REINVENT YOURSELF
IN A DAY AND AGE WHEN TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING,IT IS CRUCIAL FOR
WORKSPACES AND EMPLOYEES TO BE UPDATED, RELEVANT,AND,IN SYNC WITH THE LATEST
In today's times, when
there are continuous radical shifts in the way companies work, produce,
communicate and interact, it is crucial for employees to remain attuned to the
demands, trends and developments in the marketplace and upgrade their skills
accordingly. Anil Sharma, vice president HR,ITC Hotels, agrees, “It has become
crucial for employees to constantly upgrade their skillset to stay marketable. Associates
need to keep themselves updated in terms of the known contemporary aspects of
their respective fields while also have the ability to adapt to 'new' issues
and situations. One needs to be contemporary in the known fields and also a
quick learner of 'new' avenues and aspects. They also need to be proficient
with the e-world and stay abreast with the happenings in the virtual
world,including e-commerce.“
Success never comes to those who sit back
and wait for a miracle. Agrees Piyush Malhotra, who works with an IT firm in
Gurgaon, “Gone are the days when taking a higher degree was sufficient to get a
job and sustain with it for the rest of your professional life. With newer
technologies coming in, by the time you graduate out of college, your skills
become outdated; so, you need to constantly update yourself to avoid being
obsolete in the system. You need to have an insatiable desire to learn and
explore skills.“
The key to staying relevant is
'reinventing', and this stands true at all levels of organisational
hierarchy.“The key to professional growth at different levels is higher domain
knowledge in narrowly defined verticals at lower levels, and appreciation of
diverse verticals at senior levels. Reinventing self is an issue for which many
aren't ready, though it is essential,“ adds Sharma.
Reinventing does not only mean exploring
newer work opportunities, it also means constantly exploring opportunities that
help in mental and professional growth within an existing environment.“While
there are people who want to jump and hop to newer jobs to go up the ladder,
the real success comes when you start challenging yourself within a given
set-up. You can make optimum use of online platforms to explore and learn new
courses and skills; participate in communities and group activities and
discussions to understand newer perspectives;
and make sure intellectual stagnancy never seeps in,“ stresses Ambica
Sharma,creative head at an advertising agency.
With constantly evolving
technologies, change seems to be the only constant. In this scenario, one
wonders what would workplaces of 2020 be like.V Krishnan, executive
director-HR,Dabur India Ltd, responds, “The Gen-Y has already started entering
the workplace in a big way.It's a generation that questions and challenges
'status quo' and current practices. By 2020,this population would have
proliferated further.The teens who will become our future employees or
consumers, have some very different expectations from a workplace, which is
beyond compensation. They lead a digital lifestyle, stay connected and live a
24x7 life. They are the people who believe in 'communicating to work', and not
'commuting to work'.They question everything that does not seem rational and
would not take past practices or hierarchy as logic. This generation has its
own specific needs and expectations from the employer. The key to talent
retention in future would be to meet the expectations of this generation. So,
companies need to become Gen-Y ready to cater to their needs and aspirations.“
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Pooja Madhok
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