Old knowledge management practices no longer fit today’s fast-paced environment. The future lies in understanding knowledge sources, measuring where and how knowledge flows and reinforcing knowledge with supportive relationships.

Globalization. Technological advancements. Organizational flux. Leaner workforces. All of these factors are impacting knowledge management practices and causing significant changes in the field. The commonplace use of person-to-document techniques is no longer adequate for today’s knowledge workers.

As organizations remain in flux, contracting and expanding rapidly, simply accessing data and information is no longer sufficient to help the enterprise flourish and spark innovation. Workers face the growing need to improve processes, products and services, all while doing the jobs of three people because of layoffs. Waiting for knowledge to trickle down from the top is not an option.

The reality of knowledge management today is that people need tacit knowledge and know-how directly from the source. Just reading a document is not enough. People need to interact with the person who has improved his or her service rating, increased sales leads or completed a technology implementation. They want to see firsthand what went right, what went wrong, how success occurred and how they can emulate that success. They need support from the person who has done it before and who can encourage and guide them as they apply the knowledge. Globalization and technology have made it far too easy to feel isolated, and people no longer want to go it alone.

The future of knowledge management is about connections. People want relationships. They want to share knowledge with one another, and they want to be connected to their colleagues. A recent survey by Triple Creek Associates asked more than 1,300 Web-based mentoring participants to rate the effectiveness of various training and learning opportunities. Respondents overwhelmingly chose hands-on interpersonal methods of training as the most effective, with 88 percent rating on-the-job training and 80 percent rating mentoring/coaching as highly or mostly effective.E-learning ranked lowest, with only 37 percent of respondents rating it as highly or mostly effective.

Human interaction is critical to meaningful development and learning complex skills. The survey results show that people involved in learning feel relational interaction is more important than simple having access to documents, data or facts. Organizations must tune in to this reality and offer ways for people to engage in social knowledge relationships.

How do organizations get people to share meaningful knowledge? How do they help people find the right knowledge sources? How do they get them connected with one another? How do they encourage them to share insight and information?

These are the questions learning leaders must address immediately. It may seem trite, but the truth is the future of knowledge management is now. The world is constantly shifting and unpredictable. Organizations do not have time to engineer a system from the top down, nor does such a rigid formation help knowledge flow to the ones who need it most. Learning leaders and the practice of knowledge management must adapt right now to keep up with ever-changing needs.

To accomplish this, knowledge management must focus on four areas:

1. Understanding who the knowledge sources are.

2. Measuring where and how knowledge flows.

3. Getting knowledge to flow more rapidly and freely.

4. Reinforcing knowledge with supportive relationships.

Once these four areas are working in harmony with one another and information is free-flowing, knowledge management will become the fluid and adaptable entity it needs to be to effectively address individuals’ multiple and shifting learning needs.

Who Knows What?

Identifying key knowledge resources can be challenging. Layoffs and mergers have shifted the balance and knowledge equilibrium within organizations. People who were once knowledge sources may no longer be there, and what was once a smooth operation is now a frantic scramble to get things done. The stream of information and knowledge has been interrupted, and people are floundering to find footing.

With these realities, organizations need to look deeper than the superficial level of typical knowledge brokers. People who are valuable knowledge resources to their colleagues at a grassroots levels do not always make their expertise and service known to leadership. They often do what they do without accolades or acknowledgment from management. In their minds, they may simply be doing their jobs.

These grassroots knowledge sources serve a great purpose to the organization. They help spread knowledge and skills to colleagues, passing along information and data at critical moments and offering support and know-how to those in need. In Triple Creek’s survey, 69 percent of respondents said transferring valuable knowledge through mentoring is how they contribute to the success of their companies.

When asked to indicate the level of improvement across 10 different areas due to mentoring, the top-ranked area was “expanding my network.” Organizations lose out when they overlook or ignore these hidden resources, making it critical that they pinpoint who their knowledge-sharing superstars are and leverage them for greater use and visibility.

An emerging practice called “social network analysis,” sometimes referred to as “social mapping,” addresses this issue by identifying who people go to for information. Do they follow a chain of command when searching for information, or do they go to their co-worker down the hall?

By analyzing where people seek information, social network analysis often reveals hidden assets or people who are known as the go-to source by colleagues but who may not be on management’s radar. This allows organizations to tap into deep wells of knowledge and ready sources of information as they move forward with knowledge-sharing initiatives.

Once organizations identify who their knowledge sources are, they need to identify where and how information is flowing. Is there an information bottleneck around one person? Does information get lost in a black hole around a particular team? Does the flow of information run smoothly between certain colleagues?

Understanding how knowledge is transferred in the organization is critical to moving toward a more democratic and free-flowing pattern of knowledge sharing. If learning leaders do not tap into grassroots resources and allow people to access one another, they will alienate large sections of the workforce and stymie creativity and learning. Giving people the freedom to self-organize and search out the knowledge resource they need at the exact moment they need it will create a more equitable and streamlined practice for sharing knowledge.

How Do We Get It?

In today’s hectic 24×7 world, knowledge must flow rapidly and freely from expert sources directly to the people who need it. No one has time to wait around for data. Knowledge is critical, and getting the information needed exactly when you need it is vital to achieving success. To thrive, organizations must create democratic and transparent ways to access knowledge resources in-house that will help their workers find and interact more easily with the knowledge source who is also their colleague. The mantra for knowledge management must be: accessible, ubiquitous and democratic.

The use of technologies that help people create one-to-one and one-to-many knowledge-sharing and learning relationships can facilitate this type of knowledge exchange, leading to a give-and-take of information and ideas between all parties involved. By keeping these interactions in-house, all of the information shared and the ideas created are kept within the company, rather than lost to an outside source. This not only strengthens the organization from an intellectual capital standpoint, but it also strengthens the bonds between co-workers and creates an environment of goodwill and camaraderie.

The in-house structure also spurs organizations to find and leverage untapped resources, those people who somehow slip through the cracks. In-house knowledge exchange puts an emphasis on opening up the lines of information and communication, and invigorates knowledge sharing. Embedding this practice into core processes within the enterprise – such as on-boarding, management training and performance improvement – creates multiple learning avenues for employees at critical junctures in the employment experience.

CDW Corp. brought these ideas to life through its holistic online development suite, Achieve It!, featuring Web-based mentoring. The suite was designed to help CDW build an inclusive knowledge-sharing and learning culture in which co-workers are empowered to address their development needs; make cross-organizational connections with one another regardless of role, department or location; and engage in informal learning.

The desire for supportive learning relationships at CDW has skyrocketed, and the legacy practice of mentoring was easily adjusted to meet its needs as a vehicle for knowledge management. As a result, CDW won a 2008 ASTD Excellence in Practice Citation for the program.

By reinforcing knowledge sharing with supportive relationships, organizations allow people to learn at their own paces, focus on their unique needs and learn in styles that suits them. Learning must be able to expand and flex to meet people’s individual learning situations and help them meet their performance goals. From needing general information about a subject to make educated decisions; to technical and relational skills to do their jobs and manage personal interactions productively; to greater understanding about career choices, organizational culture and knowledge of external forces that impact business decisions, each person has unique knowledge needs. And the scope of learning ranges across a broad spectrum of possibilities.

In the late 1990s, John Seely Brown created the image of knowledge ecologies to accelerate creative learning. He advocated a balance between spontaneity and structure that allows for the freedom to explore options and ideas while addressing the need to produce concrete work results.

Ecologies are nurtured by providing opportunities for growth. To flourish, organizations need an integrated approach that provides multiple learning opportunities. The reality is that no manager can meet all of the knowledge needs of one person, nor can a single mentor or a particular training class or a singular hands-on experience. To access the learning required in today’s environment, workers need the freedom to engage in multiple collaborative learning experiences. To be effective and impactful, these learning opportunities should be embedded into the structure of everyday work, where employees have the freedom to seek out knowledge sources and learn at their own paces.

The future of knowledge management lies in the growing use of social networks and person-to-person knowledge exchange. This underutilized but burgeoning strategy will help people connect more freely, learn more actively and apply their knowledge more effectively on the job. Creating a knowledge ecology in which learning takes place in multiple ways becomes much simpler when organizations offer integrated knowledge-sharing opportunities.

Identifying information blockades, finding people who are hidden resources and opening up the flow of information between colleagues are the pressing matters for learning professionals in the coming years. To address these concerns, people must be enabled and encouraged to connect with each other in collaborative learning relationships that are tailored to their various and unique learning needs, and they must be given opportunities to succeed. Only then will we have accessible, ubiquitous and democratic knowledge management.

Pratyay Lahiri

pratyaylahiri@live.in

During the past quarter century, corporate training has gone through several major shifts. The 1980s and early 1990s were the era of the corporate university. Companies created centralized training functions to develop employee skills in a wide range of professional and leadership areas. The economy was growing, so companies could invest in these learning organizations and support a long-term focus on employee development.

Then came the Internet and a decade of focus on e-learning. Companies purchased complex, employee-facing learning management systems and thousands of online courses. Corporate universities drifted into federated learning organizations with teams scattered around the enterprise.

We are now beginning a third era: the formalization of informal learning.

This shift is a result of a tremendous need to reduce costs, the proliferation of networking and mobile devices, young and always-connected employees and the ability to store and search massive amounts of content easily. Added to this is the investment many companies recently have made in integrated talent management and an emphasis on managing four generations of workers.

In this new era, corporate learning is employee-directed, continuous, person-to-person and requires new tools and technologies. Much of learning is based on informal methods, including on-demand resources, simulations, social learning and embedded learning.

As in the e-learning era, technology plays a big role. Today, approximately 175 million people are on Facebook, and more than 40 million professionals are on LinkedIn. There are more than 1 billion cell phones in the world. Companies commonly use blogs and wikis and portals for quick and easy access to resources.

While learning and development executives still are responsible for building high-powered professional, technical and leadership programs, they’re also now the stewards and architects of a vast range of informal learning tools and resources.

Formal training still is appropriate for portions of some learning programs, but informal training is becoming much more predominant. Besides being more cost and time efficient, informal learning also supports how most learning takes place. Corporate managers estimate that approximately 20 percent of job-related learning occurs through formal, traditional training, while 80 percent occurs informally or on the job.

If we are to stay relevant, learning professionals must formally consider informal learning when doing strategic planning. Rather than being an afterthought or addendum, informal learning should be near the top of the planning process.

Consider a high-powered new sales training program Bersin & Associates evaluated for one of the world’s fastest-growing technology companies. The program includes technical education, performance support, a series of communities of practice and a heavy focus on management coaching. These learning approaches come together to form an integrated, high-performance sales development program designed to bring formal, informal and self-directed learning together.

Bersin & Associates recently published the Enterprise Learning Framework, a graphical view of what the modern training organization looks like in light of the big shift to informal learning. The chart shows the six learning areas on which learning organizations should focus:

1. Programs
2. Audiences and problems
3. Approaches
4. Disciplines
5. Technology
6. Culture

These areas aren’t new, but we do need to think about them differently in the era of formal informal learning. As you formalize informal learning, you must think about these areas as an integrated whole and consider each when doing program planning.

If it all sounds a little overwhelming, particularly in these difficult economic times, take heart. Formalizing informal learning can be achieved without spending a lot of money. If we think like architects and bring together the elements of learning we already know, we can lead this new wave of corporate training and help our organizations become more competitive than ever.

Research clearly shows that enduring organizations have built a strong set of formal and informal learning processes, all supported by many elements of a learning culture. As leaders of corporate training, we must go beyond the classroom and e-learning catalog and embrace this new era.

Nobel laureate Paul Samuelson wrote, “Economists have correctly predicted nine of the last five recessions.” Poor John Maynard Keynes. Falling to gallery criticism, his theory has been much criticized over the years.

Keynes’ ‘The General Theory of Employment, Interest & Money,’ which was published in 1936, states that there is a chance of aggregate demand to be insufficient during a downturn, and this leads to high unemployment and low output. In such a situation, government intervention by lowering interest rates and increasing investment to increase aggregate demand will help to recover the economy. Franklin Roosevelt was amongst the more famous leaders who were influenced by this theory. He adopted some aspects of this theory amidst The Great Depression. The success of Keynesian theory was further witnessed after the World War 2 in rebuilding war ravaged countries. It became more prevalent in socialist-democratic European countries and even in the US in 1960s.

however, what’s the situation today? Surprisingly, J.M. Keynes doesn’t seem to have lost his relevance even today. The present economic downturn is evidence enough. Erstwhile hard-core capitalist countries are shamelessly (Given their erstwhile capitalist and anti-socialist’ proclivities) following the Keynes path this time again. For example, while US has announced a gigantic stimulus package of $787 Billion to overcome the recession, Japan- which has been undergoing  recession for over a decade – has announced several stimulus packages, the latest being $687.7 Billion in 2009. Germany is another economy to announce a package of $67.9 billion in 2009. China, with its $585.6 billion stimulus, is then no surprise at all.

Then why the two faced approach where US, for one, officially proclaims communism to be quasi-evil, and on the other hand follows socialistic tenets to the tee? There’s this man called OBAMA who lifted sanctions on Cuba for first time in many years, accepted talks with Iran without conditions and even has talked about talking with terror groups .. And we know he ain’t no hypocrite.

Pratyay Lahiri

pratyaylahiri@live.in

Freezing is a topic that too many organizations know all too well during this economic downturn. In March, Hay Group conducted its global “Reward in a Downturn” survey, highlighting the recession’s impact on organization’s reward programs – which obviously has major implications on talent management strategies.

Not much positive has been happening in the world of compensation increases during the past year. Salary-increase budgets have been slashed, if there is an increase budget at all. Further, the typical salary increase employees can expect now is a paltry 2 percent, the lowest in decades. For executives it is zero percent.

More than a third of organizations have implemented a salary freeze and more than half have either laid off people or implemented hiring freezes. The vast majority of short-term incentive programs paid out substantially less than target last year, and many top reward executives are predicting 2009 won’t be much better.

The resulting picture is different than ever before for most organizations. The key question senior talent leaders are struggling with is, “How do I keep my talent engaged in these tough times when the prospect for increasing or maintaining compensation levels is bleak?”

When organizations are forced to do more with less, the discretionary effort of employees willing to go the extra mile for the organization is particularly important. Hay Group’s “Reward in a Downturn” research identified employee engagement as the most dominant reward-related concern for senior reward leaders during the economic crisis.

There are a few things organizations can do to ensure they are optimizing employee engagement during these extraordinary times while maintaining a firm talent management foundation.

To improve engagement levels, leaders need to first and foremost be straight with their staff regarding the business situation and let employees in on the plan for the future. It’s not a one-way communication flow either. This is an opportune time for leaders to solicit employee’s ideas for improving business performance. Asking employees to step up because they are needed to help the organization will promote a sense of accountability and encourage employees to make an impact.

Organizations need to explicitly clarify their must-win battles for the short and mid-term, and give key challenges and roles to the best performers. This simple action should energize a core group of top talent and pull the organization forward. Concurrently, organizations need to ensure they have a good understanding of their top performers needs and wants, if they haven’t done so already.

This may not involve financial rewards in this tough economy, but other reward methods. Research indicates:

a) Organizations that focus on total rewards – tangible and intangible – outperform their peers.

b) Career development, non financial recognition, a positive work climate and meaningful work are primary intangible rewards that have significant leverage on employee engagement.

c) Intangible rewards generally are a better value to the organization than monetary-based programs, especially as they relates to talent retention.

For organizations, there is a stack choice: They can close their eyes, hang on tight and hope for the best. Or they can prepare for the next upturn, make necessary changes, focus on creative ways to engage their talent and invest in their futures.

Pratyay Lahiri

pratyaylahiri@live.in

Key leanings:

Organizational change aimed at improving work methods, productivity and business profits must be coherent

Enthusiastic leadership, flow of creativity and stability in procedure helps in reaching the goals

Jargons like organizational change and organizational transformation are often used theoretically and in management talk. The term organizational change is used in the context of companies that are undergoing or have just undergone a transformation.

However, organizational change management is not a ‘one-month ordeal’. It is a process that involves rearticulating managerial, technical, financial and business aspects.

A McKinsey Quarterly online survey shows that only 38 percent of the global employees consider change as a positive effect on performance. And, 10 percent believe that most of such transformations are unproductive.

Change Management

According to change management experts, two factors are critical for any transformation to click. One is vision or goal-the changes the company aspires to bring about. The second is sustainability. The sustainability factor refers to the unwavering energy, commitment and persuasiveness to reach the goal.

Defining the objective

A well-defined and comprehensive objective spells out the goal clearly for all the employees of the organization. While different departments may have different approaches, the core aim of transformation remains unchanged. This distinctly clear system ensures an upbeat journey that promotes organizational health, participation of every employee and bottom-line profits.

Defining the role and time frame

A well articulated strategy ensures that there is no overlap of roles. It also rules out misinterpretation. Each employee has his defined role that is personal and challenging. Moreover, since the focus is on ‘strengths’, the definitive goal of ‘effectual transformation’ is accomplished.

When the time frame is set over a few months, the employees will be enthusiastic. Goals set over three or five years fall prey to dwindling employee interest. In such cases, the leadership of the organization plays a very important part. For effective articulation of long term goals, involvement of employees and applying fair and apt metrics to track developments, it is important for employees to remain clued in to developments.

Sustaining energy and flow of ideas

Creativity and ideas are advantages that help sustain organizational change. Many a time, organizations discard ideas doubting their practicality. However, innovation is the key to reach people and bring about desired changes.

Most often, ideas from employees or leaders are considered deeply. Mutually inspiring organizations initiate creativity, responsibility and accountability. To encourage an ‘idea sharing’ work environment, leaders must espouse innovation and sharing thoughts that can bring about radical transformations.

Channelizing energies

When leaders of an organization announce transformation to employees, two extreme reactions are bound to happen. There will be employee totally gung-ho about the transformations and those who will be cynical. It is important to generate positive stimulation and help employees channelize their dynamism. Some companies reward ‘ideas champions’, while some appoint ‘the master blaster’. Such steps energise the staff towards transformation.

“A smaller set of high-impact, briskly moving initiatives is more energizing-and thus more sustainable-than a broader set of initiatives moving at a stately pace.”

Seeing is believing

Any results of the transformation, however small, must be highlighted to ensure greater participation. Employees usually remain mute spectators to the brainstorming sessions and meetings that are part of the organizational change. The worth of such sessions is usually taken too lightly. However, even a small success during the transformation reaffirms employee faith in the process and the overall vision.

Learning curve

The transformational process is a learning process for leaders, management and employees. Open communication channels, suitable rewards and discipline are extremely important to understand the change. While the transformation aims at bringing about success in the organization, individual growth and learning cannot be ignored. Experts rightly suggest that organizational transformations which focus on individual strengths create a more involved staff.

In today’s highly dynamic market, being a flexible, employee centric and practical organization is a plus. An organizational transformation is a dynamic process with multiple levels of planning and execution. However, the re engineering and rebuilding process can be an exhilarating expedition if the leadership has commitment and clarity.

Pratyay Lahiri

pratyaylahiri@live.in

This holy trinity of 21st-century business is changing the way companies succeed – or fail – in the new world. Geographic barriers have all but disappeared. Brainpower has replaced bricks and mortar as a company’s most valuable asset and Web 2.0 functionality allows workers to communicate and collaborate like never before.

Although open access and technological advances have nearly leveled the corporate playing field, one differentiating factor remains: In today’s multinational, knowledge-based, interconnected economy, human capital is the asset that drives organizational success. And the battle for this finite resource is becoming more and more intense.

Organizations are experiencing talent shortages and skills gaps across all functional areas, in all industries and all geographic locations. Consulting firm Development Dimensions International has reported that one in five of the U.S.’ established companies will lose 40 percent or more of their top-level talent during the next five years. As shown in a 2007 McKinsey Quarterly survey of more than 1,300 executives, finding talented people will be the single most important managerial preoccupation for the rest of this decade.

When the estimated 77 million baby boomers retire between 2010 and 2025, they will take much of their skills and knowledge with them. Further, young people entering the workforce have expectations, priorities, temperaments and work styles that differ from older generations.
Desires for greater work-life balance and higher pay result in more rapid turnover among this age group because, for them, work often is a progressive series of project engagements and learning experiences rather than a long-term commitment.

More critically, these new workers lack the industry-specific experience of the senior employees they will replace, as well as the business skills and professional wisdom that requires years of real-world exposure.

Tightened immigration controls, rising health care costs, fewer graduates in the engineering and science professions, local market conditions and other factors have joined these forces to create what some have called the “perfect labor storm” – a talent deficit of potentially catastrophic proportions.

Companies are facing other business challenges in the evolving global marketplace, as well. Flexibility, speed and mobility are more important than ever to enable organizations to adapt to rapidly changing markets and technologies. At the same time, corporate conservatism resulting from the dot-com crash, high-profile accounting scandals and the credit crisis have companies running lean and focused on the bottom line.

Work is becoming more team and project based, driven by quicker turnaround and the need for ROI. And the knowledge economy is driving a growing need for workers with specialized skills.

A New Staffing Model Emerges

Companies that want to stay competitive in the years to come must strategically redefine their operations to work harmoniously with these changes.

In the new economy, fluid business models are rewarded, and inflexible models are pummeled. Organizational structures, leadership and management styles are evolving in recognition of this reality, and with them, new strategies to manage talent are emerging.

Most companies understand the conventional wisdom for addressing the talent shortage: attract and recruit the best-quality employees; align HR and business strategies; motivate performers with novel incentives; inspire long-term engagement through invested skills development training; and pinpoint and advance the highest performers.

But this is no longer enough. Success in an on-demand world means companies need access to the expertise they need, when they need it, at a reasonable cost.

Forward-thinking companies realize there is much to be gained by implementing a flexible staffing approach, adjusting the balance in their staffing models to include targeted short-term labor, as well as investing in full-time employees.

The Flexible Workforce

The flexible workforce is an innovative strategy that provides the responsiveness, cost-effectiveness and resilience organizations need to survive while leveraging the strengths of a diverse workforce and enhancing employee satisfaction.

In the recession of the early ’90s and after the dot-com crash, companies learned a lot about resilience. They adopted just-in-time (JIT) techniques to reduce fixed inventory costs, deployed supply chain management to gain flexibility and control production factors, outsourced noncore functions to minimize overhead and utilized the contingent workers for low-level clerical and administrative roles.

But the management and professional workforce didn’t fit well into this model. There was no easy way to maintain flexibility or apply JIT techniques; organizations still stocked seldom-used resources to ensure they had them when needed. And when generalists were deployed to execute special projects, suboptimal outcomes often resulted.

Companies are beginning to appreciate the need for flexibility in all talent expenditures – including those at professional and management levels – recognizing the value and cost savings that can be realized by adding expert staff in increments as needed. The flexible staffing model offer benefits in many areas:

1. Cost savings

2. Instead of staffing for the peak, firms can staff for average levels and use the flexible workforce to satisfy peak, special of one-off needs.

3. Expertise contingent workers allow specialized needs to be met with the knowledge workers who can best address them. Recruiters can cast a broader net – “try before they buy” – and both sides benefit from cross-company/industry pollination. The end result is that management is free to focus on the execution of strategic initiatives.

4. Flexibility and agility flexible staffing enables companies to manage the peaks and valleys of their businesses while satisfying workforce needs, and to take quick action to respond to threats or capitalize on opportunities.

5. Worker satisfaction a flexible staffing plan demonstrates management commitment to talent and fosters a high-quality, stable and ultimately satisfied workforce, both in-house and out. An overwhelming 96.5 percent of independent contractors surveyed by the U.S. Department of Labor indicated they intend to continue working under this arrangement as long as they are able.

Flexible Staffing Plans

A flexible staffing strategy lends itself readily to many of today’s common business challenges and may be ideal in the following situations:

a) A company is going through a merger, IPO or reorganization, and special skills are required.

b) A reorganization is in process and day-to-day work must be done, but hiring full-time employees is not an option.

c) The company needs expertise not available internally.

d) Senior talent could provide wisdom and stability in an uncertain or new arena.

e) A top employee needs a mentor to grow to the next level.

f) Talent managers want to build a new competency.

g) A key manager abruptly departs.

h) An extra set of hands is needed for a special project.

i) Talent managers want to hire a full-time candidate, but critical projects must move forward in the interim.

j) A key initiative requires specialized resources to accelerate progress.

k) A fresh perspective is needed.

To build a staffing model in harmony with the workforce of the future, talent managers must figure out what the vital jobs are in the company and outsource the rest to project experts. There are five basic steps:

1. Define the work.
Identify the work and the skill/seniority level required to do it.

2. Define who does the work.
Evaluate full-time vs. just-in-time needs by distinguishing vital, full-time core positions from cyclical and project work that can be handled by outsourced workers.

3. Cultivate core staff.
Determine the core staff necessary, and hire and nurture quality full-time talent for vital positions. Define the relationship between the full-time worker and the organization.

4. Cultivate contingent staff.
Define the scope, timeline and expectations for each outsourced project and the relationship of project workers with the organization. Redefine the temp to include not just lower-skilled, short-term workers, but also expert, just-in-time staffing for managerial level, professional and strategic engagements.

5. Integrate core and contingent workforces.
Fit targeted, outsourced expertise to each project, working side-by-side with full-time core workers.

Demographics, technology and evolving management thinking are making it easier and less costly for companies to integrate and manage outsourced workers, paving the way for new talent deployment models and innovative contracting options.

According to Spherion and Harris Interactive “Emerging Workforce Study,” six in 10 U.S. companies employ contingent workers, with companies on average utilizing them for 8 percent of their workforces. In 2005, an estimated 10 million independent contractors in the U.S. accounted for roughly 7.5 percent of the total workforce. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that contingent workforce growth will outpace full-time equivalent growth by a three-to-one ratio during the next 10 years, and by 2010, nearly 25 percent of the U.S. workforce will be contingent or part time.

Never before has it been so important for companies to efficiently deploy, manage and measure human assets. In today’s climate of constant change, where knowledge is power and the pressure for results is intense, a skilled, motivated workforce represents an organization’s greatest competitive advantage. But the growing talent shortage is threatening the future success of companies across the board.

By deploying expert just-in-time talent at all levels of the organization to work alongside full-time staff, flexible staffing models combat increasing recruiting and retention problems while enabling companies to accommodate volume fluctuations, maintain leaner permanent head counts and access the expertise they need, when they need it. More and more companies are viewing the contingent workforce as a vital component of their human capital strategies to remain competitive in the 21st century.

Pratyay Lahiri
pratyaylahiri@live.in

TATA NANO

History will be created in Mumbai tomorrow when Tata Motors launches the world’s least expensive car, Nano — a car that can redefine Described as “People’s Car” by Tata Group Chairman Mr. Ratan Tata, Nano’s commercial launch will mark a milestone in a journey, which was replete with controversies, hurdles and criticism from competitors. As far as customers are concerned, they can expect to own a car coming at a price between Rs. 1.20 Lakh and Rs. 1.30 Lakh, depending on the version of Nano, although bookings will start only in April second week. According to dealer sources, if the company keeps the ex-factory price at Rs 1 Lakh, as promised by Tata, then the base model could easily have an on-road price of Rs 1.20 Lakh after adding taxes such as excise duty, education cess and road tax, along with transportation cost, local taxes, insurance and registration fees and a lifetime parking fees (wherever applicable). Last month, Tata Motors had appointed public sector lender State Bank of India as the sole booking agent for the world’s least expensive car from the stable of Tata’s. The booking amount is reportedly fixed at Rs 70,000. Ever since the idea of making a car costing only Rs 1 Lakh for Indian passengers was conceived way back in 2003 by Ratan Tata, his dream had to face challenges — both technical and political. At a time when input costs were soaring, keeping cost of production of a comfortable mini car powered by a 623cc engine giving a competitive mileage was a challenge big enough. While Tata’s were able to overcome it, the group was unable to beat political challenge from Trinamool Congress and had to shift manufacturing base from the original location at Singur in West Bengal to Sanand in Gujarat. It delayed not only the original plans for the commercial launch of Nano by about five months, but also affected its availability.

So after so many controversies and so many things finally NANO launched today by Tata motors. as per Mr. Ratan Tata, he kept his promise that he had made 6 years back. This is called a true Business man. A promise that he give a 1 lakh rupees car to his country. In this recession he kept his promise. And he also kept his promise when Tata motors is in loss after acquiring Jaguar and land rover. This is Mr. Ratan Tata. A Charismatic Leader.

Pratyay Lahiri

pratyaylahiri@live.in

Pratyay Lahiri

pratyaylahiri@live.in

Nothing you will get so easy. There are no concept like Readymade. Everything is started from Zero Level. When you start a new company. There are so any obstacles will come in front of you but you have to overcome those obstacles. Those obstacles are in may faces. Like financial instability, economic recession, bad market condition etc. These things are always there. If you think when these things will overcome and on that time start a business. Some point of time decision is good but sometimes bad. Starting a new venture is totally your decision. If you think that your business plan is excellent and differentiate form others. then go for it. Initially will face lots of PROBLEMS. But at the end of the day you will find that decision you have taken is right. i want to share my experience, when i am writing this blog, i am nothing. Even i don’t have job also. i am going to start a new company. which name is “MIDAS MANAGEMENT & CONSULTING SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED”. I wanted to start this company since when i was in my MBA study. On that time so many friends with me and give me motivation yes we will start our own venture. But now at this position when i am writing this blog nobody is there with me except a few friends. So don’t believe on anyone. Just believe in yourself. If you think yes i want to do this things and nobody can stop me then go for it. So now i am going to start this company and move ahead. i need everyone but i am single now. and move ahead only depend on my confidence yes i can do it. So anytime if you want to do something just believe in yourself. You will find lots of people laugh on you, creating jokes on you. Nobody will supporting you but you keep running. One day you will find yourself there where you want to go and on that very day you will find everybody will see you and think to be like you. And you will find everyone will mum.

There are some lessons keep in mind if want to achieve success:

1. Be confident whatever you want to do

2. Believe in yourself

3. don’t believe too much on others

4. Be innovative and do something which differentiate you from others

5. Never loose your hope, if you loose then never move ahead

6. If there are success, failure must be there, but take failure as a motivation and you will find a new way of life and new way of thinking

7. Everybody said think in limit. But thinking has no limit. Think how much you can. If you think big only then you can move ahead.

8. There is nothing called LUCK. If you do something for yourself or for others you will get result. Like Newton’s 3rd law of motion, “Every action is a same and opposite reaction”. Same things you will find in our life also. whatever you do you have to pay for this and also you will gain something from that.

9. Don’t be emotional. Because emotion make people weaker. 

So i must believe in one statement, “We are all here for some special reason. stop being a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future.”

The main thing is You Know what you are but you don’t know what you become. As Swami Vivekananda said, “The Greatest sin is to think of yourself Weak”. so many people say many things. everybody try to de motivate you. not supporting you but be confident what you want to do. and must fix you goal. and strict on your goal, I must say definitely you will achieve your goal one day. Because at first people refuse to believe that you can do a strange new thing. but some times later they begin to think it can’t be done if they find you are not doing good. After that they see it can be done, when you will do something good. when you will be successful and do some good innovative job then all the world wonders why it was not done before. so don’t think what people think, what they say. Just be passionate whatever you want to do, that’s it. 

“If you think you can, you are right. Just be passionate about it. And if you lack passion, then develop it because success never comes till you are passionate about it.”

Pratyay Lahiri

pratyaylahiri@live.in

”The heart of motivation is to give people what they really want most from work. The more you are able to provide what they want, the more you should expect what you really want, namely: productivity, quality, and service.” – Twyla Dell

The topic motivation is extremely important for employers. Motivated employees can create a climate that is conductive to performance, do their best and help the organization to achieve the targets. While a stressed out and grumpy person with a frown on his face cannot perform well on work and so cannot help the organization to achieve their goals. I can share the example of one of my managers who enters the office with energy, enthusiasms and a big smile on his face. With same positive motivation he spends some moments with all of his team members, shares happiness, discusses new tasks, and new expectations. This is an extremely simple activity but it is the key of high motivation and morale of his team members.

Each employee gets motivated by different things. As the heart of motivation is to give people what they really want most from their work, it is very important to find out the “heart”. If some of them are interested in sports, provide them facility for it. If some want to go a hill station then arrange hill station trips on weekends twice a year. These all are very small things but vital for employees’ motivation.

Here are some steps and suggestions to find your employees’ heart of motivation.

1. Define your organizational hierarchy.

2. Measure your team members’ performance systematically without favoritism. Individual goals and targets must be realistically defined and discussed with team at the start of the year. Performance factors e.g. quality of work, target achievement, productivity, dedication, innovation, discipline, dependence of members etc. must be considered. At the end of performance evaluation all successes and failures of team member must be discussed with him/her to make a clear picture of his performance in his/her mind.

3. Also consider previous years’ performances while evaluating current year’s performance.

4. Allocate a certain amount of money to use for compensating the teams on good performance. For example, team members’ dinner on good work or target achievement.

5. Provide them proper feedback of their work.

6. Provide employees with ample opportunities to learn new and advanced skills. They should be supported by the company for higher/further education as well.

7. Get to know your employees, families, children, their birthdays, wedding anniversaries, hobbies, favorite restaurants and food. Do change the nature of relationship with your employees. Care for them, thank them and appreciate them.

8. Celebrate their birthdays.

9. Informal gatherings like trips, dinners, visits must be arranged by the company to improve communication between teams. Organize quarterly, two to three days’ trips.

10. Listen to and act upon employees’ ideas and suggestions. In the words of Roy E. Moody, a motivational speaker, “The greatest motivational act one person can do for another is to listen.”

11. Provide employees with appropriate authority to make decisions about how they do their jobs.

12. Policy for annual vacation with family supported by the company on draw basis must be introduced.

13. Introduce employee of the month, employee of the quarter and employee of the year awards to keep employees motivated.

14. Announce bonuses in team meetings so that all of the other members know who got some extra reward and why.

15. Start some in-house recreational activities like table tennis, badminton and volley ball.

16. Company policies must be defined, well communicated and user friendly.

17. Try to eliminate extra working by managing tasks, estimations, executions and trends. Late sitting due to work burden must be compensated with leave as well as monetary reward (bonuses based on productivity) and facilities (refreshment, dinner).

18. Organize monthly employee meetings for better coordination.

19. Sponsor your employees’ certifications/short courses.

There are so many other small activities that can keep your team motivated. Sustainability of the motivation is very important and to sustain its high level you are required to establish reliable and comprehensive systems, policies and process in the workplace. It will ensure long-term motivation of your people to contribute to a desired development of organization.

Pratyay Lahiri

pratyaylahiri@live.in