CEO Insights Magazine

Each and every successful business has to have a robust company culture. Everything from day-to-day operations to longterm strategic planning bears the imprint of an organization's culture, including customer loyalty productivity and employee satisfaction and retention. Although no company's culture is ever really set in stone. It's HR's responsibility to ensure it adapts to changing circumstances, whether they be changes in the industry, new management, a moving workforce, or anything else that comes from inside or beyond. And to bring forth continual revolutions in a business that is a pioneer in its area is a tough endeavour, and it demands an HR Strategist with decades of experience like Dr (HC) Guruvayurappan PV. A leader who has observed the industry change over the years and is well trained in managing any circumstance with his abilities and expertise.

Over the last three decades, Dr. (HC) Guruvayurappan PV has seen the human resources field develop and grow in importance. For this reason, he began to take on more responsibility for the company and steer its strategy each quarter, ultimately contributing to its exponential growth. Dr. Guruvayurappan has been in the workforce for many years, and throughout that time, he has worked with notable HR gurus, including Wing Cmdr. Krishna Kumar, Dr. Gopal Mahapatra, and H N Srinivas.

Below is an excerpt of Dr.(HC) Guruvayurappan PV’s exclusive interaction with CEO Insights magazine.

How has your journey been so far at Omega Healthcare?
When Omega Healthcare's founder and chief executive officer, Gopi Natarajan, needed a human resources director 16 years ago, I applied and was hired.

Working with Omega Healthcare's Human Resources department was a wonderful experience. From 2006, when the company had over 650 workforce across two locations in

India, it now has over 32,000 workforce in across 12 delivery centers. We expanded our heritage Omega workforce from 26,000 people while bringing in additional people through mergers and acquisitions.

To maintain the expansion phase, HR strategy and the surrounding terrain shifted constantly. I saw that if there was a net increase of 2,000 full time equivalents(FTE) HR adapted to achieve the organization's objective without watering down the company's culture. It gives me great pleasure to inform you that the members of my original team who inducted me have also progressed in their careers with the firm as a whole. The organization is delighted with its management team since there has been practically no turnover at the middle and upper levels since its establishment.

Define Omega Healthcare’s impact and presence in the Indian healthcare domain.
Omega is ranked among the top revenue cycle management and business process services providers by industry analysts. Omega Healthcare has more than 32,000 employees across 12 delivery centres in the United States, India and the Philippines, all servicing the US Healthcare markets. We do not provide services for the Indian Healthcare markets.

How are the previous experiences helping you in your current role and operations?
The current year marks my 20th year working as the head of human resources for an ITES or BPO company. Twenty years ago, after working in manufacturing and corporate human resources for BPL, I made the switch to a BPO startup. I also served as the interim head of the Indian Domestic Aviation Company. Working with employees from diverse generations and finding those with the passion and skills to do the job well are areas where my expertise has been invaluable.

Where are you headed in the next five years, and what are the impacts you strive to create through your future goals?
In the modern BANI world, five years is a very long time for a human resource professional to set a target. As Omega continues its organic and inorganic expansion, I believe we must establish our

corporate identity and mission. Together, the company's larger purpose and its workforce dedication to establish the company's relationship with its consumers and the community. And because of this, we can aid the employee value proposition in luring in the best and brightest employees.

With considerable skill shortages and increasing challenges caused by the pandemic activity over the last few years, employee retention has been a major concern. While Omega has made efforts to increase employee engagement across several important touch points, more work has to be done to achieve the level of engagement that will enable us to keep and advance our employees over the long haul. Boost the tenure (metric) of employees, which is directly correlated to
employee retention.

Management Involvement Managers and leaders have a pivotal role in maintaining and expanding their teams'levels of engagement. Having too many things on the go makes it difficult to prioritize effectively. For managers to be more successful, they need to be given the tools and resources to do their jobs well. The organization's success depends on this core group thus, they must be fortified to fulfil their responsibilities.

Dr.(HC)Guruvayurappan PV, Chief Human Resource Officer, Omega Healthcare
Dr. (HC) Guruvayurappan PV has been a part of Omega Healthcare for the past 16 years. In these three decades of professional journey, apart from Omega, Dr. (HC) Guruvayurappan has been a part of various prominent companies like Paramount Airways, Allsec Technologies, Crossdomain, and BPL.

Memberships:
•Life Member – NIPM, NHRD, ISTD and BMS
•Fellow – Institute of Directors (IOD)
•ICF Certified Coach(PCC)

Favorite Cuisine: Rice Seva/Bisi Bele Bath/Mangaluru Kadubu/Italian Pasta(white sauce)/Thai Curry with Jasmine rice

Favorite Book: Stories of Srimad Bhagavatham, Ramayanam Kilippattu, Bhagavad Geetha

Favorite Travel Destination: Hill Stations & Places of Historical importance

Awards & Recognition: Indian society for training and development – recognized and awarded me as “Member of the year” in 2017 during their annual convention for my contribution to society.