Partha's Blog

I have often faced this debate of valuing versus recognizing employees. Though it is often used interchangeably in most discussions there is a significant difference between the two. Recognizing employees is the formal process of evaluating an employee for the work they have done. It is typically done during the performance appraisals or evaluation of an employee’s goal sheet. Valuing employees goes much beyond mere recognition, it means a commitment towards their development, success and overall welfare. Increasingly, this involves more flexible, high-performance work practices adapted to each employee having different professional and personal needs. Valuing employee means the organization is investing in their development and growth, which in turn adds to the organizations overall performance through higher levels of organizational learning and knowledge sharing. Recognition is the measure of this investment, wherein the qualitative measures (lead indicators like training and develo...

Due to the tight timelines for delivery and increased focus on performance outcomes through individual and organizational dashboards, many employees are unable to have a proper work/life balance. To compound this problem the current economic situation has impacted many company’s revenues and profits which in effect have put many jobs at risks resulting in frequency of counseling support and guidance going up significantly. Both formal sessions, involving a trained counselor, and informal sessions, with immediate boss or group HR, are becoming routine for employees who are unable to cope with such high stress levels. All employees face various types of issues that require counseling; these can be categorized as follows: 1. Psychological/Personal – stress at work/home, anxiety, depression, anger management, use of alcohol/drugs and marital or family issues. 2. Professional – job security, quarterly performance appraisal results, project completion deadlines, internal tests for evaluation...