SHRM INDIA

ANNUAL CONFERENCE
& EXPOSITION, 2015

3 EASY WAYS TO BECOME

A SHRM MEMBER
CALL US AT 1800 103 2198 (TOLL FREE)
EMAIL US AT SHRMINDIA@SHRM.ORG
LOG ONTO WWW.SHRMINDIA.ORG/MEMBERSHIP

Gurgaon
605, Tower B, Global Business Park, Next to Fortune Hotel,
MG Road, Gurgaon 122016, India
Tel: + 91 124 4200243

Other Offices
Mumbai | Bengaluru

SHRM INDIA

HR AWARDS 2015-16
CASE STUDIES OF
AWARD WINNERS

1
3

Achal Khanna

CEO
SHRM India

Dear Readers,
THE SHRM India HR Awards were instituted in 2012 for the first time, as an
exemplary platform to recognize organizations that put people first, deliver future
focused excellence in the field of People Management and understand the
importance of human capital as a key contributor to business outcomes.
The awards have been planned to create a platform for organizations to bring in the
NEXT practices and empower HR to become a strategic business partner. With
tremendous increase in the number of nominations over the last three years, we
believe that, this recognition energized and transformed the identity of Human
Resources Management positively.
We appreciate each one of the participating organizations for all the support that has
been extended towards this awards process and Congratulate all the winners!
All in all, we believe it was an enriching experience for SHRM, as well as to the
participating organizations!
Warm Regards

Achal Khanna
ACHAL KHANNA
CEO, SHRM India

Achal Khanna

CEO
SHRM India

Dear Readers,
THE SHRM India HR Awards were instituted in 2012 for the first time, as an
exemplary platform to recognize organizations that put people first, deliver future
focused excellence in the field of People Management and understand the
importance of human capital as a key contributor to business outcomes.
The awards have been planned to create a platform for organizations to bring in the
NEXT practices and empower HR to become a strategic business partner. With
tremendous increase in the number of nominations over the last three years, we
believe that, this recognition energized and transformed the identity of Human
Resources Management positively.
We appreciate each one of the participating organizations for all the support that has
been extended towards this awards process and Congratulate all the winners!
All in all, we believe it was an enriching experience for SHRM, as well as to the
participating organizations!
Warm Regards

Achal Khanna
ACHAL KHANNA
CEO, SHRM India

INDEX
Acknowledgements

01

Wellness Before Business at Tech Mahindra

63

Excellence in Employee Health & Wellness Initiatives

About SHRM India Annual Conference and Exposition 2015
a. SHRM India HR Awards 2015-16
b. Awards Jury Members
c. SHRM Awards Team

03

Excellence in Human Resource For Small & Medium Enterprises

Executive Summary

07

Key to Highly Engaged Culture at OSSCube Happy Family, Happy Member, Happy Customer

Building an Inspired Culture at Kronos: A Business Imperative

71

79

Excellence in Human Resource For Small & Medium Enterprises

Award Winners Summary

13
Organizational Excellence at HPCL: Gaining Competitive Advantage by Creating HR Eco System

Different strokes: Diversity & Inclusion at Aegis

15

87

Excellence in Human Resource For Public Sector Organizations

Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion

Mission of Partnering the Business through Strategic Human Resource Management at Srilankan Airlines
Connecting, Co-creating and Celebrating through Social Media Platforms at Tech Mahindra

23

Excellence in Human Resource South Asia (Excluding India)

29

School of Business Management, NMIMS Mumbai: Staying Ahead of the Curve through Agility
driven by Collaboration

97

Excellence in Social Media - People Practices

Creating an Integrated Talent Pipeline The 1000 Leaders Program at Tech Mahindra

Academic Institute of the Year (For contribution in the field of HR)

Excellence in Developing Leaders of Tomorrow

Re-engineer Recruitment Process at WNS: Project RAFT

107

35

About SHRM India

115

Upcoming SHRM Events

118

Picture Gallery

119

Notes

121

Excellence in Talent Sourcing & Staffing

Creating a Unique Talent Strategy at Zydus Cadila

47

Excellence in Talent Sourcing & Staffing

Live Well 365 at Microsoft: Enabling Lifestyle Changes Towards A Healthy Life
Excellence in Employee Health & Wellness Initiatives

55

INDEX
Acknowledgements

01

Wellness Before Business at Tech Mahindra

63

Excellence in Employee Health & Wellness Initiatives

About SHRM India Annual Conference and Exposition 2015
a. SHRM India HR Awards 2015-16
b. Awards Jury Members
c. SHRM Awards Team

03

Excellence in Human Resource For Small & Medium Enterprises

Executive Summary

07

Key to Highly Engaged Culture at OSSCube Happy Family, Happy Member, Happy Customer

Building an Inspired Culture at Kronos: A Business Imperative

71

79

Excellence in Human Resource For Small & Medium Enterprises

Award Winners Summary

13
Organizational Excellence at HPCL: Gaining Competitive Advantage by Creating HR Eco System

Different strokes: Diversity & Inclusion at Aegis

15

87

Excellence in Human Resource For Public Sector Organizations

Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion

Mission of Partnering the Business through Strategic Human Resource Management at Srilankan Airlines
Connecting, Co-creating and Celebrating through Social Media Platforms at Tech Mahindra

23

Excellence in Human Resource South Asia (Excluding India)

29

School of Business Management, NMIMS Mumbai: Staying Ahead of the Curve through Agility
driven by Collaboration

97

Excellence in Social Media - People Practices

Creating an Integrated Talent Pipeline The 1000 Leaders Program at Tech Mahindra

Academic Institute of the Year (For contribution in the field of HR)

Excellence in Developing Leaders of Tomorrow

Re-engineer Recruitment Process at WNS: Project RAFT

107

35

About SHRM India

115

Upcoming SHRM Events

118

Picture Gallery

119

Notes

121

Excellence in Talent Sourcing & Staffing

Creating a Unique Talent Strategy at Zydus Cadila

47

Excellence in Talent Sourcing & Staffing

Live Well 365 at Microsoft: Enabling Lifestyle Changes Towards A Healthy Life
Excellence in Employee Health & Wellness Initiatives

55

We would like to thank the

following organizations for their
participation in the Case Studies:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

02

We would like to thank the

following organizations for their
participation in the Case Studies:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

02

ABOUT SHRM INDIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2015

The SHRM India Annual Conference 2015, held at New Delhi titled velocity witnessed around
850+ delegates, 65 world class speakers and 47 organizations associating with us as Partners.
The conference also saw a large number of exhibitors offering an unmatched networking and
engagement platform for CEOs and HR Executives. Several internationally renowned experts such
as John Mattone (President & CEO John Mattone Global), John F Hansen (VP HCM Product
Management JAPAC Oracle Corporation) and Laxmi N Tripathi (Founder Trustee & Chairperson
Astitva) spoke at the conference. The conference also included a number of panel discussions and
concurrent sessions along with the SHRM India HR Awards 2015, for organisations doing
exemplary work in HR.

SHRM INDIA HR AWARDS 2015-16

ABOUT
SHRM INDIA ANNUAL
CONFERENCE AND
EXPOSITION 2015

The SHRM India HR Awards were instituted as an exemplary platform to recognize organizations
that put people first, deliver future focused excellence in the field of People Management and
understand the importance of human capital as a key contributor to business outcomes.
For 66 years, the Society for Human Resource Management has followed its core ideology of
supporting the professional and advancing the profession. It recognizes the pioneering and
innovative people management practices that impact not just organizations but also business,
society and the profession as a whole.
SHRM India HR Awards focused primarily on HR practices that would impact the enterprise of
tomorrow. The aim was to recognize organizations that have excelled in bringing NEXT into their
people practices and empowered HR to become a strategic business partner. In essence, these
Awards celebrated and acknowledged all organizations that work passionately towards raising the
bar for the profession through constant innovation in India as well as in South Asia (excluding India).
A brief description of the various Award categories is as follows:
EXCELLENCE IN HR ANALYTICS
To recognize organizations that have effectively used HR analytics, such as technology tools, HR
Matrices etc. to measure and improve the overall performance of the organization.
EXCELLENCE IN DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
To recognize organizations that have a culture of inclusion and thus have adopted and
implemented such policies and practices, such as non-discrimination on the grounds of gender,
religion, work location etc, that build in and promote - diversity and inclusion.
EXCELLENCE IN SOCIAL MEDIA - PEOPLE PRACTICES
To recognize organizations that have effectively used social media channels, tools and
applications for
1. Driving key people processes such as: talent sourcing, employee engagement & learning,
employer branding etc. and
2. Fostering a high degree of collaboration between cross functional teams, knowledge
sharing etc.

04

ABOUT SHRM INDIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2015

The SHRM India Annual Conference 2015, held at New Delhi titled velocity witnessed around
850+ delegates, 65 world class speakers and 47 organizations associating with us as Partners.
The conference also saw a large number of exhibitors offering an unmatched networking and
engagement platform for CEOs and HR Executives. Several internationally renowned experts such
as John Mattone (President & CEO John Mattone Global), John F Hansen (VP HCM Product
Management JAPAC Oracle Corporation) and Laxmi N Tripathi (Founder Trustee & Chairperson
Astitva) spoke at the conference. The conference also included a number of panel discussions and
concurrent sessions along with the SHRM India HR Awards 2015, for organisations doing
exemplary work in HR.

SHRM INDIA HR AWARDS 2015-16

ABOUT
SHRM INDIA ANNUAL
CONFERENCE AND
EXPOSITION 2015

The SHRM India HR Awards were instituted as an exemplary platform to recognize organizations
that put people first, deliver future focused excellence in the field of People Management and
understand the importance of human capital as a key contributor to business outcomes.
For 66 years, the Society for Human Resource Management has followed its core ideology of
supporting the professional and advancing the profession. It recognizes the pioneering and
innovative people management practices that impact not just organizations but also business,
society and the profession as a whole.
SHRM India HR Awards focused primarily on HR practices that would impact the enterprise of
tomorrow. The aim was to recognize organizations that have excelled in bringing NEXT into their
people practices and empowered HR to become a strategic business partner. In essence, these
Awards celebrated and acknowledged all organizations that work passionately towards raising the
bar for the profession through constant innovation in India as well as in South Asia (excluding India).
A brief description of the various Award categories is as follows:
EXCELLENCE IN HR ANALYTICS
To recognize organizations that have effectively used HR analytics, such as technology tools, HR
Matrices etc. to measure and improve the overall performance of the organization.
EXCELLENCE IN DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
To recognize organizations that have a culture of inclusion and thus have adopted and
implemented such policies and practices, such as non-discrimination on the grounds of gender,
religion, work location etc, that build in and promote - diversity and inclusion.
EXCELLENCE IN SOCIAL MEDIA - PEOPLE PRACTICES
To recognize organizations that have effectively used social media channels, tools and
applications for
1. Driving key people processes such as: talent sourcing, employee engagement & learning,
employer branding etc. and
2. Fostering a high degree of collaboration between cross functional teams, knowledge
sharing etc.

04

EXCELLENCE IN COMMUNITY IMPACT

To recognize organizations those who have leveraged their human resources to undertake initiatives for
the betterment of the environment, or the upliftment of underprivileged sections of society.
EXCELLENCE IN DEVELOPING LEADERS OF TOMORROW
To recognize organizations that conduct programs and/or follow best practices to identify, from within
the organization, & develop leaders of tomorrow to take on the new and challenging organizational roles
that they will play in the future.

As a part of this rigorous awards selection process, the following eminent industry experts,
academicians and consultants constituted our Jury:

SCREENING JURY
EXCELLENCE IN TALENT SOURCING & STAFFING
To recognize organizations, which have instituted excellent practices in the field of talent sourcing and
staffing and have elevated the talent acquisition lifecycle (sourcing, hiring, and onboarding) to a highly
productive level.
EXCELLENCE IN BEST EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND WELLNESS INITIATIVES
To recognize organizations that understand the linkage of employee health to business productivity and
have therefore proactively identified or designed specific health and wellness programs which can
support the needs of their employee segments.
EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCE FOR MICRO, SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
TO RECOGNIZE organizations from the Public sector, which have successfully designed and
implemented such Excellent people management practice(s) or system(s). This could be a
single/multiple innovative practice(s) or system(s) that the organization has implemented across any
area in Human Resource and has been running successfully in the organization for some time.
EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCE FOR PUBLIC SECTOR
To recognize organizations from the MSME Segment, which have successfully designed and
implemented such Excellent people management practice(s) or system(s). This could be a
single/multiple innovative practice(s) or system(s) that the organization has implemented across any
area in Human Resource and has been running successfully in the organization for some time.
EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCE SOUTH ASIA (EXCLUDING INDIA)
To recognize organizations, which have successfully designed and implemented such Excellent
people management practice(s) or system(s). This could be a single/multiple innovative practice(s) or
system(s) that the organization has implemented across any area in Human Resource and has been
running successfully in the organization for some time.
ACADEMIC INSTITUTE OF THE YEAR (FOR CONTRIBUTION IN THE FIELD OF HR)
To recognize academic institutions that have played a prominent role in contributing to the field of HR,
through a market focused HR curriculum, path-breaking research, committed HR faculty and as well as
initiatives that enable the students to become more employable for ready absorption into the corporate
environment.
Out of the total eleven award categories described above, no awards were given for the category
Excellence in HR Analytics due to inadequate participation.

Sandeep Mathur, President Projects, Greenply

Vivek Tripathi, Chief HR Officer, Lava International
Rakesh Jinsi, President, SOIL
Debi Saini, Professor of HRM, MDI
Jayanta Chakraborti, Associate Professor (Business Analytics), Mangalmay Group of Institutions
Anand Noatay, Consultant, Competitive Dynamics International
Jayesh Bhatia, Director, NRMC
Manoj Bhagat, Sr. Consultant HR, National e-Governance Division, Department of Electronics
and IT, Govt. of India.
Akansha Arora, Head Learning & OD, Yum India
Sumit Chadha, Independent Consultant & Business leader

FINAL JURY
Anil Tandon, Managing Director, Tex Corp
Hanumant Talwar, Former MD & Country Manager - India, UK & China, Convergys
Sandeep Dutt, Social Entrepreneur, EBD Educational Pvt. Ltd.
Shalini Naagar, Head Human Resources, India and South Asia, Marks and Spencer
Sanjay Goel, Managing Director, Adilac Techsolutions Pvt. Ltd.
Milind Kelkar, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Green Thumb Consulting
Dr. Aquil Busrai, Chief Executive Officer, Aquil Busrai Consulting
Ruvina Singh, Managing Principal, KornFerry
Meenal Jadhav, Director, Talent Management, Schneider Electric
Sanjay Shivnani, Sr. VP, Pearson Education India
Rajesh Rai, Chief People Officer, Eicher - Royal Enfield

SHRM AWARDS TEAM

Perzine Dadyburjor, Senior Knowledge Advisor
Sreemayee Chand, Senior Knowledge Advisor
Delnaaz Palsetia, Consultant

PROJECT LEAD FOR CASE STUDY PUBLICATION

Dedeepya Ajith John, Senior Knowledge Advisor

05

06

EXCELLENCE IN COMMUNITY IMPACT

To recognize organizations those who have leveraged their human resources to undertake initiatives for
the betterment of the environment, or the upliftment of underprivileged sections of society.
EXCELLENCE IN DEVELOPING LEADERS OF TOMORROW
To recognize organizations that conduct programs and/or follow best practices to identify, from within
the organization, & develop leaders of tomorrow to take on the new and challenging organizational roles
that they will play in the future.

As a part of this rigorous awards selection process, the following eminent industry experts,
academicians and consultants constituted our Jury:

SCREENING JURY
EXCELLENCE IN TALENT SOURCING & STAFFING
To recognize organizations, which have instituted excellent practices in the field of talent sourcing and
staffing and have elevated the talent acquisition lifecycle (sourcing, hiring, and onboarding) to a highly
productive level.
EXCELLENCE IN BEST EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND WELLNESS INITIATIVES
To recognize organizations that understand the linkage of employee health to business productivity and
have therefore proactively identified or designed specific health and wellness programs which can
support the needs of their employee segments.
EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCE FOR MICRO, SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
TO RECOGNIZE organizations from the MSME Segment, which have successfully designed and
implemented such Excellent people management practice(s) or system(s). This could be a
single/multiple innovative practice(s) or system(s) that the organization has implemented across any
area in Human Resource and has been running successfully in the organization for some time.
EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCE FOR PUBLIC SECTOR
To recognize organizations from the MSME Segment, which have successfully designed and
implemented such Excellent people management practice(s) or system(s). This could be a
single/multiple innovative practice(s) or system(s) that the organization has implemented across any
area in Human Resource and has been running successfully in the organization for some time.
EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCE SOUTH ASIA (EXCLUDING INDIA)
To recognize organizations, which have successfully designed and implemented such Excellent
people management practice(s) or system(s). This could be a single/multiple innovative practice(s) or
system(s) that the organization has implemented across any area in Human Resource and has been
running successfully in the organization for some time.
ACADEMIC INSTITUTE OF THE YEAR (FOR CONTRIBUTION IN THE FIELD OF HR)
To recognize academic institutions that have played a prominent role in contributing to the field of HR,
through a market focused HR curriculum, path-breaking research, committed HR faculty and as well as
initiatives that enable the students to become more employable for ready absorption into the corporate
environment.
Out of the total eleven award categories described above, no awards were given for the category
Excellence in HR Analytics due to inadequate participation.

Sandeep Mathur, President Projects, Greenply

Vivek Tripathi, Chief HR Officer, Lava International
Rakesh Jinsi, President, SOIL
Debi Saini, Professor of HRM, MDI
Jayanta Chakraborti, Associate Professor (Business Analytics), Mangalmay Group of Institutions
Anand Noatay, Consultant, Competitive Dynamics International
Jayesh Bhatia, Director, NRMC
Manoj Bhagat, Sr. Consultant HR, National e-Governance Division, Department of Electronics
and IT, Govt. of India.
Akansha Arora, Head Learning & OD, Yum India
Sumit Chadha, Independent Consultant & Business leader

FINAL JURY
Anil Tandon, Managing Director, Tex Corp
Hanumant Talwar, Former MD & Country Manager - India, UK & China, Convergys
Sandeep Dutt, Social Entrepreneur, EBD Educational Pvt. Ltd.
Shalini Naagar, Head Human Resources, India and South Asia, Marks and Spencer
Sanjay Goel, Managing Director, Adilac Techsolutions Pvt. Ltd.
Milind Kelkar, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Green Thumb Consulting
Dr. Aquil Busrai, Chief Executive Officer, Aquil Busrai Consulting
Ruvina Singh, Managing Principal, KornFerry
Meenal Jadhav, Director, Talent Management, Schneider Electric
Sanjay Shivnani, Sr. VP, Pearson Education India
Rajesh Rai, Chief People Officer, Eicher - Royal Enfield

SHRM AWARDS TEAM

Perzine Dadyburjor, Senior Knowledge Advisor
Sreemayee Chand, Senior Knowledge Advisor
Delnaaz Palsetia, Consultant

PROJECT LEAD FOR CASE STUDY PUBLICATION

Dedeepya Ajith John, Senior Knowledge Advisor

05

06

The SHRM India Knowledge Center is committed to developing in-depth

case studies to share the best and next HR practices of organizations and
promote learning amongst Human Resource professionals.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Towards this effort, SHRM India has compiled the case studies on the best
practices of seven winners, three runners' up and two special recognition
awardees of the SHRM India HR Annual Awards 2015.
The case studies of the winning organizations showcase best practices
that have had a demonstrated impact on the strategic outcomes of the
organization. The HR practices and unique initiatives highlighted through
the case studies on the runners' up and merit-holders demonstrate their
progress on the journey towards excellence.

08

The SHRM India Knowledge Center is committed to developing in-depth

case studies to share the best and next HR practices of organizations and
promote learning amongst Human Resource professionals.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Towards this effort, SHRM India has compiled the case studies on the best
practices of seven winners, three runners' up and two special recognition
awardees of the SHRM India HR Annual Awards 2015.
The case studies of the winning organizations showcase best practices
that have had a demonstrated impact on the strategic outcomes of the
organization. The HR practices and unique initiatives highlighted through
the case studies on the runners' up and merit-holders demonstrate their
progress on the journey towards excellence.

08

EXCELLENCE IN
EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND
WELLNESS INITIATIVES

EXCELLENCE IN
DIVERSITY
AND INCLUSION

EXCELLENCE IN SOCIAL
MEDIA - PEOPLE
PRACTICES

EXCELLENCE IN
TALENT SOURCING
& STAFFING

AWARD WINNER:

AWARD WINNER:

RUNNER'S UP:

AWARD WINNER:

DIFFERENT STROKES: DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

CONNECTING, CO-CREATING AND CELEBRATING

CREATING A UNIQUE TALENT STRATEGY

At Aegis, diversity in the workplace is no longer a nice

THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

to have phenomenon, but a business necessity in

Tech Mahindra identified relevant Social Media

platforms to be an effective medium to foster a 'One
Tech Mahindra' culture of Connecting, Co-creating and
Celebrating together as a team. These initiatives have
positively influenced the people practices especially
with respect to Communication, Learning and
Development, Recognition and Collaboration and have
also contributed in a significant way towards
promoting an entrepreneurial and innovation centric
culture.

The initiatives at Zydus are innovative in Indian

pharmaceuticals industry be it envisaging global FDA
norms or the national skill building process. Hiring right
people is the essence of a great company therefore the
entire assessment centre (Zydus Centre For
Excellence) has been built to measure what people
know; what people have; what people can do; what
people will do.

LIVE WELL 365: ENABLING LIFESTYLE CHANGES

TOWARDS A HEALTHY LIFE

order to remain competitive and deliver sustainable

business results. The organization believes that only
when people of different backgrounds and beliefs work
together as a team that a company can hope to
progress and grow. A diversity model that goes
beyond the traditional gender and age factors is what
made the organization achieve greater productivity and
engagement levels!

Microsoft believes that a sustained and focused

intervention towards creating Health awareness would
go a long way in making employees aware of the steps
they need to take in their own well-being. Having a
Health & Wellness strategy as an integral part of the
overall Business strategy of the organization is what
would sow the seeds of a culture that believes in
taking ownership of one's own health and well-being.
Here's to Living Well 365.

EXCELLENCE IN
DEVELOPING LEADERS
OF TOMORROW

EXCELLENCE IN
TALENT SOURCING
& STAFFING

EXCELLENCE IN EMPLOYEE
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
INITIATIVES

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN
RESOURCE FOR SMALL
& MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

AWARD WINNER:

AWARD WINNER:

RUNNER'S UP:

AWARD WINNER:

CREATING AN INTEGRATED TALENT PIPELINE

THE 1000 LEADERS PROGRAM

RE-ENGINEER RECRUITMENT PROCESS:

PROJECT RAFT

WELLNESS BEFORE BUSINESS

The 1000 leaders program is the strategic initiative

for leadership development for the organization's
future growth strategy. It has positively impacted
retention as well as increased engagement scores.
Today for all hiring, internal talent pipeline is
considered before looking for external hires. Its
success can be attributed to the credible commitment
of the Leadership to build a robust talent pool of
Leaders who could be groomed to take on larger
responsibilities in the future and build a sustainable
Leadership pipeline for the organisation.

BUILDING AN INSPIRED CULTURE: A BUSINESS

IMPERATIVE

The initiative which WNS started off as an effort to

improve the recruiting standards but in turn developed
into a full-fledged project catering to manifold
improvements. The project scope did not stop at just
recruiting. It stretched to encompass a round about

The Wellness journey at Tech Mahindra began with

mails, got bolstered by leadership endorsement,
moved to Associate evangelism and is now a 360
degree effort. It's now embedded in the culture and
Wellness before Business has become part of the
organization's DNA.

Be an Inspired Place to Work is not just lip service:

it's actually a business imperative for Kronos, right up
there with moving its customer base to the cloud and
continuously improving their customer experience.
Kronos India became a true CoE quality of work and
quality of Talent post its focus on specific HR
Initiatives. Kronos India has consistently developed
great products that have helped generate high revenue
for the organization.

feedback going back to candidate experience, where it

all started, which plays a vital role in development of
the function and setting new standards as an
organization.

09

10

EXCELLENCE IN
EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND
WELLNESS INITIATIVES

EXCELLENCE IN
DIVERSITY
AND INCLUSION

EXCELLENCE IN SOCIAL
MEDIA - PEOPLE
PRACTICES

EXCELLENCE IN
TALENT SOURCING
& STAFFING

AWARD WINNER:

AWARD WINNER:

RUNNER'S UP:

AWARD WINNER:

DIFFERENT STROKES: DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

CONNECTING, CO-CREATING AND CELEBRATING

CREATING A UNIQUE TALENT STRATEGY

At Aegis, diversity in the workplace is no longer a nice

THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

to have phenomenon, but a business necessity in

Tech Mahindra identified relevant Social Media

platforms to be an effective medium to foster a 'One
Tech Mahindra' culture of Connecting, Co-creating and
Celebrating together as a team. These initiatives have
positively influenced the people practices especially
with respect to Communication, Learning and
Development, Recognition and Collaboration and have
also contributed in a significant way towards
promoting an entrepreneurial and innovation centric
culture.

The initiatives at Zydus are innovative in Indian

pharmaceuticals industry be it envisaging global FDA
norms or the national skill building process. Hiring right
people is the essence of a great company therefore the
entire assessment centre (Zydus Centre For
Excellence) has been built to measure what people
know; what people have; what people can do; what
people will do.

LIVE WELL 365: ENABLING LIFESTYLE CHANGES

TOWARDS A HEALTHY LIFE

order to remain competitive and deliver sustainable

business results. The organization believes that only
when people of different backgrounds and beliefs work
together as a team that a company can hope to
progress and grow. A diversity model that goes
beyond the traditional gender and age factors is what
made the organization achieve greater productivity and
engagement levels!

Microsoft believes that a sustained and focused

intervention towards creating Health awareness would
go a long way in making employees aware of the steps
they need to take in their own well-being. Having a
Health & Wellness strategy as an integral part of the
overall Business strategy of the organization is what
would sow the seeds of a culture that believes in
taking ownership of one's own health and well-being.
Here's to Living Well 365.

EXCELLENCE IN
DEVELOPING LEADERS
OF TOMORROW

EXCELLENCE IN
TALENT SOURCING
& STAFFING

EXCELLENCE IN EMPLOYEE
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
INITIATIVES

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN
RESOURCE FOR SMALL
& MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

AWARD WINNER:

AWARD WINNER:

RUNNER'S UP:

AWARD WINNER:

CREATING AN INTEGRATED TALENT PIPELINE

THE 1000 LEADERS PROGRAM

RE-ENGINEER RECRUITMENT PROCESS:

PROJECT RAFT

WELLNESS BEFORE BUSINESS

The 1000 leaders program is the strategic initiative

for leadership development for the organization's
future growth strategy. It has positively impacted
retention as well as increased engagement scores.
Today for all hiring, internal talent pipeline is
considered before looking for external hires. Its
success can be attributed to the credible commitment
of the Leadership to build a robust talent pool of
Leaders who could be groomed to take on larger
responsibilities in the future and build a sustainable
Leadership pipeline for the organisation.

BUILDING AN INSPIRED CULTURE: A BUSINESS

IMPERATIVE

The initiative which WNS started off as an effort to

improve the recruiting standards but in turn developed
into a full-fledged project catering to manifold
improvements. The project scope did not stop at just
recruiting. It stretched to encompass a round about

The Wellness journey at Tech Mahindra began with

mails, got bolstered by leadership endorsement,
moved to Associate evangelism and is now a 360
degree effort. It's now embedded in the culture and
Wellness before Business has become part of the
organization's DNA.

Be an Inspired Place to Work is not just lip service:

it's actually a business imperative for Kronos, right up
there with moving its customer base to the cloud and
continuously improving their customer experience.
Kronos India became a true CoE quality of work and
quality of Talent post its focus on specific HR
Initiatives. Kronos India has consistently developed
great products that have helped generate high revenue
for the organization.

feedback going back to candidate experience, where it

all started, which plays a vital role in development of
the function and setting new standards as an
organization.

09

10

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN
RESOURCE FOR SMALL
& MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN
RESOURCE FOR PUBLIC
SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS

RUNNER'S UP:

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN
RESOURCE SOUTH
ASIA (EXCLUDING INDIA)

ACADEMIC INSTITUTE OF
THE YEAR (FOR CONTRIBUTION IN THE FIELD OF HR)

AWARD WINNER:

SPECIAL RECOGNITION:

ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE: GAINING

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE BY CREATING HR ECO
SYSTEM

MISSION OF PARTNERING THE BUSINESS

THROUGH STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

STAYING AHEAD OF THE CURVE THROUGH

AGILITY DRIVEN BY COLLABORATION

HP-HR created a robust HR eco-system and

established strong linkages between people, systems
& processes by adopting innovative Initiatives in areas
like Leadership Development (Project Akshay),
Induction (Samavesh) and Operational Excellence
(Project Utkrist) which have provided cutting edge
advantage to HPCL and helped the organization gain
sustainable competitive advantage.

With the objective of transforming SriLankan Airlines

into a profit making entity, the Airline has developed an
ambition business plan which seeks to take the Airline
towards a new era where the profitability reigns.
Therefore the HR Department has ventured to align its
people strategy with the Airline's overall business
strategy in order to compliment the Airline's turnaround
efforts. The awards and accolades received throughout
this journey stand as a testimony to the innovative,
novel and results-driven Human Resource strategies
which are implemented by the Airline.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION:

KEY TO HIGHLY ENGAGED CULTUREHAPPY

FAMILY, HAPPY MEMBER, HAPPY CUSTOMER
OSSCube believes that with effective communication,
ingenious practices and promoting an open culture,
member participation can definitely be furthered.
Executing programs and policies in sync with their
motto, 'Happy Family, Happy Member, Happy
Customer', OSSCube looks forward to keeping their
engine of innovation revving!

11

In an effort to respond to industry requirements for HR

professionals, NMIMS has been able to leverage
existing faculty and system based strengths. A small
but sure beginning has been made to grow the size
and scope of the MBA HR program. Review mechanisms continue to provide feedback for improvement.
Stakeholders of the program within and outside the
system have become partners to enable the program
to grow from strength to strength.

12

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN
RESOURCE FOR SMALL
& MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN
RESOURCE FOR PUBLIC
SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS

RUNNER'S UP:

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN
RESOURCE SOUTH
ASIA (EXCLUDING INDIA)

ACADEMIC INSTITUTE OF
THE YEAR (FOR CONTRIBUTION IN THE FIELD OF HR)

AWARD WINNER:

SPECIAL RECOGNITION:

ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE: GAINING

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE BY CREATING HR ECO
SYSTEM

MISSION OF PARTNERING THE BUSINESS

THROUGH STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

STAYING AHEAD OF THE CURVE THROUGH

AGILITY DRIVEN BY COLLABORATION

HP-HR created a robust HR eco-system and

established strong linkages between people, systems
& processes by adopting innovative Initiatives in areas
like Leadership Development (Project Akshay),
Induction (Samavesh) and Operational Excellence
(Project Utkrist) which have provided cutting edge
advantage to HPCL and helped the organization gain
sustainable competitive advantage.

With the objective of transforming SriLankan Airlines

into a profit making entity, the Airline has developed an
ambition business plan which seeks to take the Airline
towards a new era where the profitability reigns.
Therefore the HR Department has ventured to align its
people strategy with the Airline's overall business
strategy in order to compliment the Airline's turnaround
efforts. The awards and accolades received throughout
this journey stand as a testimony to the innovative,
novel and results-driven Human Resource strategies
which are implemented by the Airline.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION:

KEY TO HIGHLY ENGAGED CULTUREHAPPY

FAMILY, HAPPY MEMBER, HAPPY CUSTOMER
OSSCube believes that with effective communication,
ingenious practices and promoting an open culture,
member participation can definitely be furthered.
Executing programs and policies in sync with their
motto, 'Happy Family, Happy Member, Happy
Customer', OSSCube looks forward to keeping their
engine of innovation revving!

11

In an effort to respond to industry requirements for HR

professionals, NMIMS has been able to leverage
existing faculty and system based strengths. A small
but sure beginning has been made to grow the size
and scope of the MBA HR program. Review mechanisms continue to provide feedback for improvement.
Stakeholders of the program within and outside the
system have become partners to enable the program
to grow from strength to strength.

12

AWARD WINNERS
SUMMARY

Excellence in Talent Sourcing

& Staffing

Excellence in Human Resource

For Small & Medium Enterprises

Runner's Up: Zydus Cadila

Runner's Up: OSSCube

Award Partner:

Award Partner:

Excellence in Human Resource

For Public Sector Organizations

Excellence in Employee Health &

Wellness Initiatives

Excellence in Diversity
and Inclusion

Excellence in Developing
Leaders of Tomorrow

Award Winner: Aegis

Award Winner: Tech

Award Partner:

Award Partner:

Excellence in Talent Sourcing

& Staffing

Excellence in Social Media People Practices

Award Winner: Tech

Mahindra

Mahindra

13

Award Winner: Microsoft

Special Recognition: HPCL

Award Partner:

Award Partner:

Excellence in Employee Health

& Wellness Initiatives

Excellence in Human Resource

South Asia (Excluding India)

Runner's Up: Tech Mahindra

Award Winner: Srilankan

Award Partner:

Award Partner:

Award Winner: Kronos

Award Partner:

Award Partner:

In Partnership with
AHRP and HSHRM

Academic Institute of the Year

(For contribution in the field of HR)

Excellence in Human Resource

For Small & Medium Enterprises

Award Winner: WNS

Airlines

Special Recognition: NMIMS

14

Mumbai

AWARD WINNERS
SUMMARY

Excellence in Talent Sourcing

& Staffing

Excellence in Human Resource

For Small & Medium Enterprises

Runner's Up: Zydus Cadila

Runner's Up: OSSCube

Award Partner:

Award Partner:

Excellence in Human Resource

For Public Sector Organizations

Excellence in Employee Health &

Wellness Initiatives

Excellence in Diversity
and Inclusion

Excellence in Developing
Leaders of Tomorrow

Award Winner: Aegis

Award Winner: Tech

Award Partner:

Award Partner:

Excellence in Talent Sourcing

& Staffing

Excellence in Social Media People Practices

Award Winner: Tech

Mahindra

Mahindra

13

Award Winner: Microsoft

Special Recognition: HPCL

Award Partner:

Award Partner:

Excellence in Employee Health

& Wellness Initiatives

Excellence in Human Resource

South Asia (Excluding India)

Runner's Up: Tech Mahindra

Award Winner: Srilankan

Award Partner:

Award Partner:

Award Winner: Kronos

Award Partner:

Award Partner:

In Partnership with
AHRP and HSHRM

Academic Institute of the Year

(For contribution in the field of HR)

Excellence in Human Resource

For Small & Medium Enterprises

Award Winner: WNS

Airlines

Special Recognition: NMIMS

14

Mumbai

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

COMPANY PROFILE
Aegis is a global outsourcing and technology services company committed to impacting clients business
outcomes by focusing on enhancing customer experience across all touch points and channels. Aegis has
operations in 43 locations across 9 countries with more than 40,000 employees. Aegis services over 150
clients from verticals such as Banking and Financial Services, Insurance, Technology, Telecom, Healthcare,
Travel & Hospitality, Consumer Goods, Retail, and Energy & Utilities. The company is wholly owned by Essar,
a USD 35 billion conglomerate.

A NEED FOR A D & I OUTLOOK

Excellence in Diversity and

Inclusion

DIFFERENT STROKES:
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

Over the last few years, through a judicious mix of organic growth and strategic acquisitions, Aegis has
expanded its global footprint across onshore, near shore, and offshore locations in India, South Africa,
Australia, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Peru, Malaysia, The United Kingdom and Sri Lanka. This has resulted in
increased globalization, enhanced demographic growth and emerging heterogeneity of the workforce.
Consequently, diversity management became very important to address the rapidly changing demographic
differences and the need to remain competitive in the international markets. It was also crucial for the
organization to address the diverse clientele base which in turn would lead to improved organizational
performance and enhanced competitive advantage. With this in mind, Aegis embarked on the journey of
Diversity and Inclusion 6 years back in 2009. The objectives were to include different streams of community
into the organizations mainstream, drive innovation and long term sustainability of the organization, cater to
a diverse client base. This is believed to lead to customer satisfaction and loyalty, stimulate social, economic,
intellectual and emotional growth of all stakeholders, increase employee motivation and morale, adapt to new
market changes and increase organizational flexibility thus leading to enhanced competitive advantage and
position the organization as an Employer of Choice.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

- BY SM GUPTA

Eliminating unconscious bias, eliminating reluctance, fostering team work and attitude changes, improving
accessibility in the workplace, accessibility to the differently-abled candidates, sensitizing employees; all of
these are the challenges with which Aegis, as an organization, is continuously trying to mitigate and
strengthen the model further. These challenges are constantly addressed by leadership commitment,
organizational policy framework, rigorous hiring learning and development initiatives. Apart from these
extensive employee communication, driving focussed engagement initiatives for each facet of diversity,
tracking and measuring the success of each initiative are other initiatives taken up to address these
challenges.

SIX-DIMENSIONAL DIVERSITY FRAMEWORK

Award Partner

Diversity at Aegis goes beyond the traditional concept of Equal Employment Opportunity. Being a responsible
organization, the company has the intent to serve, value and make the fullest possible use of the diverse
backgrounds, skills, talents and perspectives of all its people, which is the main driving factor. In line with this,
Aegis follows a six dimensional model of diversity which includes Persons with Disabilities, Gender Inclusivity,
Socially & Economically Disadvantaged People, Culturally & Linguistically Diverse People, Mature Age People
and Indigenous People.

16

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

COMPANY PROFILE
Aegis is a global outsourcing and technology services company committed to impacting clients business
outcomes by focusing on enhancing customer experience across all touch points and channels. Aegis has
operations in 43 locations across 9 countries with more than 40,000 employees. Aegis services over 150
clients from verticals such as Banking and Financial Services, Insurance, Technology, Telecom, Healthcare,
Travel & Hospitality, Consumer Goods, Retail, and Energy & Utilities. The company is wholly owned by Essar,
a USD 35 billion conglomerate.

A NEED FOR A D & I OUTLOOK

Excellence in Diversity and

Inclusion

DIFFERENT STROKES:
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

Over the last few years, through a judicious mix of organic growth and strategic acquisitions, Aegis has
expanded its global footprint across onshore, near shore, and offshore locations in India, South Africa,
Australia, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Peru, Malaysia, The United Kingdom and Sri Lanka. This has resulted in
increased globalization, enhanced demographic growth and emerging heterogeneity of the workforce.
Consequently, diversity management became very important to address the rapidly changing demographic
differences and the need to remain competitive in the international markets. It was also crucial for the
organization to address the diverse clientele base which in turn would lead to improved organizational
performance and enhanced competitive advantage. With this in mind, Aegis embarked on the journey of
Diversity and Inclusion 6 years back in 2009. The objectives were to include different streams of community
into the organizations mainstream, drive innovation and long term sustainability of the organization, cater to
a diverse client base. This is believed to lead to customer satisfaction and loyalty, stimulate social, economic,
intellectual and emotional growth of all stakeholders, increase employee motivation and morale, adapt to new
market changes and increase organizational flexibility thus leading to enhanced competitive advantage and
position the organization as an Employer of Choice.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

- BY SM GUPTA

Eliminating unconscious bias, eliminating reluctance, fostering team work and attitude changes, improving
accessibility in the workplace, accessibility to the differently-abled candidates, sensitizing employees; all of
these are the challenges with which Aegis, as an organization, is continuously trying to mitigate and
strengthen the model further. These challenges are constantly addressed by leadership commitment,
organizational policy framework, rigorous hiring learning and development initiatives. Apart from these
extensive employee communication, driving focussed engagement initiatives for each facet of diversity,
tracking and measuring the success of each initiative are other initiatives taken up to address these
challenges.

SIX-DIMENSIONAL DIVERSITY FRAMEWORK

Award Partner

Diversity at Aegis goes beyond the traditional concept of Equal Employment Opportunity. Being a responsible
organization, the company has the intent to serve, value and make the fullest possible use of the diverse
backgrounds, skills, talents and perspectives of all its people, which is the main driving factor. In line with this,
Aegis follows a six dimensional model of diversity which includes Persons with Disabilities, Gender Inclusivity,
Socially & Economically Disadvantaged People, Culturally & Linguistically Diverse People, Mature Age People
and Indigenous People.

16

DIVERSITY ENABLERS

The six dimensional model of diversity is depicted in the diagram below:

The company is clear that managing diversity means recognizing people differences and seeing these
differences as valuable. Therefore, awareness, understanding and sensitization are the main priorities to
promote diversity. Awareness includes need for appreciation & messaging through workshops, mailers and
whats in it for me, Transition includes sensitization training, implementation of initiatives and change
champions and Sustenance includes organization structure enabling diversity, policy framework and
redefining employee engagement framework. Various initiatives which act as remarkable enablers in building
a diverse and inclusive workplace are as follows:

96-99% of the
Global Workforce

Inc
Ind lusio
n
ig
Pe enou of
op
le s

Persons with
Disabitilies

Diversity Model of Aegis

562 PwDs (1.39% of

the Global Workforce)

er
ng ty
Ge usivi
l
Inc

1.6% of the
Global Workforce

Male: Female - 65:35

e
Ag
re le
u
t
Ma Peop
Culturally &
Linguistically
Diverse People

75 Nationalities
38 Languages
9 Countries
43 Global Locations

Diversity & Inclusion are amongst Key Strategic Agenda of the Board. Aegis Leadership team is
fully committed to the framework and supports all initiatives within it.
The company has implemented progressive policies like Human Rights, Equal Employment
Opportunity, Prevention of Gender Harassment, Maternity Benefit Schemes, Policy on Affirmative
Action and Conflict of Interest Management that truly demonstrate the commitment to rigorously
drive diversity and inclusion at workplace.

S
Ec ocia
Dis ono lly &
ad mic
van all
tag y
ed

Dedicated Diversity Champions are nominated at corporate, business and country level, to lead the
Diversity and Inclusion initiative.
35% of the
Global Workforce

Diversity is a key theme of Sustainability Reporting initiative which is a vital initiative towards
Diversity and Inclusion.

PHILOSOPHY AND COMMITMENTS TO DIVERSITY

Any business that intends to be successful must have an unyielding commitment to ensuring that workforce
diversity is part of its day-to-day business conduct. At Aegis, the commitment is demonstrated by defining
the following base level indicators against each facet of diversity:
Diversity Facet

Philosophy

Commitment

Persons with
Disabilities (PwDs)

Aegis is committed to provide equal opportunity in all areas of

employment, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring,
training and promotion of individuals with disabilities.

Employ PwDs equal to 1.5% of

global workforce (Target for
current year)

Gender
Inclusivity

At Aegis, gender inclusivity is a long-term commitment so as to

develop initiatives that lay a strong foundation for employment &
career success of less dominant gender at all levels.

Gender mix to be in
accordance with the available
employable population

Socially &
Economically
Disadvantaged People

Aegis is committed to provide gainful employment to socially &

economically disadvantaged people in all geographies and
businesses.

Mix of socially & economically

disadvantaged people to be in
accordance with the available
employable population

Culturally &
Linguistically
Diverse People

To understand, embrace and operate in a multi-cultural world

both in the market place and in the workplace.

Mature Age
People

To develop a workplace that provides the tools and support to

develop people of mature age and to transition them
successfully leaving a legacy of tribal knowledge within the
organization.

To employ mature age people

equal to 1.5% of global
workforce

Aegis advocates employing People of the Soil across all

geographies of its operations, while keeping in mind the Equal
Employment Opportunity.

At least 95% of total Aegis

workforce in respective countres
should be indigenous

Inclusion of
Indigenous
People

17

Mix of culturally & linguistically

diverse people to be in
accordance with the available
employable population

Extensive communication is done around the initiative which includes Training on diversity and
inclusion at Induction, Round Table, Affinity Groups, Policy Refresher Sessions, PwD Employees
Communication Series, Sessions on Affirmative Action, Workshops on sensitizing line managers,
Cultural Sensitization Workshops and various training and sensitization programs to re-build the
acumen of mature age employees.
The infrastructure and facilities ensure that the company stays true to its commitment of making the
work environment conducive, by catering to the special needs for accessibility and convenience
e.g. placement of wheelchair ramps, elevators with grab handles, wide & glass door ways for better
wheelchair movements, handicap restrooms, auxiliary aids, interpreters etc.
Periodic assessment and renement on initiatives to improve coverage and effectiveness.

DIVERSITY INITIATIVES
During the current year the following new initiatives were launched apart from the on-going activities:
Project 2nd Innings is an initiative to integrate females back into the ecosystem after a maternity
break and for those looking for opportunities after a career break. These career breaks may be taken
for maternity leave, long study leave, extended travel or other personal reasons.
In April 2013, Aegis embarked on the journey of including women in Saudi Arabia and within a year
the company has successfully onboarded more than 400 female employees in the eco-system.
Currently the process of firming up the gender inclusivity initiatives is in progress.
The companys efforts in hiring PwDs in Aegis Malaysia, the newest venture of Aegis has led to a
Certificate of Appreciation by the organizers of a career fair in association with the Malaysian
Government which showcases the commitment for diversity initiative.
Preference is given to previously disadvantaged groups in South Africa through recruitment and
internal movement.

18

DIVERSITY ENABLERS

The six dimensional model of diversity is depicted in the diagram below:

The company is clear that managing diversity means recognizing people differences and seeing these
differences as valuable. Therefore, awareness, understanding and sensitization are the main priorities to
promote diversity. Awareness includes need for appreciation & messaging through workshops, mailers and
whats in it for me, Transition includes sensitization training, implementation of initiatives and change
champions and Sustenance includes organization structure enabling diversity, policy framework and
redefining employee engagement framework. Various initiatives which act as remarkable enablers in building
a diverse and inclusive workplace are as follows:

96-99% of the
Global Workforce

Inc
Ind lusio
n
ig
Pe enou of
op
le s

Persons with
Disabitilies

Diversity Model of Aegis

562 PwDs (1.39% of

the Global Workforce)

er
ng ty
Ge usivi
l
Inc

1.6% of the
Global Workforce

Male: Female - 65:35

e
Ag
re le
u
t
Ma Peop
Culturally &
Linguistically
Diverse People

75 Nationalities
38 Languages
9 Countries
43 Global Locations

Diversity & Inclusion are amongst Key Strategic Agenda of the Board. Aegis Leadership team is
fully committed to the framework and supports all initiatives within it.
The company has implemented progressive policies like Human Rights, Equal Employment
Opportunity, Prevention of Gender Harassment, Maternity Benefit Schemes, Policy on Affirmative
Action and Conflict of Interest Management that truly demonstrate the commitment to rigorously
drive diversity and inclusion at workplace.

S
Ec ocia
Dis ono lly &
ad mic
van all
tag y
ed

Dedicated Diversity Champions are nominated at corporate, business and country level, to lead the
Diversity and Inclusion initiative.
35% of the
Global Workforce

Diversity is a key theme of Sustainability Reporting initiative which is a vital initiative towards
Diversity and Inclusion.

PHILOSOPHY AND COMMITMENTS TO DIVERSITY

Any business that intends to be successful must have an unyielding commitment to ensuring that workforce
diversity is part of its day-to-day business conduct. At Aegis, the commitment is demonstrated by defining
the following base level indicators against each facet of diversity:
Diversity Facet

Philosophy

Commitment

Persons with
Disabilities (PwDs)

Aegis is committed to provide equal opportunity in all areas of

employment, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring,
training and promotion of individuals with disabilities.

Employ PwDs equal to 1.5% of

global workforce (Target for
current year)

Gender
Inclusivity

At Aegis, gender inclusivity is a long-term commitment so as to

develop initiatives that lay a strong foundation for employment &
career success of less dominant gender at all levels.

Gender mix to be in
accordance with the available
employable population

Socially &
Economically
Disadvantaged People

Aegis is committed to provide gainful employment to socially &

economically disadvantaged people in all geographies and
businesses.

Mix of socially & economically

disadvantaged people to be in
accordance with the available
employable population

Culturally &
Linguistically
Diverse People

To understand, embrace and operate in a multi-cultural world

both in the market place and in the workplace.

Mature Age
People

To develop a workplace that provides the tools and support to

develop people of mature age and to transition them
successfully leaving a legacy of tribal knowledge within the
organization.

To employ mature age people

equal to 1.5% of global
workforce

Aegis advocates employing People of the Soil across all

geographies of its operations, while keeping in mind the Equal
Employment Opportunity.

At least 95% of total Aegis

workforce in respective countres
should be indigenous

Inclusion of
Indigenous
People

17

Mix of culturally & linguistically

diverse people to be in
accordance with the available
employable population

Extensive communication is done around the initiative which includes Training on diversity and
inclusion at Induction, Round Table, Affinity Groups, Policy Refresher Sessions, PwD Employees
Communication Series, Sessions on Affirmative Action, Workshops on sensitizing line managers,
Cultural Sensitization Workshops and various training and sensitization programs to re-build the
acumen of mature age employees.
The infrastructure and facilities ensure that the company stays true to its commitment of making the
work environment conducive, by catering to the special needs for accessibility and convenience
e.g. placement of wheelchair ramps, elevators with grab handles, wide & glass door ways for better
wheelchair movements, handicap restrooms, auxiliary aids, interpreters etc.
Periodic assessment and renement on initiatives to improve coverage and effectiveness.

DIVERSITY INITIATIVES
During the current year the following new initiatives were launched apart from the on-going activities:
Project 2nd Innings is an initiative to integrate females back into the ecosystem after a maternity
break and for those looking for opportunities after a career break. These career breaks may be taken
for maternity leave, long study leave, extended travel or other personal reasons.
In April 2013, Aegis embarked on the journey of including women in Saudi Arabia and within a year
the company has successfully onboarded more than 400 female employees in the eco-system.
Currently the process of firming up the gender inclusivity initiatives is in progress.
The companys efforts in hiring PwDs in Aegis Malaysia, the newest venture of Aegis has led to a
Certificate of Appreciation by the organizers of a career fair in association with the Malaysian
Government which showcases the commitment for diversity initiative.
Preference is given to previously disadvantaged groups in South Africa through recruitment and
internal movement.

18

 Aegis has partnered with SARTHAK Educational Trust in 10 locations in India. SARTHAK is an NGO
created to promote employment of PwDs and has helped to consolidate hiring on PwDs in newer
locations that the company has ventured into in India.
7 new centers opened up creating employment opportunities for Socially and Economically
Disadvantaged people in tier 3 & 4 cities: The company has ventured into towns like Jamshedpur,
Vijayawada, Srinagar & Chhindwara in India, Cordoba & Bahia Blanca in Argentina and Tier 4 cities
like Shimoga, Karnal, Ajmer, Trivandrum, Bhubaneswar, Dehradun and Guwahati. The operations in
smaller towns have gone a long way in ensuring significant indirect economic impact on the
communities and societies in general and the employable population in particular.

TRACKING MECHANISM
Aegis has a very strong measurement and accountability mechanism and some of the features are as
mentioned below:
Diversity Scorecard: All the facets of diversity are monitored regularly against the commitments
laid in the six dimensional Diversity model. Progress on all the facets is reported on monthly basis
by all the offices across business and geographies which is then consolidated into a global status
and is presented to the Executive Management team.
Diversity Goals: The organization has a very well defined outcome based commitment and
measurement system against each facet of diversity.
Employee Engagement Initiatives & Client Feedback: Two-way communication methods like
formal and informal feedback systems help to capture the effectiveness of the framework. Client
feedback is regularly captured and the inputs are given prime importance while strategizing for
better breadth of services to be offered in order to have superior business results.
Diversity DNA Scan: Diversity Scan survey is rolled-out on annual basis with an intent to identify
the existing diversity mix and understand people perception regarding Diversity and Inclusion
initiatives.

IMPACT ON BUSINESS METRICS & STAKEHOLDERS

The rigorous focus on implementation, tracking and monitoring of each facet under Diversity & Inclusion
initiative has had significant impact on employees, customers and consequently on business metrics.

19

20

 Aegis has partnered with SARTHAK Educational Trust in 10 locations in India. SARTHAK is an NGO
created to promote employment of PwDs and has helped to consolidate hiring on PwDs in newer
locations that the company has ventured into in India.
7 new centers opened up creating employment opportunities for Socially and Economically
Disadvantaged people in tier 3 & 4 cities: The company has ventured into towns like Jamshedpur,
Vijayawada, Srinagar & Chhindwara in India, Cordoba & Bahia Blanca in Argentina and Tier 4 cities
like Shimoga, Karnal, Ajmer, Trivandrum, Bhubaneswar, Dehradun and Guwahati. The operations in
smaller towns have gone a long way in ensuring significant indirect economic impact on the
communities and societies in general and the employable population in particular.

TRACKING MECHANISM
Aegis has a very strong measurement and accountability mechanism and some of the features are as
mentioned below:
Diversity Scorecard: All the facets of diversity are monitored regularly against the commitments
laid in the six dimensional Diversity model. Progress on all the facets is reported on monthly basis
by all the offices across business and geographies which is then consolidated into a global status
and is presented to the Executive Management team.
Diversity Goals: The organization has a very well defined outcome based commitment and
measurement system against each facet of diversity.
Employee Engagement Initiatives & Client Feedback: Two-way communication methods like
formal and informal feedback systems help to capture the effectiveness of the framework. Client
feedback is regularly captured and the inputs are given prime importance while strategizing for
better breadth of services to be offered in order to have superior business results.
Diversity DNA Scan: Diversity Scan survey is rolled-out on annual basis with an intent to identify
the existing diversity mix and understand people perception regarding Diversity and Inclusion
initiatives.

IMPACT ON BUSINESS METRICS & STAKEHOLDERS

The rigorous focus on implementation, tracking and monitoring of each facet under Diversity & Inclusion
initiative has had significant impact on employees, customers and consequently on business metrics.

19

20

Company
40,000 employees, 75 nationalities, 38 languages, 9 countries, 43 global locations serving a diverse
client base.
Signicant growth in revenue & prot.

recognize and fully deploy a wide range of knowledge and skills, reach out to an increasingly diverse clientele, and
motivate talented employees from all backgrounds to perform their best. Aegis believes that only when people of
different backgrounds and beliefs work together as a team that a company can hope to progress and grow. By
creating and successfully managing a diverse workforce, an organization can improve employee satisfaction,
productivity and retention. Not to mention the benets reaped by the community and the world at large.

Average tenure of top 15 customers is 7 years with 50% increase in share of wallet.
Seamless integration of all entities with 100% success rate in all M&As.
Numerous awards from esteemed organizations like IAOP, Gartner, Frost & Sullivan, NASSCOM, Dataquest,
Aon Hewitt, SHRM, Great Place to Work, CII and People Matters including 19 awards on Diversity & Inclusion
thereby positioning Aegis as an Equal Employment Opportunity Provider & an Employer of Choice.

Employees
Overall Global Employee Engagement score consistently improved from 65% in 2011 to 78% in
2014.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SM Gupta steers the Human Resource function at Aegis as the Global Chief People Officer. A distinguished speaker
and a thought leader at various forums and associations, SM is committed to working towards creating a
progressive workplace, and is a true believer in Inclusion and Diversity.

Zero man-days lost on account of Industrial Relations issues in countries having highly unionized
workforce, such as Australia & Argentina.
Career opportunities for 800+ people from diverse groups through internal recruitment program.
17% reduction in labour litigation cases and 24% reduced costs associated with attrition and
absenteeism.

Customers
Increase in Customer Satisfaction and Net Promoter Scores.
Enhanced capability of serving a wide range of clientele.
Indigenous workforce helped serve better to local customers.

Society
Creating job opportunities for people in areas having very high unemployment rates & low literacy
levels.
Enhancement of economic status of people from BPL category.
Women empowerment.

ACTION PLAN FOR FUTURE

The way forward for Diversity and Inclusion includes adopting outreach programs to manage diversity, design and
implement innovative practices to attract, hire, train, promote and retain the diverse workforce and budget allocation
to further promote accessibility to workplace.

Conclusion
At Aegis, diversity in the workplace is no longer a nice to have phenomenon, but a business necessity in order to
remain competitive and deliver sustainable business results. A diverse and inclusive organization is able to

21

22

Company
40,000 employees, 75 nationalities, 38 languages, 9 countries, 43 global locations serving a diverse
client base.
Signicant growth in revenue & prot.

recognize and fully deploy a wide range of knowledge and skills, reach out to an increasingly diverse clientele, and
motivate talented employees from all backgrounds to perform their best. Aegis believes that only when people of
different backgrounds and beliefs work together as a team that a company can hope to progress and grow. By
creating and successfully managing a diverse workforce, an organization can improve employee satisfaction,
productivity and retention. Not to mention the benets reaped by the community and the world at large.

Average tenure of top 15 customers is 7 years with 50% increase in share of wallet.
Seamless integration of all entities with 100% success rate in all M&As.
Numerous awards from esteemed organizations like IAOP, Gartner, Frost & Sullivan, NASSCOM, Dataquest,
Aon Hewitt, SHRM, Great Place to Work, CII and People Matters including 19 awards on Diversity & Inclusion
thereby positioning Aegis as an Equal Employment Opportunity Provider & an Employer of Choice.

Employees
Overall Global Employee Engagement score consistently improved from 65% in 2011 to 78% in
2014.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SM Gupta steers the Human Resource function at Aegis as the Global Chief People Officer. A distinguished speaker
and a thought leader at various forums and associations, SM is committed to working towards creating a
progressive workplace, and is a true believer in Inclusion and Diversity.

Zero man-days lost on account of Industrial Relations issues in countries having highly unionized
workforce, such as Australia & Argentina.
Career opportunities for 800+ people from diverse groups through internal recruitment program.
17% reduction in labour litigation cases and 24% reduced costs associated with attrition and
absenteeism.

Customers
Increase in Customer Satisfaction and Net Promoter Scores.
Enhanced capability of serving a wide range of clientele.
Indigenous workforce helped serve better to local customers.

Society
Creating job opportunities for people in areas having very high unemployment rates & low literacy
levels.
Enhancement of economic status of people from BPL category.
Women empowerment.

ACTION PLAN FOR FUTURE

The way forward for Diversity and Inclusion includes adopting outreach programs to manage diversity, design and
implement innovative practices to attract, hire, train, promote and retain the diverse workforce and budget allocation
to further promote accessibility to workplace.

Conclusion
At Aegis, diversity in the workplace is no longer a nice to have phenomenon, but a business necessity in order to
remain competitive and deliver sustainable business results. A diverse and inclusive organization is able to

21

22

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW
Tech Mahindra represents the connected world, offering innovative and customer-centric information
technology services and solutions, enabling Enterprises, Associates and the Society to Rise. A USD 3.9
billion organization with 105,200+ professionals across 90 countries, helping over 780+ global customers
including Fortune 500 companies, their innovation platforms and reusable assets connect across a number
of technologies to deliver tangible business value to stakeholders. Tech Mahindra is also amongst the Fab 50
companies in Asia as per the Forbes 2014 List.
The organization is a part of the USD 16.9 billion Mahindra Group that employs more than 200,000 people in
over 100 countries. The Group operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a
leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, after-market, information technology and vacation ownership.

THE TRANSFORMATION

EXCELLENCE IN SOCIAL MEDIA

PEOPLE PRACTICES

CONNECTING, CO-CREATING
AND CELEBRATING THROUGH
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
- BY RAJESHWARI KAR

Tech Mahindra acquired Satyam Computer Services Ltd. in April 2009, after its founder Ramalinga Raju
confessed in January 2009 that the organizations accounts had been falsified for several years. The
turnaround story that the TechMighties have scripted since the revelation of the Satyam scam and the
subsequent takeover by Tech Mahindra, is nothing short of an epic. So much so that the story of their
transformation has been told and retold many times now whether it is in the form of a book The
Resurgence of Satyam by Zafar Anjum or as a case study by the Harvard Business School - Tech Mahindra
and the Acquisition of Satyam Computers- Publication Date Jan 07, 2014. From a situation where most of the
people had written off Satyam, they have risen from the ashes, like the proverbial Phoenix, to be ranked as
Indias fastest growing organization (Business World, August 2014).

THE CHALLENGE PICKING THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

A review of the pre-merger characteristics of Tech Mahindra and Mahindra Satyam revealed that while Tech
Mahindras dominant cultural traits were that of being a flexible, agile and risk taking organization with strong
customer centricity, Mahindra Satyams DNA was that of a process driven organization with emphasis on
entrepreneurship and innovation. While the fabric of the new organization was being designed and
developed, the agility and responsiveness of Tech Mahindra was sought to be weaved with the
entrepreneurship and innovation focus of Mahindra Satyam. In addition, the leaders also emphasized on the
importance of retaining Tech Mahindras connect with Associates families and bringing them under the fold
of the greater Tech Mahindra family.

THE PLAN FOR A ONE TECH MAHINDRA

Upon his appointment in June 2009 as the CEO of Mahindra Satyam, CP Gurnani remarked, This Company
has been through a lot of pain and anxiety. I want to make this a happy place to work and keep the company
energized as we move ahead. This set the tone for the series of initiatives that were put in place to address
the challenges of attrition, fear, uncertainty and low Associate morale. Timely and transparent communication
with Associates on every aspect that affected them was accorded the top priority after the acquisition. A 24/7
help desk was constituted, which was manned by HR representatives to handle queries of Associates, dispel
rumors and share updates on a real time basis.
However, once the crisis ebbed and things started getting back to normal, there was a need felt for
establishing virtual platforms that were well equipped to reach 80,000+ Associates across the merged
organization and:

24

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW
Tech Mahindra represents the connected world, offering innovative and customer-centric information
technology services and solutions, enabling Enterprises, Associates and the Society to Rise. A USD 3.9
billion organization with 105,200+ professionals across 90 countries, helping over 780+ global customers
including Fortune 500 companies, their innovation platforms and reusable assets connect across a number
of technologies to deliver tangible business value to stakeholders. Tech Mahindra is also amongst the Fab 50
companies in Asia as per the Forbes 2014 List.
The organization is a part of the USD 16.9 billion Mahindra Group that employs more than 200,000 people in
over 100 countries. The Group operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a
leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, after-market, information technology and vacation ownership.

THE TRANSFORMATION

EXCELLENCE IN SOCIAL MEDIA

PEOPLE PRACTICES

CONNECTING, CO-CREATING
AND CELEBRATING THROUGH
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
- BY RAJESHWARI KAR

Tech Mahindra acquired Satyam Computer Services Ltd. in April 2009, after its founder Ramalinga Raju
confessed in January 2009 that the organizations accounts had been falsified for several years. The
turnaround story that the TechMighties have scripted since the revelation of the Satyam scam and the
subsequent takeover by Tech Mahindra, is nothing short of an epic. So much so that the story of their
transformation has been told and retold many times now whether it is in the form of a book The
Resurgence of Satyam by Zafar Anjum or as a case study by the Harvard Business School - Tech Mahindra
and the Acquisition of Satyam Computers- Publication Date Jan 07, 2014. From a situation where most of the
people had written off Satyam, they have risen from the ashes, like the proverbial Phoenix, to be ranked as
Indias fastest growing organization (Business World, August 2014).

THE CHALLENGE PICKING THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

A review of the pre-merger characteristics of Tech Mahindra and Mahindra Satyam revealed that while Tech
Mahindras dominant cultural traits were that of being a flexible, agile and risk taking organization with strong
customer centricity, Mahindra Satyams DNA was that of a process driven organization with emphasis on
entrepreneurship and innovation. While the fabric of the new organization was being designed and
developed, the agility and responsiveness of Tech Mahindra was sought to be weaved with the
entrepreneurship and innovation focus of Mahindra Satyam. In addition, the leaders also emphasized on the
importance of retaining Tech Mahindras connect with Associates families and bringing them under the fold
of the greater Tech Mahindra family.

THE PLAN FOR A ONE TECH MAHINDRA

Upon his appointment in June 2009 as the CEO of Mahindra Satyam, CP Gurnani remarked, This Company
has been through a lot of pain and anxiety. I want to make this a happy place to work and keep the company
energized as we move ahead. This set the tone for the series of initiatives that were put in place to address
the challenges of attrition, fear, uncertainty and low Associate morale. Timely and transparent communication
with Associates on every aspect that affected them was accorded the top priority after the acquisition. A 24/7
help desk was constituted, which was manned by HR representatives to handle queries of Associates, dispel
rumors and share updates on a real time basis.
However, once the crisis ebbed and things started getting back to normal, there was a need felt for
establishing virtual platforms that were well equipped to reach 80,000+ Associates across the merged
organization and:

24

 Ensure Connect amongst Associates as well as with the external ecosystem and provide
opportunities for Associates to interact with the senior management and vice-versa, give feedback,
suggest ideas and bring in fresh perspectives.
Promote a collaborative work culture
breakthrough solutions

where Associates Co-Create new approaches and

Using these platforms as a Listening medium and gather actionable feedback to improve
Associate and candidate experience.
Based on the user base, characteristics and offerings of each of these platforms, a distinct content strategy
has been adopted for each platform:
A. Facebook has been identified and leveraged as a platform best suited for Employer Branding

Create a culture of fun-lled, high energy work environment where Associates Celebrate the
blending of work and life.

B. Twitter is looked upon as a platform that enables promoting Brand Tech Mahindra
C. LinkedIn is being largely used for Talent Acquisition specifically for leadership and sales positions,
as well as promoting Tech Mahindra as an organization that champions Thought Leadership

In this backdrop, Social Media platforms were identified to be an effective medium to foster a One Tech
Mahindra culture of Connecting, Co-creating and Celebrating together as a team, and both external and
internal social media platforms were identified and engaged.

2. Internal Social Media Platforms

Ac Talen
qu t
isit
ion

yer
lpo ng
Em andi
Br

At Tech Mahindra, Internal Social Media platforms have been leveraged extensively to enable communication
(Connect), facilitate knowledge management (Co-Create), foster co-innovation (Co-Create), further learning
and development (Co-Create), engage Associates and promote recognition, rewarding excellence as part of
the culture (Celebrate).
A.

g
rin on
ste ati
Fo nnov
-I
Co

B.

Fac
Kno ilitatin
Ma wled g
nag
emege
nt

Image: The internal and external Social Media platforms leveraged at Tech Mahindra

SPECIFIC SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

1. External Social Media

Expanding the Talent Pool; since Social Media provides access to both active and passive
candidates along with richer profile/background information
Promoting Employer Brand and establishing Tech Mahindra as an Employer of Choice

25

Facilitating Knowledge Management

In line with the organizations culture of Co-creation and collaboration, Knowledge Management (KM)
is one of the key focus areas at Tech Mahindra. The KM philosophy is strongly aligned to the
organizations business strategy and aims to imbibe a strong knowledge sharing culture at every level
in the organization. The Knowledge Management Portal KEE (Knowledge Enhancement Experience)
acts as the central Knowledge Management Solution which comprises of various forums for capturing
and contributing explicit and tacit knowledge accessible by all Associates. KEE portal is mobile
enabled and Associates can download the app on their mobile devices. In addition, forums such as
Ask The Expert (ATE), blogs, webinars and webcasts facilitate knowledge sharing and not only ensure
reduced effort and improved saving, they also ensure that all Associates have access to the required
know-how that allows them to quickly respond to changing business situations.

g
blin ion
Ena unicat
m
Com

Amongst the external Social Media Platforms, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Glassdoor were identified as
the Social Media platforms where Tech Mahindra would actively engage with the user base. The top 3
reasons for going Social were:

Enabling Communication
In line with the customer value proposition of Connected World Connected Solutions, Tech Mahindra
seeks to create a Connected Universe within the organization where Associates have a clear line of
sight into the organizations strategy, performance, processes, policies and programs and are aligned
to the organizations vision, mission, goals and targets. Towards this objective, a social intranet portal
MyBeat Plus and other web and mobile based applications such as EAAAP (Tech Mahindras Mobile
News app), eChat platform etc. have been implemented to complement the existing face-to-face
communication platforms.

Connecting
Co-creating
Celebrating

Lis
Me tenin
diu g
m

F
Leaurther
Dev rning ing
elo and
pm
ent

g
erinition
s
r
Fo ogn ation
c
r
Re eleb
C
&

D. Glassdoor is being used to increase brand awareness and influence potential candidates decision
to join Tech Mahindra

C.

Fostering Co-Innovation
Innovation is one of the four dimensions of Mission 2015 (Tech Mahindras Mission Statement) and
Associates are an integral part of their 360 degree innovation ecosystem. By crowd-sourcing ideas
from 1,05,000+ Associates and transferring the mantle of ideating on to them, Tech Mahindra
encourages innovation across the organization. They have institutionalized various platforms for
Associates to participate and contribute to our innovation journey. While IRIS (Ideate, Refine,
Implement, Shine) is a structured innovation process focused towards harvesting ideas from

26

 Ensure Connect amongst Associates as well as with the external ecosystem and provide
opportunities for Associates to interact with the senior management and vice-versa, give feedback,
suggest ideas and bring in fresh perspectives.
Promote a collaborative work culture
breakthrough solutions

where Associates Co-Create new approaches and

Using these platforms as a Listening medium and gather actionable feedback to improve
Associate and candidate experience.
Based on the user base, characteristics and offerings of each of these platforms, a distinct content strategy
has been adopted for each platform:
A. Facebook has been identified and leveraged as a platform best suited for Employer Branding

Create a culture of fun-lled, high energy work environment where Associates Celebrate the
blending of work and life.

B. Twitter is looked upon as a platform that enables promoting Brand Tech Mahindra
C. LinkedIn is being largely used for Talent Acquisition specifically for leadership and sales positions,
as well as promoting Tech Mahindra as an organization that champions Thought Leadership

In this backdrop, Social Media platforms were identified to be an effective medium to foster a One Tech
Mahindra culture of Connecting, Co-creating and Celebrating together as a team, and both external and
internal social media platforms were identified and engaged.

2. Internal Social Media Platforms

Ac Talen
qu t
isit
ion

yer
lpo ng
Em andi
Br

At Tech Mahindra, Internal Social Media platforms have been leveraged extensively to enable communication
(Connect), facilitate knowledge management (Co-Create), foster co-innovation (Co-Create), further learning
and development (Co-Create), engage Associates and promote recognition, rewarding excellence as part of
the culture (Celebrate).
A.

g
rin on
ste ati
Fo nnov
-I
Co

B.

Fac
Kno ilitatin
Ma wled g
nag
emege
nt

Image: The internal and external Social Media platforms leveraged at Tech Mahindra

SPECIFIC SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

1. External Social Media

Expanding the Talent Pool; since Social Media provides access to both active and passive
candidates along with richer profile/background information
Promoting Employer Brand and establishing Tech Mahindra as an Employer of Choice

25

Facilitating Knowledge Management

In line with the organizations culture of Co-creation and collaboration, Knowledge Management (KM)
is one of the key focus areas at Tech Mahindra. The KM philosophy is strongly aligned to the
organizations business strategy and aims to imbibe a strong knowledge sharing culture at every level
in the organization. The Knowledge Management Portal KEE (Knowledge Enhancement Experience)
acts as the central Knowledge Management Solution which comprises of various forums for capturing
and contributing explicit and tacit knowledge accessible by all Associates. KEE portal is mobile
enabled and Associates can download the app on their mobile devices. In addition, forums such as
Ask The Expert (ATE), blogs, webinars and webcasts facilitate knowledge sharing and not only ensure
reduced effort and improved saving, they also ensure that all Associates have access to the required
know-how that allows them to quickly respond to changing business situations.

g
blin ion
Ena unicat
m
Com

Amongst the external Social Media Platforms, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Glassdoor were identified as
the Social Media platforms where Tech Mahindra would actively engage with the user base. The top 3
reasons for going Social were:

Enabling Communication
In line with the customer value proposition of Connected World Connected Solutions, Tech Mahindra
seeks to create a Connected Universe within the organization where Associates have a clear line of
sight into the organizations strategy, performance, processes, policies and programs and are aligned
to the organizations vision, mission, goals and targets. Towards this objective, a social intranet portal
MyBeat Plus and other web and mobile based applications such as EAAAP (Tech Mahindras Mobile
News app), eChat platform etc. have been implemented to complement the existing face-to-face
communication platforms.

Connecting
Co-creating
Celebrating

Lis
Me tenin
diu g
m

F
Leaurther
Dev rning ing
elo and
pm
ent

g
erinition
s
r
Fo ogn ation
c
r
Re eleb
C
&

D. Glassdoor is being used to increase brand awareness and influence potential candidates decision
to join Tech Mahindra

C.

Fostering Co-Innovation
Innovation is one of the four dimensions of Mission 2015 (Tech Mahindras Mission Statement) and
Associates are an integral part of their 360 degree innovation ecosystem. By crowd-sourcing ideas
from 1,05,000+ Associates and transferring the mantle of ideating on to them, Tech Mahindra
encourages innovation across the organization. They have institutionalized various platforms for
Associates to participate and contribute to our innovation journey. While IRIS (Ideate, Refine,
Implement, Shine) is a structured innovation process focused towards harvesting ideas from

26

Associates on specific set of business themes that is implemented through the web based IRIS portal,
the Intrapreneurship Program is an internal venture capital program which funds and assists
Associates who have a unique Product/Service/Solution idea and the leadership to convert it into a
business reality. Associates submit their proposals online through the IRIS portal and a process has
been put in place to validate the business ideas provided by Associates in collaboration with senior
leaders and experts from the related field. Once the idea is found to be feasible, it is incubated as a
separate project. Moreover, innovation events such as Hackathon and Battle of the Codes provide an
opportunity to the Associates to bring out the innovator within them and to co-innovate with their
colleagues and friends.
D.

Furthering Learning & Development:

At Tech Mahindra, enabling continuous learning for their Associates is recognized as a strategic
differentiator. To address the need for making learning agile and accessible to all the 105,000+
Associates present in 90 countries across the globe, various learning platforms have been created to
provide 24*7 learning. Webinars and WebEx, eLearning and mLearning modules have enabled
anytime, anywhere learning. In addition, Tech Mahindra has also launched a iTube its Video-A-Day
internal site where short handpicked videos are uploaded and content is refreshed daily. The objective
behind launching this platform was to bring relevant, external content to Associates. In the last two
years since its launch, the platform has screened series of videos on technology, leadership and also
critical organization initiatives.

E.

Fostering a culture of Recognition and Celebration through Kudos Portal

At Tech Mahindra, recognizing performance, motivating peers and celebrating achievements is an
integral part of the culture and their Rewards and Recognition framework recognizes Associates and
teams who live by the organizations core values and exhibit Rise behaviours.
They have moved up the value chain by hosting the R&R programs on a customized social intranet
portal called Kudos.
Kudos is a vibrant online social portal that replicates the features of social media platforms and is
hosted on the cloud where Associates have an option of awarding, recognizing and congratulating
their team members / peers / managers. They also have the option to share their appreciation/awards
received with their networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter. Kudos also provides the
opportunity to Associates to wish their colleagues on their birthdays and service anniversaries and also
congratulate them on their awards and accolades.

The effectiveness of internal social media people practices is reflected through the following achievements:
A considerable improvement in the overall Associate Engagement levels between FY 14 and FY 15
The Associate engagement scores on the Communication, Collaboration and Recognition
dimensions specifically have seen a significant increase respectively during the same period
A decrease in the offer drop rates on a year on year basis
There has been a steady increase in usage of Knowledge Management solutions across the
organization that has helped in creating greater value for the customers. Tech Mahindras
Knowledge Management Program has been recognized multiple times over the years with the
MAKE (Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise) Award being conferred for three times in a row for
2012, 2013 and 2014. Tech Mahindra has also won Information Week EDGE Award for Knowledge
Management 4 times till date in the years 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014
Associate Speak
MyBeat Plus helped me discover like-minded folksPoets, Technologists,
WritersThis is an initiative that truly made a difference at TechM.
Rodney Price
Technical Architect, Tech Mahindra, USA
Associate Speak
I have the opportunity to develop my ideas successfully through programs such as
Intrapreneurship Program, IRIS and our internal Facebook - MyBeatPlus.
Kunal Bhat
Senior Product Architect, Tech Mahindra, Mumbai

Conclusion and the Way Forward

Overall, Tech Mahindras Social Media practices and initiatives have positively influenced the people practices
especially with respect to Communication, Learning and Development, Recognition and Collaboration and have
also contributed in a significant way towards promoting an entrepreneurial and innovation centric culture.
Going forward, Tech Mahindras focus will be on harnessing the internal collaboration platforms to extend them to
family members of Associates and create opportunities for them.

Tech Mahindras Twitter followers saw more than 260% increase between FY 13 FY 15

The organization will also drive more and more Associate driven content generation through the kPoint video
platform. kPoint will act as a Do It Yourself video creation platform, where Associates can create and view
persuasive videos with integrated slides and screen captures. These videos can be viewed even when offline.
Associates are more likely to watch a video than read documents articles or email and retention rate for visual
information is much higher than text-based information. Hence, this platform is being implemented considering the
need for agile learning.

During the same period, there has been approximately 160% increase in the number of followers on
Tech Mahindras Facebook page

There will also be an increased focus on identifying internal Influencers and groom them as Brand Ambassadors
to leverage network of networks.

Success Measures/Achievements
On the external Social Media front, Tech Mahindras Fans / Followers on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and
Glassdoor have seen a substantial increase:

LinkedIn corporate membership was taken in FY 14 and in the last one year, there has been a 55%
YoY (Year over Year) increase in Tech Mahindras LinkedIn Members
On Glassdoor, Tech Mahindras page views has increased by 20% between August 2014 to July
2015

27

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rajeshwari Kar, Senior Manager - HR leads the Employer Branding initiatives at Tech Mahindra, contributing
towards establishing Tech Mahindra as an Employer of Choice.

28

Associates on specific set of business themes that is implemented through the web based IRIS portal,
the Intrapreneurship Program is an internal venture capital program which funds and assists
Associates who have a unique Product/Service/Solution idea and the leadership to convert it into a
business reality. Associates submit their proposals online through the IRIS portal and a process has
been put in place to validate the business ideas provided by Associates in collaboration with senior
leaders and experts from the related field. Once the idea is found to be feasible, it is incubated as a
separate project. Moreover, innovation events such as Hackathon and Battle of the Codes provide an
opportunity to the Associates to bring out the innovator within them and to co-innovate with their
colleagues and friends.
D.

Furthering Learning & Development:

At Tech Mahindra, enabling continuous learning for their Associates is recognized as a strategic
differentiator. To address the need for making learning agile and accessible to all the 105,000+
Associates present in 90 countries across the globe, various learning platforms have been created to
provide 24*7 learning. Webinars and WebEx, eLearning and mLearning modules have enabled
anytime, anywhere learning. In addition, Tech Mahindra has also launched a iTube its Video-A-Day
internal site where short handpicked videos are uploaded and content is refreshed daily. The objective
behind launching this platform was to bring relevant, external content to Associates. In the last two
years since its launch, the platform has screened series of videos on technology, leadership and also
critical organization initiatives.

E.

Fostering a culture of Recognition and Celebration through Kudos Portal

At Tech Mahindra, recognizing performance, motivating peers and celebrating achievements is an
integral part of the culture and their Rewards and Recognition framework recognizes Associates and
teams who live by the organizations core values and exhibit Rise behaviours.
They have moved up the value chain by hosting the R&R programs on a customized social intranet
portal called Kudos.
Kudos is a vibrant online social portal that replicates the features of social media platforms and is
hosted on the cloud where Associates have an option of awarding, recognizing and congratulating
their team members / peers / managers. They also have the option to share their appreciation/awards
received with their networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter. Kudos also provides the
opportunity to Associates to wish their colleagues on their birthdays and service anniversaries and also
congratulate them on their awards and accolades.

The effectiveness of internal social media people practices is reflected through the following achievements:
A considerable improvement in the overall Associate Engagement levels between FY 14 and FY 15
The Associate engagement scores on the Communication, Collaboration and Recognition
dimensions specifically have seen a significant increase respectively during the same period
A decrease in the offer drop rates on a year on year basis
There has been a steady increase in usage of Knowledge Management solutions across the
organization that has helped in creating greater value for the customers. Tech Mahindras
Knowledge Management Program has been recognized multiple times over the years with the
MAKE (Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise) Award being conferred for three times in a row for
2012, 2013 and 2014. Tech Mahindra has also won Information Week EDGE Award for Knowledge
Management 4 times till date in the years 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014
Associate Speak
MyBeat Plus helped me discover like-minded folksPoets, Technologists,
WritersThis is an initiative that truly made a difference at TechM.
Rodney Price
Technical Architect, Tech Mahindra, USA
Associate Speak
I have the opportunity to develop my ideas successfully through programs such as
Intrapreneurship Program, IRIS and our internal Facebook - MyBeatPlus.
Kunal Bhat
Senior Product Architect, Tech Mahindra, Mumbai

Conclusion and the Way Forward

Overall, Tech Mahindras Social Media practices and initiatives have positively influenced the people practices
especially with respect to Communication, Learning and Development, Recognition and Collaboration and have
also contributed in a significant way towards promoting an entrepreneurial and innovation centric culture.
Going forward, Tech Mahindras focus will be on harnessing the internal collaboration platforms to extend them to
family members of Associates and create opportunities for them.

Tech Mahindras Twitter followers saw more than 260% increase between FY 13 FY 15

The organization will also drive more and more Associate driven content generation through the kPoint video
platform. kPoint will act as a Do It Yourself video creation platform, where Associates can create and view
persuasive videos with integrated slides and screen captures. These videos can be viewed even when offline.
Associates are more likely to watch a video than read documents articles or email and retention rate for visual
information is much higher than text-based information. Hence, this platform is being implemented considering the
need for agile learning.

During the same period, there has been approximately 160% increase in the number of followers on
Tech Mahindras Facebook page

There will also be an increased focus on identifying internal Influencers and groom them as Brand Ambassadors
to leverage network of networks.

Success Measures/Achievements
On the external Social Media front, Tech Mahindras Fans / Followers on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and
Glassdoor have seen a substantial increase:

LinkedIn corporate membership was taken in FY 14 and in the last one year, there has been a 55%
YoY (Year over Year) increase in Tech Mahindras LinkedIn Members
On Glassdoor, Tech Mahindras page views has increased by 20% between August 2014 to July
2015

27

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rajeshwari Kar, Senior Manager - HR leads the Employer Branding initiatives at Tech Mahindra, contributing
towards establishing Tech Mahindra as an Employer of Choice.

28

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

COMPANY OVERVIEW
Tech Mahindra represents the connected world, offering innovative and customer-centric information
technology services and solutions, enabling Enterprises, Associates and the Society to Rise. A USD 3.9
billion organization with 105,200+ professionals across 90 countries, helping over 780+ global customers
including Fortune 500 companies, their innovation platforms and reusable assets connect across a number
of technologies to deliver tangible business value to stakeholders. Tech Mahindra is also amongst the Fab 50
companies in Asia as per the Forbes 2014 List.
The organization is a part of the USD 16.9 billion Mahindra Group that employs more than 2,00,000 people in
over 100 countries. The Group operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a
leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, after-market, information technology and vacation ownership.

BUSINESS CONTEXT

EXCELLENCE IN DEVELOPING
LEADERS OF TOMORROW

CREATING AN INTEGRATED
TALENT PIPELINE- THE
1000 LEADERS PROGRAM
- BY RICHA JAISWAL

Award Partner

The 1000 Leaders program was commissioned in 2013 with an objective to build and integrate a robust talent
pipeline across levels and functions. It includes identifying high potential talent in the organization and
developing them for critical roles in line with the organizations Mission 2015 and beyond. 1000 Leaders
program aims to identify, develop and provide faster career progression to the top talent.

Identification of
Top Talent

Development

Career
Progression

The program was launched during the time when Tech Mahindra was rapidly expanding across industries and
geographies through organic and inorganic growth. The 1000 leaders program was conceptualised to trigger,
fuel and sustain the overall growth and leadership metrics of Tech M in line with the Mission 2015 and
beyond. The program is also a key pillar in the overall HR strategy to establish itself as a top company for
leaders to work with. 1000 leaders are governed by the Central HR guidelines to provide an accelerated
career path. Today, the top talent pipeline has an army of 675+ Leaders. This program is very close to the
heart of the companys CEO, Mr. C.P Gurnani, which has ensured the support of all senior leaders lending it
an almost catalytic charm.
The term 1000 leaders program was coined as it was decided that leaders would be identified and
developed in four phases of 250 leaders each. However, today it is just a nomenclature as they continue to
identify and develop leaders every six months, with no plans of stopping at 1000.
During Phase I of the 1000 leaders program, leaders were nominated by the Independent Business Group
Heads followed by CXO interviews. However, it was soon recognized that nominations should not be
restricted and all eligible Associates should be provided an equal opportunity to self-nominate themselves,
irrespective of biases, tailed by a stringent selection process.

30

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

COMPANY OVERVIEW
Tech Mahindra represents the connected world, offering innovative and customer-centric information
technology services and solutions, enabling Enterprises, Associates and the Society to Rise. A USD 3.9
billion organization with 105,200+ professionals across 90 countries, helping over 780+ global customers
including Fortune 500 companies, their innovation platforms and reusable assets connect across a number
of technologies to deliver tangible business value to stakeholders. Tech Mahindra is also amongst the Fab 50
companies in Asia as per the Forbes 2014 List.
The organization is a part of the USD 16.9 billion Mahindra Group that employs more than 2,00,000 people in
over 100 countries. The Group operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a
leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, after-market, information technology and vacation ownership.

BUSINESS CONTEXT

EXCELLENCE IN DEVELOPING
LEADERS OF TOMORROW

CREATING AN INTEGRATED
TALENT PIPELINE- THE
1000 LEADERS PROGRAM
- BY RICHA JAISWAL

Award Partner

The 1000 Leaders program was commissioned in 2013 with an objective to build and integrate a robust talent
pipeline across levels and functions. It includes identifying high potential talent in the organization and
developing them for critical roles in line with the organizations Mission 2015 and beyond. 1000 Leaders
program aims to identify, develop and provide faster career progression to the top talent.

Identification of
Top Talent

Development

Career
Progression

The program was launched during the time when Tech Mahindra was rapidly expanding across industries and
geographies through organic and inorganic growth. The 1000 leaders program was conceptualised to trigger,
fuel and sustain the overall growth and leadership metrics of Tech M in line with the Mission 2015 and
beyond. The program is also a key pillar in the overall HR strategy to establish itself as a top company for
leaders to work with. 1000 leaders are governed by the Central HR guidelines to provide an accelerated
career path. Today, the top talent pipeline has an army of 675+ Leaders. This program is very close to the
heart of the companys CEO, Mr. C.P Gurnani, which has ensured the support of all senior leaders lending it
an almost catalytic charm.
The term 1000 leaders program was coined as it was decided that leaders would be identified and
developed in four phases of 250 leaders each. However, today it is just a nomenclature as they continue to
identify and develop leaders every six months, with no plans of stopping at 1000.
During Phase I of the 1000 leaders program, leaders were nominated by the Independent Business Group
Heads followed by CXO interviews. However, it was soon recognized that nominations should not be
restricted and all eligible Associates should be provided an equal opportunity to self-nominate themselves,
irrespective of biases, tailed by a stringent selection process.

30

DEVELOPMENT
The Leaders are developed under three categories of Emerging Leaders, Global Leaders & Game Changers.
There are Specialized Online Development Programs defined for each of the three categories and experiential
learning methodology is applied to enhance the leadership capabilities among the individuals through Job
Rotations, Special Assignments, Industry Partnership and Shadow Resourcing for critical roles. Moreover,
Competency Assessment, Mentoring / Coaching / Shadowing, Career goal mapping, access to External
Forums & Individual Development Planning form the hallmark of the 1000 leaders development strategy.
There are regular leadership connect programs which gives the 1000 leaders access to an informal forum
to interact and network with senior leadership, which adds a special flavour to this program.

IDENTIFICATION OF TOP TALENT

The selection process is designed to examine Mahindra competencies & Leadership capabilities as well as
organization fit. What sets this process apart is the fluid integration of the Business into the process. The
candidates with the highest observed potential make it through the stringent selection process from the
thousands of nominations that the program receives.
Leaders for this program are identified both from general management and specialist (technical and
functional) streams. Associates across all bands with minimum tenure of 1 year at Tech Mahindra and who
got top two ratings in the performance rating scale can apply for the program.
Online Nominations are invited for three different categories
1. Emerging Leaders Junior Management
There are exclusive assignments in which the 1000 leaders can participate, giving them opportunities to learn
and evolve in untried pastures. There are 150 leaders who were identified to play the role of internal Brand
Ambassadors for the company.

2. Global Leaders Middle Management

3. Game Changers Senior Management
The associates can self-nominate themselves on the 1000 leaders portal, by uploading their CVs and
submitting a write-up on why they deem themselves fit to be a1000 leader followed by a stringent selection
process with four levels of screening.
Online Self Nomination on the 1000 Leaders Portal

The program has helped build a Strong Talent Pool and keeps the inflow of fresh ideas/thoughts in the
organization which is the backbone of any growing organization
Some great ideas on improving the EBIDTA , Process Improvement and Best practices have come from this
pipeline of leaders, through fruitful peer interactions.

Stage I Screening through Thomas E Recruit System & Past Performance Rating

CAREER PROGRESSION
Stage II Screening through 360 Degree Feedback/Crowd Sourcing
Stage III Short video clip on a pre-decided topic to be shared
Stage IV Screening thorugh CXO/IBG/Senior Leaders Interview

31

Career Progression can be either vertical or lateral into cross functional roles depending upon the career
aspirations of the Associates. An exclusive portal for internal job postings, accessible only to the 1000
leaders and the Global Leadership Cadre has been introduced.
Exclusive IJPs (Internal Job Postings) are released regularly to provide career progression opportunities to the
1000 Leaders. The aim is to move minimum 85% of the 1000 leaders to pre-identified critical roles.

32

DEVELOPMENT
The Leaders are developed under three categories of Emerging Leaders, Global Leaders & Game Changers.
There are Specialized Online Development Programs defined for each of the three categories and experiential
learning methodology is applied to enhance the leadership capabilities among the individuals through Job
Rotations, Special Assignments, Industry Partnership and Shadow Resourcing for critical roles. Moreover,
Competency Assessment, Mentoring / Coaching / Shadowing, Career goal mapping, access to External
Forums & Individual Development Planning form the hallmark of the 1000 leaders development strategy.
There are regular leadership connect programs which gives the 1000 leaders access to an informal forum
to interact and network with senior leadership, which adds a special flavour to this program.

IDENTIFICATION OF TOP TALENT

The selection process is designed to examine Mahindra competencies & Leadership capabilities as well as
organization fit. What sets this process apart is the fluid integration of the Business into the process. The
candidates with the highest observed potential make it through the stringent selection process from the
thousands of nominations that the program receives.
Leaders for this program are identified both from general management and specialist (technical and
functional) streams. Associates across all bands with minimum tenure of 1 year at Tech Mahindra and who
got top two ratings in the performance rating scale can apply for the program.
Online Nominations are invited for three different categories
1. Emerging Leaders Junior Management
There are exclusive assignments in which the 1000 leaders can participate, giving them opportunities to learn
and evolve in untried pastures. There are 150 leaders who were identified to play the role of internal Brand
Ambassadors for the company.

2. Global Leaders Middle Management

3. Game Changers Senior Management
The associates can self-nominate themselves on the 1000 leaders portal, by uploading their CVs and
submitting a write-up on why they deem themselves fit to be a1000 leader followed by a stringent selection
process with four levels of screening.
Online Self Nomination on the 1000 Leaders Portal

The program has helped build a Strong Talent Pool and keeps the inflow of fresh ideas/thoughts in the
organization which is the backbone of any growing organization
Some great ideas on improving the EBIDTA , Process Improvement and Best practices have come from this
pipeline of leaders, through fruitful peer interactions.

Stage I Screening through Thomas E Recruit System & Past Performance Rating

CAREER PROGRESSION
Stage II Screening through 360 Degree Feedback/Crowd Sourcing
Stage III Short video clip on a pre-decided topic to be shared
Stage IV Screening thorugh CXO/IBG/Senior Leaders Interview

31

Career Progression can be either vertical or lateral into cross functional roles depending upon the career
aspirations of the Associates. An exclusive portal for internal job postings, accessible only to the 1000
leaders and the Global Leadership Cadre has been introduced.
Exclusive IJPs (Internal Job Postings) are released regularly to provide career progression opportunities to the
1000 Leaders. The aim is to move minimum 85% of the 1000 leaders to pre-identified critical roles.

32

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

Conclusion and the Way Forward

Some of the key achievements through this 1000 Leaders Program were:
An army of 675 leaders exists in the pipeline of 1000 leaders currently and the process is continued
thereafter as well
More than 2500 Entries were received for the 1000 leaders program Batches II & III
Involvement of 1000 Leaders in special assignments has increased Associate Engagement &
Associate Loyalty

The 1000 leaders program is the strategic initiative for leadership development for the organization's future growth
strategy. It has positively impacted retention as well as increased engagement scores. Today for all hiring, we first
look at our own talent pipeline before looking for external hires. Its success can be attributed to the credible
commitment of the Leadership to build a robust talent pool of Leaders who could be groomed to take on larger
responsibilities in the future and build a sustainable Leadership pipeline for the organisation.

80 plus critical positions were filled by the 1000 leaders

Leaders as Internal Brand Ambassadors who act as spokespersons on Internal & External Forums
The 1000 leaders form a part of the Dream Team and play a critical role in carving the Mission
Statement -2020
On the peers front, the program has evoked huge passion and integrity, as it is a clear Success
Star on Career Development

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Richa Jaiswal, Group Manager- Global Leadership Development leads the 1000 Leader Program at Tech Mahindra.

Great feedback from both Associates & Managers on Social Media forums and Communities which
has helped create positive reinforcement & buzz
The leaders are connected with each other and senior management on WhatsApp, closed
communities on Intranet
Tech Mahindra bagged the award for Excellence in Developing Leaders at SHRM Awards 2015 and
our 1000 Leaders program and Young CEO Program were recognized as the best practices
The1000 leaders program was recognized as the HR Best Practice by the NHRD network

A FEW VOICES

This program is definitely a game changer for the leaders especially in customer
interfacing or high impact roles. The course is structured in a way that you get the
right perspectives and valuable insights, not just as an academic learning but how
they get translated into your actions. The thought process it triggers within you and
that combined with our interaction with others takes the learning to a new level.

The 1000 Leaders Program is one of the best Programs in Tech Mahindra. It has
changed my perspective of looking into things from reactive approach to proactive
approach. I am very much satisfied with the visibility and career growth that I have
received through this program.

33

34

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

Conclusion and the Way Forward

Some of the key achievements through this 1000 Leaders Program were:
An army of 675 leaders exists in the pipeline of 1000 leaders currently and the process is continued
thereafter as well
More than 2500 Entries were received for the 1000 leaders program Batches II & III
Involvement of 1000 Leaders in special assignments has increased Associate Engagement &
Associate Loyalty

The 1000 leaders program is the strategic initiative for leadership development for the organization's future growth
strategy. It has positively impacted retention as well as increased engagement scores. Today for all hiring, we first
look at our own talent pipeline before looking for external hires. Its success can be attributed to the credible
commitment of the Leadership to build a robust talent pool of Leaders who could be groomed to take on larger
responsibilities in the future and build a sustainable Leadership pipeline for the organisation.

80 plus critical positions were filled by the 1000 leaders

Leaders as Internal Brand Ambassadors who act as spokespersons on Internal & External Forums
The 1000 leaders form a part of the Dream Team and play a critical role in carving the Mission
Statement -2020
On the peers front, the program has evoked huge passion and integrity, as it is a clear Success
Star on Career Development

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Richa Jaiswal, Group Manager- Global Leadership Development leads the 1000 Leader Program at Tech Mahindra.

Great feedback from both Associates & Managers on Social Media forums and Communities which
has helped create positive reinforcement & buzz
The leaders are connected with each other and senior management on WhatsApp, closed
communities on Intranet
Tech Mahindra bagged the award for Excellence in Developing Leaders at SHRM Awards 2015 and
our 1000 Leaders program and Young CEO Program were recognized as the best practices
The1000 leaders program was recognized as the HR Best Practice by the NHRD network

A FEW VOICES

This program is definitely a game changer for the leaders especially in customer
interfacing or high impact roles. The course is structured in a way that you get the
right perspectives and valuable insights, not just as an academic learning but how
they get translated into your actions. The thought process it triggers within you and
that combined with our interaction with others takes the learning to a new level.

The 1000 Leaders Program is one of the best Programs in Tech Mahindra. It has
changed my perspective of looking into things from reactive approach to proactive
approach. I am very much satisfied with the visibility and career growth that I have
received through this program.

33

34

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

RECRUITMENT AIDED BY FRESH TECHNOLOGY
Growing businesses today face a number of challenges, the most critical of them being a continuous
investment in human capital. In the context of a Business Process Management (BPM) organization like WNS,
recruitment of the right resources becomes a critical business function that impacts both top and bottom line.
Given the dynamic nature of the environment and the business requirements, recruitment effectiveness
becomes of utmost importance. With a reported headcount of over 29,000 as on FY 2014-15 and a reported
revenue growth of 6.2% in March 2015 and hiring numbers to an account of 12000+ per year, it becomes
imperative for a BPM organization to structure its recruitment processes to enhance efficiency.
With hiring numbers as high as 12,000+ employees every year, WNS was facing the challenge creating a
scalable model for its recruitment process. This case study takes you through the journey in which WNS has
re-engineered their recruitment process to ensure it is independent and capable of managing hiring spikes
without putting undue pressure on the processes and resources.

The Challenges that led WNS to Re-engineer Recruitment Process:

EXCELLENCE IN TALENT
SOURCING & STAFFING

RE-ENGINEER
RECRUITMENT PROCESS:
PROJECT RAFT
- BY HR TEAM AT WNS GLOBAL
SERVICE PVT LTD.

1. More than Sixty percent of the recruiters time was spent in follow-ups and administrative transactions
2. Candidate database management was dependent on manual MS Excel trackers and too much manual
intervention was required to collate candidate details
3. The current system involved collection of a hard copy of the candidates resume from every WNS location,
and then uploading it on the WNS system. With an average walk-in footfall (pan-India) of between 550 to
800 candidates every day, this system was prone to data entry errors, apart from being too time
consuming
4. Due to this system, it was difficult to filter resumes for job profile-match and eliminate duplication
5. The system was creating data silos with a heavy load of information on candidate resumes that was not
reusable
6. Multiple avenues to hire employees, for example, campus, vendor consultants, employee referrals, at
times resulted in instances of missing information in the candidate profiles
7. Lack of standard assessment procedure: for every line of business, different interview rounds existed with
no feedback capturing mechanism at a central repository
All these gaps were contributing to a less effective hiring model and the need of the hour was to revisit and
re-engineer the entire hiring model.

The Journey to Hiring Re-engineering

Hiring Re-engineeringEstablishing Sourcing COE framework 1/3

Award Partner
Processes

Flexibility & Precision

Effective resource & resume
utilization
Leveraging Technology &
intergrating with Social media
for cost effective hiring

Risk based, business driven hiring

Approach
Adaptability to changes and updates
Early estimation and planning
Industrialzed work package control

COE

Governance
&
Compliance

Technology

36

Alignment with business objective

KPI and Service Level Agreement
structure
Strategic, tactical and operational
governance model
Forecasting and Resourcing

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

RECRUITMENT AIDED BY FRESH TECHNOLOGY
Growing businesses today face a number of challenges, the most critical of them being a continuous
investment in human capital. In the context of a Business Process Management (BPM) organization like WNS,
recruitment of the right resources becomes a critical business function that impacts both top and bottom line.
Given the dynamic nature of the environment and the business requirements, recruitment effectiveness
becomes of utmost importance. With a reported headcount of over 29,000 as on FY 2014-15 and a reported
revenue growth of 6.2% in March 2015 and hiring numbers to an account of 12000+ per year, it becomes
imperative for a BPM organization to structure its recruitment processes to enhance efficiency.
With hiring numbers as high as 12,000+ employees every year, WNS was facing the challenge creating a
scalable model for its recruitment process. This case study takes you through the journey in which WNS has
re-engineered their recruitment process to ensure it is independent and capable of managing hiring spikes
without putting undue pressure on the processes and resources.

The Challenges that led WNS to Re-engineer Recruitment Process:

EXCELLENCE IN TALENT
SOURCING & STAFFING

RE-ENGINEER
RECRUITMENT PROCESS:
PROJECT RAFT
- BY HR TEAM AT WNS GLOBAL
SERVICE PVT LTD.

1. More than Sixty percent of the recruiters time was spent in follow-ups and administrative transactions
2. Candidate database management was dependent on manual MS Excel trackers and too much manual
intervention was required to collate candidate details
3. The current system involved collection of a hard copy of the candidates resume from every WNS location,
and then uploading it on the WNS system. With an average walk-in footfall (pan-India) of between 550 to
800 candidates every day, this system was prone to data entry errors, apart from being too time
consuming
4. Due to this system, it was difficult to filter resumes for job profile-match and eliminate duplication
5. The system was creating data silos with a heavy load of information on candidate resumes that was not
reusable
6. Multiple avenues to hire employees, for example, campus, vendor consultants, employee referrals, at
times resulted in instances of missing information in the candidate profiles
7. Lack of standard assessment procedure: for every line of business, different interview rounds existed with
no feedback capturing mechanism at a central repository
All these gaps were contributing to a less effective hiring model and the need of the hour was to revisit and
re-engineer the entire hiring model.

The Journey to Hiring Re-engineering

Hiring Re-engineeringEstablishing Sourcing COE framework 1/3

Award Partner
Processes

Flexibility & Precision

Effective resource & resume
utilization
Leveraging Technology &
intergrating with Social media
for cost effective hiring

Risk based, business driven hiring

Approach
Adaptability to changes and updates
Early estimation and planning
Industrialzed work package control

COE

Governance
&
Compliance

Technology

36

Alignment with business objective

KPI and Service Level Agreement
structure
Strategic, tactical and operational
governance model
Forecasting and Resourcing

The team then explored the market but were unable to find a suitable long-term customizable solution that
would meet all the recruitment requirements. Thus they decided to develop an in-house solution. The three
major initiatives for re-engineering our recruitment process were:

Technology was leveraged to integrate the recruitment solution with social media. Internal Referral Program
& Social Media platforms like Facebook & LinkedIn helped to contact and hire passive candidates.
To achieve the strategy of gaining high visibility in the targeted segment for online space, the following steps
were followed:

Step 1. Establishing a Sourcing Center of Excellence (COE)

Formed a team for mobile marketing (text, e-mail, video and web, etc.)

Step 2. Revisiting and improving processes/Implementing Technology-based hiring

Created assets on social media: corporate Facebook account, beginning a LinkedIn group

Step 3. Leveraging Technology

Run referral programs online

Revamped WNS Careers site
Used company blog to drive talent

A business case, which emphasized on improved hiring quality standards and adaptation of a COE approach
with its benefits was prepared as the starting point. This approach included sourcing cost, scalability, Tablet
hiring tool and leveraging technology. Our business case was that we hired 7,780 frontline employees in FY
13-14 and the cost per hire (CPH) was $87. The vendor contribution was 30 percent and average CPH
through vendors was approximately $150. If we hired through non-vendor channels, we could save $58 per
candidate. Thus, we would save approximately $140782 per annum. All these points convinced the
management and we received the management buy-in to implement the reengineering program said the
team.

Automated sourcing efforts

Conducted virtual job fairs

Some key Features of the Model are:

Speed and quality of hire

Market
Analytics

Step 1: Establishing Sourcing COE Framework:

The Sourcing COE group had a clear focus on identifying the right candidate for an open position. Since
general job boards are becoming extinct, a unique approach to meet the objective was required. The focus
was on hiring through cost effective channels.

Scalability
$

Relationship
Building

Low cost & direct sourcing channels

Customer
Profile
Talent
Acquisition

Domain specific sourcing & recruitment teams

Change in Recruitment Strategy
We overhauled our recruitment strategies which gives us a competitive edge in attracting the right talent.
Some of our key recruitment strategies include:

Talent
Matching

Integrated equal opportunity practices

Sourcing
Strategies

Dedicated teams for different levels of hiring

Smart
Recruiters

Our recruiters are equipped with high-end tables, when they go for a campus or vendor
drive they carry multipal devices with them. Multiple Candidates simultaneously register
with WNS using WNS Tablet hiring tool. This saves a lots of time, reduce paper wastage,
enables better applicant tracking, enriching WNS CV database & a single recruiter can
mange larger number of candidates.

Emplolyment
Branding

Social media plays a very important role in our brand building and talent sharing strategy.
We made our presence stronger on the social media platform & used it as a Magnet
Hiring technique to make candidates aware of why WNS is an excellent place to work.
This builds the interest and knowledge of applicants abut WNS and brings in very large
volume of all types of candidates. It also helped us to explore, approach & onboard
passive candidates.

STEP 2: REVISITING AND IMPROVING PROCESSES/IMPLEMENTING TECHNOLOGY

-BASED HIRING
The objective was to garner optimal results from the existing resume pool and enhance user experience in the
hiring process. The work stream was broken down into various steps based on the process flow:
Registration with WNS - Resume shortlisting - Assessment
Line interview - HR interview
Reference check Documentation - Offer roll-out

Easy
Connect

To make it easier for the empoyees to refer, we are installing smart kiosks on operation
floors & common areas for referral collection. It will help us save a alot of money for the
company & will work as a strong employee retention plan (work with friends).

Joining On Boarding
Once these steps were identified, the turn-around time (TAT) was re-established for each of these steps to get
better results, post which technology was leveraged to create a Mobile/Tablet based hiring model.
Candidates can now register themselves using any smartphone, tablet, PC or laptop from anywhere in the
world at any point of time. The online assessment engine and video interviewing tool (Lync) gave candidates

37

38

The team then explored the market but were unable to find a suitable long-term customizable solution that
would meet all the recruitment requirements. Thus they decided to develop an in-house solution. The three
major initiatives for re-engineering our recruitment process were:

Technology was leveraged to integrate the recruitment solution with social media. Internal Referral Program
& Social Media platforms like Facebook & LinkedIn helped to contact and hire passive candidates.
To achieve the strategy of gaining high visibility in the targeted segment for online space, the following steps
were followed:

Step 1. Establishing a Sourcing Center of Excellence (COE)

Formed a team for mobile marketing (text, e-mail, video and web, etc.)

Step 2. Revisiting and improving processes/Implementing Technology-based hiring

Created assets on social media: corporate Facebook account, beginning a LinkedIn group

Step 3. Leveraging Technology

Run referral programs online

Revamped WNS Careers site
Used company blog to drive talent

A business case, which emphasized on improved hiring quality standards and adaptation of a COE approach
with its benefits was prepared as the starting point. This approach included sourcing cost, scalability, Tablet
hiring tool and leveraging technology. Our business case was that we hired 7,780 frontline employees in FY
13-14 and the cost per hire (CPH) was $87. The vendor contribution was 30 percent and average CPH
through vendors was approximately $150. If we hired through non-vendor channels, we could save $58 per
candidate. Thus, we would save approximately $140782 per annum. All these points convinced the
management and we received the management buy-in to implement the reengineering program said the
team.

Automated sourcing efforts

Conducted virtual job fairs

Some key Features of the Model are:

Speed and quality of hire

Market
Analytics

Step 1: Establishing Sourcing COE Framework:

The Sourcing COE group had a clear focus on identifying the right candidate for an open position. Since
general job boards are becoming extinct, a unique approach to meet the objective was required. The focus
was on hiring through cost effective channels.

Scalability
$

Relationship
Building

Low cost & direct sourcing channels

Customer
Profile
Talent
Acquisition

Domain specific sourcing & recruitment teams

Change in Recruitment Strategy
We overhauled our recruitment strategies which gives us a competitive edge in attracting the right talent.
Some of our key recruitment strategies include:

Talent
Matching

Integrated equal opportunity practices

Sourcing
Strategies

Dedicated teams for different levels of hiring

Smart
Recruiters

Our recruiters are equipped with high-end tables, when they go for a campus or vendor
drive they carry multipal devices with them. Multiple Candidates simultaneously register
with WNS using WNS Tablet hiring tool. This saves a lots of time, reduce paper wastage,
enables better applicant tracking, enriching WNS CV database & a single recruiter can
mange larger number of candidates.

Emplolyment
Branding

Social media plays a very important role in our brand building and talent sharing strategy.
We made our presence stronger on the social media platform & used it as a Magnet
Hiring technique to make candidates aware of why WNS is an excellent place to work.
This builds the interest and knowledge of applicants abut WNS and brings in very large
volume of all types of candidates. It also helped us to explore, approach & onboard
passive candidates.

STEP 2: REVISITING AND IMPROVING PROCESSES/IMPLEMENTING TECHNOLOGY

-BASED HIRING
The objective was to garner optimal results from the existing resume pool and enhance user experience in the
hiring process. The work stream was broken down into various steps based on the process flow:
Registration with WNS - Resume shortlisting - Assessment
Line interview - HR interview
Reference check Documentation - Offer roll-out

Easy
Connect

To make it easier for the empoyees to refer, we are installing smart kiosks on operation
floors & common areas for referral collection. It will help us save a alot of money for the
company & will work as a strong employee retention plan (work with friends).

Joining On Boarding
Once these steps were identified, the turn-around time (TAT) was re-established for each of these steps to get
better results, post which technology was leveraged to create a Mobile/Tablet based hiring model.
Candidates can now register themselves using any smartphone, tablet, PC or laptop from anywhere in the
world at any point of time. The online assessment engine and video interviewing tool (Lync) gave candidates

37

38

an easy access to complete interview rounds. Customer satisfaction, team hours saved through technology
intervention and constant measurement of TAT at each process led the function to run lean and controlled
recruitment operations, and also enhanced WNSs brand value in the market. The endeavor to reduce the
time spent on transaction-based activities on non-qualified candidates was thus achieved.

BUSINESS FACTORS:
As per the market study done by WNS, there was an overwhelming demand for new technology and new
hiring methods.
Below are few significant facts which stood out:
Most of the Tier one employers are using social media to recruit
Majority of the recruiters check applicants social media proles
Average Hiring cost is up to $ 200 even for frontline hiring
Mobile devices/apps Most of the Gen Y candidates use their mobile devices to look for jobs
Recruiting software Mostly all Tier one companies use an applicant tracking system to manage the hiring
process and over 40% of recruiters say the quality of their applicants has improved as a result of social
recruiting
Online classieds Career sites account for a signicant ratio of external hires
Video chat More than 40% of interviews involving senior execs, Middle & Top management employees
prefer video chat as part of the hiring process

By 2020,

STEP 2: LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY:

Technology was the backbone of all the re-engineering of process steps. Using the power of technology,
WNS put its strategy in action with the launch of E-Recruit and Tablet hiring app tool.
These tools helped WNS to get all the different teams on the same platform and brought in more control by
automating the recruitment workflow. The tools also worked as a connector with all the various technologies
in the process. With WNS technology based hiring platform, they could easily integrate various sourcing
tools, assessment engines and also impeccably reach out to all stakeholders through social media, which
was the need of the hour.

BUSINESS CASE

50%

Generation
Y

60%

of the workforce will be comprised

of members of Generation Y

of recruiters check their

candidates social media profiles.

Social Media
Gen Y uses social
media profiles as
an extension of
their professional
personalities

Conventional
Hiring
30%

The Reasons Why Did We Consider to set up Recruitment Center of Excellence &
Mobile App based hiring Model

Hiring
through
Social Media
70%

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY TABLET BASED HIRING TOOL

Tablet based hiring is pioneering effort of WNS and they are amongst the first few organizations which is using
such a technology oriented hiring solution. Its a major breakthrough in HR fraternity in WNS which gives
immense flexibility to the recruiters as well as candidates and allows them to register with WNS any time
anywhere, within few minutes. It helps in curbing impersonation and is a great tool to enrich in-house CV
database. This elegant platform enhances candidates experience and the reviews are very encouraging.

39

40

an easy access to complete interview rounds. Customer satisfaction, team hours saved through technology
intervention and constant measurement of TAT at each process led the function to run lean and controlled
recruitment operations, and also enhanced WNSs brand value in the market. The endeavor to reduce the
time spent on transaction-based activities on non-qualified candidates was thus achieved.

BUSINESS FACTORS:
As per the market study done by WNS, there was an overwhelming demand for new technology and new
hiring methods.
Below are few significant facts which stood out:
Most of the Tier one employers are using social media to recruit
Majority of the recruiters check applicants social media proles
Average Hiring cost is up to $ 200 even for frontline hiring
Mobile devices/apps Most of the Gen Y candidates use their mobile devices to look for jobs
Recruiting software Mostly all Tier one companies use an applicant tracking system to manage the hiring
process and over 40% of recruiters say the quality of their applicants has improved as a result of social
recruiting
Online classieds Career sites account for a signicant ratio of external hires
Video chat More than 40% of interviews involving senior execs, Middle & Top management employees
prefer video chat as part of the hiring process

By 2020,

STEP 2: LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY:

Technology was the backbone of all the re-engineering of process steps. Using the power of technology,
WNS put its strategy in action with the launch of E-Recruit and Tablet hiring app tool.
These tools helped WNS to get all the different teams on the same platform and brought in more control by
automating the recruitment workflow. The tools also worked as a connector with all the various technologies
in the process. With WNS technology based hiring platform, they could easily integrate various sourcing
tools, assessment engines and also impeccably reach out to all stakeholders through social media, which
was the need of the hour.

BUSINESS CASE

50%

Generation
Y

60%

of the workforce will be comprised

of members of Generation Y

of recruiters check their

candidates social media profiles.

Social Media
Gen Y uses social
media profiles as
an extension of
their professional
personalities

Conventional
Hiring
30%

The Reasons Why Did We Consider to set up Recruitment Center of Excellence &
Mobile App based hiring Model

Hiring
through
Social Media
70%

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY TABLET BASED HIRING TOOL

Tablet based hiring is pioneering effort of WNS and they are amongst the first few organizations which is using
such a technology oriented hiring solution. Its a major breakthrough in HR fraternity in WNS which gives
immense flexibility to the recruiters as well as candidates and allows them to register with WNS any time
anywhere, within few minutes. It helps in curbing impersonation and is a great tool to enrich in-house CV
database. This elegant platform enhances candidates experience and the reviews are very encouraging.

39

40

WNS Tablet Hiring App can be operated through any smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC and acts as a source
hub of candidates profile and other important details.

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY MOBILE HIRING APP

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY NEW AGE CAREER WEBSITE

Focus on Fewer Clicks, Target, Engage and Inform - One fundamental axiom about career sites is that the
best career sites follow the job seeker. WNS Career Site looks for the job seekers, connects with them and
addresses their needs and concerns.
We know that its important to treat job seekers with the respect that we would accord our workforce,
consumers or anyone who benefits our organization and part of that means providing them with plenty of
information in a reader friendly format. Having this thought process in mind, WNS redesigned their career
site to engage and hire the best candidates.
Even if those candidates dont wind up being hired, the improved career content and organization caused
them to be more likely to speak positively about the organization, in turn motivating other job seekers to visit
and spread a positive image about the WNS.

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY SOCIO RECRUIT

All the re-engineering and breaking down of process steps would not work without the backbone of
technology. Thus the E-Recruit, tablet based hiring tool and Socio Recruit was launched.

Hiring Through
Recruit):

Social

Media

(Socio

Socio Recruit is a new initiative in WNS that

helps our recruiters to promote job
opportunities and track applications on the
Social Networking Sites viz Facebbok,
Linkedin and Twitter. Its a unique platform
which enables the recruitment manager to
track the progress on each social media
channel from one window only. It also
provides various data & reports on demand
basis.

41

42

WNS Tablet Hiring App can be operated through any smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC and acts as a source
hub of candidates profile and other important details.

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY MOBILE HIRING APP

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY NEW AGE CAREER WEBSITE

Focus on Fewer Clicks, Target, Engage and Inform - One fundamental axiom about career sites is that the
best career sites follow the job seeker. WNS Career Site looks for the job seekers, connects with them and
addresses their needs and concerns.
We know that its important to treat job seekers with the respect that we would accord our workforce,
consumers or anyone who benefits our organization and part of that means providing them with plenty of
information in a reader friendly format. Having this thought process in mind, WNS redesigned their career
site to engage and hire the best candidates.
Even if those candidates dont wind up being hired, the improved career content and organization caused
them to be more likely to speak positively about the organization, in turn motivating other job seekers to visit
and spread a positive image about the WNS.

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY SOCIO RECRUIT

All the re-engineering and breaking down of process steps would not work without the backbone of
technology. Thus the E-Recruit, tablet based hiring tool and Socio Recruit was launched.

Hiring Through
Recruit):

Social

Media

(Socio

Socio Recruit is a new initiative in WNS that

helps our recruiters to promote job
opportunities and track applications on the
Social Networking Sites viz Facebbok,
Linkedin and Twitter. Its a unique platform
which enables the recruitment manager to
track the progress on each social media
channel from one window only. It also
provides various data & reports on demand
basis.

41

42

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY
ONLINE ASSESSMENTS | PREVIOUS PROCESS | CURRENT STRATEGY
Priorities
Enhance Brand

Attract Talent

Increase Candidate Pool

Reduce Time To Hire

Hire Better Talent

Reduce Time
To Proficiency

Reduce Cost Per Hire

Improve Candidate
Experience

Validation of potential based

on inputs from candidate
Lack of talent analytics
due to protective costs

Candidate walk-ins

Sporadic, archaic, non standard,

non specific asessment for non
voice (only few areas have
specific domain tests)

Provides Personal Details

Versant for voice

Perfect Selection is person dependant

rather than process driven. Based l
argely on gut feel, guesses, prejudices.

Selection from best or

first available resources

WNS experienced positive results within a few months of implementing the project. The impact delivered is
listed below:
A central candidate database: Within 12 months they were able to build a database of 98000+ candidates.

Previous Hiring Structure

All candidates
interviewed by
HR representative

BUSINESS METRICS IMPACTED AS A RESULT OF THIS INTERVENTION:

Source mix: The consultant hiring percentage went down and by year-end, as a result of which the hiring
mix showed a considerable improvement resulting in an even lower CPH.
Candidate satisfaction: Candidate logins to careers website with their auto-generated user ID and
password to find relevant job openings have increased.
Recruiter efciency: It improved since recruiters were able to focus on core hiring as the online platform
took care of impersonations & the recruiter could focus on more qualitative aspects. The recruiters were
able to improve the offer drop & early attrition ratio as the online registration saved their time along with
the online assessments that analyzed candidates aptitude
Online assessments: Fair assessment for everyone and hundred percent online which could be accessed
from remote locations, on all smart devices including standardization across roles, business units,
increased objectivity through unbiased assessment, eliminated leakage of test paper and malpractices
while giving test, significantly lowered efforts due to process automation, enhanced candidate experience,
futuristic, state of the art assessment platform.

IMPACT OF RE-ENGINEERING RECRUITMENT INITIATIVE ON KEY STAKEHOLDERS:

PROCESS

PEOPLE

DATA WAREHOUSE

MONETARY

Build Internal Hiring Support

Mechanism
Reduces dependencies on
consultant for hiring (20%
reduction in consultant hiring
costs)
Virtuous Results which
includes reduced sourcing
costs by 30%
Cost Optimization: After the
launch of the tool 2617
employees were hired at zero
cost, which helped in saving
the direct hiring cost $392550
This transformation has given
us an edge over industry
competitors and from being a
cost center, WNS hiring unit
has evolved itself to a key
contributor in improving Gross
Margin

Internal Resume Warehouse:

Efficient applicant tracking &
effective utilization of
candidate database (~ 6L +
candidate resume)
Building Ready Resource
Pipeline: Recruiters can assess
this data base based on
skill/domain requirements and
profile specification
Reduction in sourcing TAT by
20-30%
Enhanced Sourcing Conversion
Ratio by 15% (Sourcing to
Offer)

Impact: Hiring wrong individuals

or losing good candidates
Hiring - Right Fit candidates
Enhance Recruiter Efciency
Reduces manual intervention in
hiring
Eliminates impersonation
Brand Experience

Remote Login
Updates Details
Phase I - CAST
English, Numerical, Logical

Updates Personal
Details on Tab

Phase II Psychometric

HR Screening Round

Phase III - Tests

Domain/Standard/Voice
Assessment

Domain Tests/Test/
Versant

HR Screening Round

Hiring Function
Round

Online

Candidate Sourced/
Walks in

Improvement in Voice of
Customer Score amongst
candidates (3/4)
Enhanced candidate
experience
Technology Deployment
positive engagement of the
Gen Y candidates
Simplication and Reduced
Time managing assessment
and selection tests (Reduced
Time from 60%)

Change in WNS hiring process brought along a lot of peripheral benefits

Setting up the hiring COE and launching the WNS Mobile and Tablet based hiring model is a pioneering effort
in the industry. WNS has been the first one in the industry to introduce the Tablet hiring tool, a technically
advanced functionality for recruitment. Apart from being a major breakthrough for the HR fraternity in WNS,
it provided other peripheral benefits:

Offer

43

44

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY
ONLINE ASSESSMENTS | PREVIOUS PROCESS | CURRENT STRATEGY
Priorities
Enhance Brand

Attract Talent

Increase Candidate Pool

Reduce Time To Hire

Hire Better Talent

Reduce Time
To Proficiency

Reduce Cost Per Hire

Improve Candidate
Experience

Validation of potential based

on inputs from candidate
Lack of talent analytics
due to protective costs

Candidate walk-ins

Sporadic, archaic, non standard,

non specific asessment for non
voice (only few areas have
specific domain tests)

Provides Personal Details

Versant for voice

Perfect Selection is person dependant

rather than process driven. Based l
argely on gut feel, guesses, prejudices.

Selection from best or

first available resources

WNS experienced positive results within a few months of implementing the project. The impact delivered is
listed below:
A central candidate database: Within 12 months they were able to build a database of 98000+ candidates.

Previous Hiring Structure

All candidates
interviewed by
HR representative

BUSINESS METRICS IMPACTED AS A RESULT OF THIS INTERVENTION:

Source mix: The consultant hiring percentage went down and by year-end, as a result of which the hiring
mix showed a considerable improvement resulting in an even lower CPH.
Candidate satisfaction: Candidate logins to careers website with their auto-generated user ID and
password to find relevant job openings have increased.
Recruiter efciency: It improved since recruiters were able to focus on core hiring as the online platform
took care of impersonations & the recruiter could focus on more qualitative aspects. The recruiters were
able to improve the offer drop & early attrition ratio as the online registration saved their time along with
the online assessments that analyzed candidates aptitude
Online assessments: Fair assessment for everyone and hundred percent online which could be accessed
from remote locations, on all smart devices including standardization across roles, business units,
increased objectivity through unbiased assessment, eliminated leakage of test paper and malpractices
while giving test, significantly lowered efforts due to process automation, enhanced candidate experience,
futuristic, state of the art assessment platform.

IMPACT OF RE-ENGINEERING RECRUITMENT INITIATIVE ON KEY STAKEHOLDERS:

PROCESS

PEOPLE

DATA WAREHOUSE

MONETARY

Build Internal Hiring Support

Mechanism
Reduces dependencies on
consultant for hiring (20%
reduction in consultant hiring
costs)
Virtuous Results which
includes reduced sourcing
costs by 30%
Cost Optimization: After the
launch of the tool 2617
employees were hired at zero
cost, which helped in saving
the direct hiring cost $392550
This transformation has given
us an edge over industry
competitors and from being a
cost center, WNS hiring unit
has evolved itself to a key
contributor in improving Gross
Margin

Internal Resume Warehouse:

Efficient applicant tracking &
effective utilization of
candidate database (~ 6L +
candidate resume)
Building Ready Resource
Pipeline: Recruiters can assess
this data base based on
skill/domain requirements and
profile specification
Reduction in sourcing TAT by
20-30%
Enhanced Sourcing Conversion
Ratio by 15% (Sourcing to
Offer)

Impact: Hiring wrong individuals

or losing good candidates
Hiring - Right Fit candidates
Enhance Recruiter Efciency
Reduces manual intervention in
hiring
Eliminates impersonation
Brand Experience

Remote Login
Updates Details
Phase I - CAST
English, Numerical, Logical

Updates Personal
Details on Tab

Phase II Psychometric

HR Screening Round

Phase III - Tests

Domain/Standard/Voice
Assessment

Domain Tests/Test/
Versant

HR Screening Round

Hiring Function
Round

Online

Candidate Sourced/
Walks in

Improvement in Voice of
Customer Score amongst
candidates (3/4)
Enhanced candidate
experience
Technology Deployment
positive engagement of the
Gen Y candidates
Simplication and Reduced
Time managing assessment
and selection tests (Reduced
Time from 60%)

Change in WNS hiring process brought along a lot of peripheral benefits

Setting up the hiring COE and launching the WNS Mobile and Tablet based hiring model is a pioneering effort
in the industry. WNS has been the first one in the industry to introduce the Tablet hiring tool, a technically
advanced functionality for recruitment. Apart from being a major breakthrough for the HR fraternity in WNS,
it provided other peripheral benefits:

Offer

43

44

 Offers immense exibility to recruiters and candidates by allowing them to register with WNS and take
online assessment tests anytime, anywhere within two minutes compared to 7-8 minutes earlier
Launched Vendor Management module to automate vendor empanelment and payments, which helped to
drive compliance and control in all vendor related financial transactions.
Provided visibility of contract details to vendors on the system along with a summary about the hiring
status of their candidates. Moreover, it also gave them an interface to upload applicants in bulk each
tagged to different applicant ID

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This case study is written by the HR Team at WNS.

Gave WNS employees a chance to refer their friends with or without a job opening through LINK, WNSs
employee referral system. It gave access to one referral for multiple job openings too. Pay-out for
employee referral motivated the employees to give more referrals. It also gave employees the ease of
giving referrals with few compulsory details and without resumes also.
Improved the brand value of WNS, which is being felt by WNS recruiters during their visits to campus and
vendor consultants.
Socio-Recruit is another initiative which helped the recruiters to promote job opportunities and track
applications on the Social Networking Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Its a unique platform
which enables the recruiters to track the progress on each social media channel from a single window.
With the implementation of E-recruit, an audit trail of each interview step is maintained and follows a better
compliance framework.
The implementation of these tools speaks volumes about WNSs inclination toward usage of technology in
the HR spectrum.

NEXT STEPS PLANNED TO MOVE THIS INITIATIVE TO THE NEXT LEVE:

Resume Pairing: A lot of resumes are received from candidates through different sources such as WNS
Careers site, emails, LINK etc in various formats (Doc, Docx, Rtf, Pdf, Txt, Html, Odt etc.) and dedicated
resources manually enter this data on the system. There is a need to automate the process of capturing
information from the resume so that talent bank can be created.
Bucketization: (sometimes called as multivariate binning) consists of identifying metrics (and combinations
of 2-3 metrics) and combining and binning them appropriately to reduce intra-bucket variance.
A plan to expand the tablet hiring tool to other WNS geographies and increase its scope As a next step, a similar functionality for referral collection is planned for implementation. The plan is to
install touch screen devices on operation floors, which will ensure more referrals and will lead to further
savings in hiring cost for the company. It will also increase the referral program (LINK) penetration among
those employees.
Apart from online Cognitive Ability Speed Test and psychometric proling of all candidates there is a plan
to expand the scope by adding all domain tests and voice assessments to the online assessment engine.
WNS Careers site is already integrated with Monster.com, Naukri.com and social media sites (Facebook,
LinkedIn and Twitter). Shortly, WNS plans to launch an alumni portal where ex-employees can either
express own interest or give referrals to WNS.

45

46

 Offers immense exibility to recruiters and candidates by allowing them to register with WNS and take
online assessment tests anytime, anywhere within two minutes compared to 7-8 minutes earlier
Launched Vendor Management module to automate vendor empanelment and payments, which helped to
drive compliance and control in all vendor related financial transactions.
Provided visibility of contract details to vendors on the system along with a summary about the hiring
status of their candidates. Moreover, it also gave them an interface to upload applicants in bulk each
tagged to different applicant ID

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This case study is written by the HR Team at WNS.

Gave WNS employees a chance to refer their friends with or without a job opening through LINK, WNSs
employee referral system. It gave access to one referral for multiple job openings too. Pay-out for
employee referral motivated the employees to give more referrals. It also gave employees the ease of
giving referrals with few compulsory details and without resumes also.
Improved the brand value of WNS, which is being felt by WNS recruiters during their visits to campus and
vendor consultants.
Socio-Recruit is another initiative which helped the recruiters to promote job opportunities and track
applications on the Social Networking Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Its a unique platform
which enables the recruiters to track the progress on each social media channel from a single window.
With the implementation of E-recruit, an audit trail of each interview step is maintained and follows a better
compliance framework.
The implementation of these tools speaks volumes about WNSs inclination toward usage of technology in
the HR spectrum.

NEXT STEPS PLANNED TO MOVE THIS INITIATIVE TO THE NEXT LEVE:

Resume Pairing: A lot of resumes are received from candidates through different sources such as WNS
Careers site, emails, LINK etc in various formats (Doc, Docx, Rtf, Pdf, Txt, Html, Odt etc.) and dedicated
resources manually enter this data on the system. There is a need to automate the process of capturing
information from the resume so that talent bank can be created.
Bucketization: (sometimes called as multivariate binning) consists of identifying metrics (and combinations
of 2-3 metrics) and combining and binning them appropriately to reduce intra-bucket variance.
A plan to expand the tablet hiring tool to other WNS geographies and increase its scope As a next step, a similar functionality for referral collection is planned for implementation. The plan is to
install touch screen devices on operation floors, which will ensure more referrals and will lead to further
savings in hiring cost for the company. It will also increase the referral program (LINK) penetration among
those employees.
Apart from online Cognitive Ability Speed Test and psychometric proling of all candidates there is a plan
to expand the scope by adding all domain tests and voice assessments to the online assessment engine.
WNS Careers site is already integrated with Monster.com, Naukri.com and social media sites (Facebook,
LinkedIn and Twitter). Shortly, WNS plans to launch an alumni portal where ex-employees can either
express own interest or give referrals to WNS.

45

46

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

ZYDUS CADILA
ONE OF INDIAS LEADING HEALTHCARE COMPANIES AND A GLOBAL
HEALTHCARE PROVIDER
Zydus Cadila is a fully integrated, global healthcare provider, with strengths all along the pharmaceutical value
chain. With a core competence in the field of healthcare, Zydus Cadila provides total healthcare solutions
ranging from formulations, active pharmaceutical ingredients and animal healthcare products to wellness
products.

Excellence in Talent Sourcing

and Staffing

CREATING A UNIQUE
TALENT STRATEGY

The groups origin can be traced to 1952 when it was founded by Late Mr. Ramanbhai B. Patel, a
first-generation entrepreneur and one of the stalwarts of the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry. In 1995, the
group restructured its operations and Cadila Healthcare came into being under the aegis of the Zydus group.
Zydus Cadila, today, is spearheaded by Mr. Pankaj R. Patel, the Chairman and Managing Director of the
group. From a turnover of Rs. 250 crores in 1995, the group posted revenues of over Rs. 8500 crores in FY14.
The group also had posted a turnover of Rs. 4600 crores in FY 11, making it a billion dollar company. It aims
to be a leading global healthcare provider with a robust product pipeline and aspires to post revenues of Rs.
10000 crore by 2015 and be a research-based pharmaceutical company by 2020.
The group has a team of around 1200 research professionals spearheading its research and development
programme of which nearly 400 scientists alone are involved in the NCE research programme at Zydus
Research Centre, the groups state-of-the-art R&D centre.
Zydus Cadila with a mission to create healthier, happier communities globally is supported by a team of over
17400 people worldwide, comprising professionals, research scientists, medical advisors and workers.
Poised for a higher growth and more success in the coming years, Zydus Cadila draws confidence from its
proven track record, which both prescribes and projects a vibrant and soundly based future.

HR Vision
We shall nurture our current
Capabilities, build new Capabilities
and foster innovation and
collaboration and align our Human
Resources with our business
aspirations to be a research driven
company by 2020.

- BY PRASHANT SHARMA

Award Partner
For Cadila Healthcare, global level of quality standards at all levels of management and employees is their
oath and commitment. More than 50% of Cadila Healthcares top-line comes from global business and
exports. They are not only expanding their trajectories globally in terms of consumers but also increasing their
employee base. Moreover, Cadila Healthcare is evolving from a Promoter owned-promoter drivenprofessionally managed to promoter owned-professionally driven and managed. Considering the stupendous
growth and expansion over the last two decades, it has already created an overarching vision for 2020:
ZyNext2020, with an aspiration to quadruple in size and structure.

48

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

ZYDUS CADILA
ONE OF INDIAS LEADING HEALTHCARE COMPANIES AND A GLOBAL
HEALTHCARE PROVIDER
Zydus Cadila is a fully integrated, global healthcare provider, with strengths all along the pharmaceutical value
chain. With a core competence in the field of healthcare, Zydus Cadila provides total healthcare solutions
ranging from formulations, active pharmaceutical ingredients and animal healthcare products to wellness
products.

Excellence in Talent Sourcing

and Staffing

CREATING A UNIQUE
TALENT STRATEGY

The groups origin can be traced to 1952 when it was founded by Late Mr. Ramanbhai B. Patel, a
first-generation entrepreneur and one of the stalwarts of the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry. In 1995, the
group restructured its operations and Cadila Healthcare came into being under the aegis of the Zydus group.
Zydus Cadila, today, is spearheaded by Mr. Pankaj R. Patel, the Chairman and Managing Director of the
group. From a turnover of Rs. 250 crores in 1995, the group posted revenues of over Rs. 8500 crores in FY14.
The group also had posted a turnover of Rs. 4600 crores in FY 11, making it a billion dollar company. It aims
to be a leading global healthcare provider with a robust product pipeline and aspires to post revenues of Rs.
10000 crore by 2015 and be a research-based pharmaceutical company by 2020.
The group has a team of around 1200 research professionals spearheading its research and development
programme of which nearly 400 scientists alone are involved in the NCE research programme at Zydus
Research Centre, the groups state-of-the-art R&D centre.
Zydus Cadila with a mission to create healthier, happier communities globally is supported by a team of over
17400 people worldwide, comprising professionals, research scientists, medical advisors and workers.
Poised for a higher growth and more success in the coming years, Zydus Cadila draws confidence from its
proven track record, which both prescribes and projects a vibrant and soundly based future.

HR Vision
We shall nurture our current
Capabilities, build new Capabilities
and foster innovation and
collaboration and align our Human
Resources with our business
aspirations to be a research driven
company by 2020.

- BY PRASHANT SHARMA

Award Partner
For Cadila Healthcare, global level of quality standards at all levels of management and employees is their
oath and commitment. More than 50% of Cadila Healthcares top-line comes from global business and
exports. They are not only expanding their trajectories globally in terms of consumers but also increasing their
employee base. Moreover, Cadila Healthcare is evolving from a Promoter owned-promoter drivenprofessionally managed to promoter owned-professionally driven and managed. Considering the stupendous
growth and expansion over the last two decades, it has already created an overarching vision for 2020:
ZyNext2020, with an aspiration to quadruple in size and structure.

48

THE CHALLENGE

ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGE THE ZYDUS WAY!

The global expansion resulting in an increase in the employee base made necessary for the organization to
focus on its culture in terms of having one Zydus experience across globe. Since the company has already
envisioned ZyNext2020 so managing the structure, scale, placing and carving out opportunities for
employees is an imperative.

Catering to these needs, a change in HR processes which are based on scientific methodology and objective
approach was required. All HR processes evolve around Zydus NEEV: The competency framework. Although
CHL had developed a leadership model in 2004, it had not been completely internalized. The team further
refreshed the competency framework in 2014. NEEV is the nucleus and foundation of being a Zydan. It
defines the behavioral inflexion points basis which hierarchical structure has been divided into 5 role layers.
People are now clear about what role and behavior they need to own/display for their growth. All Talent
processes are linked to NEEV.

Although they have been successful in developing a people-centric culture but the challenge was to strike a
fair balance between people and process orientation. Especially, what their 'Make vs. Buy' strategy should
be and if the company needed different processes for it.
Considering the fact that the pharmaceuticals sector is extremely focused on global quality standards and
adheres to the regulators' guidelines like the USFDA, MHRA, ANVISA, EDQM, PMDA, the orientation of
workforce towards quality and compliance are imperatives for growth. The need of the hour was to hire
people who were behaviourally aligned, compliant with general processes of Cadila Healthcare and had an
enterprise mindset.
They are witnessing the changes like managing development, transition and transformation. On the other
hand, addressing the challenges of learning decay, communicating and educating change internally on the
processes and practices have become urgent and important for the senior leadership team and HR.
If such issues were not addressed, the impact would have seen on quality, stunted growth, and hurdles while
expanding along with high levels of attrition.

CHL is the only non-IT Indian company which does 100% recruitment basis assessment centres: online for
upto level 3 and in-person recruitments for DGM and above levels (source: dialogue with company like Hay,
DDI, SHL, Hewitt, other HR leaders).

Recruitment at Level 1 to 3
Behavioral Inflexion Points: Level Bifurcation for Revenue and Enabling Function
Level 1

Individual Contributor

Level 2

Team Lead

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Manager of Managers
Vertical Heads
Head of Business
Head of Vertical and Multiple Verticals
Head of Multiple Businesses
Organization Leader

Upon review of various solution providers, CHL has identified and partnered with Mettl for conducting online
assessment for L1 to L3. While developing tests HR partnered with line managers (stakeholders) to take their
inputs and utilized their expertise. Module tests (domain, aptitude and psychometric) linked to NEEV have
been developed.
This involved working with academic institutes (Nirma Univ) and medical community. Before launching these
tests organization wide, the team conducted an internal benchmark study of 1500 plus people. This was done
to establish statistical correlation between current performance data and assessment data. Basis this
benchmark data, cut-offs for various therapies, regions, specialties, functions etc. were arrived at
scientifically. This was also an important step to create buy-in from the business.

Recruitment at Level 4 to 5
At this level, the organization partnered with Hay Group to leverage their expertise in person assessment centers.
Enabling line managers to harvest assessment reports: HR also realized that just by providing assessment
reports to the stakeholders is not sufficient. Therefore, interviewers were trained on CBI/BEI who further used the
STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Results) methodology of interviewing.

49

50

THE CHALLENGE

ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGE THE ZYDUS WAY!

The global expansion resulting in an increase in the employee base made necessary for the organization to
focus on its culture in terms of having one Zydus experience across globe. Since the company has already
envisioned ZyNext2020 so managing the structure, scale, placing and carving out opportunities for
employees is an imperative.

Catering to these needs, a change in HR processes which are based on scientific methodology and objective
approach was required. All HR processes evolve around Zydus NEEV: The competency framework. Although
CHL had developed a leadership model in 2004, it had not been completely internalized. The team further
refreshed the competency framework in 2014. NEEV is the nucleus and foundation of being a Zydan. It
defines the behavioral inflexion points basis which hierarchical structure has been divided into 5 role layers.
People are now clear about what role and behavior they need to own/display for their growth. All Talent
processes are linked to NEEV.

Although they have been successful in developing a people-centric culture but the challenge was to strike a
fair balance between people and process orientation. Especially, what their 'Make vs. Buy' strategy should
be and if the company needed different processes for it.
Considering the fact that the pharmaceuticals sector is extremely focused on global quality standards and
adheres to the regulators' guidelines like the USFDA, MHRA, ANVISA, EDQM, PMDA, the orientation of
workforce towards quality and compliance are imperatives for growth. The need of the hour was to hire
people who were behaviourally aligned, compliant with general processes of Cadila Healthcare and had an
enterprise mindset.
They are witnessing the changes like managing development, transition and transformation. On the other
hand, addressing the challenges of learning decay, communicating and educating change internally on the
processes and practices have become urgent and important for the senior leadership team and HR.
If such issues were not addressed, the impact would have seen on quality, stunted growth, and hurdles while
expanding along with high levels of attrition.

CHL is the only non-IT Indian company which does 100% recruitment basis assessment centres: online for
upto level 3 and in-person recruitments for DGM and above levels (source: dialogue with company like Hay,
DDI, SHL, Hewitt, other HR leaders).

Recruitment at Level 1 to 3
Behavioral Inflexion Points: Level Bifurcation for Revenue and Enabling Function
Level 1

Individual Contributor

Level 2

Team Lead

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Manager of Managers
Vertical Heads
Head of Business
Head of Vertical and Multiple Verticals
Head of Multiple Businesses
Organization Leader

Upon review of various solution providers, CHL has identified and partnered with Mettl for conducting online
assessment for L1 to L3. While developing tests HR partnered with line managers (stakeholders) to take their
inputs and utilized their expertise. Module tests (domain, aptitude and psychometric) linked to NEEV have
been developed.
This involved working with academic institutes (Nirma Univ) and medical community. Before launching these
tests organization wide, the team conducted an internal benchmark study of 1500 plus people. This was done
to establish statistical correlation between current performance data and assessment data. Basis this
benchmark data, cut-offs for various therapies, regions, specialties, functions etc. were arrived at
scientifically. This was also an important step to create buy-in from the business.

Recruitment at Level 4 to 5
At this level, the organization partnered with Hay Group to leverage their expertise in person assessment centers.
Enabling line managers to harvest assessment reports: HR also realized that just by providing assessment
reports to the stakeholders is not sufficient. Therefore, interviewers were trained on CBI/BEI who further used the
STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Results) methodology of interviewing.

49

50

CHL partnered with DDI (www.ddiworld.com) to train 258 leaders on BEI using STAR methodology. DDI has
also trained 7 HR people on Train-The-Trainer methodology to train the remaining interviewers.
The true success of this initiative is that line managers beyond just the LRHs (Leadership Role Holders)
practice this methodology. Training on BEI is provided all across all Regional Business Manager levels. In total
1000 people are trained. Master Coach training model is also given to HR leadership team for process
sustainability. The first batch was conducted for ZMC by The MD of DDI Ms. Anu Zachariah which was based
on ensuring a top down commitment of leadership to this approach of recruitment. The feedback from ZMC
was extremely encouraging and all the interviews henceforth are being conducted by the trained interviewers.
DDI has also certified the trained people basis various online and offline tests.
As a rule any employee entering Zydus will undergo an assessment test and an interview by a BEI trained
interviewer(s). Interview guides as per levels have also been created to assist the interviewers.

INTERNAL PROMOTIONS AND REDEPLOYMENTS

Traditionally, promotions and internal redeployments were done with a strong focus on past performance,
tenure and recommendations from the line managers/HR. This process had improvement opportunities.
Thus, HR engaged extensively with ZEB, ZMC and LRHs. They jointly agreed to base promotions and internal
redeployment decisions on a combination of Performance and Potential. For this, Zydus Neev: The
competency framework became the focal point. Talent at senior levels was sourced from junior levels on the
basis of a) role expansion b) sustained excellent performance c) potential measured through assessment
centres.
In a major departure from the past - DGM and above level promotions were done through assessment centre
by Hay Group. 25 Zydans underwent this process and out of that 18 people have been promoted. This has
been a major change management in a process which was earlier governed by tenure/performance rather
than factoring in competencies and potential also.
Assessment centres have also been used for the deployment of DGM and above levels. Under the initiative
of ZTMP (Zydus Talent Management Program), all internally identified positions are published to all zydans,
who further can apply to all internal openings keeping the line managers and HR informed. The shortlisted
Zydans then undergo assessment centre (Mettl or Hay, as applicable). This process is used to source
internally cluster head positions (level 4) and Senior Vice President (Level 5) managing a JV relationship
amongst other internal sourcing.

Coach has been empanelled and a monthly 3 days workshop and coaching is being conducted
over one year period.
6. Enrolling leaders on BEI methodology
7. Benchmark study of 1500 employees to establish correlation between existing performance and
assessment report outputs.

TALENT SOURCING: HELPING BUSINESS SOLVE A MAJOR PROBLEM

One of the major problems that the organization faced was creating a talent pipeline with a balance exposure
to sales as well as marketing. Often the MBAs hired had limited exposure to actual sales experience. Similarly,
sales force did not have requisite understanding of marketing knowledge. To address this issue, internal
sourcing exercise was started and talent from the sales field force on the basis of performance criteria was
identified. They were then made to undergo an assessment centre designed by MICA and successful
employees underwent a 2 month residential program, especially tailored for Zydus by MICA. This was
followed by one week internal training and 6 months on-the-job projects. This provided a career path to the
field sales force which always lives on a hope to grow into a corporate role. The feedback from business on
this initiative was commendable.
Goal Settings to achieve delivering excellence: CHL has identified critical role holders (LRHs): 145. For them
organization performs a half-yearly performance commitment discussion (PCD) which comprises of Business
Performance, Business Health and Key Initiatives.
Hay Group has designed and implemented 18 months journey for ZMC and select ZMC-1 leaders.

Presence of a comprehensive and proactive sourcing strategy aligned to business needs

On time and quality hiring is one of the important levers for sustainable business. Industry demands
impeccable quality of products and services. CHL is committed towards quality; recently published article
elucidates HR processes linkages with business needs.

Creating a Buy-in with Business:

A Buy-in from the business has been achieved through some of the below initiatives:
1. Co-creating the competency framework
2. Extensive communication around the 5 levels and creating success stories
3. Session on Talent Management at ZMC Meet along with Korn Ferry on the emphasis of new edge
talent management practices
4. India Business Head formally sharing his experience on Assessment report in ZMC meeting
5. Supporting all Assessment centre participants (nominees for 2014 promotion process), whether
promoted or not, with a customized development journey based on Zydus Neev. To facilitate buy-in
and development, one year intervention has been created for above 25 participants. An external

51

Significant changes have been witnessed in style of functioning due to aforementioned initiatives as well as
change at helm in HR. President HR has taken a rein in transforming HR to realize CHLs Vision 2020.

52

CHL partnered with DDI (www.ddiworld.com) to train 258 leaders on BEI using STAR methodology. DDI has
also trained 7 HR people on Train-The-Trainer methodology to train the remaining interviewers.
The true success of this initiative is that line managers beyond just the LRHs (Leadership Role Holders)
practice this methodology. Training on BEI is provided all across all Regional Business Manager levels. In total
1000 people are trained. Master Coach training model is also given to HR leadership team for process
sustainability. The first batch was conducted for ZMC by The MD of DDI Ms. Anu Zachariah which was based
on ensuring a top down commitment of leadership to this approach of recruitment. The feedback from ZMC
was extremely encouraging and all the interviews henceforth are being conducted by the trained interviewers.
DDI has also certified the trained people basis various online and offline tests.
As a rule any employee entering Zydus will undergo an assessment test and an interview by a BEI trained
interviewer(s). Interview guides as per levels have also been created to assist the interviewers.

INTERNAL PROMOTIONS AND REDEPLOYMENTS

Traditionally, promotions and internal redeployments were done with a strong focus on past performance,
tenure and recommendations from the line managers/HR. This process had improvement opportunities.
Thus, HR engaged extensively with ZEB, ZMC and LRHs. They jointly agreed to base promotions and internal
redeployment decisions on a combination of Performance and Potential. For this, Zydus Neev: The
competency framework became the focal point. Talent at senior levels was sourced from junior levels on the
basis of a) role expansion b) sustained excellent performance c) potential measured through assessment
centres.
In a major departure from the past - DGM and above level promotions were done through assessment centre
by Hay Group. 25 Zydans underwent this process and out of that 18 people have been promoted. This has
been a major change management in a process which was earlier governed by tenure/performance rather
than factoring in competencies and potential also.
Assessment centres have also been used for the deployment of DGM and above levels. Under the initiative
of ZTMP (Zydus Talent Management Program), all internally identified positions are published to all zydans,
who further can apply to all internal openings keeping the line managers and HR informed. The shortlisted
Zydans then undergo assessment centre (Mettl or Hay, as applicable). This process is used to source
internally cluster head positions (level 4) and Senior Vice President (Level 5) managing a JV relationship
amongst other internal sourcing.

Coach has been empanelled and a monthly 3 days workshop and coaching is being conducted
over one year period.
6. Enrolling leaders on BEI methodology
7. Benchmark study of 1500 employees to establish correlation between existing performance and
assessment report outputs.

TALENT SOURCING: HELPING BUSINESS SOLVE A MAJOR PROBLEM

One of the major problems that the organization faced was creating a talent pipeline with a balance exposure
to sales as well as marketing. Often the MBAs hired had limited exposure to actual sales experience. Similarly,
sales force did not have requisite understanding of marketing knowledge. To address this issue, internal
sourcing exercise was started and talent from the sales field force on the basis of performance criteria was
identified. They were then made to undergo an assessment centre designed by MICA and successful
employees underwent a 2 month residential program, especially tailored for Zydus by MICA. This was
followed by one week internal training and 6 months on-the-job projects. This provided a career path to the
field sales force which always lives on a hope to grow into a corporate role. The feedback from business on
this initiative was commendable.
Goal Settings to achieve delivering excellence: CHL has identified critical role holders (LRHs): 145. For them
organization performs a half-yearly performance commitment discussion (PCD) which comprises of Business
Performance, Business Health and Key Initiatives.
Hay Group has designed and implemented 18 months journey for ZMC and select ZMC-1 leaders.

Presence of a comprehensive and proactive sourcing strategy aligned to business needs

On time and quality hiring is one of the important levers for sustainable business. Industry demands
impeccable quality of products and services. CHL is committed towards quality; recently published article
elucidates HR processes linkages with business needs.

Creating a Buy-in with Business:

A Buy-in from the business has been achieved through some of the below initiatives:
1. Co-creating the competency framework
2. Extensive communication around the 5 levels and creating success stories
3. Session on Talent Management at ZMC Meet along with Korn Ferry on the emphasis of new edge
talent management practices
4. India Business Head formally sharing his experience on Assessment report in ZMC meeting
5. Supporting all Assessment centre participants (nominees for 2014 promotion process), whether
promoted or not, with a customized development journey based on Zydus Neev. To facilitate buy-in
and development, one year intervention has been created for above 25 participants. An external

51

Significant changes have been witnessed in style of functioning due to aforementioned initiatives as well as
change at helm in HR. President HR has taken a rein in transforming HR to realize CHLs Vision 2020.

52

Communication of HR Vision and Strategy: President HR communicates the HR vision and strategy to the
Extended Management Team and EMT -1 during the annual HR conference meet (2 days) emphasizing on the
imperatives for HR in the financial year. The business objectives and strategies for HR are discussed along
with necessary enablers required to achieve the numbers and goals. The next level cascade of strategies is
also communicated along with specific responsibilities, timelines and review frequency. Thereafter the
Business HR communicates the relevant parameters to the departments they serve thereby ensuring that the
communication of the HR strategy is done company wide. The business leaders take this forward in their
respective areas. Co-creating and developing the long-term HR plans, mid-term and annual HR plans.
Participation of HR team in the process of Governance and review structure helps them to review the impact
on the businesses.

Digitization: All these initiatives and processes are streamlined at foundation level. The organization has already
created a best-in-class experience to prospective candidates through their truly digital online career portal. In the
new sharing Zydus which majorly consist of diverse and Gen Y employees, where not what you know, but how
and what you share will be the mantra, iCAMSS (Cloud, analytics, mobile, social, security, internet of things) will
enable stakeholders across the value chain to transparently view decisions, actions, and responses of various
individuals and groups in the Zydus eco-system. Understanding these insights via pervasive, ubiquitous and
multi-way communications, through enabling digital technologies, delivers enhanced understanding and rich
takeaways for all stakeholders, on HR processes in the journey of one Zydus experience.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MOU with Govt. of Gujarat (i-KVK-industrial kaushalya Vardhan Kendar):
Special program was designed for pharma technician course with the following objectives:
1. To develop more sensitivity work force to meet cGMP (current good manufacturing practice)
expectation

Prashant heads Global HR at Zydus Cadila. He moved into HR from a business role, and is passionate about
connecting HR with business outcomes.

2. To generate in-house skills to meet up with regulatory requirements training documentation etc.
3. To fullfil the prospective need of skilled manpower-growing need by 15% over year-on-year

Conclusion
Indeed initiatives of Zydus are innovative in Indian pharmaceuticals industry be it envisaging global FDA norms and
national skill building process. Hiring right people is the essence of a great company therefore the entire assessment
centre (Zydus Centre For Excellence) has been built to measure what people know; what people have; what people
can do; what people will do. It is also believed that going forward sector skill council in India may emphasise India
Pharmaceuticals companies to develop skills. The partner Mettl has been working closely with LSSSDC and they
have that expertise to help Zydus in nation building. For all the senior positions- Level 3 and above the organization
is working with Hay Group, which is an in-person assessment centre where candidates meet the accredited external
assessors for a day long rigorous simulation exercises. All the interviewers are being equipped and trained on
Behavioural Event Interviewing Skills.

WAY FORWARD:
Basis the performance data understanding, clear linkages between competency elements and performance will be
established using advanced data analytics, so that Zydus Neev can be further refined. Meanwhile, HR has already
started working with business to allocate the level/role specific competencies with respect to essential and
desirable as per the respective job family.
Since all the HR processes are evolved around Neev, in the next step the Performance Management System would
be linked with Neev. PMS will also have a growth dialogue, which will have element of discussion on the
demonstrated level specific Neev elements and individual development plan will be created on STAR format.

53

54

Communication of HR Vision and Strategy: President HR communicates the HR vision and strategy to the
Extended Management Team and EMT -1 during the annual HR conference meet (2 days) emphasizing on the
imperatives for HR in the financial year. The business objectives and strategies for HR are discussed along
with necessary enablers required to achieve the numbers and goals. The next level cascade of strategies is
also communicated along with specific responsibilities, timelines and review frequency. Thereafter the
Business HR communicates the relevant parameters to the departments they serve thereby ensuring that the
communication of the HR strategy is done company wide. The business leaders take this forward in their
respective areas. Co-creating and developing the long-term HR plans, mid-term and annual HR plans.
Participation of HR team in the process of Governance and review structure helps them to review the impact
on the businesses.

Digitization: All these initiatives and processes are streamlined at foundation level. The organization has already
created a best-in-class experience to prospective candidates through their truly digital online career portal. In the
new sharing Zydus which majorly consist of diverse and Gen Y employees, where not what you know, but how
and what you share will be the mantra, iCAMSS (Cloud, analytics, mobile, social, security, internet of things) will
enable stakeholders across the value chain to transparently view decisions, actions, and responses of various
individuals and groups in the Zydus eco-system. Understanding these insights via pervasive, ubiquitous and
multi-way communications, through enabling digital technologies, delivers enhanced understanding and rich
takeaways for all stakeholders, on HR processes in the journey of one Zydus experience.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MOU with Govt. of Gujarat (i-KVK-industrial kaushalya Vardhan Kendar):
Special program was designed for pharma technician course with the following objectives:
1. To develop more sensitivity work force to meet cGMP (current good manufacturing practice)
expectation

Prashant heads Global HR at Zydus Cadila. He moved into HR from a business role, and is passionate about
connecting HR with business outcomes.

2. To generate in-house skills to meet up with regulatory requirements training documentation etc.
3. To fullfil the prospective need of skilled manpower-growing need by 15% over year-on-year

Conclusion
Indeed initiatives of Zydus are innovative in Indian pharmaceuticals industry be it envisaging global FDA norms and
national skill building process. Hiring right people is the essence of a great company therefore the entire assessment
centre (Zydus Centre For Excellence) has been built to measure what people know; what people have; what people
can do; what people will do. It is also believed that going forward sector skill council in India may emphasise India
Pharmaceuticals companies to develop skills. The partner Mettl has been working closely with LSSSDC and they
have that expertise to help Zydus in nation building. For all the senior positions- Level 3 and above the organization
is working with Hay Group, which is an in-person assessment centre where candidates meet the accredited external
assessors for a day long rigorous simulation exercises. All the interviewers are being equipped and trained on
Behavioural Event Interviewing Skills.

WAY FORWARD:
Basis the performance data understanding, clear linkages between competency elements and performance will be
established using advanced data analytics, so that Zydus Neev can be further refined. Meanwhile, HR has already
started working with business to allocate the level/role specific competencies with respect to essential and
desirable as per the respective job family.
Since all the HR processes are evolved around Neev, in the next step the Performance Management System would
be linked with Neev. PMS will also have a growth dialogue, which will have element of discussion on the
demonstrated level specific Neev elements and individual development plan will be created on STAR format.

53

54

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

CONTEXT
Microsoft in India is a 7500 member organization operating out of 10+ locations across India. The employee
population is fairly young with about 45% of the population belonging to the millennial generation.
As an organization, Microsoft has always believed in providing best in class benefits, especially related to
Health & Wellness. The same is reflected in its robust Medical Insurance Program which not just gives
employees the flexibility to choose a plan based on their life stage requirements but also allows them to get
reimbursed for a host of preventive care related health check-ups. These reimbursements include executive
health check-up, Dental and Vision check as well as any other domiciliary requirements. To ensure that
Microsoft employees keep themselves fit, the organization also has a well-defined Fitness reimbursement
policy. This policy allows the employees to enroll themselves in any fitness activity of their choice and get
reimbursed for the same. And this is over and above the onsite gyms and various fitness classes that are

EXCELLENCE IN EMPLOYEE
HEALTH & WELLNESS INITIATIVES

conducted in the campus regularly.

THE TRIGGER
In 2014, the C&B team at Microsoft India came across a very interesting survey launched by Tower Watson,

LIVE WELL 365- ENABLING

LIFESTYLE CHANGES
TOWARDS A HEALTHY LIFE

called the Staying at Work Survey, 2014. This survey was conducted by Tower Watson in partnership with
National Business Group that had ~900 respondents participating globally across industry sectors. This
survey highlighted certain key perspectives in terms of the changing landscape around Health & Wellness:
1. Creating a culture of Workplace Health was becoming a top priority for organizations to ensure
growth and productivity
2. Emphasized that Health & Wellness strategy needs to be an integral part of the overall business
strategy

- BY MANOSHI MUKHERJEE AND

ADITI TANDAN

3. Identified stress, obesity and lack of exercise as the biggest lifestyle risk factors recognized by
employers across all regions
4. Detected lack of engagement as the biggest obstacle behind changing employee behaviors
5. Recognized that effective companies in this space use multi-prong strategy to engage an employee
base that spans across Gen X and Gen Y
6. Existence of an online Health & Wellness portal and gamification were identified as the top 2

Award Partner

differentiators that enhanced employee engagement

This survey raised a couple of questions that had to be answered to ensure that the organization is truly
geared up to meet the challenges of the modern work environment. And thus was the birth of Live Well 365
as a concept to ensure that the existing health and wellness benefits of the organization truly act as enablers
for its employees.

56

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

CONTEXT
Microsoft in India is a 7500 member organization operating out of 10+ locations across India. The employee
population is fairly young with about 45% of the population belonging to the millennial generation.
As an organization, Microsoft has always believed in providing best in class benefits, especially related to
Health & Wellness. The same is reflected in its robust Medical Insurance Program which not just gives
employees the flexibility to choose a plan based on their life stage requirements but also allows them to get
reimbursed for a host of preventive care related health check-ups. These reimbursements include executive
health check-up, Dental and Vision check as well as any other domiciliary requirements. To ensure that
Microsoft employees keep themselves fit, the organization also has a well-defined Fitness reimbursement
policy. This policy allows the employees to enroll themselves in any fitness activity of their choice and get
reimbursed for the same. And this is over and above the onsite gyms and various fitness classes that are

EXCELLENCE IN EMPLOYEE
HEALTH & WELLNESS INITIATIVES

conducted in the campus regularly.

THE TRIGGER
In 2014, the C&B team at Microsoft India came across a very interesting survey launched by Tower Watson,

LIVE WELL 365- ENABLING

LIFESTYLE CHANGES
TOWARDS A HEALTHY LIFE

called the Staying at Work Survey, 2014. This survey was conducted by Tower Watson in partnership with
National Business Group that had ~900 respondents participating globally across industry sectors. This
survey highlighted certain key perspectives in terms of the changing landscape around Health & Wellness:
1. Creating a culture of Workplace Health was becoming a top priority for organizations to ensure
growth and productivity
2. Emphasized that Health & Wellness strategy needs to be an integral part of the overall business
strategy

- BY MANOSHI MUKHERJEE AND

ADITI TANDAN

3. Identified stress, obesity and lack of exercise as the biggest lifestyle risk factors recognized by
employers across all regions
4. Detected lack of engagement as the biggest obstacle behind changing employee behaviors
5. Recognized that effective companies in this space use multi-prong strategy to engage an employee
base that spans across Gen X and Gen Y
6. Existence of an online Health & Wellness portal and gamification were identified as the top 2

Award Partner

differentiators that enhanced employee engagement

This survey raised a couple of questions that had to be answered to ensure that the organization is truly
geared up to meet the challenges of the modern work environment. And thus was the birth of Live Well 365
as a concept to ensure that the existing health and wellness benefits of the organization truly act as enablers
for its employees.

56

INTERNAL DIAGNOSTICS TO IDENTIFY THE PROGRAM NEED

d. Sedentary risk

A. Launch Of Live Well 365 Survey For Employees

e. Emotional Stress

In order to identify and validate the requirements of the employee target population, the organization initiated
an employee survey that focused on the following parameters:

With the above two data sources, the cause-effect statement that the organization was up against, got
articulated by the C&B team:

1. Current awareness of existing Health and Wellness related benefits and contributing factors
2. Which are the areas where employees would like to see more information or offerings on
3. What would be their preferred mode of information access
4. Do they think a Health and Wellness portal would enable them to access information more easily?
If yes, what features would they like to have in a Health & Wellness portal?
5. If Microsoft India indeed provided a website as well as an health app with information on Health and
Wellness, what is the probability of employees using them

Lack of a focused H&W strategy

resulting in Low Participation &
Utilization, Lack of Involvement
and Commitment towards ones
own wellbeing

High occurrence &

risk of lifestyle
related diseases +
Higher spend on
Reactive Care

Interestingly, the employee survey highlighted the following results:

Awareness of

Preferred mode of

Top 4 areas of

Existing Benefits

Information Access

interest/focus

Awareness levels:

Low-Medium

Stand alone programs

Absence of a single
platform and brand to

A comprehensive
website on Health &

Physical tness (72%)

Stress management

Wellness/app (78%)

1-0-1 counseling (64%)

Onsite Clinic (53%)

(62%)

Nutrition (61%) and

Weight management

enable top of the mind

(55%)

recall

The Cause

The Effect

MICROSOFT, INDIA HEALTH & WELLNESS STRATEGY

It was thus recognized that its absolutely critical for the organization to redefine the Health & Wellness
mission statement. And then articulate the strategy to fulfill that mission statement. The mission statement
thus became the tagline for the program itself Live Well 365.
The Live Well 365 program used a 3 prong strategy Inspire, Influence and Enable to arrive at the final
objectives. This strategy was based on the basic premise that no cultural change is possible without
involving the people who get impacted by it. And to ensure that the change is sustainable, it is imperative
to have an iterative loop that provides the flexibility and the rigor to keep it relevant to the stakeholders
impacted by the change.

B. Evaluation of Current Offerings in Terms of Utilisation

The Microsoft C&B team then analyzed the utilization of the existing Health & Wellness benefits to find the
following patterns emerge:
1. Low utilization of existing benefits

Inspire
A cultural transformation that
has wellness & wellbeing
intergrated in its DNA

2. Low participation with respect to Onsite Diagnostics, HRA and EAP programs
3. Top 5 health issues identified under Onsite Health Check & HRA were LIFESTYLE related issues
with long term and silent health risks (interestingly displaying the same results as the Staying@
Work survey):

Influence
A change in behavior of the
employees by inviloving them
& their families in the
decision makeing process

Enable
The employees to Live well...
365 days a year

a. Weight (BMI) issues

b. High Cholesterol
c. High BP

57

58

INTERNAL DIAGNOSTICS TO IDENTIFY THE PROGRAM NEED

d. Sedentary risk

A. Launch Of Live Well 365 Survey For Employees

e. Emotional Stress

In order to identify and validate the requirements of the employee target population, the organization initiated
an employee survey that focused on the following parameters:

With the above two data sources, the cause-effect statement that the organization was up against, got
articulated by the C&B team:

1. Current awareness of existing Health and Wellness related benefits and contributing factors
2. Which are the areas where employees would like to see more information or offerings on
3. What would be their preferred mode of information access
4. Do they think a Health and Wellness portal would enable them to access information more easily?
If yes, what features would they like to have in a Health & Wellness portal?
5. If Microsoft India indeed provided a website as well as an health app with information on Health and
Wellness, what is the probability of employees using them

Lack of a focused H&W strategy

resulting in Low Participation &
Utilization, Lack of Involvement
and Commitment towards ones
own wellbeing

High occurrence &

risk of lifestyle
related diseases +
Higher spend on
Reactive Care

Interestingly, the employee survey highlighted the following results:

Awareness of

Preferred mode of

Top 4 areas of

Existing Benefits

Information Access

interest/focus

Awareness levels:

Low-Medium

Stand alone programs

Absence of a single
platform and brand to

A comprehensive
website on Health &

Physical tness (72%)

Stress management

Wellness/app (78%)

1-0-1 counseling (64%)

Onsite Clinic (53%)

(62%)

Nutrition (61%) and

Weight management

enable top of the mind

(55%)

recall

The Cause

The Effect

MICROSOFT, INDIA HEALTH & WELLNESS STRATEGY

It was thus recognized that its absolutely critical for the organization to redefine the Health & Wellness
mission statement. And then articulate the strategy to fulfill that mission statement. The mission statement
thus became the tagline for the program itself Live Well 365.
The Live Well 365 program used a 3 prong strategy Inspire, Influence and Enable to arrive at the final
objectives. This strategy was based on the basic premise that no cultural change is possible without
involving the people who get impacted by it. And to ensure that the change is sustainable, it is imperative
to have an iterative loop that provides the flexibility and the rigor to keep it relevant to the stakeholders
impacted by the change.

B. Evaluation of Current Offerings in Terms of Utilisation

The Microsoft C&B team then analyzed the utilization of the existing Health & Wellness benefits to find the
following patterns emerge:
1. Low utilization of existing benefits

Inspire
A cultural transformation that
has wellness & wellbeing
intergrated in its DNA

2. Low participation with respect to Onsite Diagnostics, HRA and EAP programs
3. Top 5 health issues identified under Onsite Health Check & HRA were LIFESTYLE related issues
with long term and silent health risks (interestingly displaying the same results as the Staying@
Work survey):

Influence
A change in behavior of the
employees by inviloving them
& their families in the
decision makeing process

Enable
The employees to Live well...
365 days a year

a. Weight (BMI) issues

b. High Cholesterol
c. High BP

57

58

A. Involvement of Key Stakeholders in Decision Making

C. Enabling & Engaging at Multiple Levels

KEY THEMES AND ACTIONS EMERGING FROM THE STRATEGY

Increasing the
number & scope
on interventions/
benefits

To provide enhanced exibility of choice for

emplolyees to engage

Introduction of
Garnification
and Rewards

To make it Fun and Rewarding the

Desired Beheviours

Simplified and
Intergrated
Approach

Leaveraging Technology (Online chat seccions, Yammer

posts, Single Sign On) to simplify access to information

Employees

Feedback colleced through and online survey to capture

their prefernce on what they would like to see as part
of this change

Enhancement of
FItness
Reimbursement
Policy

Leadership But-In on Stratergy and Focused Long-Term

Investment-based on employee feedback and
health data

HR, Marcrom,
Leagal, Finace
& Facilities

Joint decision to come up with an uniform branding and

plan that is holistic, tech-friendly, compliment with our
privacy guidelines and can be imlemented across locations

KEY SUCCESS MEASURES

A. Year 1 & 2 Increased Awareness and Utilization measured through participation Our first target
was to increase participation (as a percentage of employee population) in all our Health and
Wellness related programs. Such as fitness reimbursement, onsite health diagnostics, MS CARES
(our EAP service) as well as online games related to health and wellness.
B. Year 3 onwards Reduction in health risk related data and lower spend on reactive care. Once there

B. Leveraging Social Influence to Inspire

is increase in awareness, we are hoping that more and more employees would become conscious
of their health and wellbeing and actually take action around the same. As a result, we expect our
overall employee health indices to show improvement as compared to the current status. And

Launch of Live
Well 365 Portal

Enhancement of
FItness
Reimbursement
Policy

Success
Stories

A one stop shop for employess AND their family

members for all H&W initiatives, given family is the
biggest source of influence

therefore over a period of time, reduction in our insurance claims related to reactive care.

IMPACT INCREASE IN UTILIZATION AND PARTICIPATION

Initiatives Taken

To include reimbursement of Fitness bands

that could serve as a reminder

Of Employees as well as Leaders on how they take care

of their health and wellness amidst busy schedules

59

Overall Increase in Engagement and Utilization since 2013

Fitness Reimbursement

Increase by 24%

MS Cares EAP Services

Increase by 5% (above industry benchmark)

Health Risk Assessment

Increase by 5%

Onsite Health Check

Increase by 12%

Onsite Health Facilities

Increase by 15%

Move It! Global Challenge

Highest participation from India (outside US) 900+ employees

New interventions focused on

communication and engagement

Ongoing Mailers focused on education and awareness; Digital Posters;

Online Games; Rewarding winners of the online games

60

A. Involvement of Key Stakeholders in Decision Making

C. Enabling & Engaging at Multiple Levels

KEY THEMES AND ACTIONS EMERGING FROM THE STRATEGY

Increasing the
number & scope
on interventions/
benefits

To provide enhanced exibility of choice for

emplolyees to engage

Introduction of
Garnification
and Rewards

To make it Fun and Rewarding the

Desired Beheviours

Simplified and
Intergrated
Approach

Leaveraging Technology (Online chat seccions, Yammer

posts, Single Sign On) to simplify access to information

Employees

Feedback colleced through and online survey to capture

their prefernce on what they would like to see as part
of this change

Enhancement of
FItness
Reimbursement
Policy

Leadership But-In on Stratergy and Focused Long-Term

Investment-based on employee feedback and
health data

HR, Marcrom,
Leagal, Finace
& Facilities

Joint decision to come up with an uniform branding and

plan that is holistic, tech-friendly, compliment with our
privacy guidelines and can be imlemented across locations

KEY SUCCESS MEASURES

A. Year 1 & 2 Increased Awareness and Utilization measured through participation Our first target
was to increase participation (as a percentage of employee population) in all our Health and
Wellness related programs. Such as fitness reimbursement, onsite health diagnostics, MS CARES
(our EAP service) as well as online games related to health and wellness.
B. Year 3 onwards Reduction in health risk related data and lower spend on reactive care. Once there

B. Leveraging Social Influence to Inspire

is increase in awareness, we are hoping that more and more employees would become conscious
of their health and wellbeing and actually take action around the same. As a result, we expect our
overall employee health indices to show improvement as compared to the current status. And

Launch of Live
Well 365 Portal

Enhancement of
FItness
Reimbursement
Policy

Success
Stories

A one stop shop for employess AND their family

members for all H&W initiatives, given family is the
biggest source of influence

therefore over a period of time, reduction in our insurance claims related to reactive care.

IMPACT INCREASE IN UTILIZATION AND PARTICIPATION

Initiatives Taken

To include reimbursement of Fitness bands

that could serve as a reminder

Of Employees as well as Leaders on how they take care

of their health and wellness amidst busy schedules

59

Overall Increase in Engagement and Utilization since 2013

Fitness Reimbursement

Increase by 24%

MS Cares EAP Services

Increase by 5% (above industry benchmark)

Health Risk Assessment

Increase by 5%

Onsite Health Check

Increase by 12%

Onsite Health Facilities

Increase by 15%

Move It! Global Challenge

Highest participation from India (outside US) 900+ employees

New interventions focused on

communication and engagement

Ongoing Mailers focused on education and awareness; Digital Posters;

Online Games; Rewarding winners of the online games

60

As a result of the initiatives, a huge increase in uptake of the various Health and Wellness related benefits were seen.
The fitness reimbursement utilization saw an increase by 24% YoY. All the other benefits saw an increase in uptake
by 5% - 15% across as compared to the previous years.

Conclusion
Microsoft believes that a sustained and focused intervention towards creating health awareness would go a long
way in making employees aware of the steps they need to take in their own well-being.

WAY FORWARD
Microsoft Indias Live Well 365 program aims at enabling employees with the right tools and information on health
and well-being in order to truly live well 365 days a year. There are mainly 3 tenets of this program that focuses on
continuous engagement through the year to ensure increase in awareness and utilization.

Having a Health & Wellness strategy as an integral part of the overall business strategy of the organization is what
would sow the seeds of a culture that believes in taking ownership of ones own health and well-being. Heres to
Living Well 365.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Manoshi Mukherjee is the Compensation and Benefits Manager for Microsoft, India. She is a post graduate in
Economics with an MBA degree in HR from Symbiosis and is passionate about Health & Wellness in corporate
set-ups.
Preventive
Car

Physical
Wellbeing

Aditi is currently an HR Manager in Microsoft and has 10+ years of experience across consulting, generalist and
specialist roles. She is a PGDBM holder from MDI, Gurgaon.

Mental, Emotional
& Spiritual
Wellbeing

Key Offerings communicated through Online Gamification & Employee/Leader

Stories under a Single Umbrella Brand
Preventive Care Offerings

Physical Wellbeing

EAP Services

Onsite Diagnostics

Fitness Reimbursement

Executive Health Check

Dental & Vision
Reimbursement as well as
onsite check

League of the Fit

Monthly Chat sessions on

various topics

HRA

Move It Challenge
PUMA Urban Stampede
Sessions on Nutrition

61

Online Self assessment

tests
Online self-help topics

62

As a result of the initiatives, a huge increase in uptake of the various Health and Wellness related benefits were seen.
The fitness reimbursement utilization saw an increase by 24% YoY. All the other benefits saw an increase in uptake
by 5% - 15% across as compared to the previous years.

Conclusion
Microsoft believes that a sustained and focused intervention towards creating health awareness would go a long
way in making employees aware of the steps they need to take in their own well-being.

WAY FORWARD
Microsoft Indias Live Well 365 program aims at enabling employees with the right tools and information on health
and well-being in order to truly live well 365 days a year. There are mainly 3 tenets of this program that focuses on
continuous engagement through the year to ensure increase in awareness and utilization.

Having a Health & Wellness strategy as an integral part of the overall business strategy of the organization is what
would sow the seeds of a culture that believes in taking ownership of ones own health and well-being. Heres to
Living Well 365.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Manoshi Mukherjee is the Compensation and Benefits Manager for Microsoft, India. She is a post graduate in
Economics with an MBA degree in HR from Symbiosis and is passionate about Health & Wellness in corporate
set-ups.
Preventive
Car

Physical
Wellbeing

Aditi is currently an HR Manager in Microsoft and has 10+ years of experience across consulting, generalist and
specialist roles. She is a PGDBM holder from MDI, Gurgaon.

Mental, Emotional
& Spiritual
Wellbeing

Key Offerings communicated through Online Gamification & Employee/Leader

Stories under a Single Umbrella Brand
Preventive Care Offerings

Physical Wellbeing

EAP Services

Onsite Diagnostics

Fitness Reimbursement

Executive Health Check

Dental & Vision
Reimbursement as well as
onsite check

League of the Fit

Monthly Chat sessions on

various topics

HRA

Move It Challenge
PUMA Urban Stampede
Sessions on Nutrition

61

Online Self assessment

tests
Online self-help topics

62

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW
Tech Mahindra represents the connected world, offering innovative and customer-centric information
technology services and solutions, enabling Enterprises, Associates and the Society to Rise. A USD 3.9
billion organization with 105,200+ professionals across 90 countries, helping over 780+ global customers
including Fortune 500 companies, their innovation platforms and reusable assets connect across a number
of technologies to deliver tangible business value to stakeholders. Tech Mahindra is also amongst the Fab 50
companies in Asia as per the Forbes 2014 List.
The organization is a part of the USD 16.9 billion Mahindra Group that employs more than 200,000 people in
over 100 countries. The Group operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a
leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, after-market, information technology and vacation ownership.

WELLNESS BEFORE BUSINESS AS A PHILOSOPHY AND VALUE PROPOSITION

EXCELLENCE IN EMPLOYEE
HEALTH & WELLNESS INITIATIVES

WELLNESS BEFORE
BUSINESS

Over the years, Tech Mahindras offerings and solutions have ensured wellness of business. But as they
established a larger connect with the eco-system; a need was felt to evolve from wellness of business to
wellness of being and putting wellness before business. Therefore, wellness is extended to not just their
Associates (At Tech Mahindra, employees are referred as Associates) but also to the customers and the
community at large through their partnership with the Government of India, the UN, Embassies & Partners to
promote the message of wellness through the International Day of Yoga campaign.
Associate Engagement at Tech Mahindra is addressed from five dimensions viz., Career, Alignment,
Recognition, Empowerment and Strive (CARES). These five engagement levers help in taking a holistic
approach to engage employees and ensure that the people practices, programmes and policies that are
designed and implemented are comprehensive. The Strive dimension, in particular, is about providing a
wholesome employment experience to Associates by enhancing their personal wellbeing in addition to their
professional wellbeing and the Wellness Program is aimed at accomplishing this particular objective.
Wellness also features prominently in Tech Mahindras employee value proposition which includes the
Freedom to Explore Opportunities to celebrate the blend of work and life.

TECH MAHINDRAS WEALTH OF WELLNESS PROGRAM

- BY RAJESHWARI KAR

Award Partner

At Tech Mahindra, it is believed that a healthy workforce translates into a more productive and engaged
workforce and Associates are able to handle challenges at work and on the personal front with equanimity
only when they are physically and emotionally fit. To this end, they have constructed a comprehensive Health
and Wellness program christened as Wealth of Wellness (WoW) that brings fitness to everyones door steps,
or more aptly, to their desks. In collaboration with the central HR Benefits Team, the Wealth of Wellness
program is driven by the Location Councils. Location Councils are a group of empowered Associates from
across job levels in each of Tech Mahindra locations whose objective is to establish a connected workplace
and promote positive change in the lives of Associates. These location councils serve as a top-down and
bottom-up connect between senior leadership and Associates by driving the various formal and informal
Associate engagement programs across locations and also by observing and analyzing Associate
engagement trends and providing feedback from the ground to the senior management on various Associate
related issues.
WoW is the culmination of many solutions that work together under one objective of ensuring Associate
wellness. The elements of WoW are: programs building awareness on health and wellness, preventive programs,
fitness programs, spiritual & mental/emotional wellness programs and work-life fit programs. The programs are
designed to be interesting, unique, relevant and dynamic so that Associates are drawn towards them on their
own. It involves layers of education, communication, incentives, events and a long term commitment.

64

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW
Tech Mahindra represents the connected world, offering innovative and customer-centric information
technology services and solutions, enabling Enterprises, Associates and the Society to Rise. A USD 3.9
billion organization with 105,200+ professionals across 90 countries, helping over 780+ global customers
including Fortune 500 companies, their innovation platforms and reusable assets connect across a number
of technologies to deliver tangible business value to stakeholders. Tech Mahindra is also amongst the Fab 50
companies in Asia as per the Forbes 2014 List.
The organization is a part of the USD 16.9 billion Mahindra Group that employs more than 200,000 people in
over 100 countries. The Group operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a
leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, after-market, information technology and vacation ownership.

WELLNESS BEFORE BUSINESS AS A PHILOSOPHY AND VALUE PROPOSITION

EXCELLENCE IN EMPLOYEE
HEALTH & WELLNESS INITIATIVES

WELLNESS BEFORE
BUSINESS

Over the years, Tech Mahindras offerings and solutions have ensured wellness of business. But as they
established a larger connect with the eco-system; a need was felt to evolve from wellness of business to
wellness of being and putting wellness before business. Therefore, wellness is extended to not just their
Associates (At Tech Mahindra, employees are referred as Associates) but also to the customers and the
community at large through their partnership with the Government of India, the UN, Embassies & Partners to
promote the message of wellness through the International Day of Yoga campaign.
Associate Engagement at Tech Mahindra is addressed from five dimensions viz., Career, Alignment,
Recognition, Empowerment and Strive (CARES). These five engagement levers help in taking a holistic
approach to engage employees and ensure that the people practices, programmes and policies that are
designed and implemented are comprehensive. The Strive dimension, in particular, is about providing a
wholesome employment experience to Associates by enhancing their personal wellbeing in addition to their
professional wellbeing and the Wellness Program is aimed at accomplishing this particular objective.
Wellness also features prominently in Tech Mahindras employee value proposition which includes the
Freedom to Explore Opportunities to celebrate the blend of work and life.

TECH MAHINDRAS WEALTH OF WELLNESS PROGRAM

- BY RAJESHWARI KAR

Award Partner

At Tech Mahindra, it is believed that a healthy workforce translates into a more productive and engaged
workforce and Associates are able to handle challenges at work and on the personal front with equanimity
only when they are physically and emotionally fit. To this end, they have constructed a comprehensive Health
and Wellness program christened as Wealth of Wellness (WoW) that brings fitness to everyones door steps,
or more aptly, to their desks. In collaboration with the central HR Benefits Team, the Wealth of Wellness
program is driven by the Location Councils. Location Councils are a group of empowered Associates from
across job levels in each of Tech Mahindra locations whose objective is to establish a connected workplace
and promote positive change in the lives of Associates. These location councils serve as a top-down and
bottom-up connect between senior leadership and Associates by driving the various formal and informal
Associate engagement programs across locations and also by observing and analyzing Associate
engagement trends and providing feedback from the ground to the senior management on various Associate
related issues.
WoW is the culmination of many solutions that work together under one objective of ensuring Associate
wellness. The elements of WoW are: programs building awareness on health and wellness, preventive programs,
fitness programs, spiritual & mental/emotional wellness programs and work-life fit programs. The programs are
designed to be interesting, unique, relevant and dynamic so that Associates are drawn towards them on their
own. It involves layers of education, communication, incentives, events and a long term commitment.

64

KEY DIFFERENTIATORS

Wellness Infrastructure
All large campuses at TechM have wellness rooms, gymnasiums with instructors and indoor games
facilities for use by Associates including Swimming, Badminton, Snookers, Pool, Carrom, Tennis,
Table Tennis, Volleyball, Throwball, Basketball and Chess.

Health Check-ups are tailored for varying age groups and not job levels
In keeping with the brand positioning of Connected World, Connected Solutions, wellness
programs are extended to the Associates family members. They are entitled to discounted health
check-up packages and can participate in on-location Health Camps. The Family Connect group
Samanvay has been formed with the sole objective of connecting with the spouse, children and
spouse of Associates and extend various programs such as life skills workshops, yoga courses,
summer camps etc. to them

On Location Company Maintained Crches

Every major Indian TechM office campuses have an attached day care facility / tie up with leading
crches. This crches provide outdoor, indoor and audio visual activities to ensure that Associates
children can play, learn, enjoy and grow while they work.

The WoW program is an Associate led movement - of the Associates, by the Associates and for the
Associates
Tech Mahindras leaders, starting with the MD & CEO himself, are role models who drive the
wellness movement from the top and walk the talk by leading from the front and taking part in
events such as Walk with the CEO & COO and yoga sessions held across locations

Fitness programs such as Yoga, Meditation, Relaxation Techniques, Pranic Healing, Aerobics and
Zumba Sessions etc. are conducted across locations, regularly.

B.

Supporting Mental & Emotional Wellbeing - Lets Talk

The idea of providing a psychologists service in-house is slowly catching up among industries in India, with

WOW PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

The WoW Program offers a bouquet of sessions, events, camps, webinars, talks, infrastructure, workshops,
contests, special day commemorations and other initiatives to ensure awareness, prevention, physical,
emotional and spiritual fitness, and work-life balance. Some of the flagship wellness programs that been
accepted and appreciated by Associates include:

A.

Fitness Sessions

Tech Mahindra campuses are designed to be self- sufficient Wellness Cities with
wellness infrastructure and facilities including:

Tech Mahindra being one of the pioneers.

Lets Talk is a unique Associate welfare and wellness initiative at Tech Mahindra which is aimed at
promoting overall mental and emotional wellbeing of Associates and their families. This program offers free,
in-house professional counselling service to Tech Mahindras Associates and their immediate family
members (parents, spouse & children) across its locations to ensure wellness and a healthy & happy
workforce. Counselling is provided on a range of issues that may be bothering the Associate at work or at
home or which has an impact on their personal and professional life. The three cornerstones of the Lets Talk

Doctors on Locations
In order to ensure that Associates have immediate access to healthcare, every major Indian TechM
location has the facility of free consultation with specialists which include Doctors, Nutritionists,
Counsellors & Physiotherapists.

service are a personalized counselling experience, confidentiality & safety of the clients concerns and
empowerment to manage similar future exigencies confidently. Apart from face to face counselling sessions,
on call support from the Lets Talk has also been introduced for the convenience of Associates. Feedback
from one of the Associates on this Initiative:

On-location and Online Pharmacies

Every major Indian TechM Location has a pharmacy attached to it with special discounts belong
offered to Associates. Online pharmacy services with specially discounted prices and free office
and/or home delivery have also been extended.
Health Camps and Talks
Every location conducts Expert Talks on Health & Wellness Topics and Health Camps/On Location
Checks & Screenings with follow-up Counselling. Examples include eye check-up camps, hair and
skin care camps, orthopedic camps, pediatric camps, ergonomics sessions, vaccination camps,
etc.
Doctor on Chat Facility

Associate Speak
I became aware of the Lets Talk Initiative in TechM through one of the sessions. During the
last 6-7 months in the project, I was feeling extremely stressed. It was affecting my
performance as well. I knew that Lets Talk would help me, but I was postponing it. But when
the situation became unbearable, I thought its time to approach Lets Talk to help me cope
up with my stress. The hardest part for me was to enter the Lets Talk room for the first time.
Later on, it became so comfortable that I used to look forward to my sessions. I was unaware

An online chat facility with a qualified doctor to discuss health related queries has been enabled for
Associates from Monday to Friday so that they have the opportunity to seek expert medical opinion
without stepping away from their workstations. While the doctors are available for a Live Chat from
2pm to 5 pm, Associates can also email their query to a designated email id at any time of the day
and receive a response within 24 working hours.

65

that in Lets Talk, I can have a discussion/ talk over anything which is bothering me. Although,
I went to Lets Talk for my professional issues, I also opened up with my personal issues
which I had not spoken to anyone about. I really felt relieved after that.

66

KEY DIFFERENTIATORS

Wellness Infrastructure
All large campuses at TechM have wellness rooms, gymnasiums with instructors and indoor games
facilities for use by Associates including Swimming, Badminton, Snookers, Pool, Carrom, Tennis,
Table Tennis, Volleyball, Throwball, Basketball and Chess.

Health Check-ups are tailored for varying age groups and not job levels
In keeping with the brand positioning of Connected World, Connected Solutions, wellness
programs are extended to the Associates family members. They are entitled to discounted health
check-up packages and can participate in on-location Health Camps. The Family Connect group
Samanvay has been formed with the sole objective of connecting with the spouse, children and
spouse of Associates and extend various programs such as life skills workshops, yoga courses,
summer camps etc. to them

On Location Company Maintained Crches

Every major Indian TechM office campuses have an attached day care facility / tie up with leading
crches. This crches provide outdoor, indoor and audio visual activities to ensure that Associates
children can play, learn, enjoy and grow while they work.

The WoW program is an Associate led movement - of the Associates, by the Associates and for the
Associates
Tech Mahindras leaders, starting with the MD & CEO himself, are role models who drive the
wellness movement from the top and walk the talk by leading from the front and taking part in
events such as Walk with the CEO & COO and yoga sessions held across locations

Fitness programs such as Yoga, Meditation, Relaxation Techniques, Pranic Healing, Aerobics and
Zumba Sessions etc. are conducted across locations, regularly.

B.

Supporting Mental & Emotional Wellbeing - Lets Talk

The idea of providing a psychologists service in-house is slowly catching up among industries in India, with

WOW PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

The WoW Program offers a bouquet of sessions, events, camps, webinars, talks, infrastructure, workshops,
contests, special day commemorations and other initiatives to ensure awareness, prevention, physical,
emotional and spiritual fitness, and work-life balance. Some of the flagship wellness programs that been
accepted and appreciated by Associates include:

A.

Fitness Sessions

Tech Mahindra campuses are designed to be self- sufficient Wellness Cities with
wellness infrastructure and facilities including:

Tech Mahindra being one of the pioneers.

Lets Talk is a unique Associate welfare and wellness initiative at Tech Mahindra which is aimed at
promoting overall mental and emotional wellbeing of Associates and their families. This program offers free,
in-house professional counselling service to Tech Mahindras Associates and their immediate family
members (parents, spouse & children) across its locations to ensure wellness and a healthy & happy
workforce. Counselling is provided on a range of issues that may be bothering the Associate at work or at
home or which has an impact on their personal and professional life. The three cornerstones of the Lets Talk

Doctors on Locations
In order to ensure that Associates have immediate access to healthcare, every major Indian TechM
location has the facility of free consultation with specialists which include Doctors, Nutritionists,
Counsellors & Physiotherapists.

service are a personalized counselling experience, confidentiality & safety of the clients concerns and
empowerment to manage similar future exigencies confidently. Apart from face to face counselling sessions,
on call support from the Lets Talk has also been introduced for the convenience of Associates. Feedback
from one of the Associates on this Initiative:

On-location and Online Pharmacies

Every major Indian TechM Location has a pharmacy attached to it with special discounts belong
offered to Associates. Online pharmacy services with specially discounted prices and free office
and/or home delivery have also been extended.
Health Camps and Talks
Every location conducts Expert Talks on Health & Wellness Topics and Health Camps/On Location
Checks & Screenings with follow-up Counselling. Examples include eye check-up camps, hair and
skin care camps, orthopedic camps, pediatric camps, ergonomics sessions, vaccination camps,
etc.
Doctor on Chat Facility

Associate Speak
I became aware of the Lets Talk Initiative in TechM through one of the sessions. During the
last 6-7 months in the project, I was feeling extremely stressed. It was affecting my
performance as well. I knew that Lets Talk would help me, but I was postponing it. But when
the situation became unbearable, I thought its time to approach Lets Talk to help me cope
up with my stress. The hardest part for me was to enter the Lets Talk room for the first time.
Later on, it became so comfortable that I used to look forward to my sessions. I was unaware

An online chat facility with a qualified doctor to discuss health related queries has been enabled for
Associates from Monday to Friday so that they have the opportunity to seek expert medical opinion
without stepping away from their workstations. While the doctors are available for a Live Chat from
2pm to 5 pm, Associates can also email their query to a designated email id at any time of the day
and receive a response within 24 working hours.

65

that in Lets Talk, I can have a discussion/ talk over anything which is bothering me. Although,
I went to Lets Talk for my professional issues, I also opened up with my personal issues
which I had not spoken to anyone about. I really felt relieved after that.

66

SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA

To reinforce its commitment to wellness, not just for the Associates/customers, but to the entire society at
large, Tech Mahindra announced its web portal www.idayofyoga.org, which was launched by the Honorable
Prime Minister at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris in April 2015. The choice to promote Yoga was
tailor-made, because over the years, one trait that customers have associated Tech Mahindra with is flexibility
and adaptability and yoga is a model of both these virtues. Being serious about the resolve of wellness, the
organization was only too happy to extend the same externally through the support for the cause of
International Day of Yoga. Tech Mahindra has been supporting this initiative not just for the event of
International Day of Yoga 21st of June 2015 but throughout the year.
The engagement with promoting yoga has been on three levels

Customer

Citizen

Colleague

Customer
Engagement

Yoga Workshops are organized for top accounts 2-3 times a week

Private yoga sessions for the key inuencers within the top accounts held at
their residences

Key customers and prospects were invited to the respective embassies on the
International Day of Yoga for a dinner hosted by Tech Mahindra

The organization engaged with the embassies in 20 cities across the world and
conducted yoga sessions in those cities spreading the message around

Citizen

importance of a healthy mind and a healthy body

Engagament
Success
Stories

As a run up to the International Day of Yoga, in addition to the regular sessions

organized by WoW councils, events such as yoga flash mobs, one-minute yoga

Colleague
Enagagement

breaks, yoga selfie corner, yoga camps for spouses, etc. were conducted to
increase awareness of and participation from Associates and their families

Being a catalyst in this transformational journey from wellness of business to wellness of being has further
strengthened the organizations resolve to foster wellness, not just for the Associates but for the community
at large.

SUCCESS OF WEALTH OF WELLNESS PROGRAM

The effectiveness of WoW Program is tracked on the basis of:
Participation/utilization both absolute and comparative, on a Year over Year basis
Scores related to health & wellness in the Associate Engagement Survey
Direct feedback on the initiative
Indirect feedback from councils, business leaders and location HR representatives
Benchmarking with competitors and peers
A 43% increase in Associate participation has been witnessed in FY 15 as compared to FY 14 and more
and more of the Associates are coming forward to utilize the Wealth of Wellness offerings.
A specific question on Wealth of Wellness offerings has also been included as part of the Associate
Engagement Score and there has been a 9% increase in Associate satisfaction levels w.r.t. to Wealth of
Wellness offerings when the current years scores are compared to the scores of last year.
Image: A Surya Namaskar Session in Tech Mahindras Mumbai Office

Encouraging feedback has been received from Associates as well as from senior leaders on the wellness
initiatives.

67

68

SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA

To reinforce its commitment to wellness, not just for the Associates/customers, but to the entire society at
large, Tech Mahindra announced its web portal www.idayofyoga.org, which was launched by the Honorable
Prime Minister at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris in April 2015. The choice to promote Yoga was
tailor-made, because over the years, one trait that customers have associated Tech Mahindra with is flexibility
and adaptability and yoga is a model of both these virtues. Being serious about the resolve of wellness, the
organization was only too happy to extend the same externally through the support for the cause of
International Day of Yoga. Tech Mahindra has been supporting this initiative not just for the event of
International Day of Yoga 21st of June 2015 but throughout the year.
The engagement with promoting yoga has been on three levels

Customer

Citizen

Colleague

Customer
Engagement

Yoga Workshops are organized for top accounts 2-3 times a week

Private yoga sessions for the key inuencers within the top accounts held at
their residences

Key customers and prospects were invited to the respective embassies on the
International Day of Yoga for a dinner hosted by Tech Mahindra

The organization engaged with the embassies in 20 cities across the world and
conducted yoga sessions in those cities spreading the message around

Citizen

importance of a healthy mind and a healthy body

Engagament
Success
Stories

As a run up to the International Day of Yoga, in addition to the regular sessions

organized by WoW councils, events such as yoga flash mobs, one-minute yoga

Colleague
Enagagement

breaks, yoga selfie corner, yoga camps for spouses, etc. were conducted to
increase awareness of and participation from Associates and their families

Being a catalyst in this transformational journey from wellness of business to wellness of being has further
strengthened the organizations resolve to foster wellness, not just for the Associates but for the community
at large.

SUCCESS OF WEALTH OF WELLNESS PROGRAM

The effectiveness of WoW Program is tracked on the basis of:
Participation/utilization both absolute and comparative, on a Year over Year basis
Scores related to health & wellness in the Associate Engagement Survey
Direct feedback on the initiative
Indirect feedback from councils, business leaders and location HR representatives
Benchmarking with competitors and peers
A 43% increase in Associate participation has been witnessed in FY 15 as compared to FY 14 and more
and more of the Associates are coming forward to utilize the Wealth of Wellness offerings.
A specific question on Wealth of Wellness offerings has also been included as part of the Associate
Engagement Score and there has been a 9% increase in Associate satisfaction levels w.r.t. to Wealth of
Wellness offerings when the current years scores are compared to the scores of last year.
Image: A Surya Namaskar Session in Tech Mahindras Mumbai Office

Encouraging feedback has been received from Associates as well as from senior leaders on the wellness
initiatives.

67

68

The Wellness journey at Tech Mahindra began with mails,

Associate Speak

got bolstered by leadership endorsement, moved to

Wellness is not a programme, it is a

a. WoW brand now has a wide spread recognition

Associate evangelism and is now a 360 degree effort.

culture. For a companys health, the

Tech Mahindra is now actively looking to increase the

individual health is all important. And I

reach and impact of its Wellness program through

believe its important for all of us to develop

Wellness Brand Ambassadors identified from amongst

a culture and mind-set of wellness. A

Associates who will Inform, Influence and Endorse

mind-set driven by the top, but run at the

wellness programs thereby driving higher awareness

bottom.

b. Floor yoga was an instant stress buster as it was only for 7-10 minutes.
c. Helped Associates to get awareness about various facts about good health and its
importance
d. Surely helped many to reduce stress levels at workplace after regularly attending
sessions such as yoga & meditations conducted by WoW .

and participation. The focus going forward will also be

to leverage technology in the form of mobile

An indirect/added impact vis--vis business results has also been observed due to these initiatives. Brand
Tech Mahindra has been going from strength to strength with a spate of global recognition and accolades on

applications and provide customized wellness solution to

- CP Gurnani, CEO and MD of Tech

Mahindra

Associates.

all fronts. And a large part of this is owing to the fact that we have put Wellness Before Business.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Accolades
1. Featured in Forbes 50 Asias Best Public Companies twice in a row in 2014 and 2015
2. Featured in Deloitte Tech Fast 50 India Program twice in a row in 2014 and 2015

Rajeshwari Kar, Senior Manager - HR leads the Employer Branding initiatives at Tech Mahindra, contributing
towards establishing Tech Mahindra as an Employer of Choice.

3. Won Golden Peacock Award for Innovation and Risk Management 2015
4. Ranked #1 among fastest growing companies in India by Businessworld 2014
5. Ranked #1 in CDP Climate Disclosure Leadership Index 2015, with a score of 100
6. Won the prestigious Training Magazines Top 125 Award fourth time in a row 2013 2016
7. Recognized as one among the top 3 organizations for Excellence in HR in Business World
HR Excellence Awards 2015

Conclusion and the Way Forward

Wellness has now become an integral part of life for a TechMighty; to the extent that we now take pride in also
developing platforms for others to experience our Wellness philosophy. The most high profile example if this is our
recent launch of iYoga portal by the Indian Prime Minister which embodied our conviction in Health and Wellness,
say the proud Tech Mahindra Associates.
All Associates are encouraged through campaigns and contributions, to keep themselves fit and extend the benefits
of wellness initiatives to their families as well. A journey that began with mails proceeded to Associate evangelism,
furthered by leadership endorsement and is now a 360 degree effort. Its now embedded in the culture and Wellness
before business has become part of the organizations DNA.

69

70

The Wellness journey at Tech Mahindra began with mails,

Associate Speak

got bolstered by leadership endorsement, moved to

Wellness is not a programme, it is a

a. WoW brand now has a wide spread recognition

Associate evangelism and is now a 360 degree effort.

culture. For a companys health, the

Tech Mahindra is now actively looking to increase the

individual health is all important. And I

reach and impact of its Wellness program through

believe its important for all of us to develop

Wellness Brand Ambassadors identified from amongst

a culture and mind-set of wellness. A

Associates who will Inform, Influence and Endorse

mind-set driven by the top, but run at the

wellness programs thereby driving higher awareness

bottom.

b. Floor yoga was an instant stress buster as it was only for 7-10 minutes.
c. Helped Associates to get awareness about various facts about good health and its
importance
d. Surely helped many to reduce stress levels at workplace after regularly attending
sessions such as yoga & meditations conducted by WoW .

and participation. The focus going forward will also be

to leverage technology in the form of mobile

An indirect/added impact vis--vis business results has also been observed due to these initiatives. Brand
Tech Mahindra has been going from strength to strength with a spate of global recognition and accolades on

applications and provide customized wellness solution to

- CP Gurnani, CEO and MD of Tech

Mahindra

Associates.

all fronts. And a large part of this is owing to the fact that we have put Wellness Before Business.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Accolades
1. Featured in Forbes 50 Asias Best Public Companies twice in a row in 2014 and 2015
2. Featured in Deloitte Tech Fast 50 India Program twice in a row in 2014 and 2015

Rajeshwari Kar, Senior Manager - HR leads the Employer Branding initiatives at Tech Mahindra, contributing
towards establishing Tech Mahindra as an Employer of Choice.

3. Won Golden Peacock Award for Innovation and Risk Management 2015
4. Ranked #1 among fastest growing companies in India by Businessworld 2014
5. Ranked #1 in CDP Climate Disclosure Leadership Index 2015, with a score of 100
6. Won the prestigious Training Magazines Top 125 Award fourth time in a row 2013 2016
7. Recognized as one among the top 3 organizations for Excellence in HR in Business World
HR Excellence Awards 2015

Conclusion and the Way Forward

Wellness has now become an integral part of life for a TechMighty; to the extent that we now take pride in also
developing platforms for others to experience our Wellness philosophy. The most high profile example if this is our
recent launch of iYoga portal by the Indian Prime Minister which embodied our conviction in Health and Wellness,
say the proud Tech Mahindra Associates.
All Associates are encouraged through campaigns and contributions, to keep themselves fit and extend the benefits
of wellness initiatives to their families as well. A journey that began with mails proceeded to Associate evangelism,
furthered by leadership endorsement and is now a 360 degree effort. Its now embedded in the culture and Wellness
before business has become part of the organizations DNA.

69

70

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

STARTING FROM THE TOP
Kronos was founded in 1977, when it developed the first microprocessor-based time clock to automatically
record, total, and report employee time transactions. One innovation led to another and that initial idea
launched Kronos into the global leader in workforce management today. The company now helps more than
20,000 organizations around the world manage their most valuable and expensive strategic asset their
workforce. As the global leader in the sector, investors, customers and employees look to Kronos to model
best-in-class people management practices. That focus is not just empty rhetoric, it lies at the heart of
everything the company values and stands for.

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCE

FOR SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

BUILDING AN INSPIRED
CULTURE A BUSINESS
IMPERATIVE
- BY PRIYANKA KRISHAN

Through workforce management, Kronos aim is to inspire great things from the global worker. And the
executives at Kronos strongly believe that you cant produce great products or deliver great serivces without
great people-- so they have built an inspiring work environment for all employees, providing trust and the
opportunity to excel. To build such a culture, Kronos developed a WorkInspired HR model to foster an
environment that connects what Kronos aspires to do for its customers with how employees act and are
treated. This approach to business has helped Kronos deliver excellent customer satisfaction, attract quality
candidates, and retain employees.
Kronos CEO Aron Ain and his leadership team recognized that this approach was a real strategic
differentiator. But as any global company can attest, maintaining a cohesive definition of what it means to be
a Kronos employee, or Kronite, around the world is one of the biggest challenges. Thus the leadership team
devised a global cultural blueprint that allows local markets to refine processes to meet their own local culture
and demands. This approach has clearly proved a success as the companys employee engagement scores
have soared from 61% in 2010 to 84% in 2014y far surpassing industry benchmarks for global IT
organizations.

USING GLOBAL VALUES TO BUILD A LOCAL CULTURE IN INDIA

Kronos opened its first offices in India in 2007 and has seen significant headcount growth in that period. It is
now the second largest global site outside of the Chelmsford, USA headquarters. With office locations in
Noida and Bengaluru, it was imperative to deliver the inspired business culture being driven from the top, and
instil a unique local flavour. This would deliver a strong platform to attract and retain talent, as employee
numbers grow.

Defining the local strategy for an inspiring culture

Levers to Build an Isnpiring culture of High Performance

Integration

Inclusiveness

Variety

Award Partner
To create and sustain a culture that thrives on high performance and inspiration, the HR team needed to
ensure that all of its programs were tightly integrated and focused on inclusiveness. The aim was to consider
employees and their families at the time of hiring, to help them lead balanced lives and to give back to the
community. To achieve this engaged culture locally, the India HR team has developed initiatives under three
core focus areas: WorkInspired, LiveInspired, and GiveInspired.

72

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

STARTING FROM THE TOP
Kronos was founded in 1977, when it developed the first microprocessor-based time clock to automatically
record, total, and report employee time transactions. One innovation led to another and that initial idea
launched Kronos into the global leader in workforce management today. The company now helps more than
20,000 organizations around the world manage their most valuable and expensive strategic asset their
workforce. As the global leader in the sector, investors, customers and employees look to Kronos to model
best-in-class people management practices. That focus is not just empty rhetoric, it lies at the heart of
everything the company values and stands for.

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCE

FOR SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

BUILDING AN INSPIRED
CULTURE A BUSINESS
IMPERATIVE
- BY PRIYANKA KRISHAN

Through workforce management, Kronos aim is to inspire great things from the global worker. And the
executives at Kronos strongly believe that you cant produce great products or deliver great serivces without
great people-- so they have built an inspiring work environment for all employees, providing trust and the
opportunity to excel. To build such a culture, Kronos developed a WorkInspired HR model to foster an
environment that connects what Kronos aspires to do for its customers with how employees act and are
treated. This approach to business has helped Kronos deliver excellent customer satisfaction, attract quality
candidates, and retain employees.
Kronos CEO Aron Ain and his leadership team recognized that this approach was a real strategic
differentiator. But as any global company can attest, maintaining a cohesive definition of what it means to be
a Kronos employee, or Kronite, around the world is one of the biggest challenges. Thus the leadership team
devised a global cultural blueprint that allows local markets to refine processes to meet their own local culture
and demands. This approach has clearly proved a success as the companys employee engagement scores
have soared from 61% in 2010 to 84% in 2014y far surpassing industry benchmarks for global IT
organizations.

USING GLOBAL VALUES TO BUILD A LOCAL CULTURE IN INDIA

Kronos opened its first offices in India in 2007 and has seen significant headcount growth in that period. It is
now the second largest global site outside of the Chelmsford, USA headquarters. With office locations in
Noida and Bengaluru, it was imperative to deliver the inspired business culture being driven from the top, and
instil a unique local flavour. This would deliver a strong platform to attract and retain talent, as employee
numbers grow.

Defining the local strategy for an inspiring culture

Levers to Build an Isnpiring culture of High Performance

Integration

Inclusiveness

Variety

Award Partner
To create and sustain a culture that thrives on high performance and inspiration, the HR team needed to
ensure that all of its programs were tightly integrated and focused on inclusiveness. The aim was to consider
employees and their families at the time of hiring, to help them lead balanced lives and to give back to the
community. To achieve this engaged culture locally, the India HR team has developed initiatives under three
core focus areas: WorkInspired, LiveInspired, and GiveInspired.

72

Work Inspired

Live Inspired

Give Inspired

Goal Setting
Performance
Evaluation
Professional
Development

Health Awareness
& Check
Up Camps
Wellness Prog
Sprots Activits

NGO
CSR

WORKINSPIRED KRONOS STRIVES TO BE AN INSPIRED PLACE TO WORK

In the WorkInspired culture, Kronos ensures employees engage in a two-way partnership with the company.
Kronos is committed to providing a great place to work, opportunities for development, and rewards for
strong performance. In return, Kronites are encouraged to embrace the companys core competencies and
core values (defined in the table below), take control of their professional development, and deliver results.

Character Competence Collaboration the Kronos Core Competencies

In order to maintain one cohesive definition of what it meant to be a Kronite, Kronos wanted to articulate and
constantly communicate the culture definition as a strategic differentiator. This definition is shared globally
and woven into the fabric of Kronos day-to-day work. The core competencies are tied to its:
local business strategy
leadership performance goals
annual competency assessments
hiring practices
reward and recognition programs
merit and incentive programs and processes
The companys employee engagement survey results indicate that this approach has been extremely
successful and appreciated by employees:
70% of employees feel that senior leadership effectively communicate what the company is trying to
achieve
78% feel they have a clear understanding of the required performance goals
Employees are evaluated and financially rewarded based on their demonstration of the core competencies
using a behavior-based rating scale that describes what it looks like to meet, exceed, or not meet
expectations for each competency. Feedback from the employees, their peers, and their managers are
important inputs to this process. Furthermore, all people managers have a common performance goal that
evaluates the extent to which they have nurtured and supported the development and performance of their
employees throughout the year not just during the annual review cycle.

73

74

Work Inspired

Live Inspired

Give Inspired

Goal Setting
Performance
Evaluation
Professional
Development

Health Awareness
& Check
Up Camps
Wellness Prog
Sprots Activits

NGO
CSR

WORKINSPIRED KRONOS STRIVES TO BE AN INSPIRED PLACE TO WORK

In the WorkInspired culture, Kronos ensures employees engage in a two-way partnership with the company.
Kronos is committed to providing a great place to work, opportunities for development, and rewards for
strong performance. In return, Kronites are encouraged to embrace the companys core competencies and
core values (defined in the table below), take control of their professional development, and deliver results.

Character Competence Collaboration the Kronos Core Competencies

In order to maintain one cohesive definition of what it meant to be a Kronite, Kronos wanted to articulate and
constantly communicate the culture definition as a strategic differentiator. This definition is shared globally
and woven into the fabric of Kronos day-to-day work. The core competencies are tied to its:
local business strategy
leadership performance goals
annual competency assessments
hiring practices
reward and recognition programs
merit and incentive programs and processes
The companys employee engagement survey results indicate that this approach has been extremely
successful and appreciated by employees:
70% of employees feel that senior leadership effectively communicate what the company is trying to
achieve
78% feel they have a clear understanding of the required performance goals
Employees are evaluated and financially rewarded based on their demonstration of the core competencies
using a behavior-based rating scale that describes what it looks like to meet, exceed, or not meet
expectations for each competency. Feedback from the employees, their peers, and their managers are
important inputs to this process. Furthermore, all people managers have a common performance goal that
evaluates the extent to which they have nurtured and supported the development and performance of their
employees throughout the year not just during the annual review cycle.

73

74

BUILDING ENGAGEMENT FROM DAY ONE

From the moment an employee accepts a job offer, Kronos works hard to make them feel like part of the
family and to deliver its focus on culture at every opportunity. This begins even before the employees first day
with a thank you note and gifts sent to the family once a candidate accepts an employment offer. Similarly,
Red Carpet and Open House programs welcome employees before their formal joining date, providing the
opportunity to be treated like a VIP and interact with senior staff and future colleagues in the organization.
The companys focused 30SIXTY90 program delivers engaged immersion during the initial 90-day joining
period and is supported by both the hiring manager and HR. The program offers a deep dive into all the
relevant HR tools, products, technology, processes, and most importantly, supports the development of
network contacts across the organization, ensuring a smooth and transparent introduction to the business.
Both professional and leadership development are integral to the success of Kronos high-performing culture.
This is offered through learning and development programs in areas of personal effectiveness, team work,
management and leadership. For instance, people managers undertake management development
programs to help establish baseline expectations from their role. At a more senior level, the global Courage
to Lead program defines and develops key leadership competencies and aligns all people managers with the
companys strategy so they can properly lead their people. And, to support the many courses and
opportunities offered by the company, Kronites are also encouraged to attend third-party courses that are
reimbursed in full by Kronos.
Lastly, building engagement wouldnt be complete without an eye toward diversity. Kronos India is active in
its support of diversity in the workplace through various initiatives, including an active Women in Business
program to inspire female employees to achieve their career objectives and full potential. Kronos employees
truly appreciate the companys dedication to diversity, with 84% of Kronites feeling the company encourages
and promotes diversity of backgrounds, talents, and perspectives.

A FOCUS ON WORK/LIFE BALANCE

As part of an employee engagement survey, 82% of Kronites feel they are able to maintain a healthy balance
between their work and personal lives.
A key strength of Kronos as an employer is that it embraces true work/life balance from the highest level in
the organization down. This is because Kronos culture is built on a foundation of trust and transparency. CEO
Aron Ain regularly talks about the importance of family and the ongoing support they offer to allow every
Kronite to deliver the work that they do. He firmly believes that family comes first and this message is
cascaded throughout the company. In India, HR policies reflect this philosophy offering opportunities for
flexible working, short leave, and even a cab facility to ensure employees get home to spend time with their
families knowing full-well that employees who take time ith the ones they love will be energized to complete
work tasks on time with high quality.
LIVEINSPIRED
Almost 85% of the employees have benefited from access to health checkups and participated in wellness
talks
The Kronos WorkInspired philosophy extends to caring for the health and wellbeing of its employees, since if
firmly believes that a healthy mind needs a healthy body. The companys wellness programme, known as
LiveInspired, delivers a range of health and wellness initiatives to its India employees, including health
screenings, eye check-ups, health risk assessments, fitness facilities, and fitness programmes.

75

LiveInspired is divided in four broad categories:

Health Check-ups

Expert Talks
Health and Wellness
Programs Model

Personal Well-being

Benefits

Beyond physical health checks, Kronos offices host expert talks on both mental and physical well-being
including sessions on nutrition and spirituality. To promote personal well-being it also offers activities such as
aerobics, Zumba, power yoga, and an annual cricket tournament. In addition, the Kronos Premier League,
which is an amalgam of various sports events running from May to December, provides employees with the
opportunity to compete against each other. These events also offer employees a chance to engage socially
with each other, away from the office environment. The Kronos LiveInspired activities have been recognised
in the SHRM Health and Wellness Initiatives category in 2015.
GiveInspired supporting the wider community
85% of Kronites feel that they are proud of Kronos involvement in community services.
The final pillar in the culture strategy focuses on the importance of supporting the wider community where
employees work and live, which is an integral part of the strong cultural ethos Kronos has created. Through
the GiveInspired program sees Kronos donate to local charitable causes and organizations that empower the
next-generation workforce. To determine how to best allocate the annual corporate giving budget, Kronos
has a GiveInspired committee which is comprised of several senior-level, cross-functional team members
across the globe who keep Corporate Social Responsibility policy top-of-mind to ensure that donations
support appropriate organizations around the world.
Kronos offers a three-year grant program for non-profit organizations to help them achieve their long-term
goals. Organizations are selected based upon how well they embody the Kronos GiveInspired mission, and
promote a sense of common purpose between their mission and Kronos employees.

COLLABORATION WITH ANK INDIA

On 24th March, 2015, Kronos India took an important step by setting up a learning centre in Sector-66, Noida
for underprivileged children in collaboration with ANK (NGO). Through this learning centre, Kronos supports
the education of more than 125 local underprivileged children, aged five to 14 years old, who now attend on
a daily basis. The centre provides remedial education to community, drop-out, or out-of-school children who
cannot attend school due to financial or family problems. In addition, it also supports periodic health camps
to offer improved healthcare and education in the local area.

Around 45 Kronos Noida employees have now volunteered to organize various activities for the welfare of the
children at the learning centre. This team of volunteers regularly meets and discusses the various social,
educational, and extracurricular activities to be organized for the children.

76

BUILDING ENGAGEMENT FROM DAY ONE

From the moment an employee accepts a job offer, Kronos works hard to make them feel like part of the
family and to deliver its focus on culture at every opportunity. This begins even before the employees first day
with a thank you note and gifts sent to the family once a candidate accepts an employment offer. Similarly,
Red Carpet and Open House programs welcome employees before their formal joining date, providing the
opportunity to be treated like a VIP and interact with senior staff and future colleagues in the organization.
The companys focused 30SIXTY90 program delivers engaged immersion during the initial 90-day joining
period and is supported by both the hiring manager and HR. The program offers a deep dive into all the
relevant HR tools, products, technology, processes, and most importantly, supports the development of
network contacts across the organization, ensuring a smooth and transparent introduction to the business.
Both professional and leadership development are integral to the success of Kronos high-performing culture.
This is offered through learning and development programs in areas of personal effectiveness, team work,
management and leadership. For instance, people managers undertake management development
programs to help establish baseline expectations from their role. At a more senior level, the global Courage
to Lead program defines and develops key leadership competencies and aligns all people managers with the
companys strategy so they can properly lead their people. And, to support the many courses and
opportunities offered by the company, Kronites are also encouraged to attend third-party courses that are
reimbursed in full by Kronos.
Lastly, building engagement wouldnt be complete without an eye toward diversity. Kronos India is active in
its support of diversity in the workplace through various initiatives, including an active Women in Business
program to inspire female employees to achieve their career objectives and full potential. Kronos employees
truly appreciate the companys dedication to diversity, with 84% of Kronites feeling the company encourages
and promotes diversity of backgrounds, talents, and perspectives.

A FOCUS ON WORK/LIFE BALANCE

As part of an employee engagement survey, 82% of Kronites feel they are able to maintain a healthy balance
between their work and personal lives.
A key strength of Kronos as an employer is that it embraces true work/life balance from the highest level in
the organization down. This is because Kronos culture is built on a foundation of trust and transparency. CEO
Aron Ain regularly talks about the importance of family and the ongoing support they offer to allow every
Kronite to deliver the work that they do. He firmly believes that family comes first and this message is
cascaded throughout the company. In India, HR policies reflect this philosophy offering opportunities for
flexible working, short leave, and even a cab facility to ensure employees get home to spend time with their
families knowing full-well that employees who take time ith the ones they love will be energized to complete
work tasks on time with high quality.
LIVEINSPIRED
Almost 85% of the employees have benefited from access to health checkups and participated in wellness
talks
The Kronos WorkInspired philosophy extends to caring for the health and wellbeing of its employees, since if
firmly believes that a healthy mind needs a healthy body. The companys wellness programme, known as
LiveInspired, delivers a range of health and wellness initiatives to its India employees, including health
screenings, eye check-ups, health risk assessments, fitness facilities, and fitness programmes.

75

LiveInspired is divided in four broad categories:

Health Check-ups

Expert Talks
Health and Wellness
Programs Model

Personal Well-being

Benefits

Beyond physical health checks, Kronos offices host expert talks on both mental and physical well-being
including sessions on nutrition and spirituality. To promote personal well-being it also offers activities such as
aerobics, Zumba, power yoga, and an annual cricket tournament. In addition, the Kronos Premier League,
which is an amalgam of various sports events running from May to December, provides employees with the
opportunity to compete against each other. These events also offer employees a chance to engage socially
with each other, away from the office environment. The Kronos LiveInspired activities have been recognised
in the SHRM Health and Wellness Initiatives category in 2015.
GiveInspired supporting the wider community
85% of Kronites feel that they are proud of Kronos involvement in community services.
The final pillar in the culture strategy focuses on the importance of supporting the wider community where
employees work and live, which is an integral part of the strong cultural ethos Kronos has created. Through
the GiveInspired program sees Kronos donate to local charitable causes and organizations that empower the
next-generation workforce. To determine how to best allocate the annual corporate giving budget, Kronos
has a GiveInspired committee which is comprised of several senior-level, cross-functional team members
across the globe who keep Corporate Social Responsibility policy top-of-mind to ensure that donations
support appropriate organizations around the world.
Kronos offers a three-year grant program for non-profit organizations to help them achieve their long-term
goals. Organizations are selected based upon how well they embody the Kronos GiveInspired mission, and
promote a sense of common purpose between their mission and Kronos employees.

COLLABORATION WITH ANK INDIA

On 24th March, 2015, Kronos India took an important step by setting up a learning centre in Sector-66, Noida
for underprivileged children in collaboration with ANK (NGO). Through this learning centre, Kronos supports
the education of more than 125 local underprivileged children, aged five to 14 years old, who now attend on
a daily basis. The centre provides remedial education to community, drop-out, or out-of-school children who
cannot attend school due to financial or family problems. In addition, it also supports periodic health camps
to offer improved healthcare and education in the local area.

Around 45 Kronos Noida employees have now volunteered to organize various activities for the welfare of the
children at the learning centre. This team of volunteers regularly meets and discusses the various social,
educational, and extracurricular activities to be organized for the children.

76

THE CULTURAL IMPACT IN INDIA

The Kronos India HR focus on driving and developing an inspiring place to work has proved to be successful and
has seen the company win several business awards, including: Great Place To Work 2015; HR Asia 2014 and
Employer Brand Awards 2013. India is now positioned as a key Kronos R&D hub and is the second largest Kronos
location outside its US HQ. Since 2010, its local employee engagement scores have grown from 59% to 84% in
2014, indicating that the initiatives and new processes are being well received by employees.

Conclusion
With a strong culture already in place, everyone at Kronos understand the need to actively listen and react to
employee feedback. Bi-annual surveys ensure Kronos engages and responds to the changing needs and insights
of employees to maintain a cultural balance that meets its growing employee requirements. In an increasingly
multi-generational workplace, listening and mapping HR processes and practices to the differing work preferences
of a diverse employee base will become critical for Kronos as it works to retain an inspirational culture.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Priyanka Krishan is the APAC leader for learning & development at Kronos. She has been working with the
organization for over 5 years and has partnered with the organization for building the inspired culture.

77

78

THE CULTURAL IMPACT IN INDIA

The Kronos India HR focus on driving and developing an inspiring place to work has proved to be successful and
has seen the company win several business awards, including: Great Place To Work 2015; HR Asia 2014 and
Employer Brand Awards 2013. India is now positioned as a key Kronos R&D hub and is the second largest Kronos
location outside its US HQ. Since 2010, its local employee engagement scores have grown from 59% to 84% in
2014, indicating that the initiatives and new processes are being well received by employees.

Conclusion
With a strong culture already in place, everyone at Kronos understand the need to actively listen and react to
employee feedback. Bi-annual surveys ensure Kronos engages and responds to the changing needs and insights
of employees to maintain a cultural balance that meets its growing employee requirements. In an increasingly
multi-generational workplace, listening and mapping HR processes and practices to the differing work preferences
of a diverse employee base will become critical for Kronos as it works to retain an inspirational culture.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Priyanka Krishan is the APAC leader for learning & development at Kronos. She has been working with the
organization for over 5 years and has partnered with the organization for building the inspired culture.

77

78

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

THE ORGANIZATION AS OF TODAY
OSSCube is a Global solutions provider based in Austin, TX, with offices in the UK and India. OSSCube
delivers integrated mission-critical business solutions using open source technology, and offers an extensive
range of services including consulting, elastic virtual development resources, mobile, web and custom
application development, product support, and open source training. Its the organizations ability to hire and
retain the best professionals in the industry, with an intent to put people first, that makes it an innovator in the
HCM space.
Today, OSSCube is proud to be appraised at CMMI Level 3. It has been a two-time honoree of the Inc. 5000s
list of fastest growing companies in the U.S., a two-time honoree on the Great Place to Work list (during 2014
& 2015), and has been named amongst NASSCOM's top 5 places to work (in 2015).
Largely speaking, OSSCube believes in making its team members its brand ambassadors, while creating a
workplace where transparency, thought leadership and collaboration could blossom. This study will focus on
how OSSCube overcame the impediments and challenges to flourish in the realm of HR and innovative
people practices.

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCE

FOR SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

KEY TO HIGHLY ENGAGED

CULTURE HAPPY FAMILY,
HAPPY MEMBER,
HAPPY CUSTOMER
- BY SACHIN KHURANA

BUSINESS CONTEXT
Operating in a competitive technical environment, facing stiff business challenges, OSSCubes attrition rate
had been inching towards 17% in 2015, owing to the disruption created by e-commerce players and startups.
The engagement score had dipped from 81 to 79 from last year due to some business transformation
decisions taken by us. Thats the reason, OSSCube had to consciously take some significant steps to
reinforce the organizational values and culture.
The aim was to create a workspace where organizations growth is aligned with individuals growth, and to
evolve member-organization relationships beyond a work relationship. Along with pursuing excellence in
their business goals, they wanted to express genuine concern for their members continued growth and
create a congenial work environment through coordinated efforts. Their top priorities were: Addressing the concerns of its members and reinforcing organizational values
Attracting like-minded people & technology enthusiasts
Creating & developing pool of open source technology specialists

OVERCOMING HURDLES

Award Partner

As an organization, OSSCube has always felt that foreseeability of risks, defines the scope of endeavors.
There was a time when they had to take certain growth-oriented business decisions in a quick span of time
(with limited time to communicate around these decisions) to address the changing demands of the industry
which could marginally impact employees trust.
In order to align their policies and plans with the evolving environment and to prevent any perplexity from
pervading into the organization, they thought of taking some concrete measures, well in advance.
This meant reinventing some old programs, while bringing in some new and doing away with some policies
for the purpose of reorganization. OSSCubes prime motive became strengthening the organizations
collaborative spirit, unity, transparency, so their programs and practices resonate with people in the truest
sense. Reassurance drives and employee confidence building measures were conducted to strengthen the
internal team member communication, association and trust across all levels.

80

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

THE ORGANIZATION AS OF TODAY
OSSCube is a Global solutions provider based in Austin, TX, with offices in the UK and India. OSSCube
delivers integrated mission-critical business solutions using open source technology, and offers an extensive
range of services including consulting, elastic virtual development resources, mobile, web and custom
application development, product support, and open source training. Its the organizations ability to hire and
retain the best professionals in the industry, with an intent to put people first, that makes it an innovator in the
HCM space.
Today, OSSCube is proud to be appraised at CMMI Level 3. It has been a two-time honoree of the Inc. 5000s
list of fastest growing companies in the U.S., a two-time honoree on the Great Place to Work list (during 2014
& 2015), and has been named amongst NASSCOM's top 5 places to work (in 2015).
Largely speaking, OSSCube believes in making its team members its brand ambassadors, while creating a
workplace where transparency, thought leadership and collaboration could blossom. This study will focus on
how OSSCube overcame the impediments and challenges to flourish in the realm of HR and innovative
people practices.

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCE

FOR SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

KEY TO HIGHLY ENGAGED

CULTURE HAPPY FAMILY,
HAPPY MEMBER,
HAPPY CUSTOMER
- BY SACHIN KHURANA

BUSINESS CONTEXT
Operating in a competitive technical environment, facing stiff business challenges, OSSCubes attrition rate
had been inching towards 17% in 2015, owing to the disruption created by e-commerce players and startups.
The engagement score had dipped from 81 to 79 from last year due to some business transformation
decisions taken by us. Thats the reason, OSSCube had to consciously take some significant steps to
reinforce the organizational values and culture.
The aim was to create a workspace where organizations growth is aligned with individuals growth, and to
evolve member-organization relationships beyond a work relationship. Along with pursuing excellence in
their business goals, they wanted to express genuine concern for their members continued growth and
create a congenial work environment through coordinated efforts. Their top priorities were: Addressing the concerns of its members and reinforcing organizational values
Attracting like-minded people & technology enthusiasts
Creating & developing pool of open source technology specialists

OVERCOMING HURDLES

Award Partner

As an organization, OSSCube has always felt that foreseeability of risks, defines the scope of endeavors.
There was a time when they had to take certain growth-oriented business decisions in a quick span of time
(with limited time to communicate around these decisions) to address the changing demands of the industry
which could marginally impact employees trust.
In order to align their policies and plans with the evolving environment and to prevent any perplexity from
pervading into the organization, they thought of taking some concrete measures, well in advance.
This meant reinventing some old programs, while bringing in some new and doing away with some policies
for the purpose of reorganization. OSSCubes prime motive became strengthening the organizations
collaborative spirit, unity, transparency, so their programs and practices resonate with people in the truest
sense. Reassurance drives and employee confidence building measures were conducted to strengthen the
internal team member communication, association and trust across all levels.

80

Besides, engagement with the employees family members, building a sense of belongingness, making
members the hero was made imperative. It was important to act as a catalyst to take the association with
their employees beyond a mere employee-employer relationship. And to make them feel as a part of the
OSSCube family.

the Internal Communication lead, new gamification platform, and peer recognition module, knowledge
sharing initiative etc are in the offering.

SPECIFIC PEOPLE PRACTICES

OSSCube values their team members families as well for their immeasurable contribution. Its indeed the
familys efforts that adds value to the organization in a very unique way. Bearing this in mind, the organization
never forgets to thank the family members of its staffers on different occasions. Theyve designed
engagement programs, especially for the families to make them feel like a part of the OSSCube family. These
programs do not end with the cessation of the members services. The organization stays connected with the
Alumni as theyve always played an important part in strengthening them and have continued to do so even
after leaving.

The core idea behind the practices brought forth was to bring people closer, to help them voice their opinions
and to address any communication gaps with the management. There was a need to create a healthy
dialogue that could make a positive difference to the member-leaders equation. A number of drives were
undertaken for it.

I.

OSS Connect
(Enterprise
Social Network)

Members &
Beyond (Family,
Alumni & Tech.
Community)

People
Practices

2. MEMBERS & BEYOND

Cubain Camp
(An internal
Camp for
learning &
sharing)

1. OSSCUBE CONNECT
'OSSCube Connect' is an enterprise social network, an in-house created platform. Its the most powerful
medium of communication within the company. This platform gives each and every team member, at all
levels, the ability, in any circumstance, to communicate with anyone on any issue. Global teams actively
participate on Connect by way of writing technical blogs, company posts, comments, customer and team
member appreciation and engagement initiatives. All the team member engagement updates are posted on
connect and they are accessible to members for likes and comments, so that they can share their
experiences, provide feedback as well as suggestions. Few of its highlights are:
Transparent and open platform accessible to all on which discussions which can be initiated by any
member

Happy Family, Happy Members, Happy Customers: Family Engagement

The impression the family holds about the organization flows back to the member and influences them.
Realizing the impact the family has on a members level of engagement they decided to come up with a
practice to engage families along with the members. Apart from various policies, flexible timings, concierge
services, etc., that are already in place to support the member and their family, the organization has planned
to come up with events where they could connect directly with the families and at the same time give them
an essence of the place where their loved ones work.
i. Coding for Kids: This program was started with the objective of nurturing a culture of ongoing learning,
entrepreneurship, innovation and discovery through STEM for both kids and the trainer community.
They aim to produce the next generation of tech entrepreneurs from this work. It is to do with practical
implementations where kids are taught Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in
a holistic manner rather than as individual topics. Their expression or medium for learning will be
predominately through various technologies. This includes coding, robotics, electronics and IOT as of
now. They have their Coders & Programmers who train the kids. These kids are between 5-8 years.
This program is not just limited to their team members, but their spouses too can participate in it by
nominating themselves as trainers. Eligible people are then trained to be a part of this program.
ii. Family Participation: There are numerous year round events where family participation is encouraged.
Some of the noteworthy events include an Annual Family Sports Carnival, thats organized every year.
Santa at Home program where the organization made Christmas celebrations double the fun for the
members (by sending Santa to the homes of all the members to entertain their kids). More than 100
families were reached out in this three day event. Another program included was Kids Day at Office
where parents are allowed to bring in their kids to the office. Along with that, at some occasions Social
Media workshop for Elders and other such initiatives are also taken.

Wholly internally developed platform

Tool for collaboration and knowledge sharing through polls, surveys, quiz, technical challenges,
technical blogs, updates and celebrations
Social, on the spot and peer to peer recognition through sharing of customer appreciations, project
completion, etc.
Connect as a platform, is enhanced and evolved with every passing quarter of the year. OSSCube has a
dedicated team working on the enhancement of the platform. OSSCube is bringing innovative ideas and
creating more engagement on the platform. With now a full time dedicated resource as an Internal Reporter,

81

II. Engagement with Alumni and Technical Community

i. Engaging Alumni: No matter what tenure a member spends with the organization, he adds value in
some way or the other to help them emerge stronger. They never forget the contributions a member
makes during his tenure with them and stay connected with him always. The organization holds Annual
Awards for Alumni where their Alumni are recognized as Brand Champions.
They have an active LinkedIn group for OSSCube Alumni, where special invitations are sent to Alumni
for annual events like Conclave, Sports Days, etc. OSSCube has recently launched referral programs
where the Alumni are eligible for the same benefits as full time members.

82

Besides, engagement with the employees family members, building a sense of belongingness, making
members the hero was made imperative. It was important to act as a catalyst to take the association with
their employees beyond a mere employee-employer relationship. And to make them feel as a part of the
OSSCube family.

the Internal Communication lead, new gamification platform, and peer recognition module, knowledge
sharing initiative etc are in the offering.

SPECIFIC PEOPLE PRACTICES

OSSCube values their team members families as well for their immeasurable contribution. Its indeed the
familys efforts that adds value to the organization in a very unique way. Bearing this in mind, the organization
never forgets to thank the family members of its staffers on different occasions. Theyve designed
engagement programs, especially for the families to make them feel like a part of the OSSCube family. These
programs do not end with the cessation of the members services. The organization stays connected with the
Alumni as theyve always played an important part in strengthening them and have continued to do so even
after leaving.

The core idea behind the practices brought forth was to bring people closer, to help them voice their opinions
and to address any communication gaps with the management. There was a need to create a healthy
dialogue that could make a positive difference to the member-leaders equation. A number of drives were
undertaken for it.

I.

OSS Connect
(Enterprise
Social Network)

Members &
Beyond (Family,
Alumni & Tech.
Community)

People
Practices

2. MEMBERS & BEYOND

Cubain Camp
(An internal
Camp for
learning &
sharing)

1. OSSCUBE CONNECT
'OSSCube Connect' is an enterprise social network, an in-house created platform. Its the most powerful
medium of communication within the company. This platform gives each and every team member, at all
levels, the ability, in any circumstance, to communicate with anyone on any issue. Global teams actively
participate on Connect by way of writing technical blogs, company posts, comments, customer and team
member appreciation and engagement initiatives. All the team member engagement updates are posted on
connect and they are accessible to members for likes and comments, so that they can share their
experiences, provide feedback as well as suggestions. Few of its highlights are:
Transparent and open platform accessible to all on which discussions which can be initiated by any
member

Happy Family, Happy Members, Happy Customers: Family Engagement

The impression the family holds about the organization flows back to the member and influences them.
Realizing the impact the family has on a members level of engagement they decided to come up with a
practice to engage families along with the members. Apart from various policies, flexible timings, concierge
services, etc., that are already in place to support the member and their family, the organization has planned
to come up with events where they could connect directly with the families and at the same time give them
an essence of the place where their loved ones work.
i. Coding for Kids: This program was started with the objective of nurturing a culture of ongoing learning,
entrepreneurship, innovation and discovery through STEM for both kids and the trainer community.
They aim to produce the next generation of tech entrepreneurs from this work. It is to do with practical
implementations where kids are taught Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in
a holistic manner rather than as individual topics. Their expression or medium for learning will be
predominately through various technologies. This includes coding, robotics, electronics and IOT as of
now. They have their Coders & Programmers who train the kids. These kids are between 5-8 years.
This program is not just limited to their team members, but their spouses too can participate in it by
nominating themselves as trainers. Eligible people are then trained to be a part of this program.
ii. Family Participation: There are numerous year round events where family participation is encouraged.
Some of the noteworthy events include an Annual Family Sports Carnival, thats organized every year.
Santa at Home program where the organization made Christmas celebrations double the fun for the
members (by sending Santa to the homes of all the members to entertain their kids). More than 100
families were reached out in this three day event. Another program included was Kids Day at Office
where parents are allowed to bring in their kids to the office. Along with that, at some occasions Social
Media workshop for Elders and other such initiatives are also taken.

Wholly internally developed platform

Tool for collaboration and knowledge sharing through polls, surveys, quiz, technical challenges,
technical blogs, updates and celebrations
Social, on the spot and peer to peer recognition through sharing of customer appreciations, project
completion, etc.
Connect as a platform, is enhanced and evolved with every passing quarter of the year. OSSCube has a
dedicated team working on the enhancement of the platform. OSSCube is bringing innovative ideas and
creating more engagement on the platform. With now a full time dedicated resource as an Internal Reporter,

81

II. Engagement with Alumni and Technical Community

i. Engaging Alumni: No matter what tenure a member spends with the organization, he adds value in
some way or the other to help them emerge stronger. They never forget the contributions a member
makes during his tenure with them and stay connected with him always. The organization holds Annual
Awards for Alumni where their Alumni are recognized as Brand Champions.
They have an active LinkedIn group for OSSCube Alumni, where special invitations are sent to Alumni
for annual events like Conclave, Sports Days, etc. OSSCube has recently launched referral programs
where the Alumni are eligible for the same benefits as full time members.

82

ii. Technical Community: The company is very active in the open source community; it regularly holds
networking events like technology driven camps for Drupal, Talend, Hadoop, and more. They also
organize Meet-ups, round table discussions on technology practices and emerging concepts and
challenges. Few of the events participated or organized includes SugarCon, DrupalCon, Talend
Meet-up, Hadoop Meet-up, AWS Meet-up, OSSCamps, etc.

3. CUBIAN CAMP: LEARN BY SHARING

Creating opportunity for members to develop their natural talent and nurture their aspiration is imperative to
OSSCubes success. Internal camps like Cubian Camps are organized to enhance the knowledge and
improve the competencies of their members by collaborating with each other. The complete event is about
3-4 hours. The objective of this initiative is to build the technical capability, advance the professional growth
of the members and encourage a culture of Learning: a way of life, at OSSCube.

Asia Pacic Award for Best Workplace Practices 2015

Coverage in the Special Edition of Economic Times for Talent Management Practices for engaging
families

Engagement
High level multi-channel interaction on 'CONNECT'. Engagment in terms of content creation, active
groups, global and senior leaders participation
The company scored highly in the company wide survey done by Culture IQ on Collaboration and
Communication Culture Qualities
Active accpetance and use of peer to peer recognition: 8 to 10 appreciations per month
More than 150 family members participated in different events around the year

PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTATION
There were a number of challenges in engaging individuals across the board. OSSCube realized that
employees dont need to be compulsorily initiated into activities. Participation should stem from genuine
encouragement and should rather be a choice. It should neither be due to management or peer pressure.
They also realized that recognition goes a long way in making members feel at home. No member should feel
their efforts have gone by unnoticed.

Business Metrics
3 active business referrals from employees
Around one hundred thousand download of open source modules contributed by OSSCube & its
members

OSSCube needed to create effective communication vehicles other than emails or newsletters; that could
grab members attention more readily and with ease, as well as gets them enthusiastic to interact and share.
There was a need to rehash the top-down communication approach and turn it into a level playing field where
employees could interact with their peers, subordinates and superiors, without hesitation.

One of highest rating 4.1 out of 5 for OSSCube as an employer on Glassdoor

It was vital to delegate key tasks and responsibilities to specific individuals and make them accountable,
especially, the tasks involving planning and implementation of programs and activities.

Increase in per member revenue by 20%

However, the biggest challenge they faced, was to ensure that each group worked cohesively and for that,
resources such as IT, marketing, social media and corporate communication had to be effectively utilized.

WHATS NEXT

Bringing people from different teams together in order to build enrollment wasn't an easy task. We had to use
various forms of communication to engage members involved with multiple projects, working at different time
zones. It was especially important, to create co-ownership by members, in lieu of leaving the entire ownership
with HCM or with particular Individuals.

30% increase in rehiring of Alumni in 2015

60% of the planned training hours covered through Cubian Camp

At OSSCube, it is believed that member engagement has an unending scope and there will never be a dearth
of measures to reinforce it. Whats important is that the organization must have the will and the right intentions
to go ahead.

SUCCESS MEASURES/ACHIEVEMENTS

Apart from developing the acumen and leadership skills of their members, OSSCube has always wanted to
position its members as their brand ambassadors. Consistent efforts to see their members develop and grow
will be one of the primary objectives.

Due to the above mentioned initiatives, the organization was able to address issues, cement trust, bridge
communication gaps and bring about a positive change in the mindsets of members regarding OSSCubes
policies and plans. The need to instill a sense of oneness was met successfully. Reaching out to their alumni
worked wonderfully for them. Some of their noteworthy achievements are-:

Some of the initiatives that are waiting in the wings would focus heavily on OSSCube Connect. The
organization plans to concentrate on member advocacy via Connect; turn it into an ideation platform and put
in efforts to make it mobile; i.e., a mobile app for connect is in the pipeline. Besides, the team is also looking
forward to increasing global participation on Connect, while making it available to external organizations.

Recognition
GPTW TOP 100 Employer for two consecutive years (2014 & 2015)
Inc. 5000 Americas fastest growing companies (2014 & 2015)
Top 5 Companies to work for in their category by NASSCOM 2015

83

OSSCube will try to put in as much effort as possible to further their reach via members & beyond. Its scope
would include, furthering STEM Foundations Code for Kids programs outside OSSCube. Steps would be
taken towards increasing participation in Stepathlon the 100 Day Race program. Health Check-ups,
Vaccinations, and Health on Demand for family members, would become an essential part of their policy.
Efforts would be taken to engage the open source community through annual open source conferences to
promote, collaborate and share knowledge with the technical community and their alumni.

84

ii. Technical Community: The company is very active in the open source community; it regularly holds
networking events like technology driven camps for Drupal, Talend, Hadoop, and more. They also
organize Meet-ups, round table discussions on technology practices and emerging concepts and
challenges. Few of the events participated or organized includes SugarCon, DrupalCon, Talend
Meet-up, Hadoop Meet-up, AWS Meet-up, OSSCamps, etc.

3. CUBIAN CAMP: LEARN BY SHARING

Creating opportunity for members to develop their natural talent and nurture their aspiration is imperative to
OSSCubes success. Internal camps like Cubian Camps are organized to enhance the knowledge and
improve the competencies of their members by collaborating with each other. The complete event is about
3-4 hours. The objective of this initiative is to build the technical capability, advance the professional growth
of the members and encourage a culture of Learning: a way of life, at OSSCube.

Asia Pacic Award for Best Workplace Practices 2015

Coverage in the Special Edition of Economic Times for Talent Management Practices for engaging
families

Engagement
High level multi-channel interaction on 'CONNECT'. Engagment in terms of content creation, active
groups, global and senior leaders participation
The company scored highly in the company wide survey done by Culture IQ on Collaboration and
Communication Culture Qualities
Active accpetance and use of peer to peer recognition: 8 to 10 appreciations per month
More than 150 family members participated in different events around the year

PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTATION
There were a number of challenges in engaging individuals across the board. OSSCube realized that
employees dont need to be compulsorily initiated into activities. Participation should stem from genuine
encouragement and should rather be a choice. It should neither be due to management or peer pressure.
They also realized that recognition goes a long way in making members feel at home. No member should feel
their efforts have gone by unnoticed.

Business Metrics
3 active business referrals from employees
Around one hundred thousand download of open source modules contributed by OSSCube & its
members

OSSCube needed to create effective communication vehicles other than emails or newsletters; that could
grab members attention more readily and with ease, as well as gets them enthusiastic to interact and share.
There was a need to rehash the top-down communication approach and turn it into a level playing field where
employees could interact with their peers, subordinates and superiors, without hesitation.

One of highest rating 4.1 out of 5 for OSSCube as an employer on Glassdoor

It was vital to delegate key tasks and responsibilities to specific individuals and make them accountable,
especially, the tasks involving planning and implementation of programs and activities.

Increase in per member revenue by 20%

However, the biggest challenge they faced, was to ensure that each group worked cohesively and for that,
resources such as IT, marketing, social media and corporate communication had to be effectively utilized.

WHATS NEXT

Bringing people from different teams together in order to build enrollment wasn't an easy task. We had to use
various forms of communication to engage members involved with multiple projects, working at different time
zones. It was especially important, to create co-ownership by members, in lieu of leaving the entire ownership
with HCM or with particular Individuals.

30% increase in rehiring of Alumni in 2015

60% of the planned training hours covered through Cubian Camp

At OSSCube, it is believed that member engagement has an unending scope and there will never be a dearth
of measures to reinforce it. Whats important is that the organization must have the will and the right intentions
to go ahead.

SUCCESS MEASURES/ACHIEVEMENTS

Apart from developing the acumen and leadership skills of their members, OSSCube has always wanted to
position its members as their brand ambassadors. Consistent efforts to see their members develop and grow
will be one of the primary objectives.

Due to the above mentioned initiatives, the organization was able to address issues, cement trust, bridge
communication gaps and bring about a positive change in the mindsets of members regarding OSSCubes
policies and plans. The need to instill a sense of oneness was met successfully. Reaching out to their alumni
worked wonderfully for them. Some of their noteworthy achievements are-:

Some of the initiatives that are waiting in the wings would focus heavily on OSSCube Connect. The
organization plans to concentrate on member advocacy via Connect; turn it into an ideation platform and put
in efforts to make it mobile; i.e., a mobile app for connect is in the pipeline. Besides, the team is also looking
forward to increasing global participation on Connect, while making it available to external organizations.

Recognition
GPTW TOP 100 Employer for two consecutive years (2014 & 2015)
Inc. 5000 Americas fastest growing companies (2014 & 2015)
Top 5 Companies to work for in their category by NASSCOM 2015

83

OSSCube will try to put in as much effort as possible to further their reach via members & beyond. Its scope
would include, furthering STEM Foundations Code for Kids programs outside OSSCube. Steps would be
taken towards increasing participation in Stepathlon the 100 Day Race program. Health Check-ups,
Vaccinations, and Health on Demand for family members, would become an essential part of their policy.
Efforts would be taken to engage the open source community through annual open source conferences to
promote, collaborate and share knowledge with the technical community and their alumni.

84

Evolving the Cubian Camps will be another priority for the organization. The team would be beginning with
power talks, starting from 2016. External technical experts and alumni would be brought into the camps.
Video recording of the sessions will take place in order to share it with the technical community. Using social
media, adding Hangouts and Twitter Chats to the coverage will also be looked at quite seriously.

Pathways School, Tutor-2A (Testimonial for Code for Kids)

Conclusion
Each day arrives with its own set of challenges and also brings along an opportunity to grow your people and
organization vis--vis implying that you need outstanding programs to support your plans.
OSSCube will continue with its endeavors targeted towards effective people management and engagement. These
endeavors would be executed in such a manner, that they dont just resonate with their members, but gets them
inspired and leaves a lasting impression.
OSSCube believes that with effective communication, ingenious practices and promoting an open culture, member
participation can definitely be furthered.
Executing programs and policies in sync with their motto, Happy Family, Happy Member, Happy Customer,
OSSCube looks forward to keeping their engine of innovation revving!

Below are what some of our members have to say about our initiatives:
It was really a surprise for my son. After receiving the gift from Santa, my son told me that you have worked in many
companies but none of them gave me gifts on Christmas, none of them used to call me for Sports Day so I strongly
feel that you should be with this company.
Bratin Chakravorty (Member testimonial for Santa at home, where Santa was sent to
the homes of Cubians to hand out Christmas gifts)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sachin Khurana, AVP HCM, OSSCube Solutions

YAHOO!! Team, The Camp was Awesome! Thank you very much. Everything went like Clock-Work. I.T. support was
great too! It could not have been possible without you. Food was good too. Thanks to Neha and her team. Thanks
Chander Sir and his team.. for keeping all ready on time. And to all on the floor for making this event too good!"
Vippan Kumar (Member testimonial for Cubian Camp)

Sachin leads the people function at OSSCube and is responsible for the complete employee life cycle, Talent
Acquisition, Alumni Engagement and Employer Brand initiatives. He has done MBA (HRD) from Faculty of
Commerce & Business, Delhi School of Economics, and has around 9 years. of experience in HR. Prior to joining
OSSCube, he was associated with Lodha Group & Citigroup Global Services.

"It (Code for Kids activity) helped us in a big way to make children understand the central idea, as OSSCube had
simplified the entire software development process into four easy stages. We honestly appreciate OSSCube's
efforts and the time they spent with us. Thank you again and hopefully we will have more of such sessions at your
place and will enrich our understanding further."
Neha Arora {Pathways School, Tutor2A (Testimonial for Code for Kids)}

85

86

Evolving the Cubian Camps will be another priority for the organization. The team would be beginning with
power talks, starting from 2016. External technical experts and alumni would be brought into the camps.
Video recording of the sessions will take place in order to share it with the technical community. Using social
media, adding Hangouts and Twitter Chats to the coverage will also be looked at quite seriously.

Pathways School, Tutor-2A (Testimonial for Code for Kids)

Conclusion
Each day arrives with its own set of challenges and also brings along an opportunity to grow your people and
organization vis--vis implying that you need outstanding programs to support your plans.
OSSCube will continue with its endeavors targeted towards effective people management and engagement. These
endeavors would be executed in such a manner, that they dont just resonate with their members, but gets them
inspired and leaves a lasting impression.
OSSCube believes that with effective communication, ingenious practices and promoting an open culture, member
participation can definitely be furthered.
Executing programs and policies in sync with their motto, Happy Family, Happy Member, Happy Customer,
OSSCube looks forward to keeping their engine of innovation revving!

Below are what some of our members have to say about our initiatives:
It was really a surprise for my son. After receiving the gift from Santa, my son told me that you have worked in many
companies but none of them gave me gifts on Christmas, none of them used to call me for Sports Day so I strongly
feel that you should be with this company.
Bratin Chakravorty (Member testimonial for Santa at home, where Santa was sent to
the homes of Cubians to hand out Christmas gifts)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sachin Khurana, AVP HCM, OSSCube Solutions

YAHOO!! Team, The Camp was Awesome! Thank you very much. Everything went like Clock-Work. I.T. support was
great too! It could not have been possible without you. Food was good too. Thanks to Neha and her team. Thanks
Chander Sir and his team.. for keeping all ready on time. And to all on the floor for making this event too good!"
Vippan Kumar (Member testimonial for Cubian Camp)

Sachin leads the people function at OSSCube and is responsible for the complete employee life cycle, Talent
Acquisition, Alumni Engagement and Employer Brand initiatives. He has done MBA (HRD) from Faculty of
Commerce & Business, Delhi School of Economics, and has around 9 years. of experience in HR. Prior to joining
OSSCube, he was associated with Lodha Group & Citigroup Global Services.

"It (Code for Kids activity) helped us in a big way to make children understand the central idea, as OSSCube had
simplified the entire software development process into four easy stages. We honestly appreciate OSSCube's
efforts and the time they spent with us. Thank you again and hopefully we will have more of such sessions at your
place and will enrich our understanding further."
Neha Arora {Pathways School, Tutor2A (Testimonial for Code for Kids)}

85

86

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

BUSINESS CONTEXT
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) is a Government of India Enterprise having the coveted
Navratna Status, a Forbes 2000 and a Global Fortune 500 company. HPCL is an integrated Oil Refining and
Marketing company with an Annual Turnover of Rs. 2,17,061 Crores and clocked a record profit of Rs. 2,733
Crores during the FY 2015. The organization has about 20% Market share with workforce of 10,669
employees spread across India. In order to sustain the growth trajectory, HCPL has embarked on aspirational
strategies for future which have been christened as Target Shikhar and Udaan 2030. It entails growth in
volumes, profitability, pursuing opportunities in Gas business, acquiring upstream assets in domestic and
international markets, building asset optimization capability and ensuring readiness for growing in alternative
energy business.

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCE

FOR PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS

ORGANIZATIONAL
EXCELLENCE
GAINING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
BY CREATING HR ECO SYSTEM
- BY SURESH PUGALENTHI

The constantly evolving business scenario necessitates continuous transformation of HR priorities and
approaches to realize the organization vision. People are at the core of every business. When we say, HPCL
aspires to increase its refining capacities, marketing volumes and profitability; it is the human resources which
form the backbone to its aspiration. HPites form the core of HPCLs competitive advantage, as they
determine the vision for the future and live the values of the Corporation i.e. HP FIRST. To realize this vision,
HP-HR has implemented various high impact novel HR Initiatives, which have provided cutting edge
advantage to HPCL. This case study encompasses 3 initiatives in the Leadership Development and
Productivity Enhancement space. Each initiative has been further detailed below with its intent, process and
its impact.
Project Akshay (Leadership Development Program)
Samavesh (Future Leaders Program)
Project Utkrisht (Operational Excellence)

LEADERSHIP IMPERATIVES AT HPCL

Leaders are the drivers for success in all spheres of business. They are the trendsetters with innovative ideas
and dreamers with strong imagination. At HPCL, it is believed that leadership is an attribute which has to be
nurtured at all levels for sustained organizational growth. Hitherto, leadership approach at HPCL has been
event based and the incumbents were offered development programs on need basis, while the actual training
largely remained on-the-job. Considering the aspirational strategy, the need was felt for devising an
intervention which will provide a more sustainable model for leadership development - not only at the higher
level but across levels for building a leadership pipeline which is backed by scientifically validated and
contemporary approach.

1. PROJECT AKSHAY-LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Award Partner

Project Akshay, turned out to be

a Leadership Factory for
HPCL and other PSUs. It has
also created Cultural Revolution
in our Corporation.
- Pushp Joshi, Director-HR

At HPCL, a novel Leadership Development Program christened

Project Akshay was launched in June 2011 being spearheaded by
Director-HR, with an objective of building strong leadership pipeline
towards realization of UDAAN 2030. Continuing with this pursuance
towards creating future leaders, HPCL has introduced Akshay and
Akshaypath - Leadership Development Program for Senior/Middle
Management Officers in 2012-13 and 2013-14. At HPCL People
Development is a continuous process. The model and essence of
Project Akshay are given below.

88

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

BUSINESS CONTEXT
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) is a Government of India Enterprise having the coveted
Navratna Status, a Forbes 2000 and a Global Fortune 500 company. HPCL is an integrated Oil Refining and
Marketing company with an Annual Turnover of Rs. 2,17,061 Crores and clocked a record profit of Rs. 2,733
Crores during the FY 2015. The organization has about 20% Market share with workforce of 10,669
employees spread across India. In order to sustain the growth trajectory, HCPL has embarked on aspirational
strategies for future which have been christened as Target Shikhar and Udaan 2030. It entails growth in
volumes, profitability, pursuing opportunities in Gas business, acquiring upstream assets in domestic and
international markets, building asset optimization capability and ensuring readiness for growing in alternative
energy business.

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCE

FOR PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS

ORGANIZATIONAL
EXCELLENCE
GAINING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
BY CREATING HR ECO SYSTEM
- BY SURESH PUGALENTHI

The constantly evolving business scenario necessitates continuous transformation of HR priorities and
approaches to realize the organization vision. People are at the core of every business. When we say, HPCL
aspires to increase its refining capacities, marketing volumes and profitability; it is the human resources which
form the backbone to its aspiration. HPites form the core of HPCLs competitive advantage, as they
determine the vision for the future and live the values of the Corporation i.e. HP FIRST. To realize this vision,
HP-HR has implemented various high impact novel HR Initiatives, which have provided cutting edge
advantage to HPCL. This case study encompasses 3 initiatives in the Leadership Development and
Productivity Enhancement space. Each initiative has been further detailed below with its intent, process and
its impact.
Project Akshay (Leadership Development Program)
Samavesh (Future Leaders Program)
Project Utkrisht (Operational Excellence)

LEADERSHIP IMPERATIVES AT HPCL

Leaders are the drivers for success in all spheres of business. They are the trendsetters with innovative ideas
and dreamers with strong imagination. At HPCL, it is believed that leadership is an attribute which has to be
nurtured at all levels for sustained organizational growth. Hitherto, leadership approach at HPCL has been
event based and the incumbents were offered development programs on need basis, while the actual training
largely remained on-the-job. Considering the aspirational strategy, the need was felt for devising an
intervention which will provide a more sustainable model for leadership development - not only at the higher
level but across levels for building a leadership pipeline which is backed by scientifically validated and
contemporary approach.

1. PROJECT AKSHAY-LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Award Partner

Project Akshay, turned out to be

a Leadership Factory for
HPCL and other PSUs. It has
also created Cultural Revolution
in our Corporation.
- Pushp Joshi, Director-HR

At HPCL, a novel Leadership Development Program christened

Project Akshay was launched in June 2011 being spearheaded by
Director-HR, with an objective of building strong leadership pipeline
towards realization of UDAAN 2030. Continuing with this pursuance
towards creating future leaders, HPCL has introduced Akshay and
Akshaypath - Leadership Development Program for Senior/Middle
Management Officers in 2012-13 and 2013-14. At HPCL People
Development is a continuous process. The model and essence of
Project Akshay are given below.

88

 Leaders Developing Leaders:

AKSHAY MODEL
I
N
T
H
A
N
A
L
R
E
A
L
M

Individual Roles
Behaviours
Personality
Individual
Uniconscious
Ieal Self

Real Self

SELF

E
X
E
R
N
A
L
R
E
A
K
L
M

Perceived
Self

Portrayed
Self

Collective
Unconscious
Culture
Environment
Collective Expectations

E
X
E
C
U
T
I
V
E

ESSENCE OF PROJECT AKSHAY:

Leveraging on Internalization as compared to
Externalization in response to the behavioural
influencers is the spirit behind Project Akshay. The
attributions one makes and the Locus of Control are
critical personality traits and determine ones response
to the external world. Two types of attributions made
by a person: Internal and External. An internal
attribution means that explanation for the behaviour
one observes is attributed to something internal to the
individual which they can control - e.g. their personality,
attitude, values. An external attribution means that
explanation for the behavior one observes is attributed
to something outside of the individuals control e.g.
policies, procedures, staffing, training, supervision,
equipment, materials, and methods.

C
O
A
C
I
D
N
G
E
X
P
E
R
N
T
I
A
L

Attributions are critical because the action one takes as

a leader is dependent upon ones attribution or
explanation. Those with an internal LOC believe they
are responsible for and in control of their behavior,
while those with an external LOC assume less
responsibility for their behavior based on the belief that
their behavior is strongly influenced by factors outside
of their control. Therefore, SELF is the essence and at
the core of Project Akshay.

L
E
A
NI
N
G

THE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ECOSYSTEM

PROJECT AKSHAY THE PROCESS

Project Akshay has Emotional Intelligence as its key theme. The research indicates that Leadership has its
roots in Emotional Intelligence and higher levels of emotional intelligence are associated with better
performance in areas of Self-Awareness, Decisiveness and Change Management. HP Leadership
Development Program is based on 70:20:10 learning principle where 70% of the learning would happen
through tools like action learning, cross-functional exposure to promote the team learning and collaboration,
20% through mentoring & coaching and 10% through class room training.
During Project Akshay, multiple methodologies like Executive coaching, 360 Degree Feedback, psychometric
testing through tools like MBTI, Mc Clelland LSI, Thomas Kilmann CMI, etc. were used to help the participant
know about self. Experiential learning through mentoring opportunities and Group projects were also
entwined together and deployed in well designed, coordinated and aligned manner over a period of 10
months. The key process interventions are given below.

Executive Coaching:
Executive Coaching is an integral part of Leadership Development and the participants selected are
personally coached for a period of 10 months by the Executive Coach who is fondly called as a Guru.
The executive coach uses psychoanalytic approach based on Eriksons Pyscho -Social Developmental
Model, which helps the participants understand the unconscious behaviour of leaders in the workplace.
The second component of coaching involves experiential learning through group projects; the interplay of
demonstrated behaviours during group meetings helps the participants to hone their analytical skills,
strategic thinking and innovative mind set.
The executive coach conducts individual and group sessions with mentors and mentees and uses insights
from ESCI (Emotional and Social Competency Inventory), MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator), TKI
(Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument), Group Relations conference (GRC) and Kolbs Learning Style
Inventory for developing their capabilities.

89

At a time when leadership development is recognized as a vital ingredient for an organizations success,
the involvement of senior leaders in nurturing the future leaders has been identified as a powerful and
effective tool for succession planning. Leaders Developing Leaders is embedded into the philosophy of
Akshay/Akshaypath. The identified Mentors were grouped in teams of 4-5 members from various
functions. Each of these Mentors picked 3 candidates from middle/ junior management and they were
made the Mentees under these Mentors. This Mentor-Mentee relationship is continued for a period of
10 months during which the leaders share their experiential learning to help the mentees to harness their
leadership abilities for the future.
The Mentor-Mentee association has proved to be quite successful because of its participatory and
empowering nature. There is genuine feedback from both sides and this has resulted in development of
both mentor and mentee in true spirit. The process has developed 148 mentors who are now armed to be
future leaders and 513 mentees who can take up strategic positions across various SBUs in the
organization.

Personal/Professional Vision:
We become what we Dream, our dream helps to determine what we become, because a compelling and
meaningful vision provides the Strength, Energy and Efficacy towards the future. Each and every
participant in Project Akshay was asked to develop a professional and personal vision that helps the
participants to see how they can make difference and positive contribution to Self as well as to the
Organization.

Noble Purpose (Personal/Professional):

As a part of Leadership Development, participants in Project Akshay were asked to develop Noble
Purpose. Noble Purpose is a formal and unambiguous statement stating ones true calling in life and at
work. It is something which inspires oneself and makes him/her align all efforts towards achieving the
Noble Purpose. Noble Purpose denes ones existence and makes one unique to others. Noble purpose
is very necessary to find real happiness, satisfaction and being content. Having unique purpose has
helped the participants to look beyond the obvious and for some of them it has lead the way to go beyond
Organization.

Innovative Business Projects:

The identified Mentors in the process were grouped in teams from various functions. These teams took
Innovative Business Projects called Mentor Projects in areas of their choice and worked towards its
conceptualization, pilot and larger implementation for business impact. This is intended to provide a
simulation for working with peers towards a common objective and consciously examine their
interpersonal relationship with peers and identify their own strengths and areas for development. The
Mentor Projects were focused on gaining insights into Relationships with Peers and Result Orientation.
Each of these Mentors selected 3 Mentees from middle/junior management. These Mentees are required
to undertake group projects called Mentee Projects which is periodically monitored by the management.
This is intended to provide a real life simulation to help the participants experiment their leadership skills
in guiding and inspiring their team towards achieving time determined outcomes. The Mentee projects
were focused on Relationships with Subordinates and Result Orientation.

90

 Leaders Developing Leaders:

AKSHAY MODEL
I
N
T
H
A
N
A
L
R
E
A
L
M

Individual Roles
Behaviours
Personality
Individual
Uniconscious
Ieal Self

Real Self

SELF

E
X
E
R
N
A
L
R
E
A
K
L
M

Perceived
Self

Portrayed
Self

Collective
Unconscious
Culture
Environment
Collective Expectations

E
X
E
C
U
T
I
V
E

ESSENCE OF PROJECT AKSHAY:

Leveraging on Internalization as compared to
Externalization in response to the behavioural
influencers is the spirit behind Project Akshay. The
attributions one makes and the Locus of Control are
critical personality traits and determine ones response
to the external world. Two types of attributions made
by a person: Internal and External. An internal
attribution means that explanation for the behaviour
one observes is attributed to something internal to the
individual which they can control - e.g. their personality,
attitude, values. An external attribution means that
explanation for the behavior one observes is attributed
to something outside of the individuals control e.g.
policies, procedures, staffing, training, supervision,
equipment, materials, and methods.

C
O
A
C
I
D
N
G
E
X
P
E
R
N
T
I
A
L

Attributions are critical because the action one takes as

a leader is dependent upon ones attribution or
explanation. Those with an internal LOC believe they
are responsible for and in control of their behavior,
while those with an external LOC assume less
responsibility for their behavior based on the belief that
their behavior is strongly influenced by factors outside
of their control. Therefore, SELF is the essence and at
the core of Project Akshay.

L
E
A
NI
N
G

THE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ECOSYSTEM

PROJECT AKSHAY THE PROCESS

Project Akshay has Emotional Intelligence as its key theme. The research indicates that Leadership has its
roots in Emotional Intelligence and higher levels of emotional intelligence are associated with better
performance in areas of Self-Awareness, Decisiveness and Change Management. HP Leadership
Development Program is based on 70:20:10 learning principle where 70% of the learning would happen
through tools like action learning, cross-functional exposure to promote the team learning and collaboration,
20% through mentoring & coaching and 10% through class room training.
During Project Akshay, multiple methodologies like Executive coaching, 360 Degree Feedback, psychometric
testing through tools like MBTI, Mc Clelland LSI, Thomas Kilmann CMI, etc. were used to help the participant
know about self. Experiential learning through mentoring opportunities and Group projects were also
entwined together and deployed in well designed, coordinated and aligned manner over a period of 10
months. The key process interventions are given below.

Executive Coaching:
Executive Coaching is an integral part of Leadership Development and the participants selected are
personally coached for a period of 10 months by the Executive Coach who is fondly called as a Guru.
The executive coach uses psychoanalytic approach based on Eriksons Pyscho -Social Developmental
Model, which helps the participants understand the unconscious behaviour of leaders in the workplace.
The second component of coaching involves experiential learning through group projects; the interplay of
demonstrated behaviours during group meetings helps the participants to hone their analytical skills,
strategic thinking and innovative mind set.
The executive coach conducts individual and group sessions with mentors and mentees and uses insights
from ESCI (Emotional and Social Competency Inventory), MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator), TKI
(Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument), Group Relations conference (GRC) and Kolbs Learning Style
Inventory for developing their capabilities.

89

At a time when leadership development is recognized as a vital ingredient for an organizations success,
the involvement of senior leaders in nurturing the future leaders has been identified as a powerful and
effective tool for succession planning. Leaders Developing Leaders is embedded into the philosophy of
Akshay/Akshaypath. The identified Mentors were grouped in teams of 4-5 members from various
functions. Each of these Mentors picked 3 candidates from middle/ junior management and they were
made the Mentees under these Mentors. This Mentor-Mentee relationship is continued for a period of
10 months during which the leaders share their experiential learning to help the mentees to harness their
leadership abilities for the future.
The Mentor-Mentee association has proved to be quite successful because of its participatory and
empowering nature. There is genuine feedback from both sides and this has resulted in development of
both mentor and mentee in true spirit. The process has developed 148 mentors who are now armed to be
future leaders and 513 mentees who can take up strategic positions across various SBUs in the
organization.

Personal/Professional Vision:
We become what we Dream, our dream helps to determine what we become, because a compelling and
meaningful vision provides the Strength, Energy and Efficacy towards the future. Each and every
participant in Project Akshay was asked to develop a professional and personal vision that helps the
participants to see how they can make difference and positive contribution to Self as well as to the
Organization.

Noble Purpose (Personal/Professional):

As a part of Leadership Development, participants in Project Akshay were asked to develop Noble
Purpose. Noble Purpose is a formal and unambiguous statement stating ones true calling in life and at
work. It is something which inspires oneself and makes him/her align all efforts towards achieving the
Noble Purpose. Noble Purpose denes ones existence and makes one unique to others. Noble purpose
is very necessary to find real happiness, satisfaction and being content. Having unique purpose has
helped the participants to look beyond the obvious and for some of them it has lead the way to go beyond
Organization.

Innovative Business Projects:

The identified Mentors in the process were grouped in teams from various functions. These teams took
Innovative Business Projects called Mentor Projects in areas of their choice and worked towards its
conceptualization, pilot and larger implementation for business impact. This is intended to provide a
simulation for working with peers towards a common objective and consciously examine their
interpersonal relationship with peers and identify their own strengths and areas for development. The
Mentor Projects were focused on gaining insights into Relationships with Peers and Result Orientation.
Each of these Mentors selected 3 Mentees from middle/junior management. These Mentees are required
to undertake group projects called Mentee Projects which is periodically monitored by the management.
This is intended to provide a real life simulation to help the participants experiment their leadership skills
in guiding and inspiring their team towards achieving time determined outcomes. The Mentee projects
were focused on Relationships with Subordinates and Result Orientation.

90

 Evaluation Mechanism:

2. SAMAVESH - FUTURE LEADERS FORUM:

Project Akshay has regular feedback loops, defined milestones and measurement mechanisms to gauge
the progress towards leadership competencies. At the end of 10 months Best Identified Projects are
presented to Leadership Team of HPCL and approvals are accorded for scaling up of the projects.

Akshay Key Statistics:

HPCLs commitment to the Program is pervasive as it has invested Fifty Thousand plus man hours on
developing its future ready leadership under this program.
Project/Year

HPCL believes that employees are the biggest asset, hence a robust Talent Acquisition process has been set
in place to select right candidate with high potential to fulfill the long term vision of the organization. HPCL
invests heavily on nurturing the talent by providing a conducive environment to enable the future leaders
realize their full potential. The people who join the organization continue to grow and occupy various strategic
positions, this necessitates HPCL to continuously invest in their development from day one and have the
future of the organization in the right hands. In order to engage new officers productively, there was a need to
transform the present induction program to a more scientific and competency based one which aims at
Professional, Personal and Cultural Integration.
Considering the importance of nurturing the talent from day one, HPCL has conceptualized and implemented
a unique induction process called Samavesh. The word 'Samavesh' is drawn from the Sanskrit word
'Samavaran' which has multiple meanings. At a philosophical level the word signies a relationship between
the whole and its parts. In this context, the whole is represented by the Corporation and the parts by its
Human Resources. Just as every part is an integral constituent of the whole, HPCL believes that its Human
Resources are an important element of its ethos.

Askhay-I (2001-12)

Askhay-II (2012-13)

Askhay-III (2013-14)

21

27

101

Estimated Man-hours

Estimated Man-hours

Estimated Man-hours

01-on-01s with Executive Coash

168

216

606

Contact programs

840

1080

4040

Projects (induding presentations)

3360

4320

16160

Samavesh Process:

Sub-total mentors man-hours

4368

5616

20806

No. of mentees

105

108

300

Estimated Man-hours

Estimated Man-hours

Estimated Man-hours

Samavesh process has been specially designed to personally and professionally integrate the aspirations of
employees with Corporate Objectives. This unique induction process helps new employees to Learn better
about the Organization, Grow as an individual and professional, and Lead the organization to ealize its
vision.

Contact programs

3360

3456

4800

Projects (induding presentations)

16800

17280

28800

Sub-total mentors man-hours

20160

20736

33600

Total man-hours put-in by

Mentors and Mentees (approx.)

24528

26352

54406

No. of mentors

Impact of Project Akshay

Project Akshay has helped the organization to achieve superior succession planning and give HPCL a
competitive edge to seize market opportunities and manage disruptive changes confronting the business
scenario. Following are some of the key results garnered by Project Akshay:
HPCL has turned out to be a Leadership Factory for the public sector undertakings wherein 3
mentors have been appointed to Board level positions by Government of India and 4 Mentors went to
other PSUs on Board/ Chairman and Managing Director positions.
149 High Impact projects have been identified and piloted for business growth to have sustainable
competitive advantage.

LEARN
Learning Opportunities:
Organizaion

: Business strategies, intiatives, inter

linkages to enable one to perform better.

Self

: Understading self, meanaging self, aligning

aspirations, building hopes, channelizing
energies.

Job

: Knowledge about overall functioning of

Marketing and Refining locations.

Role

: Understanding job better for conversion of

knowledge into business and opportunities
for innovation.

91

LEAD

Learning leads to Personal and

Organizational growth.

Learning + Growth =
Opportunities to Lead.

Personal growth in terms of

managerial/leadership
competencies.

Path to homegrowth
leadership.

Organization vide growth in

terms of Business expansion,
diversification and
development.

Opportunites to
individual to lead the
Corporation.

Competencies : (Underlying Business Knowledge, Skills &

Attitudes).

The duration of Samavesh program is 12 months and each participant will undertake a journey of 5 phases.
Each phase has been designed with a specific purpose to help them understand the organization, self and
competencies required to perform their role in achieving organizational excellence.
Journey - "MY HPCL"

The cross-functional collaboration during the project is cultivating a strong Innovation culture in the
organization.
Cross Functional Teams have helped the participants to get a better understanding about other
functions at individual level and to have an agile future ready leadership team for succession at an
organization level.

GROW

Journey - " MY SELF"

Samavesh

Journey - " MY JOB"

Journey - "MY COMPETENCIES"
Journey - "MY ROLE"

92

 Evaluation Mechanism:

2. SAMAVESH - FUTURE LEADERS FORUM:

Project Akshay has regular feedback loops, defined milestones and measurement mechanisms to gauge
the progress towards leadership competencies. At the end of 10 months Best Identified Projects are
presented to Leadership Team of HPCL and approvals are accorded for scaling up of the projects.

Akshay Key Statistics:

HPCLs commitment to the Program is pervasive as it has invested Fifty Thousand plus man hours on
developing its future ready leadership under this program.
Project/Year

HPCL believes that employees are the biggest asset, hence a robust Talent Acquisition process has been set
in place to select right candidate with high potential to fulfill the long term vision of the organization. HPCL
invests heavily on nurturing the talent by providing a conducive environment to enable the future leaders
realize their full potential. The people who join the organization continue to grow and occupy various strategic
positions, this necessitates HPCL to continuously invest in their development from day one and have the
future of the organization in the right hands. In order to engage new officers productively, there was a need to
transform the present induction program to a more scientific and competency based one which aims at
Professional, Personal and Cultural Integration.
Considering the importance of nurturing the talent from day one, HPCL has conceptualized and implemented
a unique induction process called Samavesh. The word 'Samavesh' is drawn from the Sanskrit word
'Samavaran' which has multiple meanings. At a philosophical level the word signies a relationship between
the whole and its parts. In this context, the whole is represented by the Corporation and the parts by its
Human Resources. Just as every part is an integral constituent of the whole, HPCL believes that its Human
Resources are an important element of its ethos.

Askhay-I (2001-12)

Askhay-II (2012-13)

Askhay-III (2013-14)

21

27

101

Estimated Man-hours

Estimated Man-hours

Estimated Man-hours

01-on-01s with Executive Coash

168

216

606

Contact programs

840

1080

4040

Projects (induding presentations)

3360

4320

16160

Samavesh Process:

Sub-total mentors man-hours

4368

5616

20806

No. of mentees

105

108

300

Estimated Man-hours

Estimated Man-hours

Estimated Man-hours

Samavesh process has been specially designed to personally and professionally integrate the aspirations of
employees with Corporate Objectives. This unique induction process helps new employees to Learn better
about the Organization, Grow as an individual and professional, and Lead the organization to ealize its
vision.

Contact programs

3360

3456

4800

Projects (induding presentations)

16800

17280

28800

Sub-total mentors man-hours

20160

20736

33600

Total man-hours put-in by

Mentors and Mentees (approx.)

24528

26352

54406

No. of mentors

Impact of Project Akshay

Project Akshay has helped the organization to achieve superior succession planning and give HPCL a
competitive edge to seize market opportunities and manage disruptive changes confronting the business
scenario. Following are some of the key results garnered by Project Akshay:
HPCL has turned out to be a Leadership Factory for the public sector undertakings wherein 3
mentors have been appointed to Board level positions by Government of India and 4 Mentors went to
other PSUs on Board/ Chairman and Managing Director positions.
149 High Impact projects have been identified and piloted for business growth to have sustainable
competitive advantage.

LEARN
Learning Opportunities:
Organizaion

: Business strategies, intiatives, inter

linkages to enable one to perform better.

Self

: Understading self, meanaging self, aligning

aspirations, building hopes, channelizing
energies.

Job

: Knowledge about overall functioning of

Marketing and Refining locations.

Role

: Understanding job better for conversion of

knowledge into business and opportunities
for innovation.

91

LEAD

Learning leads to Personal and

Organizational growth.

Learning + Growth =
Opportunities to Lead.

Personal growth in terms of

managerial/leadership
competencies.

Path to homegrowth
leadership.

Organization vide growth in

terms of Business expansion,
diversification and
development.

Opportunites to
individual to lead the
Corporation.

Competencies : (Underlying Business Knowledge, Skills &

Attitudes).

The duration of Samavesh program is 12 months and each participant will undertake a journey of 5 phases.
Each phase has been designed with a specific purpose to help them understand the organization, self and
competencies required to perform their role in achieving organizational excellence.
Journey - "MY HPCL"

The cross-functional collaboration during the project is cultivating a strong Innovation culture in the
organization.
Cross Functional Teams have helped the participants to get a better understanding about other
functions at individual level and to have an agile future ready leadership team for succession at an
organization level.

GROW

Journey - " MY SELF"

Samavesh

Journey - " MY JOB"

Journey - "MY COMPETENCIES"
Journey - "MY ROLE"

92

The 5 phases are aimed at providing understanding of self and a holistic view of the organizations business to the
newly joined. It helps in seamless integration of the new members in the team, smooth transition from College to
Corporate and at the same time makes them aware of what is expected of them in this new phase of life at work.

MY HPCL

This phase will focus on the new joinees learning about organization in terms of its genesis,
culture, ethos, values, strategic business units (SBUs), SBU initiatives, products, etc. towards
achieving Organizational Vision.

MY SELF

This phase will assist them to have a smooth transition from student life to life of an employee in
terms of attitudes, values, culture, etc. During this phase they are also required to develop their
personal and professional vision statement and noble purpose.

MY JOBS

During this phase, they will be given opportunities to visit locations and acquire knowledge about
overall functioning of the location of various SBUs.

MY COMPETENCIES

MY ROLE

This phase will help them to understand the competencies (Knowledge, Skill, and Attitudes)
required for effectively performing their job. During this phase, they will be given a broad
understanding of conceptual insights on strategy, finance, marketing, managing self,
self-leadership etc. through Indian Institutes of Management (IIM).

In this phase they will be assigned to a specific role and are expected to learn more about
application of academic knowledge into day to day operation of the location. They are also
required to undertake a project in their respective role which will be monitored by assigned
Mentor who will help them to get acquainted with the new work environment and develop their
technical, behavioral and functional competencies.

Impact:
The Samavesh intervention has helped the organization to engaged the new joinees from the very initial
stages which has resulted in bringing about reduction in the attrition levels, developing new joinees for
leadership positions and culturally intergrating them with the organization.

3. PROJECT UTKRISHT- OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE (OE):

In order to ensure focused attention & higher efficiency, HPCL has divided its business activities into various
Strategic Business Units (SBUs). While the Sales team under the Retail SBU takes care of the dealer
management, sales volume & sales margin, the real support in maintaining timely supplies of product is
extended by the Operations & Distribution (O&D) team. Considering the importance of the Operations and
Distribution (O&D) function to the organization, the year 2009-10 was declared as the year of Operational
Excellence (OE). Operational Excellence stresses the need for continual improvement by promoting a strong
teamwork atmosphere, safety, plant operations, quality improvements etc. Towards this objective HPCL O&D
department has undertaken a number of pioneering initiatives which were not only path breaking in the
Industry but also equally innovative as concepts.

93

HPCL set ambitious goals for Operations & Distribution (O&D) function which is the backbone of the
Marketing Division to increase its output by over 70% by year 2015-16. O&D Department had developed the
strategy for achieving these volumes by focusing on implementation of various initiatives such as Technology,
Safety, Customer Convenience, Security and Environment. A snapshot of the targets set for O&D is given
below:

S
A
F
E
T
Y

38.5
MMTPA
Estimated
Demand

F
I
R
S
T

TARGET
SHIKHAR

21-22
Gap of 10.7 MMTPA (49%)

27.8
MMTPA

16-17
Gap of 6.0 MMTPA (28%)

12-13

21.8
MMTPA

TT Thru put
Need to bridge this demand gap by
productivity enhancement measures
INTERVENTION

DEPARTMENT

Man

Work Discipline, Counselling, Cometency Developmentworkmen & officers

HR/Operations

Machine

Line Balancing, PMS, Lay Out improvment of floor level,

concept of Model Machine, TPM

Operations/E&P/HR

Method

SS, Trainingm, Implementation of SOPs

HR/Operations

In order to bridge this gap, an initiative Project Utkrisht was taken up collaboratively by O & D and HR
department to focus on improving safety, productivity, quality through Quality Circles which involved
workmen and other stake holders in the improvement process. The roles and responsibilities of all the
stakeholders have been clearly defined and intended deliverables have also been articulated.

Concept of the Project:

Involve employees at all levels through participative management (QC Teams). Identify Gaps and improve
processes through structured & scientic method of problem solving techniques (Six Sigma/TPM/5-S etc).

Objective of the Project:

Project Utkrisht aims at Improving productivity, better work environment, enhanced quality and greater
safety as described below:

94

The 5 phases are aimed at providing understanding of self and a holistic view of the organizations business to the
newly joined. It helps in seamless integration of the new members in the team, smooth transition from College to
Corporate and at the same time makes them aware of what is expected of them in this new phase of life at work.

MY HPCL

This phase will focus on the new joinees learning about organization in terms of its genesis,
culture, ethos, values, strategic business units (SBUs), SBU initiatives, products, etc. towards
achieving Organizational Vision.

MY SELF

This phase will assist them to have a smooth transition from student life to life of an employee in
terms of attitudes, values, culture, etc. During this phase they are also required to develop their
personal and professional vision statement and noble purpose.

MY JOBS

During this phase, they will be given opportunities to visit locations and acquire knowledge about
overall functioning of the location of various SBUs.

MY COMPETENCIES

MY ROLE

This phase will help them to understand the competencies (Knowledge, Skill, and Attitudes)
required for effectively performing their job. During this phase, they will be given a broad
understanding of conceptual insights on strategy, finance, marketing, managing self,
self-leadership etc. through Indian Institutes of Management (IIM).

In this phase they will be assigned to a specific role and are expected to learn more about
application of academic knowledge into day to day operation of the location. They are also
required to undertake a project in their respective role which will be monitored by assigned
Mentor who will help them to get acquainted with the new work environment and develop their
technical, behavioral and functional competencies.

Impact:
The Samavesh intervention has helped the organization to engaged the new joinees from the very initial
stages which has resulted in bringing about reduction in the attrition levels, developing new joinees for
leadership positions and culturally intergrating them with the organization.

3. PROJECT UTKRISHT- OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE (OE):

In order to ensure focused attention & higher efficiency, HPCL has divided its business activities into various
Strategic Business Units (SBUs). While the Sales team under the Retail SBU takes care of the dealer
management, sales volume & sales margin, the real support in maintaining timely supplies of product is
extended by the Operations & Distribution (O&D) team. Considering the importance of the Operations and
Distribution (O&D) function to the organization, the year 2009-10 was declared as the year of Operational
Excellence (OE). Operational Excellence stresses the need for continual improvement by promoting a strong
teamwork atmosphere, safety, plant operations, quality improvements etc. Towards this objective HPCL O&D
department has undertaken a number of pioneering initiatives which were not only path breaking in the
Industry but also equally innovative as concepts.

93

HPCL set ambitious goals for Operations & Distribution (O&D) function which is the backbone of the
Marketing Division to increase its output by over 70% by year 2015-16. O&D Department had developed the
strategy for achieving these volumes by focusing on implementation of various initiatives such as Technology,
Safety, Customer Convenience, Security and Environment. A snapshot of the targets set for O&D is given
below:

S
A
F
E
T
Y

38.5
MMTPA
Estimated
Demand

F
I
R
S
T

TARGET
SHIKHAR

21-22
Gap of 10.7 MMTPA (49%)

27.8
MMTPA

16-17
Gap of 6.0 MMTPA (28%)

12-13

21.8
MMTPA

TT Thru put
Need to bridge this demand gap by
productivity enhancement measures
INTERVENTION

DEPARTMENT

Man

Work Discipline, Counselling, Cometency Developmentworkmen & officers

HR/Operations

Machine

Line Balancing, PMS, Lay Out improvment of floor level,

concept of Model Machine, TPM

Operations/E&P/HR

Method

SS, Trainingm, Implementation of SOPs

HR/Operations

In order to bridge this gap, an initiative Project Utkrisht was taken up collaboratively by O & D and HR
department to focus on improving safety, productivity, quality through Quality Circles which involved
workmen and other stake holders in the improvement process. The roles and responsibilities of all the
stakeholders have been clearly defined and intended deliverables have also been articulated.

Concept of the Project:

Involve employees at all levels through participative management (QC Teams). Identify Gaps and improve
processes through structured & scientic method of problem solving techniques (Six Sigma/TPM/5-S etc).

Objective of the Project:

Project Utkrisht aims at Improving productivity, better work environment, enhanced quality and greater
safety as described below:

94

OBJECTIVE
To bring Operational Improvement in areas of
PRODUCTIVITY

Reduce Total Cycle Time - Trucks (Gate in-Gate out),

Loading Time. Improve working Time Utilization
Reduce Wasteful expenditure/resources

ENVIRONMENT

5S (Work place Management System, Housekeeping,

Inventroy Management)

QUALITY

Elimination of Physical Dip

SAFETY

Implementation of SOPs - 100%

Use Personal Protective Equipment - 100%
REDUCTION OF NVAs

Implementation Process:

The project was initially piloted at 5 locations in the month of January 2012. Various project teams consisting
of workmen and officers were formed at all O&D locations and solutions were implemented by the QC Teams.
Basis encouraging results at pilot locations, the project was replicated at all 82 O&D locations in India.
The Quality Circle teams are mainly: Productivity Team, Safety Team, 5-S Team and Maintenance team. Each
team comprising of 2-5 workmen, 1-2 officers and they met every day to discuss on various aspects of the
problems/solutions. The team co-opts other stakeholders like Security staffs, Tank Truck (TT) crew and
contract labour who connected with the operations on a daily basis. The team collects the data, post which
analysis is done and then appropriate solutions are identied. Technology is leveraged to obtain complex
data through TAS (Terminal Automated Systems) and resources are provided by Location In-charge/Officers
who are leading the teams. Quick Win solutions are first implemented to achieve initial gains followed by more
costly/time taking solutions. Regular review is done at location level and zonal level to provide sense of
urgency, motivation, opportunity for knowledge sharing and finalization of action plan. The progress is
reviewed on monthly basis by HQO and inputs are provided by them to zones for effective implementation of
Project. The results are encouraging with significant gains at many locations in TT Cycle time (the time a Tank
Truck takes from entry to exit in a terminal during the lling process). The improvement in productivity has
also resulted in customer satisfaction and stakeholder satisfaction.

Overtime hours have reduced by 63000 man-hours (33%), a net savings of Rs 3.1 Crore per annum
Apart from above, productivity improvement had also resulted in saving one time cost of Rs 2000 Crore
in Capex (equivalent to 8 new Depots/Terminals)

Conclusion
HP-HR created a robust HR eco-system and established strong linkages between people, systems &
processes by adopting innovative Initiatives in areas like Leadership Development (Project Akshay), Induction
(Samavesh) and Operational Excellence (Project Utkrist) which have provided cutting edge advantage to
HPCL and helped the organization gain sustainable competitive advantage.

WAY FORWARD:
Innovation will be a key focus area for HPCL. To achieve the aspirational strategy, HP-HR will continue to
focus on building competencies at all levels based on the HP Competency Framework (HP-PATH).
Leveraging the HR eco-system, HP-HR will focus on integrating people, processes and systems to sustain
the high growth trajectory and prepare the organization for the future challenges by adopting scientific,
contemporary and innovative HR practices.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Suresh Pugalenthi has over 22 years of experience in conceptualizing and implementing innovative HR and IR
strategies in Marketing, Refinery and Corporate functions. He is presently working as Head-Organization
Development with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). He is a graduate in Labour Management (BLM)
from Madras University and Post Graduate in PM & IR from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Business Impact:
TT Cycle time had reduced by 31%, resulting in better customer satisfaction and better fleet utilization
Bay Productivity increased from 96 MTs per bay per shift to 116 MTs per bay per shift. This has resulted
in capacity enhancement of 5.3 Million MTs per annum (24% increase, i.e. from 22.0 Million MTPA in
12-13 to current capacity of 27.3 Million MTPA)
The savings in operating cost for above enhancement in capacity is approx. 39.7 Crores per annum

95

96

OBJECTIVE
To bring Operational Improvement in areas of
PRODUCTIVITY

Reduce Total Cycle Time - Trucks (Gate in-Gate out),

Loading Time. Improve working Time Utilization
Reduce Wasteful expenditure/resources

ENVIRONMENT

5S (Work place Management System, Housekeeping,

Inventroy Management)

QUALITY

Elimination of Physical Dip

SAFETY

Implementation of SOPs - 100%

Use Personal Protective Equipment - 100%
REDUCTION OF NVAs

Implementation Process:

The project was initially piloted at 5 locations in the month of January 2012. Various project teams consisting
of workmen and officers were formed at all O&D locations and solutions were implemented by the QC Teams.
Basis encouraging results at pilot locations, the project was replicated at all 82 O&D locations in India.
The Quality Circle teams are mainly: Productivity Team, Safety Team, 5-S Team and Maintenance team. Each
team comprising of 2-5 workmen, 1-2 officers and they met every day to discuss on various aspects of the
problems/solutions. The team co-opts other stakeholders like Security staffs, Tank Truck (TT) crew and
contract labour who connected with the operations on a daily basis. The team collects the data, post which
analysis is done and then appropriate solutions are identied. Technology is leveraged to obtain complex
data through TAS (Terminal Automated Systems) and resources are provided by Location In-charge/Officers
who are leading the teams. Quick Win solutions are first implemented to achieve initial gains followed by more
costly/time taking solutions. Regular review is done at location level and zonal level to provide sense of
urgency, motivation, opportunity for knowledge sharing and finalization of action plan. The progress is
reviewed on monthly basis by HQO and inputs are provided by them to zones for effective implementation of
Project. The results are encouraging with significant gains at many locations in TT Cycle time (the time a Tank
Truck takes from entry to exit in a terminal during the lling process). The improvement in productivity has
also resulted in customer satisfaction and stakeholder satisfaction.

Overtime hours have reduced by 63000 man-hours (33%), a net savings of Rs 3.1 Crore per annum
Apart from above, productivity improvement had also resulted in saving one time cost of Rs 2000 Crore
in Capex (equivalent to 8 new Depots/Terminals)

Conclusion
HP-HR created a robust HR eco-system and established strong linkages between people, systems &
processes by adopting innovative Initiatives in areas like Leadership Development (Project Akshay), Induction
(Samavesh) and Operational Excellence (Project Utkrist) which have provided cutting edge advantage to
HPCL and helped the organization gain sustainable competitive advantage.

WAY FORWARD:
Innovation will be a key focus area for HPCL. To achieve the aspirational strategy, HP-HR will continue to
focus on building competencies at all levels based on the HP Competency Framework (HP-PATH).
Leveraging the HR eco-system, HP-HR will focus on integrating people, processes and systems to sustain
the high growth trajectory and prepare the organization for the future challenges by adopting scientific,
contemporary and innovative HR practices.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Suresh Pugalenthi has over 22 years of experience in conceptualizing and implementing innovative HR and IR
strategies in Marketing, Refinery and Corporate functions. He is presently working as Head-Organization
Development with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). He is a graduate in Labour Management (BLM)
from Madras University and Post Graduate in PM & IR from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Business Impact:
TT Cycle time had reduced by 31%, resulting in better customer satisfaction and better fleet utilization
Bay Productivity increased from 96 MTs per bay per shift to 116 MTs per bay per shift. This has resulted
in capacity enhancement of 5.3 Million MTs per annum (24% increase, i.e. from 22.0 Million MTPA in
12-13 to current capacity of 27.3 Million MTPA)
The savings in operating cost for above enhancement in capacity is approx. 39.7 Crores per annum

95

96

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

ABOUT SRILANKAN AIRLINES
SriLankan Airlines, the National Airline of Sri Lanka was founded in 1979. It is an award-winning carrier
reputed for its world-leading standards of service, comfort, safety, reliability and punctuality. The airlines hub
is located at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo. Providing convenient connections to its global
route network of 92 destinations in 44 countries in Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the
Far East, North America, Australia and Africa, SriLankan Airlines is a fully-fledged member of the one world
alliance of global airlines.
It supports the brand Sri Lanka and has the infrastructure, products and services in place to provide a vital
gateway to Sri Lanka. SriLankan Airlines belongs to the community of full service, international airlines
operating around the world today.

Some of the workforce numbers

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCE

SOUTH ASIA (EXCLUDING INDIA)

EXECUTIVES, 493,(7%)

- BY PRADEEPA KEKULAWALA

30-39

40-49

50-59

14%
CABIN CREW,
1,170,(17%)

MISSION OF PARTNERING
THE BUSINESS THROUGH
STRATEGIC HUMAN
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

20-29

TECHNICIANS, 456,(7%)

Total emplyees
6,987

GRADED
EMPLOYEES,
4,101,(59%)

42%

20%

23%

FLIGHT CREW, 316,(5%)

ENGINEERS, 183,(3%)
MANAGERS, 268,(4%)

Employee Categories

Age Wise Breakdown

As of 31st March 2015 are depicted below:

WOMEN IN ACTIVE WORK FORCE 32%
WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT POSITIONS 31%

HR BUSINESS CONTEXT

Award Partner
In Partnership with
AHRP and HSHRM

Analysis of global aviation over recent times reveals that almost every airline in this fraternity is struggling to post
adequate returns. At present, the airline is also going through a challenging and turbulent phase. The airlines efforts
to achieve profitability have been affected by many factors. This is attributed to the high fuel cost which was
prevalent up to last year, the increasing cost of operations and high competition which often leads to price wars. The
operational expenses and other operational inefficiencies and route losses that arose due to fleet limitations as well
as commercial factors such as working capital restrictions have contributed negatively to the challenging financial
circumstances faced by the Airline. Hence the team was compelled to come up with strategies to turn around the
organization with limited resources. In this context optimizing on human resources emerged as one of the top
priorities to get more productivity/more from less, to drive innovation and creativity and to motivate and enhance
engagement. The HR division facilitates this by ensuring Harmony, Innovation, Productivity, Engagement and
Resourcing.

98

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

ABOUT SRILANKAN AIRLINES
SriLankan Airlines, the National Airline of Sri Lanka was founded in 1979. It is an award-winning carrier
reputed for its world-leading standards of service, comfort, safety, reliability and punctuality. The airlines hub
is located at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo. Providing convenient connections to its global
route network of 92 destinations in 44 countries in Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the
Far East, North America, Australia and Africa, SriLankan Airlines is a fully-fledged member of the one world
alliance of global airlines.
It supports the brand Sri Lanka and has the infrastructure, products and services in place to provide a vital
gateway to Sri Lanka. SriLankan Airlines belongs to the community of full service, international airlines
operating around the world today.

Some of the workforce numbers

EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCE

SOUTH ASIA (EXCLUDING INDIA)

EXECUTIVES, 493,(7%)

- BY PRADEEPA KEKULAWALA

30-39

40-49

50-59

14%
CABIN CREW,
1,170,(17%)

MISSION OF PARTNERING
THE BUSINESS THROUGH
STRATEGIC HUMAN
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

20-29

TECHNICIANS, 456,(7%)

Total employees
6,987

GRADED
EMPLOYEES,
4,101,(59%)

42%

20%

23%

FLIGHT CREW, 316,(5%)

ENGINEERS, 183,(3%)
MANAGERS, 268,(4%)

Employee Categories

Age Wise Breakdown

As of 31st March 2015 are depicted below:

WOMEN IN ACTIVE WORK FORCE 32%
WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT POSITIONS 31%

HR BUSINESS CONTEXT

Award Partner
In Partnership with
AHRP and HSHRM

Analysis of global aviation over recent times reveals that almost every airline in this fraternity is struggling to post
adequate returns. At present, the airline is also going through a challenging and turbulent phase. The airlines efforts
to achieve profitability have been affected by many factors. This is attributed to the high fuel cost which was
prevalent up to last year, the increasing cost of operations and high competition which often leads to price wars. The
operational expenses and other operational inefficiencies and route losses that arose due to fleet limitations as well
as commercial factors such as working capital restrictions have contributed negatively to the challenging financial
circumstances faced by the Airline. Hence the team was compelled to come up with strategies to turn around the
organization with limited resources. In this context optimizing on human resources emerged as one of the top
priorities to get more productivity/more from less, to drive innovation and creativity and to motivate and enhance
engagement. The HR division facilitates this by ensuring Harmony, Innovation, Productivity, Engagement and
Resourcing.

98

To complement the organization Vision and the new business plan the HR division is focused on
following;
HR Vision
To lead the people transformation in the quest to be the most preferred Airline in Asia
HR Mission.

BEST PRACTICE 1
INTRODUCING BUSINESS PARTNERING SERVICE- A DEDICATED
COMMUNICATION CHANNEL
The HR division embraces a people friendly, employee engaging business partnering HR function to lead and
influence the creation and achievement of the organizations strategic goals through its people.

To partner the business by attracting suitable Talent at the right time equipping with the
right Competencies Motivating for positive Engagement and Productivity, building
management and leadership Capabilities for the Future to ensure Business progress and
Continuity

The HR structure was modified to provide business partnering services for the entire organization. The business
partners assigned to each department is the dedicated communication channel with employees. The main functions
are identifying recruitment needs, training and development, cadre planning, performance management, career
progression, upgrading and promotions, compensation and rewards, communication, staff inquiries and exit
interviews.
Through constant communication and close relationship of business partners with the line departments, most of the
staff issues were brought to the attention of HR much quicker than it would otherwise, facilitating prompt action that
leads to higher employee satisfaction and motivation. HR department was vigilant to the formal channels of

HR PHILOSOPHY

communication and protocols that are bypassed due to this close relationship with employees and ensure
maintaining effective relationship with the line management too in handling issues/concerns.
Through facilitating active employee engagement, redefining job roles and key result areas jointly with the

Harmony

department, by initiating training and development, Skill Building programs, Performance Management for
Productivity and by opening more channels for direct communication, HR initiatives were taken to the employees to
get their fullest contribution.
Resourcing

Innovation

The Business partnering function was embraced very well by the employees when it was introduced. The
employees were very eager to seek the support of the Business Partners as there were no direct communication

HIPER

channel to HR prior. With the introduction of this service, employee matters were resolved quickly than otherwise.
On the other hand at the initial stages there was a bit of an averseness from the line managers as employees
contacted HR directly bypassing them. This was addressed by educating the line managers about the BP function
Productivity

Engagement

and keeping them abreast of the employee requests and also obtaining their contribution in decision making to
address employees matters. At present HR business partnering function is a fully fledged service across the
organization.

The strategic intent and focus of HR function is Harmony, Innovation, Productivity, Engagement and Resourcing or
"HIPER" as its propagated within the organization.
In order to facilitate the ambitious business plan of the organization, the division works towards developing and
promoting innovative human resource strategies, policies, processes and services to lead and influence the
creation and achievement of the organizations s strategic goals through its people. The present key initiative is
to facilitate comprehensive employee engagement and productivity, leadership development, succession planning
and continuous professional development of high performing staff and to optimize on the organizational knowledge
in hand for strategic knowledge management.

99

BEST PRACTICE 2
CAPABILITY BUILDING OF EMPLOYEES FOR BUSINESS CONTINUITY
SriLankan Airlines has a strong commitment to develop its employees. It offers training, mentoring, coaching and on
the job development to build key competencies in technical skills, leadership skills and soft skills. We believe that
increasing knowledge and improving skills are vital for the continued growth of the organization and also for
employee retention. It is also important to capture the tacit knowledge of the employees for strategic knowledge
management, for the organization to achieve competitive people advantage. Therefore continuous training and
development is provided for the employees.

100

To complement the organization Vision and the new business plan the HR division is focused on
following;
HR Vision
To lead the people transformation in the quest to be the most preferred Airline in Asia
HR Mission.

BEST PRACTICE 1
INTRODUCING BUSINESS PARTNERING SERVICE- A DEDICATED
COMMUNICATION CHANNEL
The HR division embraces a people friendly, employee engaging business partnering HR function to lead and
influence the creation and achievement of the organizations strategic goals through its people.

To partner the business by attracting suitable Talent at the right time equipping with the
right Competencies Motivating for positive Engagement and Productivity, building
management and leadership Capabilities for the Future to ensure Business progress and
Continuity

The HR structure was modified to provide business partnering services for the entire organization. The business
partners assigned to each department is the dedicated communication channel with employees. The main functions
are identifying recruitment needs, training and development, cadre planning, performance management, career
progression, upgrading and promotions, compensation and rewards, communication, staff inquiries and exit
interviews.
Through constant communication and close relationship of business partners with the line departments, most of the
staff issues were brought to the attention of HR much quicker than it would otherwise, facilitating prompt action that
leads to higher employee satisfaction and motivation. HR department was vigilant to the formal channels of

HR PHILOSOPHY

communication and protocols that are bypassed due to this close relationship with employees and ensure
maintaining effective relationship with the line management too in handling issues/concerns.
Through facilitating active employee engagement, redefining job roles and key result areas jointly with the

Harmony

department, by initiating training and development, Skill Building programs, Performance Management for
Productivity and by opening more channels for direct communication, HR initiatives were taken to the employees to
get their fullest contribution.
Resourcing

Innovation

The Business partnering function was embraced very well by the employees when it was introduced. The
employees were very eager to seek the support of the Business Partners as there were no direct communication

HIPER

channel to HR prior. With the introduction of this service, employee matters were resolved quickly than otherwise.
On the other hand at the initial stages there was a bit of an averseness from the line managers as employees
contacted HR directly bypassing them. This was addressed by educating the line managers about the BP function
Productivity

Engagement

and keeping them abreast of the employee requests and also obtaining their contribution in decision making to
address employees matters. At present HR business partnering function is a fully fledged service across the
organization.

The strategic intent and focus of HR function is Harmony, Innovation, Productivity, Engagement and Resourcing or
"HIPER" as its propagated within the organization.
In order to facilitate the ambitious business plan of the organization, the division works towards developing and
promoting innovative human resource strategies, policies, processes and services to lead and influence the
creation and achievement of the organizations s strategic goals through its people. The present key initiative is
to facilitate comprehensive employee engagement and productivity, leadership development, succession planning
and continuous professional development of high performing staff and to optimize on the organizational knowledge
in hand for strategic knowledge management.

99

BEST PRACTICE 2
CAPABILITY BUILDING OF EMPLOYEES FOR BUSINESS CONTINUITY
SriLankan Airlines has a strong commitment to develop its employees. It offers training, mentoring, coaching and on
the job development to build key competencies in technical skills, leadership skills and soft skills. We believe that
increasing knowledge and improving skills are vital for the continued growth of the organization and also for
employee retention. It is also important to capture the tacit knowledge of the employees for strategic knowledge
management, for the organization to achieve competitive people advantage. Therefore continuous training and
development is provided for the employees.

100

A.

Introduction of in house Knowledge management (KM) portal- yoULink

SriLankan Airlines believes that knowledge is power and it will definitely help the organization to achieve its
competitive edge. Airline sector is a unique industry and the experience that the employees gather is very
much important for the organization to sustain in the competitive industry and thrive. Thus an in-house
knowledge portal was created to provide a platform for both senior and staff at grass- root level to share their
experience and expertise in a single forum. The tacit knowledge stored in this knowledge repository was used
for the posterity to follow.
Through the use of the Knowledge Management system the employees now can share their explicit and tacit
knowledge in the form of articles, presentations, pictures, video clips and any other form of presentation of
information which can be shared by other colleagues in the organization. The information which would have
been lost to the organization otherwise with the exit of the employees is encouraged to be shared and
retained through this portal. This is enabled to create a social and professional network within the organization
resulting in a knowledge repository. Further in the Knowledge Management portal, Knowledge Banks for each
professional group have been created such as Engineering, Cabin Crew, HR, Commercial, Flight crew and IT,
where the employees can share their operational and non-operational experience with their colleagues.
Knowledge sharing through the KM portal was introduced gradually as the KM team quite understood the
inhibition the employees will have at the initial stages. Therefore the initial focus was to increase the user
engagement level of employees with the KM portal. Hence several competitions were launched incorporating
the fun element to it. Elegantly dressed campaign and blogging competition were few, which became popular
amongst the employees. The active involvement of the senior management team also helped immensely to
inculcate a knowledge sharing culture in the organization.

B.

Succession planning for talent pipeline

As SriLankan airlines identifies people as the key for archiving organizational success, greater emphasis is
taken on developing contingent plan to keep the organization well prepared for sudden attrition that may
happen and to reduce the impact of losing key employees to a greater extent. Here, at the organization,
planning of talent management is not limited only for the key senior management positions but across all
levels of the organization.
In line with the business plan, strategically important key positions were identified across the organization
based on an established policy. Next the talent pipeline for those positions were looked at for a span of 5
years and based on present levels of performance complimented by assessment centers, a pool of
successors were identified to be developed. Three such batches have been identified so far and are being
groomed to take up the challenges of the next level in their career paths.
In helping them to reach their full potential, the programme facilitates knowledge sharing sessions lead by
renowned personnel of top organizations, guest lectures and pioneers of the airline industry. The successors
are also assigned with mentors who will guide them through. The organization believes that when employees
are given a growth opportunity and a well- defined road map of their career, it will serve them as a motivation
factor to perform even better.
This model facilitates the larger organizational policy of filling 80% of managerial vacancies with home grown
talent thus saving a considerable amount of time and cost for the organization.

C.
Communiques sent on yoULink to get employees connected with the
knowledge portal

101

SriLankan Stars -Top Rankers, performance development programme

With the view of filtering down employee development to all levels of employees within the organization
ensuring development of capability in all such levels, an employee performance development programme was
created together with a state University (Colombo University). Top ranking employees identified through the
performance evaluation system of the organization go through the programme which is run through a period
of 3 months. This would encourage and motivate individual performance levels and high performance would
contribute towards driving their teams across customer service and operational departments, promoting the
performance driven/ customer service culture across all levels in the organization.

102

A.

Introduction of in house Knowledge management (KM) portal- yoULink

SriLankan Airlines believes that knowledge is power and it will definitely help the organization to achieve its
competitive edge. Airline sector is a unique industry and the experience that the employees gather is very
much important for the organization to sustain in the competitive industry and thrive. Thus an in-house
knowledge portal was created to provide a platform for both senior and staff at grass- root level to share their
experience and expertise in a single forum. The tacit knowledge stored in this knowledge repository was used
for the posterity to follow.
Through the use of the Knowledge Management system the employees now can share their explicit and tacit
knowledge in the form of articles, presentations, pictures, video clips and any other form of presentation of
information which can be shared by other colleagues in the organization. The information which would have
been lost to the organization otherwise with the exit of the employees is encouraged to be shared and
retained through this portal. This is enabled to create a social and professional network within the organization
resulting in a knowledge repository. Further in the Knowledge Management portal, Knowledge Banks for each
professional group have been created such as Engineering, Cabin Crew, HR, Commercial, Flight crew and IT,
where the employees can share their operational and non-operational experience with their colleagues.
Knowledge sharing through the KM portal was introduced gradually as the KM team quite understood the
inhibition the employees will have at the initial stages. Therefore the initial focus was to increase the user
engagement level of employees with the KM portal. Hence several competitions were launched incorporating
the fun element to it. Elegantly dressed campaign and blogging competition were few, which became popular
amongst the employees. The active involvement of the senior management team also helped immensely to
inculcate a knowledge sharing culture in the organization.

B.

Succession planning for talent pipeline

As SriLankan airlines identifies people as the key for archiving organizational success, greater emphasis is
taken on developing contingent plan to keep the organization well prepared for sudden attrition that may
happen and to reduce the impact of losing key employees to a greater extent. Here, at the organization,
planning of talent management is not limited only for the key senior management positions but across all
levels of the organization.
In line with the business plan, strategically important key positions were identified across the organization
based on an established policy. Next the talent pipeline for those positions were looked at for a span of 5
years and based on present levels of performance complimented by assessment centers, a pool of
successors were identified to be developed. Three such batches have been identified so far and are being
groomed to take up the challenges of the next level in their career paths.
In helping them to reach their full potential, the programme facilitates knowledge sharing sessions lead by
renowned personnel of top organizations, guest lectures and pioneers of the airline industry. The successors
are also assigned with mentors who will guide them through. The organization believes that when employees
are given a growth opportunity and a well- defined road map of their career, it will serve them as a motivation
factor to perform even better.
This model facilitates the larger organizational policy of filling 80% of managerial vacancies with home grown
talent thus saving a considerable amount of time and cost for the organization.

C.
Communiques sent on yoULink to get employees connected with the
knowledge portal

101

SriLankan Stars -Top Rankers, performance development programme

With the view of filtering down employee development to all levels of employees within the organization
ensuring development of capability in all such levels, an employee performance development programme was
created together with a state University (Colombo University). Top ranking employees identified through the
performance evaluation system of the organization go through the programme which is run through a period
of 3 months. This would encourage and motivate individual performance levels and high performance would
contribute towards driving their teams across customer service and operational departments, promoting the
performance driven/ customer service culture across all levels in the organization.

102

D.

Continuous professional development programme

B.

The organization has also initiated a dynamic venture for harnessing the potential and talents of their
employees, by proposing to fund their post graduate/ higher education under the Airlines Continuous
Professional Development Programme.

Launch of VERSO Talent show

Re-invent yourself and reinvent the company - slogan of VERSO.
SriLankan Airlines is in the odyssey of turning around the organization for profitability. VERSO stands as a
timely employee engagement initiative that inspires the employees to be the change agents of success. The
project aims to boost the employee morale and channelize the creative energy that exists within the
employees to propel the Airlines way forward. The finalists were identified as the agents of change that would
inspire the workforce towards fuelling the Airlines turnaround efforts. VERSO has brought employee
engagement to a greater highest whilst creating a platform where our employees can shine and ignite the
sparks of creativity that reside within them for the betterment of the organization.

The objectives of the programme is aimed at developing a motivated and highly skilled professional
workforce, whereby the organization values its employees and their expertise/ talent and understands the
impact they have in achieving strategic objectives and contributing to continued success, growth and
self-sustenance of the organization.

BEST PRACTICE 3
ENGAGING OUR WORKFORCE TO ENHANCE PRODUCTIVITY AND THEREBY
OPTIMIZING CADRE
SriLankan Airlines aims to maintain the status as an employer of choice, creating an inclusive and engaging
workplace for all the employees, whilst maintaining their engagement level in an optimum state. An engaged
workforce helps to maiximise the organization performance thus the organization encourages the involvement of
employees in decision making to create trust and ownership for the organization.

A.

Red to Black campaign

With the aim of turning SriLankan Airlines into a profit making venture and optimizing on employee
engagement, the HR division launched an organization-wide interactive campaign titled, Red to Black where
the senior management of the Airline has invited the Airlines employees to share their innovative ideas and
thoughts on initiatives that can be taken to reduce losses and optimise cost as the Airline seeks to make
progressive steps towards profitability. The Campaign was initiated to foster closer relationship with the
employees and make a collective effort to drive the Organization towards its nancial targets. Red to Black
Campaign has taken employee engagement levels to a greater heights than before.

Communique sent to get employees engaged in Red to Black

C.

Introducing We listen campaigns to maintain industrial harmony

At SriLankan airlines, 90% of the workforce are unionized. Therefore, maintaining industrial harmony with the
unions is crucial for smooth flow of operations. The aim of we listen sessions are to get employee groups
engaged to obtain constructive feedback to enhance productivity and profitability, eliminate waste and also
to improve HR service delivery towards further strengthening of industrial relations, thereby achieving
organizational goals.

SUCCESS METRICS/ACHIEVEMENTS:
The unique initiatives launched by HR under the pillars of HR strategy have ensued to optimize human resources
whilst driving innovation, creativity and employee engagement. It has helped the organization to withstand the
challenges that it has encountered during the turbulent times and to achieve organizations strategic goals through
its people.

Highlights
10% increase in revenue compared to 2014 to 2015 nancial year
2% Growth in customer satisfaction score and maintaining it above 75%
Maintaining attrition rate below the industry benchmark
Zero man-days lost on account of industrial relations on a highly unionized workforce

103

104

D.

Continuous professional development programme

B.

The organization has also initiated a dynamic venture for harnessing the potential and talents of their
employees, by proposing to fund their post graduate/ higher education under the Airlines Continuous
Professional Development Programme.

Launch of VERSO Talent show

Re-invent yourself and reinvent the company - slogan of VERSO.
SriLankan Airlines is in the odyssey of turning around the organization for profitability. VERSO stands as a
timely employee engagement initiative that inspires the employees to be the change agents of success. The
project aims to boost the employee morale and channelize the creative energy that exists within the
employees to propel the Airlines way forward. The finalists were identified as the agents of change that would
inspire the workforce towards fuelling the Airlines turnaround efforts. VERSO has brought employee
engagement to a greater highest whilst creating a platform where our employees can shine and ignite the
sparks of creativity that reside within them for the betterment of the organization.

The objectives of the programme is aimed at developing a motivated and highly skilled professional
workforce, whereby the organization values its employees and their expertise/ talent and understands the
impact they have in achieving strategic objectives and contributing to continued success, growth and
self-sustenance of the organization.

BEST PRACTICE 3
ENGAGING OUR WORKFORCE TO ENHANCE PRODUCTIVITY AND THEREBY
OPTIMIZING CADRE
SriLankan Airlines aims to maintain the status as an employer of choice, creating an inclusive and engaging
workplace for all the employees, whilst maintaining their engagement level in an optimum state. An engaged
workforce helps to maiximise the organization performance thus the organization encourages the involvement of
employees in decision making to create trust and ownership for the organization.

A.

Red to Black campaign

With the aim of turning SriLankan Airlines into a profit making venture and optimizing on employee
engagement, the HR division launched an organization-wide interactive campaign titled, Red to Black where
the senior management of the Airline has invited the Airlines employees to share their innovative ideas and
thoughts on initiatives that can be taken to reduce losses and optimise cost as the Airline seeks to make
progressive steps towards profitability. The Campaign was initiated to foster closer relationship with the
employees and make a collective effort to drive the Organization towards its nancial targets. Red to Black
Campaign has taken employee engagement levels to a greater heights than before.

Communique sent to get employees engaged in Red to Black

C.

Introducing We listen campaigns to maintain industrial harmony

At SriLankan airlines, 90% of the workforce are unionized. Therefore, maintaining industrial harmony with the
unions is crucial for smooth flow of operations. The aim of we listen sessions are to get employee groups
engaged to obtain constructive feedback to enhance productivity and profitability, eliminate waste and also
to improve HR service delivery towards further strengthening of industrial relations, thereby achieving
organizational goals.

SUCCESS METRICS/ACHIEVEMENTS:
The unique initiatives launched by HR under the pillars of HR strategy have ensued to optimize human resources
whilst driving innovation, creativity and employee engagement. It has helped the organization to withstand the
challenges that it has encountered during the turbulent times and to achieve organizations strategic goals through
its people.

Highlights
10% increase in revenue compared to 2014 to 2015 nancial year
2% Growth in customer satisfaction score and maintaining it above 75%
Maintaining attrition rate below the industry benchmark
Zero man-days lost on account of industrial relations on a highly unionized workforce

103

104

 Maintaining employee cost per available seat kilometer below industry benchmark
Creation of Knowledge repository through the in house knowledge portal for strategic knowledge
management

Organizational capability building through development and empowerment of skills and

abilities of functional and middle management

80% of management vacancies lled through home grown talent

A talent plan and pool of leadership and potential successors pipeline for business
continuity

Awards & Accolades for the organization (2014-2015)

Superior Achievement in Passenger Service Award ( Asia Pacic Region ) 2015 at Airline
Passenger Experience Association (APEX)

Objective performance management system couple to a performance related reward

system to enhance performance & productivity
Culture building for greater engagement & commitment

Best Full Service Airline from Central & South Asia at the Future Travel Experience Asia Awards
2015
Human Resources (2014-2015) Best HR Strategy in line with Business Strategy Award at Asias
Best Employer Brand Award 2014
SLITAD People Development Award 2014 & 2015 Gold Winner
National Human Resources award 2014 open category - Silver
Excellence in Human Resource South Asia ( excluding India) Society of Human Resources
Management ( SHRM) HR Awards 2015

WAY AHEAD
The Human Resources Management Mechanism of SriLankan Airlines is a robust and continuously evolving
process that strives to add value to the organization whilst ensuring its business continuity.

With the objective of transforming SriLankan Airlines into a profit making entity, the Airline has developed an
ambition business plan which seeks to take the Airline towards a new era where the profitability reigns. Therefore
the HR Department has ventured to align its people strategy with the Airlines overall business strategy in order to
compliment the Airlines turnaround efforts. The awards and accolades received throughout this journey stand as a
testimony to the innovative, novel and results-driven Human Resource strategies which are implemented by the
Airline.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pradeepa Kekulawala is a senior human resource development professional in the corporate sector with over 25
years of managerial experience behind him. He has held the position of Head of Human Resources for many leading
companies. Under Pradeepas stewardship during the last 5 years, SriLankan Airlines has won many accolades,
nationally and internationally. He was also cited as one of the 100 most Talented Global HR Leaders by CHRO Asia
in 2015.

PE
R

E
R
U
t
LT
en
U
al
C
tT
gh
Ri

FO
R
Ri
M
gh
AN
Pl t W
C
ac o
E
e rk

Its the wisdom that resonates in the Airlines theme - Working together, Winning together that unifies the entire
workforce and rallies them together for the common purpose of taking the Airline towards profitability.

Conclusion

rs

TY
VI

TI
C

U
D

de
ea

tL
gh
Ri

O
PR

ap Rig
ab ht
SY
ilit
N
ie
ER
s
G
Y

REVP

VISION PROFIT 2018

105

106

 Maintaining employee cost per available seat kilometer below industry benchmark
Creation of Knowledge repository through the in house knowledge portal for strategic knowledge
management

Organizational capability building through development and empowerment of skills and

abilities of functional and middle management

80% of management vacancies lled through home grown talent

A talent plan and pool of leadership and potential successors pipeline for business
continuity

Awards & Accolades for the organization (2014-2015)

Superior Achievement in Passenger Service Award ( Asia Pacic Region ) 2015 at Airline
Passenger Experience Association (APEX)

Objective performance management system couple to a performance related reward

system to enhance performance & productivity
Culture building for greater engagement & commitment

Best Full Service Airline from Central & South Asia at the Future Travel Experience Asia Awards
2015
Human Resources (2014-2015) Best HR Strategy in line with Business Strategy Award at Asias
Best Employer Brand Award 2014
SLITAD People Development Award 2014 & 2015 Gold Winner
National Human Resources award 2014 open category - Silver
Excellence in Human Resource South Asia ( excluding India) Society of Human Resources
Management ( SHRM) HR Awards 2015

WAY AHEAD
The Human Resources Management Mechanism of SriLankan Airlines is a robust and continuously evolving
process that strives to add value to the organization whilst ensuring its business continuity.

With the objective of transforming SriLankan Airlines into a profit making entity, the Airline has developed an
ambition business plan which seeks to take the Airline towards a new era where the profitability reigns. Therefore
the HR Department has ventured to align its people strategy with the Airlines overall business strategy in order to
compliment the Airlines turnaround efforts. The awards and accolades received throughout this journey stand as a
testimony to the innovative, novel and results-driven Human Resource strategies which are implemented by the
Airline.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pradeepa Kekulawala is a senior human resource development professional in the corporate sector with over 25
years of managerial experience behind him. He has held the position of Head of Human Resources for many leading
companies. Under Pradeepas stewardship during the last 5 years, SriLankan Airlines has won many accolades,
nationally and internationally. He was also cited as one of the 100 most Talented Global HR Leaders by CHRO Asia
in 2015.

PE
R

E
R
U
t
LT
en
U
al
C
tT
gh
Ri

FO
R
Ri
M
gh
AN
Pl t W
C
ac o
E
e rk

Its the wisdom that resonates in the Airlines theme - Working together, Winning together that unifies the entire
workforce and rallies them together for the common purpose of taking the Airline towards profitability.

Conclusion

rs

TY
VI

TI
C

U
D

de
ea

tL
gh
Ri

O
PR

ap Rig
ab ht
SY
ilit
N
ie
ER
s
G
Y

REVP

VISION PROFIT 2018

105

106

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

THE CASE FOR AGILITY IN MANAGEMENT EDUCATION
The current management education system in the country, despite several efforts, is still deeply rooted in
academia with little practical business exposure. What further exacerbates this issue is the lack of recurring
change in curriculums to cater to requirements of Indian organizations at the cusp of their foray into the
international market and global firms seeking go the Glocal way in India. Compounding the challenge, is the
fact that a multitude of students choose to opt for a management education right off the bat of graduation,
with little to no job experience, something that is mandatory in most western countries.
Against the backdrop of a vibrant and vigorous landscape, there has been an increasing recognition of the
criticality of managing human resources in many Indian business sector organizations. Specialists are in
demand today for deploying their skills to hire, manage and retain talent in these volatile times of downturn
and economic growth
Having identified the opportunity of making a significant impact on this front, the Behavioral Sciences team
at NMIMS designed and launched a full time two-year MBA Program specializing in Human Resources in the
year 2010.

ACADEMIC INSTITUTE OF THE YEAR

(FOR CONTRIBUTION IN THE FIELD OF HR)

Achieving Agility Through Collaboration

If nothing ever changed, thered be no butterflies.
-Anonymous

STAYING AHEAD OF THE

CURVE THROUGH AGILITY
DRIVEN BY COLLABORATION

SBM, NMIMS is a firm believer that to maintain its position as one of the pioneers in quality education, it
needs to constantly evolve and grow. The institution hence works comprehensively towards identifying the
pulse points and working towards constant improvement and innovation.
Agility can only be achieved by adopting an open system approach. This approach allows for insights to be
drawn from key stakeholders that an entity seeks to serve via persistent collaboration and communication. In
case of the MBA- HR Program, the program content mix, design and delivery mechanisms and pedagogical
tools are shaped and heavily influenced by inputs received from the industry at the levels of:

- BY PROF SEEMA RAWAT

Academia
Continuous Innovation in Pedagogy & Novel Content
Corporate Connect

Award Partner

What constitutes this Agility?

Fit no stereotypes. Don't chase the latest management fads. The situation
dictates which approach best accomplishes the team's mission.
-Colin Powell

108

CASE STUDIES 2015-16

THE CASE FOR AGILITY IN MANAGEMENT EDUCATION
The current management education system in the country, despite several efforts, is still deeply rooted in
academia with little practical business exposure. What further exacerbates this issue is the lack of recurring
change in curriculums to cater to requirements of Indian organizations at the cusp of their foray into the
international market and global firms seeking go the Glocal way in India. Compounding the challenge, is the
fact that a multitude of students choose to opt for a management education right off the bat of graduation,
with little to no job experience, something that is mandatory in most western countries.
Against the backdrop of a vibrant and vigorous landscape, there has been an increasing recognition of the
criticality of managing human resources in many Indian business sector organizations. Specialists are in
demand today for deploying their skills to hire, manage and retain talent in these volatile times of downturn
and economic growth
Having identified the opportunity of making a significant impact on this front, the Behavioral Sciences team
at NMIMS designed and launched a full time two-year MBA Program specializing in Human Resources in the
year 2010.

ACADEMIC INSTITUTE OF THE YEAR

(FOR CONTRIBUTION IN THE FIELD OF HR)

Achieving Agility Through Collaboration

If nothing ever changed, thered be no butterflies.
-Anonymous

STAYING AHEAD OF THE

CURVE THROUGH AGILITY
DRIVEN BY COLLABORATION

SBM, NMIMS is a firm believer that to maintain its position as one of the pioneers in quality education, it
needs to constantly evolve and grow. The institution hence works comprehensively towards identifying the
pulse points and working towards constant improvement and innovation.
Agility can only be achieved by adopting an open system approach. This approach allows for insights to be
drawn from key stakeholders that an entity seeks to serve via persistent collaboration and communication. In
case of the MBA- HR Program, the program content mix, design and delivery mechanisms and pedagogical
tools are shaped and heavily influenced by inputs received from the industry at the levels of:

- BY PROF SEEMA RAWAT

Academia
Continuous Innovation in Pedagogy & Novel Content
Corporate Connect

Award Partner

What constitutes this Agility?

Fit no stereotypes. Don't chase the latest management fads. The situation
dictates which approach best accomplishes the team's mission.
-Colin Powell

108

What Makes us Agile

1. A compulsory minimum of 20% changes

made annually in existing session plans
of courses.
2. These are both in content and pedagogy
which is case based and experiential in
approach.
3. Twele compulsory and evaluative
workshops conducted by industry
experts.

1. Board of Studies at Area Level (HR & BS)

comprised of Industry experts evaluating
courses and suggesting content changes
2. Board of Studies at Program Level (MBA
HR) comprised of Industry experts
ginging directions to new areas and
disciplines HR.
3. Acaemic council compresed of Industry
and Academic experts, deliberating
changes and gibing approvals

1. Domain/Indusry specific workshops

led by Companies on a key HR
process or practices.
2. Industry Visits (Both Plant and
Corporate Offices).
3. Corporate Projects concurrent to the
academic learning throughout the year.
4. 20% of curriculum in each course is
delivered by the Industry Guests.

HOW DOES MBA-HR PROGRAM ACHIEVE ITS OBJECTIVE?

The MBA (HR) program has as its primary objective the development of critical skills, knowledge and a holistic
sensitive HR Professional who is at ease with both core business and people related challenges. Further, to
make the program a globally recognized one, NMIMS ensure that its curriculum is aligned with SHRM, the
world's largest HR association and also partnered with SHRM for student mentorship and interfacing with the
HR Professionals Community.
The program delivered by experienced faculty and HR practitioners, provides rigorous inputs on a selection
of specially designed contemporary courses to develop the required HR specialist competencies and the
right attitude for today's business environment.
Every trimester includes Sector Specific inputs in the form of theme based guest sessions, consulting
assignments and projects, thus providing an insight into the people management challenges and practices
relevant to each sector.
Strategically located in Indias maximum city, the program has access to the large canvas of businesses that
bustle and thrive in Mumbai. This gives the program an ample industry interface and opportunities to learn
first-hand from renowned HR gurus. This has a two-fold benefit. Firstly, the course is that much more
responsive via continual and reliable feedback. Secondly, the students learn vicariously from the diverse
experiences of professionals and are thus able to develop well-rounded perspectives.
The program stresses on the development of the future HR specialists' personal and social competencies to
provide them with a competitive edge.
The participants are taken through 39 courses and 6 compulsory workshops in addition to sector specific
studies in every trimester. Participants are also exposed to guest sessions from industry, additional skill
building workshops as well as group and individual projects to enhance learning and development.

109

The acceptance and demand for the program has grown leaps and bounds since 2010. MBA-HR at NMIMS
saw a rise of 250+ applicants year-on-year registering for the program.

Success in management requires learning as fast as the world is changing.

-Warren Bennis
As underlined before, improvisation is intrinsic to this program, and efforts are made continuously to make the
curriculum relevant to the present market. For instance, this academic year, the course for Industrial Relations
was brought forward from the second year to the first year. The underlying objective was for the students to
develop a deeper understanding of one of the most pressing issues in India today, and to develop
professionals that are knowledgeable yet objective.

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN ACADEMIA, CORPORATES AND THE LARGER HR

FRATERNITY
1. Industry Partnership
NMIMS MBA HR Program has partnered with Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) for
curriculum alignment as well as student development. The Program curriculum is thus accredited by SHRM
USA and a number of initiatives every year for the MBA HR students are supported by SHRM, leading to a
strong differential component. The widely recognized SHRM knowledge portal and resources are available to
the MBA HR students, thus guiding them through their projects, assignments and internships. Every year the
students use this avenue to learn not only about the HR Practices in India but also the raging issues
worldwide. Students are also encouraged to attend the seminars and forums conducted by SHRM, and by
students reviews it seems that they cannot get enough of these industry interactions.
The institute has also forged ties with the NHRD and CII through the medium of student forums and events.
It continues to build a strong connect with its HR Alumni and Heads of HR functions in corporates through
connect meets and seminars.
Industry led modules, co-conceived with School of Business faculty and the participating organization and
delivered by the Leaders in the organization, is a new initiative launched in the current academic year. The
objective is to partner with the Industry in the development of the future HR professional and is achieved
through both classroom interaction and live projects within the participating organisation.

2. The Annual HR Conclave

The Annual HR Conclave is an event conducted every year as a platform to enhance institute industry
collaboration. This is a student driven event and sees participation from the industry, alumni, the MBA HR
student and faculty body as well as social enterprises thus contributing to the building of a better HR
ecosystem. Key HR thought leaders from the industry support the event with their presence-giving students
the opportunity for meaningful interaction.
These professional stalwarts help illuminate industry perspective and requirement and also share their own
experiences as managers which makes the event all the more stimulating and relatable for the students.
This year the HR Conclave received great acclaim and was graced by some of the most erudite and insightful
industry leaders. The theme itself was praised for being compelling; Dilemmas that are faced by an HR
Manager.

110

What Makes us Agile

1. A compulsory minimum of 20% changes

made annually in existing session plans
of courses.
2. These are both in content and pedagogy
which is case based and experiential in
approach.
3. Twele compulsory and evaluative
workshops conducted by industry
experts.

1. Board of Studies at Area Level (HR & BS)

comprised of Industry experts evaluating
courses and suggesting content changes
2. Board of Studies at Program Level (MBA
HR) comprised of Industry experts
ginging directions to new areas and
disciplines HR.
3. Acaemic council compresed of Industry
and Academic experts, deliberating
changes and gibing approvals

1. Domain/Indusry specific workshops

led by Companies on a key HR
process or practices.
2. Industry Visits (Both Plant and
Corporate Offices).
3. Corporate Projects concurrent to the
academic learning throughout the year.
4. 20% of curriculum in each course is
delivered by the Industry Guests.

HOW DOES MBA-HR PROGRAM ACHIEVE ITS OBJECTIVE?

The MBA (HR) program has as its primary objective the development of critical skills, knowledge and a holistic
sensitive HR Professional who is at ease with both core business and people related challenges. Further, to
make the program a globally recognized one, NMIMS ensure that its curriculum is aligned with SHRM, the
world's largest HR association and also partnered with SHRM for student mentorship and interfacing with the
HR Professionals Community.
The program delivered by experienced faculty and HR practitioners, provides rigorous inputs on a selection
of specially designed contemporary courses to develop the required HR specialist competencies and the
right attitude for today's business environment.
Every trimester includes Sector Specific inputs in the form of theme based guest sessions, consulting
assignments and projects, thus providing an insight into the people management challenges and practices
relevant to each sector.
Strategically located in Indias maximum city, the program has access to the large canvas of businesses that
bustle and thrive in Mumbai. This gives the program an ample industry interface and opportunities to learn
first-hand from renowned HR gurus. This has a two-fold benefit. Firstly, the course is that much more
responsive via continual and reliable feedback. Secondly, the students learn vicariously from the diverse
experiences of professionals and are thus able to develop well-rounded perspectives.
The program stresses on the development of the future HR specialists' personal and social competencies to
provide them with a competitive edge.
The participants are taken through 39 courses and 6 compulsory workshops in addition to sector specific
studies in every trimester. Participants are also exposed to guest sessions from industry, additional skill
building workshops as well as group and individual projects to enhance learning and development.

109

The acceptance and demand for the program has grown leaps and bounds since 2010. MBA-HR at NMIMS
saw a rise of 250+ applicants year-on-year registering for the program.

Success in management requires learning as fast as the world is changing.

-Warren Bennis
As underlined before, improvisation is intrinsic to this program, and efforts are made continuously to make the
curriculum relevant to the present market. For instance, this academic year, the course for Industrial Relations
was brought forward from the second year to the first year. The underlying objective was for the students to
develop a deeper understanding of one of the most pressing issues in India today, and to develop
professionals that are knowledgeable yet objective.

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN ACADEMIA, CORPORATES AND THE LARGER HR

FRATERNITY
1. Industry Partnership
NMIMS MBA HR Program has partnered with Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) for
curriculum alignment as well as student development. The Program curriculum is thus accredited by SHRM
USA and a number of initiatives every year for the MBA HR students are supported by SHRM, leading to a
strong differential component. The widely recognized SHRM knowledge portal and resources are available to
the MBA HR students, thus guiding them through their projects, assignments and internships. Every year the
students use this avenue to learn not only about the HR Practices in India but also the raging issues
worldwide. Students are also encouraged to attend the seminars and forums conducted by SHRM, and by
students reviews it seems that they cannot get enough of these industry interactions.
The institute has also forged ties with the NHRD and CII through the medium of student forums and events.
It continues to build a strong connect with its HR Alumni and Heads of HR functions in corporates through
connect meets and seminars.
Industry led modules, co-conceived with School of Business faculty and the participating organization and
delivered by the Leaders in the organization, is a new initiative launched in the current academic year. The
objective is to partner with the Industry in the development of the future HR professional and is achieved
through both classroom interaction and live projects within the participating organisation.

2. The Annual HR Conclave

The Annual HR Conclave is an event conducted every year as a platform to enhance institute industry
collaboration. This is a student driven event and sees participation from the industry, alumni, the MBA HR
student and faculty body as well as social enterprises thus contributing to the building of a better HR
ecosystem. Key HR thought leaders from the industry support the event with their presence-giving students
the opportunity for meaningful interaction.
These professional stalwarts help illuminate industry perspective and requirement and also share their own
experiences as managers which makes the event all the more stimulating and relatable for the students.
This year the HR Conclave received great acclaim and was graced by some of the most erudite and insightful
industry leaders. The theme itself was praised for being compelling; Dilemmas that are faced by an HR
Manager.

110

3. Best Practices
Be it promoting the importance of Yoga by organizing an essay writing competition or helping an NGO by
arranging a drive, in the MBA-HR Program learning is multi-dimensional to say the least. The focus is not only
on academic and professional excellence, but also on honing practical and worldly skills, augmenting varied
perceptions and inspiring social sensibilities and sensitivities.
The Integration Challenge that takes place every year exposes the students to real-time business problems.
This requires them to collaborate extensively with the MBA-Core students and put on their thinking caps to
come up with an innovative solution to the proposed problem at hand. This helps them learn not only to work
in tandem with the students of other specializations but also something beyond the scope of HR.
The various corporate projects received from organizations of repute, help the students learn more about the
current scenario in HR and the practical application of their theoretical knowledge.
The MBA-HR Program endorses the bottom-up approach, and hence encourages open and earnest
communication. To this end, the feedback system serves as a means by which students can share their views
openly and unhesitatingly. This feedback is then applied towards improving the course and its delivery.

4. Student Body (Human Resource)

At the student level, the HR Cell Hruday hosts various events and competitions to reach out to HR student
communities in other Management Institutes and foster interest and engagement via relevant themes and
topics. The cell epitomizes learning through doing, with challenging events and significant industry
discourses. Their activities have garnered the appreciation and support from other institutes, who have
praised the creativity of Hruday for organizing exciting, creative and fun-filled initiatives.

5. Faculty-Industry Ties
Faculty in the area of HR have partnered with ISABS, ISTD, IMCI, BCCI (HR Cell) and various trainer and
consultant forums to promote the HR function, its knowledge and practices. The Forum for Emotional
Intelligence engaged in the promotion of awareness of Emotional Intelligence skills is an NMIMS faculty led
body.

The curriculum comprises of Innovative research based Courses and Workshops with embedded
pedagogical innovations!
A Personal Growth Lab session is conducted for the rst year students, aimed at enabling students to both
realize and achieve their potentials. It helps them
enhance their understanding of themselves
understand group dynamics and its ramifications on performance
get a taste of the practical application of the various OB Models
A full credit course on Emotional Intelligence designed and delivered by internal faculty specially trained in
this area to respond to the program objective of creating emotionally mature and holistic HR professionals.
The course deploys unusual pedagogical tools such as Music and Art to enable self-expression
capabilities of students. The Learning Conference technique is heavily relied on.
A half credit course on HR metrics of specically designed classroom activities to enable students to
understand the concept and application areas of HR Metrics.
Half credit course on Learning Organizations and Knowledge Management Systems was designed and
offered by very senior industry professionals working in the learning and development space with the
objective of equipping students with an understanding of creating learning organizations and the
management of knowledge systems in todays knowledge based economies.
A half credit course on Appreciative Inquiry that uses Anton Chekovs work to highlight the Social
Constructivist approach where groups of students present their interpretation of the concluding segments
of the play followed by the interpretations of other groups and an extraction of the underlying philosophy
at work. The Appreciative Inquiry course familiarizes students with the positive organizational scholarship
approach in managing change.

Increase in Seats for MBA-HR

A constant rise in the demand for the seats at the MBA-HR Program is seen over the years. Even the industry
understands the role of HR as a Strategic Partner. The widespread knowledge deficit and the current need of
good HR Managers, is the gap that the institute aims to fill.
Also at NMIMS, the requirements for both Corporate HR as well as Industrial Relations are fulfilled, making
the students fit to take up any role in the field of HR once they are in the industry.

What Makes us Agile

MBA-HR Seats
Industry
Partnership

Annual HR
Conclave

Best
Practices

Student
Body

FacultyIndustry Ties

MBA-HR Seats
80

Building future HR Competencies:

67

60

58

40

It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those
who can best manage change.
-Leon C. Megginson

32
20
0
2013-15

111

2014-16

2015-17

112

3. Best Practices
Be it promoting the importance of Yoga by organizing an essay writing competition or helping an NGO by
arranging a drive, in the MBA-HR Program learning is multi-dimensional to say the least. The focus is not only
on academic and professional excellence, but also on honing practical and worldly skills, augmenting varied
perceptions and inspiring social sensibilities and sensitivities.
The Integration Challenge that takes place every year exposes the students to real-time business problems.
This requires them to collaborate extensively with the MBA-Core students and put on their thinking caps to
come up with an innovative solution to the proposed problem at hand. This helps them learn not only to work
in tandem with the students of other specializations but also something beyond the scope of HR.
The various corporate projects received from organizations of repute, help the students learn more about the
current scenario in HR and the practical application of their theoretical knowledge.
The MBA-HR Program endorses the bottom-up approach, and hence encourages open and earnest
communication. To this end, the feedback system serves as a means by which students can share their views
openly and unhesitatingly. This feedback is then applied towards improving the course and its delivery.

4. Student Body (Human Resource)

At the student level, the HR Cell Hruday hosts various events and competitions to reach out to HR student
communities in other Management Institutes and foster interest and engagement via relevant themes and
topics. The cell epitomizes learning through doing, with challenging events and significant industry
discourses. Their activities have garnered the appreciation and support from other institutes, who have
praised the creativity of Hruday for organizing exciting, creative and fun-filled initiatives.

5. Faculty-Industry Ties
Faculty in the area of HR have partnered with ISABS, ISTD, IMCI, BCCI (HR Cell) and various trainer and
consultant forums to promote the HR function, its knowledge and practices. The Forum for Emotional
Intelligence engaged in the promotion of awareness of Emotional Intelligence skills is an NMIMS faculty led
body.

The curriculum comprises of Innovative research based Courses and Workshops with embedded
pedagogical innovations!
A Personal Growth Lab session is conducted for the rst year students, aimed at enabling students to both
realize and achieve their potentials. It helps them
enhance their understanding of themselves
understand group dynamics and its ramifications on performance
get a taste of the practical application of the various OB Models
A full credit course on Emotional Intelligence designed and delivered by internal faculty specially trained in
this area to respond to the program objective of creating emotionally mature and holistic HR professionals.
The course deploys unusual pedagogical tools such as Music and Art to enable self-expression
capabilities of students. The Learning Conference technique is heavily relied on.
A half credit course on HR metrics of specically designed classroom activities to enable students to
understand the concept and application areas of HR Metrics.
Half credit course on Learning Organizations and Knowledge Management Systems was designed and
offered by very senior industry professionals working in the learning and development space with the
objective of equipping students with an understanding of creating learning organizations and the
management of knowledge systems in todays knowledge based economies.
A half credit course on Appreciative Inquiry that uses Anton Chekovs work to highlight the Social
Constructivist approach where groups of students present their interpretation of the concluding segments
of the play followed by the interpretations of other groups and an extraction of the underlying philosophy
at work. The Appreciative Inquiry course familiarizes students with the positive organizational scholarship
approach in managing change.

Increase in Seats for MBA-HR

A constant rise in the demand for the seats at the MBA-HR Program is seen over the years. Even the industry
understands the role of HR as a Strategic Partner. The widespread knowledge deficit and the current need of
good HR Managers, is the gap that the institute aims to fill.
Also at NMIMS, the requirements for both Corporate HR as well as Industrial Relations are fulfilled, making
the students fit to take up any role in the field of HR once they are in the industry.

What Makes us Agile

MBA-HR Seats
Industry
Partnership

Annual HR
Conclave

Best
Practices

Student
Body

FacultyIndustry Ties

MBA-HR Seats
80

Building future HR Competencies:

67

60

58

40

It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those
who can best manage change.
-Leon C. Megginson

32
20
0
2013-15

111

2014-16

2015-17

112

Increase in Seats for MBA-HR

turbulent environment of Indian industry mandates constant introspection. The course will, thus, always work
towards delivering skilled, agile, and competent professionals that exemplify integrity and maturity.

To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream;
not only plan, but also believe.
-Anatole France, Works of Anatole France

The MBA HR program has won several laurels recently. Most notable are the Gold Winner for the category of
Curriculum and Pedagogical Innovations at the Indian Management Conclave 2014 held in New Delhi in
August 2014, as well as the Certificate of Special Recognition -Academic Institute of the Year for contribution
in the field of HR at the SHRM Annual Conference 2015. The School of Business has been ranked at 11th in
the Business Today B School Survey 2015.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Prof. Seema Rawat is the Chairperson MBA HR and faculty in the area of Human Resources & Behavioral Sciences.
She is a law graduate from Faculty of Law, Delhi University and an MBA from NMIMS and has previously worked
extensively in the Aviation Sector.
Prof. Seema wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Ms Gayle Miranda, a second year student of MBA HR and
Student Incharge- SHRM Relations, in writing this case study.

Other notable recognitions in recent past are:

NMIMS SBM ranked 12th Rank top 100 management schools & 5th place in top 10 Pvt B-schools in
Outlook Drshti BSchool survey 2014
11th rank over all : order of Merit top B School, Business Today MDRA Survey, 2014
9th rank top 25 B-schools, 3rd rank top 35 Pvt. Colleges, 2nd rank top 25 Pvt. Colleges in West Zone in
The Week Hansa Research B-School Survey 2014
NMIMS SBM awarded Best B-School Award All India, 2014 by Discovery Education Media Pvt. Ltd
Ranked 8th Best B-School (Over All among 150 Bschool) and 3rdBSchool West Zone by Nielsen Company
under Times B-School Survey 2014
Bloomberg TV B-School Excellence Awards for Outstanding B-School (West) 2012
Ranked 6th Best Business School, 2011 by Economic Times

FUTURE SCOPE
NMIMS Bengaluru has secured coveted International Accreditation for its management programs from the
Association of MBAs (AMBA) UK and joined a select group of 8 B-Schools in India and 210 across the world
and who have obtained the AMBA Accreditation.
SBM, NMIMS now intends to work towards fulfilling its goal of gaining an international accreditation program
in the coming academic year. It has also tied up with Leading Academic Institutions to promote exchange of
faculty and students. The work regarding criterion and regulations to be followed are already underway and
we believe that we are poised to scale greater heights in the future.

Conclusion
Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other
This quote is the very essence of the approach of the MBA-HR program. It finds complacency abhorrent, and is
always on the lookout for avenues of improvement. While it has achieved many milestones over the years, the

113

114

Increase in Seats for MBA-HR

turbulent environment of Indian industry mandates constant introspection. The course will, thus, always work
towards delivering skilled, agile, and competent professionals that exemplify integrity and maturity.

To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream;
not only plan, but also believe.
-Anatole France, Works of Anatole France

The MBA HR program has won several laurels recently. Most notable are the Gold Winner for the category of
Curriculum and Pedagogical Innovations at the Indian Management Conclave 2014 held in New Delhi in
August 2014, as well as the Certificate of Special Recognition -Academic Institute of the Year for contribution
in the field of HR at the SHRM Annual Conference 2015. The School of Business has been ranked at 11th in
the Business Today B School Survey 2015.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Prof. Seema Rawat is the Chairperson MBA HR and faculty in the area of Human Resources & Behavioral Sciences.
She is a law graduate from Faculty of Law, Delhi University and an MBA from NMIMS and has previously worked
extensively in the Aviation Sector.
Prof. Seema wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Ms Gayle Miranda, a second year student of MBA HR and
Student Incharge- SHRM Relations, in writing this case study.

Other notable recognitions in recent past are:

NMIMS SBM ranked 12th Rank top 100 management schools & 5th place in top 10 Pvt B-schools in
Outlook Drshti BSchool survey 2014
11th rank over all : order of Merit top B School, Business Today MDRA Survey, 2014
9th rank top 25 B-schools, 3rd rank top 35 Pvt. Colleges, 2nd rank top 25 Pvt. Colleges in West Zone in
The Week Hansa Research B-School Survey 2014
NMIMS SBM awarded Best B-School Award All India, 2014 by Discovery Education Media Pvt. Ltd
Ranked 8th Best B-School (Over All among 150 Bschool) and 3rdBSchool West Zone by Nielsen Company
under Times B-School Survey 2014
Bloomberg TV B-School Excellence Awards for Outstanding B-School (West) 2012
Ranked 6th Best Business School, 2011 by Economic Times

FUTURE SCOPE
NMIMS Bengaluru has secured coveted International Accreditation for its management programs from the
Association of MBAs (AMBA) UK and joined a select group of 8 B-Schools in India and 210 across the world
and who have obtained the AMBA Accreditation.
SBM, NMIMS now intends to work towards fulfilling its goal of gaining an international accreditation program
in the coming academic year. It has also tied up with Leading Academic Institutions to promote exchange of
faculty and students. The work regarding criterion and regulations to be followed are already underway and
we believe that we are poised to scale greater heights in the future.

Conclusion
Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other
This quote is the very essence of the approach of the MBA-HR program. It finds complacency abhorrent, and is
always on the lookout for avenues of improvement. While it has achieved many milestones over the years, the

113

114

About SHRM India

Founded in 1948, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world's largest HR
membership organization devoted to human resource management with more than 275,000 members in over
160 countries. The society is the leading provider for resources to solve the needs of HR professionals and
advance the professional practice of human resource management. SHRM has more than 575 affiliated
chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China, India and United Arab Emirates.
SHRM India provides a platform for thought leadership, sharing of best practices and professional networking
within the Indian and global HR communities in order to take the profession higher through continuous and

ABOUT
SHRM INDIA

collaborative learning. It is a one-stop shop and the go-to resource for solutions and services to handle all
people-management challenges.

SHRMs comprehensive HR Products & Service Portfolio includes:

MEMBERSHIP
SHRM CERTIfiCATION
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
ADVISORY SERVICES
CONFERENCES INTERNATIONAL AND INDIA
SHRM EDUCATION

For more information about SHRM products and Services,

please visit www.shrm.org/india or
reach out to us at shrm@shrmindia.org

115

116

About SHRM India

Founded in 1948, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world's largest
HR membership organization devoted to human resource management with more than 285,000 members in
over 165 countries. The society is the leading provider for resources to solve the needs of HR
professionals and advance the professional practice of human resource management. SHRM has more
than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China, India and United Arab
Emirates.
SHRM India provides a platform for thought leadership, sharing of best practices and professional networking

within the Indian and global HR communities in order to take the profession higher through continuous and

ABOUT
SHRM INDIA

collaborative learning. It is a one-stop shop and the go-to resource for solutions and services to handle all
people-management challenges.

SHRMs comprehensive HR Products & Service Portfolio includes:

MEMBERSHIP
SHRM CERTIFICATION
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
ADVISORY SERVICES
CONFERENCES INTERNATIONAL AND INDIA
SHRM EDUCATION

For more information about SHRM products and Services,

please visit www.shrm.org/india or
reach out to us at shrmindia@shrm.org

115

116

UPCOMING EVENTS

Membership
SHRM Membership
With more than 285,000 members globally, membership is truly a unique offering that provides rich
content through comprehensive online resources on both www.shrmindia.org and www.shrm.org.
This huge repository of articles, research papers, case studies & related material on every aspect of HR
within the Indian & global contexts constitutes the most current and comprehensive body of
knowledge in HR. Supported by a bank of over 50 SMEs and internal expertise, the SHRM India
Knowledge Center offers cutting-edge resources, across all the key and emerging HR disciplines. These
include thought leadership, advisory panels, tools & templates, virtual events, forum and research.

HR People & Strategy (HRPS)

Membership HRPS is a strategically focused, ground-breaking network of influential HR executives and
innovative HRM professionals representing the worlds most prominent organizations. HRPS is regarded by
many as the premier professional organization focused on the intersection of people and strategy. HRPS
members enjoy a myriad of benefits like leadership programs, current theory, research and practice in
strategic human resource management, an expanded network, members discounts and business book
summaries.

SHRM India HR Tech

Conference
April 20-21, 2016
Mumbai

SHRM Certifications

SHRM Annual Conference

& Exposition

As the leading advocate for HR professionals worldwide and providing HR research and education, SHRM
launched an unparalleled study to define not only the knowledge, but also the competencies required of
todays HR leaders. The result of this rigorous research was the SHRM HR Competency Model which forms
an important foundation for the new SHRM Certifications. The HR profession operates at the core of this
global economy, ensuring the alignment of organizational strategy with a high-performing workforce. The new
SHRM credentials, SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) and SHRM Senior Certified Professional
(SHRM-SCP) will address these new roles.
The new SHRM Certification recognizes that HR professionals are at the core of leading organizational
success:
It is built on one singular SHRM Body of Competency and Knowledge (SHRM BoCKTM designed to elevate
the HR profession around the world.
It tests the HR professionals competencythe ability to put that knowledge to work through critical
thinking and application.
It demonstrates that the HR professional is a technical expert and has mastered the application of HR
technical and behavioral competencies, through practice and experience, to drive business results.

Professional Development Programs

Professional Development Programs include customized learning frameworks and skill-building workshops,
with a focus on strengthening the core competencies of HR professionals. These include focused programs
in each of the HR sub-functions like Total Rewards, Staffing and Recruitment, Performance Management and
Business Alignment across all career levels.

117

June 19-22, 2016

Washington D.C.

SHRM India Annual Conference

& Exposition
September 21-22, 2016
New Delhi

118

UPCOMING EVENTS

Membership
SHRM Membership
With more than 280,000 members globally, membership is truly a unique offering that provides rich content
through comprehensive online resources on both www.shrmindia.org and www.shrm.org. This huge
repository of articles, research papers, case studies and related material on every aspect of HR within the
Indian and global contexts constitutes the most current and comprehensive body of knowledge in HR.
Supported by a bank of over 50 subject matter experts and internal expertise, the SHRM India Knowledge
Center offers cutting-edge resources, across all the key and emerging HR disciplines. These include thought
leadership, advisory panels, tools and templates, virtual events, forum and research.
HR People & Strategy (HRPS)
Membership HRPS is a strategically focused, ground-breaking network of influential HR executives and
innovative HRM professionals representing the worlds most prominent organizations. HRPS is regarded by
many as the premier professional organization focused on the intersection of people and strategy. HRPS
members enjoy a myriad of benefits like leadership programs, current theory, research and practice in
strategic human resource management, an expanded network, members discounts and business book
summaries.

SHRM India Annual Conference

& Exposition 2016
September 21-22, 2016
New Delhi

SHRM Certifications

SHRM Annual Conference

& Exposition

As the leading advocate for HR professionals worldwide and providing HR research and education, SHRM
launched an unparalleled study to define not only the knowledge, but also the competencies required of
todays HR leaders. The result of this rigorous research was the SHRM HR Competency Model which forms
an important foundation for the new SHRM Certifications. The HR profession operates at the core of this
global economy, ensuring the alignment of organizational strategy with a high-performing workforce. The new
SHRM credentials, SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) and SHRM Senior Certified Professional
(SHRM-SCP) will address these new roles.
The new SHRM Certification recognizes that HR professionals are at the core of leading organizational
success:
It is built on one singular SHRM Body of Competency and Knowledge (SHRM BoCKTM designed to elevate
the HR profession around the world.
It tests the HR professionals competencythe ability to put that knowledge to work through critical
thinking and application.
It demonstrates that the HR professional is a technical expert and has mastered the application of HR
technical and behavioral competencies, through practice and experience, to drive business results.

Professional Development Programs

June 19-22, 2016

Washington D.C.

SHRM HR Techology
Conference & Exposition 2017
April, 2017 | Mumbai

Professional Development Programs include customized learning frameworks and skill-building workshops,
with a focus on strengthening the core competencies of HR professionals. These include focused programs
in each of the HR sub-functions like Total Rewards, Staffing and Recruitment, Performance Management and
Business Alignment across all career levels.

117

118

PICTURE GALLERY

PICTURE GALLERY

SHRM INDIA
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
& EXPOSITION, 2015

3 EASY WAYS TO BECOME

A SHRM MEMBER
Call us at: 1800-103-2198 (TOLL FREE)
Email us at: shrmindia@shrm.org
Website: www.shrm.org/india/membership

Gurgaon
605, Tower B, Global Business Park, Next to Fortune Hotel,
MG Road, Gurgaon 122016, India
Tel: + 91 124 4200243

Other Offices
Mumbai | Bengaluru

SHRM INDIA

HR AWARDS 2015-16
CASE STUDIES OF
AWARD WINNERS

1
3