In Conversation with Sarang Brahme: A Sneak Peek on the Current Trends and Future of the HR Industry
Today’s HR Speaks story is about Mr. Sarang Brahme, Program Manager – Employee Engagement, Experience & Employer Branding in Capgemini. He is continually working with the motto of making Capgemini a great place to work as an external campaign and establishing the same as an internal experience & engagement. We will throw light on his career journey, achievements and also talk about the trends and future of the HR industry during the unprecedented times of the pandemic.
We started our conversation with Sarang, asking him how HR would prove beneficial in building the future of work. To this, he replied that the future of work is now, and this is already happening due to the ongoing pandemic. Re-imagining the newer ways of work and measuring the productivity, people experience & expectations is key in building the future of work. He added that people need to be at the heart of future strategy.
Moving forward, we asked Sarang the prime challenges that are likely to dominate the HR industry in the second half of 2021. He was very happy to take this question and replied that the industry is grappling with retention challenges as of now. He feels that there is a need to see beyond retention. He added that pursuing a long career at the same company has become almost outdated in the new flexible working models. Thus, attracting talent for specific missions and focusing on success through learning, experience design, and agility is the key. He expects to see new working models in a few companies as pilots.
Our next question to Sarang was what has been his learning in 2021. He promptly replied to this that “Mental & physical wellbeing is now at the heart of attracting, growing, and retaining talent. It’s a huge responsibility of leaders and middle-managers to stay connected to their people beyond just project work. Although technology can enable the connection, it’s a human connection that matters more than ever today.” So, we see how he has emphasized the importance of human touch in retaining talents during the unprecedented and tough pandemic.
Sarang being a very seasoned HR professional, we were keen to know his perspective on the metrics that should necessarily be measured in the HR industry. Sarang replied that beyond the usual metrics, people experience the impact of people on the business value and contribution to the society is now key. He feels that today’s business & HR leaders should challenge their traditional KPIs and experiment/strengthen people analytics.
Before we conclude, as an HR leader, we asked Sarang what will be his key priorities for the coming months. He firmly replied that making authentic people experiences & organizational cultures shines as their employer brand and reputation will be his top priority. He added that gone are those days when branding was all about shouting out loud. Rather it has become a key business driver and transparent reflection of all organizations to people & the market.
So, this was it for today. We will soon be back with another insightful interview with another leading HR professional. Keep watching this space for more, and do not forget to write back to us in the comment box below with your feedback.
