Our Aim Is To Offer Simplified Employee Experiences: Shailesh Singh

As HR is people-oriented and more value inclined, do you think AI would hamper or hurt people's engagement or relationship building?

Technology is an enabler of customized employee experience. Through Artificial Intelligence intervention, organizations can strike a balance with today’s dynamic workforce, while nurturing an ecosystem of collaboration where digital tools can shed light on innovation and creativity. AI has the potential to effectively motivate and understand employee requirements by making processes more intuitive and rewarding. Through various AI-based solutions, companies can bring immense value to their people and develop deeper relationships.

How has been your 9 years-long experience with Max Life as Chief People Officer been?

My journey with Max Life has been a journey of growth, fulfillment, and joy. A journey where I have basked in the glory of a very solid foundation that has people agenda at its center-stage, where supervisors lead ‘culture & values’ and where HR function has taken pride in creating a ‘factory of talent’ and a joyful workplace.

It is a privileged journey where we have raised the bar continually on business growth and created a workplace that is contemporary and progressive in its workplace practices. We are clearly slated well to capitalize on the strength of our human capital and deliver well to our customers.

What are the best practices taking place on the practical ground at your organization during the emergence of AI and technological advancements?

With an aim to create an engaged workforce and offer simplified employee experiences, we at Max Life Insurance, are blending technology across processes. We use a unified self-service model to increase the overall agility of operations. For instance, to onboard and engage with our distributed workforce in real-time, we have deployed various AI-based solutions through apps. We are also using various tools to enable employees to have real-time interactions on key life cycle processes and “moments of truth”, driving accessibility of data with the speed that enables performance, engagement and superior quality experience.

As an expert what are the major skills you would expect from a fresh graduate to get selected for Max Life?

With automation in the picture, the time and energies of those in the actuarial, underwriting, claim adjustment business are expected to significantly reduce, increasing the demand for more strategic and cerebral skills with a high level of cognitive involvement in the insurance industry. In this backdrop, we at Max Life Insurance too are seeking employees who are willing to dedicate more of themselves towards ideation and thinking responsibilities as opposed to processing and demystifying.

Being able to create a positive experience for the customer and acknowledging that every action is undertaken knowing it is the customer at the heart of the business, is what is required to sustain in the league. Individuals need to have an adaptive stance towards situations, problems and people around and an ability to operate in different cultural settings, driving effective collaboration and engagement with all stakeholders.

Is AI or advancements in robotics a threat to employment in any industry or specifically yours?

At an inflection point of technological innovation, the insurance industry today has a host of robust digital tools that are paving the path of employee progress for good. It would, therefore, be incorrect to say that technological advancements are jeopardizing employment prospects for individuals in the industry. With traditional employee roles and workplace structures in evolution, these digital tools are constantly helping upgrade operations across the entire recruitment chain. For instance, from prospecting to onboarding, learning, and engagement, insurers are utilizing these an array of tools with the aim to empower the employees’ presence in a dynamic ecosystem.

In order to create a work atmosphere that is charged with meaning and It is imperative for insurers to ensure that all investment in technology and enablement is complemented by investment in talent and creativity and digital tools can be a catalyst to this drive.

What are the major goals for Max Life HR for 2020?

When it comes to dealing with the best human capital, we truly believe in the credo of “Attract, motivate, reward, and retain”. We care for our employees and enable them with an ecosystem where meritocracy trumps hierarchy and tenure. We empower our employees at all stages to make a difference in the workplace.

As a new age employer, our focus for 2020 is to build long-term relationships with workers, with the intention to understand what the employees need and value while creating a workplace of joy. In a world where employee expectations are constantly evolving, high-performing organizations such as ours must push the envelope beyond the industry benchmarks to drive positive experiences.

How happy or satisfied are you being in this job role?

My work at Max Life has been thoroughly satisfying. From leading and partnering to contributing and creating, my current job role has enabled me to strengthen the people's agenda of Max Life Insurance.