The Shape of Work

#22: Sarang Brahme on building a modern employer brand

June 09, 2021 Springworks Season 1 Episode 22
The Shape of Work
#22: Sarang Brahme on building a modern employer brand
Show Notes

In this episode, Springworks' Head of Marketing, Abhash Kumar talks to Sarang Brahme, Program Manager – Employee Engagement, Experience & Employer Branding at Capgemini.

Sarang is someone who accidentally started the role in Digital Marketing and later in recruitment, and it’s no surprise to see him beautifully carrying out the amalgamation of marketing and recruitment. 

In the episode, Sarang tells us how internal employee experience makes an impact in building an authentic employer brand by sharing some of his experiments from the past that helped the cause. An interesting conversation on subjects of the evolution of the HR ecosystem, people management, and a lot more.

Has the HR academia been updated over the years?

In terms of academia, the HR industry is far away from where we should be. There is a lot going on regarding the kind of talent that should be hired. The role of HR has changed with the change in employee expectation. However, the HR industry did not start updating its strategies before the last ten years. The role of HR has changed with the change in employee expectations. Hybrid style of work, employee well-being becoming an integral part of organizations, revamped way of work- these elements need to be embedded in the academia, and also in the industry. The role of HR has expanded itself, covering a vast segment of any organization, from business to culture.

Things to maintain in a hybrid work environment:

Sarang throws light on the necessary guidelines in the hybrid way of work. People in senior positions shouldn’t get to come solely because of their designation. Management style middle managers
Additionally, he talks about middle managers who are particularly responsible to meet both the seniors’ and their employees’ expectations. Their actions build the on-ground culture of their organizations. The employees need to be made comfortable in the new way of work. The middle managers should maintain the same kind of engagement even in a hybrid environment. They need to constantly come up with new ideas of engagement and help them grow.

Conducting Learning and Development specifically in startups:

Most startups don't have much of a hierarchical culture. Thus they can undergo this change pretty easily and quickly.
They can conduct small training sessions for their employees or provide them with infrastructure that can help them perform their duties better. They can build role models, that is, to whom people look up to for more knowledge. These role models can be change agents within the company by providing valuable advice and tips. 

Having interactive sessions in between working hours or conducting meetings differently can be fruitful in this process. Including brainstorming sessions or workshops has also become much more exciting and convenient through a few softwares. Role models might initiate this change, but it is up to the individuals to adapt to them. Additionally, including sessions focusing on the mental health of the employees can be a helpful step. It has the potential to benefit the companies in the long run. 

Organizations need to keep experimenting. These experiments will mature over the years and they can find a specific way to build a proper training framework.

Think in a way a marketing manager would:

One of the biggest areas of interest for Sarang is the link between HR and Marketing. He strongly feels that HR should adopt a marketer's way of thinking while recruiting talent.

Follow Sarang Brahme on LinkedIn.

Produced by: Priya Bhatt
Podcast host: Abhash Kumar