Tuesday 25 March 2014

Communication – The corner stone for all businesses

Way back in the 1980s, Robert H Lengel and Richard L Daft came up with a theory known as the Media Richness Theory. The essence of the theory is simple. It says that the richness of a communication media is directly proportional to its ability to reproduce information. Also, the selection of communication medium depends on the task at hand or the situation that an organization is facing.

Communication, today, is a corner stone for businesses around the world. It will not be an exaggeration to add that it is the game changer that makes or breaks any business. The way you communicate with your employees, business partners and customers, determines your success. Though, every firm strives to be a trusted brand and a great place to work, there is a tendency to view communication as an afterthought. The popular perception is that the communication part will be taken care of once ‘we put the process in place’. Is it a wise move?

I believe that the above-mentioned approach makes the communication strategy uni-dimensional in approach. Instead, what will work best for any organization, irrespective of the area of work, is rich communication, as it helps lay a foundation for trust with various stakeholders. Again, I would refer back to the Media Richness Theory by Lengel and Daft as an example.

I have always believed that seeking inputs from your employees, who interact with the customers and thus have their insights, adds tremendous value to the growth of the business and is a boon to the overall strategy. Not to forget that it’s almost certain that your employees will not only feel valued, but also be more responsive to the new strategy when you finally roll it out.

I would stress that rich communication has to be the norm for any organization or firm that wants to be successful in today’s cutthroat competition. During tough times, silence results into suspicion, unilateral communication creates confusion, whereas rich communication provides hope and generates trust. Rich communication, therefore, has to be the defining feature of an organization. It encourages open culture and transparency in the company.


I am proud to add that rich communication is what has help establish Hero BPO as a trusted brand today. Over the years we have been successful in developing a rich communication culture internally as well as externally by listening and engaging on a continuous basis with our customers, our employees and the communities we operate in, to not just provide innovative products but also add value to each and everyone’s lives.

Friday 21 March 2014

Active Commuting - Walk towards a better future

The speedy growth of India's urban population has put massive pressure on all transport systems. Growing travel demand exceeds the limited supply of transport infrastructure and services. Public transport, in particular, has been completely overwhelmed.

Gurgaon is a fast emerging suburb of Delhi, the national capital of India. The city offers world class business opportunities particularly for IT and related industries. Public transport supply in the city is characterized by array of modes ranging from two seated manually driven cycle rickshaws to fifty seated buses compatible with local conditions and demand patterns available for use. The level of blending of the two types of systems in a city is determined by the prevailing city’s socio economic fabric, travel patterns and road network.

It is very important for us to understand the annoyances, risks and costs incurred on cab and bus fleets that companies are forced to run to compensate for the absence of walking, cycling and city bus infrastructure.

We should aim to create awareness and encourage people to choose sustainable transport over personal vehicles. There is an urgent need to catalyse the creation of high quality footpaths, cycle paths and public transport alternatives. If our industry is able to create enough ‘force & demand’ infrastructure it will further encourage the Govt. to look into these asks and provide continued support. Over the last few months, various workshops for HR Admin & Transport managers have been organized in various companies. Companies are making efficient use of public transport & have also been able to drastically reduce their fleet size. Through these repeated interventions, the message of walking, cycling, and using public transport on a more frequent basis is being spread. Going forward we should all plan to conduct - company sensitization programs regarding use of public transport, cycling rallies heavily participated by employees of IT-BPM industry and pay more emphasis on the last mile connectivity.

The IT-BPM industry comprises of a fair share of challenges; one of the most important being safety to its employees and in particular women employees. This industry is already familiar with the facts & stands poised to provide adequate safety & security to its employees. They have shown strong commitment towards providing for Safe and secure working environment to all of their employees especially women employees. As a routine practice, this industry as a whole maintains, manages and upgrades comprehensive security program across regions which is indicative of its commitment to the cause.


Organizations have also understood the importance of ‘active commuting’. NASSCOM had organized “CEO’s Walk to Work” which was attended by over 500 executives from the IT-BPM industry - signifying that top corporate professionals can walk & inspire their fellow colleagues to follow their steps. Similar ‘green’ initiatives by other corporates in the future will increase the awareness and willingness of the workforce to take the choice of opting for more environment friendly ways of commuting.