HRNV-May-2022

HR NEWS & VIEWS
MAY | 2022

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KEEPING TALENT
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HIGH PERFORMING
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BUILDING
HIGH PERFORMANCE CULTURE

Building performance driven organizations is what every
CEO strives for. However only few are there who could
actually build the same.

What builds a performance driven culture and how do we
get there ? It’s a question that seems to be doing rounds

and the answer is not clearly visible.

Performance driven culture model…

The performance driven culture is built on a evolving model cutting across
various cross sections of functions.

Leadership Commitment

Organization Compensation Right mindset Efficient career
structure design to align for employees development in
performance
aligned with to align place
Vision performance

Build effective engagement platform

The effort is led from the top to build and create an environment to sustain a
performing culture.

HR Role…

Human Resources function plays a critical and pivotal role in helping leadership build an
environment to create a performance driven culture.

Leadership • Drive as top agenda item
• Create Leadership buy in
• Tie this to Leadership and managerial

KRA

Organization • Matrix model with key focus on roles
structure • Structure and role to support

Compensation organization direction
Right mindset
• Has a right compensation philosophy
• Institutionalize Pay for Performance
• Alienate high weightage to educational

credentials
• Map contribution

• Create an environment with right
rewards to encourage performance

• Non performers feels the heat to
perform

Career • Create right development plans
Development • Encourage and create specific tracks

for fast trackers

Engagement • Build positive performing engagement
Platform plans

• Drive engagement with Managers and
Leaders

HR needs to develop a framework that allows performance
to grow, challenged and surpassed….

The Outcomes …

The organization's that thrives on creating successful set ups are always willing to create an
environment excites people to perform and bring extraordinary results for an organization.

WHAT IT BRINGS ?

Attractive High Results
employer New

brand benchmarks

Better Excited
Financial workforce
Performance

Competitive
company

CREATES HIGHLY EFFECTIVE ORGANISATIONS ….
Create an environment that lead's people to be highly productive

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HR

Paul Strange INTERNATIONAL
HR Consultant
EUROPE HR

EMPLOYMENT FOR WOMEN IN EUROPE universities in Europe. Many women

I saw a recent headline from India – that do not feel as free in their choice of
is that women make up only 20% of the jobs or do not get the same job
India workforce and this figure has been opportunities as men. This is often
declining over the last five years. due to their responsibilities as a
parent or as a carer of family

In Europe, the figure is around 47% and relatives. For the same reason,
improving. Now, female labour force women are more likely than men to
participation rates are now almost on par work in part-time jobs. There are
with those of North America and East several policy levers that are being
Asia. Women are increasingly well applied by governments and
qualified - more women than men employers to improve this
graduate participation rate. These include work-
life balance policies such as well-

designed, gender-balanced family-

related leaves, flexible working

arrangements and formal care services, as well as policies to limit the economic
disincentives for women to work.
Employers can, and are, applying policies such as these:
• Paid family related leave of absence
• Protections against dismissal for pregnant workers or workers returning
from leave
• Balanced use of leave entitlements between women and men after
childbirth
• Paid leave to take care of other dependent relatives
These policies, and others, are encouraging women to stay in employed roles and
not drop out due to family pressures and other financial disincentives.
The problem in India is one of job creation for a growing and young workforce, I
believe. In Europe the barriers are more supply constraints of culture and
economic disincentives.

UK: GOVERNMENT WORKERS TOLD TO RETURN TO THE WORKPLACE
There is an interesting story from the UK, where the minister responsible for
Government efficiency has been encouraging central government workers to
return to the workplace in London. On a recent tour of offices, he left notes on
vacant desks saying ‘Sorry you were out when I visited. I look forward to seeing
you in the office very soon.’
The Government are embarrassed that the vast number of central government
workers or civil servants are not returning from working-from-home
arrangements. In some departments, only 25% office occupancy is recorded.
When civil servants return to their offices in greater numbers, businesses may
well follow their lead. The Government are desperate to boost the capital city’s
economy.
There have been many comments that the Government should embrace the new
hybrid working culture and move away from a workplace working culture.
However, there is a non-HR issue influencing them. The Government has a huge
property estate in London, and it will be difficult to reduce it quickly to adapt to a
lower office population. The annual operating costs for the central government
estate were £2.61 billion at the last count. The UK Government has been moving
people away from London to offices elsewhere, but this has been to boost the
regions. Offices are still the primary workplace in their planning.
Another HR factor has been location allowances. It has been a long practice to add
a London allowance to salaries to compensate civil servants for city commuting
costs. Unions will not give these up just because the people are working from
home. So, the Government are stuck with these allowances and partially empty

MENOPAUSE

Spain is soon to introduce three days of paid leave for women with severe
menstrual period pain. They will be the first country in Europe to do so. Japan,
South Korea, Indonesia, and Zambia, have similar laws already. Law firm
Linklaters has just introduced a global menopause policy to provide support
for employees going through it, raise awareness and boost retention among
women.

About 4 billion women experience the menopause worldwide at any one time,
usually around the age of 50. The cessation of menstruation is a normal stage
of life, though it is a very difficult time for working people and a difficult
subject to discuss in the workplace.

Menopause can negatively impact job performance because it can impair
concentration and memory. Many women are unable or unwilling to request
accommodations that might make work easier. In Europe, last year, a new
charter was made, and employers were encouraged to join it – The
Menopause and Work Charter. Put simply the charter asks organisations
provide a supportive and responsive work environment, whether or not they
have become aware that a staff member is going through a menopausal
transition. By doing so, they strengthen corporate reputation, recruitment and
retention of talent.

Most employers have to follow local health and safety rules, but a
menopause-friendly organisation also seeks to
• Create an open, inclusive and supportive culture
• Address and prevent discrimination of employees on the basis of

menopausal symptoms
• Help reduce the stigma and emotional burden associated with menopause
• Strengthen corporate reputation, recruitment and retention of talent

If you are curious, there are many examples of a policy online. It is a trending
well-being issue in Europe.

BANK OPENS OFFICES WHERE EMPLOYEES WANT TO LIVE

As a contrast to the above story about UK civil servants, a young online bank
in Germany has a new approach to workplaces. Formed in 2016, N26 is
already out growing its Berlin HQ as it grows its customer base. They decided
to create two new hubs in Europe, but talent was an important criterion. N26
chose Barcelona and Vienna, partly as it was easy to find the workers in these
cities and countries and, also, attract the workers that wanted to relocate
them.
Helped by the fact that there is free movement between EU countries, it is the
first time I have heard of a company putting the attraction of the location at
the heart of their location strategy.

WORK FOR UKRAINIANS IN POLAND

A footnote to a recent article on Ukraine and the impact of refugees in
neighbouring countries. The Polish government has reported in May that over
100,000 refugees from its neighbour have found work in Poland – 75% of
these jobs have been taken by women. That is a big response

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UPDATES

Shweta Madhusudan appointed global head- talent development & compensation, at Drip
Capital

Drip Capital, the digital cross-border trade finance platform, has appointed Shweta Madhusudan
as global head, talent development and compensation.
An alumna of the Indian School of Business, Madhusudan has over 14 years of experience in
human resources, consulting, and research.
She worked as a research analyst, first with Frost & Sullivan for over two years and then with
Beroe Inc. for five months from 2006 to 2008.
After completing her postgraduation in management from ISB (Hyderabad) in 2010, with
specializations in marketing and operations, she joined GEP Worldwide, as a consultant in 2010.
Source: HR Katha
Netflix lays off 150 employees in the US

In the wake of a slowdown in growth and loss of subscribers, Netflix, the global streaming giant,
is laying off 150 employees. These employees constitute about two percent of the total
workforce of 11,000 at Netflix.

As per reports, the Company is making changes in its animation department from which about
70 roles have been removed. Other roles that have been affected in this round of layoffs are that
of the contractual staff who work at Netflix’s fan-focused content-based website, Tudum. This
website serves as a supplement to Netflix’s content. As per global media reports, about 26
contractor job roles have been done away with. Source: HR Katha

Reliance Jio’s Anil Mohanty joins Medikabazaar as head-HR

Medikabazaar, which is an online B2B platform for medical supplies, has appointed Anil Mohanty
as the head of HR. In his new role, Mohanty will be spearheading the HR function for the
Company. Four-year old Medikabazaar never had a head of HR. Its HR team is young. Mohanty’s
first mandate would be to structure, organise and tackle the problem of skill gap.
“I have always worked in big establishments, where everything was aligned and organised. We
just had to execute everything accordingly. TresVista to hire more than 150 employees, to open
new delivery centre in Europe Outsourcing firm TresVista has announced that it is going to hire
more than 150 employees for its Research and Investment Department in 2022, in line with its
extensive hiring ambitions. The recruitment will take place at its Mumbai, Pune, and Bengaluru
offices. RIS associates shall be held across various positions, including entry, mid and senior-level
positions.
The company noted in the official statement that the roles to be hired includes The role includes
researching across databases, gathering publicly available market intelligence, due diligence, and
related modelling efforts to make decision-enabling deliverables for clients.
Presently the company has an employee strength of about 1,200 people in India and plans to
expand to over 2,000 by the end of the calendar year. The company has seen tremendous
growth in recent months. With inroads in several domains and geographies, TresVista is
positioned for even greater growth in the near and long-term future. This has resulted in career
opportunities across departments and functional roles.
This employment strategy is being developed to support the company's progressive expansion
plans in the sector. Further, the company also aims to open a new delivery centre in Europe by
2024. Source: Peoplematters
How are companies attracting new IT talent? Hint: It's not just pay
A chronic shortage of talent has become the number one challenge in the IT sector. In a new
global survey conducted last month by multicloud solutions company Rackspace Technology, IT
leaders worldwide are finding it one of the most pressing issues today. 53% of respondents
across all industries singled out the talent shortfall as the top business challenge, even more so
than inflation (48%) and supply chain issues - even the chip shortage that plagues industries is
less troubling than this.
The biggest immediate challenge resulting from the talent shortage is the inability to adopt and
implement new technologies, according to IT decision-makers. In some cases - the survey
highlights cloud technology as an example - the talent shortage is a barrier to meeting the
organisation's top IT priorities.
Companies are still trying to figure out the best options for attracting and retaining IT talent,
though. On the one hand, elevated salaries have become the norm for many companies
desperately trying to attract tech talent - anecdotes abound of talent being lured away by
massive premiums - but on the other hand, spiralling wages are not sustainable.

The Rackspace survey found that companies are now trying to attract IT staff with training and
development opportunities (40%) instead. Financial incentives are still popular, with 32% offering
'moderate' increases in starting salaries and 21% still offering 'large' increases, but just as many
employers are promoting flexible work instead, and in fact flexi/hybrid/work from home
opportunities, together with training and development, are rated the most successful strategy for
retaining the talent they already have.
Oddly, 77% of respondents say their employees prefer working from home and 69% say their staff
work longer hours from home, but only 32% consider flexible work a key strategy to attract new IT
talent. Source: Peoplematters

Velocity Global raises $400 million, plans to hire about 700 employees this year
Talent solutions provider Velocity Global has raised $400 million in its Series B funding round,
increasing the company’s valuation seven-fold since the same time last year. The company also
plans to double the employee count from its present strength of 700 by the end of this year.
This second round of funding is led by Eldridge and Norwest Venture Partners which join Series A
investor FFL Partners on Velocity Global’s board to lend their deep expertise in the areas of
technology, future of work, and global scale. The company retains majority ownership and founder
Ben Wright continues as CEO and chair of the board of directors.

Velocity Global will use the funds to continue enhancing the customer experience for both
businesses and talent. The company will make further strategic investments in technology, sales
and marketing, as well as potential future acquisitions to execute on its vision to provide a
frictionless solution for businesses and talent to work with anyone, anywhere, anyhow.
commenting on the latest round of funds raised, company CEO Ben Wright said, “This is a pivotal
moment for our company in the midst of a paradigm shift for employers and talent. Access to work
is no longer limited by borders or the star you are born under as the adoption of global talent
accelerates. In March, we tripled the number of new supported talent on our platform compared to
the same time last year, and the momentum continues to build. Eldridge and Norwest Venture
Partners join FFL Partners to invest in people’s lives and the future of business. Massive kudos to
our team for this achievement on our way to even greater heights.” Source: Peoplematters

Vedantu lays off 424 employees, says capital will be ‘scarce’ in coming quarters
Online learning platform Vedantu is laying off 424 of its staff, accounting for a shade over 7% of its
5,900 employees. In a long blog post on the company’s website, its CEO Vamsi Krishna termed the
decision as ‘heart-breaking’, and listed out a slew of reasons, ranging from the Russia-Ukraine war
to the US Federal Reserve rate increase, why he’s letting go of his employees. “Currently, the
external environment is tough. War in Europe, impending recession fears, and Fed rate interest
hikes have led to inflationary pressures with massive correction in stocks globally and in India as
well,” Krishna said. “Given this environment, capital will be scarce for upcoming quarters.”

The covid-19 pandemic – and the resultant lockdowns - had lent a massive tailwind to online
businesses, and e-learning was no exception. But with the viral infection, which first swept the
world in the spring of 2020 and upended lives and livelihoods, under control, schools and
coaching centres are gradually going back to the physical mode. This has meant that online
education businesses are unlikely to see the scorching growth that they experienced during the
pandemic.
“With COVID tailwinds receding, schools and offline models opening up, the hyper-growth of 9X
Vedantu experienced during the last 2 years will also get moderated. For long-term sustenance
of the mission, V [we] would need to adapt too,” he added.
To be sure, it’s not just about capital getting scarce, as the days of easy money draw to a close
amid quickening inflation. The EdTech space is marked by intense competition, dominated by
larger and better-funded entities such as Byju’s, Unacademy, and UpGrad. As the pandemic-
driven froth settles, and the market share gets divvied up between offline and online players,
the EdTech sector could see consolidation, eventually becoming a two-three-horse race. Source:
Source : Peoplematters

Fashinza Raises $100 Million Series B Funding Led by Prosus, Westbridge Capital

AI-driven B2B fashion marketplace Fashinza has announced that it has secured $100 million in
Series B funding. The round was led by Prosus Ventures (Naspers Ventures) and Westbridge.
Existing investors who participated included Accel, Elevation, and DisruptAD. The funding round
also saw participation from angel investors including Naval Ravikant, Jeff Fagnan, Jake Zeller,
Nivi, and Nitesh Banta. The start-up’s funding round was a combination of equity and debt
financing, as per the release. Ashutosh Sharma, Head of India Investments, Prosus Ventures,
said, “The issues of the fashion industry supply chain have grown immensely over the past few
years – and these challenges have presented an opportunity ripe for disruption. The Fashinza
team has quickly evolved in a space that needs to go beyond the traditional channels. Their
exceptional team, dedication to mission, and business acumen at scaling their customer growth
are why this investment is important to us.” Grab Opinions, Insights & Analysis on your
fingertips! | Download People Matters Sphere now! Peoplematters SPHERE Google Play App
Store

Sandeep Singhal, Managing Director, WestBridge Capital added that the company has the
potential to revolutionise the fashion industry supply chain using technology and they
[investors] are excited to help take the company to the next level.

Fashinza was co-founded in 2020 by Pawan Gupta, Abhishek Sharma and Jamil Ahmad. The
Gurugram-based start-up will use the funds towards creating a sustainable supply chain for the
global fashion industry and expand the company’s presence globally. This includes monetising
fintech offerings, expanding into raw material procurement, helping Indian SME apparel
manufacturers with supply chain financing, creating a sustainable (i.e. net positive) supply chain
by 2030 and Industry 4.0 solutions for SMB manufacturers.

Pawan Gupta, CEO and Co-founder of Fashinza, said, “We are excited to expand our global
presence and offer fast and sustainable tech-based supply chain solutions -- especially to our
customers in North America. Our goal to help our partner brands and manufacturers work and
thrive with an agile supply chain that benefits all is now a reality and already increasingly
impacting our customers’ lives.”
“Our mission is to create a sustainable, futuristic, and agile fashion supply chain using
technology while improving the ethics and sustainability in the supply chain. We are now also
using the massive data we generate to solve financial challenges for our customers and
suppliers with our fintech products,” added Abhishek Sharma, COO and Co-Founder, Fashinza.
Source: Peoplematters

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