PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Even the most brilliant business strategy is powerless without passionate people to bring it to life, said the EFS Facilities Services Group co-founder and vice chairman Tariq Chauhan. He said that this global facilities management company works with the prominent companies across 27 countries. “Leaders often talk about disruption and competitive edge, helping businesses stand out. But I have seen that success hinges less on the strategy itself and more on the people executing it. Even research shows that when organisations adopt a human-centric leadership model, they increase their chances of meeting their objectives from 28 per cent to 73 per cent, a 2.6 times increase,” he said.
He further said that when EFS was established, a people-first philosophy was adopted. “This value was tested when I walked away from USD 100 million in revenue with a global top-ten company after they tried to malign my team members. Was it difficult? Absolutely. But standing up for my colleagues wasn’t negotiable. Three years later, the same client returned with an even larger contract. At the heart of EFS are our frontline workers—the true backbone of our operations. As our most valuable asset, we made it our mission to genuinely address their needs: better living conditions, family support, financial security, and opportunities to grow. As part of our broader social responsibility, initiatives like the Abhaar Worker Welfare Foundation, dedicated to uplifting migrant worker communities, and our CSR programme, Ehsaas, provides welfare support, emergency aid, and long-term care for our workers and their families,” he added.
He further said that one of their most impactful initiatives was the Centurion Club rewards programme and Finding GEMS, designed to create real career progression opportunities. “Through these programmes, significant numbers of employees transitioned from frontline to executive roles. We supplemented this with our Skills Enhancement and Employee Development (SEED) and Rising Stars Programs, identifying high-potential talent for future leadership roles,” Chauhan said.
Dwelling on academic outreach, he said that in response to the skilling gap and workplace readiness challenges between academia and industry, they had launched the Young Leaders Programme, an incubation platform designed to empower young interns and help them transition into industry-ready professionals. “The We Can club empowers employees and fosters belonging through an ecosystem driven by employee ambassadors embodying “If We Can, Then You Can” through their stories of rising through EFS ranks. We found that our people-first approach has led to over 90% staff retention across our operations and 97% client retention, even during the most challenging market cycles. Employees felt seen, valued and motivated to build a future with us,” he observed.
Speaking of what he had learnt while working in all kinds of industry, he said: “Each industry I have worked in has taught me that strength lies not just in business acumen and strategic thinking, but in managing people and helping them grow. This is EFS’s premise: Transforming People, Driving Excellence and Touching Lives. True competitive advantage lies in building stronger structures and systems that centre people. When your people believe in your mission and their future within it, they help build more successful businesses. True resilience is not about bouncing back from challenges—it is about building ecosystems where every individual is empowered to rise above,” he commented.
