“And the first place goes to BOT VFX!” With these thrilling words, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) announced the winners of the 2020 Young HR Manager Competition: our very own bots Vinitha Krishnan, Muhil Vahini Pandi, and Ramya Kalyanaraman. All of us at BOT VFX extend our hearty congratulations to these energetic leaders.
The year was 2020, a year unlike any other. Faced with unique threats, the survival instinct deep in the heart of the BOT began to stir. Two top priorities quickly emerged: the health and safety of everyone in the company, and keeping their jobs alive as well.
Vinitha, Muhil, and Ramya sprang into action like HR superheroes, directing their teams to engage home-bound bots in a rich variety of initiatives. Immediately after lockdowns began, every bot got a one-on-one phone call from someone on the HR team. “Aren’t you going to tell me I’ve lost my job?” the bots queried nervously. “Of course not!” was the confident answer. Ramya remembers, “We were horrified they even thought that could happen. We were so glad when we heard a laugh of relief on the other end of the line.”
Also early on during the COVID crisis, the HR team supported the company-wide challenge of solving work-from-home technical and content security challenges. “It was an all-hands-on-deck situation,” recalled Muhil. “The company’s survival depended on it.”
Then, a series of employee engagement initiatives, unique to BOT VFX, began. There were games and competitions, family events, Life Skills sessions, and motivational Power Talks. The monthly Town Hall went virtual. Career growth and VFX skill development classes made strategic use of downtime due to industry-wide lockdowns. Vinitha observes, “We made sure there was something for everyone to connect with, grow with, and enjoy.”
As a result of the steady supply of encouragement, the bots’ trust and motivation got stronger day by day. Stress levels went down. In the newly-virtual world, team connections made a comeback. The end-of-year Happiness Index revealed that over 80% of BOT employees rated their well-being and job satisfaction as Good or Excellent.
“Vinitha, Muhil, and Ramya displayed creative leadership when we needed it most,” observed Shaswati Chowdhury, BOT’s Head of Human Resources and Administration.
Deepak Bohra, BOT Co-Founder and Director, shares, “This recognition from CII belongs not just to us in the Talent Management team, but to everyone on Team BOT. It truly signifies what we aspire for, to be a company with ‘art and a heart’. Kudos to Ramya, Muhil, and Vinitha for this win, and for personifying the heart of BOT VFX.”
The Young HR Managers’ Competition, co-sponsored by CII and IFMR for the southern region of India, provides a platform for young HR Managers to exhibit their talent, leadership skills, people management skills, knowledge, experience, professional prowess and creativity. The Competition showcases their contributions at the workplace in the field of Human Resource Management (including Employee Relations), that have clearly and substantially impacted business performance of the enterprise.
