Defence veterans turned HR leaders: Insights & experiences

Highlights

(From L-R) Dr K S Bhoon, Head - HR & Business Excellence, RDC Concrete; Retd Lt Col Alok Kumar Das, Chief People Officer, Brinton Pharmaceuticals; Retd Col Gaurav Dimri, Director - HR, Sharda Group

“Adapting gradually and embracing alteration tin beryllium attributed to the rule of Charles Darwin: ‘It is not the strongest of the taxon that survives, nor the astir intelligent, but the 1 astir responsive to change,’" Dr K S Bhoon, Head - HR & Business Excellence, RDC Concrete India, quotes portion sharing his vocation displacement from the Army to quality resources.

January 15, celebrated arsenic Indian Army Day each twelvemonth successful India, recognises the day erstwhile Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa took implicit arsenic the archetypal Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Robert Roy Bucher who was the past British Commander-in-Chief of India, till 15th January 1949.

In commemoration of this day, ETHRWorld spoke to defence veterans turned HR leaders to recognize and elucidate however their experiences and learnings from their vocation successful the Indian Army oregon defence forces helps them successful their contiguous roles and responsibilities successful quality resources and radical absorption astatine large.

Dr K S Bhoon, Head - HR & Business Excellence, RDC Concrete

Having served astatine engineering enactment and logistics readying successful the Army ensuring that subject instrumentality and limb systems similar tanks, helicopters, airy inferior vehicles, radars, missiles and instrumentality guns were battle-ready astatine each times, Bhoon besides played a portion successful strategical readying astatine the Army office successful the same.

Bhoon is an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College and helium besides served arsenic module there.

His past duty was arsenic the Dean of the Faculty of Management astatine the Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering successful Secunderabad, Telangana.

Journey to HR

"Due to property constraints successful the military, I was not capable to determination to the General Rank. Therefore, I near prematurely arsenic a Brigadier and joined India’s large commercialized automobile shaper arsenic Director of the Management Development Centre," Bhoon says.

This is wherever helium discovered his passionateness for people, arsenic helium was capable to plan and physique a enactment pipeline done field recruitment and grooming of postgraduate engineers from institutions similar IITs and NITs.

Bhoon developed the ‘training and improvement model’ for the employees of this automobile manufacturer.

"Although I had nary ceremonial HR training, I developed a beardown passionateness for radical and obtained HR Certification from SHRM. Due to my concern engineering inheritance from IIT Delhi, it became casual for maine to blend men and machines, transforming young engineers into firm leaders, immoderate of whom present pb well-known brands," Bhoon says.

Challenges

"Transitioning to the firm satellite posed challenges, with titles similar ‘Bhoon’ oregon 'Mr’ unfamiliar to me," Bhoon says.

"Recognizing subject disparities betwixt the subject and the firm environments, I addressed punctuality and adherence issues, utilizing my persona and innate abilities to instil discipline, adjacent among young professionals," helium adds.

Despite silo-based systems, dissimilar the military's esprit de corps (sense of unity, camaraderie and loyalty amongst a team), Bhoon persisted successful cultivating a disciplined approach, supported by apical management.

“This had a profound effect, and immoderate portion of the civilization did alteration eventually," helium says.

Later, helium joined RDC Concrete.

Bhoon says this blend of Army ethos with concern acumen transformed him into an HR leader.

Seventy-six years-old Bhoon adds, “I americium possibly 1 of the oldest veterans who is inactive successful a full-time managerial relation successful the concern world."

Learnings and instances from Army days contributing to HR

Bhoon shared an incidental wherever helium learned a important enactment acquisition successful 1975, erstwhile a challenging concern arose astatine Babina Cantonment successful Uttar Pradesh.

A monolithic Russian motortruck was stuck astatine a steep space wrong a unsighted well, and contempt reluctance from Bhoon's squad owed to the beingness of snakes, helium took the initiative.

Displaying some carnal and intelligence courage, Bhoon went down the good and placed a alloy enactment for extraction, resolving the contented and elevating his enactment credibility.

Bhoon says, "This acquisition shaped my enactment ethos – successful the look of reluctance, I pb by example, demonstrating a willingness to tackle hard tasks first-hand to gain respect and commitment."

Once erstwhile helium was astatine the Army office during the Kargil War (1999), helium got a telephone astatine midnight to supply 1 tube for a Bofors weapon that had gone soundless astatine Dras (Ladakh).

By connecting with galore people, including the Air Force commander, Bhoon was capable to enactment a tube from Jabalpur to Srinagar Airport and past done a chopper to Dras successful conscionable six hours.

"This acquisition taught maine determination. I person utilized this methodology successful the firm satellite too, wherever warfare country situations bash arise, and galore Gordian Knots request to beryllium chopped alternatively than untangled. I usage specified stories to motivate and amusement the way," Bhoon says.

Retd Lt Col Alok Kumar Das, Chief People Officer, Brinton Pharmaceuticals

Das has implicit 2 decades of acquisition successful the subject and firm sectors pan-India.

He has served arsenic Integrated Head - Operations, Supply Chain Management, Strategy, Technology & HR of assorted units connected the field, bid arsenic good arsenic antagonistic coercion environment, wherein helium commanded ample multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural teams successful these areas.

As a tract HR person successful the Army, helium has handled portion governance, culture, conflict readiness and payment of a ample fig of officers crossed ranks.

His past duty was for serviceman enactment arsenic Board Member of Tri-Services (Army, Navy, Air force), wherein helium did property assessments and assessed enactment qualities to prime imaginable defence officers.

"I person taken implicit 18,000 property assessments. I was besides an teacher to bid different defence officers to go qualified assessors," Das says.

Journey to HR

After serving successful the Army for a decade, Das started feeling that isolated from the Army, helium could service the state successful different ways arsenic well.

"I gradually got aligned to research different aspects of beingness wherever I tin unleash my enactment for the nine astatine large. However, successful the pursuit of my ambition, I needed to recognize assorted facets of firm civilization and concern functionality," Das says.

This feeling was strengthened during his tenure successful SSB (Services Selection Board) wherever property appraisal became a portion of his blood, and helium started feeling powerfully astir his potential.

This was besides the clip erstwhile Das was doing reasonably good with a rising vocation graph successful the Army, yet helium decided to unsettle himself from his comfortableness portion and task into the firm world, experimentation more, instrumentality risks, larn much and lend to nine differently.

"However, having handled each circular governance of ample numbers which integrated HR elements, HR enactment roles came people to me. My property appraisal acquisition besides added to the determination towards larger endowment absorption and acquisition roles," Das says.

Challenges

Some of the factors oregon experiences that made his travel to HR much challenging were-

1. Corporate Culture Shock: Armed forces person a chiseled civilization characterised by esprit de corps, arsenic Bhoon had besides said.

According to Das, the firm satellite connected the different manus had a much relaxed ambiance with antithetic connection styles, antithetic subject channels and expectations.

"Adjusting to this caller civilization was challenging. There was a changeless conflict betwixt bosom and mind," says Das.

2. Skill Transition: Military skills and experiences bash not ever person nonstop counterparts successful the firm assemblage and, according to Das, translating subject jargons and skills into the connection that resonates with civilian employers was difficult.

"It is important to item the value of transferable skills specified arsenic leadership, teamwork and problem-solving. Although the essence of enactment was the same, execution benignant and parameters were precise different," says Das.

3. Lack of ceremonial training: Some firm roles whitethorn necessitate circumstantial acquisition qualifications oregon certifications that subject grooming mightiness not cover.

"I had not invested clip and resources successful acquiring further certifications to conscionable these requirements, adjacent though I had signed up for a full-time wide absorption programme astatine IIM Indore," Das says.

4. Social Networks: Das says that gathering a nonrecreational web is indispensable successful the firm world.

As a subject person, initially it was challenging for him to found connections with civilians, particularly aft a agelong vocation and contacts chiefly with the Army community.

4. Adjustment to hierarchy: Das says that portion some the subject and firm environments person hierarchies, the mode authorization is exercised, and decisions are made is different.

5. Corporate communications: Das says that the connection styles were antithetic from the structured and ceremonial style, arsenic successful the military.

"Learning to pass efficaciously successful a much unfastened and informal mounting was an important learning curve," Das says.

6. Performance Evaluation System: According to Das, show evaluations successful the subject whitethorn absorption connected circumstantial achievements, adherence to rules and circumstantial work level requirements and whitethorn beryllium subjective successful nature.

"Yet, the firm show evaluations are often considered upon a broader acceptable of criteria, much nonsubjective and sometimes volatile," helium says.

"In the Army, it was principally mission-based and mostly successful the enactment roles based connected large-team handling capabilities, whereas, successful the firm setup, this valuation was either arsenic an idiosyncratic contributor oregon teams’ wrong the functional areas, and the stakeholders’ feedback mattered a lot," helium adds.

7. Corporate Work Life Balance: Das says that the subject often demands a precocious level of committedness and dedication, and transitioning individuals whitethorn find the firm accent connected work-life equilibrium to beryllium a important adjustment.

"Social life, including idiosyncratic and household life, are a portion of wide organisational operations successful the Army, whereas successful corporate, adjacent though it is talked astir often, successful reality, is compromised successful bid to execute targets. This has mostly affected the household and the wide motivational scenario," helium says.

8. Coping with ambiguity: Military operations often impact wide chains of bid and well-defined missions.

Das says that firm environments tin beryllium much ambiguous, requiring individuals to navigate uncertainty and marque decisions successful little structured situations, arsenic a effect of the VUCA world.

Addressing the challenges

"Successfully overcoming these challenges often required maine proactive planning, becoming much self-aware, and gathering my willingness to larn and adapt," Das says.

As a enactment quality, Army veterans person the adaptability and therefore, unlearning and relearning is simply a habit. This, Das says, helped him largely.

Handling antithetic unit conditions and having a solution-oriented attack from his subject days assistance him present successful his HR career.

Experiences from Army, implemented successful HR

Explaining done an instance, Das recalls erstwhile helium was posted to a caller spot and was to instrumentality implicit bid of a team. It was successful a wholly unfamiliar zone, with a caller acceptable of squad members belonging to divers cultures, caller stakeholders and wholly antithetic objectives and deliverables.

He mentions present the value of inter-team/unit sports and endurance competitions, which are large factors and a must-have for conflict readiness of the team.

In the fixed scenario, Das' upcoming team/unit was precise debased placed arsenic a imaginable winner, and helium was caller to the unit.

"Having bound them with a defining purpose, I progressive each squad members astatine antithetic levels, enactment the close idiosyncratic astatine the close job, kept each of them motivated by giving them payment statements of winning the event, engaged with them formally and informally, skilled them for assorted jobs and managed effectual cross-functional collaboration," Das says.

Combining each of this, Das' squad not lone won 1 but 5 nonrecreational competitions successful a row, winning for the champion portion for 2 consecutive years.

Looking back, helium realises that successful his contiguous career, lone the employer, size, scale, deliverables and situations person changed – the concepts of radical absorption and enactment duties stay the same.

Retd Col Gaurav Dimri, Director - HR, Sharda Group

Dimri is an alumnus of DPS, Mathura Road, New Delhi and joined the Indian Army done National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla, Maharashtra.

During his two-decade vocation successful the Army, Dimri served crossed assorted staff, instructional and bid appointments to pb from front, that instilled successful him qualities specified arsenic taking ownership of decisions, squad gathering and speedy decision-making close from grooming days.

"The pinnacle of my enactment roles was the bid of an elite Armoured Regiment (Tank unit) which gave the ineffable work of starring a vessel regiment comprising astir 600 unit and 45 authorities of the creation T-90 Tanks, bearing work for operational planning, training, manpower & assets management, payment and nonrecreational improvement of each personnel," says Dimri.

He adds however in-built mechanisms successful defence services ensures that each subject person is proficient successful his designated relation oregon illustration and besides an effectual communicator who tin prosecute with everyone successful a 360-degree perspective, crossed the hierarchy, arsenic good arsenic with non-military personnel.

According to Dimri, these aspects amalgamated with enactment skills, flexibility, empathy and committedness to organisational origin makes a subject person an perfect for HR roles.

Journey to HR

"Due to compelling home circumstances, I had to opt for Voluntary Retirement System (VRS) and the qualities imbibed during the subject work made maine rightly focused to take HR arsenic a vocation option," Dimri says.

However, helium adds however the realisation dawned upon him anterior to transitioning to civilian beingness that for enactment roles successful immoderate domain successful corporate, knowing of concern tools is simply a prerequisite to smoothen the transition.

It was successful this discourse that helium decided to instrumentality GMAT and underwent a one-year, full-time residential programme successful absorption from Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurugram isolated from regular certificate programmes.

Residing successful the field for 1 year, with the enactment of the module astatine MDI and an fantabulous acceptable of batchmates ensured that Dimri got nonrecreational learning that eased his modulation to firm life.

Challenges

Dimri says, "The challenges successful the firm satellite mostly make from a taste displacement that 1 faces, and request to enactment successful a wholly antithetic enactment situation with a acceptable of colleagues who mostly are younger successful age."

He adds that the inherent flexibility of being a subject nonrecreational isolated from the enactment of colleagues and enactment squad successful his post-corporate relation arsenic Chief People Officer astatine Trident Group besides ensured that helium was capable to instrumentality upon his caller relation effectively.

Learnings from the Army that assistance successful HR

"The operational work successful the Army prepares a subject person to program for each contingencies astatine each times," says Dimri.

He adds that the aforesaid proved invaluable during the Covid lockdown arsenic well, erstwhile successful the lack of past precedence oregon SOP, worker link and concern continuity were ensured by the HR team.

"Also, caller SOPs and directives were planned arsenic the concern kept changing, and due to the fact that of a inheritance successful subject training, I was capable to grip each dynamic concern successful a nonrecreational manner," helium adds.