Guest Lecture by Dr. J. Jessy Christin

The guest lecture conducted by Mr. J. Jessy Christin on the topic “Competency based approach to creating a high-performance culture” gave insights on different approaches in developing competency-based framework. Mr. J. Jessy Christin is the Vice President – HR & Operations of Convate and has won many accolades during his stint at Philips, Hinduja Global Solutions and Convate. He spoke about high performance culture can be created if and only if all (or) majority of the employees are operating in a high performance environment.

The Session was divided into two Parts

PART1:-

He spoke about different approaches in developing competency-based framework.

1. Develop Competency Framework from Vision, Mission and Values of the organization

2. Develop Competency Framework for all roles

3. Competency based Job Descriptions (JDs)

4. Competency based Key Result Areas (KRAs)

5. Competency based Score Card

6. Competency based Vacancy Form

7. Competency based Compensation Structure

From this session, we understood that such approaches help in maintaining the transparency within the organization, which in turn keeps the employees satisfied and motivated. Through such approaches, the expectations from the employees are clearly defined and employees can work towards meeting them. This also helps in keeping track of the training needs of the employees.

PART 2:

During the part of the session, he spoke about different sub functions of HR like 

• Recruitment / Talent Acquisition / Staffing

• On-boarding / Induction

• Learning & Development / Training

• Employee Relations / HR Business Partner / Business Unit HR

• Performance Management

• Career Management

• Compensation & Benefits / Rewards Management

• HR Operations (Deployment of HR Policies, etc.)

• HR Automation

• HR Analytics

• Organization Development

• HR Strategy (Custodian of HR Policies)

• HR Legal

• Employee Retention

He shared his insights on how to build a career in HRM. He focused on two scenarios on how to build the career.

Scenario1:- Sticking to one sub-function in HR & growing vertically

Scenario 2:- Moving from one sub-function to another every 3-4 years

He spoke about how to get your dream job. Some of the key points were:

• Identify1-2 sectors of your interest

• From those sectors, identify 5-10 companies of your interest

• Do a thorough study on those companies like Year of incorporation, Head office location, Number of countries they operate, Global headcount, Number of, products they manufacture/service, Global ranking, Global revenue & profit (last Financial Year) etc.

• Interact with those companies by approaching them for industrial visits, in-plant raining, summer internships, part-time jobs, short term projects etc.

• Study their recruitment process

• How do they recruit fresh HR professionals?

• What kind of jobs are available at the entry level?

• What is the selection process?

• Prepare thoroughly so that you clear each round & get selected for the job

He gave valuable points on what are the common questions asked in an interview:-

1. a) Can you please give a brief about yourself?

• Family (parents, siblings, etc.)

• Education (schools, colleges, etc.)

• School - 1st in … (10th Std) …, College/University 1st in … (4th Semester) …

• Professional interests (An active member of NHRD / NIPM / ISTD, etc.)

• Hobbies (Reading, Painting, etc.)

• Career aspiration (to become a Recruitment Executive / L&D Executive, etc.)

1. b) What is your favorite subject?

• Speak about a subject(s) in which you are very strong practically

• Don’t go by the marks you have scored in the subject

1. c) Can you explain about your summer internships / in-plant training programs?

• Explain why you chose them (the topic / the company / location, etc.)

• Explain the duration and the actual scope

• Explain what you learnt

• Explain your contribution, if any

1. d) Can you explain about your final year/semester project?

• Give a quick overview of the project

• Explain the scope of work allotted to each team member 

• Explain clearly what you did 

• What was the final outcome of the project?

• Did you try for a job in the same company? If yes, what happened?

1. e) How about your plans for higher studies? 

• If you have plans for a Ph.D. program in India (or) abroad, articulate the same

(or)

• If you are planning to work for 5-10 years of industry experience and then pursue a Ph.D. program, explain the same

(or)

• If you are only interested in a job / planning to start a company, please say so

1. f) What kind of a job are you looking for?

• Speak about your career aspiration

• Share about the preparation you have done in that area

• If you have done any additional certification in that field, explain

1. g) What are some of your strengths?

Always explain with proof.

1) Professional:

• I am good in recruiting through Naukri’ job portal - (During my summer internship in TCS, Mumbai, I was asked to hire a Software Architect.) 

• I managed to hire a candidate through Naukri job portal search in a short period of 18 days. 

• Saved Rs. 1 lakh for the company. I was given the `Best Intern’ Award for the same).

Any other example

2) Other areas:-

• I have good leadership skills - (I am the Secretary of `HR Club’ in my college. We organized an all India `Young HR Managers’ Competition in January this year where students from 100 Management Institutes participated).

• I am a good team player - (We won the Championship in the University Cricket Tournament held last year).

1. h) What are some of your weaknesses / areas of improvements? 

• Always explain with what you are doing to overcome the weakness.

1) Professional:

• I am a bit weak in <Subject> - (To improve in this subject, I have recently enrolled for a 3-months weekend course).

Any other example

2) Other Areas:-

• I am a bit impatient. I want to achieve everything instantly. – (To improve on this, I have started attending a meditation session 30 minutes session per day. This is helping me to improve my patience).

Any other example

1. i) What is your long-term goal? 

• I would like to become the Global Recruitment Head of a large MNC

(or)

• I would like to become the HR Head of a 10,000 plus people organization

(or)

• I would like to start a Global HR Consulting organization, etc. 

1. j) What are your key achievements?

• Highlight a few concrete achievements during your school / college days (It can be related to academics / sports & games / music / dance / NCC / Social Service, etc.) 

1. k) What is your expected salary?

• I am a Fresher. I would like to learn and grow. I am fine with the salary as per the company structure.

• He also mentioned few attributes to focus on while we look for our dream job. Some of the attributes are:

• Is it a great place to learn and grow?

• What is the duration of training program for fresh HR professionals?

• What is the training content?

• Do they have a well-defined career path for the employees?

• Do they encourage employees to move: 

• from one sub-function to another within HR? 

(or)

• from one department to another as part of their career development?

• Do they have a good working culture?

• Do they provide good work-life balance?

• Do they provide regular feedback to the employees?

• Do they have an inclusive culture?

• Do they have a performance-oriented culture?

• What is the average tenure of an employee in the organization?

• Do the employees feel proud to work in the organization?

• Do they encourage employees to study further? Do they sponsor the employees for higher studies? Do they have sabbatical leave for this purpose?

• Do they take good care of their employees?

• Do they treat people with respect?

• In `Great places to work’ or any other industry surveys, how does the company perform?

• Do existing employees speak good about the organization?

• Do ex-employees speak good about the organization?

Mr. Christin shared with us his favorite concept of KOLA VERI. Kola Veri mean Fire and Passion. Through this he shared few of his personal experiences on how important it is to find your passion and make that your job.

Mr. Christin shared few life lessons for everyone to keep in mind to succeed in life:-

• Try to learn your subjects practically 

• Develop skills and don’t add degrees  

• Don’t waste time

• Study very well 

• Improve your communication skills & leadership skills (join a Toastmasters Club)

• Actively get involved in professional forums like National HRD Network, ISTD, etc.

• Be in touch with industry professionals and get mentored by a few

• Carry out small industry projects

• Look for Part-Time jobs

• Never go after money; instead go after large responsibilities. Then money will come after you.

• Celebrate every small success in your journey 

• Don’t fudge your bills 

• Be happy with what you already have

• Don’t compare with others; Instead compare only with `You’ 

• Speak the truth always

• There is nothing impossible in this world to achieve (if we execute a plan properly)

• Don’t borrow from others. Don’t use a credit card. Instead, use a debit card. Learn to live with what you have.

• Be a good team player 

• Always be open to share your knowledge with your friends. More you share, you will become stronger in that subject.

• Don’t smoke, don’t drink (Use that money to support a few people in orphanages / old age homes)

• Take care of your Parents. Don’t send them to an Old Age Home. (If you do, even your children will send you there).

• Respect your Teachers

• Remember your Institutions. Be an ambassador of SIBM, Hyderabad in future.

• Help those who are in need (example: help freshers to get entry level jobs)

• Be grounded (visit orphanages / old age homes over the weekends)

Poster used for the promotion of the event

Screen shots from the session conducted on the MS Teams platform