Keeping Employees Informed Is Critical For High Engagement And Morale, believes Kameshwari Rao, Group VP-People Strategy at Sapient India

Human Resource is important to the growth of a business. Driving the business forward, HR need to take care of the interest of the employees. Kameshwari Rao, Group Vice President-People Strategy at Sapient India talks to BW Businessworld on few such parameters. Edited Excerpts:

Tell us a few anecdotes about the work culture in Sapient. How do you help employees to utilise their full potential?

As an organization, Sapient has always been about enabling potential. Our people growth program is named “Enabling Your Potential” or EYP. We believe in providing an environment for people to learn and grow on an ongoing basis. To enable such growth, we have programs and processes that helps create the culture of a learning organization. Our performance management program is based on regular conversations that are focused on learning and building capabilities instead of purely on results. Our learning approach is based on a combination of craft, consulting and leadership. As individuals focus on their craft, they are encouraged to build a broad base of skills through their focus on building their “Expertise Quotient”.

How to keep employee morale high when the hiring is really low?

Talent acquisition and talent engagement are in some ways connected but also not fully dependent on each other. When the job market is low, the morale and loyalty of employees are in question as there could be concerns around stability and job security. It is mportant to ensure employees feel connected and engaged at this time. Lack of communication makes most people anxious.

Being transparent about where the organization is and the plans for continued growth build trust in the leadership. Secondly, being consistent and fair and creating an environment that is equally focused on organization growth and individual’s growth is imperative to build trust. Creating a culture in which employees are kept informed, managers are viewed as trustworthy and fair are critical to keeping the engagement & morale high.

How to make technology more relevant to bridge the skill gap in different professionals?

In order to help clients to meet the expectations of their customers, there is a big change in the orientation that is required. Leveraging technology to enable reskilling is one of the key focus areas. It is no longer difficult to access knowledge & training – what is difficult is to curate the relevant ones. Organisations can now either build their own or leverage existing platforms that provide access to such content, that an individual can access at his/her fingertips. Using AI to continuously upgrade the training content based on individual’s usage is a smart way to help people to stay focused and relevant.

Has maternity leave bill affected female hiring? Any measures to ensure their wellness?

We had introduced the benefits as called out in the maternity bill much before the bill was actually introduced. Having a 6 month break and any additional time off has been a key reason why we are able to retain more women in the workforce. While this puts pressure on the system, this has not been a barrier to attract female talent. We have a robust support system for women, to help them achieve sustainable careers. Innovative working policies including flexi-working hours and working from home have helped  boost retention, recruitment, enthusiasm, loyalty and effectiveness amongst our female workforce. We provide maternity leaves, as well as extended maternity assistance to women to work flexible hours.

What policies have been adopted to provide a safe and good working environment to the employees?

Sapient offers a wide array of rewarding experiences, from forging healthy and lasting professional relationships with co-workers and building your professional knowledge base, to contributing one’s time and energy towards worthy causes, both local and global. Our culture breeds an environment of openness which is one of our core values, this in turn ensures a high level of trust and empowerment at all levels. There are many services provided by Sapient for its people, including cafeterias, the huddle room, the medical room, the gym etc. We provide our people with flexible working arrangements and support individual choices. Security for women is paramount to us and hence, women professionals are escorted by an armed guard during late hours.