Article: Organisations grow when people are deeply engaged and empowered to be their best: Mamta Sharma, SVP-HR, Fiserv Global Services & India

Employee Engagement

Organisations grow when people are deeply engaged and empowered to be their best: Mamta Sharma, SVP-HR, Fiserv Global Services & India

Culture is a key enabler of success for any organization. It all starts with setting the right culture that is aligned with the larger corporate vision and long-term strategies, supported by leading technology and targeted innovation driven by excellence. But it cannot be one or the other, technology and culture need to go hand in hand for true success.
Organisations grow when people are deeply engaged and empowered to be their best: Mamta Sharma, SVP-HR, Fiserv Global Services & India

Mamta Sharma is the SVP-HR at Fiserv Global Services & India. Mamta heads the HR function for Fiserv India. She operates as a trusted advisor to the senior leadership team for Fiserv Global Services across India, US and Costa Rica on all talent related dimensions, with enhanced focus striking the perfect balance between the hearts and minds, while building a strong employer brand in the country.

In this exclusive interview with People Matters, Mamta Sharma, SVP-HR, Fiserv Global Services & India talks about the three pillars of employee value proposition – driving a culture of trust and transparency, building the best performing teams, developing talent and much more. Here are excerpts from the interview.

What does Employee Value Proposition (EVP) mean for Fiserv, and what drives your organisation’s decision to invest in it?

At Fiserv, we have built our employee value proposition across three pillars – driving a culture of trust and transparency, building the best performing teams, and developing talent. 

Our focus on human potential is what forms the basis of all our people initiatives and strategies, closely aligned to our organizational goals and growth strategy. It is not only important to hire the right talent, but to build the right ecosystem for them to thrive and be at their best in their work and personal lives. This concept of holistic growth and advancement is central to the culture that we are building at Fiserv, and we believe it will strengthen the value we will drive for our people. 

How do you define Employee Value Proposition (EVP) of your company – how is it unique for Fiserv? 

As an organization, we are led by our aspiration, values, and purpose. We are proud to be a global technology leader that is also a human-centered company, and we are committed to creating a workplace experience that inspires each of us to be at our best every day – for our clients, our communities and each other.

Our environment is inclusive, open, safe, and respectful, so people feel comfortable bringing their whole self to work. 

Why is “employee experience” (EX) important for HR  and business leaders?

Organizations grow when people are deeply engaged and empowered to be their best. When people thrive, organizations succeed. 

When people are inspired to bring their most authentic and best selves to work every day, it can boost creativity and innovation, furthering success for clients and the organization. To us, employee experience is an all-enveloping concept that incorporates the way we hire, the way we grow our associates, the benefits we provide to our people, and the culture we drive to build the right environment for our people to grow their careers, feel engaged, and connect with the communities where they live and work.

Our employee experience practice is the sum of multiple efforts, driven through: 

  • Supporting the overall wellbeing of our people – that includes physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing

  • Practicing empathy and understanding that there is a human behind every transaction our company enables

  • Ensuring continuous learning and talent advancement opportunities for our people

  • Driving digital collaboration through tools and workspaces that bring people together to innovate and exchange ideas

  • Building a gender-diverse and inclusive organization that provides equal growth opportunities for everyone

What is your organisation doing to reshape the employee experience (EX)?

At Fiserv, we are proud of our broad spectrum of talent, diverse thinking, and our focus on innovation that enables the movement of money and information for businesses, financial institutions, and consumers. And we are always mindful that our people are at the center of everything we do. That’s why it’s a priority for us to ensure we build ample opportunities for our people to grow, engage and thrive at Fiserv.

We focus on upskilling our workforce, helping them consistently push boundaries of excellence and innovation and go beyond standards. We have an extremely robust learning and development approach and multiple initiatives to upskill, collaborate and develop solutions mapped to real-world market opportunities.

At Fiserv, we inculcate an engineering mindset that sparks creativity and innovation, and even embraces failures. Our very own flagship program, Business Innovation Group, has, since inception, mentored over 60 subject matter experts to work on minimum viable products (MVPs) and innovate solutions.

We also are a ‘family-first’ company and believe in associate care. During the pandemic, we supported our people and their families through financial assistance and helped ensure they had support for their physical and emotional wellbeing. In 2022, we drove a flexible and gradual approach towards the return of associates to office, empowering our people to manage their work and personal lives.

Have you noticed outcomes of a positive employee experience in terms of business, employee satisfaction and work culture?

We are focused on creating ecosystems that are conducive to our associates’ holistic growth. Creating these ecosystems does not stop with simply recruiting the best talent, it includes nurturing careers through continuous growth and learning opportunities.

We have seen great uptake from our people on our continuous learning and skill assessment program, which provides an opportunity for them to understand their possible career paths and growth opportunities. We work through a formal mentoring program which has seen increased participation year on year from new associates, women, and leaders. 

Our employee resource groups that drive inclusion and diversity practices across the organization have also received support through an increasing number of members. That was reflected in our recognition as a Silver Top Employer by the 2021 India Workplace Equality Index (IWEI).

What practices at your organisation have the most significant impact on employee experience? Any specific guidance you want to elaborate on how organisations can improve employee experience?

Our ‘family-first’ culture and focus on associate care is visible in everything we do for our associates – benefits, career plans, learning opportunities, wellness, and engagement activities – and has a significant impact on the overall associate experience. Our culture helps us drive a positive associate experience, reflected in the holistic growth of our people, and in how we recognize them and celebrate their successes and even failures. 

Our strong focus on our values forms the bedrock of how our employees thrive during their Fiserv journey. 

We enable a robust learning and development approach, with multiple initiatives in the form of leadership development programs through external reputed universities, technical tracks, domain and product workshops, and brownbag sessions to upskill. 

There are also multiple training opportunities and career mobility options that enable our people to grow their careers with Fiserv. 

As an equal opportunity employer, we provide a robust benefits portfolio along with inclusive platforms for employee engagement collaboration, networking, and development, which allowed us to build a robust and holistic support system for our people during the pandemic such as financial assistance program, 

We are incredibly proud of having an ecosystem that is conducive for women – from recruiting the brightest talent to nurturing their careers while they are part of the Fiserv family. We have been able to create a positive impact on the growing number of women in tech leaders at Fiserv, which is driving our narrative in the press and in industry forums and recognized through the awards we have won.

Companies often think the employee experience (EX) strategy is a tech strategy. Yes, technology is important, but culture is important too. What is your take on that?

Culture is a key enabler of success for any organization. It all starts with setting the right culture that is aligned with the larger corporate vision and long-term strategies, supported by leading technology and targeted innovation driven by excellence. But it cannot be one or the other, technology and culture need to go hand in hand for true success.

Our culture of respect and inclusivity helps us deliver the best solutions for our clients, while also having a positive impact on our communities and each other.

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Topics: Employee Engagement, Employee Relations, #RedrawingEVP, #Work Culture

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