Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) will downsize corporate/regional office space in Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi as part of a drive to optimise employee productivity.

This has become especially important in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, said Naveen Soni, Senior VP, Sales & Service, TKM. The company has already shut down its corporate office in the Bengaluru headquarters and shifted operations to Bidadi plant, nearly 50 kilometres away.

According to Soni, there was really little point in having such large office capacity and this fact was accentuated during Covid-19, where work-from-home has become the new normal. Eventually, as he put it, the key is individual productivity, which has been consistently high across the TKM ecosystem during the lockdown.

Productivity, cost savings

The rationalisation of space at the regional/corporate offices also makes sense at a time when companies across the board have been under immense financial pressure with zero economic activity. Auto sales were zilch in April and even while factories have kicked off the process of restarting operations, it will be a while before customers are back in showrooms.

Till then, automakers like TKM are focusing on overheads even while ensuring that this does not come in the way of productivity. Soni said once the lockdown is completely lifted, the idea is only to have up to two-thirds of the white-collar workforce present in Bidadi.

In the process, there will be fewer buses and cars required to take employees back and forth to the city. The travel time of at least a couple of hours will be saved, which means people will also have more energy at their disposal to ensure higher output from their workstations at home.

This has been one of the high points of work-from-home where daily schedules continued uninterrupted with employees being better focused in online interactions. A recent video conference with TKM dealers, likewise, was a revelation from the viewpoint of higher attendance and involvement.

More importantly, there were substantial cost savings in air travel, arranging for hotel rooms, a conference hall, lunch/dinner and so on. There is no reason, in the TKM management’s view, why this model cannot be extended across the spectrum since this will save on needless expenditure.

“Work-from-home is something that will be a part of the new normal for us at TKM. It keeps our employees safe,” said Soni. At the factory level, similarly, the company will ensure that social distancing is zealously practised, especially with Covid-19 likely to linger for many months to come.

Dos and don’ts

In its restart manual for employees, TKM’s Managing Director, Masakazu Yoshimura, has reiterated that while change is inevitable, going forward, it is always for the better. “We need to stop jobs that do not fit the needs, change procedures or the way we work and continue to navigate in these turbulent times,” he has added. This three-point mantra of stop, change, continue, will be the TKM template post-Covid.

While prescribing a detailed list of dos and don’ts on basic hygiene (masks, washing hands often, etc) while constantly driving home the need for social distancing be it in the plant or bus, the manual has some interesting nuggets on the new norms at the cafeteria.

Here, employees have been told to sit on alternative chairs and not talk loudly, clearly with an idea to prevent spread of droplets. There will be staggered timings for eating, so that there are fewer people to manage and enough time between intervals to sanitise tables and chairs. Interestingly, eggs, curd, pickles and ice-cream are off the menu too as also outsourced foodstuff like samosas, puffs and cupcakes.

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