The first responsibility of a developed society must be in the distribution of financial gains across people of all sections, and not just the ones who belong to the higher economic strata. The blue-collar workers, who usually work in the rural and semi urban areas are in a highly unorganized sector. This ever-present fragmentation in the blue- collar space motivated Thirumurugan to invest in Candor Management Services, an end to end HR Organization. Thirumurugan himself hailed from a small town, and after a successful stint in the IT industry, mainly through his own education and efforts, was eager to work towards the upliftment of people from the rural parts of India. Anuvidhya Thirumurugan and Sreejayanthi Muthukumaran, the company’s other founders shared in this dream.
Candor’s Executive Director, Ravi Krishnamurthy, makes a valid point of creating more avenues that consistently benefit blue-collar workers. These initiatives, he feels, would turn out more effective than personal charitable institutions or NGOs which typically have a limited reach. Ravi explains, “ We provide human resources in the areas of industry workers (e.g. machinist, welder etc.). This was the original thrust of the business, but by listening to the needs of our clients, and partnering with them, we have also expanded to company staffing (e.g. office administrative staff), mid level and top talent staffing, and learning and knowledge.”
Candor was determined to provide the best amenities to the blue-collar employees. And this has created an impact, gradually altering the basic ways the industry used to function earlier.
The company ensured that the workers are paid at least minimum wages as per norms, get adequate provident funds, ESI for medical coverage, and also additional trauma coverage.
Candor Management ensured that the
workers are paid at least minimum wages as per norms, get adequate provident funds, ESI for medical
coverage, and also additional trauma coverage
They have implemented performance based awards and rewards for this segment. Candor further provides a workforce management coordinator actively engaged with employees at the client site, responsible for guiding and counseling them in all important aspects. 40 percent of their workforce comprise of women employees. They firmly believe that by empowering the women of the families, the whole family benefits. Also, they bring in diversity and stability to the business scenario.
From 2012, the company has witnessed exponential growth of up to 200%. They have diversified into other business avenues and opened up opportunities in other regions as well, growing from a blue collar staffing company to a complete human resources solutions organization. Mahalingam (Mali) and Margaret DaCosta, who individually have been associated with the HR industry for decades have also partnered with Candor.
The company’s goal is to triple the headcount and revenue in the next 8 quarters. The top line and bottom line tell one story. But more than that, Candor is focused on delivering striking results by achieving its social entrepreneurship goals. One of the primary objectives is to improve human lives by providing meaningful employment and ensuring financial inclusion. For instance, it showed foresight in pioneering bank accounts, ATM cards, and loan and overdraft facilities for all of its 1000 employees. And this, even before the PM Jan Dhan Yogna was announced.
Ravi signs off by saying “At Candor, we commit what we can deliver, and deliver what we commit. We do this by partnering with our clients, our employees and our business partners. We are looking forward to this inclusive journey across all our services in the years to come”.