R&F CEO Interviewed By Silicon India
Rajesh Iyengar is a member of:
CEO
Company Profile
Rennar & Frais is a business consulting organization, focused on helping clients improve performance through strategic planning & restructuring (BU/Services/Products/Organogram), TM&OD, Talent Acquisition, Knowledge Management Services and Training & Development.
R&F has successfully rendered strategic assignments for over 300 Clients, both Indian as well as MNCs, across industries, geographies, nature of their business, culture and size. Further, R&F manages ‘outsourced’ HR for a few growing Clients. R&F, as a team, is a confluence and convergence of over 200 Industry Experts, Domain Specialists, Research Associates, HR Auditors, Trainers and R&F Consultants. Further, R&F has a cooperative understanding of Revenues and knowledge sharing with top-of-the-line Consultants in USA, European Countries and Middle-East, to provide our service a critical bandwidth and extended value.
R&F interacts with Trade Counselors of different countries helping in researching, collating, screening, securing and customizing information on technologies, market trends and industries. On the other hand, R&F also advices and helps Indian Companies setting business overseas, through handholding on local government support, market research inputs and researched strategic plans.
Our Vision:"To consistently grow in Intellectual Capital, Service Delivery, Auditing Capabilities, Management Efficiencies and Quality…enhancing Revenues, Profitability, Growth and Clients’ Goodwill, through Value and Satisfaction of Stake Holders."
Our Mission:"Utrinque Paratus!!!!"
My way to connecting the right dots
While being able to visualize the bigger picture at the macro level, I have been also hands-on operationally and as and when required, I get into the nitty gritties of implementation and execution. On the other hand of our business spectrum, I interact with most of the clients and understand their concerns, needs, requirements and gaps, and thereby, I monitor assignments with required checkpoints suitably so as to elicit suitable results. At the same time our business plans are structured based on Client’s mandates and long term plans, which enable us to invest and organize accordingly.
I feel it is improper to walk the talk…it is more important for me that my team walks my talk…and we walk together with the same passion, clarity and enthusiasm. I take it on me to remove all barriers to productivity, encourage rigorous discussion and debate, and let my fellow employees be themselves at work, manifesting their true personalities. In our organization every employee contributes to the body of Management Knowledge and the family, as small as we are, we enjoy partying and jointly celebrate Birthdays, Anniversaries, Festivals and most of all, success of individual employees. Even ex-employees often join us in celebrations.
On the functional side, I understand the strengths and weaknesses of individual members of my team, and thereby, many a times, I take up the difficult and problematic aspects of their work, and help them in timely delivery of assignments as expected by Clients. This goes a big way in creating that crucial understanding and self confidence, helping the employee go up the stairs, and at the same time, nurturing that sense of team contribution and collaboration.
Way to start from scratch again
I would definitely be smarter and would know the necessity of timely actions, investment and changes. I would know what businesses to do and what not to…and I would know where it hurts the most!
Most critical decision
One of the critical learnings, being a Consultant, has been that we cannot own all the expertise, capabilities and skills. It is very important to understand the needs and requirements, and accordingly, collaborate with experts and domain specialists, and leverage this comprehensive threshold of knowledge and expertise, in delivering assignments, to Client’s delivery mandates and satisfaction levels.
I had to take the same decision, when the scope of the assignments went beyond my team’s delivery capabilities.
Advice for fellow entrepreneurs
In today’s context and looking at the future, the talent issues need to be handled strategically. Familiar talent pools are shrinking, and new ones emerging. New technologies are transforming the nature of work, the skills demanded at work and the ways in which people can work. New elements are arriving in the global talent mix with new attitudes and ambition. And all these trends are making talent an even more critical and complex issue for organizations.
Thereby, it is imminently important for Organisations to smartly leverage the abilities of its human talent- discover it, develop it(continuously and consistently), deploy it(on time), motivate it , enable it and energise it.
My key thoughts
I think it is important for Businesses today to search the horizon for developments in business practice, technology and processes governing them, that are a year to five years away, and to preposition their businesses so that they can ride the waves of change.
Further, while retaining responsiveness to market fluctuations, Organisations need to develop an approach to measure Returns on Investment in intangible assets – human capital, brand and reputation (Capability to innovate being principal among them) that more clearly demonstrates how they can support business strategy.
Then, of course, get your financial house in order and finalise your vision before implementing any sweeping changes or a new plan.
Lastly, listen to alarmists, and EXAMINE- and be SKEPTICAL about the data.