Work etiquettes: a sign to be looked after at work place

As discussed by many on the same, it’s essential to be following some code of conducts while you are on the floor. Work place etiquettes are one of the many issues that many HRs face. A defined code of conduct varies from organization-organization. Some are very casual in there working place and that’s the way they accept it, but on the other hand some follow specified way of working and that’s their culture, if not obeyed can also lead to suspension or other grievances.

The following are some basic etiquette that is easy to follow;

· Do follow punctuality that’s the basic dimension where you are judged on. Make sure that you are there on the time asked, if late do make sure to intimate the same to your reporting head and mentioning the reason for it.

· Proper dressing sense (as specified for males and females) - ask your colleagues or your manager about the “wear” and “wear-nots” and dress decently.

· Do not be casual in speaking to your seniors when not demanded, act according to the person, some are fine with casual approach and some get offended.

· Whenever in meetings be on the time, with proper preparation. Get introduced to your fellow members in the meeting (be professional), take the initiative if required (do not shy away- it always good to be an initiator).

· Follow some manners in cafeteria; do not act as a glutton.

· Since groups are inevitable, it’s a good idea to have lunch with different groups rather than sticking to the same clique, everyday. You will get to know more people and will not be viewed as “clannish”.

· When in the presence of one group don’t speak ill of a person in another group. In fact, try not to comment on a third person in his or her absence.

· Try not to carry on any conversations from the café to the workplace but discussing work while at lunch is not a bad idea.

· Avoid eating some pungent filled dishes/salads like avoid onions as they make stink in your mouth when you interact later or any dishes which makes you drowsy.

· Try not to over do when you are conversing, as most may find it irritating.

These were some of the very few, etiquettes that one may follow. The soon you adopt these in your life the better you would enhance your daily work.

Failure is not Fatal

Who could ever forget the recession times, they were worst than a tsunami hit or a hurricane. Recession was a worst that any body could have faced, no matter you were a fresher or a manager or even a CEO, but the best part for we Indians was that the risk attached to it was minimum, thanks to our financial policies.

They say “all good things happen in disguise”, so be true. The recession had taken our jobs away; you know what does that mean? everything around comes to a stand-still, but this does did not mean that there is no other way out. The very talked about thing when you are fired is the aftermath effects on you, you are highly stressed out- not knowing what to do, you get isolated from your family and friends and the worst of all your confidence levels get to level zero.

This is not only with recession but lying off or pink slips are the in trends these days in big shot companies you never know what awaits you behind the door. This also means that one should be well aware of our strengths and weakness.

So you have to stand strong and get your senses all right for making a great come back… here are few things which would help;

• Don’t be afraid to try: well, considering this the right time to do things which you always wanted to do, like your favorites learning any musical instruments, going on your dream destination with your spouse of which you always dreamt off, or just casually taking a break. This is would be the right time to do things which you always wanted to, so don’t be afraid to live it up.
• Play to your strengths: it’s at this time you need to add more attributes to your resume so that the next time you get a call for a job you have all the required skills (latest) that others don’t have. Acquire as much knowledge as you can get. But the next time you hit the interview table make sure you hit it hard.
• Be aware of where you failed and why?? Making a mistake and admitting it is not everyone’s meal, a bold and daring person can admit his/her mistakes and take to stand to correct it. “Failure is a stepping stone to success”- true but your ability not only lies in this but also to know why you had to take up a failure, know your mistake. Your smartness doesn’t lie in not failing but in turn lies in not making that mistake again which would need a depth analysis.
• Expect to make sacrifices: nothing comes without a price; you have to be mentally prepared to get things in order and put those extra efforts in action to make a mark in your career. This means lot of hard work along with smart work, lot of KT with and around employees and not to forget to work in a cost effective way.

Considering the aftermath effects, it’s just a beginning with more to do and learn. With “never give up attitude” one can improvise and get better, for a new job and new aspirations.

Business Etiquettes…

What happens when you first interact with a person??? You are trying to make an impression, good or bad that’s a later thought (mostly all try to make a good/positive impact). Sometimes the person knows you and sometimes s/he is an alien, but in both the cases one tries to make an IMPACT or an IMPRESSION. Most of the times it is by your behavior, your dress, your talk, etc i.e. in short we try and maintain certain ETIQUETTE.

Etiquettes are the most looked attribute in any employee or even as a fresher who joins an organization. What is defined by the word “Etiquette”- a certain set of social behavior or social expectation that are aligned with certain social, geographical and work cultures in an organization or at any place of formal interaction. A Culture can form a part of Etiquette and vice versa. For example calling superiors by there first name can be termed as a culture in some companies, but at times adding “sir “ as a suffix to their name can be an etiquette for an employee (not always just an example).

If having proper etiquettes is not your cup of tea, then its better that you soon adapt to have such cup of tea. To get a job or to make an impression or for growth in the career it’s important that s/he has to imbibe certain set of business etiquettes. In case you do not possess proper etiquettes though, it’s not dangerous but it can any time harm you. Not talking the right thing at the right time, messing things up, having a facial expression that conveys something wrong, inappropriate dressing can cost you your entire career.

Etiquettes may not be the very first thing an employer observes in you, but gradually its observed and this may help in casting a life long impression which is important in many aspects. These etiquettes don’t come at once but they are gradually picked up (they are not inborn but are learnt) and eventually come out as a behavior. Etiquettes are not only confined to internal employees but also to other external parties like customers, clients, and not to forget suppliers as well because the way you behave can make or break your relations with them (Business relations).

Etiquettes are well defined actions which are delivered on a common platform. These are essential in the following areas;

• Dinning
• Mailing
• Public speaking and Presenting
• Dressing
• Social
• Writing
• Telephone
• Interview
• Greeting/Meeting

One may think are these etiquettes important for everyone?? The answer is YES!!! One may not possess a quality of being humble and polite while talking/ behaving with others. As mentioned earlier Etiquettes are written codes which are not the same all the time and in all the places but some certainly are common.

Hence, it’s important to know the Etiquettes as it shows that the person is well versed which type of behaviors would be right and appreciated and which are a big NO - NO.

HR- a phenomenon...

Well, I have done my Masters in HR…. but why only HR? Weren’t there any other streams which were good? The answer is - Certainly there are many other streams which are as popular as this, but HR has its own functional importance in it (not like others don’t).

The question posed above is a common question asked in any interview if s/he is a fresher. This question determines the commitment levels in that particular field the candidate has. Not to mention that it is the keen interest of a person which makes him soar high in the sky (career ladder).

HR as a domain has its own important role to play in any organization of any type. For any HR person to be successful there are certain key skills which define them, this is where an HR is different from others. HR is very much function dependent i.e., it is a key attribute of any HR to work under one roof with other departments, after all HR is more to do with people management rather than managing other aspects, where people are considered as a very important asset of any organization.

As mentioned in many places that HR basically deals with development of people.HR function these days also plays a vital role in any business development and not to forget revenue generation to the company as well, this the very reason you have got RPOs and Consulting firms where there major duty is Recruitment and Training. It’s only HR who can tell what to do to retain certain employee and making them productive for the job.

HR as a support function is more like a bone marrow which needs to be taken care of, if not, then its like a person who is on the bed, who can very much hear, listen and speak but the overall performance gets decline by no moment or actions.

Not to ignore the fact that HR is still considered to be a support function but it is nevertheless the most important function that every organization has.

What makes HR different from others that make an HR a good HR;

• Communication skills: talking doesn’t mean that one should make sentences filled with jargons which the other person doesn’t understand. Even when talking sentences it should have simple English with no ambiguity else it not called Communication and there is great probability that nebulous thoughts take their place.
• Adaptable and Approachable: even if one holds a higher position in any field, for good environment and success, the senior management should be approachable and friendly so that if the employee needs to discuss an issue or any grievance should not hesitate to knock the management doors.
• Assertive but not rude: this is one quality which helps one in achieving what one wants. Being assertive does not mean that you need to be rude and arrogant (many people mistake this for being rude and sharp in their talk) in getting things done which is not at many a times appreciated. While being assertive one needs to articulate things properly so that the arrow hits the target without injuring anyone around.
• Networking and Research: this forms another important aspect of HR. As an HR, a person should have good networking skills and has its benefits to the organization in many ways. Research is the other domain which is important; as it’s when you do research you get in depth of what is happening in and around the world and have an upper edge over others in many aspects. These two are very different aspects but can be certainly aligned to each other to get the best in what needs to be done.

These are many of the few attributes an HR needs to imbibe in order to be efficient and effective.

REWARD & RECOGNITION- EVERYBODY LIKES IT!!!

It’s quite natural that everybody craves to be appreciated and praised. Remember your childhood days when you would get a candy bar or good clothes or cycle etc for work done well, the parents would turn out to be the best source of advertisement to tell how their children had made them proud and how much they are happy about it, its quite embarrassing after sometime but you like it the way it is and it makes you happy, doesn’t it???

To be praised, appreciated, and reward accordingly for the job performed well is quite human and its natural feeling for anyone wanting to be appreciated and rewarded, for putting their best efforts, for achieving the target or going beyond what is expected. These praises, appreciations, recognitions are “THE” attributes which drives one to keep moving and motivated in order to perform well and as expected.

Like Boost is the secret of Sachin’s energy, in the same way these Reward and Recognitions are “the boost” factors of every employee of any organization. This kick of boost is required quite often in any normal working environment. If these capsules are not giving on a regular note, there is a possibility that employees become weak and demotivated. These boosting factors are like vitamin capsules they need to be given on a regular note. Therefore it’s quite important to keep the employees motivated for better to best results and at this point R&R (Reward & Recognition) Program plays a vital role.

R&R, if given a little modification can be like R-R i.e., Retention to Retirement. These R&R programs are one of the effective factors which helps in retaining employees and make them productive (though there are many factors which help in employee retention but considering R-R to be on the priority list), its effect is seen as some employees stay in the organization for longer duration till the time they attain retirement (R-R).

Making R&R program effective is a challenge, as the motivating factors vary to a very large extent from employee to employee, like an employee may be motivated from a monetary reward the same may not be the factor for the other. It’s again important that there are no loop holes in the program by placing the challenges and targets fair and transparent, and making it in align with the job well performed and fair targets achieved. A lot of research goes into this, one need to be careful in designing the same.

Well, at the end it would not be wrong to say that, R&R needs to be one among many motivating factors that make an employee achieve better and better each time and helping them become an idol so that looking at them others put in their best of the efforts. Hence, this program should not be taken for granted but one considers it as “the boost” factor which strengthens the relationship between the employees and the organization to a large extent.

Grapevine- Can be minimized

Grapevine a “creepy monster”; Can call it a monster because it invades every nook and corner of any organization. It’s inevitable that this creepy creature gets all its way even with the top management, middle management and lower management and from an invisible link where unauthorized flow of information prevails. It can be truly said that its inevitable and destroying its mere roots are utterly impossible.

The above content tells all ill about Grapevine but, on a contrary it’s not that evil as well, at times Grapevines are good to be, they not only informally speak about many things but also add lot of value addition to our daily work, its also acts as KT at times.

On the other hand it’s at the discretion of the management to handle it. It is certain that it cannot be removed or destroyed completely but its effects can be minimized. The following are some measures by which this can happen:

• It is must for Top Management cadre to heed the rumors around by tracking it by being an active participant, as s/he may track down the negative stuff and add what is accurate/ definite.
• Listen without loosing temper- there may be things which are not good to hear or which might be totally false but it’s the duty of the management to pay appropriate heed to it and not to loose cool, else it may turn out to be the other way round, hence one need to be patient enough to handle such things.
• Correcting the inaccurate info- it’s necessary to interrupt and stop the flow of inappropriate and inaccurate information which otherwise will generate negative impact among the employees. When the management gets to know about these incorrect information, the management should try and communicate which is “the correct” information and try to stop spreading the inaccurate chain any longer.
• Open Door Policy: No matter how big or small the size of the organization is, the management should be such that they are easily approachable and open to the employees so that they come up to the management and openly discuss without any barriers.
• The management can also be assertive by confronting him/her directly asking him/her to stop it then and there, as an HR one needs to be smart and assertive in handling them.
• The management needs to be transparent in their approach, so that all the policies and commands are easily communicated to the employees by providing them periodical training and holding meetings at regular intervals.

The above mentioned measures are among the very few steps that the management can take which may not completely eradicate it but at least can help in minimizing its effect.