Lessons From My First Job: Dr. Santosh Bagwe, Dr. Batra’s Group

Dr. Santosh Bagwe, Head – HR for Dr Batra’s Group of Companies and COO for Dr Batra’s Aesthetic Solutions shares his first job experience with TimesJobs.com

•  My First Job was: I cleared the competitive examination for LIC of India in 1991. I bagged ‘my first job’ at 19 as an assistant. I was overjoyed, not because government jobs were a ‘boon’ then, but because I had not even appeared for my Final B.Com exam.

• My experience: When I joined LIC, it was the time when computerisation was introduced in government organisations. I was fortunate to be in the first batch to experience the transition from manual processes to computerisation. It provided me with hands-on IT experience — from core insurance operations to general management.

• Things I learnt: After basic training, I was appointed on probation. My stint at LIC provided me with diverse experience — right from managing accounts, personnel management to sales administration. I also received hands on IT insurance during the transition from manual processes to computerisation.

• Skills I Acquired: As is evident from my journey, I was always inclined and eager to learn about business operations — this was one reason I did not restrict myself to Human Resources alone. I believe a human resource professional should be a good business driver too. I believe that my thought-process to think of business and talk of business, along with people management, gave me the opportunity to take over as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Dr Batra’s Aesthetic Solutions division apart from my HR role.

• My Journey So Far:  I was with LIC for five years, following which I’ve worked in varied sectors — paints, BPOs, engineering, consumer durables and healthcare.

• Turning Point in my Career: The turning point in my career was my assignment at Dr. Batra’s of Head HR and Operations, where I was also responsible for call centre operations and resources.

• My most crucial step/assignment: As a HR Head I have initiated leadership development, competency-based HR practices and balance scorecard for effective people and performance management. When I took over as Operations Head, there were 57 clinics in India; today, we have 107 clinics.  This has resulted in positive business growth during the last two years. It has also augmented sales though transition — from 20 at our outbound service call centre to a 150-people sales call centre.  In addition, we have also taken our aesthetic clinic to the next level — providing not just hair solutions but also other state-of-the-art aesthetic office procedures.