May 1, 2003
After a chase of almost 5 years (!), I was finally able to deliver an Introductory Talk on 5S for HR at the NIPM, Mumbai Chapter Premises at Prabhadevi, Mumbai on April 30, 2013.
It was sometime in December 2008 that we had proposed to the then Hony Secretary, NIPM, Mumbai Chapter that I would like to deliver a talk to their members on 5S and how HR can use it as a powerful intervention tool for changing Organisational Culture and building teamwork within the organisation.
The idea was greeted warmly, but nothing happened. We followed up in January 2009 but there was simply no response to our e-mail reminder My colleague, Mr. Subroto Mukherjee also made some telephonic reminders but it was to no avail. We finally gave up -- naturally, status quo won.
Last year in November I attended an evening lecture at NIPM. I came across Mr. Ulhas Deshpande who struck me as an interested and devoted member, open to some new ideas and thoughts. I broached the topic with him and finally my talk materialsed yesterday.
I simply fail to understand the attitude of HR Professionals in refusing to show or have any interest in acquiring new knowledge or learning new ideas. How can they ever grow ? In this case, though 5S originated from the shop floor, it is also a powerful HR intervention tool which is what I had wanted to show them. It would help HR managers show a direct contribution to the bottom line and improvement in the working environment and earn plaudits for them from their organisation. But they appeared to be least interested in any such new learning. How can they call themselves professional, if they are just not interested in increasing or enriching their knowledge ?
And this is not the end of the story. Ulhas wrote to me a few days before my talk that I should feel free to invite my friends and colleagues.
Accordingly I wrote to some 110 HR Heads in various organisations. Of these, about 20-25 were personally known to me while the rest were contacts / connections on LinkedIn (the Web Platform for Professionals). Not a single person turned up !
Of the NIPM Members in Mumbai, who were all invited by NIPM through their Mailer, a grand total of 9 persons turned up, none of whom were HR functionaries (barring two young girls who were junior HR executives from a company where they had joined less than 2 years back). I was saved the blushes because one of the NIPM Office Assistants also joined the audience, making it a respectable double-digit attendance of 10 persons !!!
No office bearer of NIPM Mumbai turned up except for the The President who came 1 1/2 hours after starting time and just 15 minutes before the whole session ended.
I felt very unhappy, not only because my whole preparation and effort could only reach this sparse audience, but much more because it reflected the sad and ugly truth of HR managers being the least interested in updating their knowledge with anything new.
How can they make any contribution to their organisations if they have such closed minds, or worse still, such a supercilious attitude that "they already know everything" and therefore there is nothing new to learn.
And guess who really appreciated and applauded my talk ? Of course, there was the customary applause and Vote of Thanks ; however, it was when I was leaving the premises that one person rushed to me, stopped me and said "Sir, I really liked your talk ; I am a very small person, I work here at the NIPM Office (yes, it was the NIPM Office Assistant) and my head is spinning as your talk made me realise in what a shabby condition our office is and how badly organised we are at the workplace. I promise you, the next time you come, you will find a much better workplace."
This man, Gopal, made my day and restored my faith that, perhaps, all is not yet lost.
After a chase of almost 5 years (!), I was finally able to deliver an Introductory Talk on 5S for HR at the NIPM, Mumbai Chapter Premises at Prabhadevi, Mumbai on April 30, 2013.
It was sometime in December 2008 that we had proposed to the then Hony Secretary, NIPM, Mumbai Chapter that I would like to deliver a talk to their members on 5S and how HR can use it as a powerful intervention tool for changing Organisational Culture and building teamwork within the organisation.
The idea was greeted warmly, but nothing happened. We followed up in January 2009 but there was simply no response to our e-mail reminder My colleague, Mr. Subroto Mukherjee also made some telephonic reminders but it was to no avail. We finally gave up -- naturally, status quo won.
Last year in November I attended an evening lecture at NIPM. I came across Mr. Ulhas Deshpande who struck me as an interested and devoted member, open to some new ideas and thoughts. I broached the topic with him and finally my talk materialsed yesterday.
I simply fail to understand the attitude of HR Professionals in refusing to show or have any interest in acquiring new knowledge or learning new ideas. How can they ever grow ? In this case, though 5S originated from the shop floor, it is also a powerful HR intervention tool which is what I had wanted to show them. It would help HR managers show a direct contribution to the bottom line and improvement in the working environment and earn plaudits for them from their organisation. But they appeared to be least interested in any such new learning. How can they call themselves professional, if they are just not interested in increasing or enriching their knowledge ?
And this is not the end of the story. Ulhas wrote to me a few days before my talk that I should feel free to invite my friends and colleagues.
Accordingly I wrote to some 110 HR Heads in various organisations. Of these, about 20-25 were personally known to me while the rest were contacts / connections on LinkedIn (the Web Platform for Professionals). Not a single person turned up !
Of the NIPM Members in Mumbai, who were all invited by NIPM through their Mailer, a grand total of 9 persons turned up, none of whom were HR functionaries (barring two young girls who were junior HR executives from a company where they had joined less than 2 years back). I was saved the blushes because one of the NIPM Office Assistants also joined the audience, making it a respectable double-digit attendance of 10 persons !!!
No office bearer of NIPM Mumbai turned up except for the The President who came 1 1/2 hours after starting time and just 15 minutes before the whole session ended.
I felt very unhappy, not only because my whole preparation and effort could only reach this sparse audience, but much more because it reflected the sad and ugly truth of HR managers being the least interested in updating their knowledge with anything new.
How can they make any contribution to their organisations if they have such closed minds, or worse still, such a supercilious attitude that "they already know everything" and therefore there is nothing new to learn.
And guess who really appreciated and applauded my talk ? Of course, there was the customary applause and Vote of Thanks ; however, it was when I was leaving the premises that one person rushed to me, stopped me and said "Sir, I really liked your talk ; I am a very small person, I work here at the NIPM Office (yes, it was the NIPM Office Assistant) and my head is spinning as your talk made me realise in what a shabby condition our office is and how badly organised we are at the workplace. I promise you, the next time you come, you will find a much better workplace."
This man, Gopal, made my day and restored my faith that, perhaps, all is not yet lost.
