A seasoned HR leader with extensive experience across MNCs and Indian conglomerates, Priyank Parakh brings a wealth of expertise in consumer goods, durables, and healthcare. As Director-HR at Haleon, he’s passionate about creating workplaces where people thrive and building cultures that inspire daily excellence. In this candid conversation with Dr. Prajjal Saha, founder and editor of HRKatha, Parakh shares insights on how Haleon is shaping its identity and capabilities following its demerger from GSK two years ago.
Q: Haleon spun off from GSK just two years ago – that must have been quite a journey. How did you handle building a new company culture whilst keeping the best parts of what made GSK great?
A: Culture was our truly differentiating factor, which we always wanted to keep intact whilst building something fit for purpose for Haleon. We kept some amazing brands and brand love – our consumer obsession intact. People recall us through Sensodyne, Iodex, Eno, and Centrum.
The core was to keep that ‘consumer first always’ approach, then look at how we build Haleon for the future. As a new-generation company, we took this opportunity to dial up behaviours critical for our success – our ‘win-as-one’ behaviours. We’re dialling up ‘unlocking value at pace’ because that’s what the market demands. The days are gone when there wasn’t a startup challenging the status quo or moving with agility.
Q: GSK was a household name in India, but Haleon isn’t yet. How do you explain to potential employees what Haleon does?
A: We’re by far the biggest consumer healthcare company globally. What was important was keeping the ‘consumer first always’ approach. We didn’t want to confuse consumers who wanted our brands and products.
Eno reaches close to 40 lakh outlets in India, multiplying to crores of consumers. They’re sorted that there’s continuity of the product and brand. We’re building Haleon whilst we’ve stabilised over the past couple of years. The same brands people were in love with are housed in the House of Haleon and more.
“We’re not just building a company; we’re building a fit-for-future organisation that generations will want to join.”
Q: Initially, was there any problem attracting talent when you went to campuses?
A: People were more excited, actually. This generation on campus wanted something new. When the name came to us early on, we thought it would grow on us, and people really wanted something new. They were very curious, and when they got the connections with our brands, philosophy, behaviours, and culture, they became comfortable.
Any talent wanting to build their career in consumer health, FMCG, or healthcare space is aware of our past work. They want to join a workforce that can help them grow because we’ve been growing significantly, outpacing the market through innovative practices.
Q: During the transition, what was more difficult – convincing tenured employees or newer employees just onboarded?
A: It was a beautiful potpourri of various cultures coming together. We had a choice – we could copy and paste the template we were expert in, but would we create a fit-for-future organisation? We choicefully rebuilt the organisation to build a company that generations to come would be keen to join.
We created an environment where we held onto experiences from people in the system whilst bringing newer people to create better outcomes for the future. In India, the business context has changed. On one side, there are big FMCG players; on the other, disruptor innovators and next-gen startups. We’re in a sweet spot – to grow, sustain, and make it large in India, we need to be agile and nimble.
Q: Shared services centres in India often see people leaving for more strategic roles. How do you keep your best people engaged?
A: We’re building something called the Haleon Business Service Centre, which is like a capability centre. I’m seeing that shift happening, and Haleon is building capability centres rather than shared service centres. The type and quality of roles are very superior.
However, talent retention will remain a challenge because this is a fast-growing industry. Almost 40-45 per cent of the total GCC population sits in India. How we leverage strengths of our commercial operations and capability services will define how we operate in the country.
Q: You must have many Gen Z employees. How do you see them differently from their predecessors?
A: Many CHROs see managing Gen Z as a significant challenge. I consider myself fortunate to work with a team that isn’t Gen Z, but they face the tough task of interacting with and adapting to Gen Z’s different ways of working on a daily basis.
Whenever I interact with the Gen Zs, they’re far better than all of us. The quality and efficiency they bring is of a different order. How we channelise and create jobs that suit and engage them has been meaningful. They’re hooking onto digital transformation, latest technology, and ways of working, helping the larger organisation change.
We continue hiring Gen Z and people from campus – that’s always been our core strength. We embed them into the system quickly through cultural immersion. There’s openness in senior folks to learn from them because they come from strong pedigrees of credible education and experience.
“Fun at work is fleeting, but joy at work—rooted in purpose—is what truly drives us.”
Q: Healthcare has a reputation for being serious and regulated. How do you create a workplace where people feel safe to innovate whilst maintaining high standards?
A: Have you seen some of the Eno ads? It’s one of the top fun brands, known for being very fun. We’ve been able to talk to consumers about complex human life issues in a fun manner. It’s not serious – it’s serious work with lots of fun.
My personal opinion is: Are you getting joy? Are you learning and getting that joy of working with us? Fun at work is one thing, but joy at work is very deep – it’s at a feeling level. We’ve been able to get there in many aspects.
Q: What contributes to joy rather than just fun?
A: Many things. From a culture standpoint, our win-as-one behaviours, being transparent around conversations, building manager and interdepartmental connections. But the bottom line is always purpose – what’s your compelling purpose.
When we talked about unleashing Haleon’s potential in India and reaching a billion more consumers globally, with a large part coming from India, whilst continuing to be ‘consumer first always’ – that was such a strong purpose that the entire group rallied behind it.
Uniquely, I didn’t even have to call people to the office when other companies were struggling to bring people back. I’m finding my office is full! The whole purpose was so compelling that people came together to solve something amazing and beautiful.
Q: When you talk about diversity, do you believe companies need diversity of talent and skills rather than just demographic diversity?
A: India is a land of diversity – every state is like a country. When consumers are diverse, it’s natural that talent dealing with consumers has to be diverse. We’ve always focused on gender diversity, demographic diversity – all of it.
The bigger point is strengthening inclusion and belonging. If you hire diverse people but they’re not included in critical decisions, are we helping the organisation grow? We hired from FMCG companies, pharmaceutical companies, startups – are we ensuring they belong? Are we including all kinds of talent and behaviours they bring to create a fit-for-future culture?
Q: How is Haleon using AI, and what does that mean for employees?
A: It’s a pertinent question coming across all forums, especially amongst CHROs. First and foremost, we’re focusing on adoption of available AI tools at an organisational level. People will adopt many AI tools on their own, but from an overall perspective, we’re trying to integrate them into how we do business.
Our current understanding is it will make employees’ jobs more efficient and create space for people to innovate more. Will it replace mundane and monotonous jobs? Our sense is yes. We’ve started using it in recruitment, which is helping so we can focus on value-added jobs.
“Gen Z brings unmatched efficiency and fresh perspectives, helping us reshape the future of work.”
Q: Have you been preparing your workforce for the shift from traditional healthcare to a more tech-savvy approach?
A: We’re a tech-orientated company. For example, with sensitivity or plaque tests, we participated in Kumbh and made a Guinness World Record doing chill tests and plaque testing, which is AI-enabled and tech-enabled.
From a people perspective, we’re absolutely digital-savvy. I don’t even say it’s mobile-first – it’s mobile-only because we have a very dispersed field force. If I have to serve their health and wellbeing needs, I should be available on their phones.
Q: In hiring, do you see that changing towards more data-based decisions?
A: We did lots of mass hiring and brought it to data-led shortlisting, then series of conversations to assist people on what we want in the organisation. We reached a point where we could hire the best person for current context and future.
It’s quite like matchmaking nowadays – it’s not about companies recruiting people; people are choosing companies. More transparent and honest data-led conversations really help. If I’m transparent about what we are, I find equal connect from candidates.
Q: What’s one piece of advice for someone starting their career in the healthcare industry?
A: First and foremost, consumer healthcare has a very compelling purpose and vision. Just imagine – we’re able to support consumers or patients in their everyday health. It’s such a powerful purpose.
My suggestion to youngsters starting careers: talk to the organisation, managers, and ecosystem. Building a career isn’t a lone warrior’s job – you need an ecosystem that can support and partner with you. Trust the organisation, system, and manager. Don’t be apprehensive. Don’t keep anything in mind you don’t have answers for – ask, understand, then make right decisions.