Guest Speaker:
Transcripts
Welcome to Tech lyceum. You know, this is where we dive into the latest in technology and innovation. But today, we have a very, very special episode. We're changing it up a little bit. It is an episode dedicated to our silver milestones, driving inclusivity with purposeful Martech innovation at birlasoft. Now joining us today is Satinder Juneja. We have the pleasure of having him on the show for the first time, the global marketing head at Birlasoft, who will share insights on their award winning be inclusive campaign and their unwavering commitment really, to inclusivity and innovation. Before I say hello to our guest today, let me tell you a little bit about Satinder. He is the global marketing head at Birlasoft, like I said, but also a seasoned technology marketer with over 25 years of experience his expertise, let me tell you, spans branding, digital marketing, ABM and more, with significant experience in brand launches and merger and acquisition transitions. Satinder is also a TEDx speaker, an active member of NASSCOM sales and marketing, SIG and a visiting faculty at various B schools sat in there. Firstly, thank you for being here, and congratulations are in order. Birlasoft has won the silver award at the Economic Times brand equity martech awards, as well as the Financial Express food tech Awards and the best tech solution provider category for the be inclusive campaign. We want to hear all about it. It's an honor to have you here. Thanks for joining us. Satinder,
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Speaker – Satinder - 01:46
Hey, Thank you. Thank you, Neerja, thank you for having me here. It's a delight to be participating in this conversation, and I think this is such a great feeling to have received these awards, and the fact that it coincides with our silver episodes. 25th episode that we've you've just concluded, I think, makes the conversation even more special. So all thanks to you.
Hey, Thank you. Thank you, Neerja, thank you for having me here. It's a delight to be participating in this conversation, and I think this is such a great feeling to have received these awards, and the fact that it coincides with our silver episodes. 25th episode that we've you've just concluded, I think, makes the conversation even more special. So all thanks to you.
Speaker – Neerja - 02:09
Absolutely it's the icing on the cake. Really, like Satinder said, this is our silver jubilee celebration episode, and we're doing it in style, Satinder. Let's dive right in and start off with be inspiration behind this be inclusive campaign and the need for such a campaign.
Absolutely it's the icing on the cake. Really, like Satinder said, this is our silver jubilee celebration episode, and we're doing it in style, Satinder. Let's dive right in and start off with be inspiration behind this be inclusive campaign and the need for such a campaign.
Speaker – Satinder - 02:27
So let me just share this anecdote, or the moment when actually that that inspiration hit us, right? So I was at one of the Gartner conferences. And you know, in the conferences, typically, technology, business, etc, gets discussed occasionally, they also get some motivational speakers. And there was this motivational speaker there. Her name is Haben Girma. When she is deaf, blind, but she is, she is, I think, one of the first of her kind to be finishing her law degree from Harvard and practicing. And she is a great advocate for special ability. So it was when and when she went up on the stage, she uttered this sentence saying that, you know, it's not people with disabilities who are a problem, but people with abilities who don't see this that is a greater problem. And I think that is that exactly the moment which got me thinking in terms of, what are we doing about it? And then, if I layer this with our brand ethos, we are part of CK Birla group, where purpose driven commitment is huge. The amount of importance we place on our commitment to societies and making societies better is phenomenal. Those are the core values, actually unstated values that we live by. And I that is where I kind of said, No, we have to do something. And that is when we started to think about it. I had conversations with my team, so that is essentially the inspiration behind taking this step to ensure that we were more digitally inclusive, and this inclusivity, as I said, is just not a tick in the box for us. We actually mean to live by it, right? So when we started to solve the problem, the goal was that our technology solutions are accessible to everyone, right? Or in my case, I lead marketing for Birlasoft, so we do whole amount of marketing related communication to the external world. So in this case, my goal was to ensure that is my communication being received by everyone, and specifically on this side talking about the be inclusive campaign was about, is my communication being received by people with special abilities, right? So that is where I think we made a conscious decision to ensure that whatever we think we will think in. Inclusive.
So let me just share this anecdote, or the moment when actually that that inspiration hit us, right? So I was at one of the Gartner conferences. And you know, in the conferences, typically, technology, business, etc, gets discussed occasionally, they also get some motivational speakers. And there was this motivational speaker there. Her name is Haben Girma. When she is deaf, blind, but she is, she is, I think, one of the first of her kind to be finishing her law degree from Harvard and practicing. And she is a great advocate for special ability. So it was when and when she went up on the stage, she uttered this sentence saying that, you know, it's not people with disabilities who are a problem, but people with abilities who don't see this that is a greater problem. And I think that is that exactly the moment which got me thinking in terms of, what are we doing about it? And then, if I layer this with our brand ethos, we are part of CK Birla group, where purpose driven commitment is huge. The amount of importance we place on our commitment to societies and making societies better is phenomenal. Those are the core values, actually unstated values that we live by. And I that is where I kind of said, No, we have to do something. And that is when we started to think about it. I had conversations with my team, so that is essentially the inspiration behind taking this step to ensure that we were more digitally inclusive, and this inclusivity, as I said, is just not a tick in the box for us. We actually mean to live by it, right? So when we started to solve the problem, the goal was that our technology solutions are accessible to everyone, right? Or in my case, I lead marketing for Birlasoft, so we do whole amount of marketing related communication to the external world. So in this case, my goal was to ensure that is my communication being received by everyone, and specifically on this side talking about the be inclusive campaign was about, is my communication being received by people with special abilities, right? So that is where I think we made a conscious decision to ensure that whatever we think we will think in. Inclusive.
Speaker – Neerja - 05:01
Yeah, you know what's really impressive Satinder that, I think, is that Birlasoft doesn't do things just to be impressive, but actually to have an impact, right? Make sure that every digital footprint is meaningful. And I've actually had the pleasure of checking out the website that Birlasoft now has, which is among the top 3% of inclusive and accessible websites globally. Could you walk us through the key features and profiles, such as the epilepsy safe profile and vision impaired profile that were implemented to achieve this level of accessibility?
Yeah, you know what's really impressive Satinder that, I think, is that Birlasoft doesn't do things just to be impressive, but actually to have an impact, right? Make sure that every digital footprint is meaningful. And I've actually had the pleasure of checking out the website that Birlasoft now has, which is among the top 3% of inclusive and accessible websites globally. Could you walk us through the key features and profiles, such as the epilepsy safe profile and vision impaired profile that were implemented to achieve this level of accessibility?
Speaker – Satinder - 05:35
Yeah. So. Neerja, thanks. You know, it's a great pride to be among top 3% websites who are which are inclusive and accessible, right? And as I said, this needed certain modification on the technology side for us, it also needed certain modification in the processes you know, that we use to update our website and keep it regularly updated to those accessibility standards, right? So we made our website because of all the effort of the team. So there are several accessibility standards or apps across the globe, and I'm happy to share that our website is compliant on most of those standards. So for example, you have standards of ADA, which is Americans with the Disability Act. Then there is WCAG standard, which is Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. You have AODA, AODA, which is Accessibility for Ontarians with Disability Act. There is European Accessibility Act, and there is UK Web Accessibility Regulation. So look, you know, we, as I said, we, the attempt was to make it as broad based as possible on standards compliance and acceptability, because if you can meet all these guidelines, then you have a very robust response to all the accessibility issues, right? So just to you, you mentioned that our website is epilepsy, shape profile, right? In that case, what happens is, an epilepsy safe profile reduces the risk of seizures by eliminating the flashing animations and reduce color intensity, right? Similarly, if there is a vision impaired profile, if there is somebody who's got this issue of vision impairment, so our vision impaired profile, it will adjust the websites to be more readable for users with vision impairment, and it does it by contrasting adjustment. It does it by font adjustment. So our website that way, I think, is pretty robust. We then have even more such profiles taken care with, for example, profiles with cognitive disabilities, ADHD. So there are various features that our website incorporates to ensure that profiles with such issues create our website in a more user friendly manner, irrespective of their specific needs. And our thought here is that we will continue on the goal to ensure that, you know, we keep tinkering with this. I always say this to my team that technology has the superpower of crossing over or overcoming the the gaps, the gaps in abilities, the gaps to perceive the things or to see the things in a specific manner. And I think we should definitely use that power, superpower that technology gives us. So that is where I think the intent comes in, or that is where the purpose driven commitment that we have that comes in, right?
Yeah. So. Neerja, thanks. You know, it's a great pride to be among top 3% websites who are which are inclusive and accessible, right? And as I said, this needed certain modification on the technology side for us, it also needed certain modification in the processes you know, that we use to update our website and keep it regularly updated to those accessibility standards, right? So we made our website because of all the effort of the team. So there are several accessibility standards or apps across the globe, and I'm happy to share that our website is compliant on most of those standards. So for example, you have standards of ADA, which is Americans with the Disability Act. Then there is WCAG standard, which is Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. You have AODA, AODA, which is Accessibility for Ontarians with Disability Act. There is European Accessibility Act, and there is UK Web Accessibility Regulation. So look, you know, we, as I said, we, the attempt was to make it as broad based as possible on standards compliance and acceptability, because if you can meet all these guidelines, then you have a very robust response to all the accessibility issues, right? So just to you, you mentioned that our website is epilepsy, shape profile, right? In that case, what happens is, an epilepsy safe profile reduces the risk of seizures by eliminating the flashing animations and reduce color intensity, right? Similarly, if there is a vision impaired profile, if there is somebody who's got this issue of vision impairment, so our vision impaired profile, it will adjust the websites to be more readable for users with vision impairment, and it does it by contrasting adjustment. It does it by font adjustment. So our website that way, I think, is pretty robust. We then have even more such profiles taken care with, for example, profiles with cognitive disabilities, ADHD. So there are various features that our website incorporates to ensure that profiles with such issues create our website in a more user friendly manner, irrespective of their specific needs. And our thought here is that we will continue on the goal to ensure that, you know, we keep tinkering with this. I always say this to my team that technology has the superpower of crossing over or overcoming the the gaps, the gaps in abilities, the gaps to perceive the things or to see the things in a specific manner. And I think we should definitely use that power, superpower that technology gives us. So that is where I think the intent comes in, or that is where the purpose driven commitment that we have that comes in, right?
Speaker – Neerja - 08:38
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it is very value driven, and the goal is clear to you Satinder and to everyone listening, hopefully, by now you know what the effort is for. But of course, with anything on this scale, there are challenges that you might face right while executing the be inclusive campaign, especially, what were some of those challenges, and how did your team overcome them. And can I also ask, how has the campaign impacted Birlasoft brand perception and customer engagement? Could you share any notable success stories from there?
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it is very value driven, and the goal is clear to you Satinder and to everyone listening, hopefully, by now you know what the effort is for. But of course, with anything on this scale, there are challenges that you might face right while executing the be inclusive campaign, especially, what were some of those challenges, and how did your team overcome them. And can I also ask, how has the campaign impacted Birlasoft brand perception and customer engagement? Could you share any notable success stories from there?
Speaker – Satinder - 09:12
Alright, so look, first and foremost Neerja, you know, the intent to, I mean, this was not done for any award. We genuinely wanted to be, you know, accessible, friendly, to ensure that we meet our purpose driven commitment, right? So we started with that. I mean, awards, I think are just as you said in earlier part of your introduction, it's just icing on the cake frankly speaking about the bonus that we got, but we generally wanted to make a difference on the accessibility side. So look, we just got talking. We didn't know what to do on technology front, because when I was sitting in the session, I said, What is there in my control which I can change and to be more accessible, friendly, etc, and website was something that me and my team look after. So we said, fair enough. Can we make the. More accessible, friendly. And what happens is we do whole amount of digital campaigns, outreach campaigns for existing customer, prospect customers, etc. And the way these campaigns are constructed is that, finally, every message takes you back to my website. That means, if you are receiving my marketing message, you will come back to my website. That means, if my website is accessible, you will be able to receive my marketing messages irrespective of your specific needs. So this is the kind of so called the value chain, if you will, that we kind of mapped out. So then the task was, how do we go on our website? So then we also wanted to understand what are the various standards that we could follow? So fortunately, internet definitely threw up various accessibility apps, which I just told you about in the earlier part of the conversation, and then we figured out that what are the technical changes that we would need to do? What would it take to do this at code level? Can we have some special software plugins that will help us do this. And then what happens is, look, website is almost like a living organism, right? There is new content that is getting added, there is old content that is getting killed. There are image updates, there is content update. So as I said, there is new content and there are updates that are happening. So then the challenge came, how do you ensure that all of them meet the accessibility standards, right? And remember, this was being done as a as a pure intent for the first time, that that we were getting into so we had those issues in terms of, if you we would go down to implement something, something else would go bad, and then you have to rectify that, because it's a website is a very complicated and a connected piece, but I think this is where I think I give my team 100 on 100, actually, if possible, I would want to give them 110 on 100, where they aligned with this thought process, and they worked with this intent to ensure that It is implemented pretty well, and then it's been almost more than six months that we completed our implementation so our so one was to think that we have to do this, then to figure out what all changes we need to make, then to implement that. It definitely takes time, but I think it's more than six maybe eight months that we've implemented it now. This is part of our routine, in the sense, whenever we think of a new initiative, new content, new image, we also think of accessibility. I think that's a huge difference that has come about in our thinking, if not more, at least, this small team of marketers is now far more attuned to the accessibility aspect, to keep this in our on our radar when we are thinking on of anything new. You asked about the impact it has on Birlasoft brand. So one again, I'll not go by what external impact it has. Look internally, we are now even more content and happy that we align with our value of purpose driven commitment we have taken one more step towards, you know, the commitment that we have on accessibility, that in itself is a huge contribution to the brand Birlasoft, because it is more complete. A brand is never, you know, perfect brand should never be perfect, because brand always needs to evolve and improve with times, for people, for stakeholders. So I think I would say that Birlasoft brand has taken one more step in the direction of its purpose, its objective. So that is very heartening and very satisfying that we as a team could contribute to that. That is what I would share at this point.
Alright, so look, first and foremost Neerja, you know, the intent to, I mean, this was not done for any award. We genuinely wanted to be, you know, accessible, friendly, to ensure that we meet our purpose driven commitment, right? So we started with that. I mean, awards, I think are just as you said in earlier part of your introduction, it's just icing on the cake frankly speaking about the bonus that we got, but we generally wanted to make a difference on the accessibility side. So look, we just got talking. We didn't know what to do on technology front, because when I was sitting in the session, I said, What is there in my control which I can change and to be more accessible, friendly, etc, and website was something that me and my team look after. So we said, fair enough. Can we make the. More accessible, friendly. And what happens is we do whole amount of digital campaigns, outreach campaigns for existing customer, prospect customers, etc. And the way these campaigns are constructed is that, finally, every message takes you back to my website. That means, if you are receiving my marketing message, you will come back to my website. That means, if my website is accessible, you will be able to receive my marketing messages irrespective of your specific needs. So this is the kind of so called the value chain, if you will, that we kind of mapped out. So then the task was, how do we go on our website? So then we also wanted to understand what are the various standards that we could follow? So fortunately, internet definitely threw up various accessibility apps, which I just told you about in the earlier part of the conversation, and then we figured out that what are the technical changes that we would need to do? What would it take to do this at code level? Can we have some special software plugins that will help us do this. And then what happens is, look, website is almost like a living organism, right? There is new content that is getting added, there is old content that is getting killed. There are image updates, there is content update. So as I said, there is new content and there are updates that are happening. So then the challenge came, how do you ensure that all of them meet the accessibility standards, right? And remember, this was being done as a as a pure intent for the first time, that that we were getting into so we had those issues in terms of, if you we would go down to implement something, something else would go bad, and then you have to rectify that, because it's a website is a very complicated and a connected piece, but I think this is where I think I give my team 100 on 100, actually, if possible, I would want to give them 110 on 100, where they aligned with this thought process, and they worked with this intent to ensure that It is implemented pretty well, and then it's been almost more than six months that we completed our implementation so our so one was to think that we have to do this, then to figure out what all changes we need to make, then to implement that. It definitely takes time, but I think it's more than six maybe eight months that we've implemented it now. This is part of our routine, in the sense, whenever we think of a new initiative, new content, new image, we also think of accessibility. I think that's a huge difference that has come about in our thinking, if not more, at least, this small team of marketers is now far more attuned to the accessibility aspect, to keep this in our on our radar when we are thinking on of anything new. You asked about the impact it has on Birlasoft brand. So one again, I'll not go by what external impact it has. Look internally, we are now even more content and happy that we align with our value of purpose driven commitment we have taken one more step towards, you know, the commitment that we have on accessibility, that in itself is a huge contribution to the brand Birlasoft, because it is more complete. A brand is never, you know, perfect brand should never be perfect, because brand always needs to evolve and improve with times, for people, for stakeholders. So I think I would say that Birlasoft brand has taken one more step in the direction of its purpose, its objective. So that is very heartening and very satisfying that we as a team could contribute to that. That is what I would share at this point.
Speaker – Neerja - 13:46
It's great because I think Birlasoft has always tried to stay ahead of the curve and innovate. But you know, going forward Satinder, how is Birlasoft staying ahead of the curve in martech trends and what strategies do you employ to ensure the company remains at the forefront of technological advancements in marketing? And you know, if you could also elaborate on Birlasoft, purpose driven commitment. I know, you know you've talked about it, but how does it influence your marketing strategies and overall brand ethos, so to speak.
It's great because I think Birlasoft has always tried to stay ahead of the curve and innovate. But you know, going forward Satinder, how is Birlasoft staying ahead of the curve in martech trends and what strategies do you employ to ensure the company remains at the forefront of technological advancements in marketing? And you know, if you could also elaborate on Birlasoft, purpose driven commitment. I know, you know you've talked about it, but how does it influence your marketing strategies and overall brand ethos, so to speak.
Speaker – Satinder - 14:19
Right. No, this is a good one. Now I'll take the latter part of the question first, which is purpose driven commitment? As I said, you know, we belong to CK Birla group, 162 years of pristine heritage. Purpose Driven heritage. The business has to make a positive difference to the society, and we live with those values. So from that angle, purpose driven commitment is very, very important, because it keeps us on our course. The purpose keeps you on your course, what you set for yourself commitment means that you will put your efforts towards that purpose, right? So if you combine the two purpose driven commitment, it is a. Actually a simple formula to always stay on course. And if you happen to veer away from the course, purpose driven commitment will bring you back to the course. Purpose Driven commitment, in itself, is a is a guiding light for you to follow in terms of what to do and what not to do right? So from that angle, I think purpose driven commitment is very, very important. Now, if you look at purpose driven commitment, brand Birlasoft has commitment for a purpose to its various stakeholders. If you are my client, you know I have a purpose to ensure that I make you successful. Through you, I will make society successful, which is my purpose, and I have commitment towards that, so I'll ensure that my processes, my technologies, everything is aligned to make you successful. Because in making you successful is my purpose of making societies better. If you are building your career with Birlasoft, the purpose driven commitment is this is the best place to work. And Neerja, I'm sure you speak to various stakeholders, you would see brand Birlasoft, you know, we win Best Places to Work year after year for different categories, that clearly shows that we are a great place to work. So that is our purpose driven commitment to our workforce. If you are a stakeholder outside my business, for example, my shareholder. You know my commitment to purpose driven commitment, is to ensure that you always get a well run company. So if you look at any of the financial parameters of Birlasoft, we are a very well run company. We have great processes in place, a great compliance is in the place. So that we we pride ourselves that we are a well run company. So that is all about Birlasoft, or overall brand ethos. You spoke about martech trends. Look, this is something which is again, very close to me, and I speak for my entire team here, blessed to have a great team, and we are always trying to use I spoke about the superpower that technology has, right? So another superpower of technology has done in terms of martech is it allows you to scale up and scale down at will. It allows you to personalize the communication. It allows you to track your marketing communication. It allows you to stay on course, yet be compliant. So that is the beauty of martech that we have. So we take care of all the privacy laws and norms, the compliance norms that are there. We get fantastic insights on our existing and new customers. We also get challenged to come up with very relevant and interesting messages for our customer. So I think overall, the eye on the ball for martech, I think keeps us rightfully challenged and inspired, is what I would say.
Right. No, this is a good one. Now I'll take the latter part of the question first, which is purpose driven commitment? As I said, you know, we belong to CK Birla group, 162 years of pristine heritage. Purpose Driven heritage. The business has to make a positive difference to the society, and we live with those values. So from that angle, purpose driven commitment is very, very important, because it keeps us on our course. The purpose keeps you on your course, what you set for yourself commitment means that you will put your efforts towards that purpose, right? So if you combine the two purpose driven commitment, it is a. Actually a simple formula to always stay on course. And if you happen to veer away from the course, purpose driven commitment will bring you back to the course. Purpose Driven commitment, in itself, is a is a guiding light for you to follow in terms of what to do and what not to do right? So from that angle, I think purpose driven commitment is very, very important. Now, if you look at purpose driven commitment, brand Birlasoft has commitment for a purpose to its various stakeholders. If you are my client, you know I have a purpose to ensure that I make you successful. Through you, I will make society successful, which is my purpose, and I have commitment towards that, so I'll ensure that my processes, my technologies, everything is aligned to make you successful. Because in making you successful is my purpose of making societies better. If you are building your career with Birlasoft, the purpose driven commitment is this is the best place to work. And Neerja, I'm sure you speak to various stakeholders, you would see brand Birlasoft, you know, we win Best Places to Work year after year for different categories, that clearly shows that we are a great place to work. So that is our purpose driven commitment to our workforce. If you are a stakeholder outside my business, for example, my shareholder. You know my commitment to purpose driven commitment, is to ensure that you always get a well run company. So if you look at any of the financial parameters of Birlasoft, we are a very well run company. We have great processes in place, a great compliance is in the place. So that we we pride ourselves that we are a well run company. So that is all about Birlasoft, or overall brand ethos. You spoke about martech trends. Look, this is something which is again, very close to me, and I speak for my entire team here, blessed to have a great team, and we are always trying to use I spoke about the superpower that technology has, right? So another superpower of technology has done in terms of martech is it allows you to scale up and scale down at will. It allows you to personalize the communication. It allows you to track your marketing communication. It allows you to stay on course, yet be compliant. So that is the beauty of martech that we have. So we take care of all the privacy laws and norms, the compliance norms that are there. We get fantastic insights on our existing and new customers. We also get challenged to come up with very relevant and interesting messages for our customer. So I think overall, the eye on the ball for martech, I think keeps us rightfully challenged and inspired, is what I would say.
Speaker – Neerja - 17:50
Well, Satinder, I can certainly vouch for the fact that Birlasoft is a great place to work and also a very inspiring place to work. Thank you for sharing these achievements with us and for all the work that you do to make the world a better and more accessible place. And congratulations again, Satinder, what a way to end the year, right? It's been a pleasure having you on Tech Lyceum and happy holiday season to you.
Well, Satinder, I can certainly vouch for the fact that Birlasoft is a great place to work and also a very inspiring place to work. Thank you for sharing these achievements with us and for all the work that you do to make the world a better and more accessible place. And congratulations again, Satinder, what a way to end the year, right? It's been a pleasure having you on Tech Lyceum and happy holiday season to you.
Speaker – Satinder - 18:15
Thank you. Neerja, yeah, I totally agree with you. It has been a fantastic way to end the year with the awards that that we have won. And what I would want to share is that, you know, we are on a journey which is fueled by innovation and passion, and our commitment is to stay the course, using our purpose driven commitment. Thank you and wish you and listeners a very happy new year.
Thank you. Neerja, yeah, I totally agree with you. It has been a fantastic way to end the year with the awards that that we have won. And what I would want to share is that, you know, we are on a journey which is fueled by innovation and passion, and our commitment is to stay the course, using our purpose driven commitment. Thank you and wish you and listeners a very happy new year.
Speaker – Neerja - 18:36
Well, this has been a great celebration of our silver milestones. This one included. Like we said in the beginning, we just concluded 25 episodes of tech Lyceum, and we're ready for the next milestone. Stay tuned for more electrifying episodes where we bring you the latest and greatest in technology and innovation. Until next time, stay happy. Stay curious and happy holidays. Bye.
Well, this has been a great celebration of our silver milestones. This one included. Like we said in the beginning, we just concluded 25 episodes of tech Lyceum, and we're ready for the next milestone. Stay tuned for more electrifying episodes where we bring you the latest and greatest in technology and innovation. Until next time, stay happy. Stay curious and happy holidays. Bye.
You were listening to tech Lyceum, a podcast from Birlasoft.
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