Bharat Petroleum follows a structured process for determining organisational goals and objectives and the plans to achieve them. HR Initiatives at BPCL begin with a five year dream plan that is further broken down into annual plans. The organisation then prepares business plans to achieve the objectives. These goals and objectives are tabulated in the form of Balanced Score Cards (BSC) and are monitored from time to time.
All senior leaders including HR leaders have been trained and certified in performance counselling techniques that are in line with the global trends. This ensures that Bharat Petroleum creates an integrated work environment that supports and enhances performance and skill development of every employee. Senior leaders in the organisation take regular feedback from employees regarding various issues through dipstick surveys and discussion forums.
Bharat Petroleum has various HR initiatives for employees to continually applaud and encourage individual as well as group performance. Regular appraisals are geared toward identifying, rewarding and encouraging employees who excel. Additionally, at Bharat Petroleum, training needs are identified and earmarked and employee goals are also streamlined to promote career growth. Performance targets which are mutually beneficial to individuals and the company are also clearly identified and worked on.
At Bharat Petroleum, talent management and leadership are given due importance. The company has launched programmes that help identify talented individuals within the organisation and take active steps towards nurturing their talent.
Bharat Petroleum launched the project 'CALIBER', which was aimed at creating an organised means to asses, identify and develop existing talent in the organisation. Following this initiative, middle and senior level managers underwent a complete, all inclusive assessment process which was followed by a detailed review, integrated feedback and enrichment plans. The project was well received by this tier of management and the process was then scaled to include all members of the BPCL family.
Following this, project 'ASCEND' was developed to provide multi-rater assessment, multiple level personnel review, integrated feedback and individual plans for employee engagement and skill development at Bharat Petroleum. This was, in turn, also linked to other HR processes to develop detailed career plans and also used for determining appraisals and promotions. This created a clear, cohesive and transparent system by which the employees could clearly see their progress and allowed better definition of employee goals in line with organisational growth. The 'ASCEND' model at Bharat Petroleum uses three main parameters to assess individual performance - ability, aspiration and performance engagement.
This detailed process is in place for middle and senior level professionals in the organisational tree. For junior levels there are additional distinctive assessment tools known as the Growth Factor Index (GFI).
Bharat Petroleum has a number of state-of-the art methods for learning and development that are highly experiential and constantly challenge employees to test and work on their strengths. Through these, the company has created a learning paradigm for line managers. This organisational initiative has led to strategic alignment of learning and development initiatives centre focussed on creating a 'leadership pipeline'.
These leadership resources at Bharat Petroleum benefit the employees by teaching people skills that include:
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Effective communication
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Feedback
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Developing subordinates
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People management
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Team development
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Performance management
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Handling difficult conversations, etc.
The continuous learning initiatives are developed in union with established premier institutions to offer individuals distinctive custom training programs suited to their organisational goals and growth.
Apart from this, there are different experiential learning modules that have been developed at Bharat Petroleum:
Mercurix – Bharat Petroleum holds an annual story telling event aimed at enhancing leadership abilities by using a compelling story or narrative as an inspirational tool. It offers employees an opportunity to exhibit their skills to inspire and motivate other personnel to effectively build morale and also promotes a valued organisational culture among the personnel at Bharat Petroleum.
Socratix – Bharat Petroleum strongly believes in employee engagement and enrichment and in this regard conducts case study events that evaluate thinking and strategic execution skills in employees. These events provide the participants with an opportunity to develop their analytical skills based on detailed competitive case studies conducted at Bharat Petroleum.
Other initiatives include:
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E-Learning programmes – Bharat Petroleum, in collaboration with global e-learning providers, has developed various programs aimed at cost and time optimised training programmes. This involves integrated learning and development initiatives in line with career growth which identify different training initiatives (covering behavioural, managerial and functional effectiveness) for employees at BPCL. This enables us to deliver to our personnel cost-effective and optimised content customised to individual employee needs.
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Educational assistance scheme – Bharat Petroleum support employees who choose to upgrade themselves by upgrading their skills and knowledge through their liberal financial assistance programmes.
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E-library – All executives at Bharat Petroleum have access to their e-library where they can gain access to the latest material.
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Lecture series – Bharat Petroleum invites inspirational personalities to deliver lectures on important topics that helps motivate the employees and widen their horizons.
'Continuous innovation' is a core value. The organisation inculcates, promotes and rewards creative initiatives at the work place. They have in place clear structures to identify and encourage ideas that encourage innovation and resourcefulness across the organisation through prestigious awards. This is vied for by all their business units and employees and has promoted numerous worthwhile contributions to organisational growth through state-of-the-art practices that are connected to employees' individual areas of work.
Bharat Petroleum has an open door policy which encourages employees across the organisation to raise apt questions about matters of organisational interest and concern to the C&MD through open interactions such as 'Let's Talk ' and 'Tea with C & MD'. This open interaction also serves to enable Bharat Petroleum to detect the pulse of the organisation and helps them seek the opinions of employees on areas that need attention and focus. Through these initiatives, the company has successfully devised and implemented five and seven year plans which have promoted exceptional team performance across the organisation.
Internal Coaching
Bharat Petroleum is continually engaged in developing internal teams of coaches who are certified and able to build and foster cohesiveness within the team. These individuals are also brand ambassadors for various HR initiatives conducted throughout the company.
Speakers Forum
This forum is for HR leaders in Bharat Petroleum to collectively present their innovative views and ideas to audiences based on various areas of interest. The subject matters vary widely and the speaker at the event has the freedom to choose what to present. In such events, the content and presentation skills are evaluated. The quick feedback process provides immense scope for growth and improvement.
Continuous Improvement Initiatives (Quality circle, 5S, TPM, TQM, Kaizen, etc.)
Constant improvement, a key initiative at Bharat Petroleum, is achieved through constant review and improvement of existing business processes and work systems. A number of globally renowned initiatives in this space involving members of top management, and taking steps such as paying attention to customers' wants, training and empowering employees, emphasising safety and environmental performance have been applied at Bharat Petroleum. Through these initiatives, processes are assessed and and customers concerns are addressed regularly.
Quality Circles
Quality circles have resulted in improvement at the grass root level. A total of 28 quality circles including employees across various designations have benefitted the organisation across regional offices, refineries and major locations. These quality circles have allowed the employees to discuss their problems and come up with concrete solutions for betterment at Bharat Petroleum.
Six Sigma
Bharat Petroleum's Mumbai refinery has utilised the globally renowned Six Sigma as a crucial tool for quality improvement processes. The Mumbai refinery holds a unique and enviable distinction of having over 332 Six Sigma certified and trained staff. Members of this 'Six Sigma Club' have conducted 120 quality improvement projects focused on reduction of costs and defects, improvement in output/production, increase in customer satisfaction and safety and reduce time variables leading to huge profits and cost savings for the company. The teams at Bharat Petroleum have won numerous national and international accolades for their valuable contribution towards improving the processes.
5S
5S Bharat Petroleum is actively taking steps to adopt the 5S method across their offices and refineries. The organisation is ensuring that the method is imbibed into the organisational culture through complete involvement and engagement of all the employees. Even though it is a huge challenge to implement this method across an organization as large as Bharat Petroleum, the organisation has reached the pilot phase for implementing 5S in their refineries and across their regional offices.
Bharat Petroleum welcomes employee feedback and suggestions.
Nurturing
Bharat Petroleum strongly believes in providing for the well-being of all members of the organisation. To this effect, the company has in place a 'Periodic Health Check-up Scheme'. This is aimed at creating an atmosphere of corporate wellness and paves the way toward ensuring:
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Employee well-being
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Availability/regular employee presence
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Rationalisation of costs incurred for medical care
Mandatory health check-ups are in place for all personnel at Bharat Petroleum at periodic intervals.