1 Happy and proud faces mark celebrations
2 Engaged employees the key to growth
Only a handful of companies have shown determination to take their workers along in the journey for growth and Indo-British Garments (IBG), Faridabad, popularly known as the uniform sourcing/manufacturing wing of G4S – world’s leading international security solutions group – is certainly one of them. Registering phenomenal growth in one year since it occupied its new worker-friendly factory; the management has proved that employee engagement is not a cost but an asset to the company.
Apparel Online was special invitee to the internal celebrations where the top management addressed the workers and also felicitated employees on two accounts – ‘Most efficient lines’ and ‘Operators with outstanding attendance records’, in an environment charged with motivation and positivity.
The management led by the Managing Director, Chandni Sachdev expressed satisfaction on the smooth transit from the old factory to the new premises with worker strength going up from 350 operators and four lines a year ago to 525 operators today. Abiding by the principle of ‘Safety & Health, People & Care, and Efficiency & Quality’ right from the inception of the factory, it has ensured that the entire infrastructure is fire proof and airy; the workstations are well lighted and have shock proof beams. Also realizing the importance of correct workplace ergonomics, the stools of the operators were replaced with chairs with back rest. “The accident-free first anniversary is proof of our success on safety commitment, along with a highly engaged, motivated and efficient workforce which is self-governed to do better,” says Chandni.
Carrying the concept of safety beyond the workplace, operators working with the IBG family for more than a year were provided with bicycles and crash proof helmets to ride safely to work. Not stopping at internal initiatives, efforts were made to ensure that benefits arising from Haryana State Government schemes were availed by the operators and their families, and for which the HR Department educated and guided the operators through the process of enrolment and realization of various beneficiary schemes. Free medical health check-up, summer training for wards of the operators who wished to learn about people management with the HR Department, scholarships for students to pursue higher education, even at foreign universities, music system, upcoming gym facility in the premise and computer centre with internet connectivity for training the wards of the employees are amongst the several initiatives taken up by the top management. It is no wonder that 180 operators have been working with the factory for over 8 years, since its inception, and about 90.80 per cent operators expressed satisfaction of the facilities at this new factory in an internal HR survey recently. “We are studying why the remaining 9 per cent are not satisfied and looking at ways to address those areas also,” said Chandni.
Drawing loud applause from the workers, Raj Kamboj, Director Sales, IBG reassured the gathering that “Continual progress and development of workforce and their families is not only a commitment but a policy and the stakeholders of IBG do not look at profit alone when making plans for growth.” The unmistakable joy on the faces of operators at the event bore testimony to the effectiveness of the extensive initiatives undertaken by the factory’s top management. “Whenever I visit IBG, it elates my heart to see the smiles and dedication in this factory. It is a victory on your behalf. Maintain the smile and spirit,” encouraged Sangeeta Sharma, Managing Director, MyoHo Consulting Pro and Director HR, IBG addressing the operators. Sangeeta, who was earlier working with G4S and knows the company and its operations closely, has been recruited to support the in-house HR team to develop and implement various operator welfare schemes.
Though the target is employee-welfare, practical issues of ‘profitability’ have not been ignored and a primary aide of the factory’s ascending efficiency chart is Nimish Dave, Director of Possibilities of the IdeaSmith, who is associated with the company as a consultant. “My first two months with this factory were really tough. The systems were old and I was trying to understand the policies and systems of this factory. However the top management and especially the MD had an extremely forward vision and realized the importance of synergy between departments, which made it easier to make the changes,” shared Nimish. Crediting the achievement to cooperation and eagerness to learn from the operators, Nimish further added, “Operators have an appetite to learn like a young child and we have explored this quality and seen it rubbed off to other people in the premises and together we have been able to achieve over 90 per cent efficiency in the last one year from the existing 42 per cent then, which very few companies in Northern India can boast of.”
With her quiet but smiling presence, Chandni paid an ultimate tribute to her team by remaining in the background and allowing those who spearheaded the change to take centre-stage. “No change can happen till everyone is on the same page, and for that the determination of the top person right to the lowest level has to be the same and with our pro-active approach, our workers know that we are serious about their welfare and support us with their loyalty and hard work that is our biggest achievement,” concluded Chandni.
