Organisational Change

Over the three decades, his stint with the corporate world has pushed him to touch upon every aspect that HR has to offer. True to his field, Dr Paritosh Mishra firmly believes that HR plays a major role in the organisational change, which incidentally happens to be the topic of his PHD thesis. Having had enough exposure in corporate world, Paritosh has, of late, entered the realms of education where he now moulds young minds at the Amity University. Corporate Citizen in conversation with Mishra

"As an HR, I need to take everyone together, understand their talking point and reach to a conclusion"

Corporate Citizen: Could you give our readers a gist of your corporate journey so far?

Dr Paritosh Mishra : The career choices that I have made so far truly defines me. Years of experience, sleepless nights, umpteen projects and after having touched several lives, yours truly, has reached this far. When you are true to yourself, it reflects in your work and I am glad that the education that I pursued has helped me gather enough know-how further pushing me to reach my goals.

Born to a humble Mishra family, I did most of my schooling from my hometown, Balangir, Odisha. Like most youngsters, even I had a vision of doing something big in my life. This goal of mine took me to Delhi where I did my MA and MPhil. During the 80s there weren’t a lot of management schools. Through sheer luck and hard work, I got through an all India open competition for the recruitment of Management Trainees and joined National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) in 1987. The twoyear management training was intense and was equivalent to an MBA. I served NTPC at different functions and levels. Working with various designations at the units, regional headquarters and corporate level gave me an overview of how the company functions. It so happened that it worked in my favour giving me an experience of a lifetime at a very young age.

Flourishing trade

I worked with NTPC for more two decades. Frankly, the company has given me more than I can ever give it back. The experience there was phenomenal, it acted as a catalyst for my growth in the corporate world. At NTPC, I was instrumental in setting up two regional headquarters. One of them was setting up a hydro regional headquarters in Delhi. Technically, NTPC was thermal generating company, but at one point, it wanted to diversify into other sectors. Which is why we spread our wings into the hydro sector. I was picked as the first regional head of HR for the NTPC’s hydro region.

In 2008, I joined Reliance SEZ, Navi Mumbai as Vice President HR. Had a brief stint and in 2009, picked up the role of Group HR Head of UM Group. My role involved planning, initiating, managing and leading change from a legacy-based, individualised, reactive and back-stage HR to a proactive, strategic, process-oriented and system-driven HR in the Group.

Later in 2010, I got an opportunity to work for an American Multinational Company, AES Corporation. They wanted me to be their head HR for their JV Company, Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC). I guess this was again one of the most challenging roles. When the Government of Odisha had carried out reforms and measures in the power sector in the state, AES had emerged as the successful bidder for 49 per cent stake in OPGC, along with its day-to-day management control. Here, my task was to transition OPGC from managing it in the government lines to managing it in a professional, market-responsive framework and ushering in cultural transformation as well as industrial harmony. And all this within the constraints of a government Company.

Lastly, I come with a growth mindset and I believe that shaping young minds is the best way to utilise the knowledge that I have gathered so far. I read, think and write which pushes me to teach better. Of late, I have decided to enter the realms of education. Currently, I am working with Amity University as a professor. Last semester, I taught ‘Industrial Relations’ and this semester, I’m teaching ‘Leading Change in Organisations’.

"Humans are natural learners. We learn the best when we move out of our comfort zone, and perform new tasks"

CC: Your career journey sounds motivating you did not hesitate to try out new roles. Could you walk us through the experience of handling various levels and units?

Humans are natural learners. And we learn the best when we move out of our comfort zone, perform new tasks and take up different roles. When I joined NPTC, believe me, I started with the groundwork and I never shied away from doing any sort of work. As a fresher, we are required to put in a lot of hard work and labour, regardless of the baggage we come with. I remember as a management trainee, we used to do the entries in the leave ledgers for hundreds of employees. In doing so, it made me understand the system better.

It is very important to learn the different facets that each unit or level has to offer. I did the same and worked with several functions in HR itself. In India, employee relations is still a complicated aspect. Unless one has done the groundwork of how to handle the industrial disputes, unions and associations, conciliations, court cases and service practices, it becomes difficult for them to handle the situations at the apex and strategic levels. While I was with NTPC, I voluntarily opted to handle the industrial relations for the Badarpur Thermal Power Station, Delhi. That simple change helped me grow leaps and bounds.

CC: In trying new roles and responsibilities, one grows endlessly. Your experience shows that you have stuck to only one entity of the corporate world which is HR. But you surely surfaced all the facets that it has to offer. So, tell us about your fascination with HR. Does that mean you always get in HR?

You can say so. Since the very beginning, I was sure of what stream of the corporate world I wanted to get in. During my college days, I was a student of psychology. There are two aspects of this job – management and psychology. The amalgamation of these two makes one a credible human resource professional. Psychology in HR deals with employees, their emotions, behaviour and various aspects as well. I love to handle that, build a rapport with them and lead my organisation to its goals. I have always been charmed by psychology and what it has to offer in the field of HR.

This fascination of mine led me to do some wonderful projects. The HR model I handled in Odisha is a model in future times to come. It was the first time, that we implemented variable pay. In government sectors, almost everyone earns in the same structure. I brought in variable pay which speckled to the tune of 8 per cent to 32 per cent of the employees’ cost to the company. The second thing I did was to implement the market salary structure. That implied delinking the compensation structure of OPGC from government scales.

"If you invest your time in something and fail to diversify, you are wasting your life. This is the advice that I received from my senior"

CC: As an HR, one deals with several entities like employees, stakeholders, unions, associations, just to name a few. So, over the years how did you build a harmonious relationship with all?

Due to globalisation, companies have evolved to become multifarious. We live in the age of global diversity and if the employees feel hostile with the work environment, they wouldn’t hesitate to move out. In a diversified company, there should be a level of congruence, where everyone feels at home. This I feel is built by having a unified vision and if an organisation does not have one, they need to craft this vision through a bottom-up approach. Even companies should revisit their vision statements so that it remains in sync with the changing times. If vision is the dream towards the realisation of which the organisation makes efforts to, values or core values, as they are sometimes christened, are like the directions by taking recourse to which the organisation achieves fruition of the cherished dream. This makes it inevitable for organisations to craft their core values. A company’s vision and mission shouldn’t be there for namesake, they should be followed aptly to get results. And these values are primarily driven by HR. Over the years, policies and initiatives oriented towards fructification of core values and vision helped us strengthen the bond with our employees.

In my previous company, we had a dedicated day where we all discussed the organisation’s values and resolved the issues by taking appropriate actions. And the same applies to the unions as well. They surely will have a different viewpoint about any given issues. But for the growth and success of our organisation, we ought to keep our difference aside and come to a common meeting point. If an HR leader has sincerity for resolving issues and the genuine intentions of taking the company to its goal, such actions are perceived positively by the unions. And if there are constraints, it should be discussed openly. Transparency is the key here.

CC: Could you tell us more about how you managed the unions during your tenure with the Badarpur Thermal Power Station?

There is a wise old saying as long as your intentions are solid and about growth and progression and being productive and fair, then you’re doing good in everyone’s book. And I have always believed in that saying. With the same intention, I willingly took up the challenge of joining the Badarpur Thermal Power Station as their industrial relations manager. During the 70s, the president and secretary of the union were suspended pursuant to their violent discord with the then general manager. The union had to face the consequences and strict actions were taken. Over the years, plans were sought out to ease the matter down. But it was all in vain.

As time passes by, we need to do whatever it takes to bury the hatchet. When I joined the company in the early 2000s, I had several meetings with the union, a lot of them were one on one as well. I came with a breath of fresh air and handled this situation strategically. The issue was solved with basic sincerity and things like these add to your credibility. And if they learn to trust you, things will go back to normalcy. Personally, it was a historic win for me as the organisation signed the first-ever settlement with the union after the discord.

"There is a wise old saying as long as your intentions are solid and about growth and progression and being productive and fair, then you’re doing good in everyone’s book. And I have always believed in that saying"

CC: One could only imagine the amount of agility it takes to work alongside the company’s union. Of course, there must be several incidents that tested your patience and wisdom. Some incidents might even have pushed you to your limits. What do you take away from this experience?

When you sit across the table, most of the times the union are opposing you. They come with a set of beliefs. And not to forget that they have a stronghold on the company matters as well. So much so that a single revolt by them can stir a chain reaction across all the branches in our country. As an HR, I need to take everyone together, understand their talking point and reach to a conclusion. I have to resort to means that can settle the matter with the least amount of collateral damage by taking into consideration a lot of things. The one thing I have learnt is to have a good and genuine rapport with them. I would never miss a single invitation from any of the union members to attend their family functions. Isn’t that how you build a good and healthy relationship with all? I would personally attend the functions. These situations have made me realise the importance of sincerity of purpose, truthfulness and transparency. All of this will surely lead to a strong work relationship.

CC: There is a thin line of difference between forcing your opinions and inspiring your views. How according to you can one master the subtle art of influencing the stakeholders?

The basic values that a person needs to have are commitment, integrity and sincerity. And you need to include these values on a day to day basis at work. Of course, there are times when the stakeholders won’t agree with you. In times like these, you need to strive hard to make them meet mid-way, a point which is a win-win situation for both.

CC: What is that one piece of advice that you’ve received which changed your life?

If you invest your time in something and fail to diversify, you are wasting your life. This is the advice that I received from my NTPC senior. When I started, I was working on a particular role for a long time. My the then boss advised me to apply my acquired knowledge in various streams of HR. That happened to be the turning point in my life. If it wasn’t that advice, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the essence of all the aspects that HR had to offer. Soon, I joined the Badarpur Thermal Power Station, the experience there was riveting. There, I developed the fine nuances of dealing with the unions and associations, intricacies of conciliations in industrial disputes and various other corporate values. Now when I look back, I feel, whatever happens, happens for the best!

CC: During your corporate stint, I am sure you were running on a tight schedule. Was there something else you pursed that helped you rejuvenate?

One of the things that rejuvenate me is learning new things and skills. For the past few years, I was engrossed in completing my PHD. As the HR field always fascinated me, I took up my thesis on the role of HR in organisational change. And trust me, those days were amazing. As both working on my PHD and corporate life, proved to be a catalyst in transforming my life.

In my corporate career, I’ve implemented several revolutionary changes. Change is always for the better which is why I took with this topic. My research was based on a process called triangulation which is an amalgamation of quantitative and qualitative analysis. For my thesis, I scouted over 30 companies and got down to six of them who provided me with all the information without any implications. I focused on all the historic cases which provided a great foundation for my thesis.

Throughout my career, there was a desire, lurking within me, to take my education to the next level. I never want to stop learning. Through the travels of my corporate life, I never found time to work on my PHD. But eventually, I had to take the plunge. Research on an area of my passion, not only rejuvenated me but helped me hone up my skills.