Q&A: Data, Instinct, and HR Strategy by Neha Verma

Question: What led you to pursue a career in HR?

I hail from Haridwar, a small town in Uttarakhand. Growing up, I didn't have much exposure to the field of HR. However, my elder siblings, particularly my brother, who worked in Delhi, provided guidance and support.

My brother suggested that since I've always been a people person and have always loved the idea of solving people's problems, a career in human resources might be the best fit for me.  He had recently joined his organization and found the HR role intriguing.

As suggested by him, I began my journey in HR by enrolling myself in an MBA with a major in Human Resources, and that's where my journey into understanding the power of HR began.

Question: What was your experience like when you entered the field of HR and secured your first job?

Every professional career begins with a unique encounter. At AuthBridge Research Services, a pre-employment verification organization, I started my career in human resources. I started out as a verifier and then moved up to the position of executive HR through an internal job posting (IJP) within the company. I worked for the company for 3.5 years before moving up to an assistant management position from an executive role.

This was a life-changing event that greatly influenced my development as an HR specialist. I learned a lot about the fundamentals of HR from my reporting manager, who also happens to be the CEO of the company. I owe this association's success to him.

After that, I joined Tech Mahindra, where I worked with teams from several business divisions for 1.5 years. It was a process-driven organization where internal audits and developing robust processes were always given top priority.

Question: How’s your current job at Jagran. Tell us more about that.

It has been a rewarding experience working with Jagran New Media. Looking back over the past seven years, I am incredibly grateful for all of the learning experiences I have had, from developing a strong team to introducing HR initiatives for talent engagement. Taking HR measures to make JNM a great place to work and the experience itself serve as evidence of my growth as an HR professional.

The best thing about working at Jagran New Media is that HR is involved in the organization's strategy, which helps us create strategies to on-board the right talent as well as great retention strategies for outlier’s retention. I have been working closely with the leadership team, particularly our CEO, Bharat, to establish a strong brand presence in terms of organizational culture, and our Glassdoor and Ambition Box ratings is a testimony to that.

Recently, we participated in a Google Cloud hackathon, which was a fantastic learning experience. These kinds of opportunities for growth and learning are unique to Jagran, and that's why I value being here.

Question: You've had several jobs at different companies. How do you think each of these roles equipped you for your next job and helped you to be a better HR professional today?

First and foremost, regardless of the personal equation at work, HR professionals must maintain their objectivity. Maintaining objectivity helps to build trust and makes sure that people feel free to voice their worries.
This entails remaining impartial while resolving an issue or addressing a concern. 

For example, when a manager brings up a performance issue with an employee, it's important to consider multiple viewpoints before building a narrative. A number of things can influence performance, including knowing the job description and possessing the required tools. This covers equipment, procedures, and learning opportunities.

In every organisation, trust in HR is vital. Employees need to feel comfortable sharing their concerns, knowing that a HR professional will handle them sensitively and provide solutions. If trust is lacking, employees may not seek HR professional’s help, which can lead to unresolved issues and even resignations.

I disagree with the notion that everyone is replaceable in the organization. It takes time and effort to develop great talent, and losing skilled employees is costly. Therefore, retaining high-performing employees should be a priority.

At Tech Mahindra, the organization had a unique approach where it gave importance to learning and development (L&D). As per the policy, around 10% of the work goals should be about learning new things and the rest, 90%, about the regular job. Anyone who failed to satisfy the learning objective had an impact on the evaluation.

Additionally, Tech Mahindra followed defined protocols, such as standard operating procedures (SOPs). Even if I were to leave and someone else took over, the transition was smooth. 

At Big FM, I learned the significance of creating a vibrant and happy work culture. Celebrating milestones like five-year anniversaries with special events made employees feel valued and motivated. I've carried this approach with me to other organisations, including Jagran New Media, where I've worked to foster a similar positive atmosphere.

Ultimately, a HR professional’s role is not just about policies and procedures but also about creating an environment where employees feel supported, motivated, and valued. This approach leads to higher employee satisfaction and better organisational performance.

Question: What are your thoughts on the idea that implementing SOPs in HR functions could streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve employee retention in organisations?

For HR operations to run smoothly, standard operating procedures, or SOPs, must be implemented. We can sort out any process if we are clear about "WHY"—why I am creating a strong retention plan—and "HOW"—how to establish a great retention strategy.

Here's how the SOPs for hiring have helped us bring in better talent.

Defined hiring Processes: While connecting a candidate for an interview, there's a clear process in place. We share the job description, discuss any questions, and assess their skills with assignments to ensure competency based hiring.

Clarity of KRA and KPIs – By ensuring the KRAs are discussed and shared within one week of joining, it is assured that the employee is aligned from day 1 and with the alignment comes better productivity and performance.

Tools for Efficiency: During COVID, we used tools like Test Gorilla to gauge competencies required for the role and psychometric tests to understand behaviours to ensure behavioural / attitude part can be evaluated.

Clarity for New Hires: We make sure new hires understand their roles clearly, and hence, post-joining, there is an on-boarding survey to ensure comprehension.

People will be more focused on their work, and the organization's ability to retain them for a longer period of time will result in lower costs associated with hiring, onboarding, and training new employees if they are clear about their responsibilities and how they relate to both the organization's and their own growth.

Question: How often do you think people who rely on their instincts are correct compared to those who make decisions based on data?

I would always prefer a mix of data driven approach and instincts. For example, evaluating functional competency data is important, but assessing behavioral competency instincts is also important.

Additionally, it's critical for leaders to strike a balance between assertiveness and approachability. Establishing clear objectives and deadlines is just as vital as building a strong rapport with your team. When it comes to evaluating an individual's performance, data is still more significant than a gut feeling. I personally give my team monthly plans and initiative goals so they have the freedom to be accountable and accomplish deadlines. This approach guarantees desired outcomes without micromanaging.

Question: Can you share how you build a culture of competency?

When building a culture of competency, our focus starts with hiring RIGHT. We ensure that the functional and behavioural competencies needed for each role are clearly defined. For example, In leadership roles, key competencies include:

• Excellence in execution

• A sense of urgency in decision-making

• Constant Innovation

• Team work

Innovation is crucial in the aforementioned. In a rapidly changing world, we must constantly upgrade our skills to stay ahead. At Jagran New Media, we've worked on developing competencies over time and ensuring that evaluations are based on them. Although it's been a journey since 2016, I acknowledge there's still room for improvement as new roles emerge regularly. 

This year, our focus is on defining competencies from one level to the next and ensuring people transition well to a new role through learning and development initiatives.

Question: How do you assess something that is subjective, and furthermore, how do you establish competencies for this?

In HR, we focus on evaluating people based on essential qualities like communication skills, time management, and creativity. For roles like content writing, we emphasise the need for creativity alongside factual accuracy. While we don't delve into the technical aspects to judge the role's competency, we ensure candidates meet functional competency standards set by the business.

To assess subjective aspects, such as creativity, we ensure functional assessments are designed by the managers, and even the evaluation of the assignments happens at their end. Candidates scoring below a certain threshold, typically 60%, are not considered for hire.

A key aspect they look at in the functional assignment is facts and originality in writing, avoiding. Ultimately, we prioritise competencies like creativity and innovation.

Question: How do you deal with writers in your company who may be experiencing a creative block?

Since content writing is a creative job, it's common to run into a creative block when working on a topic that requires meticulous attention to detail, including tone, facts, infographics, and imagery. We all advocate for flexible work arrangements, and content writers in particular enjoy the freedom to work from home once a week. Having a change of scenery occasionally allows us to meet new people and spark our creativity. Anyone is welcome to speak with the managers or their functional heads about the ideas in this open-door setting. We also play music to keep the atmosphere pleasant and stress-free and to make sure you don't feel pressured.

The distinguished leaders keep on organizing imaginative workshops to make sure teams keep working to develop the learning curve.

Question: Have there been instances where an article was excellently written but still failed to garner attention? If so, how do you deal with such situations?

A well-written, thought-provoking article must be distributed and amplified effectively, but occasionally, even with everything in place, the article still fails to perform as per expectations. 

In these situations, a thorough analysis of the data is very helpful. Did we publish the article and distribute it to the appropriate audience? Did we make sure the article was amplified appropriately? By gaining pertinent insights, we ensure that these learnings are then effectively accommodated.

Question: How would you go about data versus impact while evaluating performances?

The performance evaluation system is based on both results and efforts. For every role to measure the results, data insights in terms of targets and achievements are available, but efforts can always be measured by the impact.

For example, in the hiring process, HR performance is assessed around TAT, cost effective process / platform of hiring, etc., which is data driven however, the impact is the quality of hire, which eventually gets measured during the confirmation appraisal process or quarterly performance assessment.

Question: How do you approach hiring to find the individuals who can contribute to scaling up the organisation, particularly in the creative field where competence is crucial due to intense market competition?

When we discuss performance assessment, I emphasize a concept known as functional competency. Basically, the goal is to ensure that individuals are highly skilled in their respective fields. Therefore, we assign tasks to candidates during the hiring process to gauge their level of understanding of the position and industry.
For instance, we can ask them to perform a SWOT analysis for a brand when hiring for social media or brand marketing. 

This aids in determining whether they're headed in the right direction or not. And according to the procedure we have set forth, in order for them to proceed with the employment process, they must receive a score of at least 60% on these tests.

Question: What guidance would you offer to today's HR professionals, most of whom are Gen Z and tend to rely more on data than intuition?

The human resources department deals exclusively with people, and we all understand that not every conversation can be about data. Instead, while working with people, it's important to establish boundaries around empathy, care, and respect in order to foster a positive work environment.

 
To succeed, you must find a balance between facts and intuitions, communicate more with the group you work for and with, and cultivate strong relationships since strong relationships lead to excellent collaborations, which are the utmost important in every organization.

Question: Wrapping up, what's the single best piece of advice you'd give to a junior HR professional just starting out in their career?

My first piece of advice is to assess the difficulties and issues you are having in your HR position, then think about how data might be used to help. But it's important to keep in mind that not all decisions should be made exclusively based on statistics. When making decisions, your personal experiences and intuition are also quite important. 

It is imperative to thoroughly examine and comprehend the subtleties of the data obtained from TNI, surveys, or performance evaluations. You'll be in a better position to make wise choices that actually benefit your company if you do this.

Finally, never give up!