HR initiates an experiential workshop: Upskilling employees via ‘Apeejay Admin Edge’

In a corporate organisation, synergy between different departments is crucial. This is because it promotes effective communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing, leading to improved efficiency and innovation. Moreover, by staying updated with management practices, employees can adapt to evolving trends and contribute to the organisation’s overall success.

Thus, understanding how today’s administrative positions require a wide range of abilities in order to foster and maintain relationships with both internal employees, external partners and stakeholders, the Human Resource Department of Apeejay Education organsied a two-day experiential workshop ‘Apeejay Admin Edge’.

Facilitated by Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication (AIMC), the aim of this workshop was to skill, upskill and reskill the Administration Staff. The idea was to help participants build synergy between different departments and learn the latest management techniques. The
two-day workshop was divided into four sessions, which primarily focused on building three types of skills: Technical Skills, Human Skills and Conceptual Skills.

This one-of-a-kind workshop was the brainchild of Dr. Neha Berlia, Joint Secretary, Apeejay Education, Co-Promoter, Apeejay Stya and Svran Group, and Pro-Chancellor, Apeejay Stya University. Dr. Berlia joined virtually and congratulated the participants, mentors, and organisers for arranging such a lively workshop. She expressed her belief in the Admin of the Apeejay Education while emphasising, “The professionals in the Admin Department have various challenges, and is often the face of institutes. Hence, they need to continue to upskill themselves and learn new concepts.” She also highlighted that Apeejay Education believes in the development of all it’s employees and therefore, the emphasis on the training and further developing its employees is the organisation’s top-most priority.

This workshop was strategised by Dr. Anjana Nath, Chief People Officer, Apeejay Education, Mr. Balwant Singh, Deputy General Manager-Admin Apeejay Education along with Prof. Sajal Mukherjee, Director at Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication (AIMC), Prof. Naveen Gautam, Associate Professor at AIMC as well as Prof. Mudita Raj, Assistant Professor, AIMC.

Setting the context for the two-day engaging workshop, Dr. Anjana Nath in her address shared, how she carefully curated the different sessions. She emphasised that each session of the workshop was tailored in accordance with the Admin. Dr. Nath further talked about the importance of communication and the open door policy of Apeejay Education. Encouraging the participants to interact with the mentors and hoping to see a holistic development from the workshop, she said, “Though we perform diverse functions, we are one.”

The workshop was also addressed by Prof. Ashok Ogra, Advisor, Mass Communication, Apeejay Education. In his address, he talked about how individual abilities together form the working of an organisation. He also emphasised that Apeejay Education has always worked for the benefit of its employees and this workshop will help in upskilling and reskilling the participants.

The day one started with a session on Workplace Management and Communication. The session was taken by Mr. Shantomoy Ray, Director, K-Factor Communications, who has over 25 years of experience in brand planning and client relations, nurturing with proprietorship and MNC advertising agencies. Having an in-depth understanding of producing noteworthy and effective communication for brands like Mahindra Tractors, HCL, IFCI, IDBI, India Times, to name a few, Mr. Ray highlighted the importance of keeping a positive attitude and communication across different hierarchical levels within the organisation. He further emphasised on prioritising work, setting goals and preparing a checklist for different tasks is imperative. His address also included importance of regularly meeting the heads and juniors and how it helps in building the uniformity.

This was followed by a session on Personality Development and Crisis Management initiated by Prof. Sajal Mukherjee. Prof. Mukherjee is an ace marketing professional, a brilliant media strategist with over 40 years of experience in the advertising industry. The pioneer of media innovations, Prof. Mukherjee stressed why conscious decision-making and taking ownership of one’s responsibilities is vital. He also mentioned that proper gestures and body language used in different situations play a key role in identifying what people are thinking. Moreover, keeping calm and following the ethos and procedures of the organisation during a crisis also stand important.

The last session of the day was on Nuances of Audit taken by Ms. Meenu Narula, DGM Internal Audit, Apeejay Education. Ms Narula is a seasoned Chartered Accountant with over 25 years of multicultural and successful career. She has a vast exposure to healthcare, education, banking, NBFC as well as manufacturing industries. The key points discussed in her session included: due processes of bills and finances, process of audit and common shortcomings seen in the process as well as statutory compliance of taxes and other regulatory bodies.

The second day started on a high note with a session by Mr. Balwant Singh. In his address, he discussed various aspects of the key roles and responsibilities such as code of conduct of admin in daily routine, quick response and evacuation plan during a disaster, and maintenance of housekeeping facilities as well as the ambience of their respective institutes.

This was followed by a session of Studio Exercise, in which participants engaged in a practical exercise. They were divided into 4 teams, and each team was given a case study that is faced by them regularly. Participants had to brainstorm solutions, which were were assessed and feedback was given. This session was conducted by Prof. Naveen Gautam, Prof. Mudita Raj, and Prof. Ankit Kumar Malyan, Assistant Professor at AIMC.  Some of the common feedback shared included: Calmly listen to the person who is sharing their problem, choose words wisely, and be polite with external stakeholders and ensure basic hospitality.

The 2-day workshop ended with a session on Digital Compatibility, which was conducted by Mr. Deepak Kr. Bhalla, Dy. Manager – E-Learning, Apeejay Education. Having 22 years of experience in academia and industry, Mr. Bhalla, has worked across various sectors including hospitality, travel, BPOs’, as an executive assistant to Chiefs of groups. During his session, he threw light upon using of Google Drive, Google Sheets, Excel and PowerPoint. He also talked about using ChatGPT and AI, in addition to creating proper documentation using digital tools and techniques. Further, Mr. Bhalla created an e-course which can be accessed via Moodle, and all the participants have registered for the same.