Author: UnitedHR

Money v/s Learning: What should it be, Fresher?

In our earlier article, we talked about the pros of hiring a candidate with limited or no experience. To summarise it briefly, hiring such a candidate with limited or no experience is likely to bring in new perspectives and ideas to the team. They also bring in opportunities for mentorship, along with their eagerness to learn and prove themselves. Moreover, it is also less expensive overall to hire a candidate with limited or no experience. As mentioned in the earlier article, ‘a candidate with more experience will demand more salary, because they will have the credentials to do so and naturally, the cost of hiring them would be more. Whereas someone with less or no experience would be ‘motivated by finding a job in the first place, and they might actually not demand a high salary. Their motivation is to learn and gain experience; the motivation of an experienced candidate is to get a better job, a better pay.’

Let us change our point of view here; let us think from the perspective of a candidate.

Is learning and gaining experience always the only motivation? Should it be the only motivation? Is money really not, or should not be that important to a candidate with limited or no experience? As a candidate, have you found yourself wondering how important should the role of money be in your job search?

Like most things in life, the context, the situation and individual case matter. Let us delve a little into this: how important should money be to you as a candidate with little or no experience?

Peer Pressure:

Often times, recruiters have heard candidates ask for a certain salary simply based on what they have heard their friends might be earning. While it is understandable that peer pressure, a certain competition with people of similar age groups might lead one to expect a certain salary, the question one can instead ask is:

At this point in my career, is the learning, the skillset-building, is the experience more important or the money? Many a times, a peer who has landed a cushy job with a fancy designation ends up earning a lot, but not learning so much. In the long run, their resumes might not show that many improvements when it comes to learning and skill-set. If you are someone who is mostly looking for learning and experience, giving too much importance to money might not be the best way to exercise your choice.

This is not to say that you should reject a cushy well-paid job if it comes your way! Read on.

Case by Case:

Instead of thinking in terms of comparison, it is best to take things case by case, where factors such as location, overall living expenses, immediate concerns are considered. There are some people who might need a certain amount of salary because they might be living away from their homes, and hence a significant portion of their salaries might go into accommodation, travel expenses and other expenses needed to run a household all by yourself. Learning and skill-set building is one factor but setting up a base on your own at a new location is another thing. Are you someone like this? Or are you someone who doesn’t have to keep these things in mind? It is a good idea to think about these case-by-case factors when it comes to your decision about how important is money to you.

There are also people who might be the sole earners of their family, and for them too, more salary becomes something that ends up taking higher priority.

It is important to think about one’s own life situation and that of their peers and colleagues before deciding on how important or not important is money for them, especially if you are someone who is just starting out, or are starting out afresh.

Finally, it is natural to want the best of both worlds– we want to learn more, gain skills AND we want to earn more and gain some financial cushioning. It is possible that interviewers might ask a question that whether money is important or learning. Most of us as candidates might end up giving roundabout answers, unable to say anything concrete.

A fairly ideal example of answering this question by an article on the website CollegeGrad sums it up well:

“Yes, money is important to me, since it’s both a measure of my value and it helps me to take care of the personal needs in my life. But the opportunities for growth and advancement which would be offered to me are even more important to me than money as I grow and succeed in the role. Can you give me some examples of how others in this role have advanced in their careers over time?”

 For the ones, who have the privilege to think about these choices, it is best to think about the personal answer in the long-term: once enough learning and skill-sets have been achieved, it is but natural that more money will follow. Learning leads to opening up of new avenues for one’s career development, inevitably leading to higher salaries. If learning is important to you, money will automatically follow.

Offices of India @ 75

The Indian Independence Day is right around the corner. It is the Amrit Mahotsav this time- we are celebrating 75 years of independence! As we look back, we realise that after all these years of churning, the Amrit seems to have finally come out as we get the sense of an ever-evolving sense of a nation and self.

Multiple themes have been declared this time around by the government- Ideas @ 75, which aims to bring into focus key concepts and ideas that have formed the core mosaic for us and will continue to guide us even twenty-five years from now. Achievements @ 75 aims to bring into focus our legacy, efforts and contributions. Actions @ 75 emphasises the actions being taken to put policies into implementation. Resolves @ 75 reminds us about our individual and collective resolves that will help us further our commitment to better our motherland.

Despite the 75 years mark, there are still times when we glorify western ideas of the office life, often disregarding our own merits and unique perspectives. In the light of the spirit of pride and emancipation of mental shackles, let us have a look at some of the ideas, achievements, actions and resolves within the Indian office as we step into the Amrit Mahotsav.

Ideas @ 75:

India has always been a blend of tradition and modernity. And it is about time we think of this idea as a source of pride. A little anecdote from an old magazine comes to mind: imagine a boardroom with quiet murmurs and occasional spatter of words that one can hear at a workplace. It’s a pleasantly lit room. Suddenly one hears the sound of ‘payals’ or anklets. Does it feel like an interruption?

It certainly isn’t. It is a well-accepted normalcy in our country, and it is thanks to our understanding that tradition and modernity aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.

This blend suggests something more. Where there are international struggles of sexism against women at workplace, where women feel like they are in a ‘masculine’ work environment, the normalcy of the twinkling anklets is more than just a pleasant sound- it encapsulates a pleasant idea of a workplace that has space for the ‘feminine.’

The rakhis on the hand, the leftover decorations for Christmas and Diwali on some of the office walls too are signs of blend of tradition and modernity.

The Indian way has always been about following the traditions, celebrating the festivals in harmony with the daily life, rather than seeing festivals and traditions as respites from the drudgery. Let us think of this idea that harmonises tradition and modernity with a sense of pride. There is no need to hide the celebratory spirit, nor any need to hide the diversity that stems from various points of view.

Achievements @ 75:

Many companies in western countries are trying hard to achieve ‘diversity’ within. Special Diversity and Inclusion officers are being appointed to ensure there is a diversity of voices and the cultural minorities do not have to face challenges because of their background. It is no less than an achievement for India that the diversity within our population has long been recognised and it is almost always taken for granted. And that it is reflected in our offices. Whether it is the diversity within age, education, language, cultural and religious background, the Indian way of interaction has always accepted diversity in others. It is so obvious and natural to us that most of us don’t even think of it as an achievement.

To think that such a diversity exists, where accents and dialects change every few kilometres, where regional and cultural influences on dressing styles are seen within the same city, and to still find everyone united- it is no mean feat. The famed unity in diversity of our country can be seen in our well-functioning offices, with staff members from multiple background.

Actions and Resolves @ 75:

As we acknowledge our unique harmony of tradition and modernity, our inherent diversity, we also need to acknowledge the existing problems. As we mentioned in one of our recently posted articles, the state of mental and physical well-being of employees in India needs serious consideration. We also need to see if we are giving a level-playing field to everyone, or if we are favouring our ‘contacts’, a.k.a, we need to ensure merit, and not nepotism is the guiding force for our choices. Dignity of labour, leave policies, overwork and burnout, instances of sexism etc are some universal issues to be solved. These issues need our action and resolve to ensure our future generations of employees and employers do not end up inheriting our problems. This is where we need to use our hindsight to improve our foresight. This is where we need to think beyond our own individual selves, keeping the present and future collective in mind. Miraculously, when we keep the collective benefit of the nation, the ‘desh hit’ above everything, ‘sarvopari’, the benefits will seep into our individual lives as well.

This Independence Day, let us look back and take pride in how far we have come. Let us take pride in our achievements, the gifts of our culture that translated into our offices. Let us acknowledge and resolve to take actions against that which needs to be improved, because by no means, the churning of the Amrit should stop.

Team UHR wishes everyone a very Happy Independence Day!

Benefits of Hiring a Candidate with Limited or No Experience

Is hiring a candidate with less or no experience a good idea? Amidst the pandemic induced talent -crunch one could argue that hiring a candidate who can knows how to handle the pressure, the workload, in other words, a candidate who has some experience sounds like a good idea. After all, it takes some wisdom of experience to cultivate that adaptability, that attitude of anything-can-be-figured-out. On the other hand, the talent-crunch also means that companies could be looking for people desperately and amidst it all, hiring a candidate with no or limited experience might be one of the few options they have and could feel like a gamble. Companies, managers might be hiring such candidates reluctantly, and/or might be having major doubts about their competence, preparing themselves for the worst.

Turns out, companies can heave a sigh of relief, because hiring candidates who have limited or no experience has its own set of benefits, as these two articles by CiivSoft and Millennial Magazine point out. Let us quickly have a look!

A Blank Slate:

Candidates with no or limited experience are much more receptive to new ideas. Their lack of experience means they will be eager to learn and get some of that experience. They could prove to be excellent persons to be mentored. Be it learning a new skill, or cultivating a certain work ethic, they are the ones who could be the starting points of the establishing a company-culture you desire as a manager, or as team-leaders.

They are determined to prove themselves, and hence are likely to be much more proactive and hard-working.

Best of Both Worlds:

Some of the candidates with limited experience may have done internships. Or they may have a good hold on the ‘theory’, for example, they might have recently finished their education, leading to a freshness of relevant concepts in their minds. In other words, they would have acquired the relevant skills and knowledge and they would be itching to apply those to practical, real-world use. What’s more, their skills and knowledge might actually be more updated when compared to those of the older more experienced candidates.

The combination of fresh skills and knowledge, coupled with an eagerness to apply is a recipe for getting fresh perspectives and approaches.

Practical Considerations:

Beyond all the considerations about skills, competence, fresh perspectives and approaches, lie the practicality of hiring a candidate with limited or no experience. A candidate with more experience will demand more salary, because they will have the credentials to do so and naturally, the cost of hiring them would be more.

A candidate with less or no experience would be motivated by finding a job in the first place, and they might actually not demand a high salary. Their motivation is to learn and gain experience; the motivation of an experienced candidate is to get a better job, a better pay. (We will go into the nuances of this in our coming articles. Watch this space!)

Of course, it is to be noted that this does not mean that companies should use that as an excuse to exploit the lack of experience through unfair compensation.

What does this mean for the candidate with no or limited experience?

 Well, apply! Apply without worrying whether you have the necessary experience or not. As long as one is willing to learn, adapt, it is never a bad idea to dream big!

Hiring a candidate with limited or no experience can work well for the company in terms of offering fresh perspectives, of moulding the company- culture in the desired direction, of mentoring the workforce of and for the future. Hiring a determined young lad now could prove to be a springboard for a future leader.

What Employers can do to Ensure Mental and Physical Well-Being of Employees

How well are people in Indian offices doing when it comes to mental-health? What can employers do to ensure their employees do not become a part of the recent statistics on depression and general psychological well-being? As an article by One-to-One Help mentions, around 42% of Indian workforce is depressed. There has been reported around 40 to 50% of increase in employees suffering from anxiety and depression, primarily as a result of demanding work schedules and high stress levels. 23% of the workforce suffers from obesity, 9% from high blood pressure, 8% from diabetes and 5.5% from spondylosis. They are all more or less caused by high levels of stress, and in a vicious cycle, keep contributing to the stress because of the way they affect the mental and physical well-being of the employees, eventually leading to a burnout.

In the light of these statistics, it is important that employers and management level personnel take steps to ensure that the workplace becomes a conducive environment for the mental and physical well-being of their employees. What steps can be taken? Let us quickly have a look.

Creating a Psychologically Safe Space:

A Gallups study shows that employees whose managers are always willing to listen to them about their problems are 62% less likely to be burned out. So, maybe one of the ways workplaces can become places conducive to employee well-being is making them psychologically safe. Psychologically safe means that the employees should be able to voice their feedback, concerns, ideas, express vulnerabilities and even negative feedback without feeling afraid or/and without fear of harsh repercussions. The workplace should be a place of trust and a space that allows the employees to be authentic within the boundaries of professionalism, of course. We have talked in one of our earlier articles about how the workplace can create spaces where it is okay to voice negative feedback and emotions without fear of being judged. It is all about acknowledging the problems, listening actively even when a solution isn’t at hand and thinking about realistic ways of dealing with the problems, instead of always trying to remain positive. This is especially needed when the issues that are said to be causing stress and burnout need to be addressed- the problem must be acknowledged instead of sweeping it under the carpet of positivity.

Fostering Teamwork, Community and Accountability:

Mental and physical well-being of the employees can also be cultivated by encouraging team-work and demanding accountability, as the article by One-to-One Help points out. The former could be achieved by undertaking fun team-building trips and activities every once in a while, or by having informal non-work-related talking chai sessions where employees can engage in casual chit-chat, and improve their individual and group dynamics. Well-being workshops can also be organised every once in a while. It is about ensuring a healthy sense of community.

Although, activities of fun are enjoyable for most people, employers also need to ensure these activities don’t become enforced demands of ‘mandatory fun’. Some employees just wouldn’t like to spend too much time in crowds because of their individual nature. If forced participation is more likely to affect their work and stress levels in a negative manner, then they should be given options to not participate.

Demanding accountability is all about creating certain ground-rules about how to approach unpleasant or difficult situations, how to respond and other rules of engagement. A sense of accountability ensures that we take responsibility about each other, which in turn fosters a safe community.

Ensuring Ergonomic Welfare:

Besides all these psychological tools, it is also a good idea for employers to ensure ergonomic welfare. As an article by The Business Goals points out, ergonomic welfare is often forgotten in the office. Ergonomic welfare includes ensuring the physical wellbeing of employees isn’t affected by long hours of screen-time, bad posture for prolonged periods of time and about maintaining a comfortable, workable physical environment for them in the office. Employers can take steps to keep reminding their employees to take frequent breaks, walks around the office etc. If possible, employers can also create small lounging areas where employees can sit around for sometime and decompress.

Thus, employers, managers, leaders can take these simple humane steps to ensure their employees can trust the office environment, be their authentic selves, create well-functioning bonds with their colleagues, be productive in their work and have better days at work. Depression, anxiety, burnout are things built up over time through the small and big issues. Ensuring an environment of mental and physical well-being in the office ultimately ensures a positive step towards fostering the desired company culture and mission. 

Talent Crunch? Silver-Medal Candidates to the Rescue!

Companies have been facing challenges when it comes to finding and hiring talent. Post the pandemic and the WFH scenario, coupled with the Great Resignation, many people, especially the younger generation, often referred to as the Millennials and Gen-Z, have chosen to not ‘go back’ to the office. They prefer jobs which offer options to work remotely and/or have flexible working hours. Moreover, the Great Resignation also saw people resigning as a way to pursue what they really wanted to do. Such factors have resulted in companies facing acute shortages of talent.

What does this mean for companies and people who are actually looking for jobs? It means a massive opportunity for and from the silver-medal candidate.

Let us quickly have a look at what this means.

Who is a silver-medal candidate?

Silver-medal candidates are the ones who made through the various rounds of interviews but didn’t land the final job. They are the ones who just didn’t make it due to a variety of reasons.

Why to think about a silver-medal candidate?

In a culture of cut-throat competition, one often forgets about the second place. A second preference, a second opinion is sometimes reduced in value and hence ignored completely. An attitude like that could actually go against finding and retaining talent. Based on what an article by Business Chief points out, let us have a look at why silver-medal candidates shouldn’t be forgotten about, and that it is necessary to optimise the ATS to keep their records handy. Whether it is keeping the silver-medal candidates in touch via emails about relevant openings for them, to simply keeping them engaged in any other way, not ignoring silver-medal candidates goes a long way. Let us see how.

  • Saves Time: One reason why companies should not ignore silver-medal candidates is the interest and already established engagement. The fact that they had applied earlier means that they were interested in the company at some point and they could be still interested. This means the talent-finding process need not be started from the scratch and one can just simply scan the ATS again and find the required resume and details. This obviously can save a lot of time and resources that goes with creating and advertising job postings. This takes us to the next point.
  • Familiarity: Silver-medal candidates are already familiar with what the company has to offer, they have already done their research, they already know the process. They could also have had established a certain rapport with the interviewing panel and the HR. They are also more likely to respond. All they need to know is what the new opportunity is and one might speed up to the negotiation process instead of trying to figure out if the candidate is actually interested in the job or are they simply appearing for the interview for the ‘experience.’
  • They Might Have Got Better Now: A silver-medal candidate almost landed the job earlier, which means they were the runners-up. A look at the Olympic podiums shows that even though gold is considered the best, the silver and the bronze very much mean that the athlete is at a high skill-level, almost as good as the gold, as an article by Herefish points it out.

The silver-medal candidate had the skills and the competence already and they just about didn’t stand first earlier but that there are skills and competence is a given. Chances are that over the period from the previous job opening to what we have now, the silver-medal candidate might have in fact improved on their skills and qualifications.

  • Reflects Well on the Organisation: Companies often tell once the process is over that they will reach out to the candidates if a new opportunity arises, but they rarely do. By actually reaching out to silver-medal candidates, companies can improve what the article by Business Insider calls ‘employer brand’ in a more positive manner. Even if the candidate may not be interested at the moment, the fact that the company remembered them and reached out to them stands out, and at the very least is likely to make them feel valued and recognised. This is in turn likely to create  ‘positive buzz’ around the company, a good word of mouth, attracting talent.

What does this mean for the candidate?

For the candidates, it means one important thing- do not lose hope if you didn’t get that job! Whether one gets the job or not, a cordial parting ‘thank you’ email, letting the company know that they’d be interested in any other new opportunities could go a long way. Going through the interview process but not getting hired is not time wasted. There are multiple reasons why one might not have got the job, but that doesn’t mean one should stop learning new skills, improving on what they have and give up on the idea of unexpected opportunities!

Amidst the Great Resignation, the emerging post-pandemic work culture and the resulting talent shortages, companies could benefit a great deal from keeping the communication-lines open with those silver-medal candidates who had the skills and the competence but just about didn’t make the final. It saves time and resources for the company, and it could be a beacon of hope for someone in need!