HR Business Partner training by TWB_
24 Apr

TWB_ Certifications for HR Business Partners

By TWB_ In HR Communication /   No Comments

India’s first Professional Training a& Certification for HR Business Partners

Not just HR heads talent is a strategic resource and CEOs, Boards, and Investors look at talent to move the business forward. Talent acquisition and retention are discussed on 25% more earnings calls today than was done in 2010. One way to catalyze the understanding of business and reduce HR response times has long been embedding HR Business Partners (HRBPs) throughout the organization. Organizations that build high performing HRBP teams improve employee performance by up to 22%, employee retention by up to 24%, revenue by up to 7%, and profit by up to 9%.

Challenges for HRBPs

The HRBP role is considered pivotal roles in the next generation of HR Service Delivery Model. HRBP’s are a critical link between the Business Unit (BU) and HR and is generally the focal point for the execution of HR processes to support BU’s operations. Communication between different stakeholders is key to the success of this role. Any communication in an enterprise involves several entwined threads which are (a) The company as a Brand which drives how the company engages with customers, employees vendors (b) Functions & Operational processes within the company (c) People engagement & HR processes (d) Marketing, Corporate, and Internal Communication. Of course, since the HRBP’s role is near real-time and 2-way communication this puts a tremendous load on mostly younger team members and any lack of clarity has severe consequences for the organization.

How does TWB_ intervention help?

In this program, HRBPs will learn to evolve their own communication style and own it completely based on their own personality, strength, and weaknesses. By the end of this program, HRBPs will acquire the skills needed to engage, inform, and inspire others — and improve their ability to communicate like a leader. HRBPs will learn to increase their leadership power by weaving both organization values and their personal principles through effective and smart communications.

In the program, the team will master a proprietary TWB_ communication capability framework called Skein, based on decades of research & used in over 1 million person-hours of Marketing, Corporate and Internal communication & content delivery for Fortune 500 leaders.

The HRBP will gain confidence through the program’s emphasis on learning by doing and practicing communication skills in real time and cultivate the mindset you need to think and communicate strategically as an HRBP. The skills learnt, provide the team member with a strong sense of purpose and clarity and they are able to apply these immediately in the current role.

Benefits of the TWB program

  • Learn a unique, proprietary communication framework that will provide you the edge in effective communication in personal and professional spheres of life
  • Practice delivery of high-impact messages that are memorable and motivating
  • Build emotional intelligence to communicate effectively
  • Sharpen facilitation and conflict management skills
  • Understanding and connect with your audience and prepare for their responses
  • Lead change management initiatives effectively
  • Influence leadership with expert advise
  • Structuring communications to adapt to different business situations and audiences
  • Become a catalyst of change in the organization
  • Influence others from a position of authority—or without authority
  • Learning nonverbal communication techniques involving presence, body language, and delivery
  • Impact the bottom line of the organization with results

Participant profile

The program is meant for

  • HR Business Partners, Senior HR Business Partner
  • Human Resources Managers, People Managers
  • OD Heads, OD Leads
  • L&D Managers
  • HR Generalists
  • Talent Managers, Talent Professionals
  • Business Line Managers, Project Managers (who work closely with HR)

Program format

  • 1-day workshop at the customer premises
  • Max participants: 15

Are you looking to create or improve your HR Communications?

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10 Jan

Creating a Powerful CxO Personal Brand, and its Corporate benefits

By TWB_ In Communication, Leadership, Strategic Marketing /   No Comments

A personal brand is not a new concept but for a CxO personal branding is not just about them, it is what it means to their companies. The value that your company derives from your personal brand may be the critical differentiator in a marketplace where companies compete for customers, investors, and employees.

How a CxO brand benefits your company

A powerful personal CxO brand can have tremendous corporate benefits because, 

  • A great CxO brand increases Company Credibility to customers: Credibility and trust have always played key roles in shaping business success but for a company, it is not easy to be seen as trustworthy — such a reputation is earned over years. However, if a high-level executive has a trustworthy, credible and believable personal brand, then their company is also seen as trustworthy, credible and believable. Anyone remembering Lee Iacocca being the face of Chrysler in its worst days knows that the trust to buy Chrysler came from him. Conversely, the loss of credibility of Travis Kalanick was leading to the loss of credibility of Uber.

 

  • A great CxO brand makes PR more Effective: Companies need all the competitive advantage they can get. A CxO’s distinct, authoritative personal brand gets easier traction than the company spokesperson. For instance, if your company needs facetime in front of the press it is easier to get a few columns in a magazine or for the magazine to profile the CxO, rather than for the magazine to profile the company. A CxO armed with a compelling personal brand — is the best pitch a company has — not just to customers but to media as well.

 

Building a powerful CxO brand

So it must be understood that both the CxO and the company are engaged in creating the CxO’s personal brand, right? Wrong. Corporate marketing and communication functions don’t always focus on individuals but rather on products and services and it is a big mistake — as we’ve seen above. Creating a powerful personal brand is also not trivial. It requires a deep dive into the individual’s attributes and competitive positioning to bring out the key differentiators, and regular communication to keep the brand relevant. It takes patience, time and smarts. Here are some attributes of a great CxO brand:

 

  • The CxO Brand is not a job description: Often, personal branding looks like a representation of one’s accomplishments and talent. Mostly it comes out as a job role, which it is not. When it is a job role it becomes interchangeable and dispensable. Some great personal branding can be seen in the case of Nandan Nilekani where he has become synonymous with character & predictable growth at Infosys to the point being brought back from retirement.

 

  • The CxO Brand is self-defined and rooted in real attributes: A CxO brand should be built around unique attributes and around the CxO’s personality. Is he/her a people person? Analytical? Brilliant? Insightful? To be effective CxOs need to have a rich, fully-realized concept of their own identity and the best way is to be genuine and authentic. People can see right through disingenuous communication and it is easy to manage an authentic personal brand on a daily basis.

 

  • The CxO Brand is not that of a Specialist: A deep dive into a specific domain is often boring for the employees you lead, interchangeable with another CxO and not inspiring. CxOs are generalists, they are multi-talented, multi-skilled, and open to many types of challenges. They stand out not because they do a few things well, but because they can do many things well.

 

  • The CxO brand should tell a story: If your personal brand isn’t telling a story there is nothing unique and personalized about it. You and your company are still vulnerable because you’re interchangeable. The most effective personal branding strategy is to build a true narrative around who you are, your life experiences and what you wish to influence.

 

  • The CxO brand has consistency and depth: Being consistent means to demonstrate consistency across your communication, gravitas, and appearance. Each of the aspects that your brand highlights have to be backed by tremendous depth of vision, knowledge, and content — consistently. Small inconsistencies can derail personal brand effectiveness.

 

  • A CxO personal brand is a lifelong project: A personal brand is a lifelong project that constantly evolves and changes. So be prepared to invest your time in the long run to build your brand.

Conclusion

A CxO personal brand can be a major force that works in favor of your company. Not enough companies know how to truly leverage the personal brands of their CxOs and not enough CxOs realize that a personal brand doesn’t just impact them at an individual level but impacts entire companies. It is imperative that the CxO take the time and effort to create a respected personal brand that bristles with authenticity and authority and is seen as an industry voice.

Rakesh Shukla, Chief Executive & Founder, TWB_ I The Agency for Technology Brands I www.twb.in

Rakesh Shukla, TWB_ CEO

Tech Entrepreneur, TEDx speaker & Philanthropist, Rakesh Shukla is a BTech-MBA & CEO of the world leader in communications for technology businesses with a worldwide Fortune 500 customer base. Rakesh is a speaker on Leadership, Strategic Marketing, Strategic Communications, creating world-class bootstrapped Startups & resurgence in business. He lives with 800 rescued dogs, has no work-life balance and will not have it any other way! Rakesh has been featured in 100+ interviews on the BBC, CNN, Al-Jazeera, CNN-IBN, NDTV, India’s national dailies etc.

Want to create a powerful Personal CxO brand?

  • TWB_ is the voice of many Technolgy CxO and provides a detailed analysis of how to brand, provides long term content support and digital presence to these CxO’s.
  • TWB_ makes complex technical and business ideas of technology leaders across the world easily understood by their stakeholders. Over forty Fortune 500 technology majors in Information Technology, Defense & Aerospace, Engineering, Energy & Life Sciences in the US, India, Europe, Taiwan, China & Japan leverage TWB_ expertise.
  • Call  TWB_ Bangalore 96860 59020 | Houston (832)689-6456 | Tel Aviv +972.544.603.612 or mail shift@twb.in
  • Get more TWB_ insights on the TWB_ Blog | LinkedIn | Medium  | SlideShare
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Diversity in Leadership I TWB_
19 Dec

Diversity in Leadership starts with Inclusion at all levels

By TWB_ In HR Communication, Internal Communications, Leadership /   No Comments

Companies across India are looking at how to have Diversity at the Leadership level – and mostly they refer to lack of women in management. But diversity is not only about female and male, gay or straight, Hindu, Muslim, or Christian, young or old. It is about the diversity of individuals, ideators and executors, great communicators and less so, introverts and extroverts, controlling type and people type as well.

Having Diversity does not ensure inclusion. Diversity and Inclusion are nearly not the same things. Diversity by itself does not make people feel they belong — inclusion does. Diversity by itself does not accommodate differences of opinions — inclusion does. Diversity helps build inclusion by bringing in diverse viewpoints and creating an atmosphere in which people feel valued and have the same opportunities as others. Being an inclusive organization — where people focus on building common ground incorporating a range of views — rather than focus on differences can be a very powerful growth strategy.

Diversity is not a set of affirmative actions imposed on the organization — it is an output of the culture of the organization. Without adequate diversity being a lone female employee in a consistently all-male leadership team or being part of a minority where the leadership team converses in a regional language is common across the Indian tech industry. For an individual caught in that situation, it is difficult to feel motivated. 

This McKinsey study shows a significant relationship between a diverse leadership team and better financial performance. The top quartile for gender diversity are 15% more likely to outperform the industry average compared to companies in the bottom quartile. For ethnic diversity, that number jumps to 35%.

If the data proving that diverse organizations are more productive is not enough the cautionary tales from movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp should provide the impetus for tech companies to address diversity in their organizations.

What does diversity do?

Diversity at the leadership level is a consequence of hiring people who bring new perspectives to management meetings. Diversity is good because,

  • It gives you a larger pool of ideas: Diverse leadership teams have a larger pool of experience and points of view to draw from, which can help with finding solutions to problems and generating new ideas.
  • It increases staff retention and motivation: Seeing people ‘like them’ in positions of power is very inspiring for employees to stay longer in the organization and strive for promotions themselves
  • It gives you a larger talent pool to choose from: Diverse organizations find it easier to attract great and have a larger talent pool to choose from.
  • Makes for better business linkages: People from different groups and backgrounds often bring unique connections with them, which can lead to more networking opportunities for your company.
  • Makes for better Communication: Diverse companies are less likely to create tone-deaf and sometimes offensive communication than if they had a more varied group of decision-makers.

Lack of diversity stems from bias

People are hired on the premise that they can perform on the job and technical evaluations are pretty accurate. However, most organizational problems stem from a different place — that people don’t get along with other people. Biases in hiring and working together are the greatest bottlenecks. Families, friends, peers, education, religion, ambition etc influences how we see the world, and ourselves. These biases also shape our perceptions of what people are capable of.

A lecture on diversity will not erase these biases. Diversity is deeply related to culture and culture is difficult to change. If it must then it must first change at the top.  Developing diversity involves a cultural change and requires workshops, identifying and creating role models but most of all it involves a commitment by the organization’s leadership.

Building Diversity

The first step towards building diversity is actively seeking diverse people and seeking information from this diverse group. People from diverse backgrounds need to be seen as key variables in the process of problem-solving and decision making. Building diversity across an organization can only happen if there is an atmosphere where they can express their views without fear of repercussion. They can approach colleagues and manager for help and will not be viewed as weak if they do.


The Diversity Checklist

  • Leadership commitment: The first step is having leaders within the organization become visibly involved in programs affecting organizational culture change and articulating policies that govern diversity. To do so, you must display leadership that eradicates oppression of all forms. 
  • Having a Diversity and Inclusion strategy is not enough: Having a strategy has no meaning if it is not reflected in who the company hires and promotes. It only when the CEO downwards the organization realizes that to be the best they need to embrace diversity there is has a higher probability of being really inclusive, including right at the top.
  • Hiring from a range of backgrounds: Hire people who can bring new perspectives to your management meetings and relate personally with a wide range of your employees. But making culture more inclusive the first stop is the leadership team. Employees will always notice who you promote into positions of power.
  • ‘Diversity quotas’ are a double-edged sword: When you set ‘diversity quotas’ for your organizational and leadership teams, ensure that you are not dismissing good people for the sake of diversity. You don’t need a checklist of genders, ethnicity, religions, abilities and sexual orientations to promote talent you need caliber.
  • Building high-performance teams: Moving your workforce from larger organizations to teams that use the full potential of every individual is a great idea. Teams focused on objectives are forced to accept others for what they are.

Conclusion

Diversity is not just diversity in race, religion, sex, age but it is what makes an organization succeed — and typically that requires men & women, introverts & extroverts, controllers & thinkers, dreamers & doers, organizers & team members to reach the organizational goals.  

Rakesh Shukla, Chief Executive & Founder, TWB_ I The Agency for Technology Brands I www.twb.in

Rakesh Shukla, TWB_ CEO

Entrepreneur, TEDx speaker & Philanthropist, Rakesh Shukla is a BTech-MBA & CEO of the world leader in communications for technology businesses with a worldwide Fortune 500 customer base. Rakesh is a speaker on Leadership, Strategic Marketing, Strategic Communications, creating world-class bootstrapped Startups & resurgence in business. He lives with 800 rescued dogs, has no work-life balance and will not have it any other way! Rakesh has been featured in 100+ interviews on the BBC, CNN, Al-Jazeera, CNN-IBN, NDTV, India’s national dailies etc.

Are you looking to create or improve how HR Communicates?

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HR Employee Communication I TWB_
18 Dec

How to Super-Charge your HR Communication: Inspiring Employees to Excel

By TWB_ In Corporate Training, HR Communication, Internal Communications /   No Comments
If you are reading this you perhaps handle the Human Resources(HR) function in your company and know the strategic role it plays in the workplace culture and employee performance. You are the first touch points for employee’s issues and communication requirements. In this environment, HR communication is far too important to leave to chance. Not doing it right causes employee engagement to drop, productivity to fall and business performance to suffer.

“Companies with highly effective change management & communication are 3.5x more likely to significantly outperform their industry peers. At the same time, only 40% of employees globally are highly engaged with their job – and the rate is declining”

First on ask yourself this question – do you operate across the communication spectrum in a planned way or do you communicate reactively what the management requires?

  1. Increasing Engagement: Communication focuses on connect staff and improve their job satisfaction, productivity, and organizational success.
  2. Employee Benefits: Communication focuses on increasing awareness of healthcare programs, compensation packages and more.
  3. Internal Policy: Communication focuses on new policies and reminders on existing ones.
  4. Health and Safety: Communication focuses on informing employees about health and safety issues and ensuring compliance.
  5. Communicating Change: Communication focuses on changes within the organization and organizations business environment.
  6. Workplace Wellness: Communication focuses on improving employee health, reducing absenteeism, and driving business performance.

Typically items 1 through 4 are overserved and 5 & 6 are underserved. Overall this communication is critical but not always exciting for employees so how do you make this communication stick? First on – use your marketing/ internal/ corporate communication teams’ playbook — better still rope them in!

Designing the communication

  1. Keep it fresh: Your employees don’t want to read the same thing. Reframe the communication, highlight a different aspect if resharing. Reduce ‘message wear-out’.
  2. Measure effectiveness: How many people opened the communication, how many acted on any follow-up action – always have some follow up action 🙂
  3. Use Data: What does the data say about employees’ behaviors and preferences. Capture, analyze, use. What do they need more of? What do they want less of?
  4. Focus on User Experience: What is the response you want to invoke? Marketers design for user experience by default and you should too.
  5. Mass Personalisation: How do you make the employee feel you are talking to him/her specifically? Is your salutation personalized? Do you communicate using their demographic – aspirational – lifestyle language (like marketers do)? Where do you reach them?
  6. Bring a sense of purpose: What makes your employees tick, what are their personal aspirations and how do you connect that to the workplace? What is the emotional connection to this and the emotional investment you see?
  7. Go Mobile: In the world where that is the preferred screen – how do you talk?

HR not just helps employees get aligned to corporate goals but increasingly they influence employees’ personal finance, their health, and their future. Creating a great employee experience starts with getting the right person getting the right message at the right time.

 

Rakesh Shukla, Chief Executive & Founder, TWB_ I The Agency for Technology Brands I www.twb.in

Rakesh Shukla, TWB_ CEO

Entrepreneur, TEDx speaker & Philanthropist, Rakesh Shukla is a BTech-MBA & CEO of the world leader in communications for technology businesses with a worldwide Fortune 500 customer base. Rakesh is a speaker on Leadership, Strategic Marketing, Strategic Communications, creating world-class bootstrapped Startups & resurgence in business. He lives with 800 rescued dogs, has no work-life balance and will not have it any other way! Rakesh has been featured in 100+ interviews on the BBC, CNN, Al-Jazeera, CNN-IBN, NDTV, India’s national dailies etc.

Are you looking to create or improve your HR Communications?

Read More