Mr. Vijay Rayappa is an award-winning Learning and Talent Development executive with over 18 years of experience in retail, e-commerce, and entrepreneurship, specialising in leadership development, digital learning, retail operations, organisational development, training, and human resources. He formerly worked for Fortune 500 firms such as Future Group, Walmart, and Flipkart, and is now the head of Learning and Talent Development for the Landmark Group in Saudi Arabia. He has also received numerous awards, including the HCM Excellence Award in 2021.
Abstract/Snapshot: Mr. Vijay began by giving a brief overview of the Landmark Arabia company’s operations. He gave an overview of the company’s difficulties and how certain methods were used to achieve the best possible results.
From 2018 through 2021, he described his personnel management journey from business continuity to sustainability. Effective and executed initiatives such as the landmark happiness movement, Ertiquaa, employee talent management, and others that helped the organisation resolve numerous continuing difficulties and promoted the development of skills and other essential qualities.
The sequence of events: Mr. Hari Krishnan gave an introduction remark at the occasion, thanking Mr. Vijay Rayappa sir. He is presently employed with Landmark Group in Saudi Arabia as the Head of Talent Development and Learning. Following the introduction, Mr Vijaya Rappa made a speech in which he detailed his path and viewpoint on Talent Management in Saudi Arabia, as well as the particular obstacles he faced while working there.
He talked about how locals were hired less for jobs and that people from other countries were favoured. The fundamental reason for this is a scarcity of skilled labour. It was made essential to hire 30-40% of the local community as part of the workforce in order to initiate transformation. Furthermore, it paved the way for the construction of a continuous learning process that would improve the workforce’s skills. A clear career path was defined, and various talent development programmes were implemented for the workforce, including a store management development programme with over 900 stores in Saudi Arabia alone, which will help to identify and develop talent, a Retail Leadership programme for skip level role opportunities, and a mentoring programme for continuous guidance by senior leaders.
Store manager development programmes, retail leadership programmes, supervisor development programmes, the ERTIQAA development centre, induction programmes, mentoring programmes, government initiatives for hiring local talent that would provide incentives to the company, classroom induction, succession planning for a sustainable model for talent from within, the CHR model implemented to address staff issues, and the happiness movement were among the key initiatives implemented by the company.
Even the 5 key areas for retail management known as S5 were introduced and defined which included-
1. Store
2. Stock
3. Staff
4. Service
5. Sales.
All of the aforementioned pointers are regarded key parts of retail and serve as the foundation for a store manager’s training programme. Various key aspects for effective personnel management were also highlighted in detail. These are the factors:
1. Hire- This includes finding someone who is culturally compatible.
2. Clarity- To have a clear understanding of one’s current function and future opportunities, rather than providing arbitrary expectations.
3. Employee engagement and appreciation are also important factors. Mr Rayappa, for example, displayed thank you cards that the company sends to its staff in recognition of their outstanding performance.
4. Build- It was suggested that rather than outsourcing, more internal talent be brought in.
5. Input- This is a crucial part because listening to feedback can aid in the development of a proper pipeline.
Competitor analysis- Adapting to what competitors do well and then analysing and keeping up with the market requires an overview of competitors. 6. Proactive- In today’s business climate, it’s always a good idea to be careful.
Finally, the speaker left the door open for students to ask questions. Dr. Guru Aradhya’s speech was followed by a round of questions. Finally, Mr. Hari Krishnan gave a vote of gratitude at the close of the guest presentation.
Learnings from the event:
Factors that assisted the organisation in reducing employee attrition as well as resolving employee challenges at the appropriate time are essential. The right time is a must. Also, it is necessary to develop skill sets according to the internal assessment of self. It is essential to constantly try to increase efficiency as learning is a continuous process.
Feedback from students:
Questions were posted by students and they were happy with the valuable and detailed answers. A proper understanding of the talent management firms and their initiatives was properly addressed. All the students had positive feedback towards the session.