Coming of age

Hobbits come of age at 33. Having crossed that in Nov 2015, I look upto them for the sense of adventure.

The Good Old landline

Over the last few days, I am extensively using my home landline phone. You may question who uses landline in the age of smartphones. Well to be honest my mobile phone conked off and I had no option than to use my jealous little landline. He expected to get his due and wanted to show how worthy it is still. In offices people still use landline phones but at home, its usage has dropped significantly.

The network is so clear that I don’t have to say “hello” multiple times and of course there are no call drops. So it is a nice task for our telecom minister (no sure, who is it though) to solve call drops. Propagate the usage of landline phones. J

Average performers

Appraisals were done before two months. It is simple for a manager to decide who are the best and who are the worst. The best performers will be promoted / given good hikes and the worst will be sooner or later asked to leave. But what about the average performers? Thats the difficult spot for the managers. What should you do with them? You want them to stay on as they can give nearly standard output. They know the company’s systems and the processes well. However, they will be most likely to be unhappy with the appraisals and will feel that they are unappreciated.

Yes, I do speak to them and reason out with them about their weaknesses and where are they lacking. Some may outperform later but chances are pretty slim. They will start looking out and will leave within few months. By that time, new staff will be recruited. They will undergo the required training. But isn’t it better to keep average guys more pleased than recruiting new joinees? The company needs to incur cost of training as well. The new joinees will take some time to come up the learning curve. So what is right?

I don’t have a clear answer to that. However in the organization’s life cycle it is essential to have new recruits to keep it dynamic and fresh with ideas. Unlike average guys, new recruits will provide raw enthusiasm which is needed to keep the organization motivated. Also their compensation is little lower than the average people offsetting the cost of training.

We will again have new extremes – the best and the worst, and surely not to forget another set of average performers. This will be a never ending cycle in organization’s lifespan and we all need to deal with this. And not to forget, those who are promoted may become average in the new role and assignment. Such is corporate life!