Ericsson’s target goals is that 30 percent of our workforce be comprised of women by 2020.

Q- Can you talk about the biggest challenge women are facing in leadership role?

One of the biggest challenge that women face within the ICT industry is to get to the leadership position and the fact that there is not enough representation of women in leadership positions. I think this is an issue organizations need to address fairly quickly so that you can have a balanced representation of women across the levels and a more gender balanced workforce .

I can share what we do at Ericsson. Over the past few years, the Company has made steady progress in increasing the number of women at senior-level positions. 35 per cent of the Executive Leadership Team members were women in 2016. A substantial increase over the previous years. The number of women in the top 250 most senior positions has also continued to grow. We believe in having an organizational culture that recognizes and values the differences that both men and women bring to the organization.One of Ericsson’s target goals is that 30 percent of our workforce be comprised of women by 2020.

Q- What would be your suggestion to women in leadership role, to maintain a work life balance?

Finding work-life balance comes with intention. I find that building a supportive community of colleagues and peers who care about your well-being and performance helps in ensuring that you stay on goal. Ultimately, prioritizing the balance is key for me in achieving a truly healthy work-life balance.

At Ericsson, work life balance is an aspect which is given very high priority and thanks to the increased flexibility in the workplace along with tools for remote working. Work-life balance is more attainable than ever. Many of our benefit programs support employee independence and allow self-management. Giving employees of different levels the ability to establish their own unique work-life balance. Further, employees at Ericsson gets an additional support in the form of Concierge desk which provides extended support for the works like Bank work, Tickets booking, bills etc.

Q- What are the best tools of Employee retention? How important is Employee Engagement in today’s world?

The value of professionalism, respect, and perseverance are the foundation of the Ericsson culture, guiding us in our daily work – how we relate to people and how we do business. Our values are also at the heart of our retention philosophy. Following are a few initiatives we have taken uo at Ericssion.

Key initiatives

Employee Engagement – Our people-first work culture begins with an enterprise-wide focus on building participative employee engagement initiatives that perpetuate values of honesty, innovation, customer value and fun. Some of our key initiatives include an annual employee satisfaction survey to identify ways employees can be supported by HR. Ericsson recognizes that to retain the right talent, a motivating compensation policy is a business necessity. And this is ensured through Industry benchmarked pay scales and the right mix of base, short term variable, long term variable and benefits offered to employees. The Key Contributor retention plan is also a part of Ericsson’s talent management strategy and is designed to encourage retention of high performing employees by awarding share options.

Flexible working policy – Ericsson is a true believer in encouraging every employee to enjoy the right work-life balance. Our aim is to offer every employee the resources, support and tools they need to perform their role effectively.

Diversity and inclusion – We acknowledge that diverse teams are high-performing and innovative, so we make sure that each of our team members feels they are truly valued and welcomed.

Q-Tell something unique rule about your organization which is only started by you?

HR Made Easy, a sub-stream of the Global Quest for Easy initiative to speed up our Go-To Market value proposition, was started last year when I was leading the HR Global Operations unit. We have picked up this people thread in MOAI to simplify HR processes and delivery for our employees. This enables us to retain focus on business priorities than on administration around processes.

In addition, we are running a number of initiatives with respect to Total Rewards, Talent Management as well as Workforce Analytics to ensure that we continue to be high impact business partners. The emphasis is on driving a culture in line with our people strategy to attract & retain key talent to have the Best in Class people practices.”

Q- How do you think women should react to work place harassment? When is the right time to report?

I feel it is extremely important for women to be vocal and take appropriate steps to prevent and correct harassment. It is essential that harassment of any kind is reported to management at an early stage to prevent its escalation.

Ericsson prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy or parental status. A committee has been formed with an aim to look into and investigate the complaints received on grounds of sexual harassment. The Company through various measures such as training programs endeavours to create discrimination free/bias free work environment. Additionally, at the time of induction, all employees are engaged in a session which focusses on harassment, the Ericsson way of managing and reporting such situations.

We have also form the Prevention of Sexual Harassment team (POSH) based on the Vishaka guidelines applicable in India and the panel composition and process is in line with the legally prescribed model.