How, where and when did you start your career, specifically in HR?
A. After completing my post graduation in Mathematics and a professional degree in Human Resources, I started my career in 1992 with the Jindal Group. I worked at their manufacturing plant located at Hissar, Haryana in a plant HR role for two years before coming to Delhi to join Salora International. In this profile, I was part of the team that set-up the Panasonic plant at Noida. A significant milestone in my career was joining Sony India in 1996 as an Officer, HR. Over the twenty years that I have spent here, I had the opportunity to handle diverse roles within the HR department before being elevated to the Head of Human Resources Division in 2004. It has been a journey full of learning and engaging with some of the sharpest minds in the consumer electronics industry. The latest addition to my portfolio has been the CSR Head, under which we have endeavoured to undertake sustainable development projects in the field of education, environment, village development and old age care.
Q. Why did you choose HR as your professional field?
A. HR as a career was not a planned choice initially, it just happened to me and I’m glad it did. My mother wanted me to step into my father’s shoes and become a successful HR professional like him. Though I qualified entrance exams for both MCA & MSW, I chose MSW following my mother’s wish and ventured into the HR domain. Having spent over two decades in this profession, when I reflect today, I feel I made an apt choice as I love working with people. My background in science coupled with a passion for human behaviour has helped me in achieving my goals in manufacturing as well as corporate set-up.
Q. Could you briefly describe the initial years of your career – what were the challenges you faced, the areas you enjoyed the most, the lessons learnt?
A. Like most of us, I had also put in a lot of effort and hard work to establish myself in the HR profession. Getting up early in the morning to reach office, which was approximately 40 kms away from my home in a different city, was a routine in the initial days of my career. I was fortunate to get a good break-through in my career when I joined Jindal Strips Limited. I cherish those initial memories when my focus was to get involved in different tasks every day, learning the process and gaining experience despite all hardships. What I learnt during this time is that the key to success is to have dreams, and realize them with dedicated efforts and confidence in yourself”.
Q. What would you describe as the highest point of your HR career?
A. I consider an encounter with my professional mentor as a remarkable event in my career. This happened during the initial stages of my career when I met a charismatic a HR leader at a Navratna PSU during my internship. He always kept his calm under difficult times, spoke with grace and treated people fairly, He influenced me in more ways than one. Whatever I am today is a reflection of how I saw him working. Emulating the learning of my formative years, I have worked hard to establish a fair and consistent HR systems at Sony India, which are the pillars on which all our people initiatives are based. In addition to driving robust HR practices, we have also been successful in partnering with the business to ensure ROI on human capital and enabling growth.
At Sony India, we have worked towards building a conducive work environment, where there is alignment between employee and employer expectations and employees feel both rationally and emotionally engaged to the organization.
Q. How did this transform you personally and professionally?
A. I emerged as a self-believer who usually keeps his calm and gets involved in challenging tasks, leading and contributing to my full potential and taking my team along. I have developed a strong conceptual knowledge, drive and passion for execution and a knack to groom and develop teams. Q. What advice would you like to give HR practitioners of the next generation? A. To the new generation, I would say the following:
• Know your industry and business well. Be a people psychologist with a constant pulse on business.
• Vision, strategy and spirit are must, but not enough as it can’t change the culture of an organization unless values of customer orientation, continuous improvement, teamwork and achieving results are woven into every aspect of management.
• Persistent and sincere efforts never fail and always pay dividends
• It’s always helpful to have a “roadmap”, especially to your own success and happiness.
• Set the “Basics Right”. It is important to do an in-depth analysis of “Available Data” to understand the real message behind data. Don’t jump to conclusion without verifying facts.
• Be humane – treat each individual with equal dignity & respect, considering everyone has a unique strength which must be honed to seek desired results for the organization.
