/24-7PressRelease.com/ - Hari P. Shankar was all nerves as he walked down the lane to his new office. It was 8:50 in the morning. He was a little earlier than schedule for his straight-out-of B-school role designate. He waited anxiously in the waiting lounge, waiting to be inducted, waiting for a new role and a glistening career. He stood up and wished, “Good Morning Sir” as he saw his Knowledge Head – Logistics, entering the premises but became more uneasy as he got a mere look and a petite smile. “Gosh! Where did I blunder now?” he thought to himself. He saw his boss walk away, taking the stairs to his workplace. Hari stood there, numb. It all changed however, when the chirpy figure behind the reception desk said, “ Its okay. It’s just that he doesn’t like himself to be addressed as Sir. You can call him Amit. And hey, I am Silky. Welcome, Knowledge Worker…”
(Enter the real corporate world. Enter the TKWs, The Knowledge Workers’ scheme of things. Everything that one may have studied on induction, orientation, socialization, apprenticeship, et cetera in management journals comes to colors of reality. All imaginations that one may have, are overturned, and even exceeded. In hardcore bookish terms, Induction covers the activities involved in introducing a new employee to the organization and to his/her work-unit. At TKWs, however, we simplify it and conduct it in the most informal fashion. Be it a senior consultant or an executive, every single individual has to go through this 1-month introduction programme. It remains a common process through distinctive KBUs (Knowledge-intensive Business Units); be it International Logistics, Systems Integration, Skill Development or Communications. For an organization with a modest 30-man workforce in the corporate office, it works to our advantage: inductees get to know each of their senior pros. and vica versa. Let us continue with the journey that Hari P. Shankar embarks upon.)
Hari, feeling a little more unperturbed now, took the stairway to his workstation. He hadn’t even decided as to whom to speak with, when someone came up to him and said, “ Hi Knowledge Worker. I am Deepak. Why don’ t you sit here and start chit-chatting over a coffee?” and he went to get two mugs of brown poison from the pantry. Hari thought to himself, “ Why is everybody calling me a knowledge worker? Why is nobody asking my name?”
9:45 AM. He was sitting across the table with his KBU’s Knowledge Head, Amit. The young turk was expecting first words of wisdom. Amit started by saying, “ Hari, you are a Knowledge Worker from today. Knowledge Workers are preservers of the most important corporate resource; knowledge. Now that you are here, your mission should be acquiring, sharing and leveraging Knowledge.” After a 1-hour orientation wherein the raconteur talked in length on Company history, vision, mission, organizational and KBU hierarchies et cetera, Hari started feeling that he belonged to the place. He however, still felt like a novice who knew nothing, considering his superior’s pool of knowledge. His MBA seemed to have faded in the background!
Up next was the real nerve wrecker. Something Hari knew he had goose bumps for. It was this so-called ‘socialization’ process. He accompanied Amit for a company round wherein, they visited every nuke and corner of the building. On the way back, Amit wanted to give his new accomplice, his space and thus, bade him goodbye as they crossed his workstation. 11:45 AM. Hari, surrounded by his new colleagues. Five of them. After the initial hi-hello, Hari was still a little uneasy since he was an introvert while the rest were chatterboxes. Life was in the fast-lane, as Hari saw Neetika join them and everyone forming their ‘traditional’ circle. Neetika introduced herself as a trainer and a part of the Skill Development KBU. She welcomed the new ‘knowledge worker’ and organized a small ice-breaking game called Yeh Dosti. This little session gave Hari’s peers the opportunity to discover his personality and vica-versa, packaged with leisure. In the afternoon, they were seen having lunch together. Seemed like Hari’s treat. Our new entrant was expecting a work-oriented/serious first day?
(Makes sense. Every certain individual is expected to perform, anticipated to move through rough n’ tough demands of the job and win corporate benefits. We at TKWs, like any other contemporary organization believe that this individual has to be ‘groomed’ to take on those responsibilities. He has to be given the confidence, the care and acceptance before he moves into his fifth gear. And an ice-breaking introduction is just the first step. Important thing is to present a work-culture that he/she starts titillating with, and relating to it. Preference for being addressed with their first names, being extra friendly to the new kin in team and a ‘traditional’ introductory game are just a few of the TKWs ways of doing it. It is ensured that each time there is a new recruit, he/she is jelled with others using an interactive game: and we have quite a few to choose from. On popular demand though, Neetika prefers using yeh dosti, turning the table and jhooth bola. )
H.P. Shankar walked in more contentedly, the next day. He himself waved hi to Silky and went to his work-partners. Today, he came to know, was his mentoring round. He waited earnestly for their knowledge head to arrive. At 10:30 AM, he and Amit were discussing behind closed doors, his to-be job responsibilities. He discussed the 7-paged HR Policy in length, which was a little surprising for Hari (he believed a separate HR person does that, just as is said in B-schools). Finally, he called Deepak, senior consultant- logistics in. Deepak had to mentor and guide Hari over the next 2 weeks. “Hmm. That coffee was pre-planned!” Hari exclaimed to himself.
The new-formed pair got into a dialogue as they stepped out of the cabin. Deepak said, “Get ready for your meeting with the big Boss.” Hari taken aback wondered, “So, there is a boss around as well.” And they went to their Chairman’s spacious cabin.
A brief pep talk and welcome message from the Chairman, R.K.Goyal was sufficient ignition for young Hari to feel good about himself. He couldn’t stop gushing praises for the wise man, over lunch with Deepak. He spent his rest of the day discussing matters under his two-week apprenticeship.
(In veracity, every individual truly lives ERG’s theory that social, existence and growth needs go hand-in-hand. Presumptuous that existence needs are met, little gestures like a petite discussion with the chairman himself can really boost an executive’s morale. How busy he may be, our supremo does not miss talking to the new recruit, trainee or executive. According to him, “ Best payers are not the best employers. Caring and nursing our people when they need it, goes a longer way in adding value to this coveted claim.” Similarly, it is a consistent practice at TKWs to offer a 2-week apprenticeship under an experienced senior, to every new recruit. This period is necessary to be lived for atleast 2-weeks, as every day may present a new experience, a new learning.)
Day 5. Saturday. Everyone dressed in casual clothing. Everyone seemed excited for ‘something’. Hari had four eventful days behind him, but it seemed that he still did not know the company inside out. He rolled his Peter England’s sleeves over, just to fit in to that office. Just to look informal.
As it turned out, it was Supreet’s birthday. In the middle of their ‘busy’ work lives, all 31 of them gathered around her birthday cake and shared a bite. Hari never thought birthdays would be celebrated ‘inside’ office premises.
There was another customary event for Saturdays. It was a ‘knowledge sharing forum’ a 60-minutes discussion which was open for all who could participate at that hour. Agenda was Laughter being the best medicine. Poor Hari. He didn’t have a clue about such forums, as they were never discussed in his MBA. He however, raised some valid and interesting anecdotes and his seniors were thoroughly impressed. Hari got a real booster when Alok, knowledge head – financial services personally complimented him for his contributions. It seemed that he had finally arrived.
(As mentioned earlier, workplace is a matter of culture. One cannot expect to be foxily good with a new entrant, and win his/her long-term faith. We, at TKWs thus try to evolve a culture of professionalism combined with sociability. Invariably, this works for us as every new individual finds it easier to blend with an air of trust, rather than smokes of doubts and suspicion. A Knowledge-sharing Forum is, just our theory for individuals to sit together and brainstorm. It generally happens that besides intra-team discussions, people may not even get the time to say ‘hi’ to their colleagues. Work pressures, after all, have to dominate. A weekly forum gives them the opportunity to unwind together, and in the process, meaningful directions also take silhouette.
Similarly, celebrating birthdays together provide those little Kodak moments to share joy. Yet, they bring a culture of friendliness to the organization, and for a new recruit, road to heavens!)
Subsequent Saturday was a special knowledge-sharing forum, as Hari’s apprenticeship was scheduled to finish. Hari had had lively 2-weeks. He found a perfect mentor and a life-long friend in Deepak, who ensured that Hari got enough of supplier interface, an integral part of his job-profile. This special forum was programmed to be his last training sessions, before he actually begun his knowledge work. This time around, Neetika effected an admirable ‘vestibule training’ for Hari, a role-play where he had to interact with a virtual supplier in Mishra ji. Hari performed pretty well, and proved himself to be a good negotiator. Hari felt proud of himself.
Monday morning and Hari met Amit, his knowledge head after 2-weeks. Hari shared his experience, “I didn’t know when this period passed by. It was a remarkable time.” Amit smiled and cautioned him that the second half of his introduction program is going to be long, with confusing work hours. But Hari wasn’t perturbed. He instead desired to take on the challenge. Amit assigned him his work and asked to report back after 2 weeks! Period.
(The rationale behind a 2-step introduction/induction program is simply to facilitate spoon-fed and individual learning. First couples of weeks are rosy beds as you have a guide with you. But the next phase where one suddenly finds him all alone in the middle of a river, teaches to be self-reliant, courageous and persistent. If the first period instructs domain knowledge, then the next one is imparting individual attributes.
At TKWs, we believe in allowing individuals to explore both sides of the river equally, learn from others’ experiences but also from their own, and most importantly, groom them on all fronts. )
This 1-month period of hot-cold experience is finally succeeded by an informal performance appraisal session with the respective Knowledge Heads. In case of Hari, he was seemingly confused and depressed in his third week, not knowing what to do. In the last few days however, he regained his confidence and in fact was ready with his own task sheets for the upcoming month. During his appraisal, Amit told him that it was necessary for him to be left alone so that he could transform his lessons of the past weeks into action. And unlike last phase, that invaluable experience was entirely his. For his designated role as Logistics Analyst, he was to be teamed up with Deepak and Girish, Monday morning. His individual goals were laid out.
(The Knowledge Workers advocate a theory of cultural induction, as has been illustrated over the past few lines. A simple introduction program, which offers enough time and flexibility to an individual to mingle with corporate culture, and adequate opportunities to socialize with those torchbearers; is idealistic. )
Tuesday morning as Hari was reading paper in waiting lounge’s couch, he saw a slim figure enter and walk upto the cushion beside him. Silky gave him an eye contact. Hari said to the younger man, “ Welcome. Knowledge Worker…”
We believe in KSO(Knowledge Services Outsourcing) and are the pioneers in International Logistics, Skills Development Services, Communication Services, Systems Integration and Financial Services.
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