Our main objective here at iFuture Technologies is to enable corporates and individuals to boost their professional potential through upskilling and continued learning. HR and L&D managers are key players in this, and we believe they are our partners in achieving these goals.

So, we are kicking off our very first interview series, “Learning Leaders Unplugged,” which will offer our readers and viewers a window into the world of successful HR and L&D heads with an aim to find out what drives the work and passion of decision-makers in the world of corporate education. We’re also excited to inspire upcoming HR managers and L&D pros through this interview series.

In the first episode of “Learning Leaders Unplugged,” we bring you Shweta Sachdev, HR Manager at the Sunday Hotel. Shweta has 17+ years of experience in people management. She’s a unique combination of grit and wit and is an extremely kind human being – those who know her personally or, like me, have interacted with her over LinkedIn will attest to it.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s dive into the interview…

Geeta: Hello Shweta, it’s great to have you here as the first guest of our interview series. Here’s the first question for you – what motivated you to pursue your career in HR management?

Shweta: Thank you, Geeta. I’m really honoured to be your first guest!

Well, you see, I’m currently carving my career path in Human Resources. Even though I initially pursued a master’s in HR, I hadn’t envisioned heading into hospitality and overseeing units like I am now.

I was raised in a business-oriented family, so I developed a strong inclination for engaging with people, adapting to new environments, and connecting with individuals from diverse backgrounds. This led me to choose a career in HR.

But my entry into HR wasn’t pre-planned. Initially, my father, Mr.Ashok Sehgal, wanted me to complete my education, gain some work skills, and then go into a career. So, HR wasn’t my dream career or anything. But I’ll always be grateful to my brother, Advocate Virendra Sehgal, for the constant support from where I started to where I am now.

When gradually my interest in HR grew, I can say it was particularly with the intention of meeting new people and engaging with various companies. I still find it absolutely fascinating to explore the endless opportunities that arise from this profession.

Geeta: So, even though you were from a background where it was okay if you didn’t start working or pursue your career…and that feeling that you want to be independent made you choose this HR management field. Is that correct?

Shweta: Yes, initially, when I began my journey in HR, I wasn’t involved in hospitality. I started working with Mafoi Management and Consultant, a global HR consulting company. It primarily operated on a consulting basis, charging companies for their services at 8.3%—a different approach from the candidate-focused scenario we often see today.

My initial job was with them in Dehradun back in 2005, and it was a part-time position. At that time, I was pursuing my graduation, using the job as an opportunity to gain experience and learn new skills. As I said, my father wasn’t initially supportive of the idea of his daughter working at such an early stage.

During this period, I hadn’t yet considered a career in HR; it was merely an avenue for learning. However, my interest began to grow as I engaged with new people, interacted with them, understood their perspectives, and assisted them in securing employment opportunities. The satisfaction derived from this, coupled with the exposure to various companies, fueled my growing interest in HR.

This newfound passion led me to pursue an MBA in HR, marking a significant turning point in my career journey.

Geeta: Awesome! Can you explain the role of HR in organizational success?

Shweta: HR has a very huge responsibility. First of all, to see whether the employees are satisfied or not. Whether supervisors are satisfied or not.

Moreover, organizational success is if we put the right people in the right jobs. What I have understood is that if you assign a job to the team according to their skills, it makes the work easier for you as well as for the team members.

Geeta: How do you keep yourself updated on HR trends and industry best practices because you have to be on your toes?

Shweta: In my experience, staying up-to-date with HR trends is a continuous and dynamic process. I like to follow industry publications and engage in professional forums, meetings, and sometimes conferences. And, of course, LinkedIn!

I’d say keep joining webinars or any podcast by industry seniors. Monitoring industry reports and being active on WhatsApp groups are great ways to stay informed.

Geeta: So, what have you attended recently that was a great help to you?

Shweta: Recently, there was a meeting in Mohali. It was headed by Sanjay Sachdeva, a very senior expert in HR who was the former director of HR at LPU…Lovely Professional University. Though I couldn’t be present for more than 20 minutes, the chance to meet so many other HRs and L&Ds was amazing.

I believe when industry peers share their experiences and discuss their learnings, it always helps to listen because you always pick up something new. I mean, even in just a half-hour conversation with you, there’s always a chance you’ll say something that I can get to learn from, right?

Geeta: Wow, that’s what we call a learning attitude! So, my next question to you is – how would you handle a situation where there is a conflict between two team members?

Shweta: These situations are very common. I believe in such cases, there are always three types of stories. One is your story, one is mine, and one is the reality.
There are always three stories. So, my method to resolve conflict is to listen to both parties, understand their POVs, and inform them… in different ways. I do my best to make them feel at ease so they know I am totally impartial and can trust me. Then, my next step is to try to bring them together and come up with a fair solution.

What also helps is that I talk to my employees as a human and not as a human resource manager. I think that’s why they find me approachable.

Geeta: What steps have you taken to improve employee morale and engagement at Hotel Sunday? Would you like to share any of the instances or any of the recent things that you have done?

Shweta: Okay, let me start with employee morale. I believe it’s not just about how happy your employees are. Rather, it’s about how healthy your company culture is. So, basic things like how well you take care of your staff, how the HODs and leaders communicate and behave with their teams, appreciating small efforts, and creating an environment of support and encouragement…all of these things make a massive difference.

Another important thing is to have two-way communication with your staff by asking for their feedback and suggestions. And not just when it comes to raising an issue or complaint.

For instance, we have a suggestion box at our hotel where our staff keep adding their suggestions anonymously. It’s a colourful box with pretty artwork placed right outside our cafeteria. No matter how big or minor the matter is, everyone can drop their suggestions in that box, and we’ll consider it. I have the key to it and open it every few days.

When it comes to keeping our team engaged, we’ve got a bunch of things in place to keep everyone motivated. We don’t just stop at the usual “employee of the month” – we go all out with our annual award event at the town hall. We hand out titles like “best-groomed employee,” “best smile,” and even crown our “GX champions” (GX stands for guest experience). The GX champion is the one who has earned the most points for excellent service from our hotel guests. We also have runner-up titles to recognize as many employees for their efforts as we can. Our goal is to make sure our staff feels appreciated and rewarded to the max.

Apart from that, we also reward our trainees who come from various hotel management and culinary institutes. As you can see, there are plenty of activities to drive employee engagement.

Geeta: Yeah, I can see that…we have to put in such efforts. Well, moving to my next question – how do you identify your training needs within your organization?

Shweta: Our employee training and development is rooted in growth, productivity, and setting the right expectations. Therefore, before any training, we first analyze how demanding a specific role or designation is, any change that the role is facing, and the output we get from that role.

All of this helps us set goals for that role, which enables us to pinpoint where training is needed and where not.

Secondly, we talk to our people. By talking directly to an employee or their respective managers, we get an understanding of the areas they are lacking in and areas that we can work to improve through training.

Sometimes, in interviews, we spot someone who has the right attitude and is ready to work hard but might be missing a few skills. We get them on board and teach them the ropes. We know not everyone’s perfect from the start, and as a company, we’re not waiting around for the perfect employee. We’re here to build them up.

The third way we get to if an employee needs training is through guest feedback or complaints.

So, all of this happens apart from the back-to-back training from my side or the respective HOD’s side.

Geeta: What I’ve understood is that you have the training plan in both ways. One is the standard calendar, what you follow, and the other is on a need basis. So you do it both ways.

Shweta: That’s right! Every day, the HODs conduct a small training session in their respective departments.

Besides, there are many other ongoing trainings like first aid, customer service, POSH, fire, soft skills, etc. So, you can see training is almost a part of our routine.

Geeta: Great! So, would you like to point out any particular training that was successful in terms of the outcome?

Shweta: There is no specific training in mind because every training we do is successful in one way or the other.

One thing I’ve noticed is that post-training, an employee becomes more confident. They understand what they need to do and what is expected of them, so then they are sure of the track they should be walking on. That makes the work smoother for everyone involved.

Through continuous training, we help our people get better at their jobs. This way, our retention rate increases by 30-50%. Why? Because they become more capable and, thus, stable at their job.

Sometimes, a person leaves a job and goes elsewhere for growth; sometimes, they go because they feel incompetent. At the core of these problems is the lack of training.

Geeta: Wonderful insight, Shweta! How do you measure the outcomes of your training? How do you know how effective it was?

Shweta: Very simple…it shows in their work. As I said, they become more confident, and when that happens, we know the training worked.

But yes, besides monitoring their work, the HOD or sometimes even I randomly ask them questions related to the lessons they got in the training – you can call it a post-training quiz. This helps us understand if a trainee was attentive during the training or scrolling through Facebook.

Geeta: How do you foster a culture of continuous improvement?

Shweta: I believe a culture of continuous improvement is all about getting better every day – performance increases, success rates go up, and positive results just keep rolling in.

It’s like this mindset that gets everyone thinking, “I want to be better at what I do.” And you know what happens? People feel awesome about themselves, and their motivation goes through the roof.

But we don’t stop there. We get everyone involved in different things at every level. And this way, we encourage folks to step up a bit. That not only boosts their confidence but also their sense of responsibility.

So basically, it boils down to creating an environment where everyone is motivated to keep growing and improving.

Geeta: I can already tell that you’re a leader who is always encouraging, open-minded, and approachable…the kind that people look up to. But how would you describe your leadership style?

Shweta: Thank you, Geeta, for summing it up so beautifully!

I always want my teams to meet the standards and targets set for them. Let’s be real: managers can be pretty tough. They always want more, like way more than what’s in the job description. It’s demanding, no doubt.

But here’s the thing – I don’t think it’s cool to be all about my interests over theirs. Transformational leaders, in my book, don’t think and behave that way. They are a whole different breed. They don’t just drop their expectations on the employee but also show them the path to meet those expectations.

It’s not just about changing the company; it’s about doing it together with the team, hand in hand. That’s how real leaders should roll. And I’d say that’s the leadership style I feel most attuned to.

Geeta: So what I have understood is that you believe maintaining the balance between the personal and professional growth of an employee is important.

Shweta: Absolutely! Because that balance is so crucial – when people experience personal growth, they are happy. There is self-satisfaction. That automatically shows at work and contributes to professional growth.

Geeta: I have learned a lot today. And I’m sure the readers of our blog will also have a lot to learn from this conversation. Again, thank you so much for doing this interview, Shweta!

Shweta: It was wonderful to talk to you, and thanks for having me!