Raymond, which celebrated its centenary this year, has embarked on a massive exercise to redefine skills for the modern age and is using automation to improve its productivity and efficiency, a top company official said.

In a bid to create an engaged and skilled talent workforce that is 'ready-for-the-future', the 100-year old group is leveraging AI and automation in people practices.

"We are in the process of implementing a very powerful HRMS system which has the ability to deploy AI. However, we are committing to preserving the human-centric ethos of the organisation.

"Through extensive training, we will be sensitising people managers on working with empathy and emotional intelligence in the age of AI," KA Narayan, President, HR, Raymond, told PTI.

Raymond is a diversified group with majority business interests in textile & apparel sectors and a presence across varying segments such as consumer care, realty and engineering in national and international markets.

Its 100-year journey witnessed numerous headwinds and several pivotal moments that were catalysts in building its culture, including the generational transition at top management, proliferation of Indian as well as global brands that intensified competition in the apparel segment.

"Some of the key decisions we made were the sale of our FMCG business making the company net debt free, launching realty business, acquisition of Maini Precision Products Ltd (MPPL) in Engineering business and revamp of talent deck," Narayan noted.

The company boasts of a multigenerational workforce spanning from GenX till GenZs. "We are proudly a future-ready company that upholds our diverse workforce which is at the soul of our initiatives with much pride," Narayan added.

"We've implemented HR automation and are now deploying AI for resume screening and skill matching as we are building a digital mindset among our employees. The backbone of our HR and operational analytics powered by technology enables us with real-time visibility into productivity metrics, attrition forecasting, and workforce planning through AI-powered dashboards," Narayan said.

Three key skills of growth mindset, innovation, and collaboration will be crucial going forward, Narayan said, adding, "Our focus at the time of talent acquisition is now purely based on skills, digital transformation and business performance.

"Our manufacturing processes are very well established and tested over time and we believe in various avenues for job creation for employment to support the country. We have no doubt used automation to improve our productivity and efficiency of machines."