LabourNet plans to empower one million Indian labourers in the informal sector by 2020

LabourNet, India’s leading Social Enterprise focusing on ‘Real Income Increase’ and ‘productivity’ of the unorganised sector workforce, today announced it plans to provide vocational training to about a million unorganised workers across the country, in a span of next six years.

Despite India making remarkable progress in IT and establishing world-class institutions like, IITs, IISc and IIMs majority of the 500+ million workforce in India continue to exist in the unorganised or the informal sector, with poor work conditions, no or few work contracts and social security benefits, says a company statement.  
In an interview, Gayathri Vasudevan, CEO of LabourNet talks about her firm’s inception, vision and going forward, the plans and more to Jayashankar Menon. Excerpts:

JM: How can you fix the existing gap in the system?
GV: Having impacted close to 80,000 workers in the unorganised sector, we already have the required expertise to positively influence over 100,000 lives every year through education, training and decent work services. What is more, the existing gap in the system can be fixed only by holistically creating an ecosystem which will address every aspect for workers in the informal sector and we at LabourNet are striving to achieve this.
JM: What is the plan of action you had chalked out to address this situation?
GV: LabourNet, India’s top Social Enterprise, has identified this grave situation and has chalked out a plan to impart one million workers with necessary education, skill sets, financial and social empowerment.  The identified three verticals in which training will be provided by us include Services, Construction and Manufacturing. In addition to this, we provide skill development training in areas that encourage micro-entrepreneurship.  
JM: What are the various trades you provide training to the workers?
GV: The various trades we provide training include leather, rubber, jewellery carpentry, masonry, shuttering carpentry, electrical wiring, plumbing, painting, crane operator training, fork lift operator, general machine maintenance, bar bending, Press operators, Fitters, beauty & hair care, safety training and more. We are actively exploring at Agriculture sector as it employs in excess of 50 percent of the informal sector workforce.
JM: Unlike in the past, employers are looking for valid certifications from applicants before hiring, besides the relevant functional and industry skills. Will LabourNet offer that cover to the workers?
GV: LabourNet offers services that cover, counselling and assessment, based on which relevant work integrated vocational training and education is provided.  Upon completion, certificates are issued, followed by providing of WORK- Self, work contracts and full time employment. We have established partnerships with close to 100 corporates across the country.
JM: Can you talk about LabourNet, its inception and achievements?
GV: LabourNet was set up in 2006 as an initiative of Movement for Alternatives for Youth Awareness (MAYA), a non-governmental organisation based in Bangalore. It began largely as an effort to provide a one-stop platform for unorganised sector workers to obtain services which are currently available and accessible by formal sector workers. Today, LabourNet has revamped itself into a Social Enterprise to make it more sustainable and provides required benefits for workers in the informal sector through a holistic platform.  
Furthermore, its sustainable model is an end-to-end solution through a built-in 4E – Empowerment by blending Education, Employability and Employment.  It is structured and in synchronisation with the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) and the mandate set up by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). LabourNet’s solution won ‘Sankalp’ Award for ‘highly scalable social models’, ‘Best Upcoming Partner’ by NSDC for 2012-13, Best Practice Recognition for ‘Assessment Tools’ 2013 by NSDC.

Mahesh Kodumudi elevated as Group Chief Representative of Volkswagen Group in India

Mahesh Kodumudi, President and Managing Director, Volkswagen India Private Limited, is appointed Group Chief Representative for the Volkswagen Group in India with immediate effect. With effect from May 1, 2014, Thierry Lespiaucq will take over as Managing Director, Volkswagen Group Sales India Private Limited. Arvind Saxena has resigned from his position as Director of Volkswagen Passenger Cars Division in India with immediate effect and has moved out to GM India.

Mahesh Kodumudi (48), is taking over the additional role of Group Chief Representative of Volkswagen Group India with immediate effect. He follows in this position which was earlier held by Gerasimos Dorizas, who returned to Europe in December last year, according to a company statement

With effect from May 1, 2014, Lespiaucq (58), currently is the Volkswagen Brand Director, Volkswagen de Mexico and is succeeding Kodumudi, who had temporarily taken over the additional responsibilities as Head of Volkswagen Group Sales India Private Limited last December.

Lespiaucq has been in the automotive industry for thirty five years. He joined the Volkswagen Group as Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars for Volkswagen Group France in May 2004. Before joining Volkswagen Group, he was CEO of Renault-Nissan Suisse and Toyota France and spent 14 years at General Motors handling Sales, After Sales and Service.

Saxena (54), who led the Volkswagen Passenger Cars Division as Director for the last 18 months has decided to leave Volkswagen Group Sales India Private Limited by end of February 2014.

With its headquarters in Pune, Maharashtra, the Volkswagen Group is represented by five brands in India: Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche, ŠKODA, and Volkswagen. The Volkswagen Group has been present in India for the last 12 years and began its India journey with the entry of the ŠKODA brand in 2001, Audi brand and Volkswagen brand in 2007, Porsche brand and Lamborghini brand in 2012. Each brand has its own character and operates as an independent entity in the market. Volkswagen Group India has over 25 models in India and 262 dealerships and is operating through two plants – Pune and Aurangabad. The Pune plant has a manufacturing capacity of 1,30,000 cars per year and is currently manufacturing Volkswagen Polo and Vento and ŠKODA Fabia and Rapid. The Aurangabad plant caters to various premium and luxury models of Audi, ŠKODA and Volkswagen sold in India and has an annual capacity of approximately 89,000. Volkswagen Group India is a part of Volkswagen AG, which is globally represented by 12 brands – Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Lamborghini, Porsche, Scania, SEAT, ŠKODA, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge), MAN and Volkswagen Passenger Cars.

Yokohama India to open its first tyre manufacturing plant at Bahadurgarh, Haryana on February 22, 2014

Yokohama India Private Limited, the domestic arm of the Japanese tyre major Yokohama will open its first tyre manufacturing plant at Bahadurgarh in Haryana on February 22, 2014. Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Huda will formally inaugurte the plant at 4.00 PM. Located at Plot No 1, Sector 4, B, HSIIDC Industrial Estate in Bhadurgarh, Jajjar the company will produce quality tyres designed for India with Japanese technology.

A host of dignitaries including Takeshi Fujino, Managing Director of Yokohama India; Yagi, Ambassador of Japan; Tarun Bajaj, Managing Director of HSIIDC; Chandershaker, DC of Jhajjar and Kagami, YRC, Corporate Office will be present on the occasion.
As per the plan, in the first phase, the firm is contemplating on starting operating the plant at an annual production capacity of 700,000 tyres from July 2014. The total investment in construction of the new plant is estimated to be 4.4 billion yen. It may be recalled that in 2008, Yokohama Rubber signed a pact with Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Delvelopment Corporation Ltd to acquire land of 25 acres in the Corporation’s industrial estate in Bahadurgarh. Eventually, the construction of the tyre plant got delayed due to market slowdown. Since July 2007, Yokohama India has been selling passenger car tyres for the aftermarket through its own sales network. Yokohama is making an effort to expand sales by creating an image of a high grade brand tyre through placing an emphasis on high performance and high quality that characterise Yokohama brand tyres.
In 2011, sales of new cars reach around three million in India. In 2020, the market is likely to reach in excess of seven million cars to grow into the third largest car market in the world. Along with this move, the local tyre market also is likely to grow at a steady pace. Yokohama Rubber plans to proactively take this as a business opportunity and upgrade its business model from sale of imported products to local production and consumption.
The industrial estate in Bahadurgarh is located about 40 kilometres west of Delhi, the largest commercial district in the country and some 45 minutes from Delhi International Airport. Many other benefits of the location include nearby Haryana State University of Technology, which is likely to become a supplier of excellent human resources.

Outline of the new tyre plant (first phase)
Area: 25 accres (99.922.5 square meters)
Product: Radial tyres for passenger cars
Production capacity: 700,000 tyres a year.
Employees: 350
Operation: To begin in July 2014.

Total investment: 4.4 billion yen

Toyota Kirloskar announce new organisation structure

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. (TKM) today announced its new organization structure, which will be effective from April 1, 2014.

Sandeep Singh, the Deputy Managing Director (Sales, Marketing, Customer Service & Commercial Divisions) of TKM will be moving on to Toyota Motor Asia Pacific Engineering & Manufacturing (TMAP-EM), headquartered at Bangkok, as Executive Managing Coordinator. In his new role, he will head the Planning Group at TMAP- EM. His role in TMAP-EM is effective from 1st April 2014.
Simultaneously, N Raja, Senior Vice President and Akitoshi Takemura, Senior Managing Coordinator will jointly take charge of Sales & Marketing functions at TKM. TS Jaishankar, Executive Vice President and Director will be responsible for Commercial functions and Hitoshi Iwanaga, Senior Vice President will take charge of Customer Service functions.

WorkBetter CEO Swapnil Kamat has trained 75,000 executives pan India

He is 31 years young, but his experience as a corporate soft skills trainer is old. A smart and agile personality, he is into service and soft skills training. He is doing a great job in training junior level and mid-levvel employees to achieve goals in professional life. Started as a freelancer. Now his compay, WorkBetter is achieving 40 percent year on year revenue. He has trained in excess of 75,000 executives across the country and has trained in some of the really top-notch firms including HDFC Bank, Johnson and Johnson, Mahindra & Mahindra. He is one of the leading corporate trainers in India today. With an MBA in Marketing and a successful stint with L’Oreal as Brand Manager, he realised his calling in the field of Training & People Development at a very early stage in his career. Ever since, he has managed to challenge the way corporate training has been looked at by playing a pioneering role in setting up one of India’s best corporate training firm, focussed on behavioural and soft-skills domain. That is Swapnil Kamat for you.

Achievements
Swapnil has trained over 21,000 executives at India’s leading firms across the country. Besides that he has designed major training and people development initiatives as a Training Consultant for some of India’s largest companies including HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, NSE, Essar Group, BNP Paribas, Mahindra & Mahindra and more. Real, Practical and Implementable methods are his major contribution to the Indian Executive Training Landscape as opposed to the traditionally theoretical methods.
Swapnil was featured on CNBC Young Turks as one of ’India’s Young Achievers’, Times of India labelled him as ’Catalyst for Change’ besides being featured on various other media like Economic Times, The Afternoon & Business India. What is more, he has published over 50 Columns and Articles.
There has never been a day where Swapnil has not received an overwhelming feedback and recognition for his high quality content and high energy facilitation. Having seen success as a corporate trainer and the progress people have made based on his training workshops, Swapnil eagerly wants to now reach out to professionals through his open programs.

In a free-wheeling chat, Swapnil opens up his mind on WorkBetter and its contributions to Jayashankar Menon. Excerpts:

JM: Can you talk about WorkBetter and its achievements?
SK: WorkBetter Training is one of India’s fastest growing Executive Education and Training firm. We provide customised training solutions in the soft skills, behaviour and management domain. Since it’s inception half a decade ago, WorkBetter has partnered with some of the biggest organisations on their people development initiatives and trained over 75,000 executives across India.
Me and my spouse Ruchira Karnik co-founded Work Better in 2008 after having been on the receiving side of several boring, theoretical and irrelevant training programmes in our respective corporate jobs. The question that ‘If learning is such an integral part of a professional’s development and an organisation’s progress, why can’t it be done better?’ led us to do our research, our study and launch WorkBetter Training Programme, to fundamentally change the way executive training was delivered in India and help professionals Work Better.

JM: What defines WorkBetter a better programme?
SK: Practical, Real and Implementable are the three concepts that define our WorkBetter Programme. We have created a huge impact through our holistic approach to training which involves doing extensive groundwork, creating customised content, conducting training on Adult Learning principles and engaging participants through post programme tools.
A dedicated content team invests time and effort in researching, creating various techniques and analysing what module will work best in which format. Besides, we provide some of the world’s best tools to engage and involve participants up to 6 months after the classroom workshop through their various initiatives like online and mobile learning. With a solid client base, a full time team of ten people and an empaneled network of over 50 trainers across the country, WorkBetter is poised to grow by 40 percent year on year in terms of revenue in this financial year.

JM: What are the specialities of WorkBetter?
SK: WorkBetter specialises in six verticals such as leadership development Programmes, customer service excellence, business communication and presentation skills training, sales and negotiation skills training, personal effectiveness training and innovation learning.

JM: Who all are your major clients?
SK:  Essar, HDFC, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, IDBI Bank, National Stock Exchange, ING Life Insurance, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, Ingram Micro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Schneider Electric, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Trident Hotels and more.

Ruchira Karnik talks about Work Better and how it works better

Ruchira Karnik helped in establishing Work Better as one of the leading  companies in the Executive training space. She has been instrumental in bringing the firm where it stands now. Back in 2008, Ruchira  and her husband Swapnil Kamat establised Work Better, after having been on the receiving side of several boring, theoretical and irrelevant training programmes in their respective corporate jobs. Before taking the entrepreneurial plunge, Ruchira worked as the Advertising Manager for Ogaan Publications.

A perfectionist by nature, Ruchira has bird’s eye on little big things necessary to run the business. She also loves travelling with her husband and is an ardent Cricket fan. She is currently the Head of Business Development at Work Better. She graduated from Goa university with an honours in Bio – Technology in 2002. Prior to Work Better, she founded a Travel Portal called Trip2Goa.com and built it to a sizeable scale before exiting the venture.
Achievements

Ruchira has developed a highly prestigious list of clientele with some of the biggest corporates counting Work Better as long term partners in training. She has been instrumental  in driving innovative practical training solutions which  has helped give Work Better a definitive edge over its competitors.

Lasting relationship
Ruchira has managed to build strong relationships with clients and partners associated with Work Better with her unbeatable focus and dedication and she has  even built an extremely competent team at Work Better Training as well a solid pool of trainers PAN India. Ruchira has set up strong  internal processes leading Work Better of reputation of one one of the most reliable organisations with flawless execution skills. She has been featured on the Economic Times, the Times of India and various other national media as a  successful entrepreneur and businesswoman.
Perfectionist
Ruchira is a perfectionist by nature and has eye on little big things necessary to run the business. She also loves travelling with her husband and is an ardent Cricket fan, especially of Sachin Tendulkar.

In an informal chat, Ruchira speaks to Jayashankar Menon more about Work Better and how it works better. Excerpts:

JM: Can you talk about Work Better and how it works better?
RK: Work Better Training is one of India’s fastest growing Executive Education and Training firm. We provide customised training solutions in the soft skills, behaviour and management domain. Since it’s inception half a decade ago, we have  partnered with some of the biggest organisations on our people development initiatives and trained in excess of 75,000 executives across the country.

JM: What made to start Work Better?
RK: The question that If learning is such an integral part of a professional’s development and an organisation’s progress, why can’t it be done better? led us to do our research, our study and launch Work Better Training. We started Work Better to fundamentally change the way executive training was delivered in India and help professionals Work Better.

JM: How do you define Work Better programme?
RK: Practical, Real and Implementable are the three words that define a Work Better programme. We have created a huge impact through our holistic approach to training which involved doing extensive groundwork, creating customised content, conducting training on Adult Learning principles and engaging participants through post programme tools.
What is more, a dedicated content team invests time and effort in researching, creating various techniques and analysing what module will work best in which format. Besides that, we also provide some of the world’s best tools to engage and involve participants up to six months after the classroom workshop through our various initiatives like online and mobile learning.

JM: What is the kind of growth you predict?
RK: With a solid client base, a full time team of ten people and an empaneled network of over 50 trainers across the country, Work Better is poised to grow by 40 percent year on year in terms of revenue in this financial year.

JM: What verticals Work Better had specialised?
RK: Work Better specialises in six verticals such as leadership development programmes, customer service excellence, business communication and presentation skills, sales and negotiation skills training, personal effectiveness training and innovation. Learning

JM: Can you reveal few major clients?
RK: Essar, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, IDBI Bank, National Stock Exchange, ING Life Insurance, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, Ingram Micro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Schneider Electric, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Trident Hotels and more.

DHL Express India bags ‘Best Employer’ Award from Aon Hewitt

DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, has been named ‘Best Employer’ in India by Aon Hewitt, a global leader in human resource consulting and outsourcing solutions. The awards are part of the Aon Hewitt Best Employers 2.0 learning conference to understand employers’ effectiveness in creating a workplace environment that engages employees and enables them to deliver real competitive advantage. DHL Express was presented with the ‘Best Employer in India’ award at a ceremony held at New Delhi’s The Oberoi Hotel yesterday, according to a company statement.

From (L-R): Sunjoy Dhavan and RS Subramanian with the ‘Best Employer Award’ by Aon Hewitt.
Speaking about the achievement, RS Subramanian, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, DHL Express India, said: “We are truly delighted to be recognised as a Best Employer by Aon Hewitt. The award endorses all the work we have been doing to provide a unique DHL experience to all our employees, who are the driving force behind our business success. Being an Employer of Choice for our people is one of the three bottom lines we at DHL strive to deliver and this recognition highlights the progress we are making on this continuing journey”.
Over the years, DHL has invested significantly in a number of employee enriching practices and programs including the Certified International Specialist (CIS) programme. CIS is an award-winning programme which has been instrumental in instituting a cultural transformation within DHL Express and reinforcing the company’s international market leadership. In 2010, with the aim of improving its financial position and building on its market leadership within Asia Pacific, Europe and Emerging Markets, the company announced a strategic focus on the core competence of international express delivery. In order to reinforce its international focus throughout the organization and deliver against the Employer of Choice aspiration, DHL Express launched the CIS programme globally in July 2010.
The programme employs innovative learning methodologies to train employees across all functions on the fundamentals of international shipping and enhancing their knowledge of essential aspects. To date, the CIS program has been delivered to over 100,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, making it one of the largest corporate training programs ever implemented. The materials have been translated into 42 languages.
Sunjoy Dhawan, Senior Director – Human Resources, India and South Asia, DHL Express pointed out: “With over 2,100 employees in the country, spread across 26 locations, attracting, retaining, engaging, motivating and training our people is absolutely core to us. While we invest our energy and resources in all the areas on a continuous basis, we are particularly stronger in the way we engage and train our people to strengthen organisational capability and develop a talented workforce. This is so that we have the right people with right skills doing the right jobs. We have invested in the Certified International Specialist (CIS) training which each employee goes through and Certified International Manager (CIM) training for supervisors and managers in the company. This helps in having a motivated workforce that provides great service quality to our customers and that ensures great profitability”.
More accolades
In 2013 DHL Express also received recognition by Aon Hewitt and won the ‘Best Employer’ in Asia Pacific award and the ‘Best Employer’ awards in Thailand, Indonesia and Korea.
DHL is the global market leader in the logistics industry and ‘The Logistics Company for the world’. DHL commits its expertise in international express, air and ocean freight, road and rail transportation, contract logistics and international mail services to its customers. A global network composed of more than 220 countries and territories and about 285,000 employees worldwide offers customers superior service quality and local knowledge to satisfy their supply chain requirements. DHL accepts its social responsibility by supporting environmental protection, disaster management and education. DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL. The Group generated revenue of more than 55 billion euros in 2012.The Aon Hewitt Best Employers 2.0 study – Asia 2013 is conducted in nine countries across Asia. These include China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. Aon Hewitt’s Best Employers study was first conducted in Asia in 2001. The 2013 study differentiates itself from previous runs and other offerings in the market by means of its professional, data-driven approach that collects data from three distinct sources: employees, HR and the CEO. In addition, an external, independent judging panel composed of reputable business, academic and media leaders is appointed to blindly deliberate and decide on each year’s list of Best Employers.

Subash Nambiar is the new Country Manager of PTC India

PTC today announced the appointment of, Subash Nambiar as Vice President and Country Manager for India.

According to a company statement, Subash’ present role, he will oversee PTC’s overall business in India, and will be responsible for strategy and growth, leading key partner relationships and strategic customer focus.
 

Commenting on this new appointment Robert Kocis, Senior Divisional Vice President of Asia Pacific Sales and Distribution, PTC said: “India has always been a major focus area for PTC, and with Nambiar at the helm, we are hoping to scale our India business to greater heights. As a veteran in the IT industry, Subash knows all the fine details of the Indian market and is the best person to expand our operations here. We are looking forward to his leadership at PTC India as we map our expansions in the next year”
Nambiar joins with over 20 years’ experience in the IT industry. Prior to joining PTC, Subash was the Senior Director – Technology Sales at Oracle and also held senior positions in IBM and LG Soft. As a consistent performer, Subash has always exceeded expectations. Subash started his career by marketing Dell Range of Products in Corporate segments at Pertech Computers Limited. A born leader, Subash has always scaled up businesses, set up operations and expanded teams wherever he has worked.
Commenting on his new role Subash said: “I am excited to join PTC which owns a long history of technology innovations and is the leader in industrial technology. I look forward to working with the large PTC family of employees and partners in India and abroad. I hope to support and drive PTC’s growth in India through strategic sales and better customer relations”.
PTC (Nasdaq: PTC) enables manufacturers to achieve sustained product and service advantage. The company’s technology solutions help customers transform the way they create and service products across the entire product lifecycle – from conception and design to sourcing and service. Founded in 1985, PTC employs over 6,000 professionals serving more than 27,000 businesses in rapidly-evolving, globally distributed manufacturing industries worldwide. For more information, visit ptc.com.

Alok Saraogi is the new Corporate Communications Head of Ashok Leyland

Alok Saraogi takes over Corporate Communications and Media Relations in addition to his existing role as head of Brand Marketing at Ashok Leyland, flagship of the Hinduja Group. Saraogi has been with Leyland over three years and with this move the company has consolidated the communication portfolio under him, according to a company statement.

Saraogi brings with him over 20 years of experience spanning FMCG, Services and Advertising, across Automobile, Retail, Aviation, Internet Services and Communication Industries. Prior to his current assignment, he was head of the brands portfolio at Future Brands (The Marketing Services Arm Of The Future Group) managing the portfolio of private labels across apparel, FMCG and consumer durables.
Saraogi is a known speaker at seminars and conferences across the country on subjects ranging from consumer behaviour, marketing insights to the digital space. He has been recognised among the 50 Most Talented Brand Leaders of India at the Brand Leadership Awards of the World CMO Council in February 2013. In the same year he was also nominated Marketer of the Year – Auto Commercial Vehicles – at the Leadership Awards by the International Advertising Association.

SHRM 2013 concludes in Gurgaon focusing on Empowering Change – Workplace of the Future

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management today concluded its 2nd India Annual Conference in Gurgaon (NCR). The two-day conference was held at India’s millennium city which brought together over 500 delegates, including corporate leaders and HR gurus, according to an official statement.

This year’s agenda of the conference was based on the theme of “Empowering Change; Workplace of the Future”, keeping in mind the prevailing economic environment and challenges posed by the slowdown. The knowledge packed event addressed critical issues concerning workplace trends and HR management like Role of Analytics, Assessment, Social Media in HR, How to Turn Generosity into Social Responsibility and Skill Enhancement. Delegates attending from all over the world contributed their valuable thoughts on a variety of issues concerning human capital through a series of keynote addresses and panel discussions followed by national HR quiz and a glitzy award ceremony.
SHRM India, also announced winners for its Annual HR Awards held at the conference and chose those companies, which had excelled in implementing best practices and empowered human resource management. SHRM India Annual Awards recognized winners for the following categories: Diversity and Inclusion – Aegis Global, Workplace Flexibility – Arbitron, Community Impact – Cognizant, Developing Leaders of Tomorrow – Pepsico, Employee Health and Wellness Initiatives – SCOPE International, CEO of the Year – Shakti Sagar, CEO, ADP; Academic Institute of the Year – School of Inspired Leadership, Special Recognition for Social Media People Campaign Category: Capgemini

Achal Khanna (CEO, SHRM India) said: “The success of 2013 annual conference was remarkable and we look forward to grow in the industry with a strong network globally, which will not only give a platform for the HR industry experts to come together but also to share and encourage best HR practices within the system as a whole”.

Some of the eminent speakers who contributed were Dr Shirley Davis Sheppard (SHRM Global), Gaurav Ahluwalia (JP Morgan Chase), Kia Scherr (One Life Alliance), Ben Casnocha (Entrepreneur and Expert on the Future of Work), Dr Jeff Pon (Chief Human Resources and Strategy Officer – SHRM Global), Frank Ricciardi (Cornerstone OnDemand), Arunav Banerjee (SOIL), Arun Silvester (Fragoman), Yogesh Sood (Leadership Consulting Private Limited), David Lewis (Pinnacle).

Dr Shirley Davis Sheppard, SHRM, shared her inputs on HR role in the context of Diversion and Inclusion. Inclusion is the achievement of a work environment in which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully. She also stressed on the point that the key drivers of sustainable engagement and retention of an employee for HR manager are leadership; stress, balance and workload management; goals & objectives; workplace flexibility and company culture.

Ben Casnocha, Entrepreneur and Expert, Future of Work, presented ‘The New People Pact’ – a revolutionary way to invigorate employees for future ready corporations. He outlined some bold guidelines that will serve as a roadmap for creating workplaces of the future. According to him, innovative ideas, entrepreneurial skills, tours of duty, alumni, social media and external network management are the key forces behind creating an HR strategy of the 21st century corporate.
Dr Jeff Pon, Chief Human Resources and Strategy Officer, SHRM shared his inputs about the emerging workplace trends and how the responsibility of the HR executives has grown over the period of time. He also, emphasised on the technological developments, use of social media and its applications in the industry which has brought the community closer to share and connect. The focus of this year’s conclave was to help the growth and development of Human Resource Executives, CEOs/Founders, Independent HR Consultants, Philanthropists as well as Academic Professionals.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 2,60,000 members in over 140 countries, the Society serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM has in excess of 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China and India. Visit SHRM Online at shrm.org. SHRM-India serves the needs of HR practitioners by facilitating exchange of knowledge resources and practices, enabling professional development, and enhanced opportunities for engagement and networking within the Global and Indian HR communities.