Article: Kaya's Digital Transformation Agenda

Culture

Kaya's Digital Transformation Agenda

At Kaya Limited, finding the right talent, and creating a connection with the next generation of workforce drives the transformation agenda
Kaya's Digital Transformation Agenda

The health and wellness industry in the last decade has seen an upsurge in demand. People want to look good, whether this is through cosmetics, surgery or by undergoing natural treatments, they are willing to invest in these programs. There has been an increased awareness, primarily driven by the media. Another key trend has to do with the increased competition in the marketplace. And so, at Kaya, the key differentiator is the cutting edge technology and well-trained staff. 

The beauty and wellness sector will need 14. 27 million skilled employees by the year 2022

The third shift has to do with the openness among the general public to take up a job in the beauty and fitness sector. While five years back, people would have hesitated to take this up as a career option, competitive salaries and the push from the demand side of the marketplace has made it a lucrative career option. According to a report by the NSDC  (National Skill Development Council), the beauty and wellness sector will need 14. 27 million skilled employees by 2022. However, the biggest challenge in the sector has to do with access to an organized talent pool. In our company, we have our own internal Kaya Academy, for which we recruit freshers from polytechnic colleges and from other shorter courses/ training academies. Anyone joining the frontline will have to undertake 30-60 days of training. Here are some of the focus areas in our agenda:

HR Tech Study

Focus on the right talent: Because we have to hire about 500-600 new recruits a year, our focus is on a standardized recruitment process. This includes communication skills tests, psychometric assessment and detailed interviews. Technology has played a key role in streamlining the process. 

We use a platform called Kaya Café which is instrumental in HR operations – right from recruitment, onboarding and providing employees with access to policies. We are soon going to launch an app with a focus on engagement.

Create a millennial connect: What we have observed even within the millennial cohort is that the millennial employees are a varied cohort. In a retail business, this is a challenge because the job demands consistency and that every customer gets the same experience. Most employees managing the millennial workforce are young as well. So we focus on some common attributes such as explaining the larger picture, giving feedback and creating opportunities for them to interact with the leadership through a variety of forums. Since a lot of the workforce is young and mostly away from their families, we also provide counseling support even if most issues are personal in nature.

Establish an open culture: A culture of openness can sometimes be construed as casualness. So it is important to find the right balance between finding the balance between the ‘right to express views’ and encouraging merit. Every quarter, we organize a CEO speak – in which the CEO logs into a call with all employees across the country. There is also a CEO connect time every week during which time any person can call the CEO to discuss any issues.

From a technology standpoint, we use a platform called wooquer – which is used to deliver refresher training programs. We also use technology to supplement our manpower planning and staffing budgets. Despite the progress the technology has enabled, it is always useful to remember that it needs to be balanced with the human touch.

Read the digital transformation agendas of other leading companies in our annual "State of HR technology" report here

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Topics: Culture, Talent Management, #DigitalTransformation

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