InteRvIew

HR must leverage technology to champion change: Polycab’s CHRO

In an exclusive conversation with People Matters, Suresh Kumar, the Chief Human Resource Officer at Polycab talks about how the company adopted HR technology in a phased approach

by jerry Moses

Suresh Kumar is the Executive President and CHRO at Polycab. Previously, he was the President – Strategy and Human Resources. Prior to Polycab, Suresh worked in various HR roles at companies like Mafatlal, Polycab Wires, Hindustan Unilever Limited.

In a conversation with People Matters, Suresh talks about Polycab’s journey towards HR technology adoption, key challenge areas, navigating the COVID19 pandemic, and his expectations of future technology solutions.

Here are excerpts from the interview.

Can you talk about the journey of deploying the HRMS?

At Polycab, we were looking for an integrated HRMS system for over a year. And our focus was to identify a system that was both – integrated and employeefriendly.

As a company, our goal was to move away from manual work and our thought process then was to make the HR department into a paper-less function by the upcoming financial year. And the HR technology system had to support the company’s growing vision. It needed to address the concerns that employees already had – whether it was providing seamless support and giving employees the information that they needed. Adrenalin was chosen with that intent. According to us, it had the capabilities which matched our expectations.

What were the top challenges in your journey to integrating technology into your HR function? And how did you overcome it?

The biggest challenges we faced in integrating technology in our HR function were • Managing the transition –

HR is a very sensitive function. It contains critical information such as payroll and employee performance records among others.

Accurately migrating such confidential data was a herculean task. • Maintaining compliances – We operate in a highly regulated business environment. It was important for us to ensure internal and external compliance to meet audit requirements. • Training the staff to adopt the new module – This was compounded by the recent

COVID – 19 pandemic that disrupted us all.

Fortunately, we have an able workforce that knows how to overcome adversity. Our employees showed great

character during these testing times and put in their efforts to maintain business continuity. Our HR team went to great lengths to thoroughly understand this module. Despite being limited in our interactions, we managed to connect digitally, sharing ideas and suggestions on how to make the system more user-friendly. We organized regular testing modules, exploring and familiarizing ourselves with the system before implementation.

What steps did you take to align the culture of the company to ensure the adoption was a success? And how did you bring about the mindset shift needed to embrace new technology at the workplace?

Polycab as a company has always embraced the latest technologies. However, this was the first time it adopted such a comprehensive HRMS module. The management was open to its implementation. It was important to acclimatize the employees with it. We conducted weekly discussions where business/functional heads would express their views post consultation with their respective departments. Feedback was encouraged and we ensured that relevant input was factored into the system. Naturally, employees were initially apprehensive at first, as change, more often than not, is met with resistance, especially, one that pertains to

The biggest challenges we faced in integrating technology in our HR function were managing the transition and ensure internal and external compliances

confidential people metrics. We sent regular broadcast messages, highlighting the merits of this new system and conducted periodic training interventions to adapt the module. This helped convince the employees about the effectiveness and potential of the new system. Such a profound transition can only be accomplished through regular dialogue with all the relevant stakeholders.

Could you talk about how you chose the HR technology partner for this journey?

We wanted to implement an all-encompassing HR module that helps propel our business forward. As a nation, we are progressing to a more agile workforce that demands real-time data and a holistic approach to people matters. Automation is a key differentiator. We needed a service provider that can help us in this transition without any compromise. Adrenalin assured us of a platform that can enable it and shared our vision to combine the key functions of HR under one roof. Though it is still early days, we are optimistic about our association.

Could you talk more about the launch and the modules you chose to focus on?

The launch was done in a phased manner. The first focus area was payroll – for the staff and management.

The second phase was the performance management system and the third phase was the workers' payroll. In the fourth and fifth phases, the focus was on training and e-learning. Once we complete that, we will be working towards a 360-degree feedback mechanism and off-roll employees. The Adrenalin team was very helpful in customizing the product according to our needs. The goal is to complete all roll-outs by February, so we can start the financial year with the integrated products in place. Shortly after the COVID-19 induced break, the process had to be re-energized.

What are the key lessons you have learned from implementing a complete HR digital transformation exercise? What were the interventions that were necessary to make the journey successful?

The key lesson learned is the importance of perseverance. Despite the COVIDinduced lockdown, we were able to connect digitally with our peers and associates to first understand the module. Also, as discussed earlier, any change is met with some sort of apprehension. Our employees, the HR team, in particular, exemplified the resilience needed and left no stone untouched to implement the system.

For us to successfully implement the system, we needed to first motivate our employees during the lockdown. We have an in-house magazine – Sparsh which encouraged employees to express their ideas. It was also released during the lockdown to keep employees abreast of what was going on in the organization and with their colleagues. Our Radio service also played a big factor in keeping our employees engaged. Our CMD gave an impasenable business leaders to get a better perspective of people metrics. Employees can highlight their training needs, set goals and track their progress. The PMS module has been specifically designed to factor in all the variables while assessing employee performance. This will no doubt lead to just and equitable organizational culture. Needless to say, employees are eagerly anticipating it.

My advice to leaders and the HR fraternity in general, is to champion change. We must embrace & adopt the latest technologies to develop the biggest resource in any economy – people

sioned speech, convincing us to weather this storm. Since employees' morale was uplifted during this difficult time, they were better prepared to maintain business continuity and accept the transition.

What has been the experience of employees at the HO and plant, post the shift to digitization? What do they have to say?

The employees have been very enthusiastic about this recent transition. The current module has helped integrate the core facets of HR namely payroll, recruitment, training, and PMS under one roof. This will

What is your one advice to leaders and HR teams embarking on an HR transformation exercise?

My biggest advice to leaders and the HR fraternity, in general, is to champion change. Manufacturing, Finance, and Supply Chain are functions that have made great strides in adopting the latest technologies in India. We must not leave ourselves behind. HR functions will play a major role in driving economies forward, especially in a post-COVID-19 world. We must embrace and adopt the latest technologies to develop the biggest resource in any economy – people.