CEO responsible for safety of Employees? February 23, 2008
Posted by Vikas Tandon in Business & Economy, Life.add a comment
The recent ruling by the Supreme Court of India in the Som Mittal case (read DNA report here) is quite shocking. While I am not debating the responsibility of a company in ensuring the safety and well-being of its employees, this verdict is taking it too far. Sure, if there has been gross negligence or even complicity on the part of the organisation, there is no question about this verdict. However, with all due respect to the tragedy encountered by Pratibha Srikanta Murthy and her near and dear ones, accidents do happen despite one’s best efforts and intents. And as long as the best efforts and intents were there, I don’t know how a CEO can be liable for prosecution for negligence if anything untoward at all happens to them may be. At worst, this ruling could be open to misuse effectively absolving everyone else involved of the responsibility, most of all the victim himself/herself.
Sure, we must learn from these accidents. Make the norms more stringent for corporations in ensuring their employees’ security and well-being so that accidents such as these are avoided in future. More importantly, pass the highest possible penalty to the main culprit – the prepetrator of the crime.
Otherwise, prosecute Jawaharlal Nehru for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi too! Or the CEO of NASA/US Government for the death of Kalpana Chawla and her colleagues.
The Digital Agency Shopping Festival November 29, 2007
Posted by Vikas Tandon in Business & Economy, India, Indigo Consulting.1 comment so far
Brand Equity yesterday carried an article about the ongoing spate of acquisitions in the digital marketing industry and the race among traditional agencies to catch up on new media. Indigo Consulting was acknowledged among the leading digital agencies in India.
Read the article here.
Hilarious Resumes October 4, 2007
Posted by Vikas Tandon in Business & Economy, India, Life.add a comment
I’m sure we’ve all come across resumes with hilarious claims and statements, some inadvertently so.
But one I received today takes the cake and has to go down among the winners.
“Hobbies: Listening Music, Watching Movies, to share my mother in kitchen.”
Unbelievable! And this is real. I got it in my mailbox 30 minutes back!!!
What do we plan to do? We intend to interview his mother…and then see if we need to move our office to his kitchen!
Employee Credit Rating Bureau July 9, 2007
Posted by Vikas Tandon in Business & Economy, India, Indigo Consulting.1 comment so far
Over the last year or two, anyone employed in business and commerce in India would have encountered the abysmal depths that work ethic has sunk to. Its all very well to say that India has an abundance of qualified (?), skilled (??) english-speaking workforce, but if they don’t know how to conduct themselves in a professional environment, there’s no way we are getting anywhere near being a super power. Already many comparisons are gaining ground on the productivity of the Indian workforce, and with lack of a work ethic, to my mind, it spells the doom of India’s competitive advantage.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against people making hay while the sun shines, and frequently changing tracks towards better opportunities. The demerits of frequent shifts is another issue and can be looked at both ways. Attrition is a natural business problem to be dealt with.
What I cannot even begin to accept is the complete lack of professionalism and common sense in the way people switch. Without so much as a good bye, one fine day they’re just gone without a care for the tasks that were assigned to them. Here are a few examples of behaviour that I have encountered and I think any progressive economy can do without.
1. Not turning up for an interview of arriving late without any prior intimation.
2. Accepting a job offer, making the new employer wait for the joining date, and then not landing up, or if you are lucky, calling the day before the joining date to inform that he/she will not be able to join!
3. Absenteeism without intimation.
4. Resigning the job without adequate notice.
5. Absconding from job.
The problem is of course exacerbated by the fact that there is no (practical) legal recourse especially in serious matters like absconding.
After suffering this for a few years, it struck me that why can’t there be an Employee Credit Rating Bureau which maintains the employment track record of all employees? Just like there is a Credit Rating service for your financial soundness, we could have a one for employability as well right? The thing is that such unethical workforce is actually able to get away with all this. While some firms do have a mandatory reference check and documents to be submitted at the time of joining, many, especially in the SME segment, cannot afford such processes. Moreover, what do you do if the person happily omits mention of a short stint somewhere?
Wouldn’t it be great if there could be a central database which employers could access at a fee where previous employers’ references could be checked? Employers don’t have to be wait to be asked – for any employee who breaks the code, a negative reference could be entered immediately. This could even cover behaviour which is otherwise difficult to capture like not turning up for interviews without intimation, not landing up after accepting an offer, etc.
Of course, one would have to build checks and balances against vindictive employers who could fudge references (and there’s no doubt there are a few of those around), but I’m sure that’s a problem that can be licked. Having such a “listing” in the central database could itself become a positive factor for employees (like a kind of credit certification). Why, this could even be extended the other way round by having am employer rating system.
Perhaps such facilities are available in one form or another for large companies, and maybe this is only a need felt by SME’s. I know we could certainly use something like this at Indigo Consulting.
