Our guest on this episode of the podcast is Anil Santhapuri, Director of Skills Solutions, Global Talent Management at FIS.

Anil started off his career as an IT consultant. Five years into it, he found himself leaning towards HR and Learning. After spending 19 glorious years in talent management, learning and leadership development, he definitely has a lot of insights to share in this episode.

Prior to FIS he worked at various firms such as Western Union, HCL Technologies, Mahindra Satyam, and iGate Global Solutions. He has designed and delivered award-winning talent initiatives.

He is a 'future of work' and 'digital transformation' enthusiast, and is currently a Technical Advisory Board member for Global Skill Development Council - an international credentialing and certification body for the latest emerging technologies. He is also an adjunct teaching faculty with the Indian Society for Training and Development (ISTD).

Anil curates a weekly 'L&D Practitioner Knowledge Series' called "Learning Circles" which is open to anyone from the HR/Learning profession to join and participate. He is also a frequent speaker and panelist in HR and Learning industry events.

Episode Highlights:

1. Role of Leadership in a Crisis 

Anil Santhapuri talks about eight practices that every leader of an organisation that faces a crisis should follow. They are:
Revisiting the purpose of establishing the organisation
Focusing on the confidence of stakeholders and employees
Engaging with key stakeholders
Becoming proactive in communication
Demonstrating visibility
Responding to the crisis through focused execution, 
Changing or adapting the business model according to the changed situation
Demonstrating a sense of urgency. 

2. Ways of implementing and managing workplace changes effectively 

The shifting mindset of employees across the world needs to be taken into account, according to Anil. The workplace is no longer a physical location after the pandemic, and therefore business plans must consider the new market dynamics. He said adapting for a hybrid workplace is also essential from now onwards. 

3. Future workplace and importance of employee engagement 

The future workplace for every organisation would be different, but the basic principles will remain the same. Organisations are focusing on the employee-driven market nowadays, and the pandemic has played a huge role. Therefore, we must relook at engaging policies. Organisations should promise employees two things: (a) How will the companies contribute to employees' professional development, and (b) how will they engage them. Anil talks about intellectual alignment to engage the employees' minds and emotional alignment to engage their hearts. Empowering them and working on their legacy will engage both their body and spirit, according to Anil. 

4. Future skills that the workplace needs to be prepared for 

There is a huge gap between what systems generate and what industry requires. Anil suggests the adoption of cloud computing, AI, data analytics, etc. He recommends reading the World Economic Forum to learn more about the key skills required for the future workplace. He talks about classifying skills into three types: upskilling, reskilling, and meta-skilling. Upskilling is thinking about the next thing that an employee should focus on while working in an organisation. Reskilling is adapting to new technologies like AI and the cloud.

Follow Anil on LinkedIn.

Produced by: Priya Bhatt
Podcast host: Rohan Mankad