16th February 2021
Stories from an Inspiring Leader – Ketan Somani
Ketan Somani, Co-CEO, Accolite Digital
inspireworknow2020 has seen many organizations take decisions which significantly impacted its workforce in more than one way, from lay-offs to pay cuts to zero bonus to hiring freeze. Our Co-CEO [Ketan] ensured that the company goes an extra mile to provide job and financial security and rolled out initiatives to put employees health first and at the same time engaged with all the customers to minimise disruption to the business. Some of the initiatives rolled out by him were:
- Zero retrenchment Policy – It was a clear mandate from him that no employees should be terminated during the COVID-19 under any circumstances. In April, we had major business challenges with significant pressure from our clients and one of our key clients ramped down the engagement significantly due to the impact COVID had on their business. There were no immediate business opportunities and we ended up with a huge bench but because of Ketan’s determination not to lose a single employee, employees were reskilled in other technologies and moved to other engagements in due course. This helped us build a huge confidence across the company.
- Health & Happiness Programs: Ketan directed several program ranging from Yoga to wellness sessions by several leading spiritual organizations to ensure mental and physical wellness of all employees during a time which was most difficult one in our lifetime.
- Financial Rewards – As things improved during the year, he also ensured all employees get a pay raise and same bonuses in line with 2019!
Endorsement
“[Under Ketan’s] leadership, employees feel highly valued, motivated and inspired! At a time when many organizations cut their workforce, reduced salaries and bonuses amidst the uncertainties and challenges of the pandemic, he focussed on spending most of the time with the employees, provided the comfort of ‘being in it all together’, financial assistance, and drove the focus on employee wellness during this period. It takes a lot of courage for the head of an organization to stand firmly with all the employees during such times and say, we will NOT let go of anyone, come what may!”
About Inspiring Leaders
The extract above is taken from the Inspiring Leaders 2020 initiative which recognised exceptional leaders during the Covid-19 pandemic. You can download the full eBook with all the leader stories here.
Inspiring Leaders was created as a vehicle to recognize people who stepped up to help individuals, teams and organizations navigate personal and business challenges, and make a contribution to make their business, their community and the world a better place.
Due to the success of IL 2020, we have brought it back in 2021. We are now open for nominations. For more information about how to enter Inspiring Leaders, dates and fees – click here.