In the rapidly evolving automotive industry landscape, Mahindra & Mahindra stands out for its innovative approach to talent management. With a workforce boasting long tenures, the company has successfully addressed a significant challenge: reskilling its legacy workforce for an AI-powered future.
In this exclusive interview with People Matters, Rohit Thakur, Chief Human Resources Officer of Mahindra & Mahindra - Automotive and Farm Equipment Sectors, shares a compelling example. When the company launched its new electric vehicle (EV) products, most of the team had no prior experience with electric vehicles. Rather than hiring new talent, the company chose to retrain and reskill its existing workforce. This strategic investment in its people, driven by a culture of passion and continuous learning, is proving to be the key to navigating a world of AI, automation, and technological disruption.
This is a masterclass in building a future-ready workforce, where human talent and a bold vision are the ultimate engines of growth. Edited excerpts
With over three decades of experience across diverse sectors, what is the greatest lesson you have learned as a talent leader that is constant across all industries? And what makes the automotive sector different for you?
Ultimately, all industries are about people. It's about selecting the right people, motivating them, managing their performance, and enhancing their productivity. Regardless of the industry — whether it's financial services, technology, or automotive — success hinges on people. I have always believed that culture eats strategy for lunch. The culture of a company, built on its values of integrity, respect, and meritocracy, is an overarching force that dictates how people make decisions and collaborate. The importance of boundarylessness and diversity—of bringing together different ideas—is another constant. We have all faced ambiguity, whether it was 9/11 in my time at GE or the financial meltdown. What gets a company through these crises is a strong leadership bench. Building that capability is an essential and consistent role for HR.
What makes the auto industry different is its focus on the product. Like a software product at Microsoft or an aircraft engine at GE, a car or tractor is a tangible product that must be meticulously mapped to customer needs. The level of customer centricity required is incredibly intense. It is a different dynamic from a service-based business, where the product is the individual's knowledge.
The second major difference is the level of orchestration and collaboration required. If the design team creates a great product, but engineering, sourcing, manufacturing, and sales do not work in perfect sync, the product will fail. The symphony between these functions is at a different level of intensity. The bold decisions to invest in new technologies, like EVs, and the agility to respond swiftly to intense market competition, make this sector unique.
The automotive industry is facing significant uncertainty due to supply chain volatility, geopolitical tensions, and rapid technological advancements. How do you, as a CHRO, cultivate a sense of calm and stability for your employees amid this turbulence?
I am fortunate to work for Mahindra, a company with a very capable and committed workforce. The average tenure of our employees in the auto and farm sector is long—many have been here for 15, 20, or even 25 years. We have an incredibly deep bench of internal expertise.
We maintain a good mix of talent by growing 80 percent of our people from within and selectively hiring 20 percent from outside. This creates a powerful blend: people who know the culture and possess deep expertise, and new talent that brings fresh ideas and insights. It is a potent potpourri for innovation.
To keep this talent on the cutting edge, we focus on continuous learning. We provide opportunities through on-the-job exposure, training programs, and external engagements. For our high-potential leaders, we have targeted development tracks. For example, our Mahindra Leadership Program (MLP) directly grooms future leaders on campus. Our EDGE program targets the top 15-18 per cent of our workforce, equipping them with advanced functional and leadership capabilities. We also offer senior-level programs, such as Future Shapers, and a new collaborative initiative with Carnegie Mellon. The goal is simple: identify high-potential talent and provide them with the right exposure for growth.
You mentioned that you have employees who have been with the company for a considerable amount of time. With the significant impact of digital transformation and the influence of AI, how can you reskill and upskill this legacy workforce?
I am referring to Mahindra, so my experience may differ. Across our manufacturing sites, we have something called dexterity training. The amount of focus Mahindra has on consistently upskilling our employees to stay ahead of the curve is extremely high. I can give you a live example: most of the people who built our new EV products had zero prior experience in the EV space. It was the same team that was building our internal combustion engine (ICE) cars. We retrained and reskilled them to build world-class products. We sent them for training abroad, and they learned from the best. This shows that if there is a collective passion for the company to succeed, people will embrace change. While we do hire from campuses and invest in new recruits, our primary focus for this transition has been a holistic effort to retrain and upskill our existing workforce.
We have seen numerous reports on AI and its potential impact on the workforce. How important is it to train your leaders on emerging technologies, not just your entry-level workforce?
It is absolutely critical. In fact, our group's CHRO and other leaders undertook a project to utilise AI to enhance employee engagement. We have even assigned a reverse mentor to my entire leadership team from our IT department. We need to reach out to them and understand how AI can enhance our functions.
At the M101, our gathering of the top 101 leaders, our Global CEO challenged all of us to lead one AI project in our domain. This demonstrates that the initiative originates from the top. Today's leaders must be learners. Our leadership programs, such as Future Shapers, also place a strong emphasis on technology and AI.
Around AI, it will take time. Again, it's not going to happen like the switch, because it is a different way of working. But to your point, the example I give starts at the top, starts with me.
Can you tell us about your hiring strategy? Do you see new roles emerging that didn't exist a few years back? Do you see the average age of your workforce going down as technology takes centre stage?
AI is influencing the type of talent we hire and how we train our existing workforce. At Mahindra, we have seen a growing demand for new roles in areas such as data science, digital, and AI/ML engineering. We are hiring experts with PhDs and master's degrees in these fields, who then train our functional teams on how to leverage these new tools. Our hiring process is also becoming more focused on finding people who are agile and can adapt to new ways of working.
The average age of our workforce is a combination of both experienced professionals and a growing number of younger employees. However, more than age, I believe the key factor for success is a growth mindset—a passion for continuous learning. I see many younger people taking on significant responsibilities, and this ability to embrace new challenges and progress is what will define our future workforce.
What is the biggest legacy mindset that leaders in the automotive industry must overcome?
There are two key legacy mindsets that we need to change. The first is the "I know it all, I invented it" attitude. This can be seen in certain parts of the world that are struggling to adapt to the EV revolution. The mindset needs to shift from "I know it all" to "I want to learn it fast." The second is the mindset around sustainability. Leaders can no longer build products with limited respect for the environment. We must be conscious of our impact on the ecosystem and lead with a strong focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.
What is your take on the war for talent? Are you seeing a high attrition rate in the manufacturing sector?
According to our BRSR report, our attrition is among the lowest in the industry, especially in manufacturing. While good talent is always at risk, people stay for a combination of factors: a good manager, meaningful work, a visible career path, and a high-growth environment. We offer competitive compensation and prioritise work-life integration. We have been able to retain our top employees and attract good talent from outside. This mix is working well for us.
How do you envision the future manufacturing workforce?
I believe four key elements will define the future workforce:
Human-Machine Synergy: Human talent will be blended with AI and machine learning. Man plus machine is an equation that is here to stay.
Inclusion and Diversity: This will become increasingly important as we globalise. We are actively fostering an environment that celebrates all forms of diversity.
Customer Obsession: The focus will shift from being merely customer-centric to being customer-obsessed, with every aspect of the business designed around the customer's needs.
Purpose: The new generation of talent, and indeed the entire workforce, is increasingly motivated by purpose beyond profit. I believe this will be a strong architect of the future workforce.
Can you talk about the gender diversity programs at Mahindra and Mahindra?
We see diversity as a journey, and we have several initiatives underway. First, we focus on making our male employees partners in the inclusion of women. For our shop floor, we are redesigning lines to be more convenient for women and training our managers on how to be more inclusive. We also have a program called "She's on the Rise", a leadership grooming program for our high-potential women. We also have Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) where plant heads and leaders hold roundtables with women to build a more inclusive environment. Additionally, we have a best-in-class maternity policy that supports women's transition back to the workplace over a five-year period.