It always amazes me when we see in companies, especially in PSUs contractual people delivers best not the permanent employees. Thanks insecurity, thanks demand constraints in job market (even in skilled one because of the absence of right alignment ) the contract workers or outsourced service personnel always deliver the best possible goods or services. Especially in sectors which work in monopolistic environment has always susceptibility to complacency syndrome and a laze faire atitude in each and everything whether in planning or execution simply eats into its energy or excitement. The most unfortunate thing is that instead of the fact so prevailing that the difference of commitment, creativity between the both (own and outsourced) sometimes so blatantly exhibited whether you are enjoying the best blend of coffee in cafeteria or the full flowering in the garden we just don’t even give a cursory look to these guys in desk, dining room or on how they are performing in their job. It is simply at the six sigma level at some places. In one of such places where corporate training being imparted for quarter century , we have observed while the quality of the knowledge and training gets stagnant if not staggered for long (as expressed by the stakeholders) the service quality just gets evolved to huge extent . Service of food, gardening, copy printing, course material collating or compiling (not the content which got decorated hugely) such other everything outsourced got improved a lot. And any glitches there also(in contracted works) just can be rooted to the inordinate delay or indecisiveness of the company (stuffed with slow coaches anyway) just too evasive in everything they do. It is the very lively case study of explaining that the good work must be credited to the engagement and excitement of the contract labours and the discredit certainly be attributed to the laggard leadership.
While joining any new office, every aspirant have so many things in the mind, what is expected, what is committed, how the people will be and ultimately how the job profiles must be. While consciously we keep on seeking answers for each of these question, subconsciously we just keep scouring for our next icon, the role model, the mentor or Guru who will certainly tute us, train us or tag us with their philosophy. It is not necessary these all process have been instituonalised (although great companies embed the exercise in their system itself), sometimes passively the new incumbent find out its role model over the time, over the year or over the tenure. The search is always there inside you and so also the setback when you do not find anybody as such big personality in your eyes. In Public sector specially where the dragging on the same lines are the norm while crossing or breaking it always faces stiff resistance if not complete rejection, failure to find your future personified in some body or person of your aspiration is simply very disappointing. You may try to console yourself with the appreciation of the better of the lot if not bad of the so many worse choices but they cannot be the best matching with the ideals and norms you set for you especially at the beginning of the career. The most tragic part of it while searching your hero, your disappointment (of not of finding anybody such) will dampen your urge to find anybody and gradually denigrate you to be a seasoned pessimist, cynics if not a pseudo performer anyway. In fact in a company enjoying protection ,preserve, privilege by the Govt whether by default or by design of some hidden agendas (a sustaining cash cow, a money minting monopoly etc.), you will always find the mediocrity rules the roast as this type of company needs the smartest compliance master marshalling the best tricks to manage, manipulate everything to retrofit with the demand regulated and restricted.
Now you just extend your boundary of exploration and expedition. The board room may have despaired you, disappointed you but surely the corner room will not. The reception desk will not. The huge sprawling lawn spreading riots of colour and spawning feast & fusion of vusual pleasure with its leaves ,flowers , trunks so meticulous in organisation will not. Just step outside your office corridor or campus gate you will find a big litany of the people , personality in the different domains life beyond any corporate or company culture normally being roped in to design every case study or derive new management theories…………………. to be contd..