Good day, Mukunda Narayan.B. I'm Arjun. I've had a look through your background and your professional record. I'm interested in hearing more about your work and how you see yourself fitting in here with our faculty. Ready to start?

So hi.

Hi. Please share your professional journey in academia.

So I hate it. So I completed my uh, my bachelor's degree from VIP business. So I'll complete a precomp. So after that I was working in a small manpower agencies in in Vedu. Okay, after which I have joined. I'll check technology. So I handle pan India payroll for all the Amazon associates around 5270 thousand associates per month.

So I've got experience in payroll handling and recruitment, onboarding from higher to real process, higher thing as kind of process for you and tax computations, et cetera.

Yeah, that is pretty good for you. So I've completed five years in this.

That is pretty much for you professional experience.

Thanks for sharing that!

Let's start by discussing your approach to performance management. How do you ensure employees consistently meet their goals while addressing underperformance effectively?

So based on the performance management, it always depends upon the KPA performance areas and key performance indexes. So every employees based on their distributions or their based on their department and designations and location everything. So everything considered. So we fixer KPA for the associate and once. So there will be a monthly, quarterly or annual reviews to ensure.

KPS.

So.

So that the performance is uh.

Duly monitored and if any cost correction is necessary so they've got the actions will be taken for the.

Associate.

Got it. Can you provide an example of a time when you had to address underperformance in a team member? What specific actions did you take, and what was the result?

So what happens is so one of my team member who, uh, in the initial stages, so there were some the the associated difficult to train. So later on what we did is so we had a full on.

Full on training course that statistically completed and the associate of the I've given additional care to train him and within a month or two so that associate has in the trained trained fully and he was into processing the entire payroll of another client. So I've done the training for the support.

Call the team member.

OK. So once I train him or show the whatever the process to be done practically, I'll give the associate the same interests or the same data and expect him to compute the data within a stipulated period of time. And so for example, if a process takes me in one hour, I'll give him, I'll give him 45 minutes or one hour, one or two complete it and I'll make sure that.

Understood. When you're conducting these trainings, how do you measure their effectiveness to ensure the team member is improving as expected?

Yeah. So she is getting developed in the in the specific set of skills or the knowledge is currently transferred to. I'll ensure that.

There is a learning curve involved so that every every hour of training.

Makes sense. Let’s move to compensation and benefits. Can you explain your approach to ensuring a compensation structure remains both competitive and equitable across the organization?

OK, in general, so the compensation and benefits plan will be, uh, provided by the upper management. So they fix the, uh, based on the scale or the, based on the, uh, based on the designations. So there will be a fixed set of salary structures. So we ensure that these salary structures is correctly processed. And if there is any exception cases involved, so it'll get, uh, so we'll get the. Approval from the higher ups and all.

And once so that unrestricted is also considered with such a way that all the current statutory compliances by the state and the central government as well met. And once these salary sector CTC are knowledge finalized so that that is again taken into the higher ups for additional approvals or any exceptions, any additional clarifications and. Based on the designation, some are eligible for reimbursement and other.

I'll **** it all right, so you'll have to uh assure that the works and the other uh benefits are uh, correctly uh, processed for the associates payday.

Understood. How do you stay updated about changes in statutory compliances or government regulations affecting compensation and benefits?

Yeah. So we use a tool called this influence influence OK, so that that simplifies the all the compliance from each and every state. OK, So once once we register to the simply answers. So though that portal they provide daily notifications on any changes that need to be done for a specific state or all over India if there is any implementations or not. So we tracked it and we we also tracked the. Official websites such as the EPF website, ESA website.

Anjeshwaram Sohail website for any notifications or circulars that is being issued by the offices to ensure that we comply to all the statutory norms provided by the government.

It is that would be the case.

Understood. Let’s discuss employee relations and engagement. How do you foster a positive and inclusive work environment in your team?

So we hire a train based, uh, we are in train multiple employees from from where, from various sectors such as the. So there will be a person from IDID department for the, for all the enhancements in the IT. And so the diversity in hiring will ensure that, uh.

Yeah.

Take your time.

So, yeah, so such diversity will ensure that the team performs good and there is an positive environment to work with.

Got it. Moving on, how do you use data to inform HR decisions, identify trends, or measure the impact of HR initiatives?

OK, So data-driven, uh, what we'll do so the other data-driven networks to ascertain the market, uh, market values and market, uh salaries for the particular decisions or the, uh, state based, uh, minimum measures in effect and other other statutory complaints. We'll verify that and we'll fix the, uh data based on this based.

We provided the data with it.

Yes.

Go ahead when you're ready.

Sorry, can you repeat that?

Sure. Can you provide an example where you used data to make a key HR decision or to identify a significant trend?

OK. So, OK, So what we'll do is so we take the existing salary sections data of the employees and during the month of April or in October. So there there will be two types of two types of appraisal or the appraisal and increments that would be 1 would be anniversary based agreement based increments or reprisal and another contract would be. The annual increment that is done in the month of April. So what we'll do is so for.

It's because the increment is done on the annual basis or their anniversary basis. So once the anniversary is completed, there will be an apparition. So in that operation we mentioned the KPS and B, the the associate self appraisal and then that self operation is then approved by the.

Approved by the reporting manager and the process lead. So reporting manager then by the process lead that once the approval is done or not on the initiatives on time. So this provides the data for the higher management to appraise or to evaluate the performance of the SUC and based on that the increment or appraisal is processed.

Got it. How do you ensure compliance with employment regulations and best practices, especially in educational institutions?

So educational institutions are governed by the UGC, UGC, right. So UGC and the state, state higher education department. So we come, we take, we monitor and check the all these regulations are surplus.

Surplus and the surplus and notices issued by the UGC and the State Higher Education Department to comply with the regulations by the government and the UGC.

Adrian.

Understood. Lastly, could you share any certifications or advanced degrees that have equipped you with deeper expertise in Human Resource Management?

Yeah. So I've completed the CMA Intermediate, so I will. So that gives me an added advantage in the finance aspect as well. And I'm a GST practitioner. I've written a, I'm a GST certified practice group. So that gives me the concept of indirect taxation concepts as well. And I'm a certified income tax professional, certified income tax professional. So that gives me an added advantage in the.

Income tax per view of the in the salary processing and in payroll perspective.

Professor Mukunda Narayan, I see from your background that you've achieved noteworthy certifications such as a Certified Tax Professional and GST Practitioner, in addition to solid HR-related expertise. Could you explain a research area or substantive topic within your HR expertise that you find particularly compelling? How do you use this knowledge to enrich the practical learning experience of learners or colleagues?

OK, I've done OK. I've done a few research while.

Studying become in VIP, I've done, I've done some papers on that. We have released the.

Papers with deep.

Yeah, but.

Can you elaborate on the focus of these papers? Specifically, were they aligned with any particular aspect of HR, like payroll systems, statutory compliance, or employee management? How did these papers contribute to practical

Yeah, but that the papers were related to biometric, uh, biometric systems and uh, other, uh, computer things related, uh, project. But after which while traveling, I have done some some research in the HRP and fail and I have done some automations in the.

OK.

Portal so that the enhancements, uh, I've done in my enlightenment.

Yeah, yeah. So earlier, so in, in Amazon there there will be daily wage associates there, there, there will be called the alpha associate for them earlier once they check in and check out, what will happen is so next on the next day only the salary will get credited for that one particular day. But I have in, I have taken initiation and with the help of the help of the IT team we have.

Open automatic system like using the Razor pay payment portal. So what will happen is once you're associate checks out, uh, checks out our clocks out from the warehouse so that within an half an hour or 25 minutes time period. So the associate will be they associate earned salary will be credited to the associate. Such type of automation I was part of this team to develop.

Interesting. Focusing on biometric systems and HR automation indicates a strong intersection of technology and human resources. Could you detail one specific instance where your work on automations or systems directly improved HR portal functionality or employee experience? How did you measure the success

Uh, the automated automatic payment portals in the.

Amazon portal.

That’s an impressive initiative, Professor Narayan. Developing a real-time salary credit mechanism for daily wage earners showcases your ability to innovate and improve operational efficiency while focusing on employee satisfaction. How did you ensure the new system's reliability and compliance with financial or regulatory standards during its implementation?

So at the time of implementation, so we have sort of thought of this finance implications and the and the possibility of credit to the wrong account or invalid credit everything. So considering every other possibility. So what we have done is so there is no vacant sector and. Approver, uh, initiate, uh, initiate, uh, initiative in process. So once an associated text count, so they are allowed to figure to the particular reporting manager. So you'll be the initial maker, maker of the, uh, uh, process initiation. So once he approves it, so that then will be transferred to the sector process. So checker, what we'll do is so we'll validate the second checkouts and all the function data is required for.

And once he initiates it, it will be forwarded to the final approver of the approval of the approvers of the finance department. So once he approves it, she amount is automatically credited to the associate. So this time this takes roughly around 20 to 25 minutes based on our is done. Sometimes it may delay due to huge traffic or some other some other. Some other technical issues. So in such cases, so there is a cut off date so.

Before the midnight of midnight of that day, that amount should be credited. The will ensure that that amount is credited.

So those type of mechanisms is in place too. We ensure that the comprehensive.

So, yeah, we, we have to track of the, uh, track of the employee satisfaction levels in the before and after this implementation. So here, here there would be some misses or there would be delays in payment, umm, taking up to three to five days for the credit of the amount. But since this automation, the associate is happy to receive the amount within that day, uh, to meet his expenses. So that includes the employee satisfaction levels and. Their turn out their improved turnover ratio as well. So been.

Yeah.

That's a well-thought-out implementation process, balancing automation with multiple layers of approval to maintain accuracy and compliance. It’s clear you took a structured approach to avoid errors or regulatory breaches. Looking at the broader impact of this initiative, what changes did you observe among employees or in system efficiency after the implementation? Did you track any specific metrics to measure its success?

Drastically increased because of this, uh, scheme.

That's excellent to hear, Professor Narayan. Linking this automation to tangible outcomes like reduced payment delays, increased employee satisfaction, and a better turnover ratio reflects the direct value of your work. How do you translate such real-world achievements into lessons or case studies when mentoring or guiding others in your field?

Yeah. So we have a BR. So we I developed a BRD or the business requirement document. So that enables us to that enables us to create additional changes or any other implementations or any other innovations that is required to the current system. So based on that, that would provide a better case study or that would help. Any other team members that is taking over or?

That is willing to learn this operation process.

Developing a structured Business Requirement Document (BRD) to ensure knowledge transfer and continuous improvement is a commendable approach. It not only supports new team members but also fosters innovation within the system. With that, I believe we've delved thoroughly into your thought process and contributions in this area.