Exclusive Interview with Surender Jeet Raj, Senior Vice President - HR Operations, Newgen Software

"The Crisis Brought A Change In The Mindsets And Behaviors Of The Leadership Team"

The COVID-19 crisis has impacted various aspects of our lives - especially work. With remote working becoming the norm, employees and employers alike, especially the first-timers, are experiencing the ups and downs related to the situation.

On one hand, employees are worried about job security and the challenges of working as a team, on the other, employers are facing issues such as engagement and productivity drop, among others. It now falls upon the leadership to keep the team up and running.

How are the leaders handling the situation? HR.com interviewed senior-level executives from various organizations and asked them to share their lessons and insights.
 

Surender Jeet Raj is Senior Vice President - HR Operations, at Newgen Software.

Q: How has the COVID-19 crisis affected your business?

Surender: The current global pandemic has forced everyone to dig deep and respond with firm actions and swift execution. Digital is a savior in times like these and Newgen employees have showcased their resilience as they operate in a remotely distributed environment. We are viewing this crisis as an opportunity to empower businesses with technology and innovation. 

Our customized banking solutions for SME lending are helping financial institutions around the world manage the current influx of loan applications. 
 

We are also enabling our clients across all verticals to maintain business continuity by:
 

• Going live with new projects
• Capturing client requirements remotely
• Conducting successful demos online
• Deploying solutions via cloud within hours 

We have optimized our operations to remain competitive with digital technology and customer-oriented staff.

Q: Are your employees working remotely? If so, what are some of the challenges you are facing while managing your remote workforce?

Surender: Within the first couple of days of the lockdown, we facilitated remote working for almost all our employees owing to our preparedness. We were among the first companies in our industry to transit to this new normal, ensuring compliance with safety protocols.

We have mostly seen positive outcomes.  However, some of the challenges that we are addressing are:
 

• Ensuring overall employee health and wellness in light of the blurred boundaries between work and personal life
• Providing infrastructural requirements and uninterrupted connectivity amid movement restrictions 
• Combating monotony and sustaining the enhanced momentum in productivity and accountability

Q: What policies do you have in place to deal with such a crisis?

Surender: The wellbeing of our staff is our top priority. We have taken several measures to ensure the safety of our employees and enable them to work remotely in line with our Business Continuity Policy.

We have also swiftly modified our existing policies to suit the current requirements:
 

• The work from home policy was quickly amended to incorporate self-quarantine
• The biometric attendance system was amended to minimize contact while we were still in office
• The attendance and leave policies were modified to enable hassle-free payroll processing
• The process of allocating assets to employees was promptly ramped up
• The onboarding and exit management systems were revamped to benefit incoming and existing employees
• Cost-saving initiatives such as deferment of leave encashments and bonus payouts were implemented 
• A health assessment app was developed in-house to monitor the health and safety of our employees 

We continue to adhere to the policies and processes that help us stay connected with our employees. We are closely monitoring the evolving situation to make sure that all our employees are financially, physically, and emotionally secure.

Q: What employee engagement challenges do you come across, especially in the current scenario? What are you doing about it?

Surender: As employers, we must think beyond the intent of engaging employees for better productivity. We cannot discount the fact that everyone is dealing with anxiety as they juggle their family responsibilities, the changing nature of work, and the concerns about job security. Keeping this in mind, we are executing high touch engagement practices to balance the emotional impact of social distancing.
 

• We have increased the frequency of communication with employees across all levels through townhalls, pulse checks, and team catch-ups
• Virtual games and quizzes, informal hangouts, online fun events, and virtual get-togethers with families are some of our key initiatives
• We are in constant touch with the employees who are at a high risk of anxiety, i.e. those staying alone and those who have young children and old age relatives at home 
• We are running reward and recognition campaigns to recognize employees who go the extra mile to deliver their duties
• We have tripled our learning and development efforts to upskill our employees and make them  future-ready 
• We are connected with our campus hires and have virtually onboarded a new batch, completed their training and allocated them to different departments 
• We are also in the process of rolling out an internal survey to get feedback from our employees and further enhance their experience in the present scenario 

Q: Are you providing or planning to provide any emotional and mental health programs for employees?

Surender: We at Newgen are committed to the health and wellbeing of our employees. As HRs, we are trained to be effective counselors for our employees, but we understand the current situation would require expert assistance. We are exploring tie-ups with mental health professionals to provide a safe space for our employees. Our decentralized HR rep model is helping us identify the various personas that exist in our organization. Through our individual connect, we can identify employees who are emotionally vulnerable and accordingly make priorities for a one to one dialogue with them. The HR reps are stepping up as friends, coaches, and guides for their respective business units. 

Q: What leadership lessons have this health crisis taught you?

Surender: COVID-19 has turned everything upside down as far as traditional leadership styles are concerned. As leaders, we need to balance our empathy and compassion along with our ability to make difficult decisions. While the operational costs need to be optimized, it is also essential to address the challenges faced by our employees. As a new culture develops in a virtual environment, leaders are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that the employees’ alignment to the vision and goals of the company is not compromised. 

In a nutshell, there is a change in the mindsets and behaviors of the leadership team, as opposed to the predefined response they were comfortable with. 

Q: What positive change has transpired that you would want to maintain?

Surender: New trust-based relationships are formed as we navigate through this challenge 
 

• Employees have more flexibility to plan their day and maintain a work-life balance
• Accuracy and business efficiency across all levels has increased
• There has been a rise in individual contributions and a sense of ownership 
• Meetings are crisp, solution-oriented, and inclusive 
• People across all ages are comfortable with video calls and virtual interactions 
• There is more time to discover hidden talents and revive hobbies 

We would like to sustain all of this and keep finding new and innovative ways to do things. We are challenged out of our comfort zones. This in itself is a step towards growth. 

Q: Would you like to add anything?

Surender: COVID-19 has presented us with a whole new set of opportunities as it challenges everything we have ever known about our environment. We will soon embrace this change of using virtual as a prefix to everything we do. Gig economy workers' ecosystem will be explored in a whole new dimension. Organizations that can remain rooted in their value system and continue to adapt will go a long way in thriving in this new normal. I see exciting, challenging, and educating times for the entire human race. My sleeves are rolled up!
 

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