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Work culture
BPO with a difference
Prudential Process is a BPO organisation which takes pride
in its stringent selection process and consciously avoids a campus-like environment.
Sudipta Dev finds out why
Prudential Process Management Services (PPMS), the wholly-owned subsidiary
of Prudential UK, is a BPO outfit with a difference. Firstly, for its stringent
recruitment process, and secondly, for the corporate culture which it has consciously
tried to inculcate in stark contrast to the campus-like ambience prevalent in
most Indian BPOs. "We are in a serious business, with a focus on learning
and development. We have consciously stayed away from a campus-like environment,"
says Atul Sharma, the company's director of HR, pointing out that it is well-known
in BPO circles that if someone gets a job at PPMS, he or she can get through
anywhere else. By and large, PPMS has tried to keep its standards of recruitment
high.
The organisation is evidently proud of the brand it has been able to establish
in the short span of one-and-half year since it set up operations in India in
June 2003. "When we set up, there was one clear mandate-that it will be
an integrated unit of Prudential UK. PPMS has the core values of the parent
organisation, and yet has its own identity. We were clear about building a brand
focused on a learning culture and enhancing the capability of its associates,"
recalls Sharma, adding that in September 2004, the company has got global accreditation
for people practices—first in Mumbai and then in Britain.
Effort is made to ensure that people working in India feel a part of Prudential
UK, and see a connection to the larger picture. The senior leadership keeps
travelling to India and interacting with people here. Living PRU is a quarterly
employee satisfaction survey. "We do cultural mapping in Britain, and India
in a key part," informs Sharma. The exchange programme between India and
Britain is yet another initiative to establish the bond, and also provide a
global perspective to the Indian employees.
Learning and development
Professional development and growth of employees being a key objective, the
organisation has ensured that it provides a platform for growth. Workshops are
organised for those appearing for the Financial Planning Certificate 1 &
2 exam conducted by the Chartered Institute of Insurance, Britain. As a result,
many people in the company have got this prestigious certification.
The first initiative of the Prudential Academy for Capability Enhancement has
been a post-graduate programme in management studies in association with the
Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research in Mumbai.
Then there is PRU Einstein, an e-learning portal that is a repository of knowledge
on functional expertise. The e-learning modules range from MS Excel to laws
regulating the insurance industry. Further, people are trained on two more skill-sets
apart from their own so that they can answer queries on more than one process.
While cross-skilling is the norm for most, a select few also get trained on
multi-skills. There is also the Assorted Trainer Programme exclusively for team
leaders to help build their supervisory abilities.
Employee engagement focus
PPMS' employee engagement focus has a range of activities for communicating
and interacting with them. The Town Hall is a get-together which gives them
business updates, apart from cultural presentations by various teams. Back-to-the-Floor
Sessions is a forum that invites suggestions and feedback from employees, while
Monthly Updates keep them informed of the happenings across all functions.
This apart, there are a number of interest groups. For instance, ConnectPRU
is a forum for social engagement of employees. CommunityPRU is a corporate social
responsibility initiative, while Sports PRU, Festive PRU and PRU Band are some
of the other interest groups. The PRU FM is a channel which plays music and
gives regular updates, and is a binding factor in the organisation.
Currently, almost 900 people are working at PPMS, and the company does not have
any major expansion plans. "We were earlier into customer service, now
we have specialised knowledge services," informs Sharma. Those hired include
people from finance, insurance and banks.
"The attrition level here is 25 percent, which is much below the industry
average," states Sharma, conceding however that one has to constantly live
up to the challenge. The recruitment process being stringent puts a lot of pressure
on the hiring team as the selection ratio is very low.
sudipta@expresscomputeronline.com
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