EARLY THIS YEAR, Ahmedabad-based Zydus Lifesciences launched a unique programme to enhance skill-building, leadership development, and a culture of lifelong learning for employees across all levels of the organisation. Called CRAFT (Cultivating Readiness and Agility for Future in Zydus Talent), the initiative strives to make its 26,000-strong workforce future-ready. The spirit behind the programme is the age-old understanding that ‘today is the tomorrow you started creating yesterday’, says Rishikesh Raval, CHRO, Zydus Lifesciences.

As part of the initiative, a CRAFT 2025 Learning Calendar has been designed to deliver impactful interventions that empower employees to lead with agility and readiness in an evolving business landscape. It is built on four key pillars: leadership development; soft skills enhancement; diversity, equity and inclusion; and digital technology and proficiency. “Preparing leaders for tomorrow is critical; success begins with strong interpersonal abilities; talent building focusses on fostering awareness and practices that celebrate diversity and create equitable opportunities for all; digital and technological proficiency equips employees with advanced technological skills and tools, fostering innovation and operational excellence,” Raval explains.

It is this rounded approach that has helped Zydus secure the top spot in Fortune India’s Future-ready Workplaces study this year. CRAFT covers all aspects of what matters to an organisation that strives to be innovative, sustainable, sensitive to the multi-generational workforce, tech-savvy, and future-ready — all with a clear focus on revenue growth.

“We have a multi-generational workforce, and the average age of the organisation is now 35. CRAFT hence focusses on young managers,” Raval says. Zydus has launched programmes such as STEP Up, mainly to groom future leadership. “We are associated with IIT Madras to train our people in R&D in AI capabilities. Refresher courses will keep them updated on the latest AI tools for analytics and also improve the lead time of R&D. AI is going to be the future for any industry and we are trying to build that capacity for our teams for the future,” he says.

It has also launched a programme called Zydea (Zydus + idea), where employees can share their ideas through an online platform with team leaders. “If it comes to you, [and] if the Zydea is related to your area, you need to respond… You have to give a reason why you want to accept or reject it,” says Raval.

The company has also found a new way to engage with its GenZ employees. “If you don’t handle them well, you will have high attrition. So, we are talking more about work-life balance. We are encouraging them, not just young employees, but everyone, to pursue their hobbies,” says Raval, adding that they have created Zydus Clubs for sports, music, poetry, and photography. All such clubs have champions — senior people responsible for the functioning of the clubs. Raval reveals that though he is not a musician, he is the champion for the music club. “My legal head is a passionate photographer, so he is the champion for the photography club... there is engagement of the senior people and young employees in an informal setting… That is how you engage the multi-generational workforce,” he explains.

Zydus has also implemented a flexi pay structure to take care of its multi-generational workforce. “Every age group will have different priorities… People of my age will look for better provident fund and better gratuity, but people who are below 35, they need more take-home salary so that they can spend more,” he says, adding that only the basic salary is fixed.

Not many manufacturing companies can think of employing those with hearing impairment full-time in fairly large numbers. But Zydus does. It has begun hiring such students from an Ahmedabad institute for their factories. “So far, we have employed around 75 such boys and girls… They are working in areas like packing where they do very focussed jobs,” Raval says.

The company has also started recruiting women who want to rejoin the workforce after a career break. Zydus is also encouraging recruitment from diverse industries, particularly in functions where one doesn’t necessarily need people with pharma skills.

It is also focussing on inflation-linked annual performance increments based on a formula that is transparent and objective. “We have created a formula where we look at the peer companies’ performance, vis-à-vis Zydus’s performance during the year, and we look at the inflation in the market, and based on that algorithm, decide the pay revision,” Raval adds.

Similarly, it has done away with the individual performance component in variable pay. “It is now only based on the company’s performance,” he says.

For Zydus, pay revision is data-driven, as are several performance parameters and HR functions. This makes it a standout in HR practices.