Dear all, On one of the WA groups of HR, the Administrator of the group, Mr Rajaram Thorve, has raised the topic for discussion titled Indispensability and Retention of Employees in the Organisation. He raised the following questions:
Q.1 Is anyone indispensable in any organization?
Q.2 Why should we retain employees?
Q.3 How much is the authenticity of predictive analytics either to retain employees or make other arrangements?
I have given replies to the questions. These are as below:
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Dear Mr Rajaram Thorve, The replies to your questions are as below:
Q.1 Is anyone indispensable in any organization?
Reply: Nobody is indispensable; everybody is dispensable. However, this answer looks good only on paper. Practically, organizations depend on some key persons. Some of the reasons for their indispensability are as follows:
a) Rather than having a process-centric approach, many times organizations have a person-centric approach. This increases dependence on individuals.
b) Documenting processes elaborately or studying the systems and making them as flawless as possible is time-consuming. Rather than conducting a study of the operations, "experienced" people are hired. These people are expected to deliver results. But in the bargain, it only increases dependence on individuals.
c) Initially, when the organization was small, a few persons continued with it. They get rewards because they did not leave the organization. Their performance may be mediocre, but they are highly loyal to the boss and incorruptible. Therefore, the boss depends on these persons more because of their trustworthiness rather than performance.
d) Persons working in the finance or accounts department are relied upon the most. This is because the machinations done while maintaining the books of accounts are at the tips of the tongues of these persons. Obviously, the boss depends on these persons.
e) Every department must maintain a log to record the lessons learned from past mistakes. Employees are expected not to repeat those mistakes. Sans this data, dependence on individuals increases.
Q.2 Why should we retain employees?
Reply: There is no need to retain all employees. We should retain employees only if they render the desired level of performance. Organizations must take precautions to avoid the flight of star employees. Employee retention, in general, is important because when an employee leaves an organization, he/she carries knowledge with him/her.
Knowledge Management Practices help companies offset the loss caused by the exit of employees. Each organization must have an independent department that identifies tacit knowledge. After identification, it is extracted, converted into explicit knowledge, stored in an organized manner, and then made available when needed. Organizations that do not have these provisions must retain their employees.
Q.3 How much is the authenticity of predictive analytics either to retain employees or make other arrangements?
Reply: In India, HR Analytics is practiced by organizations that are few and far between. Therefore, not many case studies are available on the efficacy of predictive analytics. Nevertheless, at this stage, hypothetically it is assumed that predictive analytics helps in the identification of key employees who might quit the organization. However, competence in prediction can be developed after intense study over a long time. How many organizations in India are ready to invest in the creation of a section called Analytics within the HR Department is a point to moot!
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
Q.1 Is anyone indispensable in any organization?
Q.2 Why should we retain employees?
Q.3 How much is the authenticity of predictive analytics either to retain employees or make other arrangements?
I have given replies to the questions. These are as below:
+++++
Dear Mr Rajaram Thorve, The replies to your questions are as below:
Q.1 Is anyone indispensable in any organization?
Reply: Nobody is indispensable; everybody is dispensable. However, this answer looks good only on paper. Practically, organizations depend on some key persons. Some of the reasons for their indispensability are as follows:
a) Rather than having a process-centric approach, many times organizations have a person-centric approach. This increases dependence on individuals.
b) Documenting processes elaborately or studying the systems and making them as flawless as possible is time-consuming. Rather than conducting a study of the operations, "experienced" people are hired. These people are expected to deliver results. But in the bargain, it only increases dependence on individuals.
c) Initially, when the organization was small, a few persons continued with it. They get rewards because they did not leave the organization. Their performance may be mediocre, but they are highly loyal to the boss and incorruptible. Therefore, the boss depends on these persons more because of their trustworthiness rather than performance.
d) Persons working in the finance or accounts department are relied upon the most. This is because the machinations done while maintaining the books of accounts are at the tips of the tongues of these persons. Obviously, the boss depends on these persons.
e) Every department must maintain a log to record the lessons learned from past mistakes. Employees are expected not to repeat those mistakes. Sans this data, dependence on individuals increases.
Q.2 Why should we retain employees?
Reply: There is no need to retain all employees. We should retain employees only if they render the desired level of performance. Organizations must take precautions to avoid the flight of star employees. Employee retention, in general, is important because when an employee leaves an organization, he/she carries knowledge with him/her.
Knowledge Management Practices help companies offset the loss caused by the exit of employees. Each organization must have an independent department that identifies tacit knowledge. After identification, it is extracted, converted into explicit knowledge, stored in an organized manner, and then made available when needed. Organizations that do not have these provisions must retain their employees.
Q.3 How much is the authenticity of predictive analytics either to retain employees or make other arrangements?
Reply: In India, HR Analytics is practiced by organizations that are few and far between. Therefore, not many case studies are available on the efficacy of predictive analytics. Nevertheless, at this stage, hypothetically it is assumed that predictive analytics helps in the identification of key employees who might quit the organization. However, competence in prediction can be developed after intense study over a long time. How many organizations in India are ready to invest in the creation of a section called Analytics within the HR Department is a point to moot!
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar