On 14th November 2019, Knorr-Bremse Technology Centre India (KBTCI) hosted the Indo-German HR Partner Forum Meet at the Courtyard by Marriot, Hinjewadi, Pune. Representatives from the following partner companies attended the meeting: BASF Group, Bayer Group, Bosch India, Brose India, Covestro India, DHL India, FEV India, Fuchs Lubricants, Hafele India, Hirschvogel India, Kaercher India, Lanxess India, MAN Trucks India, Siemens India, Škoda Volkswagen India, Thyssenkrupp India, TUV India, Wacker India, Wuerth India.
The meeting began with an informative welcome speech and overview on KB Globally and KBTCI by Deepak Joseph, Director – Engineering Truck, KBTCI and Mahesh Shahapure, Head – R&D Knorr Bremse Commercial Vehicle Systems. It was a very interesting and insightful experience for all the attendees to know about their advanced technology products. They briefed the forum about the Scrum structure adopted by them, which has 3 roles such as Product Owner, Scrum Master and Team Member. They promote ‘T-shaped’ teams, where in the members of the team develop skills such as cross-functioning, self-organising, self-managing and collaborating.
Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Head – HR, Admin & HSE addressed the forum on KBTCI’s journey on HR Transformation including the following broad agenda points: Demographic, Attraction, Development, Digitalization and Engagement. He proudly described KBTCI’s House of Values – Entrepreneurship, Passion, Reliability, Responsibility and Technological Excellence. It was heartening to know that in a short span of 7 years for KBTCI since inception, more than 35% of the employees had spent more than 4 years in the company. KBTCI has filed for many patents in the year 2019. The Employee Engagement Committee organizes many events like Engineers Day, Trekking Club, Nutrition Intervention Programs, Cricket Tournament and various CSR activities that focus on engaging employees on technology, sports, entertainment, health and social awareness.
Neeraj’s interactive presentation concluded by demonstrating the impact of the HR Transformation Process, which were as follows:
- In recruitment, lead time was reduced by 60%.
- In people development, training man hours target was achieved 100%, training feedback score was more than 3.5 out of 4.0, and training effectiveness was more than 90%.
- Employee satisfaction and participation was increased.
- People turnover was reduced drastically, and top talent were retained successfully.
Following the insights into KBTCI, it was time for some serious discussion among the HR Partners about the new challenges and future of the forum into the new decade starting 2020. This introspective Community Dialogue Process was spearheaded by Santanu Ghoshal, Vice-President HR, Schaeffler Group and facilitated by Anu Sethi, Head – Human Resource, FEV India. The HR Partners were divided into 4 teams with the following topics:
- Purpose of IGTC Forum.
- Value Proposition for Business Eco System.
- Staying agile and in tune with environment.
- Looking beyond Business.
After a late lunch, the KBTCI HR Partners were given a fascinating tour of the assembly plant of Knorr-Bremse Commercial Vehicles Systems India and Knorr-Bremse Technology Centre India. On an informal note, the HR. Partners also ended the day by celebrating Children’s Day and with a promise to stay curious and inquisitive forever! Deepest gratitude to the entire KBTCI team for being the most warm-hearted hosts!!
