The second iteration of E&A Awards were held on September 24, 2018 in Powai amid much fanfare. The eagerly awaited E&A-wide contest set up to recognize and felicitate ‘the best of the best’ from among the quarterly award winners from different business units and functions saw an overwhelming response from E&A employees everywhere.
As a prelude to the event, the HR team built up the tempo through posts and chats on Facebook@Workplace. While the nominations for 2018 were under evaluation, a video competition was announced wherein last year’s nine award-winners uploaded videos of their experiences of E&A Awards 2017 and the video which received the most number of ‘likes’ was declared the winner. Similarly, video messages from BU/Function Heads were uploaded on the platform.
Excitement reached a crescendo on event-day with everyone waiting with bated breath for the winners to be announced in various categories including: Making a difference, JET and GET of the Year, Innovative Minds Award and E&A Stars Award.
Before the awards were handed to the rightful winners, E&A’s Head of HR Mr. Debabrata Mohapatra delivered a remark in which he explained the Rewards & Recognition (R&R) Policy instituted in 2014. Mr. Mohapatra noted how it had resulted in a seachange across the business and had more than met its initial objective of being a channel to encourage and motivate employees. The proof was clearly visible from the participation of employees in the E&A Awards. From 91 teams participating in 2014-15, the figure had more than tripled in 2017-18, with participation from 281 teams. He said that R&R had impacted E&A in three distinct ways: Created a culture of appreciation, Given a fillip to the culture of innovation and Valuing team endowment. He clarified that while individual contributions were valued, ‘team’ was the way the forward.
Dr. Hasit Joshipura, Head of L&T Electrical & Automation, introduced the illustrious Chief Guest – Mr. R. Mukundan, Managing Director & CEO of Tata Chemicals, acknowledging that he was the most fitting person to share his insights on achievement and excellence since his career epitomised the great Indian dream.
In his keynote address, Mr. Mukundan noted that excellence is doing the right thing when no one is watching. And while excellence in pockets is good, the challenge is always about how to scale excellence and make it a habit. He urged leaders to lead by example.
The digniteries feliciated winners in various categories and encouraged others to follow their lead.
