How Learning, Well-Being & Engagement Drive Workplace Success

Shiprocket, a tech-driven logistics and supply chain company, was recognised as the 'Best Place of Work' at the BW People HR Excellence Awards 2024. In an insightful interview with Saumya Khati, group chief human resources officer (group CHRO) of Shiprocket, we delve into the company’s unique initiatives that contribute to a thriving work environment, innovative learning opportunities, employee well-being strategies and the forward-thinking approach that cements their position as an industry leader.

What do you believe are the key factors that contribute towards becoming the ‘Best Place of Work’?

At Shiprocket, our people live & breathe our people promise of ‘Be Your Best Self’, ‘Make A Difference’ & ‘Have Fun’. 

Be Your Best Self: Our people have access to capability building programmes to strengthen their know-how & elevate their performance through our stratified learning continuum. For top management, we have Hogan assessments & executive coaching for self-reflection & building their learning journeys, the senior managers have LEAP (Leadership Excellence & Accelerated Performance) for an elevated business & manager of managers’ experience, followed by initiatives for mid-managers and frontline teams. Additionally, the Shiprocket Learning academy has a battery of half day experiential sessions on Gen AI, email etiquette, communications skills, Being Productive with Python & MS Excel. This is aided by digital learning platforms like Coursera & Disprz for both global accredited programmes & certifications, and also business refresher trainings & compliance sessions on COBC & Posh etc. For blue collared employees in warehouses, we have the SRF bootcamp covering business overview, Posh, 5S lean WH & business processes.

Make A Difference: Each year on our company day, our employees host a fundraiser where our leaders/CXOs run food & beverage stalls with a servant leadership mindset for our people & the collection from employees are matched by the company & the overall proceeds are donated to Smile Foundation. Also, as a part of our flagship week-long summer internship programme ‘The Apprentice’, our employees kids’ build and brand their products and sell it to the employees on the last day & donate all the earnings to Smile Foundation to contribute towards creating a positive impact on lives of underprivileged children. 

Have Fun: We have category creating initiatives, such as Shiprocket Premier League (Cricket Tournament) with league matches & a participation from approx. 150 people, Shiprocket’s Got Talent (platform for artistic self-expression with individual & group vocal, instrument, dance, plays, comedy standup performances), Codefest (a 3 day non-stop  hackathon for solving real world, business problems by our cross functional teams), The Apprentice (a week long programme for employees’ children to inculcate a spirit of entrepreneurship by experiential learning), Team’s Day-Out at Urban Akhara to compete in extreme sports  and Leadership Retreat (Offsite at Kasauli) to co-create company strategy & align on ways of working. Our Fun Fridays’ focus on keeping our people excited and festival celebrations bring us together heartwarmingly.

Can you share some of the unique programmes or initiatives that companies can implement to create a positive and supportive work environment? 

We have a higher education policy for our employees to support their continued education for life. For entry to mid-level hi-potential employees, we provide in-house mentoring and coaching sessions through our ‘ACE - Accelerated Coaching Experience’ programme by seasoned business leaders. We have a creche facility to support new mothers at our office premises. In light of our belief in ‘Children Being The Future’ we also run a week long summer internship programme for children wherein they learn mock warehousing, selling skills, funding pitch, building a strong team, coding class & business presentations. 

How can companies ensure that employee well-being and work-life balance are prioritised and maintained?

In addition to our work from home policy, we have flexi work timings wherein employees can choose to work anytime between 8AM to 8PM to promote a healthy work-life balance given their realities. At Shiprocket, employee well-being is ensured via various initiatives for employee physical, emotional & financial wellbeing like zumba, desk yoga, chumping - express spa, frequent health checkups (eye checkup thru Lenskart, dental checkup by Clove & glucose level checks etc.). We have also partnered with Mandhyan & Roundglass to hold emotional wellbeing sessions with experts on mindfulness, meditation, stress releasing exercises too . In addition to this, we organise talks with industry leaders on financial planning and managing taxes to ensure our people’s financial well-being.

Looking forward, how does your company plan to continue enhancing the workplace experience and maintaining its status?

We have developed a tech & touch enabled employee lifecycle experience that utilises apps to streamline people processes & drives productivity. It begins with digital hiring with ATS (application tracking system), followed by Amber, a chatbot designed to capture employee feedback at key stages of employment. The digital rewards platform, MyndSol empowers employees with their earnings & tax management, while the Disprz learning management system offers bite-sized self-led learning at the tips of employees’ fingers. Complinity serves as a digitised repository for legal and compliance documents and Darwinbox supports self-service booking and expense reimbursements through an online module. This blend of technology and personalised touch ensures an efficient and engaging employee experience.