A candidate who is a human can only be judged by another human says VP-HR Gi Group

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In an exclusive interview with BW People, Upasana raina talks about GI Group’s take on Artificially intelligent hiring, wellness of workforce and challenges of working with millennials.

14 May, 2018

Upasana Raina, VP- HR, Gi Group India

Q-Can we leave an important decision as hiring on a Robot?

While using technology for hiring has its benefits however it has its own limitations. It’s the people who make the difference. Hence, while technology can help us screen candidates to a certain extent and help us get information in a more structured way, hiring decisions involve much more than just that basic screening.  A candidate who is human can only be judged by other human.t GI Group is also working on an Artificial Intelligence based candidate screening bot.

Q-What is the value of Wellness of your workforce? What steps are you taking for it in your organisation?

People well-being is a priority for GI Group, we conduct annual surveys to measure people well-being along with Organisation’s well-being. Basis the survey results, we create focus groups to come up with ideas to improve. We organise Health Awareness Session with renowned doctors for our people. People can avail flexibilities like early leave, work from home, time off as per their needs.

Q-What is the importance of an inspiring workplace?

Considering that we spend a good part of our time in office, it is important that we are motivated to come to office and we enjoy our work. It’s important to find happiness and satisfaction in our work and have opportunity to contribute back to the societ

Q-What are the challenges of working with instant gratification seeking millennials?

Instead of challenges, we would rather call it opportunities to improve. Millennials are anything but “traditional”. They expect to be evaluated by results not efforts. Annual appraisals are fine but immediate rewards and incentives are more important to them. They don’t believe much in traditional office policies, they expect flexibilities but at the same time they like to be responsible and are eager for new and challenging assignments. Workplace is evolving and employee expectations are changing, and so HR policies need to evolve accordingly to keep up with the dynamic environment.

Q-How should a CEO and CHRO bridge the skill gap?

It is important to realise the fact that hiring good talent is not enough, it is equally important to provide them opportunities to develop their skills. While traditional class room trainings have their benefits, online training is catching up fast. However we have seen that the most effective way to bridge skill gap is by providing multifunctional project opportunities to people.

Q-What do you think are the expectations from a futuristic CHRO?

A futuristic CHRO should be aligned with the business and should use technology effectively to make more strategic decisions, as opposed to the old role of using emotion and tradition to make decisions. Futuristic CHRO will be expected to take key seat in the Leadership and help shape and lead business and people strategy.

Q-What are the best practices that CHRO’s are leveraging from Social Media for the right kind of hiring and recruitment?

Identifying right talent for the Organisation is and will continue to be one of the biggest challenges of CHRO’s. While it is easy to find active job seekers on the job portals, Social Media is the means to target passive candidates. Social Sourcing is catching up fast.Social Media profiles, blogs, and online communities are frequently used by GI Group recruiters to find and search for passive candidates and their data information.

Q-A job interview is a conversation between two liars, how to get the best out of that is the skill of a CHRO. Can you give us some hacks for the same?

• It is important to create an environment of trust during a job interview. HR should be realistic and honest during the interaction. Establish the fact that as much as we are assessing you, you need to assess whether we as an organisation are in line with your expectations. This will automatically create trust.
• An interviewer should be a good listener. Check on the growth path of the person. Pay attention to what have been been the past achievements rather than what the candidate is promising. Typical question that I would ask is “Please explain me in detail and from beginning about the Organisations you have worked for and your growth in each Organisation”.  The way the candidate explains this tells lot about the candidate.
• Check on the attitude and openness to change considering the dynamic workplace.

Q-Explain the fine line between Talent Acquisition and hiring?

‘Hiring’ focuses on filling the vacant mandate with a suitable candidate while Talent Acquisition is the fine art of searching & spotting that one person who fits the job role almost perfectly, and has the best attitude and skills for that role and for the company.

Q-How to keep your employees motivated in a crisis situation?

Communication is key here. The best practice for employee motivation during any crisis is timely and open Communication. It is equally important to ensure that communication is cascading to the last level. Be honest in your communication and you will be surprised by the response that you receive. People are motivated and willing to support if the organisation is fair and transparent.

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