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

I got into HR by chance rather by choice. In my previous organisation i.e. in Tikona Infinet Ltd I was heading the Procurement & Supply Chain & then I got additional responsibility of a CHRO & HR got added in my profile 8 years 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?

When we enjoy what we do, its called passion & when we do what we don’t like that’s stress !! I personally believe that stress levels increase only when employees don’t enjoy their work. Employee Engagements can make people happy for that moment but for making them always cheerful & have fun at work by giving them open culture, freedom of doing things, encourage their work, coach them & then we see remarkable change in our organization. We should remember that people do not work to get that one SMS at the end of the month, that’s a bye product & they work for something more than that.

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

We celebrate every festival to its peak. Be it Diwali, Holi, Independence Day, Christmas eve, etc. All the activities are really important for building up bonding and teamwork. I feel honoured to be part of all such activities.

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

Absolutely yes, Employee Engagement activities are an investment which eventually gets into multi-fold returns.

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?

In my previous organisation, during birthday or anniversaries of employees, we used to send a bouquet to their homes so that the families also feel connected to the organisation.

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 its all about creating a culture, a free and open workspace giving employees the freedom to think rather than giving them lots of instructions and restrictions. Let people use their minds freely.  Employee should feel like they own the organisation, that’s how the culture should be. More focus should be drawn towards the people rather than the business.

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

I do singing, dancing and play lots of different sports. Every Sunday I play cricket. Use different karaoke apps to sing. I am also a part of a large network of singers’ group.

Any other thoughts you may want to share.

In any organisation, the HR plays a very crucial role because they belong to the people. Its all about the functioning of HR management. If we are able to handle people well, then only we are capable to thrive as an organisation.