In a first-of-its-kind event, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and The Economic Times, presented the maiden SAIL HR Excellence Award to seven Indian manufacturing companies for pathbreaking contributions in the field of ‘People Management Processes’ here last evening. The award winning companies are Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Moser Baer and Tata Motors in the largescale companies category, Castrol and Jindal Steel & Power Limited (mediumscale category) and ITW Signode and Honeywell (smallscale category). Union Minister for Steel Shri Virbhadra Singh presented the awards – each comprising a trophy, a cheque for Rs. 1 lakh and a citation – at a glittering ceremony in the presence of Union Minister of State for Steel Shri A. Sai Prathap, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council Chairman Dr. V. Krishnamurthy, Member of Parliament Shri Naveen Jindal, Steel Secretary Shri P.K. Rastogi, SAIL Chairman Mr. S.K. Roongta, IIM-A Director Dr Samir Barua and other dignitaries.
The SAIL HR Award for Excellence has been instituted by the company to commemorate completion of 50 years of production. The expertise of IIM-A as ‘Knowledge Partner’ and of Economic Times as ‘Media Partner’ were utilised gainfully to recognise outstanding work done by companies during the last five years to effectively manage their workforces through innovative and cost-effective talent enhancing practices that contributed to intellectual or other forms of capital formation of the organisation, society or nation. A book on exemplary HR practices, compiled from the exhaustive data obtained through the application process, was also released by the Steel Minister during the event.
An eminent jury headed by Dr. V Krishnamurthy assessed the 43 applications that were received by SAIL for the awards. Other members of the jury included National Knowledge Commission Chairman Mr. Sam Pitroda, HDFC Chairman Mr. Deepak Parekh, RBI Deputy Governor Ms. Usha Thorat, Mr William Rothwell, Prof. at Pennsylvania State University, Mr. S.K. Roongta, Dr. T.V. Rao, Adjunct Prof. at IIM-A, Dr Neharika Vohra, Prof., IIM-A, and Mr. T.K. Arun, Editor (Delhi), Economic Times. The process of tabulating and evaluating data, shortlisting companies and selecting the winners was rigorously carried out over a period of six months. The participating companies were categorised into three groups based on the manpower size of their organisations.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Virbhadra Singh, who was the Chief Guest, pointed out that “No business can flourish and grow unless enough emphasis is given to people and it is because of this reason that HRD had gained a permanent role within organisations, agencies and nations” and praised SAIL’s “initiative to institute awards for recognition in this area”. Shri Sai Prathap, the Guest of Honour, in his address, remarked that recognition of talent motivates employees and results in higher productivity, and should be the success mantra of any organisation as 55% of India’s population would be in the below-35 age-group for three successive decades.
Referring to the recent global economic downturn, Shri P.K. Rastogi said that “only companies that foster all-round excellence in all areas of management will be able to survive in the face of global competition”. Mr. S.K. Roongta on his part acknowledged that the awards were actually a tribute to “SAIL’s greatest strength – its human resource”. Others who expressed their views on the occasion included Dr. V. Krishnamurthy, SAIL Director (Personnel) Mr. G. Ojha and IIM-A Director Dr. Samir Barua.
ITW Signode was selected for the award for its well-integrated performance management process that is objective and linked to compensation and rewards, training and career management. Honeywell was awarded for its management review process that is participative, comprehensive and multidimensional, promoting accountability, succession and retention. Castrol’s Ascent programme where employees move to higher level roles through exemplary preparation and Jindal Steel & Power’s recognition scheme for employees and efforts to protect and rejuvenate the environment secured them their respective awards. HPCL’s ability to bring about change through people as its partners, Moser Baer’s practice of competency assessment and systematic training and Tata Motors’ benchmarking practices against the world’s best helped them clinch their honours.
