A comprehensive talent strategy is essential for organizations aiming to attract, develop, and retain top talent. This involves meticulous hiring processes to identify candidates who not only possess the required skills but also align with the company culture. Continuous skill updating is crucial in today’s fast-paced business environment, ensuring that employees remain competitive and effective in their roles.

Human Resources (HR) plays a pivotal role in this balanced approach, acting as a strategic partner in workforce planning, facilitating professional development opportunities, and fostering an inclusive workplace environment that supports both organizational goals and employee aspirations. In this regard ObserveNow Media interacted with Vanita Kundapur, Head – Talent Management, Datamatics Global Services Ltd.

Below are a few edited excerpts from the interview:

What’s your organization’s approach to talent strategy and hiring? Is there a perfect recipe to get it all right or is it always a balanced view?

Our organization’s talent strategy and hiring approach focuses on finding the right fit. We believe there is no perfect recipe but rather a balanced view that considers the individual’s skills, experience, and potential for growth in alignment with the role. Considering the diverse nature of our work and offerings spread across various geos, an approach that we have observed to work well for us is understanding what an ideal candidate for a particular role would be and working backward toward it. It begins with a detailed job description with the ‘must haves’ and ‘good to have’ competencies (Knowledge, skills, and attitude) and selection of the right assessments or tools to help us gauge them.

As an HR leader, how do you ensure that the workforce you have today is the one you need tomorrow? What is your master plan for the skills update of the team?

The only master plan here is upskilling and cross-skilling and doing this across functions and levels. We prioritize this to ensure Datamaticians are future-ready by regularly assessing talent needs while providing opportunities for skills development and career growth.

Earlier, what was majorly applicable to the tech Industry now applies to all of us (including us in HR) thanks to ‘GenAI.’ At Datamatics, we have adopted an ‘AI-first’ approach. We are early movers in this space, be it in our product/ service offerings (some of whom already come with GenAI pricing for total transparency or internal tools enabling Datamaticians on a day-to-day basis. To the extent that this year, we asked Datamaticians globally if they are aware of our ‘AI-first’ Approach, and we received a resounding yes (90 %+). In the last few years, we have brought in additional focus on competencies across the organization, especially in Managerial and above-level roles.

What innovative approaches are businesses adopting to retain top talent in an increasingly competitive market? How are they prioritizing employee well-being and career growth?

As an organization, we prioritize employee engagement, well-being, and development, and we regularly seek feedback from our employees to ensure that we are meeting their needs. Now for the fourth time in a row, Datamaticians have chosen us as ‘Employee Friendly’ for our Annual global survey. Since early 2020 (even before the worldwide pandemic hit us), we have brought in a structured focus on DEI, employee well-being, and mental health through our Datamatics Wheel of Wellbeing initiatives globally. In the Philippines, we have the ‘Fit 2 Lead’ Program to cultivate a cadre of empowered and proficient managers & leaders who possess essential core competencies to lead and inspire their teams effectively. We firmly believe that the collective participation of our managers will not only enrich individual managerial & leadership skills but also contribute to a more resilient and thriving organizational culture.

How do you approach diversity and inclusion in your hiring practices, particularly in the context of hiring veteran workforce or Women returning to work?

Datamatics is committed to diversity and inclusion in our hiring practices and is aligned with UN SDGs toward building a gender-equal world. As shared earlier, our focus is solely on ‘merit’ with programs in place to support individuals for a successful career graph at Datamatics. The Datamatics Diversity Charter (DDC) has laid the foundation for formalizing our D&I commitment as a way of life for us at Datamatics. While recruiting, we try to include as much diversity as possible, especially regarding Generation, Gender, Socio-Economic, People with Disability (PwD), and Language/ Culture.

We welcome applications from veterans (ex-defense personnel) to apply for applicable opportunities, especially in Leadership roles at Datamatics. We have always advocated meritocracy in Datamatics. If any candidate performs well in the initial HR screening (based on the Job Description), online psychometric, and/or technical assessment. In that case, their candidature must be processed ahead and made part of the shortlist from which the selection would occur. Our initiative, Welcome Back: post Maternity second innings, specifically aims to support the process of joining back work after a Maternity Leave, which can often be daunting for a new mother. With the HRBP support, we will make her transition as easy and smooth as possible at this crucial juncture by appreciating and welcoming the lady back into the workforce after her maternity leave.

These continued practices have created diverse in-house role models from various walks of life, be they returnee women, women in STEM, PwD, or members of the LGBTQ+ community.

In what ways can your organization support and empower freshers to understand work life, chart a path for them, and find their sense of purpose in alignment with the company’s vision?

Datamatics provides comprehensive onboarding and tailored training programs to support and empower freshers. We work closely with our new hires to help them understand our company culture, values and to chart a path for their growth and success within our organization. Be it ‘Bonding Time’ or ‘Saarthi’ for all new joiners, with a particular focus on choosing & assigning the right Saarthi (buddy) for the new employee. Additionally, for focused Campus / Fresher program joiners, we chart out a customized training plan with clear inputs from the Business Function to help them ‘Get Set, Go’ to bridge the Campus to Corporate gap, ensure alignment and effectiveness.

Is there any advice you would like to give to the new HR Professionals entering the industry?

My advice to new HR professionals entering the industry is to be agile, keep learning, and aim to build strong relationships. HR is a dynamic and constantly evolving field, so try to stay up to date with the latest trends and best practices, especially in your areas of interest.