Q. What has been your journey like as an HR professional?
A. I was, to some extent pushed into the profession by friends who were applying for a professional course after our graduation. While many of my friends did not make the cut, I was selected at XISS, Ranchi and over the next two years decided to give it my best shot while I was there. My teachers at XISS, my mentor and guide at Shaw Wallace during my summer internship there and my first set of superiors at Electrosteel Castings where I began my career all shaped my initial years .
But for their knowledge and immense inputs in shaping my initial professional acumen, which among other things ingrained in me
a) the need to have an open mind
b) to strive towards continuous excellence and
c) ensure resolution of conflicts at the levels of occurrence, I would not have become the professional I have become.
During my entire career, I have moved from one role to other in the HR function across various verticals in IR, Admin, Talent Acquisition, Performance Management, Learning & Development etc. In multiple industry verticals including Engineering, FMCG, FMCD, Hospitality, Tea, Shipping & Retail. All this has helped me grow in some way or the other by way of various challenging experiences and working with different leadership styles in different business scenarios.
Overall, it has been a thoroughly satisfying and a great learning experience till now.
Q. What were the biggest challenges you faced?
A. I have, like almost all my fellow HR colleagues, faced numerous challenges during my career, all of which have greatly influenced my growth & development through the years. Working almost 24×7 in a manufacturing setup, which was growing at a fast pace at Electrosteel Castings during the first couple of years of my career, was one such challenge. Handling the pressures of seasonal demands in a beverage manufacturing facility almost single handedly at Pepsi had its own challenge too.
However, the biggest challenge for me personally has been in managing the transition of the business as Regional HR at Dabur India in one of its biggest market in Bihar & Jharkhand where I almost single handedly, albeit with ample support of my superiors and colleagues transitioned the business process successfully, managing internal & external stakeholders as well as govt. bodies over a span of almost 15 months. I came out bruised and battered, but smiling and successful. This single event not only gave me the confidence to handle complex situations but also taught me to forge new skills, develop new networks, and create new possibilities in the face of adversity.
Q. What are the challenges HR faces in the new era of the ‘digital age’?
A. As I have said earlier, every generation throws new challenges and managers as well as leaders have to adjust accordingly.
Today’s workforce, is used to advanced technology, used to having information on its fingertips thanks to the Internet, can multitask and is comfortable with flexibility & mobility as well as is highly networked on various social platforms.
The digital world of today where information is freely available essentially means that one can no longer sit on information and delay response. Todays HR Leaders have to react much faster to situations as well as ensure that the response has an equal reach / impact. Also, HR leaders have the more challenging work of bridging the various generations of workforce in the organization, each with its own different mindsets, and bring them to a unified objective of the organization. Everyone in the organization, including the CEO has a big role to play, however it is generally expected that HR lead the way.
Q. Any advice you would like to give on how to manage people/teams as the workforce becomes more diverse, as the ways of working change
A. The primary challenge today is to be able to reach out to, and influence workforce across generations, each with a different mindset. One needs to leverage technology in as many ways possible and constantly connect across multiple platforms including digital platforms in order to reach out and interact with / influence these various groups. HR Leaders today also need to create distributed HR Leadership so that the entire team can work towards reaching these objectives rather than expecting only the Head of HR to manage this.
How effective and how important are rewards and recognitions in strengthening employee engagement and retention?
A. I believe that engagement & retention is not just an HR role. Leaders and managers across the organization have the greatest role in engaging with and retaining employees. Yes HR does have a role in providing a strategic direction to this and creating frameworks to support employee engagement & retention.
A good leader or manager is able to engage and retain employees even without organizational vision, framework or support systems.
However, the HR Leader’s role cannot be denied in providing a framework and creating support systems for engagement as well as retention of talent. Rewards & Recognition play an overwhelming role in the engagement & retention strategy. However, Rewards & Recognition schemes as well as other retention and engagement strategies will only be effective if the culture of the organization allows that to flourish. Therefore, personally, I feel that creating a culture of engagement and retention, especially through visible actions by the top management of the company is of utmost importance.
Q. How can a company attract the best people?
A. Two words can define this – Engagement & Communication Organizations need to reach out and engage with their present workforce as well as have clear strategies to reach out to the pool of future workforce, be it the colleges, B-Schools or the youth of today.
Engagement can only happen positively & in favor of the organization, if the communication is clear and purposeful. Clear & structured communication backed by visible actions by the organization give confidence to your employees as well as make a mark in the society from where you expect to draw your future pool of employees.
Q. What is the secret to hiring the right candidate?
A. There is no secret to hiring the right candidate, instead there is something called a structured approach. I feel that there are few simple steps that HR practitioners need to undertake to fit the right key (talent) in the right lock (role). They are:
a) Understand the role and create a success profile complete with qualifications, experiences, competencies, Personality enablers & de-railers.
b) Use Personality Inventories and assessment tools to assess the competency & personality fitment (both enablers as well a derailers)
c) Assess the motivation & drive of the candidate. This helps to understand if an individual is likely to engage with the leaders / managers and will be an organizational fit.
d) Hire only if the candidate is satisfied and looks forward to joining in the new role. This is more important in senior and leadership roles.
Hiring right is when a person matches the demands of the role, is motivated enough to do it and fits into the organizational culture.
Q. What advice would you give young candidates if they want to stand out and get noticed during an interview?
A. Products and services are always bought for their USP’s. Every individual talent must also have its own USP, which make him / her different from other candidates and stand out in front of the interviewer.
In addition to their knowledge and skills, people should work on understanding their own personality and their unique nature and work on their strengths & weaknesses to create an individual USP. Psychometric assessment tools help in doing so. A coach, mentor or a professional senior acting as a guide or a sounding board also helps in developing one’s personality.
Finally, candidates should pursue areas, which interest them and roles/ jobs that motivate them to deliver and find personal as well as professional satisfaction. Not to mention communication, grooming & good interpersonal skills do play a strong role in creating first impressions during the interview process.
