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Courtesy in the Virtual World – Small Things Matter!

Courtesy in the Virtual World – Small Things Matter!

Consider the following situation:

Peter is a freelance writer writes to an organization with a well known blog, requesting them to carry his blog on their website. The organization responds with enthusiasm, and wants to take the collaboration ahead. There is no response from Peter for a month. A month later, Peter writes back with an apology and requests the organization to carry his article on their blog. The organization says they will do so, and would let him know when the article is up. However, since posts are usually scheduled in advance, it might take a while. There is no response from Peter for ten days. After ten days, he writes back asking if the article has been published. The organization responds with the link to the published article. About two weeks pass by, and there is still no email of acknowledgment from Peter.

Why is the case in point a lesson in professionalism?

The situation illustrated above is only one of the several ways that simple courtesies, politeness and a basic humanitarian approach in the world of work is undermined. What is worse is that, Peter probably doesn’t even realize that he is not only being unprofessional, but also rude – may be unwittingly so.

One of the key principles of maintaining professionalism is being courteous and polite at all times. This aspect applies not only to the real time day-to-do situations in the ‘real’ world of work, but also in the virtual world. Today, so much of our business is transacted across virtual boundaries. While we may not be able to see or touch the person behind the emails and the black letters on our screen that inform our understanding of the person concerned and the situation at hand, we still know that there is a human being at the other end. What indeed makes our communication governed by machines less mechanical, and transactional is how we choose to communicate – courtesy in the virtual world matters more than you may think.

How might have Peter been a better communicator in the above scenario?

  • By making his communication appear less like a transaction, and more like a dialogue – i.e., by responding not just to get his work done and to follow up, but by being timely and more courteous in his responses. And most of all, by expressing gratitude once the work was done. The organization could have refused to publish the article by citing delay as a reason, and Peter/ or anyone else in his stead would have had no grounds to contest that.

It is especially important for young professionals to understand how these seemingly ‘small’ things make a big difference to one’s professional trajectory. While these aspects of professionalism may seem trivial to some, they by no means would fit under that adjective. Small things matter. Who you are as a person, comes across through how you communicate. Communication through virtual platforms has plenty of scope for misunderstandings. However, virtual platforms have become the base for much of what we do in the world of work today. Therefore, if one needs to be extra cautious while communicating in the virtual world – the effort is worth it.

Because, whatever the business is, whatever the transaction is, while machines enable, there are humans behind those machines. And if we cannot bring the human touch to our communication with each other, where does that leave us?

5 Ways your Activity on Facebook May be Affecting your Career

5 Ways your Activity on Facebook May be Affecting your Career

Social media today has become intertwined with our very existence in ways more than one. It is really no longer a joke that everything we are doing – what food we’re eating, what music we’re listening to, what our coordinates are, it is all on social media. So how does leading our lives on social media impact our career? Could it have an adverse impact? Yes it could, and if you can’t do without Facebook, here are five ways you are potentially killing your career because of it!

  1. Telling the world how much you hate your boss

    Surprise, surprise (but really are you surprised?), making your opinions vocal about your superiors or colleagues at work on Facebook will not remain a secret from them. And how this could damage your reputation and career at your work place is anybody’s guess. Controlling these urges is a good idea because while it wouldn’t help you in any way, it would surely come with adverse consequences you would have to face. Besides making you look immature and petty, it might actually cost you your job!

  2. Not making use of your privacy settings

    Facebook has privacy controls you can set to make your posts visible to select audiences. Not all your posts need to be visible to everyone on your friend list – especially if you have professional contacts on your friend list. While the general principle of thinking before you post needs to apply to every person using social media, for professionals, you need to go one step ahead and decide whether what you are posting will have a detrimental impact on your professional image and if you should perhaps control the extent of its visibility.

  3. Your profile picture

    Companies today are increasingly making use of a candidate’s information on his/her social media to aid the decision-making process leading up to recruitment. In this scenario, everything you do on social media could have an impact on the hiring decision the company makes. However, the one thing that makes an immediate impression on your social media profile is your profile picture. Using a bad quality photograph, or an inappropriate one wouldn’t help you come off as professional.
    Want to know what makes for a good profile picture? Read our post about it here.

  4. The content of your posts

    While you do have every right of sharing your opinion on current issues, it is important to be sensitive and responsible in what you say if the issue at hand is a controversial one. Remember that this also has an effect on what your colleagues might think of you – in case you come off as too radical. In an ideal world, you are allowed to have your opinions without it impacting your work life, sadly, in the real world subconscious bias is a real thing. Besides, being sensitive about what you say on social media is always a good thing – regardless of whether you are a professional. Hasn’t “fake news” brewed enough trouble already?

  5. Using the same email address with Facebook and job applications

    Did you know that companies today use email plug-ins like “Rapportive”, which automatically collects all social media data linked with the email id you furnish, to get a more thorough idea regarding the potential candidate? This means, your social media footprints will be visible to your potential employer. Social media today is an immensely powerful tool in helping recruiters find the “right fit”. It is almost like a pre-interview. It is therefore wiser to use a separate email ID that cannot be traced back to your social media activity. However, it is always good to do a social media cleanse every now and then, and here is what you need to know about it.

Social media can help you make or break your career. Being strategic and responsible in your usage of social media can reap you more benefits than you imagined. One of the greatest professional advantages of social media is the scope it gives you to create a personal brand for yourself – regardless of who you are and what you do. Want to learn how personal branding works, and how it could benefit you? Read about the power of “brand you” here.

Eliminating HR and Recruitment Bias with AI

Eliminating HR and Recruitment Bias with AI

Some of the biggest challenges in the field of recruitment stem from HR (Human Resources) bias, which impact the crucial aspects of diversity, inclusiveness and equality in the world of work. These issues can be hard to resolve since a lot of times certain prejudices or biases are so deep-seated and normalized, that one doesn’t even realize they are being biased. With a judicious use of AI in recruitment and HR, we can hope to create and sustain a more equal and diverse work space. And here is how.

  1. Using AI to root out bias during recruitment

    This by far is one of the best uses of AI. While AI learns the patterns of recruitment by analyzing the past history, it is possible to mould the algorithms in a way so that while playing the necessary filters of finding probable candidates, it doesn’t stick to the past biases in recruitment. In this case, the result is having a much greater chance at a diverse work force, and at a fair recruitment process which keeps in mind only the necessary qualifications which defines the successful candidate. Thus, keeping at bay any and all biases related to gender, caste, class, religion, et al.

  2. Using AI to identify gender biased job descriptions

    Here is something Amanda Bell, Director of Recruiting at Lever, has to say about Gender biased job descriptions:

    “Luckily, this can be pretty easy. Review your job descriptions with the lens of “Who is the audience here?” If your answer is “any qualified candidate, regardless of gender,” you’ve done a good job! It’s not just about the presence of gender-specific pronouns – it’s also about using language that is inclusive of all genders. Stay away from phrases like “kick ass,” “ninja,” and, believe it or not, “brah.” You can also ask a few employees of various genders to read the descriptions and solicit feedback.”

    In fact, this problem is deeper and more pervasive than we think. Even seemingly harmless words have an impact on how gender inclusive the descriptions are. With the help of AI, we can move a step closer to creating gender inclusive job descriptions. This is often the very first step of recruitment. And getting the beginning right, helps ensure the standards of fairness all through the process.

  3. Using AI to see the “invisible bias”

    While bias in recruitment, and the way job descriptions are crafted can be identified to a certain extent, there are multiple other forms of biases which aren’t visible. These are often the more insidious ones. And are also often the mound of biases leading up to the formation of the glass ceiling.

    Turns out, it is very much possible to sniff these biases out with the help of AI. For example, Joonko, a new application powered by AI, acts as a diversity coach. Based on experiential learning of CEO and Co-founder of the product, Ilit Raz, she designed it after becoming aware of the several forms of unconscious biases she as a woman faced in her everyday work life. In contrast to the available AI tools which mostly look at recruitment biases, this tool aims at illuminating unconscious bias in workplace situations where very few people even think or feel it exists.  “We try to catch these ‘micro-events and point them out to managers and workers immediately.”, says the co-founder on what the product aims at.

    This is a beautiful way of blending technology and human understanding to create a truly inclusive and fair workplace.

  4. Using AI to eliminate biases from Performance Management Systems

    It is no secret that performance assessments are often shrouded by conscious and unconscious biases of the individual entrusted with the task. An unfair assessment of an individual’s contribution to the organization definitely impacts the overall work space environment, making it a less happy place for people to thrive and work in. A way of dealing with these biases is by using AI in performance management systems. It can take care of two main things that are often said to influence a manager’s decision making with respect to performance assessment:

    – Regency Effect: i.e., when a manager bases the performance of an individual on a recent event, rather than looking at his/her performance over a period of time, cumulatively.
    – Contrast Effect: i.e., when a manager compares or contrasts an individual’s performance against someone else’s, instead of comparing it to the pre-set standards for the given task role.

While the role of humans in the world of work can never be completely over taken by AI, there are things that AI can help humans do better. With the right balance, and insights, AI powered technology can help us move towards fairer, equal, diverse and happy work spaces.

Making Your Remote Employees Feel Valued

Making Your Remote Employees Feel Valued

Work from home is becoming an increasingly viable option – for both employees as well as employers. With this development, there is a need for employers to pay more attention to making the “virtual work space” more conducive, and employee friendly. One of the most important aspects which has a direct impact on the productivity levels of your employees is how valued they feel. This can be an especially difficult task to achieve, and to measure when your connection with your employees is through remote access. But is it really?

You would be surprised the small ways in which you can make your Remote Employees feel valued. In this blog post, we speak about some elementary ways which should define the norms of every work place which encourages Work from home/ remote spaces options.

  1. Clarity in Communication

    This aspect is a crucial unit for developing a healthy relationship with your employee, and for ensuring that they are at all times aware of their deliverables. One of the main concerns remote working raises is the fact that responsibilities, goals and outcomes are not streamlined meticulously – unlike in physical work environments. When this happens there is the danger of your employee under performing for no fault of his/her, which means you lose out on the valuable skill set of someone you have   invested time in to select and recruit. Being clear in communicating goals, outcomes and responsibilities helps employees feel more engaged, and in sync with their work, which in turn has a direct impact on the quality of work they churn out.

  2. Checking in

    Really one of the easiest and most basic way of showing your employees that you care. That you value your relationship with them beyond the contract of employment. Once again, since we are speaking about work in a remote environment, checking takes just a bit more effort than it would if it were a physical office. That, however cannot be an excuse for not keeping in touch with your employees. Establishing a system for this is a great way of making sure that you check in regularly. For example, every month schedule one day for a team call (if your team is spread out), and one day for individual calls. There are so many ways you can do this, and with just a little bit of thought, you can truly help your employees be enthusiastic about the work they do. And if you have a team of enthusiastic employees who feel valued, you’re a winner.

  3. Be there for them

    A good manager has an open door policy, and his team is aware of this. This applies even to teams which work remotely. In the context of the blog post, one could safely argue that this aspect is especially important to have your remote employees feel valued. Operate with a degree of decentralization, especially when it comes to your team having access to you when they need you. If your team comprises of employees who work remotely, because of an absence of a traditional physical work space they might need to reach out to you more often than other ‘regular’ employees. In which case, take care to stress on the fact that you are available when your team needs you. No better way to set precedence about this other than by leading through example.

If we summarize all the three things we’ve said above, there is one main takeaway – communication. The quality of communication between colleagues is something that determines the overall work environment – even when the work environment is virtual. And we’d say, especially when the work environment is virtual. While these small efforts wouldn’t cost you anything, bypassing them surely would. The quality of work you expect, is directly proportional to how motivated your team feels to deliver the expected quality. And feeling motivated is a direct by-product of feeling valued.

Do you have a remote team and are you proud of your team management techniques? Share your story with us and we will share it with the world!

 

Moving towards Inclusiveness at Workspaces

Moving towards Inclusiveness at Workspaces

2nd of April is marked as World Autism Awareness week. In solidarity with the movement, this week, we want to speak about the value of workspaces practising the virtue of being inclusive. The only effective way to speak about this is by offering examples of workspaces which are making a difference through their inclusive approach. SAP Labs in India is one such place. Liffy Thomas wrote an article “A Red Carpet Welcome for the Autistic”, for The Hindu.

The article speaks about the processes companies follow in “integrating” those with autism into the workforce. While it is slightly challenging, it is by no means impossible. The process is simple enough to be followed by organizations who excuse themselves from having inclusive practices by giving the reason that they do not have the required capacity. Employment for persons with disability remains a crucial issue in India, and an area which needs our immediate attention – both at an individual level, and at a policy and governance level.

Below is the detailed article. The article was first posted here.

To integrate them into their workforces, an increasing number of companies are now following a series of processes

Around April 2, which is World Autism Awareness Day, employees of SAP Labs in India will gain fresh insights into the mind of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In fact, every year, around this time, the company relaunches this initiative.

This is absolutely necessary, for the company follows a policy of setting aside a small percentage of jobs for people with ASD.

Currently, across its India offices, SAP Labs employs 16 of them.

“This autism awareness week, we plan to hire more autistic adults. The process will run into weeks,” says Kiran Venkataramanappa, development manager and program me lead for Autism at Work at SAP Labs.

Work buddies

SAP Labs has placed them in jobs involving software testing, software development, quality assurance and documentation.

“We have a special on-boarding program me to help them settle down. Each of the autistic adults gets a ‘work buddy’,” says Venkataramanappa.

P. Rajasekharan, co-founder, V-Sesh, a company that provides employment for persons with disability, says the mainstream recruitment process should not be followed while hiring those with ASD into the workforce. Right at the outset, an effort has to be made to discover their hidden talent. There are multinational companies that collaborate with non-profit partners to tap hidden talent in autistic adults. Skills that can set the autistic above neurotypical employees are: attention to detail, logical skills and the ability to remember vast amounts of data.

Job coaches

“We work closely with companies to find ‘job coaches’. They have to be sourced from within. These job coaches have the task of helping those with ASD understand their work and get integrated into the workforce,” says Rajasekharan, adding that job coaches should be willing to commit themselves to this work for a period ranging from one week to one month.

To help these employee settle down in their roles, companies have to invest in visual aids. “Instead of saying it, the job coaches should help the autistic see it. This way, they will be able to retain information better. A work chart for such employees are a must,” he says. Akila Vaidyanathan, director, The Amaze Charitable Trust, an organisation that offers skill programmer for the autistic, says companies can help by offering flexible work hours, besides training and mentoring. JP Morgan, Lemon Tree Hotels, Barclays, Dell and ANZ Bank are among other big companies that keep their recruitment doors open for the autistic.

INTEGRATION MANUAL

* Offer flexible working hours and don’t set the rules in stone

* Initially, allow a parent to accompany the employee

* Assign a mentor to the employee

* Ensure these employees go on a team outing every month

* Train the managers to handle the tantrums these employees may throw

Change always begins at a micro-level. Is your organisation disability friendly, both in its recruitment process as well as its environment? We would love to feature your organization. Do write to us!