Nathan SV

Feedback is a skill and it can be learnt. It all starts off with - 1. Making the other person comfortable ab initio. The very thought of ‘how would I like to receive feedback’ is a good place to start. 2. The conversation must focus on the individual’s progress and how it can get better. That way the person feels that there is an intent to support. 3. Get the individual to speak first. Once this is achieved, there could be good grounds to receive feedback. Relaxed chats 4. Focus on two things a person has done well and one thing a they could do better. 5. Specific examples help. Don’t be prescriptive. 6. Gauge the eye contact and body language to check receptivity. 7. Close with how they felt about the meeting. Checks the effectiveness.

Personally speaking, you don’t have to impress the HR manager to get a promotion. Don’t get me wrong here. You have to impress your reporting manager and also reporting manager’s manager!! 1. Create value. Most important - we are here to create value. That alone matters. 2. Show value - that you are already working at the next level. 3. Speak about your value- we all hesitate to speak about the value we create or the work that we do. Our reporting managers could fail to remember the consistent work that you have done all through the year. They have to be reminded, gently. 4. Make your boss look good. This is important to build trust. 5. The boss must know you are ready for the promotion. You must set expectations about your expectation

I have found that the way to increase office productivity is by having the foll: 1. A safe environment where people have the tools to succeed and room to fail. 2. It is important to have a culture of trust. To start to keep looking at the clock to find out the output instead of looking at the people behind the output is to put the cart before the horse. 3. Goals need to be understood by one and all and that is what we do well. What needs to be done is to explain the purpose. Many times f us struggle with the articulation of ‘why’ and focus on the what ( has been achieved, how it compares to the previous month etc) 4. Lastly, people need to be recognised and respected. Many times we focus on the reward. 5. And managers need to be trained.

There are some simple ways to spell out your value proposition: 1. Ask people within the company why they joined the company. You will find useful leads here. 2. Ask the founders and senior leaders what they think are unique about the company. 3. What are the two or three things that stand out as differentiators? 4. How would you communicate this in an effective way? Eg. if you work in a hybrid mode. Or have crèche facilities, mention these in a nice way. 5. Check what appeals to potential candidates- check if you have these as part of what you offer- eg. people like autonomy- id your company a flat organization? If so, mention it. 6. Use the right mode of communications. Eg. if you are hiring gen Z online is preferred. Also pithy words

My father used to tell me to keep the plants in good repair. I never understood that expression. Much later I got it. Maintain it, nourish it so that it would grow well. Prune it where needed. Graft it. Even cross pollinate. HR talent is most important to any organization. It has to have talent that are on top of their game. Here are a few tips: 1. Grow their strengths. Get them to do more of what they are strong at. 2. Get them to learn something new, contemporary. 3. Sponsor them for programs that they would benefit from. 4. Ask if them to share their knowledge( very powerful) 5. Get them networking opportunities like conferences etc 6. Present them books that interest them. 7. Provide encouragement and feedback 8. Recognise them.

A perfect platform does not exist. Needs change and complexties arise. Here are some ways to choose the right platform for HR: 1. Determine what you really want. 2. What you could want in the future. 3. Research the market for suitable products. 4. Check with your industry friends about their experience. 5. What is your business outlook for the next say three to five years? 6. Is this product scalable to meet the above requirements? 7. Is the platform compatable with the other systems in the company? 8. Is your CIO comfortable with the platform? 9. Is this platform something that can add more sub systems that have additional features? 10. Is this easy to use? simple? good user interface? Choosing platforms are deliberate strategic choices.