Writing
Navigating a New Workplace
Financial Express
Shaping the Future of Work by Chandrasekhar Sripada, a professor at ISB, is clearly a product of the Covid-19 pandemic and a much-researched exploration of how India (and, indeed, the world) will work. Every working professional has experienced the tectonic change that we now refer to as ‘hybrid work’….
An ISB Professor Writes: Companies Should Be Audited for How They Treat Their Employees
Outlook Business
The debate over toxic workplaces in India revolves around a few false narratives: first, long hours of work are the cause of all the suffering for employees; second, being good and caring with people leads to low productivity; and third, you cannot be good with people and be successful as a company at the same time. Neither evidence nor experience supports these ideas….
Japan is paying workers to live in rural areas. Remote work is key to India’s future too
ThePrint
In his book, ‘Shaping the Future of Work’, Chandrasekhar Sripada explains how remote work can solve a number of organisational, developmental, and environmental problems…
Embracing Flexibility with Work: A New Era for India’s Workforce
The Mint
Flexibility is the new currency in the world of work. Greater flexibility with timings, work locations, and work contracts expands access to formal jobs for large sections of India’s unutilized rural talent. I argue that progressive and flexible firms can help unleash India’s vast human capital by providing inclusive employment. By shaping the future of work for India and adopting remote work at scale, we can take jobs to talent in small towns and not force them to migrate to big cities……
Flexibility is the new currency in the world of work. Greater flexibility with timings, work locations, and work contracts expands access to formal jobs for large sections of India’s unutilized rural talent. I argue that progressive and flexible firms can help unleash India’s vast human capital by providing inclusive employment. By shaping the future of work for India and adopting remote work at scale, we can take jobs to talent in small towns and not force them to migrate to big cities.
The book makes a case for rethinking conventional work, organizational, and leadership practices. In this book, you will find my perspectives on engaging the next-generation workforce and deploying practical strategies to make India’s world of work inclusive and future-ready.
Tackling the Third Wave and Beyond
Times of India Kochi
In this co-authored opinion piece, Chandra highlights on how to keep our human capital in the healthcare sector ready to tackle the looming third wave. The co-author Dr Satish Reddy is MD Aster hospital.
Work from Home Needs a Robust Ecosystem
The Island
After 10 months of work from home (WFH) , countries and companies have found many benefits of this COVID-induced social and work place experiment Many employers see large savings due to reduced real estate costs and many employees like the flexibility of WFH. As more people work away from centralized offices, numerous benefits are evident…
Let this be a year of weaning away from offices
The New Indian Express
This new year, 2021, does not look all that new, after all. It does not seem to come with the same sense of excitement and positive anticipation as new years usually do. Humbled by a horrible virus and dazed by the devastation it wreaked, the mightiest of nations and best of people are yet to recover from the deep despair of Covid-19. Amidst frequent lockdowns and the constant mutations of the virus, the much-awaited vaccine is greeted more with fear than hope..
Remote Work Lessons From Around The World
Business Because
India is vast and very diverse, but a strong urge for rapid economic growth, great striving to catch up with the advanced global economy, and raising the standards of life for millions underpins work culture in most parts of India..India is evolving fast into a robust and vibrant work culture with a strong aspirational spirit..
Pandemic has given an opportunity to institutionalize remote work
Indian Express
Remote work can promote inclusive employment. A number of small town and rural employable youth are not able to find jobs in a big city, or cannot bear the costs of relocating to big cities or are made to feel like an outsider or second class citizen in these big cities..
First priority: Human capital
Fortune India
“You can take my factories, burn up my buildings, but give me my people and I’ll build the business right back again.”
—Henry Ford
Have you heard of Minal Dakhave Bhosale? She is a virologist in a little known Lab called Mylabs in Pune.
Leading Human Capital in the 2020s: Emerging Perspectives
SAGE
This new decade of 20s is likely to witness a significant intersection between three critical topics discussed in the 21st century: 1) digital, 2) human capital and 3) leadership.
Employees, managers and leaders across the world will seek answers to questions such as: How do we transform traditional organizations in the face of the digital onslaught? How will we sustain agility in organizations to deal with digital demands? How do we build cross-border capabilities in an increasingly narrowing world order? What new skills and cognitive versatility will leaders need to cope with the new realities unleashed due to the digital revolution? How can we build inclusive work places and handle biases-will AI /ML help? How do we understand human needs beyond the current confines of money and material comfort?
In 2019, is human capital on top of your board’s agenda?
Boards have been making the headlines throughout last year – all for the wrong reasons. There have been board level failures across India’s leading banks, financial institutions, conglomerates and IT behemoths. These were not just financial missteps or frauds. Often, analysts trace them to governance failures in check and balances, independence of directors, or lack of oversight on strategy. We have ignored for far too long, boards’ inadequate attention to human capital, a vital factor that drives innovation and growth.
2019: Looking at the Next Year in a New Light
“Time present and time past/ Are both perhaps present in time future/ And time future contained in time past”, TS Eliot, Four Quartets, (1941). A change in the calendar year gives us a high. We look forward to another new year. Resolutions are made. Hope is re-ignited. Many of us gather optimism like tsunami victims collect falling rations from runaway helicopters. Part greedy, part needy – we reach for the new year. The more enthusiastic among us prepare a whole new to-do list. – we promise to ourselves with the certainty of an alcoholic. Look back, this drama has been enacted for many years now. The only way to stop this endless drama is to see the new year in a new light.
India’s talent crisis: Is it a musk deer tragedy?
A more inclusive approach to talent, greater willingness to bet on nascent talent and tapping uncommon talent pools can significantly mitigate the talent shortages.Looking at the ironic situation of India Inc’s inability to find enough talent, one is tempted to rephrase the famous lines of the 19th century English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge and say: “People, people, everywhere, nor anyone to hire”. Depending on whom you ask, India could be adding anywhere between five and seven million people every year into the workforce. Yet, employers all over India say they are facing acute talent shortages.
Who will bell the cat?
The current leadership crisis in Yes Bank highlights a weak spot in governance and institution building in our corporations. The stock market response to the Reserve Bank of India order is a reflection of the bank’s dependence on one individual at the helm. It also demonstrates the ineptitude of the board in preparing for leadership succession. Like Rana Kapoor, many successful leaders and their boards are responsible for the ruin of their own creations. Globally, many organisations face a crisis at the time of planning and executing leadership succession.
HR to Human Capital : A name change that is waiting for its time
As a professional that helped Businesses and their leaders deal with people , I have had to change my name several times. I started with Labor Welfare Officer :some one responsible to ensure that water taps , toilets, rest rooms, and canteens worked well. Then I was called Personnel and Industrial Relations Manager. I helped formulate rules and manuals, maintained employee records etc. I also hobnobbed with Union leaders- some times to make them agree to what management wanted and often to keep them out of mischief. After some time ,I was rechristened again.
Will social media humble the workplace bullies?
How many times have you heard well-known leaders say, “I don’t care who thinks what, I will get done whatever I think is right”? Ironically, over centuries, people have been conditioned to expect such authoritarianism. They admire macho leaders who intimidate and bully them.
Sometimes, the reaction of people towards workplace bullies reminds me of the “Stockholm Syndrome”. In much the same way that long-time hostages of a powerful abductor start admiring him and submit willingly, normal employees simply surrender to a powerful leader. Such coercive and authoritarian styles were fine until recently—for the leader had some prerogatives over how data, knowledge and opinions were accessed and disseminated.
Developing tomorrow’s leaders
Making a case for inclusiveness
Much like India needs “inclusive” growth, our companies too need to be inclusive when hiring. After all, organization are microcosms of society. Therefore building inclusive companies will not only supplement our national goal but also be an effective test of our capability to do so. However, inclusiveness is yet to be recognized as a serious agenda in Indian companies. Diversity programmes are often confused with inclusiveness and the discerning understand the two are not the same. We have many identity markers in our society: language, religion, caste, region, and therefore have an opportunity to bring in many more sections into the corporate mainstream beyond the traditional groups.
Publications
Ghosh, K., Chauradia, A. J., Sripada, C. (2020). Flock Together or Fly Alone: Cohort’s effect on newcomer’s job search and turnover. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2020(1).
Sripada, C (2019), “Executive Education in India: Now and in the Future” NHRD Network Journal; 12(1), 64-67
Sripada, C (2019), “Inclusive Hiring” Asian Management Insights, 6(12), 28-33
Sripada, C (2019), “People at the Heart of Corporate Governance: Reimagining the Role of HRM” NHRD Network Journal, 12(4), 364–375
Chandrasekhar S (2018) “Three Dimensions of a Great Place to Work”, Asian Management Insights ,Vol 5 , SMU , Singapore Management University
Chandrasekhar S (2012), Skill Based Volunteerism: How can organizations leverage their employee skills for larger social good? NHRD Network Journal Vol 5, January’12. National HRD Network, Gurgaon
Chandrasekhar S (1996) “HRD; Is the spirit there?”, Selected Readings in HRD, Singh, Rao & Nair, pp 76-82, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company Ltd, New Delhi
Sunil Kandlilkar & Chandrasekhar S (1996), “Information Technology and HRM : Experiences of setting up a multi- media business with global partnership “, Aligning Human Resource Processes : Challenges of Development ,pp 392- 99 Sinha, Reddy, Chandrasekhar & Sarma , Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company Ltd. New Delhi
Chandrasekhar S (1994) “Mindset Change for Corporate Turnaround: A new initiative in management development in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd”. Management of Change in South Asia pp 407-14 (papers presented at the third academic conference of management development institutions in South Asia, The University Press limited, Dhaka
Editor/Co-editor Conference Papers/Journals
Chandrasekhar S (2011) “National HRD Network Journal” Gen Y and HR, Volume 4, Issue 4
Balaji, Chandrasekhar S & Dutta (1998) “Leading Change through Human Resources -towards a globally competitive India, (papers presented at the 6th national conference of the National HRD Network, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Ltd, New Delhi
Sinha, Reddy, Chandrasekhar S & Sarma (1996) “Aligning Human Resource Processes: Challenges of Development”, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Ltd. New Delhi
Book Chapters
Chandrasekhar S (2014) “Invest in yourself; keep learning all through life “ Rules of the game, Dscover, learn, invent the art of speeding up your career , pp.201-05 ,Sumit D Chowdhury , Bloomsbury, India, New Delhi
Chandrasekhar S ( 2011) “Fostering Growth ,Change and Leadership ,Organization Development” , Pp 435-45 , Organization Development: accelerating learning and development , S Ramnarayan and TV Rao , SAGE Response ,New Delhi
Work in Progress
Chandrasekhar S (2019). “Does leadership develop when leaders develop? Evidence from a global pharmaceutical company” Target: Leadership Quarterly
Chandrasekhar S (2019). “Inclusive talent practices – Impact on firm capability building in growth markets” Target: Human Resource Management Review
Accepted Academic Conference Proceedings
Glory George, Chauradia AJ, and Chandrasekhar S (2018), “Confronting India’s Skill Development Paradox: Human Capital Challenges of Gender and Job Placement “, SMS Conference, Hyderabad, December ,2018
