Human Resource Driven Turnaround at North Delhi Power Limited: Transition from a Public Utility to a Private Enterprise

Abstract

The case illustrates how a public sector utility entity with almost no human resource (HR) system in place went on the road of transformation and learning. The case documents areas of transformation from an archaic personnel architecture towards institutionalization of strategic HR system. From file maintenance to strategic partnership, the journey of HR along with top management support and line management involvement is mapped throughout the case. The establishment of a psychological contract acted as the foundation, resulting in commitment and faster adaptation to change. Organizational learning took roots with systemic changes starting from the external customer and later in the internal customer. The role of HR as a strategic partner in this transformation was exemplified as HR enjoyed voice and space at the board level of the organization. This case is useful for showing how internal change agents and the active partnership of HR can lead to greater commitment than compliance with top management directives.