Locus.sh, a leading player in logistics technology, thrives not only on groundbreaking solutions but also on a culture that prioritizes excellence and empowerment. In an illuminating email interview with Amazing Workplaces® , Nishith Rastogi, CEO & Founder of Locus, shares key insights into the company’s strategies for nurturing a high-performing workforce, fostering innovation, and empowering employees.
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Nishith elaborates on Locus’s meticulous approach to gauging employee engagement and satisfaction, leveraging metrics like turnover and absenteeism alongside personalized interactions to maintain a supportive work environment. This focus on people not only enhances productivity but also fortifies the company’s foundation, ensuring sustained success. Additionally, he underscores Locus’s commitment to fostering innovation through platforms like hackathons and events like the annual sports day, which foster collaboration and camaraderie. By empowering employees to contribute to the company’s evolution, Locus continues to push boundaries in the dynamic logistics landscape.
1. Building a High-Performing Workforce: Locus operates at the forefront of the logistics industry, and its success hinges on a highly engaged and empowered workforce. Can you elaborate on the specific methods and metrics your organization uses to gauge employee engagement and satisfaction?
At Locus, our main focus is making sure all team members feel welcome, heard, and supported to do their best in their roles.
To make this happen, we regularly gauge team members’ workplace engagement by periodically checking in on how they’re feeling through surveys and one-on-one chats. This helps us understand what is working for them and what could be better, and we make improvements if needed.
We also keep an eye on important metrics like employee turnover, and absenteeism, and look at the reasons behind them if they cross a certain threshold. This helps us see if there are any problems we need to fix.
Our People & Culture Operations team looks closely at all this feedback and data. They use it to figure out ways to make our workplace even better. We’re always trying to improve, so we can keep our team happy and help them succeed.
Ultimately, our goal is to have a workplace where everyone feels supported and can do their best work. When our team is happy — we are stronger together and more successful.
2. Cultivating a Culture of Innovation: Developing a collaborative and innovative work environment is crucial for startups like Locus. Can you share some of the key initiatives or strategies your organization has implemented to enhance the overall employee experience and empower them to contribute to the company’s innovation engine?
Innovation is the cornerstone of our success at Locus. To nurture this, we’ve implemented several initiatives designed to spark creativity and collaboration among our team members. These include hackathons, where team members are encouraged to develop and present new ideas, and cross-functional workshops (Power Up sessions) that promote knowledge sharing and problem-solving across different areas of our business.
In addition to these innovation-centric initiatives, we also understand the importance of fostering a strong sense of community and teamwork beyond the immediate work environment. This is why we host an annual sports day, an event that brings our team together in a fun, competitive, and collaborative setting. This day is not just about sports; it’s a celebration of our collective spirit, resilience, and drive to excel.
3. Leveraging Employee Empowerment: Employee empowerment is often linked to improved organizational performance. Are there specific key performance indicators (KPIs) that Locus aims to improve by fostering a culture of employee empowerment? If so, can you elaborate on how empowered employees contribute to achieving these improvements?
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At Locus, empowering our team to achieve excellence is at the core of our success. In our experience, our team members feel the most empowered when they have the organization’s support to work on challenging problems that deliver real-world impact. We also believe that the impact empowered team members deliver is across multiple aspects, including:
- Improved productivity: Empowered team members take charge of their tasks, pushing themselves to excel. This leads to greater efficiency and quality work.
- Robust innovation: When our team feels empowered, creativity flourishes. They’re more likely to suggest improvements and think creatively, bringing fresh ideas to the table.
- Improved Workplace Satisfaction and Retention: Giving team members more autonomy in decision-making power boosts morale and loyalty. Team members who are highly engaged in their roles stay longer, saving the vast amount of resources that are spent in multiple hiring cycles for a role in a year.
- Deeper Customer Satisfaction: Empowered team members prioritize customer needs, resulting in happier clients who stay loyal to us.
- Better Adaptability and Agility: Empowered teams adapt quickly to change, making swift decisions and collaborating effectively. This keeps us agile and ready to tackle any challenges.
Additionally, our seven core values – Pride, Commitment, Innovation, Bias for action, Ambition, Integrity, and Frugality – guide our every move.
4. Onboarding and Training for Success: The logistics sector, particularly the advanced segment Locus operates in, requires specialized knowledge and skills. Can you describe your organization’s approach to training and onboarding new employees, ensuring they are equipped to excel in this dynamic and complex environment?
Recognizing the specialized nature of our industry, Locus invests heavily in a comprehensive onboarding and training program. New hires undergo a mix of classroom training, e-learning, and hands-on projects to ensure they are well-equipped to understand the nuances of the logistics sector. We also emphasize the importance of continuous learning by providing access to ongoing training opportunities, certifications, and professional development courses, ensuring our team remains at the forefront of logistics innovation.
5. Continuous Learning and Development: Implementing advanced logistics solutions often necessitates ongoing learning and development for the team. What level of training and support does Locus expect from its employees during the implementation process, and how does the organization facilitate their continuous learning journey?
At Locus, we believe in the power of continuous learning and development to drive personal growth and organizational success. We support our team members’ growth journeys through access to a wide range of learning resources, including online courses, internal workshops, and sponsorship for professional certifications.
We also believe in the power of incremental innovation. To unlock this, we provide our team members with adequately challenging projects that require them to get out of their comfort zones. Parallely, we also foster a supportive environment that enables them to upgrade their skill sets and they exceed expectations on a project-to-project basis.
Our recently concluded hackathon is an extension of this same ethos. Here, we defined a problem statement and conducted a series of workshops to establish a preliminary knowledge base for our team members. We were delighted to have seen that close to ten teams leveraged this knowledge to come up with innovative solutions that will be further developed in the coming quarters.
In conclusion, our people-centric strategies are designed not just to maintain but to elevate our position as a leader in the global logistics technology sector. By prioritizing employee engagement, fostering a culture of innovation, empowering our workforce, and investing in continuous learning, we are not only advancing our organizational goals but also ensuring our team members find fulfilling careers here at Locus.
Conclusion:
Nishith Rastogi’s insights shed light on essential strategies for fostering exceptional workplace cultures. Prioritizing employee engagement, fostering innovation, and empowering the workforce are key principles applicable across industries. By embracing feedback, promoting collaboration, and facilitating continuous learning, organizations can cultivate high-performing teams poised for success in dynamic environments. Investing in people-centric approaches not only drives organizational excellence but also fosters individual growth and collective prosperity. As businesses navigate challenges, prioritizing the well-being and development of their teams emerges as a vital strategy for achieving sustainable success and driving innovation forward.
Apply Now and become an Amazing Workplaces® certified organization! Take the Amazing Workplaces® survey and certification – it’s your chance to benchmark your company against top performers, uncover hidden strengths and weaknesses, and embark on a journey to build a workplace that’s the envy of your entire industry. Know more
