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M. Ramesh

`Old world' values such as loyalty and dedication refuse to fade away, but they get an ample makeover in the new-age workplace.

Flexi-timings, hefty pay packets and job-hopping... the IT revolution has ushered in a new way of work-life. Whither `old world' values such as loyalty, dedication and punctuality?

"It cannot be said that these values are completely out of place; what is changing is their interpretation among the new generation workforce," says R. Nanda, Head - HR, Amara Raja Batteries. With career spans relatively shorter than they were some decades ago, the trend is to clearly define expectations on either side at the time of engagement — and make an honest assessment of performance against these expectations.

For instance, `punctuality' has been redefined from `being in office on time' to `delivery on time'. "Punctuality in its strict sense would be difficult to enforce in a `flexi-time' environment," says Nanda. Output and delivery is the key. But that doesn't mean punctuality as an attribute has become irrelevant.

Alongside such shifts in perception, the corporate world is also stormed by concepts such as merit recognition and variable rewards. Earlier, years of service was the main criterion for promotion and pay hike, but such a system would prove inadequate now.

Executives grab the top management's attention in a variety of ways: displaying performance levels that are much higher than their peers; volunteering to take on complex job roles; and dealing with chronic problems that have remained unresolved over a long period of time.

Opportunities to display merit abound today. "From formal processes like annual and interim appraisals to participation in cross-functional and critical mission teams, which engage the top management, there are plenty of avenues for bright sparks to catch the management's eye," says J.N. Amrolia, Executive Director -HR, Ashok Leyland.

Many companies have `small group activity' (SGA) where small teams of, say, six people each take on an improvement project and implement it. The more successful teams make presentations of their achievements. The team that makes the best presentation is rewarded with, say, a trip to Japan. While only one team might walk away with the trophy, all the others bask in the recognition of their presentation.

At Ashok Leyland's annual event, called Improve, nearly 90 people make presentations that are watched by the top management, including the Managing Director.

Again, most companies have programmes tailored to identify and groom talent. Ashok Leyland calls it `Future Leaders Programme' and this identifies and equips high potential employees to take on bigger responsibilities. "We assign mentors from the senior management, who grow into philosophers and guides for their charges," says Amrolia.

Executives get on to the FTP (fast track promotions) through a two-level screening process. Those who do not make it to the programme, still have a chance the following year.

But do the fast-track mechanism and variable pay structure cause heartburns among executives? Opinion is divided.

In conventional organisations with several grades in hierarchy, it was considered okay to promote someone from one grade to the next and still expect him/her to do the same nature of job. But with most companies moving to the leaner-and-flatter model, promotion may not be an easily available route to reward and recognition.

Says Nanda, "Reward and recognition systems are the `sore points' in any organisation. There is always a section of employees that feels `dissatisfied' with the best-designed appraisal systems." Yet, with retention of executives becoming a crucial issue, organisations are increasingly forced to duly recognise and reward performance.

Others feel that so long as the appraisal system is fair and seen to be fair, there can be no room for heartaches.

Apart from the problems arising out of selective rewarding, another challenge facing HR personnel is the dynamics between brilliant newcomers and `experienced' employees. This is often considered a non-issue in `knowledge-based industries'. But even in traditional manufacturing-based companies, with the advent of progressive HR practices such as mentoring, the rough edges in these relationships are getting smoothened more easily. It is also not uncommon to see an older generation employee learning the latest tools and techniques from a newcomer without any hesitation.

"Conventionally, the use of authority or position to provide leadership is getting challenged and `contextual leadership' is emerging, with the person capable of providing maximum value to the task/assignment getting the leadership role for that activity," says Nanda.

Picture by Shaju John

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