Author: UnitedHR

Build Your Brand the Storytelling Way

Storytelling_1 jpeg

 

Many of us would remember huddling in groups as someone would tell fascinating fables about clever crows, overconfident rabbits, conniving monkeys.

Folk-tales, myths about Gods, ghost-stories are embedded in our cultural memories.

Some would also remember the stories (smart solutions actually) about Akbar and Birbal, Krishnadev  Rai and Tenali Rama.

We learn by listening to stories. Storytelling is a great way to grab attention and engage: we are hardwired to listen this way.

Unfortunately,  fiction, imagination, even lying are associated with storytelling, not facts, information, statistics.

Without realising we utilize the art of storytelling in a more or less degree in various ways.

Yes, yes, even in professional settings!

Storytelling is essentially an act of narrating. We are all narrators. We look back at past events (even something that unfolded five minutes ago), and tell what happened, pretty much as if we are telling a story.

Imagine you are in a meeting. You think a strategy might work. But how do you substantiate? “Facts” and statistics could be incomplete. You remember reading about how this one company did which was something similar to your idea. So you tell that company’s story to support your claims.

Aristotle, the Greek philosopher considered a well-structured Beginning, Middle and End essential to drama (story basically.)

This sounds almost comically obvious, but imagine this in professional terms.

In the notoriously short attention-span everyone has, wouldn’t it be necessary to make the Beginning of your CV as engaging as possible?

While narrating, it is necessary to know what and what not to include. Isn’t that what we do while constructing our CVs every time we apply somewhere?

Just like a good story, your “CV-tory” could change minds, simplify, communicate. It is the story of your (professional) life. The poster of the brand “you.”

In fact the recently used video and audio resumes further show the potential of the CV as a storytelling device.

You are the main character here, with well-practiced and perfectly delivered lines. And you must have the maximum impact on your “audience”: your recruiters/employers.

Interviews are storytelling sessions of sorts we engage in.

We choose particular details about our professional lives to tell the interviewer,  to make the “story” convey our eligibility. This story brands you.

Again, you must include everything in proper order for maximum impact. Relevance is important, isn’t it? Imagine talking about a great achievement of yours, at the Beginning of your interview. Wouldn’t that create a better level of engagement, rather than saying it towards the End when the interviewer has already made an impression about you in mind?

Good books, movies, plays have the power to move, so do good CVs, interviews and presentations.

Anecdotes are another form of storytelling we engage in our communications. They often counter biases and prejudices.

“I have been to that country, and it’s definitely not the way everyone thinks it is…”

“I heard it’s a great place to work at..”

Companies are making it a point to make their and their employees’ success-stories public. Storytelling has become a way to brand organisations.

Stories about successful people, stories we read about in daily newspapers, our lessons from our pasts: there are countless instances where stories motivate, teach, market and brand.

A “good story” crystallises thoughts, articulates them well. Stories give strategising a sense of direction, they tell us about the good and the bad ideas.

Stories are everywhere and so is storytelling if we keep our eyes, ears and minds open.

 

 

Lives of Happy Candidates: Mr. Gopal Singh Bisht

Success story_Gopal Bisht

The meaning of “success” is somewhat elusive. It means differently to different people.

For some, it is all about fame and fortune. For others, it includes finding enough time to follow one’s passion, and sometimes, exclusively just that. In yet another sense, success means achieving a certain peace of mind. A common perception of the term has to do with achieving a perfect work-life balance.

Generally health, wealth and an increased learning are safe indicators of “success.”

Many believe in letting success do the talking.

We believe in our successful candidates do the talking!

Settling, being comfortable in a new place is no mean feat. Mr. Gopal Singh Bisht, who works at Parco Group of Industries in Nigeria has some happy words to say.

” I am grateful to you for connecting me with Parco Group. I am well-settled here and doing well. ”

Mr. Gopal Singh Bisht
Mr. Gopal Singh Bisht

 

He continues, “So far I am enjoying my work with African Foundaries Limited. I have also gained more experience, which I am sure would help me in my career in near future.”

He also tells us how he finds time to have fun.

“Apart from working, there is time for pleasure here as well. We go to different parts of the country for refreshment: shopping, to the beach, etc.”

Times at the beach
Times at the beach

 

As one can see, Nigeria has a lot more to offer than the negative stereotypes we come across through hearsay and exaggerations.

Learning, and becoming a better professional requires adapting to the new place. We give kudos to Mr. Bisht for actively doing so. But more importantly, any new endeavor should not only be conducive to professional success but also to general well-being and health. And our happy candidate proves this with his testimonial.

“Working in this company, I have learned to accommodate according to the rules laid down by the management. I must confess this is the best company I have worked with. The environment is conducive. The offices are good. The place has affected my health in a positive manner.”

Good health, professional growth, work-life balance, hope for the future, gratitude are some great indicators of success and Mr. Bisht has articulated that.

Behind the Workaholism

Workoholic - Copy

The work culture of any corporate enterprise differs, and there are factors like the industry concerned, whether it is privately owned or state owned, and many other such variables. The policies they follow, the brand they wish to establish are all elements which determine a company’s work culture.

  Workaholic and workaholism are some words which have of late entered the professional vocabulary. And the phenomenon is something that has entered in the corporate culture, regardless of the policies, though obviously not in equal degrees.

  Firstly, it is necessary to understand the difference between a workaholic and someone who works extensively for long hours.

  A workaholic is a person with a compulsive need to work. Simply put, he or she just cannot “switch off”. Even when not working, this person can only think about work and work-related things. Personal relationships and health often suffer because of this compulsion.

  On the other hand, someone might work for extremely long hours. But if he or she is able to disconnect and not constantly think about work when not on the job, we can’t consider this person a workaholic.

Even if one loves the job, it is necessary to cut off for some time.

We must realise that the blame should not be put on the person concerned.

  Over the years, the corporate culture has shaped up in a certain way.

  Firstly, with technology becoming mainstream and almost a necessity, it has become easier to “carry” work around. One can just open up a laptop and do what they were doing in the office. This way, it becomes difficult to “switch off” since work and work-related things are literally within an arm’s reach and just a few clicks away, anytime.

 Coupled with this, imagine the need we are constantly force-fed with: the need to be productive.

Not just of the corporate culture, but a general characteristic of our times is the need to constantly “do” something.

Anything that doesn’t give you stress and workload gets considered useless.

“What’s the point of working if you are not busy all the time?” seems to be the misleading policy so many live by.

It is necessary to remember that a busy worker is not necessarily a productive worker.

Long working hours are not to be equated with productive working hours.

   20th century saw the rise of the workaholic culture, with more and more people acting like “working machines”. And these were the role models the 21st century generations have access to. The rise in social media addictions did not work very well into the mix. Add to it, the success which could be “seen” sells on social media. And unfortunately, “the grind” has become a tangible marker of such a success, and also the only road to success.

  Bad health, personal relationships suffering are only considered as part and parcel of this grind, or worse, mere obstacles to “success”.

In such a milieu, it is a tough job to not become a workaholic.

   It is a good sign that many countries, especially the European ones are now reducing the work hours of employees to ensure there is a work-life balance, Denmark being a famous example. According to the OECD Better Life report, they have a better work-life balance than any country, with majority of workers spending two thirds of their day in eating, sleeping and indulging in leisurely pursuits.

   It is necessary that companies take steps to bring changes in the corporate culture to ensure overall well-being of employees.

  The image of a “driven and ambitious” person, motivated to rise to the top of the corporate ladder, with all the focus in the world on the job, no matter what may come, actually comes with its costs and risks. The crisp formal attire, might hide cardiovascular and stress-induced chronic ailments.

Behind the calm, confident, controlled expressions on the face may lie missed birthday parties and parent-teacher meetings, unresolved issues with a loved one, half-hearted family outings with the mind being at work, exasperated by the “waste of time”.

Balancing Technology for Convenience

It is all about how you balance out what all is personal with the digital.
It is all about how you balance out what all is personal with the digital.

While talking about Technology, the keywords are deceptively varied. We think about the AI (Artificial Intelligence). We think about automation, digitisation. We think about the numerous movies showing dystopias of technological revolutions gone overboard. We think about bots, Siri, Cortana, that voice on Google Maps.

We think about the ease, accessibility. We marvel at the rapid evolution. And we think about the inconveniences faced by the older “non-technological” generation. One cannot engage enough in debates about the jobs humans lose to AI.

Why is this deceptively varied?

The thought processes, when it comes to Technology, fall in two extremes: it’s either the saviour, making everything super-easy or it’s the monster we created which is on the path to overthrowing us.

 But we need to look beyond these two polarised narratives.

 Technology, AI included, are here. And they are here to stay.

And it is up to us now to not antagonise it but use it to bring out the best in people.

Forget about fancy and somewhat intimidating words like Big Data, Virtual Reality (VR), automation, etc. Let us leave those to the experts.

 Let us look at Technology in its contextualised, old dictionary meaning: application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes.

 Using Technology to complement your work is the thing to do now. It is all about how you balance out what all is personal with the digital.

Imagine you have a presentation for an important meeting.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you used PowerPoint, with slides that showcase the data and your statistical research neatly contained in graphs and pie-charts?

The same PowerPoint could bore everyone if you started to simply read out what the slides contain.

It is up to us how we learn and how we make use of Technology.

Learning to use Excel sheets (or similar software) for statistical analysis could help in reduce the accounting errors that might happen on a human level owing to overwork or fatigue. Or they could simply be used to tally and double check.

 Let us take another example.

Imagine you are on a road-trip with your family, and now it’s your turn to take the wheel.

Highway driving needs a higher degree of awareness, and the occasional rule-breaks we all resort to while steering our way through busy streets of the city should not be the case here.

But the phone is not going to stop ringing, is it?

What if an important client feels neglected, we fear.

What could be done here is adjust your phone settings in such a way that it “automatically” sends a text message to the person whose call you just missed. There are numerous options available, right from a straightforward: “I am driving, call you later”, to “Sorry, will get back to you ASAP” to custom-made responses.

 Automation, when used well could save important business, and lives too.

Technology has made it easier to connect, network, communicate, research, authenticate, set criteria and filter. Spreading information and awareness to a large number of people at the same time is not a dream anymore.

Although, one should not deny the possibilities of its overuse and thus loss of human jobs, but then again, it depends on how we figure out a way, when to use, when not to use.

 Technology is all about a yes or no, if and then, 0 or 1, patterns and figuring out more patterns. Humans have the liberty to explore the spaces in-between these binaries, and create new patterns.

Micro-Learning: Bite-Sized Acquisition of Knowledge

Micro-Learning

There was a time when ‘rigour’ was the only word associated with any sort of learning and training. The sort that needed time, dedication, will-power and an above -average attention span.

But here’s the thing: attention spans of people have been decreasing since a long time now. Learning something new has become a difficult task.

Time is of essence, especially in this fast-paced world where every minute counts. There is  no time left to waste.

There is no time left to reinforce what has been learned, and thus chances of forgetting what has been learned have increased manifold.

Hence, the way in which learning and training are handled has undergone a change. Organisations increasingly are resorting to the concept of micro-learning.

  Micro-learning basically involves learning in small chunks, in a short time, with each session spanning between a few two to five minutes. Sometimes it could also range between a few seconds to fifteen minutes.

 Learning in bits and pieces, rather than in a long drawn way has shown to increase retention.

Information is consumed in nuggets.

  The term ‘micro-learning’ might sound a little fancy. Some might think only students need to be bothered about it. But it is so pervasive and widespread, and not to mention so commonplace in the world we live in, that it is easy to become desensitised to the amount of micro-learning we engage in on daily basis.

Let us think about it.

Micro-learning involves things like:

  • listening to podcasts
  • watching videos etc.

 Does that not sound familiar?

Gaining knowledge and information, and training via:

  • playing micro-games
  • quizzes
  • using flashcards and infographics are also some common strategies.

Interaction via:

  • simulation
  • engaging in certainly designed internet based chat-sessions are also some examples of how micro-learning is carried out.

 In a professional setting, micro-learning could be used in multiple places. Besides training of various kinds, it could also be used in triggering some professionally necessary behavioural changes.

 Micro-learning thus has tons of benefits. One biggest point is the ease in learning and training because of its highly engaging nature, without much fatigue. Technology does indeed make everything easier.

Moreover, nugget learning ensures that the content is highly specific, simplified, with no superfluous details. One does not feel that information is being bombarded. The succinctness saves a lot of time.

 Once the necessary technological resources have been acquired, micro-learning proves to be quite budget-friendly in the long run.  Plus, since it’s technology, the information needed is just a few clicks away. As an added bonus, large amount of training/learning material which might be needed later could be stored with ease. This approach thus scores high on later accessibility.

Thus the strategies, the benefits, the nature of micro-learning is such that it could be used to accommodate the lowering attention span as well as the time-constraints.