We have introduced numerous initiatives which seek to enhance the creativity, innovation, functional aptitude and teamwork of our employees. These initiatives are:
NTPC Open Competition for Executive Talent (NOCET) - National Open Competition for Executive Talent (NOCET) is a three tier theme based team event held to solicit ideas on latest issues facing the organisation. A ‘Theme’ for the competition is decided by the CMD of NTPC. A topic that is relevant to NTPC scenario is chosen. Teams of 3-4 members are formulated that compete at unit, regional and corporate levels. A panel of judges comprising of top level NTPC executives and external experts, judge the teams on their concept and presentation.
Professional Circles - As a learning organisation, NTPC encourages formation of professional circles for knowledge dissemination; knowledge updating etc. Professional circles are groups where employees sharing same interest get together to share knowledge and latest developments in the field. In order to encourage and recognise professional circles, NTPC has institutionalised a three-tier competition amongst the professional circles culminating at the company level. Currently, about 300 professional circles are active in the company.
Quality Circles- Quality circles were introduced as an initiative to involve every grass root level employee. Under this initiative, employees volunteer to take up improvement projects in their work areas. Annual contests are organised at project level, regional level and company level in which QCs from all over NTPC compete with each other. The winning team also gets a chance to participate at National and International level QC Convention. NTPC has won the National Quality Circles Convention four times and has participated in International Quality Control Conventions at Thailand (2004), South Korea (2005), Indonesia (2006) and China (2007).
Business Minds- Another initiative which is very popular among NTPC employees, is called the ‘Business Minds’. This is a management game that develops strategic thinking and decision making abilities among executives by exposing participants to simulated real life business situations that help them discover new skills. It is conducted in association with All India Management Association (AIMA). Cross-functional teams participate in the game as it is multi – disciplinary in nature reflecting real life multifunctional role of business. Qualifying teams compete at the national level. In 2008, the winning team from NTPC Ramagundam won the national management games competition conducted by AIMA and qualified to compete at the Asia level.
Knowledge Management in NTPC- An initiative to meet our ultimate objective of becoming a learning organisation, an integrated Knowledge Management System has been developed, which facilitates tacit knowledge in the form of learning and experiences of employees to be captured and summarised for future reference. It provides adequate communication and a formal process for classification, codification, and sharing of knowledge through which employees can contribute, learn, share and generate solutions.