What’s in colour coded mood dressing for Amara Raja employees

The Group allows its employees to choose from five different coloured uniforms, each of which depicts its five values.

Until and unless you are working in the aviation industry, your uniform will barely be a communicator of your company’s brand values or ethics. In fact, uniforms are the most static fixture of a workplace. But things are different at Amara Raja. Since its inception, the Group has worked upon employee uniforms, as they believe that it plays a pivotal role in creating employee identity and carrying forward the baton of company values.

The corporate identity of the Group went through a change sometime ago, and accordingly, the uniforms were also altered. The group introduced uniforms in five colours— burgundy, orange, blue, green and magenta — denoting innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, experience, responsibility and excellence respectively, which are the five core values of the Group.

The shirts of the uniform, designed for men do not have a pocket so as to avoid mishaps and the possibility of objects falling from the pocket into the machinery. All the uniforms have a common tag line — ‘Gotta be a better way’.

Talking about the initiative, Jaikrishna B, president – group HR, Amara Raja Group says, “These five colours come together as a swirling mass to form a dynamic circle of unparalleled energy. This new form of energy is a reflection of Amara Raja. The colours enable visual expression of our values and ensure immediate recall value at all times. The five values are also connected to the five elements of nature, and each value has a mind state linked to it.”

These five colours come together as a swirling mass to form a dynamic circle of unparalleled energy. This new form of energy is a reflection of Amara Raja. The colours enable visual expression of our values and ensure immediate recall value at all times. The five values are also connected to the five elements of nature, and each value has a mind state linked to it.

“For us, the uniforms signify vibrancy, choice, value recall and a strong trigger to demonstrate Amara Raja values. Given the five colours, we fondly call it a ‘multiform’! Our thought is that when employees pick up the wear for the day, we would like them to visualise which colour and which value they would like to focus on throughout the day. This further helps in ingraining the values in the minds of people on a day to day basis and making them a habit,” he adds.

Jaikrishna shares that the employees at Amara Raja have a choice to wear any colour on any day of the week. Therefore, the organisation’s campuses are always a kaleidoscope of five colours, that add to the liveliness of the factories and offices. Employees take pride in wearing something that differentiates them from the crowd.

These colours collectively represent ‘The Amara Raja Way’ and all the efforts are aimed at helping the employees establish a connect with the values of the organisation. The Amara Raja Group has an employee strength of more than 14000.

The five uniforms in five colours are given to all employees in the Group. Male staff are given one set of five shirts (one in each colour) every year. The colour of the trousers is common for all shirts. The women are allowed to pick either salwar kameez or sarees in five colours, as per their preference.

“The uniform is the first impression for everyone. The ‘Gotta be a better way’ tagline on the uniform spurs people to continually think of improvements and not rest on laurels. It prods everyone to make each moment and day, better than before. The tagline creates an environment of inquisitiveness that kindles people to challenge the status quo and think beyond. This vitality has a spill-over effect on the mindset of the people and provides the spark to go that extra mile ‘Gotta be a better way’ are not mere words for us, but a ‘higher calling’, ” states Jaikrishna.