Transforming Workplaces: The Imperative of HR Management to Foster Employee-Centric and Inclusive Job Environments | Sangeeta Shetty | Senior Director | Human Resources | Ascendion

How can HR work towards increasing employee engagement in a workplace?

Knowing our people better is crucial to ensure a happy and engaged workforce. As a people leader, it is important to understand the diverse groups of people, their backgrounds and be empathetic towards them, their needs. Ensure that the policies, plans, and conversations embrace accessibility across all fronts for a holistic work environment. From offering the right support for hybrid working or understanding someone’s need for flexible hours or time off, it spans across several aspects. With intangible qualities to build, a good HR team maximizes touchpoints with employees, offers being a guide, coach with humane attributes at its core, operates with open and timely communication fueling innovation, enables automation, systems building a hassle-free environment that helps employees flourish while doing what they like to do.

How are companies actively fostering career development and training by using specialized avenues that emphasize learning and growth in contemporary areas of technology?

Community-led learning is the key to fostering a well-rounded career development avenue. Peer-to-peer mentoring, working on innovating, simulation-based experiments – all add to practical learning experiences which are some great avenues to learn, especially for engineering services firms. Enterprises who encourage learning and development programs to ensure that their people upskill are focused on their growth. Open communication fuels innovation, silence stunts growth. Embrace Generative AI, educate your team, or risk falling behind. The future’s here, upskill now or get left out.

Why should companies pay more attention to hiring from Tier-2/Tier 3 cities and rural areas?

Covid smashed the 9-5 mold. Work is now location-fluid, unlocking a talent goldmine in smaller cities. Physical spaces are no longer a mandate with hybrid and remote-first approaches. This has led to untapped talent potential being accessed by recruiters. HR and People leaders across organizations should focus on workforce growth by leveraging creative talent who have otherwise been overlooked or have been out of reach due to geographical restrictions. Resources are optimally placed when we hire from multiple locations. Hiring from all regions leads to diversity, which promotes a well-represented workforce.

How does Ascendion work towards enriching their employees’ professional skills and personal well-being?

Ascendion stands out with its unique learning environment, emphasizing growth and upskilling. Our leadership prioritizes investing in innovation through Ascendion Circles, a community-led learning model —a rarity in engineering firms. We encourage cross-domain opportunities, fostering innovation backed by open communication for Ascenders. Honing our employees’ skills is in our core construct.

Gen AI is an embedded strategy for Ascendion. Organizations that do not embrace it have the risk of falling behind. AI is clearly pinned as an underlying mission to enhance growth of the trusted individuals, organization, customers, and numerous lives reaching through our solutions.

As an organization we acknowledge the increasing concern about blurred work-life boundaries, and if not addressed harmful for employees or organization. We therefore appreciate individuality and embrace them as a whole; our conversations are not limited to technology and skills but more and beyond. There is equal emphasis on the social, psychological, physical, and financial well-being of a trusted individual. With Viva engage platforms, we are building a bridge in hybrid work model by being connected, working on sharing avenues on how Ascenders can give back to society with the right CSR partnerships.

Does Ascendion have a provision for new parents to pursue their career alongside their parental responsibilities?

We’re dedicated to a flexible workspace, offering hybrid and remote-first options across roles. Aside from maternity breaks, our support extends to all new parents for extended sabbaticals for prioritizing family time. We partner with a mental well-being support partner to help them handle the ropes of their new role. Our initiative, “Motherverse,” is a unique recruitment program focused on reintegrating mothers who took a career break. Tailored to fit their familial needs while resuming work, we offer half-day work hours that can be converted to full-time work opportunities.

What are the major incentivization programs that Ascendion participates in to enhance employee productivity and satisfaction?

Ascendion builds a wholesome network of individuals who participate as a community. Communication is never one-way or just top-down, thereby offering equal say in all our focus. Our Global Talent Engine encourages talent specialists with a hiring-based incentive. Our rewards and recognition program such as “Hi-Fly,” and “Ascent,” are focused on recognizing individuals and teams who have been instrumental in taking our journey ahead.

Mentorship programs like Circles Connect, Project Connect and Complete You, help individuals to maximize their potential. We train people leaders by enabling and equipping them to better manage folks while growing personally; with a focused investment in upskilling the people leaders – often overlooked in several places.