Dhanisha Paul, Director – Delivery at Sysco LABS Sri Lanka, discusses what it means to put employees first and why that makes good business sense. What is needed is to provide them with the resources, authority, opportunity, and motivation to do their work, as well as holding them accountable for their actions, which will in turn make employees happier and more proficient, she says.
Why is it important to invest back into people and empower them to be the best they can be, especially now during this pandemic when businesses are focused on survival?
Burn out is real. When asked the question “How are you?”, and deeper beyond obligatory answers like “I am fine” or “I am managing through it,” a deeper level of challenges emerges: “I am overwhelmed and lonely,” “I’m struggling to manage,” etc. These experiences go beyond anecdotes: 75% of employees in the U.S and close to a third in the Asia–Pacific region report symptoms of burnout with European nations reporting increasing levels of pandemic fatigue in their populations. It is extremely important now more than ever before to be cognizant of an ‘employees first’ approach.
Global trends were turning the old rules of industrial-age management on their heads, introducing new, human-centered principles that truly put talent and people at the heart of organizational success. Most importantly, companies are waking up to the need for greater empathy and compassion to create workplaces that can unleash the full potential of their people beyond the crisis.
Forbes states that empowered employees are 67% more willing to put in extra effort on the job. To empower our people, we need to provide them with the resources, authority, opportunity, and motivation to do their work, as well as holding them accountable for their actions, which will in turn make employees happier and more proficient.
How should you invest in people? What does it mean to empower them to be the best they can be in the context of building a career in the Tech industry?
From on-boarding to integration, it helps to expose new recruits to several well-structured learning opportunities ranging from tech and soft skills to insight into corporate culture. It also helps to invest in enhancing soft skills like leadership, communication, creativity, critical thinking etc. by identifying skill gaps pro-actively and offering professional coaching sessions as well as opportunities to test out these skills like clubs and societies that enhance collaboration outside a purely work context. To me, ‘success’ is when opportunity meets preparation, and by being a part of Sysco – the world’s largest foodservice company, we offer unlimited opportunities where preparation is the key to success. By empowering your teams, you inevitably drive them towards success.
How can a company benefit from such initiatives?
Organizations with leaders who empower others are four times more likely to make good decisions than those who do not. Empowered employees are also more engaged, work harder, and are more loyal to the company with delegated decisions typically delivering faster, better, and more efficiently executed outcomes. This can help companies to retain top talent and deliver solutions faster with better quality.
What are the challenges to sustaining this level of commitment to people?
It requires planning and consistency. For this, some of these practices must be built into policies and processes within the organization which could be time consuming. Regular checkins help to ensure calculated risks are taken when decision making is done by delegates. Most importantly, one needs to continuously trust that the team will make the best decisions. Advice and step-in where necessary but go in as a team – win or lose.
At a time when the focus seems to be on effective leadership, why is ethical leadership important? How can ethical leadership lead to growth?
“Ethical leadership is knowing your core values and having the courage to live them in all parts of your life in service of the common good”. An ethical leader works to create an open conversation/working practice, that encourages the sharing of ideas, knowledge, and vision so that learnings are shared.
The leader must also compel others to follow the lead that they set by how they live, influence, and inspire. This automatically drives the organization to strive for the same goal, embodying the same purpose, values, and vision. This becomes the icing on the cake of effective leadership.
Sysco LABS has given me the opportunity to build a workplace community in which employees can be trusted to do their jobs without being micromanaged. Setting an inspiring example and laying the groundwork for a self-motivated team will save a great deal of time and money eventually. The end goal should be for the team to feel valued, comfortable, and inspired to be their best selves.
What is the legacy you want to build for the company, and how will it ensure growth?
I strongly believe in the saying by Winston Churchill, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” To me, my role is an opportunity to give back, to work on empowering my teams so that they are well geared to step up when opportunities occur.
I want to instill in them the value of continuous learning, so they are continuously being challenged. I set the bar high, so that teams always nearly out-perform in whatever they do. I strive to do my best to inspire the best in them which paves the way for growth in all aspects of an individual.
About Dhanisha Paul
Dhanisha is Director – Delivery at Sysco LABS Sri Lanka and has over 14 years of experience in the field of Information Technology having been involved in Business Analysis, Project/Program Management, and IT consulting. She holds a Degree in Information Technology and Business Administration from the University of Keele (UK)