'Expertise on HR gives me the edge'

A good working knowledge on the subject matter combined with tenacity to get work done sets a Manager apart.

Bhrigu Joshi, Head - Talent Management & Development, MakeMyTrip

In his own words, this is what the ‘Are You In The List’ 2015 winner has to say about himself.

In my current role, I am responsible for conceptualizing and driving L&D, OD, Talent Management, Employee Engagement and CSR strategies for the organization. I lead a team of nine competent individuals to deliver on the aforesaid agenda.I am a result-driven individual. Recently, I had a chance to lead a team of seven individuals to create one of the India’s first SMAC-based mobile learning academy within a record time of five weeks. The project was adjudged as the most innovative HR practice by the World HRD Congress in Dubai.

Additionally, I am also a visiting faculty in institutions such as TISS, IMI and Fore School of Management.

Core differentiator:My subject matter expertise of human resources as a body of knowledge and my exposure to almost all areas of HR is something that gives me the edge in the short term. In the long term my ability to get the work done against all odds while nurturing strong relationships sets me apart.

Biggest talent priority: Recruiting and retaining key people

Recruiting and retaining key people depends on a combination of factors such as the nature of the industry, organizational life cycle stage, talent demand-supply gap and varies across industries. For instance, in the service industry, it is succession planning.

The one thing I will:

-Change in HR: Lack of business focus

HR also needs to establish its credibility in partnering with the business to execute the business strategy and building the change management capability within the organization

-Retain in HR:Focus on employees

HR should make an attempt to improve its business focus but without losing its employee focus.

My ideas to disrupt HR: Using SMAC in L&D

I intend to disrupt HR in the area of Learning and Development by leveraging technology. Research suggests that employees in most organizations want “just-in-time learning”, “bite-sized learning” and“social learning”. The confluence of social, mobile, analytics and cloud presents a great opportunity to address the above three learning expectations of employees at the same time.

Here’s the list of other winners:

JAY THAKKAR - Head - Compensation & Benefits and HR Operations, Aditya Birla Housing Finance Limited

NEHA SHARMA - Senior Employee Relations Manager, ICICI Bank

AMIT PAPNEJA - Manager-Field Readiness, Asian Paints Ltd.

AVIJIT SHASTRI - Divisional Manager - Channel HR, Commercial Vehicle TATA Motors

NIRANJANA HARIKUMAR - Lead- Learning and Organizational Development, Piramal Group

AANCHAL BHUGRA KOTHARI - Senior HR Business Partner, Reliance Industries Ltd.

SOUMITRA ACHARYA - Head HR Analytics, Mahindra & Mahindra

KUMAR ABHIMANYU - Participant - Career Acceleration Program, Reliance Industries Ltd

ALI IMRAN SYED -Global Learning & Organization Development Manager, Avery Dennison

RICHA SINGH - Senior HR Officer, HPCL

VARUN TANDON - Associate Consultant, Salto Dee Fe Consulting