Amazon and Meta are wrong about managers.

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1. 

   E40 · 22 May 2023 · 31 min

   The rise and rise of discreet reference checks

   Some call them discreet reference checks, some call them back channel checks, some call them ghost reference checks. They're growing rapidly, and recruiters are leaning on them like never before. In this week’s episode, host Sneha Vakharia takes you behind the scenes into why they’re growing, how they’re done, and what you need to do about it.

2. 

   E39 · 16 May 2023 · 31 min

   'Are you a Lion or a Pig?'

   This time last year, companies were giving away eye-popping rewards to retain talent. From BMW bikes to sponsoring vacations, they did it all to lure top talent. Times were good. Talent was scarce. And start-ups and companies were flush with money and endless capital. But, not anymore. On today’s show, why retention has gone from broad-based to focussed, open to hidden, and most importantly – equal to unequal. Companies are applying focussed strategies only for select top performers who are crucial to the bottomline. Retention has become extremely targeted, discerning, and most importantly,…

3. 

   E38 · 8 May 2023 · 31 min

   The 'job switch' hike isn't a wise decision anymore

   The situation has changed. And the equation has too. If the past two years were all about throwing money to attract top talent, 2023 has seen a general sobering up of appraisals and job switch hikes. In a strange turns of events, some employees are okay with taking a cut on their annual compensation in exchange for ‘stability’, in this highly volatile job market. I speak to Saaquib Dawoodani (Head of Talent, Revolut), Abha Khurana (People Success Lead, inFeedo), and Shashank B. (Writer + creative consultant, an international OTT giant) to understand the new math of careers. Which is more…

4. 

   E37 · 1 May 2023 · 38 min

   Is your business at war?

   This week your host Sneha will take you inside businesses at war, through the voices of those fighting in the trenches. We’ll hear how the same war — the war against inflation, a funding winter and shrinking markets — is being fought differently in different businesses. We’ll see how war sharpens, and sometimes disfigures, a business. We’ll see what is martyred and what is protected. This is what a business fighting for survival looks like. Tell us , is your business fighting for survival?

5. 

   E36 · 25 Apr 2023 · 26 min

   MBAarbarians at the gates

   MBAs – love them or hate them, but you can’t ignore them. Over the years, they have taken over every business vertical – general management, sales and marketing, growth and strategy, human resources, and even product and technology. Name it, they have been there and done that. But there was one bastion that remained unconquered by the MBAs for the longest. One last holdout – hardcore finance. Sitting at the apex of this pristine castle were the chartered accountants. Crunching numbers and calling the shots, out of reach and beyond attack. Or at least so they thought. Compliance used to be…

6. 

   E34 · 10 Apr 2023 · 30 min

   Vibe Check: Gen Z on what Gen Z wants

   You've heard about them. You've worked with them. You've thoughts around them. But have you really heard from them? In this episode, I speak to Kaavyya Kesarwani (Growth & Community, Juno), Sherina Poyyail (Policy professional, Ex: The Quint), Bhavya Narula (Founding team, GrowthX), Sindhu Shivaprasad (Chief of Staff, Obvious) and Shashank Baliga (Writer, a major OTT platform) to understand what the 'new kids on the block' think about careers, workplaces, and whatever else happens in between. Subscribe to The Ken: https://the-ken.com/ Hosted, Written, and Produced by Shreevar Chhotaria

7. 

   E33 · 3 Apr 2023 · 38 min

   Here's how to empathise with your manager to get what you want

   Here are some messages Cost to Company has received over the past months. “I believe working with GenZ is the toughest thing I do at work. They look at their jobs as a means to the next job. This has dramatically reduced their qualitative output, even if their quantitative output is enough. “ “Workplace hierarchy is its absurd with GenZs”. “There is an increasing gap between values of older generation and new generation of knowledge workers”. “There is a huge mismatch in expectations that millennials have in the workplace.” From this vantage point, It sounds like generations are tussling it…

8. 

   E32 · 27 Mar 2023 · 26 min

   Your new colleague is a part-timer

   A meaty part-time role may seem like the best of most worlds. Your workload is relatively lesser. You have more time to spare. The money might be decent too. One major downside of the part-time experience though is that you lose out on important benefits such as paid leaves and health insurance. Or... do you? In this episode, I speak to Saurabh Arora (Co-founder and CTO, Plum), Michelle P. (Communications professional + entrepreneur), and Naren (Independent software consultant) to understand why there’s been a rise in the number of part-timers, and why your new colleague might just to be a…

9. 

   E31 · 20 Mar 2023 · 52 min

   Special episode: how work and workplaces have changed in 30 weeks.

   In this special episode of Cost to Company, the tables turn. Snigdha interviews CTC hosts Sneha and Shreevar about how work and workplaces have changed in the last thirty weeks. The short version: they’ve changed dramatically. This episode is the long version of that answer. Sneha takes us into the evolving relationship between the employee and employer, into how power has shifted in response to larger shifts in the economy, just in the past seven months. And how that has changed the way we work. Shreevar talks about how careers have changed in response; and what a resilient, enduring career…

10. 

    E30 · 13 Mar 2023 · 30 min

    What's It Like Working For A 'Frugal' Company in 2023?

    Everybody is cutting costs. Not because they want to. But because they have to. A few months ago, edtech giant Unacademy announced that they were making frugality as one of their ‘core values’ to focus on profitability. But can you really be a frugal company if it’s not in your DNA from the very beginning? In this episode, I speak to Somnath Mukherjee (AVP Business, Zerodha), Rahul Deorah (Finance Lead, Dezerv), and Kavya Jain (Product Manager, FreeUp) to find out what its like working in a frugal company. And why every company can’t be frugal, even if they want to. Subscribe to The Ken:…