Parameter on which our company scored high was ‘Flexibility at work’, which many companies have been forced to adopt in the last couple of years. But we embarked on the journey much before the pandemic struck. “As a diverse company having all kinds of people, we started working on very forward-looking policies around 4-5 years back. We had things like satellite working, sabbaticals, directed learning leaves, mothers’ leaves, paternity leaves. We even had transgender leave for parental requirements and menstrual leave for women that they are authorised to take on their own terms out of their sick leaves. Women can even travel with their children and maids if they want to,
The foundation that was laid around 4-5 years ago enabled the company to put in place two working models—a flexible working model and the absolute work from home model—with flexibility built into each of them. Further, the company also identified around 200-500 roles that could be managed from anywhere and office space was given up. What’s interesting is that parts of the office space vacated were used to build digital twins of blast furnaces and other processes so that people did not actually have to go to the plant to operate these. Some space was also converted into hot desks and employees could just book a place through an app.