August 2008 - Posts - On The Job

August 2008 - Posts

Problems with Airtel? The secret to service is...

Posted by S. Mitra Kalita at 
Well, after getting into office early to watch Obama's speech , my mobile rang with a number I didn't recognize. It was Manoj Kohli. Yes, as in The Manoj Kohli, the man at the helm of the company I semi-slammed in today's column . "Thank you for your column," he said. "I found it helpful and true." We chatted for a few...

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Obama with my breakfast...

Posted by S. Mitra Kalita at 
What does it take to finally get me into office at 7:45am ? Barack Obama's acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination.Nothing on my political views here but you all know I am a sucker for good orator. Did any of you do the same? I am messaging the good lines with my US-based brother, who stopped the car with three friends on his way to Miami...

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The money's great, but the wife's not happy

Posted by S. Mitra Kalita at 
I wasn't that surprised when I read Rajeshwari Sharma's story this morning about Indian firms seeing costs surge by hiring expats . And I think at some levels--namely, middle management--it is resulting in upping expenses all around as you manage both salary and ego (pay the locals more so they don't feel inferior, is how one manager explained...

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At Citi, there go the colour copies and BlackBerrys...

Posted by S. Mitra Kalita at 
Citibank just told its employees to get a better handle on costs, including measures as saving colour copies for presentations, making double-sided copies more often, restricting mobile expenses to just business calls and limiting the BlackBerrys... Sounds like a lot of what we have been hearing in India, as a recent column and blog post mentioned....

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Psychologists in HR

Posted by Poornima Mohandas at 
I came across Bhavna Padmanabhan, a clinical psychologist while working on the story, Motorola asks ex-employees for second chance . She works at Bangalore-based exit interview specialist, AceEngage . Bhavna has a masters in clinical psychology and has been put on the Motorola rehiring project for the next 12 months. Interestingly, while talking to...

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Is Lean here to stay?

Posted by Rajeshwari Sharma at 
Among various things that my mum keeps tabs on include the stories that I work on. This weekend while enjoying her masala dosa at a restaurant, she asked "what's your story this Monday?" I replied disinterestedly "It's an interview with a management guru." What does he teach?, she dug further. I definitely did not want to...

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What's Kashmir got to do with placements and exams?

Posted by S. Mitra Kalita at 
A lot, actually. While my column today focused not on issues related to workplace or education, two professors I interviewed for the piece (but didn't end up quoting) were downright sorrowful over what the recent violence and curfews have meant for higher education. At the University of Jammu, classes were supposed to start up again in early July...

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Pay attention!!!

Posted by Rajeshwari Sharma at 
A lot of things have changed in the last six to eight months in our lives. Among many things, unending battle with flab has become more challenging, bills have gone up for the same amount of stuff purchased, payouts made to maid and cleaner have risen, and most importantly calls from recruiters have disappeared like they never came in the first place...

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Is your office filled with early birds?

Posted by S. Mitra Kalita at 
What's the best time to get to work? I ask that question today with a confession--I got in really late, like 11:30. I was working this morning, mind you, but I had these stories I had to edit really fast so I just did it from home. I also had phone calls I had to make so I did it from the car. I sent e-mails to my team, as well. So yes, I was working...

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Will my access card work tomorrow?

Posted by Poornima Mohandas at 
With some 6-7% of the IT industry having seen lay offs over the last one year we thought it was the right time to write something around what it is like for the individuals who get the stick. Read the article here A psychologist I spoke to in the course of researching for this story told me that even people sitting on the bench, often turn to her for...

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Faking it!

Posted by Rajeshwari Sharma at 
How much is too much? This is one question which kept coming up during my conversations with human resource managers and executives from background screening agencies while working on today’s story published in Campaign . Most of them agreed that it is easier to tell black from white (detecting misrepresentations of facts and figures and taking appropriate...

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Does your office loo still have tissue?

Posted by S. Mitra Kalita at 
I am not sure what reaction I will get to this week's column . Regular readers know I usually stick up for the worker, with a few exceptions . But about two years ago at my first press conference as a journalist in India, I was astounded by the spread for a food buffet--before the CEO even addressed us. I was amazed by the folders and the lavish...

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Before placements begin, please think think think...

Posted by S. Mitra Kalita at 
I got a really nice note from a reader today on last week's column . He writes: "I agree with your view that Indian Institutes are slightly short on numbers in terms of lecturers such as the persons mentioned in the article. Unfortunately, that is not something that can be addressed in the short term as it would require a paradigm shift in...

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Is your company in PINK?

Posted by Rajeshwari Sharma at 
It's one thing for a firm to be in the pink and another to be able to make it in PINK. No, we are not discussing the colour pink or a company's financial health for that matter. We are talking about global recruitment firm Manpower Inc being named one of PINK magazine's 2008 Top Companies for Women. PINK's annual ranking, which has been...

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What's Facebook got to do with human resources?

Posted by Rajeshwari Sharma at 
There was a time when a human resource manager was more a name than face. The only people who could put a face to the name were people in the HR fraternity and lifers at workplace. For most employees the HR manager was a person one probably met (during interview) once or perhaps never, only sending that occasional mail or making that call if some compensation...

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