Employee Well-being, Organisational Excellence, And The Intricate Nexus Between Them Discussed At VGSoM, IIT Kharagpur's HR Conclave

The Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur, hosted its 2nd online HR conclave - Vaachna, on 30th October 2021, focusing on the theme "Employee Well-being - An Imperative for Organisational Excellence."

The esteemed panel comprised of Dr. Ankita Singh, SVP & Global Head HR at CIGNEX, Mr. Atulaya Goswami, HR Head India Region at UPL, Mr. Milind Mutalik, CPO-Head People Experience at Accolite Digital, Mr. Sandeep Kumar, Head HR Operations - India at Sodexo, Mr. Satish Rajarathnam, SVP HR at Mphasis, Mr. Sudipto Mandal, Vice president & CHRO at Star Cement Ltd and moderator Ms. Konika Chadha, Regional Market Leader & Head of Professional Search – India at Korn Ferry.

The keynote address by Prof. V.N. Achutha Naikan, Dean, VGSoM emphasising how firms that prioritised employee well-being could pivot and meet the challenges of the new normal effectively set the stage for an extensive discourse on Employee Wellbeing.

Ms. Chadha began the panel discussion by highlighting the new framework for employee well-being, which encompasses their families. She moderated the subsequent talks, using questions to add depth to the topic and accentuate the essential points from the distinguished speakers. Mr. Mutalik stressed the need to understand things from the employee's perspective and take necessary corrective action. Mr. Rajarathnam spoke about the importance of finding a work-life balance and how Work-Life has been renamed Life-Work, highlighting the importance of life over work. Mr. Goswami elaborated on the need to be aware of unintended consequences by addressing the impact of employee happiness on productivity and the employer's ability to attract and retain talent.

The discussions then moved on to the latest methodologies adopted across the corporate world to ensure the well-being of employees.  Dr. Singh spoke about how the focus across organisations has shifted to improving work culture, and how her organization was embracing this shift by implementing initiatives such as a real-time application to tackle employee issues. Mr. Kumar elucidated how well-being is something everyone is individually responsible for and shared how he tries to lead by example in incorporating wellness habits in his daily life. Mr. Mandal then re-emphasized that ensuring employee well-being was critical to businesses' long-term survival, especially in the VUCA world.

The enriching discussions and multidimensional perspectives that arose during the event greatly helped the aspiring leaders understand the subtle nuances of employee well-being and its relevance for organisational excellence.