About one-third of organisations are going through some kind of transformations right now, but only 12% of them succeed in getting the desired results despite spending a lot of money and devoting time, energy, and effort. This alarmingly low rate of success was flagged out by Aarti Srivastava, CHRO, Capgemini India at People Matters TechHR Pulse Mumbai 2025.

“When we talk about digital transformation, 96% of organisations are going through digital transformation. This is as per the Harvard Business Review, and we talk about the large-scale transformations…about complete strategy, or business alignment, or how the market is changing,” said Srivastava, delivering the first keynote of the day earlier this week.

But how can a company achieve success via transformation?

It is about having the correct HR strategies, Srivastava explained.

Referring to companies like Netflix, Microsoft, and Adobe, that made remarkable achievements in the last decade, Srivastava said, most successful organisations have transformed themselves as per the talent landscape. 

For instance, Netflix started with a rental business of DVDs, then it transformed itself by streaming videos, and today it is one of the largest subscription-based video on-demand over-the-top streaming service providers, she said.

“Tripled revenue! That's what you call transformation, totally rethinking what your business should look like, and then aligning your strategies to that, involving the talent,” Srivastava added.

Similarly, Microsoft and Adobe, once a very successful package software business, have completely phased out their packaged materials. Now, they are known for their subscription-based cloud services, she added. 

“You can see these companies have been thinking ahead and evolving every possible aspect of strategy to succeed. But what happened to Nokia? Downfall! It is because of complacence, thinking that I'm the best, not being able to innovate, and think ahead into the future, living in the current time that I'm happy,” Aarti Srivastava explained.  

However, all these transformations should align with the talent strategy, as she illustrated with various case studies. “All the case studies are ultimately about leadership, talent, or people issues that led to problems,” she said, adding that behind every wonderful result, there is a painful transformation, which is never easy. 

“It's (transformation) very hard at the start. It's messy in the middle, but the result is always beautiful. So, when things are messy, when they are difficult at the start, stay with it. It's important that you stay with it to ensure that the transformation is coming through,” Srivastava said. 

What makes a great talent strategy?

To craft a talent strategy, she shared a few tips. One should first understand the challenges, then economic situations and fluctuations related to geopolitical, socio-political, and among other things. One needs to understand the business, its motives, and financials before making a strategy, she added.

“You need to look at diversification of the market…in a different way. Talent becomes very expensive. And sometimes your talent supply chain, or your resource supply chain, gets broken,” she cautioned.

“Anyone who wants to succeed should create a hyper personalised experience that is driving the differentiation. How do you create a talent which is looking at the future, (which can work with) hyper automation? It's the time where you want fast plans, and quick actions…You want a certain way it should be done. You want the results, so not just quality and hyper personalisation, speed also becomes important,” said Srivastava. 

Finding sustainability driven solutions are vital for companies these days to save energy and other resources, she pointed out, adding, “The United Nations has put 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) for us. How would you drive it within an organisation? If we don't keep ourselves aware and understand how the situation is changing around us, we're falling short of the expectations of the business.” 

She also noted that the flavour of the season is Gen AI. “Our CEO committed 18 months back to the market on a huge investment of Gen AI, anticipating what's going to happen. Today, 96% of our organisation is trained on Gen AI, including me, and some of my colleagues from Capgemini sitting here, it was mandatory for everyone because we meet clients, and talk to people… that's how you create a strategy, not your businesspeople, just to be trained on that. Everybody in the organisation should be able to talk about it,” she said.

Further, upskilling and reskilling are important for employees if they have completed many years in an organisation, performing the same kind of work. Then only they can help in reaping the benefits of transformation, Srivastava advised.  

The importance of leadership and tone from the top

Further, building the leadership mindset is crucial, she said, adding, “We all understand that everything is driven when the culture is created by the leadership. Because if leaders don't walk the talk, then there is a problem…How are we changing our own approach to leadership building? Of course, this is a complete cohesion that you need to build, and for that you need star HR teams. Build a star HR team for future.” 

Talking about assessing the current landscape of talent, she said, one should understand his/her people and their motives behind working whether it is for emotions, logic, money, or power.

Referring to leadership mobility, she said: “If leaders don't move around, they don't understand the organisation while growing within the same vertical, year after year… because you have affinity towards the people and that business, then you will not think large. So, mobility is extremely important.”

“It is very, important that you create a hyper personalised experience, even for employees, for them to stay and let them be with the organisation,” she said, adding diverse and inclusive workforce is important. 

Concluding the topic, she said: “What are the key takeaways I spoke about? I just want to simplify, have a clear strategy, clear ambition, lead with capabilities and learn what your capabilities are. If you don't know the benchmark of your capabilities in the organisation, you will not be able to progress. Use data and insights. For that, there are multiple technologies available. Know your people and top talent, who will drive the value in the organisation.”

“Keep talent at core. As I said, most of the organisations fail in their transformation because of not being able to keep up with the talent. Transformation is not done to employees. It's driven by employees. If you can define that, if you can do that, you'll be successful.”