Chavi Jain | HR Business Partner | Citi

For Chavi Jain, one of the Are you in the list 2019 winners, “Connecting without prejudice, listening with intent, and building genuine trustful relationships is the bedrock on which bigger goals are met.”

With a Bachelors in Engineering and a Master’s in Management and Human Resource Development from Symbiosis, Chavi started her career in HR with Yes Bank in 2012. From handling end-to-end responsibility of employee relations, recruitment, and performance management to managing strategic HR initiatives for multiple global teams at Citi, Chavi has seen immense growth in these seven years of her journey in HR.

Chavi describes herself as a bundle of energy. As an enthusiastic, compassionate and creative person she thrives on achievement, while taking people along and enjoying the journey.

“It’s the small things that matter to me. Making people’s work meaningful and their lives joyful is how I measure my legacy,” shares Chavi Jain, HR Business Partner, Citi. 

Solving the people equation at work

Collaborating with people to bring out the best in them and creating joy in the workplace is what Chavi thrives on. When asked why she chose to be in the HR domain, she shared that she finds immense satisfaction by solving the people equation at work. 

From childhood, Chavi enjoyed being part of teams to design and develop solutions that makes life better. After completing her engineering, she thought of bringing together her logical thinking, solutions-orientation, empathy, and drive to work for people in a business environment together and decided to take up HR. And as Chavi shared, she has loved every minute of it.

Balancing IQ & EQ to stand out from the crowd

While problem solving approach and analytical skills are essential to solve and understand business challenges, empathy and creativity are equally important to have to interpret human emotions and desires. Hence, it is a combination of both IQ and EQ that has helped Chavi in her professional journey.

She focuses on execution along with empathy, and imparts creative problem solving on a strong foundation of integrity. 

Then asked what differentiates Chavi from the crowd she said, “It’s not one but a combination of strengths that I leverage to be effective in what I do.”

To have an abundance of talent when you need it. Whether it is the slate for a business leader, or hiring someone for a managerial or technical role, one is always challenged with finding the right talent for the right role in the right amount of time.

Key priority: Building a strong pipeline of right talent

Chavi’s biggest talent priority currently is to have an abundance of talent when the organization requires it. Whether it is the slate for a business leader, or hiring someone for a managerial or technical role, one is always challenged with finding the right talent for the right role in the right amount of time. Chavi’s focus will therefore be on helping her organization grapple with this challenge. 

Let’s see what vision and plan does Chavi has for the HR domain in mind. 

The one thing I will change in HR

I would like to change the ‘mind’ of HR. I like the way HR is becoming more strategic and data-driven and would like to further create mechanisms to ensure we are able to have tangible measures to gauge the effectiveness of HR. 

The one thing I will retain in HR

I would like to retain the ‘heart’ of HR. I am proud that our function has immense courage, empathy, and drive to make a difference in people’s lives.

Vision for HR's future growth

The way HR is experienced by organizations in the future will be fundamentally different from today. However, it will be rooted in the same set of ethos and principles. Firstly, we will see technology and AI take over transactional activities. Secondly, HR teams will focus on curation rather than creation of resources for skill development. Finally, HR professionals would need to develop the ability to see around corners and evaluate emerging trends to develop policies that support new age work arrangements, relationships, and business objectives.