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The reason could be any, but the process of exit still needs to be handled well, as a lot of emotional baggage is still attached to lay-offs. That means one has to do 'consequence management'. As Sanjiv Sachhar, CEO at executive search firm Egon Zehnder, points out: ''It is a business process which needs to be handled systematically with speed and sensitivity, if you need to retain your credibility in the market.'' Companies are doing it in various ways. Delhi-based hr consulting firm Feedback Reach is working actively to institute a new performance system for a client that has 'consequence management' built into it. Under the system, the onus on individual performance is lessened, with weightage being put on the overall business and unit performance. It also spells out what kind of shifts career goals are likely to undergo in case of restructuring, including M&A or closure. Says Rumjhum Chatterjee, managing director, Feedback Reach: ''The company is communicating clearly that careers could be impacted by circumstances that may have little to do with the performance of an individual.'' Others are also weaving in business unit, and country performance before rationalising on hikes, promotions, and even exit decisions, particularly at senior levels. Pepsico India, for instance, takes all three into account while computing bonuses or contemplating career moves. Clarifies Mahendra Swarup, Executive director, (HR), Pepsico India: ''At a particular level and above, how your performance has impacted the company counts more than whether your individual goals have been met.'' Life isn't easy, Dilbert. -Paroma Roy Chowdhury M A R K E T
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And who better than a peeved customer to launch it? Ergo, it's Purushottam's Customerbroadcast Ltd that's doing the yeoman service. Based in Chennai, the company interfaces between the customer and brand owner, across product categories and services. All that the aggrieved customer has to do is to call 9622000007 from anywhere in the country and register her complaint with an operator (no voice messages here). Service 007, as it is known, then ensures that the complaint is attended to after obtaining a feedback from the customer. If service is not provided within 24 hours of the complaint, the grievance is taken to the top-most managers. Says Purushottam: ''Brand managers hate losing customers. It's just that they are not equipped to do the retail-level tracking across the country.'' According to Purushottam, there's one big dissatisfied consumer population out there. Apparently, 96 per cent of unhappy customers don't complain simply because they do not know who to complain to. Instead, they just switch brands. But there's hope yet. A staggering 95 per cent of the consumers surveyed by Harvard University said they would return to the brand if their complaint was addressed on the spot. Desperate brand managers are willing to pay a price to keep their flock intact. The fee, as charged by Customerbroadcast, varies from a few thousands of rupees to a few lakhs, depending on the nature of the product. For once, a customer has had the last laugh. -Nitya Varadarajan Q&A Q. Robotics has evolved quite a bit since Star Wars, hasn't it? A. Sure thing. For the first time, scientists have created a robot that designs and builds other robots, almost entirely without human help. This marks the beginning of a new industry of inexpensive robots customised for specific tasks. It can now be said that science fiction writers were right; decades from now, there might be artifical life. Robots will be able to reproduce and even build improved versions of themselves. Are robots in use today? Yes, they are. Law enforcement agencies in the US have begun experiments to put machines, rather than people, in harm's way when a bomb has to be defused. Of course, the toy industry has taken wing: small robots created out of Lego blocks are the rage in the US. Sophisticated and capable they may be, but robots today can be difficult to use. It'll be a long while before robots can be sent into space to search for other life. Will all sci-fi turn true? The current breed of robots are safe. Why, they conform to sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov's three laws of robotics. One, a robot may not injure a human being. Two, it must obey orders without question. And three, protect its own existence as long as that doesn't conflict with the first and second law. But the future may not be so certain. After all, building one is not so different from writing a program. And we know that programs can be hacked. -Sunit Arora I N T
E R N E T U S A G E The average internet user in India is a 27-year-old unmarried male belonging to sec A1 category, says a recent report by industry research firm IDC (India). The report also reveals that the majority of Net users are working people (either salaried or self-employed) and access the internet either once a day of two-to-three times per week. IDC defines the internet user as a person above 12 years of age and belongs to sec A or B class and accesses the net at least once a week from anywhere. This report surveyed a sample of 874 people. The main points of internet access among 'heavy' users is the workplace, whereas 'medium' surfers do so from home, and the occasional sufers go to cyber cafes. The good news for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and starry-eyed dotcoms, however, is that the spending on internet in sec A homes is the highest among all media spends (See How The Spends Compare). For instance, the average home spends Rs 596 on internet versus Rs 147 on videogames or Rs 131 on videocassettes. Dotcoms should be only too happy. At a time when investors seemed to have reconciled themselves to not making money on the net, the IDC is a glimmer-albeit faint-of hope. A word of advice: don't call your stockbroker yet.
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There's a new four-letter word doing the
rounds of corporate India. It's spelt 's a c k', although you could also
spell it (the) 'b o o t'. Yes, sacking is a bitter, in-your-face reality
that's staring employee India in its face. Beverage major Coca-Cola has
sacked 40-odd middle and senior-level managers for alleged
non-performance. The Tata Group eased out four CEOs-apparently for failing
to deliver. A telecom major has decided to sell off circles and get rid of
employees in each one, as it goes along. A tyre transnational had removed
its CEO earlier this year for not meeting targets. A foreign bank head was
shunted out and reduced to seeking a career with a low-brow consulting
firm.
It all started with a can of shaving gel.
When Naresh Purushottam tried to return the can with a faulty nozzle to a
top retail chain in Chennai, he was asked to produce the receipt. Of
course, like most consumers, Purushottam had trashed the bill soon after
he left the store. What followed was this: the retailer and the shaving
gel company lost a customer. But happily for consumers like Purushottam, a
customer service concept was born: Service 007.