Innovative HR Practices Crucial To Ensuring Alignment With Evolving Business Landscape

Formative Years

My professional journey which began with GAIL in the year 2009, has been both a challenging as well as a deeply rewarding one. The decision to join a CPSE as part of campus placement from XLRI proved to be the right decision in the long run as it gave me a breadth and diversity of experience along with the complete freedom to do new things in an environment which had exponential opportunities as the Energy industry as well as the organization was in a growing stage.

During my tryst with HR for more than 14 years, I worked across wide spectrum of HR including Talent Management, Leadership Development, Performance Appraisal, Employee Engagement, Employee Services, etc. At present, I am handling HR Business Partner role in GAIL’s Southern Region Headquarter and am based out of Bengaluru handling the entire gamut of HR function for workforce spread over four states. I have realised that there is tremendous growth and learning that comes with the business partner role which requires you to look at people issues at the ground level & from the lens of both businesses as well as HR standpoint.

Innovations in HR Practices

Adopting innovative HR practices is crucial to ensure alignment with the evolving business landscape and changing needs of the workforce. As part of this endeavour, I led the conceptualisation and implementation of many strategic HR initiatives in the organisation. Some of these initiatives include introducing integrated leadership development program for middle & senior management executives, 360 degree feedback framework, inculcating performance-driven culture through KRA/KPI and competency based PMS framework, employee engagement initiatives, employee well-being initiatives, etc.

As a unique initiative, a special cross functional group was constituted by the top management who was entrusted with the task of conceptualising and driving Employee Engagement/Development initiatives for employees across the company. As part of this group, I led the ideation and formulation of many initiatives along the broad areas of Talent Engagement and Development of employees across the organisation.

Future of HR

Some of the key aspects that will shape the future of HR will be the continued integration of technology, continuous learning and upskilling of the workforce, employee well-being and mental health, data analytics-driven decision-making, refining policies on hybrid and remote work arrangements, embracing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and navigating the global workforce dynamics.

Young professionals, with their digital fluency and progressive perspectives including commitment to diversity and social responsibility, are likely to play a pivotal role in driving these changes.