Salaried jobs fell by 11-12 million post COVID-19: CMIE

 

Salaried jobs in India have fallen by 11-12 million from around 85 million in pre-COVID-19 levels to around 73-74 million today, stated Mahesh Vyas, chief executive officer, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).

Quoting the recent CMIE study, Vyas said, "India had 403.5 million jobs before being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, about 126 million jobs were lost of which about 90 million were those of daily wagers. The figure recovered and reached 400 million jobs in January 2021 or December 2020. However, after the second wave, India has 390 million jobs."

He pointed out that not everyone has got their job back and those who have got their jobs back have not necessarily got the same quality job. Salaried jobs are still falling. The situation is worse off, he added.

In addition, over 97 percent of India's population has become poorer compared to where they were in terms of income (a year ago), claimed Vyas while accounting for inflation. As per a survey by CMIE, when people were asked how's their income today compared to a year ago, only 3 percent said that their income is better than a year ago; about 55 percent stated that it is worse than a year ago, and the remaining said it is no better, no worse. 

The recently released CMIE report has revealed that unemployment levels have moved into double digits, at 14.73 percent for the week ending May 23, with over 17 percent unemployment in urban India and nearly 14 percent in rural India. 

Given that the average unemployment rate in rural India has been around 6 percent in recent years and the monthly unemployment rate touched 8 percent rarely in rural India before the lockdown, this 9.7 percent rate does not bode well for the economy.

Source: People matters 31 May, 21

https://www.peoplematters.in/news/recruitment/salaried-jobs-fell-by-11-12-million-post-covid-19-cmie-29502

Human connectivity is fundamental to every business: Shivram Choudhary, Founder, Codevidhya

 

Businesses are all about human beings and human touch is key to maintaining the path to progress, shares Shivram Choudhary, Founder of Codevidhya.

The ‘virtual boom’ has enabled people to experience education in a new light. Gamification has brought a reward system to our educational progress and has increased enthusiasm to learn new skills. Yet with the pandemic still persisting amidst us, the stakes of maintaining human relationship has never been so higher.

In this interview, Shivram Chaudhary, Founder of edtech startup Codevidhya, discusses the value of human links and how it can support the organizations to realign their transformation.

How are you reinventing your HR policies for the new world of work?

At Codevidhya, we strongly believe in human connections and our focus is on reenergizing the HR sector and using collaborative technology to cater the digital requirements of the schools and institutions. 

With the pandemic influencing the way we look at work, Codevidhya brought in some COVID-19 regularizations in our policies which includes quarterly performance reassessments and flexible work schedules. We have also started wellness classes for our employees and inculcated book reading sessions to encourage human connectivity among ourselves.  

Source: People matters

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Stop Talking Over Each Other in Virtual Meetings

 

Summary:

As every organization returns to the office at different times, we will have both virtual and hybrid meetings for the foreseeable future. The author offers three tips to speaking up in a virtual meeting, and three warnings for when to hold back. One piece of advice: If you must interrupt, compliment the person speaking (“Thanks for that great point, Jeff, I’d like to build on that”) and then take the point in whichever direction you’d like. It maintains the current speaker’s credibility while giving you the space to jump in. If you think you might be interrupting someone but want to speak up anyway, own it: “I’m going to take the risk of interrupting Jeff here but I want to build on his point by saying…” This is particularly effective for hybrid meetings when you’re virtual and you can’t read others’ body language.

As companies of all sizes grapple with how and when to return to a physical office, it’s clear that virtual meetings are here to stay, with all the challenges and pet peeves that come with them. As more people return to in-person encounters, the hybrid meeting will follow suit.

Now that we’ve (for the most part) solved the technical challenges of finding the “mute” button and learning how to share our slides (but not our desktops), we are confronted with the more adaptive challenge of leading an effective and efficient virtual meeting. In the results of our recent benchmarking survey, we found that people are giving fewer presentations due to the pandemic, but they are speaking more than ever in virtual meetings. And they are getting frustrated. In our virtual leadership communication workshops, we are hearing the same questions from clients, regardless of whether they work at small nonprofits or global Fortune 50 companies:

Source: HBR

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A Brief Guide to Time Management

Time management is the process of planning and controlling how much time to spend on specific activities. Good time management enables an individual to complete more in a shorter period of time, lowers stress, and leads to career success.

Benefits of Time Management

The ability to manage your time effectively is important. Good time management leads to improved efficiency and productivity, less stress, and more success in life. Here are some benefits of managing time effectively:

1. Stress relief

Making and following a task schedule reduces anxiety. As you check off items on your “to-do” list, you can see that you are making tangible progress. This helps you avoid feeling stressed out with worry about whether you’re getting things done.

2. More time

Good time management gives you extra time to spend in your daily life. People who can time-manage effectively enjoy having more time to spend on hobbies or other personal pursuits.

3. More opportunities

Managing time well leads to more opportunities and less time wasted on trivial activities. Good time management skills are key qualities that employers look for. The ability to prioritize and schedule work is extremely desirable for any organization.

4. Ability to realize goals

Individuals who practice good time management are able to better achieve goals and objectives, and do so in a shorter length of time.

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Recruitment: Flipkart strengthens its supply chain with 23,000 new hires

 

Additional hiring to meet the growing demand for e-commerce services across the country while providing livelihoods and employment.

Flipkart, India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, is continuing to strengthen the supply chain to help deliver products across the length and breadth of the country in the safest ways while creating additional employment in the supply chain. In the past three months, over March - May 2021, Flipkart has hired 23,000 people across the country in various capacities across its supply chain, including delivery executives.

“At Flipkart, our top priority is to meet the needs of consumers through a safe and robust supply chain while ensuring the safety of our employees. The growing demand for e-commerce services across the country as people continue to remain indoors to fight the virus has necessitated a ramp-up of our supply chain, creating thousands of employment opportunities. All new hires will be covered with our healthcare and wellness initiatives to ensure their safety during these testing times.” - Hemant Badri, Senior Vice-President, Supply Chain at Flipkart

Amid COVID-19, the safety of its employees, customers, sellers, & ecosystem partners is a top priority for Flipkart. From strict safety regulations and protocols across its warehouses to driving awareness on COVID safety behaviour, the company is also undertaking training programs for its direct hires in various aspects of the supply chain.

Through a mix of classroom and digital training, enhancing their understanding of supply chain management, these trainings are being undertaken through mobile applications such as WhatsApp, Zoom, and Hangout, along with Flipkart’s own Learning Management System (LMS). These training sessions span customer service, delivery, installation and safety and sanitation measures along with the handling of hand-held devices, PoS Machines, scanners, various mobile applications and ERPs. They are also informed and trained in the safety regulations and protocols around COVID-19 to ensure their and customers’ safety.

Source: People matters

https://www.peoplematters.in/news/recruitment/flipkart-strengthens-its-supply-chain-with-23000-new-hires-29456

Vaccination for employees is top-of-mind for most businesses in next 3-12 months: Report

 

As per a survey report by IndusGuru, 2/3rd of all respondents reported that providing vaccine access will be their top-most priority over the next 3-12 months.

The second wave of the pandemic needs a combined response from the government, civil society, citizens, and Corporate India. Organizations are grappling with a never-before crisis, to try and protect and support their employees and their families across the country. IndusGuru undertook a Research Survey aimed at creating a quick reference guide to help leaders understand “emergent” people and organization practices to protect and support their employees. 

The survey showed that 28% of organizations report an impact of 2-5% of their headcount being affected by Covid. 46% of organizations report an impact of >5% of their workforce being affected.

The 2nd Wave Impact is seen across all sectors – non-essential service sectors which had opened up in Jan-March, and then locked down, have been severely impacted too

Source: People matters

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Ransomware Attacks Are Spiking. Is Your Company Prepared?

 

With the migration to remote work over the last year, cyberattacks have increased exponentially. We saw more attacks of every kind, but the headline for 2020 was ransom attacks, which were up 150% over the previous year. The amount paid by victims of these attacks increased more than 300% in 2020.

Already 2021 has seen a dramatic increase in this activity, with high-profile ransom attacks against critical infrastructure, private companies, and municipalities grabbing headlines on a daily basis. The amount of ransom demanded also has significantly increased this year, with some demands reaching tens of millions of dollars. And the attacks have become more sophisticated, with threat actors seizing sensitive company data and holding it hostage for payment.

Who’s behind the recent surge in attacks? And how should companies respond to this increased threat? In this article, I’ll outline how ransomware attacks have evolved and what actions companies can take now to protect themselves.

How Ransomware Attacks Have Changed

A few years ago, the majority of ransom attacks involved only the deployment of ransomware. Hackers would gain access through a phishing email that would deploy malware when an unwitting employee clicked on a link. The malware would then encrypt company servers, and the extortionist would offer decryption keys in exchange for a ransom — typically in the five or sometimes six figures.

Source: HBR 

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What are Management Skills?

Management skills can be defined as certain attributes or abilities that an executive should possess in order to fulfill specific tasks in an organization. They include the capacity to perform executive duties in an organization while avoiding crisis situations and promptly solving problems when they occur. Management skills can be developed through learning and practical experience as a manager. The skills help the manager to relate with their fellow co-workers and know how to deal well with their subordinates, which allows for the easy flow of activities in the organization.

Good management skills are vital for any organization to succeed and achieve its goals and objectives. A manager who fosters good management skills is able to propel the company’s mission and vision or business goals forward with fewer hurdles and objections from internal and external sources.

Management and leadership skills are often used interchangeably as they both involve planning, decision-making, problem-solving, communication, delegation, and time management. Good managers are almost always good leaders as well.

In addition to leading, a critical role of a manager is to also ensure that all parts of the organization are functioning cohesively. Without such integration, several issues can arise and failure is bound to happen. Management skills are crucial for various positions and at different levels of a company, from top leadership to intermediate supervisors to first-level managers.

Types of Management Skills

According to American social and organizational psychologist Robert Katz, the three basic types of management skills include:

1. Technical Skills

Technical skills involve skills that give the managers the ability and the knowledge to use a variety of techniques to achieve their objectives. These skills not only involve operating machines and software, production tools, and pieces of equipment but also the skills needed to boost sales, design different types of products and services, and market the services and the products.

2. Conceptual Skills

These involve the skills managers present in terms of the knowledge and ability for abstract thinking and formulating ideas. The manager is able to see an entire concept, analyze and diagnose a problem, and find creative solutions. This helps the manager to effectively predict hurdles their department or the business as a whole may face.

3. Human or Interpersonal Skills

The human or the interpersonal skills are the skills that present the managers’ ability to interact, work or relate effectively with people. These skills enable the managers to make use of human potential in the company and motivate the employees for better results.

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Leveraging technology to boost employee health and wellbeing

The rising importance of health and safety during the pandemic accelerated innovations in the world of health technology. Newer and more advanced technologies are transforming the way people monitor health and wellbeing.

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed the entire world into an era of increased health importance. Health practices transformed drastically in the past two years, with social distancing and digitization becoming the new norm. Also, people have become much more aware of the benefits of good health practices to stay safe from diseases. 

For organizations, ensuring employee health and wellbeing became highly crucial during the pandemic. 

Remote working and social isolation caused several health problems among employees, such as depression, anxiety, weight gain, and so on. With increasing physical and mental health issues among employees, employers had little to no option but to introduce wellness programs and initiatives to avoid losses in productivity and output. 

Resumption of work in offices also posed a threat for employers and their employees' health. To ensure employee health and safety at work, it became even more important to focus on workplace wellness practices. 

Thus, employee wellbeing became the topic of the moment. And as a result, more and more companies started implementing wellness programs to address the importance of healthy living at work. 

We at Vantage Circle also used the opportunity amidst the pandemic to introduce a month-long Virtual Walkathon using our simplified & AI-enabled wellness platform, Vantage Fit. The Global Corporate Virtual Walkathon, as we called it, helped us immensely to inspire organizations to prioritize wellness. 

Companies worldwide were allowed to engage their employees in a virtual walkathon contest with exciting prizes for grabs. The event, which witnessed the participation of more than 3700 employees from 74 different teams, enabled companies to incorporate a healthy and active lifestyle among their workforces.

Key trends that are emerging in 2021

Well, as we know, 2020 was a rollercoaster ride for everyone. With COVID-19 affecting people worldwide, things became uncertain. Organizations were forced to operate remotely, and work-from-home culture became more prominent than it ever was. 

Work-from-home became a boon and a curse for organizations. While it allowed business operations to keep running, it affected employee health significantly. Weight gain and other health problems became prevalent among people working from home.

Moreover, with many people struggling with depression and stress due to the pandemic, mental health also took quite a hit.

Despite how turbulent the last year was, there is still an opportunity to start afresh. With 2021 demanding us all to prioritize our health first, we need to make the right choices to stay healthy and fit. 

With the spotlight shining on wellness recently, quite a few trends have come up. 

• For instance, the concept of micro-goals has become quite popular. The pandemic has made us realize that the world can throw a wrench in our gears at any moment. And we must be ready when it does. So being open and flexible to realistic wellness goals is essential. Organizations offering their workforce various wellness options to choose from will bring new changes into the employee wellbeing spectrum. Selecting from a long list of micro-goals instead of one big resolution can benefit overall wellness. 
• Also, with social distancing being in vogue, our lives have become increasingly digital. Meeting in person is not considered safe anymore. Therefore, fitness classes, meditation sessions, and even therapy sessions are now held online. 
• Then there is Telehealth, the use of telecommunication technologies to provide health services over long distances remotely. Such healthcare provisions happening over a virtual platform offer expanding access to care and decrease disease exposure to workers and patients. When employers enable telehealth services for their employees, they can enjoy access to wellness services whenever and wherever required. 

Multiple other trends are emerging in 2021, and it will be a year where we regain whatever is lost and find alternate ways towards new wellness experiences.  

In this context, Vantage Circle has managed to ascertain that employees working from home can still lead a healthy lifestyle. 

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Communication: The transfer of information to produce greater understanding

What is Communication?

Being able to communicate effectively is one of the most important life skills to learn. Communication is defined as transferring information to produce greater understanding. It can be done vocally (through verbal exchanges), through written media (books, websites, and magazines), visually (using graphs, charts, and maps) or non-verbally (body language, gestures, pitch of voice, and tone). All of these means of communication are essential Soft Skills that are vital for a successful Career.

The Importance of Communication Skills

Having strong communication skills aids in all aspects of life – from professional life to personal life and everything that falls in between. From a business standpoint, all transactions result from communication. Good communication skills are essential to allow others and yourself to understand information more accurately and quickly.

In contrast, poor communication skills lead to frequent misunderstanding and frustration. In a 2016 LinkedIn survey conducted in the United States, communication topped the list of the most sought-after soft skills among employers.

How to Improve Your Communication Skills

Here are some pointers to look out for when looking to improve your ability to effectively communicate with others:

1. Listening

To become a good communicator, it is important to be a good listener. It is important to practice active listening – pay close attention to what others are saying and clarify ambiguities by rephrasing their questions for greater understanding.

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Research: What Do People Need to Perform at a High Level?

 

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, American workers were struggling to reach their full potential. In a national survey we conducted of more than 14,500 workers across industries in 2017, approximately 85% of them said they were not working at 100% of their potential. In fact, only 15% of workers said they were. Moreover, 16% said they were using less than 50% of their potential. What was keeping the vast majority of workers from using all of their potential? And what was empowering the minority who reported that they were able to do so?

In this research, we identified organizational, interpersonal, and individual factors that contributed to a person’s capacity to do their job most effectively.

When the pandemic hit, with all of its uncertainty and anxiety, we revisited our research and began interviewing nurses at a large university hospital. We learned that the factors helping (or hurting) employee effectiveness that we identified earlier became even more important in the time of crisis. The insights we gleaned can help organizational leaders and managers to boost employees’ potential — even in times of crisis.

How Employees Reach Potential

In our survey of 14,500 U.S. workers we learned that employees report working to their full potential when:

• They are clear about what they are expected to do.
• They are willing to ask questions and feel safe doing so.
• They are not overwhelmed with rules about how the work has to be done or with unproductive meetings.
• Their organization supports creative problem solving (e.g., implementing employee suggestions for improvements) and provides rewards and recognition for jobs well done.
• Supervisors notice and acknowledge employee feelings, understand how their decisions will impact employees, and help them manage their emotions.
• They see purpose and meaning in their work and are committed to their organization.

Source: HBR

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Easy to produce, easier to consume: DRDO's 2-DG drug for treatment of Covid patients

The DCGI has granted emergency use approval to DRDO's 2-DG drug for treatment in moderate to severe cases of Covid-19. Here are answers to all your questions about the drug.

• DCGI granted emergency use approval to DRDO's 2-DG drug on Saturday
• 2-DG helps in faster recovery of hospitalized patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence
• Phase-III trials for 2-DG drug were conducted at 27 Covid hospitals across the country

With the country battling the second wave of Covid-19 infections, The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Saturday approved a drug developed by the DRDO for emergency use. The drug - 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) - has been approved as an adjunct therapy in moderate to severe cases of coronavirus.

Who developed 2-DG?

The drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) has been developed by DRDO's Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) in collaboration with Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's Laboritories.

What do we know about clinical trials for 2-DG?

Phase-II trials for the 2-DG drug were conducted between May and October of last year. Six hospitals were part of the Phase-II (a) trials and 11 hospitals were part of the Phase-II (b) trials to determine dose range.

Approval for Phase-III trials was given in November of last year. These trials were conducted at 27 Covid hospitals in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Data pertaining to these trials showed reduced dependence on oxygen among moderate cases of Covid-19, even in patients aged 65 and above.

How does 2-DG work?

According to the official statement, "clinical trial results have shown that this molecule helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence."

"Higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in COVID patients. The drug will be of immense benefit to the people suffering from Covid-19," the statement goes on to say.

How can 2-DG be consumed?

The 2-DG drug, which comes in powder form in sachets, has to be taken orally by dissolving it in water.

"It accumulates in the virus infected cells and prevents virus growth by stopping viral synthesis and energy production," said the official statement by the Government of India.

Will 2-DG have a significant impact?

The DRDO says that the 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) drug can easily be produced and made available in plenty in the country since it is a generic molecule and analogue of glucose.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/

Resist Old Routines When Returning to the Office

 

As vaccines are being shipped and administered, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on people’s lives and the business environment will gradually lessen over time. This will be a welcome change, but organizations must resist a complete reversion to their pre-pandemic practices.

While the crisis imposed severe restrictions, it also provided a unique opportunity to conduct thousands of experiments and innovate with new practices, some of which are beneficial in any period — pandemic or no pandemic. In addition, the crisis lowered the resistance to change and thus helped organizations get rid of deeply entrenched, dysfunctional practices that would be difficult to shed in normal times.

Many organizations were forced to do things that would have been considered inconceivable not so long ago. In addition to many companies’ successful digital transformations and widespread remote work, courts started delivering justice online, healthcare providers shifted to telemedicine for many minor illnesses, banks disbursed loans without meeting clients in person, and auditors conducted virtual company audits without visiting company premises.

But what will happen to these practices once the pandemic is over? Our research on the Three-Box Solution shows that sustained organizational changes depend not only on the discovery of new practices and their initial adoption, but also on ensuring that managers and employees don’t fall back into old routines when the impetus for change is gone. The following four-step framework will help leaders identify, retain, and sustain the beneficial changes that were introduced over the past year.

Source: HBR

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How Xiaomi Became an Internet-of-Things Powerhouse

When Xiaomi entered the fiercely competitive smartphone market in 2010, it did so without even offering a real phone. The company only offered a free Android-based operating system (OS). Yet, within seven years, Xiaomi became one of the world’s largest smartphone makers, reaching $15 billion in revenue. Accelerating its growth rate, Xiaomi transformed into the world’s largest consumer IoT (Internet of Things) firm by 2020, with its revenue surpassing $37 billion and more than 210 million IoT devices (excluding smartphones and laptops) sold across more than 90 countries.

How was Xiaomi able to grow so explosively and what lessons can other companies learn from Xiaomi’s rise?

We sought answers via an in-depth, multi-year study of the firm, including extensive interviews with 12 top executives (including cofounders, chairman, CEO, president, senior VPs, and executives leading R&D, distribution, and marketing), as well as the founder and CEO of Smartmi, Xiaomi’s largest ecosystem partner. Our research also involved analyzing more than 100 hours of conversations and reviewing more than 5,000 Xiaomi documents (from 2010–2020) as well as 470 external reports and data sets.

Source : HBR

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What is Leading by Example?

 

Leadership is a process in which an individual influences the behavior and attitudes of other people. Leading by example helps other people see what lies ahead and act swiftly to counter any challenges along the way. If a group is led by a person with poor leadership skills, the group will experience frequent conflicts as each person wants to do things their way.

One of the responsibilities of a leader is to inspire other people to do the best that they can do for the benefit of the organization. To achieve this, the leader must show them the way by getting involved in the process – leading by example. For example, a CEO may discourage unnecessary spending among employees to improve the business revenues. However, if the CEO changes his office furniture frequently, the employees will not take him seriously, and they will continue with the spending. But if the CEO stops unnecessary expenditure in his own office and works toward maximizing revenues, the employees will often follow suit.

Six Ways of Leading by Example

Leaders use the following ways to lead by example and inspire their followers:

#1 Listen to the team

Sometimes, a leader may get too busy giving directives and managing the team, so that they forget to listen to other leaders and even their followers. A good leader should understand that they do not know everything and that they can learn something new from the most junior employee. Also, most organizations hire staff based on their expertise and experience in specific fields, and the leader should learn to interact and listen to all employees. For example, if the manager is an expert in investments, they may need someone from the accounting or marketing department to advise them on some issues.

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Don’t Underestimate the Power of Kindness at Work

Everybody wants to be happy. But how can we meet that sometimes elusive goal? This was a difficult question even before the global pandemic, but nowadays just thinking about it can seem futile. Parents are trying to balance the demands of remote work and online schooling; people who live alone try to keep their focus in isolation. When life is measured by back-to-back Zoom meetings, even taking a shower can seem like a win.

The transformation of the workplace into scheduled online meetings has led to another source of deprivation: The removal of serendipitous encounters. For many people, hearing a colleague say, “Thank you so much” in the hallway, or a manager telling you “Great job” after a presentation were a highlight of office life. Now, these seem like traditions from another lifetime. Without water cooler interactions, casual lunches, and coffee breaks with colleagues, we don’t have the same opportunities for social connection as before. Without them, it can be much harder to find joy in our work. So, what can we do about it?

Source: HBR

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How TATA CLiQ created an ‘Unbelievably Happy Place to Work at’ with Darwinbox

In this case study, Behram Sabawala, Chief People Officer, Tata CLiQ reflects on how accelerating efforts around HR technology transformation helped Tata CLiQ on its journey towards becoming an unbelievably happy place to work at.

Would you believe it if you were told that the happier your employees are, the more successful your company will be? It may sound like the definition of a “Care Bear” management style, but study after study has shown that employee happiness has a direct correlation to your bottom-line.

For Tata CLiQ, their employees are their first customers, and hence, the aim of the company was not just to build a 'great place to work' but an 'unbelievably happy place to work at.'

In this case study, we get in an exclusive conversation with Behram Sabawala, Chief People Officer, Tata CLiQ who reflects on how accelerating efforts around HR technology transformation helped Tata CLiQ on its journey towards becoming an unbelievably happy place to work at.

Talking about the strongest reason for a digital transformation being based on the goal of building an unbelievably happy place to work at, Behram shares, “We wanted to create an environment way beyond just a tick-the-box / go-through-the-motions approach. Our people are trusted and have earned the right to autonomy, with the ultimate focus, of course, being the delivery of a magical customer experience. And, as our first customers, N=1 applies first to our people, for whom we work towards delivering a customized set of experiences and we are also focused on continuous improvement, which ensures we listen to our stakeholders and adapt constantly.”

Source: People matters

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Customer Love: How to Take Your Business from Good to Great

Ready to hear your new edge in business? It’s customer love. The key is simple: Stop selling and start connecting.

Going beyond the transaction is what keeps you in business. Only 4 percent of entrepreneurial ventures survive to see 10 years. I’m proud to be one of the exceptions, with 18 years behind me as a speaker, author and coach. Before starting out on my own, I spent years in hospitality, even working at Disney, so I have a deep appreciation for great customer service. My years as a solopreneur have only furthered my belief that relationships are the currency of professional success.

By turning introductions into opportunities and moments into memories, you can create clients for life.

Unforgettable experiences improve your brand story, increase customer retention and stimulate word-of-mouth marketing. I am convinced that this is the greatest time in history to level up your business, and I challenge you to think of your interactions as connect-the-dot experiences that confirm why someone should do business with you instead of the bland customer service encounter they might expect from one of your bigger, stronger competitors.

To understand how to truly love your customer and provide the ideal service experience for them, get to the bottom of three key questions.

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Beyond coronavirus: The path to the next normal

The coronavirus is not only a health crisis of immense proportion—it’s also an imminent restructuring of the global economic order. Here’s how leaders can begin navigating to what’s next.

“For some organizations, near-term survival is the only agenda item. Others are peering through the fog of uncertainty, thinking about how to position themselves once the crisis has passed and things return to normal. The question is, ‘What will normal look like?’ While no one can say how long the crisis will last, what we find on the other side will not look like the normal of recent years.”

These words were written 11 years ago, amid the last global financial crisis, by one of our former managing partners, Ian Davis. They ring true today but if anything, understate the reality the world is currently facing.

It is increasingly clear our era will be defined by a fundamental schism: the period before COVID-19 and the new normal that will emerge in the post-viral era: the “next normal.” In this unprecedented new reality, we will witness a dramatic restructuring of the economic and social order in which business and society have traditionally operated. And in the near future, we will see the beginning of discussion and debate about what the next normal could entail and how sharply its contours will diverge from those that previously shaped our lives.

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Reinvent diversity and inclusion through wellness

For me, there is so much more to wellness. It is a holistic concept which involves fuelling the body, engaging the mind, and nurturing the spirit and I look at 8 dimensions of wellness.

For diversity and inclusion to truly become integral part of an organization, it must be  integrated into everything a company does and corporate wellness programs are a great  step towards that. 

Before COIVD struck the concept of wellbeing was limited to physical health — nutrition,  exercise, weight management, here also we were not focusing on most important  element; sleep.  

For me, there is so much more to wellness. It is a holistic concept which involves fuelling the body, engaging the mind, and nurturing the spirit and I look at 8 dimensions of  wellness.  

Physical wellness comprises of physical activity, healthy nutrition, and adequate sleep.  

Emotional wellness is about building meaningful relationships and coping with life  stressors. It is also involves having high emotional intelligence, ability to work through  life challenges and resilience. Self-respect is an important part of emotional wellness and  organization can create environment where the focus is not only on diversity but  inclusion as well.  

Social wellness is a sense of bonding with others. Remember that water cooler chit chat  that is being missed the most. For many, it is extremely refreshing since it gives a sense  of connectedness and belonging.  

Source: People matters 05 May, 21

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Leaders Get in the Way of Organizational Change

 

I received a call from the chief transformation officer of a midsize financial services company. Their company-wide change effort to shift from a product company to a services company was in shambles after being underway for nearly two years. “We thought we’d done everything we needed to do to keep this transformation from derailing,” he told me. “We communicated relentlessly, held virtual town halls to engage people, and resourced dozens of initiatives to support the vision for change. But we’ve ended up with nothing but hamsters running on wheels. We’ve made no measurable progress, cynicism is setting in as people are mired in activities that feel futile, and we’ve long lost sight of the vision for why we started this journey in the first place.”

Our in-depth diagnostic revealed derailers I’ve seen ensnare change efforts for decades, no matter how well intended the efforts were. Leaders frequently underestimate the amount of work required for the change, overestimate the organization’s capacity to make the change, and misjudge how the organization views their connection to the change.

Source: HBR 30 Apr, 21

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7 Tips for Dealing with Uncertainty

If this year has taught us anything, it’s that uncertainty is a B.

Although we may see the light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccine accessible to most, it’s going to take a while to shake off the trauma 2020 delivered. Uncertainty flooded our everyday lives—between not knowing when our health and safety wouldn’t be under threat, to not understanding the different restrictions state to state, to simply not knowing when our daily lives would resume to normal. It was tough to swallow. 

But this is not the only time in our lives that we will face uncertainty. 2020 was unique because uncertainty plagued all of our lives. Typically, uncertainty strikes different people at different times. 

Ideally, the following tips will help aid you through this year, but also in years to come. Here are some best practices on how to cope when uncertainty strikes:

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