Category: Inside Indus Net

7 Blunders Not to Commit while Devising a PR Strategy

October 17, 2013

Over the past few years organizations have realized the importance of Public Relations and have started considering it a powerful tool in achieving the desired brand reputation in the market. With correct Public relation skills a company can change its image overnight in the market. This practice started working in full swing immediately after the media sector experienced a staggering growth, which is fair considering the importance of media elements in carrying out various processes of Public Relations. People working in this domain ensure that there in a free flow of information between the organization and its audience. Importance of public relations As we understand, this domain is not just about outsourcing information it is also responsible for projecting the brand in the market. With PR skills you can either make or break an impression, needless to say, this potent tool should be handled with utmost precision and care, most importantly one should have a knack of using it. Not being entirely based on social science, there is a little scope for one to acquire or learn the public relation skill set. It is probably the next highly commoditized art after advertising. There are few ground rules which can be followed to save your company’s reputation from getting sabotaged unless you are a complete masochist. Do not make mistakes like these ever. • Choose your Public Relations expert wisely This could be quiet tricky given the abundance of PR experts present in the market. Mind you, choosing the right PR expert is almost equivalent to choosing an apt brand ambassador for your company. It is of vital importance to pick an expert who thinks the same way as you do, by doing this you can avoid conflicts and work on the same lines towards achieving a common goal. You can easily get an idea on the modus operandi of the PR agency you plan to hire by looking into its past records. Most of these agencies who work for corporate organizations have a high flying clientele, do not get mesmerized by the clientele consider their work to evaluate their performance. PR agencies that constantly employ groundbreaking concepts are usually considered the best. At times it is not even necessary to go out and about searching a PR agency separately as their are advertising agencies who also solve the purpose. • Try to remain in the good books of Media Most of the PR activities involve dealing with media and if you step on the wrong foot of media then your are doomed. Most of the media dealings will be taken care of by your PR expert, all you have to do is ensure that media gets what it wants. Never chide media for invading your privacy, it could blow up in your face and come off as “Black PR”. A PR expert and the media are two separate entities, if they work coherently they can change the perception of your target audience overnight, which is called PR transfer process. Being a representative of your company, your PR expert must know how to manipulate media to your advantage. As we know that the reach of today’s media industry is far more than any other medium to propagate information and it is a vital part of the PR transfer process. • Keep your customers posted about your company’s developments You do not expect to invest in a company you know nothing about, same goes for your customers. They must know that your company is on the roll and should be informed about each and every achievements of your company. This activity can create a bond of trust and faith between the organisation and its target audience which is quite essential for brand building. Consider the case of Skoda, it’s rags to riches story is not only inspiring but shows how important it is to keep your target audience informed. Until 1991 Skoda’s popularity was limited to the European market and could never out to its foreign market. Volkswagen invested heavily in Skoda and enabled it to manufacture automobile at par with its competition in the foreign market. With right PR skills this development was made public and the company’s earlier reputation of “just another brand in the communist market” was outshone by it’s new reputation which well received globally. • Press releases should be impeccable and should appeal to the target audience Good literary skills form the core of PR activities, a poorly written press release will not only convey the wrong message but will also affect the reputation of the organization. While writing an official press release do not fall prey to the prevailing linguistic slangs or buzzwords, no matter how enticing they are unless you intentionally want to exude a blithe vibe. The message should be loud and clear, beating around the bush must be avoided to help your audience focus on the main points of the message. Crafty use of simple language is appreciated by everybody, jargon should be avoided as much as possible to make the press release easily comprehensible. Remember, an editor gets inundated with press releases every single day and a poorly worded never-ending copy immediately goes to the trash bin. To avoid your press release from falling into this category, make sure that it is precise, meaningful and smart. Try to capture the attention in the first few lines by unfolding the information as soon as possible, do not stretch the write-up unnecessarily, this makes the reader lose interest. • Do not ignore the follow up calls If you are being vocal for a cause you should be prepared to answer questions related to it. Any kind of silence or absence can pass for lack of information and your organization’s reputation may have to face dire consequences. No goal is achieved without ruffling a few feathers so be well prepared to answer follow-up questions and try not to evade any calls. No matter how intricate the story is be prepared for questions related to

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Which Events Justify Writing a Press Release?

October 7, 2013

A while ago when people still continued to misunderstand search engine optimization and web optimization, someone came up with the great idea of suing press releases to boost search engine rankings. It did work for some people but did not work for the rest of them. Let us take a deep look at why writing press releases did not work for many people later in this article. Before that, one must understand why press releases became so popular for website owners in the first place. What is a press release anyway? A press release is basically a professionally written piece of communication specifically targeted at journalists. A company that writes or publishes press releases hopes to be published or written about in any of the mainstream newspapers or magazine. When online journalism and lately, professional blogging took off, search engines began to rank these excellent online magazines and news websites higher than other websites. Companies and PR firms began to understand that if these online newspapers and magazines write about a company or its products, a tremendous amount of traffic would be directed to the company’s website and its search engine ranking would be boosted. Why journalists and bloggers usually discard press releases Well, that was a naive way to think of things. While the format may look neat and simple, it is not very simple. Firstly, journalists and bloggers are inundated with press releases. They do not read 90% of the press releases they come across (well, we made up that statistic, and who doesn’t?). It is safe to admit that a majority of bloggers, journalists and news writers do not read a number of press releases that come their way. That is because, they know that press releases are written only to gain traffic, search rankings and increased web presence. Consequently, they ignore much of the press releases that come their way. With that in mind, here are some of the occasions when companies small and large write press releases When there is a product launch When there is an event When there is a celebrity coming ‘home’ When financials are released When a company makes profit When a company chooses to write press releases When a company does not choose to write press releases When the weather is hot, cold, rainy or windy As you can see, press releases are written all the time, without thinking much about whether it is really news worthy and if it is really going to be picked up by journalists and bloggers. While press releases can effectively boost traffic, rankings and build media mentions when they are used appropriately, one needs to know what these appropriate situations are. In other conditions, you might want to ask yourselves twice or even thrice before writing and publishing a press release. Here are some of the most important circumstances that warrant writing a press release: Product and service launches – Whenever a new product or service is launched, it warrants a press release. However, firmware updates, software upgradations require press releases only if they are important enough. Otherwise, you can just tweet/blog/update your Facebook account with the news. Celebrity endorsements – This almost always requires a press release written and we shall not go deep into that. Business collaborations – Whenever you communicate or sign agreements with another company, you may write a press release. Corporate responsibility activities – When you do something good for the community, write a press release about it and organize a small event as well. However, if you donate a very small amount of money to an organization, you probably should not be writing a press release for that. Awards and recognitions – This is a touchy issue. You may write a press release if you have been awarded or recognized for your achievements only if the awarding body is significant. If a local organization that nobody has heard of provides you with a badge of honor, it is something you should not announce to journalists or bloggers. Finally, do not write press releases unless you are sure that it is worthy enough to be published in an important blog, magazine or newspaper. Press release is an important form of communication and can easily boost business to business social media activity. Only, you must ensure that your press release is newsworthy.

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When Newsletters Do More Harm than Good

October 3, 2013

Newsletters can be an amazing way to garner attention and ensure that there is a regular traffic to your website. Email newsletters also ensure that news information is always sent to those who care and those who really want to know about your company. But wait a minute. Didn’t someone just talk about newsletter spamming, and how people get annoyed when they receive commercial emails? It hurts to accept that every newsletter is basically commercial communication which annoys people, to be very honest. No one likes to read about advertorials in their email boxes, not even when it is from Apple. Well, if it is the next iPhone, probably yes. The point is, people do not understand why newsletters often fail and why they are misused so very often. Here are a few reasons why newsletters bring more harm than benefits to companies: Newsletters are intrusive Newsletters have a repetitive format. People are conditioned to delete newsletters without reading People click on the ‘spam’ button if newsletters are sent often People do not always click on ‘unsubscribe’ button and instead click on the easier ‘spam’ button at the top. Newspapers do not encourage engagement. The reasons above may seem ludicrous to some people but they are quite true. People have a negative association with newsletters and a company that sends regular newsletters may bring more harm to itself than others. The psychology behind the aversion towards newsletters is quite simple. No one likes a barrage of information when everything is available online anyway. Of course, it can prove to be a powerful tool if you choose the people you communicate your newsletters to carefully. Even then, sending too many newsletters may just annoy people. Here is a case study of a newsletter campaign gone wrong: Nicole loves dogs and heads a local pet saving association in her community. She disliked the fact that most animal shelters are killing grounds where those that can’t be adopted are euthanized. She set out to form a nation-wide association that fights against euthanizing healthy dogs and cats at so-called animal shelters. Her noble idea immediately met with a lot of praise and people began to donate money to her cause and engage with her online. However, when her organization began to grow larger, she decided it was time to ‘corporatize’ and started to email newsletters. She hired the best writer available and got the writer to write interesting articles for her newsletter. The newsletter was emailed to thousands of people who had all donated to her cause. Now, these thousands of people were already interested in her cause and had donated money, a further step at consolidating their compassion for her cause. However, when she started to send weekly email newsletters, her audience dwindled and people slowly started to engage with her less on Facebook and on Twitter. When she asked some of her closest associates what the cause could be, they pointed out at weekly newsletters. Even a passionate cause or product that evokes positive emotions may tire people when newsletters come into picture. What did Nicole do to undo the damage? Nicole quit her newsletter campaign and instead continued to engage only on Facebook, Twitter and her blog. She asked her writer to write newsletters only when there was something worth writing about, instead of scheduling a newsletter every week. Her visitors, fans and followers returned once again and her cause received attention from local pres as well. What we learn from this case study is that newsletters may do more harm than good. They do not always bring in traffic but instead drive away even the most sincere and loyal customers. A better format at attracting and engaging audience is to write better content for your website, blog, use Facebook and Twitter. Newsletters may be used only when there is actual ‘news’ happening. Likewise, press releases should not be written unnecessarily just to prove a point: My company publishes press releases too! Newsletters and press releases are useful tools but they should never be used at a regular interval. They exist for a purpose and they should only be used when the right time or situation occurs. If they are overused or used when inappropriate, they will cause a lot of corporate damage.

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Designing Corporate Identity: Self-effacing Bias and How It Affects Business

August 7, 2013

One of the biggest challenges faced by a company belonging to a collectivist culture is, coping with its intrinsic disposition towards a self effacing attitude. Most of the profit centers of a company require an aggressive approach to generate greater revenues and can go to any lengths for touting their company in the market to achieve their goals, but ambitious goals are seldom accomplished with a self-effacing attitude. Self-effacing Bias and Pseudo-modesty It is a basic human nature to associate self effacing behavior with modesty and it may be perceived as a virtue, but in the cut throat competition amongst the corporate giants there is no place for this ‘virtue’ rather it will take your company down the hill. With the advent of globalization the competition between companies has increased by leaps and bounds, which has led strategists to believe that everything can be commoditized and shoved down the throat of customers. Clearly if companies follow a self effacing pattern, it will not be of any help rather it will leave them flailing for help. This behavioral pattern should be understood in depth to avoid falling prey to it, many companies slip into the grip of this behavioral pattern and lose in the race. What is a self effacing behavior and how is it significant in the commercial world? A self effacing behavior refers to being reticent, withdrawn and holding back of oneself from reaching out to people. Overuse of modesty along with a withdrawn attitude can also pass for a self effacing behavior. Some cultures appreciate modesty and may perceive this behavioral pattern as a virtue but it is definitely a vice for corporate biggies looking for ways to augment their profit margins. In today’s competitive society it is very important to become outgoing and venturesome, especially for companies aiming to achieve phenomenal growth. This behavior pattern may keep companies from adopting ostentatious marketing strategies and communicating their potential strengths to their customers which may lead to insignificant profits.  As a rule, a company must not leave any stone unturned to reach out to its customers. The best example is many companies still find it difficult to promote themselves unabashedly on social media. Why pseudo-modesty is not good in online businesses Modesty is an appreciable quality, but when you are striving to carve a niche for yourself you must put your best foot forward and make your presence felt in the market rather than being modest and shy. These are the prerequisites for a company to get noticed and picked over its arch rivals by its target customers. This behavioral pattern is very redundant and almost all of us have come across individuals who exhibit this behavioral pattern. A shy backbencher in high school who evades public attention, prefers doing things in his own way without keeping up with the joneses exemplifies self effacing behavior.  Now, this guy may not be weird or psychotic, but just because of his awkward and withdrawn behavior he may be perceived as a soft target by the bullies. Such behavioral pattern can also restrict the kid’s performance in extracurricular activities. He may not volunteer in any activities because of his self effacing behavior and might not discover his forte or hidden talents. Is your company being too modest or pretends to be modest? It is well understood that self effacing is not favorable for companies to achieve astronomical profits, even after knowing so you may fall prey to it if you do not have the knack to identify it. This behavioral pattern can easily be noticed in marketing strategies employed by a company. A ruthless company with a competitive mettle will follow a rigorous marketing strategy and will stop at nothing to advertise its products, which may be considered as utter effrontery by the ‘moralistic’ society but it would propel sales to unprecedented heights and generate profits. It has been noticed that nascent companies or start-ups evade self effacing and adopt rigorous methods to shoot up their sales, they do not hold themselves back from reaching out to their customers rather they force their products in the shelves of retail stores. To satiate their burning desire for achieving greater profits such companies fervently advertise their products and pay a great deal of attention to brand communication. They don’t mind if their advertisements are immodest and are meant to shock and awe the conservative cultural groups. Most of the companies without a self effacing behavior believe in being pompous and sharing their achievements with the social media to show where they stand in the market, this helps them in achieving accolades and also makes them famous in every household. This modus operandi works wonders for companies which aim to increase their profits over a small period of time. Since it is a brash world out there, it is necessary for us to be vigorous while marketing a brand and not only that, a laid back attitude is unacceptable to reap desired profits. If you are very successful, modesty may work Having said that, there are few companies which may act ‘modest’ in their approach to safeguard their reputation of being moralistic. Such companies are usually well established and raking in moolah is not their only goal, they are more concerned about their reputation in the market. This may stem from the unnecessary need of showing oneself ‘holier than thou’ just to feel complacent. Believe it or not, even this approach works, it helps companies in establishing a goodwill with its customers which fortifies the brand. Evidently, start-ups and companies looking for greater profit margins cannot adopt this behavioral pattern and will have to follow a vehement approach to establish their brand in the market. Situational factors and intrinsic factors go hand in hand to achieve success As we now know, self effacing is a heightened form of unnecessary modesty which often drives individuals to blame themselves for their failures and attribute their success to situational factors. This behavioral pattern is not helpful to

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Alexei’s Tales: Russian Temporary Developer and Big 5 Personality Traits

August 5, 2013

Each time we have hired a temporary employee or a web developer, we have noticed they often tend to be guarded about the way they work, guarded about what they choose to tell you and guarded about a lot of other things as if someone is always holding up a gun behind their neck. Probably meeting with demanding clients make temporary workers guarded or maybe it is a deeper sense of insecurity which encourages them to be guarded always. Alexei’s story Alexei (full name withheld at request), a Russian web developer was recently at a conference we attended. He seemed jovial, relaxed, and tended to be forthcoming and open to all questions that were posed to him by his clients, colleagues and others. His writing is open too and he does not withhold information or tips & tricks. What he does, he gives it away. If he knows a particular trick in web development that saves time, he gives it away to other developers. He does not worry about losing his clients to his colleagues because he knows he always has something more to offer than his rivals. Alexei and the big five personality traits The reason why we are discussing Alexei today is his trusting, open and giving nature. These three qualities are hallmarks of any entrepreneur if they truly want to be successful. A closer observation of Alexei and his archetypes reveal very secrets about the way dedicated hiring interviews must be conducted. Here are the 5 qualities that we noticed, an agreeable dedicated employee has on personality dimensions. We may also note that these 5 personality dimensions are listed in the psychological tests NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) and Revised NEO Personality Inventory. The tests measure the big five personality traits: • Extraversion • Agreeableness • Conscientiousness • Neuroticism • Openness to Experience What were Alexei’s personality traits? As we noticed, Alexei was neither an extravert nor an introvert, though he tended to be introverted on busier days and extraverted on weekends. He was very agreeable, always offering his telephone number to clients, guests and new friends. What the heck, he even offered to drop off a group of visitors at his desk when they could not book a cab. He was conscientious as in, he was always dutiful, disciplined and his words always seemed measured, though he displayed a sense of spontaneous behavior that was otherwise not seen in others. Of course, he proved to be organized and dependable as well. Sometimes he would fidget, break into a sweat or hesitate to reveal his worries especially when he had something big in his mind. Oh, and he liked to bungee-jump and engage in adventure sports. These qualities typically make him one of the most admirable entrepreneurs and professionals. Below are the 5 qualities which we deem most important to the hiring and recruiting process. Extraversion and Introversion  A web professional can either be an extrovert or an introvert and this does not matter too much. However, a person who needs to engage with the public a lot may need to be more extraverted than introverted. Agreeableness A dedicated employee must be likeable like Alexei. He or she must make the extra effort to be nice and not just be fake-nice. Conscientiousness  A dedicated employee who is disciplined, hard working and dutiful will always go a long way in making sure that projects are completed in time. Neuroticism A person who is neurotic may tend to be anxious, fidgety and always on the edge. A person who scores low on this dimension may be calm, peaceful and relaxed. Is neuroticism a bad quality in a temporary worker? It is not. Neuroticism has been linked to creativity and an urgency to finish up tasks, which are positive qualities. Certainly, Alexei was one of the most neurotic individuals that we have ever come across. Openness to Experience An individual’s openness to experience new ideas, feelings and discovering new people make him adventurous and a go-getter. Those who are open to new experiences learn more things, discover new ideas and are always ‘well-oiled’ when it comes to staying abreast with the new.

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How to Look, Act and Behave During a Video Interview with Employers

August 2, 2013

We all know that overcoming the anxiety of facing an interview isn’t an easy task and when it comes to interviews over video calling our apprehensions grow by leaps and bounds. Seldom do we try to get to the bottom of this anxiety to resolve it once and for all, rather we succumb to it and turn our anxiety into a nightmare. How to avoid interview related stress? To avoid this interview related stress it is essential to understand the basic principles of the recruitment process, only then can we put our best foot forward. With the advent of user friendly proprietary Voice over IP services, video interviews have become a favourite amongst the recruiters, so it is important for candidates to become well versed with this medium of recruitment process. Benefits of video interviews  A video interview with employers can be as effective as a personal interview plus it can be conducted for candidates in any corner of the world, this makes the screening process a lot easier for recruiters and helps them save a bundle of money on transport and accommodation. With employers becoming increasingly aware of the diverse benefits of video interviewing, their dependency on it has also increased proportionately. Since this equation is getting stronger day by day, it is advisable to get familiar with the regular dos and don’ts of video interviewing to avoid any pratfalls while you are at it. Most of the candidates find in-person interviews more intimidating than video interviews, which could be true at many levels, but video interviews are no cakewalk either. When it comes to video interviews there are many tricky spots where one could easily slip and only a veteran can help in identifying these oddball situations. Frankly, discussing common interview questions will not suffice as every industry has its own prerequisites, having said that, there are few basic rules which hold good for every job interview and over any type of interview. These hidden principles are not discussed by all and can save you from coming apart at seams during a job interview, not only that, with these rules you can ladle out enough fake confidence, if not real, to cover up your flaws. Here is a list of rules which you must abide to and make video interviews a cakewalk for you. • Never disregard the instruction set When a company schedules a candidate for video interview it usually provides an instruction set to the candidate on how to operate the webcam and adjusting the microphone to meet the required sound levels. One must read the instruction set carefully to avoid any kind of gaffe, it also shows how serious you are for the job. Ideally a good 15 minutes are given to every candidate for going through the instruction set, focus on the microphone section, empirically speaking most of the issues faced during a video call are because of a faulty microphone or lack of knowledge on how to use it. • Dress appropriately, do not dress to kill! We all like to make an impression during an interview with our attire, with job interviews it is prudent to not go overboard and save yourself the embarrassment. A little research about the company that you are appearing an interview for never hurts, it gives you an insight about the kind of attire that would be acceptable by the recruiter. For an instance, a culturally strong company with a conservative approach will never be comfortable hiring a candidate who dresses up provocatively, this goes specially for women. Try to fit into the universally accepted dress codes, interview is not the time to unleash the designer in you. Women, keep your make up to minimal, but definitely do the essentials, after all looks do impress. Try not experimenting with colors and steer clear of provocative colors, recruiters may find it distasteful and mistake you for an unacceptable identity. Men, you can afford to keep it simple, and dandy men can indulge in a bit of make up to cover those blemishes and improve the skin tone. The dress code for men has to be formal with well kempt hair. As you can see, the rules for grooming are pretty much the same as those in case of in-person interviews, but some candidates do not pay any heed to these rules while appearing for a video interview and the results are disastrous. • Maintain eye contact Video interviews are supposed to be a simulation of in-person interviews so try to look into the cam to give a sense to the recruiter that you are looking right at him. Try not looking into your resume time and again this can make you look unsure about yourself or your achievements besides while doing so you break the eye contact. If you do it too many time it might look like you are just reading out your resume. To get a sense of how you are appearing on the other side end of the video interview, ask the operator to enable the picture-in-picture option as most of the Voice over IP services have this option. Looking at your virtual self on screen helps you to work on your gestures and restrict your head movement to minimal. Monitoring yourself can not only improve your body language but it can also boost your confidence levels, which is very much required during an interview. • Practice makes you perfect If you are appearing a video interview for the first time, having a conversation with a webcam may seem awkward to you, almost like going on a date with someone who stays mum all the time. To avoid a situation like this you can practise with a webcam at your own time, enter into a comfort zone with your virtual self on the screen and see what angles work best for you. Like they say, better be sure than sorry, this is a great exercise to be sure about your image on screen, with

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5 Reasons Why Your Dedicated Employee Must Be Fired Now

August 1, 2013

If you tear your hair in despair immediately after your employee walks out of the room, then it is time you started preparing reasons for his exit. A prudent employer can easily identify whether his employees are meeting his requirements or not, but of course, there are also some employers who are easily deceived and manipulated by their employees and still do not consider firing them. Such cases can lead to a highly dysfunctional team, where the employer ends up bearing the brunt of every mistake made by his employee. As we know, there is no dearth of employees in the job market and if your dedicated employee is giving you enough reasons to plan his exit, you should be smart enough to pick on these hints and look for a replacement. • A bad accent calls for immediate termination. A dedicated employee’s job profile usually requires him to get in touch with clients, and an unacceptable accent will not only tarnish the company’s reputation, but will also make you lose your clients and in the long run it could even prove detrimental for the business. People have little time to deal with high strung accents and an outlandish accent is usually frowned upon, so if your clients complain of not being able to decipher your dedicated employee’s requirement time and again, you might want to pay attention to your employee’s accent. A thick accent is mostly the culprit in ruining client relations, so why have someone on a payroll whose accent is sabotaging your client relations? • Doesn’t use Social Media Social Media has become an indispensible marketing and advertising tool, it can do wonders to your company if you know how to use it to your advantage. Well, on second thoughts that is not entirely true, if you do not know how to make the most of it you can hire a dedicated employee who knows the tricks of the trade. As we know, social media is a marketing tool that augments the odds of reaping greater profits and can be very well used to target customers. It is not optional but essential for your dedicated employee to know the applications of social media and should be able to put them to use, despite your several efforts, if he doesn’t bother to use it or get educated on it, you have all the right to reconsider his association with you. • Doesn’t respond to calls but sends mails Having unnecessary mails in the inbox is utterly pestering especially when they are from your employee who has all the liberty to speak to you in person or call you up. Believe it or not, there are many dedicated employees who prefer sending mails to answering calls and most of them do this to be elusive. When your employee starts screening your calls it means that he has something to hide, it could be an unmet deadline or an impending glitch that would surface in near future. Try to be wary of such excuses, if they your dedicated employee uses them very often then he is obviously not doing his job, which should give you a reason to start looking for a new candidate. • Does not send scheduled reports about work status The idea of generating a work report is to track the progress of a project; it also implicitly cites the work performance of the employee who is handling the project. Such reports are vital and must be submitted on time and significant delays in submission should push the employer to delve deep into the matter to look for reasons rather than buying the excuses of your dedicated employee. Delays in submission of such reports are a sign of uncompleted work and usually bring forth the incompetency of the employee. The next step would be to of course say “I need a programmer”, a new one. • You can’t stand his presence In a work environment group dynamics are of utmost importance and the same holds good for a team to functions without any conflicts. There could be moments when you clench your fists and grind your teeth with anger on listening to the lame details of your employee’s incompetency, which is not good for your personal well being. Sadly, for employees there is not much that they can do, but employers can very well make use of their position and have their employee fired.

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Importance of Accent Neutralization in Dedicated Hiring

July 30, 2013

While some cannot escape the strong influence of their native language on their accents, there are some who put up an accent to sound sophisticated. And it is difficult to tell which is worse. The hazards of a thick accent are not known to many. The Accent Bias Many people still believe that speaking with an accent shows a certain savoir-faire, but they are sadly mistaken. Accent play a vital role in describing where you come from, which in turn can make or break an impression. Most recruiters cannot escape the accent bias and tend to pigeon hole candidates on the basis of their accents, which is completely irrational but can be avoided. Accent neutralization is the only key to not let your accent speak about your origins. You may be from any part of the world but if you neutralize your accent, you can let people pay more attention to your work than your accent. During an interview it is crucial to not let your accent be recruiter’s focus of attention, it may trigger an emotional response which may or may not be desirable. According to a study conducted University of North Texas, it was noticed that recruiters are predisposed to hiring candidates of a certain accent and favouring them with prestigious jobs. A truck driver in Utah was fired by his boss at FedEx for speaking with a thick Russian accent, the driver even requested for a re-evaluation to show his literary prowess in English, but he was denied. This is one of the many examples which bring forth the evil of stereotyping with an accent. People with a heavy French accent are believed to exhibit a certain class which is usually looked up to. The stereotyped beliefs about these places show up in judgement of an individual’s character, which is completely uncalled for. To avoid falling prey to this accent discrimination one has must pay a lot of attention to the way one speaks. A few tips mentioned below will definitely help you to neutralize your accent and put your best foot forward. •Identify your accent You may have an accent problem that you do not know about, so it is important to identify your accent and only then can you come up with solution to tone it down or augment it. A feedback from your peers usually helps to identify your accent, but if you feel that your peers are incompetent then you have all the liberty to consult a linguistics expert. •Try to escape the influence of your native language You native language may be culturally rich and very influential but if you don’t not cut your ties with it while speaking some other language you may end up using the intonations and connotations of your native language. Which is not good! Try to steer clear of your mother tongue while speaking any other language. •Carefully observe the language that you intend to master When you are practising a particular language make sure that you spend some time with the native speakers of that language. This activity will help you to neutralize the effect of your own mother tongue and improve your proficiency in that language. •Phonetics is equally important as grammar While learning a language, most of us pay little attention to phonetics and we end up speaking with incorrect pronunciation. A good pronunciation only comes from a sound knowledge on phonetics. Every language has its own set of phonetics, most of which may be common, but there are few differences which should be understood. Moreover, human resource recruitment process requires that an individual is first of all understandable and coherent, before looking at other skills. •They don’t call it gift of gab for nothing The above construction may not abide to the rules of grammar, but it fairly conveys a certain accent. Such is the influence of certain sentences, try not falling prey to such constructions. We usually pick the colloquial terms used in the environment that we live in and start using it in our language, which is incorrect and must be avoided, even if it earns you the reputation of being a grammar police.

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India Fares Better than Other Global Dedicated Hiring Destinations

July 29, 2013

India is one of the best countries suited for dedicated hiring. The country hosts a huge number of qualified graduates and professionals who unfortunately remain unemployed and are willing to compromise on salaries. This was the situation prevalent a few years ago when many IT companies made their way into smaller cities other than Bangalore. Recession has further exacerbated unemployment forcing employees to work for a lot lesser than before. Some of the factors that make dedicated hiring feasible in India There are a wide range of factors that make dedicated hiring welcome in urban India as compared to other global destinations and here’s how you can capitalize on it.  They are 1. Keenness Unemployment is on the rise in India because of the recent global slowdown. There are many technical graduates looking for suitable jobs in the IT sector. Many of the new inductees have been issued offer letters from previous companies, but are not provided with specific date of joining. There are many technical colleges in India and thus the demand for new recruits lags far behind the supply. Being unemployed for nearly months and years, fresh graduates are ready to work regardless of the challenges that employers may pose. Many of them are so keen to find a job that they consider the possibility of moving to the Gulf countries, which is not usually seen as an attractive overseas destination due to climatic and political conditions. Such is the keenness among fresh graduates that they may be willing to work on a discount, if they come across a reliable offshore employer who requires dedicated employees. This makes it easy for offshore clients to look for the best employees at a reduced cost provided they prove the credentials and achievements of their companies. 2. People willing to work in late night shifts In many cities that are strewn all over the vast expanse of the India, working in late night shifts is the norm. People won’t mind exploring the possibility of working late in the nights provided you entice them with fat pay packages in the form of allowances for working late. This works out for you in a way, if you exempt people in designations, preferably the corporate cadre from the normal work. They will be motivated from the fact that after four or five years, they are promoted and eventually be spared from the hectic work along with night shifts. It works to your advantage and you can succeed in convincing them to work in night shifts. This makes it easy to monitor their activities and communicate with them in real time. The activities that are of the highest priority and require prompt attention from your side can be attended to. Also, you can hire select dedicated employees with certain designations so that they can monitor and manage other dedicated offshore employees of yours. 3. Abundance of cheap labor There is a large influx of migrants from less affluent destinations to the cities in hopes of landing a good job. These are mainly graduates from lower-middle income families and settle for competitive salaries as the prospects of finding a good job are almost nil in this time of global slowdown. These migrant people settle for a reasonable pay as long as it is at par with the prevalent industry standards here, which is very low, when compared with international standards. The standard of living in India can be comparatively less when pitted with other global destinations for dedicated hiring.  Though bigger cities like Mumbai and Delhi are expensive, most offshoring destinations within India are affordable not only for dedicated employees but also their offshore clients. 4.  Longer working hours People in India have no qualms about the introduction of longer working hours. Many companies here have bound their employees by certain Service Level Agreements. This agreement binds them to finish the day’s work even though it means having to stay for longer hours at work irrespective of the stipulated work timings. This is in stark contrast to the work timings in countries elsewhere. These stretchable working hours can be a boon to offshore businesses that choose to hire dedicated employees in India. 5. Abundance of technical job seekers and their employability The Indian IT industry provides direct employment to 2.5 million people. This figure alone can give a vague idea of the amount of people vouching for technical jobs in India. It possesses a rich talent pool that specializes in technical expertise. There are a wide variety of technical institutes too that impart quality training. These technical institutes groom a student by equipping him with a lot of necessary skills that make him employable in the related industry. Many technical courses offer Inplant Training as part of the curriculum for undergraduates to let them have a feel of the industry. This helps them to garner rich industry experience during the duration of their technical course. 6. English as the medium of instruction in technical schools English sells in India. There are many mannerisms in India that are influenced by those of the English speaking nations. The urban populace has accepted English with open arms, be it the clothes they wear or their food habits or even the culture. Because English is a global language, many universities have chosen it as their medium of instruction. There is no need for you to spend in improving the communication skills of your new recruits. These are reasons enough for you to consider India for your dedicated programming needs. Now, let us look at the cities in India that are viable options for you to invest. Some cities that are favorable for your dedicated hiring needs Let us take a look at few of the cities in India where you can look forward to hire temporary employees for your dedicated programming needs. •Bangalore Bangalore is the preferred destination in India for many IT related companies to invest. The state administration has created a sportive atmosphere here for these companies.

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Dedicated Hiring Is the Future of Business : 9 Crucial Benefits of Dedicated Hiring

July 26, 2013

Dedicated hiring solves most of the problems that arise with local hiring in your workplace. Though dedicated hiring involves the close collaboration of the employee and the business at their home countries, the communication between both of them is seamlessly managed with the latest in technology. Dedicated hiring employees work at par with their locally hired counterparts, but are way better managed than the latter. There are a number of benefits that come with the use of dedicated hiring in your business. Let’s take a look at a few: 1. Scalability Dedicated employees at their induction are made well aware of the lack of job security in this type of work- their services may be scrapped at any time. This temporary nature of the job makes your business flexible enough to scale the number of employees involved as and when need arises. There is no need for you to cook up a premise or find a fault worthy enough to fire an employee if he doesn’t meet your expectations in productivity or if you aim to reduce costs. This feature in dedicated hiring that enables you to fire and hire anyone is not feasible in locally hired business. It facilitates cost optimization for and there is no need to worry much about the employees’ background during recruiting them. In locally hired business there are a lot of resources and time involved in screening the recruit through background verification. In businesses involving locally hired employees, there is a separate wing through which the services of verification are rendered. They visit the recruit’s homes and verify their credentials by enquiring the family members so that the provided information matches the one that the recruit has furnished. The people roped in for verifying also collect information about the recruits by getting in touch with the particulars that he mentioned concerning the teaching faculty in the educational institutions through which he graduated. All this cost to the company can be avoided through dedicated hiring because the employees here can be asked to terminate their services without prior notice. 2. No need of physical presence There is no need for you to be physically present at the workplace. Even though the dedicated employee may be half way across the globe- one can still monitor his work. This is possible because of the latest technology used in this system of work management. All the activities are effortlessly and seamlessly managed to increase the productivity of people. 3. Lays to rest most of your anxieties There are a lot of activities that can be easily managed as compared to dealing with a locally hired employee even though you are very far from the workplace. Here you can get rid of most of the hankering regarding your work: a. Hankering for the status of work You are bound to be very curious and anxious about the status of work. The anxiety to know about the work status can make you restless. Through dedicated hiring, one can expect a constant update about the status of your work through the help of technology. By keeping you posted about the recent functionality that was added to your product, you are bound to be less bothersome. b. Hankering for the productivity of the employee It is very common in businesses with locally hired employees to use the Internet for personal work such as checking their email, social networking or keeping a tab open in order to browse websites. All this is done right under the concerned authorities’ noses without their knowledge. They can also be seen idling away in the restrooms or other safe places at the excuse of ‘winding up’. All these activities that lessen the productivity and efficiency of the employee can be curtailed with the introduction of dedicated hiring at your workplace. This is possible because there are systems in place to monitor the whole process of your work. The employees work on a tight schedule so that you may tackle other inefficiencies too that take a toll on the employees’ productivity with your virtual eyes. 4. Customization of your product As you are constantly updated about the status of the work that you have off-shored, you can coax the programmers to add new functionality to your product that is consistent with your requirements. The whole process of work is transparent and you can make necessary changes regarding the design and features of the product real time through a range of gadgets that have come into being with the recent advancement in technology. If you are using agile methodology in your remote offshoring endeavor, you can scrap the recent functionality that was added to your product midway, provided it is not consistent with your requirement, without looking back. Agile is more effective in dedicated hiring endeavors. The whole process involving dedicated employees is like an open book and this works to your advantage. 5. Thorough documentation Your interaction with people concerned such as the scrum master is thoroughly documented in the registries of the machine and there is no question of your requirements and instant messaging or other records as such falling on deaf ears. There are sufficient records of your video conferencing too that are valuable for the progress of the work. 6. Faster trouble shooting and debugging If you encounter any glitches in the functioning of the software and hardware provided by the vendor, there is an assurance of prompt addressal of them. There is every possibility that you go for a good brand with a blemish-free reputation to provide you with remote hiring equipment – there are not too many bogus competitors in this field. Being the trusted equipment provider and having the expertise, the vendor can fix the bugs promptly so that critical part of your work is not affected. 7. Reduced overheads The vendor supplies you with the necessary equipment in the form of software and hardware for dedicated employees for facilitating work and getting it done in a remote offshore location. He

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