Hughes Communications India’s Mindful WorkSpace Journey

Hughes Communications India (“HCI”), a leading provider of satellite broadband and managed network services in India, operates at the intersection of mission-critical connectivity, digital transformation and complex, distributed teams. In 2025, HCI partnered with GreenSignature’s Mindful WorkSpace framework to assess and strengthen psychological safety, employee well-being and human sustainability across its organisation.

This interview has been conducted by the GreenSignature editorial team with multiple leaders from HCI. The collective perspectives draw on the experience of Shivaji Chatterjee, CEO, President & Managing Director, Nipun Bansal, Chief Financial Officer, Vidyut Kak, Chief Technology Officer and Leena Arora, Senior Human Resources Manager, with support from corporate communications led by Rekha Ramchandani, Manager – Corporate.

By undergoing the GreenSignature Mindful WorkSpace assessment, HCI joins a growing group of organisations seeking an evidence-based alternative to conventional culture labels commonly associated with Great Place to Work, CultureAmp, Lattice, Gallup and Energage – with a stronger emphasis on how people actually feel on the ground.

Leadership Vision and Digital-First Organisational Philosophy

Putting People at the Centre of a Technology-Driven Business

GreenSignature Team: Hughes Communications India has been a pioneer in satellite and managed network services for decades. What role does human well-being and mindfulness play in sustaining innovation and performance in such a technology-driven organisation?

HCI Leadership Team: For us, technology is only one part of the story. The real differentiator is our people – their clarity of thought, resilience under pressure and willingness to collaborate. Over the years, we have learned that when employees feel emotionally secure and supported, they are far more likely to take ownership, solve complex problems and stay committed for the long term.

Mindfulness at work, in our context, means being fully present to what we are doing, how we are making decisions and how our actions affect colleagues and customers. It is closely linked with the quality of our judgement in critical situations, and that ultimately influences service reliability and innovation.

Defining Psychological Safety in a High-Performance Tech Environment

GreenSignature Team: How do you define a psychologically safe workplace in the context of a fast-paced, high-performance tech environment like HCI?

HCI Leadership Team: Psychological safety, for us, is the freedom to express concerns, ideas and disagreements without fear of ridicule, blame or career penalty. In a digital and network-focused business, we are constantly making decisions under time pressure. High levels of psychological well-being – with reduced stress, emotional comfort and trust – directly support the complex cognitive processes our work demands.

When people feel safe to admit errors, flag risks or ask questions, they help us prevent incidents and strengthen service quality. Our experience is that psychological safety is not just a “nice to have”; it is a stability factor for high-performance teams.

Blending Global Standards with an Indian Heart

GreenSignature Team: As a joint venture between global and Indian entities, how does HCI blend global standards with local values to create a people-centred culture?

HCI Leadership Team: We often describe ourselves as a multinational with an Indian heart. We bring together global benchmarks on compliance, safety, governance and technology with local cultural strengths like relationship orientation, community feeling and adaptability.

In practice, this means we pay attention to empathy, physical and emotional safety, and a sense of belonging, alongside performance metrics and SLAs. We want HCI to be a place where global standards and local warmth co-exist, making it a stable and healthy organisation to work in.

Employee Wellness, Mindfulness and Everyday Practices

From Happiness Sessions to Fit@Work

GreenSignature Team: HCI has implemented multiple wellness and mindfulness initiatives. Which of these have been most impactful in strengthening engagement and well-being?

HCI Leadership Team: Over time, we realised that no single initiative can address well-being on its own. Our approach has been to create a balanced ecosystem that addresses physical health, mental health and emotional connection. Happiness sessions, mindfulness workshops, yoga, webinars, and health-awareness programmes have all contributed to this.

Among these, our Fit@Work programme has had a particularly visible impact. It encouraged employees to build healthy habits, track their activity and participate in friendly challenges. This not only improved physical fitness but also generated conversations around lifestyle, energy levels and self-care at work.

Family engagement activities and annual invitation days have also played a positive role. When families understand our culture and see our concern for employees’ well-being, it builds trust beyond the office walls.

Supporting Mental Health in a Connected World

GreenSignature Team: In a digital and always-connected industry, how do you ensure employees feel comfortable seeking mental health support?

HCI Leadership Team: First, we make it clear that asking for help is a sign of responsibility, not weakness. We offer access to counselling, employee assistance and webinars that normalise conversations around stress, burnout and emotional fatigue. Managers are encouraged to look beyond output and pay attention to how their team members are coping.

We also communicate repeatedly that confidentiality is respected. When employees experience that their concerns are handled sensitively and practically, their willingness to reach out increases.

Work Culture, Inclusion and Hybrid-Ready Leadership

Balancing Stability, Discipline and Flexibility

GreenSignature Team: How do you balance the discipline required for mission-critical network services with the dignity, inclusion and flexibility employees need?

HCI Leadership Team: We operate in a space where uptime and reliability are non-negotiable, so we cannot compromise on operational discipline. At the same time, we recognise that employees have lives, responsibilities and aspirations outside of work. Our goal is to make expectations transparent and predictable while providing reasonable flexibility wherever possible.

Clear policies, predictable shift planning and open dialogue make this balance easier. We want employees to feel that we are fair and consistent, not arbitrary. That sense of fairness is a key pillar of trust.

Inclusion as a Business Strength

GreenSignature Team: How does inclusion show up in day-to-day life at HCI?

HCI Leadership Team: Inclusion for us is about voice and opportunity. We encourage team members at different levels to share ideas, ask questions and contribute to decisions. Women in leadership, younger professionals and people from diverse technical and regional backgrounds bring different perspectives that enrich our discussions.

HR and leadership work together to make sure policies, communication and recognition systems do not unintentionally exclude anyone. We want employees to feel that they have space to grow, regardless of their entry point.

Equipping Managers to Notice and Act

GreenSignature Team: How are managers supported to recognise early signs of stress or burnout while still delivering results?

HCI Leadership Team: Managers are regularly sensitised through internal communication, leadership interactions and experience-sharing. We encourage them to watch for subtle shifts – withdrawal, sudden irritability, mistakes that are out of character – and to have simple, human conversations before situations escalate.

The message is that performance and well-being are not competing goals. A stable, secure and healthy workforce is the foundation of sustainable performance.

Recognition, Communication and Future Vision

Being Recognised as a GreenSignature Mindful WorkSpace

GreenSignature Team: What does being recognised through the GreenSignature Mindful WorkSpace assessment mean for HCI as an employer and as a business?

HCI Leadership Team: It strengthens our position not just as a technology leader, but as an organisation that genuinely cares about its people. The recognition puts a spotlight on our ongoing efforts to make HCI a stable, secure and healthy place to work. It also provides an external, evidence-based perspective from GreenSignature, which we value.

For our partners, parents and stakeholders, it signals that we are serious about human sustainability, not only about infrastructure, networks and platforms.

Sharing the Milestone with Employees

GreenSignature Team: How are you planning to communicate this milestone internally and celebrate it with employees?

HCI Leadership Team: The recognition belongs to our employees as much as it does to the organisation. We plan to share it across our internal channels and on platforms like LinkedIn and other social media, acknowledging the teams that made it possible. Our corporate communications team, led by Rekha, will ensure we celebrate it as a shared achievement – not just a leadership announcement.

Looking Ahead: Deepening the Mindful WorkSpace Journey

GreenSignature Team: What comes next in your journey towards a more mindful, psychologically safe and inclusive workplace?

HCI Leadership Team: Many of these values are already embedded in our leadership and culture, and we want to keep strengthening them. The assessment with GreenSignature Mindful WorkSpace has given us structured insights on where we are strong and where we can go further.

As we move ahead, we aim to keep well-being at the centre of how we grow – helping employees find purpose, balance and psychological safety, even as the business adapts to new technologies and market realities.

Leadership Reflection

GreenSignature Team: If you had to describe HCI’s culture in three words, what would they be?

HCI Leadership Team: Stable, secure and healthy.

GreenSignature Team: Finally, what personal leadership belief underpins your approach to well-being and mindfulness in a high-tech industry?

HCI Leadership Team: At the core, we believe that people are our greatest asset. If we take care of them – not just as employees, but as human beings – they will take care of our customers, our innovation and our long-term growth. Mindfulness and psychological safety are simply structured ways of honouring that belief.