”, has job openings listed for 2,076 positions on its website, according to a Reuters tally last week. The number of job openings is up nearly six-fold from a similar tally of job listings page conducted in March 2009. The hiring spree is taking place alongside a string of more than 20 acquisitions this year that have already helped swell Google’s ranks to more than 23,300 employees at the end of September, up nearly 18 per cent since the beginning of the year. “We’ve been ramping up our hiring and the number of open jobs over the course of the last year,” Google spokesman Jordan Newman said. He would not comment on the exact number of openings, but said the jobs listings Web page was completely up to date and is monitored very carefully. Google, which controls about two-thirds of the global Internet search market, is looking for new opportunities to grow by branching out into a variety of markets, including Android smartphone software, online display advertising and Web-based productivity software. Those fledgling forays come as it fends off social networking giant Facebook, which is challenging Google for online advertising dollars and for engineering talent, as well as iPhone maker Apple Inc in the mobile market. This month, Google internally announced plans to give all of its employees a 10 per cent raise in 2011. Google’s current job openings are primarily for engineers and sales staffers, with roughly half of them in the US. Some of the jobs were listed as temporary, but most appeared to be full-time positions. The job listings provide a window into the breadth of its vast operations across the globe, with openings for everything from a University Programme Specialist in Senegal to a Building Ambassador at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California. The company, which has also faced increasing regulatory scrutiny in recent years, has more than 50 legal job openings around the globe. And it lists more than 50 open positions in China, including an Events Manager tasked with raising “awareness and usage” of Google products in the country, as well as half-dozen
recruiters. — Reuters
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Don’t be an ENERGY SUCKER
Do you talk endlessly at your workplace? If yes, does your talk deliver the goods properly? If your talk is always irrelevant and a boring stuff, you are an energy sucker. It may be hard to believe, but the bitter truth is that nobody likes you at the workplace. You might have noticed people running away or finding excuses to move away the moment you get into the “conversation” mode. This is not a happy state to be in, especially in workplace where your personal rapport with your colleagues as well as with your bosses plays a vital role in your climb up the success ladder. Here is how you can remove this stigma and become a sought after company at the workplace. Even a good worker loses his worth when he tries to win others by boasting of his own plus points. No one has that much time and energy to relish others’ praise. In that case recipients feel that you suck their energy. You should rather enhance their energy by praising them. You will then feel the thrill of enjoying others’ company.
Smile — the best curve
When you wear a broad smile on meeting your colleagues, you enhance their energy level. Smiling in every situation is an art. Such an energising etiquette is a panacea of all ills prevailing at any workplace. The more you smile the more sunshine you spread around you. This way you will emanate positive vibes and that way not only will your colleagues gain but you, too, will feel energised to do your best at your workplace.
Genuine interest
When you take interest in what your colleagues like, you enhance their energy levels. Such an act is also a selfish one but without harming anyone, rather helping others too. You not only enhance your energy level but those of others as well. You become all the more constructive and productive that way.
Mutual respect
You always get respect when you give respect to your colleagues. It is always a reciprocal act, a give and take policy. You lose nothing by giving respect to others. Rather you enhance your own energy level as well as theirs.
Kick out egotism
When you shun your ego you lose nothing but gain a lot. To be an egoist and spoiling your own workplace relations is no achievement. Some officers use haughty language to establish an impression. But such a nasty method is not workable. Such officers must realise that they are actually losing reputation by earning a bad name. They suck the energy of their own workforce and put productivity on a downward scale. The earlier they do away with their ego, the sooner they will gain popularity and fame.
Connect
An officer who remains in touch with all colleagues, from a peon to the senior most officers gets maximum information about his work tools and skills. He then can know the plus and minus points of the work in hand. Equipped with such detailed information he gathers and spreads all the positive energy all around the workplace. Thus a good worker is never an energy sucker. He is always productive and constructive.
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Rise of franchise With close to 80 per cent of our population living in the rural areas, it is critical for companies to show their presence in rural areas, too, in order to gain a stronger foothold in the rural markets and this has paved the way for rural franchising. We see a number of companies across retail, IT, food and beverage and money transfer and money exchange gradually entering the rural region with a “strong strategy” in place for future growth. The rural consumer is now believed to have a lot more disposable income as compared to his city counterpart. Most rural markets, which were unviable a few years back, have now become a profitable proposition even if these are yet to become revenue generators. Big retail players are thinking beyond larger cities and are moving into rural and semi-urban areas for higher revenues. A similar traction is seen from Punjab and Haryana regions as well. The NRI population in the Doaba region is playing a key role in pushing up major business outlets. Today, most of the businesses in education, retail, health, and food and beverages are being run through a franchisee model which promises lower costs and lower risks. “In order to capture India’s GDP, it is pertinent to capture the rural market through rural franchising. For that there can be no better choice than the local youth who understand the local market inside out,” says Gaurav Marya of Franchising India Holdings, the country’s key franchising company which has offices in Panchkula, Delhi and elsewhere. According to Yogesh Bansal, the CEO of Apna Circle.com, a business and professional networking website, a large number of companies in the recent past have been successful in expanding their businesses in rural areas. “This has not only created employment opportunities for skilled manpower in and around these places but has also opened avenues for various educational institutes to come forward to offer professional courses in rural franchising in order to prepare a cadre of skilled and committed rural development professionals who can further script a successful career in this profession,” he says. Bansal sees a bright and optimistic future for the youth in the rural and semi-urban regions of Punjab and Haryana regions. “With dwindling land holdings and not many youth willing to take the tough road to farming, I think rural franchising can do a world of good to our youth. They can choose franchising options related to farming, too,” Bansal suggested. Rural market holds numerous challenges not only in terms of educating the rural community about the products and services but also in terms of reaching out to the masses. The conventional and rigid mindset is considered to be a major stumbling block in the spread of rural franchising. Since villagers are considered to be slow in adopting any change, it calls for different strategies to deal with different problems. Franchisees and some rural ‘opinion-makers’ can play a crucial role in this direction. Another problem is the availability of skilled manpower. Companies have been successful in hiring educated employees but they need to offer them high quality initial and ongoing training. Moreover, in order to attract the talent pool to serve the rural market, companies have to come up with special HR policies and practices. According to Deepak Kaistha, Director and Managing Partner of Planman, a key Human Resources consultancy company with pan-India presence, “People working in rural and semi-urban areas need special persuasive skills to talk to people in rural areas as the traditional conservative outlook and illiteracy can come in the way of implementing some useful ideas.” Kaistha, an authority in manpower management, is quite optimistic about the success of rural franchising not only in Punjab but throughout the country. Rural markets have evolved very fast in the past few years. The vast network of mobile phones in far-flung areas is the best example of how businesses are spreading through rural franchising. As compared to urbanites, rural people are believed to have better purchasing power because of their larger savings and the flush of NRI money. While the urban service class wait for annual discount sales, the ‘brand loyal’ and ‘brand-conscious’ rural people’s urge to splurge takes them to the neighborhood malls in hordes. “We do money transactions of over Rs 30 lakh every month thanks to people who have their kith and kin settled abroad and send them money through us on a regular basis. Because of good service and cash-at-convenience service our customers are happy, and so we are happy,” he says. Singh informed that any rural youth with initial capital money of Rs 5 lakh can do this type of business. “But then patience and perseverance is the key to success in this business and for that matter in any business. The competition is very fierce from banks. It depends how good service you can give to your customers,” feels Singh who has been in this business for over a decade now.
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Helping women maintain work-life balance Arupjyoti Gogoi
According to a recent study, more than 25 per cent of the total organised workforce in India comprises women. Article 14 of the Constitution of India guarantees equality to all Indian women and Article 39 (d) of the Constitution of India describes equal pay for equal work. But in spite of all this women still face various gender related problems at workplace. Half of the total number of crimes against women reported in 2010 related to molestation and harassment at the workplace. Women employees working in night shifts are more vulnerable to such exploitation. Apart from this a majority of working women continue to be denied their right to equal pay, and are underpaid in comparison to their male colleagues. It is also seen that Indian women are often deprived of promotions and growth opportunities at work. Moreover, the orthodox mindset in the Indian society makes it difficult for a working woman to balance her family commitments with her professional life. HR departments can plays an important role in providing some help to women employees to balance their personal and professional lives effectively. In an interview Neelam Gill Malhotra, Vice-President, Human Resources, CSC India talks about various HR issues related to women employees. A global leader in providing technology-enable solutions and services, CSC has some unique HR policies for women employees in India. A networking forum for women employees was introduced to promote women networking i.e. motivating women to take some time out of their routine work for networking with people around, talk about issues or subjects other than family and work. This is aimed to help in the overall personality development of women employees. The pilot project was launched at Bangalore and is in the process to spread pan India basis, says Malhotra. Excerpts: How can HR department help women employees to overcome difficulties at workplace? The HR department can ensure sensitisation of employees on gender inclusivity. Policies and processes like flexi-timings, tele-working, support during pregnancy and maternity, networking platforms and development opportunities such as mentoring are some of the initiatives that HR can put in place to support the women employees. It makes perfect business sense to put extra effort to attract and retain the women workforce. This becomes more important at that point of women’s careers when they are just getting into the leadership roles. An organisation invests a lot of resources into its employees when they join at the entry level. Women invariably get into middle management roles at a time when they are getting into either matrimony or child-bearing and rearing stage in their personal lives. The work-life balance, thus, becomes a challenge at this stage and many women opt out of their careers. A little support in the form of these policies and practices can help them attain the desired balance and manage their life and careers well. What kind of HR policies can benefit women employees? These can include:
How these policies keep women employees motivated at your organisation? It has been observed that organisations with more women-friendly benefits have more women on board of directors and also tend to have more women as executives. All these policies are focused on providing better work-life balance for working women. Introduction of these policies has got the desired result which is voiced by women employees in various forums. Evidence suggests that introduction of women friendly policies and practices, especially work time and work location flexibility, and the development of supportive managers, have contributed to the increased work-life balance of women workforce. Not only are the women employees motivated; but one can observe a positive impact of this on the organisation in terms of recruitment, retention/turnover, commitment and satisfaction, absenteeism and productivity. What are the important factors that should be taken into consideration before accepting a job offer? Before accepting a job offer, an individual should look at the work environment that the organisation provides. A prospective employee should find out exactly how an organisation’s policies and practices support in time of need i.e. do they have policies/ processes in place to cater to individual situations when work-life balance becomes a challenge. What are the developmental platforms that the organisation offers? How important are values to the organization and is there a focused effort towards building an ethical organization? What are the initiatives taken by your organisation to reduce work stress that employees face, especially for the women? CSC as an organisation is sensitive to its diverse work force. We have a major focus on gender diversity and policies like tele-working, flexi-hours, post-natal sabbatical leave etc. have been institutionalised to ensure a better work-life balance. The effort is to celebrate the distinctiveness of men and women, and to recognise the strengths of diverse styles of working of the genders while supporting women in discovering their true potential. CSC offers many developmental opportunities for women to better equip them for future roles, and this certainly adds to their confidence. Professional philologists and counselors are also available for one-on-one / telephonic/e-mail discussions free of cost to our employees and their immediate family members. We also hold employee sensitisation sessions to cultivate a women friendly work environment.
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Time for employment revolution
Employability education is crucial for maintaining India’s growth trajectory, writes
Amit Bhatia
According to CII, India expects 500 million new job seekers between 2007 and 2022 but our current education system is not able to meet the demand. Education, like hockey in India, has a rich legacy and a challenged present, both in quantity and quality. The good news is that unlike hockey, education is no longer neglected and the government seems to be in a really aggressive mood to plug all the holes with massive legislative reforms. We have seven new bills and legislations at different stages of proposal and execution: the Right to Education Bill, Higher Education and Research Bill, Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical Educational Institutions, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Bill, the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, the Educational Tribunal Bill, the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, and, the Universities for Innovation Bill. Indian Government has never shown a greater sense of urgency to address the endemic problems of the education sector. The critics, however, say the government is probably doing too much in haste and not building enough consensus on the reforms. The proposed legislative changes are meant to make the mammoth $50 billion education market in India ($20 billion on school education, $20 billion on higher education, and $10 billion on vocational education, coaching classes, etc) respond to the contemporary requirements. Undoubtedly, making an elephant dance or a ship turn is never easy. The billion dollar and billion people question is: Will these legislations solve our woes? The answer can be the elusive “yes” if we don’t overlook two important facts: first, the co-existence of not-for-profit and for-profit education in the new regulatory environment and second, ensuring education is not an end but the means to an end. I want to stress the latter — Educational institutions must stop becoming degree mills but refocus on how to build an enlightened and employable society. India has had a knowledge-based education system for centuries but now it must quickly embrace skills and employability-oriented education to utilise its vast manpower. Industrialisation, globalisation and now digitisation have dramatically changed the way the world works and how the growing economic and non-economic activities define jobs and careers. A skills-based education system can catalyse Gross Enrollment Ratios beyond the meager 12.4 per cent currently and qualitatively, allow more employable output. Access and capacity must be augmented through private and public investments as India needs over 100 universities and 10,000 colleges in the next five years. India scores well in jobs and salaries when you look at the top tier institutions like IITs and IIMs. We graduate five million students annually and five of them also get $100,000 salaries. They usually deserve it! But that’s 0.0001 per cent of our graduates. When we get to tier 2, 3 and 4 institutions, the scene is alarming. Despite the fancy advertisements, most colleges and universities in this category have less than 10 per cent placements for jobs in the range of Rs 8,000-17,000 per month. At the bottom end, MBAs can earn barely 25-50 per cent more than uneducated daily wage earners! Is that what education should deliver? Clearly, these students could get these jobs with vocational or professional education which would cost much less and take less time. In contrast, the war for talent is pushing salaries in corporate India up at an alarming pace — 12 per cent CAGR over the last decade. High cost will render the Indian service industry uncompetitive over time (we lost manufacturing race to China and are losing contact centres to Philippines). If only we could create more employable MBAs and engineers who can take the higher-paying jobs and stem the high attrition, high salary endemic in India Inc, we will have a more equitable and progressive nation. Our education system must immediately embrace skills or employability focus as theoretical knowledge-based education does not help create an employable workforce. Employability education must be made mandatory in higher education. Employability education refers to non-technical knowledge, skills and attitude requirements which are essential for winning and retaining jobs (e.g. aptitude and problem solving, English language and communication skills, sector and role-based skills like sales or customer service, and personality/presence and soft skills). Employability skills are imperative in India as we expect 500 million new job seekers between 2007 and 2022. We must put these people to work to create national wealth, build an equitable society and seize the opportunity of an once-in-a-lifetime demographic dividend. The youngest nation on the planet continues to be plagued with a severe job-talent mismatch and needs employability education maintain its growth trajectory. The good news is that skills gap(s) can be bridged with appropriate training, ideally delivered over a period of time in schools and colleges. Educational institutions need to emphasise and plan for this. Students need to be seriously concerned about this. Several companies are showing the way on how industry-endorsed content, industry-experienced trainers, technology and social purpose can come together to create meaningful impact. Aspire has brought iCarnegie (a 100% subsidiary of Carnegie Mellon University) and Harvard Business Publishing (a 100% subsidiary of Harvard Business School) to elevate the overall industry-centric education quality through Embedded Education, the next frontier. India, which is all set to take the giant leap to join the league of developed nations, requires an “Employment Revolution” just like it witnessed one in 70s in form of “Green Revolution” which made the once starved country self-sufficient in foodgrain production. To deal with the employment famine which is affecting millions of our educated and uneducated youth, we need the fertiliser of employability education, which will transform our youth into the key drivers of growth, helping us realise our demographic dividend. The writer is CEO, ASPIRE Human Capital Management
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Refreshing i-breaks
A new study has revealed that office workers spend the equivalent of almost one day a week surfing the Internet at work. Workers are taking Internet breaks, rather than a traditional tea break, with newspaper websites, online shops and computer games among the main distractions.
These 'i-breaks' last an average of six hours and 23 minutes every week, according to the poll. However, far from affecting their work, two-thirds of those polled believe their i-breaks leave them feeling more refreshed and better able to cope with their jobs. John Miles, of gocompare.com, which conducted a poll of 3,000 office workers, said, “Brits are working longer hours than ever before, this means they have less time to do things at home. While we can't really excuse people using work computers to play computer games, it is understandable that things like online banking, shopping around for deals and food shopping sometimes have to be conducted during the day," the Scotsman quoted him as saying.
— ANI
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Happiness @ work
When Albert Einstein joined the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1933, he asked for an extra-large waste paper basket. “I make a lot of mistakes, you see,” said the genius in great humility. Without Arjuna, the Pandavas and Draupadi were feeling listless at Mt Gandhamadana. To lift their spirits, especially Draupadi’s, Bhima tread a long mile to Kubera’s garden to get her some celestial flowers. As his wife Satyabhama took a fancy to the Parijat tree in Indra’s garden, Krishna brought it and planted it in Satyabhama’s garden. To seek God, Mukunda, who later became Paramahansa Yogananda, joined an ashram in Varanasi. Whenever he felt perturbed at goings-on in the ashram, he would seek solace in the silver amulet that his mother had given him on her deathbed. At five years of age, Mira had chosen an idol of Krishna as her lord. After marriage, she took it from Kurkhi to Chittor, Brindavan, back to Chittor, then to Merta, Mathura, Brindavan and Dwarka where she shed her mortal coil. Music was Guru Nanak Dev’s constant companion. In 1521, Babar put Guru Nanak and Mardana in prison. As the guru was overcome by compassion at the plight of the other prisoners, a sad song burst forth which even moved the Mughal Emperor’s heart and he immediately released the prisoners. On his deathbed, Bhishma refused cushioned pillows and preferred to rest his head on Arjuna’s arrows. To quench his thirst, he said no to the goblets from the palace and instead made Arjuna draw water from the ground with his arrow. Remember, bricks and machines don’t make an office, humans do! — Sai R. Vaidyanathan The writer can be contacted at
svaidyanathan@tribunemail.com
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Twin city Global BBA programme
S.P Jain Centre of Management, has introduced Global BBA Programme. Students joining the four-year course will get an opportunity to study in two cities — first two years in Singapore, and the next two in Sydney, Australia. This new course will expose students to different cultures and different business environments, thereby leading to “experiential learning” and will introduce and sharpen their “global perspectives”. Elaborating on the importance of the course, Dr Dawn Dekle, Dean of the BBA programme, said, “As we live in a globally competitive environment, the need for global managers has been increasing rapidly. What sets this programme apart is its global emphasis and newly designed complete education curriculum. Besides courses in business subjects, the curriculum includes liberal arts and workshops on critical thinking, integrating information, perspective-taking, enhancing the cultural quotient, advanced communication skills etc”. At the end of the programme, students will be conferred an International degree from S.P Jain Center of Management, Sydney, a degree equivalent to that of any other Australian university degree. — TNS
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While incentives are an excellent way of keeping the workforce motivated, lack of a transparent formula can defeat the very purpose of offering these, writes
Charandeep Singh
Employability education is crucial for maintaining India’s growth trajectory, writes
Amit Bhatia
Q. I have been working as an insurance agent for the past couple of years. I would now like to become a mutual fund agent as well. Are there any courses which would help or books on the subject that I could read?
Q. I am a woman lawyer practicing in court for the past six years. I am interested in becoming a public notary but I have heard that one requires at least 10 years of work experience. Is this true? Also could you please tell me a little bit about the work profile?
Q. I am in Plus II (science), and I am keen to do B.Tech after my board exams. I am confident that I can make it big in this field but coming from a small town many of my friends says that engineering is for guys and medicine is for girls. Is it true? 
Today India is one of the biggest emerging markets for various goods and services, ranging from bare necessities to expensive luxuries. The country’s franchising industry is expected to grow at an annual rate of 30 per cent to help push up its current $330 billion retail sector to dizzy heights.
There are certain franchising companies like Western Union and Money Gram which deal in money transfer and money-exchange business from abroad and within the country. “Today, we are successful because of our strong personal links with rural people who come to us for getting money from abroad,” says Gurjit Singh, 34, a Western Union
franchisor, in Raj Nagar, the semi-urban area of Jalandhar.
An impersonal office may not ease many nerves. Make it human with some flowers, paintings and photographs.