Continuously find sustainable solutions: BCCL Director (personnel) to young mind

A brief conversation with Rama Shankar Mahapatra, presently Director(Personnel) Bharat Coking Coal Limited ( A subsidiary of Coal India Limited) and over 25 years of experience in serving the Coal Industry as an HR professional at various levels. Recently Mahapatra had been conferred with the prestigious 'Sustainable HR Leadership' award by World HR Congress at a ceremony held on February 16, 2020, at Mumbai.

What are the qualities of a Sustainable HR Leader?

Key is to listen to people around. A Sustainable HR leader should listen more than talk.

Please talk about your varied and rich experience serving the Coal Industry at different positions as an HR Personnel?

The industry is people-oriented where various interest groups are continuously at play for space. I am glad that I had the opportunity to deal with these challenges in various capacities and in different subsidiaries of CIL right from implementation to policy level.

What are the best practices existing in Bharat Coking Coal Limited in the field of HR?

There are plenty to talk about but the one that we are best is consultative decision making. Various forum of consultation at BCCL is so strong that we have been exempted from setting up works Committee under ID Act.

What are the prospects of young HR Professionals in Coal India Limited according to you?

There are definitely challenges in this industry. However, these challenges are the source of learning and exposure that one may not find elsewhere. We provide excellent opportunities for a young mind to venture out and explore all facets of Human Resource Management and develop a robust career.

What kind of support has been facilitated by the Government in promoting the smooth functioning of HR activities in the Coal Industry?

In recent times, the Government has been playing a very active role in ensuring the smooth functioning of HR activities in the Coal Industry. These include the swift response in policy formulation in areas like Labour Laws, Environment Clearance, Land Acquisition, etc. IT initiatives under Digital India like ERP and e-office introduced by the Government will redefine the way HR activities have been performed in Coal Industry.

A Short message to the peers and young professionals of BCCL/CIL.

The challenges of tomorrow would be different from the challenges we faced yesterday. Our success would depend on our ability to offer solutions to these challenges. I would advise all my colleagues especially the young ones to continuously look for sustainable solutions both conventional and innovative.