Online/Offline. ‘I believe in servant leadership’

Conduent was born last year when document solutions giant Xerox spun off its business processing arm into a separate company in order to be more agile. Rather than a BPO, it calls itself a digital, personalised interactions company. Leading the charge in APAC is Lokesh Prasad , a former Infosyian and head of emerging markets for United Health Group. Prasad, who has a reputation as a high-tech business developer, has the task of leading the $6.5-billion company’s presence in the region and growing the 10,000-plus employee workforce here. His take on:

Our goal is to be nimbler, not smaller. We have announced $1 billion in divestitures to date, associated with non-core assets. Streamlining our portfolio to focus on core businesses is a key element of our strategy for sustainable, profitable, growth as we reposition Conduent to make future investments in growing our business. We’ve allocated approximately $300 million to enhance our core portfolio with strategic acquisitions that will position Conduent as a technology-led, digital interactions company.

Additionally, we consolidated our real estate footprint with total locations down nearly 16 per cent and have gone from 50 separate brands, each with their own branding and way of working, to one master brand and operating model. Finally, we’re aggressively attacking our IT infrastructure with the goal of consolidating our data centres and network backbone.

At this point, we are focused on identifying the right talent that will help us reach our business goals in the most efficient manner. Our investment in India ensures access to a diverse pool of technology talent. We grew our workforce by over 30 per cent in the past year and even set up a new centre in Visakhapatnam, expanding our national footprint.

A key element of Conduent’s core business focus is something it calls Accushoring ™ , which means using talent anywhere in the world and giving it the flexibility to leverage human capital from locations with the best balance of skill, availability and costs.

There will always be two sides to any concept. Some people believe that reducing the use of technology can increase focus and productivity, but in my opinion investing in the right technology is extremely important in a global set-up like ours.

Our ‘follow the sun’ model requires us to collaborate with teams from across different geographies and tech tools help us communicate effectively and seamlessly. Take a simple example of Outlook. It now integrates easily with other office tools such as Webex and email apps and has features such as built-in calendar view, quick access to files stored in attachments and smart filters, making it the most widely used corporate email platform for clear reasons of efficiency. While most companies today use these tools for work in the simplest terms — virtual meetings, chatting, collaboration — many have discovered efficiency through automation and streamlining of day-to-day tasks as well. Increase in productivity is the direct impact of technology tools. Further, they also elevate employee experience and bring in a more collaborative culture.

There are two philosophies I believe in. First is servant leadership. I believe the growth of my team is more important than my personal goals and therefore I have always endeavoured to provide them with the right opportunities. The second philosophy l live by is that even in the face of complexity or any challenge, there is always a way to channel it into positive outcomes. It is simply a matter of figuring the right approach for the right situation. The focus should be on getting results and ensuring the team takes collective action towards achieving common goals.

I de-stress by allowing myself to switch off once in a while. I believe the whole idea of a break is not just getting away from work, but doing something different . I usually spend time with my family doing what they want me to do or watch TV or read a book. As practice I also read every day for 30-60 minutes because I think it is a great stress reliever.

Influence without authority by Allan R. Cohen and David L. Bradford