To me it means being beyond a HR proffesional on duty. To me it means just being a human being...a nice, sensitive & strong human being....
I would have failed to realise this if I was not present during the NHRD monthly meeting last friday listening to one of the most humble & nicest HR proffesional I have heard speaking in the recent times.
I thank Mr H N Shrinivas, Senior HR Vice President, Taj Group of Hotels & NHRD,Chennai for giving me the oppurtunity to attend the meeting.
Mr H N Shrinivas spoke about how the HR team in Taj Group of Hotel handled the crisis situation post 26/11 terror attack in Taj Hotel,Mumbai.
The need for that situation was to be really sensitive towards all the victims and their families. That is exactly what the HR team in Taj did. It was a very tough period for all Indians and for the Taj family.
It was tough to see the dead bodies of Taj associates who served Taj with utmost passion till that horrific day.It was equally painful to see their customers in such a state. It was an emotional challenge to move from one funeral to the other. It was not only sensitivity which mattered then but a lot of strength was needed to get back to regular business and infuse faith and sense of security in every Taj associates and customer's heart.
Here are a few initiatives which the HR team at Taj took:
1. A few days after the incident, they directly spoke to each and every associates[present in the hotel that day] in a common hall communicating that their jobs were completely secure and not even a single associate including casual/contract/apprentice employees would loose their job. They also clearly communicated that all their salaries would be paid for sure. It was also announced that the Hotel would be opened very soon[I guess within 3 weeks!!] and the employees who would not be able to work temporarily in the damaged part of the hotel would surely get their salaries either directly in the bank account or through money order.
2. Counselling sessions were organised in association with TISS for employees and guests.
3. A settlement sheet was announced for deceased employees in the attack that included death relief ranging from Rs 35 lakhs to Rs 85 lakh, last drawn salary to be paid to dependent as long as they are alive, education sponsored for their kids till they would recieve their proffesional degrees, Medical assistance, any loan taken from the company would be waived off and much more. The assistance given to the injured employees in terms of treatment & monetary assistance were really impressive too.
4. Outreach centres were organised where art of living course, engagement activities,team activities etc were undertaken.
5. Their compassion was also reflective in the way they took various initiatives for the welfare of victims of the terror attack who were not part of Taj Hotel. Need Assesment Surveys were done alongwith TISS in order to decide monetary help for them. They also plan to train the children of victims to become employable. The treatment of many victims were also taken care of by them.
6 Mr Ratan Tata met the families of deceased employees and extended great support.
But beyond all the above mentioned measures, what really inspires me is the commitment and selflessness shown by the Taj associates on 26/11. I heard various examples of how a 23 year old girl showed prescence of mind by risking her life multiple times to keep the guests safe and secure. Then, I heard how an associate who worked in the hotel for many years rescued more than 50 guests and his collegues but recievd bullet shots in the end. His collegues miss him a lot and believe that their lives were saved because of him . His wife feels that she could now realise how great her husband was.
Mr Shrinivas along with many others believe that people like them have redifined service....service of a different level...
So True!!!!
Events like 26/11 are very unfortunate but they help us to ponder about various questions like What is career all about??? or What is the HR proffession all about??? or even what is life all about???
A company might have the best graduates from the most fancy B-School but what does it really take for a company to infuse a great sense of belongingness and integrity that translates to 'service of a different level'?????
Is it 'divine blessing' or 'a great company culture' or 'unmatched HR practices' or something else????
I believe it is a certain sense of goodness in whatever the company persues. A company which lives and breathes it's value system.
No comments:
Post a Comment