Communications are critical in good, bad and new times

Communications are critical in good, bad and new times – This was the theme of talk delivered at XLRI by Mr. Harsh Shrivastava, VP (CSR and Corporate Communications, Reliance Capital. He works with both the HR and marketing departments of Reliance Capital to improve their communications strategies.
XLRI, being one of the country’s top notch Business Schools, has imparted effectual corporate leadership amongst its students through its frequent and periodic interactions with industry experts as part of CEO Forums and Mr. Shrivastava’s visit has once again exemplified this culture.
With the countries around the world getting glimpses of economic recovery, with market bulls slowly getting out of their long hibernation and with business and consumer confidence.
improving day by day, Managing and Handling communications have become ever more crucial.
The event was well received and faculty graced the occasion with their presence. Prof. Pingali Venugopal introduced Mr. Srivastava to the audience. The event was attended by many faculty members including Prof. Munish Thakur, Prof. Sanjay Patro, Prof. Pradhan and Prof. Pani.
He stressed that in changing environment managers need to be proactive and responsible to multitude of stakeholders. He detailed communication strategies for various target audiences. He gave examples of how companies are using various tools of communication – such as PR agencies, seminars, online networking (face book, LinkedIn).

He gave many examples of Monsanto, GM India and Delhi Metro to drive home a point that it is important to have clearly defined communication plan in good times but more importantly, they are required for bad times.

While speaking on Placements, Professors and Patrons, He said, “IIMA is no better than IIMC or XLRI but it continues to be in limelight because IIMA’s well structured communication with the outside world. He shared his own example of how Feedback ventures was invited for Day One placement despite being a very small company in comparison to others. He gave example of Reliance Insurance’s All is Well campaign to energize the work force. While giving example of Infosys, He said corporate image should be such that it passes MIL (Mother – in law Test) i.e. when companies are held high in eyes of masses.
The event was very interactive and Mr. Shrivastava answered many questions of students and faculty.

The event, organized by the one year MBA, General Management Programme of XLRI, staged an intellectual feast with lively interaction among Mr. Shrivastava, faculty and the students. He provided invaluable insights by citing real business scenarios for each of the questions.
The event concluded with memento presentation by Prof. Venugopal.
He concluded by making us aware of importance of effective communications and urging us to guide and help organizations shape sharp, well articulated communication strategies.