Keerthana Adidass, Author at Ad Astra HR Consultants

The Founders of Ad Astra get Featured on Forbes for creating a Global Recruitment Firm

Diversity, women empowerment & leadership have always been sought-after topics globally. Today, the participation of women within the economy has been a matter of concern, especially for Leadership levels. But this is gradually changing as some women do take the plunge to set a personal example. Nirupama and Jayanthi have been such leaders who have overcome all odds and set an example that is close to being unparalleled when compared to many industry leaders. They are one of the top full suite recruitment firms which started in India in 2007.

About the Founders

Nirupama has been the mastermind behind Ad Astra. She is an industry veteran & serial entrepreneur with more than 2 decades of experience. She co-founded 3 of India’s largest HR firms which were later acquired by world-renowned organizations. She has been an integral part of the setup of various multinational firms and also serves as a board member to the executive council of various prestigious organizations. She is a passionate professional who has set a trend for women entrepreneurs in the Recruitment Industry and has scaled organizations with elan. Jayanthi has been the catalyst and co-founder of Ad Astra. She comes with more than 2 decades of experience within the banking and financial services sector. She has been instrumental in building marquee clientele and imbibing quality delivery which has been a differentiator for Ad Astra. She has made Ad Astra a Global Company of repute. Jayanthi, apart from running the business, is always searching for ways to make a difference through CSR. She has been a promoter of diversity, women’s health, girl child education, and women’s empowerment.

Success Story

It is not an easy task to build something from scratch and take it to the next level. This is where Nirupama and Jayanthi created magic in the form of Ad Astra. Indeed, they took an oath in reaching the stars and worked hard to take the organization forward. From 2007 till now, Ad Astra has seen stupendous growth not only as a business unit but also as a company that cares for society. For them, it has always been about institution building, wherein, clients have superior importance and employees are the collaborative builders of the organization. “With our in-depth knowledge of the positions and the markets we operate in, we have sourced some of the best candidates for our clients, ranging from inspirational leaders to strategists across verticals. Our focused search, supplemented by our research activities, gives us the edge for analyzing the candidate community and identifying the best fit,” says Nirupama V G, Managing Director, Ad Astra.

Today, Ad Astra is serving customers across 40+ countries around the world and continues to expand.

Ad Astra has successfully executed massive Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPOs) Projects with some of the prominent names within the industry globally. Ad Astra has expertise when it comes to CXO level deployments, RPOs, contingency, and temp hirings. They have been pioneers in building management teams at CXO levels from Fortune 10 firms to start-ups. Their temp staffing business has set gold standards when it comes to best practices. They have “zero defect” on the compliance front. They are known for providing bespoke full-suite recruitment solutions to all firms.

Challenges & Opportunities

Jayanthi says, “The industry is very fragmented, and therefore, remaining focused and scaling consistently has been a challenge for us. It has not been easy to work within multiple geographies as each country presents varied work ethics and culture. However, with an exceptional leadership team and guidance, we have overcome the obstacles in our way to achieve success. There have been tough times especially during the pandemic, but we made sure that we were there to support our employees in every possible way. Within no time, we have achieved remarkable growth in the international market. I feel very proud of our employees as they have been the pillars of our success.” They have 76% of women in their firm and have won several accolades for diversity hiring. They have set a personal example to ensure the participation of women in the economy. They still feel they can do a lot more. They strongly believe that women can overcome any odds and bring out their entrepreneurial talent to the forefront. As they say, “miles to go before we sleep”.

Are you future-ready?

Written By Ms Vandana Shejwal ( Group CHRO, Capital India Finance )

India’s unemployment rate was 6.52 % in March’21 which was a slight decline from 6.9 per cent in February 2021 and 6.53 per cent in Jan’21, according to the latest data released by a private think-tank, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). The data showed that the unemployment rate in urban areas declined despite a rise in the joblessness rate on a national level. The rural areas, however, saw a surge in unemployment during the month under review. The urban unemployment rate dropped to 6.99 in February 2021 from 8.08 in January 2021, while the rural unemployment rate rose to 6.86 per cent from 5.83 per cent during the same period.*

Isn’t this scary and challenging? But if we have assessed the situation well and have been proactive, this is not all that problematic.

The covid situation in the last one year has thrown huge challenges to economies, societies and people all over the world. This in consequence has brought about a sea change in the skills landscape, the way the jobs are viewed and productivity vs. cost parameters. In the last year, we have been hearing the words like digitization, innovation, reskilling, upskilling, sustainability, agile workforce, resilience like never before. The questions we have to ask ourselves now are: Have we prepared ourselves for these changes in the last few months? Have we learnt from the situation? Are we future-ready?

As both employees and organizations we have to now think, where do we stand in this situation? The organization needs to make optimum utilization of the skills available by creating a skills inventory and the employees need to do their own self-assessment in terms of what are their skills and their relevance in the current times. The organizations have already started taking stock of the current skills Vs future requirements. The non-traditional jobs and skills will be more important than ever before. People will stop indulging in the rat race of going for only popular careers. The concept of employability will take more prominence over employment.

Some of the key trends that we already see are as follows:

Every day some survey or research throws out a list of hot skills/jobs that will trend in future. It is important not only for freshers/college/B-school graduates to keep track of it but even the experienced people need to check where they stand vis-à-vis the new skills required in the market. SWOT analysis of self from time to time will not only avoid any surprises but will prepare themselves to adapt to changes and make them future-ready. What is relevant today and in demand may not be relevant tomorrow and hence people will need to keep track of the latest in the talent space, keep updating their knowledge and upgrade themselves with newer skills

There is no such thing as free lunch. Anyone who gets paid will need to justify every penny that they get. The Compensation structures will undergo huge changes for paying for performance. The trend had already started towards more variable and less fixed pay a few years ago. Now the percentage will tilt all the more towards variable. Not only ESOPs but Performance Shares would be the thing of the future.

Contractual Vs permanent jobs – Organizations more than ever before will decide whether it wants to Buy or Build talent. Because of the uncertain situation, organizations don’t want to add permanent costs to their books. We are already used to the contractual employment of blue-collared / feet on street (sales) employees but now we hear about contractual CXOs who come and do their work on a project basis. Lifetime employment and retiring from the organization is a thing of the past. More and more people will work on an assignment/project/contractual basis and it will no longer be taboo not to have a permanent job

Digital and innovation is the way to go – everything digital and digital everywhere would be the new mantra. Digital is the buzzword right now. We not only see more and more digital payments happening but also see all activities pertaining to the entire life-cycle of employees getting automated. Differentiation in the products and services offered by organizations will help them survive the tough competition. People who can think out of the box and help differentiate the products and services will have a lot of demand. A lot of jobs being created in this space and more will be created in future as more and more organizations go digital.

Soft Skills of the future – it would no longer be enough to work hard, add qualifications or experience to your profile. Certain soft skills like adaptability, flexibility, emotional intelligence, coaching skills including listening and teamwork would be non-negotiable not only for employees but even for leaders/managers.

There is a lot of effort taken up by the government is doing for skilling. Skill India Movement and National Skill Development Corporation and their initiatives are few steps in this direction. In a country like India with a huge population, it’s going to be a mammoth task to skill the entire population. It is not going to be possible without a public-private partnership. Industry – Government collaboration can make it possible. It is important that we make the general public aware of the courses offered under various skilling initiatives by state and central governments. This is not easy and will take few years for the entire population to be covered or get skilled.

We don’t know if this Covid situation is here to stay or will go away in near future. It is not enough to have savings for few months. But looking at the current layoffs/unemployment rates, it would be wiser to have as many savings as possible and live a minimalistic life.

We already see lots changing on the ground as far as the business world is concerned. Are you ready for the challenge? Are you future-ready?

* source – Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE)

Quotas Just a Beginning for Women on Boards

Reflections on the Occasion of International Women’s Day.

Written By Ms Meena Raghunathan ( Advisor CSR, Skills, Education, Diversity )

In our work with communities, the term SP is common. It stands for Sarpanch Pati—the husband who is the de facto Sarpanch, though his wife is the elected representative in the woman-reserved constituency.

Women not being able to act in spite of legislative provisions—if we think it is a rural phenomenon, it would be a mistake.

Gender quota challenges play out in corporate India too—only differently.

The New Companies Act 2013 mandated that all listed companies and large public companies should have at least one woman on their Boards. This is a good start, but only a start. Because internationally, research has shown that a lone woman on a Board cannot really make a difference. ‘3’ is a magic number as far as women representation on Boards goes. Many researchers have averred that this is the minimum threshold which ensures that women directors are able to bring into play their strengths and contribute meaningfully to board processes, and hence corporate governance and management. Moreover, research also indicates that the position of a woman on a Board Committee makes a difference—if a woman chairs it, decisions are significantly different from if she is just a member.

Some time ago, I decided to take a look at the representation of women in Boards in 30 of large India’ largest companies to get a feel of how things were.

A quick examination of the top 30 BSE companies threw up these interesting facts:

Yes, all of them have complied with the law and had at least one woman directors.
But taking into account the total number of directors in these 30 companies, less than 15% of them are women.
Only one of the 30 companies had a woman in the Chair.
There was no company which have women as a majority on the Board or even half the directors as women. Most companies have between 11 and 20 percent women directors.
Every company has four mandatory committees (sub-committees of the Board). In the 30 companies studied, there are therefore, 120 mandatory committees. Of these, women were represented in less than half. Only 15 Committees were chaired by women.
Only 10 percent of the companies studied had three or more women on the Board.
A very small proportion of directors are internal women directors, especially those holding the position of Executive Director.

Large companies in India are seen to be fully compliant with the law, and none of them has missed out on appointing one woman director to the Board. Some have gone beyond, and have appointed two. But very few have facilitated the condition which would really make women representation effective—viz, having three women on the board. Hence it seems that much more has to be done in terms of making the participation of women directors effective. Apart from

absolute numbers, it would seem that proportion of women on the boards could also do with enhancement.

The serious under-representation of women in the position of Board Chairs is a matter of concern.

Equally the fact that very few women directors are internal because it indicates that companies do not perceive that their own senior women would be effectively able to discharge Board responsibilities, and also that they do not see the value of an investment in their training to fit these positions. Such internal representation of women in top management positions is a strong signal for the women employees of the possibilities of career progression.

Also, the representation of women on mandatory committees, and their leadership of these is another area that corporates may need to focus efforts. Board Committees are where a significant amount of detailed work happens, and Committees have the scope to delve deep into the important issues facing the corporation, and setting the tone for governance. Poor representation and low leadership of mandatory Board Committees by women is hence another missed opportunity.

While definitely corporate India has complied with the law, much more needs to be done to meet the spirit of the legislations and to correct the underlying inequities which they are trying to remedy.

SKILLING: The role of Corporates

Written By Ms Meena Raghunathan ( Advisor CSR, Skills, Education, POSH )

The Government of India knows that without industry, skilling cannot be meaningful, given that employment in industry is the goal of many skilling initiatives. The National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 in fact lays down that ‘Skill development is the shared responsibility of the key stakeholders viz. Government, the entire spectrum of corporate sector, community based organizations, those outstanding, highly qualified and dedicated individuals who have been working in the skilling and entrepreneurship space for many years, industry and trade organizations and other stakeholders.’

Many corporates have been engaged in skilling through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives—the very fact that a largest chunk of CSR funds go towards education and skills speaks for this. They have also been actively engaged in adoption of ITI institutions. Some large corporates, specially in the IT space, also partner with engineering colleges and run special initiatives to enhance learning of relevant skills.

This is a good start, because it will surely help the dismal statistics of skilling in India, where barely five per cent of workforce is skilled, compared to the 90+ per cent in South Korea!

But even as corporates financially support skilling, industry must look to how they can value-add to it. The critical factor is to bring their core competencies to play in enhancing the quality of skilling. For instance, while skilling curricula at many levels are today prepared with the involvement of industry through the institutional mechanism of Sector Skill Councils, there is still a lot of room for individual industries to further enhance the content of skilling programmes through their knowledge of latest developments in their sector. They can work with training and education institutions to keep their curricula current. This real-time loop will help ensure that those who graduate from such programmes are readily employable. Industries can also help by advising and supporting skilling centres on how to set up their practical labs and equipment, by donating such equipment, and by training trainers on the use of these. Visits by industry colleagues to such institutions and interactions with faculty and staff will help industry understand how they can fill the gaps, and will inspire the students.

On-the-Job Training (OJT) is a component which is quite weak in many technical education and training programmes, and a key contribution that industry can make is to help with this. Not only opening their doors for OJT, but ensuring that these are structured rigorously, to give the trainees the needed exposure.

‘Recognition of Prior Learning’ (RPL), is a major initiative of the Government of India. Given that in India, most skilled workers have learnt on the job, and though they have skills, they are not formally certified, RPL is a key link in the chain of formalization of skills. It helps to ‘map the existing skills in the unorganized sector and integrate the informal sector to the formal skilling landscape.’ Through RPL, the existing skill level of candidates, acquired through formal/informal channels is assessed, training provided to fill the skill gaps, and then the candidate is evaluated and certified. By providing certification which is on par with certification through other routes, RPL helps to bring informal skills into a formal framework and hence helps skilled workforce to progress in their chosen skills. RPL is usually done on the premises of the employer, and though the time-commitment is not large, yet their buy-in is crucial, to facilitate and motivate the workforce to take this up. By joining this programme, industries can help ensure enhancement and certification of the skills of their workforce.

The most important recent development that industries need to take note of and act upon with regard to the skilling space however, is the Apprentices (Amendment) Act, 2014, Apprenticeship Rules, 2015 and Rules 2019. Through these, archaic and cumbersome processes of taking apprentices into the company have been amended. It is now truly a win-win. Industry can gain from fresh talent in the form of trainees whom they can train and groom, with government even coming in with some financial support ; on the other hand young people can gain skills in the real environment which will make them more employable.

Some highlights:

The period of apprenticeship training for optional trade shall be a minimum of six months to a maximum of three years.
Every apprentice undergoing apprenticeship training in an establishment shall be a trainee and not a worker. The provisions of any law with respect to labour shall not apply to or in relation to such an apprentice.
Government of India will share 25% of prescribed stipend subject to INR 1500 per month per Apprentice
Government of India will share basic training cost of INR 7500 (i.e. 50% of total basic training cost arrived at INR 30/hour/apprentice for maximum of 500 hours)
The Stipend paid to apprentices over and above 2.5% upto 10%can be considered as a CSR of the Organization

The important message to industry is: Yes, please do financially support skilling. But even more important, get involved in the process. Whether it is adoption of a local ITI, taking lectures in a local Skill Training Centre, mentoring students at your nearest engineering college and giving research projects to them, opening up your doors for OJT and apprenticeships—all this needs to be done. It is nothing but enlightened altruism!

Beat the COVID blues with trench techniques

Written By Dr.Raghunathan V ( CEO, Academic, Author, Columnist)

World War II highlighted a novel challenge before the troopers: How to keep fit? For troopers who spent prolonged stretches in trenches or as prisoners of war, the matter of keeping physically fit in the confines of a 6×3 foot trench or a cubicle, when both space and time were at a steep premium, was indeed crucial.

Learning from the War of the previous decade, in the 1950s, the Royal Canadian Air Force commissioned a taskforce with the mandate of designing a holistic training routine for highest degree of physical fitness in least time and space for the soldiers. Initially, the regimen was geared toward RCAF pilots, a third of whom weren’t considered fit enough to fly the machines.

Bill Orban who was responsible for developing the routine figured that long durations of workouts didn’t necessarily translate to maximum or wholesome fitness. He developed a set of five fundamental workouts known as the 5BX for men; and XBX for women.

5BX is a 11-minutes a day regimen, comprising four sets of workouts to enhance flexibility and energy of muscle tissue, combined with six minutes of static jogging (or long brisk walk) as the cardio workout. The women’s XBX is a 12-minutes a day regimen, comprising five sets of workouts followed by six minutes of static jogging (or long brisk walk).

Each regimen (5BX and XBX) consists of six levels, with each level graded from D-, D, D+ to C-, C, C+, to B-, B, B+ to A-, A, A+. That makes it 72 stages in all (12 stages x 6 levels).

No matter what one’s physical fitness, one is recommended to start at the absolute bottom – namely bottom of Level 1 and work one’s way up. One maintains each level for about 4 to six days until one reaches the desired or recommended level of fitness based on age and fitness required etc. Thus it takes about a couple of months of regular exercises to clear each level. One hits one’s desired or recommended level on an average in about 6 to 8 months.

The workouts naturally requiring no gym facilities, equipment or song and dance could be undertaken on 6’x3’ area, expending eleven minutes a day.

In both 5BX and XBX, the exercises remain exactly the same throughout the regimen; but the number of each exercise that you do within the prescribed time (typically a minute) goes on increasing at each stage and level. For example, in 5BX, when starting at the bottom, it is stage D- of Level 1, one does 2 units of exercise 1, 3 of exercise 2, 4 of exercise 3 and 2 of exercise 4 within the prescribed time of a minute, followed by 100 steps of static jogging. One keeps this up for 4 to 6 days and then moves to level D. this level increases the number of exercises to 3, 4, 5, and 3 respectively for the four exercises followed by 145 steps of static jogging, and so on. The time remains the same, but the units go on increasing. It is important not to jump levels.

One progressively moves up the stages and levels until the suitable stage and level is reached depending on the desired level of fitness for one’s age. There’s one rider though; you ought not to skip a single day until you reach your level. Thereafter, even if you do the exercises 3 times a week, you would maintain the same level of fitness.

You will notice three benefits by the end of 6 months. Your tummy, if any, would have receded; your weight would have dropped around 5% to 10% of your body-weight (at average levels of exercises) and your stamina would be improved. Unlike crash-diets, these exercises have long-term effects and end up changing your way of life – biased in favour of exercises.

It was quickly realised that the issue confronted by the troopers were more or less the same as confronted by city dwellers — no space and no time for workouts. Around 1961, Penguin published the entire set of exercises with illustrations. Currently however, you can find them on line: https://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~rfburger/5bx-plan.pdf. Or just google 5BX or XBX. I recommend you to read the posts carefully before commencing the workouts.

I started using the programme round 1990 and have more or less kept up with the regimen since, except for some hiccups in between owing to my bad knees which prevent my static jogging or very brisk walks.

When I was the Chair of the Post Graduate Program at IIM, Ahmedabad in 1999-2001, I recommended the exercises to the graduate students at the Institute. Many of them ended up integrating the regimen into their life styles and have benefited immensely over the years. The exercises, when performed regularly would give you a sense of wellbeing, not to mention real good health and vigour.

For months, CORONA has loomed large in our lives, with many of us formally or informally confined inside our homes. Of course perhaps we are not as strapped for time as for space in these times. But the Canadian Royal Air Force workouts may yet be out best bet to keep fit! Do give it a try; today, not tomorrow. That’s what the book says!

Retaining Women In Patriarchy

Written by Ms Bhavana Bindra – Director, Advisory Board Member, Speaker, Writer, Diversity Sponsor

Sustained efforts at bringing in women have yielded results for several organizations. Across industries, across levels, across geographies- organizations that have leaders setting the tone at the top have been able to move the needle in terms of gender representation.

The question however remains on retention for these women. Attrition of women in organizations may or may not have changed at the pace at which the women are coming in. The ‘leaky pipeline’ is referred as it is, ‘leaking’ more at certain levels compared to others.

Most organizations worth their mettle are able to fix the common reasons for ‘leaks’ with changes in the obvious- facilities and policies being the main. Introduction of child care facilities, providing flexi work hours, work from home options, part-time roles etc. all at the forefront of efforts by organizations looking to move the needle. To the credit of some organizations, in order to employ women in roles hitherto considered male bastions (e.g., heavy duty work on the shop floor), they actually make ergonomic changes to machinery and equipment, thus enabling it to be operated without any inherent gender biases in favour of one group. In fact, with regards to concerns for safety, providing official transportation to and from place of work especially in case of an unearthly hour of duty, is also not uncommon.

In fact, organizations which begin this journey as part of their diversity/ retention improvement agenda realize that these initiatives, when made available to both men and women, go a long way in creating goodwill among all employees. Thus, not only do they enable improved retention among women, but also make a difference to the men! The important point here is that organizations ensure that whatever may have been the motivation of introduction of such initiatives, it should benefit all employees equally. So whether its child care facilities of work-life integration policies, making them available for men and women is the key to achieving the desired results.

The presence of a positive bias in favour of one group, otherwise has the potency of creating a negative bias and hence resentment for the other In other words, while gender is the most visible form of diversity, the enabling facilities and policies should not be attributable to one gender to the exclusion of another.

The issue in my mind though is bigger than provision of facilities and policy changes. It is with regards to the invisible forces at play. In other words, an organization having ensured all of the above, may still have a slow and exhausting journey towards achieving the results that diversity of workforce has the potency to enable. The answer perhaps lies in our mindset or even our DNA! It is something we do not realize and many a times are unable to put our finger on, forget explain.

For a society that has sworn by patriarchy for centuries, its not easy to let go. In fact, the issue does not even rest with the patriarchs. The women are as much responsible for enabling the culture having been moulded thus. Why then do we blame a Manager for not being able to adjust to having women in his team? He has viewed them as daughters and wives (perhaps homemakers) who’s roles required them to be taken care of and being available for others and not necessarily to take charge and run the show on their own. When such a person is over-protective of his female team members (and maybe rightfully so in specific roles/ vocations/ locations), why then do we question him for being restrictive of women growth and development.

In fact, when such a person has to fill-in for an absence of a team member who needs to rush home for taking care of a sick child, why would we blame him for his resistance in giving the next important task at hand to the same woman employee. It would take a few men to perhaps ask for the same concession before the Manager starts seeing the changing reality. Well, there may several mothers today who would perhaps want to let their spouses take charge and continue with their day, and several fathers who would rather be available for the emergency at home. The point being, that change of deep-rooted beliefs and experiences takes its time to register and can be painful in the transition. Not everyone may be as understanding perhaps because they themselves may have never had the courage to ask for it.

Similarly, every time I heard of an organization that was looking to launch leadership programs designed especially for women, I would cringe at the thought of being treated specially! To me that represents a thinking that underlies an assumption of a set of needs being different from the rest. Well, if the education system has not made that distinction, why should the workplace. In fact, it is in these organizations that women start viewing gender-driven preferences as entitlements thus damaging the fabric of an important change that the corporate world is trying to usher in.

Organizations worth their mettle should ensure they have the women in focus- focus, that is very different from undue preferential treatment.

If people need time to drive the change, so do organizations. Being conscious of the need for change is already a move in the right direction. Movement requires displacement via distance travelled and not necessarily dislocation that leaves us in the lurch in an arena which ends up being more painful than productive.

The idea perhaps is to not run it like a race because DNAs don’t change overnight. The point is to be patient and let the journey be consistent and persevering, irrespective of leadership or business reality changes. What endures is what stays, and what stays is what brings transformation. What does not have the strength to survive is anyways not worth pursuing. Let’s give the diversity agenda our conviction and results will follow. Let’s not try and chase significant jumps on metrics as worthy of kudos, let’s give our people the time to understand, adjust and adopt!

Bringing in Women

Written by Ms Bhavana Bindra – Director, Advisory Board Member, Speaker, Writer, Diversity Sponsor

In the past couple of decades, diversity has been an oft-used term, debated ad nauseum, the business case sold aplenty. Anyone who is anybody has incorporated it within their strategies, visions, missions et al.

But how many people actually understood diversity for what it stands for and not for that one thing it commonly refers to- gender! It’s where the layman generally assumes it to be and not on what it actually represents – a diversity of mindset, of thoughts and of ideas as well as their execution.

Truth of the matter is that diversity, other than of gender, color, religion, backgrounds, etc. is difficult to measure and so we assume that as we incorporate all the above, and many other measurable forms, we are able to bring in what we truly want- the benefits of multiplicity! Gender, hence, remains the most visible and distinguishable form of diversity.

However, I still find organizations struggling to incorporate this most-easily-represented form of diversity, in their headcounts. The issue in my mind is 3-fold

Acknowledgement
Intent
Ability

1. Acknowledgement

Even after all the years of having the virtues of diversity being extolled, I have come across several CXOs/ business leaders, for whom business-as-usual continues without so much as a thought to attempting creation of diversity. Seemingly satisfied with the pace at which business is moving, their challenges easily explained by the changes in customer preferences, competitive tactics, regulatory, etc – in other words, the lack of creating opportunity via diversity does not seem to them to be a roadblock for their progress.

This may also be a function of the industry they area in. Therein, unless disrupted by the enterprising behaviour of a player (as they say) eating away their cheese, companies can go on with their existence without so much as batting an eyelid on the topic. In fact, in several cases rolling their eyes (obviously out of public eye) at the mention of the “D” word.

The only way such companies can be jolted out of this complacency is when the markets, their shareholders, demand action, or let’s say, penalize for inaction. Of course, if shareholders are earning their fill, and not worried about opportunity cost of the missing diverse workforce, there isn’t much one can do.

Even within organizations viewed as being well into their Diversity journeys, this phenomenon may exist in pockets of functions.

2. Intent

Despite being well-informed of the virtues of diversity, several leaders still may not think it deserves their endorsement. This does not mean they will not say the right things or include Diversity as part of their communication and strategies. It means that the intent behind it is missing.

Strategy will very well encompass initiatives for Diversity. Whether in connecting with external or internal stakeholders, the management teams will ensure there is enough mention of the work being done around Diversity. But the missing link here would be the tone at the top.

Diversity cannot just be about having the right strategy for HR to execute. It needs to have the top leadership behind it, making it their business as much as making money is their business. So the strategy, needs to have its initiatives driven by the top with Projects specifically being driven by senior leaders- tracked, KPI-ed and measured for success against objectives.

It cannot be the ‘flavour of the day’, month or even year. It needs to be what an organization and its leadership commits to making happen over a 5-10 year period. This especially so for organizations that have had a certain composition of workforce for a several decades prior.

3. Ability

Several leaders well-aware of the benefits of a gender diverse workforce and with the intent of moving the needle, struggle with where to begin and how to go about it. Organizations and sometimes functions within them are bootstrapped. In such cases its usually some external help- a third party that proves to be helpful. Hiring a consultant or a D&I leader, and sometimes even engaging Board members have been ways in which leaders have sought help in making change happen.

In many cases, the problem lies in understanding the root causes of perceived biases against bringing in women. Some of these can be very practical issues which may or may not be overcome. For organizations with the true intent of moving the needle, the best way to do it is to get into each and every role that exists, evaluating it for its amenability to be gender diverse. Criteria for evaluation could include several including, availability of talent pool (the feeder pipeline may be thin but not non-existent), feasibility of roles (safety, for example, is an important aspect one keeps in mind) and practicality of having a gender diverse employee (certain customer locations, for instance, may have inadequate facilities).

Once we know what issues we are dealing with, we are able to either focus on solving those or we move onto overcoming our bias with the evaluation done thus initiating the change.

One can view the above as difficulties different industries or organizations across industries face. Another way to view it is a leader’s (and/ or an organization’s) journey across the above stages. We can also have scenarios where an organization may have the intent and ability to drive diversity, but there will be pockets within it that still struggle with even acknowledgement of it. There will always be good reasons for why that happens, but rather than justifying, a good leader unearths the possibilities of moving forward.

Change wont happen overnight and neither do we want it. Most organizations have enough opportunities via attrition and expansion, that allow for vacancies to enable bringing in gender diverse candidates. It may sometimes take much longer than one would want, but then its ok to give oneself the credit for making a beginning- after all Rome wasn’t built in a day!

As talent becomes fungible, and realizes its value more than ever, cross-industry moves are wont to happen even more than thus far. The speed of movement and direction of flows will be the only set of factors one cannot predict with certainty. In this race of multi-directional flows, missing out on a chunk of talent would sooner or later hurt those who have hitherto worn blinkers.

Rounding Up Wisdom for a New World – Covid19

“Change is the only constant.”

Today with humanity trying to slow down a pandemic that took us in our sleep, we face one of the sharpest turns of change we have seen in our lifetimes. We have been forced to evolve rapidly and bring out our best crisis response systems into play.

Even though we have been forced to react, using collective wisdom to curtail the impact of change is imperative.

For these unpredictable times, here are our collected thoughts, hopes and learning from us to you.

1. Work-Life

Trust in the skills you have developed and the knowledge you have gained. Nothing can take that away from you.
Accept the new norm and work on moving forward. Increase the learning curve and add to your skillset. Best time use online courses and communities.
Work at least 3 times harder to and keep your balance.
A “job” has become more important than ever so give it your best and have no regrets.

2. Personal Life

Be grateful for your family, friends and support systems.
Care for people dependant on you financially and extend support to anyone you can.
Be active, eat right and build immunity.
Practice empathy. This is the time to share (from a distance).

3. Life Lessons

The act of nature is powerful and indiscriminate. Together we shall endure.
Count your blessings; we need every one of them.
Work with today.
Try to control nothing and enjoy everything

The Role of Insurance in Compensation Packages

Written by Mr Kapil Mehta, Co-founder, www.securenow.in

Changing jobs is a major decision. Most look at the job role, compensation, location and industry when deciding to take up an offer. However, few ask the finer questions, such as those about insurance benefits that a company offers and even fewer negotiate those benefits. One reason may be the lack of information about Insurance Benefits in the initial interactions between companies and candidates. To initiate a discussion about this will prove beneficial as the Insurance that a company offers has a major role in your financial security. Considering companies cost-effectively procure better insurance than what you could do as an individual, you must understand the various segments of insurance that will be important for you. Some of which are discussed below.

Medical Insurance

This covers the cost of hospitalization, including physician and surgeon fees, hospital rooms, and prescription drugs. These benefits are delivered through group health insurance. Group health insurance comes with many advantages such as immediate cover for pre-existing diseases and cashless hospitalization payments. Employees get a sum assured based on their position in the company. You should determine the sum-assured of the health insurance provided by the employer and the family members covered in it. Some companies will charge you for the group health insurance but many will pay the cost and, in that sense, this forms part of your total compensation.

Some companies offer insurance to your parents. Senior Citizen insurance can expensive at an individual level, particularly if your parents have an ailment. The advantage of a company insurance is that parents will be insured even if they have chronic problems, and claims pertaining to those ailments will be paid. This might reduce the in-hand compensation you receive but adds to your overall benefit.

A common issue that comes up when you join a company is that the insurer takes a couple of months to add your name to the group policy. This means that an early claim could be rejected if an insurance endorsement is not completed. Make sure you get your e-mediclaim cards soon after joining. This is a way to ensure that your details have been recorded by the insurer.

Wellness and OPD Insurance

Some companies offer wellness benefits to employees. These could be in the form of an annual health checkup or participation in health camps focused on certain ailments. The company may also offer a sum of money for Out Patient or OPD expenses. The wellness benefits are not mandatory and so, if a company offers these, it does indicate that it is employee-welfare oriented.

Term Insurance

In the unfortunate event of the death of an employee while in service the term insurance policy provides the nominee or the next of kin a financial cover to help cope with the loss. This is particularly important when you are the primary earning member of the family. As an investor in term insurance ideally, the level of term insurance you should be about ten times your annual income. This is the time that it takes most families to become financially self-sufficient again. Most companies will offer term insurance that is 1 to 3 times your annual income. You must buy the remaining cover yourself to bridge the gap. The advantage of your company giving you term insurance is that the buying process does not require you to undergo a medical test or give any form of health declaration. Individual term insurances require medical tests and, if you are not healthy, may result in higher premiums. An important point is to have your nominee clearly listed in the group term so, if you die, the benefit is paid quickly to the right person.

Accident Insurance

A group personal accident policy covers the employees against disability or death. The advantage of this insurance over a group term life is that it covers disability in addition to death. The disadvantage is that only death due to an accident is covered. Some companies will also add a restriction that death while at work or on company premises is insured. Read the terms carefully so you understand the insurance you have. For blue collar workers this insurance is vital but this is also relevant for white collar jobs.

Travel Insurance

If your work entails extensive travel you should ask about travel insurance, both international and domestic. Many companies will buy annual insurances that cover you anytime you travel. Medical expenses overseas can be prohibitive which is why this insurance is a must. The travel insurance should also cover pre-existing conditions to some extent.

Litigation

Third-Party litigation insurance, also known as Directors and Officers’ (D&O) liability, is liability insurance that insures the liability of directors and officers if they are sued by a third party. Although the insurance is called Directors and Officers it does cover all executives that hold managerial positions. The insurance will pay for your legal defence and also the final award by the courts. In this insurance you must check if employment malpractices are covered. This pertains to situations where an aggrieved employee files a suit against you. If this insurance is not available then you could be asked to pay for your own legal costs. This insurance is particularly useful for senior executives and a must for Board members.

Employer-Employee Insurance

This is an insurance where the company buys insurance but the beneficiary is an employee. It is a benefit given by the company to select employees. The employer-employee insurance policy works as a reward program. An employer can decide the quantum of insurance based on your compensation, qualification, experience and potential. This is a tax efficient benefit because you can select products where maturity payments are not taxed.

Not all companies have these seven insurances but it is in your interest to get into the details of insurance when looking to change your job. Insurance can make a big difference when things go wrong.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Ad Astra or its members.

Proactive Leadership – Feedback to Feed-Forward

Opinion – By Manuj Bij (General Manager and Delhi Branch Head, Ad Astra Consultants)

Organizations are in a state of constant evolution and we are required to be in a constant state of learning to keep up with this. In my efforts to do so, earlier this year I attended a session with Marshal Goldsmith. He is an American Leadership coach and has authored various books on management, exploring various ideas in them. In this article, I would like to discuss one such idea; one that questions the very fabric of how we assess and work with our people – The Feed-Forward theory.

In the corporate world, Feedback is extensively used as a process of assessment. While effective feedback helps maintain a capable workforce, the method has certain issues of its own. To name a few, Feedback:

Is a post-mortem of events that have already occurred
Makes the receiver defensive
Is focused on problems and not on solutions

To address these issues with Feedback, Goldsmith introduces the concept of “Feed-Forward”. It essentially flips the focus of the conversation from setbacks to action items that will help the receiver improve their performance in the area being discussed and it takes into consideration the skill/behavior required for the goal to be accomplished.

As an example, let us consider the situation where a Key Account Manager (KAM) is unable to mine clients to utilize their full potential. By the means of observations and conversations, you understand that the cause for this is probably a lack of focus coupled with fear of failure. in the feedback approach, the conversation will mostly be about how the KAM hasn’t been performing up to mark and that there have been more than a few instances when fear/lack of focus has led to lost an opportunity. In all likelihood this will put the KAM on the defensive; Either by speaking up for their action/inaction so far or by holding a stubborn silence. Both these situations do not help the individual think about improving. In the feed-forward approach, the conversation by setting a goal and discussing what skills/behaviors/processes are required for achieving this goal and creating an action list. The next step of the conversation would include checking off items in the list based on the existing skills and resources that the person possesses. The unchecked items of the list will represent the action areas for the KAM. This tool can also be used to identify gaps in motivation and processes. Using the feed-forward method, you give the person being reviewed the space and opportunity to self-evaluate and add your thoughts/observations only as add-ons to facilitate their success. The futuristic engagement assures a more positive outcome from the review.

The feed-forward mechanism also requires the person initiating the review to evaluate themselves as mentors and leaders because to inspire self-improvement the leader has to be a practitioner. As leaders/to-be-leaders we all make mistakes but the key is to learn from them. A few common mistakes that Goldsmith points out are:

The need to always win. (Inability to humbly accept defeat)
Obsession toward adding value everywhere. (Giving you two-cents everywhere)
Imposing personal standards (Process are important but it has to incorporate everyone)
Making demotivating comments. (All wit is not good wit)
Using negative reinforcement. (Always saying no or opposing deters conversations)
Speaking when angry. (Decisions made when angry are often wrong)
Withholding information. (A true leader is not an individual contributor)
Failing to recognize people. (Efforts count as much as impact)
Claiming unearned credit. (Credibility is a subset of honesty)
Clinging to the past. (Learn from the past but always think about the future)
Refusing to express regret. (Growth is accepting and acknowledging mistakes)
Being a bad listener. (People trust those who listen)
Passing the buck. (Not taking ownership for your actions)

With this understanding, we stand in the brink of a new change that will hopefully be a step towards creating better organizations.