<div>Anuraag Maini was a soldier first. After his stint in the army, he ventured into HR and for the last 23 years, has handled assignments in corporate HR, Employee Relations, Leadership Development etc. As Sr VP Human Resources, he has been working at DLF Pramerica Life Insurance since 2007. With attrition at the average industry level of around 70 per cent, Maini, finds attracting diverse talent and keeping them engaged and retained a difficult process. The shortage of quality talent, especially at the distributor and frontline sales level, has so far been his biggest challenge. While he doesn't think that any facet of HR practice needs to be changed as their relevance is based on context, Maini, also underlines the need for HR managers to have a sound understanding of business and the challenges and expectations of business leaders.<br /><br /><strong>What made you to choose HR as a profession? <br /></strong>One of the main reasons people choose a career in HR is the opportunity to influence and support the development of employees, and to play a part in influencing strategic business decisions. <br /><br />A career in HR brings with it opportunities for variety and career progression. After my stint in the Indian army, I ventured into the corporate sector handling HR assignments. Since the last 23 years, I have handled varied assignments in corporate HR, Employee Relations, Leadership Development etc with business partnering in India, Middle East, Central & Eastern Europe. All these roles have contributed to both my personal and professional growth and it has been an immensely satisfaction career choice so far. <br /> <br /><strong>What has been the biggest achievement in your career? </strong><br />I worked in Gillette for over 17 years. Gillette was acquired by P&G in 2005 and we were assigned the task of successfully managing the merger of Gillette with P&G in 2006. As a result of the acquisition, over 225 employees were rendered jobless and we conducted a very innovative career transition programme for the affected employees which included skills building sessions, training to write CVs and giving interviews. We reached out to over 40 organisations seeking job opportunity for employees and conducted job fairs within Gillette so that interested organisations and Gillette employees could interact. The outcomes were very satisfying - all 225 employees got jobs, many moved to senior roles and the average salary increase was about 30 per cent. The integration was very smooth and rated amongst the best in the Gillette-P&G merger.<br /><br /><strong>What have been the primary traits/qualities that have helped you attain your present position? <br /></strong>I would say that a general ability to be able to engage with both business and people has been central to my journey. When one chooses HR as a profession, business partnering, consulting, coaching, problem solving, flexibility, the ability to listen and effective communication become key competencies. It is also important to be accomplished in core HR technical competencies. An HR role cuts across functions/businesses/levels and leading with values and ethics is the cornerstone of success. One needs to interact with people of widely varying levels of experience, intellect, education and skills sets and as an effective HR person, we need to ensure that all perspectives are understood, and worked upon.<br /><br /><strong>What are the challenges you are facing in your organisation? <br /></strong>The life insurance industry was thrown open to the private sector at the turn of the century and is in its early stages of evolution. Attracting diverse talent, keeping them engaged and retained is a big challenge. This is a business where the organisation supports the long-term insurance needs of customers. Hence employees are expected to take a long-term view of customer relationships, provide high quality advice and service which also translates into a long-term career commitment to the company. Given the relatively high number of career opportunities in a growing economy like India, coupled with a shortage of skilled manpower, the industry faces high levels of employee attrition. At DLF Pramerica Life Insurance, we are committed to creating a positive, open work environment, which makes our employees feel rewarded, recognised and appreciated at all times. <br /><br /><strong>What are the steps a company should take to develop and motivate future leaders?<br /></strong>Identifying, supporting and empowering future leaders is central to creating a powerful and successful organisation. An organisation needs to have well established and transparent talent assessment and review processes led by senior leaders. Candid feedback on performance and potential, strengths and development areas are highly valued by top talent. Strong leadership and mentoring programmes go a long way in grooming next generation leaders and building a strong leadership pipeline for the organisation. Such programmes also keep them motivated to achieve greater success by performing better. <br /><br />Future leaders should be offered a bouquet of development options to choose from – development projects, job rotations, stretch assignments, cross functional exposure, on-the-job training, mentorship programs, leadership training, coaching etc. are some of the ways in which companies create, develop and motivate future leaders. <br /><br />At DPLI, we have a robust performance and talent management framework driven led by senior leaders. Employees receive regular feedback which helps them create their development agenda. We have a strong training team which conducts a range of technical and management/leadership development training.<br /><br /><strong>What is your rate of attrition? <br /></strong>Attrition in our company is similar to the average industry norms of around 70 per cent. <br /><br /><strong>How do you retain talent in your company? <br /></strong>We believe in investing in our employees and providing them an environment where both their professional and personal needs are met. We ensure differentiation of rewards basis contribution, provide long term retention programmes to people with the commitment and potential to grow the business, invest in development of people, focus on frequent and transparent employee communication and are committed to building a value based culture. A combination of these actions helps us retain the right talent in the company; in fact key talent attrition in our company is under 4 per cent.<br /> <br /><strong>What sets your company apart from other companies as far as work culture goes? <br /></strong>We are of the firm belief that a value and ethics based culture will be a key differentiator. We ensure that new employees understand our values and standards of conduct during their on-boarding, so that they know what is expected of them. We conduct value workshops to reinforce company values, during which employees think of ways in which they can make the company values come alive on a day to day basis. We reward behaviour that is consistent with company values and at the same time do not shy away from taking action where company’s values have been compromised. <br /><br /><strong>What is the biggest challenge you face when selecting people? </strong><br />The shortage of quality talent, especially at the distributor and frontline sales level is by far the biggest challenge we continue to face over the years. In addition, people with the right values and the mindset suited for a long term career in the insurance industry, attract a premium. <br /><br /><strong>How do you keep track of employees' satisfaction or dissatisfaction?<br /></strong>At DPLI, we believe that two way communication is important to the growth of the company. To effectively listen to what our employees have to say and constantly engage with them, we conduct an annual employee opinion survey and engagement dip-sticks at shorter intervals. The results are shared with employees and a joint action plan prepared on the improvement areas. The CEO conducts web chats every quarter, where employees can ask questions without revealing their identity. This culture of having an ongoing open dialogue effectively increases our engagement with our employees. <br /><br /><strong>How has HR been important to the bottom line of the company?</strong><br />HR is one of the central functions through which a company engages with and retains its bottom line and hence crucial to its sustained growth and performance. <br /><br /><strong>How has the downturn affected HR? </strong><br />As the world is still recovering from the downturn, HR leaders industry-wide have realigned priorities in response to the challenges that range from pressure to enhance employee productivity, while focusing on improving efficiency at reduced costs. HR’s role as a consultant to business becomes more critical in such situations, thereby ensuring that its people and organisation culture are handled constructively. HR has to facilitate change management, ensure a stronger connect with employees, keep channels of communication well lubricated and ensure that employees are engaged and focused on their deliverables.<br /><br /><strong>How should HR be integrated with the core line of business? </strong><br />The HR function facilitates creation of business goals and objectives, alignment between business lines and functions and further breakdown into individual employee objectives. HR objectives should reflect the business objectives of the organisation and ensure that a clear linkage is established between HR efforts and its impact on the business. In addition, HR managers/teams are embedded in the business to provide close support to leaders and employees.<br /><br /><strong>If you could change three things about HR practices, what would they be?</strong> <br />It is difficult to comment on changing HR practices as their relevance is based on the context. To support an organisation at a strategic level, HR managers must have a sound understanding of the business, the challenges and expectations of business leaders. They also need to proactively assess people related risks and take mitigation actions. HR needs to ensure that there is a continuous effort to build organisation culture as this will serve as a differentiator for attracting, engaging and retaining talent.<br /><br /> </div>
