News
April 9, 2014
Apps to deliver internal communications material, in-house brand journalists that report internal news, crowdsourcing of CSR funds and co–creation of content are just some of the innovations that internal communicators are using to keep employees engaged, to inculcate brand values and to ultimately form a strong and transparent connect with customers.
Content Co–creation Microsoft launched the Microsoft Journalist (MJs) initiative in 2014, which already has over 25 MJs in India. Gayatri Rath Director Corporate Communications and Citizenship, Microsoft says that, “this is a local Microsoft India initiative, it invites employees with a flair for telling engaging stories to enroll as a Microsoft Journalist (MJ). They identify potential stories relevant to all employees of Microsoft India, develop and file them – through both written articles and pictures, for publishing in the employee portal”.
Aniisu K Verghese, Corporate Communications Lead of Tesco HSC, feels that the future of internal communications is about personalisation, co-creation of content and engagement that encourages a continuous two-way dialogue. Aniisu points out that engaged colleagues want to do more for the brand, and readily go above and beyond if given the opportunity, but feels that: “They are often misguided on how and when. It is the ownership of the internal communications team to facilitate seamless connections and increase opportunities for employees to take brand engagement to the next level.”
Tesco recently asked in-house staff to be ‘photo-journalists’ and ‘video-storytellers’ for their family day – they would capture the essence of the event. Aniisu says that the corporate communications team readily used the material produced on both internal and external channels. “By ‘crowdsourcing’ these images, we gave our colleagues an opportunity to play an active role in communications, and several of them felt tremendous pride while carrying out their role. They shared this sentiment with their wider networks, and this resulted in a positive sentiment overall. We are now crafting a campaign to involve our colleagues and followers to contribute to Tesco HSC’s 10th Anniversary timeline and be part of our journey by sharing nuggets from the past”.
Tesco HSC, has also created an in-house social media council that invites participation from colleagues who are passionate about new media. Aniisu says that these colleagues are consulted often: “We take their views on how to refine our messages, elevate our reach and make an overall impact. The most recent instances were campaigns that we ran in late December 2013 through mid-January 2014. The corporate communications team facilitates this council’s engagement. The group meets every month to brainstorm on campaign ideas, and we actively debate what can be done to improve our delivery and engagement through existing channels. The council’s views feed back into how our communication programmes pan out, while widening our horizons at the same time. In the era of transparency and sharing, boundaries are blurred and internal and external interactions often overlap. In this context, is it is more important than ever to ensure our colleagues are completely aligned and in sync about the crafting of these messages.”
Connecting through innovation One of the key challenges in the millennial corporate place is to help employees find their inner innovator and socially responsible avatar, especially in large groups such as Mahindra. The Mahindra group has 180,000 employees spread across 100 countries, operating in 18 industries ranging from aerospace to auto to farm equipment.
For the Mahindra group, the philosophy of ‘Rise’ is a core peg to keep everyone connected. Darius Lam, General Manager, Group Communications, Mahindra Group says: “Employee engagement is key to any brand’s success. Internalising your brand values is the first step to changing or improving a company’s image. If your employees live your principles, your customers will automatically get influenced. The ideas of social responsibility and innovation, for example, are greatly inundated into Mahindra’s philosophy of ‘Rise’. For example, through our Employee Social Options Program (Esops), we connect Mahindra employees with people in need all across the globe. Each year we organise on-going initiatives to reach out to disadvantaged communities”.
Mahindra says that in 2012-2013, almost 19,000 Esops volunteers contributed 1,09,250 manhours toward a variety of social causes.
Spark the Rise is another way that Mahindra externalises their ‘Rise’ philosophy. Spark the Rise is a platform for innovators and entrepreneurs with path-breaking ideas. Darius says that: “Our employees have always had a desire to give back to their communities, not just monetarily but also through their time and dedication to social causes. Spark the Rise did more to take this burning desire to the masses at large by bringing people together to work for change.”
Shravani Dang, Vice President and Global Group Head of Corporate Communications at the Avantha Group and Advisory Board member of Women in Leadership Forum says one of the biggest challenges is to stay involved and engaged in a large, multi-cultural group of people. Avantha, the power to paper group is in over 90 countries and has over 25,000 employees.
The group is planning a new technology to ensure that such a large and diverse group of people is connected. Shravani says: “We are planning to build an app for internal communications. This internal communications app will be downloadable onto any device and will enable us to leverage the growth of mobile devices and tablets. It will also let us push internal communications beyond the more restrictive intranet. Easily downloaded onto iOS, Android, Windows and desktop devices the Avantha internal communications app will keep all parts of our organisation connected.”
Shravani adds: “The app, as we plan it, will let users know about what’s happening or when the latest news has been put on the app – real time and virtually while the employee is on move or hundreds of miles away from our headquarters. Our team is already in advanced stages of discussion with technology providers and we expect to be beta testing the app in a couple of months.”
Crowdsourcing of funds On April 1st, CSR contributions became mandatory for about 16,000 companies under the new Companies Act 2013. This represents a 20,000 crore opportunity to drive social change if companies comply with contributions.
India is now the only country in the world that makes CSR mandatory and puts a number to the contributions. Companies have already undertaken CSR efforts, using crowd funding to raise money.
Gayatri says that at Microsoft, “giving is a global initiative that lets our employees donate time, resources and money for a social cause of their choice. Recently, our India development team came together to use that platform to raise money for the visually impaired. They helped create a visual sensory park and helpline with LV Prasad Eye Institute.”
Tesco HSC recently ran the recent social media campaign (#spreadcheer) to create awareness around Tesco HSC’s community initiatives. The idea was given key inputs by Tesco HSC’s in– house social media.
Aniisu says: “The initiative received the kind of response it did, due to supplementing communication about our CSR efforts with content that engaged our colleagues and online followers in a meaningful conversation. Prior to opening up the initiative, we approached our social media council for insights on how this might resonate online and sought ideas on the right approach. We fine-tuned our plan based on these inputs and the results are there to see. In less than two weeks, we got a lot more people involved in supporting the causes we’re invested in, while simultaneously raising funds that were eventually directed to our partner NGO.”
Great Customer Offer – The Economic Times
Big Data Analytics -Taking a Deeper Dive, Financial Express
“Is internal comms about to get interesting?”, PR Moments
Training Gen-Y employees to be leaders by Nick Williams, Human Capital
Madhu Menon – CFO, Tesco HSC Participates In Bloomberg India CFO Summit 2014
We are investing more in tech as digital property is the way forward: Tesco CIO, the Economic Times
Company Encourages Employees to Go Green, The New Indian Express
Business Women Get More Opportunity, DNA
In Pursuit Of Happiness_The Hindu Business Line
The Future of Big Data in Retail, Images Retail
Garden away those corporate woes – Bangalore Mirror
Hackathons Morph Into Recruiting Vehicle, The Hindu
Tesco HSC Steps to Clean Karunashraya Lake, Bangalore | CSR Vision
Is Diversity Your Company’s Most Resounding Mantra? by Anju Sethi, Head, Learning and Development, Tesco HSC | CXOtoday.com
Oh Baby! Why women can’t break the IT ceiling | Bangalore Mirror
Decade-old Tesco captive still strong, Business Standard
Glen Attewell Interviewed On NASSCOM Website’s Face 2 Face Column
IndiaCSR: Tesco HSC Launches Sustainability Initiatives For Greener Future
OUR AIM TO PLANT TREES
Plan to protect dwindling wetlands of Bengaluru
NEW LIFE TO PLANTS IN PARK: Eenadu
In Retail, Domain-specific Skills Must For Effective Customer Servicing – TimesJobs.Com
Cos Now Hire Storytellers to Mentor Staff – The Economic Times
Training The Managers, The Tesco Way – HR Katha
Every Bit Counts – Human Capital
Lay The Foundation of IT With Agile Technology – CIO Review
For Children Of Migrant Worker – Bangalore Mirror
When change is the only constant – Times Ascent
Staying power of the new workplace
From Nottingham To Whitefield, Metro Life – Deccan Herald, October 5, 2015
Tesco HSC Announces Corporate Name Change to Tesco Bengaluru
From Seeing The Dawn Of Windows To Being The Director Of Technology For Tesco, Bengaluru, Vidya Laxman’s Journey – YourStory.com
Expat’s Diary: For Tesco Bengaluru’s HR-Head, ‘Passion’ And ‘Relationship’ Hold The Key To Indian Work Culture: HR Katha
Boss’s Day: Be a leader, not a ‘boss’ – Timesjobs.com
Gender Diversity’s Good, But Where Is It? – CXO Today
5 Ways To Appreciate An Employee – The Economic Times
Technology Consulting – What Does the Future Hold? – Consultants Review
Tesco Bengaluru Partners With Lithium Urban Technologies to offer a pioneering and emission-free transportation experience for its employees
Tesco Bengaluru Partners with Lithium Urban Technologies to offer emission-free transportation employees: India CSR
Eco-friendly Cars: Samyuktha Karnataka
Emission-free Transportation : Eenadu
Tesco, Lithium Urban Joins Hands: Deccan Herald
Tesco Bengaluru opts for green transportation with Lithium: The Times of India
Need to Reassess Traditional Approaches: People Matters
Marathon Mania: The Economic Times
Women techies log on to trendy, soft wear – Bangalore Mirror
How Retail Giant Tesco Handled The e-comm Onslaught – The Hindu BusinessLine
Investment In People Makes Good Sense: CXOToday
Deck the halls – Deccan Herald
Seminar on M-commerce Held – The New Indian Express
Looking inside contemporary application architecture – Silicon India
Employee Volunteering is a key element in Tesco’s CSR efforts
Press Release: Tesco Bengaluru Wins Best Practice in Data Analysis Strategy Award
Tesco keen to work with Indian start-up ecosystem – Business Standard
TechGig: Women Achievers: It is important for women in technology to be seen, heard and leave an impact, says Tesco Bengaluru tech director Vidya Laxman
New Indian Express: Women Had a Blast
Bangalore Mirror: City Team Feeding UK’s Hungry
Economic Times: Whitefield Builds a Kingdom of Its Own
Hindustan Times: Want the job? Here’s why you should ditch the professionally-written CV
IndiaCSR: Tesco Bengaluru celebrates World Environment Day
Silicon India: Making Your Organization the Best Workplace
Company CSR: Tesco Bengaluru Supports Sankara Eye Hospital To Enable 430 Free Eye Surgeries
CSR India: Tesco Bengaluru supports Sankara Eye Hospital to enable 430 free eye surgeries
Tesco Bengaluru Plants 6500 Saplings Together with Local Communities to Increase City’s Green Cover
Prajavani: Tesco’s Tree Plantation Drive
TimesJobs.com: A Fresher’s Guide to The Technology Industry
Press Release: Tesco Bengaluru hosts Technology Day – Ignite 2016
Tesco Bengaluru bets on agile market push
Tesco Bengaluru installs e-toilets in Whitefield
Tesco Bengaluru Extends Maternity Leave to 22 Weeks
Forbes: Big Data At Tesco: Real Time Analytics At The UK Grocery Retail Giant
Human Capital: Technology At The Very Helm!
CSR Mart: Eco-friendly Transportation for Colleagues
Mint: Lithium Urban Tech paves the way for EV revolution in India’s cab market
ETRetail: Dev-ops adoption in retail in India
Human Capital: Creation of Measurable Goals
Press Release: Tesco Bengaluru renews its commitment to serving Tesco shoppers and colleagues at dedicated shared service centre
Outlook Business: Ride to rejuvenate
Be Grateful, Positive And Strong Urges Deepa Malik at 2017 IWD Event
ET CIO: Tesco Labs has up to 50 projects on the go at any one time: Tesco Bengaluru’s Priyadarsanie Ramasubramanian
Deccan Herald: Keeping a close watch
Deccan Chronicle: Corporate sector leads way in implementing new maternity bill
The Statesman: Path of progress
YourStory: Tesco’s Glen Attewell: ‘My father was a weaver, mother worked in textiles, they pushed me to succeed’
Press Release: Tesco Bengaluru appoints Sumit Mitra as CEO
ET Retail: Retail supply chain planning and optimization
Financial Express: Maternity Benefit Bill, 2016: From Anand Mahindra to TeamLease and Paypal: Will this hurt employment of more women? Here’s what they said!
World HR Dairy: Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 increases paid Maternity Leave to 26 weeks in India | Major Highlights and Industry Reaction
TheDrum: Apple, Google, Lego, Tesco and BMW top UK’s most loved brands on social media
Economic Times: Bye-bye corner office: It’s one team, one space
Press Release: Tesco Bengaluru reinforces commitment to sustainable practices through World Environment Day activities
Business World: We Go Beyond The Mandated 2% For CSR: Aniisu Verghese, Tesco
Economic Times: Here is how companies are learning from millennials’ mistakes
Deccan Herald: Rise of AI redefining retail
Financial Express: Tesco Bengaluru CEO Sumit Mitra: We believe in driving a culture of innovation
Economic Times: 5 ways to delegate decision making
The Economic Times: To bridge gender gap, companies going big on innovation
Dr. Sumit Mitra wins ‘CEO of the Year’ at the Future Leaders Summit and Award 2018
Tesco in Bengaluru collaborates with Indian Institute of Science for a technology fellowship programme
Tesco Leaders at NASSCOM Product Conclave 2018
Securing mobile apps – Preventing MiM attack
Bengaluru goes from technology capital to talent hub as e-tailers hunt for IT skills
Tesco establishes a Business Services Centre in Budapest to serve its Central European operations
How to make an organisation an awesome place to work
We are a Great Place To Work® certified organisation.
Applied data scientists – A natural evolution for software engineers?
Tesco Business Services – UK Receives Process Improvement Award at the Engage 19
Tesco collaborates with NASSCOM Foundation to set up its first Nook in Bengaluru
Tesco, Nasscom to improve employability
My First Job: Sumit Mitra,CEO, Tesco Global Business Services
Read interview of Sumit Mitra; he is CEO of TESCO Global Business Services
Shiva Chinnasamy of Tesco on the evolving role of a technology leader
Top 5 Key Skills A Good Data Scientist Should Have
Bengaluru is central to how we run Tesco, says CEO Dave Lewis
Dr. Sumit Mitra – CEO, Tesco Business Services & Tesco Bengaluru is now on Confederation of British Industry (CBI) advisory board for India
NASSCOM Leader Talk: Interview with Dr. Sumit Mitra, CEO – Tesco Business Services & Tesco Bengaluru
Business Today: Tesco Bengaluru Helps Over 320 Underprivileged Youth Stand Tall Through Life Skills and Vocational Training and Job Placements.
TimesJobs.com: Leader’s talk: Sumit Mitra, CEO, Tesco Business Services
Economic Times: Develop The Habit of Collaboration
Entrepreneur India: Make Your Employees Feel Like the Founder
Tesco announces launch of community-based clean water programme in rural Bengaluru
Entrepreneur.com: Why Innovation in Hiring Has Become the Need of the Hour
Tesco Bengaluru appoints Sumit Mitra as CEO
Tesco Bengaluru reinforces commitment to sustainable practices through World Environment Day activities
Tesco Bengaluru renews its commitment to serving Tesco shoppers and colleagues at dedicated shared service centre
Tesco Bengaluru hosts Technology Day – Ignite 2016
Tesco Bengaluru Wins Best Practice in Data Analysis Strategy Award
Economic Times: Companies go liberal in giving time off to new dads
Analytics India: How Tesco Bengaluru Is Working On Using AI, VR And 3D Modelling In Retail Industry
Tesco Bengaluru Participates in Women – Only Hackathon
Tesco Bengaluru inaugurates first community career development Centre in partnerhsip with NASSCOM Foundation
Delivering The Most Compelling Offer For Customers
Tesco Business Services is recognised as one of the top 20 Most Admired Shared Services Organisations in the World by SSON
Waste food to Plant Wealth: Tesco helps farmers with compost
Sustainability Practices at Tesco
Business services of the future: More digital, more intelligent
How Bengaluru kept UK’s Tesco retail ops going during Covid-19
Vidya Laxman, Director, Tesco Technology: A bag full of opportunities will soon overflow with AI
Refuelling India’s Tech Economy
Top skills companies will look for in the post COVID era
How Analytics Is Shaping The Retail Industry In India
BCP PlayBook: Tesco put people at the heart of its COVID-19 resilience plan
Tesco Business Services receives four awards at the ‘Impact Annual Awards Asia 2020’ organized by Shared Services & Outsourcing Network (SSON)
Tesco Bengaluru appoints Ramamoorthy Rajagopal as Finance Director
Tesco Bengaluru Appoints Nimmi Sebastian as Head of Communication & CSR