Let’s start by discussing how a typical day looks for you at your workplace and what are some of the newer trends that you see as a company?

My division is in charge of export sales, and our clients contact us whenever they need to go to market or return to the market. We serve all the global companies across 20 countries. And my role in this landscape is managing the end-to-end employee lifecycle, right from recruitment, onboarding, equal development, compensation, benefits management, and performance management, all the way through succession planning and development.

In my experience, we have seen a dramatic change in employee expectations since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.. Adjacently, we are also seeing a surge in the diversity, equality, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives. This involves equal opportunity across race, caste, creeds, and gender. So, all in all, a multitude of changes are taking place not just within the confines of the HR realm but on a holistic, company-wide level. We need to consider these trends and develop modern human resource strategies accordingly to hire, nurture, and retain competent employees.

How are you incorporating these trends at ArcelorMittal?

Besides new processes and programs, we add a layer of human support systems for more sensitive considerations of individual devices instead of having a one size fits all solution. We are factoring individual needs that can differ from one person to the other. And as we address individual needs more effectively, we are seeing an increase in employee engagement. This approach is helping us strengthen our people strategies.

"We are seeing employees focusing more on work-life balance and shorter work hours. They are now equally mindful of innovative and timely employee benefits like health coverage, insurance, and more"

We have also created a robust feedback system for our employees, wherein they can talk about any hurdle they might face in their work. We use AI and ML to strengthen this employee feedback system and become more proactive in solving employees’ challenges. This allows us to play the correct role in incorporating the newer trends into our HR workflows.

What would be your piece of advice for your fellow peers and colleagues working in the HR domain?

I think the basics, such as understanding your business, translating the business strategy to HR, and ensuring that different components of our system are consistent, are still relevant; but there are so many daily statuses that an HR manager must also address. So I think my advice would be to take advantage of new digital technologies and enhance your ability to play a crucial role in your respective organizations.