It’s all about listening to understand and not only to respond

According to Babu, working with people and managing people’s problems is relatively easy if you’re progressive in your approach. While the materialistic expectations of people remain the same, their expectations as employees of an organisation are always changing. Babu believes that if HR leaders are able and willing to evolve with time, to meet the needs of their workforce, managing people is not a complex or strenuous task.

Babu adds that it’s important for HR teams to listen to their employees to thoroughly understand their concerns and generate a response or solution that can truly fix the issue in real-time. He detests the phrase, “Let me get back to you on this.” Babu says that this statement in a one-on-one conversation between a HR and an employee, can be a total deal breaker. Being an HR professional is all about building trust and credibility. The inability to offer a solution in real-time is a leading cause of unsatisfactory employee experience.

Technology is what technology does

Babu says that the first step toward leveraging technology at work is to understand what technology can do for HR and employees. The question to raise here is, “What does the organisation need technology for?” The fundamental answer to this question is smart data. Babu and his team turn to technology for data about various aspects of HR operations such as performance evaluation, compensation assessment, workplace culture, and talent management.

Thanks to technology, Babu can access clean and accurate data on the happenings of the organisation that help him make informed, people-centric decisions. For Babu, technology means data and a seamless flow of data is all one needs to manage the talent of the organisation effectively and efficiently.

HR trends shape the future of workforce transformation

In the context of workforce transformation, Babu sheds light on a few trends that are seemingly impactful and insightful. In his experience, employees are no longer fixated on the idea of staying loyal to an organisation on a long-term basis. That sentiment of “loving” a company they work with is a thing of the past. Employees are no longer a family, but a community of like-minded people, and HR teams need to work on addressing its people accordingly.

Another trend that seems to be surfacing is a shift of focus points in the recruiting process. Babu believes that in the start-up environment, employees are looking to spend a maximum of 12 months in any given organisation. A short time such as this isn’t sufficient to make meaningful interactions with employees to understand their pain points and retain them. Hence, HR teams must rewire their hiring measures and keep a watchful eye on what candidates are looking for in a new job and what motivates them to work in the company.

Retaining talent centres around employee well-being

According to Babu, employee wellness or well-being is a mandatory provision that every organisation is required to offer. Paying salaries on time, conducting interactive sessions, and having a comprehensive wellness program in place are direct contributors to employee experience and job satisfaction.

Considering this, Babu and his team conduct regular pulse surveys to identify and rectify employee-centric challenges that revolve around wellness. Babu says that each employee has a different and unique problem. Instead of offering a “one-size-fits-all” solution, the HR team should focus on the root cause of each concern and offers resolutions that are best suited to the specific individual.

Babu is a people person through-and-through which makes him one of our most impactful People Leaders of 2023. He has worked with start-up founders and people across the globe. He is also working towards creating a social impact through his social entrepreneurship initiative in rural India.