When young Satya Sharma was exploring career options, he discovered a vacancy for an HR professional in an IT company. To him, it seemed like a good opportunity, given that he had a background in computer science and a management degree from IIM, Calcutta. Sharma’s background in computer science helped him connect with people across levels as he could talk and understand their language. “I was also able to create a Digital Transformation blueprint for the people function and have been able to work closely with technology teams on its implementation,” he said.

With almost 15 years of experience, Sharma thinks because of his background, he could apply systems thinking approaches to HR, and drive initiatives in an iterative manner. In his current role as Co-Founder and CHRO at TO THE NEW, Sharma is expected to not only build the HR strategy but also contribute to the overall vision and strategy of the organisation.

Strengths and Challenges faced

“Being a services Organisation a big part of our growth is directly linked to People - hiring, training, engaging, developing, and retaining. We have had to reinvent ourselves almost every year to balance the changing needs of the business and our people, while ensuring our culture remains intact.”, adds Sharma.

Sharma believes that HR is changing rapidly and the pandemic has only accelerated the change. “Anybody who’s considering HR as a profession should work on their holistic development. Just having an HR qualification isn’t good enough; to succeed one should continuously learn and acquire new skills.”, he advises the budding HR professionals.

Dealing with never-ending emails and WhatsApp messages

Sharma has some of his own hacks in order to deal with the era of never-ending emails and messages and remain stress-free. He told ETHRWorld that he generally schedules time on the calendar for responding to messages and emails, turns off notifications - to control the urge to reply immediately and follows the one-minute rule - If an email can be replied to in one minute or less, it should be done immediately instead of parking it for later.

Ways to unwind

Sharma is also quite good at managing his work-life balance as he generally doesn't carry work on his back. Walking, doing yoga, meditating, reading, learning, listening to music, and spending time with his family and friends are some of his ways to unwind.

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