As digital disruption, regulatory changes, and shifting customer expectations redefine the BFSI sector, organisations are compelled to rethink how they develop their workforce. One company that has taken a structured, forward-looking approach is Mahindra Finance.
In an exclusive interaction, Manish Sinha, CHRO, shares how Mahindra Finance is equipping its employees with the capabilities needed not just for today’s roles, but for the demands of tomorrow.
He shares the organisation’s strategic approach to talent development—built on four key pillars that empower employees in their current roles and prepare them for what lies ahead.
.Functional and domain capabilities
Employees are offered development interventions that focus on strengthening capabilities to help them excel in their current roles. These programs are designed to focus on strengthening sales and collections capability, regulatory & compliance training, and customer experience and centricity.
“These programs ensure our teams are not just effective but also compliant and customer-oriented,” Sinha explains.
Managerial capability
As employees move into leadership roles, Mahindra Finance prepares them through structured learning interventions. The learning framework prepares them for moving into people management roles with interventions focusing on various aspects including contemporary themes of inclusion and equity. “Our goal is to equip aspiring managers with the tools and mindset to lead diverse teams effectively,” says Sinha.
Digital capability development
At Mahindra Finance, a structured framework has been created to foster a digital mindset across all employee with a unique blend of in-person and self-paced programs.
“These programs aim to build digital dexterity among all employees—from frontline staff to senior management—through the latest technologies disrupting our industry,” explains Sinha.
These programs ensure employees can not only use but also adapt to emerging technologies that drive customer experience and operational efficiency.
High potential leadership development
Leadership succession planning is a priority for Mahindra Finance. They focus on building leadership capability in employees identified as having high potential. “This framework focuses on building capabilities that will be relevant and important in the business’s future while creating a strong talent pipeline across levels.”
Learning interventions here, explains Sinha consists of longer duration programs that combine a variety of learning methodologies best equipped to build the identified skills. “They consist of in-person workshops, mentoring sessions, immersive experiences, speaker sessions, etc aimed at strengthening the ability to thrive in a rapidly changing marketplace, inspire their teams and importantly build a strong ‘outside-in’ perspective.”
Strategies to nurture leadership talent internally
Mahindra Finance’s leadership development framework is structured as a pyramid, aligning programs with different organisational bands. This scalable structure ensures a progressive journey for emerging leaders, supported by carefully curated interventions.
Notably, the framework includes masterclasses and workshops specifically tailored to foster customer-centric thinking—a crucial skill in today’s hyper-personalised financial services environment.
“Our Business Strategy modules combine classroom learning with business immersion and study missions to non-competing organisations. This enables participants to observe and understand how other companies create exceptional customer experiences,” Sinha shares.
Mahindra Finance’s commitment to building future-ready skills reflects a broader organisational vision: to empower its workforce to lead, adapt, and grow in a changing world. Their structured approach—grounded in functional expertise, digital literacy, inclusive leadership, and strategic foresight—offers a compelling blueprint for other financial institutions navigating similar transformations.