The 10 Most Promising HR Tech Solution Providers: 2021

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The 10 Most Promising HR Tech Solution Providers 2021

Suraj Moraje, MD and Group CEO

QUESS PROVIDING POWER TO ENTERPRISES, HR TECH SOLUTIONS AT ITS BEST!

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“HR technology is constantly evolving and companies across the board are aware of the immense benefits technology has to offer - not only in terms of hiring or retaining staff but also in how companies operate.” - Ben Reuveni, Co-founder, Gloat HR Tech services have the power to enhance the workforce and the work environment of an enterprise. These services are revolutionizing the way HR is looked upon and how HR works. The latest technology and innovations in HR, enables organizations to not only make better hiring and retention decisions but also to pick and regulate the workforce, which is a crucial factor for a company’s growth and success.

This issue of The Enterprise World, The 10 Most Promising HR Tech Solution Providers: 2021 features top companies that provide some of the best and one-stop services in HR Tech solutions. Their vision, mission, and dedication are unrivaled, with services that are leading the innovation curve and setting benchmarks for the HR industry.

Featured on the cover story is the successful journey and phenomenal services of Quess.

Ranked amongst the 50 largest staffing firms globally by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), Quess is India’s largest private-sector employer and a leading business services provider, leveraging extensive domain knowledge and future-ready digital platforms to drive client productivity through outsourced solutions. Their passion for delivering exceptional services, augmented by proprietary digital platforms, has firmly established their credentials as the biggest integrated business services provider in the country.

Find how HR Tech is changing and revolutionizing the industry with Talent Bridge Technologies’ CALIBRAT. CALIBRAT (earlier iHiring) is an advanced, scalable, and secure online assessment platform which helps the talent acquisition team to evaluate Aptitude, Technical Skills, and Written Communication Skills using various evaluation formats. The security features are an important element of the online assessment platform as it’s extremely critical to protect the integrity of the assessment and prevent anyone from compromising the credibility of the screening process. The evolved assessment platform also offers features to conduct multi-lingual online assessments.

There is a lot more to read inside.

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This list is NOT a ranking. The companies on listed in magazine serve different aspects of the market, making ranking them in any order except revenue impossible and unfair.

We try to bring a perfect platform for business organization to showcase their valued products/ services.

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Leaders in Spotlight This issue of The Enterprise World, The 10 Most Promising HR Tech Solution Providers: 2021 features, HR is one of the most important departments in a company as it caters to the workforce and directly affects their productivity, regulation, etc. As the workforce needs to be dedicated and productive, selecting the best candidates and offering them the best compensation, benefits, etc., and keeping them onboard sounds like an easy task, but one step wrong can have a detrimental impact on the performance and reputation of the company. HR tech solutions promise exceptional solutions to all the needs and problems related to HR and provide the latest services packed with experience, expertise, and latest technology to have the best workforce with a nurturing and enriched work environment.

Featured here are the companies that provide unmatched HR Tech solutions and are not only leading the innovation curve but also changing the old methodologies and trends. Their stories and services are pushing the HR industry into the future, and unveiling how HR Tech solutions can revolutionize the way HR departments function. These are the 10 most promising HR Tech solution providers: 2021.

Featured on the cover story is the successful journey and phenomenal services of Quess. Ranked amongst the 50 largest staffing firms globally by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), Quess is India’s largest private-sector employer and a leading business services provider, leveraging extensive domain knowledge and future-ready digital platforms to drive client productivity through outsourced solutions. Their passion for delivering exceptional services, augmented by proprietary digital platforms, has firmly established their credentials as the biggest integrated business services provider in the country.

Grab an exclusive conversation with Mr. Kumar Siddhartha, the Managing Director at Pocket HRMS. Pocket HRMS is a core product that automates HR functions, and the company continues to expand its portfolio with related features including Expense Management, Projects and Timesheets, travel management, training management, and more.

In an insightful interview with Ravi Kikan, Director- Marketing at ZingNEO. ZingNEO started with a vision to build software that enables top-level functionaries or HR professionals to have control of their work lives. ZingNEO is a Microlevel Human Resource Management System

that empowers enterprises by accelerating engagement, productivity, talent acquisition & org-alignment.

In a candid talk with Mr. Pritam Shah, Co-Founder & CBO at Human Forte.

They are a one-stop solutions company when it comes to any function under Human Resources. They specialize in start-up advisory, right from envisioning the HR function, they help clients do talent acquisition, talent engagement, training and development, CXO Hiring, HR Audits, and meeting the various compliances.

Find how HR Tech is changing and revolutionizing the industry with Talent Bridge Technologies’ CALIBRAT. CALIBRAT (earlier iHiring) is an advanced, scalable, and secure online assessment platform which helps the talent acquisition team to evaluate Aptitude, Technical Skills, and Written Communication Skills using various evaluation formats. The security features are an important element of the online assessment platform as it’s extremely critical to protect the integrity of the assessment and prevent anyone from compromising the credibility of the screening process. The evolved assessment platform also offers features to conduct multi-lingual online assessments.

COVER STORY

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Quess Corp Ltd Pocket HRMS

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ZingNEO Human Forte

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TalentBridge Technologies CONTENTS

Cover Story

Quess PROVIDING POWER TO ENTERPRISES, HR TECH SOLUTIONS AT ITS BEST!

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EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE IS PRECEDED BY PAINSTAKING PREPARATION. -BRIAN TRACY

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eople are an invaluable resource to any company, as it is their performance that helps enterprises grow, innovate and achieve success, fuelled by their dedication and sincerity. Thus, HR invariably becomes the backbone of any company as it not only acquires and retains the required personnel that adds value to the company’s growth and development goals but also works to keep employees in top form and their minds focused. HR Tech solutions have been witnessing widespread demand and recognition as they can help enterprises become more productive and agile while giving them the ability to outsource their work, which in turn helps them achieve their objectives through cost-efficient and personalised solutions.

Quess Corp Limited (Quess) is one of the most promising HR Tech solution providers in 2021 and among the top 10 players in the space. Their client-oriented services and consistent support services make them a premier company, offering a wide range of

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solutions and one of the most acclaimed in the field. Their long list of satisfied clients not only boasts of their highly specialised, genuine, and committed team but also their exceptional service standards and accuracy.

The Company, the Journey Ranked amongst the 50 largest staffing firms globally by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), Quess is India's largest private-sector employer and a leading business services provider, leveraging extensive domain knowledge and future-ready digital platforms to drive client productivity through outsourced solutions. Their passion for delivering exceptional services, augmented by proprietary digital platforms, has firmly established their credentials as the biggest integrated business services provider in the country.

A core value driving their business is consistent efforts towards making the workforce more productive.

Their business strategy is aligned to this as well, and includes training

Suraj Moraje, MD and Group CEO

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| Cover Story and skill development for better employability, helping job seekers find employment opportunities with ease, digitising workflows, and providing social security benefits to a wider employable population.

Established in 2007 and headquartered in Bengaluru, Quess today has an unmatched geographic presence and scale with many locations across India, Southeast Asia, and North America, backed by technology and domain specialisation to create exceptional service experiences across their clientele. They are also certified as ‘A Great Place to Work’ – a testament to its outstanding culture, people, and processes.

Over the years, Quess has evolved as an integrated business service provider. And, propelled by their people-driven business solutions and world-class tech-enabled services, the company is today the largest private-sector employer in India and amongst the top 50 largest staffing firms in the world.

However, every business faces its own set of challenges, be it limited resources or lack of brand awareness, to name a few. It has not been different for Quess in their journey to where they are today.

Convincing clients to consider outsourcing their people-related processes, considered highly confidential and sensitive, was challenging. A decade ago, the concept of technology-enabled employee and manager self-service portals, the use of interfaces and API services to collect inputs and post outputs was not prevalent, and processes were manual and people dependent.

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Primarily known for its extensive experience in staffing, with an intrinsic DNA of technology-led innovation, Quess has been able to build end-to-end digital hire-toretire solutions and overcome this business challenge. The acquisition of Allsec Technologies, a global leader in HRO outsourcing and Tech solutions, helped further strengthen their portfolio. They achieved their primary goal of providing outsourced payroll services using in-house developed Oracle-based payroll software called Smart when Allsec came on board.

Services offered by Quess Quess provides a host of technology-enabled staffing and managed outsourcing services across processes such as sales and marketing, customer care, aftersales service, back-office operations, manufacturing operations, facilities and security management, HR and F&A operations, IT and mobility services, etc.

With in-house digital capabilities across hiring platforms, Quess works with new-age technologies to enhance operational efficiencies and productivity for its clients.

Quess has the most comprehensive suite of digital hire-to-retire HR platforms in the market. Quess, through their various group companies, works with clients from several industries (Retail, Security, Logistics, IT, Facility Management, BFSI) at different levels of maturity (Small, Medium, and Large).

This unmatched exposure to the varied needs of the market has helped Quess develop one of the most effective end-to-end Hire-to-

You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.

-Zig Ziglar Retire solutions that help drive efficiency and agility through the complete process. Quess has been hiring ~20000 associates every month in recent times for its clients, and it has been possible only because of its efficient process and technology platforms from sourcing, on-boarding and payroll processing, statutory compliance management to employee engagement and benefits programs.

1. Candidate Sourcing, Selection, & Onboarding: Quess has created an efficient suite of applications that helps organisations run candidate search, selection, and tracking processes efficiently. Our agile Applicant Tracking System (ATS), ReQruit, helps companies manage their hiring process seamlessly. Our two distinct talent marketplace ensures faster and verified availability of talent pool.

• QJobs is India’s most effective blue-collar auto-hiring technology platform. The app currently has over half a million downloads, ~1,100 third-party customers, and 186,000+ jobs.

• Monster.com is one of the leading talent marketplaces in

India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. It bridges the gap between job seekers and employers by providing end-to-end online employment solutions, including systematic services for managing job seekers, career management, and recruitment and talent management services.

• PoP is India’s largest paperless candidate onboarding platform helping companies onboard employees digitally.

- Digital workflow management and industry-specific productivity tools like task allocation for facilities management staff, tracking task completion, and digital supervision for security staff.

- The platform also offers state-ofthe-art employee engagement features with a dedicated employee benefits module - Dash.

The curated employee benefits and wellness modules bring exclusive offers for associates through 100+ partnerships across financial well-being products, accommodation solutions, daily needs, and lifestyle products.

• SuperHR is a robust end-to-end HR solution that elevates the employee experience and business value across any organisation and industry vertical. The unique payroll and statutory compliance solutions seamlessly integrate with ERPs to augment existing HR systems and deliver productivity, scalability, agility, and technology advantages.

2. HRMS & Employee productivity and Workforce Management platform

3. Payroll

• WorQ is a comprehensive workforce management platform helping companies improve the productivity of their blue-collar workforce with over 200,000 MAU (Monthly Average Users).

The tool helps employees improve their productivity through:

Allsec™ Payroll is a single, integrated, fully automated payroll platform that handles functions from payroll input collection, statutory compliance to the dissemination of post payroll outputs. With over two decades of experience, the platform offers a powerful, error-free, and low-touch Payroll Management System globally.

- Robust employee self-service modules (attendance, leave, claims, HR documents, policies, etc.)

- Online training modules on demand as well as at planned interval

4. Compliance Simpliance™ is India’s largest digital platform for automated Statutory Compliance Management, providing

technology-based governance, risk, and compliance solutions to businesses to help them comply with Indian Labour laws. The platform offers a cloud-based realtime dashboard, access to India’s largest curated labour law library, real-time tracking of notices, inspections, and licenses, and automated audit modules that help optimise business performance.

Quess is working relentlessly towards providing its clients bestin-class services through continuous innovation. Aspiring to set the benchmark for the entire industry, their commitment to customer satisfaction makes them one of the best in the field and most sought-after companies in their domain.

Factors that put Quess a mile ahead of the competition in the market and how it plans to stay ahead of the curve Quess believes that there will be a greater emphasis on technology, automation, and experience, and businesses will start focusing on them as a prerequisite for service evaluation. They believe that their HR Tech products, across multiple business units, can drive efficient and effective outcomes for their clients. Some key examples, QJobs and Monster, are discussed below.

QJobs is a talent marketplace for blue-collar/entry-level jobs, enabling companies to hire verified candidates with matching skill sets faster by automating the process of screening and skill verification. Job postings on QJobs can be customised using specific screening criteria/questions along with skill verification requirements. QJobs automatically screens candidates

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Suraj Moraje MD AND GROUP CEO QUESS

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There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction. -John F. Kennedy

based on the set criteria, which helps eliminate the redundant and time-consuming screening process.

Qjobs will soon be launching ‘Interview from Home’, a remote video interview module embedded in the app that helps candidates attend interviews from home. It will also help speed up the interview process.

Monster.com, a Quess company, helps recruiters source candidates based on job descriptions using a feature called auto-match. It enables recruiters to get the bestsuited candidates for a particular job requirement.

Along with this, Monster will be shortly rolling out a slew of new functionalities: a. Ranking applications for job postings b. Automating the first round of interviews [audio/video] for mandatory requirements c. Connecting the recruiter and seeker for video interviews via the platform Quess has been evolving to become an operationally fitter, financially stronger, and technology-intense organisation. They have been closely working with their clients and incubating innovation Hub internally to innovate and deliver industry-relevant and future-ready 20

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solutions. With business models and client needs changing rapidly, Quess is focusing heavily on the need to keep innovating and reinventing its services to stay ahead of the curve and relevant.

Quess has always been driven by powerful goals, shared behaviours, and a consistent focus on their clients’ needs. Through the years, they have been able to establish a pole position in the domestic market in most of their businesses and are now well poised to strengthen their global footprints.

As they transition into a globally competitive business service provider, they are discovering new ways of expanding and enhancing business value and efficiency for their clients.

Allsec, a Quess company, is positioned to be the extended arm of Quess for all HR process outsourcing activities, including compliance. It is investing heavily in technology to provide superior value to end customers and is in the process of building a highly automated, cloud-based, state-ofthe-art integrated HR platform using cutting-edge technology that spans the entire HR process from onboarding, payrolling, compliances to exits of employees.

They are also working on extending their platform offerings to multiple regions, including the US, UK, Europe, Australia, and

Latin America. Currently, their Smart Pay platform processes payroll across 34 countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Leadership at Quess Charismatic and visionary serial entrepreneur Ajit Isaac founded Quess in 2007 and has been instrumental in building Quess Corp into India’s largest business services provider and private-sector employer. Under his leadership, Quess accelerated the transition of informal jobs to formal platforms, thereby helping bring predictable incomes, social security, healthcare, and other benefits to many across India.

His expertise in identifying valueaccretive and transformative deals combined with his focus on operational efficiency and business development has helped Quess scale itself rapidly and ranked amongst the top 50 global Staffing firms within a span of 13 years.

Quess found an equally gifted and competent leader in Suraj Moraje, MD and Group CEO. Suraj is a tenured professional with over 20 years of global business experience. An engineering graduate from the National Institute of Technology in Surat, and a PGDM holder from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, he spent two decades

working at McKinsey & Company before joining Quess.

During his tenure at McKinsey, he played an instrumental role in establishing the firm’s African Tech Media and Telecom practice and transforming the Philippines Office as the Managing Partner for the country. He was presented the Young Alumni Achiever Awards 2019-20 for Corporate Leadership

by IIM Ahmedabad. Suraj is also a passionate photographer and vinyl collector.

CEO’s take on how HR Tech solutions play a vital role in every business landscape As we witnessed during the pandemic, HR Tech went through a digital revolution, and companies realised that new tools and technologies are essential to keep people productive and engaged in a remote work environment. As a new generation joins the workforce, companies need to understand and bridge the gap between their aspirations and a seamless and tech-driven work environment. For a mobile-first generation, the HR tech platforms available to them would determine their relationship with the organisation. It includes a focus on the following aspects: - Seamless experience in terms of DX, UI, and UX for desktop and mobile - Digitally-enabled solutions for traditionally offline experiences - Self-service solutions with instantaneous response actions - De-centralised back-end controls for the solutions - Advanced data analytics for informed decision-making and control

- Flexibility and scalability Given the critical focus of companies on their employees and the employee expectations for quick and easy access to information, HR tech solution providers have to measure up their technology to address these expectations and offer incredible value to their clients.

The use of chatbots, AI & ML tools, RPA, predictive analytics, detailed dashboard and reporting, mobile-first solutions, etc., are some of the key components driving technology solutions today.

CEO’s views on how the HR sector has changed with advancing technology HR solutions are going through a transformative change. The first generation of HR solutions axed their analog counterparts and enabled HR teams to replace their legacy processes with a digital medium. However, next-gen solutions go beyond digital registers and are focused on empowering employees with solutions that make them more effective at their work, enhance productivity, and improve their overall quality of work life.

At Quess, our HR tech solutions aim to make employees empowered and productive. From automated hiring solutions that reduce redundant work, productivity enhancement tools that measure and track work, to benefits platforms that help employees unlock more value for their hardearned money, our HR solutions help unleash the full potential of employees.

Some examples of how next-gen tech can unlock value for organisations are given below: - Onboarding of new joinees is completely digital today without any paperwork, called POB (Paperless Onboarding). It results in greater process efficiency and a reduction of onboarding time.

Handling onboarding volumes of new joinees has become easy, thus helping organisations scale up and have greater TAT and lower cost.

- Attendance marking using mobile with geo-fencing and face recognition software ensures that the location, entry, and exit times of employees are available to the management at any time.

- Input sanitisation tools for payroll ensure that inputs are collected from the source and multiple SPOCs of the client and sanitised at the pre payroll stage before being ported into the software without human intervention. It results in continuous zero error deliverables.

- Digital submission of year-end tax proof process results in improved accuracy of vouching and reduced queries and noise from employees.

- Use of fully digital workflowbased exit module to capture the entire resignation process including all stakeholders, namely employees, managers, admin, finance, IT, and HR, resulting in the processing of full and final settlements for the resigned employee within two days of leaving the company.

Overall, HR solutions across the entire life cycle of an employee within the organisation, right from hire to exit, have been greatly impacted by technology solutions.

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Interview with The Enterprise World

Pocket HRMS

The best HRMS software in India!

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ocket HRMS, a leading Indian company, carries almost twenty years of customer service legacy that has served small teams, mid-sized businesses, and large enterprises across India. We serve customers ranging from 25 employees to 50,000 employees and have a diverse clientele across the Services, Distribution, Banking, and NBFC, Retail, Wholesale, and Distribution sectors. From their humble beginnings as a Desktopbased Payroll solution to the current modern cloud-based end-toend Human Capital Management solution, they have rapidly evolved with time. Currently, Pocket HRMS is present across leading metro cities of Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Gurugram, Pune, Chennai, and many emerging cities of India.

Mr. Kumar Siddhartha is the Managing Director at Pocket HRMS. An IITian with over 22 years of experience, Kumar is a pioneer in utilizing AI and machine learning in the HR domain. He specializes in corporate strategy and business intelligence.

In a conversation with him, let’s discover more about the company and its journey since its establishment.

• What were the initial challenges you faced?

Unlike today, it was a challenge to 24

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convince businesses to move from a traditional single purchase model to a subscription-based model and host their data on the cloud. We had to find the right solution, the right hosting partner, the right training, and encourage customers to harness the power, flexibility, and availability of a cloud platform.

Even though economies suggested otherwise, we leaped faith and invested heavily in deploying the world-renowned Microsoft Azure platform along with other Microsoft technologies to bring next-gen technologies to HR (Human Resource) teams of various companies.

Ultimately, we were one of the pioneers in bringing a true cloud and subscription-based HRMS solution much ahead of our peers.

• Which was that point that triggered the growth of the company?

I would not call it a trigger, per se, but a well-planned and executed strategy that involved continuous business process improvement for faster adoption of HR tools and software. A key event that accelerated this was the complete lockdown imposed in 2020. It reinforced the need for a centralized and accessible business solution for the entire economy.

Companies were forced to quickly digitize in weeks compared to the normal timeframe of quarters and

years. Almost overnight, businesses were faced with a new problem of working in the new normal, and Pocket HRMS proved to be the perfect digital solution.

In the first few weeks itself, we were among the first to introduce a lot of tools, modules, and functionalities that helped companies adapt their traditional workplaces to the work-from-home model.

• What is the reason behind your company’s long-standing success?

Consistency, a Customer-first approach, and fast adoption of global technology are our pillars of success. Additionally, our ideology of asking ourselves “Can we do it better?” has helped us faithfully serve our clients for the last 20 years.

Let’s take the example of the introduction of smHRty, an AI chatbot for employee self-service in 2016 when Chatbots were a relatively new concept and completely untested frontier in the HR domain. We envisioned smHRty as an HR technology tool for SME customers that lack the resources of a large-scale enterprise. Finally, our customerfocused product approach, consulting, and support teams contributed immensely to our success. As a result, some of our

in the development and adoption of technologies.

We keep introducing new modules in our solution to bring HR teams closer to their employees by leveraging digital tools. Be it an event-based employee satisfaction survey, or tools for DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) management for SME and large companies, or even digitalizing of vaccination records, we are always innovating to bring global technology to Indian businesses.

• Is there any new addition to the list of products/services?

Anything exciting you would like to share?

Recently, we have added two comprehensive features to Pocket HRMS.

Kumar Siddhartha MD

customers have been using our solution for close to 20 years now and have grown with us, partnered with us, and extended their trust and belief in our solutions.

• What are the products/services the company focuses on? How are your services different from those in the market?

At Pocket HRMS, our focus has always been on the improvement of HR and how we can help our HR business partners make their workplace more productive and efficient.

Timesheets, travel management, training management, and more.

Our differentiation factor is the highly scalable, flexible, and customizable tools and modules that we provide to our customers.

This combination sets us apart in the market where it is rare to find adaptable solutions. From simple requirements of simple mobilebased attendance to later requiring a full-fledged HR management system, our customers can choose to subscribe only for relevant services, save costs, and stay organized.

Pocket HRMS is a core product that automates HR functions, and we continue to expand our portfolio with related features including Expense Management, Projects and

• How do you decide to take the company a step further in terms of your products/services?

Team Pocket HRMS believes in continuous learning and innovation

First is an AI-based Attendance Management that harnesses the power of Artificial Intelligence to dynamically adapt for individual employees. Some of its features are geolocation mapping, geofencing, and a selfie-based attendance that utilizes Facial Recognition for marking attendance.

Second is the unique Vaccination Records Management that allows HR professionals to easily collect vaccination-related employee information for ensuring workplace safety.

The initial response to these new additions has been overwhelmingly positive and we are excited to add more features to Pocket HRMS shortly.

• How has the technology transformed traditional way of business?

Traditionally, there was a huge gap

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Interview with The Enterprise World between conducting business and providing service. The effective use of technology has helped reduce this gap, significantly. In the HR domain, technology has been the driving force for transforming the traditionally paper-based and human error-prone activities into a one-stop efficient automated HRMS. Moreover, the use of a cloud-based service model has enabled providing optimal support to clients continuously at any place, anytime, and on any platform.

• What do you think are the responsibilities of an entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is an allencompassing role that works from the bottom to the top of the corporate work pyramid. Some of their most crucial responsibilities would be: Vision & Strategy to be the best: I always say that it is good to have a goal, but it is best to have a blueprint. As an entrepreneur, it is vital to have a roadmap that leads to your vision of being the best in the business.

Rapid Acceleration for Growth: Staying ahead of the competitive curve is important for continuous rapid growth for an entrepreneur.

This can be accomplished by knowing the market trends, identifying opportunities, and nurturing them into growth for the business.

Forging Partnerships: When likeminded people come together, they can achieve anything. Thus, I believe that identifying potential partnership initiatives not only helps you achieve more together 26

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but also enables you to raise funds, tap into new markets, think out-ofthe-box, and open doors to new possibilities.

Be Prepared: Being prepared might sound like a checklist but it is much more than just that. You need to be prepared to make mistakes, to learn from them, apply what you have learned, and continuously gather knowledge to help build and run a successful business.

I have taken on and pursued these responsibilities at Pocket HRMS and helped push technological boundaries in the industry. Today, it is among the best HRMS software in India and is continuously ranked as one of the Top 10 HRMS options.

• Can you please brief us about your professional experience?

With over 23 years of professional experience in the industry, I would describe myself as a parallel entrepreneur who loves to build, innovate, and scale-up organizations with the primary objective of solving problems for Small and Medium Enterprises. As a Founder and Director of Greytrix, Inogic, Sage Software, & Pocket HRMS, building world-class organizations in ERP, CRM, HR Tech, & SAAS domain is a continuous lead by the learning process. At Pocket HRMS, I have led the company at different levels while gaining a deeper understanding of the HR industry. I have helped form core product strategies and laid down multiple successful plans. Further, staying updated with current and upcoming technologies enabled me to identify, explore, and pioneer the utilization of chatbots and AI in the HRMS space. Transitioning from a

desktop-based client to a SaaS model is another such experience that taught me to focus on newer technologies and their adoption for the Indian HR industry.

• What are the key achievements of your entrepreneurial journey?

Oh, this is a tricky one. Looking back, it has been more than 2 decades since this journey began and there have been multiple milestones in application integration space with GUMU™ by Greytrix being awarded multiple times as one of the leading application integration solutions.

Gaining hundreds of customers in ERP & CRM software consulting space as the leading distributor with Sage Software Solutions Pvt Ltd, launching and scaling up Maplytics™ as one of the leaders in SAAS CRM ISV space are some of the other milestones that come to mind.

But the foremost achievement has been how we have managed to retain our oldest clients that have been with us since our inception for our HRMS solution and how we have been able to navigate and innovate in this constantly changing software domain. We were one of the first to shift from the traditional desktop-based HRMS clients to the then-new cloud-based architecture. This was a leap of faith that helped provide 24x7 software availability, lower operation costs, and ultimately strengthened our bond with clients.

When Pocket HRMS was established, there was rarely any option available to help HR teams organize and effectively manage their workforce. Today, we provide core HRMS functions, payroll automation, effective employee

management, and so much more to thousands of clients employing more than a million employees.

Helping HR teams save countless hours by enabling a more efficient workforce has been the cornerstone of our entrepreneurial journey so far. Apart from our clients, we have also seen recognition in the form of major awards in the HRMS domain. Most recently, Pocket HRMS was awarded ‘The Best HRMS Software’ in the latest 29th World HRD Congress, 2021. We aspire to keep raising the bar higher each year.

• How do you look after your employees? What makes your team unique?

We have an open-door culture at Pocket HRMS. This allows for creative ideas to flow freely between teams and prosper. Our team excels at effective communication be it in the form of feedback or sharing new ideas.

What makes us unique is the honest efforts that we take to push each other to be better and work together. We conduct regular seminars where employees can share anything new that they have learned or existing skills with their colleagues. We were among the few that did not cut back on salaries during the pandemic and even gave out bonuses to our employees. We believe the employer-employee relationship is a two-way street and are always looking to provide our employees with the best platform for use of their skills and time.

• Is there any special experience with your clients you would like to highlight?

Our clients are a major reason for our success. Their continuous support inspires us to be relentless in our pursuit to be the best.

One such experience has been with a client that has been with us for more than a decade. We were positively surprised when the client company’s director personally wrote to us a heartfelt testimonial that highlighted our prompt service, approachability, and continuous addition of more features while staying cost-effective.

Such gestures make us feel proud of what we do and serve as an inspiration to keep striving to do better.

• According to you, what are the basic factors that businesses in the digital landscape should focus on to get better results?

The digital landscape is best described as a rapidly evolving one.

To get good results, one needs to focus on multiple basic factors such as: Monitoring your growth rate, knowing your market and competitors, learning about technological trends, continuously upgrading, and digitization of processes wherever possible.

• One person who you admire the most?

I have too many people I admire to name one. Daily, I meet people who teach me something or are passionate about something. I admire and get inspired by them.

For example, Bill Gates and Mahatma Gandhi have inspired me in life however even our Pocket HRMS team has inspired me to learn new technologies and keep doing better.

• Whose business story do you find the most inspiring?

Again, there are many business figures with inspiring business

stories. Right from Bill Gates to Sam Walton to our very own Ratan Tata. All of them have been a driving force in my entrepreneurial journey.

• Which is the most inspiring quote you have read?

One of the most often misquoted ones, but one of the most inspirational quotes ever: “Good is the enemy of great” from Good to Great by Jim Collins • Constant vigilance- a need or a strategy? Please share your views.

It is both; I would say it’s a needful strategy. In the digital landscape of dynamic requirements, obsolete technology, and new updates everything moves quickly. Today, it is of the utmost importance to stay vigilant about new technologies, trends, and changing client requirements. This involves constant monitoring of multiple factors such as the needs of the consumer, new features that can be introduced and getting more efficient. Staying constantly vigilant would enable saving a lot of time, resources, and efforts of your team while contributing to staying ahead of the curve.

• It’s a rat race out there. How do you cope with that?

Our fundamental values of providing extensive features, the best value for money, and excellent customer service have been instrumental in the extraordinary success of Pocket HRMS among its peers. We have stayed true to our cause, and this has helped us not just cope with the competition but also become a leader in the HRMS space of India.

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| The Electric Future

Electric vehicl The Future T

he world of automobiles is progressing fast and the possibilities it unfolds are equally unique and exciting. The fans and motorheads are always looking towards the next model of cars, the nest design, the next leap or the next revolution, etc. and the good news is that the wait is finally over. In comes the era of electric vehicles. The name might not sound that interesting and you all must have a ton of questions already but that does not keep the fact away that electric vehicles are rolling out already and changing

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the face of the Automobile industry as a whole and bringing a revolution that will not only bring innovations and possibilities but also thrill and excitement that motor enthusiasts are always looking for. Electric vehicles are changing the way one looks at cars and also the face of motor vehicles, making the Automobile industry leap into the future.

Electric power or Horsepower?

The most asked question regarding electric vehicles is the efficiency, the safety and most important of all whether it will be able to deliver the same or better performance and engagement as the petrol or diesel-run engines provide. Electric vehicles are not efficient as they use batteries which provide a good range, making them more efficient than regular engines but also the maintenance is cheaper as batteries need to be replaced after few years which also costs cheaper than maintaining regular cars which require time to time service and other maintenance costs involved. Electric vehicles also perform better as compared to regular cars as electric cars have better torque and power output and that too in a linear fashion which not only replicates a much better performance but also is packed with a host of features which keeps the drivers engaged and tension-free, such as park assist, self-driving feature, lane assist, etc.

Electric vehicles are being promoted by the governments of many countries due to their impact on the environment which is far less than the pollution emitted by regular cars, also electric cars produce less to no sound which affects the noise pollution and brings down the level of pollutants in the respective cities, etc. Also, the price of electric vehicles is competitively placed with the regular cars to attract more customers also there are subsidies provided on electric vehicles by many governments across the world due to their added social benefits, etc. Thus, electric vehicles are shaping the future of the Automobile industry and their success throughout the world is encouraging more push towards electric-run vehicles and also using its applications in producing other transport vehicles such as busses, trucks, heavy machinery, etc. to shift to a more efficient and much powerful electric engine.

Full charge or surcharge?

The dawn of electric vehicles has started and the results so far look promising and also delivering more than the calculated social benefits. Electric vehicles have received a lot of views from both the positive and the negative sides. Electric vehicles are a lot more efficient and better performance than regular engines but it cannot be commented that regular engines have their advantages too. In the developing countries, the lack of charging stations, etc. is an important factor for these electric vehicles to run and sustain and thus, it becomes a greater challenge for the countries and their governments to look out for the same and install or make plans to achieve this goal. The future of the Automobile industry looks promising and exciting but will the electric vehicles lead the flag of this vast and important industry is the answer everyone is looking forward to unveiling.

“You have to have a better car.

It’s not just the ideological decision of buying an EV. It’s about buying a better car.” – Daniel Kirchert www.theenterpriseworld.com

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Interview with The Enterprise World

ZingNEO Empowering business and the people who drive it with the most unique HR Tech Solutions ZingNEO is an HR Tech venture accelerated at Microsoft, with more than 500+ employees, 700+ customers, and 1.50+ Million active users. It offers a complete solution of the endto-end processes in HR, which provides ease of leave, attendance, payroll, and claim management.

It is one of the few global ventures which offers almost all web/mobile-based modules from Hire to Retire Solutions with a state-of-the-art tech supporting those applications.

ZingHR’s core focus is on OUTCOMATION™, which aims at achieving Tangible and Measurable Business Outcomes Like Top Line, EBIDTA, People Efficiency, People Productivity. Some of the unassuming features like Leave and Attendance, Survey, Digital Onboarding, Payroll Software, Performance Management System, and many more.

Recently ZingHR has introduced ZingNEO, a newlylaunched vertical that aims to tap startups, SMBs, and microenterprises with focused HR tech solutions like AI in Chatbots, Robotic Interviews, Machine Learning, Surveys, QR Code Attendance, performance management software, Career and Succession Planning, ZingID and many more to achieve OUTCOMATION for these businesses.

In a talk Ravi Kikan, Director- Marketing at ZingHR, let’s discover their journey since inception and his views on the current industry scenario • What are the initial challenges you faced in the early days of the company?

In any growing sector, challenges come in different forms regardless of whether you are a large enterprise or a small company. Being an HR Tech company our primary focus was to identify and overcome key HR challenges and build a solution that gives a holistic approach and curating a workplace culture that will ultimately impact how your business competes for talent, both now and in the future.

ZingNEO helps in fast-tracking business outcomes with the power of cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence

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and Machine Learning that effortlessly facilitate crucial business and HR-related functions at the same time enabling remote and hybrid working culture. ZingNEO a subsidiary of ZingHR, is geared towards helping Startups and SMBs to enjoy high-end features of HR software at a budget-friendly cost.

• What are the products/services the company focuses on? How are your services different from those in the market?

We started with the vision to build software that enables top-level functionaries or HR professionals to have control of their work lives. Hence, we came up with ZingNEO- a Microlevel Human Resource Management System that empowers enterprises by accelerating engagement, productivity, talent acquisition & org-alignment.

Our HR software provides an integrated platform, which is one of a kind, in terms of assisting companies and large organizations in aligning business strategy with key decision-makers. ZingNEO HCM platform can connect every interaction throughout the employee lifecycle.

Although ZingHR and ZingNEO have a different target segments both of them offer 20+ critical HR modules along with features like Chat Bots, Customer References, Support, Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC), and so on.

• Being a successful HR Tech solution provider how do you increase the quality and speed of the hiring process for clients?

The pandemic underscores the urgency for a more dynamic talent and having a robust hiring model in the first place.

Often in the case of startups and small businesses, not having a clearly defined hiring plan exceeds the budget and timeline. Recruiting is a risk-based challenge, not just for startups, but also for established businesses because you cannot predict if an individual will be an asset to your company or not, which is why analytics takes an upper hand here. ZingNEO provides ease of control for all

“ Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable.

Ravi Kikan Director-Marketing

recruitment functions with an intuitive online dashboard and quicker sourcing, hiring, and interviewing process powered by machine learning, natural language processing, and intelligent personality insights.

• What do you think are the responsibilities of HR Tech solutions providers?

The primary responsibilities of HR Tech solutions providers are to make the software usableness smooth by enhancing UI&UX, increase adaptability by integrating self-service (ESS) and manager self-service (MSS) tools, along with providing reskilling strategies for workers—including training HR professionals. Both our products ZingHR and ZingNEO are equipped with these features.

• Why it is said that HR Tech solution providers play a vital role in every business landscape?

With increasing, globalization and expansion come increasing diversity, a decentralized workforce as well as a need for efficient management. And an able HR armed with viable HR Tech solutions is the key to bring about seamless integration across various business verticals, and provide better business intelligence and decision-making analytics for companies to grow in the most efficient manner possible. Thus, for the entirety of the business landscape, HR Tech plays a vital role in shaping business processes and encouraging the workforce to achieve the organization’s goals collaboratively.

• According to you how has the HR solutions sector changed with rising technology?

Emerging HR technologies are reshaping the way organizations used to work some years back. Among the host of disruptive technologies, AI and machine learning are opening the door to a whole new world of possibility in the space of HR. It enables recruiters in smart hiring and often outperforms humans at making hiring decisions in certain areas, such as evaluation based on hard skills, softskill, and cultural fit in any organization. HR solution like ZingNEO also takes care of the compliance part. Keeping up with the evolving laws and regulation has often been a major challenge for HR teams and often require vast amounts of paperwork and information but an HRMS makes this a hassle-free process.

• How do you decide to take the company a step further?

ZingHR is quite a prominent name in the HR Tech industry, as being a disruptor brand, entering new markets. However, ZingNEO being its subsidiary we are expecting to accelerate its adaptability by adding more features into it and offer startups and SMBs something strikingly different that would help them to stand out.

• Share your words for the business struggling to accelerate their growth in pandemic scenarios.

The pandemic has toppled nearly every aspect of life, and businesses especially SMBs and Startups are being hit hardest across countries and sectors. The right policies, planning, and tech solutions are imperative to give them the support they need to survive and continue to contribute to the global economy.

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| Strive to grow

Habits of Millionaires T he word millionaires sound thrilling, exciting and one that everyone wants to be called but the efforts, hard work, dedication and much more qualities that one needs to instil in their selves along with the many sacrifices one needs to make is what makes one a millionaire. The common thing people often neglect or fail to see among all the millionaires is success, as every millionaire is successful no matter their career field or industry, they work in. The life of millionaires sounds lucrative and everyone desires it but one if aiming for the same needs to know and learn the qualities and habits that make one a millionaire. A millionaire is not judged by the amount of money, houses or cars they have but their success and most important of all their impact and contribution on and to the world as a whole.

personality, it’s the actions and most importantly it’s the habits that defines and makes one a millionaire. Millionaires dare to take risks and know what they are stepping into with complete knowledge and are ready to face any repercussion and if you put in the adequate hard-work and dedication, the sky was never the limit. Habits are what makes and forms a person and one should always make sure their habits are in line with their interests and the person that they wish to be.

Millionaires are readers and always ready to learn and are not afraid to ask what they do not know as no one is all-knowing and they have no shame in accepting they don’t know. Millionaires never forget to exercise and always eat healthy because they know the importance of good health and its impact on their professional and personal life.

It’s not about the DNA but you.

Millionaires hang out with other successful people because it is a true success is contagious and they volunteer to surround themselves with good people plus you never know where you can find an idea for a new venture. Millionaires are

always positive and spread positivity and are forthcoming when it comes to mentoring and helping others. They believe in setting their dreams and pursuing their own goals which are set by them for them and not for anyone else but them. Millionaires are always up with their etiquettes and are always found helping others succeed. Millionaires are the ones who break away from the heard, they give and make time for their selves, to think, to read, but that time is their sabbatical with themself. Millionaires always keep in touch with their mentors and are never afraid to ask for help.

Millionaires never give p and most importantly they are always seeking feedback because they believe in positive constructivism and enhancing themselves every single day.

Money comes and goes!

Millionaires are not born and we all have heard the stories from rags to riches, yes luck does play a part in the success but as mentioned it just plays a tiny little part. It’s the 32

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Millionaires do enjoy the status, fame and name but one should never forget that they worked hard for it and are doing it much more now to keep it that way. They sleep on time and for a good 7 hrs. and

wake up early with a clear and focused mind. One can learn these habits, they sound easy but everything comes with a price, with a sacrifice, and if one wants to stand on the same stage, in the same hall of fame, then the choice

has to be made. It’s what people do, their actions and the choices they make, define them and their life. One always knows what it takes to be successful, how to become the best version of yourself and be the person you always

wanted to be. In the end, the question remains the same and always will be, do you have what it takes to make those choices and sacrifice?

Rich people believe “I create my life.”

Poor people believe “Life happens to me.”

– T. Harv Eker

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