In Conversation With Gaurav Saini, CHRO – APAC and MEA, Nokia Phones

Mr Saini, what motivated you to transition to the HR domain? Could you please take us down memory lane and tell our readers about the formative years of your illustrious journey? 

I started my journey as a salesperson. It was a great experience, but I found that sales is a critical function but HR is a much more critical function than sales (although this can be controversial but this is my individual thinking)

The reason for the same is that HR is a crucial business transformation function. It has been understated and undermined for a long time. 

I wanted to enter into this function and make a change at the genesis level after the results are out.

So, I started my focus to enter the HR function and got success. Worked with great brands like- BWW, Hewitt, Tata and Happiest Minds and currently with HMD (Home for Nokia Phones) all these organizations made me learn that people function is the key to success for any organization. 

Organizations are built by people, for people and by the people and the HR function plays a vital role in building the culture and the strong talent for the organization.

During my journey, a big learning was that HR must be proactive the approach rather than reactive. Whether it is in the employee experience, talent acquisition or retention techniques. I have seen the HR function evolving from process-driven function to a business-driven function. Now I see that HR is a business transformation function as well. 

What significant challenges have you faced in your role as a CHRO?

A lot of the challenges first is to build the credibility of the function with the business that yes, this function really adds value and is not a deterrent or a road blocker in the progressive culture of the organization. 

It takes a lot of patience and willingness to adapt to the various business ideologies and ways of working. 

But once you achieve that trust from the business then the business becomes your enabler in your people strategy solutions.

You created an award-winning holistic development, wellness, and employee engagement model for 8Ws back in 2014. How do you foresee employee engagement practices changing with the advent of AI and HR tech?

One significant change which I have seen is the focus on the wellness of the employees. A lot of organizations have realised that wellness is the key to engagement. They need to realise this as well that it is the key to the happiness of the employees as well. If you have happy employees, you will have happy customers and if you have happy customers, you will have happy business and if you have a happy business then you will have a happy organization.

With AI and HR tech, this has become very easy now for the people function to engage people. Technology is a big enabler if any organization intends to take care of their people genuinely. 

The data helps with great insights, AI can help in carrying out a lot of proactive engagement and wellness programs for employees. I would say that this is the golden era for the HR function and this is up to you how much you want to utilise for your employees. 

What are the current best practices that CHROs must incorporate as part of their HR practices?

1. CHROs must ask his or her teams to be totally business focused. HR teams should know the business in and out. They should know the challenges and the opportunities.
2. I see that there is no formal learning planned for the HR people in the organization, The CHROs should involve their teams in the live projects with the business and make them learn the new technology faster so that they can adopt it faster.
3. CHROs should visit the customers and markets themselves to understand the business in detail like salespeople. This will help them to be a strategic partner with the business.
4. CHROs should build a culture of openness in the organization. Psychological safety gives a lot of confidence to the organization and builds a strong culture for any organization. 

Can you share some of the other key initiatives or strategies you implemented as CHRO in your career that have contributed to your success?

1. How to build high performing culture and evaluation system.
2. Measuring Happiness Quotient for the teams and people in the organization.
3. Organization transformation for the new challenge and business models.
4. Building a diverse and cross-cultural team.
5. Driving the D&I agenda.
6. Leadership talent pipeline for future organization and new business models.
7. Building a talent pipeline for the high-tech environment.
8. Employer Branding 
9. Building a unique employee-preferred engagement culture and offering.

Talking about evolution, how has the HR function evolved over the last two decades?

HR function has evolved from Human Resource function to Business partner to now a business transformational role.

How do you ensure that the HR department is aligned with the overall business strategy and goals of the organization while managing employee expectations?

It is very important for the HR function to be involved in the business on a day-to-day basis as a facilitator. HR function needs to have a continuous engagement process in terms of speaking up culture, engagement programs, robust and JIT performance management,  A culture builder & a coach to business. 

How do you foresee AI and HR Tech streamlining HR processes, enhancing employee experience, and increasing productivity? On the flip side, what are the potential threats and challenges HR tech poses for the HR function or different categories of jobs?

AI and HR technology will transform the current ways of doing HR activities. The HR processes and systems will become more agile and data-driven.  It will also help in the hybrid work culture as well as how we manage the expectations in this diverse and global world. the geographical constraints will go away. 

The only flip side I see is the learning agility of the HR professionals and also dependent on the adoption rate. If the adoption rate is slow those professionals will not survive. 

What message would you like to give to HR and corporate professionals on embracing change, upskilling and achieving success in the current disruptive work environment?

The key is to keep up with the Business and be involved with the business like a mainstream person. Your success as an HR professional is guaranteed if you a part of the business and not looking at the business from the outside.

Upskilling is the key to remaining relevant in the current scenario. You need to identify what you require to upskill. No knowledge is bad for us but as professionals relevant knowledge and skills will make us grow faster.