HEALTHY BANKING PRACTICES

                                                                                       - By MILAN K SINHA

So many things contribute to build up and refurbish the image of a bank - things which seem quite insignificant at first sight. Taken together, they add up to that priceless asset-customer goodwill. In fact, goodwill is earned if the customer is reasonably satisfied. And satisfied customer, as everybody knows, has been the best running advertisement for any organisation in this fiercely competitive world including banking. Service delayed is, in a way, service denied.

Underestimating the value of a customer has always proved to be fatal. When a customer finds that his work is being attended, he waits but does not fret and fume, rather he allows the bank to take its own time to accomplish the task.

As the Attitude, Skills and Knowledge (ASK) of the staff and not the plethora of resources have been the major inputs, it is imperative for any leading and promising bank to carefully nurture and develop its human resources (HR). HRD assumes even greater importance when we talk more about customer satisfaction these days. Theoretically, it might be the case in most of the leading and fast growing banks to pursue HR policy with an aim at procuring from the market qualified persons who would be trained to familiarise with changing trends and technology, but at the delivery level on the ground, there has been a telling gap for the obvious creed and deed syndrome even if it is presumed that at policy level there is absolute clarity about having a dynamic change management system.

To begin with, it is very important to train the employees in smaller and relatively cohesive groups at regular intervals to get acquainted with organisational culture, update their knowledge and skills and motivate them to exert high efforts for effective accomplishment of bank's goals. Moreover, HR policy of a bank should clearly emphasise the need to:

• Ensure that every staff realises the importance of new ideas and concepts.
• Empower employees to solve customer problems on their own initiative.
• Improve the level and quality of interaction of every employee directly with the end user.

‘Socialisation’ of new employees too, is an important priority area which often doesn't receive its due attention. As Devdutt Pattanaik, the author of 'Business Sutra - A Very Indian Approach to Management' puts it: the whole process of induction of new employees may be equated to the first week of the bride in the new house. 'She is nervous and afraid. The ritual of inducting the bride involves making her comfortable with the new surrounding - new relatives, new house, new customs and new habits. The ritual conducted with empathy enables her to adjust quickly and avoids too much awkwardness and embarrassment... the ritual of welcoming the bride is as much for the husband's household as it is for the bride. She carries with her new ideas and new thoughts that will revitalize the family..."

To put it from bank's perspective, the Branch Heads are to act very proactively on this subject. Not only the employees be made to learn early about the organisational values, customs, traditions, local language, manners, etiquette, dress code, customer profile, branch profile etc. but also the trainers and supervisors are required to look for new ideas coming from new recruits during this period to be appreciated, recognised and finally put to use, if found feasible and cost effective.

Moreover, an exclusively designed short duration (of two to three days) on-the-job training programme on regular intervals is particularly essential for front line branch staff who directly interact with the customers on a regular basis for improving service levels.

So, as the things stand in today's competitive banking environment, it is not enough to treat a customer very well, may be like a king, now the customer wants to be treated as a preferred partner.

           Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

# Published on Patna Daily .com

# Do visit my site : milanksinha.com

                                                             

MIRACLE OF HEAD AND HEART GOING IN UNISON

                                                                                              -By Milan K Sinha

It's a common knowledge that in human body, the Head is positioned higher than the Heart. But, why then constant conflict goes on between the two? An interesting and thought provoking issue, isn’t it? So, before anything else, let us first go through the dictionary meaning of Head and Heart:

Head: It is the uppermost or forward most part of the body of a vertebrate, containing the brain and the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and jaws. It also has other meaning as seat of the faculty of reason, intelligence, intellect or mind.

Heart: The chambered muscular organ in vertebrates that pumps blood received from the veins into the arteries, thereby maintaining the flow of blood through the entire circulatory system. The other meaning goes as repository of one's deepest and sincerest feelings and beliefs, the seat of imagination...

So, as the physical position is, the Head always tries to behave like a head which carry its big ego bag on its head. On the other hand, as the general perception goes, the Heart - an innocent, child-like, 24x7 enthusiastic worker, not only pumps blood in the body but also differentiates us from an animal as an entity who has emotions, feelings, expression, compassion etc. तभी तो किसी ने सही कहा है, 'दिल तो बच्चा है जी, ज्यादा सच्चा है जी, पर थोड़ा कच्चा है जी ... 

It seems Robert Bulwer-Lytton vindicates this point by saying, "A good heart is better than all the heads in the world' and so this quote by an unknown author, 'In life when you get into trouble, don't get nervous, just close your eyes and listen to your heart; because, the heart may be on the left, but it is always right'.

Now, if it is really so, I am rather tempted to put the question which the Hindi film singer, Mohit Chauhan asks all of us in a beautiful and emotive song from the Hindi film, 'Tanu Weds Manu': कितने दफे दिल ने कहा,  दिल की सुनी कितने दफे ...!

The authors of "Be the Change" Ed and Deb Shapiro write, "…your heart is so much more than a vessel for romance. It has been described as the king, with the mind as the king's adviser. When faced with a decision, the king may ask his advisers for advice; may even send him out into the world to gather information, but ultimately it is the king that makes the final decision. Even though the advisers do not always agree with the king's decision, the king is invariably right, because the king's view not only sees the bigger picture but is also aware of the needs of others.

In the same way, when faced with a decision or conflict, your mind may come up with numerous, different and quite logical reasons why you should act as it advises, but if you listen to and trust your heart - however illogical or irrational it may seem - it is usually right and you are happier as a result".

Fine! But it is also true that at times the heart takes a position which prima facie doesn’t seem right. Head does try to engage itself in dispassionate analysis to advise the heart to see the reason before taking or not taking a firm stand in such a peculiar situation, but, normally we are found saying, दिल है कि मानता नहीं ...., दिल तो पागल है, दिल दीवाना है ..., and lot more. Everyone comes to such a pass, may be once or more times, travelling through various stages of life.

As such, the simple query here is: can't we think, practise and finally achieve to have almost as a regular and recurring phenomena, wherein both the head and heart agree to work in unison, more so, when one is confronted with a seemingly insurmountable problem in life?

Definitely yes! Of course, by learning and mastering the unique art as it involves our two most sensitive and important organs. Many past and present luminaries world over could do this and consequently could achieve historically brilliant feats and enjoy their life immensely as well which in turn substantiate what Nelson Mandela says in these words: "A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."

This may also be expressed in other words like, 'Keep your head and heart going in the right direction, and you won't have to worry about your feet'. - Unknown

                      Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

# Published in Patna Daily.com

                                                            

#  Do visit my site : milanksinha.com 

MAKE IT HAPPEN IN RIO,2016 OLYMPICS

                                                                         -By Milan K Sinha

  

Finally,  face-saving news for a country of 1210 million people -and the news is about  International Olympic Committee (IOC)  agreeing in principle to lift the ban imposed last year. In fact, IOC agreed to pave the way for India's return to Olympic fold after  the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)  agreed to have fresh elections and hold another Annual General Meeting (AGM) within a month to select their representatives.        

It is still  live in our memory how  London 2012 Olympics  Grand Finale ended with all fanfare a few months back. India  did register an improvement in its   medal tally - total six medals- two Silver and four Bronze. India ranked 55th among the participating countries numbering 204.  At the end of the 17 day long Gala sports event, only 85 countries had the honour of winning at least a single medal. USA topped the medal count with 104 medals followed by China with 87 and  host Britain with 65.  The Indian players, by and large  tried their best within the well known constraints to bring laurels for the country.

    

Yes, soon after the game was over, every authority and analyst took stock of the country’s performance and registered  their view point on expected lines. No doubt, the protagonists of Indian  performance which might seem very shameful in absolute terms,  had  at least following three reasons to highlight and rejoice on the occasion based purely on comparative position:

· We doubled our medal tally from 3 in Beijing 2008 Olympics to 6 in London 2012.

· In 1996 Atlanta Olympics, India could bag only one Bronze medal whereas it is now   whooping six. To say, six hundred per cent improvement.

· Our immediate neighbours Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal couldn’t win even one medal in London 2012.

             But, the table below showing medal count of top 15 countries  in London 2012 with population of that country would definitely provide us enough food for thought for deciding our action plan: RIO 2016 Olympics, right  now.

S.N.	Name of Country	Gold  Medal	Total Medals	Population of country    (in million)
1	U.S.A	46	104	312
2	China	38	87	1350
3	Britain	29	65	62
4	Russia	24	82	142
5	S. Korea	13	28	50
6	Germany	11	44	82
7	France	11	34	65
8	Italy	8	28	61
9	Hungary	8	17	10
10	Australia	7	35	22
11	Japan	7	38	128
12	Kazakistan	7	13	17
13	Netherland	6	20	17
14	Ukraine	6	20	46
15	Cuba	5	14	11

     

I hope, most of the right thinking nationalist Indian who might not be good at playing politics (our de facto National Game) must wonder seeing the table above, why our top ten populous as well as relatively prosperous states namely Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Karnataka & Gujarat ( UP has a population of 200 million & Gujarat 61 million) can’t compete individually with most of the top ranking countries in the above list. Each of these states and a few more  in Indian Union has the potential and also the resources to show to the world that next forty months from now   would be dedicated towards motivating, identifying and grooming  the energetic as well as  enthusiastic young population in all possible and sincere manner for becoming one of the top ten countries of the world in medal tally in Rio 2016 Olympics  and thereafter Olympic after Olympic.

Hope, IOA(Indian Olympic Association), Central as well as State governments and all  sports organisations are listening. 

# Published in Patna Daily.com

                                                   Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

STRESS MALADY- WHAT'S THE REMEDY?

                                                                                        - By Milan K Sinha

       The world is changing fast - socially, economically, technologically & culturally,  and so is our country. The pace of this change has been faster in corporate world with the advent of the famous concept of LPG -Liberalisation, Privatisation & Globalisation. Everybody, even those who don't understand fully the meaning of GDP talks in terms of this term. Creating a compelling work environment for achieving, at times even seemingly unachievable,  business targets more by crook than by hook is becoming the order of the day in many companies, more noticeably in Indian IT as well as Financial Sectors. As a corollary, the natural character of our daily routine undergoes changes for the worse, more particularly for our urban working population. The reasons may be many and may also seem to be genuine and compelling, but in the bargain we are confronted with stress, stress and more stress. Obviously, changing the natural course of life at will or worse under compulsion, doctors opine, creates a highly  stressful situation which affects not only our health but also the health of our family at large since it has multi -dimensional impact on our life. Believe it or not, it is a very big and serious issue for all HR managers and wellness consultant across the world. 

      

  Mr. Hans Selye, the famous American Stress Management Expert, has identified the top stressors at one’s workplace as urgency of achieving the periodical business targets, excessive work pressure, demanding and aggressive  bosses, less performing and sometimes non-performing colleagues, competitive peers and excessive touring. The long office hours mainly due to late sitting habits resulting in very little time   for the family especially children is a major cause of domestic disharmony. And on  top of everything, the increasing uncertainty in today’s corporate life as regards job security, transferability, career progression etc. leads to so much of executive stress. This kind of situation, in turn, affects the behaviour pattern of an individual, sometimes fatally.

      

    An individual who tries to build up a big business empire or to go up in career path very fast but forgets to Organize, Deputise and Supervise in a positive and transparent manner usually ends up with heart, kidney and liver problems in his early forties itself – majority health problems caused by strain and stress, tension and worries.

    

   It is no denying the fact that over the last couple of years, old but fundamentally sound Indian value system not only in the corporate world but also in our day to day life has generally collapsed and stress is nothing but the direct repercussion of this collapse, of course coupled with our so-called modern and ostentatious fast lifestyle. That is why sane people suggest that in today’s scenario, stress will almost be a constant companion demanding continuous and serious attention. And surely, there are many ways to control stress by adopting different positive life styles, by adopting suitable stress management principles/techniques.

       

   In order to tackle stress a three pronged approach is normally  practised in corporate world by being (i) Curative for employees who had already reached high levels of stress and were developing insomnia, symptoms of nervousness and other psychosomatic problems, (ii) Preventive by creating open networks for senior-junior communication to get suppressed feeling out without fear of a backlash and (iii) Promotive by building a culture supported by uniquely Indian values.  

 # Published in Bihar Times 

                                                   Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.