Vantage Influencers Podcast

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Dr. Sarmistha Roychowdhury, CHRO, Group Head HR, and Principal HR Advisor at Vform Tecnopacks Limited, shares thoughtful insights on the evolving role of HR in boardroom decision-making. The conversation explores how HR leaders can move beyond traditional operational responsibilities and contribute more strategically through workforce insights, people analytics, business alignment, and a deeper understanding of organizational priorities.

For decades, we've built companies around one assumption: that work is done by people. But that assumption is now changing, and changing fast. AI agents are no longer just tools we use; they're becoming teammates we work alongside.

And that raises a big question for every leader and HR professional — how do you build an organization where humans and agents don't just coexist, but actually make each other better?

So today, we're exploring what it takes to build a superhuman company in the age of human-agent workforces. And to help us with that, we have with us Tami Rosen. She is a Board Member & Advisor at Pagaya.

Performance management is something almost every employee experiences, yet it's often one of the most debated aspects of work. While it's intended to support growth and development, many employees still view it as a box-ticking exercise rather than a meaningful conversation.

And as workplaces continue to evolve, there's growing pressure on organizations to rethink how they measure, discuss, and develop performance.

So today, I'd love to explore what effective performance management really looks like and to help us with that, we've with us Kavitha Ramaiah. She is the Director, People Development at Global Logic.

Growth is often seen as a sign that things are going right for an organisation. Bigger teams, new markets, rapid expansion, all of it sounds exciting from the outside. But internally, growth can also bring a lot of pressure, uncertainty, and cultural shifts that companies may not always be fully prepared for.

Because, I think we now understand the reality is, scaling a business and scaling a culture are two very different challenges.

So today, we're exploring what it really takes to preserve culture during periods of growth and transformation. And joining us for this conversation is Smitha Yadav, a seasoned HR leader with extensive experience in driving people and culture initiatives across global organisations.

Every organisation wants to be called resilient. But when you look closely, resilience is no longer just about surviving disruption or handling uncertainty. It's also about how people adapt, recover, and continue moving forward during constant change.

And that's where HR has started playing a much bigger role than before. Because culture, leadership, communication, employee well-being, all of these things now directly influence how resilient an organisation actually is.

Let's unpack what organizational resilience looks like from an HR lens. And to help us with that, we've with us Kavitha Khurana, Assistant Vice President- HRBP and HRSS at BATA India Ltd.

Conversations around Emiratisation often become very numbers-driven. We hear targets, percentages, and hiring goals. But somewhere in between all of that, there's also a very human side to the conversation.

And honestly, that's what makes this discussion so interesting right now. Because the UAE is evolving rapidly, workplaces are evolving rapidly, and naturally, the expectations of Emirati professionals are evolving too.

Today, we want to explore the deeper realities behind Emiratisation. And to help us unpack this, we've with us Fizza Sabir, Principal People and Culture Advisor, HR Head of Section at DNV.

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Vikas Singh Baghel, Associate Director, HR at HCLTech, shares thoughtful insights on how HR can move from reactive hiring to predictive talent planning. The conversation explores how workforce data, skills intelligence, business alignment, and proactive talent strategies can help organizations identify future talent needs before gaps become urgent. It also highlights how HR can strengthen internal mobility, build future-ready talent pipelines, support smarter workforce decisions, and create a more agile approach to hiring in a rapidly evolving business environment.

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Ana Carolina Mason, Head of HR in the UAE, shares thoughtful insights on how HR can build culture in factories and high-pressure operational environments. The conversation explores how trust, clear communication, leadership visibility, employee safety, and consistent people practices help teams stay aligned, engaged, and resilient in demanding work settings. It also highlights how HR can strengthen frontline employee experience, support managers, create a sense of belonging, and build a culture where people feel valued while performing in fast-paced, high-pressure environments.

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, we explore how leaders can build a strong organizational culture that becomes a true differentiator during periods of uncertainty, disruption, and change.

Host Riha is joined by Sana Khammash, Culture and Leadership Consultant at EquaMind Consultancy, to discuss why culture matters most when business conditions are unpredictable. Together, they unpack how trust, clarity, shared values, leadership consistency, and employee connection help organizations stay resilient, make stronger decisions, and maintain momentum even in challenging times. The conversation also highlights how leaders can shape a culture that supports adaptability, strengthens engagement, and creates a lasting competitive advantage.

When we talk about rewards at work, the conversation often goes back to familiar territory, pay bands, annual hikes, and benefits packages. But the reality is, the way people work today looks nothing like the systems these rewards were originally designed for. Work has become more fluid. Expectations have shifted.

Which brings us to a question that's hard to ignore: Is the traditional rewards model dead or is it just struggling to keep up?

To help us unpack this, we're joined by Sahiba Vadhera, Director – Total Rewards, APAC at JLL. With her hands-on experience shaping reward strategies across the region, she brings a grounded perspective on what needs to evolve in how organisations think about rewards.