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By- Romesh Srivastava

Sheetal Shah currently serves as the Chief People Officer of Schindler
India & South Asia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Schindler Group - an
organisation she has been with since 2011. Prior to her elevation as

CPO, she has led the Business HR and HR Strategic Projects function in
India interspersed with a 2-year stint in the Middle East as HR Director

of Schindler UAE. In the early years of her nearly two-decade-long
career in Human Resources, she was associated with companies such as
Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Retail, and Avaya GlobalConnect.

Working on challenges of scale in people processes, improving the lives
of front-line employees and driving the culture of inclusion & diversity

are some topics that Sheetal is deeply passionate about. She was listed
among the Top 100 HR Under 40 in 2018 and holds a Masters in Human
Resource Management from the University of Leeds.

Q. that you see in the coming (Johns, G., 2010, Presenteeism in the productivity may roll back, talent
What are the HR challenges
drain may increase. While leaders
workplace: A review and research
year? agenda. Journal of Organizational must be empathetic, they must also
subtly enforce the new rules of
Behavior). Employees have showcased
A. accelerated one of the greatest commendable agility and resilience engagement and encourage employees
COVID-19 has led and
to take personal onus for making the
to adapt to the new ways of working.
workplace transformations of our However, the ability to sustain this organization successful, by developing
lifetime. In the coming year, amongst momentum poses an immediate newer capabilities, displaying
the many unknowns, organizations will challenge to organizations. This customer-centricity, and helping win
face several challenges. enthusiasm could be short-lived as incremental business.
job security is a driving force for most
One of the key challenges will be employees in the current situation. Connections: As the world goes virtual
to create Employee Experience, As the market sees an improvement, for a prolonged period, HR leaders will
that supports employees to manage need to be deliberate about retaining
the fear of uncertainty and commit their people-orientation culture
wholeheartedly towards growth - mastering deep and meaningful
(personal and professional). Although Employees have connections with customers and
part of our capacity to deal with the colleagues/employees–challenge will
unknown is innate, a larger portion displayed commendable be to ensure that the humane touch
is learned. Those who develop this agility and resilience to is not compromised due to the high-
“uncertainty capability”(HBR) will tech environment. Organizations
be more creative, more successful, and adapt to the new ways will have to institutionalize ways for
better able to turn uncertainty into of working. However, managers to engage with their teams
possibility. regularly; elevate the sense to identify
the immediate and support employees’needs; learn to
Paradox of Empathy and Tough challenge is the recognize and address issues related to
Love: Data suggests that employees mental, emotional, and social well-
are working longer hours and there ability to sustain being; review and redesign policies
is likely to be growth in presenteeism this momentum. to bring about higher workplace
i.e., people going to work when ill. flexibility. With plans to stagger the

41 November 2020 www.sightsinplus.com