As organisations emerge from the depths of the COVID-19 crisis, significant attention has been given to the needs of the workforce and maintaining employee motivation. In this context, we spoke to Anuradha Razdan, Executive Director HR and Vice President HR, Hindustan Unilever, on her experience at work during the lockdown. In this interview, she shares her thoughts on identifying diverse needs across the workforce and the role of personal leadership as organisations are faced with a winding road back to normalcy.
Anuradha says that it’s been a time like no other for learning. She discusses how they switched to new work protocols for employees. and their new initiative, ‘HUL Learns Together’ which focuses on building different skills. She talks about different programs and initiatives like wellbeing kit, employee assistance programs, which open up conversations in the organization. They focus on the psychological wellbeing of the employees and how with programs like Reach Out, people can get counselling.
For Unilever, purpose is at heart of their strategy. They have invested in helping employees discover their leadership purpose. She talks about a new style of leadership where people balance compassion & empathy while expecting high performance. The culture she describes is about personal leadership and trust.
For Anuradha, leadership means having resilience, clarity and knowing when to prioritize what. She talks about the importance of agility and the digital quotient too. She discussed various ways in which leaders can be prepared to be future fit.
Watch her conversation with TAQ Co-founder Sangeetha Rajan as part of our Evolving Workplace Study