Author: Radhika Sharma | HRKatha

Leadership that embraces tough conversations, measures success by how well it listens, and drives innovation through difference, not uniformity. At HRKatha’s Rising Star Leadership Awards 2025, the session titled “Building diverse leadership that drives innovation and performance” wasn’t about checking diversity boxes or chasing inclusion metrics. It was about peeling back the layers to ask a question that makes most executives uncomfortable: what really happens after the targets are met? Because while numbers can measure representation, they cannot create inclusion. Real inclusion, as the discussion revealed, lives in the everyday choices leaders make—the small gestures, the willingness to listen, the…

When Sandip Ghose took the stage at HRKatha’s Rising Star Leadership Awards on October 31st, the audience knew they were in for something different. As managing director and CEO of Birla Corporation, Ghose had the rare ability to make you laugh and think simultaneously—often in the same sentence. His special address at HRKatha Rising Star Leadership Awards and Summit was part stand-up, part strategy session, and entirely a masterclass in how HR evolved from the department nobody wanted to join into the function running some of the world’s most iconic companies. The joke that became prophecy Ghose began with a…

Company: NovaTech Systems (fictitious), a software development firm with 1,200 employees across Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune. Background: NovaTech prides itself on its “culture of innovation and ownership.” Posters in the office declare it. Leadership mentions it in town halls. Employees once believed it. But over the past six months, something has shifted. Ravi Sharma, a senior engineer and 12-year veteran, has gone quiet. The Situation: Ravi no longer volunteers ideas in brainstorming sessions. He delivers work—barely—at the last possible minute. His code is functional but uninspired. His peers have started complaining privately to their managers about having to “cover for…

Four decades in human resources provides perspective that quarterly earnings calls and annual strategy reviews cannot. Adil Malia has witnessed the transition from personnel management to strategic HR, from manual processes to AI-driven analytics, from stable career ladders to fluid talent markets. His career spans the Godrej Group, GE Appliances, Coca-Cola and the Essar Group—contexts where people strategies must adapt to vastly different operational realities, from consumer goods to heavy industry. Now CEO of The Firm, Malia articulates a philosophy shaped by longevity: technical skills depreciate rapidly, but the ability to empathise, connect and lead through technological disruption remains constant.…

Human resources departments typically join strategic discussions late, if at all. They handle payroll, manage recruitment, and occasionally organise training programmes. Business leaders make decisions; HR executes them. This traditional division has defined corporate life for decades. At Siemens India, which employs thousands across manufacturing facilities and offices, the company claims something different. “I’ve worked in many organisations, but I’m proud to say that at Siemens, HR is at the table much earlier than elsewhere,” says Shilpa Kabra Maheshwari, EVP and country head of people and organisation. “No business review, no strategy discussion, no workforce planning happens without HR involvement.”…

The most effective model is a partnership—where organisations invest in a learning culture and employees take ownership of their growth. When both align, upskilling transforms from a strategy into a shared path to progress. Upskilling is no longer a one-time effort; it’s an ongoing commitment to remain relevant and competitive. With technological changes happening overnight, job roles blurring, and industries reinventing themselves, the need for continuous learning has never been greater. But who bears the real responsibility for this upskilling? The employer who provides opportunities, or the employee who must seize them? We reached out to HR leaders for their…

A Rs 10,000 disappears with alarming speed in urban India: transport, meals, utilities, occasional entertainment. For a 25-year-old software engineer earning Rs 8 lakh annually—a salary that would have seemed comfortable a decade ago—financial security remains elusive. Despite competitive packages, many young professionals report minimal savings, carry student debt, and feel perpetually anxious about money. Kapil Udaiwal, CHRO, Ageas Federal Life Insurance, observed something unexpected amongst his employees: “They weren’t asking for more money. They were asking for guidance on managing what they already earned.” This disconnect between earning well and living precariously has forced a fundamental reckoning in Indian…

For everyone who thinks rest is as easy as logging off and curling up with Netflix—ask an HR professional. They’ll tell you it’s not the laptop that’s hard to shut down. It’s the mind. Because HR doesn’t just manage people. It carries them—their worries, escalations, and 9 p.m. pings that start with “Just a small thing…” So what happens when HR tries to practise what it preaches and take a real break? Turns out, the hardest part of switching off is convincing yourself that the world won’t collapse while you’re gone. Here’s what three HR leaders learned when they actually…

Company: Synapse Digital (fictitious), a fast-growing IT services company with 3,500 employees operating in a hybrid work model. Background: Something is slipping. Since Synapse Digital shifted to hybrid work two years ago, the numbers have started to tell an uncomfortable story. Ticket resolution times are slower. Fewer lines of code are being shipped. Deliverables are arriving late—not catastrophically so, but consistently enough to worry the CTO and CFO. The productivity dip hovers between 5-7 per cent. Not a crisis. But enough to spark a question that now dominates leadership meetings: Are people actually working? The Proposal: The CTO has a…

Pharmaceutical companies operate at a peculiar intersection: scientific rigour meets human empathy, regulatory compliance encounters rapid innovation, and every people decision indirectly affects patient lives. This creates unique pressures for human resources leadership—balancing laboratory precision with organisational agility, fostering innovation within strict compliance frameworks, and maintaining purpose when commercial pressures intensify. Dr Rajorshi Ganguli, president and global HR Head, Alkem Laboratories, navigates these tensions whilst managing a workforce spanning five generations. Author of Winning with Gen Z, he articulates why psychological safety in Indian workplaces requires contextualisation rather than imitation of Western models, why leadership development must reach every organisational…

When 70 per cent of a company’s hires come through employee referrals, it signals one of two things: either the firm has built genuine workplace satisfaction, or it operates in such a narrow niche that external recruitment proves difficult. For Howden India, a subsidiary of a global engineering group employing over 1,000 people across energy and infrastructure sectors, the company insists it’s the former. “Our workforce planning philosophy focuses on timely hiring, role-candidate fit and cultural alignment,” says Nirmala Venkateswaran, associate president and chief human resources officer at Howden India. The referral rate, she argues, reflects employees who are “proud…

The next big thing in human resources is, apparently, AI-driven hiring tools, people analytics dashboards, and algorithmic performance management. Fair enough. But in this mad scramble to modernise, something curious has happened: the practices that once built engaged, loyal workforces have quietly vanished. Structured internal mobility. Apprenticeship-style learning. Recognition that actually meant something. These weren’t corporate fluff—they were the infrastructure of trust. And as companies now grapple with disengagement, quiet quitting, and talent flight, perhaps it’s worth asking: what did we lose in the upgrade? Internal mobility (Or: Growing your own) There was a time when organisations prided themselves on…

Company: RetailVerse India (fictitious), an omnichannel retail brand with 200+ stores and a rapidly-growing e-commerce arm. Background RetailVerse is fighting a two-front war. Online, it faces Amazon and Flipkart’s relentless expansion. Offline, it must defend 200+ stores that still drive most of its profits. The company is restructuring its regional leadership, and the stakes could not be higher. A new role has opened: Regional Head – North India. It oversees Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh—territories that generate 35 per cent of the company’s revenue. Whoever gets this job will not merely manage a region. They will signal what RetailVerse…

Natural resources companies rarely lead conversations about progressive workplace practices. Mining and metals remain male-dominated, hierarchical, and operationally focused. Yet Vedanta Aluminium operates potlines and locomotive operations staffed entirely by women, employs over 70 transgender professionals in core functions, and recruits from 40 to 50 nationalities annually. Praveen Purohit, CHRO, Vedanta Aluminium, argues that diversity isn’t a standalone initiative but embedded business strategy. In conversation, he explains why organisational culture must remain singular whilst management approaches differ by generation, why purpose-driven vision determines sustainability, and why the path to CHRO has compressed from 15 years to under a decade for…

Amit, 32, earns Rs 55 lakhs annually in a role most would consider enviable. He’s promoted faster than peers, oversees significant responsibilities, and holds the trajectory of someone destined for senior leadership. Yet he confesses to feeling like a failure. His manager, a Gen X leader, struggles to comprehend the disconnect: objectively, Amit is succeeding by every measurable standard. Emotionally, he experiences himself as falling behind. This quiet tension—where achievements feel insufficient and success appears small through one’s own lens—reveals something HR leaders increasingly confront: career dysmorphia. Like body dysmorphia, where individuals perceive flaws invisible to others, career dysmorphia distorts…

For decades, sick leaves have been the universal safety net for employees—covering everything from seasonal flu to chronic illnesses. Yet, as conversations around well-being deepen, the boundaries of what counts as ‘sick’ are being redefined. The pandemic and growing dialogue around burnout, anxiety and emotional fatigue have pushed organisations to confront an uncomfortable truth: while mental health is championed in corporate campaigns, it still lacks a structural place in workplace policy. Unlike a physical ailment, mental strain often goes unseen, unspoken and—too often—untreated. Most companies today allow employees to take sick leave for mental exhaustion, but this reactive approach doesn’t…

If you think HR is all about offer letters, fun Fridays, and birthday emails, you’ve only seen the friendlier side. The real work happens behind closed doors—in quiet meeting rooms where emotions run high, voices waver, and words can change careers. Every HR professional remembers that first difficult conversation. It’s the one that transforms textbook theory into human reality. It’s not a moment you forget. It’s the one that teaches you what HR really stands for. Here are three stories from the frontlines. The unprepared moment  Raj Narayan was barely a year into his first job.  The former CHRO of…

Manufacturing presents a peculiar challenge for human resources: people must be treated as valuable capital whilst simultaneously being managed as cost centres. Unlike service industries where inefficiency might be absorbed, manufacturing margins are unforgiving. Every rupee of human capital expenditure must justify itself through throughput and productivity. Rajesh Jain, President and CHRO of Welspun Living, operates within these constraints daily. His perspective is shaped by the realities of industrial operations—where “first-time right” isn’t aspirational language but operational necessity. In conversation, he articulates why learning agility matters more than technical depth, why genuinely high-potential employees largely develop themselves, and why communication…

India’s technology sector has a retention problem. Annual attrition regularly exceeds 20 per cent, with engineers hopping between employers for marginal gains. For niche firms, this churn poses existential threats—replacing experienced engineers costs money, disrupts projects, and erodes institutional knowledge. KPIT Technologies, which provides software for the automotive industry, claims to have solved this. The company reports attrition in the “low single digits” for three years and an offer-to-join ratio “among the best in the industry.” If accurate, these represent remarkable achievements in a sector where loyalty has become quaint. The method involves employee storytelling campaigns, vocational training bridging academia…

For decades, annual increments have been the backbone of compensation strategy—predictable, structured, and often tied more to tenure than tangible contribution. But as job roles evolve at breakneck speed and skills emerge as the new currency of workplace value, a growing number of organisations are questioning whether this one-size-fits-all approach still serves them well. With AI reshaping industries, continuous upskilling becoming non-negotiable, and employees demanding greater fairness and transparency, the traditional increment cycle may no longer capture actual contribution or future potential. Is it time to move beyond convention and reward employees for what they bring to the table—not simply…

If you’ve ever thought HR is just about handing out ID cards and organising Zumba sessions on Fridays, congratulations: you’ve believed one of corporate life’s most stubborn myths. The perception is simple. HR = administration. Offer letters, payroll, birthday cakes, compliance forms. Easy stuff, right? After all, how hard can it be to send a welcome email with emojis? The reality: HR is a daily obstacle course of paradoxes that would make Kafka sweat. It’s being the rule enforcer and the counsellor, the strategist and the scapegoat, the person who hires you in the morning and fires you in the evening…

A viral Reddit post has highlighted how an employee turned the tables on management after being cornered with a secret negative performance review and denied a salary increment. Instead of accepting the company’s initial offer to exit with just one month’s pay, the employee walked away with a settlement worth three months’ severance. The case was shared online by a lawyer, who explained that the employee was initially pressured to resign within 30 days. Instead of complying, they used the company’s own HR policies and internal governance rules to build a strong case. What began as a simple HR dispute…

The modern workplace operates at the intersection of disruption and possibility. Technical skills depreciate faster than ever, five generations coexist with conflicting expectations, and artificial intelligence has moved from abstraction to everyday tool. For human resources leaders, the challenge is architecting organisations capable of continuous adaptation without losing their essential humanity. Shailesh Singh, CHRO of Axis Max Life Insurance, confronts these tensions daily. He outlines how his organisation approaches talent acquisition in an era of accelerating obsolescence, the practical difficulties of serving multiple generational cohorts, and why the most sophisticated HR analytics still require human judgement. The skills paradox Technical…

Abhilash Maurya, co-founder and CEO of Naxatra Labs—a company manufacturing compact, high-torque motors for electric vehicles and industries—recently posted on social media about an unusual recruitment challenge. His company had just opened a new factory with significant orders and tight deadlines. The machinery was installed, but the assembly line stood empty. He needed 20 line technicians immediately. Industrial training institutes had ongoing semesters. Contract agencies refused to support such small numbers. Traditional recruitment channels offered no solutions within his timeframe. So Maurya tried something different. He printed one-page job descriptions in Gujarati, visited every shop in villages surrounding the plant,…

At 96, DS Group is no stranger to reinvention. The conglomerate—best known for its consumer brands – Rajnigandha mouth freshener, Catch spices, Pulse candy but spanning industries from hospitality to packaging—faces the familiar dilemma of legacy organisations: how to refresh a century-old workforce while preparing for a digital future. Digital acceleration, shifting consumer preferences, and talent wars with nimbler competitors have exposed uncomfortable capability gaps. For Simin Askari, senior vice-president for human resources and business excellence, the answer lies in “quality and innovation”, values she says underpin both strategy and people practices. “When we say quality, it reflects in the way…

Competition in the workplace is hard to miss. It shows up in the scramble to hit sales targets, the quiet tallying of recognition, or the subtle comparisons of who gets promoted first. For some, it is the spark that pushes them to outperform; for others, it creates invisible walls that weaken collaboration. The challenge for organisations is not to eliminate competition but to harness it—fuelling ambition without letting rivalry erode trust. “In sales, targets are the heartbeat,” says Ramesh Shankar, senior HR leader. “People thrive when they know their effort translates into recognition and results.” He recalls how salespeople often…