Uncategorized – Page 28 – Dr. Kiran Kakade (Ph.D.,LL.M.,MCA,MBA(HR))

October 17, 2018October 17, 2018

How to make the workplace digitally efficient and secure

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With technological advancement and automation, workplace experiences are getting better and increasingly tech-savvy. Even while artificial intelligence (AI) is perceived by many as a threat to job security, a surprisingly large number of people are ready to adapt it; and many are open to a completely automated workplace. However, with so many people accessing and using company data in a technology-driven organisation, there is always a risk of hacking and misuse.

A digital workplace has a bouquet of advantages. A study by Aruba, on behalf of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, reveals that employees in digital workplaces are not only known to be productive and highly motivated, but are extremely satisfied with their jobs and experience better mental and physical health.

Digital revolutionaries vs digital laggards

As per the study, employees who worked on the latest technologies at work were 51 per cent more likely to enjoy better job satisfaction and experience 43 per cent more positive work-life balance than their counterparts who work in less tech-driven environments. The former are referred to as ‘digital revolutionaries’ who are also likely to be 56 per cent more motivated to perform at work, than the latter, called ‘digital laggards’. The digital revolutionaries are 83 per cent more likely to appreciate their company’s vision.

More digital revolutionaries (65 per cent) experienced professional development and growth through the use of digital technology, as compared to 31 per cent of the laggards. Also, 72 per cent of revolutionaries were found to be more capable of adopting new skills at work compared to 58 per cent of laggards.

73 per cent of digital revolutionaries claimed that digital technology had increased their productivity, with 70 per cent claiming it had improved collaboration. Only 55 per cent laggards shared this belief.

While there is a segment that believes automation will take away their jobs and render humans redundant at work, the study reveals that 71 per cent of the respondents are keen to work in a fully automated workplace. The digital revolutionaries, especially, are willing to be part of a smarter and more efficient workplace. 98 per cent of respondents across the Asia Pacific believed that more use of technology can improve their workplaces. 70 per cent believed their company will be defeated by competitors if they fail to adopt new technology. 67 per cent were of the opinion that the traditional office will become redundant with technological advancement.

Sixty-three per cent of the respondents were sure that digital technology will make their workplace more efficient, while 53 per cent believed it will make it more collaborative and 52 per cent admitted it will add more appeal to the workplace.

Vulnerability of official data and devices

Sudies have shown that digitally-savvy organisations stay ahead of competition and also attract the best talent from the marketplace. Employees working in such organisations enjoy better work-life balance than their counterparts in other organisations that are less technology-driven.

Such huge volumes of data being accessed and used by the staff, poses a threat to its security. Devices and passwords are invariably shared amongst staff members, which makes the company data vulnerable.

While more employees (56 per cent) are aware of cyber security, they also admit that they have been putting company data and devices at risk. Seventy-three per cent have admitted to sharing passwords and devices.Twenty-five per cent of the employees have, on occasions, connected to potentially unsafe open Wi-Fi in the past year. Some (20 per cent) use the same password for many applications and accounts, while 17 per cent have been noting down passwords lest they forget them. All these are ways of putting official data and devices at risk.

Dealing with threats and ensuring security

The focus of companies should be to build a strong security system into the design of the digital workplace. The system should be such that it factors in human errors and mala fide intentions. Ideally, the system should be able to adapt to change and be capable of dealing with the unexpected.Simply put, in the race to become digital and tech-savvy, organisations should not ignore cyber resilience. After all, the truth is that it is not easy to keep a cyber breach at bay. Therefore, it makes more sense to invest in a security system that is robust enough to respond effectively and recover without delay.With newer technologies making an appearance almost every other day, we have to realise that hackers are also evolving. Therefore, measures taken to ensure data security in digital workplaces need to evolve too. This is where the collaboration between HR and information security departments becomes important. Cyber-security awareness training is just a small step in the right direction.

The security policy of businesses should be shared with the entire workforce, even with all the external entities that have access to corporate data. With everyone using mobile devices these days, anyone can pose a threat!

Readying the digital workplace for the future

• It is essential for IT departments to work in alignment with all stakeholders — business managers, end-users and so on — to chart out a roadmap for the evolution of their digital workplace. To achieve this, new tools, such as smart sensors and customised mobile apps, will have to be installed to make workplace experiences more personalised.

• Organisations will need to build collaborative digital workspaces without borders, so that even the remotest workers, partners and customers can be catered to efficiently.

• Security measures have to be built into the digital workplace at the time of designing itself. This design should factor in the possibility of human error as well as those with mala fide intentions.

The smarter workplaces of today are giving rise to smarter employees. The modern workplace is witnessing an improvement in the hiring process and also a higher rate of offer acceptances. This is definitely a good sign and indicates advantages beyond mere improved productivity. Once the security threats are taken care of, going digital will mean only interesting times ahead for the workforce.It is time for HR to work in tandem with the business, to look at this digital revolution as an opportunity to help people engage with work in novel ways. They have to combine technology with cognitive sciences as pointed out by Joseph White, director of workplace strategy, design and management, Herman Miller. The idea is to focus on attracting the best talent, retaining them and ensuring quality experiences at the individual level.

Source: https://www.hrkatha.com

October 16, 2018October 16, 2018

Miss u Kalam sir…….

In 2014, we visited Mumbai to attend the fiftieth anniversary celebrations of a local college. It was a modest celebration, and A P J Abdul Kalam was happy to see that the college was catering to students from low-income families, giving them quality education at affordable fees. Kalam was greeted with a lot of cheering when he entered the hall. Through his speech he addressed the concerns of the youth who had come from challenging economic conditions. He spoke about his own life, his failures and his successes.
He spoke of the great Nobel Laureate Mario Capecchi, a victim of the Second World War, who had lost most of his family in the war. He had to spend his childhood in an orphanage. But despite his difficulties, he persevered and went on to … become a renowned scientist. At the end of his speech, Kalam was given a standing ovation. This was followed by a question-and-answer session. He answered each question with his usual wit and grace. Suddenly, a young student of about twenty stood up to ask a question: “Sir, you have had so many successes.
I am sure you had some failures too. You always say that you have built your successes over the lessons learnt from failures. I want to know something. Is there something that you could not do, and still regret not doing it?”A P J Abdul Kalam took his time to think through the answer and finally replied, “You know, back home, I have an elder brother who is ninety-eight years old now. He can walk slowly, but steadily, and completely on his own. He has a little problem with his vision and hence there is always a need to keep the house well lit, especially in the night.
“Now you see, in Rameswaram, there are power cuts sometimes. Thus it becomes difficult for him to move about freely. So, last year I got a rooftop solar panel installed at home, with a good battery. When the sun shines, the panel gives power, and in the night the battery takes over the power supply. Now there is plenty of power all the time. My brother is happy. ‘When I see him happy, I also feel happy. But I am also reminded of my own parents. Both of them lived for almost a hundred years and towards their later years they had difficulty seeing things well.
Three decades ago, the power cuts were more frequent. Back then I could do nothing for them. There was no solar power. The fact that I could not do anything to remove their pain is my greatest regret, something which will remain with me forever. ’The answer touched a chord in the hearts of everyone in the audience. Here was a person, more than eighty years old, who had achieved so much in life, but still had the compassion and the humility to speak publicly about his greatest failure.
He was still bothered about failing his parents. How many of us think of such things?I couldn’t help but wonder when I had last stopped to consider my parents’ situation, when I had tried to do anything to ease their burden. Courtesy: Penguin Books, ‘What Can I Give?’ — Life Lessons from My Teacher, A P J Abdul Kalam….. .

Source: Speaking Tree Article

October 16, 2018October 20, 2018

Why do we see fewer women in leadership roles than men?

Though it is a matter of pride that this century has seen women excelling as leaders and not just mothers, wives, care givers and professionals, we are not surprised to see more men than women in leadership positions. While there may be many all-women organisations and a sizeable population of women across hierarchies in various companies, the top positions on the corporate ladder are still dominated by men. Why is that so?

Women do not lack the qualities that are necessary in leaders. In fact, they seem to be blessed with all the traits that are essential in leadership positions. What makes leaders? A desire to excel, grit, determination, long-term vision, ability to convince and influence others, passion for work, an understanding of themselves, compassion for others, ability to adapt, and willingness to learn among other things. Women possess all these and much more. Yet, there are fewer women leaders in this world than their male counterparts.

A study by researchers of New York University, that was published in Frontiers in Psychology, attempts to identify the features that are responsible for the existence of more men in senior leadership roles. It reveals that the communal traits that leaders are expected to possess, such as tolerance and cooperation, are definitely desirable but actually redundant or unnecessary. If an individual possesses them, they act as a bonus. Surprisingly, even women agree that there are more men in senior positions of leadership because they are assertive and competitive. This means, they are up there because of their masculine traits.

Traditionally, women are expected to be demure, caring and nurturing. These characteristics are termed as communal. Men, on the other hand, are seen as dominating, self-confident, and aggressive. In other words, these are the acceptable agentic traits that men are expected to possess.

According to the social role theory, human beings are brought up to believe that women are meant to take care whereas men are meant to take charge. This is so ingrained in the society that if women try to deviate from the norm, or break the mould, they are criticised or even looked down upon for violating the social roles that are actually prescribed for them.

But if they try to fulfill their roles as traditionally prescribed and also try to be leaders, they end up being less effective in their leadership position. In other words, if they attempt to be good leaders and good nurturers, they end up compromising their performance in any one of the two roles. Therefore, irrespective of their leadership style, they will have to deal with some resistance or opposition.

Simply put, women pay the price for all the assumptions culturally imposed on society. They lose out due to the traditional organisational structures, practices, and systems of interaction, that work to the advantage of men.

The most disturbing fact is that, people do not even realise that they are biased when it comes to women occupying senior corporate positions or leadership roles. Unconsciously, women and men have been evaluated differently for senior leadership posts, and continue to be so. And over a period of time when the top ranks come to be dominated by men, the overall perception is that women are not the right choice for those roles. With time, that becomes the norm and accepted practice.

That is why we see lesser women atop the hierarchy than men.

However, the study also reveals that women prefer leaders with more communal traits. But it remains to be seen whether the world will see more leaders with these traits in times to come. However, if that is the trend waiting to catch on, women will surely favour it.

– By Liji Narayan October 16 2018