Where did 3 years go by?

This is not a post to brag about myself. Some of you might think that way and many of you would think what I have written here are not achievements, its just lame. The reason I wrote this is a reminder, to ME if not to others. This is a blog to all those people who occasionally need a nudge to remind how awesome they truly are. This is my story.....

In 2016, when I started my maternity leave, I was working full time as HR in Talent Engagement Team with one of the leading IT giant in India . I had already decided to take one year break to take care of my daughter. That is when my husband got the opportunity to work in the USA and we relocated to San Francisco in 2017. The initial plan was to go back to India once my extended maternity leave was over. As days passed by I realized it would be a crime to take my daughter away from her dad. She is a daddy's girl and she needs her father to be around. I also didn't want my husband to miss out on each milestones of our baby. We decided that no matter how difficult it is gonna be we will stay together, no way our family can be separated unless for a very pressing reason. I decided to quit my job for the sake of my growing family. It was not an easy decision. I remember staring at my resignation mail a thousand times before sending it. I used to get these panic attacks at nights suddenly realizing I no longer have a job. You see, I have never been financially dependent since I turned 18. I used to work part time during college and paid my own tuition. Summer jobs, internships, part time gigs and come to think of I haven't sat idle ever since I can remember. I was hired through campus placement before I graduated. I was already working full time before I got the result of my finals. And now I am a stay at home mom to two kids. 

It was kind of ok initially. I was still very busy because I had a baby to take care of. I was fortunate to have amazing set of friends. I made it a point to get out of house everyday. Play dates, visiting libraries, grocery shopping and running errands etc kept me busy. BUT, some days it would be bother me that I am not doing anything more, that I am wasting my years, that my hard earned college degree is worthless. I could feel my brain rotting away. I do not have work permit so I cant start working. I was stuck. 

Today Facebook showed me a random post I had made years ago about something that happened at office. It made me think how time has passed by. It has been three years since I quit my job....that is more than 1095 days. And what have I done in those 1000+ days? It just struck me out of nowhere. I felt uneasy and nauseous thinking about the number of days I sat idle. I immediately took out my phone and started jotting down my achievements in last three years. At first my mind went blank, I went through my photos and this is what I found. Three years of my life :-

  

Gave birth to my son

I am beyond happy to say that I am mother to two beautiful kids. I gave birth to my son five months ago. It was an uneventful pregnancy with a dramatic delivery (more on that later). Carrying a baby inside and running after a preschooler was an adventure. In those 9 months, I had morning sickness, heart burn and all the fun part of pregnancy. My daughter started attending preschool when I was 6 months pregnant. It was a huge transition for me. She did not have separation anxiety but I did. Getting her to be on a schedule was a humongous task especially because I was exhausted most of the time.

SHRM Blogger

After my son's birth, this is probably my main achievement in the last three years. I didn't want to be completely out of touch with HR world. So I started participating in Twitter Chats hosted by SHRM and soon I got the invite to be part of the official bloggers team. I attended the SHRM 2019 Annual Conference & Exposition and it was a mind blowing experience. In my opinion every HR professional should attend it at least once. I will never forget the first day of conference. When I reached the conferencevenue I couldn't stop crying because it was so overwhelming. I was 16 weeks pregnant then. It was the first time I had stayed away from my daughter, it was also first time I had travelled and stayed by myself in 3 years. It was also the first time I reconnected with my HR fraternity since I quit my job. So all these emotions and the pregnancy hormones turned me into a weeping mess. I couldn't believe I was there. I was attending the biggest HR conference on earth, people had travelled all the way from Australia, India, UK, South Africa, UAE and countless other places to attend this mega learning event. It was like an ocean of HR professionals. And I was part of the official bloggers team. I felt proud to sit at the reserved bloggers area for the key note session and to chill at the exclusive bloggers lounge with my fellow HR pals. Staying away from my daughter was not easy, but thanks to my husband who gave me full support and pushed to go to Vegas for this event. 

Swimming

I am immensely proud to say that I can swim. I taught myself. Swimming is not very common in my home town even though we are surrounded by water bodies. Opportunity to practice swimming used to be non existent for girls. It is changing now but when I was a kid there weren't many swimming pools. I have never even had a bathing suit. Our current apartment have a pool and I decided to take advantage of it and I am glad I did. I can now swim, not in a professional way just the basic freestyle swimming, lets just say I wont drown at least for few minutes. 

Cooking

Three years ago I could only cook handful of meals. And now I can easily cook Indian, American, Italian, Chinese and little bit of Mexican food. My husband is a foodie and he is my main inspiration. I have hosted dinner parties and have prepared massive meals for 30+ people. 

I started baking and this again was because my husband loves cakes and desserts. What started as simple cupcakes turned into an obsession. I have baked cakes, macarons, breads and buns, pizza, tiered and decorated cakes, cookies, swiss rolls, scones and what not. 

Travelling 

I have always loved to travel. It is in my blood I think because my entire family is fond of travelling. It is one childhood experience I truly cherish. You see, I grew up in a small town in India where people don't travel much. Vacation trips means a visit to grandparents house and that's it. But my dad loved travelling and we used to travel to other cities in India. It was a big deal for us. So with that as my background, even a visit to nearby national park in California gave me such a high. In three years we have managed to visit several cities, 8 National parks, several State parks and also did a trip to India which was an adventure itself because travelling with a toddler is not easy. 

Adventures

I love the great outdoors and being in California has provided ample opportunities to explore the nature. My husband and I are adrenaline junkies and we love all sorts of adventure. We did Sky diving, white water rafting, camping and hiking. We have a bucket list of other adventures which we hope to accomplish soon...

Like I said in the introduction, this post is a reminder. We are all doing plenty of things, even though it might not look that way to others. For every one of you who feel stuck, helpless and feel like you are wasting time, I would request you to take a pause and list down everything you have done in the last couple of years. I am sure you will have plenty of things to recollect and realize how awesome you really are. And the best part is you will also derive inspiration from your own past. Writing this blog has given me the nudge and a sense of direction I needed. I am not going to give up on me!

Staying Strong during the Pandemic Pandemonium Part 2

This is the continuation of my previous blog. A big thank you to HR experts and leaders Kyra Matkovich, Anish Aravind, Jeff Palkowski & Kevin Hubbard for sharing their experience with me.

Role of HR in calming the storm

Staying in a lockdown for a longer period of time is stressful. There are parenting struggles, relationship issues, conflicts with roommates, loneliness and what not. Add other factors like fear of losing job, frustration, anger, reduced income and it is a mess.  We are at a very critical juncture right now, everyone around us needs support and there are a lot of things HR can do to help :-

• To start off, send regular communications to employees. Keeping them informed and well aware of what is going on is helpful to reduce stress. Information like business updates, crisis management, FAQ on the company policies, protocol to be followed in case somebody has tested positive for corona virus are top priority right now. 
• It is also good to share tips on how leaders can manage a remote team, tools, technologies and platforms available to help employees, general information mails on symptoms of corona virus, how to stay safe and healthy etc. is more useful than you think. 
• Share tips on Exercise and fitness. If your company already have a fitness partner check if its possible to conduct online fitness sessions.
• Mental health and stress management is very important when you are confined to a closed space. Advice on stress relief techniques, breathing exercises, online contests/games/puzzles etc. are all appreciated.
• Parenting advice on engaging kids or even a simple mail which says that it is ok to have noisy kids in the background is quite reassuring for many people.

Kyra says “I also reach out to employees individually to just simply ask them how they are doing, and how this situation is impacting them, giving them room to express themselves. It's one thing to ask how work is going. It's another to ask them how they are doing and feeling, what challenges they are experiencing, and how I might be able to support them.”

You need the human to human connection to maintain your sanity during these difficult times. Everyone is going through a wide range of emotions these days. Check out this blog by Steve Browne on why it is important to have a good cry

It is easy to feel burned out when you are working long hours without a break and working from home makes it difficult to socialize with colleagues. It is a good practice to have virtual coffee breaks where employees can talk about non work related things.It also gives opportunity for people to express themselves outside of work.

Just a few weeks ago SHRM delivered pizza to all its employees and their families as a part of their quarterly meeting. It is such a nice gesture and helps to improve the employee morale during these difficult times. 

Tips on how to make video calls more effective

Long term work from home could have been a lot worse without the technology we have today. The phone calls, social media updates, chat messages and most importantly video calls have created an 'office away from office' feeling when you are working from home. Even if you are working in your pajamas, there are certain etiquette to be followed while on an official video call. Here are some tips to make video calls more effective :-

• Make sure to use the right method of communication based on the agenda and the number of employees included. Some issues can be discussed over a phone call or an email. Make sure each video call warrants a video call. Kevin says “Each organization and department will need to decide what information is important enough to share on a call, and what information should be shared in an email. Once that has been decided, organize this information into an outline or agenda and distribute to those who will be on the call. Not only will this set the correct expectations about what is to be discussed on the call, but it will help to keep the conversation on track.”
• It is always best to start meeting on time as it helps to establish a sense of stability. Also the facilitator needs to make sure that all participants are given a chance to speak/share opinions. 
• Being in a virtual meeting is definitely helpful to keep people engaged and be less distracted. Remember that everyone can see you so make sure to wear appropriate clothing. You must have already seen various funny videos and memes on social media about the blunders that happened over official video calls. Take necessary precautions to avoid being the leading character in such videos.

I remember a meme that said once this pandemic is over people would want to take leave for one week and just stay in office. Granted that working from home for a long time under a lockdown/shelter in place is harder than one could have imagined. I was watching a 90s movie with my preschooler and when she saw the main character working in an office her immediate question was why they aren't working from home and why people don't have laptops. It kind of makes you wonder about the future of the workplace (if there is a workplace i.e).

 

"We have come too far, we have sacrificed too much, to disdain future now.” - John F Kennedy

A big thank you to the contributors to this blog post :

Anish Aravind : Co-Founder and Principal Consultant, SS Consulting; Co-Founder and Director at M/A/R/S Kerala.

Kyra Matkovich : Senior Human Resources Business Partner Specializing In Employee Relations, Leadership & Development.

Jeff Palkowski : Senior Human Resources Specialist, Workforce Relations at University of Wisconsin-Madison, SHRM Volunteer Leader.

Kevin Hubbard: Jack Welch student who is a results driven, self-motivated, detail oriented administrative professional determined to solve problems.

Staying Strong during the Pandemic Pandemonium Part 1

World used to be a simple place. Kids go to school, adults go to work. Evenings and weekends families/friends gather and have fun at parties, picnics, parks, dates or play dates. People were encouraged to explore the great outdoors. Summer was around the corner and stores were getting filled with swimsuits, beach towels, sunscreen and barbeque grills. Gym membership was on all time high thanks to new year resolutions and the pressure to obtain the beach body. And then BAM……..Corona hit us like a Tsunami. All of a sudden, the swimsuits were replaced with hazmat suits, sunscreen with hand sanitizers and beach towels with disinfectant wipes. Forget about barbeque grills, toilet paper ruled the world. Spring clothing line had to be altered to add face masks and bandana. Schools closed, and employees are asked to work from home. Great outdoors are not so great anymore and staying indoors became the new adventure. 

All these sudden changes have come with a brand new set of challenges that no one could have prepared you for. As fellow HR professionals we are required to be more adept than ever. I wanted to understand more about how these changes have affected the HR industry and the best way to learn is from the experts. A big thank you to HR experts Kyra Matkovich, Anish Aravind & Jeff Palkowski for sharing their experience with me.

Here are some of the challenges faced by HR  during this tumultuous time :-

1. Engaging employees

“The worst thing you can do is nothing” - Theodore Roosevelt

Employees look up to HR for guidance and if there are any confusions, the 1st question would be “What does HR say?” This is not the time to be the deer in the headlight. HR has to pull all strings and collaborate to ensure business is running as usual. 

Jeff says “it has become increasingly difficult to meet the expectations of employees and managers because they expect the same high level high touch service which they are accustomed to”.

2. Compliance to Labor Laws

It is also imperative to keep the employees informed about the discussions, decisions and updates about their workplace and their jobs. Your associates will have a lot of questions about the compensation, leave policy, work from home policy, managing absenteeism, sick leaves, entitlements and other benefits. There are also lots of changes made to the rules and regulations. Hence it is important to keep yourself updated with the laws and practices. Here is a quick FAQ on Fair Labor Standards Act Compliance during the Corona pandemic written by Stephen Miller.

3. Communication

Clear communication is the key for surviving this chaotic situation. The most effective way to communicate and engage the employees is through their managers. With the absence of face to face meetings and daily catch ups, it becomes a challenge to make sure that leaders are well connected with their direct reportees. When there is chaos there is also confusion. Information reached through grapevine can be altered, speculated or it can be completely fake. The need for transparent communication is of paramount importance at this juncture.

4. Provide adequate resources

Another challenge faced by HR is in providing adequate resources and tools to employees. Many of the employees are not used to working from home on a continuous basis. Some may not have a home office or an ergonomic chair. Even the lack of high speed internet connection affects the quality of work. It is an additional challenge to manage kids especially when both parents have to work from home. Employees need help on various aspects like emotional support, counselling, insurance benefits, access to various office platforms, tips on working from home, exercise and staying fit etc.

Kyra says “I send regular communications via email to provide encouragement, support, and humor. I make sure that they know what resources are available”

5. We are also Human

“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation”- Audre Lorde

Unwinding after a day’s work is very important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It becomes a challenge to unplug when your home becomes your office. We all have our own way of relaxing after work like going to happy hour with colleagues, gym workouts, yoga class, sports or even just the commute back home helps to clear your mind. But how will you manage to unplug when you literally never leave office in this long term work from home situation?

Another important aspect of self care is exercise and fitness. With the restriction to go outside, you need to be creative to stay fit. It poses a whole new level of challenge when you have kids because you need to make sure that kids are also exercising their mind and body. 

Anish says “Keeping my boys fit and ready for their game as well as classes when they begin is a challenge. I have to figure out ways to get them to exercise at least 2 hours a day.”

The factors written here are just a glimpse of the ocean deep level of challenges HR folks are facing today. Keeping the ship afloat is the priority now and there is so much HR can do to support the business and the associates. More details of how HR can be supportive will be included in part two of this series.

I want to end this blog with one of my favorite quote from the TV show Grey’s Anatomy:-

“There's an end to every storm. Once all the trees have been uprooted. Once all the houses have been ripped apart. The wind will hush, the clouds will part, the rain will stop, the sky will clear in an instant. But only then, in those quiet moments after the storm, do we learn who was strong enough to survive it” 

A big thank you to the contributors to this blog post :

Anish Aravind : Co-Founder and Principal Consultant, SS Consulting; Co-Founder and Director at M/A/R/S Kerala. Follow on Anish on Twitter

Kyra Matkovich : Senior Human Resources Business Partner Specializing In Employee Relations, Leadership & Development. Follow Kyra on Twitter

Jeff Palkowski : Senior Human Resources Specialist, Workforce Relations at University of Wisconsin-Madison, SHRM Volunteer Leader. Follow Jeff on Twitter

Stop trying to find needle in haystack, use a magnet instead!

Let’s start with a question, what is the most important asset of an organization? Which one is the master key that can unlock the tremendous potential of a company? Your business idea maybe very unique, you may have great investors lined up, you have state of the art technology BUT to manage all these you also need the best employees. This is what makes human capital the epitome of business success. Once the right set of self driven employees are on board, all other pieces of puzzle like infrastructure, financial capital, technology etc. will fit together perfectly. Recruitment efforts will become conspicuous for CEOs who have understood this aspect. Rather than just filling the position, they will be ready to spend weeks and months to make sure that they have selected the right candidate.

The beginning of a new life - Baby as a metaphor

The growth of the company can be compared to growth stages of a baby. Once an organisation is ‘born’, first few years will be a struggle phase but in retrospect, it is also a stage where immense learning happens. During this time, you need strong people around you. It is important to have employees who love challenging work, have a thirst for knowledge and are self motivated. Such employees should also realize that work can be unstructured and many of the functions, processes, structures, chain of command etc. are still evolving. This is like how an infant needs to be surrounded by parents and family members who are strong and wouldn't give up no matter how hard things are.

The visionaries of the company would want to instill certain values and norms across the organization, much like how parents teach their kids about morals. As company is growing, you would also want like minded people with shared qualities of compassion, fairness, equality etc. to associate with you. This gives birth to “Corporate Culture”. Parents want their kids to play with other kids who have similar values. Similarly, the only way to retain company’s culture is to hire people who have similar drive when it comes to innovation, learning, digital transformation, risk taking and growth orientation.

The challenges faced by an organization are never ending exactly like the parenting conundrums. Even when the baby is self sufficient there will come challenges during the teenage years (aka change management and resistance), then college years (continuous learning/change in technology), finding job (expansions/opportunities), relationship mistakes (with partners, vendors suppliers, agencies),  parenting (mentoring/coaching), wrong investments etc. During these challenging situations, it is imperative to have the right set of employees in the organization. Now the question is how to hire such folks?

Conscious HiringⓇ

Hiring the best talent is easier said than done. Few decades ago, most people were satisfied with a decent salary and some savings kept aside in form of pension and retirement benefits. The need of today's workforce is so different from each other that you cannot take a one size fits all approach. Every aspects like compensation, benefits, job responsibility, working hours etc. has to be tailor made to the extent that each employee would feel that he/ she is special. In spite of all these efforts, attraction and retention of talent is still one of the main challenges faced by companies. This is where value based employee selection system like Conscious HiringⓇ* comes in handy. According to Magi Graziano, CEO, KeenAlignment the cost of hire and even the cost of mis-hire and unexpected employee turnover can be calculated in advance. She will be talking more about this system in the concurrent session on Consicious Hiring at the SHRM 2019 Annual conference.

How to hire GenY workforce

A much asked question by young professionals is “What do I get in return?”. 30 years ago finding a job that pays well used to be a nightmare even for talented people. But now even the final semester college students have multiple job offers in hand with high compensation. When it comes to experienced professionals, one click on Linkedin and their inbox will be flooded with job ads and messages from recruiters. Out of all messages and chaos, how do you get the right candidate to apply for the position in your company? Take a walk along the exhibitor hall at SHRM 2019 Annual Conference and Exposition to find the answer to this question. You can discuss your hiring challenges with representatives from companies like:-

Lucas Group - Executive recruitment search firm (Booth #2408)

Appleone -Hiring made Human (Booth #2306)

TextRecruit - Candidate engagement by recruiting through text message (Booth #1928)

Hiring a wrong person can lead to loss of time and money. When a wrong person is hired, precious time will be wasted for conflict resolution, delay in projects, policy formulation, clarifications, finding replacement etc. The challenge doesn't stop once the right candidate has joined the company, it continues throughout the life-cycle of the employee. Finding the right candidate from the millions of job applicants is like trying to find needle in a haystack. Companies such as Lucas Group, Appleone and Textrecruit can help you to become the magnet that attracts the right talent.

Alone in a crowd - The workplace loneliness and its impacts

I remember the first time I met her. She started off as an intern and within 3 months she was hired to join our team full time. That's how good she was! Over a period of 4 years we became best friends. She was my ride to office, my coffee break buddy, lunch partner, after office snack pal...the list goes on. She was my pillar of support and we would talk to each other about our personal life,work frustrations, incidents with colleagues/managers, suggestions/advice for work issues...there isn't anything that we haven't talked about I guess. Year 2016 changed everything, I was pregnant with my daughter and she had to move to Dubai to join her husband. It was time to say goodbye with hope that our paths would cross again. We were happy for each other as both of us were entering new phases of life. But the days after she left is when I truly felt the workplace loneliness. I felt so alone, suddenly I don't have a coffee break buddy and I started drinking coffee at my desk. Work became dull all of a sudden, people became uninteresting, jokes were not funny without having someone else to laugh with you. Fortunately, I started my maternity leave within a month. But those 30 days were really difficult. 

A recent study has shown that 40% of adults in America report feeling lonely. The term called 'Workplace loneliness' has become a topic of discussion in the corporate world. In fact there is a session on 'Workplace Loneliness is Killing Us' by Stuart Chittenden - Founder and Principal of Squish Talks at upcoming SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition 2019.

Workplace loneliness is not something that has occurred in a fortnight. This epidemic has been slowly rising and following factors have contributed to its growth :-

• Technology : With advancement of technology, it is easy to connect with anyone, anytime, anywhere. The advent of Social Media has changed the game of social interactions, networking and even dating. Atop of all this, people tend to forget that in real life they are not meeting any of their friends. Its all messages, emails, chats and hours of browsing. The actual human touch is missing and loneliness slowly creeps in.
• Change in jobs : Years ago, there lived a generation who used to work for the same employer till their retirement. Coworkers were closer than family relatives and deep friendships flourished at the office. People were teary eyed at retirement /farewell parties. And today, the average time an employee would stay at same company is less than two years. It becomes extremely difficult to have a meaningful relation in such a fast paced life. 
• Flexible work options : With changes in technology and digital transformation, employees are given flexibility to choose work hours. Work from home option is a life saver when commutation takes hours. For added flexibility, there is always option to work as a freelancer and choose projects based on preference. Even at office or during commutation, people normally wear headphones which gives a feeling that the person doesn't want to be disturbed and hence not approachable.

How to overcome workplace loneliness?

There is a reason why Employee Engagement is considered a crucial indicator in workplace surveys. It gives tons of insights into Emotional Intelligence and emotional well-being of the employees. More and more companies are coming with focused efforts like mentioned below to engage employees and to mitigate workplace loneliness.

• Interest clubs : One of the most effective way to battle loneliness is to be part of an interest club. It gives a sense of belonging and it also helps to nurture the passion/hobbies of employees. Various clubs for Sports, dance, music, fitness, photography, literature, travel etc can be formed within the company to bring together like-minded people.

• Manager's role : Manager has a huge influence and plays an important role in the emotional well-being of an employee. Occasional team lunch/outing, an outdoor activity or even travelling together for business trips can make lots of difference. Also, extra effort must be taken to connect with employees working remotely. Make sure to have non work related conversation with team members. 

• Working in silos : Collaborative work is a key to business success. Even though open office lay out and open door policy exists, employees still work in invisible silos with less interactions with others. By promoting collaboration, better business outcome can be achieved and workplace loneliness can be reduced. it is a win-win for all.

We are underestimating the power of human emotions when the social contact part is neglected. An article in CNN Business summarizes that lonely employees have

• lower job performances,

• be less committed to the company,

• seem less approachable by coworkers 

We need human connections more than we think and it holds true irrespective of gender, religion, culture, ethnicity and designation (yes, CEOs feel lonely too). Building meaningful human relations helps to nurture Emotional Intelligence (EQ) which in turn influences your relationship with others.

Writing this blog made me think about the episode from the famous TV show Friends where Phoebe talks to Earl the supply manager who wants to kill himself because of workplace loneliness (S07 EP13). We all laughed about Phoebe's predicament but on a serious note Earl in that episode is the epitome of what workplace loneliness can do to a person.

P.S : Nivi Mariam Oommen (my friend I mentioned in the beginning of this blog) is presently working with Danzas at Dubai. We still have contacts with each other and I have a feeling that this is one of the friendships which is gonna last a life time.                                            

Employee separation - The postmortem and what it teaches us

"Of all talent-management processes, a strategic exit interview program—one that is designed to yield ongoing, long-term benefits—may be one of the most powerful yet least understood" - Harvard Business Review

As a HR specialist, one of the role assigned to me was Employee Separation. This is a process which gave me a completely different perspective on talent management. My colleagues used to say it is ironic that employee separation process is conducted by the same person who takes care of employee on-boarding. To me it felt like a responsible thing to do to say goodbye in the right way since I was the first to welcome them to the company, like completion of a cycle.

My Boss was very particular about separation process and would dedicate time to meticulously go through the notes on exit interview, in fact we used to have meeting scheduled exclusively to discuss the exit interview of each of the employee. It was like a postmortem process. Most of the cases, the treating doctors would know what had happened to the patient. But in some cases, there can be underlying and unexplained reasons which will be revealed only by careful dissection and deeper analysis.The immediate manager (i.e treating doctor) can provide meaningful insight into the employee's life at work. Combine this with the data from exit procedures and you will get a clearer picture on what exactly has happened. Needless to say, this information is a powerful retention weapon in your arsenal. Here is how you can wield this weapon :-

• Feedback source : It can be guaranteed that the feedback provided by the employee on notice period will be honest. They will be frank and bold. They will have a clear idea on what is going on internally since they have been with the company for some time. Care must be taken to ensure that the feedback is shared with the right person and meaningful action is taken to prevent resignations due to similar reasons.

• Evaluation of company policies and procedures : Do you want to know what the employees actually think about the new Work from home policy or dress-code policy? Best option is to ask the employee in notice period. You will be surprised to find that the answer could be different from the anonymous internal survey you conducted. Handled well, employee off-boarding can be an excellent resource to understand how employees feel about the company culture, policies and procedures. It can also throw insight into how your competition is faring on various aspects including compensation, leave/vacation policy and other benefits.

• Management style: A very common answer for the reason for exit is "got better offer". But if you dig deeper, it will be clear that money alone is not the reason why one choose to leave the company. Employees leave their bosses, not the company. Most of the times, the precise reason can be identified from an exit interview. Following questions can be pointers for the separation discussion :-
• Was the employee given opportunities for learning? Was necessary training given to perform the job?
• Was the job challenging ?
• Were there any conflicts and how it was handled?
• Did the employee feel recognized and rewarded at work?
• Was timely performance feedback given?
• Did the company meet employee's expectation?
• Did he/she feel overly stressed at work?
• Was there micromanagement?
• Was there a lack of guidance?

• Invite suggestions and ideas: An employee once told me that he would have considered staying back if the exit interview was conducted earlier and not on the last week of his notice period. It was such eye opening remark which led us to set an internal timeline to conduct the exit interview within 7 working days of resignation date (notice period was 60 days). This is just one example. Employees have given suggestions on how to improve the training session, how to engage employees more effectively and even project ideas for training fresh graduates. Exiting employees can give awesome suggestions if asked nicely. Its all about how you treat them. Treat them respect and dignity, show that their opinions matter even if they are leaving. Keep in mind that they have been with the company for a while and has a better idea of what is happening on the floor than you. 

Ex-employees are your brand ambassadors. Their separation process should be so smooth that they cannot stop talking positively about your company where ever they go. In fact they should feel like coming back to the company sooner than later (if rehire is an option). Remember, your future candidate might be the new colleague of your ex-employee. 

2000 miles, 35 hours and a lifetime of adventure!

The first time I saw Grand Canyon was on a calendar page. This was way back in the late 90s, and I never forgot that image of the canyon. Couple of weeks ago we took a trip to visit the Grand Canyon which is one of the natural wonders of the world. This was the longest road trip we have ever taken and we knew we were pushing the limits. Its not the distance or the drive that was challenging. It was Elisha, my 2 years old daughter, but then again with her even a trip to Walmart is a challenge. She is a very active kid and she loves to run around all the time. She doesn't like being restrained to a car seat. She has grown up eating home made Indian food which means I have to either rely on Indian restaurants or I have to cook meals for her everywhere I go. Among the packing list, pressure cooker is now added by default.

On day one of our journey Elisha was very cranky because she woke up earlier than usual and she cried a lot. To top that, we almost ran out gas because we were distracted and was trying to keep her calm that we missed to re-fuel. Luckily there was a gas station some 25 miles down the road and we headed there immediately. Last thing I wanted was to be stranded on the freeway with a screaming child in the middle of the night. 

We were on the way after refueling when Justin got an text message that $150 was spent on his credit card which he had not. His credit card got hacked maybe because of some foul play at gas station. We contacted the Bank and they deactivated the credit card. For a moment we heaved a sigh of relief. That's when the realization hit us, what if our second card is also hacked, we did not have much cash with us as well. We took a detour to the nearest ATM, by then it was already close to midnight. The ATM was located in the middle of what can be described as a ghost town. There were lots of abandoned old buildings, graffiti and no vehicles on the road. It took us a while to figure out that we were on the historic Route 66, and we ended up driving around the route for couple of miles just to satisfy the curiosity. The place reminded of the movie Cars and it was sad to see the state of a town which has lost all its glory.

Day two : After a night long drive and quick nap for couple of hours, we reached the Grand Canyon south rim trail. Me and Justin were frantically looking around to see the canyon but all we could see where the trees on side of the roads for a while. One quick turn and there it was!! It was breath taking. Nothing had prepared us to see the grandeur of the Grand canyon. And believe me when I say the place is heavenly. The pictures you have seen as screensavers is for real, its not Photoshop or camera trick. Grand canyon is as majestic as it is in the pictures. We spent a day there visiting all the view points each one more beautiful than the other. The Sunset at the Hopi Point was one of the magical experiences of my life. The Canyon changes its color along with the setting sun. The photos taken minutes apart looks completely different from each other. You can also see the Colorado river snaking through the canyon. And in the brief moments when Elisha is quiet, you can also hear the sound of the river and the sound of wind blowing in the background. It was amazing. 

My dear friend Jennifer Kumar had mentioned that we might get to see the milky-way if the sky is clear. We went to the Grand view point in the South rim crossing our fingers that we will catch a glimpse of the milky-way. The viewpoint looked completely different in the dark. the sound of wind was almost deafening and it was cold. We stepped out of the car and looked up at the sky and there it was, the band of the Milky Way......I swear to God it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I actually said 'Praise the Lord' for he is a true artist. Never have I seen so many stars, there really are billions of them, words cannot describe that feeling. I couldn't stop myself from thinking how majestic the universe is and how small we really are. Watching the milky-way, planets and shooting stars snuggled together with Justin was one of the most romantic thing I have ever done and to me that was the highlight of the entire trip. 

Day 3: To visit the Antelope Canyon and horseshoe bend in Page was the agenda for day 3. It was hot and sunny and we had to walk couple of miles to see the horseshoe bend. Elisha is daddy's girl which loosely translates that Justin had to carry her around most of the time. It was tiring to walk in the sun and sand carrying a toddler.  But the effort was totally worth it because the view was to kill for. The canyons have never stopped surprising me. Horseshoe bend is like a lone canyon and the river has made way around it. It stood strong and proud almost as if greeting all its visitors. Needless to say we clicked several pics in an attempt to capture its beauty before heading to Antelope canyon. 

Our reservation to the Lower Antelope Canyon tour was for 1:45 pm with Dixie Ellis'. We were so fortunate considering we made the booking only on the previous day. The tours are usually sold out weeks in advance. The view from lower antelope canyon was gorgeous. We were around 20-30 feet down and no one would guess that such a beauty is hidden underneath. We started at 2pm and the timing was perfect, the sun was bright and it cast shadows which enhanced the beauty of the canyon.  Our tour guide said even if it rains 100 miles away, the canyon will get flooded which means the Canyon is somehow connected to places that are really far away. All those rocks in the canyon are a billion years old and some of it is petrified sand compressed and baked in the sun for over a period of time. We also saw footprint of a dinosaur. Just imagine a creature that has lived billion years ago has left its mark on earth and it is still visible. There was also a Native American dance in the resting area which was quite entertaining. We spent rest of the day wandering around Page seeing the buttes before heading to Las Vegas. 

After seeing the nature's wonders, Las Vegas and the Freemont Street experience was not as appealing as I thought it would be. Maybe its also because this was the second time we were in that city. The Hoover dam was a good experience especially when I poured water into the dam and it just flew up defying the laws of gravity. On our way back home we were tempted to take another detour to Death Valley, but we decided to see it another time. We got to see the Joshua Tree National park and several other parts of the Mojave desert.

The whole trip took close to 35 hours of drive and we covered approximately 2000 miles in 3 days. My husband and I have always been fond of travelling. It helps us to connect with each other and we always come back rejuvenated. All the struggles and uncertainties during the travel helps us to redefine our relationship. All the trips we have taken together has again and again proved our friendship and teamwork. It has become our routine to plan for the next trip when we are travelling back from another one. It is so fortunate that I found my partner with whom I can share this mutual passion for travelling. Like I mentioned in my first blog, its all serendipity of life.....

Wanderlust!

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” -Gustav Flaubert

My dad used to take our family for vacation when we were kids. I would have been just 3 or 4 years old but I clearly remember our family trip to Kapad beach in Calicut. This beach is a few kilometers away from our house. We all went to the beach on dad's scooter (four of us on a Kinetic Honda scooter!), I remember my mom made noodles that day and she added prawns to it. This was done only on special occasions. There was an orange colored picnic basket, a beach towel and I remember Dad taking a snooze lying down on the rocks as well. I think this is the first memory I have of travelling. We have traveled to several cities in India. Summer vacations also meant a trip to my grandparents' place. The fact that I remember all this even now shows how much travelling can influence a child. The prospect of going for a vacation always make me very excited, the anticipation of uncertainty combined with the prospect of seeing new places and meeting new people are some of the reasons why I love travelling.

Growing up, I never stopped my love for travelling and would never miss an opportunity to hit the road. I was very happy when I realized that my life partner also shares the same if not a higher level of passion for travelling. My first trip with my husband was when we went for our honeymoon to Malaysia. I was nervous back then... Completely unsure of what an international travel would be and how to adjust with my husband. It's honeymoon, my thought was I should be perfect and look my best all the time.... Our first stop was at Langkawi. Such a beautiful and romantic place and for a minute I forgot about the need to be perfect. We checked in to the resort and minutes later we were out for sight seeing. Before the day ended I realized one thing - Justin doesn't care about how I look, he cares more about how I feel. Like all newlyweds, we also fought on our honeymoon, he said something silly and I got offended. I went out for a walk at the private beach close to the resort where we were staying. It was a beautiful night and sky was full of stars. Romance was back on! I have seen in the movies where the hero and heroine running on the beach and I thought that would be romantic. I insisted that we do the same. Justin was hesitant and I forced him saying its gonna be fun. So I started running and he was chasing me. Next thing I know, there was salt water and sand on my face. It took me a while to figure out that I had fallen flat on my face. I panicked and was struggling to get up. I thought my beloved husband would be freaking out thinking I might have got hurt. Again all the romantic scenes from movies where hero would take the heroine into his arms came rushing to my mind. I turned around and looked for Justin. There he was laughing his heart out, he actually was holding on to his tummy while laughing, it must have hurt laughing that much. I have never seen him laughing that much till date. Lo and behold....my new husband. I was infuriated but only for a minute, because it was hard not to laugh. I really did make a fool of myself. And that night became a landmark in our marriage, it was the day we became best friends and that incident was also the ice breaker of our honeymoon. It is the story we would remind each other every now then and we still laugh thinking about it. 

We had two more days at Langkawi and we went for island hopping tour, cable car ride, underwater world, mangrove tour before we headed out to Kuala Lumpur. It was Valentines's day then and it was also our first valentine's day as married couple. We spent the day in the city seeing various attractions including the Petronas tower, Central Market, China Town and Bukit Bintang. It was also the Chinese new year that day at Malaysia and we had a magical time celebrating it along with folks over there. There were fireworks, dragon dances, games and lots of merriment. 

Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip and we managed to see most of Langakwi and Kuala Lampur in one week's time. Our trip helped to strengthen the bond we have as a couple and the foundation of our marriage was stronger than ever. We still have the same passion for travelling and by the looks of it, our little one is also following in our footsteps. Travelling can bring out the best and worst in a person and this happens because you are outside your comfort zone, you have to adjust with what you have and always be prepared to face unforeseen situations. And with our small road trips, we are trying to mold Elisha to this as well.