AI and virtual reality will drive productivity: Kiran Dham, Globus Infocomm

Globus Infocom is a Make in India brand, defined by innovation and R&D as the base to drive growth in the industry. It has a large customer base throughout the country with a pan-India service network.

Here, Kiran Dham, CEO, Globus Infocomm, talks about the future of work. Excerpts from an interview:

DQ: How are you dealing with the Covid-19 situation? What plans have you put in place?

Kiran Dham: We understand the gravity of the situation, which is why we have taken every suitable precaution. Firstly, all our employees have been asked to work from home as long as the pandemic lasts. Our team members were asked to work from home much before the mandatory lockdown was imposed. While the pandemic has led to many constraints, our company’s productivity hasn’t suffered.

All our teams are as motivated as they were before the lockdown was imposed. Everyone has the tools and resources that allow them to work productively from home. We regularly meet with our teams on virtual meeting platforms. Such meetings ensure everyone feels part of a group even when people haven't seen each other in person for weeks. There is the right flow and co-ordination of information and feedbacks.

DQ: Are you giving employees more control over their schedules?

Kiran Dham: Yes, we are. Working from home has many advantages. One such benefit is that most of the workforce' productivity improves because their schedules aren't a constraint. Even the employees who work well adhering to fixed schedules find their best working from home. We are not an organisation that believes in micro-managing employees. That's because our company's culture promotes independence and encourages workers to find more productive ways of working.

Today, when all our team members are working from home, they have almost complete control over their schedules. We do have stringent processes that help us monitor employee output. These include digital tools that reveal how much progress has been made in different work-related methods.

DQ: How are you assessing on learnings from enforced experiments around WFH?

Kiran Dham: We've learnt that working from home need not diminish productivity. This situation has proven the efficacy of work from home. We may choose to let some of our most diligent employees work from home more often if not permanently.

We've also learnt how to manage our employees when they are working from home. Before COVID-19, this seemed difficult, but since adopting the right tools to monitor workers and after learning how to keep our teams’ spirit soaring, we’re getting the most from our workers.

DQ: This is a challenging time for managers. What advice would you give them?

Kiran Dham: Right now managers may feel like they have to juggle several balls at once, because every team member is working remotely, yet this adversity will only sharpen their managerial skills. We would encourage managers not to take it as adversity rather It’s the time when they need to display empathy and optimism to their team.

Managers should learn how to use different communication tools they have, to get the most from their teams. Unlike in an office where managers work with their teams face to face, when working from home, they have to employ different and more subtle/relevant tools to drive their organisation.

DQ: How does work/life balance work in a crisis like this?

Kiran Dham: On the whole, we think when employees are working from home, they're close to their families. We've always believed that workers should have the right work-life balance which can only be achieved by creating a harmony between work and family priorities. While this is an unprecedented crisis, it has a silver lining as well. They’re spending more time with their children, which is something you cannot put a price on.

I think, many of our work force members are finishing their allotted work in a period that is shorter than an average workday. Hence, they have more time on hand to spend with their families. We've achieved an ideal work-life balance and are working more productively when they have their focus aligned for official and family work commitments.

DQ: What are the policy responses you would give to the MSMEs and SMEs?

Kiran Dham: MSMEs contribute nearly 30% of India’s gross domestic product and close to the half of the country’s total export. We, being closely associated with the MSME and SME sectors, can assure that industry consists ‘of ample opportunities for this sector. They can certainly explore enough growth horizon in the coming future regardless of the current Covid-19 situation.

DQ: How are you now facilitating digital work?

Kiran Dham: We are facilitating digital work using relevant digital tools and apps to keep in sync with the team and channel partners. We are a technology company and understand that going fat on technology usage will help running our workflow smoothly. We keep our brand and business tactics intact through webinars and trainings with our partner fraternity utilising this time to fill them in with the right product knowledge, training and opportunities.

We understand that in order to keep them abreast with our product and business updates, digital is the best medium. During this time, we have focussed upon internal team product trainings & assessments to strengthen our team’s core skills and keep them au courant with the latest industry development.

In addition to virtual meeting tools, we use messaging apps like WhatsApp to circulate information and important announcements too. We use these tools effectively and effortlessly. We are using email and phones as well. We have ensured proper availability of digital tools and resources to our team members to maintain the smooth functioning of work. Even now, we have started to implement virtual reality to give the customers the real time experience of our products and solutions.

DQ: How are the latest technologies going to redefine the workplace?

Kiran Dham: The latest technologies will redefine the workplace and transform it. More and more companies will integrate technology into their business practices. We are using cloud-based platforms aggressively and it will only increase in future. Companies will also focus on automating low value tasks with digital technology.

Artificial Intelligence and virtual reality will drive the productivity, and free up time for manual workforce to give for high-value tasks. Virtual platforms are already in demand for conducting meetings, trainings and webinars saving a big chunk of money and time. VR will be presenting real time scenarios & experience for customers and clients.

Workplace technologies need to be able to integrate with one another to create a seamless workplace experience & make it easier for people to navigate and use them and this will demand for great learnability in the workplace. Technology will redefine the geographical distribution of workforce, which means better collaboration among diverse background workforce through technology tools and software.

DQ: How do you plan for a future of ‘decent digiwork’?

Kiran Dham: The future of decent digiwork was already coming. Covid-19 has accelerated it. What would have taken five to ten years to materialise will be manifest in a matter of months. The new normal will be that more and more people will work from home.

Until there is a vaccine, whose development could take as long as three to five years, lockdowns will become a part of everyday life. Decent digiwork will be a commitment to participate in digital work-future which demands for a careful response to the digital reality and with the current scenario

It can easily be predicted that adaptability to digital technology in the business practise will be the best way forward to move ahead.