Published on July 14, 2022
Senior Leaders, Mentors and TBEM Team Leaders in the Business Excellence Assessment attended the Mentors’ Programme 2022 virtually organised by Tata Business Excellence Group (TBExG) on July 7, 2022. The programme was organised to discuss key updates in the Business Excellence Assessment process and share experiences of CEOs, Mentors and Team Leaders. The session was also attended by S Padmanabhan, Chairman of the Governing Council, TBExG, and process consultants from TBExG.
Sayantan Roy, DGM, TBExG, who hosted the session, welcomed all the participants and explained the specially curated agenda.
The first session of the day was by Sanjeev Singh, VP, TBExG, on ‘Business Excellence Assessments - An Opportunity for Collaborative Introspection’. He began by extending a special welcome to the new Mentors and Team Leaders. This year, new Mentors who are engaging with the BE Assessment process include Ajoy Chawla, CEO, Jewellery Division, Titan Company; Avneesh Gupta, VP, TQM and Engineering & Projects, Tata Steel; Manoj Raghavan, MD & CEO, Tata Elxsi; Rajeev Singhal, VP - Steel M&S Flat Products, Tata Steel; Rohit Khosla, EVP - Operations, North and West India, Indian Hotels; Sanjay Banga, President, Transmission & Distribution, Tata Power; Sarosh Amaria, MD, Tata Capital Financial Services; Shailesh Chandra, MD, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility; and Suparna Mitra, CEO, Watches and Wearables Division, Titan Company. New Team Leaders are Asaman Patnaik, Tata Consulting Engineers; Sanchita Mustauphy, Tata Capital, Shaun Thomas, Tata Steel Europe; and Tarun George, Tata Insights and Quants.
Mr Singh elaborated on the key process changes in the BE Assessments, which were made on the basis of the feedback received on the previous year’s cycle. These changes were around the dimensions of Customisation, Collaboration and Value Enablers. He mentioned the areas in which participating companies are seeking insights through this assessment. He highlighted how the team formation was carried out collaboratively with key stakeholders in the process. He also talked about how the domain experts/SMEs and analysts add value to the assessment outcomes and mentioned about some best practices of Mentors captured over the years.
An audio visual capturing voices of CEOs was played. T V Narendran, Tata Steel; Warren Harris, Tata Technologies; Sandeep Kumar, Tata Metaliks; and P J Nath, Nelco, narrated how they have gained value through assessments and more specifically from the Mentors. The audio visual was highly appreciated as the narration was informative and inspiring.
Ganesh Srinivasan, CEO, Tata Power Delhi Distribution, who is an experienced Team Leader, talked about the value the team derives from Mentors. He said that during the BE Assessment, the Mentor provides a balance, connects with the CEO, provides business insights and perspectives and helps the team communicate sensitive issues. More importantly, he said that the Mentor energises and motivates the team to add value.
A fire-side e-chat was moderated by TVS Shenoy, Chief Commercial Officer, Long Products, Tata Steel, where he posed a few interesting questions to two experienced Mentors — Dr Henrik Adam, VP - European Corporate affairs, Tata Steel; and Tarun Daga, MD, Tata Steel Utilities & Infrastructure Services. The discussion alluded about how the assessment process, team formation and the lens has evolved over the years. The conversation anchored around the key question on ‘what should be the lens of the TBEM Assessment 2022’ and ‘what should Mentors look at keeping the Group’s focus areas’.
Mr Padmanabhan then talked about the current economic and social situation. He thanked the Mentors and Team Leaders for their participation in the assessment process and how their contribution adds value to the companies and the Tata Group. The session ended with an engaging open house with Mr Padmanabhan, wherein participants posed questions as well as gave suggestions for the upcoming BE Assessment cycle.