Industry Experts Highlight Key Rules for Employee Engagement and Well-being
In an industry event by BW Businessworld, BW People HR Excellence Summit & Awards 2023, Dr. Pradyumna Pandey, Manufacturing HR Head, HERO MotoCorp sheded light on the essential rules that underpin employee engagement and well-being within organisations.
According to Pandey, the first rule is establishing discipline through transparent processes and systems, which fosters employee engagement and trust.
“A robust system and clear roles and responsibilities, enabled by technology, are crucial for engaging employees,” he said.
He underlined that engaging employees goes beyond discipline and requires effective motivation, which is influenced by leadership behavior.
"Leadership behavior and proximity with employees are vital in fostering motivation. In this era of technology, being present and happy alongside employees contributes to a positive employee experience,” he said. “Recognition and rewards also play a significant role", he added
Dheeraj Modi, Vice President & Global HR Head, NLB Services agreed with Pandey, however, he highlighted the significance of agility in managing the young population in India.
He said, "the most important thing these days, if you're managing the young population in India, agility. We're expecting agility in people, leadership, our population, our employees are expecting agility in our process and policies as well, and that is the most important thing these days."
He further explained that outdated processes and policies can hinder organisational success and employee engagement.
Modi stressed the importance of regularly reviewing and updating these practices, stating, "If your process and policies are 5-7 years old and you think they're the best, I think you're wrong. Those have to review, and not just annually. When you think there is a need, 2-3 people already come to you that they're expecting something else and you have to be agile and make the change and update that as early as possible."
Madhu Menon, National Head- Talent Acquisition, Deloitte India, in response to the ongoing discussion, emphasised the importance of considering the experiences of a multi-generational workforce within organisations. While acknowledging the efforts being made in various directions.
She stated, "The structure of creating experiences now looks at multi-generation which are now coming in and working with us in our corporates. We understand that we as an organization are making a lot of efforts in all the directions we've spoken about here. We are very much concerned about the Gen-Z who are going to join in, but what about those people who are already here in the organization."
Menon added, "We should give them space, like are we really caring for them? Today, care is so important but not only physical care, it's not only about mental care; it's about anything that matters to them for them to perform in an organization. Happiness is also important."
Viekas K Khokha, Head HR, Dhanuka Agritech highlighted the significance of addressing mental wellness within organisations.
He stated, "We did not only talk about mental wellness and made life to people where getting experts to talk to people in a private space and getting it live because when an employee is stressed most likely the person is not going to speak out, and there are forums that needed to create a safe space."
He added, "When we make policies, we should consider that policies should be for employees. We make sure that every policy is redrafted and make them think what's in for me."
