At Titan, Crafting Ambitions Through Conversations

WAY BACK IN 2OO3, homegrown lifestyle major, Titan Company, institutionalised an initiative called ‘Tell Me’: Employee engagement survey forms were sent directly from the MD’s office and responses were evaluated by the top leader himself.

Though employee engagement surveys are common in most organisations, not many put their heart and mind into them. In most cases, they are just annual exercises at the end of every financial year, where employees are asked to rate the company on parameters such as work culture, ethics, etc.

It was this mindset that bothered Titan’s senior management led by MD C.K. Venkataraman and Swadesh Behera, CPO & EVP, Titan Company Limited. “I often tell my friends do not fill up feedback forms at restaurants just for the sake of it, as the person out there is looking for genuine feedback. The sentiment was similar when it came to our employment engagement surveys, and we felt that having personal conversations could be more effective,” says Behera.

The company last year replaced its ‘Tell Me’ initiative with ‘Tell Me Conversations’. Venkataraman and Behera travelled across the country to personally meet employees — store staff, factory workers and members of the corporate office — and engaged in over 75 hours of conversations. “Titan is in an exponential phase of growth and personally interacting with our store staff at remote locations has helped us prioritise areas we need to focus on,” claims Behera.

Both Venkataraman and Behera came back with two notebooks filled with employee feedback, including from women staff at stores requesting for uniforms to be made more flexible so that it is convenient for them to move around. Many in Tier-II and III markets also requested for washrooms to be built within stores.

But the feedback which cut across all sections of employees (many of whom have worked in the organisation for over 30 years) was a desire to be upskilled. This request came in even from traditional karigars pursuing their family legacy of crafting jewellery. “We met karigars who told us they were tired of what they were doing. In fact, one of them said he would do a great job if he was put in quality control, which made us think why not? Who better to have in quality control of our jewellery business than a karigar himself?” says Behera.

One of the first outcomes of ‘Tell Me Conversations’ has been the setting up of an AI-powered talent marketplace. “Employees will have mobility constraints, career aspirations etc and through AI we will start matching positions with interests,” explains Behera. A number of employees have shown interest in careers they don’t have any training in, and the company has created short-term project roles for them.

Gearing up for hyper growth would need speed and agility, and the company has been embracing technology not just in the business but in its talent strategy as well. Its ‘Titan Next’ concept focuses on attracting the best-quality talent. “We are looking at a 3x growth in four-five years, and for that we need to have enough depth in the succession of leaders,” says Behera. Though, traditionally, the company has been grooming its internal pipeline of leaders, there’s a need now to tap outside talent, especially since it has ventured into new-age businesses such as wearables. “We are predominantly good at analogue, but to play in wearables we will need different kinds of talent and that’s the reason we are open to hiring from outside.”

Titan is revisiting all its processes, from hiring to retirement. “We are trying to bring in tech intervention right from the time a person is evaluating Titan as an employer to when he/she quits and becomes an advocate for the company,” says Behera. Since a lifestyle company attracts Gen-Zs the most, Titan, says Behera, has been redoing its employer branding and strengthening its position on social media. It is also setting up an application tracking system (ATS) to hire best-in-class talent. “Today I usually put my requirements in LinkedIn, Glassdoor or Naukri, and also use consultants. The channels are disparate. The ATS will aggregate applications and give us data analytics as to which channel is working well.”

The 26,165 crore Titan Company aspires to grow three times in the next five years. Apart from its stronghold of jewellery and watches & wearables, the firm is also trying to find its way in a lot of categories such as saris, fragrances, eyecare, and most recently, handbags for women, Irth. To support this growth, there’s need for good-quality talent. For that the company has to shed its legacy mindset, which it is trying hard to do.