Unlearn, Learn and Re Learn, the rule of GlobalLogic India says VP HR

Q1- Talk about the latest trends in the HR industry? How are the recruiters enhancing the quality of recruitment?

With the advent of technological advancements, it is imperative to build sophisticated applications and tools to get people aligned around a company’s strategic goals. It is a time of tremendous change in the workplace, particularly with the rise of AI. Analytics is changing the way hiring is being conducted in organisations, helping next generation talent acquisition teams to course correct and work in a more agile way. Diversity hiring, screening automation, transparency in hiring process and data curation are some key differentiators. Industry must do significant automation for sourcing, screening and hiring process to eliminate human bias and time limitation. 

Recruiting teams are also facing increased pressure to demonstrate data-based KPIs. Talent acquisition leaders are increasingly measuring their recruiting teams by quality of hire in addition to time to fill.  In order to win over the best talent in the industry, recruiters are keeping up-to-date with the latest technology trends to understand which ones they need to adopt in order to stay competitive. A variety of HR operations such as performance appraisals using AI, payroll management using Blockchain, and workload management making the most of gamification along with other HR operations including recruitment, employee engagement, employee wellness, and training and development are already being utilized by innovative organizations using new digital platforms. 

Technology is an enabler. Incorporating technology prudently in order to attract and retain the best talent, HRs have already begun to realize the benefits of informed decision making and started thinking about the advantages of such technologies.

Q2- I have always heard most of HR professionals complaining about millennials joining and a difficulty to cope with them. They have minor but very basic issues like not even getting an email body correct. So what kind of talents do Indian Companies need right now?

Industries globally, including in India, are going through a seismic change today when it comes to embracing disruptive technologies like Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Sensing the future requirements, we are already skilling/reskilling employees who have the right pace to catch up with the next wave of technology.  

At this point, the industry is in a big race for Digital and Analytics talent. Leading the digital transformation for our clients is our talent: the smart, driven people needed to work seamlessly at the intersection of technology, analytics, and business. What’s imperative now for organisations is to build teams who are proficient in technology, core critical thinking and analytics and retain this talent.

Millennials are no different, they also need skilling/trainings to fit in specific role and culture of an organization. They are looking for fast career progression, expect flexibility, a faster pace of work and quicker, more creative recognition of their value. 

Q3- What is the best HR Strategy to retain talent?

We think of retention as re-recruiting our workforce. Recognizing what attracts a candidate to a particular job is often different from what keeps that person with the organization, and that is important. There has been a significant shift in employees’ expectations regarding their work lives. These include better compensation and benefits, career progression opportunities, different job responsibilities, frequent training and development opportunities (including international assignments, job rotation programs and e-learning opportunities) and more chances to work directly with their coaches and mentors. They do not place much value on formal structures and value cultures, which put ideas before the hierarchy. Today’s younger employees also look for a sense of purpose in their work and a sense of worth at their organization. They want to feel they are doing work that has meaning, and they want to be recognized for the value they bring to their organization. 

The best strategy therefore is to engage them both with their work and with the culture. GlobalLogic provides some of the best opportunities to our employees to work on cutting edge technologies. More than 60% of our current business is in the digital space and that is what excites people to stay with us. With exciting work at the core, and supportive policies and practices, GlobalLogic has very well engaged its talented workforce. One of the reasons we are amongst the top 50 Great Places to work as well.

Q4- What is your Talent Acquisition strategy for 2018?
With 2017 in the rear-view mirror and 2018 here, the state of talent acquisition technology has never been more fragmented and diluted than ever. With major tech companies like Google investing in the job market platforms this year and impact of AI & Machine Learning becoming better understood, 2018 will surely be another transformative year. As the talent acquisition technology market evolves, so has the increased emphasis on vendors to provide clear differentiation and value. As we move forward and plan talent acquisition strategies, there is a clear understanding amongst forward-thinking professionals that technology is the catalyst to transforming the way quality talent is sourced, hired, and on-boarded into respective organizations, most especially in the pursuit of this ‘integrated’ approach. Therefore, it is imperative to adopt technologies such as AI that can help streamline best talent. The creation of a cognitive system that augments an individual’s expertise, allows for smarter, quicker, and more informed analysis.

Recruiters who really know our jobs, our culture, and our hiring managers can find and bring in the best people. Studies prove that creating an employer brand that evokes both authenticity and human-like experiences attract and convert the best talent. Through Brand Sentiment Surveys, Campaign Testing Focus Groups & Panels, when conducted properly, the data acquired via those approaches can help with employment brand strategy with an emphasis on delivering authentically and consistency in all mediums.

Q5-Do tell us about the Corporate Culture of GlobalLogic India as an Insider and how does is it different from other corporates?

Nowadays, most organizations do agree that engaged employees – those willing to ‘go the extra mile’ – can have a very strong effect on the success of a business and so are seeking effective techniques that will allow them to build engagement. 

As an organization, GlobalLogic fosters an Open, Caring and Inclusive culture through a combination of tools and policies. Human Resources being the key contributor and driver. We believe that a well aligned and highly engaged workforce results in better business outcomes, more loyal customers and better financial performance.

Our people managers and HR teams focus on creating employee experiences that leave a lasting positive impression at all interaction points through the employee life cycle. Ideas come before hierarchy at GlobalLogic and there are several internal platforms that encourage open communication with employees at large. GlobalLogic is a teenage organisation which fosters an open and inclusive culture, more like a start-up as we innovate and extremely mature when it comes to our engineering practices.

Our culture is not just reflected in the the policies we have, or what we do, but in the exceptions that we make, with policies ultimately becoming the guardrails!

Q6-What are the number of employees you want to hire by 2020 and what are the mediums you use to hire them?

At GlobalLogic, we bring together the key elements needed for brands to reimagine and build all new products and digital experiences where in our employees come to work with an owner's mindset, leveraging their talent and interests to strengthen and deliver meaningful solutions to customers. This helps our clients imagine what is possible and required to accelerate their transition into tomorrow’s digital businesses.

Working on some new age and innovative technologies, the workforce we hire is highly skilled, diverse and driven! By end of 2020, given the growth that we envisage, we would certainly double our current headcount. 

As far as hiring mediums go, we have been using both conventional and non-conventional mediums to hire. Our referral hiring has seen an upward trend in the past few years and so has our shift from traditional job portals to new age social hiring techniques. We recently were listed by LinkedIn in a case study on how we use ‘social to hire’. 

Q7-What kind of employee engagement activities does GlobalLogic India do?
 Employees are engaged the most when they feel cared, are heard, and are spoken to. That is when they find meaning in their work and continue to grow. 

GlobalLogic believes in extra miles, exceptions and breaking conventional boundaries when it comes to caring for our employees. Likewise, on the community perspective, our programs impact more than 3000 underprivileged children across India through very focused initiatives across cities by GlobalLogic Foundation.

GlobalLogic Garima, a flagship forum for our women employees gives women an opportunity to be nurtured, made stronger and coached at special milestones in their life. 

League Extraordinaire, another initiative at GlobalLogic, which uniquely connects with employee’s families as part of our Reward and recognition program.

Along with interventions and initiatives, there is a very active focus on coaching employees both at middle management and at leadership levels. Given the volatile external environment, personal executive coaching helps them steer well towards their goals.

Like mentioned, employees are engaged most when they find meaning and purpose in their work. Most important aspect for employees at any stage of their career is ‘what happens Next?, that is where a conversation is needed. MYGOALS  is one such platform at GlobalLogic where employees initiate their goal setting every quarter, have an opportunity to discuss last quarter, add a stretch goal if they chose to walk an extra mile, and work on what they setup for themselves. 

With employee skills sets becoming redundant every 2-3 years, focus on learning, acquiring the right skill sets, especially in a technology set up is non-negotiable. Therefore focus on learnability and curiosity is paramount when we hire employees. At GlobalLogic, we believe in creating the right learning environment through academies- behavioural and technical, facilitating the learning journey through forums like Career Matters , Learnopedia and so on, so as to facilitate an interaction on the employees career and learning path. 

We’ve been recognized by Great Places to work, Glassdoor, Silicon India and LinkedIn for our hiring and people practices. It is always good to have someone reflect and provide feedback on what you do.

Q8- Tell something unique rule about your organization which is only started by GlobalLogic India?
 
 With the changing dynamics of the IT industry, today’s IT professionals need to be proactive in learning new skills. We see it as an opportunity for individuals to react to the situation with skilled learning.  The future of emerging technologies like industrial robots, artificial intelligence and machine learning will be so relevant for creating a strategy across business practices. In addition, the rise in adoption of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) offers a unique platform for such innovative technology services across sectors. It is an opportunity for the workforce, all of us to Unlearn, Learn and Re Learn! Those who do it strive well and those who don’t, are left out. 

To enable this change, what we are trying to do differently is conducting various programs within the organisation which our employees proactively undertake, and which enable them to adapt to the change. GlobalLogic’s Technical Mentorship programs, Technical Architect Academy to groom future tech leaders, Hackathons, Innovation Labs etc are some of the programs that employees place most value on and these platforms strengthen our unique engineering DNA.