strive@pune_Aug 2020

The Monthly Newsletter exclusively Published for Pune | August 2020 Year 3 Edition 7-29

th Indian Independence Day 74th Sagar Chatterjee pens down his thoughts on this auspicious day

Inside:

Tell me more

Employer Speak Sudheeya Shetty

Lucas Saldanah

Read about what Lucas, Lead Administration, Tata STRIVE has to say about his function, about Safety at Tata STRIVE & his Mentor Pg. 04

Sudheeya, AHM, Ginger Hotels explains what Safety means in the Hospitality Sector Pg. 06

FROM EDITORS DESK Hi Friend, As we enter the 7th month into the Lockdown with 5.0 Unlock into place, we still wait for the notice when we are able to see the Center swing back into action. Courses with practical are waiting to get started while Maharashtra Government announced restrictions till Oct31.

Well the Center is ready and geared up to open its door to the Learners once we get an Official go ahead. Never the less, the Online batches are in full speed as I speak, 100+ learners are undergoing Online Training across 5 Batches at TSSDC Pune.

In this edition, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lucas Saldhana, Lead Administration at Tata STRIVE who was very humble to answer a few questions and give us an insight into the Safety & his role as an Admin lead with Tata STRIVE! Do take a peep into the Hospitality sector with Sudheeya Sheety, AHM Ginger Hotels as he talks about what it takes to keep the Hotels running during these times. Read more about how the team celebrated this Independence day in a Virtual mode.

And as we step into the last Quarter of this 2020, I really hope that we turn a new leaf and bring about all possible changes to welcome 2021 with better sense and more opportunities for the youth.

Enjoy reading!

Sameet Joshi Cluster Manager (West)

July edition: 137 reads

Think about it “One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals.”

– Michelle Obama

This is how we do it

Session: Parent Engagement Batch: AAD-0013 Date: 04 Aug 2020

Session by: Ms. Budhdini Batch: BDE_0213 & BDE_0204 Date: 15 Aug 2020 Topic: Advanced Excel

Session by: Nitin Uke Batch: BDE_0213 & BDE_0204 Date: 26 Aug 2020 Topic: Loan Terminologies

Session by: Md Raziq Batch: BDE_0213 & BDE_0204 Date: 28 Aug 2020 Topic: Interview Skills

Tell me more Interviewed by: Vishwas Rajput, TSSDC Pune

What was your journey in the industry?

I started working in Tata group from 1995, as part of Tata Services under Tata Council for Community Initiatives (TCCI). I was coordinating with Tata companies for matters related to CSR. During 2014, Tata Sustainability Group (TSG) was formed with merging of TCCI. Tata STRIVE was part of TSG in initial days and later it became part of Tata Community Initiatives Trust (TCIT). I took over as Lead – Admin, Tata STRIVE. In Tata STRIVE how is your journey so far?

My Journey in Tata STRIVE has been both challenging and interesting.

My responsibilities at Tata STRIVE has not only helped me grow in my profession but also as an individual. I consider myself fortunate to be part of a journey with such talented, inspiring, and enthusiastic leaders and colleagues, who have always encouraged me to strive for excellence.

My role as a lead admin is also to oversee smooth function of Tata STRIVE. I feel elated when I see our learners who are basically from an economically weaker sections of the society are provided with skill training

and they are able to get a job post training and are able to take care of their respective life.

Recently, I had a chance meeting with few of our QSR learners who were on an on the job training (OJT) as part of their course in a hotel where I had gone for a recee for a programme. Their reporting manager as well as the General Manager of the hotel gave an excellent feedback on the skills that these girls learned and how they were very happy with their performance as an QSR apprentice.

I feel honored as a I also play a small part in the journey of our learners when they are getting such good reviews from their supervisors.

What does safety mean to you?

Lucas Saldhana To me, safety means caring Lead- Administration, about our employees and Tata STRIVE learners and doing the right thing. I see that happening at Tata STRIVE Corporate office and Centre's.

I manage it through Admin Teams involvement in the Centre's. I see leadership team listening to concerns of all employees and it reflects in our Quarterly Town Hall meetings.

Tell me more How different is safety for any other Industry & to Tata STRIVE? At Tata STRIVE, we follow Safety standards as prescribed

by Tata group. We have Safety Committee in place and this committee meets at regular intervals to provide guidelines on the safety issues both at Corporate office and Training Centre's across India.

Solution Provider, Negotiation, Persuasion and ability to work under pressure are a few skills I possess. Blank

We conduct Fire Safety Drills for learners. Safety sessions for Safety Champions and Marshalls are conducted by Safety Officers of Tata companies.

For the current pandemic, the safety committee has given specific guidelines with respect to reopening of training centres such as new norms of commuting, precautions during travel, norms at office, safety health and hygiene at office and after office hours.

How have you made your time during lockdown?

While this Pandemic has opened up situations that was never seen before, Work from Home, has also provided an opportunity to cut down travel time which used to be around 4 hours a day and this has provided an opportunity to spend quality time with family, reestablished the connection with long lost friends and old colleagues.

What is it that keeps you glued to the profile of Admin?

The admin role, being a support function, has a very important role to play in smooth functioning of the office. There are constant challenges on day to day basis and this keeps my job very exciting and when I see through a crisis without any major impact on our operations it gives a big high.

My role is to interact with every other function of our organization on a regular basis and it has its own novelty and there is a very limited scope of boredom as it always keeps me on my toes and also I feel lucky to have such an inspiring leaders within our organization who lead from front and they also give me scope and also provide guidance on every aspect of my role which makes my role more exciting Considering the experience, what advice would you like to give to our admin team?

Don’t underestimate the role you play. Keep communicating with team members. You should provide and take valuable feedback from colleagues and respond accordingly with individual team member.

Who is your mentor in life?

Apart from the Leadership Team of Tata STRIVE, I have a mentor who is a Priest - Fr. Sushant Mantry.

Employer speak Interviewed by: Amrita Fernandes, TSSDC Pune The dynamics of the hospitality market has changed quite a bit postCOVID situation. How do you keep your business up to date to cope up with such challenges and changing market trends?

The safety and wellbeing of our guests and associates have always been of paramount importance to us.

We follow zero contact service, share IDs digitally and access options to varied payments digitally and also follow the digital check-in process. The Disinfected room key card is placed in a tray and offered.

A welcome letter detailing services changes and essential communication is placed in the room. All rooms are Stationary free.

Pencil, Scribbling Pad shall be provided only on request. The In-Room Dining Menu is made available to guests through a link. All surfaces such as wall coverings, mattresses, furniture, furnishings, bath fittings, floors and floor coverings also including identified high touchpoints such as door handles, drawers, remote, bedside tables are disinfected daily using alcohol-based sanitizers. Public areas such as lobbies, guest elevators, restaurants, corridors, porch and periphery undergo a scheduled cleaning a minimum of 4 times a day or more depending on usage. In-room dining is replaced by door to door delivery.

Guests are educated about the clearance process as no staff will be entering the guest room during the stay. Hotels actively communicate with guests about the safety and hygiene practices to be followed in these areas. Guests pay the bills digitally and an Invoice copy is also shared digitally with the guests. In case guests pay by Card the card is disinfected with wet wipes. Our focus remains on safeguarding people’s health and winning the trust of our customers.

How are you training your employees for the same?

We are regularly conducting Safety and cleanliness briefing as per guidelines provided by our corporate support team and Virtual pieces of training will be conducted by managers from different locations. Also conducting external training through partners and encouraging the team to login Online certificate courses available through WHO, Fostac training, Typsy platform.

What is the secret mantra you follow to be motivated & productive at work?

If you were to leave a 'message in the bottle' for the future, what would it read?

We do not own the planet, respect nature and co-exist.

Self-belief and hard work will always earn your success this is what I believe and follow at my workplace as well.

What are the innovations implemented, whether in guest service, front office, or F&B services, across Ginger Hotels?

We have tied up with an online contactless solution Sanarp for check-in, check out and food ordering where we avoid direct contact with guests. We have introduced Ginger 5G promise that's Ginger Safety Assuranc e GO contactless Via Enhanced technology, Guaranteed Saf ety & Sanitization Processes, Great Food & Beverage Hygiene, Global Social Distancing Norms and Genuin e Ginger Care.

Sudheeya Shetty AHM, Ginger Hotels Dona Paula Goa

Cover trail We are proud to be a part of an independent nation that has

freedom of speech, living life in our way. Independence Day is a national festival when we celebrate our martyrs and the struggles of a long span of more than 150 years.

On 15th August 1947, the national flag was hoisted on the Red Fort, Delhi by our first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. We as citizens of this country should always keep the past, present and future glory not only in every moment of this day but throughout our lives. This can be achieved only if we are honest in our duties towards our nation and respect everyone. This indeed is a day of pride and joy for every citizen of the country.

This year keeping in mind the current situation and the health and safety of our community we have ensured that the fervor of patriotism lives on and thus decided to broadcast a virtual celebration among the entire Tata Strive family who could not be present in-person. Independence Day has always been a very colourful celebration at Tata Strive Pune, but this time we have tried keeping the same energy and enthusiasm through the virtual medium. The programme began with the flag hoisting at 10 am in the presence of myself, our security and housekeeping staff and virtual presence of the entire staff and students in large number. I got the privilege to hoist the flag. It was indeed an overwhelming experience.

The synchronized display of students despite being in different homes was noteworthy. Under the diligent guidance of Sameet Joshi sir, channelizing the creativity of students through an online exhibition was well executed by our cultural team (Apurva, Sushma, Snehal and Vishwas). Students presented a medley of patriotic songs, poster making and recital of poems. The key event of the day, of course was, the motivating and inspiring speech delivered by Bhaskar Natarajan sir, on the current situation, Independence Day and the significance of the tricolor.

We thank him for enlightening us with his words of wisdom.

The pandemic has confined all of us to our homes, but it cannot dampen our patriotic spirit and pride for the nation. So, pandemicinduced lockdown or not, Independence Day was celebrated, the ‘new normal’ way. I sincerely thank my manager for his untiring efforts, support and patience in making this event a grand success.

As we embark into the 74th year of independence, here’s wishing everyone a very Happy Independence Day.

Sagar Chatterjee Lead Mobilizer, TSSDC Pune

My story Prajakta Mundhekar is from Pune, She is a graduate in B.Sc. electronics. After graduation, she found it difficult to get a job and therefore she wanted to pursue further studies. Due to poor financial conditions and funds required for her sibling’s education, it was difficult to manage her further studies. She started looking for some NGO who provides courses and she joined Lighthouse NGO. She learnt about Tata STRIVE from one of our Alumni. And she has decided to join Android app developer training.

Prajakta Mudhekar Tata STRIVE Course: AAD_0007 Employer Name: WNS Designation: Associate operations

During her training her attendance was 85%, she completed training with C grade. She dedicated herself completely and gave her 100 percent for this training. After training, she a got job by her own efforts. At her workplace, she always gets appreciation from her manager and team for her prompt work, timely submission and for helping her colleagues.

As per her Domain facilitator, In the beginning, she had basic knowledge of Coding but she took efforts to learn new things; and whatever she is today is because of her dedication. Our guidance and her efforts paid off as she was selected at WNS in the first attempt and is now working as an Associate Operations.

According to Prajakta when she joined the course she was very average in terms of domain knowledge. Her facilitator taught her from the basics. She learnt technical subjects as well as communication, professionalism, conflict management, team building during training which is helping her at work place. Today she is helping her family financially also has taken the responsibility of her siblings.

GALLERIA

Values Session BDE 0213

Financial Literacy Session BDE 0213

Android App Login Screen Creation: AAD0013

Alumni speak

Vaibhav Kanherkar BPO_0010

figuratively Completed

In Training

Women %

Affirmative%

76

103

55%

25%

Coming up Course Name Assistant Beauty Therapist Android App Developer Business Development Executive Call Center Executive

Batch Owner Sushma Gaikwad Chandan Prasad Suvarna Mungee Amrita Fernandes

Start Date 12-Oct-20 12-Oct-20 19-Oct-20 21-Oct-20

Our Knowledge Partners

Tata Strive Skill Development Center Chandrakant Chambers, Opp.Madhuban Restaurant, Dhole Patil Road, Pune | Contact: 02066869100 Content: TSSDC Pune Team | Design: Anish Varghese | Editor: Sameet Joshi For any feedback or suggestions write to sameet.joshi@tatasustainability.com