The Experion Experience

SUGATO PALIT explains why the company´s HR practices have proved so successful. At the 23rd World HRD Congress, with over 1,000 participants from more than 25 countries, Experion Developers received various awards such as Dream Employer of the Year, Continuous Innovation in HR Strategy at Work, Best HR Strategy in Line with Business, and Best HR Leadership (across all sectors), among others. Taking this recognition into account, below are some of the key HR practices followed at the company. Leadership vision and commitment The top management´s ownership of HR processes to build a sustainable and scalable business is rare and people and business-centric. It is encapsulated in brief as follows: Clear articulation and driving a vision and set of values for the organisation. Our core values for our external customers are integrity, transparency, involvement and innovation. It has been ensured that each employee is fully integrated into these, and there are refresher sessions and decision-making workshops guided by these four values. Ensuring exceptional quality in all that we do, partnering with the best in class for supporting our business, whether it is technical, managerial, financial or cultural. For instance, we partner with Arcop (Singapore), Larsen & Toubro, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Great Place to Work Institute (USA), RGF Select, etc, to name a few.This ensures that we benchmark our own processes with industry leaders and set high standards for ourselves. Through this, we keep upping the ante in terms of our own aspirations and deliver the best, at all times. Hiring the best possible talent from across industries to build up a strategic team that owns up and delivers to the highest levels in their domains of expertise. The leadership has invested a huge amount of time meeting and selecting key personnel in the organisation. Constant support and providing maximum possible latitude and support to the HR function to deliver on all people and cultural issues related to the organisation. This kind of faith is uncommon and has helped encourage and motivate the HR team to deliver at peak levels on all fronts. Key achievements and deliverables At the heart of all the HR initiatives was the need to set a solid foundation for scalable systems and processes while keeping in mind the best practices from leading corporate houses (across sectors). In this context, a strategy was drawn up and executed to cover the fundamental elements, including: Role mapping and role evaluation to establish bands and grades for each unique job in the company. Tweaking the appraisal and remuneration process to recognise solid contribution and reward high performers disproportionately. To facilitate this, the following was done:- Establish a group goal setting process, thereby synergising individual efforts to deliver organisational objectives. Set expected delivery standards at the outset and be transparent about linkages to variable pay and increments. - All heads of compensation rationalised for monthly, annual and retiral benefit balance across different levels in the company. - Increasing percentage of variable pay to fixed pay, based on relative seniority and ability to impact business directly. Dissemination of the vision and values across the organisation through experiential workshops, pin-up cards and refresher courses as a conscious build-up of organisational culture. We engaged Great Place to Work Institute to partner them in assessing employee engagement levels in the company. This helped build credibility among employees as a ´listening organisation´ and gained significant ownership among employees as they were included in the journey to improve as an overall organisation. External and internal image building To enhance employer branding, the HR team actively participates in network events to create awareness and equity among the fraternity. Over a point in time, a couple of key HR role-holders have been empanelled in expert forums in learning and development, talent management and employee lifecycle management. L&D master-classes has been conducted by the head of HR to an audience comprising CEOs and CHROs across the country. We have also targeted the best institutes in the country to hire budding talent, like IIT-Delhi and so on. As a critical business partner to all functions, we evolved the ´inclusive HR principle´, wherein everyone is a co-owner of the company´s HR processes. HR is but a facilitator to this process, called ´inclusive HR´, where each employee not only drives the HR processes but takes ownership of whatever he or she does, and also for their colleagues and team members. World-class practices During this journey, several benchmarks have been created in terms of practices, processes, and policies, including many firsts in the industry, such as: Dual rating system for each employee, with 100 per cent appraisal coverage. In this process, we accord two different ratings to each employee, one linked to variable pay and the other to increments. This helps differentiate between short-term delivery and long-term potential. Documented SOPs for each function, co-partnered by Ernst & Young. A comprehensive and robust induction programme to ensure that every employee gets the ´Experion experience´ right from the interview stage. This ensures a smooth transition and getting productive in the least possible time. Best-in-class training inputs to all employees, with constant monitoring by the leadership. About the author: Sugato Palit, Executive Director-HR & Admin, Experion Developers, is an alumnus of XLRI, Jamshedpur, and has essayed HR leadership roles in Indian and multinational companies, at national, regional and global levels.