Belgium-headquartered Aliaxis - one of the global leaders in advanced plastic piping systems for building, infrastructure, industrial, and agricultural applications, with operations in over 40 countries - counts India among the top three markets for talent. Its Global Chief Human Resources Officer, Laurence Dallenogare, spoke to People Matters during her visit to India about how Indian talent is driving the company's global transformation, what sets the Indian workforce apart, and the HR innovations done locally that the global company plans to roll out across geographies. The leader also spoke about the company's initiatives to improve the diversity ratio, train the workforce for the technology revolutions, and create a water-sustainable world. Edited excerpts

As a global leader overseeing various markets and talents across geographies, what's your assessment of Indian talent, especially in the industrial sector? How does it compare to other regions?

Based on my experience, both current and past, India truly offers a broad and capable talent pool for industrial and high-tech manufacturing roles. What I've observed is that the country's workforce isn't just technically skilled; it's also increasingly aligned with global standards. Thanks to the country's strong education system and robust upskilling initiatives. At our organisation, our teams in India are really driving various transformations across operations and commercial functions. We have a strong pipeline of future talent.

Regarding your second question about comparing Indian talent with that of other regions, I don't see a significant difference in capabilities or ambition. Talent across all regions is very innovative and driven. However, what perhaps distinguishes the Indian talent pipeline is its remarkable ability to thrive in fast-paced, cost-sensitive environments with rapid change. They bring a unique blend of technical capabilities and an entrepreneurial spirit. To summarise, India isn't just a source of talent; it's a strategic hub for industrial innovation, very agile, resilient, and demonstrating a high level of adaptability.

When we look at your strategy for building a talent pipeline, what are the key things you look for as an HR leader? What drives your hiring process?

We have a globally defined HR strategy that was developed collaboratively with our HR leadership team and regional HR heads. We've established four main People Foundation pillars, and each region then cascades these strategies to align with their specific regional priorities, regional strategies, and business market needs.

Our first global pillar is Leadership Excellence. This means strengthening our leadership pipeline at all levels – from top executives to frontline leaders working directly with operators on the shop floor – to ensure we have the right talent to meet current and future challenges. To support this, we've developed various global and regional initiatives.

The second pillar focuses on Employee Experience and Engagement. We always say employees are a key asset. Our ambition here is to enhance overall employee engagement, empower our employees, and support their well-being.

The third pillar is about building a Future-Ready Workforce. We're looking to cultivate an agile and high-performing workforce that embodies an enterprise culture. This means ensuring people are adaptable to different roles and that the organisation is fast and responsive to market changes. It's all about building future strategic capabilities.

This links directly to our fourth pillar: Innovation and Analytics. For HR, this means integrating advanced HR technologies, such as Generative AI, and using predictive people analytics to enhance strategic decision-making. We want to understand problem statements better and find the best solutions.

Can you share an example of an India-specific innovation that was later implemented throughout the organisation?

A notable example of innovation and analytics, particularly from India, is the country's pioneering use of HR technologies. India is the first region to leverage an HR bot that quickly supports all employees and leaders by answering practical and administrative questions. This has saved our HR business partners a significant amount of time, allowing them to focus more on talent management, talent acquisition, and supporting business transformation. This is a massive achievement in using AI in HR, and it's a best practice we're now developing globally.

How has your role as an HR leader evolved in the last 5 years? Do you see your role aligning more with business strategies and goals?

The shift is that the CHRO is now very much positioned as a partner to the CEO. We're seeing more and more CHROs playing a key role on boards as well. In the past, HR was more there to support the business; now, the CHRO is a strong partner in defining the business strategy itself.

I see and live my role as being a close partner to the CEO and the entire executive committee. It's not just about supporting the business but also about understanding it and defining the best strategy for it – not only the HR strategy but also the overall business strategy, how we position ourselves, and how we leverage innovation. This represents a significant shift in the CHRO's objectives. Another big change is the focus on data and financial aspects. HR is no longer only listened to for soft capabilities; we now also understand financial results, look at budgets, and comprehend how we can improve profitability. In the executive committee, HR leaders are discussing working capital, cash effectiveness, sales revenue, and EBITDA. This is a massive transformation of the CHRO role.

Ashirvad by Aliaxis is actively working to integrate more women into the industrial workforce, which is predominantly male-dominated. What steps are you taking to improve gender diversity within the organisation, particularly in India?

It's all about inclusion and diversity, and it's not just about women. It encompasses all forms of diversity, including minority ethnicities, disabilities, and gender diversity. For me, increasing diversity in the workforce isn't just a question of equity. It's a strategic imperative. Our approach at the group level, and specifically at Aliaxis, is very holistic. It's a combination of structural policies, cultural transformation, and targeted development programs designed to create an inclusive environment where everyone, including women, can thrive.

Globally, and at Aliaxis, we've made substantial efforts to ensure women are well-represented across various functions. Today, I'm proud to say that in India, we've achieved 20 per cent gender diversity in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) roles. Women are not only contributing in STEM but are also actively partnering with unions and holding positions in manufacturing, commercial, and sales functions.

To achieve these objectives, we've implemented several initiatives. We've invested significantly in workplace safety infrastructure and offer flexible work arrangements, including hybrid work policies, to make it easier for women to balance professional and personal responsibilities.

We've also developed mentorship and leadership development programs to build leadership capabilities among our women employees, helping them grow into influential roles across the organisation.

The organisation has also recently launched its plumbing training schools in India to train women workforce in plumbing solutions. Can you tell us more about it?

We are incredibly proud of our plumbing school initiative. Our HR organisation has set up four such schools across India to help individuals, including women, learn valuable plumbing skills. These schools provide hands-on training and help students find jobs or even start their own businesses. More recently, through our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, we have trained approximately 350 women in plumbing in India. This training has been instrumental in helping these women become self-employed and support their families. The feedback on these programs has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are committed to continuing this vital work.

Technology has become the mainstay for many industries, and the workforce needs to be AI-ready. What are you doing to ensure your employees are AI-ready or capable of efficiently discharging their duties in a world increasingly driven by new technology?

That's a very pertinent question being raised globally. It can generate some anxieties about technology, particularly the concern that technology might reduce the roles of employees in an organisation. But that is absolutely not what we're seeing.

We have excellent examples across Aliaxis in different regions. We are investing in "factories of the future," which include very advanced automation, autonomous mobile robots, and smarter warehousing. This doesn't mean we are reducing the workforce at all. Instead, our focus is on how we will leverage new skills and future capabilities. Our role is to train our workforce and employees to support this transformation – to learn and develop capabilities aligned with these new robots and automation systems we are using and will continue to use in the business.

Water sustainability is something you deeply care about. When you have a distributed workforce of 16,000 across different countries, as an HR leader, how do you ensure your employees globally are working towards achieving those water sustainability goals?

Water sustainability is truly an integral part of Aliaxis' DNA. If you visit our website, you'll see how deeply embedded this culture of water sustainability is in everything we do. We have a clear global strategy focused on reducing our environmental impact and creating innovative technical solutions. We empower our local teams to take action and partner with our customers to design the best solutions for water issues globally.

Our leaders regularly discuss how to build the right mindset and skills to support this strategy, and it's a core objective for all our employees to align with and support the organisation's sustainability goals. We also actively listen to our employees through surveys, encouraging everyone to be a key player in our sustainability efforts. It's not just a group effort; it's a mindset we cultivate throughout the organisation. While we have global initiatives, each region also has its own clear goals to support the strategy, such as reducing CO2 emissions, enhancing product design, and improving operational efficiency. In parallel, we develop specific training and strong communication to help everyone understand how their work contributes to our overall purpose.