||ज्ञानयज्ञेन उपासते||
Organisations are introducing and continuing several leadership development programs in almost every sector, from global multi-nationals to family-owned businesses, consulting companies and the public-sector organisations. It is being incorporated especially at the mid-management and senior levels. All kinds of methodologies like experiential learning, simulations, gaming, theatre and mobile learnings are being used.
The trend has moved from one- to two-day workshops to longer term, almost four- to eight-month long learning journeys. Everyone is beginning to understand that behavioural change requires time, continuous reinforcement, peer-to-peer learning and practising on the job in a non-threatening safe environment. While all these initiatives are a great way of developing leaders, more needs to happen for leadership attitudes and behaviours to be deeply ingrained in the day-to-day interactions and way of thinking of the employees. It must become a seamless practice and part of the cultural motif.
One way to propagate and sustain the learnings in house is through structured formal mentoring programs. There are abundant benefits of a work environment that actively supports mentoring.
The purpose of mentoring is to transfer the lessons of richer experience namely knowledge, skill, processes, etc. in a workforce to improve the capability of other individuals or workgroups. To initiate and sustain a meaningful mentoring process certain steps need to be followed.
1. Build a solid business case for mentoring
To institutionalise mentoring, it must be looked as critical strategy to improve employee engagement, accelerate career development, groom leaders and perpetuate a learning culture. It may not apply in every case. The reasons for implementing a mentoring program must be linked to your company’s business goals. The reasons for dedicating effort and resources to a formal mentoring process must be justified.
2. Have a Clear Mentoring Plan
All the stake holders including the executive teams need to be part of planning the vision, defining strategy and objectives for the formal mentoring process. Usually a committee is set up to ensure the execution happens smoothly. The purpose and goals of this exercise should be clear to all. The expected outcome of the program should be made clear to the mentors and mentees too. The criteria for selecting mentors and mentees needs to be chalked out.
3. Selection of the participants
There has to be a mechanism in place to select the right mentors and mentees. And further the matching of each. Mentors should be people truly interested in the development of others. Mentees should be eager to learn and grateful for the opportunity. Good mentee candidates are those who have demonstrated clear evidence of future leadership. For the program to be effective, mentors and mentees must participate voluntarily and willingly.
4. Preparing the participants
A good mentoring program builds in formal orientation for mentors to equip them with the skill set required to establish and sustain a successful learning partnership with a mentee. This training must clarify the difference between mentoring and managing. There is a lot of learning and unlearning that a mentor will have to do to perform this role effectively. Provide the tools and resources that the participants will need in this journey. Mentees will have to learn how to take charge of their own learning, evaluate the areas where they will employ help from their mentors. Mentees will need to understand that having a mentor does not guarantee a promotion.
5. Pairing the mentors and mentees
Several criteria could be used to pair up the mentors and mentees, A formal mentoring agreement may be created to refer to throughout the process. The agreement must include the goals and objectives of both the mentee and the mentor. The timelines, dos and don’ts and the how toss should be spelled out clearly including how and when they will meet, and a confidentiality agreement.
6. Measure the progress
The proof of a successful mentoring program lies in measuring the impact of the program in two ways. The first is the extent to which the process has helped the mentee in achieving their developmental goals that were defined at the beginning of the program. The second is the degree to which the program was successful in achieving the strategic business goals, for example improved engagement or the developing leaders. Such programs usually close the mentoring relationship formally. The mentor and mentees may continue the relationship formally or informally in future if it serves them both well.
Formal mentoring works best in an organisation where people development and organisational learning are supported and nurtured by leadership at all levels. Source http://www.forbesindia.com/blog/business-strategy/organisational-techniques-for-institutionalising-mentoring/
Ever since Jack Welch popularised the coinage, several organisations have been turning “boundaryless”—erasing the boundaries that traditionally existed between different teams, processes and stages of manufacturing to integrate them for better outcomes. The value of a boundaryless approach is that the collaboration helps in innovation and in enhancing customer experience.
Pushing boundaries and eliminating barriers
Is the customer and her/his experience the end-point of the manufacturing and distribution process? No. With a boundaryless approach, the roles typically played in manufacturing and distribution are changing; the manufacturing value chain is no more a unidirectional process that culminates in delivery. Instead, it is a continuous loop that is fed by customer input and involvement and enriched by proactive contributions through different collaborating entities. A boundaryless experience then is not just about the elimination of boundaries, but also about the shifting of existing boundaries. I see three kinds of boundaries that are undergoing tectonic shifts.
1. Boundless Data:
In the past, customers had no information about the manufacturing process and data was completely bound—it belonged either to the manufacturer or to the customer and rarely got exchanged. But today, with digitalization, the situation is different. Now, products themselves are capable of exchanging data. The limits of data between customers and manufacturers are getting blurred, and data is openly exchanged in a boundaryless manner.
We see several instances of data exchange in telematics. Let us take the example of an insurance company that provides usage-based insurance. They would begin by installing their devices in cars and automobiles. Now, who is the customer here? While the car owner is the customer, there are two other entities as well, the insurance company and the manufacturer, and unless they exchange the data, they do not obtain the user profile they need. In these terms, it is difficult to define a line for the process—it ends with the manufacturer or starts with the insurer and ends at the owner. The very process is boundaryless.
Digital technologies are playing a significant role in enabling data to be gathered, communicated externally and in facilitating quick decisions and actions through the meaningful use of such data. Telematics or connected manufacturing makes it very easy to capture data and exchange it in real time. Digital manufacturing technologies can enable a ‘digital thread’ of seamless data to add value to all stages, including marketing, distribution, sales, use and service.
And all this boundless data is contributing directly to the current trends in manufacturing. First, customers get to know what is happening with their order very early on. Second, and more importantly, today, products are highly customised. Even as there are lesser numbers manufactured, the variants of the product are very high. Every customer wants a tailormade product, not something off-the-shelf. Such customisation cannot take place unless there is a boundaryless exchange of information between customers and manufacturers. With big data and analytics, customer data can be integrated into making a more relevant product. The coming together of digital technologies, such as big data, connected assets, cloud, mobility and predictive modelling can create and enable such a boundaryless exchange.
2. Exchanging experiences and roles:
The second aspect centres on changing responsibilities. Today, manufacturers and service providers are varying their processes so that the role they were performing earlier now gets transferred to the customer. A case in point is Ikea. It has created a manufacturing setup and product design approach that lets customers create their furniture themselves. While being provided with the basic components required to build what they want, customers have the responsibility and the power to assemble their furniture as per their preferences. Similarly, there are several instances of this in the services sector. Earlier, customers would call a call centre, tell them what they wanted, and the call centre would do it for the customer. Now, with mobile applications, users are being enabled to perform tasks and handle a wide range of services themselves, facilitated to a large degree, by digital technologies. We see, therefore, that the boundaries that shaped the roles of customers and manufacturers or providers are shifting—customers are now doing what manufacturers would control earlier and they are loving it.
3. Blurring lines of competition and collaboration:
The third area where boundaries are being exceeded is in the shifting spheres of authority. Conventional domains of competition are morphing into collaborative modes to serve the customer what she or he expects. Frequently in the manufacturing space, a company ends up in competition with suppliers or OEMs it works with because they are doing the same thing. Yet, the dividing lines of competition are difficult to identify, and customer preferences are driving this collaboration. Customers assume that the manufacturer knows what they want and expect manufacturers to collaborate with a third party—which could be a supplier or another customer—to deliver it. This is resulting in the removal of set boundaries of “competitor” and “collaborator” from transactions in the interest of business.
Boundaryless customer experience—a win-win loop
I believe that the manufacturing process is turning boundaryless, which is great for customers, as it yields an optimised product that is best-tailored to their requirements.
Boundarylessness also benefits the bottom-line of businesses because it helps create differentiation and helps create a sticky relationship—one in which the customer is involved with the product, the manufacturing process and the manufacturer. Differentiation can be created based on the customer’s preferences for personalisation so, customers “pay” attention and “spend” their time.
In the present landscape, most organisations are already adopting processes and technologies to efface boundaries, and I believe manufacturing organisations are going to continue to see a lot of changes in this regard. Product variants will take centre-stage with companies having fewer setups for mass manufacturing and more custom-made products using automation. Automation will, in fact, make variant management scalable—something that is a challenge to do manually with the current technologies.
Digital technologies will enable value chains to turn more global and become integrated, thereby erasing existing boundaries. However, to really enable a boundaryless manufacturing journey, organisations will need to fundamentally rethink their business models towards eliminating barriers. I believe we need to reconsider the lines that define our processes and bind our roles. Without these lines to limit our thinking and activity, we can reimagine the value we can deliver and the customer experiences we can create.
-The author is the co-founder and CTO at KPIT Technologies Source http://www.forbesindia.com/blog/business-strategy/erasing-boundaries-for-a-unique-customer-experience/