At what point in your life did you decide to take up HR as your career? What were the guiding / motivating factors?

Interesting question. I was simply a clerk in a government sector, put a long time, and never thought at any occasion to be an HR professional but I had some entrepreneurship skills, when I tried my skills, I got entangled with some unfortunate event, which made me completely disturbed. This was turning point of my life and I studied Counselling & Psychotherapy course till my M.Phil. There I came to understand that a Psychologist can play a greater role in HR, I studied MBA and did my PhD in HR Management. I quit my organisation and became a freelance trainer and founded TransilienZ.

To be honest, it was my Govt job from where I felt some dots are missing, to fill that gap it was essential to understand the nitty-gritty of the HR profession and finally selected this domain to do something excellent.
 

HR is one practice that touches human lives directly. Do you think employers and specially HR Professional can play role in reducing stress levels of employees through various employee engagement initiatives?

Yes, HR is backbone of any industry and there are plenty of cases surfacing in our industry, and biggest of them are the work life balance, Once management can understand their pivotal role to handle any grievance empathetically you may see enormous loyalty, result being turnover would be reduced and productivity may gear up substantially. People need space and proper training of handling stress at different levels requires timely interventions through proper counselling and training.

What are some of the most important employee engagement initiatives related to Music, Art, Dance or Sports that you have taken in your career?

MADS is our way of ensuring each employee / participant brings that innate talent to the fore. Mere and pure Academics is essential, without doubt, but excellence in Extra & Co-Curricular activity is crucial. The idea behind this initiative is to ensure that our employee/participant have a “vent” to de-stress and unwind from time to time; break away from the routine & work and slip into fun & play.

Frankly I personally love sports but usually prefer music during opening the session and dance at the closing of the session, which I found is highly engaging.
 

Do you think time and cost for employee engagements are an investment for the organisation and can help in multi-fold returns?

Well I have different perspective on this issue, by recognising the employee engagement and satisfaction, investing an employee engagement programs and increasing management talent, organization will improve as a whole. Investing an employee engagement and satisfaction should not be seen as a time or cost investment but rather a saving.

Do you feel there is a need even to reach out to the family of employees so that they get better connected to the company? Have you undertaken any such initiative in your past or current organization?

Absolutely. I personally believe to reach out to the family of employees for better understanding. Work-life balance involves juggling workplace stress with the daily pressures of family, friends, and self. Modern employees demand greater control over their lives and a bigger say in the structure of their jobs. 

When employees feel a greater sense of control and ownership over their own lives, they tend to have better relationships with management and are able to leave work issues at work and home issues at home. Balanced employees tend to feel more motivated and less stressed out at work, which thereby increases company productivity and reduces the number of conflicts among co-workers and management. The best way to retain an awesome workforce is to serve the needs of your employees so that they can best serve your organization.

Yes, we take such noble initiatives time to time and connect with family members and invite them for company picnic and celebrations.
 

What is the one change that you would like to bring in HR practice that has potential to boost employees work-life balance?

Flexible work weeks and work hours give employees time to rest and reduce stress. Instead of spending hours simply to get to and from work, employees can use this time to start work and finish early in the comforts of their homes even for one day in a week. This can also lessen the stress at work and give them more time to rest or exercise so they can be ready for another challenging work week. Less stress can reduce the risks for medical conditions and allows individuals to have healthier lives. If employees are able to manage their work schedule, work and life will be less stressful for them.

What are your personal interests in Music, Art, Dance or Sports and how do you continue to pursue it?

My personal interest is to listen to music, particularly Rabindra Sangeet and do almost daily some physical activities like walking, jogging, yoga and meditation to make me cheerful. Music is very common and easy to find at every home and when you listen light music you feel charged for the rest of the day.

Any other thoughts you may want to share.

Yes, it’s autonomy. If the members of an organization are allowed to choose their schedules and the days within a week when they will report for work, they will be given the autonomy to make decisions regarding their work and personal life. This is beneficial to employees because they become more confident about themselves and more assertive. Also, this will boost employee morale, making them happy and content employees.