Crafting Win-Win Partnership

Stakeholder engagement is crucial to foster collaboration, and ensure success. This involves identifying, communicating, and involving individuals or groups that have vested interests. Through active engagement, businesses can enhance decision-making, build trust, and promote transparency. Effective interaction begins with a thorough analysis to identify key individuals or groups. They include customers, employees, investors, community members, and regulatory bodies. Understanding their interests, concerns, and expectations is crucial for tailored communication strategies. This is the stakeholder reporting strategy that CMA Sanjeev Singhal, Acting CMD, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL), fervently believes in.

Regular updates, clear messaging, and open channels foster inclusivity. Through newsletters, meetings, or online platforms, transparent communication builds trust, and allows stakeholders to provide valuable feedback. Actively seeking inputs, concerns, and suggestions demonstrates a commitment to inclusivity, and ensures that decisions reflect diverse perspectives. This feedback loop helps to identify issues early on, minimize risks, and improve outcomes. This involves collaboration. Inclusive decision-making processes help to align interests, reduce conflicts, and ensure that outcomes benefit all parties. “When stakeholders feel heard and valued, they are likely to support the organization's goals, and positively contribute to its success. This can enhance brand loyalty, attract new partnerships, and create a supportive environment for long-term growth.,” feels Singhal.

Engagement with Employees:

Even before he became Acting CMD in February 2023, he believed that synergies could be improved by working on employee engagement. This was because departments then worked in silos, and there were minimal opportunities for voices from grassroot employees to reach the top echelons. When he took over, he structured an interactive program with employees along with the Director (Corporate Planning & Personnel) and HR team. Various models were deliberated. It was evident that meeting 6,500 employees together would not be feasible. A large gathering inevitably results in one-way communication. Singhal decided on focused sessions with small groups.

MDL has an auditorium, ‘Sagarika’, with a capacity of two hundred, and it was decided to conduct weekly sessions in it. The first session was rolled out on March 9, 2023. Till now, 50 meetings have resolved around 100 suggestions. They were aptly christened as “Sanskar Se Samridhhi.” They reflect a proactive approach to foster better communication, engagement, and collaboration with the following objectives:

Provide an opportunity to the lowest-level employee to connect and interact with top management

Improve morale, enhance transparency, gather insights, and strengthen work culture

Instil the concept of ‘One Family, One MDL, One Future’

Share the broad status such as order book, projections, financials, achievements, and challenges

Showcase the good work done by employees, and resolve issues at workplace through Quality Circle mechanism  

Broadly, the sessions are structured as below:

Presentation about projects, financial status, order book position, projections, infrastructure, awards and accolades, and milestones. This eliminates scope for misinformation or apprehension.

QC teams showcase production-related issues that were resolved using in-house methodologies. This educates the employees, and works as a catalyst to address more issues

Discussions about CSR initiatives, and its positive impact on the lives of the people who may not be equally fortunate

Addresses by Director (CP&P) and CMD to encourage employees, and highlight challenges

A brief on issues flagged by employees in earlier sessions

Interactive session to flag new issues that adversely impact efficiency/productivity, and relate to safety, hygiene, and sanitation. Employees are discouraged to raise personal issues. Wherever feasible, the issues are clarified on the spot. Others are noted down for necessary action. Employees are advised not to raise personal issues as the organization provides various forums for resolution of such issues.

MDL oath administered by CMD with a view to reinforce the message of ‘One Family.’ The company belongs to employees, who will work for its prosperity, and not indulge in any act that harms it or brings disrepute to it.

Due to these sessions, several small, but inconvenient issues were resolved. Ships have areas, where working is difficult. These include welding in narrow spaces without air circulation. Welders need to stop work every hour to get gulps of fresh air. When this surfaced during a session, MDL designed a ship ventilation system with ducts to push cool air, and extract stale air. This brought down the temperatures, and improved working conditions. In another case, the issue revolved around women toilets. It is not that the organization is insensitive. But the problem was never flagged off. Given the lower number of female employees, no one thought about the lack of women toilets. But when the issue cropped up, MDL built them in 25 days.

On a ship there are several design changes at regular intervals. The elements are reviewed, both in-house and with customers. But since a ship has 700 people, sometimes the changes do not reach the concerned people. While design may have changed, an employee may work on an older version. This too was discussed in a session, and MDL set up a new process to avoid it. “For example, if a Version 4.0 is approved, every person and division working with Version 3.0 needs to return the old designs. These are logged and, until each copy of Version 3.0 is returned, Version 4.0 is not issued. This ensures that everyone works with Version 4.0 at the same time,” explains Singhal.

Since the company shares facts about financials and operations at these sessions, it provides a true picture to employees. The latter know exactly what is right and wrong with the company. In addition, the CMD explains the historical evolution of the company. For instance, the way to award projects has shifted from cost-plus, fixed-return system to a hybrid structure, and now to competitive bidding. Today, MDL is not guaranteed to bag a project because it is owned by the government, as was the case in the past. It has to compete.

Engagement with Customers:

This allows businesses to address the customers’ concerns, and provide support, leading to higher satisfaction levels. An active engagement demonstrates that a company values its customers, and positively impacts brand perception and reputation. MDL’s contracts with the Indian Navy stipulate interactive and review meetings. There are daily meetings between MDL project team and warship overseeing team. Working-level meetings with the Navy are monthly. There is provision of review by Controller of Warship Production & Acquisition every quarter. There is similar engagement for non-naval projects.

Engagement with Regulatory Bodies:

Post listing of its stock in 2020, MDL had to engage with regulatory bodies. This ensures that the company stays compliant with laws and regulations, avoids fines and penalties, and upholds reputation and credibility. Regulatory bodies provide guidance on managing risks associated with aspects of business operations. MDL has formal channels of communication with regulatory bodies, such as designated contacts or legal representatives, to facilitate ongoing dialogue and information exchange. The designated contacts, like Company Secretary (CS), actively participate in public consultations and regulatory review processes. The CS stays abreast of regulatory developments by monitoring publications, attending industry conferences, and networking with peers and regulatory experts. MDL believes in transparent dealings with regulatory bodies by providing accurate and timely information, disclosing relevant data, and cooperating with inquiries and audits. It allocates resources to ensure compliance with laws and regulations, including training programs, and processes to support regulatory compliance efforts.

Engagement with Investors:

MDL is aware of the importance of engaged investors, and makes efforts to connect with them. It understands that this is essential to build a strong support network, access resources, and increase the likelihood of long-term success. CMA Singhal responds to their queries through regular calls. “An engaged investor can offer valuable advice, mentorship, and industry expertise, helping the company navigate challenges and make informed decisions,” he says. MDL keeps the investors informed about progress, milestones, and challenges through updates. It revamped its Annual Report (FY 2022-23), which stands out as a testament to the company’s unwavering commitment to excellence. The enhancements, including the incorporation of innovative design elements, and a more engaging visual presentation, have elevated the document to a new level. They include innovative ideas, collective efforts, creativity, and meticulous attention to detail. The report meets the highest standards of accuracy and transparency, and showcases achievements with a fresh and captivating look.

Engagement with Community:

This is not just a moral imperative but a strategic decision with long-term benefits. It helps build trust and establish a positive reputation. Being involved in the community demonstrates the commitment to CSR. Through initiatives, partnerships, and volunteer efforts, MDL supports the communities that sustain it. From education and environment conservation to social welfare and cultural enrichment, it strives to be a catalyst for positive change. MDL adopted a village in Maharashtra to help locals to achieve sustainable incomes through goat herding, mushroom farming, and other means. The focus is on women empowerment, and women are encouraged to start small businesses like making and selling sanitary pads. MDL provides basic amenities, like water, and offers health services.

Engagement with Vendors:

This involves fostering relationships with suppliers, contractors, and external partners. We use various methods that include:

To enhance Make-in-India efforts, and reduce import dependence, MDL encourages local production. It engages with vendors, and handhold them in areas such as design, and reverse engineering. It even shares costs, and investments for such indigenization initiatives. MDL has a mandate from the ministry to invest up to Rs 250 crore in each project, and pick up to 70% equity stake in each. Apart from being an equity partner, MDL is the major buyer. It has signed MoUs to procure 7-8 items locally, and these include batteries, swarm drones, hydrogen-powered boats, and moving-target simulators. These are under PPP model. The IPRs created are held by the various partners in sync with their respective investment ratio.