Author: Liji Narayan | HRKatha

UNICEF?YuWaah’s YouthHub and Gigin AI have collaborated to provide young people in the 15 to 29 age bracket with access to jobs, skilling, and volunteering opportunities. Over the past four months, this partnership has already facilitated over 500 verified job placements, reinforcing the initiative’s commitment to reach youth in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities as well as those from lower economic strata. YouthHub, developed by UNICEF?YuWaah, is a digital platform that aims to bridge the gap between emerging talent and the opportunities needed to thrive in today’s competitive job market. Relying on artificial intelligence for job matching, the platform…

“You just don’t get me”! Most arguments between the so called ‘old school’ parents and their children end with the younger cohort throwing this statement. This gap in schools of thought spills over to the corporate world too. Younger members of the workforce feel the older managers just don’t ‘get’ them, that is, they don’t understand what the youngsters are all about. The older members, on the other hand, feel the younger members do not want to understand what the seniors are all about and where they come from. Youngsters at the workplace often stereotype the seniors as being resistant…

Tata Power Skill Development Institute (TPSDI), established by Tata Power —the Indian integrated power company—will be the training partner for the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to deliver industry-aligned skilling programmes in key areas such as green energy, power transmission, power distribution, and industrial safety. The strategic partnership will strengthen workforce readiness and skill development initiatives in India’s power sector, particularly focusing on green jobs and transmission and distribution of skills leading to employability. The programmes will provide hands-on training, ensuring that trainees are equipped with practical, employability-enhancing skills. The curriculum will also be aligned with the evolving demands of…

After a successful tenure of seven years and nine months with Exeltis India, Wriddhee Maitra has moved to Gland Pharma as vice president-human resources. Armed with an MBA, Wriddhee Maitra began his professional journey as a trainee-human resources, at Tyco Electronics, in 2003. Then came a stint with Siemens Shared Services (SIPS) as senior executive –human resources from 2004 to 2006. July of 2006 saw Wriddhee Maitra joining ICICI Prudential Group (Life Insurance and AMC) as zonal manager-human resources. In December of 2008, he moved to BCD Travel India as manager-human resources and admin. His next stop was Abbott Healthcare,…

Expansion and growth of organisations is the reason for the increased hiring in the second quarter in India, say 45 per cent of the 3,150 employers surveyed across India. When asked about their second quarter hiring intentions/decisions and the reasons behind the same, about 38 per cent employers surveyed by the Manpower Group said that hiring is increasing because technological advancements need more expertise. Of the total number of employers surveyed, 35 per cent say the need for the latest skills is driving the hiring increase, as companies try to stay competitive. New ventures require new roles, and that is…

Indian Railways is at its inclusive best, as per official data. While women made up 6.6 per cent of the workforce in 2014, they now form 8.2 per cent of the workforce. That means, more than 1.13 lakh women are employed in the Indian Railways, which has a 12.3 lakh-strong workforce across the country. What is most encouraging is that women are now taking on roles with greater responsibilities, with 2,162 working as loco pilots, 4,446 as ticket examiners, 4,430 as pointsmen, 794 as train managers or guards, 1,699 as station masters, 12,362 as office staff and 2,360 as supervisors…

Why do some organisations succeed and gallop ahead while others don’t? They are doing something right. They have made innovation an essential. Innovation is their second nature. Once the spirit of innovation runs like blood through the veins of the organisation, employee engagement surges, creativity thrives and ‘stress’ and ‘burnout’ go out the window. Such an organisation not only manages to draw the best of talent but also retains them. According to the ‘India’s Best Workplaces in Innovation’ report by Great Place to Work, innovation should cease to be just another “reactive” initiative and become a more “proactive mindset”. Imagine…

An entire smelter line at Vedanta Aluminium’s operations in Jharsuguda, Odisha, will be operated by an all-women team. This is a step by the Indian aluminium producer towards fostering gender parity and inclusion at the workplace. Given the fact that the Jharsuguda smelter is amongst the largest aluminium smelters in the world, this is rather remarkable. Vedanta Aluminium ensures that all roles are gender-agnostic. Therefore, women take on diverse responsibilities across smelting, mining, power generation, logistics, asset security, as well as procurement. The company is aiming for 30 per cent representation of women in the workforce by 2030. One of…

When leaders across Indian organisations were asked to state the most important technology human resource (HR) and payroll solutions for their organisation’s tech adoption strategy over the next 12 months, most of them ranked integrated HR management platforms as number one. The second most important HR tech solution appears to be employee self-service portals, followed by automated compliance tracking in the third position and artificial intelligence (AI) powered payroll systems in the fourth position. The fifth most important investment that leaders consider is predictive analytics and reporting tools, mobile-first HR solutions, global payroll management systems and on-demand pay solutions. Time…

Ogilvy Singapore has elevated Sharon Ooi to the role of chief talent officer, Singapore and Malaysia. Ooi’s association with the company that offers advertising services began in June of 2021, when she joined as director-talent, Singapore and Malaysia. Sharon Ooi began her professional journey with Global Airfreight International, as HR executive in 2001. For the next three years, she handled employee recruitment, appraisals, drafted HR proposals and policies, reviewed employee feedback and analysed employee statistic reports among other responsibilities. In 2007 Ooi moved to DHL Supply Chain Singapore as HR executive for a two and a half year-long stint. Her…

There has been a +2 per cent growth in fresher hiring, driven by hospitality, design, retail and other non-IT sectors. The hospitality and telecom sectors have seen maximum hiring of freshers with +23 per cent and +11 per cent growth respectively, as per the Naukri.com JobSpeak report for February 2025. A +15 per cent growth in hiring was seen for those with over 16 years of experience in the real estate, pharma and FMCG sectors. A growth of +10 per cent was seen in hiring of those with 13 to 15 years of experience, while a +6 per cent growth…

Progress, a company that provides AI-powered digital experience and infrastructure software, has elevated Ed Keisling to the position of chief AI officer (CAIO), a newly-created role. Keisling’s association with Progress began in 2017, as director of business and agile operations. For a year and a half he managed the US-based Engineering of the OpenEdge product comprising approximately 60 engineers. He also trained hundreds of team members worldwide on Agile best practices and the SAFe framework. In 2019, he was elevated to senior director, software engineering. The next promotion came in 2020, which made him vice president, product development. Less than…

Lingaro is launching its IT Power Women Global Mentoring Programme in India, upholding its commitment to promoting gender diversity in the technology space. The data services and information technology (IT) solutions firm is launching the programme in India, Poland as well as the Philippines at the same time with an aim to equip women professionals in the information technology sector with mentorship, career guidance, and leadership-development opportunities. The initiative will help build a more inclusive, diverse and supportive workplace for women in the technology sector. The core objectives of the programme are: empowerment, development, networking, inclusion and leadership. The programme…

Following a study of stress levels prevailing at workplaces, the Kerala State Youth Commission recommends regular audit of workplaces to gauge stress levels. The study covered over 1,500 youth in the age bracket of 18 to 40 working in the information technology (IT) sector, media firms, gig economy, retail and industrial space as well as in the banking and insurance sectors. The survey revealed that a whopping 84.3 per cent of employees working in the IT sector and 83.5 per cent in the media space admit to comparatively higher stress levels at work. The banking and insurance sectors fare no…

Be prepared to be stunned out of jobs by artificial intelligence! When Co-Scientist managed to solve a ten-year old superbug mystery in just 48 hours, the world was indeed stunned. The shock is yet to wear off. In fact, shock is an understatement. All these years, we have been trying to drive home the point that artificial intelligence or AI will only facilitate and not steal our jobs. But all that confidence about AI not being a threat to employment is on its way out the window. Are we being a bit overconfident in thinking that human beings create AI…

Work-life balance has become a priority for employees as well as employers today. Employees refuse to stick around if they see no career growth or if the workplace culture is not to their liking. Employees today value job satisfaction, and non-financial benefits are an important part of this satisfaction. That does not mean financial benefits do not count, but non-monetary perks such as flexibility, health insurance, and learning opportunities are greatly valued by the new generation of employees. A research by Adecco covering 8,997professionals across nine countries, including India, reveals that 35 per cent employers offer health insurance as a…

Strong quantitative skills and an ability to think analytically are expected to be present in professionals associated with the finance sector. However, in addition to these skills, financial analysts working with institutional investors are expected to be excellent communicators with the ability to adapt and demonstrate flexibility with multiple priorities while functioning as part of a team. This space looks out for talent with a fluid mindset and skill sets to disrupt and innovate. Institutional investors can be mutual funds, insurance companies, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), scheduled commercial banks, alternative investment funds or pension funds. They use their expertise, financial…

Despite the growing global uncertainty, India seems to be holding on pretty well with growth expected to be stable. With one out of two companies expecting a top-line growth of over 10 per cent, the hiring sentiment is positive in the country for 2025. In fact, two out of five companies plan to increase their workforce by more than 10 per cent. The highest salary increment of 10.2 per cent is projected for the automotive/vehicle manufacturing sector in India. The lowest increment is projected for the technology consulting and services sector at 7.7 per cent. These are insights from the…

When Nicolas Welch, an analyst from JPMorgan Chase asked Jamie Dimon, CEO, JPMorgan about the bank’s return-to-office policy, little did he expect to be terminated for doing so. At a recent town hall, Welch made the mistake of asking Dimon why his team comprising seven members working from different parts of the world and time zones required to be present in office. He explained how his team members did not need to go to the office to be productive. That wasn’t all; Welch went ahead and suggested to Dimon that the decision regarding in-office presence should be made by the…

Despite global uncertainties, India continues to attract talent and investment in private capital markets, says a report by Heidrick & Struggles, a global executive search and leadership advisory solutions firm. “Firms that focus on developing a culture of adaptability and innovation will remain ahead of the curve,” is the statement made by Ritu Khandelia, partner of financial services practice and private-equity practice in Mumbai, Heidrick & Struggles. As per the report titled 2024 Asia Pacific Private Capital Investment Professional Compensation Survey, global economic uncertainties have not much affected the private capital market across the Asia Pacific. The market sentiment is…

With technological advancements driving workforce transformation, firms in India are increasingly investing in digitalisation and automation to stay competitive. The best part is that this trend is creating a demand for new skill sets, while also encouraging employers to re-examine job roles. As a result, not only are new jobs being created but many positions are being eliminated too depending on the digital maturity of the sector. As per the TeamLease Employment Outlook Report, the second half of 2024-25 is witnessing maximum number of e-commerce firms and tech startups (73 per cent) expanding their workforce size. Only 11 per cent…

The Union Labour Ministry has asked the Karnataka Labour Department to act immediately and take relevant steps to sort out the matter of mass layoff of 300 freshers at Infosys with some of them being asked to vacate their accommodation immediately. The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) maintains that actually 700 freshers have been laid off and not just 300 or 400 as has been reported. The organisation, which works for the rights of employees in the information technology (IT) sector, had submitted a formal complaint to the Ministry of Labour requesting intervention in the matter. The complaint mentioned…

Gurucharan Singh Gandhi who has been with Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail since 2019, has been selected for the CHRO role at Vodafone Idea. He will take over from Suvamoy Roy Choudhary who is set to superannuate in March 2025, handing over the baton to Gandhi with effect from 1 April 2025. Gandhi had been named head-HR, Madura Fashion and Lifestyle, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, in June of 2019. At the time, he had already been working with the Aditya Birla Group for six years, but this was his first stint in the retail sector. Till then, he had…

In 2020, 79 per cent of the flexi workforce comprised men, while in 2021 the figure came down to 73 per cent. It remained unchanged in 2022, but rose to 75 per cent in 2023 and to 77 per cent in 2024. Women, on the other hand, formed 21 per cent of the flexi workforce in 2020, 27 per cent in 2021 and 2022, 25 per cent in 2023 and 23 per cent in 2024. Why is there such a disparity? As per the Flexi Employment Social Impact Report 2024, brought out by the Indian Staffing Federation, 77 per cent…

They are looking at a period of significant growth and opportunity over the next 12 months. That means they are ready to hire aggressively with many preparing to expand their workforces by 50 to 100 per cent. Clearly they are gearing to deal with global operational demands. After all, they have evolved in the Indian market where they have come to be major hubs of transformation thanks to the immense opportunities in digital excellence, innovation and skills. Who are ‘they’? What are we talking about? ‘They’ are the global captive centres or GCCs that have mushroomed in cities across India,…

Vijayeta Kumar has been appointed senior director-HR, Affle, a global technology company with a proprietary consumer-intelligence platform that delivers consumer recommendations and conversions through relevant mobile advertising. Armed with an MBA in human resources from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune, Vijayeta Kumar began her professional journey with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), as HR executive, in 2004. Four years later, she moved to Ericsson India Global Services, as senior manager-human resources. During her decade-long tenure at Ericsson, Vijayeta Kumar looked into leadership talent planning and development, performance management and performance improvement plans, employee-engagement surveys, and also succession planning. She…