Kuldip Maity

In my last blog, I mentioned that we shall discuss how to measure social capital and tips and tricks for improving the social capital of an organization. Let me start by mentioning that when it comes to dealing with humans, nothing can be written in stone. Every organization and its members are unique and, therefore, all that we discuss needs to be changed in alignment with the context.

Coming back to monitoring social capital, we may want to break it down into different aspects. I am also trying to cite a few instances for a better explanation of the concepts.

1) Teamwork: Outcomes must be judged collectively with less importance given to individual charisma. At an organizational level, this may be monitored by including different members in project teams, rather than repeating the same combination. While there might be performance dips initially, in long term, this may be more beneficial typically in countering attrition and bringing in innovations.

2) Mutual Trust: The environment should nurture cohesion and the priorities of the organization should be put above individual aspirations. Abrupt changes in leadership in high-visibility projects may be the best way to nurture mutual trust. How easily the leader hands over the responsibility showcases the level of trust, while the reciprocating acknowledgment of the contributions of the former leader builds the foundation for the future.

3) Collaboration: Teams need to collaborate and remain creative. Team members need to support each other by sharing workloads and giving advice to others, even if it is not directly beneficial to the advisor. This happens when the members have a social connection with each other. During the pandemic, we have learned that when times are hard, colleagues stand for each other even in personal lives. After all, we spend a substantial part of our day interacting at the workplace.

4) Diversity: A positive work environment is an office where employees make each other laugh and enjoy working, rather than thinking of it as a task. Employees are more likely to stay in a company where they have friends at work. Gone are the days when sudden bursts of fun and frolic were taken as signs of insubordination. These breaks are rejuvenating and increase productivity.

5) Communication: None of the above will be possible without an environment of open and transparent communication. An organization must create opportunities for team members to engage in casual conversations, about work or personal/social life. But we also need to be respectful of the fact that not everyone wants to share their secrets with all. I have seen many managers engaging in coercive tactics, taking open communication as a task rather than in spirit. Shy and socially introverted members can also be great performers.

To monitor the above points, we need to implement a system that captures activities at a granular level, while creating an environment where employees do not hesitate to capture breaks or water cooler talks. It is easier said than done, as we have always lived in a culture of serious monitoring activities and a casual approach toward work has always been looked down upon. If we reprimand those who want to smile, even when executing serious projects, it will take a long time to build the social capital we have been discussing.

The ultimate loss is of the organization.

While watching a soccer match a couple of days back, a friend criticized the coach for not including the ace performer of the last season in the team. While his passion is understandable, I could not help but remind him of the number of sitters the player had missed trying to score himself and not passing it to the team member who was in a better position to score.

That brought to mind the topic of social capital.

Social capital refers to the holistic environment that enables collective action in any collective group, even a business organization. It encompasses the culture, relationships, and processes that shape the social interactions of the organization. There is increasing evidence to prove that social capital is critical for businesses to prosper and grow sustainably. That is because, if nurtured well, social capital enhances the capability of the company as a whole where the team members cross-subsidize each other’s shortcomings and work together towards a common goal in cohesion.

Social capital is the factor that determines why teams with similar skill profiles have different productivity, one more than the other. It is the job of the leaders and top management to nurture an environment where camaraderie is rewarded more than individual performance.

The job is easier said than achieved as there is no easy way or standard process definition to implement for enhancing social capital. From personal experience, I can say that all this has to be made a part of the overall culture of the organization, rather than having team-building events or motivational speakers coming in at random times with their pep talks. I am not saying that these do not work. But the task does not end with organizing these events.

Gone are the days when organizations would give individual targets to achieve, in isolation, and rewards the top achievers. You will always miss out on the mentor who might not have made his/her targets but supported several team members to achieve theirs. It is a blunder to promote individual go-getters to managerial positions unless we see skills of mentorship in them.

The culture of the organization should ensure that all members of the team work together to address their common needs through increased transparency and joint accountability, thus ensuring greater inclusion and cohesion. The role of any leader is to establish an environment that promotes such positive behaviour in the team, even in times of conflict resolution and competition. If done right the team will soon become self-sustaining and oriented toward the organization's mission.

But all this has to be done subtly, so as not to lose the ace performer of the team. Having said that, it is prudent to lose the top scorer if the person is hampering the cohesiveness and causing dissatisfaction in the entire team.

As with every form of non-financial capital, the question lies in how we can measure them and what are a few tips and tricks for improving the social capital of any organization. That is why I feel there should be another blog on this.

International Women’s Day is an extremely important day for organizations like VFS Capital that run on the vision of women's empowerment through financial independence. While every year we celebrate the day, this year was different. This year, we decided to celebrate the day a week before the actual date. Why?

In early March, VFS Capital in collaboration with Jaico Publishing decided to host the Kolkata launch of bestselling author Tamal Bandypadhyaya's book ‘Roller Coaster: An Affair with Banking’. It was a grand affair attended by several eminent members of the financial industry, including Shri Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman of State Bank of India, Shri Soma Sankara Prasad, MD & CEO of UCO Bank; Shri Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, MD & CEO of Bandhan Bank; Shri Harsh V Lodha, Chairman of MP Birla Group; Shri Partha Sarathi Bhattacharyya, Chairman of Peerless Group and former Chairman of Coal India, and Shri D.N. Ghosh, former SBI Chairman and Chairman Emeritus of ICRA Ltd.

Even if it was not the formal Women's Day, we took the opportunity to felicitate a few of our women entrepreneurs during the event. Five of our customers were felicitated by Shri Dinesh Kumar Khara, a lifetime achievement for these empowered women!

I have always felt there is a difference between felicitating any achiever and felicitating rural women entrepreneurs. With full respect to others, rural women entrepreneurs have had to clear several roadblocks to achieving what they have; roadblocks that are difficult to envisage by those who have not traversed the path. Even after decades of interacting with rural women, there are always stories that surprise me today.

We come across many who had been married off before attaining adulthood, a majority even without any exposure to formal education. Those who went to school also might have dropped out after primary school and could hardly sign their name. A few fortunate ones might have passed secondary education and learned a few skills, handed down from the earlier generation. But all learnings take a back seat once the responsibilities of running a family and motherhood take over.

What hits me is that despite such hurdles, many refuse to kill their desire for a better and financially independent life. When they would have easily blamed their fate and accepted their lives at the lowest level of the financial pyramid, these women are even ready to pick up the gauntlet and get self-employed. All this fire without any guarantee of the next meal!

How can we compare them with others?

These are occasions that make me proud for standing by such winners and having been a part of their journey. Even sharing the stage with them is a matter of honor.

Hope you had an enjoyable Dol Yatra and a happy Holi.

At the onset of spring, this pair of festivals always brings great joy to the masses. Dol Yatra or just Dol, celebrated primarily in eastern India, is a festival that marks the time when Krishna reunited with Radha and expressed his love. Holi, on the other hand, is more on the mythology of good winning over evil, when Holika got killed in the very fire in which she was trying to murder Prahlad. The common element that binds both festivals is the exuberance of colors, or phag, as it is called in Bengal.

What makes the festivals more exciting is the economics they have associated with them. While we are yet to know the numbers, in 2022, a business of Rs 20,000 crore was generated on the Holi/DolYatra festival, the majority of which can be assumed to be from the MSME segment. Another good point that we have been witnessing is the reduction of synthetic chemicals getting used in colors, as people are looking more for herbal colors. This consciousness also reflects the fact that this year I did not come across many campaigns against water wastage. When a social campaign gets less visible, an optimist would like to assume that good is winning against evil.

A trend that we witnessed last year, and I assume, has continued in 2023 is the decrease in Chinese products that we see in the temporary stalls that get put up during Holi/Dol Yatra. It is encouraging to find that buyers are opting for country-made colors and/or gulal/phag, pichkaris, balloons, etc. Even for the Holi dresses, puja goods, sweets, dry fruits, gifts, toys, etc. that are exchanged, we find that Indian manufacturers are being given precedence over their Chinese counterparts.

At VFS Capital we welcome such trends. The more we find consumers opting for MSME-generated products that are Made in India, we are sure that a part of the business generated will come to the women entrepreneurs whom we serve. During the years of the pandemic, these festivals were hardly joyous and the sales indicate better days approaching in the future.

I would like to end this blog by mentioning that #ValentinesDay surprisingly was trending on Holi. Do you know why? Hint: it does not have anything to do with the love of Sri Krishna and Radha.

I have always maintained that no organization can stay isolated from its local surroundings. Wherever a company has tried to stay disengaged from its immediate surroundings, it has faced major issues, often leading to the closure of business. This poses a major risk for investors.

We can classify local relationships into two categories—local administration and social environment. For a business, maintaining close relationships with local government agencies and officials helps a lot. With the fast-changing business environment, staying up to date with the rules, regulations, policies, and laws that govern the business is important to help avoid unnecessary conflicts leading to fines and shutdowns. It also helps to show prospective employees that the organization is a responsible employer, as no one wants to get associated with an entity that is regularly at loggerheads with regulators.

VFS Capital has always tried to maintain a cordial relationship with local government agencies. We keep them abreast of all plans and proceedings and partner with them in local initiatives. VFS Varta, a quarterly newsletter published by our organization, keeps all stakeholders updated.

When we talk of maintaining relationships with the social environment, an organization’s activities under the Corporate Social Responsibilities head play a big role. CSR is the best way of creating a positive impact on the local stakeholders, who are not directly related to the company. Along with the reputation of acting legally and responsibly, local communities like to support companies that give back through charity and participate in local community activities and events. Moreover, it is seen that the morale of the internal team also goes up if it is involved in CSR activities. Doing good and giving back to the lesser privileged of society fills employees with pride and has a great effect on team building. Added to that is the prospect of local job creation. Roles that can be filled with locals should be filled with locals.

I would like to iterate that it is of utmost importance for companies to establish and maintain beneficial relationships with the communities in which they operate. However, it is a concern that this most important communication activity is often overlooked, till the time the organization lands in a problem. Sometimes it is too late.