Reminiscing about the recent months...

The COVID-19 pandemic has stirred mixed feelings in me as a stakeholder of the Amara Raja Group. Like many organisations worldwide, we had our share of overt challenges and covert opportunities. Resilience which was held highly by all of us at Amara Raja, helped us immensely in dealing with the ongoing crisis and we continue doing so doggedly.

Unfortunately, during these tough times, we also had lost the loving support of a dear retired colleague Naren by a fatal ailment. The Amara Raja Group’s first executive employee, he was a gem of a person and an unstinted asset – pre- and post-retirement. Naren’s loss has moved everyone beyond words at the Group. For many of us who worked closely with him, Naren’s sudden demise is all the more difficult to accept.

Nonetheless, Naren’s soul would be proud that the Organisation he supported through thick and thin has won many accolades in recent months.  

In the recent past (early Sep), we had this proud moment wherein, Harvard Business School Publishing (HBSP) listed a case study of Amara Raja Group’s HRM Practices; which was originally a case study developed by IIM Ahmedabad. This is the first time that a case study of the Organisation gets listed at HBSP. Looking at the value of the case in imparting insightful learning to students and practicing managers, IIMA who developed this case, selected this case to be recommended to Harvard Business School Publishing, which is the global platform of Harvard Business School to promote learning. Listing in HBSP provides a global reach to the case, and educators across the globe can adopt the case in various courses. So this was indeed a defining moment for all of us, since this is the first time a case study about us gets listed in a top reputed Institution and more importantly the case becoming a global learning document.

One another recognition that came our way on people, was we being conferred with the prestigious title of the “2020 Talent Accelerator for India” in the 4th annual IDC Digital Transformation Awards in India. Being selected as one of the winners across seven distinguished categories, the Group bagged this coveted award for its digital Transformation of People Systems and Processes. The project name was WE@AR which signifies We at Amara Raja.

The most recent recognition – ‘Forbes The World's Best Employers 2020’ – is what prompted me to write this small thanksgiving note. Amara Raja is ranked 316 in the global listing, indeed a notable achievement for each of us. While reviewing the Forbes list, it’s pleasing to note that we have 31 of our Indian companies in the rankings. Of these 31, the Amara Raja Group is at the 13th spot. This is a tremendous motivation for us to strive more for better outcomes, whereby we will strive and break into the top 10 among the Indian entities at the earliest and, I daresay, in the global top ten, sometime in the future. This is not to sound arrogant, but being ambitious and we continue to be humble.

Among these 31 companies, the highest global rank obtained by an Indian company is 30 and the lowest, 707. This makes us all the more proud because it’s our people who have expressed how they perceive the Amara Raja Group as an Organisation.

Forbes partnered with the market research firm Statista to compile the World’s Best Employers list. They surveyed 160,000 full-time and part-time workers from 58 nations, working for businesses with operations in multiple geographies. The final list comprises 750 multinational and large corporations headquartered in 45 countries.

The Parameters for the ranking were: rate employees’ willingness to recommend their employers to friends and family, satisfaction with their employers’ COVID-19 responses, score employers on their image, economic footprint, talent development, gender equality and social responsibility.

The credit for these accolades goes to all the people at Amara Raja – whom we proudly call  ‘Amara Rajaians’ – as well as to the culture we imbibe in fostering the ‘The Amara Raja Way?’.

I pen this note with great gratitude and as a huge thanksgiving to ‘‘The Amara Raja Way?’, created by our most precious strategic assets – our people, The Amara Rajaians!