On January 12th, 2024, the quarterly meeting of the Indo-German HR Partner Forum was hosted by the Knorr-Bremse Technology Center India Pvt. Ltd. (KBTCI), marking a dynamic start to the new year. Prominent representatives from the industry gathered to discuss the best practices in HR, talent acquisition, learning and development in their organizations and paved the way for an engaging and insightful day.
The day started with Arunkumar Bhat VS, Managing Director, KBTCI; steering everyone through the success story of KBTCI and showcasing the acquisition of the new facility sooner than the stipulated time. This entailed efficient thinking to evade any delays, which in turn set an example of timely execution of the plan. The acquisition, with its intricate process, challenges, and eventual outcome, presented an engaging case study for the forum's remaining partners. It deeply aligned with the forum's ethos of fostering sharing, benchmarking best practices, and mutual learning, resonating with its collaborative spirit. The work processes and Rail and Truck Divisions were also showcased in the presentation. Mr. Bhat also spoke about international certifications and the highest safety norms of Knorr-Bremse in the rail domain. Additionally, the engaging HR Excellence + Efficiency program of KBTCI was introduced and well explained by Neeraj Gupta, Director – HR, Admin & HSE; Anjali Scott, HRBP – Rail Division; Parag Wadhone, People Development Leader; and the entire HR team at KBTCI. This program focuses on people (who are the brand ambassadors of an organization), sports tournaments, CSR initiatives, mentoring programs, leadership development, digital transformation and gender diversity.
The excellent presentation and the acquisition were unanimously applauded by the esteemed HR representatives from Bayer India, Bosch Limited, Brose India Automotive Systems, Deutsche Bank, EDAG Production Solutions India, Huf India, KSB Pumps, Schaeffler India, Siemens Digital Industries Software (India), ThyssenKrupp Industries India, TRUMPF India, TUV India, Skoda VW Auto India, ZF India, and our own representatives from IGCC/IGTC, Mira Dalvi Sahni, Vidhi Daryanani and Rakulan Selvaratnam.
Post lunch, a power-up activity was organized by KBTCI to ensure the group's energy was maintained. This was followed by an open forum between the representatives and some key points of the discussion were:-
- Discussion of new initiatives and best practices in each company
- Promote employees via a consistent transparent process
- Value of a notice period during probation. Is it still relevant?
- Exploring a 4-day work week
- Efforts to reduce attrition
The discussion sparked a rich exchange within the group. One of the firms spoke about their Young Talent Programme, which focuses on activities like Book Reviews and Technical PowerPoint Presentations for young professionals, tying their performance to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), a cultural committee, a wellness calendar, and an HR reach-out forum.
Another firm underscored the significance of lean management, succession planning, and HR digitalization in enhancing agility and efficiency, and promotion strategy, which involved a dual assessment to ensure alignment with the desired profile.
The companies contributed valuable insights, including the elimination of probation periods, providing driving lessons for female employees, implementing an HR chatbot for quick queries, mandatory job rotations every five years, and offering chauffeur-driven cars for new hires, as well as innovative practices like a Role Model Programme that encourages employees to generate two new ideas annually, Internal Talent Hubs, team-based awards, ENABLE programmed for employees facing challenges, and implementing a four-day work week, respectively.
To end the workshop, the Director of IGTC, Mira Dalvi Sahni presented the year’s activities, achievements, training offerings and oriented the HR partners about the several student and industry-driven activities of IGTC.
The fulfilling and enriching day came to a close with a tour of the KBTCI facility and the planning of future meetings of the HR Forum.
Our sincere gratitude to the entire KBTCI team for the outstanding hospitality extended to our guests. Their professionalism and dedication ensured a seamless day especially while it was accommodated on such short notice.
