A futuristic CHRO will be an inspirational leader & trusted business advisor says Global CHRO for Tata Global Beverages

• What is the value of Wellness of your workforce? What steps are you taking for it in your organisation? 

 We place a very high value on the well-being of our employees. For us, wellness is not just about physical fitness but over-all well-being of an individual including emotional/mental and social wellbeing for all employees. At TGB, we run a program called Well-being Revitalized - it is an online wellness platform to spread the culture of health and wellness. The platform includes access to dieticians, counsellors, information access on various wellbeing subjects and participation in health challenges and guided programs. To promote social wellness we hold multiple team building engagement activities and ensure an open work environment. We have policies around flexible working hours and paid time off to ensure work-life balance; we have a good policy on health cover for employees and their dependents with a provision for employees above 40 years of age to get medical check-ups done on an annual basis. 

• What is the importance of an inspiring workplace? 

This is very critical for an organization to succeed. The success of an organization depends on its employees and if the employees do not feel inspired and motivated to give their best, it would be difficult to achieve the desired results. At TGB, we run multiple programs such as employee engagement survey, talent assessments, 360 degree feedback, reward & recognition programs, employee-get-together programs and rigorous communication mechanisms to create an inspiring workplace.  

• Can we leave an important decision as hiring on a Robot? 

We should leverage both technology and hiring managers to make best hiring decisions.  I believe human touch and feel is important to hire candidates who are a good organizational fit with the right mix of skills, values & motivation. However, with technological advancements there are multiple HR tools and platforms that are available now that can be leveraged during the hiring process to screen and narrow the pool of candidates. They make the hiring process more agile and help hiring managers make better decisions. 

• What are the challenges of working with instant gratification seeking millennials? 

Millennials like any group pose their own set of unique challenges. They are restless and seek instant gratification but they also have a desire to seek continuous feedback and constantly improve. They seek more mentoring, love to question, challenge with a desire to do something better. The challenge for leaders today is to harness the talent of both the younger & the older workforce together to achieve the organizational goals. At TGB we don’t encourage instant gratification but we give challenging assignments and a steeper learning curve to ensure faster career progression for our star performers. 

• How should a CEO and CHRO bridge the skill gap? 

We can bridge the skill gap by constantly evaluating the future and current skills required. We follow a build, borrow and buy strategy to meet our skill requirements. We run tailor made programs such as management trainee programs, hi-potential programs for skill development and internal growth to build our talent pipeline. We also leverage the Tata Group to borrow skills when there is a skill need required which is available within the Tata Group. When critical talent isn't available internally & the need is urgent or the skill is niche/new we buy talent from the market. 

• What do you think are the expectations from a futuristic CHRO?

A futuristic CHRO will be an inspirational leader & trusted business advisor with an ability to bring great value to business, (s)he would be a mentor and guide with excellent HR skills. A key attribute would be the ability to leverage technology & AI to deliver value and make decisions based on analytics and own experience. 

• What are the best practices that CHRO’s are leveraging from Social Media for the right kind of hiring and recruitment? 

Any Talent Acquisition strategy is not complete without a defined social media strategy. Today social media plays an important role in the way an organization is perceived by potential candidates. Building a strong brand on social media platforms that clearly communicates the workplace culture and the unique employee value proposition is essential. It is also important that word-of- mouth communication by employees matches the employee value proposition. 

• A job interview is a conversation between two liars, how to get the best out of that is the skill of a CHRO. Can you give us some hacks for the same? 

Today when a candidate is interviewing, (s)he presents an overall portfolio of skills, experience and personality traits. To identify actual skills and experience, it is essential for hiring managers & HR managers to understand the job requirements well and question the prospective candidates beyond the obvious to seek specific details. Additionally, behavioural events interviews, cognitive ability tools and assessment tools could be used to get a realistic assessment. 

• Explain the fine line between Talent Acquisition and hiring? 

Hiring is filling up job vacancies whenever they occur and is generally more reactive and tactical in nature. It may work for the short term but may not meet the long term goals of organization. Talent acquisition, on the other hand is a more strategic in nature and it generally encompasses identifying, engaging, attracting and retaining the best talent to build organizational capability which will enable it to meet its long term goals. 

• How to keep your employees motivated in a crisis situation? 

Communication and transparency is the key to keeping employees motivated during crisis/change situations. When the organization is able to communicate the rationale of the situation and establish solutions to overcome the crisis, the motivation level doesn’t drop.