11th November 2011

With so much being written about this unique date, there is just one bit that I want to add:

The world and a huge number of gullible souls have been devouring every little bit they come across such unique dates. My argument to all these guys is that every single date in history is unique; thus 10-11-2011 is also as unique as today as both do not get repeated ever.

As for the numerological impact, the less said the better as the Hindu calendar which probably is far more scientific than other modern calendars, does not see anything unique about this date( they follow a different samvat year anyway)

So where does that leave us? At the end of the day, today will be just another day for the universe, more are born, some die, the sun sets for some, it rises in other parts later and nature has the last laugh with the birds and bees going about their duties as for any other day except silly mankind, who will spend hours reading stuff and watching stuff on 11-11-11- till they fall asleep, little realising that one more day has gone by leaving all of us older but less wise.

Job Xavier

9892329188

A Call to revise the HR Policy

Dear Friends

As an HR Consultant, I have come across a number of organisations which have a very vibrant HR department with well qualified HR professionals who manage all aspects of HR both routine as well as more complex, in an efficient manner. In most such organisations, there is very little that an outside HR professional can contribute and most meetings end with talk of common friends and the promise of a call in case of need.

Of late however, I have come across an interesting issue related to the most pedestrian, vanilla activity of the HR dept; the HR Policy and in case some of you feel this is a business pitch, you are absolutely right, but not in the normal sense as for an HR assignment.

During the last month, I happened to meet some senior HR functionaries at conferences/ their offices etc and discussed this very same topic..While many of them have introduced cutting edge HR processes, one area left a gaping hole; yes, it is the humble HR policy. Every company revises their HR policy at least once a year, revising travel reimbursement, hotel tariff etc. But the essence of the policy probably has not changed even for ten years. Sounds exaggerated? Let me explain.

The HR policy, usually condensed into an Employee Handbook is normally given to every new employee when she joins. In a major Bank I joined in the 80s, I was surprised to see last month, essentially the same HR policy that I had received as a new employee almost 30 years ago, of course with revised limits for travel, stay etc. The language, the curt" you are not allowed to---" tone continues and the same 32 page Employee Manual is being given out to new recruits even today. The story repeats in most other far more progressive firms also.

And what does the new employee, bred as she is on sms lingo and everything brief do with these handbooks? one glance, may be at some photos and charts if any, and lo, it goes into the bottom of a drawer, never to be looked at again. Ask this same young lady about when the company was formed, who their current MD/ Board is and one draws a blank or a wink at best. In short, the HR handbook has not served its purpose to be informative, to act a welcome document, to be referred to as we were taught, to understand the culture and working style of the organisation.

My suggestion to all my HR colleagues, holding responsible positions in industry is PLEASE DUST THOSE HR MANUALS and make them palatable to generation Y, Add some colour, life and make a talking , walking version of the manual so that the future generations joining our organisations do not dismiss the collective wealth of our organisations by that one gesture-flip to the bottom of their drawers.

Let us be contemporary, just as most of us try to catch up with our teenagers at home with their Facebook, Twitter and sms attitude, let us help the new entrant feel that someone cares about the look and feel of the first company document that they receive on joining.

All the best.

Job Xavier, Mumbai

98923 29188