In order to fuel our rapid expansion, I have been involved in a lot of interviews in the recent past.

Over the past year or so when Retail was in the dumps, so to speak, there were a lot of people who were on the look out for jobs and ready to compromise on salaries, designation, area of expertise. Some of them had been without a job for a couple of months.

Whilst doing this, glancing through the resumes, talking to the candidates, many of them had ‘Skills’ mentioned on their resume or would say that I Upskilled my self during the past 3 months, which got me thinking to ask the question - Do people really understand the meaning?

Most describe ‘knowledge of computers’; ‘knowledge of tally’ as a skill.

Upskill meant ‘learning internet’; attending ’seminar’ amongst others.

So I started asking
“What do you know in Tally?” - Data entry
“What do you know in computers?” - Email
“How did you upskill?” - attended so & so lecture

After wading through hundreds of them, I can conclude NO, people do not understand the meaning of Upskill.

I do not know about many others, but this is a constant fight which eats away into my time continuously.

Identifying, Recruiting, Training, Retaining seems to be a constant fight, more so when you realize that there is an ever decreasing pool of talent available on a particular day, week.

And why is that? Mostly because the curriculum laid down by the HR ministry and taught through the degree & professional colleges are not in tune with the corporate requirement that keeps evolving with the changing business and environmental needs.

So by the time, someone graduates, they are already out of sync except probably in the consulting, finance etc. where theory would be consistent.

That really brings me to the main question:

Why can’t corporate help bridge the gap between skills & expectations.

Job are disappearing globally but less so in India at this point in time. However the real concern that with 15 million youngsters hitting the job market every year any prolonged slow down in job creation is bound to result in social discord which some faced and was visible over the past couple of years.

Whilst not an expert, personally I see no reason why transformation of professional education for the services industry BPO-KPO, hospitality, health care, retail, media & entertainment should not be feasible

Industry should constantly come forward with internship opportunities, projects, whilst colleges & universities should insist on at least 30% of practical work experience.

Skill gaps not huge, and corrective action today will build base for improvement in employability in years to come, which would be of great use to the young generation as well as cut down the learning curve for Industries as well.

But, unfortunately except some of the Indian MNC’s who have initiated this, nobody really wants to invest time, effort and money in this.

All of us who have worked for quite a while, always have to give the Pink Slip many a times, reasons too vary. It is never an easy task to do this but it has to be done. Over the years I have had to do it personally a lot of times & believe me it is never easy.

However, over time I have realised that doing so with “Grace” is the best way & have also personally drawn up what I refer to as Appropriate etiquette for communicating bad news/handing out pink slips.

Bad news in face to face meetings only with Human Touch - I never ever believe in giving bad news by telephone, email or via. As the Boss Man to your direct reportees, it is their right to hear it from you straight & without embellishments AND never use 3rd person…’Management has decided; Boss has decided etc’. It just demeans the whole communication and relationship.

Privacy This is another important criteria whilst imparting bad news. Yes even in these days & age of open offices also. If need be take him/her out for coffee or wait till the office is empty.

Spend time Nothing is cut & dried that you announce, get up & walk away. Spend some time, share good thoughts.

Extend Support Unless it is a ‘Termination’ for serious offense, always extend support in terms of reference, help to connect with people etc. It really does not cost anything much.

Keep in touch This is one thing I believe in strongly. There is no need to be apologetic about the whole thing & avoid facing or meeting them or even avoiding their calls. They are your good will ambassadors and there is every chance that a time may come when they would be able to assist.

What are your thoughts on this? Do share and add to these.

I am always asked, how do you manage to recruit people without paying them the Sun, Moon & earth - that too in Retail.

I do not have many points or gyan on this, except that I am Upfront:

I tell people you’re in a very competitive industry.
I am always honest with them.
I tell them that I am Not right everyday, neither do I expect them to be. As long as they are 6/10 times and keep me informed about the others, it works for me.
The reason this works, because in the retail business, you’ve got to be right every single day. There is extremely high day to day intensity associated with retail.

The last couple of weeks have been really tough in terms of bringing Projects up to speed. There has been a constant back and forth where my expectations and deliveries were a complete mismatch. A couple of colleagues kept asking, ” How do you make Project work” especially when I kept pushing the 90 day turn around. And this is what I shared with them.

Build your team (existing or new)

List all the people who are part of the project team
Factor all the skills that are required
Talk to each member about his/her skill set
Match people to the skills & tasks required

Once this is ready, it is important to list down:

Steps to schedule Management

1) Know which deadlines are sacrosanct (hard and fast) and which have some flexibility
2) No task should last longer than 4-6 weeks
3) Don’t schedule more detail than you can yourself oversee
4) Develop schedules according to what is logistically possible
5) Record all time segments in the same increments such as in days or weeks
6) Have some flexibility in project schedule for handling problems that might occur later

Believe me this works wonders for execution. If you feel something more can be added, please comment & I will update the post.

This is something I had read some years ago, in the book ‘Execution’ by Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan (confirmed by Soeb yesterday) followed it ever since, quite successfully.

1) Know your people & your business
2) Insist on Realism
3) Set clear Goals & Priorities
4) Follow Through
5) Reward the Doers
6) Expand People’s capabilities
7) Know Yourself

If I remember correctly, this was something I read from Sam Walton’s book years ago, tried to implement in toto, succeeded some places, but came out ahead overall.

1 Remember what Sam Walton said: Trust your customers. Go talk to them.
2 Don’t cut your culture. It won’t recover easily.
3 Ask yourself what you want to look like when recovery comes. Then Manage toward the outcome
4 Run your company in good times the way you would in bad times. You’ll always be ready.
5 Believe in your business. There will be an upturn.
6 Do what it takes to remain profitable. Negative numbers become an excuse for almost anything.
7 Invest in your R&D. You will need it.
8 Talk with your customers, employees, suppliers and shareholders. Keep them in the loop.
9 Cut out what’s non-core. Invest in what is.
10 Understand what business you’re in - emotionally. Be a beacon to your customers.
11 Look for technology-based efficiency. Use the web to cut costs and boost productivity.(No, the web isn’t dead)
12 Leverage relationships
13 Make an economic downturn a good time to re-examine your business fundamentals.
14 Demonstrate leadership to your customers. They’re looking for it from business - and too often, they don’t see it.
15 Enlist your employee’s support.
16 Look outside your own walls for good partners. Doing so can save money or make money.
17 Take a calculated shot at something that could change the game: a new marketing push or a timely acquisition.
18 Do what you already know is right - only this time, make sure you really do it.
19 Simplify something - it’s bound to help cut costs. Complexity equals expense.
20 Use this downturn as an opportunity to make a difference.

In case this is incorrect, feel free to comment so that I can make the necessary changes.

The Art of Jewellery magazine did a study in December 2008 trying to find out from industry as well as people who had brought organized retail to the industry.

I was one of them & was quoted extensively in the article.

With all the dailies & business newspapers/magazines carrying tales of Pink Slips; economy; recession etc… a friend shared a retrenchment letter in a lighter vein….that pushed the blues away for a while:

Dear staff,

Due to the current financial situation caused by the slowdown of economy in US since last Christmas, Management has decided to implement a scheme to put workers of 40 years of age on early retirement. This scheme will be known as RAPE (Retire Aged People Early). Persons selected to be RAPEd can apply to management to be eligible for the SHAFT scheme (Special Help After Forced Termination). Persons who have been RAPEd and SHAFTed will be reviewed under the SCREW scheme (Scheme Covering Retired Early Workers). A person may be RAPEd once, SHAFTed twice and SCREWed as many times as Management deems appropriate. Read the rest of this entry »

1. First Fix the Internal Compensation
2. Then make it externally competitive Read the rest of this entry »