Mumbai: Mathew Job, CEO – Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd. (CGCEL) has been recognized as one of India’s Best Leaders in Times of Crisis 2021 by Great Place to Work® India. With an aim to identify how organizations dealt with the VUCA environment intensified by the pandemic, the study recognized leaders who have demonstrated their exemplary leadership and ability in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis and the well-being of their workforce.
Talking about his leadership recognition, Mathew Job, CEO – Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd. said, “Leadership for me has always been about leading from the front, but it became even more important during the crisis created by the COVID pandemic. At Crompton, we have always believed that what is good for our employees is good for our business and hence we placed the highest priority on the health and safety of our people. Apart from this, we focused on cash and cost conservation and on having a vertical start-up when the situation eased. Because our people felt safe and secure, they went to extraordinary lengths and often beyond the call of duty to ensure our business flourished even during such times.”
Some of the key initiatives that CGCEL took during this period were:
- Enhancing Mediclaim benefits for employees through COVID top-up policy
- Increasing sum assured on Group Term Life policies by a factor of 3 to 5
- Free vaccination for all employees and eligible family members
- Making travel policies more liberal to ensure employees do not need to use public transport
- Monthly CEO webcast and small group interactions
- ‘Chai pe Charcha’ – an open channel of communication for employees at all levels with the leadership team
- AI-enabled tools for social distancing and contact tracing
- Innovative campaigns like “Pehno Sahi” encouraging mask-wearing and other COVID appropriate behavior
- Enhanced online learning and development programs to ensure employees remain engaged and productive during the lockdown period
The pandemic has challenged old paradigms of working and thrust the new normal on businesses and the workforce. While organizations have found ways to cope with the VUCA world, current times placed tremendous pressure on the leadership team to be agile, decisive, and adaptable. In this very special study conducted by Great Place to Work® in India, 75 leaders have been recognized for their exemplary leadership during this very challenging year. The study captured history as it happened by enabling organizations to update actions and initiatives regularly, while a short impact survey was conducted on cross-sections of employees to understand their experience during these challenging times.
