Open Mind

Customer Solution Case Study

HR and call centre technology for better Employee

relations

Overview
Country or region: India
Industry: Business process
outsourcing
(BPO) , HR, Employee Care
Customer Profile
Context
HR function of any company depends a lot upon the HR managers and there
effectiveness to communicate with the employees. India has progressed a lot in
the last decade and so has the profile and abilities of the employees to work in
any organization. Now an employee starting from the lowest level wants to know
everything about his companies HR policies and various components of his
salaries.

Bharti Walmart Private Limited But is he able to communicate and solve his issues with the company?
is a joint venture between
Bharti Enterprises, one of Are the HR Managers Receptive to the issues holding the employee?
India's leading business groups
with interests in telecom, agri-
Is improper communication a reason for attrition?
business, insurance and retail,
and Walmart, the world’s
leading retailer, renowned for Can a company spread across the country have the best HR practices and
its efficiency and expertise in also cut costs?
logistics, supply chain
management and sourcing. The
joint venture is establishing
wholesale cash-and-carry and
back-end supply chain
management operations in line
with Government of India
guidelines. Under the
agreement, Bharti and Walmart
hold a 50:50 stake in Bharti
Walmart Private Limited. The
first wholesale cash-and-carry
facility named “Best Price
Modern Wholesale” opened in
Amritsar in May 2009.
Business Challenge
How to communicate effectively
with its predicted large force of
employees spread throughout
the country. These employees
will be from varied background,
part timers, housewives,
villagers, low income group
people and from different
cultures speaking various
languages. Apart from effective
communication the challenge
was to keep the HR
management cost to the
minimum level
"The biggest
challenge was to
communicate with the
team members and
Associates located all
over the country and
disseminate the same
information and also
cut costs"
HR Vice President, Bharti Retail
The Benefits of Effective Employee Communication
Often effective communication with employees is touted as advantageous,
beneficial, and the stuff that makes the warm and fuzzy types happy. The
2005/2006 Watson Wyatt Communication ROI Study™ shows that effective
communication is a leading indicator of an organization’s financial performance.
Some of the findings:
• Companies that communicate effectively have a 19.4 percent higher
market premium than companies that do not.
• Shareholder returns for organizations with the most effective
communication were over 57 percent higher over the last five years (2000-
2004) than were returns for firms with less effective communication.
• The 2005/2006 study found evidence that communication effectiveness is
a leading indicator of financial performance.
• Firms that communicate effectively are 4.5 times more likely to report high
levels of employee engagement versus firms that communicate less
effectively.
• Companies that are highly effective communicators are 20 percent more
likely to report lower turnover rates than their peers.
• Two-thirds of the firms with high levels of communication effectiveness are
asking their managers to take on a greater share of the communication
responsibility, but few are giving them the tools and training to be
successful.
• Global firms are not customizing their messages to meet local needs or
cultural sensitivities.
• On average, firms within the financial and retail trade sectors rank among
the most effective communicators. Health care, basic materials,
telecommunications and other service companies rank among the least
effective communicators.

Benefits to the employee:
All the information related to
their salaries etc was easily
available
Employees were directly in
touch with the company
representative in the centre
The help line facility was free of
cost to them
They did not fear the backlash
or unreceptive behaviour of
their direct seniors
The centre was always open to
hear their complaints and take it
to the logical conclusion
More than 95% of their issues
were resolved on one single
phone call
In case of an escalated issue, it
was resolved within a set TAT.
Tools for effective communication – How did the Retail
Giant benefited from this
One of the retail giant in India “Bharti Retail – Walmart”, started its operations in
India in the year 2007 and the very first challenge the HR head of the company
envisaged was that how to effectively communicate with its predicted large force of
employees which will be spread throughout the country. These employees will be
from varied background, part timers, housewives, villagers, low income group
people and from different cultures speaking various languages. Apart from effective
communication the challenge was to keep the HR management cost to the
minimum level.
A lot of thought went into this and Open Mind Services Limited was asked to take
up this challenge to provide an effective means of communication between the
employees and the HR department of Bharti Retail and also make a system which
becomes the backbone of the HR department.
Open Mind studied the whole situation and understood the future scenario, after
deep study and analysis it was thought to have a proper HR helpline centre working
on voice technology to cater the employees of Bharti Retail. It was named as
MyHR.
Functions of myHR:
‐ To provide all the information related to the particular employee and the
company like:
o Leave balances
o Policy explanations
o Tax related issues
o Salary issues
o PF/ESI issues
o Full and Final settlement issues
o Help in portal usage
‐ Help in listening and forwarding the complaints of the employees
o Complaints against other employees or management
o Complaints/suggestions related to the stores etc
Although it looks to be a simple idea, but it involved integration of a lot of
technology and made open mind set up a unique centre for Bharti Retail. The
myHR centre in a very less time became the nerve centre for all employee related
activities and it benefited both the employees and the company.
 The Functions of MyHR (Employees Relationship Center)
Features:

Multi-lingual Service
catering to widespread
geographical locations.

Toll free no. gives easy

access to associate with no
extra cost

Work-force composition not

being computer savvy
hailing from all walks of life,
Mobile comm. is the most
popular mode of
communication in India

Centralization of services
ensures standardization and
consistency

Increases the efficiency of

location HR, as centralized
backend allows higher ass. -
HR ratio.

Resolution is just a call

away, which wins over the
limited accessibility of
emails at office locations
 Conclusion:
MyHR has helped Bharti Retail transform the way HR is looked upon in a
Benefits to the Employer: company, It has bonded the employee to the company in a much better way
by offering a single window service. Companies does not get created but
they are always nurtured to become giants, and a happy employee force
works as a catalyst for this Growth.
Higher employee: HR
manager ratio ensures
enough direct cost savings
to the company, It has been
estimated that on every
1000 employees a cost
saving of over Rs 50 Lakhs Staggered Employee force
per annum. (estimated
figures for year 2009-10)

Due to centralization, the

accurate information is sent
throughout the organisation
thus leading to a satisfied
employee force.

Company gains the

confidence of the employees HR Tele Associate, takes care of all
and gives a better service to
them.

At last a Happy Employee

leads to better productivity.

A Happy Employee Force