The Hindu Business Line : Does competitive athletics get enough professional attention?

Story so far: Kay Paul, the head of marketing, decides to quit the company after a stint of more than 14 years. He tells me how tough it is for him to take a call on quitting. And I wonder if it is tougher for the company to cope with the loss of valuable human capital.

Episode 122

On the subject of retaining of key personnel, Alok Anand writes, "Hi, I am an academician into marketing. The question posed is a hot topic, and kudos to you for bringing it up." Thanks, Alok. "I believe your end note came at the right time. I was doing some research on sales management as a subject. All the books and articles researched so far have talked about management of sales personnel at the entry level; they just comment about recruitment, selection, training, compensation and motivation. Nothing about retention of HR." Surprising!

"Secondly, the basis of services is making customers delighted. If the internal customers (read employees) are happy, then customers will continue to do business with the firm." I agree. "Are firms doing enough to retain their employees? Top-level employees leave not because of bad policies (self-designed in most cases), but towards greener avenues. Their need for achievement and growth is taken care of by rival companies. Firms, therefore, and the immediate bosses should be able to read the signs and take proactive action, as employees are no longer a resource; they are to be treated as an asset." Useful advice.

There's a mail, once again, from the young letter-writer Sandhya Goel. "This time u wrote abt valuable employees leaving the company." Ah, SMS is creeping in everywhere!

"Such employees are always missed by the company. But the really good employees are always remembered because of the legacy they leave behind. This legacy is in the form of employees trained under them." I like that, Sandhya.

Tap dance of human capital

"Hi Swati," writes in Rajsekhar G. "I enjoy reading your articles and the views others express in it. A few of my thoughts on today's articles, regarding the `tap dance' of human capital." Oh, I didn't know it's a type of dance! "I think the issue lies both at the individual and at the company level," continues Rajsekhar.

"On joining an MNC, after my MBA from IIM, I was simply shocked at the attrition rate. Fact is, new entrants were expected to come with a magic wand tucked under their arms while the entrants expected an all-empowering environment. Things don't quite work that way." True.

"The moment of truth for any organisation is its patronage. And while the customers count on the entire offer — performance, finishing, advertising jingle, after sale and so on — companies insist on noticing just a couple of outstanding performances. What really should matter is the consistency and quality of the entire team's output, rather than just a few individual brilliances. A team works with true synergy only when its members have the interests of the team over and above their own."

There can't be two opinions on that. "And the team's spoils should go to all its members, while recognising outstanding contributions as well. Of course, this is an ideal setting, and maybe, there might be just onw in a 1000 companies where it's like this. One such company might be Ricardo Semler's (author of The Seven-Day Weekend). Where else does the entire team (future colleagues and subordinate) interview the CEO they are going to hire?" I should read that book.

Rajsekhar explains: "Logic being, the team needs someone it can work with rather than have a new CEO firing the entire team if compatibility were to be an issue! The team writes its own paycheque. Sets its own targets. Decides what work hours suit it the most. And it seems hardly anyone quits this company, neither for love nor for money." Wish one saw more of such companies.

"Rather than job skipping or hoping that one's company will go into the Semler mode, one has do the Semler where ever one is." How?

"Easier said than done, but then, that's by far easier than wading through the 999 companies before finding the 1000{+t}{+h} company, if one could indeed do that. It calls for exceptional patience and perseverance by the employee in taking the whole team along even as corporate shenanigans go on all round him or her. A change in a company's culture begins by example not by any vision documents as such." Brilliant insight, Rajsekhar.

Attrition attention

On the question `Are companies incapable of retaining young talent?' (Business Line, March 20) D. N. Shanbhag has written how succession planning is oft-ignored. P. S. Rao, HR Head, CSS Group narrates an interesting African story to explain attrition! Auditor Gokul lists three principal reasons why the young crop flees the company. Secret Kumar (name changed) finds the sense of `belongingness' absent.

Yes Pod (another name changed) is positive that the issue is `very sensetive' and that `in coming days this will be the biggest issue the corporates will face'! `There is so much to speak,' he adds. Binu says, "Today's generation has a different set of life goals." Jasmine Juneja starts thus, "This is my very first attempt to express my views in regard to the articles which you write."

H.M. Dattatri, Law & Taxation - AT&S India, Nanjangud, opines, "Leaving one company to join other company may become like jumping from oven to fire for these youngsters."

Ch.Mallikarjuna Reddy, CA, mails in: "I am very much impressed by your articles. Please keep it up." Sandeep from Mumbai lauds, "First, I need to give you a thumbs-up for the effort to bring such topics to the print media."

Anil K. Nair, working as a Senior CSA in a multinational BPO firm in Thiruvananthapuram assures, "Smile is a thing that works everywhere. There are bosses who do not even look at anyone's face and simply walk off!"

And Hari wants help with his project titled, `A study on micro-finance models.'

Catch me at my blog

A few days ago, I sat with a friend to create a blog. Here's the URL: www.swati-ca.blogspot.com. (That's a hyphen between swati and CA, please note.)

Please bear with me if you don't find there anything more than `Hello, world!' that I managed to successfully add as the first post. I am yet to find my way through blogging techniques. One of my immediate jobs is to add in full the opinions on attrition that have only been touched upon in a skimpy manner above.

What ails sports?

On a morning that I woke up early, I decided to go to the neighbourhood stadium. So, there I was, huffing and puffing, after a jog. `Lack of practice,' I consoled myself, and loitered around to watch what others were doing. A college girl was practising high jump. When she cleared what seemed to be an impossible height, I clapped and shouted, "Well-done!"

During a brief break she took from practice, we got talking. "Hi, I'm Malar," she said. "Good jump," I complimented. "I'm Swati." She was practising for national championship, I learnt. "Are you looking for sponsors?" I asked her, hoping I could convince my boss to chip in some funds. She looked at me and said, "Thanks for asking. But my self-respect comes in the way. After having seen how athletics get a step-motherly treatment here... " I was shocked, "Why do you say so?"

Malar laughed wryly and said, "Top three games in India are cricket, cricket and cricket. To go with it, it will be some Bollywood actress. Not an athlete, even if he or she won gold medals at international events." Without expecting any reply from me, Malar resumed her practice. After some time, as I was lumbering back home, I wondered if competitive athletics demands a thoroughly professional approach that our governments are merely incapable of! Send in your thoughts by Friday.

Swati_CA@hotmail.com

For archived episodes of this column click on: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/nic/swati/index.htm

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