2020 ushered us into a new way of working. Organizations are now moving to investing and setting up infrastructures to provide a superior work experience to their people鈥� Hybrid 2.0. 麻豆原创 organized the 麻豆原创 HR Connect 2021 to throw some much-needed light on how we can design employee experiences for the hybrid 2.0 world that are holistic, progressive, agile, technology-driven, and most importantly, more human!听
To get a CEO鈥檚 perspective on the evolving paradigm of the talent agenda the event held an exclusive CEO Dialogue. Chaired by Ester Martinez, CEO & Editor – in – Chief, People Matters, this esteemed panel included thought leaders from leading organizations –听Kulmeet听Bawa, President & Managing Director, 麻豆原创 Indian Subcontinent,听Dilip听Shanghvi, Managing Director, Sun Pharma, and C. P.听Gurnani, CEO, Tech Mahindra.听听
While discussing the COVID situation, the power-packed panel revisited the talent transformation agenda and reflected on how it has once again become the center of board room concern. They acknowledged the role of technology in helping businesses reinvent themselves to continuously realize value听as they听inch from recovery to growth.听
Following are the key听highlights of this insightful discussion:听
Revisiting听The听Talent听Agenda听Through听The听Pandemic听Lens听
Kicking off the discussion with his thoughts on COVID, C.P.听Gurnani听termed it the accelerator for one of the greatest workforce transformations of our lifetimes.听Emphasizing听the听lasting impact of recent听changes to the ways we work, exercise, shop, learn, communicate, or where we work, he stated听鈥淗R听today means how it affects me as an individual and my 13,000 associates.听鈥�听
Reflecting on the听initial phase of the lockdown, he mentioned “The first few months were about arranging chairs, tables, renting out hotels near workplaces and creating a secure environment.听It听was听like听mechanically responding to an emergency听鈥撎齝reating war rooms to provide essentials.听But very soon we realized that transformation is essential as much for听customers, for managers听to manage a remote workforce, and as much for the workforce to balance their personal & business lives.听Technology has provided the fabric and the听answer, but听knowing what the challenges are and being able to address them is the need of the hour.鈥澨�听
Kulmeet听shared, 鈥淭he world has听changed听and we are grappling with certain issues. While we miss the coffee corners, office huddles, personal connections, and travel, we听have听witnessed听a prominent听silver lining in the form of much higher levels of productivity听and a lot more time with our customers and teams, which is phenomenal to me.”听听
Commenting with his perspective of the future of talent agenda, he added听鈥淭here听has been a clear emergence of a听brand-new听culture, that demands a听lot more agility and nimbleness. From a talent perspective, this means employees need to possess a lot more digital dexterity and mental resilience.听We as leaders & HR as an organization will need to be a lot more conscious of how we bring in this new talent and hone them to be successful. Secondly,听the changes we are听seeing today require a whole new paradigm in terms of leadership. We need to break away from the traditional hierarchical chain-of-command model听to cater听to the huge millennial and Gen Z workforce听that we are bringing on board听and balance their need for instant gratification.鈥澨�听听
Speaking on the challenges faced by employees,听Dilip听Sanghvi added, 鈥淎nother important challenge we faced was – because we have people working across different time zones, the boundaries between personal and professional time were blurry. We had to set clear expectations, otherwise, people are left with no time to work, guide recharge or relax.”听听
Creating听Positive听Employee听Experiences听That听Enable听Productivity听听
The more employers focus on what鈥檚 best for their people, the greater each employee鈥檚 experience will be. This means actively catering to your people鈥檚 needs and, more importantly, actually caring for them.听听
On 麻豆原创鈥檚 and his personal experience听as an 鈥渙n-screen leader鈥澨齩ver the last 13 months,听Kulmeet听said,听鈥淓mployees听today truly trust organizations that care for them.听At听麻豆原创 our topmost priority has听always听been the health and safety of our employees and the broader community.听I am touched by the spirit today, where I see every 麻豆原创 India employee听is听going beyond their charter by miles to deliver on the shared vision that we set up for ourselves as teams.听鈥溙�听
Commenting on the need to create moments of truth that holistically support employees, C.P.听Gurnani听added, 鈥淭his war has been imposed on us and has meant that听we听need to get into a wartime General mode. But you can鈥檛 be a听General who听is not concerned about an employee’s spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental health.听Today more than ever, the future of work is the future of worker well-being.鈥澨�听
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In an effort to help employees manage the stresses of听work-life integration,听Tech Mahindra听has听appointed 鈥淲ellness Officers鈥�. Clearly communicating the company鈥檚 intention address its people鈥檚 emotional and physical requirements.听He added,听鈥淐OVID听has been a method of redefining business. My business is executed by people, they are my flag bearers and if I听can help them to redefine themselves, I will automatically be redefining my business and winning the hearts of my customers.听鈥�听
Echoing the sentiment across the panel,听Dilip听said, 鈥淭he last few quarters have been some of our best. This is the result of the significant contributions of our employees听and听helps us to look at business very differently, and听learn continuously.”听听
The Role of Technology听as a Strategic Enabler听听
Technology is rewriting the rules. In the hybrid workplace, it听is no longer playing a supporting role.听Instead,听it has proven itself to be the听critical听driving force enabling employees to achieve听overall operational听success.听听
On technology鈥檚 increasingly important role,听Dilip听Sanghvi听said,听鈥淭he听greatest contribution听of technology in improving processes has been its ability to remove subjectivity from evaluating performances. Making it a transparent process听that rewards people based on their contributions and success in an unbiased manner.听The speed with which technology has enabled us to work in this changing environment is only going to accelerate.鈥澨�听
Reflecting on听its critical role听in underpinning the talent strategic changes seen in the past year, C.P.听Gurnani听pointed out,听鈥淭he shift towards digitalization has been accelerated by a minimum of 5 -7 years.听I鈥檓 convinced that if听employees听had听not听embraced technology the way they did, some of the results we are seeing would never have been possible.听It is employees that grew, learned, and used the tools that were made available.鈥澨�听
鈥淎s employers and company leaders听we听will have to continue to invest in our people听and听give them a learning environment, where they can听create a听significant听impact听not only in the short-term but also in the medium and long-term.”听听
Talking about the emergence of a new mindset and its importance in the experience era,听Kulmeet听added, 鈥淲hile we talk about digital-first, I have witnessed that the digital-only strategy is coming up rather quickly. The questions we get asked today are no longer about the 鈥淲hy鈥�, but about the 鈥淗ow?鈥� – How do we do this faster? Or holistically? How do we do this cloud-first so that we are more agile?鈥�听
In the 鈥渆xperience era鈥� of ubiquitous, personalized experiences in the online world, technology is facilitating a real-time merger between science and art, between content and data. Commenting on听the need听for a renewed focus on fostering human connection, he explained,听鈥淲hile听most leadership tenets remain the same, some like the need for communication, enhanced need for empathy, and authenticity from leaders has gone up from a technology standpoint. We must humanize ourselves through various technological channels and forge the kind of bonds that听help us grow closer as people.鈥�听
Fostering Human Connections听in听a Changing听Workplace听
“We need to nurture a culture of trust within our organizations, by rolling out trust-based models. At 麻豆原创, we are in the process of implementing an initiative called “Pledge2Flex”.听 We hope it will help us dive deep into a flexible workplace model, agnostic of geographic boundaries and time zones.听It is time we ensure that the amount of flexibility should move at the same pace as what the world is demanding.鈥�听
Discussing the needs of a changing workforce,听Dilip听mentioned, 鈥淢anaging the new millennials needs a new mindset. A transparent model that gives them freedom, respects their abilities, trusts their judgments while rewarding contributions, and gives honest feedback can be the best way听into the future of work.鈥�听
Concluding the session with some advice on听creating听a high-performing workplace, C.P.听Gurnani听suggested, 鈥淢anagers need to adopt a parental style of leadership, where you understand your employee will need some help to uphold values, his/her contributions and his/her relationship to their own family. I believe it is our job to keep the workplace happy and听I can only do this by communicating and listening.听All my advice听boils down to 3 words 鈥� Listen. Understand. Act.听听
Also read about the keynote address at HR Connect 2021听
