Flipkart will focus on personalised offering by using backend data intelligently to give best shopping experience to customers

Flipkart to focus on personalised offering

Flipkart will focus on personalised offering by using backend data intelligently to give best shopping experience to customers

E-retail giant Flipkart on Wednesday said it will focus on personalised offering by using backend data intelligently to give best shopping experience to customers.

The e-commerce major claims it has a customer base of 45 million. The company will also focus on automating its supply chain to reduce shipment time and increase accuracy to ensure zero customer complaint.

“We want to use data smartly and intelligently at our backend for personalisation in customer offerings, service offering, supply chain offerings. We have regular customer base of 45 million. We will use technology... we will look at buying behaviour and preferences of customers and then personalized our offerings. If we use data, which is available with us, intelligently, we will be able to give best shopping experience to customers,” Company’s VP, Business Development, Adarsh K Menon said in Chandigarh on Wednesday.

Menon said that the company was focusing on automating supply chain to increase accuracy and drive greater speed. Asked about some reports of customers complaining about not getting products what they ordered, he said, “If you look at our daily or monthly scale, it is very big. But mistakes do happen but it is minority, it will be very small. But the idea is it should not be there,”.

“We have customer friendly policies like cash on delivery and easy returns within 30 days,” he said. The company has also started 24-hour Immediate Payment Services wherein payment will be made to customers within minutes as soon as products reach warehouse.

Menon said that 10 million customers visit Flipkart every day and average 4-5 lakh shipments are made per day across the country with electronic, lifestyle and home categories having bigger share in it. He informed that company can deliver products in 13 cities within a day while in 50 cities it can deliver product next day.

Company also announced the launch of ‘FlipkartConnect’-a campaign designed to educate and create awareness amongst customers in Punjab about the benefits of online shopping. With over 2 lakhs customers, Punjab is one of the fastest growing regions in North India and witnessed close to 8% month-on-month growth.

Infact, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Chandigarh have emerged as the top performing cities in this region, he said. The latest trends reflect that shoppers across all age groups-especially students and young professionals are increasingly shopping via mobile app from the cities in Punjab.

Today, close to 80% of the traffic comes via mobile and new app features like ‘FlipkartImageSearch’ and ‘FlipkartPing’ are used extensively by the shoppers in Punjab especially while shopping for lifestyle products.

“Our customer base in Punjab has been growing exponentially over the last one year...the massive app adoption amongst customers, especially the youth in this region reflects the latest way in which people are shopping in Punjab. Cities like Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar are our top performing markets and we foresee more and more customers from this region joining the online revolution,” Menon said.

A culture that nurtures talent



Finding the right talent is one thing, but retaining it is quite another. That's where culture comes into play
In today's complex and evolved workplace, workplace, talent is the critical driving force behind the success of an organisation.For any company , people are its assets and, if managed correctly , right assets always create lasting value.Just like a technology patent, a proprietary process, or a strong brand, talent is the true asset of an organisation.

As per a study by the World Economic Forum and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, there is a worldwide dearth of talent resulting in as much as 10 million jobs in the manufacturing sector unfulfilled. Despite high unemployment rates across the world, shortage of talent and the right skills is an epidemic globally . Finding right talent is only half the problem solved; retaining and nurturing that existing talent is another ballgame altogether. The culture of an organisation therefore, plays an important role in achieving both these objectives. The value of human capital is high for a healthy and profitable organisation. However, it is an organisation's culture that becomes the strategic rope that binds talent together.The culture of an organisation entails a balanced mix of employee-friendly benefits and policies, engagement initiatives, proven career paths, diversity and a lively vibrant environment that fosters fun and creativity . Senior leadership also plays a significant role in being role models. These days, organisations are serious about creating a strong, transparent, collaborative, rewarding and productive work culture that is meaningful to their employees. In times to come, organisations will need to push themselves to find new ways to foster this kind of environment and differentiate themselves from their competitors.

It is not only the culture that reflects the success of talent management in an organisation, but also ensuring that the right people are in the right roles.This requires a strong understanding and accurate assessment of the talent in the organisation, their skills, capabilities, their motivation as well as their developmental needs. Talent needs to be nurtured with a high focus on learning and development; else, there is a danger of disengagement or stagnation. Employees need to be coached to constantly evolve themselves, rediscover their capabilities and take risks with alternative career paths in order to reach career objectives.Employee engagement and high performance are outcomes of a strong alignment between an individual's and the organisation's goals.

The talent teams in organisations have a crucial job to do--not only do they have to build robust and transparent processes around ensuring these talent requirements are met, but they also need to ensure that managers and leaders have equal ownership in the talent agenda.

Flying above the gender gap



INDIA'S AVIATION INDUSTRY ENCOURAGES WOMEN TO PURSUE PILOTING
The Indian aviation industry promises huge growth with the introduction of new airlines, modern airports,foreign direct investments in domestic airlines and cutting-edge technology.With the arrival of new international airlines and the removal of the 520 rule that did not grant Indian airlines clearance to fly internationally until they completed five years of operation and had a fleet of 20 aircraft,growth opportunities are developing in the Indian aviation industry.Due to the increase in demand,piloting has become an attractive career choice for women.

India currently has roughly 600 female pilots and the number is increasing annually.Until recently, piloting has never been thought of as a full-time career for women.However,the thinking around suitable careers for women has changed,and one way Indian women have embraced the change is training to become pilots.India is ahead of many other countries by creating education opportunities for men and women,resulting in major airlines employing 11 per cent of female pilots while the global average is only 3 per cent.It is admirable to see women creating a positive change in the industry by choosing a piloting career in what can be a stressful,maledominated industry that requires costly training and has the added pressure of long hours away from family.

The aviation industry is working to upgrade flight skills in the country.Becoming a pilot requires technical training with an academic background in physics,math and earth sciences.With sufficient training and experience,pilots can earn a commercial pilot licence,which is given by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.AJ Aviation Academy (Bangalore),Indian Aviation Academy (Mumbai),and Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy (Hyderabad) are some of the top institutes in the country.Alternatively,major airlines in India train their own pilots by providing cadet pilot training,or arrange for it with the CAE simulator company in Bengaluru which provides A320, B737 and B777 training.Pilots can receive a commercial pilot licence and type rating training,and possible career options include working as commercial,cargo and business jet pilots,as well as air ambulance,air force and government service pilots.

Although more aviation career opportunities are developing for women,there are still challenges for women to reach the Pilot-inCommand (PIC) and First Officer positions.India will need to address the long-hours culture and create better maternity and childcare options to permit more women pilots to reach seniority,the lack of which is a common complaint amongst women working in the aviation industry. Industrial bodies such as Indian Women Pilots Association,International Society of Women Airline Pilots and Institute for Women of Aviation Worldwide are constantly striving towards retaining and growing women's interest in pursuing a career in the industry.As India's socio-economic situation evolves and the manpower demand continues growing,we will see more women choosing piloting careers in aviation.

Indian parents among top three on the 'lighthouse parenting' ladder 


Indian parents play a key role in shaping the career paths of their children, according to a global study released by LinkedIn.The research was commissioned by LinkedIn.Opinium surveyed 20,176 adults (15,227 current workers and 11,492 parents of workers) between August between August 26 and September 3, 2015 in the following countries: UK, US, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Brazil, Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, India and New Zealand. 1,000 adults were surveyed from India (866 current workers and 507 parents of current workers).

KEY FINDINGS:

The study revealed that, 82% parents are involved in deciding their child's career; this is the strongest after completion of the child's education; India is amongst the top three countries following this trend, with Brazil highest at 92%, followed by China at 87%; Indian parents continue to be involved in their child's careers even after their education, 84% Indian parents stated that they were aware of what their child does on a day-to-day basis at the workplace.This is higher than the global average (77%); The professionals surveyed stated that their parents have given them about the right amount of career advice (44%); 44% younger professionals (aged 18-34) wanted parental guidance on which subjects to take up at the university. This trend continued even in their careers, with the same group seeking guidance on how to deal with workplace issues; The study shows that Indian parents are committed to guid ing their children in their pro fessional journey without over stepping boundaries and be coming over involved. One in two professionals stated that their parents stopped giving advice at the right time. Giving the right amount of advice, knowing when to step back, stopping at the right time, all indicate that a sufficiently large number of Indian parents do demonstrate lighthouse behav iour. This is further borne out by the fact that 37% of the professionals surveyed en dorsed this by describing their parents as “Lighthouse Parents“ , e which is higher than the global average of (29%). “Light house Parents“ is the term for a new style of parenting which inspires parents to remain a beacon of encouragement and s advice without being too over bearing or taking too much of a step back; 41% of professionals speak to their parents during work hours more than once a week to update them on their work-life.

JUST ARRIVED - Work-life balance: Still a sore subject?



Work-life balance continues to be an evolving topic for India Inc, according to Randstad Workmonitor Survey Wave 2, 2015. Changes in demographics with increased diversity at the workplace, including twoearner families, suggests that work-life is becoming an increasingly important issue.

KEY FINDINGS:

A whopping 74% of the respondents of the survey indicated that their employers expect them to be available outside regular office hours; 78% of the employees mentioned that they are also expected to be available by phone and email during holidays as well; 64% of both, male and female respondents indicated that they do feel extremely pressured to do so, which clearly reveals the increasing work-life balance issues among India Inc. China and India rank well above the global average on both statements; 69% of the survey respondents mentioned that they sometimes deal with private matters during working hours.Male respondents reflected this trend a little higher (70%) than female respondents (67%); 76% of the employees mentioned that they do not mind handling work-related matters in their private time and a staggering 75% from India indicated that they do this because they would like to stay involved. Almost an equivalent number of male and female respondents opined the same.

OTHER KEY FINDINGS FROM INDIA:

Job satisfaction level: 83% of the respondents were satisfied with their employers; Likelihood of job shifts: The appetite to change jobs (applying and actively looking) dropped to 21% in India (compared to 24% last quarter). 19% of the respondents are passive job seekers; Actual job change: This quarter, the survey reflected the highest actual job change in India and Malaysia. 50% of the survey respondents from India mentioned that they have changed their jobs in the last six months and this trend is really high within the age group of 25-34 years; Job loss fear: Among Indian employees, the job loss fear has increased to 23% over the last quarter, indicating diminishing confidence among them; Focus on promotion: Men and women have an equally strong focus on getting a promotion. 46% men and 47% women employees who participated in the survey indicated the same.

CHARTING THE JOURNEY FROM `TRAINABLE' TO `EMPLOYABLE'

 A `skilful' strategy

CHARTING THE JOURNEY FROM `TRAINABLE' TO `EMPLOYABLE'

Recent signs of a strategic policy shift from education to employability could go a long way in establishing India as a global HR engine. By 2020, India is estimated to have 850 million people in the working age group, accounting for 28 per cent of the global workforce. If this 850 million is made employable, India has the potential of becoming a leading source for skills. However, skilling 850 million people is by no means a simple task. It will require application of a carefully thought out strategy for desired results.

There are two approaches that seem essential: the first is to closely align capacity building to emerging industry needs; the second is to ensure that the solutions are scalable and the investments required to scale are not linear. Translated, this means creating skilling programmes in sectors where the demand is going to be the highest and therefore Public-Private Participation (PPP) to develop appropriate standards, curriculum, faculty and certification processes. When these programmes are deployed in close proximity to the industry, the outcomes will be better. In addition, these programmes must use inexpensive and scalable technology such as cloud-based learning programmes that can be customised at minimal cost; inexpensive open source software to create engaging and immersive modules for self-paced learning; and mobile networks for anytimeanywhere distribution.

The recent 10th Annual Talent Shortage Survey from Manpower Group showed that filling skilled jobs was one the biggest challenges before global businesses. This problem is not unique to India. However, of those surveyed, 58 per cent from India said that filling jobs was difficult.This is against the global average of 38 per cent. Clearly, India has a bigger problem than many other parts of the world. Hence, the urgency to develop and deploy professional skill development programmes and processes cannot be over-emphasised. This is especially true for skill development in rural India where we need to build capacity to ensure higher employability. To address the needs of an expanding labour market from various perspectives, the last budget most encouragingly allocated Rs 1,500 crore for skilling rural youth under the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojana which is expected to create increased demand for skilled labour and better credit management. However, to achieve impact at scale, the convergence of management, monitoring and quality assurance frameworks with other skill development initiatives is a must. A case in point is the National Skill Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme branded as STAR (Standard Training Assessment and Reward) with Rs 1,350 crore allocated for motivating the youth to join skill development programmes through monetary rewards.

The fast emerging concept of `blended model of learning' should work especially well for rural skilling needs. Combining online and classroom instruction, this model integrates the socialising opportunities of a classroom with the flexibility of online learning, freeing up the student's time for family obligations, part-time jobs and other pursuits. International studies have indicated that a blended model leads to lowered dropout rates. However, for blended models, there is a clear need to establish a robust infrastructure ­ technology, curriculum, content, faculty, collaboration with academia, physical facilities and industry linkages. While most of the developed economies are ageing, India has the distinction of being one of the youngest nations with 54 per cent of its population below 25 years. Let's join hands to ensure that India reaps the power of its numbers.

(Almost) error-free employees

HOW TO PREVENT ON-THE-JOB ERRORS AND ENSURE EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE

Errors by employees are an inseparable part of corporate life.While some errors are insignificant in nature,a few of them may lead to dire consequences for a company depending on the nature of its business.Some of the long term consequences could be loss of sales,deterioration of customer relations and brand image,lowering of product or service quality,and decline in productivity.

Sometimes,a company puts in far more efforts in finding out “who is to blame?“ rather than “what caused the error?“ While some common reasons for errors across organisations and industries may seem to be an employee's lack of attention to detail,physical or mental fatigue and persistently high workload, these factors are often symptoms of a deeper problem rooted in systemic deficiencies.Below are a few simple steps to ensure that common systemic problems that lead to frequent errors are avoided:

Hire the best fit: The focus should be on hiring a person who best fits the job profile.To ensure the best fit and low attrition, it is equally important to be cautious of candidates who lie higher on the spectrum than what the profile demands, as it is critical to filter out candidates who lie below the benchmark. For such an evaluation to take place with objectivity, it is vital that appropriate job analysis is conducted and assessments are designed accordingly.

Focus on training: Well-directed training is the next important step.The idea of job specific training should be to ensure that an employee is provided with the required information and mentoring to take up the job responsibilities with confidence and without hassles.Periodic identification and addressing of training needs of existing employees is also important for engagement,retention and growth.

Allow flexibility to manage workload: People have varying capacities of doing different tasks.

A way of ensuring less errors or mishaps,sometimes,is to focus on the outcomes and allow employees the flexibility to manage the workload in their own way.

Focus on errors,more than the employee: If an error has occurred,the focus should be on addressing its root cause and fixing it rather than penalising the employee.

Ensure an effective work environment: Even a well trained and highly skilled employee is prone to making mistakes if heshe has to work in an environment that hinders work performance.

Emphasising the points above and looking at errors as reasons for improvement rather than debilitating factors can lead to long-term solutions for addressing workplace mishaps and improving systemic processes.

HR FOR the customers


CUSTOMER-CENTRIC HR IS THE NEXT FOCUSOF THE INDUSTRY

With rapidly changing dynamics of modern day businesses, the way organisations interact with customers is fast transforming. This trend brings to fore a pertinent industry concern of whether HR professionals can build organisations that are receptive to the reality of what customers want.

To elucidate this better, let's take the example of an ecommerce enterprise. When prospective buyers log in to a shopping portal, whether their visits are converted into purchase depends on several factors. The obvious ones include the inventory available, competitive pricing, and the variety offered.However, equally important are experiential factors such as the ease of performing a transaction and settlement of after-sales customer concerns. The latter set of factors will largely determine if the customer will return to the portal and recommend it to others.It has, thus, become imperative for organisations to enhance customer experience and use customer feedback to form the t basis of how businesses are run.The key is to adopt a customercentric approach to just about t everything an organisation does.For HR, this translates into creating and fostering a culture i that is outward facing and f customer-oriented.

Going by the definition, while t customers may actually be outsiders, in reality, they act as the single most significant stakeholders.

The shift from an inward-facing approach to a customer-centric one has been largely driven by the innovative nature of services that are being directed to consumers these days. Startups and e-retailer chains are re-writing the rules of the trade which is also re-defining workplace policies and culture.

Increasingly, job descriptions and KRAs are being aligned to the customer experience organisations intend to offer. This makes everyone, ranging from the CEO to the front staff, responsible for the value proposition they deliver to the customer. There's also a trend of reaching out to customers to understand their needs and fulfill the same through tailored offerings. Avenues are being created that allow customers to rate their experience and share feedback. Insights generated are being leveraged to improve customer satisfaction policies.Organisations are going all out to the extent of even aligning their talent management and acquisition strategies around the impact they want to make on their customers. Performance metrics and reward and recognition frameworks are also being redrawn to have an element of customer focus. On the forefront of this dynamic shift are enterprises that have emerged over the past decade. Cognizant of the competitive advantage it offers, telecom companies, banks, ecommerce businesses and airlines have emerged as trendsetters in this space.

Driving the focus on customers while addressing core employee issues may seem to be a tall ask from HR professionals.

However, a balance between the two agendas can help employees succeed and keep the customers smiling.

The art of retention





DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE FIVE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE WHETHER A MILLENNIAL WILL STAY ON OR QUIT? 

 

With millennials, better known as Gen Y (the generation born since early 80s till late 90s) becoming an increasing part of the talent pool and the leaders of tomorrow, talent retention, today , has become a far more complex proposition and a different challenge altogether. Creative, confident and impatient are the three dominant characteristics of millennials and their traits are markedly different from the preceding generation Gen X. This is a generation that has grown up with the Internet, social media, and gadgets along with huge exposure to all sorts of information, which has enabled them to form their own world-view. This is a generation which sees hierarchy very differently , where respect is not a function of age or position but ability.Thus, a senior has to earn respect, not command it. They need to look up to you and they do not want superiors behaving like conventional bosses, but as a friend, philosopher and guide. It's a generation that delivers, but wants flexibility in work hours. They are committed to work and deadlines, but have an inherent disregard for regimental rigmarole. This is definitely a generation in a hurry to learn, deliver and move on and here lies the big challenge as organisations look at fresh talent infusion not only to ensure sustained productivity , but also smooth business continuity and future leadership. World over, talent retention figures high on the agenda of a progressive organisation; in India, more so as employee turnover is much higher than the global average and the highest in Asia. Companies are trying to discover ways to stem the tide as high turnover leads to many undesirable consequences ranging from work environment instability to revenue loss and, in the worst case scenario, involving highly talent-centric sectors a severe business setback with competition gaining an unbeatable march.
To me, the key to talent retention lies in understanding the composite psyche of millennials. Today, if an HR person fails to take Gen Y's psyche into account, he is bound to feel frustrated or even fail. This generation has certainly thrown up new challenges when it comes to talent retention. The penultimate factor in talent retention today lies not in “what an organisation can offer“ but in understanding “what does Gen-Y want?“ -The author is group CHRO, Bhartiya Group 

HERE ARE THE FIVE MOST CRITICAL FACTORS IN TALENT RETENTION TODAY: 

CORPORATE CULTURE:
In the age of social media,reputation today flows seamlessly.If an organisation is branded as anything,but progressive and cool,Gen Y will shun it.It applies as much to a conventional brick and mortar entities as to new-age platforms.Gen Y values a corporate culture which lets them learn quickly,has an open culture and shares its growth plans with them.Gen Y certainly wants to know where they fit in the overall scheme of things and what the future holds for them.They ideally want an organisation which offers them ample personal and professional growth opportunities. 

COMPETITIVE SALARIES AND REWARDS:
For Gen Y,competitive salary is a given.The logic that competition is bigger and has greater revenue so it can afford to pay more and offer greater rewards to its employees than we do,no longer cuts ice with Gen Y.Sooner or later,they will move, if compensations are not matched competitively. 

RECOGNITION PROGRAMMES:
Given the rising affluence and explosion of social media,Gen Y has grown up in a very different environment than has been the case with previous generations.Recognition and not reprisal has been the driving factor for them to achieve excellence.This is the kind of environment they also expect from an organisation.Recognition programmes,today, play a key role in employee retention. 

CHALLENGING WORK ENVIRONMENT:
Gen Y, more than any previous generations, are graduating with a dynamic mix of academic and work experiences that have them positioned to contribute from day one.They are not interested in boring jobs they seek challenging work right from the start. 

WORK-HOUR FLEXIBILITY:
Gen Y professionals also see themselves doing work everywhere except in a cubicle. Gen Y definitely wants flexible hours and schedules because they are great believers in work-life balance and want to live life to the fullest. Jobs, today, need to factor in such changing personal traits.