The Shape of Work
The Shape of Work
#106: 'HR gone missing' - Sandip Maiti on team building, employer brand, and employee happiness index
On this episode of The Shape of Work podcast, we speak with Sandip Maiti, Founder & CEO of Experience Commerce, which brings digital business, brand comm and media & marketing to major brands like Ambuja, Castrol and Adani Wilmer.
Having been in the industry for 28 years and worked with brands such as Zycus and ControlSoft to head their marketing, Sandip knows a thing or two about building and leading a team of creative thinkers.
In this episode, we discuss with Sandip:
- Give your team wings to fly: tips on effective team building
- Setting up the right values for your employer brand
- Their ‘HR gone missing’ campaign
- The importance of town halls and 1-on-1
- Being global at heart: rules of being a global brand
- Simple ways to ensure team effectiveness
- His views on the happiness index of the employees: living an analog life
Effective team building tips
An effective team is better at collaboration and problem-solving. It is necessary to give the team members wings to fly to come out with original ideas. Some practical ways in which Sandip Maiti’s organization Experience Commerce implements effective team building are:
- The managers try to listen to suggestions put forth by every team member actively. A different idea can arise from anywhere and be a hit in the future.
- Encourage team members to pursue innovative ideas. Financial and emotional support is crucial in the starting stages of innovation.
- Top management follows a risk-taking path and takes ownership of the outcomes.
2. Ways to create a global brand and attract top talents
To become a global brand, you need to communicate your brand values effectively. In addition, you also need to embrace the global culture. This cultural integration is brought about by letting go of biased beliefs and being open to change.
Word of mouth plays a significant role in brand perception. If employees are happy with your brand, they will talk about you to their family and friends. Hence, the entire leadership must take responsibility for employee dissatisfaction.
3. The importance of 1-on-1s and tracking employee performance
Tracking and measuring employee performance is crucial to boost workplace productivity. Sandip Maiti opines that he has tried out various mechanisms to smoothen the hiring process. But, it is always difficult to hire top performers. For example, a candidate may perform well in the interview but underperform after joining the organization. Hence, the best way to track performance is through 1-on-1 reviews and definite key performance indices (KPIs).
KPIs give a clear idea of qualitative analysis of work. Employees can set goals on what they want to achieve in a quarter. At the end of the quarter, they can see if the objectives are achieved. Similarly, Sandip Maiti also encourages quarterly 1-on-1 reviews in his organization. Managers give detailed feedback on the performance of employees and help them improve.
4. How to measure employee happiness
Sandip Maiti feels that happiness is something that must come from within due to inner peace. We all are used to leading a digital life with a constant social media presence. Also, there is much obsession about social approval of posts.
Follow Sandip on LinkedIn, Twitter and Medium
Produced by: Priya Bhatt
Podcast host: Yashwanth Jembige