Hire for values and train for skills:
Sagar Vishwas, the founder and CEO of MyGrowthZone (MGZ Edutech Pvt. Ltd) believes that by following this mantra, one can develop long-term partnerships and valuable human resources. Says Sudha Bonsor (Director Sales & Business Development), “I came with no background in Sales and when there was a need for one of us to take up that role, I reluctantly pitched in. I was given 3 months, some training, an external coach and a lot of support to grow into the role.” Sagar says, “Sudha has shown great alignment with our values and purpose and has learnt many new skills. In the time it would have taken us to hire an experienced salesperson, she actually put several sales skills into practice.” He says that skills are measurable and easier to be taught than values, which are deep-rooted and difficult to measure. An assessment may give pointers to but no accurate map of one’s value system and beliefs.
Diversity and Inclusion:
Co-Founder Rama Sarode believes having inclusion and diversity as a core ethic helped MGZ in getting a more rounded perspective on their market and develop products that appeal to a larger, diverse audience.
Jokes Rama, “For us, gender diversity at the workspace means hiring more men”. As a hiring policy, MGZ looks for people with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. “While we don’t have a very large team yet, we have hired employees with diverse backgrounds, even interns from different countries.”, adds Sagar. Having an informal work environment where no one is addressed as ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’, yet respecting each other and even being friends - have all helped in creating an environment of trust, high performance with the right amount of motivating stress at MGZ.
Engagement through Empathy:
“Being a training and coaching company with deep specialization in Neuro Linguistic Programming for business, mBraining and positive psychology, we understood that each one of us has unique patterns of processing information, emotions and communication,” says Sagar. “By flexing our communication style, according to the patterns of our partners, we have been able to build a deep rapport with and empathy for each other,” he adds. Sagar believes that by simply taking a little effort to understand if the team member you are working with is motivated toward pleasure or away from pain, is a big-picture or a detailed-oriented person, a black and white or continuum person, the way they make decisions, the way they prefer to learn and several finer, unique unconscious patterns, you connect with them deeply, minimize gaps in understanding and promote a very healthy growth environment.
In times of high attrition, low employee engagement and productivity, these approaches come as a beacon of hope for companies looking for excellence and growth.
Disclaimer: No Deccan Chronicle journalist was involved in creating this content. The group also takes no responsibility for this content.
