HR News: 17 Apr, 2017

1.

Snapdeal to retain talent with attractive baits

The company is not only planning to offer pay hikes but may also distribute nearly 1 per cent of its stock to about 150 employees.

Snapdeal, that has been wading through some turbulent times in the past few months, amid business losses and consequent layoffs, recently reportedly said it will offer an average pay hike of 12–15 per cent.
Speculations are rife that the e-commerce major is looking to assure employees of their positions, as it looks for a potential buyer. The pay revision will apparently be effective from April 1 and will see salaries of employees at the mid- and junior-levels go up by an average 12–15 per cent.
Interestingly, only a few months back, the founders wrote in an official message to the employees that owing to their past mistakes, they will take a ‘100 per cent pay cut’. Now, the company is offering the senior management a hike of 9–12 per cent. The company may also reportedly offer 20–25 per cent raise to exceptional performers.
If some reports are to be believed, the organisation plans to distribute nearly 1 per cent of its stock to about 150 employees.
The decision to dole out such lucrative incentives comes at a time when Snapdeal's largest investor, SoftBank, is apparently working towards the sale of the e-commerce platform and a final decision is likely to be made in the next few weeks.

2.

Employer has the final say on probationer’s job: Delhi High Court.

According to the judgment, the employer has the right to decide whether the employee’s services are satisfactory or not.
While upholding the termination of services of a teacher by a private school in the national capital territory, Justice Valmiki Mehta of the Delhi High Court made an observation that an employer has the right to decide whether or not the employee’s services are satisfactory.
He said, “This court cannot substitute its view for that of the employer, with respect to satisfactory services or otherwise of the employee with the employer."

Justice Mehta passed the judgment for a legal suit between a private school teacher and his employer, that is, the private school. The teacher’s services were terminated in March, 2014. The school had kept him on probation for nearly three years as his work was not found to be satisfactory.

3.

UST Global expands workforce: Adds over 3000 people in Bengaluru

This addition, most significant for the company, further strengthens the service capacity of the Bangalore facility, which is its second biggest delivery centre globally.

In line with its expansion plans, UST Global, a US-based digital technology services company, recently announced the expansion of its workforce, in Bangalore, to over 3,000.
With the Bengaluru facility being the company's second biggest delivery centre, globally, this enlargement makes it stronger in terms of service capacity. The company has over 10,000 employees in India out of the over 17,000 globally.
Manu Gopinath, chief people officer, UST Global, said, "We are in the journey of being one of the fastest-growing technology companies focussed on building digital solutions for our customers. Our Bengaluru centre is a key factor in our hybrid model and we are looking forward to more growth in that centre."

HR Movements: 17 Apr, 2017

1.

IIM Trichy gets new director

Bhimaraya Metri will be replacing founding director, Prafulla Agnihotri. 

Bhimaraya Metri has been named the new director of IIM Trichy. He will replace Prafulla Agnihotri, who was the founding director. Agnihotri had been the custodian of the institute for the last six years. He was given a farewell on April 4.
An academician for the last 25 years, Metri moved in from the L&T Institute of Project Management, Vadodara, where he was the dean. In the past, Metri has worked as professor & dean at MDI Gurgaon, IMI, New Delhi and as professor in-charge of the Ph.D programmes at BITS, Pilani.
Metri, a BE from the Govt. College of Engineering, Karad and an M.E. from Shivaji University, Kolhapur received his Ph.D from IIT Powai, Mumbai. 

2.
Suvesh Malhotra appointed as VP Engineering for OYO

Strengthening technology leadership OYO appoints Suvesh Malhotra as VP Engineering.

To continue focus on innovation in consumer-tech, OYO, one of the largest hotel networks appointed Suvesh Malhotra as VP-Engineering. In order to deliver best-in-industry user experience, he will take on the responsibility of building technology as a core differentiator. 
In his new role, Suvesh will manage OYO’s consumer technology including consumer experience, ordering and payment platforms and data analytics to deliver solutions to meet evolving varied consumer needs.

3.

Rahul Patwardhan, CEO of NIIT Ltd. resigns

NIITs CEO Rahul Patwardhan resigns while Sapnesh Lalla to take over with immediate effect.

NIIT Ltd. CEO, Rahul Patwardhan calls it quits owing to family reasons. Rahul was appointed as CEO last year in April, 2015. 

As per his LinkedIn post, he said “I completed 914 days at NIIT and away from my family. While my original plan was to stay for 5 years, it was becoming very difficult to justify the relative priority between family and work. This led to my decision to resign on 7th April.”

HR learning: 03 Apr, 2017

1.

Learn SMAC to earn smart.

At 30 percent CAG, the value of SMAC driven market will be $1 trillion (Approx.) by the end of the current decade. 

When a synergy develops by the amalgamation of various technologies it always benefits the businesses, but when it synchronizes with their needs, they earn optimum profits. Thanks to the technological inventions that gave birth to the Digital Marketing and a big applause to the pioneers in SMAC. Yes, Smart Marketers Adopt Change, they embrace SMAC (Social, Mobile, Analytics, and Cloud) to get maximum returns on marketing investments. The integration of social media, mobile technology, data analytics and cloud computing makes the fusion stronger, scalable, striking and more successful than their implementation in segregation. Around the globe, marketers are availing this phenomenal fusion and SMAC's worldwide revenue is expected to reach as high as $200 billion by the end of 2020. Moreover, at 30 percent CAG, the value of SMAC driven market will be $1 trillion (Approx.) by the end of the current decade.

2.

Learning linked to reward system of brain

So if you are an HR or business leader looking to design or redesign your reward and recognition program, you now know the complexity of the task at hand. Not only do you have to understand the expected reward 3 different generations at work have from the same type of work, you also have to keep surprising them time and again to keep them motivated.

The brain prize honours European brain research and international collaboration and is given by the Lundbeck foundation, which is an active industrial foundation established in 1954. It collaborates with 3 large Danish universities and Danish society for neuroscience for this programme. 

This year the Brain prize is in its 7th year, and the prize was awarded to 3 UK based researchers for explaining how learning is associated with reward system of the brain. The prize winners have found a key to understanding the mechanisms in the brain that lead to compulsive behaviours in animals in humans. 

Through animal testing, mathematical modelling, and human trials, the three prize winners have proven that the release of dopamine is not a response to the actual reward but to the difference between the reward we expect and the reward we actually receive. The greater the surprise, the more dopamine is released. 

The human brain has one million brain cells that carry the neurotransmitter dopamine. These dopamine neurons are located in the centre of the brain but have pathways to many other parts of the brain. If a laboratory animal receives the exact reward it is expecting, activity in the dopamine neurons will increase slightly. But if the reward is greater than expected, activity levels increase much more dramatically. Similarly, activity levels fall to below the baseline if the reward is less than expected. The researchers have also proven that the response steadily declines if the animals receive the same reward again and again.

3.
One step back, two step forward – L&D in SMEs

While businesses know that investment in capability building, training and development will add productivity, innovation and take the organization ahead, to get the right returns on investment, one needs to set the foundation right, especially in SMEs.

 

The World Bank stipulates that in the coming 15 years, the total number of jobs needed would be around 600 million that would be needed to absorb an expanding global workforce. Small and medium enterprises create 4 out of 5 new employment opportunities, along with most formal jobs in emerging markets existing with SMEs. Despite this, more than 50% of SMEs lack access to finance, which hinders their growth. And this growth is directly related to the learning and development of employees. With many SMEs attempting to scale-up, challenges related to training new employees and updating exiting product knowledge of employees forms a crucial challenge. Unlike large firms, SMEs with limited financial resources and insufficient managerial infrastructure tend to have less formal foundation for L&D and leadership development programs. Increasing competition and the need to build competitive edge has made capability building as a key business agenda.

HR News: 03 Apr, 2017

1.

TISS to close down three centres

The institute may shut down the three academic centres, which UGC had sanctioned as PLAN projects and promised funds for.

In a move that may impact the employment of a number of faculties at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), the director, S Parasuraman, recently declared that the institute has been struggling to sail through owing to the University Grants Commission’s failure to release the sanctioned funds.

The institute may apparently shut down the three academic centres, which UGC had sanctioned as PLAN projects and promised funds for—Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policies, Advanced Centre for Women’s Studies and the Nodal Centre for Excellence under the Scheme of Human Rights Education.

The three centres are likely to face closure as the 12th (and last) Five Year Plan period ends on March 31. The failure to get an official extension for the UGC-sanctioned centres, established under various plans till date, has been cited as the reason for the institute to take the extreme step, shocking its teaching community.

2.

Multiples PE acquires majority stake in PeopleStrong

Private equity firm Multiples has signed a 400 crore deal for acquiring a majority stake in PeopleStrong.

Multiples PE has finalized a substantial stake in PeopleStrong for Rs 400 crore, sources close to the deal that did not wish to be quoted, said. The funding will be utilized to acquire other HR companies in India and across Asia. It would also look to strengthen its existing products, viz the HR App and the HR chatbot ‘Jinie’ that it launched last year.

Sources also confirmed that employees will be availing their share money, by liquidating some portion of their shares in the company. PeopleStrong’s management team will continue to hold the same shares, post the deal. Renuka Ramnath, founder of Multiples Equity will join the board members; and company co-founders Pankaj Bansal and Shelly Singh will stay on the board. This information could not be officially confirmed.

The news of this development comes at a time when the Indian HR industry is shifting decisively from services to technology. As the talent challenges of organizations have evolved, so have the solutions around them. Predictive analytics, appification, social media and gamification are focal points in HR technology conversations today. Companies that acknowledge the evolving dynamics of people management in the transitional environment are gaining confidence in the advantages of HR Outsourcing, automation and digitization. All of this augurs well for HR outsourcing and technology-based companies, who now have small and medium enterprises (SMEs) too, on their roster of clients in addition to the traditional mainstays: the large enterprises.

3.

Karnataka legislators propose: No night shifts for women.

Karnataka legislature panel recommends that women not be assigned any night shifts rather only men to be preferred.

A committee of legislators in Karnataka proposed that – women not to be assigned any night shifts, as far as possible, they are needed at home. Such recommendation was made to Information Technology and Bio-technology companies (IT/BT) in Bengaluru by the legislature panel. 

The statement has sparked protests in the state by women activists who consider it very regressive and narrow. This recommendation was made in the 32nd report, which was tabled in the legislative assembly headed by NA Harris.

As told to media, N A Haris said a woman’s primary responsibility is to take care of home and be involved in child care. 

"A woman has a greater social responsibility than everyone else. She is going to groom the next generation and has maternal responsibilities. If a woman is working in the night, it could result in the neglect of the child as the mother and the child can't meet," NA Haris, committee chairman.

HR Movements: 03 Apr, 2017

1.

Metro Cash & Carry gets Udaiy Khanna as director, HR from Samsung

For Khanna, who is a XLRI alumni, this will be his second stint in retail. 

Udiay Khanna, who till recently was vice-president & head, HR, Samsung Electronics, has moved to Metro Cash & Curry as director, HR.

In an official communiqué, Arvind Mediratta says, CEO & managing director, METRO India, says, “We are poised for continuous expansion in the coming years. This growth will be fuelled by motivated employees working in a culture of excellence. Khanna has been on-boarded with the vision to strengthen two most vital pillars of our organisation – people and culture.”

For Khanna, who is a XLRI alumni, this will be his second stint in retail. Prior to Samsung, he worked with Bharti Walmart JV and then Walmart India post the JV, as V-P HR operations and talent acquisition.

Prior to joining Bharti-Walmart, Khanna spent 11 years at GE Healthcare, where he rose up the ranks from operations manager to vice-president and HR Leader for ITS (Information Technology & Software Business for Genpact). 

2.

Prashant Bhatnagar joins Credit Suisse as director-HR

In his new role, Bhatnagar will be responsible for attracting and enabling talent to help the organisation realise its strategy.

Prashant Bhatnagar, who was Hike Messenger’s senior director-people & culture, has joined the wealth management firm, Credit Suisse as the director-human resources, last week. In his new role, he will be responsible for attracting and enabling talent to help the organisation realise its strategy.

Bhatnagar had worked with Sapient as the vice president-hiring and staffing, for nine years before joining Hike Messenger in 2016. At Sapient, as a member of the India Leadership Team, he led the development and execution of talent strategy, including workforce planning, and also headed talent management & HRBP for a 500+ team, focussing on career development & advancement. He was a member of the core team that oversaw selection and global implementation of HR Systems.

After completing his master’s in business administration from ENPC MBA Paris-ENPC School of International Management, he pursued an executive education programme on leading teams for high performance, at the Indian School of Business. He also took two other executive education courses from MIT Sloan School of Management and Harvard Business School.

3.

The Smart Cube appoints Sushma Rana as the first CHRO

Rana comes from MSL Group, where she served as the HR and talent director and a member of the executive team.

The Smart Cube recently announced the appointment of Sushma Rana as its first chief human resources officer, with the remit to lead its global HR strategy to support the existing client business and its ambitious growth plans. With this recent appointment, the analytics company further expands its leadership team.

Rana brings two decades of leadership experience in human resources and talent management to this role. Prior to joining The Smart Cube, she spent 11 years with the MSL Group —part of Publicis Groupe, the communications company — most recently as HR and talent director, and a member of the executive team. Under her stewardship, MSLGROUP climbed the ranks of India’s Best Companies to Work For, reaching fifth place in the Professional Services category in 2014 and 2015.