WHEEBOX AND PEOPLESTRONG PRESENT
NEW CODE OF WORK AWARDS 2021
CELEBRATING ORGANISATIONS SCRIPTING THE FUTURE OF WORK
ABOUT THE NEW CODE OF WORK AWARDS
The New Code of Work (NCOW) Awards seek to identify and highlight how thought leaders across corporate in India and Asia-Pacific are scripting this new wave in the new world often termed as the New Normal. Early signals show that while almost all businesses are getting disrupted, An era most productive is at hand. The shock that the pandemic brought into our system has increased the ability to adopt new age solutions. History will mark these endeavors. This is exciting – the zeal to test the unknown is palpable. The New Code of Work Awards aim to recognize and reward emergent best practices in play; just as they seek to record the thinking, that is driving these shifts. Wider impact across institutions government and private is bound to be resultant.
The year of 2020 will be remembered for numerous reasons, but one top reason on that list would be the change it brought about in the way we work! The year started with the same naïve innocuousness of previous years. Offices were bustling with people, having returned from the Christmas break and new plans were strewn across cubicles and minds alike. But it only took a couple of months into the leap year and things (as we knew them) went for a toss!
Marred by the virus, first the long-distance traveling stopped, then even shorter distances became dangerous for travelling. Suddenly, the world came to a standstill and governments & organizations were forced to change their models of operations to deal with the crisis. Severe lockdowns were introduced in many countries in the world, which impacted economies and raised the unemployment numbers to their highest in recent years. It is estimated that job loss due to the pandemic could be up to 40 million people in India and nearly 400 million across the world! The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) revealed that they have cut their expectation for global growth to 2.4% from 2.9% and warns that it could fall as low as 1.5%
With cost pressures at an all-time high and tanking economies, organizations & leaders had to adapt to this new normal and fast. Overnight, everything went online and thousands & millions of people across the world started working from home! Never, in the history of humankind so many people have worked remotely, at the same time! But now, there was no other option. The very nature of this transition has brought about a deep-rooted cultural change within our organizations, teams & people.
This year, when we open the second edition of The New Code of Work Awards, we are ognizant of the fact that while only a year has passed, but the learnings & changes have been worth much more than what could be expected in one year. This is the year of transition, and so our definitions have also changed for what would be the New Code of Work.
The organization of the future is taking shape in the moves that companies are making now.
NEW CODE OF WORK CHARACTERISTICS
PARAMETERS WE ARE EVALUATING THE NOMINATIONS ON
Productivity in a virtual world
Productivity is a renewed discussion in webinars & thought leadership circles as the very definition of has now changed. With no fixed punch-in or punch-out hours, employees operating out of different locations, organizations are deliberating on how to optimize productivity in a virtual workspace? In an environment, where co-bots are deployed and social distancing must be maintained, new frameworks are emerging, productivity is not just a number, but a way of operating. The New Code of Work expects focus on the ‘how’ of this productivity, substantial shifts in which are still expected. How will productivity be driven such that improvements are quantum but without strain and that the inspiration is long-term sustainability with a true focus on R&D and upskilling. Productivity in a virtual world seeks out individual brilliance to expand that into team and corporate paradigms.
Bringing Meaning to Work
Purpose and meaning. Arguably the two biggest quests for mankind in the 21st century. At work, this translates into creating brand, experience and organizational structures that respond to this fundamental need of talent the world over. The recent times have tested out these structures and have re-emphasized the importance of purpose and meaning at work.Engagement has acquired a higher meaning in a locked-down world through processes, online experiences and critically, a value system that places higher purpose and deeper meaning at the core of organizational philosophy.
The New Code of Work is driving meaning at work keeping in mind the new normal paradigm, while keeping a focus on sustainability and inclusion of diversity for culture, gender & differently abled employees.
Leadership – Managing Today and Tomorrow
Challenged by the global pandemic, leaders have made shifts in the way they lead. Will they build on this unique moment in history and pave way to a new generation of leaders?
Leadership. Eternal. Ever changing. Continued paradigms, yet new manifestations. Inspirational. Vulnerable. Collaborative. Visionary. Empathetic. Resilient. Focused on the ‘other’ yet conscious of the impact of self. The New Code of Work needs leaders at the helm who are quick to adapt, personify resilience & not scared to show their vulnerability in times of uncertainty. The New Code of Work also needs leaders strewn across the business, individuals in their own right, but melded into a collective whole that is infinitely the better for their presence. What defines the ‘successful’ leader who will take us into a safer tomorrow and ensure survival?
Future Readiness & Resilience
When change is frequent – economic volatility is at its zenith – this reality demands organizational robustness & resilience of a new order.
When the pace of change is meteoric, future readiness must be a core organizational attribute. As technologies, a pandemic, demographics, and governments accelerate this trend what was the future yesterday becomes the present and even sooner the past. Future readiness encompasses strategy, people, and organizational structures. The heart of tomorrow’s organization, ‘readiness’ will occupy pole position where short-term wins will naturally dovetail into long-term success on the plinth of visionary agility.
JURY MEMBERS
RADHA AHLUWALIA
Chairperson NCOW Awards, Former Managing Director, IMA India
RENUKA RAMNATH
Founder, MD and CEO, Multiples Alternate Asset Management
ANAND KRIPALU
MD and CEO, Diageo Global
SANTRUPT MISRA
Director, Global H.R. & CEO, Carbon Black Business at Aditya Birla Group
DEEP KALRA
Founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip
AMARJIT SINGH BATRA
MD, Spotify India
AWARD CATEGORIES
Multinationals
Companies with presence in at least 5 countries (covering at least THREE continents) and an annual revenue more than 1 Billion USD. This applies to firms Indian and Foreign in origin.
Mid-Size Enterprises
Companies headquartered in India, with an annual revenue that ranges between 10 – 500 M USD.
Large Enterprises
Companies headquartered in India, with an annual revenue more than 500 Million USD.
Startups
Companies headquartered in India that have completed minimum 3 years and maximum 8 years of business and have crossed the annual revenue mark of more than 5 M USD (minimum).
The NCOW Award 2021 (Overall winner)
The Overall Winner will be selected from the nominations that provide holistic insight into strategies on all parameters. Jury reserves the right to nominate firms from other groups into this category.
JURY EVALUATION
Shortlisted nominations would be evaluated by the Jury to arrive at the list of winners
RESULTS
Winners will be announced on 6th February at “Workfest 2020” – a gala evening that will be hosted at Oberoi’s Gurgaon.