City electricals co unveils unique HR task, plans nat’l foray

Kolkata: Aruna Das, an octogenarian resident of Ramthakur Briddhabas, an elder care facility at Rajpur-Sonarpur, looked all puzzled when a white-collar executive, who she had never met before, enquired about her woes, and promised to fix the problems.

The executive, Kaushik Poddar, is among 1,000-odd employees of city-based KWW Electricals and Electronics, who have been tasked with the responsibility of reaching out residents of old-age home and extending a hand of help to them, as part of their KRA (key result area or key responsibility area).

The human resource (HR) department of the electrical goods maker has made it mandatory for each employee to take care of the basic amenities and health conditions of the residents of an old-age home and spend some time with them on a regular basis.

The Rs 500-crore company, which has gone national with its full range of electrical goods, has issued this new KRA guideline for its 1,000-odd employees spread across the country, in a bid to keep them stay directly linked to a humanitarian cause.

“Remember, this is not a part of the mandatory CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities. Our company has created a separate fund to spend money for the aged who stay away from their real home. We just want our employees to spend some time with these people and take responsibility,” said Ajit Kumar Khaitan, CMD, KWW Electricals and Electronics, which manufactures LED lights, fans and home appliances, including electric cooking range.

Gobindo Haldar, who runs Ramthakur Briddhabas, said, “We found it awkward in the beginning. But, the KWW authority explained its HR objectives to us and some of their staff have been attending to our home residents since then."

Currently, the company is in talks with several eldercare facilities in and around Kolkata to ensure its employees fulfil their annual appraisal criteria.

With a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23%, KWW Electricals & Electronics has posted a business turnover of around Rs 100 crore in 2022-23 . “At the current pace, we are confident of meeting our turnover target of Rs 1,000 crore in the next five-six years,” added Khaitan, who had taken up the mantle of his family’s copper wire trading business, Khaitan Winding Wire, in 1980.

The company set up its Behala factory in 1989 to start manufacturing super enamelled copper wire under KWW Brand. “We have never looked back since then,” said Khaitan.

Currently, the company has ventured into exports in countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.