As Classic Stripes gears itself for globalization, new technology adaptation will play an important role in managing teams in the future. In line with their vision to become a global company, they have opened subsidiaries in the U.S.A and Middle East and are presently setting up dedicated teams to meet international standards of quality and product reliability. People Matters spoke with Sanjay Bhagat, COO, and Prafull Thakkar, DGM-HR to understand the culture and essence of people at Classic Stripes that make it a great workplace.

Being a manufacturing set up with a heterogeneous employee composition, what makes Classic Stripes a ‘great workplace’ for every employee in your organization?
P. Thakkar: Evidence shows that diversity is beneficial in a number of aspects as it allows the employer to tap into talent pool from diverse workforce. The environment shapes the person. The family shapes the child. The workplace shapes the performance. We have a focused approach in creating a culture that fosters innovation, teamwork, continuous improvement and ‘first time right’. The concept of ‘first time right’ means that as an organization we try to meet the customer’s requirement ‘right’ the very first time. The key to success for any great place to work for is in creating the right environment for the employees which are the single most determining factor. Classic Stripes is characterized by inspired leadership, a unique work culture, focus on growing talent from within, strong sense of accountability, aligned HR practices and excellent execution.

What is the objective behind introducing a monthly incentive scheme amounting to almost 15% of employees’ salaries?
P. Thakkar: We did a study and found that most companies pay incentives either on a half-yearly or a yearly basis, which requires the employee to wait to get rewarded for his/her contribution. We introduced a monthly incentive scheme where we announce the target achievement every month and incentive payables are then paid off with the subsequent salary. This allows employees to clearly see the benefits of their efforts and in turn, motivates them to achieve higher efficiency.

What best describes the culture at Classic Stripes?
P. Thakkar: The culture at Classic Stripes is best described as creating unity in spirit which emerges from our common goal to be a dynamic and diversified global group offering innovative solutions. Every associate of Classic Stripes believes in contributing to making CSPL a better place. If you visit any of our offices or plants, you will find this common goal come across very strongly, which certifies the familiar spirit amongst our employees. In fact, it is everyone’s dream at Classic Stripes to make it the number one workplace.

What are the key ingredients that make Classic Stripes a Great Place to Work®?
P. Thakkar: We are a great place to work because of our people. The 360 degree employee engagement program is evolved around employee’s life, self, colleagues, family and community.
Well defined KRAs and a strong succession plan clarify the employee’s growth in the organization. The ‘rewards & recognition’ program and the ‘fun at workplace’ activities facilitate engagement at the employee level. The get-togethers, medical camps and counselling sessions involve the employee’s family as well. And at the community level, the organization supports CSR activities like medical camps, blood donation camps, self-help groups, etc. We also sponsor over 300 schools where we have been able to reduce the drop-out rate from 60% to 10%. Other key ingredients that make us a great place is our culture, and the inspired leadership that makes all this possible.