Manage your Mailbox

I have already done a post on effective emails before. 

I recently realized that as one goes up the hierarchy, the need to manage the electronic mailbox effectively is more urgent. The count of emails to be worked upon on a daily basis goes up to 100s (may be 1000s, even). And thus the skill to have and maintain an organized mailbox is a must-have.

• Anything email that may be worked upon and finished in less than 120 seconds should be done there and then. 

• Have a strong folder structure in your mailbox and move the email to its appropriate folder immediately after you have read it. 

• Archive mails regularly depending on your daily usage. I do it fortnightly.

• Any email that needs follow up should be flagged immediately with a subsequent date. 

• Delete any emails that you are confident you would not be getting back to. They clutter not only space, but take up a lot of time later when we are trying to look for something more important. 

• Refrain from sending mails like Okay, and Thank you. Before hitting the send button, think if you would send this mail if you were charged 1$ for it. If no, then probably the mail is not needed. It is a a good idea to include Thank you in your signature itself.

A Lame Comeback, and some Work Type Tips

Sixx weeks exactly since I had last written. I am sorry, for not been able to update this space. Thankfully, the silent visitors are still coming in, day after day, reminding me gently of a pending promise.

So we have entered into 2013. Happy New Year, friends! In some way, we - You and I, are friends. Aren't we?!

So where I have been? I have been busy with work, travel, social engagements, thoughts. And though I cannot promise how frequently will I be able to communicate, communicate I will.

So today is Wednesday, the day for WWTT. And even though I have started to type, I have nothing concrete on my mind. Even as I write this here, I am still making up my mind on one of the two work type topics which I can share with you. Let's see where the balance bends.

This year, I have resolved simply - I will be present wherever I am. I will do what makes me happy. I will cut out the negative area when I can, and develop from it when I cannot. Easy? Let's see.

So here are my six work tips that I collated from few of those zillion articles which get published at year end, and make the newsletter copies expensive.

• Any email that can be replied to or worked upon and finished in less than 120 seconds should be handled there and then.

• Communication is 20% content, 40% choice of words, 40% choice of tone - choose yours optimally.

• Your Yes's to assigned work should far exceed your No's - we all love Yes's, don't we?

• 'Do what you love, love what you do.' Because any work done halfheartedly would not be done to the best of ability.

• Be approachable to one and all, all the times.

• Invest time in sharpening your axe - spend regular time to build on new skills or expertise which may aid your profession.

While all these may seem obvious to many, I am sure there are few who would benefit. And now that I have chosen the topic for today, the other topic would follow next Wednesday. :-) 

'Job Interview' Reference Guide

I was having a tough day today, and thought would publish one of those posts that I have written in advance for days such as these. And then, I checked the calendar, to realize that today is Wednesday, and no other but Work could go today. So yes, a little less enthusiasm and more of a home-work-feeling is what I am feeling as I type.

So whether you are appearing for campus, or heading for an interview for your next switch, here are quick pointers of what you must always keep in mind.

• Dress for Success, because as everyone knows, the opposite person makes your first impression in the first three seconds of when he sees you, and you sure wish to make that first imprint sharp enough.

• Be on time, no matter what. No one would like to wait for conducting an interview. In case the reasons are unavoidable, make sure you call and clearly communicate that you are delayed. Mention the approximate time of arrival too, so that the other side can re-plan accordingly.

• Sit straight throughout, even when waiting for the interview to start. Everyone wants to see smart, attentive employees at work. A slouchy posture would make you look lazy, and that is not what they wish to hire you for.

• Behave sharply on the way - while you park your car, in the elevator, at the reception. You never know who may notice you, and gather an image.

• Always have a spare Resume copy and a  pen with you. Makes you look prepared.

• Do your homework before arriving. About the profile, about the company, about the hiring process. This reflects on your interest, and goes to show that you are keen on taking up the job.

Offices vary, this stays

Across professions, people, organizations and generations, there are some things that always remain the same no matter which workplace you head to. 

• The water cooler gossip - the most important area where all the news would originate, and then circulate. Be it a fresh spat your coworker has had, or a new policy which is coming in soon, Water cooler is the perfect place to keep your information up to date.

• Bunch of fresher girls for the year - most of whom will have a brand new wardrobe. They would be younger, fitter, chirpier, sweeter. Of course, the world is yet to dampen their energy.

• A posh old man with an air of authority about him - usually a senior guy in the area, who has grown up the ladder and stuck for a while. Everyone respects him. He is quiet, and reserved. Each time he is seen around, people adjust themselves, and sober up.

• Brand posters that don the pillars and walls - of course, every workplace, big and small has brand posters, about the capabilities, processes, values, their products, the brand - it is an endless list. 

• One super hot woman the whole office eyes - who would dress very sharp, have perfect makeup and would around clanking her heels. Yeah?

• A noisy team that will always make much ado about nothing. Most likely the one who has the most easy work to resource ratio.

Striking a Balance within the Mad Rush

This year has been a great year for me in sixx aspects.

• Great Show at work and climbing up the ladder kind of stuff.
• My first 21K.
• More quality Time with my family.
• Enjoying doing up my new home.
• Lucky enough to make a few quality relationships.
• And a perfect weekly routine coming together.

Boy, believe me that is a LOT of hard work, especially if you have a demanding job like mine and a growing son. But I have constantly believed that you can have the cake and eat it, as long as you learn to time-box the whole thing. :-) 

So without wasting much time.., presenting here are the sixx learning’s of my life about work-life balance.

• Time box every activity. 

Never do anything beyond one hour. Whether it’s cooking or doing a presentation for your boss or fixing a P1 issue at work. And most important, time-box Facebook - not more than 15 minutes in a day.

• Plan, Plan and Plan

Especially the cooking schedule. I love to cook for my family. Hence I put together an excel clearly stating what type of food we eat every day for a week. Once I had this template, it was easy for me to make sure every meal was healthy and well balanced. At work -Always have a weekly plan and weekly milestones, Never start work without a plan or a tangible target.

• Innovate,Problem Solve and Improve

Whatever you do, constantly innovate and problem solve and help others. The quality of our work goes a long way in making up for the fact that we as working mothers are available only for about 8-9 hours in a day. Always try and make a home at work. A woman can make a big difference when it comes to building great teams. Humility and a nice smile should be the ingredients to make our days brighter at work.

• Delegate and Outsource

Keep only the core with you and outsource the rest. Get a maid to completely take care of the house, and have a set routine for her. Focus only on key activites like cooking and planning.

• Fitness Routine both Mental and Physical

Running works the best for me. It clears my head and makes me more productive. Choose whatever suits you the best. But 45 minutes of physical activity in a day should be no-compromise area. Read 30 minutes a day and meditate fifteen minutes daily.

• Socializing

Limit it to 5 minutes a day at work. :-) Believe me it works.The lesser you talk, the more you work and the more people respect you. Look for quality relationships and not quantity.

Well, I am still not there yet. I still need to look at my perfect plan for the week. And I am hoping the list above will serve as a time tested tool for one and all, specially the many gorgeous women out there. So just go for it..!!

Today's guest post is brought to you by my friend Saambavi who I have known since September 2010. Extremely diligent with her work, she is one of the most productive working mom that I have (and probably will) ever met. She loves what she does, does it better than the rest, all with a smile, exceeding expectations on all fronts - personal, professional, social.

Every Sunday, the forum is open for you all to share your views to the rest of the world through this blog. The arena is unlimited, the theme similar - anything that touches you, and can help someone else, in six points should make up a post. 

I will look forward to your emails to keep the guest series going.

You new, in here?

IT & ITES industry are two out of many others that have the highest iteration rate. It is arguable how healthy a practice it is. Personally for me, it is all about what an opportunity has to offer, and whether there is a pressing need which is forcing me to move out of my current organization.

Across organizations, roles, and the level, here is a quick checklist to refer to when you find yourself with a new employer.

• Get to know the policies and procedures  because they are the backbone of any organization. Many people, I know, never invest any time in this activity, and depend on older employees for a offline knowledge transfer. In my experience, it is best to read the book first, then ask for a synopsis, and finally make your own judgement.

• Observe environment and tune your radar Coming in from a flat hierarchy, I greeted my new manager with a "Hi". It was only some days later that the expectation here is more towards "Good Morning". All organizations these days profess an open culture, but people make organizations, and they may not all be comfortable with the new age "Heys" and "Hi's". Observe the environment keenly for first few days, and tune yourself to the wavelength which is most accepted.

• Acquit yourself with palpable areas like the general management style, growth rate, management expectations etc. This is best done through observation, or discussion with your own senior or fellow team mates.

• Email signature is your identity in the distributed world. Most of the times, more than half of the people that you would be working with would never get to see you. And to them, your email signature is your strongest reflection. Have a crisp signature which states your name, designation, role, and contact details. If the role demands so, you may state your technical expertise, or any certifications that you have taken. In case you work at specific timings, it is a good idea to mention so in your signature.

• Time slot your office hours. Coming in and moving out at same or similar times gives a good impression and makes you a more dependable employee as most people would soon observe whichever time you are following and will get used to your being available in that slot. As you may have noticed too, it is all about impression.

• Get to know people within and outside the team because networking is always a good idea. Don't box yourself within your own team. It is outside that you will get fresher perspectives, ideas and opportunities.

Ideas for Meeting Room Posters

 

Inspired from one of previous post on Meetings.

Awkward Phone Conversations

.. that you end up hearing at work.

• Love birds' mushy talk

• In-laws chronicles from the lady whose in-laws are visiting her for a week

• Stitching ideas you are giving your Stylist - the neck, the length, the fit, blah

• Cooking instructions to the new domestic help

• Grocery orders, and the long and short of it

• Diaper changing process from the new mother 

Now, I understand that many or most of the times, these conversations cannot be helped or postponed. But one small change, something as simple as getting up from your desk and move to the breakout area or an available meeting room can spare others the torture of involuntarily being made part and party of your own personal and domestic affairs.

Attributes your Boss will notice

Impression is all about getting it right, on the outside first, moving in, bit by bit. 

Joining a new employer, moving to a new team, or getting a new senior(read boss) in the same old team are some of the events which will land you in a situation when you will be under scrutiny, for some days at-least, to start with. The impression you will leave will remain so for the rest of your relationship, and it is always better to leave a correct one. After all, work is our 50% of life.

• Dress Smart, and for Work - While most companies boast of business casuals, the term has been abused and beaten badly by most employees. Even a Friday cannot justify wearing slogan t-shirts to office or dangling earrings, which are best reserved for weekends. Dress smart, formally. The best way to do so is to assume your client could surprise you today with a sudden meeting.

• Confident Gait - You cannot choose your body, but you can choose your posture. People who stand and sit straight, and have a brisk, confident walk are viewed as sharper resources by one and all. When in office, stand straight (like you would in the the sports day drill at School) and walk briskly.

• Climate creator, and of which type - Now no one is going to say this in your face but every person brings in a certain energy to the team. You could be charming, friendly, unapproachable or that constant cribber. Even before you know it, your boss will note this about you. And (as we all know), being in the best books is the safest option.

• Response time to a query or task - When given a query or a task, what is your response time to follow up or finish on the assigned work. Do you postpone work for a coffee break? Or is it the other way round? The latter is my style, how about yours?

• Attitude towards sudden or unexpected Work - There will be times when some bit or may be a lot of unexpected work will come your way. Do you see it as a fresh change from the daily scenery or do you crib about it to everyone you meet till calling it a day? Former may get you some brownie points in your appraisal. The latter would only malign your reputation. Why? Refer to Point#3.

• Time Discipline  - Many organizations now adhere to flexible work culture, in reality, it is never so. Sticking to some time discipline will give out an image of you being a dependable employee, and let others know of when to count you in.

The Hidden CTC

When accepting an offer, many times, we mistake a rise with only the numbers. An offer may or may not satisfy  our expectation, but may have some components which may mean much more than a single digit deficit. Here is looking at what are those components that go a long way in defining how much you earn and spend at a  job, and should influence your decision in deciding how good or bad an offer is.

• Paid vacation - while most of us would take this for granted, not All organizations have the same number of yearly paid vacations. Inquire about the vacation time per year, and check if it is same/less/more from your current organization.

• Sabbaticals - for study/child care/volunteer work is becoming has become a topic of envy for those whose friends or knowns get in at their workplace. If you have plans to further study or may need a sabbatical out of interest or for personal reasons, a sabbatical may be the boon you may just need.

• L&K resources - Almost all the companies do have a Learning & Knowledge division (the name may vary), the key is in knowing how extensive it is. Many companies have sign-ups with sites like Safari and Books 24*7 which will let you download free e-books on varied subjects. Some companies also sponsor certifications or provide a waiver for fees for courses. All these are your CTC. The company is spending it on You, for Your Benefit. 

• Subsidies - While providing free food and transport is almost all extinct, even a subsidy on any of these is wonderful and will save you a lot more than a mere penny. Free parking is another thing which should not be taken for granted. (While I was paying a hefty amount to park my car in the previous office, my current office has ample parking space for free. +1, don't you think!)

• Tax friendly package - Now we all know how the tax slabs peek with a rise in salary. Inquire about the breakup early and find out how much of it will go in taxes. It is quite a possibility that an organization has a flat pay structure, and a major chunk of your salary goes to the government. (Now, I am a good responsible citizen who likes to pay taxes accurately and in time, but I would like if I can get a waiver on the petrol that I am using to get to work. Won't you?!)

• Flexible work arrangements - Life is unpredictable. There may be times when you would want to work away from the office premises. A birth in the family, an illness or many other more predictable and unpredictable events may need you to work from your home instead of going to office. It is advisable to ask in the early stage how open (or not open) is the organization to such needs.

Work up a Great Appraisal

Appraisal time is the most looked forward to seasons in the corporate world. The year has ended, and it is time to know how have you fared. It is the Report Card time. Most companies these days have the system of Self Appraisal, or something similar to it, in which you write all that you have accomplished in the year gone by (basically, beat your own drum), and let the upper management (the boss, the boss' boss, and so on) decide how much was it worth. This makes it a bit of a marketing game - you need to sell yourself. And just telling the world that you're good, is not good enough. You need to have tangible parameters to prove how good are you. And we know that anything which is sell-able, like Rome, was not build in a day. So here is a list you can refer to through out the year, which will make your appraisal process much better than before.

• The core of the appraisal is Work. Be a dependable employee. Know your job responsibilities well, and deliver work.

• Enroll yourself in any one Company-wide Initiative (the food club, the CSR unit or the transport representative) - this will showcase you as a loyal employee.

• Play a Mentor - directly, within your immediate and extended team or indirectly, by contributing to the Learning-Training-Development team.

• Innovate - look for opportunities of improvement within your team/project/account, and bring about change. Setting up simple protocols like birthday celebrations and monthly potlucks are good team building exercises which can be started at zero or very little cost. Taking the first step is the differentiator.

• When writing an appraisal, write about the work accomplished, with a clear timeline mentioned - you can look up the office mail box for an exact account of work with time.

• Highlight your work and achievements using the nouns from company's core values. Because marketing it right, is as important as doing it right.

Running Great Meetings

There are meetings that make you cringe. Make you think of procrastinated work , that
your heart wishes to make more urgent. And then, there are some meetings that you forward to. That you want to be in time for. Don't you wish you could run meetings like that? Meetings everyone compliments are uber smooth. This is what you can do.

• Agenda is the key. Announce the agenda at start, stick to it during the meeting and conclude concisely at the end

• Timing sets the mood. Good meetings start and end in time. No one likes to waste their time waiting for late comers, don't you think.

• Moderation should not be left to maturity of the participants. It is an important task, as much as the note taker, and requires conscientious effort. Assign a moderator at the start of the meeting (it could be the person presiding over the meeting) or anyone else. Make this person responsible for mitigating differences in opinion, and moving on to the next agenda item without beating a dead horse.

• White boarding an idea, a concept or a topic of discussion works best to look at it in a breadth first, depth later manner. It works well specially when audience comes from varied contexts and backgrounds.

• Breaks are essential in mentally engrossing or long discussions. Ordering lunch if the hour demands so or giving participants a breather for coffee is good.

• Minutes offer a feeling of accomplishment to everybody, of work done during the involved hour. Follow up with Minutes on the same day, or the next morning if the meeting ends late in the day.

Spot turbulent times at work early

• Decreased work responsibility, like your individual responsibilities being split between your immediate seniors and juniors, should indicate that you are not adding any value

• Withdrawal of employee benefits like company provided transport, medical cover limits etc. hint trouble

• Sudden downsizing in the team size, specially letting go of contractual workforce

• Frozen hiring, specially if it is the hiring season is On

• All-travel-on-hold, unless approved by all up-line managers until one below the CEO. ;)

• Resource shrink, be it hardware, software and even simpler things like coffee, food, stationary

Effective Emails in the New Flat World

If you have read Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat (you may buy the book from Amazon or from Flipkart if you are in India. I personally am a big FLIPKART fan.), or something else around similar theme, the post's title today would make a lot more sense. In case you have not, never mind, in essence, the idea explains that the world today operates in a 24*7 environment, with one geography taking over the previous time zone's workpiece in a transparent manner. While workflow software and VoIP phones are big flattening forces, who today, can fore go the importance of written communication, most of which happens over emails (well, yeah, we all know, over Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter too these days - thankfully, as of 2012, the office communication still happens over emails).

• Write the meat of the mail first in the main paragraph

• Decide on the tone of the email and chose your words around it. Weather its fun, strict, professional, indirect, diplomatic, salvaging - choose the tone carefully, and do not mix  more than two in one email

• Chose your words carefully. Polite words in a strict tone work wonders

• Always end the mail with either a concluding moral or requiring an action from the audience.

• Begin and end with civilities. In a professional setting, beginning may be omitted to give your communication a more direct  manner.

• Never, NEVER, I mean really never forget the subject line.

Gifts for Workplace

All of us, at some time or the other struggle with what would make a perfect gift in a given setting. For someone you know at a personal level, the options are quite some. Finding a gift for someone in the workplace is an altogether different arena. (And something I still struggle with, after working for many years, with many people, in many organizations, from many geographies). A non-controversial and basic list such as the one below may help you next time you want to gift someone from your workplace.

• Mugs work well with peers, someone within your team or lunch group 

• Desk adornments like a clock or a mirror piece can be given to your friendly senior

• Team picture in a modern frame is perfect for occasions such as as send-offs

• Cocktail set from Magpie is a huge hit as a wedding gift (wow, that rhymed!)

• Laptop bag is sure to make a useful gift 

• Monogrammed pens are still the best gift for someone to whom you wish to express your gratitude. 

P.S.  - There could be times when people (would be gift receivers) are not any of the types to use or appreciate such gifts. Shopping coupons from a popular store are easiest for such testing kinds.

Strengthen a Resume

• To have your name and contact on the footer of each page - helps if someone was to print your resume and misplace the loose sheets in parts. 

• Start with the strengths - be it your education, skill set or the brand you wish to highlight, always structure your resume to showcase your strengths in the first half. - the simpler things like initiatives, and personal info should be reserved for the end.

• Refrain from putting any confidential information like your passport numer or your salary details in the profile - since most resumes are uploaded online, it is better to include information in a descriptive yet non disclosing manner. e.g. - Passport - Available instead of Passport number X-XXX-XXXX.

• Use lots of keywords for your profile - depending on the target job, your profile should include nouns and verbs which are prominent. Eg - In IT Support, words like administration, deployment, documentation may come handy. Most engines would zero down on your resume depending on the presence of certain domain specific keywords.

• Always use professional font of uniform size with no bold or underlined facets. Arial, times new roman, Verdana and Georgia work best.

• Once complete, always give it a second look at the complete resume on computer screen with narrowed eyes and in print to make sure it neither looks too light or too overwhelming.

Some of the most important tasks are mundane, and however much we may try, it is easy to give up on a resume when it is still not in the best of shapes. After all,

Get most out of your LinkedIn account

Update your profile regularly with your experience and skills. Once a month is good, twice even better

• Connect with everyone you know, have known or are likely to know soon. While the debate on how correct is it to add a coworker on Facebook continues, you can be sure Not to go wrong when adding any remotely related person on LinkedIn 

• Follow your P(prospective, present and past) employers. LinkedIn will come up with suggestions to follow companies in similar arena and competitors. You may choose to follow those too 

• Join groups of your expertise - this is a easy practice to keep up to date with the latest happenings, meet new people in same field and get tracked by recruiters 

• Make your profile public and searchable, else the whole purpose of being on a professional networking site would fail

•  Subscribe to the network updates' weekly newsletter if you are like me and do not like logging in to see what is happening around. This email would update you on who moved where, and who connected to whom, along with new groups and associations. 

Happy Professional Networking, Y'all!

P.S. - This is not a sponsored post, just giving back my love for LinkedIn. :)