Mr. Prem Singh is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering and a Post Graduate in Management from IIT Delhi. He has been in the field of Human Resources for over 25 years, out of which 22 years has been in India and 3 years outside India on an expatriate assignment.
Currently he is the President - Global Human Resources at Wockhardt, where he leads the HR function, provides strategic direction towards organizational capability building and growth of the business. Wockhardt is an Indian MNC, having its presence in India, USA, UK, Ireland, France, Russia, Brazil, Japan and other parts of the world. Prior to joining Wockhardt, Mr. Singh worked with Piramal Enterprises as Vice President - HR. His previous assignments were with Essar Group, Owens Corning (India) Ltd, JCB (India) Ltd and Tata International Ltd etc.
Mr. Singh featured in the Top 100 Most Talented Global HR Leaders by CHRO Asia in 2015.
Under his leadership Wockhardt has bagged three "Great Places to Work" awards in 2015, including Rank # 1 in the industry. He has also been conferred with the Chairman's Leadership Award for his turnaround of the HR function within a year. Apart from this, he was also awarded with the Global HR Excellence award for his contributions to the development of High Performance Organization at Owens Corning Inc.
Mr. Singh has been conferred with the accreditation by All India Management Association for proficiency in management training and is a certified Black Belt in Six Sigma. He is also an invitee member on the Program Advisory committee of National HRD Network and also a member of the HR sub-committee of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
ET: Going by recent reports, the Indian Pharmaceutical firms have been under severe pressure from various quarters. What are the recent market developments in the Indian Pharmaceutical sector?
PS: While there is a wide perception about the "pressure" on the Indian pharma sector, I see this as a significant opportunity. Healthcare spending in both developed and developing economies is on the rise and will continue to be so. Providing safe and affordable drugs and democratizing healthcare brings home a very good space for India pharma players. The challenge however has been at the regulatory front and as the Indian pharma companies try to come up to the standards, this will go a long way to raise the bar in terms of safety of the population on one hand, and a definite opportunity to Indian companies to participate in a large healthcare space. Thus, we have an opportunity to meet the unmet medical needs and make an impact!
ET: Over the years, the Pharmaceutical industry has seen an array of Mergers & Acquisitions and joint ventures taking place (as also divestments & de-mergers). What are the challenges faced in the HR role under such situations?
PS: The biggest challenge under such circumstances is to align the values, culture and beliefs, and ensure a coherence in the way business is conducted. Since these are not easily measurable and metricised, establishing a common scale becomes quite difficult. That is where the challenge starts.
ET: Wockhardt has also been recognised at various for excellence in people practices. Please share with us some of the best practices followed at your company.
PS: We have been recognized for several areas like human resources practices, supply chain, marketing excellence, safety, IP, etc. and in the last 18 months we have won 76 awards at various forums. We also bagged three awards in the "Great Places to Work" survey, including Rank # 1 in the industry as the "Best Company to work for." Most of our best practices are around learning, engagement, communication, recognition, excellence as a way of life and social impact.
ET: Your sector is known for employing large Sales Force, spread across the country. Besides, the Pharma industry has also seen unionisation at the Field Force level. What is the primary distinction in managing manufacturing employees and the Field Force?
PS: The difference is that of degree, rather than that of kind. The plant unions are within a well-defined boundary of the plant, whereas the sales field force is very widely spread, which brings a very different kind of dynamics to the fore. This adds to the complexity and scale, however, the nature of their demands tend to be similar, if not the same!
ET: The traditional HR function will need to re-define its role amid the ever growing and ever changing pharma industry. What are the changes you see in the HR function in this regard over the next few years?
PS: A major challenge for HR is to deal with the generational change that is taking place. Today, there are three generations at the workplace, which brings its own challenges. Secondly, the way technology is making an impact on the lives of people and social media taking centrestage, engaging people in a meaningful manner and on sustainable basis, is going to be the key.
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