Welspun creates leadership pipeline through GLP learning programme

A wave of change is sweeping over the HR function in India, bringing a lot of challenges for all HR personnel. The primary issue of the future will be the shortage of talent /people with niche capabilities for the new roles. Organisations are introducing various initiatives and programmes to upskill their workforces, and as a step in this very direction, the Welspun Group has come up with the second edition of its group leadership programme (GLP), which focuses on producing the next level of leaders.

What is GLP 2.0?

It is a group leadership programme that nurtures top leadership from the Group, across all businesses. The programme focuses on building new leadership capabilities for tomorrow and using them effectively to ensure a positive business impact.

Development of new leadership capabilities is the need of the hour in this dynamic world of business. GLP empowers the leaders to look at every situation positively and as a possible opportunity.

The design of the GLP programme has two elements:
• From the organisational perspective, it builds future leaders.
• From the individual perspective, it ensures personal growth.

The programme runs on two tracks. First, it creates a personalised learning experience for individuals, for which the Welspun Group has partnered with LinkedIn Learning to fulfil the individual learning needs. Second, it focusses on giving external exposure to the participants, such as industrial visits and opportunity to apply their learning to work.

The content used in the programme for producing future leaders of tomorrow is reviewed by the top management of the organisation, such as the managing directors, CEOs and the chairman. Welspun has partnered with renowned academicians from the Emeritus Institute of Management and collaborated with MIT Sloan School of Executive Education to design the course curriculum, which will equip the leaders with skills, such as emotional intelligence, digital leadership, design thinking, analytics, strategic thinking and change management.

In the second leg of the GLP, the Welpsun Group has made a few changes. Instead of adhering to one big learning action plan for all, it has introduced a new system of learning which constitutes peer-to-peer learning and learning on the go. Here, participants can share the challenges that they faced and how they applied the knowledge to solve them. “We have ensured that at every point there are knowledge nuggets embedded in the programme through peer-to-peer learning and by using e-learning modules. These will ensure that participants continuously refresh their knowledge of the topics, unlike the one-time instructor-led session of the previous batch of GLP 1.0,” says Bidisha Banerjee, Chief learning officer, Welspun Group.

“We have also included industry visits. We will be taking the participants to companies that embody the practices of design thinking, analytics, digital leadership and Leading change, somewhere around July 2019”

Banerjee adds, “We have also included industry visits. We will be taking the participants to companies that embody the practices of design thinking, analytics, digital leadership and Leading change, somewhere around July 2019.”

Welspun Group has also set up a mechanism, where it measures the result of the leadership learning programme. It has installed an internal learning system, which documents or records the way the participants applying their knowledge to arrive at solutions to the day-to-day problems.

“GLP 2.0 is a signature programme to empower our leaders and take them on a custom-built learning journey. This readies them to deal with situations more steadily and with tenacity”

“We have devised means and methods for the participant to applying their learning and document their application, which is then shared with the whole Group. In a way, this sets in motion a cycle where everyone is encouraged to talk about the individual ways in which they are applying their learning. We have also designed joint sessions of the participants with the managing directors of each company, where the participants narrate how they applied their learning,” shares Banerjee.

The group leader programme is also turning out to be a great retention tool for the organisation as it is creating the next level of leaders, who will be seen taking up key leadership positions in the near future. “GLP has stood out as the most aspirational programme at Welspun, sending out a clear signal to its participants and the aspirants that the CEOs, MDs and business heads of the companies have handpicked them. They have shown eagerness in investing in employee skill development, which will ultimately lead to zero lateral hires for senior positions in the company,” mentions Banerjee.

Rajesh Padmanabhan, director and group CHRO, Welspun Group also adds his views to the newly-launched leadership learning programme — “GLP 2.0 is a signature programme to empower our leaders and take them on a custom-built learning journey. This readies them to deal with situations more steadily and with tenacity. They evolve and mature progressively and allow their learning to cascade into their respective teams, making it a winning group.”