How Higher Ed Can Prepare Students for Today’s Digital Jobs

Summary.   

While colleges have continued to do a reasonably good job of preparing students with the cognitive skills they need to become successful professionals, employers have changed. Systems and processes that were once physical or manual are now digital and automated, and governed by sophisticated new business software or SaaS platforms that require dozens — if not hundreds — of hours of training in order to navigate them competently. To prepare students for a post-Covid future, colleges and universities need to double down on preparing them for digital jobs. But even teaching platform skills aren’t enough. Few employers are interested in hiring candidates who’ve just completed a training program, they’re looking for relevant work experience. The good news is that there are two promising models for colleges to go beyond the traditional career services function to provide students with relevant digital training and work experience.

When the world paused for Covid, there was a real sense of stasis or loss in higher education, as the remote experience failed utterly to replicate or replace the immersive on-campus experience. But while higher education paused, the rest of the world didn’t stop. In fact, digital transformation of the economy accelerated. Back in May of 2020, MIT’s David Autor referred to the pandemic as an “automation-forcing event,” an idea that’s proved prescient as companies double down on digital transformation in order to engage with all stakeholders — customers, suppliers, shareholders, lenders, and especially employees — remotely.

So as students returned to campus this fall and campus leaders tout a return to some kind of (masked) normalcy, it’s natural to want to throw frisbees around the quad and put all the digital, remote stuff behind us. Headlines about the hot labor market for college grads make it even more tempting. Unfortunately, given the digital transformation we’ve seen, this is the calm on campus before the storm. Colleges and universities must urgently figure out how to provide students with digital platform skills and get them essential relevant work experience. Institutions that do so will position themselves at the forefront of higher education in the post-pandemic era.

Complete Article at HBR

How to Set Boundaries with a Chatty Colleague

Summary.   

You might think you’re being generous or patient by listening to a chatty coworker talk endlessly, but you’re simply letting resentment fester that’s toxic to your emotional well-being and productivity. The author offers advice for setting boundaries with a talkative colleague in a compassionate, diplomatic way that still allows you to get your work done: 1) Preempt their request, 2) drive towards a close, 3) perfect the art of interruption, 4) come from your perspective, 5) direct dialogue to a certain time, and 6) have a big picture conversation.

Charlotte arrived at our coaching session frazzled and distraught. “I can’t stand it anymore,” she huffed, throwing her hands up. Charlotte explained that she had had another meeting with her chatty counterpart on the data science team. While she generally enjoyed working with this colleague, Charlotte felt frustrated that their planning sessions regularly ran 20 to 30 minutes over the scheduled time, causing her to be late for her other appointments. Charlotte’s colleague tended to ramble and blather on and on, talking in circles about their analytics, not allowing anyone else to get a word in edgewise.

You may relate to Charlotte’s situation — at some point in our careers, we’ve all encountered a talkative colleague. They may be the person who constantly pings you on work messenger throughout the day, who drops by your desk unannounced to monologue about their weekend, or they’re the one who calls you up saying they need to chat for 10 minutes (which turns into an hour).

Complete Article at HBR

 

Leaders who incorporate ‘resilience’ as a design element will experience greater success: President & CHRO - Wipro

Organisations that focus on employee well-being and push the meter on employee experience will be the successful ones, says Saurabh Govil, President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Wipro.

The pandemic has wiped out many long-held beliefs of employers and altered employee preferences for good. The pandemic has impacted employer-employee relationships differently across different industries globally. Employee attitudes towards work and employment have changed significantly during the pandemic. The hybrid mode of work, which most employers have embraced, is not just about providing flexibility but also a strong signal about inclusivity, promoting equity and embracing diversity. Companies that espouse and practice an inclusive and diverse culture are likely to be more successful than others, says Saurabh. President & Chief Human Resources Officer at Wipro, Saurabh is also a member of the Management Team. In this role, he leads all Human Resources functions for Wipro. Despite having over three decades of experience Saurabh still considers himself as a newbie who constantly maintains a child-like curiosity to learn new things. Before joining Wipro, he worked in organisations such as ITC and GE.

Here are the excerpts of the interview.

How do you see the current IT industry landscape and what are some of the significant trends that are transforming the tech industry?

Restrictions during the pandemic accelerated technology adoption by consumers. People are now more comfortable interacting with the world on digital platforms. Similarly, the pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in our supply chains and organisations will be moving to build robust arrangements for the future. Organisations have re-imagined physical workspaces, re-evaluated real estate costs as well as personnel policies. 

Complete Article at People matters

Education financing platform Propelld to hire over 120 staff in 2022

 

The company is hiring for several departments like Tech, Operations, Collections, Business Development/Sales, Relationship Management, Finance, Credit, and Legal.

Education financing platform Propelld has announced its planning to recruit over 120 employees across the verticals by the end of FY 2022. The announcement comes after 63 recruits had already joined the company, with the company aiming to fill its project and alliance management positions.

Currently, the organization has 119 employees and is looking to add to its tech and operations teams primarily. They kick-started the year by hiring seven for the hiring team and will add twenty more to the roster as the company builds up to reach the global market. The company is hiring for several departments like Tech, Operations, Collections, Business Development/Sales, Relationship Management, Finance, Credit, and Legal.

Job seekers around the country will welcome Propelld’s move through channels like, Naukri.com, LinkedIn, Career page, alumni network, employee referrals, and hiring agencies. Virtual hiring has been the modus operandi for the education financing platform. 

Complete Article at People matters

Tesla launches universal home charger for electric vehicles of any brand

Elon Musk's company Tesla launched a universal charger to recharge the battery of any brand of electric cars at home.

The Tesla company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk , has launched a new universal home charger for electric vehicles . The brand new J1772 Gen 2 plug is compatible with any brand of electric cars in the US market.

First, it emerged that Elon Musk 's flagship company planned to open up its network of Tesla superchargers so that any electric vehicle, regardless of brand, can use them to recharge. The project materialized this week, with the opening of the first universal supercharger stations in the Netherlands.

Now, Tesla introduced this new wall socket to recharge electric cars at home .

"Charge your EV at home with the J1772 Gen 2 Wall Connector, a convenient home charging solution for EV owners. Just plug it in at night and charge while you sleep. With an output power of up to 9.6 kW (40 amps) for a single vehicle, the J1772 Gen 2 wall jack includes a 7.3 meter cable length, multiple power settings and a versatile design for indoors and outdoors ” , reads the description of the new product from Tesla.

Complete Article at Entrepreneur India

 

"Your most important assets aren’t your clients; its your loyal employees. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your clients."​

"I quit!"
I had been promoted to my first management job for my performance as an individual contributor.
Within 6 months one of my best developers came to me with a resignation letter. We always had a great working relationship with her when I was a developer myself.
I was shocked.
I asked her - why ?
She said she feels unappreciated, not valued, not seeing the big picture and no prospects for career growth.
They had not sent me to management classes, but this was the best management lesson I ever received.
Prior to this resignation, my focus was on projects and problems, and helping those who needed help.
She never needed any help, and her projects were as on time as a Swiss watch.
In her case, I missed several boxes from the diagram above: involved, mentored, appreciated, valued, on a mission. For sure I valued and appreciated her, but I never took the time to show it.
After a long conversation, I convinced her that I am learning to be a leader, and that she just gave me a great lesson, and then I asked her to give me another chance. I was humble and appreciative.
She gave me another chance, and stayed on. We worked together for many more years.
In addition to the points to the diagram above I would add that employees stay when

1) we create opportunities for them, and give them opportunities to grow

2) take risks for them

3) treat their problems as our own

4) stand up for them

5) treat them fairly

6) stay honest with them

Source: LinkedIn

5 Tips for Challenging Yourself to Perform Outside of Your Comfort Zone

Here's how you can be the best leader you can be, even in the most uncomfortable conditions.

When you first started your career or entrepreneurship journey, you probably had the importance of developing a growth mindset and getting out of your comfort zone drilled into you. Well, these ideas don’t just apply to the process of getting your career or business off the ground, but also to your ongoing leadership journey.

Here are five tips to help you to be the best leader you can be — even in the most uncomfortable, challenging conditions.

1. Seek discomfort

A comfort zone is the state of mind in which we don’t face any risks or fear because we don’t need to solve any new problems. Humans have evolved to enjoy comfort to help keep us alive — if we’re constantly venturing into the unknown, there’s more chance of us facing life-threatening dangers.

But we don't live in the Stone Age anymore. Public humiliation and difficult board meetings might be unpleasant, but they won’t kill you.

Learning to seek discomfort is the obvious solution, but how exactly can we do it? Here are a few ideas:

Alter your daily routine in subtle ways. For instance, you can change the way you travel to work or the food you eat for lunch.

Complete Article at Entrepreneur India