When workplace is a stage

Training and learning in India Inc. is undergoing a major churn with the infusion of fine elements from theatre, cinema and meditation.

To enhance workplace productivity and up the morale of employees, corporates are walking a different pathway by leveraging various fields of arts.

Prashant Chawla, founder of Actcelerate that conducts innovative and engaging sessions for corporates utilising the essence of cinema, meditation, theatre and improvisation, says that we are all actors playing different emotions. “Workshops that bring in conscious theatre help in increasing awareness, enhance the innovative bent of mind, help blend in understanding with empathy, and create joyful relations with colleagues.”

According to Praveen Rawal, managing director for India and Southeast Asia at workplace solutions provider Steelcase, we all face global issues that require us to unleash our creative potential to solve problems and generate ideas. “Having art around you can help the mind make a new connection. It can be soothing and inspiring, leading to a different type of focus.”

Corporates like Yes Bank have uniquely crafted programmes that infuse theatre, art and cinema into the workplace for fostering enriching experiences. “YES I am the Change is a mindset transformation programme to inculcate the values of responsible citizenship amongst the youth through the impactful medium of films,” says Deodutta Kurane, group president, human capital management, Yes Bank. Kurane adds they have employed several offbeat learning styles like theatre-based learning programmes that focus on higher self-awareness, positive interpersonal relationships. “Moreover, inspirational movie clips are used across learning programmes to effectively inculcate the tenets of leadership, team cohesiveness and collaboration. We have also engaged our employees in a high octane Drum Café involving rhythmic thumping while learning the tenet of teamwork, coordination and collaboration via interactive drumming.”

Highlighting the benefits of infusing arts into the workplace, Chawla says the conscious practice of theatre, cinema and meditation helps employees to get connected with their motivated and happier selves. “It enhances their creative and spontaneous nerve, which is the need of the hour for every organisation. Thirdly, it helps them get aligned with their business head and the organisation’s vision – once they are aware of themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, it’s easy to get aligned to people and the vision around them. It also helps in getting better connected to people around and in increasing self-confidence.”

Rawal believes that inclusion of creative tools supports with attracting and retaining talent that looks for inspiring spaces to work.

Furthermore, theatre and meditation essentially help in raising consciousness, enhancing the emotional quotient and innovative skills and can thus stem attrition levels. Says Chawla, “Theatre and meditation as tools synchronise the mind, body and the soul. They bring in unity and togetherness amongst team members, enhance trust and increase the fun quotient.”

However, it is still a long time before such novel practices get easily adopted by HR departments across industries. Experts say most trainings and employee engagement sessions still happen the traditional way through seminars. “Experiential workshops don’t account for more than 10 percent of the total training calendar on an average. In future, they could go as high as 60 percent, where all kinds of trainings will be facilitated using experiential techniques,” says Chawla.

...& ANALYSIS

• Experts say that most trainings and employee engagement sessions still happen the traditional way through seminars
   
• Theatre and meditation essentially help in raising consciousness, innovative skills and can thus stem attrition levels