WEBVTT - Genpact CEO on Remote Working

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason

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<v Speaker 1>Kelly on Bloomberg Radio. All right, thank you so much.

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<v Speaker 1>You are listening to Bloomberg Business Week. He transformed our

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<v Speaker 1>next Guest a division of ge Um, and he turned

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<v Speaker 1>it into the publicly held gen Packed. It's an I

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<v Speaker 1>T services company managing risk and compliance applications. It's based

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<v Speaker 1>in India. It has more than nine employees. He however,

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<v Speaker 1>has been stuck in New York because of the pandemic.

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<v Speaker 1>Great to welcome to our audience and to Bloomberg Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Gen Packs president and CEO. He's Tiger thiagarag On and

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<v Speaker 1>he joins us on the phone. As I mentioned in

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<v Speaker 1>New York City, Tiger, nice to have you here with us. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>how are you doing so great to be on the show,

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<v Speaker 1>and thank you doing really well? Um. I guess the

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<v Speaker 1>Dutch statement has to be calvetted with in these times.

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<v Speaker 1>Will expand upon that, because you're right, these are unusual times.

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<v Speaker 1>So tell us a little bit about what your world

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<v Speaker 1>has been like for the last six months. I've been

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<v Speaker 1>I'm based in the in New York City in Manhattan,

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<v Speaker 1>and I've been operating the company from my home, which

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<v Speaker 1>is an apartment in New York City, and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the global close to a hundred thousand employees who are

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<v Speaker 1>all working from home or most of them are running operations, uh, consulting,

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<v Speaker 1>digital engagements, analytics engagements with a lot of our global

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<v Speaker 1>clients who are also working from home. And that's you

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<v Speaker 1>know that that's an interesting challenge which we weren't necessarily

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<v Speaker 1>all prepared for, but we got there and and at

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<v Speaker 1>some point in time it you start wondering is there

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<v Speaker 1>a time when this will end? And so shifting online,

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like we're all kind of wrestling with it

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<v Speaker 1>at this point now several months in, because we're beyond

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<v Speaker 1>I've said this before in this program, we're sort of

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<v Speaker 1>beyond the triage stage where you just sort of get

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<v Speaker 1>through it, and now we have sort of different rhythms

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<v Speaker 1>and different interactions. We're learning different ways of doing things.

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<v Speaker 1>What have you learned you and especially your team in

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<v Speaker 1>terms of interacting with each other about kind of who

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<v Speaker 1>you are and and sort of how you operate as

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<v Speaker 1>a company. Oh so much, Jason, We've learned so much.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll start by saying that the technologies that we are

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<v Speaker 1>using that our clients are using that the whole world

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<v Speaker 1>is using have always been available for some years now.

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<v Speaker 1>Technology is that allow us to collaborate together, to communicate

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<v Speaker 1>irrespective of distance. Um, the reality is we didn't use

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<v Speaker 1>it to its fullest extent, and now what the pandemic

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<v Speaker 1>has shown us is the way it can be used. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>it's very productive. You don't necessarily have to travel every

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<v Speaker 1>time you want to meet someone, and you can get

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<v Speaker 1>large groups of people to engage with each other. Now

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<v Speaker 1>is that equal to socially interacting face to face, having

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<v Speaker 1>a dinner together. It's not. But you know, I think

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<v Speaker 1>what the world is learning is how do you mix

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<v Speaker 1>and match this? And hopefully, as we come out of

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<v Speaker 1>the pandemic, can we actually take all the best practices

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<v Speaker 1>we learned here and bring them into the world of tomorrow.

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<v Speaker 1>One example would be how inclusive is this current culture

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<v Speaker 1>where everyone is on a is on a video conference

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<v Speaker 1>call rather than three people on video conference and ten

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<v Speaker 1>people in a room. Unfortunately, those three people get left

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<v Speaker 1>out and that whole ability to drive more diversity and

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<v Speaker 1>inclusion is a big plus that hopefully we can all

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<v Speaker 1>hang onto. Well, what what you know, let's stick with

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<v Speaker 1>that for a little bit um in terms of d

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<v Speaker 1>n I, diversity and inclusion. I mean, these are not

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<v Speaker 1>new topics. You know this tiger, and we've been talking

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<v Speaker 1>about it for decades, and yet here we are and

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<v Speaker 1>we're all astonished, and we are shocked at the inequalities.

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<v Speaker 1>And like I said, they've been around for a while.

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<v Speaker 1>How do we, as Jason mentioned to one of our

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<v Speaker 1>earlier guests, Abigail Disney, you know, how do we move

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<v Speaker 1>beyond conversation to real action that actually results in significant

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<v Speaker 1>change so that the world is lifted everyone benefits. Tell

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<v Speaker 1>it's such a great point. We've been added, The world

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<v Speaker 1>has been added, We as a company have been added.

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<v Speaker 1>I think everyone's been added on various dimensions, whether it's

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<v Speaker 1>gender equities or its racial equity. As we you know clearly,

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<v Speaker 1>at least in the US, we're very focused on it

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<v Speaker 1>these days. But it's been a focus for some time,

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<v Speaker 1>and yet I would argue not enough has has changed

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<v Speaker 1>and not enough has moved. I'll start with I think

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<v Speaker 1>much more transparency and visibility to metrics that shows improvement

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<v Speaker 1>is something that we have been big believers in. Uh So,

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<v Speaker 1>tell me the diversity at the top of the company.

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<v Speaker 1>Tell me the diversity and the board. Show me what

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<v Speaker 1>goals you have and what what you know? I'm I

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<v Speaker 1>hate to use the word, but what targets you have

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<v Speaker 1>and show me progress against those targets. We all have

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<v Speaker 1>financial goals that were held responsible for. Why is it

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<v Speaker 1>wrong not to have Why is it wrong? I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>why shouldn't we have diversity goals? Because the reality, better

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<v Speaker 1>solutions get get created when you have diverse minds at

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<v Speaker 1>the table, and you the way you get divorce minds,

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<v Speaker 1>it's people with divorce backgrounds divorce experience. So I think

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<v Speaker 1>the theory of the cases talked about enough. I think

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<v Speaker 1>the way your drive action is by driving metrics and

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<v Speaker 1>by having a little totally agree transparency and metrics. Right

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<v Speaker 1>numbers they tell you know, when you start looking at

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<v Speaker 1>an organization and you look at either you know, the

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<v Speaker 1>diversity and inclusion, you look at the composition of your workforce.

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<v Speaker 1>When you look at the numbers, there's nothing that you

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<v Speaker 1>can hide. Right numbers tell a story that's right, that's right,

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<v Speaker 1>and and and it's perfectly fine to say, look, I

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<v Speaker 1>have a goal and it's going to take me some

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<v Speaker 1>time to hit the goal. However, I've driven improvement this

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<v Speaker 1>year versus last year in the previous year. And that's

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<v Speaker 1>what progress is about. It's not necessarily saying already there

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<v Speaker 1>at the time to Hill, no, I haven't, but I'm

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<v Speaker 1>making progress, Tiger. One of the fascinating things about a

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<v Speaker 1>company like yours is you have amazing insights and windows

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<v Speaker 1>into a whole pety of other companies, their hopes and dreams,

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<v Speaker 1>their struggles during all of this. What's one of the

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<v Speaker 1>things that you've picked up either that you can generalize

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<v Speaker 1>or that has really stuck with you about what other

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<v Speaker 1>companies are dealing with for all of this, Jason, I'll

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<v Speaker 1>start by saying that the one overaarching seeing that you

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<v Speaker 1>could capture everything in is a significant acceleration in uh

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<v Speaker 1>digital transformation. You know, I think I think it'll be

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<v Speaker 1>fair to say that most companies, most enterprises across the

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<v Speaker 1>globe have been on a path to embrace digital into

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<v Speaker 1>the enterprise, to change business models, to drive efficiency, to

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<v Speaker 1>drive better experience with customers, and so on and so forth.

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<v Speaker 1>Just think about accelerating that from a five year journey

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<v Speaker 1>to an eighteen month journey or a twenty four month journey.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's what we've been seeing and I think it

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<v Speaker 1>applies to every company in every industry. Well, it's interesting, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I do wonder if we're going to look back Tiger

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<v Speaker 1>at this moment in time. I don't know whether it's

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<v Speaker 1>going to take us a year, whether it's gonna take

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<v Speaker 1>us five years, and just how much this time unfortunately

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<v Speaker 1>the stress um and the difficulties, but how it really

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<v Speaker 1>kind of cause so many different changes in how we

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<v Speaker 1>do it. Whether it's telemedicine, whether it's education, whether it's

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<v Speaker 1>the digitization, which we've been talking about and increasingly seeing,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's really picked up speed. Tell you you you

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<v Speaker 1>got it. I mean, this is a tragic eight months.

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<v Speaker 1>The pandemic is tragic. I mean, lives have been lost, Um,

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<v Speaker 1>lots of people have lost their jobs and and so

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<v Speaker 1>all of that is terrible. However, you know, we all

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<v Speaker 1>have to continue to look for So what are we

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<v Speaker 1>learning from this and what are the things that we

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<v Speaker 1>can take forward? And there are so many things. One

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<v Speaker 1>of this digital thing that we talked about, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>almost every company in every industry, the switch to online

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<v Speaker 1>is just amazing. Um, if someone had a five percent

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<v Speaker 1>penetration on online versus offline, that's now gone to if

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<v Speaker 1>someone was already that's easily hitting the six mark. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>everything is moving to the cloud. Uh. All of these

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<v Speaker 1>were transitions that were happening. Now people are jumping on

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<v Speaker 1>it in an accelerated fashion. Um. You know the everyone

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<v Speaker 1>wants analytics now, real time and insights, real time to

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<v Speaker 1>take decisions. After all, when you have a highly volatile

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<v Speaker 1>world where demanded supply spikes up and down, I mean

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<v Speaker 1>think about it. You know, the first couple of months

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<v Speaker 1>through the pandemic, the sale of wheat flour I believe

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<v Speaker 1>went up plus. The sale of yeast went up by

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<v Speaker 1>forty percent plus, and I never could imagine why. And

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<v Speaker 1>then I realized people were baking at home. I had

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<v Speaker 1>to listen. I couldn't buy flower for a while, and

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<v Speaker 1>I found we had the Sea of King Arthur Flower

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<v Speaker 1>on this program and she was talking about, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>demand like they've never seen before. They had to completely

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<v Speaker 1>change their supply chain, right right. So, when you have

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<v Speaker 1>that kind of volatility, which which would say is going

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<v Speaker 1>to last beyond the pandemic, because the volatility is going

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<v Speaker 1>to be driven by many things up and down, you

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<v Speaker 1>need much more real time analytcs that supply chain can

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<v Speaker 1>deal with UM and all of that digital transformation and

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<v Speaker 1>digital technologies are going to allow us to do that.

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<v Speaker 1>That's got accelerated. All of that should be good because

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<v Speaker 1>in the end the consumer and businesses get benefit of

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<v Speaker 1>that much better experience, much better value. So so you know,

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<v Speaker 1>hopefully that comes out as the hybrid is the way

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<v Speaker 1>some people refer to it, which is a combination of

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<v Speaker 1>everything that we used to do before, but everything that

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<v Speaker 1>we've learned now, can we mix and match that, create

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<v Speaker 1>more flexibility and work, create much more online and offline.

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<v Speaker 1>No one is going to have only offline anymore. Everyone

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<v Speaker 1>is going to have an online channel. So so Tiger

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<v Speaker 1>for you as a CEO, I would imagine not knowing

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<v Speaker 1>too much about it, but knowing how most big global

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<v Speaker 1>CEOs operate. You were on the road all the time,

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<v Speaker 1>You're constantly meeting people. You've got a lot of face

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<v Speaker 1>time with a lot of your key folks. How has

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<v Speaker 1>this changed you, How has it changed your leadership? Silent,

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<v Speaker 1>what do you take with you into sort of whatever

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<v Speaker 1>the next normal is going to be? Great question, Jason,

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<v Speaker 1>so I shot by saying, obviously, I haven't traveled at

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<v Speaker 1>all since the first few days of March. Uh, it's

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<v Speaker 1>the longest period ever in my life that I haven't traveled,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's it's fascinating for someone who used to travel

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<v Speaker 1>a hundred fifty days a year. And the first thing

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<v Speaker 1>that crops up is why didn't I think about this earlier?

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<v Speaker 1>Exactly the same point on digital technologies, UM, and the

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<v Speaker 1>realization that when the world comes back to the new normal,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think I'm going to travel a hundred fifty

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<v Speaker 1>days ago. UM. I think I can get by with

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<v Speaker 1>half of that, maybe maybe one third of that. So

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<v Speaker 1>we're doing many more conversations with clients than ever before,

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<v Speaker 1>not less, but many more, ten times more. All of

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<v Speaker 1>them are virtual, all of them are video and phone,

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<v Speaker 1>et cetera. UM. Obviously we are missing the ability to

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<v Speaker 1>you know, be face to face, go have a dinner,

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<v Speaker 1>go have breakfast, go have lunch. So the way I

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<v Speaker 1>think about the world of the future is I think

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<v Speaker 1>we're going to do many more of these virtual meetings

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<v Speaker 1>than before. I think it's much more productive. However, every

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<v Speaker 1>once in a while we're gonna say, John, I'm gonna

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<v Speaker 1>come and meet you in Chicago. Let's go and have dinner.

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<v Speaker 1>So the separation of I'm going to meet you because

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<v Speaker 1>we're going to do more than just a business conversation.

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<v Speaker 1>So if I want to do a one our business conversation,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't need to fly down to Chicago. Let's do

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<v Speaker 1>a call. I think that's gonna happen. You might say, Jane,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to meet you. Just giving you a hard time,

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<v Speaker 1>all right, Well, we really really enjoyed it. We hope

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<v Speaker 1>you'll keep in touch with us because a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>insights there. Tiger Thiagarage and he is the CEO of

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<v Speaker 1>gen Pack, joining us on the phone from New York City,