Sandhya, tell us about your journey, share of challenges how did you overcome them that shaped you to becoming one of the known women leader in HR fraternity, now- VP, Head of Talent Acquisition India at State Street (You can remove State Street your designation if you wish to)
I began my journey as a HR executive working in World Bank-aided projects in East Africa. Before moving back to India, I worked in Singapore with my husband and worked in the information technology enabled services (ITES), information technology (IT), banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sectors. In the past 20 +years of my career journey, I did face challenges as a woman to balance work and family.
15 years ago, I made a conscious decision to take a sabbatical when my kids were 1month and 1.5years old. I chose to do that because that was the time my kids needed me the most. After 3 years of career break, it’s challenging to return to work as a working mother. It becomes important to showcase how committed we are and that we can focus on work.
I think my positive attitude, calm, proactiveness helped me to overcome the challenges.
Describe what does #SheTakesTheLead means to you?
It reminds me the challenges faced by women in the world and workplace, and claiming one’s power is the key to change the work/life paradigm. It is also important for us as women to believe in ourselves.
With years of experience at leadership position, what women want in the workplace for them to grow to take on leadership roles?
No doubt many women are progressing their careers. However, it is still challenging for a lot of women to take on leadership roles. I think companies need to cultivate an inclusive culture which provide career opportunities to female employees. It is important to create an environment where women can thrive in leadership roles. Increasing gender diversity is one way of achieving cognitive diversity. Therefore, gender diversity in senior leadership isn’t just about doing the right thing, it’s also about improving company’s performance for the long-term.
Do you believe that HR Talent Managers should demystifying the concept of diversity which is beyond genders, generations, preferences more. What positive impact it can bring in building the future workforce having diversity.
Diversity is not just limited to gender alone. It’s about diversity of thought which helps companies to become more innovative, to assess risks from different perspectives, to retain talents, and ultimately leads to better business outcomes.
90% of women leaders don’t see themselves becoming a C level position (acc. to a report,). Some say it’s the mind set while others ecosystem. What do you think are the reasons why?
It is a perception that women and men are not equal. Although it is true that men and women are different, they should be treated equally. It’s also because the two genders are different, they offer different perspectives and thoughts, which bring value to companies. As a woman, I think it’s important for us to believe in ourselves and work on your own brand. It will help us to become leaders.
Having experience in Talent Acquisition across different geographies, across multiple industry sectors and Volume Hiring, how has the talent hiring landscape has changed in last 5 years, especially in mass hiring.
Hiring has become increasingly high-touch given our talent market is very much candidate-driven. We are moving from the traditional reactive hiring to relationship hiring and network hiring. Employers need to be more transparent, responsive and interact faster with candidates to have them accept their offers. Providing the best candidate experience is the key to success.
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