I was in a conversation with Debolina Dutta (ex-VP of HR at Schieder and Professor at IIM-B). She shared this interesting story about interviewing with two companies.
The first one was super smooth - they knew she was coming for an interview, had her visitor's ID ready, and breezed through two interviews plus a psychometric test in a day. On the flip side, the interview process in the second organization dragged on for two months. It involved uncertainty and interviews were rescheduled with little to no warning.
Even though the second firm offered 40% more, Debolina chose the first one.
Through the rest of our conversation, Debolina shared five seriously practical and actionable tips for HR professionals—things they should have stopped doing yesterday!
Through the rest of our conversation, Debolina shared five seriously practical and actionable tips for HR professionals—things they should have stopped doing yesterday!
1. Don’t assume experience starts on an employee's first day
Employee experience (EX) starts right from the interview process. Debolina's interview is just one such instance of experience gone wrong.
So I couldn’t agree more when Debolina said this;
“I've seen recruiters promise the earth and moon to candidates. And later there's this whole dissonance between the brand promise and reality. It’s important HR paints a realistic picture. Talent today is sharp enough to validate employer brands through multiple sources”
2. Don’t set & forget HR tech
It might be tempting to think that one implemented technology will handle everything on its own. Sure, it’s great for boosting efficiency at scale.
But guess what? You’re human…and a part of being effective is showing that you are vulnerable.
However, trust and psychological safety rely on human interaction. Tech can't build those foundations.
💟 You have to create a culture where people feel comfortable to speak. What's the scaffolding that you put around the organization, that helps build that trust? For example whistleblower policy, open door policy, and more. You might have a great system, but how you implement it…that makes all the difference.
Debolina Dutta, Professor IIM-B | ex-VP HR at Schneider Electric
Your HRBPs need to roll up their sleeves and put HR tech tools to work for them before you can see any real results.
3. Don’t assume organization culture ≠ team culture
Company culture and team culture are not the same, no matter how much you wish they were.
Sure, you might have certain values and beliefs that you’d like the organization to follow. But if your managers don’t align with this belief system, things can go south real quick.
Run team and manager effectiveness surveys regularly to gauge organization-team cultural alignment and address any mismatches.
4. Don’t adopt a one-size-fits-all approach
HR professionals often make the mistake of offering a one-size-fits-all experience.
Same feedback surveys.
Same engagement tactics.
Same onboarding processes.
But here's the truth: Every employee has a unique journey. Newcomers seek learning early on and want to get their paperwork in place, while seasoned pros seek career growth, work-life balance, and supportive managers.
As Debolina rightly says, make every employee experience count.
5. Don’t overlook the impact of small gestures
There’s something that Debolina shared during our conversation that really stuck with me.
She said,
🙏Most managers and leaders make this mistake. They focus too much on KPIs. They prioritize the urgent over the important. How many of us really have time for those little things - spending time having conversations, understanding people, understanding who they are and what they're going through. If you do that, your people are engaged.
Debolina Dutta, Professor IIM-B | ex-VP HR at Schneider Electric
Let me paint a picture of this in action: You know how companies hand out branded swag, right? Well, at inFeedo, we're no exception. We've got these t-shirts that say "inFolk." Recently, we kicked it up a notch and started giving these t-shirts to our employees' kids too, with a twist – they proudly say "Jr. inFolk." 🚀
Here’s the reaction of one super-proud inFolk and happy parent on receiving this package.
6. Don’t work on hunches to make decisions
When will HR finally get a seat at the table?
You can’t solely rely on hunches and gut feelings for decision-making and still ask this question. Just like finance and sales, use a combination of experience with data-driven insights.
TATA, Sony, & Axis Bank use this EX platform
The top brands in the country rely on this AI-powered platform to connect with their employees and discover instant insights into what their employees want.
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