Tata Sustainability Group (TSG) hosted its third regional volunteer SPOC meet this year and the first in Mumbai on September 2, 2022, for 51 spirited volunteering leads from 22 Tata companies headquartered in Mumbai. The group came together to spend an energised day immersed in reflective discussions around employee volunteering and their role as ‘Champions of Change’.
After a warm welcome to all participants by Sonia Mascarenhas, Senior Officer, TSG, Bindu Duraikannu, Assistant Manager, TSG facilitated a brief ice breaker game to get participants to introduce themselves to the group, acknowledge their commonalities, and celebrate diversity within the group.
Gauri Rajadhyaksha, deputy general manager, Community Services, TSG, presented a group-level overview of volunteering, including opportunities provided by Tata Engage – the group-level platform for volunteering. She also informed the participants about the group volunteering aspiration, which was the common goal towards which all Tata companies were steering their volunteering efforts, and areas within which TSG was lending them support.
Two senior group leaders, Reena Wahi (CHRO, TRIL) and Ganesh Chandan V (CHRO, Tata Projects), spent the morning with the group, sharing their own journeys and insightful thoughts on how they could make their work more impactful. Sireesha Chandana (IHCL), Brinda Alankar (Tata Chemicals), Foram Nagori (Tata Power Group) and Anindya Chatterjee (TCE) presented their enterprise-level work, innovative projects, campaigns, and approaches that have successfully led to better engagement with employees.
The participants spent the second half of the day in breakout groups discussing opportunities and challenges around the themes of 1) Collaboration, 2) Communication, 3) Reporting, 4) Tata Engage (TVW and ProEngage) and 5) Quality and discussing the way forward. The breakout session was facilitated by Shrirang Dhavale, general manager and cluster head, Community Services Cluster, TSG. Apart from all the insights and takeaways around volunteering, what was meaningful was the opportunity for the SPOCs to connect, converse and get to know the volunteering cadre across the group.
The meet concluded with a vote of thanks from Mr Dhavale.