ECONCLAVE REPORT – DAY 1, SESSION 2
Date of Conduct: 21st October 2021
Time: 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Speakers’ Names and Designations:
Panellists:
Ms. Anupama Kaul, India ABO- Human Resource Leader, Cummins India
Mr. Nikhil Datt, Head of Talent Acquisition, Carousell Group
Ms. Sheetal Shah, Chief People Officer- India & South Asia, Schindler India
Moderator: Dr. Dharmesh Mishra, Associate Professor, SIIB
No. of Students present: 350+
Synopsis
The session started with Dr. Dharmesh Mishra introducing Hybrid Reality and the changing perspective of the world towards the future of workspace. He continued by highlighting the difficulties faced by the employees and the challenges companies had to overcome during this pandemic. Further, Dr. Mishra pointed out the opportunity the Hybrid Reality brings to the employees to cope with one & one interaction once more, helping them get back again to the ‘new normal.’
Dr. Mishra asked panellists to enlighten the audience on the topic further.
Ms. Anupama Kaul initiated the discussion by highlighting the change witnessed in the workplace from the pre-pandemic to the post-pandemic situation. With the advent of the COVID-19, Ms. Koul pointed out data showing a complete shift of physical to remote work within a week. This shift has impacted the physical and emotional wellbeing of the workforce, creating challenges in the field of HR. Ms. Anupama mentioned compliance, focus on health and safety, mental wellbeing and remote working resources like ergonomic support as enablers for addressing these challenges. She also emphasised the importance of making the workplace inclusive and providing flexibility in work.
Mr. Nikhil Datt followed Ms. Anupama Kaul in the panel discussion and talked about the changing realms of Talent Acquisition. Mr. Nikhil compared the changes in the challenges faced pre-pandemic to the post ones in acquiring talent. He mentioned the shortage of skilled workforce as one of the biggest challenges faced in the pandemic leading to a spike in salaries. Mr. Datt also highlighted the change in the workforce with the introduction of gig workers, remote workers and crowdsourcing platforms as a significant share in the workforce. Further, he focused on understanding the balance a person is looking for while applying for a job to ensure better candidate retention. He concluded the talk by sharing the strategies his company has adopted and found helpful to ensure employee retention in such challenging times.
Ms. Sheetal Shah was next in the queue of panellists. Ms. Shah initiated her talk by quoting the data from The Work Trend Index Survey, emphasising the changing trends in the demand of the workforce post-pandemic. She then shared insights on some of the initiatives and guidelines like “No Meeting Day,” “Happy Hour”, and “Collective Break” that her company has been following to meet the changing needs of the workforce. Ms Sheetal focused on Fun at Work as an element of importance while working remotely. She concluded her discussion by emphasising the significance of inclusion concerning diversity and mindset.
A very enlightening question and answer followed, with all the panellists providing valuable views and insights from their respective areas of interest. The session ended with Dr. Dharmesh giving a vote of thanks to all the panellists. Also, the declaration of results for pre-events of Throne and Aarohan was made.
Student Feedback
“It was a very insightful session. Learnt a lot about diplomacy and how to negotiate. Got to know about the importance of culture in negotiation.” – Mrugnayani Lankapati, SIIB, International Business Batch 2021-23
Overall Feedback
The discussion was very informative and enlightening – the students succeeded in getting an informed look at the changing scenarios in the workplace as the world is shifting to the new normal of hybrid workspaces. Also, it enabled them to understand the strategies adopted by companies to handle this change.
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