1. Master Template

Do you remember kaizen? A concept and management approach that took the world by storm in the early nineties reigned for about a decade and then bowed out to make space for what we call the ‘reboot and rehash’ principles of the hi-tech era. More on the ‘reboot and rehash’ later....

Practical HR: Small changes. Big Impact

Do you remember kaizen? A concept and management approach that took the world by storm in the early nineties reigned for about a decade and then bowed out to make space for what we call the ‘reboot and rehash’ principles of the hi-tech era. More on the ‘reboot and rehash’ later....

What Do Airbnb & Popcorn Have In Common!

This blog post is inspired by a podcast called ‘Masters of Scale’. In one episode we have Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn fame interviewing the Co-Founder & CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky. Brian opens with the concept of designing a 7-star experience, which he then stretches to 11. His submission –...

Employee Experience 101

Since time immemorial, the term ‘customer delight’ has been used in many board room discussions. The focus of ‘experience’ and ‘delight’ has always been the customer, seldom, the employee. This changed, to an extent, in the early 2000s when businesses began pursuing ‘employee satisfaction’. At the turn of the decade,...

Uber Cool ‘Rommel’

Early morning on any given workday could mean only one thing. Work sling bag on left shoulder and overnighter on the other, I make a beeline to the airport. For those who groan about the Bangalore traffic, the silver lining of departing at sunrise is the heady feeling of zipping...

Recruiting, the IKEA way!

More often than not, the best ways to get eyeballs is to break the script or format. be it with your customers or your talent pool. IKEA Australia did just that! They mimicked their classic and famous assembly instructions to, well create a set of ‘career instructions’. Inside every package...

What’s the buzz ?

Terms like ‘Employer Branding’, ‘Employer of choice’, ‘Preferred employer’ keep flowing in and out of discussion rooms.  The game remains the same – play the slot machine on campus, or spread the love with inhabitants of the company. It’s the ammunition that’s changed … Earlier, the strength of your corporate...

Look out, here comes the Employer Brand task force!

The traditional rulebook says that Employee Engagement must sit with the Human Resources department whereas the Marketing team is the custodian of the corporate brand. But when the two become inevitably linked in the realm of Employer Branding, who takes charge? The core of your Employer Brand is your people,...

The B-Schooler’s love affair with Campus Competitions!

Classes, assignments, surprise tests, pre-placement talks & competitions – A typical day at a premium Business School in India. The life of a B-School student is one about bringing order into the topsy-turvy and creating masterpieces out of the abstract. The student’s need to be adept at juggling multiple activities...

Back of the envelope Employer Brand Metrics

A familiar setting for Carpediem – The branding company in Bangalore – warming up in the board-room of a client company in anticipation of the Management Committee trooping in. The agenda: a first glimpse of the Employer Brand identity we’ve painstakingly crafted. The saints come marching in, each gracing their usual...

Cart before the horse

The classical approach to Employer Branding suggests that you: a)     Nail down your Employee Value propositions (EVPs) b)     List out touch points for employees and potential talent c)     Cement the EVPs at each touch point through bringing to life relevant ‘experiences’   Mission accomplished! A current conversation we are having with a company that seeks...

Back to basics with CEAT

We’re entering an era where ‘Recruitment Marketing’ is beginning to make its presence across channels, particularly billboards to localize communication within catchment areas. In rides CEAT with a smart, contemporary and bold clutter breaking communication. A few reflections curated from the Carpediem team … One idea, one film: While learning the marketing...

“Know the enemy”

The title of this ‘Green Day’ song seems fitting; ‘the enemy’ alludes to a company’s competitor for talent When embarking on an exercise to define one’s Employer Brand and articulate Employee Value propositions (EVP’s), it’s imperative to understand who your competitors are and what talent pools think about them. While recruiting fresh...

In every way the Apple of my eye

An “Apple” video positioning the company as a place to work was being discussed on one of the LinkedIn groups a while ago. For a moment the members seemed to have forgotten that was a recruitment ad as comments were abundantly eulogizing the company products; in other words, their experiences...

Hail a new breed of Employer Brand torchbearers

A research report once published by Brett Minchington titled ‘The rise of Employer Brand Leadership’ reveals that the employer brand is presently vested in a diverse set of functions ranging from HR to Marketing, Communications to the Executive team”. The study validates something that we’ve seen increasingly in India; the role...

Marketing your organization – Good Morning HR

The world of marketing today bombards me more than ever with terms such as customer service, brand equity, customer delight, differentiated and superior value to customers and consumers. In an increasingly competitive market, they say, these are mantras for a company to succeed and the era that places a premium...

When Brand is a bad word

In the umpteen conversations we have had with businessmen, with many, one thing stands out. For them, building a brand is inconsequential to business success. Who then are these people, who refrain from entertaining us as we attempt to woo them with the dream of creating a formidable brand? Picture...

HR tech basics: Tooling around

New is perhaps an inaccurate adjective for technology. Technology has, in this millennium, transformed lives young and old, rich and poor, man, woman, and beast, the world over. So what’s happening in the world of HR tech? A lot. Of activity. Not much impact. Yet. In his interview with diginomica.com...

Practical HR: Small changes. Big Impact

Do you remember kaizen? A concept and management approach that took the world by storm in the early nineties reigned for about a decade and then bowed out to make space for what we call the ‘reboot and rehash’ principles of the hi-tech era. More on the ‘reboot and rehash’ later....

In search of a purpose

Clarity precedes success – Robin Sharma "What do you want? Let us discuss an area that you would want to work on?” How often have you asked your client, only to get a blank stare accompanied by a helpless admission – “I don’t know.” This is a typical interaction that...

I Promise

“I take you to be my wedded …… and so throughout life, no matter what may lie ahead of us, I pledge to you my life as a loving and faithful …”. Irrespective of the language you have taken or are likely to take the marital vows in the foreseeable...

Building Sales muscle in Distributive trade

The territory split between Sales and Marketing has been traditionally defined to be: Marketing fuels consumer demand and Sales get the product to the point of purchase. Of late sales organizations have also taken on the mantle of not just reaching the product to the dealer or retailer, but also...

Different Strokes

Have you ever been in this situation? You and your significant other have the time and space to plan a long-awaited getaway together. Your mind breaks free and you begin to dream. You want to go sit on a beach and sip cocktails or go trekking through the Andes while...

A chink in the armor

‘It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important’, epitomizes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A few days back, in deep discussion with a business acquaintance on Leadership transitions, suddenly emerged a ‘aha’ moment. Picture this … A team has been working with...