Why Are People Looking for Green Pastures?

 

      

People work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise and rewards."

Introduction:

In 2021, as some of the uncertainty abated a record number of workers started quitting their jobs creating the so-called Great Resignation. The “Great Resignation”, coined & predicted by Psychologist Anthony Klotz, is the tipping point of a nearly decade-long trend of employment dissatisfaction. And these people have left their jobs in search of more fulfilling roles with greater flexibility – it's been called the Great Reshuffle.

What’s the Issue?

India’s second-largest IT services company Infosys announced its fourth-quarter results ending on March 31, for the financial year 2022. And it shows over 80,000 employees have resigned from the company between Jan-March 2022. Infosys is reportedly invoking the non-compete clause in the employment agreements to curb attrition. The non-compete clause bans its employees from joining a few companies & to work for the same customers with whom they had worked at the company for the last 12 months. However, on-compete clauses are not valid in India as per Sec 27 of the Indian Contract Act, which states that any agreement that restrains anyone from practicing a lawful profession, trade or business is to that extent void. In an era where organizations like Meesho and Zerodha are going fully remote, and many others are spending more time, value, and effort on employee benefit programs, a move like this will only contribute to more attrition.

Today, employees are burned out, unengaged, and eager to explore new opportunities. And to retain staff amid this mass turnover, companies are offering significant salary hikes, generous vacation time & unique benefits. While these perks might have worked earlier, they are not enough anymore. So, what needs to be done to engage & retain the workforce?

Employee Recognition

To answer this increasingly Googled question, Achievers Workforce Institute surveyed more than 4,200 employees and 1,600 HR leaders across the globe in February. After digging through the diversified data set, AWI's team of behavioural research scientists found the key in just two words: employee recognition. According to the survey results published in Achievers' 2022 State of Recognition Report:

1. Thank You no enough:

Employee Recognition leads to better engagement, higher retention, & increased productivity.65% of the respondents admitted that feeling recognized would reduce their desire to job hunt. A mere thank you may not be enough. Employees want to know whether they could make a difference.

2. It's about camaraderie, not compensation

The data highlights that recognition actually outweighs the perception of a fair salary as a driver of employee advocacy, job commitment, and productivity. 

3. Most managers aren't trained to recognize top talent

Research by Harvard, MIT, and other schools discovered that soft skills training in topics such as problem-solving and communication improved productivity and retention by 12 %, with a 250 % ROI in under a year. Most managers don’t know how to make frequent conversations meaningful. As managers are leading teams from the front, it's vital they acquire the soft skills to properly recognize employees in the remote era. While 90%t of HR leaders say they offer recognition training, only 41 % of employees say they've received it & only one-third of those trained were instructed on how to send a meaningful recognition. This shows the disconnect & calls for regular training on recognition best practices.

Conclusion

Recognition helps employees see that their company values them and their contributions to the success of their team and the company overall. Most importantly, frequency and timing of recognition along with ensuring it is value-based and specific. This is particularly key when organizations grow or change. It helps employees build a sense of security in their value to the company, motivating them to continue great work. No matter the route taken, ensuring employee recognition should be the core part of a company’s DNA that will improve retention.

KALIYUGA

 

          

Kaliyuga:

Once the four Pandavas (except Yudhishthira who was not present) asked Krishna:

"What is Kaliyuga and what will happen during Kaliyuga?"

Krishna smiled and said "Let me demonstrate to you, the situation of Kaliyuga." He took a bow and four arrows and shot them in four directions and ordered the four Pandavas to go and bring them back.

Each of the four Pandavas went in the four different directions to search for the arrows. 

When Arjuna picked an arrow, he heard a very sweet voice. He turned around and saw a cuckoo singing in a spellbinding voice but was also eating flesh of a live rabbit which was in great pain. Arjuna was very surprised to see such a gory act by such a divine bird he left the place immediately.

Bhima picked arrow from a place, where five wells were situated. The four wells were surrounding a single well. The four wells were overflowing with very sweet water as if they were not able to hold water and surprisingly the well in the middle of these four overflowing wells was completely empty. Bhima was also puzzled at this sight.

Nakula was returning to the place after picking up the arrow. He stopped at a place where a cow was about to give birth. After giving birth the cow started licking the calf but continued to lick it even after the calf was clean. With great difficulty people were able to separate them and by that time the calf was injured badly. Nakula was puzzled by the behaviour of such a calm animal.

Sahadeva picked arrow which fell near a mountain and saw a big boulder falling. The boulder was crushing the rocks and big trees on its way down, but the same boulder was stopped by a small plant. Sahadeva was also amazed at this sight.

All the Pandavas asked the meaning of these incidents. Krishna smiled and started explaining...

"In Kaliyuga, the priests will have very sweet voice and will also have great knowledge but they will exploit devotees the same way cuckoo was doing with rabbit.

In Kaliyuga poor will live among rich, those rich will have enormous amount of wealth which will actually overflow but they will not offer a single penny to the poor same as the four wells didn't have a single drop of water for the empty well.

In Kaliyuga parents will love their children so much that their love will actually spoil them and will destroy their lives similar to the love shown by cow to her newborn calf.

In Kaliyuga people will fall in terms of character like the boulder from the mountain and they will not be stopped by anyone at the end only the name of God will be able to hold them from doom like the little plant held the boulder from further fall."

~ Uddhava Gita, Srimad Bhaagawatam.

Source:  EMG Trust

RUN YOUR OWN RACE

         

       

Run Your Own Race 

A very  good morning  to you all. 

I was cycling and noticed a person in front of me, about 1/4 of Km. I could tell he was cycling a little slower than me and decided to try to catch him. I had about a km to go on the road before turning off.

So I started cycling faster and faster and every block, I was gaining on him just a little bit. After just a few minutes I was only about 100 yards behind him, so I really picked up the pace and pushed myself. You would have thought I was cycling in the last leg of London Olympic triathlon

Finally, I caught up with him and passed him by. On the inside I felt so good. “I beat him" of course, but he didn't even know we were racing.

After I passed him, I realized that I had been so focused on competing against him that I had missed my turn, had gone nearly six blocks past it and had to turn around and go all back.

Isn't that what happens in life when we focus on competing with co-workers, neighbours, friends, family, trying to outdo them or trying to prove that we are more successful or more important? We spend our time and energy running after them and we miss out on our own paths to our destinies.

Moral :

The problem with unhealthy competition is that it’s a never ending cycle. There will always be somebody ahead of you, someone with better job, nicer car, more money in the bank, more education, a prettier wife, a more handsome husband, better behaved children, etc.

Take what Life has given you, the height, weight & personality. Dress well & wear it proudly! You'll be blessed by it. Stay  focused and live a healthy life. There's no competition in DESTINY. 

Run your own RACE and wish others WELL!!! 

Wherever You Go,

No Matter What The Weather,

Always Bring Your Own Sunshine...  

Employee & Customer Experience: Case of Starbucks

 

                          Employee & Customer Experience: Case of Starbucks

Now a day’s two buzzwords are making the rounds: Employee & Customer experience. Infact both of them are interrelated and the recent events have put focus on both employee productivity and employee experience. But employee productivity does not necessarily equate to a great employee experience in all cases. So a question arises as to whether an improved employee experience (EX) contributes to a better customer experience (CX)?

85% of respondents to the recent IDC survey (IDC’s Future Enterprise Resiliency & Spending Survey Wave 6, July 2021.) reported that an improved employee experience and higher employee engagement translate to a better customer experience, higher customer satisfaction, and higher revenues for their organization. In another recent IDC survey, 30% of respondents said that improved customer experience is an important business driver behind the work transformation initiatives in their organization.

Case of Starbucks:

As we all know, café & restaurant experiences can quickly turn ugly or nightmarish for some people. A small gesture from a worker inside a Starbucks barista in Texas impressed a mother so much that she shared the story on social media. The mother praised the cafe employee for his quick thinking that may have kept her daughter safe.

When her teenage daughter was at a Starbucks shop on Staples Street and S. Padre Island Drive a man came up to her and started talking. Strangely, she didn't have any clue who the man was. At this point, the staff at the cafe intervened to check if the teenager was doing fine. But the deed was done in a subtle but effective way. The staff took an 'extra hot chocolate' that had a note attached to it. It read: "Are you okay? Do you want us to intervene? If you do, take the lid off the cup." The message was not written on the lid. The staff told the teenager that taking the lid off would work as a signal for them to intervene.

And this shows that company’s employee engagement initiatives are bearing fruit, in terms of creating great customer experience. So, take stock! A great employee experience leads to happier customers – and competitive advantage.

 

                                    Emotional Intelligence and Decision Making

Good decision-making is vital in the workplace. Leaders must evaluate all the facts when making decisions and understand the impact that their decisions will have on the business and other people. Higher emotional intelligence leads to better decision-making.In fact, when people doubted the relevance of human resources in the light of AI.ML etc. JackMa said that as long as we continue to invest in EI, Critical & Creative Thinking nothing to worry. But, sometimes we get carried away by emotions, which might impact our decision making. Let’s look at one instance where the simple rule of decision making was followed in Toto:

As we all know, Tom Brady is known best for his ability to lead a team to victory, even when facing what seems to be insurmountable odds. For instance yesterday, he led the Bucs from a 27-3 deficit to tie the game in the final minute. At the postgame press conference, reporters seemed to ask the same question over and over: Are you coming back?

And look at his reply:

"I haven't put a lot of thought into it," Brady responded. "We'll just take it day by day."" Truthfully, guys, I'm thinking about this game," Brady reiterated. "And, I'm not thinking about anything past five minutes from now."

Now, this may seem like a simple case of Brady not wanting to talk about leaving the game that he loves, but it's more. It’s an example of the simple rule of decision-making, and it teaches a major lesson in emotional intelligence. And what is the simple rule of decision-making, and how can you put it to work to help you and your business?

Never make a permanent decision based on a temporary emotion.  

This rule is founded on principles of emotional intelligence, the ability to understand and manage emotions, because it leverages what we know about the brain and the way we make decisions. In this regard, Brady's response looks emotionally intelligent. By suggesting that careful thought needs to go into such a decision, Brady refuses to allow reporters to coerce him into saying something he may later regret.

So, how can you apply the simple rule of decision making?

Next time when you are faced with a major decision in a difficult moment, take a page out of Tom Brady's playbook and remember the simple rule of decision-making: Never make a permanent decision based on a temporary emotion.And, doing so will help you to make greater use of your brain, avoid saying or doing things you regret, and make decisions you're proud of.

Further, ensure the following while making decisions:​

·      Problem solving–Coming with specific solutions duly understanding how emotions can impact on decision making

·      Reality testing – Remaining objective, duly understanding what is real & recognize where emotions could cause less objectivity.

·      Impulse control – identify & have the ability to recognize a rash impulse which could lead to a rash decision.

Leadership Lesson from EMG Group

 

Leadership Lesson from Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand PM:.

As we all know, Jacinda Ardern is New Zealand’s youngest ever female prime minister & is clearly exceptionally skilled at multitasking and has been applauded for how well she responded to the Coronavirus pandemic. She even voluntarily took a 20% pay cut to ‘close the gap’ between herself and those affected by COVID pay cuts and received a phone call from Queen Elizabeth in praise of all her hard work. 

A few weeks ago, during a Face book live stream, New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern was in the middle of giving the nation an update on Covid-19 restrictions when she was interrupted by her 3-year-old daughter, Neve. "You're meant to be in bed, darling," Ardern told her daughter. When Neve called for her again, she responded "Pop back to bed, I'll see you in a second," before turning back to the camera to laugh about the darling little interruption.

After continuing for another five minutes, Ardern called it quits when little Neve reappeared at the door. It’s adorable & heart warming. Over these past 18 months, when I am interacting with my students online, I have had many "important calls" where I have told my wife not to disturb me and be quiet for the next 90 minutes ... no matter what!" 

And, here we have a world leader, addressing the people of New Zealand about pandemic restrictions. No call of mine is, or will ever be, close to this level of importance. Yet, Ardern acted both as PM & parent and switched between the two roles with absolute ease and grace. While this may not be normal leadership behavior, I am of the opinion that it is exactly the type of leadership we need within our organizations.

So what are our leanings?

Be vulnerable: When you're caught off guard and your team is there to witness, it can often feel like you're losing control. Ardern could have turned off the camera or muted herself,but she didn't want this moment of vulnerability to stop her from doing her job. 

Be confident:  Ardern could have appeared embarrassed in the video by fidgeting with the camera and lowering her voice when talking to her daughter? But she didn't..

Be compassionate: Nowadays, people are going through tough times and as a leader, showing compassion toward your team, especially when they make mistakes, is imperative.  Needless to say, job satisfaction is 86% higher for employees who work for a wise and compassionate leader than for those who don't.

Be authentic: At that moment, she asks, "Does anyone else have kids escape like three, four times after bedtime?" Considering millions of parents were forced to work from home while caring for their kids during the pandemic, her question was likely answered by tens of thousands of viewers with a resounding "Yes!"

Don’t you all think, her reaction is the Best Lesson in Leadership we all could've ever seen?

 

                                 

                                       NEED OF ETHICAL LEADER

 

Leaders help us to identify, understand and refine our purpose. They help us to align our thoughts and clarify the reasons behind our work. Humans seek answers and understanding to everything they do and leaders go some way to support this need.

Okay. But what sort of leaders we need now?

 

Today, the world needs ethical leaders, rather than genuine or authentic leaders. And what is so special about these ethical leaders? They have certain things in common like they are able to put their own selfish desires aside, in order to engage in altruistic, prosocial, and unselfish acts that benefit others. And how this comes? Not through being natural, spontaneous, and “real”, but through sheer self-discipline, self-control, and an unusual ability to resist the temptations that arise when you accumulate status, power, and you have no incentive to care about others… because you can “just be yourself”.

Stay safe and secure ( Source: EMG- SSM Trust)