'Safety will be of Utmost Importance for Future Workplaces': Pallavi Tyagi, CHRO, Capgemini India
The Covid-19 crisis has placed unparalleled demands on business leaders, enterprises, and organizations globally. Understanding what is needed and how to prepare organizations to be resilient will prove crucial in protecting employees and maintaining business continuity. Pallavi Tyagi, CHRO, Capgemini India has said, “As the lockdown started we sent 95 percent of our workforce into WFH (work-from-home). We ensured a seamless transformation from office to work-from-home since Capgemini already had ‘Flexi work plans’ from much before Covid-19 hit.”
Several industry experts believe that flexible working hours, remote working, more digitization of processes and human-centered business strategies are some of the many trends that are here to stay even after the pandemic gets over.
Pallavi Tyagi stated, “Safety has always been our primary focus for our organization. Employer branding impacts the entire lifecycle of an employee in the organization and influences potential employees who want to join us in the future.” She thinks that the focus on cleanliness and hygiene of workplaces shall be even more now. “Workplaces will have to be more supportive of the employees,” Tyagi said.
Undeniably, employee safety and mental wellbeing are critical to have a great working culture in an organization. Tyagi shared, “A lot of work done has been done around employee wellbeing - we have introduced programs around happiness and wellbeing for our employees.” She added, “We have daily guided sessions with doctors, experts on health-related topics. As a part of the happiness stream, we have instituted a laughter club where we do daily meditation sessions, which had seen participation from more than ten thousand employees." Tyagi also informed that they have enhanced medical insurance for their employees and their dependents.
Further detailing on what her organization has done for the employees during the pandemic, Pallavi informed, “We as an organization have gone ahead and paid our bonuses, merit increases and promotions to our eligible employees. We also introduced an all-digital learning platform, and today we have more than sixty-nine thousand employees using the curated courses that we have.” On what will the future of workplaces look like, Pallavi said, “It will always be a Hybrid model and safety will be of utmost importance.”
Working remotely also has its negatives. A major one is cybersecurity risks. Pallavi said, “Cybersecurity is very important in the current scenario, and we have very strict guidelines for it. If any employee feels targeted, they are asked to approach the human resource department.”
Tyagi was speaking at a recent panel discussion in the Randstad Leadership Dialogues by BW People on the theme ‘Reimagining Work, Workplace and Workforce’ organised in association with Randstad India and BW Businessworld. Other esteemed panelists present were Paul Dupuis, MD & CEO, Randstad India; Mankiran Chowhan, Managing Director, Indian Subcontinent - SAP Concur; Pallavi Tyagi, CHRO, Capgemini India; Dr. Rahul Kalia, Medical Director, International SOS. As an outcome of the discussion, it is unanimously agreed upon that safety, compassion, and acceptance will have a significant role to play in any future office scenario.
