“I believe ‘technology’ stays a facilitator in whatever we do. However, not embracing technology will not even keep us in the game,” said Geetha Thiagarajan, Head HR, Altimetrik.
What are the steps you take as a leader to embrace innovative disruption?
Accept ideas from others, though it may feel impossible. There is my way of doing things and there are numerous other ways of doing the same thing – hence, being open to try! When a new option is on the horizon – the first question is. ‘ why not try this’ instead of ‘ I have not done this in the past and hence don’t want to try.’
Generally, I am excited about anything that is new in the industry and that allows me to embrace the changes and evolution that this industry has gone through.
What are the strategies you employ to upskill your workforce?
I believe that we can’t design one program across the organisation and say – that we are upskilling people. It needs a broader perspective and even more ‘bespoke’ approach when it comes to employees and this has worked well for me.
How do you win at talent management?
While the tools and processes are important, having the right set of people involved in this activity and in the right spirit – brings a whole new effective perspective to this whole initiative.
What role do you think culture plays in increasing efficiency at work?
‘Culture’ is the core to everything that we do in any organisation and this can’t be built in a classroom. Culture is the way we treat each other – respect for everyone’s views and yet disagree to agree in a very safe environment. It takes years to build something as solid as culture. And leaders do play a huge role in this…hence identifying those evangelists to lead teams could be a game changer. And in a safe environment – people try to do more than then can as they know their leaders would back them or coach them to success and this obviously leads to efficiency…while efficiency is just one of the positive outcomes.
What role do you think technology plays in talent management? How can technology bring about a change in the talent management lifecycle?
Honestly, I believe ‘technology’ stays a facilitator in whatever we do. However, not embracing technology will not even keep us in the game. Today, we are spoilt for choice from the technology options we have that most of them don’t even assess their need vs what is available. If this is done diligently, it can bring about a huge change in the way we are doing business. With the enormous change in the Talent management industry – all HR solutions are on Social, mobile, analytics and cloud-based technologies and have taken HR and recruiting from a desk job through a dynamic evolution for each of the individuals performing these roles. This helps us upskill HR roles, create better and meaningful jobs for people, get timely insights and much more.
