Change is the only constant in nature. The only question is whether we are prepared to deal with it? For Arokia Sagayaraj, Vice President—Human Resources at Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre, being adaptive to change and constantly innovating is key while never losing sight of the most important asset a company has—its people. Corporate Citizen met the young dynamic leader at a conference for an in-depth interview, where he spoke at length about future trends, India’s role in driving innovations, and his mantra for life!
We are in the midst of a technological breakthrough. Consider the automotive industry. In the next few years, autonomous or self-driving cars will become the norm. We will soon see connected cars. All the gadgets you can think of using will be connected using the Internet. You can start the AC in your car using your smartphone even before you get in.
The second mega trend that is happening is the economic power shift. Power is shifting from the developed world to emerging economies like India and China. What this will bring is the increase in purchasing power. This will lead to innovation shifting from the western world to the emerging economies. The earlier trend was to bring a popular product from the western market, customise it to local needs, and then sell it. We are now moving away from this model. The customisation concept will die over a period of time. This is because innovation will drive in these markets. For example, the Renault Kwid is a car meant for India and it was made for the Indian market. From India it is now going global. Engineers from Renault Brazil were brought to India where they learnt how the car was made using the best materials and yet kept affordable. Now it is launching in Brazil. These are important milestone which will determine how emerging economies like India will set trends in the future.
There is a huge demographic change that is happening in the world. India has a large percentage of population under-30. It means all the companies, whether from automotive, FMCG, or any other sector, will focus on markets like India. When you deliver products in these markets you need to think from a localised mindset. The approach of thinking will shift from globalised to local. The growth will happen at enormous speed. People will move faster in their careers than ever before. Global mobility will be the 'in' thing. The status quo of People from emerging economies going to developed countries for jobs will be reversed. In the western world, the average age is in the 50s. They have experience and they will be imported to emerging economies.
In the workplace, a new social behavior has started. People are bringing their social life to work. While in meetings, they check their social media, reply to messages, etc. Earlier, such behavior was unacceptable. However, going forward, social media is defining new behavioral patterns at work. Work like is increasingly being integrated with social life. The line between work and social life is fast blurring, and we need to accept this.
I finished my Masters from Loyola College, Chennai, and then I got a job in Hyundai as a management Trainee. I started working in Hyundai in the HR -Sales and Marketing department, and then moved to Factory and Industrial relations. Then i moved to KPMG for a short sting of a year and a half. After that I, I joined Renault-Nissan, and was instrumental in starting the Renault—Nissan technology center in India. In fact, I was the first employee. Now, After nine years, we have close to 6,000 employees. It's purely an engineering center. I started as Head of HR, and am currently Vice-President and Management Committee member of the company. My role is to ensure that all the HR policies are in place and talent management is in order. Over and above these, I also lead the CSR initiative of the company. I am also the compliance officer of the organisation.
"I have always believed that you have to be a learning organisation to thrive. We have successfully incorporated learning and development as a function and nurtured a learning culture, where people are constantly in the mood to learn"
The new Renault Kwid is said to be India's most fuel efficient petrol car with ARAI rated mileage of 25.17kmpl, if that is true, then this tall boy hatchback will create a massive stir in the domestic market
The Kwid hatchback is equipped with a range of segment-leading features, but the highlight is the 7-inch touchscreen MediaNav system with Bluetooth. The colour touchscreen resembles the one found in the top-spec Duster and the Lodgy. The system also include AUX-in and USB connectivity
The Kwid hatchback is the first car based on the CMF-A (Common Module Family) platform, which is basically a smaller version of the flexible CMF architecture. The same platform will also be utilised by Datsun's Redi-Go concept based small car
The 'Made in India' 1.0 litre Renault Kwid has gone official in Brazil, where it has become extremely popular. Initially, the car will be imported from Renault's Chennai facility while it will be assembled at its Sao Jose dos Pinhais plant
The Renault Kwid directly goes up against the Alto K10 and the Hyundai Eon in the budget compact car category. It is bigger in size than both the Alto K10 and the Eon and has the biggest boot as well.
Indian customers are some of the most demanding customers in the world. We want more with less. When we have to deliver on those expectations, everything changes. The way we think towards designing a car, the way we manufacture, all the aspects change. Additionally, India has a good mix of customers, starting from A category to the CC+, and all the categories are equally strong. This brings more complexity.
I can't comment much about the design, as that is a separate department. I can speak from an engineer's perspective. The way we train our engineer's and the way we groom them brings out the best in them. We are amongst the best in any kind of automotive engineering in the Indian market today, and the Kwid is an example of that.
The automotive industry is going through a transition. The products offered will go through breakthrough changes in the future.
Today the trend is how to engage people. The biggest challenge you see today in HR is retaining people, keeping talented people. The trend is how to engage them, train them and build their career. This has been happening for the last 10-15 years. The difference is now the time to action has shortened. HR has to act almost instantaneously.
It is a generational effort. Today's generation wants more in a short time. They want to do new things. I think that is bringing about this change. That is the trend. HR concepts have not changed. It is people's reactions and new technology which is bringing about the change.
Companies expect their HRs to have more processes in place. But the flipside is that when you tend to focus too much on process, you tend to lose people. That's why the job of the HR leader is that they should not lose focus from the people while they are doing the process. That’s how I would put it across. People are the center. Processes should revolve around the center. If you lose focus of the people, then the entire concept is nullified. The challenge for the leaders is to put both in place. If you ask me, I have never lost track of the people but I am also focusing on the process at the same time.
If you lose focus of the people, then the entire concept is nullified. The challenge for the leaders is to put both in place. If you ask me, I have never lost track of the people but I am also focusing on the process at the same time
I have always believed that you have to be a learning organisation to thrive. We have successfully incorporated Learning and development as a function and nurtured a learning culture, where people are constantly in the mood to learn.
In the past, we used to debate a lot on work/ life balance. But the new trend is completely different. There is no more work and no more personal life. It is 24/7 of both.
"Today’s generation wants more in a short time. They want to do new things. I think that is bringing about this change. That is the trend. HR concepts have not changed. It is people’s reactions and new technology which is bringing about the change"
For example, you are always connected to work even on your holidays, whether it is answering phone calls from work or replying to emails. Conversely, due to social media, you are also connected to your friends and family when you are at work. At home you are also connected to the office via skype calls, etc. The only difference is the weightage. When I am at home, the weightage of home is more and the office is less, and vice versa when I am at the office.
Today, only two percent of women are in core engineering. This has to change. In IT, the percentage is close to 30-40 percent. We are able to leverage on the IT, but not on the core engineering sectors. Somewhere, people have to change their mindsets, and we have to attract women to core engineering. I Think government companies are more diverse than private countries currently, and we are far behind the western countries when it comes to diversity.
I believe relaxation is doing whatever you like to do. I like to farm. I own an organic farm, where i grow paddy, dal and other vegetables. I spend 3-4 days a week tending to the farm.
My way of thinking is that you need to be honest to yourself, and when you are honest you need to speak your mind. At the same time, you have to invest in the future generation. I believe in investments. Not financial investments but investing in people. Putting in time and effort on people.
By Neeraj Varty
