The diversity of the workforce in an office environment is gradually expanding today. Though both the younger and older generations have their own contributions to make, each of them has a completely different experience, which in turn means implementing different types of knowledge at the same time. To harness this raw generational power, employers could, in both a purposeful and somewhat mutually beneficial way, create a pathway of convergence between the generations to build a more cohesive workplace.
Being privy to the development, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), after 67 years of birth, is also facing the retirement of many older employees and the challenge of recruiting and retaining young talent. Therefore, to foster an intergenerational equality and maintain the organization’s integrity, the Energy Maharatna hosted the first-ever Youth Meet from 7-8 August 2022 to train new generation of Graduate Trainees and enable them in creating a better tomorrow for themselves and the nation, but in a structured manner.
CMD and Director (HR) Dr Alka Mittal, Director from ONGC, its overseas arm ONGC Videsh and guest speakers, including Chetan Bhagat and Virender Sehwag, engaged in several interactive sessions of shared experiences and ideas with the young officers to inculcate in them core values, like integrity, team spirit, discipline, and social responsibility, which will be instrumental for them and the organization’s evolution in future.
The Youth Meet has come in place because the organization is getting younger every month. The average age of ONGC is coming down. So, it’s time for the young officers to get prepared to take on higher responsibilities. So, this interaction of young officers with the top management is necessary. “When we were young, we never had such meetings and informal inductions.
She asserted that another purpose of this meet was to make all the GTs meet their batchmates, since the GT induction training at the ONGC Academy was also not conducted in the last two years owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Youth Meet was a confluence of two generations and the exchanges created an alignment of vision that is essential for the growth of the organization as a whole.
Strategies To Cultivate Leadership
There was a panel discussion wherein representatives of the youth community asked several queries related to the E&P business to CMD Dr Mittal, MD-ONGC Videsh, Director (Exploration) and Director (Onshore). The executives informed that ONGC is adding new reserves and monetizing them. “In terms of renewables, we are continuously working to increase our share in the global energy market,” CMD added. Earlier, MD-ONGC Videsh, Mr. Gupta delivered a detailed presentation on ONGC’s journey since its inception in 1956. Deliberating further on the new age concept of energy transition, Mr. Gupta emphasized that the ongoing process of progressively replacing fossil fuels with zero or low carbon energy sources will take time and resources. “It takes a lot of energy, commitment, research, failures and successes to achieve Energy Transition.”
Quiz competition underway
One of the sessions also comprised ‘The Big Youth Debate’ on the topic of ‘India should bank upon renewables instead of oil and gas to fulfill the future energy demand’. This debate happened between two teams of youth members. Each team consisted of 3 debaters. Both the teams explained their points with great zeal and enthusiasm. The audience, on the other hand, enjoyed the opportunity to witness a great competition between the two teams.
New Approaches For New Landscapes
Interestingly, an EC Meeting took place as an imitation of the high-level meeting that usually happens between CMD and other dignitaries, where all the roles were played by the young officers. This meeting included different agendas and the way how all the members of the EC take a decision together. It conveyed the message of togetherness and integrity of the board which helps the organization uplift its position in the sector.
The next event was ‘Innovators of ONGC – Winning Ideas’, wherein 3 Innovators were called on with winning ideas in their respective fields. The ideas were invented for the development and upgradation of the services of the organization with the focus on making ONGC a better place to work.
Chetan Bhagat addressing young officers (left) Virender Sehwag was the guest speaker for the Closing Ceremony of ONGC Youth Meet 2022 (right)
However, the spectacular sessions with the two guest speakers bewitched everyone among the audience. Bestselling author Chetan Bhagat and former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag in their respective interactions shared robust personal experiences and inspired the young minds to instill humility, courage and hope into their lives. While the ‘2 States’ writer underscored the necessity of adaptive thinking and accommodating to circumstantial changes to attain the best solutions, the former ONGCian attested that failures in life teach the best lessons.
CMD Dr Alka Mittal delivering her address at the Closing Ceremony of Youth Meet 2022
The young officers enjoying the sessions
ONGC has always believed in bringing together young people and bonding with them with a motive of knowing each other and fostering inclusivity and equity in the form of human resources for the public enterprise. Keeping the above in view, the Maharatna also organized the Fourth Para Games at Thyagaraj Sports Complex in Delhi on 2 August 2022 just to widen the scope of the games for the specially-abled ones. Besides 192 ONGCians, the 4th edition of the games witnessed the participation of people from seven other PSUs viz. IOCL (21), GAIL (15), BPCL (13), MRPL (11), EIL (9), OIL (8) and HPCL (6).
Posted in HR Insights | No Comments »
View Next Articles
Recent Articles
- HR Facts
- Did You Know?
- The agility to adapt and respond
- Leaders’ Insights on ‘Competencies for Sustainability’
- Leaders’ Insights on ‘Staying ahead of the Change Curve’
- ONGC prepares Gen Next to take on baton
- Normalizing Mental Health at Workplace
- Importance of experimentation and smart failures in organizations
- Race