How Technology is Transforming Elevator Industry?

Vinita Menon, HR Director, Otis Elevator

Could you elaborate on your function at Otis Elevator as well as the operation of the elevator industry in general?

My role as HR Director at Otis is mostly strategic in character. I implement people- and culture-related agendas in accordance with the Otis program and take on several projects connected to creating a potent people-culture program for Southeast Asia. I have worked in HR for 26 years in a variety of roles, from hiring new employees to planning and designing organizations. Prior to joining, I worked for James Walker as the HR business associate for Asia Pacific. I have covered a variety of businesses, including electronics, construction, manufacturing, and now the elevator industry. Additionally, I'm using the future of work to drive focused initiatives that occur throughout the elevator industry.

To help move the strategy goals and satisfy strategic imperatives, it requires considerable change management and intervention plans for people and culture. But we have a nice mix of personnel from the Singapore base to Southeast Asia when handling the change management techniques between those tiers. We have roughly 2000 employees in Singapore, and about 55% of them are direct labor technicians and mechanics who work on the ground installing and maintaining escalators. The other 45% of the workforce handles the frontline and backend tasks. Therefore, the policies we adopt or modify have an influence on both white-collar and blue-collar workers, necessitating the need for interim bridging programs to aid in people's adjustment to the post-COVID normal. My current emphasis is on this, and we are sort of considering the future of work by utilizing automation, digitalization, and hybrid work models into the business.

What are some of the current challenges elevator industry is facing today?

Currently, HR operations make the best use of technology, and when you look at technology through that lens, you'll see that we already have some and that we've invested extensively in some new ones, but they don't communicate with one another. During Covid, you might discover the ability to multitask while managing employee data and people on several systems. However, after COVID, you have the chance to reconsider how data is managed.

"We have an employee assistance program in place that makes use of psychological first responders to aid us in getting in touch with colleagues who are trained to recognize and handle workplace stress."

The demands of humans have substantially altered today as we utilize applications for all aspects of life. Given this, the business has and will continue to shape solutions around how to create plans that ensure people can manage without worrying about their location and be able to contribute meaningfully to the workplace or to the role they perform in. Our field staff makes about 55% who are managed via remote management techniques, which might be problematic for their wellness. So how do we manage wellbeing is one of my main areas of attention for the entire HR organization handling Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific.

It's important to control the effects that post-Covid have had on the environment and society, in addition to being healthy and happy. Additionally, if everything I do must be done through a computer or a phone, isolation causes us to experience another type of mental stress, which heightens the already noted concerns about our client's wellness. Therefore, as an organization it’s important to rethink wellbeing.

What initiatives are you taking to better the wellbeing of your employees?

We have an employee assistance program in place that makes use of psychological first responders to aid us in getting in touch with colleagues who are trained to recognize and handle workplace stress. By telling ourselves that we can manage it even though we don't know, we normalize the situation. Because of the new work model, it's acceptable that you now experience a lot more isolation. Therefore, it became important to rethink everything more than ever. How can you assist individuals in bridging the gap between what was, or what was considered typical before 2020, and what is now? And striking that balance for a regular individual working in the field will be very different from managing a desk position in an organization. I believe that engagement is the key within the HR team. In order to rethink our purpose, it is crucial to consider the needs of the people, what has changed since we returned to the new normal, and what needs to change. Our traditions and our cultures sponsor the value that we bring to our workplace.

What strategies can we employ in light of the recent changes and the role that technology is playing in this redefinition?

I think we could significantly alter how people can thrive in a new normal. Since everything is now screen and app oriented, which destroys interpersonal skills, how can you now include stress-reducing strategies into the job and how do you lessen the isolation that individuals experience? There will come a time when we won't have to communicate with one another unless it's absolutely necessary. Furthermore, people have been trapped behind the doors due to Covid. As a result, the most difficult problem is determining how to meet the needs of employees at the workplace. Because with all of this change comes our plans for equality, diversity, and inclusion. However, we are still contemplating how we can make that less impactful while still allowing people to be themselves. So, I believe that change management is now a viable option because many people's lives have altered dramatically.

Could you elaborate on what tools or technology you use to facilitate this transition and build an inclusive environment in your organization?

The first thing I believe we did as an organization was to use technology to stay connected. We were hesitant about turning on the video and chatting. So, Covid pushed management into a realm where you can switch on the video and show that's as close to people when you're disconnected from the workspace. As a result, it took some time for individuals to adapt to the concept that it's okay to switch on the video and if someone walks in and disrupts the meeting. When we realized how many people just wanted to stay connected and active, that was a game changer for me. We had systems and apps that were inactive. So we re-examined all of the historical failures to see what would work for today's workforce to connect with everyone and share information that was happening in real time. So we make sure that the couple of apps downloaded were deployed and employee could access the relevant information with the tap of a finger. Each employee got a dashboard where they could get real-time alerts on what was changing, how they could access their leave income, and even use apps to keep connected with their health, and so on. So that was I think a big step ahead. I have a task here with an ageing workforce. So, for those who despise technology or simply dislike it, they required some tutoring, coaching, and mentoring. As a result, the digitalization process took on a new form for this set of people.