The journey from an MT to Jr Manager, HR at RITES Ltd -By Amit Kumar, IIM Ranchi

Life is a mix of success and failures. Failure teaches us to remain humble in successes, and success teaches us to keep trying even if you fail. So, never stop trying. I learnt this lesson when I was studying HR Management at IIM Ranchi. The final placements were in full swing and I applied to many companies, much like everyone else. But my dream was to get placed in the PSUs. The journey of getting into a PSU was difficult as only two PSUs visited IIM Ranchi, one of which was RITES Ltd. I first got to know about RITES Ltd. through my father and since he was already working in Indian Railways, I had some knowledge of what it does. I was already aware of the huge amount of operations that Indian Railways undertake. With huge operations come big problems and big problems bring big opportunities. 

Work at RITES Ltd. 

RITES Ltd. being a PSU under the aegis of Indian Railway is responsible for providing Infrastructure Consultancy and turnkey services for heavy engineering projects such as the construction of bridges, tunnels, elevated and underground corridors for Metro and Light Rails, dedicated freight corridors, revamping and development of Railway Stations, etc.  It is also the export arm of Indian Railways to export railway locomotives, coaches, metro rails, etc. Being unique in its domain and working in a public sector brings its own set of challenges and problems and for managers like us, it provides ample opportunities to put our knowledge into practice.

The beginning of my journey to RITES

I was both excited and nervous when my CV was shortlisted for the Interview process by RITES Ltd. Even though I already experienced giving interviews in other companies, I was unable to calm myself down. I felt like I was appearing for my first interview and kept referring to various notes while I was waiting for my turn. I had already skimmed through most of my notes regarding recruitment, employee engagement, grievance handling, payment of wages, etc. And at last, it was my turn to go in. 

The interview pattern was unexpected for me as I was expecting some theory-based questions but most questions asked by the interview panel were situation-based. After the behavioural interview, I was still not certain of the selection as the questions were subjective in nature. After a long wait of a week, the results were declared and I was on cloud nine as I had made it into the RITES Ltd.

My journey to RITES Ltd officially began in the month of April 2019 when I joined the organization. I reported to the office along with my two other batch mates and underwent a long session of paper filling and documentation work. After around an hour and a half of documentation, we were called for a meet and greet session where we were introduced to most of the executive and non-executive staff of our department along with the General Manager and Executive Director of our SBU, and at last to the CEO of our organization. It was an amazing experience. After that, another session was scheduled after 1 week where we were given a walk-through about the structure of the organization, various SBUs and their functions, General rules and regulations of the organization, etc.

My role in the company

Within 15 days of joining the organization, I was given full responsibility of Full and Final Settlement Desk, where my work was to deal with resignation/termination and superannuation of employees along with payment of PF, Gratuity, any other payments as per the organization’s rules and regulations. I was also given the responsibility to handle employee grievances as well as RTI requests related to the settlement desk. 

It was difficult initially and for a couple of months to understand the process, decisions to be taken were left to me completely at the initial level, what laws are applied in specific cases, etc. I was reporting directly to the General Manager of my department and under his guidance, I made major improvements. 

Even though I was scolded by my General Manager for the mistakes I made while taking decisions, I was never deprived of the right to make decisions as if he was teaching and showing me the correct way to do things. 

My journey to RITES Ltd has changed me positively as I can express my opinion, take decisions without fear and most of all, it has taught me to always double-check what I am writing and whether my decisions are compliant with the rules and regulations, mission and vision of the organization and the various regulations of the Govt. of India as well as the state government. I have come to know the value of a small signature and the responsibilities which I have on my shoulders. In the span of 18 months, I have worked in three different departments in HR Division and have learned many things related to full and final settlement, handling grievances, processing resignation/termination, payment of PF, payment of Gratuity, contract employment, floating tenders, and issuing tenders, contracting a manpower agency for supplying of manpower, extension of employees contract, recruitment of contract employees, etc.   

The reassuring work culture      

PSUs bring various challenges on the work front. Being in a PSU means being more rigorous in following and implementing various acts, rules and regulations, etc. PSUs are very different from private companies in terms of transparency. Every policy is uploaded on the company website so that employees are well informed. Anyone can ask for information through RTI which makes them a lot more transparent not just to employees and various stakeholders but also to other people. It also provides a good learning environment and gives development opportunities not only on the professional front but on a personal level as well. PSUs are best known for providing job security, a really good work-life balance, and a family outside of family.  

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