As a follow-up to the list of Women in HR Tech, we actually reached out a few of these women entrepreneurs in our view to understand the HR Tech space.

In this TechTalk, we interviewed Kavita Reddi – co-Founder at ChatChit to share her journey and her views on HR Tech.

In Kavita Reddi, we have one of the most qualified individuals who has experienced the opportunities the English language can provide in the business world today. She worked with BBC for over 14 years as a radio reporter and producer. She was also part of the founding team of BBC’s Action Network- an online campaigning platform. She is currently the co-founder of ChatChit, a learning and employability platform using speech recognition and AI to teach English, do assessments, and hire individuals. We are very happy to bring you her perspectives on the HR tech industry.

1. Please share a bit about your role and a typical day for you

As a founder of Voxta ChatChit, a digital English training and assessments platform, my role is to focus on business development and content. Whilst I start each day with a to-do list, completing it can be a lottery- dealing with anything, and everything! From HR issues, client calls, pitch emails, decks and documents, commercials, alongside scoping out lots of projects, and product specifications. And at regular intervals, organizing birthday cakes, Diwali gifts, and of course, pep talks and lunches! It’s always about managing client expectations, and massaging staff with the feel-good factor, to deliver!

2. What's similar or different about being a woman in HR Tech

The element of surprise! There are a lot of women in HR, but far fewer in HR tech. However, a lot of the HR teams and directors are women. And it’s great interacting with other women as buyers and decision makers. Of course, HR tech is also a great opportunity to use tech to encourage and facilitate more girls to come into target sectors. ChatChit for example, with its focus on spoken English for jobs, actively helps girls gain confidence in speaking English, and doing interviews, and helps them get hired.

3. Your view of the overall HR Tech industry

Unlike other tech sectors, HR tech is still in its infancy. But that means it’s a huge growth sector and a huge opportunity for VC’s, and tech startups. Given the economic downturn and the pressure on HR’s with many more applicants for each role, the time is ripe for a real disruption in HR tech, to challenge  India’s skilling and filtering problems.

4. Your advice to someone looking to build a career in HR Tech Industry

It’s a growth sector- but identify your space very precisely. And make sure you can sell into the sector! Tech efficiencies often trim the very same departments' start-ups are trying to sell into!

5. What about the future of HR Tech excites you the most?

Unlike the West, where HR tech is tackling complex professional compatibility issues in recruitment, and streamlining processes to deliver efficiencies, in India, the problem is more basic but magnified. Given the numbers applying for jobs, and hired every year, filtering is a huge problem. And here, tech can be fantastically useful, in shortlisting and reducing human efforts significantly.  For example, ChatChit automated assessments have been used to filter applicants and cut face to face interviews by almost 50%.

This is the second interview in a series of four on HR Tech Women Leaders