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

While my graduation, I was a part of core committee of organizers for annual event and had a chance to connect with almost half of the college (Modern College). On the day of result, while I was sipping coffee at CCD, a friend approached me for an opportunity at Wipro looking at my connect with the college folks and started a pitch about recruitment where the role of HR (hiring expert) was introduced. That made me look at the opportunity of getting into the profession which starts with connect help getting you know people better.

My guiding force my ability to connect with any individual and strike a conversation in the similar topic of interest.

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?

HR is the only practice which has humane touch in every flavour of role and responsibility that it has in its palette. Role of an HR has grown multi-fold from being just personnel to a solution strategist. The HR has a wide range of offerings for employees right from onboardings to stay interview. This is visible when I am able to portray an onboarding specialist who welcomes a new joiner like family, the engagement expert helps the individual in canvassing ones career, learned professional drives passion in form of trainings and lastly HR advisor seeks inputs about how better can a place be designed if looked through your eyes. In a nutshell, HR ensures the stress levels are low by putting all building blocks together for an employee.

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

As apart of engagement, few initiatives that I have supervised under my direction are related to ‘Arts of Mind Map.’ The reason I call this activity as Art because when this activity was held, employees were in state of dilemma and wandering thoughts about doing a Mind Map for a specific topic. When there was a proper guidance, the activity of Mind Map saw some beautiful designs which were implemented in projects as a part of process improvements. Secondly related to sports along with HR Team we had organised a bowling Ally game where the core ingredient of engagement was mentor- mentee relation ship and winning the game.

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

Definitely its rightly said, “You invest time on right things and right things will yield you your investment at right time.” Same is the equation with engagement, you do it once with passion and second time your engagement levels are contagious that others will also do it with you. Engagement is one medicine which helps HR eradicate root cause of attrition at any given stage in career. Engaged employee equates to high productivity at given point in time.

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 the pillar for any employee and in any given situation employee would rely on family decisions first to draw professional goals. In my current role, we have a practice of appreciating the family members commitments and dedication shown towards employee in achieving ones career goals and to make them feel a part of family , we send a gift hamper family depicting about employees career progression on multiple occasions like Promotion  & Yearly Reward and Recognition ceremony. We have witnessed the respect when the family members are called to honour the individual with that reward in presence of larger audience.

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

Freedom to choose their work life balance and not restricting an individual to a 9-hours job at office. Freedom to choose work life balance means ideally a 70 :30 balance where 70 % of the time employee has roles and responsibility to perform and 30% employee can choose his passion and eventually work towards turning his passion into professional expertise. By giving this freedom you are respecting an employee’s own time and secondly you are helping employee live his passion resulting again into your line of interest.

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

My personal interest in Music and Dance specially is very focussed approach and a 70:30 rule applies here as well. If I spend 70 % of my core time in achieving my Key KRA/KPIs, for the 30% left I would like to run a jamming session in office to create a lively atmosphere at workplace.