Ola’s Bhavish mimics Musk on work culture, asks employees for weekly updates

New Delhi: Mimicking billionaire Elon Musk’s recent orders for US federal employees to send a weekly report card of their work, Ola Founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal has also instructed employees across his companies to submit weekly reports, detailing their achievements.

The new initiative, called "Kya Chai Raha Hai?"-- a Hindi phrase that translates to "What’s going on?" -- requires Ola employees to send an email every week with 3-5 bullet points of the tasks they’ve completed.

These reports must be submitted to both their managers and a designated company email address, with no exceptions, according to Bhavish memo.

"We're starting "Kya Chal Raha Hai?" - a simple way to share your weekly updates directly with me and your managers, starting today," the internal email read.

The email further asked to send “a brief update to your manager and Kyachalrahahai@olagroup.in (email will be active in an hour or so) with 3-5 bullet points about what you got done last week”.

The first report deadline was set for the day following the announcement, with future reports due every Sunday.

This directive comes at a time when Ola is undergoing significant changes, including a round of layoffs aimed at cutting costs and becoming profitable.

Ola Electric, the company’s electric vehicle arm, is reportedly planning to lay off more than 1,000 employees, marking the second major round of job cuts in just five months.

The layoffs will affect various departments, including procurement, customer relations, and charging infrastructure, as Ola tries to streamline its operations.

Aggarwal’s new reporting requirement echoes a policy introduced by Musk, who recently mandated that US federal employees must submit weekly accomplishment reports in bullet points.

Musk’s policy was introduced in his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to improve accountability and reduce inefficiencies in government operations.

However, it has faced criticism for potentially lowering employee morale and job security.

This isn’t the first time Aggarwal has taken a firm stance on employee performance. In December last year, he sent an internal email warning staff about poor attendance.