Expert  Advice on Learning and Development  is now just a click away….

 As a part of our continual efforts to “Advance the HR Profession” in 2011,  we are pleased to launch a unique privilege for our Members - Access to the SHRM India Knowledge Center!

The Knowledge Center offers you easy access to expert HR advice via email!  This is enabled through a powerful combine of a) on line HR Advisory Panels comprising Subject Matter Experts from the Industry, Academic and Consulting spheres and b) full time SHRM Knowledge Advisors.  These virtual panels constituted across various HR disciplines will help guide you through both current and future HR challenges that you may face.

In March 2011, we will be launching the Panel on Learning and Development only. For this entire month, you can write in with your queries via email and tap the vast experience and insights of our experts on the following and more!

1. How to design an effective L&D Strategy?
2. What are the key drivers for building a learning organization?
3. Can you suggest a framework for undertaking an organization wide Training Needs Analysis
4. What are the key elements in a robust Learning Design?
5. How to select the appropriate learning methods?
6. How to effectively evaluate learning effectiveness and ROI?
7. What are some of the Best and Next Practices in Learning and Development?

In addition, our website will host valuable content on Learning and Development. This will include in-depth SHRM articles and research as well as user friendly and relevant tools such as FAQs, Sample Forms, Templates and How-to Guides. 

Our Panel of Experts:
 
Joseph George A, General Manager, Corporate HRD, Wipro Corp.
Joseph heads the Customized Interventions practice at Wipro Corp. He has earlier worked in the Employee Development Group in Wipro Infotech. His primary areas of expertise include High Potential Leaders’ Development, Change Management Interventions, People Process Capability Consulting, Assessment / Development Centres,  Research and development in Behavioral Science areas within WIPRO and for its clients.
He has spent seven years in Line HR Roles at BILT, Blue Dart Express and Spaco Carburettors.  Joseph brings with him a rich combination of academic, consulting and Line HR experiences.  During his career span, Joseph has driven several large-scale, long-range change management projects ranging from internal corporate governance facilitation to responsible hand-over in change projects. He has hands on knowledge and expertise in Parallel Organization based structural mechanisms and related change processes, from both change agent and practitioner angles.
Joseph has completed his Ph.D. Thesis on the Evaluation of OD Based Change (2005) from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai and M. Phil. in Social Sciences from the same institute in 2000. He is also trained as an internal PCMM Assessor (QAI), MBTI Qualified Practitioner from American Psychologists Association and has several certifications to his credit.

What’s Next in Learning and Development: Reflections of a Practitioner

By Dr. A Joseph George

This article explores answers to the question - What could be defined as ‘next’ in Learning and Development in India?

Read more»

Sujaya Banerjee, Chief Learning Officer, Essar Group
In her current role, Sujaya oversees Learning and Organizational Development for the multinational conglomerate. She started her career with leading FMCG company Godrej Soaps Ltd and later took a sabbatical to participate in Rotary International scholarship that took her to Brazil and the United States. During this stint, she had the opportunity to participate in internship projects at organizations such as Nestle, Dupont, Volks Wagon and General Motors. She joined Abu Dhabi National Oil Company as Head of HR in 1993 and was responsible for setting up several development initiatives.
On her return to India, she joined Lowe Lintas & Partners, as Sr. Vice-President, HRD and Personnel. She was also responsible for setting up Northpoint Centre of Learning. She later moved back to the Oil & Gas Industry as Director, Human Resources at British Gas in India. During her career Sujaya has won several awards for her work including the ‘HRD Achiever of the Year’ Award for 2001, ‘HR Leadership Award’ at the Employer Branding Awards 2008 and the HR Youth Icon Award for 2009.
Sujaya has an MBA with a specialization in Human Resources and holds a Doctorate in Organization Development and Performance Management.

Atul Mathur, Director, Outbound Management Consulting
Atul has over 14 years experience in coaching and development training and about 20 years in the corporate sector in Mumbai before that. His primary areas of expertise are design and delivery of personal development, team building, leadership and OD intervention programmes at different levels of management. He is currently in the midst of an intervention with the top management of the research division of a large automobile company. The project involves aligning the top team to a common vision and enabling them to create their own milestones.
He has worked with some of India’s largest companies and delivered programmes locally as well as abroad. His experience spans industries and business sectors and covers people from director / senior executive level to graduate trainees. Lately, he has been actively involved with the social sector. Atul is a Certified Organisation Development practitioner from NTL, USA, Practitioner MBTI® - Qualified with OPP including Step II and several other certifications.

Reflexivity and Leadership

By Atul Mathur

In traditional Indian thought, the reflexive journey is no different from the spiritual quest. Must leaders therefore be spiritual seekers as well? This article explores these ideas and how they could be put into practice.
Read more»

Leslie D’Souza, Chairman & Managing Director of PrePearl Training Development Pvt. Ltd. and Partner, Grid International Inc. 
Leslie has consulted with a cross-section of industries in India and abroad. He has personally worked on assignments with Dr. Robert Blake, the founder of the Grid Theory. He has also been a part of the core team for the redesign of the Leadership Grid book ‘The Power to Change’, the Leadership Grid Seminar, as well as for the Building Spectacular Teams design. He is currently on the Technical Advisory Team for Grid designs of Grid International Inc. He represents Belbin Associates, UK in India and is the only India-based Belbin Accreditation course provider. He has been a behavioural expert resource person for McKinsey Consultants in India.  He is an Executive Coach to business leaders and managers.
A post graduate in Management from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Leslie has over 30 years of experience in the field of Human Resources & Organizational Development. He was CEO of Ion Exchange Training Resources for 6 years. He was a faculty member for the full-time MMS and the Post Graduate Diploma Course at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies for five years. Leslie is a member of Institute of Management Consultants India and The Association of Psychological Types USA.  

Shyam Viswanathan, consultant and Executive Director (Strategic Initiatives) at the School of Inspired Leadership, Gurgaon.
Shyam has 29 years of experience in configuring and delivering solutions to large corporations in India, W. Europe, Asia Pacific as well as the United States in areas as diverse as Process Design, Knowledge Management and Technology Based Training.  Shyam has consulted and taught in the areas of Strategy, Leadership, Change Management, Personal Effectiveness and High Performance Team Building.
In the past, Shyam has been the Dean of Executive Education at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. He has led the design and delivery of Leadership Development initiatives for more than 50 different organizations in the United States, Europe and Asia. Apart from having been on the Board of Directors of organizations based in India and the United States – Shyam is also on the Advisory Board of pioneering institutions such as the School of Inspired Leadership and the School for Leadership Excellence.
A graduate in Electrical Engineering, Shyam also has an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies of Delhi University.

Simran Oberoi, Knowledge Advisor, SHRM India
Simran has 7.5 years of experience in Human Resource advisory services with consulting firms such as Hewitt Associates,PricewaterhouseCoopers and Hay Group in the following areas, Rewards, Job Mapping and Sizing, Organization Restructuring, Capacity Building & Training. Prior to that she has worked in an Corporate HR in the areas Talent Management and Competency frameworks. She has worked across Asia Pacific in her last role, to implement the Rewards Information Services’ sector strategy and partner on regional rewards assignments.

Simran is accredited on the Hay Job Evaluation and Mapping and has undergone Leadership Development programs such as Managing Motivation for Performance Improvement by Hay Group. She has also published articles with HR journals in the areas of Talent Challenges and Rewards. 

Resources 
SHRM Foundation’s Effective Practice Guidelines Series
Learning System Design: A Guide to Creating Effective Learning Initiatives