Communication had been a challenge initially as employees around the globe started working remotely. Emails, video conferences and the occasional call from the HR are always there, but Mphasis went a step further by taking its communication on air to the next level, in a fun way of course.
Mphasis on Air (MoA), the online radio show, has been there for some years now, but since March 2020, the IT company has pushed MoA to SoundCloud, publicly accessible to everyone.
What does it offer?
Mphasis on Air broadcasts important organisation updates, leaders’ insights, initiatives empowering target audiences, health tips, work hacks, as well as quiz contests with exciting rewards to give everyone a pleasing experience blended with chartbuster music.
The weekly and monthly shows help Mphasis employees stay abreast with the Company’s latest news that may be otherwise lost in the mail. Mphasis revealed that a good number of its employees were streaming into the radio channels and a large chunk were getting used to the new ways of staying in touch.
Dnyan Shah, global employee-engagement head, Mphasis, and her entire team have worked on this unique radio programme over the years to make it a huge success that it is today. A quiz contest during the weekly show is what continues to boost and attract additional participation to this channel.
Srikanth Karra
“We took a hyper-personal approach to ensure that all our employees’ concerns were addressed, while leveraging the right technology to maintain a social connect, despite physical distancing, thereby keeping the work culture consistent.”
Employee Engagement 2.0
Keeping employee welfare at the heart of Mphasis, a consistent and transparent means of communication was introduced to keep those working remotely updated with new developments and help them make sense of these changes as they navigated through the crisis. MoA is an integral part of it, if not a mainstream one.
“As employee engagement is at the core of building a motivated workforce, we took a hyper-personal approach to ensure that all our employees’ concerns were addressed, while leveraging the right technology to see to it that a social connect was maintained, despite physical distancing. Thus, we made sure that the culture of work remained consistent,” says Srikanth Karra, CHRO, Mphasis.
The Company had always aimed to create an enhanced experience for all of its employees, and MoA has been one of the alternative channels of communication, even as almost all information is loaded on employees through mail communication. Karra explained how countrywide lockdowns taking effect across various locations, had pushed them to assess the situation in real-time, both from the business perspective, as well as in terms of the outcomes for the employees. This had further made them embark on a transition that would enable seamless delivery for clients, while also maintaining operations at a steady level of continuity, all the while ensuring the safety and health of employees.
The radio show helped address employee concerns and review feedback, in order to understand how Mphasis could cater better to the individual needs of employees — from counselling, or adapting to the new normal, to training to acquire new skills, rewards and recognitions for exemplary performance in the circumstances, to additional benefits or allowances for those with special needs or requirements.
“More than at any time in the past, technology has been a bridge builder, helping create and retain strong relationships with employees, through tools, such as the employee outreach portal, pulse surveys, sound cloud channels, wellness apps, videos and webinars. These proved to be enablers in the new mode of working,” Karra added when asked about how Mphasis was ensuring employee well-being.
He also mentioned how with the changing aspects of businesses, enhanced employee experience is set to be the next wave for business development. Also, the key to overcome the missing physical interface was to constantly engage with the employees and uphold their morale in the current difficult period. “Through these initiatives, such as SoundCloud, wellness apps, Tryouts games and so on, we created a hyper-personalised approach that helped us boost employee satisfaction as well as employee productivity and retention. With this mix of initiatives, we have worked towards creating an environment wherein we embrace new methods of working, novel ways of employee engagement and new technologies,” he concludes.
WFH Tryouts
Mphasis had quite a few on-the-ground engagement activities, which were stalled due to the pandemic. Having set the bar very high so far, according to the Company, there was the pressure of expectations from employees to come up with fun ways of engaging.
WFH Tryouts was one such way of engaging the employees on a weekly basis, through quick fun games and puzzles played online. Initially, this was planned to go on only for a couple of months. However, after a spike in the participation levels, the Company was compelled to continue until at least New Year.
The best part of Tryouts at Mphasis was that the engagement was extended to the employees’ families as well. Employees had reportedly expressed their enthusiasm to participate in the Tryouts every week. They had fun playing, and as incentives, they stood a chance to win online gift vouchers on a weekly basis.
