Monday, August 29, 2011

Green HR

Modern day organizations are becoming environment conscious and adopting thinking green initiatives; environment management is being included in business operations. Green initiatives are practices that help in natural resource conservation by reduction in usage of raw material, energy and water or elimination of pollutants. Thus reducing employee carbon footprints. Green HR involves two elements: environment friendly HR practices and the preservation of knowledge capital.

It is done as promoting and implementing – ‘Going digital’ by using teleconference or videoconference, virtual interviews, virtual training, printing less paper. Also, it includes recycling, reusing resources, car-pooling, energy efficient office, sapling plantation, etc. Green HR is about retaining, recalling, preserving, and growing talent, therefore reducing and/or eliminating workplace inefficiency. Along with creating a more efficient workplace, retaining knowledge capital forces employers to properly evaluate their staff and look for the best options available. HR efforts on the same include increasing process efficiency, revamping HR procedures and tools. A lot of HR processes need bulk paper documentation; hence it adds cost and challenges the green initiative. Organizations should adopt online applications as online attendance and leave record, employee personal data, online pay slips, online assert and manpower requisition, travel plan, team reports, PF details, Form 16 etc.

Green ideas and concepts are commencing to grow in HR domain, acting as add on to sustainability-based initiatives. Tangible benefits of Green practices are - contribution to environment, employee education and awareness, brand image of company, improve productivity and efficiency.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Mitch Albom's ''The five people you meet in heaven"- Book review

From the author of bestseller ‘Tuesday with Morrie’ Mitch Albom, ‘The five people you meet in heaven’ gives an idea that heaven is more than the story told with floating clouds and white angels, and unforeseen life connections.

Eddie, an old wounded World War II veteran living an uninspired life. He works at an amusement park as maintenance man. On his 83rd birthday he died in a horrible accident while saving a little girl. He wakes in his afterlife and find himself traveling with five people to reach his heaven. Here, heaven is not the same place for all souls; heaven is also not the destination.

Eddie meet five people at their heaven; he knew some of them, some were unknown but have connection in his life. He met them one by one from his childhood till old age; together they revisited earth and Eddie learns something new about himself, significance of their encounters and life. He is enlighten by to his own worth and value of his life.



The story gives insights about life, love, sacrifice, human connection but at times emotions are forced, as a reader might feel emotionally manipulated by different five characters. The book had aimed to reach a message of humanity with simple story in afterlife.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Happy Independence Day!!

Happy 65th Independence Day India!!!


After uncountable known and unsung heroes sacrificed for the future of country we got this freedom. Our military, police and similar organizations still fight to maintain that freedom. But are we really free, do we know what freedom is?

How can we be free in a country divided by caste, inequality, injustice, fear and terror?

A country where an infant girl still doesn’t have right to birth; where a girl still doesn’t have freedom to live with honor; where honor killings exist; how free is that country?

64 years back our freedom fighters freed the land from foreign rule and gave us the base to recreate the golden bird. We are still a young country and racing fast to development, but as we develop we are gradually missing out important and necessary segments to develop. We still lack the basic medical and education facilities. There are many untold and unknown barriers against freedom. I feel it is a pity as every second Indian blames only the governing bodies for any problem and issue faced is it a pothole in road or garbage overflow from any dustbin or any other (starting from the minimal).

Freedom is not free; we have paid for it and must bear the responsibility for it.
Take account of your responsibility and create a better tomorrow.

Again, Happy Independence Day!!

Friday, July 29, 2011

My march as I pave my road...

It is going to be a month soon. I finally started a new step to do my post graduation.


I was a software engineer working in a SWITCH company, realized am missing a lot in my life and my journey to discover me started as in here. For almost a year I converted as a homemaker, HR blog reader: D, learnt new cuisines, read more than 50 books I always wanted to read, watched all the movies I always wanted to, earned online, started reading and following fashion blogs, painted again as here and decided what I want from my life.

This post is to unleash the words hold tight for so long. I decided to become a person, who would drive an organization, grow with it and help it to grow more. I decided to be a HR. I fall for it, more than my last love for coding and Oracle but it ended soon. So, to be sure that it is not going to be a just another encounter I networked and read about people in the field.



When I became more than 200% sure this is the thing I want to be in, I joined my current alma mater Madras School of Social Work, Chennai. Now I want to be a superstar HR.

Hope I can contribute my 2 cents here.

Wish me luck!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Innocent Smiles @ Bala Vihar

Have you ever seen the blissful smile of new parents? Have you ever realized the satisfaction and love of your parents when you smiled, giggled, spoke, walked and reacted for the first time? Many might have already experienced those feelings. They can understand its difficult to express all those emotional arouses in 2-3 words.
Today I felt am lucky enough to be born this way, I can speak, express and communicate to people. I am independent (how you read on..), I can understand and respond. You might be wondering why am penning these stuffs. I can get it. Today I was privileged to meet some beautiful souls at ‘Bala Vihar’.
Bala Vihar, a unit of Guild of Service is the home for special persons (mentally challenged but very special). Bala Vihar was born in 1953 and has come long way to care, protect and rehab special children and adults. It had a humble beginning with 5 residential students. Today they have 350+ special people with them, children till the age of 18-years stay at the Kilpauk wing and adults at Veppamputtu.
I have been to their Kilpauk branch today and met children who addressed us (class participation) as ‘Akka’ or ‘Anna’. They have the most innocent pair of eye ever seen. Many children came forward to interact with us, smiled beautifully and greeted us.



Those children were either born with it, or suffer Down syndrome and/or other causes. Their IQ is below 70. People suffer from severe mental retardation are unable to their daily routines independently. Such persons need extensive care and support through out their life. Here at Bala Vihar children are taught about daily living skills like getting dressed, using washroom, etc.
At Bala Vihar, they train children (residential and day-scholars) in self-help skills, socialization skills i.e. communication and interaction, basic academics and hygiene. They also provide rehab programs as physiotherapy, speech therapy, vocational training, etc at very reasonable fees. They quote their achievements as the pass-out students who have been rehabilitated and have become independent workers earning a comfortable livelihood.

Now, you (readers) can understand how privileged we are to be independent, have our own view and express it amongst million other benefits and advantages. I feel we owe them and society the “privilege of being us” and need to pay it back.

You can help Bala Vihar here contribute.