1. Panel: Emerging People Management
Insights
5 – 6 February 2014
Renaissance Convention Center, Powai

2. Moderator: Prasenjit
Bhattacharya,
CEO, Great Places to
Work Institute
Panel from L-R:
• Aditya Narayan Mishra, President (Staffing), Randstad India
• Ajay Kaul, CEO, Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd
• Dr Nitin Sanghavi, Manchester Business School
• Laura Whyte, Personnel Director, John Lewis

3. Does the retail industry represent an attractive career option
for Indian youth?
Moderator: Prasenjit Bhattacharya,
CEO, Great Places to Work Institute
At the stage of lifecycle that we are
in, retail industry does provide
quality jobs and growth
opportunities to the youth.
- Ajay Kaul, CEO, Jubilant Foodworks Ltd
•
As a employer, the retail industry requires
the “5 R’s” – Recruit, Reward, Retrain,
Refresh and Retain.
• There is a huge skill set and knowledge
base in the country that can be tapped by
retail.
- Dr Nitin Sanghavi, Manchester Business
School
•

4. The John Lewis People Management Strategy
Moderator: Prasenjit Bhattacharya,
CEO, Great Places to Work Institute
•
•
•
Laura Whyte,
Personnel Director, John Lewis
•
Define company culture in terms of
employee behaviour
Power and profit sharing. For example,
the employees of John Lewis choose
to work longer hours during Christmas
sales with the knowledge that they
will share greater profit at the end of
the holiday season.
Choosing leaders who can strike a
balance between strategy v/s
execution and legacy v/s
transformation.
Democratic engagement: At John
Lewis, we run a magazine whereby
employees suggestions are published
and acted upon immediately.

5. Laura Whyte:The John Lewis People Management Model
Employee engagement drives consumer
experience
Moderator: Prasenjit Bhattacharya,
CEO, Great Places to Work Institute

6. How to bridge the skill gap in Indian retail?
Moderator: Prasenjit Bhattacharya,
CEO, Great Places to Work Institute
•
•
•
Aditya Narayan Mishra, President (Staffing),
Randstad India
Retail requires more soft skills
that technical skills.
Hence, it is essential for
employers to clearly define the
kind of talent they are seeking.
Skill gap is not a phenomenon
unique to India – it’s a natural
result of a high growth market.
However, many retailers have
come forward to invest in the
right talent.

7. How to empower ground-level employees?
Moderator: Prasenjit Bhattacharya,
CEO, Great Places to Work Institute
•
•
•
•
Ajay Kaul, CEO, Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd
“Front line employees need to see
management “walking the talk” –
i.e. ‘Make, Bake OR Take’
•
At Domino’s Pizza, we have a
philosophy of “Make, Bake OR Take”.
Everybody in the company must either
Make pizza, Bake it or Take it (to the
customer). And anyone who doesn’t do
that needs to help others who do.
Thus, we glamorize mundane jobs like
pizza delivery to make young people
feel empowered.
We have an active suggestion scheme
which takes into account and acts upon
feedback from all employees
irrespective of rank. Out of 3000
suggestions received, 360 have been
implemented.
We have a policy of ‘No subFranchising’. Hence, everyone is part of
the Domino’s family.

8. In Conclusion
Moderator: Prasenjit Bhattacharya,
CEO, Great Places to Work Institute
•“Glamorize mundane tasks to
empower ground-level employees.”
Ajay Kaul, CEO, Jubilant FoodWorks
Ltd
“Retail industry needs to clearly
define the skills required for its
jobs and then invest in them.”
Aditya Narayan Mishra, President
(Staffing), Randstad India
“Give employees a greater share in
the business for long-term
performance.”
Laura Whyte, Personnel Director,
John Lewis
India’s huge skill and knowledge
base poses a good opportunity for
retail to grow and thrive.”
Dr Nitin Sanghavi,
Manchester Business School

9. Panel: Emerging People Management
Insights
5 – 6 February 2014
Renaissance Convention Center, Powai