People and Management October 2018 | Page 48

MASKING UNCONSCISOUS BIASES BRINGING THE FACTORY CLOSER TO MANAGEMENT NOT JUST ANYBUDDY Tasty Bite Eatables Limited has initiated an ‘All Hands Day’ campaign wherein all employees of the organisation involve themselves in the Manufacturing activity. This practice extends all the way up to Senior Executives and top management, helping them understand the various activities in the factory. They are allocated different areas of semi-skilled and skilled work and are supervised by a factory worker. Through this practice, several inputs regarding wastage, productivity, and safety are shared around the organisation. Ultimately, the factory workers feel closer to the top management and a sense of belonging is established across functions and hierarchies. 48 Indus Towers has given a new meaning to the Buddy Program and much thought has been put while designing the same. An important pillar in welcoming the new employees, the program is aimed to foster a culture of friendship and is not limited to knowledge sharing. The buddies are carefully chosen post Self and Leadership nominations from across locations; the idea is to choose employees who have a sense of connect and empathy and genuinely want to be buddies. Through the Buddy Program Workshop, they are trained and educated on various subjects to act as culture guides for the new joinees and ensure consistency. A Buddy Effectiveness Survey was launched as well to measure the impact and usefulness of the practice; it was found that early attrition had remained stable and co- working had enhanced. | Vol. 9 Issue 6 • Sep-Oct 2018, Noida / Pre-Event Edition Great workplaces strive towards implementing practices that eliminate gender discrimination. Vodafone India Ltd. gives priority to gender diversity and has designed its hiring practice in a manner that enables them to look out for any unconscious gender biases while recruiting. In the CV Masking practice, the gender of the candidate is masked while the CV is shared with the hiring manager. This ensures that candidates are shortlisted purely on the basis of skill, critical experience, and achievements and do not get rejected at the initial shortlisting stage owing to inherent gender biases, if any.