Suman is a 24 year veteran of the HR industry and has held numerous strategic leadership roles in multinational companies, including a stint as Head of Talent Development and OD at Larsen & Toubro.
Today, he is the Vice President - Human Resources at India's largest ed-tech company, Byju’s where he partners with the organization’s ambitious leaders to maximize the business impact.
Suman is an excellent orator and HR thought leader and is often invited to speak in news journals, management and business magazines, national/international HR forums and Seminars.
In addition to discussing his dynamic and fulfilling HR career journey in this episode of The Shape of Work podcast, Suman shares plenty of expertise in this insightful conversation.
We discuss with Suman:
HR digital transformation- adopting new HR technologies
The HR processes now involve way less manual processing than a decade ago. Also, there are numerous digital solutions to increase productivity, ease collaboration, promote learning, and more. Furthermore, rather than a multi-generational approach, HR strategies are now more focused on appealing to tech-savvy millennials, who account for 60-70 percent of the workforce. The adoption of HR technologies also aims at providing work-life balance to their employees, he adds.
Conversation interviews rather than a simple Q&A session
In the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the digitization of companies across all industries. Due to the rapid digitization, the need for specialized and skillful individuals that can adapt to the changing needs and deliver results has emerged, Suman adds.
Rather than asking questions right away, start a conversation to explain how the company operates, what its goals are, and how it is bringing about change. This can help you keep the talented candidates interested in your company and increase the chances of them joining you.
How many rounds of interviews should be conducted
Some businesses choose candidates with just one or two rounds of interviews, while some go as far as 5-6 rounds for a job profile. It all depends on a variety of factors such as the skills the company seeks, the candidate's skill level, how quickly they can hire, and so on.
Although, what truly matters is not the number of rounds but what is discussed in each round of the interview. If the candidate is asked the same questions in each, they would surely lose interest. Let’s be honest. Nobody likes to answer the same question six times in a row. Also, asking the same questions multiple times can give the wrong impression of your company’s work ethics.
Leveraging the 'career peak' phase to increase employee efficiency
A high employee retention rate is an important aspect of a successful business, but not all can achieve it. One of the leading causes for employees to leave the company is that they no longer see their goals aligned with the company's goals. In short, they don’t think that they can achieve their career peak if they continue working for the company. Hence, they look for an opportunity elsewhere.
Follow Suman on LinkedIn
Produced by: Priya Bhatt
Podcast host: Lokesh Gautam