Mumbai, 7 September, 2023: After the success of the mega events in the earlier part of the year, the ‘Employers of the Future’ roundtable was hosted by Leadup Universe at The Quorum in Mumbai on September 1st, with the participating partners SMFG and Sunstone.
These roundtables are being organised across the country with the objective of dialoguing with senior leaders from across sectors on the enablers to be future- ready in the context of the new world of work. The Mumbai roundtable focused on multigenerational talent and multicultural work ethos, wherein there was a detailed discussion around psychological workplace safety and capability building & need in tier 2 and 3 towns in India.
The event was attended by 50 participants, which consisted of leaders from various organisations along with the leaders from education institutes from across the country.
The session started with opening remarks from Rashmi Mandloi, Co-Founder Leadup Universe. She said this initiative is to bring academia, corporate and practitioners together to share best practices around building the required organisational capacity and capability to stay relevant today & in the future.
The event was also joined by Rohini Singh, CHRO of Fractal, Piyush Nangru, CEO of Sunstone, Anne Williams, Head of HR at SMFG, Grihashakti for a reflective panel discussion moderated by Mayank Verma, CEO & Co-Founder Leadup Universe. The highlight of the panel was focusing on the multi generational talent from tier 2 and 3 cities in India, giving employability and a structured offering to build talent from remote locations. Contrasting this were the very progressive practices adopted by AI and analytics-based organisations around Talent. Mayank says that it was an enriching conversation with the panel on “multigenerational talent & multicultural ethos” and the evolving “Talent landscape in India”.
Further, the attendees discussed psychological safety steered by Gaurav Terdal, Head HR Operations, SMFG. The discussion deepened the understanding of fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace culture, focusing on the crucial concept of psychological safety. The conversation delved into its definition, measurement, and strategies for conveying its significance to managers. It was heartening to see business leaders engaged in the discussion, openly acknowledging its relevance. The discussion strengthened the fact that these can pave the way for a more inclusive and supportive work environment, and it is important to champion this cause together.
Also, there was discussion around the current trends and best practices for aligning academia, corporate, and practitioners to define & build capabilities relevant to the evolving working landscape. This conversation was steered by Abhishek Sharma, Associate Dean of Marketing at Sunstone. In the efforts to understand fresh talent, the leaders expressed a noticeable capability gap between what university education provides and what the working environment requires. Also, transitioning from traditional education models to skill-focused and technology-driven educational approaches and cultural alignment plays a key role and is the need of the hour.
The event closed with focused networking between the corporate practitioners, CXOs, and university leaders. We at Leadup Universe do feel that the Employers of the Future study and these dialogues with Industry leaders are imperative to supporting the progressive India growth story, as this does not focus on just one variable but all the pivotal variables that organisations need to master to stay relevant in these disruptive times.
