Titan Company understands a core truth: designing the employee experience is as vital as designing its products. This outlook places its people strategy firmly in design thinking principles. It is a human-centered approach. The goal is deeply understanding employee needs. This fosters a genuine culture of empathy and innovation.
Titan’s strategy moves beyond standard HR functions. It is an intentional effort to craft a workplace. Every colleague must feel seen, heard, and valued. This directly strengthens their powerful employer branding and drives business growth.
Listening Deeply: The Voice of the Employee
Design thinking starts with deep empathy for the user. For Titan, this means building consistent and high-touch feedback mechanisms. They use a blend of personal interaction and technology to understand the employee journey.
Direct Listening Channels
Titan’s senior Leadership in workplaces engages directly with employees. This includes the Managing Director and Chief People Officer.
- “Tell Me” Sessions: Leaders dedicate over 80 hours to meeting employee groups across all locations.
- Active Feedback: These forums generated over 780 pieces of feedback in 2023.
- Accountability: Feedback is shared anonymously with respective leaders. This drives concrete, transparent follow-up actions.
Prioritizing Wellness
The ‘Mood-O-Meter’ mobile app serves as an empathetic safety net. It anonymously tracks employee well-being.
- Proactive Care: Third-party counsellors proactively reach out if an employee signals distress.
- Immediate Response: This tool demonstrates an immediate, caring response to mental and emotional health needs.
These workplace surveys and listening forums provide critical data. This is the “customer voice” needed to design targeted, effective people solutions.
CREST Framework: Guiding Manager Behavior
Empathy needs intentional management support to thrive. Titan developed the CREST framework for this purpose. It is the company’s Leadership promise to its people managers. CREST standardizes human-centered interactions company-wide.
The pillars of CREST are simple and clear:
- Communicate & Coach
- Recognise & Reward
- Empathise & be Inclusive
- Set Clear Expectations & Empower
- Transparent & Fair
This framework is more than just a set of values. It serves as an operating manual for every people leader.
- Inclusion Training: Titan conducts non-conscious bias workshops for its managers. This is essential for building a truly inclusive environment where diverse teams excel.
- Trust and Empowerment: The framework champions empowerment. It pushes decision-making closer to the operational teams.
Designing Careers: Skilling and Internal Mobility
Innovation requires an empowered and highly skilled workforce. Titan applies design thinking to career paths. They treat an employee’s professional journey as a design challenge to be optimized continuously.
The Skills-First Approach
Titan uses technology to democratize career growth. This greatly enhances the overall employee experience.
- Bridge Marketplace: An internal platform posts new, short-term, cross-functional projects. Employees sign up to gain diverse experience outside their main role.
- Evolve Platform: This platform facilitates internal full-time mobility. It allows employees to explore and move into new roles seamlessly.
- Growth From Within: In recent years, up to 27% of job roles were filled internally. This demonstrates a deep commitment to internal career advancement.
Focused Development and Certification
The company supports continuous upskilling. This is critical, especially in digital competencies.
- Digital Proficiency: Programs offer recognized certifications in areas like phygital selling and virtual customer connect. This keeps the workforce current in a fast-moving retail market.
- Targeted Programs: Titan ACE focuses on building strategic thinking in women leaders. Sequal, the returnship program, actively supports women re-entering the workforce after career breaks.
Branding as an Outcome of Design
Titan’s humane and progressive practices are a defining element of its employer branding.
- Holistic Support: Support ranges from providing essential on-site resources for new mothers to protecting the welfare of its extended artisan network.
- Authenticity: The company builds its reputation as a caring organization organically.
- Designed Space: The corporate headquarters incorporates biophilic design. It was designed “for the people, by the people,” following employee feedback. This demonstrates a commitment to designing the physical workplace for well-being.
Titan’s strategy proves that placing people-their needs, growth, and well-being-at the center of all design decisions is the most effective path. It leads to a resilient, innovative, and successful organization. It is a powerful model for building a sustainable, high-trust culture.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. While efforts are made to ensure accuracy, readers should verify information and seek professional advice as needed.
