Is CEAT facing issues with its talent management? Or are there work culture issues?
In the current recruitment market, candidates are worried about the choices they make. There are numerous unanswered questions before them. Everyone wants to know more about the organisational culture and values in detail. Most of company culture knowledge is a result of feedback from friends, relatives and their network/ interaction/experience with the organisation. It does come with tremendous credibility.
In few cases, company culture is so evident, overt and known that there is no need to publicise it. Tata and Reliance are two such examples. Each has reasons not to shout about it.
Every organisation has values, norms, rules and processes. When internalised it gives birth to an accepted and acceptable way of behaviour which then gets immortalised as the culture of the company. CEAT, in one of the rare occasions, has taken to address some issues head-on and reflect the desired perception.
CEAT #ThingsThatHappensAtWork starts with a premise that in most corporates, evils like gender bias, bureaucracy and lack of transparency or credit stealing is now an accepted and expected evil in the work environment. But, then sorry, it does not happen at CEAT.
There is a stretched humour in execution. Purposely the simplest of examples have been used to demonstrate #ThingsThatHappenAtWork and that the only thing beautiful about the communication.
Now ‘Does Not Happen at CEAT’ is a hard stance to take. It is hyperbole that is tough to believe. However, it’s hygiene promises that do have a chance to be a differentiating factor. Till not proven, the audience will say, ‘Tell me something new’.
CEAT claims the subject of these themes is based on insights from employees. And, if these did make the final list, I as HR, would want to investigate more.
The acid test of such a communication is usually with ex-employees. It works if and only if they endorse what is projected. Maybe CEAT is culturally perfect. Perhaps it is isolated and vaccinated against the known corporate evils.
Anyway, the subject needs more than just a TVC. It needs further expressions to support. Otherwise, it will fail to cut ice.
Low attrition rate, long induction process, humane policies, sexual harassment policy and implementation success, intolerance to malpractices, Gender ratio, training and development are some of the subjects that can be used to reflect the true reality.
Anyway, CEAT does not feature in the Top 100 companies listed in ‘Great Place To WorkMaybe be it is not in their culture to participate in such surveys. Perhaps this is a step towards making the cut. Whatever the reason, someone did seem to have a good time conceptualising and making these DVCs.
PARTING SHOT: A friend who is part of HR and Change Management in an MNC has a lighter take on this communication. She said, may be Ceat made this for internal communication as ‘What we Don’t Do/Tolerate’, and some smart marketing wired person flipped the whole thing! And why do I think her guess could be right?!
…. BLOG/24/2018…… First appeared at MxmIndia.com
