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  • How to Measure and Improve Employee Performance?

    To excel in life, what matters the most is performance. Performances which are upto the mark are always appreciated. But maintaining the same level of performance always does not turn up successfully. Then the couple of questions arise like, why productivity is low? What are the loopholes in performance? So to answer such sort of questions and to fill the bridge between current and expected performance, two points which are taken into consideration are:

    • How to Measure Employee Performance?
    • How to Improve Employee Performance?

    Firstly to elaborate, Employee performance is referred to how an employee fulfills their job duties and executes their required tasks. It involves the effectiveness, quality, and efficiency of their output.

    Importance of Assessing Employee Performance

    1. Every employee’s individual performance influences how all the team or maybe the firm (especially if it’s small) is doing. Hence assessing the performance shows them the clear picture of their standard of output.\
    2. It clarifies the employee’s role and status in the organization. Some employees are always curious to know regarding their stand. So assessing job performance clarifies their status and needs to the company.
    3. Self-development is the most important benefit for the employee performance appraisal as it allows receiving positive feedback as well as identifying areas for improvement. An employee can discuss and even create a developmental (training) plan with the manager so he/she can improve his skills.
    4. Performance appraisal system also helps the management in deciding about the promotions, transfers and rewards of the employee.
    5. It is easy to identify the under-performers and decide whether companies want to keep them hoping for improvement or sometimes have to let them go.

    Process of Assessing Employee Performance

    Step 1 – Establish Performance Expectations and Standards

    The process assessing employee performance begins with the establishment of per­formance standards. The managers must determine what outputs, accomplishments and skills will be evaluated. These standards should be relevant to job analysis and job descriptions. These performance standards should also be clear and objective to be understood and measured and should not be articulated in vague manner.

    Step 2 – Communicating the Standards

    Once the performance standards are established, this needs to be thoroughly and clearly communicated to the respective employees so that they come to know what is expected of them.

    Step 3 – Measure Actual Performance

    In this stage, the actual performance of the employee is measured during the specified period of time. It is an endless process which involves monitoring the performance throughout the year. This stage requires the careful selection of the right techniques of measurement, taking care that personal bias doesn’t affect the outcome of the process.

    Step 4 – Compare Actual Performance with Standards

    In this step, the actual performance is compared with the desired or the standard performance. The comparison tells the deviations within the performance of the employees from the standards set. The result can show the actual performance being more than the desired performance or, the actual performance being less than the desired performance. If the desired performance is not upto the mark, it proceeds to the fifth step in the process, i.e., the discussion of the appraisal with the concerned employees.

    Step 5 – Discuss the Appraisal with the Employee

    The fifth step within the appraisal process is to communi­cate to and discuss with the employees the results of the appraisal. This is the most challenging task that a manager faces when they need to present an accurate appraisal to the employees and then make them accept the appraisal in a constructive manner. A discussion on appraisal enables employees to understand their strengths and weaknesses. This has, in turn, impact on their future performance. The impact could be positive or negative depending upon how the appraisal is presented and discussed with the employees.

    Step 6 – Initiate Corrective Action

    This is the final stage in the process. Initiating some effective corrective measures should be executed according to the results of the appraisal.

    How to Measure Employee Performance?

    Here are a few ways to measure and evaluate employee performance:

    1. Graphic Rating Scales

    A typical graphic scale uses sequential numbers, such as 1 to 5, or 1 to 10, to rate an employee’s relative performance in specific areas. Scales are often used to rate behavioral elements, such as “understands job tasks” or “participates in decision-making.” Or they could note the frequency an employee performs a certain task or behavior, such as “always,” “frequently,” “occasionally,” or “never” coming to work on time. You can adapt scales to your business needs.

    2. 360-degree Feedback

    This well-named system takes into account the feedback, opinions and assessments of an employee’s performance from the circle of people in the company with whom they work. It can include co-workers, supervisors and others. As this evaluation includes the input from many sources, one can note positive and negative similarities and trends and can also identify areas that may need additional measurements and support.

    3. Self-Evaluation

    Asking an employee to evaluate his/her own performance can be very effective. Often, employees may be more critical of their performance than you might be. A form that includes multiple-choice answers, essay-type answers, or a combination of the two. Comparing self-evaluation to measure own objective appraisal can be helpful in finding similarities and discrepancies along with a richer understanding of employee’s performance. It can generate conversations that can be beneficial to employee development.

    4. Management by Objectives (MBO)

    Also known as “Management by Objectives,” this is a process whereby employees and managers form objectives together. They jointly determine individual objectives, how they align with company goals, and how performance will be measured and evaluated. MBO gives employees a transparent understanding of what’s expected and allows them to participate within the process, which fosters better communication and increases motivation.

    5. Checklists

    Using a simple “yes-no” checklist is a quick and easy way to identify employees that have deficiencies in various performance areas. It will also identify those that need additional training and knowledge to become more efficient.

    How to Improve Employee Performance?

    1. Understand the Reasons Behind Poor Performance

    Employees don’t truly understand the company vision or how their job contributes to its achievement, or employees don’t have measurable performance goals, so they don’t even realize they aren’t performing well enough. Understanding the causes behind poor performance (and even average performance) is a critical first step toward improving employee performance which can be resolved and improved through a healthy conversation.

    2. Prioritize Employee Development

    At a certain good time to readdress employee goals and plan accordingly to benefit the organizational goals improve employee performance. Working closely to bridge any skills gaps will not only help them achieve long-term goals but will also benefit the company as when employee skills improve it fulfills business objectives.

    3. Improving Morale

    Boosting morale of the employees with recognition, or celebrating their success or special days. Even sometimes with few monetary perks improvise the employee performance.

    4. Empower Employees

    For effective results in work, what is most important is that employees must have belongingness and authority that can be gained when an employee is duly empowered and has sufficient amount of freedom and space to work.

    5. Utilize the Right Technologies

    Implement technology platforms that drive performance and engagement daily. Technology is crucial in today’s workforce, as it reduces stress and saves time. Tech-savvy approach always fascinates employees to work more effectively.

    6. Continual Communication

    Essence of communication is to understand. Hence more communication means better understanding towards a company’s core value resulting in improvement of work standards.

    7. Foster a Positive Work Environment

    Happy employees always come up with happy results and to make employees happy what is utmost important is a positive work environment. Inculcating such culture never disappoints the staff and their productivity.

    8. Don’t Micro-manage

    Micromanagement is a management style whereby a manager closely observes and controls or reminds the work of his/her subordinates or employees. In this manager control every part of a situation, project, etc., even including the very small details, in a way that may not be necessary and may not give enough responsibility to the employees which involves avoiding delegation, constantly making reports, not allowed to make decisions and can’t pass on their skills or knowledge which makes routine work and culture very sofocative and full of congestion so avoiding this practice gives more space to employees to perform both efficiently and effectively.

  • Difference between Offer Letter and Appointment Letter

    When hiring any new employee, the company will send several correspondences before a particular role is filled. There are two crucial letters that a business will send, and they are an offer letter and appointment letter. An offer letter provides a position to the selected candidate, sets the compensation, or what the company requires from a new employee. And the appointment letter goes into additional details about a job and company itself that will ease an employee in a new position. Let us check out the major differences between offer letter and appointment letter:

    What’s an Offer Letter?

    If a company hires the job candidate, they will send the offer letter to make them know that they have got the job position. Every company formats offer letters differently, but this letter normally includes detailed information about their promised position & compensation. It might include several details about several other benefits that an employee can expect and joining date. The time period must give an employee a little time to leave from the current position. Suppose a company requires further information from an employee before its start date, like the birth certificate, professional licenses, or Social Security number; this letter will detail this.

    This letter can normally state if an employee has to submit any background checks and drug tests before it gets official. An offer letter will state the deadline for an employee to react to an offer, and suppose there is not any response before the given date; the company can hire another applicant.

    Also Read: How to Accept an Offer Letter via Email with Sample

    What’s an Appointment Letter?

    All companies do not issue any appointment letters, but companies who do won’t send any letter until an offer letter is accepted because the letters point specifics about a job that somebody needs to know after they accept the job appointment. An appointment letter generally includes complete details about where an employee must show up for the work, the start date of a position, expected work schedule as well as employee’s agreed salary that can be very different than stated in an offer letter if both the parties negotiated on the salary after an offer letter was handed over.

    In many cases, the business will be reiterating information discussed with the job applicant during the interviews and offer letter. An appointment letter will be considered formal than an offer letter and will be often used as the contract or employment proof for the loan applications or other purposes.

    The offer letter and the appointment letter are an important part of the recruitment cycle. The company hires new employees, and the process includes several tasks for a recruitment cycle. These letters are important letters in context to the final recruitment stages.

    If an applicant clears all the interview rounds successfully and completes the criteria decided for a candidate, then he’s regarded as an appropriate candidate for a company. As he cleared all necessary rounds and has proved his suitability, the company offers him the letter, and the letter is called the offer letter.

    Offer Letter includes:

    • Salary package
    • Position offered
    • Date of joining

    It might include complete details like medical plans and benefits that a company will provide. Besides this, the offer letter generally asks an applicant to submit the essential documents & certified copies. It is on an applicant to accept their offer or ask for any kind of negotiations. In some situations, the candidate will have a choice to reject an offer if it doesn’t meet their expectations.

    Alternatively, an appointment letter is the next step after an offer letter. If a candidate is pleased with the company offers, and the documents offered by an application are verified successfully, then a company issues the appointment letter. The letter will be described as the guarantee from a company that the company is hiring an applicant. In the letter, the same information as the offer letter will be furnished, and in case any negotiations and changes are taken place, then agreed new terms are mentioned in the letter.

    Difference between Offer Letter and Appointment Letter

    1. The offer letter means that you’re negotiating with a candidate and finalized on the salary part. It is not the final document as a candidate will join or will not. The candidate has to accept this same by signing.
    2. When an employee joins an organization, on the basis of their offer letter candidate will be liable to get an appointment letter. It gives details of the general terms of a company organization.

    What should be included in an employment letter?

    Employment letters come in various sizes and shapes, but will universally have some basic provisions:

    • Title & duties
    • Term of employment
    • Compensation & benefits
    • Exclusivity
    • Termination
    • Confidentiality
    • Arbitration
    • Severance pay

    What should be included in an offer letter?

    An offer letter must have the following provisions:

    • Start date
    • Position
    • At-will employment statement
    • Compensation

    Besides the offer letter, certain jurisdictions need that employers offer non-exempt employees with notices at a time of hire in writing.

    • Rate of pay, whether paid by an hour, day, week, shift, piece, salary, commission, or, including rates for overtime, when applicable
    • Allowances took as a part of the minimum wage (tips, meal & lodging deductions)
    • Regular payday decided by an employer
    • Name of an employer, which includes DBA names that are used by an employer
    • The physical address of an employment office or place of business, mailing address, in case different
    • Telephone number of an employer
    • Name, address and phone number of an employer workers’ insurance carrier

    Offer Letter

    Appointment Letter

    Document that conform your Job Offer After Offer Letter gets Issued Appointment Letter will be the best Interaction between the Company and Employee
    States Details of the Job Offer that includes Description, Position, Salary and Other Benefits Appointment Letter is a Guarantee about Job and Position in a Company,
    It is on you To Decline/Accept Employment In a Concerned Company When you Sign an Appointment Letter Confirms the Acceptance of Terms and Conditions of a Company.

    Wrapping Up 

    So these are some important roles in the offer letter and appointment during the hiring stage of a company. People misunderstand it as interchangeably, but that is not a case. Both have got their use and importance. The above table will give you a clear differentiation between the offer letter and appointment letter.

  • Company name hidden? Understand why companies prefer to hide the company name while hiring

    In the life cycle of HR, recruitment is the most exciting and dynamic function. Apart from finding the right man for the right place, it is even more interesting to meet a variety of people with different thought processes and mindsets. Being an integral part of the job in the scope of Human Resource Management, recruitment is driven by the different needs of the company as multiple companies mean multiple standards, variations in protocols, and a variety of needs. In context to the same, there are ample sources for recruitment that company uses, but the most trending and effective nowadays are only two i.e.

    How do companies hire?

    • E-recruiting- E-recruitment or online recruitment, is the recruitment method using technology or Web-based resources and social media for the purpose of finding, attracting, assessing, interviewing, and hiring new employees.
    • Placement consultancies A Placement Consultancy is a bridge between the companies that offer jobs in various areas and the job-seekers. They help companies irrespective to the size to find the best match in order to reduce and streamline the manpower hunting for the companies 

    But when we talk about these two sources of recruitment or generally browse through the web portals, it is found that name of the company is not revealed and it majorly happens when companies itself do not prefer to reveal their names while advertising jobs, but the question arise here why do companies prefer not to reveal company names while advertising jobs?

    5 Most Genuine Reasons why companies prefer not to reveal their names while advertising jobs

    There may be ample or inner reasons for it, based upon the company’s standard and policies. Many times even job consultancies do not also disclose the name as candidates generally tend to directly approach the company but below listed are the most genuine reasons due to which it happens and companies prefer not to reveal their names while advertising jobs.

    1. Competitive/Rival Companies: It is generally considered that more hiring means more expansion and more expansion means growth and hefty revenue, which provides a hint to the competitive or rival companies about the action plan and rivalries are expected to create hinder or snatch the prospective opportunities, so unless the success is achieved and projects do not lands on the plate, in order to avoid the uncertainties or mishaps of the competitive market, the name of the company remains undercover.
    2. Do not want disclosure in internal premises regarding the hiring of the replacement: Apart from the above recruiting, the next and crucial reason is when management has taken the decision to replace anyone and the individual assessee can already feel or know the same. Therefore, directly disclosing the name of the company on web or social portal gives them a sort of confirmation. Hence rather finding the scope of improvement, the individual employee is expected to make the situation worse. This can take place by leaking confidential data by existing employees, hampering work culture, disturbing others, and not doing anything. So in order to avoid such adversity, the company prefers to keep the name disclosed.
    3. To gain timely and suitable resources: Another reason is that recruitment has nowadays become an ongoing process and for the sake of one position numerous applicants come across. Out of it plenty of CV’s are either found under-qualified or overqualified or maybe irrelevant based upon the need of job and time but those pools of CV’s are most likely to be used at future points but candidates do not wish to apply directly again from in the same company from where he/she has been rejected before. So to gain the right kind of person at the right time, companies prefer to keep the name hidden.
    4. To maintain the brand value by safeguarding the work culture: This reason comes in the light when a company hires again and again for the same profile. Hiring for the same profile generally indicates the high attrition rate of the company and unhealthy work culture which showcase a poor brand name in the market. Though companies try to improve on their areas of a loophole but no one wants to reveal the same on the public podium due to which company wishes to hide the name while recruiting.
    5. Don’t want to entertain irrational calls and candidates: Another reason is also that, if the jobs are advertised openly, hence finding contact number or address becomes the easy part for the job seeker and many such candidates directly make vague calls or reach at company premises for direct interaction which is quite annoying and time consuming whereas candidates through job portals and recruitment consultancy are creamed and filtered ones. So to avoid such cumbersome circumstances, the company finds it preferable to keep the identity veiled.

    So, register yourself with us as we at Zigsaw make the best match at the most suitable companies in accordance with the individual candidature. 

     

  • What is Job Enrichment? – Purpose, Techniques, Advantages and Disadvantages

    Job enrichment is a subset of job design and a by-stander with job enlargement. It is a vertical restructuring of a job role. It is a tool used to motivate the employees by enabling them to learn new skills and acquiring new experiences. It serves as an antidote to employee monotony that occurs due to the repetitive nature of jobs. It attempts to increase employees’ autonomy over its job and also allow him/her the room for feedback and participation. The idea of job enrichment largely emerged from Frederick Hertbergz ‘Two Factor Theory’. It is a process of motivation where newer sets of dimensions are added to pre-existing jobs.

    Different Ways of Job Enrichment

    The primary essence of job enrichment is to increase the job satisfaction of the employees. This is done by vertical enlargement of the job profile known as job enrichment. This means increasing the control of the employee over his job. Upon having heightened control, the employee feels more responsible, more accountable and freer to take risks on his activities. All of these factors attribute to better job satisfaction which in turn lead to better productivity. Here are some of the ways by which job enrichment can be carried out:

    Job Rotation

    One of the most effective ways of job enrichment is by rotating the employees in various jobs. This will allow the employees to learn new skill-sets and acquire new experiences. Job rotation can be an extremely useful tool in providing motivation to the employees.

    Complex Tasks

    The employees can be assigned with more complex set of tasks. This will give them a sense of entitlement towards their job since they will be handling the job from the start to the end. They will find more meaning in their professional duty and that would give them the motivation that is required.

    Formation of Autonomous Teams

    Job enrichment can be both on an individual and group level. Formation of such teams would help the enrichment on a group level. In such groups, the employees should be given the freedom to decide upon the operations, evaluations, etc. In some cases, they may also e give the freedom to choose their own team members. This will provide heightened motivation for their work.

    Increasing Participation

    Increasing the participation of the employees in the higher-level management processes can work as an effective motivator. A company with a very strict hierarchy is likely to make the employees that their voices are unheard. Hence letting the employees have a say in strategic management can, in turn, lead to job enrichment.

    Transparent feedback

    In most cases, we see that the quality team of an organisation tracks employee performance and points out the mistakes. However, if the feedback process is more employee-directed meaning that the employees have more control over tracking their own performance, then it would lead to effective job enrichment.

    Steps in Job Enrichment

    The followings are a rough sketch of the steps might be implemented for job enrichment:

    Survey

    The first and foremost step is conducting an extensive survey in the organisation. It should be first understood the areas of improvement. The areas where the employees are dissatisfied should be found out. Implementation of enrichment without a proper survey would only lead to developmental work in areas that do not require it leading to ineffective job enrichment.

    Deciding on the Approach

    There can be a number of approaches to implement job enrichment. Hence, it is important to decide on the right approach. Choosing a drastic approach would not only be cost-ineffective but also poses the risk of operational failure. Hence, a complete paradigm shift in the workplace scenario is not a safe option. Instead an optimum task-force should be appointed to implement job enrichment on grounds of operational profitability as well as job satisfaction of the employees.

    Curating the Program

    After analysing the different approaches, a final program for implementation of job enrichment should be created.

    Communicating the Program

    After designation of the program, there should be clear communication. All the levels of management, as well as the employees, should be well communicated about the plan of action. In addition, the employees should be given enough participation and their feedback should also be taken into account.

    Advantages

    The followings listed are the advantages of job enrichment:

    • Job enrichment enables the employee ton to learn new skill-sets and enrich himself.
    • With learning new skills, he is prone to new jobs and hence can potentially acquire new experiences.
    • It is one of the best motivational drives for the employees of an organisation.
    • A workplace with motivated and skill-enriched employees can be regarded as a healthy working environment.
    • Since due to job enrichment, the employees are motivated to be participative, it improves their decision-making process of the employees.
    • By increasing the job role and participation of other middle and lower-level employees, job enrichment reduces centralisation of power.
    • Job enrichment inculcates a sense of accomplishment in both the employer and the employee.

    Disadvantages

    Even though job enrichment can be generally attributed to positive outcomes in an organisation, there are a few disadvantages that should be noted.

    • Employees are given way too much control under this approach. However, the credibility of the employees is not always tested. Whether the employee can make full use of the control in his hands or not is debatable.
    • A lot of employees work well and prove to be productive when they are under direction. Given the autonomy of actions, it may affect their productivity.
    • A degree of ego clashes and complexes may also emerge in the organisation since the superiors may feel that they are losing their hierarchical position.
    • Job enrichment comes with added responsibility upon the employees. This may, in some organisations be a tool of their exploitation due to overworking.

    Job enrichment is a two-sided sword. However, it obviously does more good than harm. If it is used by unscrupulous management, it may lead to exploitation of the employees. However, if it is systematically implemented, it would lead to a workforce of highly motivated and driven individuals who are satisfied with the work they do.

    It is for the organisation to decide the right approach of job enrichment in alignment with the other needs of the organisation. A well-enriched set of jobs will only lead to higher levels of productivity.

    Looking for highly talented employees for your company? Register here on our platform to find them.

  • Employee Burnout Causes and Cures

    We are living in an extremely fast-paced world, where no one seems to have the time to relax or take a breather. Everyone seems to have one or the other deadline hanging on their heads. It seems as if everyone is a part of this never-ending race, where one deadline leads to another and then another. In this kind of a demanding and challenging atmosphere, many employees feel the burden of it too much and seem to be physically, mentally and emotionally drained. This refers to as “employee burnout” and is a very common happening in today’s world thus re-emphasizing on the saying once again “All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy!”.

    Not being able to concentrate on the work at hand, being detached from what is going on, uncertainty relating to the work are some of the common symptoms that an employee suffering from burnout experiences. The disruption of the entire work-life balance affects the person so badly, that it is visible in his/her behaviour, attitude towards life. The person becomes more and more irritable, negative and may be inclined to take some dire actions. The person can suffer from various physical issues, mental issues, professional and even personal consequences.

    Mental issues faced:

    • Anger
    • Anxiety
    • Depression – Most common in today’s time
    • Constant irritation
    • Need for medical help

    Physical issues faced:

    • Headaches
    • Stress
    • Stomach aches
    • Tiredness
    • Type 2 diabetes
    • High chances of developing high blood pressure
    • High chances of heat-related illness
    • High chances of death at an early age sue to excessive stress

    Professional Consequences:

    • Job dissatisfaction
    • Uncertainty regarding the work submitted
    • Staying away from large groups of colleagues/ friends
    • Inability to do a satisfactory job

    Personal Consequences:

    • Withdrawl from family
    • Becoming extremely irresponsible
    • Alcohol/drug abuse
    • Being careless with finances

    Employee Burnout Causes

    Employee burnout is becoming an extremely serious concern in the current-day workplace. There are many causes which leads to this kind of burnout, some of which are mentioned below:

    • JOB SCOPE CREEP: When the duties listed on paper vary significantly from the duties assigned, this kind of mismatch is referred to as job creep. This happens mostly after the employee has spent a significant amount of time in the organization and thus the need of the job changes as the time passes. But still, a deviation from what the employee was brought on board seems to take a toll on many employees.
    • LIMITED/ NO CHANCE OF CAREER PROGRESSION: Imagine, clocking in hours of work, day in and day out for nothing! It is irritating even listening to this right? There are many people who today are stuck in this endless loop and thus either try to figure out something else or at last, they have to bear the brunt of it.
    • POOR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS OF THE ORGANISATION: When the communication channel falters, then most of the decisions are taken by the higher-level management, without considering its impact on the overall organizational structure and thus the lower level employees suffer.
    • HIGH-STRESS ENVIRONMENT WITH LONG HOURS OF SLOGGING: Employers need to understand that quantity does not equate quality. Not every individual who keeps on slogging for 14 hours will work much more than a sane-minded, distressed individual clocking the regular 9-5 job. Each employee needs to work on their pace within a relaxed environment to deliver their best and give back most to the company.
    • POOR WORK CULTURE: Many times, the people in your vicinity, your colleagues, your manager, may not be the most positive force, but the constant ridicule, the constant dissatisfaction with the kind of work submitted, all these may lead to employee burnout.
    • IMPROPER WORK-LIFE BALANCE: Giving all the attention to your work and nothing to time for relaxing and calming your brain, will eventually lead to burnout. Each machine needs fuelling, or it is bound to go haywire, similarly with the body and the brain, if it continuously works without giving it a break for relaxing, they too will suffer damages.
    • FAVOURITISM IN THE COMPANY: Beating down the employee’s morale, by preferring someone over the other, leads to some serious issues. This creates an impression in the mind of the employees that whatever they do, they won’t ever be able to take the place of their boss’s favourite and this is enough to make their minds go in a spiral.
    • NO TEAM-BUILDING ACTIVITIES: When there is no kind of communication between team members, obviously the team will fall apart. And everyone knows corporate life is a summation of various team projects, not “individual” ones! So, the team has to have a great camaraderie to perform nice, otherwise, it will lead to misunderstandings and eventually burnout of employees.
    • NO EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION: Everyone deserves recognition for all the hard work one puts in. But nowadays, many companies just show their appreciation with some standard, same gifts for all the employees and thus, kill the motivation of the employees who genuinely worked hard.

    Employee Burnout Cures

    Well, this is a recurring issue in today’s time, but something needs to be done in to reduce it, to help in the retainment of top-performing employees so that they do not leave the organization to go search for something better. There are various ways that do serve as the cure for the employee burnout problem.

    There are somethings that the employee can do themselves, to cure burnout. They are:

    • BE MORE SOCIAL WITH COLLEAGUES: Engaging with people in groups, reducing the time spent alone, will help in the long run as it stops the brain from overthinking about the current ongoing issues. Being more interactive will also help build the bonding between the team and will also aid in the projects.
    • STAY AWAY FROM NEGATIVE PEOPLE: Negative people have the power to drain out any kind of positivity left in you, so it is advisable to stay away from them, till you nurse yourself back to perfection.
    • RESTORE THE WORK-LIFE BALANCE: Find some time for yourself apart from the work, give more time to pamper yourself, spend time with family will help phase out from burnout.
    • FIND VALUE IN YOUR WORK: Always try to find something good in your work, your mundane life, find positivity, which might be a great booster.
    • CORRECT YOUR SLEEP SCHEDULE: A body with adequate hours of sleep works properly and thus help reduce various illness. Thus, fixing up your sleep schedule must be of great help.
    • EXERCISE/ MEDITATE REGULARLY: Who does not know about the powers of meditation and exercise? Regular physical activities have the power to improve the mood significantly!

    Somethings that the employer can do to help cure the burnout of their employees are:

    • PRAISE AND PROVIDE RECOGNITION: Every employee craves for the appreciation of the work done by him/her. Praising and providing necessary feedback helps boost the morale of the employees and keep their motivation intact!.
    • ALWAYS BE APPROACHABLE: A boss who is always there for his/her employees, whether for professional problems or personal issues, is valued dearly. Empathy is the greatest emotion that one can show and thus it also bridges the gap and thus solve the problem of lack of communication.
    • NO BIASEDNESS: Treating all your employees equally, showing no favouritism is the only ethical way, how any of the corporates should work.
    • ENCOURAGE STRESS RELIEVERS: Sometimes workloads can be huge, but there is always a stress-free way of getting work done. Encourage these kinds of practices in the workplace.
    • REDUCE OVERTIME: Encourage the employees to enjoy their “me-time” and not get bogged down by the continuous work-load, will help prevent as well as treat employee burnout.
    • CLEAR JOB REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS: Making it clear from the beginning what all re expected from the employee will help clear the air of misunderstanding between the employee and the employer and thus will lead to a much calmer work-environment.

    Thus, employee burnout is a serious issue in today’s world but with some above-mentioned ways, it can be cured. Just letting things go and focusing on your mental health, is of top priority here and it will surely work wonders.

  • 10 Best Employee Engagement Activities

    Empty mind is a devil house so the primary task of any reporting manager is to allocate sufficient amounts of tasks to its subordinate to keep them engaged but keeping engaged is not sufficient. Because you can’t eat the same kind of food daily similarly, you can’t do the same kind of task daily. To get rid of the boredom weather in life, food or work something engaging is must.  So this must engage activities in the field of work is referred as Employee Engagement Activities.

    To define Employee engagement it is the extent to which employees feel hooked into their jobs and stays committed to the organization, and put discretionary effort into their work. Employee engagement involves activities, games, and events which drive towards better employee performance.

    Importance or Objectives of Employee Engagement Activities

    The objective Employee Engagement Activities is to ensure that employees feel committed towards organisation’s goals and remain motivated to contribute for organisational success, also at the same time enhancing their own sense of wellbeing. Below are some of the major importance of Employee Engagement Activities:

    1. Better employee health & safety: In a happy work culture where employees are always engaged and associated with happening activities inclusive of their daily activities, they are more at the state of mental peace and satisfaction which ensures better employee health and become very less prone to any mishaps or health hazards.

    2. Happier employees: When employees are allowed to share their valuable inputs towards betterment of the company, feels themselves more connected and realizes security of a job, such an environment produces happy employees.

    3. Greater employee satisfaction: As mentioned in the above two points, employees with better health and happy state of mind always turn in greater satisfaction.

    4. Better home life (Work-Life Balance): Employee engagement not only involves events or fun activities, it is based for the overall betterment of employees. In the concept of overall betterment the foremost thing is happy home life or personal life in order to manage better work-life balance. A maintained work-life balance takes place when the work-timings and pressure is duly managed or reduced.

    5. Lower absenteeism: Happy people, happy culture, happy home life . In addition to these three the first output which comes is lower absenteeism as it always stimulates the individual to rush for the office.

    6. Higher retention (Low rate of attrition): Based on the factors like better employee health & safety, happy environment, greater employee satisfaction and better home life leads for sure towards lower attrition and higher retention due to healthy work ambiance.

    7. Better & quality customer service: The ultimate motto of employee engagement is to attain the company’s end goal which is producing high quality goods or services in order to achieve the client’s or customer’s satisfaction.

    8. Greater productivity & profitability: Happy environment produces happy employees and happy employees produce greater productivity which generates higher sales and profitability and key for these depends upon well managed employee engagement strategies.

    9. Greater employee loyalty: Loyalty comes with satisfaction and satisfaction comes from motivation. When a company assures a well managed employee engagement strategy it leads towards higher employee loyalty.

    10. Higher stock price: Greater sales and profitability leads towards a better brand name which creates a long going future and wealth. Based on the wealth or fund capacity the share or stock prices of the company increases for sure.

    Effective Employee Engagement Strategies

    1. Listening to Employees: Listening is always considered to be good practice in every field of life especially in corporate as listening to employees with their grievances or problems always give a personal touch and keep them connected with the core value of the company.

    2. Practice sharing good ideas between teams: Competition is good till it is healthy but it is obvious that it becomes bitter in the concept called ‘work politics’ so in order to remove this work politics and maintain a healthy competition, sharing good ideas amongst each other or within two teams is always considered a good practice to be followed.

    3. Value employee opinion: Employees are human resources but moreover they are human assets of the organization which leads the company towards the achievement of their end goal. Hence its very important that such assets must be valued and nourished by properly entertaining their opinion as they have different mindsets run in different directions ends with, providing a bunch of opinion which mostly found useful in terms of organizational growth.

    4. Invest in the wellbeing of employees: As mentioned above the human assets must be given the chance for nourishment. Hence, it is very necessary apart from only focusing towards organizational growth, well- being and development of the individual employees should also be taken care of.

    5. Recognise good work: Apart from the pre-mentioned strategies, what actually motivates is the recognition and praising. To reach the goal every employee strives hard. Sometimes they achieve, sometimes they can’t but when they receive the achievement, recognition and tinge of praise-worthy words, works as a power booster and significant motivator for future tasks.

    10 Best Employee Engagement Activities

    1. Workplace Parties

    Company parties like annual, summer and winter parties to celebrate a year of business. Additional festivities like Halloween parties, Thanksgiving dinners, and other celebratory parties make people feel companies prioritize them.

    2. Learning Lunches

    Learning lunches or potlucks are the perfect way to bring a team together and help them learn. Encourage different departments to share what they’re working on and tackle a new topic as a team. Hosting such lunches once per month fosters learning, and helps with transparency.

    3. Employee Games, Tournaments, and Competitions

    Employees love getting involved in games, tournaments, and competitions. Hosting a sports tournament, or challenges office-wide can do wonders for the employees at the organization.

    4. Special Days

    Special days such as birthday, anniversary, work anniversary change the pace and give employees something to look forward to. Cutting cakes, gifts or treating them special on these days boosts morale alot.

    5. Training

    Training always brings out a special in you. A speaker for a truly interesting and invigorating training session, engage the employees and teach them something new.

    6. Recognition Programs

    Recognition programs are a great way to get employees to interact with one another. Programs like “Employee of the Month” or “Employee of the year” always become the common platform of recognition in which everyone cherishes each other, congratulates and fosters team spirit.

    7. Team-building Activities

    Team-building activities, especially those outside of the office, are something that employees love. Go-kart racing, and bowling etc. are such options. These sorts of activities will facilitate bonding outside of the workspace, and give employees better understanding.

    8. Fundraisers and Charity Days

    Fundraisers and charity days are also a nice way to bring employees together on the common page Often these causes affect your employees, so giving them the opportunity to organize such events for causes they are passionate about is an effective way to enhance their organizational skills.

    9. Employee Work from Home Policy

    This policy is the most effective one which gives employees the liberty of how to work, where to work and when to work. The objective is to fulfill the deadline in the most convenient manner without any obligation of professional wear, timings, daily commute. The concept of home office has always proven the best manner of employee engagement.

    10. The First-day welcome Card/Gift to New Hires

    It is one of the great employee engagement activities to introduce to a new hire. It makes new employees engaged on their first day itself, Thus, this trick at the workplace to welcome new buddies with presents like a welcome card, gift, or email to the new hires makes them feel equally important as it is to introduce them to the team in a friendly manner.

    Looking ahead to join such great companies. Feel free to register with us and explore opportunities with many awesome companies.

  • Work from Home Challenges and Solutions

    There are various job models available in the market today. One of those job models is called ‘telecommuting’ or ‘telework’. Within this arrangement, employees don’t have to travel to a central institution of work like an office. They can work from wherever they have taken up residence. Work from home is a form of telecommuting and in recent days, is becoming a very popular work arrangement!

    The coronavirus pandemic has shut down many offices globally and employees have been forced indoors in their houses. Since organizations cannot shut down or stop functioning, the work from the home model has been adopted. Official workspaces have been created online and conferences are undertaken through video calls, thanks to today’s technology. All you need is a fresh mind and a good internet connection!

    Given today’s scenario, working from home is the safest option. While frontline professions such as healthcare, security, and essential services don’t get work from the home pass, almost every other industry has converted to the digital mode. Many companies across the globe are even considering changing the permanent work arrangement to work from home, considering the ease of functioning and the employee’s comfort by working from his residence!

    Like everything in this world, work from home has its pros as well as cons. While it is extremely easy and comfortable, it comes attached to its own set of risks. But it is a great profession arrangement to earn some money at the comfort of your house! So here’s a detailed study into the ‘work from home’ model, its challenges, and solutions.

    Work from Home Challenges and Solutions

    Despite having the freedom to not dress up and get ready for office, to work at our own pace and timeline, studies have shown that employee productivity and satisfaction has hit an all-time low due to this work model. As explicitly mentioned above, working from home comes with its challenges and some of them have been listed below.

    1. Managing Projects

    Any big corporation or company has multiple ongoing projects at the same time, and big projects require many people to run it.

    One of the biggest challenges of remote working is project management. There are too many working parts of the project scattered across different places. To track the work of every project member becomes a gargantuan task for the management.

    Managers are responsible to make every employee meet the deadline be it work from the office or work from home. Without having a physical presence, communication is more difficult, and keeping track of individual tasks is problematic, especially for complex projects and large teams.

    Solution:

    Multiple online tools could act as a manager for a remote project. These tools are inbuilt with functions that set specific goals for the employees and keep a track of the progress made by every individual on the team.

    Some of these online tools are:

    1. monday.com
    2. Asana
    3. Trello

    Each of these online tools has paved a way for complete transparency and efficiency in managing a project remotely!

    2. Team Collaborations

    A project often requires multiple minds working on it simultaneously. This involves brainstorming and ideations on a common piece of document. In physical presence, it is easy to share documents, presentations, and memos without any holdbacks. But it becomes multiple times difficult to do the same through online modes.

    Remote working highly limits a group of people interacting on the same piece of document for different places. There are a lot of technical difficulties and a lack of coordination faced by the team members.

    Solution:

    The basic go-to tool for online collaborations will always be google drive. Google drive provides all the basic requirements and creates an online hub where multiple people can edit or work on a document at the same time. Other features include a chatbox on the document page, where a document can be ideated by sharing views and opinions without any hassle. You can view the document being formed in real-time and make changes on the go!

    Other tools like Slack, InVision, and Spark can also be used based on company requirements.

    3. Productivity and Task Progress

    Working at home has shown a stark decrease in employee productivity according to recent statistics. Home is the one place where you can be at absolute ease and sometimes become too comfortable! It also leads to problems like procrastination or deprioritizing which can in turn lead to a huge pile-up of work.

    When different team members are scattered across different places, tracking their work activities becomes difficult. One snag in the process and the entire team suffers for it.

    Solution:

    The only way to solve this problem is to track the employees’ work in real-time. Online management tool such as Toggl or Status Hero shows the entire team as well as the manager about an employee’s work status. This pushes the worker to complete the given task on time and also enables the team to adjust their work as per their teammates. This leads to harmony and coordination within the team. Individuals can set up personal goals that enable them to finish the work within a set time frame.

    4. Internet Connectivity and Time Zones

    Multinational Corporations work across the globe from different countries. Employees could be working on the same project from two opposite ends of the world. This is where the problem of timezones will be factored in. A difference in time zones leads to miscommunication about deadlines and a mistiming in general. It could be a good night’s sleep for one employee while the other might be in peak working condition.

    Another major factor for remote working is a good internet network.  The majority of any company’s work has been converted to an online database that cannot be accessed without a good internet connection. Slow speed internet or a lack of network coverage in the area might make it extremely difficult for an employee to work with the team.

    Solution:

    A good internet connection with a high-speed data flow router can be installed in the house for uninterrupted internet access. There is no other solution to that.

    For dealing with timezones, companies can deploy online tools such as Calendar, in which employees can mark up slots of their free time and the work can be allocated in those slots.

    5. Cyber Security

    This is a problem faced by tech companies primarily. An online transfer of data can be highly dangerous as third parties have the access to hack such data. Also, downloading secure company information on a personal device can also make it accessible to unwanted entities. Data destruction by viruses is another con of remote working.

    Solutions:

    Request for a company-issued device at your residence if your management allows it. This will keep secure data off of the local servers. Companies mandate an encrypted line of communication for security. If your work has to be done on a personal computer, then install quality antiviruses and a private network for complete security.

    Conclusion

    Work from home is an extremely easy-going mode of working. It is comfortable and flexible, unlike rigid office regulations. However, a residential setting has a lot of distractions and can drop productivity to very low levels.

    It’s like two sides of the same coin, one good, and the other bad! But we live in a techno-pro world where every problem has a solution!

    So stay home, stay safe, and give your best!

  • Types of Leaves in a Company

    A body is not a machine and thus it may rest from time to time to maintain the level of efficiency. Every employee of every company has the right to take some days off from their busy, hectic schedule and to just cool off. Leaves are extremely important to help maintain the work-life balance of an individual that helps them boost their productivity. All the companies whether governmental or non-governmental gives different types of leaves for all their employees and it’s the decision of the employees to use them either for sports, recreation, travelling or whatever helps them keep going!

    Also Read: How to Write Leave Application for Office with Samples

    Types of Leaves in a Company

    Every employee has the right to various kinds of leave during his/her employment period.  Leaves can be classified into 2 broad categories:

    • PAID LEAVES: The kind of leaves where the employee still receives the salary even if he/she takes a day off. There are certain amount of days already assigned as paid leave for the entire term of employment. So, these are the kind of leaves with pay. Generally taken during the time of accidents on duty, funeral, jury duty etc.
    • UNPAID LEAVES: These are the leaves without pay. An urgent request of leave from the employee will result in an unpaid leave for the reasons not maintained under paid leaves. Like a medical check-up, urgent checking up on a relative and many more.

    All the leaves can further be divided into 3 types:

    • MANDATORY LEAVES: These are just like the holidays everyone used to get in schools and colleges without having the pay deducted. Holidays for certain religious festivals, off on weekends (which varies depending on the number of working days of an organization) and holidays on days of national importance.
    • LEAVES: There are various kinds of leaves assigned by the companies, a curated list of which is given below:
      • MEDICAL LEAVE/ SICK LEAVE: The only kind of leave, that does not require prior intimation. A sick leave is generally taken when the employee is suffering form some kind of illness and leaves are required to get better. The range of sick leaves varies from 12-15 days available for the employee to use, which can be extended further in case of serious illness and if not redeemed can be carried forward to the next year. After two days of sick leave, a report from a trusted medical practitioner must be produced.
      • CASUAL LEAVE: Running in the range of 5-15 days, casual leaves can be used by prior informing the employer. This is generally taken by the employees when they want to give their personal life an upper hand compared to the professional life like in case of attending marriages, taking vacations. These kinds of leaves cannot be taken forward and holidays are not counted while counting casual leaves if they occur in the period between casual leaves.
      • MATERNITY LEAVES: These kinds of leaves are only for the women employees who plan on having a baby during their period of engagement. Expecting/ New mothers can take up to 3 months of paid leave to take care of the new-born baby, which can be extended up to 26 weeks with half pay and till 16 months of unpaid leaves. Maternity leaves can also be taken at the time of abortion or miscarriage, but then the duration of the leaves is curtailed.
      • PATERNITY LEAVES: Fathers of new born child or men who have adopted a child, are entitled to take 10 days to 2 weeks of paternity leave. Though not mandated by law, so it may or may not be provided by all the companies, but it depends on the HR of the companies. Paternity leaves can generally be taken within 1 month of the birth of the baby, to help take care of the child as well as the recovering wife.
      • PRIVILEGE LEAVE/ EARNED LEAVE: As the name suggests, these kinds of leaves are earned as a part of working for the organization, for a fixed period of time. These leaves are paid leaves and can be used after prior information. These leaves can be encashed or can be carried forward for a time period of 3 years. This type of leave, cannot be claimed for more than 3 times a year.
      • STUDY LEAVES/ SABBATICAL LEAVES: A leave which is of much longer duration than most of the other leaves. These leaves, mostly unpaid, are generally provided to the employees to upskill their knowledge base, like if the employee wants to study further, so that the person can be of more value to the company after he/she rejoins. Sabbatical leaves are generally granted after the employee has loyally worked for the organization for a stretch of more than 3 years and the leave stretches for a period of 6 months to the entire duration of the course.
      • QUARANTINE LEAVES: A rare kind of leave, mostly given when the employee is suffering from an infectious disease than can also be very harmful for other people of the organization.
      • BEREAVEMENT LEAVES: May not be a mandatory leave, but a sudden death of some loved one, leaves a hole in the heart than can’t be filled. Compassionate enough HRs may provide hassle free policies to use this leave for a period of 3-7 days, so that the employee can deal with the pain of sudden loss.
      • HALF PAY LEAVES: Not all organizations provide these kinds of leaves, generally government organizations do, where the employees can take leaves up to 20 days and will get half day salary for each day of leave taken. The employees are entitled to have these leaves only after they have worked for the company for a stipulated period of time.
      • UNPAID LEAVES: When all the leaves in the leave basket of the employee gets over, and the employee needs to take a leave, then those leaves will entail a pay cut.
    • NON LEAVES: 3 kinds of non leaves are there that are offered by the company. They are:
      • COMPENSATORY LEAVES: This can be considered as bonus for the employees, who put in extra hours of hard-work. Also, employees who work on an off day, are eligible for this leave. The employees are generally automatically informed if they have a compensatory leave remaining.
      • WORK FROM HOME: In this, the employee still has to work, but the employee can choose to do so from the comforts of his/ her own house, which also helps the employee to maintain the work-life balance and thus work with much less pressure.
      • FIELD WORK: For research purposes, many companies allow the employees to go out in the field and thus analyse according to their requirements. This is not considered a leave but a working day as the employee is working, but just not in the four walls of the office.

    These are almost all the kinds of leaves that all the offices in India provides. Having a proper knowledge regarding the various kind of leaves can come handy and is good to have a knowledge about. Leaves are the rights of the employees and thus must be enjoyed to the fullest after days of hard work.

    Image Source: https://www.hcamag.com/au/news/opinion-and-best-practice/why-personal-leave-is-a-hot-topic/180201

  • Types of Employees in an Organization

    In the last few decades, private sector has burgeoned in our country, giving rise to corporate culture which some fifty years ago was unknown to Indians. The organization of corporates, the system of structure they follow and the hierarchy they exhibit might appear simple to discern but when one actually takes up the task, the outcome may tell you something different. It is not a matter of shame or lack of knowledge but simply a confusion that lingers in our mind when we are unaware of certain things and their meticulous organization.

    A group of people working in a closed structure wearing similar clothes, attributing similar socio-economic belonging and performing tasks on their personal computers can be challenging for a new comer to work in or with, to find their place in the hierarchy and showcase behavior according to their position. As difficult it is to get one of those fancy jobs, it is equally difficult to make the environment your own, especially if you are a newcomer. Often times a newcomer, fresh out college who has zero years of experience in working amongst senior peers in a cubicle whose walls are barely few feet apart, finds difficult to adjust in the corporate offices which subsequently hampers their professional and mental well-being. One can only beat this obstacle if you choose to equip yourself with adequate knowledge about the work environment of corporate sector and all the know-hows around it.

    And, if you are planning to get started onto the introduction of the corporate sector, you have stumbled upon the right page. We have got you covered with all that you need to know about different types of employees in an organization and everything around it.

    Who are Employees?

    Employees are people hired in an organization to execute the work the organization has aimed to do and many other tasks around it. When an employee is hired by an organization, it usually means they receive a fixed salary by the organization monthly or at the end of their tenure, they are obliged to follow the office time table and work under given rules and regulations. The following are different kind of employees and employment that you can find in an organization.

    Types of Employees in an Organization

    Permanent and Non-permanent Employees

    The first criteria on which employees can be distinguished is the nature of their employability. On the basis of employability in the organization, the employees can be distinguished as permanent employees or temporary employees. Sometimes, the term ad-hoc is used instead of temporary employees. The main distinction between permanent and temporary employees is that permanent employees are hired for a tenure which will end only at retirement. The option for them to resign, the prospects of promotion, demotion and end of employment under few circumstances remain there but all in all, they enjoy employability till retirement. Temporary employees are hired for a short tenure, expanding from few months to few years. Permanent employees usually enjoy more privileges and incentives as compared to temporary employees.

    Trainee/Apprentice

    Trainees and apprentices are usually found in big corporates or multinational companies. These people are difficult to locate in small start-ups due to limited funding and other logistical constraints.

    Trainees or apprentices are fellows working under somebody else’s guidance, usually senior in terms of experience and position/ranking. These employees assist and learn simultaneously. After completion of training and equipping oneself with considerable knowledge and know-hows they can join the company as employees or join any other company depending upon the terms and conditions of the company which varies company to company.

    Full Time Employees and Part Time Employees

    Full time employees and Part-Time employees are basically distinguished on the basis of their working hour devoted to the organization. Different standards of working hour and conditions are laid down by various bodies to mark the distinction between full time employees and part time employees.

    To give a rough estimate, a part time employee spends around 30 hours in a week working for the organization while full time employees spend more than that. The category of part time and permanent employees overlap in most of the scenarios. Same goes for the part time employees and temporary employees.

    Interns

    Interns are similar to trainee or apprentice who are working in different organization to gain work experience and exposure. With the rise of corporate jobs and the stiff competition, the experience gained through internship has become a crucial criteria to fulfill since companies are looking for employees who have one or the other kind of work experience. Therefore, internships mainly help new comers and fresh out of college students who lack professional work experience otherwise.

    Internships are mainly for a shorter duration of time and can be paid or unpaid depending upon the company. It can be also done side by side your college course.

    Daily and Weekly Hired Employees

    Few organizations due to budget restraints and organizational structure tend to hire daily and weekly workers too. These employees are often hired to do dispensable tasks, which if given to permanent or full time employees can cause over budgeting for the organization. These people, depending upon the contract receive wages at the end of the day or week after completion of the given task.

    Casual Employees

    Casual employees when hired by an organization do not have a fixed term guarantee of work tenure. They are basically hired according to the need of the organization. They are hired as long as the organization needs them and receive a fixed amount of salary at the end of their tenure or monthly, depending upon the contract. Unlike part time and temporary employees, casual employees can be asked to work on hours not fixed by the organization.

  • Skills Matrix or Competency Matrix – Meaning, Levels, Benefits, Examples

    Employee Skills Matrix

    A Skills Matrix is rightly known as a Competency Matrix as well. It is a visual instrument that allows an HR professional to observe, analyse and map out the various skills and competencies of the employee in an organisation. This matrix is essentially used to find out the required and available skill-set of the employees. For curating a team for any specific project, a skills matrix comes in very handy. For an HR professional with a data-driven mindset, this proves to be an important tool.

    In a properly framed skill matrix, namely, three aspects are shown. These are the required set of skills in the employees, the existing set of skills in the employee, and the skill set that is missing in the employees. Ideally, it is used for a small or medium-sized group or team. However, it can be potentially expanded.

    Whenever utilized accurately, the Skills Matrix offers a solid review of the information and aptitudes accessible inside a group. It can let you know whether you have the right stuff important to complete explicit errands. In the event that the group is inadequate in certain important aptitudes, we call this an abilities hole. This makes it a basic instrument for any human asset supervisor putting together their choices with respect to the information.

    In the left side of the matrix, the required skills in the employees are listed. In the top row, the names of the employees are mentioned. In the intersection of these rows and columns, the proficiencies and skills of the employee are mentioned by level.

    Skills Matrix Levels

    As mentioned, proficiency and interest are two important parameters of the Skill matrix. “Proficiency” means an employee’s existing credibility in a field. “Interest” shows his/her drive to learn more and develop. High proficiency is no wonder a positive parameter but it is only useful when it comes with a high level of interest. Following described are a few levels in the Skill Matrix:

    Proficiency level 0

    An employee with a zero level has no skill in an area and cannot be put to activity. The focus is on the introduction of basic concepts to the employees.

    Proficiency level 1

    An employee with a proficiency level of 1 only possesses the basic concepts of a skill. The focus for this employee would be on the development of those basic skills.

    Proficiency level 2

    At this level, the employee, not only has basic concepts of skill but also has some practical knowledge about the same in the professional field. At this point, the focus is on acquiring new experiences and extensive training.

    Proficiency level 3

    Level 3 employees are experts of middle-order. They have the relevant knowledge, skills and experience. Hence they can carry out the activities on their own with average competence. Occasionally, intervention from professionals might be needed. There is however room for development and new experiences.

    Proficiency level 4

    Employees marked at this level are experts in their field. They do not need help from other professionals. In fact, they are the ones who help other employees with queries and developmental needs. They generally focus on strategic management and problem-solving in their respective domains.

    Proficiency level 5

    Employees at this level are highly skilled. They work in strategic management. They are experts in problem-solving, coaching and helping other employees.

    Interest

    Interest has a binary level. It is either 0 or 1. 0 signifies that an employee has no drive or motivation for development and learning. 1 signifies that an employee is highly driven to develop his skills and increase his core competencies.

    Skills Matrix Benefits

    A skill or competency matrix has varied uses. Also, it does not just benefit the team that it is applied to. It also benefits the organisation, the individual employee, the final stakeholders/clients etc. Below described are the benefits of a skill matrix:

    Team

    The matrix is most beneficial to the team it is being applied to. With the help of the matrix, all the members of the team are on the same page. It effectively showcases the missing skills which can be attended to by hiring new employees or extensive training of the current spots. It shows the team its strengths and weaknesses and how they can impact the productivity of the team.

    Organisation

    On a broader perspective, the Skills Matrix analysis benefits the organisation. It gets a clear picture of the Human resource it possesses. It also helps the organisation to allocate its resources for the required training and development process.

    Individuals

    The skills matrix provides a two-fold benefit to the employees in the team. TO begin with, it makes the employee aware of his/her strengths and weaknesses. The awareness makes it a starting point for a learning process. Also, the requirements shown in the matrix makes the individual employee clear as to what the team/organisation expects or demands of him as output.

    Stakeholders/Clients

    The increased productivity and efficiency of the team means better output in terms of service. In that sense, it ultimately benefits the stakeholders of the organisation, be it internal or external.

    Steps to Create Skills Matrix

    The framework of a competency matrix is specific and requires some systematic steps to its creation. The steps are described as following:

    Assessment of required skill-set

    A Skills Matrix is generally created by an HR professional to assess and increase the productivity of a team. It is also done to prevent intra-team mishaps like conflicts. Hence, the first step would be to list down or assess the required skills necessary for a particular project. These skills would be the foundation upon which current employees would be assessed, new employees would be hired and training and developmental programs would be undertaken.

    Assessment of the employees’ current skill-set

    The second step in the creation of the matrix is very important and comprehensive. It includes the assessment of the current skill-set of the employees. This can be done by taking direct information from the employee or by asking his colleagues, supervisors, examining reports, etc. Since only asking the employee might not provide an accurate result due to bias, the 180 degree or 360-degree feedback method is used. Upon assessing the skill and experience of the employees, they can be divided into the levels of proficiency as decided by the organisation.

    Assessing the interest of the current employees

    Based on the skills of the employees, they will be assigned tasks. High proficiency would not ensure high output. The employee must also be interested to implement and develop his skills in his activity in the organisation. Hence assessment of the employees’ interest is very important upon which they will be divided into a 2-point interest scale in the matrix.

    Incorporation of the insights

    Once all the data has been gathered, they should be incorporated into the template of the matrix and analysis has to be made of the same.

    Responding to the result

    The last step is the evaluation of the matrix. Here the HR should analyse the data related to each employee. The employees should also be given a chance to make suggestive inputs. If there is any error, they should be rectified immediately. The fact that each employee is assigned to the right job should also be evaluated.

    A skill or competency matrix has emerged to be an important tool in a data-driven workplace scenario. In a situation where analytics are taking over rough data, a skills matrix has proved to be a boon to the HR scenario. It has not only benefitted the employer but also the employees as well as the final clients. The multiple benefiting nature and technical approach of this analysis is what had made it so relevant and important in recent times.