Lead Essay: The New-Age Organisation

India Inc. has not just institutionalised working from anywhere, it is also revisiting hiring strategy, performance management and office space to become agile and nimble

- Ajita Shashidhar

Human resources (HR) professional Shachi Singhal joined automobile major Maruti Suzuki close to a decade ago. Work life was a nine-to-five routine, until the outbreak of Covid-19 last year, when it became mandatory to work from home (WFH). Her routine suddenly shifted from meetings and presentations at the company’s headquarters in Gurgaon to virtual meetings from the living room. The frequent coffee chats with colleagues shifted to Zoom or WebEx. A year later, as the world is learning to live with Covid, Singhal is back in office, but only thrice a week. Her company, she says, is looking at institutionalising working from anywhere. “A year ago, I would have never imagined not going to office every day, but WFH has been effective and has, in fact, improved productivity,” she says.

In December 2019, Richa Sharma had to give up a lucrative career in an energy company in Mumbai and return to her home town, Jaipur, to take care of her ailing mother. Just when Sharma was about to return to work towards the end of February last year, the country shut down to fight the pandemic, and most organisations froze hiring. In September, she got a short-term project in the audit team of Axis Bank. The best part was that she could work from Jaipur. Though she had to compromise slightly in terms of remuneration, the flexibility the role offered compensated for it. “I don’t have to travel to work and, more importantly, I have a role which I enjoy.”