Is the office really neccessary?

Getting ready for the mobile office

Technology and increasing automation are changing the way we work, but it’s employees that are pushing for more mobile working.

The concept of the ‘workerless office’ has been moving into the mainstream for over a decade. But it’s only in the past few years that technological, social and economic forces have begun to converge to create what the London Business School’s Lynda Gratton calls ‘a perfect storm’ of organisational upheaval.

“Executives around the world are now facing a substantial schism with the past, which is so great that organisational architecture, people practices and skills and organisational culture will change – possibly unrecognisably over the next two decades,”

Technology is a major factor, with tablets and smartphones already overtaking PCs. Analysts at Gartner expects 70 million tablets to be sold this year and 108 million in 2012, compared with 17.6 million in 2010, according to CIO Zone.

Cloud computing is fast replacing office-based IT infrastructure, while the cost of broadband is dropping as speeds pick up -- 4G is expected to be 230 percent more efficient than existing 3G technologies, according to UK regulator Ofcom.

Global connectivity and collaborative media encourage us to collaborate over distance, while the lines between consumer and workplace technology grow increasingly blurred. The ‘app culture’ so widespread that 35 percent of US smartphone users log on before even getting out of bed, according to a survey by Ericsson.

In other words, we are already mobile. But the tipping point for the mobile office is more likely to come from employees than technology, according to ‘The future world of work,’ a presentation by CBRE Richard Ellis’s Lenny Beaudoin and Benn Munn.

It’s a desire for greater flexibility that’s behind the mobile push, led not just by working mothers but ‘millenials’ – 20somethings who expect flexibility and have been reared on digital technology. In “Is the Office Really Necessary?”, Cisco’s survey of 2,600 employees worldwide, 60 percent claimed they could be just as productive outside the office and 66 percent claimed they’d rather take a lower-paid, flexible job than a restrictive, higher-paid position.

Many work harder – ‘anytime, anywhere connectivity’ can add 11 hours to a mobile worker’s week, according to a Forrester report. It can do much to encourage employee loyalty and retention -- UK-based design firm Plinkfizz uses flexible working as a differentiator, a way of attracting high-caliber talent. Then there are the more prosaic benefits of a workerless office: lower property costs, utility bills and carbon emissions.

IT firms and the large consultancies – PWC, KPMG, Accenture – are early adopters, but predictions are that it will become commonplace. So what are some of the issues companies need to consider when preparing for the mobile office?

The management mindset
The emergence of a mobile workforce changes the workplace hierarchy and the role of managers – some argue that automation of work processes makes their jobs redundant.

Managing mobile workers requires a different mindset, one where trust and outcome-driven measures determine success. This changes the way people are managed – and may mean reviewing performance criteria, possibly shifting to a more continuous feedback tool such as Rypple.

Results only work environments offer a good model for mobile office management, balancing a flexible approach to individual work with a more formalised communications structure. Employees work at their own pace (with a clear deadline), but have regular, scheduled progress checks and virtual meetings to keep everyone motivated and encourage team bonding. Ideally, location becomes immaterial, as at teleworking pioneer 37Signals.

Managers can also teach by doing, particularly when it comes to the etiquette of virtual meetings. Any company without a social media policy should draw up a guide on language, tone and disclosure rules, particularly for corporate Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts.

The way employees work
Perhaps it is indicative of where we are in Maslow’s needs triangle, but most employees want flexibility. Not everyone wants to work from home all the time, however, and some people will be more naturally self-sufficient than others.

Overall, though, it’s overwork that employees and managers need to watch out for when going mobile. Nearly half of Cisco’s survey respondents claim regularly to work an extra few hours a day and another recent poll of managers found nearly 60 percent of managers visited work-related websites out of hours, and nearly half check work emails before going to bed. With work “only a smartphone away,” as one UK director puts it, the toughest challenge is switching off.

There are also little communication habits that may need to change: ensuring your IM status is up to date, for example, or shedding a lifelong paper Post-It habit in favor of virtual ones. Backing up and sharing work online should become second nature.

The right tools for the job
Accessing a company’s network remotely is increasingly straightforward while VoIP, IM and virtual meeting tools such as Microsoft Office Live Meeting and cloud-based DimDim are just a few options for distributed workforces to stay in touch.

Mobile workers tend to be more adept at ‘pulling’ information, so intranets and Wikis can replace town hall meetings or be used to share knowledge and self-train. But HR should ensure any important company information is delivered directly to individuals rather than relying on them to find it.

Given the plethora of tools available, it can be tough to settle upon one communication method and stick to it. Experienced remote workers tend to favor videoconferences, where it’s possible to read body language and get a sense of the mood and tone of your co-workers.

Establish clear support structures
Mobile offices rely heavily on technology so mobile workers should know who and how to contact the company’s helpdesk for IT support. Likewise, managers and HR should ensure employees know to whom they can turn in an emergency, while ensuring they are compliant with data protection regulations.

Rewrite the IT policy
Security concerns remain an obstacle to getting workforces mobilised: in a survey of small and medium-sized enterprises by consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers, the vast majority (83 percent) claimed to have suffered a security breach in the past year. According to Cisco’s research, 66 percent of employees expected IT to allow them to use any device to access corporate networks – but nearly half of IT respondents felt the company wasn’t prepared to meet their expectations.

Yet many employees already sync their smartphones to workplace email -- and Jonathan Reichental, CIO of O’Reilly Media, predicts BYOC – bring your own computer – will become increasingly common. “Today we expect employees to provide and maintain their own cars, but we do provide mileage reimbursement when it's used for business purposes. Could there be a similar model for employees who use their own computers?”

Whether BYOC or company-provided, devices and data need to be insured and secured by the company. Devices and data should be password or code-protected, and restricted access applied where necessary. Experienced mobile workers also advise peers to keep a spare laptop battery and USB back-up drive handy.

IT policies will need updating to ensure clarity around issues such as who owns data on personal devices– and what happens when that employee leaves; whether -- and what -- employees are allowed to download onto portable devices, terms regarding who pays for broadband or smartphone tariffs.

Office space
If the office is no longer what Richard Ellis’s Beaudoin calls a “people warehouse”, it can become more of an idea factory or a space for teams to hold meetings, socialize and exchange ideas. Hosting company PEER1’s boss, Dominic Monkhouse, had a miniature putting green put into the company’s UK office to allow employees to relax at work.

Arguably, smaller companies could do without an office altogether, instead using serviced offices or the growing number of shared offices that have sprung up in major cities to cater for nomadic workers.

Do first-time managers ruin your career ?

Being a manager excites many - it gives the wings to dream big, but the language of responsibility and power injects nervousness to their nerves that might kill the careers of many subordinates. There are many reasons for the new managers failing to lead a team and the most important one is lack of training. It was revealed in a recent survey that more than 50 percent of managers received no training before starting the job. Most of the new managers get it wrong as they are not properly guided on their new roles and they recite the common myths and misperceptions that lead them to mistakes. Here are some of the most common mistakes by new managers that would ruin the career of many.

1. The Wrong Sense of Authority

Yes it's true that the chair of the manager is built of power and authority; however, many often forget that the chair is the citadel of respect to all - the subordinates, bosses, and friends. The other side of the coin is that many new managers feel very constrained in the new role as the load of responsibilities shrinks their freedom. Their expectation of wielding the designated power often vanishes once they climb into manager's chair. These wrong ideas of being a manager lead them to mistakes in dealing with the team members and the execution of plans often meets with troubles, which ultimately make the life of his subordinates miserable.

2. Never-Ending Changes

They say change is good, but their teammates say not the unnecessary ones. The lack of experience in leading a team makes them jitter at the execution phase.

It's when the new managers change their plans too often to meet the unexpected situations. Changing the routines and procedures without notification or adequate discussion lowers the employee morale. Sometimes the manager's excitement about a new change kills the interest of his subordinates as the change may not be needed or would invite unwanted results.

3. Hesitancy to Give and Receive Immediate Feedbacks

It takes one to be highly professional to give and received feedbacks on time. The failure of managers to give apt, timely feedbacks

to their team members closes the doors of growth before them. A harsh feedback can kill the employee morale too. Many develop an attitude of "I have all the answers" which makes it hard for them to solicit the feedbacks from subordinates. The stories of managers going after people who give feedback, that are meant to be positive, are often heard in the corporate world.

4. Focus Only on Tasks Not on People

New managers tend to live their previous routines where their sole focus was to accomplish the given tasks. However, they fail to realize that developing interpersonal relationship is an integral quality of leaders. The ideal motto of a manager is to help his subordinates to accomplish the tasks in an outstanding way and not just to focus on the budgets, reports or planning. The career of subordinates depends on the managers, and the inexperienced managers tend to make things very complex which will make life hard of the teammates. They fail to become the people managers, but rather become just task managers without realizing the needs of their subordinates.

Only few points are discussed above there are lot more reasons why first time managers ruin others career.

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

Why most Women Managers are Bossy?

How do you feel going to an office where your bossy woman manager is waiting for you? Do you search for excuses to get away from her?

Women are more independent now, but at times the feeling of independence and power portrays the darker side of a woman. Women give a stiff competition to men in all field of work, and they are not lagging behind in grabbing the chairs for top positions from men. The tug-of-war between men and women has changed the attitude of women in handling top notch positions and managing their subordinates.

A survey done by researchers from University of London revealed that bossy females are much less likely to shine in the boardroom, which means that women with bossy attitude can never be a good manager or they cannot lead a team.

Let's take a look at the behavior of bossy women,

Emulate aggressive male behavior

Women by default are inculcated with sensitiveness and they are generally not harsh. But women in top position tend to build the male aggressiveness in them they dominant their subordinates. But in many cases it turns in a different way. While trying to act like a man, they lose their sensitivity and they won't be able to handle their employees.

They annoy subordinates and colleagues

The primary motto of a bossy woman is to get power and get their work done. They leave less space for proper communication with their employees and create an unhealthy atmosphere. In these way women bosses lose the respect that they should get from their employee.

No healthy assertiveness

Women managers are usually have the credibility to get the work done neatly and correctly. But some women bosses are forcefully order their employees rather than having a healthy understanding. They lose the sensitive character in them and the proper communication skill.

No emotional intelligence

Some women cannot leave their personal life at home and end up showing their frustration at their subordinates. They assume that this way they can manage the team well. But in this way many employees quit jobs because they cannot tolerate inhuman behavior of their boss.

Power hungry

Running after the power, women manager creates different ways to throw their power and in this way they sometimes they even forget to value their employee. It actually leads an opposite effect and even the employees are not interested to cooperate with them.

These are some of the major aspects that makes the women “Bossy” there lot more reasons why most of them tend to be bossy…

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

Your boss could be a sociopath. No, really.

Sociopathy is one of the many personality disorders, also referred to as psychopathy or antisocial personality disorder (APD). The American Psychiatrics Association defines a sociopathy as 'A pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood.' Sociopathic symptoms may exhibit from as early as the teenage years although a diagnosis can only be made after the age of 18, on presentation of documented evidence of misconduct before the individual is 15. Sociopathic symptoms can manifest in many ways, though there are certain personality traits that people with this mental disorder have a tendency to exhibit.

That’s why the premise of The Sociopath Next Door, a book by Martha Stout, gives me the major creeps. Stout claims that as many as 4% of the population are conscienceless sociopaths who have no empathy or affectionate feelings for humans or animals. Sociopaths (or the more politically correct term, someone with antisocial personality disorder) show a lack of regret in their actions, with a common trait being the violation of the rights of others.

This book was brought to my attention by a friend of mine in response to my telling her about one of my son’s friends being bullied at work by her boss. I don’t know if Stout’s 4% metric is accurate but I know that I hear an awful lot from readers of this blog who are dealing with bosses that I believe could be characterized as sociopaths.

Let’s take an absolutely unscientific poll and see how many sociopathic managers there are out there. (Note: If your boss tends to yell but then is sorry afterwards, he or she is probably not, technically, a sociopath.) I realize that I’m being very general here, but, to paraphrase Dave Barry, as is often the case when I do that, I don’t care.

Seriously, it might be interesting to get a grass-roots level view of how sociopaths are managing other people. Also, if you are yourself a sociopath (do sociopaths know they’re sociopaths?), please do chime in and make your case.

Posted By
S.Grace Paul Regan

Has our obsession with promotion and success led to high levels of incompetence?

You’ve seen it yourself. The brilliant editor who’s promoted to manage the department and never gets his hands on a manuscript again. The talented web designer whose new duties involve hiring, firing and team management; his web designing days are over. Are they good at their jobs? Are they happy?

The twisted logic of the workplace

Over 40 years ago, in January 1967, Dr Laurence J. Peter, a Canadian psychologist and professor of education, wrote an article which was to permanently change the way we look at the workplace. Later published as a book, “The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong” was written in a humorous style, but the shocking central argument was deadly serious. Dr Peter stated, “"In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence."

What he was drawing attention to was simply the way in businesses and government bureaucracies function, by routinely rewarding excellence with promotion. Reasonable? Look a bit closer. You’re good at your job; in fact, you excel at it. Sometimes you get a small annual pay rise that’s in line with inflation but nothing significant. So when you’re offered a promotion which promises prestige and a higher salary, you take it.

Not necessarily a good decision

As you continue to be promoted, climbing higher and higher up the career ladder into the stratosphere of senior management, the Peter Principle shows that at some stage you will, inevitably, reach a point where you permanently leave your field of expertise, finding yourself in a job which demands responsibilities you can’t fulfil.

Safely perched on your level of incompetence, as long as you don’t make any truly disastrous decisions you probably won’t be fired: you’ll camouflage your mediocrity, relying on the creativity, talents and skills of the people you now manage – people who haven’t yet reached their own levels of incompetence. Left alone to enjoy the fruits of your promotion, you will probably sometimes wish you could still work at the things you used to love. But at least you’ll have an inflated job title, a large salary and maybe even a company car to keep you company.

Employees: look before you leap
So, what are the lessons for those of us who feel the pressure to be hungry and ambitious?

Know your talents and your limits

If you enjoy the “hands-on” elements of your job, a career shift to a management position may not be suitable for you. Recognise this as a fact. You know yourself better than anyone else knows you, so don’t be influenced by the current “lust for superhuman accomplishments”. [1] It’s simply not true that if you’re not a “rising star”, you’re a loser. Fulfillment at work means doing what you enjoy and what you excel at; be proud of what you achieve.

Ask your boss about expectation

When you’re offered a promotion, talk with your boss about what the new job would entail. Making a negative decision without any discussion might be a cause for misunderstanding and won’t help your standing in the company, particularly if this isn’t the first time the subject has arisen. Bear in mind that repeated refusals will impact your career, so perhaps you should ask yourself at some point what it is you are really avoiding: stress or new challenges. Are you avoiding promotion because you know you wouldn’t enjoy it, or because you’re afraid you wouldn’t be good at it?

Prepare for promotion before it grabs you

If you do decide you’re cut out for management, start preparing in advance. Remember that what most management positions really demand is solving problems and people management. Of course, you have to know your business; but the fact that you are brilliant at IT doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be brilliant at managing a team. Go on a course and learn communication skills. It will prove invaluable.

In other words, be honest, with yourself and with your boss. If you’re happy in your current job but don’t feel that promotion would be the right move for you at the moment, say so. Do your job well and enjoy doing it. However, you need to make sure that your boss knows you are entirely committed to the company and that even though you don’t seek promotion at the present time, you welcome the chance to take on new and interesting tasks in your present position.

Employers: respect and reward simple competence
As an employer, you must realise that when employees go for promotion, it is often not because they want a different workload but because they need more pay. This may force the wrong people to seek promotion.

Reward staff for the excellence they show in their job
Even if someone has been doing their job for years. excellence does not devalue. So don’t only give rewards and pay rises if they go with job title changes.
Offer proper management training
But only to those people who are genuinely cut out for management. How do you recognise them? Not just by the fact that they are good at their jobs! They need to demonstrate a desire to be involved in the larger business of the company; to have questions but also solutions; to want to lead projects and carry out high-level tasks. So carefully watch your employees and only select those who show these characteristics.

Remember: insecure, unhappy managers make bad managers. And they are destined for failure.

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan.

Is HR the most hated department in your organization?

An enquiry made to the HR which you thought would be confidential ended up backfiring? Embarrassed every now and then with constant neglect for your queries? If you think you are the only one facing this problem, a whole lot of birds of the same feather can tell you more stories of issues faced while dealing with the dreaded group - Human Resource aka HR.

HR department, which has been an integral part of every firm, instituted with the intention of effective integration of all nuances of the firm has been no more 'HR' in the real sense as we run by the several bitter experiences of employees and other low level staff in organizations. It is more a 'Highly Reprimanded' group than a 'Human Resource' management group these days. Employees seem literally nailed when they hear those deadly quotes so politely and strategically framed like "we will get back to you" or "the position is on hold" or " we are waiting for the decision from the top" etc. HR segments which struggle to cater the rising woes of employees really seem to lack well defined principles of human resource management.

1. Transparency in communicating organization motives - Most companies have employees at any given point who whine about the ongoing HR practices and how they wish there complaints were solved as soon as they were posted. Many employees complain that they hate it when HR comes across just as a puppet of the top management hired to issue instructions which relates to a definitive lack of transparency in their actions. Most HR department and personnel seems like doing a formality and not really their jobs since they just follow processes where there's no personalization. They think that it is difficult to even share their views and thoughts with the HR department for the fear of bearing the consequences for being vocal about the visible issues around.

2. Handling exit interviews - Another concern raised by employees is that HR personnel have no idea about the wealth of valuable information that is available at their fingertips. As they assert, exit interview information is not about collecting sour grapes information but about collecting factual data which shapes the future HR strategy and policy.

3. Failing to understand the business challenges - This is another main criticism pointed against HR. HR professionals do not look at their purpose as being strategic, which in itself creates an aura that HR is driving administration, not the strategy of the organization. Other staffs feel that they bother more about hiring than internal employee development. On all occasions HR should keep in mind that it is the current employee's performance that actually reflects on organizations and their performance, which unfortunately is missed out many a time.

4. Lack of responsiveness - A concern raised against HR every now and then as they always ask for paper work whenever there is a concern and the turnaround time is so long that most employees get frustrated before any resolution is reached. Many people find themselves screwed as HR spills the beans on matters which they tell the HR taking them in confidence.

With scrutiny like Harassing Resources or Hardly Required, HR is an area which needs constant troubleshooting and a revival at the earliest. In case that HR is not knowledgeable enough to answer questions then they need to be truthful or to a level transparent, get the answers and revert back. The role of HR is to provide overall company assistance and guidance with the execution on a company's missions, values and ethics, while ensuring the right people in the right job at the right time. Unless and until, they change the view of HR as contributing to business results nothing will change. The HR systems utilized, are just some of the tools we can use to provide factual data to support our contributions. Last but not least, all HR personnel must consider the question 'What's in it for me?' and perhaps the quick and easy answer is 'I have a job, and that job is servicing the internal customer'.

Top 10 reasons why employees hate their boss !

Top 10 reasons why employees hate their boss most of the times that becomes the reason for them to hate their employer..

Bosses! Can't work with them, can't work without them. Everything seems to be fine when you join the job but if you are one of those fortunate ones, sooner or later your boss starts smirking in your nightmares.

A chat with employees working under tough projects and small teams who usually face tremendous work pressure will give us interesting insights about the bad bosses they have. Even in a company sans work pressure employees regularly bump into bad bosses. And their experiences are real bad [pardon me of your boss is really good] which they only share once they are in a new job. Good bosses are hard to find and employees hate their bad bosses for very many reasons.

Listing the Top 10 reasons below:

1) Incompetent and unacknowledging - Employees hate bosses who doesn't have the essential competitive skills but still scorns the work they do. Whether or not the boss is competitive, the employee really longs for his good work to be acknowledged and not to be treated as a 'piece of crap'.

2) Privacy Invasion - 'He always keep guard about what I do, constantly checks out on the office phone about what I am busy at (an indirect way to know whether I am on a call with any acquaintance) and one day even peeped through the door to see what I am doing. Now I even doubt whether he is watching me once I reach home' says Anamika (name changed to protect identity). Now that's a real bad boss.

3) The narcissist boss - Employees hate bosses who acts as the 'know it all', who thinks they are second to none, hears nothing until it directly benefits him and so self obsessed to be called in the informal way 'a narcissist glory monger'.

4) Personal Insults - Bosses who torture employees with personal insults rather than choosing to reproach on the basis of their work quickly gets in the hate list. Many employees have long stories to say about bosses who frequently torture them with comments about their attitude and discriminate them deliberately.

5) The angry 'yelling' boss - You are the boss, thumbs up. But how on earth could you yell at me like that. Employees at some point or other meet the unfortunate fate of being victim to their boss' wrath. Justifiable the reason may be, but you are in my hate list boss.

6) The 'opportunist' boss - Employees obviously develops a dislike to their boss who refuses to mind them. But one day the same boss who never acknowledged your presence comes to you, smiles at you and the next thing you know, you are on an extra shift with heavy workload. Dislikes turn to hate for such opportunist bosses.

7) The 'tensed' boss - Employees tend to hate bosses who are always tensed and want them to finish of the work in a hurry. "He is so tensed and rushes things as if his head is on fire. His tension is so contagious that even we get tensed in his presence" Rahul, a software employee.

8) Stealing credits - Employees feel cheated and hate their boss when he or she steals the credit of their work but never forgets to blame them if something goes wrong.

9) Lack of clarity and feedback - Employees hate bosses who don't brief them properly and keep the employees ignorant with any real feedback on their work. And worse, employees are blamed for something which in turn would be the result of void feedback.

10) Lack of rapport - Employees hate bosses who lacks mutual respect and always play bossy without any real interest in befriending the employees.

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

10 ways to retain your employees!

Info Tech companies are the ones that suffer from high attrition rates and the growing demand for trained professionals. During and after the global economic recession, enterprises find it difficult to effectively deploy their human resource and systematically plan a workforce infrastructure. This is where employee retention becomes instrumental to the firm.

Key employee retention is critical to the long term health and success of an enterprise. Apart from the usual ways employed by the firm to retain employees like increasing the organization's level of professionalism and transparency and conventional ways of measuring employee satisfaction, mentioned here are some 10 ways to effectively retain your employees:

1. Ensuring employee satisfaction - An unhappy and insecure employ is worse than your biggest competitor. In the long run for competition and meeting project deadlines, IT firms miss out on the comfort level of their employees. A comfortable employee knows clearly what is expected from him every day at work. The firm should provide an ambience where the employee can voice his opinion freely and appreciate their efforts, thereby making them comfortable.

2. Ensuring proper feedback - Clarity and feedback is an important area where executives go wrong. Hence employees complaint about lack of clarity of expectations and earning potential, lack of feedback about performance and failure to provide a framework within which the employee perceives he can succeed. These flaws should be handled effectively.

3. Promoting employees from within - A company that constantly fills vacancies by hiring from outside is certain to face retention problems. Employees who realize that they are unlikely to be promoted to fill the vacancies will leave the organization. Promoting employees from within is a sound retention strategy.

4. Balancing Individual and organizational goals - Many companies fall into the trap of expecting their employees to subsume their individual objectives before the organizational one which forces employees to leave. This should be balanced by offering them acquire new skills and providing comprehensive knowledge on projects which at least promotes a feeling that their objectives are satisfied to an extent.

5. Acknowledging your employees - A common place grievance during an exit interview is that the employee never felt senior executives knew he existed. Its challenging since IT is a highly structured hierarchy. But senior officials should see to it that employees are met with and briefed periodically.

6. Fresh Workplace ambience - Employees are as much family people as they are workers. A firm sans fun environment may lead to attrition. Also a thickly packed project, a cubicle or office space may add to their woes. A fresh office space will in turn make the workplace more fun.

7. Ensuring a match between authority and accountability - Decentralization of task is synonymous to an IT project. Most companies fall into the trap of holding a project leader accountable for a specific activity without empowering them with the authority to perform it well. Even worse, another employee assigned the same task may be left unaccountable which will add only to the attrition rate.

8. Involving employees in the decision-making process - People like to work in organizations where their opinions count. Employee's involvement in decision-making is directly proportional to the organization's retention-level. A participative decision-making process is good and total empowerment, better.

9. Making performance appraisals objective - Employees like to know how, when, and by whom their performance is going to be measured. An appraisal process that lists objective and measurable criteria for performance appraisal removes the uncertainty in the minds of employees that their superiors can rate their performance any which way they please

10. Competitive pay package - Pay hike comes last in the list for me let alone ESOPs. Money isn't a motivator, but it is an effective de-motivator. While organizations that pay best-in-industry salaries may find themselves unable to use that fact to motivate their employees, those that do not could find their best employees leaving.

Edited from : SiliconIndia
Posted By : Grace Paul Regan

IT can be a breeding ground for BURN-OUT !

Stressors that can contribute to burnout in IT pros.

Long hours are a given in IT.

Long hours in IT were an issue even before the economy tanked, causing more people to be laid off and the remaining staff forced to take on more responsibility. Some of the long hours are due to the nature of the work, but sometimes they’re due to the way you work. There are tons of sources out there that give good time management advice and teach you how to use your time more wisely. I’ve heard good things about Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.

Lack of respect

While the CIO may feel a lack of respect in the boardroom, IT staffers are often faced with it every day. Help desk personnel will occasionally get the appreciative end-user but many times they’ll be treated as though they invented the technology that is causing the end-user problems.

Network administrators are usually below the radar, only showing up when the system goes down. People rarely recognize the time the system is up. In other words, the more successful a net admin is at the job, the lower his or her profile.

No recognition

Probably the complaint I hear most often from TR members is that they don’t feel they are rewarded properly. In a bad economy, raises and promotions aren’t forthcoming. Even despite these factors, IT can be a thankless job. After all, you’re not out there doing the things that get attention like other departments (e.g., Sales gets the glory if they land a big account). Savvy bosses will constantly sing the praises of their staffers. It’s the best way to get the IT department on the radar.

But if they don’t, you need to do it yourself. Throughout the year you should log your wins and keep track of the metrics that show you’re doing your job. Take the highlights of this and include them in your yearly review. I understand self-promotion is hard for IT pros who just want to do their jobs and not worry about their images, but if you don’t, you’ll be hit by another stressor:

Politics

I don’t care who you are or where you work, you will encounter people who seem to work less, but have more political clout. It’s infuriating but it shows the power of marketing oneself.

The effects of burnout

According to the American Psychological Association, if allowed to progress, burnout can result in depression, anxiety, and physical illness. Drugs or alcohol are often a problem. After an extended period of time burnout can cause physical and mental breakdowns, which include suicide, stroke, or heart attack


Article from Tech Republic

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

Stop bossing around, your employee productivity is at risk !

If employees love freedom then at times when they have controlling bosses, that may affects their productivity, as they think more on how much of freedom is being curbed rather than concentrating in their work, according to researchers at the Duke University.

The study on 'significant others' has found that people deeply value their freedom so much that even an unconscious memory of significant persons, parents, bosses or any controlling persons, stimulates a behavioral reaction. The researchers found that people with an ingrained sense that others are trying to control them tend to have the most intense negative reactions to unconscious thoughts of significant others.

While conducting the study the researchers has found that even a memory of significant others, who wanted the children or employees to work hard make them doing poor work. Because they think that their freedom is being restrained, according to a blog by Andrew O'Connell.

"We love our freedom to choose," opined Gavan J Fitzsimons, Professor of Marketing and Psychology at Duke. He added that "the highly reactant individuals love their freedom and they will do anything to protect it."

The psychological mechanism that connects the love of freedom and the behavioral response is known as reactance. The concept was described by Jack Brehm back in 1966, recently it has become an active area of psychological research with many implications for business.

During the study, the team at Duke- Tanya L. Chartrand, Amy N. Dalton, and Fitzsimons- who sought to see whether reactance, usually thought of as a conscious effect, could be unconscious too. Their findings show that indeed it can. The researchers suggest that in certain circumstances, "reactance becomes automatized."

Edited content from Siliconindia

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

5 tips to help you lead your team to success !

Managing a team is rarely an easy task. Coordinating workflows, setting expectations, dealing with personality conflicts ... a manager’s work is never done. A company’s well-being relies on its manager’s ability to handle a multitude of challenges; your success as a manager will rest almost entirely on your ability to keep your team motivated while producing quality results.

While every team and department (and manager) is different, there are some management best practices that can help ensure that work teams run smoothly and employees stay happy and productive.

Here are five you may want to consider:

1. Put the right people in the right places

Make sure you know your employees’ specific strengths and skills, and match them to tasks appropriately. For example, there is no sense in asking Employee A to manage the monthly reporting charts if Employee B has more experience with Microsoft(R) Excel(R). And if you ask Employee C to deliver the customer presentation when they have a fear of public speaking, you could just be setting them up for failure.

When people’s skills are properly aligned with their responsibilities, both productivity and job satisfaction will be much higher. Be sure to actually ask your employees what they feel their strengths and weaknesses are, rather than just relying on your own judgement.

2. Results and productivity are what matters

Unless you work in an environment where mandatory coverage during certain times is required, for example in customer service or IT help desk environments, enforcing or encouraging specific “clock in” and “clock out” times can demotivate and demean your employees. If you have hired employees that you trust, and the expectations of them are clear, there should be no reason to closely monitor when they come and go from the office as long as productivity is high and goals are being met.

3. Don’t blame or shame

Projects don’t always go as planned. And when things go wrong, it’s tempting to look around for someone to pin the blame on. However, there’s a better way to find out what happened – and how to address problems in the future. Don’t jump to conclusions, accuse anyone or publicly criticise – instead, conduct an evaluation to determine what went awry. If specific individuals are at fault, talk to them privately to get their side of the story, and to set clear expectations for the future.

4. Be consistent in your actions and your communication

You might be surprised how observant your employees are. They notice lots of things – and they will most likely talk amongst themselves, too. For example, if you allow one employee to leave the office early, but deny another employee the same request, it will be noticed and discussed. Likewise, the team will notice if you repeatedly praise one employee more than the others, which can cause tension and mistrust within the team. You need to ensure that you deal with each of your staff members equally and fairly.

5. Encourage teamwork and collaborative outcomes

Environments where everyone pitches in and individuals are encouraged to help each other out are usually very successful – and fun, too! So encourage your team to share ideas, talk openly, and exchange feedback. You can do that by establishing regular team meetings, holding “team building” exercises and activities, and rewarding the whole group for shared successes.

Edited from HP Website

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

Five ways to lead your team to peak performance !

If you want to succeed as a leader, you can only do it by setting up your team members to succeed. And if your team consists of knowledge workers and IT managers, you need to develop a special brand of leadership — one that continually challenges them and allows them to solve problems independently. This episode of Sanity Savers for IT executives shares a few tips to help you guide your team to peak performance.

1. Don’t provide all the answers

You are the leader. But that doesn’t mean you have a monopoly on all of the good ideas. If your employees are hesitant to make decisions without asking your opinion first, you probably need to change some of your tactics.

When they present you with information and ask what to do about a situation, push the ball back into their court and ask them, “What do you think?” They might be surprised at first, but after you do that a few times, they’ll start thinking it through before they come to you so that they’re fully prepared to discuss the matter and make a recommendation.

That’s a good thing, because they’re usually closer to the customer and more familiar with the details of the work. You need their opinions. And you need them to make some of their own decisions.

2. Align people with the stuff they are passionate about

Make sure you have the right people in the right seats. Take stock of all the talents you have on the team and reshuffle the deck if you can give your team a better chance at success. Don’t keep someone in a job role just because they’ve been doing it for long time — not if you truly think their talents are better suited for another role.

You should also find out what people are passionate about and try to align them with job roles and projects that let them channel some of that passion. That could mean putting them in an area where they don’t have much experience. But if their work history makes you think they can succeed, it’s usually worth the risk. Their passion will usually fuel a strong desire to learn and to grow.

3. Avoid throwing people under the bus

In any organization, there are going to be times when you fail. When things don’t pan out as you hoped, do a postmortem to figure out what went wrong and to learn from it. If egregious errors were made by individuals, deal with them privately, if necessary. Let them know your expectations for how this should be handled in the future.

Above all, don’t publicly blame individuals — either directly or indirectly — in meetings or team e-mails. If you do, you risk creating an atmosphere in which people are so afraid to make mistakes they won’t do the proactive and creative work necessary to avoid future problems and to drive innovation


4. Build consensus by letting your team know WHY

One of your key responsibilities as a leader is communicating about new initiatives and strategy changes. The worst thing you can do is surprise your staff members with a fully formed idea about a new way to do something that will drastically alter their day-to-day work.

Whenever possible, give people an informal heads-up that a change is coming and let them know some of the reasoning involved. If they don’t agree with the reasoning, they can express their dissent. They might even bring up a concern that should be considered before the final plan is solidified. An even better course of action is to have a brainstorming session with your team when you are still formulating a new idea or strategy change, so you can gather their ideas and feedback.

You may sometimes have to spring something on your team, but try to limit those occasions. Even then, make sure you fully explain reasoning behind the decision.

5. Trust your people, and let them know it

IT jobs typically require creative solutions and decision-making. Your staff needs to stay sharp mentally to achieve top performance — and it’s up to you to build an atmosphere that encourages that kind of creativity.

One of the best things you can do is to let your employees know that you trust them and that you have faith in their ability to do the job, solve the problem, and meet the deadline. Now, if you don’t trust them, that’s a deeper problem altogether. In that case, you’ve identified an employee that you need to either manage up or manage out.

Managing knowledge workers and IT managers requires you to foster and encourage independent thinking, creativity, and problem solving in an environment of trust. And that’s a tall order. But following the leadership strategies we’ve looked at here can help you build a passionate, productive IT department that’s dedicated to delivering top-notch results again and again

Content edited and drafted from Tech Republic.

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

Top 10 mistakes that bosses make !

Calling the boss H - Hitler, A - Arrogant, R - Rascal and I - Idiot
caught everyone's attention in Naukri's TV commercial, would you do the same if given an opportunity? Even though it was just an advertisement, it did reflect the plight of employees in the IT industry.

1 - Micro-management
Sometimes when bosses assign some work to employees they don't completely trust the employee to solve the problem. They underestimate the ability of the people they hire and end up offending the employee. "According to me, the number one mistake is, not effectively identifying the strengths of the employee, thereby micro managing or not delegating or not trusting the employee's judgment. A good boss is one who brings out the best in the employee," says Sharda Balaji, Founder of NovoJuris Services.

2 - Using improper mode of communication
Some bosses have this weird sense that since they are boss they should order people around and create a military kind of environment. They feel the stricter the things are the better things are organized. The if an employee is late for some deadline then they start labeling the work or the employee himself.


3 - Leading through intimidation
This is one of the worst kind of mistake that bosses make. They feel that if an employee is threatened to work they will perform better. What the boss does not realize is that employee under such pressure end up losing interest in work and will meet the deadline just for the heck of it. Such employees then would only do what is asked from them and will never happily give hundred percent to do something good for the company.


4 - Lacking empathy for employee's situation
There are sometimes when employees do make excuses to take leave or when they come late. But not every reason is an excuse. Bosses end up thinking that their employees are always making excuses and do not showing any consideration for employee's situation


5 - Becoming inaccessible to your employees
An employee wants to contact his boss for something important but he is busy with other things and does not give any weightage to employee's problem and hence he is scared to approach his bosss.

"I have had some experiences at one of the company I worked with, where the manager was Just not approachable and accessible. I could not expect any kind of guidance from him. It would not be wrong if I say that he was too busy caught with meetings (not accessible). He was also not approachable at the same time because of bad temperament and everything depended on his mood," said Prashant Hannovar, who is a Manager of HR at NextBiT Computing.

6 - Not providing guidance or motivating employees
An employee should always have something to look forward to. A good manager knows how to motivate employees to make them perform better but for this they have to spend some time with their team. In today's IT work environment many of the Managers have no time to spend with the team due to day long meetings. As a result they miss out on understanding a team member's problem at work and providing the right support and solutions for the same. Failing to support and understanding a team member will lead to recipe of resignation. A Manager should always have the practice of having one on one to understand about the team member well and the provide right feedback and at the same time motivate with the right attitude.


7 - Not providing a clear picture - Transparency
Many times work is assigned by bosses to employees without clearly telling them the complete picture. Boss should always maintain transparency with their employee to make them understand what exactly they are doing. "If bosses start informing their team about the correct scenarios and maintain transparency about a project, then the employees will work more willingly and meeting the deadline will no longer be a concern of the boss alone," said Juilee Joshi, who worked as a Technical Support analyst at BMC software



8 - Insecurity about their post
Some bosses prefer to do things alone rather than taking teams help as they are unsecure that someone will provide better solution, and thus they get a sense of insecurity about their post. "There is something unique about Egyptian bosses. They get this superiority complex about their position and I fail to understand why. There are many extremely capable folks who like to remain in the 'individual contributors' role because they do not enjoy people management," said Balaji. "You can deal with an egoistic boss, a demanding boss, an impatient boss... but the worst kind is the one who is insecure."


9 - Trying to be friend as well as boss or showing partiality
This is the trickiest part of the boss-employee relationship. Some of the bosses try to maintain a perfect balance between professionalism and friendship but it does not always work well for the company. Employees might become lenient in submitting at deadline or boss might start expecting too much from employees since they are good friend as well.

Another part of this equation can be showing partiality or favoring certain employees over others which create negative vibes in the team.


10 - Making fake promises
In order to motivate employees many time managers make fake promises of promotion or goodies but when the time comes they just stall it. This de-motivates an employee a great deal and might backfire badly on the company.

There are many other mistakes that bosses commit but we felt that these are the top ten reasons. You may think differently and have your own reasons. We would like to hear the top mistakes that your boss makes. Do let us know.


Content from Siliconindia web site

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

What can private corporations do to employees? Just about everything

In his new book Can they do that?, Lewis Maltby says that employees are often surprised at the reasons over which they can be fired.

With all that you hear today in the news about employees suing former employers, you’d think that it would be very difficult for an employer to actually fire someone. But the reality is different in the private sector.

In a recent interview on NPR, Maltby said, “Freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment - but only where the government is concerned. What most Americans generally don’t know is that the Constitution doesn’t apply to private corporations at all.”

Private corporations can fire someone for almost anything. Maltby related an incident when a worker was fired for having a bumper sticker that expressed a political view that did not jibe with the CEO’s.

The only thing that a corporation cannot do is eavesdrop on a personal oral conversation. Anything else, Maltby said, “is open season.”

I’ve written before about how employers-potential and existing-are within legal limits to peruse individuals’ personal blogs or Facebook pages, and to watch what you put there. Maltby says employers do this regularly and can fire someone over what they see.

And it doesn’t stop there. In his book, Maltby relates stories of employer abuses that include tracking employees through cell phone GPS locators to placing hidden cameras in restrooms. He says that 20% of employers now require employees to agree before being hired not to go to court if the corporation violates their legal rights.

While most people would agree that a private company has the right to run itself any way it sees fit, you can see how this right could be abused. Maltby is pushing for the Bill of Rights to apply to the private sector. In the book appendixes, he provides sample letters to elected representatives and human rights organizations
as well as an employee bill of rights


Content from Tech Republic

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

Human Resource management is people management

HR Managers Should understand !

Human Resource management is people management and the role of managing people lies on the shoulders of a Human Resource manager. People Management is a wide section that involves numerous aspects ranging from hiring to invigorating. Managing people is utmost important as it is only the employees that can make up an organization. The employee directly or indirectly influences and effectuates the organizational augmentation.

The aspects that the manger highlights begins with hiring the appropriate individual well suited for a task on the basis of their education and experience. Once the person is appointed, their role in the organization is explained to them along with the ways to achieve their goals and how their role can enhance the organization. Befitting to the task training is provided that makes the employee acquainted with the task.

A buffer period is given where the employee actually starts working but under supervision. The HR manager makes sure that the right amount of motivation is provided to the employee to generate quality work. The employee work is evaluated to ensure that the employee works swiftly and the errors could be eliminated. A disciplinary environment is created that allows the employee to work without interruptions. Incase the employee is not up to the mark or the organization has to adopt lay-off principles, the HR department takes the authority and helps in detachment.

The salary negotiations, compensation and benefits all come under the HR perspective. Adopting rejuvenating mechanisms like games and events is the HR manager’s responsibility. The HR team is appointed to serve the employees thus it is said that human resource is people management.

Content from : Siliconindia

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan.

10 reasons why people quit jobs in IT industry !

With the worst behind and signs of positive demand for outsourcing and offshoring from the U.S. and European markets, which account for about 80 percent of Indian software exports, the IT industry is gearing up for a gradual recovery in the new year. But Indian IT industry still continues to face the problem of attrition, especially when companies are now offering strong pay packages to make up for the lost ground. What really drives employees to jump jobs? Is it only due to bad bosses or there are other reasons involved as well?

1. Mismatch between the promised job and the situation on hand

Employees are often promised certain things on what exactly the jobs consist of but after joining the company they find out a completely different picture. It becomes painfully clear to the new hire that the company played a bait-and-switch game and now they are trapped in doing something that they don't want to.

2. Limited opportunity for personal growth and skills

"Every ambitious person is looking to further their career in the shortest possible span of time. Hence despite being in a high growth sector if there isn't ample opportunity for reasonably quick vertical or lateral growth; then it is usually time to move on," says Pradeep Thomas Abraham, Managing Director of Paytronic Networks limited. The most successful employers find ways to help employees develop new skills and responsibilities in their current positions.

3. Boss too much to handle

Prashant Hannovar, Manager of Human Resource of NextBiT Computing has had a fair deal of experience in dealing with different kinds of candidates. He says, "Employee leaves the organization because of a manager's leadership style or bad management style. Employee leave because of managers who puts the blame on the other employee, making others a scape goat, a Micro manager-who is known for having no trust/confidence in self and on the team."

4. Lack of recognition of the good work being put-in

Individual accomplishments should be considered by the company and should be pointed out in praise that will help to further increase productivity, make the employee feel appreciated, and create an example for other employees to follow, knowing that they will be rewarded. "Many employees who have quit and answered the exit interviews have revealed on not getting recognized despite of hard work/good Performance," says Hannovar.

5. Management freezes raises and promotions

Money is not always a very important category for people to quit, but it definitely ranks high. Many employees quit the Organization as they get better compensation/salaries with the competitors. Also with the salaries, many of the Techies (engineers) today are offered Onsite opportunity too. This is the normal phenomena in the IT Industry which nothing much can be worked out.

6. Poor work culture/work ethic

Another important factor that results in undesired attrition is the bad work culture. Bad work culture constitutes unhealthy political work environment where you can find lot of rumors/grape wines, partiality, favoritism, lack of trust, worst HR best practices like restrictions imposed on the employees on clothing, leaves and many more.
7. Inability to maintain/achieve a healthy work-life balance

In the light of the recent trend of laying off huge number of employees, many employees (who are not fired) feel the heat of too much work. Sometimes they find themselves doing the work of more than two people which often result into work taken home and extended office hours. Too much work often creates stress which can force the employee to quit.

8. Lack of Feedback Mechanisms

Lot of managers don't provide the proper feedback at regular intervals on the employee performance. Many employees look for feedback which helps them to grow in their career. Lack of feedback makes an employee or the team members frustrated, feel out of the team or lost, which leads to the rise in the attrition level in the organization.


9. Lack of decision-making power

A lot of managers simply do not know how to delegate effectively. This results in undue micro management by the immediate superior that shakes the faith and self confidence of the employee. A manager should empower employees and allow them the freedom to make suggestions and to take decisions.

10. No fun or enjoyment in job/ unchallenged

Two scenarios can fit into this. One is when employee becomes dull of the daily routine. Same job, with same skills and everything becomes dull, then it's time for employees to move on. The second scenario can be when employee don't feel challenged with the current job. Employees sometime need more responsibilities and work to challenge their skills or they leave in hunt of another job for fresh challenges.

There are many more reasons which may be valid from person to person but these are the top ten reasons which the IT industry must really look upon to improve on to reduce attrition. "The only way to work on retention is to pro-actively focus on establishing policies, practices, systems and culture that help reduce triggers on these counts

Content from Siliconindia Website

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

PISS OFF ON LAY OFF !

Dear All,

I got this mail some times back from one of my friend, There are some real good facts for the employeer's to know about and even for employees !

Some, rather most organizations reject his CV today because he has changed jobs frequently (10 in 14 years). My friend, the ˜job hopper™ (referred here as Mr. JH), does not mind it. well he does not need to mind it at all. Having worked full-time with 10 employer companies in just 14 years gives Mr. JH the relaxing edge that most of the ˜company loyal™ employees are struggling for today. Today, Mr. JH too is laid off like some other 14-15 year experienced guys “ the difference being the latter have just worked in 2-3 organizations in the same number of years. Here are the excerpts of an interview with Mr. JH:

Q: Why have you changed 10 jobs in 14 years?

A: To get financially sound and stable before getting laid off the second time.

Q: So you knew you would be laid off in the year 2009?

A: Well I was laid off first in the year 2002 due to the first global economic slowdown. I had not got a full-time job before January 2003 when the economy started looking up; so I had struggled for almost a year without job and with compromises.

Q: Which number of job was that?
A: That was my third job.

Q: So from Jan 2003 to Jan 2009, in 6 years, you have changed 8 jobs to make the count as 10 jobs in 14 years?

A: I had no other option. In my first 8 years of professional life, I had worked only for 2 organizations thinking that jobs are deserved after lot of hard work and one should stay with an employer company to justify the saying ˜employer loyalty™. But I was an idiot.

Q: Why do you say so?

A: My salary in the first 8 years went up only marginally. I could not save enough and also, I had thought that I had a ˜permanent™ job, so I need not worry about ˜what will I do if I lose my job™. I could never imagine losing a job because of economic slowdown and not because of my performance. That was January 2002.

Q: Can you brief on what happened between January 2003 and 2009.

A: Well, I had learnt my lessons of being ˜company loyal™ and not ˜money earning and saving loyal™. But then you can save enough only when you earn enough. So I shifted my loyalty towards money making and saving “ I changed 8 jobs in 6 years assuring all my interviewers about my stability.

Q: So you lied to your interviewers; you had already planned to change the job for which you were being interviewed on a particular day?

A: Yes, you can change jobs only when the market is up and companies are hiring. You tell me “ can I get a job now because of the slowdown? No. So one should change jobs for higher salaries only when the market is up because that is the only time when companies hire and can afford the expected salaries.

Q: What have you gained by doing such things?

A: That's the question I was waiting for. In Jan 2003, I had a fixed salary (without variables) of say Rs. X p.a. In January 2009, my salary was 8X. So assuming my salary was Rs.3 lakh p.a. in Jan 2003, my last drawn salary in Jan 2009 was Rs.24 lakh p.a. (without variable). I never bothered about variable as I had no intention to stay for 1 year and go through the appraisal process to wait for the company to give me a hike.

Q: So you decided on your own hike?

A: Yes, in 2003, I could see the slowdown coming again in future like it had happened in 2001-02. Though I was not sure by when the next slowdown would come, I was pretty sure I wanted a ˜debt-free™ life before being laid off again. So I planned my hike targets on a yearly basis without waiting for the year to complete.

Q: So are you debt-free now?

A: Yes, I earned so much by virtue of job changes for money and spent so little that today I have a loan free 2 BR flat (1200 sq.. feet) plus a loan free big car without bothering about any EMIs. I am laid off too but I do not complain at all.

Note: Employees and Employer have to think about this..........

If I have laid off companies for money, it is OK if a company lays me off because of lack of money.

Q: Who is complaining?

A: All those guys who are not getting a job to pay their EMIs off are complaining. They had made fun of me saying I am a job hopper and do not have any company loyalty. Now I ask them what they gained by their company loyalty; they too are laid off like me and pass comments to me “ why will you bother about us, you are already debt-free. They were still in the bracket of 12-14 lakh p.a. when they were laid off.

Q: What is your advice to professionals?

A: Like Narayan Murthy had said “ love your job and not your company because you never know when your company will stop loving you. In the same lines, love yourself and your family needs more than the company's needs. Companies can keep coming and going; family will always remain the same. Make money for yourself first and simultaneously make money for the company, not the other way around.

Q: What is your biggest pain point with companies?

A: When a company does well, its CEO will address the entire company saying, ˜well done guys, it is YOUR company, keep up the hard work, I am with you. But when the slowdown happens and the company does not do so well, the same CEO will say, It is MY company and to save the company, I have to take tough decisions including asking people to go. So think about your financial stability first; when you get laid off, your kids will complain to you and not your boss.


Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

Why programmers /Soft Ware professionals are not subject to the protective labour laws of society?

Why programmers /Soft Ware professionals are not subject to the protective labour laws of society? When and how did the term salaried become coequal with slave? Look at the change in contracting laws where independent programmers were not accepted by corporations and the middlemen got the profit and the programmers got to be salary-slaves. Why does this happen across the globe? Why don’t employers treat the employees as Humans?

There are a large number of underhanded and often illegal labour practices in the software development industry, and the abuse of “contractual” workers is amongst the most prevalent.

Before we go any further, please keep in mind that I am not a lawyer, and none of this is intended to be treated as legal advice. I’m just telling you about my personal experiences and directing you to information that I found on government Web sites.

Here is a small sample of these kinds of abusive relationships that I have personally experienced or witnessed:

Work Visa Sponsored by a Employer (think: “Work Visa for dogs” with immigrant workers instead of dogs) that lure workers go abroad, and then hold the requirement of employment over their heads to force them to work for sub-par wages and often in illegal circumstances.

Staffing agencies getting paid by the hour, but paying their workers on a salary and forcing them to work gruelling hours.

The old “comp time” ruse where hourly workers are not being paid overtime wages as required by law, but instead granted comp time even some company’s don’t do that unless it made as a issue by the employee. While this would normally be legal, everyone knows that the comp time will never be taken due to the demands of the project, so the worker is effectively working for free, literally the worker is made fool.

Being told by the client that overtime is mandatory, but the contract agency then rejects the timesheet and claims that the overtime “was not authorized.” But actually your company “employer” will get the overtime money from the client but they will deny to you they their company doesn’t have such policy.

Laying (Lying to) off swaths of long-term employees because an “outside vendor” was brought in to do the work. During the exit interviews, they were told that they could be hired by the outside vendor to do their old job, but they’d take a deep pay cut, lose all time accrued, receive inferior benefits, and no longer be able to move up in the ranks unless they were “converted” to employee again. The kicker? The “outside vendor” was owned by the company!

Disgusting, isn’t it? The ones who victimize immigrant workers are the ones who burn me the most, because those workers often have families counting on them, have dreamed of coming abroad for good treatment and wages, are not aware of the laws, have few friends or family ties to fall back on, possibly have communication barriers, and may even be happy with the arrangement in comparison to their previous circumstances.

But even for same country.-born programmers, they too often do not know their rights. Or when they do, they find it easier to just sneak out the back door and find another job than to bother going through the work to find some justice. For example, nearly every developer I know is under the assumption that programming is always going to be exempt from overtime laws or Labour Laws. Well, that’s not entirely true. Here are a few examples of software developers actually getting overtime pay: (Example’s are taken from US companies but this example is same through the globe but with some minor changes in their policy)

Electronics Arts lawsuit from 2006, also included graphics artists
CSC settled an overtime lawsuit in 2005
Microsoft settled a lawsuit in 2001, regarding employees illegally classified as “independent contractors”
As you can see, this is fairly endemic. And, more importantly, justice is achievable. How do you really know if you are entitled to overtime? Well, it is not so cut-and-dried as one would hope. The key lies in your responsibilities and, partially, your compensation levels. The IRS divides this decision into three categories:
“Behaviour Control” - Can the business tell you how to do your job?
“Financial Control” - Does the business control how you can make your money or business decisions?

Type of relationship - How does this relationship exist on paper and in reality?
In addition to considering workers “independent contractors,” there exists a particular attitude in many companies that a salaried employee must be at the employer’s beck and call. First, a bit of clarification around the word “salary.” A “salary” simply means that you get paid the same amount each week, and it has no bearing on whether or not you are truly eligible for overtime pay. If you are not eligible for overtime pay, then you are an “exempt” employee. It is possible to be paid on an hourly basis and be “exempt,” and it is possible to be on a salary and not be “exempt.”

All the same, many software developers and consultants are being classified as “exempt” illegally! Check out this sentence from the Department of Labour’s guidelines for technology workers: “Technologists and technicians do not meet these requirements for the learned professional exemption because they do not work in occupations that have attained recognized professional status, which requires that an advanced specialized academic degree is a standard prerequisite for entrance into the profession.”

Unfortunately, there are no regulations (that I can find, at least) covering whether you can be forced to work in excess of a standard workweek. That being said, in my experience, the best defence against this kind of abuse is to work to become classified as a “non-exempt” employee; when the boss (and the accountant) realizes that you took home a pay check bigger than his boss’ pay check because he forced you to work a 60 hour workweek, you can bet that it will end!

EMPLOYER, MANAGER, LEAD'S MUST READ

Even as the global economy begins to show faint signs of recovery, times are still tough, and businesses worldwide are still scrambling to respond. Layoffs, cutting expenses and eliminating employee programmes are all common, knee-jerk responses to financial pressure. But are they the right strategy for the long term?

In the haste to find new customers and keep the ones you already have, it’s all too easy to forget one of the most important aspects of customer loyalty: loyal employees. But it’s a proven fact: loyal employees have a big positive impact on customer loyalty and retention. So keeping employees satisfied and motivated is critical even – and especially – if raises, bonuses and benefits are a thing of the past. Here are a few strategies.

1. Keep communicating with employees through difficult times.

Even when the news is bad, keep your employees informed of changes within the business so that they understand the situation. Don’t allow gossip and hearsay to create unrest and tension within the business; instead, build rapport and trust by being honest with employees. In fact, try two-way communication and ask their opinions: Employees appreciate being asked what they think, and may have some excellent ideas for how the business can be improved.

2. Listen to staff concerns.

The quickest way to alienate your employees and damage morale is to ignore them. While you may not be able to resolve all their concerns about working hours, promotions and pay, the simple act of listening and acknowledging their problems is valuable. Follow up on the problem when and if it is appropriate to do so, and even if you cannot adequately resolve the issue, inform the employee immediately so they at know you at least made an effort.

3. Make sure change occurs at all organisational levels.

It’s entirely possible that staff layoffs cannot be avoided. However, to avoid severely damaging the morale of those employees that remain, it’s important for senior management to share some of the weight of the cuts – either by reductions in pay, bonuses or perks. While employees realise that some changes and cuts must be made in order to adjust to the new realities of business, it will be easier for them to accept if they see changes at all levels of the organisation and not just within their own ranks.

4. Avoid micromanaging.

Your employees are likely under more pressure than ever – just as you are. But even as expectations are raised and demands grow, now is not the time to begin interfering in the work of your team. If you’ve done a good job of hiring, you already have a competent group of people who know what they’re doing, and becoming overly involved in their work may actually cause more problems than it solves. So while it’s smart to have an active interest in your subordinates’ work, try to avoid stepping in until it’s clearly necessary.

5. Remember to say “thank you”.

It’s so simple, and yet possibly the most important thing you can do to boost employee morale and loyalty. Thanking your employees for their contributions, and recognising their hard work and accomplishments is extremely vital, especially in a down economy when monetary bonuses and raises are becoming increasingly uncommon.

Running a business is always difficult, and now more than ever. But with the support and commitment of talented employees, you’ll be much more likely to weather these challenging economic times and emerge stronger.

Any good employer or manager or leader should remember to follow these things at least to a extent to sustain in this un-predictable market.

Human Resource is the most valuable and precious asset a Software or IT organization can have, Because here you are valuaed by the exprieance and talent of a employee not by the hi-tech hardware you have.


Any good employer or manager or leader should remember to follow these. Be good to yourself and others that will bring good things to you from others.

Human Resource is the most valuable and precious asset a Software or IT organization can have, because here you are valued by the experience and the talent of the employee’s, not by the hi-tech hardware you have. Here you do business by marketing (Literally selling human brains) so take care of the brains it has life, happiness, love, affection, good and bad feelings, humor, hatred, sadness, revenge, social status, dependency and lot more. To have a fresh brain and a good human you will (should-must) have to be good with them as humans only then you can expect them to be OK with you.

If you are GOOD with your employee, in return expect them to be OK with you. Over expectorations is a vacuum.

Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan

Decent Employer

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