21st century and 21st century thinking, a thinking which is no more straight from a book of school of thoughts however loosely bound by frameworks and guidelines as I shall say because principles will be far more hurting to say when we break them or some people call just keeping them in the safe because times are not right.
I still remember Shaun a colleague of mine, a sales guy I would like to call him like me, the only difference is he sells pens for people to buy and write and I sell jobs to people to work and write their destiny, that how I always like to call it, gives me a proud feeling nonetheless its mere bullshit I know at core. ‘Fancy me’ but it gives pleasure to some so call HR’s like us to put it that way atleast you feel happy because we feel just for a blip we made everyone admire us and the job we do, anyways its really a descent job, ‘Believe me’. Well coming back to Shaun he had spent half of his life under this roof and grew right from a sales trainee to a Sales Manager, he use to proudly narrate the process to every new joinee in the organization and would take pride in making people proud of their decision joining the family (organization). Sixteen – years he use to say with pride, he still remembers the first personnel manager he met in the company Kulkarni Saheb, and all good work that he has done for him, all those hard times he has given him be sending in field and in training and making him what he is today, he admires that guy really ‘Kya sahab tha woh kya batau, muah mein gutka aur din bhar lete rehta tha, sala do minitue jagaha par baithne nahi deta that, leking dil se hira tha, life bandi usni meri sirji kya batau, usnehi merese poora target poora karke mujhe executive banaya sahab, ekdum sahi aadmi….’ and he use to go on from Kulkurni’s to Patil’s to Bhosle’s and on and on and would conclude how great the management was and how good the company was and the people in the stable were that made him what he is today ’a very successful man’. He use always exclaim the company treats its employees like jewels precious diamonds, treasures them, trains them and make them grow with them to become good and then great. And he use to also boast of his Bangkok trips, Thiland Trips and performance bonuses and improvement workshops and good incentives and all those ways the company has recognized him for running in the field and getting the numbers.
We were already sitting on the brink of recession and we were talking about the last recession, we had stringer targets, higher goals, tougher times. Like last recession of 1999-2000 again one tube-light from a pair of tube-lights was removed to reduce electric consumptions, no A/c in the lunch time, no more bus facility, extended working hours and No-Alcohol parties well suddenly No-Alcohol became sign of ethics believe me it was more than that. Everyone was gray and fighting recession hard, but the truth is we were not trying to fight losses we were fighting to maintain profits and improve our top-line, well very few knew it and those who knew disguised it if profits were not maintained all shareholders will quit and we will dwindle. The head Human Resource also had a part to play in this with the business head, reduce flab and make organization skinny, Restructuring they use to call it but moreover its called downsizing. Remove non performing employees, replace more paid employees with less paid and improve the bottom line was the agenda, this is the 21st century HR mantara to fight recession, but I never understood do we have to pass on this heat to employees just to maintain profits, I mean the company dint make losses man…
But the boss is always right It was an October afternoon, Mumbai is hot and sunny in these days and the room seemed hotter me and Shaun were sitting down over sales figures and individual performances and the only job I was to do is sit with him to reduce manpower retaining the sales, and the only thing he seemed interested was saving all of them but as the meeting progressed he know that not going to happened, we need to take a break, for the first time in my tenure with him I found him sweating, his voice go so low, and he asking for a time off, energy seemed to be dripping out of him, his hands seemed shaky and his spectacles seemed sweaty ‘Sahaab jara dus minitue ke baad list dekte hai’ and he walked outside the room. I can see him from the window blinds of the cabin he was at the water-cooler with a glass of water in hand and a worried face just holding the glass of water, drinking water seemed to be too distant for him a few minutes passed I walked outside the cabin and he said ‘Aya chalo…’
Parmanand Mhale the first name on the list ‘Sahab iska sirf teen mahine ka sales kum hai uski shaadi thi sahib isliye chutti par tha, ise chod do, ladka acha hai kar lega, tension na lo, mein hoon na..’ and stared at me there was a complete dead silence for a couple of minutes and then I said ‘Thik hai aage dekte hai’ and he was relieved, I could see that on his face next name was Vinay Shitole ‘Sir ika performance kam hai lekin isko toh abhi bacch hua hai, isko nikalenge toh uske ghar mein bohat problem hogi just 3 mahine pehle hi biwi ki delivery hui hai, aap hi bataiye’ that was a time when I lifted my red pen all he did was he gazed at me with a blank look his eyes crying out loud to Stop the only thing I can say was ‘lekin performance toh sahi nahi hai na’ and I underlined it red, he raced his fingers over paper back on the sheet to show me he has worked for seven years, he has done lot for the company, we need to reconsider, he had made the company what it is today the only thing I can ask is ‘pichle ek saal ka performance kaisa hai uska’… ‘koi nahi agala dekho baadmein iske baremein fir baat karenge Shaun’… As the evening grew I could see what was happening of him, the only way I could describe it is by leaving to every ones imagination, shoulders drooped down, heart filled with guilt, eyes staring at his feet tears on brink of his eyes and then came the most terrifying gesture of the evening a smile, and a line ‘yeah kya sahab aisa lagne laga hai ki humne inko diper jaisa use karke fek diya kaam hone par’ (well the word was certainly not diaper- take a guess what it will be C***). I can still remember the line and it hurt me again and again and again.. took me through my worst sleepless night.
Next day I went to my bosses cabin with the list some marked red and I knew its just time they will be given pink slip, I just kept the sheet on his desk and was moving out, he stopped me and said ‘now that we are going to get these guys out start searching for better performing guys but at a lesser salary, nahi toh apni lag jayegi’ all I could say was ‘Hmmm’ and walked back and turned around, but I could help noticing another sheet of paper in the same format that I had just placed, it said Managers and above and I could see red marked name on Shaun Desouza, Age : 43 years, total experience 16.5 years, experience in company 16.5 years, prior experience 0 years, Average Sales …
I couldn’t say a word but just left with a heavy heart I just remembered my induction when he in his own English tone said ‘company treats its employees like jewels precious diamonds….’ And last evening when he mumbled ‘yeah kya sahab aisa lagne laga hai ki humne inko diper jaisa use karke fek diya kaam hone par’… 16 years flushed down the rabbit hole just to save a few cents. Now I know what happens when designations became fancy, when money increased on the block, when 20th Century becomes 21st century, when Personnel Managers become HR’s, when families became corporate, when friends become colleagues, when yaar-loags become professionals, when Diamonds become Diapers…
