Pradeep Bhargava
Managing Director, Newage AVKSEG

Newage has nearly one hundred years experience in building electrical machines on its main manufacturing site in Stamford, UK. The company Newage (the name created from the full title, Northern Electric Wireless And General Engineering Company) was founded in Manchester, England in 1935 to manufacture generator sets and air compressors. AVK was founded in Frankfurt/Main, Germany by Mr. Arthur van Kaick to manufacture electrical machines. AVK grew quickly during the 1920s and 1930s through the application of innovative solutions to power generation problems of the time. With the development of special electrical windings, AVK were the first company to solve the problem of power generation and transmission across the regions of Germany using different mains voltages. SEG was founded in 1969 in Kempen, Germany, by Mr. Werner Schmitz and Mr. Kurt Leyendeckers for the production of control systems and control and protection devices. In the more than 30 years if its existence SEG has pioneered many developments in system protection devices and variable speed applications. In 1985 AVK and SEG merged to form the group AVKSEG.

Communication forms a very vital part of any organization. Human beings need to be told what to do and understand what they are doing. Communication does precisely that. For internal communication to be successful it is important to plan and structure the dissemination of information at all levels. However, not all communication can be planned and its largely situational. It is best to understand the audience and their needs and accordingly decide the mode of communication.

Ideal communication is a combination of a lot of methods, which explains the mission, and vision of the company in an articulate manner. There are many ways of communication namely e-mails, newsletters, memos, videos and notices. There usage depends on the nature of the message and at the level its communicated. The message to be communicated has to be simple and tailor-made to the people. Verbal communication is the most desirable and effective. For multi-location businesses face-to-face communication is not feasible. The use of internet and videos is ideal then. Our company is into manufacturing of electrical switches for equipments like gensets and our communication at the lower level is mostly technical in nature. Our plant is located in Ahmednagar and the corporate office is in Pune. Every week a team visits the plant to interact with the workforce there and the following week another team comes over from the plant to meet the senior management. Every new employee in our company undergoes a formal induction program wherein they are introduced to a "code of conduct" orientation and interpersonal communication is an integral part of it.

Communication should be more but not over-communicated. Over- communication can lead to misunderstanding and create tensions. Consistency and honesty are the main aspects of every communication. If any communication is not in tune with actions then it loses its credibility and it is important that every individual has trust in the management.

For communication to be a two-way process random checks are held to find out if people know about and accept the policies and changes incorporated in the company. Feedback is always welcomed. It is basically done through meetings and personal discussions. Any individual who has a problem with any decision is counseled internally and the reasons for non-acceptance are found out and steps taken to eliminate them.