MAM

GUEST COLUMN: The future of work – from remote to hybrid

Published

5 years ago

August 14, 2021

Mumbai: In the last one and half years, a lot of things have changed. We have a new experience to share on how the pandemic has altered our lives. And one of the biggest changes is how actively work-from-home has become a huge part of our lives, and transitioned the culture not only in India but across the globe. 2020 is counted as the year of remote work, and the trend continues in 2021 compelling us to rethink our traditional work models.

However, the start of this trend was not that smooth. In the corporate world it caused issues but slowly and steadily it became a part of daily routine. As businesses struggle to become fully operational, the concept of a “hybrid workplace” has provided a light for dealing with the problem. Remote and in-office work is mixed in a Hybrid workplace model, which allows individuals to structure work around their lifestyle rather than around desks in a physical office environment. If done right, it allows employees to be more productive while also encouraging employee engagement. In the past year, Hybrid workforce has also become a mix of freelancers, contractors, and full- time hires and with the new changes HRs today have to play a role in hiring and managing this mix.

Hybrid-remote when adopted should be embraced with great deliberation, care, and intentionality. Organisations need an agile and flexible workforce to succeed in today’s expeditiously growing global economy. The best part of witnessing the changes is that there has been a good engagement from both the employee and employer sides. The productivity metrics are proving that the hybrid structure is indeed working. Hybrid-model can only work and give the best results when the HR, team, and the employee are in sync, and both understand how it should go. It depends on a mix of activities undertaken in each occupation and on their physical, spatial, and interpersonal context.

The shift to a hybrid workforce model is inevitable, but you can’t just give your employee a laptop to do the work and ignore other aspects. Organisations have to focus on the employee – on their varying needs and behaviours. It is only by changing the way they manage and lead, by reframing employee touchpoints, and by rebooting the role of the physical workspace – they will create a truly hybrid model and see the improved productivity, lower costs, refreshed managerial roles and strengthened cultural fabric that can be the outcome of this new normal.

Technology has innovated quite a lot in the pandemic thanks to the affordable internet consumption. This has led organisations to equip with the right tools to transition to a hybrid future.

As the quick rate of technological innovation continues to develop, HR needs to become an adaptable and technologically advanced feature. It must be able to change with the changing world around it to serve people throughout their whole career. In light of these particular situations, HR needs to be as wide in its knowledge base as feasible while being as particular in its execution. Finally, HR is no longer a business department that can exist without having a significant impact on the bottom line; its job has expanded to handle a variety of business issues.

Automation, robots, and artificial intelligence (AI) can take on the labour-intensive tasks, allowing HR teams to focus on projects that add value to the organization and improve employees’ working lives. Even while HR wants organisations to digitise certain processes, believe me, human interaction cannot be substituted by a machine or robot. HR will evolve, but it will revert to its previous form, with employee involvement and management at its core. HR appears to be coming full circle, thanks to the hybrid workplace, as technology aids HR staff in focusing on high-value tasks.

Going further, companies who will be going with the hybrid workplace, there will be flexible work options which will enable some to continue working remotely, while allowing others to either work in the office or shuttle between both.

The future of remote work will require many changes, including investing in digital infrastructure and freeing office space. For most companies, having employees work outside the office will require reinventing many processes and policies.

And the most important thing is that leaders and the reporting managers must ensure that all employees, irrespective of their location, participate in team activities, so they do not feel left out. There has to be a constant reminder to the team that everyone is in this together — whether they are in the office or at home; that each one plays a role in sustaining the company’s culture in the coming era.

(Girish Kukreja is the founder and CEO of FlexC. The views expressed in the column are personal and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)

Related Topics:Girish Kukreja GUEST COLUMN

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Netflix India names Rekha Rane director of films and series marketing

Streaming giant bets on a seasoned marketer who helped build Amazon and Netflix into household names

Published

3 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix has put a proven brand builder at the helm of its films and series marketing in India, naming Rekha Rane as director in a move that signals sharper focus on audience growth and cultural cut-through in one of its most hotly contested markets.

Rane steps into the role after seven years at Netflix, where she has quietly shaped how the platform sells stories to India. Her latest promotion, effective February 2026, crowns a run that spans brand, slate and product marketing across originals, licensed content and new verticals such as games.

A strategic marketing and communications professional with roughly 15 years’ experience, Rane has spent much of her career building technology-led consumer businesses and new categories, notably e-commerce and subscription video on demand. She was part of the early push that introduced Amazon.in, Prime Video and Netflix to Indian homes, then helped turn them into everyday brands.

At Netflix, she most recently served as head of brand and slate marketing for India from March 2024 to February 2026, leading teams across media and marketing for global and local content portfolios. Before that, as manager for original films and series marketing, she led IP creation and go-to-market strategy for titles including Guns and Gulaabs, Kaala Paani, The Railway Men* and The Great Indian Kapil Show, spanning both binge and weekly-release formats.

Her earlier Netflix roles covered product discovery and promotion in India and integrated campaign strategy to drive conversations around the content slate, product awareness and brand-equity metrics.

Before Netflix, Rane logged more than three years at Amazon in brand marketing roles in Bengaluru. There she handled national and regional campaigns for Amazon.in, worked on customer assistance programmes in growth geographies and contributed to the go-to-market strategy for the launch of Prime Video India.

Her career began well away from streaming. At Reliance Brands in Mumbai, she worked on retail marketing for Diesel and Superdry. A stint at Leo Burnett saw her work on primary research for P&G Tide, mapping Indian shoppers’ paths to purchase. Earlier still, at Orange in the United Kingdom, she rose from sales assistant to store manager, running a team and owning monthly P&L for a retail outlet.

The arc is telling. As global streamers fight for attention in a crowded Indian market, executives who understand both mass retail behaviour and digital habit-building are prized. Rane’s career sits at that intersection.

For Netflix, the bet is simple: in a market spoilt for choice, sharp marketing can still tilt the screen. And with Rane now leading the charge, the streamer is signalling it wants not just viewers, but fandom.

Brands

Orient Beverages pops the fizz with steady Q3 gains and rising profits

Kolkata-based beverage maker reports stronger revenues and profits for December quarter.

Published

3 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A fizzy quarter with a steady aftertaste that’s how Orient Beverages Limited, the company that manufactures and distributes packaged drinking water under the brand name Bisleri closed the December 2025 period, as the Kolkata-based drinks maker reported improved revenues and a healthy rise in profits, signalling operational stability in a competitive beverage market.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Orient Beverages posted standalone revenue from operations of Rs 39.98 crore, up from Rs 36.42 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 33.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 42.24 crore, reflecting consistent demand and stable pricing across its beverage portfolio.

Profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 3.47 crore, a sharp improvement from Rs 1.31 crore in the September quarter and Rs 0.39 crore a year ago. After accounting for tax expenses of Rs 0.79 crore, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.68 crore, nearly three times the Rs 0.99 crore recorded in the preceding quarter.

On a nine-month basis, the momentum remained intact. Revenue from operations for the period ended December 31, 2025 rose to Rs 117.66 crore, compared with Rs 106.95 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine months climbed to Rs 5.51 crore, more than double the Rs 2.18 crore reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The consolidated numbers told a similar story. For the December quarter, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 45.06 crore, while profit after tax came in at Rs 2.06 crore. For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue touched Rs 133.57 crore, with net profit of Rs 4.49 crore, underscoring the group’s improving profitability trajectory.

Operating expenses remained largely controlled, with cost of materials, employee benefits and other expenses broadly aligned with revenue growth. The company continued to operate within a single reportable segment beverages simplifying its cost structure and reporting framework.

The unaudited financial results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 7 February 2026. Statutory auditors carried out a limited review and reported no material misstatements in the results.

In a market where margins are often squeezed by input costs and competition, Orient Beverages’ latest numbers suggest the company has found a reliable rhythm not explosive, but steady enough to keep the fizz alive.

MAM

Washington Post CEO exits abruptly after newsroom cuts spark backlash

Leadership change follows layoffs, protests and a bruising battle over trust.

Published

3 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When the presses are rolling but patience runs out, even the editor’s chair isn’t safe. The Washington Post announced on Saturday that its chief executive and publisher Will Lewis is stepping down with immediate effect, bringing a sudden end to a turbulent two-year tenure marked by financial strain, newsroom unrest and public backlash.

Lewis’s exit comes just days after the Bezos-owned newspaper announced sweeping job cuts that triggered protests outside its Washington headquarters and a wave of anger from readers and staff. While newspapers across the US are grappling with shrinking revenues and digital disruption, Lewis’s leadership had increasingly come under fire for how those pressures were handled.

The Post confirmed that Jeff D’Onofrio, a former Tumblr CEO who joined the organisation last year as chief financial officer, has taken over as CEO and publisher, effective immediately. In an email to staff, later shared by reporters on social media, Lewis said it was “the right time for me to step aside.”

The leadership change follows the announcement of large-scale redundancies earlier this week. While the Post did not officially confirm numbers, The New York Times reported that around 300 of the paper’s roughly 800 journalists were laid off. Entire teams were dismantled, including the Post’s Middle East bureau and its Kyiv-based correspondent covering the war in Ukraine.

Sports, graphics and local reporting were sharply reduced, and the paper’s daily podcast, Post Reports, was suspended. On Thursday, hundreds of journalists and supporters gathered outside the Post’s downtown office in protest, calling the cuts a blow to public-interest journalism.

Former executive editor Marty Baron described the moment as “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organisations.”

Lewis defended his record in his farewell note, saying “difficult decisions” were taken to secure the paper’s long-term future and protect its ability to publish “high-quality nonpartisan news”. But his tenure coincided with growing scrutiny of editorial independence at the Post.

Owner Jeff Bezos faced criticism for reining in the paper’s traditionally liberal editorial page and blocking an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 US election. The move was widely seen as breaking the long-standing firewall between ownership and editorial decision-making.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, around 250,000 digital subscribers cancelled their subscriptions after the paper declined to endorse Harris. The Post reportedly lost about $100 million in 2024 as advertising and subscription revenues slid.

While the wider newspaper industry continues to battle declining print advertising and the pull of social media, some national titles have stabilised. Rivals such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have managed to build sustainable digital businesses, a turnaround that has so far eluded the Post despite its billionaire backing.

As Jeff D’Onofrio steps into the role, the challenge is stark, restore confidence inside the newsroom, win back readers who walked away, and prove that one of America’s most storied newspapers can still find its footing in a brutally competitive media landscape.