The Fun @work concept should
be seriously implemented-especially
if you ‘are working round the clock
says PRAVEEN KANKARIYA
Do you agree with the statement that IT guys are nerds? A description
that includes the entire IT work force that stays late in office,
gating at their computer screens, systems requirements and struggling
to complete projects! According to recent research more than
70 percent of the IT work forces is
between the ages of 25-35 years. Is
this the age when people are supposed
to work so hard and be so over-engrossed
in work? Isn’t this also the age
when one is supposed to enjoy life?
All work and no play makes Jack a dull
boy or so the saying goes.
For people who spend more than 50 percent
of their time in office it‘s probably
only fair to think in terms of two homes,
and not one office and one home. You
get up early in the morning and rush
to your workplace (err-second home)
with a lot of zeal and vigour and you
look forward to your day at work with
genuine enthusiasm.
What do some well-known names in the
IT industry do to achieve this Happy
of fice status? They devote crores of
rupees and lost of valuable time motivating
their employees through standard book
based HR initiatives, often a bit too
the critical Is it work satisfaction
that they are hoping to develop thorough
their schemes and policies ? Or is it
the creation of a better work place
experience says that most such piecemeal
initiate offer adhoc reprieve They do
not address the real problem.
What is really needed is a work place
that is as comfortable fair and honest.
Untouched by wasted energies like ego
boss culture prejudices etc. The employee
should not only feel-good about the
company but also bond with the work
place. Thus an ideal work place would
be one where a person can truly enjoy
work and keep working.
The next big question is how to create
such a work place? Definitely Fun@work
first needs buy in from senior managers
and project leaders who manage and mentor
teams Fun @work requires a special role
to be played by leader—to create
a platform to grow to talk and to have
fun to support and to have fun to support
and to handle things that cannot be
defined in terms of normal project management
roles and responsibilities.
We have a live example of such a workplace
where our above hypothesis has perfectly
matched its implementation. The team
in question has grown from a size of
four to 23 people in roughly 16-18 months
working on complex telecom domain assignments
involving technologies like Java XML
and EDI etc. It is not just the teams
‘s success or the project that
is exemplary here –it is the fact
that this growth has been achieved with
complete teams involvement Each team
member is a very effectives and voluble
contributor The team has maintained
more then 90 percent employee retention
and has been able to meet all project
objectives consistently.
You would probably say that‘s
okay what‘s the big deal here every
professional teams is expected to perform.
Very true but what is distinctive here
is that the team members love their
work they simple own it what should
be highlighted here is not the good
performance of the team but how motivated
team members are which makes them burn
the midnight oil to complete crucial
client deliveries on time. The atmosphere
within the teams is very lively and
conductive enabling everyone to contribute
to the maximum here are some ideas that
have worked for them however bizarre
they might first sound:
. They
run the concept of owners-i.e. task-based
leads Each person in the team once mature
with the product is given the responsibility
of executing a complete task/module
with a group of people supporting the
development virtually, he/she is the
lead of that module. This happens in
rotation. This way it gives a chance
for everyone to own something----
And therein lies the secret of the teams‘s
success. Responsibility breeds confidence
which gives zeal and motivation to work.
. More
then 70 percent of the teams has an
experience level of two-there years.
The team is able to capitalize on the
young minds to deliver fresh new ideas
and implementation concepts.
. They
are all party animals. They have parties
at least once a week thrown by team
members themselves reason or no reason.
. They
are all food-crazy, so when something
comes on the table to eat they all fight
like kids!
.
People respect each other discuss argue
object—but do no not act high-handed.
.
Every team member believes and knows
that he is an important contributor
to the overall effort All team members
synergies to deliver the maximum productivity
and there is implicit trust among them.
. The
team is so motivated they share the
tasks of other team’s members often
willingly. This pooling in of efforts
develops a sense of sharing and together
ness
A balance between professional competitiveness
and personal empathy has been achieved.
The concept of a second home at work
basically boils down to effective team
building aided by the creation of an
open work environment and a space to
grow and learn. Employing different
creative measure and the presence of
a lead to mentor all the effort is critical
as is genuine caring and concern for
an employees ‘s well-being Similar
initiatives implemented well. Can generate
other success stories making the workplace
a home away from home.
The author is
president & CEO of Impetus Technologies.