Transformed fragmented HR operations for field staff by centralizing and digitizing processes, significantly improving service delivery, expanding HR capacity, and enhancing employee experience during business growth.
Background
L&T Finance Ltd, with its widespread and diverse field force, faced fragmented HR operations across locations and business verticals. HR processes for field staff varied regionally, lacked standardization, and offered little real-time visibility, resulting in:
– Inconsistent HR service delivery
– Manual processes and long resolution cycles
– Disjointed employee lifecycle management
– Operational inefficiencies and delayed payments
This presented a serious challenge for supporting frontline operations, especially as the Retail Finance business entered a phase of aggressive expansion.
Objective
To redesign the HR delivery model for field staff, with the vision to centralise, digitize, and scale operations while enhancing employee experience and business alignment.
Action
I led the transformation through a structured and phased approach: Centralised HR Operations across all locations and business units—breaking silos and driving a unified delivery model.
>> Designed and implemented an SQL-based, in-house HR Shared Services (HRSS) portal, tailored specifically for field staff. This digital platform integrated the entire employee lifecycle, from onboarding to exit.
>> Introduced centralized payroll and payments, ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant disbursements—critical for field engagement and trust.
>> Scaled HR operations to match business growth—expanding the HRSS team from 60 to over 700 employees in sync with the rapid expansion of the Retail Finance vertical.
>> Embedded SOPs, SLA frameworks, and real-time dashboards to track and improve service delivery metrics.
>> Freed up HR Business Partners (HRBPs) from operational firefighting, allowing them to focus on strategic HR initiatives, such as workforce planning, talent engagement, and leadership development.
Results
The transformation unlocked significant operational, strategic, and cultural value:
>> Improved SLA compliance by 45%, offering faster, predictable, and consistent service delivery
>> Reduced service resolution time by 60%, empowering frontline teams and boosting employee satisfaction
>> Digitized and centralized the full employee lifecycle for field staff—bringing visibility, accountability, and data-driven decision-making to the forefront
>> Enabled scalability, supporting business growth from 60 to 700+ staff, without proportional increase in overheads
>> Streamlined payroll and compliance, enhancing trust and reducing error rates in payments
>> Empowered HRBPs to pivot toward high-impact business deliverables, significantly enhancing their contribution to leadership teams and business outcomes
>> Established a replicable model for other verticals within L&T Finance seeking similar scale and consistency
This project was widely appreciated across leadership as a strategic enabler for the growth of the Retail Finance business, and became a blueprint for operational excellence in HR across the organization.
“Centralisation gave us control, digitisation gave us speed, and together, they gave us scale. We weren’t just building a process—we were building a future-ready HR engine.”
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