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

I’ve always been good with people and managing relationships, be it with school friends, teachers while growing up to college friends, relatives, etc. My parents identified this talent and got me to speak to some HR seniors of the organization they were associated with. After the brief meetings with the veterans then while I was still in college there was no looking back.

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?

As clichéd as it may sound, every people manager is an HR person first, and in that yes, we do touch lives directly. Our actions / no actions / reactions / responses matter a lot and we need to be mindful of it; it can make or break relationships and people.

In today’s age where each one is ‘connected’ to work all the time; stress levels have increased significantly. HR plays a vital role therein, we especially being the neutral party. So apart from the various engagement activities interspersed monthly that gives a breather to people from the mundane, I think focussing on the wholesome ‘employee experience’ and making it positive wherein staff look forward to coming to work is what we should aim for.

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

Hyper personalization is the buzz word in HR circles of late, and it holds true in engagement activities too. Hence, we HR folks have to think out-of-the-box and come up with different activities that’ll touch different tastes.

While we have had the rudimentary sports day (for athletics), football, cricket knockouts, carom, table tennis tournaments, we’ve also had crossword, sudoku and scrabble championships. For the art lovers we’ve had Bollywood Personality Day, Skits-with-a message day, aisle decoration according to Indian states, etc. The ‘Just Jammin’ session was a super hit with the music aficionados. So also celebrating Valentine’s Day in an old age home and Children’s Day in an orphanage have been well received by staff.

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

Absolutely. Investing in engagement activities goes a long way in upping the overall ‘happiness’ quotient in any organization. And these activities needn’t always be cost-intensive. I think the HR folks need to identify what people want and marry it with the organization needs and come up with something unique. Of course, I understand that there will be some activities that are done yearly like the ones associated with festivals, but the rest ought to be novel and should have the surprise element. HR needs to keep staff guessing and make them look forward to activities. Essentially engagement activities need to have the pull factor. That’s when HR will have done justice to the cause, and to the time and cost invested.

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?

Family is an integral part of every individual, and hence involving families in some way, be it events, parties, or simply sending acknowledging emails/letters goes a long way in winning hearts and loyalty of employees.

On the family connect bit, we indulged in writing letters of appreciation to the families of the ‘employee of the quarter’, thanking them for supporting our staff excel at work. This one small gesture took the staff and the families by surprise and brought in a lot of positivity across the organization. Likewise, we secretly invited the spouse of our first employee during the long service award celebration and that hit the right chord with the concerned staff and with the rest too. On Children’s Day we had a Kids Fest in office for our young ones where we entertained them with a theme party and kiddie snacks.

Overall, the positivity that touching families brings is something that all organizations should harness more.

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

I think investing in technology that ensures that employees are connected so that they can have the flexibility of working from wherever they are comfortable will go a long way in boosting work-life-balance.

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

I listen to music whenever I get the time; I find it extremely relaxing. I also love dancing and am planning to join a dance class soon.

Any other thoughts you may want to share.

A general philosophy I live by…life is too short to keep grudges and harbour hatred. Rather, spread happiness and smiles, have an attitude of gratitude. My mantra – Love. Laugh. Live.