March 24, 2008

Grey V/S black in the corporate...

We are currently witnessing enough of the senior versus junior divide in the Indian cricket team these days through media reports. Same is the ethos spread in various organisations,political parties,associations,families etc too.

The seniors[in terms of age alone!!!] bring along great amount of experience and the juniors [in terms of age alone!!!] bring the fresh new ideas.

A few questions arises in the above mentioned scenerio and I have interviewed myself on it.Read the excerpts of my interview with myself. :-)

Q.Whom should we give preference to?
A. We should have a right mix of both.

Q. What's the right mix?
A. Depends on the industry I believe, If it's the BPO industry or IT industry then preference should be given to the younger generation and if it's the traditional industries then the seniors would be the right choice.

Q.What do you mean by 'traditional industries'?
A.Oh!!! That was a wrong choice of word rather. I mean to say that an industry which has been there in the market for a very long time and has been exposed to much diverse market conditions like the automobile or textile industries.

Q.But don't you think that the BPO and IT industries have also seen a lot of shifts?
A. All the industries have seen so but both the industries have never been through acute depression. It has either been on a boom phase or have witnessed fluctuations in the growth rate which has never been very alarming.

Q.Well!!! Do you mean to say that the contemporary industries are the ones which need greater amount of younger employees?
A. Yes!!! Thats because the employees have created a strong upmarket, spunky culture which is more suited to them.

Q. But, Here the issue is about not making them ultra comfortable with their jobs.The idea is about creating a positive work culture which is result oriented.
A. I believe it's also about 'acceptance'. The younger generation needs to accept the seniors [in terms of age alone!!!] with the right attitude. They need to be keener listeners. They should not hold any prejudice and must not act cynically at any given situation. The most important part is 'respect'. Proper respect must be given as that's the only way to earn it.

Q.What do we expect from the seniors [in terms of age alone!!!] then?
A. 'Listening' is important for them too. They should keenly listen to the proposal and ask the juniors [in terms of age alone!!!] on how they plan to execute it. If it seems to be practical and conjusive then a green signal should be given with adequate support from the senior [in terms of age alone!!!] .

Q. What if the senior [in terms of age alone!!!] is not confident about the abilities of the junior [in terms of age alone!!!] ?
A. He must lead and make sure that the junior [in terms of age alone!!!] is also given an important role which matches his abilities. The junior [in terms of age alone!!!] must also be given proper credit/debit for the task.The real team dynamics will be tested then. A potent belief must be infused in them that its the team which will be accountable for the credit/debit of the team's performance. The senior/junior [in terms of age alone!!!] divide will not be of any concern to them.It will only concern the critics.

Q. What is the existing trend of the senior and junior workforce in industries these days?
A. The juniors [in terms of age alone!!!] dominate the operational work area and the seniors [in terms of age alone!!!] dominate the decision making and strategy part. It has always been the same.

Q. Anything else you would like to share?
A. Well the seniors [in terms of age alone!!!] and juniors [in terms of age alone!!!] need to spend more time with each other. They need to sensitize with each other's concerns. A senior [in terms of age alone!!!] might have family concerns and greater responsibilities on personal front and a junior [in terms of age alone!!!] might have high aspirations. A senior[in terms of age alone!!!] might be passionate about his filter coffee and the junior [in terms of age alone!!!] might love his cafe coffee day hang out. One might be fond of carnatic music and the other might be fond of rock music. It all boils down to recognizing each other well , respecting each other and working together to create enough synergy which can touch each others lives and provide the desired result in the workplace.

Q. What's your age????
A/Q. 22 years and what about you???

A. I am also 22 years old.

- Saikat Saha