Looking Back: A journey of Innovative Interventions

 

Mr Suresh Pugalenthi, Head HR (India operations) Wipro Infrastructure Engineering (WIN), is an accomplished HR professional who believes that innovation is a way of life. He has successfully adopted it in achieving organizational growth in both the companies he has worked namely Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, and WIN. His success is laced with a number of OD initiatives in the niche areas of cultural transformation, innovation and change management. 

It was a pleasure for me (Rajeev Moothedath (RM)) to interview Suresh Pugalenthi (SP) to understand in more detail the nature and success of his HR interventions.

RM: I understand that you are basically from Tamil Nadu. After obtaining degree in Labour Management from the University of Madras, you went on to do MA (PM&IR) from Tata Institute of social sciences, Mumbai. Could you tell us something about your early life motivations as a child and youth?

SP:  I am from a small town called “Manjalar Dam” which is in the foot hills of Kodaikanal. My parents were teachers and we were 4 siblings. Therefore, my parents could not provide personalized attention to each one of us. There was a need to be self-motivated. I did the things I needed to do without being reminded. Being self-driven, became my natural trait. My father once told me that nothing is impossible, “if you can dream and work towards your dream, you can achieve it”. Reading and updating my knowledge has always been important to me.

RM: How was your experience in TISS?  Could you share anecdotes connected to learning and the social life at the college?    

SP: Even as I was doing my BLM (Labour Management) at Chennai, I dreamt about joining TISS which was a prestigious educational institution in the country.  You are one of only 28 candidates selected from among 1 Lakh applicants for the PMIR course. It boosts your self-confidence and for me, the feat reinforced my basic belief that “nothing is impossible”.  At TISS you are tested on a daily basis, competing with the best and I enjoyed the journey. 

The course itself is so designed with emphasis on practical training. You attend three days of theory classes and two days of field work in a week, to practice what you have learnt in the class. By end of 2^nd, year, we were exposed to best practices of 5 companies.

In the initial days our professor used to joke “If you have gained admission to TISS, two things are assured – naukri (job) and chokri (girl). Interestingly for me it proved correct, as I not only got my first job but also found my life partner at the campus. We got exposed to the Tata values such as respecting each individual and treating him/her with dignity. This served as a guiding light throughout our career.

Twice in a year, the canteen staff were given holiday. The students cleaned the kitchen utensils, prepared the food and served it to the canteen employees and their families. On this day, we also organized a host of entertainment activities for them. From these activities emerged my professional mantra “Take care of employees, and they take care of the organisation”.  

RM: Tell us about your first job at M/S Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited? What was your initial impression about the company as a fresher?

SP: My first job was a campus placement. I was happy with the role that they offered and was impressed by the world class ambience and physical infrastructure at the head office in the iconic towers at Nariman point, Mumbai

HPCL has an excellent induction program which helped me as a new employee to understand my role, goal, and organizational vision. HPCL understands the importance of retaining high talent especially those coming from premier institutes. They fast track your experience /exposure to various strategic initiatives.

The company’s open-door culture was amazing. You could meet anyone including CEO without appointment. I had an excellent boss who guided me during my journey with HPCL for almost 22 years. The organisation had a plan for my career and tracked my commitment, loyalty and deliverables at every level. I was also recognized for my contribution and values in terms of care, concern, empathy and commitment. I would like to credit whatever achievements I have had so far in my professional and personal life to the strong foundation provided by HPCL.

RM:  I understand that at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, premier initiatives such as HP- Path, HP- Radio, HP- pace and HP- Future leaders were implemented. Could you briefly tell us about the “What” and “How” of each of them?

SP: The initiatives mentioned were  designed and developed to achieve the company mission of becoming a “World Class Energy Company”. I will briefly explain each one of them.

HP PATH:

This is a “Behavioural Competency Model” that we developed to ensure the company had outstanding performers. The details of the PATH are the following:

 The P stands for “Personal Excellence”, which includes behaviours where the individual is SELF-DRIVEN and works through various situations for achieving long term sustainable goals.

The “A” stands for “Altro -centricity”, which includes behaviours that recognizes and take into account interdependencies across levels, between individuals and departments both internal and external for achieving organisational objectives

The “TH” stands for Thought leaders, who think both analytically and laterally to create robust solutions.

HPCL, used this competency model as a backbone in all the people related processes such as selection, Performance Management, Training and development etc. HP Path served as a guiding compass for nurturing talent at HPCL.  

HP: PACE:

It was a new, robust Performance Management System which sought to align individual employee goals to the organization's objectives. PACE had 4 stages of implementation namely (1) Discover and Define (2) Prioritize and Plan (3) Execute & Evaluate and (4) Reward & Retain.

The accent was on theme-based aspects such as Innovation, Cost, and Process improvement. HPCL witnessed huge growth in volumes after the implementation of PACE.

 HP On Air - 'Hamari Aawaz. Hamara Parivaar':

 Taking cognizance of the importance of Internal Communication, HP on Air was conceptualized. The objective of the net based corporate radio was to inform, educate, and stay connected with the employees anytime, anywhere and on any device. It enabled us to communicate in an innovative way to the employees about new initiatives, department plans and overall progress of the Organization.

Music was also used to keep the listeners engaged. interviews with the leadership, relevant news and events, important HR notices, performance highlights, reward & recognition and interactive segments with employees and their families were featured in these programs.

 HP - Samavesh” - Future Leaders Forum:

 “Samavesh” is a unique induction program designed by the company for facilitating new joiners to “Learn” about the Organization, “Grow” as an individual and professional, and “Lead”  towards Organizational excellence. The program is for a period of 12 months with clearly demarcated five phases for imparting the inputs. At the end of the program the new joinee undertakes a project which helps him/her to get a deeper insight into the assigned roles. The program has been very successful in bringing about reduction in the attrition levels. “ Samavesh” is a vital  investment towards  developing the future leaders of the organization.

 RM:  In the year 2016, you had obtained a Certification in “Driving Growth through Innovation” from the Harvard Business school. Tell us more about this certification and to what extent it influenced your approach and initiatives thereafter.

SP: The competitive landscape of the present times relies heavily on innovation. Business leaders are constantly looking for new ways to innovate because you can't solve new problems with old solutions.

The certification gave me an opportunity to learn the best practices in the field of innovation. This in turn prompted me to revisit the existing practices in HPCL so as to promote innovation in the company. We set up “HP House of Innovation” for implementing Innovative practices across the organisation. A culture of innovation was promoted across the organization by encouraging employees to take up innovative projects.

 RM: After a stint of over two decades in the public sector HPCL , why did you decide to change your job and join a new company?  

SP: I was 42 years of age and heading the OD function of the organisation. In the year 2020, the company identified 100 young leaders for preparing them for the future roles and I was one of them. During this exercise of identification, my coach asked me “Are you happy with what you are doing now? Where do you wish to see yourself in the next 5 years? This set me thinking. While I was grateful for the opportunity to serve and learn from the company, I felt it was time to look beyond HPCL for realizing my full potential and meeting ‘bigger purpose of life’.

RM:  Could you briefly tell us about your present role at WIN?

SP: Currently, as Head (HR) for India Operations with Wipro Infrastructure Engineering (WIN), I am driving people transformation with a focus on achieving strategic and operational excellence.

We have implemented various organization wide initiatives such as ‘One Wipro’ “Wipro First”, “BOLD”, “Pathfinder”, Leadership development, “WINSTAR” etc which have helped in achieving the highest ever production and profitability.        

RM:  You have had a wealth of experience in Industrial relations Could you share your basic approach and methodology for successful industrial relations?     

I believe that it is important to understand people’s perspective- the perspective of those you are interacting with. Once this is done, you can solve any problem. I follow a 5 C model for solving any people related issue. The 1^st C stands for “Connection” - Your ability to emotionally connect with the union or employee.  This is achieved by spending time and energy to understand the other person’s perspective and building trust with them.

The 2nd C in the model is “Communication”- Your ability to communicate the reason and the logic for your decision or action. Once the union and employees know that you always act with clarity and without bias, your credibility level goes up.

The 3rd C stands for building “Competency”- Here, we are talking about building the competency levels of union leaders to understand issues so that they can appreciate the decisions taken by management and also take just and unbiased decisions themselves. In this connection, it is important to impart to them relevant knowledge and awareness of the consequences of decisions taken.  

The 4th C is “Collaboration”- The best decisions and smooth implementation happens when it is done in a collaborative manner. Therefore, it is important to discuss, consult your union prior to taking important decisions so that there is smooth implementation and a Win-Win for both parties.

The 5th C stands for Culture. It is important to have a culture in the organization that is in line with the vision and corporate values of the company. With the appropriate culture in the company, no attempt will be made by anyone to look for quick fixes or short-term solutions to problems.

RM: You have had a very successful professional journey so far! What are your future plans and aspirations?   

SP:  I feel that the time has come to give back to the HR fraternity whatever learning and wisdom I have gained over the years by Mentoring and Coaching young HR Professionals.

I also, plan to work with Start-up companies to help them build & grow their organizations. If everything goes well, I will be writing a book (“HR Playbook”) in the near future that captures my experience and learnings of more than two decades.  This will be my gift and contribution to the HR fraternity.

RM:  What advice would you like to give, the young readers who have opted to take up HR as a profession in these challenging times?   

SP: I would advise young HR professionals to always remember that our primary role is to support the company’s business and growth. Focus a lot on enhancing employee engagement and experience.  In the present times, it is most essential to embrace being ‘digital’ and enhance your skill sets through continuous learning. Finally, it helps to always have an open mind and a positive mindset.

RM: Thank you Suresh for a very enlightening and holistic account of your thoughts and experiences.

SP: It is my pleasure, Rajeev. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation.