Sankalp Naswa | Manager-Rewards | Nestlé India Ltd.

With a Masters in Human Resources Management and Labor Relations from TISS, Sankalp Naswa has so far worked in various sub-domains under HR including Total Rewards, Benefits Design, Long Term Incentives, Employee Relations, Employer Branding, Talent Acquisition, and Strategic Workforce Planning. He continuously invests in developing skills in HR Analytics, HR Metrics and Dashboards.

Sankalp believes in 'Done is better than perfect' and with this attitude he seeks to make HR a more data driven function.

“Identification and what to do with good talent is mostly left to luck and chance. My focus is on leveraging more data science and helping my team make more relevant people decisions,” says Sankalp Naswa, Manager-Rewards, Nestlé India Ltd.

Understanding people processes to drive business growth

Sankalp always wanted to learn more about how people can shape a company’s success. He was inclined towards understanding how people decisions in companies are taken. The curiosity to learn more about the people processes and the passion to be able to influence them is what brought him to the HR domain. Sankalp strongly believes that it is people who make a company and not brands. 

Ability to leverage data & analytics: A key differentiator

The knowledge of data science and how it can be used to take better people decisions has given Sankalp his competitive edge. He tries to bring in data to each and every conversation. 

Sankalp shares, “I believe in the power of statistics and to that accord, try and ensure data quality to the maximum possible.”

Continuing his efforts to bring in more elements of data science to every aspect of HR, Sankalp’s key talent priority also remains to make his organization’s people decisions more data driven. 

Biggest talent priority: Data driven people decisions

From identifying the right talent to recognizing it and appraising it, Are you in the list 2019 winner, Sankalp wants to implement data science at every stage of the employee life cycle. Currently he is even investing in his own skills to learn how he can help his company’s HR organization maximize the benefits of data science. 

As Sankalp seeks to make HR a more data driven function, let’s see what key actions and plans does he have in mind for the HR function.

The one thing I will change in HR

HR needs to understand that they are a part of business and thus there is no need to keep on self-validating and looking for opportunities to make their presence felt. Getting the basics right will ensure that place for HR in the business itself. 

The one thing I will retain in HR

The approach that people are ahead of costs is required while taking key decisions, from restructuring exercises to compensation decisions. Many changes and trends shall keep on shaping the HR function, but they shall always remain the employees’ champion. 

Vision for HR's future growth 

The future lies in data. HR needs to become more comfortable with handling data and ensuring data quality at source. HR's future growth would come from accepting the fact that all people insights can be utilized to make better and more relevant decisions.