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Kriya Kaleidoscope

February 2019, Issue 2

In this issue of Kriya Kaleidoscope, we sift through some thoughts on making collaboration work based on our experience and discussions we have had with our clients and partners. We also cover an interesting interaction with bright students of a leading engineering college and are excited to share updates about our recently-launched continuous training program, LEAP.

From our eyepiece

Making collaboration work

“For the strength of the wolf is the pack and the strength of the pack is the wolf” - Rudyard Kipling

There is not a single industry or organization in the world - large or small - that would not benefit from collaboration between its teams. Several studies have repeatedly shown that better cross-department and cross-functional cooperation has a direct bearing on the top line and bottom line. It’s good for business. Even if your business is not-for-profit. It also makes for happier employees. And no one disagrees - everyone knows organizations, initiatives, projects succeed when teamwork is seamless. We all want to work together to achieve goals and be key contributors to the overall success of the organization. There are any number of articles, posts and even books on the subject. Yet companies wrestle with making collaboration work effectively.

There are several examples of collaboration in publishing - between Editorial and Publishing, Editorial/Publishing and Sales, Editorial and Production, Production and IT - that have led to benefits for both sets of teams. There are great insights to be gleaned from companies across other industries as well. Most of these companies share some common attributes and get the following things right. They -

1) Start at the top
2) Provide mechanisms for it to work all the way through execution
3) Formalize but also keep it informal
4) Step into each other’s shoes
5) Know how much is too much

Read the full article here.

In the mirror

Engagement with future talent pool

Sowmya addressing the students during the Industry-Institute Interaction event

Exeter engages with graduate colleges in and around Chennai, India as part of its campus initiatives. Sowmya Mahadevan, COO of Exeter, was invited as Chief Guest to address students of Excel Group Institutions on February 9, 2019. The Excel Group, affiliated to the Anna University, was established in 2006 and runs several graduate and post-graduate programs in engineering, technology and business among others. The interaction was part of their “Campus to Corporate” initiative in which CxOs, technocrats, senior line managers of global organizations are invited to educate students on prevailing industry trends and expectations that companies have from graduates. Sowmya spoke about the soft skills companies look for apart from technical or domain skills and provided specific tips on the ways in which aspirants could increase their preparedness for interviews. It was an insightful session with great audience participation.

Excel Engineering College, Namakkal

Are you ready to LEAP?

February marks the completion of three months of Learn Excel Accelerate Perform (LEAP), Exeter’s continuous training program aimed at enabling employees tap their full potential.

LEAP includes online courses, in-class interactive sessions, product demo training and fun-learning activities that cover a gamut of soft skills skill areas such as communication and leadership development, apart from technical or project management skills. The courses are a formalization of existing ad-hoc, need-based training sessions that were underway and is structured as a multi-level continuous training program with focused learning goals. Associates receive course completion certificates after a formal evaluation.

This is a concerted effort to proactively move towards a role-based training format and being future-focused (cross-skill/up-skill associates for stretch roles). Exeter is committed to employee growth and the objective of LEAP is to help our associates scale up their performance and groom themselves for future opportunities.

Will we see you at the London Book Fair 2019? We are at Stand 3A60 and would be happy to connect with you. Contact us to set up a meeting.