Aloke Paskar has been named as the President and Chief Executive Officer of JK Technosoft Ltd., a global software solutions provider that enables businesses to make informed decisions with data-driven analytics. He will be responsible for the overall functioning of the company, reporting to the Board of Directors.

Satish Gupta, Executive Director, JK Technosoft Ltd. said, “With Aloke’s knowledge and credentials, we are confident his leadership will help us further accelerate our business growth while imbibing from him the best industry practices. His vision and customer-centricity will enable JK Technosoft’s transformation into a unique digital solutions company in its chosen customer segment."

An alumnus of St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata and Post Graduate from XLRI, Jamshedpur, Aloke comes with 30+ years of rich experience. His expertise lies in P&L management, business operations, business transformation, and global delivery management across the USA, UK/Europe, APAC, Middle East, and Latin America. 

 Speaking on his appointment, Aloke Paskar said, “I’m delighted to join JK Technosoft at an exciting time in the industry where changing business environment, demands transformation both for our customers and ourselves. With a long history and strong financial foundation, JK Technosoft is poised to bring new-era business solutions to our customers and become a leader in our chosen segments. We have invested in the right direction and I’m looking forward to working with our customers and our exceptional team to build customer-centric partnerships over the coming years”.

Through its near-shore and off-shore centers, the company offers industry-specific tailor-made solutions around ERP and Digital Transformation to industries like Manufacturing, Retail, Insurance, CPG, etc. With a team strength of over 1600 employees, JK Technosoft is present in the US, UK and Netherlands region with offshore development centers in India. The company plans to expand its footprint across the Middle East and it where it hopes to leverage Aloke’s vast experience, having worked with organizations like HCL, NIIT, Capgemini, TEOCO among others. In January this year, the firm had also roped in Santosh Bhosle as Global Practice Head for Digital Services.

The new figure from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has suggested that the travel sector could shrink by up to 25 percent in 2020.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has impacted the businesses globally and the trade body has predicted the pandemic can further put 50 million tourism jobs at the risk of getting eliminated. 

The body has also confirmed that out of the 50 million jobs that could be lost, around 30 million would be in Asia, seven million in Europe, five million in the Americas and the rest in other continents.

The news comes after thousands of international flights were cancelled and some insurance firms suspended travel cover for new customers. The tourism industry has been massively affected by the spread of coronavirus, as many countries have introduced travel restrictions in an attempt to contain its spread.

The trade body is calling on governments to take several steps to protect the industry, including:

• Removing or simplifying visas where possible, as well as reducing costs
• Relaxing "unnecessary barriers" at ports and airports
• Reduce travellers' taxes such as Air Passenger Duty
• Increase budgets for promoting travel destinations.

Earlier the aviation industry was in news as it struggles with the severe impact of the pandemic. British Airways CEO also announced in media that the company is looking forward to cut jobs. Air New Zealand also announced that the company might cut 30 percent of staff as coronavirus pandemic hits travel industry hard.

By sector, airlines and cruise ships were currently being more impacted than hotels.

The equivalent to a loss of three months of global travel in 2020 could lead to a corresponding reduction in jobs of between 12 percent and 14 percent.

The tourism industry accounts for 10% of the world’s GDP and jobs.

Big Data, Personalization, Artificial Intelligence has permeated into our day to day experiences. AI today plays a role right from movie recommendations when we are watching Netflix or suggestions on the choice of books on Amazon Kindle or help gig workers with assignments or connect advisors to start-ups.

Imagine if the same power of data could be unleashed on employee training, productivity and team composition, then employee engagement can be off the charts.

The format data set includes work products, CRM and emails sent out by an employee, appraisal ratings, any assessments including psychometric or leadership training; The informal inputs include workplace interactions i.e. working hours, leave absence and work teams, etc.  

• Learning is Personal: In the future, work will be project-based and skills will be more personalized with an individual assessment of past work to predict future fitment and assessment, the learning platforms will cover not just employees but also free-lancers and contractors to ensure organizational success. Rather than skills, the ability to drive learnability is the goal of these analytics.
• Gamification to simplify interviewing: In order to reduce human bias, firms such as Pymetrics and Montage provide assessments which are text-based interviewing, gaming or a first-level video interview which are assessed by machine learning algorithms to build a wider pool of viable candidates. This will help employees compete for internal job postings or new roles and also brings more objective datasets to the table.
• Team building cannot be left to chance: In an increasingly globalized organization, bringing the right set of individuals and role fitment brings a significant competitive advantage. IBM is already piloting AI to determine the right role, right team, and the probability of success based on expertise, diversity of knowledge and social connections to enhance sales effectiveness.
• Time and Motion Studies are back: In the 1950s, time and motion studies were in vogue to understand how the process could be made more efficient. Now with RFID technologies, employees can be tracked in terms of time spent at the desk as compared to meeting rooms, time taken at lunch breaks or meetings to assess the efficiency and even which employees tend to collaborate vs loners. A startup in Boston was able to achieve 11% improvement in productivity by discovering having a larger table of 8 programmers were more effective than programmers sitting alone or groups of 4 as the knowledge transfer was higher. 
• Wellness & Personal Coaching: In the future, Voice-based assistants will become mainstream and allow employees to focus on the creative aspects of the job while taking over the repeated tasks. Universities such as MIT and Stanford are also working on chatbots that can assess if employees are under stress and suggest solutions to alleviate mental stress.  Chatbots based on your past queries could become a confidant like JARVIS or SIRI but also actively recommend trainings or wellness suggestions and help employees to be a better version of themselves. 

• Firms need to guard against biases: As managers and employees will start trusting AI recommendations, it is imperative the inputs used are free of biases. A leading e-commerce portal realized the AI algorithm for performance management was skewed towards white males in the mid-30s since the previous promotions had shown a similar trend. So programming and selection of the right algorithms will be key          
• Right use of data: While technology provides a platform to accelerate employee productivity, it is essential data privacy & permissions are respected as it is a very slippery slope for misguided surveillance and tracking the wrong metrics. Discretion and adherence to laws need to be paramount.  

Given the right safeguards and employee opt-in, data can be unleashed to drive personal productivity and better outcomes for the firm.

Tony Thomas, CIO of Nissan Motors is stepping down from his position. His last working day is March 31, 2020. Yasunobu Matoba will be replacing Thomas as the new CIO.

The stepping down of Thomas is part of the change drive being undertaken by the automaker.

In a statement, the company said, “The changes are aimed to accelerate performance recovery and to further enhance and improve corporate governance and culture.”

Thomas joined in 2017 and during his stint with Nissan, he was responsible for managing all information systems, information technology, data & analytics and cybersecurity for all of Nissan brands of Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun across the globe.

Prior to joining Nissan, he was the Group CIO at GE Global. Thomas has also worked with firms like Vodafone Idea, Citi, and EY.

A bachelor of technology, Thomas has close to 27 years of experience in IT and digital transformation. Tony was one of the key forces behind bringing the Global Digital Hub of the Nissan to Thiruvananthapuram. Following in the heels of Nissan, companies such as Tech Mahindra, Fujitsu, and Hitachi also made inroads into Kerala.

The automaker has been in the midst of senior management appointments after it has found itself in a downward spiral since the arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn last year.  In December, it roped in Makoto Uchida  as its new chief. In addition, former Mitsubishi Motors Corp. COO Ashwani Gupta was appointed COO, and Jun Seki, who was Senior Vice-president at Nissan, was elevated to vice COO. Last month, the automaker posted its first quarterly net loss in nearly a decade and slashed its annual profit forecast. The challenges before the new management remain aplenty.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, instrumental for making the company one of the world's most valuable technology firms, has stepped down from the company’s board to focus on philanthropic works related to global health, education and climate change.

The billionaire and his wife Melinda run one of the world's largest charities, the Gates Foundation, which has channeled billions towards global health programs to combat disease and eradicate poverty.

Gates quit his full-time executive role at Microsoft in 2008 and remained as chairman of the board till 2014. Since then he has been a board member. But from now on, though he will remain a technology advisor to CEO Satya Nadella, his involvement with the company will be the lowest it has ever been.

In a media statement, Satya Nadella said, “It’s been a tremendous honor and privilege to have worked with and learned from Bill over the years. I am grateful for Bill’s friendship and look forward to continuing to work alongside him to realize our mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”

With Bill stepping down, the board of Microsoft will now consist of 12 members, the company said. In addition, Gates also stepped down from the board of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, where he has served since 2004.

Bill stepping down from the board of one of the most valued technology companies shows how a successful succession planning ought to look like. As the world’s second-richest person takes a deeper dive into philanthropy and his aim to solve global health and economic problems, one can hope it will be as big as his first legacy. In this direction, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently announced that it would commit $100 Mn to aid global detection, isolation and treatment of the coronavirus as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc globally

IndiaFirst Life Insurance, a joint venture of Bank of Baroda and Andhra Bank, has re-appointed RM Vishakha as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. The company made the announcement of the appointment after receiving the letter of confirmation from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) confirming her re-appointment.

Commenting on her re-appointment, RM Vishakha stated, “IndiaFirst Life is a wonderful team, bound together by common values, dreams and aspirations. It has been a fulfilling and exciting journey wherein we have achieved many firsts and milestones together. I am thankful to the board and stakeholders for their support, and unwavering faith in me. In this new term, I aim to inch closer to our closely cherished dream of “Insurance for all” with IndiaFirst Life’s ‘CustomerFirst’ ideology that is at the heart of every endeavor.”

 Vishakha is a veteran in the BFSI space with over 30 years of experience. She first took on the responsibility as the IndiaFirst Life MD and CEO in 2015. She was instrumental in the Warburg Pincus acquisition of Legal and General’s 26% stake in 2018 as well as for higher distribution possibilities and extension of the company’s distinctive specialization in the area of bancassurance when its parent bank – Bank of Baroda, merged with Dena and Vijaya banks, 

Under her leadership, IndiaFirst Life’s AUM grew to Rs. 15,000 Cr as of March 31, 2019 and has strengthened its customer base to over 7 lakhs from 93 thousand. In the last five years, the company has also moved from 20th rank to 12th rank in the retail business. It is this progress which the company hopes to continue under Vishakha’s leadership for the next five years as well.

A leader with over 15 years of experience in leading and managing a diverse workforce, across industries and cultures, Navneet Kumar Ahluwalia is presently Head - Human Resources & Administration at Fujifilm India.

Part of Fujifilm’s global talent leadership team, Ahluwalia provides strategic leadership on people agenda. His prior work experience includes stints across supply chain, consumer durable, automobile and the IT industry with companies like Panasonic, TCI Group, CMC Ltd. (owned by TCS) and LG Electronics.

In a candid conversation with People Matters, Ahluwalia shares his biggest learnings from working in culturally diverse organizations, managing a multi-generational workforce, and his mantra to lead - ‘Value for People’.

Here are excerpts of the interview.

There are distinct characteristics that I have learnt over the last 15 years, working with Indians, Koreans and the Japanese. The first is discipline, followed by promptness in responding to employee queries as an HR professional, and third is agility in executing strategies. Agility is one thing that I specifically learnt from Koreans, given how aggressive they are when it comes to achieving targets. Moving on to Japanese, there is a significant difference in how they approach people, how they treat people. They love working with people and taking everybody together, with their main focus being process improvements. With Indian organizations, my major learning was valuing people. For instance, when it comes to performance issues, they don’t make hasty decisions and immediately ask people to leave, instead they give these employees an opportunity to develop themselves and spend time understanding the employee and their background. These are some of my biggest learnings over a period of 15 years. 

Depending on the nature and need of bringing in a change, you need to assess whether it is in the interest of the organization and its people or not. At times you have to be more aggressive in order to get things done. But, you must also realize that this transition needs to be taken care of in parallel to the human values, since end of the day it’s people who make up the organization. If I am not valuing my people, then I am not justifying my role here, which is why my focus here is also to trigger an emotional connection in people, especially when we talk about areas like about diversity and inclusion. You have employees coming in from different castes, color, profession, different characteristics and different traits.

If I am not valuing them for who they are, then I am not adding any value by hiring and developing them.

I have to accept them the way they are and then value them. If you value your people, they will in turn value the organization. 

Respect, Value, Promptness

Leaders have to guide the organization to become diverse and inclusive. But before that, I believe they are also the ones who need to be coached and guided well in understanding, introducing and managing diversity.

For instance, technical and specialized roles constitute a significant proportion of a healthcare organization, with people having been in the organization for a good 15 - 20 years. What leaders need to understand is that going forward it’s the younger generation that will take this business forward and they come with a very different approach. The younger segment of the workforce is aggressive, creative and demanding, they also come from different institutions, different regions, and with their own culture and beliefs in place. When they enter the organization, they have to report to people who have been in the organization for a long time. Given these dynamics, it is not the younger generation that needs to acclimatize to the organizational culture, rather it’s the top management and the managers who need to open up and broaden their thought process and accept the next generation the way they are. 

Somewhere with the current generation, they will always look out to question the status quo and thought processes. Now if my leader and second in command are very well equipped and educated in this regard, they’ll have the ability to accept this shift. It is therefore the top management and the second layer of leadership which has to be educated first before you think of bringing in diversity in the workforce. 

The important role that an HR leader plays here is in creating a balance between both levels. Millennials are go-getters, they look forward to more roles, responsibilities as well as compensation. But, somewhere down the line, they need to be properly guided and coached, they need to be given a reality check, telling them how things work in an organizational setup, at the same time aligning the senior workforce with similar expectations, as they are the ones who will coach the millennials ultimately and extend support when needed.

It is about creating a balance between the two.

I learnt from my very first boss that as an HR leader there are three key things you must do - you have to smell the place, you have to see the place and you have to listen to the place.

If I am walking on the floor, I should be able to assess if something is wrong. Personal connects and informal feedbacks are the best mechanisms to ascertain inputs. While surveys could give you data, having such interactions helps you recognize the pulse and true sentiment of the employee. Building good relationships and connecting with people will enable you to value people, creating value in the long run.

Value for People!

Dr. Zsuzsanna Tungli has spent almost 30 years working on ways for organizations to improve their cross-cultural, leadership, diversity, and inclusion performance. In 2010 she set up Developing Global Leaders Asia with the objective of helping companies develop leadership models that incorporate cultural, gender, and generational diversity, and cross-cultural competency, among other capabilities.

People Matters asked Dr. Tungli for her take on how organizations can transform their ideals surrounding diversity into real, concrete change at every level. Here are the highlights of the conversation.

You have to start by looking at the data for the leadership, at the top level and several levels down after that. You need to know the current situation in the organization: is my leadership team more male, is it more of a certain race? And you need to particularly look at the leadership teams because of the role modelling aspect. If people don’t see enough role models in the leadership teams, that will have an impact on the whole culture.

Ideally, you will also look at the data for the pipeline. A very few, very developed organizations in the Asia Pacific also track their candidates when they hire: what percentage of women and ethnic minorities they have for certain positions, what is the uptake for those positions, what happens with them one year later, how are their salaries and promotions progressing?

The more data you have, the better your argument will be. And that shouldn’t be difficult. HR ought to have the data, or be able to to get it very quickly. Once you have the statistics, you have a starting point. Almost every organization’s data will show that there is room for improvement, and where.

Unfortunately, people don’t really do it. I find that more often, it’s the organizations in the UK, the US, and Australia that collect the data, because there are regulations and guidelines around things like equal pay, and companies have to show their numbers.

Although there is a business case for inclusion, research has found that for quite a large number of organizations, the business case is only secondary in their motivation for collecting data and creating an equal and inclusive workplace.

The number one motivation is actually whether inclusion is in line with the leaders’ personal values.

They see the business case as only something that is nice to have.

They have to address subconscious bias. There are educational and training programs for that, and I have found that the programs are actually more effective if they are made mandatory. If you have mandatory subconscious bias programs, then you can get everybody in the room, whether or not they think they have subconscious biases, to stand up and participate, and sometimes they will learn surprising things about themselves.

We have seen some very high-level managers who insisted at first that they did not have biases. I asked one of them, after he had gone through the awareness training, “Think about the last time you hired somebody. Can you be very honest with yourself and still say that you do not have a bias?” And you could see his face changing. And I asked again, “Now think about the last time you promoted somebody. Can you say that you do not have a bias?” And again his expression changed. You could see he had suddenly come to a realization about himself.

That’s where the senior management’s commitment is so important. If you leave it to HR, or to the diversity and inclusion team, and they do not feel they have the support of senior management, they probably won’t make the training mandatory, because they don’t want to face negative consequences for pushing something that their leaders are not enthusiastic about.

But when the senior management says “This is important and everybody has to go through it,” then HR or the D&I team is in a much better position to get this commitment from everybody.

One of my favorite sayings is: “People are more ignorant than arrogant.” If I start from this assumption, then I can more easily approach them from an awareness point of view.

You train them to be trainers, so that they can go back and teach other people. We had a nice success story with one organization, which sent about 25 APAC leaders for a program eight months ago. Six of them have already gone on to train other people in their own teams the same way. That is how you pave an inclusive culture.

The challenge is that culture change takes time, and it comes with upheaval. It can easily last two years and sometimes there will be pushback, sometimes there will be movement. That’s why the support of senior management is so important.

And there has to be reinforcement. Depending on how advanced a person or organization is, they might need follow-up after four to eight weeks, and then every few months: not in the form of another class or training, but simply a quick communication to ask what they are doing recently to implement the original training.

In the last few years, gender diversity has become a very big thing. In 2015, when we first set up a Women in Leadership program, there were no others to be found. But now these programs are everywhere: I think that shows a big demand for gender diversity. And while we did a lot of awareness raising at first, today it is more towards the question of what to do, and how, which shows that awareness is heightened. But this is a concern as well, because it’s been talked about so much that I now see some movement away from it. Some people feel that it’s been oversold and are less receptive as a result.

Within the last one year, cross-cultural awareness has also become big. In multinational companies, whether Western or Asian, very often the leadership team is skewed towards the headquarters’ nationality. So they need to bring more diversity into the leadership, because otherwise they are a global organization without a global mindset.

We are also seeing a move towards multi-generational diversity, with organizations wanting to understand more about how to work with the different demographics.

Openness: the willingness to recognize that they are wrong.

Once a person, especially a senior leader, is willing to see the problem with themselves and correct it, they are then able to push that change out to the rest of the organization.

Coronavirus is a pandemic outbreak that has caught companies and industries off guard, with a shockwave of ripple effects tearing through their supply chains and businesses. The challenges faced by workplaces have become a new front in the battle over the coronavirus.

Right now, corporations around the world are brainstorming on how to best keep employees safe, while trying to ensure optimal utilization of their staff - for instance, by asking employees to work-from-home, creating tag teams, etc. 

Facing economic uncertainty, companies have to find ways to better utilize their workforce and make sure they are adapting to their changing business needs. People Matters, in an attempt to bring more clarity on how organizations are managing this situation, launched the People Matters COVID-19 Impact & Measures Survey – March 2020 survey across India and Southeast Asia. The survey has already captured the responses from over 200 organizations and will be open until Tuesday 17th March. 

Work-from-home policy: 

63 percent of organizations have already implemented a work-from-home policy for their employees. And 98 percent of companies who haven’t offered work-from-home will implement it if they see the situation deteriorating in the coming days. 

While companies do see this practice as one of the effective measures to ensure safety, there still persists a long chain of questions being worked out as this shift occurs - motivation, alignment, connectivity, etc. This is especially going to be challenging for the manufacturing sector, as there are certain roles that could not be performed remotely.

Pay policy for affected employees:

The survey asked participants if they have a pay policy for employees who cannot opt for work-from-home but have been asked to stay away from the work environment. Only 22 percent of companies said they have a pay policy in place. Among those 22 percent, most companies are offering salary under the current leave policy. However, few companies shared that they have extended a special pay leave of 14 and in some cases 28 days.

Preparedness level:

The survey found that most organizations are still not ready to face the crisis that can arise. Only 38 percent of companies agreed that they are well or very well-prepared with policies that can support employees and their families and 46 percent of respondents so far have a cross-functional COVID-19 response team in place. Organizations’ efforts seem to be sporadic right now given the uncertainty, but they are acknowledging the situation and actively taking steps to protect employees and streamline business continuity.

Practices like a consistent communication plan in times of crisis (82 percent), suspending non-essential business travels (85 percent), and sanitizing workplaces on a more frequent basis (80 percent) have become a requisite. 

Different practices that organizations are emphasizing on include reiterating and over-communicating policies around safety/precautions (58 percent), quarantining employees who recently visited highly affected areas (50 percent), restricting outside visitors/third parties (45 percent), quarantining employees exposed to confirmed cases (41 percent), and monitoring temperature of all employees at the entrance to the building (38 percent).

Travel and meetings:

About 85 percent respondents have suspended non-essential business travel internationally and domestically, and another 45 percent have restricted outside visitors and third parties.

About 75 percent organizations that participated in the survey have agreed that the outbreak of COVID-19 has halted critical business activities (traveling, meetings, etc.)  

The outbreak is moving quickly and businesses need to be agile and take timely and right actions. People Matters is actively reaching out to organizations to understand how the world of work and people can be managed during the times of uncertainty caused by the pandemic. Participate in the survey, People Matters COVID-19 Measures & Impact Survey- March 2020 now, as it closes tomorrow i.e. Tuesday, 17th March. 

Elisa Mallis has over 20 years of experience as a business leader with a focus on transformational change, human capital strategy, sales, and marketing. She has spent 14 of these years based in Asia (Beijing, Sydney, and Singapore). Before her role as the APAC Managing Director for CCL, Elisa served as the Mainland China Director and Head of Executive Development for a talent development firm, Management Development Services (MDS). Before MDS, Elisa spent over ten years at Accenture, working as a talent and organization consultant for Accenture’s New York, London, and Beijing offices. Elisa, who split time growing up between Miami, Florida, and Athens, Greece, has lived in multiple countries in four continents and is passionate about leading with an inclusive and global mindset.

Elisa joined CCL in 2019 as the Managing Director and Vice President, Asia-Pacific. In her role, she leads CCL’s efforts in SE Asia, India, North Asia, and Australia to accelerate the leadership development and results of clients throughout the region, from multi-national corporations and government agencies to domestic organizations, while also contributing significantly to CCL’s global research agenda.

In an exclusive interview, Elisa shares some insights on what it takes to support Asian leaders to break through the ‘bamboo ceiling’ and better support organizations that would like to be ‘truly global’. As Asia becomes the center of the world, what are the skill and mindsets that leaders must possess to accelerate success and create a positive impact not only in their own country and region but across the world.  

Here are some excerpts from the interview:

Over the past 14 years living and working in Asia I’ve witnessed an impressive increase in leadership maturity. Globally we know we are in an increasingly RUPT (Rapid, Unpredictable, Paradoxical, Tangled) environment. In Asia, the pace of that rapid change has been far more acute. There are many examples of technological advances in Asia that have skipped many steps that other markets had to go through, leapfrogging ahead. At the start of my 10 years living in China, I remember adjusting myself to a “cash only” approaches for many payments and transactions. By around 2016 the drastic transformation to a “no cash at all” way of life took within a year powered by WeChat and AliPay mobile payment systems, skipping many steps that other countries had to go through. Asian leaders driving and adapting to these types of transformations have had to further develop and demonstrate high levels of agility and resilience along the way. 

Another aspect of the significant increase in leadership maturity over the last two decades in Asia comes with the increased movement, mobility, and diversification that has taken place. Across China, India and SE Asia, increasing numbers of Asian professionals have been relocating to different cities, gaining more regional exposure and experience. These leaders have become more culturally savvy and globally-minded. 

Moving forward Asian leaders aspiring for global careers need to further develop a level of comfort with disruption. They also need to step out of their comfort zone to develop global relationships and credibility with key stakeholders within and outside the organization. 

While global organizations continue to look to Asia for growth, there is a stark need for leaders who deeply understand the region to not only execute a local growth strategy but also to have a strategic and influential point of view within the top team on what it will really take to win in Asia

With Asia as the “new center of the world”, Asian organizations and Asian leaders will be playing an even bigger role in defining some of these new solutions and new economic models for success going forward. While global organizations continue to look to Asia for growth, there is a stark need for leaders who deeply understand the region to not only execute a local growth strategy but also to have a strategic and influential point of view within the top team on what it will really take to win in Asia. However, despite the acute need for ‘Asia-fluent’ leaders at the top, our research confirms a significant underrepresentation of Asian leaders in the top Executive Teams of European and US multi-nationals. The Global Asian Leader research systematically identifies the obstacles leaders face in their transition to global roles, and the roadblocks organizations need to overcome to build a robust talent pipeline from Asia. One significant insight coming from the study is that while organizations facing a leadership crunch almost instantly start evaluating capability gaps of Asian leaders, the root cause of inadequate global Asian leadership often resides elsewhere. Our Global Asian Leader research identifies multiple root-causes, including: the organizational roadblocks, roadblocks at the country level, as well as roadblocks coming from the individual leader that include but are not limited to capability gaps. Country-level infrastructure to equip talent with the skills that are needed and the unwillingness of the individual to go out and get more exposure themselves are two common limiting factors. 

So what is the common recipe for success when it comes to global and regional roles? Developed from the 120 interviews in the study, the global Asian leader capability model provides a common recipe for success and the skills required, which include: Curiosity, Courage, Trust, Strategic Thinking, and Influencing. It is about the ability of the leader to influence others who are people who are very different from him or herself and being able to do that across multiple countries. 

While there are significant and valuable differences in the culture and accepted practices of doing business across Asian countries, our research identifies five common leadership traits of Asian Leaders.  

• Collectivist approach – Asia scores low on individualism
• Focusing on harmony – Non-confrontational attitude at work
• Having a VUCA-ready attitude – Moving pieces make leaders very complexity-‘friendly’
• Dependencies on networks and relationships – Friendships, family ties, or social strata
• Having a pervasive sense of hierarchy – Caring-autocrat attitude

Recognizing, celebrating and championing these leadership traits is an important part of supporting Asian leaders to reach their full potential. At the same time, we know that practices and behaviors that make leaders successful in one country may, in fact, set them up for failure elsewhere. Asia is very diverse. Depending on the types of experience leaders have, regions they grow-up in, their ethnicity and other factors; they may look and behave very differently. This Asian diversity is extremely valuable and is also becoming more complex. Through the research interviews, we see that Asian leaders come in four different flavors.

• Asian Returnee – A leader of Asian origin who has educated and mainly worked outside of the region (often till mid-career)
• Regional Champion – A leader of Asian origin with multi-country and perhaps a multi-company work experience, but mainly within Asia
• Global Nomad – An Asian leader who has diverse multi-country experiences within and outside of Asia, often with the same organization
• Local Expat – A leader who may not be of Asian origin, but has spent most of his or her working career within Asia

Interestingly the Asian returnee and the local expat face similar levels of experience when it comes to exposure to different cultures, strength of relationships in headquarters and how embedded they are in the enterprise strategy. 

Better understanding Leadership Development through an Asian lens, in terms of how it manifests today, is critical for future success of most global organizations

In terms of our research, we are taking an “East to West” approach in order to better understand leadership through an Asian lens. Over the last 50 years, the study and practice of leadership development has been influenced mainly by academic institutions and organizations in the Western world. Better understanding Leadership Development through an Asian lens, in terms of how it manifests today, is critical for the future success of most global organizations.  

In addition to the Global Asian Leader, we have recently completed the most extensive study done to date on Asian Boards of Directors (BOLD 3.0) and will soon be launching a unique piece of Asian research focused on overcoming barriers to Women’s Leadership. 

Inclusive leadership is becoming more and more important at a global level for organizational and societal success. We need leaders who can rise above differences and readily recognize our common humanity, especially in a digital era

When my husband and I announced to all our family and friends in 2007 that we were moving to Beijing, we heard two words repeatedly: difficult and different. Of course, there were many difficulties and it was very different from London, where we lived at the time. What at first looked difficult, quickly became much easier thanks primarily to the people who helped us relate to, understand and come to love the many unsaid and important things about living in China. Having the curiosity to see the world through their eyes and feel and understand their reality was the driving force to form stronger and deeper connections. The mentors and leaders in Asia who influenced and impressed me the most over the last two decades have been leaders who have demonstrated that curiosity and courage. Inclusive leadership is becoming more and more important at a global level for organizational and societal success. We need leaders who can rise above differences and readily recognize our common humanity, especially in a digital era. We see technology outpacing what people, organizations, and countries can keep up with. As we continue the digital transformation journey, we need to make sure we are not leaving large pockets of people behind. Inclusive leadership is the key and inclusive leadership also fosters developing the right understanding, products, and solutions to win across many markets. The global Asian leaders who have the maturity and self-awareness to relate to people from all walks of life will be instrumental not only in solving for their region but also in solving for the world. 

As the risk of coronavirus spreads across India, employers are proactively jumping into action in order to ensure that their employees remain safe. It is crucial that talent leaders play their part in creating awareness and ensuring that employees follow stringent hygiene techniques and actively steer clear of panic. 

Companies such as Twitter, Facebook, Google, Cognizant, and Wipro have joined the ranks of other employers who are taking preventive measures in order to stop the spread of coronavirus. 

The first and foremost way of preventing the spread of coronavirus is to restrict travel and cancel upcoming technology conferences and events. Another measure is to encourage employees to work from home and join meetings virtually. 

All non-essential travel has been restricted at Cognizant and the Cognizant Community event previously scheduled in Texas has been canceled as the risk of spread of COVID-19 becomes more real, according to employee communiqué sent by Brian Humphries, CEO, Cognizant. 

The request for employees to work from home for Twitter is not mandatory except for in the social media giant’s offices in Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, as the respective nation’s governments have placed restrictions there. 

“Wipro has suspended travel to and transit through mainland China, including Hong Kong and Macau, until further notice. Employees have also been advised to avoid non-critical travel to Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Italy,” according to a statement shared by Wipro among its employees. 

All employees who have traveled to affected areas within the last few days have been asked to work from home at least for 14 days prior to coming back to the office. 

Zoho’s founder has also shared that that work from home will be default work option during this time of coronavirus outbreak. 

“We have adopted work from home as the default for all our offices worldwide as a matter of precaution, though we have not had any cases. Our employees are encouraged to come to the office only when absolutely essential. We will continue this policy until the virus threat passes,” said Sridhar Vembu, Founder, Zoho. 

Zoho has also canceled user conferences in at-risk nations and banned all non-critical and essential travel for employees and put in place disaster-response teams for quick action.

A PayTM employee in Gurgaon who returned from Italy has been tested positive for coronavirus and is receiving treatment at the time. The company has issued a notice mandating its employees to work from home for the next two days at least as the office gets sanitized and employees get tested. 

Flipkart has issued a ban on all domestic and international business travel, urged employees to get tested immediately in case they experience flu-like symptoms, and advised teams to not source samples from foreign countries. When it comes to local commute, the company has advised employees to use their personal vehicles and avoid public transport. All events, training, campaign activities etc have been put on hold. 

For L’Oreal, what started out as a travel ban to APAC countries and then Europe, the company has banned any international business travel. Any personal traveling to affected nations has to be followed by a self-imposed quarantine of 14 days of work from home. 

A Gurgaon-based software company, Nagarro, has requested its employees to avoid non-essential travel and work from home unless absolutely necessary to come to office. They’ve also asked our colleagues to cancel all team parties or gatherings and avoid conducting in-person workshops or training. Preventive measures such as regular washing of hands, using sanitizers, and avoiding contact with people who have cold are being encouraged. 

Additionally, MakeMyTrip is advising all their employees to exercise caution while planning business or leisure trips internationally. 

According to a recent survey by Willis Towers Watson of 158 employers globally, more than half of the companies are implementing an array of actions to protect employees. 

Actively avoid stigma and discrimination: It is imperative that employers themselves have reliable information regarding the COVID-19 and not jump to sweeping conclusions about the risk level based on a race or country of origin. When dealing with employees’ health-related information, it is essential to remember to maintain confidentiality of people confirmed with COVID-19. 

Encourage sick employees to stay home: If employees are showing fever-like symptoms or acute respiratory illnesses, then the CDC asks employers to ensure that employees can take work from home and not come to the workplace until their fever subsides. In the interest of safety of employees, employers must ensure that the sick leave policies are flexible and compliant with the public health guidance policies from CDC and governments. 

Even if a family member is sick, employees must be able to avail of sick leaves in order to take care of the sick family member. In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, employers must make room for employees to stay home more often than usual. 

• Routinely clean up the environment: A routine and more stringent cleanup of the office space is going to be essential. 
• Create awareness: Making sure that as talent leaders, employers put their employees’ safety first and create awareness about Covid-19 by sharing information from reliable sources such as CDC is crucial. 
• Following a safe etiquette while coughing and sneezing: Hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, staying home when sick, providing masks, alcohol-based sanitizers, soap and water in various locations especially where there is high human contact--such as breakrooms, canteens, water coolers, restrooms etc. 
• Move sick employees away from others: Many a times employees might choose to come into the office irrespective of their health concerns--perhaps, because they’ve used up all their sick days or the leave policies are stringent. During such times, managers can exercise their discretion and make leave policies a bit more accommodative and allow for remote working options. 

CDC has recommended that employees who show acute respiratory illness symptoms upon arrival at work or those who become sick during the day should be moved away from other employees and asked to return home immediately. 

As HR leaders, the duties and responsibilities are not just limited to ensuring employees’ wellbeing. Bottom-lines are getting impacted and most businesses are facing financial crises in light of the coronavirus risk that has gripped the world. It is crucial that HR leaders play their part in ensuring business operations continuity and in absorbing the financially negative impact on the organization. 

A primary way of ensuring that business continues to happen is to make remote work arrangements and encourage people to take up tasks that don’t require face-to-face interaction, have no physical element which needs presence in the premises, and replace in-person scenarios with video calls and conference calls. The HR leaders can proactively ensure that employees are able to access work-related documents or log in from their respective systems remotely as well. 

Moreover, if the business is experiencing a slowdown, it would help to give people vacations in order to minimize the risk of virus spread and manage the remainder of vacation days. 

As businesses across the globe are facing a slowdown, some cost-cutting measures can help in navigating through turbulent economic times. Freezing new hires, reviewing the existing benefits scheme, reviewing allowances, postponing salary increases and promotions wherever possible, introducing salary cuts and reducing the headcount if the situation continues to persist. 

Keeping employees healthy, avoiding unnecessary travel, and encouraging employees to work from home are some of the primary ways in which employers can help in preventing the spread of coronavirus. However, most importantly, the key is to not panic and actively take precautions as prescribed by reliable and credible health advisories.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has advised employees to: 

• Stay home if they have respiratory symptoms (coughing, sneezing, shortness of breath) and/or a temperature above 100.4 F. 

• Shield coughs and sneezes with a tissue, elbow, or shoulder (not with bare hands)

• Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. 

The Coronavirus has gripped countries across the globe and employers are now changing their plans and policies as they prioritize employees’ safety first. 

Singapore raised the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) from Yellow to Orange after three new cases were confirmed on Friday with no links to previous cases or recent travel history. The immediate focus area for the Singapore authorities is “aggressively trying to stop or limit further spread”, according to the Ministry of Health. Code Orange is one level below code red which is assigned for an out-of-control epidemic. 

“I understand that Singaporeans are anxious, concerned, and there is much about the virus that we do not yet know. New information is emerging daily. And, we understand that this is likely to take time to resolve, maybe months. However, life cannot come to a standstill. We should take all the necessary steps and precautions and carry on with life. We will do our best to contain the situation and keep Singaporeans safe,” said Gan Kim Yong, Health Minister, Singapore, during a public address. 

As of Feb. 8, the Singaporean Ministry of Health confirmed seven additional cases of Coronavirus infection in Singapore. Five out of these seven are linked to previously announced cases. The Ministry has issued advice to all Singaporeans to postpone all travel to Hubei Province and all non-essential travel to Mainland China. 

With the implementation of code orange in Singapore, additional precautionary measures will be put in place that would ideally reduce the risk of transmission of the Coronavirus to the community.

Since December 2019, the Coronavirus has spread in Wuhan and killed more than 300 people as of early last week. Cases of the virus outside of China have also increased with the following countries reporting Coronavirus cases: US, Vietnam, UK, UAE, Thailand, Taiwan, Sweden, Sri Lanka, Spain, South Korea, Singapore, Russia, Philippines, Nepal, Malaysia, Macao, Japan, Italy, India, Hong Kong, Germany, France, Finland, Canada, Cambodia, Australia.

As of January 30, the World Health Organization has declared that the Coronavirus should be considered as a global public health emergency. 

As the world gears up to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, employers must first ensure that there is enough awareness and spread of accurate knowledge not only among the employees but also the senior leadership. Companies in the region including China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, have started taking measures to curtail Coronavirus’ spread. 

Providing compulsory leaves, encouraging employees to work remotely, splitting up teams into different locations and implementing the safety measures as suggested by governments and health organizations, are some of the ways in which organizations are gearing up to limit the impact of Coronavirus. 

Some organizations have decided to provide a mandatory 14-day Leave of Absence for any employee who has returned from China or if anyone at home has been under a quarantine. 

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), employers are mandated to provide a safe working environment for their employees. An employer must conduct a “hazard assessment of the workplace, ensure that gear is provided for personal protection such as gloves and masks, develop a way in which exposed employees can be monitored and kept safe, and moreover, ensure that records of all illness-related issues are kept.

Employers are thus offering leaves to people might be at risk, especially those who have just returned from traveling to the affected areas of China. Employees who are not feeling well have been requested to not come into the office. A structured response plan can allow organizations who are showing symptoms of the virus to go home as long as it does not fall under any form of discrimination. 

Banks in the region have put in place their BCP strategies that is the Business Continuity Planning process which is undertaken by organizations in order to establish a recovery and prevention system so that the business is prepared for threats from natural disasters, cyber attacks, etc. 

Critical teams have been split across various areas and employees are urged to work from home whenever and wherever possible. Organizations are focusing on reducing the risk of Coronavirus by avoiding putting full teams in one place. Better office cleaning measures and hand sanitisers on all floors have been provided as an additional measure of prevention. 

Moreover, in-person client meetings have been transferred to virtual discussions. Employees have been asked to use video conferencing wherever possible to continue with the meetings planned, no large group gatherings or workshops or meetings. 

Workplaces are borrowing a page from the airports’ playbook and installing temperature checks at every entry and exit of the office building. 

Employees in Singapore are advised to carry out temperature checks twice daily. Some buildings in South Korea have installed thermal-imaging cameras in their lobbies which can detect the body temperatures of the employees entering and exiting the building. 

Bank tellers have been directed to wear facemasks at all times as their job entails interacting with people. Also, domestic cabin crew members have been mandated to wear masks across all routes. 

Employers’ role in raising awareness is going to be crucial in the wake of the Coronavirus spread. Simple measures such as providing support for receiving vaccinations, wearing a mask when stepping out, washing hands frequently, posting reminders around the workplace to cover one’s nose and mouth when coughing/sneezing, avoiding sharing cups, utensils, water bottles, and other personal items, following basic hygiene in public washrooms, disposing of tissues appropriately, etc. 

International conglomerates such as JPMorgan Chase, Apple, Kraft Heinz, HSBC Holdings, PricewaterhouseCoopers have all either suspended or canceled employee and partner travels to mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Ford Motors and Hershey Co. have also barred their employees from traveling to and fro China. 

The Center for Disease Control has issued a 14-day quarantine for about 195 Americans who had been recently evacuated from China. 

Those employees who have returned from China within the last 14 days are urged to work remotely, preferably from home for three weeks as a precaution measure. 

Large conglomerates, including LG Electronics, have halted business trips not only to Wuhan but the entire country of China. The families of those South Korean Hyundai workers who are living in China have asked the automaker to bring them back and incur the employees’ travel and safety expenses, according to media reports from the region.

The spread of Coronavirus has prompted companies across the globe to issue travel bans. The American Airlines’ pilots have even filed a lawsuit demanding that flights to China be stopped in order to prevent the crew members from the spread of the virus.

Organizations across the region, especially in South Korea, are discouraging inbound travel of internal staff, to avoid them from getting quarantined when returning back to their original offices. 

The World Health Organization has urged employers and governments to pay attention to the spread of Coronavirus and report accurate numbers so as to ensure that the right level of response is provided by the health sector. As the authorities world over gear up to face the onset of Coronavirus, it is essential that employers pick up the mantle and ensure that they do their bit in proactively understanding the situation and then striking a balance between cautious care about employees and business needs. 

“There is a window of opportunity because of the high measures, the strong measures China is taking at the epicentre, at the source,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO. “Let’s use this opportunity to prevent further spread and control it.”

A new strain of the virus that’s impacted many people in China and also spreading to other parts of the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has now declared the Coronavirus as a public health emergency of international concern. Every passing day more and more people are coming under the radar of this epidemic, which has become a significant concern for workplaces globally. 

Some companies have stopped operations in China and are coming up with protective measures to fight this battle. Scroll through this article to know how companies can ensure that they are prepared to deal with the impact of the Coronavirus at the workplace.

Those employees who are traveling to affected areas should be provided with proper information about how the Coronavirus is transmitted, its symptoms, and how to avoid exposure. The organization should keep a tab on the employees while they are in transit, about their stay and help them with the contact information of local health departments.

Asking the employees to take leave is not the only option; the employers should tie-up with a respected medical facility to get the first check-up done. Employees spend their maximum time in the office with many people. Companies should provide the basic facilities if there are any symptoms of the virus and also organize flu vaccination camp to be prepared for any contagious virus. 

Employers should communicate clearly that employees who have symptoms of a potentially contagious illness must not report to work while they are sick. Even employees should stay at home from work because they can risk damaging the productivity of the entire workplace. Meeting people in person leads to a high probability of spreading the virus. Companies should encourage virtual meetings to avoid gathering at the workplace. 

The HR department plays a vital role in managing the entire crisis at the workplace. The HR department needs to roll out appropriate communication about the Dos and Don’ts of Coronavirus. The message should be spread using information from authentic sources such as the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and not any myths or rumors. Apart from the HR managers, the senior management should walk the talk to ensure that employees are not panicking. 

The entire office should go through an intense cleaning process during the weekends, and the cleaning schedule can be increased around the work stations, boardrooms, washrooms, and all the prominent places. Employers can also place hand sanitizers around common areas and give the N-95 masks, which are used by healthcare workers and are one of the most effective covers. 

Regardless of any virus, the employers must ensure a safe and better workplace for the employees and also ensure they should have adequate policies in place to deal with similar events in the future. On the other hand, employees should also be equally aware and responsible for their health and workplace. Employers and employees need to be on the same page to overcome any such crisis. 

The need for the blue-collar workforce in India is rising on the back of increased demand for everyday services in urban areas. From delivering retail products, food, and appliances, to helping with home maintenance, appliance services, and repair work, the demand for trained blue-collar employees is growing rapidly. A recent report by BetterPlace even estimated that out of more than 21 lakh jobs created across select job verticals in 2019-20, the gig economy would account for over 14 lakh jobs. However, a majority of the blue-collar workforce that comes from small towns in search of better jobs are often not skilled enough to keep pace with the new-age job metrics. They also struggle in terms of developing interpersonal and communication skills due to a lack of quality formal education. 

This has created a massive dearth for skilled and trained blue-collar employees in the economy. Organizations that rely on the blue-collar workforce are desperate for talented and skilled people, but they don’t have the resources to provide face-to-face training to their employees. Furthermore, the nature of blue-collared jobs available today is quite different from those that existed in the previous century. For instance, there are 150 home and electrical appliances brands that have a total of nearly 1000 products with almost 5000 models. Each model requires a different set of skills, making it difficult for companies to conduct physical training sessions for their employees. Installations and repair work of connected home appliances demand specialized skill sets. This has given rise to several tech-based learning solutions that cater to this demand. Here’s a closer look at this trend:

A virtual classroom allows employers to overcome geographical barriers and bring the largely offline population of blue-collar workers online. This economical and convenient way of imparting training enables workers to access training courses anytime and anywhere. But, how does a virtual training platform work in solving the skill gaps for the blue-collared workforce?

Unlike face-to-face training sessions that require participants to be physically present, a virtual training platform can train engineers on-the-go through screen-shots and videos. It is the audio-visual aspect of virtual training that helps them grasp the information quickly and increase the learning curve. Additionally, a process demonstrated in a video is easier to recollect. As per Forbes, when it comes to retention, videos are vital with 95 percent of viewers retaining the message of a video, versus just 10 percent of message retention with text only. 

Since online videos already play a key role for brands in generating consumer internet traffic, they can be leveraged to train the blue-collar workforce for streamlining business operations as well. Furthermore, service-based platforms are training multiple people across cities at a single point of time; this saves time and effort for both the platform and its partner brands. 

Yet another advantage of the 24X7 availability of video content on virtual platforms is that engineers in tier 2 and 3 cities, or even in remote areas, can easily access the training material before delivering their service as well. This not only improves customer service but also empowers them to get decent earning opportunities locally, make their life better, thereby reducing urban migration and stress on limited urban resources.

Technological disruption can be an opportunity-enabler on the basis of precise skill-based training. With service engineers and blue-collar employees now getting training at their doorstep, it has become easy for lakhs of people to secure jobs even in the remotes of areas. It is a win-win situation for both employees and employers. 

As we are at the beginning of a new decade, there are speculations about if we have reached ‘peak globalization.’ If so, what does it mean for a leader, who heads a global company and is leading it into new markets? It may mean managing teams that are diverse in terms of nationality and geography or handling cross border and virtual teams. But it most certainly will mean that a challenging and daunting time is ahead. More importantly, it also means it’s time to adapt. Global organizations need to work across organizational boundaries and cross not only cultural barriers but also navigate the political and economic laws that rule the land. Add technological advancements in the mix, and you get how complicated the picture is. In such a scenario, how does a leader begin to manage and support the most critical asset an organization has: the people? Let’s find out. 

With company branches spread across the globe, having offices in different corners of the world will inevitably bring in cultural differences. In a leadership position that requires leaders to travel overseas, experience different environments, and interact with people from other parts of the world, how do they bridge the communication and the cultural gap? Communication doesn’t just mean language, although that barrier remains. Employers and leaders must realize that culture drives how people perceive, think, and eventually act. Effective communication begins when there are awareness and acceptance that these differences exist and must be accepted. In such a case, leadership coaching can help build the conscious practice that is required to build a mindset that enables one to see different perspectives and helps in building a uniform corporate workplace culture.

Business leaders make significant decisions every day. Yet, the most challenging part of leading a multinational organization is to be able to see the big picture when all the functions from various offices require equal attention. How do you ensure that leaders stay clear of analysis paralysis? Similarly, how do you ensure that the decisions which impact the company as a whole are effective and drive it forward while keeping everyone in tow? Decision-making doesn’t come naturally to people, and it’s a process that develops and strengthens over time. Executive coaching to help leaders merge the business dynamics with organizational principles and human understanding is critical here.

Resilience is nothing but the ability to recover from setbacks quickly. However, dealing with failures is not an easy task, especially with central responsibilities and if the failure impacts several stakeholders. Being in a leadership position comes with a fair share of pressure, and roadblocks are not uncommon. At times, issues in personal life start affecting the professional side as well. In such a scenario, leaders can benefit from leadership coaching to learn how to better deal with tough circumstances at work and to better manage themselves and their team in times of distress. The most valuable aspect of such a system is that over time, leaders absorb specific lessons from the coach, which they can, in turn, pass on to their team members in need.

While training for leadership is considered an essential part of developing the leaders of a global organization, basic coaching is not enough. Leadership coaches who have vast professional experience, with clients coming from diverse nationalities, demographics, and from across industries and functions, can help in tackling various challenges at work. A varied portfolio brings credibility not only in terms of what they have worked on so far, but what they can do to develop the leader. The right coach enables leaders to develop higher emotional intelligence and build compassion and empathy. After all, leaders impact people and their lives, not just improve the bottom line and share prices. An ideal coach would be someone whose experience aligns with the specific needs of the leader and can help them develop their potential. 

Multinational organizations carry higher levels of responsibility and accountability as they impact a wider variety of stakeholders. Naturally, the leaders of such businesses must be well-equipped to counter challenges thrown their way, whether the organizational changes or external disruptions, like slowing economies. They need experienced global coaches and mentors that have led by example to help them navigate the future.  

As the technology landscape continues to transform, it is causing business realities to shift and new operating models to emerge. On one hand, deployment of intelligent technologies and widespread automation is expected to displace jobs, on the other, it will bring about the need for reskilling the workforce. In such a scenario, the success of an organization will be defined by the quality of its personnel and the unique skill set they possess. 

While technological advances will make workflows efficient and organizational structures robust, there will be a growing need for personnel with Emotional Quotient (EQ), especially useful in fields such as sales and marketing. As the ‘human’ resource becomes the key contributing factor to the success of an organization, the war for talent will only heat up further with a skyrocketing demand for those with advanced skill sets. According to a research by TeamLease Services, India will see the creation of 1.15 million jobs in the first half of 2020. 

In such a dynamic, competitive market, finding the right candidate with the desired skills and cultural values will emerge as a key challenge for all recruiters. In order to deal with the shortage of quality talent, the HR departments of India, Inc. will need to adapt themselves to this changing talent landscape. The year 2020 will see a significant shift in how employers will be looking to hire talent.

I – The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will result in increased automation

Over the years, the digital ecosystem in India has undergone a massive shift. While this has created plenty of jobs, it has also led to a widening gap between skills and requirements. Especially in the sales domain, it is often difficult to find future-ready talent. AI-powered hiring processes allow insights into profiles of candidates, hence allowing employers to find suitable candidates for the job role, make decisions based on data-driven insights and take measures to retain HiPot (High Potential) employees.

Thus, the use of AI will result in recruitment moving further towards automation, where the initial contact with the candidate as well as the first few levels of sourcing and screening will be taken over by automated platforms. This will not only reduce the paperwork required for each job role but will also provide timely tracking and communication. As a result, it will reduce the Turn-Around-Time (TAT) per candidate while delivering meaningful insights into the recruitment process.

II – Data-driven decision making will result in more personalized hiring

As systems and workflows become increasingly data-driven, businesses will leverage the potential of data analytics to gain incisive insights into targeted hiring as well as retention. The process will become more customized and personalized for the candidate. Tools integrated with Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and Recruitment Marketing Software (RMS) can be used to attract, engage, nurture and convert candidates into employees. Every candidate will then be treated as a unique resource for the organization and the customized ‘communication experience’ can enable a candidate-friendly recruitment process. 

On the other hand, the candidates too will use all publicly available data to better understand the organization they are interested in and explore the job roles and growth opportunities before making their decisions. Social media will continue to play a great role in how recruiters and candidates communicate with each other.

III – Hiring candidates with multiple skillsets

According to the World Economic Forum, in the next 5 years, about 35% of the skills considered essential today will change. Since emerging technologies can lead to the displacement of jobs, it will be important for companies to recruit candidates that demonstrate the skills of adaptability and flexibility, which will help them maintain equilibrium in a dynamic environment. Additionally, as products, technologies and work patterns change, companies will be increasingly looking for skills, such as creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving while screening candidates – skills that AI cannot deliver as yet. The demand for Emotional Intelligence is also likely to go up, while the need for skills, such as active listening, negotiating and quality control, will go down as AI, ML and analytics plough through miles of data to streamline and reduce decision making challenges.

With certain skillsets becoming redundant as a result of AI implementation and automation, candidates will need to be upskilled to keep pace with the changing work environment. Job roles will continue to become multi-dimensional and the industry will need to facilitate advance skilling of both new and existing employees. 

As these trends dominate the HR landscape, the very nature of the workplace itself will undergo a change. Employers are cognizant of the fact that technology is turning work away from a structured style that tended to limit efficiency to one that is dynamic, fluid and integrated. This trend is being reflected in the workplace as well. We have already seen the grey institutionalized walls and cubicles give way to ergonomic workplaces defined by colour and open spaces. This trend will further segue into flexible and remote workspaces, especially as companies realize that employees need to spend less time on office routines and, therefore, get to focus more on their actual jobs. Employees will find better work-life integration in remote working and better workplace stress management in ergonomic workplaces, which will further foster greater productivity.

As the workforce becomes increasingly mobile powered by smart devices and geographical boundaries continue to fade, companies will become more flexible in their approach to recruitment, especially talent that has been skilled and groomed in-house to fill key roles. Retention will become the name of the game as companies continue to look for effective ways to keep employees on rolls for the launch haul.

Born between 1979 and 2000, millennials are on track to forming 75 percent of the global workforce by 2025. How to attract and retain young talent and enable them with a suitable working environment is vital to maintain the competitiveness of organizations in the market. This development is forcing managers to rethink their workplace design and collaboration arrangement and 2020 will prove to be a turning point in this transformation. 

Also known as digital natives, millennials grew up with technology, which helps them understand and appreciate how technology can shape the way they work, live, and play. However, traditionally, corporate culture has been top-down and rigid, with mandated working hours, seating arrangements, stipulated lunch breaks; basically, the antithesis to the new generation of workers. Millennials are starkly different from the older generations in what they seek from their job, their work values, and the way they work. Clearly, there is an urgent need to adopt a bottom-up approach to redesign the future workplace.

This is especially true to the Asia-Pacific region, which is home to a large population of young workers and rapid economic growth. The Asia-Pacific region is poised to cater to this generation of workers and adapt to the workplace of the future. In this context, I have set out three predictions that will be realized and brought on by the influence and demands of a new generation of workers:

According to a recent study titled “Perils of the Open Office,” more than one in two workers prefer open-plan offices, with the number increasing steadily with the younger generations. However, the drawback to having an open office is that with wall partitions brought down, ambient noise and distractions in the work environment increase. As a work-around to this, organizations are beginning to see the benefits of installing smaller rooms within the workplace. These huddle rooms accommodate up to six people, and when outfitted with the right technology, can spur high energy interactions, which make them perfect for the modern workforce that needs to be agile and highly collaborative.

Aside from offering quiet sanctuary and privacy for workers to remain productive away from distractions, cost-effective collaboration tools can also be installed in these rooms. The younger generation’s love for the open office will force the management’s hand to rethink how the modern workplace will look like, and huddle rooms will no longer be a good-to-have but a must-have for organizations no matter what sizes and businesses they are running.

Computer-free and standalone communications devices will emerge in the mainstream market in 2020. This advancement will allow users to directly interact with gadget-like communications devices, saving time, and reducing technical issues. Today, we live at a time where we have come to expect technology to work fast and efficiently, and just the way we want it to. For instance, think about when you are booking a cab and are told to wait for a long time for it to arrive. Most of us would much rather cancel it and select another cab that takes less to get to us.

This expectation translates to the workplace as well, where digital natives expect consistent, seamless audio and video experience for video meetings. Easy to use, platform-agnostic, standalone communication devices that do not require one to jump through hurdles to connect to a call will win big and gain rapid adoption in organizations. At the end of the day, technology needs to work behind the scenes and should not get in the way of getting things done.

Video-conferencing collaborations, just like face-to-face meetings, improve the work experience, productivity, and cost-efficiency. While the current video conferencing technology has proved to be remarkably effective in connecting people across the globe for simple collaboration purposes, the quality and capabilities of many existing solutions still fall short of expectations, especially for employees who are used to high-speed, high-resolution video. In 2020, with the commercialization of key technologies such as 5G networks and 4K videos, more users will be able to collaborate more effectively, no matter where they are.

Digital natives live and breathe technology and are usually the first to embrace the possibilities that technology brings. And as we look towards a future workforce that is going to be as dynamic and agile as the many technological developments that break ground every other year, the business would do well to pay greater attention to empowering future innovators with the right tools and resources to help them realize their potential. 

One or two individuals have a great idea for change or an organizational development initiative. They think it through and create a detailed plan. Right before the implementation stage, they realize that others and especially some of the leadership don't welcome their plans with quite the same level of enthusiasm. This derails everything! Sounds familiar?

Stakeholders are people in your organization who will play a big role in influencing the success of your change plans. Winning them and earning their confidence is the key to your success.

Explore the critical components of aligning all your stakeholders and getting your ducks in a row for effective change, in this interactive session.

In this webcast by People Matters and C2C-OD, you understand:

1. Why do change management initiatives fail?

2. Who should lead the change management initiative?

3. What is the right change management team to lead a successful initiative?

4. What are the critical components for leading and managing a successful change initiative?

You are “dis-ti-mi-mating!” (read discriminating), my little boy said, “cause you didn’t ask me!

I was aghast at that remark. The discussion was for the kind of curtains we may want in the kids’ room and I took turns asking my elder son and my husband but missed my younger one.

I realized, yes, no matter how small, life is an ongoing learning process. Preoccupied, casual, did not mean to, I know what you would say - none of the excuses worked. I had committed the sin of discrimination and left him out. In other words, I was not being “inclusive”.

Having spent nearly two decades working with a few organizations, I have seen many ideas floating around on how we encourage inclusivity. But first things first - what is inclusivity or an inclusive workplace, and why is it important? What’s so special about it? 

Google and you come across many definitions. One thing common in these - they all agree that an inclusive workplace values individual differences and makes them feel welcome and accepted. 

The second part of the question - why inclusivity - well, inclusive teams were 10 times more productive than their non-inclusive counterparts with a lesser likelihood of workers being harassed at work, more likely to have higher job satisfaction, and nine times more likely to innovate. 

As you dwell deep, you find a plethora of information around this topic, but you would agree that each of us has our own unique personal experiences around this topic. And that’s where I thought of sharing some factors that helped me or shall I say “are helping me” continue to learn and be more intelligible about inclusivity.

This reminds me of a personal story which I have till now repeatedly played in my mind, partially blaming myself for not being witty enough to respond, and partially thinking “why on earth do we not stop generalizing?”

It was a regular meeting with a Senior Manager in one of the companies I was working with. As he heard me say my name out loud, to my utter surprise, he remarked, “well, aren’t women from so and so place a little orthodox?”. 

“OMG! Aren’t Senior Managers trained in being unbiased (if they naturally aren’t inclined to do so)” - I thought to myself! 

To this day the episode sometimes haunts me. So, my first lesson to myself - Do not generalize. Yes, we all tend to do it, let's admit it. May be years of practice keeps it hidden under covers, which is why I suggest a daily self-reminder. I am sure you do not want the world to feel you are “dis-ti-mi-mating!”

“But you never said that!”. Working with multicultural members with different personalities, I learned my second lesson. While a few folks are clear in their articulations as well as high on the extrovert index of speaking their mind, many may not feel comfortable sharing their thoughts simply, “because you didn’t ask!”. Make it a point to ask.

Check with people on “how do they feel about that new process or what can be different in that new functionality?”. Ignorance may be bliss, but assumption can be a killer.

“Merry Christmas with a Happy Diwali, Eid-Mubarak with a Baisakhi Vadaiyan” - We know how it feels if this delicate balance is tilted. Irrespective of the personal choices, feel great about all celebrations. After all there may be many schools of thoughts about traditions and cultures, but you are your own school and some new lessons will always be relevant.

Open more channels of communication. Are you a mentor by nature? Great! Then you have won half the battle. Why? It’s simple. When you are that warm person people feel happy to go to and talk, you have numerous topics to discuss, not necessarily work. This makes folks feel welcome and comfortable. Well, then again, there will always be a difference between how soon or fast that happens depending on the personality types you are talking to, but you will eventually get there - to that level of comfort. See the magic of this “open communication”?

I recall one women’s day celebration where we (women running a presentation) turned the tables and asked our audience - women from all backgrounds and beliefs to share their thoughts on what were some basic challenges they felt coming to work every day. We were surprised how comfortable the ladies were, thanks to our good networking and an open communication technique. We were fortunate to hear some insightful stories.

Talk about “successful surveys” - well, here is your best bet - “Talk to people”. The added benefit? Other than getting to know them you would know their expectation from you.

It takes time for people to follow, yes, like I shared earlier, we have our own personal set of experiences. But, one thing that is common to us all, we must strive and live our ideas, for them to become acceptable. So, keep working towards what helps you. Be at the forefront of a cause that you believe in even if you are alone.

When your inner core believes in something, you automatically display those beliefs. That’s why you need to work on yourself first.

“I” must ensure that “I” count “inclusivity” as the highest.

My core value will join hands with that of my organization, my social circles, my country! 

Oh well, as for the curtains in my kid’s room - imagine an all “inclusive” design of the “Avengers: Endgame” characters!

Sameer Aggarwal is most likely to replace Krish Iyer, the veteran who has been at the helm in the country for more than six years. As per the report, in April, Aggarwal will take up the role of the head of its India operations. 

This would be the third promotion for Aggarwal since he was hired in April 2018 as chief strategy and administrative officer at Walmart India. He has previously worked at Yum! Brands in Thailand and UK retailer Sainsbury's in London. A few months back, in January, Aggarwal was promoted to deputy CEO of Walmart India, which operates 28 Best Price cash-and-carry stores. 

Now as Walmart India tries to find a viable business model for its loss-making wholesale venture Aggarwal is expected to take over from Iyer. 

On the other hand, Iyer, currently president and CEO of Walmart India, will move to an advisory role within the company as his contract with the US giant is set to expire only next year, the report reveals. 

In January, Walmart also announced the layoffs of more than 100 senior executives including vice presidents across sourcing, agri-business and the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) divisions. The world’s largest retailer also plans to shut the Mumbai fulfilment centre, its largest warehouse, and halt new-store expansion in India.

Walmart India’s Best Price stores had incurred losses of Rs 2,180.8 Cr until March 2019. In the last fiscal year, Walmart India posted sales of Rs 4,095 crore with a net loss of Rs 171.6 crore. The retailer had also recently promoted Sameer Aggarwal to the position of Deputy Chief Executive Officer. This happens to be his second promotion in his almost two-year stint at the company. 

In January, in response to the layoff news, Iyer had then shared that the retailer is looking for ways to operate more efficiently, which requires it to review its corporate structure to ensure that it is organized in the right way.

"As part of this review, we have let go 56 of our associates across levels at the corporate office.  All of the 56 impacted associates (8 in the senior management and 48 in the middle/ lower management) have been offered enhanced severance benefits and outplacement services to support their transition,” said Iyer. 

Now as Aggarwal takes on the role from Iyer how he drives Walmart from the sluggish sales growth is to look forward to. Considering the recent outbreak of Coronavirus and its impact on businesses across sectors, Aggarwal will have newer and more challenges to deal with. Image Credits: Walmart.com