Essar Group launches ‘Learning TV’ & ‘Essar Radio’

These days, it’s ‘employees first’ for most companies, which is why they are finding newer ways to stay connected with the workforce and keep them engaged.

Essar Group has launched ‘Learning TV’ – a platform for all Essarites and their families to engage daily in live online sessions on art, cuisine, mental well-being, fitness and much more. Behavioural sessions, such as ‘Assertive Communication’, and ‘Innovative Operational Execution’ are also part of the offering, to help Essarites upskill professionally.

In response to the increasing need to remotely connect with employees in engaging ways, Essar Learning TV is ensuring that ‘Essarites’ not just work from home, but also learn from home.

“With the help of TV, we are even reaching out to the employees’ families and helping them provide engaging insights. We aim to utilise this time by not only being there for our employees, but also lending a helping hand to their families. Therefore, we broadcast medication shows, storytelling for kids and exercising activities. There are also shows/ sessions on mental health, cookery, personality-building, travel and yoga — basically anything and everything to do with calming their minds and helping them deviate from the monotony of daily life,” shares Kaustubh Sonalkar, group president -HR, Essar Group.

From keeping them updated on the latest happenings around the world, through news updates, to soothing their minds with soulful music, radio has been a very engaging element in our engagement drive

Professionals, such as Aditi Govitrikar, have been roped in to conduct various sessions on yoga and working out for the employees and their families.

Sonalkar further reveals, “We have fixed days and slots to carry out each activity on Zoom calls. If, for some reason, people cannot turn up for the sessions on time, because of work, then we also record the sessions and send them the links so that they can play them according to their feasibility.”

With the COVID-19 lockdown mandating everyone to #StayHomeStaySafe, its constraints have led to a negative outlook and also caused immense stress. Hence, amidst such a depressive environment, the Essar Group realised that continuous learning and development can be a great stress buster, and can also foster positive engagement and motivation among employees.

With work from home being the order of the day, the organisation has also recently launched Essar Radio, a unique way to help Essarites stay connected. “From keeping them updated on the latest happenings around the world, through news updates, to soothing their minds with soulful music, radio has been a very engaging element in our engagement drive,” claims Sonalkar.

The radio shows, however, aren’t run very frequently throughout the day to make sure that they do not hamper the productivity of the employees. The radio medium has helped the organisation keep its employee base engaged, by broadcasting very enthralling interviews of industry veterans, alongside good music to sooth their ears. The management sends the radio frequency links to all employees and the listenership is fairly over 15,000, globally.

“We keep conducting various competitions to maintain a high level of engagement. Very often, people record songs and we play the best ones during the radio broadcast. Though the radio setup is at a very nascent stage and may even sound amateur to many, it accounts for maximum engagement,” shares Sonalkar.

Not all sessions are houseful, though. The cookery and yoga shows bag maximum viewership. The team makes sure to telecast these shows during the 3-4 p.m. and 7-8 p.m. slots, when the employees are a bit relaxed and also done for the day.