Aurobindo Pharma, a leading pharmaceutical company, has embarked on a journey of empowering its employees through a unique HR initiative. The Management Development Programme, called "Four Pillars of Future Ready Managers", is designed to train its workforce to gain leadership and management skills as well as master the current trends in the market.

The 10-day sessions are spread over two Saturdays every month for the next four months. Aurobindo Pharma has partnered with GITAM University and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to organise this training programme, which addresses key factors like leading self and others, organisational leadership, and personal transformation. A total of 27 employees—from the Manager to Deputy General Manager cadres—from the Vizag cluster of Aurobindo Pharma have been shortlisted and are now undergoing the programme.

People development has been a key focus area for the HR department at Aurobindo Pharma. In keeping with this line of focus, Aurobindo Pharma requested the Management Development Program (MDP) team at GITAM faculty to focus on modalities that include:

(i) Enhancement of self-management abilities and confidence in becoming a leader

(ii) Increase one's awareness of group dynamics, social processes, and conflicts.

Adapt to the changes in responsibilities and rise to the occasion.

Examine the effect one has on others and ways to control it.

(v) Strengthen the bonds that exist between individual employees and the organization.

Speaking on the initiative, Mr U.N.B. Raju, Senior Vice President (HR), Aurobindo Pharma, said, "This is the first ever programme undertaken by Aurobindo Pharma to train future leaders. It is a historical milestone and a landmark opportunity for us to set a perspective for the future.The programme will synergize employees for improved acceptance and agility with cross-functional leads, which will help our organisation navigate the business challenges and growth in the coming years. The HR team of Aurobindo has extensively worked with the GITAM team and the Aurobindo leadership team at the Vizag cluster, and after multiple iterations, content for 10 sessions – 4 modules – has been developed. This programme will help make our employees more competent, qualified, and capable of handling their future roles and responsibilities. This programme has been created with the intention of developing their capabilities in line with the ongoing regulatory challenges and compliance. About 60% to 70% of the future vacancies will be filled from within the talent pool in the coming years."

Aurobindo Pharma collaborated with GITAM University to ensure these employees benefit from a fresh perspective and the advantage of focused attention on the topics being learnt. The company is looking forward to a long-term association with GITAM to hone the pharma company’s in-house talent.