Basab Bordoloi: Driving A Human-First Culture
Basab Bordoloi
Chief Human Resource Officer
While adding the real human element to the HR department, he is dealing with different generations of people from diverse backgrounds and cross-cultural ruts. He ensures that people are being cared for by focusing on their efforts and facilitating an enviably engaging, high performing, and fulfilling company culture. In an exclusive interaction with CEO Insights, Basab shares a lot of his journey, HR domain, and leadership.
How has your path to success been and what is your success mantra?
The path to success hasn’t been an easy one, as we all know one must work strategically to get to the Zenith of one’s career facing different challenges along the line but most importantly achieving the set goals and targets.
My Success Mantra has always been 'Do it because it comes from the heart'. The desire to get it done makes you committed and not forget why you started it. My success comes from developing people and creating leaders, in that process, you will also grow and be successful.
Tell us about your leadership approach, and the guidelines or methodologies you follow to lead your team.
As a leader, it is my job to inspire and motivate; these require training and support to maximize employee
effectiveness. I ensure to avoid a one-way style of leadership and adapt to the needs of the team. I always say that knowing what leadership style to use in what situation is essential. So, it is a Situational type of leadership. I communicate effectively delegate, support, coach, and direct. Not to forget the simple formula "Learn Unlearn Relearn."
Brief us on your initial career learnings.
I started my career as a Management trainee with Elbee-UPS in May 1993, then Aptech, Support scape, Spice Telecom and BPO. During the initial phase of my career, I learned and realized one major aspect how the Role of a Personnel Manager responsible for compliance and welfare has moved to a Role of an HRBP, responsible for people development career counselling, succession planning, Retention, and Engagement.
Walk us through your professional journey and the different roles you played
Formerly, before XPLORE TECH SERVICES, in my capacity as the Global Head for Human Resources at iSON Xperiences, I was responsible for creating an optimal balance of people, roles, capabilities, and capacity that allows the organization to deliver business goals. Not only that, I looked at creating an infrastructure that significantly and positively increases the organization's impact on the societies we interact with. I operated across multiple regulatory and labour environments that span 18 countries across Africa, India, and the Middle East. I had to understand diverse cultures and peoples to build an inclusive environment where our 17,000+ co-workers could contribute and succeed in equal measures.
Before that, I had worked with Jubilant Food works, Dominos; spearheading the rise of Dominos to the top of the QSR (quick service restaurant) industry in India and later Asia. I was part of its growth journey and the deliberations that allowed the company to rebound from a high single-digit loss to a healthy double-digit profit,grow from less than 1,000 coworkers to over 15,000 co-workers, and be recognized as a preferred national
A Firm and Staunch Believer & Practitioner of "PEOPLE COME FIRST BEFORE STRATEGY"
Brief us on your initial career learnings.
I started my career as a Management trainee with Elbee-UPS in May 1993, then Aptech, Support scape, Spice Telecom and BPO. During the initial phase of my career, I learned and realized one major aspect how the Role of a Personnel Manager responsible for compliance and welfare has moved to a Role of an HRBP, responsible for people development career counselling, succession planning, Retention, and Engagement.
Walk us through your professional journey and the different roles you played
Formerly, before XPLORE TECH SERVICES, in my capacity as the Global Head for Human Resources at iSON Xperiences, I was responsible for creating an optimal balance of people, roles, capabilities, and capacity that allows the organization to deliver business goals. Not only that, I looked at creating an infrastructure that significantly and positively increases the organization's impact on the societies we interact with. I operated across multiple regulatory and labour environments that span 18 countries across Africa, India, and the Middle East. I had to understand diverse cultures and peoples to build an inclusive environment where our 17,000+ co-workers could contribute and succeed in equal measures.
Before that, I had worked with Jubilant Food works, Dominos; spearheading the rise of Dominos to the top of the QSR (quick service restaurant) industry in India and later Asia. I was part of its growth journey and the deliberations that allowed the company to rebound from a high single-digit loss to a healthy double-digit profit,grow from less than 1,000 coworkers to over 15,000 co-workers, and be recognized as a preferred national
strategic partner with other large portfolio organizations. Our best-in-class HR policies and processes allowed Domino's to be chosen as one of the top 25employers in Asia.
Barbeque Nation came calling at that point. Being enamoured of challenges, I stepped forward. Barbeque Nation had been stuck in a rut for quite some time, and it required drastic change. I decided against any extreme action regarding replacing manpower but put together comprehensive skills and capability assessments across all verticals at nearly all levels and sat down to evaluate the data.
Within a year the organizational productivity rose several folds, numbers mushroomed, and revenue shot up another unexpected but well-earned reward came from the announcement that Barbeque Nation that year had become one of the top ten "Great places to work in India." More important was that this was one of the first interventions in India, nationally, across several industries, that coaching was seen as a viable tool for effecting change.
Going forward, what are the changes in market behaviour that you anticipate and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
Expect the creation of an integrated system that can align individuals with their strategies, goals, and values all at once.However,in the digital transformation era and the shifting workforce globally, this aids in the development of market strategies. Also, sufficient brand recognition is also essential. Market trends are driven by market expectations and responses to those trends. Instead of focusing on the market, one must properly watch, comprehend, and spot patterns in the elements that form and affect the market. Changes in interest rates, unemployment rates, and inflation because of the economy's overall health. Wars, medical progress and technology frequently alter market trends.
Basab Bordoloi, Chief Human Resource Officer, Xplore Tech Services
Basab graduated from Gauhati University and completed his PGDBM from All India Management Association, New Delhi. He holds an Executive Diploma in Leadership Development from IIM-Kolkata. He has been associated with Ison Xperiences, Spice Communication & BPO, Jubilant Food Works, Barbeque Nation Hospitality, Support scape, Ambience India, Aptech, and United Parcel Service (UPS) in various HR leadership Roles.
Barbeque Nation came calling at that point. Being enamoured of challenges, I stepped forward. Barbeque Nation had been stuck in a rut for quite some time, and it required drastic change. I decided against any extreme action regarding replacing manpower but put together comprehensive skills and capability assessments across all verticals at nearly all levels and sat down to evaluate the data.
Within a year the organizational productivity rose several folds, numbers mushroomed, and revenue shot up another unexpected but well-earned reward came from the announcement that Barbeque Nation that year had become one of the top ten "Great places to work in India." More important was that this was one of the first interventions in India, nationally, across several industries, that coaching was seen as a viable tool for effecting change.
Going forward, what are the changes in market behaviour that you anticipate and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
Expect the creation of an integrated system that can align individuals with their strategies, goals, and values all at once.However,in the digital transformation era and the shifting workforce globally, this aids in the development of market strategies. Also, sufficient brand recognition is also essential. Market trends are driven by market expectations and responses to those trends. Instead of focusing on the market, one must properly watch, comprehend, and spot patterns in the elements that form and affect the market. Changes in interest rates, unemployment rates, and inflation because of the economy's overall health. Wars, medical progress and technology frequently alter market trends.
Basab Bordoloi, Chief Human Resource Officer, Xplore Tech Services
Basab graduated from Gauhati University and completed his PGDBM from All India Management Association, New Delhi. He holds an Executive Diploma in Leadership Development from IIM-Kolkata. He has been associated with Ison Xperiences, Spice Communication & BPO, Jubilant Food Works, Barbeque Nation Hospitality, Support scape, Ambience India, Aptech, and United Parcel Service (UPS) in various HR leadership Roles.