The Hindu Business Line : Ringing in change

Deft workers: Seventy per cent of Nokia's workforce comprises women who arepreferred for their dexterity in handling the tiny components of the mobile phoneassembly

Tunia Cherian
Sravanthi Challapalli

There is a constant hum on the shopfloor at mobile phone maker Nokia’s only manufacturing facility in India at Sriperumbudur (Tamil Nadu). Printed circuit boards in sets of four enter the production line and are punched and assembled to create the phones we use. An array of high-technology machines, programmed to perform specific functions on the production line are busy. While the first half of the line is automated, it is in the second half of the line that the shopfloor employees step in, manning machines, placing with unerring dexterity the many small parts of the mobile phone, and finally checking each complete piece for quality before packing them in cartons, complete with charger and instruction manual.

The production line has laptops at several points, computing the efficiency of operations. In whole, a rather technology-intensive workplace with digital signs flashing across the shopfloor.

And in the midst of all that gadgetry, one can’t help but notice on the line a couple of rather unsophisticated, innocuous-looking discs which serve an important function — these are language wheels which inform the personnel in the room of the language used in the phones under manufacture.

These rather simplistic wheels have gone a long way towards sorting out the language muddle that could ensue at a facility that manufactures and ships mobile phones to 50 countries across the Asia-Pacific, sub-Saharan Africa, West Asia, New Zealand and Australia.

The language wheel offers a simple solution to a knotty problem. Importantly, the innovation has been derived from employees on the shopfloor and is a product of some thought on overcoming a problem that they encounter frequently.

This is just one example of the many instances of kaizen thrown up by the employees — small improvements that go a long way in streamlining operations. And it is a result of Nokia’s emphasis on innovation as a means of challenging its staff and keeping them enthusiastic about what they are doing.

Sachin Saxena, Operations Director, Nokia India, says: “If you don’t keep it challenging, people won’t stick. People should be given a testing work environment. When staff come in to work, they should know that they would be working on something that is interesting and new.

“Everybody is capable of innovation and it only needs the right environment to manifest itself,” says Saxena.

An essential element of the work environment at Nokia is the free flow of information across the organisation. According to Saxena, every employee has the privilege to give feedback to the top management. “I address each and every employee on the shop floor. There is a free flow of information and employees can share their problems with us, even if it be a grievance against a colleague.”

LTY or Listening To You is an initiative that allows those who are hesitant to open up, to express themselves in total anonymity.

According to Saxena, Nokia has brought about a phenomenal change in the area.

Nokia’s Special Economic Zone employs 15,000 personnel; 8,000 with Nokia and the rest with the component manufacturers that have set up shop in the same SEZ. By virtue of its large employee base and its HR and people development policies, Nokia has set a good example for the others. “The company has the potential to change the work culture in the area,” he says.

Freshers on board

Nokia was among the first big electronics players to set up shop in the industrial belt in and around Sriperumbudur, which is located on the Chennai-Bangalore highway. Despite the fact that their job candidates were quite unclear about the nature of work to start with, and in contrast with other companies that insist on candidates having completed a vocational skills course, the company has taken on those who have finished their XII standard and given them the relevant technical training to work on the shopfloor. Based on their performance, they are assigned to different jobs. Further, all openings that come up in the factory are first offered to existing employees.

Queried about attrition at the factory, Saxena says the issue takes on a slightly different hue at Nokia. As 70 per cent of the workforce comprises women, a major cause of attrition is the marriage of these girls. The average age of the shopfloor worker is 22 years, he adds. Yet another reason for attrition, and one about which Saxena is proud, is the fact that many of these young girls leave to continue their education.

As part of its employee development programme, the company has tied up with SRM University, situated in the vicinity, to conduct engineering courses within Nokia. The plan is to offer the B.Tech programme to a few eligible candidates each year.

The employees are also given leadership and values training. Globally, the company instils in its employees four values, namely, a passion for innovation; achieving together which is all about teamwork; ‘very human’ or a work culture practice that stresses on qualities such as respect for each other; and customer satisfaction.

Another of the conveniences provided by the company is free transport up to a distance of 60 km, an important facility for the employees who travel far and come in to work in shifts.

As for compensation, the basic rate at the lowest rung is still better than the minimum wage. Increments are based on the skill level of the employee and therefore works as an incentive, say company officials.

Cafeterias on campus

Another point of differentiation would be the cafeterias on campus which ensures that employees can chose from a selection of menus and are not restricted to a set menu as is the case in most canteens.

Each employee’s ID card is credited Rs 851 which is debited when they make their purchases. Nokia believes that exposing its employees to a wider variety of cuisine and treats than they are used to makes for employee delight.

Queried about the impact Nokia has had on the region since it set up shop in 2005, P. Padmakumar, HR Head, Saint Gobain, says the arrival of the cell phone maker has had a positive impact on the social fabric of the industrial belt. By employing a large number of women it has expanded the local economy. At another level, it has brought into the workforce women who were essentially home-makers in agricultural households.

S. Ganapathy, Senior Vice-President, Human Resources, Hyundai India, says Nokia’s arrival to the industrial belt has not had a major impact on employment in the automobile sector since the auto companies only considered ITI graduates who were given further training before being placed as technicians.

By putting its best foot forward for the welfare of its employees through small measures that engage and encourage them to set bigger and better goals for themselves, Nokia is setting firm foundations for itself in one of its most important markets and production bases.

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