"HOUSEWIVES _ The Great Manager"

Today I would like to write something for world’s most important character in every one’s life. When I say everyone’s life, especially, I would like to tell gentlemen's because, it should reach to the all men. Yes, it’s about the women, I am writing today, and no doubt

every one of us is having women in our life since our birth, even I would say before taking birth we are closely connected to women in her womb. 

Everybody writes on women’s like most respected women in everybody's life is our mother, successful women as heard and declared by all society likes 1st pilot, 1st minister, 1st athlete in any game,1st IAS, IPS and so many. Because, traditionally women were not working or going out to earn money, for which only men are responsible as they were underestimating the power and talent of women and given the status of housewives with the assumption wives are only for cooking food, taking care of home & children only.

Somehow, I still feel the housewives are not that much appreciated as they deserve. Because today’s working women's percentage is higher than previous generations. Today 23.3 percent of women in India participate in the labour force, while men are three times more likely to be working. It means around 80 – 85 % of women are housemakers. If we see today's generation, maximum girls are at least graduated by their parents, on which basis they can get job in any company and be independent. 

I am an HR professional and having 10 years of experience in industry, getting good salary, having good position in company and good rapport with my connections internal as well as external stakeholders as a part of my job. Does it mean I am greater than my wife? Perhaps, few of you might say yes, as we are working and fulfilling our family’s needs. I have some different view on it and strongly would say housewives are greater than us. Rather I would say they are simply great women. I was sharing it with my friend, but he was saying no, I am not agreeing with your opinion as we are working so hard in our job and daily we have new challenges in front of us, we are struggling a lot than housewives.

I was just listening him, I am also a working professional and can understand his view. I just told him to bear with me for 5 minutes only and listen my view. He said okay tell me.

Housewives wake-up before us and making lunch box for us, so our day must go with happiness with tasty food. Once we go office she starts preparation for child’s bathing, making him ready for school then she sends him to school, and follow-up all timeliness till he comes home safely. If I start telling, there is huge list of her tasks, and we can't even know few of them, as we never seen in that view. 

Let's relate her task with our daily job. I asked my friend to tell me your challenges in a day. He quickly started telling big words like, I need to manage my boss/manager which is very critical. If we don’t complete task we may not face him. We have multiple tasks at a time and need to follow timelines, need to ensure first time right in quality perspective, need to achieve daily targets, and so many.

I listened and just gave him my Explanation. 

Homemaking and other domestic works have long contributed to the social and economic well-being of any society. I would say Housewives have served as the managers of household operations, taking control and care of the home. I just illustrate it in industrial/ professional language:

My wife at the age of 32 is having 20 year of experience. My friend laughed and said are you joking? How is it possible? No one can believe it...

Housewives are doing their jobs FTR (First time right). How? My wife started cooking at the age of 12 and at that time she was in 7th class. As you know that, all girls are not permanent in mothers’ home, after marriage they have to move to in-laws’ home. Traditionally housewives must know cooking, hence all parents start training their girls at an early age. Accordingly, my wife was given task as a trainee cook, and she was supposed to stay with her mom to observe and learn. Being quick learner, she learned the cooking and became perfectionist. 

She maintains FTR in all item's cooked by her. Frankly I don't remember any variation in the food cooked by her.

Procurement: 

We all are great working professional, we presume that we are greater in all aspects compared to our wives. If you want to see how great negotiator your wife is, accompany her when She goes to purchase vegetables, groceries, etc. I am sure every one of us will believe that wives are good negotiators. 

Planning: 

We are doing planning related to our 8 hours job, whereas wives are planning for the day, since wake up to sleeping time. Household material purchase, children’s schools planning, financial planning for all these things. And most big aspect is that the ladies must balance and take care of everybody's ego's in our family. And I am pretty sure that they are doing it very nicely.

Management skill: 

Society already has given the status of great Manager to all mothers as her management skill and planning is great one. Here I think no need to express more separately as all housewives are mostly playing same role. Managing household, care taking of family members, fulfilling every once needs at home. 

Despite their important role in a society, they are always underestimated, most housewives are undervalued by their partners, and by society at large. With women competing men at economic and social levels, stay-at-home wives are valued less. Housework has always been sore spot for all feminists and for all the stay-at-home mothers; it has never gained them adequate respect.

Women are the key to quality of life in the family. The varieties of role the women assume in the family are those of wife, leader, administrator, manager of family income and last but not the least important the mother. Despite highly educated, our wives are sacrificing their ambitions and passion for our child’s development and better schooling. 

Hence, how can we help our wives to support and fill them equally important part of our life and society as well???

Respect: 

Respect their work and let them feel managing house is equally important to work in any organization. Perhaps it’s more than that if we compare with the sacrifices of women. Whenever you get a free time, please help them in their daily work, and make them realized as the work they are doing is hard and skilful so that they will feel as the house work is also has very good dignity. 

Spend quality time: 

Even though you are tired, under stress of office work, please don’t carry your office mindset to home. Leave all this at office and whenever you reach home, have a fresh mindset and spend at least 30 minutes with your family and have only the discussion about their day agenda and how the spent with good as well as bad movements. I know we all are having lot of work pressures in office and sometimes we do struggle to balance work life balance. We don’t have choices while working in any organization. It doesn’t mean we should leave job. Plan your work and family times in advance. You have to manage your work and must spend time with family at home, and sometimes take them for outing. 

Celebrations: 

I am not talking about festivals celebrations, because for this all preparation is done by our wives only. I am talking about women’s day, Mother’s Day, rose day, chocolate day, friendship day, and most important is their birthday, wedding anniversary etc. We are celebrating all this movement for all working women’s in our company. Being HR professional, I would like to tell you all, we are making budgets for women’s engagement those are working in our organization. We are trying our best to keep them engaged and retain for long-term with our organization as a valuable part of it. 

This all we do for working women’s.

Do we have any planned budgets, planned activities and celebrations for our wives as women at our home? Please do the same at home. I am sure they would be the happiest women if we do such plans. Perhaps, women will be started feeling proud as being women.

“Role of HR & Union in Business sustainability”

 

“Role of HR & Union in Business sustainability”

 

In my 11 years career I worked with the MNC as well as Indian companies. I did 3 LTA’s (Long term agreements) with unions. My seniors used to tell me to work in IR/ER is very difficult as it has direct dealing with the unions. Of course, if we see unionization and its past movements in industry, any new entrants in IR role feels scared and think twice before entering in such role. But Somehow, I feel, to work in IR is most challenging as well as enjoyable job.

In my view HR/IR team plays vital role in long sustainability of any business units. Would like to throw some light on this topic.

Recently we have signed a long-term agreement with the union. Union had given their Charter of Demand in May 2019 and discussions started with Management. Both the parties were strong and started discussions/ negotiations with their own stands. I would say that today’s unions are more educated as they are having complete understanding of business functioning, labour laws and they are supported by some external associations/ political parties. In short, I would say to deal with today’s unions is more challenging than older unions. Of course, union office bearers with whom we were dealing were quite competent in the leadership as they are well versed with the business functionality and labour laws knowledge.

Our LTA took around 14 months’ time to settle. In the LTA negotiation period we worked under tremendous work pressure.

We followed three key principles in throughout negotiation:

Long sustainability of business unit

Patience 

Fairness with employees

 

Long sustainability of business unit:

 

Problem solving is the essence of what leaders exist to do. We must be resilient in our quest to create and sustain momentum for the organization and people we serve. When an organization has its own comparative protocols, to solve problems and make sound decisions, nobody can coerce for unrealistic expectations.

It’s difficult to sustain growth when you operate in an environment where people are constantly being overly reactive, rather than proactive.

Hence, I certainly utter, all employed personnel must think about organizations long sustainability factor first. Because, if organization sustains then only our employment exists. In India, lot many business units and start-ups got closed because of labour union matters. I personally not against of unionization. Nonetheless I have seen how the unions are coercing management for their unrealistic demands. In Ranjangaon MIDC only I have seen two industries closure due to union matters. Few union members try to do push their agendas in factories only because of they want to be in in leadership position. Very few unions are coming upfront saying let’s discuss on productivity improvements of the organization. Perhaps there could be some unions those are following this principle. 

I would say, if we wanted to sustain and secure long-term employment, all workmen unions must play a role of business partners through taking ownership and initiative on development of operational efficiency with their ideas on productivity improvements, scrap reduction, improvements in MTTR and MTBF, and most important is optimum utilization of manpower etc. and focus on how we can make our unit more competitive and best in class. 

I am sure unions are having these competences and if they adopt such mindset, business units where such a proactive union exists, will keep growing year on year with growth of employees too.

In nutshell if any business organization wants to sustain long time let’s say 50 years or 100 years and more, need to focus on Operational efficiency & cost control with the focus on variable cost which could be controlled by employees itself & fixed cost must be maintained and controlled by both union and management team, for example salaries, insurance, interest expenses, and potentially some utilities.

 

Patience 

 

It's one of great learning I took from my Manager. If we have to come to a common understanding, we must be patient while dealing with unions. Most of the time unions are coming with lot of aggressions to HR team with their agendas of long-term agreements. It's our responsibility to listen them, understand the reality, genuineness and intention of the office bearers as well as workman.

It is possible, only if we know exact expectations of down the line employees who are working on shop floor. For this you must be closely connected with employees. Understanding their expectations and realistic demands. Whenever employees come to management we should be able to answer them why their expectations are not realistic, how they can get good amount of salary rise by helping management in improving work efficiency.

There are numerous benefits of Patience makes you healthier:

Anger and stress are two things that are enough to collapse a person's health. Patience is a very important tool in overcoming frustration. I believe, Patience allows us to suspend judgment long enough to make informed decisions, thus paving the path to a happy and peaceful life.

When you're patient, you give up the struggle. You relax and enjoy your job which creates confidence, decisiveness, and a thoughtful outlook on our goal. I would say Patience leads to wisdom and success.

 

Of Course, if you are having good patience, you can enjoy better mental health, you will enjoy your tough times and achieves ultimate objectives.

In short in any negotiation patience itself is an action for better conclusions.

 

 

Fairness with employees:

 

This is the moral principle which we kept in our mind while doing long term agreement or dealing with workman’s interest with the union. Being HR professional, it is our first and foremost duty to have fairness while dealing with employees. Of course, we must keep in mind that our employees are our asset. Accordingly, we should deal with them as a family member and ensure fair treatment should be given to all in terms of dignity of their job, fair wages considering their basic needs, and role responsibilities he/she is managing. Even though we faced few pressure tactics used by union to push us for accept their demands, still our Leadership team never let us trouble the union… We team HR had lot of counselling and one to one interaction with office bearers and made the union realized how their demands are unrealistic. Accordingly, we got success and finalized our long-term agreement with union, by giving them fair wages rise and increase in facilities too.

 

Now the question is that have we satisfied the all the workman?

If I step into workmen’s shoes, I would say no… Why? Union and workmen are always thinking that how much we have got in comparison with the other industries and they keep comparing with each other and only this is the reason they are not satisfy.

 

Now I would also put some views from management side. Here being management representative I would say employees must be happy because, being ethical company, we tried to settle the agreement with considering the long sustainability of the unit as well as long employment of the employees. It doesn’t mean we have paid less amount to the workmen to settle the LTA. We have paid good wage rise which is realistic considering their basic needs and dearness in the market.

In summary, I would say Our role as HR leaders is ultimately to help the business perform. Everything you do should be focused on driving high performance in your company, and your employees should be aligned to get outcomes that the business wants to achieve. Ultimately this would result into growth of employees too.  To do this successfully, you need a seat at the table and plan actions accordingly. In my experience working in HR for the past 11 years, I’ve seen too many people waiting to be invited in, it may be blue collar or white collar. The role of HR is to build winning teams, and a passion to drive performance is vital.

Our credibility with employees is key trust factor. To become a true business partner, the relationship between “HR - Union/Employees - business leaders” must be high trust, which will help all stakeholders to be effective and have long sustainability of business and employee’s growth.

 

“The Corona Virus: COVID-19 & Unseen Heroes of The Nation”

 I would like to bring in your notice “The Unseen Heroes of The Nation” who are supporting our people to fight against “The Corona Virus: COVID-19”.

COVID-19 pandemic is the global health crisis of our time and the greatest challenge we have been hit with like the world war. As on date the Corona Virus has affected 205 countries and territories around the world.

All affected Countries are racing to slow the spread of the virus by testing and treating patients, carrying out contact tracing, limiting travel, quarantining citizens, and cancelling large gatherings etc.

Considering the severity of COVID19, Our Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21 days. In the lockdown period, there is a ban on people from stepping out of their homes, all services and shops have been closed except hospitals, banks, grocery shops and other essential services. The lockdown forced the closure of all companies (only work-from-home allowed), suspension of classes in all schools and colleges etc. In short, only services essential for sustenance of life are kept open.

Now, I would like touch upon my topic “Unseen Heroes of the Nation” who are supporting our people to fight against the COVID-19.

We all, I am sure will appreciate the heroes who are fighting to protect us from COVID19 Pandemic. I would like to name few of them who are playing a great role in the War with the enemy - the coronavirus COVID-19.

•  Doctors & medical staffs: These are the great human beings not only treating the affected people but also preventing the spread to others
• Police: Every one of us is safe at our home because police are on road day & night to fight with coronavirus COVID-19.
•  Government officials: Who are working tirelessly in making all things work in sync at these unprecedented times and for protecting all of us from COVID19.
•  Sanitation workers: Who are responsible for maintaining basic hygiene and providing safe environment for all of us to live.

As mentioned above these are the Heroes whose work is observed by all of us directly.

Now let’s see the Unseen Heroes of Nation:

The lockdown restricts people from stepping out of their homes. But while lockdown was declared, government allowed the movement of only those people who are engaged in essential services like health services and foods supply etc…

ITC Limited is one of India’s foremost private sector companies and through its foods business is engaged in manufacture of essential food items such as Atta, Biscuits, Dairy Products, Juices, Salt, Spices, Noodles, Snacks etc.

Yes, I feel extremely proud and happy to say that the “Unseen Heroes” are all our employees at ITC who are working in this lockdown period to serve the public by taking all possible efforts to ensure un interrupted production & supply of food items at this difficult hour.

In this lockdown period, maximum labours and employees are not able come to factory. Still we are running the factory with optimum resources and manufacturing essential food items.

 All ITC’s employees are Heroes because:

Everybody understands the gravity of the global health crisis due to the coronavirus COVID-19 and their role in this critical juncture towards the nation.

• Ownership and accountability: Though all Indian are following “stay home - stay safe” principle, few of our employees are working in factory taking full accountability and ownership with the moto of serving the nation rather than giving an excuse and staying back in the comfort of their homes.
•  Agility: Our working employees are not following any protocol of their Titles at this moment and everybody is ready to work at any station and accepting any role as we have acute shortage of manpower.
• Collaboration with Speed: Team is very collaborative and working with speed to produce to the best of their ability to serve the society.

   Giving back to community: ITC Ltd has declared a COVID-19 contingency fund of Rs 150 crore for vulnerable sections of society in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak & apart from that has tied up with various NGO’s to ensure continuous supply of essential food items to the nook & corner of the country. On the other hand, all our employees are also committed to serve the nation by fulfilling their foods needs as we believe uninterrupted availability of food is essentials during this unprecedented time.   

                                                                                                                                           Employee Care: While we continue to work round the clock in such difficult times, ITC as a responsible corporate citizen, takes utmost care of our people by following all necessary precautions & by strict enforcement of hygiene and sanitation protocols for all its employees working at our manufacturing units.

To recognize and appreciate these Humans of ITC in a little way and to support their families since Food Supply during Lockdown is little distorted, ITC Foods Ranjangaon Unit distributed ITC Care Kits (Atta & Noodles) to all personal working in difficult time. This small initiative got wide appreciation from all strata.

I Once again take this opportunity to share with pride that I work for ITC and to applaud all my Heroes who are committed to stand by the nation.

 Let’s support the nation together.

Jai Hind

Blog dated 05.04.2020