Zigsaw Blog

Author: Sinibali Jana

  • Difference between Skill and Competency

    In the Human Resource perspective, skills and competencies are often used interchangeably. They are often considered similar to the other and put into a similar context. However, skills and competencies have a few differences that are, if not significant, noticeable. It can be said that skills are a subset of competencies. Competency, as the literal meaning of the term, considers all the abilities, skills, and personality traits of a person. Competencies are behavioural, whereas skills only test the raw abilities of a person. 

    Let us find out some of the key differences between Skills and Competencies under different heads.

    Meaning

    There have been different attempts to define what skills are and various definitions have emerged to point out the meaning of skills distinctively. It is defined as the capability or aptitude that is obtained or created through preparing or experience. It is the capacity, originating from one’s information, practice, inclination, and so forth., to accomplish something great. A capacity and limit obtained through conscious, precise, and supported exertion to easily and adaptively complete complex exercises or employment capacities, including thoughts (psychological abilities), things (specialized aptitudes), as well as individuals (relational aptitudes) can be successfully described as a skill set. 

    Skill is the educated ability to do pre-decided outcomes and an educated capacity to achieve the result one needs, with the most extreme conviction and effectiveness. It is the capability or adroitness that is procured or created through preparing or experience. So, a Skill is something Learned to be able to carry out one or more job functions.

    Different sources and different definitions also attempt to pin-point ta exact definition of competencies to set it notably apart from skills. It is defined as a group of related capacities, duties, information, and abilities that empower an individual (or an association) to act adequately in an occupation or circumstance. Competencies mean abilities or knowledge that lead to overall execution. 

    Quantifiable aptitudes, skills, and character qualities that distinguish effective workers against characterized jobs inside an association. A competency is something other than just information and skills. It includes the capacity to fulfill complex needs by drawing on and assembling psychosocial assets (counting abilities and perspectives) in a specific setting. It is a quantifiable example of information, aptitudes, capacities, practices, and different attributes that an individual needs to perform work jobs or word related capacities effectively. Competencies determine the “how” (rather than the what) of performing work errands or what the individual needs to carry out the responsibility effectively. 

    Competencies employ skills, but it is not just limited to skills. It also uses knowledge and action. They incorporate capacities and practices only as information that is principal to the utilization of a potential skill-set.

    Approach

    Skills have a universal approach, per se. It means that a specific individual with a particular skill is universally the same. The skills remain constant irrespective of place, situation, or type of employment. For example, if a person has a technical skill of Digital Marketing, his skill can and will be listed everywhere the same provided he/she has the proper certification.

    However, competencies are contextual. This means that just because a person has a particular skill does not mean that he/she is competent in the same. Competencies include skill, knowledge as well as the ability. Hence a person with skill has to analytically and logically apply it in a correct situation, then only will he/she prove to be competent. Taking the above example, a skilled employee in Digital Marketing must know and have the ability to apply that knowledge in his term of requirement; otherwise, he/she would not be considered as competent.

    Position

    Skills are generally transferable across various job roles in an organization. This means that an employee with a specific skill can be moved across different jobs that demand that specific skill-set that the person possesses. Hence, it is more dynamic. Skills are not aspirational. These are need-based and absolute.

    Competencies, on the other hand, are extremely aspirational and job-specific. When moved across various jobs, a person’s skill set will remain the same. However, his/her competencies will vary to a great extent. A person with skill will be put in a position of work. When the person employs that skill into execution to perform the job efficiently, his/her competency will be proved. 

    Relationship

    It can be so regarded that skills and competencies have a cause and effect relationship. Skills are what is the initial requirement for a person to perform a particular job. Without the required skills, a person is not eligible to be employed in a job that demands it.

    However, competencies are how the job is performed. With the effective implementation of skills, knowledge, and ability, when the job is completed, and the result is obtained, which determines the competency.

    Concept

    Skills are a narrower concept comprising technical or non-technical knowledge that is required for a job.

    Competency is much broader that is more result-oriented by employing skills, knowledge, and abilities.

    Example

    Digital marketing, coding, language proficiency, software proficiency, computer programming are some of the things that can be defined as skills.

    Whereas professionalism, time-management, analytical abilities, excellent communication are some of the competencies, to name a few. 

    Difference between Skill and Competency

    Bases Skills

     

    		 Competencies

     
    Meaning Learned abilities required for a job. Skills, employed with knowledge and ability leading to the success or failure of a job.

     
    Approach Universal Contextual
    Relationship Cause Effect
    Concept Narrower concept Broader concept
    Example Digital marketing, python, wielding, programming. Analytical approach, professionalism, time-management.

     

     

    Skills and competencies might not be interchangeable but not inseparable. However, skills can exist without competencies. But, competencies cannot exist without skills. Competency is a superset of which skill is a component. That is why it is essential to acquire skills. It is also important to know how to apply them. Employers are not looking for just skilled employees; they are looking for competent ones.

  • Recruitment Life Cycle – Different Stages of Recruitment

    The recruitment life cycle refers to the complete process of recruitment from start to end. Hence it is also known as a 360-degree recruitment process or end-to-end recruitment process. From scratch till the end, that is the final recruitment, the process of requirement employs several stages. This entire cycle is known as a recruitment life-cycle.

    Recruitment is an integral part of Human Resource Management. Recruitment is a hiring process where firstly the staffing and organizational needs of the company are identified. After that, a potential pool of candidates for the required staffing is attracted. The pool of candidates is generated by firstly identifying these candidates. These can be done by both internal and external sources. Next, the recruiter should attract these candidates to apply for the job. This can be done by extensive advertising in job sites, campus drives, reaching out to potential candidates from the company database, etc.

    Recruitment is such an important process because it serves as a pre-math for selection. Recruitment is a deciding factor on the correct candidates being chosen in the selection process. Hence, attracting a better pool of candidates in the recruitment process proves to be extremely beneficial.

    The process of recruitment largely varies due to the size of the organization. A small or medium-sized firm may have only one person as a recruiter or a hiring manager. However, a larger company is most likely to have a whole dedicated team of recruiters to carry on the process effectively. A well-framed recruitment process helps both the company and the applicants. The company gets to generate a potential pool of candidates, whereas the candidates get potential employment opportunities.

    However, in every organizational setting and every differential organizational need, the recruitment life-cycle large remains the same. There are namely 6 major steps in the recruitment life cycle:

    1. Preparing
    2. Sourcing
    3. Screening
    4. Selecting
    5. Hiring
    6. Onboarding

    Recruitment Life Cycle Stages

    Recruitment Life Cycle - Different Stages of Recruitment

    Image Source

    1. Preparing

    Preparation is an essential component for the success of any process. The recruitment process also has a comprehensive preparation process which serves as a foundation for the proper functioning of the later stages in the life-cycle. 

    The first step to preparation is creating a candidate persona. This means that the recruiter has to define the traits or skills or experience that a candidate has to have to be eligible for the recruitment process. Drafting an appropriate candidate persona increases the possibility of an appropriate hire.

    The second step to preparation is drafting a job description. The job description is responsible for attracting potential candidates in the recruitment process. Hence, an unattractive job description will be a thumbs-down to the process. However, an employer cannot publish wrong or misleading information. The job description has to be accurate and state the responsibilities that it entails. It should most importantly include the salary, perks, and other benefits provided by the company.

    2. Sourcing

    The second stage is establishing the sourcing for the candidates. This means creating awareness about the job in various sources and hence generating potential candidates from those sources. Professional recruiters choose to do the recruitment on multiple sources to achieve maximum results. The different sources of recruitment are listed below:

    Internal Source: Internal sources of recruitment can be not only effective but also economical. It is cost-effective for the company, and an ad also economizes on a lot of time. Internal sources of recruitment mainly include promotions and transfers of employees intra-organization. In addition to that, intra-organization employee referrals also largely contribute to the internal sources of recruitment. Utilizing the company’s database to recruit former employees and candidates can also be a good choice.

    External Source: A company can recruit through external sources via employment agencies. This is the common and surest source of recruiting eligible pool of candidates. The company can also conduct campus drives in various schools, colleges, and universities, thereby facilitating recruitment. Apart from that, the recruitment procedure can be advertised in multiple media sources to have a greater reach and therefore attract a greater pool. Utilizing various labor unions in the recruitment process is also something that the company can do.

    E-sources: The e-sources of recruitment are gaining quick popularity in today’s times. Recruitment ads can be posted on agency websites. Also, online job boards can be used for the recruitment process. However, the chance of attracting a large number of unqualified candidates works as the biggest disadvantage in this case. Its easy availability and much higher reach still make it a popular option. 

    3. Screening

    The third step is screening all the applications that have been generated from all the sources. Sourcing attracts a large number of candidates, and not all of them have the required skills and traits needed for the vacant job. Hence screening is important to list out the ineligible candidates based on their resumes, portfolios, etc., and take the eligible candidates to the next round of screening which is generally a telephonic interview process. Candidates who pass the telephonic interview round are chosen for the face-to-face interview.

    4. Selection

    This is the most critical stage of recruitment life-cycle. This is because, in this stage, the final selection of the candidates is made for the said job. The resumes and cover letters, in most cases, seem a lot more eligible than the candidate himself/herself. Hence face to face interviews or tests should be well-drafted to test the candidate on all aspects and then make an informed and educated decision.

    Even though in most cases, the stage of selection is defined by an interview process, in some instances, different forms of test can also be employed. These can be personality assessments and written ability tests, to name a few. These can also go hand-in-hand with the interview process to finally select the candidate or candidates for the job.

    Interviews can also be of various types depending upon the discretion of the employer/recruiter. These can be unstructured interviews where different candidates are asked different questions and judged. These can also be structured interviews where a standardized set of questions is asked to every candidate, and then they are judged. Interviews can also be behavioral interviews or stress interviews to test how a candidate reacts or behaves under stress.

    Under any circumstance, before the final selection is made, a background or reference check must be done on the candidate.

    5. Hiring

    After the selection is made, it is time to hire the candidate, that notifies him/her about his/her selection. The hiring stage of the recruitment life-cycle generally consists of two parts.

    The first part is notifying the candidate about the job that is making the final job offer. An offer letter must be sent to the candidate. An offer letter must be accurate and consist of all the necessary information regarding the job. It should contain the working hours, the benefits, the compensation as well as the starting date of the job. If the job is contractual, the details of the contract must be mentioned. 

    The second part of the hiring process is negotiation. After a candidate receives an offer letter, he/she has to accept it. However, not all selected candidates will select the offer letter right away. They might want to negotiate with the HR on various terms. The most common terms of negotiation are the working hours and salary. Negotiation is important so that a mutually acceptable employment contract can be reached between the candidate and the employer.

    6. Onboarding

    The recruitment process does not end with hiring the candidate. Onboarding is an important part of the recruitment life-cycle because it plays a great role to determine if the candidate can fit in the company culture and hence work productively. A proper onboarding procedure includes steps like introduction, orientation, and training of the employee. Henceforth the recruitment life-cycle ends, and the employment starts.

    From layman’s eyes, recruitment might seem like a very simple process of just hiring candidates. But in reality, it is complex and comprehensive and is very much responsible for the productivity and success of the company. Hence trained professionals carry out the process with a minute focus on each stage so that the most eligible candidates are finally onboarded for the job.

  • Best Answers for “How Do You Handle Stress and Pressure” Interview Question

    Workplace Stress and pressure are inevitable. Every employee at some point of time gets stressed due to work pressure. And honestly, there is nothing wrong with that. What matters is that how an employee handles it. Effective handling of stress means high emotional intelligence and maturity on the employee’s part. However, ineffective handling of stress and pressure leads to lowered productivity of the employee and hence affects the organisation.

    Almost every interviewee is faced with the question “how do you handle stress and pressure”. To look impressive, the interviewee sometimes answers with phrases like:

    • “I don’t get stressed.”
    • “I am calm all the time.”
    • “Stress and pressure do not bother me.”

    This is not what the interviewer is looking for and happens to be one of the biggest and most common mistakes that the candidates make while answering this question. Answers like these make the interviewer suspicious and make him/her feel that the candidate is blurting out rehearsed answers.

    The sole reason why the interviewer asks this question is to know about the capability of the candidate. The interviewer also wants to know the past experiences of the candidate where he was exposed to stressful situations and how he dealt with them. The best way to answer this question in interviews is to firstly acknowledge that the candidate does face enough pressure and gets stressed under gruelling situations. Secondly, the candidate must state past experiences where he/she got stressed, and the steps are taken to overcome it. 

    Tips to Answer

    A proper answer to “how do you handle stress and pressure” should be well-articulated. In addition to that, it also has to be authentic and genuine. Employers do not wish to hire someone who crumbles under workplace pressure. If a candidate, under a gruelling situation has a nervous breakdown, nobody in the organisation wants to be responsible for it.

    Also, an employee unable to handle stress is most likely to evade responsibilities and pass them on to someone else. Unable to handle stressful and pressurising situations also means a lack of problem-solving skills and unsteady decision-making procedure. No employer wants these traits in someone who is being hired. Hence answering this question correctly is a very crucial part of an interview. The following listed are several tips that should be considered while answering:

    1. Provide an Example

    Talking in generic terms always evokes a lesser impact than talking specifically. Hence the candidate should give a real experience where he/she faced with a stressful or gruelling situation. The example should be concise but clear. It should summarise the situation and how it caused stressed to the candidate and what degree.

    2. Explain How You Overcame It

    The candidate should tell the interviewer how he had overcome the said stressful situation mentioned in the interview. The candidate has to make sure that he/she does not give this impression to the interviewer that his/her stress-coping mechanisms are unhealthy. For example, if the candidate answers that he had handled the stress by crying profusely for two hours or completely avoiding the situation, it would not make a good impression.

    The candidate has to answer how he used the stress the work better. He/she can say that he/she had used the stress as a motivator to increase the pace and productivity of his/her work. It can also be said that he/she took a very little time off work to neutralise his stress and got back to work with a fresh mind. Saying that the candidate meditated for a while or tried balancing the work can also be a perfect option.

    3. Stress as a Motivator

    Telling the interviewer how the candidate uses stress as a motivator is by far one of the best ways to answer this question. The candidate should articulate the reason for stress and how he/she used it as a positive gateway to amplify his work performance. The candidate should mention examples like the stress of tough deadlines motivating him/her to work better and faster.

    4. Skills Learned Due to Stress

    Employers generally look for employees who not only handle stress effectively but also use that to learn something that might benefit them in the future and evade the possibility of further stress. Skills learned due to stress are soft skills that employers look for in potential employees. These skills can be organising work, time-management, prioritising, etc.

    5. Results

    The answer should engage a result or ultimate goal that the candidate was able to achieve due to the effective handling of the stress. For example, he/she can state how the artwork was completed before the client needed or the reports were submitted to the supervisor before time.

    Sample Answers

    Every candidate is most likely to have a different experience, different stories and other answers to give in the interviews. However below listed are the best sample answers that can be said as a response to the question “how do you handle stress and pressure” in an interview.

    Answer 1: According to me, stress is a positive motivator. It teaches us a lot of skills that we cannot otherwise learn in normal situations. I try to learn something from every stressful situation. One time, I had to submit three reports in one week, and it was very stressful. However, I submitted all of them on time. This is because I balanced my workload and learnt how to effectively prioritise my workload to make the best of the current situation.

    Answer 2: Stress often improves the quality of my work as it acts as a motivator for me. Since I am a content writer, I can vouch for this. I generally have to work under strict deadlines to meet with the client’s demands. However, I have noticed I deliver the best content, especially when I am working under stress.

    Answer 3: As a comic artist workplace is mainly lined by stress to meet the demands and make submissions on time. Whenever I am stressed, I use that as a motivator so that I can finish my job at the earliest. Hence under stress, I have produced some of my best comics.

    Answer 4: I handle stress by reminding myself of the goal or the result that I am working towards. That gives me the drive or the motivation to push through the stress and reach my goal. Once in my earlier organisation, I had to get a massive target of sales within a week. Hence I reminded myself of the ultimate target and kept working until I reached it.

    Answer 5: Being in customer service can be a stressful job. Hence under stress, I make it a point to focus my reaction on the situations and not on the stress that I am feeling. For example, if I am handling a rude customer, I try to focus on the situation, which motivates me to effectively apply my communication skills to resolve the situation.

    Answer 6: Being in management has taught me that a stressed team causes a great deal of stress. So in those situations, I try to communicate well with my team members to get a clear idea of what is stressing them. On doing that, we can improve the group dynamics by sharing our duties and hence reducing the pressure. This collectively reduces the entire stress of the group, and thus I cope with my stress too.

    Answer 7: I handle stress by being too calculative. In my last organisation, I was assigned a task in the last minute due to a contingency, and I had to handle it on my own. The time was very less, and it was an important assignment. I chalked out the requirements of the assignment, listed what I had to do, calculated my available time, divided it into various tasks, and that led to the completion of the assignment on time.

    Answer 8: In this extremely competitive workplace scenario, stress is inevitable. To deal with it, I make sure I exercise and meditate regularly. IT keeps my mind active. Meditation keeps me focussed and thus helps me work through any stressful situation.

    Stress can never be evaded. Good and bad stress is a part of every workplace. Employers want to hire someone who experiences both but finds a way out of it to deliver his job nonetheless. These answers shall give the interviewer the idea that they are talking to the right candidate, and no amount of stress would be daunting enough to cripple his/her spirits.

  • How to Write Email to Boss of Completion of Work with Samples

    Work completion e-mail is sent when to communicate the completion of a specific task, job, or project that an employee was provided with. Work completion e-mails are not a professional mandate per se. It is not under the conventional professional protocols. However, it adds to added clarity in terms of communication. It keeps the boss updated upon the current position of the job. It also provides the employee to reach out to his/her supervisor regarding his work.

    It may so happen that at one point in time, the boss or the supervisor is currently occupied with other matters at hand, and the employee cannot directly communicate the information of his job completion. In a situation like this, the employee can send in a work completion e-mail to his/her boss, who can read it and revert at his/her convenience.

    Things to Remember While Writing a Work Completion E-mail

    1. Clarity

    Clarity is an integral part of any formal communication. The sender should be clear in his thoughts and be able to communicate them the same way.

    Even in the case of work-completion e-mails, clarity is very important. The employee should speak on this subject alone. He/she should clearly state the project, what it comprised of, what was the deadline, and when it was finished. The employee should state whether the job was completed before the deadline, or later than that, the possible outcomes.

    2. Official

    Before sending the work-completion e-mail, the employee should ensure that the completion of the work is updated officially. It should mean that the work completed should be officially documented. This is important to avoid any discrepancies in communication that might arise. This means that when the boss reads the e-mails and wants to verify it, he/she should find official documentation supporting it. Otherwise, it might cause a barrier to effective communication.

     3. Concise

    Lengthy and elongated e-mails do not generally work in the professional sphere except in some cases. Hence, a work-completion e-mail should be concise. It should be time-saving for both the employee and the boss. The e-mail should contain all the necessary information in a concisely packed manner.

     4. Structured

    The e-mail should follow a specific structure and should not be scattered. It should follow the format and be well drafted. All the pointers for information should be covered, and feedback should also be asked for.

    Format

    As stated above, a proper work-completion mail has to be well drafted. A well-drafted e-mail has to follow a specific format. It should also contain all the necessary information that the boss should know. A suitably formatted application will also preserve the essence of professionalism that the workplace demands. Below stated is the proper way of writing it:

     1. Subject

    Under this head, the gist of the main subject of the application has to be written. It is advised to make the subject concise and catchy to grab the reader’s attention. For completion of work, the subject can be something like “100 percent work completion in 35 hours”.

     2. Salutation

    This means writing the proper address for the leave application.

    For example-Sir/Madam.

     3. Tasks Assigned

    This part constitutes the body of the e-mail. Here the employee should state the works that were assigned to him. It is advisable to use bullet points to list the assigned tasks to give it a more clean and objective look.

    4. Tasks Completed

    Here the employee should state the tasks or projects that are completed and documented by him. It can so happen that he/she has completed specific parts of the task, and hence that should be mentioned likewise. If the entire task is completed and documented, this part of the e-mail should contain that information.

    5. Possible questions

    If the employee has any questions regarding any part of the work, he/she should address the questions here. They may be related to future anticipations from the project, possible continuation of the project, or a mere query regarding a specific part of the project or work assigned to the employee.

    6. Asking for feedback

    This is the concluding part of the e-mail where the employee asks for the feedback of the supervisor so that he/she can make necessary changes and also get on with his next assignment.

    7. Signature

    This means concluding the letter by stating the employee’s name and position.

    Work Completion E-mail

    Sample #1

    Sir/Madam,

     

    I have completed my tasks for the week/month, and here is a complete report of the same.

     

    The tasks that were assigned to me are listed below:

    *Task 1*

    *Task 2*

    *Task 3*

     

    The tasks that are completed are as follows:

    *mention in points*

     

    However, I have a few queries and questions regarding a particular area.

    *State the query/queries*

     

    Thank you for your sincere guidance throughout the project, without which it could not have been completed with such zeal. It was an absolute pleasure to work with you and the amazing team who made the success possible. Please provide your valuable feedback so that the changes can be implemented, and the next phase of work can be started at the earliest.

     

    Yours sincerely,

    *Name*

     

    Sample #2

    Sir,

     

    This is an e-mail regarding the *Title* project that was assigned in October 2019.

    It was indeed a huge project. The tasks that were assigned were:

     

    1. Completion of an audit of all financial documents till September
    2. Documenting the same in the software.

     

    I am happy to inform you that a hundred percent completion of the task is possible and that, too, one month before the deadline. Even though we faced many challenges, due to diligence and teamwork, we could reach the completion.

     

    However, I have a few queries regarding the last phase of the project.

    *State the query/queries*

     

    Thank you for your sincere guidance throughout the project, without which it could not have been completed with such zeal. It was an absolute pleasure to work with you and the amazing team who made the success possible. Please provide your valuable feedback so that the changes can be implemented, and the next phase of work can be started at the earliest.

     

    Yours sincerely,

    *Name*

    I hope you got an idea of writing an email to the boss of the completion of work. Comment down below if you any queries.

  • Recruitment – Meaning, Process, Best Practices, Types, Trends & Future

    Recruitment is an ever-necessary and extremely important process in an organisation. It serves as a pre-math for selection. Recruitment is a deciding factor on the correct candidates being actually chosen in the selection process. Hence, attracting a better pool of candidates in the recruitment process proves to be extremely beneficial.

    The process of recruitment largely varies due to the size of the organisation. A small or medium-sized firm may have only one person as a recruiter or a hiring manager. However, a larger company is most likely to have a whole dedicated team of recruiters to carry on the process effectively. A well-framed recruitment process helps both the company and the applicants. The company gets to generate a potential pool of candidates whereas the candidates get potential employment opportunities.

    MEANING OF RECRUITMENT

    Recruitment is an integral part of Human Resource Management. Recruitment is a hiring process where firstly the staffing and organizational needs of the company are identified. After that, a potential pool of candidates for the required staffing is attracted. The pool of candidates is generated by firstly identifying these candidates. These can be done by both internal and external sources. Next, the recruiter should attract these candidates to apply for the job. This can be done by extensive advertising in job sites, campus drives, reaching out to potential candidates from company database etc.

    Know more about Sources, Purpose & Importance of Recruitment here.

    TYPES OF INTERVIEWS

    The recruitment process is followed by the selection process which is then followed by an employment interview. An interview is a formal meeting with potential candidates which involves an in-depth conversation conducted to evaluate acceptability. Its popularity stems from its flexibility. Discussions are adapted to consider unskilled, skilled managerial, and operational employees.

    Based on interaction with candidates interviews may be classified into three categories :

    1. One-to-one interview :

    In this type of Interview, there are only two participants- the interviewer and interviewee.

    2. Sequential interview :

    This type of interview is a higher version of the one to one interview process and involves a series of interviews, usually utilizing the strength and knowledge base of each interviewer and they can ask questions in relation to his or her subject area to each candidate, or he/ she moves from room to room.

    3. Panel interview :

    This type of interview consists of two or more interviewers and the number may go up to as many as 15. Panel interviews are not very personal similar to one to one interviews, but if handled and organized well, it can provide a wealth of information. If not handled carefully, the panel interview can make the candidate feel ill at ease and confused about whose question to answer and who to address. Interviewers themselves are likely to experience nightmares, not knowing who will ask which question and in what order.

    4. Phone interview :

    Many organizations use this type of interview and it is considered more useful than one-to-one or panel interviews to ascertain the candidate’s sustainability. For these types of interviews unintentionally the main focus of the interviewer gets derailed from one’s appearance or handshake, the interviewer and interviewee focus on asking and answering questions. Phone interviews save time and are economical. It is widely used in IT companies while hiring technical employees.

    5. Online interview :

    Most of the organizations are dependent on computers and the internet to conduct interviews. A typical computer interview requires the candidate to answer a series of multiple-choice questions custom made for the job. These answers are compared with a benchmark score to determine the sustainability and suitability of a candidate. The computer interview can also be used to filter undesirable applicants who have applied online.

    HOW TO SET UP AN INTERVIEW :

    The selection process follows recruitment which starts with an interview. All kinds of interviews, whether structured, unstructured, mixed, behavioral, or stressful, every interview type goes through a process before implementation. From a general perspective, after the recruitment process, once a compact pool of candidates is selected, they have to go through the interview process to choose the candidate. 

    Best practices to be taken care of before setting up an interview are:-

    1. An Official Communication:

    After the recruitment process, an official formal mail is sent to the candidate for the next round for which he or she is selected.

    The mail should contain details like the candidate’s essential requirements such as their identity proof and resume. 

    The mail should clearly state the location of the interview process with an attached Google Map

           2. E-Recruitment:

    In this day and age where the pandemic has taken over the world and physical workspace has its own constraints, organizations mainly bank on the Internet and online work mode. Though e-recruitment has been a concept for years now, selecting the electronic interview is relatively a newer concept. For an electronic interview process, after the recruitment process, the organization is to send the candidate a mail about the electronic interview to be held and the email must contain the following specification:-

    a. The online platform at which the interview is to be held be it Google meets or zoom

    b. The duration of the online interview

    c. Specifying to have a steady internet connection so that there is no lag in connectivity

    d. The link for the meeting

           3. An Acknowledgment Mail:

    Be it an online interview or a physical interview, after screening candidates via interview, the organization must send a thank you letter thank you mail to the candidate for attending the interview and acknowledging it. If the candidate has been able to impress the panel members or the interviewer, they would be informed about whether they need to appear for the background check and the other selection processes.

    Recruitment - Meaning, Process, Best Practices, Types, Trends & Future

    BEST PRACTICES IN RECRUITMENT

    Needless to say, the job market is competitive. This does not only mean that the candidates find it difficult to look for their dream job. This also means that the organizations also have to put their best foot forward in order to attract and finally recruit the best possible candidate. An ill-framed recruitment policy will mean that the organizations miss out on the best fit for their current job role.

    The followings are the best practices in the recruitment procedure to ensure its success.

    1. Customized process:

      The recruitment process should be customized according to the size, structure and need of the organization. The process should be well-defined and executable. A planned process without the potential for execution will act as a barrier to the success of recruitment.

    2. Right recruiter:

      Recruitment is not just screening a resume and taking an interview. The recruitment process is detrimental to the success of the organization. Hence, having the right and a well-trained recruiter is important for the success of the process.

    3. Sales function:

      On an overall basis, the process of recruitment should be treated as a process of sales. This means that the goal of the recruitment process would be to sell the idea of the job and the current position to prospective candidates. The successful selling of the idea of the job to the right candidate will result in successful recruitment.

    4. Relationship between hiring managers and recruiters:

      The goal of the hiring managers is to fill a vacant job position with a candidate. On that account, they are likely to set very unrealistic time-frames for recruiters. This severely hampers the quality of the process. A good professional relational between the managers and the recruiters will ensure transparency. This will build a level of trust and reliance between them thereby leading to high-quality recruitment.

    5. Use social-media:

      The huge network of social media is one of the biggest opportunities that present-day recruiters should leverage. Creating a candidate pool by a social-media search, not only provides a wide array of options but also cost-effective. The online job portals and platforms like LinkedIn are filled with prospective professionals and can hugely facilitate the recruitment process. Know more about Social Media Recruiting here

    6. Candidate experience:

      Recruitment is a step-by-step process and each step is vital to the process. The candidate experience throughout each step is highly important in the recruitment process. If the candidates have a negative experience, it very likely that they will probably leave the process mid-way or spread negative word-of-mouth about the organization. Hence a positive candidate experience will make sure the organization does not let go of potential candidates, and thereby pave a way for employee referrals.

    7. Applicant tracking system (ATS):

      Finding the right candidate for the right job is the sole purpose of recruitment. Maintaining a large pool of candidates that the organization has acquired over the years is a complex and difficult task to manage. Hence employing an ATS in the recruitment process will ensure that it will match the job with the candidates registered in that system. Also, the large pool acquired over the years ensures that there is already a huge pool of potential candidates to choose from.

    TRENDS IN RECRUITMENT

    Needless to say, technology has changed the way the world is perceived. In fact, it has created an entirely new world of its own. It has made its way into various types, sizes and levels of an organisation. The recruitment industry has also seen a sweeping change due to the implementation of technology. A lot of old-school methods have been substituted and newer recruitment trends have made their way in the industry.

    The most important recruitment trends in the present are described below:

    1. Recruitment Marketing:

      This means undertaking marketing strategies but in the field of recruitment. This is done to attract the best candidates for the existing job positions as well as to build the brand image of the company.

    2. Mobile technology:

      According to a recent study, more than 60% of the candidate hunt for jobs through their phones. More than 20 percent of candidates submit their applications from their home. Hence to amplify the recruitment process, the recruiters should adapt to this change and switch to mobile communication with the candidates.

    3. Inbound recruiting:

      Inbound recruiting means the implementation of various digital marketing strategies to build strong relationships with potential candidates over time. This means attracting various active and passive candidates and thereby completing the recruitment process.

    4. E-resumes:

      Gradually as more candidates are choosing the online medium for their job applications, the recruiters should also evaluate the e-resumes. Paper resumes are an old-school method and they are now substituted by digital resumes. These include video resumes, social media profiles, digital portfolios, etc. These give a more comprehensive idea to the recruiters about the traits they are searching for and the right fit.

    5. Artificial Intelligence:

      Artificial Intelligence is responsible for automating a huge number of jobs. Even though it is not the perfect substitute for HR, but its implementation is inevitable. There are AI softwares that are used in interviews. These judge traits like nervousness and truthfulness of the employees. Know more about the AI in Recruitment here

    6. Gamification:

      Gamification is a brand new and emerging trend in the recruitment process. Here an interactive game is introduced to the candidates. These games are then plugged in with various corporate and business situations. This shows how a candidate will react under a specific situation and hence it increases the efficiency of the hiring process to a great degree.

    FUTURE OF RECRUITMENT

    The future of recruitment is now and it is here to stay. The current trends in the recruitment industry will get amplified and turn into a foundation upon which the future of recruitment rests. With the pandemic, each company is trying to manage costs as well as keep their operation intact. In a scenario like that the recruitment process has also undergone sweeping changes.

    The use of Virtual reality, video interviews, artificial intelligence are not mere try-outs. They are the necessity of every organization. These will revolutionize the recruitment industry in the next couple of years and these will become the new normal.

    Hence the current recruitment trends are extremely vital to the sustenance and success of this industry. In a situation far worse, we will find ourselves falling back on these trends and abiding by them.

    Recruitment is up for a complete revolution.

  • Constructive Feedback – Meaning and Guide to offer

    Constructive feedback is one of the most important aspects of success in an organisation. No employee in an organisation is perfect and hence is subject to criticism. The nature of criticism is the deciding factor for improvement and continued success. Destructive feedback will most likely be unproductive as it does not focus on room for improvement as much as it focuses on complaining about the present mishap. Constructive feedback, on the other hand, acknowledges the problem, analyzes it, points the positives and figures out the room for improvement.

    Every manager in an organization should practise providing constructive criticism to its employees. It is as much a sign of good managerial qualities as it is of emotional intelligence. Feedback, dealt with inert and overt emotional intelligence will ensure that there is a continued success. This will also ensure that the morale of the employees is not crushed and they find a healthier and productive approach of correcting their errors and improving themselves.

     

    MEANING OF CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK

    However, it is clearly not as easy as it sounds. Constructive feedback literally means providing both positive and negative feedback for improvement. Feedback should always be constructive as it clubs both the positive and the negative aspects and channelises them into progress.

    As mentioned earlier, it might be a slightly complex job for managers as there is always an element of human emotions that creates a barrier. Having said that, consistent practise, experience and innate skills enable a manager to grasp the concept of constructive feedback at best and therefore execute it in the workplace.

     

    Benefits of Constructive Feedback in the workplace

    If it already isn’t obvious, constructive feedback is not only a healthy workplace practice but also extremely advantageous for productivity and overall growth. Below discussed are the most notable advantages of providing constructive feedback to the employees :

    In a study by Harvard Business School, 57 percent of employees prefer constructive feedback overpraise or criticism. This means that most employees prefer to know both their strong points as well as the points of improvement.

    1. Improves employee performance:

      As already mentioned and known, no employee is perfect. Hence they are prone to making mistakes. Constructive feedback will allow them to know their mistakes and will also provide enough motivation to act on them. Hence, this will significantly impact their performance and also help in their professional growth.

    2. Two-way benefits:

      Constructive feedback does not only help employees’ growth and performance. It, in turn, improves the productivity and work culture of the organisation. Upon helping to attain the growth to the employees, constructive criticism attains the consequent result that the organisation as a whole performs well.

    3. Ensures transparency:

      Constructive feedback ensures transparency amongst all employees as well as between all hierarchies. Feedback includes prior analysis of performance. This ensures that the top-management knows the shortcomings of its employees, the places for improvement, and also the current areas of high productivity. On the other hand, the employees also know what the management expects of them and the places where they are expected to bring change.

    4. Better team and intra-organisational performance:

      Transparency and clearly addressing the issues maintain a strong organisational fabric. This ensures that healthy interpersonal relationships exist within the organisation and its various hierarchies.

       

    How to offer Constructive Feedback?

    Constructive feedback, from its idea conception, execution and deliverance should follow a path that ensures its success. It should not only be well designed but also well-researched since it has its specific impacts that follow. Ill-designed feedback can have the possibility of demoralising the employees which may result in worsening of team relations within the organisation.

    Below discussed are some of the quintessential steps to be followed in the process:

    Preparation for giving Constructive feedback

    A manager cannot possibly show up one fine morning and decide to give constructive feedback to its employees. There has to be a preparation that leads to actual feedback.

      • Identify specific goals and objectives that the manager decides to talk about.
      • Notify the employees about a meeting on the same. This ensures less anxiety on the part of the employees. Try to have a one-on-one feedback meeting with the employees. Otherwise, some employees might feel embarrassed when their shortcomings are discussed in front of others. This will lead to a diverted focus on the embarrassment instead of the potential to improve.
      • A surprise meeting of feedback may lead to a negative element of surprise and result in a communication that is ineffective. 

    Communication guidelines

    When the preparation is done and it is time for the feedback, the managers must keep the communication sincere, clear and transparent to ensure successful constructive feedback. The following are some of the guidelines of communication that should be followed during the feedback meeting.

    • Try to have a one-on-one feedback meeting with the employees. Otherwise, some employees might feel embarrassed when their shortcomings are discussed in front of others. This will lead to a diverted focus on the embarrassment instead of the potential to improve.
    • Be direct in the conversation to make sure that the message is clear and straightforward.
    • Do not employ anger as one of the expressions while providing constructive feedback. The communication should, at all times, be calm, composed and professional.
    • Listen. Constructive feedback should also employ active listening on the part of the manager.
    • Be appreciative. Providing constructive feedback is all about pointing out the shortcomings and motivating the employee that he/she can do better and improve his/her performance. Hence, the communication should be appreciative.

     

    Feedback content

    The communication guidelines are the driving force of the actual feedback content that will be put forward in front of the employee. Having said that, it is also important to note that the content should also follow a structure as discussed below.

    1. Observations: The person giving feedback should ALWAYS communicate his observations. This can include facts, statistics, performance reviews, client reviews. But at no point should the feedback include judgemental expressions. This vilifies the entire concept of “constructive feedback”. The observations should include both positive and negative feedback. The positive ones should be about appreciation and the negative ones should be about improvement. Blatant criticism should be avoided during the feedback deliverance process.
    2. Balance: There should be a balance between both negative and positive feedback to concentrate the effects of both empty praises and severe criticisms. That is the most important element of constructive feedback.
    3. Provide examples: An important element of providing constructive criticism is to effectively communicate to the employee to facilitate positive change. For that to happen, generalisations should be avoided. The manager should provide context and examples to the employees.

    Listen

    Once you are done providing the feedback, it is extremely important to listen. Feedback without active listening is not constructive in any way. Listen and understand your employees’ take on the problem. Take notes as this will give them a feeling that their words are given importance too. Ask constructive questions like what does the employee think about the current situation, or how does he plan to change it. In short, invite discussion and make sure the employee feels a part of the discussion as much as the manager.

    Provide suggestions

    After the manager is effectively done listening to the employee, it’s time to put forward his/her suggestions. However, this is a tricky part. The suggestion that the manager makes should be devoid of any bias. Also, it should be in good accordance with what the employee has said in the last step. If the employee has mentioned any struggles, the suggestion should be in alignment with that. Otherwise, the employee is most likely to feel invalidated. Besides the suggestion should be strictly in terms of the problem that is being currently addressed. Any past issues or personal traits of the employee should not be a part of the discussion.

    Follow-up

    The last part of the constructive feedback process is taking a comprehensive follow-up after a period of time. If you see significant changes in employee behaviour and performance, it is very important to show him/her gratitude and congratulate him for the positive change. This will help boost employee morale. In case, the situation is still at a point of stagnancy, schedule another feedback session to communicate the same, with the provided guidelines.

     

    CONCLUSION

    Providing constructive feedback is one of those essential skills that every HR personnel should be welladept with. A wrong feedback model will not only affect short-term targets but also delay long-term organisation goals. In addition to that, constructive feedback followed in an organisation increases the employer brand and hence and has various positive impacts in terms of talent acquisition.

  • Leave Policy – Guide for Creation and Implementation

    Employees are the most important asset of any organization To make sure that the employees are productive and do not show high levels of absenteeism, the HR personnel has to undertake several policies. These policies are to ensure that the interests of the employees or the human capital are protected. Leave policy is 1 such important policy that has a high bearing on employee engagement and attracting talent

    The leave policy of an organization is laying down a proper guideline as to how many leaves the employees can take in a year and on what grounds. The absence of a proper leave policy only means incompetent management. This can potentially lead to the sudden absence of employees, lower productivity, and less productive hours. This can impact the overall productivity of the organization and lead to missing targets and deadlines.

    LEAVE POLICY MEANING

    Leave policy in an organization is the total number of leaves that an employee can take in a year. This also includes the types of leaves, their nature, whether they are paid or unpaid, what is the maximum duration for those leaves, etc. A leave policy includes the paid leaves, the unpaid leaves as well as the national holidays that an employee is granted. They should also include the process to be followed for taking a leave.

    The leave policy is an annual policy statement that is provided to every employee of the organization mentioning all the above-mentioned details.

    Types of leaves

    • Casual leave OR Sick Leave

      Maximum 12 casual leaves can be availed by an employee in a given year. Casual leaves are paid in nature. They cannot be clubbed with any other leave and cannot be carried forwarded to the next year. Casual leave for 1 day should be applied for a day in advance. For more than 2 days, it should be applied a week prior.

    • Earned leave OR Privelege Leave

      The application for earned leaves should be put 15 days prior. Earned leaves can be carried forwarded to the next year. However, for employees who have been in service for more than 5 years, only 45 earned leaves can be carried forwarded. To maintain the LTA, compulsory 6 earned leaves have to be taken by the employees.

    • Maternity leave

      A woman employee can take maternity leave for a paid period of 26 months. Leave during the first 7 months of pregnancy will be considered as normal leave. The employee can take maternity leave 8 weeks before the due date of delivery.

    • Paternity leave

      Every regular male employee is applicable for availing a paternity leave. The paternity leave must be taken within 15 days of childbirth. The leave has to be availed on a stretch. The leave must be applied for 15 days before the due date of delivery.

    • Unpaid leave

      Once an employee has used up his current allotted leaves, he/she can apply for leave without pay. If an unpaid leave is availed without proper permission, it will be subject to disciplinary action by the management. Three months of unpaid leave can be availed at the most.

    • Compensatory leave

      When an employee has finished a specific task of importance or has worked on a national holiday or any declared holiday, he/she will be eligible for compensatory leave. However, this leave must be availed within a month otherwise it would not be applicable anymore.

    CREATING A LEAVE POLICY

    Creating a leave policy is not only an extremely vital task in terms of the organization as well as the employees it is also complicated. An organization cannot frame an ill-designed leave policy and impose that on the employees. The policy needs to comply with all legal requirements, employee acts, and also follow best practices for employee welfare. The leave policy should be created keeping in mind diverse aspects concerning both the organization as well as its employees.

    Purpose

    While creating a leave policy, the purpose and the conditions under which leave can be taken by an employee must be mentioned. It is to be noted that an employee cannot take leave daily and whenever he/she wishes. Hence the purposes like casual leave, maternity leave, military leave, et cetera should be mentioned in the leave policy.

    Compliance

    The compliance of taking the leaves should also be mentioned. This means the duration for which a particular leave can be taken, who is the reporting authority, the process of applying for the leave, whether it is paid or unpaid should be stated in the leave policy.

    Legal guidelines

    The legal guidelines and acts should be double-checked and it should be made sure that the policy is strictly following all the legal guidelines concerning the case. It is highly suggested to employ an attorney for framing an organization’s leave policy.

    Insurance

    The employee insurance factor should also be considered to ensure that the company does not run into any trouble during the employee leaves.

    Final framing

    After all of these factors are considered and double-checked the leave policy should be finally made in writing and produced as an official statement for the employees to go over.

    As already mentioned, leave policy is an extremely vital part of any organization and hence before it is officially framed the above-mentioned factors should be

    NEED FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF A LEAVE POLICY

    The fact that a company will spend so many resources on creating and implementing a leave policy poses a very important question – WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

    From a layman’s perspective, a leave policy is just a rule book of when and how can a person skip work. However, from an organizational and HR perspective, it has a great significance. The policy protects an organization legally. Besides, it also makes sure that an organization is never under-staffed and is ready for contingencies.

    A leave policy and its compliance makes sure that an organization at all times has a transparent of its needs and its present resources.

    1. Without a structured policy, an employee will most likely take an uninformed leave. This will impact the entire organization as there is no clear guideline about how to substitute the absent employee’s work.
    2. Leave policy improves the communication between the employer and the employee regarding the functioning of the organization and individual responsibilities.
    3. Needless to say, it fulfills the legal obligation of any organization.
    4. A proper policy prepares the organization for any kind of contingency. Also, it avoids ambiguity regarding the operations inside an organization in case any employee is absent.
    5. It provides higher flexibility in terms of the employee in case of time-off.

    COMMON GUIDELINES REGARDING A LEAVE POLICY

    Some common guidelines apply to every leave policy irrespective of the type, size, and nature of the organization. It is as described below:

    1. The annual calendar of leave starts from January and ends in December.
    2. An employee would not be applicable for an earned leave unless he/she has finished the probationary period.
    3. An employee must utilize 18 leaves in a year to maintain a work-life balance.
    4. Not more than 9 earned leaves can be carried forwarded to the next year.
    5. A leave without proper approval will be counted as unpaid leave.

    CONCLUSION

    Leave policies are not an organizational luxury, it is a necessity. For every budding as well as established HR personnel knowing the nitty-gritty of a leave-policy is a must.

    It has multi-dimensional benefits and its significance is huge.

  • Skip-level Meetings and Why They are Important

    An organisation runs on its human resource. With high upgrades in the technological constraint and the progress of Artificial Intelligence, a large number of jobs are automated and rightly so. As per future trends, AI is likely to take over 37 per cent of the total jobs in an organisation in the next six years. In Spite of that, it’s debatable as to how effective that is and if it can completely surpass the need of the human capital. 

    Employees keep the social and the operational structure of an organisation impact and each employee has a specific role to play. Irrespective of the fact that which level of the organisational hierarchy an employee belongs to, the work and presence of every employee is detrimental to the success of the organisation.

    Now, keeping a large group of employees can never achieve organisational goals. The employees have to be met with consistent appraisals, feedback, raises, etc. This is to say that the employee has to be provided with positive reinforcements in order to boost his/her morale which in turn would lead to increased productivity and long-term retention.

    There are a number of ways by which employee morale can be boosted and not all of them are monetary measures. This is where skip-level meetings find their significance. In these kinds of meetings, employees from even the lower levels of the organisation are duly given the significance and hence inculcates a sense of importance in them. This boosts employee morale and also has a different edged advantage. Skip-level meetings also allow the upper-level management to gain information from the grass-root level of employees without any filtration from their immediate subordinates.

    Read on to find out the know-hows of Skip-level meetings.

    What does a skip-level meeting mean? 

    Skip-level meetings are meetings where the flow of information in an organisation is bypassed along the traditional hierarchy that an organisation follows. This means the top-level management, say the Vice President does not conduct a meeting with his/her immediate subordinate. Instead, the VP skips two or more levels of the hierarchy and holds a meeting with a relatively lower-level of an employee. 

    This means that upper-level management has a better and clearer insight into employee perceptions as well as the employee attitudes at the grass-root level. On an overall dimension, it increases the transparency of the entire organisation. On addition to that, it also improves effective communication between all levels which is one of the most detrimental factors to the success and productivity of an organisation.

    Why conduct skip-level meetings?

    Skip-level meetings have multi-dimensional uses and all of them advantage both the employees as well as the organisation as a whole. It is a sure-shot way to gather authentic information, boost employee morale, improve the organisational fabric as well as ensuring transparency at all levels. There are a number of reasons why HR personnel should include skip-level meetings as an important aspect of the functioning of the organisation. It is a great way to bring individual goals and organisational goals under the same roof to make sure they coexist and evoke mutual success.

    Advantages of skip-level meetings

    • Skip-level meetings ensure a high degree of transparency of information in the organisation.
    • It creates a healthier and more open environment at the workplace where even lower-level employees feel included in the operations.
    • Increased employee engagement ensures that they feel important thereby leading to a boosted morale and better productivity.
    • A universal understanding of the company’s vision, mission and priorities, both short-term and long-term.
    • Getting a clear and detailed picture of the organisation from the ground up.

    Things to keep in mind while conducting a skip-level meeting

    The primary objective of a skip-level meeting is to improve communication within the organisation, improve employee engagement as well as boost employee morale. Whereas in some cases skip-level meetings are used for different purposes like collecting information about subordinate managers, gathering their work review etc. Also, the success of a skip-level meeting is a planned procedure that should take place months before the skip-level meeting is to be held.

    Skip-level meetings are not a procedure to fish and snitch about your direct reporters. Hence the purpose, procedure and agenda of the meeting should not only be fixed but also extremely professional.


    How to conduct a skip-level meeting

    1. Proper communication should be made to the manager whose level is being skipped. The reason for the skip-level meeting, the objective, the goals and the procedure should be duly communicated. Otherwise, it might cause misperception and the subordinate manager may feel that the meeting is being held as a fishing expedition to collect his/her work review from the lower-level employees.
    2. The purpose of the skip-level meeting should be clear and distinct. The purpose should not be diluted and in no case should it be used to extract information about subordinate managers or other employees to give them reviews.
    3. Due to the gap in the hierarchy, it is highly likely that the lower-level employees would not immediately open up to the managers. Hence the extensive planning is important. 
    4. Months before the skip-level planning is going to be conducted the managers should try to gel their bonds with these employees. This can be done by striking up casual conversations in coffee breaks or talking about something trending. The primary purpose is to get the employee comfortable to speak to you and give the employee a feeling of inclusivity.
    5. It is highly recommended to inform the employees before-hand about the meeting by letting them know the details. This will give the employees some time to prepare and would also eliminate the nervousness that might otherwise have been caused by an immediate summon. 

    What you can ask in a skip-level meeting?

    To ensure the success of a skip-level meeting, the right kind of questions should be asked in order to have effective communication. The wrong questions with the wrong-follow ups may lead to a wrong impression on the employee and act as a barrier to communication. 

    Questions that can be asked during a skip-level meeting.

    1. What would help you to work better?
    2. What do you think are the current drawbacks?
    3. Who do you admire the most and love to learn from?
    4. What are your insights about the new initiative?
    5. What would you like to change about the company?
    6. Which aspects do you think are being neglected by the management?

    Try to ask questions like “why” and “how” after their answers to get a deeper and better understanding of what the employees mean. Also, make it a point to take notes while the employees are answering. This will give the employee a feeling that their words are being considered and given importance to.

    Summing it up

    Do skip-level meetings take a lot of time?
    Yes.
    Does it require extensive planning?

    Yes.
    Does it help the organisation in all dimensions?

    Also yes.

    It may seem like a time-consuming affair to conduct skip-level meetings but in reality, it does the organisation more good than harm. The results it yields come in handy for any modern organisation to properly function.

    Hence, skip-level meetings should be conducted on a consistent basis to harness its full potential for organisational growth. 

    To get started, click here.

  • 13 Best Jobs for the Future in India

    In a scenario where the entire world is in lockdown, and people are confined to their homes, the existing dynamics of in-demand jobs have significantly changed. Even though all sectors will resume sooner or later, in a post-pandemic situation, some professions will most likely thrive more than the others. Hence, below listed are some best jobs for the future world.

    1. Digital Marketing Professionals

    In the present condition, taking up digital marketing as a career is a smart option because of the rising demand in online marketing or e-commerce. Due to the introduction of the internet in buying and selling or e-business, the demand for digital marketers has increased.

    Mainly requires a knowledge of e-commerce and marketing, which can be acquired by respective courses.

    Also Read: Scope of Digital Marketing in India

    2. General And Operational Managers

    The main job of a general and operations manager is to look after the budget, finance, and operational requirements of the organisation and meet its goals. It is a suitable career option because it has comparatively less competition as it requires patience, time, and effort.

    As the organisational goals are different for different companies, the least criteria for the job is a Bachelor’s degree. This job pays off quite well with experience.

    3. Chartered Accountant

    This is one of the most versatile career options because being a chartered accountant opens up the path for many other job perspectives, like, opening a firm of its own, banking, stockbrokers, head of auditing companies, executor of will, can be a consultant at an investment management company.

    With so many job advantages and opportunities, the degree of CA requires a robust knowledge and base in accountancy and proper course for it ( e.g., B.Com ) and needs to crack certain examinations to achieve the degree.

    4. Economist

    In the education culture Economics as a subject is introduced in school standards of 10th, but to pursue further knowledge and degree about it, the board exam marks for the particular and related subjects need to be good.

    The job of an Economist is to do research, surveys, and studies on the present situation of the economy in different scales depending on various factors. It is a pretty exciting job as this post provides very well opportunities in the public and private sectors. It also provides the individual the liberty of carrying out their research.

    5. Banking

    There are two different sectors for banking the public or government and the private. For the gov. sector, the BSRB ( Banking Service Recruitment Board ) plays an essential role in the examination procedure results of the applicant and all the selection processes. But in private banks, it is slightly different because recruitment is done directly by the respective bank based on their criteria.

    One of the advantages of banking as a career is the salary is pretty high, and the banker gets certain opportunities and perquisites.

    6. Financial Analyst

    Considering the current situation, there is a high demand for financial analysts in organisations, businesses, and even personal financing. Because of the ongoing state of the economy, an opinion from professionals and experts is always useful, and this can be perfectly done by a financial analyst.

    To pick up this as a career, one needs to have a degree in Finance and have a knowledge of the current budget, economy, and certain legal norms. The job pays off really well as financial analysts are responsible for the full outcome result of a successful business.

    7. Tech Specialists

    In the uprising demand for online support in almost all professions, software engineers have developed specially designed applications to meet the demand of these particular job perspectives. With this comes the duty of the Technical Specialists to look after the best usage of the applications and the security of the user as well as the developer.

    The background of a tech specialist requires a lot of experience and high knowledge of the content.

    8. Data Analysts

    The explosion of knowledge has rendered it impossible for companies to monitor and track their records. With the introduction of the internet, it is still challenging for major organisations to make use of the knowledge accessible. Data scientists would also, in turn, be in fierce competition. The analyst’s job is to find trends in the data and present it in a relevant, understandable manner.

    9. Cyber Security Analyst

    An information protection specialist assists in compliance policies and monitoring in preparing, enforcing, and updating. They monitor security access regularly and conduct internal and external security audits to ensure there are no loopholes or evidence of security lapses. A cybersecurity analyst is also responsible for conducting vulnerability tests, risk analyses, and safety assessments, as well as network management. The analyst teaches fellow staff in health training and practices compared to other duties, and they are mindful of the main strategies to be implemented to prevent data theft.

    A cybersecurity analyst starts with a pay scale in lakhs.

    10. Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

    First, the two most advantages of this job are the rank and the salary; both are commendable. The CISO is collaborating with the personnel to define, create, enforce, and manage procedures around the enterprise and ensure no violations of protection. They respond to accidents and develop adequate protocols and controls to minimize safety threats without triggering a business disruption. You are also responsible for monitoring the organisation’s execution of compliance protocols and procedures.

    11. Registered Nurse

    Due to an elderly population, nursing occupations are among the most rising technical sectors in the sector. Nursing will continue to be an extremely competitive profession in the future and would have more than 2 million workers in the industry. This is projected the number of workers would remain steady in the long term.

    12. Bio-medical Engineer

    Biomedical engineering is a relatively new job which has attracted considerable attention recently. These engineers are creating medical devices that can assist doctors and physicians in their daily activities. A few instances of their imaginative inventions include artificial limbs, body replacements, and biomedical accessories.

    13. Rehabilitation Counselor

    Rehabilitation practitioners support depressed individuals to meet their aspirations by supplying them with counseling resources. In this new age, major companies and departments with human resources are increasingly searching for consultants who will work to educate their employees about how to handle their life without wasting so much energy on the social network to online channels. Certified recovery practitioners are also in demand through psychotherapy, as the practice is projected to rise more than 15 percent over the next two or four years.

    Register here on our platform to apply for these future jobs.

  • Contract Staffing – Types, Advantages and Disadvantages

    In this area of cost-cutting where every company wants to maximise their productivity by economising on their costs. At this scenario, the context of contract staffing comes into the picture which is extremely beneficial to both the employers and employees.

    Contractual staffing is a system of recruiting employees for the short term. This means that the companies hire the employees on contract for a specific time period instead of hiring them as permanent employees. One of the most significant reasons for the growing popularity of contractual jobs is the flexibility it provides. These kinds of contracts can be seasonal contracts, part-time contracts and even independent contracts.

    Types of Contract Staffing

    Contract staffing has a number of subdivisions and types which are discussed under the following mentioned heads:

    Part-time Contract

    A part-time contract is the kind of contract staffing where the employee is bound by a contract of work hours. He/she gets all the opportunities as well as protection as that of a full-time employee. But a part-time contractual employee works for lesser work hours and has a fixed pay in terms of those work hours. Especially candidates who want to carry on with their education or skill development resort to this type.

    Fixed-term Contract

    Fixed-term contracts are those which are bound by requirements. These contracts are generally made against a single project and when the requirements of that project is met, the contract gets terminated. A fixed-term contract may extend in time but does not extend in requirements. It provides fixed pay and protection to the employees but lacks in continuity.

    Agency Staff

    In these contracts, the employees are fully hired by the agency but work for other companies. This happens because many companies employ agencies to get their work done. These agencies henceforth employee these contractual staffs. Here, the employees work for the companies but are paid by the agencies itself.

    Freelancing

    This is when an individual has an in-demand skillset, so he/she applies to one or more organisations which hire this employee on a contractual basis to deliver the needs of the company.

    Zero-hour Contract

    This is a kind of contract where no specific time or hours of work is mentioned. These staffs are needed “on-call”. When there is a specific need, these staffs are called for and after it is finished they are free to work or look for opportunities somewhere else.

    Contract Staffing Advantages

    Contractual jobs have dynamic benefits. The best feature of such staffing is that its benefits are not one-sided. It reaps advantages to employees, employers and entrepreneurs alike. Below listed are the ways in which Contract Staffing in the organisation helps employees and entrepreneurs/employers.

    To Employees

    In terms of the modern-day employees, the legal guidelines related to contractual staffing mean more command over timetables and sort of work and more control over the schedule which gives higher adaptability.

    Rather than thinking about routine nine to five work, employees can work in accordance with the contractual personnel guidelines. This will help the employees to choose a schedule for themselves that is more in accordance with their calendars and needs. They have power over their remaining workload, the idea of their work, and also the degree and amount of costs involved. A contractual employee can represent considerable authority in one kind of work or fabricate a wide range of employments consistently.

    High wages and salary is also a way in which contractual jobs benefits the employees. Since the employees have complete authority over their own workload, it means that they can be engaged in multiple contracts with different organisations. These employees are low maintenance and hence earn relatively more than full-time employees.

    To Entrepreneurs/Employers

    The contractual employees offer certain advantages for workers and bosses. These employees show signs of improving access to work, while organizations cut costs, increment efficiency, and utilize a wide system, on-request. Contractual staff or employees show clear signs of increased productivity while the companies actually incur relatively low costs on them. It isn’t astonishing that 65 per cent of managers accept that they will expand the utilization of Contractual workers guidelines later on. Join this pattern with the advancement of inventive cell innovation by making it simpler than at any other time for workers to interface with work searchers. It is additionally simple to perceive how contractual staff can make a business progressively productive, successful and positive.

    Contractual workers are progressively adaptable in adjusting to changing economic situations and work prerequisites. The capacity to coordinate an assortment of work to critical requirements is a major favourable position whenever oversaw adequately. If the contractual employees are met with effective management then they can potentially show a lot higher productivity than the other full-time workers. Different sorts of work with stringent conditions can also be effectively fulfilled by these kinds of workers.

    Relatively lower costs are also one way how employers and entrepreneurs benefit from contractual staffing. These employers economise on the cost of paying full-time employees. Envision an independent company that needs a bookkeeper for 6 hours every week. Employing a full-time bookkeeper is costly and a misuse of assets when long haul connections can be overseen by low maintenance assets. However, a  contractual employee for the same role adhering to only the absolute needs of the job, gets the work done and the employer does not have to pay him in terms of full-time personnel guidelines.

    Work laws or labour union laws might be carefully identified with documenting duties, benefits and different social advantages paid. These labour union laws are an important aspect that employers have to adhere to. However, in the case of contractual staff, these guidelines are also less stringent providing some amount of relief to the employers.

    Contract Staffing Disadvantages

    With the numerous advantageous roles of contract staffing, the few downsides that it carries with it also cannot be completely ignored.

    Contractual staffing provides no job security to its employees. Even though the pay and the rate of growth are high, the employees are constantly on the run to look for another job before the existing contract expires. This affects the feeling of security of job in an employee and to a degree affects his morale. Since the pressure of looking for another job while the current one continues is gruelling, it causes stress in the employees.

    Legal obligations like tax-paying is a part of every employee’s life. In a full-time or permanent job, the tax obligations borne by the employee are unitary. The employee has to maintain the records of only one account and generally for permanent employment the tax cut happens before the year-end. However, in case of contractual staffing, an employee has to maintain different accounts for different jobs and hence the tax calculations at the end of the year becomes a hefty job.

    In contractual employment, an important way by which the employees can create a mark for themselves is by creating a brand for themselves. Since there is no job surety, they have to constantly work to prove their abilities. In case that does not happen, they lack motivation and that affects their productivity to a degree.

    Conclusion

    Contractual staffing is a new-age workplace phenomenon and it has a steady growth in the current working scenario. It has numerous benefits both in terms of the employee and the employer. However, there are certain drawbacks that are most effective in terms of the employees of contract staffing. In a long-term perspective, if these drawbacks could be studied upon and steps are taken to mitigate the same, contractual staffing can emerge as a hot-favourite and can likely change the current workplace dimensions.