Saumya is an accomplished HR leader with 20+ years of experience, currently serving as Vice President of HR Business Strategy at Gold Star Jewellery Pvt Ltd. She holds dual PhDs in e-commerce and Psychology, an MA in Psychology, an MBA in Marketing and International Trade, and a Gold Medalist PG Diploma in HR. Recognized as a TedX speaker, a 10x LinkedIn Top Voice, and a world record holder, she has received multiple awards for HR excellence and management education. As a keynote speaker on 250+ platforms, Nasscom and SkillsHACK mentor, and YouTube creator, she specializes in organizational and digital transformation, analytics-driven HR strategies, and motivational solutions.
We are delighted that Saumya will be speaking in Mumbai as part of our India summit. We caught up with her to see how she’s feeling in the runup to the event.
Hi Saumya, we are thrilled that you will be speaking at the Wellbeing at Work India Summit in April. Our first and most important question is, how are you doing today?
I am feeling amazing today. Thank you for asking. Hope you are feeling great too. 😊
As a leader based in the region, what are the main challenges you are facing when it comes to employee wellbeing and mental health?
Here are the key challenges:
- Taboo associated with mental health
- Feigning a happy demeanour
- Gender bias dictates social dictates & expectations
- Burnout
- Navigating traffic & commute
- Lifestyle – Overspending
- Job insecurity – ease of replaceability
What strategies have you seen developing over the past 6 months, both internally and externally, that are moving the dial on wellbeing in the workplace?
Foremost being:
- Acknowledgement that Mental health is as important as physical & financial health
- Providing a let out at work place – events, screamroom, inhouse psychologist
- Sensitizing the HoDs on monitoring the mental health of their teams & raise any point of concern in deviation of behaviours.
Why is employee wellbeing so important to you personally?
Emotions are infectious & sentiments are contagious. True emotions & sentiments create a balanced work environment.
What impact is AI having in your organisation and how are you managing that?
Technology is taken as a complementary to the skills.
Other than AI, are there any challenges that you are seeing for the first time and how are you addressing them?
The pace at which the tech is evolving & the gestation time to learn & implement is slower & the tech replacing it is faster. So the fear of obsolescence is real & gripping.
What areas do you think employers should be focused on over the next 12 months?
The geopolitical situation in the world today calls for outside in view. One should be more focused on short term strategies & then lean towards the larger goals. Employees & Business both are going through a period of uncertainty & both need to be preserved to progress.
Do you feel that investment in employee wellbeing in the region is increasing or decreasing and is that a direct reflection on HR leaders’ increasing ability to demonstrate effective returns of their strategies to leadership?
An HR leader is also an employee & part of the system. It’s the culture that dictates whether the employee is a top priority (let alone the mental health) so once the employee is started to recognise as a contributor, its easier to manage the same. This is now holding true to my orgs today with the influx of tech & social media where each org is flexing what they can do / doing for their organization.
How has your organisation been leading the way?
We shall discuss this in the panel. 😉
Saumya will be speaking in Mumbai at the Wellbeing at Work Summit India. Further details on the Summit can be found here.
