In this episode, Springworks Product Manager, Nisarg Shah talks to Sameer Nagarajan, Global President of Human Resources at Cadila Pharmaceuticals Limited.
Sameer has experience working with major brands such as Dabur International, Unilever, AstraZeneca, Microland & Novartis all over the world.
He is also known to write religiously about Leadership and HR on Linkedin and has had his articles published in several magazines and newspapers.
He talks to us about how the role of HR has changed across organisations with the pandemic and how managers and leaders should think about work-life balance in the remote work environment.
Will the companies revert back to their previous working style?
After giving some important highlights of his personal and professional life, he throws light on the pandemic and how massively it changed the working style of organizations. The role of HR in changing the entire work setting has been extremely significant. When asked whether the organizations would want to look back to their previous style of working after the pandemic, Sameer disagrees. He explains that one of the main reasons behind this is the mutation of virus. Multiple variants have been formed and this is making the pandemic lengthier.
Moreover, he explains that with the shift in the way of work, the mindsets of people have changed as well. The way they plan the work for the day, the way they balance it, and so on- all of this has taken a huge shift. This might require a lot of adjustment if they go back to their previous method of work. The ‘work from home’ strategy has allowed companies to hire people irrespective of their locations. Additionally, it is resulting in reduced costs as most of the office expenses borne by the company are not needed anymore.
Can we ensure productivity with Employee Engagement tools?
Discussing employee engagement, Sameer says that employee engagement is only effective when the entire purpose behind it is clarified. Employee engagement tools do not necessarily ensure productivity, just by being fun and exciting. These tools and the goals to be achieved out of them should have a clear linkage between them. In order to do this, proper efforts and thought process needs to be undertaken while designing the tool. Proper analysis needs to be done in order to actually yield the desired productivity out of it.
The importance of humility in leadership:
“Humility is the essence of leadership. They should be able to take accountability for the results but especially, when the results are bad, they should be able to stand up and say sorry. And if the results are good, very often, they allow the team to go in front and say, ‘Yeah! We did it.’”
Some valuable advice for the passionate future HRs:
Before ending the podcast, Sameer gives an advice for the budding HR professionals:
“I've always personally believed in pursuing your passion in life, however it is. I also do believe it takes some time to discover your passion. It's very tempting and easy to say that this is what you are very passionate about right now. And you might be right, if that's the case. But I always suggest the first five to 10 years of you career to experiment. See what drives, what fuels your passion, and then chase it”
Follow Sameer Nagarajan on LinkedIn.
Produced by: Priya Bhatt
Podcast host: Nisarg Shah
BONUS: We understand that the sudden shift to remote working is not an easy job. Hence, we are offering The Ultimate Guide to Remote Work In 2021 for making this new way of working less challenging for you.